09 Jun 2020
Empowerment, Podcast, Vegan Lifestyle
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Backstage Pass to a Real-Life Coaching Session

Are you wondering what it is like to get coached by Stephanie and I? Well, today you get to find out! This is our very first real-life coaching session we’re sharing here on the Vegan Life Coach Podcast, and we couldn’t be more excited for this special episode. And you get a backstage pass. 

Coaching sessions are something we want to feature here on the podcast, and this means you could be on the show with us too. If you’d like to be featured in a real-life coaching session on the podcast, fill out the application form below. The session is free, but it will take some courage because we’ll be sharing it with all of our listeners. Keep in mind however, that vulnerability is something that we talk about a lot, as you’ll hear in this episode with our guest, Andrea. 

Andrea submitted a form for the real-life coaching session and outlined some of the things that she was interested in. She is an entrepreneur. She has her swimming instruction business, that she and her husband run together. Andrea has recently had a significant weight loss after going completely whole food and now plant-based. 

She and Stephanie had a fantastic connection. So I think that you all are going to fall in love with her like we did, because she has such an intensity about her that is intriguing and engaging.

Stephanie and Andrea began the conversation discussing supplements and food. But to come right down to it, Andrea has a lot more going on underneath all of that. And don’t we all? The food, the supplements, and the exercise, are actually the easy part. True transformation is all about that mindset work, and getting to the core beliefs that keep us stuck in self-sabotaging cycles.

If you haven’t listened to episode four and seven yet, we recommend you go back and listen to those prior to checking out this one because you’ll get so much more out of this real-life coaching session after listening to those episodes too. 

We’d love to hear about your experience listening to this episode, and how helpful you found it to be (or not to be)! Email [email protected]. I read and reply to every email myself because your feedback is so incredibly valuable… This podcast is for YOU!

 

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16 Dec 2019
Empowerment, Holistic Health, Vegan Lifestyle
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My Holiday Confession

For the majority of my adult life, holidays were a huge source of stress and anxiety for me.

If you’re thinking, “That’s the case for almost everyone,” I agree!

However, the stress and anxiety I experienced was not over gifts, travel, or spending time with family. Although it did involve food, it had nothing to do with being vegan either. Instead, the source was my disordered eating and distorted body image. I was terrified of feeling out of control around all the “fattening” dishes, snacks, and sweets.

I’m not talking about minor stress and anxiety here. I’m talking about being completely consumed by thoughts about how to “prepare” to be powerless over my food choices when surrounded by a feast of foods I don’t normally eat. I’m talking about being obsessed for weeks prior to a holiday get-together.

I would become fixated on doing whatever I could to make sure I didn’t gain weight from indulging on all the delicious vegan dishes I knew would surround me. If you’re someone who has struggled with disordered eating and a poor body image you can probably relate in one way or another.

It’s hard to believe that for well over a decade I experienced holidays from such a dark place.

If I wasn’t so comfortable being vulnerable and sharing my story at this point in my life, I’d be totally embarrassed about how I thought, felt, and acted. I experienced so much shame all those years that I didn’t share my struggles with anyone.

I hated that I was so selfish. I was ashamed that I was so focused on myself and my body during a time that was supposed to be about gratitude, generosity, and family. It was part of the self-destructive cycle I was trapped in. Beating myself up, hiding, restricting, binging, beating myself up some more, over-exercising, and flat out feeling unworthy of being accepted and loved.

Fast forward to 2017 when I finally broke through the shame by “coming out” with my story (read it HERE).

healthy vegan lifestyle

It was the last step I knew I needed to take to heal. All the work I had been doing to gain the self-worth I needed to feel confident and empowered over my choices came together. It was that same work that allowed me to build a healthy relationship with food and my body so that I could start eating and exercising mindfully and intuitively. It was never about food or my body. It was about my relationship with MYSELF that needed the attention!

The joy and meaning that my life took on after sharing my story prompted me to create the Plant-Empowered Coaching Program to help others transition to an empowered vegan life.

Instead of it taking years to heal, or worse, never healing, I began to coach people through a powerful six-month process that allowed them to gain the tools and embody the principles that took me years to master.

When I say “master” I mean that I feel completely confident in my ability to effectively work through any challenge or hurdle that presents itself in my life. That being said, I will always be working to grow and gain new tools and perspectives that will allow me to continue leading the healthiest, happiest, most meaningful life possible.

I am eternally grateful to be able to say that I finally feel free to enjoy the holidays in the ways I’ve always wanted to.

If my story resonates with you please join our incredible, free Empowered Vegan Life tribe. See you there!

04 Dec 2019
Empowerment, Guest Blog Posts, Holistic Health, Vegan Lifestyle
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The New Kind of Beautiful

We live in a society obsessed with outer beauty. We are all about our Facebook image, our Instagram likes, living off complements, needing the latest fashion trends, constant dieting, the magic pill, cream, and solution to all our problems.

We get so fixed on our outer appearance that we ignore our inner soul’s cry for help. We are ignoring what matters most… Our hearts. We are in a cycle of abusing ourselves. We see the magazine covers with the airbrushed supermodels and we think, “Why don’t I look like that?” We believe there must be something wrong with us because we don’t look that way.

So we do WHATEVER it takes to try to achieve perfection. We take diet pills that poison our insides. We skip from diet to diet plan because they are too difficult and restrictive. We put ourselves down because we can’t diet and exercise our way to a “perfect” body. We constantly compare ourselves to others, making us feel like we are never good enough.

But guess what… You ARE good enough. You ARE worthy. You ARE deserving of love, happiness, and respect. If you think that those models are happy just because they are a size 0. you’re mistaken. Happiness does not come from a number on the scale. Happiness comes from within.

So who I am to be telling you all this? I am someone who was right there with you. I’m a recovering binge eater. I’m someone who hated myself for most of my life. I never thought I was pretty enough or good enough. I was disgusted with my own reflection in the mirror.

But I am now a graduate and mentor in the Plant Empowered Coaching Program. When I discovered the program, I didn’t even know it was what I needed. But it completely transformed my life.

This program is a mind, body, and soul program. It really gets to the core of the eating issues, because, news flash, disordered eating is not about food at all. The food is just the way we cope with feelings of emptiness, hurt, loss, rejection, and fear. Food is the easy part.

When I first found the program, I was totally enamored with the idea of a vegan weight loss program. I have been an ethical vegan for 12 years and vegetarian for 22 years, and finally I was finding a program that was in line with my values.

People assume vegan automatically means healthy but that’s not true. I was a junk food vegan. My passion was to help, protect, and save animals. I didn’t care about what I put in my body, as long as it wasn’t animal products.

But I quickly began to learn from the program that food is our fuel. Food is how we nourish ourselves. It gives us the strength to accomplish our goals. It supports our brains. How can we expect to think straight when we fill your bodies with candy and chips? Just like a traditional car won’t run well on canola oil, your body will not work properly without the proper sustenance. When we eat junk it makes our lives a lot more difficult because poor fuel equals poor performance of mind and body. Now, reflecting on how I used to eat, it’s so clear how negatively it poisoned my mind.

You may be wondering, “Where do I go from here? Where do I begin?

Step one is to start showing yourself some compassion. You are doing the best you can with the tools you have. If you join the program, you will be opened up to a whole new toolbox of tools. The most empowering thing about it is, it all comes from within you. You learn this for YOU. YOU take action. YOU heal yourself because you deserve the moon, the sun, and the stars, and the program coaches you through this process, one baby step at a time.

I share this all with you, not as some sort of promotion but as someone who needed an extra boost to get to where I wanted to be in my life. The Plant Empowered Coaching Program helped me get there.

My mission in life is to help others see their beauty. We all have amazing gifts and importance in this world. I want to help you realize this and shine as bright as the light you are. I now look in the mirror and say “Wow I’m incredible.” I love myself with all of my heart. I approve of myself. My focus is on love, health, and feeling my best. I invite you to join me, and it all starts inside you.

All my love- Lindsay K.

https://thehealingsensitivesoul.com/

10 Jun 2019
Going Vegan Tips, Vegan Lifestyle
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3 Top Tips for Traveling Like a Sexy Fit Vegan Pro

Traveling as a vegan has become DRAMATICALLY easier the last couple of years (I would know, as I’ve been a traveling vegan for 24 years!)

Even airports are starting to get on board the vegan train thanks in part to the mass distribution of products like the Beyond Burger and the Impossible Burger, which are even hitting fast food joints like BurgerFi and Burger King.

My boyfriend recently texted me a photo of himself at the airport, excited to report he was chowing on a bagel with Daiya cream cheese!

Even though sticking with your healthy vegan lifestyle while traveling has become easier in some cities, it can still pose a challenge in less progressive areas, especially for vegan newbies, hence why I’m writing this article.

Here are my top 3 tips for traveling like a sexy fit vegan pro…

#1: Prepare Healthy, Hearty Food for the Plane

Many people often limit themselves to bringing only snack foods, like trail mix, chips, and candy with them on the plane. Instead, I have found that leaving the snacks behind, and instead bringing hearty, whole foods-based mini-meals works much better. That way, when I get hungry, I can eat something that is both healthy and satisfying, with the result of arriving at my destination feeling fantastic!

My “go-to” plane food is a chickpea salad I make by simply throwing together chickpeas, halved grape tomatoes, black olives, and avocado, tossing this with a little olive oil and Herbamare seasoning, and then adding micro-green sprouts and sunflower seeds. This meal is delicious, nutrient-packed, and keeps me feeling satiated for hours!

Start experimenting, and before long you’ll have your own “go-to’s” for your trips and it will be a no-brainer!

#2: Do our Research in Advance & Prepare Accordingly

There are many awesome apps now to help you navigate the food options in cities all over the world. Happy Cow is the oldest and possibly the most extensive website and app for finding vegan and vegan-friendly spots to eat.

Social media is also a great place to do your research these days by connecting with vegans in the places you’re traveling to. When I went to London last year for example, I join the “London Vegans” Facebook Group and was able to get great advice about vegan-friendly restaurants and markets.

To avoid getting hangry on your trip (which can really put a damper on one’s vacay), I recommend making sure you know where there is a market close to where you’re staying so that you can at least pick up a few items when you arrive, like apples and peanut butter to keep around as a snack (especially if you’re staying at a hotel without a refrigerator for restaurant leftovers).

 #3: Adopt an “Adventure Mindset”

If you’re familiar with my work, you already know I’m all about developing an empowered mindset, which allows people to make conscious, intentional, and mindful choices.

When traveling, I encourage you to leave your expectations at home, and think of the trip as an adventure, including making it fun to find the best vegan food in the city you’re visiting! Without expectations, you eliminate disappointment.

Doing research ahead of time is extremely helpful, but there can be  hidden gems that don’t show up on apps. Ask the locals!

Instead of relying solely on Yelp or Happy Cow, consider asking around once you arrive at your destination so that you don’t limit yourself to the more touristy restaurants and markets. I’ve found myself spending tons of time doing research in advance only to find that the best places end up being the spots that the locals have recommended. So take your eyes off the screens and interact with real people and have yourself an adventure!