Grow the Good

Today, I had the opportunity to talk to Josh LaJaunie.  I first heard him on the Rich Roll Podcast about a year ago and was blown away by his story.  I literally had to stop by bike while listening because his story was so overwhelming and his authenticity and passion were contagious.  His story is a powerful one of transformation.  It's about how taking one brush stroke after another can create a beautiful masterpiece.  The Josh LaJaunie you see now is an enthusiastic ultrarunner who has been on the cover of Runner's World, laughed with the hosts on Good Morning America, and how regularly speaks around the country.  He is part of not only the Plant-Based Community, but an even bigger one - how to help people lose weight and create positive change in their lives.

Josh wasn't always the man you see today and he'll be the first to tell you that he never imagined his life to take such a fortuitous turn.  He grew up as a self-proclaimed "coon-ass." (more on that later).  Josh grew up in the Bayou close to his family and grandfather (Bam-Bam).  As his weight escalated to 420lbs, Josh tried everything to lose wei   ght but nothing stuck.

One day, he and his brother went to the gym and he later decided to run a 10k while being well over 300lbs.  As he got more into running, he found confidence in himself and the courage to commit to change. He started to like the person he saw in the mirror.  He said, "You build trust in yourself, you did what you said you were going to do."   A landslide of events happened that pulled Josh onto his path including the Saints winning the superbowl in 2010 and reading the book "Born to Run."

In this show, we talk about the importance of taking action in your life and how taking action creates personal power.  We talk about the relationship we have with food, the importance of family and role models, what self-acceptance actually looks like, how to build self-confidence, and embracing setbacks in life.

• taking action in life
• importance of following through and creating personal poewr
• culture, identity, and the relationship with food
• importance of family and role models
• what self acceptance looks like
• how to build self-confidence
• importance of community
• embracing setbacks in life
• Josh's accomplishments and journey as a runner

• • Josh LaJaunie on Instagram
  • Josh's Website
  • Born to Run
  • The Rich Roll Podcast with Josh Episode 1 ; Episode 2
  • Josh on Good Morning America 

Free Facebook Group: Plant-Powered Tribe

Life insurance savings for people like us who actually eat healthy and take care of our body.  Get a quote or mention “Sonya” when you talk to an agent.

Subscribe & Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts: Subscribe  

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

Today, I had the opportunity to talk to Josh LaJaunie.  I first heard him on the Rich Roll Podcast about a year ago and was blown away by his story.  I literally had to stop by bike while listening because his story was so overwhelming and his authenticity and passion were contagious.  His story is a powerful one of transformation.  It's about how taking one brush stroke after another can create a beautiful masterpiece.  The Josh LaJaunie you see now is an enthusiastic ultrarunner who has been on the cover of Runner's World, laughed with the hosts on Good Morning America, and how regularly speaks around the country.  He is part of not only the Plant-Based Community, but an even bigger one - how to help people lose weight and create positive change in their lives.

Josh wasn't always the man you see today and he'll be the first to tell you that he never imagined his life to take such a fortuitous turn.  He grew up as a self-proclaimed "coon-ass." (more on that later).  Josh grew up in the Bayou close to his family and grandfather (Bam-Bam).  As his weight escalated to 420lbs, Josh tried everything to lose wei   ght but nothing stuck.

One day, he and his brother went to the gym and he later decided to run a 10k while being well over 300lbs.  As he got more into running, he found confidence in himself and the courage to commit to change. He started to like the person he saw in the mirror.  He said, "You build trust in yourself, you did what you said you were going to do."   A landslide of events happened that pulled Josh onto his path including the Saints winning the superbowl in 2010 and reading the book "Born to Run."

In this show, we talk about the importance of taking action in your life and how taking action creates personal power.  We talk about the relationship we have with food, the importance of family and role models, what self-acceptance actually looks like, how to build self-confidence, and embracing setbacks in life.

• taking action in life
• importance of following through and creating personal poewr
• culture, identity, and the relationship with food
• importance of family and role models
• what self acceptance looks like
• how to build self-confidence
• importance of community
• embracing setbacks in life
• Josh's accomplishments and journey as a runner

• • Josh LaJaunie on Instagram
  • Josh's Website
  • Born to Run
  • The Rich Roll Podcast with Josh Episode 1 ; Episode 2
  • Josh on Good Morning America 

Free Facebook Group: Plant-Powered Tribe

Life insurance savings for people like us who actually eat healthy and take care of our body.  Get a quote or mention “Sonya” when you talk to an agent.

Subscribe & Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts: Subscribe  HERE  and leave a (5-star perhaps?) review on the iTunes Show Homepage  HERE. This helps get more eyes (and ears) on the show!  I really appreciate your help!

Contribute to my work 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!  New, if you would like to make a one-time donation, please email me. 

Crowdfunding on Patreon – thank you!

Shop my products! 

Leave a review or share on social media

• Apple Podcasts
• Stitcher
• Google Play
• Spotify

Thanks for listening!

Last year, I went to the Bicycle Leadership conference and discovered that Bicycling Magazine appointed a new Editor-in-Chief, a female Editor-in-Chief, Leah Flickinger.  I was excited to see that one of cycling's biggest publications had a female at the top of their leadership.  I did more research into who was working at the magazine and noticed something exciting - over half the team was comprised of females.  In the bike world, empowering women to ride and to work in the industry is a common topic.  I was excited to see that Bicycling took the reins and actually did what a lot of businesses say they are going to do: create equal opportunity for women.   When Leah was appointed, she was quoted in BRAIN Magazine, "Cycling in general is becoming more diverse in terms of gender, race, and age. I'm thrilled to lead the Bicycling team as we reflect this growth while continuing to expand the gear and fitness content our existing readers know and love."

We also have Bicycling's Features Editor, Gloria Liu on the show. I met Gloria before I even know she worked at Bicycling - she stood on top of the Enduro Podium every day at the Transsylvania Epic Stage Race.  I later found out that she worked at Bicycling as well!  It was great to connect with these two very inspiring women.

As a long-time freelance writer myself, I often get questions about how I started, how to be a writer, and how to even pitch to magazines.  I thought that instead of just giving my 2 cents, I'd bring in true literary acumen to the microphone. In the show, you'll get to hear how both of these women got into cycling, how they became writers - it might not be what you expect to hear, how to pitch a story to magazine, a little behind the scenes of Bicycling Magazine, and our commentary on the bike industry and how to encourage more female leadership and participation.

• How you got into writing
• How you started at bicycling
• how bicycling is different from other cycling publications, how it really encourages people in the sport
• editor in chief role and what that meant to you, what types of changes you wanted to make (if you can talk about it)
• the role of female leadership at Bicycling, does it influence content in different ways?
• bike industry females, females in male dominated environments and navigating that
• how to pitch to a magazine
• how to actually become a writer
• most inspiring story from Bicycling

• Leah Flickinger's instagram
• Gloria Liu's Instagram
• Bicycling Magazine

Life insurance savings for people like us who actually eat healthy and take care of our body.  Get a quote or mention “Sonya” when you talk to an agent.

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 

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

Last year, I went to the Bicycle Leadership conference and discovered that Bicycling Magazine appointed a new Editor-in-Chief, a female Editor-in-Chief, Leah Flickinger.  I was excited to see that one of cycling's biggest publications had a female at the top of their leadership.  I did more research into who was working at the magazine and noticed something exciting - over half the team was comprised of females.  In the bike world, empowering women to ride and to work in the industry is a common topic.  I was excited to see that Bicycling took the reins and actually did what a lot of businesses say they are going to do: create equal opportunity for women.   When Leah was appointed, she was quoted in BRAIN Magazine, "Cycling in general is becoming more diverse in terms of gender, race, and age. I'm thrilled to lead the Bicycling team as we reflect this growth while continuing to expand the gear and fitness content our existing readers know and love."

We also have Bicycling's Features Editor, Gloria Liu on the show. I met Gloria before I even know she worked at Bicycling - she stood on top of the Enduro Podium every day at the Transsylvania Epic Stage Race.  I later found out that she worked at Bicycling as well!  It was great to connect with these two very inspiring women.

As a long-time freelance writer myself, I often get questions about how I started, how to be a writer, and how to even pitch to magazines.  I thought that instead of just giving my 2 cents, I'd bring in true literary acumen to the microphone. In the show, you'll get to hear how both of these women got into cycling, how they became writers - it might not be what you expect to hear, how to pitch a story to magazine, a little behind the scenes of Bicycling Magazine, and our commentary on the bike industry and how to encourage more female leadership and participation.

• How you got into writing
• How you started at bicycling
• how bicycling is different from other cycling publications, how it really encourages people in the sport
• editor in chief role and what that meant to you, what types of changes you wanted to make (if you can talk about it)
• the role of female leadership at Bicycling, does it influence content in different ways?
• bike industry females, females in male dominated environments and navigating that
• how to pitch to a magazine
• how to actually become a writer
• most inspiring story from Bicycling

• Leah Flickinger's instagram
• Gloria Liu's Instagram
• Bicycling Magazine

Life insurance savings for people like us who actually eat healthy and take care of our body.  Get a quote or mention “Sonya” when you talk to an agent.

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!

Shop my products! 

Leave a review or share on social media

• Apple Podcasts
• Stitcher
• Google Play
• Spotify

Thanks for listening!

Aaron Stuber and Jackson Long are the plant-based duo behind Thought for Food Podcast and TV. Their mission is to educate and inspire people to live healthy, compassionate, and adventurous lives through plant-based nutrition.  I personally enjoy their show and use it as one of my guides for staying up to date on the latest evidence-based nutritional science. They are both high level athletes and always have interesting insight about how to be a plant-based athlete.  They are both interesting individuals in their daily life as well. Aaron is a registered nurse and also a Health and Wellness Coach.  Jackson is an elite cyclist, finishing his Master's Degree in Applied Nutrition, and has the eCornell certification for Plant-Based Nutrition (something I want to get!)

I love these guys because they are authentic, unpretentious, and hilarious.  Th  is was a fun episode because we talked about a lot of the frequently asked questions about plant-based diets.  We talked about how they formed Though for Food, how to be a plant-based athlete, the truth about fat, the Blue Zones and longevity, and how to know what to believe in terms of nutritional studies.

• How TFF started
• How to be a Plant-Based Athlete
• The truth about fat and why you need it
• caloric density
• How do you know if a nutritional study is trustworthy?
• Blue Zones
• Tips for traveling on a plant-based diet 

• TFF Podcast
• TFF Website
• Thought for Food TV
• TFF Newsletter
• Cronometer
• Blue Zones

Life insurance savings for people like us who actually eat healthy and take care of our body.  Get a quote or mention "Sonya" when you talk to an agent.

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!

Shop my products! 

Leave a review or share on social media

• Apple Podcasts
• Stitcher

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

Dr. Kris Keim is a well-known sports psychologist and work's with some of cycling's top athletes. She has her doctorate in clinical psychology and her master’s in sports psychology AND she was actually my very first podcast guest.  The link is in the show notes if you want to go back and listen to it!  She is incredibly passionate about helping others.  She said, "During my competitive cycling career I started to understand how the mind and body worked in a way that could help and/or hinder one's performance. Being a part of a team was something I enjoyed, but it also opened the door for me to help others reach their full potential. Honestly, I would rather suffer on a climb for a teammate and help them stay calm and collected so they could go for the win. This mindset helped me realize that perhaps my purpose was not behind the handlebars, but rather behind an athlete/client offering them psychological and emotional support. This is what I refer to as the human side of sport and performance. Remembering that athletes are people who have feelings and imperfections." She is an expert and is well-versed in a lot of the topics that come up daily with her clients.  We'll go deep into one of those topics today: body image and disordered relationships with food and exercise.

I'm so thankful to have the privilege to know and work with Dr. Keim.  She has been my rock when things get hard.    As athletes and even as human beings, we all have had our struggles with wanting to look good, wanting to feel good, trying to have a healthy relationship with food and also, trying to have a healthy relationship with exercise.  Some of us might night even realize that our relationship with exercise could be unhealthy.  We simply just call ourselves "passionate endurance athletes" but there is a balance between obsession and being healthy.

In the show, we talk about how to cultivate a positive body image, our self-worth and how it can be dangerously tied to how we look, what a disordered relationship with food or exercise looks like and how we can work on it, and the importance of having people to talk to about these things.

• Triggers and reasons for why we might have a negative body image
• How to improve your body image
• How to have a better relationship with food and your body
• Self-worth and self-love related to our perception of our body
•   you have a disordered relationship with exercise
• How to have a healthier, more balanced outlook as an athlete
• How to get help

• Contact Dr. Kris Keim's + her website
• Dr. Kris Keim's instagram
• Episode 1 of the podcast with Dr. Kris Keim!
• Her article on Disorders and Body Image in Cycling

Life insurance savings for people like us who actually eat healthy and take care of our body.  Get a quote or mention "Sonya" when you talk to an agent.

If you would like to support the growth my show, I'd love your contribution on.  

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

Dr. Kris Keim is a well-known sports psychologist and work's with some of cycling's top athletes. She has her doctorate in clinical psychology and her master’s in sports psychology AND she was actually my very first podcast guest.  The link is in the show notes if you want to go back and listen to it!  She is incredibly passionate about helping others.  She said, "During my competitive cycling career I started to understand how the mind and body worked in a way that could help and/or hinder one's performance. Being a part of a team was something I enjoyed, but it also opened the door for me to help others reach their full potential. Honestly, I would rather suffer on a climb for a teammate and help them stay calm and collected so they could go for the win. This mindset helped me realize that perhaps my purpose was not behind the handlebars, but rather behind an athlete/client offering them psychological and emotional support. This is what I refer to as the human side of sport and performance. Remembering that athletes are people who have feelings and imperfections." She is an expert and is well-versed in a lot of the topics that come up daily with her clients.  We'll go deep into one of those topics today: body image and disordered relationships with food and exercise.

I'm so thankful to have the privilege to know and work with Dr. Keim.  She has been my rock when things get hard.    As athletes and even as human beings, we all have had our struggles with wanting to look good, wanting to feel good, trying to have a healthy relationship with food and also, trying to have a healthy relationship with exercise.  Some of us might night even realize that our relationship with exercise could be unhealthy.  We simply just call ourselves "passionate endurance athletes" but there is a balance between obsession and being healthy.

In the show, we talk about how to cultivate a positive body image, our self-worth and how it can be dangerously tied to how we look, what a disordered relationship with food or exercise looks like and how we can work on it, and the importance of having people to talk to about these things.

• Triggers and reasons for why we might have a negative body image
• How to improve your body image
• How to have a better relationship with food and your body
• Self-worth and self-love related to our perception of our body
•   you have a disordered relationship with exercise
• How to have a healthier, more balanced outlook as an athlete
• How to get help

• Contact Dr. Kris Keim's + her website
• Dr. Kris Keim's instagram
• Episode 1 of the podcast with Dr. Kris Keim!
• Her article on Disorders and Body Image in Cycling

Life insurance savings for people like us who actually eat healthy and take care of our body.  Get a quote or mention "Sonya" when you talk to an agent.

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!

Shop my products! 

Leave a review or share on social media

• Apple Podcasts
• Stitcher
• Google Play
• Spotify

Thanks for listening!

You'd never guess that Lauren Gregg wasn't a cyclist growing up.  She identified as an artistic musician type.  It wasn't until she decided to grab her dad's dusty bike out of the garage and start mountain biking on a whim that she turned into an athlete.  The simple yet life-changing decision to start mountain biking has enabled Lauren to carve her own path. Starting as an XC racer, she moved up through the ranks and eventually found a love for Enduro. Enduro is an interesting sport. You ride a bigger travel mountain bike and there's a huge course you have to complete.  You have to endure the fatigue of riding all the climbs, but only certain descents are timed.  With a passion for travel and a fortuitous relationship with Ford, Lauren decided to move into a sprinter van.  That sprinter van was her year round home for 2.5 years.

In the show, we talk about Lauren's path to becoming a professional cyclist.  One day, some old racer guy told Lauren Gregg, "You'll never be able to make a living as a female mountain biker. It's not possible.  It's just not something that will ever happen."  And that was game on for Lauren.  We talk about all the important lessons she learned about life from living alone in her van, the logistics of actually living in a van, the concept of what home means, the importance of community, and the interesting and positive life changes she is going through right now.

• Lauren's path to becoming a professional cyclist
• her transition to enduro
• how and why she decided to move into a van
• the things she has learned about life living in a van
• what it's like to be unplugged and by yourself
• what defines "home"
• importance of community
• her new role at Fuji
• how she is transitioning back to living in a house

• Lauren Gregg's Instagram
• Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana
• The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself  by Steve Carol
• The Science and Philosophy of Enlightenment: Why Buddhism Is True by Robert Wright
•  13 Things that Don't Make Sense: The Most Baffling Scientific Mysteries of Our Time by Michael Brooks    

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