Charis and Kristen
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Kristen: [00:00:00] women in general, we love to make things complicated. Everything, our [00:00:05] dinners, our meals, everything has to be complicated. If we're not feeling well, it has to be complicated. We have [00:00:10] to go on this witch hunt for what is wrong with me, when it could be as simple as "Oh, you need a nap."
[00:00:15]
Charis: [00:00:20] Welcome back to the Harness Your Health podcast. I am here with a special guest, [00:00:25] Kristen Morel, today. Kristen, thank you so much for being here
Kristen: Oh, I'm so excited to [00:00:30] be here. I think it's gonna be a really fun conversation especially since we already went [00:00:35] down so many rabbit holes prior to hitting
Charis: I was just gonna say we've already been talking [00:00:40] for about 40 minutes. So I was like at some point we gotta get this
Kristen: we should have just [00:00:45] hit record during the pre-conversation.
Charis: that would've been fun too. It's [00:00:50] so special to have you here. I've been interviewing other collaborators in the book The [00:00:55] Integrated Body, which the e-book is out.
When this episode comes out, we may [00:01:00] be in the launch week. I don't know. I have to figure that out, 'cause I've been interviewing quite a few [00:01:05] people. But regardless, go get the book. It is just [00:01:10] such a wonderful collection of all these experts. When I was thinking about how to [00:01:15] describe all the different people in this book, experts comes to mind, collaborators [00:01:20] obviously, but they're also just wonderful human beings.
Everybody is just so [00:01:25] sweet and thoughtful and kind and it's just been really fun for me [00:01:30] to interview everybody. So
Kristen: Oh, I love it so much. So happy [00:01:35] to be here
Charis: So tell us a, a little bit about who you are [00:01:40] and what you do
Kristen: Yeah. Okay, so I am a registered dietician. I feel [00:01:45] like I'm gonna tell you so many titles right now. I don't even have a name for myself because I'm [00:01:50] just a whole mod podge of so many things. But I am a registered dietician by [00:01:55] education. I'm also a women's integrative and functional medicine practitioner, [00:02:00] and then I have all the rabbit holes that I've gone down: herbalism and somatic [00:02:05] practices, shamanic practices all those things.
And I kinda blend it all up into [00:02:10] one beautiful, amazing package. And I offer that up [00:02:15] for high-performing women, the women who are needing more capacity in their lives, the [00:02:20] ones that are operating at the highest of the high because those are the ones that [00:02:25] really tend to... which is-- This is-- I'm gonna say this, and it's gonna sound really ridiculous, but they [00:02:30] tend to neglect themselves the most.
The mamas neglect themselves too, but women who are [00:02:35] operating at highest capacity, they have zero time. They might be [00:02:40] getting their nails done. They might be getting their hair done and doing the self-care that we're suppo- [00:02:45] that's considered self-care, but there's no self-care of the self the deep [00:02:50] inner layers of self,
Charis: Yeah, the stuff that matters.
Kristen: the stuff that [00:02:55] matters.
Yeah. I work in the world of high performance and functional health.
Charis: I love [00:03:00] it. That's a great way to describe what you do. We will put your website and your [00:03:05] Instagram handle in the show notes so that people can find you there. I think your website [00:03:10] is beautifully done and really does help me to understand what [00:03:15] kind of person you work with. So if you're intrigued, I would go to Kristin's website [00:03:20] and take a look after you listen to this. So I, am a nurse, [00:03:25] so I'm very conventionally trained to not working as a nurse right now. You're not really working as a [00:03:30] capacity of a typical registered dietician.
In my world in [00:03:35] oncology registered dieticians were the ones formulating like the tube feeds or the [00:03:40] TPN. A lot of our patients obviously needed nutrition. It was hard for them [00:03:45] to eat, or the kiddos or whatever. But to me that was what I [00:03:50] always thought a registered dietician was, right? And it's funny because when [00:03:55] I was thinking about getting more education in nutrition, I actually thought [00:04:00] about doing the RD route just because I already had a bachelor's degree in exercise [00:04:05] science, I already had a bachelor's degree in nursing.
I've already done this conventional education. [00:04:10] Why don't I just do it this way? And that is not what happened. I went down a different route, [00:04:15] which I'm grateful for. But tell me a little bit about how you got from [00:04:20] going to RD school and doing that to what you're
Kristen: gosh. Okay. [00:04:25] So to tell that story, I feel like I have to start at the beginning before RD school. And I talk [00:04:30] about this in my chapter. I kinda start with the beginnings of where it all came from. [00:04:35] But I was always fascinated with the world of natural healing. Even as a [00:04:40] kid in high school, I had my best friend growing up, her mom made tinctures.
[00:04:45] She was an herbalist, and she always had these bottles of things laying around the house. And [00:04:50] when we got to the age of getting our periods, she would make us motherwort [00:04:55] tinctures, and she'd have us take these little motherwort tinctures. She's like just take a little bit of this. I promise it'll [00:05:00] make you feel so much better."
And it was, like, the nastiest thing I've ever had, but so [00:05:05] magical. You went from this rage monster, PMSing teenager to "Oh, [00:05:10] I feel so amazing right now." So I was really [00:05:15] interested in this world from a young age. But society [00:05:20] kinda tells us that's not a socially acceptable path to take.
So I [00:05:25] went to college. I went into a random major. Finance seemed like a really good fit. [00:05:30] Can make a lot of money, can work in a high-rise and wear really cool outfits to [00:05:35] work. But it didn't take me long to feel the burnout. I started [00:05:40] feeling really bad. I was super low energy. I lost motivation.[00:05:45]
I was like... I would leave work, and I would feel s- I [00:05:50] just, I wanna crawl in my bed and go to sleep and cry. It just felt like there had to be something [00:05:55] else
Charis: Yeah
Kristen: And it really, I was probably three, [00:06:00] maybe five years in, into my, my working career when I was like, I can't do it.
It's [00:06:05] sucking the life out of me." But I didn't know which direction to go in. I didn't know how to get [00:06:10] out of this hamster wheel that I was on until my [00:06:15] grandmother got very sick, and then it was like, kinda opened back up that [00:06:20] curiosity for the world of natural healing. As I started to dive in and look into different things for [00:06:25] her and how to help her feel better, I was like, "Oh, maybe I could actually do [00:06:30] something."
And I did a lot of research, and I found the most, again, socially [00:06:35] acceptable path for me to go down would be to get my master's degree in [00:06:40] nutrition, and I could be a registered dietician. I could be in the world of more natural [00:06:45] healing and things that felt like it would serve a purpose in the world, and I could make a [00:06:50] difference, but it would be acceptable.
And I could still climb a corporate ladder, [00:06:55] so to speak, and have a salary and be safe. But as I [00:07:00] took those classes I soon learned that is not what was going [00:07:05] to fill my soul at all. It was a great place for me to start, but I got that [00:07:10] degree, and I very quickly started searching what else is there?
There's gotta be [00:07:15] something else. So then I took classes in integrative and functional nutrition, and [00:07:20] then I got a certification in women's integrative and functional [00:07:25] health uh, medicine through Aviva Romm. Aviva Romm opened the doorway to all things, like, [00:07:30] natural for me.
So I went down her rabbit hole, and then she had a course in herbalism, [00:07:35] so I did that. And then I started incorporating all of those learnings into the [00:07:40] practice that I had started once I graduated with my RD. So I went from [00:07:45] practicing strictly clinical nutrition to dripping in little [00:07:50] pieces of functional medicine, and that felt fun and cool and safe and a [00:07:55] little bit rebellious because at that time, functional medicine was kinda a little [00:08:00] naughty, right?
You were a little rebellious if you were going the functional medicine route. So I felt really good about [00:08:05] that 'cause I always had a little rebellious side. But it still felt like [00:08:10] there just was something missing, and [00:08:15] I found that missing piece when I was in... We were deep in [00:08:20] quarantine. I was up in New England, and it was the middle of the winter, and it was freezing, and I would go on these long walks [00:08:25] by myself 'cause there was nothing else to do.
And I was listening to a Gabby Bernstein [00:08:30] audiobook. And I think it was The Universe Has Your Back. And all of a sudden, all the pieces [00:08:35] started clicking into place, like the soul, the spirituality, the nature, all of it, [00:08:40] and it was like everything, everything just made sense for me. So then that opened up the [00:08:45] world of shamanic healing and somatic practices [00:08:50] and earth medicines, and that's...
I just dove completely headfirst for my [00:08:55] own longing, so to speak, my own curiosity and needing. And then I [00:09:00] started bringing that s- very sneakily into my work with [00:09:05] people, and I started noticing holy shit, people are making really big, [00:09:10] massive changes, not just like, "Oh, I lost five pounds, and I did really [00:09:15] good with my portions today."
Which is good stuff. Some people need that, right? But these people were [00:09:20] making really beautiful transformations that had nothing to do with food and their weight. And it was [00:09:25] so exciting, It was just... Sorry, that was a very long way to explain.
Charis: It's [00:09:30] your journey Is an important piece of this, I think. And I think it's [00:09:35] really helpful for anyone listening that wants to [00:09:40] understand the world of holistic health a little bit better. I've explained to you, and [00:09:45] a lot of people know I am a nurse. I'm married to a doctor.
We h- have know a [00:09:50] lot of people in the Western medical model, like a lot of our friends, [00:09:55] and many of them are very curious about my podcast, about what I've [00:10:00] done with, like in this transition into holistic health. And honestly I'm [00:10:05] still weaving my way through my journey, too. So
Kristen: we all aren't
Charis: are a [00:10:10] really important part of that and how we can help people which is really [00:10:15] at the root of all of this, right?
Is us wanting to help people because you don't [00:10:20] get into this usually and work with people if you don't want to help people. [00:10:25] So, You talk a lot on Instagram, and I don't know if you mention this in [00:10:30] the book. I know you and I have talked about it, about how women in particular, [00:10:35] but really the medical model differ- all differing things try and make things [00:10:40] very complicated, and things do not need to be so complicated.
What [00:10:45] are you talking about exactly? Can you explain that a little
Kristen: women in general, we [00:10:50] love to make things complicated. Everything, our dinners, our meals, everything has to be [00:10:55] complicated. If we're not feeling well, it has to be complicated. We have to go on this witch hunt for what is [00:11:00] wrong with me, when it could be as simple as "Oh, you need a fucking nap."
Charis: Tired.
Kristen: you're tired. [00:11:05] It doesn't have to be a complicated explanation to validate your, [00:11:10] how you're feeling. And the Western medicine or the Western side [00:11:15] of healing has definitely made everything so complicated by, and you were [00:11:20] talking about this, like separating the different parts of health into different [00:11:25] categories instead of connecting the whole picture.
And connecting the whole picture [00:11:30] almost seems like it would be more complicated than simplifying it down and breaking it down by body [00:11:35] system. But if we're looking at the whole picture I feel like I need to back up a lot right [00:11:40] now. We overcomplicate things by constantly needing a diagnosis and
Charis: a label.
Kristen: a [00:11:45] label, a diagnosis, a specialist for this, a specialist for that, a medication for this, a [00:11:50] test for that.
A protocol, 17 different protocols with a [00:11:55] prescription medication, a supplement stack. Unless it's complicated, we're not on a path [00:12:00] to healing.
Charis: Yeah. When I emailed you, we obviously were connected somewhat with the [00:12:05] book because we're getting emails and have meetings and things like that. But then I went and looked on [00:12:10] your Instagram, and I think I emailed you and I was like, "We need to talk." Because so many [00:12:15] things that you talk about on there just resonated for me and a [00:12:20] lot of what I am saying to people.
A client might come to [00:12:25] you and have a bunch of different diagnoses or labels or whatever, [00:12:30] and oftentimes what I'm asking them in the beginning is how's your nervous system?" But one of my [00:12:35] favorite stories to tell is I had this client, potential client that talked to me [00:12:40] about working with me, and she had to go to the ER to get bowel prep [00:12:45] to have a bowel movement, like the colonoscopy prep or whatever.
She literally [00:12:50] couldn't have a bowel movement without that. And so she's coming to me to figure out what she should [00:12:55] eat, and I'm asking her, "How is your nervous system?" And she was [00:13:00] like wait, what? That's not part of this,"
Kristen: yeah. Oh, it [00:13:05] is. Almost every single session I have with a client starts with some kind of somatic [00:13:10] practice, some kind of like getting into the body, checking in with your own body, 'cause [00:13:15] we're really good at outsourcing our own knowing to all the experts and [00:13:20] influencers. So every single session, whether it's the beginning, the middle, [00:13:25] it's like, let's check in, see where we're at, see what we're needing.
' Cause you [00:13:30] might come to a session thinking like, "Oh, I need to have a bowel movement," "Tell me what to eat." [00:13:35] But when you actually check in with your body and we slow things down, and we start releasing things, [00:13:40] when we come out of it, it's like, "Oh, I didn't actually need what I thought I came here [00:13:45] for.
It's actually something completely different." And you were [00:13:50] talking about the bowel movement, and I mention this in the chapter in the book. I had this one [00:13:55] client who, oh my God, I love, I loved working with her. I still love her. If you listen to this [00:14:00] later, I wish I could say your name right now, but just know how much I love you.
Charis: [00:14:05] She'll know
Kristen: And one of her things that we talked about a lot, [00:14:10] it came up over and over, was her issue with her bowels. [00:14:15] If she didn't have a bowel movement first thing in the morning, she, her whole day was [00:14:20] ruined.
She couldn't focus on anything else. All she could focus on was like, "I need to [00:14:25] have a bowel movement.
I am gonna be bloated. My energy's gonna be low. I'm gonna be worried about when I'm gonna [00:14:30] use the bathroom next." And that she couldn't think about anything else
And we talked [00:14:35] about this a lot, and one day I was like, "Okay, I think there's something more here other [00:14:40] than just needing to use the bathroom."
So we did a meditation, we did some somatic [00:14:45] work, and it came up like she just was carrying a lot that she needed to [00:14:50] release. There was a lot of external stress, a lot of external pressure that [00:14:55] she needed to rid herself of, detoxify herself of negative thoughts. [00:15:00] Just she needed to release and let go of all that.
And when she was able to do that, she emailed... Not [00:15:05] emailed me, she messaged me maybe a day or two days later, and she was like, "You would not even [00:15:10] believe, like I have had the best bowel movements of my life, but I don't even [00:15:15] think about it. If I get up and I don't have a bowel movement, it's not something that comes to mind, and I [00:15:20] don't walk around feeling heavy and bloated."
I'm like, "I have never felt this slim [00:15:25] in my belly area ever." People are like commenting. My stage, my photo [00:15:30] manager, or I don't remember who it was, but some manager commented on how like I was walking [00:15:35] around with more confidence she'd ever seen and more energy. And she was like, [00:15:40] "I thought it was gonna take so long to figure this out, and really it was just as simple as okay, I [00:15:45] needed to take a minute, check in internally in my own body and not [00:15:50] use my logic head to think of what's...
to understand like what's [00:15:55] going on beneath these layers and release all of that. Acknowledge it and release it." Not even [00:16:00] do work around it. We don't always have to do work around the things that come up when we're in these practices. Like it's [00:16:05] just acknowledge it and release it.
Charis: Yeah. And I've heard also people [00:16:10] mention too if something comes up for you that you're like, acknowledge it, and then you're [00:16:15] like, "I'm done with you now."
Kristen: Yeah. Thank you yep. You served a [00:16:20] purpose at that time, whatever that purpose was, I'm not sure, but thank you for that, and now you can [00:16:25] be gone. I release you
Charis: Exactly. And so [00:16:30] people listening to this might be thinking, "Okay, how do I even think about that for [00:16:35] myself?" And I would say awareness is one of the most important things that [00:16:40] you can do, and people are just literally drilling through their life with no [00:16:45] awareness. One of the things you and I talk...
have talked a lot about and both [00:16:50] believe very strongly in is the power of light and the power of being outside [00:16:55] in nature, or even just if you can't be, like on a trail, that you're... have [00:17:00] your feet in the grass or whatever it is. What is it about that [00:17:05] helps you start to have... bring awareness? Do you have thoughts on [00:17:10] that?
Kristen: For one, being outside in nature does something to the nervous [00:17:15] system. It grounds us, it steadies us, it allows us to get [00:17:20] out of our head a lot of time, especially if we're walking. People think of meditation as [00:17:25] having to sit in a quiet corner on a pillow and close their eyes and listen to something.
[00:17:30] But you can be outside walking, and that's very meditative. Like being by the ocean, listening to the [00:17:35] waves is very meditative. Hearing the leaves rustle, it's very meditative. So it gets you out of your head and [00:17:40] into your body. I will say a lot of people, they like to say they go on walks in the [00:17:45] morning to start their day, but they usually have earbuds in, and so they're listening to other things.
So [00:17:50] that is a one thing I would say don't do that, right? Because you wanna get into the body. [00:17:55] And being outside, there... we're meant to be connected to the Earth
[00:18:00] The beginning of time. We are never meant to be separated. Our feet are supposed to be on the Earth. The [00:18:05] Earth provides us like...
it's like our life source, right? [00:18:10] The light and the Earth are our life source. So it's plugging in your iPhone to the [00:18:15] wall to charge its battery. Your feet being on the Earth is like a [00:18:20] magnetic source, and you're getting all those charges. So it's really... it's doing [00:18:25] more than calming the nervous system.
It's calming the whole body, and it's sending those signals to the body like [00:18:30] you're safe. And the light in the morning, especially if you're [00:18:35] not wearing any glasses or contacts, 'cause contacts and glasses will block that light. But that light is setting [00:18:40] the signal and the tone for your circadian rhythm to start the day.
If you're missing [00:18:45] that light, y- the-- your body is missing that signal, and it doesn't know where it is in the [00:18:50] time span of the day. And so you're starting your day in, in chaos [00:18:55] because the body's scrambling to figure out like, "Oh, okay, what time is it? What systems need to come [00:19:00] online?" So being outside and even getting outside sporadically throughout the day kinda [00:19:05] resets that, and it gives your body another checkpoint of "Okay, this is where we are in life.
This is [00:19:10] what our body needs to be doing right now, and we can calm down a little bit."
Charis: Yeah, [00:19:15] absolutely. I always explain the circadian rhythm and the light part too is [00:19:20] it starts in the morning, it starts a whole cascade of hormones that [00:19:25] regulate you throughout the day metabolically, in a digestive [00:19:30] capacity. Like, all of your hormones are interconnected, and they l- [00:19:35] oftentimes are centered with your brain, and your brain is the one receiving the light.
It [00:19:40] comes through your eyes, but that's the signal, right? If you do this regularly ... when I [00:19:45] first started doing this, I understood it. When you hear about it, you're like, "Okay, I got it." [00:19:50] But when I did it consistently, I would say maybe for five to seven or eight days in a [00:19:55] row, as soon as I would go outside, I'm, like, awake.
And [00:20:00] when I first started, the first couple days I was kinda groggy, and that was the whole reason I [00:20:05] did it is because I wasn't sleeping super great. I was like, "I'm just gonna try this. It's [00:20:10] not hard. It's free. It's outside. I
Kristen: your coffee with you.[00:20:15]
Charis: Exactly. And my dog, she's always down to go outside for [00:20:20] a short little walk or whatever in the morning.
And so as soon as I started doing it [00:20:25] consistently, which I think is one of the most important pieces to anything that you're doing, [00:20:30] is it was, like, a game changer for me
Kristen: I would agree with [00:20:35] that. A- and like you said, I think it's important for us to understand how [00:20:40] intricately tied our bodies are to the natural cycles of, of [00:20:45] the Earth. We've gotten so disconnected from that and we wonder why [00:20:50] we can't sleep at night, or we have no energy during the day, or our hormones are [00:20:55] out of whack why we feel sluggish.
We wonder why. We're, are, we're meant [00:21:00] to be tied to the rise and the fall of the sun.
Charis: Ja
Kristen: does. That, the [00:21:05] rise of that sun and seeing that sun starts, like you said, the, the hormones, the [00:21:10] metabolism. It's like, "Okay, time to start the day." But if you're starting [00:21:15] your day and you're rolling over and you're looking at a screen, you put your [00:21:20] phone next to your bed and you check your emails first, you're getting that artificial light in your eyes [00:21:25] first, and then you're going out and seeing the sun, it negates all of it.
So we can't be scrolling on our phones [00:21:30] first and then going out and seeing the sun. I, every single morning, I will go [00:21:35] out. I wear contacts as I'm, like, so blind. I cannot see without glasses [00:21:40] or contacts. And I will do my walk one to three miles every day, and I'll [00:21:45] actually carry my sunglasses with me.
I will not put them on. So I [00:21:50] walk without my earbuds in and my glasses off so I can get the light [00:21:55] directly in my eyes, and I can actually hear the sounds of nature around me, and it's the most [00:22:00] beautiful, grounding way to start the day.
Charis: It is. The birds are amazing. If [00:22:05] you never have really paid attention to this and then you start doing it with no earbuds, like [00:22:10] you were saying, it's like, "Wow, where did all these birds come from? And they're so [00:22:15] chatty."
Kristen: And then, and you think of starting your day like that, and then you walk into your [00:22:20] house where chaos happens with all the kids, and your body's more resilient to handle [00:22:25] that chaos. You're not waking up, checking your phone, going downstairs, having [00:22:30] the kids like, "I'm hungry.
I can't find my backpack. Where are my shoes? Did you wash my shirt? I need [00:22:35] a snack." Like, all the things, and you're just like, "Oh my God, I can't do this." [00:22:40] Whereas if you get out of bed, go outside, have some peace and [00:22:45] quiet, watch the sunrise, your nervous system is like, "I can handle anything right [00:22:50] now."
You can go handle all the things with the kids.
Charis: Yeah. You're just [00:22:55] so much more regulated. That's just the best way to describe it. I think you're [00:23:00] regulated. I definitely am not as volatile, and things just bounce off me. I'm like, [00:23:05] "Okay, I gotta take care of that today, but whatever. I can do it," so you feel [00:23:10] much more capable. So one of the things that you wrote for me [00:23:15] prepping for this interview was you said, " Empowerment in women's health [00:23:20] comes when we stop outsourcing it to all the experts and get back in [00:23:25] touch with our own knowing and more ancestral ways of living," which we've been talking about.[00:23:30]
"My goal for every woman I work with is for her to be able to read her body and [00:23:35] know what it needs." So this whole outsourcing thing I think is [00:23:40] just... When I read that, I was just like, oh, my gosh, it is. It's like [00:23:45] someone has this laundry list of all their medical providers, and [00:23:50] their massage therapist, and their chiropractor, and their acupuncturist, and it's almost like [00:23:55] it's a checkbox, and I will admit that I have done this in my life [00:24:00] before too. I'm like, "Oh, I need to go to the acupuncturist once a week," and so it's on my [00:24:05] calendar, and I go, and it's done. But I'm not really... of course I'm getting the [00:24:10] treatment, but I'm not really in tune with the whole process and what it [00:24:15] means for me.
So I think that's what you're talking about here. Is
Kristen: [00:24:20] Yeah. Yeah. That is absolutely part of it because we do. We are... [00:24:25] I heard a podcast actually just recently, maybe it might have even been yesterday, right? [00:24:30] And the woman was saying we're the only species that has a person for [00:24:35] everything for us, an expert for everything. We have our massage therapist, we have our acupuncturist, we have our [00:24:40] marriage counselor, we have our online business managers, we have [00:24:45] our social media managers, we have our doctors and our functional medicine doctors, and [00:24:50] our the list goes on and on.
We have someone for every area of our life. [00:24:55] And as women, we're innately so intuitive [00:25:00] and so in tune that by doing that, we're just disempowering [00:25:05] ourselves. We think that by talking about and having co- conversations [00:25:10] around perimenopause... I'm bringing up perimenopause now, even though I know you wanna talk about it later.
I'm bringing it up now [00:25:15] because it's such a hot topic right now. We think by having [00:25:20] experts talk about perimenopause we are- have become empowered. [00:25:25] We have become empowered because we can now talk to anybody about this. We [00:25:30] can go and ask for these hormones, and we are now empowered. [00:25:35] Versus what actual empowerment is understanding your own body and what it needs.
You [00:25:40] might not need those hormones. You and I were talking before about how you [00:25:45] need to have a good foundation, and if you give your body a second, if you [00:25:50] pause long enough, you'll know what your foundation is lacking. [00:25:55] A- And it's not lacking another expert, that is for sure. It's definitely not [00:26:00] lacking another expert influencer
Charis: like someone you gotta find on social
Kristen: [00:26:05] Yeah. We go to our, we go to our doctor's offices or [00:26:10] OBGYNs or influencers and we're like, "Can you just tell me what's wrong with me and what I need to do?" [00:26:15] How is that empowering you?
And I had a woman tell me recently [00:26:20] that I met, and she's like, "Oh, if you're one of those people that's gonna tell me to just get to know my body, I'm not into [00:26:25] it.
I want someone else to tell me." And I I, to an extent, I understand because I'm fucking [00:26:30] tired at the end of the day. I have so many things that I have on my to-do list that I [00:26:35] just need someone else to like, make me dinner or clean my house,
Charis: Right
Kristen: Take [00:26:40] something off my plate. But by having someone else take [00:26:45] your body off of your plate, you're never going to ever get to the place where you are [00:26:50] feeling truly alive and energized and [00:26:55] whole.
It's gonna be Band-Aid after Band-Aid after Band-Aid because you're gonna fall into [00:27:00] one more protocol that someone else has created for a generic [00:27:05] population
Charis: Yeah. I know when I first, You know what Fullscript is, and Fullscript [00:27:10] is basically just like an online supplement dispensary, and when you first join, they push you to [00:27:15] set up, like, all your protocols. And they're sending me emails. I was like, "I don't have [00:27:20] protocols. Get off my back.
Like, Stop." But that's how you get people to order and order [00:27:25] the specific things that they need, and I'm like, "I don't think that's how it works." That's not how [00:27:30] I view supplements, so thanks, but no thanks.
Kristen: Yeah. It's a protocol. [00:27:35] It's another food plan. In the world of nutrition, it's just create a [00:27:40] plan, hand somebody a plan. Try the keto diet, try the [00:27:45] Whole30 diet, try... I can't tell you how many women have come to me with various [00:27:50] diets and various supplements that they're taking, and none of it's worked.
None of it's worked because none of it's meant for [00:27:55] you. None of it's meant for you
Charis: And how have you felt when you're doing any of [00:28:00] that? Most people just check out with that. They actually come in and say, 'cause they think it'll be [00:28:05] easier, " Just tell me what to do. Tell me what to eat." And that doesn't serve [00:28:10] anyone. I remember when I finally realized that I didn't have to give people meal plans, [00:28:15] I was like, "Hallelujah.
I don't wanna give you a meal plan." [00:28:20] I'll show you what a day in the life of eating l- could look like [00:28:25] just so you can see, 'cause I do understand that
Kristen: You need direction.
Charis: [00:28:30] But I'm gonna teach you how to eat, and I'm gonna teach you how to find all of [00:28:35] your favorite things that you like to eat, and how to incorporate other things that maybe you [00:28:40] could use in your diet to help support you, and how to make that work for [00:28:45] you.
That's what I teach people how to do. And so it's like that whole [00:28:50] saying you teach a man to fish, and then he has fish for the rest of his life, right? It's the same [00:28:55] thing. And so there are people out there that will do that, will have [00:29:00] a meal plan business or something like that, and that's fine.
That's just not what I do. [00:29:05] And to your point is you're gonna keep circulating and looking for the Band-Aid [00:29:10] because it's so much deeper than that, than just the meal plan.
Kristen: Yeah. And [00:29:15] the meal plan can serve a purpose in the beginning. So I, I do the same thing [00:29:20] with you. I will teach you how to eat and what your body is designed [00:29:25] to nat- like the rhythm your body is designed to naturally go through throughout the day with [00:29:30] food. But if you aren't paying attention to the signals your body's giving you [00:29:35] with the food too, like how do you know it's even the right food for you?
Like I am always teaching my women, [00:29:40] pay attention. Listen to how you're feeling after you eat. If you're eating a [00:29:45] meal and an hour later you're starving, your blood sugar's tanking, your body is [00:29:50] telling you something. You did not provide it enough of a certain thing, or you gave it the wrong type of [00:29:55] food.
So listening to your body is going to tell you every single time what it is you [00:30:00] need. And sometimes having that meal plan, that guidance, helps take the load off. Like I don't wanna [00:30:05] think about what I'm gonna eat, but I really wanna pay attention to my body when it's telling me first. So I use it [00:30:10] sometimes as a tool so the women can really get into listening to their [00:30:15] bodies instead of doing both at once.
Like, "Oh my God, I have to plan everything." But I don't, I'm, I still [00:30:20] don't do meal plans, but it's more like, okay, make sure you have your healthy fat. Make sure you have your [00:30:25] protein. Make sure we're not like,
Charis: but it would be the difference between if I'm in an engineering [00:30:30] class, and they say we're gonna build an engine." Okay, I can't even understand what that means [00:30:35] until you show it
Kristen: Yes. Yes
Charis: we are talking about we can show [00:30:40] you what a healthy plate looks like or an healthy amount of food.
Like, how do you [00:30:45] even start with that? But the reality is that your body is gonna [00:30:50] respond. If you have 10 women that are all the same size, all the same age they're gonna [00:30:55] respond differently. Some people are gonna be hungry earlier. Some people are not gonna be [00:31:00] hungry forever, and you're like, "Wait, I thought I was supposed to eat again" You really do have [00:31:05] to pay attention. And the other thing I always tell people, and especially for women when we're [00:31:10] cycling, that's a duh, right? Our hormones are cycling. That influences [00:31:15] everything. But what I'm also saying is in life, you're gonna have times where [00:31:20] you need more food, where you need more calories or more protein or whatever it might [00:31:25] be, and times when you need a little bit less.
And so if you're not paying attention, [00:31:30] then you're gonna miss all of those cu-
Kristen: Yes, I, [00:31:35] that's, I just wanna keep saying that over and over. Can you just repeat it again? That is [00:31:40] so important. Life changes, your body [00:31:45] changes, the seasons change, and you need to be able to understand those [00:31:50] signals and what it's asking of you. If it becomes dinnertime and you had a big lunch [00:31:55] and you're not feeling hungry, you don't need to eat dinner just because it's dinnertime and we're supposed to eat [00:32:00] dinner
Charis: Right. Or eat less. That's what I do a lot 'cause I do tend to eat [00:32:05] lunch late, and I feel like in our house with two teenagers, there's this small window of time, and I [00:32:10] do love to sit down with my kids, and I also don't eat late. I feel like [00:32:15] that really
Kristen: Yeah.
Charis: And so if I skip dinner completely, a lot of times [00:32:20] then I'm hungry, and it's 9:00 or 10:00, and I'm like, "Oh, great."
So what I will do in that [00:32:25] case is if I'm not super hungry, is I will just eat a little bit and eat [00:32:30] really slow, and it always just works perfect for me. So but it [00:32:35] took me a while to figure that out. That wasn't something that just happened or that I [00:32:40] read or whatever. I just had to trial it by trial and error
Kristen: you're, you get more connected to your [00:32:45] body. And what's more empowering than being your own source of answers?
Charis: [00:32:50] Yeah. That you don't need all of those experts that you mentioned, or that you can use [00:32:55] them for what they are truly giving you. And not that you aren't in [00:33:00] control. You should be the one guiding all of the things that's happening
Kristen: Yeah. [00:33:05] I will admit I have used various experts and doctors and, [00:33:10] alternative healers or whatever, and for me, it's mostly to gather [00:33:15] information. Let me see what else is out there, what other avenues I can [00:33:20] take, and does it resonate with me? I'm not gonna do something just because they believe [00:33:25] so strongly in it.
Like, how does it feel in my body when I receive this information? Does it resonate? Am I [00:33:30] like, "Oh, I need that. That is something I need in my life," I feel [00:33:35] so strongly. Or is it cool, but no thank you. [00:33:40] That is not gonna be helpful for me." 'Cause most of us don't even think about those [00:33:45] things
Charis: Absolutely. I think it reminds me of being a parent. The first time that you are, like, potty [00:33:50] training your kid or sleep training your kid. I had a kid that didn't sleep very well, [00:33:55] and so I read all of the books, the books that were like, "cry it out," and then the books that were like, [00:34:00] "co-sleep and
have them with you all the time," and then all the things in the middle. [00:34:05] And I didn't follow any one specific formula. I just read [00:34:10] all that information and took it in, and we did what we felt like was best for our [00:34:15] son and for us.
It worked great because we were on board with [00:34:20] that, right? So it's a very similar thing.
And I think the other thing that often comes up [00:34:25] for me, Kristen, is that people say, "I don't wanna put a lot of time and energy into [00:34:30] this." And to me, that means that they don't [00:34:35] value themselves
Kristen: I was just gonna say, when you said that, I was like, for me, I'm like, [00:34:40] then you're not a priority for yourself. You don't see yourself as a priority
Charis: And [00:34:45] th- and this can happen over time very slowly and [00:34:50] obscurely, right? I think about with parenting, it's so easy for it to happen. You have a [00:34:55] baby. If you're home with your baby, you have one child, just the baby, it's [00:35:00] easy. You carry them with you everywhere.
They're just there. They're not jumping up on the counter [00:35:05] or whatever. You're in the moment, but in that moment, you can take [00:35:10] time for yourself, and I feel like people either don't or they [00:35:15] do. And then when you add the other layers into that, maybe going back to work, having more children, [00:35:20] it's a lot of other inputs into your life, and people demanding [00:35:25] your attention.
And if you don't have those things in place, where you haven't put [00:35:30] yourself in the front seat, right? Put yourself in the driver's seat, really, to be [00:35:35] like, "I'm gonna feed you, but I'm also need to feed me, too."
Kristen: I am such [00:35:40] a big fan of the put your oxygen mask on first saying. [00:35:45] I think I say that in my head once or twice every single day. Like today, [00:35:50] I sat down and I ate lunch, and part of me was like, "I should have fed my [00:35:55] toddler and my 10-year-old lunch first. I should have made them lunch first." But I'm like, " Put your ox- [00:36:00] oxygen up, m- on first, mama.
You need to have the energy and the stamina [00:36:05] and the patience to deal with whatever is gonna burst through that hallway [00:36:10] in a few minutes. So feed me first instead of last." Because if I feed them, what is [00:36:15] likely to happen is I will pick on their scraps and not really [00:36:20] nourish myself, and then my blood sugar will drop, and then I'll get cranky.
And last night I [00:36:25] came upstairs, my little one was in her room playing, and I'm thinking, "Oh, I should be getting her ready for bed." But [00:36:30] I brushed my teeth, I washed my face, I did whatever I needed to do, and then I was like, "Oh, I [00:36:35] feel good. Now I can go and take care of
Charis: Yes.
Kristen: you."
Charis: It's just very simple [00:36:40] little shifts or ways of thinking about it, right?
Kristen: Yes, and it is a [00:36:45] lot of people would say it's selfish to put yourself before your [00:36:50] children and how dare you put yourself before your children, but we need to put [00:36:55] ourselves before our children and our partners so we have the capacity [00:37:00] to handle whatever else is needing to be done in this world[00:37:05]
Charis: Yeah, absolutely. So Kristen, I feel like you've made so many great points [00:37:10] and really explained why this is so important. How would [00:37:15] someone get started doing these things?
Kristen: So in the book within my [00:37:20] chapter, I actually offer a, It's a practice that I do with a l- [00:37:25] every single client that I have. I do it myself almost every single morning. I adopted this [00:37:30] years ago, I was just feeling really lousy and miserable, and in one of those funks where you're like, "I [00:37:35] don't know how to find my way out." At that time when I had no idea what I needed for [00:37:40] myself, and I knew someone else was not going to be able to give me the answers, [00:37:45] I started checking in with myself every single morning. It's just a quick like [00:37:50] scan through the body, ask myself what I need, how do I wanna feel [00:37:55] today, and what do I need to do to get to that place of feeling really good? [00:38:00] And I would do it every single morning, and I would have my journal, and I would write down the things that would come up [00:38:05] for me so I could prioritize those throughout the day. And I actually go step by [00:38:10] step in the book on how to do that practice and how to make [00:38:15] you a priority and understanding what your needs are for the day before [00:38:20] everybody else tells you what your needs are for the day.
So when you can prioritize [00:38:25] yourself, everything else can be handled so much easier.
So the [00:38:30] integration guide also contains a five-day practice that you can download, [00:38:35] and each day there's a different practice to help you, again, better align your [00:38:40] circadian rhythm, to put yourself as a priority through the day, to listen to your [00:38:45] body and what it's asking for, what it needs.
And they're really quick practices, and [00:38:50] it helps you kinda, again, bring yourself front and center and understand [00:38:55] yourself better, to empower yourself and stop outsourcing to everybody else.
Charis: [00:39:00] Yes. Okay. I love it. So really, I think if no one has ever done [00:39:05] this kind of work before, it's really a different kind of thing than having a [00:39:10] checklist where you're like check, right? And so it's really like zooming out and [00:39:15] thinking about yourself and putting yourself in the center of what is gonna happen for the day.[00:39:20]
And there's just no better way than to start with your self [00:39:25] at the beginning of the morning because then you feel like you have done something for [00:39:30] yourself. And like you said, your nervous system is in a different place. You [00:39:35] are feeling good and proactive as you go into your day. So it [00:39:40] is such a great suggestion, and we will make sure and have all the links for [00:39:45] everything in the show notes so that everyone understands what's happening [00:39:50] because the e-book is out at this moment while we're recording this, and that will continue [00:39:55] to be available, and that comes with the integration guide.
But the actual paperback [00:40:00] book is coming out in a few weeks too. So in your chapter you [00:40:05] definitely have some great guidance in there too. So I just can't thank you [00:40:10] enough for being here, Kristin. I feel like we could keep talking for probably another [00:40:15] hour.
Kristen: definitely could. We definitely could
Charis: I, myself, struggle with [00:40:20] listening to podcasts that are longer than 45 minutes to an hour, so I try and keep things [00:40:25] short.
But it's just been so special having you here, and [00:40:30] I just have loved meeting all the different authors in this book. [00:40:35] And it's just gonna be so fun to see. I can't wait to see what people, [00:40:40] their responses are from the book.
Kristen: Same. Same. And thank you for hosting me and for [00:40:45] hosting all the authors of this book. It's just been such an incredible project and [00:40:50] I'm excited. I'm also very excited to see the responses that are coming through and hope- I'm hoping [00:40:55] that it'll spark some, I don't know, spark a little something in at [00:41:00] least a couple people
Charis: Yes, for sure. So if you wanna learn more about Kristen, make sure [00:41:05] you go to her website or Instagram, which will be in the show notes. And have a [00:41:10] great day.
The information shared on this podcast is for educational and [00:41:15] informational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. I am not a [00:41:20] medical doctor, and this content is not intended to diagnose, treat, [00:41:25] cure, or prevent any disease. Please consult with a qualified healthcare professional before [00:41:30] making any decisions related to your health, especially if you have a medical condition or are [00:41:35] taking medications
