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Live a Healthier Life with Dr. Darlene Thomas · Humanity Working

• 0:08
  SPEAKER_03: We're walking and I decided to start jogging.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_03: And I was elated because there was no pain.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_03: So I don't know what the dream actually meant, but it's the first time probably in eight years that I've actually dreamt about running and then just went out and did it.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Way Too Busy podcast.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Matt Neal.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: A few days ago, I got an opportunity to chat with Dr.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: Darlene Thomas.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Dr.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Darlene is a National Board certified health and wellness coach, a certified fitness coach with doctored and master studies in psychology and education with a focus on behavior change.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: She's qualified as a clinical psychologist and a master coach and has a unique perspective on personal effectiveness, not just from her own experience, but from others she works with.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: We had an opportunity to talk about how Darlene views wellness as a critical part of personal effectiveness and how she's seen the effectiveness of people go up once they really start to take this seriously.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: I thought it was a great chat.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: So I hope you enjoy it too.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: So, Darlene, you have a background of achievement in corporate America, but that's now shifted pretty radically.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: Tell us about that.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_03: My background is I'm educated in both psychology education.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm I was also a long distance runner for many years, probably from 20 through my early 50s.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_03: And throughout that time, uh 10 miles was my favorite distance.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_03: And of course, I was obsessed with running.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_03: It was something I just did every day to alleviate stress from work.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, it just was my time to get creative and all kinds of wonderful things would happen when I ran.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_03: So I absolutely loved it.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_03: And then one day I was out training for a trail run.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_03: I stepped in a hole and I completely ripped my meniscus and had to have knee surgery.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and I'm a little stubborn.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_03: So although the doctors told me years ago, you know, you won't be able to run again, you won't be able to do this type of exercise, you know, I thought, well, that doesn't make any sense.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_03: Um and I kept trying to do different things.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_03: And long story short, I ended up giving up running because um at that time I believed, well, they're right, it it hurts and I can't do it, and I don't want my knees to get in any in any worse shape.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_03: So I let running go.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_03: I started cycling and lifting weights and doing a lot of other types of exercises.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and then in the last four years, I retired from my corporate position.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_03: And um I also have Crohn's, which is another very debilitating illness.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_03: And I didn't know a lot about uh Crohn's, I just knew that I would get ill, um, certain things I couldn't eat.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_03: And when I retired, I just decided to start studying food and inflammation.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_03: And I was pleasantly surprised when I read a lot of research papers and papers by doctors that focused on inflammation.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_03: Um I learned that there was a lot I can do to control my Crohn's by changing my diet.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_03: So I did that and I spent, I have it's been four years now, but I spent the first two years literally learning everything that I could about, you know, what to eat, how to eat, how it was affecting my body.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_03: And primarily it was just to control my Crohn's, but I realized at the same time my stomach was getting under control, my joints stopped hurting.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_03: And that kind of intrigued me.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_03: And I thought, wow, what's the connection between you know, Crohn's, uh a bowel disorder, and joint pain.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_03: And the connection was inflammation, and I realized how your diet can really influence your health or you know, make you feel good or make you feel bad.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_03: So um kept studying, kept learning uh throughout that journey.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_03: I ended up becoming a master certified health coach.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_03: Now I'm a board certified health coach and I'm also a certified fitness coach.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_03: And I did all this really to just to help myself because I love being athletic and fit and doing all those wonderful things.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and once I saw there was a way to control my own injuries, I just wanted to learn more and more and more, which is what I did.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_03: Um, what ended up starting happening though was what turned into what was a hobby.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_03: And I started posting, I was in a lot of fitness uh Facebook groups and you know, Instagram groups, and a lot of people started asking me questions, and I started sharing what I learned about my own journey of health and wellness, as well as um my journey with Crohn's and my knee injury.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_03: And the next thing I know, I was actually coaching people, and I found that I really enjoyed helping others be healthy.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_03: And that's how I ended up being a health coach.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_03: And um today I spend a lot of time just working with people who either have um, you know, issues with wellness in general, or um they want to lose weight, or they're looking to have more energy.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_03: You know, for me, wellness is more than just um, you know, being fit and eating right.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_03: There's a lot of dimensions that make somebody well.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, stress has a lot to do with um the impact on someone's health.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_03: So when I coach people, I like to look across, you know, six or seven dimensions.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_03: And of course, physical fitness, food is there, the stress management, you know, uh occupational stress, environment, which there's a lot of toxins, and you know, spirituality, all of those things that people that make up a person are important to well-being.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: Do you find that people don't kind of realize out of the gate that all of those different factors are playing into what shows up as a symbol, uh, like shows up as a, oh, I can't lose weight or I can't exercise every day, or I don't have the discipline to do this or that?
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, they're not taken into account all those other factors, you know, kind of as a holistic view.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_03: I do think that um, you know, people don't recognize, for example, the importance of sleep as a part of well-being, or intellectual stimulation as a part of well-being.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I think most people recognize, you know, stress could have some uh hazard to their health because maybe they're not sleeping.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_03: But what I find that they don't realize is that stress, because it reduces the hormone cortisol, that it in itself increases the inflammation in your body.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_03: And then inflammation itself is what creates so many other chronic diseases.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_03: So sometimes I have to make that connection for them and also help them understand that you know being healthy and wellness are two different things.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_03: And I do like to take a holistic look at, you know, various dimensions because some people may be focusing on one or two and not focusing on, you know, the other three or four.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_03: Now, when I coach people, you know, maybe we start with one dimension, and then as we uh or as they get that one dimension under control, because maybe it's the first priority for them, then we may look at other dimensions to see if there's things we can do uh to, you know, either come up with some workarounds or some goals that might alleviate whatever struggles they might be having in those other dimensions.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: You said recognizing that being healthy and wellness are very distinct.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: So can you say a little bit more about that?
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so I think when most people look at health, they think about it very in a very narrow way.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_03: And that may mean that they don't have any physical sickness, they're not going to the doctor, the doctors told them, you know, that things look okay, and maybe they are not taking any medication.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, so they may look at health from that perspective.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_03: But what I have found wellness means you're at peace, you are calm, you know how to manage your stress because stress is always going to be there, but you know, how do you deal with it?
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_03: Um are you happy with whatever occupation you're working through?
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_03: And if not, not having the fear to maybe do something different in life.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so for me, when you look at all of those capabilities or characteristics or tenets or whatever you want to call them, and you are comfortable with all of them, that is where you get peace.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_03: And then you could say, I'm well, I feel well, okay, because you can be, you know, and this is a perfect example, Matt.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_03: When I was working at Amgen, you know, to look at me, I looked really fit.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_03: I worked out a lot, but I can honestly say that I wasn't well because I was under a lot of stress, I didn't sleep well.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I was always having flare-ups from my Crohn's.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, I worked out every day, but there were a lot of other things that today I could say I wasn't well.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_03: You know?
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: And how much of that too is is like a response or or or a typical response around I'm too busy to get to that point, too, right?
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: The people you coach and things like that.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_03: There's definitely a correlation.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_03: I had a coaching session actually yesterday with a client, and we spent the whole hour talking about stress.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_03: And the stress was um not enough time to do anything.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_03: So, on one hand, we're trying to um reduce her blood sugar glucose, get her cholesterol in alignment, and get her exercising and moving.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_03: But what's competing with that is in her mind the limited time she has to do that because of work.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_03: And interesting enough, when we talked about when I asked the question, so what is it that's keeping you from doing both?
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_03: It was managing her time.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_03: And um, you know, we talked about different ways to try to do that today that would help her be able to at least spend 30 minutes four times a week moving.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_03: Um, we talked about the impact of stress um on her health.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_03: Um, we talked about things she could do differently at work to try to alleviate some of the stress.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_03: But but primarily it was she just doesn't do a good job of being able to manage all the things that she has to do.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I forget who who the quotes from, but uh it could just be one of those ubiquitous kind of out there quotes, but it was like uh about meditation.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: You know, if you don't have five minutes a day to meditate, then you should definitely meditate for 10.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: You know, uh it's interesting when people really break it down, you know, that that uh is time really the problem, or is it how you use that time?
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: Are you using that time effectively?
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I wonder how, you know, you you also have a background in psychology, you know, how's that affecting and and how much of that comes into every one of these equations for you with your with your clients too?
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: Because again, you're doing the whole person.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: So these kind of factors, you're fixing their head and their body and their diet and all that stuff.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: So talk a little bit about that.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_03: Well, psychology definitely come in comes into play because uh not only do people have a challenge managing their time, and you said it best being effective, but then there's also this whole you know category around behavioral change.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_03: And how do I help them understand the stages of change?
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, yeah, and you know, once they're not reliant on me as someone they have to be accountable to, you know, how do I give them the tools so that they can recognize what stage they're in and they know what steps to take in order to refocus?
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_03: So we as humans, at some point we all, no matter how disciplined we are, we all fall off the wagon at some point in time.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, but when you have the tools to recognize that that's a part of change and you don't beat yourself up about it, and then you you know recognize the tools that you have on hand to go back to whatever it is you need to focus on to re-engage yourself.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I spend an awful lot of time helping people recognize what stage of change they're in and why they're doing what they're doing, and then discussing with them what are some of the steps they can put in place to refocus their energy when they do have those opportunities or when those when when they have those challenges where they fall off the wagon.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_03: It because it's a very human, it's very human nature to fall off the wagon.
• 14:46
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• 14:53
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• 15:00
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• 15:09
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• 15:18
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• 15:24
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• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: And when when you work with folks, um what's some of the common thoughts or or the common threads you hear when you do point those, I guess, inconsistencies out to folks.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they must have a like a light bulb moment.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: They must, you know, what's the what's the uh what are the reviews like after these conversations, after they've had the time to to really take them in and see the changes impact, you know.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_00: I I think that would be interesting to hear about what you've experienced there too.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I think one of the things I like to do, um, so there's a there's an exercise I like to do with people.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_03: Um, number one, I think what I find is most people beat themselves up when they feel like they haven't been able to sustain something or they haven't followed the plan that we put together.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_03: And I don't like for people to beat themselves up because, you know, like I said, it's human nature to, you know, get, you know, uh fall off the wagon or not be focused for a week.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_03: I think the goal is to give them the tools to get back on the wagon.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_03: So one of the things I like to do is make the goals very tangible.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, so you know, not just having this list of I want to lose 10 pounds, I want to eat healthy, I want to do this.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_03: What makes it real for people is creating a vision for them that ties those goals to something real.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_03: And one of the most exciting things for me, and I think for most people, when we do what I call a life vision, you know, they realize that they're doing this for something bigger than themselves.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_03: And it's usually family, grandchildren, kids, or something of that nature, or some, you know, role they want to play in the world, that these particular goals and these six or eight dimensions are going to help them reach that goal.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_03: So I try to spend some time tying the life vision, whatever that is for the person, to whatever goals they want to accomplish.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: What are the common like because not only do people beat themselves up, but I think they either uh without intent just because that's the way they've always been, they're in a groove or whatever, you sabotage yourself in so many different ways, even with the best intentions, you know.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: So you sabotage plus beat yourself up.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: How do you, you know, what are the most common ways and how can we overcome that sabotage?
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_03: I think the first thing that you have to do with someone is help them recognize when they are sabotaging themselves because most people do it unconsciously, yeah.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and what I like to call those are cognitive delusions.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_03: You beyond just saying, you know, I'm an idiot or I didn't do this goal today.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_03: But when people say those things to me and they do all the time, you know, I go through a series of questions to get them to get them to realize that what they're saying is actually not a true statement.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_03: No, you're not stupid all the time.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_03: No, you're not a failure all the time because you just told me five minutes ago that you did A, B, C, and D and you accomplished it.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_03: So it's it's helping them not only recognize, you know, what I call fear, false evidence appearing real, that they're telling themselves this story, but again giving them to tools to recognize that that is not reality, what you're what you're believing, what you're saying.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_03: And a lot of times people say those things, do those things, sabotage themselves unconsciously.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_03: So you have to bring them to light.
• 19:44
  unknown: Yeah.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: Does that make sense?
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_00: Those old habits die hard.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_03: They do die hard.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_03: They do die hard.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, and especially when you don't recognize that they're habits that you're actually doing.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you don't even know it's a habit, it's just a reaction.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it's just a reaction, yeah.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, that's that's a tough one.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think?
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_00: I guess maybe maybe talk about like um what's your favorite success story with one of your clients or or people that you've coached.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I know you've had a lot of inspiring ones, so oh that's a good question.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_03: Let me see.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, okay.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_03: I I have a I had a really interesting client um that had some lab work done, and she her doctor um was threatening to put her on uh medication because she was pre-diabetes, and she wanted to see if she could make lifestyle changes in order to get her labs in order.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_03: And I thought it was very possible because uh they weren't, you know, crazy out of whack, but you know, I think with some weight loss and exercise and eating healthy, we could work on it.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_03: And she was still working with her doctor.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_03: And what was interesting is um, and I I do think that I've heard this from multiple clients, but in this particular situation, this client, her mother had uh dementia, she had rheumatoid arthritis, she had quite a few chronic illnesses.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_03: And every time I would talk to the particular client, she would always say, Well, you know, I know I'm gonna get that because it's because I'm genetically, you know, dispositioned to get it.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_03: So everything was I can try, but there's really no hope because my mom has it.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_03: And what I did was I asked her if I could share some information.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_03: About the connection between, you know, food and her genes.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_03: And I said to her, you know, just because something runs in your family doesn't necessarily mean that that is your destiny.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_03: And if you do all the right things, you eat the right foods, those genes don't necessarily get turned on.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_03: So there's a lot of research out there around neutral genetics and neutral genomics, where they're looking at foods that literally turn genes on and off.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_03: And so she and I spent a little bit of time talking about that, and I shared some articles with her.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_03: But what was so incredibly exciting for me was she decided that she was going to really focus on, you know, 30 minutes a day, five days a week of walking.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_03: And of course, she was working at home, so she could do that during the day.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_03: And we really spent a lot of time going through her pantry, getting rid of a lot of processed foods and you know, talking about how to eat healthy.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_03: And she did.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_03: And she next time she went to get her lab work done, her her A1C, which is her blood uh glucose, was down by one point.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_03: And that was amazing to me.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_03: It took about six months.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_03: Besides the fact that she started telling me some other things like she was sleeping better, she had more energy, um, she felt more motivated at work and she wasn't as stressed because guess what?
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_03: She was getting away from that computer in the middle of the day and walking at her lunchtime.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_03: And I just felt so pleased that she felt well.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's the goal, right?
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um I think I think it's it's too often dismissed, and uh there's a momentum factor uh in both directions.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_00: There's there's momentum to just keep being bad and getting worse and worse and worse.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and and then there's the momentum.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: Once you start building back up and doing well, you don't want to fall off either, right?
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, I don't know about you, but my pandemic uh started with just pure gluttony, thinking the world was ending, and then getting back in shape, like, hey, I I need to I need to curb this.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_00: And then uh, you know, the the stress then and the pain and and the suffering of six, eight months in in isolation brings it right back, you know.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_00: So it it's it's it's really been uh a tough year for folks, I think, to uh do that.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_00: But at the same time, I hope that this year has given people some visibility into where your priorities should start to align, the things that are really important to you and getting those things in order.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um I don't know, it's just a hunch, but uh I hope I hope for everybody's sake that they are taking those steps as we crawl out of this uh this last year.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I mean, I'm you know, I'm a cup half full, so I can find the goodness in anything.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, like you, I I think a lot of people truly realize, you know, and felt very stressed behind this, uh, being condemned to, you know, being locked at home.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_03: But on the other hand, I think a lot of people recognize the joy that they've been able to experience by having to spend more time with their families.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I think hopefully it's been an eye-opening for people that your immune system is incredibly important because they now know what could happen if a pandemic hits and you are vulnerable, that you may not recover.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_03: So for me, you know, I just hope that people recognize there's a lot you can do to strengthen not only your immune system, but your resolve.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_03: So it's been a it's been a true test, I think, for a lot of people in a in a multitude of ways.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I think, you know, it's you bring up an interesting point, right?
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_00: So heading into this pandemic, being in good shape was a pretty good thing to have in your repertoire, you know.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_00: Uh uh, you know, but I think also, you know, most people are probably shocked when they meet you or see you give talks or or see you online and see some of the things you're doing.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I think people are shocked to see and find out that, you know, you're in your 60s and and you know, let's talk about age and wellness and your approach to wellness.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_03: Uh yeah, and you know, I'll be 63 in uh two weeks.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, to your point, Matt, um, and let's talk about that.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_03: I had the virus.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's where that's where I was getting to is like you're in your 60s, you're an athlete, yeah.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_00: You work hard at your diet, and you had COVID.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_03: Well, and because I have a um anti-inflammatory or an autoimmune disorder, which chronic is, you know, I could have been one of those people that ended up in the hospital and fighting for my life.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_03: And I contribute my quick recovery, honestly, to the way I take care of myself, the way I eat, the way I exercise, um, because I don't know if not for those things, you know, that the situation could have been a lot different.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but you know, I look at age as I guess, you know, I always said to myself, if I have the opportunity to retire, you know, that's when I want to live.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_03: That's when I want to enjoy my life.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_03: You know, um, and so it was very, very important to me when I left corporate America.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_03: Like I said, I've always been fit because I've been an endurance athlete, you know, most of my life.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_03: I ran marathons, I've done a little, you know, you name it, I've probably done it.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_03: But um, when I retired, it was very important to me that, you know, I looked at everything, that I had a lot of intellectual stimulation.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_03: So I love to have opportunities to read and learn, um, that I have a lot of peace and calm in my life.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_03: And so I make sure that, you know, I am addressing all eight dimensions all the time.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_03: You know, how are my financials?
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_03: That's another dimension that people stress out a lot about.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_03: And given the pandemic, you know, rightly so.
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_03: But, you know, I want to make sure that I'm financially capable.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_03: I have great friends that I interact with, so that social connection is important.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, you can age, but you don't have to get old.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_03: I still hike, you know, six, seven hours at a time when I do go hiking with my friends.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_03: I work out probably two hours a day with cardio and weights.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, I have, well, my one German shepherd now, but I'm soon to have two.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_03: Very active dogs, big dogs.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_03: I, you know, take them hiking.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, it just it feels good to feel physically and mentally and spiritually fit.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_03: And so I always try to look through all of those different lenses to make sure that I'm not leaving any of them out.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_03: It's very important.
• 30:09
  unknown: Yeah.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you you know, you've described you describe a lot of ways that that you're able to stay motivated and it's really inspiring.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, you know, it it's it's really cool to see how you've adapted your own take on so many of these things into and translated into being able to help people and uh and and turn it into success for people in terms of not only through inspiration, but just motivation and and and logic and information that people just don't know about these things that should be so I don't know, obvious or simple about you know, food and and inflammation's impact on all this kind of stuff.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_00: And it's it's pretty striking, I find.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_03: Uh well, I, you know, like I said, uh I didn't connect all the dots initially.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_03: You know, like I said, I was fit.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_03: And just recently I started thinking, you know, I was fit, but I wasn't really healthy and my life wasn't really in balance.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_03: So it took me, you know, I had to step back.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_03: And of course, what happened was I was trying to solve one problem, which was my flare-ups.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I was paying attention to my body, and then I started noticing other things were starting to feel better and the sleep and all the things that I struggled with.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_03: And because I do like to read and do research, I started trying to figure out what's the connection between these things.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_03: How come, because now I'm eating this, my knees don't hurt anymore, you know.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah, it was it truly was a journey for me to kind of look at how all these things connected together.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_03: And if you think about it, it does make sense.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_03: The body is one system.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, so you can't, you know, drink all day and you know, think that it doesn't impact, you know, various elements of your system.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_03: You know, it just, it just, you have to look at your your body as a system.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_03: And unfortunately, with our health care and doctors, traditional doctors, and the way our health care is structured, we don't often have the opportunity for doctors to look at us as a system because we go to different doctors for different problems.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_03: You know, you have heart disease, you go to a cardiologist, you have you know stuff, issues with your stomach, you go to a, you know, a GI doctor.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_03: So, and they don't often have the time or the technology or the capability to have cross-pollination of conversation so that they're giving you one plan to work on.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_03: And as a health coach, I think, you know, I try to bring everything together for people.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_03: And if I can have an opportunity to, you know, even chat with their doctor, it's always beneficial because you know what they're telling them, and then you can kind of put that lifestyle plan in place for them so that you know everything is is getting back into alignment versus maybe just you know working on the heart disease with this particular drug.
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_03: It's like what are the other things that might play into heart disease that they're not addressing?
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_00: That seems so counterintuitive when you really think about it, you know, as as we get older, I think half the problem is, you know, people who are are fortunate enough to have, you know, uh regular care, a regular doctor or whatever.
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's generally like if you're lucky, you really don't use them much for most of your life, even much of your adult life.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_00: You kind of cruise through if you're lucky, and and you don't have to specialize.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_00: And then you start realizing, oh, go see this specialist, go see that specialist.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_00: But by the time you get there, nobody's helped them coordinate all these in pieces of information together uh to present that whole you, you know, it's it's treating symptoms instead of you know uh the whole person.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I I mean, one thing that I hope, you know, is the fallout from this uh COVID and pandemic.
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_03: Well, let me just say, I do think that a lot of doctors are looking at lifestyle and preventative measures more today than they were in the past, but there's still a lot of work to be done in that area, right?
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_03: Conversation starting, and insurance companies have to be brought on and respect the fact that it it's it's it's cheaper and it's better if you can help people before they have symptoms and therefore need drugs, right?
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah um, but you know, there's a lot of change that has to happen because I think most med most people that go through the medical education are taught to treat disease.
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_03: They're not treated to prevent disease, right?
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and as I mentioned, many chronic diseases, diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer's, you know, all of those are, according to current research, are because of inflammation.
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, people don't even realize how bad sugar is for them.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_03: Sugar is something that I never put in my diet.
• 35:48
  SPEAKER_03: I was horrified when I did a lot of research on sugar.
• 35:51
  SPEAKER_03: I don't even take a bad day and say I'm gonna have a little bit of sugar.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_03: I don't do it because it is one of the worst things you could put in your body.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_00: So delicious though.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_03: It might be delicious.
• 36:02
  SPEAKER_03: And there's a reason why, and there's a reason why people are addicted to it.
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_03: It is because it is one of the primary preservatives in almost everything you buy.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 36:12
  SPEAKER_03: Because it because marketer marketers and food companies know that it is the one thing that will addict you to whatever it is they're trying to sell you.
• 36:22
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• 36:41
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• 36:45
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• 36:49
  SPEAKER_00: Billion Minds, providing practical tools for our way too busy lives.
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_03: And that is the problem for most people.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_03: You know, they don't go to the doctor until they're having symptoms, and by then it's usually too late.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 37:09
  SPEAKER_03: I think one of the one of the other important things that I did for myself, um, because I was, you know, going to a lot of different doctors and I was getting pretty frustrated.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_03: Um I went to a uh endocrinologist.
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_03: They are one of the only doctors that does laps that are very broad, um, where you can really get in front of anything that might be happening with your body.
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_03: So um, you know, most people, I think I read something yesterday, I was researching something where 80% of people are walking around and they're pre-diabetic and they don't know it.
• 37:47
  SPEAKER_03: Because it's it's the symptoms are silent until you become a diabetic.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_03: And at that point, then they're ready to give you medication.
• 37:54
  SPEAKER_03: So if you're not getting your blood sugar um tested, you know, at least once a year, especially when you're over 40, you're you don't know.
• 38:01
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 38:03
  SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, as you get older, there are just things that, you know, you need to be looking at and looking for so that you have the opportunity to undo if you're going in the right direction.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_03: Because I mean, you know, as you get older, things start changing.
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and you want to make sure that you're aware of the changes and that you're adjusting so that it doesn't turn into a chronic illness.
• 38:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 38:27
  SPEAKER_03: To be honest with you, this one client that I was telling you about earlier, where we were able to get her blood sugar uh down in a line and in alignment, she didn't actually even know she was borderline diabetic, but just so happened.
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_03: Now, to look at her, you know, she wasn't, you know, obese.
• 38:50
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, she's a tall girl, um, carried her weight well, looked normal in all ways.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_03: But her company had a um a health uh expo, and they offered a free lab.
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_03: Now, her insurance wouldn't even pay for these labs, but as a part of the lab work, they looked at her blood glucose.
• 39:13
  SPEAKER_03: And when she shared it with me, I showed her the ranges and she was surprised.
• 39:18
  SPEAKER_03: But if not for that, if not for that expo, she would have never got her A1C checked.
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_03: And it's not a it's not a part of regular lab work unless you ask for it.
• 39:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_03: And it's probably one of the most important uh tests you could have.
• 39:37
  SPEAKER_00: So interesting how we evolve.
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_03: So anyway, I just I love um I love helping people in any way that I can be healthy.
• 39:49
  SPEAKER_03: And I basically um selfishly want everyone to feel as good as I do.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_00: That's a it's a a lofty but uh a beautiful goal.
• 40:00
  SPEAKER_00: I think uh, you know, I think your ability to motivate yourself to keep going is really inspiring and and uh you know, I think will really help a lot of people as as you as you continue in this practice.
• 40:14
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, you know, I think maybe maybe could you share like what uh what's next?
• 40:22
  SPEAKER_00: What are you working on now?
• 40:23
  SPEAKER_00: What do you what are you gonna do next?
• 40:25
  SPEAKER_00: Because I know uh you you recently got the the more letters behind your name.
• 40:31
  SPEAKER_00: So what's next?
• 40:34
  SPEAKER_03: Oh gosh, that's a good question.
• 40:37
  SPEAKER_03: Well, I um I hope that I can lend my knowledge uh to billion minds.
• 40:46
  SPEAKER_03: Um that's one thing I'm looking forward to, and I think what they're doing is awesome.
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_03: And me being able to share, you know, what manifests itself into health and well-being, and part of that is being able to manage your day.
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_03: So I hope to be able to lend my knowledge to them in a in a more congruent way.
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm looking forward to that.
• 41:12
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I'm also very interested in uh neutral genomics, so I'm taking a class and just trying to get a little more understanding um in additional roles that food plays uh in your chemistry.
• 41:32
  SPEAKER_03: Um, mainly for myself.
• 41:34
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I want to do a genetics test and look a little more.
• 41:37
  SPEAKER_03: I tell my clients and I tell my friends I'm like my own walking uh clinical trial.
• 41:45
  SPEAKER_03: And I am all about my own well-being and and and wellness.
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_03: And I want to continue to be able to do what I do.
• 41:52
  SPEAKER_03: If I'm fortunate enough to live till my 80s or 90s, I still want to be a very active elderly person.
• 41:59
  SPEAKER_03: So I continue to look for ways to um ensure that I'm doing all the right things for myself.
• 42:06
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so I'm interested in taking some more classes in that kind of venue to learn a little bit more about that.
• 42:14
  SPEAKER_03: And besides that, just you know, stay retired and just enjoy life.
• 42:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 42:22
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, that's what I look forward to.
• 42:24
  SPEAKER_00: You're doing a great job so far.
• 42:25
  SPEAKER_00: This has been a great chat, Darlene.
• 42:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's uh always a pleasure to speak with you.
• 42:30
  SPEAKER_00: And uh we'll have all the links to your information in the show notes so that folks can find you and get in touch with you.
• 42:37
  SPEAKER_00: And if they're lucky, get some of your time and and even have you as a coach because uh I think you could do a lot of good for a lot of folks.
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_00: So uh thank you very much for your time this afternoon.
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you, Matt.
• 42:47
  SPEAKER_03: It was great chatting with you.
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_00: The Way Too Busy podcast was presented and produced by me, Matt Neal, and was brought to you by Billion Minds.
• 42:56
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to get in touch with us, tweet us at Rising Billion or email us at WayTooBusy at Billion Minds dot com.
• 43:04
  SPEAKER_00: Billion Minds, creating practical tools for our way too busy lives.