Episode #14: How to Let Go with Jen Liss
MICHELLE FOX: Hi, it's Michelle, and we are about to take a three day detour. Yes, I am talking about Instagram reels for entrepreneurs. I am so freaking excited to be able to help you create Instagram reels. I also wanna help you build your social media confidence and help you be more consistent online. Instagram reels can boost your visibility as a brand, giving you plenty of opportunities to promote, inspire, educate, and sell your products and services.
I tripled my following on Instagram and I have grown my client base in less than a year. I would love to show you how I've had so many friends say, “Michelle. I love the way you were showing up online. How do you do it?” And I promise, I sincerely wish I could help each friend one by one, but it does take time away from my culinary nutrition biz.
So I decided for one time in the year 2023, I will put a group together so we can learn Instagram reels, we can support one another, and I can share some of my social media secrets with you over the next six months. So yes, that is six months that you will have access to our online community between now and June of 2023.
And just to give you an outline of the program, we're starting off with three days of intense work. This is going to be hands-on starting January 6th at 10:00 AM Mountain. But no worries if you can't make it, because you will receive all recordings in our private online community. And no, it's not gonna be on Facebook.
It truly is private, meaning only for us. So go to michellefox.com/reels and come join us. We are gonna have so much fun. Each workshop is going to be 90 minutes, and you have my word, nobody gets left behind. And we will spend those 90 minutes up front learning the basics of how to make a reel. The second day will be all about how to make your reel stand out and shine, and then the third day I'm going to share a behind the scenes look at my social media content strategy so that I can help you build your own.
And of course, we'll end by ensuring that you know exactly how to create your content every single month. Plus, you'll walk away with multiple reels to post to your Instagram profile. So again, join us michellefox.com/reels. I sincerely cannot wait to see you in class.
We'll talk soon.
INTRO: Welcome to Healthy Sexy Nutrition with me, Michelle Fox, culinary nutritionist, health coach, and your host for this podcast. I teach busy professionals how to get more nutrition in their bodies and how to have more fun in their home kitchens. If you struggle with consistency or sometimes forget to make your needs a priority or you avoid planning your meals, you, my friend, are in the right place.
Join me each week for inspiration to increase your energy, discover new recipes, manage your hormonal woes, and so much more. You are a busy professional, but that does not mean your nutrition should suffer. You deserve to live in a body and have a life that you love.
So let's dig in.
MICHELLE: If you can't tell, there is a smile on my face. Hopefully there's a smile in my voice because I have a new friend with me today. Her name is Jen Liss and she's gonna help us learn some tools on how to let go. If you are a client of mine, a friend of mine, if you've been in this world, there's a good chance you've told me a few reservations you've had about perhaps releasing the gluten, releasing the dairy, releasing your sugar, and your girls got you. I'm here. I hear you. I know things aren't always easy. I also know it's always not that hard either, and we're gonna have some help today.
So before I bring Jen on, I just want to read her bio so you know who we're about to have some fun with. So Jen Liss, she is known for her silliness, her contagious enthusiasm, and engaging storytelling. Jen enjoys finding levity in the mundane. My kind of girl. But she is serious about one thing, inspiring people to take action on their dreams. As a speaker, a coach, and a host of the podcast Untethered with Jen Liss, she helps people let go of the crap that holds them back and step into the life that they've been called to live.
That is why I have invited her to talk to my community, to help us lighten up and feel better in our bodies, feel better in our spirits. And so Jen, welcome.
JEN LISS: Thank you. I'm so stinking excited to be here.
MICHELLE: I'm so glad to have you. And before we get into some of the tactical tools to help my community feel better and, and feel stronger in their choices, I would love to invite you to play what I'm been calling the rapid fire questions. Are, are you open to play with me?
JEN: I am, I'm so glad we're playing first. A lot of times people like hold the play until the end and we're like, no, we're gonna have dessert first. And this is awesome.
MICHELLE: And I so love that you said that. Cause you know, side note, I actually often do have dessert first. Like I'm not a big sugar person, but if I'm gonna have what I call my blow off steam meal, which is usually once a, um, I was gonna say once a month, but let's keep it real. It's like once a week.
tonight, you know? But actually, We're on it. Let me just think of, oh, oh, gluten-free Oreos. I had some gluten-free Oreos the other day and they were delicious. Yeah, I, I wouldn't recommend if you haven't tried 'em, don't try 'em cuz they are addictive. But it, it sounds like you have tried them already.
JEN: I, I have also tried them and friends and family will buy them for me because they know it's like the gluten-free treat that actually tastes like the real thing.
MICHELLE: Yes.
JEN: And so, yeah. Yeah. I often have too many of them in my life that that's the only problem with them. Don't try, don't try them and don't let other people know how good they are. Cause they'll be buying them for you. And then you're like, “why do I have so many Oreos in my life?”
MICHELLE: Yes. Yes. And so my point with that is, if I do have dessert, I typically eat it first. But it's not that idea of, oh, you know, Yolo. You don't wanna miss out. It's that truly when we have our sugar first, whether it's first thing in the morning or first before we eat the protein, it is easier to digest.
So of course I had to sneak in a little nutrition hip tip there. So if you're gonna eat the sugar, try to eat it before you layer on the protein and the fiber and the healthy fat.
JEN: Love it. It's good to know.
MICHELLE: Yay. Yes. Okay, so enough about that. Let's jump into the fun stuff. Fun. But I like to call this first question kind of serious, which is sweet, salty, or savory?
JEN: Oh my goodness. I love them all. I love them all. Can I say sweet and salty and savory?
But salty. Honestly, I would have to go with salty. I, I love salt. I have low blood pressure, so I've always excused myself for eating more salt, and I don't know if that's really true, but…
MICHELLE: It is. It absolutely is.
JEN: That's what I tell myself. Permission granted.
MICHELLE: Yes, absolutely. Good answer. Good answer.
Okay. Inbox zero or inbox 10,000?
JEN: Zero.
MICHELLE: Okay.
JEN: Gives me anxiety, all those little red little ones and twos and thousands so I can, I can't handle it.
MICHELLE: That sounds like my husband. You're like, Nope. Clean it out. Let's keep it moving.
Okay. Favorite movie of all time?
JEN: Oh my gosh, this is gonna be so telling about me, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
MICHELLE: Tell me more about that.
JEN: I just, it’s, it's so silly. It's ridiculous. I've, I've written the whole thing down, like I've, I've written the script. When I was a child, my sister and I would sit down and we would write out the script and then we would act out the scenes.
MICHELLE: Oh, I love that.
JEN: And I just, I love how free he is in that movie. You know, Jim Carey is just like, he just allows himself to really go there and it's, it's wild. Like why does that movie exist? It's amazing. He’s so freaking talented.
MICHELLE: Yeah. No, I'm with you. I love it. All right. And then our last question is, will you share one of your favorite childhood memories in the kitchen?
JEN: Oh. Definitely. Oh, okay. Now I'm like, oh, which one do I do? Baking sugar cookies with my mom for sure, and my sisters, and then decorating them and just making such a huge mess. And eating the batter, even though we shouldn't have, like the taste of my mom's sugar cookies before they're cooked is actually like one of my favorite tastes.
And I'm, I'm gluten free, so I don't eat them now, but I still remember it. Like I could still taste that memory in my mind. Yeah.
MICHELLE: And including that there was that bonding time, it sounds like. And so maybe that's part of the memory as well, that you're there in the kitchen with your mother, with your sister.
JEN: Yes. Because the other one that came to mind was making fried chicken with my grandma. So, you know, it's definitely, it's the full moment, not just like what we were making.
MICHELLE: I love that. How special.
JEN: Hmm. Great question.
MICHELLE: Well then let's, uh, thank you. Let's jump right in. Since you did mention the gluten free, I, I knew we'd be friends.
That's amazing. Tell me, how did you come to this journey of choosing to eat gluten free?
JEN: Yeah, you know, I have always, this is so fascinating. I have never really loved pizza. Everybody loves pizza, right? Like everybody loves pizza. But I, I've never really liked it, but come to find out, along the way, I wonder if it's, cuz it made me feel like crap. And I didn't realize that that was my connection to not liking it. But I've always had gut problems, you know, growing up as a kid, like always constipated, like always. I hope that's okay to talk about on this podcast.
MICHELLE: Absolutely, yes.
JEN: But you know, that's been such an issue. But once I hit 30, it went the other way where it's like it wasn't constipation, it was the other side, and I'm like, “What is going on?”
And I started running, I was running a lot and like, you can't have diarrhea and be a runner. Like those two things don't go well together. And so I was like, “I've gotta figure this out.” And so, you know, I went to the doctor and they're like, “oh, you know, it's like classic IBD, there's nothing we can do.”
Thank you for this diagnosis.
MICHELLE: So mad. Yes. It's all in your head, right?
JEN: Yeah. They gave me, nothing to work with. And so on my own, I started eliminating things and I discovered much to my dismay, that gluten does not make me feel good. And so I, I decided to cut it out about five years ago and that's been a journey, but I, I thought it was going to be far harder than it was, which is just wild, you know? I was so upset about it at first, but it's…
MICHELLE: Me too, me too.
JEN: I don't, it's, it's strangely not that big of a deal. Right. Um, and social settings are probably the hardest thing, but then, uh, very recently I'm still having, you know, it's like, okay, it's better, but my stomach is still, like, I still have some other health things. And I, I saw a nutritionist recently and we went through all of these questions. Three hours, we sat down together and she asked me questions from the time my mother even thought about conceiving me to today and at the end of it, she was like, “okay, I'm gonna give you a full workup here, but go throw away every single dairy product in your house because you should not be eating this.”
MICHELLE: That's what I like to hear. Amen. And did you notice a difference once you got off the dairy?
JEN: I haven't had dairy now. This is very recent, by the way, but I haven't had dairy in like a month, five weeks maybe ish. And yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes I feel better.
MICHELLE: Yes. To my community who's listening. Did you hear Jen? That was like five yeses.
Yes. Our bodies, oh well, I always have to do the disclaimer. I'm not a doctor. I will just say the research I have done and in my personal experience, dairy and gluten products just are ot made for the human body in this day and age right now. Neither one of them are harvested and created in the ways that were made back when our grandparents were eating from the earth, from the farm directly.
And so, yeah, sadly it does affect our digestive tracks, our moods, our weight, our energy, and so yay. I mean, sounds like you're still on the journey. I'm just so grateful to hear and see that you're paying attention, like you're paying attention to what feels good in your body.
JEN: Yeah, I mean, definitely. And honestly, it hasn't, again, with the dairy, like, okay, I ate cheese every meal of the day, and I'm not exaggerating. I ate cheese. If I ate breakfast, I put cheese on my eggs or I put cheese on a piece of toast with jelly. Cause I'm like, well, it's protein, you know, and uh, gluten-free toast, of course. But, you know, I would put, I mean cheese on everything. Nachos is my favorite meal, but it's. It's really just, it's strange. I thought it would be harder than it has been because there are alternatives. There's all of these nut yogurts and nuts, sour cream and I'm like, oh, this stuff is actually really good. And I feel better about eating it because when you look at the ingredients, it's actually healthy. Now there are all these weird cheeses that I'm like, what the hell is in that? And um, I tried one of them that made my heart pound. So I do highly suggest if you're going to go dairy free, eat the good stuff. Cause I'm like, what is in this that I feel so bad after eating it? So, yeah.
MICHELLE: Interesting. Yeah. So I wanna come back to this cause I believe I know how to tie this back into our topic of how to let go.
You, my friend I know have recently made a huge life choice. Would you be willing to share with my community some of your recent decisions?
JEN: Yeah. Yes. So I very recently, within the past two weeks, let go of my corporate career.
MICHELLE: Congratulations.
JEN: Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am going all in on my coaching business, uh, hosting retreats, and it's just the path that I know that I was made for and I've been led that down this path for a reason.
But this is not a sudden decision. It's been coming for a couple of years, and I never could have let go of it, nor could I have let go of gluten or dairy if I had not first done some very deep inner self work, and that's, that's my belief is that when you go within, it's easier to let go of all of these things on the outside.
But to go back, yeah, I'm, I'm leaving that corporate job. I, I've been in corporate for almost a decade. Prior to that, I was an entrepreneur, so I feel like the art of letting go is something that I've been working at for a long time. Uh, and there are, when I look back at that, there are those certain things that I'm like, how did I do that when it's so hard to do? Like, it's so hard to take that leap and take that step, and I truly believe that it's by connecting to you, it's to connecting to self because we can't make those aligned decisions and feel really solid and good in it if we aren't fully connected to ourselves.
MICHELLE: I love what you're saying and what I'm picking up on as well is that it's been a process and it's been steps along the way that you've learned, and I know for me personally, I was in corporate America a little over 25 years until I—oh, that could be just a whole nother episode—but I will say mama reached her limit. With that said, I did have that kind of, I think they call it white knuckles, like holding on, like, this is my security. This is where my money's coming from, how, how can I even make a new choice? But gradually I started doing culinary nutrition, you know, evenings and weekends.
And then I gradually build up my confidence knowing, oh, well I think I have something here. And when I started making some of my first sales, I'm like, oh, how can I expand on that? And it's like, oh, now I get it. Now if I save some of my money from my corporate work, that kind of soothes that part of me that's like alert, alert.
But then I also can bet on myself that I can build this business. And, you know, a year later, thank you, God, literally, I, I have built a business that has been bigger than I could have dreamed of. But with that said, it's been step by step by step, and so I would love to hear maybe some of your step by step, like how did you, one, get the courage and or confidence to make these new choices? And two, how is it feeling like now that you're kind of in the freshness of it right now. I, I'd love to hear some of that, that fresh take.
JEN: Yeah. I, thank you for asking me to step back, because I do think this is really important to see that these aren't just decisions that we make, you know, flippantly, the decision that you made was you had taken steps along the way.
So, you know, I, I was in a corporate career and I was really loving what I was doing, but then I reached a point where I felt like, I didn't know. I felt something, I felt just really uncomfortable and I was like, what is going on here? I need to figure out what to do. And so I, I'd never listened to a podcast actually in my entire life, but somebody had recently said something about podcasts.
So I go to podcast and I search in creative Career because I was a creative copywriter at the time.
MICHELLE: Oh, love it.
JEN: Filled up this podcast. Don't keep your day job. And I'm like, oh, don't keep your day job. Maybe that's what I wanna do. So I start listening and it, this podcast led me to invest in a course for self discovery, a self discovery course and that course, so that was like step one was like self discovery. What is this? What does this mean?
MICHELLE: Love it. I'm getting goosebumps. Cause obviously your spirit guides were like, pay attention. And you said, okay, I'm paying attention.
JEN: Yes.
MICHELLE: Yes. All right.
JEN: So I went along, I, I took that course, and through that course, one of the things that they suggested that we do is to create a Facebook group and to put some, some kind of offer out there into the world.
Well, I didn't have any kind of monetary offer. I didn't really understand like what I was supposed to do, but Covid was like, actively happening. Like everything was kind of shutting down and I was like, oh my gosh, I have something to offer. I have creativity. And so I created this Facebook group where I issued a creative challenge every morning from March 15th of 2020, like as, like Covid was really happening for a year, and we all did these creative challenges. So that was, honestly, that was like step two was put yourself out there with your skills that you have in some way. It was a free offer, but I was working my skills that got me in front of a camera. I had never, I've never gone live on Facebook before, but I started just issuing these fun, creative challenges.
Like, let's, today we're gonna make something magical. Today we're going to draw with our non-dominant hand. Today we're going to imagine a turtle and write a story about him. You know, they were just like silly little things.
MICHELLE: I love that.
JEN: That led me to, eventually I started like really loving talking about creative practice and all of these things. I started a podcast where I could talk more deeply about it and then as I'm like doing this podcast and I'm like starting to delve into, Ooh, what could I do bigger in the world? Then I started to realize, oh, I really would like to help other people to do some of this, this experience that I've been through as well.
So I started coaching, so now I've got, uh, I closed the Facebook group because. once Covid was done, that was, that was over. But I moved into the podcasting space. I moved into the coaching space. So I'm still working my corporate job, you know, while coaching and podcasting. And so everything is just kind of these natural progressions along the way of like little things that I'm doing.
And then it's like, I, I did start charging obviously for the coaching and now I'm, I'm all in on that. So it's like, like you said, it is one step after another, and not all of them are immediately. Making money. Some people can, but I had a lot of self, I had a lot of value things, you know, letting go of unworthiness, all of these things that I didn't know I had, I discovered along this journey and was able to, I, I literally just left California yesterday and I threw my unworthiness into the ocean, Michelle.
MICHELLE: Oh, you are getting like, jaz hands over here.
JEN: Oh, done with it. You know, so it's just, it's this constant process and all these steps that we take to let go so that we can step in. Um…
MICHELLE: And did you feel lighter and freer at that moment?
JEN: Yes. Oh, can I tell you a funny story about this?
MICHELLE: Please.Yes.
JEN: So I stand there at the ocean and I'm just, oh, the ocean's so powerful to me. There's just something about the waves crashing. So I had found this beautiful spot on the beach and I was about to go to the airport and I was like, no, no, no, I'm gonna, I've got time, I'm gonna run over to the ocean.
So I go to the ocean, I'm standing there and I was just like, I just wanna, I just wanna let go of this unworthiness so I can step into something bigger. That was just the message that came through to me. So I like put my arm there. I literally acted like I was throwing it. I'm sure people were like, what is this chick doing?
So I do that and then I'm like walking back to my car and I'm like, okay, universe, give me a sign. Like, you know, give me, give me something that like I can take with me as a, as a memory of this moment. And so I'm kind of like looking at the ground. I don't know if you've ever done this where you ask the universe or God for a sign, but I'm like…
MICHELLE: Oh yes.
JEN: Maybe it'll be like a beautiful shell. Something will like pop up and I can bring it with me and remember this moment, like that's kind of what's going through my head. Nothing stands out to me and I’m like, okay, that's cool universe. Like you didn't, you didn't bring me a gift. That's okay. I step onto the sidewalk and I'm barefooted and I go to like, you know, shake the sand off my toes and I lift up my foot. And there is like something sticky, like so sticky all over the soul of my foot and it like will not come off. I'm like rubbing and rubbing and rubbing and I realize it's like oil. Like, oh, I had stepped in like a spot of oil and all the sand is on my foot. And I'm like, thanks universe. It was telling me like, You didn't let go of all of it. Like you've gotta sit here and just like rub that, rub that shit off your foot and let it go.
MICHELLE: Ah.
JEN: And it was like, the message that came through to me was like, you think you let go but you didn't let go. You need to take a moment here and like, really get it off.
MICHELLE: Oh my gosh, I'm seriously getting full body goosebumps right now, Jen. That is so powerful. Yes.
JEN: Yeah. I felt like it was like, you need, you need more of a moment. It wasn't just this one beautiful moment and you know, sometimes letting go of something is kind of gross. Sometimes letting it go of it requires that you dig in and you rub it out and you go get the alcohol wipe and you like wipe your foot off, which was what I was doing when I got to the car. You know, like…
MICHELLE: Almost like the universe kind of, asking like, are you sure you've let it go? Are you sure you've let it go? Cause I imagine that was a lot of head work you were doing on the beach, and once you get to the car it's like, oh wait, I'm still in my head. The universe is like, I got you. I got you..
JEN: Yeah.
MICHELLE: Oh, that's so interesting. Wow.
JEN: It was the message that I needed. And I just had to laugh though. I was like, this is so ridiculous. But I feel like it's exactly what I needed to hear was sometimes you, you think you have, and it's always going to keep coming back up too. I think that's also a message like you think you've let it go. Well, we know that our brain like science knows that our brain has such a good memory for any thought you've ever had and they, they will come back. It's learning that it's going to come back. And when it does, you can choose. You can choose a different thought, you can move into a different space. You can look at the oil spot and laugh and say, there it is again. And you can grab the, the little alcohol wipe and wipe it off.
MICHELLE: And similarly, Cathy Heller, the woman, how you and I met through one of her experiences. She also talks a lot about how we think the same thoughts day by day. You've been with her more recently. I don't know if you remember the numbers, but maybe something like, we think 60,000 thoughts a day perhaps, and like the next day, 50,000 of those thoughts are the same thoughts that we thought the day before. Like that's what that's making me think of as well.
JEN: Yeah.
MICHELLE: Just the power of our brains and our thoughts that it's like constant loops and loops and loops.
JEN: Yeah. And it's noticing, I think the most powerful thing, and this is a creative practice that I learned in creating writing stories and writing words is the art of noticing, and I think the art of noticing is so key in letting go. It's so key in your health. Because if you don't notice what's happening, like, I've been eating dairy for years and I didn't notice how bad the dairy was making me feel.
Like, for example, I, I love ice cream and I would eat ice cream and then I would pass out. And we've always laughed about it. Like I get a, what we call a diabetic coma after eating ice cream.
MICHELLE: Oh Jen.
JEN: And you know, I will just like pass out after eating it, but I will do it anyway. I never noticed, like I didn't know what was going on with that. And come to find out, my nutritionist is like, it's the dairy, not the sugar Jen. Like it's the dairy that is causing your body to not be able to process the sugar. And I was like…
MICHELLE: Oh shoot.
JEN: Like I, I. never knew that, but she noticed it in our conversation, you know, she's like able to thread that out and was like, oh, you, you know, it's because of this.
I'm like, oh my God, I never, and now that I know that I, I can't put my body through that knowing what's happening, you know? So I do think sometimes it's that, that noticing allows you to then, let go, and sometimes we're not the person who can notice it. We've gotta have somebody like you who can look at us and and hear the stories and find that thread that we are not seeing.
I didn't notice that that oil was on the bottom of my foot until I went to like, look at my, at the bottom of my foot and I was like, “oh my God, I've been like walking with this giant oil spot on my foot. Gross.”
MICHELLE: Gross. Yes, and I'm so glad you said that because when you said me, me meaning the nutritionist, I will tell you I could talk about nutrition 24/7 if you let me. I won't do that cause I won't have any friends if I do that. But two, my clients and participants in my group coaching programs, they're not going to put my recommendations into practice until they feel worthy enough of taking the time to one, get quiet to see what their body is really craving. Two, to take that time to plan ahead for the meals. And three, just to eat healthfully.
And so, why I really was attracted to you and your message of letting things go. I'll just kind of recap a little bit of what we've said so far. So you've talked about letting go of the gluten because you noticed it didn't make you feel well, you let go of the dairy because you literally passed out by eating the ice cream
JEN: Well, and someone else noticed that one for me. I think that's what's so powerful there. It was like I, I, you know, had somebody look at me and say, “Hey, did you,” you know, so sometimes it does take somebody.
MICHELLE: Yes. No, thank you for that point. And then you also mentioned that you let go of your corporate career. First you said let go of the entrepreneurial career to jump into the corporate career. Then you let go of that to create this new vibrant, reality.
Yes. And so with all of that tied together, is there any either one or two words or phrases that, that you can kind of pull out that we can share with the community to say that “Yes, you can do this too?”
JEN: Oh, I mean, yes, you 100% can do this, and it really starts with loving yourself. And knowing, knowing your own worth, as you said. But that really starts with just this very, very, very simple act of loving yourself and allowing yourself to be loved, especially to be loved by you because that's where it starts. If I can give one other example that doesn't, isn't nutrition related, but I think it like summarizes what can happen when you love yourself.
My teeth were crooked for years and I, I didn't like that, that I just, that my bottom teeth were so crooked. I would smile differently. I would never show my bottom teeth because they were crooked and I knew that this was something I wanted to correct, but I never did. Never did, never did. Until last year. And I had been actively working on loving me as exactly who I was and instead of hating those teeth, I was loving me.
And then all of a sudden one day I was like, I think I'm gonna go do Invisalign. Fixed them. Now they're, they're fixed. Now they're just, they're straight as could be, but…
MICHELLE: They're beautiful. Yes.
JEN: And now I smile so big and I smile so bright and it took me, we think that it's, we're gonna fix it because we hate it.
And I think that's also like, I think I'm gonna fix my health because I feel so bad. But it wasn't, I wasn't willing to work on my gluten and my dairy and my, my crooked teeth until I actually loved exactly what was, love yourself exactly as you are. So that is like starting place. I got goosebumps myself from what I said there because it's true.
Like we get goosebumps when there is like this truth that comes through. That's what it is. And that is a, my husband will tell you straight up, that is a continuous journey for me. And a lot of us are starting at this place of just having just societal, we, we have hated on ourselves so hard for so many years.
But it can start with just like a very simple, tiny thing. Like what little beautiful thing can you do for you. Today. What very kind thing can you say to yourself today? What if you don't feel like you love a lot about yourself? What is that one thing? He'll have me do this. He'll say, what is like a beautiful thing about you?
And so I so appreciate that he can be that reflection for me. But maybe you just like, like the way your lips turn up when you smile. Maybe you like the way that you show up for other people, you know, maybe you like the way that uh, you twirl when you dance. You know, what is that one little thing? Cuz it can start so simply with that and it will grow from there.
MICHELLE: That was so powerful. Self-love. Self-love, self-love. Cannot say that enough. I love how you brought it back to self-love because often I keep looking at the unworthiness, like that's a theme I hear when, when I hear quote unquote excuses that come up for not being able to change certain habits. But I love how you framed it in the self-love piece.
So I'm, I might even work on changing the title of this podcast to all about self love because we just, we can't hear that enough. And I also love that you have a partner who's there to remind you every day because this journey can get lonely sometimes, and it, it is not always easy to find one thing you love about yourself. So it's a beautiful gift to have a partner, to remind you to dig a little deeper and find that thing that you love yourself.
JEN: Yeah. I'm so blessed to have him and you know, I found him at 17 years old, which is just like even more miraculous. But you know, you have, I, what you said about it is self-love, but a lot of us don't even know what that is.
MICHELLE: Right.
JEN: We don't even, and we especially don't know how powerful it is. So, you know, when somebody says that or would have said it to me a couple years ago, like, it might not have even connected with me. It would not have connected with me. I can tell you that straight up because I didn't understand the power of it.
So, and I think that there's just, oh, there's so much work to do, especially for women in that area, you know? So it's like if you're, if you're that person and you're listening, then I totally get you. Like I totally get you if it doesn't feel like it connects. But I will tell you it's the, it's so powerful. It's the way. Loving yourself is the way.
MICHELLE: Yes. So two tips I wanted to offer before I have another direct question for you, and as we start to kind of close down or wind up, um, one back to the ice cream, it breaks my heart that that's like one of your loves that you feel like you have to give up. Have you tried the SO brand, the cashew milk?
JEN: I have not, but I will.
MICHELLE: You might wanna try that one. Yeah, it's just SO, and they sell it in the frozen section in almost all the grocery stores here in Colorado, hopefully there as well. But that might be a nice treat when you're, when you might be craving ice creams. I, I never want anybody to suffer as they're making nutritional changes.
JEN: I will say there is a place here in Portland that they had my favorite ice cream. And so I was just like, that was just so gut rid. Cuz they also have gluten-free cones and they have their favorite ice cream. But here's the cool thing, Michelle. Yeah. They have an ice cream on their menu that's vegan. And, um, and I, I never would've tried it because I'm just like, ah, vegan. It probably tastes like crap. Amazing. It's so good. Like, I'm obsessed with it.
MICHELLE: Is it like made outta almond milk, coconut milk? Do you know?
JEN: I haven't even asked.
MICHELLE: Like it's just good.
JEN: It's good. It so creamy. It's just like I never would've tried it. Like what a gift that I have discovered. And that's what I'm finding with eating dairy-free is that I'm trying things I wouldn't have tried before and they're delicious.
MICHELLE: Mm, good.
JEN: It's actually…
MICHELLE: But you're staying curious then about new things to purchase and new things to taste.
JEN: Yeah. Instead of focusing on what you're losing, what is there to gain? What is there to discover?
MICHELLE: Absolutely. Absolutely. And then the second thing I wanted to add with the self-love for our friends who perhaps don't have a partner like you and I do, to remind us of our beauty and of our our love.
Mel Robbins does the high five. I don't know if you've tried that or heard anything that she's done. Um, I will, I will admit I didn't get through her whole book, but the thing that I got out of it is, when I might be feeling a little low I literally will look myself in the mirror. I'll give myself a high five.
And it does do something cellularly. That just kind of lifts me up a little bit. It's like, okay, I, I can stand up a little bit straighter. So I just wanna offer up that there are tools such as that, for my friends who maybe are looking for a little bit more of a, of a help. With that said, definitely wanna plug your coaching services as well, because clearly you have compassion. Clearly you understand the journey of a lot of women. So how would my audience find you?
JEN: Thank you so much for having me on. This has been a magical experience talking to you and I'm actually hosting a retreat at the end of February and it is to help people, oh my gosh. We're gonna go into the forest here in Oregon, into the rain, and we are going to find our magical selves and learn how to shine the light that we know is inside. Brighten it up and shine it on the outside. It's going to be so magical. So if you're interested in that, you can go to jenliss.com and I will have information up there for you so that you can find out and potentially join us, if that sounds good to you.
MICHELLE: That sounds amazing.
And we will also add that information in the show notes. Thank you so much, Jen. It truly has been a pleasure speaking with you. You have lit up my morning and I just so appreciate you and the work you're doing and the energy that you're sharing with me this morning. So thank you.
JEN: Thank you, and right back at you.
MICHELLE: Thanks so much for listening to Healthy Sexy Nutrition. Have you been driving, doing laundry or walking around the neighborhood? Sweet. I've got show notes for you at michellefox.com/podcast. Click over there when you are ready. I will let you know that on the page you will find resources to support what you just learned on today's show. And of course, you can grab some health supportive freebies as well. If you enjoyed this episode, I would be so honored if you would leave a review on whichever podcast platform you are listening on. It will help me with my mission to build healthier communities one person at a time.
Big love from your favorite culinary nutritionist and health coach, and until next week, keep showing up for yourself and know that you and your health matter.
You deserve to live in a body and have a life that you love.
