October 17, 2025 • 38 mins
We share how a large, loud household moved from junk-food habits to a sustainable, faith-rooted health culture. Homeschool flexibility, dinner rituals, and simple routines helped each child thrive while we learned to prioritize sleep, strength, clean food, and connection.
• flexible homeschooling based on each child’s season
• dinner-table rituals that build listening and trust
• shifting from processed foods to clean eating
• using an 80–20 approach to reduce friction
• addressing eczema, gut issues, and dye sensitivities
• daily routines with shakes, greens, and quality supplements
• strength training, protein targets, and muscle as longevity
• sleep, electrolytes, and recovery as non-negotiables
• faith practices, prayer, and Scripture memory
• modeling marriage growth and seeking help when needed
• small consistent changes over time, not perfection
Make wellness a priority at home. Start small, stay consistent, and build the kind of relationships that help everyone grow.
Follow on us on socials and watch this podcast on Youtube - https://linktr.ee/Dr.JamesRoss
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
Missy Ross, welcome back to the show.
It's already starting off with achuckle.
SPEAKER_00 (00:05):
Yes, indeed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:07):
Are you happy to be here?
SPEAKER_00 (00:08):
I am.
Thanks so much for having mehere.
SPEAKER_01 (00:10):
You know, thanks for being here again, really.
We're happy to have you.
Um thanks for sharing the uhlast episode um that we did
together.
That was fantastic.
This is kind of like a part twoof that, if you will, maybe a
continuation of that discussionwhere I want to dive a little
bit deeper with our audiencetoday, talking a little bit more
about maybe our family culture,maybe uh uh you know, making
(00:33):
healthy living a lifestyle foryour family.
And um, you know, we've got awe've got a large family and
we've made healthy living umpart of our lifestyle.
And I'd love to just kind ofdive into that, of course,
having six beautiful kids, fourpain in the butt dogs.
But we love them anyway.
(00:54):
But why don't we set the stagehere?
If you could just tell us alittle bit about, tell the
audience about kind of give thema a glimpse of our kids and
maybe the stages of life thereand the seasons of life there,
and just talk a little bit aboutour kids, if you will.
SPEAKER_00 (01:07):
I love doing that.
So, yes, absolutely.
Um, well, our oldest is uh newlymarried, so we added another kid
to our group.
And so his lovely wife, Summer,he and um Summer have um been
married now a little over ayear.
This is Noah, our oldest.
And then our second child, Nia,she is in grad school, and so
(01:31):
she is working and um doingthat.
Our third son is at in collegeand doing all the things,
college, loving it.
Uh, we have a senior in highschool, a freshman in high
school, and a seventh grader.
So, and they all are atdifferent obviously stages, but
(01:52):
we also are at different stagesum homeschooled now for 22 years
almost.
And so um we've kind of just youhomeschooled from the beginning.
SPEAKER_01 (02:03):
I mean, every every kiddo has been homeschooled to a
point, right?
SPEAKER_00 (02:06):
And yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (02:07):
Talk us, talk about homeschooling.
That's that's why did you choosehomeschooling?
SPEAKER_00 (02:11):
Well, I am actually a teacher by degree, and they're
two totally different things.
Being a homeschool mom and ateacher in the school system is
um extremely different on somany levels.
But I knew um when Noah wasgetting ready to start school
that I wanted to be in charge ofhis education.
I wanted to be the one thattaught him all the things.
(02:34):
And it was, I didn't want tojust work on the traditional
things in terms of, you know,mat and spelling and reading and
writing, but I wanted to instillum values and character and um,
of course, biblical values thatwere really important to us.
And so I knew that that wouldonly be done at home.
And so we started that journeywhen he was four.
(02:57):
And so, yeah, 22 years ago.
And um we've just continued on.
We have definitely over theyears just stopped to see what
each child needs in that seasonof life.
And so some have come home for afew years and then have gone
back to school.
Uh some didn't come home at all.
And the boys stayed in schooland you know, were very much uh
(03:21):
a part of the sports that theywere in in in high school.
And then uh more recently, wekind of have a part-time
homeschool, private school kid,and then one who has never been
to school and is still currentlybeing homeschool in seventh
grade.
So we've just had a very justgam wide gamut of education,
just making sure each kid getswhat they need in the season
(03:43):
that they're in.
SPEAKER_01 (03:44):
That's the way we've kind of, I mean, is we've
practiced what we preach, andit's really not one size fits
all, right?
We talk about that a lot inhealth and wellness, but it's
true, and every kid's a littledifferent, every kid has
different needs.
And you know, I love thefoundation though that really
you being the main teacher.
I'm the principal and thesuperintendent.
Indeed.
(04:05):
PE coach.
But um but really you'reextraordinary.
Yes.
But you have laid an amazingfoundation with homeschooling.
It's really giving the kids aleg up, not just with their
academics, but also just withyou know, we're seeing the fruit
of that now as our kids getolder.
And you know, our kids aren'tperfect.
Sorry kids if you're listening.
(04:25):
You're not perfect, but we surelove you, but we're really proud
of you.
Yes, that's but they really, youknow, there is something uh, you
know, about them and and howwell they're doing in different
areas of their lives.
And I think that's reallybecause of the foundation that
you you laid, you know, from thebeginning, and that's that's
beautiful.
And I I thank you for that.
I know the kids do too, andthey've talked about it as
they've gotten older.
(04:46):
But again, it's not been yeah,it's it's not been this one size
fits all.
Each child has had a littledifferent need.
Some kids, you know, we we saywe'll homeschool for a while,
but we reevaluate year overyear.
What are you doing next year?
Remember the questions youalways ask, Well, what
curriculum are you gonna use?
What are you gonna do next year?
I don't know, we're gonna prayabout it and see see what we're
gonna do next year.
Not sure yet.
Not sure yet.
Maybe it's another year ofhomeschooling, maybe it's a year
(05:07):
now.
It's time now, it's time for youto maybe go into a good private
school.
And that we've been blessed uhand we are blessed in Tulsa to
have some amazing privateschools that have been really
great partners in education andand training.
I've been very grateful forthat.
Um you know some kids neededschool a little sooner than
others.
One in particular, one inparticular.
(05:29):
Some kids were a little maybe alittle more challenging to
homeschool, and but really beganto thrive and put in in in
school, just what they needed atthat season of their lives.
And again, you mentioned somekids going to being homeschooled
and then trying to school outand then coming back to
homeschool and then going backto finishing out and doing well
and thriving.
And again, that's the beauty ofbeing able to be flexible and
and to do what's best for eachchild in each season and each
(05:51):
circumstance.
Um how would you describe ourlife?
I mean, even just kind of fromthe over the last 30 years or
kids, you know, 26 years ofkids.
And how would you just I mean,take a snapshot now?
How would you describe our lifenow?
SPEAKER_00 (06:09):
Like from the beginning of the city.
Or just how would you describeour life?
SPEAKER_01 (06:11):
If you were if someone said, Hey, tell me, tell
me, describe your life to meright now.
unknown (06:15):
Wow.
SPEAKER_00 (06:16):
Well, when you talk about when they were small and
all homeschooling, um, gosh,that was a whole lot of grace.
Yeah.
God's grace for sure, becausethat was, I mean, we had all
ages and these, you know, olderkids trying to do math and
little babies screaming in thebackground.
And um, those were fun times.
(06:38):
But I think back to those times,those were times where it was
like a one-room schoolhouse.
So we sat and um did devotionstogether every morning.
And, you know, honestly, theyprayed for each other and they
um had prayer requests and theyprayed for one another and they
just um learned how to, I mean,live together.
(07:02):
And I mean, there was no, therewas never any room for strife,
which was a big one in ourhouse, which is probably a whole
nother podcast.
But um we just we they justlearned how to get along and
they uh waited um in themornings for everyone to wake up
before they all sat together andate breakfast together.
They ate lunch together, we haddinner at the table every night.
(07:25):
Family dinner.
Family dinner.
Uh, and I think those are thosewere pivotal times.
We would read books, we would dodevotions, we would talk about
our day.
Um back then we'd do highs andlows, and they're like, we
didn't have any lows today.
And then there'd be other dayswe're like, oh, there were
fights all day.
And so it it was just it was afun experience.
(07:45):
Now we do something.
Um, we do different things atthe table, but we still manage.
Uh that's one thing that I Ilove is that we still manage to
sit and eat dinner, even in thebusy schedules, uh, together at
the table and haveconversations, and everyone has
an opportunity to listen and andtalk.
And they now we call it Hi HoBuffalo.
(08:07):
So they talk about their highsof the day.
High of the day and um whatthey're looking forward to.
What they're looking forward to.
And then Buffalo is more of likewhat was something that
interesting that happened, orsomething you something weird,
funny, something you learned, orwhatever.
So it's just any time.
So it's kind of fun because nowI feel like our house is so much
more it was full when they werelittle because we always had
(08:29):
neighborhood kids over.
Now we have everybody's friendsand college kids.
SPEAKER_01 (08:36):
Oh, all that's pretty chaotic.
It's probably an understatementat times.
Uh even now juggling what you'redoing between kids in different
seasons.
We got kids that are our oldestobviously looking to buy a
looking to buy a house and kids,you know, grad school, college,
high school, you know, to juniorhigh, and then, you know,
running businesses and and justall all the different things.
(08:58):
So life's, you know, it's safeto say I'm sure everyone's
everyone's busy.
I mean, we live in a culture andin a society that's just fast
forwarding just on just crazyfast, you know, and and we're
we're seeing that the theeffects of that, you know, all
over.
SPEAKER_00 (09:15):
And I think that's what people like to I mean, it's
almost like a badge that isworn, like, I'm crazy busy.
And you know, I think it's moreof yes, our life is full.
It's it's a good full.
There's always something goingon, and there's always seasons
of more fullness than others.
But um it's learning to just setthose prior those priorities of
(09:39):
things that are most importantin that season and um growing.
But it is a juggling actsometimes with so many different
things and different differentthings.
SPEAKER_01 (09:48):
Life is busy, life is crazy, busy, easy.
People say I've used that phrasemyself and hey, how are you
doing?
How are things?
Oh great, just busy.
That's kind of common.
And it's true, but but even so,it amidst the chaos sometimes
and the and the f theimperfections, you know, of of
just the season of life.
It's I like to describe it kindof as a beautiful chaos.
You know, it's it's still youhave to embrace the season.
(10:09):
I mean, it yes, it's chaotic,but it's still beautiful at the
same time.
And it's just being, you know,recognizing the season you're in
and the and this part of thejourney.
SPEAKER_00 (10:17):
Um and loving that season because you'll not get
that back.
That's why I feel like that'sone thing I always, you know,
tell moms just in general, isembrace the season that you're
in, because I feel like it goesso quick, and then you're like
off to another season, you'relike, I miss that season, but
there's so many other thingsahead for that the new things
that are, you know, you get toexperience.
SPEAKER_01 (10:39):
It's true.
I mean, even as we're talkingabout this, I don't know if our
viewers can hear this, but ourdogs are going crazy out in the
yard, and you know, the maleman's just going by and you
know, life when you got kidsprobably are running around this
house somewhere.
But it's it's true, you know,and it's like, well, these are
still these are precious times,you know.
Kind of talking, bringing itback a little more full circle,
(10:59):
kind of we were talking about,you know, healthy living and and
and clean eating.
And how would you I want to talkabout a little bit of a
metamorphosis kind of in ourfamily, in our family culture.
Talk about kind of what we'redoing now and what was it like?
What was our nutrition like?
What would you say the kids'nutrition was like uh before?
How did they eat?
(11:20):
And kind of how does it looknow?
Let's compare and contrast.
SPEAKER_00 (11:24):
Well, back in the day, um, you know, we would all
take the whole trip to Sam'stogether, and um, they each had
their buddy and their cart, andit was a great time for them to
go and choose the foods thatthey wanted to eat.
And boy, they chose all thethings that now would horrify
me.
SPEAKER_01 (11:44):
Yeah, yeah, it's true.
SPEAKER_00 (11:45):
Um, but yeah, I from you know, definitely back to the
Pop Tarts and sodas to um theirfavorite cereals, little
cookies, um, donuts.
They love those powder donutsand the little chocolate donuts
in the bag and the powderedones, the white powdered ones.
Uh, there was just so manythings that, you know, I I mean
(12:07):
I grew up that way.
So I thought, you know, whywouldn't I why wouldn't I give
that to my kids?
Right.
Um so yeah, and ramen was afavorite.
Uh I haven't.
SPEAKER_01 (12:18):
I lived on ramen in college.
SPEAKER_00 (12:19):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (12:20):
Maybe that's what's wrong with me.
SPEAKER_00 (12:21):
So how they um so they just did.
They just they they loved foodand we ate all kinds of foods
that were not good for us.
And so when we started to makethis transition, or at least
when I did, uh, I started buyingdifferent things.
And I honestly did not change uhthat was one thing we didn't
(12:45):
talk about before, but when Istarted this journey of just the
30 days to healthy living andeating clean, I did not make a
separate meal for everybody.
Like I just I made if if I wasdoing brown rice noodles,
everybody got brown ricenoodles.
Yeah, that's right.
I made a salad with a specialdressing, everybody got that,
you know.
SPEAKER_01 (13:04):
And there was some weeping and wailing and gnashing
of teeth when they're like, whatis this?
It doesn't taste the same.
SPEAKER_00 (13:11):
Can I just have a big thing of ranch?
I'm like, no, we're not gonna dothat.
Of course, I learned how to makeranch, but yeah, it was it was
uh uh for the most part, theydid really well.
I mean, we were eating normal,real food.
It was just um, it was differentthan what they were used to.
But you know, I always said,hey, you can eat it now or you
can eat it in the morningwhenever I remember those times
(13:32):
too.
SPEAKER_01 (13:32):
And this this would be a whole other conversation.
You mentioned Sam's and all theadventures of taking, you know,
six kids to Sam's or you know,and and the fun and the joys and
the discipline of that and thechaos of that, and uh also just
all these other, you know,transitions that they got to
experience.
But they were troopers about it.
They really didn't think thekids are pretty, they're
(13:54):
malleable, they're adjustable,they'll yeah, they'll be okay,
you know.
And like I loved how you youdidn't cater to one's deal or
the other.
You just said, hey, this is whatyou're gonna get.
You get what you get and youdon't throw a fit.
SPEAKER_00 (14:04):
You don't throw a fit.
SPEAKER_01 (14:04):
If you don't like it for dinner, you can have it for
breakfast.
And there was a time or twosomeone tried us on that, but it
maybe just like once.
They learned their lesson.
SPEAKER_00 (14:12):
They had it for breakfast and never did that
again.
SPEAKER_01 (14:14):
I know that sounds harsh, maybe to some people that
are listening, but you knowwhat?
Hey, it's it's effective and itand it worked.
SPEAKER_00 (14:19):
It went in the fridge.
I mean, it was totally, it'stotally legit.
Um, but yeah, yeah.
I mean, it was kind of a slogan.
We're like, hey, it's not BurgerKing, you can't have it your
way.
So we're gonna sit and eat andwe're gonna enjoy it.
So they did learn how to makethose.
Um, they watched us do it, and Ithink that that was really key
is just being able to see theexample, like this is what we're
(14:40):
gonna do and choose as a family.
And I think that's another valuewe've really instilled is like
we do things as a family, likewe are a family, and this is how
we roll, whether it's showing upto everyone's games or it's um
supporting someone else and adifferent journey, or you know,
like we show up.
And so if we're gonna make thistransition, we're gonna do it
together as a group.
(15:00):
And so they did.
I mean, it was it was hard.
SPEAKER_01 (15:03):
And then the kids have had some, you know, I think
when we look at where they were,where they are now, we talked
about clean eating before, whatthat looks like and avoiding
certain types of maybeinflammatory foods and things of
that nature.
And then, you know, living on a,you know, trying to live on an
80-20 principle.
We'll talk a little bit moreabout that, you know, 80% of the
time eating, eating as clean andhealthy as you can, and 20% of
the time, you know, you gotta,you gotta let loose once in a
(15:25):
while, you know, you have to youhave to enjoy uh there's nothing
wrong with enjoying a piece ofcheesecake once in a while or or
having something like that.
But speaking of the kids, youknow, the kids had some some
some had actual food allergiesand had food sensitivities.
I we could probably go down thelist, you know, like with our
oldest, with Noah, you know, heyou know, he's he's had some
some gut issues over the years,and you know, seeing how maybe
(15:48):
this could be a a benefit to himand and maybe you know how that
transition helped some of hisgut issues.
And and interestingly, when weget off track, all of us,
anybody, you know, those thingswill rear their ugly heads
again, you know, when it comesto irritable bowel or it just
comes to you know back uhdysbiosis or bacterial
overgrowth.
Um, and we look at our oldestdaughter, Naya, she's she's had
(16:10):
eczema.
I remember she used to haveeczema really bad prior to clean
eating.
And then as we as she startedlearning and we started learning
about how to eat cleaner, thosethings, you know.
Um skin cleared.
Yeah, skin cleared right up,acne and and eczema.
SPEAKER_00 (16:24):
She had like a different, she had discoloration
of her skin, like it was turningwhite.
We're like, we couldn't figureit out.
And she we realized, and thatwas one thing too about just the
program in general.
It it yes, you're substituting,you're taking out all of those
things that you're not supposedto be eating, but you're putting
in the foods that are wholefoods that are actually going to
(16:45):
nourish you.
And and you start to discover inthe process those foods that
were sabotaging you.
And so we discover we wediscovered, at least in her
case, uh, she actually I kind ofhelped her, you know, with her
diet, and she started eating theway I was eating, and we watched
her just well, her skin clear,like it it her her pigment came
(17:10):
back, and she when we started tointroduce things back into her
diet, we knew, oh, it'sdefinitely it was a gluten and
it was a dairy issue for her.
SPEAKER_01 (17:19):
And to this day, if she accidentally eats something
she shouldn't, or there's likewhen she went overseas, you
know, there was she couldn'thave she had to eat what they
had, and and you know how thatcreated some flair.
So really, I mean there'sthere's truth to this, you know,
sensitivities and food allergiesare are real.
Uh with Nate, our our thirdchild, he was very sensitive to
dyes, red dye, and make him morewild than he already was.
(17:41):
He was our wild man.
SPEAKER_00 (17:42):
And uh which they disband, hello.
SPEAKER_01 (17:45):
Yeah, that's finally exactly right, finally, right?
They but it's like we know weknew these things before.
Why does it take the FDA andgovernment and other that's
another podcast?
SPEAKER_02 (17:54):
That's a whole other podcast.
SPEAKER_01 (17:56):
Better be careful.
We don't want to get censored.
But uh, you know, we look atNina also's and you know,
different gut issues as well.
Uh Naomi, where she found, youknow, we found gluten and dairy
kind of being a culprit for hersignificantly, and and how that
impacted you know, concentrationand other things of that nature.
Interestingly, our youngest hasbeen the rock star.
(18:18):
You know, she's we we've chosensome different paths for our
younger kids than we did ourolder kids, and then we would
love to visit that topic uh downthe road on on vaccinations and
other things of that nature.
Um but we've had it, you know,our younger kids and our
youngest has had the really thebenefit of years of of wisdom
and years of of um you knowtrial and error, right?
(18:39):
Figuring out, but she's she'snot had any of this issues that
um you know that our otherchildren uh have had.
And um so it's it's prettyremarkable um how it's a
testament to, you know, uh ahealthy lifestyle.
Um I'd love tell me a little bitabout um what does your
(19:05):
nutrition look like?
Tell tell us tell the audiencekind of what you know what's
tell me what what you like, whatyou do, what works for you.
And I'll share maybe what worksfor me, but but tell me like
kind of what are some of theimportant things in in your
day-to-day healthy living thatyou model for our family.
SPEAKER_00 (19:20):
One is um, well, I think one that's kind of been
implemented across the board uhwhen I first started this
journey, it was kind of theimplementation.
We were kind of already doinglike smoothies and things like
that, but um an actual proteinshake that was uh nutritious and
had the right protein to carbratio that um for me was really
(19:42):
important that it was vegan, um,just because it was, you know, I
was trying to eliminate whey andthings like that in my diet.
And uh so implementing that, Ithink, in in the daily has been
transformational.
You know, uh, I think we werereading something when we first
started with most nutritionistsuh at the very beginning of all
(20:05):
the diet changes and thingswe're saying, like it is uh
imperative or at least helpfulat that that you drink one of
your meals uh a day because itactually gives your system a
chance to digest.
Like it gives your digestivesystem a break, but you're still
pouring in all the nutrients,the dense nutrients that you
need to sustain your body, butit gives your body a chance to
(20:27):
just not have to work so hard todigest things.
And so I definitely start theday with a protein shake.
Well, first I start with mygreens.
So I have um a product that Iuse that has psychic kind of
five in one pro and prebioticsdigestive enzymes.
It has um vegan collagen thathelps to um boost your own
collagen.
(20:48):
And um it's so good.
And um, it's got 13 non-Jumogreens.
And so it's like in one powerpack, like I can throw it in
water and drink it first thing.
And it gives my system just whatit needs to kind of get going in
all of those areas.
And then I followed up with myprotein shake, and then I try to
(21:10):
have like a light protein snackin the middle of the morning.
And then just depending onlunch, if I'm on the go, the the
my two faves are um my proteinis a full meal in a glass.
It actually is has avocado oilin it.
So it's a full meal in a glass,so I can throw water in with it
and it's a full meal.
And so I love it because it's onthe go.
So if I can have a well-balancedlunch, I'll do that.
(21:34):
If not, I'll just drink anotherprotein shake and eat a clean
dinner.
But um, I try to at least drinkat least one protein shake.
And then I have some teas that Idrink and um other supplements
that we take.
SPEAKER_01 (21:47):
What's your favorite supplement?
Do you have a do you have afavorite supplement?
And that's kind of a strangequestion.
SPEAKER_00 (21:51):
A favorite supplement.
Uh well, this year I kind of hadsome different health um issues.
Uh, were we talking that too?
You want me?
I mean, I can.
Um, I had actually hurt my back,which was random.
We actually had all these biggoals at the beginning of last
year, and I was I hurt my back,and then shortly after that had
(22:12):
a horrible bout of vertigo.
And so turmeric became my bestfriend in terms of just kind of
lowering the inflammation.
Um that's one of my faves.
And then um, I feel likemagnesium has helped too a lot
for me at least, and uh alongwith all of our other ones, I
think those two are my my go-tofaves for sure.
(22:37):
And I do have to remind myselfto do the D, the D vitamin D,
yes, because D3.
Yeah, D3, because that actuallyhelps me um feel better.
I'm like, why am I so tired?
SPEAKER_01 (22:48):
So that's amazing how that gap with energy levels.
Yeah.
So important to so many othermetabolic processes, obviously,
bone health.
Um, you know, uh, that's it's sokey, helps with hormone
synthesis.
There's so many things thatvitamin D is good for, as well
as magnesium is such animportant cofactor for a lot of
other processes in the body aswell.
So it helps with your brain,your muscles, which is your back
(23:09):
injury, the muscles.
Um, it helps to relax you, ithelps your gut, you know, helps
your heart.
You know, patients that haveheart palpitation, sometimes
I'll recommend a little extramagnesium, magnesium glycinate,
it can be awesome.
Magnesium L3 and eight forsleep.
You know, there's so manydifferent types of it.
It's it's uh that's probably myfavorite.
I think magnesium's my favoritesupplement if I had a favorite.
SPEAKER_00 (23:31):
Well, and then finding the right one, because
sometimes they don't even likeyou just need to make sure you
find a whole food uh solid onethat will actually your body
will actually digest and abusebecause we've had the opposite
to For me I'd say I'd say thatyou know I start my day also
with a with a protein shake.
SPEAKER_01 (23:50):
Um love the greens.
I'm not always good about doingthat first because I'm usually
like running out of here.
But I'll do the greens maybesometime mid-morning.
I kind of do mine a littledifferent.
It's a good idea to do thegreens first, just from your
digestive standpoint.
But I like to mix the greens inwhenever I can, and then usually
mid-morning.
Um I've been working really hardsince you know our detox.
(24:10):
And in the last, really in thelast we did another detox about
a year ago.
October, was it?
November?
SPEAKER_00 (24:16):
Yeah, a little over a year ago.
SPEAKER_01 (24:17):
That was really a pivotal time for for for me to
really work on my consistencyand my goals.
And as we get older, you know,you you can't cram for the test
when of aging.
You have to start sowing seedearlier in your life, as early
as you can.
That's never too late.
But you know, for me, I've beensince then I've been really
conscious.
(24:37):
Uh, I'd lost weight on thatdetox.
Again, I needed to.
Um, but then I've been workingreally hard on gaining muscle,
working out, increasing myprotein intake, trying to get um
as much protein as I canthroughout the day.
And there's different peoplethat talk about you know protein
requirements when you're tryingto build muscle.
And there's a lot of functionalmedicine doctors that say that
(24:57):
that muscle is the organ oflongevity.
You know, it's really importantto build muscle, particularly
with women who don't probablythink about resistance training
and building those muscles.
It's so important.
And I I know you've been doingthat from an exercise
standpoint.
You've been working hard andI've been working hard.
And so as we've looked at ourbody composition, we've lost,
you know, fat and gained muscle,and that's that's been really
important, which is why myprotein intake is always really
(25:20):
high uh compared to everybodyelse.
I'm always trying to find extraprotein, you know, extra
healthy, you know, beef sticks,you know, 10 grams here, 10
grams there, and you know, I doan after-workout shake, you
know, I'm working out, liftingweights, and uh doing cardio at
least four or five times a week.
I love it.
It's become a habit.
Um and like anything lifestyle,really, habit is a big, is a big
(25:42):
part of this.
And I think that when you knowyou have a habit when when you
don't do it, you feel like youfeel like, oh my gosh, what I I
what am I missing?
Or you you you know you'remissing it.
So that's why cultivating goodhabits is so important.
Um taking my supplements, youknow, every morning and evening,
uh, throughout the day, youknow, turmeric as well as part
of my regimen, magnesium, uh,omega-3s, um, vitamin D, I take
(26:07):
a ton of supplements, coQ10, umvarious things that can help.
Um, I do creatine powder everyday, five grams of that every
day.
Um and um that helps to to buildmuscle mass as well.
And so to me, that's that's beenkind of my journey in that
regard, getting getting morefit, maintaining muscle health
and wellness, gaining as muchmuscle mass as I can while I'm
(26:30):
uh you know in this season oflife uh is important.
Um I think electrolytes too.
Oh electrolytes, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (26:37):
Yeah, we've been doing a lot more of that, which
I didn't realize we needed somuch, but I think too, just what
even there that has been areally important thing for us is
like seeing what are in theproducts.
Like I'm not just gonna go intothe store and find, oh, this
this looks good.
And so knowing exactly whereyour products are coming from
(26:57):
and huge sourcing is important.
Where the sourcing is, and Imean that I clean organic clean
products, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (27:06):
You know, in our clinic and the different
products that that you'veintroduced me to over the years,
you know, I've been been passingthat litmus test of purity and
and more importantly, the theefficacy, they're they're really
good for you.
It works.
Um other things in in alifestyle of of wellness as we
we promote obviously exercise.
We go on as families sometimesat the gym, we all go.
(27:28):
Yes.
We encourage people to go, youknow, for our homeschoolers PE,
you know.
But uh, you know, but then on ontop of that too is is resting
and sleeping.
Um are you getting enough sleep,Missy Ross?
SPEAKER_00 (27:41):
Oh, jeez.
I knew that was gonna come up.
Um no, actually.
I've never I've always been anight owl.
And so when I started on thishealth journey, I started trying
to, you know, when it was easyto get things done when all the
kids were asleep.
And so I could work, work, workand then not wake up or wake up
(28:02):
just a little bit before theydid.
But now with everybody inschool, I'm like, oh, I've got
to get up way early.
And so when I started to makethe the lifestyle change, I, you
know, started getting upearlier.
And and that was a new thing forme.
That was a major shift.
Um, you know, getting up at 5 30or, you know, before everybody
was, but I'm like, oh, I get I'mso much more productive when
(28:24):
that happens.
And so um, however, I don'talways go to bed uh that early.
SPEAKER_01 (28:31):
And so we can all make it definitely it's a
process, right, Missy?
SPEAKER_00 (28:35):
It is a process, and I'm definitely not um getting
enough sleep.
SPEAKER_01 (28:38):
I've been letting it slip probably too in the last
maybe month or so.
I've been I've been during theholidays.
Yeah, during the holidays, Ikind of stay up a little later.
Everyone's home, everyone'syeah, and so that's something we
need to get back track of.
I used to be the the sleepsheriff, right?
I was very like Indeed.
And I know that was kind ofchiving everybody else.
Lights out for me at nineo'clock and I'm up at five.
SPEAKER_00 (28:57):
Nobody talking.
Quiet.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (29:00):
But uh, but but there's something to be said for
that, right?
Science is really showing andproving out that sleep is
restorative.
It's it's it's it's our bodyneeds it, right?
And and I think that it'ssomething that's that's vital.
And really the the adage ofeight hours, you know, it's
really still seven to eighthours, but I encourage people to
push for eight hours.
You know, kids, teenagers needmore sleep than that.
(29:20):
But for for adults, eight hoursis awesome.
If you can hit eight hours, goto bed at the same time if you
can, wake up at the same timeevery day.
I think that's really important.
Of course, things like stressmanagement, stress reduction.
You know, that's that goeswithout saying.
And we'll go deeper on a lot ofthese subjects as as we go on in
future podcasts, but I think it,again, this is part of the
things that kind of made up ourfamily culture, our family
lifestyle, and kind of, youknow, things that we've done to
(29:44):
really enhance and contribute.
What are some other reallyimportant things though,
culturally in our family thatyou think are contributing to to
just our health and wellness?
SPEAKER_00 (29:55):
Like different habits or different things.
SPEAKER_01 (30:00):
You do a beautiful job of modeling and that are
important for for for ourchildren to follow.
SPEAKER_00 (30:06):
Well, it's actually really cool.
Most of our kids, um, well, whenyou talk specifically about
exercise, like they are they allexercise together or like do a
family walk or um go to the gymtogether.
And so that has definitely beenone.
I would say the habits thatwe've created, obviously we've
had this conversation of justongoing conversation about
(30:27):
eating and making healthierhabits.
A lot of the older kids were notas compliant.
And now that they're older,they're starting to see the
value in what they eat and whatthat looks like.
I think also it's just been ourfamily, it's been our culture of
just being together and makinguh really God a priority, uh,
(30:52):
reading together, doingdevotions.
Um we make it a point to prayevery night together before bed.
I think that's really important.
And even memorize differentpassages, I think, uh something
that's really important to me interms of instilling that word
that um that is not return void,but will accomplish what it says
(31:16):
it will.
And that has been pivotal.
Uh, I think the other day wewere having a conversation and
all the kids were home for theholidays, college, and everyone.
And uh there was one particularscripture, and one of the older
kids were like asked theyoungest, like, do you know
this?
And she's like, No, I don't.
And they're like, She doesn'tknow this?
(31:38):
Like, like, mom, you have failedher.
I'm like, what in the world?
So we just started at nighttime,just reciting it because
everybody else knew it.
And so, of course, she caughton.
But it was that that culture ofwhere your values are and and
and how important things are toyou, it is instilling that
(31:59):
culture in them.
That now they even if we havekids that are traveling or
something and we're on thephone, they're like, okay, we
gotta pray.
Where's dad?
And so, you know, put it onspeakerphone.
And I think that those kinds ofthings are things that they can,
you know, they're gonna take,you know, all the other habits
alongside with them.
But I think that that's alwaysbeen the most important thing
for me.
Uh, they have, you know, qualitytime together, but in the word
(32:23):
and getting to know.
And they do that too.
Like they were you gonna saysomething about that?
Like they do, they just they getup and have their own quiet time
and devotion time and they, youknow, they don't have to be told
what to do, are they?
SPEAKER_01 (32:35):
Just it's beautiful to see if you come out and then
different kids is kind of havingtheir own chair time, quiet
time, you know, reading theBible.
And even beyond that, too, inaddition to cultivating
spirituality, just the otherthings they read, you know,
they'll read other types of ofbooks that are, you know,
inspirational or historical orthat that help, you know,
enhance who they are as well.
(32:55):
And so truly trying toincorporate that holistic
approach, right?
We talk about mind, body, andspirit.
And I think that's really thethe endeavor.
Again, not perfect, but reallytrying to have that mind, body,
spirit thing.
And you mentioned somethingabout, you know, showing up for
each other, about relationshipsand and obviously the the most
important relationship in anyfamily is between a husband and
a wife.
(33:15):
And and you know, marriage,marriage is tough.
It can be hard, you know, andwe've had we've had our share of
of of really difficult times,you know, ups and downs, and and
um but we've managed to hang inthere, you know, and and even
you know, we've done counselingand not ashamed to say that, and
we've been through someintensives over intensives over
the years, and you know, whenlife gets challenging, life gets
(33:38):
hard.
But I think our kids have seen,you know, the good times and the
bad times, and and you know,they they learn from that too,
you know, that we're we'remodeling for them and they're
seeing and they know mom and dadaren't perfect, and we've had
those talks, hey, you know,dad's not perfect, you know,
mom's not perfect, sorry.
You know, but they appreciateyou being real and and us being
real and living our lives infront of them and and
(33:59):
endeavoring to say, look, it'snever too late to to grow and
and get better, you know, andyeah, we've made mistakes, but
you know, what do we do aboutthat?
Do you want to live in themistake?
Do you want to live in the past?
Do you want to live with theshame, or do you want to, you
know, do you want to moveforward?
You know, and I think that'ssomething that they've been able
to see too at the heart of whatwe've done.
You know, you being a tremendousexample.
I mean, truly you um you inspireall of us, Suddy.
(34:23):
You've really done an amazingjob um with just being who you
are, with um, you know, yourexample of just you're
consistent, you're steadfast,you know, you're tough and
you're loving.
You know, it's like you, you,you're just you're just, man,
you're always consistent, and Iappreciate that.
You know, when I'm on my highsor my lows, or I got ideas and
(34:45):
delusions of grandeur, or I'mjust, you know, whatever.
You you're always able to kindof be a steadying force for us.
And so we thank you for that.
You've been such a great exampleon all levels.
Uh a true Proverbs 31 example, Iwould say.
So I want to wrap up um, youknow, this episode.
(35:05):
I know we went a little bitlong, but this is good.
I think this is good insightinto sharing kind of what works
for us.
What works for us may not workfor s other people.
And again, that one size fitsall.
But I think that, you know,there's severing several
ingredients to uh a healthyfamily lifestyle, you know, and
I would say that it really, as Ijust, you know, mentioned it
starts with mom and dad.
(35:26):
It starts, it starts right therewith mom and dad taking care of
themselves, setting an example,you know, uh, as you did.
You were a great example for mein so many areas, in all those
areas, but you really helped me.
And it's it's it's paid off forme, it's paid off for our kids
and even patients and familiesthat that you know that we're
able to help.
Um, you know, it's it's aboutmaking wellness a priority.
(35:47):
And I think that's some a bigimportant thing that we can take
on.
Make wellness a priority in yourhome, right?
Make wellness a priority at homeand and make progress.
It's not about perfection, it'snot about being perfect.
We talked about the 80-20principle.
Hey, okay, so you it wasn't itwas 80-20 the other way.
Okay, well, you know, so thatyou got to shift it back.
But you you just makeadjustments, you know, about
(36:08):
clean eating, exercise, reducingstress, proper sleep,
supplementation, all of thosethings.
But I think a real key to in allof this is building healthy
relationships.
I think that's the key.
And it's been said, and that's aquote that I love, that the
quality of one's life isdirectly proportional to the
quality of one's relationships.
Okay, so our quality of life isalso determined in large part to
(36:30):
the quality of ourrelationships.
So making relationships apriority is huge, making time
for each other, showing up foreach other, encouraging each
other, building one another up.
And I think that's somethingthat is that is uh tremendously
needed and helpful in buildingand cultivating a family culture
of a healthy lifestyle.
So I just want to say that it itI promise that if you commit to
(36:52):
some small healthy changes uhconsistently over time, the
small changes consistently overtime, it's gonna add up to some
significant healthy results.
Right?
You don't have to swing for thefences right out of the gate.
Just make some small steps, somesmall changes, some little
things that you can do every dayin your family, with yourself
and with your family.
And I promise that when when youdo those things, you're gonna be
(37:16):
able to live your best life.
You're gonna have your besthealth, and most importantly,
you're gonna discover how to dothat and live your best life
your way.
Thanks for joining us today.
Missy Ross, welcome back to the show.
It's already starting off with achuckle.
SPEAKER_00 (00:05):
Yes, indeed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:07):
Are you happy to be here?
SPEAKER_00 (00:08):
I am.
Thanks so much for having mehere.
SPEAKER_01 (00:10):
You know, thanks for being here again, really.
We're happy to have you.
Um thanks for sharing the uhlast episode um that we did
together.
That was fantastic.
This is kind of like a part twoof that, if you will, maybe a
continuation of that discussionwhere I want to dive a little
bit deeper with our audiencetoday, talking a little bit more
about maybe our family culture,maybe uh uh you know, making
(00:33):
healthy living a lifestyle foryour family.
And um, you know, we've got awe've got a large family and
we've made healthy living umpart of our lifestyle.
And I'd love to just kind ofdive into that, of course,
having six beautiful kids, fourpain in the butt dogs.
But we love them anyway.
(00:54):
But why don't we set the stagehere?
If you could just tell us alittle bit about, tell the
audience about kind of give thema a glimpse of our kids and
maybe the stages of life thereand the seasons of life there,
and just talk a little bit aboutour kids, if you will.
SPEAKER_00 (01:07):
I love doing that.
So, yes, absolutely.
Um, well, our oldest is uh newlymarried, so we added another kid
to our group.
And so his lovely wife, Summer,he and um Summer have um been
married now a little over ayear.
This is Noah, our oldest.
And then our second child, Nia,she is in grad school, and so
(01:31):
she is working and um doingthat.
Our third son is at in collegeand doing all the things,
college, loving it.
Uh, we have a senior in highschool, a freshman in high
school, and a seventh grader.
So, and they all are atdifferent obviously stages, but
(01:52):
we also are at different stagesum homeschooled now for 22 years
almost.
And so um we've kind of just youhomeschooled from the beginning.
SPEAKER_01 (02:03):
I mean, every every kiddo has been homeschooled to a
point, right?
SPEAKER_00 (02:06):
And yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (02:07):
Talk us, talk about homeschooling.
That's that's why did you choosehomeschooling?
SPEAKER_00 (02:11):
Well, I am actually a teacher by degree, and they're
two totally different things.
Being a homeschool mom and ateacher in the school system is
um extremely different on somany levels.
But I knew um when Noah wasgetting ready to start school
that I wanted to be in charge ofhis education.
I wanted to be the one thattaught him all the things.
(02:34):
And it was, I didn't want tojust work on the traditional
things in terms of, you know,mat and spelling and reading and
writing, but I wanted to instillum values and character and um,
of course, biblical values thatwere really important to us.
And so I knew that that wouldonly be done at home.
And so we started that journeywhen he was four.
(02:57):
And so, yeah, 22 years ago.
And um we've just continued on.
We have definitely over theyears just stopped to see what
each child needs in that seasonof life.
And so some have come home for afew years and then have gone
back to school.
Uh some didn't come home at all.
And the boys stayed in schooland you know, were very much uh
(03:21):
a part of the sports that theywere in in in high school.
And then uh more recently, wekind of have a part-time
homeschool, private school kid,and then one who has never been
to school and is still currentlybeing homeschool in seventh
grade.
So we've just had a very justgam wide gamut of education,
just making sure each kid getswhat they need in the season
(03:43):
that they're in.
SPEAKER_01 (03:44):
That's the way we've kind of, I mean, is we've
practiced what we preach, andit's really not one size fits
all, right?
We talk about that a lot inhealth and wellness, but it's
true, and every kid's a littledifferent, every kid has
different needs.
And you know, I love thefoundation though that really
you being the main teacher.
I'm the principal and thesuperintendent.
Indeed.
(04:05):
PE coach.
But um but really you'reextraordinary.
Yes.
But you have laid an amazingfoundation with homeschooling.
It's really giving the kids aleg up, not just with their
academics, but also just withyou know, we're seeing the fruit
of that now as our kids getolder.
And you know, our kids aren'tperfect.
Sorry kids if you're listening.
(04:25):
You're not perfect, but we surelove you, but we're really proud
of you.
Yes, that's but they really, youknow, there is something uh, you
know, about them and and howwell they're doing in different
areas of their lives.
And I think that's reallybecause of the foundation that
you you laid, you know, from thebeginning, and that's that's
beautiful.
And I I thank you for that.
I know the kids do too, andthey've talked about it as
they've gotten older.
(04:46):
But again, it's not been yeah,it's it's not been this one size
fits all.
Each child has had a littledifferent need.
Some kids, you know, we we saywe'll homeschool for a while,
but we reevaluate year overyear.
What are you doing next year?
Remember the questions youalways ask, Well, what
curriculum are you gonna use?
What are you gonna do next year?
I don't know, we're gonna prayabout it and see see what we're
gonna do next year.
Not sure yet.
Not sure yet.
Maybe it's another year ofhomeschooling, maybe it's a year
(05:07):
now.
It's time now, it's time for youto maybe go into a good private
school.
And that we've been blessed uhand we are blessed in Tulsa to
have some amazing privateschools that have been really
great partners in education andand training.
I've been very grateful forthat.
Um you know some kids neededschool a little sooner than
others.
One in particular, one inparticular.
(05:29):
Some kids were a little maybe alittle more challenging to
homeschool, and but really beganto thrive and put in in in
school, just what they needed atthat season of their lives.
And again, you mentioned somekids going to being homeschooled
and then trying to school outand then coming back to
homeschool and then going backto finishing out and doing well
and thriving.
And again, that's the beauty ofbeing able to be flexible and
and to do what's best for eachchild in each season and each
(05:51):
circumstance.
Um how would you describe ourlife?
I mean, even just kind of fromthe over the last 30 years or
kids, you know, 26 years ofkids.
And how would you just I mean,take a snapshot now?
How would you describe our lifenow?
SPEAKER_00 (06:09):
Like from the beginning of the city.
Or just how would you describeour life?
SPEAKER_01 (06:11):
If you were if someone said, Hey, tell me, tell
me, describe your life to meright now.
unknown (06:15):
Wow.
SPEAKER_00 (06:16):
Well, when you talk about when they were small and
all homeschooling, um, gosh,that was a whole lot of grace.
Yeah.
God's grace for sure, becausethat was, I mean, we had all
ages and these, you know, olderkids trying to do math and
little babies screaming in thebackground.
And um, those were fun times.
(06:38):
But I think back to those times,those were times where it was
like a one-room schoolhouse.
So we sat and um did devotionstogether every morning.
And, you know, honestly, theyprayed for each other and they
um had prayer requests and theyprayed for one another and they
just um learned how to, I mean,live together.
(07:02):
And I mean, there was no, therewas never any room for strife,
which was a big one in ourhouse, which is probably a whole
nother podcast.
But um we just we they justlearned how to get along and
they uh waited um in themornings for everyone to wake up
before they all sat together andate breakfast together.
They ate lunch together, we haddinner at the table every night.
(07:25):
Family dinner.
Family dinner.
Uh, and I think those are thosewere pivotal times.
We would read books, we would dodevotions, we would talk about
our day.
Um back then we'd do highs andlows, and they're like, we
didn't have any lows today.
And then there'd be other dayswe're like, oh, there were
fights all day.
And so it it was just it was afun experience.
(07:45):
Now we do something.
Um, we do different things atthe table, but we still manage.
Uh that's one thing that I Ilove is that we still manage to
sit and eat dinner, even in thebusy schedules, uh, together at
the table and haveconversations, and everyone has
an opportunity to listen and andtalk.
And they now we call it Hi HoBuffalo.
(08:07):
So they talk about their highsof the day.
High of the day and um whatthey're looking forward to.
What they're looking forward to.
And then Buffalo is more of likewhat was something that
interesting that happened, orsomething you something weird,
funny, something you learned, orwhatever.
So it's just any time.
So it's kind of fun because nowI feel like our house is so much
more it was full when they werelittle because we always had
(08:29):
neighborhood kids over.
Now we have everybody's friendsand college kids.
SPEAKER_01 (08:36):
Oh, all that's pretty chaotic.
It's probably an understatementat times.
Uh even now juggling what you'redoing between kids in different
seasons.
We got kids that are our oldestobviously looking to buy a
looking to buy a house and kids,you know, grad school, college,
high school, you know, to juniorhigh, and then, you know,
running businesses and and justall all the different things.
(08:58):
So life's, you know, it's safeto say I'm sure everyone's
everyone's busy.
I mean, we live in a culture andin a society that's just fast
forwarding just on just crazyfast, you know, and and we're
we're seeing that the theeffects of that, you know, all
over.
SPEAKER_00 (09:15):
And I think that's what people like to I mean, it's
almost like a badge that isworn, like, I'm crazy busy.
And you know, I think it's moreof yes, our life is full.
It's it's a good full.
There's always something goingon, and there's always seasons
of more fullness than others.
But um it's learning to just setthose prior those priorities of
(09:39):
things that are most importantin that season and um growing.
But it is a juggling actsometimes with so many different
things and different differentthings.
SPEAKER_01 (09:48):
Life is busy, life is crazy, busy, easy.
People say I've used that phrasemyself and hey, how are you
doing?
How are things?
Oh great, just busy.
That's kind of common.
And it's true, but but even so,it amidst the chaos sometimes
and the and the f theimperfections, you know, of of
just the season of life.
It's I like to describe it kindof as a beautiful chaos.
You know, it's it's still youhave to embrace the season.
(10:09):
I mean, it yes, it's chaotic,but it's still beautiful at the
same time.
And it's just being, you know,recognizing the season you're in
and the and this part of thejourney.
SPEAKER_00 (10:17):
Um and loving that season because you'll not get
that back.
That's why I feel like that'sone thing I always, you know,
tell moms just in general, isembrace the season that you're
in, because I feel like it goesso quick, and then you're like
off to another season, you'relike, I miss that season, but
there's so many other thingsahead for that the new things
that are, you know, you get toexperience.
SPEAKER_01 (10:39):
It's true.
I mean, even as we're talkingabout this, I don't know if our
viewers can hear this, but ourdogs are going crazy out in the
yard, and you know, the maleman's just going by and you
know, life when you got kidsprobably are running around this
house somewhere.
But it's it's true, you know,and it's like, well, these are
still these are precious times,you know.
Kind of talking, bringing itback a little more full circle,
(10:59):
kind of we were talking about,you know, healthy living and and
and clean eating.
And how would you I want to talkabout a little bit of a
metamorphosis kind of in ourfamily, in our family culture.
Talk about kind of what we'redoing now and what was it like?
What was our nutrition like?
What would you say the kids'nutrition was like uh before?
How did they eat?
(11:20):
And kind of how does it looknow?
Let's compare and contrast.
SPEAKER_00 (11:24):
Well, back in the day, um, you know, we would all
take the whole trip to Sam'stogether, and um, they each had
their buddy and their cart, andit was a great time for them to
go and choose the foods thatthey wanted to eat.
And boy, they chose all thethings that now would horrify
me.
SPEAKER_01 (11:44):
Yeah, yeah, it's true.
SPEAKER_00 (11:45):
Um, but yeah, I from you know, definitely back to the
Pop Tarts and sodas to um theirfavorite cereals, little
cookies, um, donuts.
They love those powder donutsand the little chocolate donuts
in the bag and the powderedones, the white powdered ones.
Uh, there was just so manythings that, you know, I I mean
(12:07):
I grew up that way.
So I thought, you know, whywouldn't I why wouldn't I give
that to my kids?
Right.
Um so yeah, and ramen was afavorite.
Uh I haven't.
SPEAKER_01 (12:18):
I lived on ramen in college.
SPEAKER_00 (12:19):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (12:20):
Maybe that's what's wrong with me.
SPEAKER_00 (12:21):
So how they um so they just did.
They just they they loved foodand we ate all kinds of foods
that were not good for us.
And so when we started to makethis transition, or at least
when I did, uh, I started buyingdifferent things.
And I honestly did not change uhthat was one thing we didn't
(12:45):
talk about before, but when Istarted this journey of just the
30 days to healthy living andeating clean, I did not make a
separate meal for everybody.
Like I just I made if if I wasdoing brown rice noodles,
everybody got brown ricenoodles.
Yeah, that's right.
I made a salad with a specialdressing, everybody got that,
you know.
SPEAKER_01 (13:04):
And there was some weeping and wailing and gnashing
of teeth when they're like, whatis this?
It doesn't taste the same.
SPEAKER_00 (13:11):
Can I just have a big thing of ranch?
I'm like, no, we're not gonna dothat.
Of course, I learned how to makeranch, but yeah, it was it was
uh uh for the most part, theydid really well.
I mean, we were eating normal,real food.
It was just um, it was differentthan what they were used to.
But you know, I always said,hey, you can eat it now or you
can eat it in the morningwhenever I remember those times
(13:32):
too.
SPEAKER_01 (13:32):
And this this would be a whole other conversation.
You mentioned Sam's and all theadventures of taking, you know,
six kids to Sam's or you know,and and the fun and the joys and
the discipline of that and thechaos of that, and uh also just
all these other, you know,transitions that they got to
experience.
But they were troopers about it.
They really didn't think thekids are pretty, they're
(13:54):
malleable, they're adjustable,they'll yeah, they'll be okay,
you know.
And like I loved how you youdidn't cater to one's deal or
the other.
You just said, hey, this is whatyou're gonna get.
You get what you get and youdon't throw a fit.
SPEAKER_00 (14:04):
You don't throw a fit.
SPEAKER_01 (14:04):
If you don't like it for dinner, you can have it for
breakfast.
And there was a time or twosomeone tried us on that, but it
maybe just like once.
They learned their lesson.
SPEAKER_00 (14:12):
They had it for breakfast and never did that
again.
SPEAKER_01 (14:14):
I know that sounds harsh, maybe to some people that
are listening, but you knowwhat?
Hey, it's it's effective and itand it worked.
SPEAKER_00 (14:19):
It went in the fridge.
I mean, it was totally, it'stotally legit.
Um, but yeah, yeah.
I mean, it was kind of a slogan.
We're like, hey, it's not BurgerKing, you can't have it your
way.
So we're gonna sit and eat andwe're gonna enjoy it.
So they did learn how to makethose.
Um, they watched us do it, and Ithink that that was really key
is just being able to see theexample, like this is what we're
(14:40):
gonna do and choose as a family.
And I think that's another valuewe've really instilled is like
we do things as a family, likewe are a family, and this is how
we roll, whether it's showing upto everyone's games or it's um
supporting someone else and adifferent journey, or you know,
like we show up.
And so if we're gonna make thistransition, we're gonna do it
together as a group.
(15:00):
And so they did.
I mean, it was it was hard.
SPEAKER_01 (15:03):
And then the kids have had some, you know, I think
when we look at where they were,where they are now, we talked
about clean eating before, whatthat looks like and avoiding
certain types of maybeinflammatory foods and things of
that nature.
And then, you know, living on a,you know, trying to live on an
80-20 principle.
We'll talk a little bit moreabout that, you know, 80% of the
time eating, eating as clean andhealthy as you can, and 20% of
the time, you know, you gotta,you gotta let loose once in a
(15:25):
while, you know, you have to youhave to enjoy uh there's nothing
wrong with enjoying a piece ofcheesecake once in a while or or
having something like that.
But speaking of the kids, youknow, the kids had some some
some had actual food allergiesand had food sensitivities.
I we could probably go down thelist, you know, like with our
oldest, with Noah, you know, heyou know, he's he's had some
some gut issues over the years,and you know, seeing how maybe
(15:48):
this could be a a benefit to himand and maybe you know how that
transition helped some of hisgut issues.
And and interestingly, when weget off track, all of us,
anybody, you know, those thingswill rear their ugly heads
again, you know, when it comesto irritable bowel or it just
comes to you know back uhdysbiosis or bacterial
overgrowth.
Um, and we look at our oldestdaughter, Naya, she's she's had
(16:10):
eczema.
I remember she used to haveeczema really bad prior to clean
eating.
And then as we as she startedlearning and we started learning
about how to eat cleaner, thosethings, you know.
Um skin cleared.
Yeah, skin cleared right up,acne and and eczema.
SPEAKER_00 (16:24):
She had like a different, she had discoloration
of her skin, like it was turningwhite.
We're like, we couldn't figureit out.
And she we realized, and thatwas one thing too about just the
program in general.
It it yes, you're substituting,you're taking out all of those
things that you're not supposedto be eating, but you're putting
in the foods that are wholefoods that are actually going to
(16:45):
nourish you.
And and you start to discover inthe process those foods that
were sabotaging you.
And so we discover we wediscovered, at least in her
case, uh, she actually I kind ofhelped her, you know, with her
diet, and she started eating theway I was eating, and we watched
her just well, her skin clear,like it it her her pigment came
(17:10):
back, and she when we started tointroduce things back into her
diet, we knew, oh, it'sdefinitely it was a gluten and
it was a dairy issue for her.
SPEAKER_01 (17:19):
And to this day, if she accidentally eats something
she shouldn't, or there's likewhen she went overseas, you
know, there was she couldn'thave she had to eat what they
had, and and you know how thatcreated some flair.
So really, I mean there'sthere's truth to this, you know,
sensitivities and food allergiesare are real.
Uh with Nate, our our thirdchild, he was very sensitive to
dyes, red dye, and make him morewild than he already was.
(17:41):
He was our wild man.
SPEAKER_00 (17:42):
And uh which they disband, hello.
SPEAKER_01 (17:45):
Yeah, that's finally exactly right, finally, right?
They but it's like we know weknew these things before.
Why does it take the FDA andgovernment and other that's
another podcast?
SPEAKER_02 (17:54):
That's a whole other podcast.
SPEAKER_01 (17:56):
Better be careful.
We don't want to get censored.
But uh, you know, we look atNina also's and you know,
different gut issues as well.
Uh Naomi, where she found, youknow, we found gluten and dairy
kind of being a culprit for hersignificantly, and and how that
impacted you know, concentrationand other things of that nature.
Interestingly, our youngest hasbeen the rock star.
(18:18):
You know, she's we we've chosensome different paths for our
younger kids than we did ourolder kids, and then we would
love to visit that topic uh downthe road on on vaccinations and
other things of that nature.
Um but we've had it, you know,our younger kids and our
youngest has had the really thebenefit of years of of wisdom
and years of of um you knowtrial and error, right?
(18:39):
Figuring out, but she's she'snot had any of this issues that
um you know that our otherchildren uh have had.
And um so it's it's prettyremarkable um how it's a
testament to, you know, uh ahealthy lifestyle.
Um I'd love tell me a little bitabout um what does your
(19:05):
nutrition look like?
Tell tell us tell the audiencekind of what you know what's
tell me what what you like, whatyou do, what works for you.
And I'll share maybe what worksfor me, but but tell me like
kind of what are some of theimportant things in in your
day-to-day healthy living thatyou model for our family.
SPEAKER_00 (19:20):
One is um, well, I think one that's kind of been
implemented across the board uhwhen I first started this
journey, it was kind of theimplementation.
We were kind of already doinglike smoothies and things like
that, but um an actual proteinshake that was uh nutritious and
had the right protein to carbratio that um for me was really
(19:42):
important that it was vegan, um,just because it was, you know, I
was trying to eliminate whey andthings like that in my diet.
And uh so implementing that, Ithink, in in the daily has been
transformational.
You know, uh, I think we werereading something when we first
started with most nutritionistsuh at the very beginning of all
(20:05):
the diet changes and thingswe're saying, like it is uh
imperative or at least helpfulat that that you drink one of
your meals uh a day because itactually gives your system a
chance to digest.
Like it gives your digestivesystem a break, but you're still
pouring in all the nutrients,the dense nutrients that you
need to sustain your body, butit gives your body a chance to
(20:27):
just not have to work so hard todigest things.
And so I definitely start theday with a protein shake.
Well, first I start with mygreens.
So I have um a product that Iuse that has psychic kind of
five in one pro and prebioticsdigestive enzymes.
It has um vegan collagen thathelps to um boost your own
collagen.
(20:48):
And um it's so good.
And um, it's got 13 non-Jumogreens.
And so it's like in one powerpack, like I can throw it in
water and drink it first thing.
And it gives my system just whatit needs to kind of get going in
all of those areas.
And then I followed up with myprotein shake, and then I try to
(21:10):
have like a light protein snackin the middle of the morning.
And then just depending onlunch, if I'm on the go, the the
my two faves are um my proteinis a full meal in a glass.
It actually is has avocado oilin it.
So it's a full meal in a glass,so I can throw water in with it
and it's a full meal.
And so I love it because it's onthe go.
So if I can have a well-balancedlunch, I'll do that.
(21:34):
If not, I'll just drink anotherprotein shake and eat a clean
dinner.
But um, I try to at least drinkat least one protein shake.
And then I have some teas that Idrink and um other supplements
that we take.
SPEAKER_01 (21:47):
What's your favorite supplement?
Do you have a do you have afavorite supplement?
And that's kind of a strangequestion.
SPEAKER_00 (21:51):
A favorite supplement.
Uh well, this year I kind of hadsome different health um issues.
Uh, were we talking that too?
You want me?
I mean, I can.
Um, I had actually hurt my back,which was random.
We actually had all these biggoals at the beginning of last
year, and I was I hurt my back,and then shortly after that had
(22:12):
a horrible bout of vertigo.
And so turmeric became my bestfriend in terms of just kind of
lowering the inflammation.
Um that's one of my faves.
And then um, I feel likemagnesium has helped too a lot
for me at least, and uh alongwith all of our other ones, I
think those two are my my go-tofaves for sure.
(22:37):
And I do have to remind myselfto do the D, the D vitamin D,
yes, because D3.
Yeah, D3, because that actuallyhelps me um feel better.
I'm like, why am I so tired?
SPEAKER_01 (22:48):
So that's amazing how that gap with energy levels.
Yeah.
So important to so many othermetabolic processes, obviously,
bone health.
Um, you know, uh, that's it's sokey, helps with hormone
synthesis.
There's so many things thatvitamin D is good for, as well
as magnesium is such animportant cofactor for a lot of
other processes in the body aswell.
So it helps with your brain,your muscles, which is your back
(23:09):
injury, the muscles.
Um, it helps to relax you, ithelps your gut, you know, helps
your heart.
You know, patients that haveheart palpitation, sometimes
I'll recommend a little extramagnesium, magnesium glycinate,
it can be awesome.
Magnesium L3 and eight forsleep.
You know, there's so manydifferent types of it.
It's it's uh that's probably myfavorite.
I think magnesium's my favoritesupplement if I had a favorite.
SPEAKER_00 (23:31):
Well, and then finding the right one, because
sometimes they don't even likeyou just need to make sure you
find a whole food uh solid onethat will actually your body
will actually digest and abusebecause we've had the opposite
to For me I'd say I'd say thatyou know I start my day also
with a with a protein shake.
SPEAKER_01 (23:50):
Um love the greens.
I'm not always good about doingthat first because I'm usually
like running out of here.
But I'll do the greens maybesometime mid-morning.
I kind of do mine a littledifferent.
It's a good idea to do thegreens first, just from your
digestive standpoint.
But I like to mix the greens inwhenever I can, and then usually
mid-morning.
Um I've been working really hardsince you know our detox.
(24:10):
And in the last, really in thelast we did another detox about
a year ago.
October, was it?
November?
SPEAKER_00 (24:16):
Yeah, a little over a year ago.
SPEAKER_01 (24:17):
That was really a pivotal time for for for me to
really work on my consistencyand my goals.
And as we get older, you know,you you can't cram for the test
when of aging.
You have to start sowing seedearlier in your life, as early
as you can.
That's never too late.
But you know, for me, I've beensince then I've been really
conscious.
(24:37):
Uh, I'd lost weight on thatdetox.
Again, I needed to.
Um, but then I've been workingreally hard on gaining muscle,
working out, increasing myprotein intake, trying to get um
as much protein as I canthroughout the day.
And there's different peoplethat talk about you know protein
requirements when you're tryingto build muscle.
And there's a lot of functionalmedicine doctors that say that
(24:57):
that muscle is the organ oflongevity.
You know, it's really importantto build muscle, particularly
with women who don't probablythink about resistance training
and building those muscles.
It's so important.
And I I know you've been doingthat from an exercise
standpoint.
You've been working hard andI've been working hard.
And so as we've looked at ourbody composition, we've lost,
you know, fat and gained muscle,and that's that's been really
important, which is why myprotein intake is always really
(25:20):
high uh compared to everybodyelse.
I'm always trying to find extraprotein, you know, extra
healthy, you know, beef sticks,you know, 10 grams here, 10
grams there, and you know, I doan after-workout shake, you
know, I'm working out, liftingweights, and uh doing cardio at
least four or five times a week.
I love it.
It's become a habit.
Um and like anything lifestyle,really, habit is a big, is a big
(25:42):
part of this.
And I think that when you knowyou have a habit when when you
don't do it, you feel like youfeel like, oh my gosh, what I I
what am I missing?
Or you you you know you'remissing it.
So that's why cultivating goodhabits is so important.
Um taking my supplements, youknow, every morning and evening,
uh, throughout the day, youknow, turmeric as well as part
of my regimen, magnesium, uh,omega-3s, um, vitamin D, I take
(26:07):
a ton of supplements, coQ10, umvarious things that can help.
Um, I do creatine powder everyday, five grams of that every
day.
Um and um that helps to to buildmuscle mass as well.
And so to me, that's that's beenkind of my journey in that
regard, getting getting morefit, maintaining muscle health
and wellness, gaining as muchmuscle mass as I can while I'm
(26:30):
uh you know in this season oflife uh is important.
Um I think electrolytes too.
Oh electrolytes, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (26:37):
Yeah, we've been doing a lot more of that, which
I didn't realize we needed somuch, but I think too, just what
even there that has been areally important thing for us is
like seeing what are in theproducts.
Like I'm not just gonna go intothe store and find, oh, this
this looks good.
And so knowing exactly whereyour products are coming from
(26:57):
and huge sourcing is important.
Where the sourcing is, and Imean that I clean organic clean
products, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (27:06):
You know, in our clinic and the different
products that that you'veintroduced me to over the years,
you know, I've been been passingthat litmus test of purity and
and more importantly, the theefficacy, they're they're really
good for you.
It works.
Um other things in in alifestyle of of wellness as we
we promote obviously exercise.
We go on as families sometimesat the gym, we all go.
(27:28):
Yes.
We encourage people to go, youknow, for our homeschoolers PE,
you know.
But uh, you know, but then on ontop of that too is is resting
and sleeping.
Um are you getting enough sleep,Missy Ross?
SPEAKER_00 (27:41):
Oh, jeez.
I knew that was gonna come up.
Um no, actually.
I've never I've always been anight owl.
And so when I started on thishealth journey, I started trying
to, you know, when it was easyto get things done when all the
kids were asleep.
And so I could work, work, workand then not wake up or wake up
(28:02):
just a little bit before theydid.
But now with everybody inschool, I'm like, oh, I've got
to get up way early.
And so when I started to makethe the lifestyle change, I, you
know, started getting upearlier.
And and that was a new thing forme.
That was a major shift.
Um, you know, getting up at 5 30or, you know, before everybody
was, but I'm like, oh, I get I'mso much more productive when
(28:24):
that happens.
And so um, however, I don'talways go to bed uh that early.
SPEAKER_01 (28:31):
And so we can all make it definitely it's a
process, right, Missy?
SPEAKER_00 (28:35):
It is a process, and I'm definitely not um getting
enough sleep.
SPEAKER_01 (28:38):
I've been letting it slip probably too in the last
maybe month or so.
I've been I've been during theholidays.
Yeah, during the holidays, Ikind of stay up a little later.
Everyone's home, everyone'syeah, and so that's something we
need to get back track of.
I used to be the the sleepsheriff, right?
I was very like Indeed.
And I know that was kind ofchiving everybody else.
Lights out for me at nineo'clock and I'm up at five.
SPEAKER_00 (28:57):
Nobody talking.
Quiet.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (29:00):
But uh, but but there's something to be said for
that, right?
Science is really showing andproving out that sleep is
restorative.
It's it's it's it's our bodyneeds it, right?
And and I think that it'ssomething that's that's vital.
And really the the adage ofeight hours, you know, it's
really still seven to eighthours, but I encourage people to
push for eight hours.
You know, kids, teenagers needmore sleep than that.
(29:20):
But for for adults, eight hoursis awesome.
If you can hit eight hours, goto bed at the same time if you
can, wake up at the same timeevery day.
I think that's really important.
Of course, things like stressmanagement, stress reduction.
You know, that's that goeswithout saying.
And we'll go deeper on a lot ofthese subjects as as we go on in
future podcasts, but I think it,again, this is part of the
things that kind of made up ourfamily culture, our family
lifestyle, and kind of, youknow, things that we've done to
(29:44):
really enhance and contribute.
What are some other reallyimportant things though,
culturally in our family thatyou think are contributing to to
just our health and wellness?
SPEAKER_00 (29:55):
Like different habits or different things.
SPEAKER_01 (30:00):
You do a beautiful job of modeling and that are
important for for for ourchildren to follow.
SPEAKER_00 (30:06):
Well, it's actually really cool.
Most of our kids, um, well, whenyou talk specifically about
exercise, like they are they allexercise together or like do a
family walk or um go to the gymtogether.
And so that has definitely beenone.
I would say the habits thatwe've created, obviously we've
had this conversation of justongoing conversation about
(30:27):
eating and making healthierhabits.
A lot of the older kids were notas compliant.
And now that they're older,they're starting to see the
value in what they eat and whatthat looks like.
I think also it's just been ourfamily, it's been our culture of
just being together and makinguh really God a priority, uh,
(30:52):
reading together, doingdevotions.
Um we make it a point to prayevery night together before bed.
I think that's really important.
And even memorize differentpassages, I think, uh something
that's really important to me interms of instilling that word
that um that is not return void,but will accomplish what it says
(31:16):
it will.
And that has been pivotal.
Uh, I think the other day wewere having a conversation and
all the kids were home for theholidays, college, and everyone.
And uh there was one particularscripture, and one of the older
kids were like asked theyoungest, like, do you know
this?
And she's like, No, I don't.
And they're like, She doesn'tknow this?
(31:38):
Like, like, mom, you have failedher.
I'm like, what in the world?
So we just started at nighttime,just reciting it because
everybody else knew it.
And so, of course, she caughton.
But it was that that culture ofwhere your values are and and
and how important things are toyou, it is instilling that
(31:59):
culture in them.
That now they even if we havekids that are traveling or
something and we're on thephone, they're like, okay, we
gotta pray.
Where's dad?
And so, you know, put it onspeakerphone.
And I think that those kinds ofthings are things that they can,
you know, they're gonna take,you know, all the other habits
alongside with them.
But I think that that's alwaysbeen the most important thing
for me.
Uh, they have, you know, qualitytime together, but in the word
(32:23):
and getting to know.
And they do that too.
Like they were you gonna saysomething about that?
Like they do, they just they getup and have their own quiet time
and devotion time and they, youknow, they don't have to be told
what to do, are they?
SPEAKER_01 (32:35):
Just it's beautiful to see if you come out and then
different kids is kind of havingtheir own chair time, quiet
time, you know, reading theBible.
And even beyond that, too, inaddition to cultivating
spirituality, just the otherthings they read, you know,
they'll read other types of ofbooks that are, you know,
inspirational or historical orthat that help, you know,
enhance who they are as well.
(32:55):
And so truly trying toincorporate that holistic
approach, right?
We talk about mind, body, andspirit.
And I think that's really thethe endeavor.
Again, not perfect, but reallytrying to have that mind, body,
spirit thing.
And you mentioned somethingabout, you know, showing up for
each other, about relationshipsand and obviously the the most
important relationship in anyfamily is between a husband and
a wife.
(33:15):
And and you know, marriage,marriage is tough.
It can be hard, you know, andwe've had we've had our share of
of of really difficult times,you know, ups and downs, and and
um but we've managed to hang inthere, you know, and and even
you know, we've done counselingand not ashamed to say that, and
we've been through someintensives over intensives over
the years, and you know, whenlife gets challenging, life gets
(33:38):
hard.
But I think our kids have seen,you know, the good times and the
bad times, and and you know,they they learn from that too,
you know, that we're we'remodeling for them and they're
seeing and they know mom and dadaren't perfect, and we've had
those talks, hey, you know,dad's not perfect, you know,
mom's not perfect, sorry.
You know, but they appreciateyou being real and and us being
real and living our lives infront of them and and
(33:59):
endeavoring to say, look, it'snever too late to to grow and
and get better, you know, andyeah, we've made mistakes, but
you know, what do we do aboutthat?
Do you want to live in themistake?
Do you want to live in the past?
Do you want to live with theshame, or do you want to, you
know, do you want to moveforward?
You know, and I think that'ssomething that they've been able
to see too at the heart of whatwe've done.
You know, you being a tremendousexample.
I mean, truly you um you inspireall of us, Suddy.
(34:23):
You've really done an amazingjob um with just being who you
are, with um, you know, yourexample of just you're
consistent, you're steadfast,you know, you're tough and
you're loving.
You know, it's like you, you,you're just you're just, man,
you're always consistent, and Iappreciate that.
You know, when I'm on my highsor my lows, or I got ideas and
(34:45):
delusions of grandeur, or I'mjust, you know, whatever.
You you're always able to kindof be a steadying force for us.
And so we thank you for that.
You've been such a great exampleon all levels.
Uh a true Proverbs 31 example, Iwould say.
So I want to wrap up um, youknow, this episode.
(35:05):
I know we went a little bitlong, but this is good.
I think this is good insightinto sharing kind of what works
for us.
What works for us may not workfor s other people.
And again, that one size fitsall.
But I think that, you know,there's severing several
ingredients to uh a healthyfamily lifestyle, you know, and
I would say that it really, as Ijust, you know, mentioned it
starts with mom and dad.
(35:26):
It starts, it starts right therewith mom and dad taking care of
themselves, setting an example,you know, uh, as you did.
You were a great example for mein so many areas, in all those
areas, but you really helped me.
And it's it's it's paid off forme, it's paid off for our kids
and even patients and familiesthat that you know that we're
able to help.
Um, you know, it's it's aboutmaking wellness a priority.
(35:47):
And I think that's some a bigimportant thing that we can take
on.
Make wellness a priority in yourhome, right?
Make wellness a priority at homeand and make progress.
It's not about perfection, it'snot about being perfect.
We talked about the 80-20principle.
Hey, okay, so you it wasn't itwas 80-20 the other way.
Okay, well, you know, so thatyou got to shift it back.
But you you just makeadjustments, you know, about
(36:08):
clean eating, exercise, reducingstress, proper sleep,
supplementation, all of thosethings.
But I think a real key to in allof this is building healthy
relationships.
I think that's the key.
And it's been said, and that's aquote that I love, that the
quality of one's life isdirectly proportional to the
quality of one's relationships.
Okay, so our quality of life isalso determined in large part to
(36:30):
the quality of ourrelationships.
So making relationships apriority is huge, making time
for each other, showing up foreach other, encouraging each
other, building one another up.
And I think that's somethingthat is that is uh tremendously
needed and helpful in buildingand cultivating a family culture
of a healthy lifestyle.
So I just want to say that it itI promise that if you commit to
(36:52):
some small healthy changes uhconsistently over time, the
small changes consistently overtime, it's gonna add up to some
significant healthy results.
Right?
You don't have to swing for thefences right out of the gate.
Just make some small steps, somesmall changes, some little
things that you can do every dayin your family, with yourself
and with your family.
And I promise that when when youdo those things, you're gonna be
(37:16):
able to live your best life.
You're gonna have your besthealth, and most importantly,
you're gonna discover how to dothat and live your best life
your way.
Thanks for joining us today.
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