Shownotes
Simone Lovell suffered from postpartum depression and weight gain and chose to break the line of intergenerational dieting. This is her story, and she is RESILIENT A.F.
Buy the books: https://theglobalresilienceproject.com/books/
Be featured in RESILIENT A.F.: Skin Deep Stories: https://blairkaplan.kartra.com/page/tattoo
Be featured in RESILIENT A.F.: Stories of Resilience Vol. 3: https://blairkaplan.kartra.com/page/RAF26
About the Guest:
Simone is a mama, food coach and mentor. She has been a health coach for over 20 years. Simone helps keep mamas informed and healthy and transform from the inside out and become the best version of themselves by giving them the tools and roadmap to achieve optimum health and fat loss. She teaches her clients how to eat the right food at the right time for the right reasons and empowers them to make daily changes toward leading a healthier lifestyle.
Links:
Facebook.com/simonelovellcoach
Gift: Hormone Smart Workout Guide: https://simonelovell.mykajabi.com/hormonebalance
⚠️ Content Note: Some episodes may contain themes that could be distressing. Please take care of yourself while listening, and don’t hesitate to seek support from a mental health professional if needed.
About the Hosts:
Blair Kaplan Venables is a British Columbia-based grief and resilience expert and coach, motivational speaker and the Founder of The Global Resilience Project. Her expertise has been featured on media platforms like Forbes, TEDx, CBC Radio, Entrepreneur, and Thrive Global. She is named the Top Grief and Resilience Expert of the Year 2024 by IAOTP. USA Today listed Blair as one of the top 10 conscious female leaders to watch and she empowers others to be resilient from stages around the world. 'MyStory,’ which is a television show available on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+ and Google Play, showcases Blair's life story. She is the host of the Radical Resilience podcast and specializes in helping people strengthen their resilience muscle using scientifically proven methods and guides grieving high performers with her Navigating Grief Framework. The Global Resilience Project’s award-winning book series are international bestsellers, and her fourth book, RESILIENT A.F.: Stories of Resilience Vol 2, will be published in January 2025. In her free time, you can find Blair writing, in nature, travelling the world and helping people to strengthen their resilience muscles.
Links:
https://theglobalresilienceproject.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/blairdkaplan
https://www.facebook.com/blair.kaplan
https://www.facebook.com/BlairKaplanCommunications
https://www.instagram.com/globalresiliencecommunity
https://www.instagram.com/blairfromblairland/
https://www.facebook.com/globalresiliencecommunity
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-global-resilience-project
Alana Kaplan is a compassionate mental health professional based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She works in the mental health field, and is a co-host of the Resilient A.F. podcast. Fueled by advocacy, Alana is known for standing up and speaking out for others. Passionate about de-stigmatizing and normalizing mental health, Alana brings her experience to The Global Resilience Project’s team, navigating the role one’s mental health plays in telling their story.
Engaging in self-care and growth keeps her going, and her love for reading, travel, and personal relationships helps foster that. When she’s not working, Alana can often be found on walks, working on a crossword puzzle, or playing with any animal she sees.
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Transcripts
Then I started to notice all these other pieces of my life falling apart
Speaker:and the day when it really
Speaker:hit home. There's a few breakthrough moments, but the biggest
Speaker:one, it was my daughter's birthday. She was in preschool
Speaker:and she wanted cupcakes for her friends,
Speaker:so I baked. There were 12 kids in the class, so I baked 12 cupcakes.
Speaker:And the day after was when she was going to take these
Speaker:cupcakes in for her friends. And I ate every single
Speaker:cupcake the night before. She got to even take them into school with
Speaker:icing and everything. They're like big, big cupcakes.
Speaker:And I remember sitting there after all 12 cupcakes
Speaker:feeling like shit and just thinking,
Speaker:wow, you know, like, here I am. I'm a
Speaker:mom now. This is not just about me. Here I am.
Speaker:My daughter just watched me do that. I'm a role model
Speaker:and I just did that. I'm a health coach. I just did that. And,
Speaker:like, I want to get my life on track. And like, what? What the
Speaker:fuck is going on? Welcome back to another episode of
Speaker:Resilience AF with Blair and Alana. Hold the
Speaker:Atlanta. But welcome this Simone Lavelle. And what I
Speaker:love is that Simone and I have been on a journey together. And today's
Speaker:conversation, you know, like, I'm actually part of her journey
Speaker:when she's a huge part of my journey. And we've developed a really beautiful
Speaker:friendship. And so Simone, she's a mama, food coach,
Speaker:mentor. She has been a health coach for over 20
Speaker:years. Simone helps mamas informed and
Speaker:healthy and transform from the inside out. And they become the best versions
Speaker:of themselves by giving them the tools and roadmaps to achieve
Speaker:optimum health and fat loss. And just so you know, I am a mama. I
Speaker:mean, I am a fur mama. But she has helped me so much. Like, I
Speaker:actually worked with her. I did one of her programs and lost
Speaker:a significant amount of weight, retrained myself on how to eat. I still use
Speaker:those recipes today because this was like before the pandemic. So I'm really
Speaker:excited that she's here. She teaches her clients how to eat the right food
Speaker:at the right time for the right reasons. She taught me all about
Speaker:balancing my macros, and she empowers her clients and all of
Speaker:her social media followers to make daily changes toward leading
Speaker:a healthier lifestyle. And we live
Speaker:in the same province. We've only recently met in person for the first
Speaker:time, which was amazing. And yeah, and
Speaker:she's, you know, currently you can buy Resilient
Speaker:AF Stories of Resilience Volume 2. Read all about Simone's story.
Speaker:But you know what? You don't even have to read it, because here we are.
Speaker:I mean, I'd love you to buy the book and read it, but she's here
Speaker:live and in the flesh. Thanks so much
Speaker:for having me, Blair. I'm so excited to be here and to have this important
Speaker:conversation. Yeah, it's. And it. And it is like, you
Speaker:know, I think, like, I know your. Your journey is about
Speaker:your depression and weight gain in postpartum and
Speaker:how you broke the line of dieting from generation to generation, which
Speaker:is this, like, cycle that we're told, like, on the news and in the
Speaker:media. Like, you know, go on this diet, do this stuff. And it's. It's not
Speaker:about, like, changing our. Our habits and whatnot. And
Speaker:what I think is. Is so great is that
Speaker:you create all this out of your postpartum depression and weight gain.
Speaker:But I. Like, I am. I never. I mean,
Speaker:like, I had my own struggles with miscarriage and in that way, a bit of
Speaker:postpartum. But I struggled with weight gain because I moved in with my
Speaker:boyfriend, who was a great cook and very common,
Speaker:by the way. I hear that all the time. Yeah. And, like, anyways, and a
Speaker:friend of mine was doing one of your programs, and she was looking good, feeling
Speaker:good, told me about you, and then I explored what you were doing. I did
Speaker:your program, and then I came into. I did a program. Program again, came
Speaker:into your VIP world, and we just developed a beautiful friendship. And so
Speaker:I'm not a mom, so just. If you're listening to this, this is applicable to
Speaker:anyone? Absolutely. Absolutely. Anybody.
Speaker:Yes. Professionals, Busy people. You
Speaker:know, that's the world that I understand. But, yeah, just.
Speaker:It. It came out of a time. You know, it's funny
Speaker:how we get the best gifts
Speaker:through our hardest times. Kind of like you. Right. And that's
Speaker:why we're here. And so my
Speaker:gift for myself was my health
Speaker:and loving my body and, you know, breaking that cycle
Speaker:of dieting. And, um. But that came out of a really, really
Speaker:hard time. And. And let's talk about that. Let's, like, back up to the
Speaker:beginning, like, postpartum depression and weight gain. Maybe,
Speaker:like, tell us a little bit about your. Well, don't. Not even a little bit.
Speaker:Tell us your story. And also maybe what is postpartum
Speaker:depression and weight gain? Because there might be some new
Speaker:mamas, soon to be mamas in here. Yeah, like, let's talk about your
Speaker:story and what that is. Yeah, well,
Speaker:it all started so it goes back to a time where
Speaker:I was growing up with my parents and
Speaker:my mom was just
Speaker:this dieting fiend. That's all she did, that's all she
Speaker:knew. And it was just one diet after
Speaker:the other and gaining weight, losing weight, gaining weight, losing weight.
Speaker:I watched her weigh herself every single day.
Speaker:There was a tape measure that sat on her
Speaker:on the bathroom, you know, counter, and she would
Speaker:always be measuring herself and her waist and
Speaker:obsessed with her, her waist and shrinking it. And I
Speaker:watched this, you know, and so I saw it and, and from
Speaker:a very early age, it was ingrained in me that this is, you know, the
Speaker:way to live really. And back then it was the 80s and it was all
Speaker:about low fat, right? And like, take out
Speaker:fat, Fat is the enemy. And then it was low carb. And so
Speaker:I just saw her, you know, go on to every single fad. And,
Speaker:you know, I was a fairly thin kid. I didn't
Speaker:gain weight easily. And I got to university
Speaker:and for the first time in my life, I had to fend for myself. And
Speaker:I ate anything and everything, and I gained 35 pounds in
Speaker:one year. And this was the
Speaker:first time where I started to, like, obsess a little bit, right? And I, and
Speaker:I started to learn. I started to learn about food and how to
Speaker:fuel yourself. And so this was when I, I turned to nutrition. I became a
Speaker:nutritionist and I became a strength and
Speaker:conditioning coach, and I went on to train clients and help clients, you know,
Speaker:lose the weight. I lost the 35 pounds. I was back to my healthy weight.
Speaker:It was good, but there was still this little piece of me
Speaker:that was obsessed with that number on the
Speaker:scale. You know, it was always there. And
Speaker:I then went on to have my daughter. And
Speaker:when I got pregnant, I gained
Speaker:65 pounds and I continued to gain weight. When she
Speaker:was born, I don't even know the, the end number that I was, was at,
Speaker:but this was when I was in a full on
Speaker:postpartum depression. I. Yeah, I
Speaker:mean, it was a dark time. And
Speaker:yeah, I mean, I'm sure there's others listening to this and they can
Speaker:relate because the more I tell the story, the more like, oh my gosh, I
Speaker:had that too. And you know what, in the time, Blair, I didn't actually know
Speaker:that that's what it was. And like, I guess, like the weight
Speaker:gain and the postpartum depression feed into each other, right? Like,
Speaker:I mean, again, like, I don't. This is not my wheelhouse,
Speaker:but I am someone who lives with depression, who Turns to food.
Speaker:Yes, yes. And you're a mom,
Speaker:and you were. You were a new mom. So, like, you were in
Speaker:survival mode. In survival. Absolutely in survival mode.
Speaker:Drinking coffee to stay awake and copious amounts of coffee. I remember I'd
Speaker:make this pot of coffee at the beginning of the day. You know, like the
Speaker:old school pots, right, Is drip, drip coffee. And I would drink the
Speaker:entire pot over the course of the day. Do you know how bad that is
Speaker:for your health? Like, it's so bad, so bad for anxiety,
Speaker:right? And, like, when you're struggling with depression, there's that anxiety piece, and that
Speaker:coffee is like, it's just feeding it, right? You're basically spurting
Speaker:cortisol out of your adrenals. It's hazardous.
Speaker:And so I was exhausted. I
Speaker:was. My health was. Was deteriorating
Speaker:in every way. I was suffering from migraines. I was
Speaker:covered in a rash from head to toe that nobody could figure out. Went from
Speaker:doctor to doctor, and they're like. Like, I had a rash all over my face,
Speaker:you know, and. And I'm a health and nutrition coach, right? And I'm online
Speaker:and I have a digital course, and I'm, like, showing up for my videos with
Speaker:the rash all over my face, you know, it was like my health was a
Speaker:mess. And on top of that, the anxiety was,
Speaker:like, through the roof. And
Speaker:I. I didn't. Again, like, I actually didn't know that what I was
Speaker:struggling with was postpartum. I only figured that out years later when
Speaker:I was out of it. Right? Because sometimes when you're in it, you just, again,
Speaker:you're in survival mode. You don't even know what you're dealing with. But there were
Speaker:days where I would wake up in the
Speaker:morning and I felt like I needed to go right back to bed. I would
Speaker:go to the bathroom and I would lie down on the floor in my bathroom,
Speaker:and I couldn't breathe. My anxiety was so high that I had
Speaker:to lie down on the cold floor and just try and breathe
Speaker:to stand up again. It was
Speaker:bad. And how did
Speaker:you pull yourself off
Speaker:that bathroom floor? How did you. How did you
Speaker:finally, I guess, get the energy or the. The
Speaker:what you needed to make those changes? Like, what. What was
Speaker:that straw that broke that camel's back? And, like, what did you do? Because
Speaker:you are. I just want to reiterate, like, you are a health and
Speaker:wellness expert, and this was something you were struggling
Speaker:with. So, like, you know, people who are experts aren't immune
Speaker:to navigating the same challenges that they help you get out of.
Speaker:You hit the nail on the head. Which was. Which actually made it worse
Speaker:because I kept, you know, like, telling myself, come on, Simone, like, you
Speaker:know better, right? And here I was drinking the
Speaker:coffee, and I forgot to mention also the minimum, two
Speaker:glasses of wine every single night, right? Just to cope.
Speaker:And. And then the chocolate. On top of that, every single day, I put my
Speaker:daughter in the stroller or jump in the car if it was raining too hard.
Speaker:And I would drive to Safeway and I would get the cheapest
Speaker:chocolate bar. Love Snickers. That was my thing. I'd have to have a
Speaker:chocolate bar every single day, at least one chocolate bar. And then it would just,
Speaker:you know, I'd get home and it would be like a free for all. And
Speaker:I would go into the baking, and it was just. It was another
Speaker:level. And, you know, and there's actually science
Speaker:behind this. When you are depressed, that chocolate in particular
Speaker:provides a dopamine hit. So your body actually physiologically
Speaker:knows that you're going to get a dopamine hit, which is. Is the same thing
Speaker:as, like a drug, right? It's going to make you feel good. So that's why
Speaker:we turn to the chocolate or we turn to the sugar, we turn to the
Speaker:sweets. And so I was turning to that over and over again. Um, and
Speaker:it just, you know, again, my health was, like, fully falling apart because
Speaker:of the way I was fueling my body. So I, you know, you
Speaker:asked, like, how did I get out of it? Well, I hit rock bottom, basically.
Speaker:And I think this is, you know, for a lot of people, when I talk
Speaker:to them, much like you, like, you know, how did. How do you get out
Speaker:of this? It's like you have to sometimes, like, hit rock bottom to
Speaker:realize that things are really bad, you
Speaker:know, And I started to notice every part of my life was falling apart. I
Speaker:wasn't a great mom, you know, like, because I was falling apart. I
Speaker:wasn't a great partner to my husband at the time, and I
Speaker:wasn't a good friend. I wasn't a good daughter, like, you know, all the things.
Speaker:And I started to notice all these other pieces of my life falling apart
Speaker:and the day when it really
Speaker:hit home. There's a few breakthrough moments, but the biggest
Speaker:one was when I've told this story before to some of my clients.
Speaker:I was. It was my daughter's birthday. She was in
Speaker:preschool, and she wanted cupcakes
Speaker:for her friends. So I baked. There were 12 kids in the class,
Speaker:so I baked 12 cupcakes. And
Speaker:the. The day after was when she was going to take these cupcakes in for
Speaker:her friends. And I ate every single cupcake the night
Speaker:before. She got to even take them into school with icing and everything.
Speaker:They're like big, big cupcakes. And I remember
Speaker:sitting there after all 12 cupcakes feeling like.
Speaker:And just thinking, wow,
Speaker:you know, like, here I am. I'm a mom now. This is not
Speaker:just about me. Here I am. My daughter just
Speaker:watched me do that. I'm a role model,
Speaker:and I just did that. I'm a health coach. I just did that. And,
Speaker:like, I want to get my life on track. And, like, what. What the
Speaker:is going on? Yeah. So what did you do? How did you get
Speaker:your life back on track? Like, what was this like? I guess admitting there's a
Speaker:problem is definitely the first step, or knowing that you need to make a change.
Speaker:And sometimes that rock bottom, like, there's nowhere lower to go, or,
Speaker:you know, you hit that rock bottom. But really, maybe it's kind of bouncy, and
Speaker:you bounce up, you bounce forward. What. Besides, like, once you
Speaker:had that realization, like, holy, that was not cool.
Speaker:No. What did you do? Well, I knew that
Speaker:what I'd been trying, because I tried, you know, I'm like, okay, I'm telling my
Speaker:clients what to do. I'm telling my clients what to eat and how to work
Speaker:out. And I would try, like, okay, today's the day. I'm gonna work out today.
Speaker:Get it done. But the things weren't sticking that I would. That I used to
Speaker:do. So the things that I used to do in my 20s and things that
Speaker:I had taught my clients up until this point, and the knowledge that I had
Speaker:up until this point was not enough. It wasn't enough to help me get out
Speaker:of this depression and make a solid habit out of it, and
Speaker:also, like, really learn the tools. So I dove
Speaker:into the science of two things. Cleansing and
Speaker:macros. And this was when
Speaker:everything changed for me. So because
Speaker:I've been eating so much processed food, because I was drinking the coffee and because
Speaker:I was eating all the chocolate and drinking the wine,
Speaker:my body was just overloaded with toxins. And
Speaker:as soon as I realized that and realized that I needed to do a detox,
Speaker:but not just any detox. I needed to flood my body with very specific
Speaker:nutrients to help cleanse my liver, that this would be the boost
Speaker:to give me the energy back that I needed and also to start
Speaker:speeding up my metabolism. Metabolism again. So I
Speaker:started with that, and then I dove into the science of macros. Macros are simply
Speaker:your proteins, your carbs, your fats. But figuring out how many grams of
Speaker:protein I needed, carbs and fat, what are those sources
Speaker:that I needed to go for? Omega 3 fatty acids? What do they look like?
Speaker:What are the. The exact nutri nutrients that I need to get my health back
Speaker:on track. And as soon as I learned the stuff, it was like a
Speaker:major breakthrough and it became very easy. So within just a
Speaker:few months, about six months, I was able to lose all that weight. I've kept
Speaker:it off since then. But there was also
Speaker:a. An emotional and mental component that came with
Speaker:it as well. You know, this is when I started to realize, okay, I got
Speaker:to break this cycle here, because clearly that dieting piece had not
Speaker:stopped for me. Right. And that number on the scale hadn't stopped, and I really
Speaker:had to. To overcome some of those mental
Speaker:barriers. Yeah. And so, like, you
Speaker:had, like, you have the tools, like, you had the knowledge to do
Speaker:that. So if someone's listening to this, like, this isn't the portion where I'm
Speaker:asking for a solid. Like, I mean, like, everything you're saying is advice. But, like,
Speaker:if someone's listening to this and they, you know, are in a similar boat where,
Speaker:like, they know they need to make a change, what's like, the first thing. Thing
Speaker:that they need to do? First step, you don't need me.
Speaker:First step, you need just to turn to water.
Speaker:Okay, so most of us, first of all, most of us are
Speaker:super dehydrated. Yeah. Drink your water. Yeah, we're super
Speaker:dehydrated. Our body is made up of 70% water. And I'm sure, like,
Speaker:anyone listening to this is like, oh, God, here we go again. Rolling their eyes.
Speaker:I always hear, water, water, water. Well, that's because it's so important. But there's some
Speaker:nuances around our water. First of all, eight cups is a, like, the bare minimum
Speaker:of water that you should be drinking. Water is going to detox you. So this
Speaker:is like, the best way to detox. It's also going to
Speaker:hydrate your cells, Right? Every single cell is now going to be hydrated.
Speaker:When your cells are hydrated, your organs can function properly.
Speaker:Here's another amazing fact about water that a lot of people don't know is that
Speaker:the thirst receptor in your brain is so weak that it's
Speaker:often confused for hunger. So this is why our
Speaker:cravings are so high for things like sugars. We're just dehydrated.
Speaker:So if you start drinking your water you're, you're naturally
Speaker:going to have less cravings, which is really exciting. Right.
Speaker:But it's going to give you that energy back too. And a lot of us
Speaker:are sluggish. We're not focused, we're not productive,
Speaker:and we're like super low energy because life is so
Speaker:hard and life is so stressful. But this is the first way to get your
Speaker:energy back so that you can start to meal prep, work out, and do
Speaker:all the things that a healthy lifestyle requires. Right. So I really
Speaker:feel like this is the first, first step. And you know what's so great about
Speaker:water, Blair? It's free. It doesn't take extra
Speaker:time. There's literally no excuse why we shouldn't be Getting
Speaker:minimum of 8 cups of water per day. And by the way, that's minimum,
Speaker:minimum, minimum for most of us. It's like upward of 16. Do
Speaker:you have, like, a water drinking, like, tip to keep you drinking more water? Like,
Speaker:I know that, like, I, like when I have a straw, I
Speaker:drink more water. I know that when I'm at a restaurant, like, I always get
Speaker:a glass of water with lemon. Like, I generally, if I'm
Speaker:out to eat, like, I'm sober, so I don't drink. But, like, I don't really
Speaker:order mocktails, like, unless it's like a special occasion. I always
Speaker:either have water or like fancy bubbly water. But
Speaker:like, mostly always water with a lemon if I can a straw at home,
Speaker:I have a cup with a straw. And some people get the cups with, like
Speaker:the timeline. Okay. So my favorite hacks is,
Speaker:first of all, a lot of people are like, I don't want to drink that
Speaker:much water because I'm going to run to the bathroom every five minutes. Which is
Speaker:true because you're not adding salt to it. So you want to
Speaker:add a little bit of salt or a little bit of electrolytes. But I like
Speaker:salt. It's super easy. Right. So I use Celtic sea salt, which
Speaker:is a very, very clean salt. You do it just a dash, dash, dash of
Speaker:salt, and it's going to be enough for you to absorb it. Yeah. And then
Speaker:you're not running to the bathroom every five minutes. So that will be motivating itself.
Speaker:Right. The hack is set a timer on your phone.
Speaker:Have a glass every single hour. Set a timer on your phone that goes off
Speaker:every single hour. Because I promise you that we all have the best
Speaker:intentions when it comes to these things, but we don't get it done because we're
Speaker:not proactive with, with habits. Right. We're not
Speaker:making this a habit. How do you make it a habit? Well, you have to
Speaker:set reminders. So have maybe a post it note that is everywhere. It's
Speaker:like on your water bottles, on your phone, it's above the toilet. And you're like
Speaker:seeing that post it note throughout the day to drink your water, set that timer
Speaker:and then you'll have a way easier time getting it in. So I love
Speaker:that. So like something that most of us in most parts of the world
Speaker:can do and not. I just want to acknowledge that like I
Speaker:do have some people in our community where I know that it's actually not that
Speaker:easy. Like in Ghana, where I was in
Speaker:Ghana, like you had to buy water
Speaker:and you have like, if you drink out of the tap, like you get sick,
Speaker:even the locals and you have to drink, you have to like, I think it
Speaker:was like $0.01 or $0.10 for like a bag of water. And then like my
Speaker:stomach wasn't even ready for that. I had to buy bottles. But like, I do
Speaker:want to acknowledge there are some places that like, we're so lucky, you know, we
Speaker:are so lucky. And. Yeah, yeah. And like we, you know, depends on
Speaker:where you are in the world and how much access you have. But
Speaker:like, like for, for us in North America, like very
Speaker:easy. It is easy. It's. It's easy and it's. And
Speaker:so we don't need to over complicate it. So step one, like just drink more
Speaker:water. Like. Yes, drink more water. Like when was the last time you drank
Speaker:water? And I don't know, is this considered a hack? Like, I know sometimes like
Speaker:I drink tea. Tea is fabulous, especially this time
Speaker:of year. But make it herbal, right? Yeah. And also choose in it
Speaker:usually I have peppermint. I have peppermint tea. Yeah, I love it.
Speaker:Choose an organic peppermint, ideally. Right. Because when you're,
Speaker:when you're dealing with just regular teas, I want to be cognizant of the
Speaker:fact that there's. They're often sprayed. Right. And so there's toxins
Speaker:or some teas, they add sugar to them. Right. Which is not
Speaker:helpful. So, so choose a good one. Or you can make your own. It's very
Speaker:easy to dry your own leaves and make your own tea leaves.
Speaker:Yeah. So I like peppermint tea, especially like after I eat. So that's a
Speaker:good idea. Like maybe this summer I grow peppermint. Yes. Yeah, I
Speaker:love that. Yeah. So that's amazing. So
Speaker:another, another great little tea hack is
Speaker:ginger. And I love this this time of year because you're also in a really
Speaker:cold place. If you struggle with circulation, you feel cold.
Speaker:You take ginger root that you buy in the store, right? Ginger, and you just
Speaker:cut off a few pieces, throw it in some hot water. It tastes
Speaker:amazing. It's great for your gut. It will actually work to heal your gut.
Speaker:It's also cancer fighting. Plus it's warm, it will keep you warm. If you're
Speaker:going skiing. It will help with your circulation. So it's a really
Speaker:nice hack this time of year. Love it. I love that
Speaker:we're going to New York. I'm bringing ginger with me. I'm going to have it
Speaker:in hot water. I love it. I'm so scared it's going to be freezing. Can
Speaker:you bring ginger across the border? Ginger
Speaker:tea? I'll bring a ginger tea. Yeah. I'm gonna bring ginger tea. Already made. That
Speaker:I can bring. Good, I love that. So, I mean, so
Speaker:Simone, like, her links are all in the show notes and she
Speaker:has like, we didn't really even touch on hormones, but she does
Speaker:have a gift for those of us with hormones called the Hormone
Speaker:Smart workout guide. And it's a free gift for you to help balance your
Speaker:hormones. And you know, that's a whole nother, I
Speaker:guess, like series is hormones. And like,
Speaker:you know, us, us hormone havers,
Speaker:do we do men have hormones? Men have hormones,
Speaker:yeah. So everyone has hormones. Everyone has hormones. Just men, they
Speaker:don't talk about it as much because they don't go through menopause. Right. But here's
Speaker:the thing. When you live a healthy lifestyle, when you're doing all the things, you're
Speaker:going to sail through perimenopause, you're going to sail through menopause and you won't even
Speaker:notice that it's there. In fact, there's some cultures where they don't
Speaker:even have a name in their language. Menopause, because they don't have
Speaker:any symptoms. How amazing is that? Well, let's do that.
Speaker:Let's not have. Let's do that. You know what G.
Speaker:I mean, I have endometriosis at pmdd. Like
Speaker:I, I would love to have no symptoms
Speaker:of anything, but some of us are not as blessed.
Speaker:But hormones is really big, like managing hormones. So.
Speaker:Yeah. So, okay, so we touched on your journey with
Speaker:postpartum depression, weight gain. You know, you had, you know, you
Speaker:grew up in a house where your mom was very much like scale
Speaker:measuring. You went to university, put on the freshman
Speaker:15 times to
Speaker:a bit, you know, and like then you had the postpartum
Speaker:weight gain and depression and really made a big lifestyle change. And
Speaker:you've kept the weight off, you've balanced your health,
Speaker:you've navigated other hard things in life that didn't throw everything off,
Speaker:which is a huge testament to the work that you've put in. Because you're
Speaker:basing it on science. Right? Science is one of those things where, like,
Speaker:it is proven and yeah, it's proven. And like,
Speaker:I can tell you that she has built such a,
Speaker:such a cool program and community. Check out her links
Speaker:on social media and, like, just start following her. She's such a ray of
Speaker:sunshine. She, you know, has all sorts of fun tips and tricks and,
Speaker:you know, she has a gift, like a smart workout guide. So
Speaker:I love that. Well, I have to share. Just before this call, I actually
Speaker:got on, on a quick call with someone who's been following me
Speaker:on Facebook. She says she wants to do some private coaching.
Speaker:And we got on a call and I said, you know, how'd you find me?
Speaker:She goes, I don't know. I've just been following you for the last six months.
Speaker:And I lost 60 pounds. And, and
Speaker:she's just been doing. So all my free content is there. There's free recipes,
Speaker:there's free work, you know, if you are looking. And
Speaker:besides that, she's elevated her health in a whole different
Speaker:way. Right. So it's not just about the weight loss, but she was so
Speaker:excited that this is where she's at and now she, she's hit a plateau and
Speaker:she wants to do more. So we're going to look at those nuances. But really,
Speaker:like, I've got so much free content out there and so I would love
Speaker:those, listening to, explore that and, and start
Speaker:taking those steps to. Living a healthier lifestyle. And I just want to say, like,
Speaker:before we, you know, wrap up, you don't need to hit a rock bottom to
Speaker:work with Simone or to, like, follow her. Like, it wouldn't. Like, I think it's
Speaker:like, why not take a proactive approach. Like, we don't need to wait till, like,
Speaker:we hit that. Oh, God, I need to make big changes. Like, the only
Speaker:way to go is up. Like, I think now is a good time. Like, we
Speaker:are walking through life. We are thrown hard times
Speaker:and good times and temptations. And, you know, like,
Speaker:I. What I love is Simone on her, I think you still do this, but
Speaker:like, on your hard, on the workout days, like the hardest day, leg day, you're
Speaker:allowed treat and you always have a donut do you still do that? I love.
Speaker:Yes, I love. Yeah. And it's so funny because, like, so I have a
Speaker:trainer. And so today was leg day. And on leg day I'm always like, today's
Speaker:donut day. But like, I never have a. Like, I don't. Like, donuts are not
Speaker:my kryptonite, but sometimes it's milk duds. But it's like I had a really
Speaker:hard leg day, so if I eat a treat, it's okay. Yeah,
Speaker:well, you know, and that's, I think where people go wrong is that
Speaker:they, you know, they get on the latest fad diet and they're like, I'm gonna
Speaker:restrict myself. I'm. I'm not having anything and I'm gon
Speaker:deprive myself. And it only leads to failure, you
Speaker:know, because you feel like you are on a diet and that's the last
Speaker:thing it should be about. It should be about understanding your food, understanding how to
Speaker:fuel yourself properly, but having a strategy to have those treats and enjoy your life.
Speaker:You can absolutely enjoy our life and still see results. 100%. I
Speaker:love that. So, you know, what's a piece of
Speaker:advice you have? I know you've given tons of advice, but, like, what is a
Speaker:piece of advice you have for that mama who is now struggling in
Speaker:postpartum with weight gain and depression? Like, from one
Speaker:person who went through it to someone who is maybe in it?
Speaker:What advice do you have? Start now.
Speaker:Start now and stop making excuses, right?
Speaker:Because we're always like, oh, I'm going to start in the new year. I'm going
Speaker:to start after my son's birthday, after my mom's birthday, after the
Speaker:summer, right? Like, we're always making excuses and we're afraid of failure. Many
Speaker:times we don't commit to starting because we're actually
Speaker:afraid that we're going to fail. Right? Don't be afraid of
Speaker:failing. Start with something as small as water and realize that this is
Speaker:just habits. There's nothing wrong with you just because you
Speaker:have gained some weight or just because you are feeling the
Speaker:depression or anxiety. Nothing's wrong with you. These things, you know,
Speaker:obviously see a doctor when it comes to the postpartum and make sure you're
Speaker:getting the help that you need. But all the lifestyle
Speaker:pieces for your health, they're just habits, right? So you're not a
Speaker:good or bad person or flawed if you have fallen off
Speaker:track. It's just a habit that you can build. It takes 30 days of,
Speaker:you know, doing something day in and day out. For you to start creating
Speaker:that habit and 90 days of consistency for that habit to become a part of
Speaker:you, like brushing your teeth. So just do it. Start 30 days. It's going to
Speaker:start feeling easier after 30 days to do the thing right.
Speaker:90 days later, you're not even going to recognize your old self. You're going to
Speaker:be like, oh, my. Gosh, like, why wouldn't I get my workout in? Why wouldn't
Speaker:I drink my 3 liters of water today? Right? It's just who you are.
Speaker:So it's. It gets easier. But you got to start now and stop
Speaker:making excuses. I love it. Amazing. Well,
Speaker:Simone, you're amazing. Thank you for joining us. Read
Speaker:her story in our book, Resilient AF Stories of Resilience, Volume 2, out
Speaker:now on Amazon and probably various other
Speaker:places. TheGlobalResilienceProject.com will have all that information for
Speaker:you. And thank you for taking time to inspire our community.
Speaker:Thank you so much for having me, Blair. It is such an honor, honor, honor
Speaker:to be part of this book. It is a movement. Like, this is a movement
Speaker:that you've created. I'm so happy to be part of it because
Speaker:more people need to see that this is all possible. We
Speaker:are all resilient. It's all in us. But these stories are
Speaker:really inspiring and will be helped. So thank you so much. I love that one.
Speaker:And thank you for being a part of it. And thank you to you, the
Speaker:listeners, the viewers, the ones out there
Speaker:welcoming us into your ears, your eyes, your brain, getting
Speaker:inspired. You're resilient af. You can do
Speaker:this. You can get through the hard times. You are not alone. Like,
Speaker:start now, even listening to this podcast. You are starting
Speaker:now. And you will get through it. One foot in
Speaker:front of the other. My friends, we are that lighthouse in the
Speaker:storm. We are here to walk through the hard times with you and to celebrate
Speaker:in the good times. And just remember, you are
Speaker:resilient af.
