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June 12, 2024

Reprogramming Your Mind for Self-Acceptance, Body Positivity, and Holistic Fitness

Reprogramming Your Mind for Self-Acceptance, Body Positivity, and Holistic Fitness

Rachel Lavin (author of the "Donut Diaries") shares her journey towards self-love. How can we break away from the societal pressure that shapes our image? Rachel tackles these important questions while revealing her struggle with weight, and her journey of embracing herself. The importance of accepting ourselves before starting any weight loss program is stressed by Rachel. She shares insights into how to reprogram the mind to accept and value our bodies.


Rachel describes her fitness journey and reveals how it evolved to become a mission for women who are on wellness missions. She describes her three-pillar approach to fitness: rest, nourishment, and movement, as well as how it has evolved. Rachel's open discussion on how she transitioned from self-criticism to self-love and on the importance of personalized exercise plans gives a refreshing view of health and well-being. Tune into Rachel's wisdom to discover practical tips for accepting your full self and embracing it with kindness.

Rachel's Bio
Rachel Lavin is a Published author of The Doughnut Diaries, Professional Speaker, Body Love Educator, Certified Health Coach, and Certified Personal Trainer. She grew up in Northern California and has lived in Hawaii, Vancouver Washington, Portland Oregon, and New York City. She currently lives in Greenville, South Carolina with her Partner.

In 2000 Rachel began her career as an ACE-certified group fitness instructor teaching a plethora of classes such as Aqua Aerobics, Bootcamp, Jazzercise, Dance Aerobics,  Stretch and Chair classes. In 2007 she was certified as an ACE Personal Trainer working at big box gyms in NYC and becoming an independent trainer in 2012.  Rachel wanted to take her passion for helping people to the next level and became an ACE-certified Health Coach in 2018.

In 2020 Rachel wrote her first book "The Doughnut Diaries" about her struggles with her weight and restrictive diets which lasted for over thirty years. As Rachel turned forty the expression I got sick and tired of being sick and tired hit home and she made a decision to take her power back and heal from decades of negative thinking and self-sabotage. Rachel began to do the work on my mind, body, and soul. Writing her book was her way of sharing my message to women that you are not alone! Now using her book Rachel wants to help people who have had or a still experiencing negative body image. By using what she now refers to as my three pillars of fitness; Nourishment for both the mind and body, Movement & Rest.

"My mission is to create a safe space for all women to feel whole in their own body" – Rachel Lavin
 


Rachel's Social Media
https://www.instagram.com/rachellavinlifestylewellness?igsh=M3NpOXhxZGZ5enU%3D&utm_source=qr

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100071327333529

https://rachellavinwellness.com/

We hope you have enjoyed this episode. Please like, comment, subscribe and share the podcast.

To find out more about Lynnis and what is going on in the V.I.B.E. Living World please go to https://linktr.ee/Lynnis

Join the V.I.B.E. Wellness Woman Network, where active participation fuels the collective journey toward health and vitality. Subscribe, engage, and embark on this adventure toward proactive well-being together. Interested in joining the new V.I.B.E. Wellness Woman Network go to https://www.vibewellnesswomannetwork.com and sign-up to be notified when the network launches.

 

Lynnis Woods-Mullins

Please like, comment, share, and subscribe to the podcast. 

If you would like to be a guest on the V.IB.E. Living Podcast please email me lynnis@vibewellnesswoman.com.

To find out more about Lynnis go to linktr.ee/Lynnis

 

 

Chapters

00:02 - Body Positivity Journey

11:33 - Embracing Fitness and Wellness Journey

24:07 - Embracing Body Acceptance and Self-Love

Transcript

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00:00:02.343 --> 00:00:09.182
so when was the last time you heard somebody say, well, I've done this diet, that diet, this diet and nothing sticks?

00:00:09.182 --> 00:00:12.351
And I can tell you right now, as far as diet is concerned, I'm anti-diet.

00:00:12.351 --> 00:00:27.065
I mean, um, I believe that what you put in your mouth really does govern you know how you feel, how you might look in terms of gaining weight, but the idea of restricting calories and all that kind of stuff, it just puts a negative slant on it.

00:00:27.065 --> 00:00:43.587
There is a way to stay in shape and to lose weight without starving yourself, but I think the first step is starting with an idea of being positive and loving about how you are right now, and that's what we're going to be talking about.

00:00:43.587 --> 00:00:46.122
How you are right now.

00:00:46.122 --> 00:00:50.656
And that's what we're going to be talking about the idea of loving who you are and what you look like, even before you start your weight loss journey.

00:00:50.656 --> 00:00:54.685
And so I'm so glad to introduce you today Rachel Lavin.

00:00:54.987 --> 00:00:59.904
She is the published author of I love this title the Donut Diaries.

00:01:00.204 --> 00:01:05.888
We're going to find out what that is, but she's a professional speaker, a body love educator and a certified health coach.

00:01:06.239 --> 00:01:28.465
She grew up in Northern California and she's also lived in Hawaii, vancouver, portland, greenville she's just lived everywhere and about 2000 is when she started her career and became an ACE certified group fitness instructor, and she has been teaching a plethora of classes, from aqua aerobics to chair classes Wow, what a broad span.

00:01:28.465 --> 00:01:50.492
And in 2007 is when she got certified as an ACA personal trainer, and throughout her travels she has worked with all kinds of sizes of women and she decided in 2020 to write a book about her own personal experience because, even though she has all those credentials in fitness, she too has struggled with her weight.

00:01:50.492 --> 00:02:02.027
So I think it would be fantastic for you all to meet her and to hear her story, because very rarely do you hear a personal trainer talk about their own weight loss journey and some of the own struggles that they have.

00:02:02.027 --> 00:02:09.268
But it's that very thing and the very philosophy that she imparts in her book, donut Diaries, that I want to talk about.

00:02:09.268 --> 00:02:12.789
Rachel, welcome to the Vibe Living Podcast program.

00:02:12.789 --> 00:02:14.586
It is wonderful to have you here today.

00:02:15.423 --> 00:02:16.439
Thank you so much, linus.

00:02:16.439 --> 00:02:19.750
I am so looking forward to this conversation today, so thank you.

00:02:20.439 --> 00:02:39.223
Well, I got to say because, you know, I've always been a really skinny mini most of my life and, as my audience knows, as my listeners know that when I turned 64, almost three years ago, I literally felt like I woke up and all of a sudden I was like what the heck is this in the back, what is this extra butt?

00:02:39.223 --> 00:02:43.592
And then he's like what's going on?

00:02:43.592 --> 00:02:46.580
And I had, I guess, what you would call a delayed menopause.

00:02:46.580 --> 00:02:54.067
It was all hormonal, hormonal weight gain, which is very different than, uh, you know, gaining weight because of just what you put in your mouth.

00:02:54.067 --> 00:02:55.574
And I went through this journey.

00:02:55.574 --> 00:02:59.888
First of all, I'm just being frustrated because instead of a size six, I was a size eight.

00:02:59.888 --> 00:03:01.350
You know, come on, mom.

00:03:01.752 --> 00:03:23.287
But I but someone told me he said, let first, before you, even think about trying to find a way to reduce the weight, even though I'm certified in hormones and how to manage them and everything else for myself, dr Hill, thyself went out the door, and so one of the first things they told me was you've got to love yourself where you are right now and then begin the journey.

00:03:23.287 --> 00:03:27.266
And while intellectually I kind of understood that I've talked to women about that myself.

00:03:27.266 --> 00:03:28.844
It was so tough to do.

00:03:28.844 --> 00:03:30.310
Why is that?

00:03:30.310 --> 00:03:36.443
Why is it that women have a problem with just loving themselves where they're at, and why is it important for them to do so?

00:03:36.443 --> 00:03:39.292
If they want to be able to move forward in their fitness?

00:03:40.319 --> 00:03:43.266
Well, that is an amazing story and thank you for sharing.

00:03:43.266 --> 00:03:59.506
And I love that first question because I think we are all born into this body almost programmed to hate it, almost programmed to fight with it, almost programmed to always figure out a way to alter it.

00:03:59.506 --> 00:04:02.449
Instead of this is my body.

00:04:02.449 --> 00:04:04.431
I look different than you look.

00:04:04.431 --> 00:04:09.037
I am, you know, just beautiful the way I am.

00:04:09.037 --> 00:04:19.762
But how do we embrace that Our bodies are a gift, yet strive to be the most healthy version of that body?

00:04:20.303 --> 00:04:34.012
And I think this is where I come in, because, like you mentioned in your intro about me, and I think this is where I come in because, like you mentioned in your intro about me, I've been struggling with my body since 11 years old and only because of those struggles did I enter the fitness industry.

00:04:34.012 --> 00:04:50.504
But did I have any idea that it was going to become something else, something bigger, something not even about me, yet using my story to help other people, something not even about me yet using my story to help other people.

00:04:50.504 --> 00:05:00.805
So I just think that if I can help women, and men too, but if I can help women love their bodies where they're at, yet be the healthiest version of that, then that's what I'm doing.

00:05:00.805 --> 00:05:09.725
I think body love, body positivity gets so convoluted because you know it's either this or that and it doesn't have to be.

00:05:09.725 --> 00:05:11.810
There's so much in between.

00:05:11.810 --> 00:05:19.110
There's so much that every woman, their own story, plays a part in that, and that's what we have to understand.

00:05:19.110 --> 00:05:20.553
We're all individuals.

00:05:21.579 --> 00:05:32.177
You know, it's so interesting too, because I find that most women always find something wrong with themselves anyway, even if they look so-called perfect to us.

00:05:32.177 --> 00:05:41.487
We're going to find something that we're not happy with, and it's really kind of like a reprogramming and starting in a different space and a different way of thinking.

00:05:41.487 --> 00:05:47.983
So how do you get your clients to begin to look at themselves in a different way?

00:05:49.107 --> 00:05:50.651
They have to go back to the beginning.

00:05:50.651 --> 00:05:55.303
They have to understand that something was said to you.

00:05:55.303 --> 00:05:56.887
You had an experience.

00:05:56.887 --> 00:06:13.833
You watched your mother, your grandmother, the women in your life when you were a little girl girl say and do negative and harmful things to their body and you're like, oh, that's my story too, and so you know that it becomes your belief system.

00:06:13.833 --> 00:06:15.742
Well, my mom was always on a diet.

00:06:15.742 --> 00:06:18.348
My mom was heavy, I'm gonna be heavy.

00:06:18.348 --> 00:06:19.612
I mean, it's just.

00:06:20.153 --> 00:06:37.019
If we sat down and calculated the amounts of minutes that we spend thinking about our own bodies on a daily basis, I'm sure we would have, like you know, a trillion vacation days saved up in just that process, because it's constant.

00:06:37.019 --> 00:06:46.509
It's constant Whether you understand that, whether you recognize that, believe that it's true, we are always thinking about ourselves.

00:06:46.509 --> 00:06:55.557
And if we can learn to understand that, yes, her health is important, yes, we have to think about it a certain amount of time.

00:06:55.557 --> 00:07:00.535
But to let go of those I call it a prison, to be honest with you.

00:07:00.535 --> 00:07:09.687
To let go of that prison that you are constantly in your head about yourself and then listening to other women and other people about their bodies.

00:07:09.687 --> 00:07:14.274
It's just, it's a constant conversation that needs to be flipped.

00:07:14.274 --> 00:07:17.199
How I'm going to do that, I still don't know.

00:07:19.105 --> 00:07:21.572
Well, it's an ongoing journey, isn't it?

00:07:21.572 --> 00:07:42.478
We never quite know exactly how we're going to feel about what we're doing in our weight loss journey, but I have found in working with women when it comes to hormonal weight gain is the first thing is to have an open up open enough mind that whatever advice you get or whatever you read about, or whatever, to actually act on it.

00:07:42.478 --> 00:07:53.300
I mean, I think many of us have all kinds of ideas on how we could feel better and look better, but very rarely do we actually act on it, actually carry it through and do it.

00:07:53.300 --> 00:08:01.317
How do you encourage your clients to actually begin to act on the things that you're sharing with them that can help them in terms of their body positivity?

00:08:03.485 --> 00:08:15.398
It's a slow journey and I think we, as humans, want the quick fix and we want to do everything in one moment and expect this, you know, amazing result the next morning.

00:08:16.326 --> 00:08:19.716
And if it worked like that, we wouldn't even be having this conversation.

00:08:19.925 --> 00:08:43.961
So, to kind of just take a deep breath, sit in, sit in what it is you want for yourself and then take it one step at a time, because this I, you know, you and I are keep continually using the word journey, because that's what it is, it's it's, it's a process, it is something that we as humans do not like to take the slow road.

00:08:43.961 --> 00:08:54.456
But our bodies are smart, our bodies are very smart and we have forgotten, through our evolution of dieting and diet culture, how to trust our bodies.

00:08:54.456 --> 00:08:57.085
And, honestly, your body has a set point.

00:08:57.085 --> 00:09:01.596
It knows what it wants, it knows what it needs and it knows where it wants to be.

00:09:01.596 --> 00:09:08.073
Does that change with age, menopause, hormones, stress, babies?

00:09:08.073 --> 00:09:17.179
Absolutely, but if you just allowed your body to be, you would not have to deal with this struggle.

00:09:17.179 --> 00:09:35.389
I know that's a deeper conversation and I need to give it more context, but, to simplify it, our bodies know what it needs and by pain, by discomfort, by disease, by illness, is its way of screaming at you that it's not getting what it needs.

00:09:36.451 --> 00:09:39.754
Yeah, that's so true and I tell my clients when it comes to cravings.

00:09:39.754 --> 00:09:51.077
Usually your cravings come from something that the body needs, some kind of nutrient Like, for instance, if you're craving chocolate, more than likely you're short in magnesium.

00:09:51.077 --> 00:09:57.677
You know, maybe potassium, when you, you know, are craving gosh, I need a really nice green salad.

00:09:57.677 --> 00:10:05.432
The reason why you're craving that is your body's letting you know that it needs some of the minerals and nutrients that come from a fresh green salad.

00:10:05.432 --> 00:10:08.726
The cravings usually are trying to tell you something.

00:10:08.726 --> 00:10:13.035
But I got to ask you this question before I forget Donut diaries.

00:10:13.035 --> 00:10:16.615
Okay, where did that conversation?

00:10:16.615 --> 00:10:17.783
Where'd that come from?

00:10:17.783 --> 00:10:25.091
First of all, the title of your book, and because it seems like the antithesis of what we want to be thinking about right when we are dropping rate.

00:10:25.091 --> 00:10:47.615
In fact, I have to tell you every time I see that title I really want to go and get some of.

00:10:48.115 --> 00:10:51.177
And there was no shame, there was nothing.

00:10:51.177 --> 00:10:52.418
Oh, you can't eat that.

00:10:52.418 --> 00:10:52.839
It wasn't.

00:10:52.839 --> 00:10:54.080
It was not about that.

00:10:54.080 --> 00:11:01.003
It was about spending time with my uncle getting a fun pretty little rainbow sprinkled donut, eating it and being done with it.

00:11:01.003 --> 00:11:08.386
And as you diet, as you get older and people's opinions or you can't eat donuts, those are just going to make you fat.

00:11:08.386 --> 00:11:31.277
And then, of course, you believe that, and so donuts, for me, were the one of many foods that I never allowed myself because, again, I was always struggling with my fatness, and so when I decided to ditch diet culture once and for all, I remember going to get a donut and I was like I'm going to, I'm going to do this.

00:11:33.488 --> 00:11:43.985
Wow, I do admire about you, and for those of you who are looking at the video version, maybe you're on spotify or you look at the youtube channel or you're in the, the private group and you can see it.

00:11:43.985 --> 00:11:48.097
Uh, rachel is lovely, but she is not a size six.

00:11:48.097 --> 00:11:49.763
I don't think right, uh.

00:11:49.763 --> 00:11:55.476
And so some people might say, my goodness, what made you decide to get into fitness?

00:11:55.476 --> 00:12:06.033
Now, my thought is that when people see you, they see somebody they can relate to, because the average size of a woman here in the United States is between the sizes of 12 and 14.

00:12:06.033 --> 00:12:12.869
It's not size one and two, and I was just wondering what motivated you to get into fitness in the first place.

00:12:15.434 --> 00:12:16.255
A couple of things.

00:12:16.255 --> 00:12:19.428
One, initially selfishly, was my own body.

00:12:19.428 --> 00:12:22.638
How better to control the size of my body.

00:12:22.638 --> 00:12:32.313
But to be a group X instructor or a dance instructor or a personal trainer, I mean you don't, and I use this word.

00:12:32.313 --> 00:12:37.581
In my past life I didn't have an excuse to not exercise if that wasn't my career.

00:12:37.581 --> 00:12:53.250
And but as my involvement in the fitness industry evolved, I realized how many women were struggling and how many women felt so alone, Like why can't this go away?

00:12:53.250 --> 00:12:55.490
Why can't, why, why, why, why?

00:12:55.490 --> 00:13:01.335
And it's really grown into something bigger and deeper.

00:13:01.335 --> 00:13:10.642
And I understand that all those years that I felt alone, so are these women and I got to bridge that gap, because we are not alone, ladies.

00:13:10.642 --> 00:13:11.322
We're not.

00:13:12.303 --> 00:13:14.024
Yes, and you talk about that in your book.

00:13:14.024 --> 00:13:26.133
You know, talk about, you know how important it is, especially when you are, and a change that you want to also take your mind and your soul through, or, as I like to say, your spirit through.

00:13:26.133 --> 00:13:58.809
It's an evolution and I always say that if you know during your wellness journey any parts of the mind, body, spirit or the mind, body, soul that is off a little bit, you want to address that because they all work together to get you to where you want to be.

00:13:58.809 --> 00:14:04.210
And I know you talk a lot about this because you talk in your book about the three pillars of fitness.

00:14:04.210 --> 00:14:07.378
What are those three pillars of fitness and why is it so important?

00:14:08.566 --> 00:14:09.025
For me.

00:14:09.025 --> 00:14:16.957
I've learned over the years why my diets failed, and that's because I did not treat my body as a gift.

00:14:16.957 --> 00:14:23.013
I would either over exercise, under eat and, you know, just run myself ragged.

00:14:23.013 --> 00:14:50.558
And as I've gotten older I'm in my fifties now in the past 10 years I've been on this journey of health at every size and learn that for me, I can't have homeostasis in my body and peace in my body and my emotional health If I don't have the adequate amount of rest, if I don't have the adequate amount of nourishment, which means my food, my drink, my water and the adequate amount of movement.

00:14:50.558 --> 00:14:56.600
And I'm still at 52 figuring out what that perfect recipe is.

00:14:56.600 --> 00:15:01.230
But I know those three pillars are essential to that.

00:15:01.230 --> 00:15:07.960
And as I age there, those things need to change too, and I just have to.

00:15:07.960 --> 00:15:13.547
You know I said this earlier, but I got to go along with the ride with my body because it tells me what it needs.

00:15:13.547 --> 00:15:17.046
But now the change the difference is is that I listen.

00:15:18.148 --> 00:15:18.589
Oh, that's.

00:15:18.589 --> 00:15:23.066
That's one of the magic things of actually acting on the information that you get.

00:15:23.066 --> 00:15:32.693
You want to listen to what your body is telling you in concert with that, because, first of all, the body has muscle memory.

00:15:32.693 --> 00:15:40.774
It's amazing If you are a person who used to work out a lot and you stopped for whatever reason and you decide you want to go back to it.

00:15:40.774 --> 00:15:46.509
It's amazing how the body will remember and you'll get some of that muscle tone back.

00:15:46.509 --> 00:15:59.856
But let's talk about the individual who may not have that particular body memory, but they're getting older and the doctor is saying and this is true as you get older, you want to move more than maybe what you might have moved when you were in your 20s.

00:15:59.856 --> 00:16:04.236
And if you never really moved a lot in your 20s, you're thinking, oh my gosh, how am I going to do that?

00:16:04.236 --> 00:16:11.798
So how do you get women to understand the importance of this and what kinds of things do you tell them to do to increase their movement as they age?

00:16:12.884 --> 00:16:18.077
Well, it's very important for me to understand, like you mentioned, what their background in.

00:16:18.077 --> 00:16:27.967
I also meet you where you're at, because if you don't like to step foot in a gym, I need to know why.

00:16:27.967 --> 00:16:29.691
Did something happen to you?

00:16:29.691 --> 00:16:30.692
Were you shamed?

00:16:30.692 --> 00:16:35.750
Did you get together with a personal trainer who just kind of wrecked your body?

00:16:35.750 --> 00:16:39.826
I mean, there's so many questions that I have to ask a new client.

00:16:39.826 --> 00:16:48.198
But I also am all about you figuring out what the movement type is best for you and I.

00:16:48.759 --> 00:16:54.418
There's many there's walking, there's swimming, there's dancing, there's hiking, there's weight training.

00:16:54.418 --> 00:16:59.956
There are so many forms of movement that one of them is going to feel good to you.

00:16:59.956 --> 00:17:07.028
You have to be open and willing to do a little research and try a little bit of everything to figure out what makes you feel good.

00:17:07.028 --> 00:17:18.826
And I have never been that kind of trainer that is like you come in with the first time and I'm going to kick your butt and you're going to be able to walk out of the room because what's that going to do?

00:17:18.826 --> 00:17:21.493
That's only going to make you feel worse.

00:17:21.493 --> 00:17:24.769
And I always tell people your first couple of sessions with me.

00:17:24.769 --> 00:17:29.612
They might not even feel like anything because A I'm getting to know your body B.

00:17:29.612 --> 00:17:36.010
I'm seeing how your body moves naturally and figuring out what the best recipe for you is.

00:17:36.752 --> 00:17:49.989
Yeah, that's you know, and I have to say, as someone who is also certified in training, going hard after 50, or maybe even after 40, but just going hard is not always the best way to achieve that end result.

00:17:49.989 --> 00:17:51.953
In fact, you might get opposite results.

00:17:51.953 --> 00:17:57.547
Of course, when you go hard, you're going to build muscle mass and of course the muscle mass is going to make it seem like you've gained weight.

00:17:57.547 --> 00:17:58.730
But I'm not talking about that.

00:17:58.730 --> 00:18:08.296
I'm talking about the going hard and your cortisol levels raising, because when your cortisol levels levels raise, that's when things get to be really interesting, and they're already raising.

00:18:08.296 --> 00:18:11.813
When you're in menopause and then you're going hard at the gym, it's raising some more.

00:18:11.813 --> 00:18:18.124
You got some stress going on, because after all, midlifers have a lot of stress, and you got this triple whammy and you've gained 10 pounds.

00:18:18.124 --> 00:18:23.374
You're like I'm going to the gym and it's because of the hormonal levels, so you want to.

00:18:23.634 --> 00:18:25.498
I feel like women at this stage of life.

00:18:25.498 --> 00:18:26.979
First of all, give yourself grace.

00:18:26.979 --> 00:18:32.041
You know we've gone through a lot by the time you get to the 50s.

00:18:32.041 --> 00:18:32.961
You've been through a lot.

00:18:32.961 --> 00:18:33.442
You've probably.

00:18:33.442 --> 00:18:36.786
You may have given birth, you may have gotten married, maybe got divorced.

00:18:36.786 --> 00:18:39.172
You've had maybe several different kinds of jobs.

00:18:39.172 --> 00:18:42.869
You've got kids who might be college age or maybe they're having children.

00:18:43.150 --> 00:19:01.310
There's a lot of change and now your body is changing and you're feeling like, okay, I gotta do something about this, and I just see that giving yourself grace is one of the first steps, allowing yourself to just be, as you had mentioned, and I wanted to encourage everybody to take a look at all your links.

00:19:01.310 --> 00:19:23.407
I love your website, by the way, and I love the book, and you guys take a look at the book and purchase the book because, first of all, it's written with a sense of humor and I think that's so important because sometimes we can be so tough on ourselves and also, the other thing is that it gives you an opportunity to look at yourself and to realize that, as you mentioned, you're not alone.

00:19:23.407 --> 00:19:35.553
You're not the only person who's gone through that journey, and I really appreciate, rachel, you spending the time with us and sharing your story and and your expertise and talent.

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It's just been wonderful having you here today.

00:19:37.944 --> 00:19:39.611
Well, thank you so much for this opportunity.

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I appreciate it.

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Absolutely.

00:19:41.426 --> 00:19:53.339
And for those of you want to find out more about Rachel Levin, wellness and the wonderful things that she is doing to help women to move forward in a healthy way, please click on all those links on the show page and check her out.

00:19:53.339 --> 00:19:56.765
And once again, thank you so much for joining us on the Vibe Living podcast.

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I know you could choose many other podcasts, so the fact that you are sitting here or doing whatever you're doing and listening to us makes me so happy.

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And thank you so much for putting us in the top 10% of Apple Podcasts.

00:20:08.132 --> 00:20:13.836
And I have one more thing to say Please like, share, comment and subscribe to the podcast.

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Have a fantastic day and don't forget that you want to be vibrant, intuitive, beautiful and empowered in midlife, so don't forget to vibe.

00:20:21.385 --> 00:20:21.747
Bye-bye everybody.

00:20:21.747 --> 00:20:22.047
Forget to vibe.

00:20:22.047 --> 00:20:22.647
Bye-bye everybody.

00:20:22.647 --> 00:20:31.421
Oh, rachel, thank you so much for sharing on the podcast.

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It's just wonderful listening to you and hearing your point of view and I think it's so relevant.

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And I also admire that you decided to make fitness a part of your career and not just something that you did personally so that you could help other women.

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And the reason why I admire that is that we need more women who are what we call normal.

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You know working out, because I always say it's not what you look like, it's what your health is like.

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That's what's most important.

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What are your thoughts about that?

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I yes, I do agree with you, especially at my age now, but we're still dealing with you know, girls, teens, young 20 year olds who want to look good, and I don't begrudge them at all.

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But I'm hoping that with my message and other women like you who are teaching us to feel good in our bodies, to love our bodies, that the extremes that we go to in our youth are actually going to.

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You're going to pay the price for that as you get older.

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Restrictive dieting, any kind of injectables, those kinds of things are going to send your body, may not right away, may not in your 30s, but for sure in your older years you're going to ask for problems, joint issues.

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You know I'm not a doctor, but you know I work around enough specialists to understand that these things are doing damage to our systems.

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You're going to ask for disease.

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So if you can get to the point where you just understand that if you move your body, you rest your body, you nourish your body, you really weight loss is just going to be a factor of those three.

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Exactly, it is going to adjust itself to a weight that is most comfortable.

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Now, of course, the interesting thing is like, in my case, the weight that I think is most comfortable is 20 pounds heavier than when I was with them, when I was in my 30s.

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But the reality is when I was in my 30s I was underweight.

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I was having 50 million kids.

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It was so funny.

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I can remember one time where I had I was, I had just had my fourth child and my goddaughter was home from college and over the years, when she would come home, I was either just had a baby or I was pregnant, you know, basically.

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And so when she came home that summer, she, she pulled her mom to the side.

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She's like mom, what's wrong with Lynn?

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And she looks.

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She said, oh, she's just not pregnant.

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It's been a year since she had a last baby.

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But you know, our bodies are funny.

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And finally, you know as my girlfriend said, when I got older I began to get lady bumps or curves for the first time in my life, you know, and I had to learn to love my body in a different way.

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I had to learn to enhance my vibe, basically, and learn how to find a new way of loving myself, because it wasn't, I wasn't unhealthy, I was just a little bit larger, that's all, but not unhealthy.

00:23:46.570 --> 00:23:58.446
So tell me, rachel, how do you vibe, how do you stay vibrant and how do you increase your intuition and what do you do to enhance your beauty and how do you stay empowered to juggle everything to do?

00:23:58.487 --> 00:23:58.747
it all.

00:23:58.747 --> 00:24:07.306
That is a big question, but I think the simple answer is that I wake up every morning with gratitude that I woke up.

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I mean to remind myself that my body is a gift and it deserves to be treated as such, that even when so I dieted for you know, almost four decades, and so I have to I love the word you use to give myself grace to understand that 10, eight to 10 years of being off restrictive dieting, my body is probably still healing, and I know that my emotional health, regarding how my body looks, is still healing.

00:24:35.650 --> 00:24:54.696
But I've given myself enough power, I've given myself enough tools that when I do get a glimpse of myself or see myself in a picture and my initial reaction is to be harmful and hateful towards myself, I I say to myself this is just a moment.

00:24:55.238 --> 00:25:00.233
You live that way for so long, that this is just a moment and you are safe, you are beautiful.

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Today or right now, I have to.

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I have to break it down to the most minimal seconds when I feel that way.

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But I am very grateful that I've been doing this a while now, so I, most days, I don't even think about my body anymore, which is such a bigger gift than having to do what I just said, because in my past life I would literally just be constantly ruminating about my body or what it's not doing or what it is doing, and just to not even think about it.

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That is the real gift for me.

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That is a gift and I think you look beautiful.

00:25:35.250 --> 00:25:38.151
I believe that you know we were created.

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However, we were created when we want to maintain, you know, health and in some cases, maintaining health might mean that the person needs to lose weight, for, you know, for health reasons.

00:25:49.710 --> 00:26:01.366
I'm not negating that, but this whole thing of losing the weight so you can fit into the size two that you wore in high school and now you're 60 I'm not sure about that part.

00:26:01.366 --> 00:26:07.618
I'm not sure about that part, but I I just love your wisdom and thank you so much for sharing with us.

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I know you're going to inspire others and encourage still yet more women to be well in their mind, body and spirit and to embrace all of who they are with love.

00:26:16.557 --> 00:26:18.894
So thank you so much, rachel, for joining us here today.

00:26:18.894 --> 00:26:20.910
Thank you so much for having me.