August 30, 2024 • 30 mins
Welcome to another inspiring episode of "Get Your Happy Back" with your host Nina Lockwood. Today, we have a special guest, Natalia Garcia, a registered dietitian, nutritionist, and mindfulness-based eating awareness certified instructor. Natalia shares her remarkable journey from battling an eating disorder to becoming a beacon of wellness and self-love.
In this episode, Natalia opens up about her struggles as a teenager dealing with body image issues and depression. She recounts how her time in Germany led to a severe eating disorder, and the pivotal moment that turned her life around. Natalia's story is one of resilience and the power of self-awareness, choice, and love.
Join us as Natalia discusses the importance of loving your body, appreciating life's simple pleasures, and fostering positive emotions. Learn how self-awareness and mindful eating can transform your relationship with food and your overall well-being. This episode is a heartfelt reminder that we are more than our physical appearance and that true health encompasses mind, body, and soul.
Don't miss this enlightening conversation that goes beyond nutrition to explore the essence of living a fulfilling and joyful life.
Connect with Natalia here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalia-garcia-rd/
https://www.facebook.com/nata.delmoral/
https://www.instagram.com/food.and.health.coach/
microbiome test: https://mailchi.mp/fnwellness/microbiometest
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
This is Nina Lockwood. Welcome to Get Your Happy Back.
Stories and insights that will inspire you to find new sources of happiness in your own life.
Hello and welcome to Get Your Happy Back. And today we have another very special
guest. It's Natalia Garcia.
Hello and welcome, Natalia. Hi, Nina. Pleasure to be here. Thank you so much. Oh, my pleasure.
(00:24):
I'm going to tell you more about who Natalia is, but leave it mostly to her to describe.
She has a really extensive, amazing background.
She's a registered dietitian, nutritionist, functional nutrition practitioner.
She's a mindfulness-based eating awareness certified instructor,
and she's a certified sports nutritionist.
(00:46):
And her clients have such a broad range, whether they were patients or athletes
or physicians or colleagues.
She's has had, I think it's 10 episodes in a functional nutrition and wellness
lifestyle program that's on YouTube.
Tell us what's on your mind these days and a little bit about your backstory.
(01:10):
Thank you. Thank you for the lovely introduction. And, you know,
I think the backstory speaks a lot about where we are in this moment,
because most people when they see a dietitian or if they work with someone who
talks about health and they look in pretty good shape and I've been an athlete all my life.
(01:31):
I've been very healthy and therefore the meat suit looks a certain way.
And I always tell my clients and the world my story so that they know that we all have our struggles.
So what got me into the field was really struggling with that super taxing eating
disorder when I was 14 years years old.
(01:53):
Isn't that when we all want to fit in? Absolutely.
With the cool girls and the cool kids, right? So, you know, because of my chubby
appearance, that just wasn't happening for me. So I was kind of unhappy.
And that just reflects just maybe the level of maturity of a 14-year-old in awareness.
Long story short, I went to a German school in Mexico City. I am from Mexico.
(02:15):
It was kind of a tradition that your parents would send you to Germany.
Because I went to a German school and then they would get a kid back.
It was an exchange and it was for a full year. You didn't get back home until
the end of the year. And it was my turn.
But guess what? Guess what happened to every single kid that went when we were
between 14 and 16 years old to Germany and came back with their weight?
(02:40):
What do you think happened? I'm afraid to ask. Everybody came back with at least
anything from 15 to maybe 20 pounds overweight or 10 to 20 pounds overweight. Wow.
And what was that from? Was that lack of exercise or just a different eating style?
I mean, I think just like now, right? Almost everyone who went,
(03:02):
it was just lack of exercise because it was so, it's cold, really,
really cold, you know, and really, really dark.
So kind of difficult. And then, you know, when you're a teenage,
you know, that just exercise maybe is not something you prioritize unless you're
an athlete or somebody who's exercised their whole lives.
But I think the food, you know, like the bread, the butter, the cheese,
the chocolate, the chocolate in Germany, like that's some of the best high quality chocolate.
(03:28):
I told myself, I'm not going to be even chubbier than I'm already am.
And long story short, the weather had a lot to do with it. And that's why I'm
blessed to live in Florida.
I developed depression, unfortunately, which led me to develop an eating disorder,
disorder anorexia pretty much but it was because of the
state of depression and I was going
(03:48):
to school it was dark I was getting out of school it was dark and
my only way to get my happy guess what it was spinning do
you remember spinning the classes the spinning oh yes sure
so that was invented in Europe and I was in Germany where spinning was my happy
because I was so sad was getting into the spinning room and having like trance
(04:08):
music and just like everybody go yay And I would do two or three classes just because I just loved it.
I've always been an athlete and it just made me happy.
But it came to the point where with stress of school and just being out of your
environment, being 14 years old, I just kind of stopped eating.
And I was just really sad.
There's this one, there's no FaceTime, no nothing.
(04:29):
And my dad has always been a man who's always inspired me, one,
to be happy, to create your own happiness and that pretty much the world is
yours if you have the right mindset.
He said, honey, you can do it. And I'm like, dad, I'm at a point where I'm crying
because the flight goes by.
So something's really off. I'm your daughter and I'm the athlete and the go-getter
(04:49):
and do that. But something is just not right.
He's like, all right, honey, let's get you a break so that you can recharge
your batteries. Come to Mexico in December for Christmas and then you'll go back.
So guess what happened? when I arrived to Mexico City.
Well, I'm sure he was glad to see you, but I bet he was shocked.
Yes, I went from 154 pounds or so back in August of 1999 to about 83 pounds
(05:13):
in December of that same year. Oh, my word.
So yeah, I lost almost half of my body weight and it almost took my life.
It wasn't until I was hospitalized and it wasn't until my dad came one day.
He said, honey, I'm going to call a tailor. I'm like, perfect,
because nothing fits at 83 pounds.
She said, no, for your coffin. And I was like, oh my goodness.
(05:34):
But she had to say that, Nina, because if not, I wouldn't have woken up.
Oh my, what a way to wake up.
She tried everything, but it was choose to live, which is loving yourself,
or choose to die and continue to be unhappy, body in the mind,
in the heart, wherever it may be. So what did you do?
What was your turnaround like? Well, that was a big turnaround.
(05:56):
And I just had to go through recovery, just trusting myself with certain foods that I had developed,
you know, just some sort of, I didn't want to eat, but getting back home and
all the love from my parents and my animals and my really good friends from
high school, like they were all so supportive.
(06:17):
And I had a network of practitioners who helped me, but it
Pretty much took me seven years to say, okay, I'm going to take control of my
life because even though I'm a teenager.
I am conscious of my choices and I choose to craft a life not only of well-being
in my relationship with food and my body, but also in the way that I take care of myself,
(06:40):
but also my emotions and the heart and my thoughts.
That is so important and so amazing that you did that.
You took the proverbial bull by the horns and said, okay,
and whether it was the shock of your father mentioning a coffin of all things,
but that you were, something in you rose to the occasion and said,
(07:03):
no, I want to live. That's amazing.
And it was a seven-year journey? It was. And then it was to the point where,
you know, you have to decide what you want to do to go to school.
I just said, you know, I don't want people to go through what I've been through
emotionally, physically and mentally.
And that's why I decided to go to study nutrition. That helped me a lot to understand
(07:26):
human behavior, like how our thoughts impact our mind and then functional medicine
and becoming more certified in that.
Really, really, you are to help people at multidimensional levels, not just the physical.
We get into the mind, the body and the soul.
And just recently, it's been resonating with a lot of people about,
(07:47):
I tell them, I am a dietician.
I am not a magician. And I always tell them the one ingredient that must exist,
and if it doesn't exist, we need to cultivate.
Is that you love yourself with the food that loves you back,
and also that you love yourself enough to commit to habits of well-being.
(08:09):
Whether those habits are waking up and counting your blessings,
whether it is if there's some negative thoughts about how you look at yourself
in the mirror, just acknowledging the beauty of who you are,
because you're a beautiful human being.
I just feel that most people who I deal with, because a lot of people come to
(08:29):
me because of different conditions, you know, weight, autoimmune disease,
digestive issues, thyroid issues, pain, fatigue, you name it.
I think There's that, how do we say it, Nina?
Lack of seeing the beauty in the day-to-day lives.
And I think we all are being called to seeing the beauty of the world that we live in.
(08:50):
We can choose to live in a friendly universe or an unfriendly universe.
That's always my statement. That's so true. Can you talk a little bit about
what you mean by self-love?
A lot of people use that phrase, but in terms of helping people get healthy, what does that mean?
What does self-love mean to you? Loving your body, loving life, all of the above?
(09:14):
It really starts when it comes to my practice, loving your body and accepting
it for maybe what it is at the moment.
And also knowing that just the physical, it's not all that you are.
There's so much more to love, like not just the physical heart,
but the good emotions that your heart is capable of resonating out to your loved ones and the world.
(09:38):
And it's also loving life, the gifts in life. if there's something that I do
every day that helped me a lot to recover, is to really acknowledge and really
say statements that really resonate with me.
Like, I feel at ease or I feel joy and this makes me feel ease and joy and love.
(09:58):
Counting your blessings is so important to put ourselves in a state of gratitude
because when we're in a state of gratitude that we have a body and fingers to
to touch, to hold a hand, to chew.
And I say this because as a dietician and consultant in private practice,
I remember working at a nursing home and that was one of my first contracts.
And that was such a good experience because I saw day in and day out how people
(10:24):
in their maybe even 70s, 80s, 90s lost their ability not just to walk, but also to see, to chew,
and to just really be with it because they developed senile dementia.
That gave me a significant sense of appreciation
for life that I always try to cultivate myself and be the role model and also
(10:48):
tell everybody who I can cross paths with about how counting your blessings
can be such a lifesaver and how we can put us in a frequency of love and happiness and joy.
It's just how we can shift that. And working with that population.
What were your, in addition to gratitude and appreciation for life,
(11:12):
for someone who is incapacitated, they're older, they're weaker, they're not as active,
they probably lost a lot of their sense of taste and smell as they got older.
What did you do to help them rally, so to speak, to really be able to wake up
to what was possible for them?
(11:32):
Because they were already starting from a limited capacity. So what did you do?
What kinds of things did you do with them that were able to make them a little
more aware, a little more alive, a little able more to enjoy life?
I remember that people would just light up if they saw my smile.
And that's why I tell, you know, a smile just can mean more than a thousand words.
(11:53):
So always offering a smile was something that I saw in their eyes.
Spark up that light again that maybe
had been lost because of the state of incapacitation of where they were.
And then just sitting down and sometimes just touching their hand and then having
that human to human connection,
no matter the age, no matter the state of health, and just connecting to that
(12:18):
person's heart and just checking in and just how can I help you today?
How are you feeling today? How can I support you? And I feel that just feeling
cared for and being touched and seeing a smile that maybe vibrates something
that is maybe not tangible,
but that for them, they could maybe see it and maybe sense it.
(12:40):
It really made the day or at least that moment shift for even just for the moment
that I was able to visit with them. That is so important.
I'm sure you've heard or read or experienced the fact that there is a lot of
conversation now about the fact that people are lonely and people are isolated
and people People lack the opportunity to be touched in a healthy, loving way.
(13:04):
And that's almost an epidemic, especially after the pandemic.
It was don't touch another human being. Don't get too close.
Don't let them cough on you.
And now it's still a residue of that.
People are still recovering from that, but especially in an institution like.
Where people are already physically compromised, to have that human connection
(13:27):
that includes a loving touch is so powerful.
I'm wondering, did it inspire people to get more engaged with you,
with life, with whatever it was that they had available to them?
I think they did what they could with what they had available.
Like I wasn't there 24-7. I was only there a few days a week,
(13:49):
but I would be there and I would see their reality.
And so, you know, their CNAs, certified nurses assistants would go in and spend
some time with them or family members.
I remember making a big impact going in.
And unfortunately, there were cases where I saw that light, just them,
where they didn't get the talk or the touch.
(14:11):
And it was It's a little heartbreaking to see in that setting because other
than the medical responsibilities, sometimes there's no more of that attention
that in those settings can be provided.
So I do believe that it's an essential ingredient of health.
And that now in the world, I feel that whoever it is that we have in our lives,
(14:32):
whether it's a neighbor, whether it's a partner, whether it's a pet.
I mean, a pet is not the same as a human, but it's still love.
And it's still another being that maybe can hug you or not, but at least you will feel that love.
Oh, yes. Totally agree with you on that. What's on your heart now in terms of
your practice, what you want to include of, what you want to make people more aware of? A lot of it is
(14:58):
loving themselves. Well, first of all, because I'm a dietician and because a
lot of people go for the meat suit.
It's a physical body. It's a meat suit.
We're so much more than that. And I know you know that, and maybe some of the
listeners know that. We're multidimensional beings.
When it comes to the physical aspect of our human beingness,
(15:19):
I just tell them to love not just themselves with the foods that love them back,
but also to love just what the hands can do for them, you know,
that they can grab a cup, you know, or that they can, that they have legs to
walk to the ones that can,
because that way they start really cultivating that self-love, not based on an image,
(15:41):
but based on what the human body is,
you know, which is a, it's a vehicle where our whole being in this resides.
Go ahead. No, I'm with you on this. I think that the experience of our senses is so undervalued.
It's just we don't really even think about it, right?
A hot cup of tea or something cold.
(16:03):
We just take it for granted. There's this area of study called neuroaesthetic,
and it is the study of aesthetics on the brain, not just art or music,
but sensory experience, light, color, sound,
music, all of these things that are not about how we look.
And there is such a preoccupation about that.
(16:25):
Do I look young? Do I look too old? Am I too fat?
Am I too skinny? Am I too whatever you want to fill that in?
But to be able to put your attention off of your physical appearance.
I would think that that would be a challenge or even the sensations of your
physical body if you have functional disorders,
(16:46):
you know, migraines or gut issues, to be able to encourage people in the right
way to take care of their bodies in the way that their body is asking to be
taken care of, but also to,
as you're pointing out, to be more aware of what is it that we have? We have sunshine.
We have the smell of new mown grass. We have rainbows.
(17:09):
We have snuggling under a warm blanket on a cool evening.
So tell me a little bit about that, because I would think people who are really
struggling with their physical bodies might have some resistance.
I think you nailed it and you said it really well. is sometimes the resistance
to accept the simple things in life.
But sometimes that really makes a difference when I share with them.
(17:30):
I always ask them, what are five uplifting health giving habits that you have?
And I always focus on the positive and I try to build up on that.
So when we go through that list, I ask them, well, what would bring you more joy?
And then they start talking about, well, going outside and actually looking
at a blue sky and sometimes just taking care of myself and letting go of,
(17:54):
you know, maybe the do, do, do,
the go, go, go, and loving myself enough to just really prioritize my well-being.
And for some people, that is taking the time to just stop and smell the roses,
connect with loved ones, and maybe make food for themselves,
because making food is an act of self-love, as well as just making time to breathe
(18:19):
and acknowledge the beauty of life, like you mentioned, like sunshine,
nature, blue skies.
I always use this analogy, you know, that we compare to insects,
for example, and we are all human beings, but that we have the ability sometimes...
To communicate in a way that we can experience so much.
And just to acknowledge the beauty of being a human and all that that is,
(18:44):
instead of just the meat suit, the physical appearance, really care for those thoughts,
you know, that sometimes if not caught in the way I say this,
like if I ever experienced a thought that I know it's not conducive to my well-being.
I just put a stop sign and that's my way of doing it.
Just like a big stop sign is stop. And then I said, like, I choose to feel ease,
(19:07):
peace, love, and then really then write down how that feels for me.
And that puts me and has helped many other people to put themselves in a place
of gratitude and also just more love for not just themselves,
but for everybody who they can interact with or even at a more,
at a greater scale, you know, humanity.
(19:29):
Would you say that one of the keys to shifting your perspective in this way
is the element of self-awareness?
Yes, I think a lot of what I just said may not resonate to people who are not
maybe aware of all the beauty in life.
And yes, self-awareness, I am more certified in mindful eating and being and living aware.
(19:55):
Because without awareness, it's kind of tough to shift gears.
So listening to what your body's telling you after you eat a certain food is huge.
Well, a lot of my clients, I have them keep a food and symptoms journal where
they can track their symptoms, their emotions, their anything.
But also to track a lot of their emotions.
(20:18):
And how food makes them feel, and also just overall throughout the day to develop
that self-awareness about what is triggering anxiety,
to eat a certain way or to act a certain way.
And sometimes we will review the journal and say like, oh, you know,
this day I was able to take myself for a walk and I ate this and I had a pretty
(20:41):
good sleep and my mood was pretty stable.
So it's very tangible to bring self-awareness.
Sometimes it's just talking about self-awareness and also them realizing through
themselves by the choices that they make.
And that, I mean, I'll include myself on the boat too.
One of my favorite things to do is to meditate out in the ocean.
(21:03):
I'm blessed to live very close to the ocean.
And that is just very, when I look at the ocean, it's mesmerizing to me. Me too.
So it's just realizing how very little simple things, maybe not the ocean,
it can just be a picture that inspires
inspires you or that really touches you deeply or
(21:23):
a song a melody like you were
saying like music like anything that really touches your heart deeply and you
can it can shift the vibration of your heart into a more positive i feel that
it's so important and it just requires us to get out of our heads drop into
our hearts and take a breath find our light and shine our light.
(21:46):
Because at the end of the day, we are all lights. Oh, I love that.
I love that. What have you seen has been the biggest obstacle for people to become more aware?
Being in the head? Yeah, monkey mind.
Monkey mind, worrying, thinking about the future, being stuck in the past.
I think that's just so important. And, you know, when I work with all my clients,
(22:11):
it's like the whole person is not just eat this, not that.
I mean, some people decide to work at that level. But I tell them we can do all these things.
I think it's just really getting out of our heads and acknowledging,
again, thoughts that are conducive to well-being or not.
Another one would be journaling.
I think that is so, it can be a practice that is helpful.
(22:31):
Sometimes what helps me and what I share with a lot of people is to read books that have,
and you do this very lovely and I love, love, love, love following you on Facebook,
but there's always like something uplifting to read or something uplifting to listen.
I feel that's huge to develop that. Life is good.
(22:52):
Life is good even if I don't have it so good right now.
And maybe if I had it better 10 years ago when I was 10 years younger,
that doesn't change maybe who you really are at your core. Does that make sense?
It makes absolute sense. I think that what you're saying is so profound because
we do have that tendency, You know,
whether it's because our brains are hardwired for fear and danger so that we're
(23:16):
always on the alert at some level or that we have what they call a negativity
bias characteristic of evolution for human beings and then the state of the world today,
which is pretty wild and crazy.
To be able to make that choice. So what I'm hearing you say,
self-awareness and choice are really important additions to the food you put in your body.
(23:40):
It's not just the food, it's the thoughts, it's the feelings that you entertain or don't entertain.
The situations as well, you know, when I talk about self-awareness in relationship
with food and triggers, it's like, okay, like out of the emotional situational thoughts,
like, and I have a list of emotions and they say, okay, this makes me want to eat.
(24:03):
And they also grow bored or anxious or depressed or procrastination or stress.
Or sometimes it's a thought, oh, I deserve it.
Or it'll be, I need this. I need this ice cream right now. Right. Or I need a break.
There's no wrong or right. I really try to stay out of polarity because that
(24:24):
polarity is not conducive to well-being overall.
It's mostly the awareness. And I always tell them, observe yourself and how
you act and how you respond to food and your actions as if you were a spider
that is hanging on the wall and is looking at yourself.
And you are the spider. You're not judging your behavior.
(24:46):
You're just being the observer of maybe how much soda you drink,
of how much coffee you have,
sugar alcohol and the why
you know like oh if we don't get to the why to the
bottom of line you know which in functional medicine i would
call the root cause that's why when people come to me
and tell me i want a meal plan i'm like that's great but that's only gonna get
(25:09):
you so far and we can get this far if we look at the whole beingness but it
is a lot of non-judgmental perspective really just removing any judgment and
just becoming aware of what are triggers of certain thoughts,
certain emotions, and then thinking, how can I respond differently?
(25:29):
If I'm feeling bored or if I'm feeling stressed, if I have any certain feeling
that I know is making me grab for something that I know it's not what I need,
I always ask them. We all have maybe certain needs.
And sometimes strong emotions can be certain needs not being met.
Maybe, you know, like physical touch.
Sometimes the self-awareness of that is not there. And then just tell them to
(25:51):
acknowledge the need that maybe people need to be recharged. They need distraction.
Maybe they need to connect. neck. Maybe they need love. Maybe they need a break.
And then how and when can they meet that need in a way that they know that their
action will leave them feeling quite satisfied at all levels,
(26:14):
not just at a physical level, oh, I ate it, I'm satisfied.
Also in the heart, positive emotion that lasts for a while, because the more
we are in that positive emotion state, the more of that positive emotion stays with us.
And then the more we are positive emotions for anyone that surrounds us and
to really just acknowledge and observe again.
(26:38):
And it's always, we're always learning. We're always growing.
So that's just a little step that I do with my clients when it comes to eating. Not so little.
So probably a game changer for a lot of people who are willing to take that step.
And we all need to look at our behaviors. I think we're all being asked to look
at how we live our lives, what is serving us throughout all our lives, you know, foods.
(27:04):
Environments, relationships with food, with people, just being asked to love
ourselves enough to make the right choice, even if it's something that maybe
we're not very comfortable with, right?
Maybe, and this happens a lot with clients with foods, like,
oh, but I always, I love cheese, for example, and what choice can you make that
you know can serve you back in the way that you want to feel,
(27:27):
not just for a moment, but for the whole day. I love it.
I love it. I think that is the, we need special reminders, I think,
to remember to do that, because we get so caught up in our to-do list,
taking care of someone else, people get burned out and overextended.
And to have those moments where we can come back to ourselves,
(27:48):
as you're saying, come back to what's important, what's meaningful,
what feeds us on all levels is so necessary.
And I'm so glad that you shared that with us today. Yeah. You know,
sometimes we think, well, what's meaningful?
It's meaningful, but at a very surface level.
But sometimes that is not really what we need, but it's what we've been doing or what we're used to.
(28:11):
And it's just stepping out of that comfort zone and not really listening to
ourselves, listening to our hearts. No, I'm not talking about the mushy heart
or some people feel like, oh, the heart is mushy.
Sometimes when we're in our minds, we're ruled by fear, all these thoughts that don't serve us.
I really feel that when we drop, like I said, I think you love this quote,
(28:32):
but when we drop into our hearts and when we can take that breath to make room
to just be and then become aware of what it is that we really need and what
would really nourish us,
then we can And really be that light and give ourselves what we need.
And knowing that light is a game changer.
(28:53):
And if we're light, then love, our love can be the checkmate. That's great.
So self-awareness, choice, those two things, especially self-awareness and choice and love.
Love, of course, we all are love.
I just sometimes we forget it or just don't see it as we just feel that we feel
(29:15):
love, that love is, you know, maybe kissing or living a relationship.
But no, we all are love and we can all extend that to ourselves and others.
But I guess it requires to see yourself in that way. Yeah, absolutely.
Well, I love what you've been sharing today. So thank you so much.
(29:35):
And before we say goodbye for now, just tell people where they can find you
because you have such a wealth of knowledge and experience that I'm sure people
would like to get in touch with you.
Thank you so much. My website is F as a Fernando and as a Natalia,
and then the word wellness.com.
(29:56):
You can also find me on Facebook, which is N-A-T-A dot D-E-L moral, M-O-R-A-L, Instagram.
But honestly, the website is the easier because the website FNwellness.com leads
you to my YouTube and to just all these channels where you will see me hopefully
(30:16):
shine my light and And that goes beyond food.
It really goes beyond. Way beyond.
But with the food, because that's, I think, what's maybe more tangible.
But my hope and for everybody that's listening is to just know that we are so
much more than the physical.
Yeah, such a good thing to remember. Well, thank you so much again.
(30:37):
And thank you, everyone who is either listening or watching.
We appreciate you being here and we will see you on the next episode. Bye for now.
Music.
This is Nina Lockwood. Welcome to Get Your Happy Back.
Stories and insights that will inspire you to find new sources of happiness in your own life.
Hello and welcome to Get Your Happy Back. And today we have another very special
guest. It's Natalia Garcia.
Hello and welcome, Natalia. Hi, Nina. Pleasure to be here. Thank you so much. Oh, my pleasure.
(00:24):
I'm going to tell you more about who Natalia is, but leave it mostly to her to describe.
She has a really extensive, amazing background.
She's a registered dietitian, nutritionist, functional nutrition practitioner.
She's a mindfulness-based eating awareness certified instructor,
and she's a certified sports nutritionist.
(00:46):
And her clients have such a broad range, whether they were patients or athletes
or physicians or colleagues.
She's has had, I think it's 10 episodes in a functional nutrition and wellness
lifestyle program that's on YouTube.
Tell us what's on your mind these days and a little bit about your backstory.
(01:10):
Thank you. Thank you for the lovely introduction. And, you know,
I think the backstory speaks a lot about where we are in this moment,
because most people when they see a dietitian or if they work with someone who
talks about health and they look in pretty good shape and I've been an athlete all my life.
(01:31):
I've been very healthy and therefore the meat suit looks a certain way.
And I always tell my clients and the world my story so that they know that we all have our struggles.
So what got me into the field was really struggling with that super taxing eating
disorder when I was 14 years years old.
(01:53):
Isn't that when we all want to fit in? Absolutely.
With the cool girls and the cool kids, right? So, you know, because of my chubby
appearance, that just wasn't happening for me. So I was kind of unhappy.
And that just reflects just maybe the level of maturity of a 14-year-old in awareness.
Long story short, I went to a German school in Mexico City. I am from Mexico.
(02:15):
It was kind of a tradition that your parents would send you to Germany.
Because I went to a German school and then they would get a kid back.
It was an exchange and it was for a full year. You didn't get back home until
the end of the year. And it was my turn.
But guess what? Guess what happened to every single kid that went when we were
between 14 and 16 years old to Germany and came back with their weight?
(02:40):
What do you think happened? I'm afraid to ask. Everybody came back with at least
anything from 15 to maybe 20 pounds overweight or 10 to 20 pounds overweight. Wow.
And what was that from? Was that lack of exercise or just a different eating style?
I mean, I think just like now, right? Almost everyone who went,
(03:02):
it was just lack of exercise because it was so, it's cold, really,
really cold, you know, and really, really dark.
So kind of difficult. And then, you know, when you're a teenage,
you know, that just exercise maybe is not something you prioritize unless you're
an athlete or somebody who's exercised their whole lives.
But I think the food, you know, like the bread, the butter, the cheese,
the chocolate, the chocolate in Germany, like that's some of the best high quality chocolate.
(03:28):
I told myself, I'm not going to be even chubbier than I'm already am.
And long story short, the weather had a lot to do with it. And that's why I'm
blessed to live in Florida.
I developed depression, unfortunately, which led me to develop an eating disorder,
disorder anorexia pretty much but it was because of the
state of depression and I was going
(03:48):
to school it was dark I was getting out of school it was dark and
my only way to get my happy guess what it was spinning do
you remember spinning the classes the spinning oh yes sure
so that was invented in Europe and I was in Germany where spinning was my happy
because I was so sad was getting into the spinning room and having like trance
(04:08):
music and just like everybody go yay And I would do two or three classes just because I just loved it.
I've always been an athlete and it just made me happy.
But it came to the point where with stress of school and just being out of your
environment, being 14 years old, I just kind of stopped eating.
And I was just really sad.
There's this one, there's no FaceTime, no nothing.
(04:29):
And my dad has always been a man who's always inspired me, one,
to be happy, to create your own happiness and that pretty much the world is
yours if you have the right mindset.
He said, honey, you can do it. And I'm like, dad, I'm at a point where I'm crying
because the flight goes by.
So something's really off. I'm your daughter and I'm the athlete and the go-getter
(04:49):
and do that. But something is just not right.
He's like, all right, honey, let's get you a break so that you can recharge
your batteries. Come to Mexico in December for Christmas and then you'll go back.
So guess what happened? when I arrived to Mexico City.
Well, I'm sure he was glad to see you, but I bet he was shocked.
Yes, I went from 154 pounds or so back in August of 1999 to about 83 pounds
(05:13):
in December of that same year. Oh, my word.
So yeah, I lost almost half of my body weight and it almost took my life.
It wasn't until I was hospitalized and it wasn't until my dad came one day.
He said, honey, I'm going to call a tailor. I'm like, perfect,
because nothing fits at 83 pounds.
She said, no, for your coffin. And I was like, oh my goodness.
(05:34):
But she had to say that, Nina, because if not, I wouldn't have woken up.
Oh my, what a way to wake up.
She tried everything, but it was choose to live, which is loving yourself,
or choose to die and continue to be unhappy, body in the mind,
in the heart, wherever it may be. So what did you do?
What was your turnaround like? Well, that was a big turnaround.
(05:56):
And I just had to go through recovery, just trusting myself with certain foods that I had developed,
you know, just some sort of, I didn't want to eat, but getting back home and
all the love from my parents and my animals and my really good friends from
high school, like they were all so supportive.
(06:17):
And I had a network of practitioners who helped me, but it
Pretty much took me seven years to say, okay, I'm going to take control of my
life because even though I'm a teenager.
I am conscious of my choices and I choose to craft a life not only of well-being
in my relationship with food and my body, but also in the way that I take care of myself,
(06:40):
but also my emotions and the heart and my thoughts.
That is so important and so amazing that you did that.
You took the proverbial bull by the horns and said, okay,
and whether it was the shock of your father mentioning a coffin of all things,
but that you were, something in you rose to the occasion and said,
(07:03):
no, I want to live. That's amazing.
And it was a seven-year journey? It was. And then it was to the point where,
you know, you have to decide what you want to do to go to school.
I just said, you know, I don't want people to go through what I've been through
emotionally, physically and mentally.
And that's why I decided to go to study nutrition. That helped me a lot to understand
(07:26):
human behavior, like how our thoughts impact our mind and then functional medicine
and becoming more certified in that.
Really, really, you are to help people at multidimensional levels, not just the physical.
We get into the mind, the body and the soul.
And just recently, it's been resonating with a lot of people about,
(07:47):
I tell them, I am a dietician.
I am not a magician. And I always tell them the one ingredient that must exist,
and if it doesn't exist, we need to cultivate.
Is that you love yourself with the food that loves you back,
and also that you love yourself enough to commit to habits of well-being.
(08:09):
Whether those habits are waking up and counting your blessings,
whether it is if there's some negative thoughts about how you look at yourself
in the mirror, just acknowledging the beauty of who you are,
because you're a beautiful human being.
I just feel that most people who I deal with, because a lot of people come to
(08:29):
me because of different conditions, you know, weight, autoimmune disease,
digestive issues, thyroid issues, pain, fatigue, you name it.
I think There's that, how do we say it, Nina?
Lack of seeing the beauty in the day-to-day lives.
And I think we all are being called to seeing the beauty of the world that we live in.
(08:50):
We can choose to live in a friendly universe or an unfriendly universe.
That's always my statement. That's so true. Can you talk a little bit about
what you mean by self-love?
A lot of people use that phrase, but in terms of helping people get healthy, what does that mean?
What does self-love mean to you? Loving your body, loving life, all of the above?
(09:14):
It really starts when it comes to my practice, loving your body and accepting
it for maybe what it is at the moment.
And also knowing that just the physical, it's not all that you are.
There's so much more to love, like not just the physical heart,
but the good emotions that your heart is capable of resonating out to your loved ones and the world.
(09:38):
And it's also loving life, the gifts in life. if there's something that I do
every day that helped me a lot to recover, is to really acknowledge and really
say statements that really resonate with me.
Like, I feel at ease or I feel joy and this makes me feel ease and joy and love.
(09:58):
Counting your blessings is so important to put ourselves in a state of gratitude
because when we're in a state of gratitude that we have a body and fingers to
to touch, to hold a hand, to chew.
And I say this because as a dietician and consultant in private practice,
I remember working at a nursing home and that was one of my first contracts.
And that was such a good experience because I saw day in and day out how people
(10:24):
in their maybe even 70s, 80s, 90s lost their ability not just to walk, but also to see, to chew,
and to just really be with it because they developed senile dementia.
That gave me a significant sense of appreciation
for life that I always try to cultivate myself and be the role model and also
(10:48):
tell everybody who I can cross paths with about how counting your blessings
can be such a lifesaver and how we can put us in a frequency of love and happiness and joy.
It's just how we can shift that. And working with that population.
What were your, in addition to gratitude and appreciation for life,
(11:12):
for someone who is incapacitated, they're older, they're weaker, they're not as active,
they probably lost a lot of their sense of taste and smell as they got older.
What did you do to help them rally, so to speak, to really be able to wake up
to what was possible for them?
(11:32):
Because they were already starting from a limited capacity. So what did you do?
What kinds of things did you do with them that were able to make them a little
more aware, a little more alive, a little able more to enjoy life?
I remember that people would just light up if they saw my smile.
And that's why I tell, you know, a smile just can mean more than a thousand words.
(11:53):
So always offering a smile was something that I saw in their eyes.
Spark up that light again that maybe
had been lost because of the state of incapacitation of where they were.
And then just sitting down and sometimes just touching their hand and then having
that human to human connection,
no matter the age, no matter the state of health, and just connecting to that
(12:18):
person's heart and just checking in and just how can I help you today?
How are you feeling today? How can I support you? And I feel that just feeling
cared for and being touched and seeing a smile that maybe vibrates something
that is maybe not tangible,
but that for them, they could maybe see it and maybe sense it.
(12:40):
It really made the day or at least that moment shift for even just for the moment
that I was able to visit with them. That is so important.
I'm sure you've heard or read or experienced the fact that there is a lot of
conversation now about the fact that people are lonely and people are isolated
and people People lack the opportunity to be touched in a healthy, loving way.
(13:04):
And that's almost an epidemic, especially after the pandemic.
It was don't touch another human being. Don't get too close.
Don't let them cough on you.
And now it's still a residue of that.
People are still recovering from that, but especially in an institution like.
Where people are already physically compromised, to have that human connection
(13:27):
that includes a loving touch is so powerful.
I'm wondering, did it inspire people to get more engaged with you,
with life, with whatever it was that they had available to them?
I think they did what they could with what they had available.
Like I wasn't there 24-7. I was only there a few days a week,
(13:49):
but I would be there and I would see their reality.
And so, you know, their CNAs, certified nurses assistants would go in and spend
some time with them or family members.
I remember making a big impact going in.
And unfortunately, there were cases where I saw that light, just them,
where they didn't get the talk or the touch.
(14:11):
And it was It's a little heartbreaking to see in that setting because other
than the medical responsibilities, sometimes there's no more of that attention
that in those settings can be provided.
So I do believe that it's an essential ingredient of health.
And that now in the world, I feel that whoever it is that we have in our lives,
(14:32):
whether it's a neighbor, whether it's a partner, whether it's a pet.
I mean, a pet is not the same as a human, but it's still love.
And it's still another being that maybe can hug you or not, but at least you will feel that love.
Oh, yes. Totally agree with you on that. What's on your heart now in terms of
your practice, what you want to include of, what you want to make people more aware of? A lot of it is
(14:58):
loving themselves. Well, first of all, because I'm a dietician and because a
lot of people go for the meat suit.
It's a physical body. It's a meat suit.
We're so much more than that. And I know you know that, and maybe some of the
listeners know that. We're multidimensional beings.
When it comes to the physical aspect of our human beingness,
(15:19):
I just tell them to love not just themselves with the foods that love them back,
but also to love just what the hands can do for them, you know,
that they can grab a cup, you know, or that they can, that they have legs to
walk to the ones that can,
because that way they start really cultivating that self-love, not based on an image,
(15:41):
but based on what the human body is,
you know, which is a, it's a vehicle where our whole being in this resides.
Go ahead. No, I'm with you on this. I think that the experience of our senses is so undervalued.
It's just we don't really even think about it, right?
A hot cup of tea or something cold.
(16:03):
We just take it for granted. There's this area of study called neuroaesthetic,
and it is the study of aesthetics on the brain, not just art or music,
but sensory experience, light, color, sound,
music, all of these things that are not about how we look.
And there is such a preoccupation about that.
(16:25):
Do I look young? Do I look too old? Am I too fat?
Am I too skinny? Am I too whatever you want to fill that in?
But to be able to put your attention off of your physical appearance.
I would think that that would be a challenge or even the sensations of your
physical body if you have functional disorders,
(16:46):
you know, migraines or gut issues, to be able to encourage people in the right
way to take care of their bodies in the way that their body is asking to be
taken care of, but also to,
as you're pointing out, to be more aware of what is it that we have? We have sunshine.
We have the smell of new mown grass. We have rainbows.
(17:09):
We have snuggling under a warm blanket on a cool evening.
So tell me a little bit about that, because I would think people who are really
struggling with their physical bodies might have some resistance.
I think you nailed it and you said it really well. is sometimes the resistance
to accept the simple things in life.
But sometimes that really makes a difference when I share with them.
(17:30):
I always ask them, what are five uplifting health giving habits that you have?
And I always focus on the positive and I try to build up on that.
So when we go through that list, I ask them, well, what would bring you more joy?
And then they start talking about, well, going outside and actually looking
at a blue sky and sometimes just taking care of myself and letting go of,
(17:54):
you know, maybe the do, do, do,
the go, go, go, and loving myself enough to just really prioritize my well-being.
And for some people, that is taking the time to just stop and smell the roses,
connect with loved ones, and maybe make food for themselves,
because making food is an act of self-love, as well as just making time to breathe
(18:19):
and acknowledge the beauty of life, like you mentioned, like sunshine,
nature, blue skies.
I always use this analogy, you know, that we compare to insects,
for example, and we are all human beings, but that we have the ability sometimes...
To communicate in a way that we can experience so much.
And just to acknowledge the beauty of being a human and all that that is,
(18:44):
instead of just the meat suit, the physical appearance, really care for those thoughts,
you know, that sometimes if not caught in the way I say this,
like if I ever experienced a thought that I know it's not conducive to my well-being.
I just put a stop sign and that's my way of doing it.
Just like a big stop sign is stop. And then I said, like, I choose to feel ease,
(19:07):
peace, love, and then really then write down how that feels for me.
And that puts me and has helped many other people to put themselves in a place
of gratitude and also just more love for not just themselves,
but for everybody who they can interact with or even at a more,
at a greater scale, you know, humanity.
(19:29):
Would you say that one of the keys to shifting your perspective in this way
is the element of self-awareness?
Yes, I think a lot of what I just said may not resonate to people who are not
maybe aware of all the beauty in life.
And yes, self-awareness, I am more certified in mindful eating and being and living aware.
(19:55):
Because without awareness, it's kind of tough to shift gears.
So listening to what your body's telling you after you eat a certain food is huge.
Well, a lot of my clients, I have them keep a food and symptoms journal where
they can track their symptoms, their emotions, their anything.
But also to track a lot of their emotions.
(20:18):
And how food makes them feel, and also just overall throughout the day to develop
that self-awareness about what is triggering anxiety,
to eat a certain way or to act a certain way.
And sometimes we will review the journal and say like, oh, you know,
this day I was able to take myself for a walk and I ate this and I had a pretty
(20:41):
good sleep and my mood was pretty stable.
So it's very tangible to bring self-awareness.
Sometimes it's just talking about self-awareness and also them realizing through
themselves by the choices that they make.
And that, I mean, I'll include myself on the boat too.
One of my favorite things to do is to meditate out in the ocean.
(21:03):
I'm blessed to live very close to the ocean.
And that is just very, when I look at the ocean, it's mesmerizing to me. Me too.
So it's just realizing how very little simple things, maybe not the ocean,
it can just be a picture that inspires
inspires you or that really touches you deeply or
(21:23):
a song a melody like you were
saying like music like anything that really touches your heart deeply and you
can it can shift the vibration of your heart into a more positive i feel that
it's so important and it just requires us to get out of our heads drop into
our hearts and take a breath find our light and shine our light.
(21:46):
Because at the end of the day, we are all lights. Oh, I love that.
I love that. What have you seen has been the biggest obstacle for people to become more aware?
Being in the head? Yeah, monkey mind.
Monkey mind, worrying, thinking about the future, being stuck in the past.
I think that's just so important. And, you know, when I work with all my clients,
(22:11):
it's like the whole person is not just eat this, not that.
I mean, some people decide to work at that level. But I tell them we can do all these things.
I think it's just really getting out of our heads and acknowledging,
again, thoughts that are conducive to well-being or not.
Another one would be journaling.
I think that is so, it can be a practice that is helpful.
(22:31):
Sometimes what helps me and what I share with a lot of people is to read books that have,
and you do this very lovely and I love, love, love, love following you on Facebook,
but there's always like something uplifting to read or something uplifting to listen.
I feel that's huge to develop that. Life is good.
(22:52):
Life is good even if I don't have it so good right now.
And maybe if I had it better 10 years ago when I was 10 years younger,
that doesn't change maybe who you really are at your core. Does that make sense?
It makes absolute sense. I think that what you're saying is so profound because
we do have that tendency, You know,
whether it's because our brains are hardwired for fear and danger so that we're
(23:16):
always on the alert at some level or that we have what they call a negativity
bias characteristic of evolution for human beings and then the state of the world today,
which is pretty wild and crazy.
To be able to make that choice. So what I'm hearing you say,
self-awareness and choice are really important additions to the food you put in your body.
(23:40):
It's not just the food, it's the thoughts, it's the feelings that you entertain or don't entertain.
The situations as well, you know, when I talk about self-awareness in relationship
with food and triggers, it's like, okay, like out of the emotional situational thoughts,
like, and I have a list of emotions and they say, okay, this makes me want to eat.
(24:03):
And they also grow bored or anxious or depressed or procrastination or stress.
Or sometimes it's a thought, oh, I deserve it.
Or it'll be, I need this. I need this ice cream right now. Right. Or I need a break.
There's no wrong or right. I really try to stay out of polarity because that
(24:24):
polarity is not conducive to well-being overall.
It's mostly the awareness. And I always tell them, observe yourself and how
you act and how you respond to food and your actions as if you were a spider
that is hanging on the wall and is looking at yourself.
And you are the spider. You're not judging your behavior.
(24:46):
You're just being the observer of maybe how much soda you drink,
of how much coffee you have,
sugar alcohol and the why
you know like oh if we don't get to the why to the
bottom of line you know which in functional medicine i would
call the root cause that's why when people come to me
and tell me i want a meal plan i'm like that's great but that's only gonna get
(25:09):
you so far and we can get this far if we look at the whole beingness but it
is a lot of non-judgmental perspective really just removing any judgment and
just becoming aware of what are triggers of certain thoughts,
certain emotions, and then thinking, how can I respond differently?
(25:29):
If I'm feeling bored or if I'm feeling stressed, if I have any certain feeling
that I know is making me grab for something that I know it's not what I need,
I always ask them. We all have maybe certain needs.
And sometimes strong emotions can be certain needs not being met.
Maybe, you know, like physical touch.
Sometimes the self-awareness of that is not there. And then just tell them to
(25:51):
acknowledge the need that maybe people need to be recharged. They need distraction.
Maybe they need to connect. neck. Maybe they need love. Maybe they need a break.
And then how and when can they meet that need in a way that they know that their
action will leave them feeling quite satisfied at all levels,
(26:14):
not just at a physical level, oh, I ate it, I'm satisfied.
Also in the heart, positive emotion that lasts for a while, because the more
we are in that positive emotion state, the more of that positive emotion stays with us.
And then the more we are positive emotions for anyone that surrounds us and
to really just acknowledge and observe again.
(26:38):
And it's always, we're always learning. We're always growing.
So that's just a little step that I do with my clients when it comes to eating. Not so little.
So probably a game changer for a lot of people who are willing to take that step.
And we all need to look at our behaviors. I think we're all being asked to look
at how we live our lives, what is serving us throughout all our lives, you know, foods.
(27:04):
Environments, relationships with food, with people, just being asked to love
ourselves enough to make the right choice, even if it's something that maybe
we're not very comfortable with, right?
Maybe, and this happens a lot with clients with foods, like,
oh, but I always, I love cheese, for example, and what choice can you make that
you know can serve you back in the way that you want to feel,
(27:27):
not just for a moment, but for the whole day. I love it.
I love it. I think that is the, we need special reminders, I think,
to remember to do that, because we get so caught up in our to-do list,
taking care of someone else, people get burned out and overextended.
And to have those moments where we can come back to ourselves,
(27:48):
as you're saying, come back to what's important, what's meaningful,
what feeds us on all levels is so necessary.
And I'm so glad that you shared that with us today. Yeah. You know,
sometimes we think, well, what's meaningful?
It's meaningful, but at a very surface level.
But sometimes that is not really what we need, but it's what we've been doing or what we're used to.
(28:11):
And it's just stepping out of that comfort zone and not really listening to
ourselves, listening to our hearts. No, I'm not talking about the mushy heart
or some people feel like, oh, the heart is mushy.
Sometimes when we're in our minds, we're ruled by fear, all these thoughts that don't serve us.
I really feel that when we drop, like I said, I think you love this quote,
(28:32):
but when we drop into our hearts and when we can take that breath to make room
to just be and then become aware of what it is that we really need and what
would really nourish us,
then we can And really be that light and give ourselves what we need.
And knowing that light is a game changer.
(28:53):
And if we're light, then love, our love can be the checkmate. That's great.
So self-awareness, choice, those two things, especially self-awareness and choice and love.
Love, of course, we all are love.
I just sometimes we forget it or just don't see it as we just feel that we feel
(29:15):
love, that love is, you know, maybe kissing or living a relationship.
But no, we all are love and we can all extend that to ourselves and others.
But I guess it requires to see yourself in that way. Yeah, absolutely.
Well, I love what you've been sharing today. So thank you so much.
(29:35):
And before we say goodbye for now, just tell people where they can find you
because you have such a wealth of knowledge and experience that I'm sure people
would like to get in touch with you.
Thank you so much. My website is F as a Fernando and as a Natalia,
and then the word wellness.com.
(29:56):
You can also find me on Facebook, which is N-A-T-A dot D-E-L moral, M-O-R-A-L, Instagram.
But honestly, the website is the easier because the website FNwellness.com leads
you to my YouTube and to just all these channels where you will see me hopefully
(30:16):
shine my light and And that goes beyond food.
It really goes beyond. Way beyond.
But with the food, because that's, I think, what's maybe more tangible.
But my hope and for everybody that's listening is to just know that we are so
much more than the physical.
Yeah, such a good thing to remember. Well, thank you so much again.
(30:37):
And thank you, everyone who is either listening or watching.
We appreciate you being here and we will see you on the next episode. Bye for now.
Music.
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I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com