Small Steps

One of the larger hurdles to healthier eating, cooking at home or meal prepping can be figuring out WTF to cook! In this episode, I provide a few options you can try to figure out how you can figure out what to cook each night or week, depending on what could work for you in this season of your life.

Small Steps in the Show:

• Look at what's going on in this season of your life
• Decide what would be the best approach or approaches to try right now
• Try one for a week or two, see how you like it
• Adjust as needed, maybe try a different approach or a blend of the two
• Check in with yourself as weeks pass and see how you like it
• Practice kindness and compassion for yourself
• Adding fun to cooking and figuring out what to cook

Mentioned in the Show:

Buy my Enamel Pin

HelloFresh

Green Chef

Sun Basket

The Fresh 20

Real Plans

Steph Gaudreau

Nom Nom Paleo

Autoimmune Wellness

Local Harvest

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We all tap into our strength in different ways and for a lot of people, strengthening their physical bodies is the key to strengthening their minds as well. Today I talk with Maria Rodriguez of Fear Her Fight Athletics about how strength training opened doors within and outside of her, and how she pays that forward with coaching, her company and bringing folks together to stand more in their own strength.

About Maria Rodriguez

Maria Rodriguez is a strength coach and founder of the clothing and empowerment company, Fear Her Fight Athletics. After moving from Tuscon to Tacoma and discovering powerlifting, Maria dedicated herself to sharing the power of strength training and taking up space with her clients and community. She created Fear Her Fight Athletics and the Womxn's Strength Summit, a two day strength conference to continue to spread that message of strength and solidarity, especially to traditionally marginalized folks.

Small Steps in the Show:

• Turn off your phone
• Write things out in on paper
• Unwinding with something that helps you like sleep, weed, nature or a shower
• Do something that has nothing to do with work
• Spend quality time with friends and/or yourself
• Look at your own things on the inside
• Remove as many things as you can that don't make you feel strong
• Get curious on why you put up with what you put up with
• Focus on inner healing
• Go to therapy if that's accessible to you
• Take medication is that's helpful for you
• Stay hydrated

Mentioned in the Show:

Buy my Enamel Pin

USAPL Trans Ban

Womxn Strength Summit

Chrissy King

Here on Purpose Shirt in Maroon, Black, Unisex

Donate to Fear Her Fight

Tacoma Strength

Fear Her Fight Website

Follow Fear Her Fight Athletics on Instagram | Facebook

Follow Maria on Instagram

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So often we can have goals to get healthier and while we can keep some consistency for a little bit, it falls off and we beat ourselves up for not following through and "being lazy." In actuality, those health goals can be not as deeply meaningful to us, which is why we don't stick with them. In this episode, I talk about how you can get really clear on why you want your health goals, aligning those with your personal values and how to move forward with both of those.

Small Steps in the Show:

• Journal out why you want this change and keep asking why you want it until you feel like you're clear on what that is
• Do a values exercise to see what your values are
• Look at your whys behind getting healthier to your values together and see if they're aligned
• Decide if you want to pursue getting healthier or not
• Potentially adjust your whys or just keep living your life
• If they do align, think about what you can add to your life
• Look at the bigger picture of your whole health and see what needs adjustment there too
• Choose 2-3 areas to focus on for a set period of time
• Reach out for support from friends, family and professionals if that's supportive and accessible to you
• Check in with yourself and adjust as needed
• Have lots of kindness and compassion for yourself

Mentioned in the Show:

Buy my Enamel Pin

Small Steps Podcast #37: Reminders about Summer + Diet Culture

Small Steps Podcast #17 What is Diet Culture?

Values Worksheet from The Small Eats Circle

Small Steps Podcast #39: Where to Start Your Health or Healing Journey

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Planning a wedding can easily go from excitement to sheer dread for so many reasons, from the cost to the coordination to what you're going to wear on the big day. While planning a large event is a lot of work, wedding planning can be a whole other thing because of all of the expectations and standards that come with. My guest, personal trainer and newlywed Vanessa Checchio of Barbata and Barbells in on the show to share her experience dress shopping, how slippery the diet culture slope is with dress shopping and wedding planning, and how you can step outside of that.

About Vanessa Checchio

Vanessa Checchio is a personal trainer, fitness instructor, writer, a PitBull mama and a believer that there is always some type of calm within chaos. Her focus is to empower her clients to see their true potential in the gym or in their fitness businesses. Vanessa is also a lululemon ambassador, a contributor for Hoboken Girl, a PitBull mama to Nola and Frankie, and a coach at Intrepid Gym in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Small Steps in the Show:

• Think about what you want to wear first.
• Remember that what you wear is just a piece of clothing.
• Your outfit can come from wherever you want it to come from
• You can wear whatever colors you want
• Check in with yourself throughout the planning process
• Get clear on what your values are for your wedding
• Keep checking in with your core values as you plan
• Think about planning as an addition to your day, not your whole day
• Keep the rituals that are meaningful for your mental health first over planning
• Plan meetings or fun dates to talk about planning with your partner
• Remember to keep things fun and that this day is about you and your partner

Mentioned in the Show:

Buy my Enamel Pin

Saying "I Guess" to the Dress, Part 1 and 2

Saying "I Guess" Finally Turned into "Yes"

Stupid Wedding Standards IGTV, Part 1

Stupid Wedding Standards IGTV, Part 2

Neghar Fonooni

Bachata and Barbells Website

Follow Vanessa on Instagram | Facebook

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Moving forward in your health and wellness goals goes beyond what's on your plate, your sleep and how you're moving. What you're saying and thinking about yourself can really make a difference in making changes more permanent or easier. This episode is an invitation to check in with the language you're using about you, your body and your food, and if it's not helpful for you, how to adjust.

Small Steps in the Show:

• Choose 1-2 things to look for (especially if you know you say some of these things often)
• Choose an amount of time to start noticing and recording as much as you notice (3-5 days could be enough time to get data without being overwhelmed)
• Record what you said on your phone in the notes app or small notepad.
• After your experiment time is over, notice how much you said or thought it
• Hold kindness and compassion for yourself
• Think of other things to say or think instead or to say right after if it comes out automatically
• Come up with 2-3 phrases, write them down if you need to, tell people you trust you're working on saying new things instead
• Practice and give yourself a lot of kindness and compassion as you practice and relearn
• Notice and celebrate when you do catch yourself and say a new phrase
• Look into where these thoughts come from, if they come from you, a moment or person in your life through journalling or with a therapist
• Check in if those thoughts align with what you want and believe
• Remind yourself of what IS important to you

Mentioned in the Show:

Buy my Enamel Pin

Negativity Bias

Small Steps Podcast #2 with Steph Ondrusek

Taylor Gage of She Thrives

Dr. Tee Williams

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CBD is one of the hot new things in the wellness world. From tinctures to drinks to lotions to pet products, you can find it in so many products. But what exactly is it? How could it help? How does it make you feel? Nadya Pecherskaya of Icaria is on the show to answer all of my CBD 101 questions and why it's best as an addition to your life, rather than something that will "solve all your problems."

About Nadya Pecherskaya

Nadya Pecherskaya is a nutritionist and a passionate wellness entrepreneur. Years of overworking and burn out, she realized that diet and exercise alone weren't enough to reduce her stress levels. In search of better work/life balance, she discovered CBD oil which had a profound effect on her life. Since then Nadya made it her mission to share the health benefits of this compound by starting a CBD oil company ICARIA which makes oil for busy female professionals.

Small Steps in the Show:

• Think about CBD as a supplement
• Look into customer and online reviews of CBD brands and products
• Do your research on the company and see how communicative and help they are (or aren't)
• Check the ingredients that are with the CBD and see if that aligns with your health and personal values
• Look into third party testing and who tests it
• Ask questions and meet the owners if you're looking at smaller CBD companies
• Consider taking it first thing in the morning
• Get very clear on the intentions and motivations for taking CBD
• Add in other healthy practices for yourself (depending on what you want and need)
• Look at the other things in your life that may need shifting, small steps or additional support so you can see what might need to be adjusted

Mentioned in the Show:

Buy my Enamel Pin

Charlotte's Web

Soul CBD

ICARIA

Follow Nadya on Instagram

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I answer one of the most common questions I get as a nutritionist: How do I eat healthier? While it seems like a simple question, the answer isn't as straightforward as you would think. I've got 5 small steps you can try and start to eat healthier in a way that works for you and aligns with what you want.

Small Steps in the Show:

• Define what healthy and healthier means to you
• Pick one of the 4 other things suggested: adding veggies to your plate, in season produce, more protein, prepping ahead of time
• Try that for a week or two and see how you feel
• Consider keeping on to feel more confident or try adding one other for a while
• Get clear on how often you want to add it on
• Check in with yourself to see how you like, how it's feeling

Mentioned in the Show:

Buy my Enamel Pin

Small Steps Podcast #44: Steph Gaudreau

Small Steps Podcast #17: What is Diet Culture?

Local Harvest

Small Steps Podcast #35: 6 Steps To Stop Feeling So Hungry All The Time

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Birth control has long been seen as a rite of passage or a way to take control of your health. While it can be helpful, we often aren't told enough (or anything) about what it can really do to our bodies and the side effects of it. Going off of it seems scary, too, after all of the fear around getting pregnant when we're not ready. My guest Cindy Luquin talks about what the pill does, how we can find a hormone-suppressant free way to know our cycles and reconnect with our bodies.

About Cindy Luquin

Cindy Luqin is a Latina, wife, scholar, holistic menstrual coach/ educator, reproductive justice activist and fertility awareness educator. After having ovarian removal surgery from an ovarian cyst, Cindy took charge of her own health and is now dedicated to helping other people learn about their bodies, fertility and cycles.

Small Steps in the Show:

• Explore your curiosity around getting off the pill
• Find books that can give you more knowledge (so many in the section below!)
• Find support (other people in your life, groups on social media)
• Choose ways of learning that work with your life and doesn't feel like a job or chore
• Consider working with a professional
• Find out which method a professional would teach and ask for clarification
• Ask for recommendations in groups or use hashtags to find other professionals
• Look at the Association of Fertility Awareness Practitioners for an online directory
• Journal out your hesitations and fears about getting off the pill, trying something new
• Schedule your physical and well woman exams annually

Mentioned in the Show:

Buy my Enamel Pin

Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler

Fertility Awareness Method

Rhythm method

The Fifth Vital Sign by Holly Hendrickson-Jack

Lara Briden

The Period Repair Manual, 2nd Edition in English

The Period Repair Manual, 2nd Edition in Spanish

Holly Grigg-Spall

Sweetening the Pill by Holly Grigg-Spall

Nicole Jardim

Marcia Lopez

Fertility Friday Radio

The Period Party Podcast

Cindy Luquin's Website

Follow Cindy on Instagram | Facebook Community

Subscribe to Cindy's Newsletter

Get the full show notes here!

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In our society, it can be easy to fall into a never-ending cycle of busyness. And while you can get a lot of things done when you're busy, being too busy for too long can have some negative effects on your health and wellbeing. This episode creates the space for you to stop, pause and check in with yourself to see how your busyness is right now and how you can give yourself the rest and nourishment you need.

Small Steps in the Show:

• Take some deep breaths (now and throughout the day)
• Check in with yourself with the questions mentioned earlier in the show.
• If you do find that you're a bit too busy, think on what can you can add to your day to take care of yourself, see what might need to be adjusted (if things aren't aligned with your values)
• See if you can reschedule, delegate or cancel something
• See if you can ask for help on things, if you can, see if you can get help for one thing
• Embrace and double down on the moments of quiet you do have in your day
• Create moments of active rest if you've cleared more space
• Try and cut down on your phone usage during active rest
• Keep checking in with yourself to see if the amount of time you've cleared was enough or if you need more active rest times built in
• Practice a lot of kindness and compassion for yourself
• Take note of what feeling too busy feels like in your life and in your body so you're more aware of it next time.

Mentioned in the Show:

Buy my Enamel Pin

Small Steps Podcast #25 How Are You? A Self Care Check In

Small Steps Podcast #31 How Do You Feel? A Rest Check In

ACLU

The Yellowhammer Fund

Small Steps Podcast #7 Boundaries and Asking for What You Need

Small Steps Podcast #29 Giving Yourself Permission to Ask for Help

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When you've seen that you don't want to play the diet culture games with your health anymore, it can feel overwhelming or confusing on how to take care of yourself and step farther away from diet culture. Steph Gaudreau is back on the show to talk about a holistic, compassionate and approachable way to do that with her new book, The Core 4.

About Steph Gaudreau

Steph Gaudreau's a Nutritional Therapy Consultant, author, blogger, coach, podcaster, and the creator of the former Stupid Easy Paleo. Her mission is to help women create bigger, bolder, fiercer lives — by building health from the inside out. Her upcoming book The Core 4, due out in July 2019, shares her Core 4 pillars of health (HarperOne).

Small Steps in the Show:

• Fill half your plate with vegetables for your meals, consider starting with one meal
• Try doing 10 air squats, 10 push ups and/or 10 sec plank hold
• Walk to the end of your block and back
• Take your work break outside and go for a walk or have a movement break.
• Find a calm space (inside or outside) at work and sit without distraction.
• Pick one specific thing you're grateful for in that day and write it down

Mentioned in the Show:

Buy my Enamel Pin

Preorder The Core 4

Meet Steph to celebrate the launch of The Core 4

Get the Preorder Bonuses for The Core 4

Small Steps Podcast #6 with Steph Gaudreau

The Core 4 Program

Performance Paleo

Taylor Gage of She Thrives

Pat Flynn

The Pat Flynn Show

Harder to Kill Radio with Aimée

Harder to Kill Club Facebook Group

Steph Gaudreau's Website

Follow Steph on Instagram | Twitter

Sign up for Steph's Newsletter

Get the full show notes here!

Follow Aimee on Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest

Sign up for the Wellness Wednesdays Newsletter

Interested in working with Aimee? Find out information here.