PP102: Playing big in a small world with Karen Porter and Sachin Patel
13 Dec 2021 · 50 min
Karen Porter spent nearly 30 years battling IBS, anxiety, and depression before a combination of nutrition, mindfulness, and routine turned it around. She left finance to coach women 45+ through her 12-week Your Best Life Reset program, focusing on the gut-brain connection and inflammation.
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Hey Satchin. And welcome to the Perfect Practice Podcast. It's my mission to use this podcast as a platform to help holistic, heart centered practitioners transform the world. I think we can all agree that the world needs more of what we have to offer now than ever before. And I want to take all the information and all the knowledge and experience that I've gained over the years and leverage the community and the contacts and the mentors that I've had over the years and, and share some of the most valuable nuggets that I've picked up over those years. I also want to bring special guests on so that they can share their valuable wisdom and knowledge with you as well. Each episode is going to be packed with valuable nuggets of information to help you grow both personally and professionally, all while moving you towards more impact and more freedom. I'm excited that you're here. I'm excited that you want to grow and learn. So let's jump right in. Hello everyone and welcome to Perfect Practice. Today I'm very excited because I am having a Fireside Chat style conversation with somebody who's become a great friend of mine, Karen Porter. Karen is joining us today from her home and that's significant, as you'll learn here in just a moment. But one of the reasons I wanted to speak with Karen is because she inspires me. She's been part of our mentorship program for the last little bit and she has really, really found her voice, she's found her calling, her passion, and it has been very amazing to witness it. So I wanted her to tell us more about her journey and I also wanted her to have an opportunity to share with the world what she's up to and how she's going to make the world a healthier, happier and more whole place to live. Welcome, Karen.
Hi Satchin. Thanks for having me.
Absolutely. So why don't we start with you. Tell us a little bit more about you. And I'd love to go right back to the very beginning to when health became pivotal and super, super important to you.
Right? Well, really, that is exactly it. It was my personal life story, my history that really got me into health and, and it was really suffering with IBS and debilitating bouts of anxiety and depression for almost 30 years that really moved me over in this direction. It was all of those years kind of struggling on my own, going the medical route, being given a different pill for anxiety, for the ibs, for, for the depression, and really it barely touched on the symptoms, let alone ever getting to the root cause of the problem. So it would just continue in bouts. And then it was me trying to manage it. And the last time it happened was two days before my daughter's high school graduation. And. And I was hospitalized again. And I knew that along the way, I had gathered tools. I call them the tools in my toolbox. And so each time a depressive episode happened, I would be hospitalized and spent time in the psychiatric ward and then had outpatient care. So I would be going to the hospital each day for about three months. And then I started to take on some of the things that I learned there, and I would start to feel better, but each time, I would never look back. It was like, okay, I'm only moving forward. Only moving forward. And each time, my husband and kids had to go through this with me. But the last time I said, this has to stop. And I had already started changing my food because I met up with a nutritionist, and that was going well, but there was still one or two missing pieces. I volunteered. I learned how to help in something that was bigger than me, get my mind off of me, and push myself to do things with friends, even when I didn't feel like it. But there was still another piece that was missing. And the final piece for me was really the mindfulness and the importance of stress management and a daily routine. So I have now what I call my non negotiables, and they will happen every day because I have no way of knowing 100% that I won't ever, you know, that depression won't ever rear its ugly head again, or that I might not have, you know, some symptoms of ibs. But I know that I'm doing everything in my power to, you know, to keep them away. It is absolutely managed now. And that's how, you know, that's how I want to live the rest of my life. And it was really in that that I became so passionate about helping other women to live their best life.
Amazing. So you probably saw a lot of specialists, lots of different practitioners, I'm sure. Who was the first person that mentioned nutrition to you?
None, really. No one did. I actually remember asking my doctor years ago, should I? Because I'd heard about this food allergy testing or food sensitivity testing. And I asked him, and he said, no, I wouldn't bother doing that because it's not just your food, it's your stress, which I understand now, of course, so much better, but it would have been a good route to take. I just actually happened to attend a cooking class, and it was by a Nutritionist at a grocery store at Alongo's. And she was speaking, and I just sat there and went, oh, I need more of what you're talking about. And so I set up a time to see her privately and then just started changing things. I mean, I had bought books along the way, but I think we all know it's not a lack of information that's out there. Right. Either on the Internet or in books or whatnot. It's, in fact, there's so much information, it's often conflicting. So the books didn't really help me, but it was really sitting down with someone and coming up with a plan that absolutely changed it around. And now I know, because of the gut brain connection what was going on there. Right. And in fact, even the last time I went to my doctor and I, like, this was after the last worst episode, and I said, I just want to let you know I'm feeling better. And he said, oh, I know that, Karen. I can tell that. I can see it in your eyes and in your smile and your body language, the way you're presenting yourself. And then he went on to say he'd been doing some research and found out that the severe depression could be caused by inflammation in the body. And this was a number of years ago. Right. Like, now it means something entirely different to me. But at the time, I didn't know if he was talking about the inflammation in my gut as a result of the IBS or inflammation in my brain. I only know that I walked out of that office. I don't even know if I heard the rest of the explanation, but I walked out of that office feeling like, wow, it wasn't just all in my head. It wasn't just me causing this. Right. Because that's what you feel when you're in it. You just feel the guilt and the shame and everything that goes with it, which just makes you feel worse. Right. But this was the first time I heard something that was sort of a justification of what was going on in my body. So that was pretty neat. And then I think at that point, I told him I was going to a nutritionist, and he said, oh, I could recommend a dietitian. And I thought, first of all, no, I'm good with my nutritionist. And second of all, why are you suggesting that now? Like, all the years of struggle, now you're suggesting it. Right. So anyway. But yes, I did see all kinds of. All kinds of specialists. Yeah. And all kinds of tests.
Yeah. And it seems like I've always known you this Way healthy, vibrant, energetic, you know, very positive, very passionate. For the sake of contrast. What were you like before when you were going through these. These bouts?
Oh, gosh, I would. I would lose weight, you know, which some people might think, oh, that's a great thing. But no, it was like I couldn't really eat. I would be anxious and then anytime I did eat, it would go right through me. But that, you know, that was that physical part. But to. To see me as I would present, like, I covered it well because I've. I grew up with a mom who didn't go out of her house without hair and makeup done. Right. So this comes naturally to me to do my hair and makeup and have nice clothes. It's not something I'm trying to pretend to be. It's me being myself. I was always in the routine of doing that. So people would see me with makeup on looking nice. Oh, my goodness. One funny story. I was actually in the elevator at the hospital going to my outpatient care in the psychiatric ward, and someone in the elevator said to me, oh, are you one of the new doctors? No, I was one of the patients in the psychiatric ward. Of course, by that time I was not, you know, I was no longer in. In the ward wearing a hospital gown. I was out in my, you know, normal clothes and makeup and everything. But, yeah, that. That part of it goes to the. The part that you don't always know what someone is going through. Right. Like, because I would still be doing the thing, because that was what I'd always known. Right. But you know how I talk so much now. When I was in one of those periods, I was like, shut down. There was nothing. In fact, I remember going to events where I would almost be silent the whole night because it was like I would sit there and I would think, I have nothing to add. I've got nothing. And that's hard to believe, but that's how it affects you. And for me, like I said, it was anxiety first and then insomnia. And then, of course, right. Goes hand in hand. But it would start affecting my brain, of course. Right. When you're not sleeping continually, it affects the brain. So not only was I not able to function properly, I wasn't able to think properly. So it was like, I can't do this. I'm a failure. I'm failing as a mother, I'm failing as a wife, I'm failing as an employee. All of those things, right. So it just starts to all. All boil in together.
So, yeah, it starts to compound. Right. Because it doesn't seem like there's an escape and you're trapped in your mind, trapped in your body, trapped in. Nobody's really listening to you and you know you're being dismissed. So, you know, I wanted to hear this about you because this is. I've heard some of your story, but this helps me understand you a little bit more and helps me understand why you're so passionate about helping people. So tell me when that started. So you see the, you go to the cooking class, right? You meet the nutritionist, and then what happens after that?
I just felt like I made a huge change, right, in what I was eating and how I was feeling. It was like all of a sudden I was like, wow, this feels great. And one of the first things I remember going out to dinner with extended family and my brother in law said to me, they knew what I was. And my brother in law said to me, well, Karen, if you can't have gluten and you can't have dairy and you can't have sugar, what on earth are you having for dinner? And I don't know. Right away in my mind I just like, what are you having? Water. But I approached it differently and I said I can have whatever I want, but I am choosing to feel good. So this is what I want, right? And it's that mindset switch that worked for me and can work for everybody. It's like when you see it that way, that you're not being deprived, you're making the choice to feel good, right? And so I just knew how good I felt. And then I found it was everything that I was reading. Every magazine I'd pick up, every book I would pick up, this is what it would be about. And I finally said, well, this is obviously a big interest for me and. And I was starting to lose my interest in the financial industry that I had always been in. And I thought, well, maybe this, that maybe this is my passion. And so I went back to nutrition. Not back to, but I went to nutrition school. At the same time I did another course called Return to Food. So I like I do. I went in at 150% and. And it got overwhelming because I was still. I had gone from banking to a mortgage agent, but I was, you know, I was still taking mortgage clients. Now I was doing this course with homework and exams. Now I'm doing this other course with homework and videos and things that we needed to do. And like, then I kind of blew myself up again and had to step away from it all and regroup and get myself back. Right. And then after I did that, my husband said, karen, you liked that nutrition stuff. That was what you were interested in. So I went back and I finished both of those courses at CSNN and my other more practical return to food course. And then I just started doing cooking classes in my home and what I would call a return to food experience, where couples or groups of women got together and they came into my home, or I went to their home, and it was like I provided an experience. So I, you know, I showed them, I taught them how to cook. We all cook together. But for me, it was very much about. This is a whole experience. Experience. Right?
We're.
We're breaking bread together. We're dining at this beautiful table. We're, you know, all of, you know, all of those things. And that's what, you know, that's what I was doing for. For a period of time, as well as, you know, some. Some private coaching. But then things changed around in. When was that? Two. Almost two years ago.
Time flies, doesn't it?
Yes. Yes, for sure. And so then things kind of changed as to how I was going to do things and what I was going to do.
So let's talk about your business right now. Who's your avatar? Who is it that you work with? Is it someone who's experiencing similar challenges as you? Inflammation, hormonal imbalances, ibs? Like, who do you work with?
Yeah. So when I first started going out and speaking, speaking or doing things with different people, my daughter said to me, but, mom, everybody doesn't have IBS and depression. And I said, yeah, you're right, they don't. But there's so many things that stem from what's going on in our gut. Right. We all know this. Right? And so it may be anxiety, or it may be depression, or it may be digestive issues, or it could be different things. But really, my clients are women over 45 who want to regain their energy and feel great in their bodies. So they may have a condition or they may have digestive issues, or maybe they've dealt with depression, or maybe it's just general fatigue or, you know, they're going through perimenopause or menopause. Right. So it. I'm currently not dealing specifically only with people with IBS or with depression, but I just feel that 45 or over, and I'm 55, you know, that is the time when we start to realize we can't do what we've always done and feel good. Right. Like, you might have Got away with it in your 20s and 30s. But you know, as we, you know, as we approach our mid-40s and beyond, it's like we start to notice things that don't feel so good. And, you know, often we'll go to the doctor and either get a pill for an ill like I did right, all those years, or they'll be told that their lab results are absolutely fine. And you're just getting older and you feel like that because you're older, you're menopausal, you're this or that. And I just know that women and men can just feel so much better. We don't just have to accept where we're at, right? So that's really who I want to help right now. And I have found most of the people, well, really all of the people in my programs are what I would call high achieving people. They're striving and know that they can feel better. So, you know, the majority of them will have some weight to lose. But I've never, you know, I've never called myself a weight loss coach. To me, weight loss is really a byproduct of being in a balanced body, right. A body that has reduced inflammation. So that's really essentially what I'm doing with food and stress management and movement and the importance of rest and recovery. Right. So that's really what I'm doing first, is trying to reduce the inflammation, balance the body. And then things just start working, right? They just start to come into balance and we can have that vibrancy back.
What do you think is the number one limiting belief that high achievers have? Because they've probably been so successful in many, many other areas of their life, however, they may have a limiting belief around their health. Is there a common one that you found?
Yeah, and that's a really interesting question, a really interesting point because I've had a few gentlemen join my program and at first I thought, oh, how's that going to go with a guy in the group? And actually it's been great. I love it. But I did have a gentleman recently and you know, very high achieving and he said, karen, I've got success in so many areas of my life. I just don't understand how I can't get this together, right? So, you know, and I said, you just need a plan, you need coaching, you need accountability. You know, I've got this covered for you. Just, just stay with me. We got this. And of course he is just going along and just seeing the results right now. I have got Another gentleman, I just have to tell you really quickly, who joined with his wife. I told our mentorship group that he went from 241 pounds to 195 pounds, which was his goal weight. Right. And I was like, oh, my gosh. And the wife kept being quiet, silent. I got no pictures, heard very little. So actually just this morning he messaged me. He likes to just show me the scale. And then she piped up because it was a joint text, and she said, just so he doesn't take all the thunder, I want to let you know. So she lost 30 pounds and she was in the program, the daughter, a teenage daughter, 17, who followed what they were doing and kind of implemented it in a teenage kind of way. She lost £25. So can I just tell you, that's a family loss of £100.
Holy smokes.
Yeah. Yeah. I was just like, oh my gosh, I can't believe that. But even notwithstanding the weight, to me that's like a wow. But like I said, I'm more excited about the non scale victories. Like she said in the message, today, our hugs are better and longer. Oh my gosh, that just gets me. And early on he said, you know, I'm biking more and I'm spending more time with the kids and yeah, like, goosebumps, right? Like, I hear these things and I just think that's so much, you know, so much more important to me or how good you feel. Right. I think it's Deepa's line that I often use. And it's, we don't just need to be smaller versions of ourselves. We need to feel amazing. Like, who needs to be 120 pounds and a size 2 or whatever your goal is, Right. You don't need that if you feel like crap, right? No, we want to be the best that our body can possibly be and feeling amazing. Right? So that is what it is all about. Like I said, the weight to me is kind of what everybody wants, but to me, it is all those other things. It is that bigger, longer hug. It's the time spent with the kids. It's all of those things. Right? So I'm not even sure if I answered your question that I would say the limiting belief is, you know, there is kind of that fear of failure because they have tried so many things. But this is a win win formula. Right? Just between the plan, the coaching, my empathy and enthusiasm and passion, I think it's just a winning program. And that winning program came from you and living proof and being part of the mentorship for that, I am very grateful, always grateful for you.
I'm very humbled and honored. I do want to say that it's not only the formula. Right. It's not only the recipe, but it's the love that goes into it. Right. It's the willingness to take time out of your life and schedule and to learn the tools, to implement them, to deploy them, to learn along the way. Right. I know there's been lots of learning along the way for myself and yourself included. And that's part of being an entrepreneur, especially when you're passionate about what you do, that you'll break things along the way and you'll fix them along the way, but you keep going. And I see that. I see that you're doing great things in the world right now. I see the smile on your face as you're doing them, which makes me happy knowing that it's lighting you up from the inside out. And I see the results that you're getting with your clients, which is remarkable. Right. A family of three people losing 100 pounds in six weeks, that is newsworthy. And I'd love to see that happen. And I'm just going to put that out there right now. The newspaper should be calling you, interviewing these people, interviewing you, because this is the type of stuff that more people need to hear about.
Yeah.
And I'm so glad that you're out there sharing and spreading your wings, spreading your message. I'd love to talk about what your limiting beliefs were as you started navigating and helping people in this capacity. Just so for those people who are listening, who might be practitioners or coaches, nutritionists, you know, whatever gamut or field you're from, what were your limiting beliefs? I'd love to know that.
Oh, yeah. Well, I think I've said this in the mentorship that when I first started, I thought, oh, I'm just a nutritionist. I'm just a holistic nutritionist, and I'm in this group with functional medicine doctors and MDs and pharmacists. And so for the first few months, I felt really kind of on the bottom of the totem pole. And I'll come back to a couple other limiting beliefs, but I'll just tell you, as time went on, like I said, the first few months, I was kind of trying to figure things out, kind of see what was going on, getting into the mindset. Right. So right away, you started with how important the mindset is. I had started doing meditations regularly before that from what I had learned in the past. But I really stepped it up then. And yeah, I just started doing the things that you talked about and it was like, you know, within a few months I was starting to deploy what. Deploy what you had talked about with the five day challenge, right? So it was like, okay, I got to learn these systems, got to learn these platforms quickly. Let's just jump into it. So I think it's just being willing to jump, right? Like, I think that comes from within the person, but you can work on it, right? Like, that's part of personal development. But I think I've always been the type of person that will jump into something. It's like I don't have to have it all figured out. I just got to run with it. And I think I just kept doing that continually and I thought, I'm just doing the thing that Satchin is showing me. I'm just gonna keep, just going to keep going with it. And to the point where one day it clicked in my mind where I was no longer just the nutritionist. I was like, I am the nutritionist with this whole group of amazing practitioners in my back pocket. So when somebody asks me something, I never feel anymore, like, oh, I don't know the answer to that, I feel like, wow, I belong to this amazing mentorship group of practitioners worldwide that I can get answers from. So it's amazing how that mind shift happened to go from who am I? To wow, look who I am. And I think I said that in a comment recently. It was like, at the beginning I was like, what am I going to talk about? I had been doing Facebook lives before the mentorship started, but they were kind of very professional, very educational, kind of boring. And, and then I just got more and more into, I'm just going to be me. And this is, you know, and the other thing that I think I said in something in the mentorship recently, it was like what you just mentioned about love is that when I started in the mentorship and I would get emails or, you know, things from you and it would say love, Sachin. And I think my first thought was, who does that? You know, who says that? You know, especially from a guy. Right? But even, but you have to remember I had a very professional background. Right. So I grew up in a certain way. No, well, my, my, my childhood was, was casual, not, you know, we weren't of a, of an uppity descent. Not like that. But my, you know, in university and then in my years of banking and, and mortgage, you know, so I was professional. There was never any love. Right. And so for me to come into this group and, and see you saying that and hear you saying that was like, wow, really? And then I think I just became more open to it because it's not that I'm not like that. I am that, right? I am that heart centered person. But I think I just, I just allowed it. So it was like I kept hearing you loving and being of gratitude and then I just started doing it myself and then it just became natural. So like, I think when I'm commenting and I put a heart or a something, you know, the face with the hearts around it. I think when I put that on my clients comments, they feel it, right? So it's like what you did, I mirrored back. And so yeah, and I just totally see the benefit of doing that, right. So what started out as seeming weird from my guru, from this guy, turned into the best thing that happened to me, right? So because it just allowed me to do it, it didn't bring it out, that was always there. But it just sort of said to me, okay, Karen, you can do this. You're not the banker, you can do this. Do it this way, right? So yeah, just receiving the love and then pouring out the love to my clients was a big thing that turned around. And just everything in the mentorship was not only the skills that I could learn from and the resources that I could utilize, but also all the personal development, right. So all of the things that fueled my brain and now that, you know, that's what I pass on to my clients, the things that I learned from my own history, but also all the amazing things that I've learned in the, in the mentorship group, right. So other limiting beliefs were, you know, I mean, I guess at the beginning there's that feeling like, oh my gosh, there's just so much, right. Like this stuff is great, but where do I start with this? How do I get past it? How do I get through it to be able to do the thing on the other side? And I would just say there were some times where I struggled through it and I worked through it just because I will work at it incessantly. But there was other times where it's like, okay, I'm going to pay to get this. And there's so many times it's like when even buying into the mentorship, right, you think, oh, that's a lot of money. Or you know, little things along the way, oh, that's a lot of money. But then you, but then you go, oh, no, but what does that do? What is the roi. Where can I go with this? So the longer that you sit on something and don't make it happen, you know that you're just losing that money. Whereas if you paid the $200 and got the, you know, got it figured out with Kartra or, or spent the time with practice, better people and got that figured out, then you just move. Right. And then there's that other thing that you always say is just come out with the minimum viable product and don't worry about having everything perfected. Just do the thing because it's your knowledge and your passion and that is far more important than this professional video. Like you'll get to it. Right. But just, just do the thing that you're, that you're good at and help the people that need help. So, yeah, I love that I get wound up when I talk.
Well, it's great. I can see your passion and enthusiasm and I love that you received that permission to express yourself more openly and more empathetically and compassionately. And it warms my heart to know that because. Right.
That you had that effect. Yeah.
Yeah. Thank you. So it's because I sign it and I write every card that goes out to our mentees and when I sign it with love, there is that intention that goes into it. And I'm always curious what people are going to think because most people do not get messages like that.
No.
Especially from, you know, in a professional relationship. And sometimes people don't even get that from their spouses in some cases.
Right.
So, you know, the world is lacking that, that freedom of expression. So I'm glad we're able to do that in our business. And I sign every email with love. Even when I speak to my investors, anytime I get on a call and setting up an appointment or meeting or anything, it's always sign Love, Sachin. And but I was going to say.
I'm sure sometimes it's received and somebody says or, you know, they think something. Right.
I'm sure. I'm sure they do. But it's kind of like my background. Most people who comment on it are jiving with it.
Right.
And it gives them permission and maybe it reminds them to tell someone that they love them that day. You know, that's, that's my hope and I'm glad I did that for you as well to better express yourself. The one thing I also wanted to say is that the world's most valuable company, Apple, just today I got a notification that they're releasing a software update. So, you know, that gives US permission to do that as well. If they launched the perfect phone, there would be no phone. If they launched the perfect software, there'd be no software. We'd still be waiting for it to be released. And thank God they don't do things that way. And thank God we don't have to do things that way because we are what I call selling the invisible. And there's a book about the thing. I think it's Robert Cialdini that wrote the book. It's called Selling the Invisible. That's what we essentially are doing. We're selling a future for people. And our service will interact at some point in the future with our. With the program that they've joined, so gives us all permission to continuously improve and modify and upgrade. In fact, today I was working on an automated webinar for something that I'm working on. It took me four hours and I had the time this morning to actually go through the entire process and finish it and learn it. And I'm going to train it to. To all of you. But what was really cool about that is that it allowed me to sit down with a process and see it all the way through. And the video that I did, that was the welcome video, I ended up redoing it three times. So I just re uploaded a new video and it was done and literally took just a couple of minutes to update it. And I didn't let that hold me back. And I love that you're not letting that hold you back because learning new technology, whatever it is, can be a challenge. But what you did was instead of asking, how am I going to do this? You asked a much smarter question, which is, who's going to do this for me? Because just because we're capable, it doesn't mean that we should be the one doing it. And many of these systems, once you get them set up, you only need to set them up once. It's not an ongoing pain point for people. Once it's up and running. And then you might modify it or tweak it just slightly, but it's like changing the hardware on your kitchen. You just got to unscrew something and screw it back in. You don't have to tear out the whole kitchen and rebuild it from scratch. So technology gives us that capability. And I'm so glad that that light bulb went off for you where you gave yourself that permission to continuously upgrade and improve and modify. And hey, when things break, they break for the best of us. So it's not like usually when, when some people fail it's like epic, right? Because there's so many, so many people involved in getting the wrong email or getting the wrong link and so on and so forth. But it happens to everyone. It happens to some of the biggest brands in the world. So it's okay if it happens for us as long as the most important thing is our heart's in the right place. And that's what I'm seeing in your business, is that your heart's in the right place. You're willing to grow personally and professionally yourself. You're surrounding yourself with the right people. You know, Jim Rohn says if you, the five people you hang around with, you become the average of those people. And he says it another way, which is if you hang around dogs, you'll eventually get fleas. So you found your tribe, you found your community, you found your voice, you found your passion. And now you're disseminating amazing information through your challenges. You're putting out webinars, you're doing interviews like this to get your message out there, which I truly appreciate. I'd love to know what's next for Karen Porter.
Well, you mentioned the five day challenge. Mine is the feel Fabulous in five days. And of course, my signature program, your Best Life Reset. Right. So that is really what I'm focusing on now. And I'm just loving helping and watching my clients go through it and really trying to perfect that as I go along. I was on a zoom call last night, as I do every week with my clients, and it was like I'm at the point where they are completing. They've completed their 12 weeks, a number of them. Right. I've got more going through, but I said, what did you love? What you know, what did you enjoy about this? Is there, you know, any, anything you might add to this? So I'm always trying to improve it and beyond what is there, what you've given us. I've tried to do as people have. Right. Sort of add different things to it. So I've done with an exercise instructor of mine, I've done videos for my clients and now I'm going to start doing weekly cooking classes for my clients and just always trying to upgrade it. So I'm always thinking of, oh, what can I do next? What can I add to this and what can I, you know, what, what is my next plan? And so like I said, I started out with women over 45 and I had women from maybe early 40s to I've got a 70 and a 72 year old. And when I had A client that or a potential client that I was talking to that was like 60. And she said, oh, I know it's tougher when you're older to lose weight and to get healthy. And I said, I've got a 70 and a 72 year old right now who are just rocking it and are losing weight. And I think I told you about my client who previously had a stroke. And oh my gosh, it was unbelievable what happened to her. I said to her at the beginning, this is going to affect your body and your brain, but even myself watching it, I was like, oh my gosh, there was like a few weeks in and she was talking and I said, oh, can you stop for a minute? And I said, does anybody else notice anything? And everybody started piping up and it was like, oh my gosh, she's speaking faster, she's not doubting herself, she's, you know, it was unbelievable, the change in her. So not only is she this, this slim, more sophisticated, confident woman, she's now speaking totally different than how she spoke previously, right? So it's just amazing to watch people as they, as they go along. So like I said, that was my first, that was where I thought I was going until I attracted a few men. And so it's amazing watching them because they lose weight even quicker, right? And so that's really neat. And then the other kind of small group that I've got that's starting to grow is I've attracted a number of women in their 20s and it's like, no, they don't have the same issues as the women over 45 or men over 45, but who I've kind of attracted are young women who are already experiencing digestive issues or anxiety or autoimmune conditions. And it's like when I tell them my story that my story started when I was 25 and it's, I had one girl and she, she said, oh, I kind of knew about you, but oh my gosh, I didn't know you had been through that. And it's like all of a sudden she felt heard and felt that I was that person that could guide her, right? So I've attracted a few more 20something women who, you know, they know they need to change something. And I tell them I am the person that I wish my 25 year old had as a guide. It would have changed 30 years of my life. It maybe would have prevented me from being where I am now. So I don't want to change it. But I can tell you there was lots of times in there that I would have liked to have changed. But I can see them realizing that they need and want to make a change. So I'm setting up a subgroup for them and doing a special call, like a special weekly call that is catered to their needs as well. Right. And obviously I have a soft spot for mental health, having experienced what I experienced myself. Right. So. So that is something that I want to continue to pursue. So, yeah, lots of different avenues and things going on, but I just want to help more and more people. So I've already had some TV spots, interviews on breakfast television or CP24. And I just want to go back to. Not go back to, but continue to do that like on a bigger scale now with a defined program that has defined results. Right. So I just think it's open to a wider audience. Right.
So yeah, right before you said that, I was thinking into my head, you need to be on tv and then you said it. So let's.
And sharing.
Yeah, let's. I'm going to put that intention out there and I invite you and all our listeners to put the that intention out there that we need more of Karen. We need her to be on TV spreading this message of love, of hope, of health, of resilience, of reducing stress, of finding how to uncover the best life that awaits us if we can be healthy and vibrant. And I love that you're helping people do that. I love that you're helping men do that. You're helping women who are. And individuals who are at that very important age where you are struggling and being dismissed and not finding answers. And you're really helping them find their path in life without having to struggle with the same challenges that you did.
Exactly.
And hopefully that takes them and helps them see that there are different ways to help you. You might even have a little army of Karen Porters running around helping other people live their best life. How cool would that be?
Right? Yes, cool.
Awesome. Well, thank you, Karen. I appreciate you sharing today and not only your professional story, your personal story, your passion with us. What would you like to say to everyone who's listening? If you could have one more sentence to leave them with, what would it be?
It all starts with self love and self respect. And one of the biggest things that I've really implemented over the last, even six months, especially around when I was starting to come out with my program, was really constantly feeding my brain with the affirmations with meditations that I am building myself up. I am worthy, I am loved, I am confident. All of those things. And I see that that's, I mean, we all know that, right? That's where so many people are really lacking. So I, in my challenge yesterday, I think it was yesterday, I sent out a five or ten minute guided meditation that I had recorded and a woman commented and said, oh, I loved your meditation. I felt so, so relaxed. I just struggle with believing those things. And again, that hit me deep. I knew exactly what she was talking about. It was, she was not feeling worthy and confident and all of those things that I talk about, right? And I said, I understand, I hear you, I understand. Just start listening to this every day and try not to doubt it. Just take it in. Just take that information in and you will start believing it. Right. And like I said, that's what I was doing the last summer. It's, you know, this past six months and it's what helps propel us forward when there's things that get in our way, like the technology or wherever we're struggling. Right. But if you've started your morning with I am those things, right. That's what you carry forth throughout your day. So my bottom line is self love and self respect are the foundation of which everything comes from. Every positive change comes from that. So that's really what we need to spend time doing and fortifying and improving because that's, that's the foundation.
So, yeah, I love it. Thank you. And where can people learn more about you?
Yeah, my website is KarenPorter CA. Same on Facebook. You can just put in KarenPorter CA. And on Instagram, unfortunately it had to be a bit different. It's Karen Porter, holistic health coach. Yeah. And then I've got Facebook groups as well, but you can find that on my business page page.
So amazing, Fantastic, fantastic. Thank you, Karen. And so greatly appreciate you spending this time with us and sharing lots of love, lots of gratitude. And here's to continuing your amazing journey and growth.
Lots of love to you, Sachin. Thank you.
All right, talk to you soon. Bye bye. Sam.
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