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#107: Ellen Johnston: Unlearning diet culture and redefining health on your terms
615 Plays2 months ago
Have you ever felt like diet culture has shaped the way you see health and fitness? Or wondered how to build true confidence in your body - beyond the number on the scale?
In this episode of The Kate Hamilton Health Podcast, I sit down with Ellen Johnston, a 21-year-old online health and wellness coach with a powerful story. From playing Gaelic football at a high level to facing a life-changing injury at just 16, Ellen’s journey is one of resilience, growth, and redefining what it means to be truly healthy.
We chat about the mental and physical toll of injury, the pressure of diet culture, and how strength training became a tool for confidence rather than control. Ellen also shares her take on deep health, balancing nutrition without obsession, and why she made the decision to go alcohol-free.
If you're looking for an inspiring conversation about overcoming setbacks, shifting your mindset, and taking a proactive approach to health, this episode is for you.
Episode Highlights:
[00:00] – Welcome to The Kate Hamilton Health Podcast
[00:12] – Meet Ellen Johnston: From Gaelic Football to Wellness Coaching
[02:58] – The Injury That Changed Everything
[06:03] – The Road to Recovery & Embracing a New Path
[07:21] – Ellen’s Approach to Proactive Health & Fitness
[11:36] – Navigating the Fitness Industry as a Young Coach
[17:53] – Personal Growth, Mindset Shifts & Lifestyle Changes
[24:14] – Breaking Up with Diet Culture & Toxic Food Rules
[24:59] – Finding Balance: Nutrient-Dense vs. Processed Foods
[26:32] – Practical Tips for Increasing Protein Intake
[28:33] – The Role of Protein in a Balanced Diet
[31:45] – Calorie Counting: When It Helps & When It Hurts
[36:58] – Strength Training After Injury: Rebuilding Confidence
[41:05] – Why Ellen Chose an Alcohol-Free Lifestyle
[48:44] – Defining Health: What It Really Means to Live Well
Links & Resources:
- Connect with Ellen on Instagram here
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with friends who might benefit. For more health and fitness tips, follow me on Instagram and TikTok @katehamiltonhealth.
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Transcript
Introduction and Ellen's Journey
00:00:08
Speaker
Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of the Kate Hamilton Health Podcast. In today's episode, I chat with Ellen Johnston. Ellen is an online health and wellness coach and we have the most amazing conversation around a wide range topics.
00:00:22
Speaker
So we start the conversation around discussing her own journey. And her transition from playing Gaelic football and it being the centre of her world to a life-changing injury where she had to stop playing football at the age of 16.
00:00:38
Speaker
And how that ignited in her this fire where she wanted to empower and educate and help others to discover wide areas of their health and their nutrition and their fitness that didn't have to be centered around one single sport.
Ellen's Professional Path and Philosophies
00:00:58
Speaker
And that's exactly what she's done. She's only 21 years old now and she is ah personal trainer, She's a female health coach. She is a pre and postnatal coach.
00:01:09
Speaker
She has the Precision Nutrition Level 1 certification. She's now in university further qualifying herself. We talk a lot around diet culture, all or nothing mindset, building confidence through strength training. Talk about deep health, body image, what health actually looks like.
00:01:27
Speaker
We talk about injury, obviously, and we talk also then ah about mental health. and alcohol. And it's just a really, really empowering conversation. And it was so refreshing to talk to someone so young with such a mature attitude towards difficulties in life and how to approach them in a very proactive way.
00:01:47
Speaker
So I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did.
00:01:52
Speaker
Ellen, welcome to the podcast. Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to chat and can't believe it's taken us this long to organise this. I know we've talked about it, but I'm really excited now to to actually make it happen.
00:02:04
Speaker
Here we are. We made it eventually. Yes, absolutely. Yeah. So look, for anyone who doesn't know who you are, you want to just share a little bit about who you are, what you do and a bit about your background as well? So, as Kate said, my name's Ellen. I'm an online health and my life coach.
00:02:18
Speaker
And I've been kind of in the space for like nearly four years, which is kind of mad put it in perspective. But I mainly work as women to help them kind of step away from that never running cycle of continually striving to be smaller.
Overcoming Injury and New Perspectives on Health
00:02:32
Speaker
Because we all know there's never really an end to it. It's just... Once you reach one goal, that's never It's just, it's ongoing. And I kind of quite literally fell into the health and fitness space after a knee injury, unfortunately, brought my days of football to a very premature end.
00:02:47
Speaker
So I wanted to take that experience by still remaining in the space, but also take the knowledge that those situations had taught me to help others in a sort of way. I suppose and a little bit then on your story.
00:02:58
Speaker
So you were playing football, then had an injury that put an end to So want to just tell us a little bit about that and kind of the impact that had on you? Yeah, so I grew up playing Gaelic football. Quite literally, it was my bread and butter. It was like, I'm from rural Donegal, so it was just the do thing. Everyone pretty put pretty much played it from young age.
00:03:17
Speaker
So started to play at the age of six and I was very lucky in the sense I remained injury free up until the age of 14 when all of my good luck caught me very quick when I tore my ACL which is your anterior crissional ligament in your knee like nearly every day when you turn on the news nowadays it's like somebody in the Premier League or like in some other league of sport across the world has done it and at that time was actually the youngest person Ireland to have done it which is kind of mad that is my claim to fame is that what your doctor told you that you were the youngest person in Ireland Yeah, he was like, I've never seen anybody this young with it. he's like, I don't think none my colleagues have seen anyone that young either. And I was like, well.
00:03:53
Speaker
I'm a high achiever. Exactly. just wanted to beat everyone else to it. When I was 14, I suppose at that point, like, you wrap your identity up into certain things. Like, I'd say, Kate, you probably write this. It's like, people are like, oh, like, so tell me but about yourself.
00:04:07
Speaker
Oh, I'm an online coach. It's like, that's, it becomes who you are. ah for me, that's what football had very quickly become. It was like your whole day revolved around it, like, what you would eat, like your study schedule or whatever it may be.
00:04:20
Speaker
But then was out for like 16 months. And before I handled it pretty well because i knew there was a deadline to it. Like I knew, okay, 12 months of rehab after the surgery, that'd be me back on the pitch. So that was fine, done the rehab religiously. And I had such a poor understanding of nutrition and recovery.
00:04:38
Speaker
And like, because, you know, standard on social media, all misinformation, I had this really good idea, or so I thought at the time, was if I was smaller, the chance of this happening again would be significantly reduced.
Proactive Health and Long-term Empowerment
00:04:50
Speaker
So maybe me was like, oh yeah, I'll eat 1,200 calories a which to feel the amount training I was doing, like, unless you're a really small individual who doesn't really exercise, you shouldn't be on 1,200 calories a day, especially when you're recovering from an operation and also training five times a week.
00:05:05
Speaker
It's not a good idea. So didn't realize it until i went back to training that, geez, like, something's not right here. Like... because I wasn't eating enough, like I wasn't giving myself the opportunity to follow recover.
00:05:16
Speaker
Then was back in the pitch like two months, really bad tackle, went down and originally I was like, my ACL is gone again, that's me gone for another 12 months. Got the a MRI and my consultant was like, I don't know what to say to he was like, you're 16 but there's too much damage in that knee for me to actually touch. And he was like, if I do touch, it does a risk of like damaging your growth plates, which then can stem further problems down the line.
00:05:37
Speaker
So he was like, that's it. He was like, you're not gonna play football or contact sports ever again. He was like, it's completely out of the window. And it threw me like, was just, what am I supposed to do? Because with the prior injury, it was like, okay, 12 months, that's it.
00:05:52
Speaker
Whereas this is permanent. So when you have that identity just ripped away from underneath yeah you, you're kind of left with that whole thing of like, who am I? What do I do? Like, what is my purpose kind of thing?
00:06:03
Speaker
But then i viewed that as an opportunity for me to be like, okay, I'm going to take the mistakes that I made and educate myself so that I can stop others from making the same mistakes. Because it wasn't up until that point that like I actually realised that health is more than how you look or how much you weigh.
00:06:19
Speaker
It's like your mental health, physical, psychological health, your social health, also having really good relationships in your life. And it doesn't it take something being taken away from you like that to actually realise that and appreciate it.
00:06:30
Speaker
And I think that's a really mature thing for you to be able to have made sense of the situation at 16 years old. Yeah, I always say it's now it's kind of like it shouldn't take for something like that to happen.
00:06:42
Speaker
Like a lot of people say like to go to the doctor and I have like high blood pressure or whatever. And the doctors are OK, you need to be active, like you need to move your body bit more. But it isn't until we kind of have the health scare or somebody near us gets ill.
00:06:54
Speaker
They're like, OK, you know, maybe there's something to this health and fitness crack. Like I'll start. In reality, it'd be so much better if we're all just proactive instead just being reactive to whatever is that life throws at us.
00:07:05
Speaker
Yeah, no, I couldn't agree more. And I think that's why I find my job so fulfilling, you know, coaching and even this like this podcast. So fulfilling because I feel like we're being proactive. We're having proactive conversations.
00:07:18
Speaker
The people that are listening to the podcast are being proactive. People who are engaging in coaching are being proactive. Because I've had some people say to me, know why didn't you go back and study and become a dietitian? was like, I don't want to be a dietitian. I don't want to treat medical conditions. Not that, you know, there's anything wrong with that. But for me, the purpose is very much in the being proactive and helping people take control and for it to be a positive thing to help prevent.
00:07:42
Speaker
And I know we can't prevent everything that life throws at us. If only. If only. God, I would be all over it. That's for sure. would be controlling it all. But think there's an extreme empowerment. And it doesn't matter if we've had health, you know, scares or, you know, like everyone has their ups and downs.
00:08:00
Speaker
But there's real empowerment in being like, this is my body. This is my health. And no matter what has happened up until this moment, I can be proactive and do what the best I can for my body.
00:08:12
Speaker
Absolutely. And like, I think as well, if you start to enjoy what you're doing as well, it makes things so much better because it means then like you're being proactive, like your body years down the line is going to thank you so much for it.
00:08:23
Speaker
But also if you enjoy you're going to with it so much longer. It becomes like a habit ingrained in you as opposed to just, oh, I have to go the gym because Kate around told me to do so. I just think this is such a fascinating fascinating mindset for someone so young to have grasped as well. So so at 16, you were like, I am going to educate myself.
00:08:41
Speaker
I'm going to help others. And so like, what was your next steps like in relation to if we put this into context? Like, how old are you now, Ella? I'm 21. twenty one So we're still talking about a good few years ago. Still, you're very, very young. I'm not saying you're very old or anything.
00:08:56
Speaker
I can't get abused. I'd be like this owl when she's 21. My God. What did you do in relation to to moving yourself forward from here? So I suppose the timing of it kind of worked quite well because from when I was told that I won't play anymore, that was January 2020 and we all know what happened 2020, COVID hit, gyms were closed.
00:09:17
Speaker
So I was kind of like spent that year just, you know, reading up and stuff, kind like delving little bit of information, but also getting in my knee like to an okay place. And then once gyms kind of opened up, like was in there most days getting strong. But then I was also working in part time in Super Value. And I think that really opened my eyes to how rude people can be. And I was like, I don't want to do this any longer. at Like, I just want to do something more fulfilling.
00:09:42
Speaker
And then one day I was on my lunch break and I passed an ad for PT course that is running locally to me. And I was like, you know what? This is my sign. I want out. This is what I want to do. So I signed up for it and I completed that. That was August 21 when I finished it. at that point I was 17. And then saw my leaving cert 22. But then was like, okay, I want to be able to have a wider scope of knowledge and to be able to help.
The Role of Education and Qualified Advice
00:10:09
Speaker
a bigger range of people. So went on to do my precision nutrition level one. And then was like, right, okay, I was getting a few inquiries about pre and postnatal training. And I was like, don't feel comfortable taking people on unless I actually have a good understanding and of what's safe, what's not safe, what to do, you know, if they're not comfortable or there's like a bit of a red flag there. So went and done my pre and postnatal exercise with the Girls Gone Strong.
00:10:32
Speaker
And then They sent me an email being like, oh, we have this other course if you want to do it. And I was like, yeah. So went and done my women's specialist coaching qualification. And now I'm in Liverpool drummers in my second year of my undergrad in Sporting Exercise.
00:10:47
Speaker
Sports and exercise science, is it? Yeah. Amazing. So you're literally going to be the most qualified personal trainer out there. I love it. No, I think this is amazing. And the foundations that you're building for yourself and just having that kind of that thirst for knowledge and all with the purpose of of trying to help others is like is absolutely amazing.
00:11:09
Speaker
Yeah, and like I think as well, because nowadays social media is i just rife. You don't need to have ah qualification or you don't need to prove to anyone that like I'm qualified to say what I what i am saying.
00:11:22
Speaker
But I wanted to kind of have that level of authority, I suppose, that i when people do come to me, they know that I'm not just talking at my backside. I actually do have the knowledge and the study behind me to back up what I'm saying.
00:11:36
Speaker
Yeah, and I think that the online or the fitness industry in general and the online world, if you like, at the minute, you know, especially fitness, it's in a very dangerous place, really.
00:11:47
Speaker
And it'll be interesting how this plays out in the coming years. But there's a lot of unqualified people giving a lot of advice. There's a lot of highly qualified people with letters after their name giving terrible advice. There's such extremes out there.
00:12:01
Speaker
there's There's people promising you the world and what they really want is a social media following or lots of money. And I think it's going to eventually have to be regulated. And it's funny, you know, with social media, but kind of the more you grow, the more hate you get in general in the comments.
00:12:14
Speaker
But one the one comments that really, really trigger me is when people are like, you're unqualified. You don't know what you're talking you're talking about. It's like it it is frustrating. But I think as long as you know when you're taking on your clients that you're like, I am educated and qualified to help you and I'm constantly learning more to help you more.
00:12:32
Speaker
And I think once you can do that, then that's the main thing. And, you know, if anyone ever asks for a qualification, you have it there. And I think that's really, really important. Just then, let's just get your names on and you're like, there you go. Do you want her print?
00:12:44
Speaker
And anyone listening who's working with a coach, you know, like, don't be afraid to ask them for, you know, what like ask them what, like, what are their qualifications? Because it is a little bit like the Wild Wild West at the minute. And I don't think it will always be like that over time, but definitely, you know, if like and people have asked me, what qualifications have you got? No one is going to be insulted. If they're insulted, they've got something to hide. Like any coach that is qualified is going to be happy, is going to be happy to share their qualification with you and tell you about it if you want more information on that.
00:13:14
Speaker
But anyway, your coaching philosophy, let's talk a little bit about, since we're talking a little bit about circus online and all the different things that, you know, we are all exposed to. What are your thoughts on health and fitness as a whole? Like what is your coaching philosophy? What makes it different to what other people might be throwing out there?
00:13:31
Speaker
So for me, I take what we call like a deep health approach. Like it's not just a case of looking at someone's my fitness belt for the week or like making sure they've been to the gym however many times a week is on their program.
00:13:44
Speaker
It's also looking at everything else that goes into that, like, because as much as we'd love be able to do it, you can't separate what's going on in your personal life or your professional life for that matter from what goes on in the gym, like the decisions you make around nutrition.
00:13:58
Speaker
because it's all interlinked. Like your mental health has such a big impact on your physical health and vice versa. So I'll always make sure that like, first of all, my clients actually okaying themselves. Like, how are they doing?
00:14:11
Speaker
And then if, say maybe they haven't had a great week nutrition and hygiene, kind of see, okay, they've had an argument with a partner or like really stressed out at work and then and make coping mechanisms for them around that.
00:14:23
Speaker
Because many of us like, well, default is like, oh yeah, like I'll get myself some chocolate and then make the world feel better. But also kind of help them understand, okay, that's going to provide a short-term release.
00:14:34
Speaker
But in the long term, it's not a very productive approach because we need to actually be able to handle the stressor at hand. as opposed to just kind of skimming underneath the carpet. Because i suppose like my philosophy stems from that injury because i want people to understand that like just because you've lost weight doesn't necessarily make someone unhealthy or healthy or healthier because there could be other things at hand, like maybe there's disordered eating there or they've already proved body image or they might just like actually feel rubbish in themselves even though everyone's like, oh my god, like Kate, you look great or whatever it is, you know?
00:15:08
Speaker
I remember this with my sister, right? she I know she won't mind me talking about her. She ended up getting diagnosed with Crohn's disease a few years ago. And she has it under control. She manages it well. But at the start, before they they got a handle on it, she got really sick and she lost quite a lot of weight quite quickly. yeah no And ah she wasn't like too skinny or anything, like but she had lost lot weight. And people were telling her, they like, oh my God, Maeve, you look fantastic. You look great.
00:15:35
Speaker
And she's like, thanks, I'm really sick. I'm really, really sick. Like, you know, one stage she was this close. Like the doctor was like, had you left this any longer, you would have been in sepsis and could have died. You know, like, that you know, there was points that's how sick she was at times.
00:15:49
Speaker
And it's funny because you don't know by looking at someone with help. And I just thought that was really interesting. She was like, I've never got so many compliments in my life and I was the sickest that I've ever been.
00:16:00
Speaker
It's just interesting. And like, I know, you know, from working in a gym or but being in and around gyms quite a lot, I know a lot of lean people who are not very healthy. Health is not
Understanding Health Beyond Appearance
00:16:09
Speaker
a look. And like it'll look different to everyone. Like if I would say that people like, Christmas time's a big one, like progress will come in different shapes and forms. Like for some people will being able to like stop eating after like a couple sweets or whatever it may be.
00:16:22
Speaker
And then for others, maybe actually being able to eat them without feeling guilt. Health, progress, whatever it may be, is going to look completely different from person to person because we've all had very different experiences.
00:16:32
Speaker
we're all feeling very different within ourselves. And then, of course, the goal then is different. Yeah. And I think it really does stem from the like the goal, as in what is your goal and why is it your goal? We were actually doing a goal setting exercise in our in our group, our client Zoom call last night.
00:16:51
Speaker
And it's like, it's amazing how we we set ourselves goals that when we actually think about them, like, Are they actually your goals? Like, do you want to run a marathon because you just think you want it's something that you should take off that, you know, do you actually want to do what needs to be done to run a marathon?
00:17:05
Speaker
Or, you know, you want to be a size 10. Why? Because you think you're going to be happier at a size 10 when actually, even if you do end up with a size 10, It's actually all the habits that you put in place and the lifestyle and the empowerment that you give yourself and the work you do and yourself and the reflection and that you do and how you learn to deal with your stressors and everything in between is what's going to make you happy, not the end goal.
00:17:29
Speaker
I think that's like something that gets overlooked a lot. Like I know a lot of people say it, but like I genuinely believe it, that like it's not the outcome that brings most enjoyment. It's actually like who you become and what you learn along the way to that outcome.
00:17:42
Speaker
Because regardless of the goal, like you learn a lot about yourself on that journey. And if you do it right, like chances are you're going to learn things for life that are going to stick with you more than just six, eight weeks later.
00:17:53
Speaker
What people don't like to hear, which is so true, it's a lifelong journey. Like it is your whole life. So if you end up with an injury or you end up sick for a few weeks or, you know, something happens in your life that throws everything off.
00:18:08
Speaker
Like I always say to my clients, I'm like, zoom out. This is your life now. This is not a quick fix diet. Like, so what if you can't get to the gym for two weeks? I've just had the flu. i haven't been in the gym for two weeks. Got back to a run the other day, nearly died after it. Haven't done one since.
00:18:21
Speaker
But we'll maybe at the weekend. ah But, you know, and I'm like, there's two weeks out of my life, two unexpected weeks out of the rest. Like, it you know, if we have to zoom out. We have to look at it as our whole life. And as you start to achieve goals, you're going to start setting new ones.
00:18:37
Speaker
And if you're always setting goals because you hate yourself or you're running away from something, you're never going to be happy. Also, the exciting thing about that is if you can learn to like I'm the queen of faking it till I make it.
00:18:50
Speaker
I'm like, you know, I will embody what it is that I'm setting my goal for. I like, you know, and how does the Katie reaches this goal? How does she act every day? What does she do? You can feel amazing tomorrow, today. Like if you start and you're like, OK, I need to do X, Y and Z every day to reach my goal.
00:19:07
Speaker
Start doing it. You don't have to wait till you reach your goal to feel amazing. You'll feel amazing the whole way. And I just think that's so empowering. It makes such a difference. And I go think as well, when you like start viewing it as the long game, that you actually appreciate things a lot more.
00:19:21
Speaker
You don't become fixated by how you look or that number on the scales because you realise it's so much more than that. And you can't live your life according to a scale or a progress photo because like that, you could get sick, you could get injured, something may happen along the way.
00:19:35
Speaker
like You need to be able to adapt instead of panicking because you can't get to the gym for like maybe 10 days. And the good thing, though, is when you do start putting these habits in place, like going to the gym or whether it's playing a sport or, you know, getting into just going for a daily walk and then something happens in your life that throws your routine off and you start panicking.
00:19:54
Speaker
If you miss these habits when you can't do them, it's a win. Think about when when you started and going for a daily walk was a chore. And the amount women that I coach that making time for that daily walk is a struggle with everything that's going on in their lives.
00:20:08
Speaker
And then when something happens, you know, further down the journey and and they can't get out for a few days or a week or whatever, miss it. I'm going insane because I don't have my walk. So that's a win. So then it's like, OK, look, I surrender to the circumstances. I know I'll get it back.
00:20:23
Speaker
But let me just reflect and be like, look how much I miss it when this used to be a chore. Yeah, massively. It's like, and that's gross. That's gross. And I think that's really important as well, that we always look back and reflect.
00:20:34
Speaker
I'm a big believer in journaling and I'm always going on about it. And it's not about having structured, you know, big, long things, but literally just at the end of each day, just reflecting on it, because I don't think we take time to think differently.
00:20:46
Speaker
We're so automatic. Everything's automatic. Our brain does that to make life easier for us. And the more automatic we come, the more we do things without thinking about it, whether it is overeat or overexercise or, you know, whatever habits or coping mechanisms that we create, we do it automatically.
00:21:03
Speaker
Without really thinking and it's to cope with things. And it's because we we're so busy. And I say this a lot. I'm like, I think everyone focuses on this obesity epidemic. And I don't think, not I'm not saying there isn't an obesity epidemic. What I'm saying is I think the more pressing matter is we have a lifestyle epidemic.
00:21:19
Speaker
We're too busy. We're too stressed. We're overstimulated and we're not slowing down. And COVID was trying to teach us that we slowed down for a while. And where are we now? We're all back up to 90. And this is where the problem starts. like that So I think taking that time to reflect, look back on how far you come and be like, wow, I'm proud of me.
00:21:37
Speaker
To reflect, think about what where am I going? What do I want? And even just like little daily exercise of reflecting on it day. How did my day go? How did I feel? What happened today that I'm happy or not happy about?
00:21:48
Speaker
Why did that happen? It's powerful. Yeah. And like you can see patterns too. Like, okay, what happened on that day that made that day really good? And then include more of that in your day or like your week.
00:22:00
Speaker
Because was reading a thing before and it was like, if you're constantly living for the weekend, like it's not healthy because there's only like two days your week out of seven. So like you're wasting five days your week just being like, oh, like I wish it Saturday or Sunday.
00:22:14
Speaker
But if you include more of stuff that makes you happy and brings you joy across the week, then there be more good days included in that book. You should feel better and more fulfilled in that as well. Yeah. And I think sometimes that can be a long journey to to get there, you know, especially anyone who's kind of older and has response responsibilities and kids and mortgages. And, you know, like that sometimes we can wake up and be in a lifestyle and be like, what the fuck happened to my life? How am I here?
00:22:38
Speaker
What am I going to do? And so it doesn't mean that you have to change everything in your life overnight. And like, you know, adding a diet and exercise routine into your already hectic lifestyle can seem impossible.
00:22:49
Speaker
But I do think as hard and an all as it is, we need to look at the
Lifestyle Changes and Stress Management
00:22:53
Speaker
whole lifestyle. We need to look at what you're doing every week, day in, day out. What is overburdening you? What can you delegate a little bit more of? What can you actually eliminate out of your week?
00:23:03
Speaker
What changes long term do you need to make to your life? Do you love your job? Do you hate your job? If you hate your job, you might need to stay in it now, but maybe you do need to start looking further afield, for further down the line.
00:23:16
Speaker
Not that anyone just drastically quits or anything, but you know that I think if you've got coping neck mechanisms in place for routines that are in your life that you hate, then something has to be done about that or it's going to cause you harm long term.
00:23:31
Speaker
Yeah, possibly. And like, if you're waking up dry and suddenly dreading something like that, that would get you down in the long term. I think as well, like COVID, like, how does that like your life can change overnight for the worse are for the better? So if you can make it a little better, like, why wouldn't you?
00:23:46
Speaker
And it's just small little things to start like very much step by step, just adding in, know, and starting with your nutrition, even, you know, being like, I'm going to put more food into my body that makes me feel good and gives me more energy.
00:23:58
Speaker
It doesn't have to be like, I need to quit my job. But, you know, that is just taking it bit by bit and listening and telling you that reflection time. Anyone listening, if you give yourself that reflection time at the end of each day, I promise you your wisdom will start to come to you as to what it is that you want and what the next step is.
00:24:14
Speaker
Let's talk a little bit about diet culture. I know we've kind of tipped on it here with this whole kind of binging, restricting, always needing to be smaller. What are your thoughts? How do we break up with diet culture and develop a healthier relationship of food?
00:24:29
Speaker
I think like for many of us who've probably grown up in that era with Slim & World, White Watchers, and things like Uni Slim, the Atkinson diet, it was just all over. and like i know growing up for me, like my mum showed up my mood talking about it. She had one of these published jump between White Watchers, Slim & World.
00:24:47
Speaker
So when you kind of grow up in that environment where food is like named sins, points, automatically sins, you think, I send something bad so it's like you've committed a crime nearly it's like I had a taco bar I just wanted to send but I think if you can kind of understand that like yeah okay there's food that is better for us and maybe there's food while we enjoy it it's probably not the most conducive to long-term health to be having on large quantities but there's room for both in a balanced diet always think my clients like it exists on the spectrum so one end you'll have like
00:25:21
Speaker
you know, your nutrient dense food, like your fruit and your veg, and then down the other end, then you'll have like your honey pasta stuff, like your pizza, your chocolate. But so long as you're taking the majority of your diet from that upper end, all that nutrient dense stuff, you can still sprinkle in like the stuff from the other end because I think society has always made us feel like it's about what you can take away from your diet. But what if you flip that on your head and be like, OK, what can I actually add in as opposed taking away?
00:25:50
Speaker
ah can help massively. and it something I do a lot with my own clients. Yeah, no, I'm a big believer in that. Add things in. Eventually, what you're going to do is you'll crowd out a lot of the stuff you don't need. It doesn't mean it's gone altogether, but it like if you can approach every meal,
00:26:03
Speaker
and be like, where's my protein? Where's my carbs? Where's my fats? Where's my veg? Yeah. Can't go far wrong. And like, it does make a big difference. And like, because as you say, you're eating more of this stuff, you don't have the same need for the other things. Because you're actually feeling full, you're satisfied after meals, instead of having something that doesn't really have a lot of nutrients in it, and then being obviously starving again, like two hours later.
00:26:24
Speaker
And I think it's so empowering to watch clients when they start to include more vegetables with their meals or just increase their protein intake. It's like, oh, my God, I can't believe how full I am. It's like, yes, we weren't just making it up. More protein really does fill you.
00:26:38
Speaker
But then I also think with protein, and I love to talk to you about this, I think people get so obsessed with like hitting a protein goal that suddenly they're pumping their bodies full of more processed stuff to reach their protein goal.
00:26:49
Speaker
People are like, oh, I've had like, you know, three of these protein puddings today in a protein bar. And and I'm like, okay calm down. Like i know most fitness coaches would like, you know, you need to be hitting 140 grams of protein.
00:27:00
Speaker
I don't want my clients to hit 140 grams of protein if they need to eat three protein puddings to reach it. Just try and get your protein over 100 if you can, if or as close to it as you can. It's wherever you are starting. And the most asked question I get, how do I increase my protein intake?
00:27:14
Speaker
Eat more chicken. Literally, if you're having a chicken fillet with your dinner, have a chicken fillet and a half. And that's going to add probably and another 20 grams protein. tea Yeah. I don't know. I'm throwing numbers, i pulling numbers out of the air and now at the minute. But you know what I mean? Like, or, you know, Greek yogurt, if you're currently having 100 grams of Greek yogurt, have 200 grams.
00:27:35
Speaker
but If you're currently having two eggs, add some egg white to it. And now, and I'm a big believer, in like I have a scoop of protein powder every day. And I think if you get a good quality protein powder, it's a nice addition. Some people don't want to take po protein powder. to as i always say i sound really anti-protein minces and mins and pro protein puddings i'm not i'm just like i think people are eating them because they think they're being healthy not because they like them now i could be wrong and i know as i'm generalizing i know for me personally i've tried them i don't always like them they taste processed to me they taste horrible i'm like i'd rather get more chicken in or more greek yogurt and then enjoy a chocolate bar
00:28:12
Speaker
You know, save my calories for a chocolate bar and not be stressing about my protein. I'm the kind of the same with protein bars as well. Now, some people love protein bars and I do see the point in them. You know, like if you have one protein bar, you have heart you're less likely to reach for another. So if you enjoy them, they're handy treat.
00:28:28
Speaker
But you're not being healthy having a protein bar, it's a treat. But for me, I'm like, again, I don't know, I'd rather get my protein in my breakfast, lunch, dinner and just have a chocolate bar, some Cadbury's. I know what are your thoughts on protein and of that?
00:28:39
Speaker
I think like what you were saying, like instead of looking at like getting extra sources into your diet, like look at the ones you already use, like the chicken, the eggs, the yogurt, and then just add little bit of extra of it because you already have them in the cupboard anyway.
00:28:52
Speaker
So why go adding any other things into it? And like, don't forget, like puddings and stuff are okay. Like I'm not massively fond of them, but like that, if you see a client like hammering away at them, like, if I'm having like two a day and you're like, Could you not like had like chicken or like some eggs instead?
00:29:07
Speaker
Because a lot of people like don't need like 150 grams of protein, like to be honest. No, I don't think so either, yeah. And like, always say to clients, like, take a food first approach.
00:29:19
Speaker
Like, try and get as much of it from eating whole foods in your diet if you can. Like, even if you love, like, a bagel, it's like nine grams of protein in a bagel. Then things like baby bells, like cheese slices can be quite good for protein as well.
00:29:31
Speaker
And if you walk into a supermarket nowadays, it's like, everything has proteins back on it. Like... There's protein bagels, protein cheese, but like the protein in them is already the same content as the ordinary one, except it's just a bit more expensive.
00:29:43
Speaker
Always look at the back because and if you look at the protein per 100 grams, like ah and compare, it is usually, yeah, you're just paying more for the protein brand. And I think you made a really, really good point there.
00:29:54
Speaker
about the hidden proteins, like not the hidden proteins, but you have things we don't think about, like carbohydrate sources that have protein in them. I think like wholemeal bread is a perfect example. Like you said, a bagel, like nine grams of protein. That's amazing. Cheese is often one we don't think of. But like if you look at like, you know, even even if you go with like, you know, the low, low cheese, you know, go low fat cheese if you're trying to save on calories and you don't want anyone keep your saturated fat down a little bit, like two slices of cheese, you're getting a decent amount of protein. I don't know numbers off the top of my head, but there's protein in a lot of things.
00:30:21
Speaker
And if you're you're adding them in, just you having a good varied diet, you'd be surprised ah what you get in. And it's all because everyone's like, oh, you need to get your protein. So everyone's just like, OK, protein is like your chicken, your beef.
00:30:35
Speaker
But because that's like, it's not sexy, be like, oh, yeah, it's in vehicle. because obviously I've been told carbs are scary, we're not meant to eat them, that like people would rather market the more expensive stuff.
00:30:47
Speaker
Even things like if you're a busy individual who's always like on the go, you can get like those yogurt pouches, they can be really handy for like getting your protein in as well. And they don't taste anywhere near as processed as like the protein buttons either.
00:30:59
Speaker
Yeah. And sometimes you look at yogurts and it says protein yogurt and you look at a normal yogurt, look at the back because do normal yogurt might have just as much protein, if not more than and the protein one. Actually, myself and Lindsay, we were in Tesco filming there last week and we were just in the pasta aisle and I just noticed a protein pasta and was like, stop.
00:31:17
Speaker
I was like, we just, and I looked at the protein pasta and I was like, how many grams of protein is in this protein pasta? I can't remember. I made video on it anyway. It'll be out soon. And i was like, Lindsay, hand me at one of the ordinary packets of pasta. And we had a look.
00:31:30
Speaker
There was more protein. Like, seeing oh I remember now it was like per 100 grams. it was like the protein pasta, I think, had nine grams of protein per 100 grams. And the ordinary packet of pasta had 12 grams of protein per 100 grams.
00:31:43
Speaker
like Like what? So like, you know, always just be aware of these things. I think just not obsessing about protein. And I think, you know, you've done the precision nutrition course. so You're aware of the precision nutrition hand portions. I'm a big believer in, you know, not everyone wants to track calories and macros and that's totally fine. And if you're looking to just go breakfast, lunch, dinner, balanced meals, use the hand portion method.
00:32:02
Speaker
Make sure you have at least one palm sized portion of protein with every meal, if not two. And like that you can't go far wrong either, but because at least then, like, because it's your hand, it's proportional to your body, like, your body size, which in itself is quite helpful.
00:32:17
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. So it isn't actually some like wild guess. And I think that's what people often think with the hand portion method. It's actually quite accurate to your body size and your calorific needs for your body. Obviously, it's not detecting your weight or anything like, but it's still, you know, a man who weighs 100 kilos is going to have a bigger hand than a woman who weighs 60 kilos.
00:32:41
Speaker
So when you put that in context, you know, the palm sized portion of protein is going to be bigger or smaller. So it's just it's a really good way. And I think it's kind of a healthy way to go about getting that kind of balance with food as well with the hand portion method.
Diet Culture and Balanced Nutrition
00:32:55
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. Especially if you're somebody as well who like doesn't like tracking calories, saying like whatever be for. you know, you find a triggering or just the effort of it or like it's like too like numbers heavy. Having that can be quite good because like it's not 100% accurate but it's still pretty representative.
00:33:12
Speaker
But I think what's really important to note as well is that tracking calories is also not 100% accurate. and I think people forget that, especially when you get so obsessed with numbers be like, oh, I'm so many grams under my protein or have so many calories over my calories. It's like it's it's still guesstimation.
00:33:29
Speaker
Like, its for and you know, it's it's as accurate as you're going to get when it comes to, you know, knowing your calorie, your energy in and out and for fat loss. But they're like even the... the calories on packets can be off by certain, I think up to 20% sometimes. yeah that's right ah far I'm not sure if, the don't quote me on that number, but something like that, it's there's definitely ah quite a high percentage that the calories can be off because unless you're testing something in a lab or testing yourself and in a lab, you don't know exactly what your calorie needs are. You don't exactly know exactly what's in every food.
00:33:59
Speaker
Like it's a good estimation, but... I think as well, it's really important for people to know that yes, in order to lose body fat, we need to be in a calorie deficit. But being in a calorie deficit doesn't mean it has to be calorie counting.
00:34:13
Speaker
Yeah, hugely. And I think as well, because it's like the go-to thing. Like majority of people you see online who are in a calorie deficit, it's like, oh, I like counting calories. But then if you're somebody then who maybe doesn't like counting calories for whatever reason, they're kind of like, oh, like, what am I supposed to do? Like, where do I go with this?
00:34:30
Speaker
And it can create that barrier venture, i suppose. And I definitely think, going back to it, just if anyone listening doesn't know where to start, just start with your three year breakfast, lunch, dinner, protein, carbohydrates, fats, vegetables.
00:34:42
Speaker
But then I always say, you know, obviously we want to be able to have kind of snacky, nice foods as well. I'm like, try and keep that to 300 calories. It's a good place to start. So just kind of keep an eye on what the calories are in the chocolate and the crisps and stuff you're having. Try and keep that about 300 calories a day, maybe four, depending on the day, you know, and then just keep those meals. And it's ah it's a good place to start, especially in the beginning while you kind of get used to that balance.
00:35:03
Speaker
With calorie counting, I have like two opinions on it. Like a lot of my clients will track calories. It can be really, really stressful for people. But I also think that some people have a little bit of a mindset barrier to it.
00:35:15
Speaker
And don't realize actually how empowering ah it can be and how much it can educate you about what's in your food and how much of it you're having and what your body requires. As long as you don't get too obsessed or too restrictive or too like attaching guilt or shame to, you know, whether or not you can manage it or not.
00:35:35
Speaker
I think as well, like as you said, it can be empowering in the sense that like some of my clients will come in to be like, oh, I can track in my dinner. I just like only eating that much. And they're actually massively under eating.
00:35:45
Speaker
But then of course, when you're under eating, chances are it's going to contribute to like overeating then at some point. And then have other people then and they'll Jeez, didn't realise there was that many calories in that, like, and I thought that was healthy. It's but like using that as kind of like feedback as opposed to taking it as an absolute, like, this is good, this is bad.
00:36:02
Speaker
Like, and also understanding it's not a long-term solution. You shouldn't be counting calories for your whole entire life. It's short-term, just like a fat loss phase. Shouldn't be any longer than like a couple of months at most. And it's a skill. but You get better at it.
00:36:14
Speaker
You do it to get to where you want to go. Whether you get there or not, you take a little break from it. You know, if you get there, you don't need to track calories anymore. You always have that skill there in your back pocket if you need to tidy things up further down the line. And that's the best way to look at it.
00:36:27
Speaker
And you're so right. Definitely not something that you should be doing for the rest of your life. If you spend if you're listening and you spend 20 years counting calories, it's definitely time to take a break from it.
00:36:39
Speaker
And I know people listening will be like, I feel seen. It's so many of us. We fall into this trap all the time. There's nothing wrong with tracking calories. There's also nothing wrong with not tracking calories. And I think that's important. And it's it like again, like you said at the beginning, bringing it back to it all depends on your goal, using it as a tool to help you get to a goal.
00:36:58
Speaker
I thought we'd talk a little bit about strength training. So I know you you said you got into the gym after your injury and I'd say probably that was a long journey, was it? Getting back to be able to doing a bit of strength training. Where are you at now with it? like it's I know you can't play contact sports.
00:37:12
Speaker
Are there any limits to what you can do strength training wise or what's your experience with that? I suppose with me and my knee, it's kind of, no one's going to flare it up and like kind of like bring on pain.
00:37:24
Speaker
So I know for me, like single eye leg extensions just aren't a good idea. Like I just find like it makes my knee really uncomfortable. So because it makes it uncomfortable, like it's not a case of I'm avoiding it don't like it.
00:37:35
Speaker
I'm avoiding it because it's not sensible to keep programming it. And then things like really, really heavy squats, like trying to hit 1RM just isn't a good idea. But I'm quite naturally competitive as individual.
00:37:47
Speaker
So I came to uni and I was like, I want to still kind of get that sports environment away from like another football pitch or basketball court. So I actually found weightlifting, like Olympic weightlifting.
00:37:58
Speaker
So I picked that up. And at the start, there was like a bit of an ego thing because i can't do like the standard, you like do what you call a clean and like go nearly deeper than a squat because I tried it and I was like, this is really sore.
00:38:11
Speaker
So just kind of modified to my own variation and that works really well. I'm like, I'm not perfect. Like I still have a lot of technique work to do, but I enjoy it and I actually look forward to training it.
00:38:23
Speaker
It's like empowering too, because you're learning a new skill and you're like, this is kind of cool i did crossfit for a good few years and obviously there's a lot of olympic weightlifting in crossfit and i really enjoyed it as well because it's technique work and it is like and i was never particularly strong like there'd been women in the gym that would be lifting a hell of a lot heavier than i ever was like you know but i really enjoyed i really loved you know a clean and jerk really really did snatch was never my strong point because my overhead mobility just sucks So I was like, I could never like an overhead squat for me is ridiculously hard. So I couldn't put much more weight on than the empty bar when it came to doing a snatch, which was just so frustrating for me. And it was down to pure mobility of not being able to actually like catch it in a squat.
00:39:10
Speaker
But it's so empowering to be in a gym lifting weights. simply because you're like, wow, look what my body can do. And have it nothing to do with, oh, I'm doing this because I want my body to look a certain way.
00:39:23
Speaker
Hugely. And like, it's about fostering that motivation that isn't just dependent on how you look. Like, I'm doing this because I want to look like this. But actually, focusing on like how exercise makes you feel, like, on a physical and mental level.
00:39:35
Speaker
Because there was a study done, I think it was done in Canada, with like... female university students and they were looking at like, why they exercise and their participation rates over a long period of time?
00:39:46
Speaker
So they had like one cohort who were like, we act exercise because we want to change how we look, we want to tone up. Then the second half then, we're looking to exercise purely because of how it made them feel and because of the functionality of the body.
00:39:59
Speaker
The ones in the latter group who actually viewed it as a form of celebration for their body's function had a higher participation rate in physical activity over a longer period of time, as well as decreased preoccupation with their body image and reduced risks of depression in comparison to those in the physique orientated group who then resulted in having reduced long-term participation, physical activity, because obviously if you're not seeing changes, you get demotivated, you get frustrated and you're more likely to give up.
00:40:28
Speaker
Whereas like if you focus on what your body can do and then seeing each rep become easier each week, increasing the weight on the bar or increasing the dumbbells, it is really empowering.
00:40:40
Speaker
And it's like nice to have that little victory as well. Yeah, no, I couldn't agree more. That's fascinating as well to hear that data. like you know that's like I know we know this, but just to hear a study like this, you're like, it really does make a difference.
00:40:53
Speaker
Your why, your reason for doing it. Regardless of what you do in life, having a why behind it is like so important to whoever's business-related, fitness-related, because that's what's going to keep you going even when things do get that little bit trickier.
00:41:04
Speaker
ah couldn't agree more. In relation to why as well, I'd love talk to a little bit about alcohol, because am I right in thinking that you have gone alcohol-free?
Alcohol and Mental Health
00:41:11
Speaker
Yeah, like I haven't drank since September 2022. Oh, wow.
00:41:17
Speaker
What was your thinking behind this? Because this is probably and i like shouldn't be like so. Oh, my God. Wow. But for someone in their early 20s, it's it's quite unusual. It's becoming more more usual.
00:41:29
Speaker
What was your thoughts behind giving alcohol? is Were you drinking before you stopped drinking alcohol or was it something that was never really for you? Now it's like before I gave it up, like I did drink, but in the past, like I still do suffer with it now, also to the same extent, but like I do suffer with my mental health and I openly admit like I do take medication for it, but I was also viewing alcohol as like a social lubricant early because I'd be really anxious going out, would be like afraid, would people think of me? what are they saying?
00:41:58
Speaker
So then i drink alcohol then to make it feel better. But then like I'd go home and wake up to the following day. Wouldn't remember much from like one o'clock onwards till like the end of the night, like would have no recollection of it.
00:42:11
Speaker
I would just feel like severely depressed for like days on end. And then I'd only really be coming back to myself when I was going back out again. was just like, I can't live my life like this. Like that one night or those couple of hours takes away from so much of my week.
00:42:24
Speaker
And it wasn't then until I had a conversation with my therapist and she was like, should we go out this night? And I was like, mm-hmm. She has a free drink. And I was like, yeah. And she was like, that's not a good idea. And it wasn't until then the penny kind of clicked that alcohol is it a depressant. Like it does bring your mood down.
00:42:41
Speaker
But when you're taking antidepressants, like bring your mood back up and then you're drinking, like it's kind of counteracting what's meant to be happening. So then from that point then i drank the night I got my leave insert results.
00:42:52
Speaker
And then after that night then and I was like, right, okay. was like, this is it. Like it's a decision I'm making for myself. And a lot of people at the time, because the conversation hasn't curved around it like mental health and isn't as much of a taboo subject.
00:43:06
Speaker
But some people are still like, oh, what do you mean you suffer from mental health? So a lot of people just presumed I gave up alcohol because of my job, like as a personal trainer and an online coach and for my training. So I just kind of went along with that narrative for a while because was like, you know what? It's just a lot easier than having to explain that, you know, actually it's to protect my own health in the long term as opposed just how I look.
00:43:27
Speaker
Isn't it amazing that we have to explain why we don't drink? Yeah, especially in Ireland too. Like I came to uni and my friends were like, what do i mean you're Irish and you don't drink?
00:43:38
Speaker
Because obviously the Irish notorious for like drinking. and I was like, oh, it's like, how have we gone this far? It's funny that like your story, like it really resonates with me. And it's very similar to mine in a way, except it took me a lot longer in life to to make that decision.
00:43:54
Speaker
But it's funny, like I would have been in therapy at a similar age to you. I was and suffering with like chronic anxiety and, you know, like daily panic attacks. And, you know, really I had a lot to work through. And ive I think I've spoken about this in the podcast before.
00:44:07
Speaker
Not once did... My therapist ever say to me, maybe you should stop drinking. Not once did like my parents, my friends, my, not that it was other people's responsibility. I sound like I'm giving, I'm placing blame. I'm not, but like I was 21 2007.
00:44:23
Speaker
two thousand and seven So like 2007, it was like it was just young people just everyone drank, you know, young people, middle-aged people, everyone, you know, a lot has changed, i suppose, in that nearly 20 years.
00:44:35
Speaker
But it was like I was literally going out with my friends every weekend, like having loads of drinks, you know, and feeling like let's same as you, that cycle of just like like for me, it was much more kind of crippling anxiety, like, you know, rather than depression. Now, probably my mood would have been low as well, but it was the panic and the anxiety. And there was that cycle for years like and I didn't recognize I didn't put and I was on medication as well. I was on an antidepressant and it never clicked in my brain that obviously the alcohol is counteracting what's happening with your medication. And i don't think anyone ever said it to me.
00:45:08
Speaker
No, I think as well, like, it's a lot of problems. Like, it does create a lot of problems further down the line. I'll hear people, like, oh, I'm like, oh, I woke up to Fallenmore and had the fear. And I'm like, like, pretty sure you shouldn't be having the fear.
00:45:20
Speaker
Like, not remembering what had happened. And I think for me, like, it was a wake-up call when there's, like, one night I come home. I didn't recall how I got home. And then it wasn't then until my brother had said, oh, actually, one of my mates brought you home.
00:45:34
Speaker
But like, if the circumstances have been different, like I could have ended up in a really dangerous situation. And I think for me, that in my head, I was like, crap, like Ellen, what are you doing?
00:45:45
Speaker
Like, fair enough. Like I was not in a good place mentally, but I also wasn't helping myself either. And like, while that conversation has gone quite a long way, like there's more like alcohol free stuff on the market.
00:45:58
Speaker
But there's still quite a lot of people who don't understand people not drinking. And like, as you say, you nearly have to explain, I'm not drinking because i remember when I was going out.
00:46:08
Speaker
I felt like I had to drink because of the people I was with. And it can be a lot of your social grip too. Like now, like, oh, whenever pull the different grip that I have, i can go out and I don't drink. And I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything because you can still have a laugh with the people you're with.
00:46:25
Speaker
But sometimes like if you're not in a great social situation, you nearly need the alcohol to get through it. So it's kind of looking at you're hanging out with as well. And I think if anyone's listening is looking to take a break from alcohol, just do it. It literally is the best decision have ever made in my life. It's changed my life.
00:46:45
Speaker
And I gave up alcohol for probably two years. Then I kind of reintroduced alcohol back into my life and had a new relationship with it. And, you know, i was having, you know, a couple of drinks here or there, you know, if I was on holidays or if, you know, I was at a wedding or something, not and but very much not binge drinking anymore.
00:47:00
Speaker
But what I started to notice was that I was still, my mood was still a little bit lower. I was on holidays last summer and I had, ah you know, i one or two beers with with Dave most of the days. And was lovely.
00:47:11
Speaker
It was great. We weren't drunk. You know, we were it was it was nice. And then what I found was my spark wasn't there for the holiday. I wasn't as joyful as I usually was. And it was just that little low level of alcohol just keeping me kind of under the surface just slightly.
00:47:25
Speaker
And had lovely holiday. There was nothing wrong with it. And I was like, it's the alcohol. So I've stopped again And it's like my spark is back and it's the best. like they like I know this time, like this time I will never drink alcohol again. And I've had done this alcohol podcast episode and I'm like, I don't know if I'll ever drink again.
00:47:43
Speaker
I did. so so I just, you know, to catch anyone up, I did to see as my relationship with it changed. And I think it's important to know that it's OK to experiment and and try. And I was like, my relationship has changed with it, but now I've discovered it still dulls me.
00:47:55
Speaker
It dulls me even in low amounts. And I just don't want to do it anymore. Now saying that I, you know, I have my twenties behind me where I've had some great times, you know, I've got some funny stories I could tell at any time, but now I'm like, I don't need it. I'm done with it. And I think anyone who want who wants to give it up, it's the best decision you make your whole life just comes alive.
00:48:15
Speaker
Like it's amazing. And I sound really over the top, but that's how passionate I feel about it. Yeah, like I think it is an important conversation to have because we do live in that society, like especially in Ireland. It's like, oh, like, you know, you'll have one one, you'll have one.
00:48:29
Speaker
like even that one drink, as you say, can be like enough, like dampen your sparkle, like the following day or for like the days after. and if you're doing it all the time, it it is going to do that. Like it's amazing the difference that that it makes.
00:48:41
Speaker
So last question, right? Before we finish up, what does the word health mean to you? I suppose for me, like, health means empowerment because without it, like, you can't function by taking care of it. Like, you're giving yourself the best chance to succeed in all areas.
Health as Empowerment and Enjoyment
00:49:00
Speaker
Like, at the end of the day, like, it's all well and good having, you know, the money, like, a really secure job. But if you don't have the health to enjoy it, then there's not much point to it.
00:49:11
Speaker
It's everything, really, isn't it? I know it's like, sounds cliche, but like, it's true. And like growing up, we'd always thought like, you know, oh, like wealth is like having that really good job, having a fancy car, the big house.
00:49:23
Speaker
But if you don't have your house, like, what do you have? Couldn't agree more. Ellen, thank you so much for coming on the podcast. This has been such, such a lovely conversation. I've really enjoyed it. If anyone would like to connect with you, follow you on Instagram, I presume Instagram, is that the best place for them to find you?
00:49:39
Speaker
Yeah, I'm on there every day pretty much, unless something happens. So what is your Instagram handle? So it is Ellen Dalston PT. Perfect. And yes, go connect with Ellen and follow her journey and everything that she has to offer and to teach you because she sure knows her stuff.
00:49:58
Speaker
Ellen, thank you so much for coming on and and I'll talk to you soon. Thank you so much for having me.
00:50:07
Speaker
I just want to say thank you so much for listening to the podcast. It really means so much to me that there are people out there actually listening to what I have to say and to the conversations that I'm having with others. So thank you so much.
00:50:18
Speaker
If you are enjoying the podcast, could you please make sure that you are subscribed? And if not, if you could hit that subscribe button, it really does make that much of a difference. Also, if you would like to leave a review on any of the episodes that you listen to that you particularly enjoy.
00:50:33
Speaker
i would love to hear what you have to say. And also, if there's an episode that you've enjoyed, please do share it on your social media, in your WhatsApp groups, with your friends. If you're sharing it on your stories, please tag myself in it and whoever I'm interviewing.
00:50:47
Speaker
This it would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you're interested in working with me and my wonderful team, please do contact me about applying for coaching. So you can contact me at Kate Hamilton Health at gmail.com or on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, all Kate Hamilton Health. you will be able to apply for coaching. We can organise to have a chat and see if it's a good fit for you and get you moving towards your goals.