Episode #43: How to Persevere in the Face of Uncertainty (in life, health and business) with Meghan Telpner
Michelle Fox: [00: 00: 00] Welcome to Nourish. I am 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.
You, my friend are in the right place. Join me each week for inspiration to increase your energy. Strengthen your mindset, manage your hormonal woes and so much more. You have a lot on your plate, 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.
some people have dream boards, and on those dream [00: 01: 00] boards, it could be people that they'd love to meet and or spend time with. It might be people like, or Oprah or JLo. I wanna share with you that a few years ago I was in the Academy of Culinary Nutrition, and while I was in school, we were broken out into small groups for discussions, and one of the opening kind of icebreaker questions was, who would you love to have at your dinner table? I promise you my first answer rose my hand. and I said, Meghan Telpner, oh my goodness. It's because of her influence and her impact on the world of nutrition. Also, her impact and influence on the idea of self choice and self advocating. and most recently, her impact and influence on hitting the pause button.[00: 02: 00]
I'm sure you can hear it and from my friends who are watching on YouTube. Yes. This excitement is real as I am staring at her across the screen from me. So let me tell you, Meghan Telpner is a Toronto-based nutritionist. Bestselling author, founder of the Academy of Culinary Nutrition and the Clubhouse Community Hub.
She has written two bestselling books, and I know my people in my community already know because I've referred this book out and recommended it at least 10,000 times, which is Unie. Eat your way to Vibrant Health and of course, the Unie Cookbook. Meghan's success in cultivating a global community of culinary nutrition experts has garnered her multiple features and Forbes and ranked her as one of the top 100 female entrepreneurs in [00: 03: 00] Canada.
This, of course, is all in addition to being my favorite teacher coach. And my secret best friend, please don't tell her I said that. Okay. So Meghan, welcome to the show.
Meghan Telpner: What an intro, two things. We can be best friends and I would love to come to your home for dinner.
Michelle Fox: Mm. Okay. Invite given and accepted check.
Thank you Meghan Telpner. It is sincerely a joy to have you here today. How are you?
Meghan Telpner: I'm good, Michelle. Thank you so much for having me. And I, you know, I. You have children, you know that you could be in a crowded place and you hear your child yell, mom, and you know it's your child. That's how I feel when my books are around, and I kind of just see them sitting just behind you there.
Like I can, like, I look at pictures on real realtor.ca, like, which is our MLS for [00: 04: 00] real estate listings, and I, I'm like, oh, I see my book on the shelf in that listing. Like I can just spot them. And so as soon as you I saw, I saw them, but thank you for that amazing intro. Can't wait for our dinner
party.
Michelle Fox: My pleasure and ditto.
So, you know, I've got 10,000 questions for you. I'll, I'll try to keep it all within 30 minutes. But before we jump into the juicy goodness of our topic, which is out of persevere in the face of uncertainty in life, health, and business, I would love to have you play a game. Are you
Meghan Telpner: open? No, I told you these games make me sweat, but cuz I adore you so much, I'm gonna play along.
Michelle Fox: Okay. Thank you. Do you see my friends? Why I follow this woman? Because she's open, she's willing. Wink, wink. We can all be this way. Okay, so first rapid fire question. Sweet, [00: 05: 00] salty, or savory.
Meghan Telpner: Savory, but I'm like, what is the difference between salty and savory? I don't know, but I'm gonna go with savory.
Michelle Fox: That works.
You are a businesswoman through and through in addition to all the other amazing things you do. So this question should be easy. Inbox zero or inbox 10,000 zero. That does not
Meghan Telpner: surprise me. All right. Every time I'm gonna throw in cuz I don't like the short thing is I have always have lots to say. I'm savory because I've been off sugar, all sugar for four years.
Inbox zero because whenever you get to inbox zero, something magical will land in there within 24 hours cuz you've made space for it. Next one. Let's go
Michelle Fox: see Meghan's coaching already. Okay, I'll take it. Last meal on earth. Oh gosh.
Meghan Telpner: there's a lot of things. I grow a lot of my food in the summer, so probably just about [00: 06: 00] anything with like all the veggies from my garden roasted and put them on anything, whether it's pasta or fish or chicken. Right now, cuz we're coming to, like, as we're recording this, the end of winter food where I live, at least in Toronto.
I make the best gluten-free lasagna. Ever. So that one kinda that sticks out for me.
Michelle Fox: And I think this is another point of our connection because last night I was at the dinner table, the literal dinner table with my daughter and my husband, and I was telling them about you coming on the show. And I'm like, what do you think I should ask?
Like, just kind of throwing that out there, because of course I'm a student of yours, so I, I've prepared for a while, but I was just really curious what they were gonna say and my daughter thinking that she was being funny. She's like, ask her what her favorite pasta is. So the fact that you just said lasagna, I'm like, okay.
Angel's. Got it.
Meghan Telpner: Yeah. Yeah, we're connected. All right,
Michelle Fox: so last question. Hopefully none of these have made you sweaty, but No, these are good. Okay. [00: 07: 00] Yay. So would you be willing to share one of your favorite memories in childhood in the kitchen?
Meghan Telpner: I don't have a lot, but what stands out in my mind and hindsight is 2020.
I loved pulling a stool up to the counter and pulling out my mom's spice rack and like making potions, like just adding spices to water and mixing it and smelling it, and then making people taste it. And then I never cooked, I never cooked a meal for myself properly until I was about 27.
Michelle Fox: That is so interesting, and I know you speak a lot about your story in the book on diet.
So my friends who are listening, please go buy that book if you have not yet. And that actually leads us straight into our topic of today. So Meghan, I was sharing a little bit before we hit the record button that. A lot of women in my community are going through some type of [00: 08: 00] transition, whether it's children leaving the nest, moving on to their independence, and or a lot of us are going through hormonal changes with perimenopause and menopause.
And so that's it's own type of transition. And then in life, I would say a lot of us are kind of stepping into our own saying, you know, I'm not loving the way certain things are going in the world. I'm gonna create my own path. And so when I talk about uncertainty to you, what types of things come up?
Meghan Telpner: I have lived my life very certain, always, and I think it comes from. Early and you, you referenced my story. So at the age of 26, I was diagnosed with this autoimmune disease and I was told there was no cure. And at that point I lost all faith and authority outside of myself. I was like, I am my greatest source of authority and wisdom. Not to say like [00: 09: 00] I know all, but my opinion matters most. And so from that point, I've been able to ground my feet. Pretty solidly and move forward from whatever decision I make. So I. The way I approach uncertainty to me is thinking about having a decision or a fork in the road and needing to choose one path or the other. And so you can always choose a path and look back and say, Ugh, I took the wrong path, but what value does that offer?
So I've always stood by you choose your path, you decide that it's right, and then you make it right and you follow it. And so I don't experience a lot of uncertainty when I do have that, those moments of indecision like this or that left or right, it's extremely nauseating and uncomfortable. And I [00: 10: 00] also choose to be in it for the shortest time.
I can, and it's been my experience in life that there are no wrong decisions. That you can make a decision that seems right at the time and horrible things result from it. You can make a decision that may maybe seems wrong. I. At the time and beautiful things result from it. And so I think uncertainty is a little bit of a decision, a little bit of a belief, and maybe a little bit of a self-imposed boundary or barrier to actually taking action and moving forward in your life.
Michelle Fox: I absolutely want to come back to this conversation around boundaries because as I have witnessed you over the past six years, you are the queen of boundaries, which I so admire. It's funny
Meghan Telpner: that you say that because we don't know each other personally, even though we are best friends, but I am in a mastermind group with seven people.
[00: 11: 00] We've been meeting once a month for three years, and they've told me I'm the queen of boundaries, which I've never thought of. I've never considered that a quality, I would think a beneficial quality. But, it's interesting that it's come across to you in just how we know each other.
Michelle Fox: Absolutely.
Absolutely. So we'll talk.
Meghan Telpner: Absolutely. I ok. It's important, it's important especially for women in, in, I'll say our age bracket. I'm turning 44 this year, so I'm gonna slot myself in there.
Michelle Fox: You are welcome. Yes. C come on. Be be in our circle. And so then yes, but I was actually gonna lead us straight into, Right now, as far as timing right now, like this conversation could not have come at a better time, especially as you just made a huge announcement to the world that you are pausing Academy of Culinary Nutrition.
And the part that I actually really wanna pick up on is, [00: 12: 00] One, the fact that you made that choice and you followed through. Cause I think a lot of us do get stuck sometimes, but two kind of the fallout and how you've been handling that like. Can you speak to that a little bit? Yes, yes. Just as far as people trying to reach in and, and trying to help you with your decision, where I've been watching you, I'm like, no, she's already made her choice.
Meghan Telpner: Yeah. Yes. It's interesting. So I actually made the decision a year ago, March of 2022. I sent out a video message saying, I'm retiring. This is my final year running the Culinary Nutrition expert program. I'm done. But at that time I didn't really have a clear vision of what that meant. I just wanted a way out.
I thought that we would keep running it. I would keep operating the company, someone else would host the weekly classes. my name would disappear from the bottom of the emails and I could just kind of stay behind the scenes. And what was really interesting in that process, I hired a new operator who, her name's also Michelle, who.
Didn't just become like my unicorn in the [00: 13: 00] company, but she came, became one of my closest dearest friends. I love her to bits and together we had a special alchemy that translated to a powerful energy for our team, and I just didn't want anyone to quit. In the year. Michelle was hired for one year to kind of see through this final year, wrap it up.
And in the process of all of this happening of me relinquishing responsibility to my team of having craft nos, all these really fun things to keep people engaged and feeling a sense of belonging in the company, which in my opinion is what equity inclusion should really be about is belonging and engagement.
we. I didn't wanna quit. I was like, I don't, I don't wanna leave this like this is finally the company I've always wanted to have. And so that's when we launched the Clubhouse, which is our community hub. We have 2,500 members as of today, and we lo, we did like massive marketing, like we went in. Instead of me scaling back, I was like, let's double down and go all in. And then [00: 14: 00] just before we open registration for the Culinary Nutrition Expert Program for 2023, I spent a week, on vacation by myself. I was with my mom and dad, but if it was effectively, you know, without my child, without having to take care of anyone but me. And typically in the last 15 years, whenever I go away, I come home like raring to go like full of ideas and full of inspiration.
And I came back from this week of hiking and sun tanning and swimming and reading books and signed myself up for a full date tapestry workshop, which made me think, oh dear, this is not good. I had my team meeting the week I returned. The next day we opened registration. We did not get the results we'd planned for, and we suddenly recognized, okay, we're dealing with a completely different economic climate.
And also I. Different way of thinking than we have for years before, [00: 15: 00] after, you know, the trauma everyone's been through the last three years, the uncertainty we're told we're facing in the, you know, with the recessions and all of those things. And I spent 10 days spending my days. Pivoting our entire strategy and my nights chatting with friends, being like, I don't know if I wanna do this.
I don't know, like, and ultimately, it came to a 0.2 weeks ago from when you and I are chatting that I was in the bath at nine 30 in the morning on a Wednesday, which as an entrepreneur, Not a good sign. It's never good when you have a full day of work ahead in meetings and you're just like, I just need to get in the Epsom salts with some lavender.
And mm-hmm. It just came through. I was like, I, I can't do this. I mean, I could do it. That's, that's not the right word. Can't. It was, I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want the pressure of enrollment and the, what has happened in me scaling my company [00: 16: 00] is the overhead got higher and higher. I had the.
Income of all my entire team on my shoulders, effectively. I mean, not that they weren't, you know, they were working for it, but I just wanted to be free. And ultimately what I was thinking about was my health wasn't improving. I, I have no health problems, but I wasn't on an upwards trajectory. It was starting to like stagnate and little things were starting to creep in. And I like from January 1st, I had this horrible flu as we brought in the new year. And then I got a cold and it went and I got another cold. And my son, like he's, you know, five and a half, they touch and lick everything. They're disgusting little things at that age and everything he got, I was getting Mm, which is a child, just to clarify is normal.
They're educating their immune systems. You want them catching things, mounting an immune response, letting it be educated. [00: 17: 00] It's important we do not sanitize our child, but I shouldn't have been getting every single thing as severely as I was. And my thought was I'm going into the next major shift in my own biology, which is menopause.
Mm-hmm. And I don't have the time in my day to do what I need to do to go into this next shift and change in my. Greatest optimal health. I was like, so what matters the most? And that one when I was like, I need the time and I don't want it to be that I'm squeezing in my workout at 5: 00 AM I was like, I wanna get up and have breakfast with my child, take him to school, and then do my workout when I can enjoy it, when my body's actually a little bit more limber than it is at 5: 00 AM when I'm creaking outta bed after having sat on my computer the whole day.
So all of this. Was part of that decision. I was like, I want to train for [00: 18: 00] menopause. I wanna do activities that take me off of this screen. I wanna do more than staring at this light box and pushing buttons all day. As much wisdom as comes through those buttons, I was like, I wanna be in my garden and I wanna do art and I wanna like, I like I made my shirt.
I like sewing clothes. There's so much that I love doing. My parents are aging. I wanna spend time with them. Have long conversations. And so the hardest, hardest thing about this decision, which I think most people did not realize with my announcement, was that I had to lay off my team. So I'm not pausing the entire school.
We're pausing our flagship program, but that flagship program generates what 90% of the revenue for the school and mo everyone's jobs are based around selling and delivering. And supporting this program. So that was hard. I hadn't known or anticipated [00: 19: 00] how much these beautiful people love me, love the company, love their jobs, and love the community. That's what has been heartbreaking, is that I care so deeply about them. They care so deeply about me and. You know, I had to break up with them. It's like the end of a relationship and we're all breaking up with what our purpose has been in the work that we do in delivering this program. And so I went through the stages of grief where like, you know, I broke the news to them on a Wednesday, Wednesday night.
I was literally up in bed at one 30 in the morning like. Having sweating and writing notes and trying to figure out in my mind how I could take it back and make it work. How could we still deliver this? And ultimately, the next day, I was like, this doesn't solve the root of it. And I kept being like, well, we could do this, or we could do that, or we could try this.
And [00: 20: 00] then I just. Like just accepted it. I was like, no, I can stay in this tunnel of uncertainty and indecision as long as I choose to. Or I say, this is the decision. What are the decisions that now need to be made based on it? And so that's the way I went forward. I also called a death doula, who I know from a mastermind group that I'm in. And we talked about grief and we talked about how I can help my team through this because that's what it is. It's like you feel great about it and then you know, grief sneaks up on you when you least expect it. And I, what I do is part of my identity and it's like, who am I without this? So there was all of those questions, but ultimately the overwhelming feeling.
Was, I'm free and you should never. Feel like you are in a cage of your own creation, which 99% of [00: 21: 00] us are, we cage ourselves with the jobs we choose. I caged myself with a company I created. We take away and steal our time freedom by being on social media all the time, or binge watching television shows or eating food we know doesn't serve us.
There's so many ways we build these confinements and I'm just, you know, clipping the wires. And I'm like, alright, I don't have to censor what I wanna say, what I wanna share. I don't have to do anything. I don't need approval on or for anything, and not everyone's gonna come on this journey with me. I fully recognize that.
And that's great. That's just fine cuz I am not here to please people. That's not my job. My job is to inspire and guide those that seek my guidance. And that's where it begins and that's where it ends. And the ultimate, ultimate decision maker was the [00: 22: 00] fact that. I was trying to personify who I was 10, 12 years ago when I wrote UN Diet, when I wrote the UN Diet Cookbook, when I created the Culinary Nutrition expert program.
And I just didn't wanna do that anymore. like Michelle, you, you've posted a video of you teaching a room full of people on healthy snack ideas. And I was I was like, I loved how excited you were about it and I loved that you were fully qualified and confident and empowered to do it. And I also knew that no amount of money could get me in that room doing the same thing cuz I've been doing it for 15 years and I wanna do something else.
I would love to be in that room, but there's other things I'd love to share and I, there's 3000 people empowered to do that work if that's what they choose to do.
Michelle Fox: And I'm so glad you mentioned the 3000 plus [00: 23: 00] number because you just spoke about your process and the process you're walking your team through.
And I really wanna reflect back to you as a student and as a follower of your work, that what I'm truly hearing is permission. And by you standing in your truth and listening to what your heart's desire is, That gives the rest of us permission to do the same. Yeah. And I wanna read a quote that you made public recently.
You said this decision had nothing to do with a personal or health crisis and everything to do with wanting life to be a little different right now. And Meghan, I have to tell you, I literally started crying when I read that because I'm like, oh, like again, this is your journey. But I actually felt seen as I was reading that.
Mm-hmm. I'm This gives me more permission to hit the pause button and just to ask like, [00: 24: 00] what do I truly want to do right now? Yeah. And at the time of this recording, there are a few transitions I'm going through. Not quite ready to, share them yet, but when I do, please know, Meghan, that your voice has helped me to kind of.
Just give myself a little bit more confidence to even just look at the desires of my heart. So
Meghan Telpner: thank you. Thank you. And I did also think about my 3000 students and also those who had already registered for our upcoming program who we refunded everybody, which is never an easy thing to have hundreds of thousands of dollars poor out of your bank account.
Let me tell you. And it was disappointing. Am I disappointing people? Am I doing this? But ultimately, when I realized that the only reasons I was doing this, none of them were me, for me, because it was what I was to keep serving others at an expense or at a cost to myself, which as we know as mothers, never serves anyone. And I do believe that, you know, for all of us at this [00: 25: 00] stage of life, It is our opportunity to step into the power of the wisdom we've acquired while we have full vitality, to express it and to create and hit publish on whatever it is we wanna send out there. And and the other thing that I just wanna mention, because I am a business person. Business
Michelle Fox: person. Plus I will say
Meghan Telpner: yes. I started thinking about the trends in business right now are like the shark tank world where you get investors and you evaluate your company or you build something that you can sell. And so you mentioned like about people prompting, like, here's how I can help you, or here's what's next.
So I had people being like, here's a company that will invest and help you scale to sell it, or here's how you can package what you have to sell it. And. I had no intention ever of selling my likeness. I was never putting videos or images with my face on them in the hands of [00: 26: 00] somebody else. No amount of money to me was going to be worth that.
And so the question was, why am I trying to scale this? Mm. So we're not, I'm not deleting the company. I'm my team right now, they're with me for, you know, I gave 'em seven weeks notice, so they're with me until, for that almost two months, unless they find something sooner. we are transitioning everything to a new platform, to something that is lighter l lower cost to operate, easier for people to access.
So like it's all still going to be there. It's that I only need to sell about a 10th of what I was selling. For me to have the same income, for me to have the same comfort and the celebration I have is my goal was to retire at 40 to have financial success and freedom to no longer need to work. And I got there, but then I kept working.
And so if money is no longer the incentive and you're no longer getting fulfillment, [00: 27: 00] That's usually a good sign to let go, but for anyone listening to me like, well, that's so lucky that she can afford to do it. Everyone can afford to do it. You just have to plan for it. And I planned for it, not from when I was 39, to retire at 40, but from when I was 35 with the vision of what I wanted to build and how I was gonna build it.
Michelle Fox: Preach and congratulations by the way, for reaching that goal. And I am sincerely excited to witness and also be a part of the future goals. And I know that I am receiving some of that goodness already, just being a member of your clubhouse from my friends who are listening, I believe. Is that what you're referencing when you're talking about the new community?
Is it your clubhouse community?
Meghan Telpner: I don't know what I was referencing. No, I started that clubhouse community. I just still dunno what's happening with it cuz our plan was to monetize it, make it part of the 2023 program and all of that. But I just don't think people are buying the way they used to. And without a team to support it, I don't know what's gonna happen with it.
But for now it [00: 28: 00] is what it is and it's gonna exist a little while longer for sure. And then we'll decide. I don't know. My husband has a workshop coming up when he's had the most RSVPs ever. So maybe I'll just be like, here Josh, all yours. Enjoy. Go.
Michelle Fox: And then you can just relax into the knowingness and the beingness.
Of Meghan Telpner. Yeah, I already am. Yes. Thank you for being a leader in that way. So with that, let's go back to boundaries. Yes. And I'm gonna see if I can bridge this because one of the biggest complaints I am hearing in my community, including yours, truly is the word burnout. And that can have lots of different connotations.
However, the bridge, I believe, As part of that is if perhaps we had better, stronger boundaries, then maybe that could be one step to help us prevent burnout. But as I say that word, what comes up for you?
Meghan Telpner: I've [00: 29: 00] never had a problem with boundaries to things that were external from me. I can say no to social gatherings, even family gatherings I say no to.
I've been saying no to food. Not all food, but like. You know, food that doesn't support my health goals. I say no to staying up late. Most nights I say no to being on my phone all the time. I say no to business opportunities that I know could cause the burnout. I have a harder time with boundaries for myself, like if I have a goal to be like, okay, you don't need to achieve it today.
but ultimately, I. Josh and I, Josh is my husband. Follow the philosophy, and I don't know who said it, we didn't make it up, but the idea that discipline is freedom. Mm. Yes. So if you have the discipline to exercise your body, you have the discipline to eat well. You have discipline to say yes to certain commitments and no to others.
You have the discipline [00: 30: 00] to make your bed and take care of your home and create a beautiful space to be in. All of that is the source of freedom, the discipline about how you spend your money thoughtfully. and that's really what's at. The root of my boundaries. And what's interesting is we'd be like, oh, I always self-sabotage.
Well, why? Like, okay, you recognize the habit. Why are you doing that? Or, I always say yes to too many things. Well, why? And there's been like a few little things, like one of them with work is if like people are like, oh, you know, come do this talk. It's great exposure. Right? And then you're like, Hmm, how much would I pay for this opportunity?
How much would I pay to be able to go and do that? Like what is it worth to me? Mm-hmm. So that's a good question to ask. The other is, when you say yes to things, if I had to do [00: 31: 00] that tonight, if I had to do that today, if I was waking up this morning and that's what was on my agenda for the day, would I wanna do it? She sometimes say, like, I, sometimes I'm a, I'm an introvert, introvert, introvert. No one, no one ever believes me because I can be, come, I, I'm not shy, but put me in a room of people I don't know, and I'm like,
Michelle Fox: Corner, it's pulling too much energy out of me.
Meghan Telpner: So I sometimes get these like bursts of extroversion where I try and make a lot of social plans and then as the impression, I'm like, why did
Michelle Fox: I do that?
So, because then you're like flat on your back for the next couple hours, if not days. Right?
Meghan Telpner: Yeah. Yeah. I was invited to speak at this conference, which was a great opportunity. It was at the time when I was still planning on running the, the program in September, and I was like, there's time zones. There's getting into airports and airplanes and all the energies in there.
There's being in a hotel for three. There was all this stuff, and I'm like, it's a great opportunity, but I know the [00: 32: 00] repercussions of it and it's during harvest season and I fancy myself a little bit of a farmer, even though it's in my downtown Toronto backyard. So, That's all I have on boundaries and it's is ultimately the individual's decision and like, well, I feel guilty if I don't do that.
Well, guilt is a choice, so totally. Okay. I'm doing this. Great. I hope that's, I hope that's working for you. Feeling guilty about your decisions. You know, it's just often just personal work people need to do, but their self-worth, what their time is worth, what their energy is worth, what their knowledge or experience is worth, and what their.
Own wellbeing is worth and a, you know, as we go into our mid to late forties, fifties, your wellbeing will impact every other aspect of your life in dramatic ways. Mm.
Michelle Fox: Preach. I, I can't stop saying that. Yes, yes. I'm leaning in. So we're going to have boundaries. We're going to, yeah. [00: 33: 00] Look at what lights us up.
We're going to say no to the things that we can't say. Kale. Yeah, too. So thank you for that. And as I'm looking at the time, I'm like, oh, no, no. My dinner party is, is, is coming to an end. but before we say goodbye, Meghan, is there anything else you wanna add to this conversation?
Meghan Telpner: I don't think so. I, well, I always have lots I can say.
I think I would say to your audience, first of all, they're obviously very wise women for listening to you and following you and your work. Your energy is infectious. I do believe that. And, you know, I use the word enchant, which I got from a friend of mine who did a recent presentation in, in the clubhouse, Dr.
Michelle Paris. But this idea of us, in this stage of life, I think the challenge is that many of us, I have a young child cuz I put it off as long as I could. I ran out of excuses and so then [00: 34: 00] I had my son. we don't have a clear vision of what this stage of life looks like. I don't think there's clear models for it.
I don't think there's clear direction. There's nothing on. In the public domain on what perimenopause is and what happens to women's bodies and minds going through this incredible, and let's call it beautiful change of life, where we go from being the enchanters, the powerful, audacious, confident woman into being like the wise elder.
Mm. So let's embrace where we are now and work on creating a clear vision of who we want to be in the lives of our partners. If we have 'em, of our children, if we have them. When our children, as they grow older, are still our children, but become our friends, we are still models for all, all the younger adults in our life, whether they're younger [00: 35: 00] employees or younger people, you care for. And then what do we want to do as what I feel like is our last sort of burst of, of creation, of creative energy to, to add to this world? And that takes time. And for me, my decision was that I'm just not gonna push it. I'm gonna just take a lot of time to enjoy what has been created so far, and let the inspiration flow and then be able to do whatever I do next without the same kind of urgency that I felt in the last stage of life in my, in my late twenties and thirties. Hmm.
Michelle Fox: So Meghan, I don't know, do you know how I found you?
Meghan Telpner: I don't. I love finding out though. I always, everyone has an interesting story, but I have a feeling yours is extra special,
Michelle Fox: either extra special or extra silly. I will tell you this article and I, it looks like [00: 36: 00] I printed it out October 10th, 2017, but I put into Google and I kid you not. Is drinking coffee, making me fat. And your article about how coffee can actually be making us fat was the first thing that popped up. And I'm like, okay. And everything I was reading, I'm like, Uhhuh. I'm like, Uhhuh. Like not only did you have it fact-based and you had it linked to all the research, which you've.
Taught us in the Academy of Culinary Nutrition, but you also use things like awesome sauce and unicorn and head cheerleader. And I'm like, okay. She is my kind of girl. So
Meghan Telpner: that's really funny cause that article has actually, I don't know, I think I was pretty firm on keeping that title cuz we were doing like a bit of playing with SEO at the time and there's a whole thing around fat shaming, but I'm like, there's also facts and nutritional.
Facts. And so I, I was pretty firm [00: 37: 00] on keeping it because you're stressing your adrenal glands. It is going to result in excess weight gain and, and more so the inability to shed excess weight, if that's the objective. It's not the objective for everyone, but if it is looking at your hormones and your stress hormones specifically is going to be important.
And if you are abusing your adrenaline with a lot of coffee, Uh oh.
Michelle Fox: Uh oh. So yes, my friends who have pushed back on me about the caffeine, go ahead and Google that article. In fact, you know what, I'll just link that article in show notes, and so you don't have to just listen to me now, you can listen to Meghan Telpner as well.
So Meghan, thank you. Thank you for all that you do. To create healthier communities. Thank you for being a role model for me and a coach to help me embark upon this amazing career. And [00: 38: 00] also, number one, just thank you for saying yes to you. It is amazing the ripple effects you've had in the world, so thank you.
Meghan Telpner: Thank you, Michelle. Thank you for all you do. I love when you show up in my feed with your beautiful smile, your beautiful family leading a household of teenagers with grace.
I'll take that one, Yes, because I, I mean, I have a, don't know what a 15 year old or 17 or, but um, I'm just grateful that you landed in my community now that I get to land in yours.
So thank you.
Michelle Fox: Thanks so much for listening to Nourish. Have you been driving, doing laundry or walking around the neighborhood? Sweet. I've got show notes for you. Hop on over to Michelle fox.com/podcast. When you are ready. I will let you [00: 39: 00] know that on the page, you will find resources to support what you just learned on today's show. And then of course you can grab some health supportive freebies as well.
If you enjoy this episode, I would be 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 and it will help you because you will be part of that mission.
I'll be back next week and I encourage you to keep showing up for yourself and know that you and your health matter. Big love. [00: 40: 00]
