Mind Over Matter: How Your Mindset Can Help You Achieve Your Health Goals

Jeannie Oliver: 00:00:39

Hello there, friend, and welcome back to

Jeannie Oliver: 00:00:41

the Nutrition Edit podcast.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:00:43

I'm your host, Jeanie Oliver, functional nutrition and wellness coach, and

Jeannie Oliver: 00:00:47

I'm finally back with season two.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:00:49

I can't believe how fast this last few months has gone by and how

Jeannie Oliver: 00:00:52

much has already happened in 2023.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:00:54

I am launching this season a little bit later than originally.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:00:57

Planned, but I've been busy running my Body Liberation Together Group,

Jeannie Oliver: 00:01:01

which is my 12 week intensive metabolic health program.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:01:04

I have a really wonderful group of women, so I wanted to make sure they're getting

Jeannie Oliver: 00:01:08

the attention they deserve while still bringing you great guests and episodes.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:01:12

So I hope you'll find this season was worth the wait.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:01:15

In my practice, I focus a lot on mindset.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:01:18

You're hearing me talk about it over and over because I find that

Jeannie Oliver: 00:01:21

if a mindset and attitude isn't in the right place more often than.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:01:25

And newsflash, no one has a perfect mindset all the time,

Jeannie Oliver: 00:01:28

and perfect isn't even a thing.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:01:30

But if we don't have, you know, the right mindset and attitude,

Jeannie Oliver: 00:01:33

at least more often than not, we will really struggle to achieve

Jeannie Oliver: 00:01:36

our health and our lifestyle goals.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:01:39

But today, in over the coming season, . I wanna take things a step

Jeannie Oliver: 00:01:42

further than mindset and attitude and open up a conversation about

Jeannie Oliver: 00:01:47

how we can tap into our subconscious to uncover what's holding us back.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:01:52

Because if it was always something that was in the forefront of our mind

Jeannie Oliver: 00:01:55

and was really clear and obvious, we would have a much easier time dealing

Jeannie Oliver: 00:01:59

with it, and it would be a non-issue.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:02:03

you may have said at some point, or heard a friend say something along

Jeannie Oliver: 00:02:07

the lines of, Ugh, she has such a great body, or She's so thinner fit,

Jeannie Oliver: 00:02:13

or She's so disciplined, I hate her, or It must be nice or something else.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:02:19

You know, that's kind of catty along those lines.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:02:22

It's really not a compliment when we say or hear people say these things.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:02:26

It's actually an accusation, and those kinds of comments or thoughts

Jeannie Oliver: 00:02:31

come from a place of insecurity.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:02:34

resentment and judgment on our part or on the part of whoever is saying

Jeannie Oliver: 00:02:38

that when we say or think, things like this, it's often because someone

Jeannie Oliver: 00:02:43

else's choices or lifestyle or shining a light on something that we know we

Jeannie Oliver: 00:02:48

want to change or we feel we should change, but we're not ready to change.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:02:53

Yet.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:02:54

So while we may envy people who look a certain way or who we perceive as having

Jeannie Oliver: 00:02:59

something that we don't have or that we want, we may not be ready or willing

Jeannie Oliver: 00:03:04

to do what it takes to get what they have or look the way that they look.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:03:11

. So we have to be honest with ourselves and instead of being, you know, jealous

Jeannie Oliver: 00:03:16

or resentful of people like that, we need to go, okay, am I actually really

Jeannie Oliver: 00:03:21

willing to do the work to get that or to achieve that outcome or not?

Jeannie Oliver: 00:03:27

And if the answer is not, that's okay.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:03:30

It just means that for whatever reason, it's either not a priority

Jeannie Oliver: 00:03:33

to you or you're not ready now.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:03:36

On the other hand, sometimes it has nothing to do with

Jeannie Oliver: 00:03:40

wanting what someone else has.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:03:43

We may have genuinely compelling personal reasons to make positive

Jeannie Oliver: 00:03:47

changes in our lives, but we just can't seem to make ourselves do

Jeannie Oliver: 00:03:51

the work to achieve our goals.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:03:53

And either we don't know what to do or where to start, or we know what

Jeannie Oliver: 00:03:58

to do, but we struggle to do it consistently enough or long enough to

Jeannie Oliver: 00:04:03

get the results that we're looking.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:04:05

. So when it comes to changing your diet or exercising consistently, which is

Jeannie Oliver: 00:04:10

what a lot of you will struggle with, or you wouldn't be here listening to this,

Jeannie Oliver: 00:04:13

there are a multitude of things that can prevent you from taking the necessary

Jeannie Oliver: 00:04:17

steps to reach your desired outcomes.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:04:20

Or goals in this area.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:04:21

And changing the way that we eat specifically is one of the

Jeannie Oliver: 00:04:26

hardest things to do in life.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:04:29

It's really, really difficult.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:04:31

you know, there's emotions behind our food.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:04:33

There are, you know, cultural norms and traditions.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:04:37

There are all kinds of emotional, familial messages.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:04:42

There's just a lot there to unpack

Jeannie Oliver: 00:04:45

So there are a lot of drivers here, that can dictate.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:04:48

tastes, choices, cravings, habits, et cetera.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:04:53

So the key here is to figure out what those things are that are holding you

Jeannie Oliver: 00:05:00

back, because if you can't identify what they are or what those roadblocks are,

Jeannie Oliver: 00:05:05

it's unlikely that you'll actually be able to address the problem and move forward.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:05:10

When a client of mine is having trouble identifying what's holding them back,

Jeannie Oliver: 00:05:14

I will refer them or urge them to work with a practitioner who can help

Jeannie Oliver: 00:05:18

them uncover what's happening on a subconscious level, because that's

Jeannie Oliver: 00:05:23

where those sneaky limiting beliefs, messages, and experiences actually live.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:05:28

And we can't access that with talk therapy.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:05:32

Those are things that are stored, in the area of the brain that

Jeannie Oliver: 00:05:35

we call the mid-brain and.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:05:38

Really are sort of embedded in our nervous.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:05:41

And your nervous system is always working to keep you safe and alive.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:05:46

And on a subconscious cellular level, change often does not feel

Jeannie Oliver: 00:05:51

safe, even if it's positive change.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:05:53

I've talked about this in past episodes where, you know, we all know, someone

Jeannie Oliver: 00:05:57

that's in a bad relationship and maybe they leave that relationship, but then

Jeannie Oliver: 00:06:01

they end up in another one that's maybe a different person, but the same scenario,

Jeannie Oliver: 00:06:06

or they try to leave a relationship and then always fall back into.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:06:09

And that's typically because that feels familiar and safe,

Jeannie Oliver: 00:06:14

even if it's not actually safe.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:06:17

So addressing our nervous system is, is really key and.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:06:22

Well, working on your mindset, learning about nutrition, you

Jeannie Oliver: 00:06:26

know how to eat properly and honor your body, working out regularly.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:06:30

All of these are really important, crucial pieces of your overall health.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:06:35

However, you will have a much easier time making changes and sticking with

Jeannie Oliver: 00:06:41

healthy practices if you do the necessary work to heal and help your nervous.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:06:47

Feel safe.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:06:49

So this season we are gonna be focusing on the most common things that hold

Jeannie Oliver: 00:06:54

us back and the challenges that we may face when we're trying to make

Jeannie Oliver: 00:06:58

lasting positive changes in our lives.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:07:01

Some of these things like emotional eating, we touched on in season one.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:07:05

That was episode nine, I believe.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:07:06

But this season we'll do a deep dive into why we struggle to make lasting

Jeannie Oliver: 00:07:11

lifestyle changes and what to do about it.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:07:15

So we'll be talking about the factors that drive addictive behavior, self sabotage.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:07:20

All of these things and sharing tools to help you break free from those

Jeannie Oliver: 00:07:24

behaviors so that you can feel better in your body and start living a more

Jeannie Oliver: 00:07:29

free, fulfilling, and joyful life.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:07:32

I have some really terrific guests joining me to cover juicy

Jeannie Oliver: 00:07:35

topics such as hypnotherapy.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:07:37

Super excited for that one.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:07:39

food addiction, what I call strategic indulgence and family and social dynamics.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:07:45

These are all things that, you know, can have a huge

Jeannie Oliver: 00:07:48

influence on us and our choices.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:07:50

And I'm also gonna do a couple of quick, what I call helpful hacks episodes

Jeannie Oliver: 00:07:55

where I give you very easy, simple, actionable tricks for healthy living.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:08:01

So be sure to subscribe so you don't miss an episode.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:08:04

And I also wanna just give you a little bit of homework that will help

Jeannie Oliver: 00:08:09

you get the most out of the season's content, and I think help you to.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:08:14

Just sort of start getting in touch with how things are affecting you

Jeannie Oliver: 00:08:21

on an emotional and physical level.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:08:24

So what I want you to do is just start to think about and jot down any beliefs or

Jeannie Oliver: 00:08:31

stories or narratives that are circulating in your head about who you are or about

Jeannie Oliver: 00:08:38

the things that you're struggling with.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:08:40

So an example would be, if you struggle to make healthy food choices, what

Jeannie Oliver: 00:08:46

are the things that you tell yourself?

Jeannie Oliver: 00:08:48

What are the voices that you hear inside of your head?

Jeannie Oliver: 00:08:50

So an example might be, oh, I will start a diet, but then I never follow through.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:08:57

So you're telling yourself you never follow through or you know, I'm just.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:09:02

Someone that loves carbs or I love my sugar, or I love cheese,

Jeannie Oliver: 00:09:06

I, I could never give up cheese.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:09:07

All of those things.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:09:09

Write them down.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:09:10

Think about them.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:09:12

Identify them.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:09:12

Or maybe you say things to yourself that are mean and self-destructive.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:09:17

Maybe you say, oh, you know, I'm fat and ugly, or, I have big fat thighs or

Jeannie Oliver: 00:09:23

whatever it is, write those things down.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:09:26

Sometimes when we can get them out of our head and onto paper, we get perspective

Jeannie Oliver: 00:09:31

on A, how negative and mean that they are . And B, sometimes we can realize

Jeannie Oliver: 00:09:38

like, wait a minute, that's actually not true, and it's not real or logical.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:09:42

It's just something that I'm telling myself.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:09:44

So the next thing I want you to do is after you've written those things,

Jeannie Oliver: 00:09:50

identify whether these are things that are coming from outside sources,

Jeannie Oliver: 00:09:53

like family or external influences.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:09:56

Maybe someone told you something when you were little.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:09:58

me growing up being taller than all the other girls.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:10:02

People told me I was such a big girl.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:10:04

Well, when you're a little kid, you don't necessarily think that that's.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:10:08

a positive thing.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:10:09

People don't say tall, they say big.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:10:12

So I thought people were telling me I was, I was fat or I was too big.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:10:15

So what did I do?

Jeannie Oliver: 00:10:16

I tried to shrink and I slouched.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:10:18

So that would be an example of an external voice or a parent that maybe

Jeannie Oliver: 00:10:22

criticized you or a sibling or bullies at school, whatever it might be.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:10:27

You know, social media, magazines, identify if those are external

Jeannie Oliver: 00:10:32

influences or if they're an internal.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:10:35

Influence meaning like your own critical thoughts or, or voices or ideas.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:10:40

You know, maybe these are perfectionistic tendencies or the, I'm not good enough,

Jeannie Oliver: 00:10:44

or I'm not lovable unless I'm thin enough, pretty enough, et cetera.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:10:49

Those kinds of things.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:10:51

And then as you're writing down all of these items, I want you to

Jeannie Oliver: 00:10:55

start paying attention to where do you feel it in your body?

Jeannie Oliver: 00:11:00

So, . If you have cravings, for example, or urges to eat or drink

Jeannie Oliver: 00:11:04

alcohol for no obvious reason, check in with yourself to see if there is a

Jeannie Oliver: 00:11:09

clear emotion that you're feeling or an experience that you're reacting to.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:11:13

And if it's not clear, try to notice any sensations such as tension, tightness,

Jeannie Oliver: 00:11:20

pain or heaviness in your body.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:11:23

And then jot down whatever you notice.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:11:26

The reason I want you to do this is because often we are so busy or

Jeannie Oliver: 00:11:29

we're trying so hard to avoid any kind of unpleasant emotions that

Jeannie Oliver: 00:11:33

we detach from our bodies and we just end up in go mode in our daily

Jeannie Oliver: 00:11:38

lives where we're just getting by.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:11:40

We're keeping ourselves busy constantly, or we're, checking out with television

Jeannie Oliver: 00:11:45

or social media or whatever it might.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:11:48

And the reason that this is so important is because if you can start to reconnect

Jeannie Oliver: 00:11:53

with your body and your emotions, you're gonna get more clarity around those things

Jeannie Oliver: 00:11:59

that are potentially holding you back.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:12:01

And then you can start to take small steps towards positive change.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:12:06

And then obviously, you know, tapping into the subconscious and your nervous system.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:12:10

Taking it on to a different level.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:12:11

It's deeper work, and we're gonna talk more about that in in future episodes.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:12:16

But this is a really good place to start to just start getting back in touch with

Jeannie Oliver: 00:12:19

your body and identifying how are you feeling, how are things affecting you?

Jeannie Oliver: 00:12:24

Um, you know, how are you reacting to different experiences or

Jeannie Oliver: 00:12:28

interactions, relationships, et cetera.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:12:32

eventually you're gonna be able to identify what emotions or experiences are

Jeannie Oliver: 00:12:37

triggering your undesirable behaviors, and it will get easier to step back

Jeannie Oliver: 00:12:42

and make a choice that serves you well and nurtures you instead of just

Jeannie Oliver: 00:12:46

anesthetizing with food or alcohol or whatever it is that's not serving you

Jeannie Oliver: 00:12:51

anymore, or that is preventing you from breaching your goals and feeling

Jeannie Oliver: 00:12:55

your best and living your best life.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:12:58

So, . The caveat here is, you know, be patient with yourself and don't

Jeannie Oliver: 00:13:03

try to do this too much too quickly.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:13:05

So don't do too much too quickly because you can get overwhelmed.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:13:09

And again, your nervous system in that case is gonna be like, whoa, no way.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:13:13

We're not gonna go there.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:13:14

And I find that when people get into all or nothing mode, and they

Jeannie Oliver: 00:13:19

try to do too many things all at once, they're successful for a

Jeannie Oliver: 00:13:23

short period of time, and then the wheels fall off the bus completely.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:13:27

and they start back at square one and they're very frustrated and

Jeannie Oliver: 00:13:30

they can lose hope and give it all together, and you don't wanna do that.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:13:33

So making small incremental change is the way to go.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:13:37

Just take a general approach by speaking to yourself kindly and try

Jeannie Oliver: 00:13:43

approaching your health and your relationship with your body and food

Jeannie Oliver: 00:13:46

with curiosity instead of judgment.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:13:50

keep practicing that.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:13:51

It doesn't happen overnight.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:13:53

, it takes some time.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:13:54

It's not always easy, but instead of.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:13:57

Being judgey and mean to yourself.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:13:59

Just get curious what's going on here?

Jeannie Oliver: 00:14:02

What am I really feeling?

Jeannie Oliver: 00:14:04

What is this about for me?

Jeannie Oliver: 00:14:06

And you may actually be surprised at what you uncover.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:14:08

So that's your homework.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:14:10

Until next time, and I would love to hear what you learn.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:14:14

So shoot me a DM or comment on This episode's post over on Instagram.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:14:19

You can find me at j Oliver.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:14:22

And let me know what comes up for you.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:14:24

So I'm curious to hear and I'm looking forward to connecting with you.

Jeannie Oliver: 00:14:28

And until our next episode, take care of you and I'll see you next week.