The Hope Wellness Podcast (Marisa Hope)

It's no surprise or shock that times have changed - more and more people are waking up to realize they are not happy, satisfied or fulfilled in their everyday life, in their corporate office job or in what they're spending their time and energy on most of the time.

 

There is SO much new opportunity out in the world and there are so many avenues available to us now that allows us to put our hobby, passions or skills into creating a business or career that we love and truly feel fulfilled doing. My good friend and guest Nicole (IG - @myalignedpurpose) did just that. She thought she was in a job she once felt passionate about doing, but soon realized she was miserable and uninspired in her 9-5 job, and realized there was a limit to what she could earn and do for herself. Then, she decided to take a leap and put together what she was passionate about and what she was skilled in to create her own business (that she co owns with her lovely biz partner Kaila)  and begin living the life she always wanted. 

 

This episode is all about HOW to start manifesting the life of your dreams, believe in yourself and also adopt a mindset that supports you instead of hinders you. YOU are the creator of your story, you get to write the script. Do you feel your life is just passing you by, and you're either stuck, living in fear or unsure of what truly lights you up? I hope this episode gives you clarity and also inspires you in knowing YOU can do anything. The world is your oyster, reach out to either of us if you'd like support or want to know how to take the next step in manifesting the life you WANT!

Diving into everything body image, body neutrality & acceptance, and freeing yourself from diet culture with Anna Marquardt @annamarq_ - Anna and I connected over instagram, and it's no wonder, we both share the same passion in sharing the important message to find kindness towards yourself, end the restricting and negativity towards your own body, and shed light on disorded eating patterns. She is an exercise physiologist, personal trainer, group fitness instructor and helps people ditch diet culture and find balance with their fitness, body image and mental health.

 

We unpack a lot of healing work that goes into discovering body acceptance and the struggles she personally faced along the way. The journey is never linear, but having helpful and positive tools in your back pocket when a negative body image day does arise, helps you continue to do the empowering work. Stick around until the end of the episode to hear tips on adopting a more neutral outlook towards your body and how to overcome a negative body image day.

An incredibly special episode with an incredibly special person in my life - I invite my bestie Makaila Nichols (@makaila.nichols.wellness) on for this action packed episode where we dive into A LOT in regards to what we both went through in our journeys out of toxic fitness culture and navigating body image and crippling mindsets that came from being in that space for so many years, different struggles with chronic stress and how that manifested in our lives and in our physical bodies, our journeys towards self love and choosing ourselves and ALSO how we met (it's a really crazy story...)

 

There is of course something to be said about going after what you want and working hard towards your goals yes - but there is SO much value here in realizing that you are a HUMAN BEING, not a human doing. Often times we think we need to be doing more, working harder, more successful, rush rush rush, now now now, more more more... when in reality if we're running on autopilot and with the blinders on, never stopping to take a breath or to prioritize what truly matters to us, we not only miss our whole life, but we slowly start to run into road blocks put in place by our bodies in hopes that we slow down - and then when we IGNORE those signals and don't slow down, we are FORCED to stop or come crashing down in a way that we never expected. 

 

This is exactly what happened to Makaila (and myself for that matter). We both were working in over drive, ignoring all signals from our bodies that we were heavily stressed, in fight or flight mode and BARELY surviving - and yet we kept pushing on. It was a rude awakening for both of us when our bodies LITERALLY started to give out on us, we experienced extreme fatigue, pain or injuries, rashes or skin irritations, mental breakdowns and more...

 

It wasn't until we were quite literally FORCED to slow down, to question our daily lives, to look within, that we were then able to slowly begin the healing journey...

 

And there is SO much to be learned in that healing journey... I hope you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it! 

 

**STAY TUNED FOR OUR BESTIE PODCAST - coming to your earbuds real soon ;)

 

 

**TW: Talk of Eating Disorders**

 

Welcome back beautiful humans, to another special episode and this time with a very special guest! Carly Rose joins me to talk all things food freedom, recovering from an ED, our similar journeys towards finding more peace with food and our bodies, how we slowly healed ourselves from the inside out and cultivated a life we truly love with more balance, self compassion and empowerment.

 

Carly Rose (IG: @rewildcarlyrose) is a wellness coach who specializes in quantum health & regenerative living, and is also a huge advocate for food freedom, finding balance in your life and supporting nervous system regulation.

 

We dive deep into the areas that ultimately set us free and how we got there when it comes to finally ditching the extreme diets, finding true self confidence and taking our power back in our lives. Which is what YOU also deserve.

 

I cannot wait to share this episode with you, AND a very exclusive offer near the end - we have collaborated with 100+ creators, health professionals, and holistic practitioners to create a special holiday Holistic Health Bundle that includes 130+ ebooks, resources, guides and courses all designed to help you in your own journey - this bundle is worth $9000+ and you'll be able to get it all for only $50... INSANE RIGHT!

 

Head to my website hopewellnesscoaching.com for more information about the bundle, and subscribe to be the first to know when it launches Jan 1st for a limited time!  

Welcome queen!

 

Here you'll find a very short but effective reflection exercise to help with your body image perspective and to use when you're having a tough body image day.

 

Perspective is EVERYTHING. Take the time to really close your eyes and visualize all the things you're grateful for that your body does for you and remember how much your body does for you.

 

When we can zoom out and remind ourselves what TRULY matters in our life, we realize that the narratives around our body's are usually just a story that society told us to keep us unhappy, insecure and never fully living. Don't let life pass you by, and don't waste another day or moment worrying about what your body looks like.

 

Societal norms are just a story - dont buy in.

 

Your body was never the problem - it's society that is the problem. LOVE YOU!!!

In this episode, it's all about my own self reflection journey AND things that will likely help you in your own. 6 things I wish I could tell my younger self when I first embarked on my own healing journey over 5+ years ago. As someone who has been on this journey for many years, and now helps other women do the same when it comes to healing and taking back their power… these nuggets of insight and reflection really are the foundational pieces of what I think would have helped me SO much in my journey.

 

I hope by sharing these insights, it will help you reflect on where you're at in your own journey, and hopefully provide some reassurance, and if anything, some support and clarity on continuing to move forward even when it might feel hard to do so!

 

Some of the areas I share (in this order), so you can better understand what to expect from the episode are as follows:

1. It’s going to feel hard sometimes, that is okay, that is normal.

2. You can trust your hunger, you can trust your body

3. You are not a statue, your body is meant to change

4. Dont forget about the ‘fun’ part of your journey!

5. Discovering yourself and getting to know yourself more is the direct result of you prioritizing your healing

6. Find support you trust and can lean on

 

I hope these reminders and self reflections helped, and as always you can always ask questions or connect with me via IG DM @marisahopeee xo

**DISCLAIMER** in this episode we briefly mention eating disorders and disorded food/body image thoughts. Before listening to the episode please be aware of this.

 

Unraveling all the deeply rooted and conditioned narratives we've been taught since we were young around our body's, around food, around how we value our worth. So many of us identify with our body's and we are often our own worst critics. But what if instead of being mean to yourself or constantly feeding yourself with negative self talk, you could be your own best friend? What if you could instead go forward in your day with a mindset of appreciation, of self respect, of knowing your worth OUTSIDE of what your body looks like?

 

EVERY woman deserves this.

 

In this episode we talk about specific actionable things you can do when a negative body image moment begins to happen, how you can take a step back and reflect on what's actually going on for you. How to shift your inner narrative to a more neutral one around your body, and how to actually TAKE BACK your POWER in your life so you can break free from diet culture and FINALLY be your own best friend.

 

The lovely Sarah Herman is a Body Acceptance + Intuitive Movement Coach, she has been through a lot and now shares the tools shes learned within her own journey in finding freedom to help other women who struggle with similar things. You can find her IG @Sarah.jherman (she has AMAZING resources and uplifting content!)

 

Be kind to yourself today, show yourself some love and remember that it's a #fedgirlsummer

Here are the top 5 things I see women who are thriving, healthy and empowered doing and having in common - I myself can vouch for this list, because not only have I committed my routines around these areas, but I also help my clients focus and place intention around these 5 simple areas and it always leads to feeling your best and like your most bad ass self.

 

The Fed Girl Online Course Details: https://hope-wellness.getlearnworlds.com/course/fed-girl-course

 

Trust me - when it comes to healthy routines, trying to feel your best or working towards your own healing journey, it really doesn't have to be complicated. In fact, if it IS causing stress or overwhelm, if it's too extreme or if you just KNOW you cannot maintain what you're doing - chances are it's causing more harm than good.

 

As women, we need to feel safe, nurtured, nourished and abundant in order to truly thrive in our lives, in our bodies and in our own minds.

 

Don't get so caught up in only trying to lose weight, or only try to shrink your body, that you forget about what it means to TRULY live and embody a healthy lifestyle - a smaller body does not always equal more health, more happiness or more confidence (in fact, going to extremes to shrink yourself can often cause negative consequences for a lot of women, especially when that is your MAIN or only focus)

 

If you're ever in doubt about your routines or habits you're implementing - ask yourself these questions:

 

-do I genuinely enjoy this or what I'm doing?

-do I feel like I can maintain this and keep doing this for the next several years, if not my whole life?

-does this feel supportive, empowering or fun for me?

-do I get MORE out of this habit or routine in my life?

-does this fit realistically into my current lifestyle (is it manageable? does it make sense for me?)

-if I were to do this for the rest of my life, how would it make me feel / where would it lead me?

 

As always - continue to stay nourished, focus on empowering routines and know that extremes never work.

 

Reach out to me via DM on IG @marisahopeee with any questions - and if you'd like to check out more details around the online course, check it out here: https://hope-wellness.getlearnworlds.com/course/fed-girl-course

 

love ya!! xo

I remember when the holidays were a very stressful time for me and everything was about food and my body. Whether I was thinking about what I wasn’t going to allow myself to eat, what I was planning on binging or over indulging on, what I was saving up for in terms of calories and treats, what I was going to do after the food to ‘make up for it’ - you name it, it was on my mind.

 

I KNOW just how common these thoughts are - even if you don/t think what you're doing before holidays or dinners is disordered eating, it often times is - tooooo many people do these things and just arent even aware of the consequences both mentally and physically... The main point I want to get across is that we do not need to be going to extremes EVER but especially not around the holidays, it's completely unnecessary and we don't need to be entering January feeling like we need to hop on the next restrictive diet. I encourage you to find balance and adopt some habits and mindsets that help you create a LIFESTYLE you love! Of course if you ever need help finding balance and getting out of toxic diet culture eating / thinking patterns I am always here to help. You can send me a message on IG (@marisahopeee) or head over to hopewellnessonlinecoaching.com to connect with me!

 

In this episode I share 4 things to AVOID, so let me also share a few things to focus on that may help you be more mindful and present:

 

1. focus on eating enough throughout the day before a dinner or event, having balanced meals will help you feel energized, satiated and not fixated on food

2. enjoy all foods and meals you love even if you're going to be having a dinner or meal out, restricting only leads to food fixation!

3. tune into fullness and hunger cues - don't be afraid to pause and reflect on how you're actually feeling - are you grabbing seconds because you're genuinely hungry or is it because everyone else is (likewise, are you not allowing yourself to have seconds because no one else is? Tune into YOUR needs.)

4. continue with usual routines (movement, mindset work, things that make you feel good etc) can all coexist in your holiday plans. Perhaps they need to be shortened in length but nothing needs to be all or nothing!

5. Be present and reflect on the gratitude you feel towards the people you're spending time with, this is truly what matters! (do the same with your body, instead of being negative towards it, reflect on all it does for you and allows you to experience, show it kindness and appreciation!)

In this special episode, I have the honour of chatting with Loren @innate_fertility

- a Fertility Wellness Specialist - around everything to do with Hormonal Contraceptives, her experience with the pill and the side effects she experienced after coming off of it, her knowledge around fertility and preconception care and also around body image when it comes to changes within the female body.

 

Replenishing nutrients, reducing stress and healing the body after coming off the birth control pill is extremely important for overall health and hormonal balance, and we discuss a few ways and methods to prioritize your health in this stage. We also discuss the importance around ensuring your body has what it needs in general, but especially around the preconception / pregnancy phase of a woman's life. 

 

Overall, it's YOUR choice what you do with your body and you deserve to have a better understanding of what makes you feel good, what is supportive to your health and happiness, and how to empower yourself in your own decisions in supporting your health and overall wellbeing. I hope this episode gives you clarity and reinforces the autonomy you deserve to have over your own body.

Have you ever experienced *that* inner voice - the one that starts out really quiet, that is whispering to you that either something is off, or there is more out there for you, or that you are meant for something different than what your current reality is? You hear it, but you continue to silence it, you don't give it much thought or maybe you force it to be quiet because what it's suggesting seems too scary or impossible. Until that voice gets louder and louder, until it's no longer something you can ignore, until it either forces you to make a shift in your life, or seriously look at what you're putting your energy into. Have you ever experienced that?

 

In todays society, we have been programmed to ignore our inner navigational systems, we have been told we cannot trust ourselves and we should not 'listen to our gut instincts'. But what if this is what we're all missing? What if being able to listen to ourselves, our deepest most truest selves, and feel confident in being able to act on those inner intuitions to better live in true alignment is the super power we all HAVE, but have forgotten how to bring back to life?

 

We ALL have an inner voice, an intuition, gut feelings, instincts. Whatever you want to call it. But how often do we listen to it? How often do we trust it and let it guide us?

 

In this episode, I have my bestie Camille (@camillejoannexo) join me for some deep, heart opening and raw chats. She is a soul coach who specializes in breathwork, trauma and anxiety. She herself has been through some life rollercoasters, and we talk about our own journeys through heart break, losing ourselves, living with fear and climbing out of our dark chapters.

 

If you've ever been curious around how to live in more alignment, what alignment even feels like and what it might look like for you, how to trust and listen to your inner voice better and more often, the self growth and self love journey many of us deserve and need, AND the power of solo travel / solitude and what that does to our personal growth, self confidence and self love... This is the episode for you.

 

Enjoy lovelies, and remember you deserve a FULL ABUNDANT LIFE xo!

 

How to connect with Camille:

IG: @camillejoannexo

Her Website: https://www.healwithcamille.com/

Her Podcast with her Sis: https://www.thedenmothers.com/

Welcome to The Hope Wellness podcast where we dive into everything from the effects of diet culture, body image struggles and finding food freedom. In each episode we dig into one of these areas with trailblazing individuals and women who are spreading empowering and positive messages in the health and wellness industry. Inspired by the conversations I've had with countless women who have experienced the consuming feelings of diet culture, we all have SO much in common when it comes to these struggles and desires to heal ourselves from the inside out, and I hope one day we no longer face these diet culture pressures, let's get empowered together.

 

You can find more of my work, message and nourishment tips on my Instagram @marisahopeee - I will always be an advocate for helping women get out of the toxic cycle of dieting, under eating and restricting. I have been through it all, and because of my journey I am extremely passionate about helping other women.

 

You can inquire about working one on one with me on my website hopewellnesscoaching.com - I help women ditch diet culture, teaching women how to rebuild their metabolism through nourishment and getting strong in their life so they can feel empowered to break free from the diet cycles for good and take back their power. Let's get nourished together!

The conversation you didn't know you needed - when it comes to struggling with body image, feeling consumed by diet culture and not knowing how to free yourself from all of the bullsh*t standards that society places on us, you are NOT alone. And I can assure you, your body does NOT need changing!

 

I have spoken to thousands of women over the last decade and we all struggle with similar things - being in the rabbit hole, never ending circle that is diet culture. Vicky and I dive into ALL the things we've personally struggled with, what we witness other women struggling with as coaches and why freeing yourself from it all is the most empowering thing you can do.

 

This episode covers ALL the topics you need in your life. Healing your relationship with food, body image healing and work, curating your social media to be uplifting and empowering, becoming more in tune with what aligns with you and your authentic self, how your growth journey can evolve and take you down the path you need to go down, how habits can impact our life, how to overcome self doubt and limiting beliefs.

 

ALL the things you guys - and we are definitely going to have a PART 2 with Vicky, but I hope you enjoy all the laughs, knowledge and empowerment we uncovered in this special episode! Follow Vicky on Instagram @iamvickyleclaire for more body image healing and food freedom support!

Do you base your worth off your ability to do MORE, be MORE, accomplish MORE? Hustle culture paints a narrative in our head that if we're not constantly go go go or chasing the next big mountain to conquer that we're lazy or have failed.

 

Don't get me wrong, having goals and having a solid worth ethic is important for a lot of things, BUT it does NOT determine your worth, you were not put on this earth to simply work yourself to the bone and constantly be doing. You are a human BEING, how often do you just allow yourself to BE, to feel the feels, to just exist sometimes?

 

Do you find it hard to be proud of yourself and recognize how far you've come? Cause same. I wanted to get real and raw with you guys about what I've been struggling with post 'month in Mexico' and I talk alllll about my recent thoughts about how hard on ourselves we are when our body is so strongly signalling to us that it needs a break or to slow down. It is OKAY to just exist for a bit, to slow down, to take time for yourself. It is absolutely freeing to let yourself FEEL the FEELS when you need to, otherwise the more you shove them down and suppress them, the deeper your wounds go.

 

Please be kind to yourself, I hope this is exactly what you need to hear today because I know I could've used it this past week. If you're in a funk right now, you're definitely not alone - in fact, embrace the stage you're in right now. Often times when we feel we've hit a road block, it's actually a gift that forces us to question the path we're on, learn more about ourselves and point us in the right direction. Life is happening FOR you, not TO you.

The power of mindset, our thoughts and our internal dialogue are so powerful and incredibly important, way more than we often think. Majority of us nowadays are unfortunately overstimulated, with dysregulated nervous systems, a negative mindset, struggling with chronic fatigue, trauma and no real knowledge on how to release, heal and free ourselves from all of it, or at least how to start... 

 

Especially if you live in North America (western society/culture), you likely might be able to identify or resonate with the burn out and extreme exhaustion that comes from the hustle culture and 'go go go' mentality of our society. OR, maybe you're actually unaware of the fact you're living in a state of constant survival mode and running yourself into the ground on a daily basis...

 

On todays episode I have the honour of chatting with Theresa, who is an EFT Practitioner and Chronic Illness Coach. She has gone through her own difficult battles with chronic Lyme disease/MCAS/CFS/gastroparesis, that she shares "where my best options were feeding through a port in my heart and I KNEW there had to be another way. This is when I threw up my hands and instead of trying to fight with my experience, I started to train my brain to find any relief I could grasp. This led me down an interesting path of un-learning so much of what I had been told about diet/nutrition & what allows the body to heal to bring me back home to what my body/nervous system was really needing."

 

This discussion is incredibly special and close to my heart, because I myself have struggled with chronic pain and injuries, unknown health issues ultimately caused by chronic debilitating stress and know what it's like to be so burnt out that my nervous system feels like it's attacking itself. Even if you can't relate to any of what you just read, I guarantee this episode will in some way open your eyes to how you're living your life and how you can adopt and embrace more slowness and healing into your days, it would benefit ALL of us. Enjoy xo

We ALL have them, tough body image days. 

I don't think it matters how long you've been doing this healing work for, those days will creep up on you and you will feel those waves of emotions come on. BUT, it will be different this time. Because as you continue on your journey towards healing your body image, you will begin to be able to apply the tips, lessons and resources you've been learning and reading about and seeing to the real life tough moment you're currently facing. You will be able to pause, take a step back and not allow yourself to go into a downward spiral that causes you to ruin your whole day or whole week. You will be able to pick yourself back up, to give yourself the positive self talk pep talk you need, to be kind and respectful to yourself even when you don't feel like being your own cheerleader. You will choose self love over self hatred. This is the work you are so courageously pursuing and I am so proud of you.

 

In this episode, I dive into a recent tough body image day I recently had, and every time these days happen, it gives me a chance to reflect on how far I've come in my healing journey. Because not only am I able to recognize the thoughts and emotions that begin to build up on these days, I'm able to stop myself in my tracks and rewrite the narrative that is about to take place. Instead of picking myself apart and allowing a tough body image to totally take control, I TAKE BACK my power and show myself respect and kindness using these 5 actionable things I do often on tough body image days. You can do these things too, you can rewrite that inner narrative. YOU are the captain of your ship.

 

I hope these help you too xoxo

 

For more resources around body image healing, food freedom, empowering mindsets and nourishment - head on over to my Instagram or TikTok @marisahopeee #StayNourished

I literally couldn't believe my eyes when I opened up instagram and saw the reel of a fitness influencers account telling women how much cardio they would have to do to work off different types of candy and chocolate... 

 

*The year is 2003, toxic Fitness influencers are running rampant spreading hot dumpster fire trash advice all over the internet and promoting disordered eating by telling everyone to fear food & how to ‘bURn iT oFf’ on a fckn treadmill* Oh wait, ha, just kidding the year is actually 2023 and toxic diet culture is more alive than ever 😂😅🥲😓💀 Genuinely cannot believe this stuff still exists, it’s alarming to say the least… 😫 Stay safe out there 🙏🏼 and remember this: - you never need to earn your food - movement should not be punishment or used to ‘burn off’ what you ate, ever - balance creates a kick ass lifestyle - you can unfollow icky profiles that make you feel bad - just because someone with a six pack said it, doesn’t make it true or helpful or healthy 😬 What’s the most toxic advice you’ve ever received or seen on social media? 👇🏼 this’ll be interesting 😅 msg me on IG @marisahopeee and let me know!

 

As always, you can reach out to me to inquire about working together or get more details about my newly launched Fed Girl Online Course at my website where we dive into ALL the areas you need to thrive, empower yourself and feel confident AF in your nourishment! - hopewellnesscoaching.com 

 

Do you often feel like you're your own worst enemy? Does your inner narrative uplift you or beat you down? Do you have true inner confidence that fills you from within, or are you usually just putting on a facade to act like you have it all together when in reality it feels like you're never doing enough or good enough?   Our inner dialogue is incredibly powerful, and too many women are living their lives with low self esteem, negative self talk and ultimately lacking true self confidence. My very special guest, Janelle Lynnae (IG: @janelle_lynnae) and I dive into this very important topic and discuss how certain stories we tell ourselves are holding us back, how our inner narratives dictate our level of confidence and feelings of self worth, how body image ties into our level of self awareness around how we speak to ourselves, and ultimately how to start taking action to improve your mindset and take your power back in your life.    Janelle is the CEO of Next Level Confidence, she is a confidence coach, the best selling author of 'Flex Your Confidence Muscle' and an international speaker.    This episode is intended to help you be more self aware and mindful of the narrative going on within, to help you begin building your self confidence and to also help you realize that not everyone has it all together and that comparing ourselves to others or what we see online only sets us up for more suffering and resistance.    Check out the resources below to connect with Janelle and/or dive into her offerings that help women build their confidence!   Free Masterclass:  https://event.webinarjam.com/channel/nextlevelconfident   Her book on Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09XZFR8QP/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_A3J3FYZNTA4Y6SZWHPDK   Instagram: https://instagram.com/janelle_lynnae?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==

BACK PAIN... I'll admit, maybe not the sexiest topic, but arguably one of the MOST important topics that not enough people are talking about or are aware of.   BACK HEALTH & BACK PAIN - I can almost guarantee most of you tuning in have at some point experienced back pain, or maybe you presently have back issues that just don't seem to ever correct themselves. In this episode, I have President of Back Fit Pro and Owner of Spirit & Spine Restoration in Victoria BC, Sarah (who is also my bestie in real life), join me to discuss everything spine, common back injuries, how over training is causing you more harm and sabotaging your progress, and how to listen to your body to ensure you are supporting yourself for the long term!   I personally struggled from a year long chronic injury that had me in a ton of pain and almost unable to get out of bed for months - yet no one could tell me what was wrong. I had multiple tests done, had gone to the ER multiple times, saw several professionals and yet zero answers. It wasn't until about a year later, when thankfully the universe brought Sarah into my life, that she was able to distinguish my intolerable stomach pain as a bulged disc in my spine which had been radiating pain (likely due to years of bodybuilding and over training / not properly taking care of my spine health!). This subject is eye opening, and we provide you with some great things to consider as well as some ways to rest or support your back if you do experience pain, if you're sitting for long hours for work, or if you just want to prioritize long term back health (which we all should be doing!).   Reach out to Sarah if you have back pain, and check out some of her other resources:   Sarah's website: www.sarahbackfit.com Sarah's email: sarah@backfitpro.com  Backfitpro’s Website: www.backfitpro.com  Link to “Back Mechanic” by Stuart McGill: https://www.backfitpro.com/books/back-mechanic-the-mcgill-method-to-fix-back-pain/  (10% off code for the book: “SarahBFP2021”)

Health does NOT have a size... Just because someone is in a smaller body, does not mean they are happier, healthier or living a better life, we know this first hand. As women, we actually THRIVE with more body fat and with an abundance of nourishment, rest and enough FOOD. Fat is often times protective to the body, healing is a process and we need to remind ourselves our bodies are on our side. 

 

Summer (@healwithsummer) and I dive into a lot of nutrition and fitness industry myths and how we as women need to realize that shrinking ourselves and being the most restrictive possible is only leading to MORE health issues. Summer is a Certified Functional Diagnostic Nutritionist and focuses on getting to the root cause of gut, hormone and metabolic health.

 

There is real importance in getting to the ROOT cause of chronic illnesses or imbalances in the body, instead of just suppressing symptoms with restricting, cutting out food groups or popping prescriptions. Ever dealt with frustrating symptoms like bloating and immediately turned to restricting or cutting out sugar? We talk about what role this plays on our body and health, and it's not a positive one. Sugar is NECESSARY. In order to heal, we need to be providing our bodies with adequate nourishment and resources to function optimally, a mindset of ABUNDANCE is key and we talk about how you can shift these mindsets to support your health and lifestyle.

 

When it comes to food and food marketing, there is so much more to your nourishment than just looking at a nutrition label for the macros alone - if you've ever looked at the ingredient list on a birthday cake protein bar for example, you'd realize that list is full of additives and not so great ingredients for you, these fitness companies don't have your health in mind. They just want to sell you that hot and trendy high protein bar, but what is this doing to your health in the long wrong? Nutrient density, vitamins and minerals are what matter when we talk about what the MAJORITY of your nourishment should look like. 

 

What foods to be mindful of when it comes to gut health, digestion and bloating, absorbing nutrients etc.

 

What chronic stress can cause in the body, and if we don't learn when to listen to our bodies and rest, we can be doing a lot of harm in the long run.

 

Let's get nourished together!!!

***DISCLAIMER* in this episode we do talk about eating disorders, ED treatment and other disordered eating patterns/mindsets so please be aware of this before listening to the episode. xoxo***

 

This week I had the honour of having the absolutely inspiring and beautiful Marta join me to discuss some incredibly moving and important topics.

 

Marta is a self love coach and helps women heal from their traumas so that they can find self love, step into their power and create the life of their dreams. She has struggled with body dysmorphia, depression, OCD and anorexia - and through it all she was led to discover her purpose in life in helping other women also break free from these hardships and struggles.

 

In this episode we dive into everything from her experience in ED treatment, the methods she used slowly begin to rebuild her self respect and love for herself again, how she protects her energy now and how she healed her body image after her eating disorder. We also touch briefly on how emotions can be stored in the body and our chakras / energy.

 

There is so much to be said about SAVING OURSELVES. WE are the captain of our own ship, and WE get to decide if the life we're living is enough for us, and if it's not? WE have the power to rewrite the script and step into our power. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did, Marta is a truly healing individual and such a bright light. You can find her on social media at:

 

IG: marta.grzelak / TikTok: marta.grzelak10

Welcome to another episode my Nourished Queens! It was such a pleasure to have Shelley (an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach) join me to talk about her personal struggles with body dysmorphia at a young age, how she slowly began to heal her relationship with food and her journey throughout her modelling/acting career. 

 

We discussed in this episode the food rules and restrictions we often place on ourselves (due to diet culture narratives and conditioning from society to view food as the enemy or punish ourselves when we enjoy something), whether this is mental or physical restriction and just how detrimental these things can be to our overall health and wellbeing. 

 

She reached a point in her restrictive phase where she finally said 'I can't do this anymore'. When her hair started to fall out, when she said 'no' to birthday cake at her own child's birthday,  she realized something had to change and she began to breakdown food rules one at a time which she says was incredibly important for her to move forward in her healing journey - looking back on these moments, she's able to give herself compassion as it's all she knew at the time, but knows now that those mental and physical restrictions were no longer okay.

 

Your journey towards food freedom may not be linear or 'feel easy' but it's incredibly important that we all start to break free and take our power back. A life spent consumed by food rules is no life at all. We also discuss what it's like navigating triggering emotions while raising children with a balanced outlook on health and nutrition, as a mom she is incredibly aware of how she raises her kids so they have a healthy balance with food and their body's.

 

Go follow Shelley on IG and TikTok @shelley.western - she has incredibly helpful and entertaining content around everything we talk about in this episode! 

This Episode is about to change your life, myself and Kyla (@thesacred_essentials) dive into EVERYTHING from what breathwork has given her, how she dug herself out of diet culture, what inner healing can open your eyes to and how we as women can find our voice and discover that we have everything within us.

 

I first discovered breathwork not long ago (maybe 6 ish weeks ago, I am a newbie!), and during my first session I was able to release so many suppressed emotions and realized I am not alone in my struggles, feelings and hardships. We are ALL going through something, and when you can find a safe space to open up to all that you're dealing with, it truly is a huge step in progressing through your healing journey. This safe space is something that Kyla offers, and it is magical! I am so thankful that I found her.

 

We have conversations around what a breathwork ceremony can look and feel like, how you can heal through breathwork and what it means to heal from the inside out. This conversation is definitely going to change your life, I know that discovering this new form of inner work has changed me for the better. When we can ask ourselves what we are learning from the hardships in our lives - we can begin to find peace, grow and evolve in ways that shape us into the people we were always meant to become. 

 

Enjoy my friends - and as always, if you enjoyed this episode, please give the podcast a follow and a like - I am so thankful that you are here with us! 

 

Ever wondered about your energy on a spiritual level? What about listening to your intuition, or raising your vibration? Maybe you've heard about connecting with your 'higher self' and that we're all souls reincarnated into this body, this lifetime, this present awareness. Or maybe you have no idea what I'm talking about and have never heard these words before. If you resonate with the latter, you'd be just like me a year ago - I had never heard of soul contracts, energetic readings or anything to do with raining your vibrations.

 

In this episode, I had the pleasure of chatting with Soul Star Energy Collective, Mandy and Allison (IG: @soul.star.energy.collective) who are Healers, Intuitives and Spiritual Teachers. My own spiritual journey began only a year ago and it's something that has empowered me beyond measure. I encourage you to remain open and curious as you listen, because this may be all new to you, and that's okay!

 

Empowering yourself to go within and do the inner work that is being called for you to do, is allowing you to learn lessons in life and become the best version of yourself. This can often times be even translated back to helping us heal our body image and other struggles as it allows us to connect with our true inner being, instead of just identifying with our physical body. In this episode we talk about healing work at a deeper energetic level, accessing deeper layers of our souls, and how our spirit guides may choose to connect with us. I hope you enjoy this one, and if you have any questions always feel free to reach out to myself, or Allison and Mandy via Instagram! 

The literal journey and story of where it all started for me. This was a vulnerable and deep share, but I thought it was necessary! If you've ever experienced chronic pain or a chronic injury (maybe mystery pain, or an undiagnosable chronic injury because all tests keep coming back negative), or maybe you're currently experiencing something of that sort, my heart goes out to you. It is probably one of the hardest things I have ever gone through, no actually it IS the hardest thing I've ever experienced. 

 

In this episode, I share my journey through over 12 months of chronic pain in my lower stomach, that no one could tell me what the cause of it was, not until about a year later at least... I saw multiple doctors, had numerous tests done, sat in ER waiting rooms, had needles shoved into my arms for CT scans and MRI's, all to tell me there was 'nothing wrong with me'. So then why was I in such terrible pain that I could barely get out of bed, shower or go for a walk without agony? 

 

This story, this journey, ultimately is what led me towards the darkest days of my life, and forced me to grow THROUGH it all, it is what led me to where I am today. I recall every part of this story, how it started, what triggered it and how I spent the next 12+ months trying to heal, find peace within and stay afloat. It totally transformed me, and I would not be the woman I am today without this chronic pain journey... I am not my story, but damn did it teach me a lot.

 

I hope this episode not only gives you hope and a sense of purpose, for if you're going through something similar, it is likely teaching you something and making you stronger, but also because I hope it shows you that you are not your past or your situations. There is always a way for us to take back our power and find the light in the darkness. This was a vulnerable share and story to rehash in my own mind and life, but I thought it was necessary to fully dive into the details so you can see what led me towards this life of finally healing my relationship to food and my body, healing my inner wounds, discovering self love and ultimately being able to create the life I truly love and deserve. You can do all of this too, and it doesn't have to take an injury or a big wake up call to take those first few steps.

 

As always, you can feel free to reach out to me on IG via DM (@marisahopeee), if this story resonated for you, or simply if you have questions about working together or the resources I provide to women looking to regain their power and live their best lives. We are in this together! Thank you for listening queens xo

Welcome back you beautiful humans! I wanted to create an episode specifically for the things I wish I had known when I first started my health and fitness journey YEARS AGO.

 

I KNOW a lot of you will also be able to relate to these 4 things that I talk about, because out of the THOUSANDS of women I have had conversations with and connected with over the years, these are all super prevalent struggles we all seem to face or encounter at some point in time throughout our journey... which makes my heart break, BUT let me tell you WHY and HOW we can pivot from these negative or not so empowering mindsets, let's discover how we can amplify our journeys in a positive way that ADDS to our life.

 

My journey started around the age of 17, so for almost 10 years I have been in this health and fitness space and around a lot of the diet culture type mindsets after competing for years, going to expos, dieting for photoshoots etc - I have been through it ALL. The 4 things I wish I knew that I go into more depth about are:

 

1. How restricting causes MORE problems (bingeing, cravings, insane hunger, food guilt, food thoughts, a never ending yoyo cycle)

2. How excessive cardio is a waste of your time and energy, and it's probably doing more harm than good

3. To STOP searching for the instant 'quick fix results'

4. That is was NEVER about your body (happiness does not come from changing your body)

 

I hope you enjoy this episode, and if you can relate to any of these areas, feel free to follow the podcast so you don't miss part 2, and message me on instagram (marisahopeee) as I'd love to hear your thoughts or experiences with your struggles through diet culture, we empower ourselves and spread the message by SHARING our story. Stay Nourished Queens!

 

Find more resources, my FREE 'Start Here With Nourishment' Guide, and my NEW Nourishment Basics online course on my website - hopewellnesscoaching.com 

Welcome back beautiful humans! Come join Marta (@marta.grzelak) and I for this conversation around inner child healing and work, how it can look and feel to regulate your nervous system after prolonged stress or trauma that has been suppressed in your body for some time, and why it's so important to cultivate inner self acceptance as opposed to constantly looking for external validation.

 

We go over different modalities in which we can begin our healing journey, and actionable steps to take in order to create healthy routines for ourselves, work towards self love and rebuild our self esteem within our lives. 

 

PSA: TWO FREE LIVE WOMEN'S EVENTS (AUG 20 & AUG 21)

VICTORIA BC: If you live on Vancouver Island or nearby, come join myself (Marisa) and my good friend Makaila for a free EMPOWER HER Women's Wellness Circle in Victoria BC! We will be doing some yoga, guided meditation, journalling and mindset work, body image conversations and overall just coming together to enjoy some fun in the sun (*first 20 people to register will receive a free scrunchie from a local female run company!) link below to register for the event and get more details OR just send me a DM on Instagram @marisahopeee! 

 

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/empower-her-womens-wellness-circle-tickets-401761027047?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=escb

 

- TORONTO: My beautiful soul sister Marta is hosting a free women's meet up in Toronto on Aug 21 from 2-6pm, at High Park (Picnic Site #22), there will be home baked goods, live music, yoga in the park and activities to promote self confidence. Go take advantage of some female empowerment and fun!

Welcoming back my dear friend Shelley, an Integrative Nutrition Coach (@shelley.western) to unpack A LOT in this episode. Grab a latte or some snacks, pull up a chair or go on a walk with us - we have a lot to talk about. Everything from burn out, feeling lost and stressed out, escaping toxic diet culture, focusing on gratitude and shifting your perspective, finding food freedom and so much more...

 

3:00 - Being afraid to ask for help, feeling drained and like we can't keep up with life. The pressure of all the things we feel we need to do as women, as entrepreneurs etc, you don't need to do it all by yourself.

 

6:00 - Feeling burnt out. Grieving an old version of you, and figuring out what is truly aligned for you. Symptoms of burn out and what I realized in order to heal and keep moving forward.

 

9:00 - Physical manifestations of burn out, stress induced migraines. Diet culture taking over and running our body's into the ground...

 

12:00 - What happened when I went through a toxic break up, a car accident and was dealing with chronic pain out of nowhere. How your body shuts down and forces you to slow down when you're burnt out or in desperate need of rest and compassion. You are a human being, not a machine.

 

15:00 - What I'm doing now after a period of burn out and severe exhaustion/depression. What I realized is actually important in my life, and how I'm prioritizing what is aligned. 

 

19:00 - Gratitude mindset and being present in your life. Why we can't compare ourselves to others, and how can we focus on all the good in our lives. How the mundane things are the most special moments.

 

25:00 - Finding food freedom, giving yourself unconditional permission to enjoy food and hour cravings, how to ultimately free yourself from food guilt and toxic diet culture type mindsets...

 

28:00 - Was Shelley vegan? How disordered eating can manifest and how we tried to convince ourselves that we didn't like certain foods, even though it was really just us tricking ourselves into staying stuck in disorder eating patterns - what we thought was normal, but it was truly harmful. All or nothing mindsets and how these sabotage us.

 

30:00 - Full body yes's, and no longer punishing yourself - how can you become more aligned in your life, and choose things that feel really good - the messy parts of finding food freedom, and accepting where you're at

Welcome back queens - Let's dive into my highly anticipated online course LAUNCH - most specifically who it's for, what's included and what you'll learn within the community.

 

**The official launch date for the course is OCT 27 - so if you're listening to this ON or BEFORE Oct 27, make sure you snag the early bird discount (you can do so on my website by watching my FREE masterclass here: https://www.hopewellnesscoaching.com/coming-soon-02) *if you're listening to this AFTER Oct 27, don't worry you can still access the course and join our community! **

 

I have been in this space of health and wellness for over 7+ years now. I have seen it all, trust me. And the more I dive into this work with women all around the world, I see how needed it is. How much the majority of women struggle with things like restrictive eating patterns, fear around food, body dysmorphia, fixation on the scale, low self confidence and believing they're only beautiful, worthy or capable if they're in a smaller body.

 

This narrative that keeps us stuck, insecure and in fear needs to end, and I realized that I am only one human, unfortunately I cannot help everyone on a one on one basis (although I would love to). But I need to practice my own boundaries and energetic needs as well, something I believe we should ALL be doing, because we are also not here to just work ourselves to the bone.

 

So the solution? In comes the Fed Girl Online Course. The first of it's kind within my women's community and coaching business, to help facilitate exactly what I guide my clients through, in a self paced and more accessible format. I wanted to tell you exactly what we cover, what each module will include and how it will help you evolve in your own healing journey.

 

As always, you can reach out to me via email (marisahopefitness@gmail.com) or IG @marisahopeee with any questions about the course, about working with me 1:1 or if you just want to connect! I'm happy to share more of this work with you and help you live a life you truly THRIVE in. xo

Who here is tired of feeling like you're not enough? Either you don't *have* enough, you're not *doing* enough, you're not *making* enough money, you're not *thin* enough, you're not *successful* enough, you're not *worthy* enough... The list goes on.

 

This, has been my internal world for the last several months. Constantly feeling like it's never enough, and that I'M not enough. It's been weighing heavy on me.

 

The thing is, I KNOW that these are all part of societies perfectly crafted plan of keeping us insecure, stuck, scared, and living from a place of lack so that we constantly search for things to fill that void. Society wants us to believe we need MORE, in order to finally be happy or worthy or free. It's all a sham...

 

And here I am, trying to break out of that mindset and cycle, so I can feel enough just as I am.

 

For me personally, these internal conflicts majority of the time come up around my business and how much I'm doing or making, and it's taken a SERIOUS tole on my mental health, so here I am, trying to rewrite the script so that I can learn to live from a place of abundance, instead of leading from a place of lack.

 

Who else is embarking on this journey? Maybe you've felt burnt out recently and are realizing that your mental health is more important than how much you make or how many things you buy or how many people validate you. What if this sense of 'enoughness' came from the only place that truly could fill the void, our own internal love for ourselves?

 

So here I am, in this episode mostly just getting some things off my chest, sharing with you all that I too am still learning and waking up to these new beliefs, and doing my best to navigate a life that is more aligned with me so I can truly find fulfillment and fill my own cup up, instead of constantly seeking external validation or 'things' to fill me up temporarily. It's a gruelling journey, but we're in this together. 

 

**If this episode resonates with you, I would LOVE to hear your own personal stories or view points, you can also start a convo with me on my IG @marisahopeee - and I have many blog posts / resources on my website that support these ideas of breaking free in ALL ways, so let's connect! xo

How many of you have struggled with gut issues? I think it's safe to say most of us, on some level, want to better our gut health, relieve uncomfortable bloating, and learn about what foods are going to promote healthy digestion. The gut health topic is a big buzz word these days, so I wanted to bring Madisen, aka the Gut Goddess, @the.gut.goddess on to chat about a lot of the myths in the gut health space, and provide you with some quality truths when it comes to healing the gut. I bet a lot of the things we unpack will surprise you!

 

When it comes to gut health, we've often been told to restrict, cut out foods or spend a ton of money on pills and supplements to relieve certain symptoms, and yet we often end up digging an even deeper hole. What if instead of just eliminating things from our lives, we got to the root cause of what actually might be causing the gut distress in the first place? 

 

In this episode we talk a lot about getting back to the basics of nourishment and digestion, how to promote healing in the body, relieving stress and how you can work towards a happier gut. 

If you're listening to this before Jan 11th, you are SO lucky because that means there is still time to grab the Holistic Health Bundle - the most incredible resource right now that is full of ebooks and courses (130+ to be more precise), that are full of knowledge and value to help you truly thrive, heal and empower yourself this year!

 

I was lucky enough (truly honoured by this opportunity) to team up with over 100 health creators, coaches, holistic practitioners and doctors in this space to collectively put this bundle together - we all contributed a resource of our own, to gift it to you for 99% off ($8900+ worth of resources for only $50...) so that you can truly take back your power and your HEALTH this year and going forward.

 

Once you purchase the bundle, you can download all the resources as you'd like and pick the topics you're most interested in - you will have these ebooks for LIFE, meaning you will have a full fountain of knowledge around healing yourself, living a more holistic lifestyle and  feeling your best.

 

I am SO excited to offer this to you, and I believe with my whole heart it will truly change your life (there is more info and testimonials at the link - use it to grab your bundle) xo

CHECK OUT THE BUNDLE HERE

 

OR, email me: marisahopefitness@gmail.com / DM me on Instagram: @marisahopeee - with any questions or info about the bundle!

 

 

**if you're reading this after the bundle has expired, don't worry there will be more resources available for you at a later time, just keep your eyes peeled!**

Welcome back queens! I am really excited to dive into a wide array of topics in this episode. Everything from self discovery, shifting our perspective in life, taking action and doing that scary thing that will propel you in life.

 

I wanted to create an episode dedicated to my month in Tulum - everything from why I decided to travel alone, what I was able to learn and discover on this solo trip, and a few recommendations / things I really enjoyed while I was out there.

 

I also wanted to shed light on the fact that as a woman, you don't need to wait for ANYONE or ANYTHING to give you permission to do things in life. If you wanna travel, go do it. If you wanna wear the bikini, go do it. If you wanna go out for dinner, go do it! Don't wait for anyone, because the biggest lesson I've gained this year is that I can enjoy my own company and doing things on your own is so empowering. I gained a lot of personal growth and inner wisdom in the last few months and over this last year, and I wanted to share some of that with you.

 

I know sometimes it can often feel really scary to chase our dreams, or take that leap or do the thing, BUT LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO NOT DO WHAT TOTALLY FILLS YOUR SOUL WITH FIERCE LIGHT. Your dreams and true purpose are on the other side of fear, take the leap, the worst that can happen is that you grow and learn and take one step closer to becoming the woman you've always wanted to be, you can do hard things. Share this episode with your tribe so we can continue lifting up the women around us!

When everything in our society tries to convince us that 'health' equates to a six pack, shredded muscle definition, low body fat, flawless skin etc - it can be really hard to remove ourselves from those deeply conditioned narratives that we've been fed as a society. But the truth is, the way you LOOK has nothing to do with your health, happiness or worth. It's time we changed that narrative, and it starts with how we SPEAK to ourselves and how we want to THRIVE in our lifestyle.

 

A smaller body does not equate to more beauty, more health, more life. Just like a larger body does not equate to anything negative, yet we live in a society that is basically built upon fat phobic systems that keep us scared to gain weight or viewing others with different body's than our own as something to judge. Vicky and I dive into the very common issues of fat phobia and the stigma around gaining weight - when in reality gaining weight is NOT a negative thing.

 

She enlightens me to signs or things we can look out for in our own behaviour or thoughts around fat phobic conditioning and how we can ensure we are being self reflective in our thoughts and actions.

 

YOUR BODY IS NOT A TREND. This episode dives into everything from why we need to stop hating ourselves into a smaller body, how to become more self aware of our conditioning around how we perceive ourselves and others, and how to break free from the diet culture mindsets that often run and rule our lives. Wake up and set yourself FREE... We also touch briefly on MANIFESTING and what that could look like, what it does for us and how to step into that intentional power

 

Enjoy queens xoxo

 

Vicky Leclaire:  IG @iamvickyleclaire / TikTok @vickyleclaire