Latest / The FEEL Podcast: Women’s Empowerment, Emotional Wellness and Self-Leadership with Melissa Crook / Healing Through Food & Finding Yourself with Lea Dombrowski

Transcript

Healing Through Food & Finding Yourself with Lea Dombrowski · The FEEL Podcast: Women’s Empowerment, Emotional Wellness and Self-Leadership with Melissa Crook

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This is who I am and you know, and that's just, it's OK and and
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that's OK to just be who you are and know what you need and to
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tell people that and not be afraid and to say no.
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When somebody asks you to eat something, you know it's going
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to hurt you or drink something or do something, anything like
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that. I feel like for me it was like I
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need to do this and I'm going to do this.
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Like I'm not going to compromise.
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I have my non negotiables. Hello and welcome to The Field
0:29
Podcast This week. I've got a new guest here with
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me today and she has a story, quite a story to tell.
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And sadly, it's not as uncommon as you might think.
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This journey that she's been on with her health and now how
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she's not only a resource for herself, but a resource for
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other women. But this is one of those areas
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that I talk about on the Field Podcast that we need to bring
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more attention and light to. I've had my own experience with
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this and my own family, and I've seen the frustration that can
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come up when we're not getting answers that we need from
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doctors, when they're telling us there's nothing wrong, when
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there's very clearly something wrong.
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And in finding people that are willing to ask a different set
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of questions, run a different set of labs, get curious and
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look for a reason instead of a mandate.
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And Leah's got so much that and more to share with us today.
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I want to welcome Leah Dombrowski to the Field Podcast.
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She describes herself as motivated, strong, and
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dedicated. Thank you, Leah so much for
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joining me today. Thank you so much for having me,
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Melissa. I'm so excited to be here.
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Yeah, I'm so excited to have you and to Share your story and and
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give this let other women know they're not alone in this.
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And you know, we're, you know, I think that's a big thing.
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So let's start with prioritizing self-care in your life.
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And self-care for you is healthcare.
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It's not just about the little basic surface things.
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It's truly something you have to pay, you know attention to so
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you can be the healthiest version of yourself.
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Talk to me about your journey in getting there.
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Yeah, it's so funny because I feel like my journey, I started
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when I was really young, like right off the bat, like as soon
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as I was born, I had chronic infections and like I pretty
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much always had stuff going on. So it wasn't like, I don't know
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what something happened in the room, like I have no idea, but I
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pretty much came out of my the belly like chronic infections.
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I was a sick kid, you know, not like I couldn't function as a
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kid, like I was still a regular kid, but I would constantly have
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infections. Like I got strep throat a
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billion times and like tonsillitis and this and that.
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So it's like always been something that's been in my
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life. But it didn't really, it didn't
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really like, I didn't really think anything of it because
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like most people are like, oh, whatever.
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Like, it's a kid, right? But then when I was 20 in
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college, I started getting really sick.
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And that's kind of when I was like, OK, like, this is all
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connecting. You know, it's like, OK, this
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makes sense. Like something's obviously wrong
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here that I've been ignoring for 20 years.
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So that's kind of when for me, I was like, OK, something's up.
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And I always say it was, it was a very long journey because
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obviously if you'd like, just know I was sick.
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Like obviously I was not raised very healthily, but I was always
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tell people like I was raised complete 180 than what I am now.
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Like I was raised off pop tarts and cereal and all the processed
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foods. Like I feel like, you know how
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people say 8020 I was 8020 the other right, Most of the things
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that were eating were processed inflammatory.
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Like very, very like no wonder I was so sick by the age of 20.
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Like no, no wonder I make fun of my parents all the time, but
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genuinely, they didn't know better.
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And I feel like social media wasn't a thing.
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They're, they're just wasn't any education.
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So it was just how I grew up. And when I was 20, I did, I got
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pretty sick. I started feeling really like a
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lot of gut issues. I've always had a sensitive, but
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you know, like just my face with like bloating and Constipation
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and I had chronic fatigue that I could not even get out of bed.
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I couldn't function like I really was really bad.
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I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you at the moment.
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So it's pretty like intense and like it just all kind of
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collapsed all at once. And I was like, what the hell?
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But it took a long time. You know, at first, I, you know,
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didn't know. And I went to doctors.
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And obviously doctors aren't going to look at your diet and
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they're not going to look at things from a holistic lens.
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And I spent years and years going to specialists and
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practitioners and this and that and doing that and that.
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And they told me everything was wrong and they couldn't give me
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anything. They just told me it was
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anxiety. It was just in my head.
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It was normal. You know, it was hormones,
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whatever they wanted to label it as, but I don't know, it's just,
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it's beyond frustrating. And after, after a while,
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obviously things just got worse and worse.
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And I was like, OK, I need to kind of take matters into my own
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hands. And like my junior senior year,
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so like two or three years after I first got sick, that's when I
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kind of changed everything. And I started really educating
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myself on nutrition and fitness and lifestyle.
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And it took a lot of time. And it's like so crazy, you
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know, now I'm 25, so it's been five years.
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So it took really five years for me to educate myself on
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everything. Like really get these tools and
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kind of have these habits where it's like so weird, Like I don't
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need any processed foods. I don't do any of that stuff.
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So it's definitely was a journey, but I do a lot to kind
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of maintain my health. But I not a lot going on and I
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healed it all. Now I had autoimmune that I was
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able to send it to remission so I no longer have it.
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It doesn't bother me at all. I have a lot of bad issues that
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don't longer have it, so I'm very grateful for that, but it
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took time. Yeah, that intentionality,
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because it does. I mean, you have to change your
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entire lifestyle in terms of how you feel, your body, how you
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move your body, what your body responds to.
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And I think this is, you know, you mentioned your age, you're
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young. I mean, so it's understanding
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that these things, many times they do start at young ages and
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birth. It doesn't have to be something
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that comes up later. Now, sometimes what happens is
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these things will stay intended for years and then they'll flare
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up come midlife. Once you get close to hitting
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perimenopausal and menopausal years, it will come up.
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And people have, I know women and have friends that have never
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dealt with it. And then it got so bad they just
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kind of tolerated it. You've made such a critical
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decision for yourself and I want to commend you for that.
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You just like, no, I'm not just living like this.
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I'm not going to just take these answers.
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And it's another example, I think so many times women get
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gas lit when they go to traditional practitioners.
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They continue to be, they're, they're telling you, we're
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telling them what's happening in our bodies.
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And they get continue to minimize the answers and find
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other excuses because they haven't gotten outside of this
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box of Western medicine to get more curious.
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And that's really what holistic medicine allows you to do, is to
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bring in that curiosity piece, get upriver instead of just
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being downriver responding all the times.
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And this really goes nicely into confidently setting boundaries.
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There were some healthy boundaries for you that you had
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to create for yourself around what you took in and how you
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took it in. And and so talk to me about that
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journey of realizing, OK, in order for me to do this for
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myself, I'm going to have to be really, I don't, you know, I
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don't disciplined maybe is the word, but but but for my own
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good, like the out of love for myself and the and the desire to
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live my the healthiest version of me.
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It's so funny. Yeah.
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I mean, I definitely, I don't know, yeah, I guess it's
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discipline, but it's also just like for me, like necessity,
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like it's like it comes like I know it can be like for me a
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little bit much like I can be very obsessive over it.
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But like, I'm like, yes, I'm young, but there was like, I
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don't feel young. Like a few years ago I was so
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freaking sick. Like I was, I couldn't get out
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of bed. So for me, it's like, it isn't,
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it isn't like, Oh yeah, I want to do these things.
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It's like a need. And it's like it genuinely has
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changed my life. And I'm never going to take that
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for granted. So I think for me, like I put a
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lot of boundaries in on myself of like, OK, like you've come
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from A to like, you know, Z, you know, like you've changed your
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whole life in five years and like, done all these things like
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you cannot, you cannot just stop.
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So for me, it's like mostly about me and like myself 1st and
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like no, what is important to me and also not letting other
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people dictate that. Like for me, when I got sick,
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biggest example, I was in college, I stopped drinking cold
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Turkey. I have not touched in the last
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five years. And you know, I've been around
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people who have peer pressured me.
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I was in college. I have friends who wanted to go
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drink and I had to stay in my ground.
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So the big, that's just one example, but that's just, I am
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not going to let other people tell me and like affect my own
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health. And I think that's where I see a
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lot of the women I work with get lost because the people they
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surround themselves with are not aligned with their goals and
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their needs. And I work with a lot of women
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who are like practically, I'll like I was, but also a lot of
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women who want to lose weight and they're like, you know, they
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allow their friends to take them out and eat dessert.
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And they kind of are around these people who aren't in the
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same mindset. And I think for people, like, if
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I need to do this, I need to just either be alone are fine
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people who build me up. And that's like, I I did that.
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Like, I had to like, let go of a lot of relationships in my life.
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I had to rebuild a different relationships.
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I had to find people who are more aligned with me.
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And yeah, that looked really lonely at times.
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And that was really difficult at times, especially trying to, you
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know, cut out people and like, rebuild and like set boundaries
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with people. But it was worth it because the
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people in my life are just like me, right?
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And maybe they're not exactly the same, but they're very
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motivated, they're health motivated, they care about the
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food they're putting in their body.
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They're, you know, very dedicated to their goals.
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And when I am around people who are not like that, it just, it
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just doesn't align anymore. So for me, the biggest thing for
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me to set boundaries like I had to, I had to do that with for
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myself and be with people who respected that.
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And that was hard, especially like I said, with my parents and
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my family, like my family members, I'm, you know, the one
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of one I know I feel like it's better now.
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It took me like, you know, three years to convince my mom to go
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to the gym, but I got it. But it's much better now.
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But I was like, this is who I am and you know, and that's just,
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it's OK. And and that's OK to just be who
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you are and know what you need and to tell people that and not
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be afraid and to say no when somebody asks you to eat
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something, you know it's going to hurt you or drink something
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or do something, anything like that.
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I feel like for me it was like, I need to do this and I'm going
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to do this. Like I'm not going to
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compromise. I have my non negotiables.
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Every day, Yeah, yeah. The non negotiables for your
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health and well-being. I mean, these are not mere
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inconveniences. These are things that impact
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your health. And I think that's a really,
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and, and we'll talk more about this in a bit, but surrounding
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yourself with people that love you and respect and honor where
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you're at, it is such an important piece of that.
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And not feeling like there's something wrong with what you're
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doing or how you're showing up. And that can be tricky because
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it's like I said, this isn't like, oh, this is a choice I
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made just to be different. This is a choice I made for my
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health. I want to feel well.
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And I know in order for me to feel well, these are the things
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that are necessary for me. I hope you'll come along with me
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on this, but if you won't, OK, I can love you from afar and I'm
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going to surround you myself with people who are going to
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support what I need for me to be healthy.
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So thank you for sharing that. Talk to me about this had to
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have, especially growing up, we talk a lot about emotional,
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mental, physical health, all being connected.
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I mean, I think that's one of the key components that we find
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in holistic health is asking those questions of the impacts
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all these things have on other parts of our systems.
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Our systems are all interconnected.
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But you know, going through this growing up, that had to be
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really tough emotionally and mentally, not just physically.
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Yeah, I mean, of course, yeah. I mean, like, like I said as a
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kid, like I did not notice. I did not notice it.
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Like I like looking back, I do notice it, sure.
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Like I did like, you know, very young age got diagnosed with
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like depression, anxiety, OCD, like very young age, like 12
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years old, like that was something like that I had.
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And of course that had other factors outside or just my gut,
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but that does also like I saw a huge improvement in those things
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when I did start focusing on my health.
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So that was something that I was like, OK, wow.
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Like depression and these things obviously have a gut health
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component. And, you know, maybe eat badly a
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certain time. Like I do get anxious and I do
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notice that. And I do know the food we are
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eating like impacts the way we feel mentally.
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Like I started a lot with one of the things that I contribute to
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healing my chronic fatigue is food.
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Like I, I had brain fog, like I could not think, I could not
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speak, I could not be in a room. It was like huge dissociation
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just in my brain and I was so much inflammation.
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So that for me was huge nutrition.
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Like when I started focusing on that, like, and all my clients
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say the same thing. They're like within like a few
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weeks of just a simple, simple nutrition changes.
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They're like, wow, my energy has completely changed.
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And it's like, yeah, like, it's crazy how much nutrition impacts
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those things. Yeah, it really is that.
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And I think we've just started over the last maybe 10-15 years,
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started talking about that gut health connection to our brain,
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to the anxiety, to the depression, to the mental.
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I mean, there's just so much more going on in the gut than we
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realized now. And having those realizing like,
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oh, some shifts here really do matter in terms of the chemical
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imbalances and getting things where they should be.
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And also owning that if I go down a certain Rd. these are
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going to be the impacts. But talk to me too about how was
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this? Because it can be tricky when
15:48
you have to make these these adjustments and not in feeling
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not, you know, restricted by it and having these restrictions in
15:58
your life, not feel, you know, imprisoning.
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But then knowing that the balance of that is if I go down
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and do these things for myself, I'm going to feel so much
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better. Does that help you kind of
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cancel out the like, oh, I can't really and do indulge too much
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in that or I'm going to pay a price?
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I'm very grateful that I've never had any huge issues around
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food. I mean, I definitely have had
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little ones for sure, I think. But I, you know, when I first
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started making nutrition changes, I was very uneducated
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and that led to me like losing a lot of weight really fast, like
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healthy weight. And I went, I lost like 15 lbs
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when I did not need to lose 15 lbs when I, I lost my period.
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Like I got sick and I just was, I was coming from a place of
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uneducation and like that definitely hurt my relationship
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with food and the way I viewed food just because I was like,
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what's going on? And when you deal with bloating
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in particular, I think that definitely has your mind
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thinking and like hating food just because you're assuming
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that food is the enemy and food is the reason you're getting
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bloated. So I definitely had some like
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restrictive mindsets around food when it came to bloating and
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losing weight. I just was very uneducated at
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the time for about like a year. But I left never had any sort of
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like intense eating disorder or like anything like that.
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But definitely a lot of fear around like just being sick.
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I felt like a lot of fear about food.
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But I felt like the biggest thing for me was just education.
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Like when I educating myself about food, I understood that
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food is not just going to make me gain weight.
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I understood that food is not the reason I'm getting bloated.
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Like bloating is not coming from food.
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You know, food is not the enemy and just understanding how the
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body works, how metabolism works, how your digestion works
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like that, like is something like I bring into my work that I
18:07
do now is like, I do not want to just tell my clients what to do.
18:10
I want them to understand it so they're feel confident about
18:13
food and they see it as they don't see it as bad.
18:17
Because I know a lot of women move food as bad.
18:20
And it's like, OK, if I eat this, I'm just going to gain
18:23
weight or I'm going to be bloated.
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I'm going to be this and I'm going to be that.
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And I'm like, no, it's not true. That's not how your body works.
18:29
And there's definitely balance here and there's so much at
18:32
place. So I love education and that is
18:35
just such a big part of like what helped me and like what I
18:39
love to do with my clients is just truly educate them because
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I feel like that I do not feel restricted at all anymore.
18:47
I do not be around food because I understand like that is not,
18:52
that is not the reason I was sick.
18:54
I mean, partly, of course, but like, not like, you know, that's
18:57
not like, you know, like the enemy.
18:59
And I think that was so helpful for me where I'm like, OK, I
19:02
can't eat these things and I can do these things.
19:04
And I just think education would be like my biggest, my biggest
19:08
thing. If you understand how the body
19:10
works, not only will that help you heal your body and lose
19:13
weight, but that will help you have a healthy relationship with
19:16
food. And I think that's what.
19:18
For sure. Yeah.
19:19
I'd love that you made that correlation.
19:21
I think that's so important, that education piece and knowing
19:24
how our bodies work and understanding what our bodies
19:27
are capable of. Our bodies, I think, are capable
19:30
of so much more than we realize or give credit to you.
19:34
I would definitely say so much more than a lot of traditional
19:39
Western medicine models give credit to if we allow the body
19:43
to do what it was designed to do and resource it properly, it can
19:47
heal and do amazing things. And you were able to find that
19:51
education and, and create that healthy relationship and
19:55
understanding. So I'm so glad you addressed
19:58
that. And that goes nicely into how we
20:00
can support ourselves and other women in living
20:03
unapologetically. This was really your your road
20:06
to this for yourself. But talk to me about where you
20:10
found that education and how you decided that not only were you
20:13
going to help yourself, but you want.
20:15
Wanted to help other women as well.
20:18
I mean, like for me, like I didn't know about functional
20:23
medicine for a while. I didn't really think about
20:25
nutrition for a while. But as soon as I did, like, it
20:29
was like a no brainer. I'm like, it was just like
20:32
totally like made sense. And everything fell into place
20:35
with my story. And like everything that's
20:38
happened to me, I was like, wow, like this is where it was
20:41
leading me to. It's like this, this pathway to
20:44
healing and healing others as well.
20:47
So like for me, it was like a no brainer.
20:49
I started my business right off after I was done at college, 23
20:55
years old. I was like, this is what I need
20:57
to do and I have to do it. So like that for me it was, it
21:01
was like very like, OK, I have to, but it just was such like a
21:06
fashion for me is like, I love this things.
21:09
And I think like for me, it's like I could spend hours
21:11
researching this and I could do it for ever.
21:14
And it like does not feel like work.
21:15
Like I genuinely love what I do. I love my clients.
21:18
I love everything about it. Like there's nothing that I feel
21:22
so excited and like I never had that before.
21:24
I didn't know what I wanted to do.
21:26
I was like, Oh my gosh, I'm going to hate.
21:28
I like worked a nine to five for a month and quit and I was like,
21:31
there's no way I'm doing this. Like everything about me.
21:35
It's just like, OK, I have to be in business.
21:37
I have to help others. And I just feel like, feel so
21:40
aligned. And I'm so grateful that I
21:42
decided to give it a go. I mean, I, I didn't know
21:46
anything about starting a business.
21:48
I did not know anything about doing all these things.
21:51
I just had a passion and I love it.
21:53
And like, it's just like, I feel like helping women, like, with
21:56
functional medicine, helping women lose weight, like, is so
22:00
much more than people think it is.
22:02
Like, yeah, like, I hope women lose weight.
22:04
But they also text me like, OK, now I feel more confident.
22:07
I have more energy. Like, it's like, so cool.
22:10
Like to see like someone grow within, like working together
22:14
and become so much more sure of themselves and smile again.
22:17
Like some of some of my clients when they first started working
22:20
to meet with me versus now I'm like two different people.
22:23
They're so confident, they're so happy, they're so alive.
22:25
And I'm like, that's what this is.
22:28
It's not about just losing weight.
22:29
It's about coming home to yourself and being, it's being
22:33
aligned, it empowered and I love, I just love that.
22:36
And it's just was. I can't see myself doing
22:38
anything else so. Well, the smile that comes to
22:42
your face as you talk about and that, that ability to be able to
22:45
give women their health back, their life back, because when
22:49
you feel like this, it's very restricting.
22:52
It, it, it, it impacts all parts of your life and how you're able
22:56
to show up in the world. Were you able?
22:59
How does it work? Do you do you go to a certain
23:02
college and do you get certifications?
23:04
How does it work to become to go down this road and be able to
23:10
practice this? Well, for me, when I learned
23:13
about functional medicine, I started interning at other like
23:17
functional medicine offices and I quickly learned there was a
23:20
lot I did not like about functional medicine.
23:23
So for me, that's where I was like, OK, like that kind of was
23:26
like, OK, I know what I want to bring to the table because a lot
23:29
of functional medicine offices won't look at your nutrition,
23:32
which I think is a huge block. And also the medicine offices
23:37
are very money forward nowadays. Unfortunate.
23:41
Or it's like an arm and a leg, which is not necessary.
23:44
And they're like giving you 30 supplements and I'm like, your
23:47
body cannot do that many things at once.
23:50
So, so I've learned a lot of like what I did not like.
23:53
So when I wanted my certifications, I knew I wanted
23:57
to be nutrition forward. So that is like my first
24:00
priority. Like you're not going to heal
24:02
unless you have nutrition. It's just not how it works.
24:04
And that's why a lot of people go to functional medicine people
24:07
and they're like, it doesn't work because they don't have the
24:10
nutrition piece. So for me, I did a nutrition
24:14
like specific certification at first.
24:16
That was like the first one I did.
24:18
And then I did a personal training cert.
24:20
So I do like, you know, I do personal training, I do movement
24:23
because I think movement is really important as well.
24:26
And that's another thing most practitioners will not touch on
24:29
is your nutrition and your movement.
24:31
And then I did a functional medicine cert.
24:34
So I did it all online. So I did week 3.
24:37
And that's kind of why I say holistic health because I really
24:40
do everything, fitness, lifestyle, functional medicine
24:44
and all those things that I think I'm like, OK, that's what
24:47
I really wanted to build because that's why how I know people
24:50
will be able to heal and also see results with their weight
24:53
loss, with their bloating, etcetera.
24:55
Isn't there like one stop shop? So that's kind of what I did.
24:59
I did all online. I didn't do in prison for any of
25:01
them. OK, but I love that holistic
25:04
piece and yeah, if that's it, I'm so glad you brought that up.
25:07
If nutrition and movement is not part of the conversation, and I
25:12
think it's really important to point that out, this isn't about
25:15
body composition. We all have different bodies.
25:18
We're all built differently. This is about how you're fueling
25:21
and moving your body. That is a pivotal part of your
25:24
health and that is not being addressed.
25:28
That is absolutely something you need to be like.
25:31
This doesn't have everything I need here.
25:34
And people like Leah do exist out there and she's going to get
25:38
a chance to share her resources at the end.
25:40
And they're all going to be on our website,
25:42
aswell@embracinglayers.com for you to access.
25:44
But I'm so glad you brought that up.
25:46
Well, thank you for bringing that into the conversation.
25:48
That's such a pivotal, pivotal piece of this.
25:51
All right. And this really goes nicely into
25:54
the importance of coming back to your why and values and
25:57
everything you do. This is clearly what you are
26:00
meant to do. You will light up when you talk
26:03
about it, the smile, the joy that it brings.
26:06
You talk to me about that moment when you realized that this was
26:11
it. This is my why.
26:13
This is what I value. This is what I'm going to do.
26:20
I I don't know, like if I had like a aha moment because it
26:24
just was like effortless to me. Like it was like.
26:28
So I, I did my certifications online, but I also went to
26:32
college. I do not use my degree.
26:36
I don't So like I, I went to college and I got sick in
26:39
college. So I didn't know what I wanted
26:41
to do and I wasn't like my senior, senior year that I kind
26:45
of found these and I'm like, OK, well, I can't change my major
26:48
now because I would just, I don't want to be in school for
26:51
longer. So I had to stay online.
26:53
So I did kind of two at the same time.
26:55
Oh my. Gosh.
26:56
So yeah, so that was kind of what I did.
26:58
And like, I don't know, it's just like so, so effortless.
27:03
And like, so basically after college for one month, I worked
27:06
a nine to five and with my degree.
27:09
And again, that was the only time I used my degree was for
27:11
that month. And it was the most miserable
27:14
and like soul sucking experience of my life.
27:18
And I was like literally sitting there every day and I was like,
27:21
I'm wasting my time and I'm wasting my energy.
27:24
And this is brain for me. And it was just so like, so not
27:30
aligned. And like, that was like, I was
27:32
like, I'm just going to quit. You know, I, I was 23 years old.
27:37
I don't have kids. I don't have, you know, a
27:39
husband. I don't have any of those
27:41
things. So I'm like, if I do not do this
27:43
now, when am I going to do it? Because I have nothing to lose.
27:47
So that was for me. I'm like, OK, I quit after a
27:50
month and I was like, I'm gone. And I just went and I gave my
27:54
all into my business and it really stuck for a very like the
27:58
first year. I mean, growing business is
28:02
really, really, really hard. But I was like, I just, it was
28:06
just, if I don't do this, I know I just, I know I have to.
28:10
It was just like, I don't know. It's just like a, it wasn't like
28:14
for me, I didn't think about it. I'm not somebody who really
28:17
thinks a lot. I'm like, OK, I'm just going to
28:20
listen and just go to what I feel.
28:22
And we're not like that. But I find that what I just know
28:27
that I know what's best for me. Like I, I moved like to
28:32
California because of literally just my gut feeling.
28:35
Like I'd never even visited California.
28:37
My body was just like, I feel like you should go to
28:39
California. And I just booked a flight and I
28:41
moved. I didn't think about it.
28:43
So that was that's just who I am.
28:44
I'm like my I just whenever I feel something, I'm like, I know
28:47
this is a line and it always works out.
28:49
So I've got one who really sulks.
28:52
I'm very like, hey, so yeah, that was kind of my experience
28:57
where I was like, I know this is hard and it's not going to be
29:00
easy and I'm going to be crying some days and I'm going to hate
29:03
it some days. But now, like being in business
29:06
for almost 2 years now, I'm like, it was all worth it.
29:08
And I can't wait to continue to grow and learn and help women.
29:13
You know, I've helped like over 100 women now and that's just
29:16
like what lights me up. Yeah, I love how you talked
29:20
about how you trust yourself and you've followed that intuition.
29:25
That is invaluable because so many women struggle with that
29:29
because we get these narratives when we're little girls at the
29:33
path we're supposed to take and what it's supposed to look like.
29:36
And it's dangerous to trust yourself.
29:39
You need to do all this research and all these things.
29:42
And you have that that inner knowing that's so powerful, that
29:47
is going to serve you. And it's already served you
29:49
well. You listen to it and trusted it.
29:52
You believed in you, You and invested in you.
29:55
I think that is just such a wonderful gift.
29:58
And when you can talk about it openly, I could say it's an
30:01
invitation, I think, for other women to be like, oh, wait a
30:05
minute, you know, maybe that's something I need to put a little
30:08
more thought into. Yeah.
30:10
Or not thought into like because we can.
30:12
Over think too much. Yeah, because I love you too.
30:15
Like I'll think and I'll be like, well, should I do this?
30:17
Should I do that? And I'm like, well, for me, it's
30:20
like I have nothing to lose. Like to me, I'm like, that can
30:23
happen, right? If my business didn't work out,
30:26
I could just go get another job, whatever.
30:28
If I didn't like California, I could move back home, whatever.
30:30
I think people think too much and they're like, what if it
30:32
doesn't work out? And I'm like, then just you can
30:35
always pivot, you know, like, it's not like in stone.
30:39
I think so many people are afraid to try and they just get
30:42
stuck. Like, I know, like my dad, for
30:45
example, had a job he hated forever.
30:47
And I'm like, and then at 60 years old, he's like, you know
30:50
what, I'm going to try. And I'm like, there you go.
30:53
You know, So rather do it now than like regret it.
30:57
Exactly because so many times you said something so important
31:01
there, we so many times think of what if it doesn't work out?
31:03
And instead of thinking what if it does?
31:06
What if it does work out? And doing that now and not
31:10
waiting. So many people hit this 354555
31:16
this midlife, we called them midlife crises.
31:19
But so many times it's you simply haven't followed what
31:23
you're aligned with. You've allowed yourself to live
31:26
out of societal expectations, which goes beautifully into our
31:29
next talking point. Living out of your own
31:32
expectations versus others. That's exactly what you've done.
31:37
You've trusted yourself. You've made the shifts that you
31:40
needed to shift for you. You haven't been deterred and in
31:44
you're on this path now at the ripe old age of 25.
31:49
I mean, you're living out of your own expectations, which is
31:52
going to set you down such a healthier path for your life
31:56
where you're going to be living authentically to you.
31:59
And when we live authentic to ourselves, it not only impacts
32:05
how we feel, it impacts all parts of our health.
32:07
You lessen your stressors, your anxieties, the depressions.
32:10
Life's going to happen. Hard things are going to come.
32:13
But you have that base, that foundation of knowing yourself,
32:17
trusting yourself and what your expectations are.
32:20
And that will always help keep you and get you back on track
32:23
when life's unexpected things come.
32:26
And being able to be like, I'm in my 20s, I'm going to do this
32:29
now. No reason not to.
32:31
You know, not, you know, not going to let fear stand on my
32:34
way. It's just it's me.
32:35
I can do this. I love that.
32:37
Such a great example of that. Have you always like thinking
32:42
through? When did you think you got to
32:45
that? Like, no, these are my
32:46
expectations. I'm going to follow them.
32:49
Or have you just always kind of lived there?
32:53
Yeah, my dad, my dad always tells me, he calls it stubborn.
32:57
He calls it stubborn. He's like, I think he he he's
33:02
funny because he's like, we always knew you would own a
33:05
business. He's like, there's no way you
33:06
would let somebody tell you what to do.
33:10
And I'm like, yeah, I'm like, it's just, I don't know.
33:13
I think he, he was kind of like that too.
33:17
He's he's more stubborn than I am, but he, he owns a business.
33:21
He owned, he opened a business when he was like, like I said,
33:24
4050 years old. So he did it later in life
33:28
always. That's always what he was
33:30
supposed to do. But he, you know, he, he never
33:33
did it. And he was, he always wanted to
33:35
leave New Jersey. That's where I'm from.
33:37
But he never did it. And he just, he got married,
33:40
shit happened and he just never started until he was 40.
33:45
And you know, it's like what it's like just I think he was
33:49
like, I'm like, I guess I just kind of copied that.
33:52
But it's like who I am like, I mean, my sister's not like that
33:56
at all. So I don't know if it was like
33:59
hereditary, but I've always been the more like stubborn, like 1.
34:04
And it's not like, I don't know, just it's just who I am.
34:07
And obviously I've grown into it.
34:09
But no, when I want to do something, I'm going to do it.
34:12
Like I, like I said, I moved out of New Jersey when I was 18.
34:16
I never liked New Jersey. I hated it.
34:18
And like I was 18 years old and I'm like, I'm going and I'm
34:21
like, my mom did not want me to. And I'm like, I'm, I cannot stay
34:24
here. I just know where I'm supposed
34:27
to be. So yeah, I don't know.
34:29
I just always, I'm just always just kind of in that kind of
34:33
person. Yeah, I mean, I think that, see,
34:36
that's a classic example. So interesting the names we put
34:39
to things because I've been called stubborn a lot in my life
34:43
too, but I'm like stubborn or just resistant to letting myself
34:49
settle. And I, you know, so I think it's
34:51
one of those things stubbornness can, you know, is one of those
34:54
character traits that can work for us and against us, but very
34:57
much for us when it doesn't allow us to be something we're
35:01
not and doesn't allow us to stay in a space that isn't authentic
35:05
to us. And us knowing and trusting
35:09
ourselves that we can listen to our intuition and go down a path
35:13
it's going to be honoring to who we are.
35:15
And I think that's what you have done.
35:18
So your if it's stubbornness, it is served you well.
35:24
I know I am. I know I'm stubborn, but also
35:26
like it is like it's like real hearted and or like whatever.
35:29
Yeah, it can be stubborn, but I'm like, you know, that's OK.
35:33
I'm like, it's just, I decided, like you said, I just don't want
35:36
to, I don't want to settle with my life and I don't, I don't
35:39
want to be somewhere like literally working at 9:00 to
35:41
5:00. I wanted to die like I hated it
35:43
so much. So it's just who I am.
35:46
And it's like, I don't want, I don't want to hate my life.
35:49
It's my life, you know? And I think that's something
35:51
your generation has a much healthier handle on.
35:55
I think, you know, in our generation, it was like, go to
35:59
college, get the degree, meet the partner, buy the house, get
36:03
the cars, have the kids, all, and all those things will make
36:06
you happy. And it's like, I know so many
36:08
people that tolerate their weekly jobs and that they might
36:14
make really good money and have the house and the cars, but they
36:17
live for the weekend and the days off because their weeks are
36:20
miserable. And they just have accepted that
36:23
as a fact of life because that is the narrative they were sold
36:26
that would lead to success. And again, so many times, that's
36:30
why we get to these midlife crises.
36:32
It's like you are not living in a way that's truly honoring you.
36:37
And that is always going to catch up with you at some point.
36:41
And sometimes it can come out in really harmful ways when you act
36:44
out because you're not getting curious about, huh, why do I
36:49
feel so unsettled in my life? What, what, how am I living in a
36:53
way that's not honoring to me? We don't you know, instead we
36:56
just do other things to act out that can end up being very
37:00
harmful and hurtful to not only ourselves, but those around it.
37:04
So I think it's so important and I see this, you know, throughout
37:09
your generation of there, you're making decisions about your life
37:14
not as like that. You know, not just about, is
37:17
this a good paying job in my degree?
37:20
Yes. And also do does the culture
37:24
operate in a way that's honoring and aligned with me?
37:27
Do the hours, do the expectations, do I see
37:30
opportunities for me to be my authentic self in this?
37:33
I mean, you ask yourselves so many more questions about
37:37
lifestyle and quality of life than just the degree alignment
37:41
and how much it pays. And I think that is going to
37:43
lead you all down much more holistically healthy life
37:48
period. Yeah.
37:51
Yeah, for sure. I think that's so good.
37:53
You've learned from your parents and grandparents essentially,
37:55
which is great. We always want you to do that.
37:57
But you've seen, I mean, I think that can be true across a
38:01
generation. You've seen like they figured
38:03
these things out and they change these things.
38:05
But these things I don't think so.
38:08
I don't think I need to do that 80 hour work week.
38:10
That doesn't feel healthy to me. I, you know, and, and I'll
38:14
sacrifice the boat if it means that I can, you know, have the
38:18
overall health and lifestyle that I want, joy in my
38:21
day-to-day instead of just living for the weekend.
38:25
Yeah, no, yeah, for sure. Yeah, absolutely.
38:28
All right. Accepting the layered aspects of
38:32
ourselves, all the pieces and parts that make up who we are,
38:35
the things we love, the things we don't.
38:38
You've had to like, accept that, like, all right, during my
38:41
childhood, these things happened and it contributed to this.
38:44
But I was able to make these shifts and now I understand how
38:48
my body works and why it has the.
38:51
So talk to me about your layers journey and kind of coming to
38:53
grips with what you knew then versus what you know now.
38:59
I don't know, I just feel like as a kid, it's like I didn't
39:03
have a choice over what I ate and what I did.
39:06
So I feel like that obviously, like I had no control over that,
39:11
so it wasn't like my fault necessarily.
39:15
Yeah. You know, like I didn't have
39:17
money to go get my own, do my, I didn't have a car or, you know,
39:22
whatever. Yeah.
39:23
Like I went to college and, you know, the first year of college,
39:27
I feel like I was still much like what I was doing as a kid.
39:31
And then once I got sick is when I kind of was like pulling the
39:34
layers back and kind of looking inward and kind of trying to
39:37
figure everything out. And I feel like that for me was
39:40
I always call that my midlife crisis.
39:42
Yeah. Like the quarter life prices or
39:44
whatever. But yeah, that was like where I
39:47
kind of opened the door to possibilities of being different
39:52
and changing and not being like my family and not being like the
39:56
people I'm around and kind of being different.
39:59
I know I'm not typical 20 year old.
40:01
I've never been a typical 20 year old.
40:04
I'm OK with that. I my boyfriend calls me a
40:06
grandma, but I'm OK with that. I'm like, I'm OK with that.
40:10
Like that's just like I'm so happy and content and like feel
40:14
really good about who I am and I don't feel the need to drink and
40:18
party and do college. Like I just, I don't feel the
40:22
need to do those things. I want to.
40:24
I know who I am and I know what I want to be And like, that's
40:26
just. You know what I mean?
40:28
So for me, it's like my like my opening to be different than
40:32
everyone I was around and kind of learned on my own.
40:37
Yeah, well, I think too, you pointed something out out so
40:40
many times and yeah, many times. You're some people.
40:45
Humans are just born as old souls.
40:47
I call them old souls where they just have that inner wisdom,
40:50
that inner knowledge about themselves.
40:52
They don't need outside affirmations to convince them
40:57
that they're on the right path for themselves.
40:58
You just, you really, you're built that way.
41:02
And so you don't. So many of these cycles and
41:04
phases you go through while you're growing up with these
41:08
things you're talking about the drinking, the partying.
41:10
You're not trying to find yourself, you're not running
41:13
away from something, you're not trying to numb anything because
41:15
you already have this like inner knowing that's within you.
41:19
And I feel like that's who you are in so many ways.
41:23
Yeah, I mean, I feel like I had my face when I was younger, Like
41:28
I had more like, you know, learning and growing phase.
41:31
And like, definitely when I was like 1213, like high school, I
41:35
feel like that was where I was a little bit, you know, in that
41:38
weird spot. And then like when I was 20, I
41:41
was like, OK, like I'm I'm here now.
41:43
Yeah, I had had that earlier than other people.
41:46
Sure, that makes sense. And also, you know, when you're
41:50
hit with a health crises like you were, it forces you to step
41:54
back, like there's really not a choice.
41:57
And so, you know, you have a choice, a choice in how you
42:00
address it. And you chose to take the
42:02
proactive, I'm going to fight for myself and figure this out
42:05
and not just Band-Aid this thing and tolerate this thing, but it
42:09
also, but it can. But it's served you really well.
42:12
That curiosity and that inner knowing and that trust and keep
42:15
digging for answers has served you so well, so good.
42:19
All right. In living out feel, finding
42:22
empowerment, embracing layers, which is you have you are doing
42:26
that. You talked a little bit about
42:28
this earlier with boundaries that talk to me about the impact
42:33
that has on your relationship with yourself as well as your
42:36
relationship with other people. You've already talked about
42:39
having to make some shifts in relationships to make sure
42:43
you're surrounding yourself with people that are for you and
42:47
what's well for you. Do you want to add anything to
42:50
that? I don't know, I don't know what
42:56
to add to that. I think, you know, just being a
43:00
business owner, like being who I am, like it's just it's more of
43:04
a lonely journey. And I feel like I've had myself
43:07
and I've always been content with being more so alone than
43:12
like around. I don't need a lot of people in
43:14
my life. So I feel like that just is what
43:18
I'm OK with. And I know like, you know, my
43:20
mom's like she hates being alone.
43:23
But for me, I'm very comfortable with like just who I am and like
43:27
I do have, you know, a boyfriend.
43:29
I do have a partner. Like I don't, I'm not always
43:31
alone. I do have friends.
43:32
It's just, I just feel like I'm more, I'm more like just like
43:35
kind of determined and focused. That to me wasn't, it wasn't
43:40
hard. I know like other people would
43:42
be hard. Like it was not hard for me to
43:44
move 3000 miles away. It was not, it was the easiest
43:48
thing in the world. It's just like for me, it's just
43:50
it was never hard for me to kind of change and evolve.
43:53
Like, that doesn't scare me, so I think I'm grateful for that,
43:58
yeah. Absolutely, absolutely.
44:00
Well, it's just it goes back to that trust your in yourself that
44:02
you have and knowing and trusting what's well for you and
44:05
then and being aligned with that.
44:07
I think that's such an important piece.
44:08
I love that you talk about not being afraid to be alone.
44:12
So many people surround themselves with people because
44:15
they're afraid to be alone with themselves, My dear.
44:19
Yeah, I I But we see that a lot. It was.
44:22
And they're afraid of the noise and the things are going to come
44:26
up. And for years I was afraid to be
44:28
alone with myself. And I mean, tell.
44:31
I was willing to get curious about the noise that was scaring
44:34
me, the things I was unwilling to confront and face and walk
44:38
through and deal with. It was then that it was like,
44:41
oh, OK, if I can take the time to do that, then actually I find
44:46
being with myself very refreshing and very content.
44:49
And so I think it's, and it's that point where you can really
44:54
show up well for yourself and for other people.
44:57
You're so much healthier in relationships when you're not
45:00
afraid to be alone with yourself.
45:02
You know, you don't need those relationships.
45:04
You want those relationships. And I think that's a pivotal
45:08
thing where it's a choice rather than you feel like I have to
45:11
have this to survive. I want those, they're supportive
45:16
and nurturing in my life, but I don't, I don't need them to
45:21
survive. I choose them.
45:24
Yeah, no, for sure, for sure. I feel like we all, we all need
45:27
relationships. It's just finding the right ones
45:31
for not being, yeah. Yeah, I love that.
45:35
All right, we are down to the rapid fire.
45:39
Tell me 5 activities that nourish you.
45:45
I mean, I'm just an active person.
45:47
So for me, like if all I do is I go to the gym, I walk.
45:53
That's like for me, walking is like my number one.
45:56
Like if I need a minute, I'm walking.
45:57
Like I walk a lot. I'm like constantly walking.
46:00
So I love to like go to the gym, walk.
46:02
I'm just somebody who likes to move my body and that's how I
46:05
find peace. Like I love to play football
46:08
with my boyfriend. So I'm just a movement person.
46:11
I definitely meant I love to nerf myself with food,
46:14
obviously, like the grocery store.
46:17
It's like, fun to me. I love going to the grocery
46:20
store. And then I just love, I love to
46:22
take care of myself and, like, surround myself with people and
46:26
good conversations and deep, deep talks and stuff like that.
46:29
And I love to travel, but that's not something often,
46:33
unfortunately, Yeah. Maybe someday, maybe someday.
46:36
All right, And five words on how you want to feel the next six
46:40
months. I definitely want growth.
46:45
I feel like I'm constantly growing.
46:47
I mean, like I said, I'm 25, so I feel like I learn so much
46:51
constantly. So growth for sure.
46:54
I think just like strength. I mean, any, any time for me,
47:00
it's like growth, strength, clarity, purpose.
47:05
And then definitely like love. Like I definitely like love and
47:10
like loving people. Like for me that comes easy.
47:13
Obviously it's hard to be a coach and if you don't love,
47:16
love deeply. So I always love and just like
47:20
care about people. So for me, that's always
47:22
important. Yeah, so good.
47:24
All right, Leah, tell people where they can find you, follow
47:27
you if they want to work with you.
47:28
And also these resources are all going to be listed on our
47:31
website on the resources page and embracing their dot com
47:35
share right now with people how they can find you.
47:38
Yeah, I'm everywhere. So I'm on YouTube, TikTok,
47:42
Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, you name it.
47:44
It's just my name. Leah L EA under score
47:47
Dombrowski, which is DO MB ROWSKI.
47:52
So Leah under score Dombrowski on all platforms.
47:55
And then my website is www.livingwithstrength.com.
48:00
So my business is called Living with Strength, which this is
48:03
literally who I am. So that's really how I how I
48:07
named my business. But yeah, Instagram is
48:09
definitely where I'm most active.
48:10
So if you send me a DM on there, I'm definitely very active on
48:14
Instagram and I'm always happy to chat, ask questions.
48:17
Like I'm always happy to talk to other people, especially those
48:21
who resonate with me with like the weight loss and the
48:23
bloating, like anything you need like I'm here and I love to
48:26
support you. So DM me for sure.
48:29
OK, Leah, thank you so much for this conversation.
48:32
Thank you for sharing your story.
48:33
Thank you for how you show up in the world.
48:35
I think it's just so fun to share these stories and to show
48:40
that it doesn't matter how old you are, you can be in touch
48:44
with yourself. You can have that inner wisdom,
48:46
you can follow that inner knowing, and you can share and
48:49
be a light and be resourced. You don't have to get to a
48:52
certain age to arrive at that. You can arrive at that wherever
48:55
you are right now. And you're a shining example of
48:57
that. I appreciate your time.
49:00
And ladies, as you're listening to this today try, I want you to
49:04
really tap into that inner knowing.
49:07
What is it telling you and how is there ways that you can honor
49:11
that, that maybe you're not honoring that right now?
49:14
Leah has talked a lot about trusting herself and making the
49:17
moves that she knew were healthiest for her and she
49:20
trusted that. She didn't overthink it.
49:23
She didn't question it. She just followed it.
49:25
Is there an area in your life that maybe you need to be doing
49:29
that? So that's going to be my
49:30
challenge for you and my take away.
49:32
Leah, any last thoughts for our today before we wrap up?
49:37
Meantime, somebody asked me that.
49:39
I always like to tell people like, you're not crazy.
49:43
I feel like for me, crazy for a long time, especially like
49:46
you're saying with how you're just so dismissive to women and
49:50
in doctors specifically. So I always tell people when
49:54
that comes back to the knowing like if you feel something is
49:57
off, like if you feel uncomfortable in your body, if
50:00
you know something needs to change, trust that.
50:02
And also don't let somebody else touch you that it's normal or
50:06
that it's crazy. If you think something is wrong,
50:08
it's probably wrong and you need to listen to your body because
50:12
your body does communicate with you through things like bloating
50:15
and fatigue and all these things.
50:17
That's your body's way of communicating with you.
50:19
So I always tell people rust their body, trust what you know
50:22
best. You know a doctor doesn't know
50:24
you, you know best. So that's for me was like the
50:26
biggest thing is like if I did not trust myself and trust my
50:30
body, it would not have healed. So always tell all people that
50:34
are not crazy, crazy. Oh, I love that.
50:36
That's so good. Our bodies are for us.
50:38
They're not against us. I love that.
50:40
Such a great way to wrap it up. Leah, thanks so much for your
50:43
time today. Listeners.
50:44
Thanks so much for being with us.
50:46
So many good Nuggets in today's conversation.
50:49
Take good care of yourselves and we'll see you next time here on
50:52
the Field podcast. Hello and thank you so much for
50:56
being with us today on this episode of the Feel podcast.
51:01
If you would like more information on how you can apply
51:05
these talking points that I share with our guests in each
51:08
episode to your own life, really utilize this Feel framework.
51:14
Go to embracinglayers.com, fill out our contact form and let's
51:19
set up a free 30 minute consultation to talk about how
51:23
you can start leaving your most authentic, organic, healthy,
51:28
feel fueled life. Thanks again for being with us
51:32
today. We'll be back to you soon with
51:34
another episode here on the Feel Podcast.