E10: Q&A Health & Wellness

As a Health Coach and Fitness Instructor I get questions about health and wellness all the time. Today I will be answering your most popular and pressing questions…

Please remember to consult your health care professional before practicing any of the activities or using any of the products mentioned in today's post/video. Everybody and every body is different and therefore must be approached differently. I, Valerie LaVigne, am not responsible for the readers, listeners, or viewers of the Women's Empowerment Show. This information is based off of my own personal experience and expertise and also my own physical body.

How do you workout early in the morning (6am)?

Short answer: I set my alarm and I wake up when it goes off.

Long answer: I decide it’s going to happen. I put it in my calendar. I set two alarms. I write out my workout the night before. I have my gym bag + clothes ready to go the night before. I tell someone (or social media) about it. I don’t overthink it. I go to bed early.

When my 1st alarm goes off I turn it off and take a few deep breaths. I catch any thought that’s coming up with reasons for me not to go and I physically cancel them by getting out of bed. THIS IS KEY. Get up! Right away. My grandfather taught me this when I was little. He used to say, “When you wake up, you have to get out of bed, because if you don’t you will stay there all morning.” I took that very seriously when I was seven.

If I’m not out of bed by the second alarm, I’m rushed. I put my gym clothes on, I take my pre-workout supplements and I drive to the gym. The music is on, my hair is uncombed, there are probably sleep lines on my face but I get to the gym and right when it opens I sign in. I can’t turn back so I workout.

How can I create balance in my life?

I used to believe that life-balance didn’t exist. But this is a limiting mindset belief. In my opinion, you can have balance when you are clear on your purpose/priorities, and also on your boundaries.

As you know, you make time for what is important to you. So, what is important to you? Where are you currently making time in your life? If there is a part of your life you want MORE of… make it! Set aside the time to learn a new skill, or be with your significant other, or work on your side hustle. If it’s important, you’ll create the space for it.

Boundaries are important for balance because they affirm your purpose and priorities. If you want to finish work at 4pm every day so that you can get to yoga for 4:30 and dinner with bae by 6:00, don’t answer phone calls after 3:30pm. Log out of your email by 3:45pm. Leave your desk at 4pm, like you said you would.

If eating whole, healthy meals weekdays is important to you, create the time on Sundays to prep your meals for the week. It doesn’t have to be complicated, you can plan Saturday, shop and prep Sunday. You can even do it with a friend or your boyfriend/girlfriend and make an afternoon of it!

Life-balance exists when you create it.

What kinds of supplements do you take and for what? What do you use as a pre-workout supplement?

I’ve been taking supplements for years, and I am a big believer in supplementing nutrition. In our culture I don’t think we get the right amount of nutrients we need from the foods and nutrition habits we have. To be honest I don’t have the best nutrition habits. Although they are better than the average person, there is always room for improvement. Even still, I supplement!

I’ve talked about a few of my supplements before on the show. The ones I take daily, without fail, are from dōTERRA’s Lifelong Vitality Pack (LLV)

They are the Microplex VMz, which is a food-nutrient complex aka my multivitamin

The xEOmega This is my omega supplement, and the ONLY one that I’ve actually stuck with until the bottle was empty. It took me forever to find this and honestly I’ll never switch to any other omega supplement. It’s the only one that doesn’t make me want to vomit.

And the third supplement in this pack is the Alpha CRS which is a digestive enzyme that works using healthy botanical extracts to support healthy cell function and metabolic factors.

I also take TerraZyme which is a digestive enzyme that contains whole-food enzymes that help with the digestion of fats, proteins, complex carbs, sugars and fiber. I try to take this with each meal, but sometimes I forget so I will take it at least two times a day when I take my other supplements, which I take with food anyway.

In the winter I’ll take an On Guard softgel in the mornings as an immune booster.

I also love the serenity softgel and the new copiabia softgel together at night. Serenity softgel is for when you feel “wired and tired” and the copiabia is great for the nervous system, digestion, immune, and respiratory system.

For muscle recovery I take an extra dose of Magnesium. The mutli has magnesium but I weight train 4-5 times per week and I will take extra magnesium and also magensium salt baths 1 or 2 times a week.

If I’m really feeling sore from the gym I’ll take the Deep Blue Polyphenol Complex which is great for soothing and supporting muscles.

Lastly… Pre workout! I get asked this a lot surprisingly…

I used to take the Amped Nitro pre-workout from Isagenix and I liked it, but I think there was too much caffeine in it and now I can only take it sometimes. What I use now is Amazing Grass greens, 1 scoop 100mls or so of water and an ice cube. I mix that up and then I also take two Mito2Max capsules which are plant extracts for energy and vitality – no caffiene!

Okay, I know that might have been a little overwhelming, especially if you’re someone who doesn’t take supplements. But it’s part of my self-care routine!

How can I create a self-care routine?

Start small. Start with the intention to take better care of yourself, or love yourself more. Incorporate this intention into the things you already do. Washing your body in the shower, your skin care routine, getting dressed, choosing foods that make you feel good and eating them with awareness. Don’t just do things automatically or out of habit. Do them with purpose.

I believe that self-care is about creating your dream life and living unapologetically. Saying yes to what you want to do, and no to the things that don’t light you up. Ask yourself, “what lights me up?” pick one of those things to do this week, or today? Where can you start creating the space and time to put yourself first?

When you get into alignment with what you want, and the things you love, you’re putting it out there into the Universe that YOU ARE WORTHY and you’ll attract more of what you want into your life.

What’s the difference between yoga and Pilates?

Most of you know that I teach pilates and yoga and when I tell people this, the first thing that people who don’t do either of these ask is, what’s the difference?

Yoga translates to union, it is a practice of bringing the mind, body, and spirit together. Yoga is fluid, therapeutic, as you move through a series of poses to help you bring your body, mind, and spirit into alignment.

Pilates may look very similar to the novice, and alignment is a major goal to the pilates practice. There is more of a focus on the core and the spine as you move through different exercises, and sometimes machines as well. With pilates, there is more of a physical body workout as you strengthen and lengthen your muscles and body. The awareness you need to execute the exercises is very much a mental practice as well.

Incorporating both is a great way to get your mind and body in shape!

What foods can I incorporate into my diet for healthy living?

I am not a nutritionist, but I am a big foodie and nutrition is something I have taken an interest in most of my life.

I also really don’t like the word “diet.” I think being healthy is a lifestyle choice and the types of foods you want to incorporate onto your plate are whole foods. Eat the rainbow, eat when you’re hungry, drink lots of quality water, notice how certain foods make you feel, eat locally grown food that are in season. Load up on the good stuff so there’s no room for the bad stuff!

Totally recommend meeting with a nutritionist and learning more about what foods you might be sensitive too, or how you can improve your lifestyle choices.

I’ve heard of intermittent fasting, what does that mean?

I’m going to post a link in the show notes about intermittent fasting I really like the way they explain it in this blog post.

I’ve practiced Bulletproof Intermittent Fasting and here are 3 things I learned from almost 4 months of this constantly:

1. I don’t miss breakfast

I used to be that annoying person who is all, “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” until I learned that a cereal company made this up as a marketing slogan (LINK: https://priceonomics.com/how-breakfast-became-a-thing/). Yep. Anyway, I stopped eating breakfast and I honestly didn’t really miss it. Maybe 1 out of 7 days a week I’m hungry first thing in the morning. But it usually goes away after I have a water or Bulletproof coffee.

2. I am an emotional eater

Besides the odd morning when I a bit hungry in the morning, there is one other time when I really want food while I am fasting. Specifically when I want chocolate or sugar. It’s when I’m stressed, or angry, or lack control. There was one morning I remember well: it was 9:30am and I was learning how to use an entirely new software to upload my podcast. It was a bit stressful but I was keeping on. Then I went over to my website and the entire backend of my site was completely updated and nothing was the same at all. I had no idea how to use it and I had to relearn something that has taken me YEARS to learn all over again, in less than 24 hours… deadlines you know? Anyway I panicked and then all of the sudden felt SUPER hungry. If it was 11:30 am it would have been less surprising since I usually break my fast at 12pm.

To be honest, I’ve always known that I was an emotional eater, but I had never experienced it so intensely. I had never experienced this level of awareness. It came up a couple more times and I’m still learning how to cope with the emotions. Send me your advice if you have any tips!

3. I sleep better when I don’t snack after 8pm

Sometimes I think I eat after 8pm just because my body is looking for energy to stay awake longer. I go to bed pretty early since I wake up so early, so eating after 8 isn’t really helpful. I’ve noticed I sleep so much better when I’m not snacking late. The only other time I’ve noticed this restful sleep was when I stopped eating fructose.

How many minutes/hours a day or a week should I workout?

It depends. For myself, my mental health suffers when I’m not physically active at some point during the day. I’ve created a morning routine that works for me and I lift weights 4-5 times per week. A lot of my yoga and pilates students don’t like lifting weights and would rather do a group class three times a week and mix in a run or a swim. When you find what you like incorporating it into your schedule is a lot easier.

There are some weeks where I am exhausted from lifting weights and I need to slow down. I’ll join a yoga class or do something else more moderate.

Getting some sort of physical exercise daily is ideal. Having a mix of aerobic activity and moderate activity is best. But honestly, you have to do what works best for your body. Start with 20-30 minutes at a time, aim to get your heart rate up by the 20th minute. If you’re new to all this be kind to yourself and your body. Ease into new things, hire a trainer, or join a group class.

I want to be healthier, how can I do this moderately?

Choose one simple thing to start with, my favourite recommendation is drinking more water. Add a drop or 2 of citrus essential oils to make things interesting as well as offer a gentle detox for your body. My favourite are: grapefruit, tangerine, and lemon.

Once that becomes a part of your lifestyle and a habit, you can add a second simple thing like incorporating more greens or whole foods. Or finding a workout or exercise class you enjoy and adding that a few times a week into your schedule.

The part that makes the biggest difference is nutrition. Depending on your current nutrition habits this might be difficult to adjust, or it may be simple. Either way, making a positive/healthy shift in your nutrition is going to give you the energy you need to become healthier over time.

How do I stay motivated when working toward my goals?

In episode 8 I go through the Str8 A formula workbook I created. You can get a discounted copy of the workbook by listening/watching/reading episode 8 on my site. You can find it at valerielavignelife.com/08!

I’ve mentioned before that having a purpose is important. Decide what is important to you. Know your “why,” your reason for wanting your goal; the reason you’ve made the changes, the decisions, the affirmations you have.

Before you start your day, before you sit down at your desk, or enter your studio, before you step in front of your audience/students, say your WHY out loud. Keep saying it until you feel it in your body.

When things get tough and you want to fall back into old habits, or you don’t want to do what you set out to do, ask yourself if you still want to reach your goal. You’ll know what to do next, you’ll know your next step. And it’s usually to keep going; to pursue your goal.

Build smart habits that help you reach your goals. Or create smaller tasks/goals that help you lead up to your goal.

For example, if you want to run a marathon, have a habit goal to run for 30 minutes four times a week at 7am starting February 1st. This habit goal will help you reach your bigger goal. Some other goals you could set are: hire a running coach by January 20th, or set up my clothes, playlist, and running shoes the night before my running mornings.

What are the best essential oils for my health?

Okay this is a question I honestly get all the time. I made an entire episode on the top 10 essential oils. Check out episode 9 where I do a class on the top 10 essential oils for your health. If you have any questions after you can email me at hello@valerielavignelife.com or click here!

Val Lavigne Life Women's Empowerment Podcast

Podcast Host

Valerie LaVigne

Valerie is the creator and founder of Valerie LaVigne Life and the Women's Empowerment Show. She helps busy and empowered women create healthy habits so that they can become the best version of themselves and transform their lives. Learn more about Valerie here!