Starting the Year Strong with Integrative Health Coach Lea Wallace

This podcast was transcribed using Descript. Please forgive any typos or errors.

Brittany: Hi friends. Welcome to Life with Loverly I'm your host, Brittany Sjogren. I'm excited to share my heart with you beyond the 15 seconds we get on Instagram. Grab an iced coffee and let's do life together. 

Hello hello. How are you guys? Happy Tuesday. I'm so excited for today's episode. Last week, I told you that we were going to have several special guests coming on the podcast within the first few quarters of 2022. Today I'm very excited to have my sister-in-law Leah Wallace on the podcast with us. Hi Leah. 

Lea: Hi. 

Brittany: I feel like this has been such a long time coming to have you on the podcast mostly because for those of you who don't know, Leah has been with me from the start of Loverly Grey. We went wedding dress shopping in what was it, December of 2015?

Lea: Yup

Brittany: We looked at wedding dresses and then we went and got coffee afterwards with a few of the bridesmaids and your mom and sister. And I was like, so I think I'm going to start a blog.

Lea: Yeah. 

Brittany: And you guys were like, tell me more, encouraging, but have been there from the beginning, so then when the podcast was on a goal sheet, years ago, I feel like you were always like, so about that podcast?

Lea: I love podcasts.

Brittany: It's so nice to have somebody who, has seen this from the baby dream version to here we are on the podcast, but I wanted to invite Lea on because she just started a new business.

And I'm going to let her tell you guys a little bit more about herself, but want to give you a little bit of a backstory. Just because I think it's so cool. People who have supported me and loved me through this crazy journey. So anyway, hi. 

Lea: Hi, and we've been so proud. It has been the most fun thing to watch loverly Grey come to life. 

Brittany: Thank you. 

Lea: All of your hard work, and just the ways that you've been so creative and also completely shown up for your family and for your kids while building this incredible business that meets and reaches so many women. It's been a really neat thing to be a part of.

 Thanks for teaching me in the process.

Brittany: That's one thing I love too, is I don't know. I feel like whenever you have come to me about your new business and ideas. I feel that's where my brain turns on and I'm like, Ooh, how can I help her make this amazing based off of my trials and things I've tried and didn't work out. I'm like that didn't work for me, it could work for somebody else, but here's my experience. I didn't have anything like that. I love being able to help in any way that I can. So it's cool that you're family and we can just have these easy conversations, but then it you can turn it into something.

Lea: Yeah. It's been incredible. So thank you. Thanks for letting me join today. This is a treat. 

Brittany: I know I'm excited for you guys. So Lea, tell us a little bit about your background, your family. My sweet little nephew.

Lea: So I am married to Brittany's brother, Jarryd. We've been married for five years, over five years now. I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, right outside Atlanta in Marietta. I went to the University of Georgia Go Dawgs! I studied human development and family science with a minor in global studies. Then went on to teach with, teach for America where I really fell in love with my students.

I taught 10th through 12th grade English in a community in Nashville that was mostly immigrant students. They taught me so much about their own cultures and their own way of living. It was really through that bizarrely that I fell in love with food and different cultures and different ways of eating. At that school, we would grow a lot of our own vegetables and fruit in the backyard of the school, which sounds crazy in this really metropolitan area of Nashville, but getting to teach students how to grow their own food and support their family with nutrition. Even in the midst of hardship financial hardship for a lot of these student, was such a cool treat.

 I think that trickled down into what I'm doing now, but I've always been able to carry along that thread of nutrition and supporting students and then supporting families and now supporting women as they really pursue health in their own lives. That is a little backstory before I got to what I'm doing now. I then went to the corporate side of teach for America for five years and did recruiting, worked from home and then like most people, when COVID hit, life changes, daycare wasn't an option for a while.

 I ended up stepping away from that job and went back to school for nutrition and have loved it. And through it all, Brittany has been so supportive and so much of a cheerleader through this, to say. " No, you can do this and you can take this passion and you can turn it into something." I just so appreciate that. 

Brittany: It's so cool. Lea's going to get into a little bit more about what she does now and how she can help you if you're interested, but it's been so cool to just sit on the sidelines and watch, but to also see you as a mom, going back to school, being there for Levi doing all the hard 24 7 mom things, but realizing I want to do more. I want to fulfill this other side of me and taking those initiatives and going back to school and, working hard in long nights to get there, but, how cool is it that here you are now.

Lea: Yeah, I wasn't prepared for that internal struggle as a mom that I think anyone who is a mom knows once you give birth to this incredible human or baby comes into your life there's just this constant divide where you want to be fully there for your child and fully involved. But you also know that there are passions in your own heart. And to be able to find a way to, to put those two together is a challenge, but it's a really beautiful thing. 

I know your girls are watching you run after things that you love. And they're seeing what it looks to be a mom who really loves them, but also works really hard and provides for their family and goes after big dreams. And so as a mom now to a two year old, I'm like, how am I showing Levi that I am fully here for him?

And I love him and support him, but I also can do things that I'm passionate about, and I can help provide for my own family. 

Brittany: I think that's exactly it. It takes sitting down and thinking about what do you want to teach your kids? What do you want them to look back and be like, my mom was always there for me.

And she did X, Y, Z, all these things for me. But she also was this badass career woman who found a dream and something she was passionate about, and she followed that. That's not going to be every mom's dream and that is totally okay. I guess for maybe those of you who are toying between this, I really love being a mom and I want to do that, but I just need something for me too, it's okay to explore that. Yeah. And figure out what are you passionate about and figure out a way to make both of those things work. It's messy, it's hard. There are struggles and tears and anxiety that comes with it, because it's I want to do more, it's like where is the divide?

 People are doing it, you're doing it, I'm doing it. 

Lea: That thing doesn't have to be money making necessarily it might be that your hands need to get in the dirt in the backyard and plant some food or knit or whatever it is, whatever's going to bring you life and give you a moment of just peace for yourself, aside from the craziness of toddlerhood or teenagehood, whatever it is.

I think that is such a great gift that you can give yourself, but also to your family. To find that thing. 

Brittany: It's crazy. I think even when I was a new mom with Collins, I remember just taking a few minutes in the morning before she had woken up to wake up early myself and shower and put makeup on for the day. Even if I was like getting back into sweats or just lounging around, because you had a newborn, I at least felt a little bit better. And I remember people on Instagram were like, how do you have time to do this? How are you doing this? And I was making a choice. For me, I needed to just wake up a little bit earlier and that turned my whole day around to then I felt like I was being a better mom cause I was taking care of myself.

So starting there and just such a small place really helped me. But I don't know. I think it's amazing that you have this heart for helping women. And I think a lot of what you do now is going to encourage people to. Look at themselves and remember yes, I have a family and I'm dev like devoting everything to them, but I can also care about my health and care about what I'm feeding my family and how can I take food and use that as like a great example for my family.

Lea: Yeah. And I'll be honest, a lot of that stemmed from I did not have a great postpartum experience. I had some really rough patches of postpartum depression, and that was like perfectly coincided with lockdowns. And so a lot of my healing from that depression came in the form of figuring out what it was that I needed to be doing for myself.

And at first that was just going to school and spending those five hours a week 10 hours a week, whatever it was online in this program, whether or not I ever put it to. It was something for me. So maybe you are in a place of Hey, I'm postpartum or I'm 10 years in a motherhood, but I'm in a really hard place.

Because a lot of people are right now taking some time to find that one thing that just lights you up and gives you a little bit of a break and some joy and. Encourage you to do that? 

Brittany: Yeah, absolutely. Okay. So tell us a little bit about your new adventure and what you started your business that you started in 2021.

Lea: Yeah. So I am a certified integrative nutrition and. A health coach which means that I come alongside people in their journeys to really pursue new health goals. I cannot diagnose, I can't treat, I'm definitely not a doctor, but for so many women, you have the knowledge, I think that so many people have access to great information on nutrition, but it feels so overwhelming.

 And people need partners to come alongside them and help them set goals, help them set small action steps that they can be taking. And. Celebrate with them when they achieve those goals. So then keep going. So my job as a health coach is to just partner with women and give them the resources that they need to succeed.

And so in 2021, after I finished school, started this new business and I work with clients out of a gym here in Athens, Georgia, but then also virtually one on one in different parts of the country. So we can talk on zoom. We can talk on the phone or meet in person if somebody is local. So it's been a really so cool, great experience so far.

Brittany: So do you think would you say like most of your clients are coming to you with I want to just eat healthier in general. Or what is like a common problem that you're seeing from your clients and like, how are you starting to help them resolve that? 

Lea: Yeah. So my clients are typically 30 to 60, 65. I'm a little range on either end of that, but looking to lose weight, to set new routines for their own health, a lot of it is around meal planning. Hey, I know I need to eat healthier. I know I want more nutritious meals on the table for my family. Maybe I'm setting goal for four nights a week.

I'm going to cook instead of eat out. We start there and we figure out what are some roadblocks that are keeping you from getting there. And then we just set small goals and small action steps and I help them with recipes and timelines and all the things that will allow them to then show up for their family in that way.

Brittany: And I think it's so important too. So many people think oh, I need to get healthy and lose weight. It's then something automatically turns off in their mind. That's that means I have to go to the gym. What you're fueling your body with is also like a huge part of that.

 If not even bigger, part of the weight loss, getting healthy, like idea. Think about Chris. So my husband, Chris, when Collins was born, I think he was, he weighed 220 and he was working out all the time. And he's 6'2 and he was working out, but he wasn't really losing weight.

And it was because he was like, not doing the right workouts, but then he was eating like crap. So he really took into account and started eating very healthy. He completely changed his diet. And since then he's lost 40 pounds. And so that was just like a very clear for somebody who was like, loved the gym, did workouts, had no problem getting motivated to go to the gym, but he needed help in the kitchen. And so figuring out, what kind of meals would like work best for him. It was so crazy to just see. And so I feel like, because I firsthand saw somebody lose weight and get healthier based off of what they were eating.

I love that you're offering guidance for women to just encourage them. Here's another way that you can be healthier yourself, but then you can help start your family off on these like really healthy initiatives and , if you just put that into practice, like that's going to be a forever thing that sticks with them.

Lea: Yeah, absolutely. I think a lot of times it's really easy to feel like we are slaves to our genes or to whatever family history we have. And in reality, 85 -90% of chronic diseases can be completely impacted by what's at the end of your fork. Which is terrifying, but also so freeing to know that you have so much power in your hands and every day, when you make a decision for your own body and for your family members, you are making a decision towards health.

And that means that you are not. A slave to whatever has happened in your family in the past or even whatever way of eating that your family had in your childhood, or even now, like you can make changes today that are going to impact your health for the better, for the best, the rest of your life for your kids' lives.

That will reverse potentially chronic diseases or just like chronic pain. Yeah. Chris is a perfect example of that. Like he made some small changes in his life that has just given him so much life back. I don't recognize him from our old wedding videos. We have pictures up on our wall.

I'm like, oh my gosh, Jared, look at Chris. He looks so good now. And he looked good then I didn't think anything of it then. 

Brittany: Exactly. I know, I think he just was like, hold on. This isn't like what isn't working. And then he really spent like the time doing research and figuring that out. And for so many people and women busy women who are running their family, are working outside of the home as well.

It's like almost like, where do you start? And that's where I feel like Leah comes in and can sit down and help people figure out a roadmap, set, some goals, figure out some like realistic swaps, which I think is so needed. And I feel like there's probably so many people out there who are like, I just wish I had a little bit of guidance. And now you do.

Lea: Yeah. With integrative nutrition all that really means is that we're going to take a look at more than just necessarily what's on your plate and that really matters. But we're also going to look at your sleep and your stress and your relationships and movement, all these little things that do contribute to your health.

So while it is in nutrition, coach , I'm always going to look at a holistic picture of your health and all these things that can just add little changes to your life are you going to bed with your phone right next to you? And looking at that screen, right until the moment you close your eyes because if, so that might be impacting how you sleep, which then impacts the rest of your day, the next day. And maybe what you even put in your mouth. So all those little factors really add up. 

Brittany: It's so true. Think about I know, even for me personally, I have used the excuse of oh, I don't have enough time or I'm too busy. And that's something we've talked about on the podcast in the past, but I even let that get to me when it's I don't have enough time to eat something healthy at home.

I'm just going to run through Starbucks on the way. And then I get like a coffee that is while it might have O milk instead of regular milk, it still has got sugar in it from whatever I'm putting in. And then it's oh, I'll just grab, a breakfast sandwich or egg bites.

And yes, you can make a healthier choice, but let's back up here. Does this take me prepping a little bit more breakfast options that I just have at home already? When you really pull that apart because you're quote unquote so busy, that's like forcing the hamster wheel to just keep on going.

So I feel like having a conversation with somebody to be able to break that kind of down and rework the way that. people's days are running like you're able to help somebody do that on top of giving them great ideas for how to continue to be healthy and like what they're eating.

Lea: Yeah. Just even an hour on a Sunday afternoon before your work week starts taking time to prep some salad and a jar or overnight notes for the week. Yeah. It's effort at the beginning, but then you're done. And really until Thursday, Friday, you're set for breakfast and lunch. Yeah. So that's a great point.

Brittany: So true. So then with your clients who sign up with you, do you have like meal plans that you go into this meeting that you share recipes? Or what type of things will your clients be taking away from your meetings? If that makes sense. 

Lea: Great question. So every one that I work with really gets a customized approach because while your health is very personal to each person, it doesn't need to be lonely so we can do it together, but it is going to be customized for you.

So what works for one family is not necessarily going to work for another. Some people want to cook at home seven nights a week, and that's great. Others can make two or three happen, but I will help them with meal planning. And I have tons of recipes. I will give them a three meals a day, seven days a week meal plan, if that's what they want.

Four really great recipes for dinner. I will provide that for them and help them maybe work their way up to five. So yes, meal plans are definitely included, but it's all going to be from a customized approach for each situation. 

Brittany: That's awesome. And then of course I'm assuming that you take into consideration of somebody's like I'm a vegetarian or we don't eat this type of meat. Or my husband really loves chicken. So I want to incorporate, chicken three times a week.

Lea: Yeah, absolutely. 

Brittany: That's all customized. That's awesome. Okay. So now we're in a new year. Happy new year.

Lea: I can't believe it's 2022 what.

Brittany: So crazy. That's I feel like the Taylor swift song, every time I say 2022 I'm like just singing it in the background but with a new year, usually comes some people set a resolution, some people set goals.

Let's discuss goals a little bit more and how you set those, with your clients. 

Lea: Yeah. Gosh, January rolls around and I feel like the pressure for goals is always so intense, and even for somebody in the nutrition world and in the goal setting world, it can feel like, oh, okay, here we go again. What are my goals? So if that is you, I just want you to hear that you can fully celebrate who you are, who I believe God made you to be all the quirks of your personality and your interests and the things that you love to do. You can totally celebrate that. While also holding in the same space that you can make small changes to become the person that you want to be in this new year.

So don't feel like it's all or nothing that either you're a goal setter or you're not either you're really great at celebrating who you are, or you're not that you can both love who you are and honor areas for growth. And I know that something in my own personality that I've had to work on, that I've thought with goals.

If I don't make a list of five really tough goals and I don't hit all of those goals and I have failed. And that's not the truth, whether your date is January one or it's April one you can always reset. You can always start in a couple weeks, find what works for you, and then set small and attainable goals for yourself and then be willing to revisit those down the road.

 Three months from now the same goals you set in January might not be serving you anymore and life might change. And so it's time to revisit that and maybe reset some, another thing that I've been thinking a lot about this year is. Who is the person that I want to be at the end of this year?

Not so much. Like how many half marathons do I want to run or miles do I want to run or whatever it may be? What time do I want to wake up in the morning? Who is it? What I want to be true about myself at the end of 2022. For me, I know I want to show up for my kid. I want to be a really attentive mom. And that means that maybe every night for 30 minutes, my phone goes in a drawer and I am down on the floor with Levi, looking at him in the eyes, playing Legos with him.

And that is a small action that I can take that is going to serve me by the end of 2022, to be a more attentive available mom for my kid. So instead of setting those. Action steps from the beginning, set those characteristics of self for who you want to be and then work backwards. So what does it mean?

What is, what do I have to do to show up for that? So that I can become the person that I want to be that I sure. 

Brittany: I love that. I think that's awesome because a lot of times, once you start doing these things, it just becomes part of your daily life. So that 30 minutes that your phone is in the drawer might turn into an hour or might turn into even a little bit longer or getting Levi integrated in the kitchen with you.

 There's so much potential that comes from that. I think. A lot of, I don't know, I just came off of a two week social media, like shutdown and it was so nice to just I don't know. You think about how much like this phone or computer or social media has to play into your day to day life.

It's almost like instinctive for people just pick up their phone and go to their app, whatever app they're on. And really putting that down, I feel like can help in so many areas of your life. I don't know. So I would just encourage you to also keep that in mind when you're setting goals.

I love your idea of getting on the floor and like playing with your kid. And people are busy. Like you have jobs it's hard, but I feel like that's what your kids are going to remember. 

Lea: Absolutely. Yeah. 

Brittany: And in an age where there's so much social media and tablets and just screens, those intimate moments are so important for kids.

All right. So we've talked about how setting these goals, somebody could meet with you and talk about what their goals are for their family, for themselves. Tell me a little bit about women and their approach to nutrition and where that plays within the family.

Lea: Yeah. I don't know about you. Maybe I do know, but moms are freaking tired. Yes. We're all tired. And so many of the women I meet with, if not all are just like showing up saying, I want to be healthy. I want to put my best foot forward. I want to make time for myself. But in all honesty, I'm coming in eating the scraps of whatever my kid didn't finish for their breakfast.

 And half a cup of cold coffee. And that's, what's getting me to lunch. And then I'm just grabbing whatever I can through the drive through. And I hear that I resonate with that. I understand that life is so busy in that you are giving so much all of yourself to your family, and that is a huge gift, but it's also at the expense of yourself down the road. And so I want to encourage women to just recognize the nutritional power that they have in their household. It's not all women. I know that there's some really great dads out there that are probably doing all the grocery shopping and the cooking, and that's amazing.

But for most women, you hold that nutritional power and the decisions that you make, even for your own health trickle down exponentially to your children, into the lives that they are developing in their relationship with food and how they will view food as they go on in life. By putting yourself first, in terms of pursuing great nutrition for your own body is not only going to give you the energy to continue to show up for your kids, for your career, for your calling, whatever it is, but it's also going to set up your children for success in their own lives and their lives as adults when they think about their own food.

I want to help women figure out what it is that's going to help them get to a healthy place so that their family can be the best they can. 

Brittany: I love that. That's awesome. So last week I talked a lot about my word of the year, which is fearless. Do you have a word of the year? I know this isn't something everybody does.

I started doing it last year and it was in place of a New Years resolution or something that was like, I'm going to make sure I do this thing five times a week or whatever a typical resolution is. I was like, what is a word that I can use, throughout the year and throughout situations. Do you have a word that you have come up with and if so, tell us a little bit about it.

Lea: Yeah. So I'm cheating. I'm using the same word I used last year because I don't think I'm done yet. And that word is initiate and it really did see me through so many cool new things last year. And I had to come to the realization that Great, I did this new degree in nutrition and I have all these interests, but no, but it's going to come along and start this thing for me.

I have to take the initiative to do it. And even if that thing fails or I change my mind, like I'm going to go for it and I'm not going to care what other people think, or I'm not going to let my own self doubt get in the way and I'm just going to do it. And it really helped. So I'm still going. And I think maybe the word will change halfway way through.

I don't know, but for now I'm still initiating. Yeah, initiate.

Brittany: I think so last year, my word of the year was kind and I felt like a little sad to quote unquote, let that word go. But I don't think that, I think you can just keep building on like an arsenal of words, and maybe you have one, maybe you have three.

There's a few that we've talked about in the office that I'm like, oh, I really love. That's a great idea. So just because you're carrying yours over, I think that's like awesome because you're not done with it. And think about like you were in school last year and your business started towards the end of 2021 , but there's so much like initiation that as a new business owner, you have to do. So using that to encourage you to step out there and get into like new places to share your journey and what your business is about. You still have to do that. So there's no necessarily need to leave that word behind. 

Lea: And there's no new year's rules. Like y'all, we make rules. You can do what you want.

Brittany: I love that. That's the best part of this word of the year, any kind of goal that you want to set for yourself, but I think, just doing something for yourself is the takeaway here. 

Okay. So for someone who knows that they want to have a healthier lifestyle, they know they want to make some changes, but maybe they just don't really know where to start yet. What would you say or where would you say would be a good place for them to. 

Lea: Yeah. I think it's really easy when we set like nutrition goals to create our list of nos and don'ts so like I'm not going to eat sugar or I'm going to avoid carbohydrates or caffeine, whatever it is. And while I support like monitoring your intake of certain things, I think it is way more sustainable to create lists of what you want to add into your diet.

Because quite frankly, we can create lists of nos all day long, but come what is it? February 12th is a day that like 90% of people's new years resolutions have already ended, which is really sad. Instead of creating lists of no. What would you like to add into your life and specifically, what do you want to add into your nutrition?

And start there. When we quote unquote, " crowd out" the bad or the things that don't serve our health, as much as other things, they start to fade away. We don't necessarily crave them as much because we've flooded our system with some really great nutrients. So my go-to is always, I'm a veggie enthusiast.

I'm always going to encourage people to add in more greens, more berries, flax seeds, all the vegetables. I am definitely pro carbohydrate. And you can find me on that and I'm fine. But good complex carbs that are going to support your health. That is something that I would start with. Where can you just find places to put in greens, add berries to your smoothie?

Whatever it is that is going to help you. Add that nutrition in is going to naturally kick other things, lower down the list. It's going to decrease your sugar naturally. It's going to decrease the candy or the cake, whatever it is because you have filled up your stomach with really great nutrient dense foods.

Brittany: And you're not saying you can't have some of those sweets or different things or meals. By adding in, instead of starting off by taking away it I feel helps your mind. Because a lot of times people who eat really healthy eat a ton. Because they're just eating better for you foods.

I think even simple switches, like snacks, fresh veggies like hummus is a. Switch from like a bag of potato chips. And some of these things like it's going to take thought and effort into making that switch, but I think that's really encouraging how you are offering the advice to. Add things in instead of take away .

Lea: Yeah. And my hope for clients and really for anyone is like, when you're celebrating a birthday, like you have that piece of cake and you enjoy it. And you say, okay, great. I'm going to celebrate with family and then I'm going to be done. And the next day you just go back to your normal way of eating.

And it's not a diet per se. You're not saying no, I can't have this for the next six weeks I'm going to do without. Because ultimately like diets, fail and diets come to an end. And then oftentimes people are right back where they started. So I'd rather people. Eat those small servings of fun things like cake or candy or whatever it is.

But with the knowledge that does not make up their whole diet and that when they do partake in that they haven't fallen off the bandwagon. It's not all over, they're not back to ground zero. That really, they can start the next day picking back up the healthier options that they have for their family.

Brittany: Just knowing you and how you cook for your family. It's been really cool to see Levi who is 2 be so interested in food and veggies and watch like the color all on his plate. It almost feels like he's not a picky eater because he has tried so many different things. I think that's such a great service that you've offered to your family.

And I think it's something that. Going to help people offer to their families. 

Lea: We did baby led weaning and then Feeding Littles. I can't recommend them enough. They're on Instagram, but they just helped me understand like the hundred first foods and how important it was in those first six months of them eating solids to really get in a hundred unique, really great nutritious dense foods.

And so yes, while Levi totally has hit the like pickier two year old stage. He's still like he will scarf down some Curry. Some chili or he eats chopped up peppers while I'm getting dinner ready and he's hungry and screaming for something then I'll hand him like peppers or carrots.

And he's completely happy eating that before dinner. Because that is what his taste buds are used to. But it's not too late. If your family's like crap, like that's not us, we eat chips. Okay, start small. Maybe tonight before dinner, when your kids are getting upset, help them. Or have them help you create like a vegetable charcuterie board where they're helping you cut up some red peppers or carrots or tomatoes or whatever it is, and then let them enjoy that and eat that while you're finishing cooking dinner.

And that might just help them get used to seeing more color on their plate. And they're filling up on really great vegetables before dinner starts instead of goldfish or whatever we normally might grab. 

Brittany: So now that everybody's heard a little bit about what you offer and how you can help them, can you tell everybody specific services that you offer or timeframes, or if somebody on the other end of this podcast right now is oh, I want to reach out to her and sign up. What does that look like with you? 

Lea: Yeah. So through Lea Wallace Health you can work with me one on one for a month for three months or for six.

That's the cadence that I offer. I see clients in person, if you are local to the Athens area, I also see them over zoom and we will set up that cadence together. If you are local to Athens and you're interested in group coaching right now, we are offering that through Transfit here in Athens.

It's just a group of women of all different ages who are pursuing different goals, but they're doing it together and they're holding each other accountable. So if that's something you're interested in, for sure reach out really either way with one-on-one coaching or group coaching you can find all that information @Leawallace.com and I'd be happy to answer any questions that you have. Anytime I meet with somebody or work with someone, I always do a complimentary meeting at first, just to make sure we're a great fit where you can learn about me and I can learn a lot about you, and we can talk about the goals that you have and how we can work together.

And then you really have the complete freedom from there to decide if you want to work together or not. So reach out if you're interested, can also find me online on the website or on Instagram. 

Brittany: And what's your Instagram handle? 

Lea: Lea Wallace Health. And it's Lea L E A no H thanks to my parents. Lea Wallace Health on Instagram.

Brittany: And we will put her website and her Instagram in the show notes. So you can just easily click directly to check out her cites more there before I let you go, I know that you are an avid podcast listener and you love reading and you love nutritional books and there's been, probably lots of different books over the years that you have felt like really helped you to get to where you are.

Is there any that you recommend for our listeners that are maybe just wanting a little bit more information on a few steps, they could take in the healthier journey, but they're not quite ready to sign up with you? Any books or podcasts that you recommend. 

Lea: Totally. I am a podcast junkie. I'm also like a health book junkie, have many bookshelves full. But some of my favorites, the one that got me started 10 years ago, really in pursuing more food for the purpose of health of really knowing that food can dictate your future in terms of disease and just longevity was Forks over Knives. And that book does promote a more plant-based diet. So that is not something I'm saying a hundred percent of you have to do a hundred percent of the time, but if you are interested in adding more vegetables to your diet, that's a really great place to start. I love your body and balance by Dr. Neil Barnard. I love anything that Dr. Christie Funk has written. She is one of the leading breast cancer doctors in the nation. And she does a ton of research on hormones. So if you're interested in more hormone balance, Check out anything she has done in terms of podcast Be Well by Kelly, with Kelly Lebeck anything by physicians committee for responsible medicine.

So they have exam room podcast and then multiple books as well. They're really great. And then Almost 30 is a great podcast, so I don't know if you've listened to them, but they like do some health stuff, but then also skincare, like all the things they're really entertaining. 

Brittany: I actually listen to their podcast almost 30. It was years ago, but their episode on IVF and they like spoke to an IVF doctor. And I can't remember if I was pregnant with Collins or if we were about to start the process. But after listening to that, I just felt so encouraged. Just so okay. Wow. I'm not alone.

And there's somebody out here who is talking about this for people who are in my same boat. So I always have loved their stuff and they do it's fun, but still health related. They bring some really great guests on who are super knowledgeable in their fields. So that's a good one.

If you're more like chatty fun. 

Lea: Yes. Very chatty really funny. They're a little bit more woo. They'll talk about all different kind of random approaches to different health things. Where physicians committee for responsible medicine is very like medical and nerdy.

So there's a whole plethora of options out there. On my website, I do have a favorites page and that's where I've linked all of my favorite books and cookbooks and podcasts. So you can just easily click through. 

Brittany: That's perfect. And like I said, we'll leave all of that information in the show notes.

So you guys can check that out. But thank you so much. I feel like this has been such an awesome episode, such a great first guest into the new year to help get on track with some goals. And I hope that even if you aren't looking to make some health goals that you have been encouraged by just making some goals for yourself.

 Because I think it starts there.

Lea: Yeah. Absolutely. This was so fun. Thanks for letting me join. And I am so proud of you and this is such a cool, fun thing. To be here and to just see your podcast in action. I knew five years ago when we were sitting in that coffee shop that you had all the potential to do this, but to just see it in real life is just so crazy.

Brittany: That's so crazy. Well, I'm sure we'll have you back on as things progress. And as your business grows, I'm sure there's going to be other ways that we can work together. So I know this won't be our last stint on Life with Lovely. 

Lea: Sounds good to me. Let's do it. 

Brittany: Thank you so much for being here.

Lea: Yeah. Thanks.

Brittany: All right, friends, we will talk to you on next week's episode of Life with Loverly

Thanks for listening to today's episode. I can't wait to continue these conversations with you over on Instagram at Life with Loverly until next time. 

That was perfect.