Weekly Q & A - Alice

Hello everyone, happy Friday. Hello, happy Friday. Hello. Hi Laura, lovely to have you on the call. Thank you, it's lovely to be here. Finally I made it to one of the calls. Woohoo! Better late than never. Always.

Yes.

Good afternoon, Shelley. Lovely to see you on the call as well. Hope your day is going good. Hope everybody has had a great week. Welcome, Mandy. Welcome, Paris. Welcome, Hardeep. Welcome, Bonnie. Lovely to see all of your faces. Bonnie, it's been a hot minute. Lovely to see you. Welcome, welcome everyone. I hope everyone is having a lovely Friday. Um, please let me know if my audio is cutting out. I am doing a little bit of music, um, so I'm not sure if it's cutting in or out. It's kind of hard to get feedback on my end, but if you can't hear me and my rambling, please let me know. There is some slight music in the background too, and I'm just going to give everybody a few minutes to hop on. But as we are waiting to begin, I would love to to hear something. It is something happy, maybe that's happened to you this week, maybe it's a new habit that you've gotten really consistent on, maybe it's something exciting you're looking forward to this weekend. But I'd love hearing your voices, even more love seeing your faces, whoever can turn on their cameras. But whoever wants to share, I would love to hear some gratitude and hear some things maybe that we are grateful for. So feel free to unmute yourselves if you'd like to share, or you can type it into the chat as well. Hi, Bonnie.

Hello, Alice. It's great to jump back in here.

I—

something happened to me this morning that really caused me to jump back into my gratitude, and I was noticing a stress cycle in my mind. You know, the looping thing. And when I noticed those thoughts, it, it was almost like boom, I woke up out of this like stress cycle thing. And then I heard the birds. They like, they came into my awareness and I went, wow. I felt so grateful to be able to notice that and tap back into those birds. That just happened this morning and I thought I'd share.

That's wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing that. Uh, and it's so true, you know, the birds were always there. It's just sometimes we get so caught up in that cycle and we get so fixated in our day-to-days. I'm so guilty of that as well. I'm almost certain I did that this week too, where it was just, you can spiral so easily and you're like, okay, hold on. What is true? What is also happening in the background? And what can I, kind of anchor into to make myself in this present moment here and now. So thank you for that reminder. I'm glad that it's becoming second nature or first nature, if you will. Keep up the amazing reframing. Thank you for sharing. Hardeep is saying grateful to start the loading phase this week and excited to be on this health journey. We are so excited for you for making this commitment one of the best things you can do for your health is investing in yourself, taking time to slow down, taking time to be conscious and aware of the patterns, to see maybe something is not working or something is outdated. Maybe we're operating on 2020 version or 2020 operating system, but we are in the future now. We are in 2025, so we are operating on higher frequencies, you know, more updated belief systems. And so it's always good to check in with yourself, see what is relevant. So for today, I have a little presentation on busting through plateaus. So speaking of not spiraling, um, kind of a great segue into what to do when we experience plateaus, because plateaus are a dime a dozen. You know, every single person here has gone through a plateau. It is nothing to be ashamed of, but it's something to understand and maybe get further clarity to see what your body is trying to tell you, why your body isn't letting go and, you know, maybe some physical aspects to work on, maybe emotional aspects, maybe even some spiritual aspects or mental aspects. Who knows? Your world is your oyster, but there is always movement that can be made. You are never stuck in one place for long. So today's conversation and presentation is going to be all about how to bust through some of those plateaus. So I'm just going to go ahead and share my screen here. Let me know if my screen is visible on your end. Okay, awesome. Thank you very much. So, busting through plateaus. We all know plateaus. We don't all love them, but we all know them. And as a part of this experience through this reset journey and through life, maybe through the reset you might notice it a little bit more just because you are tracking everything, you are taking a very intentional step every day to commit to this process and commit to your health. And so maybe for the first time, you're even noticing that your body is plateauing in certain times, in certain areas, in certain seasons of your life. So I hope that even in the plateaus, you're able to see it as a huge learning experience, that your body is wanting you to take some time to recoup and then continue moving forward when it feels safe and ready to. So I have this little image here. You know, sometimes we step on the scale and we say, why isn't it budging? I'm doing everything right. I'm sleeping, I'm eating, I'm weighing, I'm, you know, counting all my lucky stars. Like, what the heck is going on? And, you know, sometimes it could be the clothes that you're wearing. Sometimes you are wearing an extra heavy— extra heavy— extra heavy— holy smokes— towel. And that is also, you know, adding in a couple of sneaky pounds onto your weight. And maybe it is the clothes. Maybe it is, you know, a weird night's sleep. Maybe it's even the language we're telling ourselves, which is kind of this cartoon to the right. Gentleman is saying, every time I lose weight, it finds me again. And it's just, you know, sometimes the simple wording that we use. If we lose things, that typically means that we're trying to find them in the end or that we want to, you know, find where they are. Rather than releasing, which is why we really like to call the second phase the release phase, because releasing is much more, I guess, authoritative. It puts you at the forefront and at the center of, I am making this a conscious decision, whereas if you lose something, it's not necessarily you were making a conscious decision of letting that thing go, but that thing just so happened to leave your presence. So it can be as simple as sometimes the words that we are using for ourselves, to ourselves in our everyday life with the things that we come across. So with that being said, to kind of help bust through some of these plateaus, I've narrowed it down to 6 different steps. And these are, of course, my own. Feel free to seed in whatever plateau busters you've used in the past. I'd love to open it up at the end and kind of just share different tips and tricks. But in terms of what I find works really well is step 1, kind of just evaluating where you are at, really again reviewing your journals, seeing what new things have been added, maybe things that you're not, you know, commonly using. Maybe it's, you know, foods that are on even repeat as well. So it's getting really clear and it's reviewing your food logs and also I would argue your activity logs to see, you know, Hey, what has changed in this recent time? If I started using, let's say you're an animal-based protein eater, let's say you've started using a lot more beef or you've noticed that there's a lot more beef in terms of your recipes, or possibly it's fall, apples are a dime a dozen, they're delicious as ever. And maybe you've been enjoying apples with every single one of your meals. Nothing wrong with these foods. This is again, just awareness to see what could be creating that plateau for your body through those foods. Sometimes it can introduce a little bit more fat and it can introduce a little bit more carbs when it comes to the apples. So getting a good log of your food journals, making sure that you are sticking to the foods on the lists as best as possible. And that even extends to spices and sauces and different broths. I know we're trying to flavor our food as best as we can, we can and go to town when it comes to the spice blends, I would say even just reevaluate them and look at the ingredient labels. Maybe there's a little bit of oil inside the ingredient labels that maybe once even wasn't there. I know sometimes different companies like to reformulate, reformulate, so they kind of change the contents of what's inside. So get curious, look at your ingredient labels, make sure there is no sneaky gluten as well. That tends to creep up in a lot of products just to kind of create like a binder almost. And then, um, you know, any, uh, or excessive sugars in any of your products as well. So any sort of additional oils, sugars, and potentially fats as well. So making sure it's as clean as you can get your hands on. Of course, do what you can within the means that you have around you. That is the most important thing. But if you do notice you're maybe consuming more of the red meat, maybe more of the higher sugar fruit, let's say, or maybe it's the fruit that's in season that is sweeter when it's in season, which I know is so delicious and so great for the purposes of the release phase and trying to really level out and balance your blood sugar levels. It might be a fruit that we put on pause or even mix in. Let's say, you know, peaches are in season and they're asterisked in your metabolic reset food journals or in your approved food list. And, uh, but let's say you really are craving a peach, you know, and the world will still go round if you have a bite of a peach. But let's say you do, you know, 2 ounces of a peach and maybe 2 ounces of raspberries or blueberries or blackberries, whatever other lower sugar fruit, to again have the best of both worlds. It's never, uh, we want to take it completely out, you're not allowed to have this. It's always a gentle pause and let's see what we can do to introduce something that mimics or can give you the same type of experience that you were looking for previously. And sometimes it can be even just the quality of food, depending on how overloaded our systems are when it comes to just, you know, draining and detoxing and lymphatics. Sometimes our systems are just super overburdened with the amount of chemicals that we're exposed to on a regular basis, some within our control and of course some not within our control. And so if you do notice you are more sensitive, you kind of notice changes within the weather a little bit more easily than others, or, you know, you kind of notice new furniture or new paint or you're bothered by scents, that could be a big sign that your system is on overdrive. So another way to kind of clean it up from the inside out. And of course, buying organic is possible for some people, not possible for everyone. But what the Dirty Dozen versus the Clean 15 outlines is a list of the most kind of, you know, the dozen foods that are sprayed the most when it comes to harsh pesticides and chemicals who also have the thinnest skin. So it's difficult to rinse off completely. When it comes to kind of washing and prepping some of your produce, whereas the Clean 15 tends to have a bit of a thicker skin. Maybe some of the pesticides don't absorb through the fruit or the produce as, as intensely as it does for the Dirty Dozen. So these lists pretty much outline where you should be spending the bulk of your money when it comes to produce. If you really can't swing everything organic, completely get you, let's focus on getting the dirty dozen organic, especially if there's things you eat frequently from that list. That alone can clean up your allergies and just your detox so much by taking care of the toxins that we are loading our system with. So step one is to really just ask yourself those important questions. Step two, I would say, would be tune in. Have you recently changed any sort of medication that you're taking? Has there been any sort of changes to your physical or your overall health? I always kind of associate, you know, changing medicine with getting a haircut or getting like a really drastic haircut. I don't know if anybody's ever had the experience of— personally, I remember cutting my hair short and coming to show my family. This is many years ago. And they were all kind of in shock 'cause for so long I've had like hair basically down to my back, my back bottom. And so it was just a huge shock. And every time they would see me, it would just be, you know, a bit of a, like they weren't used to me. It took some time. So anytime you are changing medication, your body is in a haircut shock. It needs a little bit of time to get used to the new flow, to get used to the new you, to get used to the new things that are coming in. So, if you have noticed a bit of a pause in terms of that plateau, check and see if your medication is, you know, anything is different there, if anything has changed. And then also maybe speak to your doctor, maybe it's time to revise and look at a different medication, maybe something that is, you know, more in line with where your blood pressure is now, where maybe your cholesterol is now, especially post-menopause, post doing the program. For ladies as well, very dependent on the time of year, the time of month, and the time of season that it is. We are very cycling and hormonal women, and so— and in different stages of our cycles as well. So these hormones play a very key role in the amount of fat that our body holds on to or releases. And this is all to keep us safe. This is all to keep our hormones running properly. And so sometimes it's okay that there's a plateau, especially around your cycle, due to the fact that you're even bloating and your body is retaining a lot more water. So that could also be a cause of some of the bloat there. Did you recently purchase some new furniture? Like I mentioned previously, if somebody is very sensitive to scents, that usually is a signal that their, their nervous system or their lymphatic system is overburdened. They can't deal with any other stimuli inside of their space. So sometimes when we get new furniture, especially if it's not made from natural materials, it can be sometimes laced with different chemicals that our body doesn't react super well to. So I would say, you know, maybe looking into the materials and seeing if you notice how you feel around different materials. There's a post I made in the Facebook group a little while back now, but it was all about fabrics and how different fabrics actually respond differently to our skin based off of what they're made of. And how that's also adding to our health and our toxic load every single day. 'Cause one thing that I do know is that we have a lot of skin. Our skin is our largest organ. And what I do know as well is we're in a society where we cover it all the time. So what we're covering it in, often if it's polyester, if it's acrylic, if it's nylon, it ends up being a lot of plastic that we are wearing every single day. Now, it's not to alarm anybody because obviously you can't just go and throw away your whole wardrobe and do a whole full makeover, but take slow and easy steps to notice, are my shirts mostly made of cotton? Maybe are my undergarments made of cotton or linen or hemp? Something that is especially in intimate areas, you want that to be as clean as possible, ideally organic if you can get your hands on it. And then the same thing goes with personal care products or any sort of healthcare products. If you're using a new shampoo or maybe you've changed out the cream that you're using or you've stopped using something and your body is kind of doing through a withdrawal and a detox from the symptoms of the previous products. You know, maybe you're using a hair dye or some sort of additive or maybe a new deodorant even. So it's all these little subtle changes as your body is detoxing can create a bit of that stall sometimes. So really getting in tune with yourself, doing a daily check-in, kind of seeing what is new, what isn't, what has stayed the same is really helpful when you are making a lot of different changes and when you do want to introduce you know, a lifestyle change. For those of you who also have an Oura Ring, it's, it's a really great tool in cementing certain changes and just kind of helping you graph the different aspects, the different activities, the different changes that you're making throughout your journey and thereon after the program as well. And what I mean by that is using the tag function. So for whoever is curious or not already using the tag function, It's in the bottom right-hand corner of your Oura app. When you click it, it has 3 options. It's like a little circular plus sign. And when you click that button, 3 options slide up. And the first one is add a tag— or sorry, the first one is add a workout. The second one is unguided session. And then the third one is create a tag. So you want to add or you want to select the tag option. And then you can denote, like, let's say, for instance, this week I started doing more red light more consistently. So on the nights that I am doing red light, I am logging that in as my own little tag inside of my Oura app. So then over time, I can, you know, check in on my HRV, I can check in on my deep sleep, my REM sleep, and I can say, hey, what was different about this day? Why did suddenly my deep sleep start shooting up? You know, why is my HRV singing all of a sudden? So you can come back, you can check out the tags, you can see what was different that day. So you objectively know what is and what isn't working for your better health. So while we may give many different advice and options and suggestions, I really urge everybody to tune into yourselves because you're going to know ultimately best where your body is and how it's feeling. And of course, whenever you need guidance and support, we love to give that. But I challenge everybody to get to know themselves, to notice when things are off, and to realize the changes that we do make, even on a subtle basis, because it all adds up, that 1%. And now sticking to more kind of like the obvious different steps and, you know, steps that we do go over through the program, but of course, big important steps to touch on, which is why step 3 is hydration. Hydration is key. You don't want to be a dried up well with all the gunk and muck before they kind of strip and, you know, clean your body of water, of any sort of garbage that could be filling out there. So when we don't hydrate— I love the water, Bonnie. I see you drinking away. Message is hitting loud and clear. And hydration is key. It's what's going to make you feel your best. It's what's going to regulate your hunger overall. Because we don't have two separate hunger versus dehydration responses. It's one and the same. I would like to think it's the only flaw we have as humans, or the only thing that wasn't baked into our genetics, is that there's not two different responses. And so what happens oftentimes is that we mistake a hunger response or a dehydration response for a hunger response because our body reacts in the exact same way. So whenever you do find that you're, you know, you're hungry, but you're not exactly craving anything, you're not really, you know, wanting sweet or wanting salty or just craving for the sake of craving, maybe grab some water. Hydration is key. And if you wait 15 to 20 minutes after drinking about a glass, 2 glasses, whatever is comfy for you, if you wanted to still continue to grab something light like a snack, you can go ahead and do so. But at this— at least this way, we're ruling out that it's a dehydration response. And the added benefit is that your body's getting extra hydration regardless. So it's a win-win there. So hydration will really help just to keep you energized, satiated, and, and make you feel a lot less sluggish throughout the day. You want to focus on about half of your weight in ounces when it comes to water. And I would even argue towards the beginning of the release phase, you want to hit it even harder with more water, just because again, your body is releasing a lot of inflammation, it's releasing a lot of chemicals, it's detoxing. You might notice some Herxheimer reactions. So the best way to kind of make sure you feel energized, you feel good, you're moving everything along, is having water as your first beverage every single morning without fail. Let this be a non-debatable, it's a non-negotiable. I want you to treat it as if it's air, something that is automatic, something you don't have to think about doing. It's just a part of your daily routine, just like it is breathing. You've been fasting all night, so your body is extra dehydrated. Then oftentimes in the morning, we hit ourselves with a caffeinated tea or, or coffee. And so that's further dehydrating your body because caffeine actually has dehydrative effects. So what we first want to do above all else is hydrate. At least one glass of water, that'll do the trick. If you want it warmed, your stomach will love you for it. Throw in a little bit of lemon juice, it'll alkaline your system and get it ready and better prepped and primed for digestion. And then maybe even add in some electrolytes. That is a super kind of pro tip, especially in the first week or two in the release phase, because your body is releasing a lot of essential minerals in the sweat, in the water that you're releasing. So you want to replenish that so you're not without and you're not feeling, you know, sluggish or your muscles are feeling sore. So salt does it as well. You can go ahead and do a very clean electrolyte like LMNT or Relight. Those are two really great options. But if you want to go with salt, Redmond salt is amazing. You can do something like Celtic salt as well. Even pink Himalayan salt has some trace minerals. Any one of those that you have at home, you can even start using today in your water. Moving into step 4, we have movement. So movement, of course, goes without saying, helps move your blood flow, helps move your water, and helps to burn calories throughout the day, keeping you metabolically fit. And so, you know, if you're not already having a consistent you know, routine that you're, you're, you're loving in your day, whether it's a yoga practice, whether it's walking outside every morning, or maybe it's after a meal, uh, maybe it's a nighttime stretch to get you ready for bed. Whatever it is, I would say commit to the one thing that you can do every day, at least for 10 minutes, that can bring you a sense of joy and that can help you move your body lovingly. Now, it has to be joyful movement because we've all been there when, uh, you know, we kind of tell ourselves like, I have to go the gym, or I have to be at this certain weight by this wedding, or summer's here, I need to be in my summer body. But it doesn't have to. Rome was not built in a day. We have to take things one step at a time, and 1% a day will literally get you there. It's all about the microhabits. And when we tell ourselves should, need to, have to, that doesn't put us as the authority of our lives. That puts us as somebody is dictating how we should and shouldn't feel about moving our body. But in essence, it's our own fault because that's our own pressure that we're putting on ourselves. And so even notice the way if there is some sort of pushback when it comes to movement, notice the words you're saying in your mind. Where do those words potentially come from? Who maybe did you hear those words from that are still lingering, that are not actually your words and not actually your story? So I want you to all find a movement that you get to do, that you're pumped to do, that you love to do, that you want to invite maybe a friend or a loved one to do with you. That's how much you love it so much. I personally am a little old lady inside. I love walking. I could just walk. I'm European, so I'm built to just walk everywhere. And I find whenever I'm in Europe visiting family or friends, I don't go to the gym once, and I'm probably the most fit than I am even here. When I do have a workout schedule, I am super on routines because my body can just relax into the joyful movement. There is no shoulds or have tos, and there is also no easy trails. Either in Europe. It's all hills, it's all cobblestone, and it's all stairs. They have a routine, you know, of walking. And so maybe this week it's even just challenging yourself. Instead of driving somewhere, maybe take a bike ride or maybe take a walk over, especially as the weather is getting a little bit nicer. Something else too is not only the movement that we're doing, but also the frequency of how often we're moving in the day. And so there's this cool little acronym, it's called NEAT, and it stands for non-exercise activity thermogenesis. And it's one of the most major ways for your body to burn calories. So it actually only kicks on if we are metabolically active throughout the course of the day, not just isolated moments where we're going to the gym, you know, and, and by all means, go to the gym, go to your yoga classes, continue with that wonderful, you know, more higher intensity movement. But also remember, it's a log of all of your day's activities. And in order for yourself to keep metabolically fit, you know, it can be as easy sometimes as standing instead of sitting. So for whoever has a standing desk, if you're not operating it, to use the stand function I urge you to put in a little reminder in your computer, you know, or wherever it is that you're working. Maybe it's in your phone, but even setting a quick reminder and saying like, hey, you know, every hour get up, or every 30 minutes stretch, or maybe every 20 minutes look off into the distance. It could be whatever time interval you want it to be. I would urge everybody to begin every hour. So every hour, give yourself a 1-minute break. I don't really care what you do for that 1 minute, but I want you to just start getting used to having that a bit of time for yourself throughout the day instead of having kind of just these massive blocks where we're not taking care of ourselves and we're focusing on a bunch of different things, yet our body still needs that relief. And it actually helps us to think better when we are walking. For whoever joined in for Michael Cook's presentation quite a few weeks back now. He did a somatic experience with us, and what I really loved about it was such an amazing presentation. I urge you all to, to watch it because he goes through a really cool somatic practice. But one thing he said that really stuck with me through the practice is that he asked people where they do their best thinking and where their best ideas come from. And nobody said sitting at a desk. Everybody said, you know, walking outside or, you know, as you're eating a meal or talking to a loved one, or maybe it's when you're journaling, but it's never when you're sitting in front of a desk, in front of a computer. And so having those breaks in the middle of your day, even if it's for 2 minutes, is doing you a world of favors that you don't even understand sometimes, that I don't even understand sometimes, which is super cool. So just finding those micro moments doesn't have to be anything huge. Micro moments is the way to go. And it also helps to help you eliminate more regularly. You know, you're not only burning more because you're moving more, your body is having to keep up with more, but it's also burning so much that you have more to eliminate now. And so bowel rhythms come back more into play, especially if you're not regular right now. That is something huge that can help you move through the plateaus. So maybe it's getting some support for your gut in the meantime. Maybe it's, you know, introducing some enzymes, some digestive enzymes. Maybe we take some bitters or even some apple cider vinegar prior to you consuming your meals. Maybe it's even, you know, going the natural, complete natural route and including some kimchi or some sauerkraut alongside each of your meals to naturally help boost the prebiotics and the probiotics. So movement and daily movement, I don't care what it is, 5, 10 minutes each day, but making it a consistent activity really helps to burn so much more throughout the way. The obvious suspect, of course, is stress and sleep. So this one is unavoidable. I think for North Americans, we are just wired to be stressed for the most part. And pretty sleepless. But we're here to make that change. And so is Oura Ring, which is awesome. So noticing again, have your routines changed recently? You know, has your job maybe been a little bit more demanding than it previously has? Are there some personal things that have gone on in the background that have kind of changed the way you invest your time or even your— invest your mental time kind of percolating on things? You know, have you Undergone any sort of changes yourself internally? A lot of people through this progress and through this program have quite profound shifts, and they start seeing things in a completely different light. And again, it's that bad haircut or it's that good haircut. It takes a long time, or it could take a few days for your system and even for yourself to get used to. Are there any kind of big stressors that you're facing? You know, that could be not only outside stressors, but it also could be internal stressors. Like maybe if you've traveled somewhere that the air quality wasn't necessarily the best, or I know right now in Canada, we're dealing with up and down air quality as well. So there's some days where we're definitely advised to stay at home because of the different burnings that are happening around our province. So those stressors do play a huge role in our nervous system stress as well. So really tuning in, making sure you're calming, and having those relaxation techniques in place that you know bring you back down, that you know you can hold on to, that bring you joy, that bring you back to yourself. Making sure you're rested in the mornings. You know, how has your nighttime routine changed? Has your morning routine changed? Are you still getting up and getting that sunshine? Are you still, you know, going to bed at a consistent time more or less every night? Where do you typically leave your phone when you are going to bed? Are you in the midst of red light, and/or is it overhead light, or is it lamp style? So all of these different things send very important messages to the body in terms of how we should be functioning on our circadian rhythm level. And so light indoors can sometimes play the sun or mimic the sun. So that's why we place such a heavy importance on the lighting that you're around and the actual color of the lighting as well, because all of it is information to the back of the brain. And so I urge everybody to even make a list. I'm a huge fan of lists, but having lists ready-made for you, curated by you of different things that can bring you peace is so helpful, especially at a time where you're low on peace and you need some peace real quick. It's kind of like having those healthy snacks for when you're just starved and when you're ravished. You forgot to pack your lunch, you're running home and you're like, I could buy some food right now, but I know I did myself the lovely gift of preparing some hummus and vegetables. So I know I have a good snack when I get home. It's the exact same thing with a relaxation list, with even a dopamine list. You can make a list of happy things. You know, when you're, you're in need of a pick-me-up and you have certain amounts of time, you know, make a list of things that bring you joy and that also bring you peace, because those two things you can always add to. And it's always nice to have something ready to go when, especially when your mental is kind of taken up with other things. And then the last step here is reflection, step 6. So in order to release, we also have to be ready to release. And sometimes release is not only just physical, oftentimes it can be very emotional and it can be very mental too, because in order to let go and accept change, we have to take on a whole new identity. And the world we've created prior to us making this change feeds our previous body, feeds our previous mind, feeds our previous soul. But maybe we don't want to be fed that way anymore, and maybe some things have revamped and, and have, you know, leveled up, and we've gotten to a new place with ourselves. So are we really ready to let go of that old life? Are we ready to take on this new identity of this person that does care, that does speak up when they need to, that does, you know, certain habits that make them feel great, even though they feel uncomfortable in the moment for sometimes making another person uncomfortable for a second? Truth be told, I actually just had a really great session with my therapist and she was explaining this exact concept to me about how sometimes, you know, people need some time to adapt to your own change. So let's say you yourself are going through a change. You know, other people are expecting you with your old hair to come, but you with your new haircut is coming in and they take some time again to get used to that because they remember the old you. They associate the old you as you looked that way. Why are you so different now? You know, even though this haircut is completely personal and it's completely for you, nobody wears the hair other than you. But some people just really need that familiarity. And so that disconnect can also then come off on us as if maybe I'm not ready to change, or maybe I shouldn't change. This is causing too much flux in my world. But that's the exact moment where you keep going because it's what you are craving inside. You've said yes to this program because you are ready for that change. You know you're deserving of that change and you know you're ready to work for it. And now it's just about when am I ready to let go of who I thought I was? Because who I thought I was, I'm, I'm met with a whole new me. And she is me. He is me too. But it's a new me and I'm okay with that. And the people I love will be okay with that too, because they love me regardless of how they remember me being previously, if they really want me in their lives moving forward, just as you want them in their lives and in your life. So it does take a little bit of time. Again, Rome was not built in a day. Give yourself grace. Endure the discomfort because it's there to teach you bravery. It's there to teach you courage. It is there to help you stand up for what it is that you want out of life. And you deserve that for yourself. Of course, not telling you to go flip somebody off because that is not the peaceful way to do it. There's— oh, there's— when there's a will, there is a way. And so long as you're being honest with your intentions, those that will continue to honor your intentions will have no issues with the new identity you're creating. But again, take that process— it's a very personal process— take it for what it is for you. I always recommend doing something like a reflection, a reflective practice every day, such as journaling. Maybe it's journaling, maybe it's meditating, but something to spend time with yourself. Because so often when we're bombarded with, you know, what the media wants you to think, or what Facebook wants you to think, or what your neighbor wants you to think, think, but what about what you think? When do you hear your opinions and your thoughts void of somebody trying to, you know, kind of confirm their story? So know that your story is your own, and you know, you, you can welcome whatever, whatever energy you want in your space so long that it resonates with you and that it makes sense for the place that you are in your life here and now. And sometimes, you know, if you don't know what— where you are currently, or you don't even know what's causing this stuckness, you just feel maybe a buildup of emotion, you don't really know where it's coming from, what it— where it's gonna go, um, you know, there's, there's also another way of looking at it and remembering, you know, potentially when was the last time you were the weight that you are stuck at right now. And I actually see this quite often with a lot of people now having gone through, I want to say, like over 1,000 different cases. But there seems to be a pause for many people around a number ending in zero and five, lesser so five. But I would say the zero comes up like textbook. And, you know, it was interesting for me because there's so many different people in different walks of life and different, you know, parts of the world as well. And yet this, the same phenomenon, quite a few people are experiencing this stall where they just can't break through this zero. And so that's when, you know, I ask like, when was the last time you were this weight? And, you know, sometimes they remember, sometimes they don't. The people that do remember, I say, well, what was going on in your life around that time? And so some again remember, some don't. And then the ones that want to dive deeper, that are ready to create those kind of breaks in the, in the, the dam that's filled your energy blockages, we recommend trying something like Crush, uh, the Crush Technique. So the Crush Technique is an emotional freedom technique that allows you to use different meridian points in your body And it helps to mobilize, uh, energy blockages that could be stagnant in very important spots of our bodies and the way that our energy flows. And so this— I'm sure many of you have seen this technique, I'm sure many of you have even tried this technique, but it is truly such an amazing technique at just busting through limitations that you have on yourself. And these limitations, you might not even be aware that you've placed, or maybe not even where somebody else has placed on top of you. They've just been in our programming for so long, untouched, because we didn't even know that they were there. And so getting conscious— this will help you to get conscious. This will help kind of move things along without having that blockade there. And so even answers, if you don't know, you know, where you were at the last time you were this weight I would say reflect on that as you're doing this practice. There's different questions prompting you as well when it comes to, um, depending on if it's a craving, a stall, or if it's a hunger response you're trying to bust through. But this technique has prompts for each of those. So I would say go through it. It takes about 5 minutes, maybe even less than that, per session, but it can really help just open up the floodgates. And I, I can't share too much, but I've had many people try this technique technique recall and remember things that they had no clue were even bothering them. And, uh, they, you know, had an emotional kind of release when it happened, and then their lives were changed ever since because whatever that, that heaviness was, that literal heaviness and emotional heaviness, they released it. And so their body's like, okay, we're, we're releasing the heaviness too. And so it's this beautiful flow where everything is interacting, everything is playing so harmoniously together. And sometimes it's not your fault. Sometimes it's an energy blockage. Sometimes we need to show, you know, get the big guns in and, and do some, some emotional freedom technique and help us help ourselves, you know, put our own booster pack onto our healing journey. And then another thing is as well, our lovely team member Natalie shared her Crush Your Cravings PDF. Which I will link in the Facebook chat. And it just goes into all things cravings, you know, where cravings come from, why cravings are there biologically, what's going on when we are craving. So it's just a really amazing guide to reframe and see how cravings even come up and some simple solutions on how to beat through them. But one other thing I forgot to mention as well is When it comes to the mindfulness of, of course, like tracking and even noticing that you're on a plateau, give yourself grace because again, plateaus are so common and sometimes even the mere act of stepping on a scale and seeing the same number is the thing that flicks on our stress response and that keeps the weight continuously on our bodies because we're getting down on ourselves. And we think that the process isn't working, and then that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. So for those who sometimes even just need a break from the scale and from kind of the, the, the weighing and everything in terms of that, I urge you to take it. You know, if you take a break for a day or two, it's so much easier for you to get back on after. But if you just keep pushing and just keep slaving yourself to make it to a certain goal to then just crash out, the crash ends up being a lot larger and a lot— I don't want to say, I don't want to say worse, but it just ends up being a lot longer and a lot more intense from what I find through experience. So give yourself a break sometimes, as, as you should in life, as you should in weight. So, um, you know, and everything will rebalance once it it, it, your body feels ready to. But amazing different tips and tricks when it comes to crushing your cravings. And again, it's, it's quite a long PDF. There's so much cool info. So I'll make sure to share that in the group today. And then the final thing that we could always try is a protein day. So protein days are the last option, I would like to say. I don't like doing this often with people, but sometimes when your body is in need of a little bit of a boost, so be it. Let's give it that boost. So protein day should only be done after 3 days of your weight staying exactly the same and trying all the things prior to that we've talked about today before going on to the protein day, because oftentimes— I want to say 9.5 out of 10 times it ends up being a lifestyle shift that derailed the plateau or that derailed the weight loss. But sometimes if we need that extra boost, we can use a protein day. So again, a protein day is to be used at least after you've seen your weight stay consistent for the last 3 days. And you want to do— if you're an animal protein eater, you want to do 6 ounces of any sort of animal-based protein as your lunch. And then for dinner, you can do 6 ounces of a different protein for your dinner. And now this is going to exclude, uh, your non-free vegetables, your fruit, and your free vegetables. So you're just going to be focusing on protein for those 2 meals. For anybody who is a vegetarian, you'll be using 9 ounces when it comes to lentils or beans, cottage cheese, or tofu. So you just want to make sure that whatever protein you're having for lunch, you alternate that with a different protein for dinner. And so I've never really had to do 2 protein days, um, in, in the, you know, X amount of years that I've been, I've been doing this program. One protein day is sufficient enough usually. So what you want to see after a protein day is a release of at least 0.5, and then you can keep on going in your regular release, um, protocol that you're doing. So this is all kind of like my best practice tips on how to bust through plateaus. My one biggest one is just give yourself grace. You're changing a lot of things. Things are happening in your body. It needs time to reorganize resources and reorganize its mirrors to deal with your new haircut. So all is going exactly where it needs to. Everything your body is sharing with you is for a purpose. And so I just urge everybody to get to know yourselves even better, dig a little bit deeper, get curiouser, and enjoy the process that is getting healthy because it's not just the destination. I don't know if anybody is a fan of road trips, but the best part of the road trip, in my opinion, is literally the drive. Because you get to see everything, you get to relax, you get to hit bumps in the road, you get to stop at, you know, random little shops and antiques. And that's the fun part often of the time. Like, the destination is great, but so many memories get made along the way too through a road trip. So view this journey as your own little scenic road trip. And if you take the scenic route every so often, it's even more beautiful more often of the time. And so, yeah, thank you everybody for tuning in and for listening today. Uh, and I would love to hear any sort of takeaways that we have from today, or if anybody has, um, or will be excited to try some of the different things that we mentioned. So I will make— this presentation is recorded, so everything I touched on will be uploaded to YouTube. But we are also— I'm also going to be posting the Crush Technique and Crushing Your Cravings PDF as well inside of the Facebook guide— or sorry, Facebook support group. So you'll be seeing all of the resources in there. But if there's anything in particular you wanted or wanted to chat further about with me, I'm happy to do so as well. Yeah, excited for you to try the dopamine less. Yes, Bonnie, I thank you for that.

That was amazing. I got so many takeaways. I've got lots of notes.

Thank you.

My pleasure.

I have a question about the protein day. I noticed that egg whites were not on the protein day list that you put up. And I've noticed in the guide that egg whites are permissible for vegetarians. Would that be okay on a protein day?

Yes, that is totally fine.

Okay, thank you. Just wanted to clarify that. I think it was, but just wanted to be sure because it sounds like a really specialized day.

Yes. No, thank you. I just forgot to add in the egg whites when it came to vegetarians. But yes, you are correct. You can definitely have egg whites too.

Okay. And would that be 9 ounces of egg whites?

That would be 6.

6. Oh, because that's an animal product.

Okay, exactly. Yes.

Perfect.

Thank you.

My pleasure. Shelly, I see your comment here. Do you have a copy of the PDFs? Is there any— the Crush Technique?

The Crush Technique. And the— yeah, like, I've done the EFT before for other things. So it's just I'm curious about the cravings. I haven't used it that way. And as well, the one for the cravings. If you have the copies, that would be wonderful.

Yes, definitely. I can actually even post. I'm going to post the Crush Your Cravings one.

Wonderful.

And you know what?

I just wanted to I say too, Alice, it's, it's always timely, uh, whatever I seem to be going through when I hop on these calls, that's exactly what the topic is. So yeah, I'm just experiencing that, uh, and it, you know, again, curious, like 3 days, same, same kind of weight. And you know, it's— I'm just off, you know, like between 3 to 5 pounds, but I really, really feel it, um, and I really, really feel it. Like, I know, you know, my schedule and just all the You know, the little small nuances that, that add stress. And I can see, again, going back to knowing yourself, right? And how things like how sensitive my body is and just being, again, having compassion for self. And I think that that's the greatest gift, although it's sometimes so hard. But we are, we are very difficult. I am very hard on myself. So I appreciate today's learning, 'cause it's so true and so valuable. So thank you.

Oh, it's my pleasure. Yeah. And yeah, sometimes we are just our own worst critic for no good reason. We would never, you know, like I kind of laugh to myself 'cause I feel you 100% in that respect. And anytime I get plants, I always use the plant analogy. Like you don't put a plant in a dark corner with no sunlight, no soil, and no water, and then you come back a week later and you yell at it for not growing. Like, it's like, well, it wasn't exactly— it's not thriving in its environment. It's not getting any of what it needs. So how is it supposed to grow? And it's not even its own fault. Somebody just put it there. So often we are the plant, and, you know, we come in and we yell at ourselves for certain things, but it's just so important, like you said, to give compassion, to give grace. There is absolutely no timeline anything needs to get done by. It's good to have goals and it's good to have arbitrary, you know, things that we want to achieve, but also be open to knowing the journey is going to look vastly different from what we think it will be. And that's okay.

Exactly.

Totally fine. Thank you for sharing.

You're very welcome. Thank you.

My pleasure. I've uploaded or I've linked in the Crush Your Cravings Guide down below. The, the Crush Technique— sorry, they're quite similar in name— I'm going to upload in our Facebook group just because that is a PDF. I don't have a shareable link for that, but I'll include the shareable link for the Crush Your Cravings as well for anybody else that wants to check it out. Also, there's some really awesome nuggets in there. Um, I'm just going through the chat here to see if there's any other questions. And feel free to ask any questions outside of plateau busting and all of that too. But I do find, uh, Shelley as well, it is very funny how there are things like— there's just divine timing and they're just themes. Like, the reason I went with the plateau is because quite a few people are experiencing plateaus right now. So I'm like, huh, This will kind of appeal to the masses, and there's even more people that you wouldn't even expect or don't mention it to you that are also like cycling up with the, uh, with the, you know, events that are happening, whether they're the change of seasons or a full moon, whatever have you. So I'm glad that it resonated because it's, it's a message that was coming through a lot this week for me too. Uh, so the dopamine list, that is an activity actually for, for everybody to do for themselves. I've created a Facebook post on it which I can tag you, uh, Deanne, I can tag you in, and Paris, uh, the dopamine list. But I've also done a presentation on creating your own dopamine list, or I guess dopamine menu if you will, because there's entrees, there's sides, there's apps, there's desserts, and it all depends on the frequency and how much time you have on which menu item you kind of wanted to select. So I can send both of those resources or tag you in those resources if you ladies would like. How often should the protein— okay, awesome, I will. How often should the protein tablets be used? You can use them daily. If you wanted to. So what Hardeep is referring to is that there's a product from Purium called Super Aminos 23. And for especially vegetarians who aren't maybe getting the, the same amount of protein within their meals, these supplements provide you with 15 grams of dietary protein. So it is vegan. So anybody can use the tablets and it's just a great way to kind of boost up your protein intake. And even thereafter, of course, the program for somebody that is, you know, let's say like flying around a lot or traveling or, you know, just, uh, not as hungry or maybe not getting the, the, the meals or the protein that they need, it's a really great product to keep kind of in your back pocket. Um, and yes, it's called Super Aminos. Let me get the link for that. And for whoever hasn't used Purium, um, it is a Purium product. So we do have our own Shopify account, or I guess our own link and retailer for it. And the very first time you use, uh, the website, there should be a $50 gift card added onto it. So the gift card should be applied through the link already, but if it's not, um, you can apply Living Proof and it should be able to give you that $50, uh, kind of like welcome bonus. So I'll put the link in for the product in just a second. As soon as my computer loads. Yeah, I hope that answered your question, Paris. Love that you're enjoying them, Laura. Have you noticed any differences since incorporating them in?

I have.

Just feel more toned, more lean, and it's great. For some reason, it's easy on my stomach. So I really like that part. Amazing. I'm really glad to hear that. And, you know, who doesn't need extra protein these days? From all the studies that are coming out, you know, we're, we're under-proteining a lot of our diet. So thanks. I'm super stoked. I haven't tried them myself. I've tried a couple of other products, but the aminos are next on the list and I have the link here. Uh, here you go for anybody else who is interested. Uh, Bonnie, with the 0 and the 5, not a clue. It is the randomest thing. So Bonnie is asking, do you have, uh, any idea why the 0 and 5 numbers on the scale is the tricky part? It happens to me. To be honest, I, I want to say it's almost like an energetic— because how does the body understand weight? You know what I mean? Like, the body doesn't necessarily— it's, it's our mental almost attached to the number or to the figure even. And zeros hold a lot of different kind of, you know, um, just different things to get into when it comes to spirituality. Like, they're, they're eternal, they're never-ending. It's like the most perfect, um, symmetry. And not only that, it, it creates a larger surface area. So I don't know what the links with that could be, but just from my speculation, I've seen it vastly at a 0. But then again, sometimes the 5 creeps up every so often too. But if I find any other links, I will definitely keep you posted because I'm invested in whatever this phenomenon is. Amazing. Any final questions or comments before we end off for today? I want to respect everybody's time, but also going to, you know, respect any final questions that we may have. And again, does not need to be, uh, plateau related. Beautiful. Amazing. Okay, so thank you everybody so much for joining me in on this presentation today. I hope that you've learned something. I hope you're gonna try something fun this weekend. Have an amazing rest of your Friday, amazing weekend ahead, and we will chat with you all very, very soon. Thank you, Alex. My pleasure.

See you.

Bye. Bye. My pleasure. Thanks, Laura.