65. Feel Better in Your Body: Small Steps That Actually Make a Big Difference with Alane Pearce

You are listening to the podcast where we ask, how's all that working for you?

Because sometimes all you need to change your life is a moment of reflection.

In this space, we are done with sugarcoating and we embrace keeping it real.

I'm your host, Rachel D.

Baker, guiding you on this journey to create some breathing room, set healthy boundaries and reclaim your time guilt free.

This is real talk with a bit of sass and we are always seeking the truth in God's word.

Today is going to be so good.

We talk a lot here about our mental health, our emotional health, our spiritual health, ways that we need to take care of ourselves.

Today I want to talk about our physical health and I am bringing somebody in.

I am so excited for you to meet Elaine Pierce.

Let me tell you a little bit about her before we jump in with the interview.

Elaine Pierce is a certified health and lifestyle coach dedicated to empowering women to lead vibrant, fulfilling lives through a holistic approach that nurtures the mind, body and spirit.

Her journey to becoming a coach began with her own personal transformation, overcoming significant health challenges including Hashimoto's infertility and years of chronic dieting.

This experience ignited her passion to help others navigate similar paths, leading her to pursue certifications in nutrition and health coaching.

Elaine's approach is characterized by empathy, encouragement, and a genuine desire to help women reconnect with their inner strength.

She specializes in creating personalized wellness plans that foster sustainable habits and cultivate joy in everyday living.

Sign me up, Elaine.

That sounds amazing.

Elaine is a strong advocate for food freedom.

Yes, please.

She's teaching women how to break free from the shackles of restrictive diets and embrace a life filled with intention, purpose and passion.

We are all for that here.

She's been featured on the Diet Disruptors podcast and as a guest coach for celebrity nutritionist Mark McDonald.

Beyond her coaching, Elaine is an award winning author, a trained Stephen minister, and a retired military spouse.

She resides in Austin, Texas where she enjoys traveling and cooking, always seeking to infuse healthy ideas into her adventures.

There's so much in there that just speaks to the heart and the desire helping our women live intentional lives.

And we are all about that here.

So it is time to jump in with my friend, Elaine Pierce.

Welcome to the podcast, Elaine.

I'm so excited you're here.

Thank you.

I am so thrilled to be here to talk with you.

Rachel.

I when you reached out, I first of all couldn't believe you still even knew who I was because it's been a hot second.

It has a couple years we Met at Hope Writers Conference and you were one of the coaches and I was still in a season of like, what am I even doing?

Who am I?

How can I condense this down to one or two sentences that make sense?

And you worked your magic and helped me get to the place that I even am.

So I'm so grateful.

I'm grateful for that time and glad to see you now.

Well, thank you.

I am too.

It's been, and it's been fun to see you then live out what we discussed and create this wonderful community of, you know, finding breathing space for women who are just so, ah, you know, all the time.

Yes.

And in that spirit of ah, like first you, you know, you've got to answer the question everybody answers when they come on.

And then we're going to dig into all your other magical things.

So we need to know, Elaine, what does breathing room look or feel like for you?

So I think it's two things.

First of all, it's confidence, which is knowing that what you're doing is the right thing.

And by that I mean not continually striving to find the next thing that works or the next diet or the new thing to follow, but knowing yourself well enough to know what works for you and what you're doing is right for you.

And that's one of the important, like non nutrition things that my clients learn from my program.

Yeah.

And then the second looks like taking care of my health.

So I teach that there's six, we call them spinning plates.

They're six spinning plates to your health.

There's nutrition, sleep, stress and time management, hydration, supplements and movement.

Yes.

And those are all the things that help you live in the world in a healthy way so that you can be present, be aware and serve yourself and others.

When you take care of those things, you get to show up for yourself and then show up for others in a healthy way.

And obviously we can't like hit on every single plate today.

But I do want to get into some of that because while we do talk a lot about taking care of our mental health, having breathing room to connect with God, that spiritual health, being emotionally healthy, we don't get a whole lot into the physical.

We've talked a little bit about it, you know, some self care things here and there.

But this, this is your thing, which is amazing to see how you have gone on your journey and landed in this place with your own personal journey and then turning it into helping others.

So we talk a lot about how important it is to take care of ourselves.

So.

So that we can show up for our other people.

Right.

That's what we want to do.

And we overload our plates trying to do it.

And so taking care of ourselves so that we can show up and live in our purpose.

You talk about living with intention.

What does this look like as far as taking care of our physical bodies?

You've touched on it, but, like, let's go.

I want to hear it.

Okay, so we're going to jump right into what I teach my clients.

That showing up for yourself allows you to show up for your life.

So when you show up for taking care of your health, it's very different than taking care of your weight.

I love that.

Say that one more time, girl.

Yes.

Showing up for your health is different than taking care of your weight.

Weight is just a symptom of a problem.

And so all our lives, we've kind of been told you have to lose weight.

But if your body isn't healthy, if your metabolism isn't running correctly, it's harder to lose weight.

You have to fix the root cause of the problem.

So that's what happened to me when I was chasing diets and hoping that I would lose weight to make me healthier.

I was actually doing a lot of damage to my body because deprivation, which is what most diets preach, you know, less calories, move more.

That causes your blood sugar to go on a roller coaster.

Because here's the thing.

Your body's working very hard to keep alive.

And the way it keeps alive is by balancing your metabolism.

If you don't give it what it needs to balance your metabolism, then it's going to pull it from other parts of your body, and it's going to pull it from your muscles and from your bones.

And that's why we're having things like muscle weakness and fatigue and bone loss and all of these things as we age, because we haven't been feeding our body what it needs.

Gotcha.

This makes you feel weak and lethargic, tired.

And I'm sure that a lot of you can relate.

I was gonna say everybody out there.

Is like, girl, yes, I know.

Yeah.

So about a little less than a year ago, I was.

I was literally sitting on my couch crying because it was like, 10 in the morning, and all I could think about was, when can I go back to bed?

I was so depleted and so tired that I could not even manage my life.

What I have learned in the program that I teach is that when we feed our bodies what it needs, then our bodies don't have to figure out how to balance our metabolism.

And then eventually your body starts to trust you.

And it's like, hey, I'm getting what I need when I need it, so it doesn't have to work hard to balance your blood sugar.

And that gives your body room to breathe, room to live.

Let's go.

Yeah.

And.

And I mean really live, so your body can start paying attention to the inflammation or the.

The weight gain.

It.

It will start releasing fat because it's like, I don't have to store anything because I'm getting what I need.

And so this.

This program really teaches you how to fuel your body with proteins, fats, and carbs.

And we say every three to four hours, because if you think about it, that's how a baby eats.

And a baby needs to grow and live, right?

Yeah.

And so we talk about how to do that for your body, and then we talk about finding the foods that your body likes and doesn't like.

So it's.

It's not a diet program.

It's.

It's a new way of thinking about your body and treating your body.

Which sounds amazing because we talked a little bit before we hit the record button.

You know, I.

We've talked a little about autoimmune disease.

Talking about, you know, I think so many people listening can relate to this, but just trying that, like, well, maybe I need this kind of diet.

Maybe my body, maybe I need.

You know, I've done autoimmune protocol, which you eat air.

I don't even know.

Making my own bone broth at home, which there are so many great things you can do.

But is it great for me?

Right.

Or you?

And so it's so refreshing to hear someone say, like, let's figure out what you need instead of just do X, Y, Z.

And you too can.

Exactly.

And you too, well, look like whoever.

Yes, yes.

It's.

It's such a refreshing take.

And to live in that spirit of having an individual God created body.

Exactly.

And listening to it as God designed it.

Yeah.

I love this.

Okay, so we talked a little bit also before about this dysregulation we have and, you know, not being able to stabilize our blood sugar, our metabolism.

So what is driving this dysregulation in so many people today?

Even people who are, quote, eating healthy.

Right.

What's the deal, Elaine?

It's actually a really big deal, Rachel.

93% of these U.S.

population has some form of blood sugar dysregulation.

Wow.

That's why we're seeing so many things.

Like allergies and autoimmune disease and inflammation and reflux and, you know, pre diabetes and hormone imbalance.

These are all controlled by your metabolism.

And so it has to be something that we're all doing.

So we're all dieting, and we're all eating processed foods, more processed foods than we used to in the 30s, 40s, and 50s, which is, you know, there's some correlations and some studies that when they started mass producing chemically foods, people started getting more obese.

Yeah.

So I think that's the.

The two problems is the diet mentality of deprivation and processed foods.

So let's talk a little bit about the diet mentality.

Nothing lives in a deficit.

Say, oh, listen, that'll preach.

Yeah, exactly.

So, and, you know, if you look back in the Bible, God told us what to eat.

He said, eat grains, eat fruits, eat vegetables, eat meat.

That's exactly what we need to eat, not chemicals.

So eating healthy is about eating the things that serve our bodies.

And all of my clients learn this because when they're feeding their body what it needs, they have a branding relationship with their body.

Let me tell you what happened.

I mean, since we.

Since we can talk about the wonders of God on your podcast, Please, let's do it.

It was amazing to me when I understood metabolism and blood sugar and how hard your body works to keep you alive.

I, for one, sat and cried for a while for all the things that I did to my body that made it hurt so bad.

And then second, I started just worshiping God.

What an amazing God to create us to have this balance of metabolism that keeps us healthy, heals our scratches, helps us get over colds and flus.

He has designed our bodies to do everything he wants them to do and so that we can live out our purpose in him.

Right.

Yeah.

So when we fill our bodies with processed foods that are more chemicals than nutrition and our body doesn't know what to do with it, that stresses out our body.

And so when we feel.

I always like to say I like to eat food closest to the way God made it, because that's what he designed for us to eat.

Yeah.

So that's.

That's kind of my hot take on it.

That makes perfect sense.

It does.

And, you know, as someone who's running on the hamster wheel, you know, I'm thinking of a lot of our ladies listening.

Like, I'm just trying to do my daily best over here.

Food is expensive.

I get overwhelmed.

I just want to grab what's easy, cheap.

Like, it makes sense of why and how we've gotten to the point that we're at.

Right.

And also if we are truly wanting to be intentional with this one life that we have live in our purpose on purpose, which is my, you know, driving thing.

It is something to be mindful and intentional about.

So think about what would happen if we weren't so overwhelmed and if we weren't so busy and if we were healthy enough to go do the things that God wants us to do.

Think about the impact oh, man.

Could have on the world.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That's the root reason I do this, is because that's kind of my purpose, too, is to help women understand who they are as God made them, and then live in that.

Right?

Yeah.

And if we're not healthy, we can't do that.

I think that's been one great deception in our modern world is our health and our fatigue.

Yes.

Yeah.

Like, this is just the way it's supposed to be.

Everybody's tired.

This is just aging.

Yes.

It doesn't have to be that way.

Yes.

Oh, so refreshing.

I would love for everybody who's listening who hears this podcast, whatever point.

You're listening, ladies.

I would love for everybody to walk away from this conversation with a couple of really practical, actionable steps to support their metabolism.

And I know, like, you do your own coaching thing, you've got so many resources for us.

But just for a couple things, what would you recommend for the woman who is just trying to get started on this path of improving her physical health?

Yeah, I think I have three things.

First of all is stop depriving yourself.

Now, this doesn't mean go eat cake every day.

Dang it.

Cake is okay.

It's okay for a celebration, right?

Yeah.

But stop living in a deficit.

Make sure that your meals contain a fistful of protein, a handful of fruits or vegetables, a thumb of fat, which is, like, fats are nuts or nut butters, salad dressing, oils, things like that.

And then if you want a more dense carb, like a rice or a pasta, just make a small portion of it, but don't exclude it unless you need to for, like, health reasons, like, you're gluten intolerant, find, you know, another option.

But most people can eat brown rice.

These things are really good for you because they give you fiber and they give you carbs.

Your brain needs carbs.

That's how it lives.

And so by taking carbs out of our diets, we're depriving our brains of the energy that it needs, which is why we're foggy yeah.

Listen, anything that helps my brain do just a little bit better, that's what we need to do.

Yes, yes.

So, and then in the, in the realm of eating, eat when you're hungry and stop when you're satisfied.

Don't ignore the hunger pain, because hunger is your body saying, hey, I need something from you or I'm going to take it from your muscles.

So that's, that's a big mindset to overcome.

Second is move your body.

Sitting is killing us.

It is making our hips weak, our legs weak, our bones weak.

If you can't take a 30 minute walk every day, take a 10 minute walk.

Start with 5 minutes.

Walk around the island in your kitchen while your coffee is brewing or do some squats or something.

We talk a lot.

I haven't talked about this yet, but we talk a lot about 1% improvement.

Because if you improve 1% every day, in a hundred days you'll be 100% better at something.

That's awesome.

So, you know, if you can't work in a full walk because you have young children at home or you have a busy schedule, do pushups on your counter while your water is boiling for your dinner or whatever.

You know, there's little ways that you can put in.

Movement snacks, we call them.

Oh, movement snacks.

That's so cute.

I love that.

So that would be the second one.

So the first one is don't deprive your body of food.

Second is move your body.

And third is probably the most important is get your sleep.

If you're not sleeping well, nothing else is going to balance in your body because sleep restores your hormones, it cleans your brain, it restores your fatigue levels.

So to do that, you need to turn off your screens.

I know that's hard.

It's a hard ass.

But it is very important to turn off your screens an hour before you go to bed.

At the very least, wear maybe blue blocking glasses so that you don't get the blue light that tells your body it's still daytime.

You can also go outside at sunset and tell your body that the sun's setting and your circadian rhythm will kind of reset.

Yeah, Sleep in a dark, cold room.

Darker the better if you don't.

If it's not dark, wear an eye mask or get blackout shades and make sure that it's like under 68 degrees.

All right?

Okay.

And that will help you sleep better.

Get seven to eight hours of sleep every night.

So this is key to balance your hormones, your blood sugar and your mood.

So good.

All Right.

So eat what you need to eat when you need to eat it, move around and get some sleep.

And these are like none of this is super new.

It's not like we don't know we need to sleep or know that we need to move.

But what I appreciate from what you're saying is the little actionable, manageable things that we can start doing.

Because I know I'm not the only one.

But I do tend to have an all or nothing mindset.

Right?

Like, well, I'm not doing it perfectly or I'm not doing the whole thing, so why even try?

So that idea of movement, snacks, girl, I'll write that down somewhere to do.

Just because you've, I know you've said, I've seen it on your website and you've got a free resource we're going to talk about in a second of just doing like five minutes of squats while you watch TV or you know, walking in place while you do things.

That is so easy to do, so manageable.

Whereas I may be going through my busy day and be like, oh, I wish I could go on a 30 minute walk, but that's just not gonna happen today.

And so I won't do it.

Oh well, yeah, I'll try again tomorrow.

Yeah.

So that is the piece of this I just want everybody to hear.

It's not an all or nothing.

It's not a completely upend your life.

It's little tiny, manageable.

That 1% change that over time is going to make a difference.

You are a delight.

I just want to say there's only a couple more things that we ask each guest because everybody has different answers and I love it so much.

Are there any tools or strategies that you have found that are really helpful to manage your time or allow for some breathing room in your life?

Because I know you know how important it is.

So what are those things that help you do it?

I would say planning.

So in the morning after I do my devotions with God, I look at my calendar and I pick the three things that I want to make sure to get done today.

And if I get those three things done, everything else is icing on the cake, right?

So we call em the three big rocks.

But when I plan and when I plan my meals for the week on Sundays, I sit down and I look at my week and I plan my meals, plan my grocery list so that I have the food that I need so that when I want to grab something, I have healthy options.

So good.

So I have that on hand and I I know.

I don't have to think, you know, it's 4 o' clock.

Coming.

Oh, no.

What's for dinner?

I don't know what's for dinner.

So let's go through the drive through doordash.

Yeah.

That.

Well, that's not how I want to be.

That's not how I want to show up for myself.

So planning my meals and having the food available and then planning to just get three things done during the day takes the pressure off.

And if those three things are like the most important things, I find I'm more productive if I do those big important things, then I can do all the other little things too.

Yes.

That's amazing.

That's.

It's very similar to what I do as well, because there's always a million things that you can get done or want to get done in a day.

But to be able to say, these are my top three, this makes it.

This makes a successful day.

If I do these three things and then everything else is bonus.

Takes so much stress off your day.

And, you know, I used to make those things really big.

Like, write your book.

Yeah.

You can't write your book in a day.

Right, Right.

That's not really realistic.

I could write a thousand words and so that's a more doable thing, right?

Yeah.

So you really have to be realistic about those things.

Don't set yourself up for failure.

Set yourself up for success in what you want to do.

Love it.

Love it.

Okay, and is there a book or a podcast right now that you would like to recommend?

I love the book Worthy by Jamie Kern Lima.

Have you heard of this book?

Yes, and I love Jamie Kern Lima.

She.

This is an amazing book that helps us realize that we are truly worthy of the things that God says we are.

That we're worthy of health, that we're worthy of purpose, that we're worthy of friends and love.

So many things.

I read it.

We did a book study in my group in the fall and we read it and it was.

It was really life changing for me because although I've come a long ways in my, you know, imposter syndrome or feeling or whatever.

Yeah.

There's still some stuff there.

Right.

And so reading that really helped me connect and realize I.

It's okay for me to take space.

And have a voice, and that's a big deal.

And that is something that I think a lot of us still.

I know it's on my plate.

And when it's deeply embedded in you, having those tangible reminders of God's Truth and what he says over us is so helpful to be able to go back and reference.

Because if that's a sticky point for you, if that's a lie, that's kind of deeply embedded, that is an easy way for Satan to come in and, and poke a little and bring back that doubt.

Did God really say it's not like, like you said, it's a journey.

It's.

It does never fully go away in this broken world that we're in.

Right.

So, yeah, I will definitely.

We'll add that, link it in the show notes.

And speaking of that, where can people find you, learn more, connect with you on all this stuff?

Yes.

So I'm on Facebook and Instagram.

You can find me at Elaine Pierce coaching.

And I know you'll have a link so I don't have to.

It's all spilled for sure.

Oh, we're linking everything in the show notes.

Go find her, guys.

And then My website is elainepiercecoaching.com and you can see my story there, too.

A little bit more about what I've been through and the journey and how I've decided that I wanted to take control of my health.

And then I have a free workbook that you guys can Download.

It's called 4 Simple Strategies for Better Health.

And that will help you implement some of the things I've talked about here today.

And you can find that on my website under favorites or Rachel will probably link it directly.

Yes, it will be linked in the show notes.

I grabbed it.

It's so good.

Just easy, simple, actionable things to kind of get the ball rolling.

And then I know you do coaching as well.

So if somebody's like, this is the time.

This is what, this is my person, they can go to your website, reach out.

I'll link that as well.

Yeah.

So, and I do group coaching, which is fairly affordable, but less one on one.

And then I do one on one coaching where we really dig into you and what you need and what your body is saying to you and mindset and.

And things like that.

Perfect.

All right, we are going to have all the links in the show notes today.

If you want the freebie, go follow her on Instagram or Facebook.

Go sign up for coaching, read more of her story.

It's all going to be there for you.

Elaine, thank you so much.

Such a pleasure.

Yes.

I'm so glad to reconnect with you and for you to have this passion to share with our ladies so that we can better ourselves, to live in our purpose on purpose.

Truly truly so thankful.

Thank you, ladies.

Go grab all our stuff and we will see you next time.