#60: Reducing your sugar intake and taking care of your body

The reason that we are going to sugar or we are stress eating is because something else is going on. And so we just cover it with that. So let's get to the root of what's really going on. A lot of times it can be boundaries. It can be stress.

Hey, Coach, my name is Lindsey and I am here to help heart-centered women like you build the money-making coaching business of their dreams. I have been coaching since 2019 and this pod is about so much more than that. So much more than building your business. It's about using your gifts to build a life and business you're 100% obsessed with. I went from working 50+ hours a week as a first grade teacher to building a sustainable business that replaced my job salary and gave me back 30+ hours a week of my time. Tune in to join the ride and learn from other coaches and experts along the way. All right. Hello everyone. Welcome back to the Aligned Coach Podcast. I'm honored to have Melissa Rulfs here with us today. We are going to be diving into all things holistic health, taking care of yourself, really leaning into that yummy, delicious lifestyle so that you can become more calm and confident and stress-free, right? So, welcome on, Melissa. I am so excited to have you here.

Thank you. I am so excited to be here, Lindsey. It is going to be great.

Yeah, it is going to be so good. We were just chatting in the background about children and about having kids and like managing this entrepreneurial life while being a mom and So I feel like this is going to be like very nourishing for the other moms listening. You know, if you're feeling kind of torn between taking care of your health or your mental health even and running the business or, you know, just, just really giving your body what you need, I think this is going to be a super juicy episode for them.

Yeah, that's the goal. That's what I'm here for. So let's bring it.

Awesome. All right, Melissa, so tell us what you do as a holistic health and life coach and what that really entails.

Yeah, absolutely. So, I have to share, I just had a conversation with a Client yesterday and I think she said it so well. She goes, "I have always compartmentalized my health and it wasn't until I started working with you that I am realizing that my life and my business and all of these things I am doing, they are interconnected and they are affecting my health." So, I can't just put the health in this little box and check off these things, but I have to look at how the other pieces are affecting it and vice versa. So, I think that is kind of a beautiful description, Lindsey, of what holistic health is. It is looking at the whole picture of your life and your health and your business and seeing how they are connected and how they are interacting and really treating the whole person.

Yeah, yeah. Do you think that, like, it is evolving? That, like, your body's needs can, like, evolve based on where you are in business or where you are in life and, like, the season that you are in, right?

100%. Our bodies are always changing. And I think we kind of, I will speak for myself, can get stuck in the rut of just eating the same thing over and over. And that's not what our bodies need. They need that variety. They need those different minerals and vitamins and nutrients. And so, yeah, we're always changing. We're always growing, just, you know, like hopefully we are in life.

Yeah. Yeah. I think like for me, I really like, we do like weight, like weight training, like strength training. Like my husband and I, we work out together. And then like I do some walking and like I'll do like some yoga. But it's just funny, like thinking back to like maybe 8 months ago, like the beginning of this year, like I was like super hardcore, like trying to lift heavier in the gym and like really working on like my strength. And that was fine. You know, it's nothing wrong with that. And then now just like thinking about where I am, I'm like, I'm just really needing rest and I just really want to go to yoga and I just really want to like ground myself right now. So I think that it's like I could easily look at that and say, oh well, I'm not pushing myself hard enough, right? But it's like, I— it's not about pushing myself. Like, I don't want to push myself anymore, you know? Like, I'm just like trying to like listen to what I need, right? Does that, does that sound right?

Totally. And that's a big thing of what I help women do is I help them learn to listen to their bodies and what they need because we're all different and what works for one doesn't work for all. So for me to say Lindsay, you should do this, this, and this because I'm doing it. That's doing us both a disservice because you're not me and I'm not you. And so I love that you're honoring what your body's saying and you're respecting that instead of pushing through like so many of us type A entrepreneur type women do.

Yeah, we just want to achieve and go and go and go. Yeah, absolutely. I just actually wrapped up a quick live that I just felt called to do earlier on Instagram about giving ourselves grace. You know, and like finding worthiness outside of our accomplishments, right? Like whether that be business or whether it be parenting or even our health, right? Like how do I feel worthy outside of all those things, you know? So do you feel like your health will like ebb and flow sort of like business? Like do you feel like you're gonna have times where you're like, yeah, I'm totally in charge of this, woo-hoo. And then other times where you're like, oh, I don't know what's happening here, right?

Honestly, no, only because like I've been doing this for so long and I know that when I don't, when I'm not disciplined and I'm not like having those healthy habits, I'm no good to anybody and I don't want to go back there because it was so painful when I was there. Sure, during COVID when it all kind of started, I probably, you know, stress ate a little bit more, but it wasn't this big deep hole that I had to dig myself out of like it has been previously.

Right, so it's not that like the ebbs and flows are normal, but they are common, right? So how do we get out of that, right? How do we come to a more like neutral state? Is that right? Hey, quick plug. It's Lindsey here. Thanks for tuning in to the Aligned Coach Podcast. It would be so cool if you'd screenshot the episode that you're listening to, share it on Instagram and tag us. You can tag the podcast @thealignedcoachpodcast Or you can tag me personally @lindsey.bodea. I would love to share you with my Community. I would love to hear what your best breakthrough is. It lights me up so much to see whenever our listeners and our Community is really engaging with the content and whenever they're taking action and they're moving forward, right? So I would be so honored and so appreciative if you could share this on your stories, tag us, share it with your communities, get more beautiful souls, business consultants, coaches into our Community. So that they too can grow with us and we can grow with them and everyone's just moving towards the same vision. So thank you so much for listening to today's episode. Let's jump back in.

Yeah. And really kind of, you know, how do we have balance? Because again, I talked with a client and she was like, you know, I had planned to go to Chipotle and I knew what I was going to order and I got there and they had closed because they didn't have enough employees. And so she goes, I looked around and my only option was McDonald's. And so I did it. And she was like, I didn't beat myself up. And I'm like, that is awesome because we're doing the best that we can with what we have. And, you know, that was what you had to do. So you ate it. You gave your body some nourishment that it needed. And you just got to keep going. You can't sit in that place of, oh my gosh, I had McDonald's. And I think it's that mindset spiral that we get into that really is what is more damaging than anything.

Yeah. Yeah. You're like, well, I did it once. Another time won't hurt, right? Or I fell off the wagon, right? I'll wait until Monday to get back on it, right?

Yep. Or, oh my gosh, I'm so terrible. I shouldn't have had McDonald's instead of, you know what? This was my option. I did the best with what I could. And next time maybe I'll put a little more food in the car if I need it. You know, it's always kind of like learning from those experiences and not beating ourselves up because we can do that.

Yeah. Yeah. That's so true. That's so true. So tell me, I know that you work with women on like that sugar, like getting rid of so much sugar in your diet. Can we just talk talk about how much sugar we consume.

Oh my gosh, I have a statistic. This is incredible. OK, I have to find it. I just wrote it down the other day. Between January and September, Americans consume 4,598 teaspoons. So January to September, that is what, 9 months? But then we look at—

like one person consumes that?

No, no, Americans overall. OK. OK. Okay, so then, well, you know what, that might be one. I don't know, I should dig a little bit deeper, but I was just like, oh my gosh, because the next part— yeah, it's a ton. But get this, October to December, 3 months, 3,510 teaspoons.

Why? Why is that?

Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's. Let's just call it the candy quarter. I mean, really, like Yeah, and it is addictive. It is 9 times more addictive than cocaine. So, once you start and it is there in front of you and you throw in the stress of the holidays and maybe past hurts and traumas that people haven't worked through, we use food to comfort. Wow. Wow.

So, what is, what is the alternative to that? Give it all up forever?

No. Heck no. No, no, no. I don't do that because I feel like if you get into deprivation, then you just want it all the more. Where the mind goes, the man follows. So it's having that sweet spot and really finding the balance of what works for you. And so it's, you know, maybe changing up some of your daily things. Ketchup contains sugar. Why? I don't know, but it does. So really becoming an ingredient detective and understanding what you're eating like as a baseline, and then maybe modifying a little bit around the holidays so that you can enjoy the pie at Thanksgiving. You can enjoy, you know, the Christmas cookies. and not feel bloated and groggy and lethargic and gross and angry and hating the world.

Yeah, absolutely. Do you. What do you think about, like, artificial sweeteners?

Nope, nope, nope. No, no, no. I'm a big proponent of whole foods, and so I love, instead of artificial sweeteners, things like stevia, maple syrup, honey, if you need a sugar. Coconut sugar is a great one to use because it's low glycemic, so it's not going to make you ride that blood sugar roller coaster. Um, but artificial sweeteners, no, no, because they've got a bunch of stuff that just is not good for our bodies and they cause a lot of just grossness.

Do y'all drink sweet tea in Arizona?

No, I don't. But I bet you do in Georgia, don't you?

Like a Southern tea and the Southern thing. Yes. And you know what? It's so funny. I grew up on it. Like my mom would make it at home. It was like the only thing that we drank really. Like we did not drink water.

Water.

Like looking back at my childhood, like every vegetable that I ate was like out of the can unless it was like turnip greens and like we drank sweet tea. Like, it's like that was your water consumption was your sweet tea. So I never really made it as an adult because, you know, as I come, as I came into adulthood, I started really waking up to like, oh, like what I was eating and putting into my body and like started trying new foods and stuff. So I've never made it up until recently. My husband has been like, "Will you make us some sweet tea?" So I've been like experimenting with making it, but it is so much sugar. Like now that I'm the one making it, like I realize how sweet it is, but God, it's so good. Like, oh, it just tastes so good. So, but I know that like even in our household over the last month since I've like started making it for him and for the family, I mean like this is how much of a Southern staple it is. After I made it the first time, like we've been married for 3 years now, his words were, we're like a real family now, you know, like it's official. Like we have sweet tea in the house. Like that's how it's like a bonding mechanism or something, you know. Um, and so it's just crazy. But so I have never heard of coconut sugar. I will have to try that. I wonder how that would taste in it.

I don't know either, because are you using white cane sugar for it? Is that how you're making it?

I'm just using like that white granulated sugar, you know, just like regular sugar.

Try the coconut sugar and let me know. I would be curious to see what you think because I swap it out for everything. Like, that's what I use when I bake, that's what I use, you know, just anytime I need sugar, that's what I use. And my kids, kids are fine with it.

Okay, okay, they may not know any difference.

But if he hates it, it's not my fault, okay?

All right, I may do like, like a half of like a gallon or whatever instead.

Yes, that's a good idea, just kind of slowly integrate. Yeah, yeah, I might have to like start just replacing it slowly, you know.

By the end of it, he'll be like, why does this taste so different? OK, cool. So we know that we can swap out regular sugar for coconut sugar. Yeah, like what else would you say for, you know, those of us that are like, OK, well, gosh, I just really have a sweet tooth and I really want to find a way to just have a more whole foods diet. Like, like what are other, other ways, like just maybe some helpful tips for the holiday season or just for like day-to-day stuff? Like, what are some of your go-tos?

Stay hydrated. Like, that's my number one tip. 'Cause a lot of times we think that we have a craving or we think that we're hungry and we're actually thirsty. And so I tell people a lot, if you feel a craving, drink some water, sit for 5 minutes and see if the craving subsides. If it doesn't, then you probably do need some nourishment. But if it subsides, then you were dehydrated. And so I think a lot of times we are just, underhydrated, and that's a really, really big thing. I think the other thing we can do is we can use some different spices and fruits and vegetables to get that sweetness. Cinnamon is a great one, cardamom is a great one, turmeric— that'll help with inflammation as well. But berries, dates, figs, apples, carrots even— there's just a lot of— your taste buds can change. So if you've had a lot of sugar and you're drinking a lot of sweet tea, it might not taste sweet right away, but as you you know, maybe decrease some of that sugar, your taste buds will change and you'll notice that carrots kind of taste sweet. Wow.

Yeah, that's good. So I, we definitely do a lot of fruits. Like the kids will love, like they love eating fruit. I'm working on like the vegetables. I'm like, my son, he will eat anything. He's 3. Like literally he's like, like I'll make dinner for us and he's like, me want broccoli and carrots.

Like that's awesome.

Yeah, he's great. But my daughter, on the other hand, like last night I made garden pasta. So it's like the pasta that's like orange, green, and like white. And then I had it in like some cheese sauce. And she's like, I don't want to eat the green ones or the orange ones. Only give me the white ones. And I'm like, they all taste the same, like literally. But she just has like this mindset block to it. So, so I, so I try to do good, you know, to like make good choices and like encourage them to eat whole foods, right? And I will say that we do better, like if we don't have sweet stuff in the house, like, or if we don't have a lot of processed stuff in the house, because then they have no other option. You can't eat what's not there, you know?

Absolutely. And hopefully they don't throw a tantrum, then you go get it for them.

Yeah, I know. You know what, I really— if we're at home, it's really not an issue, you know?

Like, if we're out though, like if we're in the store—

God, I hate taking them grocery shopping. Like, or if we are like out and about, like then they'll want to go get something, you know? So, so So sometimes it is like some negotiating that we have to do, you know? But, but yeah, I would say like if it's not in the house, we're fine. You know, even for me, like if it's not in the house, I'm not thinking about it really. I would rather the water and eat the fruit or make the salad, you know? So I think that like what's around you plays a big part in that.

Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. Just like the people you surround yourself with. And we talked about that a little bit earlier, like everything. Surrounds you impacts you.

Yeah, yeah, 100%. How did you get into health coaching? I am just curious.

Yeah. So, I mean, if you would have known me in college, you would laugh because I was not, I have not historically been like a health nut. So, a little bit of my journey is when our son was a newborn, he wasn't sleeping through the night. Our daughter was 2 and she had some undiagnosed food allergies and sensory challenges. My husband was traveling for work and I had gotten a PTSD diagnosis from childhood trauma. So I met with a naturopath and she did vitamins and minerals and everything was tanked. And so I really learned then about the impact of food on mood, on overall health, because I had just associated food with weight, Lindsey, and like how you look, not, you know, connected to mood or energy or skin or any of the other things. So that kind of started our journey, especially with the food allergies. You know, we changed some things up for her and we all did as a result. I started eating whole foods and cutting out sugar and getting to the root of why I was emotionally eating. It was trauma that I hadn't dealt with. So it was really this inner transformation that affected the outside.

Hmm.

Yeah.

Yeah. That's so, so, so, so juicy.

Yeah.

How do you feel about, um, like animal products, like dairy or meat?

I'm sure you get that question often.

Um, but how do you, what do you feel about that when it comes to like a whole foods diet?

I think it's whatever works for each person. We're intolerant to dairy. I know a lot of people are intolerant to dairy. Dairy has been linked to anxiety as well. So it's definitely something to keep an eye on. Some people are okay with it. Some people aren't. Um, but again, I'm going to say if you're going to do dairy, it's probably best to do organic from a cow that hasn't gotten the hormones and the antibiotics and all that stuff, because what they get, we get. Just like with our own children that nurse, right?

Like what we, what we eat, they're, they're eating too, right?

Yeah, that's so true. So we do still, like, we still do dairy. We do not do much meat. Like, my husband will do like some meat sometimes, and I'll do like fish like every now and again, like maybe once a week or like once every 2 weeks or something. But it's mostly without it.

And, and what I was afraid of was that like my, my B12 or like my protein levels or even my iron would like tank.

Um, but surprisingly it has not.

So like, that's been, that's been really good.

Like, I get my blood, uh, my blood drawn and have those levels checked just to make sure. Um, my iron was actually a little bit low this last time, so started taking an iron supplement.

But yeah, I think it's just really important that we are super aware of like what goes into our body, you know? Like, it's easy to like fall into, especially if you're raised in the South like I was, or if you're raised, you know, just like a family that just in a family that didn't really cook much at home, right? So often we are products of how we are raised, right?

And it is just natural to fall into that cycle. So, just becoming aware of it, you know, and finding what works for you and your family. Yeah, absolutely, because like you, my vegetables came from a can. I was a latchkey kid, so I would come home from school and have 2 cans of Coke, a bag of Doritos. I mean, like processed foods galore. Velveeta and white bread for lunch. Like, yeah. Yup.

That is it. Absolutely. Yeah. It is so crazy. It is so crazy, like looking back and saying, wow, you know, like my mom now, she will be like, what are you making? Like, what is that? You know, she was like, what does a mango taste like? Just because she had never had one, right? So, yeah, we get to do better and we get to do our best, right? It is going to look different for everyone and there is no perfect.

To it. So absolutely. Absolutely.

Do you work with your clients outside of their health? Like, do you work with them, um, with, with other things outside of health as well? I'm just curious.

Usually it's not really the health, to be honest with you. Like, the reason that we are going to sugar or we are stress eating is because something else is going on. And so we just cover it with that. So let's get to the root of what's really going on. A lot of times it can be boundaries, it can be stress, It can be doing something that maybe they don't want to be doing, but they feel like they have to. So yeah, we do a lot more than just health for sure, because that's not— that's usually not the root cause.

Mm-hmm.

Yep.

That's the surface level of it. How do your clients go? How do they like perceive that? Are they like ready to jump in and do it? Are they like, what? Like, why are we talking about my childhood? Like, I thought that we were doing like health coaching. Like, do you ever have that?

No, because we ease into it. There's a very strategic process and way of doing it. You know, we do need to create that awareness in their body and get them familiar with the foods that work for them and how to honor hunger and fullness and really listen to their body. And then after we've kind of done that, then we can talk a little bit deeper about like, okay, let's figure out what's going on here. And sometimes before that they have that awareness and they're like, I think that this is why I'm doing this. Which is awesome.

Like, oh, I'm overworking, or I'm just too tired and I'm trying to like give myself some energy or whatever. Like, they kind of have that like inkling, like, of awareness, and then they just need you to pull it out of them.

Totally. And teach them a new way of doing it, right? Like, it's all about changing habits and mindset. And so we have to figure out how to take what they came from and what they know and find a new way of doing Yeah, yeah, yeah. So good. Okay.

So if someone was like starting their health journey, what's the very, very first thing that you would say to them? Hello, it's Lindsey. So I want to share a really, really juicy client win from a beautiful student who came through Aligned Coach Academy. So this is our 12-week signature program to learn how to sign high-ticket paying clients for your online coaching business. So before this student came through, she was all over the place, right? She was focusing on her website and funnels and really just kind of skipping from task to task. She didn't really have much clear direction that would bring in clients, right? So whenever she came into Alliance Coach Academy, we put the method that's like literally behind the madness. So now she has more clarity, she has more structure, she actually knows what she's supposed to be doing each day. Like she's never questioning how to bring in leads, If she wants to sign a client, she knows exactly what to do and exactly how to get them in in a heart-centered and aligned way, right? Whenever she came out of the Aligned Coach Academy, she told me that she shifted her mindset to working with intention and service. She's confident in claiming herself as a coach, and she's really just claiming her authority in the online space as a transformational life coach. So if you're a coach that's wanting to get your business off the ground, you want to replace your 9-to-5 income, make full-time money online, you want to map out your flagship offer, right? You really want to just step into your power around high-ticket sales, right? I encourage you to join us in Aligned Coach Academy. We enroll year-round, so you can enroll whenever you're ready, but I encourage you to take action whenever you feel it in your stomach, whenever you know that this is for you, whenever you know that you're ready for the coaching, the strategic step-by-steps, right? We meet once a month for hot seat coaching where you're actually coached by me. You have lifetime access to the 12-module course so that you can always come back to it and re-implement and freshen up on any skills, right? And we also have daily Q&A coaching inside of the course itself. So if you know that this is what you want, go to the link in our show notes, join us there, and I would be so honored to support you in our next coaching call. All right, let's hop back to today's episode.

I would say, why are you doing this? Because I think a lot of times we will start a journey and we are like, oh, I, you know, I want to have more energy. OK, well, that is wonderful. I am so glad you want to have more energy, but let's dig a little bit deeper and let's really get to the why of why that is important to you, because we have to have that strong why to make the changes, because Change isn't always easy and you are going to continually be surrounded by things that maybe aren't in alignment with your goals. So, let's get a firm foundation and really have you connect to that WHY and then we can start going in that direction. How many times do people say, I want to lose weight to go on vacation, I want to go to a class reunion, or I want to, you know, have more energy so that I can run a race? Like, we really need to have a powerful WHY.

Whenever COVID hit, I was not—

whenever it hit, but like when the pandemic really like came to the forefront and everything shut down, school shut down, I was teaching first grade and we came home, the gyms were closed, couldn't go to the gym anymore. So I like literally remember being in my garage sweating so hot, miserable, working out to like some Beachbody workouts. I love their workouts, by the way.

If you have to like do—

I do them too. I love their at-home stuff. I like just remember being so miserable, but I'm like, I'm doing this so that I'm going to be a hot old lady one day. Like I'm doing it so that I could be like a strong grandma.

And like, I just like remember like having that vision of myself of like being strong as I age, you know, like not being frail and like just being like very youthful as I age. So like, that's always like my why, like why am I going to the gym when I don't feel like, why am I doing this?

You know? And that takes me further than like, oh, I just want to like look good this summer. Like, who cares? You know? Yep. Because then summer goes and is gone and we either accomplished the goal or we haven't. And then, then what? We're probably back to the old ways that we were doing things before. Yep. Absolutely. Yep.

So I need something that's like longer vision, like long.

Yes. And I love that. I love that. That's so good. You know, and I don't know, I think subconsciously we do always have those deeper desires, but we need to articulate them and we need to get in touch with them.

Yep. And envision them whenever you're sweating in your garage.

Yep.

Yes. Okay, Melissa. Well, this has been super good. I think it's just been like really nice to just shine light, hey, on our health, on our wellbeing, on how we're treating ourselves, on what we're putting into our body. So thank you so much for this. I'm actually like kind of hungry. I think I'm gonna make myself a salad when we hang up. But yeah, this has been really good. So thank you so much, Melissa. Where can our listeners come find you? Where can they come connect with you? How can they explore working with you if they're wanting to get their health on track and really wanting to rid themselves of that emotional and like bodily stress and such?

Yeah, my website is free, the number 2, the letter B coaching.com. So freetobeecoaching.com.

Awesome. freetobeecoaching.com. Cool. Are you on social media?

I am. I'm on Facebook as Happy Healthy Mama and then I'm on Insta as Free to Be Coaching, I think. Cool.

Awesome. We will definitely like link those in the details here. Um, so y'all can go to this episode's show notes and the details and go connect with Melissa there. Uh, cool, cool. Thank you so much for coming on, Melissa. I thoroughly enjoyed this. And yeah, any of you listening want to come leave us a review, let us know what you took away. What are you going to do this week? Week to take care of yourself? What was your biggest takeaway? And what questions do you have? Like, leave us some questions and we'll be glad to answer them through Messenger or through, through our content or directly back to you. So thank you so much, Melissa.

Thank you, Lindsey. Have an awesome day and let me know how that tea turns out.

Absolutely. Definitely.

All right.

Bye, everyone.