Weekly MRP Q & A Sept 29, 2023

It's with you every moment. To back and forth, back and forth. Sam, Do you want to know what enlightenment is? Happy Friday, friends. How are you all today? Let me know in the chat how you're doing today and one thing that you're grateful for, we always like to start off with some gratitude. To back and forth, back and forth. Letting go of your attachment to yourself. I'm grateful for the beautiful weather we're having here in Toronto. It's, like, amazing. I'm looking forward to going for a bike ride later. It's just absolutely beautiful. Val says, grateful it's free Friday. Yes. Thank God it's Friday. Tgif. Alice says, the gorgeous sun. Oh, Beverly has a headache today. Oh, man. Sorry to hear that. Alice says, starting on a new project. Sheila says, doing good. Started second round of 10 weeks. And I'm grateful for this incredible weather. Awesome. Annalisa says, grateful for sauna and detoxing. Yes, I love the sauna. I went in it this morning as well. So, yeah, so I'll just wait another minute or so just for a few more people to join us if they're still making their way to Zoom. Kelly says, I missed you guys. Grateful for. For you guys where I can come and realign myself. We missed you too, Kelly. Glad to have you here. I could sense the lifetime of judgment against myself. My computer's being slow. I'm trying to put a message in the group here. Okay, well, we'll get to that in a second. So today I wanted to talk about seasonality. Okay. So how there's seasonality. I know Alice kind of touched on this a little bit last week, and I could. I wanted to just, you know, add to the conversation. And this is more so in terms of seasonality when it comes to food and when it comes to movement as well. Right. So, of course, you know, the weather is a little warmer than usual right now for us here in Toronto, but as we move into the fall and as we move into winter, we really want to, you know, emulate what that means from a nutrition and movement perspective. Right. So when we think of animals in nature in the summer, animals in nature are very active. They're kind of, you know, storing up for the winter, so to speak, and then things slow down a little bit in the winter. Right. So really trying to gear your body up for that. Right. Like, I know January 1st, a lot of people want to hit the gym hard and, you know, really, you know, embark on this journey of exercise and movement, which is great. I don't want to discourage any of you from exercising, but you may want to consider engaging in more gentle activity. Right. So maybe things like yoga or stretching. Right. Maybe not waking up at 5am Right. So just easing into things as we approach the winter. Right. It's probably not the best idea to start like a cross training routine in January at like 5:00am Right, right. That's not really what. It's kind of misaligned in terms of what our bodies are expecting from a seasonality perspective and what we end up putting our bodies through. Okay. And then also in terms of a food perspective, trying to eat more seasonally. Right. Try new. As we move into the winter, I'm sure many of you will crave more soups and stews, warmer foods. Right. Rather than perhaps maybe a lot of cold or raw foods and salads. Right. So you might want to consider shifting to those warmer foods. Right. That are more nurturing in the winter and fall. Okay. So really try to think about that and how you can align your day to day rhythm and routine with the seasons. Okay. So something to think about as we move into fall and winter. And then another thing I wanted to discuss today was I'm sure a lot of you have heard of the popular weight loss drug Ozempic. How many of you here have heard about Ozempic? Okay. Do any of you know anyone who's on Ozempic? Yeah, I'm sure we all kind of know someone. Right. So it's gained a lot of buzz these last few years. And you know, one thing that I wanted to point out is that we really don't know the long term side effects and implications of this medication. Right. There's more and more research being done now with regards to Ozempic. And one thing that they're finding is that yes, it might be effective when it comes to weight loss, but a lot of the weight that people lose is actually muscle mass. So do you think that that's a good idea? Right. No. Our goal is to lose fat, not muscle. Right. So as we age, muscle becomes very, very important when it comes to longevity. Right. So we want to preserve as much muscle mass as we can rather than lose muscle mass. Right. There's already going to be a natural decline once we turn 40. You know, there's a natural decline of 1 to 2% of muscle mass if we're actively not working to maintain it after the age of 40. Right. So we don't want to compound that by taking one of these medications. Right. So when it comes to a timeline for weight loss, for let's just say a 200 pound female for the time that it would take for a 200 pound female to lose 10 to 15% of their body weight. So that's anywhere from 20 to 30 pounds. On our program, they can achieve that, or the program that you're all doing, they can achieve that within four and a half weeks to six weeks. Okay. Whereas with medication like Ozempic or Wegovy, it's going to take 12 months.

Okay.

Manjaro is another medication commonly used and that's going to be about six to nine months. So a little bit shorter, but in terms of time frame, but still, you know, much longer. Right. And with these medications, there's side effects, right? There's, you know, as I said, loss of muscle mass, pancreatitis, there's gut peristalsis. So people feel like they literally physically can't eat because their gut is not moving. Nausea, vomiting. There's also a black box warning on the medications for thyroid cancer. So a lot of unpleasant side effects to say the least. And we probably, in my opinion, if there is an alternative route, I would rather go that route. So with our program, the side effects are that you need a new wardrobe, that you have more energy, that you have better sleep. Right. So we always want to outweigh the risks versus the benefits. And for some people, it might be suitable for them to use it for a short period of time temporarily to maybe get them motivated. But if there are safer ways to achieve the weight loss, then in my opinion, I would certainly opt for those routes. Moreover. Okay. Beverly says I took Ozempic and got really sick. My doctor put it, put me and my siblings on. Put it on my. Oh, okay. Put it on the allergy list. Okay. So I guess you had a bad reaction to it. Yeah, yeah. So that's, that's the thing with some of these medications, right, Is that they have in some cases pretty unpleasant side effects. Right. So we want to avoid those as much as possible. So I am going to open up the floor to any questions that you may have and you can raise your hand. Sheila has a question. Go ahead and unmute.

Do you have that new support stuff.

Ready to show us?

Yes. So we have it in stock. We're just working out the shopify part of it. So should be. Should be ready, I'm hoping within the next week or so for you to purchase. Let me go grab a box actually, so you guys can see it. Okay. So this is our new supplement here. It's the daily reset pack. Okay. So it goes very well, with the reset and if you're on maintenance, you can still use this. So basically it provides you with foundational support for metabolic health. So there's a multivitamin in here that is geared towards metabolic health. So it contains things like zinc and chromium and manganese to really help with blood sugar regulation. It's pretty much a pretty broad spectrum multi. And then there's also some vitamins in there, some minerals in there, too. There's a detox support in here which is, you know, these days you can take something like this on a daily basis because we're all exposed to a lot of chemicals right, in our environment. There's a vitamin D support with K. Vitamin D with K. There's magnesium support in here, and then there's resveratrol in here. So resveratrol is a great antioxidant. And this is, you know, as I said, when you're on the reset, we recommend two packs. So it basically, you know, is like a little roll pack here. So you get. This is great for travel too, because you just, you know, for the number of days you're traveling, you can rip off as many packs as you like for travel. Okay. So when you're on the release phase, you're going to do two packs per day. So one in the morning and one in the evening. And then for maintenance, you can do one pack per day. Okay, so great little pack here. As I said, it's very convenient, very easy for travel as well. So, yes, we will have those available as soon as possible. Okay, Ed is saying, any thoughts on Bragg's True Energy apple cider vinegar capsules? So apple cider vinegar, as you all probably know, has a lot of different benefits. Right. It helps with lowering cholesterol, helps with fat burning, helps with blood pressure regulation, gut microbiome. So so many different benefits to it. So I'm. I'm assuming they're kind of the same as the actual apple cider vinegar. So in terms of cost, I'm thinking the apple cider vinegar itself will be much more cost effective than the capsules. But if you're traveling, then the capsules might be more convenient. So that's what my thoughts on it would be. But the actual liquid itself is probably going to be more cost effective, and it's great for immune health, too. So I have a friend who loves gardening, and she just this past weekend made this wonderful immune elixir, which I was thinking of trying out. Let me show you guys what it looks like. Let me share my screen. Okay. So it's basically apple cider vinegar. There's, you know, chilies in here, garlic, cinnamon, turmeric, onions, oranges, lemons. I'm not sure what that is, but she posted the recipe here as well, which I can share with you all. Here. It's fire cider recipe. So you put everything in a jar, and then basically you can add honey to it at the end, but you let it sit on the counter for four to six weeks, and then you strain out all the ingredients from the jar and keep the liquid. And then you can have, like, a shot of that, you know, on a daily basis if you wanted to. So I thought it was a great idea and happy to share this recipe with you all.

Okay.

The one I could. Is this horseradish. Okay, awesome. Thanks for sharing. Yes, that's right. It's horseradish. Okay, so here's the recipe and put it in the Facebook group as well. Yeah, the message is too long, so I'll put it in the Facebook group. What other questions do you all have? Sheila says, I just came across this recently as well. I'm wanting to make some too. Yeah, I think it's something like that's a fun project on a Sunday afternoon. And like, if it's cold and rainy, it's like a perfect project. Okay, what other questions do you all have? Beverly has a question. Go ahead and unmute.

All right. My question is it does have to do with the apple cider vinegar.

Okay.

I use apple cider vinegar almost daily to help with my acid reflux stuff, and it works really well. But I'm wondering if I. If I ruin it if I put baking soda in it.

Good question. I'm not sure how that would. If it would ruin the benefits, I would maybe have the apple cider vinegar on its own. And then I know with baking soda, like, you can. I hear. I just googled it. It says baking soda, apple cider vinegar. So I guess it is, like, common thing. Is it beneficial to mix baking soda and apple cider vinegar? Likely doesn't provide any additional benefit. They may also cause side effects, especially if you take too much benefits when taken on their own. So that's probably what I would recommend. I can send you this article here if you want to take a look at it. Yeah, okay.

Yeah, it's. I. I think I use about a tablespoon of baking baking soda. Heavens, no. Not that much.

Okay.

Apple cider vinegar and a half a teaspoon.

Yeah.

Of baking soda. I don't do it all the time, but one of the health people I follow says that that will help alkalinize my body.

I'm going, okay, whatever. Yeah. I mean, so when it comes to alkalinity, like your blood PH kind of stays pretty much the same. Right. As soon as it goes up a little higher or lower, like there's buffering mechanisms to keep your blood PH around the same. But we can consume foods that are more alkaline. Right. So for you, for example, with, you know, with the release phase, you know, when we were. When people are eating lots of fruits and vegetables, like leafy greens, those are all very, have very high alkalinity. Right. Whereas things like meats and dairies are lower alkal alkalinity. And that's why we like to balance out the acidity with more alkaline foods. Right. So that's why when we're on the release phase and beyond, we recommend eating at least 70% plant based. Right. Like lots of the foods and veggies. Fruit, sorry, Fruits and veggies. Yeah.

I think it's more of a. For her, it's more of a cheat to get you to alkalinity faster when you're peeing on a piece of ph paper.

But yes, yes.

Get the pretty colors sooner.

Yes, absolutely. Okay.

Thank you.

You're very welcome. Okay. Debbie says I'm waiting for delivery of my kit. It's two weeks out. Debbie, what is, what's the last name? So I can look into that for you. Oh, Debbie. Okay. It should. Should it? And Elisa, if you want to check the tracking. Okay. And Elisa will check on that for you. Okay, Debbie? Yeah. Okay. Sheila says, sorry I have to leave to leave to get my son. Have a wonderful Friday. It's a tough day for me to catch this. Okay, well, I think she already left. It was great having you here, Sheila. Okay, so, Debbie, looks like you've read the written information. Do you have any questions from what you've read so far? You can go ahead and unmute if you'd like.

Oh, okay, sure. Actually, no, I've done the program before, just a different variation. And as I explained in my initial interview, I wasn't emotionally ready to take the step forward. And so I'm in a different place and that's exciting. So I'm pretty familiar and look forward to having the paper copy manual because that's. I'm a paper girl.

Yep.

But yeah, I was disappointed when I got, I got the scale, but when I tracked it and the drops were 14 days out, I was like. Because I'm ready now.

So sometimes like it basically will say, like, you know, 7 days, 10 days, 14 days, whatever. But usually it will arrive much sooner than that, from our experience.

Okay. Yeah, that. Well, that's kind of. I'm glad to hear that.

Yeah.

I'm. I don't want to lose momentum.

Yes.

The point, you know, as far as. I'm ready to get started, so. And she did just send. I can look and see what the message.

Okay. Awesome. Yeah. I'm hoping it arrives sooner than that. It is. I mean, the drops are shipping within. You're in the U.S. right.

Correct.

Yeah. So drops are shipping within the U.S. so I find USPS is way more reliable than Canada Post, so I think you should have it sooner. And then as far as your package, I'll have to check if it went out yesterday. I think it did check. September 28th. I'll have to check if it went out yesterday or not.

Okay.

Yeah, Yesterday was the 28th. Right? Yeah. I'll get back to you and let you know if it went out yesterday.

All right. Very good.

Thanks.

You're very welcome.

Annalise. I think she has something to add.

Deepa.

Yeah. You can unmute Annalisa.

Yeah. I sent a direct information to Debbie. Her package is expected to deliver October 2nd.

Oh, okay.

The actual way. Better.

And to backtrack a little bit, I remembered posting a recipe. I was just looking for it for a really long time. Back to the fire cider conversation we were having. For anybody that's interested in creating a kind of a quicker recipe version of that, I just posted it into the comments, into this chat. It's basically apple cider vinegar. It's more so maintenance phase, but it's apple cider vinegar. There's a little bit of honey and Ceylon cinnamon. So you make a little concoction. The ingredients are inside, and you take a tablespoon of it and fill, you know, your mug with hot water and put a tablespoon of that solution. And then just kind of helps to boost and kick up your immunity, especially as we're going into fall and winter. So for anybody that likes kind of cinnamon or cinnamon hearts, it tastes exactly like that. I think it's really tasty. So, yeah, try it out this weekend.

Awesome. Thank you for sharing.

My pleasure.

Yeah. And, you know, as we head into the winter, like, you know, of course, immune support is super important. So making sure. I always recommend getting your vitamin D levels tested. Right. So make sure that you get your vitamin D levels tested because, you know, too much of a good thing is not good either. Right. So we don't want to overdose on vitamin D. We always want to make sure we get it tested first and then based on that, take the appropriate dosage. Right. I find that most people, if you live in the Northern hemisphere, like Canada or, you know, in some parts of the US that you are going to need some sort of vitamin D supplementation. You know, of course, as much as possible, try to get outside. But you know, some sometimes on those dark, gloomy winter days, it's just really hard to get that vitamin D right. Because when you have a vitamin D deficiency, it's not a deficiency in the supplement. Right. It's a deficiency in sunlight. Right. And infrared light. So that's what we, you know, want to focus on is getting that vitamin D as naturally and safely as possible from the sun versus, you know, taking a supplement. Okay, what other questions do you all have? I know we have a few people here that have gone through the program a while ago. Val Kelly, LaRonda. Is there any way that we can support you. Anything that you're struggling with or need more support with, So vitamin D. Okay. So we can talk a little bit more about immune health. So when it comes to immune health, of course vitamin D is going to be important, but other things that can really support immune health are medicinal mushrooms. Okay. So in your modules, there's a whole section on medicinal mushrooms. So this is one of the reasons why we, you know, recommend drinking the reishi coffee as well is because it has reishi mushroom in it, right? And reishi mushroom has a slew of benefits, right? It's antibacterial. It's modulates your immune system. So if your immune system needs to be, you know, down regulated, it can help downregulate. If your immune system needs to be upregulated, helps upregulate it, right? So helps modulate the immune system, helps balance the nervous system. So, you know, helps put you more into that parasympathetic state, helps with weight loss, helps with decreasing inflammation, helps with detoxification. So really the coffee and the tea is more so a vehicle to get the Reishi in you because it has so many benefits. Right. And I think Alice posted about it in our Facebook group yesterday. So, you know, that can really help with immune health. Chaga mushroom is another type of medicinal mushroom that can be really beneficial for immune health. And then of course, you know, having a good foundation in terms of your nutrition, right. If we eat a lot of sugar and processed foods, that's going to downregulate our. Our immune system, right? So we want to really stay as whole food as possible so that we can keep our immune system strong. Okay, so what I'm going to do is. Is anyone. Oh, so Bev was asking substitutes for cocktail sauce and tartar St. Tartar sauce. H. While on the release phase specifically, or. I'll have to look into that one. Annalisa or Alice, can you think of anything?

I will check it out right now. Going to do my Google investigations.

Okay.

Okay, so what. What we can do right now as Alice checks that out is. Has. Have you all heard of the Rose Bud Thorn exercise?

No.

Okay, so I know some of you are off camera, but, you know, if you can unmute yourself, then I would love for you to all share with this exercise. So Rose Budthorn is. Rose is what something that's working well for you or something that you're proud of? A bud is what is an area of opportunity where you could, you know, perhaps, you know, improve, like whether it's trying to get more steps in a day or whatever that might be for you. Okay. And thorn is what is something that isn't working or something that you need more support in? Okay, so I can get started. I guess a rose. For me, something that's working well is I'm very consistent with my morning routine. I, you know, like to start off my day with some sort of movement, whether it's walking or stretching or, you know, doing some strength training. But an area of opportunity if for me is I'm trying to get to at least 8 to 10,000 steps per day. You know, some days I can achieve that very easily, especially if I do a, you know, in my morning routine, a walk. Like yesterday I went for like a 25 to 30 minute walk, and I was able to get over 10,000 steps yesterday. But I want it to be a little more consistent and then a thorn. What's something that I need more support with? I would say it's like just juggling my schedule and trying to get all the things I need to get done done at the end of the day. So, you know, sometimes I. I switch tasks, like, and that makes me less efficient. So just maybe blocking my day more to, you know, get tasks done in a more efficient manner is something that I'm trying to work on. Okay, so next I'll ask Alice or Annalisa, do you want to share what's a rose bud or thorn for you? Who wants to go next?

Sure, I can definitely go ahead. So, Rose, could you repeat what each of them was? Rose was.

So Rose is Something that's working well, bud, is an area of opportunity and a thorn is some. So an area where you need more support. I keep it in the chat. Thank you.

Thank you. So arose. What's working really well for me is in the morning using a 5 second countdown to get out of bed. I am a bear, I like my sleep. It is challenging for me to get out of bed in the morning sometimes and I know a lot of people struggle with that. And so what I've been trying, I play all these different games with myself and a video I saw floating around is doing a simple countdown of five seconds and counting down and when you hit one, you don't even think, you just go. And that mental kind of countdown just allows you to take emotion away and you're viewing it more of as a task. And it's allowed me to get up and start my day and fit in so much in my day through that kind of mentality or anything that you're finding resistance with doing that countdown in your head. So it's allowed me to go on morning walks, which I love. It starts my day on, on such a great note. An area of opportunity. I feel like having more accountability. You know, even coaches need accountability sometimes. We're humans too and it's, it's nice to. Specifically for me, anybody that knows, you know, disc scores or styles, I'm very much extroverted. So when it comes to the social aspect, I tend to show up more and I know that about myself. So having an accountability buddy would be a great kind of an opportunity for me to grow and to show up more. Not only showing up for myself, but for somebody else where I could use support. I think I can use support in terms of not doubting myself. I don't really know how support in that looks like, but kind of just more boldly trusting in yourself. That's an area I'm constantly working on. I know that we all are to a certain degree, but that's definitely something I can use more support. Support in is just being more confident. So yeah, that's my Rosebud thorn.

Thank you for sharing, Alice.

My pleasure.

Do you want to go next? Sure.

So from Rosebud, what's working well is get up in the morning, go to the gym, get my walk in.

Yep.

My things that I need to do, try to get there every single morning so I can at least get a walk in. I'm back on the release phase for a little bit so I'm trying to incorporate lots of movement and doing that so that's working really well. Opportunity is the days that I miss. I still have to get out, right?

Yep.

Do the walk.

So I got to find time in my afternoon or wherever I could fit it in to do it. And then the last would be I love giving to everyone and I guess that was a lot of my issue. I supported many people through my life and turning off work or turning off helping others, I need to make sure that I set that time for my self care. And that's what I've been trying to do with my morning routine is making sure that I get out and do my self care in the morning.

Thank you for sharing that. Yeah, we sometimes give, give, give to others and we need to refill our cups too. Right. So thank you for sharing that. I know that can be a hard one when you're a caregiver and a mom and wife and all of that too. Awesome. Okay, Melody, you can go ahead and unmute.

Hello.

Hi Melody.

It's been a while.

Yes, it has.

So I too am doing a mini reset which I started a few days ago. So I did the program like two years ago and to this month I believe and I feel like a rose for me is that I've been super consistent with my food and just like eating the right things. Like I completely got rid of my salt cravings at night. Like so I'm like really happy about that. Like it's completely changed the way that I view food and eat and I feel like much more healthier through that bud is an area of opportunity. I think I'm grateful for this group. I'm grateful for Deepa and Alice. Like even after two years I'm able just to send a quick message and say, hey, I'm not feeling great or hey, I've, you know, gained a little bit of weight. I have no idea why. I'm also in my 40s so I think the hormones are raging and so I have been gaining weight and I'm not really sure why. I mean I am stressed out. So I guess a thorn is just really taking the time to do the deep breathing and like the mental work required to get our bodies and minds and all that working together.

Yeah. Thank you so much for sharing that. And you know, this, that time of a woman's life when you know, when you're in your 40s and when the hormones are changing, it is very important to make sure that your adrenals are well taken care of. So really trying to do those practices that help to shift you more into that parasympathetic state, especially when stress is high, is going to be even more important during this time because that's what your body is going to rely on as those female hormones start to fluctuate and change. So, you know, especially things like weight gain and hot flashes, we really want to make sure that we're supporting our adrenals as best as possible. Thank you so much for sharing that. Yeah. And so, you know, of course we can always take supplements to support adrenals, but that's not going to be the same. Right. So really making sure that you take that time to unplug, whether it's five minutes, you know, whatever you feel like, really disconnects you from the stress. Right. Or not disconnects you, but really lowers that cortisol for you. Right. If it's going for a walk in nature or doing five minutes of meditation or going for a yoga class, or really taking that time for yourself. Okay. It doesn't have to be the same every day, but something each day, whether, like I said, it's five minutes or half hour or an hour to. To decompress.

Lovely to have you on the call, Melody, Nice to see you to follow up quickly. Sorry to interrupt, but to Beverly's question about the cocktail and the tartar sauce. So there is a recipe I just posted for kind of like a healthy cocktail sauce that it you can use from time to time on the reset. So you really want to focus on unsweetened ketchup so that there's no extra sugar added. And a little bit of horseradish, you can have the worst. I'm not even going to try to pronounce that, but the W sauce, the Worcestershire sauce, and then a little bit of hot pepper sauce. So all of those things are allowed. I would enjoy it sparingly because again, it is, you know, a condiment. We don't want it to kind of mask the taste of the food. And when it comes to the tartar sauce, I did find a recipe that we can jig to make use of in the reset or during the release phase when it comes to tartar sauce. The only thing is, is that while Walden Farms dressings are able to be used during the release phase, I like to put less of an emphasis because it does still have quite a few different ingredients inside those products, making it zero cal, zero fat, zero sugar, all that jazz as you're starting out and transitioning, let's say, going from traditional mayonnaise to, let's say healthier version or a more f free version or metabolic Reset friendly version. That's a great substitute to use. So the recipe that I'm going to post now for the tartar sauce, again I would say to use sparingly but if you're going out to a social situation or you know, you want others to partake in some of the things that you're doing that halfway point, I think these two recipes can satisfy that. So your family and friends will still love it. You'll still be able to enjoy the foods with those sauces too.

Thanks Alice.

My pleasure.

Okay, we have Kelly next. You can go ahead and unmute.

Okay, so I'm going to share my rose, bud and thorn and let me know what you guys thoughts are. So as a rose, something that's working very well for me is the food. I am really addicted to my salad. Sometimes I eat too much of it and get indigestion. And my salad is now very famous at the school and with my friends. And I have consistently for a year and a half since I got into the program only ate the food that was recommended at the beginning. When I, I'm traveling I actually just go to a dollar tree and buy some supplies and knife, go to the grocery store, make a fresh salad and I bring maybe sardines or tuna cans with me and maybe a sauce or something. So that's been working really, really, really well for me. The bud for me is, you know, some of the additional areas. When I did the program, people knows that food was something that I kind of latched onto and then I stuck with it. But the rest of the things I was, you know, slow on due to, you know, several things. But what I did go ahead over this, you know, period of time is I created like a little.

I don't.

Know what it would be called. It's like a, I, I call it, I called it my self love mantra. And I, it's, it's in a little book that I carry with me wherever I go. Like those police officers have that little, little pocketbook. And in it what I have done is I made a list of like my morning, afternoon or evening suggestions to myself from all the knowledge that I acquired. Examples would be, you know, fragrance of sweet orange in the morning because that helps with serotonin. And I, you know, occasionally keep looking at it. Like when I'm too busy, I don't look at it. But when I have the time to kind of go back to my self love, I, I go back and look at it and I have my sweet orange right next to my bed. And then I will do it and then I go away and then I come back. That's just one example. You know that other things during the day are, you know, cold shower burst or my eye drops that I need. I do, I'm good with the ACV water in the mornings I have it set up on my counter. So yeah, one thing that I've always, always done is the, the taping of the mouth at night. I can't live without it now. Tape and all strategic purses. And so some things have worked, some things I am, I haven't done much of like the cold burst. I think I maybe did it like two or three times at a hotel and I screamed and my kids were like what? So not very good at it. And I'm, I'm working, I'm working on it. When I go through a few days when I have been good I can feel a lot of change and my stress resilience, my performance at work and everything else and when I go away from it for different reasons and my cortisol is high and on that, you know, so. But it's a bad, you know, I'm working on it. The thorn for me it really is self love. I'm really, really poor in it. I'm very, very poor in it. I do a lot for others, I volunteer a lot. I'm a really good worker. I do, I'm, I'm very good at what I do. Profess. Everybody reaches out to me and I want to help everybody. I want to help the teachers at school. I just last weekend I was so tired. I was, I went to Sacramento for two days. I was in training. I got myself trained as an archery instructor because I did archery when I was in my teenage years because my daughter wanted to do it and it's very difficult to find instructors. So I'm actually going to start that whole new journey and a new community and I love it. But I was exhausted. I was so exhausted I fell asleep at 7:30 at the hotel and I woke up at 4 in the morning. I had no idea where I was. And so self love. I am really, really bad at it. Really bad at it. The other part of that is my husband is not a good partner. He is, he doesn't listen. He's like now the kids are seeing and they're supporting me but because he was, I will have all this food for him and go and eat Oreo cookies or something and that hurts me and then immediately I sabotage myself and I'm trying to tell myself now that when he does that. And I have this rage inside me. Instead of sabotaging myself, is there a way for me to swing it around and turn that into more self love for me and transfer that love to him? I was talking about it with my children and they thought this was a great idea, but I haven't been successful in it. He's just. He's just going through his teenage girl years. I'm sure men go through stuff and there's no support for them, you know, we don't. I feel. I feel like, you know, that he needs. He needs more of my love. In the last several years, I've given more of my love to the community and to the children. I've been mommy too, too hard, and I've ignored him. And so that's. That's the thorn, you know, for me, it's.

It's me.

I am the thorn.

And yeah, thank you so much for. Yeah, thank you so much for sharing. You know, and it's. It's a practice, right? It's a daily practice. You know, you started keeping that journal, right? So I think having that type of journal practice on a daily basis where you're writing, like, positive affirmations for yourself, because if you don't love yourself, then it's hard to love others fully, right? So as much as we, you know, want to love our kids, like, they. It's basically we got to love ourselves first, right. In order to pour from that cup. Right? So. And then, of course, you know, with family members, like, it can be very challenging when they're, you know, not on board with the same nutrition or lifestyle as us. Right? And I think the best thing that we can do because no matter how much we say, right, especially if it's a spouse, it may not land very well. So just keep showing up and being the role model, right? And. And eventually, hopefully he'll follow suit. Right? But really making sure that you do it for yourself first. Right? And, you know, everyone's on their own journey, right. For some people, you know, it takes a little longer to make those changes or for them to get on board. And so sometimes, especially when it comes, you know, from the woman or the spouse, like, it can get a lot of pushback. So, you know, I think hopefully he'll come around. Right? But we. The more we try to force it sometimes, the more they'll resist, right? So just showing up for yourself every day and doing those practices for yourself every day is what I would. Would recommend to. For you to continue, right. And trying not to let that affect you and what you're doing in your journey. Right. Thank you. Thank you, Kelly, for sharing. Does anyone else want to share? Debbie, Laranda, Val, Ed can raise your hand, your zoom hand, if you'd wish to share.

Ed.

Okay, go ahead and unmute.

Yeah, I don't think my camera's working today, so. Sorry.

No worries.

Let's see my rose. I like you and Annalisa. I get up in the, you know, getting up in the morning is easy for me. Going for a walk or going for exercise, that's the easy part. The. I, I'm trying to think the, the bud would be. I don't know if I could state it that way. I still want to make more progress, but I feel comfortable where I'm at now. So I'm sort of in that comfort zone.

Yep.

I don't know, but I know I want to do more, so I don't know what my bud would be. My thorn is just like Kelly just said, no one in my family really wants to hear about what I'm doing or in fact, they would prefer that I don't speak about it. So, and so I, the meals are all on my own, not with them because I eat in an eight hour window and they eat whenever they want and they like going out for pizza and that kind of thing and ice cream.

So that can be challenging. That can definitely be challenging.

And I'd say the rest of the thorn is just my general work schedule. After the morning is over and the workday starts, all you know, what breaks loose and I lose a lot of control over what I can do and lose control over staying focused. And then someone else said this, I still have that craving at night. Well, I have a craving to eat food all of the time. All food all the time. I've never, I've never had a problem eating, so that still continues. But I, especially late at night when things quiet down, I always want to reach for any and all snacks. So that's the hard part.

How, how's your sleep? Because if we're not sleeping well, then that's going to really dysregulate our hunger and appetite hormones. So how's your sleep generally?

My sleep is very good.

Okay. Do you have an oura ring?

No. No. I. But my, the only positive comment I've gotten is that after a few weeks after I started the program, I stopped snoring and I was sleeping the entire night through. I used to sleep five hours a night.

Okay.

And now I, now I, now I force myself to sleep eight to nine Hours.

So sleep has significantly improved.

Yes.

Okay. So yeah, So I would say, you know, really it's hard with family members. Right. Especially if there's food that is in the house that, you know, you're trying.

To avoid and then it's there.

Right. And then you have these hunger and cravings. That's like, it's like right there. Right. But I think the, the biggest thing is always coming back to your why. Right. Like why are you doing this? Why are you on this path? Right. And.

Oh, that's easy. I don't want to die early, so.

Yeah, exactly. Right. Which is like for most of us. Right. And then also like, for, for many of, you know, for many of you that have these hunger and cravings, like if you do like have a craving for, you know, pizza or a cookie or whatever, it might be there. It's not about you being perfect. Right. And if you do, you know, feel like you have a craving for those kind of things, it's how can we eat those things but maybe have a healthier version of it. Yeah. Right. So that's kind of where I, I.

Don'T get a craving for a cookie. I get a craving for a whole box of Oreos or that kind of thing. I, I mean, I eat very. When I go, I go in big quantities, so. But I do do that. So I, if I eat corn chips, I'm eating the gluten free corn chips with sea salt.

Yes.

So I try to do, you know, the, the healthier version, but I don't know if that's really healthy.

Yeah. And then the other, so the other aspect of it is the maybe having the healthier version, but then really trying to manage how much wheat eat. Right. The portion.

Yeah.

Right.

Because it's still, it might be healthier, but it's may not be healthy. Right?

Yeah.

So just trying to dig deeper in terms of where that comes from. Right. Sometimes for some of us it could be just scarcity when we were children. Right. For some people who grew up in households where there was scarcity. Right. Because of, of financial circumstances or whatever, it might be like everyone had to get a very specific portion. Right. So sometimes when we get older, we tend to, you know, when we have, when we don't have that scarcity anymore, then we tend to perhaps sometimes overeat. Right. So just trying to dig deeper in terms of where those habits may have come from and you know how I would journal about it. Right. I don't know if you've ever gone to therapy for it. Like, I don't know if it's to that degree, but I think definitely doing some more self exploration in terms of where that comes from, it would be helpful. Right. And it's not like it's going to be something that's going to just resolve like, you know, within a day or a week. It's. It's going to be a journey, right. In terms of, you know, seeing where.

I wouldn't call it a problem. I would call it. I like eating food. I mean, I, all kinds of food. I like experiment anything, you know, different cuisines. I'm, I'm, I'll try anything. So.

Yeah, and I think that's good, right? I think it's good. So instead of maybe viewing it as negative thing. Right. It's okay. Go ahead and try things. Right. Try to see if you can, if you like, let's say Thai food, right. What are some healthy dishes that you can enjoy? Right. Like a green curry or a red curry, like so. Yeah, I don't want to discourage you.

Fried spicy catfish.

No.

You picked one of my favorites.

Thai food.

I know, I like Thai food too. It's good.

Yeah.

Sorry.

Crispy catfish, they call it.

Yeah. So you know, lots there. The work never ends, right? There's always, there's always something. So, yeah, I would say dig, dig a little deeper.

Hey.

Hey, Rhonda. I'm gonna go ahead and unmute. You go ahead and unmute.

Hi, guys. I have been kind of working in the background, so no worries. Answer. Like, I think the question is, okay, no worries, veering off, just let me know. But something that, for those who don't know me, I've been on the program periodically, half heartedly, in and out for a minute now. Like I've been around y' all for a minute, but I have never given up and I'm always determined to do better. And this year I can. I'm so happy to say that I've learned enough over the years time that I am doing a lot better now. And so I think my, I think you said rose, like R O S e rose.

Yes.

That I've learned to give myself a lot of grace and really celebrate the fact that I'm not a quitter. And so I, you know, I don't give up on myself. But also I'm not beating myself up when I make mistakes. I'm like, okay, what can I learn from this? And to help me move forward because I'm never gonna succeed if I fail and beat myself up and then get up and then fail and beat myself up and get up. So that's something that I'm really proud of myself, that I've been doing really well. Something that I've been struggling with, obviously, consistency, just being able to, I mean, it's weird to say, but the losing phase is the easiest because you've got structure in place.

Yeah.

And so if you step off, you know exactly how to get back on. If you veer left, you know exactly how to go back the right way. But maintenance is, is where I struggle. And so that's the area that I could use the most help and support with is, is that is taking what I've learned over these years and during losing phase, what I've learned about my, myself and staying focused. Now the last maintenance phase I did, I did better at that. I did better. So I didn't lose during losing phase and then gain it all back during, you know, it's just exhausting. So I didn't do that this time. So I'm very proud of that. But I, you know, there was a gain. So I'm getting better and I'm proud of myself for that. But I need work in the area of consistency and then where I could use more support. Support. I have a lot of family support, which is a blessing and it's amazing. But I guess just continuing to, to stay plugged in and focused and present and, and that's going to help me with all of it. So I, I think I. Did I answer those.

Right?

I'm sorry.

Yes, you did. Yes. Thank you so much for sharing, Laronda. We really appreciate all your insights and I agree the losing phase is probably the easiest. It's the maintenance that's hard. Right. And so what I would recommend is still trying to have that structure in place. I know obviously it's easier said than done, but continue to weigh. Right. I think weighing your food every day is going to be helpful. And you know, there's going to be days where it's not perfect. But even if you, you know, can have that structure in place, like 80 to 90 of the time, that's going to be better than nothing. Right? Because I think sometimes we have this all or none mentality where it's like, oh, like I, you know, I screwed up, like I, I have to pretty much start from scratch again. Right. Like, instead of doing this up and down, like roller coaster. Right. We really want you to have more of that consistency, knowing that it's not going to be perfect. It. Right. Because it is progress over perfection. Right. So do you have the beyond maintenance Guidelines?

I do.

Okay.

They're in the guide, right?

They're not in the guide. I can email them to you again. But I think also sometimes for some people, like, some people love the intermittent fasting, but for some people, like maybe someone like you, I would maybe recommend the three meals because sometimes if you get. But if you fast and if you get to the point where you're like starving, then, you know, I feel like that is a trigger for you to sometimes maybe eat the wrong foods or maybe eat the wrong quantities. So I, I don't know if you're still fasting or not, but I would maybe consider adding that third meal in just so that you don't get. And I don't even know if this is an issue, but yeah, I find that sometimes if you fast and get hangry, then it's like.

It works again.

Are you in my house? No.

Are you still fasting?

I am, I am. I am actually on my second round this year, but I'm. I'm gonna have to actually end a little bit soon because I'm going out of town next month. We're going to Greece. Yeah.

Oh, wow. Enjoy.

Yeah. So we're going to celebrate our 30th anniversary in Greece. And so I'm super excited about that. And I'm also excited because it's, it's a great place to get really healthy food. So I told my husband I'm gonna behave. However, don't ask me what I'm eating because Mediterranean diet, I'm just Exactly.

You know what, in Europe, in Europe, it's hard to eat really, really crappy. So even like in Europe, like, even what you might think is like unhealthy, it's still going to be way healthier than it is here. Right. So I was in, Yeah, I was in Italy this past summer and we ate a lot of pizza because we're vegetarian too. So it limits options even more. But the pizza, like, so we stayed free. And the pizza there, like the, they have like, it's called AIC certified. So the restaurants are AIC certified, which is association, something celiac. And so everything is like completely gluten free because they're really catering to the celiac population. But the dough, like the pizza dough is like a fermented sourdough, gluten free pizza dough. And then all the ingredients are obviously a lot more fresher. And you know, there's really like no delineation between organic and conventional because pretty much everything is organic there. Right. So.

Right.

Even if you are, if you Feel like you're indulging, it's probably way better than what you're eating in, in North America. So. Yeah. So I would say, you know, do you feel like when you're fasting, like when it's time for lunch that you're like really, really hungry?

Sometimes it's really, God forbid I should be consistent about anything, but sometimes I am just starving at, you know, 11 or 12 o' clock and I don't always get to eat at that time. I usually end up eating lunch around 2:00'. Clock.

So.

But there are other days that, you know, two o' clock comes and goes and I'm really busy and I don't even notice. But you know, I just think it's something that I need to be more mindful up. I think when I'm super hungry, it's because I haven't had all the water that I was supposed to have by that time of day.

Yeah.

So I would play around with like maintaining maybe like a 13 hour fasting window and adding a third meal in. So like having, let's say you finish your dinner by like 7pm or 8pm, then have breakfast at like 8 or 9. And that breakfast could be like, you could follow those beyond maintenance guidelines in terms of what your breakfast could. But I would really put that up on your fridge. You like, this is obviously I'm talking about off the release phase. Really put that up on your fridge and really try to stick to that and have that same structure in place even on maintenance. Right. Which is basically, you know, in my opinion, I would say it's, you know, it's four weeks of maintenance, but that's really like lifelong.

Yes, yes.

Right. So like really, you know, I would really, as I said, recommend printing it out, putting on the fridge, getting the food scale out. Of course, you know, you'll be done your release phase, you'll go to Greece and then when you come back, I would start with that.

Yeah. Okay. Yeah.

Yeah. So thank you so much everyone for sharing. I really appreciate you all being so vulnerable. Vulnerable and sharing what's working for you and what's not. And you know, the reason why I thought I'd do this exercise is because we can always talk about all the good things, right. That are going on in everyone's lives, which is great. But really we want you to share some of those challenges so that we can support you all best. Okay? So next week, just so you all know, we are all traveling, myself and Lisa, Alice, so we will be our next, our next Q A it won't be next Friday. It'll be the Friday after. So that's October. I think it's the 12th or something like that, so. Or 13th maybe.

I don't know.

I don't know the dates these days. My calendar. Let's see. Sorry. It's going to be October.

This.

Okay, wait, hold on. Let me just get the right dates. Right. Oh, I'm looking at the wrong. So, yeah, the next one is going to be October 13th. Okay. Well, it was wonderful seeing you all here. I guess we'll see you on the 13th. And in the meantime, if you have questions, feel free to ask in the Facebook group. We're happy to support you. Bye, everyone. Have a wonderful weekend.