Susan Van Hoosen

This episode is brought to you by KPMG Risk Services. KPMG believes that when you've earned the trust of all your stakeholders, that's when your business has a solid platform to grow. That's the trusted imperative. KPMG Risk Services develop and put in place dynamic risk strategies designed to help your business earn that all important trust. Go to reit, KPMG US Trust to learn more. Yet attitude means how can I proactively change the way I think? How can I proactively increase my life? How can I proactively create better relationships and better work situations for me to enjoy it and welcome to the Gap. The Get Attitude Podcast The Gap Bridging the gap from who you are to who you want to become and from where you stand to where you want to go. Hello, my name is Glenn Bill, founder of the University of Attitude, keynote speaker and author of the international best selling book the ABCs of Attitude. And I've been fortunate enough to help tens of thousands of people Get Attitude. Attitude, the secret formula to success in your business and in your life. And this podcast is going to help you get yours. So let's get some. I want to welcome everybody. Please remember to subscribe, rate and review and if you like what you're going to hear, which I know you are going to like what you're going to hear today because our guest focusing on Attitude booster number nine is truly amazing and probably one of the most certified people we've ever had. Come in here today we are going to meet with Susan Van Hoosen. Susan is a population health strategist for LHD Benefit Advisors. She is also a certified corporate wellness specialist, a certified well being promoter, a certified health coach, a certified meditation and mindfulness teacher, and a certified yoga instructor, which really is the most fun out of them all. She is also the author of an unbelievable book called One Bite at a Time, A True Story of Transformational Change and seven Life Lessons Learned. Susan, welcome to the Gap.

Thank you. Thank you for having me. It's very exciting to be here. Very exciting.

You have been a busy lady. You've done a lot.

It's been a journey. Yes, there's a lot to do.

We are focused here on attitude booster number nine, Eat right and exercise.

Love it.

And I know that this concept of eating right and exercise gets into mindfulness, it gets into wellness. Give me your thoughts on how diet and exercise play a part in wellness and mental health.

Yeah, I mean it's the root of optimal mental health and physical health. So, so often we're Focused on the physical, you know, the exercise. So many of us have the exercise piece down. Right. But then we struggle with the eating. Right, right, the eat, or I like to say eating better. So, you know, you see people at the gym and they, you know, they're hitting it at the gym, but they can't figure out why they still can't lose weight. Right, Right. It's because we can't outwork a poor diet. Right. But also there's so many other components. It's, it's, you know, understanding what is our inspiring sense of why, why do we want to feel better? Why do we want to, you know, move more? I like to, you know, I kind of stepped away from the word when I was coaching. I stepped away from using exercise because it's work. You know, it's like a workout. It has the word work in it. And I just, I like to more kind of use, integrate, just moving more. How can we move more?

I love it.

You know, it's less intimidating, it's more relatable. I think everybody wants to move more and you don't feel like you have to do it right. It's not a chore. So if we can just think about how can I move more, you know, move more throughout the day versus exercise. People get stuck there. Right? So people get stuck there.

So when you talk about moving more in your corporate position, my guess is you're working with people that are sitting in front of a computer for eight to nine hours a day or people that aren't moving as part of their workday. Do you help them with what to do and what do you do if you're one of those folks?

Yeah, so we, I work with many different types of industries and employer population. So of course you have the office worker who's sitting. You have the, you know, the sales folks that are out there sitting in their cars. And then you have the line workers that are, you know, shift workers that, you know, maybe get a half hour break. They're in that one station and they're only moving one way for what, for, for what their certain job function is. So it's really finding first of all, again, what is that? Why, why do they want to feel better, you know, find something that they like to do? Maybe it's not, you know, a workout, but maybe it's, you know, going on a walk during a lunch break or at a shift break, or taking a screen break, an ice cream break, sneaking in more movement, you know, whatever that may be for that person's lifestyle and their Job function.

And so when we talk about sales guys and lifestyle, right? It's sitting in their car, it's out running, knocking on doors, making sales calls. But then it's, I only have five minutes, so I'm going to Arby's and I'm going to get a double processed meat, extra cheese with curly fries. But I will get a diet Coke, right? Hello, mama.

Oh, classic, classic. You know what I always say to the salespeople is, you know what? Prepare. Just as you're preparing for that sales call, right? As you're preparing for that sales call and pitching that service or your product, whatever that is, part of your plan should be. How are you going to plan to perform optimally? Pack your bottled water, pack healthy snacks for the road so you don't get stuck and you're driving through the junk through.

Right?

Right. And you're then the junk through. The junk through.

Dang, I like that.

Driving through the junk through and then wondering why you're tired later and you're gaining weight. So prepare for success, set yourself up for success and plan your meals. Pack healthy snacks, bring your water.

So you've given us some. But like, hey, there's people sitting in their car, walking on the beach, walking right now going, I've been walking 29 miles this week and I haven't dropped a pound. Like, what are the three most important things when the whole piece, the mindfulness piece, like, what are the three things people can do to feel best?

Gosh, you know what, one of the most underrated habits, sleep, get more rest, you know, and people are, there's an epidemic of sleep deprived people, right? So unplugging before bedtime so that you can fall asleep and first of all fall asleep. And you know, I'm an eight hour girl. If I don't get my eight hours, I feel it. You know, seven to eight hours is optimal. So it really starts with sleep. If we're not getting sleep, we're going to be more prone to stress, to inflammation, to weight gain, to poor choices in what we're eating and drinking. Our energy levels are going to suffer. So it starts with sleep, hydration, water. Starting our day with water, integrating water throughout the day and then I like to say one bite at a time really is stepping into those healthy habits of putting whole, real foods in your body. Right. You know, if it has a food label and you can't pronounce it probably shouldn't be eating. It was made in a chemistry lab, not on a farm or not from the ground. Right, right. So sleep, hydration and really looking at what are we putting into our bodies.

Right, right. Because they. Yeah. They said if it has an expiration date, you probably should not eat it.

You know, if it has 10, 20 ingredients that you can't pronounce. Right, right. It's a food product. It's not food. It's a product.

Right.

Packaged and manufactured to be shelf stable and sit in your body and.

Yeah. And never leave.

Yeah.

Which it doesn't.

Sometimes it doesn't. Especially if there's no fiber to help eliminate.

Right. What? I get it. I get it. Or Activia. Do you believe in Activia?

Loaded question. Loaded question. Glenn.

They don't sponsor my podcast. Not yet. So you can say whatever you want.

You know, I believe in probiotics.

Okay.

I believe in probiotics. Right. And if, you know, you're not taking a probiotic, certainly we want to first look to getting our nutrients from food first and not supplements. I have not read the label on Activia.

Lot of sugar.

I was gonna say sugar. How much sugar? Would be my first question.

Too damn much.

So I would say, you know, take a probiotic. Right. Or a plain Greek yogurt with no artificial sweetener to make it taste so good.

Right. Right. Let's get back to this sleep thing. What are your best. Hey, look it. Nobody can sleep.

Well, it's an epidemic.

I mean, it's horrific. Now, I prefer to do a shot of bourbon and then take 2 Advil PM'. Usually. Usually I sleep great, but then I wake up a little tired and groggy. Right. So I'm guessing that that's probably not the best choice for my mindfulness to sleep.

Wait, are you serious?

I am serious. Every Sunday. So I don't sleep during the week. I've just said. All right, look. But every Sunday, I demand of myself to medicate myself in a manner that I sleep. And I really don't do the shadow bourbon as much as I do the Advil pm. So tell me how Advil PM is ruining. But like, hello, you got nyquil? Like, everybody is pushing sleep aids now.

Yeah.

Like crazy.

Yeah. You mentioned medication. So, you know, the only difference in the word medication and meditation is a T and a C. Right. So if you don't want to. If you don't want to be on medication, you know, something to, at the end of day is going to disrupt your sleep and, you know, not be good for your system to rely on a medication.

Right.

You know, it's just looking at getting still. Right. Unplugging quieting your mind, that monkey brain, you know, to settle yourself so that you can have a restful night's sleep. Not just on Sundays, you know, it's not something. It's what we do matters. What we do every day matters more than what we do once in a while. So what you do every day is going to help you more than what is on that Sunday night. So, you know, I. When we talk about sleep, you know, especially workers today, if, you know, if. Whether folks have been furloughed and they're hoping to get their job back or they've been laid off or they're working overload and burned out at their job right now, their sleep is oftentimes suffering. So. And we know social media and all the digital world we live in is feeding into that. So it's disconnect, unplug. It's the basics. Unplug about an hour before, try not to eat. Two hours before bedtime journal. Put your worries to bed. I like to say, tuck in your worries and your stress. Write them down and say good night. Settle yourself, settle your mind, but practice it. The first night, you'll probably find yourself going, this isn't working. This isn't working. What can I do now? Right? The monkey brain starts, but get back to breath, get back to unsettling, and just practice it. It's a practice.

I love it. Jason, are you feeling better? Yes.

He was meditating on that.

I was really paying attention to the sleep part because I am not a good sleeper. And I also kind of medicate with vodka.

Or I got some Buffalo Trace over here.

We could do a shot of Buffalo Trace. Well, you know, vodka doesn't have any calories in.

Is perfect. It's a cleaner choice, but I heard.

Tequila'S an even cleaner choice than vodka.

It is a cleaner. Yes, It's a clean choice.

Okay, well, there you go. But probably not the best choice. When it's all said and done.

When it's all said and done. You know, moderation, obviously, that might be another podcast.

Moderation. We've had some moderation talks, for sure. So let's talk about this book called One Bite at a A True Story of Transformational Change. Tell us your story, your true story and what you were faced with and what that transformational change looked like. I know we have people who listen to this who are like, oh, shit, I can't believe this just happened to me. And so I think your story would go a long way in helping them know that there's a place to go and you can get to the other side of the bridge.

Yeah, absolutely you can. There's hope and I'm living proof of that. So I lost my husband Trent on November 2, 2012. It'll be eight years and less than a month, which is crazy to me to think that it's been that long. I feel like I've relived two lifetimes since then. But Trent was a, Trent was a very healthy, physically strong, took care of himself, healthy, young, 46 year old. He had just turned 46 three weeks prior. We had just returned from our wedding anniversary trip in Nashville. But with that said, he'd been feeling a little tired, been feeling a little tired, was working overtime, putting in a lot of hours, a little stressed at his workplace. Just a fast paced environment and men typically won't go to the doctor.

Right.

And I actually had an appointment for him that day at noon. He did not make that. Ultimately let me back up and say Trenton had had a blood clot in 2008. Right. That they had tied up the vein, you know, so that wouldn't travel to the lung and kill him. And he was on Coumadin. They put him on Coumadin at that time. He was in his 30s and you know, he was taking the Coumadin and you know, blood thinner and you know, doing the research, always being our own health advocates, learning that, you know what, this is kind of a dirty and you know, it can have really harmful side effects, especially taking it so young. And you know, we try to avoid medication at all costs. So he wanted to get off the Coumadin and our, you know, we talked about, hey, if you start to feel, you know, tightness in your legs or fatigue, you know, we'll revisit this. So we knew that he wasn't feeling well. You know, certainly when I look back at the signs and the symptoms, it's so clear to me that it was very serious. But you don't want to believe that when you're going through something and especially with men guys out there, please, when you're not feeling well and have those symptoms and ladies too, you know, heart disease is the number one silent killer. Often goes overlooked, you know, get yourself to the doctor. But anyway, Trent ultimately, you know, he went to work that, that morning and I begged him not to go, he wasn't feeling well. And you know, he came back and about 30 minutes later after he left for work, he actually worked in a hospital and he came up to the stairs and looked at me and just collapsed at the end of the Bed. Ultimately, he had a pulmonary embolism. It was another blood clot that traveled to his lung and ultimately took his life. So, needless to say, I was in shock. And, you know, looking back, I see that I had PTSD for probably a few years, but I didn't know that then. Right. I didn't know that then.

A lot of that going on.

A lot of that going on. It's going on. It's going on right now. And, you know, at the time when I lost my husband, you know, I thought my world was over. I thought my world was over. I, you know, spent, you know, weeks, I think, you know, looking back in bed, I couldn't move very well. I was just looking at how can I survive? I was in shock. And it was about a month afterwards I got my daughter on the bus, and I realized that I could barely walk, you know, and I was someone. Trent and I were very fit, active people. You know, we had started CrossFit before CrossFit was even known about in this area.

I remember watching you guys on social media working out. Trent played middle linebacker at Iowa State.

Iowa State. Don't get the two confused.

Oh, I understand. No, we talked because I got. I got along with Trent. We were both college football guys. Right?

Buddies.

Yeah. So he was a specimen.

He was. He was a beast.

Yeah, he was a freaking beast.

And a health nut. Right. He took care of himself. So, you know, it was, you know, and when you're not feeling well, and I've been. I've noticed myself do this. You know, I'm okay. You know, I'm healthy. This isn't, you know, you ignore it, but we must be in tune with our body. So, you know, I realized that I didn't want to live like that anymore. And I was in survival mode. And I thought, you know what? I need to accept this. And I don't want to just survive this. I want to thrive and start to feel better again. And so my go to feel better was always exercise. So I went downstairs and put myself through a real short, you know, CrossFit wad. And I remember surrendering on the floor thinking. And I realized it was the first day that I hadn't cried. Yeah, the first day that I hadn't cried in 31 days.

And exercise gave that to you?

Exercise gave that to me. It gave me mental strength physically. You know, I couldn't give 100%. I gave what I had. And that is the key to just, you know, start, you know, one bite at a time. Just start again. And you know, seek healthier choices. And I decided then that I was, you know, going to every day try to do something to feel better. And so one, you know, one workout, you know, a day, one bite at a time, turned into, you know, turned into realizing that part of that transformation too was seeing that, you know, when we lose someone that close to us, at least for me, you know, we hopefully we reevaluate our own lives.

Right.

You know, for me, the question was, you know, I, you know, looking back, I see that I was experiencing some acute depression. I had never experienced true depression before. Not sure, you know, how I wanted to live my life, but when I had that awakening and that aha moment after, you know, having that exercise and deciding that, you know, I wanted to be here and I just didn't want to survive. I wanted to thrive in my life. And what is, what was that going to look like? And although I previously loved my job, we worked together, I was there almost 12 years, loved the people I work with. I knew that I needed more, I needed more meaning in my life. And I, you know, certainly we were doing great work, but I needed more meaning and I needed to be able to. And what that meant for me was to help other people heal along their own journey. You know, and Trent's saying was when we were, we were faced with a lot of, a lot of challenges in our life and often at one time and he, you know, he was the laid back one that, you know, he could take naps, he could be relaxed about things. You know, he was a Libra and I was the type 8, you know, type A personality, Gemini, you know, and so, you know, I would, I was never one bite at a time kind of girl. And he would say, you know, hey, you know, how do you need an elephant one bite at a time. And I used to just kind of balk at that, you know, saying. And you know, when I, it really set the tone for my grief, it was my self prescribed grief therapy to go on one bite at a time. And oftentimes, you know, it was one hour at a time. You know, it was one day at a time, it was one minute at a time. And sometimes when we're going through a storm, you know, whether it's a pandemic or we're going through our own life storm, it starts out as maybe one hour at a time.

Yes.

You know, and then, then it's one day and we have to make that decision to have faith and want it and want to, to rise up to our highest calling. So for me, that meant I needed to step away from corporate America, step away from my job. And, you know, for me, it meant, you know what, I'm going to serve others to help live their best, healthiest, happiest, most inspired life one bite at a time. And it's going to be different for everybody. So that's how I formed Inspired by Fitness and, you know, was so blessed to have that business for five years and work with people along so many very similar stories, but on their journey in a different place and space.

Sure. And it's so cool that the title of your book creates a legacy for Trent and that he's there on that cover every time, which is so cool.

And that's actually the rock, the actual rock at the corner of my neighborhood. That's my strength rock.

Really.

When I started to get out as part of that, it was probably a few days after I had that first workout. I used to always jog to that rock. It's about a two mile trek and my neighbor neighborhood, and I certainly wasn't had, did not have the energy to jog early on. And I thought, I can just walk and get there if I can just get to that rock. That'll be my strength rock every day if I can get there. And, you know, I remember seeing it for the first time and getting there, and I'd been running to that rock for years, and that became my strength rock. And then eventually I was able to run to it and then I would meditate on it. And so that had, you know, that rock was represented, the rock of strength, the rock of, you know, having hope.

And is it still there?

It's still there.

And you're still in the same house.

It's my rock. Yes.

Right. And if they try to move it, shit's gonna hit the fan.

They cannot move that rock. Is there? It is. Yes.

Let's delve into the seven life lessons you learned. And you don't have to give all seven, because I know people like Glenn, tell me your 10 attitude boosters. And I'm like, oh, man, I know I should know all this right now.

Yeah. It's benefit since I've revisited.

So I won't do that to you. People are always like, hey, Glenn, motivate me. You're a motivational. Motivate me on. I'm like, well, hold on. It's not really the setting, so. But maybe hit one or two that you can bring back that you feel are the most important of the seven that you talk about in the book.

Yeah. And I Think what's interesting is, you know, I had to relearn a lot of these lessons. Just a couple years ago, I lost both of my, you know, I lost my father, and both of my parents got sick at the same time. My brother got cancer and stayed with us. My daughter was going through health issues, and, you know, I was in another storm. And I found myself having to really mindfully go back to some of these lessons that I had learned and. And practice. So I think now we're in a time too, of, you know, hopefully these lessons can help people within this pandemic of, you know, first of all, it's never too late. You know, it's never too late. As a biggie, when I was making a career change and going into the fitness industry at age 43, I was question on, aren't you too old to be doing that? Or, you know, are you sure you want to leave everything and that you have and take the risk? Right. Take a risk of starting your own business. And to me, I'd already lost everything.

Yeah, you said, hell, yes, let's do it.

I lost everything, and it was no longer a risk for me. You know, it was. No, I took a leap of faith. And, you know, one of the lessons is it always works out for the even better. Not that it always works out, but for the even better, right? And for me, it worked out even better than I could have imagined and dreamed. And so, you know, just having that faith and. And just practicing again, it's one bite at a time, right? So the one bite at a time lesson is, you know, practicing and having that belief and knowing, you know, really connecting to what's important to you. You know, people always ask me, well, how do I know what my purpose is? How do I find my purpose? You know, and, you know, there's some. Some questions we can ask ourselves. And I lead people through this in the book of, you know, what activities light you up, you know, what, what gets you most excited to get out of bed, you know, where do you find yourself losing track of time? Those are your passions, right? Find a way with your passions to serve others. You know, service is one of the lessons, right? We find a way to take what we love and serve others to help. It'll all come back to us even more.

Sure. Contribution and growth being two huge emotional needs, right? Why do we do what we do? And we know the spiritual emotional needs of growth and contribution, really do that, which is what you embody, which is why I had to have you on the podcast. And I Know when you went through that, I mean, you got that book done within a year, I think, and I just always admired how you dealt with it. And, you know, I didn't know Trent real well, but I know that that's what he would want for you. You know, as cool as that is. And so just such a great story, very poignant. And, you know, now I love how you said, you know, you lost it all. When people are like, well, how do I know what I need? I'm like, shit, lose it all. Go spend everything. Lose it all. And then, guess what? Nothing is a real big challenge.

Yeah. Yeah. And you don't have to be. For me, I was broken down and broken open. Yeah, I was broken down and I was broken open. But what was broken open in me was a way to be able to rise up. And so, you know, I want to teach people that you don't have to have that to be broken down and wait for that brick over the head. Right. Life is always talking to us. There's those nudges, those little whispers or those little signs. And if you're aware of it, it's really cool when you're in flow with life and you're aware of it. But if we ignore all of these things, the brick is going to come. You know, we're going to get broken down. And hopefully we don't just get broken down, but we get broken open to see what, why, what is the purpose of that? So that we can really grow and then rise up.

So what you do now is you go into customer, you go into business, and you work with people on wellness and mindfulness. Talk to me about, I don't know, maybe like a client. You don't have to say who they are, where you're like, damn, I just did some good for these people. Like, what was the setting, what was the need and what did you feel and maybe what was the lesson that you learned from that?

Yeah, well, you know, I'll make it more relevant and really talk about what I'm actually going to be doing tomorrow with one of our employer clients.

Let's do that.

Yeah. So I work with our employer clients, right. As basically the wellness consultant for our firm. And so I get to work with, you know, HR directors and benefits team on how do we integrate wellness and employee well being into our benefit strategy. And so, you know, we're in a time right now, you know, with, with this pandemic and, you know, and racial injustice and these environmental catastrophes all happening at once. And we have people, you know, in the workforce who are really looking to their employer to help them through. Right. And how do we navigate this time? And how do we, you know, as an employer, we look at, how do we make sure our employees, first of all, understand their benefits, you know, what, what's available to them to help them? Everything from, you know, the basics of an eap, an employee assistance program, or how to access telehealth and navigate the health care system. But how do we make sure they're well, you know, because we care about our employees and we want to make sure that they have the resources to be productive, to be energized, to, to help still grow the company, if we're growing, or help still deliver. Right. And to bring their best to work. How do we do that? So, just for example, Tamara, you know, what I started seeing in our population health data over a year ago was really the rise of, you know, you have your top three, your chronic conditions, right. You know, every week, all of our employee populations and, you know, the top three highest risk factors that we always look at to drive strategy and how are we going to educate and program? It's diabetes, hypertension and bmi. Right. The top three that are, you know, it's American lifestyle diseases. We can lifestyle our way into them and we can lifestyle our way out. Right.

Amen.

How do we do that, preach this stuff? So I started to see in our data that mental health was starting to really rise to the top. Right. Right up there with diabetes and hypertension, as far as claims cost, as far as top medication, as far as, you know, what are the top health risks that are affecting an employee population. So we know how to develop strategy and what type of person programming and education and workshops to provide employees to help manage their conditions. And so I started talking about this, you know, really, you know, destigmatizing having that conversation. And it was new for, for a lot of people to really talk about mental health. And, you know, then really look at how, as a comorbidity, how that affects, you know, if I'm living with a mental health condition and I have diet and I'm living with diabetes, it's really going to be hard to keep on top of managing my A1C and making healthy choices. Right. I'm not going to be in the mindset. So they're. It's really all together, right. If we can focus on and really support mental health, then we're going to be impacting those other lifestyle chronic conditions that our employees are suffering from and living with and spending On. So this particular group that such a exciting privilege to work on, we started to see the mental health rise to the top. And this particular client, they have such a strong leadership team and this group really cares about their employees. And you know, they said, hey, you know, we want to make sure that we are first, you know, making sure that our managers are equipped to help our employees when they need to refer to an EAP or they first of all, do our leaders and managers even know what the EAP is?

Right.

You know, or how to access telehealth themselves or how they downloaded our, you know, health insurance app.

You know, that all sounds extremely stressful.

Yeah, right, right.

Because anything technology. Now I found out which I suffer from a mental illness called I want to strangle technology. And it's like, hey, I need help. And they're like here. Well here's 50 answers. And I'm like, I'm a sales guy, I'm an ADD person. I can't read my way through this. So that causes a lot of yes. But like that's huge, Huge, huge.

You know, if we're in a, if we're ready where we need to talk to somebody or we're sick and we're worried, we have Covid.

Right.

And you know, we're going to do a virtual visit. It's going to be stressful to go, oh shoot, I never set up my telehealth and download my profile. We want to have it ready in our phone so we can go tap, tap and we're talking to someone. Right. Or be able to call the number for EAP assistance. So that's. We always start with hey, let's leverage our existing resources, make sure our employees know what help is out there for them. We want to make sure that first of all they know how to access care. You know, right now it's a time of educating people on how to be resilient, savvy healthcare consumers, how to navigate the healthcare system. And a lot of that starts with education. So I created a survey and first we surveyed the leaders. First to see, okay, where are we as managers first in this organization.

Terrible.

What do we know? Right. If we're going to be able to help our teams, we first need to see assess leaders. Right. And so we got the survey results back. I just sent those over today and I'll be reviewing it tomorrow on this training. But the CEO and the director of HR are very forward thinking innovators who really care about their employees and a company that has made smart business decisions. So they're actually, you know, they're doing well economically in this, in this pandemic. So they're an essential business. So they, most of their folks have been at work from the beginning. And so we also wanted to see the. Let's get real with what, what type of mental health needs are there? Because there's a hundred ways we could go when we look at programming. Is it resiliency, is it coping? Is it, hey, I got kids at home working remotely, you know, doing school and I'm working from home. How the heck do I manage this? Is it caregiving? Is it anxiety and depression? So, you know, we wanted to assess those things first to see where, where are our leaders and managers? Where do we need to start educating them and make sure our leaders and managers have what they need for themselves and help their teams and then we're going to take it to the next level. So tomorrow's training is a leadership training on sort of mental health 101 and really educating on resources, assessing and strategizing and collaborating on next steps.

So you'll be peeling back the onion a little bit.

Peeling it back, yeah. Talking about stigmatizing. Yes.

Right. And creating a safe place.

Creating a safe place, yes.

Which is the number one thing. So we've had some other folks on and it's like. Yeah, well, first of all, my brother does a lot of this and I forget what broadcast he was. But so amazing how people don't feel safe, especially when they're talking about mental health or what they're feeling or why they don't eat. Right. And why they don't exercise. What do you think the number one reason is? People don't move.

Wow. You know, gosh, that is a good question. The number one. I thought you were going to say, number one, people don't report they have mental health issues.

Right. Well, we know that they don't feel safe.

They don't feel safe. Right. And actually I did. I was researching this topic and found that oftentimes people will not share with their supervisor that they're struggling in their job.

They think they'll get fired.

They're worried about their job. Yep. Which causes even more stress. But the number one people switching gears don't move. Gosh, you know, I think it's different for everybody. You know, moving takes, you know, it's a mindful action. It's a mindful choice. Right. It's easy, especially for sedentary. We've been sitting for a while. We have to mindfully choose to get up and move. Right. And sometimes it's not always easy.

That's true.

So that's why I like to say, instead of thinking about going to exercise, how can you just get up and move, get up and stretch, whether it's dancing, doing some, just moving around, taking a walk, whatever that is, for some way, we gotta remove sort of exercise from the mindset because that feels like exhausting. And it's work and it's intimidating. And it's one more thing we have to do, right?

So what is. And then let's hit on the eat part of eat right and exercise. You know, eating is a choice, right? Why do people make the wrong choice? What's inside their brain? And I know there's an addiction to sugar. I get it. That's more powerful than cocaine and all that. I get it. But it's like, you know, I have eat right and exercise for a reason, because it's like so simple. And 35 billion gets spent on diets and Weight Watchers. I'm like, well, shit, all you gotta do, just eat right. If you just eat right and exercise, you're good. If you only eat fruits and vegetables and exercise. So how can you help our gappers who make bad decisions when it comes to either moving or eating right? What needs to go in their head? What can they say to themselves to stop eating the third piece of cake or the first piece of cake?

Yeah.

So what tricks do you have?

You know, so it's interesting, one of Trent's also sayings that I loved was the formula is simple, but it's not easy, right? The formula is simple. It's eat whole foods, step away from sugar, step away from the junk through. You know, we know that, but, you know, we are a society that are programmed to eat on the run, to not sit down and eat right, to take the easy, convenient choice. We're the only country with a kid's menu. So we set our kids. Seriously, we're the only country with the kids money. So we set up our kids, you know, and feeding them, you know, chicken fingers and fries or, you know, the deal meal for kids. And then they struggle their whole life as adults trying to get off that stuff.

Well, and then they market it. So they go to movies, drink Coke, eat popcorn and have chocolate.

And we're the biggie size of America, right? So therefore, we're biggie America. We're biggie Americans. So, you know, tips are really just, you know, it's the basic. It's mindfully, first of all, ask to ask yourself, why do I want to feel better? Why do I want to lose weight? You know, the physical, you know, oftentimes I find myself, well, you know, when we dig deep, but then we have to realize, okay, I'm going to have to speak to people's vanity. Right. Because some people only vanity. People listen to their vanity. You know, if you want to look good and have, you know, clear skin and be at a healthy weight and, you know, that's one thing, but that's short term. That's why, you know, diets don't work, those 30 day challenges and programs don't work. It's truly lifestyle. So, you know, the one bite at a time, starting with, look at what kind of life do I want to live and how do I want to feel each day? And if I want to feel vibrant and energized and happy and more at peace, a lot of that starts with just mindfully stepping back and look and taking time to think about what I choose to put in my mouth to eat and drink.

Sure.

And taking time to set myself up for excess success. Just like I would with my work, just like I would with my kids, you know, or any other, you know, project that's important to me to really plan for that. And that means, you know, you know, setting out your workout clothes in the morning or your, your movement clothes and setting so you're not trying to think about that when you're groggy for coffee, you know, you know, preparing the night before. It's, you know, preparation. So basic preparation is so key for that success. It's a, it's a good attitude mindset. You know, getting the attitude of I am in charge, I am in control. Because so often we feel like we're not in control, especially in this environment that we're living right now, but we are in what we can control is what we're eating and drinking and how we're thinking, who we're choosing to be around and what we're listening to and how we're, how we're sleeping. Right. And how we're moving, how we're moving. And so it's, you know, again, eating real foods, stepping away from, you know, processed packaged foods, you know, you know, all the, all the stuff that we were raised on and that makes it so easy for us.

Yes.

And, you know, if it were, you know, if there were a match, magic pill, and if it were easy, then, you know, there would be no health issues. We'd all be, you know, at a healthy weight and living our best lives. You know, the, I like to say, hey, you Know the, for me, my happy pill is when I get a cardio buzz.

Yeah.

You know, when I get, when I'm done with a, you know, you know, really nice, you know, deep stretching, vinyasa flow of a yoga practice or a really hardcore workout or just a run or even an invigorating lunch break walk. It doesn't have to be intense, you know, just to feel better. If I could bottle that up, you know, and give it to people as, hey, this is, this is what it feels like.

But you can't drink it.

You can't, you know, so it's really, you know, just starting your day with intention, you know, starting your day with intention of, you know, I'm going to make choices to the best that I can. And starting each day knowing that it is a one day at a time. It's a one bite at a time. You know, people get really ambitious and say, you know, January 1st, I'm going on that diet. I'm doing that weight loss. And by. We know the data shows us by January 31st, half have dropped off, you know, by March 1st. It's another what I think there's 10% left that have actually stuck to their goals.

Sure.

Because it's not lifestyle. Right. Just deciding to. And living our best life really is deciding to pay attention and wake up and plan and prepare. And it does take work. You know, I, you know, it takes work to. As you know, you live a healthy lifestyle. It takes work to make sure I'm packing my lunch, I've got my water bottle, you know, I'm mindfully unplugging before bed. You know, I always travel with snacks and food because I know I'll be in a jam and often can't eat what's being served, you know, at a function or just setting ourselves up for success.

We had breakfast one morning years ago, you and I. Yes. And you had peanut butter on a muffin. So I've heard peanut butter is not good first thing in the morning. I'm like, Susan vanhusen did it. So I'm doing.

On a muffin. I did it on a muffin.

I think you did. Or it might have been a piece of rye toast.

It was probably.

Yeah, something like that.

Probably not. I hope not.

A muffin, peanut butter in the morning. Is that a yes or a no?

You know, for then. I will say then for me, it was a way to get my protein and healthy fats. You know, it was probably like a toast and peanut butter. Right. You know, it's a way to Have I used to be in the school of thought for everyone? Hey, eat breakfast. I think it depends on who we are. Right. I've learned a lot just recently about gut health. You know, the gut health, mind connection, everything. And for me, you know, I've never been really hungry at breakfast. I'm more of a.

Me neither.

I'm not. So I used to kind of force myself to have breakfast under the mindset and training of, hey, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Get your metabolism going.

Get your metabolism going. But it depends, you know, we have to make sure that it's protein and healthy fats and fiber and, you know, that's different than grabbing a bagel or a donut or a sugary cereal box. Right, right. But I, you know, I am now practicing intermittent fasting. It's working for me. It's working for me. And I, you know, it's for gut health issues as well. It's really helpful and energy.

So we could do a whole show.

On that whole show.

That's a big Tony Robbins. We spent three days on gut health. It was crazy. So real quick, McMuffins are only 300 calories. Right. So they're good for you. Right? Right. Because only 300 calories.

There's a reason everything at McDonald's is a dollar. It's not real food. It is not real food. The cheese will never mold. The bread won't mold.

Right.

The processed meat, you know, it's, you.

Know, probably not a good healthy choice.

Not a good healthy choice.

I love it. Okay, well, I just want to know, because I love McMuffins, but I just don't eat them anymore because of learning. Right. And so this has been great, Susan, but now we want to get back into your history because, you know, not only are you a superwoman for the past 10 years, there's a whole history to you. And we do this by a little thing that we call knowledge through the decades. And what we want you to do is take it back to the very day you were born. And. And if you don't remember that day, you can think about when your kids were born. But what we do is we go through every decade of your life asking you to revisit that time in your life and ask what the attitude lesson that you learned was. Okay, so we're heavily edited. If you are on the spot, don't worry about it. We've heard it all. If your answer completely sucks, Jason, we'll edit it out and make it perfect. But we never do. But we Never do.

Darn. I was prepared for this question because.

Our guests are so good. And so we love to have people walk through their life and see the growth of attitude from when they were born to. And it's okay to say you're over 50.

Yes, I am a proud 51. I just turned 51.

I'm 52. So we're very close in age. And so that's what we're going to do now because I know we only have about nine more minutes. Okay, so what I want to know is what is the attitude lesson that you got from giving child childbirth or being born, if you remember, what's the attitude lesson? Attitude being defined is the way you dedicate yourself to the way you think. Right, Right. And so what do you, when you, when you think of a newborn baby, what can we learn, attitude wise, from a newborn?

Yeah. So I don't remember the day I was born, but certainly my daughter. I, you know that it's not about me anymore.

Right.

You know, the attitude that I am now responsible for this wonderful loving being and dedicated, dedicating my life to service in a way that I'd never felt before. You know, unconditional love.

Right.

And you know that the lesson there is, gosh, if we could, you know.

Only.

Practice that unconditional love and empathy for everyone and not just our children, the world would be a safer, more peaceful, better place. We wouldn't be so divided and there wouldn't be unrest and illness.

Right. And you know, one thing, not to jump back, but I do want to because, you know, there's a lot of single moms I know that are listening to this. And eight years ago, you became a single mom. What is your hope for those single moms or what is the best advice you could give them? Whether if they became a single mom with the circumstances you faced, or husband left or whatever, or they left single parenting. What's, what's the attitude lesson on that?

Yeah. You know what I would say to women? You are stronger than what you think. You are stronger than what you think. And you know, as moms and especially as single moms, you know, oftentimes we just do it. We take care of what needs to be done and we just do it. But I know there's also a lot of folks that struggle with that. And, you know, to also remember you are not a victim, to have a victor mentality, that we are victors. And single moms are some of the strongest, most resilient women and mothers that I know, except especially single working moms.

Unbelievable.

Single working moms. You know, we have two full time jobs, right. So just to know that you can do this, that you're not alone, find a community of support. And, you know, one of my biggest lessons and one that I still practice is don't be afraid to ask for help. Swallow your pride, mama. You know, we're all in this together. Ask for help.

Cool.

Ask for help.

Well, good. I hope our single moms keep coming to the gap because I'm here to help you guys. I hope you guys know that. So let's go to Susan. At 10 years old, I want to know, where did you grow up? What grade school did you go to?

Yeah. So I grew up in Frankfort, Indiana, a small farming hot dog. Hot dogs. Home of the hot dogs. Yes. So, you know, a really wonderful small town, Frankfort, Indiana. And my dad worked for John Deere, you know, for 41 years. And so I had, you know, John Deere tractors instead of pink bicycles and three wheelers. And, you know, my attitude then was fun and, you know, I'll play and.

You know, you were just fun.

Yeah.

Were you the tallest girl in your class?

I was one of the tallest, yeah.

How did that affect your attitude? Or was it good for you?

I loved it. Yeah, I loved it. Right.

Every other girl's like, I wish I was that tall.

And one of my best friend, my young childhood best friend at the time, Tina, we were the tallest together. So it's kind of like, you know, power.

So you had a buddy.

Yeah.

And then did you have siblings?

Yes, I have a brother, John. Yeah, I grew up with.

And then your dad and mom.

Yes.

They were your first two attitude coaches. What did mom and dad instill in you in regards to attitude that might have affected you? That still is with you today?

Still does for sure. So my father, who I just lost two years ago, this lives on in me, his work ethic. Such a strong, strong work ethic. You know, I grew up in the church. We were, you know, God loving, faithful people. They taught me to, you know, have a strong faith. My father taught me, you know, his humbleness, you know, to be humble, not worry about who gets the credit. Just do your work and to take care. To take care of things, you know, from my mom, I learned more, you know, humor and fun and play and also to serve, you know, she was a Sunday school teacher. She was my confirmation teacher. She was a substitute teacher in the schools. And, you know, to teach, to teach others. Cool. You know, she would always say, and I used to laugh at it and mock her at the time when I didn't want to hear it. But, you know, kill him with kindness, you know. Right. But gosh, it's so basic but so true.

Yeah, yeah, just kindness booster number one, be nice.

Kindness.

It's amazing that everybody does what you want when you're nice and when you're complete. Prick. They don't. Yeah, I've lived it. Trust me.

It's a practice.

Right? So.

Right.

It's just a practice. So you were at Frankfurt. You went to Frankfurt High School. Were you a jock or a cheerleader or in the arts?

You know, I did play sports.

Volleyball.

Volleyball. Basketball.

No kidding. So then where'd you go to college? West Virginia.

Yeah, so my senior year of high school, my father got relocated to Morgantown, West Virginia with John Deere. I thought my life was over, you know, moving my senior year of high school. It actually turned out probably to be the best thing for me. I started to get a little rebellious in my high school years, you know, Started to get a little rebellious, bored in a small town and, you know, not making some good decisions. I put my parents through a bit. I'll just say so, you know, moving your senior year, you know, you don't have really any friend. My friend was the international student.

Right.

You know, and all of a sudden I realized my senior I was making all A's because I had to study. I had no friends to go do things with. Right. But with that, I showed myself that, wow, I am. I. I was always street smart. I knew I was street smart. I never thought I was that book smart. I never applied myself. Which drove, you know, two school teachers crazy. My dad was a math teacher before he joined John Deere.

Oh, my God.

And I realized, you know what? I like this feeling. I like getting all A's, you know, I want more of this, you know. And so that, you know, silver lining of what I thought, you know, was, you know, the end, you know, the end of my high school world. And so therefore I went to West Virginia University in Morgantown, you know, such a beautiful state, you know, the mountains. It's a, you know, it's a bit of an impoverished state, but it was such a melting pot. You have your down home West Virginians, you have your east coast folks, you know, your Carolinas. And it was just beautiful melting pot that I got to meet people I would have never met had I stayed in Indiana my whole life.

Sure.

So.

So you're West Virginia Mountaineer. Journalism grad.

Journalism grad.

Goodness. Cool. And so Those lessons from mom and dad stuck through, you know, which is cool. So I think the opportunity to learn or the realization that there's more to you than just being you. You have this thing called a mind, and you excelled.

Mindset.

Were you, like, straight A's in college or were you crazy? Were you a little bit crazy?

Well, you know. You know, it's funny. I remember getting to college and, you know, people were just going a little nuts, you know, being in college and doing the party thing, I thought, gosh, that's high school. I've done that, you know, and so I, you know, had a little more fun. Freshman, sophomore year, of course, but then I got it together junior and senior year. So, you know, always, you know, honor roll and all that good stuff. Good to go. Yes.

All right, so you're out of college and you're 30 years old now. Like, what happened? Were you married at 30?

At 30, I had my daughter Sophia.

All right, so the attitude lesson. I know you already talked about her being born, but place yourself at 30. And what did you learn when you were 30?

Yeah. So, gosh, 30s. So I'll tell you, I went through a lot of infertility. I have endometriosis, which we did not discover until I was trying to get pregnant and couldn't. For a lot of you out there, I know, struggling and trying women with your infertility, people don't talk about it. Right. It is very prevalent. I had miscarriages. I had to do infertility treatments. And. And so when I finally got pregnant, I. It was the happiest time of my life, you know, and I had a great pregnancy. And I thought. I always felt like God is giving me this gift of a great pregnancy because I went through hell and high water to get pregnant, you know, So I get this gift. So, you know, and, you know, also I will. You know, it was a full circle moment for me. I'm actually adopted, and I was adopted at birth from the hospital with my parents. And so, you know, I had yearned as a little girl to see what does my bloodline look like, What. What would a child of mine look like? And so that was a nice, you know, full circle moment, you know. Yeah.

Did you ever find your birth parents?

Yes, I did.

We don't have time.

That is a whole.

That'll be on her next podcast.

That is a whole podcast.

We got infertility. We got. Yeah, we may have to bring you back. Right. But real, you know, real hard life experiences that you brought in your 30s. Sounds like you grew up quite a bit and went, holy moly. Right?

Yeah. I mean, that was, you know, devastation, Right? For me, the one thing as a little girl, I always wanted to be a mom, you know, and then to think that there was a chance I could not biologically have my own child, you know, to that, that was devastating for me. But it was my faith that carried me through, you know, going back to again, that what my parents taught me, to have faith and to believe and to keep persevering and just to believe it. Right. And to do my part to take care of myself, you know, so that my body could accept that.

It's no wonder you do the work that you do. Right. It's pretty amazing when we hear your story. What a gift to a lot of people. All right, so now you're 40, right? Do you remember your 40th birthday?

I do. Trent threw me a 40th birthday party. Yes.

Was it fun?

It was fun. It was fun. Friends and family at the house. It was fun. Yes.

And you were in the corporate world at Century 21 Sheets, where we both worked. What was your attitude lesson at the beginning of your 40s?

Yeah, so, you know, the beginning of my 40s. It was such an exciting time. You know, I'll say again then. And, you know, Trent and I had also, you know, had recently suffered some more miscarriages and infertility and, you know, so still, you know, going through that whole process again, but also, you know, thriving in my career, you know, just very happy and flourishing, you know, busy with kids, with football practices, soccer, and, you know, doing that whole thing. And, you know, as I said, we discovered CrossFit, and, you know, we were just high on life and very happy and always seeking ways to grow in our health journey. Things that I thought I knew or that I thought were, quote, healthy. For me, discovering, as I have over the last 25, 30 years, really may not have been as healthy. Realizing in my 20s I was eating a Lean Cuisine, thinking that was healthy.

Yeah. Not good.

Oh, gosh. And so 40s, it was like Trent and I eating a lot of protein, and I quit eating red meat in 1989. But it was, how can we fuel our body to be optimal? Optimally, physically, and mentally.

Very cool.

And then, of course, at age 43 is when I lost Trent and my world changed and continued that evolution and transformation.

Yeah, the ability to have food properly prepared. It is. But, oh, my God, a lot of effort.

You know, we would spend Sundays watching football and prepping in the kitchen for the whole Week setting ourselves. And that goes along too, with. We took the Dave Ramsey financial class. And the same mindset of preparing, you know, preparing in advance your future and how you want to live like no one else today so you can later. Right? And how if you want to save and fill your buckets, fill these different buckets. Fill your bucket in your body.

I love it. I love it. So now you just turned 50. We're through knowledge, through the decades. Tell us what the attitude Lesson was at 50. What does your future hold in store for you? And lastly, what's the message to the gappers out there about attitude, the way you see attitude and what you hope and wish for them who are listening?

Yeah. So, gosh, turning 50, what a gift. You know, I always am happy to share my birthday because I've lost so many people who never made it to 50. You know, my husband didn't make it to 50. I've had friends who've succumbed to breast cancer and other illnesses that didn't make it. So I'd say celebrate every age, right? Celebrate our age and know that the best is yet to come. I believe that. And I have believed that for a while. And to know that it's never too late. It's never too late to. Whether it's to lose weight and feel better. It's never too late to start a business, to make a change. It's. It's never too late.

I love it.

And also, you know, life is short, you know, to wake up every day with intention. You know, every day. You know, Buddha, we. Every day is a chance to begin again, right? Every day is in what we do. Every day matters more than what we do once in a while. So live with intention. Live with purpose. And if we're still here, we're breathing, there's purpose for us.

Sure. Yeah.

You know, figure it out.

Every day is the first day of the rest of your life. It's just like being reborn again, you.

Know, it is reborn again. And that's hard to hear, you know, in a pandemic, when so many people are suffering, you know, it sounds good, right? It sounds good in theory, but when you're in it and you're stuck. That's why I get back to one bite at a time, you know? You know, one day, prepare your lunch, practice to get sleep, love yourself, look to your faith, you know, slow down and get some settled, you know, one of these at a time, and eventually it'll become just how you roll.

Do you have a mantra that you say to yourself?

Oh, I'M a mantra affirmation junkie.

Yes. All right, give us one or two of your favorite, and we'll get you out of here, because I'm. We're a little late.

Okay. It's an I am. Right? It's an I, you know, because, you know, one of my big teachers, Joel Osteen, you know, the power of I am preach. You know, we become whatever we say after the words I am.

Yes.

If you've ever noticed, if you say to yourself, oh, gosh, I'm so tired. I'm so tired. We become more tired. Right, Right. So I wake up and I actually, you know, have this whole morning routine. But part of that is.

I knew you did. I knew it.

Part of that intention setting that meditating is, you know, I'll say, I am what. Oftentimes it's, what am I needing if I'm not feeling safe or I'm not feeling complete or whole, or if I'm not feeling energized and some days I have more energy than others, then I say what I need to feel.

I love it.

You know, it's always, I am blessed.

So good.

I start with always, I am blessed. You know, I start saying my prayers and gratitude before I even get out of bed. My feet hit the floor. But, you know, starting with gratitude, but I am blessed. You know, I am safe, I am favored, I am healthy, I am strong. I am resilient. And I would say, you know, pick an affirmation to go to that you need, that you want to feel like and expect, especially if you don't act as if. Because when we say it, our mind, our body listens to what our mind says.

Yeah, there's no doubt. Well, listen, I am honored, and we as gappers are just thrilled that you came here. I could definitely do easily another hour with you. How good was she, Emily? Huh? We have our young intern, Emily Hannon, in here with us. So, Susan, thank you so much for. For sharing your journey.

Thank you. Thank you. What a privilege. What an honor. And, you know, you're doing such great, important work. People are seeking exactly what you're sharing and what you're teaching. They're seeking, how do I get an attitude of resilience and thriving, not just surviving? Right? They're seeking what you're doing. Your work is important.

Thank you very much. Well, it wouldn't be the same. This is Glenn Bill with the world famous Susan vanhusen on the Get Attitude podcast, focusing on eating right and extra exercising. And if you don't feel better, after that, you must be dead. So let's make sure that you come back to the Gap, and we have more fantastic guests. This is our last interview of attitude booster number nine, and we will be attitude booster number ten. Be a part of something bigger than yourself on our upcoming episode. Susan, thanks again. You're the best. All right. Be good. Namaste.

Namaste.

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