The reason that we all turn to food is to help sustain ourselves. Throughout parts of our day, we turn to this nourishment to help fuel not only our bodies, but our hopes, dreams, and aspirations that we wish to accomplish. When we are relying on gimmicks and yo-yo diet trends, however, to cope with the body image/perception that we are feeling, we certainly can feel negative about our outlooks very quickly. Today's guest, the Owner of Your Case For Wellness, Casey Weiss, explores holistic nutrition and the concept of handling various types of images our body may have when it comes to better eating, particularly with how she uses her testimony to help her clients, predominantly women, to see the best versions of themselves. Even if you are tempted by what may be considered "bad food", there is a way to make it "good", even if they are the weirdest of combinations to choose from.

Guest Bio

Casey is a certified holistic nutritionist and life coach who lives in Northern California. She runs her practice, Your Case for Wellness, where she offers private and group coaching services. After almost a decade of struggling with eating disorders and body image issues, she knew there must be a better way to approach health. This is what propelled her back to study nutrition. Casey focuses on working with women who are ready to stop the yo-yo struggle and finally make peace with food and their bodies. She helps women to learn to eat in a way that promotes overall health as well weight loss. She found that what was missing in the health coaching space were coaches and programs that emphasized the importance of mindset and holistic behaviors in tandem with food and exercise. She now coaches women all over the world on how they can truly feel their best from the inside out and stress less about food so they can live their lives to the fullest.

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Intro/Outro By: Michael Dugan, Podcast Host: Voice4Chefs

Welcome to the podcast where relationships, confidence, and

2

determination all converge into

an amazing, heartfelt experience.

3

This is Speaking From The Heart.

4

Joshua: Welcome back to episode

number 114 of Speaking From The Heart.

5

Today we have Casey Weiss with us,

and Casey is a certified holistic

6

nutritionist and life coach who

lives in Northern California.

7

She runs her practice, Your Case

for Wellness, where she offers

8

private and group coaching services.

9

After almost a decade of struggling

with eating disorders and body

10

image issues, she knew there must

be a better way to approach health.

11

This is what propelled her

back to studying nutrition.

12

Casey focuses on working with

women who are ready to stop the

13

yo-yo struggle and finally make

peace with food in their bodies.

14

She helps women to learn to eat

in a way that promotes overall

15

health, as well as weight loss.

16

She found that what was missing in the

health coaching space were coaches and

17

programs that emphasize the importance

of mindset, and holistic behaviors,

18

in tandem with food and exercise.

19

She now coaches women from all over the

world on how they can truly feel their

20

best, from the inside out, and stress less

about food, so they can live their life

21

to the fullest, and I have to say, this

really spoke to the heart of not only my

22

struggles, which, for those that don't

know me personally, have always struggled

23

with weight and trying to feel comfortable

about my body image, but it also gets

24

to the heart of a lot of things that we

often take for granted about eating, and

25

why we even binge eat for that matter.

26

I think Casey has the right idea when she

talked about in today's episode of the

27

importance of working in tandem with not

just what we have as that nutrition plan,

28

but also working on the mental mindset

that is often missing, that often leads

29

us back into those temptations that we

should never have, but what I love about

30

this the most is that when we get to the

heart of really what is going on, not only

31

with this sort of epidemic that we have

as problems with our food, and trying to

32

disassociate with it, but it really helps

us to understand that we can do this in a

33

creative combination sense, which I will

let her tell you what that is all about.

34

But with that, let's go to the episode.

35

Alright, we're here with Casey Weiss.

36

Casey, thanks for sharing

your heart with us today.

37

Casey: Thank you so much for having me.

38

I'm so happy to be here.

39

Joshua: I'm so happy that you are too,

and I had already let the audience know

40

a little bit about your background,

and I think the biggest pressing

41

question that I'm sure people are asking

themselves right now is, what got you

42

into struggling with your body image and

just having issues with food, because

43

I don't know about you, but if you're

looking at me, I look like a very plump

44

person, so I have the opposite problem

and I'm kind of working on that, but

45

I'm kind of curious what you have been

through to get to where you are today.

46

Casey: Yeah, so it started when I was

back in high school and for so much

47

of my life, I was just very active.

48

I grew up in a home where my mom didn't

emphasize dieting, but did provide a

49

lot of balanced and healthy options as

well as treats in my own home, but I

50

ended up going actually in a trip to

Ecuador; community service trip, and it

51

was the first time I started noticing

other girls not finishing the food on

52

their plate, and I was like, "Should I

not be finishing the food on my plate?",

53

and they've kind of started out of this

comparison; very common for a teenage

54

girl, right, and I started to restrict,

but not in an obsessive way, and then

55

when I came back from this trip, I

got a lot of notice, cause I had lost

56

weight and I was getting noticed from

my body in a way that I hadn't before,

57

and I kind of fueled off of getting that

attention, and it led into a spiral of

58

severe restriction, and what ended up

happening though, was I went down that

59

path for several years and then eventually

my body was rebelling because after that

60

restriction, that deprivation, my body was

like screaming that it needed more fuel.

61

My hormones were completely imbalanced.

62

My metabolism had completely tanked and

I needed fuel, so to speak, and so it got

63

to a point where I felt like I wasn't able

to ignore my hunger cravings that I once

64

was able to kind of not listen to, and

then that led to a cycle of overeating

65

and feeling like I was out of control with

food, but I kept thinking like, "Okay, my

66

solution just to go back to my old ways.

67

Just restrict.

68

Just go back on MyFitnessPal, calorie

counting everything, restricting to a

69

very, very low calorie count, but what

ended up happening is I would maybe

70

do that for a day, a couple of days,

whatever, and then all of a sudden

71

these urges would come back, and I

kept trying to fight myself internally,

72

because I was just so obsessed with

being this smaller version of myself.

73

I thought that would equate my self worth.

74

I thought that was beauty, and I continued

on this cycle for a long time until I

75

realized that something had to change,

and I was introduced to the concept

76

of intuitive eating, which if you're

not familiar with intuitive eating,

77

intuitive eating is a practice that

has 10 main principles, but focuses

78

on anti diet and how you can more

listen to your body, and this really

79

helped me to quiet the diet police.

80

It really helped me to understand

better my hunger and fullness cues.

81

It really helped me to be able

to make peace with food, but,

82

at the same time, I still wasn't

where I want to be in my body.

83

I had gained weight to a point

that felt uncomfortable in my own

84

body, and so that's when I kind

of dove into the holistic route.

85

I worked with a holistic

practitioner and was able to

86

see how I can not be obsessive.

87

I cannot be dieting, but I don't have to

not think about food either, cause I'd

88

always been passionate about nutrition

and about food in general, so this way,

89

I was able to understand like, "Okay.

90

There's nothing wrong with focusing

on foods that will fuel you, that make

91

you feel good, that provide you energy,

that help balance your blood sugar,

92

your hormones, and help to accomplish

your aesthetic goals", but we can also

93

do that in a way that's not obsessive,

not restrictive, not counting anything,

94

and once I was able to understand that

there could be balance of this, that

95

everything like really clicked for me.

96

It wasn't like just the intuitive.

97

It wasn't dieting by any means, and with

that, I got so inspired to go back and

98

get my own nutrition certifications,

and then go on to coach women to be able

99

to have these similar success stories.

100

Joshua: You mentioned something about

traveling, and seeing the plight of

101

actually other women or even other people

actually having less food, and I'm kind

102

of curious, just your observations and

your curiosity with this, because I feel

103

like even here in the United States,

when we think about food, we think about

104

these images and this goes back to even

times when we were looking at magazines.

105

We're looking at pop icons.

106

They're ones that are super slim,

super thin, and even for me, on

107

the masculine side, like these guys

that have big muscles, they are

108

able to do all kinds of things.

109

Do you think that plays a big role in what

you work with, especially with clients

110

that are women in nature that might be

trying to also get over that stigmatism

111

that might have been surrounded by

all these different images growing up?

112

Casey: Absolutely.

113

The images are pervasive, and

we really can't escape them.

114

They've always been present, right, in

magazines, on posters, but now we see

115

them in our feed 24/7, and so this

is affecting our personal body image,

116

and also distorting our perception of

reality, because so much, what we do,

117

what we post online, like who posts

a picture of themselves that doesn't

118

make them look good, and that's not

even including all the filters and

119

augmentation of images that happens,

so, and there's nothing wrong with that.

120

I don't want to post a picture where

I look like crap, but at the same

121

time, I don't like to use filters, for

example, or I'm very explicit if I do.

122

Nothing that actually alters my images;

it might be more like a color kind of

123

thing, and I'm open with my audience about

that, and the thing is is that though,

124

it can be so subtle, and it's not just

comparison of image or bodies, but also of

125

our lifestyle, and so this can also make

you feel like, "Oh, she just eats such

126

normal food, and she looks like that",

because the girl posts these beautiful

127

pictures of herself eating her pizza

and her French fries, and you don't know

128

what she's actually eating in the end.

129

That's not to say that you shouldn't

be able to eat the pizza and the French

130

fries, because that's exactly what I

teach people to do, to be able to eat

131

what they like and crave, but not in a way

that makes them not feel good, but it is

132

absolutely apparent that these images that

are surrounding us affect our perception

133

of reality, how we treat ourselves and how

we talk to ourselves, and that connects

134

to what's something I'm so passionate

about, which is the mindset component

135

of nutrition, because as a certified

nutritionist, obviously, I could talk all

136

day about food and the components of food.

137

I can do all the new nutritional, micro

macro nutrient breakdowns, help you to

138

understand foods for longevity, anti

aging, bloating, digest whatever you want

139

to know, but at the end of the day, what

I saw was so missing in the space were

140

people that were focused on, yes, teaching

you how you can build a balanced plate;

141

deal with whatever restrictions you may

have, whether it's time restrictions,

142

just overall food preferences or not,

but if you feel like crap about yourself,

143

if you aren't prioritizing yourself,

if you don't have proper boundaries, if

144

you are trying to cope with emotional

things and just always turn to food,

145

if you deal with anyone or multiple

of those things, plus more, right?

146

You're still going to utilize food, not

just as nourishment, and I believe food

147

is more than just fuel, but so many of

us use it for way, way more than fuel.

148

We use it literally as our friend.

149

We use it because we don't want to

deal with other shit that's going on

150

in our life, and so it's much easier

to just like eat the food and get

151

that temporary dopamine rush and feel

good about ourselves, and then we

152

feel like crap about ourselves later.

153

Joshua: I have to stop you there, because

I resonate with that so much with what

154

you said, because I use that sometimes

too, and that's something that I've

155

been working on personally is, "Okay.

156

Why is it that I am

always attracted to food?"

157

"Oh, it's because I need to fulfill

something in my life", but that's not

158

going to fulfill me in just the long term.

159

I'm thinking just immediate short

term burst of dopamine or sugar,

160

whatever the case is, as I'm

literally holding a soda right now.

161

Casey: Yeah.

162

Joshua: The audience doesn't see that,

but you see that, but yeah, I get that,

163

because sometimes we're so stuck in

what those things are, because those

164

are the comforts, I feel, of what we

might have been attuned to growing up.

165

I mean, didn't you say to me just

earlier about being in high school and

166

kind of having that sort of thought

process too of, "Well, you know.

167

Everybody else is doing it.

168

I don't really feel comfortable

eating food, though, because I

169

want to have this slim image."

170

I felt that way, too, in high school.

171

I actually, and I've let my audience know

this, that I even refused to go to the

172

lunch table to eat in front of others.

173

I was just so ashamed of that.

174

Casey: Yeah, and we know that we think

about ourselves way more than others

175

are thinking about us, but at the same

time, especially in young adolescents,

176

there's just so much one upping culture,

but that it's less obvious as you get

177

older, but it's still there and we need

to be honest with ourselves and what

178

our true intentions are because there's

nothing wrong with wanting to lose weight.

179

Most of the women who come to me who

I work with do want to lose weight,

180

but they need to have a bigger why,

and they need to be doing it for the

181

right reasons and in the right way.

182

If you're just wanting to lose weight

because you want to fit into the jeans

183

from high school, well, your body's

changed and you should not be comparing

184

yourself to your high school body.

185

I've had times when people come to me

for coaching and it's like, "Well, I

186

used to look like this and whatever.",

but I'm like, "When was that?"

187

They're like, "Oh, when I was like 18."

188

You shouldn't be looking

like that anymore.

189

You're a woman now.

190

You're not a teenager and that's amazing.

191

That's beautiful, so, but there's

nothing wrong with having aesthetic

192

goals, and that's where I kind of

took issue with some of the intuitive

193

eating practitioners, and again, I

think intuitive eating is fantastic

194

and just those principles on their own.

195

People can just do intuitive eating and

that works for them, but then there's

196

almost a demonizing in the intuitive

eating community of then wanting to

197

care about your aesthetics, or like

anything wrong with losing weight.

198

There's nothing wrong with losing

weight, again, if it's done in a

199

healthy manner and if it's done for the

right reasons, and so I want to give

200

women, and empower women, in that way.

201

Joshua: Yeah, and finding the right

reason to do that is often the biggest

202

challenge because we're all having these

ideas, and having these viewpoints, that

203

are swimming around us and also hitting

us in the face of, "You must do this.

204

You must do that.", and that can be

challenging to stay consistent with

205

that, and what you said made me think

of this to ask you because I often have

206

this happen to me too, where I fall

off the path, and, for my listeners,

207

actually, what I'll do is I will have

a picture of me when I actually did

208

the counting the calories sort of

diet and lost over a hundred pounds.

209

It got to be about 155, 160, Casey.

210

I was completely different from what I

am today on what you said, but do you

211

feel that when people are trying to

set these goals, they sell themselves a

212

little short, and what I mean by asking

that question is, they think like,

213

"Oh, well, if I just lose 20 pounds,

I'll feel a lot better about myself."

214

I feel like there's so much more

to it than just putting a number to

215

it, because I think every time that

we hear as a culture about, "Oh.

216

Get to the next diet.

217

Lose 50 pounds in 6 to 8 weeks."

218

Well, there's a lot of numbers being

thrown around and a lot of assumptions,

219

so, what do you say to those sort

of commercials, or that dispellment?

220

I know there's so much social

media out there that kind of

221

tries to push that even today.

222

How do you message differently with

that, and get people to come on board,

223

especially women that you work with?

224

Casey: Yeah, so, I mean, my messaging

is pretty clear online that I'm not

225

like, "lose weight fast" coach or

practitioner, but the thing is, is that,

226

still there, can be some ambiguity.

227

It's like, "Okay, yeah, I don't feel good.

228

I want to stop yo yoing.

229

I want to stop in this struggle, but I

don't know what I want to do, or how to do

230

this?", so we clear up their why, right?

231

Is the why because you are feeling so

exhausted, feeling so depleted of energy?

232

You want to stop in this

rat race, yo-yo cycle.

233

You're noticing the

inflammation is doing your body?

234

Like, we need to list the whys, and

those whys, there can be some whys that

235

are related to your physical appearance,

but we need to have most of them not

236

related to that, because your physical

appearance, particularly your weight

237

on the scale, is going to fluctuate.

238

That doesn't mean that the overall

trend isn't going to be going downward,

239

but it's going to fluctuate, so if

you're just using your weight on the

240

scale as your worth, and as your means

of your success, you are going to be

241

disappointed, so that doesn't mean that

you can never weigh yourself, but I don't

242

want you weighing yourself all the time.

243

I don't want that to be

your main motivator, or your

244

main indicator of success.

245

Instead, what we want to do is say, like,

if from physical motivators, better things

246

would be like in terms of muscle building.

247

It could be how clothes are fitting,

but even more like how you're able

248

to now run longer, or lift heavier

weights, or try that new exercise class

249

from certain physical perspective, and

from food, like, going out to eat and

250

not feeling so freaking full after;

understanding how to use the hunger

251

fullness scale so that you're able to eat

in tune with your body and be mindful.

252

How can you be able to wake

up with energy, get better

253

sleep, feel more hydrated?

254

Maybe it's just getting

in more vegetables.

255

Maybe you're noticing the different

colors on your plate that you're getting.

256

You have better digestion.

257

You're pooping better.

258

You're pooping regularly.

259

Joshua: Everybody poops.

260

Remember that, kids.

261

Casey: Yeah, everybody

poops, but it's true.

262

We really need to understand that our

health is so much greater than the

263

physical, and that doesn't mean we can't

include the physical as a metric of

264

success, because yeah, it's going to be

motivating and there's nothing- again, I

265

said, and I'll say for the millionth time,

there's nothing wrong with having that be

266

a motivator, but if we are just so stuck

about that, we're going to be continually

267

disappointed, because also, there's

parts that are so out of our control.

268

As we age, our body's going to change in

ways that we like and don't like, and if

269

you're equating all of your success with

just your physical appearance, it's going

270

to be really freaking hard to be happy.

271

Joshua: I resonate with

that so much personally.

272

I don't know about my audience, but

I'm speaking for myself for a second.

273

I'm being a little selfish.

274

I resonate with that because I was

always ashamed even standing in front of

275

a mirror, and being like, "Why can't I

just look at myself and be beautiful the

276

way I am?", and I know that's kind of

weird because a male is saying that, and

277

I get that, but it's the same principle.

278

I think that men go through this

too, so my men audience out there,

279

I think Casey saying some good

stuff here to think about, you know.

280

It isn't just about the

colors on your plate.

281

It's not just about the things

that you put in your body.

282

It's about how you really feel about

yourself, so I think it's so important

283

to do that, but I want to talk about

your business, so I love this business

284

name: Your Case For Wellness, and

obviously, it's a play on your first

285

name: C A S E as opposed to C A S E Y.

286

First off, you could have

said to yourself, "Yeah.

287

I'm getting this certification.

288

I could go work for a company.

289

I could help other people realize their

fitness and nutritional goals through

290

this.", and I've had fitness instructors

on the show, and even those that are

291

owners, and they tell about their novel

story and their concept, which you

292

have an awesome opportunity to work

with other people as well, but why?

293

Why start your own business?

294

There's thousands of these people out

here, Casey, and I know, that seems

295

a little cliche to be like, "well,

there's already these other people.

296

Why are you in business?", but honestly,

why do you do what you do, and I know

297

you touched on this earlier, but remind

us again, why you're doing this for

298

yourself in the business that you started?

299

What's the impact that you're making?"

300

Casey: Yeah, so I just know what it's

like to struggle and feel so stuck and

301

that there's no way out, and it was

so scary as someone who had dieted for

302

years and restricted and that's the only

way that I saw success in liking how

303

I looked, to step away from dieting.

304

That feels really fricking scary, and the

only way I was able to do that was when I

305

was able to get the guidance of someone,

because you have a container of security.

306

The calorie counting, the macro counting,

the diet plan, gives you this false sense

307

of security, because it's like a boundary.

308

It's a metric of success, so you

can say, "Hmm, I checked the boxes.

309

I clicked this, whatever the day.",

so when you will go away from

310

that, it's really freaking scary.

311

You're like, "What means success?

312

What am I supposed to do?

313

Is it right?

314

Is it wrong?

315

Is it bad?

316

Is it good?", which I like to get

away from those black and white,

317

that kind of thinking, anyway.

318

Joshua: Yes or no, maybe so.

319

Yeah.

320

I get-

321

Casey: Yeah.

322

Joshua: Yeah.

323

Stay away from those; try to at least.

324

Casey: Exactly, and so my

whole goal is to empower women.

325

That's what I do every day so that you can

be able to achieve your health and goals

326

and not feel like you're on this constant

yo-yo struggle, so you can achieve

327

health for the rest of your life and your

longevity, because when women work with

328

me, they work with me for a certain period

of time and their goal, and what my aim

329

is, is they work with me and then they

move on from working with me, and they

330

don't have to work with me again, because

they have the skills for the rest of

331

their life, versus how many times have you

downloaded MyFitnessPal and then stopped

332

using it, and had to go back to using it?

333

How many times have you went

back to Weight Watchers?

334

How many times have you went back

to Keto, low carb, getting the

335

meal delivery service, because

you have to keep going back to it,

336

because you think like, "Oh well.

337

It worked that time."

338

Well, if it worked, you wouldn't

have to keep going back.

339

It would have worked.

340

It would have been done, right?

341

I want to get people out of struggle.

342

I want them to stop with the same things

that are causing them so much pain,

343

because as I talked about before, it is as

much physical as mental pain and struggle;

344

even probably more mental pain and

struggle, right, and our health, and our

345

brain, and our mindset are so intertwined,

and it is not recognized enough.

346

It is not approached in a way that is

a whole body, holistic approach, and

347

that is why so many of us are failing.

348

We're are truly just failing at

being healthy, because we either

349

think of health as just weight

loss and it's not our fault.

350

That is what's being shown to us in

the media, and like, think about it.

351

The doctor just puts you on a scale and

says with your BMI, whether or not you're

352

healthy, and that's not true either.

353

Joshua: Nope.

354

Casey: There's nothing

to do; like not nothing.

355

There are correlations for sure.

356

Of course there's correlations, but

it is by no means the be all end all,

357

and so much of our healthcare system

is; most of it is not preventative.

358

Joshua: Yeah.

359

Casey: It's great to have the options once

you are sick, of course, but what are we

360

doing to not get there in the first place?

361

Yes, again, if aesthetics can help

motivate you to just be healthier, that's

362

great, but we all know that there's

more to health than just that, and so

363

let's utilize that to our advantage.

364

Joshua: You touch on something that I

always think about, which is about 30

365

years ago, the documentary, which I know

many people are going to probably message

366

me afterwards and go, "Josh, can't believe

you bring this up.", but Supersize Me,

367

and that was sort of some of the premise

of what Morgan Spurlock even said too, is

368

that we are so worried about fixing what

the problem is right now, but not doing

369

anything preventatively, so, no matter

what people want to say about that, which

370

I know some of it was staged and later

was found out and some of it was staged,

371

but, to be honest, there were still some

good points, and that's exactly what I

372

feel, 30 some years later, we are still

talking about this and we haven't really

373

done a good job of being preventative,

so let's have that conversation now.

374

Let me ask you, what are some

things, especially for some of my

375

people that are listening to this

now, they might be thinking, "Yeah.

376

Casey's got a point.", and they look at

themselves in the mirror and they go,

377

"I need to really start doing something

now to prevent this from happening."

378

what are some just easy things that

they could do, and what are some things

379

that maybe even just say to other

women that you take on as clients,

380

that you say to them that can be

just some easy wins starting out?

381

Casey: Yeah, so one thing I would say

that can be really beneficial is to have,

382

not a food journal with food, but just

start a food thought journal, so before

383

you eat, just try this for two days.

384

Before you eat, how hungry do you

feel, on a scale of one to 10, and

385

where are you, location wise, and

what are you feeling, before eating?

386

You'll notice such a difference in terms

of how this affects your eating behaviors,

387

and it's about understanding patterns.

388

Simply writing down what you ate

in terms of broad strokes, right?

389

We're not getting into like measuring

the half a cup of quinoa, so the thing

390

is that this allows you to say, "I'm

realizing like whenever I sit down to my

391

desk, I don't really think about what I'm

eating, and I just eat the whole thing."

392

what the best is to then to do after

you eat, also then check in with

393

your scale of one to 10 how full you

feel and like your emotions there.

394

This provides a lot of perspective

into what situations trigger you to eat

395

certain types of foods, and this allows

you to help do some self coaching,

396

without even working with anyone, getting

and recognizing your triggers and what

397

may be leading to certain behaviors.

398

Now in terms of with actual food,

I recommend to focus every meal

399

and snack on protein, fat, and

fiber rich carbohydrates, so how

400

can you all their meals have at

least 20 plus grams of protein?

401

That's the only thing I ever want

you to think numbers wise, and you

402

don't need counted out, but just be

cognizant of it with portion sizes.

403

That's roughly like if you're talking

about meat, like that's a roughly a deck

404

of cards size of protein; it's like a

cup of Greek yogurt, protein powder.

405

It's like four ounces of tofu.

406

I can go on and on about

protein sources, and then get

407

some fiber-rich carbohydrates,

so that comes in plant foods.

408

We can get fiber-rich carbohydrates

in all sorts of veggies and fruit,

409

and fruits it's mostly berries

are more fiber-rich carbohydrates.

410

Other fruit is great, but not

necessarily giving us our fiber.

411

We get beans, legumes, lentils, and

then fats, so let's get healthy fats

412

of avocado, coconut, nuts and seeds,

olives, and then from there, once we

413

hit all of those nutritional baselines,

then we add a number of things to it.

414

It's not about just having that, but

how can we then add in the other things

415

that we want to have to round out the

meal for it to be delicious, so even

416

if you're like, "I want potato chips."

417

Okay.

418

You want some potato chips, so how can

we maybe pair them with almonds so that

419

we get some healthy fats, a little bit

of protein, or maybe you want a sweet

420

and salty thing, so you have it with

some jerky and chocolate chips, right,

421

like, you know, whatever, making a sweet

and salty kind of trail mix; that's

422

not really traveling, so, you know what

I mean, like some type of situation.

423

People have some weird questions

for cravings and whatnot.

424

Joshua: I was going to say,

jerky and chocolate chips.

425

Hmm.

426

I feel like I know what I'm doing

after we're done recording here.

427

Casey: But like, so you want pasta.

428

Great, but like, what can we maybe

add some tofu, or some chicken,

429

to it so that we get some protein?

430

You're probably using butter and some

cheese, which is going to get some fat on

431

it, and then how can we get some fiber?

432

Steam some broccoli or

spinach and throw it in there.

433

This will help us to naturally feel more

satisfied, so we therefore have less

434

cravings, and our hormones are balanced

that we can have balanced blood sugar,

435

which is key for overall longevity

and health, and when we round out our

436

meal, we are able to then not need

to eat as much of the pasta, without

437

having this mindset of restriction.

438

It's not like, "Oh my God, I can't eat the

whole thing of pasta.", but if you're just

439

eating the pasta, if you're only eating

butter noodles, you're going to have to

440

eat a lot more than if you eat the butter

noodles with some spinach and chicken.

441

Again, we can get really creative

with it, but you're going to need

442

more because you're not going to be

satisfied because you're not going

443

to have the other nutrients that

signal the hormones in your body for

444

satisfaction, because, otherwise, of

course you're going to want more and more.

445

You're not feeding your body what it

needs, so again, it's not about taking

446

out the simple carbohydrates, the

sweets, the treats that you have, but

447

balancing them out in a way that honors

your body, your health, and honestly,

448

provides more flavor for your food.

449

Joshua: Yeah, and we want to have not only

that enrichness of all those different

450

flavors, because let's face it, that's

why even going all the way back in time,

451

having some sort of sweetener, having

some sort of salt, pepper, I mean, those

452

are all combinations in which we did a

lot of trade way back in colonial times

453

that kind of built what society and what

it is, and we still look out for those

454

exotic tastes even today, so, I think

it's so true that we can build those

455

combinations, and I literally wrote down

weird combinations happen on my notes,

456

because I feel that we can have some

weird opportunities, but those can be

457

the most fulfilling opportunities when we

can think of things that are unlike what

458

traditional mainstream things usually we

have that gets slammed down our throat.

459

We can try to do something different.

460

We can like something different for

even our bodies for that matter,

461

so I love what you're saying

because those are all true things.

462

Casey, we're almost out of time, but I

want to ask you this one final question

463

because it's on my mind, and it's been

on my mind since even before we started

464

recording because I was looking at some

of your Instagram posts for your business,

465

and I was really profoundly shocked by

what you looked like, just about a decade

466

or so ago, dealing with all the different

things that you must have had going on,

467

and I feel that our audience that listens

to this has learned from many different

468

other people the wide perspectives of what

they do and how they achieve things, and

469

I usually ask questions along those lines,

but I want to ask you something a little

470

bit different than I usually don't ask, so

be ready for this, but when you're in the

471

moment where you were just eating yourself

alive, essentially, because you had all

472

these disorders that you were dealing

with, it seemed like to me that maybe

473

you just weren't happy with maybe things

that were going on, and I'm not asking

474

you to talk about what was going on.

475

What I'm actually asking you is,

think about who that person was before

476

and who I'm talking to right now.

477

What would you say is the biggest

difference between your past version

478

of yourself, and who you are today,

and from that, what would you say to

479

our audience that if they're struggling

with something like you have struggled

480

with, can you give them some words

of encouragement that maybe they can

481

see the other side like you have?

482

Casey: Yeah.

483

Something that really resonate is

nothing changes if nothing changes,

484

and for me, it's very cliche, but like

the definition of insanity is doing

485

the same thing and expecting different

results, and that's what I kept doing.

486

It was the disguise of something

different; a different type of diet, a

487

different type of exercise plan, and the

thing though is it was all within the

488

same category of dieting, of restriction.

489

Not digging deeper, and what we need to

do is do the hard shit of recognizing

490

what the root cause is of our eating

behaviors, so for me, a lot of people

491

when they talk about eating disorders,

there's certain things that are negatively

492

going in their life, and there are certain

things that obviously have happened, but

493

it actually started, really, from a sense

of control, and that's what a lot of times

494

what happens is control, but maybe other

things are out of control in your life.

495

For me, when I originally started

was when I wanted control in every

496

aspect of my life, because I was

getting school records in track.

497

I was getting the best grades I ever had.

498

I felt like I could control every

aspect of my life and I could control

499

this as well., And it felt like I

was on top of the world being able

500

to control everything, and then it

became a coping mechanism when things

501

weren't going well, that was also

something that I could control, and I

502

bring that up because a lot of times

people are like, "Well, it couldn't

503

be an eating disorder because...."

504

It's not like a mental health

related thing, beause I'm not having

505

bad things going on in my life.

506

Joshua: Yeah.

507

Casey: And that's not true, like,

obviously, it just how we cope and

508

deal with things, and it's something

I've had to deal with in other ways.

509

I'm over it with food, but I still

sometimes get a need for control in

510

other ways in my life, but I'm very

well aware that this is a thing, like

511

I'm very well aware when it's happening

and so I'm able to talk myself through

512

it, especially with my partner.

513

He's well aware of it, and it's whenever

something comes up and I'm like, "This

514

is because of my control.", and we're

like, "Yeah, like this is a thing.",

515

but when there's nothing wrong with

you, there's nothing to be ashamed of.

516

We all struggle.

517

Most of us struggle with food, one way

or another, at some point of our life.

518

I was so ashamed of it.

519

I thought I was the only one.

520

I thought asking for help was a sign of

weakness, and if anything, it was such

521

a sign of strength that I was able to

recognize what was going on in my life.

522

I was like, "I know so

much about nutrition.

523

Why?", because I knew all

the nutrition back to things.

524

I did all the granularity.

525

Why do I need help?, and so I

look almost like a badge of honor.

526

I can figure this out and it just made

me sink deeper and deeper into my own

527

issues, so recognizing that, asking for

help is truly a sign of strength, and like

528

being more accepting of other types of

approaches, because your reluctance to it,

529

may be just the sign that it's something

that could actually work for you.

530

Joshua: Wow!

531

I needed to hear that myself, even in

this moment, because I'm thinking, "Yeah.

532

How many times that we're afraid

to ask for help?", and we need to

533

have that help when we are going

through that notion of, "Oh no.

534

I know I'm going to slip into it.

535

I know I'm going to slip into it-

536

Casey: Yeah.

537

Joshua: "I slipped into it.", but I think

that's why our practices, which we're both

538

coaches, but we do different things with

our coaching, I think it's so important

539

to have that accountability factor.

540

I always overstress this with not only

the people I interact with, but also

541

the people that I think, I don't mean

to shove it down their throat, but

542

to say to them, "I know what you're

going through, and I just want you to

543

know that you have somebody at least

that's available to talk to.", so-

544

Casey: Yeah.

545

Joshua: Casey, I really

appreciate that so much.

546

I want to let you have a few minutes here.

547

Can you tell the audience how they

could reach out to you if they're

548

interested in working with you,

especially for my women audience, this

549

is really for you to pay attention.

550

Men, you can work with me.

551

I'm sure I can find somebody.

552

We've had plenty of men on the show here

that have done a lot of different types

553

of coaching, but, how can women reach

out to you about Your Case For Wellness?

554

How can they get in contact with you;

how they just go through that process?

555

I'll give you the last few

minutes to just give us a little

556

bit of a pitch, if you will.

557

Casey: Yeah, so basically I own and

operate my own coaching practice

558

where I do private and group coaching.

559

Right now, I have a few slots open

for private coaching, and what

560

I do is I work with completely

customizing plans for you, for your

561

goals, for your body, for your needs.

562

The cookie cutter approach

is not working for you.

563

If you are struggling, we need to stop

this endless spiral, stop the confusion,

564

stop the Google searching that is

not serving you, it is not empowering

565

you to feel healthy in your body.

566

It is just leading you down more and

more of a rabbit hole, which makes

567

it harder and hard to get out of,

but there is a way to reverse it.

568

There is a way to get out of that

spiral, and so my most active platform

569

is on Instagram, so definitely feel

free to send me a DM; would love to

570

chat with you truly about anything.

571

Any questions they have, nutrition,

health-related I'm Your Case For Wellness,

572

as you said, and I would love to give

your listeners access to my free nutrition

573

bundle, which has my top nutrition tips

video, as well as a Stop Overeating

574

workbook, so that they can kind of dive

in themselves, and be able to understand

575

what may be at the root of their

eating behaviors and how they can help

576

themselves to feel happier, healthier,

and more on top of their food decisions.

577

Joshua: That's awesome.

578

I think that there's a lot of people that

will definitely get a lot out of that

579

nutrition bundle that you're offering.

580

I'll put all those links of

what Casey just mentioned into

581

the episode notes, so for my

listeners, please go check them out.

582

Go check Casey out if

you want to hire her.

583

I highly encourage it, because to wrap

up Casey, I have to say to you, and I

584

mentioned this, I never had anyone on

the show yet that has talked about the

585

nutrition side and kind of how they

struggled with that to get to having

586

great success, which obviously you are

having and you inspire me just from

587

my perspective because of what I am

dealing with my own journey, but knowing

588

that there's another side to it to be

able to help others, that just makes

589

me feel so happy inside knowing that

you're doing that for not only just

590

women, but I think you've inspired

a lot of people just in general by

591

the fact of your story, and really,

that we all have these sort of things

592

in common and we don't have to wait.

593

We can start taking action

and be preventative about it.

594

That's really the biggest thing, so Casey,

with all that said, thank you so much

595

for being on Speaking From The Heart.

596

I really enjoyed our conversation.

597

It was so educational and

really appreciate you.

598

Casey: Thank you so much for having me.

599

It was a great conversation and I look

forward to chatting with your listeners

600

in the future when they reach out.

601

Joshua: I want to thank Casey again

for being part of the show, but also

602

opening herself up to talking about

this important subject, because when we

603

look at the whole coaching atmosphere,

it's not just about understanding why

604

we do the physical things, why we do the

mental things, but actually putting those

605

together, which we've already had a few

guests on this podcast explaining why

606

that's so important to understand both

those aspects to be able to bridge those

607

pieces together, but we have to understand

that talking about this subject means

608

that we have to watch people and what

they have been through in terms of why

609

they spiral out of control, and they use

food, instead of alcohol, or drugs, or

610

sex, or whatever else so that we can get

to the heart of really what is happening.

611

Why are they going through

all these different issues?

612

It gets to the point that

we have to understand the

613

smaller versions of ourself.

614

The things that might be the

microaggressions, or the microchasms,

615

of what is happening, to be able to

grow into this bigger, brighter version

616

of herself, and I love that she talked

about this concept of intuitive eating.

617

It's about not only thinking about

food differently, but how we can

618

associate from the nutritional sense,

what we should have, but we can also

619

enjoy what we shouldn't have also.

620

It doesn't mean that we're always

constantly putting poison in our bodies.

621

It actually is rethinking the way in which

we can have that relationship with food

622

so that we can understand better how to

connect the dots with our lives, and our

623

overall wellbeing, because what we put

inside of ourselves certainly dictates how

624

we're going to feel throughout our day.

625

If we're going to put in junk, expect

junk to come out of it, whether you're

626

eating fast food, whether you're eating

something that was frozen, whether

627

it's something that you should have

taken more time to consciously prepare.

628

Having that ability to put aside that

time is easier said than done to be able

629

to create not only the best version of

yourself, but the best food that you've

630

ever had, so when we get to really

talking about this overall premise of

631

why it's so important to feed yourself

right, it's also about how you can

632

intuitively eat, but imagine, having that

mindset, being able to think of things

633

more than just what food is all about,

and being able to work on yourself.

634

We have to fulfill that basic necessity,

which in earlier episodes of this

635

podcast, we've talked about the

concept of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

636

Food is one of the basic premises that

the human body, let alone the human

637

condition, needs to have, in order to keep

on growing, to keep on moving forward,

638

so if we're not getting the right food,

if we're not getting the right nutrients,

639

if we're not satisfying what that

relationship is, of course we're never

640

going to attain self actualization, let

alone even work on some of the skills

641

development, the knowledge transfer, or

even the abilities that we will need to

642

be able to grow in our relationships,

in our confidence, let alone even

643

our determination for that matter.

644

This big idea about having a better

understanding of what food is, and how

645

it interacts with our human body, is

something that's still being studied

646

constantly over and over and over again.

647

We're always learning something new.

648

What might be food that is really bad back

then, might be the next day, something

649

that is really good for us, and then in

the future, it's not so good for us again.

650

This yo-yo effect, which is happening

in our culture, means that we need to be

651

paying attention, we need to be able to

work with others, just like Casey offers,

652

to be able to learn to grow in the ways

in which we are able to associate with

653

food in a much better place, to be able

to understand and feel good about why

654

that aspect of food is needed for us, to

be able to grow, not only in a healthy

655

way, but in a way in which we have a

better relationship as a whole when

656

it comes to our intake of better food.

657

It's really not so funny if you think

about it, because in many places,

658

especially in the United States, you

might have heard this concept called a

659

food desert, which we didn't really talk

about in our interview today, but reading

660

research and even seeing my own backyard

here in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, about

661

a food desert that exists in a certain

portion of Carlisle, makes me start to

662

think about why it's so important to

also have availability when people can't

663

access food that is really good for

them readily, to keep on working on the

664

opportunity that exists to not only have

those sort of choices available, but to

665

be informed on how to make those choices.

666

A local nonprofit called Project Share,

which is near me too, literally blocks

667

down the road, really helps us to

understand that with families that come

668

in, go into a grocery store type format,

but are given assistance to be able to

669

make better choices of the food that they

can feed their families, regardless of how

670

many members of that family exist, which

is why it comes to a very important point.

671

Despite the fact that you might have

all this availability of choice, and

672

to be able to understand why it's so

important to make better choices as a

673

whole, you have to learn the step away

from the scale, especially when your

674

body might not be listening to what you

are trying to do, in the physical sense.

675

I can't tell you how many times,

especially with me trying to

676

work on myself and trying to lose

all those extra pounds, that it

677

isn't about how much I weigh.

678

It's about what I'm doing to be more

healthy about the food that I eat,

679

the nutrients I'm gaining, but also

understanding my chemistry of my body

680

acts differently, and I know I'm not

some sort of scientist, let alone not

681

even nutritionist by trade, but I see

it all the time, especially with some

682

of my clients that are struggling,

figuring out what's the best choice

683

to make when it comes to not only the

food that they're consuming, but also

684

the people that they're interacting

with, because people, just like food,

685

we have a choice to associate with.

686

Having that ability to step away

from the scale, though, especially

687

when we think that it's all about how

much we weigh in terms of pounds, or

688

kilograms if you're one of my listeners

from outside the United States, can

689

be very hard, but you have to step

away, because when you step away.

690

from the junk food, from the scale, from

all the expectations of what society says

691

you should be, that can make such a big

difference in what you're able to do.

692

It destroys the body image

of what everybody thinks you

693

need to be, which Casey even

touched on in today's interview.

694

It's really important to learn not

only to respect yourself, but also

695

respect others in the grand scheme of

things, which is why trying new things,

696

trying different combinations, might

be your ticket to being successful.

697

Don't believe me?

698

I loved it when she said about

having jerky with chocolate chips.

699

Who would have ever thought

of such a weird combination?

700

It sounds really gross to me,

but at the same time, let's make

701

some weird combinations happen.

702

When you think about the fact that you

can mix diet soda with something in

703

which you can even eat for breakfast

with eggs and having a protein, you're

704

still getting something in your body

to digest to be able to help you.

705

Any nutritionist would tell you that

even if it's the worst food, at least put

706

something in your body to start the day

so that your metabolism starts up, but of

707

course, many things come in moderation,

just as much as your relationships, your

708

ability to communicate, the ability to

grow in your career or your business,

709

means that when you are diving into

things consistently in which they're not

710

helping you, of course you're going to

get the results that you really desire.

711

Are you doing the same

thing over and over again?

712

What is it that you're doing to change

the messaging, or to spice up the

713

flavor of your life, for that matter?

714

What can you be in control of today that

will allow you to keep on growing, not

715

just in the sense of you, as an individual

or your business, but I'm talking about

716

the things that you might consume?

717

Again, this episode proves yet another

point about having somebody to help

718

you point out those differences.

719

You know, as I record this, I had attended

a vendor event in which somebody walked up

720

to my booth in which I was representing my

business, Your Speaking Voice LLC, saying

721

that they worked at a call center and

that they didn't need my help whatsoever,

722

but I clearly remember what I shouted

at them as they were turning to leave.

723

"If you ever need that help, though, to

get out of what you really are destined

724

to be, let me know when you're ready,

because I will be here to help you."

725

We get so trapped with the same routine

over and over and over again, but it

726

also means in a health coaching context,

being able to understand if those things

727

are really trying to help you, so if

there's anything that you could ever

728

gleam from being able to learn from other

people's experiences, it's this: Don't

729

ever, never underestimate the importance

of being able to grow with somebody

730

else's input, their opinion, their

feedback, in order for you to destroy

731

what might be standing in your way.

732

Even if you've been struggling for a

long time, even like our guest today,

733

just know that getting to the other

side of that fence means that you can

734

break down barriers that you normally

wouldn't ever think you could destroy.

735

It means being able to learn about a

new way in which you're thinking about

736

not just the things that you're dealing

with when it comes to food, not just the

737

holistic behaviors or mindsets that might

be toxic in nature, but it means actually

738

examining what you can potentially do

if you're just willing to work on the

739

smaller pieces of what it's all about.

740

Intuitive eating is just yet another

toolbox to add to your ever growing

741

list of tools that will help you to keep

on understanding, to keep on fueling

742

that future that you always deserve

to have, even if you think you never

743

deserve to have it in the first place.

744

Imagine what it would look like if you

changed your mindset just because of the

745

food that you eat, even if it is jerky

and chocolate chips because hey, any

746

weird combination can make such a big

difference, and it has been because of

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weird combinations that we've been able to

have the most wildest of inventions, the

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most wildest of dreams achieved, and even

having people feeling so successful about

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what they're doing, because let's face it.

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If you think eating ice cream, and

eating that whole package of bacon,

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is going to make you feel better?

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Remember, that there might be better

choices out there if you decide that

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you're going to intuitively eat your

way to not only your dreams, but to

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have the confidence, determination,

and the relationships to keep on

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fueling what you really desire to

have, because you deserve to have it.

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Thanks for listening to episode

number 114 of Speaking From the

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Heart, and I look forward to

hearing from your heart very soon.

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Outro: Thanks for listening.

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For more information about our podcast

and future shows, search for Speaking From

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The Heart to subscribe and be notified

wherever you listen to your podcasts.

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Visit us at www.yourspeakingvoice.biz

for more information about potential

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services that can help you create

the best version of yourself.

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See you next time.