A mum with a brilliant career - yes, it’s possible! - Thriving Woman Project

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A mum with a brilliant career - yes, it’s possible!

Episode 1 • 14th September 2022 • Thriving Woman Project • Wendy Griffith

THIS TRANSCRIPT IS COMPUTER‐GENERATED. IT IS POSTED TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND OR FIND CERTAIN PARTS YOU ARE INTERESTED IN. ALTHOUGH THE TRANSCRIPTION IS LARGELY ACCURATE, IN SOME CASES IT IS INCOMPLETE OR INACCURATE (COULD IT BE BECAUSE OF WENDY’S SOUTH AFRICAN ACCENT?). SO, IT MIGHT GIVE YOU A LAUGH HERE AND THERE!

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You're listening to the healthy and thriving career moms podcast where every week you will learn about healthier habits and hacks to create and support healthy and thriving lifestyle as a busy mom. I'm your host Wendy. And I truly believe that the best gift you can give to your family and the world is a healthy thriving you. Let's dive in Hello, Hello lovely and welcome back to season three of the healthy and thriving career moms podcast. I hope you are really well that you've had an amazing summer. If you're here in the northern hemisphere, like myself, and that you are excited for this next scene, which is the inspiring mums series.

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It's all about real moms giving us real talk and just really sharing the shine. And the shiny To be honest, and telling us like it is sharing their hearts, their tools, their tracks, all the things and you know just like having a cup of with the friend it's like sitting down and just getting all the gas so I can't wait for you to meet a fantastic guest that we have lined up for this season. But before I introduce you to today's gifts, I just wanted to flag something because it is mission critical next week, Wednesday, the 21st of September, am hosting a reset your nutrition masterclass, 12 Simple, easy ways to reset your nutrition habits so you can register by the link in your bio. So full disclaimer, this is not for you. If you're wanting to calorie count diet do all the things that let's be honest, no one wants to do.

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This is for you if you are wanting to create sustainable and healthier habits that will serve you and help you thrive in the future. So if you register on the link in my bio, you will get the recordings if you can't make it live, I send you a recording. There's also some great special surprises for those who are ready for that masterclass and make sure you go and do that right now before you forget. I know what it's like as a busy mom, don't do it. Now you forget about it. Right on to introducing you to our first guest of the season and that is my gorgeous and wonderful friend, Meg McLean. Meg is a busy mom of two little ones. She's reached the top level of her network marketing company and has a global online business. Her podcast she can the podcast is designed to help women realize that they are capable of running after their dreams while they run off to their kids.

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She is passionate about showing women that it can be done and we can all be at home and have a kickass career as well. So Meg is just such an inspiration to me. She has been a business bestie and mentor for me for years. I cannot wait for you to hear this interview. She really does share so honestly I just love the way that Meg is just so authentically herself and just so real like there are no as in races in this. We are both exposed a few things that you didn't know about us before. So I really hope that you enjoy this interview and I cannot wait to hear what you think. So make sure that you screenshot tag us on Instagram or wherever you are on social media and share the love. All right, let's get into it. And thanks for joining me on today's episode of the healthy and thriving career moms podcast.

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Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here. As a guest I have been so excited to get you on as a guest and I'm so glad we finally got it to work with all the summer holiday Juggler and I know your kids are back though. So jealous. Yes, we are at the meeting massive definitely just having that time to yourself. Do you know this is my art ever came to get on a podcast with strop is how

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they're for the listeners. This is obviously going to be a link in the show notes that I'm going to absolutely insist that you have to go click on and follow but make has the most epic podcast that I've listened to for over a year now. And like Meg has always been my go crush inspiration in business like we've known each other for about 10 over 10 years now that Meg has always actually been really sort of a mentor to me in our social marketing, industry and business and then she started her podcast a few months before I was going to launch mine. And so we've really kind of been on this podcast journey together, haven't we? Yeah, we have and I learned

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so much new education when there's always a person with all the all the technology technologies. You're so organized and like they went behind you do that. Senator, thank you. That's very kind of you. But we're here to talk about you today because I want the listeners to hear all about you. So just give us a little quick overview of who you are. Where you from? Kids, husbands, businesses, all the things. What's your

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name? Where'd you come from? I am making clean and I'm from Glasgow I have two children. Ava and Adam II was nearly six and Alan's nearly four and Mati to Steven who is a football referee. And I have my own podcast which I've had a year it's called she can and I'm also Network Marketing Engineer consultant with the same business as usual Beasley and I think that their teen years and that's really my background and when people ask me, what did you do before your network marketing business I'm like, Well, I'm tough child because it's so wide.

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No, but I mean, you just said we've caught him kind of silly, right? Because you started a marketing that's my background. Yeah, I did marketing story because it's quite funny like the listeners say, like, how it all came about that, you know, in terms of when you first started your business? Yes. So

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I started about 14 years ago when my friend was introduced to the business by her mum and this woman fluorophore made a conscious oh my god, this amazing and I saved up on it. I was so excited. And I went home and I said, Mom, I'm gonna be a millionaire. This is a man that is the best.

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And I was 20 at the time and my mum said, let me come on. No, you know the way to make money in this country is to go and get a job. You may continue for a while but eventually get a promotion and you'll get a mortgage. And then 40 years later you retire and then that's basically how the world works. So, you know, that's okay. Because that's what she knew. That's what she had been taught. I thought, you know, maybe that maybe she's right, maybe things like that for work in Scotland, maybe it's an American thing. So actually quite a lot of work in the business for a year. And it wasn't until a year later that started the business again, when I realized marketing that from home would actually do really well with it and honestly I started it for handbag fun fund alongside my work and job I thought I could ever buy a mulberry handbag with this. That would be the funny thing is that no fast forward 13 years. I have I actually am the proud owner of several mulberry handbags. I don't even hardly use

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them. Now, like you I'm laughing I'm literally like biting my cheeks because like you I was like just Mowbray I remember the first mile the handbag are gonna sound like such a brat. But it's been such a rite of bail like it was one of my first bonus checks with my career and and now it's so funny because those Marguerite bags sit in that line in dust bags. And I literally have like this little 25 pound like crossbody bag which is like his spot like kids smear whatever snot added for audit

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bar at the bottom of the bag. I mean, this definitely sticks in the bottom there somewhere. Like when I randomly bump into friends like can you compete with the statistic it's so funny, isn't it how things but I know like obviously you stopped for one reason and then but what I've always been so inspired by you Meg is like seeing the lifestyle that you've built through your career and for your family. And I mean, our daughters are only three months apart. So that's always be it. I feel like we had kids pretty much at the same time. I remember calling you to so you're doing a tremendous amount and I think I my daughter probably was like eight nine months, but I remember calling you out. I didn't know you that well, but I was like I taught and I remember calling snotty mares like Mary I'm like I just I just needed like some support from someone probably said the thing was,

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like I just couldn't get the whole baby business thing but like at the time, I was looking for someone like me who could help me get my health back on track who could help give me some career boost and motivation and I think you and I kind of filled the gap of like what we maybe needed at the time when we became moms and that's why I feel like you you know for me just embody that healthy and thriving career mom because you really, you're so honest about the shot and the shiny.

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You have to be the one you because I think when you talk about just the shiny people think that you're this you know, odor call or bestiality habits do to it. But the reality is that nobody is really, you know, we all make mistakes. We're all on alert and path and you like being pretty, like amazing with your habits over the years but like I suppose a lot of people maybe that goes into sort of bits and starts I mean, I know that you have run a marathon, but more recently a half marathon. Do you do like a bit of running

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on Bakris? I'll tell you I've logged on and I do like button and the thing that he decides to become for me recently and nationally started getting locked down was as that I used to exercise to be a certain size I used to exercise to be a certain shape for the bikini body to balance the genes and all that but it was really driven locked down and after having children that it started to become an essential for my mental health. And if I exercise I am an entirely different person. I am far more impatient with my children. My mind is so much more focused and so much more positive. I'm so much more productive and if I don't exercise, it's just a vicious cycle and it all starts for me with moving your body I make better decisions of who I eat. I mean better decisions and the you know hair on my business or nor are you going to choose Netflix are you gonna choose making a business call those key decisions sometimes for me rely on dead I move my body that word internal.

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Yeah, I've saved for me as well. So I know I've touched on running there. But what are the exercise of movement? I like the word movement sounds less scary than exercise. I like that that's our same move your body because it doesn't necessarily have to be go and do a hit workout. It doesn't kind of dance off. I know I've seen you on Instagram. A dance off of yourself in front of your Instagram stories or your meta you've never left to be able to just you can go home feel a bit glum and have that sad and low energy and then forgive someone and move your body in just what's

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your what's your pleasure? I don't like I never liked being guilty pleasure because I don't think any pleasure should feel guilty like make you feel guilty so but what's your pleasure? Like what's up like? I'm like Britney Spears. So what's your lie to your group? You don't have like about like, years before that like Britney Spears ones. I did the whole schoolgirl outfit. It was when I had a really like flat tummy as well. So I could do the whole you know operate nice like even now she's still rocking and flat stomach isn't she just get one of Jason's like Toy snakes reenact their sleep? You don't like snakes. That is the only thing in this world I'm frightened of is snake so there you go. People you've learned something once I mean you're scared.

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I used to be very scared of spiders. And I also used to be again scared or small species. But over the years and over the years of personal development. I'm not scared of them anymore. I can move outside of my house No problem. I left for us to have a glass of it and inform the neatest Harrison remove insider and small species I can just kill myself it's going to be fine and loaded. Mind over matter. I can just be through it and I'll be fine with as that would have been a panic attack inducing thing for me many years ago.

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Really Have you had a panic attack? Yes, I have. My first panic attack was when I was a dancer and a shoe. I was doing anything goes from the top bouncer and the guy who was running the show. It was just I was a lot younger than the other dancers and it was quite I feel and routine for me and I was making a bit of mistakes. And you guys shouted at me in front of all the other dancers do not go out there shooting you're not embarrassed. And I just I was failing in front of all I just worked out and then as soon as I walked off the stage and remember just just couldn't catch somebody. Older you must have been about 18 at that time. I've never had that again until after I had diva. She over kind of got a walk. All we're doing we're trying to get out the house. And it was a moment when I was calling about the dog. Thing I just had so I felt like I was being torn and all of these different directions. I just all of a sudden couldn't leave. And I was all I remember holding on to the towel reel and the bathroom. And I was about to point Stephen and so y'all need to come home from work. I can't leave the house I can't leave and then mess my sanity. And I just thought it'd be just trying to get you know, just like chill out like

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frightening. What else did you recognize at the time that that was what was happening? Or did you was early afterwards and you were like that was a panic attack. I think it was after it was after that it was and what did you did you talk to anyone about it. Or do you just kind of carry on or just can't carry on carried on? And the thing is, I suppose we're very fortunate that we're surrounded by so much Harris development and people who are very supportive. And I was able to just learn more about why these things happen. They're more about things that will reduce stress, ask for help with as effective when I had children I was very much the independent woman I can do anything and everything all by myself and I would make a meal with as some after that I started asking for help to walk the dog. Like those kind of things, simple things that you can fit into your life or reference and also just get used to that belief change you know when you're used to the routine of getting the dog stuff organized, getting children's stuff organized in your phone away until you're ready to look at your phone.

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When you confront a new life situation, whether that's having children or starting a new business or something you try and do all at once and it just doesn't work. And that's definitely what I did when I first had kids. I just tried to be everything for everything Erickson and Dave, like it was those kind of situations that I would put myself in and it was just I felt like I was torn in all directions. And I also learned that if you don't answer your phone straight away, no one days, there's never any emergencies and will I do you know and if that is a worry of yours like you can literally set up a feature on your phone where if somebody like in your key emergency contacts that you can configure continues to phone your phone like it will come on and you'll hear it you know, so like because that's my thing sometimes like if somebody does literally someone dies.

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Actually, you know, yeah, I think technology can be a real crutch. Yeah. And addiction sometimes without realizing. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, there's the addiction and the way that you just spend ages looking at your social media, you know, if you're, if you are in charge of your time, if you don't plan that time, we'll gain another learning curve that I've gone through myself. If you don't plan that time. Well, it's a deep dark hole of time that you're never getting back. So you have to be so intentional with where you spend your time. Or you want to let into your four walls whether that's technology or people or dogs or whatever. And just decide who gets your time and you get your head space if you cannot get it to everyone because that's what we tend to situations like that. And thank you so much for sharing that some of that's really personal but equally I think that's going to be so helpful for other moms who are listening because they're gonna go,

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Oh my gosh, that happened to me and I just, you know, carried on I didn't get the support or that ask for the help I needed and I think like you I've always been incredibly independence and so the cutting mother just nothing. Nothing prepares you for, I think the emotional journey that you go on, not just the physical but the emotional journey and just did you ever feel that sort of shifts in identity or that kind of I certainly felt a loss of identity because obviously I was just so happy to be a mom having gone through fertility journey and, you know, to becoming a mom but still like no one prepares you for that shift.

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I don't think no one prepares you at school. And that's something that I think as mothers we have to accept that it's okay to be sought or grateful for what you have while going after something else. Because I think so often women prevent themselves from going after walls or they prevent themselves from starting a new business or starting a new challenge or undertaking or something because actually be grateful for what have I have such a lovely family. They're healthy, they're happy. I have so much why am I going after more is that selfish? No, actually it's not. Because when you are adding to your own self care when you become the best version of your scale, when you go after things that light you up and make you happy, you become a better mom, you are able to get back to those people who you love the most and even stronger fashion. So it's definitely a balance that you have to be okay with being grateful for what you have while becoming the best version of yourself and there's definitely a time when you become a mum that you don't recognize yourself. You look in the mirror and you say cool, these materialistic things are starting to get a bit baggy, I must I must be back to normal again. And then you try on your normal jeans and you're like wait a minute. Your

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jeans I just couldn't at first I couldn't get up like I was like no, this feels weird. And then I've got the ones that go over your bum. Oh, oh, haven't haven't. Yet. It's a real rite of passage when you go back to doing your first pair of jeans and you're like, trying to tuck all the kind of the jelly back in. Or is that just me? No, yeah, well, I definitely had to make a transaction to before having kids. Everything was pretty much low waisted whereas I won't go near a low waisted everything has to be. Fashion has changed. Yeah, all hail mom jeans. Yeah, tourists now so

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either either earn a pair of them. I don't I keep looking and I'm like I just need to feel like I need a pair of mom jeans. Do you have a pair of mom jeans? I am currently waiting at the end of mom jeans but they are the compass things ever or however do looking at some cases. They're hungry and they're the most on attractive things in the world. And I don't care what anyone says. I just don't think they're flattening. But I still I still own a fear. I mean, I'm thinking I'm gonna get mom jeans and then I'm gonna get ones that have got like rips in them. So then I like call mom jeans. Yeah,

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I mean, that's one of that's one of the major things it really needs to say when you have a family is you need someone to tell you what's still cool and what the small that's one of the keys I have. No but I mean I make and I've seen you on a night out. I mean, it wasn't too long ago that we had a good night out. What about sort of conferences, parties? What was it? They were some belly dancers? What What was the thing? I can't remember anyway, it was great. You were with the Tina music going and rollin there you and your Lawrence.

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We're lucky because we get to do these things we get to we're in a business in a company that hasn't been so we get to go to we get to dress up and we get to be with the girls. And then we get to our sale ourselves and remind ourselves of who we are. We're not pushing that pram or who we are when we're not trying to guide our baby down the path and all a dog and a dog. Dog moms. exactly can you tell

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but a lot of women don't have that a lot of women don't have a business or a job that has that opportunity. So they don't get on hang out with other women and their fans are going for a weekend and I would say if you're in that session and you don't have any of that. Do your best to get to know people like that will do will let your opportunity to go away for the weekend with the girls or spend time with your fans and go because it's also important. You're awesome. We talked about making time for date nights with your husband or whatever. Make time for dnh with your games too because you're so crucial

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that's something that's always been lovely to see with you like you do have a really great tight group of friends that you hang out with. Yeah, I am so fortunate and actually I work with other students as we'll be we'll do our board as well. And there's there's really like five or six of us we just are together a lot of the time and you know that a lot of time we probably meet up once a month or once every couple months if we do see each other at work it sometimes is we'll we'll have children around similar times. So that was really helpful for me as well in that transition to becoming a mom and learning how to balance a business and children. But to be honest, again with the independent woman thing. There's even been times where so that part of the time that I had had a judgment call on WhatsApp to my planes and see guys manifest that I didn't do that because I'm a strong woman. I shouldn't have to do that with my husband. So there's there's definitely somebody or is there but I

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think sometimes we will say like, oh you can call me anytime or you would hope your friends will pick up the phone when they really struggling but I actually had a message out of the blue from a really good friend of mine back home from South Africa the other day and she had had a breast cancer scare. And she just was messaging me to say that everything was fine. And that that that she just been through this and it really kind of made her kind of set up and have a bit of a wake up call. And also just to say that, you know, she loves seeing the photos of me and my mom hanging out and also knowing that my mom's overcome breast cancer just saying like, you know, just tell your mom for me she's an amazing lady because I was like mentally preparing myself to have to potentially go through diagnosis. And anyway, I just think it's really important and I I have always been that way having lost one of my best friends in a really tragic way when I was really young in backing home in South Africa. And I think from that day I've always made it a point to tell people how much they mean to me and like let my friends know that I have their back and that I'm there for them. I think they know I'm that friend that if they need to bury the body they call me.

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Yeah, that's annoying. When when? Wendy very bodies Okay, seriously I hope that can't be held and incriminating evidence against me. I'm joking that was a joke. But no like I think we do as moms especially we've got to see and like I've had friends recently that have like been through losses and you know, and I just said like the other night Dan Parker or that I was like, right and prompt you won at my house. Tomorrow. You coming through a club? Yep. Yep. Yep. And like, everyone can see my mom thought I was mad because I was like, right, everyone's coming around for one and she's like, what? And like, we need like, we need wine. Like, we need to sit down and we needed to just talk and it was so lovely. Yeah, sometimes that's all you need as far as just hanging out with your gains, especially when fast when it's so important. You have a highly advocate for a nice glass of wine to share with friends or whatever your personal preferences.

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What is your favorite drink, by the way? Oh, I love a glass of wine and a gin and tonic along with the gentleman. Are you like into the gyms where you like flavors and then you're in fact the tonic and then the things that you put? Are you like proper? I love that in general from different distilleries, not a big fan of all that kind of flavored sweet gents like rhubarb, gents and pink gems and all that. I just like that in general. I like them from all over the place. So do you have a little gym connection there? Collection? Yeah. Good to know. Changing the description of my phone. Didn't friend and then why was red, white or red wine? What your what foods really sunny. Wait, if it's colder red. Yeah. I've been very I've been very into Rosae this summer. Yeah. summer evening. I think white wine just can sometimes give me a little bit of a a bit of a headache. So I love a glass of wine but doesn't love me my body definitely is not as robust as April wine organic wine sulfate is the way forward for them.

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Yes, I have heard that have so there we go. You're learning healthy facts about wine on the healthy and thriving. Like you are getting bang for your buck here right now. So as we sort of come to the end, I want to just kind of do a bit of a quick fire round with you. So yeah, just a few questions where you just have to like think and answer without thinking too much. So number one healthy hack. Go to capitalism. Movie rewards or punishment. Amazing. Number one healthy quick dinner that you make when you've got like zero time and you want to do something healthy. Chili. Chili. Yeah, that is that quick. Does that take you quick? So quack is the quickest thing ever? And they say do it with rice, rice and a healthy and being okay, what is your number one like move your body song. When you put that song on, it's like that, you know? Amazing so that's a word.

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That's the thing. What is your favorite movie of all time? The one that you just can watch. I really, really? I love that. 100% And what is the best business book that has had the biggest impact on you like that you just like had the biggest light bulbs. It's got to be the success principles because basically every business book ever drafted has come from some form of plagiarism from the success principle. I'd say it's fine to I love it. It's like the Bible business. It's amazing. It's absolutely amazing. Everything and every other book after that has basically just taken a chat for another record and personal development books. Once you've read the first couple of chapters is like okay, I've got the jest now. They need to contain you with success principles. It's literally a different topic. Every chapter and that's to like dip in and read and then you don't have to feel like you, you know are getting out of saying, Okay, one more. One more. One more. What's your favorite go to podcast at the moment?

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The main set mentor and healthy habits and with enough Kiki, she hasn't said that. But no. So that mindset men are a love and also I love everything by Lewis tights. Yes. He's always up there on my list. So that's like every week. Those are your lessons. The top lessons yeah I wish I could sometimes see like some people's podcast list is like I go through stages where I listen and I'll binge someone and then I'll be like, won't listen to them and then I'll go on to another person and I'll binge their content and yes, and sometimes you you love a podcast and you love the person War certainly and you have a guess on it just wouldn't really work. And that's enough to just miss whatch. So it definitely depends. I love Ed malate. He recently had a guest on I just didn't I wasn't vegan so I've changed it up.

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But yet, most of the podcast I listen to her actually new voices. Interestingly, rarely whereas actually most of us I listen to female voices, and I actually find them quite annoying to listen to. You find what and I find that annoying to listen to that I can understand that I mean I'm gonna get my podcasts loose now and just see like Debbie Nicholson my favorite of mine. Yes. Yeah, I'm looking at all my focus is only one to two men out of 20 Mark Haman the doctors pharmacy and I love Dr. Rangan Chatterjee, which is a little bit got Hill point even believe we didn't cover that today because like that is something you and I are totally obsessed about and to hear into like actually you're doing a greens drink you love your green gut flow. I do. I do.

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And it's only recently since I started focusing on it recently, the last kind of five years that I've really learned about gut health and how much impact not only your body but also your mental state again, and your physicality and the way that you think and the way that you feel it's there's so much more Sugarhill than just deep locking. That is an incredible witness of it but there's just so much better than that. Look, you haven't thought about your got healed and you haven't learned about it they get learned about it because it will change your life when you understand the impact of it. And there are a couple of resources I'm going to post in the in the show notes I'm gonna put my gut health checklist for you because I've got that as a free resource. But also I'm going to put the link to my next podcast on interview with Dr. Tanya Cook, which was amazing.

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Yes, she was incredible. And she went in she's a naturopathic doctor, nutritionist. She went into so much detail and I know that was probably one of your most popular podcasts. Another popular one night and it's delegates from your 20s delegates lesson back to incredible so I'll make sure so if you don't already follow Meg on Instagram you need to remind me of your handle again. I am making clean beauty clean UK and then also the podcast which is a podcast as she can and you'll find it on Instagram actually can point you have to go listen to her Meg is like the best host the best Interviewer I feel so incredibly blessed to have interviewed you today and to be your first I cannot believe that by the way because like you have been like my mentor and trainer and interview and we've done a podcast together. I've been on your podcast, which was such a like a amazing moment for me as well. I really enjoyed that. But I'm just so glad that you got to be I want to be your first interview and it's just been.

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It's been like I thought it would be just like a chat with your friends. I mean, we did actually have to have a half an hour chat before we actually even started interviewing so much to chat about all of that chatter about whatever recording remember we talked about now, but yeah, thank you so much. And I know that our listeners will get so much from the nuggets that you shared today. Like I've taken so much away from just things that I just love the way that you say things which is why I love it. So, thanks so much for having me. Wendy. There's no one I would rather my interviewee Katie well, then yeah, I was gonna say that earlier, but I'm just gonna say it wrong and then it's gonna be bad and on that note thank you for tuning in today. I'm so grateful for you. If this episode has resonated make sure you visit Wendy griffith.co.uk To discover more of my content and my fantastic free resources to support you in thriving. Or if you'd like to continue the conversation further. Drop me a DM by Instagram at Wendy Griffith live healthy. I'd love to hear from you. Until next time, keep thriving.