OUTWEIGH: We are back with another follow-up to a topic that Amy and Leanne talked about a few weeks ago: How to have BOTH: a healthy relationship with food and your body AND begin to work towards the goals that are important to you (aka getting stronger, fitter, etc).
In that episode, Amy and Leanne explained that you absolutely can go set goals for yourself, but they invite you to take a sabbatical from typical goal-setting and “go-getting” and go heal your relationship with food and your body FIRST and rewire your brain….and then with THAT new brain and that NEW relationship with food and your body….then head in the direction of body-changing and weight loss, or whatever goals you have in mind. But don’t skip over the healing phase.
That being said, it’s also important to talk about HOW to do just that… and what that actually looks like practically (including the “why behind the what”).
In this episode of Outweigh, Leanne invites her mentor, friend, and health and fitness expert Holly Baxter on the show to share a bit about redefining health on your own terms. She shares her own testimony, battle with eating disorders and body shame, and talks about how it’s shaped the way she coaches female clients – especially those that are on the road to healing.
CONTENT WARNING: Here at Outweigh we want to be sensitive to the fact that some of this subject matter might be a little bit confrontational for some of you on your healing journey, but we didn’t want to just NOT talk about it, or avoid these important subjects altogether. Because, wherever you are on your healing journey, at some point in time, you might be ready for whatever YOUR next step is, and that might include goal setting or focusing on new outcomes.
And most of what’s out there in the modern day world to meet you in those goals is a surefire way to bring you back down the road of toxicity and disorder, and we didn’t want to leave you hanging like that. So if you are in that place in your healing journey, and you’re ready to look at what’s next, this interview series shares a perspective on how to do just that – while still keeping your mental and emotional health AND your healing journey front and center.
So this is just a bit of a heads up that we are going to be covering some topics that might not have been broached yet on this podcast, but also just reiterating that the purpose is to show you how to view these once-controversial or difficult topics in a beautiful, healthy, and empowering way that ensures that your healing journey stays front and center. That's if or when you are ready. And if you’re not there yet, that is absolutely OK as well, and we simply invite you to tuck this information in your back pocket (or just skip it altogether right now) and just know it’s there when you’re ready. Because here at Outweigh, we always want you to feel safe to be exactly where you are, and we will always try to meet you there.
HOST: Leanne Ellington // @leanneellington // StresslessEating.com
GUEST: Holly Baxter // @Hhollytbaxter // @teamhollytbaxter
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I won't let my body out be outwait everything that
I'm made, don won't spend my life trying to change.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
I'm learning love who I am again. I'm strong, I
feel free, I know every part of me. It's beautiful.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
And that will always out way if you feel it,
but yours are.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
She'll some love to the view I get.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
There, say go day An did you and die out way?
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Hey out wagh listeners Leanne Ellington here and before we
dive into our interview series, I wanted to give you
some context for what you're about to hear. I also
just wanted to hold space and be sensitive to the
fact that some of this subject matter might be a
little bit confrontational or triggering for some of you that
are on your healing journey. That being said, I didn't
(00:56):
want to just not talk about it or avoid these
important subjects all day other, because wherever you are on
your own healing journey, at some point you might be
ready for whatever your next step is, and that might
include goal setting or focusing on new outcomes. And let's
be honest, most of what's out there in the modern
day world to meet you in those goals is a
(01:18):
surefire way to bring you back down the road of
disorder and toxicity. And I didn't want to leave you
hanging like that. So if you are in that place
in your healing journey and you're ready to look at
what's next, this interview series shares a perspective on how
to do just that while still keeping your mental and
emotional health and your healing journey front and center. And
(01:41):
if you're not there yet, that is absolutely okay as well.
And I simply invite you to just tuck this information
in your back pocket or just skip it all together
right now and just know that it's there when you're ready.
And you know, truthfully, just thinking back ten or fifteen
years ago, the subjects that we're going to be covering
in this interview series might have triggered me a little
bit based on where I was in my journey, and
(02:02):
that is totally okay if that's the case for you too,
So yeah, I just wanted to give you a little
bit of a heads up that we are going to
be covering some topics that might not have been broached
yet on this podcast, but also just reiterating that the
purpose is to show you how to view these once
controversial or difficult topics in a beautiful, healthy, and empowering
(02:23):
way that ensures that your healing journey stays front and center.
And again that's only if or when you're ready, because
hear it out weigh. We always want you to feel
safe to be exactly where you are, and we will
always try to meet you there. So with that being said,
let's dive into the interview series. Happy Saturday out wayh
(02:45):
It is Leanne Ellington here and I am here for
an amazing interview series with Holly Baxter.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Hi, Holly, Hello, Hello, my love.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
So happy to have you here, and if you miss
last week's episode, definitely go check it out because we
really set up the why behind the what of what
I've brought Holly on here to talk about really diving
into this idea of how to have both. So obviously
we are all about healing your relationship with food, healing
your relationship with your body, taking care of whatever disorder
(03:15):
might be going on in your brain. But we also
understand that there's life after that, right, and we want
to encourage that and we want to give you permission
to have whatever the next level is for you. And
I say, after you've healed, because it's really this ongoing journey.
But once you are ready for that next level, you
know to give yourself permission and not have shame about it.
So we talked about a lot of these distinctions in
(03:36):
the two things can be True at the same time
series that Amy and I did. And then if you
miss last Saturday's episode, really talking about learning from my
own mistakes and what I learned the good, the bad,
the ugly from my own journey as as a woman
on my own journey, but then also working with other
women alongside theirs, and so again.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
If you missed last week, I shared that I.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
Went out and sought out Holly, who I now have
the pleasure of speaking with, to really help me figure
out what would happen if now that I had this
this health and when I say health, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, physically,
all of it, what if I wanted to go up level?
And what if I wanted to make sure that that
was first and foremost, but really go take things to
(04:20):
the next level, find the next level of strength, and
find the next level of just really appreciating my body
and seeing what it can do. And this really came
in the forefront when I realized I was turning forty
and I didn't want to buy into the myth that
everything goes downhill as you age. So that being said,
Holly is here to really just you know, guide us,
and she's going to be on here for the next
few weeks and we're going to just dive into all.
Speaker 4 (04:42):
Of this and give you a lot of the why
behind the what.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
But before we do that, I wanted to just have Holly,
you know, share a bit about what she's gone through
her personal life, what's led her to the professional work
that she does, and share her testimony because it is
anything but ordinary and it will really pave the way
for what we're going to talk about today. So I
would love it if you wouldn't mind just kind of
share with us, you know, where you're coming from, the
(05:06):
story of Holly and what's brought you to what you
know and what you do and who you are now.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
I absolutely got into the career and the profession that
I have today for all the wrong reasons, and no
shame about that. I think I used to have a
lot of guilt, a lot of shame, you know, sharing
my experiences, and today I have found it like so
valuable just being transparent and honest and opening up to
you know, this is.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
The life that I've lived.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Here are the reasons for why I think, you know,
I developed these different dysfunctional thought patterns, behaviors, beliefs, and
then you know how I have been able to kind
of overcome that but also just accept that, like life
is a journey and you don't ever fully heal or recover.
(05:53):
I really can say that from the bottom of my heart,
like I am five years into this now like post
or say healing quotation, but I think that it's an ongoing,
you know, evolving lesson. You know, these things don't just
disappear out of our lives, but we get so much
better at being able to adapt and to cope and
(06:14):
to accept who we are, and that really makes it
so much better and allows us to kind of move
forwards and achieve our best self.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
I think. So.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
I know, for me, so much of I guess the
struggles that I had started from childhood, and I think
for about thirty years of my life, I probably ignored
all of those things. And it took me going back
and working pretty consistently every week with my own mental
health therapist to kind of unpack and discover, you know why,
(06:47):
Holly that the person then kind of was the way
she was And a lot of it stemmed from trauma
when I was young. I had several different experiences that
I won't go into too much detail about today on
the show, but a lot of that perfectionism that I
felt that ocd the need for control and you know
that my body was you know the thing that got me,
(07:10):
you know, the validation and the acceptance and feeling like I.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Was worthy, Like all of those.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Things were founded upon my experiences as a young girl.
And it really took a long time to kind of
go back and work through all of that. And I
think with knowledge and understanding was what really allowed me
to accept because I didn't have an understanding or own
knowledge of you know why am I? Like I just
(07:38):
thought I was broken. I'm wrong, Like I'm suffering with
a binge eating disorder. I've had belliemia for fifteen years,
you know, I've struggled with anorexia in my early teens, Like.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
What is wrong with me?
Speaker 1 (07:50):
And you know, doing the work with a therapist and
looking at all of the influences that kind of shaped
the way that I was, you know, growing to be
allowed me to start my healing journeys.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
So I think so much of it comes back to,
you know.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Having this willingness and desire to change, and you have
to be so incredibly intentional with the person that you
know you want to become in efforts to get there
and to get past this. And for the longest time,
I just remember feeling absolutely stuck. You know, I would
critique myself, I would compare myself, and you know, my
(08:29):
relationship with food was horrendous, and I just remember thinking,
this is probably like twelve years into suffering with binge
eating disorder and bolimia.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Will I ever be free of this?
Speaker 1 (08:42):
Or is this something that's going to be with me
for the rest of my life? And I remember the
exact day where I decided, no, this is not the
person that I want to be anymore. And I had
hit rock bottom mine too, like really hit rock bottom,
and that was kind of the turning point for me
making so many changes, and I was the only person
(09:04):
that was ever going to make that happen.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
It has to come from you.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Yeah, And it's one of those things where, you know,
the big thing I want to highlight is when you said, like, no,
I don't. I refuse to live as this version of
myself any longer. And I know that seems scary. And
I know for me, for lots of times, I wish
that somebody would shake me by the shoulders and do
it for me, want it for me, save me from myself.
But like, like you said, you have to get to
that point where you're like, no, first of all, this
(09:30):
is a really big problem and I'm no longer willing
to live like this. So for you, and I know
obviously you have different you know, avenues in your career
that work directly with women around their bodies. So how
did this manifest for you in your own life? And
then how did it kind of you know, show up
and appear when you got into and share a little
bit about what you do professionally too, because I'm you know,
(09:51):
I know that that's very much related.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Absolutely, So when I was young, I did a lot
of sport, and like my parents kind of put me
in everything, I was very competitive.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
I was also kind.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Of curated to be, you know, a really good studious girl.
You know, I had to get good grades. You know,
I knew that that was really something that was important
to my parents. So I was this constant little people pleaser,
where you know, I kind of.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
Avoid all of my wants and needs.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
And desires and really did things to please, like my family,
I did things to please and impress other people. And
I guess in many ways, that's kind of why I
got to the place. Like in my sporting career, so
I actually competed at a really high level for athletics
as a junior, so I was a track sprinter and
I did that all the way up until I was
(10:42):
about eighteen, and I did that in college as well,
and then I also was really interested in, you know,
what fuels your body and how can you perform your best?
So I think my initial interest in getting into health
and fitness, which is kind of the industry that I
am in now. I guess my credentials are I'm a
dietitian and also a science educator. So I did a
(11:05):
Bachelor of Food science nutrition in my undergrad and then
I did a master's of dietetics, and now I find
myself doing all kinds of things in all areas across
the health and wellness space. But yeah, I think my
journey into my career as a dietitian was really dysfunctional.
It wasn't coming from a really healthy place. In fact,
(11:28):
my first coach that I ever had, I guess at
a professional level. He also used to coach the reigning
Olympian for the four hundred meters. Her name was Kathie Freeman.
She's an Australian runner. You know, she's very well known
in my country. But the worst thing that ever was
said to me, And it's so amazing just how one
small thing that you can say to a woman about
(11:48):
her body can be the thing that ruins her for
the rest of her life if you are not careful.
And it's why I'm so careful with how I speak
to people, because you just don't know. But this coach
said to me, you know, it'd be just fine if
you could lose a little bit.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Of body fat. You know that body fat.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
Is slowing you down, so we need to get you leaner,
like Kathy.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
And she was an inspiration.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Of mine at the time, Like I'm a young girl,
she's like in a late twenties, and I think for
me that was kind of what tipped me off in
this you know, downhill spiral of you know, oh well,
my body has to look a certain way I didn't understand,
I guess from a metabolic standpoint or from a performance standpoint,
you know, this concept of fat versus muscle.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
I view that at.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
The time because it wasn't explained to me. Well, okay,
my appearance is obviously really important. And at that time,
you know, you're being influenced by a lot of people
around you because you're a young, you know, growing woman,
and I really felt this pressure to you know, be
extra lean, and I had to look a certain way
and I had to be the best, and that really
(12:58):
stuck with me. And it was one of the things
combined with you know, years of trauma and growing up
in a household where I would, you know, very openly
now say like I was raised by a narcissistic mother,
a narcissistic father, and it just it was such an uncomfortable,
lonely existence.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
As a kid.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
So I went on and I obviously pursued my career
in health and fitness and found myself in a career
of bodybuilding. And again that was all done in efforts
to control what I put in my body. It wasn't
because I loved this sport. It was really just a
way to manipulate how I looked because I really felt
(13:38):
that my value was tied up in you know, my leadingness,
and it got me the validation that I felt like
I needed. So yeah, I think that's kind of I
guess my journey through my career and going on now
fifteen years, I'm thirty four. I graduated when I was
twenty two. I think, so I've been in this space
(14:01):
for a long time, and I have done a one
id in what I believe, in how I coach and
the messaging that I try to share with my audience,
because I can see like there are certainly a lot
of downsides to always focusing on, you know, your physical appearance.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
Just a couple of things I want to point out
and just speak to you know, when you said that
your identity and your value was wrapped up in your leanness,
you know, And I think I'm assuming pretty much everyone
here listening to this podcast. I know for me personally,
that is one of the was the determining factor for me,
And and that's what you learn when you are influenced
by people who that is what they value, you know.
(14:41):
And so just giving love and compassion to anybody who's listening,
knowing like you're you're not alone, like that is just
what is so commonly learned.
Speaker 4 (14:48):
But the fact that you recognize that and.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
You know, and for one of the reasons I was
so excited to bring you on here is you know,
obviously the emotional stuff that you grew up with. I mean,
anybody that knows you knows that you are the most loving, passionate,
giving person. And that's on the heart side, but on
the brain side, you know, the what you teach and
what you learn is just a testament to also what
you've been through. Because I mean, you are the most
(15:11):
knowledgeable person. It's one of the reasons I hired you.
It is like you are also the most knowledgeable person
when it comes to the evidence based science back stuff,
because you know, even you mentioned it, like working with
a dietitian. I can't even tell you how many clients
I work with and they're like, yeah, I worked with
a dietitian that it gave me even more disorder. And
I'm not knocking dietitians. I'm not knocking nutritionists, but a
(15:32):
lot of times it can become more of that orthorexic
lifestyle or attitude that it influences in the wrong direction.
So I really believe that, you know, a testament to
who you are now is having gone through that and
gone through all of the studying, and you're I mean,
every time I see something from you on the internet, it's.
Speaker 4 (15:49):
Your reading studies. You're in the lab you know, in
for butuaternail you are, you are.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
In the midst of it. So that being said, you know,
what was it that you know really transition you from
who you are being in the fitness industry in your
own life to really taking on this new identity for yourself,
but then also imparting that with your clients. Because again,
anybody who's who's listened to this podcast, I mean in general,
I'm super super protective of who I even you know,
(16:15):
bring into other people's fears, and you know, knowing that
I could because I'm and I'm not trying to generalize,
but a lot of the health and fitness industry out
there is promoting a lot of the unhealth, the dishealth,
which is a word I just made up, but you
get the point.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
And knowing that.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
You actually practice what you preach but stand for and
you've been where we have been, is a testament to it.
And you're again you are a proponent of having both
like having health and healing and wholeness, but also having goals. Right,
So that being said, just kind of you know, bring
us through, you know, to now like who are you,
what do you stand for?
Speaker 4 (16:49):
What do you believe in?
Speaker 3 (16:49):
And what are the philosophies that you kind of practice
in your in your personal life with your own body journey,
but then also what you are imparting with with your clients.
And then you have a team of coaches that also
you influence and teach as well.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
Absolutely so I think for me, like in my journey,
the only reason that I got to the point where
I decided like something needs to change was I was miserable.
I was really struggling with anxiety. I was really struggling
with the depression. And I remember getting to this lowlow
point in my life where I was like, you know,
(17:22):
what is my purpose? Why am I here? And it
led me down this wonderful spiritual journey.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
I grew up.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
Raised agnostic, so no religion, and that was just the
most beautiful experience for me, kind of finding my people
and realizing that there is so much more to life
than me, you know, it extended so much beyond ourselves.
So I think I know for me that I really
found so much love and peace and happiness in being
(17:51):
able to mentor and coach others and especially women. And
I think once I started on my own journey of
healing and seeing that there's this beauty, beautiful place on
the other side that exists where you can have balance,
you can enjoy food, you can enjoy you know, cell
obrating and having some drinks and fun with your friends,
(18:13):
but also still respect and value your body and respect
and value health. And I think as soon as my
mindset shifted away from this idea that my health was
my physical appearance and that I started to incorporate health.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
As more than just my body.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
It was my mindset that was really when things started
to improve in my life, and I found myself becoming
happier and happier and happier. But it did not go
perfectly linear. I can tell you now you do a
lot of backward steps. You feel at times like you've regressed,
But you know, I think now I can hold space
(18:51):
for sitting in a place of stagnance and realizing that
that is okay. You learn to accept your body. You
don't have to love it all the time, and I think,
you know, that is something that I want to be
able to share and help with all of our clients.
So what I do now is I actually have an
all female coaching team. We really look at this from
(19:14):
an allied health perspective. So at the moment, we have chiropractice,
we have physical therapists, we have mental therapy counselors, we
have nutrition exercise scientists, so we have got all these
facets of science and we're looking to extend into concierge
medicine and hormonal therapies to really kind of make this
approach to women's health a holistic one, because you can't
(19:38):
live a healthy, balanced life if you are ignoring your mindset.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
If you're ignoring your.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Mental health, you cannot live a healthy balanced life. If
you're ignoring your hormonal health, your endocrine system. You're not
living a healthy balanced life if you are following a
training program that has absolutely no chance in serving the.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
Needs that it's supposed to do.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
So we're really trying to bring to together all of
these different sciences to make sure that you are, you know,
moving in a positive direction, but taking care of your
like your soul, you know, like we need to be
able to do these things and be happy. You know,
we have family, we have kids, we have careers, we
have relationships that we need to be able to nurture.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
And I know that.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
You know, in my old mindset as a professional, you know,
physique athlete, I absolutely ignored every single other important domain
and value in my life.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
The only thing that ever.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
Rose true really was my physique and training in my diet.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
That was all I ever thought about.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
And it consumed me, and that was a miserable existence.
So we I really had to step outside of that,
think bigger picture and work on, Okay, what can I
do to achieve you know, happiness and find a new
balance for me. And I realized over a very long
number of years that it's going to change. It will
(20:57):
probably never be exactly the same, you know, for hereon
and to the rest of my life, and it's so
important to be I wble to pivot and shift and adapt,
but then also apply some science to kind of get
a little bit ahead in that regd because there was
also a lot of bad information when it comes to
nutrition and exercise.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
So that's kind.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
Of what we are doing over here with my team.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
I love it and we're going to talk about a
little bit of the dream world of that, but real quickly,
can you just kind of share this distinction because there is,
like you said, there is so much bad information out there.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
There's so many things.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
I can't even tell you how many people are like, Oh,
I read this article on yahoo dot com and it
said this, and it said, you know, science backed, and
I'm like, I go look at it and there's like
a case study of three people in you know, Anchorage,
Alaska or something, you know what I mean, and they're
in a bubble of broccoli and grilled chicken. You know.
But so this concept, one of the things that really,
you know, attracted me to your thought processes amongst everything
(21:53):
else that you said, was this idea of evidence based.
Can you just share a little bit about like the
lens that you see things through, because I know, if
it's not evidence base, you're not you're not going to
promote it, you're not going to talk about it. So
can you just share a little bit about what that
evidence based world is so that people know what to
look for what around like the truth from the fiction
kind of type lens. Can you just share a little
(22:19):
bit about what that evidence based world is so that
people know what to look for, what around like the
truth from the fiction kind of type lens.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
Yeah, absolutely, so, I think most importantly, you know, if
you're somebody that's looking for a coach or you're trying
to find good information, there's definitely a hierarchy, you know,
when it comes to sourcing that information. And obviously all
of us we go to Google, we type in what
we want to find out, and we kind of read
the first couple of things that pop up. But that's
not always referenced or written with an evidence based approach.
(22:47):
And I guess what I mean by that, And we'll
speak about this in practical terms. An evidence based approach
or best practices come from the lab setting. So we're
going into you know, a laboratory where we've got you know,
randomized control trials being conducted.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
We've got large numbers of participants.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
We have you know, placebos, we have controls, we have
a cohor of information that can come out of these
studies that kind of conclude or give us conclusive information.
There are so many subjects that at least I am
interested in that still to this day, I still at
their infancy. When it comes to the information that we're
learning because they're relativity to concepts, particularly something like reverse dieting,
(23:29):
which I know you and I are going to touch
on maybe in some future episodes, but you know that
concept and how it can help with improving your metabolism
and recovering your metabolic health. You know, that is still
such a nuanced area of research that we can't draw
strong conclusions. But a good practitioner, if they are writing
and sharing information, they should be referencing where they're getting
(23:52):
that information from. You know, is it coming from a
scientific journal, What kind of quality evidence are we talking?
So I think that's kind of what I marry when
I talk about evidence based.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Yeah, And I just wanted to mention that because I
think when we're talking about having a disordered relationship with food,
we'll find evidence for whatever we're looking for, you know.
So if we're carb phobic, we'll find evidence that carbs
are air quotes bad. If we're calorie phobic, we'll find
you know that restricted calorie whatever.
Speaker 4 (24:17):
Is the way to go.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
So I just wanted everyone to be mindful of, you know,
what is true evidence based and where the biases are,
you know. And that being said, we are going to
give you all a sneak peek at what we're going
to be talking about in the next couple of weeks
with Holly. But before we do that, I'd love to
just kind of, you know, get into our dream world
for a minute, because I know, I shared last last
week's episode how I was entrenched in the fitness industry.
Speaker 4 (24:39):
It's been many many moons.
Speaker 3 (24:41):
Since then, and you're still You're still in it, you know,
but obviously you are. You're paving the way for, in
my opinion, the next generation of true wholeness and health
and that three dimensional health. So that being said, like
you know, if for anybody who is listening and they're
looking at you know, one of the big things I
kind of air quotes preach about is like redefining your
(25:01):
definition of health because I learned that health equals eat less,
move more and harder, faster more, and that skinny was healthy,
and that like, honestly, a lot of those things drove
me towards the opposite of health. So when we're talking
about you know, marrying, you know, like you said, these
allied forces right that you have of of bridging the gap.
You know, I used to say that I wish that
you know, physical therapy, fitness and occupational therapy had a baby,
(25:25):
because occupational therapy really helped me with a lot of
my you know, dysfunction physiologically after my surgery. But that
being said, like if we could just kind of paint
a picture for this dream world of the of this
health kind of bubble that we invite people to live in,
Like what would that what would some of the components
be for you if you were to just kind of
put your your secret sauce together.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
Well, obviously my area of expertise is in nutrition and
exercise science, and those two things together can be very
powerful tools. But I think the piece that's missing there,
and we're still missing this in a lot of the
research is the psychology component. You know, the newer plasticity
of the brain. You know about learning how to change
behavior is because you can have all the knowledge in
(26:06):
the world, and at this point, I can say I
know a lot about nutrition, and I know a lot
about exercise science, so I can put together a wonderful program.
But here's the thing. If I don't have the capacity
from a neurological standpoint, from a psychological standpoint, I may
not be able to implement what I'm telling somebody to do,
nor myself.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
So there is.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
Such an important part there on working on your mindset,
that self development route for you to succeed and really
step into your best version of yourself. So if it
was a perfect you know, combination of I guess services
that would help women I think step into their best selves,
it would have to include those three things as like
(26:47):
an underlying like foundational.
Speaker 3 (26:50):
Input absolutely, and even just to stack on what you
said about the nutrition and the exercise science piece of
it being a tool. We did an episode a few
weeks to go on out way about like are you
using things as a tool or have they become a weapon.
And that's the thing, like I don't want anybody to
dog this idea of like getting really educated in nutrition
and exercise science. You know, it's not those things that
(27:12):
are air quotes bad or wrong or create disorder. It's
our thoughts and our relationship to them. You know, are
we using them as a tool or are we using
them as a weapon? And so I love it's one
of my favorite things about you is you actually kind
of reintroduce me to these things of how I can
use them as a tool to really empower myself.
Speaker 4 (27:27):
But again, it had to take place after I healed
from the disorder.
Speaker 3 (27:31):
And that's one thing I really want to emphasize to
anyone listening, is like, all of these things are fine
and dandy in the kind of understanding that you've gone
and healed your relationship with food in your body so that.
Speaker 4 (27:41):
You can go use them as a tool. So I
love that you said that. Sorry, where you've got to
say something else, I.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
Was just going to say, I think they can exist together.
I know a lot of the work that we're doing
without clients. Number one, I've recognized that things need to
change for them. They're not happy, you know, they're feeling,
they're struggling. Their relationship with food is extremely disordered, and
they don't want to be that way. But they're also
stuck in this mindset. So what we're really trying to
do is pair those teachings together. So I'm going to
(28:09):
give you some information and education, but we're not going
to use this as a weapon like you se Leenne.
We're going to use this as a tool, and we
need to have flexibility. We need to be able to
know when an appropriate time is to call upon this resource.
Calorie cycling, you know, step cycling, anything like that, but
that has to be done, you know, within the context
(28:29):
of your current goals. And I think you know where
there's a big divide, particularly in the fitness industry, is
that it's just extreme. There's such dichotomous you know, mindsets
and beliefs. You know, we've got good, bad, black and white, healthy, unhealthy,
and it is a lot more gray than that I
can tell you now.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
So we're really trying to.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
Help people understand how these tools can be so incredibly effective.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
But we've also got to you know, we can't.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
Neglect our mind set, and we need to be able
to improve on how we feel about ourselves, because you know,
you can have all the leanness and all of the things,
whatever your goals might be, but you know that doesn't
change how you view yourself. And I think learning to
establish you know, your true sense of you know, worth
and your value as a person exists so much further
(29:21):
beyond your body. And I love I read a book
recently and one of our speakers an event that we
have coming up, doctor Lindsay and Lexi Kite. They have
the book called More Than a Body, And I just
love one of the quotes they say.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
In the book, you are not an ornament.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
And I don't know what that really struck us something
with me, but you know, I really started to think
about it.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
Wow, my body, I get.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
This one amazing vessel that's going to take me through
my entire life.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
I better start looking after it.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
And that doesn't just mean the work that they do
in the gym or the food that I'm putting in
my body. It's also my mind. So yeah, I think
a collaboration of all of.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
Those things are so important. Ah.
Speaker 3 (30:00):
I love this conversation so much. And yeah, and this
hopefully this gives you hope. If you're listening and you're
hearing some of the things that we're talking about and
you're like, hey, that is I'm not there right now,
It's okay, you don't have to be there. This is
really giving you that permission to know that there is
like life on the other side of the healing that
you're in. I know that we think that, you know,
sometimes we think we're the only one struggling with something,
or we think we're air quotes broken. But I'm telling you,
(30:21):
first of all, you're not. But also there is a
beautiful way to address health and approach health on the
other side of it, when you have this new way
of thinking, a new mindset. So super cool, cool conversation,
and just to kind of give you all a sneak
peak of what's coming in the next couple of weeks.
Next week, we're going to have Holly back and we're
going to talk about this concept of reversing and how
to really leverage the power of being knowledgeable and equipping
(30:45):
yourself with what you need to actually fuel your body,
but also using food to maybe heal metabolically.
Speaker 4 (30:52):
What's taken place. Maybe you've been one of those people.
Speaker 3 (30:55):
That's adapted to a very low amount of food and
you have fears of what's going to happen if you
start eating again, or I know for me, I was like,
oh my gosh, if I start eating again, I'm going
to gain all this weight. I'm going to feel out
of control. But there is a way to meet yourself
where you are, but again in an evidence based way,
and that's this concept of.
Speaker 4 (31:11):
Reversing that I learned.
Speaker 3 (31:13):
It's one of the reasons I saw about Holly because
I was she's pioneering this concept in the industry. So
we're going to talk about all of those things and
how to use it to really heal your relationship with food,
heal your relationship with your body, but also heal metabolically
maybe what's taken place. And then the following week we're
going to put a wrapper around all of this and
really bring the two things can be true at the
(31:33):
same time concept together, where we are going to talk
about practically what does it look like. Okay, now you've healed,
now you're looking forward and you want to take on
the next level of goal setting. How does that actually happen?
How do you do it while protecting the healing journey
that you've had and while keeping that mind, body, spirit,
soul freedom that you've created front and center. So thanks
(31:55):
for being here, Holly. Where can people find you? Where
can they follow you? Where can they learn more about you?
Speaker 1 (31:59):
So I'm going to send everybody to my Instagram page
at the moment, so it is Holly Tea Baxter. You
can also follow my coaching team, so that is Team
Holly Tea Baxter. All the ladies on there. As I
mentioned before, they have a breadth of different specialties. We're
constantly posting every day, evidence based content or free for
you guys to learn. So that is where you can
(32:22):
find me in all of our products and services.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
Amazing, well, we will put that in the show notes.
I'm over at stresslessding dot com. This is Leanne Ellington
signing out for this week of Outweigh and we will
see you next week.
Speaker 2 (32:34):
Bye bye
I won't let my body out be outwait everything that
I'm made, don won't spend my life trying to change.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
I'm learning love who I am again. I'm strong, I
feel free, I know every part of me. It's beautiful.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
And that will always out way if you feel it,
but yours are.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
She'll some love to the view I get.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
There, say go day An did you and die out way?
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Hey out wagh listeners Leanne Ellington here and before we
dive into our interview series, I wanted to give you
some context for what you're about to hear. I also
just wanted to hold space and be sensitive to the
fact that some of this subject matter might be a
little bit confrontational or triggering for some of you that
are on your healing journey. That being said, I didn't
(00:56):
want to just not talk about it or avoid these
important subjects all day other, because wherever you are on
your own healing journey, at some point you might be
ready for whatever your next step is, and that might
include goal setting or focusing on new outcomes. And let's
be honest, most of what's out there in the modern
day world to meet you in those goals is a
(01:18):
surefire way to bring you back down the road of
disorder and toxicity. And I didn't want to leave you
hanging like that. So if you are in that place
in your healing journey and you're ready to look at
what's next, this interview series shares a perspective on how
to do just that while still keeping your mental and
emotional health and your healing journey front and center. And
(01:41):
if you're not there yet, that is absolutely okay as well.
And I simply invite you to just tuck this information
in your back pocket or just skip it all together
right now and just know that it's there when you're ready.
And you know, truthfully, just thinking back ten or fifteen
years ago, the subjects that we're going to be covering
in this interview series might have triggered me a little
bit based on where I was in my journey, and
(02:02):
that is totally okay if that's the case for you too,
So yeah, I just wanted to give you a little
bit of a heads up that we are going to
be covering some topics that might not have been broached
yet on this podcast, but also just reiterating that the
purpose is to show you how to view these once
controversial or difficult topics in a beautiful, healthy, and empowering
(02:23):
way that ensures that your healing journey stays front and center.
And again that's only if or when you're ready, because
hear it out weigh. We always want you to feel
safe to be exactly where you are, and we will
always try to meet you there. So with that being said,
let's dive into the interview series. Happy Saturday out wayh
(02:45):
It is Leanne Ellington here and I am here for
an amazing interview series with Holly Baxter.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Hi, Holly, Hello, Hello, my love.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
So happy to have you here, and if you miss
last week's episode, definitely go check it out because we
really set up the why behind the what of what
I've brought Holly on here to talk about really diving
into this idea of how to have both. So obviously
we are all about healing your relationship with food, healing
your relationship with your body, taking care of whatever disorder
(03:15):
might be going on in your brain. But we also
understand that there's life after that, right, and we want
to encourage that and we want to give you permission
to have whatever the next level is for you. And
I say, after you've healed, because it's really this ongoing journey.
But once you are ready for that next level, you
know to give yourself permission and not have shame about it.
So we talked about a lot of these distinctions in
(03:36):
the two things can be True at the same time
series that Amy and I did. And then if you
miss last Saturday's episode, really talking about learning from my
own mistakes and what I learned the good, the bad,
the ugly from my own journey as as a woman
on my own journey, but then also working with other
women alongside theirs, and so again.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
If you missed last week, I shared that I.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
Went out and sought out Holly, who I now have
the pleasure of speaking with, to really help me figure
out what would happen if now that I had this
this health and when I say health, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, physically,
all of it, what if I wanted to go up level?
And what if I wanted to make sure that that
was first and foremost, but really go take things to
(04:20):
the next level, find the next level of strength, and
find the next level of just really appreciating my body
and seeing what it can do. And this really came
in the forefront when I realized I was turning forty
and I didn't want to buy into the myth that
everything goes downhill as you age. So that being said,
Holly is here to really just you know, guide us,
and she's going to be on here for the next
few weeks and we're going to just dive into all.
Speaker 4 (04:42):
Of this and give you a lot of the why
behind the what.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
But before we do that, I wanted to just have Holly,
you know, share a bit about what she's gone through
her personal life, what's led her to the professional work
that she does, and share her testimony because it is
anything but ordinary and it will really pave the way
for what we're going to talk about today. So I
would love it if you wouldn't mind just kind of
share with us, you know, where you're coming from, the
(05:06):
story of Holly and what's brought you to what you
know and what you do and who you are now.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
I absolutely got into the career and the profession that
I have today for all the wrong reasons, and no
shame about that. I think I used to have a
lot of guilt, a lot of shame, you know, sharing
my experiences, and today I have found it like so
valuable just being transparent and honest and opening up to
you know, this is.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
The life that I've lived.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Here are the reasons for why I think, you know,
I developed these different dysfunctional thought patterns, behaviors, beliefs, and
then you know how I have been able to kind
of overcome that but also just accept that, like life
is a journey and you don't ever fully heal or recover.
(05:53):
I really can say that from the bottom of my heart,
like I am five years into this now like post
or say healing quotation, but I think that it's an ongoing,
you know, evolving lesson. You know, these things don't just
disappear out of our lives, but we get so much
better at being able to adapt and to cope and
(06:14):
to accept who we are, and that really makes it
so much better and allows us to kind of move
forwards and achieve our best self.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
I think. So.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
I know, for me, so much of I guess the
struggles that I had started from childhood, and I think
for about thirty years of my life, I probably ignored
all of those things. And it took me going back
and working pretty consistently every week with my own mental
health therapist to kind of unpack and discover, you know why,
(06:47):
Holly that the person then kind of was the way
she was And a lot of it stemmed from trauma
when I was young. I had several different experiences that
I won't go into too much detail about today on
the show, but a lot of that perfectionism that I
felt that ocd the need for control and you know
that my body was you know the thing that got me,
(07:10):
you know, the validation and the acceptance and feeling like I.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Was worthy, Like all of those.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Things were founded upon my experiences as a young girl.
And it really took a long time to kind of
go back and work through all of that. And I
think with knowledge and understanding was what really allowed me
to accept because I didn't have an understanding or own
knowledge of you know why am I? Like I just
(07:38):
thought I was broken. I'm wrong, Like I'm suffering with
a binge eating disorder. I've had belliemia for fifteen years,
you know, I've struggled with anorexia in my early teens, Like.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
What is wrong with me?
Speaker 1 (07:50):
And you know, doing the work with a therapist and
looking at all of the influences that kind of shaped
the way that I was, you know, growing to be
allowed me to start my healing journeys.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
So I think so much of it comes back to,
you know.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Having this willingness and desire to change, and you have
to be so incredibly intentional with the person that you
know you want to become in efforts to get there
and to get past this. And for the longest time,
I just remember feeling absolutely stuck. You know, I would
critique myself, I would compare myself, and you know, my
(08:29):
relationship with food was horrendous, and I just remember thinking,
this is probably like twelve years into suffering with binge
eating disorder and bolimia.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Will I ever be free of this?
Speaker 1 (08:42):
Or is this something that's going to be with me
for the rest of my life? And I remember the
exact day where I decided, no, this is not the
person that I want to be anymore. And I had
hit rock bottom mine too, like really hit rock bottom,
and that was kind of the turning point for me
making so many changes, and I was the only person
(09:04):
that was ever going to make that happen.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
It has to come from you.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Yeah, And it's one of those things where, you know,
the big thing I want to highlight is when you said, like, no,
I don't. I refuse to live as this version of
myself any longer. And I know that seems scary. And
I know for me, for lots of times, I wish
that somebody would shake me by the shoulders and do
it for me, want it for me, save me from myself.
But like, like you said, you have to get to
that point where you're like, no, first of all, this
(09:30):
is a really big problem and I'm no longer willing
to live like this. So for you, and I know
obviously you have different you know, avenues in your career
that work directly with women around their bodies. So how
did this manifest for you in your own life? And
then how did it kind of you know, show up
and appear when you got into and share a little
bit about what you do professionally too, because I'm you know,
(09:51):
I know that that's very much related.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Absolutely, So when I was young, I did a lot
of sport, and like my parents kind of put me
in everything, I was very competitive.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
I was also kind.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Of curated to be, you know, a really good studious girl.
You know, I had to get good grades. You know,
I knew that that was really something that was important
to my parents. So I was this constant little people pleaser,
where you know, I kind of.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
Avoid all of my wants and needs.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
And desires and really did things to please, like my family,
I did things to please and impress other people. And
I guess in many ways, that's kind of why I
got to the place. Like in my sporting career, so
I actually competed at a really high level for athletics
as a junior, so I was a track sprinter and
I did that all the way up until I was
(10:42):
about eighteen, and I did that in college as well,
and then I also was really interested in, you know,
what fuels your body and how can you perform your best?
So I think my initial interest in getting into health
and fitness, which is kind of the industry that I
am in now. I guess my credentials are I'm a
dietitian and also a science educator. So I did a
(11:05):
Bachelor of Food science nutrition in my undergrad and then
I did a master's of dietetics, and now I find
myself doing all kinds of things in all areas across
the health and wellness space. But yeah, I think my
journey into my career as a dietitian was really dysfunctional.
It wasn't coming from a really healthy place. In fact,
(11:28):
my first coach that I ever had, I guess at
a professional level. He also used to coach the reigning
Olympian for the four hundred meters. Her name was Kathie Freeman.
She's an Australian runner. You know, she's very well known
in my country. But the worst thing that ever was
said to me, And it's so amazing just how one
small thing that you can say to a woman about
(11:48):
her body can be the thing that ruins her for
the rest of her life if you are not careful.
And it's why I'm so careful with how I speak
to people, because you just don't know. But this coach
said to me, you know, it'd be just fine if
you could lose a little bit.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Of body fat. You know that body fat.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
Is slowing you down, so we need to get you leaner,
like Kathy.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
And she was an inspiration.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Of mine at the time, Like I'm a young girl,
she's like in a late twenties, and I think for
me that was kind of what tipped me off in
this you know, downhill spiral of you know, oh well,
my body has to look a certain way I didn't understand,
I guess from a metabolic standpoint or from a performance standpoint,
you know, this concept of fat versus muscle.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
I view that at.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
The time because it wasn't explained to me. Well, okay,
my appearance is obviously really important. And at that time,
you know, you're being influenced by a lot of people
around you because you're a young, you know, growing woman,
and I really felt this pressure to you know, be
extra lean, and I had to look a certain way
and I had to be the best, and that really
(12:58):
stuck with me. And it was one of the things
combined with you know, years of trauma and growing up
in a household where I would, you know, very openly
now say like I was raised by a narcissistic mother,
a narcissistic father, and it just it was such an uncomfortable,
lonely existence.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
As a kid.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
So I went on and I obviously pursued my career
in health and fitness and found myself in a career
of bodybuilding. And again that was all done in efforts
to control what I put in my body. It wasn't
because I loved this sport. It was really just a
way to manipulate how I looked because I really felt
(13:38):
that my value was tied up in you know, my leadingness,
and it got me the validation that I felt like
I needed. So yeah, I think that's kind of I
guess my journey through my career and going on now
fifteen years, I'm thirty four. I graduated when I was
twenty two. I think, so I've been in this space
(14:01):
for a long time, and I have done a one
id in what I believe, in how I coach and
the messaging that I try to share with my audience,
because I can see like there are certainly a lot
of downsides to always focusing on, you know, your physical appearance.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
Just a couple of things I want to point out
and just speak to you know, when you said that
your identity and your value was wrapped up in your leanness,
you know, And I think I'm assuming pretty much everyone
here listening to this podcast. I know for me personally,
that is one of the was the determining factor for me,
And and that's what you learn when you are influenced
by people who that is what they value, you know.
(14:41):
And so just giving love and compassion to anybody who's listening,
knowing like you're you're not alone, like that is just
what is so commonly learned.
Speaker 4 (14:48):
But the fact that you recognize that and.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
You know, and for one of the reasons I was
so excited to bring you on here is you know,
obviously the emotional stuff that you grew up with. I mean,
anybody that knows you knows that you are the most loving, passionate,
giving person. And that's on the heart side, but on
the brain side, you know, the what you teach and
what you learn is just a testament to also what
you've been through. Because I mean, you are the most
(15:11):
knowledgeable person. It's one of the reasons I hired you.
It is like you are also the most knowledgeable person
when it comes to the evidence based science back stuff,
because you know, even you mentioned it, like working with
a dietitian. I can't even tell you how many clients
I work with and they're like, yeah, I worked with
a dietitian that it gave me even more disorder. And
I'm not knocking dietitians. I'm not knocking nutritionists, but a
(15:32):
lot of times it can become more of that orthorexic
lifestyle or attitude that it influences in the wrong direction.
So I really believe that, you know, a testament to
who you are now is having gone through that and
gone through all of the studying, and you're I mean,
every time I see something from you on the internet, it's.
Speaker 4 (15:49):
Your reading studies. You're in the lab you know, in
for butuaternail you are, you are.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
In the midst of it. So that being said, you know,
what was it that you know really transition you from
who you are being in the fitness industry in your
own life to really taking on this new identity for yourself,
but then also imparting that with your clients. Because again,
anybody who's who's listened to this podcast, I mean in general,
I'm super super protective of who I even you know,
(16:15):
bring into other people's fears, and you know, knowing that
I could because I'm and I'm not trying to generalize,
but a lot of the health and fitness industry out
there is promoting a lot of the unhealth, the dishealth,
which is a word I just made up, but you
get the point.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
And knowing that.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
You actually practice what you preach but stand for and
you've been where we have been, is a testament to it.
And you're again you are a proponent of having both
like having health and healing and wholeness, but also having goals. Right,
So that being said, just kind of you know, bring
us through, you know, to now like who are you,
what do you stand for?
Speaker 4 (16:49):
What do you believe in?
Speaker 3 (16:49):
And what are the philosophies that you kind of practice
in your in your personal life with your own body journey,
but then also what you are imparting with with your clients.
And then you have a team of coaches that also
you influence and teach as well.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
Absolutely so I think for me, like in my journey,
the only reason that I got to the point where
I decided like something needs to change was I was miserable.
I was really struggling with anxiety. I was really struggling
with the depression. And I remember getting to this lowlow
point in my life where I was like, you know,
(17:22):
what is my purpose? Why am I here? And it
led me down this wonderful spiritual journey.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
I grew up.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
Raised agnostic, so no religion, and that was just the
most beautiful experience for me, kind of finding my people
and realizing that there is so much more to life
than me, you know, it extended so much beyond ourselves.
So I think I know for me that I really
found so much love and peace and happiness in being
(17:51):
able to mentor and coach others and especially women. And
I think once I started on my own journey of
healing and seeing that there's this beauty, beautiful place on
the other side that exists where you can have balance,
you can enjoy food, you can enjoy you know, cell
obrating and having some drinks and fun with your friends,
(18:13):
but also still respect and value your body and respect
and value health. And I think as soon as my
mindset shifted away from this idea that my health was
my physical appearance and that I started to incorporate health.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
As more than just my body.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
It was my mindset that was really when things started
to improve in my life, and I found myself becoming
happier and happier and happier. But it did not go
perfectly linear. I can tell you now you do a
lot of backward steps. You feel at times like you've regressed,
But you know, I think now I can hold space
(18:51):
for sitting in a place of stagnance and realizing that
that is okay. You learn to accept your body. You
don't have to love it all the time, and I think,
you know, that is something that I want to be
able to share and help with all of our clients.
So what I do now is I actually have an
all female coaching team. We really look at this from
(19:14):
an allied health perspective. So at the moment, we have chiropractice,
we have physical therapists, we have mental therapy counselors, we
have nutrition exercise scientists, so we have got all these
facets of science and we're looking to extend into concierge
medicine and hormonal therapies to really kind of make this
approach to women's health a holistic one, because you can't
(19:38):
live a healthy, balanced life if you are ignoring your mindset.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
If you're ignoring your.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Mental health, you cannot live a healthy balanced life. If
you're ignoring your hormonal health, your endocrine system. You're not
living a healthy balanced life if you are following a
training program that has absolutely no chance in serving the.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
Needs that it's supposed to do.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
So we're really trying to bring to together all of
these different sciences to make sure that you are, you know,
moving in a positive direction, but taking care of your
like your soul, you know, like we need to be
able to do these things and be happy. You know,
we have family, we have kids, we have careers, we
have relationships that we need to be able to nurture.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
And I know that.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
You know, in my old mindset as a professional, you know,
physique athlete, I absolutely ignored every single other important domain
and value in my life.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
The only thing that ever.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
Rose true really was my physique and training in my diet.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
That was all I ever thought about.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
And it consumed me, and that was a miserable existence.
So we I really had to step outside of that,
think bigger picture and work on, Okay, what can I
do to achieve you know, happiness and find a new
balance for me. And I realized over a very long
number of years that it's going to change. It will
(20:57):
probably never be exactly the same, you know, for hereon
and to the rest of my life, and it's so
important to be I wble to pivot and shift and adapt,
but then also apply some science to kind of get
a little bit ahead in that regd because there was
also a lot of bad information when it comes to
nutrition and exercise.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
So that's kind.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
Of what we are doing over here with my team.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
I love it and we're going to talk about a
little bit of the dream world of that, but real quickly,
can you just kind of share this distinction because there is,
like you said, there is so much bad information out there.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
There's so many things.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
I can't even tell you how many people are like, Oh,
I read this article on yahoo dot com and it
said this, and it said, you know, science backed, and
I'm like, I go look at it and there's like
a case study of three people in you know, Anchorage,
Alaska or something, you know what I mean, and they're
in a bubble of broccoli and grilled chicken. You know.
But so this concept, one of the things that really,
you know, attracted me to your thought processes amongst everything
(21:53):
else that you said, was this idea of evidence based.
Can you just share a little bit about like the
lens that you see things through, because I know, if
it's not evidence base, you're not you're not going to
promote it, you're not going to talk about it. So
can you just share a little bit about what that
evidence based world is so that people know what to
look for what around like the truth from the fiction
kind of type lens. Can you just share a little
(22:19):
bit about what that evidence based world is so that
people know what to look for, what around like the
truth from the fiction kind of type lens.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
Yeah, absolutely, so, I think most importantly, you know, if
you're somebody that's looking for a coach or you're trying
to find good information, there's definitely a hierarchy, you know,
when it comes to sourcing that information. And obviously all
of us we go to Google, we type in what
we want to find out, and we kind of read
the first couple of things that pop up. But that's
not always referenced or written with an evidence based approach.
(22:47):
And I guess what I mean by that, And we'll
speak about this in practical terms. An evidence based approach
or best practices come from the lab setting. So we're
going into you know, a laboratory where we've got you know,
randomized control trials being conducted.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
We've got large numbers of participants.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
We have you know, placebos, we have controls, we have
a cohor of information that can come out of these
studies that kind of conclude or give us conclusive information.
There are so many subjects that at least I am
interested in that still to this day, I still at
their infancy. When it comes to the information that we're
learning because they're relativity to concepts, particularly something like reverse dieting,
(23:29):
which I know you and I are going to touch
on maybe in some future episodes, but you know that
concept and how it can help with improving your metabolism
and recovering your metabolic health. You know, that is still
such a nuanced area of research that we can't draw
strong conclusions. But a good practitioner, if they are writing
and sharing information, they should be referencing where they're getting
(23:52):
that information from. You know, is it coming from a
scientific journal, What kind of quality evidence are we talking?
So I think that's kind of what I marry when
I talk about evidence based.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Yeah, And I just wanted to mention that because I
think when we're talking about having a disordered relationship with food,
we'll find evidence for whatever we're looking for, you know.
So if we're carb phobic, we'll find evidence that carbs
are air quotes bad. If we're calorie phobic, we'll find
you know that restricted calorie whatever.
Speaker 4 (24:17):
Is the way to go.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
So I just wanted everyone to be mindful of, you know,
what is true evidence based and where the biases are,
you know. And that being said, we are going to
give you all a sneak peek at what we're going
to be talking about in the next couple of weeks
with Holly. But before we do that, I'd love to
just kind of, you know, get into our dream world
for a minute, because I know, I shared last last
week's episode how I was entrenched in the fitness industry.
Speaker 4 (24:39):
It's been many many moons.
Speaker 3 (24:41):
Since then, and you're still You're still in it, you know,
but obviously you are. You're paving the way for, in
my opinion, the next generation of true wholeness and health
and that three dimensional health. So that being said, like
you know, if for anybody who is listening and they're
looking at you know, one of the big things I
kind of air quotes preach about is like redefining your
(25:01):
definition of health because I learned that health equals eat less,
move more and harder, faster more, and that skinny was healthy,
and that like, honestly, a lot of those things drove
me towards the opposite of health. So when we're talking
about you know, marrying, you know, like you said, these
allied forces right that you have of of bridging the gap.
You know, I used to say that I wish that
you know, physical therapy, fitness and occupational therapy had a baby,
(25:25):
because occupational therapy really helped me with a lot of
my you know, dysfunction physiologically after my surgery. But that
being said, like if we could just kind of paint
a picture for this dream world of the of this
health kind of bubble that we invite people to live in,
Like what would that what would some of the components
be for you if you were to just kind of
put your your secret sauce together.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
Well, obviously my area of expertise is in nutrition and
exercise science, and those two things together can be very
powerful tools. But I think the piece that's missing there,
and we're still missing this in a lot of the
research is the psychology component. You know, the newer plasticity
of the brain. You know about learning how to change
behavior is because you can have all the knowledge in
(26:06):
the world, and at this point, I can say I
know a lot about nutrition, and I know a lot
about exercise science, so I can put together a wonderful program.
But here's the thing. If I don't have the capacity
from a neurological standpoint, from a psychological standpoint, I may
not be able to implement what I'm telling somebody to do,
nor myself.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
So there is.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
Such an important part there on working on your mindset,
that self development route for you to succeed and really
step into your best version of yourself. So if it
was a perfect you know, combination of I guess services
that would help women I think step into their best selves,
it would have to include those three things as like
(26:47):
an underlying like foundational.
Speaker 3 (26:50):
Input absolutely, and even just to stack on what you
said about the nutrition and the exercise science piece of
it being a tool. We did an episode a few
weeks to go on out way about like are you
using things as a tool or have they become a weapon.
And that's the thing, like I don't want anybody to
dog this idea of like getting really educated in nutrition
and exercise science. You know, it's not those things that
(27:12):
are air quotes bad or wrong or create disorder. It's
our thoughts and our relationship to them. You know, are
we using them as a tool or are we using
them as a weapon? And so I love it's one
of my favorite things about you is you actually kind
of reintroduce me to these things of how I can
use them as a tool to really empower myself.
Speaker 4 (27:27):
But again, it had to take place after I healed
from the disorder.
Speaker 3 (27:31):
And that's one thing I really want to emphasize to
anyone listening, is like, all of these things are fine
and dandy in the kind of understanding that you've gone
and healed your relationship with food in your body so that.
Speaker 4 (27:41):
You can go use them as a tool. So I
love that you said that. Sorry, where you've got to
say something else, I.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
Was just going to say, I think they can exist together.
I know a lot of the work that we're doing
without clients. Number one, I've recognized that things need to
change for them. They're not happy, you know, they're feeling,
they're struggling. Their relationship with food is extremely disordered, and
they don't want to be that way. But they're also
stuck in this mindset. So what we're really trying to
do is pair those teachings together. So I'm going to
(28:09):
give you some information and education, but we're not going
to use this as a weapon like you se Leenne.
We're going to use this as a tool, and we
need to have flexibility. We need to be able to
know when an appropriate time is to call upon this resource.
Calorie cycling, you know, step cycling, anything like that, but
that has to be done, you know, within the context
(28:29):
of your current goals. And I think you know where
there's a big divide, particularly in the fitness industry, is
that it's just extreme. There's such dichotomous you know, mindsets
and beliefs. You know, we've got good, bad, black and white, healthy, unhealthy,
and it is a lot more gray than that I
can tell you now.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
So we're really trying to.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
Help people understand how these tools can be so incredibly effective.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
But we've also got to you know, we can't.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
Neglect our mind set, and we need to be able
to improve on how we feel about ourselves, because you know,
you can have all the leanness and all of the things,
whatever your goals might be, but you know that doesn't
change how you view yourself. And I think learning to
establish you know, your true sense of you know, worth
and your value as a person exists so much further
(29:21):
beyond your body. And I love I read a book
recently and one of our speakers an event that we
have coming up, doctor Lindsay and Lexi Kite. They have
the book called More Than a Body, And I just
love one of the quotes they say.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
In the book, you are not an ornament.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
And I don't know what that really struck us something
with me, but you know, I really started to think
about it.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
Wow, my body, I get.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
This one amazing vessel that's going to take me through
my entire life.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
I better start looking after it.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
And that doesn't just mean the work that they do
in the gym or the food that I'm putting in
my body. It's also my mind. So yeah, I think
a collaboration of all of.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
Those things are so important. Ah.
Speaker 3 (30:00):
I love this conversation so much. And yeah, and this
hopefully this gives you hope. If you're listening and you're
hearing some of the things that we're talking about and
you're like, hey, that is I'm not there right now,
It's okay, you don't have to be there. This is
really giving you that permission to know that there is
like life on the other side of the healing that
you're in. I know that we think that, you know,
sometimes we think we're the only one struggling with something,
or we think we're air quotes broken. But I'm telling you,
(30:21):
first of all, you're not. But also there is a
beautiful way to address health and approach health on the
other side of it, when you have this new way
of thinking, a new mindset. So super cool, cool conversation,
and just to kind of give you all a sneak
peak of what's coming in the next couple of weeks.
Next week, we're going to have Holly back and we're
going to talk about this concept of reversing and how
to really leverage the power of being knowledgeable and equipping
(30:45):
yourself with what you need to actually fuel your body,
but also using food to maybe heal metabolically.
Speaker 4 (30:52):
What's taken place. Maybe you've been one of those people.
Speaker 3 (30:55):
That's adapted to a very low amount of food and
you have fears of what's going to happen if you
start eating again, or I know for me, I was like,
oh my gosh, if I start eating again, I'm going
to gain all this weight. I'm going to feel out
of control. But there is a way to meet yourself
where you are, but again in an evidence based way,
and that's this concept of.
Speaker 4 (31:11):
Reversing that I learned.
Speaker 3 (31:13):
It's one of the reasons I saw about Holly because
I was she's pioneering this concept in the industry. So
we're going to talk about all of those things and
how to use it to really heal your relationship with food,
heal your relationship with your body, but also heal metabolically
maybe what's taken place. And then the following week we're
going to put a wrapper around all of this and
really bring the two things can be true at the
(31:33):
same time concept together, where we are going to talk
about practically what does it look like. Okay, now you've healed,
now you're looking forward and you want to take on
the next level of goal setting. How does that actually happen?
How do you do it while protecting the healing journey
that you've had and while keeping that mind, body, spirit,
soul freedom that you've created front and center. So thanks
(31:55):
for being here, Holly. Where can people find you? Where
can they follow you? Where can they learn more about you?
Speaker 1 (31:59):
So I'm going to send everybody to my Instagram page
at the moment, so it is Holly Tea Baxter. You
can also follow my coaching team, so that is Team
Holly Tea Baxter. All the ladies on there. As I
mentioned before, they have a breadth of different specialties. We're
constantly posting every day, evidence based content or free for
you guys to learn. So that is where you can
(32:22):
find me in all of our products and services.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
Amazing, well, we will put that in the show notes.
I'm over at stresslessding dot com. This is Leanne Ellington
signing out for this week of Outweigh and we will
see you next week.
Speaker 2 (32:34):
Bye bye
Hosts And Creators
Amy Brown
Leanne Ellington
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