Welcome to the Hottest Version season. Dr. Kelsy Vick is pulling back the curtain on her most personal health journey yet — optimizing her body, mind, relationships, and spiritual health in what she's calling "trimester zero."

In this episode she shares her real DEXA scan results from 2015 vs. April 2026, breaks down exactly what the numbers mean, and gets honest about what she's working on — from fueling patterns and body recomposition goals to skincare, sleep, cycle health, and intentional mindset work.

What you'll learn:

• What a DEXA scan actually tells you and why it's the gold standard for body composition tracking
• Her real body composition data and what changed over 11 years of training
• How she's using AI to identify fueling gaps and optimize her nutrition
• Her current training split and body recomposition goals
• The daily habits she's building across physical, mental, relational, and spiritual health
• Why "trimester zero" might be the most important season of your life — whether or not pregnancy is on your radar

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Welcome to Wellness Fixes the Pod, a

by Maven Media production, where we

2

believe you deserve real education

from real experts, delivered

3

in a way you can actually use.

4

I'm Dr.

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Kelsey Vick, your board-certified

orthopedic doctor of physical therapy, and

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this podcast was built for the girl who

is done feeling overwhelmed and frustrated

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by conflicting health noise, and is ready

for something she can actually trust.

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Every week, we have honest, science-backed

conversations about your health,

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your hormones, your brain, your

body, and everything in between.

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No fluff, no fear-mongering,

just the truth.

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Because understanding your

body is the most powerful

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thing you can do for yourself.

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A table full of experts built for

the curious girl who wants the truth.

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So welcome.

15

Your seat is waiting for you.

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This current season of my life,

I'm titling Hottest Version.

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Welcome back to Wellness Big Sis the Pod.

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I'm your host, Dr.

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Kelsey Vick, a board-certified

orthopedic doctor of physical therapy

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and a pelvic floor physical therapist.

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And as shallow as hottest

version sounds, it's true.

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It's the descriptors that

really resonate with me.

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I'm in trimester zero, and if you

haven't heard of trimester zero, it's

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this new phase people are talking

about where they're preparing their

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bodies and minds for that next

potential future stage of pregnancy.

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And if you're my family or

friends listening to this,

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no, I do not have a timeline.

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I cannot give you a straight answer.

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But in this phase where we are just

enjoying our lives together, enjoying

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traveling, enjoying all that comes with

being together in our marriage, with our

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family, with our friends, showing up for

our family and friends, I kept thinking,

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what also better time than to create

this hottest version of myself and to

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be real, this is not just aesthetics.

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I feel like anytime you throw

around the word like, "Oh, she's

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so hot," or, "He's so hot," it's

always talking about aesthetics.

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and yes, that is part of it for me.

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But it's also how can I create the hottest

version of myself in my brain health, in

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my sleep health, in my physical health,

in my relationships, in my spiritual life?

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So that's why I'm currently titling this

phase hottest version as I just work

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to prepare myself, body, mind, spirit,

social life, for a major life shift

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that might come in the next few years.

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If you're a girl who is also in

this trimester zero, I'm sure

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you get asked all the time, "So

when are you guys having kids?"

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Or if you just recently got married,

that is always the next question.

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If you are engaged, don't worry,

that question is coming, and I

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have never had a for sure answer.

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To get a little bit vulnerable, I

feel sometimes that I'm too selfish,

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that I have so many ambitions and

dreams and goals and travels that

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I wanna do, so I have no timeline.

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And whenever someone asks me that

question, I can't give them a straight

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answer because I myself don't know.

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But in this phase that we're in, I

also realize that even though I don't

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necessarily have a timeline for that

next stage, I can at least work on the

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things that I want to work on selfishly

for myself right now because as soon as

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pregnancy and parenthood comes, I know I

might not have the time or mental energy

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to think about all of these facets of

becoming the hottest version of myself.

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So why not now?

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So here's all the things I am doing in

this trimester zero to become the hottest

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version of myself, not just aesthetics

and body composition-wise, but also

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spiritual life, social life, and sleep.

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Like, all of the little facets of my life

that I can be selfish on, I can have this

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focus and this discipline in creating

optimal routines and habits in each of

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these phases and facets of who I am.

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So what started this all off was really

thinking "Okay, I am in my 30s now."

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I know from my studies and my schooling

that your 30s, you still have the ability

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to build muscle mass, to lose fat a

little bit quicker than I will later on.

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Bone mineral density is slowing down.

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All of these things that I know are

happening within my body physiologically

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are things that I wanted to get real data

points on in this new decade of my life.

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So I, at the beginning of the year, I

told my husband, I was like, " What I

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want for my birthday is a DEXA scan."

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I want to have the ability to track

progress and have objective measurements

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for this progress and these new routines

and new ways of fueling and exercising

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that I'm implementing into my routine.

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I feel like so often we can create new

habits and new routines and new schedules,

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but we don't necessarily have those data

points that might help motivate us or

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tell us if our bodies are responding

to those things in the right way.

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So I wanted to get a DEXA scan because

it's been since I was in college, so I

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think- Last time I did it was in 2015,

so mid to early college years for me.

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So it's been about 11 years since I'd

done a DEXA scan, and I knew that I

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wanted to get a new DEXA scan done

at the same place that I did my old

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one so that I could track progress

even though it's been 11 years.

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I was like, "Okay, let me see where I

was in my early 20s compared to where I

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am now in my early 30s, and get this new

baseline for me to compare to as I go

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throughout my 30s, 40s, 50s, and beyond."

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So step one of creating the hottest

version when it comes to body composition

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and actually creating sort of the

physical body composition goals that I

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wanted in this stage of my life was to

make sure that I'm tracking those data

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points and to get a baseline measure.

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So I got my DEXA scan last week.

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And if you guys are unfamiliar with

a DEXA scan, we've mentioned it a

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few times on this podcast before,

but it is the gold standard when it

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comes to measuring body composition.

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They tell you percent fat mass, percent

lean mass, bone mineral density.

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They can graph it and

chart it based on norms.

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They graph it and chart it based on body

regions, so you're able to see, okay, If

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I'm implementing harder strength training

for my lower body, is that showing up in

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my lower body muscle mass So you're able

to really see region by region how your

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muscle mass is doing, how your fat mass is

doing, and then full body, how your bone

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mineral density is doing and where you are

plotted, like your bone mineral density

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is plotted against the norm for your age.

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So it's this very cool way to track trends

and not just this is how much I weigh,

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but this is how much muscle mass you have.

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This is how much fat mass you have.

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This is your bone mineral density.

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This is how it all goes into creating

who you are as a human, more so

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than just the number on the scale.

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And since it breaks it down body region

by body region, if you get your baseline

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and then you implement certain training

Let's say you really wanna focus on

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helping your upper body strength and

your muscle mass in your upper body.

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You've always prioritized lower

body workouts and lower body

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strength, but you really want to see

muscle growth in your upper body.

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It can break it down region by region

and tell you, okay, is that routine

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that you're doing based on our DEXA

scan data points, is that actually

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working or what do you need to adjust?

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So you can see growth and loss

and basically data points region

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by region, not just in your full

body, although it does give you

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the full body picture as well.

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I was a little concerned going into my

baseline DEXA scan because I weigh more

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than I did when I was in my early 20s.

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But I wanted to make sure that the

strength training I'd been doing over

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the last 11 years, that the fluctuations

in my workouts over the last 11 years

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weren't putting me at a deficit when

it came to specifically my muscle

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mass and my bone mineral density

compared to when I was in my early 20s.

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I wanted to see both of those

numbers increase, even if my

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fat mass actually increased too.

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I knew I had gained weight, so I knew

there was probably some percentage of

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fat mass, muscle mass, and hopefully

my bone mineral density that was

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contributing to that larger number.

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But I wanted to get that new baseline

just so I could see how 11 years of not

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really specifically tracking my caloric

expenditure and just living life had

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contributed to my body composition.

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So here are some of my own DEXA scan

results from my most recent scan, and

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I'm sharing these with you guys because

I hope it drives home the message that

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even though you might increase in your

overall total body weight, that doesn't

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necessarily paint the whole picture.

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You might have actually improved

your percentages of fat mass.

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You might have improved your muscle mass.

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You might have also improved your

bone mineral density, which are

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all of the things that my DEXA scan

will show compared to 11 years ago

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when I was in my early twenties.

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And as a little side note, I guess

the workouts that I was doing in

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my early twenties, to give you

just a little idea, I would do two

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hill sprint/run workouts a week.

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So I would probably run a mile warm-up, do

maybe 10 or 12 hill sprints on either the

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campus that I was at or on a treadmill.

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I'd also do some sprints there, and

then I'd run back home, and then

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I'd do probably three full body

strength training sessions each week.

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But the strength training sessions

that I was doing, I wasn't necessarily

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lifting as heavy of a weight as I am now

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So I was exercising, but in my early

20s, that was when a lot of the mindset

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around cardio was cardio for fat loss.

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And as someone in college, I've spoken on

this before, but I was so afraid of the

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freshman 15 that I started incorporating

a lot of unhealthy eating patterns,

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limiting my daily calorie intake to about

1,200 calories, which is not enough for

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all of the exercise that I was doing.

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So I was doing that.

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I was doing a lot of cardio

and hill sprint-based things to

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help my cardiovascular health.

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I wanted to help my heart health.

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But at the time, we were also

told in the day-to-day that

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cardio really helps with fat loss.

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And as I went through the exercise

science program at UT, I slowly

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learned to tweak some of those things.

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So my mindset and the way that I

was treating my body got healthier

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throughout college as I learned

more and more about the human body.

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But for starters, that's

where I was coming from.

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And my strength training, I knew it was

good for me, but I wasn't necessarily

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prioritizing it as much as the hill sprint

workouts that I was doing each week.

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So that's that picture of me in my early

20s, I might have been eating healthy,

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but definitely not enough calories

because of that fear of the freshman 15.

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I was strength training, but

not necessarily lifting maybe

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any heavier than 15-pound

dumbbells, even for my lower body.

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So maybe lunges with 30 pounds, which

again, was not enough stimulus for

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me to create real muscle growth.

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And I was doing a lot of hill sprints,

running, cardiovascular-based exercises.

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I would really try and affect my VO2 max,

which is a measure of overall endurance

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and efficiency within the body and

within the cardiovascular and muscular

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system and how you're able to utilize

the oxygen that your cardiovascular

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system is supplying to the musculature.

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So I was really trying to affect

those variables compared to my

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muscle mass variables, and I wasn't

fueling appropriately for any of

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the goals that I had at that time.

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So my first scan was in 2015.

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My second scan was this April 2026.

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So an 11-year difference.

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And Overall, in 11 years, I gained 14.4

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total pounds of body weight.

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So I'm almost 15 pounds heavier now

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I knew that number would be higher, But

my hope was that breakdown of the number

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would actually show a healthier picture

than even when I was in my early twenties.

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So when it broke it down to

fat mass only, I gained 0.8

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pounds of fat mass in those 11 years.

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So from 2015 to 2026, I

gained almost 15 pounds, 14.4.

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0.8

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pounds of that was fat mass

gain, which is incredible.

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I was shocked at that number.

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I was very proud of younger Kelsey and

mid-twenties Kelsey and late twenties

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Kelsey and early thirties Kelsey,

like that number made me so proud.

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But this next number made me even prouder.

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So you might be asking, where did

the rest of that weight come from?

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It came from lean mass.

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So I gained 13 pounds of lean mass from

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if your body weight increases 15 pounds,

if you are doing it in a way that's going

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to help your body currently, maybe your

body composition goals currently, but

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then also your long-term health, muscle

mass, bone mineral density, all of those

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things help our long-term health too.

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This number, these numbers make me

so proud of the daily work and daily

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consistency that I've put in Over the

last decade plus as I've worked To

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optimize the health of my body, both

for now, but also for the future.

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And then my bone mineral

content increased 0.6

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pounds overall from 2015 to 2026.

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So again, another solid number

that I like to look at and like

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to use as a way to track progress.

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So a lot of the risk stratification

that occurs for different disease

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states or different levels of healthy,

let's call it, look at your percent

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fat mass compared to your body weight.

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So how much fat mass do you have

compared to your whole body?

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Because obviously my height, my weight,

my bone structure, my muscle mass, I'm

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going to weigh different than someone

else who might look very similar

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to me, but might have a different

variation of some of this composition.

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So they look at your whole body

weight compared to percentages,

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which just makes sense.

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And this is the shocking statistic that

I wanted to help you guys understand.

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In 2015, in my early 20s, I was 20.7%

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body fat,

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Which puts me in an average

range for my age at that time.

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However, now that I'm in my early 30s,

given the amount of muscle mass that

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I've gained, the bone mineral content

that I've gained, the fat mass that I've

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gained has been a very small percentage.

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So my percent fat mass has

actually decreased body weight.

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So currently I'm at 19.3%

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body fat, which puts me in that what they

call athletic range of the whole scale

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that they use at the Fitness Institute.

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So I actually decreased in my percent

body fat, which helps to decrease my

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risk for a lot of different things.

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So my real goal as I work to create

this hottest version of myself when it

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comes to body composition is to get that

number on the low end of athletic range.

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So they estimate 17 to 19%

is that athletic range.

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So I'd like to get my percent

body fat down to that low

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end of that athletic range.

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The range right below

that is considered lean.

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The range right above that

is considered average.

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So my hottest version goals of myself

is to get that number from 19.3

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to more that 17% body fat while

maintaining a lot of that muscle mass.

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So I'd be happy to dive into each of

these things more and talk through my

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own DEXA scan and what it gave me and

the information it gave me and the data

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points that it's going to help me track.

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But my thought is that

this is my new baseline.

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I cannot compare current Kelsey

to young twenties Kelsey.

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I need this new baseline.

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And now all of the things that I'm

implementing over the next six, seven,

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eight months, I can compare again to a

new scan that I take in six months or

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later to see, okay, how has adjusting

my fueling or really working on getting

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to muscular fatigue in each session

to prioritize that stimulus for muscle

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growth affected these actual data

points that they're measuring with the

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gold standard body composition tool?

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It also helps to give a breakdown for

my basal metabolic rate, and this is

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not necessarily the most accurate way

to get your basal metabolic rate, but

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it helps estimate it Because different

tissue types require different caloric

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amounts to maintain your resting state.

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So that basal metabolic rate, they

did give me an estimate for that of

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how many calories I would have to eat

in order to just maintain my body and

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its physiological processes at rest

without any exercise on top of that.

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So that number can help guide me in

my fueling patterns to help me know,

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okay, what is the minimum I need?

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And if I add exercise on top of that, if

I add all of the things that I'm doing day

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to day, how can I adjust what I'm fueling

and what I'm eating with in order to

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make sure that I am able to maintain the

things that I want to maintain, including

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my bone mineral content, my bone mineral

density, my muscle mass, all of those

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things, while maybe getting a little

closer to that seventeen percent body fat.

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So that's getting a little vulnerable,

a little health history-ish, but I

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have spoken on this topic a lot on this

podcast, and now I have data points from

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my own body, from my own experimentation

to show just because I gained fourteen

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point four pounds over the last eleven

years, my entire health picture of my

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body composition is actually healthier

now in my early thirties than it

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was in my early twenties, which is

something that I am super-duper proud

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of and very excited to continue to

tweak and modify in this new phase of

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creating the hottest version of myself.

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So going into body composition, exercise

is a huge component, and that has been

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something that I have been extremely

consistent with in this last decade.

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However, fueling I struggle with a lot.

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I am not a dietician.

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I'm not someone who has this significant

background in nutrition and dietetics.

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So I have enlisted the assistance of

Claude to help me track what I'm currently

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eating so that I can see different

patterns in my current eating routines

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And adjust and modify and tweak them.

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So it acts as a way to make

sure that I am eating enough

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for maintaining my muscle mass.

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That is a huge thing for me.

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I might want to decrease my percent body

fat to that low end of that athletic

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range, that seventeen percent, but I do

not want to do it at the expense of muscle

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mass loss or bone mineral density loss.

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Those variables are

extremely important to me.

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So I want to make sure that I am eating

and fueling in a sustainable way to

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allow for continued maintenance or

growth of my muscle mass and my bone

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mineral density While also adjusting my

caloric intake and my fueling patterns

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to allow for a decrease in body fat.

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So I've been using Claude to track

my daily meals, and really at the

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beginning it was just to get an idea

of where am I shining when it comes

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to my fueling and where might I be

significantly limited in my fueling.

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And I think using these AI resources

as a way to get this picture, even

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before you go to a dietician and seek

out more professional help, might give

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them even more resources to help adjust

knowing that you've done some of that

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experimentation and you're coming with

specific data points in places where you

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are actually thriving in your fueling and

then places you might need a little bit

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of help or a little bit more expertise

and guidance on within your own fueling

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So for me, I started tracking on Claude.

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I would literally just enter all of

the meals and I'd start questioning.

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I'd be like, "Okay, these are my goals.

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I would like to decrease my body fat, but

I do not want to do it at the expense of

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muscle loss or bone mineral density loss.

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I want to be able to maintain that."

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So knowing that this is my height, this

is my weight, knowing I'm getting the DEXA

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scan, because this was before I got the

DEXA scan that I did this, what would be

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certain estimates and protein estimates,

macronutrient estimates, micronutrient

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estimates that would allow me to reach the

goals that I have in a sustainable way?

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I am not into crash dieting or crash

restricting, So I wanted to make sure

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that the changes I implemented, I

could be consistent with long-term.

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So Claude helps me narrow down

what my caloric intake should be

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each day, given those goals of fat

loss and maintaining muscle and

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maintaining bone mineral density.

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I did not, again, want to sacrifice those

two for my goals of body recomposition.

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So even before I got the DEXA scan, I

was starting to track a lot of these

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things, and what I noticed early

on was that protein, I was actually

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hitting pretty much every day.

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I feel like there is this big

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push for protein.

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and we've talked about this before, but

once I actually tracked it, I realized

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I'm actually getting enough protein where

it's not necessarily something that I

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have to waste brain energy on when it

comes to fueling and body composition.

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On the flip side, I realized I was

getting too many saturated fats.

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I was not getting enough omega-3s,

even though I feel like I eat fish

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more than maybe the average American,

and I also was not getting enough

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potassium, which is wild to me.

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So I was able to track for probably a

week or two and just get general trends

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of what meals maybe satisfy some of

those macronutrients and micronutrients

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that I needed more than others, what

snacks that I often reach for maybe

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throw off those variables a little bit.

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So I highly recommend just

inputting certain goals into

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your chosen AI resource.

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I used Claude, And it is by no means

perfect, but I feel like I was able to

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get a good grasp and ask, okay, after

this week, how is my full picture doing?

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Am I getting enough calories?

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How are my macronutrient and

micronutrient profiles looking?

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What about fiber?

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What about my supplementation?

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Where do I need to focus on?

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What do I need to get rid of?

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So I was able to get a lot of those

patterns down before I even got my

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DEXA scan to know what I might need

to alter once my more full picture

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of my body composition could be

inputted into that AI resource.

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So once I got my DEXA scan, I was able

to input those results into Claude and

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continue on with some of the pattern

recognition and fueling tracking so that

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I could get a better picture of how my

fueling looked without me trying to tweak

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anything and then what I possibly needed

to focus on in order to meet some of

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those body composition goals that I had.

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This section I know is getting super long.

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If you guys are also interested,

I can type up the prompts that I

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use to allow Claude to guide me.

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This is by no means replacing a

dietitian, but you can use AI to track

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different patterns in your fueling to

give you more resources to give to a

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dietitian to help with their guidance,

which I think is a super cool tool.

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I have patients use it for physical

therapy where before they even enlist

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my help, they are inputting things

into Claude or ChatGPT or one of

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their AI resources to help experiment

with their own bodies, and it really

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helps me problem solve and makes

our time together more efficient.

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So that's my hope is that by using

these AI resources, you're not replacing

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professional expertise, but it's allowing

you to get a fuller picture of where

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you're currently at and some of the

things that might be contributing to your

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current state that you wanna maybe change.

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So for me, something that was

super high was my saturated fats.

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I love charcuterie, and I really

charcuterie meats and cheeses and all

374

of those things maybe do not align

with some of the goals that I have.

375

So I have to limit those in my fueling

patterns a little bit more than I used to.

376

Saturated fats, as I said,

was high on some days.

377

Sodium levels were a little high on some

days, especially if I had certain Chinese

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food or Thai food or Japanese food.

379

A lot of those meals were

a little higher in sodium.

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My omega-3 content, I realized

certain foods that had omega-3s

381

in it that I didn't even realize.

382

Things like

383

lentils, and I have chia

seeds every morning.

384

I was someone who would've said I

had been getting enough omega-3s, but

385

compared to what we might need in our

bodies, I still wasn't getting enough.

386

Potassium too.

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Even though I had a banana on

one day, I wasn't necessarily

388

getting enough potassium.

389

So now I've understood that pattern

a little bit more to be able to tweak

390

it in my current fueling patterns.

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The biggest thing I learned was

that although I was probably eating

392

pretty healthy or what I would

consider pretty healthy, I was

393

eating way too big of portion sizes.

394

When you actually measure out the

amount of pasta, the amount of meat, the

395

amount of rice or lentils or nut butters

that you're supposed to have, you'll

396

realize that it's a lot smaller than

what you would think Or at least I did.

397

Sometimes I will measure things out and

over time I'll just eyeball it, right?

398

You start to eyeball and then your eyes

start creating bigger and bigger portion

399

sizes and it gets a little out of control.

400

So that's what I realized was one of the

key contributors to my own state, my own

401

body composition, was I was maybe eating

healthy foods, but I was eating such

402

large portions of those healthy foods.

403

So now I'm actually more aware of what

a tablespoon of chia seeds looks like,

404

what a tablespoon of cacao and flaxseed

actually looks like, so that I can

405

be a little bit more mindful of the

size of healthy foods that I'm eating.

406

Same with the size of meat

and pastas that I was eating.

407

I love meat and pasta, but I realized,

oh my gosh, this is a massive

408

piece of steak that I was eating,

and a normal serving size is this.

409

There's a big discrepancy there.

410

So understanding and learning and

being very real about your portion

411

sizes and about my portion sizes

was something that really helped me.

412

I also was shocked, I told my husband

this, that my current calorie goals for

413

sustainable fat loss with maintenance

of muscle mass and bone mineral content

414

is around 2200 to 2300 with exercise.

415

So on my active recovery days, on

the days that I'm not necessarily

416

exercising, it's a little less.

417

But typically, I'm working out about

six days a week, so I'm trying to

418

hit that 2200 to 2300 range, and if

I happen to go on a weighted vest

419

walk on top of that, that caloric

amount will actually increase as well.

420

So compared to those nutrition labels

on the back of the US products, it's

421

based on a 2000 calorie diet, and I

realized that my body requires more than

422

even that, especially when I exercise.

423

And I'd say I'm maybe on the taller

side of average for a female, but

424

I'm in no way as athletic or muscular

or tall or as bulky as some of these

425

larger men who might require more.

426

So I think every dietician that I've

had on here has expressed the importance

427

of fueling appropriately when it

comes to body composition changes.

428

And Mainly eating enough, where a lot

of us as women are like 20-year-old

429

Kelsey, where we were under-fueling,

over-exercising, and still not

430

reaching the body composition goals

that we wanted to see for ourselves.

431

What I've learned throughout this

experimentation process is that I have

432

to sometimes force myself to eat more

calories in the day so that I can make

433

sure the processes that my body needs

to go through in order to build muscle,

434

work on my immunity, hormonal regulation,

menstrual cycle, all of these things

435

that my body has to do every day, is

having enough fuel for those processes.

436

So I think this experimentation, this

hottest version body composition style,

437

is really helping me see what that

actually looks like in my own body.

438

So highly recommend if you're also

in this sort of like creating the

439

hottest version of myself stage.

440

So in addition to fueling, of course,

fitness and exercise also goes into

441

body composition and body recomposition.

442

And for me, it's always been about

longevity, because I know right now

443

is the prime time for me to be able

to build muscle mass, build bone

444

mineral density for my 70s, 80s,

90s, when it's a lot harder to do.

445

So I've maintained my same strength

training routine where I'm strength

446

training three to four days a week,

I'd say probably four on average,

447

And I'm doing a conditioning

high-intensity interval training day and

448

then also a sprint training speed run day.

449

So that's the breakdown that I'm

currently at for both my body

450

composition goals and also for my

cardiovascular goals and working on

451

my endurance and my heart health.

452

That's also super important to me.

453

I've also been trying to be more

purposeful about my active recovery days

454

where I might add a weighted vest walk.

455

And we've done an exercise handbag

series before where we talk about

456

the absolute necessities women

need in their exercise handbags.

457

And zone two is not one of them.

458

But a weighted vest walk, something that I

would maybe consider zone two for myself,

459

is something I enjoy, so I include it.

460

And the same goes for you guys.

461

If you enjoy some of those long,

low-intensity runs just for mental health,

462

like there's so many benefits for that.

463

So I know in our exercise handbag series,

we talked about zone two not necessarily

464

being the best bang for our buck as

women because our bodies are naturally

465

shifted towards that more endurance state.

466

But I enjoy it.

467

I think it's fun.

468

It's a time for me to bond with

my dog, with my husband, and

469

listen to a podcast or music.

470

So I still enjoy it, and I

still incorporate it every week.

471

I've noticed with all of these

shifts, primarily the fueling shift,

472

'cause my exercise routine hasn't

necessarily shifted that much.

473

I have been focusing on actually

progressing the weight when I feel like

474

I can or progressing the repetitions,

even if my training program calls for 12.

475

If the weight's not heavy, if I'm not

reaching that fatigue point, I might add

476

a few more reps to get to that point.

477

So that's the only thing I maybe

shifted in my exercise routine.

478

But I've shifted my fueling a lot.

479

The amount that I'm eating, different

types of food that I'm eating.

480

I'm snacking less.

481

I'm fueling more balanced, I'd

say, with, veggies, lentils,

482

fibers, proteins, all the things.

483

That has helped my cycle

symptoms significantly.

484

So part of creating the hottest

version of myself is also maximizing

485

and optimizing my own menstrual

cycle and my own fertility.

486

And I've noticed that with all

of these healthy fueling changes

487

specifically, my cycle symptoms were

nonexistent over my last period.

488

I'll rephrase that.

489

It's not that all of my symptoms

disappeared, but the cramping,

490

I wasn't near as bloated on my

period, which was crazy for me.

491

So I think the fueling has helped that.

492

And whether that's because my blood

sugar is more balanced, whether

493

that's because I'm not stuffing myself

or overeating, I'm not quite sure.

494

I'm gonna continue to

experiment with that.

495

But I was so grateful that the symptoms

during my period were actually lessened.

496

I still got some of the emotional

symptoms, some of the lack of motivation

497

symptoms that I have in my luteal

phase and towards the end of my

498

menstrual cycle, but the symptoms on

my period were significantly lessened

499

Part of creating the hottest version

is also focusing on my skin health.

500

And I feel like us as girls are very

good at our facial skin health, getting

501

all of the serums and moisturizers

and facials and all sorts of things.

502

And yes, that is where I thrive

when it comes to skin health.

503

But I used to just push the

entire rest of my skin on the back

504

burner, where maybe I would lotion

after the shower occasionally.

505

But now I've really tried to

prioritize the skin health of my

506

entire body, not just my face.

507

And it makes me feel a little more

luxurious when I go to bed because

508

I'm all moisturized and I know

that I'm hydrating my skin from the

509

outside in, as well as from the inside

out with my new fueling changes.

510

I've been gua shying.

511

I've been working on some soft tissue

and fascial release after the shower

512

with my moisturizer on my entire body.

513

So part of this hottest version

of myself is also really investing

514

the time into my skin health.

515

It's not even money.

516

It's not that it's any more expensive,

but I'm actually just taking the time to

517

work on the skin health of my entire body

and really moisturizing that skin and

518

helping to protect and hydrate that skin,

that largest organ in our body throughout

519

the entire body, not just at my face.

520

Then these last three sort of

categories for creating the hottest

521

version, one of them is my routine.

522

And this category constitutes

a lot of things, but it

523

constitutes doctor's visits.

524

So scheduling that well-wound exam,

those checkups, scheduling those dental

525

appointments, all of these things

That help to work on prevention and

526

creating a healthy body by having a

professional actually check that out

527

and make sure that nothing is popping

up and that if anything does pop up, we

528

can prevent it and reduce the effects of

that thing before it gets out of hand.

529

I've also been waking up earlier

to just really get my body

530

and mind right for the day.

531

It allows this sort of like

quiet, zen, darker moment.

532

So since Japan, I've actually been waking

up earlier, and it has been fantastic.

533

I used to be an early morning waker-upper

and early morning workout-er, and

534

then you just get out of this routine.

535

So some of the time it takes that

discipline and that love for yourself

536

to do the hard thing in the morning,

get up on that first alarm, wake up,

537

enjoy that time with yourself, with your

devotional, whatever it is in your morning

538

routine, or even your nighttime routine.

539

You do not have to do it in the morning.

540

If you're a night owl and really

thrive or really love those nighttime

541

hours, like maybe it's your nighttime

routine that you clean up a little bit.

542

For me, it's that early

morning that I love.

543

So I've really been working to clean up

that side of my routine, wake up a little

544

earlier, and I actually look forward to

it now where I look forward to that little

545

quiet solo time in the morning before

the rest of the world really feels awake.

546

This has been a recent adjustment to

my routine, but I've been having a

547

matcha midday almost daily since Japan,

which has limited the naps that I take.

548

I used to be a big napper,

and now I don't nap at all,

549

especially with that matcha midday.

550

I also know that it has super high

levels of L-theanine, so I feel like

551

I'm also helping my brain health.

552

I've noticed, too, that with work,

I would usually be so much more

553

motivated and productive in the morning.

554

But since incorporating matcha midday,

I feel like I can extend that window

555

where I have this sort of calm energy.

556

It's not this jittery energy that

everyone talks about with coffee.

557

I don't really get it with coffee either.

558

But matcha makes me feel like a calm

and energized and still productive

559

throughout the rest of the day.

560

So I've been loving it.

561

I don't care if it's placebo.

562

I don't care if it's because

I've heard of the benefits of

563

matcha and now I'm believing it.

564

I think that also goes

into its effectiveness.

565

But that has been a change in my routine

that I would really like to stick to

566

because I really do feel like it has

helped me feel that much more productive,

567

but also have this sort of calm

energy throughout the rest of the day.

568

And then the last part of my routine,

I've been reading before bed on my Kindle.

569

This is something I go in and

out of, and I love reading.

570

So I love that I, again, am trying

to be disciplined with myself, love

571

myself enough to give myself that

time before bed to just read and enjoy

572

whatever book I'm reading at the time

573

So the last two categories,

spiritual health, social life.

574

I have focused on this in this entire

season that we're in right now, my

575

husband and I, where if we have a

birthday party, if we have a friend's

576

baby who's turning another age, or

baptism, or bridal shower, or baby

577

shower, whatever it is, I wanna say yes.

578

Or grand opening for a new business.

579

One of my friends just

opened her first business.

580

So those sorts of things

I'm gonna show up for.

581

I'm moving around my schedule to

show up because I know that in

582

this season of life, I can show up.

583

You know?

584

And if I can't, there has to be a good

reason why, because I wanna be the

585

person that in this stage is flexible

and sacrificial for her friends.

586

So I really try and be there for my

friends, my family, especially when we

587

really can do that in this stage, and we

don't have kids right now that might not

588

allow us to be that flexible later on.

589

For spiritual health, I've been really

trying to focus, and this is an area

590

that I feel like I can always improve

on, but I've really tried to focus

591

more on positive self-talk, on working

on catching my mindset if it turns

592

negative and reframing those thoughts.

593

I've focused on really purposeful daily

prayer and just working on seeing God in

594

little moments in my life, which I think

Japan was another trip, and South Korea.

595

I mentioned Japan, but

South Korea and Japan both.

596

That whole trip allowed me to really

see God in those little moments,

597

and I'm really grateful that I've

been able to bring that back to

598

the States and work on that when it

comes to my spiritual health as well.

599

So that's a little deep dive

into what it looks like to create

600

the hottest version of myself in

this current stage that I'm in.

601

I absolutely feel so aligned.

602

I feel so healthy in my body with a lot

of these changes, so I'm excited to see

603

the progress when it comes to six months

from now, a year from now, where I'm able

604

to see, okay, what changes have I made?

605

What have I been able to stick with?

606

How do I feel within my body, and

how can I bring some of these changes

607

and some of the way that I'm able to

feel like me into this next stage of

608

pregnancy, motherhood, and parenthood?

609

So this was a long, girly, chatty episode.

610

I hope you enjoyed it.

611

I don't know if it'll give you guys

some ideas of creating your hottest

612

versions or even inspiring you to

go get a DEXA scan if you have some

613

of these body composition goals.

614

And I can dive into any

of these things more.

615

I think this episode is already plenty

long, But I hope you guys enjoyed it.

616

So I would love to hear how you

guys are also creating your hottest

617

versions if that's the stage you're in.

618

And not that you can't do this

at any time in life, but this is

619

just the silliest, girliest way

that I could describe this season.

620

So I'm enjoying just having this

621

shallow title for something that

is deep and emotional to me.

622

But I hope you guys enjoyed this episode.

623

Tell me all of your tips, tricks for

creating your hottest versions, and

624

I'll see you guys again on the next

episode of Wellness Fixes the Pod.