Fuel Your Strength

Dr. Jen Esquer believes that by building strong bodies and resilient minds you can embrace and own your inner power, which is one of the key principles here at Harder to Kill Radio. Jen is better known as Doc Jen Fit, and with +475,000 followers on Instagram, she is a strong female voice and is using the social media platform as a chance to educate and inspire. Jen took a leap of faith and created The Mobility Method to help her clients and customers around the world regain their mobility. She has been using the platform to help blur the lines of physical therapy and teaches her followers how you can transition into your own power. By treating a person as a whole individual, not just a diagnosis, Jen encourages her clients to learn about their own bodies so that they can create a plan that doesn't rely on anyone but themselves. Today we are tackling topics ranging from the difference between flexibility and mobility, how your breath can have a huge impact on your range of motion, and why consistency is key when stabilizing the body. Jen is a huge inspiration and wants to make sure you know that you are not alone in your fears. Did Jen's message of self-compassion and finding freedom in your body resonate with you? Let us know in the comments on the episode page! In This Episode How you can use social media to educate or learn a new skill The scariest part of taking the leap and starting your own business Blurring the lines of what physical therapy is and how you can transition into your own power Why learning about your own body is one of the most powerful things you can do for yourself The basics of better guiding your breath into a relaxed state of being to improve your mobility Having compassion for where your body is at and what it needs and wants Quotes "There is kind of a double standard I think with women in the health and fitness industry, because sometimes we have to fit a certain way of looking if we're going to be taken seriously but if we look too good or are too fit or whatever then people think oh you couldn't possibly have anything educated to say because you're just pretty or you try too hard." (11:01) "Four years ago if you would have asked me if I was going to be an entrepreneur I would have been like 'Ha, funny!'. I always said you know business is over my head that's just not what I'm interested in. And I never really thought that I would do what I'm doing right now. But I really just followed my passion and my passion has kinda lead into what it is today." (13:32) "We have this perception that successful people haven't had to overcome obstacles, or that they are not currently overcoming obstacles in what they are doing. And I think that that is so valuable for people to feel like they are not alone in whatever it is they are afraid of, everybody's had to figure out the details." (23:13) "You know you are not your diagnosis. I understand that you have shoulder pain but is your back moving well? Are your hips moving well? Are your feet moving well? Could your shoulder be stuck because you are leaning to one side when you are walking? So just starting to understand that your body works as a whole and you need to assess what's happening throughout your entire body and being able to have a screening process that's self-screening that you can just dive into to and start to see what's not working very well on a "normal" basis. Then you can start to see how these things can play in together." (33:33) Links Doc Jen Fit Website Follow Doc Jen Fit on Instagram | Facebook | YouTube The Mobility Method The Optimal Body Harder to Kill Facebook Club Check out the full show notes here! Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!

At some point in your health / wellness journey, shit's just gonna go wrong. Maybe it's a massive life change (good or not-so-good), you get injured, or something else unexpected pops up. How are you going to handle setbacks when they come your way? (Because they will.) The most resilient people are the ones who 1) feel their damn feelings and then 2) find opportunity in challenging circumstances. In this episode, I've got a hefty dose of real talk for anyone who wants to throw a pity party for themselves when stuff goes sideways. The questions I ask may not be comfortable, but I believe that they're essential for untangling our societal need for productivity and accomplishment from our inherent worth and goodness. www.stupideasypaleo.com/category/podcast Follow Steph on: Instagram| Facebook | Pinterest | YouTube | Twitter I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!

For a lot of us, the journey to improving ourselves, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually can end up actually making us feel worse about ourselves. There are endless comparisons to be made to others who it seems are doing better than we are. As Lucia Hawley explains, however, a key piece to improvement and growth is to be kind to ourselves and honor where we're at now and our own limitations. Lucia is a nutritional therapist and is here to make sure you know that you can still make progress and treat yourself very well and you don't have to completely hate the process. She believes in taking the judgment out of the equation and looking at your relationship to health and wellness from a neutral perspective. By listening to what your body is trying to tell you, you can learn what you really want out of life and understand how your body reacts. Lucia believes in integrating happiness as a key component in your food and wellness journey so that you can fill your bucket and be present in your life. If you are ready to empower yourself through the foundations of health, preach kindness and embrace the natural push and pull of life, Lucia's kind and humbling words are here for you. How do you integrate kindness into your wellness approach? Let us know in the comments on the show notes page! In This Episode What nutritional therapy is and how it can be applied as a practice Debunking 'Capital D' diet culture Understanding the science behind your cravings Addressing your right to your own autonomy Chronic stress and the effects you often don't think of Tricks to help your body focus, rest and digest Quotes "This is an amazing experiment. Reframing that monkey wrench and then being like 'how did it go?'. Taking out the judgment and saying okay that felt like a bad day that felt like the wrong decision, cause you had aligned yourself with this, in this case, a nutrition challenge. But what if we actually step back and say, 'okay so the foods that were off the challenge that came in, how did they make you feel'?" (11:57) "Life is gonna happen. And are we as coaches and educators and practitioners, giving people the skills to like figure out how they navigate those grey spaces of life. Cause it ain't always going to be that you have the perfect circumstances." (13:42) "That's how I came to nutrition, I wasn't feeling well and I had to fix it because I felt like other people or the medical society or anything like that, wasn't really helping me in the way that I needed. So I love respecting that kind of fix-it mentality, but also kind of recognizing like when does that feeling or those set of actions, whatever it might be, when does it switch from being adaptive to maladaptive?" (21:30) "I think it really comes back to being kind to your body and respecting that your body is always speaking to you, and if you just allow yourself to hear what it has to say, it might be so incredibly challenging and scary, but what could be a greater kindness to yourself, and from there a greater kindness to your society." (54:20) Links Join the Harder To Kill Club, a community of like-minded, badass women like you! Essential Omnivore Essential Omnivore Podcast Follow Essential Omnivore on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest Check out the full show notes here! Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!

On today's episode, I'm sharing the story of why I "threw away" a twelve year long teaching career and the "safety" of a regular paycheck for the wild ride of entrepreneurship. Taking that leap was one of the scariest things I've ever done, and I had to internalize some key concepts to pull it off. Whether you're considering a career change, going back to school, ending or beginning a relationship, having kids, starting a new hobby, traveling the world or whatever it is that simultaneously freaks you out and excites you, tune into this episode. I may not have the answer for you, but I can guarantee I'll make you think. www.stupideasypaleo.com/category/podcast Mentioned in this show: Episode 115 with Mark Groves Follow Steph on: Instagram| Facebook | Pinterest | YouTube | Twitter I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!

A topic that seems to be on everyone's mind lately is birth control and women's hormone health. A leading expert in post-birth control syndrome & hormonal birth control related problems, Dr. Jolene Brighten is making her HTK Radio encore today to help shed some light on her birth control protocols. The choice to take birth control is different for every woman, and Dr. Brighten works with her clients to create individualized health plans based on symptom resolution and root cause medicine. Today she is explaining the purpose behind her work, how to live in resonance with what is serving you best, and how to stop being afraid and playing it safe by speaking your truth. We are tackling everything from the power and disconnectivity around social media to embracing negative emotions and stepping into your power. Dr. Brighten wants to help you stop using birth control to mask your other symptoms by taking back your hormones and ending the fight with your body. Share with us on social media what you loved about this episode and let us know what questions you have for the next time Dr. Brighten is on the show! In This Episode Balancing delivering what people want with staying in your truth Factors when deciding if birth control is right for your body and how to get off the pill Common side effects of hormonal birth control you may not be aware of Thyroid hormones, liver function, and birth control How to avoid potential hormone dysfunction down the road Demanding better from your birth control and cultivating your intuition Quotes "I feel like the universe has taken me like a little rag doll and just shaken me like crazy a few times, and you know every time has been a call to wake up and to do that bigger work and to step out of fear. And you know that's where I think that that's part of why there are so many of us walking around feeling sick and feeling awful is because we operate out of that place of fear and we you know we aren't stepping up and living in our truth." (8:05) "I just want to encourage people who are listening like, step into your power, step into your truth, and be you, and don't apologize for who you are for a second. You will repel people, people will not like you, and that's okay. But you will find your tribe, and you know I think there are so many experts who speak to the fact that like when you find your purpose, I mean like health flows effortlessly when you find your purpose and you are living in your purpose." (11:23) "I think that for the most part medicine is trying to do what they feel is best. But a lot of what they are doing and what they feel is best is disempowering and interrupting what is natural and what our bodies are designed to do. So with that in mind, that's why I really come from a place of I'm not here to tell you what to do. How can I know how to live your life better than you? I can't." (22:03) "It's not something to be like oh whatever take the pill, don't take the pill, [because] it is a medication. And it does have side effects to it and there are also side effects to getting off it. So we just need to honor that woman and her journey and where she is at." (38:21) "When you think about how much we are all trying to avoid plastic and avoid all these environmental toxins and here there is so much where women are like I cleaned up my diet, I cleaned up my house, I cleaned up everything, I'm living a cleaner life, and then it's like so why am I popping this pill every day? And it's so true. (44:22) Links Join the Harder To Kill Club, a community of like-minded, badass women like you! Dr. Jolene Brighten's Website Follow Dr. Brighten on Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Pinterest Astroturfing TED Talk Birth Control Hormone Reset PBCS Diet Download HTK Radio: Episode 3 Check out the full show notes here! Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!

We are energetic beings who need to be recharged often. Sleep, while vital, is not enough. How we manage our energy during the day—physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually—has a huge impact on how we function and how we feel. Part of protecting that mental and emotional energy comes down to boundaries. Do you suffer from chronic yes-itis? Symptoms include saying yes to everything that comes along, exhaustion, feeling lost, and being left with no energy for yourself. In this episode, I cover a few simple techniques to get you started with setting boundaries so you can live a less busy but more deeply meaningful life, no guilt included. www.stupideasypaleo.com/category/podcast Follow Steph on: Instagram| Facebook | Pinterest | YouTube | Twitter I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!

Are you tired of constant calorie restriction and wagon mentality diets? Noelle Tarr and Stefani Ruper were too, so they created the Well Fed Women Podcast to spread the word about self-acceptance and bio-individuality. They promote a judgment-free zone that encourages you to stop getting hung up on the toxic numbers on the scale and instead check in with your own body to see what it needs most. Support the podcast by clicking SUBSCRIBE on your podcast app and leaving a review. I love hearing from you, especially about how the show has impacted your life. www.stupideasypaleo.com/category/podcast About Well Fed Women Noelle is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (NTP) and an NSCA-Certified Personal Trainer and Stefani is the founder of paleoforwomen.com and author of the book Sexy by Nature. Together they are debunking the 'one size fits all' approach to health, weight, and wellness. Together we talk about moving away from typical meal plan restrictions and labels and encourage women to eat in a way that makes them feel good. When you stop restricting your food intake, release your mental stress and replace 'maximum' with 'minimum', Noelle and Stefani believe you can change the conversation about your weight, happiness, and relationship to food. Yes, your weight will fluctuate over the course of your life, but your relationship with your body is the longest relationship you will ever have. If you are ready to take back control erase the restrictive mentality around food, this episode is for you. What is your relationship like with food and your weight? Let me know your thoughts on Noelle and Stefani's body positive messages on the episode page! On Today's Episode Taking back control and changing the conversation around food Trusting your body and finding your natural set point How eating more and working out less could actually make you feel better Destroying the social stigma connecting low weight and self-worth Customizing the fitness experience in a way that fits your lifestyle Quotes "Most women think they are doing good things. You know, this is what they need to be doing, this is what they, "should" be doing, and they spend the majority of their lives trying to accomplish this and feeling like a failure when they cannot maintain it. So we are just giving people the freedom to eat again, the freedom to eat in a way that is right for them" (7:28) "Our society is so terrified of gaining weight that we would rather starve and starve and restrict and restrict ourselves and keep running, we're like running from something we can't escape. The more and more you try and lose weight, often the harder and harder it gets." (14:42) "If you pay attention to how you react to things and are really intentional in how you are responding to that, then you are working with your body, right, and you can experiment with different things and take care of symptoms as they come up and all of a sudden you realize that the things you thought you always had to live with you actually maybe don't. You can maybe play with them a little bit and you can help them. And you also don't have to live in this like psychological warfare mentality you have against your body because it really can be more like you are just friends in a field of daisies or something." (34:52) "You are not a bad person and you don't deserve to be punished and your world isn't going to end if you did something that you think puts you in caloric excess. You just have to keep focusing on what your goals are. And for us, goals mean physical and psychological health first and foremost." (54:51) Resources Mentioned In This Show Join the Fierce Love Collective For Ongoing Support, Community, and Kick-Ass Content Well Fed Women Podcast Coconuts and Kettlebells Website Coconuts and Kettlebells The Book Paleo For Women Strong From Home Workout Programme Sexy by Nature Book Follow Noelle on Instagram Follow Stefani on Instagram Check out the full show notes here! Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!

Why do so many women struggle with trusting other women? Why do we often resort to competition and tearing each other down, when what we really need to thrive is cooperation? Let's be honest, I can't answer this in a 23 minute podcast and I don't have all the answers, but hopefully I've given you some food for thought. In this episode of Fierce Love Friday, I'm probing into a couple of key areas you can use for your own self-exploration and growth. Yes, there are powerful structures in place to keep us small, but change can come from within as well. In other words, if we want to see better things happen in the world, part of it starts with us and how we talk to ourselves and others. www.stupideasypaleo.com/category/podcast Follow Steph on: Instagram| Facebook | Pinterest | YouTube | Twitter I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!

It is no secret that many of us feel an increasing pull toward nature, and that we are missing our connection to the Earth. Our society has created a space between us and the natural world and as Dr. Maya Shetreat explains, it's up to each of us to close that gap, and reap the many benefits of being in closer contact with our natural surroundings. Support the podcast by clicking SUBSCRIBE on your podcast app and leaving a review. I love hearing from you, especially about how the show has impacted your life. www.stupideasypaleo.com/category/podcast About Dr. Maya Shetreat Dr. Maya Shetreat is a neurologist, herbalist, and author of The Dirt Cure: Healthy Food, Healthy Gut, Happy Child. She is known as 'The Dirt Doctor' and helps her clients connect to the Earth from not only a health perspective but also a physical connection perspective. Dr. Shetreat is based out of New York City and is proof that you don't have to live next to an abundance of nature to bring the outdoors into your daily life. There are massive health benefits to spending more time outdoors, including better sleep, being calmer, happier, more creative, and a boosted immune system. Being in spiritual and physical contact with the Earth can help restore your electrons and have an incredible boost on your mood and overall wellbeing. Today, Dr. Shetreat gives us heaps of suggestions on how to make your life feel more like an outdoor experience. She argues that you don't have to change everything in your life to be on a health seeking journey, and by making compromises in your own way you can find ways to connect that make sense for you and experience the transformative powers of nature. What do you do to get yourself outdoors and reconnect with nature? Let us know in the comments on the episode page! On Today's Episode How to bring the outdoors into your living space Small ways to find day to day connections with nature The value of putting more of your physical self into contact with the Earth How the Earth works as a natural anti-inflammatory Why you should make sitting on the floor part of your daily life Giving yourself permission to dive inwards Quotes "I do think from a practical standpoint that it is very possible to take small steps to become more connected to nature. And you know every time you take that one step and become more connected, you know kinda the natural world will take one, two or three steps towards you." (9:12) "People really think dirt is like a bad thing and I feel like we have done so much damage to ourselves in a sense with this whole idea of like hygiene and being sanitary and it kind of translates also into this idea of sitting on the ground and being connected in that way." (15:26) "Whereas we used to have this innate connection to the Earth that was like the source of everything for us, so there was this whole relationship that we had. Now we have sort of shifted our belief into science and it's almost like religious in a way. There is this sort of dogmatic way of saying like you know, does science show it? And it's sort of like… we're talking about walking outside..." (20:32) "For me, because all of these processes are so individual for each person, I think its really really important to understand that you give yourself permission." (30:41) "Flowers change the way we feel, they transform us. So that is one very simple way to experience that healing energy and feel kind of joy and comfort through all our senses." (45:28) Resources Mentioned In This Show Join the Fierce Love Collective For Ongoing Support, Community, and Kick-Ass Content Dirt Cure Website The Dirt Cure: Healthy Food, Healthy Gut, Happy Child Book Follow Dr. Maya Shetreat on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter Check out the full show notes here! Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!

Why does the scale have the power to make or ruin your day? Why do we, as a society, keep using the scale as a measurement of health (it's really not) and more importantly, a way to measure self-worth? If you know the scale isn't serving you, what's holding you back from dumping it in the trash right now? In this episode of Fierce Love Friday, I'm tearing into this topic and asking questions that prompt you to go deeper when examining your relationship with the scale. If hopping on the scale is no longer serving you, it dictates the tone of your day, or you're afraid to stop weighing yourself, this is a Fierce Love episode you must hear! https://www.stephgaudreau.com/category/podcast/ Follow Steph on: Instagram| Facebook | Pinterest | YouTube | Twitter I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!