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An Olympian Athlete's Secret To Longevity with Laura Reback Bennett - E45
24 Plays1 month ago
Going from professional athlete to mother is no easy feat. Making time to stay healthy while juggling the chaos of daily responsibilities can be a challenge. In today's episode, we delve into the journey from Olympic athlete to triathlon champion, and now, parent. Learn all about staying physically active, ensuring proper nutrition, managing stress, and finding time for social connection. We tackle the need for a long-term perspective and habits that nurture that, as well as sleep and recovery strategies, and the importance of mindset while managing stress. If you're looking for ways to stay healthier, for longer, then this episode is for you!
Laura Reback Bennett is a two-time Olympian and multi-world champion medalist in triathlon, known for her exceptional athletic longevity and flexibility across sports. With a background in running and National Collegiate Athletic Association championship swimming, her post-college career burgeoned as she embraced triathlon, balancing the rigors of swimming, cycling, and running. Laura harnessed her personal drive, never pushed by external forces, to craft a remarkable career. Beyond her athletic accolades, she navigates the nuances of everyday health as a mother and wellness advocate, exploring nutrition and natural remedies to support her family's long-term health. Her journey from elite athlete to health-conscious civilian offers insights into lasting vitality and balance.
“Anxiety is just not knowing the answer to a question you have.” - Laura Reback Bennett
In this episode you will learn:
- How Laura transitioned from running to swimming and then to a successful career as a professional triathlete, highlighting the importance of balance across different sports.
- The impact of a personalized fitness routine post-athletic career that focuses on maintaining strength and balance through weights and moderate activity.
- Insights into Laura's current nutritional approach focused on long-term health and natural medicine, including her exploration of herbal remedies.
- The measures Laura is taking to improve family health through clean eating and naturally addressing her children's food allergies.
- Strategies for managing sleep and recovery with young children, emphasizing practical adjustments to support uninterrupted rest.
- How Laura navigates the complexities of social connections while prioritizing family life, and her pursuit of purpose through health education.
Resources
- Learn all about Laura’s offerings at Bennett Endurance: https://www.bennettendurance.com/
- Shop all the products Laura mentions in this episode: https://alively.com/products/laura-reback-bennett
This podcast was produced by the team at Zapods Podcast Agency:
https://www.zapods.com
Find the products, practices, and routines discussed on the Alively website:
https://alively.com/
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Anxiety
00:00:00
Speaker
Anxiety is just not knowing the answer to a question you have. So you're living in that state of, I don't know the answer, so you' you're kind of going over it.
00:00:13
Speaker
This is the Home of Health Spam podcast, where we profile health and wellness role models, sharing their stories and the tools, practices, and routines they use to live a lively life.
00:00:27
Speaker
Laura, it is great to see you. thank you for being on the show today. Thanks so much for having me, Andrew. really appreciate it.
Laura's Swimming Journey
00:00:34
Speaker
I had the opportunity to to meet your husband, um but realize we actually, we both grew up swimming in Florida. i went bowls and swam Bowles in high school.
00:00:44
Speaker
Okay. So you're pretty full on then. That's a tough school to to be swimming at, at a young age, let's say. Yeah. Well, fortunately didn't transfer there till second half of my junior year. So I was there for a year and a half. I was captain of the team my senior year.
00:00:58
Speaker
um It was intense. I absolutely loved it. I mean, you being a NCAA champion in college, swimming at SMU. I mean, I'd be curious, your take, it is very intense, but the rewards of being on a team like that,
00:01:11
Speaker
Absolutely. no I actually really loved swimming for some reason. Maybe it was the discipline and the absoluteness of being on the clock and and then the camaraderie amongst, you know, it's it's really weird how social swimming is for always having your head in the water.
00:01:27
Speaker
i tell people that they're like, how does that even work out for you? But I absolutely love swimming in college even. And for me, I started swimming a little bit later. i um i grew up more running and then i got into swimming um a little bit more serious at 12 years old, which sounds ridiculous, but you know, most kids grow up swimming around eight and they're full on pretty much starting even five, you know?
00:01:51
Speaker
And so I think that gave me a little more span in my swimming career, but there was a lot of people that I swam with, even in college that had gone through bowls or had really intensive high school swimming, you know, whereas mine,
00:02:08
Speaker
I was, i i spent most of the time with a coach that was completely old school. We weren't too intense. And so I think it gave me a little more life into college because even when I went to college, I, the the people that were in front of me that were on the swim team and a little bit older that then went to college and then came back and we're talking about it. They rarely made it through the four years.
00:02:28
Speaker
That's why I chose to swim instead of run in college because I was a better runner coming out of high school. But I thought, well, I only have four years to see what I could do with swimming. And so i was, and I thought if I make four years, nobody else is making four years. And so, yeah And, and the intensity once you get, like when I got to the college level, I made senior nationals in my first dual meet.
00:02:49
Speaker
Like that's, that's the level that jumped me up. So I understand what you're saying when you said you loved it um at Bowles. And so you just,
Transition to Professional Athletics
00:02:58
Speaker
you got there a little bit sooner than I did as far as that level of intensity and, and interest in taking it to the next level.
00:03:05
Speaker
Yeah, maybe 14 months, right? like it was yeah Because I started year-round around 13. So I got to it a little later. And I think similar to that longevity point too, had ah a friend in high school that was a gold medalist when she was 15 at the Atlanta Olympics.
00:03:21
Speaker
And the college career was much tougher. And now she's back and she's a swim coach and she loves it and everything. But the burnout when you're that intense, that young, yes It's very different and and love to to talk about the longevity because you talked about the trajectory almost because you had the the running and then you got in the swimming. And then let's talk about that that post-college career where two-time Olympian, multi-world champion medalist, like you had real longevity to an athletic career. So can you say a little bit more about that?
00:03:54
Speaker
Yeah. Well, I think too, having never haven't been pushed by anybody but myself, I think I made the decisions on, you know, what, where I wanted to go each step of the way. And i think, like you said, having the swimming coming where it's not as hard on your body and the, in a you know, the,
00:04:15
Speaker
The damaging and way running can do if I had run in college and, you know, all the stress fractures and injuries that they all go through and everything in a single sport. Whereas um having the swimming, yes, I did get a lot of injuries even in triathlon, but I was already well into the and um had the balance a little bit more.
00:04:35
Speaker
yeah.
Balancing Motherhood and Fitness
00:04:36
Speaker
I did my body type changed, you know, from a swimmer. i was like I was like 25 pounds heavier, huge upper body, extra large swim t-shirts was all that fit, you know, as a swimmer. And, and so that transition, I think of going from swimming Having a little bit of a running background, cycling was always hard for me to pick up. I was never comfortable on the bike, but then having that balance and that's part of what triathlon is, is the balance of the three sports, I think also helped the longevity in the sport. And then, you know, Greg and I, um when we, when we met in 2000, I had only been, well, I've done triathlon as
00:05:13
Speaker
ah junior. So I went to junior worlds back in 93 and then went to college. And basically I didn't get, I walked onto SMU and I didn't, I was offered a scholarship my second, third and fourth years, but he said, you got to drop triathlon if you're going to do it. Cause I came back, I was doing well, came back. I had lost like 10 pounds because of triathlon.
00:05:35
Speaker
And he's like, no no, no, no. We need to keep you bulked up. We need to keep you strong. You that strength. yeah Yeah. And so I think um I chose the swimming for the next three years and drop triathlon altogether. And then so happened to get picked up again with triathlon after, after college, but.
00:05:51
Speaker
Yeah. So I think, yeah, that kind of helped keep the the balance moving forward. You know, this actually, i think brings up a really good point in there's no one way to being healthy, right? Like what, when when you're specializing for swimming versus running versus cycling versus, Hey, I have to do all three.
00:06:12
Speaker
yep That, that body type, how you train, what you do is, is going to look different. And Similarly, if we're thinking about, you talked about the balance across the three sports, we think about the the balance or equilibrium across our life of what health looks like in these different seasons, at these different stages.
00:06:34
Speaker
I'd be curious coming out of running twowarming to to a prolific career as a professional triathlete what now as a civilian say you know mother of two um that fitness routine looks like for you what what are your routines there Yeah, it's, I almost look at it as I'm starting to finally get more working on trying to get healthier.
00:07:01
Speaker
Like, I feel like, i mean, even in the transition into motherhood, i feel like I just like tore myself down because you're, you're so, i mean, we've jammed it in and I'm an older mom. So it's, I've taxed, I've taxed my body, you know, I've probably should have been having
Exploration of Natural Medicine
00:07:15
Speaker
kids a lot sooner than now, but I think um going into it, even, I don't think I get this let's say as healthy as I could have been, you know, kind of rebalancing all of my systems coming, you know, bring the adrenals down, bring the the body cleansing up.
00:07:30
Speaker
You know, I've always been a high protein person, always thinking about rebuilding muscle. I tear muscle down pretty quick. and rebuild it quick. But I, I need, I always thought protein was the the huge nutrient macro nutrient I needed.
00:07:44
Speaker
Um, but I've learned so much over this period of time of actually being a mom because my, my first child has a little bit of food allergy. So I, and I love this, I love this field of, of natural medicine. So I dove in and been trying to figure it out for her, you know, to yeah stop the itchy nose, stop the itchy throat.
00:08:01
Speaker
And I've come like full circle back to you know, like herbalism. Okay. Natural medicine. So things like that, um where I've learned a lot more about myself, you know, things that have popped up through the years and trying to balance out um my health.
00:08:15
Speaker
And I'm like, oh, that's always bothered me. And now I know why. And, and so now I'm actually learning a lot more about everyday health for the, for the everyday person, right?
00:08:27
Speaker
So on that, ah when you're not training for a competition, training for a specific sport, what does that kind of movement routine day-to-day or week-to-week look like for you now?
00:08:40
Speaker
I think specifically for myself, because I think everybody needs to find what works for them. um I need to keep muscle mass. I need to keep, I have to do the weights. I got to break down the muscle, not probably every day. And if I was being a little more specific, maybe I would work out hard three times a week right now, because I don't own my own time with the kids.
00:09:00
Speaker
I can't go too far on any one thing because who knows, I'll be woken up in the middle of the night. So I know I'm not going to be recovered or I'm not eating properly, you know, as well nutritionally as I, or let's say as balanced as I'd like to be today because I'm running around after the kids. So for me, it's just kind of doing a little bit of everything. So my, right now I just do stair stepper for 20 minutes, run for five, just to keep my legs open, you know, in case, you know.
00:09:26
Speaker
Is that run on a a treadmill at home? Do you have like an assault treadmill or... Well, we just go to the gym. Honestly, you go to okay we go to a gym, just get it all done there. And then I'm done. So we're basically in and out in an hour, you know, and and so really, um and then just a little bit of weights.
00:09:43
Speaker
And it's enough to keep me strong, but also feel good every day, but not too tired. And this is three times a week or this is you do that every day? Most days. So I'm never, I'm never doing too much.
00:09:54
Speaker
I'm only doing enough to feel good every day, but also get the, keep the body moving and flush it out. And that's, that's dedicated gym time. I mean, do you have with the two kids? Is it time? Hey, I get outside. I make sure I'm outside with them for 60, 90 minutes or we're moving, we're doing something. Yeah. When they come home, they always want to jump on the trampoline together or go for a walk. Like we'll do that. Or now we're just getting them into golf and we'll go out and do we have a little bit of grass in the backyard. So we chip little um golf golf balls around or
00:10:26
Speaker
play tennis in the backyard, you know, like on just on a net kind of thing. um So yeah, I try, we definitely, we were doing a lot of beach time, like just take, i take the kids to the beach every afternoon after school, but if the exposure a lot is high.
00:10:40
Speaker
You know, sometimes we would find a lot of times the kids would be sick the next day. but And I think it's just, if it's too windy, you know, it's really weird. It's really weird. And I read up about that and it's like, yeah, the wind steals your electrons. I'm like, what?
00:10:52
Speaker
That's crazy. So anyway, and and they're like, but hug a tree and they'll you'll get them back. Okay. Well, I know that's Greg's routine, right? Yeah. trying I think I've told him about that. He's like, I hug a tree in the morning.
00:11:03
Speaker
So yeah, no, but we're very much about getting them outside. And it's funny. If you watch the kids, they do it. They come home and they're like, I want to be outside. You know, I want to be out in nature. And it's great.
00:11:15
Speaker
Like they teach us a lot. It's one of those things. Our... Our body intuitively knew or knows what it wants, but then we get acclimatized to societal norms and we start to lose those signals.
00:11:29
Speaker
um and And kids are really helpful in helping us get back to it. Yeah. And the worst part is that you, once you've lost them, now you're raising kids and instilling that. And it's like, I constantly remind myself, listen, just listen to what they're like.
00:11:43
Speaker
My two-year-old son, well, he's not two now, but when he was two, he woke up with a fever and I actually asked him, what do well, what do you want to eat? And he said a pear. And I was like, I'm not going to give you a pear.
00:11:56
Speaker
And then I did and it broke his fever. And I was like, are you serious? Did he just like... Treat yourself? Yeah. So, I mean, honestly, I try really hard to to to do that. You know, i like I've pushed protein on my kids tons and I'm like, maybe it's been too much, you know, or so. But they're I mean, they're strong, healthy and happy kids. But, you know, little too much of things can be.
00:12:20
Speaker
Yeah, that's a good lesson for me because I definitely try to push protein on my daughter. like Look, you can't just do whey carbs. we need We need some nutrients and we need some protein in here. Exactly. For balance, you know, because they're hormones, you know, are the balanced um energy levels. That's why we're always like, no, because otherwise you'll go crazy. And so we've been doing a lot more fruit and they they do pretty well on that. So I don't know that I never I don't think Sydney had that much fruit until she was three because I always thought, oh, no, she'll be like this and then like that.
00:12:48
Speaker
Well, fruit versus fruit juice too, right? Because you're getting all the fiber with the fruit. So you're not getting that same kind of glucose spike. Do you do any kind of team sports or or group collective? I think you and Greg play some tennis. Yeah. So most most of my stuff is with Greg. If we do anything with anyone else, I've i've tried a class at the gym and it's just like, oh,
00:13:09
Speaker
maybe on it Maybe on a day off, I could go to another one. Yeah, it's not your speed, right? like I can't. You're civilian in name only. Yes, exactly. I just want to get in and get out. I don't need new sorenesses.
00:13:21
Speaker
you know Not right now. Like I said, I don't own my own time, really. you know And I'm happy here. I'm happy in this state. I've owned my own time for a long time. And I'm happy to be here, but I know my limitations on what what I can do every day.
00:13:35
Speaker
It makes a lot of sense. yeah And so that now on nutrition. So I have to imagine when you were a professional athlete, I mean, it's a little bit like a formula one car, right? You have a team that you're measuring all this and you're really dialing in making sure I'm getting enough protein.
00:13:51
Speaker
Now you're saying I eat where I can and I have kids and I'm trying to balance it. What does nutrition or those goals, what does that look like for you now?
00:14:01
Speaker
Yeah, well, now it's about long term health for me, like for older parents, I want to be here as long as I can for my kids, I want to instill in them what good health looks like and good nutrition.
00:14:14
Speaker
And so we're really big, like we have no sugar in the house, except for Greg's chocolate bars. But the kids don't get that. Yeah. um So we don't do those flavonoids in the cacao. No, you're right. you're Then you read up and they're like, Oh, heavy metals are in chocolate. I'm like, okay, I got it. get Good high quality, dark chocolate without the sugar, without the, I do appreciate that. And so when it is, if they do get sweets, we try, and but you still have to live in a world of birthday parties and not keeping them in a bubble. And so my, my goal as a mom right now is to just teach them, this isn't going to serve you, but it's not to say you can't have it, you know? And when we, when you do have it, this is likely how you're going to feel.
00:14:56
Speaker
And so, or even if they do have some, we'll be like, all right, get out there and jump on that trampoline. You're not bringing that crazy in here. Yeah. Get rid of that crazy energy. So, um, so yeah, so now it's about like, there's a few things after sport and pregnancies and breastfeeding and, um, and now lack of sleep, you know, that I've had for so long now. Um,
00:15:19
Speaker
that I'm kind of going, okay, I need to figure out what the root causes of the symptoms that I'm feeling nowadays. And so that's what I've been searching, um searching for through, you know, a lot of the natural medicines. And that's where I've come.
00:15:34
Speaker
I've come to one herbalist that I've, you know, i kind of go in when I find someone, I'm like, okay, I need to know everything, you know, you know and then i kind of pick and pull what, what makes sense and what resonates with me. And, yeah And what I can use for myself and my family. um And so there's a couple of people recently that I've found that are, you know, not in the mainstream because generally they aren't supported by, you know, government and stuff. And so it's um so, yeah, so really ah couple of those has just gotten back to.
00:16:06
Speaker
healthy eating in the, in the basic level. Like I said, I'm, I'm exploring fruits and raw vegan stuff, but I, it's really hard for me to come off. I've come off protein down to almost just a, some pea protein every now and again, which is insane for me. How many grams are you targeting a day at this stage? not much right now. Like, honestly, it would have to come from like, I'll have a little, I like this pure Elizabeth, um, cereal or whatever. It's just like a granola, not, um, no grain granola, gluten-free.
00:16:39
Speaker
So when I, when I, when I need a little bit more, um, substance, but otherwise I'm just doing fruit and then like greens at night, avocado, micro greens, um, and veggies, green veggies. So,
00:16:52
Speaker
Really nothing meat based right now, unless we go out and we, you know, there's no option. Well, the pea protein, I mean, do you, do you supplement? Well, a little bit of that, um, in the cereal sometimes, but maybe like ah a tablespoon.
00:17:05
Speaker
So it's not like protein shakes from a vegan protein powder. Not even right now because I'm trying to get my kidneys flushed out. I need my kidneys to work better.
Herbal Medicine and Healing
00:17:13
Speaker
okay That's a big part of dysfunction in your lymphatic system. If you're not flushing out your kidneys, then your lymphatic system becomes stagnant so it can't pull from each cell and grab all the toxins and get rid of it.
00:17:25
Speaker
How long does that take to do that flush? Well, I think you can do some quick detoxes. um But now, right now I'm just using the fruits and the, and herbal like tinctures to um that target the liver, the kidneys, the adrenals, the endocrine system, all of that.
00:17:43
Speaker
um And using those to support my body into self-healing essentially. Is this like a six week program? Eight weeks? Like how long are you looking to do this? As long as it needs for you, really. okay. So you're monitoring.
00:17:57
Speaker
Yeah. So basically, I mean, we didn't do any testing before more than just we had blood tests from probably about six months ago. So where I'm not being religious on it and going, okay, let's everybody blood test. I want to see these markers.
00:18:10
Speaker
It's more off symptom based. So okay I'm trying to clear out my daughter's um food allergies. Yeah. and And her lymphatic system is... We had an eridology read so that, you know, they read your eyes or your tongue. We had our eyes read and basically your eyes are your whole, the human body.
00:18:27
Speaker
So at the top is your brain, at the bottom is kidney and liver. And so what your eyes look like, so they should either be blue or they should be brown. There's only two eye colors. So if there's anything else going on in your eyes, it's an indication of something misfunctioning or in your system.
00:18:46
Speaker
So my green eyes, yeah green eyes, exactly. So, so the lymphatic system might be a little more stagnant than you want it to be, or your kidneys or your liver. And so I'm, I'm going down this road right now because I've tried so many things with all of that. And this actually addresses the root cause.
00:19:03
Speaker
Like the guy that I'm listening to, he talks about doctors treat you. That's what they're supposed to do. He's like, you can bring me all these names. They're irrelevant. You can bring me Crohn's disease. You can bring me, um cancer, you can bring me diabetes, irrelevant, I'll tell you the systems that are affected, and what's malfunctioning because of but how you've lived or how your parents lived and what you've inherited.
00:19:25
Speaker
And then we clean those up through the herbs and the fruit and maybe vegan, depends on who you are. You put your body in this state to help it heal itself.
00:19:36
Speaker
And that's what those two do for you. Your body's the healer. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's an incredibly resilient system. You know, I do a couple five-day water fasts a year and talk about cleaning up like any kind of inflammation or niggling and injuries. i mean, my HRV doubles during that time. My sleep is so much better.
00:19:56
Speaker
Even on a one-day fast, My HRV will go up 50%. My resting heart rate will go down 15, 20%. It's amazing what the body can do when we give it the space to do what it's capable of. Exactly. Shut the noise out and just let it be. you know yeah Support it. Support it. I know it is.
00:20:18
Speaker
So I imagine it's personalized to what you have going on and everything. But what are your herbs that you're kind of go-to herbs right now? This guy that I've been listening to is basically, he's just trying to educate you so you could support yourself. He said, you can use my tinctures if you want or go make your formulations yourself.
00:20:36
Speaker
yeah And so I've been, i actually buying his stuff because I want to support. He seems like a genuine, honest and good person and just trying to help people. So I'm supporting his stuff, but so he has different combinations of, yeah he has one that's, it's called fabulous five.
00:20:53
Speaker
It hits five different systems. you know, your adrenals, your kidneys, your lymphatic system, your endocrine system And then it has 51 herbs in it. And he said, if you want to just start anywhere, go on a, you could go on a grape cleanse.
00:21:06
Speaker
He said, don't even use the herbs, go on a grape cleanse. And that'll clear up a lot of your stuff. So he's like, but if you put the the herbs with it, it'll go quicker. He's like, I don't want to see you back.
00:21:18
Speaker
Like if, if you ask for my advice, I'm going to tell you what the, so he's like, email me what your problem is. Me and my team will send you back what we think you should do. yeah And then it should clear up your system.
00:21:31
Speaker
What's his name? Ra Morabe. He's on Instagram, a girlfriend of mine who's also kind of into natural medicine stuff. She's like, you gotta check this guy out. If you're into that, check him out. So I've been listening to all of his stuff and, and it's really interesting because I've always been looking for the root cause. I've been chasing all these things and I've tried stuff, taken stuff out, put stuff in. And it's just like little incremental changes.
00:21:53
Speaker
And then when he, a lot of the stuff he was saying kind of resonated with me. And that's why I've kind of jumped on board with him for a little bit. I mean, everybody has to test things out for themselves. we're We're so complex. It's like he says, the human body will never figure it out.
00:22:06
Speaker
It's so complex, but the way to fix it is simple. And it's not easy. and and and you doing it, it's like you, you're doing a five day fast is not easy, but it's simple.
00:22:19
Speaker
It's dead simple. You know, and that's, that's, what's really interesting. And it's so I think for us, like Greg, Greg always tells me, cause I kind of get excited about stuff. He's like, lean into it, Laura, just lean into it. So I'm leaning into it. And I got all of us, all four of us on stuff. And like like my son, I put him on, he's four and I put him on some of the tinctures and he broke out with, um,
00:22:40
Speaker
like a little, I don't know, like little skin bumps. And they're like, yeah, that's part of the detox. It's not, it's it's he's detoxing too quickly, you know? And so you just got to push through some of the the healing crises that, that happened. So, yeah. So I just, I, if you check out his, um, his Instagram and then his, his websites, mirror herbals, um, dot info, I think, or something.
00:23:04
Speaker
um yeah, you can have a look at it. I think, um yeah, like I said, everybody has to kind of test it out for themselves. And we're we're about four weeks into it. So I've been feeling better though, without the, because we were having frozen organic chicken, you know, fingers for lunch, which probably have the canola oil on it and things that I'd like to do it differently, but it's almost impossible. I mean, he kind of talks about proteins. Like, I'm not telling you be a fruitarian. I'm not telling you to do any of this stuff. I'm just telling you,
00:23:34
Speaker
what it looks like. So
Nutrition, Detox, and Supplements
00:23:35
Speaker
when a meat is slaughtered, it is dead. The moment it is dead is the moment it decomposes and bacteria is going to get there immediately because that's what its job is now that it's dead.
00:23:46
Speaker
And so, yeah, it's, it's so crazy. I'm like, I've never thought of any of that like that, you know? So anyway, it's such a religion to right? Cause you have the carnivores on one end, the vegans on another, the paleos, the ketos.
00:23:59
Speaker
And yup you know, the it's, it's wild. It's so hard. It's so hard to navigate. Yeah. And each body is different, right? Like what a body may need at one time is different than another. and so it's, that's really the big idea behind the show is not to say, Hey, here's the one right answer.
00:24:16
Speaker
It's profiling people saying, Hey, here are people who were very thoughtful and proactive in their own journey. And we're going to profile and share what they do in case this is relevant to you and something you want to try out.
00:24:28
Speaker
Exactly. Are there any supplements? So on top of the herbs from Mira Herbals, are are there any supplements you make sure that you you get on? Perfect aminos is one that, but you know, like I've.
00:24:41
Speaker
I'll bring back in once I kind of flush things out at at the very least, like I was already taking those, but I also had all the other protein just because i don't know. I mean, he talks about getting your aminos from like the fruits and the veggies and stuff. And I'm like, ah I mean, I've never been like a supportive vegan, like,
00:24:59
Speaker
Most of the time, people that are like vegans and stuff, I'm like, they got the gray hair. They don't look that healthy. They're probably so healthy on the inside, but they're just not selling it. Right. So I think it's more of kind of going, let's get our body, you know, cleaned out and see if, um you know, just a few of the things the symptoms that we've been having post athletic career, post pregnancies, things like that.
00:25:22
Speaker
And any allergies, food allergies, things like that. If we can get rid of all of that, clean out that lymphatic system, get those kidneys working, then all of the stuff coming in is filtering through your system quicker and normal, normal.
00:25:36
Speaker
Like you're you're taking stuff in. Sure, we can't avoid toxins. We can't live in a bubble. But supporting our bodies to get rid of all of that stuff. So really, I've been through so many... I've done personalized um nutrients, which is... um like where you get blood tested and it's called a Nutri-Eval and you have your um all of your aminos and multivitamins customized to you and what your test results were.
00:26:04
Speaker
Now that's a snapshot of the last 120 days of your of your blood, right? Right, right, right. You know, it's always like I've been through so many of these things and it's pros and cons of it. And so that's one thing I've done in the past. I don't do that anymore.
00:26:17
Speaker
My goal in all of it is to get off of most of this stuff and go to if it's the herbal stuff, I might support that for there for a long period of time while we work on different things.
00:26:28
Speaker
But, you know, popping all the supplements, um like the multivitamins and and things. I mean, minerals is a little different because I think, you know, now with trying to have clean water, you got to put the minerals back in. and I don't know that our food has everything we need.
00:26:43
Speaker
Like, it's just not grown to the density of nutrients that it used to be. And so there, that's where I would support, you know, supplementation. But I mean, i could show you a picture of our cabinetry. It's like got all these supplements, ah ah you know, over the course of time that we've done different people's perspectives on how to get healthy.
00:27:04
Speaker
Um, so yeah, so aminos are one and that's, I use the the perfect aminos. Like I mentioned to you, Dr. Minkoff, I used his, those aminos, Dave Scott originally introduced me to those back in 08 and I used them going into, to the 08 games and I felt, I felt fantastic. I mean, I was running a lot back then and we were ice bathing a lot and And I was a lot younger.
00:27:27
Speaker
But I do think that there's support in the amino acids, maybe not overdoing it, but just enough. Otherwise, right now I'm on the herbal stuff and maybe just some you know a little bit of magnesium, vitamin D, if there's things I'm trying to my teeth, um, you know, might have a little bit of like little receding gums, things like that. So I'm using the herbal stuff to try and rebuild all of that. Cause
Water Quality and Home Health
00:27:49
Speaker
apparently you can rebuild your teeth and like, if you have a cavity, you can make it go away.
00:27:54
Speaker
Cause a calcium is another thing like parathyroid can leach calcium from your system. okay So if it's not working properly and, and that'll be like tooth decay, that'll be varicose veins. That'll be all these different things. So it's learning about all of that is really interesting. it starts adding up. Yeah.
00:28:12
Speaker
Yeah. It really resonated with me. was like, this is all making sense. So I'm going to go down this road for a bit and see, you know, see what we can do. You mentioned the water. And as i understand it, you might have a pretty complex water system at your house. Can you say a little bit more about what you do and what you use?
00:28:30
Speaker
Right now we've got, well, I've got that Hydrovive on our faucet and the shower faucets. So at the very least, we're taking out a lot of the chlorine and there's a lot of things that comes out of that. But we also do the... um I've got the AquaTrue.
00:28:45
Speaker
I've listened to a few, a few podcasts about the guy that's, that's kind of a water specialist. And we do Quintons, which is like a remineralization from it's um from the,
00:28:56
Speaker
Plankton Bloom of the ski water. So yeah he was one of the guys that I listened to on that. I got onto the Quintons and then he's like, you know, the Aqua true, which is reverse osmosis is like one of the best filters, not one that's underneath like your, cause that can harvest or support bacteria. Yeah. So he was helping out like autistic kids and stuff and telling the moms don't do that one that creates more drama for your kiddos.
00:29:22
Speaker
He felt the Aqua Tree was one that was really, okay really good one. So that's, that's one that I, that I purchased. And then the Mayu, M-A-Y-U is like a water, um, oxygenating, it spins the water. so it creates, um, more oxygenated water.
00:29:37
Speaker
But the problem with that is you have to remineralize it. So having the Quintons or some sort of minerals to bring back to top back up. Okay. But I do think, um, Like the herbalist has some minerals that I might try to, know, or Celtic salt.
00:29:54
Speaker
Like I make the kids, I just put it under their tongue, you know, that's the different minerals or whatever that can help. Yeah. with remineralizing you. And so, yeah, that's, that's the two, well, three kind of water things, but I've heard distilled water is the way to go, you know? So i'm like,
Sleep and Family Routines
00:30:13
Speaker
Oh my God, it doesn't end.
00:30:16
Speaker
I'm serious. I mean, the the tough thing on distilled water, I would think is most of the stuff you're getting are in plastic containers. And then with the microplastics you're getting from distilled containers,
00:30:26
Speaker
Exactly. So I think it's more you have your own distilled, you can get personalized ones. But the upkeep of it I was like, oh, I just don't want to don't have time for that. Right. All of this can become, each one can be its own job. And and yes I mean, you get, we'll certainly get to kind of the stress management side, but yeah overstressing on this stuff, you're going in the wrong direction on yeah on your health.
00:30:51
Speaker
I do want to go back to something you mentioned before about the sleep deprivation, right? This stage of childhood and parenting, sleep is much more difficult in you had a period of your life where it was very much around optimizing around you.
00:31:07
Speaker
Yes. And you can build your life a hundred percent around you and performing. Now you're family of four. there There are other balances to take in. So what does sleep routine and hygiene look like for you? And have you found any things that work better or worse for you in that?
00:31:23
Speaker
First things is basically when the kids go to bed, we go to bed. So we don't stay up and watch a show. i mean, we've started, you know, Greg plays a little bit of a game on his phone right before he goes to bed. But I did it a few nights and i was like, actually, it's making me delayed in my sleep, like falling asleep. Whereas usually I just I lie on the pillow and I'm out.
00:31:42
Speaker
Like i have no problem falling asleep. But then I would. um But then I'll wake up at, you know, like we go to bed like 7.38. seven thirty eight yeah um And then wake up, I'll wake up at four. And then that's our time for ourselves from, yeah you know, four to six or whatever until the kids wake up.
00:31:59
Speaker
And the kids have gotten, like I mentioned, some of the things that my daughter was, I think she was waking up. Like she's waking up every night pretty much since until I think about six months ago when I, I did a few of another like natural remedy and she, all of a sudden she's like, yeah, I don't feel like I have to wake up anymore.
00:32:20
Speaker
So I think something was always bothering her. And so my sleep hygiene is working on them making sure they're in a good place so that they sleep through the night. Now I'm realizing they're only waking up because something's bothering them. And so the more,
00:32:34
Speaker
I take care of them and make sure when we go to bed at night, there's no runny noses or sniff. Like I give them a lot of these homeopathic, um, like Boreon pills.
00:32:45
Speaker
If that, you know, there's a, there's quite a few things that have really saved me with these little guys and keeping them on track. Um, so that's part of my sleep hygiene, making sure they're, they're in a good place. And then it, it you know, I don't get woken up as much. And then other than that, I, you know, I have,
00:33:03
Speaker
I don't do much caffeine. I do probably max maybe 120 a day and it's just an espresso shot in the morning. i think if you, we, we'd realize this in sport. If you ever had an afternoon coffee, you'd wake up at two in the morning.
00:33:16
Speaker
Like even if you went to bed at eight o'clock, you'd still wake up at two in the morning. I think it just kind of re Yeah. It just comes back around on you. So, and if you don't use your caffeine, so if I have a coffee in the morning and don't work out or don't do anything, it I often feel like it'll wake me in the middle of the night.
00:33:34
Speaker
Okay. So that's another piece that are the big factors for me. Like, you know, that other than that, um if I don't get enough food in the day, then it wakes me up at like three. Cause I'm like, I'm starving. I'm like, I'm like, ah, I forgot to eat.
00:33:51
Speaker
It's so full on right now with two under, well, it was two under two, you know, but now there's six and four and um there's still lot. Yeah, it's still a job. It's still full on.
00:34:02
Speaker
And for sleeping, I mean, do you target pretty cool? Yeah, we've we've gotten the bamboo sheets, air conditions. I mean, it's not crazy, like 74. Oh, okay.
00:34:12
Speaker
okay Yeah, that's not that cool. It's not bad. I don't want to get the kids sick. Like it kind of gets really dried out down here in Florida. It's kind of a bummer because you can't have the windows and doors open at night and that kind of thing. That'd be awesome. Colorado is like that.
00:34:25
Speaker
Yeah, it was great. So, um, yeah, it's basically, we're always in air conditioning and, and that makes it harder, but, but the bamboo sheets, which I've just recently read are toxic. I'm like, really just leave me alone. Yeah.
00:34:40
Speaker
I mean, this is a thing that like life is toxic, right? The sun is a source of energy, but it's also a source of toxicity. Iron at too high a dose is toxic, but it's also essential. in So it's all about levels, you know, no you're right. And that's, that's what I kind of like about the path I'm on right now, because I'm trying to, if I can get us back to like ground zero from all the, all the inflictions we've done on ourselves through, through professional sport through travel, through probably what's called poor diet, you know, with too much animal proteins because they're full of hormones and whatever preservatives, just get back to ground zero. Then we can, cause I'm all about enjoying life and experiences.
00:35:23
Speaker
And having a little bit of everything, kind of having that balance, you know, knit we don't, I don't need the extremes of anything. um And so, yeah, so that's, that helps. And so, yeah, so the basically in our bed is, yeah, just the bamboo sheets have helped a lot, actually.
00:35:39
Speaker
Okay. And the mattress? is Prana. Prana. Okay. Yeah. Cause we went, we went the full latex one from avocado. It was so hot. Oh my gosh. so We're like, ah, so hot in here.
00:35:51
Speaker
So anyway, and we had like a mattress cover because if the kids come into bed, our son still wears a diaper and bed the leak. I was like, ah, and that was really hot too. So we got rid of all that. Now we just take them and sleep in his bed. Yeah. Okay. Your bed's set up for this, not ours. This is not the full. Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Stress Management and Mental Clarity
00:36:10
Speaker
We'll come lie in your bed. So that helped. So yeah, and we just have, I think, a bamboo mattress topper and then the sheets.
00:36:18
Speaker
And that's helped a lot, actually. And so... We talked about not overstressing on doing all these things because that stress management, it it's one of the core pillars, right? So over analyzing, over optimizing can become its own detriment to our health.
00:36:35
Speaker
Do you have any specific practices or routines or or rituals in your day, whether it's journaling or meditation or breath work that you do to to try to get that reset and that hit that equilibrium?
00:36:51
Speaker
Honestly, I go when I go to the gym and I do I do the stair stepper, but I watch a show. And that's the only time that I'm not thinking about someone else like the kids and what I'm working on with them or myself and what I need to be working on. And it's crazy, but it's the only way for me to kind of escape is to watch something else without.
00:37:11
Speaker
thinking about myself kind of, or whatever, or thinking about life in a way, escaping into that. It's a bettering myself in a different way. You know, like all the other time in the day i am constantly, cause I do overanalyze and I do, well, I'd like to know why things are the way they are. So for me,
00:37:28
Speaker
It's almost more of a curiosity that I've always had. Like when people mention something, I'm like, I wonder why that's the way that is. And then I'll just go down that little rabbit hole. So I'm like, I'm constantly, and that's what I think I'm so drawn to this guy right now. Cause he's kind of focusing on the root causes of things. And I'm like, that makes sense.
00:37:46
Speaker
That makes sense. You know, now all these things that have been hanging Questions for me are kind of going, okay, that's why it is. And that's how you fix it. And so that relieves anxiety for me. I think Greg and I talk about that all the time where anxiety is just not knowing the answer to a question you have.
00:38:05
Speaker
So you're living in that, that state of, I don't know the answer. So you you're kind of going over it. So I think one thing with that too, is kind of writing stuff down. Like sometimes if I wake up and I, that two o'clock brain, which is yeah absolutely brutal, I'll just get up at two and I'll write stuff down and I'll focus on it for a second.
00:38:25
Speaker
And then I get tired again and I'll go back to sleep till seven. So I'll i'll stay up for an hour, just clear the mind of it and then go back sleep. But most the time, that gotten That's gotten less.
00:38:36
Speaker
But I think a lot of it is just, like you said, like writing it down. But I don't have anything every day that I do. Like Greg's very good about going out and saying his gratitude. Yeah, which I love that. And I and i appreciate that. And i I try to do some of that when I'm in that state of not being able to solve my my recent problems.
00:38:56
Speaker
like addictions of what I have to fix, you know? um And so he's like, you know, of trying to fall back asleep at 2am when you have that brain, he's like, just think of, you know, gratitude and what is working right now. And so um I am working on that because often I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:39:12
Speaker
I don't need that. I need to know like how I'm to, I got to fix this. Like, that's what I need to, be you know? And it's like, when you can't, you're not doing anything at 2am, you're not fixing anything at 2am. So just go back to sleep. What I love about this is two very successful people who live together, share a life together, um but two very different approaches and paths to how you manage it, which is exactly the point of the show of profile. Hey, they're different paths to get there. And so finding that that right one for you. I do want to double click on that.
00:39:42
Speaker
Writing stuff down. There's this book. want to say it was the organized mind. that taught me all sorts of things, but one is that writing down. So it said, you know, the the brain with working memory, short-term memory and and long-term memory, when we have something that we were thinking about, that we like, hey, I need to not forget this.
00:40:03
Speaker
It prevents us from putting anything else in the short-term memory because our brain's so worried we're going to forget it that it just pushes it on the front. So it can impact our sleep. It can impact our ability to problem solve. It could be the middle of the workday.
00:40:16
Speaker
And there's something and just like a computer with RAM versus storage, right? Your working memory, it's just getting eaten up with this thing. But if you physically write it down, it's different than typing, but physically writing it down, transferring that thought to paper with pencil or pen It cleans that working memory and it reopens it up to ah let you go back to sleep, to let you problem solve other things because your brain now says, oh, it's taken care of.
00:40:43
Speaker
I know I'm not going to forget it because it's captured in this place. And so, you know, without the science, you've gotten there, right? You're like, hey, here's a thing that I've learned really helps me. um And I think it's probably a lot like with the herbalism and all these other things of,
00:40:58
Speaker
We're not yet 100% sure why this stuff works, but we're seeing it works. And then we'll do the research. There are these stoic principles, all these other things. They're like, oh, it took us 2,000 years, but now with an fMRI, we can see why this practice works because here's what it does in the brain.
00:41:13
Speaker
like it It was always true. we just didn't know why it was true. Yeah. The people of the past didn't have all this noise out here. They're like, Oh, you've the, you come to the medicine man and he gives you this herb and you take it you get better. You know?
00:41:26
Speaker
No, that's true. No, I will. I will lean in harder on the writing it down. Cause I think that is it. I have all these things going and sometimes i feel so disorganized. Like, you know, yeah like they talk about have,
00:41:38
Speaker
one source of where you write stuff down, whether it be in notes or calendar or whatever, you know, that, that works. I've got like
Social Connections and Parenting Challenges
00:41:46
Speaker
10, you know, avenue you know, so I'm still trying to figure out, you know, where's my best place to, but I am back to writing everything down. That's something I think we, maybe we grew up with at my age that I can't let it I learn it so much better writing it down than typing it or just reading it obviously off the computer.
00:42:07
Speaker
one One tip I will share that I also got from that book is um carrying a stack of note cards. and it's just And it's not lists on the note cards. It's one thing per note card. And you the nice thing when you have a stack is you can shift them around.
00:42:21
Speaker
so you're like, hey, this is important, but it's not really my top five. So I'm going to move this behind. and okay And as soon as one's done, you're like I can toss that. And now I have my new stack. and And so it's just each each idea, each thought, each to-do, whatever is a card.
00:42:36
Speaker
And you can just reorder as you need, throw away as you need. yeah And I find that really, really helpful. Yeah, that's really interesting. Because I have a list of it, like a notebook list, little boxes next to it.
00:42:48
Speaker
Yeah. but And the problem with the list is right. Like you scratch out and then something else goes above and it like, it just gets really, really messy. Whereas if you have a shuffle deck of cards. Yeah. I like that. That's cool.
00:43:00
Speaker
I remember that. So I'd like to kind of come back on social connection and purpose before we wrap. And, We started this a little bit with that camaraderie of a swim team, of yeah being on a team.
00:43:14
Speaker
And I imagine similarly, when you're a competitive athlete, yes, you are competing against the people you're spending a lot of time with, but there's a community aspect of it too. You're spending so much time together.
00:43:25
Speaker
And at this stage of life, it's very different, right? You you said, i don't have much time in my day that I'm not thinking about someone else. yeah And so, you you know, I, you and Greg go to the gym together. You have your tennis together.
00:43:38
Speaker
Are there things that you do to try to, to deliberately craft and incorporate that, that social time to make sure that you're getting that on a weekly, on a monthly basis?
00:43:50
Speaker
Well, I guess nothing specific. I mean, with the kids, like meeting, it's like a whole new group of people now. We have new, you know, like moving down to Florida, none of our friends are down here, you know, so, and then the kids going to school. Now we have to make new friends, you know, at our age, you're like, oh my gosh, do i need more friends?
00:44:08
Speaker
But you have to get a little bit and and in this, you know, in the community of those And I've, I've met so many great girls and, you know, the birthday parties is one time I get to catch up with them or,
00:44:19
Speaker
You make playdates after school with the kids. And so for me, that's one of the things that I've gotten better at just just trying to reach out to people more and kind of go, oh, let's have a playdate or let's get the kids together. And, you know, all the group that I'm with are about, you know, five to 10 years younger. So it's hard to kind of be in a group that's probably not your...
00:44:41
Speaker
don't, don't didn't grow up exactly the same as you did kind of thing, but there, there, I've met so many great girls and I just, the hard part and and Greg always gets me on this is that what I like to talk about, most people don't like to talk about. So I'm, I'm learning, like, I like to talk about health. I like to, how to, how to increase your health, how to, yeah you know, and a lot of people are like, I don't want to work on that.
00:45:03
Speaker
I don't want to talk about that, you know? And so I'm working really hard on, I'm not great at small talk. That's, that's my other problem. Kindred spirits. like So many things in terms of what drew my, my daughter's mom mad. Right. Like, cause it's exactly, I don't, I don't get the point of small talk.
00:45:25
Speaker
drives me crazy What is that doing? and health. It was like, this is so core to everything else stems from this. Exactly. Exactly. That's exactly. I drive Greg nuts with that. He's, he's great. He's like, I'll talk to someone for five minutes and then that's all I need to know.
00:45:41
Speaker
So he's really good at small talk. And he's like, I'm not interested anymore. Whereas I'm like, okay, let's figure out what else is going on inside there. You know, cause I get so curious. yeah I'm hey, do you have this whole different perspective on the world? do you have all these different experiences? yeah i can't wait to learn from you. And some people can feel like prying and digging. and They're like yes you're exhausting.
00:46:01
Speaker
Exactly. so So I'm trying to be better at the small talk. And yeah some of my girlfriends, I just tell them, I'm like, I'm not great small talk. If you don't to about nutrition stuff, that's fine. but i i do But I hear people complain about stuff. And I'm like, there's an answer for that. Don't you want to fix it?
00:46:19
Speaker
Yeah. But not everybody does. Some people just want winch. They don't. They absolutely don't. Greg tells me that all the time. He's like, Laura, i just want you to listen to me. It's like, we've got role reversal. He's like, I don't want to talk about it.
00:46:30
Speaker
You know? And I'm like, and a lot of people like, it's so funny the other night I was with my family for my dad's birthday and like all the adult family, my brothers and their wives and stuff. And I was telling one of them that I'm always sending like health stuff to my sisters and my, and my brother, even in my sister-in-laws and,
00:46:47
Speaker
They're like, I'm sure it pops up on their phone because I've done it so much. And they're like unsolicited um health issues or unsolicited health information. Delete. delete, you know, like they're so sick of me sending stuff that's relevant to what they've complained about or, right and I'm like, it's okay. I said, yeah, I mean, I get it.
00:47:08
Speaker
It's almost like you kind of feel like people that are really, really into religion and they're like, I gotta tell you about this, you know? And you're like, I can appreciate that side, but no, it probably keeps me from people wanting to hang out with me. But honestly, I feel like at this age, I'm,
00:47:25
Speaker
I don't know. It's a lot about my family. like It's a lot about raising the kiddos. i I just want to be with them. And then you know having the the social interaction with girlfriends that have kids. I mean, that's where I think a lot of the moms get support, though.
00:47:39
Speaker
like I feel like we know nothing coming into this. And we were ah really late. We should know more. you know like and There's no way to know more. i mean it's Reading books don't teach it. it's You're having to do it. Wow, okay. This is...
00:47:53
Speaker
Even moms that have young kids don't even know. They're like, I don't remember doing that. I don't know. It's not simple and it's not easy, right? Like we talked about things that are simple, yeah but not easy. This is not simple or easy. it's Exactly.
00:48:04
Speaker
Exactly. And it's, it's so hard to try and guide. I feel like being in that medium of, Disciplining a child, but then listening to the child and then guiding them without and listening to them.
00:48:18
Speaker
Like that medium where you have to be both. is That has been the hardest thing for me about parenting, because I feel like you just let them be. But then you're like, but if you don't give them discipline, that's what they want.
00:48:29
Speaker
And how much is enough? You know, I'd come back on that. I don't know if you've come across Dr. Becky Kennedy with good inside. Okay. um She has the Ted talk. The Ted talk was not my favorite. Her book is phenomenal hearing on podcast. The book is good inside.
00:48:45
Speaker
And then she has a like a online parenting coaching community and subscription service I signed up for. And it's really, really good. I think every, my interactions with my daughter yeah after every time, after i I read her stuff or after i hear it's they're just so much better.
00:49:00
Speaker
and And so, yeah, I highly, highly recommend checking out her stuff. Good inside. That's awesome. I might write her down because... And you know what? Honestly, sometimes I feel like you know what to do, but when are you ever really fully functioning as an adult? Like you're tired, you're hungry.
00:49:21
Speaker
you know If all of those things were in place... Yeah, we can be super rational with the kiddos. We can be super patient with the kiddos, you know, but then they have to also be in that state for them to kind of absorb it and go, oh yeah, that makes sense, mommy.
00:49:35
Speaker
Yeah, no, I was being a little, you know, overreactive there. You might just be more enlightened than me. i I don't know that I knew, like even well-rested, well-formed, I'm not sure it was 100% always intuitive to me. Yeah, fair enough. Okay, what...
00:49:51
Speaker
okay what is going on through this six-year-old or eight-year-old's mind at this stage, of all this of I'm processing it from a 42-year-old man's perspective. yeah It's a totally different world. And and so yeah I had a lot to learn. I still have a lot to learn. All of us do. All of us do. yeah I just always try and come back to, okay,
00:50:12
Speaker
They intuitively know what, like when people say, oh is it a good baby? Of course it's a good baby. They've come out good. We're the ones that ruined their life. You know, they they are going to learn how to survive and, you know, they'll persevere, but we're going to get in the way by, you know, not taking care of them the way we, you know, whatever, you know, yeah missing a few things, but we are resilient. And so that's
Podcast Closing and Further Learning
00:50:35
Speaker
where it's like, yes, you can, you don't have to beat yourself up. Yeah, like it was it was great. Thank you for everything you've shared. it's ah It's a journey and, you know, with its own stages. And I just can't thank you enough for everything that you're sharing with our listeners. Thanks, Andrew. Thanks for having me. It was a great, great chat. I really appreciate it.
00:50:56
Speaker
Thank you for joining us on today's episode of the Home of Healthspan podcast. And remember, you can always find the products, practices, and routines mentioned by today's guests, as well as many other healthspan role models on Alively.com.
00:51:08
Speaker
Enjoy a lively day.