458. Own Your Journey to Better Health

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In this special health-focused round-up, Lesley and Brad revisit conversations with four inspiring guests: Uma Naralkar, Jenn Pike, Celeste Holbrook, and Jenny Swisher. From understanding your menstrual cycle and hormones to embracing pleasure and advocating for yourself, this episode delivers practical insights to help you live your healthiest life.


If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co.

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In this episode you will learn about:

  • The connection between nutrition, movement, lifestyle, and mindset for optimal health.
  • Understanding the four phases of the menstrual cycle and how they affect daily life.
  • Shifting perspectives on intimacy to find pleasure and reduce stigma.
  • How to advocate for your health by asking the right questions and knowing your body.


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Episode Transcript:

Lesley Logan 0:00  

Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.


Lesley Logan 0:42  

Welcome back to Be It Till You See It. You guys, we are continuing our, what do you call it? A round up, babe? You call it collection?


Brad Crowell 0:49  

Yeah, we call it the December round-up.


Lesley Logan 0:51  

Yeah. It's basically like a reflection review. And this particular episode has four of our favorite guests that have to do with health. We have these, have had multiple episodes that have to do with health.


Brad Crowell 1:03  

Many, many, many. 


Lesley Logan 1:04  

Many. And so we are going to span the wide ranging topic of health, which can be a lot of things. We've got the tripod of health. We've got hormones in this one. We're gonna have sex in this one. 


Brad Crowell 1:13  

Yeah, food is as part of the tripod. 


Lesley Logan 1:15  

Yes, yes. We got lots of stuff so. 


Brad Crowell 1:18  

Fitness, of course. 


Lesley Logan 1:19  

So if you have been wondering, what health episode should I listen to during this chaotic month of December when most of my podcasts aren't listing anything new? The Be It Pod has given you four awesome ones, and we'll link even the numbers. You can go back and listen to the full interview in our catalog when you're ready.


Brad Crowell 1:38  

Let's dig in the first episode that we're gonna talk about today, that we're bringing back is episode number 25.


Lesley Logan 1:45  

Twenty-five.


Brad Crowell 1:45  

Twenty-five all the way back towards the very beginning.


Lesley Logan 1:49  

It's like 2022.


Brad Crowell 1:51  

We had a chance to interview Uma Naralkar, who talks a lot about food and nutrition, and we have two sections of this that we thought were really spectacular. So.


Lesley Logan 2:07  

Yeah, so first up, I really, I thought it was really cool and vulnerable that she talked about when she moved to the US and what the food was like, and how that challenged her and got her interested in what she has become known for, and being a nutritionist and things like that. So I'm really excited for us to hear her story of moving to the US.


Brad Crowell 2:27  

Yeah, so, and also she talked about this, her process of how she works with her clients, and she created something called the Tripod of Optimal Health. And I'm not going to tell you what it is, because you're going to hear it just after this. So tune in.


Uma Naralkar 2:41  

The biggest difference for me was the food, right? So in India, we have a lot of health. Inherently, there's health and cooks and food is never something that I had to even think about. So that's the reason why it was always so well -balanced and healthy, because it was like home-cooked Indian food and all the beautiful dals and vegetables, and it was primarily vegetarian. We ate meat on the weekends as like a treat. Dessert would always be homemade, something made in ghee, like, very, very like, decently portioned. And I came to America where everything was supersized, right? And I was a student. And, I mean, I was, first, it was shocking, then it was exciting, and then it was kind of like, I didn't have a choice. I was hungry, and I had to eat, and I was a student, so it was like, McDonald's and all the other and it was truly exciting, I have to say, in the beginning, because I was like, what is going on? Why are these people eating so much? But it was a huge adjustment. And you know, when you're asking me about how I, you know, the thing that I had to kind of like, get over and just be like, I'm going to embody this. I am. You know, the book Atomic Habits. Have you read that?


Lesley Logan 4:01  

Yes. 


Uma Naralkar 4:01  

James Clear. He talks about shifting your identity to who you want to be. Do you remember that part of the book? What he's saying is that if you, you know you, if you want something, if you truly believe that you want something, you need to believe that you have it, and you need to shift your identity in the sense that you know I am a confident 20 year old girl in the United States, where I don't know shit about this country and I truly don't understand, have the words that they use. And at 20, was I clear about what I'm saying now? No, not at all, because it was nerve-racking. And the reason why I'm bringing it up is because the biggest obstacle, apart from the food, my biggest challenge, was speaking, or just speaking out in class, or just raising my hand, or just standing in front of an audience and saying, like anything, it was something that I didn't grow up with. In India, you never get an opportunity to speak anything. Everything is crowded and they don't have time for anybody speaking. So I think it was a true challenge, and it sounds so, it doesn't sound like a big deal because my children, both of them, grew up here. They're Californians, and, you know, I can see how speaking is so inherent, right? Like you're in a group setting, or if you're in a big crowd, just saying what you feel is pretty standard. First off, yes, to therapy. I think all kinds of therapy is, I appreciate all of it. And I think people, it's still, it's very interesting. Still, people have a lot of resistance to see a therapist or to, you know, just to open up and talk to someone else about what's going on. So yes, to therapy, but more than that, yeah, nutrition, what you're eating, is going to be foundational movement and how active you are and what you're doing there, as well as your stress levels, your sleep, all that, I think ties in. It is pretty holistic. I don't think it's one or the other. And I have a lot of really fit clients who are like, I mean, as fit as they can be, who are miserable, who are so unhappy, who are, who are they like, constantly looking for ways to, you know, get to the next level. And, quite frankly, they don't even know what the next level is. So I think it's, everyone's very different. And for one person, maybe it's like, you know, your nutrition is seriously lacking, and we need to make some switches so that you start, like, having a better relationship with food. But for someone else, it might just be something as simple as, you know, like doing yoga or getting out in nature, someone who's like, stuck in front of their computer all day and doesn't even like, realize it like, for example, like the best, I think the best example I can give is like being in a casino, right? Like, in inside a casino, like, how clever is that? It's like the lights are always the same, it's always bright, it's always entertaining. There's enough blue light to kick the melatonin out, so you're always in that cortisol rush. They want that because they want you to play. But that's how we are pretty, pretty much living our life like, like we're in a casino, right? Because we're indoors, we are in front of the computer, then we are watching something, and then we expect to have a good night's sleep. So I feel like it's, it's just, it all ties in, and it's not one thing I call it, I call it the Tripod, actually, of Optimal Health, which is what you're eating, what your movement, your life activity, your lifestyle, and then your mental health, your mindset, right? They all tie in. And then your health is sort of like sitting on that tripod. So if one of those legs is like wobbly, then the whole thing is going to collapse.


Lesley Logan 7:59  

So that was Episode 25 and we would love to know, we would love for you to share with us what part of the Tripod of Health that you're going to work on as we come into 2025 and no, it won't be a New Year's resolution. It will just be a thing that you're doing. Now we have Episode 55, so we're going way back in the catalog today's episode, and it's how are hormones dictating your life? And one of the things. 


Brad Crowell 8:21  

With? 


Lesley Logan 8:21  

With Jenn Pike. 


Brad Crowell 8:22  

With Jenn Pike. 


Lesley Logan 8:23  

Yeah, one of the things that we talk about that I'm really excited for you to talk, like, here is that the four different phases in your cycle, and this is really, really important, because I have a lot of people ask me a lot of questions about perimenopause. I want more episodes on this. But if you are not perimenopausal yet, or maybe you still have your cycle, but you're kind of, you know, that's what perimenopause is. You got to know what parts of the cycle you're in, because it affects how you work out. It affects what you should be eating. I had, there's some dream guests on my list that I want to have in future episodes, but we need to know these parts for those guests to make any sense. So like, dive into that first part with the different phases of your cycle, even if you think you know them.


Brad Crowell 9:00  

Yeah, the second part of this episode, though, I thought was really beneficial, was talking about educating both men and women on this. So I remember listening to this the first time, you know, a couple years ago, and I was taking notes because I knew none of this. I don't know how (inaudible)


Lesley Logan 9:17  

And you have a mom and a sister.


Brad Crowell 9:18  

And I went through high school and college, and never learned any of this stuff. 


Lesley Logan 9:22  

And you had a wife before me. 


Brad Crowell 9:23  

And I did have a wife before you, still didn't know any of this stuff. So, so the, she, Jenn talks about stigmatism, shame and embarrassment and the value of educating her son. I think she has sons. I can't remember. Son. She's one son. She's talking about how he knows just as much about the female body as her daughter and the value like, they, as a couple, decided to educate their son on purpose to avoid stigmatism and shame and embarrassment. So I thought that was really great.


Lesley Logan 9:57  

I love it. I love her. I love her for that already.


Brad Crowell 10:00  

Yeah. It's a win. There you go.


Jenn Pike 10:03  

So we go through four different phases in our cycle. So our cycle and our period are not the same thing. Your cycle is from day one of your bleed all the way through until you have your next bleed. That's a full cycle. Most women, it's going to range anywhere from 23 to 35 days. And in that cycle you have four different phases. So you have the phase that you bleed in, which is your actual period, when you come out of your period, you actually have what's referred to as the first phase, which is the follicular phase. And this is where your body, your hormones and estrogen and testosterone are starting to climb. Your uterine lining is starting to thicken again. This is typically where we actually feel more connected to our body. We do well with the estrogen surge. We feel clear, more focused, energized, happier. We're like gung-ho. We want to create new projects. We're super, you know, on point. Leading into ovulation, ovulation comes, it tends to be much more of a you know, I want to put myself out there. Confidence can peak a little higher, sex drive, typically. And the way I'm painting this picture, this isn't going to be for every woman. I'm just going to kind of give one example, and then I'll apex it on the other side. Once ovulation happens, you've now had this dip in estrogen and testosterone, and your luteinizing hormones increase as long as you've ovulated, your progesterone also increases. And that actually is a much more calming hormone. It helps us to integrate. It brings us into a place that is much more reflective, in that luteal phase, which are the couple weeks coming into your period. It's a time to really look at like what is working and what is not. It's time to finish projects. It's a time when you can feel really connected to your body, and then this is one of the times where you'll also know if things are out of balance, if that like seven to 10 day period of time before you bleed again, your mood's all over the place, you're emotional, your sleep is off, your gut is off, you're spotting. Your breasts are tender, like you're just like, oh my God, here we go again. My skin's breaking out. All the things are happening. That's a really strong indication that something is out of balance in your system. And it could be that you didn't ovulate, that you have lower progesterone, you have too much estrogen, it could be that all the hormones are sitting flat. It could be that testosterone and DHA is too high. So this is why testing and testing at the appropriate time of the month is such a valuable tool for women, because when you see it and someone's explaining it to you you're like, oh my gosh, I feel like you just described me to a tee. Yeah.


Lesley Logan 12:34  

No, I'm like, I'm like, sitting here, and I'm like, taking it all in, and I, like that whole part where it's like, that 7, 10, days before you just said, like, this is what you're gonna feel like, but this is also you could feel a look where things are out of whack. And I think we're taught, or at least I felt like, I felt like that's just the normal thing, like things are out of whack. And, yeah, what it sounds like, is it, and I did experience this, I did seed cycling for a long time because I felt like my swings were too big. And I was like, y'all, my boobs are a little bigger because of COVID and age, but they were very small back then. And I was like, they are too small to be this tender. Like this is not fun for me. And so I heard about seed cycling, and I did it consistently for three years. Not only did I literally make myself like clockwork with my cycle, I stopped breaking out. I don't have tenderness, and I've weaned off of it, and it hasn't been an issue, but I did notice that difference in that time before, it was almost like my period was a surprise each time, because I was like, oh, I didn't even know it's coming. (inaudible) Was feeling so good. That's so fascinating. Okay, so thank you for walking us through that. I think that it's helpful to know, like, just when you have the information, like you said, you just can expect things a little different, and you can know more about how you should be feeling, as opposed to like. Why do I feel like this versus yesterday? I felt better.


Jenn Pike 13:55  

I just want to say something quick on that before you go and you're talking about, you know, doing the recap with your husband. So I have two kids, a girl and a boy. My son knows just as much about the female body and cycles as my daughter, and that's on purpose, because part of the stigmatism and the shame and embarrassment ends when we stop excluding men and boys from the conversation as well. It, you know, it's like there's going to come a time in a boy's life where he's gonna, you know, you're either gonna be around a woman or your girlfriend or whatever it is, and you need to be able to understand what she's going through. And as I always say to my son, like bud, you wouldn't even be here if it weren't for our bodies doing this. So you should be darn grateful.


Brad Crowell 14:33  

All right, so that was Episode 55 with Jenn Pike. Hope you found it super helpful and educational.


Lesley Logan 14:40  

Her entire episode is so, has so, it's chock-full of information. You can, you could do, if you just used her episode to figure out what your health changes are for 2025 you would have enough to work on.


Brad Crowell 14:54  

Yeah, she's got a lot going on, and it's amazing. All right, next up we got Episode 85 let's talk about sex baby with Celeste Holbrook.


Lesley Logan 15:02  

I'm obsessed with her. Just so you know, I'm actually having a call with her tomorrow morning (inaudible) on the day that I, because I just love her. 



Brad Crowell 15:09  

Well, she basically talked about, it's kind of a tack on to what we were just talking about with with Jenn Pike, about removing shame and embarrassment. This is about destigmatizing sex and the language around sex. And one thing she said that I thought was amazing was she pets her dog because she wants to feel calm. She rides her bike because she wants to, well, feel free. She has sex because she wants to feel pleasure, right? And it's like, we make it this taboo, weird, awkward thing, and she's like, but it shouldn't be that, you know? And she talks, she goes really in-depth about how, you know, how you might find pleasure in sex.


Lesley Logan 15:48  

Just so you know, I loved her so much we had her on the podcast twice. And we actually talked about bodies and all that stuff. So she's just fabulous. And especially for any of you who are raised in the purity culture, this episode is extremely freeing and informative.


Brad Crowell 16:04  

Yeah, yeah. So enjoy.


Celeste Holbrook 16:06  

I always think about what we want to feel in sex. Because everything that we do behaviorally, we do it because we want to feel something. So, like, I pet my dog because I want to feel calm. I ride my bike because I want to feel free. I do certain sexual activities because I want to feel pleasure, connection, erotic, intimate, loving, whatever it is that I want to feel in sex. And so start with the feeling. So, write down my dream sexual experience would feel like, and then write those words down, and then you can work your way backwards, like, okay, if I want to feel confident, what do I need to do behaviorally in order to feel confident? Maybe I need to learn more about my body. Maybe I need to establish a better relationship with my vulva and, like, clitoris. Maybe I need to have a masturbation practice. Maybe I need to read some more books, right? So start with what you want to feel and then work your way backwards. I want to feel connected. Okay, maybe I need to work on communication styles with my partner. Maybe I need to learn how to ask more for what I want, and maybe I don't know what I want. So maybe I need to take one more step back and figure out what I like and what I don't like, and do some more creative exploration in sex, you know. So I like to start out with that list of what we want to feel, because then you can build behaviors behind that.


Lesley Logan 17:23  

All right. So that was Celeste Holbrook's Episode 85 at the Be It Pod. If you want to go listen to the whole thing.


Lesley Logan 17:31  

Up next, we actually have Episode 139, Cycle Thinking Fitness & Balancing Your Hormones with Jenny Swisher. This is really, so again, we're having hormones, this is a totally different thing. So, we're actually going to be talking more about advocating for yourself, and ladies, but also gents listening, we always have a few good men, we often have been raised that like the doctors know best but really you know your body best and I think that this episode is one of those reminders that you can be your own best doctor and when you know your body best you can actually advocate for yourself and get the best health for yourself but especially for your hormones. And Jenny Swisher is really, I mean, like, what she's been doing since being on the podcast, really helping people understand their hormones, has been pretty epic.


Brad Crowell 18:19  

I just want to say that while we don't know medicine, because we're not doctors and didn't dedicate ourselves to study that there generally is logic behind the medicine. So if you're being given advice that is completely illogical or confusing to you before you just say yeah, let's do it, ask them to explain that further and understand it more. And it's okay to say that doesn't make sense to me.


Lesley Logan 18:45  

We didn't put the clip here. But if you want more, if you're inspired to be an advocate for yourself, definitely listen to Lindsay Miller's episode, Lindsay Moore's episode on, on being an advocate. And I do think, Brad, you make a, bring up a good point, like there is logic to it, but also they have to listen to you, like, they're not, at least in the States, they're not allowed to leave the room until you're done and you say, I have no more questions. And it is a practice. It's called a medical practice, and so they're practicing just like you'd have a Pilates practice, and so it's really, you should not feel ashamed or embarrassed to be like, hmm, I think I'm going to get another opinion on that.


Brad Crowell 19:25  

Yeah, yeah. That's okay. 


Lesley Logan 19:27  

Yeah. So here is Jenny Swisher to inspire you to be your own best doctor.


Jenny Swisher 19:31  

I think you have to be your own best doctor. And I think, but you have to go into the the appointment knowing that, I mean, I don't know about anybody listening, but I know for me, especially after I feel like I'm an expert in sitting in doctor's offices after years of doing it, I felt like I got to the point where they were just going to diagnose or give me whatever I was leading them to. You know what I mean, like you're leading the doctor to the eventual answer. And so the more hormone literate you can become about your own body and your own cycle, for example, and in the case of hormone health, the easier it's going to be for the doctor to make those connections or to really, truly help you. I find that most people don't have the awareness that they need, the self-awareness and the body awareness of their own body to be able to go and get a proper answer from a doctor. And so it starts with that. But then when you are in that situation, when you go into it knowing like, this is how my body is supposed to operate. This is how it's supposed to feel. These are the things that I've learned about hormone health. And I'm not I'm low in energy, or I'm this, or I'm that, then you can go into the appointment and say hey, I think this is how I'm supposed to be feeling. But instead, I feel this way. What are some things that we can look into?


Lesley Logan 20:35  

All right. That was Episode 139, with Jenny Swisher, so you can go and listen to her full episode, if you'd like here in the Be It catalog. Again, this is a round-up of just a few of our favorite health episodes, and we hope that you're enjoying getting just some reminders of some of the epic guests we've had, or maybe we're peaking your interest in a topic that you're wanting to go back and learn more about. All of our guests are pretty amazing. And I can't believe that was like almost 300 episodes ago. Some of these are like 400 episodes ago. So, but also, like, I still take these tips. I still remember these people's tips in my daily life. I reflect back upon them, and so they really meant a lot to me.


Lesley Logan 21:18  

I'm Lesley Logan. 


Brad Crowell 21:19  

And I'm Brad Crowell.


Lesley Logan 21:20  

Thank you so much for being a listener of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. We hope that you would love this. Send one of these episodes to a friend who needs it. Especially right now, you know, sometimes we think we have to do holiday gifts. And really, you can actually be like, here's someone to listen to on your long drive to go see your family in a chaotic time, you know, like, these can be the thing that keeps people warm at night. Really, you can, like, listen, they can curl up and listen to a good podcast. And so, until next time.


Brad Crowell 21:46  

Bye for now.


Lesley Logan 21:47  

No. Until next time, Be It Till You See It. 


Brad Crowell 21:52  

Oh. 


Lesley Logan 21:53  

And then. 


Brad Crowell 21:53  

So, until next time. 


Lesley Logan 21:55  

Be It Till You See It.


Brad Crowell 21:58  

Bye for now.


Lesley Logan 22:01  

That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod.


Brad Crowell 22:43  

It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan, and me, Brad Crowell.


Lesley Logan 22:48  

It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co.


Brad Crowell 22:53  

Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi.


Lesley Logan 23:00  

Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals.


Brad Crowell 23:03  

Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.



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