WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.600 --> 00:00:10.974 Welcome to Inclusion Bites, your 2 00:00:10.974 --> 00:00:14.574 sanctuary for bold conversations that spark change. I'm 3 00:00:14.574 --> 00:00:18.410 Joanne Lockwood, your guide on this journey of exploration into the 4 00:00:18.410 --> 00:00:21.870 heart of inclusion, belonging, and societal 5 00:00:22.170 --> 00:00:25.935 transformation. Ever wondered what it truly takes to create a 6 00:00:25.935 --> 00:00:29.715 world where everyone not only belongs but thrives? 7 00:00:30.015 --> 00:00:33.475 You're not alone. Join me as we uncover 8 00:00:33.740 --> 00:00:37.500 the unseen, challenge the status quo, and share 9 00:00:37.500 --> 00:00:41.260 stories that resonate deep within. Ready to dive 10 00:00:41.260 --> 00:00:44.805 in, Whether you're sipping your morning coffee or winding 11 00:00:44.805 --> 00:00:48.105 down after a long day, let's connect, reflect, 12 00:00:48.565 --> 00:00:52.060 and inspire action together. Don't forget, 13 00:00:52.520 --> 00:00:55.560 you can be part of the conversation too. Reach out to 14 00:00:55.602 --> 00:00:57.495 jo.Lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk 15 00:00:59.395 --> 00:01:02.935 to share your insights or to join me on the show. 16 00:01:03.715 --> 00:01:07.450 So just your earbuds and settle in. It's time to 17 00:01:07.450 --> 00:01:10.990 ignite the spark of inclusion with Inclusion Bites. 18 00:01:15.675 --> 00:01:19.515 And today is episode 112 with 19 00:01:19.515 --> 00:01:22.095 the title dancing with vitality. 20 00:01:23.159 --> 00:01:26.939 And I have the absolute honor and privilege to welcome Celynn Morin. 21 00:01:27.799 --> 00:01:31.515 Celynn is an holistic well-being advocate for the 22 00:01:31.515 --> 00:01:35.354 workplace. That's easy for me to say. And when I asked Celynn to describe her 23 00:01:35.354 --> 00:01:39.130 superpower, she said that she helps enrich the quality of 24 00:01:39.130 --> 00:01:42.910 people's lives through holistic and practical workplace 25 00:01:43.290 --> 00:01:46.110 based well-being training and inspiration. 26 00:01:46.805 --> 00:01:50.244 Hello, Celynn. Welcome to the show. Hi, 27 00:01:50.244 --> 00:01:53.960 Joanne, and to all the listeners. It's really, really a pleasure to be here. 28 00:01:54.040 --> 00:01:57.159 Fabulous. I struggled a bit with the intro there. I don't know what my brain's 29 00:01:57.159 --> 00:02:00.860 doing today, but anyway, it's great to have you here. So Celynn, 30 00:02:01.705 --> 00:02:05.385 Dancing with Vitality, tell us a bit about your mission 31 00:02:05.385 --> 00:02:09.225 and where you've come from. Well, I guess I can tie that into the introduction 32 00:02:09.225 --> 00:02:13.060 because, like, you've just authentically shared, how we are is how we are 33 00:02:13.060 --> 00:02:16.819 regardless of where we are. So our mental health or how we're thinking and 34 00:02:16.819 --> 00:02:20.599 processing things, some days we can have lots of energy, some days not. 35 00:02:20.965 --> 00:02:24.724 And in the past, it's almost like we expected the workplace to be purely 36 00:02:24.724 --> 00:02:28.405 professional, and anything that was happening in our personal space wasn't 37 00:02:28.405 --> 00:02:32.090 there. But, of course, we know that that's changed. And with the pandemic and 38 00:02:32.090 --> 00:02:35.870 developments in workplace well-being and the trends around stress and burnout, 39 00:02:36.650 --> 00:02:40.314 it's really wonderful to see how now everyone understands how 40 00:02:40.314 --> 00:02:43.754 important it is to look at holistic well-being, even if it is a 41 00:02:43.754 --> 00:02:47.550 mouthful. So I always knew I wanted to be a 42 00:02:47.550 --> 00:02:51.330 healer of some kind. I thought I wanted to be a doctor or a pharmacist. 43 00:02:51.870 --> 00:02:55.345 But when I was looking into what I could study, I discovered 44 00:02:55.345 --> 00:02:58.004 something called dietetics, which was a degree 45 00:02:59.185 --> 00:03:02.545 with doctors and other health practitioners that 46 00:03:02.545 --> 00:03:06.390 focused on food and nutrition. And I thought, you 47 00:03:06.390 --> 00:03:09.910 know what? My love of food because of being French, so my 48 00:03:09.910 --> 00:03:13.465 entire family are French. I was born in South Africa because my 49 00:03:13.465 --> 00:03:16.985 parents went there, and they ended up spending 53 years 50 00:03:16.985 --> 00:03:20.280 there. They're now back in France. But the idea of linking 51 00:03:20.340 --> 00:03:23.640 food and nutrition to health and well-being and vitality, 52 00:03:24.500 --> 00:03:27.140 I just knew that was what I wanted to do, so I studied to be 53 00:03:27.140 --> 00:03:30.665 a dietitian. And after 5 years in clinical 54 00:03:30.665 --> 00:03:34.185 practice, I had an opportunity to work with a 55 00:03:34.185 --> 00:03:37.740 workplace insurer, and that was way back in 2006 56 00:03:37.960 --> 00:03:40.860 where I started doing workplace well-being initiatives. 57 00:03:41.720 --> 00:03:45.145 And so my ideal day is when I'm with a group of 58 00:03:45.145 --> 00:03:48.905 leaders or any high performing team and speaking about how they can 59 00:03:48.905 --> 00:03:52.530 better manage stress, increase resilience, manage their 60 00:03:52.530 --> 00:03:56.370 head, heart, and gut so that they they do enrich the quality of their 61 00:03:56.370 --> 00:04:00.004 lives. That's fascinating. I I think you need you need to expand a 62 00:04:00.004 --> 00:04:03.525 bit more how your diet can impact your overall 63 00:04:03.525 --> 00:04:07.045 well-being, but not only that, but also your stress levels. I'm really 64 00:04:07.045 --> 00:04:09.870 intrigued to find out about how this this link between 65 00:04:10.810 --> 00:04:14.409 intake of food and stress. How how does that play out? Tell me 66 00:04:14.409 --> 00:04:18.169 more. Well, I guess the most important link, there are multiple ones, 67 00:04:18.169 --> 00:04:21.505 but the most important one would be the fact that our gut is so much 68 00:04:21.505 --> 00:04:25.265 more than just this tube that Diversity what we decide to 69 00:04:25.265 --> 00:04:28.860 put into our mouths and chew and swallow. Everything that we 70 00:04:28.860 --> 00:04:32.620 eat will affect the gut and 71 00:04:32.620 --> 00:04:36.355 specifically the gut microbiome, which is this universe of bacteria and 72 00:04:36.355 --> 00:04:39.975 viruses and all kinds of organisms without which we can't survive. 73 00:04:40.355 --> 00:04:44.115 They're incredibly important for helping us manage stress because they help us 74 00:04:44.115 --> 00:04:47.220 with our mental health and many other things, immunity, 75 00:04:47.760 --> 00:04:51.360 digesting foods, hormone regulation, detoxification, producing 76 00:04:51.360 --> 00:04:55.005 vitamins and minerals. Yeah. So everything you eat 77 00:04:55.005 --> 00:04:58.845 has the ability to either upregulate your gut, which means it's going 78 00:04:58.845 --> 00:05:02.620 to help you better manage stress, or potentially it's gonna add to the level 79 00:05:02.620 --> 00:05:05.980 of stress because it might produce compounds that can 80 00:05:05.980 --> 00:05:09.740 then switch on what we call inflammation, and that can 81 00:05:09.740 --> 00:05:13.345 drive more stress within the body. 82 00:05:13.725 --> 00:05:17.405 So I would say the main link there is through the gut. Everything's connected when 83 00:05:17.405 --> 00:05:20.340 it comes to the body, how we think, how we feel, how we move, how 84 00:05:20.340 --> 00:05:24.180 we breathe, which is good news because it means you can 85 00:05:24.180 --> 00:05:27.480 take various routes to helping your well-being. There's no one 86 00:05:28.065 --> 00:05:31.824 size fits all or one solution for everybody. And we're also 87 00:05:31.824 --> 00:05:35.490 unique. The more I do this work, the more I realize how we each 88 00:05:35.490 --> 00:05:39.030 need a unique individual approach to enhancing our well-being. 89 00:05:40.050 --> 00:05:43.784 What what sort of foods have an impact in that way? 90 00:05:43.784 --> 00:05:47.305 I I appreciate it's a bit of a generalist sub yeah. What I've just said 91 00:05:47.305 --> 00:05:50.525 is a bit generalization, but are those foods that specifically 92 00:05:52.220 --> 00:05:55.900 help calm us and some foods that will maybe cause us more stress? Or 93 00:05:55.900 --> 00:05:59.340 is it down to the impact of digestion of that food and how it 94 00:05:59.340 --> 00:06:02.985 impacts the as you talk about the the the the culture of 95 00:06:02.985 --> 00:06:06.824 all the microorganisms and things in our gut. Is it how that 96 00:06:06.824 --> 00:06:09.885 interaction occurs that causes the the changes in our body? 97 00:06:10.830 --> 00:06:14.510 Yeah. So context is everything. Right? So depending on age 98 00:06:14.510 --> 00:06:18.130 and activity levels and medication and your exposure to stress and 99 00:06:18.315 --> 00:06:22.155 even your emotional state can affect how a meal is digested. You know, if you 100 00:06:22.155 --> 00:06:25.215 eat a particular type of food while you're feeling 101 00:06:25.890 --> 00:06:29.490 highly stressed or very angry, it's going to digest 102 00:06:29.490 --> 00:06:32.930 differently to if you ate that same meal when you were 103 00:06:32.930 --> 00:06:35.935 completely calm and relaxed and serene. You know? 104 00:06:36.555 --> 00:06:40.315 So, yeah, it's I wanna say it's a 105 00:06:40.315 --> 00:06:43.855 complex picture, but there are some fundamental guidelines. So for instance, 106 00:06:44.490 --> 00:06:48.110 the research shows that eating more plant based foods 107 00:06:48.650 --> 00:06:52.010 generally is good for us. A lot of us don't eat enough plant based foods. 108 00:06:52.010 --> 00:06:55.725 We have a lot of processed refined foods, high sugar, high 109 00:06:55.725 --> 00:06:59.345 flour, a lot of animal products. But if we 110 00:06:59.645 --> 00:07:03.390 make a point to include what I call it eating like an artist, so 111 00:07:03.390 --> 00:07:06.910 having a lot of color from nature, that can help you 112 00:07:06.910 --> 00:07:10.725 paint better health because we know that if you eat the more 113 00:07:10.725 --> 00:07:14.345 of a variety of foods that you eat, the more of a variety of microbiome 114 00:07:14.485 --> 00:07:18.324 you Happen, and the more exposure you get to all the vitamins, all the minerals, 115 00:07:18.324 --> 00:07:22.040 all the antioxidants, and the chemicals that can do good. Bites 116 00:07:22.040 --> 00:07:25.740 I know, but I'm stressed or focused or 117 00:07:25.800 --> 00:07:29.615 really got my head down. I I lose my appetite. Is that is 118 00:07:29.615 --> 00:07:33.375 that all part of it? Because because my brain is so busy thinking about 119 00:07:33.375 --> 00:07:36.820 stuff. It's not thinking about being hungry. Yeah. That 120 00:07:36.980 --> 00:07:40.200 that's part of the stress response for some of us when we're feeling 121 00:07:40.580 --> 00:07:44.245 particularly perhaps not stressed, but focused on something. It's not 122 00:07:44.245 --> 00:07:48.085 important for your digestive system to digest your breakfast if you've got 123 00:07:48.085 --> 00:07:51.764 a clear outcome and your mind has now decided you've got to finish that article 124 00:07:51.764 --> 00:07:55.550 or record that podcast or, you know, work through the client list. 125 00:07:57.130 --> 00:08:00.170 And so a lot of the blood will then move away from the internal organs, 126 00:08:00.170 --> 00:08:03.795 the digestive system towards the brain. However, some of us 127 00:08:03.795 --> 00:08:07.395 may find that we have an increased appetite, especially for sugary foods, 128 00:08:07.395 --> 00:08:11.220 because when we are feeling stressed, we release more cortisol 129 00:08:11.840 --> 00:08:15.600 and glycogen and glucose into the blood, and so you can then crave sweet things, 130 00:08:15.600 --> 00:08:18.955 which is why when people are stressed, they often say, I have to eat more 131 00:08:18.955 --> 00:08:22.735 cake or I really feel like alcohol or I need stimulants. 132 00:08:23.035 --> 00:08:26.639 And so we can get end up being caught in that spiral where it can 133 00:08:26.639 --> 00:08:29.440 be quite difficult to break it. I mean, if all this stuff was easy, right, 134 00:08:29.440 --> 00:08:32.880 Joanne, we would all be doing it. We would be healthier, happier, fitter, and I 135 00:08:32.880 --> 00:08:36.365 wouldn't have a job. So it's not that simple. Even if we know 136 00:08:36.365 --> 00:08:40.125 everything we need to do, a lot of what I talk about is the psychology 137 00:08:40.125 --> 00:08:43.265 of behavior change and understanding neuroscience and also 138 00:08:43.780 --> 00:08:47.240 understanding our psychological makeup. Like, 139 00:08:47.380 --> 00:08:50.980 different personality types have different habits, and and I don't 140 00:08:50.980 --> 00:08:54.725 think we give consideration to our uniqueness enough when it 141 00:08:54.725 --> 00:08:58.565 comes to well-being. Yeah. So I'd say that I think yeah. Because we have 142 00:08:58.565 --> 00:09:02.290 this sort of concept of comfort eating, don't we? We as as you see, when 143 00:09:02.290 --> 00:09:06.130 we're feeling sad, upset, stressed, whatever 144 00:09:06.130 --> 00:09:09.430 it may be, we turn to something generally 145 00:09:09.771 --> 00:09:13.505 Safety, and, you know, the chocolates go out, whatever it may be, 146 00:09:13.645 --> 00:09:17.165 or the glass of Bites, potentially. And that's all 147 00:09:17.165 --> 00:09:20.730 about the brain chemicals, the pleasure sensors, and things. So we're 148 00:09:20.730 --> 00:09:24.490 we're rewarding ourselves, aren't we, effectively, by by boosting our 149 00:09:24.490 --> 00:09:27.845 brain to to think in a happier way. And we, I guess, that 150 00:09:27.845 --> 00:09:31.065 becomes kind of addictive or or or 151 00:09:31.765 --> 00:09:34.745 a cycle that we can't break out of because we associate 152 00:09:35.400 --> 00:09:39.240 eating this with feeling better. Therefore, if we're not feeling great, we want 153 00:09:39.240 --> 00:09:42.600 to eat something to feel Bites. That that's kind of the the addiction cycle of 154 00:09:42.600 --> 00:09:46.225 the sugars and chocolates and stuff, isn't it? Absolutely. And it gets so 155 00:09:46.225 --> 00:09:50.065 reinforced and embodied through our upbringing because our parents' 156 00:09:50.065 --> 00:09:53.760 parents' parents did that, you know, you know, to make us feel better, they would 157 00:09:53.760 --> 00:09:57.520 treat us with food often. It also gets deeply, deeply embedded 158 00:09:57.520 --> 00:10:01.120 and advertised and marketed by our environment, you know, the food 159 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:04.695 industry. We don't particularly live in a society that 160 00:10:04.695 --> 00:10:07.495 encourages well-being, you know, so I don't wanna go down that route. It's a bit 161 00:10:07.495 --> 00:10:11.095 too Psychological, but, you know, the health care pharmaceutical industry is 162 00:10:11.095 --> 00:10:14.850 massive, and it's in their best interest that we are not healthy and well and 163 00:10:14.850 --> 00:10:18.449 dancing with vitality. And so for many of us, it really 164 00:10:18.449 --> 00:10:21.430 means investing in ourselves and not relying on 165 00:10:22.555 --> 00:10:25.915 the greater society to take care of us. It's about taking 166 00:10:25.915 --> 00:10:29.570 accountability and responsibility for yourself, asking questions, 167 00:10:29.570 --> 00:10:32.850 trying things, getting the right advice from the right places, because there's lots of people 168 00:10:32.850 --> 00:10:36.355 giving advice out there. It doesn't mean that it's the right advice for you. Yeah. 169 00:10:36.355 --> 00:10:39.995 So I'm I'm I'm just casting my mind back to Christmas as a 170 00:10:40.275 --> 00:10:43.875 as an example of just thinking my own my own cycles 171 00:10:43.875 --> 00:10:47.589 of of eating and alertness. You know, we we the chocolates 172 00:10:47.589 --> 00:10:51.110 come out because we're we're bored. We're watching telly. We're having family time. We're feeling 173 00:10:51.110 --> 00:10:54.955 happy. We're sharing. We have our massive Christmas dinner, and, of course, we 174 00:10:54.955 --> 00:10:58.235 wanna be like the lions on the Serengeti. We eat a big meal, and then 175 00:10:58.235 --> 00:11:01.375 then we wanna go to sleep for 2 days. It's kind of so 176 00:11:01.755 --> 00:11:05.500 overeating, again, pulls all the blood, I suppose, from 177 00:11:05.500 --> 00:11:09.100 your brain into the gut to process all this stuff, and it it caused that 178 00:11:09.100 --> 00:11:12.765 sluggishness and that Yes. Gluttony response, I 179 00:11:12.765 --> 00:11:16.605 guess. Yeah. So that's also another direct link between how we eat and what we 180 00:11:16.605 --> 00:11:20.399 eat and how it affects our energy levels. Yeah. So 181 00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:24.240 I think it's wonderful. I always say start with awareness, like, become more 182 00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:27.815 aware of how your body is when you're eating, when you're not 183 00:11:27.815 --> 00:11:31.175 eating, when you're drinking, when you're not drinking, when you're out in nature, when you're 184 00:11:31.175 --> 00:11:35.015 not, when you're at your desk. If we just ask ourselves a question every 185 00:11:35.015 --> 00:11:38.459 now and again, how am I? That self awareness 186 00:11:38.920 --> 00:11:42.600 can start to lead to being able to make more conscious decisions. Because 187 00:11:42.600 --> 00:11:46.324 sometimes, you know, in the afternoon, you could be tired. You could have a 188 00:11:46.324 --> 00:11:49.865 headache. You could you could think you're hungry, but maybe you're just dehydrated. 189 00:11:50.404 --> 00:11:53.625 And if you checked in with yourself before you reached for a packet of crisps, 190 00:11:54.110 --> 00:11:57.870 you may see, okay. Yeah. Gosh. I've had only 2 cups of coffee. Let me 191 00:11:57.870 --> 00:12:01.390 get a glass of water or some tea, and then I'll make a decision whether 192 00:12:01.390 --> 00:12:04.895 I'm actually hungry. So that self awareness can lead to 193 00:12:05.035 --> 00:12:08.655 better choices. Yeah. I I found that when I if I have a 194 00:12:08.875 --> 00:12:12.480 a large glass of water, half yeah. 500 milliliters, 195 00:12:12.540 --> 00:12:16.300 something like that before I eat, it means that I'm I'm full 196 00:12:16.300 --> 00:12:19.915 quicker as well. It means I'm not tempted to finish 197 00:12:19.915 --> 00:12:23.755 that dish or have the 2nd course or go on from well, maybe 198 00:12:23.755 --> 00:12:27.535 I always do go for dessert, but, it it it makes you conscious about 199 00:12:28.310 --> 00:12:32.069 your your level of hunger. Whereas if you just eat on an 200 00:12:32.069 --> 00:12:35.775 empty stomach, your brain doesn't realize you're full until you've 201 00:12:35.775 --> 00:12:39.055 eaten too much. And then you get the, oh, I've eaten too much feeling rather 202 00:12:39.055 --> 00:12:42.570 than the sufficiency feeling, which is probably more healthy for us. 203 00:12:43.130 --> 00:12:46.750 Exactly. Exactly. It's I I find it so difficult 204 00:12:46.810 --> 00:12:50.570 to to snack healthily. Yeah. And you should say that the whole 205 00:12:50.570 --> 00:12:54.145 industry is around feeding our our addictions 206 00:12:54.285 --> 00:12:57.404 to whatever it may be. You know, if I if I'm on a long journey, 207 00:12:57.404 --> 00:13:01.040 I wanna stop off to fill up with petrol while I'm in there, pick 208 00:13:01.040 --> 00:13:04.740 up something to snack on. It's not easy to snack on something 209 00:13:05.600 --> 00:13:09.161 light and healthy. It's it's all pastry based or fat Bites. 210 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:13.115 And I'd I'd I'd grab a bag of carrots and a batons and 211 00:13:13.115 --> 00:13:16.875 and and snack on carrots or something, but it's you you just don't 212 00:13:16.875 --> 00:13:20.660 find those around, do you? No. It isn't easy. I mean, you can make 213 00:13:20.660 --> 00:13:23.620 some choices. Like, you know, you may not be able to find carrots, but you 214 00:13:23.620 --> 00:13:27.155 could find maybe a tub of hummus or some other dip and maybe 215 00:13:27.155 --> 00:13:30.835 some cornstons, raw and and perhaps even some what we 216 00:13:30.835 --> 00:13:34.355 call, you know, like small bite sized pieces of 217 00:13:34.355 --> 00:13:38.180 vegetables. Ideally, when you have the opportunity 218 00:13:38.240 --> 00:13:41.680 to eat well, eat well. And if you can, stock up your environment with some 219 00:13:41.680 --> 00:13:45.195 options. So, like, for instance, later this afternoon, I'm going to be driving 220 00:13:45.575 --> 00:13:49.095 2 hours to go dancing. I go once a month to this beautiful place in 221 00:13:49.095 --> 00:13:52.670 Oxford. And I know that I'm gonna be starving when I drive the 2 hours 222 00:13:52.670 --> 00:13:56.510 home at midnight. So I'm gonna take snacks with me in the car because 223 00:13:56.510 --> 00:14:00.265 otherwise, I'm going to end up at a garage and be like, okay. Do I 224 00:14:00.265 --> 00:14:03.705 buy Doritos again? Because that's what I always go for if I don't have snacks 225 00:14:03.705 --> 00:14:07.380 in the car. Yeah. 226 00:14:07.520 --> 00:14:11.360 No. I I yeah. You're right. It's it's it is about I mean, we're 227 00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:14.960 adults. We we we know this. We know the game. We know the situation. We 228 00:14:14.960 --> 00:14:18.785 know what's gonna happen, and we can plan ahead. And when my wife and 229 00:14:18.785 --> 00:14:21.905 I, we go to the cinema, we we take our own coffee now and our 230 00:14:21.905 --> 00:14:25.720 own little flask because we know that it's £3.50 per per cup of coffee 231 00:14:25.720 --> 00:14:29.260 in the cinema. So we take our own thermos cups, 232 00:14:29.800 --> 00:14:33.275 and we we take our own little snacks, which is generally grapes or 233 00:14:33.275 --> 00:14:37.115 crudites or something like that. Or if it is lunchtime, we'll we'll make our 234 00:14:37.115 --> 00:14:40.315 own sandwich or something so we know what's in it. Because I suppose you get 235 00:14:40.315 --> 00:14:44.010 there, and it's hot dog or popcorn, which neither are are gonna 236 00:14:44.230 --> 00:14:47.990 actually do anything for us. So Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You're right. It's the planning 237 00:14:47.990 --> 00:14:51.645 ahead and and and and being an adult, really, isn't it? I 238 00:14:51.645 --> 00:14:54.125 like that. I've never heard of it as a term of being an adult. Yeah. 239 00:14:54.125 --> 00:14:57.959 I think it's about taking responsibility for yourself rather than it's so easy 240 00:14:57.959 --> 00:15:01.720 to blame and shame and point outwards. But there's some people that are getting 241 00:15:01.720 --> 00:15:05.180 it right, and we're all living in the same communities in society. So 242 00:15:05.435 --> 00:15:09.115 maybe find people that are role modeling better behavior or something you 243 00:15:09.115 --> 00:15:12.930 would like to aspire to, and then make it possible rather than 244 00:15:12.930 --> 00:15:16.330 Bites too difficult. It's too expensive. It takes too much time. I can't do it. 245 00:15:16.630 --> 00:15:20.330 Yeah. I think you said a bit earlier about being conscious 246 00:15:21.004 --> 00:15:24.845 of what you consume. And I'm on a 247 00:15:24.845 --> 00:15:28.285 journey this year, and I I'm not sure the word journey is always appropriate, 248 00:15:28.285 --> 00:15:32.110 but to try and lose weight. So I'm not I'm not trying to go on 249 00:15:32.110 --> 00:15:35.949 a what I call a diet, you know, in in real terms. But 250 00:15:35.949 --> 00:15:39.565 my objective is to be a lot lighter by the end of the year through 251 00:15:39.725 --> 00:15:43.565 some of Bites through fitness. I have a personal trainer. I 252 00:15:43.565 --> 00:15:47.070 go to the gym twice a week. I'm starting to do more walking. I wanna 253 00:15:47.070 --> 00:15:50.030 get back on my ebike Bites sort of things. But the other thing that my 254 00:15:50.030 --> 00:15:53.250 wife and I are doing is we're keeping a food diary. Mhmm. 255 00:15:53.790 --> 00:15:57.454 And we we scan barcodes into it. We take photographs of 256 00:15:57.454 --> 00:16:01.214 it. We record everything we're eating, or even down to the just 257 00:16:01.214 --> 00:16:04.415 2 shakes of black pepper we put on our dinner. We put in that in 258 00:16:04.415 --> 00:16:08.259 there as well. And just the act of putting into the app 259 00:16:08.480 --> 00:16:12.160 and recording it makes you really conscious about what you're 260 00:16:12.160 --> 00:16:15.785 gonna eat. It also makes you conscious about your next choice. Because 261 00:16:15.785 --> 00:16:19.245 if we're trying to hit a a calorie target, let's say, 1750 262 00:16:19.625 --> 00:16:23.165 calories a day, when we're sitting there, when we've got 1300 263 00:16:24.030 --> 00:16:27.390 spent and we've got 400 left. We're thinking, how do I wanna use that 264 00:16:27.390 --> 00:16:31.070 400? What do I really wanna do with that? And it's like, if I have 265 00:16:31.070 --> 00:16:34.555 that now, I can't have that. So yesterday, we were out and have in a 266 00:16:34.555 --> 00:16:38.394 coffee shop, and there was a a chocolate muffin staring at us. You know, 267 00:16:38.394 --> 00:16:42.070 like they do. They they Bites on the counter saying, eat me eat me. And 268 00:16:42.070 --> 00:16:45.910 we we kind of looked at it and said, we can't afford a whole one 269 00:16:45.910 --> 00:16:49.055 each in terms of our intake, but we can share it and have half. 270 00:16:49.935 --> 00:16:53.695 And that's what we found. We found recently that we we end up eating meals 271 00:16:53.695 --> 00:16:57.075 that are too big, but we end up finishing it because it's there. 272 00:16:57.455 --> 00:17:00.630 And we we were I think we were at the Safety Sart Museum in London 273 00:17:00.630 --> 00:17:04.409 the other see, and, we we realized what we could have done was shared 274 00:17:04.710 --> 00:17:08.384 that one meal between us and be perfectly happy for lunch 275 00:17:08.764 --> 00:17:12.444 rather than force that extra bit into your mouth. So this 276 00:17:12.444 --> 00:17:16.279 food diary is really making us, you know, that word you say, conscious 277 00:17:17.140 --> 00:17:19.880 about our intake and then making smarter decisions 278 00:17:20.899 --> 00:17:24.565 based on the investment we wanna make into the food 279 00:17:24.565 --> 00:17:28.085 we're putting inside us. And it it I'm not saying we're we're 280 00:17:28.085 --> 00:17:31.840 necessarily healthy in terms of carbohydrates and fats 281 00:17:31.919 --> 00:17:35.760 and sugars. And we're not necessarily reading the label, but we are kinda 282 00:17:35.760 --> 00:17:39.279 looking at the gross calorific, if you like, value, 283 00:17:39.279 --> 00:17:43.065 whatever that's worth. So, yeah, very conscious about it now. So that's a 284 00:17:43.065 --> 00:17:46.665 great example of how being more conscious can drive awareness, and it's driving 285 00:17:46.665 --> 00:17:50.340 choices. Even if you do still decide to have the muffin, I think that's wonderful. 286 00:17:50.640 --> 00:17:54.320 And now that you've shared it, how many other future desserts and snacks 287 00:17:54.320 --> 00:17:57.705 might you share with your wife because of that one piece of 288 00:17:57.705 --> 00:18:01.164 information? Yeah. It was a conscious realism 289 00:18:01.625 --> 00:18:05.410 reality that we we when we were at the say the countryside, we sat there 290 00:18:05.410 --> 00:18:09.090 and thought, we should Happen shared that. A, it's cheaper, because 291 00:18:09.090 --> 00:18:12.585 it's not cheap. And and, b, we didn't need it. 292 00:18:12.825 --> 00:18:16.424 And, c, we then occupy we we then consume more calories than we 293 00:18:16.424 --> 00:18:20.105 wanted to on a meal snack rather than a main meal 294 00:18:20.105 --> 00:18:23.779 that we would have enjoyed better later. So, yeah, I we've 295 00:18:23.779 --> 00:18:27.620 we've made a conscious decision now that to buy 1 and 296 00:18:27.620 --> 00:18:31.085 share it and get an extra plate, get a knife, cut it in half. So, 297 00:18:31.085 --> 00:18:34.765 yeah, we we are more conscious of that. And the objective, we're both trying 298 00:18:34.765 --> 00:18:38.525 to get to this weight target without without calling it a diet. It's it's 299 00:18:38.525 --> 00:18:42.330 conscious eating. I think it's probably the way that that dovetails 300 00:18:42.330 --> 00:18:46.090 into what you said. Yeah. Absolutely. You know, I always say the first three 301 00:18:46.090 --> 00:18:49.715 letters of the word diet give you an idea of what it is. It's 302 00:18:49.715 --> 00:18:53.395 usually about the deprivation, denial, and we don't get very 303 00:18:53.395 --> 00:18:57.235 excited about it. So, yeah, my approach has never been about dieting. It's always 304 00:18:57.235 --> 00:19:00.790 been about lifestyle and joy because food is 305 00:19:00.790 --> 00:19:04.150 meant to nourish us, and it's a wonderful opportunity for us to engage the 306 00:19:04.150 --> 00:19:07.370 senses, you know, sight and smell and taste 307 00:19:08.085 --> 00:19:11.924 and texture. So, yeah, I think it is 308 00:19:11.924 --> 00:19:14.825 meant to be part of that holistic enjoyment of life. 309 00:19:15.490 --> 00:19:18.930 Yeah. And the color and the and also the social element. 310 00:19:18.930 --> 00:19:22.770 Because one thing I noticed, you know, way back in the past, I 311 00:19:22.770 --> 00:19:26.325 used to smoke. I gave up smoking because it's bad for you. 312 00:19:27.024 --> 00:19:30.225 It didn't do anything for me. And, yeah, it was a it became clear it 313 00:19:30.225 --> 00:19:33.980 was just an addiction. The topic of food is you can't avoid eating, can you? 314 00:19:33.980 --> 00:19:37.660 You you have to eat to live. Yeah. It's just the choices of the food 315 00:19:37.660 --> 00:19:40.955 and the amount you you you consume, that you have choice over. But it's 316 00:19:41.515 --> 00:19:45.054 I think I when I see my GP about this, he he said, the body 317 00:19:45.434 --> 00:19:48.980 is not designed to lose weight. You lose weight, and the body is 318 00:19:48.980 --> 00:19:52.820 designed to keep a certain healthiness or build 319 00:19:52.820 --> 00:19:56.525 up fat stores or, you know, we go back into our prehistoric time. Human 320 00:19:56.525 --> 00:20:00.284 body wasn't designed to to be skinny. It was designed to burn energy 321 00:20:00.284 --> 00:20:03.965 and store it when needed. And we haven't forgotten that we don't need to store 322 00:20:03.965 --> 00:20:07.050 energy in the same way we used to, But our bodies still want to do 323 00:20:07.050 --> 00:20:10.890 it, and it it's a really hard thing to overcome that that desire. Because when 324 00:20:10.890 --> 00:20:14.250 we're putting on weight and eating and eating and eating, it's 325 00:20:14.250 --> 00:20:17.625 fun. We're social. It's it's it's Bites feeding our 326 00:20:17.625 --> 00:20:21.225 chemicals. When we're denying ourselves, we feel 327 00:20:21.225 --> 00:20:24.700 empty and sad and kind of it's it's trying to just change that 328 00:20:24.700 --> 00:20:28.460 relationship, isn't it? Yeah. And perhaps it's true that a 329 00:20:28.460 --> 00:20:31.995 vacuum or a void is never enjoyable and bad habits 330 00:20:31.995 --> 00:20:35.835 always then get sucked back in. So if you are going to make a 331 00:20:35.835 --> 00:20:39.580 change to see the way that you eat, it's important to think about what you 332 00:20:39.580 --> 00:20:43.420 can add in. So I speak in my workshops around, loss 333 00:20:43.420 --> 00:20:47.020 aversion. We have an aversion to loss and losing out. So 334 00:20:47.020 --> 00:20:50.525 knowing that, let's say you want to drink less alcohol because you know it's high 335 00:20:50.525 --> 00:20:53.725 in calories and you, you know, you're wanting to perhaps lose a bit of weight 336 00:20:53.725 --> 00:20:57.140 or you wanna see better at night. Instead of coming home and 337 00:20:57.140 --> 00:21:00.660 thinking, I can't drink. I can't drink. What can you add 338 00:21:00.660 --> 00:21:04.485 in that might help you displace the fact that you 339 00:21:04.485 --> 00:21:08.165 were going to drink? So an example, I love to drink 340 00:21:08.165 --> 00:21:12.005 a good quality wine. I used to enjoy drinking wine while I 341 00:21:12.005 --> 00:21:15.770 cook. However, as I've gone gotten into mid middle age 342 00:21:15.770 --> 00:21:19.470 Joanne I'm definitely, you know, going through the perimenopause, I just can't drink as much 343 00:21:19.470 --> 00:21:23.165 alcohol as I could before. I don't tolerate it well. So I can't drink 344 00:21:23.165 --> 00:21:26.605 while I'm cooking and drink wine with my meal. So what I do is I 345 00:21:26.605 --> 00:21:29.885 use a wine glass and I fill it with sparkling water, maybe a slice of 346 00:21:29.885 --> 00:21:33.660 lemon or lime or maraschino cherry, and it feels like I'm 347 00:21:33.660 --> 00:21:37.500 drinking at least something special while I'm preparing my meal, and then 348 00:21:37.500 --> 00:21:40.815 I have a glass of wine with my meal. So I don't feel like in 349 00:21:40.815 --> 00:21:44.415 that moment that I'm denying myself because I've added something 350 00:21:44.415 --> 00:21:48.070 in. And let's say you're feeling quite stressed and you're used to eating 351 00:21:48.070 --> 00:21:51.910 chocolate or something else to de stress. What if you 352 00:21:51.910 --> 00:21:55.735 taught yourself some breathing techniques? What if you taught yourself 353 00:21:55.735 --> 00:21:59.495 particular types of movements that you could do, or maybe 354 00:21:59.495 --> 00:22:03.335 there's music that you could listen to that can help change your states, that can 355 00:22:03.335 --> 00:22:06.380 lift your spirit? So you end up doing something 356 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:10.539 in place of the eating the chocolate instead of just saying, I can't have chocolate. 357 00:22:10.760 --> 00:22:14.595 Yeah. I'm I'm a great advocate for sparkling water. We bought ourselves a 358 00:22:14.595 --> 00:22:17.255 SodaStream, and, I gave her back a whole 359 00:22:18.355 --> 00:22:20.455 780 days away ago. I mean, 360 00:22:29.445 --> 00:22:32.725 rather than record it at the end where I say I didn't drink. No. I'm 361 00:22:32.725 --> 00:22:36.325 not gonna drink. So it's a very positive affirmation about my my drinking. 362 00:22:36.325 --> 00:22:39.850 And I've now got an investment of 780 days in not 363 00:22:39.850 --> 00:22:43.610 drinking. Why would I want to start again? I 364 00:22:43.610 --> 00:22:46.965 don't. So it's I've I've I've kind of got this momentum now, and 365 00:22:47.345 --> 00:22:50.785 I'm now proud, not not outwardly proud, but inwardly 366 00:22:50.785 --> 00:22:54.320 proud of of that number that I wanna protect it. 367 00:22:54.320 --> 00:22:58.160 So, yeah, it means more to me to not drink than ever will 368 00:22:58.160 --> 00:23:01.875 to want to drink. And I hope my whatever happens in 369 00:23:01.875 --> 00:23:04.915 my life, I maintain that. I don't I don't ever fall back on it. But 370 00:23:04.995 --> 00:23:08.360 yeah. And I I agree with you. The sparkling water, I bought SodaStream. I said, 371 00:23:08.440 --> 00:23:12.128 just that that buzz in your mouth. And I noticed you in the show 372 00:23:12.128 --> 00:23:15.960 Bites, you talk about champagne and, how that the the metaphor 373 00:23:15.960 --> 00:23:19.705 around Change, but that dancing of the bubbles on your tongue 374 00:23:19.705 --> 00:23:23.065 and the way it makes you feel is very invigorating, isn't 375 00:23:23.065 --> 00:23:26.600 it? Absolutely. Yeah. And, how 376 00:23:26.600 --> 00:23:30.360 wonderful that we are so unique, Joanne, because I just last night opened a bottle 377 00:23:30.360 --> 00:23:34.039 of champagne and posted about it because I live on my own, and my 378 00:23:34.039 --> 00:23:36.845 mind was saying, you can't open a bottle Change. Who opens a bottle of champagne 379 00:23:36.845 --> 00:23:40.125 on there? Wait till you've got company. And I'm like, if I wait, I might 380 00:23:40.125 --> 00:23:43.725 not be around tomorrow, and I am not gonna have guaranteed of 381 00:23:43.725 --> 00:23:46.960 company anytime soon. So I posted about why, 382 00:23:47.660 --> 00:23:51.180 for me, I and I will just have one glass because I've got really good 383 00:23:51.180 --> 00:23:54.935 quality stoppers that keep the bottle for days days. And for me, it's 384 00:23:54.935 --> 00:23:58.535 about quality over quantity. And I also 385 00:23:58.695 --> 00:24:02.460 my whole family come from the champagne region in France. So I have this 386 00:24:02.460 --> 00:24:05.900 deep understanding of how Change works, and one of the workshops I 387 00:24:05.900 --> 00:24:09.585 offer is, around the champagne 388 00:24:09.585 --> 00:24:13.125 or sparkling wine making process as a metaphor for well-being. 389 00:24:13.745 --> 00:24:17.184 And I always see, I'm not advocating that we should drink alcohol. We know alcohol 390 00:24:17.184 --> 00:24:21.010 is really not good for us. We would probably all be better off if we 391 00:24:21.010 --> 00:24:24.690 were more like you, Joanne, and not drinking alcohol, that 392 00:24:24.690 --> 00:24:28.345 is because, yeah, I don't think we fully appreciate the effect it 393 00:24:28.345 --> 00:24:31.465 has on us. But if we are going to drink, to do it in the 394 00:24:31.465 --> 00:24:34.105 same way that we would eat a muffin or a slice of cake or a 395 00:24:34.105 --> 00:24:37.660 bag of crisps or any meal is to do it with consciousness and joy 396 00:24:38.280 --> 00:24:41.880 instead of doing it maybe to reduce stress or, like I 397 00:24:41.880 --> 00:24:45.475 say, don't drink to forget, Drink to celebrate. 398 00:24:45.695 --> 00:24:49.475 So if you are going to drink alcohol, come from a good positive place 399 00:24:49.855 --> 00:24:53.375 rather than I've had such a hard day, my boss and my managers drive me 400 00:24:53.375 --> 00:24:56.659 mad, or I just wanna have this drink and then I can face the kids. 401 00:24:57.360 --> 00:25:01.200