Ready to bust some myths?

Ever wondered if your tummy grumbles in meetings mean more than just hunger? Tune in and find out! This episode is packed with quirky stories, genuine moments, and a treasure trove of information that will leave you belly-laughing and belly-healthy.

Join your favorite dynamic duo, Samantha and Melissa, in this rip-roaring episode of Skirts Up where we delve into the wild, wacky, and wildly important world of gut health with the incredible Lindsay Little, a holistic health coach and gut health expert.

From a hilarious tale of a surprise birthday road trip gone awry (think three-hour detours and surprise towns) to laugh-out-loud bathroom fails, Samantha and Melissa never fail to keep things real and ridiculously funny. 😂✈️ But it’s not all fun and games; we dive deep into gut health myths and menopause mysteries as well!

Lindsay shares mind-blowing insights on how your digestive system can impact everything from hormonal balance to mental health.

Plus, get practical tips on easy meal prep for busy bees, and learn why not all probiotics are created equal.

Don’t miss out—hit play and get ready to laugh and learn with Samantha, Melissa, and Lindsay! 🎧

• Connect with Lindsay for any of your gut health questions: Full Bloom Acres
• Connect with us! The Skirts Up Show
• Join our Athena Toy Party led my Lauren Goyette, July 13th.

There is a chance to win a luxury boudoir session with our friends at One Soul! - But you have to attend either virtually or physically!! Bring your friends - RSVP here

Want to be a guest on Skirts Up!? Send Samantha Mandell a message on PodMatch, here: 

https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/skirtsup

Hey, you.

You're tuned in to the Skirts up show with Samantha and Melissa.

Join our mission to normalize failure, but still uncover the positives at every twist and turn.

Skirts up, but keep your panties on.

What's up?

Skirts Up Squad it is.

Samantha and Melissa.

How are you?

Here for another episode of Skirts Up.

Obviously.

Obviously.

Sorry, I forgot about the lag.

And so I was like, how are you?

It's worse today than usual.

Bummer.

That's okay.

You guys get us.

Well, I thought that I would just kind of start off with telling you guys the very, like, nothing goes to plan if I'm involved.

And so I just thought you guys would appreciate this story, so.

I cannot keep a secret to save my life.

I can't lie to save my life.

I'm just really bad at it.

And I planned this surprise birthday trip for Simon, and I'm really proud of myself because I did not tell a single person what the plan was, and I definitely did not spill to him.

Good job.

Thanks.

He was really impressed that, like, even as we're going, I still did not cave and tell him.

So he didn't even know, as we're on the road where we're going.

And was he driving or you?

Oh, no, I drove, and then I kept my phone tilted away.

I know, right?

Yes.

So the plan started.

His birthday was on a Friday.

Our plan started on a Saturday, and we were gonna go to this glow party with some friends.

But Saturday just kind of went crazy.

We ended up with this, like, he found this dog and brought it home.

And it was like this whole ordeal of, like, he better find someone to take it.

Like, we can't just leave this dog with.

Did you find another dog with my mom?

Yeah, we did, so.

But that was like.

It was a whole ordeal.

Okay.

I thought maybe I was gonna get a dog today.

Oh, if I would have known, I would have given it to you.

Okay, sorry to interrupt the story.

I'll come back later and talk about that.

Okay, let's see.

So the dog stressed me the hell out, so I'm already overstimulated.

And then the people that we were gonna meet at the glow party, they ended up canceling anyways.

And so I was like, hey, spontaneous change of plans.

We're gonna go a day early, and we're just gonna start going, but obviously we can't check into where we're going a day early, so I'm just gonna pick a spot on the way, and we'll just stop and have a free night.

And he goes, okay.

That sounds great.

Let's do it.

We pack up, get in the car, and we just start driving to.

I booked a random town on the way to where we were going.

I ended up settling with Cherokee, North Carolina, because it's one of my favorite.

It's like the casino there, and it's a cute town.

Oh, really?

So that was the plan, is.

I was like, man, he's always talking about casinos.

So let's just.

I think this.

This is on the way.

Let's just stop here for the night.

We can go check out the casino.

We did not check out the casino.

I was too tired, and I felt really bad.

But.

And second of all, I thought Cherokee was in Tennessee, so I thought we were.

I thought we were going to Tennessee, so.

Surprise.

Okay.

Surprise for both of you.

So we're at dinner that night.

Yes, we're.

We're at dinner that night.

And he goes, all right, so do we need to make some plans for tomorrow?

Like, how far away are we from our destination?

I go, oh, that's a.

That's a good thought.

I should probably look.

I took us through three hours in the wrong direction.

Like, opposite direction.

Oh, so you were more like six or five out, five or six hours away now?

Well, I went three hours in a different direction, and then that direction was three hours away from where we were going.

So technically.

Technically.

Well, actually, no, our actual destination was five hours away.

And so, yeah, it took us three hours.

You added a couple hours for sure.

Oh, for sure.

I mean, if we wouldn't have stayed the night, like, that would have been fucking insane.

You're like, we're just gonna take the scenic route.

Okay, okay, okay.

But it gets better.

It gets better.

So.

So we make it to the town of where we're going, Dunlap, Tennessee.

We.

We get there, and then I'm like, oh, we have, like, two hours to kill before check in time.

So let's go to this brewery.

And so then we go to this brewery for about an hour, and then I'm like, oh, there's this.

A Walmart that we gotta stop at on our way in.

So time to go do that.

Gotta find all the Walmarts on the road trip.

And I map that out, and then I.

We're leaving Walmart, and we're like, five minutes away from the destination.

And so I blindfold him and I go, you can't know where we're going.

Just in case there's any signs I don't want you to see.

Okay.

So I blindfolded him and And I'm driving through this neighborhood in the middle of nowhere, and I'm getting frustrated because I've been driving through this neighborhood for 10 minutes, and I cannot find what we're supposed to go.

And so now I'm flustered and frustrated.

And he goes, well, can I please take the blindfold off so I can try and help you?

And I was like, sure.

We're in the middle of nowhere.

Go ahead.

So he takes the blindfold off.

He's like, Jesus.

Like, are we in deliverance?

Like, where?

Where do you have us?

I, like, I don't know.

I followed the map, and so I give him the map, and he's looking at.

He's like, Samantha, we're 25 minutes away from the right neighborhood.

Like, you thought you were in the right place.

You were, like, trying to find house numbers and stuff.

That's so funny.

Yeah, but you got there, and I.

Did wasn't even in the right neighborhood.

So, yeah, he had to navigate us to the surprise place.

And then I was so mad when we got there.

I was like, surprise.

You know, where?

Here's the thing.

Think of it this way.

It was probably a great birthday present for him because men love to be right.

Yes, there's that.

And don't get me wrong, the win is.

Is that it was a fantastic trip.

Like, we had hours in the car, and we just were talking and getting to.

I mean, not saying, like, getting to Reno, like each other, but talking and deeper level talk, like, the whole way and just reconnecting.

And that was really nice.

We had a really fun night, even though we didn't make it to the casino in Cherokee.

And then we had a blast when we finally made it to the Airbnb and laughed about it for.

We're still laughing about it.

So it was memorable.

So something really sweet that Brett used to say to me whenever I took a wrong turn or something, because let's be clear, you and I are very similar in the way that if we're talking to somebody, we're just gonna keep on driving right past our destination.

And who would be like, I wish.

I could say that.

That's a new thing.

No, I could tell you stories and stories.

Courtney.

Going.

Name.

All right, continue.

Oh, yeah.

When I was a teenager, I was taking my friend to visit the Great Salt Lake, which was like 20 minutes away.

I drove her to Nevada.

It was myself.

It was before cell phones.

My dad was like, where are you guys?

Because I called him when we got there.

I was like, my mom and dad are going to be so worried.

They're going to be so mad.

And they weren't.

They were just laughing hysterically.

Oh, my God, I can't.

And this is why we host together.

It's so true.

But one cute thing Brett used to say to me was, it's okay.

It just gives me more time in the car to spend with you.

Aw, what a fucker.

What happened?

I know, I know.

But I thought that was cute because you and Simon were, like, using that time to.

So that's the success, right?

It is.

That's really sweet.

Yeah.

We were still able to have a great time, and now it's like a really funny story.

I just laugh that, like, I just.

I just am geography geographically challenged.

Is that the word?

Yes, in all senses of the word.

Even.

Even trying to say the word.

Oh, my God, I love you.

Do you have a fail?

I took up a lot of time.

No, you're totally good.

My fail is going to be pretty short.

My fail is literally that I always wait to the last minute to go to the hair salon, and so I wanted to go and spend.

Get my hair done with.

Was it Kayla?

Is that her name?

At Aveda?

Oh, yeah.

Did you see Kayla?

Okay, yes, it's.

Wait, what'd you call her?

Kayla.

Kayla Jones.

Oh, I thought you said cra.

I thought you said crazy Kayla.

I do not call her crazy.

She is.

She is.

And she's, like, super, like, normal and, like, down to earth and smart and not ditzy like me.

But anyway, if I called in time, because she's booked out all the time, right?

So, yes, I didn't call her in time.

Yeah, I didn't call her in time.

And so it was okay.

This is how bad I did not.

Just not in time.

I called the day that I wanted an appointment.

Melissa.

I know every time I do that, I get stuck with, like, somebody that's, you know, got an availability.

We'll just say it like that.

She cut my hair and.

Okay, the haircut's okay.

It's not bad.

It's not exactly what I asked for, but I'm.

I can live with it.

But what was killing me is how she styled it.

So it's like super short, just below the ears.

And then she gave me bangs.

I wanted the bangs to be a little more swoopy and kind of like off to the side and, like, layered.

But she gave me straight cut bangs.

Okay, fine.

I can work with it.

But when she styled me, she styled me.

She curled everything under.

I freaking looked exactly like Lord farquaad Even my bangs were curled under and they were really short on my forehead and the rest was like a paint way.

It was like straight and then curled.

In like, really, like, high.

And it was hilarious.

And then I had you walk up.

To Kayla and be like, look at this beautiful hair.

She's already gone, actually.

But I did.

So Caleb would have been like, yeah, no, sit down.

Well, here's.

She.

She probably would have.

But here's the other thing.

The haircut isn't.

Is fine.

Whatever.

It's not awful.

However, though, the next day I had my photo shoot with one Soul Photography.

And so, like, I myself didn't know how to style it and the lady there didn't either.

And so that's kind of.

Yeah, she.

I had to like, restyle it a little bit myself and I had to ask her to redo it because she kind of made me look like an old lady from the 80s that has her hair, like, super, like, ratted up, but.

But like kind of bowl cut style.

Yeah.

So it was a fun couple days with my hair.

And it was because I didn't call ahead.

So what.

What's the success from this?

I did learn how to speak up for myself because when I was at the photo shoot, she styled it that way and I was like, this isn't me.

I'm so sorry.

Can we do it more like this?

So I feel like I had a lesson in, like, using my words to say what I want in a.

In a polite way, but that's all.

And maybe that's my head.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Sorry.

That's.

Just saying you're, you know.

Yeah.

That could be the other success thing that I learned.

But why would I do that?

I.

You need to get some of the hair wax, like hair paste things, and I bet it would look really good to, like, piece it out with.

Oh, yeah, you're right.

Actually, I used to have some.

I wonder if I can find it.

You need to play with it.

I love it.

Today we are sharing with you guys our friend Lindsay Little.

She is the gut health expert.

She specifically helps women after 40 and menopausal stage handle all the negative side effects of menopause and especially, like, gut problems that we all have pretty much all of us all the time.

And we just think it's normal when it's not normal.

Yeah.

And what.

What's.

What we didn't talk about in the episode that I wanted to point out is that she also has a farm that her services as a gut health coach all fund her animal Rehabilitation farm called.

We did in lamb's acreage.

Talk about that.

That's amazing.

We just talked.

Yes.

So that's literally why she.

I'm not literally why she does what she does, because she does obviously help women and coaches women to be a healthier, you know, version that they want to be.

But, yeah, all the money that she makes from her services, it goes towards the animals, and she's really proud of that.

And obviously her website will be attached below, but, yeah.

Okay.

Okay.

Wow.

Thank you, Sam.

I'm so glad that you remembered to say that.

I.

So when we met with her, I wasn't really sure what to expect because it doesn't sound that interesting to talk gut health, but at the same time, it's like, I don't know.

Yeah, let's.

Let's better our bodies and ourselves, and that's what we're about.

But she was awesome.

She was so interesting.

Yeah.

So.

Yep.

And it's funny that you say that, because when I'm trying to make you laugh for photos, all I have to do is say poop and you start cracking up.

But anyways, here she is.

All right, skirt up.

Squad.

Today we have with us Lindsay Little.

She is a holistic health coach and runs the business Full Bloom Acres Wellness.

She reached out to us about being interested in being a guest on our show, which was really exciting.

So exciting.

So, of course, we had to have her on, and especially because what she specializes in.

We've had questions.

Yeah.

People have asked us questions.

And you.

Yeah.

So it was like, perfect timing.

It just kind of meshed.

So here she is.

Welcome.

Welcome.

Hello.

Thank you so much for having me.

I'm so excited to be here and to talk to everyone listening today.

Well, we are excited for everything that we have to learn.

Yeah.

So I actually.

First thing, the art behind you seems to be kind of like a little hint as to some of the things that you cover.

You want to tell us a little bit about yourself and what the wellness means in your business title?

Absolutely.

Yeah.

So, again, my name is Lindsay Little.

I'm the owner and founder of Full Blue Makers Wellness, which is a virtual health coaching practice.

And I.

I do it all.

You know, that's.

That's my business that focuses on health coaching, but I love talking to people and educating people as well.

And really, my focus is on helping women over 40 resolve embarrassing, annoying, painful, all those fun things about digestive issues.

And I also lump weight loss and hormonal balancing in there too.

And I really focus on the natural side of Things.

So how can we work with your body, work with food, work with lifestyle modifications and stress management, things like that?

Instead of just putting a band aid on those symptoms, we really work to get to what is the root cause.

What are we, you know, what's causing all of those symptoms, rather than just, well, my tummy hurts.

So I'll take Tom, which works, you know, for a while, but there are consequences to that, so I'm sure we can get into more of that too.

Yeah.

Before we dive into the Mythbusters, how did you become knowledgeable on all these topics that we're going to talk about today?

Yeah, like so many people in the alternative health field, it really came from my own story.

And I'll give you kind of a brief recap of it.

I.

Looking back, I really think I just struggled with digestive issues for as long as I can remember.

So from when I was a really little kid, but I didn't put it all together until probably about 10 years ago is where I kind of hit, you know, rock bottom.

We'll call it, like my break breakthrough moment that this is not normal.

Something needs to change.

I can't keep living like this.

And I ended up making an appointment with my doctor.

You know, you go in there, rattle off all your symptoms, all the things that are bugging you.

And her advice to me was, drink some water and get some sleep.

Great.

Which that is the worst advice you can give to someone who came to you because she can't sleep.

Like, if I knew how to do that, I wouldn't be here.

Right.

So that kind of lit a fire under me.

She also recommended three pretty heavy duty prescription medications, even though she just had told me.

She pulled up my lab work, said I'm perfectly healthy.

So there is a big disconnect there, like, what are we doing here?

So it lit a fire under me to try to figure out what was happening.

And I just set off on my own discovery.

Of all the courses, all the self help books, all the supplements, it gave.

Me a little relief.

I worked with a couple different practitioners.

I found a really amazing holistic chiropractor who was very supportive and just helped me.

Chiropractor?

Yeah.

Helped with digestive issues.

Yeah.

She did a lot with healing, like the healing arts.

Healing.

Energetic healing, too.

So I had no idea about that when I contacted her.

So it was like this happy accident.

So.

Okay.

It's amazing when you kind of branch out, what different practitioners can really help you with.

Even if it's not obvious.

You would.

You wouldn't think that a chiropractor could do that.

So it's right.

It's kind of cool.

It's kind of cool.

A lot of chiropractors are going to look at at least some of the ones that I've been to in the past that do have that holistic side to them.

They're going to look at like the whole body as a system rather than just like, hey, I'm a doctor, I focus on the heart or I learned about the feet.

So it's just kind of interesting.

I'm not saying that because there are people who will go to their chiropractor for maybe things that they might, should maybe see some.

Yeah, I'm not gonna lie.

I thought you go to a chiropractor and then they all just look at you and go, pop, pop, crack, crack.

And then you're out the door.

And a lot of them do.

Oh, it stops there.

But those holistic minded ones, it's kind of the chiropractic field from my understanding.

I'm not a chiropractor, so I'm just speaking from my own experience.

But it kind of opens the door to a lot of other alternative therapies, like food and like energetic healing and just all these other things.

It's kind of that gate, a gateway.

It was the gateway for me to getting into energy work about 15 years ago.

Seeing a chiropractor.

Yeah, that's amazing.

Actually you say that.

Oh, that's very cool.

So, yeah, that, I mean, that chiropractor did help me a lot, but it just wasn't, I didn't, I wasn't all the way there.

Like, I still wasn't feeling myself.

So.

So it was another stepping stone.

Yeah, it was a stepping stone.

I, I ended up going to grad school, which seems kind of an overreaction to figuring it out, but I, you know, through that I accidentally became a health coach.

I got my master's degree in holistic nutrition.

Oh.

Again, it, it helped a little bit.

It was a stepping stone.

And then after grad school, once I started actually opening my health coaching practice and working with women, I was noticing they, they were all saying they had digestive issues.

Not right away, but as we were talking about it, like, oh, it's not normal to go to the bathroom once a week.

No.

So once we start talking about it, the, like the dots start to connect and that really.

I stumbled upon a podcast and it introduced me to gut health and it was like the clouds parted and everything was like very, very clear to Me.

That was my.

The key for me, and that's been the key, you know, for all the women that I've helped.

Really digging into that.

Gut health.

Interesting.

All right.

Wow.

So you're saying.

Are you kind of saying, like, gut health is, like, the center of what you do?

Yeah.

And then it kind of affects other things, too.

It sounds like.

Yeah, yeah.

And I mean, if you ask any practitioner, and they're going to tell you, you know, like a chiropractor will tell you.

It's chiropractic.

That is the basis for health, you know.

Okay.

Cardiologists, they'll say the heart is.

So I really think digestion is at the heart of it, because if you're not digesting your food well, you are going to be tired.

You're going to have really weird hormonal issues.

You might have food allergies.

You might be super crabby, you know, super moody all the time.

And those things seem normal, you know, quote unquote normal from what we're told.

But a lot of times, it comes back to the food.

So for me, it makes sense.

Like, let's tackle the food piece, because that's.

No, you're right.

Yeah.

It's so interesting because, like, we think.

I think of food, and I think of, like, oh, stuff that makes me feel happy and good and Right.

You know, and then.

But the truth is, like, none of, like, we have to have food.

That is literally how we get our energy for life.

Yes.

And so it's like, how do we sometimes.

It's so easy to sometimes forget how important it is, but when you put it that way, it's like, oh, yeah, maybe we should look at it.

And it does make sense, because I feel like we forget that there's so many organs in our body that all have small, different parts in the digestive.

And so in my head, I kind of see, like, all the organs as, like, little construction workers.

And so, like, we can't see them, but they're, like, sitting there doing their job.

And so, yeah, it would be tiring if they're, like, having to overwork.

Yeah.

And, you know, still unable to get the job done.

Just like us as humans.

Yeah.

So, yeah, I'm excited to learn some more about this.

Do we want to go into some Mythbusters?

Common.

Common.

Yeah.

Love it.

All right.

All right.

So common myths.

Let's see if we can bust them.

Yeah.

Let's see.

Are we busters?

I love it.

I love that.

Got busy.

Busters.

Okay.

Oh, I cracked myself up.

Okay.

I'M sorry, I'm done.

Okay, let's start.

Well, I kind of mentioned this before.

This will be a multiple choice question.

How many times should you be going?

Number two a day, I think.

Okay, I'm gonna write down my number.

I'm not gonna show it to Sam, and then I'm gonna.

No, just kidding.

I'm taking this way too competitively and seriously rude.

How many times?

You said a week?

A day.

A day.

A day.

Oh, or a week.

I don't know which.

I mean, you should be going.

I think you're supposed to be going, oh, okay, a week.

I was thinking twice a day.

Twice a day.

I think once a day.

So I don't know.

Yeah, so definitely once a day is going to be the answer.

Melissa Blank.

A little.

I will say if for people who eat primarily a plant based diet or vegan people who eat a lot of fiber, they might go two or three times a day.

And that's totally normal for them because the more fiber you eat, the more you're gonna go.

Okay, so if you're listening and you're only going once a week, that's, you know, that's a red flag.

Like, we need to do something about that.

We need to get things moving now.

What if you're going once a week?

Like, then it's just all good.

Or is it like only a specific, like, look or type?

What do you mean?

Like, what if you go once a day, but it's like explosive diarrhea like that, that's probably not normal.

Oh, once a day.

Okay, got you.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So that's.

And that's a great question.

That's the follow up question, right?

Oh, so we really.

There's actually, it's called a Bristol stool chart and it's actually a chart that we use.

And this is a like widely known thing.

I did not make this up.

I should probably have that on my wall as well.

But it shows, you know, different stool types.

So basically, what does your hoop look like?

And really what we're going for is going to be kind of a sausage like hoop, kind of an S shape.

We want it formed but not hard.

We want to be able to sit down, go to the bathroom, get up, go about our day.

Like, it should take like a minute.

Ordeal.

Yeah, you should not have to strain.

You shouldn't have to, like push really hard.

You shouldn't have to be constantly going to the bathroom, like for diarrhea, you know, you shouldn't go through a roll of toilet paper, you know, wiping and Everything, it should just be very easy.

Very, you know, and you can even train your body.

You know, kind of like when you potty train kids.

You teach your body.

Okay, it's 6:00am Just woke up.

I'm gonna have a glass of water and we're going to poop.

And you can train your body to do that.

Yeah.

And so we want.

It's kind of the Goldilock locks situation.

We want it formed.

We don't want it too hard, we don't want it too soft.

When it's soft, like the explosive diarrhea, you know, that's, that's a sign things are moving too quickly through us and we need to slow it down.

If it's hard, that means, you know, things.

We need to speed it up a little bit.

That's a general rule of thumb.

You can have both.

So you can be constipated and also have diarrhea at the same time, which is super fun feeling.

That sounds really complicated.

Not fun.

And it, it is complicated.

And that's why we have those, you know, charts and we have things to base it off of.

But by looking, like getting to know what's in the toilet, you know, it sounds weird, but that's.

We can make such a good, good judge of when to, you know, seek care, seek, you know, medical advice or whatever.

Do you ask people for a photo of their.

No, I don't.

No.

I have had people send them to me.

I always tell them, nope, this is why we have a chart.

Dude, people have shown me their shoes.

I was just gonna say, I feel like this is coming from a place of.

She's seen photos.

Okay, so you guys know that I.

Don'T talk to my mother in law anymore because of.

And she went through this like, phase where she was like, oh, you take this supplement and then worms come out of your poop.

And so she was literally showing us photos of poop and these worms.

And I don't even know.

Like, I don't know.

It was weird.

I was like, I don't.

Why am I looking at your poop?

Anyway, so we got one myth.

Yeah.

I'm one.

You're zero.

I am.

Okay.

I was a sometimes, right?

Yes.

Vegans.

There you go.

Yes.

Perfect fiber.

Fine.

Both get a point.

Okay, are we keeping score or keeping score?

100, obviously.

Okay, let's see.

Number one or number two, which form of exercise is better for weight loss?

Cardio or strength training?

Strength.

Which is better for weight loss.

Yeah.

I mean, I only know because you told me, but I would Say cardio.

So I'll be honest.

Is it cardio?

No, strength training.

Oh, okay.

Okay.

I was very confused.

Okay, got you.

Yeah, we talked about that before, so.

Yeah, you the answer.

Okay, got you.

So one to two.

Is that what we decided?

We can say one and a half if you want to be honest.

Fine.

Yes, I like it.

Okay.

Okay.

So, yeah, I just know that, like in the long run, you know, when you build strength, that's also going to continuously burn calories, right?

Yeah, yeah.

What else?

Yeah.

And you know, cardio can be really it if we stick with kind of the gut health side of it.

Cardio can be very taxing on your digestive system as well.

So.

And that's where I see a lot of women.

Through no fault of your own.

I was in that boat too.

I thought, you want to lose weight, it's cardio.

I have to bust my butt in the gym every day, running or on the elliptical or whatever.

And that causes so much stress to your gut.

And especially this high, the high interval, intense, high intensity interval training.

There we go.

The hiit workouts, those can be very hard if you're stressed.

If you have anxiety, it can contribute to it, which with anxiety, stress, you're going to likely have digestive issues too.

So that's where you know from a weight loss standpoint.

Strength training is going to be key because we're building muscle.

Muscle building happens when you strength train as well as bone building.

We want that muscle.

The more muscle we can have, the more weight we're going to lose.

And, you know, that's really important, especially as we age.

So what does a strength, a healthy strength routine look like?

Like, are we talking about you have to have weights and be doing like some sort of thing with weights?

Or is this like, you could use just your body?

Like I used to just use my body and do things like, like leg curls and then like twists and then.

That'S how like I used to strength resistance too.

That's still strength.

Yeah, it basically, it's.

It can be body weight.

It can be actual dumbbells.

It could be those resistant bands.

Those are really great too, especially for low impact or, you know, if you have sore joints at all.

But yeah, that's what we're talking about because we're.

Anytime you put pressure, you want to be putting pressure on your muscles.

Put pressure on your, your skeletal system, your bones.

That will signal your muscles and your bones to actually break down and then build up.

That's what exercise is actually doing.

That's what strength Training is actually doing cardio is amazing for your heart and for endurance.

Not for my heart.

It makes me feel awful.

Cardio is not my favorite.

I will say I'd prefer to be lifting weights for sure.

Yeah, that makes sense.

I mean, I have a follow up question, but I have a feeling it's going to be part of your Mythbusters.

Should we move on?

Yeah.

Next question.

We got to see if I win.

Okay, let's do.

Should everyone be taking probiotics?

Yes.

I'm going to say no because I just don't like these blanket statements.

Yeah, that.

I would totally agree with that too.

Okay.

Yeah.

Damn it, I'm winning.

I'll try not to rub into your face.

Looks like I'm buying coffee in the future.

So.

Yeah, I mean, just a real quick reason for that.

I think, Melissa, you're exactly right.

Like, those blanket statements are very hard and even we want.

So probiotics.

Let me say this.

Probiotics are the living organisms.

They're the living gut bugs, whether it's in pill form or food form or when they're actually down in your colon.

So that's just the name we give them.

So when you're taking a supplement, you're.

They.

A lot of them are not, but they should be an actual living.

Usually they're like some weird freeze dried or whatever.

I don't exactly know the problem.

I actually never thought of that.

That's gross.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's kind of a weird, weird situation.

Yogurt and stuff.

Yeah, exactly.

Or kombucha.

Yes.

So if you're not.

I always tell people, if you're not going to be eating the yogurt with the probiotics in there with the, you know, living stuff or the kombucha or, you know, other probiotic rich foods, then a supplement is probably a good idea because we need to be getting those.

Those good gut bugs in us.

Okay.

I don't think I eat anything with probiotics.

A lot of the fur.

So fermented food.

So pickles.

I was gonna say.

Yeah.

Things like that.

I don't think she's allowed to have pickles.

I'm not allowed to have pickles in the house.

That is correct.

Simon hates them.

My husband has a phobia.

I don't know why.

He probably needs therapy.

It's fine.

Fine.

Don't we all?

Yeah, we could all probably benefit from that.

Right?

So.

Okay.

So we kind of.

We.

We.

I guess you just.

That's when we come and meet with someone like you to kind of find out, hey, what does your diet consist of and what do we need to add more or less of?

Oh, I kind of see how these questions are probably like the order that you go in to kind of figure out what someone needs.

Yes.

Yeah, you're exactly right.

And that's.

That's a big part of what I do, is ask people these questions to kind of draw out their answers.

And it.

Nutrition really, in my opinion, needs to be individualized because we're all different.

So what.

What's healthy, you know, quote unquote healthy for me might not be the same for both of you.

And even between the two of you, you might need a very, like, a vastly different approach based on your situation and your goals to your health goals.

Yeah.

I feel like you also hinted at our age.

Yeah, absolutely.

Things are definitely going to change, especially.

Right?

Yeah, especially when we're getting into the menopause years.

I mean, it's each stage of life.

You can change what you need, and even from year to year, depending, you know, if you're going very stressful time, your gut bugs are going to change.

So you might need some different types of support.

Any other myths that I can try and catch up on?

She's running out.

I know.

I'm trying to think where I could go on with this, but.

No, it's fine.

I lose.

Now you got a big bruise.

I'm just kidding.

I don't feel like I won.

I was going to give you a point, too.

I was gonna say you should get a point for catching on that this is the stuff she has to ask.

Her clients, I think.

So let's give her.

That was good.

Yeah.

Our headphones smashed.

Now we're like rams.

Like, okay, all right, moving on.

Sorry, we're weird.

Love it.

Oh, all right.

So what?

We met and we had our pre discussion.

We talked about how podcasts and, like, what we try to do is we try to have conversations that people don't usually have.

And then I think I told you how awkward and weird it was when I had to have a colonoscopy, and I was like, who has a colonoscopy at 30 and then come to find out like it's normal.

And you had mentioned that even, you know, when you're sitting in a meeting and your stomach starts making gurgling noises, like that means something.

Mine are loud.

Yeah.

Can be embarrassing.

And I used to be like, oh, no.

Everyone thinks I'm over here about to fart or farting.

And then I'm like, oh, it's Just my stomach.

And then they laugh.

Oh, you're just hungry.

And then I'm like, okay.

I feel like that's what I assume it means.

Yeah.

But it's not.

It's just weird noises.

Yeah.

And sometimes, of course, it is hunger.

You know that.

That tummy growling kind of thing can, you know, as a sign your body's telling you, hey, I need food, I need fuel.

Right.

Because that's food again, is fuel for your body.

But yeah, I mean, that gurgling, it's really common.

It's very embarrassing.

You know, I've been there in meetings and.

Or even, you know, virtual meetings.

And all of a sudden my stomach starts kind of going crazy.

And, you know, it's.

Again, it's kind of that sign like something's up, we need to dig a little deeper.

And I just did a daze.

Okay.

Sorry.

You might turn cue.

Yeah.

What does it mean?

So a lot of times it just.

It could mean different things.

It could be your body just digesting food.

It could be.

Yeah.

Like you're trying to pass gas.

Like it's trying to move something.

So you're kind of.

Interesting fact.

Your digestive tract.

So from your mouth all the way out the other end, it's a tube.

So that food isn't actually in your body.

It's in this tube moving along.

And your muscles move the food through your body.

So as it's like squeezing, it squeezes, it turns food, it kind of squeezes, squishes it.

Those are part of the.

The digestive processes that your body does.

So those things, it can make noise sometimes.

It can be, you know, water kind of sloshing around in there can be things like that.

It can also be what I found.

It's.

I think it's kind of that imbalance in your gut.

Gut bugs.

So your good guys versus your bad guys.

And what I found really helps.

My.

My dad actually also suffered from that.

Like, he had a very gurgly stomach all the time.

And we started him just eating fermented.

I think he liked the fermented carrots or something.

So a pickle, basically.

But version.

Okay.

And he was eating that.

So he would just have a spoonful of that with every meal.

And it calmed it down so.

So much.

Really.

Yeah.

And again, those.

Those carrots, because they're fermented, they have those probiotics.

They're helping to balance those good guys down in your digestive system.

Cool.

So I would try that and see.

Give that a whirl.

I do like pickles is pickles just regular dill pickles.

Is that okay?

Yeah, you just want to just look at the label to see what's added to them, because a lot of brands are going to add.

There are some preservatives, preservatives that go in there sometimes.

There's a lot of sugar.

There's some things that you just don't necessarily want that's kind of counterproductive to what you're doing.

So, you know, if you can do your own or know someone that makes their own, I think homemade is.

They are good.

My mom used to can dill pickles.

Interesting.

Yummy.

So what have you found?

This goes to, I think, what a lot of our listeners are really interested about.

What have you found?

Gut health, the link between gut health and menopause.

Yeah, that's a great question.

So what I'm seeing and what.

So in my practice, what I'm kind of seeing, as well as what's kind of been confirmed with other practitioners that I'm, you know, in contact with and just seeing it on a general stage, I really think it goes back to if you're not digesting your food well, you are going to potentially have hormonal imbalances.

And as we head into menopause, Right, that's a huge hormonal change.

You know, estrogen goes wonky.

You know, testosterone can go wonky.

So we really, we don't want to be contributing to that anymore than what the body's already doing as we're moving from those childbearing years into the next phase.

So it's going to.

Those hormone fluctuations will happen regardless.

But if we're not digesting our food, if our gut bugs are out of balance, it kind of makes things worse in a lot of cases.

So it goes back to, you know, people come.

I talk to a lot of women.

They're like, my, my hormones are out of balance.

My doctor won't help me.

I'm like, well, how do you know that?

First of all, like, let's, let's talk.

Did your doctor run hormonal tests?

Like, did they do any.

That's what I was about to ask.

If you work in conjunction with doctors and getting like a panel.

Yeah, and sometimes I do.

I do.

I am able to actually order functional lab work through my practice as well.

Okay, nice.

Facilitate that if that's something someone wants.

So I can't diagnose.

I'm not a doctor, but I can help you read the test and help find ways to nutritionally support your body that way.

So that's what I can do with those types of tests.

But what I find is many, many doctors.

Again, there are, of course, exceptions.

There are amazing doctors out there, but for the most part, they either don't want to run a hormone panel or they say they're not effective, or they just run the very basic one which will only show an estrogen level without taking into account, like, where it is in their cycle that they're testing.

Your estrogen level's different, you know, based on where it is throughout the month.

So if you're testing at the beginning of the month, it's going to be a little bit different than at the end of the month.

That's a good point.

Yeah, yeah.

So are we talking about like the literal calendar month?

Are we just talking about our personal.

Like our flow and your cycle?

Yeah, okay.

Your month, whatever Your.

Okay, just wanted to clarify.

No, that's a good question.

That's a great clarifying question.

For sure.

For sure.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So generally it's going to be about your 28 or so days.

There it is.

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

So, yeah, so there is that big connection.

And what I've seen is as we start to really support the gut, so I'll have people come to me with constipation, diarrhea, you know, food sensitivities, things like that.

So we work on supporting the gut.

We find the foods that they're reacting to, we help optimize their digestion.

So let's absorb as many of those nutrients as we can.

And through that practice, they start to see things like headaches will start to diminish or go away altogether, like those hormonal headaches.

They'll see things like, I worked with one client, her night sweats and hot flashes almost disappeared after we worked on her gut.

And that just.

It's such a big connection.

It's such a big thing.

You know, if.

If we can tackle hot flashes.

You know how many women are struggling with that?

Yeah, I'm not even in menopause yet, and I've like, my doctors have checked my medicine and they're like, no, it's not a side effect.

But like, I'm a cold person, like, and I'm sweating at night, like, even while I'm cold, and I'm like, I'm getting tired of this.

Like, the sheets are all wet.

But I guess maybe that is health or gut related.

It could be gut related.

It could also be blood sugar related.

So, okay, about.

It's estimated that about 90 of us actually have blood sugar control issues.

And don't even know it.

I can believe that.

That interesting.

Yeah.

How do you figure this all out?

From reading, from researching.

But like, so does that mean what I'm hearing is dollar signs?

Because it's like you need this panel to check hormones, you need this to check this level.

You need help processing what this means and how to go forward.

Like that sounds intimidating to me.

Yeah, it would be to do it that way for sure.

But the really nice thing is that there are so many things that you could do for free to just get started kind of testing yourself in a way.

So, yes, testing, like hormonal testing will be great.

You'll get the data.

I love having data.

I love, you know, I do all the tests myself because I just love the D.

But a lot of my clients don't either.

Don't want to, can't afford to, or just it seems out of reach.

So we'll do things like, okay, let's.

Let's focus on eliminating our trigger foods, you know, quote, unquote, trigger foods.

So if you think you're reacting to like sugar, so you eat, you're craving sugar all the time, but when you eat it, you get really bloated, you can't sleep at night, things like that.

Let's cut out the sugar and see how you feel.

So that's a form of doing an elimination diet, if that's familiar.

Sounds a little familiar to you.

Yeah, I was actually wondering if that was maybe something like I've known other wellness coaches in the past, and that's pretty much where they have most of them that I know have started or will start.

Like, you have to just.

I don't even know because I haven't done it myself.

I never made it through.

But like, you just eliminate everything and you slowly add things back in.

Because otherwise how are you to know what is causing issues to your body?

Right, Exactly.

Yeah, yeah.

And there are very simple ways to do it rather than a full out elimination diet.

But, you know, like I said, with the sugar, for example, we could use that, like, let's cut out the sugar, the added sugar.

So stop with the sweet, like putting sugar in your coffee, stop eating the cookies, things like that.

Let's just cut it out.

And yeah, that's, that's challenging in itself.

Right.

Especially like I'm a huge sweet tooth, so that, you know, that can get me sometimes too.

But if we cut that out and then start to feel better, then we know we're on the right track.

And that's what I, That's I think the easier way to do things rather than, you know, going straight to testing all the time.

So, yeah, I.

There are a lot of things that we can do.

Another thing, you know, if I.

If I work with someone who doesn't like vegetables, doesn't like fruit, you know, or doesn't eat a lot of those things, I'll have them, you know, then that's a cue to me, you know, red flag that they're not eating a lot of fiber, because fiber is only found in fruits, vegetables, plants.

Okay?

So any plant food is going to have fiber.

Animal products.

So meat, dairy, doesn't have fiber in it unless it's added back in some way in that manufacturing process.

But plants, you know, the animal, the cow eats the grass to get the fiber.

Like, it's a.

It makes sense when we think about it.

But, you know, it's one of those things we're not.

We're not taught.

So how do we eat that?

So, yeah, I would challenge a person like that to, let's start eating more plants.

Let's just pick.

I use what I call a plant plant tracker and have them count plants.

How many different plants do you eat in one week?

And what I'm doing is I'm helping them eat more fiber.

But if I tell you, you know, Melissa, I want you to eat 15 grams of fiber this week.

How boring.

It sounds daunting.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Also, like, I have to count.

I have to look at the back of the package, whatever you're doing.

Granted, I said package, but she's probably thinking, no, you're supposed to be eating whole foods.

Oops.

Well, everyone has a starting point, though, right?

Okay.

Okay.

Thank you.

Yeah.

I have to meet you where you're at.

So, you know, I wouldn't come in and say, you know, Melissa, I need you eating 50 grams of fiber, and you're eating seven in a day.

Yeah.

You would blow up like a balloon.

Right?

Like, you would have some serious cramping going on.

Your body would not respond well.

Okay.

So we would start small.

And that's where counting plants is a lot more fun than counting fiber.

And it's.

I like that.

Delicious.

Eat.

You know, you get to play around with it.

And if you go.

And I'm saying, so different plants.

So if you eat blueberries every day, that's one plant.

But, you know, blueberries, strawberries, or raspberries, those would be three different plants.

Okay.

Because they have a different makeup of fiber in there.

Got you.

So I'm seeing how this could be fun.

I would Need.

Yeah.

She's like, I want the fence.

No.

Okay.

Honestly, my brain is like, I need a chart of all the fruits and a chart of all the vegetables.

And then, like, let me just sit here and be like, oh, I could eat this fruit and this fruit on this day of the week.

And then you're.

Yeah, that makes sense.

You're.

You're a planner.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And I think it's kind of interesting.

So I'll have people do that.

You know, if.

If we're doing that, I would say, you know, week one, here's.

Here's the.

I have a little chart.

It's just a blank chart.

You know, write down the name of the plant that you eat.

So here's your chart.

Don't change anything.

Let's just see how many right now, how many plants you're eating this week.

Whether it's three, whether it's 13, it doesn't matter.

But we need a starting point, so don't change anything right away.

Let's just see where we're starting from.

Okay.

So that we know where to go.

Okay.

You know, and are you.

Okay?

Are we, like, thinking, oh, there was a piece of lettuce on my burger, or is it more like.

That's not a serving.

There's a lettuce and a tomato on the burger.

Right.

I don't know.

Yeah, I wouldn't call it kind of.

Giving ourselves any egg.

You can.

Come on.

That was a good one.

That is something I would do.

Oh, no, me too, apparently.

And that's so funny, because that is what everyone does when I tell them this.

They're all like, oh, how can I?

You know, what about trail mix?

Does that count, like, as six different nuts?

What about if I put a bunch of herbs on my.

Oh, a nut is a plant.

Well, then what does count?

So, okay, I guess I want to know.

Yeah.

So I would always say whatever a serving is.

Okay.

So, you know, if you're having walnuts, which is a plant.

Right.

It comes from a plant, therefore it's a plant.

It counts for this.

One serving of walnuts would be one plant.

Okay.

One serving of blueberries would be a plant.

The only things I wouldn't count in here are going to be things like juices, because all the fiber's already been removed.

Right.

To make it a juice.

Smoothies would count, like, the things that go in your smoothie, though.

Oh.

Because the fiber's in there.

Okay.

And then the only other thing would be dried spices.

You know, if you sprinkle, like, oregano on pasta or something.

Right.

There just isn't enough of it.

It's still good, like still use those spices, but.

Yeah.

It's not contributing to the fiber piece of it.

Okay.

Okay.

All right.

Thanks.

That does make it a little less scary.

Yeah.

Yeah.

A little more attainable.

Yeah.

I just want my charts and I want to put stickers on it.

Yeah, there's something wrong with that.

Oh, I'm a child.

So for those of us that have a really busy lifestyle and are constantly on the go, go, go with our work and stuff, do you feel like that has any bearing on.

I guess in my mind, if you're really, really busy, that that would count as kind of working out in my brain.

So, like your digestive should be.

Yeah, yeah.

And that's where we get into that hustler lifestyle.

Right.

And it's been so blown up over the last several years.

Really.

And it's kind of.

That brings us into that busy busyness where someone asks you how you're doing and you're like, oh, good.

But things are.

I'm really busy.

Like, we wear the busy badge as kind of that honor.

Yeah, it.

And I, I do that too.

You know, I'm, I'm a humber there.

So it's through no fault of our own.

But when we're constantly busy, when we're constantly even telling ourselves, you know, when you say, when you make that, that comment, yeah, things are good, but really busy, you're reinforcing that idea into your body and.

Oh, that makes sense.

And, you know, it's causing that for a lot of people.

Some people are fine, you know, some.

There's obvious exceptions to everything.

But for the most part, and especially the women I work with, what I see is the stress come from it, where they're so busy they don't have time to eat or they feel bad, you know, prepping food for the week or sitting down and not eating that daunting.

Yeah.

Or you just like stuff your face on the go.

Yes, yes.

I used to do that all the time with my last job.

And I thought it was okay because I was eating nuts.

I was eating trail mix in my car, driving from meeting to meeting.

And you know, how easy is it to eat half a bag of trail mix?

Well, how many servings of nuts are in there?

You know, And a serving of nut is nuts is a quarter cup, like fits in your palm.

So how many of those did I just eat while I was, you know, on this 30 minute drive?

And that adds.

So I think a big Thing is that we're just.

When we're focused on the other stuff, we're not focused on us in our body.

It sounds a lot like.

It has a lot to do with just being present and.

Yeah.

What's the aware?

Yeah, yeah, that's kind of that, you know, again, it's kind of trendy, that mindset, you know, being mindfully eating and being mindful.

But it does play such a huge role.

So, you know, one of the things you can do just to be intentional about the food you're eating.

So, you know, some people will sit down and they'll say a prayer before they eat.

Well, what that's doing really is kind of making us pause.

So you could just pause.

If that's not your thing, could you just sit down and pause and just take a deep breath before you eat that food?

Food.

And what it's going to do is taking that deep breath, you know, if.

Bring it all the way down, you know, in your abdomen.

Just a really deep breath that actually activates that parasympathetic nervous system.

So that's your rest and digest mode coming on, and you need to be in that mode to properly digest your food.

Oh, so that's what actually moves the muscles.

Yeah.

Okay.

That makes sense.

Okay.

Yeah.

And that's that idea.

It's all connected.

We're all connected.

The whole body all connected.

So that's a theme that we find through all of our guests.

Yes.

Now, you mentioned food prep.

Do you have tips on that for people who are busy?

Like, that's just not something that I feel is tangible.

It's not.

I feel like it's not for me either, but my roommate likes to do it, and I'm like, it sounds great.

I'll eat some of it.

Yeah.

I'd rather cook one meal and then just work.

Like, I do that same meal for like, four days in a row.

I'm fine with that.

Cook dinner because I have to feed the kids, and that's all I eat.

I'll make a huge meal and then don't cook the rest of the week.

It's probably not healthy.

Well, I mean, that comes back to how many plants are you eating a week?

That'd be something.

You know, you have the same base meal, make it once, eat it all week, but maybe you're adding some different toppings to it or different fruit or whatever.

So there's ways.

There's always ways.

It's.

I think with meal planning, we just have this idea in our head that it has to look a Certain way.

And it really doesn't.

It's whatever works for you.

So, you know, Melissa, you mentioned, like, make one big meal.

Have that the rest of the week.

That's a form of meal prep.

Oh, thanks.

Yay.

It felt so good just now.

Yay.

Okay, I'll accept it.

Yeah.

And that could be something where even you're making a meal and then you just make extra, extra to have for lunch the next day.

That's what I do, and that works really well for me.

You know, you could also, if you wanted to prep breakfast, for example, like, let's just prep breakfast on a Sunday when you have a little more time or whatever day.

It doesn't have to be that, but, you know, then you have it for the week.

And that could be.

Well, I'm going to just put Greek yogurt.

Like, I bought a big container of Greek yogurt.

I'm just going to measure it out, put it in little containers, maybe put toppings on it already, and then put those containers in the fridge.

So you just made like a grab and go.

That's your own grab and go breakfast.

So it can be as simple as you want or as complicated as you want.

Do you happen to have, like, any suggestions of websites or people that you like that have some really quick and easy meals that are also healthy?

Yeah, and I think that's something that I provide in my coaching program, too.

So I actually do customize nutrition planning for people.

Okay, that makes sense.

Yeah.

So I can put together recipes based on what exactly you want.

If it's, you know, I just want breakfasts for, you know, for the week, we can just do breakfast.

I want three meals a day.

I can do three meals.

But that's where I think if you can find some of those recipes that you really like.

And by recipe, again, it doesn't mean the super complicated thing.

It could be.

This is Greek yogurt with some toppings on it.

Yeah.

Some fruit or some nuts.

That's a recipe.

But, you know, I think that is key.

And then having those together, that's a big part of what I do because it can make things so much easier for people.

This gives us a lot to think about.

All right.

If I eat a salad tonight, how much lettuce has to be in my bowl to count as a vegetable?

And then how much carrots have to be in it to count as a vegetable?

Like.

Keep it simple.

Make it easy for yourself.

And, you know, you certainly could measure things out.

But, you know, at the end of the day, if you, you know, if you have one piece, like a little shred of carrot and count that as a carrot, you know, count it as a plant, who are you really hurting?

You know, you're just hurting yourself.

So, yeah, cheat with it, you know, if you want to, but you're kind of like it's kind of that honorary system and you know.

So for a salad, like what is a reasonable size of salad?

You're not going to have this giant mixing bowl salad.

Right.

But just a normal size that you would get in a restaurant that would be like a serving of salad.

Oh, okay.

It doesn't need to be super exact.

Yeah, I know some of us rule followers, we're like, no, tell me.

I know, I know.

At the same time.

Yeah.

So I was going to ask you, Lindsay, do you meet with people nationwide?

Do you have some kind of like, are you taking new clients?

Yeah.

So I work 100% virtual, so I can work with anyone, anywhere that has an Internet connection, basically.

I also do phone coaching too.

So if you don't want the zoom, you know, we do a lot of video calls.

But if you'd rather do phone, I do that.

So yeah, I work with clients all over the country and yeah, I'm definitely taking on clients right now for my one on one coaching program, Ascent.

I do also have the custom meal planning services, custom nutrition planning that I mentioned earlier.

So that's, that's included in my coaching program, but I've also made it a standalone service too.

Oh, nice.

Okay.

He should make a cookbook.

I have a wondering book.

Yeah, I have a high protein, high fiber recipe book too.

Okay.

So there's stuff, it's all available on my website.

That's kind of the hub.

Okay.

And the website again, it's just fullbloomacres.com.

cool.

Easy.