Speaker 0 00:00:00 Hello, my little sugar cubes. Welcome to the Fitness Manifest Podcast. If you Speaker 1 00:00:04 Don't got a clue what, what to do, that's a resort I like to do. Speaker 2 00:00:10 Side effects might include motivation, empowerment, giggles, enlightenment, inspiration. Speaker 0 00:00:16 Welcome to the Fitness Manifest podcast. I'm Coach Theresa, your virtual personal trainer, teaching you how your body works so that you can reach and maintain your ideal health and fitness. Today I have my friend Lucia. She's a nutrition student, and she's here to help me teach you guys. You know what happens when you are starting your health and fitness journey and you're trying to make healthy meals, but your family isn't quite aligned yet. They're not on the same page, they're not excited about changing their diets to include more fruits and vegetables. So welcome, Lucia. Hi. Speaker 3 00:00:55 Hi there. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. I'm very excited to be here. Speaker 0 00:01:00 Yeah, I'm excited to like talk about this with you, kind of get your insights. We have very similar backgrounds, not only in our like education, but also culturally we have, we're both Latinas and we both have kind of similar situations at home. I'm still curious though, like what differences we have and also kind of, you know, just sharing that advice that we, and experience that we've ex that we've learned in school, but also in our own health and fitness journey to help clients and help listeners be able to change their life in a way that is sustainable. So we're gonna start with, uh, a scenario. So a client is motivated to eat healthier, but their family does nothing to do with fruits and vegetables, and they are very comfortable in the meals that they're used to. So based on your experience, have you had any struggle in your family where you want to eat healthier, but your family is not about it? Speaker 3 00:01:57 You know, actually I haven't really had like a struggle, as you'd say, um, with certain foods that don't align with my fitness goals, because sometimes I don't make the meals all the time. You know, there's my mom, there's my grandmother, there's my aunt that make the food as well. So sometimes if I don't have time making the food, then I'll just eat what they're making pretty much. So if they make chicken, rice, and veggies, then I'm all for it, you know? It's, it's still, it's still healthy. So I, I haven't really experienced that struggle. I mean, I'm all into the not having like a negative opinion about food. If you're still eating something throughout the day, then you're, you're still feeding your body. Speaker 0 00:02:40 I really like that mindset that you have about food that like, there's no good, there's no bad food, it's just food. Food is neutral. There's, I I like to add a little bit extra saying there's food that is more nutrient dense and there's food that is less nutrient dense. But I guess for when you are trying to change your physique, you do kind of have to pay attention a little bit more to the food choices that you're putting on your plate. But based on what you told me, like, it seems like overall your, your family makes pretty, like, healthy choices. It's not like there, oh, okay. We, we, we don't wanna cook. We're gonna order like family, family style wings and like Costco, pizza and ice cream for dessert. Speaker 3 00:03:25 You know, it happens sometimes. That's, that's what actually happens. Like, oh, they're cooking up some like barbecue ribs. I'm like, oh, that's my favorite. You know, and they're like, bring pizza. And sometimes like I can say like, no, I'm not feeling it today. You know, I've been, I want to eat a little healthier. You know, there you have some days that you just like are not craving that kind of food and you just want to eat like a salad, like with chicken or just, you know, something healthier. Speaker 0 00:03:53 So when you're craving the foods, it tends to be like more on the, like the side salads or like, what is it that you normally tend to crave or would tend to lean towards when you're making your meals? Speaker 3 00:04:06 You mean like healthy wise or just in general? I Speaker 0 00:04:09 Guess just in general. Mm. Speaker 3 00:04:11 Well, it's, 'cause our family, we do a lot of, um, enchiladas to like all that stuff. I mean, it's still kind of healthy 'cause all of it involved. Um, the protein and like veggies and all that stuff. So, you know, it still pretty much falls into the healthy category after all. But I know we eat a lot of like, you know, a lot of fries and beans and bread and like tortillas and all that stuff. So, you know, it's, it's called moderation as well. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you gotta go into moderation balance. Speaker 0 00:04:44 Yeah. Yeah. And I think one really easy entry point for listeners that are trying to change their, their nutrition and their meals is take whatever you have and start introducing some fruits or some vegetables or minimizing a little bit of the, the higher calorie dense foods. So that way you're, it's not such a big shift. It's a small transition. So you're still feeling like you're enjoying the food and you're not overhauling, complete your diet. 'cause that gets really overwhelming. And if you're not used to eating fruits and vegetables, they can seem a little bland or a little flavorless. So it's, it's, you have to figure out where the balance is between flavor and the amounts of like, volume that you're having, the fruits and the vegetables, finding that balance that you're okay with. You're like, okay, I can, I can still eat this, I can still enjoy it, it tastes good. Speaker 3 00:05:47 That's right. Yeah. Uh, I honestly believe that because a lot of people see like their diet or their like fitness goal or plan as like, oh, I only could eat certain foods that are probably don't taste good. I'm only eating it because, oh, I need this so I see skinny or like, I don't gain weight or whatever your goal is, you know? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And it doesn't have to be that way. There are so many options of food that is like healthy, but it also tastes good. And it's like in the way that you season it as well. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, Speaker 0 00:06:19 Yes, seasoning is very, very important. Otherwise, there's, there's no joy. There's no fun. You have to season your foods. Speaker 3 00:06:28 Food is a big part of our life to be honest, you know, like throughout the day we're eating. So you don't wanna see that as like, oh my God, here we go again. I'm going to eat this food that I don't really want to, but I have to eat it. You know? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you shouldn't have that like, negative thought of food. And Speaker 0 00:06:47 Like, if you're not quite sure, like how to season your vegetables, like there are so many recipes online. There's so many recipes, whether it's, you know, you're trying to include a little bit more broccoli or cauliflower or whatever you want. I'm, I guarantee there's a recipe out there. So learning to, you know, what seasonings pair well with the vegetables that you're trying to eat or what seasonings paired well with the fruits or the proteins that you're trying to include, you can even like hide them. I really, I recently found a recipe for a green sauce. It's like a green pasta sauce. It is the best sauce I have had in a long time. And it's so simple. It's broccoli, spinach, steamed. It's blended with olive oil, Parmesan cheese, garlic and salt. That's it. Speaker 3 00:07:38 I'm gonna have to try that <laugh>. That sounds really good. I mean, it may not sound good at the moment, but it is probably taste good. You know, you gotta try Speaker 0 00:07:47 It. You can't, you can't judge it Speaker 3 00:07:49 Until you, it can't judge it. Actually, I can't judge it until it try. But like for some people it's like, oh, it has spinach, it has broccoli. You know, that's why it's good to like hide it. <laugh>. Speaker 0 00:07:57 Yes. Yes. You could do a lot of things that you can, like, a lot of ways that you can hide a little bit more nutrients. Whether it's like put fruit in your pancakes or your oatmeal or if you wanted to do like a, uh, a dip with like cottage cheese. So it has a little bit more protein. If you're tired of always eating, you know, lean meats, chicken and Turkey. You're like, I need something different. That's not protein powder. Cottage cheese is your secrets. Speaker 3 00:08:26 I love cottage cheese. So <laugh>, I mean, this, this is very helpful as well. If you have like kids, you know, so if kids don't like certain veggies, that's very helpful. You can, uh, blend up a smoothie mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And it just, they have their nutrients and then it tastes really good, you know? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, Speaker 0 00:08:44 Or right now it's summer popsicles, fruit popsicles. Speaker 3 00:08:47 You gotta just try anything <laugh> mm-hmm. <affirmative> to make them eat healthy. Right. Speaker 0 00:08:51 Speaking about kids, it's so important to take into consideration their input, their, uh, preferences. 'cause while you can try to hide your veggies or try to get them to eat veggies as much as you can, if you allow them to pick, okay, what would you like to have? Here are your options. You can have, uh, this fruit, you can have mango, you can have pineapple. Which one would you prefer? That gives them a little bit more independence, a little bit more autonomy into, okay, this is what I, I'm going to eat it because I chose it versus being told what to do. 'cause no one really likes to be told what to do, <laugh>. Speaker 3 00:09:31 No, I completely agree with that. I mean, if you give them at least not so many options, at least two or three options, that means you're involving them. You know, the decision making will boost their confidence. They will have control over their daily task and expressing their opinion. They will have the feeling of a learning how to make choices, even if it's the simplest task. Like choosing what to eat. Speaker 0 00:09:54 There you go. Two birds, one stone. I like it. And like, even, even if you have to add a little bit extra quote unquote unhealthy options, like do it like a little bit of cheese is not gonna undo the healthiness of, uh, of your vegetables. Of course. And like, it comes back to that idea that you shouldn't demonize the food. Cheese is not a bad food. If you were to put some chocolate onto strawberries, it's not gonna undo the, the healthiness chocolate isn't bad. It's just food. Yeah. Speaker 3 00:10:29 It's like a little dessert, you know. So you can even ask, um, you can add like chocolate covered pretzels like a little bit, you know, aside from you gotta prepare the dish so it's appetizing to the eye. Mm. You know, of the child's. Speaker 0 00:10:45 That's a huge thing. Yeah. Speaker 3 00:10:46 If the presentation doesn't look that good, then maybe the kid wouldn't, wouldn't be interested in eating it. Even Speaker 0 00:10:52 As adults, like, make your food look pretty. Speaker 3 00:10:54 Yeah. It's all about presentation. Yes. Speaker 0 00:10:57 Yes. Lots of color, variety of textures. I mean, that's why it's so appealing. Um, like Chex Mix and like, uh, trail mix is the variety. Our brains love variety. So use that to encourage more vegetables and fruits and different flavors and textures. Have fun with it. Be creative. That's Speaker 3 00:11:18 Very true. Also, children learn by observing adults. So if you're drinking soda eating chips and you expect your child to eat healthy <laugh>, how do you expect them to do that when you're giving them the opposite example? It's, Speaker 0 00:11:34 It's like the whole, um, say do as I say, not how I do. Speaker 3 00:11:38 Yeah. That Speaker 0 00:11:39 Doesn't work. That's not gonna work. No. Speaker 3 00:11:41 I mean, come on. Speaker 0 00:11:43 Yeah. And especially because, well, depending on the age of the kid, when they're little, they wanna do everything that they see you doing. So use that to the advantage, to your advantage. You know, show them you eating a variety of, of food and show them that, you know, you're using language that is neutral towards food. Not like, oh, I shouldn't eat this. I, I feel bad. I feel gross about 'cause I ate this most likely without really thinking about the consequences we say, but it all affects like the kids, and it affects how you see the world, how you see your truth. So seeing Okay, when you, when you say phrases like that, catch yourself and say, well actually, is this true or is this what I have been conditioned to react? Speaker 3 00:12:36 Yeah. 'cause if it's only negative thoughts, you're programming your bo your, your mind to like live that way. You under, you know, so it's like, oh no, this is gonna be bad for my body. Oh no. If you're always talking negative to yourself, then that's how it's gonna be. But if you start programming your mind to positive, like, I feel good today, I'm gonna go out and like, do a little bit of walking at least 30 minutes, you know, and not even, like, you don't have to lift weights or like go running. Like at least go outside, do a little bit walking and you know, you will feel better, Speaker 0 00:13:11 I think. Yeah. 'cause communication or just language itself, it's so powerful. It, it really does shape your life and your perspective. So even with, um, coming, kind of coming back to how to get your family to eat a little bit healthier or how to transition or how to create an environment that supports healthy eating is communicating with your kids. Like broccoli is like, I don't know, like, oh, don't you see like the broccoli or like little trees. Don't you wanna eat the little trees? Yeah. They're good for you. They're gonna make you strong. They're gonna, you know, give you lots of vitamins and nutrients. They're like, what are vitamins? What are nutrients? They're like, they're like little superpowers. Speaker 3 00:13:55 You gotta make them interesting. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Mm-hmm. Speaker 0 00:13:57 <affirmative>. I guess in addition to just talking about what, how cool and how awesome vegetables and fruits and, and nuts and seeds can be, is keeping all of these kind of healthier options visible. So when, if you're scanning your fridge or you're scanning your pantry, what do you see? Do you see brightly colored fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds? Um, or do you see packaged, you know, foods, snacks? What is your kitchen look like? What does your pantry look like? Speaker 3 00:14:32 Right. I mean, this is why it's very important to implement all these healthy foods and like, early childhood. That's why. So then when they grew up, they're like, what do you mean this is normal? That's, that's what I've been eating my whole life. So it's just like that little chip implanted in their brain already. Like, oh, I, I like, I like these foods. You know, there's nothing wrong with it. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> for me, that's how it's been since I was a child. Like, you know, I'm not picky at all. I pretty much eat everything. I like everything. So like, that's how I grew up. My, my family would always make like one meal and you know, just, we have one meal, so eat it. Like, <laugh>, <laugh>, I don't wanna say it that way, but like, that's, Speaker 0 00:15:16 That's a Latina coming out. It's not, Speaker 3 00:15:17 It's not like that. But I mean, we have one meal and you know, we're gonna sit down and have this meal. Like, that's, that's our b breakfast, lunch and dinner. So I just like, okay, for sure. Like, I'm gonna eat it. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, Speaker 0 00:15:29 I never, it's Speaker 3 00:15:30 Your normal. I never, it's normal. I've never really complained about like, oh, this and that, you know, Speaker 0 00:15:35 Which is like a stark contrast to my childhood, where we, like, we mainly ate out just because my mom was busy. There wasn't really a whole lot of time to sit and eat. Um, and it wasn't until later on in my life that my mom started it. She started her health and fitness journey first. And she always made it a, a conscious effort to keep fruits and vegetables visible. And that's how I kind of got into my own health and fitness too. And it, and like, once I finally made the decision, like, yes, I wanna focus on, on my weights and I wanna focus on my health, it was a very easy transition because I already had the environment that supported it. So even if your kids are a little bit older, it's not too late to start implementing a kitchen environment that supports health and fitness and nutrition. Speaker 3 00:16:33 Everything starts at home. Uh, eating healthy, learning how to, how to cook. You're seeing your parents doing all this stuff for you. So it's like everything starts at home. And then when you go out in the world, you already have that mentality of how to eat Speaker 0 00:16:51 Better. Yeah. And if you make it a, a family event, they have those cooking skills, those meal preparation skills already in their, in their pocket. So, you know, involve your kids. Even if it's simple things like, Hey, can you grab, uh, some eggs from the fridge? Speaker 3 00:17:08 Just anything really. Just so they feel like they're helping mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Mm-hmm. Like, they feel involved. Even if they make, they're invested, even if they make a mess, it's okay. Like, you shouldn't be mad. Like, you know, 'cause then they'll be scared to help and be like, oh, I'm doing something wrong. Like, they shouldn't feel that way. It's like they're, everyone's learning. Like, come on, you make mistakes. You learn from your mistakes. Like, there's no, there's nothing wrong with that. Speaker 0 00:17:31 Yeah. And just be patient. It's not just as, it's been a journey for you to slowly change your, uh, your mindsets into finally saying, okay, I am ready to, to start my health and fitness journey. Like, it's gonna take time for your family to transition to. And so don't get discouraged if they resist. Don't, you know, get discouraged if, you know, it takes a while for the systems to finally, for you to figure out what systems work best for your family. Whether it's doing a family meal or doing a family meal prep time, or like cooking. You know, whatever system works is gonna work for your family. It's gonna take some trial and error experiments and treat it as an experiment. If it doesn't work, it doesn't mean that you failed. It just mean that that plan, that system did not work for your family at this moment. So there's something else you already learned. Okay, this doesn't work. So let me try something different and like, think about, okay, why didn't this work? How come, um, doing a family dinner didn't work for your family? Oh, well, because your schedules are different. Okay. So then how can you use that new information to build plan B? And that's how you finally figure it out. You know, what works for your family. Speaker 3 00:18:58 What's important is to mainly start. Yeah. If you're starting, then you got it right. Yeah. Speaker 0 00:19:05 Because I feel like a lot of people get stuck in the, oh, I really need to figure it out. I really need to establish what I wanna do. And then never actually take that leap to actually start. Speaker 3 00:19:16 I mean, we all have different nutrition and fitness goals, so it's different for everyone. Right. I wanna share this quote. I was reading the, I was looking at this video the other day, and it's from Denzel Washington. Oh, right. So he was, um, he was saying dream big, but remember, dreams without goals are just dreams. And ultimately they feel disappointment on the road to achieving your dreams, you must apply discipline, but most importantly, consistency. Because without commitment you'll never start. But without consistency, you'll never finish. Oh, Speaker 0 00:19:54 I like that last part. Mic drop Speaker 3 00:19:59 That hits <laugh>. Speaker 0 00:20:01 Yeah. Speaker 3 00:20:01 What do you think about that? Speaker 0 00:20:03 I mean, it's so true. And it's, it's so funny 'cause it's such a fundamental lesson, but I feel like it takes folks a long time to accept it. They, they think that once they make the decision of, okay, I'm going to work on my health and I'm going to improve my physique and whatever other goals you have, and you think it's gonna be a linear journey, it's gonna say, I started and I keep going. I keep improving until I hit my goal at the top of the mountain. Speaker 3 00:20:37 Everything's a process. Speaker 0 00:20:38 Yeah. It's <laugh>, it's Speaker 3 00:20:39 Like a rollercoaster. It really is. Up and down, up and down. Like, come on. When I started going to the gym, to be honest, it's like, okay, I'm at the gym, but what do I do? <laugh>, <laugh>, you know, well, I'm already here. I already started. What do I do? So what I did, okay, you get a personal trainer, that's, that's how you start, right? If you don't know what to do, there's a bunch of machines staring at you, staring you down. So what do you do? You start asking people like, Hey, how do you use, how do you use this? Like, how many sets you get? Someone that will help you, you know, will support you through your journey. You start meeting friends and they start, they give you different opinions, like, maybe you should work out this way or that way. And then you can al they can also give you some, some tips in, in your food. Like, okay, if I'm doing this, if my goal is to get buff or just toned or cer or, or just lose weight in general, what should I be eating? Should I cut off like this type of food? Should I add more of this? So it's just everything comes together at the end. Speaker 0 00:21:47 Yeah. Just try, try it. You know, there's so many different methods that people have reached their goals and they, everyone has their own opinion of, you know, oh, this is work. What, this is what has worked for me. But you are a different person, so you need to experiment, try. And that's really the only way that you will figure out what plan works for you. What are you ready, willing, and able to sustain. 'cause like Denzel Washington said, you gotta be consistent. Yeah. Speaker 3 00:22:22 Oh yes. <laugh>. I mean, we're going back to, um, eating healthy and having that positive look on food. I think you should eat foods that align with your gold most of the time so that when you eat foods you enjoy or crave, you're doing it guilt free. Speaker 0 00:22:42 Yeah. Yeah. 'cause the effort that you put into anything, not just like, I'm not just talking about fitness goals, I'm talking about anything. If you wanted to become a better singer and you put in effort to practice, to do, um, I don't know. Like, I'm sure there's like exercises that, that singers do. Like that's all effort that is bringing you one step closer to your goal in the same way every article that you read, video that you watch, book that you read, conversations that you have with other folks, uh, in the gym. Like that all gives you little nuggets of information that you can then try. And that effort that you're putting into learning about health and fitness, learning about nutrition, like eventually is gonna come to fruition in the form of you reaching your goal. Speaker 3 00:23:35 Yeah. I mean, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself either, you know, as we said, everything's a process. Mm-hmm. Speaker 0 00:23:42 <affirmative> and, and like, you know, it, it's also a good idea to think about obstacles when you're thinking about, I don't know, I feel like intermittent fasting is like really popular still. So like if you, your friend at the gym said, oh yeah, I intermittent fast and it's worked great for me. And you're like, Hmm, should I try it? You know, think about, okay, what can get in the way, if you were to try intermittent fasting, if you were to try to, um, make your own meals at home, if you were to try, I don't know, making your own desserts at home instead of buying desserts, you know what obstacles can come in the way. And when you answer that, you can plan to over avoid the obstacles rather than react to when those obstacles appear. So if you were planning to cook more at home, but then you're like, oh, but I don't actually know really how to cook, then okay, that's an obstacle. What can you do to plan, uh, so that you don't, you actually achieve Speaker 3 00:24:56 Cooking at home? Mean like, like you said before, you can look up YouTube videos mm-hmm. <affirmative> on how to make certain foods, you know? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, that's a big help. Speaker 0 00:25:04 Yeah. And decide like, are you gonna go shopping and cook on the same day? Are you gonna get your groceries delivered? Like, all these little steps that are required for you to get, you know, cooking, you know, what in that step, what in that ladder of, of steps can go wrong and then come up with a solution for them. Speaker 3 00:25:29 So like what? Speaker 0 00:25:32 Well, like, let's say, um, you're a busy, very busy person and you're like, I don't really know if I have the time to go grocery shopping. There's Instacart, you know, there's, uh, pickups on there like Walmart pickup, broth, pickup. Speaker 3 00:25:46 Yeah. So like easier alternatives. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, that's what you're talking Speaker 0 00:25:48 About. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, what? Yeah, well, how can you eliminate the obstacles, setbacks, whatever. What do you wanna wanna call it? For example, another one. If you had like a party, like we, we have a million and plus cousins and uncles and aunts. There's parties all the time for us. So how can you plan, uh, well first, what obstacles can you identify that may come up in the party? So like, maybe you have a tia, an aunt Speaker 3 00:26:18 Offering you food <laugh>. Speaker 0 00:26:19 Yeah. You know, they, she's the type of person that she's like, oh, like Mika. Like, do you want food here? Have some more food. Oh, can I bring you anything? They're called boot pushers, but I don't really like that phrase <laugh>. I'm just saying they, they, Speaker 3 00:26:32 They care for you <laugh>. Speaker 0 00:26:34 Yes. They want you, they show their love through food. Or like, you are afraid that you're gonna be tempted with all the, the drinks and the, the cake and all the, the snacks, chips. I don't know what else that have parties. Speaker 3 00:26:50 I know, but you have to keep that goal in your mind at all times. Speaker 0 00:26:53 Right? So then if you have those obstacles, decide what is gonna be your, your plan, are you gonna choose like one, like maybe your priority is like, I really wanna have Speaker 3 00:27:06 Some, you know, I would just, I would just eat at home at first and then go to the party. Speaker 0 00:27:10 <laugh>, okay, that works. That if that works for you, perfect. But you need to, you know, listeners need to figure out what works for them. Speaker 3 00:27:19 I mean, everyone works differently. So maybe for me it's like, if I am in this fitness journey, this, um, nutrition journey, right? Maybe I'll just eat at home and then I wouldn't have to worry about, oh man, I shouldn't eat this. I shouldn't eat that. Or maybe if there's food options, then try eating a little bit of everything. See what I like. Speaker 0 00:27:42 Hmm. Yeah. My, my go-to is always I fill up half my plate with whatever, fruit, vegetable, whatever I can find that is like a low calorie, high volume food. And the other half of my plate, I fill it up with whatever I want. If I want it. Chips, I'll put chips. If I want some cake, I'll put cake if I want some. Yeah. Speaker 3 00:28:02 There's your balance wings. It's, it's called moderation. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you can still satisfy your cravings. Of course, you know, everything in moderation. Speaker 0 00:28:10 And like, how do you find that? Moderation? That's a, that's a big question too. Speaker 3 00:28:13 I mean, obviously you're not gonna eat a handful of like, I'm gonna take 10 chips. I don't care. <laugh>, you know, 10 bag of chips. So if you're craving at least a little bit, you know, just even if you just eat one bag of chip, you'll satisfy your cravings. Like, you don't need to go all out. I'm like, oh my God, there's some brownies there, there's some ice cream over there. You know, like a little bit of everything won't, won't hurt you. Mm-hmm. Speaker 0 00:28:39 <affirmative>, it comes back to what you think is gonna work for you. Your portion size of moderation probably doesn't look like mine, but that's fine. It all depends on, again, that trial and error. The portion that I am picking, am I happy with it? How am I feeling afterwards? Am I feeling guilty? Why are you feeling guilty? Where is that guilty coming from? Is it based on these ideas that you have? Oh, well this food is bad. Why, why is it bad? That's Speaker 3 00:29:13 Why we go back to those negative thoughts. Like, Speaker 0 00:29:16 Yeah, who, who told you that food was bad? Where is that coming from? Is it really true? Speaker 3 00:29:22 Hey, those brownies have protein come on, protein Speaker 0 00:29:24 Powder, Speaker 3 00:29:24 They made it with eggs and all that stuff. <laugh>. Oh, come on. Unless they're vegan or something. It's a complex topic. Speaker 0 00:29:34 Yeah. There's no easy, easy answer. There's no black and white. Here's what to do. Which is the hard part. It's what makes it sustainable. Your freedom to choose to decide. I recommend clients and listeners do, its become aware of your emotional reaction to foods. That awareness leads to. Okay, why am I thinking this? Is this truth? That awareness of the thoughts leads to, okay, I am able to change this. What can I, what do I wanna change it to? If my, if the narrative in my head says, brownies are bad. Why? Because they have sugar. Okay, so is there, can I change the brownie? Can I make it less sugar? Am I like, is that the solution to like my dilemma? Is it understanding that the brownies itself is, is nothing bad about it? Am I worried about the portion? Like, am I gonna be okay with that? Okay. Like, figure out your narrative. Why are you feeling that? What is making you anxious about that food? And then, okay, well, what is your solution to it? What is your reaction to that? Speaker 3 00:30:52 Sometimes we don't, we're not gonna be sitting there like, huh, let me analyze this food right here. You know, <laugh>. Like, why not? I don't know. Uh, for me, if I'm in a party, I'm not gonna sit down and be like, okay, this has this. I mean, I haven't really experienced that. 'cause like I said, I don't have that negative relationship with food. Speaker 0 00:31:16 You're in a different stage. Speaker 3 00:31:18 Maybe I'm not, right. Maybe who knows? I feel good. You know, I'm not like, oh my God, this like, why did I eat it? I feel okay, everyone has a different, um, opinion, like I said, in moderation. What you believe moderation to be could be different from mine. Speaker 0 00:31:39 If you are having those negative thoughts, then I would say take the time to analyze your thoughts, because again, we're turning back to our family conversation. If you don't take the time to, you know, analyze and understand your reactions to foods, to the feelings when you eat the foods, that's gonna translate into what you're teaching your kids. We have talked a lot, and I feel like we listed, we gave listeners a lot of good, um, pieces of advice. I wanna kinda recap that case, that way people remember. Okay, this is, these are the main points. Speaker 3 00:32:19 Just wrap everything up. Yeah. Speaker 0 00:32:21 If you've tuned out, the main points that I want you guys to take away from this episode is that, you know, lead by example. If your family doesn't wanna eat healthy, how can you make your meals healthier? Does that mean you have like a side salad or like a side of fruit or like a, a side of a something? Um, does it mean that, you know, you take a portion out, a portion of the meal out and then put in your veggies? Like you gotta lead by example. You have to also, you know, find the common ground. What are, what is the rest of your family, okay, eating? Maybe they don't like mangoes, but they, they, they're okay with pineapple. All right? Eat pineapple. Um, get creative with dishes. If they really love brownies, is there a way to make a, like, more nutrient dense version or like a healthier brownie? Speaker 0 00:33:18 Like maybe instead of, maybe it's like half the sugar or something. Or maybe you add in some, I don't know, blueberries into the brownie. Get your family involved with the meal planning and the cooking aspect. That way they're feeling included. They feel part, you know, they're participating. They have a say on what is chosen and like, communicate. You're wanting support that you, you have set some boundaries in place. Maybe it means those boundaries, maybe the, it's, you know, kind of hiding away the processed foods and displaying the more healthier options. And last things is be patient. Be persistent. Listen to Denzel Washington <laugh> and like, accept that progress is not gonna be linear. It's gonna have ups and downs, and that's okay, as long as you keep putting in effort and you stay consistent. You are making, you are making progress. And last thing is kinda look ahead and see if there's any obstacles that are gonna appear, whether it's from parties, whether it's from, um, these systems that you have to create healthier meals. Speaker 0 00:34:32 What can get in the way of you, you know, at the end of the night, checking off I, you know, achieved what I wanted to, and then figure out what is like a plan B or what is the solution you can do? All right. So <laugh>, those are the main points, uh, for the manifest challenge. If you are new to the podcast, manifest challenge is an action step that I give listeners to practice the lessons in the episode. So for this episode, I want you to think about what you are ready, willing, and capable of changing in your meals. Does that mean the portion changes? Does that mean you're adding veggie or like adding something? Does it mean you're removing something from you, from your meals? You know, does it mean you're trying new recipes? Like, what is a small change that you can make that you are ready, willing, and capable of doing? Speaker 0 00:35:34 And once you have decided that, ask yourself how confident do you feel that you can actually achieve it? On a scale of one to 10, one being there's no way you can do it. 10 being like, absolutely. There's like, of course it's easy. I can do it. If you don't answer either a nine or a 10, adjust your plan. Make it easy. The easier you make your plan, the more likely it is you are to actually do it. And the more you succeed, the more confident you feel, the more excited you feel. 'cause like no one likes to fail <laugh>. That doesn't feel nice. So, you know, give yourself the best options for success. All right, let's take it, let's take, go into action, <laugh>. All right, thank you Lucia for joining me. Speaker 3 00:36:23 Thank you for having me, <laugh>. That was a very interesting topic and very nice conversation. I, I had fun. Speaker 0 00:36:33 All right, that is it for this episode of the Fitness Manifest Podcast. I'm your host, coach Theresa. And until next time, bye. If you Speaker 1 00:36:42 Don't got a clue on what to do, my and what to do, Speaker 2 00:36:48 Side effects might include motivation, empowerment, giggles, enlightenment, inspiration.