August 28, 2025 • 32 mins
Send Naihomy encouraging words!💕
We explore the challenges of wanting to model healthy habits for our children when we haven't learned these behaviors ourselves, offering practical ways to start this journey without perfectionism.
• The podcast name has changed to "Let's Be Healthy Latinas" to reflect our community focus and make it easier for Latinas seeking health resources to find us
• Children learn by watching what we do, not just what we say – they are natural detectives observing our habits
• Perfectionism around health creates paralysis – start with small, imperfect steps rather than waiting to have everything figured out
• Working out at home with kids around, though imperfect, teaches them that movement is normal and important
• Kids have different nutritional needs than adults – avoid imposing restrictive adult diets on growing children
• Learning alongside your children is more powerful than pretending to have all the answers
• Three simple starting points: drink more water, incorporate fresh foods, and enjoy movement together
• The starting point for teaching your kids healthy habits is simply you starting your own health journey
If you want help figuring out how to start modeling healthy habits for your family, book a free consultation call with the link in the show notes or DM me on Instagram.
Thank you so much for listening!
- Book a Free Consultation Call for Food & Hormone Health Coaching
- Follow me on Instagram
- Visit my website & sign up for my newsletter
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello friends, welcome back to the podcast.
If you have not noticed, wehave a new name.
We are called let's Be HealthyLatinas.
And it's we, because it's allof us right?
I am so excited for the episodefor today because I think it's
(00:22):
such a beautiful flow ortransition from wealthy
generation W-E-L-L-T-H-Y wealthyto let's be healthy Latinas.
On today's episode, we are goingto talk about or I'm going to
talk about wanting to modelhealthy habits for your children
(00:43):
, but not knowing how to do that, not knowing what it looks like
, not knowing where to start,not knowing if it's going to be
effective or not.
So that is what we're going tobe talking about today.
But before we get into that, Ijust wanted to share a little
bit about why I decided tochange the name of the podcast,
about why I decided to changethe name of the podcast.
(01:05):
So there's there's a two partreason.
The first reason is because Iwanted the name to be more of a
reflection of how I feel aboutmy work and it's along the same
lines as wealthy generation interms of it being all
encompassing.
I want it to be us and them.
(01:26):
I want it to be us and ourchildren, and our parents and
our grandparents.
So how can we have this flow ofchanging generational health
patterns in our communities, inour families?
So when we are healthy Latinastogether, when we are all like
(01:46):
hey, let's go, let's be healthyLatinas, then that gets
translated into not just us, ourcommunity, our peers, but also
our children and our relatives,our loved ones.
It just is through osmosis mostof the time that other people
start to notice and becomeinterested in their health as
(02:10):
well.
Okay, at least at the veryleast seeds get planted, and
that is always good, becauseusually seeds always grow right
at their own time.
So that was part of it.
And two, I really, really,really want this podcast to grow
.
I want people to find it who arelooking for this kind of
(02:32):
information, and I thought thata name that was more relevant to
what I was talking about andwasn't confusing or could be
confused for something else likegenerational wealthy,
generation as monetary wealth.
That's part of the reason why Ichanged it as well, because I
(02:53):
remember when I first startedlistening to podcasts quite some
time ago, the podcast that Ifound were of white people and I
was just curious.
I wanted to listen to storiesthat were relevant to me and my
lived experiences, although Ireally did find great
(03:16):
information from black podcasthosts, african-americans from
white people, like it was fine.
But I really wanted to feelseen in my personal lived
experiences.
So I remember going to thesearch bar on like Apple podcast
and typing in the word Latinato see what came up.
(03:40):
And I remember at that timethere were and I remember at
that time there were not so manybecause this was a few years,
like maybe 10 years ago orsomething like that and the one
podcast that came up was Latinato Latina and first gen other
(04:06):
immigrants, daughters ofimmigrants stories were like and
not only like the struggles butalso how they overcame.
That's really what I waslooking for how they overcame
(04:27):
their struggles and how theypersevered and how they built
their own path and other thingsthat they had to deal with.
So that's part of the reason.
I know that there are a tons ofLatinas out there who also are
looking to be healthy andfinding and trying to find a
resource where they feel seen,where their culture is
acknowledged, where the firstgen experience is acknowledged
(04:49):
and seen.
So that is part of the reasonwhy and oftentimes my clients
have told me like I was lookingfor somebody like you.
Like you were the person Ifound to support me with my
health issues, with losingweight, with my hormones.
I want to be healthy, but Idon't want to give up my
(05:12):
cultural foods.
I want to have pupusas and Iwant to have sopes and I want to
have raisin beans and I want tohave tostones or patacones or
patacones right, like theywanted to still show up in their
(05:32):
culture with the foods theylove and not have it be like, oh
no, we can't eat any of thatanymore because that's not
healthy, which is not true,right, you guys?
I'm recording this in my bedand I'm like shifting If you
hear it ruffling.
So those were the top tworeasons as to why I changed it.
(05:53):
I hope you love it.
I hope it resonates.
As I mentioned, I am trying togrow the podcast.
So if I could just please askone thing, right, just one thing
in support, please, and inreciprocity, I would really love
(06:14):
it if you would subscribe tothe podcast.
If you haven't, if you were torate it or leave a quick review
I know on Apple Podcasts you'reable to leave a written review
and, if anything, please goahead and share it.
Share it with loved ones thatmight need this information.
Share it on your social mediaand go ahead and tag me at Naomi
(06:40):
Jerez and at let's be healthyLatinas pod, so we can help
spread the word.
Share your favorite episode.
Um, you can do that privatelyover text as well.
So, yes, thank you.
So, so, so much in advance foryour support and for reading and
(07:00):
sharing and all that good stuffAll right, and sharing and all
that good stuff, all right,let's get into this episode.
Because something that I see sooften is that we always have
this desire for our kids to besuper healthy.
We don't want them to be sick,we want them to be well.
(07:21):
When our kids are sick, we aresick, if you know.
You know Like we feel it in oursoul, in our hearts.
We also lose sleep with them,like it's a lot on parents to
have sick children.
And parents know, like you know, how to help your kid be
(07:41):
healthy, like you be puringthose peas and you be puring
those broccolis and you bebuying that organic food and
biscuits and you choosedifferent formula for your kid
and all these things.
Like you, you pull all thestops for your kid.
And as they start to grow yourkid and as they start to grow,
(08:08):
you want to continue to instillhealthy habits for your children
.
And then it gets a little bitmore complicated, because now
your kid is making decisions andthey are throwing tantrums over
certain things.
Or you want to model certainthings for them and they're
refusing to do certain things.
And then it's like damn, youknow, there's only so.
You can only trick your kidsfor so long before they start to
(08:31):
catch on as to what's reallygoing on.
And then you start to realize,man, I'm feeding my kid broccoli
and I can't even look atbroccoli without gagging.
I want my kid to be active, butit's such a struggle for me to
just even go for a walk, letalone go to the gym.
(08:53):
Right, and you want to.
And you and you start, itstarts to weigh on you like, oh
my gosh, I am going to ruin mykid, or my kid is not going to
be healthy.
Or, um, how am I going to getthem to eat these vegetables if
I'm not eating them?
Because you know what?
The first, the most influentialthing that you can do for your
(09:17):
child is to model the behavior,and it goes back to the saying
like.
You know that.
Saying like do as I say, not asI do, or something like that.
It doesn't work that well,because the kids do as you do.
They don't do what you say.
They do what you do.
They look at you, they observeyou.
(09:40):
They see how you eat.
They see your facial reactionslike they're the best little
detectives that God has evercreated and they get their cues
from you.
They see how you eat.
They see your facial reactionsLike they're the best little
detectives that God has evercreated and they get their cues
from you.
And then we start to feel thispressure of oh my gosh, I need
to be this perfect parent now,like I need to figure it out
ASAP so that I can start tomodel this behavior for my kid.
(10:04):
Now this is, generally speaking, right.
It often works and it oftentakes some tweaking and
sometimes your kid just doesn'tgive a crap.
And I'll share an example,because one of my kids is just a
really picky eater.
He just is, and it's reallyhard to get him to eat things
(10:26):
like vegetables, even though wemodel it all the time at home,
and he does enjoy a lot of freshfood and there are ways where I
do introduce a lot of differentvegetables and fibers into his
food that he doesn't really.
It's not as evident to him,right, but it doesn't mean that
he's not aware.
It doesn't mean that he doesn'treally it's not as evident to
him, right, but it doesn't meanthat he's not aware.
(10:47):
It doesn't mean that he doesn'tknow what vegetables are and it
doesn't mean that he doesn'tenjoy other, like fresh fruits
and things like that.
So, again, this is alwaysgeneral, general advice or
general suggestions and storiesbased on what I most commonly
(11:08):
see, and this is why, to getmore nuanced suggestions and
skill building and what can youdo?
That's how my clients, that'swhat my clients receive, right,
because we really can get intotheir stories and their
struggles and ways to try andand remedy them Right.
(11:31):
So let's, let's continue.
I just wanted to have thatcaveat because most of the time,
a lot of this work is likeblanket, like like a meal plan,
like we're covering so manypeople at once.
And sometimes it is likeblanket, like like a meal plan,
like we're covering so manypeople at once, and sometimes
it's like that.
But sometimes you really,really really need personalized
care and attention and when youare not able to fit the mold
(11:56):
that's working for most people,we discount ourselves, not
knowing that it's just that theway things work for someone else
is just not the way that itmight work for you and your
family and you just needdifferent strategies and that
and that's all.
It doesn't mean that it's notfor you or that you're broken.
Okay, so let's get back to thiskind of what do we do when we
(12:22):
want to start like what does itlook like even for us to then
model healthy habits for ourkids?
And here's what I want to say.
The first thing I want to callout is this idea of being
perfect, like you try to beperfect yourself and then you
try to push your perfectionismonto your child, right, and then
(12:46):
you try to push yourperfectionism onto your child,
right, and then everybodybecomes super frustrated and
paralyzed in taking any actionon your health, on your kid's
health, on anything like that.
There are some times where Isee like, oh, I'm eating super
low carb and I'm going to dothat for my kid because that's
what I learned.
I'm eating, you know,everything gluten-free or
(13:07):
everything keto, and we need torealize what the dietary needs
for each season is.
What might be happening with youmost likely does not apply for
your kid.
Your kid moves 10, 20, 30 times, probably more than you, and
they are a growing human.
(13:27):
You might not be growinganymore, okay, and they need the
extra energy.
So it's also knowing that likewhat's more appropriate for your
child and what's moreappropriate for you, and just
letting your kid explore andlearn their own lessons the same
way you're learning yourlessons.
(13:47):
Sometimes your kid needs tolearn their lesson too.
Instead of kind of shelteringthem so much, then they don't
get to learn their body orwhat's going on.
But you can definitely guidethem.
But it's hard to guide themwhen you don't even know
yourself what's happening, whenyou don't know how food affects
(14:07):
you, how food works.
Then it becomes harder for youto help your child build a
connection with their body,which most of the time is innate
anyway.
Like they know when they needto stop eating, when they're
full, they know when they'rehungry, they know when they
don't have that big of anappetite.
They don't have that big of anappetite.
(14:33):
But us as the adult, as oftenhappens, we start to interfere
with their innate nature ofknowing their own self.
In addition to that, we live ina society where there's just a
lot of things, like a lot ofstuff at the birthday party,
always somebody's giving themcandy, there's always sweets
around, there's always thesekinds of things.
And in those situations I havedefinitely had my kids just
(14:57):
learn, learn kind of the hardway when they want an excess of
sweets or whatever it is, andthen they end up with a stomach
ache.
But that is a that is alearning scenario, because then
I get to share with them.
Hey, you know what your bellyand your body does not really
like when you give it so muchsugar at once.
(15:21):
And it's okay to save some forlater and it's okay to say no,
thank you, and it's okay not tofinish it all.
But again, how are you going tobe able to teach your child and
help them build connections ifyou don't understand that in
your own body?
So that's one of the firstthings that we can try and do.
(15:44):
Instead of being super likeanal and protective and you know
, over food and things thatthey're having, one of the first
things that you can start to dois to realize for yourself,
build that connection foryourself as to how things feel,
(16:05):
so that then you can help yourkid right.
So that then you can help yourkid right?
Another thing is that wanting tobe perfect before implementing
healthy habits like you need toperfect everything before you
start doing anything alsoteaches our children that
(16:27):
wellness is kind of impossibleand is only for certain people.
And it's so hard when itessentially you can do one thing
at a time.
You can implement habits thatare appropriate in that moment.
Right, because if we wait tohave the perfect amount of time
(16:50):
and the perfect schedule and theperfect routine, then we're
kind of missing the pointbecause we're not doing.
We end up not doing anything atall, so you end up modeling
nothing at all.
At least, if your kid is trying, is seeing you try, then you're
engaging them right.
You're modeling that behaviorof trying to figure it out.
(17:12):
And I'll give you an example Alot of times I couldn't make it
to the gym and I had to work outat home and my kids were little
right and it wasn't thesmoothest workout.
Okay, when you have like atwo-year-old and a four-year-old
crawling on you and trying tofigure out what's happening.
(17:33):
But again, we're modeling hereand it's not perfect, it's
you're doing something andthey're seeing you, because
another thing is that when weleave to the gym.
Our kids don't have no freakingclue what we're doing.
They just know that you're notthere.
But working out at home offeredme that opportunity to show my
(17:54):
kids how I move my body, to showthem how I am following an
instructor on the tablet, to seehow I'm using my weights.
And it became also this kind offun time too, where I would use
them as my weight and I woulduse them to do squats or to do
sit-ups or to do all these kindsof things.
I would set a little mat nextto me so they got to follow
(18:17):
along too and, trust me, theyget bored really fast.
Okay, like really fast.
So they're going to be with youfor a little bit and then
that's it.
I even went as far as to buythem little baby weights, like
little one pound weights,because they wanted to play with
the bigger ones, which isobviously not safe, and they
(18:37):
loved it.
And exercise became this normalthing, this fun thing that they
wanted to be engaged with.
I have found my children puttingon Peloton videos and hopping
on the bike.
I have found my kids putting onshadowboxing videos and doing a
boxing workout, and it's nosurprise to them if, when we go
(19:00):
to the gym.
It's normal.
They like to go play basketballand they know that moving our
bodies is something that isimportant and we do on a regular
basis as a family.
Whenever we have dinner,especially outside the home, we
go for a walk.
Not necessarily when we havedinner at home, but if we're
having dinner at a restaurant,we usually plan to go for a walk
(19:22):
after that.
Okay, so, not waiting for allthe stars to align to
incorporate one thing.
Not waiting when you can havethe time to build full meals
from scratch to incorporate avegetable or a fruit right.
There's multiple ways to dothat.
(19:42):
Where it's not this all ornothing mentality, okay, and I
want to reinforce that.
You learning along with yourchildren is more powerful than
you pretending to have all theanswers, than you pretending to
have this perfect routine or notdoing anything at all.
(20:03):
You can absolutely learntogether because you're still
going to be that aspirationalperson to them.
They're still going to be thataspirational person to them.
They're still going to belooking up to you and they have
honestly, no idea if you havethis all figured out or not.
They can be your biggest allyand partner because they, they
(20:24):
are the real MVPs of going withthe flow Most of the time, most
of the time.
Okay, don't come after me,because I know one of my kids is
not the go with the flow typeof person.
They need the routine and theyneed all like the answers and
all that.
But with my child who is likethat, who is not a go with the
flow type of person, what reallyhelps with them is explaining
(20:48):
things beforehand when it's new,or involving them in the
process.
Like I would take them to thesupermarket with me, I would go
through the vegetables, like wewould go through the vegetables
and name them.
I would get them involved inthe kitchen in peeling and
chopping and doing whatever isage appropriate.
So that's also a different wayto approach it when kids are not
(21:11):
go with the flow type of littlehumans because I get that too
Okay.
So there's no hiding yourstruggles with your kids.
You know you can share withthem that you're learning how to
eat those foods too.
You can let go of feeling likea hypocrite for preaching about
vegetables while you're in thecorner.
(21:34):
Stress eating and not liking alick of vegetables and it giving
you honestly wanting to vomitnausea just thinking about it,
and it can also be learning howto make them in new ways and,
just you know, making a littletasting table with everybody and
be like, all right, let's,let's go try these things.
Or really being vulnerable withthem and be like, oh, I
(21:56):
normally wouldn't eat this or Ididn't enjoy it before, but I'm
trying to give it a try again.
I'm going to see a prepareddifferent ways.
I like it.
Okay, and Try not to avoidconversations about health just
again, because you don't knowall the answers.
We live in the age of socialmedia, of Google, of a lot of
(22:20):
things, and it is a really goodtime for you and your kids to
explore together and just figureit out.
There's so many resources nowwhere you can find recipes with
ingredients and flavors that youenjoy.
You can buy that one new thing.
You can browse a farmer'smarket, if that's something
(22:41):
that's accessible to you, or thevegetables at your local
supermarket or wherever you buyyour food, to see what's going
on there, right?
You can go out for a walk withyour kid.
You can make a dance party athome and you don't even really
need to explain to them what'shappening most of the time,
depending on how young they are,because you know the older ones
(23:03):
need a but why, but why?
Sort of situation?
Um, they'll just again do itbecause you're doing it, do it
because you're enjoying it, andthey get curious as well.
Okay, all of these points andreally helping my clients build
(23:26):
wellness habits, build routines,understand themselves and
what's going on in their bodiesso that they can support others
around them that is exactly whatI support my clients with in
one-on-one food and hormonehealth coaching.
Okay, I help them break thosegenerational cycles by actually
(23:50):
like the do as I say, not as Ido, type of cycles right, where
they're telling you to do onething but no one's modeling that
for you and you have no ideahow to do it or how to get
started or where to begin.
That's what I support myclients with.
How do they actually startmodeling these kinds of
(24:11):
behaviors for their children,for their family, for themselves
?
How do they begin their healthjourney and understanding that
it really is a journey and notsomething that needs to be made
perfect, because there'sdifferent seasons, different
(24:31):
circumstances, differentaccessibilities and because
health and wellness is like thatand life is like that.
We plan for a lot of thesedifferent scenarios that come up
in our regular shmegular life,and that's why my clients are
able to be successful and what'sthat word?
(24:55):
That's why they're able to besuccessful and sustainable in
their wellness journey, becausethey have various types of tools
.
They learn how to implementthem and then they learn how to
model them in their families.
(25:17):
And if you're absolutely lost asto where to start like where
what does even modeling healthybehavior look like?
I'll give you three things toget started with.
Number one is drinking water.
Let's all drink water.
Let's put juices and sodas andthese kinds of things to the
(25:37):
side.
Let's just increase our waterintake.
Number two is enjoying somesort of fresh food, whether it's
fruits or a vegetable.
Train your palate to reallycrave and look for that
freshness that those kinds offood can provide, that it's not
ultra processed.
And number three, enjoymovement together, and I think I
(25:58):
alluded to all three of thesetips, except for the water one,
I think, throughout this episode.
Okay, and I want to really honein on the fact that it's
something that is new to you aswell, and you do not need to
beat yourself up about all ofthis, because it was probably
(26:23):
something or habits that werenot modeled for you in maybe the
holistic way or the allencompassing way that you want
to show up and show your family.
For example, in my home, my momum, I was fortunate that I
always had a home cooked meal.
She worked in the house, shehad her own business in the
(26:45):
house and I always had a homecooked meal.
But something that was notmodeled for me was exercise.
It was just not something thatmy mom had access to at the time
, right, and it was notsomething that she grew up with.
A lot of her exercise was justlike working a lot of, a lot of
manual and physical labor, right.
(27:06):
So there are pieces missing,maybe, or maybe everything is
missing, and you really dounderstand how important it is,
not just for you but also foryour children, and you're like
crap, I don't even know how tostart.
I'm so overwhelmed justthinking about it for me, I
(27:27):
don't know how to show up andshow my kids, know how to show
up and show my kids, and that isexactly where we get started,
exactly where we get started howto understand yourself.
What is food, how does foodwork in our bodies?
How do we choose food?
What do these ingredient labelsmean?
(27:49):
How do, how do hormones work inour body and why are they so
important and how are thesymptoms that you're feeling?
Tied to your hormones and a lotof it is in your lifestyle, and
once you start learning that,then you'll build up the
confidence to model that foryour children.
(28:12):
You will know how to getstarted, because the starting is
just you starting.
Did you hear?
I'm going to say that one moretime the starting in teaching
your kids how to live a healthylife is you starting.
It's you starting.
(28:33):
That is all they need for youto set the example, and I can
help you start so that your kidsstart.
I want to reiterate your kidsdo not need you to be a perfect
example of health.
They just need you to show themthat taking care of yourself
(28:55):
matters, that you matter,especially for little girls and
our little boys too that theycan in fact show up for
themselves as well and theydon't need someone else to be in
charge of that for them.
Okay, that is a whole notherepisode, girl, we're not going
(29:16):
to get into that.
And that learning and growingis normal, that evolving is
normal and that health is apractice, not something that you
perform, not a show that youput on for social media or for
other people.
It's literally showing up foryourself.
I'll leave it right there foryou, friends, I'll leave it
(29:37):
right there Again.
If you are interested in justgetting started and we can
figure it out together, I inviteyou to book a free consultation
call.
Let's get the conversationstarted with the link in the
show notes.
It is right where you click tolisten to this episode.
(29:58):
If you want to DM me, you cango ahead and do that on
Instagram.
You can also find the link tomy Instagram in your show notes.
And that is the first step,friends, that it can be that
simple and together we canfigure it out.
I am never one to lead you in adirection that's not in your
(30:19):
best interest.
I just really want all of us tobe healthy Latinas.
Let's be healthy Latinastogether, and that involves you.
Friends.
Okay, I will see you next week.
I will see you in the zoom roomin our consultation call, or I
(30:44):
will see you in the dms.
I hope you have a great week.
Bye.
Hello friends, welcome back to the podcast.
If you have not noticed, wehave a new name.
We are called let's Be HealthyLatinas.
And it's we, because it's allof us right?
I am so excited for the episodefor today because I think it's
(00:22):
such a beautiful flow ortransition from wealthy
generation W-E-L-L-T-H-Y wealthyto let's be healthy Latinas.
On today's episode, we are goingto talk about or I'm going to
talk about wanting to modelhealthy habits for your children
(00:43):
, but not knowing how to do that, not knowing what it looks like
, not knowing where to start,not knowing if it's going to be
effective or not.
So that is what we're going tobe talking about today.
But before we get into that, Ijust wanted to share a little
bit about why I decided tochange the name of the podcast,
about why I decided to changethe name of the podcast.
(01:05):
So there's there's a two partreason.
The first reason is because Iwanted the name to be more of a
reflection of how I feel aboutmy work and it's along the same
lines as wealthy generation interms of it being all
encompassing.
I want it to be us and them.
(01:26):
I want it to be us and ourchildren, and our parents and
our grandparents.
So how can we have this flow ofchanging generational health
patterns in our communities, inour families?
So when we are healthy Latinastogether, when we are all like
(01:46):
hey, let's go, let's be healthyLatinas, then that gets
translated into not just us, ourcommunity, our peers, but also
our children and our relatives,our loved ones.
It just is through osmosis mostof the time that other people
start to notice and becomeinterested in their health as
(02:10):
well.
Okay, at least at the veryleast seeds get planted, and
that is always good, becauseusually seeds always grow right
at their own time.
So that was part of it.
And two, I really, really,really want this podcast to grow
.
I want people to find it who arelooking for this kind of
(02:32):
information, and I thought thata name that was more relevant to
what I was talking about andwasn't confusing or could be
confused for something else likegenerational wealthy,
generation as monetary wealth.
That's part of the reason why Ichanged it as well, because I
(02:53):
remember when I first startedlistening to podcasts quite some
time ago, the podcast that Ifound were of white people and I
was just curious.
I wanted to listen to storiesthat were relevant to me and my
lived experiences, although Ireally did find great
(03:16):
information from black podcasthosts, african-americans from
white people, like it was fine.
But I really wanted to feelseen in my personal lived
experiences.
So I remember going to thesearch bar on like Apple podcast
and typing in the word Latinato see what came up.
(03:40):
And I remember at that timethere were and I remember at
that time there were not so manybecause this was a few years,
like maybe 10 years ago orsomething like that and the one
podcast that came up was Latinato Latina and first gen other
(04:06):
immigrants, daughters ofimmigrants stories were like and
not only like the struggles butalso how they overcame.
That's really what I waslooking for how they overcame
(04:27):
their struggles and how theypersevered and how they built
their own path and other thingsthat they had to deal with.
So that's part of the reason.
I know that there are a tons ofLatinas out there who also are
looking to be healthy andfinding and trying to find a
resource where they feel seen,where their culture is
acknowledged, where the firstgen experience is acknowledged
(04:49):
and seen.
So that is part of the reasonwhy and oftentimes my clients
have told me like I was lookingfor somebody like you.
Like you were the person Ifound to support me with my
health issues, with losingweight, with my hormones.
I want to be healthy, but Idon't want to give up my
(05:12):
cultural foods.
I want to have pupusas and Iwant to have sopes and I want to
have raisin beans and I want tohave tostones or patacones or
patacones right, like theywanted to still show up in their
(05:32):
culture with the foods theylove and not have it be like, oh
no, we can't eat any of thatanymore because that's not
healthy, which is not true,right, you guys?
I'm recording this in my bedand I'm like shifting If you
hear it ruffling.
So those were the top tworeasons as to why I changed it.
(05:53):
I hope you love it.
I hope it resonates.
As I mentioned, I am trying togrow the podcast.
So if I could just please askone thing, right, just one thing
in support, please, and inreciprocity, I would really love
(06:14):
it if you would subscribe tothe podcast.
If you haven't, if you were torate it or leave a quick review
I know on Apple Podcasts you'reable to leave a written review
and, if anything, please goahead and share it.
Share it with loved ones thatmight need this information.
Share it on your social mediaand go ahead and tag me at Naomi
(06:40):
Jerez and at let's be healthyLatinas pod, so we can help
spread the word.
Share your favorite episode.
Um, you can do that privatelyover text as well.
So, yes, thank you.
So, so, so much in advance foryour support and for reading and
(07:00):
sharing and all that good stuffAll right, and sharing and all
that good stuff, all right,let's get into this episode.
Because something that I see sooften is that we always have
this desire for our kids to besuper healthy.
We don't want them to be sick,we want them to be well.
(07:21):
When our kids are sick, we aresick, if you know.
You know Like we feel it in oursoul, in our hearts.
We also lose sleep with them,like it's a lot on parents to
have sick children.
And parents know, like you know, how to help your kid be
(07:41):
healthy, like you be puringthose peas and you be puring
those broccolis and you bebuying that organic food and
biscuits and you choosedifferent formula for your kid
and all these things.
Like you, you pull all thestops for your kid.
And as they start to grow yourkid and as they start to grow,
(08:08):
you want to continue to instillhealthy habits for your children
.
And then it gets a little bitmore complicated, because now
your kid is making decisions andthey are throwing tantrums over
certain things.
Or you want to model certainthings for them and they're
refusing to do certain things.
And then it's like damn, youknow, there's only so.
You can only trick your kidsfor so long before they start to
(08:31):
catch on as to what's reallygoing on.
And then you start to realize,man, I'm feeding my kid broccoli
and I can't even look atbroccoli without gagging.
I want my kid to be active, butit's such a struggle for me to
just even go for a walk, letalone go to the gym.
(08:53):
Right, and you want to.
And you and you start, itstarts to weigh on you like, oh
my gosh, I am going to ruin mykid, or my kid is not going to
be healthy.
Or, um, how am I going to getthem to eat these vegetables if
I'm not eating them?
Because you know what?
The first, the most influentialthing that you can do for your
(09:17):
child is to model the behavior,and it goes back to the saying
like.
You know that.
Saying like do as I say, not asI do, or something like that.
It doesn't work that well,because the kids do as you do.
They don't do what you say.
They do what you do.
They look at you, they observeyou.
(09:40):
They see how you eat.
They see your facial reactionslike they're the best little
detectives that God has evercreated and they get their cues
from you.
They see how you eat.
They see your facial reactionsLike they're the best little
detectives that God has evercreated and they get their cues
from you.
And then we start to feel thispressure of oh my gosh, I need
to be this perfect parent now,like I need to figure it out
ASAP so that I can start tomodel this behavior for my kid.
(10:04):
Now this is, generally speaking, right.
It often works and it oftentakes some tweaking and
sometimes your kid just doesn'tgive a crap.
And I'll share an example,because one of my kids is just a
really picky eater.
He just is, and it's reallyhard to get him to eat things
(10:26):
like vegetables, even though wemodel it all the time at home,
and he does enjoy a lot of freshfood and there are ways where I
do introduce a lot of differentvegetables and fibers into his
food that he doesn't really.
It's not as evident to him,right, but it doesn't mean that
he's not aware.
It doesn't mean that he doesn'treally it's not as evident to
him, right, but it doesn't meanthat he's not aware.
(10:47):
It doesn't mean that he doesn'tknow what vegetables are and it
doesn't mean that he doesn'tenjoy other, like fresh fruits
and things like that.
So, again, this is alwaysgeneral, general advice or
general suggestions and storiesbased on what I most commonly
(11:08):
see, and this is why, to getmore nuanced suggestions and
skill building and what can youdo?
That's how my clients, that'swhat my clients receive, right,
because we really can get intotheir stories and their
struggles and ways to try andand remedy them Right.
(11:31):
So let's, let's continue.
I just wanted to have thatcaveat because most of the time,
a lot of this work is likeblanket, like like a meal plan,
like we're covering so manypeople at once.
And sometimes it is likeblanket, like like a meal plan,
like we're covering so manypeople at once, and sometimes
it's like that.
But sometimes you really,really really need personalized
care and attention and when youare not able to fit the mold
(11:56):
that's working for most people,we discount ourselves, not
knowing that it's just that theway things work for someone else
is just not the way that itmight work for you and your
family and you just needdifferent strategies and that
and that's all.
It doesn't mean that it's notfor you or that you're broken.
Okay, so let's get back to thiskind of what do we do when we
(12:22):
want to start like what does itlook like even for us to then
model healthy habits for ourkids?
And here's what I want to say.
The first thing I want to callout is this idea of being
perfect, like you try to beperfect yourself and then you
try to push your perfectionismonto your child, right, and then
(12:46):
you try to push yourperfectionism onto your child,
right, and then everybodybecomes super frustrated and
paralyzed in taking any actionon your health, on your kid's
health, on anything like that.
There are some times where Isee like, oh, I'm eating super
low carb and I'm going to dothat for my kid because that's
what I learned.
I'm eating, you know,everything gluten-free or
(13:07):
everything keto, and we need torealize what the dietary needs
for each season is.
What might be happening with youmost likely does not apply for
your kid.
Your kid moves 10, 20, 30 times, probably more than you, and
they are a growing human.
(13:27):
You might not be growinganymore, okay, and they need the
extra energy.
So it's also knowing that likewhat's more appropriate for your
child and what's moreappropriate for you, and just
letting your kid explore andlearn their own lessons the same
way you're learning yourlessons.
(13:47):
Sometimes your kid needs tolearn their lesson too.
Instead of kind of shelteringthem so much, then they don't
get to learn their body orwhat's going on.
But you can definitely guidethem.
But it's hard to guide themwhen you don't even know
yourself what's happening, whenyou don't know how food affects
(14:07):
you, how food works.
Then it becomes harder for youto help your child build a
connection with their body,which most of the time is innate
anyway.
Like they know when they needto stop eating, when they're
full, they know when they'rehungry, they know when they
don't have that big of anappetite.
They don't have that big of anappetite.
(14:33):
But us as the adult, as oftenhappens, we start to interfere
with their innate nature ofknowing their own self.
In addition to that, we live ina society where there's just a
lot of things, like a lot ofstuff at the birthday party,
always somebody's giving themcandy, there's always sweets
around, there's always thesekinds of things.
And in those situations I havedefinitely had my kids just
(14:57):
learn, learn kind of the hardway when they want an excess of
sweets or whatever it is, andthen they end up with a stomach
ache.
But that is a that is alearning scenario, because then
I get to share with them.
Hey, you know what your bellyand your body does not really
like when you give it so muchsugar at once.
(15:21):
And it's okay to save some forlater and it's okay to say no,
thank you, and it's okay not tofinish it all.
But again, how are you going tobe able to teach your child and
help them build connections ifyou don't understand that in
your own body?
So that's one of the firstthings that we can try and do.
(15:44):
Instead of being super likeanal and protective and you know
, over food and things thatthey're having, one of the first
things that you can start to dois to realize for yourself,
build that connection foryourself as to how things feel,
(16:05):
so that then you can help yourkid right.
So that then you can help yourkid right?
Another thing is that wanting tobe perfect before implementing
healthy habits like you need toperfect everything before you
start doing anything alsoteaches our children that
(16:27):
wellness is kind of impossibleand is only for certain people.
And it's so hard when itessentially you can do one thing
at a time.
You can implement habits thatare appropriate in that moment.
Right, because if we wait tohave the perfect amount of time
(16:50):
and the perfect schedule and theperfect routine, then we're
kind of missing the pointbecause we're not doing.
We end up not doing anything atall, so you end up modeling
nothing at all.
At least, if your kid is trying, is seeing you try, then you're
engaging them right.
You're modeling that behaviorof trying to figure it out.
(17:12):
And I'll give you an example Alot of times I couldn't make it
to the gym and I had to work outat home and my kids were little
right and it wasn't thesmoothest workout.
Okay, when you have like atwo-year-old and a four-year-old
crawling on you and trying tofigure out what's happening.
(17:33):
But again, we're modeling hereand it's not perfect, it's
you're doing something andthey're seeing you, because
another thing is that when weleave to the gym.
Our kids don't have no freakingclue what we're doing.
They just know that you're notthere.
But working out at home offeredme that opportunity to show my
(17:54):
kids how I move my body, to showthem how I am following an
instructor on the tablet, to seehow I'm using my weights.
And it became also this kind offun time too, where I would use
them as my weight and I woulduse them to do squats or to do
sit-ups or to do all these kindsof things.
I would set a little mat nextto me so they got to follow
(18:17):
along too and, trust me, theyget bored really fast.
Okay, like really fast.
So they're going to be with youfor a little bit and then
that's it.
I even went as far as to buythem little baby weights, like
little one pound weights,because they wanted to play with
the bigger ones, which isobviously not safe, and they
(18:37):
loved it.
And exercise became this normalthing, this fun thing that they
wanted to be engaged with.
I have found my children puttingon Peloton videos and hopping
on the bike.
I have found my kids putting onshadowboxing videos and doing a
boxing workout, and it's nosurprise to them if, when we go
(19:00):
to the gym.
It's normal.
They like to go play basketballand they know that moving our
bodies is something that isimportant and we do on a regular
basis as a family.
Whenever we have dinner,especially outside the home, we
go for a walk.
Not necessarily when we havedinner at home, but if we're
having dinner at a restaurant,we usually plan to go for a walk
(19:22):
after that.
Okay, so, not waiting for allthe stars to align to
incorporate one thing.
Not waiting when you can havethe time to build full meals
from scratch to incorporate avegetable or a fruit right.
There's multiple ways to dothat.
(19:42):
Where it's not this all ornothing mentality, okay, and I
want to reinforce that.
You learning along with yourchildren is more powerful than
you pretending to have all theanswers, than you pretending to
have this perfect routine or notdoing anything at all.
(20:03):
You can absolutely learntogether because you're still
going to be that aspirationalperson to them.
They're still going to be thataspirational person to them.
They're still going to belooking up to you and they have
honestly, no idea if you havethis all figured out or not.
They can be your biggest allyand partner because they, they
(20:24):
are the real MVPs of going withthe flow Most of the time, most
of the time.
Okay, don't come after me,because I know one of my kids is
not the go with the flow typeof person.
They need the routine and theyneed all like the answers and
all that.
But with my child who is likethat, who is not a go with the
flow type of person, what reallyhelps with them is explaining
(20:48):
things beforehand when it's new,or involving them in the
process.
Like I would take them to thesupermarket with me, I would go
through the vegetables, like wewould go through the vegetables
and name them.
I would get them involved inthe kitchen in peeling and
chopping and doing whatever isage appropriate.
So that's also a different wayto approach it when kids are not
(21:11):
go with the flow type of littlehumans because I get that too
Okay.
So there's no hiding yourstruggles with your kids.
You know you can share withthem that you're learning how to
eat those foods too.
You can let go of feeling likea hypocrite for preaching about
vegetables while you're in thecorner.
(21:34):
Stress eating and not liking alick of vegetables and it giving
you honestly wanting to vomitnausea just thinking about it,
and it can also be learning howto make them in new ways and,
just you know, making a littletasting table with everybody and
be like, all right, let's,let's go try these things.
Or really being vulnerable withthem and be like, oh, I
(21:56):
normally wouldn't eat this or Ididn't enjoy it before, but I'm
trying to give it a try again.
I'm going to see a prepareddifferent ways.
I like it.
Okay, and Try not to avoidconversations about health just
again, because you don't knowall the answers.
We live in the age of socialmedia, of Google, of a lot of
(22:20):
things, and it is a really goodtime for you and your kids to
explore together and just figureit out.
There's so many resources nowwhere you can find recipes with
ingredients and flavors that youenjoy.
You can buy that one new thing.
You can browse a farmer'smarket, if that's something
(22:41):
that's accessible to you, or thevegetables at your local
supermarket or wherever you buyyour food, to see what's going
on there, right?
You can go out for a walk withyour kid.
You can make a dance party athome and you don't even really
need to explain to them what'shappening most of the time,
depending on how young they are,because you know the older ones
(23:03):
need a but why, but why?
Sort of situation?
Um, they'll just again do itbecause you're doing it, do it
because you're enjoying it, andthey get curious as well.
Okay, all of these points andreally helping my clients build
(23:26):
wellness habits, build routines,understand themselves and
what's going on in their bodiesso that they can support others
around them that is exactly whatI support my clients with in
one-on-one food and hormonehealth coaching.
Okay, I help them break thosegenerational cycles by actually
(23:50):
like the do as I say, not as Ido, type of cycles right, where
they're telling you to do onething but no one's modeling that
for you and you have no ideahow to do it or how to get
started or where to begin.
That's what I support myclients with.
How do they actually startmodeling these kinds of
(24:11):
behaviors for their children,for their family, for themselves
?
How do they begin their healthjourney and understanding that
it really is a journey and notsomething that needs to be made
perfect, because there'sdifferent seasons, different
(24:31):
circumstances, differentaccessibilities and because
health and wellness is like thatand life is like that.
We plan for a lot of thesedifferent scenarios that come up
in our regular shmegular life,and that's why my clients are
able to be successful and what'sthat word?
(24:55):
That's why they're able to besuccessful and sustainable in
their wellness journey, becausethey have various types of tools
.
They learn how to implementthem and then they learn how to
model them in their families.
(25:17):
And if you're absolutely lost asto where to start like where
what does even modeling healthybehavior look like?
I'll give you three things toget started with.
Number one is drinking water.
Let's all drink water.
Let's put juices and sodas andthese kinds of things to the
(25:37):
side.
Let's just increase our waterintake.
Number two is enjoying somesort of fresh food, whether it's
fruits or a vegetable.
Train your palate to reallycrave and look for that
freshness that those kinds offood can provide, that it's not
ultra processed.
And number three, enjoymovement together, and I think I
(25:58):
alluded to all three of thesetips, except for the water one,
I think, throughout this episode.
Okay, and I want to really honein on the fact that it's
something that is new to you aswell, and you do not need to
beat yourself up about all ofthis, because it was probably
(26:23):
something or habits that werenot modeled for you in maybe the
holistic way or the allencompassing way that you want
to show up and show your family.
For example, in my home, my momum, I was fortunate that I
always had a home cooked meal.
She worked in the house, shehad her own business in the
(26:45):
house and I always had a homecooked meal.
But something that was notmodeled for me was exercise.
It was just not something thatmy mom had access to at the time
, right, and it was notsomething that she grew up with.
A lot of her exercise was justlike working a lot of, a lot of
manual and physical labor, right.
(27:06):
So there are pieces missing,maybe, or maybe everything is
missing, and you really dounderstand how important it is,
not just for you but also foryour children, and you're like
crap, I don't even know how tostart.
I'm so overwhelmed justthinking about it for me, I
(27:27):
don't know how to show up andshow my kids, know how to show
up and show my kids, and that isexactly where we get started,
exactly where we get started howto understand yourself.
What is food, how does foodwork in our bodies?
How do we choose food?
What do these ingredient labelsmean?
(27:49):
How do, how do hormones work inour body and why are they so
important and how are thesymptoms that you're feeling?
Tied to your hormones and a lotof it is in your lifestyle, and
once you start learning that,then you'll build up the
confidence to model that foryour children.
(28:12):
You will know how to getstarted, because the starting is
just you starting.
Did you hear?
I'm going to say that one moretime the starting in teaching
your kids how to live a healthylife is you starting.
It's you starting.
(28:33):
That is all they need for youto set the example, and I can
help you start so that your kidsstart.
I want to reiterate your kidsdo not need you to be a perfect
example of health.
They just need you to show themthat taking care of yourself
(28:55):
matters, that you matter,especially for little girls and
our little boys too that theycan in fact show up for
themselves as well and theydon't need someone else to be in
charge of that for them.
Okay, that is a whole notherepisode, girl, we're not going
(29:16):
to get into that.
And that learning and growingis normal, that evolving is
normal and that health is apractice, not something that you
perform, not a show that youput on for social media or for
other people.
It's literally showing up foryourself.
I'll leave it right there foryou, friends, I'll leave it
(29:37):
right there Again.
If you are interested in justgetting started and we can
figure it out together, I inviteyou to book a free consultation
call.
Let's get the conversationstarted with the link in the
show notes.
It is right where you click tolisten to this episode.
(29:58):
If you want to DM me, you cango ahead and do that on
Instagram.
You can also find the link tomy Instagram in your show notes.
And that is the first step,friends, that it can be that
simple and together we canfigure it out.
I am never one to lead you in adirection that's not in your
(30:19):
best interest.
I just really want all of us tobe healthy Latinas.
Let's be healthy Latinastogether, and that involves you.
Friends.
Okay, I will see you next week.
I will see you in the zoom roomin our consultation call, or I
(30:44):
will see you in the dms.
I hope you have a great week.
Bye.
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