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Podcast Episode 38 – Resources for the Real Food and Drinks Lifestyle

Salad

Today is to make sure you are available of a few resources that we use to help us maintain a healthy lifestyle. And in order to provide you with even more help, please take our 3 question survey and let us know exactly what tools and support you are hoping for.

We want to come alongside you, as well, as we all continue moving toward a positive direction to support our healthy lifestyles. If there are any specific ways that we can be of assistance, please contact us through our contact form or send a verbal message through Speakpipe.

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We invite you to listen and share your perspectives with us too. Send us a recorded message through Speakpipe. We may use your message in an upcoming episode, therefore, please leave your name if you would like it to be noted during the podcast. Leave an email address if you would like a personal response or feel free to use the contact form.

SHOW NOTES:

Resources Page

The Big Swich (No ‘T’) helps you develop cooking skills tailored to your individual health goals, skill level, and food preferences. 100% online. 100% plant-based. 100% free.

Real Food and Drinks (Recipes)

Join Real Food and Drinks at these social media locations:

Also available on YouTube:

Transcript:

Intro (Shonda and Patryce): Hi, and hello. Welcome to the real food and drinks, lifestyle podcast. We're building a community to talk about nutrition, lifestyle choices, and just feeling better. This is Shonda and this is Patryce. Let's just be real.
[00:00:36] Here's our disclaimer. We do not professionally practice in any of the various subjects that we discuss. We are only sharing our personal experiences with you to a healthier lifestyle. Please do your own research before taking part in any of these practices.
[00:00:55] Shonda: Hello, this is Shonda. Good morning, afternoon, or evening, whatever it may be for you, but I really hope all is going well with you today.
[00:01:05] Today. I'd simply like to take the time to update you on a few things. For one, did you know that there's a resource section at the real food and drinks website? There I've listed some great tools to support you in eating more plants. There's a YouTube section that lists some of our favorite go-to channels for health and wellness and recipes.
[00:01:31] There's also a list of websites that contain health and wellness information along with even more recipes. And if you haven't already seen it, I've included a link to the "Big Swich" and it's spelled S-W-I-C-H (no 'T'). The Big Swich is an online resource that helps you develop cooking skills, tailored to your individual health goals, skill level, and food preferences.
[00:02:01] It's 100% online, 100% plant-based and 100% free. I'm just getting started in trying out this resource myself, there are so many recipes. And even if you are a newbie to this lifestyle, there's lots of help and a community to support you as you learn. I just discovered this last week and I wanted to share it with you as soon as possible. The link to the resource section is available in the show notes.
[00:02:36] Hey, we'd like to get to know you more. We want to meet you and find out how we can help support you on your journey. So please take a quick survey using the link in the show notes. Please let us know what tools and support you're looking for to help you along in your health journey.
[00:02:56] And you can share your successes with our community by joining the real food and drinks Facebook group if you're on Facebook. But if not, there's also the Instagram page and the YouTube channel. And you're welcome to leave comments at these social media places too. And one more thing, you can always send us a voicemail through SpeakPipe. The link to all of this information can be found by following the link in the show notes below.
[00:03:26] Patryce and I will see you next week. Until next time... I hope you have a really great week.
[00:03:33] Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy today's podcast. Remember you can catch show notes and additional details at realfoodanddrinks.com under the podcast menu. Also, subscribe to our podcast if you aren't already a member of our community. And if listening through Anchor, please send us a message of topics you would like to hear us have conversations about. Until next time. Let's just be real.

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Podcast Episode 25 – Got Stress? Let’s Deal With It

YouGotThis

In Episodes 21 thru 23, we discussed tips from Stormie Omartian’s book, “Greater Health God’s Way’ about how making simple food choices can become healthy food goals. Yet, today, we thought it just as important to discuss stress and how stress can affect our healthy goals overall. We also talk about what we can do about stress. Many of these points come from Chapter 1 which is titled “Peaceful LIving”.

We want to come alongside you, as well, as we all continue moving toward a positive direction to support our healthy lifestyles. If there are any specific ways that we can be of assistance, please contact us through our contact form or send a verbal message through Speakpipe.

OTHER WAYS TO SUBSCRIBE AND LISTEN:
iTunes Logo Breaker Logo Google Podcasts Logo OverCast Podcasts Logo Pocket Casts Logo Radio Public Podcasts Logo Spotify Logo RSS Feed Logo Anchor

We invite you to listen and share your perspectives with us too. Send us a recorded message through Speakpipe. We may use your message in an upcoming episode, therefore, please leave your name if you would like it to be noted during the podcast. Leave an email address if you would like a personal response or feel free to use the contact form.

Show Notes:

“Greater Health God’s Way” by Stormie Omartian

Stormie’s book is a great overview of how to live in a healthful way. The last copy of the book was published in 1996, yet the information is still very relevant to today. She explains 7 steps to greater health: 1. Peaceful LIving 2. Pure Food 3. Proper Exercise 4. Plenty of Water 5. Prayer and Fasting 6. Periods of Fresh Air and Sunlight and 7. Perfect Rest.

We will definitely be discussing more areas of this book in addition to completing the 15 helpful hints/tips for making food choices in upcoming podcasts.

See Stormie Omartian’s Book Greater Health God’s Way: Seven Steps to Inner and Outer Beauty (on AMAZON).

More Resources:

Episode 1 – COVID-19 and Stress

De-stress, Dealing with Stress (Covid-19 Pandemic)

A Healthier Lifestyle

The Need for Exercise

Plant-based “Simple” Recipes:

Search real food and drink recipes using this link.

Transcript:

[00:00:00] In episodes 21 to 23, we discuss tips from Stormie Omartian's book, Greater Health, God's Way, about how making simple food choices can become healthy food goals. Yet today, we thought it just as important to discuss stress and how stress can affect our healthy goals. Overall, we also talk about what we can do about stress.
[00:00:37] Hi, and hello. Welcome to the Real Food and Drinks Lifestyle Podcast. We're building a community to talk about nutrition, lifestyle choices, and just feeling better. This is Shonda and this is Patryce. Let's just be real.
[00:01:04] Disclaimer, we do not professionally practice in any of the various subjects that we discuss. We are only sharing our personal experiences with you to a healthier lifestyle. Please do your own research before taking part in any of these practices.
[00:01:21] Patryce: Well, I just thought it was interesting during our last podcast, we talked about healthy habits that were offered by Stormie, and it was interesting how she did end all that, uh, talking about stress.
[00:01:35] Shonda: Right.
[00:01:36] Patryce: And how important it is to identify stress and minimize stress.
[00:01:42] Shonda: So I remember my food journey is like, okay, I'm doing all this stuff. Right. I got the right food. And, but now it's causing stress. Even when I became assured that, okay, yeah, I've got this down. I'm doing a good job. I saw it was still something missing and I knew it and that may have just been God telling me, Hey, you're not done yet. And you have to deal with stress. So I, I did recognize that. I went for food first, but then, you know, soon after I discovered it's not all about food, because like she says, "do all the food and exercise properly but if stress is there", I mean, that's, that's the big thing that we have to be concerned about.
[00:02:22] Patryce: Exactly. We could be doing all this in vain if we're not managing stress. Because like it's been documented that 90 plus percent of all illnesses are related to stress. And even if the cause of these illnesses is not stress certainly stress will worsen any illness we have.
[00:02:46] Shonda: Right. Exactly. Um, that's a good thing, but that is key, but I also don't want to diminish the role of food and exercise in there, because if we're, there are two things. If we're improperly eating, that's a stressor on our body. And if we're in properly exercising, that's another stressor. You know, whether we're not exercising that's stress or, you know, causing our body to have to pump more and harder, because you know, we're not circulating our blood or we can over-exercise and cause stress too. So that's just something I wanted to mention there. I think most of us do recognize the general feelings of being stressed. You know, we, we were irritable, just frustrated. Maybe we can't think straight. You know, low tolerance of, of life events, you know, just, I mean like the day to day life events, you know, that that's a signal that we're in a stressed state.
[00:03:48] Um, because I have thoughts of remembering I'm feeling stressed, but I can't pinpoint what this stress is. What is around me that's causing stress? If you look at my life from the outside in it's like, okay, what, what's it going on? There's nothing going on to be causing this stressful feeling, so then I realize, okay, this is coming from myself.
[00:04:12] You know, it's coming from my thoughts about day-to-day work or, oh, I have too much to do or, you know, uh, the floor isn't clean or something. I mean just causing my own stress in my own mind.
[00:04:27] Patryce: And I guess it also goes back to knowing yourself and knowing your body. Knowing your body, your mind, your body, you know, uh, so that you can identify, uh, signs of stress. Because she has a lot in here, but she also pointed out that everything we do produces some stress.
[00:04:48] So that's why not only knowing the signs of stress, but realizing there are two kinds of stress, right? Hm. Talk about positive and negative stress because the point being made that we do have both, because anything can cause stress, but is it negative stress or is it positive stress? Because the negative stress is what we've got to, to minimize and really identify the signs of, whereas the positive stress, we may not realize as much the signs of it because it could even spur us onto to do a better job at something. Right?
[00:05:26] Right. I mean, yeah. Okay. So we're, we're talking about there's positive stress, but I think negative stress is the one that, um, we need to take note of more so, because you know, these are things that start physical ailments, you know, not just I'm feeling stress, but they start, you know, like high blood pressure, stomach problems, ulcers, heart disease and cancer. If we are really overloaded with stress, these are the outcomes of stress on our bodies. Our bodies start to break down.
[00:06:00] Okay. Well, yes, you're right. And so I guess focusing on the signs of stress so that we can identify when we're getting stressed is that...?
[00:06:10]Shonda: We need to recognize stress in our lives before it gets serious and take specific steps to alleviate it.
[00:06:17] So before we get to hypertension, blood pressure, heart disease, ulcers, we want to tackle it right there. You know, it's time today. Let's just start. You know, no matter where we are, if we're experiencing these things or we're not experiencing them yet, let's get proactive in this at no matter what stage we at, no matter what age we're at, let's just start working on alleviating stress.
[00:06:43] So those were the signs of stress and things like that. But yeah, there are different sources of stress. And so we can break those further down. You know, there's environment, poor diet, lack of exercise and our attitude, which I touched on just a little bit ago, but you know, we can talk about the environment.
[00:07:02] Patryce: For sure, for sure.
[00:07:04] We, we, we live in such a fast paced and honestly, very polluted environment in many ways. And I'm not just talking about chemical pollution. We also have noise pollution. Okay. We're overloaded with that. And just, um, so many ways, too much noise pollution, too many people, traffic, um, competition. It's all can add up and, and not be good for our body and mind.
[00:07:33] Shonda: Yeah. That's what I was thinking. I really thought you were about to say people pollution, you know, that just kind of reminds me of someone who, you know, may bring a lot of negativity, you know,
[00:07:44] Patryce: Toxic people, toxic, and that's a real issue. And, uh, it is a real source of, of stress.
[00:07:52] Shonda: Yeah. For many, for sure. Yeah. So, uh, poor diet.
[00:07:56] We want to eat real food. Food that's vibrant, full of life, and comes straight from the ground as much as possible. And, you know, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grains.
[00:08:10]Patryce: All the GBOMBS,
[00:08:11] Shonda: Right. Because you know, all the other foods are stressors. They're just pulling us down. It's taking more energy to digest these foods that in return are given us nothing.
[00:08:21] Patryce: That's true. Nothing on your return for sure. So yeah. Poor diet can be definitely a source of stress. And then, um, coupled with that is a lack of exercising.
[00:08:32] Shonda: I like to remind people that we're not talking about beat yourself up exercise, you know, panting, running, you're out of breath. I'm just talking about a simple walk for 20 minutes a day.
[00:08:44] Patryce: That's a very good point. It's not that we're saying there's a certain type of exercise. We're just saying find, find some type of exercise and do it on a regular basis.
[00:08:56] Shonda: And exercise can be fun. You know, it can be fun. Uh, whether you like playing a sport with someone or a walk or dancing, uh, yardwork.
[00:09:07] Patryce: That's a good one yardwork. Because I think you were just outside earlier and going along with exercising, complementing any exercise with the sunlight. Yeah, that's great.
[00:09:17] Shonda: That's a good point. Sunlight. While we're outdoors. So let's try to exercise outdoors. Yeah. And I like to get a return on my, um, exercise. So that's why I do yard work. But I mean, we're getting a return, but I get a double return. Let's just say that.
[00:09:34]Patryce: Interest
[00:09:35] Shonda: Oouuh, triple return out in the sun, I'm getting work done, and my body's benefiting just from movement.
[00:09:41] Patryce: Ding, ding, ding!
[00:09:43] Shonda: Okay. Any other form of exercise you enjoy?
[00:09:47] Patryce: I haven't really pursued yoga, but I know you have, and I've heard more and more people talk about the benefits they have found to practicing yoga and something called Tai Chi.
[00:09:58] So again, it doesn't have to be, like you said, the type of exercise, always where you're panting or super aerobic, not to say that that's not good exercise, but if that is not the form that you take to well, then there are other options out there.
[00:10:12] Shonda: And so we're back to our attitude. I've already talked about my attitude. I had to learn that. I really did have to learn that my attitude was a source of stress. I mean, you, you can really lift yourself up out of that. You can really choose, choose your attitude and you will start to feel better automatically. Okay. That's my little input there and I believe in it and I've seen it happen in my own life.
[00:10:40] Patryce: I totally agree.
[00:10:42] And this is silly, but I I've even told, been known them to tell people my kids, myself, that if you're not in necessarily good mood or you need to call someone, you have a difficult conversation or need to break the ice, smile. Even if no one sees you when you're smiling and you're speaking, it will come through more, in a more positive light than just frowning.
[00:11:08] And it's all about positive. You know, seeing the glass half full. Versus half empty. I know it's a cliche, but it's true. Something I'll just read straight from Stormie's book, it says, "we have already said that it's not so much what is happening to you. It's not so much your, what your circumstances [are] but your reaction to your circumstances that make a difference."
[00:11:31] Shonda: Yes. Our reaction, taking control, watching our attitude, watching what our thoughts are.
[00:11:39] Patryce: Definitely our thought life is so important. And so, um, that's another thing we can't minimize is our thought life leads a lot to...to a lot of the stress. Yeah.
[00:11:54] You mentioned how we need to be proactive about managing and minimizing our stress.
[00:11:59] And I can't agree with you more because more and more people at a younger age, even our children are reporting that they are stressed. Elementary age.
[00:12:11] Shonda: Yeah, it's so true. And I, and I have to say that we as parents play a role in that, you know, I have played a role I know in some of the attitudes that I've seen in my children and their stress.
[00:12:23] And so now that I know better, you know, they're, they're adults and, you know, they were young teenagers. I mean, I have tried to display a different attitude for them so that they can learn that that behavior is learned and that behavior can be changed.
[00:12:40] Patryce: It can be changed. I love how you... you just made that statement. That behavior can be changed. Because so often you hear someone saying, well, that's just how I am. Well, no, maybe that's how you are now. That doesn't mean you have to always be that way.
[00:12:58] Shonda: So there's two choices, right, in dealing with stress? Uh, We can do something to change the situation, or we can be content with whatever circumstances there are and that's Philippians 4: 11 and decide to accept it and move on. Or what, what do you think?
[00:13:18] Patryce: Wow. I think similar to what you were just saying, we can choose to embrace our stress or choose to minimize it.
[00:13:33] Shonda: Yeah. I mean, uh things, examples are just coming to my mind, like, okay, I'm stressed out in the morning because I'm driving to work and there's so much traffic and I'm late and you know, all these different things.
[00:13:47] Well, so what can we do?
[00:13:50]Patryce: Change our attitude? I was in that situation, Shonda, my commute went from 35 minutes to maybe an hour and 10 minutes on a rainy day. And so I loved to listen to books. So I used to get audio... the CDs...books on, on tape back then, or books on CDs, audio books. And I found my attitude changed.
[00:14:13] And then also the type of music. I know at one point, yeah, much younger in life, I just, whatever the latest was, or I just went with whatever genre and, and nothing to say, we all have different preferences, but I've just found it ,to me, listening to praise and worship music regularly helps change my mood. I'm meditating on the Lord.
[00:14:36] Shonda: Yeah. Um, so you took the steps to change your attitude, to do something good with the time that you were spending there, you know, so you wouldn't feel like you're wasting your time. And I mean, of course, yeah we could get up earlier so that we won't feel stressed when we're, you know, that close. Like, oh man, I'm like running 10 minutes late, you know, because there was a stalled car or something like that. So we can decide to make room for dealing with stress. We can change situations. There's things we can do. I mean, so...
[00:15:12] Patryce: That's a very good point too. You can change the situation. And I know it may seem radical, but I changed to the point where I did not work outside the home for a given period of time, because the jobs, they took such a long commute. They involved such a long commute that it was do I want to complain and continue to be late picking up my kids, even though I'm leaving earlier and earlier for work? Or do I want to make a change? We can look as a family to see what can I do. Can I get a job closer to home? Or if it's, if we're in a position, I just stay at home and I'm able to do all those things for the kids at school. Um, we may cut back on some other things, but long-term, I am so thankful that at that time we made that choice.
[00:15:54] Shonda: And it sounds like that was a good choice. So, um, Stormie also talks about ways to deal with stress. The first thing she says is make a list of your stress sources. Like, do we ever think about that to sit down and say, okay, what's stressing me out? You know, and write it down and look at it and, you know, start to analyze our life.
[00:16:17] Right? That's being proactive. Let's see what we can do about these things. And so that would be one, you know, Uh, the morning commute is really stressing me out. I mean, that would be something you put on your list, you know.
[00:16:30] Patryce: I love the list idea. I never thought about doing that. It's like you just find yourself stressed and complaining, but why not sit in the beginning, be intentional and make that list? I loved that.
[00:16:42] Shonda: Yeah. The next thing she, uh, suggests is, um, well look at that list and is there anything that can be changed to alleviate the problem? And if so, take those steps immediately. Get that stress out of there.
[00:16:55] Patryce: I ended my job assignment.
[00:16:58] Shonda: So the last thing it says is if you can't change the situation, do some thinking and research about how you can fortify yourself mentally and emotionally to survive the stress in your life.
[00:17:10] Patryce: I love that point because you may be a single parent. Um, and you need that job. For right now that is the job you have. So good advice.
[00:17:21] Shonda: So, yeah, I mean, just taking that example. That's the job I have. So you begin to appreciate that job instead of thinking about it's a stress and you change other areas of your life around the job so that it won't be such a stressor. You know, find some help from family maybe that can help pick up kids.
[00:17:42] Or do something different. Like if you're late, you know, maybe have a plan for a quick and easy meal, you know, involve the kids, you know, maybe ya'll do something different. You know, don't let that stress enter your life. Let's make it fun. Let's go, okay this is a late night let's have a taco bar or something. Have a plan. Yeah. And have a backup plan for when the day doesn't go right and the evening meal comes in. And you know, I'm always thinking about food or I always want to help with food.
[00:18:15] So, you know, we, we can decide how we're going to look at the things, the stressors in our life. What can we learn from them? How can we change our attitudes? What can we do about it? And you know, of course, when all else I'm not going to say fails, but let's put it in alignment with prayer.
[00:18:35] You know, let's pray about it. Prayer brings wisdom, peace, and a strong mind. And that's exactly what we need when we're stressed.
[00:18:43] Patryce: And who doesn't want all of that? So next time, let's focus on prayer, the power of prayer.
[00:18:50] Shonda: For our life, stress, exercise, everything
[00:18:55] Patryce: For everything. We certainly can. So let's talk more about that in our next podcast.
[00:19:00] Shonda: Sounds like a plan. We'll see you all next time.
[00:19:03] Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy today's podcast. Remember you can catch show notes and additional details at RealFoodAndDrinks.com under the podcast menu. Also subscribe to our podcast if you aren't already a member of our community. And if listening through Anchor, please send us a message of topics you would like to hear us have conversations about .
[00:19:30] Until next time.
[00:19:31] Patryce: Let's just be real.

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Podcast Episode 5 – A Conversation with the Younger Generation

Young Adults

In this episode, Shonda has a conversation with the person who inspired her to begin the podcast. This person is of the younger generation and gives an insight into how he views real food and its challenges, yet how he also recognizes its necessity if one desires to live a healthy lifestyle.

We invite you to listen and share your perspectives with us too. Send us a recorded message through Speakpipe. We may use your message in an upcoming episode. Leave your name if you would like it to be noted during the podcast. Leave an email address if you would like a personal response or feel free to use the contact form.

Listen right here:

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Discussion transcript for ‘A Conversation with the Younger Generation‘:

Shonda (00:00): Hi, it's Shonda. And today I get to interview a young gentleman that I'm really excited about having on the show today, who inspired me to begin this podcast by giving me the exact microphone we're using today as a gift on my 50th birthday, we're here.

Podcast Intro (with music) (00:00): Hi and hello. Welcome to the real food and drinks, lifestyle podcast. We're building a community to talk about nutrition, lifestyle choices, and just feeling better. This is Shonda and this is Patryce. Let's just be real.

Podcast Intro (with music) - continued (00:00): [Music continues] Here's our disclaimer. We do not professionally practice in any of the various subjects that we discuss. We are only sharing our personal experiences with you to a healthier lifestyle. Please do your own research before taking part in any of these practices.

Shonda (00:23):We finally made it. Steven, thank you for being my guest today. Hello. Hi. So, uh, introduce yourself.

Steven (00:30): Uh, my name is Steven Hector. I am 23 years old. My current occupation is a vehicle service technician. I live in college station right now.

Shonda (00:40): Okay. Everyone. Steven's my son. So I guess, uh, for all our guests, we'd like to ask, what's your definition of real food?

Steven (00:52): My definition of real food. Um, so real food. What I think humans should be consuming in general is naturally, you know, food that you can easily obtain, or you could obtain, you know, yourself depending on whether it's going to be grains or whether it's going to be, you know, vegetables, whether it's gonna be fruits, whether it's going to be, you know, animal products, you know, like by hunting or by gathering or by, you know, doing several of those, you know, what we used to do, how to get food. Um, I think that's like what real food is and, you know, just the way that you prepare it. Um, real food is for lack of a better term, you know, unprocessed or, you know, food that hasn't been altered or, you know, in any way,

Shonda (01:41): I must say that as Steven's mom, I was quite impressed with what he had collected over the years as I was learning what real food is, because I had to learn myself. I had to define that for myself. And that is where, um, the term real food and drinks came from. It was just like a philosophy I adopted or practice that I had to adopt when choosing the food that I would eat. And along the way, I just discovered that in order to get real food in a way that was the most natural I had to shop mostly in the produce section. Now over the years, uh, this all began about 10 years ago. And over the years I have come to the conclusion that for me, living a whole food plant based lifestyle is what's best for me. It's what energizes me. And I know that I'm getting those vital nutrients from food and not filling up on fat or lots of protein from eating animal foods.

Shonda (02:55): My body just responded so quickly to a whole food plant based lifestyle. And that's what I have finally adopted. And that is why if you visit real food and drinks.com, you will find that there are no longer any more recipes that contain meat. Because I feel like at this point, I don't have to convince you to create a meal around eating meat. If you still desire to eat meat, you can put your meat to the side. In addition to all the plant based recipes that are on the website, because the plant based recipes are, what's going to give you the missing nutrients that you may or likely to be missing from your diet. So I just want it to flood the website with whole food plant based, eating in order to inspire you. I have created a resource page. I'm not a practicing nutritionist. I'm just a real food coach.

Shonda (03:56): I want to coach you on how to eat real food. But on that resource page, there are links to doctors and research institutions where you can go and find the evidence of including more plant based foods in your diet in order to heal your body. So I encourage you to go to the real food and drinks website and start taking a look around and learning. And I do some videos every now and then too. There'll be posted at the website and I just want to encourage you to really, truly learn more about real food and what we can do to help our bodies heal and thrive and just be full of energy and life. Um, and one last thing I want to add here is that, uh, if you do choose to eat animal products, I hope that you will look a little deeper into where those animal products are coming from.

Shonda (05:03): You know, if you're not like my son said, if you're not hunting yourself or raising your own animals, let's say that if you're not raising your own animals and you don't know what those animals are eating, I encourage you to go look at farmer's markets and, um, try to find a farmer that's raising animal products in a way that, um, is best for your body. So that would be grass fed, pasture raised animals. So let's get back to the conversation. So now that you have this knowledge, how often do you apply this knowledge to your lifestyle?

Steven (05:45): It's been varying, you know, since I've moved out, I'm working full time. A lot of people don't have time to prepare themselves real food. And, you know, people, you know, including me, you know, when I lived, you know, work or live outside of the house, I purchased a lot of like, you know, fast food things that have been altered and stuff. And it has, you know, reduced my health slightly. I mean, I eat tons enough junk food to make myself obese or make myself sick, you know, but my, you know, my metabolism, I guess, is high enough to, you know, burn all these calories or, you know, process this food. But you know, I'm not, it's not nutrition, it's just calories and I'm taking it at this point. Um, you know, real food will fill you up, you know, both satisfy the caloric, you know, want that your body needs, but also will help you build, you know, other parts of your body.

Shonda (06:35): Okay. Since Steven seemed to be on a roll meaning that he was saying things that I would normally say, so I'm just going to let him keep talking. Although I wasn't too happy to hear that my son's diet is poor and he knows it let's continue with the conversation.

Steven (06:56): So taking the upbeat you considered underweight. Um, but I still use these same guidelines and the things that I do try to consume if I do consume a lot of these fast foods, I'll try to make sure, I at least have it balanced out to where I have at least some type of vegetable or at least some type of, you know, fruit on the side or whatever, even though that's not ideal, you ideally want to be filling most of your diet up with like the real foods and then those junk foods and stuff like that can just be a snack and needs to be like very small portion, kind of like a treat it just as long as you can consume mostly real food. You know, even though the goal is eating only real food, if you can, that that balance needs to be very biased towards real food. Um, cause if you think about it like this, it goes back to the old saying, saying that, you know, you are what you eat and your body literally is having to replace itself with whatever you consume, anything that you consume as far as like, you know, right now he could, I could probably be based on made a whole bunch of bread and chicken nuggets.

Shonda (07:57): Oh my goodness. I hope not. But in reality, that is the truth. Um, that we have a lot of people who are eating fast foods. It's very popular in the young adults. And probably, um, more than that older adults too, because of convenience, like we talked about earlier, my son also mentioned about eating balanced with real food and yes, the goal is to eat more real food. We all have to start somewhere. We all have to start implementing the idea that we need to eat more real food than the other stuff. You know, that we're eating that we know that's not good for us, but sometimes it does come to a point when we, especially as we get older, you know, right now my son's younger. So he has a little bit more flexibility and, and most young adults do. And some don't because we still are hearing that, you know, young adults are getting diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure and, you know, things like that. So it really is an individual thing, but the real goal and the real hope of mine is that young people were realized that they could start building a better, healthier life for themselves now, and that they won't have to run into a brick wall like I did at the age of 30, after the birth of my third child. I hope this is encouraging to you who are listening right now. And let's get back to the conversation

Steven (09:41): Again, like your body is using several different types of ways to synthesize these proteins and all the other carbohydrates and things that we need, you know, to build our bodies. Um, but we struggle a lot when you eat junk food,

Shonda (09:56): You know, just today I was listening to, um, the food revolution, you know, I was reminded, you know, like the body's constantly trying to replace, you know, its cells. And they said, stomach cells, you know, get replaced like every five days, the skin, every seven days, your red blood cells, four months liver, five months, you know, and then there's some other things in between their bones are 10 years, you know, with the brain

Steven (10:24): Brain is I think it's seven years brain. Your neurons will last about seven years before they're replaced. And all of that has to come into factor. Like, I mean your teeth and bones, stuff like that. If you like, you know, one thing that we try to strive to get out of our diet, even though that's probably a part of something that we should eat is some of the dirt. And some of the things that we get from just eating, not very sanitized food, but, um, I guess you could say, you know, still clean, like we'd cleaned it, but you still get some of those trace minerals and stuff. And a lot of those things you can't get out of such some of the sterile food we right.

Shonda (11:01): Yeah. I agree. Totally. And that's why one of the things, uh, I know vitam, I was just doing research on vitamin K-2 today because you're supposed to take that with your vitamin D, which is from the sun and vitamin K-2, um, can be obtained through fermented foods. And, you know, I used to ferment a lot of foods now I need to get back to fermented foods. I have my favorite recipe that is really delicious. Even people who haven't had sauerkraut before, it's I call it sauerkraut, cause it's mostly cabbage, but they really liked this one, you know? Cause it's a little sweet, you know, the one with the pineapple and the purple cabbage, cilantro... Yeah. So I'm, I'm about to make a batch of that, but it is true that dirt is good for you. Um, yes it is. I mean, we're talking about clean dirt, you know, there is a such thing as clean dirt,

Steven (11:56): The minerals in it, the sediment and stuff.

Shonda (11:59): Well, you know, I, I, you know, I eat my dirt, my dirt, my Terramin clay. I do, uh, ingest clay. It's a cleaner clay and it's by Terramin. So I do that too, but I'm still reminded about when you go out into the garden and garden, you know, you, don't only just get, uh, microbes from things that you eat, but from things that you breathe, you know, you breathe those microbes in the dirt when you're, you know, stirring the dirt and, and, you know, mixing it up or watering it or planting new plants and seeds and things like that. And I recall, uh, Mama Mil, she tells me this story about how her younger, I think it was her younger brother was sickly child. The doctor told, told the, parent put the child outside and let him play in the dirt. And so there's a lot to say for, you know, fresh air.

Shonda (12:52): That's what it's all about. Fresh air, fresh dirt. Personally. I recall feeling super healthy for one time when I actually tended a garden that we had in our backyard. And this is something that I intend to do again, this fall, it had to be being out in the dirt, touching the dirt, breathing the dirt, eating the fresh foods directly from the garden. And I cannot help, but to interject right here about grounding and earthing, grounding, and earthing is something that I've come to realize that was missing in my life. And I guess I was getting it when I was gardening, but recently I've been reintroduced to it. And I want to encourage you if you haven't seen that on the website yet about grounding and earthing, there is an article there and it's just all about the lifestyle. So go check it out. Let's get back to the conversation. Yeah. So that, that's what we're talking about. We're talking about real food and drinks lifestyle. So we're not just talking about food. Food is a big part of it, but we also want to talk about the lifestyle, all the other things we need to do in addition to being concerned about what we're eating. Okay. So is there anything else you want to, uh, let our community know or anything else on your mind?

Steven (14:25): I mean, this it's just real important. You all, to really understand like it, you can feel much better, you know, consuming the correct amount of foods or the correct foods. Um, because food is not supposed to make you feel bad, like after you eat it, you know what I mean? You're not people get tired and sleepy and stuff like that, which, you know, some of us like to be able to get full and just go to bed, you know, like, so that's how some people like to live, you know, their lives and stuff, but you know, you're just supposed to be fuel. It's supposed to fuel and it's supposed to keep you alive and keep going.

Shonda (14:54): So this has been good. And I was just gonna jokingly ask Steven, uh, did you give me this microphone so that I would have other people to talk to and not keep drilling it down all of you?

Steven (15:07): Kind of that too. I mean, like it, it's something that needs to be talked about in general. There's a lot of people that are coming up, you know, like you that have something real to say, and a lot of popular media and stuff won't cover it because it's not, it's not necessarily a profitable or it's not a popular opinion, you know? And like it takes bravery to expose them to the truth sometimes. And like, that's kind of why I got you. This microphone is so that the truth can be unleashed and told to people, um, or at least what we think is true, you know, um, you know, sharing our, sharing our truth. And that's the only thing that you can really vouch for in life. You can't, you know, you can say all the things you find on like other, you know, like on media or like, you know, you know, Wikipedia or anything like that, you can only, you can only 100% vouch for your personal experiences. That's about it. Um, like everything else.

Shonda (16:00): Yeah. And that's what we're here for. We're here to explore other things and other ideas from other people and allow them to share their experiences too, and to just share our experiences and what has worked for us and, you know, and to just keep looking and keep learning.

Steven (16:17): Yeah. More than the more people that you interview and the more people that would like to come on here and share their story, you know, but on both ways people need to, you know, would like to step up and like, you know, say what their opinion is. And like you'd be able to interview them and talk to them about like, why they feel this way or what the evidence supporting, why they decided to eat or live their life a certain way. And that's, what's important is that we have the long discussion about it and not just making sides and, um, you know, causing conflict. Like, let's talk about it. Let's, you know, let's get the facts out there.

Shonda (16:51): Yeah. I agree. So, yeah, that's been really good. I want to thank you for coming on the show today. The Real Food and Drinks Lifestyle podcast show, and thanks for your inspiration and getting this started. I just say thank you. Yeah. Thank you.

Steven (17:11): I had to be on here. Maybe I'll come back another time and I'll be, you know, eating real food.

Shonda (17:15): Yeah. Okay. Well, we'll see what we can do about that. So thanks for joining us today. So there we have it, I really was excited that we finally had the opportunity to just sit down and, and have a discussion. And I think he recognizes something more than I did is that we really do need to sit down and have real conversations about real food. Um, so I'm willing to do that with anyone who would like to have a conversation about it. I'm always, always ready to have a conversation about real food and discuss ways that we can help one another adopt a healthier lifestyle. So I'm looking forward to the future of this podcast. And once again, I want to send a shout out to Steven, Steven, thank you so much. And I will see you all soon.

Shonda (18:17): Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy today's podcast. Remember you can catch show notes and additional details at realfoodanddrinks.com under the podcast menu. Also, subscribe to our podcast if you aren't already a member of our community. And if listening through Anchor, please send us a message of topics you would like to hear us have conversations about until next time. Let's just be real.

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De-stress, Dealing with Stress (Covid-19 Pandemic)

Stress Is Everywhere

We all have a lot of stress these days, especially here in the U.S. where daily life is so busy for the most of us anyway. Whether it is the daily routine of our jobs which likely includes a long commute before and after work or perhaps for a stay-at-home parent who after getting the kids off to school has plenty of chores to keep themselves busy. Some of us work from home (or home school our children) which makes it even more difficult to separate tasks and find relief from our daily stresses. But this should not be the case. We all need a break from our tasks so that we can de-stress.

At the writing of this article, we are 4 months into the Covid-19 pandemic. In some way or another, this event has added stress to just about everyone’s life. So what are our solutions? Because we are individuals, we all have individual ways of experiencing the happenings of what this pandemic has brought to us. Likewise, we all need to find our own individual way of dealing with the stress that we are experiencing.

Dealing With Stress

To help you get started right away, here are simple five ways you can de-stress:

  1. Give your brain a time-out. This can be accomplished in many ways. It depends on where you are and how much time you have. Yet, just taking 5 minutes to relax and allow your mind to rest will work wonders and likely boost your energy levels. I find that thinking about something that I enjoy works the best during this time. Spending time in prayer and focusing on what you are thankful for is a great way to move your attention away from thoughts that may be causing stress. It also is a great way to begin a time-out nap if you can take more time to fit a nap in.
  2. Go for a walk. This option provides many benefits. Not only does it provide exercise and help with circulation, but you can also implement the give your brain a time-out strategy (as noted above). Also, a walk outdoors will give you an extra dose of fresh air and Vitamin D which helps you to produce those feel good hormones.
  3. Play with your children and/or pets. All of us could use more playtime. Remember what it was like to be a kid and feel free? We can implement that same feeling in our brains by playing with our children and/or pets. Neither are likely to turn you down on the offer to play and it will definitely benefit both parties.
  4. Talk with a friend. Friends bring us delight. Make sure the friend you call is one you normally have conversations with that are enjoyable and encouraging. Yet, if a friend is not available at the moment you want to de-stress, another alternative could be to write out your thoughts and ideas (as talking with a friend) to get them out of your head for now. Or better yet, write a letter to a good friend to let him or her know you are thinking of them and allow you both and opportunity to share and connect.
  5. Do something you enjoy. Some ideas are read a book, play an instrument, play a sport. An artist might draw, paint, or create something new. If you enjoy cooking, prepare a meal. Watch a comedy or read comedy. Laughter is a stress reliever undoubtedly. Like to dance? Then definitely dance. You get the idea. Switch gears to something that you can enjoy doing.

Compound your De-stressing Efforts

And guess what? You can combined these de-stressing activities. Many of these de-stressing activities can easily be merged which will likely give you a greater, compounded effect. For instance, while you walk you can pray and empty your mind.  Or you might walk with (or play a game or a sport) with a friend, your child, or even a pet.

Additional Stress Relievers

What else should you do while de-stressing?

  1. Avoid your phone and the TV. The phone and the television may be interjecting messages that are causing us more stress than we recognize. You can use your de-stress time to re-organize your thoughts and think about helpful ways to deal with the thoughts and opinions of others that may be causing stress for you.
  2. Drink fresh spring or Artesian water. Dehydration can make us feel tired and cause unnecessary stress on our bodies. Not drinking enough water restricts our body from carrying out its normal functions. Be sure to hydrate well. (Click here to read how to choose a good water source.) Fruits and vegetables also provide hydration, so have them as snacks while you are relaxing.
  3. Stretch your muscles. Okay, we know than fitness gurus say this over and over. Yet, many times I like to look at nature to see what I can see. And in this case, when I look at my 4 dogs, I see that they all stretch themselves when getting up from a stationary position. This is a practice that I too have had to purposefully do – and I can feel its de-stressing effects with every move. So, do not forget to stretch often and you can even practice stretching while doing other activities or try a yoga class to learn some good stretching positions.

The Importance of Dealing with Stress

Why is de-stressing important? Most of us can recognized when we are stressed. Some of us feel overwhelmed by simple daily tasks. We may experience a lack of energy. We may even experience pain or even anger/frustration. These are all signs that we are over stressed. Therefore, when we have any of these symptoms, it should be a sure signal to us that we need to de-stress. Scientists have studied this phenomenon and they all agree that stress weakens our immune system. Therefore, the most important reason to de-stress is to boost your immune system.

Currently, due to Covid-19, our immune systems are taking a big hit due to lifestyle changes, added fears and simply living in a state of a new normal or perhaps even a state of the unknown. Yes, it is true that Covid-19 has added stress on top of stress for most. Yet, many of us even have extra time on our hands. So, I encourage you to fill in some of that extra time with these 5 ways to de-stress.

You can experience a healthier outlook. The above list of “5 ways to de-stress” will help to boost your immune system, by giving the body a break from stress. Do them as often as you can. Make them a part of your healthy lifestyle. You will not regret it as you begin to see and experience a healthier outlook on your life that is being de-stressed.

Related Podcast:

Podcast Episode 1 – Covid-19 and Stress

Related Lifestyle Articles:

Sunlight and Infrared Sauna Therapy

Podcast Episode 1 – Covid-19 and Stress

relaxing by the lake

Looking for ways to handle stress? With the pandemic of Covid-19 we all could use some helpful tips in this area. In Episode 1, Shonda and Patryce discuss how Covid-19 has affected their lives and share some practical ways that may help you deal with the newly added stresses in your life too.

We invite you to listen and share your perspectives with us too. Send us a recorded message through Speakpipe. We may use your message in an upcoming episode. Leave your name if you would like it to be noted during the podcast. Leave an email address if you would like a personal response or feel free to use the contact form.

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Related blog article: De-stress, Dealing with Stress (Covid-19 Pandemic)

Sunlight and Infrared Sauna Therapies

Sunlight and Saunas! I’m all about these. I prefer light/heat therapy because they are most enjoyable for me. They provide relaxation for the nervous system and when my nervous system is relaxed, my digestive system is at ease too. Sunlight undoubtedly has a wonderful effect on our immune system.

SUNLIGHT IS MEDICINE and CONTAINS LIFE-GIVING NUTRIENTS

“When you spend time in the fresh air and sunlight, your body drinks in their life-giving elements” – Stormie Omaritian, Greather Health God’s Way. I couldn’t have worded this sentiment in any better way.

Benefits of the sun:

  • Vitamin D
  • Calming, yet Energizing at the same time
  • Refreshes/relaxes the mind
  • Gives life to fresh fruits and vegetables (and then we eat their nutrients )
  • Assists in detoxification

Ways to get more sun in your life. Here are some of my favorites:

  • Ride with my car’s sunroof/windows open (even if I have to run the A/C at the same time)
  • Take a walk/bike ride through your neighborhood (even better through a park with lots of trees)
  • Open the windows and blinds inside your home to allow fresh air and sunlight inside
  • Step outside often to take breaks from inside chores and the computer
  • Have meals outside away from electronic devices

We should be enjoying the sun and air that God has created for us. He knows what’s best for us and it’s almost as if we have forgotten how to live properly. Note: Of course we don’t want to stay in the sun until we are sunburned. But we can enjoy healthy doses without this damaging effect.

INFRARED SAUNA THERAPY for DETOXIFICATION and HEALING

All objects in the universe emit some level of infrared light, but two of the most obvious sources are the sun and fire.  Therefore, when we get sunlight we are also getting the benefits of infrared light and more. But, if you cannot get sunlight or you wish to intensify the benefits of infrared light. Infrared sauna therapy makes this happen. I enjoy both the sun and infrared saunas to attain the best benefits.

Sauna heat therapy is good, but infrared sauna therapy has some added benefits.

All saunas:

  • Balance the autonomic nervous system
  • Induces sweating along with relaxation
  • Increases circulation
  • Relaxes muscles and enhances flexibility
  • Hastens the death of weaker cells (such as cancer, bacteria, viruses, parasites)

Additional benefits of infrared saunas:

  • Deep tissue healing
  • Increased enzyme activity (required for digestion and healing)
  • Ability to direct heat energy to specific parts of the body
  • Color therapy
  • Ease of use

What first caught my attention about infrared sauna therapy is it’s ability to inhibit the sympathetic nervous system (the one that is activated when we are anxious) and enhance the parasympathetic nervous system (the one activated when we are in a relaxed state). It’s the parasympathetic nervous system that is required for healing. So if we remain in our anxious states, we inhibit healing.

These lists of benefits, by no means, are exhaustive. Additionally, I cannot explain the feeling  and degree of healing that has occurred in my body as a result of adding infrared sauna therapy to my lifestyle.

I want to encourage you to make some healthy lifestyle changes toward getting more sunlight and infrared saunas into your life to activate healing in your body.

Wondering how to get started? 

  1.  Watch this YouTube Video to see my infrared sauna setup
  2.  Read this grounding/earthing article  about more life-giving elements of outdoors
  3. Greater Health God’s Way” by Stormie Omartian (affiliate link)
  4.  “Sauna Therapy – for Detoxification and Healing” by Dr. Lawrence Wilson (affiliate link)