Do you have big dreams—but wonder if your body can carry you there?

This week on Epic Stories, I sit down with Annette King, an inspiring registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator. Together, we dive deep into how our health is truly the foundation for making any of our dreams a reality. In a world overflowing with diets, trends, and quick fixes, Annette King brings clarity, balance, and kindness to the conversation about food and self-care.

In this episode, we move beyond shame and perfection, focusing instead on progress, simple education, and practical changes. Whether you’re worried about your energy, tackling diabetes, or just trying to eat better in a fast-paced world, this conversation is for you.

What I Learned (and You Will Too):

• Your health underpins every dream you want to realize—no matter your goals, your body is the vehicle to get you there (00:54).
• The real difference between a registered dietitian and a nutritionist—and why choosing an expert like Annette King actually matters (05:05).
• Why our society is losing its connection to home-cooking, and how easy convenience foods are impacting our health (12:16).
• How to cut through the noise of conflicting nutrition messages and find what truly works (15:18).
• The rising tide of diabetes—especially in younger adults—and why prevention starts now (30:06).
• How carbs, protein, and fats all play an important role (and yes, you can stop fearing carbs!) (32:23).
• A balanced, stigma-free conversation about GLP1 weight loss medications—including who benefits, what the risks are, and when to seek support (43:44).
• Two ridiculously simple nutrition habits you can start TODAY for real change (01:02:42).
• Why choosing progress over perfection is always the best strategy—and how every meal offers a new chance to care for yourself.

My Challenge to You

Pick just one healthy habit to focus on for the next seven days. It might be drinking more water, eating one more vegetable, walking after dinner, or cooking at home just one extra night. Tell someone your goal, write it down, and then celebrate your follow-through. Small wins build momentum, and momentum changes your story.

If this episode resonates with you, share it with someone who needs a little encouragement. Subscribe so you don’t miss these empowering stories each week. And if you’re ready to connect your health to your biggest dreams, let’s talk—visit Epic Living with Jean to schedule your free Dream Compass call.

Let’s keep writing an epic story—one healthy choice at a time.

Mentioned in this episode:

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And welcome back to another episode of Epic Stories, the podcast where we believe that every person has a story worth telling. I'm Jean Tillery, certified dream manager, speaker, author and founder of Epic Living with Jean. And today I want to ask you a simple question. What? What are you doing to care for your future self? In this case, I'm talking about your body. Because your body is carrying you forward towards every dream that you hope to accomplish. After working with dreamers over the years, I've noticed something interesting. Every single person that I've worked with has had at least one health related dream on their dream list. It might be losing weight, maybe having more energy.

Sometimes it's lowering blood pressure or getting off medication, maybe simply waking up in the morning with enough energy to enjoy life again. Whatever the specific goal, the reason is always the same. Our health affects every other dream that we hope to live. Unfortunately, we live in a world full of conflicting messages. One expert says carbohydrates are the enemy. Another says fat is the problem. Someone on social media promises a miracle in 30 days, and somewhere in the middle, a lot of us simply give up because we don't know who to believe. That's why I was so excited about today's conversation.

My guest is Annette. She's a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator who has spent decades helping people understand not just what to eat, but why. I especially appreciated that she doesn't approach nutrition with shame or judgment. She approaches it through education. Because when people understand how their bodies work, they can begin to make choices that actually fit their lives instead of chasing whatever the latest trend is. This isn't a conversation about perfection. It's about progress. It's about understanding that every meal is another opportunity to care for the one body that we've been given.

And whether you're trying to lose weight, manage diabetes, reduce inflammation, have more energy, or simply take one more step towards a healthier life, this conversation's for you. I also appreciated the fact that Annette's had a very distinct perspective on the GLP1 medications. It's a topic that is everywhere right now, and rather than approaching it with judgment or taking sides, we talk about how these medications fit into a bigger picture of long term health and sustainable habits. Whatever your own experience has been, I think you'll find her perspective both balanced and encouraging. Here's my interview with Annette. So introduce yourself, my friend, Annette.

I'm Annette, last name King. I have a bunch of different hats that I wear. One I'm most proud of is being a mom of seven and soon to be a grandmother. And I have a role in the KD where I am a registered dietitian and taibes educator. And I've developed that since 1995. That role's changed a lot. Yeah. Which is good.

And that was the part that I wanted to talk to you about because, like I mentioned, I had seen a post on Facebook that you did, and you had a picture of a shopping cart. And it really made me think about society and how our views of what is nutritious and what is acceptable have changed so much. And, you know, I had a health food company for years, so I, you know, I dealt with this. I saw this all the time. You know, I grew up. My mom didn't love cooking. She could feed us. We never went out.

I mean, we never went out to eat. I mean, it was something. Somebody's birthday or something special. And my dad traveled a lot and so he ate out a lot for work. And so when he was home, he cooked and he loved to cook. So, you know, wonderful food and great food and the, you know, I talk about how food is my love language. So cooking for people and cooking with people have always been my passion. So I get a little nervous when I see that there are people who have grown up thinking that, you know, cooking dinner at home is putting a frozen pizza in the oven.

So tell me a little bit about what a dietitian does as far as. What's that different than like a nutritionist or something like that, or are there overlaps?

There's definitely going to be differences. So a registered dietitian will go to college and you have a diet Africa needs to be. Certain topics need to be covered. And after that you will take an exam. Well, I'll go any further. You have to match for an internship. Sorry, that's. That's perfect.

So you have to match her.

So everybody that's a dietitian has to go through some kind of internship.

Formal. Yes, formal training. And now they just made it to where in order to sit for the exam to. To be certified or credential. Excuse me, it's not certified. A credentialed dietist, Registered dietitian. You're now going to be required to have your master's degree. And so that is.

Wow.

Yeah, that's this year up and coming. You know, I actually did one of those. They're now calling them applied can ask for degree programs. And I was like, I think I've done this. Sounds a lot like what I did. And to be honest, ours was the first applied didactic program done in exit Memphis State China to the University of Memphis. It's pretty cool. There were six of us and so basically what that meant was we, our, our internship was a part of our master's degree program versus get your four year degree, then you get to an internship and sit for your exam.

So we had some additional training and that training actually included rotations in various areas of nutrition and so very different than somebody who can just take a

college course in nutrition and call themselves or, or like one of those kind online.

Yes, you know, an online course. Here, take this. And then you can call yourself a nutritionist. Yeah, you're, you're an expert now on nutrition and so it's a fine line. It's hard. You know, nutrition is something that everybody wants to, you know, have some sort of input in. Right. It's, it's, it's personal, you know, it's what you like, it's what you know, it's what's worked for you.

Right. And that's when a lot of the science isn't taken into consideration. Right. And so registered dietitians can work in all kinds of different fields. You can work in, you know, community, you can work in like hospitals I

would imagine or senior centers or.

Yes, yes. Long term care. You know, there's, there's areas where, you know, in order for a facility to receive financial compensation, they have to have a dietitian's assessment of the patient or certain requirements need to be met. Right. And then that can, then they can then apply for Medicare, Medicaid coverage from insurance companies. So that's good. We had that Hydrobio County Ms. Mark back in the 60s when the pharmacists were doing it.

Yeah.

And some other, some other analytical gym

leader or you know you're, nowadays you're, you know, whatever influencer that you, you follow.

So where it brought me, right my, since 1995, you know, I've been in so many different areas and facets of it. And I loved hospital, you know, Dietex where I got into that and I was helping people who had two feedings, they couldn't feed themselves but they need to be stayed, you know, they need to, they need the nourishment. And I did long term care for a long time. That was one of my loves actually. I had a little business for that, a couple accounts. But I love TPN and I loved tube feedings and I wanted to be in that environment where I could try to help manipulate some of the formulas and make suggestions Recommendations, you know.

Right.

Borders for how we could provide. I'm trying to word correctly. Basically somebody haven't let the testing doctors on it anyway but you know if I'm on every day and we'll be like oh okay, so let's try this or let's try that or. And it was just nice to be able to follow.

Yeah. And.

And I could actually see the results of what I was doing was benefiting somebody and that's why I really liked it. And long term care did for a short period of time just because it was good, good income and I didn't have to have a full time. It was contracts I guess a little bit more. Right. And I could get home with my kids. So I liked that. And then it got to a point where I had to get back into working full time after the birth of my daughter and went into hospital again, tried the long term care again. And then I was like I really want to position myself someplace close to home.

Yeah, I really want to be home.

And yeah, we, we live out in the country so there's not a lot of potential here. You know you have to be a little bit choosier.

So I had a part time job. 22 part time jobs and I really, really wanted one to be right over there at St. Francis pretty close to home or if it wasn't that one I really wanted to. One can't think of it anymore as HCA Johnson Wilson. Yeah. Very close come and hits. Guess what all your PRN part time people. No, I'm going to do it.

So this one position in Bond supporters was first diabetes education. And this is going to get back around to nutrition and that picture that I ended up taking and the book. So I became a certified diabetes educator. That was part of the goal. If you're going to take this role, you now have to get training for that. So you need to take the test, become certified educator. And so now I'm in a doctor's office environment where I teach what's called diabetes self management education support support. So guess where else this is going.

Right. Yeah. All those medications. Yeah, right. All those medications for weight loss which were designed for people with diabetes.

Yeah.

Now they're helpful for people.

Yeah.

You know for they've been around, you know, just different names. The trigger ones that we hear today, you know and Manjaro and Judy City. But there were some other ones around, you know Santax subobi that that it had a different mean.

Yeah.

And so I was in line and I'm looking at this young man, and he's got.

Now you say young man, about how old are we?

If I can peg him in an age, maybe 35.

So old enough to know better. Not young. Not young. Like just out of high school, early college, where they're, you know, don't have money, they're buying ramen because that's all they came to Ford. So he should have known better.

You would hope so. Right?

And.

And I think that was part of the problem is the thought that came through my mind is, does he know? Or is this what people find nutritious? And they go for the convenience. So, young man. And on the cart, everything was in a box. It was either made to be opened and eaten right away, ready to eat, or just pop. Popped in the freezer and cooked. And, you know, he was a little heavy set. And I was thinking, okay, well, maybe that he's buying for vacation bars. Maybe he's buying for, you know, a

camping trip or something where they, you know.

And so I stared at it a little bit longer. I'm like, nope, nope. There's some milk on there. And no, there's not one fruit, not one vegetable, not one frozen. And I. And I took a turn around, I looked at my cart, and I'm like. And I know that. Yeah, right.

And on my card, I had ice cream. I had potato chips. I had one. Right. One bag of chips, one little box of ice cream. So I just kind of paid attention to what was getting run up. Now, I have to be honest with you, I don't do this all the time, but for one reason, I was standing there in line, and I'm looking at it, and I'm thinking about

how.

How has society come to this point that this is what people reach for. Yeah, right. They've lost the knowledge base of just good general nutrition. The only thing that looked like it could have been of nutritional importance was the whole milk. Yeah. And it wasn't even a full Gatling. It was like

the court.

Yeah, it was court.

So I ran into that a lot. And. And I. Tell me if you see the same things. So one of the biggest problems is that people now grow up in homes that really don't cook. So they don't know. They really don't understand. They don't know how to cook things like vegetables.

If they have had vegetables, they weren't necessarily cooked in a way that they would enjoy it, so they assume they didn't like it. We live in a world where everything is just so fast. I mean, I used to get that all the time. I don't have time to cook, I don't have time to plan meals. I don't have time to think about it. And I'm like, well, do you have time to be sick? I mean, really. And then, you know, the expectations. You watch how people, you know, they'll go to parties and, you know, everybody's feeding or bringing junk food and sharing junk food and promoting, you know, alcohol and.

And, you know, things that aren't necessarily healthy. And so many of the activities that we do are based around food. Let's go, you know, let's go out for dinner.

Let's go out.

And like I said earlier, I don't remember ever just going out for dinner to go out to dinner. And. And then of course, the money, because, you know, people can't. Well, and there is some argument there, I think, about the cost of food that's healthier, but I think if you really take the time to do it wisely, it actually can be cheaper in the long run.

It doesn't necessarily need to be more expensive, for sure.

So is there anything else that you've seen, any other additives that make this

problem worse, that make the problem worse,

or any other things that feed into this lack of understanding about how food affects us and what we need to be eating healthy?

I think there's just too much misinformation out there, if you want to. Honest.

Yeah.

It's just, you know, here, you do this. Just try this. And actually not even a lot of focus on healthy, nutritious meals. It's like we have to focus on, well, what I'm seeing on the TikTok now that some of these things can't be pre banging out good. You know, like, I'm going to use all these eggs and cottage cheese and I'm going to make something. Right.

Yeah. Okay.

But do you really want to live like that long term? And, you know, is this, is it sustainable? Yeah, it's not sustainable. And that's the thing. So do I see things that are contributing to this? Back to your point being, we're not at home cooking meals anymore. People don't know how to prepare good meals.

People,

you know, they're looking for that fast fix. I don't know how many keynotes is really bringing it on. Yeah. To be honest with you, I just, I thought to myself, okay, what are we teaching in schools? So I've actually sat in on the Powhatan County School Health Board. I'm trying to. Advisory board.

Yeah.

So I sat on that a Couple of years and a couple of times. And both years that I have sat on that, you know, it's always been we've got to fix the health schools, we've got to fix nutrition, got to fix the nutrition. Look at what know they're serving in the schools. And you know, that's a m thing. I actually worked in, you know, Memphis city school systems and, and understood we've got certain guidelines we have to follow in order to try to feed those that don't have access to food. So even though something looks like something we're going to buy home that, you know, for our children, they need it so that they can get the energy because they don't know when their next meals come.

And it's interesting that you brought that up because I had never looked at it from that point and I had a good friend of mine who worked in, at a, at a school, a private school in the kitchen. And that's part of the reason that she ended up leaving is because she just had a hard time with the, the guidelines. And you know, they didn't, at that school, they didn't have that kind of problem. You know, that was kids not getting a meal when they go home over the weekend is not really going to be from this particular private school. But yet the guidelines were there and, and you had to follow them and

they had certain vendors and shout them. You have to buy from. Yeah. And then you have certain budget that you have to stick with it. And there's so many creative ways that, that people in school food service want to serve. Right. The children. And I've seen some projects.

Well, we've seen them, you know, on, on the news. You know, local garden is in the area. We do that. But that's not, that's not everywhere. Kingdom. Yeah. Yeah. Because they got inspections and things like that.

They have to pass and follow. Yeah. So it just makes it difficult, I think, for the creativity in the school system. So it's what will the kids eat? Yeah. You know, we can try to serve something that we believe was really healthy and nutritious and then if the kid's not eating it, it didn't do its point. Yeah. So there stems that, you know, where we teaching them in the school system. What do we have in our family? What's going on at home? Are we planning meals? Do we have a time for it? And I think you can shoot me in the foot.

But if you have two really stressed out parents, you want to come home and you got a sports sporting event, we're Going to grab something, we're going to go buy it. And that was the way we did it for a long time. Chicken nuggets.

Okay. We all went through that.

Chicken nuggets, French fries. But I also made sure that my kids had access to those vegetables and the fruits. Right. And just encourage it as much as possible.

But does the school system actually teach at that level any type of nutrition to the kids? I mean, it's one thing to the nutrition that they get while they're eating there.

I honestly not answer to that for this particular county. I don't know exactly if they have half economics about they're going to teach it. I don't know if they be put in the health class. Lpe. I'm not sure exactly what comes home from that. My kids never came over complain to me about anything I was getting taught. Right.

Oh, mom, they're making me eat vegetables.

Well, as far as what they would teach. Right. Because trust me, if you kid thinks that they're going to get a reaction out of you, something school's teaching, they're going to come home and tell you.

Yeah. Now I will say the only thing that I do know that was even remotely related to this is my youngest played baseball and the baseball coach and I don't remember, it's been a while ago, so I don't remember exactly how this works out, but I don't know if it was a health class that he taught. He taught some kind of class and he made all of his athletes keep a food journal and, and they had to weigh in every day they're in the class. And that was the point where Zach really started to realize the correlation between what he ate and how he felt Mr. Hornets and how he performed. And I, I mean, I just the difference, if you look at pictures of him between, you know, 11th and 12th grade, I mean, he was two totally different people.

That's an amazing.

And that. Yeah. And that I think, you know, I don't, but I don't think that's the norm. But I wonder how many. Especially with girls, I think that's an area that they need to learn about because, you know, and granted I was in high school a long, long time ago, but I can't imagine it's changed that much. But you know, there's, there's so much pressure on being thin. And I don't remember I brought my lunch. But seriously, for years my lunch was a Little Debbie snack and cake, a bag of pretzels and a Diet Coke.

Oh, mine was a milkshake yeah. And French rice.

Yeah. We have milkshake machine at school.

Yes, yes. In high school. And french fries.

Yeah. So I can imagine how hard it is, you know, and as a parent, if those are your kids and you're trying to bring home food and trying to get them to eat better, you know, it's easier for a girl just not to eat or you know, I'll lose weight if I just don't eat. But I'm seeing athletes now, girls who are a lot more athletic as far as teams and competition. Do you think that has changed the playing field?

Definitely think I've seen a huge change in some of the female athletes. You know, just even like at the gym that, that you and I both, you know, used to go to together. We got some really strong, strong youth coming up through there. Or even when you looked at, I would just say some of the girls at movie, you would go to the games. I never went to any female sports playing school. But like the sporting events and you see the cheerleaders or you just kind of see some of the people who are athletes at the school because goodness, I've. How many years were my children in the high school?

A while.

Yeah. Yeah. It's been going on a really long time. I think my oldest graduated from high school 2014. So it's know, four years back and then I still have children in high school. So I think I've seen a huge change in the athleticism of some of the rules. I think I've noticed that.

So do you feel, and what little knowledge that you have, I mean, do you feel like they're taking better care of themselves because they're athletes?

I would have to say so, yeah.

Yeah, I would think so too. I see a lot more, you know, people not drinking soda, which to me, I mean, I just, I don't even believe. I mean, I do. I would have, you know, three diet cokes a day, that's all I drank. You know, a lot more water bottles, a lot more trendy, you know, a lot more trendy water bottles, you know, protein shakes and stuff like that.

Uhuh. The nice little fruit smoothies.

Yeah. As a society though, do you think that there's a point where we will change the mentality of how we eat?

Yes, I think a revolution's coming.

I really do.

Because we're focusing now on all of these weight loss medications.

Yeah.

And it isn't just for women who are men puzzled. You know, it's. And it wasn't just for, you know, the, the people who could Afford the medications, they're now being made more available for people. And so if I have the quick fix or I can just get rid of my weight. Right. But I have to pay 500 bucks, 600 bucks for this medication out of pocket, they're going to soon realize that's not going to be the option for them. Right. And as far as health and nutrition, you know.

Yeah. We want to prevent this from happening.

Yeah.

And that's how to do it. We prevent it through pelky egg and building these skill sets younger in life. And the other thing I love about being a dietitian is it's about preventative care. Right.

Like your. Your bite, the whole apple a day keeps the doctor away.

Yeah, yeah. And you have control every bite. You know, and we want variety. We want to enjoy life. And that's part of what I teach the. My. My participants that come through. Yeah.

They come in with the mentality, is this journey? Is this that funny? And I'm like, you're gonna answer that after you get education. Right. You know, so keep that thought. Yeah. But it isn't all black and white. Right. So it isn't as simple as all food spit. Because some people don't like all foods.

Right. So we still need to find that balance.

Well, and I think. I think one of the things that turns people off from thinking about nutrition is they think they have to give up abc, whatever it is.

Yes.

And, you know, one of the things that I always tried to talk about when I had the health food company is, you know, I want to educate you so that you can make the choices. So, you know, yeah, McDonald's sucks. It is not good for you. But if you have younger kids, sometimes that's just something that happens. So what are you going to do? What's the healthiest thing on the menu? What are you going to not do that day because you splurged on a gordo french fries that had enough sodium in it for a week. Right. And I think. I think that's the key, is that you don't have to.

It's not if. Or one or the other. I mean, I think you really need to be educated. And then I think the other thing that's missing is people don't realize sometimes when they're exhausted, when they don't have any energy, when their stomach is upset, when they're bloated, they're miserable. It's what you're eating, it's what you ate. And I use this. God love him, you know, I feel so bad I've used this example for years, but my father in law, who I adored, adored, would have a bowl of ice cream every night before he went to bed. And then he would be up two and a half hours later literally throwing up because of the acid in his stomach.

And he was on four different acid medicines. And still. And I looked at him one day and I said, why don't you just eat the ice cream at lunch so you're not, so you're not going to bed with it sitting. And that just was not even an option. He just, that was outside of his realm of evil understanding. And I'm like going, well, the good thing would be just don't eat it every night. But I think that's part of who we have become, is that this is what we do and we can't change it. And you know, like, I've switched to coconut milk.

Yogurt. Yogurt was a big thing of mine. But I, you know, to me it just tastes better, you know, and my, my oldest is, can't eat wheat, so we gluten free. And I had a hamburger bun the other day and I'm like, oh, this is disgusting because I just eat my hamburgers plain and it's, and it's fine. So little changes like that can make.

It'll change your taste buds.

Yeah, for sure.

Yeah, it's a good point right there too. It's what we become used to. Yeah. And so if this is what's quick and convenient and available to us, this is what we know. It becomes our normal and we don't think about changing and doing something different. I see that a lot. I see that a lot.

Now when you're working with somebody, is it hard sometimes to get them to. I mean, they're coming to you for help.

Right.

And so if you say, you know, let's, let's cook this a different way or let's find a different version of this that can be a little healthier. Do you.

So what I do with them is I'm like, hey, this is what we know will work well, work as a template. Right. Okay. Let's make sure you're getting a balance.

Right.

It isn't all just one thing. And what do you eat? And so file an example of something that they eat. Okay. Okay. So words about film. What's missing? Oh, well, my menstruals were missing. Okay, well, what vegetables will eat. Right.

And so it's not that, it's not ever that I'm telling them that they need to eat something the Only thing I do with my people with diabetes is I tell them, please give them your soda. Yeah, just don't drink the soda, don't drink the juice, don't drink your calories. That's pretty much it. But working with them is I just kind of set what that balance is, you know, and how is what you're doing fitting into this template and what can you put into place to make it a balance? So it's them making those choices. Yeah. It's not me telling them to do something one way or another. Now unless I have the person that has, you know, the really high cholesterol levels. And you're like, okay, we need to get.

Before we do anything, we need to get this down.

You're taking your stat and you're exercising. Here's another tool for helping to bring those numbers down. Yeah, it's your choice. You can click like this if. Or you can get rid of, you know, the butter and the Crisco. Right. Or in this case, sometimes it's just

the palm oil and the frying everything.

Yeah, frying everything. Deep fry. And so, yeah, that, that's your choice. You know, this is a tool to help you be healthier. Most of the time they wanted healthier because by the time you come and they, they see us and they were sending like that, they have stroke, their kidneys are failing, you know, so they, they're more apt to want to make those changes. But we're not fermented it anymore.

Yeah.

You know, this is, this is really what's going to help you live longer.

And that is actually where I wanted to take this because, you know, diabetes is everywhere. I mean, it is, you know, Covid, now. I mean, almost every family is dealing with it at some level. If not pre diabetes, then it's just full blown.

It's like 11.66 million people had pre diabetes in 2023. And I only know that stat because it was like on some, some, some PowerPoint presentation I've given somewhere. But that was 2023, so I know that it's up there. So it's like over about 52% is estimated that people have diabetes or prediabetes.

And you're seeing it, and you're seeing it younger. I mean, that used to be an old person kind of.

It did, it did used to be an older person. And we are seeing it a lot younger. A lot younger. First of all, I only see the adults.

Yeah.

But the type twos, but yeah, we get them in, you know, 2022, you know, they were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes when they were like 18, 19. Yeah. It's gonna be like 16, 17, you know. So. Yeah, it is happening. It is happening. Some of that's genetics. Some of it is.

Yeah.

All right. Some of it's grace and ethnicity. You know, you might have two of those little markers that setting them up for risk and then waking. So, you know, that way really puts a lot of resistance on our cells and doesn't allow the insulin that we make to do what it's supposed to do.

Yeah.

And that makes it hard obviously the way we eat our carbohydrates because we need them. Right. The dense energy, you can't eliminate them, gotta have them. Are not bad for us. I think that's another thing out there. I got the misinformation, you know, avoid all your carbohydrates and that's going to throw your body and a whole other, you know, I call it a backup system.

Yeah.

For energy.

Yeah.

And. And sometimes that backup system isn't good. If our body isn't efficient at utilizing energy, it can actually cause other problems that can change the BH through body, you know. And so you need more information about preventative health. We need more understanding about what these macronutrients do for our body. You know, we don't want to overdo on the protein because we over consume protein and not enough carbohydrate. We're now utilizing this precious protein getting broken down. Yeah.

Its energy is now being kind of flirting to, to be used at different way versus what it's meant to do.

Yeah.

And so we're kind of messing up our, our metabolism when we're eliminating one macronutrient group and you know, one macro versus another and, and trying to make one better than the other really. I have that balance and carbohydrates are necessary. But when we're younger, I think I, I've lost a little bit. And we got all these sodas, I've got all these cakes and these potato chips and these little snap Debbie things. And you know, is like you said when, when we were, you know, we've got celebrations and parties now.

In my defense, I am fairly certain that the little Debbies that I ate 40 some odd years ago weren't as bad as the ones now because I can't even stand. I would every once in a while I'll get one and it's like eating wax. I mean there's no. Oh, how did I feel like that

potentially head of. What's happening is. Well, where they're going with that. The younger age is. I think what's happening from how I understand it, is they're putting this weight on their body. That weight's creating the resistance. They're inactive. Right.

So the inactivity is huge. And more resistance on our cells. Right. Because we're not being active. And all the large consumption of carbohydrate at one time just really overworks are beta cells. And so because they just can't.

It was process it.

They can't process that. Nope, it can't. Right. And so the way it was described to me by our end of our program, endocrinologist is like, once they're done doing what they're gonna do, they're done. And so who. I can cool this term. It's like. It's like pancreatic menopause.

Yeah, right. It just gets to a point. It's like pink eyes, can't do.

Can't do it anymore.

I can't keep up with what you're doing to me. I need help. And I need you to start modifying how you're eating things. I need you to be physically active. And so I think as it's bringing back to younger people now developing this chronic condition. Yeah.

So you mentioned a whole lot of different things. I mean, obviously diabetes, but you mentioned, you know, liver problems and heart. What other things? I mean, long term, your food can hit you in a lot of different ways. I mean, you know, people talk about smoking and how smoking is bad for you, but when you look at food, you can have that same kind of.

Yes.

Systemic long term health issues.

Yep. You are definitely contributing to a chronic condition long term. So looking at atherosclerosis and we're looking at, you know, Brisper, heart attacks and strokes are cardiovascular enough. That was definitely going to be our diet. It's also lifestyle behavior. We can't forget that too. Right. Because that all comes back around to how are we eating and how are we buying our food.

It's our lifestyle behaviors. And so choosing these ions that have been prepared very quickly. We also got to look at how it's preserved and what you're doing to the foods.

Because food isn't necessarily designed to sit on the shelf for ever six months.

Right, right. And so that's going to manipulate how your body actually metabolizes that and where it's stored and impact of, you know, deposition of the size of your arterial walls. Yeah, right.

So one of the problems that I always had, and, you know, weight was always an issue for me And I mean, I worked in. I had a health food company. I knew the basis of it. I knew how to eat healthy. And I was. I mean, not that I didn't ever splurge, but. But like you said, my body was so just not working the way it was supposed to be working. There was no.

I had to basically tear everything down and start from scratch. Stress was a huge influencer. And it wasn't so much like that I would overeat because I was stressed, but I think how my body reacted to the food. My body would keep everything on me because it didn't. It was like trying to protect me. I really felt like I had a wall. Like, you know, in some of the movies they'll have somebody that's wearing like one of those fat suits. That's what I felt like, like, like all the stress and all the anxiety in my life, all the things, you know, traumas that I didn't deal with were like this big fat seat that I put on and I.

There's nothing that I could do get out of it. And I think that's one of the things that I still hear a lot. And I want your opinion on this because when it comes down to it, it's a mathematical equation. And I told myself that for years, calories in, calories out, you know, change what you eat. But it's not always that simple.

It's not. And because we're not processing the food efficiently, there's so many other factors that happen within s. Right, chemical messengers from our brain and our gut. It telling our liver that it needs to do something. Right. Sometimes we have other factors that come in and block. Right. Right.

Communication for one other hormone that's going to regulate my appetite. I mean, there's so many little intricacies going on inside the body. It's not just calories.

And, and that's one of the reasons I wanted to make that comment. Because, you know, we talked about the conversation that I had had recently and that was one of the things that came up. And I'm like, yes, that's true. And at some level, you know, if you're going to eat way too many calories, you are going to put on weight. But that's not the whole problem and that's not the whole solution.

Right? It's not.

And so I think we need to give ourselves some grace. If, if really getting healthier is what you want, there are ways to go about it. So if somebody wanted to, let's say, come work to with you, how do they find A dietitian. I mean, you. Is it something that the insurance would help cover? Can you go to them?

Definitely. Insurance company, you call on and say, I'd like to find a dietitian and you know, takes my insurance company. They'll have a list of dietitians. We have to have MBI numbers. Yeah. So they could find us. We're there. Right.

We have to get approved by the insurance companies so that you can get coverage. And so I would highly recommend that you go find a vetted perhaps or dietitian to work with you on, like you said, breaking it down. We'll be back up. Because metabolism is science.

Yeah.

And more than likely the dietitian isn't going to sit there and tell you, oh, you know what, you need a weight loss medication. That's going to help.

Yeah.

And they're not going to tell you. We'll just go be physically active and it's going to be okay. So.

Or just quit eating so many calories and you'll be right.

And they'll definitely take a look at your dietary intake, those choices, the foods that you're making, the timing. Right. Like you mentioned earlier, Jean, that's important too for some people.

And I want to pause you for a second because I want to jump on that a second because there are so many trendy things and one thing that I have seen with people is that they want to do whatever is new and exciting and then it doesn't work for them and they get frustrated. But it's, I think it's, you know, what works for you. So I have gotten to the point that I eat dinner very early. I mean, I usually have dinner about 5, 5:30, because if I eat late, I don't sleep very well. You know, my stomach's digesting. But I also have gotten to the point where I go to bed pretty early because I get up at, you know, 4:30 or 5, but I have to have some kind of protein before I go to bed. I just, I have figured that out. I.

Trial and error.

So I have these, you know, really great somewhat healthy meat sticks or I'll have a little cup of yogurt or, you know, cottage cheese or something. Because it works.

Yes.

Now if, you know, I was following the latest, you know, intermittent fasting, saying that I only eat between 4 o' clock or, you know, whatever, whatever it

is, only eat between these hours. You'll be okay.

And, and, and that may work for you, but I think where I'm going with this is it is okay to try something if it doesn't work, try something else.

Yes, try something else. Just don't throw your hands up. Or let's just go back to basics. Yeah, right. Let's go back to basics. And there's a lot of good science behind having a protein hack before you go. Yeah. And so, you know, intermittent fasting might not work for somebody who's already got it jacked up in towels.

Right.

Yeah.

Or I only subject up metabolism rate. But metabolism processing.

Right.

You're not doing things efficiently and effectively. Yeah. Because of other process. Inflammation is huge. We hear about this all the time that way. It's bad for us. Right. But what causes inflammation? So many things.

Stress. Right. That stress is a huge thing. Other lifestyle behaviors, your smoking is going to do it. Certain foods that you eat, fried, fatted foods. Right. They actually increase inflammation markers in our body. Maybe you have an immune mediated disorder.

You've got higher inflammation markers. For instance, you know, arthritis.

Yes.

Maybe you have a lung condition. Right. That's going to increase inflammation in the body. So we got to focus on that because when we've got inflammation, the body's not processing things the way it's supposed to because now we have a high commute response and we can't run in a completely stressed out state.

State.

And that's what a heightened immune response is.

And so dietitians have enough of that information that they can help you weed through what's going on in your body and help you, you know, find the things that are going to help you make a difference that can work with

you, your lifestyle behaving. Yes, ma'.

Am.

And they can try to help you find some foods that will have beneficial properties based on your medical conditions as well. Yeah. And if you are looking just to lose weight, it does break down to, hey, let's take a look at your timing, your, your choices, you know,

and

you know, stress and exercise, they all come into play.

Yeah.

All right. We do need to be physically active for sure.

So let's touch on it. You brought it up a couple times. A lot of the medicine that's going out, you know, and it occurred to me one time as I was online listening to the two sides fight over this, I said, it's like, you know, covet all over again. There are a lot of people who are finding it as a solution and are doing well and feel better. But I, I don't think that's the only piece of the puzzle. And I think that's part of what problem develops because you hear people talking about, know they Stop and they gain the weight back. Well, part of what you're trying to do is not just lose the weight, but change the way your body is working, change the way food responds in your body and what you're eating and when you're eating. So what kind of.

Can a dietitian help them with that? If. Go with that? So if they're, if they're, if they're doing, if they're on that.

Yes, yes. A dietitian definitely does help you navigate using a GLP1 and modifying your diaspora intake to make sure that you're not losing your hair or that you're not wasting your muscle or that you're not becoming so constipated that, you know, you're so uncomfortable or, you know, encouraging you to make better choices. Yes. Your body gets what it means so it can function and it will. I think the practice of these jail you want. So they take your appetite, slow your metabolism right down. They kind of force you to really cut back on that energy intake. But you're also going to lose a lot of your own ability to do things if you're not eating the foods

that you need to be eating.

So like, so body can function.

Yeah. So that's kind of where I wanted to go with this, is that it seems like a cure all and that, you know, I can just do this and then the weight's going to fall off. But it still is a matter of learning how your body works and trying to get your body healthy.

It's. Yes. And it's not a cure all. And you don't know how to put the correct balance of nutrients together. And you're on these medications, you didn't end up becoming malnourished. Yeah. So for sure you need help, guidance, assistance. A lot of stuff is online.

If people are willing to put that work into it, that's great. But there's some people we just don't know.

Yeah. Well, and that's what scares me is because, you know, when the, when this trend started, most of who you saw given these were doctors and they were in a setting that was a little more controlled and you had somebody monitoring you and you, and you had people watching, you know what was happening. But now, I mean, it seems like you can, you know, get it online and just ship it right to you and there's nobody holding your hand and then, you know, you're miserable.

Some of these programs that are out there do have some accountability.

Like I can tell, like spa type places that use it or.

Well, I don't know about the spa type.

Yeah,

but like weight washers, for example, they have a whole team of people that are following you, and you have access to scheduling with a registered dietitian to help you through that. You also have doctors that are following up on you.

Yeah.

You know, they've got the whole medical chart system set up so that, that's somebody where you're. You're going to be watched. It's not just joined and here against Ms. To you. So some of them, I guess you could say, you're just going to have to vet them. Right.

Like.

Like what. What services are you giving to me on top of just giving me an education?

So really what I wanted to make sure that we brought out is that, first of all, don't ever condemn somebody because this is what they feel that they have to do. I hate how so much animosity is raised because people, you know, they feel like they're taking the easy way out. And, you know, I know I've seen a lot of women who are very distraught over their weight. And I, you know, I have a very good friend who's has really had remarkable changes with it, but she was also, you know, had diabetes. You know, was pre. Very pre diabetes. So really it came out more as a need for the diabetes and the inflammation other than just the weight loss. I mean, that was like an added benefit.

But you hear people, it's like, you know, people are afraid to even say anything now. So I think if we take away some of this stigma.

Well, we should take that. The stigma away. Pull the judgment away.

Yes, the judgment.

Our bodies have gotten to a point where they're not operating efficiently any longer.

Yeah.

These medications actually help the body's signaling get back on track.

Yeah.

So I think of it as like a really big dysfunctional family having an impact of a family. Yeah, right. This communication happening from my GI tract.

What was that? Little kid's show and a movie that. That had like the inside. Was it inside out that had all the body functions?

Oh, those were feelings. Inside out is feelings.

Feelings.

All the feelings. Yes.

Same. Same principle, though.

He had a teardrop and she was

like, see, my kids were past that. So I never saw. I never actually saw the movie, which is why I'm confused.

But I think of it as dysfunctional family inside. You know, your, your metabolism and cross signaling. Right.

Like you.

You got a little mischief makers that are saying, hey, I think you need to tell a liver that he's got adults some more sugar. And then, you know, so this is Our third party person coming in and saying, hey, liver, the GI tracks that says it's not doing something right. You need to dump sugar. Well, we really didn't need to dump sugar. And so now we're causing more problems with the body. So these GLP ones work in eight different processes in the body to get us back on track. And side effects from these medications that are not associated with just weight loss are improved cardiovascular outcomes, kidney protections. We see improvement in kidney function.

Wow. Said I hadn't heard.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And now. And I'm sure maybe you've heard this one, most recently, they're finding that it's working with the receptors in our brain and can actually help decrease. You hear about the food noise, like these cravings. Where are the cravings coming from? Coming from here. Yeah. Point my brain. And they're. They're helping with people who have addictions.

Yeah, right. Gambling, drinking. Right. So these medications are having all of these other benefits to the body. We don't know why, but I mean, they're studying. Yeah, Right. That's what they're trying to figure out why. And they're using them and they want to know what's going on.

And you just bring it back to the basis we jack our systems and. And these medications were designed to try to figure out, well, if I'm deficient in this function, what medication works to make this function. Right. Yeah. And so. Yes. Is it good for pharmaceutical companies? It is. Are people benefiting from them? Some are.

Yeah. Right. Some don't need them. Some really put in some hard work. But you bought back the stigma of women. Or men, even men. Yeah. Who've been suffering from obesity.

Because we now know that obesity acts in a way like a chronic disease does and how it impacts the way your body functions and the. The chemical releases.

So it's not just about carrying more weight. Your body changes to deal with the obesity and things don't work the way they're supposed to work.

Yep. Okay. Yep. And so these medications help with that. And when people have been struggling and they can't get the weight off, they think there's something wrong. Then they see this medication and it's like, I didn't change that much of what I was doing, that this stuff's coming off. What's happening?

Yeah.

Right. The body's now working me to be more efficient. So no stigma.

Yeah.

Right. Let's not put that out there for people. These things are really changing people's lives, making them more mobile, making them feel more confident. You know, I Mean, they're. They're going to start a purpose. I don't want that to be what people revert to. And so they even bring it back around to the very part, the beginning of our conversation, because I've done diabetes care, and I'm around all of these medications, and I'm seeing people for weight loss as well. And then in the clinic, I work, and I was looking at that.

That little conveyor belt. And also, like, he just doesn't know. Yeah, like, he just. It's got to be that he just doesn't know, and that's why he is the way he is. And I don't do this, Gene. I mean, Gene, I don't look at other people's, you know, food and what they eat. People are always afraid, oh, you know, dietitian's gonna say something. No, no, we're.

We live life.

Yeah.

Right. We. We're gonna splurge sometimes. We're gonna enjoy foods. And I don't judge people like that. But I was standing there in line and I was thinking, okay, this is my profession. I'm treating people for this. What failed.

Yeah. And that's what prompted me to take those pictures.

Yeah.

Because I had the knowledge. And if you looked at what was on my cart, it was very nutrient dense foods as they were giving us more than just empty calories, you know, and it was a balance of different things. Fruits, vegetables, you know, I had the nuts, I had the. The cheese feeds, the flax seeds. That day, I actually purchased some laundry detergent. And so I was paying attention to in line, like, okay, we know people say it's, you know, cheaper to. To. To buy, you know, these.

These sex foods because it's buy one, get one, or something like that. And this is the. The financial availability that I have. I want to get a little spank for my buck. So I was paying attention. His. His total had come to $157. My cameo, 187.

I think something like that. I had launched you to church.

Yeah. That's probably 15 of it right there.

Fifteen, I would say mine was like 18. So, you know, that. That ate a lot.

Yeah.

Of my cost. And so if you look at what was on the carts, they look. The price was comparable, but the nutrient power behind what I had in mind was so much better.

Yeah.

Than what he had on his. And I was thinking to myself, where did we fail? Yeah. You know, where. Where have we failed in teaching people how to nourish their bodies?

Yeah. Well, and I think another thing, you know, you mentioned that he was maybe in his mid-30s. I. Looking back over my life when, you know, we had kids and they were young and schedules were crazy and, you know, I didn't know this was not a thing when our kids were little. I mean, chicken nuggets and, you know, broccoli and celery sticks and Mac and cheese, you know, that was, that was pretty much the staple. But we also, even when we got to the point where we realized that maybe this wasn't the best for us, we kind of had the attitude that we're into, you know, we're young, we're indispensable or not indispensable. Nothing's going to happen.

Yeah, we're not. Or you're thinking invincible.

Invincible. Yes, we're invincible. Nothing's going to happen. You know, that's like old people, older people have the problem and society now is showing us that that is not true. I mean, you know, the cases of everything from heart attacks to heart issues to cancers. I mean, they're hitting people younger and younger and younger. So, you know, that 30 year old may not think that he needs to worry about it.

Right, right. There's that, too.

And you say you're here to say we do need to worry about it. And I love how you use the term preventative because that's how we need to look at it. Because, you know, your body, you only get one.

We only get one.

And, you know, it doesn't do you much good if, you know, the average life expectancy is going up. If you're going to treat your body in such a way that it's not going to get you there.

Right, Right. You don't want to be,

you don't

want to have difficulty with movement. Right.

Yeah.

You don't have a chronic condition that's going to disable you, you know, when you can't walk or, you know, you've lost function, half your body, and, and I see a lot of that. I mean, I do. I see those people on the tail end. And so, you know, it's not preventative. I wish it was, but I might be, you know, part of what we're doing with our program. Is it okay to say what I'm looking for?

Yeah. Yeah.

Okay. So I work for Bond, supports Mercy Health programming, diabetes, and we get into the community. So I like that. You know, I've gone to the yca, done some talks about some preventative stuff. I've gone to Boar's Head and spoken to their employees, you know, about health and, and Got work coming up for Lego, you know, so we're getting the word out as best we can. Now these are adults, working adults in

the school system, but it's going to start somewhere.

I would love to be in the. In that. That facet since today's been here since 1995, so 1998. I don't. I think she pretty much tell her of the, of the. The school po. Can. But yeah, I mean, that could be another avenue.

I mean, it is a love of mine when I was a part of that school Advisory. Health Advisory Board. Thank you. Carleton County Health Advisory Board.

Got it.

I couldn't name it in the beginning. You know, the very first year that I did that, we did a health fair.

Yeah.

You know, that was on Amy. We tied it on with a run. I think they were doing like the color run. Yeah, it was like it might have been the first or second year they did the color run and they ended up finishing the run up at the high school. And that's where the health there was. I would love to see more about the key.

I did several of them when I had the food company that was. And I love the fact that a lot of industries, you know, companies, corporations would have health fairs for their. You know, there's a lot of people that are headquartered here in our area. So that's a great resource. And, and actually it's coming full circle. So I love this. So a big part of what my business is, is I am. I love to say this, I'm a certified dream manager.

So I help people get reengaged in their lives by helping them identify and make a list of their dreams and then helping them fulfill it. I know what the greatest job ever. So I've in the middle of transitioning a little bit. This program, when it was originally designed, was designed for corporations to. As a benefit for their employees. You know, if, you know, you have employees that are disengaged, you know, they basically, basically have quit, but they keep showing up. You know, they're not performing very well. And.

And we just find time after time after time when you start giving them the reason, what are they trading those hours for and showing them that there's things out there that they were designed and built to do and dreams that they have and helping them identify them and fulfill them, then they're better employees.

Yes.

So I'm. I'm coming around full circle to getting back working with, you know, organizations and, and you know, like hospitals and schools and as well as, excuse me, businesses. But where I was Going with this is number one or two. Every single person has some type of health dream, one of their dreams. And maybe you lose weight and even people who don't necessarily have a weight issue or like a heart problem, you may. I want to run a 5k, I want to do a 10k. I want to do this. So that's a big part of it.

So one of the things that I see is helping people who make those. That's their dream. Where do they go? They go to a dietitian. So I love now having this, you know, resource. Now that I'm starting to look more at corporate work. I'd love to be able to set up programs and one of the dream managers that actually works for a banking system. They had so many people in their company now he was actually worked for the company. I mean he was one of their employees.

And all he did all day was help their employees find their dreams. Love it. But they actually so many people had health dreams that they started nutrition courses and brought in a Dietrician. And then it grew so much they actually built a gym for their, for their employees because it was cheaper to let them, you know, come into work early or stay late and have it there as access for them and the benefits they got out of having healthier employees. So I mean it's just such a win win. So I love. Now I have this great resource on you. But talking about dreams, one of the things that I want to start doing and you're going to be my first example of this.

So if you had, if we started a dream list for you, give me one. What would be on your dream list? It could be anything. Anything that you want. What's. You know, because when you start working with me, you have to make a list of a hundred dreams. A hundred, one hundred. It takes a while to get there. And there is a reason for that.

Most people can whip 10 or 15 off the top of their head. Right. And they usually call it a bucket list which just curls my hair, but nothing in a bucket. Well. And we don't want you to kick the bucket to have to get this stuff done. We want you to fill your dreams and have a better life. But you really have to start working at it. And now the cool thing is I've been doing this for so long, I run about 180.

I mean there's so many cool things out there to do.

Yeah. Yeah. You, you can. Yeah. One of my first dreams, I was. I would love to have an impact with you here. Oh. In promoting health I remember when I first moved here, I'd started looking at how can I teach classes up there at the.

The high school. What is it called? The county. The alpha. The classes.

The adult education class.

Education. I actually looked into the that, and then I realized I don't get paid much doing it.

And so if even at all. Some of them are volunteers.

Yeah, some of them are volunteers. And so I can do it.

Yeah.

But you just brought that back for me because that was something that I looked into. Like, oh, how can I get my name out here? Because my. My name into the community. 1. That was going to be business for me. Okay. Yeah. But at the same time, I'm all about, let's, I guess, healthcare.

Yeah.

Right.

Let's get.

Let's.

Let's just get up there.

Well, and honestly, until we really started diving into it, a dietitian was just such a vague word. I mean, I wouldn't have ever even really thought about. I have somebody that needs to lose weight or I need to get healthier. They need to be able to move better. Their body's not working right. You're the perfect person. I think that's great. Going forward now, since you are a friend, we're gonna work on that one.

Okay.

I love that.

Why not always room to grow.

Yeah. So give me just two things that somebody could do starting today. Two little changes that they could make to make their meals a little healthier.

To make their meals healthier. Oh, boy. That's a tough one. Right off the cuff, I was thinking for the health drink.

Okay, well, yeah.

Drink your water. That was the first thing I realized. Drink the water.

Right.

Some clinic. And plus your system. I'm just sorry. Can fly. Helps bring down the inflammation. Helps get your. Your joints and everything lubricated. Right.

Drink your water.

And is it true? I mean, you hear that a lot where people will say that the majority of the society is dehydrated.

You know, I don't know that I hadn't heard that, but I would say that people are dehydrated because a lot of times when you think you want to eat, you need to drink.

Yeah. You're not really hungry. Yeah. Well, I'm shocked. Well, okay, first of all, we live out in the middle of nowhere. We have a well, and our water is really, really, really good. So it's easy for me to drink water because it just tastes so good. I do I need to eliminate the soda? Totally.

I don't drink one every day, and I usually don't drink a whole one when I do drink one. I mean, I will sit in the refrigerator for two or three days, but I need to eliminate that. But I don't drink coffee, so water's pretty much it. But I know people who will basically look at me and say they don't drink it at all. So what about these flavored waters and sparkling waters? Are they okay? Substitute.

You know, it's going to be better that you have that than not drink it. We want to go down the rabbit hole of microplastics.

As I pick on water bottle because I left. I left mine at home. Oh my gosh. Getting called out. I did call you out.

I imagine. Wasn't trying to call you out. It was kind of fun.

Well, the funny thing is I. For years, because I drink so much water and I'm on the road a lot where we live, it takes you an hour to get anywhere. So I would buy a case of water and I would stick it on the floor behind my driver's seat and I would just reach back there and gravel. Now luckily, even in the summer, it would never get really hot.

Right.

So back then, the big thing was, you know, if the water bottles get hot, then it leaches plastic into the water. So that was my concern back then. And now they're talking about it's even worse than that. You're actually seeing people with microplastics in their house. Yeah. And their brains.

What was it, a quarter of a teaspoon? I think I'm really. It was only since then that I'm like, this is going to be my go to now.

I have plenty of them. Right.

We all have a whole bunch of really pretty water bottles.

If not, you can go to goodwill. There's like 10,000 of them there.

Yeah. And sanitize on your. Your dishwasher leaks. Right. So water. Drink your water. It's really important. If flavored water is what you want, that's great.

Try adding maybe fresh lemon or lime. Right. Maybe pick some mint or throw that in there. Maybe get some ginger and throw that in there and I'll live that congestion. So that would be one.

Right.

I'm gonna go with, with water. And then two, a good carbohydrate. Don't be afraid of that. Right. Something like a high fiber bread or an oatmeal or something could give you energy to start the day.

And there's a lot of vegetables that are carbohydrates.

Right.

So like sweet potatoes. Oh, yeah, yeah, we could use that.

That's a nutrient dense carbohydrate. It's got skin on it. Thank you. That's even better. So there we go. You know, a good nutrient dense carbohydrate with a protein source for. For breakfast. Just do it.

There you go. You've got it right out of the dietitian's mouth. So thank you, Annette. This was really educational, and I'm. I'm glad we got to talk about some of the things that have really been on my mind. But the picture just really was stark and really made me think about where we are as a society and what we need to do. So we're going to get you in the community and start talking about healthier alternatives and see where we go. What I appreciate most about this conversation is this.

Annette never tried to convince us to become perfect. She simply reminded us that small, intentional choices made consistently can completely change the direction of our lives. And isn't that true of almost everything? Which brings me to today's epic message. We often think our biggest dreams depend on having more time or more money or more confidence. But sometimes they simply depend on having the health to pursue them. Your body isn't an obstacle to your dreams. It's the vehicle that carries them. Every healthy choice you make today is an investment in the story that you'll be able to live tomorrow.

You don't have to overhaul your entire life this week. Just make one good choice, then another, then another. Because remarkable lives are rarely built by dramatic moments. They're built by ordinary decisions repeated over time. So here's your epic challenge this week. Choose one healthy habit to intentionally improve for the next seven days. Not 10, not 20, just one. Maybe it's drinking more water.

That was my focus this week. Maybe it's cooking dinner at home one extra night. Maybe it's taking a walk after dinner. Maybe it's adding one serving of vegetables every day. Write it down, tell someone, then celebrate yourself. When you keep that promise, small wins create momentum, momentum creates confidence, and confidence changes lives. If today's conversation encouraged you, I would love for you to do three things. First, share this episode with someone who could benefit from hearing it.

Second, subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode. And then finally, if you're realizing that better health is connected to bigger dreams, I'd love to help you discover what those dreams are. Visit Epic Living with Jean and schedule a free Dream Compass call. Sometimes all it takes is one conversation to begin moving you in the new direction. Thank you so much for spending part of your day with me. Remember, every choice you make is helping you write your story. Make it a story worth living and a story worth telling. Until next time, keep dreaming, keep growing, and keep living your own epic story.

And remember, the story you write tomorrow depends in part on how you. Well, you care for the person. Person who's living it today. Because, after all, it's all about the story.