I was stoked when the Toronto VegFest invited me to speak at their even this year.  It's the biggest VegFest with over 40,000 people over 3 days, tons of inspiring people, and great vendors. I made some new friends!  In addition to my keynote, I sat on an athlete panel with some very cool people like John Lewis, Meagan Duhamel (on the show next week), and Ann-Marie Campbell.  

My talk is about my story making changes in my career, moving to Canada, making changes to my diet and how you can make positive changes in your life too. I also have a section on plant-based performance as an athlete, followed by how to be inclusive. I hope you enjoy it! 

 

Want to join our free facebook group - Plant Powered Tribe?

Also, I have a Plant Powered Tribe Instagram where I post funny memes and daily photos. 

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The Grow the Good Podcast is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co.

Imagine having a career with massive success.  In just 4 years of racing, you become a 4x USA National champion sporting the stars and bars cycling kit everywhere you go. You are a force on a bike and even perform at the highest level across multiple disciplines of cycling.  Meet Rose Grant.  In 2012, she start racing in the Pro field.  After a pregnancy test, she had to put racing on a short pause to have her daughter, Layla.  But pregnancy or having an infant didn't stop Rose from chasing her goals.  Balancing a family and pushing her limits on the bike, Rose Grant's remarkable ascent in the sport had just begun.  Winning her first Marathon Nationals in 2014 was the beginning of a rein of power in the endurance scene.  She won Nationals each year consecutively, and signed on with a team that offered her great support.

But as it happens, the trip on Cloud Nine came crashing down as she had a crash that snapped her ACL and tore her MCL.  Rose was relegated to her couch and slowly trained back to form on an indoor trainer.  Her comeback was impressive, winning races as soon as she was back on dirt.  After an incredible year of racing, reality struck again. This time, a crash dislocated her shoulder. Patient, tenacious and hard-working, Rose continued to win huge races in a shoulder brace.  She took winter to rehab her shoulder and in 2018, raced the Pan Am Games early in the season.  Unfortunately, her shoulder wasn't ready and she had another devastating crash, breaking her fibula and putting her out for the beginning of the season she has worked so hard for.  To make matters more emotional, Rose was faced with a decision: continue trying to race with a bad shoulder, or sit out the rest of her season and have shoulder surgery.  She chose the latter.

This is a powerful episode about the darkness of injury as an athlete, how to overcome setbacks in your life, how Rose manages being an athlete mom and racing at the highest level, and so much more.

Topics Discussed in the Podcast 

• Rose's background growing up
• Her approach to being a pregnant athlete
• How she got back to racing after having a baby
• Rose Grant's ascent to becoming National Champion
• Rose Grant's team: Stan's Pivot Presented by Maxxis
• The injuries Rose has overcome in the last couple of years
• How to emotionally cope with huge disappointments

 Listen Now

 

Links

• Rose Grant's Instagram
• Rose Grant's website
• Recore Fitness for post-partum and pregnant moms

Support the Show

If you would like to support the growth my show, I’d love your contribution on.  Patreon.  The current production of this free show is primarily supported out of my own pocket and a small portion is covered through the donations on P

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The Grow the Good Podcast is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co.

Dr. Joel Kahn is a mover and shaker. He is known as “America’s Healthy Heart Doc”, a title given to him by Reader’s Digest Magazine  He is a holistic cardiologist with his own clinic based in Detroit (Kahn Center for Cardiac Longevity) which he founded because hospitals do not have a high enough standard for taking care of patients.   A lot of hospitals have notably unhealthy food, and food is one of the most powerful medicines we put in our bodies. He has treated thousands of heart attack patients with diet and lifestyle.  He has also written 5 books and over 100 research papers. He also opened 2 restaurants "Green Space Cafe"  and 1 food truck that all serve healthy, whole foods plant-based meals. I actually ate at the food truck he owns in Austin on my last trip there and only after eating there did I discover he was the founder!  He regularly speaks on shows like The Doctors and Dr. Oz and is often pitted against Keto and Paleo experts.

Dr. Kahn is inspiring with his how he applies his energy to help people find optimal health across his multiple businesses.  He is also very active on his instagram account.

Topics Discussed in the Podcast 

• how he changed his diet by accident as a teenager
• what is credible information
• does fasting work?
• tips for changing your diet to plant-based
• resources for getting started on a whole foods, plant-based diet
• why keto is bad for you

 Listen Now

 

Links

• Dr. Joel Kahn's Instagram
• Dr Kahn's Website

Support the Show

If you would like to support the growth my show, I’d love your contribution on.  Patreon.  The current production of this free show is primarily supported out of my own pocket and a small portion is covered through the donations on Patreon. With my Patreon page, you can donate directly to the show which will help me cover the costs and help it grow! Even 4 bucks a month- the cost of one coffee per month helps a LOT! Thanks, I really appreciate your support!

Crowdfunding on Patreon – thank you!

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Leave a review or share on social media

Don’t forget to subscribe!

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Thanks for listening!

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The Grow the Good Podcast is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co.

What does your closet look like?  Is it meticulously organized or is there stuff everywhere?  Greg McKeown loves using this analogy to describe how we organize our priorities and tasks in our mind.  Most of us go through life stretched too thin. With all of the inputs between work, email, social media, and our social lives, there never seems to be enough time in the day.  We are bombarded with notifications, images of things we feel like we should be doing, and we take on way too much. Sound familiar?  It strikes a chord with me!  Greg is the author of the NYT BestSeller, Essentialism.  He writes, teaches, and lectures around the world to help people choose what they should be prioritizing in life and how to develop the mindset of an Essentialist. He has appeared on the Steve Harvey Show and has spoken at Apple, Google, Salesforce, Facebook and more. What is an Essentialist? Essentialists have the mindset of "less but better" over trying to be everything of everyone.  Essentialists focus on only doing tasks that only relate to their highest contribution instead of constantly trying to do it all.  How do we begin to say no to the seemingly infinite things we should be doing?  How do we begin to eliminate the anxiety of not doing enough, create free space to be creative and play, and reduce our feelings of overwhelm?  In this podcast episode, you'll learn what the actual mindset of an essentialist is (versus just going through the motions of doing less), how to say no, and the reality of trade-offs.

"If you don't prioritize your life, someone else will."

Topics Discussed in the Podcast 

• why we feel the pressure to say yes to everything
• how our mind and to-do list are like a messy closet
• how to define our priority
• JOMO: Joy in missing out
• the power of journaling
• establishing an upper bound rule to win for the long run

 Listen Now

 

Links

• Greg's book: Essentialism
• Marie Kondo's Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up
• Greg McKeown's website
• The Tail End by Tim Urban

Support the Show

If you would like to support the growth my show, I’d love your contribution on.  Patreon.  The current production of this free show is primarily supported out of my own pocket and a small portion is covered through the donations on Patreon. With my Patreon page, you can donate directly to the show which will help me cover the

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The Grow the Good Podcast is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co.

John Salley is a true champion: with a 15-year career in the NBA and 4 Championship titles on 3 different teams, he has accomplished a great deal in his athletic career. What makes John Salley tick? What does he stand for now?  He started down a path of wellness at the age of 27.  Over time, he transitioned to a plant-based diet and found a huge advantage with his fitness, health and performance. Not only that, he attributes his diet to better mental clarity both in the game and in his businesses.  John retired from basketball at the age 36, but that was only the beginning of a new chapter.  He is a father to vegan children, and is an actor, entrepreneur, talk show host, philanthropist, wellness advocate.  He thinks that striving to always be better, to grow, and to have high standards for yourself and your family is what makes you a champion in life.  In this episode, we talk about what he learned about teamwork and how that can be applied in business, his journey to wellness and being a vegan, his views on how powerful and important it is to adopt both a vegan diet and lifestyle, raising vegan children, and the tools John uses to stay fit, healthy and feeling strong at the age of 54.

Topics Discussed in the Podcast 

• John Salley's thoughts on cannabis
• the best lesson from playing on Championship teams
• John Salley's journey of transitioning his diet to plant-based, starting at age 27
• Supplements John uses
• John Salley and Masculinity
• What it was like to retire from basketball
• The key to building a good team as an entrepreneur
• Skeptical about a vegan diet?  John Salley's opinion
• John Salley's daily workout routine

 Listen Now

 

Links

• John Salley's website
• John Salley's Instagram
• John Salley's Twitter
• John's Facebook

Up Your Game with Four Sigmatic:

Four Sigmatic offers medicinal mushroom coffees, hot cacaos and elixir products.  Some mushrooms have incredible health-promoting benefits like helping with sleep, immunity, energy management, and focus.  In fact, did you know that Lion’s Mane has been used by Buddhist Monks in meditation practice?  These are not psychedelic mushrooms and they aren’t the kind you’d put on your pizza.  They are used like you would an herb.  I’m enjoying the Chaga Mushroom Elixir Mix the most right now!

I’m excited about using adaptogenic mushrooms as part of my overall health strategy and recovery process.

Try Four Sigmatic Mushroom Elixirs and Coffees!

15% off with Four Sigmatic Discount Code: SonyaLooney 

 

Join! 

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The Grow the Good Podcast is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co.

Kathy Freston has been on a path of wellness and helping people make positive changes to their lives for decades.  She is 4x New York Times Best-Seller and Wellness Activist writing books like Clean Protein, The Lean, and Quantum Wellness. In fact, she is the author of 8 books from relationships, to ditching perfectionism, to the future of protein.  Kathy's impact has gone far and wide, appearing twice on he Oprah Winfrey Show, as well as other national shows like Ellen, The Dr. Oz Show, The View, Good Morning America, and Charlie Rose.  She even inspired Oprah and her entire staff of 378 people to go vegan for 21 days!  What I love about Kathy is her approach to making positive change.  She's all about progress over perfection and helping people lean in to new habits.  In today's show, you'll learn how to crowd out bad habits, how to be more gentle with yourself (especially if you make a mistake), what a healthy lifestyle looks like, and about the future of protein.

Topics Discussed in the Podcast 

• The beginnings of Kathy's wellness journey
• how to change your diet without judgement
• why crowding out bad habits is better than cutting out
• what a healthy lifestyle looks like
• Kathy's pillars of wellness
• Her latest book, Clean Protein
• what it's like to go on Oprah

 Listen Now

 

Links

• Kathy Freston's website
• Kathy Freston's instagram
• Kathy's book, Clean Protein
• A list of Kathy's 8 books
• Kathy's interviews on Oprah

Up Your Game with Four Sigmatic:

Four Sigmatic offers medicinal mushroom coffees, hot cacaos and elixir products.  Some mushrooms have incredible health-promoting benefits like helping with sleep, immunity, energy management, and focus.  In fact, did you know that Lion’s Mane has been used by Buddhist Monks in meditation practice?  These are not psychedelic mushrooms and they aren’t the kind you’d put on your pizza.  They are used like you would an herb.  I’m enjoying the Chaga Mushroom Elixir Mix the most right now!

I’m excited about using adaptogenic mushrooms as part of my overall health strategy and recovery process.

Try Four Sigmatic Mushroom Elixirs and Coffees!

15% off with Four Sigmatic Discount Code: SonyaLooney 

 

Join! Plant-Pow

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The Grow the Good Podcast is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co.

Is there good mountain biking in Poland? 

Turns out the answer is YES! The Sudety Challenge is one of the longest standing stage races in Europe. The 6 day stage race takes place along the Poland and Czech Republic border.  Each day boasts over 6,000' of climbing on forest roads and technical singletrack. There was even some soul-crushing hike a bikes!  I was able to dominate the race with 6 wins/6 days.  I even won a timed descent ahead of ALL the men, including the pro men.  It was a nice surprise because my training going into the event was sub-par from burnout, taking on too many projects, and being sick.

I didn't know what to expect with this race. I was told that it had great trails, but I have had mixed opinions about stage races in Europe due to insane course traffic or very little singletrack.  Most stages outside North America are heavy on the dirt road riding and light on the fun trails.

Poland was A BLAST!  The right balance of people on trails and people were courteous on singletrack.  The climbs were SO hard.  My climbing wasn't where I wanted it to be due to lack of training. I got passed by so many men on the climbs and it was frustrating.  The best part was being able to make up the time in almost every case on the descents!  In Poland, the trails go straight up and straight down.

The race had 3 race villages, all with 8000 people or less.  We really got the authentic rural Poland experience!

 

 

This podcast episode I recorded with Matt goes into the details of the race in terms of both my experience and also Matt.  We talk about traveling in Czech Republic and Poland, what it was like in Krakow and Prague, and some history of the area.

  Topics Discussed in the Podcast 

• Why we chose to go to Poland
• Road tripping in Poland/Czech Republic
• The experience of racing the Sudety Challenge
• Is there good mountain biking in Poland?
• How to put the ego away and have more self compassion
• travel in Krakow and Prague
• Impressions of visiting Auschwitz

 Listen Now

 

Links

• Sudety Challenge website
• My bike set-up, nutrition plan, and what I carried in the race

Up Your Game with Four Sigmatic:

Four Sigmatic offers medicinal mushroom coffees, hot cacaos and elixir products.  Some mushrooms have incredible health-promoting benefits like helping with sleep, immunity, energy management, and focus.  In fact, did you

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The Grow the Good Podcast is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co.

Heather Laptalo has four rods in her back that currently fuse 85% of her spine and is classified as 20% disabled.  She is missing 40% of her lung capacity.  Despite doctors telling her that her athlete days are over, she has hiked Everest Base Camp, ran multiple marathons including Boston, and went to university on a full ride cross-country running scholarship.  Can't is not in her vocabulary.

By the time Heather was 10 years old, she was forced to sleep in a heavy metal brace.  It was a cage she couldn't escape without the help of her parents.  During the day, she ran free as a "normal" little girl.  By by the age of 13, the surgeries started because her spine was growing crooked.  Alienated from her friends for being different, she trudged on through high school with the dream of becoming a professional soccer player.  By her senior year, she had another series of surgeries.  This time became too much to bear.  The doctors told her she could never run or play soccer again.

Drowning in a sea of depression and self-pity wasn't on Heather's agenda, so she started walking. Then running. Then running...fast.  Her mantra of "You got this" has pushed her to beat all odds.  Now her doctors say she is a miracle.  Heather just says, "I'm not a miracle... whatever you believe you are or what you want to be, you can do it.  It doesn't matter what physical limitations you think you may have."

Topics Discussed in the Podcast 

• Growing up with surgeries, being called "deformed", and a spine growing crooked
• How Heather proved her doctors wrong
• how to cope with limits placed on us by others (or even ourselves)
• running's influence on heather's life (she was told she'd never run again)
• how heather manages chronic pain and perception of pain
• power of gratitude in heather's life
• what to do if you find yourself saying "I can't"

 

Links

• Heather Laptalo's Instagram
• Heather Laptalo's website
• Heather's article in SHAPE

Up Your Game with Four Sigmatic:

Four Sigmatic offers medicinal mushroom coffees, hot cacaos and elixir products.  Some mushrooms have incredible health-promoting benefits like helping with sleep, immunity, energy management, and focus.  In fact, did you know that Lion’s Mane has been used by Buddhist Monks in meditation practice?  These are not psychedelic mushrooms and they aren’t the kind you’d put on your pizza.  They are used like you would an herb.  I’m enjoying the Chaga Mushroom Elixir Mix the most right now!

I’m excited about using adaptogenic mushrooms as part of my overall health strategy and recovery process.

Try Four Sigmatic Mushroom Elixirs and Coffees!

15% off with Four Sigmatic Discount Code: SonyaLooney 

 

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The Grow the Good Podcast is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co.

Dr. Goldhamer is a pioneer in treating lifestyle diseases.  He is the co-author of the book, The Pleasure Trap, founder of the ground-breaking medical facility, True North Health Center and has been the instigator and investigator of some incredible studies showing water fasting's effectiveness in treating hypertension.  He has treated thousands of patients with type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and more.

I was really interested to learn more about the True North Health Center in California because of the success stories.  It's probably one of the most important resources on this podcast because anyone can go there to get healthier and see results. Whether you already eat a plant-based diet and want to optimize what you're already doing to stage 3 hypertension or perhaps you need to lose over 100lbs, True North is ready to accommodate everyone. The staff at TrueNorth Health Center includes medical doctors, osteopaths, chiropractors, naturopaths, psychologists, research scientists, and other health professionals.  While they treat with food, they are the world's largest center for medically supervised water fasting.

Dr. Goldhamer tells it like it is. In this very authentic conversation, you'll learn about fasting and if it's worth all the hype, the three culprits that are keeping us sick and fat, learn more about the True North Health Center, and simply hear some entertaining yet direct no-BS comments on bad habits.

Topics Discussed in the Podcast 

• What inspired the book, The Pleasure Trap
• The 3 culprits that keep us sick and fat
• True North Health Center + Protocols
• Dr. Goldhamer's view on water fasting and intermittent fasting
• Medically supervised water fasting curing hypertension
• The truth about our bad habits
• Is caffeine okay?

 Listen Now

 

 

Links

• True North Health Center
• The Pleasure Trap book
• Study: Medically Supervised Water Fasting in the Treatment of Water Tension
• Other Interviews to Watch: True North TV
• Previous podcast with Chef AJ

Up Your Game with Four Sigmatic:

Four Sigmatic offers medicinal mushroom coffees, hot cacaos and elixir products.  Some mushrooms have incredible health-promoting benefits like helping with sleep, immunity, energy management, and focus.  In fact, did you know that Lion's Mane has been used by Buddhist Monks in meditation practice?  These are not psychedelic mushrooms and they aren't the kind you'd put on your pizza.  They are used like you would an herb.  I'm enjoying the Chaga Mushroom Elixir Mix the most right now!

I'm excited about using adaptogenic mushrooms as part of my overall health strategy and recovery process.

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The Grow the Good Podcast is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co.

In order to transform, we have to figure out who we really are and what we want.  It's not always easy to figure that out.  Sometimes we have to know what questions to ask ourselves and understand the reason behind our intentions.  For Bryan Falchuk, the fog lifted when his wife nearly died.  Battling with obesity and anxiety for the first part of his life, Bryan struggled to show up every day as the person he wanted to be.  After his wife's brush with death, he was reunited with his purpose.  From that moment, a metamorphosis took place with finally losing weight and keeping it off and also taking a new direction in his life.  One of his life goals is to teach people how to overcome challenges and achieve their goals.

Bryan is an executive coach, public speaker, C-level executive and best-selling author of Do a Day, in which he outlines his approach to create change. Using Do A Day, Bryan was able to break from this pattern to live a life of consistent, unending health and wellness, and works to share what he’s learned with others seeking a happier, more complete existence. His approach is easy to understand and implement.

Bryan’s work has appeared in many major publications like the LA Times, Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun, Inc. Magazine and more, and he has been featured as a guest on over 100 podcasts and radio shows. He has also shared his message across many stages, including multiple TEDx events.

Topics Discussed in the Podcast 

• Intentional Imbalance
• What motivated Bryan to make changes that stuck in his life
• How to focus on being better instead of perfect
• how to get off a destructive, self-sabotaging path
• how to stick to your goals
• Bryan's book, Do A Day
• Who inspires Bryan
• Bryan's vegan diet

 Listen Now

 

 

Links

• Bryan's Twitter
• Bryan's website: Do a Day + book discount
• Bryan's Do a Day TEDx Talk
• Podcast with Aaron Keith Hawkins

Up Your Game with Four Sigmatic:

Four Sigmatic offers medicinal mushroom coffees, hot cacaos and elixir products.  Some mushrooms have incredible health-promoting benefits like helping with sleep, immunity, energy management, and focus.  In fact, did you know that Lion's Mane has been used by Buddhist Monks in meditation practice?  These are not psychedelic mushrooms and they aren't the kind you'd put on your pizza.  They are used like you would an herb.  I'm enjoying the Chaga Mushroom Elixir Mix the most right now!

I'm excited about using adaptogenic mushrooms as part of my overall health strategy and recovery process.

Try Four Sigmatic Mushroom Elixirs and Coffees!

15% off with Four Sigmatic Discount Code: SonyaLooney 

 

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The Grow the Good Podcast is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co.