Midlife Fitness & Mindset for Women Feeling Stuck | Pursue Your Spark

In today’s podcast #22 we talk about why it takes courage to boost your self-confidence and why fear may hold us back to live our best life.

Most of us are not born fearless and confident. I had to overcome some of my fears to get to where I am today.

When I talk about fearless and confident, I am not talking about the courageous Katniss from the Hunger Games (yes, I am a BIG fan of science fiction and fantasy shows) that with her bow and arrow is slaying the bad people with confidence. She is taking action despite the fears and even the threat of being killed herself. Taking action is what matters most.

So let’s dive into why it takes courage to boost your self-confidence and what you can do to overcome some of your fears.

 Highlights:

• Imagine you want to start exercising [2:30]
• How I overcame one of my fears and so can you [2:40]
• 7 Steps To Boost Your Courage And Self-confidence    [7:20]

Courage allows you to attempt things that you have not tried before, despite your fear of looking foolish.

Now you don’t have to start all at once. Pick the one that seems the most doable for right now and have the courage to start it and keep doing it until you are like Katniss filled with self-confidence.  

Start with my free planner: 5 ways to boost your confidence in fitness for more strategies for helpful tips.

That’s it for today until next time at the Pursue Your Spark Podcast.

Ciao, Heike

Links mentioned in the show:

• 5 Ways To Boost Your Confidence
• The Art Of Igniting Your Spark group

As we enter midlife, we change and so can our relationships. What once was the perfect relationship has become unbearable to some. 
Separation or divorce may be looming on the horizon.

There are so many stressful situations that we encounter, and once the divorce process starts, we are dealing with an avalanche of problems. We feel helpless and don’t know where to turn to get the advice we can trust.

In this emotion-driven time we want someone to guide us and help us decide: “Should I stay or should I go,” and my friend Cherie Morris who wrote a book with the same title is the right person to help out with sound advice.

Cherie is sharing her own story, sound strategies on separation and divorce and her 5 Tips to protect your marriage.

This will be a juicy episode you don’t want to miss.

Here are the highlights:

• What led Cherie to become a divorce coach and what drives her [3:00]
• Should I stay or should I go? [6:35]
• What do women and men need most going through a divorce? [10:00]
• The mind-body connection and how they tie in with divorce [13:30]
• Is the physical change of midlife to blame for a divorce? [19:00]
• Your Marriage: Money, intimacy and should we keep secrets? [25:00]
• Why we need to talk to each other [30:00]

Links mentioned in this episode:

• How to contact: Dear Divorce Coach
• Should I stay or should I go on Amazon
• The 7 Days To Ignite Your Spark Planner

Other ways you can enjoy this episode:

Download the full transcript

Download on iTunes (and give the show some love by leaving a review)

In today’s episode #20 I am bringing back: The Empty Nest Syndrome episode #5 because it was hugely popular.

Since we are talking about new beginnings this month, it was essential to start with something that many women are struggling with.

A new beginning can be anything that impacts your life and requires you to change gears and perhaps stops you in your tracks.

This change requires us to think about how to move forward without being left behind or even leaving ourselves behind.

In today’s podcast, I will share my tips and strategies on how you can begin anew after the nest is empty .

Before we get started: I wanted to tell you that I have a surprise announcement for you at the end of today’s podcast so stick around.

Check out these highlights:

• How does the empty nest syndrome impact many of us? [4:45]
• How to start coping with the empty nest? [11:31]
• 3 Empty Nest Survival Tips [17:40]

Here are links to the free bonuses I promised:

Make sure to mark you calendar for the next podcast in two weeks and don't miss out.

Ciao,

Heike

Today in episode #19 we talk about four common nutrition myths that are plain old nonsense.

There is no such thing as bad foods. Not every diet is right for each person, and pre-existing health conditions may limit which foods you can eat. We are so confused by all the information out there and what you should or shouldn't eat seems to change every season.

Check out these highlights:

#1 Myth - Bread makes you gain weight

There are so many choices when it comes to bread. But what is the best bread and how nutritious are they? [3:50]

Myth #2 - Carbs are bad for you

The first thing most people do when they want to lose weight is cut carbs, making carbs the bad guys. [7:53 ]

Myths #3 -  Avoid all sugar including fruit

Some diets call for the complete elimination of sugar including fruit. The reason for the eliminations are just ridiculous [11:00 ]

Myth #4 - Eating protein makes me fat

Many women shy away from eating protein and seem to think that protein is high in fat and calories. We want to save calories and get leaner in our battle to get rid of belly fat. [13:32 ]

So there you have it the four nutrition myths that are plain old nonsense.

If you are ready to take charge of your healthy lifestyle why don’t you start with my free training: Eat your way to a spunky body.

Ciao,

Heike

Well, hello there, and welcome to another episode of the Pursue Your Spark podcast. I'm your host, Heike Yates, and today, in episode #18, we talk about how to never diet again and get lasting results.

Every season, there's a new diet on the market that seems so good, you just have to try it. But there are better ways to a healthy lifestyle. Today's episode has an exceptional bonus, so stick around until the end, and I tell you what it is.

My approach may not be for everyone, and that's okay, but if you are the woman that fits my training philosophy of sustainable nutrition and fitness programs, and not a quick fix, then you my friend are at the right place.

Many diets are so rigid. Eat this, not that. Eat at this time, and eat these specific amounts. It's time that we talk about how to never diet again and get lasting results, no matter what happens in your life. And a lot can happen that changes everything.

Currently, we are in the sexy bikini season. You see enticing ads pop up everywhere, promising you flat abs, a perky butt, or a thigh gap. It seems that you can get very specific results in only 3 or 7 or 21 days.

Thinking of the bikini season, you may roll your eyes secretly, thinking, "Oh my God, I can't even think about a bikini. I'm still trying to lose the weight from the last diet I tried." So you see, the bikini diet is then followed by the Thanksgiving diet and other holiday diets.

It's exhausting to think about that rollercoaster that we subject ourselves to. The guilt of why we can't reject eating all the foods we are not supposed to eat. The shame of having to admit that we failed a diet again. But results don't happen overnight, even if we wish they would.

Many women are looking for real and lasting results. They're tired of the roller coaster diets and the constant worry that all the weight will come back faster than they lose it, leaving them exhausted and hopeless with the frustration that nothing ever works. Does that sound familiar?

These are the women that want something different, something that will last, not the quick fixes for each season. You see, in my programs, I'm showing my clients how to gain the confidence they need to make the right choices to lead a healthy lifestyle and how those choices will last well beyond our training together. My programs are not for elite athletes or high-level fitness competitors.

They're also not for people that have all the accountability they need. They got it together; they know what they do, what to do, and how to change things around. And my programs are not for those that never struggle with nutrition and exercise in their life.

Let me take a moment to tell you about Anne.

When I first met Anne, she was interviewing me quite specifically. She told me, "I don't want to be on another diet. I have been on many diets. I need motivation to exercise. I have no energy. I have a very stressful job, and a long commute and I'm not sure if I really make the right choices, because I've relied on the diets that I'd been going through and I don't want to be a skinny thing. I just want to be strong and healthy."

Before Anne came to me, she already had lost quite a bit of weight on her on, but was stuck and didn't know what to do. She had to get up at five in the morning, drive to work for an hour, work all day, and then was home by about 7:00 or 8:00, and sometimes, worked even later because of the stress at work. Her stress was out of the roof! She had made no time for herself. No time to actually think about food, so drive-thrus were a regular occurrence for her, but she was so determined to get healthy and fit.

As we started working together, I got to know Anne better, and I could learn about her preferences. I learned that she hates skim milk in her coffee, so we had to make some changes that allowed for her to lose the weight gradually as she had planned, but in a way that was not eating yucky foods or drinking her coffee without her whole milk, but enjoying life and fitting it in her crazy work schedule.

Anne was so determined and enthusiastic about her program and working with me. We both knew we would reach the goal because we held her accountable for all her actions. We made sure that she filled out her nutrition blog, that she followed the guidelines that fit into her crazy lifestyle.

Slowly but surely, she started walking. Her cardio before was non-existent, and she started walking one block, then two blocks. It was really exhausting at first, and she felt like, initially, she wasn't getting enough food, based on the portion sizes she had initially eaten, or the foods that she had chosen that didn't give her energy. But as time went by, the program designed for her helped her lose weight, start getting fitter, putting on some muscle mass, losing fat, and started, to run, which was impossible in her mind.

She ended up running a 5K, and truth be told, we actually ran it together! It was so rewarding for me as a coach to see one of my clients thrive and gain the confidence in fitness and nutrition.

She now has the tools to live a healthy lifestyle. She knows how to work with her diet and her exercise to reach the goals that she had set out to do. I just love telling that story.

So you see, my mission is to really understand your needs and deliver methods that work for you. I'm not here to stand next to you, holding your hand while you workout or showing you how to cook your meals. My programs keep your lifestyle in mind, and what you can realistically achieve, so it's doable and not confusing and hard.

An excellent place to start to get to know me and most importantly, where I can begin to get to know you, is by joining our private Facebook group, The Art of Igniting Your Spark. You will meet other supportive and positive women just like you that want to kick ass in their life.

So you may say, "But Heike! How long might a program like this take? I have all these other obligations. I don't lose weight as fast as the other XYZ Program? My life is way too crazy to cook and shop for food. The drive-through is so much easier. I don't have hours to spend working out. I have to get in shape first to start your program!"

You know what? My programs are about taking small, actionable steps. Repeating those steps will lead to changing your habits, and those habits will last. Instead of another diet, start with making the change a lifelong habit and not a seasonal approach.

You see, my programs are for women who want lasting results and for women that will not put their life on hold for another diet.

Why not start with my 7 day “Pursue Your Spark” planner? In this program I focus on accountability, measurable results, maintaining your lifestyle and overcoming obstacles.

The women in my programs are gaining confidence in their fitness abilities, they are getting stronger and feeling healthier in their bodies, and they are starting to understand nutrition and how to eat for a healthy body. Ditch the diets and never look back.

It all starts with simple, actionable steps leading to lasting results that you can do no matter what the circumstances in your life are. So there you have it. How to never diet again and get lasting results.

If you listen to my show and love the show, give it five stars and write a review on iTunes. You can do it right now. I really appreciate that you're listening, and if you leave a review for my show before June 1st, you will have a chance to win my Seven Days to Ignite Your Spark planner. I will pick three people from the reviews that will get the planner free, plus they will have the opportunity to work with me through a private Facebook group for seven days.

So go ahead, leave a review and a chance to win. Until then, I'll see you next time. Ciao!

Leave your review HERE and win.

Today's episode #17 is about how to instantly boost your diet without having to try another meal plan and what steps you can take to confidently make healthier food choices.

Many women think that a crazy meal plan is the answer to their prayers in transforming their body, and you see the promise advertised everywhere. You may have tried diet after diet and keep searching for the next one because the last crazy diet you tried did not produce the results you desired, or the results only lasted throughout the program and then you were right back where you started. What did all those diets have in common? They all came with a meal plan that you followed (more or less).

I have tried many diets, and the reason I tried diets is that my clients say, "Heike, what about this particular diet, is it going to work? Is it going to bring the results that I want?" So I decided the best way to check stuff out is to put myself on those diets. Every one of those diets came with a precise meal plan, eating at a particular time, specific amounts of food, drinking a specific amount of water or taking certain foods out of my diet, and the pounds did fall off. It started with mostly water loss first, then I got raging headaches, and I had no energy to do all my exercises, but I figured it was all for a good cause (showing you what diets and meal plans are all about). But the big problem with these diets was that once I started eating normal and regular (healthy) meals, the weight came back almost instantly.

So I have my own experiences with following specific meal plans, that took me years of exploring and studying to find out what really works when it comes to healthy eating and learning why meal plans usually don’t produce lasting effects.

I have to be honest with you. Yes, I did write meal plans for years because I thought that was what you needed to do. I write exercise plans for my clients, so it makes sense that I should write a meal plan too, right? After all, that's what my clients wanted, a meal plan for them to follow exactly. Meal plans are like having a precise prescription: eat this not that, eat this amount at this time. They’re very specific and usually very limiting.

Let me give you an example of what a typical meal plan might look like, and it might look familiar to you.

Breakfast - 7:30 AM: 1 breakfast taco (3 eggs, 1 cup mixed veggies, 1 wrap), plus one cup of tea or coffee and 1 glass of water

Lunch - 12:30 PM: 1 tuna salad (4 oz tuna, 2 cups lettuce, lemon for dressing), plus 8 oz of water

Snack - 4:30 PM: 1 scoop of whey protein mixed with a half a cup of water and 12 oz of water

Dinner - 7:00 PM: 4 oz chicken, 2 cups of cooked vegetables, 1 small baked potato and 8 oz of water

You might think, “That's great! Now I have a plan. I don't have to think about it anymore.” It's laid out there in front of you; you just eat that every day. That's what I eat. Easy to follow, I can do this.

Lots can go wrong, and the struggle is real.

It starts with shopping. So you get all the essential ingredients that you need for your new meal plan, and you put it together in a list and the shopping starts, where to find all those ingredients? Are they the right ingredients? One store doesn't have it so let's go to the next store. You end up with running around, spending a lot of time finding these ingredients to go with your new meal plan.

Then second is cooking. So now you're home with the meal plan that comes with recipes, and you say, “I can do this.” You start cooking, but you hate cooking. You really don't know how to cook, and you really don't want to cook, so you end up dreading the cooking process of your meal plan.

Another problem is money. Some of those meal plans are really expensive for all the ingredients you have to buy, and for the foods, you never would buy in the first place. And lastly, nobody in your family wants to eat what you cooked. They look at it, and they just crinkle up their nose and say, "No, thank you. I'm going for the peanut butter and jelly sandwich." This happened to me, so the struggle is real.

Let's look at some of the most common problems with meal plans.

#1 - Not sticking to the meal plan

You get busy, and you didn't buy all the food on the list. You ran around, you tried, but you just couldn't get it together. You work late; you don't have time to cook, you don't have time to shop for potential missing ingredients so you eat whatever you can find. Then there's the birthday party with the delicious cake, and this food is definitely not on your list. Then the kids get sick. I remember when my kids got sick, it was chicken noodle soup for days until everybody was healthy. I'm sure chicken noodle soup is not on a meal plan.

And then the most tricky part I find is when you go on vacation. On vacation you want to relax, you want to de-stress, you don't want to think about what you should or shouldn’t be eating. So you're already defeated saying, "Well, I either don't go on vacation, or I stick to my meal plan," but these struggles are real. It's normal. And despite your best intentions, you're not able to stick to the meal plan because it's so rigid and it doesn't fit your lifestyle.

#2 - You follow the meal plan to a T, but you don't get results

Meal plans are intended to be sustainable only for a short duration. It's usually not a lifelong way of eating. Our body can adapt to a rigid plan of eating for a short time, but not in the long run. Eating a restricted diet for too long can lead to disordered eating or nutrition deficiencies.

#3 - The meals you’re supposed to eat make you wish you hadn’t started the meal plan at all

You don't like the foods on the list, the meals are so repetitive, the meals don't make you feel better, more energized and you're not seeing results as fast as you thought. You conclude that eating healthy sucks and it's way too hard. Sometimes precise meal planning is necessary to reach a goal like if you’re trying to lose weight for a wedding or a fitness competition.

I used to be a competitive bodybuilder, and when I was getting ready for my show, I had to do exact meal planning to the ounce. It was really tough because I didn't go out, I didn't meet my friends, I dreaded going anywhere because I wasn't sure if I could bring my plastic container with food and my two-gallon container of water. It's pretty awkward, I tell you, but I was determined to compete in those bodybuilding shows.

A typical meal would look something like this: 3 oz of turkey breast, 1 cup steamed broccoli, 5 almonds. We usually don't eat like this and weigh every ounce of what we eat, and we don't live our lives like we're in a competition every day.

If you want to eat better, you don't have to weigh and measure your foods and count almonds to see changes. There is no reason for you to live a life eating out of a plastic container like I did to lose weight. Do more of the things you are already doing, but just do them a little bit better. Exchange some not so healthy foods for a better choice.

You can boost your diet without another meal plan, and here is how.

The breakfast boost

You go through the drive through every morning to get your Egg McMuffin and a large coffee with three full fat creamers, chowing it down while driving to work. You get to work hungry because you don't even remember that you ate. Let's try this instead: replace the Egg McMuffin with a whole grain muffin, the creamer with a lower fat version of creamer and grab a yogurt for protein, then sit at your desk eating your muffin and yogurt while reading your email. You're still distracted by reading your email, but you definitely upgraded your nutrition choices. This is a terrific start.

The lunch boost

You hustle over to the deli and grab a Greek sandwich that will fill you up and you know it will give you heartburn later, but, "Oh well, it's quick and easy, and I can work and eat at my desk," you think. Grabbing a coffee will keep your energy up, that's the plan. Let's try this instead, get the Greek sandwich as a salad, put the dressing on the side and have them add more vegetables to your Greek salad, instead of the coffee you usually get, try green tea, it's not perfect, but it's progress.

The dinner boost

It's 8 PM, and you're on the way home from work, cooking the delivery meal that you get every day is out of the question because it’s so late. You know that there are several fast food places that you could stop at to get burger and fries, and you know you have a bottle of wine at home that will help you ease some of your stress from work. Let's try this instead: stop by the grocery store and pick up some rotisserie chicken, go to the salad bar and get a variety of vegetables and an already cooked small potato. This is looking pretty good, and you limit yourself to one glass of wine. Then sit down and enjoy your meal.

The primary goal is not to rely on meal plans, but to boost your diet with healthier choices. It is important to have a healthy relationship with food and not let a plan dictate what that relationship is. If you decide you can't be without a meal plan, remember to use it for a specific purpose, like a competition or a wedding, and to keep it short. Don't let it dictate your life.

My word of caution, if you find your meal plan makes you feel guilty because you keep falling off the wagon: if you are constantly worried about your food intake and if you are restricting food groups to get the results you desire and you stop your social life because you can't fall your diet, then, my friend, it's time to ditch the food plan and consider another option.

So there you have it, how to instantly boost your diet without another meal plan and easy solutions, so you don't fall into the meal plan trap ever again. Do more of the things you already are doing well, just do them a little bit better and exchange some of the not so healthy foods for a healthier version. We're not looking for perfection, but lasting results and healthy sustainable habits. You no longer have to rely on a meal plan to help you lose weight or get in shape, but an easy-to-follow strategy of eating a bit better each day.

So there you have it, my friend. If you found this helpful, then you might like my 7 Days To Ignite Your Spark Planner, the link is in the notes. Thank you for listening today and I'll see you next time on the Pursue Your Spark podcast. Chiao!

Click HERE to get your planner.

Today, in Episode #16, I want to talk about the five ways you can boost your metabolism. Many of us are struggling with the self-diagnosed “slow metabolism.” You may say to yourself: "My metabolism is getting slower. I keep gaining weight, especially around the belly and my motivation and energy are at an all-time low. I guess I'm getting older and that's just the way it is." Does that sound familiar?

But we can change low energy, lack of motivation, and for sure, get rid of that stubborn belly fat. In fact, if you're willing to change a few habits, you can even turn back the clock and build a leaner, healthier body than you've ever had before. Let me show you how you can boost your metabolism today by changing a few habits. I also have a free downloadable cheat sheet for you. My freebie will help guide you through simple daily strategies to boost your metabolism. I will put a link in the show notes so you can get your hands on it. Are you ready to start?

What is a metabolism and what does it do?

Metabolism is the process by which your body converts what you eat and drink into energy. During this very complicated biochemical process, calories in food and drink are combined with oxygen to release the energy your body needs to function. Although your metabolism influences your body's basic needs or your body's primary energy needs, how much you eat and drink along with how much you exercise will determine, ultimately, your weight and your energy levels.

There are 4 factors that determine your individual basal metabolism (the number of calories your body burns just to function).

1. Body size and composition

Higher weight people burn more calories, but people with a higher muscle composition will also burn more calories, even at rest.

1. Your sex

Men typically store less fat, and more muscle than women do at the same age and weight. This means that men usually burn more calories than women.

1. Your age

As you age, you tend to decrease the amount of muscle in your body and increase the amount of fat. This slows down the number of calories you burn.

1. Activity level

Physically inactive people can lose 3-5% of their muscle mass each decade after the age of 30.

Just not fair, right? After the age of 50, I started noticing that it was so much harder to keep myself in shape and I noticed that I had to work so much harder and be more committed. I couldn’t skip exercising, and drink or eat whatever I wanted.

The weight started to creep up. My muscles looked softer and more flabby, and I had to rethink my strategies, saying, "All right. I need to do something different. My metabolism works against me, and I need to get in the game and change things: change the way I eat, change the way I exercise." And I have, just like everybody else, struggled with this. But I've gotten a good handle on how this whole metabolism thing works and how I can boost it, and that's what I want to share with you today.

But, you know what? The big question always remains: "How do I increase my metabolism, so I don't gain weight and feel energized?" So let's get to it. The five simple steps to boost your metabolism that nobody talks about:

#1 - Eat more protein

Protein is essential when trying to lose weight and fat, and here is why. Protein helps you keep that all-important lean muscle mass. Protein significantly increases fullness, which means you feel fuller despite eating less, and eating more protein often causes people to eat less overall.

So the question now becomes, "How do you calculate all of this?" Maintain your total calorie intake, but change your macronutrients. In my Seven Days to Ignite Your Spark Planner, I talk extensively about this process. So for today, what we want to do is increase protein to 30%, drop your carbs to 40%, reduce fat to 30%. Again, you can dial this in using “myFitnessPal” or another calorie and macro-tracking app.

Now, what does the amount look like? For most active women, if you look at the palm of your hand and you say, "Okay, I can eat four to six palm sizes a day." That's how big a serving you can have of good sources of protein (such as fish, lean meats, beans, tofu, chicken, or whey protein). I will also put a link to my favorite protein shake. I just love it. And if I'm on the run and I need to get protein in, my protein shake is the way to go for me. So I'll put a link for you in the show notes.

#2 - Skip processed carbs

Eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables and healthy fats instead. Think of beautiful, colorful vegetables loaded with vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. Water and fiber (also in our fruits and vegetables) help us fill up during meals, stay full between meals, and help you recover faster from your workouts.

Try to eat 4-6 fist-sized servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Then pick from all the fruits you want such as berries, bananas, pineapples, strawberries, and pick any vegetables such as red peppers, tomatoes, spinach, broccoli, mushrooms. And those are just the beginning!

When you’re picking your carbohydrates, think of high quality, whole carbs. Again, 4-6 handfuls of quality carbs such as whole grains, potatoes, oatmeal, quinoa, squash, lentils.

Finally, take into account your fats. Instead of 4-6 handfuls, we’re going to eat 4-6 thumb sizes worth. Think of eating avocados, olive oil, nuts, and seeds.

   Now, for our carbs, we look at the handful. So cup your hand in front of you. Use four to six handfuls of quality carbs. None of that processed stuff. So we're looking into whole grains, potatoes, white and sweet potatoes, oatmeal, quinoa, squash, lentils. So again, a beautiful, wide variety of grains and carbs for us.

#3 - Exercise

You need a mix of strength training and cardiovascular fitness. A combination will decrease your stress and lower your cortisol levels; a hormone responsible for weight gain, especially around the belly. Strength training helps you maintain and eventually gain muscle mass. And, as we heard before, it burns more calories, even at rest. That's a winner right there.

So what counts as strength training? Lifting weights, using stretchy bands, Pilates. You may also want to check out my YouTube channel, Pursue Your Spark, and check out the 3 IN 3 = Fun series. I posted a link in the show notes so you can check out the little video series I started to help you get an idea of what kind of exercises you could do to boost your metabolism.

Cardiovascular training like running, biking, and fast walking, all improve your heart health. The sky's the limit when it comes to cardiovascular training. You want to plan for about one hour a day of exercise. And remember, it doesn't always have to be hard and all out, but consistency is the key. One hour a day every day with consistent strength training and cardiovascular training, you will see the difference.

#4 - Increase your N.E.A.T.

NEAT is Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. This is the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating, or a sports-like activity. So what does it mean? These are activities like walking from your car to the office, performing yard work, or standing. Increasing your NEAT is easy - try using a standup desk, park your car further away, or walk to the park instead of driving. Think about what other things you can do that just a little bit increase your metabolism.

#5 - Sleep

Sleep is as important as nutrition and exercise when it comes to metabolism. Try to get 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night. Some people make us believe that less is better. Do not believe them. It is not true that you become more productive and more energized if you sleep less. In my podcast #12 “How Do I Get More Sleep and Energy?” I share sleep strategies that work. So go check it out!

So there you have it. These are the 5 simple steps to boost your metabolism. I know this can sound like a lot, but start with one item on the list and work on that habit until you feel comfortable with it. New things are always challenging, and it takes time to master them. Remember, don't forget your free Metabolism Booster Sheet.

If you found today's episode helpful and you're ready to go further, then you might like my Ignite Your Spark Planner. It's a 7-day online accountability program where you take small steps to take control of your day. By applying specific and measurable techniques, you will feel energized and reduce your stress by prioritizing balance in your life.

Until then, thanks for being here today and I'll see you next time on the Pursue Your Spark Podcast. Ciao!

Don't forget to get your Freebie!

Your Freebie the Metabolism Booster Cheat Sheet

Get your hands on my 7 Day Planner

Today's episode is all about the 5 fitness myths that just won't die. After 30 years in the fitness industry, I keep shaking my head how the same old questions keep coming up. How many times I’ve heard, "Heike, this is the latest and the greatest. What do you think of this? I just read about it on the internet."

So, today I compiled the 5 top fitness myths that just won't die.

#1 The corset/waist cincher

Now it’s called the waist trainer, and when you guys tell me about these things that you come across, of course, you ask, "Is this really working?"

I didn't know what the waist trainer was to tell you the truth. I had never heard of it. I've written, a couple of years back, a blog on the waist cincher because the same question had come up. So first of all, the waist trainer is not shapewear (like the slips you wear under dresses to make everything look smooth).

It's a thing that cinches you in, like a corset. The promise of the waist trainer is that it will make your waist inches smaller and support your back. It trains your body to get the “hourglass figure.”

I just want to take my head and just shake it violently, because all these claims are baloney. Now, the fact is, if you suck it in, and somebody ties it in, of course, you will look smaller. Now apart from appearing smaller, there are medical issues that come with using a waist trainer. Christopher Ochner who is a weight loss and nutrition expert at Mount Sinai Hospital, and he says if you keep wearing these waist trainers for extended periods of time it can cause crushed organs, compressed lungs, and fractured ribs.

So ladies, please do not fall prey to those celebrity claims, and buy into these weird contraptions that some of them sell. Here's my fit tip for the waist trainer or the lack thereof. You want lasting results, and you want to look slimmer, fitter, trimmer? Here's what you do. Fit tip number one. Spot training doesn't work, so start training all over.

Diet and exercise. Exercise and the right diet will produce results in the long term and are sustainable. No fractured ribs or compressed lungs.

#2 Lifting weights will make you bulky

This one keeps coming up all the time. Many women shy away from weights because somebody told you that you'd get big muscles. Yes, there are a few exceptions for women when they lift weights, they will get bulky because of their body type.

Women our age can hit the weights, and it doesn't have to be big weights. Hormones play a significant role in muscle building, and women have much lower testosterone levels than men mean it is really hard to get “big.”

You also would have to eat mega amounts of protein and lift extremely heavy. You know how I know that? I used to be a bodybuilder. Yep, you heard correctly.

About 20 years ago, my friend decided that it would be a great idea to compete in a bodybuilding competition. We both were personal trainers at that time, and we knew how to train somebody to get fit and in shape, but we decided that, "What would we do if somebody came up and said, 'Hey, I want to be big. Show me how to get big bulky muscles?'"

I trained seven days a week for an hour and a half lifting heavy weights. I also had to eat lots of broccoli, tuna, beans, a little bit of rice, and lots of water.

I got big muscles. I got compliments on my six pack. I dedicated my life to bodybuilding for three years. My kids can tell you about it, how I stood in the living room posing for hours, eating clean, bringing Tupperware to parties.

If you are intentionally lifting and eating to gain significant muscle mass, then it is possible. However, lifting weights with the idea to gain strength will increase your metabolism and help you burn more calories. Strength training also increases bone density and will help reduce the risk of osteoporosis So, don't shy away from the weights, ladies.

#3 Stretching before your workout will make you more flexible

The simple answer is no. This debate has been going on forever since somebody coined the term stretching I'm sure. There is one camp that says stretching is not necessary. We should definitely not stretch before we work, and some swear that stretching is the best thing ever, and others totally ignore it.

But do we need to stretch at all? Most of my clients stretch a little bit here and there. Some more than others, but you need to know that there are two types of stretches. A dynamic stretch and a static stretch. When you stretch, you should feel the stretch, but you should not feel pain. That's very important to know.

One of my friends is a physical therapist, and she always cautions about overstretching. Picture this: taking one of your fingers and bending it away from the palm of your hand. If you do this with me right now, you can feel a little bit of a stretch, but it's not like you're ripping out your finger. This is how your stretch should feel. It shouldn't be really, really hard and really, really bouncy, and aggressive.

I am also a running coach and my clients, my friends when we run together; we warm up with dynamic stretching. We're not just running around the track and warming up. We reproduce similar movements that we will be using in the running part of our training, but at a lower intensity.

So you start walking, and as you’re walking faster, you start to do walking lunges or leg swings. This helps warm up your hips, so you’re more prepared to run. This is the best thing to do before you exercise, but if you like stretching before you workout then keep doing it if it makes you feel good. But always make sure to stretch after exercise. That's the best time to gain flexibility. You're warmed up, and you have increased circulation in your muscles and joints, that’s the best time for static stretching to increase your flexibility. Hold them for about 45 seconds and definitely don't forget to breathe.

#4 All women gain weight during menopause

The simple answer is no. But there are several factors to consider why many women do. For years you've been working out and stayed on top of your nutrition, and you’ve stayed lean and in shape. Then, out of the blue, those strategies just aren't working anymore. I hear it all the time, "I start gaining weight especially around my midsection."

I have to agree that what I have done is not working anymore, so over the years, I had to learn that I needed to change my workouts. I was no longer a bodybuilder or an ultra marathon runner, but I was working out, despite the fatigue, the sleepless nights, the night sweats, or day sweats.

The weight just kept creeping up around the midsection, so I made changes to how I exercise, and how I eat. Your body is now super sensitive to carbohydrates, and fluctuation in blood sugar levels does occur. Your body uses protein less efficiently than before, and building and maintaining muscle is harder.

So, go back to myth number two about weight training and lifting weights. It will not make you bulky, because we're here now in menopause or perimenopause, and you go, "I just can't keep the muscle mass on my body. I am getting rounder in the midsection.”

Here's what I'd like you to consider. Increase the amount of time you exercise from the recommended 150 minutes per week (or 22 minutes per day) to one hour per day instead. Your body will thank you for it.

Eat a variety of vegetables that will keep you full. Kale, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, you name it. There's a ton of vegetables out there that are easily available, that you can throw into your diet, that will help with keeping the weight gain down during menopause. Eat high-quality protein. You have chicken, fish, beans, eggs, and protein powder.

It is a struggle; I give you that. We are all in this together, but we can find a solution, and we can live better with less weight gain, less sluggishness, and feel a lot healthier.

#5 Walking with weights will burn more calories

Every couple of years, somebody happily tells me, "Heike, I just got hand weights for my walking." Oh, you know what? At the yard sale, they just sold those wrist weights that I can now use when I'm walking.

The weighted backpack, or a weighted vest, has also become very popular. Here's what I was just asked recently. "But don't I work harder, burn more calories, and get more toned if I added just 3 pounds of weight in each hand to my walk?"

For every 10 pounds you add to your body weight while walking, so if you hold the 3-pound weights in each hand (6 pounds total), you only burn 5-8 calories per mile.

If you compare that to walking a quarter of a mile, a 150-pound person burns about 20 calories. That's if they're using the 10 pounds, but most of us don't.

Reality check, a glass of wine has 125 calories. Do the math. How much more you have to walk with weights, to get in a glass or two of wine. Now, what is most concerning about this to me, is the risk, the load, and what stress is caused by holding the weights on the different parts of the body. Swinging the extra weight is wear and tear on the muscles.

Instead try to walk faster, walk longer, walk up stairs or hills.

So, there you have it. The 5 fitness myths that just won't die. I'm sure they’ll keep coming back over and over. Did you happen to come across other fitness myths that just won't die, that I haven't thought of?

Thank you for listening to the show. If you’re interested in more content like this, you might be interested in joining my private Facebook group, The Art of Igniting Your Spark, to continue our conversation of fitness, nutrition, and mindset.

So, thanks for being here and I'll see you next time. Ciao!

I'm so excited to have my friend Liz Strom here today on the Pursue Your Spark Podcast. Liz is an author, life coach, a double organ transplant survivor, a speaker, a mom, a mentor, and she helps empower women to go from stuck and stressed, to free and able. That sounds right down my alley. Welcome to the show, Liz. I'm so pumped that you're here!

Liz Strom: Thank you.

Heike: Liz, can you tell us more about yourself.

Liz Strom: Yes, that's what I do. I take people from stuck and stressed, to free and able. A lot of it has to do with envisioning, planning, organizing, and reorganizing life. There's a lot that's happened in my own life that I decided I need to help other people get there.

Heike: You shared with me that you're the creator of EnVision and a forthcoming book called Led By The Unseen. How do they tie in with your company or your work at that point?

Liz Strom: Led By The Unseen is a book that I'm currently writing. The various chapters in that book talk about different things in life that help lead you forward that you can't necessarily see, and it could be something motivational, something spiritual. People that move you forward maybe that you have never met. People that move you forward that come in passing, as well as friends, teachers, leaders, coaches, whatever it is that you have in your life. The different ways in which you receive guidance and motivation is explained throughout the book using my life. That's Led By The Unseen.

EnVision is a program I use within my coaching, and Creative Calm Solutions, LLC is my company. The EnVision part of it is to put people "in" and "vision." In their vision, and it helps them to see what's possible in their life. We do a lot of visualization, and we take people to where they think their future should be, and we sit in the moment, and we talk about what it looks like, what it feels like, what it smells like, who they're with, all the different aspects. Then we decide, "Is it really what you wanted in life? Is this really what you're envisioning? Is this really what feels right to you?" If it's not, we tweak the vision a little bit, so it becomes more perfect if you will. There's no such thing as really perfect, but perfect for them at the moment. Then we work towards it. We create a plan so that they can have a feel better life along the way.

Heike: Do you mostly work with women, men, or both?

Liz Strom: I work with both, but most of my clients are women in their mid-30s and above, but I do have a lot of clients of all age ranges, from 17 to 82. A lot of people just feeling like they're feeling stuck and stressed, or they're not sure what their next steps are going to be.

For example, my 17-year-olds don't know what they want to do in college, or what field of studies to pick up, and I'll help them with that, or sometimes they just want to travel, and they're trying to decide which path to take. All the way to my beautiful 82-year-old clients who are trying to figure out what their next steps in life are after they've been through an entire career. Maybe not a career, but staying home with their children and their grandchildren, and feeling like there's something else they should be doing in life, and so we create sessions around that, figure out their next steps and what makes them feel better, and what they should be doing.

I also speak at corporate events, and I facilitate workshops for men and women within those companies to do some stress management work.

Heike: What did you do before you became the creator of Creative Calm Solutions?

Liz Strom: What didn't I do? I did a lot. I found myself in a lot of support roles. I was an executive assistant to different presidents of different companies, people who owned their businesses, which was fantastic for me because I got to learn the ropes kind of the hard way, figure out what works and what doesn't for them. I realized what I wanted to do, what I didn't want to do, watching their processes. I was also a senior sales manager for Hilton, so I was able to go and meet different people from all over the place. Getting to know people of all different backgrounds and upbringings opened up a lot of things in my mind, and I'm able to reconnect with those people now, which is exciting. A lot of it was being kind of the right hand to somebody else. Figuring out what I wanted to do with my own life, in that role.

Heike: Which brings me to how we met because she was also the operations instigator of the DC Salsa Meetup. Many, many years back, when Liz, and Mario, and Kathy started the Salsa Meetup Group, I joined the group with such amazing, fun people, dancing salsa all over the DC Metro area. Are you still doing that?

Liz Strom: I still am. I love it. I love to see people doing what moves them. You just see people smiling all over the place, learning something new, stepping out of their comfort zone, and there's such a mix of people on the dance floor. Besides the background work of accepting members, sending out messages, and coordinating events, which was fun, I got to be in the front hall, and anytime someone came in, I was the warm, happy face at the front of the door.

I would connect other people, and a lot of time I just met some great people like you at these meetups, and I kept in touch. I wanted to tie everyone together; whether it was at my house, events, potlucks, dinners to now this, we're coming together in this capacity. It's so amazing.

Heike: That is just so fantastic because I remember the days when I was still very active in salsa, which I've now moved into Argentine tango, but I'm still friends with the core group from maybe 10, 12 years ago. Then we meet again in renewed capacities of in business.

Liz Strom: Yeah, absolutely.

Heike: Now, during our time together, you met a man named Rolo. We all were super excited that you met somebody so special, so tell us about your lovely husband, and you've mentioned you have a daughter.

Liz Strom: Yes, I do. My daughter is 17. She's an amazing, creative soul, and right now she's in high school, so it's nice and quiet in the house. I can have a nice office meeting with you today.

My husband Rolo, his real name is Rolando. He is an amazing soul all on his own, and he's also into empowerment and motivation, and he supports me along my journey but has his own things going on, which I love. We both keep busy in positive ways, and when we join together, we kind of create this different force. He has a very different way of going on about life than I do, but it's kind of streamlined. He brings something else to the table that I'm not used to, and I love seeing, and he's just such an open, loving soul.

The funny thing is, I met him through a friend from DC Salsa Meetup named Lisha, and she used to be one of the organizers also, so a happy face at the door.

Heike: Great!

Liz Strom: She moved to San Francisco for the next phase in her life. She made friends there, and I went out to surprise her one year for her birthday, and there Rolo was, just sitting there talking to me. We were friends before anything else began, and then it moved quickly after that.

Heike: I remember when we first met him, everybody was, "What? How did she find this guy? They're perfect together."

Liz Strom: Admittedly, I was resistant to dating for a long time, especially in the salsa scene, because I was an organizer, and I kind of didn't want to get tied up in dating somebody. Maybe it wouldn't work out, and I didn't want to be that one that they did not want to see at events or whatever it was. I held back for a long time with that dating part of my life, and then when I met him, it was just all walls down. There was nothing to be worried about. He just made me feel at ease immediately, and he said I did the same for him. It was a great pairing of two whole people coming together, creating something else.

Heike: I think that came at the right time, because as I shared earlier, you're a double organ transplant survivor, and you're dealing with quite a few health challenges.

Liz Strom: Right.

Heike: Do you want to talk about that?

Liz Strom: Yeah, absolutely. It's part of my journey, and part of why I became a life coach. I have struggled with health issues all my life. I had type two diabetes since I was a child, so most of my growing up contained a lot of restrictions. No eating this, no eating that. Having to take blood tests four times a day at certain times, and insulin injections at certain times. From having low blood sugar reactions to having high blood sugars. Not understanding why, and then eventually understanding why. I was a kid, so I would just eat whatever I wanted to. To have a lot of challenges later in life. Not so much that I was out of control, but because diabetes is a small blood vessel disease that damages things along the way after so many years of having it.

When I met Rolando, he was saying he wanted to date. I was holding back in that aspect because I knew I was getting "sicker and sicker." He told me, "I'm with you because you're you, not because you're sick or you're healthy." I trusted him from that point on, and he was with me the day that I found out my kidney was dying.

Heike: I remember that. Yeah.

Liz Strom: Yeah. It was a tough time, but I had been through so much in life, and I knew I could get through that. I wasn't sure what it was going to look like, so I went through the process with Rolando. Thankfully I was put at the top of the list in my area for organ recipients, and I received a "brand new," kidney and pancreas almost five years ago. Here I am today. I have no diabetes, and I am alive. No dialysis, no problems with my kidneys right now. All my levels are wonderful and going through that process; I knew I had to do something bigger. I couldn't just get away with having these new organs, and not do something with my life. I always wanted to be the one that was known for helping others and developing plans, and my friends come to me for that. I thought, "I need to do this." I needed to train and get there to do what I needed to do, and that's what I'm doing now.

I train under Tony Robbins, and Chloe Madanes, Mark and Magali Peysha, as well as Marie Forleo, Danielle LaPorte, so many other beautiful leaders, and they, have opened my eyes to what's possible in that aspect of coaching. Here I am. I began my own coaching business. I help people with their careers, relationships, stress management, feeling better with whatever's going on currently, if they have health conditions or limitations. That's where my health has taken me. Through all that I've been through, I'm trying to lead other people through it also.

Heike: What is your most significant limitation at the moment physically?

Liz Strom: Physically, I have very low blood pressure. I don't go dancing for that reason, or I dance to really slow songs that make my soul light up. In that capacity, I still have to move and stay healthy, mainly because I have this second chance with the new organs. I do things like 5Rhythms dancing, which helps connect you with your body to figure out what you're feeling, and releasing of emotions, and also taking on the better, bigger ones. I do chair yoga. I do floor yoga, all sorts of things. Sometimes I do regular yoga holding onto a chair, and doing the best that I can.

Heike: I think that's so commendable, because you have such a challenge with all your organs and the dizziness, the sight, and all of this, that you are just not beaten down and give up. I am so crazy proud of you.

Liz Strom: Thank you.

Heike: My heart just sings when I see people who thrive despite all the crap they have to go through.

Liz Strom: Yeah. We all go through things, and nobody I know has had an easy life. I thought, "Well, I know people who have gone through way worse." For example, I've had periods of anemia where I have to go to the hospital, and I have to sit in an infusion clinic and get some iron. Of course, I was complaining at 6:45 AM, going to the hospital, sitting there for 20 minutes to get infusions. When I got there, I'm sitting with children that have leukemia, other sorts of cancers, sitting there for their entire day, and smiling. I said to myself, "You better stop complaining. Do something. Make them feel better. They're going through way worse things than you are." There's always somebody going through something different, bigger, whatever it is. You have to make sure you make it through, and if you've made it through, do something more significant with your life, and that's what I decided to take on and do.

Heike: Because you're also involved with some organizations that you support. Tell us more about it.

Liz Strom: Absolutely. The United Network of Organ Sharing, the National Kidney Foundation, and the American Diabetes Association. I don't know where I'd be if they hadn't published all the information they had online and done all of these charity fundraisers to be able to fund research and events for people going through things as I do. I thought, "I need to give back to those organizations who can make a greater impact nationally, internationally." I decided that through my coaching and my workshops, I give a percentage back to these different organizations. Sometimes it's directly to a patient group. Sometimes it's giving of materials that I have or any kind of services I have to offer. A lot of the times it's the small bit of monetary give back that I can give. I support organizations across the board. Those are the three that I mainly associate with and try to give back for.

This year, I'm doing something called The Goddess Workshop. We are funding clean water efforts. We would all not be here if we didn’t have clean water to drink, so this year we decided to start there. I wouldn't be able to, for sure, because with kidney disease, you need to continually drink water, stay hydrated, keep everything healthy. I went to the cellular level of it all and said, "Okay, what can I do on that aspect, to help other people and other children all around the world get cleaner water access?" This year's workshop is dedicated to that.

Heike: I'll put the links in the notes for the listeners so they can contact you or find out more about the clean water movement.

Liz Strom: Thank you.

Heike: That's so amazing. Speaking of clean water, what do you eat, Liz? How do you nourish your body? How careful do you have to be?

Liz Strom: The great thing about not having diabetes anymore is that I can eat whatever I want. That's including fruits, any time of the day that I want because as a child, you couldn't do that. Fruits have natural sugar that’s called fructose that raises blood sugar. I couldn't eat that. Now I can. Same thing with milk. If I wanted to put milk in my coffee, I can. Milk has lactose, a long-acting sugar. With kidney disease, for me personally, there are no restrictions. I'm a vegetarian, and the funny thing is, I eat lots and lots of vegetables, and I also eat seafood, milk, and cheese.

When I first had surgery, the surgeons told me, "Okay, you have to watch potassium. Don't eat high potassium foods." Of course, that took away everything I was typically used to eating. Spinach, asparagus, tomatoes, all these things. But I'm able to now. Everything is evened out, so I eat whatever I want, but I'm mainly a vegetarian. I eat lots of fruits and vegetables throughout the day, as well as baked goods. I don't restrict myself because that would feel just like I did when I was a child, very restricted.

Heike: Now, I have to say this, because I follow Liz also on Instagram, so you guys have to follow Liz on Instagram because you know then what she eats. She goes out and eats the most fabulous food, and you think, "Can she eat all this?" And I tell you, what we heard now is, yes you can. But I'm always amazed at your pictures.

Liz Strom: Yeah. Absolutely. You have to infuse your life with things that feel good, experiences that make you feel open and amazing. Literally, I would go on Instagram and put "fun places to eat NYC" as a hashtag and find all the different pictures. I would find somewhere and say, "That's where I want to go." Screenshot it, create a date out of it, and seek it out. This past weekend, for example, I found this beautiful tiny shop in Chinatown called Sweet Moments NYC, and they have the coolest cream art on top of your coffee or tea. There are little happy faces on it. Who couldn't smile? I fill my life with that, and I also teach my clients to do the same thing. You have to make it happen. Plug it into your calendar. Create these sort of trips. You don't want to have regrets later, and this is the way to do it. Live passionately. Seek out these things.

For me, it's traveling, finding these fun little foods on Instagram, or maybe it's a whole meal at these fabulous hotels that I stay in every once in a whole with my husband and daughter. They're also enjoying it, and they're going to live with no regrets or as few regrets as possible. This is the fun I have in life, and yes, no restrictions. I can't admit to eating the whole thing of pasta that you see; sometimes I portion it out.

Heike: I just remember the little dumplings that you posted this weekend on Instagram. Guys, you have to see that. Oh my god. Makes you want to jump in and eat it.

Liz Strom: Yes, we went to a dim sum place in New York, and we were so excited. When they brought out the egg custard tarts, they were these little piggies, and you just couldn't help but smile.

Heike: That's so fun. That was my next question. What ignites your fire? What sparks your day? What recharges you?

Liz Strom: Food is one of them. Travel is another. People, I love people. I'm an extrovert primarily, with a lot of introverted tendencies. I like to do a lot of introspection and things, but I love people. I love sunshine. I infuse this into my life on a daily basis. I can tell you the first thing I think about is the cup of coffee I'm going to make, because that lights me up, and having little things plugged in through my day. Having conversations with people like you that are amazing, that lights me up. I love YouTube, so I'll go on there and find different people who are inspiring, listen to their stories, and it lights me up to do something more. Water; can't live without water.

Movement, music. I love dancing in my own way now, so I'll turn up the music and dance in between chores or cleaning.

Heike: Oh, you should come to my house, dance a little bit around my house.

Liz Strom: Well, I make my husband and my daughter dance with me too. I can't take all the credit for that, but I add it in. I just infuse it into my daily life. From the small things, from my coffee in the morning to great things, like going to conferences for people who move me, and taking that and using it with my clients, so many things in between.

Heike: I know that we both share a love for traveling because I always check where Liz has been, and then I see the pictures she had, and how she got there. So you just recently went Milan correct?

Liz Strom: Yes.

Heike: I said, "Wow, you went to Milan, just out of the blue?" And she says, "This lights me up. This recharges me. Traveling, seeing new things, eating different foods." Along your travels, you have some gorgeous pictures of you.

Liz Strom: Absolutely. We went to Milan, and this was on a whim. We found a great deal, so I just went with my BFF. We created some plans around it and other things we just did on a whim. People watching, different cafes. A lot of people think of Milan, Italy's experience to be buying expensive things. My Milan experience was, "Let's hire a photographer, take pictures of the big, beautiful Duomo in the background to remember the cathedral that we visited, and climb the steps all the way to the top."

Heike: Wow.

Liz Strom: Then we stood at the top, and looked over the entire city. We took a day trip to Switzerland, and we went up the Alps in a little red train, and just really enjoyed what we were doing.

Heike: I love it. You just sparked me up. When I look at your Instagram and your Facebook, you always make me smile. You make me think with thoughtful posts, and spark my imagination. That's why I'm so happy that we are in touch, that we are friends, that I can get some of your energy and pass some of my energy on to you. It's so, so important to be around people like that because we hear a lot of negativity from people - how stressed they are, any of their problems. But to stay on top of that, and overcome this negativity, this stress, the unhappiness, is a hurdle for us too. We're not just always like, "Yoo-hoo." Happy people. We have our ups and downs.

Heike: Tell us, what is your plan for the future? Where do you see yourself going with your company?

Liz Strom: You have to start with the small tidbits if you will. Right now, I'm trying to finish everything I can with Tony Robbins and Chloe Madanes. I knew right after all of these training sessions ended with Tony Robbins I had to do something else to move me, so I'm going to do yoga challenges, and I'm going to go to more events, and things that move me. Next year, I already have three significant events that I want to attend and go to, so I decided to plug that into my calendar already. Tickets are not available, but I know what day those open, and I can plan that.

Then in my business, through all the experiences that I've had under my belt, as well as what I'll learn going forward, I know I can make that explode. Right now, I know I'll be speaking to more companies, helping their employees to manage their stress. I can't tell them to reduce it, but I can help the management manage that to create more of a work-life balance. I know that I'll be traveling more doing that. There are many, many, many companies in the Washington, D.C. area, but I know that I have not to limit myself there, so I envision myself traveling more, doing these workshops, meeting new people. Also, volunteering my time, because I don't only want to give back being paid if you will. I also want to be there for people. For example, with those cancer patients in the infusion area, I want to be able to sit with them, play games, make them feel better, whatever they have the energy to do, and volunteer in that aspect, and just sit and be with friends and family.

I have these bigger plans, and then I have these smaller plans that I've plugged into my calendar, so there's a lot there.

Heike: Yeah. What would you say as a takeaway for our listeners, for all the active ladies who pursue their spark?

Liz Strom: Live passionately. That is one thing that strikes me today. I think every day I feel a little bit of this, "you have to live passionately" part. It can feel a little cliché because people don't know what to do with this "live passionately" thing in their lives. They want to, but they don't know how to do it. Plug it in. Find things that move you. Find events that move you.

Whatever it is, plug that in in your calendar, find out when tickets come out, go, and that will be the starting point in your journey. Along the way, you'll find things that light you up, and you'll meet people that move you, and you'll go on Instagram and find those little foods, and that's the way you live passionately. Plugging these things in that you want to do, with the people you want to do it with. Don't leave it to chance, because you'll say, "Yeah, I want to go to the Beyonce concert, and probably with my best friend. Back to work." And they don't plug it in, and it never happens.

Heike: Very true.

Liz Strom: Live passionately, plug it in, and along the way, all these beautiful things will just kind of erupt, and your heart will keep exploding in these amounts, and life will feel a lot better to you. Plug it in, live passionately.

Heike: Now, how can people who want to live passionately reach you?

Liz Strom: Absolutely. I'm all over social media. I love connecting with people, even online. My website is www.LizStrom.com. My Instagram and Facebook are both pages are @LizStromOfficial. If you don’t like talking over the phone you can email me, or we can do face-to-face, whatever you prefer, my email is [email protected].

Heike: I’ll, of course, post them all in the show notes, so don’t rush to get your pen and paper! I am so excited we made this happen after all this time. It just popped into my head that I wanted to share you with my audience.

Liz Strom: Thank you so much. I am so very grateful for you, for all you do in the world. For all that are listening and want to do something more with your life, plug it in, make it happen, and it will.

Heike: I love that.

Liz Strom: Thank you.

Heike: Yes. Thanks, and I'll see everybody else on the next Pursue Your Spark, and thank you again.

Find Liz on Instagram

Liz Strom.com

See you next time,

Heike

Join The Art Of Igniting Your Spark CLICK HERE

To share your thoughts: - Leave a note in the comment section - Ask a question over at heikeyates.com

To help out the show: - Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and review are so appreciated, and I read each one.

- Subscribe to iTunes or get the mobile app to get the latest updates  Not sure how to leave a review on iTunes?

In today’s episode, we talk about how to overcome perfectionism.

I have to admit, I'm a bit of a perfectionist myself, and it can be a curse. I'm frustrated when things don’t work right away. I have no patience for that.

Many of us are professional women or business owner, like myself, and we're dealing with business-related perfectionism. So today we're moving a little bit away from the home and house perfectionism and focusing more on work.

The curse of the perfectionist too is to make things better. Nothing is ever good enough.

"It could be better if ..." you say in your head.

"I work more on it. I spend more hours on it. If I had prepared just a little bit better."

So as we're trying to be perfect, we're trying to live an ideal life or have perfect presentations. What happens when we're trying to be perfect? It causes tremendous stress. You're stressed about everything because nothing seems to gel together, nothing seems to work, nothing seems to flow. There's always something that could be better.

So here are my three strategies to overcome perfectionism.

#1 - Don’t pull the plug if something isn’t working right away

Don't pull the plug right away. See what is working and what isn’t working.

#2 - Forgive yourself for not being perfect

Pat yourself on the back for the things you nailed. Whatever it may be, pat yourself on the back and do not forget to ask yourself, “Did I achieve my purpose?” It is so much more meaningful than you think.

#3 - Set goals that are specific and measurable, but also realistic

Do the best you can, forgive yourself for not being perfect. It's okay. Learn from your mistakes. Others do and you will only grow, and grow, and you will enjoy the process of this growth.

With that in mind, thank you for being here again. I love having you here, and I appreciate that you're taking out the time in your busy day to be with me here and listen to everything I have to share because I am so pumped that I'm able to use this medium to share all I have.

So with that, until next time, take care. Ciao! Heike

Love your day,

Heike

More about Pursue Your Spark

Find us on Facebook

To share your thoughts: - Leave a note in the comment section - Ask a question over at heikeyates.com

To help out the show: - Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews are so appreciated, and I read each one.

- Subscribe to iTunes or get the mobile app to get the latest updates