Episode 5 - Family Series - Staying Young - It’s All A Mindset (Full Transcript)

This is a full transcript of the Nirvana Sisters podcast Episode 5 .

Editor’s Note: Please know that this podcast transcript is automatically generated and may contain minor errors such as typos and word switches. For more information, be sure to listen to the podcast here.

Amy: 0:07

Welcome to Nirvana sisters, where we discuss all things health and well being to help you achieve your highest state your nirvana. Hi, I'm Amy Sherman, a marketing exec with a passion for wellness and beauty.

Katie: 0:19

Hi, I'm Katie Chandler, a former fit model that has a passion for health and fitness. We are

Amy: 0:25

sisters in law who share the same love for well being ready to sift through all the self care noise and bring you a splash of what we think is fun. So let's get started. Welcome back to our family series, part two, which we are calling staying young. It's all a mindset. So I am honored to be joined by my parents, Alan and ADA Chandler, aka mom and dad. And we wanted to take some time while we're home for the holidays Katie and I to talk to them about how they stay young how they keep their minds sharp and a little bit about their love story perhaps. So I will let them introduce yourself, Dad say hello.

Unknown: 1:08

Hi, Amy. Hi, Katie. It's fat. And Alan for TV,

Amy: 1:13

Mom. Hi,

Unknown: 1:15

I'm Amy, Amy's mom, and Katie's mother in law,

Katie: 1:19

the best and most ever. Alright, so we wouldn't kick it off with asking you to tell us about your nirvana of 2020. You know, I was doing weekly nirvana. But since our family series we want to hear your high of the year.

Unknown: 1:33

Ellen Show my heart of the year would be unbelievable timing. My grandson's Bar Mitzvah, his bar mitzvah was on February 22, we went to the bar mitzvah, everybody was drinking, dancing, having a great time not thinking about anything till 10 days later, where the country in the world froze on and we're still in the COVID 19. Virus. So that was my high of the year.

Katie: 2:01

Data. What about Yeah,

Unknown: 2:02

that's a good one. What high the year is happened twice. Once this summer, when we went to the beach with everybody family, my daughter's family, my son's family. And then we right now they're all here for the last of the year, and just being together live as opposed to phone calls and FaceTime and stuff like that. We've done a lot of virtual but I'm very, it's just excited. You know, I get motivated just by being with you guys.

Katie: 2:34

It's great. Yeah, I couldn't agree with you more. I wanted to start with just a few quickfire questions just to get to know you guys. Because first of all, this is about hire keeping it young. So how old are both of you? Oh, Ellen help. Me six. Ada. How

Unknown: 2:47

old are you just turned 74.

Katie: 2:49

Wow. Okay. 74 and 76 going on? 25 each? Definitely. How did you meet? Give me a brief story. Ada. How did you meet?

Unknown: 3:00

We met the very first time he doesn't remember it. in Atlantic City on the beach. He and his best friend came and sat next to me and my girlfriends. And that's the very first time we met.

Katie: 3:12

Okay, that's great. And

Unknown: 3:14

I remember that.

Katie: 3:17

So what's your story?

Unknown: 3:18

My story is we went to the University of Maryland. And I was drafted into the Army because it was the Vietnam wars in the 60s 1966, actually. And so when I went into the service, I came back. And I had my I was dating a gal who I wasn't dating when I came back six months later, and I went to the go to a to a party for my fraternity. I asked a girl between if ADA who I knew because she was dating, one of my best friends also went into the army. So she was fair game. And we started going out. And one year later, we were

Katie: 4:01

engaged. Oh, that's pretty fast. I don't think I realized that two years. And how many years have you been in wedded bliss now?

Unknown: 4:14

51. Exactly.

Katie: 4:16

That's amazing. Amazing.

Amy: 4:18

So I was gonna take it all the way back with how you were born or the circumstances in which you were born dad, because the story is actually unbelievable. And I tell people all the time, but I'd love to hear it from your voice and kind of the first couple years of your life.

Unknown: 4:34

But it's interesting because we were just talking about the Vietnam War. You know, me sir. I was a National Guard. The big deal, but my father was in the regular army. And back then, I guess was 1940 I guess it's 1941 around there. They then take people to draft them if they had a kid, or they were over a certain age. My father was 29 I am I my mother was pregnant, and he was drafted. And he went to the Philippines. First he was in the United States drafted when you're pregnant. She wasn't pregnant when he was drafted. She was like pregnant, like, a month later. So what happened was, she became pregnant. And my mother was very kind of hyper got this thing, because she wasn't seeing my father. My father said to her, I'll be there when Alan me when I'm born. So he wasn't, he was on a ship heading to the Philippines for two years. So I was born, my father and transit, my mother thought he would be there, because he told her to keep her calm. But of course, he was on a ship. And he didn't see me for two years. So my mother raised me for two years by herself, single mom, and my father and mother were letters to each other every day. And there's like 1000 letters we have. And I've yet to, because, you know, just talking about it makes me emotional. But eventually, I'm going to open these letters. And who knows, maybe there's a screenplay in there. So

Amy: 6:08

I always say you are born from love. Because Bobby and pop up, my grandmother and grandfather wrote letters every single day and talk about the picture of pop up in your crib or help number every day, she would show you the picture. Oh, yeah.

Unknown: 6:26

So mother returned me, my father everything like one. I don't know what's going on everything. Anything I know, is I remember the first time I saw him, was at night about the room was dark, and it came out. I knew he was obviously, you know, from the picture. And it's just a real love story. My parents had a wonderful marriage. Just one of the reasons he married me because we'll come out. Parents are just really in love story. Starting with that they both grew up. It's a whole nother story. But they both grew up in dire circumstances found each other and it's, it's beautiful story

Katie: 7:01

in both of your parents were married the whole time the whole time. Yeah, that's really amazing.

Amy: 7:07

Yeah, so Gaby was how when she passed away 1995

Unknown: 7:13

And my father's 92. They were married 65 years. Yeah. And he had a love story. They really did.

Amy: 7:20

Yeah. And what about your parents? Mom?

Unknown: 7:26

Your prayers, right? Yeah. I don't really know too much about how they got together or who introduced them? Or, you know, I? I didn't think to ask good questions like that back in the day. So no

Amy: 7:43

one probably talked about it as much.

Unknown: 7:45

It just isn't. life threatening. Oh, yeah. My brother was born about 10 years after they were married. And she had a tough time with him. And they said not to get pregnant again. And then I know they went to Atlantic City, where I came about by accident. 20 years ago, not 20 or 20 years ago for the American nine years. Wow. Something like that. My brother was born either. He had actually been born on their, like, 10th anniversary on the same day, June 26. I was born another nine years later. How was your mother? When you were born? When I was born? I think she was about 38. Wow.

Amy: 8:26

Pretty old. Yeah. Now that's normal. But then that was pretty old to have a kid.

Katie: 8:31

She must have had the ability to keep herself young if she could have a baby at 38 years old.

Unknown: 8:35

I don't know. I never really got into those questions with or have no idea.

Katie: 8:40

How long do they live? How old were they when they

Amy: 8:43

were about 85. So moving into how you stay on your mindset, your body, your health, all that stuff? I asked mom first what are what are the thing I know you're not super focused on it all the time. But you obviously look beautiful and young and have a young mind. So what do you do to kind of stay that way?

Unknown: 9:07

I don't know that I do anything, mentally to stay young that I couldn't think of you know, you know, I didn't realize I was old until this pandemic came about. We called Well, according to the pandemic they say well, any you know, senior citizens, older people, anybody over 65 And then I realized oh, I'm in that generation. When did I get old? I don't know.

Katie: 9:32

I think you do more than you realize though. Because I see how you to live and versus how my parents live or or you know, anyone that I know like my grandparents watching them when I was younger and something that I've noticed that both of you do that I think keeps you young so you both are very tech savvy. You always stay up on the latest of everything. It seems you're tech savvy or pop culture savvy Alan you listen to Drake with with Adam with my husband. that, I mean, you're always wearing like the greatest fashion, the coolest thing far

Amy: 10:05

is open at your house, right?

Katie: 10:07

You keep it all the time. It's a it's a mindset, right of like you've never told yourself you're old, like what you

Amy: 10:13

just said, right? And I think too, we were talking about this earlier. It's not. It's just intuitive for you to stay young and feel good and enjoy life, which is the best way to be because I think now a lot of people are intentional about what they eat and how they exercise. And it's very planned where I think with you guys, it's just that's how you are, which is the best way to be

Katie: 10:35

right? Did you win in your, you know, younger years, or 20? To 3040s? Were you physically active? I assume you word tennis and exercise and everything.

Unknown: 10:46

I mean, I have a whole history, I think I think as far as trying to stay younger, the main focus for me, is positive thinking. So I really think if you can do something positive every day, I don't care what it is, right? You know, I can fix your computer, okay, or buy a pair of shoes, or just feel good about something, I think, you know, when I say to be are and all that stuff, it's just all about feeling good about being alive. You know, and as far as you know, exercise, I agree. I mean, I walk when I play golf, not real hard exercise, and I need to exercise more. But I think I think eight it provides a great diet. For us, we always have vegetables and green with our meal, she cooks healthy meals, I think a lot of it has to do with genes, obviously, you know, if you have good genes and your parents live along, finally,

Amy: 11:38

my dad has a full head of hair, which my husband's do would like to always mention.

Unknown: 11:45

I really think in everybody's life, if you can just do something positive. I learned from being in sales all my life, and working with young people all my life, that just by saying the lid would make their day. Right? Really, or just by complimenting them, or just telling a to something great, you know, or just all of you, you know, if you just say something that people say, Say something nice, I say say something positive, and people and do something positive, and that'll make your day better. And that's,

Amy: 12:18

that's fine. I think you have the glass half full mindset, which is what has carried through to me which I appreciate because not everybody is that way. So it's good to always think on the bright side. Think on the positive side, even if it's a small thing. And Mom, what about you? I mean, my whole life I always did aerobics.

Unknown: 12:37

Zumba, Zumba, Zumba and dance jam. I don't like to actual exercise, you know, like do 20 reps of this and 20 reps of that that makes them like oh, so boring. But when you were little Amy and Adam was already in school, I used to take you to Jackie Sorensen, which was the original aerobics creators. I remember that she was a dancer and she realized she was always never had a problem with her weight. And she realized it had to do with a robic exercise, right, which is constant motion for at least 15 minutes. And I did the Jackie Sorensen aerobics twice a week. And I liked it because it was fun because you were listening to music and it was current music and said, Well, I would learn words to all the music and I would remember all the dance steps. So again, that's mental practice. That's good for

Amy: 13:22

Yeah, and you guys like to dance and you often will just dance around the house or do a dance

Unknown: 13:28

for dance this way. When you dance to me that thing from Apple, I Earth Wind and Fire. UAS, you asked her the question, you said play petty tender gris.

Katie: 13:43

Okay. You mean? Yeah, that's great that you guys took a moment and dance this morning? I mean, I just don't think every couple out there and storing that. At all age. Yeah, yeah,

Unknown: 13:58

his parents used to do that too.

Amy: 14:02

Well, so another thing I also noticed is that both of you had long, successful careers and had great relationships throughout your careers and stay in touch with all the people that you've worked with, whether it be mentors or colleagues. So talk about how that has helped you stay young.

Unknown: 14:21

So I think, you know, when I was growing up, a lot of the guys that I grew up with, a number of them became attorneys. And, you know, we just got through school, I mean, we're not great students, they're, they're able to get to University of Baltimore, go to school, become lawyers. And so I looked at it and I said, you know, I don't want to really sit in an office. I don't take the money out. I just don't want that lifestyle. So I got into management. And being in management is the greatest way to stay young. If you're into it. And you know, I work with all young kids. And, in fact, I work with so many young kids, I got to the point where Every time I talk to a kid, they have perfect teeth. Okay, when I come up, nobody had perfect teeth because nobody was worth it. We couldn't afford it. So I say to that, I don't know if you remember this, Amy, I see you. I can't take this anymore. So I actually went to an orthodontist had a couple of teeth 123 Move had a bridge name. All right. So my t look completely different than they did. But at least I can talk to somebody, right? You guys don't feel like what's wrong with me. So, but I think when you're in a leadership role, it gives you a lot of confidence. And it gives you a lot of values just to work with people. And that's been a great career. For me. That's all I ever wanted. I was when I was in school, in elementary school, I was vice president school. When I was in fraternity, I was a steward of the kitchen. I was in boards, charity boards and stuff like that. I just like a leadership position. And you don't think about it while you're doing it. You really think think, Hey, I mean, what's while you think about it, but when you think back about it, you say half of I'd really love it so much. And I work 48 years for the same company, really? And

Katie: 16:11

now, how many years? Have you been retired for four years? But you started your own company? Right? You're

Unknown: 16:17

consulting? I have a small company. Yes. Right.

Katie: 16:20

And you part of the reason why you did that is because you'd love what you do. And you want the stimulation of people. Right? And that's without a

Unknown: 16:30

doubt, especially surely fascinates me. Yeah, yeah.

Amy: 16:34

And what about you, Mom,

Unknown: 16:35

I was just going to bounce off of what he said, a lot of the things you did are similar to my job. While I was in a classroom, I was sort of a mentor to the younger teachers. And I taught for 30 years here, I was sort of like, then I changed to be a stiff Development Teacher, which meant means I worked with all the young teachers and older teachers as almost like a cheerleader, someone to give them confidence, somebody to model whatever, but I used to hang with them, you know, like at lunch or whatever. And, you know, tease them and walk in their classrooms, and they'd start laughing. And, you know, they will say, how would you do that, you know, that kind of thing. But I know you were like a cheerleader, as a manager, and you had names for people. And he wouldn't, when they would walk in the office used to tell me, he would say something like, he's huge. And everybody start laughing and call on that and make that person feel special. Right. And that's really, really fun. But as far as how it makes you stay young, is that my mother used to say your children make you young. But like when you hang out with young people, you know what's going on, you see what they're wearing, right? Kind of have fun together. You know, we had parties, and we would be dancing together. I mean, we had holiday parties, we used our house, in my first school, my second school and my third school, which are the three schools I worked in, out here. And, and and at the parties, we would all do stuff and make, you know, they did this Hawaiian thing and they were dancing. And we just had a bunch of a lot of fun.

Amy: 18:00

And I just have to say too, when I always meet people that have worked with my mom or worked with my dad, they both say the same thing. They go your Dad Your mom is the greatest. So cool. So Young. So hips, so the times are the best. So here's

Unknown: 18:16

the story. So Dana was saying back big nicknames. I had, I think names for people who work with me all the time. But one thing I showed you like, it's funny, had his kid that worked for me, and his name was Ron. And he was like 22 years old, and very competitive. And we were working on one floor and office building, okay, and a parking lot was in front of our building. And my car was always parked in the first five nearby park, and I bought some come in this one kid. He was good. He was very, very good salesperson, but will motivate them every time he came in. He that's all by my office. And I was here every day. 830 right, even though it sucks. And every time I saw him, I guess being just like that. And I'm here with suspenders with a tie in a suit, canalway suit all dressed up and everything. I'm sitting in my office talking to life as him well. Anyway, he left to move to Florida. And basically, if to find anywhere from five or six, he's almost in tears. He says yes. I don't want to miss big. I'm not gonna miss anything else. That made me feel good. He said that made my day and I picked her up and look forward to seeing the next morning. Oh,

Katie: 19:33

that's great. And you you bounce off of that positivity that you've seen him. He gets it back to you and makes you smile on

Amy: 19:41

his face. Yeah. So we could talk all day. There's so many great stories, you know, maybe we'll do a part two one day, but in the meantime, we're gonna do a quick rap session which Katie is going to start with.

Katie: 19:51

So Ada Alan ladies first I'll start with you. Aiden. What's your favorite wellness or beauty hacks? Just something that's been true. tried and true. For me personally yes for you, personally, to Nino to Nino to what is

Unknown: 20:07

Nino is a organic hair straightener. And I've been growing here my whole life and always tried. I always like to blow it out straight. It's a pain in the you know what? And the Tenino makes it easy. You know, you wash your hair, it comes out straight. You blow it dry as no friend beautiful. No Frizz. That's the other piece of it. So that's my beauty. That's

Amy: 20:29

great. And well. Yeah,

Katie: 20:30

Alan, what's your beauty or wellness hack?

Unknown: 20:32

Or conditioning deal? I mean, I my hair. Got her so called is relaxed. I do that I walk

Amy: 20:41

by your skin now because your skin is like, Oh, you say

Unknown: 20:45

your skills for probably 30 years. And I shave? Yeah. And yeah, just kills me all the time.

Katie: 20:53

Okay, what do you do Aida to maintain your daily nirvana? How do you keep your balance your peace?

Unknown: 21:00

I like my coffee in the morning. And I like to play Words with Friends on my phone so I can keep up with my friends. Because that takes me forever. Sometimes I can't think. And I mix the letters around. And that's the two things I do consistently

Katie: 21:15

nice. And Words with Friends. It's also a mental sharpness tool, right? I would imagine it's got Yes,

Unknown: 21:20

it's like Scrabble. You know, it's similar, but you're limited to what words you can make because you only have like seven letters.

Katie: 21:27

That's great. Yeah. Okay, Alan, what about you?

Unknown: 21:29

I think what 100% is if I can walk between two or three miles, when I walk, I feel my best. And I feel that I did something positive and do something good for my body. And it's it just clears our mind. And when the weather's I mean, you can stay apart and walk. But that's, that's my something I look forward to.

Katie: 21:49

That's fantastic. So Amy, I want to hear about this week's product review. It looks like a really good one.

Amy: 21:57

So in the spirit of doing family series, my mother in law Judy always gets me these fun products, either techy products or beauty products are tchotchkes. It runs the gamut. And I'll probably review them many times throughout your vana sisters. But the first one would be this product, which is called the finishing touch flawless brows, eyebrow hair remover. It's $15 on Amazon, or at your drugstore. But basically this has gotten me through quarantine because what it is, it looks like a pen. Okay, it's actually like a really pretty rose gold and it looks like a pen. But when you open the cap, it's a little machine. And it shaves or it cleans up. Yeah, it cleans up under your eyebrows. So if you turn it on, and you go like this, it just gets the little specks so you don't have to pluck your eyebrows. Wow. So it's a great tool. I actually have taught a lot of people about this because it's was a savior over quarantine. And it's also good when you're just doing your makeup and you see a couple little things sticking out, you can just get them off with this thing. And you don't have to pluck your eyebrows and get them all red. It's just a great little product.

Katie: 23:08

What's the name again, I'm gonna buy it on Amazon as soon as

Amy: 23:12

the show notes, but it's called finishing touch flawless brows, eyebrow hair remover, it says what it does. And again, 15 bucks, a great little invention. And it's battery powered. You can just change it anytime. And it's less man. I've probably had it for a couple years. And I use it all the time. So

Katie: 23:26

great product. Love it. All right. So I love that product review. I'm excited to order. So let's hear your what's our mantra this week. So

Amy: 23:36

this is a statement, I guess that my mom has said my whole life and I still use it today with my kids. And it makes perfect sense. And the saying is everything in moderation. Right? That's kind of your slogan. Like you don't want to eat too much sugar. You don't need too much alcohol but just a little bit good. So everything you do in moderation, you'll be fine.

Unknown: 23:57

I like that. Yeah, I got that from my mother and my mother in law was there we go. What's it been a thing back in the day it's

Amy: 24:02

been passed down and then I say that to my kids. That makes sense. So thanks for joining this week. Hope you enjoyed the family series. If you do, we could keep doing this and thank you again. Thanks mom and dad. This is great. Thanks for having

Episode 4 - Family Series - Part 1 - Fit Model To Fit Life (Full Transcript)

This is a full transcript of the Nirvana Sisters podcast Episode 4.

Editor’s Note: Please know that this podcast transcript is automatically generated and may contain minor errors such as typos and word switches. For more information, be sure to listen to the podcast here.

Amy: 0:07

Welcome to Nirvana sisters, where we discuss all things health and well being to help you achieve your highest state your nirvana. Hi, I'm Amy Sherman, a marketing exec with a passion for wellness and beauty.

Katie: 0:19

Hi, I'm Katie Chandler, a former fit model that has a passion for health and fitness. We are

Amy: 0:25

sisters in law who share the same love for well being ready to sift through all the self care noise and bring you a splash of what we think is fun. So let's get started. Hi, Amy. So we are actually in person today, which is amazing because we normally do this over our internet and we see each other virtually. And so we are together for the holidays. And we're doing something called a family series. So this is going to be family Series Part One and Part Two, we're gonna do another day and it's gonna be very exciting. So Katie, now you're in person, we're going to talk all things Nirvana sisters, and have some special fun while we're home.

Katie: 1:07

Yeah, home for the holidays. And I'm so excited to be here we have our whole family with us and the kids. And that's gonna kick it off. We're going to bring in our children and and we're going to pick their brains a little bit and see what their nirvana is.

Amy: 1:22

Yeah. And before we do that, Kitty, and I've been reflecting a lot on 2020 and thinking about how fun it's been to do this show and so excited for 2021 where we have a whole lineup of special guests in the wellbeing and beauty and business space. And we're excited to share that with you. But before we do that, let's bring in Jackson who is 13 Jules, who is how are you Jules? That's right. I always forget your lovin Natty. How are you? I'm southern. And Reese. How old are you? And re Wow. Okay. So for our new listeners, and for those who already listened to us, you know, we do something called our nirvana of the week, which is our high point of the week and we talk about it on the podcast. So this week, we thought we would do it with our kids and talk about the highlight of the year. So we're gonna start with Jackson, what was your highlight of 2020?

Katie: 2:21

Well, since COVID happened, I got this. I mean, I got to play video games, all my friends. So that's good. Okay,

Amy: 2:27

good highlight of the year and what are you looking forward to in for next year? Maybe the vaccine? Oh, that's a good thing tonight for that. I like that. Okay, now we're gonna turn to miss Mattie.

Katie: 2:38

Man, I'm what was your highlight of 2020? What was your nirvana?

Unknown: 2:43

Okay, so probably since this virus thing happened. I would probably just in now zoom. What's one my friends? Oh, yes.

Katie: 2:57

Zoom. calling your friends. Yeah.

Amy: 3:00

That's a great one. And what about next year? What are you looking forward to next year?

Unknown: 3:04

Well, doing like, we're not adding this

Katie: 3:09

virus. Yeah. So just being able to be with people be back in school and everything. Yeah,

Amy: 3:15

I agree. Good one. Okay. Next we have Jules, who is 11.

Unknown: 3:21

Okay, so my high of the year is probably when we went I went to the beach with my cousin's. Because I don't know, I just love the beach and everything.

Amy: 3:37

Good. Okay, and Jules, what are you looking forward to in 2021?

Unknown: 3:42

I'm looking forward to the virus stopping because I can see my friends in person. And I'm still seeing my best friend. But all my other friends I'm not allowed to see. So I would like to see them. That's a good,

Amy: 3:57

that's a good one. I like that. Okay. Hey, Reesie. Do

Katie: 4:00

you think you want to answer the question? So let's see. I think maybe I could say for you for for 2020. I thought one of your highlights was also being intimate with your cousin. So it was so much fun. And I know you're looking forward to being able to go to preschool next year, right. Oh, you're

Amy: 4:15

going to preschool next year racy. Okay. Thanks, guys. So, Katie, I am super excited to have this conversation with you. Because I feel like we've had this conversation over the years, but I've never gotten the full story. Because we're always distracted or always running around. We never get to sit and just chat. So I want to hear about how you became a model kind of how it all started, what the journey was, and kind of take us back to where it all began for

Katie: 4:47

you. Yeah, I would. I would love to share with how I started because it was a little wild and bizarre how it happened from my perspective. So for whatever reason, I'm really not sure why but at some point when I As a younger teenager, I started to get this vision of wanting to move to New York someday. And I don't know, I guess I didn't think I had that much more going for me. So modeling was like the way to do it. So literally every single night before I would fall asleep, my way of falling asleep at night, I close my eyes. And I like Daydream in my head. And I would imagine exactly that happening like delay starting modeling in Cincinnati and agency picking me up. moving me to New York, we started your career in New York as a model. Like I would vividly detail. Imagine it happening, like every night, and now it helped me like law into asleep. So it was like a manifestation. It was like a manifestation. It happened the exact same way that I jumped at it like glad literally the exact same way.

Amy: 5:51

I never knew that. Yeah. So So you just naturally just that was just in your dreams, and sort of in your hopes and wishes and you just start thinking about it. And then it happened. It happened. That is so cool. I

Katie: 6:02

remember I heard that. But I think it was my first year in college, and my boyfriend was saying you should get into modeling. And I said always wanted to so I got an agency. And I had a couple small jobs in Cincinnati, Ohio. Wait, backtrack?

Amy: 6:12

How did you get an agency like how does it work? Thursday,

Katie: 6:15

I literally just went to an open call for an agency where they say like, you know, this Saturday morning, if you want to be a model come to our agency, and you wait in line with a couple of other people. Yeah, and they take your picture and they just interview yo, and then they set you up with a photographer after that if they like yo and the photographer was shoot, yo. And if they think you have something they pick you up. Cool. And so that's what they did. And I started getting small jobs. I had like a billboard on the side of the expressway. I heard about that one. So random that made you think that's kind of

Amy: 6:48

everyone knew from that? Yeah, what was it up?

Katie: 6:51

It was for a hair salon. Okay, her local hair salon, makes a giant picture of my head with some gray hair. And then one day an agency in New York, this is what they do. They look for models by going to smaller town agencies and seeing you know what kind of talent they have. And then they pluck them and take them to New York and give them a shot. So that's what happened. I had an agency move me there and put me up in the hole.

Amy: 7:19

So how did that because that's always amazing to me. And I feel like you hear about that. But you don't really know anyone that that's happened to so the agency did they like call you one day and say, Hey, a New York agent is interested in you. Yeah. And they're gonna move you to New

Katie: 7:32

York, pretty much. They said we have someone that is showing interest. It's not a guarantee yet. And I counted them every single day until I got my answer. I was like, You need to let them know that I am all for it. And I want it and we're going to do it. And so finally, you know, they said, Yes, let's take her. And it was a small little agency wasn't that great of an agency? And when did

Amy: 7:57

they move you to New York? Like after that first year in college, or what was the timeframe?

Katie: 8:00

I left? My sophomore year of college. I moved in May. It was May right after 911. Oh, wow. Okay. Yeah. And my very first apartment was on Fulton Street and actually lived right down at Ground Zero. It's kind of wild. But yeah, so they moved me and put me up in an apartment with three other models. One was also from my hometown, so we knew each other. Oh, that's interesting. Yeah. And that's my one of my best friends. Hillary who owns boom cycle in London and we will be interviewing also

Amy: 8:31

that's so funny. I did not realize she was from your hometown. Yeah. I thought you met her in the city. Yeah, no. Okay. And Hillary now lives in London and started

Katie: 8:41

and started a cycling gym. Yes, super successful cycling. And I started getting better. It was her and another mother named Kendra. And then you know, model apartments girls come and go. And we were in this beautiful, like three bedroom with a balcony apartment. You know, so nice. Unheard on women first moving to the cities. Yeah. But here's the kicker. I was there for two months. And then they took all of us and put us in a shack of a studio crammed us in bunk beds. Oh, that's awful. Had like mice and cockroaches and shuttered in shuttled in the next round of girls and put them in that nice apartment.

Amy: 9:25

Oh, interesting. Yeah, that was their that was their deal. They put you up nice and then once they have you they like yeah, bro. You in a regular apartment. Exactly. What a T Yeah, it was a bit of a sketchy Oh, yeah.

Katie: 9:36

I didn't love them. So I was only with them for I want to say maybe like the first six months and then I started looking for an agency and I landed one of the biggest agencies in the city of New York Model Management. Oh, wow. So that was great. But I honestly was not working that much. I was doing like a little bit of catalog work and showroom. I don't know if you know showroom is. That's when you try clothesline for buyers of like Macy's He's, and they decide what they're going to put in the store. Okay, and what was the catalog for

Amy: 10:04

the catalog printer?

Katie: 10:06

Yeah, I was doing print. I also did some magazines I was doing like, it's honestly like, not super proud of it. I was getting like men's magazines who Maxim. You know, like I and that's the thing, I didn't like it right? I was really

Amy: 10:21

I want to be like a sexy type you wanted to be more? Yeah.

Katie: 10:24

And I was not I didn't, the more I was put in front of the camera, the more I realized I actually hated me in front of the camera. So what I thought I was going to love, I started to resent and not like, and I was really kind of unhappy. And then I don't even totally remember how I fell into fit modeling. I got with a different agency for one reason or another. And this was the Fit modeling agency. And it was like the perfect niche. For me, it was it was what I was meant to do, and explain to our audience what a fit model is. So fit model not to be confused with a fitness model, a fit model is a model that's literally used by the designers to drape the garment on to fit the garment to to make sure that you know the shoulder width is correct. And the sleeve is the right length and the the neck is the right width and things like that. And like how the kind of the pant looks. And for a specific size or a specific size. And they started an average size. Like you know, I was never like a five foot 11 runway model, I'm five foot seven, an average size, I was a size six. So that's what they like they like kind of like middle average size so that they can grade the garment the sizing up and down from that base point. And the whole reason why I was able to do it just because literally, it's just because I'm proportionate. That's all an interesting

Amy: 11:53

video for people with even proportion, even proportion. So then they can scale up or scale down depending on the brand. And it's funny because when I first met Katie and I didn't know what fit modeling is, and she explained it to me, I was like Oh, so that's why a size four six in. You know, I don't know, the gap fits different than J Crew fits different than a designer brand. It's all based on the Fit models. Exactly. So that's why your size may change based on brand. Yeah,

Katie: 12:20

100%. That's exactly what it is. So yeah. And that kept me busy.

Amy: 12:25

Then how was that lifestyle? Because I remember when we met when you first started dating my brother, it was a lot of you had to stay the same size. And I remember that was hard. Yeah. So talk about how that worked and what your requirements more were to stay doing fit modeling.

Katie: 12:43

Yeah, that's and really that is what started me and my like healthy life journey, my interest in taking care of myself and exercise and everything because I was measured almost daily. By multiple clients. I could walk into any client any day, and they would measure me.

Amy: 13:02

So nerve racking.

Katie: 13:05

They're also taking photos of you not like modeling pictures where you're posing for the camera, just like we're like standing like mannequin and they're taking pictures of you. And I'm going I did launch Ray, I did swimwear, I did everything. So I had to be really mindful of it. I had to watch what I was eating. I had to educate myself on nutrition, I had to understand macronutrients and micronutrients and why it's not a great idea to exist off of pasta and cookies. And I had to start exercising. And you know, I was on my feet all day long. That's literally you don't sit down you're standing

Amy: 13:39

from Yeah, I was going to ask you like, what's the daily life? Like, what time? Did you have appointments? Was it all day? Like how did it work,

Katie: 13:45

I had appointments, I had back to back appointments. So once you obviously build up your clientele, I would start probably at 9am. And I could see a client for as brief as 30 minutes, or as long as all day. Wow. And it just depended on what the client needed. And that's where every agent came into play. Because, you know, they would put your schedule together like a puzzle every day to accommodate your clients. And so you're running

Amy: 14:06

around on your feet all day. And so when did you eat? Like how did you take care of yourself during that time?

Katie: 14:11

You know, I frequently did not have lunch breaks because I was a hustler. So it was my agency. So you would just kind of grab and go I did a lot of like smoothies on the go or you know quick sandwiches from had a major that you know had like really healthy cut options on the go. Yeah, but I was always really mindful to eat a really healthy big breakfast before I left. And it was kind of nice to be eating light through the day because you obviously don't want to feel heavy right bloated, right? So that also taught me like small meal space throughout the day to keep my energy up, right. But yeah, cuz I would go from 9am to 6pm Back to Back client, go, go go.

Amy: 14:52

And this is all day, every day. All day. I

Katie: 14:55

worked. I worked five days a week. Yeah, I mean

Amy: 14:58

that that sounds awesome. You're exciting in many cases, but also exhausting. It was yes, you're talking to people all day long. And I know you mentioned this too, which I thought was interesting about the fit modeling world as you sort of, were able to consult a bit with the designers in terms of what fit what you liked what fabrics, whereas in your old world, it was sort of like, you're, you're just like,

Katie: 15:20

you're just a face and a body. Yeah. And you definitely have clients that want you to just be a quiet mannequin. But a lot of my clients would take my opinion on not just the technical aspects of it, how it fit, but also the styling, which was fun. You know, I really enjoyed it. Yeah, I did pride myself in being a very technical fit model. So I could work with like, the pattern makers, and, and the fashion techs, the ones that are doing all of the grading and the sizing, and, you know, I worked very closely with them. And they, they took everything I said, and used it. So it was

Amy: 15:57

a power fit. Great. So you had like, say, and what came out, which is so cool.

Katie: 16:01

My voice mattered. Yeah. Whereas in other modeling, they really I mean, your voice is like they that's the last thing they want. Yeah. So it was, I enjoyed it. But like you said, a nonstop Go, go go doing that for about 10 years. I mean, I was burnt out, when by the time I got married and was ready to have a baby, I was ready to retire, which is exactly what I did. I got pregnant and I was like, Alright, I'm out of here. But I do miss it at times. And it taught me a lot. It taught me a lot. I was gonna say what did you learn, I learned how to work with all different types of people. I learned how to the fact that you always have to keep it extremely professional. And one of the biggest lessons that I took away from it was being on time was, was being punctual because I'm getting paid a load of money for 30 minutes of time. Five minutes late. Yeah, a lot of money. And then they don't want to work with me anymore. Right. So it's actually kind of made me become super crazy about punctuality. Yeah, but it's a good thing to have. Yeah. And then obviously, it taught me how to take care of myself and how to be healthy and stay in good shape. And you know, the fact that as a fit model, they want you to be an average size six, I was never pressured to, like starve myself. I was never pressured to, to be thinner than my body was able

Amy: 17:20

to be. So that was just really healthy. Yeah,

Katie: 17:23

yeah. And I mean, I think that's why a lot of these models that are successful that are like these runaway girls that are really tall and slender, that's because that's natural for them. Right? You don't have to kill themselves to be that way. Yeah. So, you know, that's, that's the way to do it.

Amy: 17:39

And then what we're, I mean, you sort of talked about the lows and the bad parts, but I want to hear when you lived with those girls, like, what were they doing and what kind of shenanigans went on like, tell me a funny story or what just can only imagine.

Katie: 17:54

It was wild. I mean, one girl that we left with was literally a gypsy from Turkey. And then I got her way to New York and landed an agency but she had that like gypsy mentality like the nomad lifestyle, and she didn't care about what you thought what you said what you needed, she would steal your things. She

Amy: 18:14

was just really very shady. Like, we had a lot of very shady.

Katie: 18:19

Girls come and go and then we had some of the sweetest, you know, like I a girl Her name was was che she was from the middle of Montana. And she's like, biggest heart and such a sweet girl, get these new girls come in. And you you want to kind of protect them and help them out a little bit. I mean, it was fun. It had its ups and downs. It was a little bit like a party, like an ever revolving door. Yeah, if it never felt very, like settled or safe. But you know, I was 20. Yeah, I mean, yeah, it was fun, what a

Amy: 18:47

good time to do it in New York City, where everything's going on. And it's like the best time to do it. Amazing. Well, I just wanted to hear more about that. So thank you for sharing that story. I felt like I got bits and pieces of that over the years. But I've never heard the full thing. And I think it's so interesting. And I'm glad that you did it for the 10 years that you do it. I think to your point, it's probably a really hard career to be doing long term once you have kids and you're married, because it's just the schedule is brutal.

Katie: 19:12

This schedule is brutal. But you know, it's interesting. It's one of the only parts of the modeling industry where some of the most successful fit models are in their 50s. I mean, think about it. All right. So you never know you never know. They're producing clothes for for all ages of women. So they need fit models of all ages.

Amy: 19:29

You could always go back to it if you want. Really Yeah so much. I liked the point in that it taught you how to eat how to mindfully watch her body without getting obsessive making sure your exercise and kind of staying fit on a daily basis. So super cool. And then and then she met Adam and you know,

Katie: 19:51

yeah, and the rest is history

Amy: 19:52

and the rest is history. Now

Katie: 19:53

here we are in Nirvana system.

Amy: 19:54

Here we are in our manifest. Here's the kids the whole deal. Awesome. Well, thanks for sharing that. I love the story. It's really inspiring. I just think it's a part of the business that people don't hear a lot about. And I think it's really interesting. And I know there's so many people that do that. I know I was looking at sculpt society Megan group who's like a big fitness person online. She, I believe, started as a fit model too. And now she has a whole fitness app. And this super influential in the space of fitness and well being so and I know she had started I think she said, as a fit model doing athletic athleisure and athletic wear. So it's just, it's really interesting to see where people's careers go after that. So being that your first big gig was a hair salon, and you had that amazing billboard that you became known for. I have a really fun product review that I've been dying to tell you about. So I'm going to demo it for you after this is over. But I'm a little late to the game. But I do have to say that this product that I recently purchased as a definitely a splurge is a game changer. So it is the Dyson complete. And before I open it and show Katie all of the stuff and do the unboxing for her. This is like so silly. But every time I go to a public bathroom, and they had those crazy dryers that were so strong, I'd always be like, Oh my God, I wish I had this for my hair because it's so strong, and it would like dry my hair in five seconds. So PS, the Dyson complete air wrap comes out. And I think it came out a few years ago, maybe in 2018. But I just didn't really noticed that I heard about the hairdryer. But I didn't realize there were other parts of it until recently. So I splurged over the holiday season, got a little bit of a deal. And I found the Dyson air wrap. And I think when it first was released a couple years ago, it was like impossible to get. So this was easy to get. But anyway, so here it is, it comes in this beautiful case,

Katie: 21:51

just say it's kind of gorgeous brown leather box with the loveliest little stitching and the Dyson Yeah, it's like so nice, super

Amy: 22:01

luxurious. And so these are just the directions on the shop that I keep here. And I'll show you that so you can help out work. But when you open it up, it's this really nice case, there's this leather kind of pad that you can put down which you can put all your accessories on when you're blow drying your hair. So essentially what this is, it's a hair drying and curling system. So first, it's this hairdryer and it has all these different attachments. It comes with nine different accessories, starting with the hairdryer. So this is the hairdryer is talking about that when you turn it on, it is so strong my hair, which by the way, which I've mentioned before, in the podcast, I've been like a product obsessed junkie for years, we're all products with specifically hair products, because I think curly hair, this dries my hair in like five minutes. It's crazy. It's so strong. And I think with this system, they also say that the heat that it produces is not damaging for your hair because there's a certain technology involved where it doesn't damage your hair. So the first step is you put this dryer on and you dry your hair and they want you to dry it. So it's like a rough dry, they call it like a damp dry, you do that then you can put on there's two, there's three brush attachments. So there's this one, which is kind of like a paddle brush, but it's just a brush with sort of plastic hardens, I don't know how to describe it. Then there's another attachment that has kind of like the plastic balls on the end. So there are two different looks one, the one that I mentioned before that doesn't have the little plastic balls on the end, it's just a straight brush really makes your hair silky and smooth and straight. So if you were to put that on as the attachment if you do the rough, dry just really like gives that luxurious straight hair. This one is more than this is the one with the ball on the end of it gives you more of that kind of like bouncy salon polished look. And then this one, which is the round brush is really good for me for curly hair, because it gives it like a lot of volume and a lot of kind of wave. So there's three different brushes, you can try and like blow out, what you can also do is there's two different barrels. So this is the larger barrel, which I believe is a 1.6 inch barrel. And this smaller one is a 1.2 inch barrel. And what you do with this is you put this on and see how there's an arrow here, you and I'm going to demo it afterwards. But when your hair slightly damp, you put it on there and there is wind that wraps your hair around this war. And then you just basically put it to your head and it dries so you don't even have to like twist your hair or curl it. It's just like this technology whipsawed around this roller and you just stand there and then your hairs in amazing curl. Oh my God, it is so cool. And there's two different sizes and these are just regular size barrels. I also have a long barrel coming which is good for longer hair. And essentially the directions are here, but what they call it is it's this Coanda air. I think that's how you pronounce the Coanda and it's this technique algae that Dyson made where it literally just whips your hair around this barrel and dries it. And it is so cool because I love all things tech. And of course, I love all things beauty and hair. And so when this combination came together, I was like, this is the coolest thing. And it's expensive, you could probably find it for around 550. But it replaces all of your tools essentially replaces your hairdryer, it replaces your flat iron, it replaces your curling iron. So it's really an all in one. So now what I do is I have this really beautiful stack of accessories. And that's all I use. And I put my curling iron and some of my other styling tools away. And I don't really need them, maybe here and there, I would need them for things. But I pretty much can use this for everything, which is super cool. And I feel better that it's not damaging my hair. Like all the other products, I feel like these hot tools really can damage your hair and your ends suck. I'm obsessed with this Dyson complete air wrap, I am still learning how to use it, there's a little bit of a learning curve. And of course, being the beauty nerd that I am, I've watched every video on how to do it. And all the people, there's all these hats that people use it, you know, they use the straight brush, and they do this and they do that and they get this look and that look. But it took me like a couple times to really figure out how to use the curling iron part because it's so different than what you would normally do when you curl your hair and you like put your arm around and you're and then one side is easier than the other. And it's a whole thing. This is like no work. And it just wraps around. But it's such a strict, it's just so different than anything I've ever used that it took me a little while to figure it out and still learning how to do it. So why are

Katie: 26:32

there there's two more barrels are they just doubles of the same thing double.

Amy: 26:36

So basically, it's two barrel. So see there's two different arrows. So you basically when you look in the mirror, the arrows that go out are for one side and the other, which is confusing, because when I first started doing it, I couldn't figure out which way the arrows went. I was doing it the wrong way. And then I did it the right way. And I was like, Oh, this is how it works. Oh, that's cool. So some people, which I've seen online use both these barrels on the same side, like they'll do a couple strands with this one going out, and then they'll use, they'll do a couple strands with this one going in. So it's like they get kind of a textured look. So it's really fun and creative. Because you can kind of create your own luck with it based on barrel size based on the direction of the barrel. So it's kind of fun, and I'm still learning how to do everything. It's it doesn't come natural. So it takes like a few tries. But once you get through that it's just the coolest thing. I just think it's so fun. It's amazing.

Katie: 27:25

And Dyson is a is a vacuum company. Right?

Amy: 27:28

That's so cool that they Yeah. Technology for those Exactly. So I think you know, they got into this beauty space a couple of years ago, just because they have amazing technology with their vacuums. And the power that those vacuums. I mean, I have a Dyson vacuum for 15 years ago, that still works. I mean, it's an amazing technology. So I think they've been working on this for years. And they came out with a hairdryer and I saw they have this air wrap complete set. They also have I believe a flat iron that's wireless and few other beauty tools, which I haven't tested yet. But all of their beauty tools have a purpose. They're not just doing it because they can they're using their technology and they're making it better for hair. So hair is not getting destroyed and fried in the process of you know, blowing out your hair cuts. So when I first just to say is when I first used this, I didn't even use the curling iron or anything. I just used it to dry my hair. And I looked like I just walked out of a salon getting my hair done. Like I mean, so you'll use it. We'll see ya you looks like a full on blot. So anyway, super fun. Love it. And I'm excited to use it more when we can actually get out of the house and go somewhere. Yeah, I can have my hair done looking like I stepped out of the salon.

Katie: 28:37

I'm for sure gonna use it while I'm here. Yeah, I want to curl my honor with it. Yeah, I wanted to try that. It's really

Amy: 28:42

cool. Thank you for joining this week. Our this this episode, actually, we're going to do part two later this week where we're going to talk to my parents and talk about how they maintain their young spirit and it should be a really fun interview. And we're really looking forward to that and being home together.

Katie: 28:59

Lastly, before we say goodbye, we have to leave you with your mantra of the week. It's a good one aim, give it a go.

Amy: 29:07

When you focus on the good, the good gets better. And like that. Yeah, so sending some positive vibes out there to the universe. And with that, thank you so much for listening to Nirvana sisters.

Katie: 29:19

We'll see you next time. Bye friends. Bye

Episode 3 - Food Sensitivity Testing… Yay Or Nay? (Full Transcript)

This is a full transcript of the Nirvana Sisters podcast Episode 3 - Food Sensitivity Testing… Yay Or Nay?.

Editor’s Note: Please know that this podcast transcript is automatically generated and may contain minor errors such as typos and word switches. For more information, be sure to listen to the podcast here or view our podcast episode guide.

Amy: 0:00

The reason why I really liked this is there's no additives. There's no added sugar, and there's no sulfates. And for me that's great because I love red wine, but I have a hard time drinking it because it gives me headaches for sure. So when I drink this one, I do not get a headache the next day Welcome to Nirvana sisters, where we discuss all things health and well being to help you achieve your highest state your nirvana. Hi, I'm Amy Sherman, a marketing exec with a passion for wellness and beauty.

Katie: 0:36

Hi, I'm Katie Chandler, a former fit model that has a passion for health and fitness. We are

Amy: 0:41

sisters in law who share the same love for well being ready to sift through all the self care noise and bring you a splash of what we think is fun. So let's get started.

Katie: 0:52

This week, we have a lot of fun discussing our experience trying the Everlywell food sensitivity test. I was drawn to it because I seem to be intolerant to almost anything these days. So we gave it a try the results were interesting.

Amy: 1:06

Definitely listen in on this one because I reveal my results to Katie, and it's very surprising. So enjoy the show. Welcome back to Nirvana sisters. Hi, Katie.

Katie: 1:17

So today, we thought we would start things off a little differently kind of just to set the tone and to get us in our groove and have some fun, we want to kick it off with our weekly nirvana. So ame What's your weekly nirvana? How what happened to you this week?

Amy: 1:35

So my weekly nirvana is that I have been helping my dad organize his office because he's got a beautiful home office. And he's got a lot of stuff that he's collected over the years. That's great, but it's kind of all over the place. And every time I walk in there, I just get so cluttered because it's just like these books and all these pictures, and it's great stuff. But it's just so cluttered. I'm like, I don't know how it works in here. So every time I go in there, I'm like, Alright, I want to reorganize this office, because you know, I love organizing and doing all that stuff. So finally, we did it this week. And we pulled out all his books in his bookshelf, there's probably hundreds of books. And so what I did is I put them on my parents kitchen table, and I organized them by color, and by size. And then we did the whole bookshelf. And it's so cool. And it looks so good. I'll I'll show you the picture of the before and after. But it was just fun because my dad loved it because of course he had like one on one time with me. And then he also was telling me about each book. He'd be like, Oh, this book I got 20 years ago when I was doing this job and he was just kind of going through it. And then he was just saying like, all these books represent his whole life and all these books he bought and he's just really proud of his collection. So anyway, it's just fun to spend time with him and organize it. So I would say that was my nirvana of the week. That's so nice. It sounds like Yeah, it's fun. I can't wait for you to see it. What about you?

Katie: 2:55

You know, I was sitting here thinking about it. It's been kind of a rough week we started homeschool this week. And as you know it just really throws a wrench into your whole routine. So I've been kind of digging trying to find my Nirvana just because I felt like I was high stress all week but honestly, I think that the one thing that caused me so much stress actually produced or Nirvana and that was that I didn't have to wake up five days this week at 6am to get out of bed get Madeline ready for school drive her to school the whole thing like that was one little perk to NTI was that we can our mornings were just like a little bit more chill and relaxed and instead of having like a rush breakfast with her we were a little bit more rested and could enjoy breakfast together. starve to death Nice. So yeah, I think I would say that that was it. It was it was much nicer way than our usual like get up and go and out the door.

Amy: 3:47

Right rushing, you know, that's a good one. Yeah, my kids have both been home as well. They're I think they're home until mid January. So same thing or morning's are a bit more relaxed, which is nice. Yeah. So good. So this week, we are going to be talking about a company called everlywell. And for those of you that don't know what it is, I'm gonna have Katie talk about it and I will let you use the reins on this.

Katie: 4:12

So everlywell is a food sensitivity testing company and I was super excited to give it a try What kind of got me in the direction of joining the test. As you know I have digestive issues. I react to a lot of foods I always have and I was doing this insane elimination diet called autoimmune protocol AIP which is like the gold standard for finding out what you're sensitive to. But it's so intense. I barely lasted a week you're supposed to do it for a month. The AIP diet is like no gluten, no dairy, no grains, no legumes, nuts, seeds, coffee, alcohol, seeds, spices, various spices like black pepper and nightshade eggs. I mean, well, so I was trying to do that. And the first week it was great. My stomach felt great and I could tell that I was eliminating issues, but it ended up being just torture. It was the parameters how restrictive it was was way too hard on me. So cue the everlywell test, which just kind of felt like a shortcut. Essentially what it does, it measures your IgG antibody response to certain types of foods. What that is, is your body's immune reaction, the delayed immune reaction to food versus like an immediate reaction, an immediate reaction would be an IgE, which is a food allergy. So there's a difference, right food. People go into anaphylactic shock causes hives, right? food sensitivity is delayed, so you could anywhere from instantly two hours two days later, develop brain fog, bloat, fatigue, joint pain, headaches, acne, digestive issues, migraines. So it can be very, very disruptive to your life, obviously, that people don't necessarily think about it, maybe because it's not an allergic response. It's hard to pinpoint which which food is is giving you the issues.

Amy: 6:13

That's interesting. So is the idea that if you are sensitive to a certain kind of food, you would then eliminate that and see how you feel based on that.

Katie: 6:23

Yeah. But being that these are delayed responses, it's hard to know what you're sensitive to, right. So what would happen with me, for example, I would eat eggs for breakfast. And I always thought, oh, eggs are fine, I don't react to it, I can eat it. And my stomach is still flat, and I feel great. And then in the afternoon, maybe like six hours later, I started having all these digestive issues. And I'm thinking, Wait, that must have been from a snack I just ate or for lunch. Meanwhile, after eliminating eggs while I was doing the the AIP diet, I realized that I was in fact reacting to eggs like six. That's

Amy: 6:55

interesting.

Katie: 6:57

Yeah. So yeah, having said that, the everlywell test, you know, I've done a lot of research on it. And there isn't a ton of efficacy behind the IgG testing. So there are skeptics, but I have talked to people directly that have done the everlywell testing and had great success with it, like, eliminated the foods, got rid of all their digestive complaints, lost 10 pounds, really was the absolute life game changer for them. And then I've talked to people that it wasn't super effective for. So I don't know, with as difficult as the AP test was I just thought alright, this is nuts. Like, let me let's give it a try. Right. Like, let me invest in it and give it a try. It's not cheap. There's two different tests. Right? You did the food sensitivity test that measures 96 foods, and I did the comprehensive food sensitivity test that measures 204 foods. My test was like $259 I think yours was what like

Amy: 7:55

159 159. Yep. Yeah.

Katie: 7:58

But you know, I think it's worth it. What did you think about the experience of like, the actual process of the test?

Amy: 8:06

Yeah. So when you introduced me to this company, I think I had heard of it, but I hadn't really looked at it so much. But I thought it was a cool experience. So just from actually ordering the test, which is really easy to do, the website is clean and super user friendly, easy to do, ordered the test got it a few days later. And the packaging the way that they do it is very simple. You open it up, it has very clear directions on how to do it. It has a few things in there. It has lancets to do your blood, it has gauze pads, it has directions, really simple and easy directions. So I took everything out and followed the directions little by little very simple directions. The only issue I had is Katy nose because I caught her in the middle of myself doing this I had a really hard time getting my blood out. So I use the lancet to prick my finger. But I like could barely get the blood out. I was like pinching my finger to get the blood on like what's going on with me. And they tell you to like move around a little bit and get your blood going before but I couldn't get enough out you basically have to at least for my test, I had to put it on five different circles. And I could only fill like two of the circle. So then I was like trying to do it again. So then I use the other Landsat and I like broke that one. So then I couldn't do it. And so they tell you not to do this. But I did it. My husband came because he's really good with this stuff and helped me do it. And he just put a pin in my finger and that helps it bleed. And then I got the rest. So I know you're not supposed to do that. So don't Don't copy me. But it did work. And I got all the blood. And so essentially, you just put your blood on these things you'd like put it in an envelope and send it back. So it was super easy to do other than actually getting the blood because I'm not good at that. And I called Katie in the middle of going crazy. And then she talked me through it. How was your experience doing it?

Katie: 9:44

It was fine. It wasn't as rough as yours. I had to collect for I think eight spots. I mean, I had to try a few different times and a few different fingers. But I got my blood flowing and they worked out But I thought it was fine. I had the turnover time was a little slow. But I think that has more to do with, you know how things are going with the post office and everything with males just moving slowly right now.

Amy: 10:13

Right? And all the people getting testing done, etc. Yeah, yeah, but they're

Katie: 10:17

there. The company is super cool. They offer so many different types of tests. They have hormonal test and thyroid testing. And now they're even offering a COVID at home at home COVID test. So

Amy: 10:27

that's interesting.

Katie: 10:28

Cool. Yeah,

Amy: 10:29

yeah. So Katie, and I have not shared our results with each other. So we're going to do the big reveal on the podcast to talk about what our results were.

Katie: 10:39

So I want to hear yours first. Okay.

Amy: 10:42

So I get this email. It says your results are in I'm like all psyched. I, I click on my results. And here's what it says I'm just gonna read it to you. It says your tests showed an IgG reactivity above normal to 32 foods. Foods in the high moderate or mild reactivity ranges are good candidates for an elimination diet to help identify your food sensitivities. So I was like shocked because I don't really have any sensitivities to food, at least that I know of. I mean, I've gotten a few things done in the past a few blood tests just with normal blood testing. And doctors have told me different things but nothing major. So I was very surprised, but I do have a theory, but we'll talk about at the end. So I'm gonna go through the things that were my high reactivity, my moderate and my mild so the high reactivity, which is it says here, high reactivity foods are measured as the strongest immune response in your blood sample. Not all high reactivity foods cause symptoms, but they may be the most likely to. So these are good options to target in an elimination diet. So one with cow's milk. One was egg white, and one was yogurt. So I thought that's interesting because I actually don't drink milk a lot. I usually drink almond milk or hemp milk or something like that. But I do have eggs a lot and yogurt I had been eating more recently, but that was a very new thing. So I'll tell you my theory in a second. Okay, so the moderate reactivity says it's moderate moderate reactivity foods class two foods can cause symptoms as well. So these were almond, egg yolk, mustard seed, pineapple, rye and wheat. Interesting. And then the mild reactivity foods were. So these say my own reactivity foods create a smaller immune reaction, but they can be sneaky. They can be a sneaky symptom. causer. So these were banana, barley grain bell pepper, black walnut, Bran, cantaloupe, cashew, chicken, cinnamon, Coco. Coconut, eggplant, garlic, gluten, green, pea, kelp, mozzarella, oats and orange. Oh, wow. Oh, wait, there's a few more I'm sorry. Net, soybean tuna and winter squash. And then it said all the rest were normal. reactivities.

Katie: 13:09

That's wild. First of all, because you eat cheese?

Amy: 13:12

Mm hmm. Right. Yeah. I mean, yeah, not a lot. But I do like you

Katie: 13:16

can without the problem. And what was on the what? You had cheese? I've seen you yogurt.

Amy: 13:24

Yeah, the high reactivity were three things cow's milk, egg white and yogurt. Egg whites.

Katie: 13:30

So I feel like you never have a ton of complaints about your stomach.

Amy: 13:36

Yeah, I don't know. It's so weird. And then the moderates were the Allman egg yolk, mustard seed, pineapple, rye, wheat, and then the mild. There was like a million of them, which was interesting. But

Katie: 13:47

it's also not just stuff. It doesn't just cause stomach symptoms either, though, like you do get headaches and you

Amy: 13:53

do get migraines. Yeah. All right. The thing is, is I've, I've eliminated dairy, probably. I mean, recently, I've been having dairy again, because I've been eating more yogurt like Greek yogurt. But in the past, I've eliminated dairy for like a year. And I don't really think I felt any different. I mean, granted, I didn't like do a journal every day to say how I was feeling. But I don't remember feeling that different by cutting out dairy. That's why I've sort of introduced it again lately, but I don't really have much dairy. It's very limited. It's really just in yogurt. And so yeah, that was interesting. And then also the moderate reactivity for almond because I drink almond milk. So I have this theory, and I don't know if it's true, but my husband says this a lot too, because he's gotten a lot of these food tests done. It feels like sometimes when you're eating a lot of one food. It shows up in these tests as being sensitive. So for example, I had moderate reactivity to pineapple. I never eat pineapple, but in the last few weeks I've been getting it because I've been seeing fresh pineapple at the store and it looks good. And so I've been eating it. So I'm like, is it just showing up in my blood because I've been eating a lot of it and same thing with almonds like an almond milk or eggs, because I've been eating more eggs and yogurt. So I'm like, is it related to that? Is it pulling that? Or is it just random? I don't know it. I just think it's weird.

Katie: 15:08

That's interesting that you say that because that is like the number one reason why there's not a lot of validity to these testing is for that exact reason. Because people, the more exposure you have to something, the more likely you're going to respond to it. So that if you do any research on the IgG test, that's like the one thing that pops up that affects the efficacy of the testing. So yeah, it's totally possible. It blows my mind because I swear, I think I think you got my results and I got your tell me yours. I came back with like nothing, no, a no high reaction, no moderate reaction, all mild. And all it was was black tea, which I never drink clothes, which I don't use but they're like sneaky can be in things. Cow's milk, you know, I don't do dairy. Emmental cheese, dairy again, garlic I eat every day, almost at every single meal. So if that's like low lying, and always there, I could see why can always cause a problem. marjoram which is not something that I eat, but I found that it's in sausages. And sometimes I eat like chicken breakfast sausage, Pacific oyster, processed peas and yogurt. So, you know, the dairy stuff is spot on. I can't handle dairy at all.

Amy: 16:30

Yeah, and you don't, you know,

Katie: 16:32

I don't eat it. Yeah. But the other stuff like I was super shocked that eggs weren't on there. Because from the one week that I did the AIP diet, I without a doubt realized that I was having an issue with eggs, like when I eliminated eliminated eggs, I my acne went away. My stomach inflammation went away, like my digestion got better, but then it didn't show up on the test. So weird. I know. It's tough. You know, I really want to be a huge advocate for this everlywell testing. And maybe it is totally spot on. I haven't gone through and done the full elimination yet. Like I ate garlic this morning. You and

Amy: 17:11

me. That's what I was thinking. I'm like, should I eliminate cow's milk, egg white and yogurt for the next few weeks and see how I feel I just haven't gotten there yet. So I think I think I may do that at some point. And then I think what I do need to do though, is write a little bit of a journal or write something in my phone to say like, I don't know, do I feel bloated? Do I feel this to feel that? Because I do feel bloated? A lot. I do have to say, and I'm not like, quote, as regular as I probably should be. So it could be related. But I don't know. So I may try it. I may try. Like I don't, I don't want to be skeptical in the company, because you said you've heard a lot of people done really well with this. So it is possible. And I did have a test once from another doctor, like an integrative health doctor who said that had a mild sensitivity to dairy and gluten. So I'm sure there is some sort of sensitivity, but I think I really need to do more of an elimination diet and report back on this podcast.

Katie: 18:06

And I think that's exactly what we should do. I say after the holidays, Let's enjoy ourselves. Yeah, exactly. Let's enjoy the food and deal with the digestive discomfort and headaches for a couple more weeks. That was super healthy January and do elimination, and then we should report back.

Amy: 18:25

So would we eliminate just the high reactivity foods or moderate? I guess I could do the high in the moderate and see,

Katie: 18:31

yeah, why don't you do the high and moderate and then I'll do all of the ones that I reacted to. And also I should add a really well does have a disclaimer that if you take steroids, it could affect your testing. And as you know, I take glucocorticoid steroids from disease. So you know, again, like I want to be an advocate for them. So there it could, in fact be that, you know, the steroids are were blocking a lot of my reactions. And that's why I came back with little to no reactivity. But yeah, I still want to give it a go. I'm going to do it in January.

Amy: 19:03

Yeah, though, it'll be fun to report back. And also they do as Katie was mentioning, they do have a lot of other tests, which I think would be interesting to have a hormone test, they have a COVID test they have, there was like a bunch of them. And I think the what the other tests that they have are probably a little bit more, I would guess straightforward. I think food sensitivity is hard, because it's really hard to like eliminate one thing and be like, do I feel this way because of this food? Or is it the weather? Or is it this or it's just more subjective? I feel like unless it's an allergy to your point, but I feel like some of the other tests might be more straightforward because it's more science sciency I don't know that's probably doesn't make sense. But absolutely like the thyroid testing

Katie: 19:40

is is just straight up blood hormonal testing. That will mean you can have your doctor run for the reasons why people would maybe go through everlywell for like thyroid and hormonal testing versus your doctor. I'm not 100% sure either that just maybe convenience. We might not have that great of insurance. Yeah, so yeah. So

Amy: 19:58

yeah, and then and then It's interesting because then so they give you the results. And then after they give you the results, they say, you know, decide what's next. And then they kind of tell you how to do an elimination diet. And they give you steps to do that. And they have a lot of Q and A's. And then the other thing that I thought was nice is they have, I don't know, if it's, I think it's doctors you can speak with that can help you through the process that you can talk to a little bit more. They have it as clinical and lab teams that you can talk to about questions about your specific specific results. And then the other thing I don't know, Katie, if you saw this, I printed this out, I'm gonna show it to you. They you can print out a report like a more kind of clinical report for your doctor. So I actually like the way that they do this for, for regular consumers, they break it out in a really easy way to read, like, they just say, you know, here's your high reactivity, here's your moderate, here's your mild and list out the things like all the foods, but you could also send this to your doctor, and it's printed out like a lab report. So it shows which foods are abnormal and normal. So I think like I could send this to my doctor and talk through it with her, which I think is great. So my review of this is a mixed review. I think it was interesting, and we'll continue talking about it because we're gonna do this fit elimination and see how we feel. Keep our food journals.

Katie: 21:11

Yeah, definitely. Okay, that was great. Now, Amy, let's hear about your review this week. I'm excited to hear it.

Amy: 21:19

Yeah, so I'm doing a review on a company called usual. U S, u a l so usual wine. And I discovered this brand over quarantine. I feel like I discovered so many brands for quarantine. But this is a company that produces wine in California. And they do it by the bottle, but it's a nice large glass by the bottle. So it's for those days when you want to have a glass of wine, but you don't want to open up a whole bottle because you're not going to be drinking the bottle but you just want a nice glass so they sell red Rosae Brut, and they come out with different kinds of types of wine throughout their season. But the reason why I really like this is there's no additives. There's no added sugar, and there's no sulfates, and for me that's great because I love red wine, but I have a hard time drinking it because it gives me headaches, for sure. So when I drink this one, I do not get a headache the next day, which is awesome. And it's really good wine, the red wine actually, they describe it as it having notes of cocoa dark cherry and I don't even know how to pronounce this word, cassis CSSI s, but it's really good. It almost tastes like a like a Cabernet Sauvignon or something but a lighter version, and it's really yummy. And then the rose is delish, and that you can buy as well. So essentially, it comes in a box of either 612 or you can get larger cases of it. But a box of six is $48. And a box of 12 is $96. And what I like to do is I'll buy like six reds and six roses, and I just put them in my fridge. And when I want to have a glass of wine, I do it and I feel really good drinking it because it doesn't have that extra sugar or it doesn't have the sulfates there's no additives. So it's really clean, really well made. And I love it. So I have been recommending it to everyone. I talked to you because it's super yummy. And I love it.

Katie: 23:13

It sounds delicious. And if you break that down, that's like $8 A glass of wine. I mean, that's cheaper than what you would get at a restaurant. Right? You know exactly.

Amy: 23:23

Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah. And I forgot to mention the glass that it comes in is really beautiful. So it's just a very chic experience the whole thing. Yeah, I have to send you some so you can try it. So highly recommends that glass of wine on a cold, chilly night love it and I will be drinking it all winter long.

Katie: 23:47

So something different this week, we wanted to send you off with a mantra to carry through your week and help bring you some nirvana. And to keep us in mind. So you can tune back to the next episode. Take this one, say it to yourself and just you know, push through the next week with a smile on your face. Because here it is, you will get to where you need to be.

Amy: 24:12

Oh, I love that. I like that I'm gonna I'm gonna do that. I'm gonna listen to that this week. I'm gonna say that to myself, and it's very relevant for what we talked about today. Exact so thank you for listening to today's episode. And cheers.

Katie: 24:27

We'll see you next time.

Amy: 24:28

Bye friends. Hi, thanks for listening to Nirvana sisters. For more information on this episode, check out the show notes. Please subscribe and leave us a review. also find us on Instagram at Nirvana sisters. If you loved what you just listened to or know someone that would please share it and tag us. Tune in next week for a fresh new episode of Nirvana sisters. We'll continue to watch out for all things wellness so you don't have to. Bye.

Episode 1 - How To Live A Plant Based Lifestyle & Introducing The Nirvana Sisters - Birth Day (Full Transcript)

This is a full transcript of the Nirvana Sisters podcast Episode 1 How To Live A Plant-Based Lifestyle & Introducing The Nirvana Sisters - Birth Day.

Editor’s Note: Please know that this podcast transcript is automatically generated and may contain minor errors such as typos and word switches. For more information, be sure to listen to the podcast here or view our podcast episode guide.

Amy: 0:07

Welcome to Nirvana sisters, where we discuss all things health and well being to help you achieve your highest state your nirvana. Hi, I'm Amy Sherman, a marketing exec with a passion for wellness and beauty.

Katie: 0:19

Hi, I'm Katie Chandler, a former fit model that has a passion for health and fitness. We are

Amy: 0:25

sisters in law who share the same love for well being ready to sift through all the self care noise and bring you a splash of what we think is fun. So let's get started. Hey, welcome to episode one of Nirvana sisters, our first episode so we did it, we're here and we are calling this episode our birth day because it's our first episode. And it's been talking about for ever. So I'm glad we're finally here. And we doing this thing and

Katie: 0:57

it also happens to be your birthday. So happy, happy birthday.

Amy: 1:02

Thank you. So our goal was to get this taped on, get this recorded on my birthday and use that as our launch date. So anyway, let's get to it. So today's episode is talking about plant based diet. It's like the trendiest thing you feel like you hear about it from every person on Instagram, and it's just like, sort of this thing that everyone's doing, but you're like, what is it? Is it? Is it vegan? Is it? Is it

Katie: 1:30

terian, right? And Katie,

Amy: 1:34

always is up on all the health trends. She's always paying attention to her body and her well being. And so she started doing plant based. I've done it, I've been on it, I've been off of it. But I just thought this would be a good time to kind of talk through what it means because I think there's a lot of confusion out there about what it actually means and what it is. And it seems intimidating, but it's really not. So Katie, can you just tell us? Well, you know, tell us why you started. But before that, can you give us like the audience a one on one on what plant based is and what it isn't? Because I think there's just a lot of confusion.

Katie: 2:07

Yeah, sure. So plant based is not quite vegan, and it's not quite vegetarian. And the reason for that is because veganism is drawn really, it's driven mostly by people's morals and values. It's more about protecting animals and the planet. And then vegetarianism is when you still can eat some animal products like dairy or eggs. So plant based is actually the most strict form of eating as you know, plants only and that you don't allow for dairy and you don't allow for eggs. You eat more whole foods. But it's not so much about your moral compass. It's for your health. Okay, the reason why

Amy: 2:53

the fit of being good to the earth.

Katie: 2:57

Yeah, that's a bonus. The reason why it's so super popular and trendy right now is because of obviously, you know, the COVID era that we're in, people are more focused on their health and their immune system being, you know, boosted and super healthy. And the best way to do that is by eating a lot of plants,

Amy: 3:15

right? So when did you start eating plant based and take us through your journey with it.

Katie: 3:20

I started probably, like three months ago, I did it for a solid two months I for me, I was driven mostly because of gut health, I was having a lot of stomach issues from kind of eating, you know, poor diet through COVID, all the stress eating eating junk food, and a totally screwed up my microbiome, my gut, which in turn was starting to affect my immune system, and I was getting sicker and just not feeling well. So I thought it would be a good way to just kind of reset things. And I actually really enjoyed it. But it's not, it can be a little bit. It can be a little intimidating. I think that's why a lot of people don't do it.

Amy: 4:02

But where do I start?

Katie: 4:04

Yeah, and it's easier now and more accessible than it ever has been? The the, you know, the food manufacturers are on to the trend. And they're making more products, more plant based products that are whole food driven, more convenient products. So it's not as unaccessible and difficult as it once was. You don't have to cook every single meal from scratch. But it is yeah,

Amy: 4:32

yeah, no, that makes sense. And so how did you learn to eat plant base? Was it did you research was a trial and error like how did you kind of get on a routine?

Katie: 4:41

I learned to do plant based really on my own trial and error. But I also did work with a nutritionist which is highly suggested if you can because there are certain things that you want to do to keep yourself from almost getting sick before you get healthy right so we When you transition from a plant based from your standard American diet to a plant based diet, it's really important that you kind of do it slowly, maybe change out one meal at a time, so that you are not all of a sudden bombarded with a ton of fiber. Eating a lot of plants comes with an extreme amount of fiber, which is exactly what you want. That's good for you that's going to boost your immune system, it's going to bring prebiotics into your gut, boosting your gut health 70% of your immune system lives in your gut. So eating all of that fiber and prebiotics is is the reason why we are driven to the plant based diet. But if you all of a sudden go from eating very little fiber to a ton of fiber, like 1520 25 grams a day, you are going to get very bad stomach issues like of course bloating, and gas and constipation, all that stuff. So they tell you to slowly introduce it, replace one meal at a time. And then also a few other key factors are eat a huge variety of plants. It sounds daunting, but they suggest 60 varieties of plants a week, or but you have to keep in mind that's not just like vegetables, right? That's fruits, that's lagoons, that's grains. That's nuts, that seeds, tubers, like there's a white there's actually a wide variety when you look at all of the plants, what are tubers. tubers are like root vegetables, things like you know, like parsnips and rutabagas.

Amy: 6:30

Okay, so, so this is a dumb question. But can you eat eggs or you can't eat eggs,

Katie: 6:39

you can't know if you want to be truly plant based. You can't eat eggs, but there's also a great egg substitute one of the best on the market now it's called just eggs. It's made from beans. Best products right now that are on the market are just eggs is phenomenal to me from mung beans to beyond meat products. There's a little bit of like a mixed review in the vegan world on them, but they're actually really pretty clean. They're made from pea protein. So less products are being made from things like soy, which there's nothing wrong with soy, but some people handle it better than others. And there's also great things like you know, almond milk, yogurt, coconut yogurt. Cauliflower based Depp's like one of our favorites in this house is case out but it's made from cauliflower has no dairy and it's so good.

Amy: 7:23

Yeah.

Katie: 7:24

What have you tried,

Amy: 7:25

I've tried all a lot of those things. And I've done the beyond burger, which you know, and I, there's something about it, I just like I've had it. And then every time I have it, it has this taste. And I think it's the soy that I react to. And then I have the same issue with just ag but they recently took their soy out. So now I can have all of the patties and the liquid and all that stuff. And it's great. But the beyond burger for some reason doesn't agree with me, as well as some of the other ones. But I love all the cauliflower made products like cauliflower crust pizza, and all of that stuff is awesome that you're right. There are a lot of alternatives that I'm thinking about if you're going to the store all the almond milk products and coconut milk. And so can you see so the idea is you want to start small, so you want to introduce it one meal a day over what like a week's time,

Katie: 8:14

it really over a few weeks time, the slower you do it, the easier it's going to be on your system. Some people once you have like fully transitioned to eating only plants, you're still without a doubt going to have a bit of discomfort there's going to be a transitional period. Some people it goes away in two weeks. Some people it goes away in three months, I mean your body's detoxifying, right, so you've been eating animal products, you've been eating processed foods, so your body's getting rid of chemicals, hormones, antibiotics, all of these things that are added to our standard American diet. So as you're flushing that out, you're probably going to have a little bit of fatigue and not feel so great. And in the meantime your stomach's also going to be adjusting to all of this extra fiber. The great thing about the fiber though is that it is helping you flush out toxins fiber actually binds on to all those toxins in your body. Like if you have extra estrogen, it's going to flush that out of you every day, every day that you go to the bathroom. If you've eaten an appropriate amount of fiber it's going to pull all of that out which is phenomenal. If you have health issues.

Amy: 9:20

Yeah. And then so you must feel like after doing it for a few months you must feel so good and like clean and help like your skin looks great. I'm looking at you know and you just probably feel really like different.

Katie: 9:34

You do once your body adjust and you're running on what I like to call clean fuel. You feel phenomenal. You have so much energy. You don't go through a lot of the like highs and lows that you get with the standard American diet with like glycemic index jumps and everything blood sugar highs and lows. Your energy is very, very steady and I don't really know why I think my theory I could be wrong. It's a very zen energy. And I think that's because you're filling your body with a lot of like all the minerals and antioxidants and nutrients that your body is supposed to get. It gives you a very just xem, calm, steady state of energy. That was my favorite byproduct of it, besides, of course, it being good for the planet and my immunity.

Amy: 10:24

Yeah, and the thing is to, if you like, really think about it so simple. I mean, it's, it's foods that are coming from the earth, that they're organic. And you know, there's nothing at it. And so it's really going back to basic, which, you know, there's just so many things made nowadays with chemicals and all these extra ingredients that we don't need. And it's really just going back to basics. If you think about it, do you find that you are hungry?

Katie: 10:52

No, no. And that has, again, a lot to do with the fiber fiber is really filling. And actually you can eat, you eat a much bigger up larger portions that are more nutrient dense, but less calorically dense. So you get really full eating buckets of vegetables, it's what it can feel like you're eating, I mean, very small calories. That's why a lot of people that eat plant based diet are pretty lean, too. So if if somebody's trying to lose weight, it's phenomenal for that. It also is phenomenal for people that have diabetes, hypertension, you can literally reverse type two diabetes, within weeks of starting a plant based diet, you can lower your cholesterol levels. It's phenomenal for just kind of doing an overhaul on your body and getting you into your peak performance your peak state.

Amy: 11:47

I love it. You're nirvana. Yeah, exactly. I mean, I think the key is, and I probably didn't do this, well, when I tried to eat plant based, it's really taking your time and doing it for the long haul versus just like all of a sudden being like, I'm gonna be plant based. And I'm going to do this for a couple of weeks. Like, I think it's more about taking your time. Like, if you're trying to lose weight, one would say, you know, you need to do that over months time. It's just like, if you want to go plan pace, it sounds like you need to do it over time. So your body adapts, and you it's like a gentle ease into it versus just like, oh, let me just switch real quick and try to do something. So I think that's an important lesson. I mean, I have done Sokar life, which you know, for, I don't know, probably the last year or so. And I actually love it. I started doing it because I wanted to eat more plant based and I had read about it and might heard amazing things about it. So I tried it and I love it. I just don't get it every week anymore. I used to get it every week for a while. But then it was just I stopped and then all this pandemic stuff and I just kind of took a break and now I kind of get it maybe once or twice a month. But for anyone who's listening who has thought about Sakara life I know Katie, you're probably gonna try it at some point. I mean, you're plant based now. But the thing was Sokar life is, I think if you transition to plant based, it's great, but the thing was Sokar life is the recipes are so amazing. I could never make them at home. And every time I get a meal from them, it's so nutrient dense and rich like to the point you're saying like you know, I'm so full after every meal. It's amazing that I just had like all plant based meal I mean, it's so like, satisfying and so flavorful. I was talking to Katie already our vacation this summer and I was just saying like You're like eating and enjoying it so much because the recipes that they put together are just so flavorful and yummy and like you feel like you're getting really good nutrients and you just feel so good on that like I'm every time I have Sokar I'll do it for a week I'm not bloated, I feel like hype so much energy. So for anyone listening who has wanted to try it, I highly recommend it I it's a great way to kind of start to transition I do it sometimes like three days a week so I'm just like slowly introducing plant base. I just haven't gotten fully plant based yet even though I'd like to just because I don't know I haven't gotten

Katie: 14:09

better at doing it right that's that's the right way to do it as you're slowly kind of

Amy: 14:14

Yeah, I go through phases with it. But anyway Sokar is great. They have like a beautiful website and gorgeous photography. But not only that, the the the product is really really good really fresh. It comes in a like box with frozen ice packets and then you take it out and you just it's really great because everything's labeled for each day based on freshness and like they want you to eat certain things Monday versus Wednesday, and then everything's labeled and all the containers that they're in are nesting so it's really easy to put in your fridge. So anyway the the meals are great, the granola is great. Everything about it is amazing. I'm obsessed. I'm getting

Katie: 14:53

they get really creative with the recipes right like things that you somebody might want to cook at home, it's probably a bit too much because they have so many different ingredients and the way that they pair them. It's really special. The meals are it's like dining at an excellent restaurant. Right, exactly.

Amy: 15:14

That's a good comparison. 100%. And so it's really a treat. And the thing that I also like about it when I first started secara is I was like, oh, what's the calories? what's the, what's the macros, and I was like, all crazy with that. And I called and they're like, we don't really share that. I mean, we can tell you, you know, it has X amount of protein per meal, and whatever, but they're more like, it's more about the nutrients you're getting. And it's really have the mindset of not thinking about that stuff. And not thinking about the macros and the carbs, because it doesn't matter. If you're eating plant based and really good, fresh, organic from the ground, food, Whole Foods, then all of that stuff doesn't matter, because you're going to feel good and feel fit. And Sue the philosophy is a bit different. So highly recommend this plant based idea. Katie is definitely more of an expert than I am. But it's really interesting to hear about it. And I just wanted Katie to kind of talk through it on this episode, because it does feel like a trend. And I don't really think it's a trend. I think it's just something that people have been doing for years is now just more people are talking about it. But I mean, if you think about it, it's very simple. It's probably how our parents ate back in the day when there wasn't all these like crazy, packaged foods. So it's really just like simple Whole Foods, which is really back to basics. So I love it. All right, moving on something that we want to do in every episode, which is oh, you know what, before we do our nirvana of the week, or our favorite moment of the week, I forgot there was something I wanted to share with Katie I was waiting to tell her about it. So I'm a major sweets person, I'm obsessed with candy and all things bleep. And you know, I try not to eat it too much. But I'm always looking for hat. So my favorite hack are two candies that I found that one is plant base, which I will talk about first. So I'm showing Katie it's smart sweets, which is their kind of tagline is kick sugar, keep candy so it only has three grams of sugar. And it's plant based. It says it on the label and it's free from sugar alcohols which it says on the label I mean ingredients. I won't go through all of them there's not many but it's like prebiotic soluble fiber from tapioca rice flour, pectin, sugar word. Is that how you say it? Yeah, chicory root fiber, malic acid, etc, etc. But anyway, it's so yummy. You can have a bunch and it's really not doesn't have a lot of calories. And the one that I'm looking at right now I'm showing Katie is called peach rings. But it's great because if you are doing plant based and you want a little treat or you want to get that something sweet, smart sweets highly recommend love and then the other one, I have actually had the gummies they're delicious. Yeah, like I love it. Now they're coming out with like sweetness fish and all this stuff. So it's like if you're gonna eat candy, right? It's like, it's so much better for you. Totally. And then there's another brand that's new and emerging. I went to brand week a few weeks ago and it's called behave I'm showing Katie I have a little postcard that they sent me they sent me some samples. And it's a really cheap brand. It's called behave with like a slash in between the behave it's eat behave.com You can order it online. And these are gummies I don't think they're plant based yet. I think I was going through the ingredients with Katie earlier and they're not plant based, but they are low sugar. Same idea. With Smart sweets, and I think they're it's made from monkfruit. But there was something in it.

Katie: 18:34

It was a jello. Gelatin is deceiving, but it's made from collagen, which is an animal product.

Amy: 18:40

Yes. So I think this brand is probably working on a plant based version. But it's a new kind of emerging fun brand. And this one tastes a little bit different than smart, sweet, smart sweets. Kind of tastes like regular candy, which is great. And this one is more of like a gourmet type candy like it's made by chefs. So it's a little bit of a different spin. So smartsuite is kind of like your basic candy. But this one's like, really Gourmet and curated by chefs. So the founder partnered with some chef she knew in New York and put together this candy but it really feels like or may and my thought and

Katie: 19:16

what are teas and Oh, candy.

Amy: 19:18

That's exactly right, perfect word and it's really indulgent. So I highly recommend it. I'm gonna get some more of it. Because from a sugar standpoint, it's really low in sugar. So that's my my two favorite product reviews of the week. That was great. Okay, so the last thing we wanted to do before we sign off is just to talk about our nirvana of the week. So our high point of the week. So I'll start and my high point is actually today because it's my birthday, and we got to record our first podcast and I'm so happy about it. We've just been talking about this idea for so long. So I'm finally glad we got to do it and it's on my birthday and it's super fun to spend time with Katie and talk to you every week and I'll pass it off to you Katie. What's What's your no nirvana of the week?

Katie: 20:01

Well, I have to say not to be too unoriginal or anything but it's mine is totally my nirvana. It's so fun to be able to talk to you and to just be creative and express ourselves and it's great and I'm so excited and looking forward to everything that it's going to become and and yeah, and then I have one little other Nirvana which I'm think you'll think is funny was when I was on my way home from dropping my seven year old Madeline off at school this morning, my two year old Reese asked me to put Madonna on the radio. I was pretty impressed with that. And that gave me a little nerve on there.

Amy: 20:38

That's so cute. I love that receipt girl. Anyway, thanks, everyone. Thanks, friends for tuning into today's episode. For more information on this episode, check out our show notes and find us at Instagram at Nirvana sisters, and if you liked what you listened to, or you know someone that you think would like it, please share we are just starting and we're loving all of the feedback that we've already started to get and we just want to break things down and make them real and that's it. So tune in next week for a fresh new episode of Nirvana sisters, and we'll continue to watch out for all things wellness so you don't have to. Bye.