Grace & Grit Podcast

I am so deeply humbled by the caliber of women who have agreed to be on the Grace & Grit podcast over the past year, and today is certainly no exception. I have been following Stephanie Gaudreau’s career since early 2013 and have been cheering her on from afar ever since. I respect her as a business woman, a women’s health advocate and as a every day woman who isn’t shy about sharing her own personal struggles with food, exercise and body image to help and inspire others. Stephanie has a wildly popular website that I personally refer to and refer many of my clients to on a regular basis, called Stupid Easy Paleo. And while Stephanie provides amazing ideas for making healthy eating simple and sustainable via her recipes and cookbooks, what I admire about her extends far beyond her nutritional knowledge and artistry around food. I see Stephanie as a woman who is leading from the front the mission of helping women to mend their relationship with their body, mind and soul. Listen to this episode to discover why.

The health and wellness industry is the ONLY profession I have ever known, because, quite frankly, I love it that much. I have been inspired and educated by some incredibly remarkable women over my career (many of whom have been featured as guests on this show) and today I have the privilege of hosting someone who I absolutely would call one of my role models, Krista Scott Dixon. Krista has her PHD in Women’s Studies, has been teaching and coaching for more than 20 years, she has authored several books, she is widely published in academic and popular journals and is currently the director of curriculum for Precision Nutrition. She is not shy about sharing her own personal struggles with food, body image and the like. She is a self-described formerly un-athletic person who eventually took on things like grappling and Judo along the path to deep health. Krista’s website, www.Stumptuous.com, has inspired thousands of women to forge a better relationship with strength training, food and body image. This episode is jam packed with juicy insight, powerful tips and a hefty dose of inspiration.

Preparing for an upcoming podcast guest, I was horrified by the numbers surrounding eating disorders and disordered eating within the US. Having worked with women for nearly two decades to better their relationship with their body, I knew there was a problem, but the statistics I came across broke my heart. We have a problem with how women perceive their bodies and the crazy things they do in an attempt to keep themselves small. If we are going to change the conversation around what it means to be a healthy woman, we must be having conversations around how to influence our girls to extend respect to their body for the RIGHT reasons. Do the young women in your life a favor and listen to this podcast episode about eating disorders and what we can do to prevent them.

Clearly, I invite guests to the show who can provide value to this audience on the topic of women’s health, I am also very intent on inviting guests who also exemplify what it means to be a woman of Grace & Grit. Today, I could not be more thrilled to be hosting, Doctor of Physical Therapy and movement enthusiast Jen Esquer. Jen treats patients privately in the Los Angeles area but educates people all over the world through her social media channels on how to live an active and healthy lifestyle. She is smart, generous, hard working and an incredibly likable gal. She has built a remarkable following of loyal fans by sharing free and highly informative educational videos on how to maintain mobility, increase strength, and prevent pain throughout the body. She is quickly becoming a powerful force as a healthcare provider and helping people everywhere to become better movers in healthier bodies. Tune into this episode to meet Jen and hear us discuss movement, discipline, compassion and so much more.

I am not sure I can fully express in words how excited I am about today’s guest on the show. I have been following Andrea Beaman for years and I truly feel she is a wellness professional that all women should know. I was initially introduced to Andrea through some conversations I was having with other health practitioners in regards to thyroid and adrenal health. And although Andrea does specialize in these topics, she truly is just a wealth of knowledge when it comes to preventing dis-ease and optimizing health in the human body. Andrea is a nationally renowned and award winning Holistic Health Coach, Natural Foods Chef and Best Selling Author. Since 1999, she has been teaching individuals and health practitioners how to harness the body’s own preventative and healing powers. Andrea has an infection personality and she infuses challenging topics with a strong dose of compassion and humor (seriously you cannot help but love this woman’s laugh).

My recent conversation with clinical nutritionist Stephanie Dodier is filled with so much goodness! If you love a good transformation story… If you like REAL talk around what it takes to reclaim and sustain health… If you are curious to hear the thoughts of a clinical nutritionist about ketogenic diets… Do not miss this episode of the Grace & Grit podcast! Stephanie has a special talent for breaking down complex concepts into simple, memorable messages, always delivered with humor and empathy for those to whom she is speaking. As if that weren’t enough reason to invite her to be a guest on the show… Stephanie has also just written her first book called the Keto Connector, which we will talk more about on today’s episode.

If you are a woman, do not miss this episode! Julie Wiebe, an LA based physical therapist with over twenty years of clinical experience in both Sports Medicine and Women’s Health, is committed to revolutionizing the way women recover from pregnancy and return to high levels of fitness. And… she has pioneered an integrative approach to promote women’s health in and through fitness. As we discuss on the podcast, pelvic health challenges are not just exclusive to women who have been pregnant. As a woman (mama or not), you would be doing yourself (specifically your pelvic health) a favor by listen to this information packed episode.

I have one of my favorite people on the show today, Laini Gray. I have known Laini for almost a decade and I appreciate everything about her. Laini has a rare ability to take complicated issues and explain them in simple terms all while keeping things fun (cuz let’s face it topics like fat loss and hormonal chemistry can get a bit mind-numbing). She has been in the health/wellness industry for over 20 years…you name it and she has probably done it. She started her career with a Bachelors degree in Recreation, worked as a personal trainer for many years (and to some extent still does), she is a holistic lifestyle coach, a functional diagnostic nutrition practitioner, and most recently earned her masters in holistic nutrition. She’s a rockstar and I invited her back to the show today just to have an excuse to chat with her AND discuss diet, hormones, stress and even supplementation.

“Healthy by choice, not by chance.” That is the motto of my guest, Dr. Liz Walker, who is featured as a guest on today’s episode of the Grace & Grit Podcast. I freaking love that and couldn’t agree more. Liz Walker is a chiropractor here in Missoula, MT and she is a health professional who absolutely walks her talk and understands that there are a lot of facets to the health equation. She and her husband own a very popular CrossFit facility here in Missoula, and she is also the owner and primary practitioner at Primal Practice Chiropractic. She is an athletic, healthy, hard working and an all around great gal who I am thrilled agreed to spend a bit of time with us today.

I have to admit that I don’t follow a ton of female trainers online because I have a beef with the message a lot of trainers and health coaches are selling to women. If you are a regular listener of this show, you are well aware that I loathe quick fix tactics, supplement pushing, radical detoxes and the like. The trainers and coaches I adore are the ones who are preaching slow and steady, sensible habit change with their clients, who don’t skirt the fact that there is a lot of work involved in any meaningful transformation; people who walk the talk. So, when I see a female health professional demonstrating those things consistently, only then do I become interested and, of course, invite her to be a guest on the Grace & Grit podcast. Which was exactly the case with my guest today, Michelle Rycroft, who owns a sweet little online coaching business called Ripped by Rycroft. Michelle herself has gone through a radical health transformation…and who doesn’t love a great transformation story…and now inspires and educates women to take responsibility for their own health. Obviously, we are kindred spirits that way, which is another reason I asked her to be a guest on the show.

It is interesting that we are living at a time when there are more exercise programs and extreme dieting tactics on the market then ever before AND obesity rates and disease is at an all time high. We have made exercise programming and the simple act of eating SO complicated, that many women have a fierce resistance to getting started. But here is the truth…. The things that are going to make you healthy are really quite simple. Today’s podcast episode focuses on 13 of the most powerful things I have used to up-level my own health, as well has the health of my clients.

Man, I have worked with a ton of clients over the years who want to elevate the state of their health without honoring their body’s need for adequate restoration and recovery. And it simply doesn’t work…ever. Recovery should NOT be underestimated when it comes to improving the health of your body. If you are expecting more from your body (more energy, more strength, more endurance, more performance, more fat loss, more muscle) you are going to have to RESPECT the fact that your body will need MORE rest. Remember you are in a RELATIONSHIP with your body, not a dictatorship. You have to GIVE in order to GET. If you are training hard and eating well, but neglecting to give your body the downtime it needs and deserves, don’t be surprised if you are lacking in the “progress” department. Episode 57 of the Grace & Grit Podcast is all about Recovering Like a Boss, so can reap the benefits of your hard work more quickly. Click the image to listen now.

There are two things that are absolutely essential to any transformation process (yeah, I know… I talk about them a lot because I believe in them THAT MUCH): 1. Awareness 2. Consistent Action Last week, Mary O’Malley and I had a great conversation on the podcast about what it takes to stay awake in your life, so you can change habits that are not serving you into ones that do. This week’s podcast is all about the second point: consistent action. There is a lot of talk these days about changing our thoughts to change our actions, but what if taking action more consistently is what actually lead to more positive thoughts and beliefs around what is possible? Check out this episode to hear my experience with taking action around what I wanted to change in my own life despite how I felt or what I believed about those actions.

The longer I am in the profession of helping women to improve their health, the more I am convinced that improving health boils down to awareness and consistency. Before we can change anything about our health, we must be aware of the things we are doing to either nourish or deplete our health. But honestly we are living in such a frenetic time, most women are so busy, they are reacting to life with habits that don’t serve their health rather than choosing to respond to life in a healthy fashion. We absolutely must slow down to become more aware and be able to focus. And there are lots of buzz words linked to awareness: mindfulness, consciousness, being present, staying awake. Whatever you want to call the practice of becoming more aware…awareness is the linchpin to improving our health. And to help us better understand this topic of staying more present in our lives, I have invited back to the Grace & Grit Podcast my dear friend, Mary O’Malley.

I don’t know about you, but I grew up clinging to the myth that once a woman turned 40, life would be over (the black balloons at my mother’s 40th birthday made quite an impression apparently). And having turned 40 myself a week ago, I have to say my experience has taught me something quite different: Life is really stinking good at 40. Unfortunately, our media culture cultivates a lot of fear around aging for a woman. Aging gracefully and optimistically, I believe, has a lot to do with the level of respect you have for your mind, body, and soul and I am a firm believer that the earlier we can start this conversation with our daughters and granddaughters, it is likely that we will save them from a lot of unnecessary pain and frustration has they grow older.