121:: The craziest things I've done in the name of wellness (& what I regret!)

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Let's chat some of the craziest

things that we've all done in

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the name of health and wellness.

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Welcome back to Wellness Big Sis the Pod.

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I'm your host, Dr.

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Kelsey Vick, a board certified

orthopedic doctor of physical therapy

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and a pelvic floor physical therapist.

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And we are just wrapping up

an entire month of Trimester

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Zero podcast festival chats.

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We kicked it off with me talking pelvic

floor PT and trimester zero through a

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pelvic floor PT lens, but then we passed

the mic to some incredible guests,

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chatting about everything from hormonal

health and dietetics, to mental health,

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to holistic fertility approaches,

to even male fertility last week.

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So, I hope you guys enjoyed

all of the episodes.

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This one's gonna be sort of

a fun, girly, chatty episode.

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I like to sprinkle these in throughout,

especially after we've gone through a

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bit of intense topics, and conversation,

and education, and learning.

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Sometimes it's fun just to have a little

girly Wellness Girl chat, and that's

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exactly what today's episode's gonna be.

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This episode is actually

inspired by a newsletter that I

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receive weekly from Liz Plosser.

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she has a Substack called Best Case

Scenario, and she spent 20-plus years

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as a health journalist, including

seven years as editor-in-chief

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at Women's Health Magazine.

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So she has such fun wellness

education information articles.

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She focuses on the intersection of

sort of wellness culture and some

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of the new trendy wellness things.

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But she sent out an article last week,

two weeks ago or so, that was titled

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In the Name of Wellness, and she chats

about some of the craziest things she's

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done in the name of health and wellness,

and I thought it was such a fun article.

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She reached out to some of her fellow

health and wellness aficionados and tried

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to see what some of the crazy things that

they've done in the name of wellness were.

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So I'll give you some of those examples

today just to give you a little insight

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into the theme of this episode, but

then I wanna share mine, and I'd love

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to hear some of yours, some of the

craziest things you guys have done

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in the name of health and wellness

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Okay, so I wanna read you guys the

intro to the article 'cause I was just

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cracking up because it sounds like

something that I would definitely do too.

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Every time TSA pulls one of my

suspicious-looking tubs or baggies of

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creatine and aminos from my Rollie at

JFK, as they did once again last week, I

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think, "At least it's not the kettlebell."

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Summer 2020, a few months into the

pandemic, my three kids, husband,

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and I were headed to the family

cabin in Durango for a change

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of scenery and some fresh air.

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Gyms were closed.

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At-home fitness equipment was impossible

to find, but I had somehow managed to

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get my hands on a kettlebell Okay, fine.

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Someone left one on their stoop,

free for the taking, about half a

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mile from my apartment in Park Slope.

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with the glee of a lottery winner

happening upon a golden ticket, I

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farmer's carried it home in the dark.

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Obviously, this precious hunk of iron

needed to come with me to the mountains,

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so I put it in my carry-on backpack.

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My kids watched in horror as a

displeased TSA agent pulled it out and

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gave me a look that said, "Uh, ma'am?"

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I deployed all available Midwestern charm.

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He was unmoved.

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A kettlebell could be used as a weapon, he

explained, and mine was being confiscated.

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Goodbye, beautiful 35-pound kettlebell.

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I barely knew ya.

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I started wondering how far other

people in wellness have taken things

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in the name of their wellbeing.

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So I asked some of my favorite people

to confess the most ridiculous,

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mortifying, or deeply committed things

they've ever done for their health.

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The answers involve lion country,

international customs, gastrointestinal

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distress, and pleasingly,

more suspicious white powder.

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she goes on to share some of the

things her friends have done.

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So I'll link that article below, but

I thought it'd be fun to also share

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some of the things I've done in the

name of wellness, some of the things I

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definitely regret, some of the things

I used to think were absolutely crazy

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when I heard people near to me do them,

and now I'm like, "Well, that makes

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sense," and everything in between.

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Again, a fun sort of girly, chatty episode

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So starting off with some of my in the

name of wellness regrets, things that

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I've done for my health and wellness

that I definitely regret looking back.

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But as you guys know, listening to a

health and wellness podcast, and there

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are so many trends that come and go

throughout health and wellness, and I

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have definitely been one to partake in

some of these trends, which is one of

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the reasons I started Wellness Fixes

The Pod, because a lot of the time

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I took part in these trends when I

didn't have the knowledge or education

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around how the female body worked.

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So here are a few regrets that I have

that I've done in the name of wellness

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Number one, any sort of

restrictive dieting or focus on a

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certain type of fueling pattern.

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Vegan, low sugar,

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Anything where I was limiting a certain

food group, and this happened a lot when

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I was in college just because I was sort

of trying to fight back against that

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dreaded freshman 15, and I was like,

"Oh, well, this vegan diet might be good

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for me," or this vegetarian primarily

diet or pescatarian, anything like that.

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My body really thrives on a variety

of foods, and I've learned that,

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and I understand that some people

have certain fueling patterns based

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on their bodies or their faith, and

that is completely understandable.

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But it is one of my regrets for my

own body is following any sort of

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dieting or restricted fueling pattern

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Which leads into my next one, my next

regret, not fueling myself enough based

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on the basal metabolic rate that Google

gave me back when I was in college

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So to fight back against any sort of

weight gain in college, at the time I

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Googled, "This is my weight, this is

the weight that I'd like to be at."

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What is my basal metabolic rate?

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And at the time it was 1,200 calories.

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That's what Google gave me.

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Who knows what that was based on.

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I literally put in my body weight.

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I didn't give it any information on

my muscle mass, my fat composition,

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nothing, my fitness level, nothing.

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But 1,200,

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So that's the number I obsessed over.

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This was before I knew

anything about fueling.

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This is significantly under fueling

for me, especially with the level

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that I was working out on top of that.

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So a significant regret.

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Tied to that, an obsession with

MyFitnessPal and this 1,200 calorie mark.

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It is no good for me.

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It was one of my regrets.

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I tracked and tried to eat this way

for a significant period of time, so

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getting myself out of that pattern

was a little bit more challenging,

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but it is definitely one of the

regrets I have in the name of wellness

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Another regret, this is a more recent

regret, but investing in every single

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supplement that I heard on health

and wellness podcasts early on.

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I feel like in 2020 when Huberman Lab

came out, it was like this surgence

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of intellectual researchers sharing

their knowledge on health and wellness,

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whatever their niche lane was.

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And so many of them do such good

research, but they would always

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recommend a certain supplement for

this, a certain supplement for that.

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And I was like, "Gosh, this

is a lot of supplements.

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I'm gonna have to start investing in

these supplements for my own body."

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This is without any sort of blood testing.

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I just had heard this education

on a podcast that I admired and

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decided to use them in my own body.

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And it gets so expensive when you are

trying to buy all of these supplements

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based on all of this research.

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It gets very, very overwhelming.

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So it's definitely one of my regrets,

not only because it was based not on

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my body, but just because of the amount

of time, energy, and, like, guilt I had

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with not doing absolutely everything I

could for my body at the time Okay, so

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those are all of the sort of regrets.

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I'm sure there's plenty more that'll come

up once you guys tell me some of yours,

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but those are the ones that I could come

up with primarily as far as regrets.

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But other crazy things I've done and

seen other friends do, there were a lot

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of airport stories in that article that

Liz shared and there's a story that

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always comes to mind when trying to

bring different supplements or powders

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on the plane that always sticks with me.

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I was in the TSA line, like,

waiting for my bag to come through.

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we were already through the,

like, intense part of TSA.

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We were just waiting to see

if our bags would get checked.

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And the girl in front of me

happened to pack an entire thing

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of Vital Proteins collagen powder.

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And if you guys remember the craze

around Vital Proteins collagen

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powder, that stuff was like gold.

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Everyone loved it.

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Everyone was consuming it in their

coffee, their water, their oatmeal,

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their smoothies, everywhere.

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And this girl had brought it on

the plane, and it was a new bin.

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It was one of those large,

like, creatine bin sizes of

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Vital Proteins collagen powder.

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And the TSA agent confiscated

it from her, and she was late.

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They were like, "We can test it.

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We can run it through testing."

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And she was already late to , her

flight, so she had to leave it there.

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And it just broke my heart for this girl

'cause I know how expensive that stuff is.

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And to have it unopened and have it

confiscated, it was just heartbreaking.

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So there were a lot of stories

in that article talking about

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bringing on various creatine

powders or amino acids and different

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suspicious powders in the name of

wellness and different supplements.

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And I have never had any sort of powders

or supplements confiscated from me,

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but because I remember that story and

have heard so many other people talk

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about how they've gotten their creatine

confiscated at the airport if they

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just pack it in a Ziploc bag, I have

now definitely purchased, like, the

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prepackaged single-serving creatine to

take with me, especially when flying

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This next one is sort of a recent

hack, and it's sort of in the name of

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wellness because I try and exercise

a little bit or stay pretty active

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when I'm on vacation, whether or not

that's through a formal workout Or

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just walking a lot, like in New York

City or Tokyo or wherever we're going.

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And I am insufferable about

only packing in a carry-on.

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I pride myself in being a very

efficient packer, and because of that,

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I always have to limit the amount

of shoes that I'm able to bring.

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So what I've started doing is saving

tennis shoes, like my previous

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tennis shoes that are sort of my

yard work, painting, housework tennis

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shoes , that are not brand new.

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They're worn down.

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They still look okay.

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They still look decent, but

they're not like my brand new ones.

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I save those tennis shoes, and I

bring them with me on vacation.

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So I use them throughout vacation.

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And then when I'm done with

them, I just leave them there.

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I throw them away.

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I've gotten a good lifespan out of them,

and that way I have extra space when

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I'm coming back home in my carry-on.

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So it's something I do in the name

of efficiency and in the name of

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wellness and comfort, but it's sort

of a hot tip that I've had recently.

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It's something I've done the

last three or four vacations that

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we've taken where we've done a

significant amount of walking, and

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I've needed to bring tennis shoes,

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And it's been really helpful

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Another travel-related one, I definitely

am someone who has brought plenty of

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bands with me in her carry-on bag,

and so many of them have popped to

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where my very first exercise workout

that I do on vacation, the band pops.

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And so I'm constantly

modifying the rest of the trip.

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That's not something that I regret

doing or anything like that, but that's

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not something that I wouldn't do.

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But I have invested in more cloth

resistance bands for that exact reason

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Back in the early, like, health and

wellness push days, I also swore by

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a shot of apple cider vinegar with

ginger and turmeric and cayenne

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to help kickstart my digestion.

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I don't do that anymore.

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But it's one of those crazy things that

you hear about and you do because you're

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like, "Oh, well, there's research on

this, and I heard it from a health and

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wellness influencer, so it must be right

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Another thing I've done is

I've given up desserts for two

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years except dark chocolate.

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That was actually in

conjunction with Lent.

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For some reason, one year

I was like, "You know what?

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I'm gonna give up desserts this year."

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And I just kept it going because I was

like, you know, once I cut them out of my

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diet, my body didn't crave them as much.

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And I still allowed myself dark chocolate

because I love dark chocolate, but

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I cut out, like, sweets and desserts

other than dark chocolate for two years

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I have definitely sacrificed sleep

to get in a workout, especially early

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morning before a flight or a long

day, or where I know that I'm going

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to need to be mentally sharp that day.

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even if I get to bed late, I'll wake up

super early to get in that workout, and

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I don't necessarily recommend this, but

any time I wake up on the first alarm,

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get a workout in, my brain, I notice being

way sharper, way quicker, and any time

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where I'm having to be that sharp and that

quick with how I'm thinking and how I'm

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communicating, I've definitely sacrificed

sleep and woken up early, early, early

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in order to get a workout in before

that early start to my day or travel day

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This is what I currently do,

but I definitely mouth tape

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in the name of wellness.

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It's not super crazy, but

I know people who aren't in

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our health and wellness world

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they definitely have questions when

I pull out the tape before sleep

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or talk to them about mouth taping.

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So it's one of those where if

you know, you know, but if you

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don't, it's like actually crazy

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This one's just kind of funny.

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In college, I had an aerobic walking

class at maybe 9:00 AM, maybe 8:00 AM.

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It was one of the earlier classes,

but it was one of the classes I

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skipped the most in college in order

to sleep a little bit more and do

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the workout that I actually wanted to

do, which was typically hill sprints

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instead of going to aerobic walking.

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So it was sort of this weird, like,

I'm gonna skip this super easy walking

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class just so I can sleep in a little

bit more and then do an even harder,

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more cardiovascularly intensive workout

instead of the aerobic walking class.

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So I just laugh at myself

for skipping that class.

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It was still, I wouldn't…

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I would do it again a thousand

times over, but it was definitely

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a class I skipped a lot.

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But not to skip the workout,

just to sleep a little longer and

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then do a harder workout after

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This next one I admittedly haven't looked

up any research on, but I've done it for

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probably about six or seven years now, and

I don't see myself stopping anytime soon.

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But again, six or seven years ago,

I heard a health and wellness…

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Gosh, I guess it's probably

more than six or seven years

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now that I'm thinking about it.

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Maybe 10 years ago now, I heard a health

and wellness influencer talking about

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digestion on the plane and how if you

eat before takeoff and then refrain from

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eating throughout your travel day, so

that includes layovers if you happen to

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have one, or it's just the duration of

the flight if you don't have a layover.

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But if you can refrain from eating

throughout the flight and then eat when

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you land instead, your digestive system

Won't be as stressed, and you might not

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have as much of the bloating or digestive

issues that you get with traveling.

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So that's what she had said, you know,

10, 12 years ago, however long ago it was.

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And I listened to that.

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I was like, "You know, I get really bad

digestive issues," TMI, but I usually

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get pretty constipated with travel.

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For some reason, the stress of traveling

on my body prevents any sort of gut

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motility and, like, movement, and so I

am always struggling and always loading

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up on different magnesium supplements

and breathwork and gut activations

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and massages and different things

like that to help me when I travel.

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But this has been one that has actually

helped me, where I have seen beneficial

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results from not eating throughout

the entire of my travel duration.

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And I don't know if it's placebo.

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Again, I haven't looked up research

on this, but for me, it seems that

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it helps me to be able to have more

regularity when I get to my destination.

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And then lastly, one thing that I thought

was crazy when I first heard about it,

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but actually have realized it's not that

crazy at all, is in PT school, my wound

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care professor used to talk about wearing

driving gloves to protect her skin.

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And we all just sort of giggled

like, "Oh, you know, so and

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so wearing driving gloves.

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We can just picture her down the road.

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She's so cute doing that."

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You know, just … Just giggling at it,

not making fun of her for it at all,

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but just sort of giggling at how extreme

driving gloves seemed for all of us.

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But , the more I try, and invest time

and energy into my own skin health, the

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more I realize My hands are constantly

exposed to different UV rays, and it's

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something that I feel like driving gloves

are going to be that, I hate the word

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chic, but like chic new accessory that

all of the cool girls wear because they

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realize the skin on their hands starts

to look a little bit creepy and wrinkly

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early on, even sometimes more than

the face because we don't necessarily

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take care of the skin on our hands.

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So I take back all of my little

giggles that I used to giggle when I

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heard she wore driving gloves because

now I'm really considering getting

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: 00:17:27

driving gloves for that exact reason.

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So I'd love to hear what crazy things you

guys have done in the name of wellness.

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: 00:17:33

I feel like some of these aren't that

crazy, but the kettlebell just made

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me laugh, and so I started reflecting

on some of the things that I've done

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throughout my life and wellness journey.

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And it's not to shame me or anyone else.

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It's just with health and

wellness, it's easy to get caught

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up in trends, and it's easy to

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follow current research when 10 years from

now new research is gonna come out saying,

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"Okay, maybe we were a little too extreme

in this, and we should've been a little

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bit more moderate in this," or vice versa.

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So I hope you guys enjoyed

this little girl talk episode.

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: 00:18:02

Again, I'd love to hear what crazy things

you've done in the name of wellness,

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: 00:18:07

So let me know, and I'll see you

guys again on the next episode

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: 00:18:10

of Wellness Big Sis the pod.