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BONUS Solocast: A Few of My Favorite Things Holiday Gift Guide · Lean Out Podcast

• 0:00
  Welcome to the lean out podcast.
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  I'm your host, Dr.
• 0:04
  Don baker.
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  Are you looking for a new approach to authentic and sustainable work-life balance?
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  You've come to the right place.
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  Listen as i interview amazing women professionals who've taken steps to lean out and find balance on their own terms Hello?
• 0:19
  Hello.
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  Thanks for being here.
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  Today.
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  I want to share a blog post that I recently.
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  Really put out and I'm going to try doing this in a verbal format in a way that hopefully.
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  It will still.
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  I still.
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  be useful to you if you.
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  you.
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  want to.
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  to.
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  find.
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  The blog post.
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  post.
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  all you need to do is go to practice balance.com/blog, and then find the article from November.
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  27th, 2023.
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  That is entitled a few of my favorite things.
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  2023 gift guide.
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  I know a lot of people don't really want to read a long blog post.
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  And I thought that if you happen to be commuting or running around doing errands this.
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  holiday season, and you want some.
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  Inspiration.
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  For gifts that you might be shopping for, then you.
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  I could listen to this description and some of the things that I.
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  I.
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  am recommend.
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  Recommending, and and if you want to find.
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  And the links to those items.
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  You can just go to the blog post and find them there.
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  I love sharing things that have made a difference in my life.
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  Things that I care about and things that have added happiness or utility somehow to my life.
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  I started doing the gift guide last year and it was highly popular.
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  So I wanted to share one again this year.
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  If you're interested in finding my recommendations from last year.
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  There is also a link to that blog post in the most present a few of my favorite things.
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  Blog post.
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  Just one more note.
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  Some of the links that are included in the post for this episode are affiliate links.
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  Some of them are not.
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  All of the items that I recommend are things that I have purchased on my own.
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  None of them have been gifted to me.
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  None of them are sponsored.
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  They're all just things that I have found to be useful or happiness inducing.
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  So let's get onto the gift guide.
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  The first thing that I can recommend is what is called element spelled L M N T electrolyte packets.
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  There's something that are very much a staple in our household.
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  However, there are about a dollar 50 for each packet.
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  So if you start putting electrolyte packets in your water multiple times a day, that could really add up.
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  We started making a home brew and there is a.
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  Recipe for a Homebrew of electrolytes on the element website.
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  But there's a particular flavor that they offer that is really hard to duplicate.
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  And it is very special.
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  It's called chocolate caramel salt, and it makes this very yummy.
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  Hot cocoa.
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  That's kind of like a salty, caramel, hot cocoa out, a little splash of cream and it's just divine.
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  So it would make.
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  A really great gift for the holidays for anyone.
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  Who loves to drink hot cocoa, but doesn't want the accompanying sugar.
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  And chemicals Osos.
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  Associated with typical cocoa packets.
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  All of the Electra.
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  Electrolytes.
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  That element sells.
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  Cells are.
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  Sweetened with Stevia extract and no other kinds of artificial sweeteners, and there's no sugar in their formulations.
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  The second.
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  And an item is.
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  A hoodie from.
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  From Costco.
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  So you can get this on costco.com or in your local Costco, most likely.
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  And it is by the brand Buffalo.
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  And it's called the Buffalo super soft hoodie.
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  And each year they seem.
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  It seem to sell them in Costco.
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  In different colors.
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  Now I.
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  I have bought these.
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  For different family members.
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  Over the years.
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  Years for either.
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  Birthdays or holidays and everyone who has received one just absolutely loved them.
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  And like went back and bought more.
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  This year, the colors are cream green and kind of a heathered purple.
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  And I bought the purple one, for myself.
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  Recently, this hoodie is a wonderful deal.
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  It's less than$15.
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  So check that one out.
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  The third thing that I'd like to recommend is a set of bamboo viscoes sheets.
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  I'm in a lot of different physician, mom, Facebook groups, and people have just.
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  Completely gone crazy over a brand called cozy earth but these sheets are pricey.
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  They cost a pretty penny.
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  Now I broke down on prime day and bought an Amazon knockoff version of them.
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  There are multiple ones on Amazon, but you can look at my blog post to find the exact set that I bought.
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  They are great.
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  They're super soft.
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  And they get softer.
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  The more that you wash them.
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  They're supposed to have a cooling effect, but I'm always cold.
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  So that isn't something that is particularly important to me.
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  But, they don't feel cold to me when I'm sleeping either.
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  They just feel soft and luxurious.
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  I need to make a confession.
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  I am very into skincare and makeup.
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  This is something that has become.
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  Really a hobby of mine over the years, especially as I've gotten older next year, I'm turning 50 and I do frequently get compliments on my skin.
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  And I want to say that there are a lot of different things that go into having the kind of skin that I have, Cultivated over the last, maybe 15 or 20 years.
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  And those include vigilant use of.
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  Sunscreen.
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  Vitamin C serum retinoids at night and very thick moisturizers, especially as I get older.
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  But what I do want to recommend today as a gift is the glowy base that I slather on my face every single day.
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  Basically, I use it as my makeup and then a little bit of translucent powder over top of this.
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  And it is made up of two products.
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  One of them is called Elta M D U V elements, and it's an SPF 44 tinted sunscreen.
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  So that's what I use as my makeup.
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  And then I mix one pump.
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  Of a primer that is called glow recipe, Naya, cinema dewdrops.
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  And I wear this combination all the time.
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  I've had multiple people ask me in person and also in photos, what I'm using.
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  So these two products combined make a really nice.
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  Base for whatever you're going to do for your skin.
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  If you want to wear them under some other kind of makeup, because you need more coverage, that's fine, but you can also wear them alone and they work great.
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  Another beauty gift that I love.
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  That's very giftable because it's very economical is the lineage lip sleeping mask.
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  And this is a little tub of a lip gloss that is very thick, very emollients, really moisturizes your lips.
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  I have very dry skin and very dry chapped lips in the winter.
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  And this is the one product that is the best thing I have tried for winter chapped lips.
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  I put it on every single night.
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  And keep it on all night.
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  It doesn't have a taste.
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  It does have a slight scent.
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  The one I prefer is the Berry scent, but there are lots of different ones to choose from.
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  So if you're gifting this to someone, you can think about what they might.
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  Like there's a candy sent a gummy bear.
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  I think different fruits, like grapefruit pineapple, vanilla, caramel, apple, things like that, but I really liked the Berry one.
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  It doesn't have any color and it does not get sticky.
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  The next item I'd like to share as good gift recommendations are books, especially non-fiction books.
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  If you gift a non-fiction book to someone you're demonstrating that you understand the recipient's deep interests and values and that you've listened to them.
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  And the things that they've talked about that are important to them.
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  So here are three books that I recommend.
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  The first one that I read this year that I highly enjoyed is called scarcity brain written by Michael Easter.
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  Who is an investigative journalist by trade and a professor of journalism.
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  He weaves his premise of how our modern lifestyle of abundance is affecting our brain with what he calls a scarcity loop.
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  With these interesting stories of human behavior and examples of the scarcity loop in our life.
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  And from all different areas of life from like criminal gangs to.
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  Areas of Iraq and different corners of the globe.
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  So I found the book very interesting.
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  The stories mixed with the science.
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  If you have a health nut on your gift list, I highly recommend the book outlive by Peter Attia.
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  I've heard this book described as a primary care book written by a surgeon.
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  And I would say if you know, you know, that is definitely a true description.
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  He is a very aggressive.
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  Longevity.
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  Physician who has a prolific podcast, and this is his first book effort.
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  And I know that it took him a number of years to write, especially because he decided in the book to include a section that was about mental health and wellness.
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  And used himself as an example.
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  From just listening to him and the type of person he is having this background of being a Hopkins, trained surgeon, it was very hard for him to be that vulnerable and share those self perceived weaknesses about himself and his mental health.
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  But.
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  That being said, there's a lot of great information on.
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  Very practical no-nonsense ways that you can optimize your health span and your lifespan.
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  Lastly, as far as books go, I'd love to recommend my own book lean out.
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  And if you have not read this now is the time to buy it.
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  My friend and the chief product officer for the white coat investor, Katie Dolly.
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  Told me that she bought a copy for her college age daughter and all of her roommates.
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  Women that have the potential to become the next female professionals.
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  Who are going to face that dilemma of leaning in versus leaning out.
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  She said to me that she thought the book was a must read.
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  For all women wanting to live authentic lives that bring them joy.
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  If someone on your list sounds like they would fit the description of needing to hear the messages in the book, I would definitely consider getting it for them.
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  Right now it is in paperback format and it is also in ebook format.
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  I am working on finalizing the audio book.
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  So that should be out early in 2024.
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  A couple more items.
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  No matter what you think of belt bags or Fanny packs or whatever you want to call them.
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  They definitely have their place as being very useful.
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  And the one that I recommend is a$38 plain black Lulu lemon bag.
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  That's called the.
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  Every day or everywhere, something like that.
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  Belt bag.
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  And I have used this bag.
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  so much.
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  I use it for traveling.
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  I use it on airplanes for hiking when I go on a work assignment and I want to take in and out.
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  A very small purse from my work bag and lock it in a locker when I'm in the operating room.
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  Even just any time that you want to carry some stuff, but you need to be hands-free.
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  The bag makes a great gift for a man or a woman.
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  And there are two sizes.
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  There's a one liter and a two liter.
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  Lastly the best gift you can give to yourself or to someone you love.
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  Is a gift that is related to enhancing health.
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  Now that can be mental health and it can be physical health.
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  We've talked about some things that might enhance mental health, such as the books that I recommended.
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  But for physical health, the product that I'm recommending this year is something that has made a big difference to me.
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  And it is Bowflex adjustable dumbbells.
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  You can buy one dumbbell or you can buy a set of them on Amazon, and there might be some other places that you can buy them.
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  Now, this is the one item on my gift guide that is more than a hundred dollars.
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  However, I feel that it is a great investment.
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  In your health and wellbeing.
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  tHe reality is that as we age, even past the age of like 30 and 35, we are slowly losing small amounts of muscle.
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  mass each year.
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  So I have been making an effort to eat sufficient protein in my diet, and then do regular strength training workouts, and the way that I can fit them into my life.
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  And my work-life balance in the present moment is by doing homework outs in our gym, on our land.
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  And I use these adjustable dumbbells.
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  They're very easy to adjust.
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  They're easy to hold.
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  They're not the big, bulky square dumbbells that you see.
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  These are more traditional looking round dumbbells and have a really good ergonomic feel.
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  I have been using these three to four times a week for the past six months, maybe five to six months.
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  And I'm definitely seeing incremental strength gains.
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  So I hope that this list is helpful for your holiday gifting.
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  And maybe for some self gifting.
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  Have you tried any of these products?
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  What do you think of them?
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  Let me know by leaving a comment on the blog post for this.
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  Episode or you can write me a message and let me know what you think.
• 14:44
  I appreciate your time today and happy holiday shopping.
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  Thanks for listening to the lean out podcast.
• 14:52
  If you find these conversations inspiring and useful, please forward them to a friend and also leave a review on iTunes or Spotify so that other people can find them easier.
• 15:04
  If you want to get in touch with me, you can find me at my website, practice balanced.com, where you can subscribe to my newsletter and get updates regularly about new podcast episodes, blog posts, speaking, engagements, and coaching services.
• 15:21
  You can also support my work by buying my book, lean out a professional woman's guide to finding authentic work-life balance for yourself, a friend, family member, or coworker.
• 15:33
  Have a great day and we'll see you next time