Original Recording - Ep.70
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Sheree: [00:00:00] I literally had a client come in yesterday and she's dropped 14 kilos, close to 30 pounds. And she's just like, for the first time in my life, there is no shame around food she's like, and I [00:00:08] feel like I could live this way.
And we've been working together for about four months now. But the most beautiful thing for me was she's like, I just feel like this is doable long [00:00:16] term. And so when I can help someone that's where that nourishment piece comes in, create a lifestyle that they live Bye rather than feeling [00:00:24] restricted, feeling overwhelmed, huge thing that most people are struggling with now is there's an information overload. And so it's like, how can we just simplify it, get those [00:00:32] foundations in place, execute it, and then teach you how to maintain.
Welcome to the wild and well, a collective podcast [00:00:40] where we believe empowered health is your superpower. We have combined our expertise in medicine and nutrition to bring you the latest research, expert insights [00:00:48] and success stories of people on a mission to live a big life. So buckle up and get ready to learn how to live wildly [00:00:56] well.
Christa: Welcome to another fabulous episode. And I am [00:01:04] excited to hear your client journey, Sheree. I want you to share with everyone what it's like to work with you, what [00:01:12] process you take people through. And of course, weaving in there, we're going to hear a little bit more of your philosophy around how to really help people achieve their optimal [00:01:20] health and wellness.
So how do people start? is your ideal person? First of all who do you [00:01:28] typically serve? And then start us at the beginning of like the process that you do with your clients.
Sheree: I love that. And I'm really [00:01:36] excited to chat on this because I think it's important to understand. Who you work with and like who you maybe want to work with.
Right. And [00:01:44] it goes both ways. I always say to my clients, like, let's jump on a call or potential clients, let's jump on a call or let's meet in person or whatever it is [00:01:52] to get a feel for each other, because I want to make sure that you feel like you can trust me and that we really resonate. And so that's always the first [00:02:00] starting point, to, to.
Getting people into the work and my ideal client, I do work specifically with women for [00:02:08] the most part. I have a couple of male clients, but majority tend to be women. They are very high performing, high achieving human beings, whether that is running [00:02:16] their own business or they're on boards trust and they're part of like communities and trustees.
Or they are people that are really wanting to do big [00:02:24] things and , move big things in the world. And. I think, just both of us are very like minded in that sense, and that we do have big goals, big [00:02:32] visions, and it makes it very easy to resonate and very easy to connect. And also we typically go through similar battles, as someone who's been through burnout time and time [00:02:40] and time again.
And at the point of recording this, it is typically what I call burnout season. I find a lot of women start to come in because they're going, Oh [00:02:48] my gosh, I've wound up at this time of the year. I'm looking at for my results. literally at the end of the year going, how have I turned up and at the [00:02:56] end without achieving what I wanted to achieve?
How have I not lost the weight I wanted to lose? How am I still tired and exhausted? And [00:03:04] Am I going to wait till next year? Am I not? And that's where you have the difference between people who are going to make excuses and people who are not going to make excuses, and they're really going [00:03:12] to show up for themselves in this moment.
And so, I help people from a hormonal level, from a liver level, from a gut health level, from an energy [00:03:20] level. All of it's really about supporting and optimizing your metabolism. Without. Excuse my French, but without fucking up the rest of it, and I think [00:03:28] that's one of the key things and a real point of difference, I would say, is that a lot of practitioners that I've noticed are a lot of people have come to me and [00:03:36] they're like, oh, I've done this protocol.
I've done this detox or I've done these almost extreme things. Or they've literally had someone that won't listen to them, but that's another [00:03:44] whole story. And they start with the healing. And I get that because someone's quite often in pain or they're [00:03:52] experiencing a lot of symptomology. But my philosophy is really about foundations first.
I have three pillars and the first one is [00:04:00] strengthen. We cannot build a house on shaky ground, right? If you don't have that solid concrete foundation in [00:04:08] place, if you put walls up, if you try and put a roof, if you try and build that house, what's going to happen? It's going to collapse. It's going to fall over because [00:04:16] it hasn't been established properly.
And so. The biggest thing I focus on is how can we strengthen your body first? So it's [00:04:24] ready to heal. What habits do we need to change? What things do we need to optimize? Do we need to put some of the basics in first? Like [00:04:32] most people aren't nailing the basics, right? Getting enough water, getting enough sleep, Making sure that their body can handle the [00:04:40] detoxification process.
Are they even pooping every day? Right? Like a lot of the time we go straight to popping in all these supplements and these massive protocols [00:04:48] when we haven't even got the bowels functioning every day, we aren't sleeping enough to support the body. So that's typically where I start.
Christa: [00:04:56] So when you say strength, I'm automatically thinking workouts, but does that incorporate more?
So when you're saying foundations and [00:05:04] strengthening, are you talking about you? strengthening different systems in the body. And a question on top of that then is, [00:05:12] do you do testing or do you do more of a questionnaire or how do you even know where someone's at the beginning?
Sheree: Yeah. So to answer the first part [00:05:20] of the question, yes, it's definitely about strengthening the systems and strengthening the habits that someone will come to you with, we're not going to jump to, okay, cool.
You've come to me, you're [00:05:28] bloated all the time, you have got really, really poor energy, you're struggling to wake up in the morning, you're struggling to sleep at night, you get period [00:05:36] pain. I'm not going to be like, cool, first thing to do is go and do ice baths and saunas, right?
Like, to me, that's a level 10, where that's where you're [00:05:44] optimizing what's going on. The end. When you're in a state where your body is functioning beautifully. Sure. Those things can help, but it's, we don't need to jump to that [00:05:52] point. And so the strengthening is really like, what are your workouts? Like, yes, it's strengthening the body, but are you moving in a way that's too much, are [00:06:00] you overdoing your, like in terms of hit training, are you even getting.
Strength training in, which is so important for females. So there is the workout [00:06:08] element. Then we look at the food, like let's strengthen your body in terms of making sure you're getting enough protein, getting enough nourishment strengthening your [00:06:16] adrenal system. Cause most people come to me in a state of high stress.
And whether you want to call it high stress or. You're really busy or [00:06:24] adrenal fatigue or burnout or nervous system dysregulation. It's all essentially the same thing. And so if we try and load the system with a massive [00:06:32] detoxification process or a massive healing protocol, it's going to freak out. And that's when the die off symptoms get worse.
That's when everything else tends to [00:06:40] be exacerbated. So it's really making sure your body is in a state of resilience where it can handle the healing [00:06:48] process. And so. The first thing I actually start with is blood work making sure that, and there is a comprehensive questionnaire. We look through all [00:06:56] symptomology.
We're looking at trying to get to the root cause of things. The blood work really helps. I often then go from that to into whatever they need after [00:07:04] about four to five days. Six weeks in the strengthening process into my healing phase. And that might be a SIBO protocol. Cause we can tell [00:07:12] based off this entomology what's going on.
That might be something to regulate the hormones. It might be going pure paleo. It really depends on the [00:07:20] individual and the symptoms that they're presenting in front of me. But once we've strengthened, we can move into the healing and it's after the healing [00:07:28] process that if I still don't see. the needles moving, then I might go down the path of testing in terms of like a comprehensive [00:07:36] microbiome map or a Dutch test or something.
But most of the time, if you nail those foundations and then you clear out the crap [00:07:44] that's in your body, whether that is through a detoxification process or through just cleaning things up in your life, those things [00:07:52] tend to balance out. It's the really, really tricky cases that I then start to add in the extensive testing.
Christa: Yeah. Okay, cool. So you [00:08:00] start with kind of the foundational strengthening. Where do you take them next? So the next part [00:08:08] is the healing. So that will be, like I said, the cerebral protocol. Because most people that come to me have either got Period problems [00:08:16] because of the stress that they've been putting on their body.
Sheree: So it's either painful, their periods are dysregulated. They are really, they've got the [00:08:24] mood swings and they don't know why, or they're really chronically bloated or about constipation is another huge one. And all of this adds [00:08:32] up to being why they can't shift weight. And so I always say to people, look, When we start together, within the first two weeks, because we're doing the strengthening, you [00:08:40] should see change, whether that's a boost in your energy or weight shifting or a combination of things.
That's where we start to see the real shift. If things aren't [00:08:48] moving there, there's something deeper going on. And often by that stage, we've got the blood work back and we can start to put things into place, whether it's adding in supplements, making more [00:08:56] dietary changes. And from there, I then go, okay, well, based off what we've seen in this first month of feedback, again, your body [00:09:04] is telling you stuff the entire time.
And this is where health is such a personalized approach, right? So what do we need to do for this next level? What do we need to [00:09:12] do to really heal? Is there cellular cleanup that we need to do? Do we need to implement a fasting protocol? Do we need to go in and do, for [00:09:20] some of my clients, they've got IBS, which as many people will know, I think is an absolute bullshit diagnosis.
Why is the bowel, Irritated. It's irritable [00:09:28] bowel syndrome. But why is the bowel irritated? Most of the time, about 84 percent of IBS cases are SIBO or SIFO. So small intestinal [00:09:36] bacterial or fungal overgrowth. So we may go in and just pop in a probiotic and take out some, like, start to balance things out with carbohydrates and the [00:09:44] ratios of your food.
And that can be enough for some people. This is all based off how you've gone in the first four to six weeks, because we need to listen to [00:09:52] how your body's responding. It's in a strong enough position. Your bowels are moving every day. We're regulated really well. Maybe we pop in with a kill [00:10:00] agent, but I used to go straight in all guns blazing, let's just kill everything off, sweep everything out, move the needle [00:10:08] in that respect, and I thought the harder you go in, the faster you get the results, the better it was, but often it would actually lead to.
Symptoms flaring up, people [00:10:16] really struggling and feelings really strict and overwhelming. And majority of the clients I work with have also have some sort of disordered eating [00:10:24] problem or really poor relationship with food. They may not have had an eating disorder, but you go in and you put something that's super, super restrictive and overwhelming.
[00:10:32] Again, it gets people freaked out. So part of that strengthening phase is also strengthening their relationship with food and their habits around food. So that when we're [00:10:40] in the healing, it's much easier process.
Christa: Yeah, I love that. It's interesting you use a [00:10:48] lot of nutrition around it. I say interesting not because I'm not familiar that you are educated in nutrition, but just [00:10:56] highlighting the fact that it doesn't always take.
The aggressive or the shiniest new technology or [00:11:04] whatever, a lot of it does come down to the unsexy foundations is what I call them. Like people want some sort of fantastical solution. When [00:11:12] oftentimes we just need guidance to get back to what we honestly know, but it's difficult for us sometimes to sift through all of [00:11:20] the, well, maybe it's this, maybe it's that, maybe it's this, but then also being accountable To the changes that we need to make and the dietary changes that we need to make.
And maybe the [00:11:28] shifts of what we need to remove and what we need to add. How would you typically work? Like what kind of offerings do you have? How often, what do you [00:11:36] find that most people need support length of time wise?
Sheree: I normally work with clients for a minimum of four to six months, purely based off [00:11:44] the fact that when we are dealing with, again, most of the women I deal with are Menstruating and then maybe going into menopause.
I also deal with a lot of post menopausal [00:11:52] women, which is really fun seeing them getting to play with the different elements of their body once they've gone through all the hormonal changes, but when we think about the [00:12:00] fact that the egg that you ovulate with takes at least, it actually takes a whole year to mature, but that last hundred days [00:12:08] is the most potent or the most pertinent that.
If we start making changes, like I said, in the first couple of weeks, you should see results, [00:12:16] right? Otherwise there's something else going on and it's not massive results. You're not going to drop all the weight overnight, but you should notice changes in your mental [00:12:24] clarity and how you feel and the bloating, all that sort of thing, and your bowels moving regularly and then using it all as feedback, but because if we're [00:12:32] looking at period changes, And changes in your menstrual cycle.
We need at least that 90 days to know, okay, this is [00:12:40] beautifully how my body responds. My body does do really well when I take out those anti inflammatory foods. I'm not longer having high amounts of seed [00:12:48] oils and I'm actually having, I've had an omega 3 supplement. Suddenly my period pain has gone away.
Cool. But that might not happen in the [00:12:56] first two months to the extent where it's completely gone because you've still got the aftermath of what you were doing Three months ago, right? [00:13:04] And so it's really making sure you're setting up and you're ingraining these habits and putting these habits in place.
And, they say it takes at least [00:13:12] 90 days for a habit to stick. 21 days to create it, but 90 days for it to stick. And like you said, it's the unsexy foundations, but it is true. [00:13:20] One building up your stress, resilience, new stress tolerance, and balancing that nervous system. So your cortisol isn't taking control of your hormones anymore, which is [00:13:28] typically the root of everything that's going on.
And then it's layering in these other things. And then, so that's where I take people through the [00:13:36] strengthening, the healing. And then a huge part of the work is the educational piece. So it's building them into that nourishment phase, which is my third [00:13:44] pillar, because. If you understand, and this is where we talk about it all the time on the podcast, empowered health is your superpower.
If [00:13:52] you understand why you're doing what you're doing, and this is something that, my clients often will reflect to me is this [00:14:00] actually just makes sense, like it's actually intelligent way of eating it makes sense to be increasing my protein and increasing my greens. [00:14:08] And I now understand when I look at the plate, what's actually going into my body.
Okay, I can go out and I can do [00:14:16] this. Like I literally had a client come in yesterday and she's dropped 14 kilos, which is like endless, like 30, close to 30 [00:14:24] pounds. And she's just like, I, for the first time in my life, there is no shame around food. I actually understand what's going on in my place. She's [00:14:32] like, and I feel like I could live this way.
And we've been working together for about four months now. And she has tried every single diet under the sun, [00:14:40] right? She has bounced around. She's about to hit into perimenopause and she's like, I just. I've never been able to sleep well. [00:14:48] My body has never been able to keep the weight off. Well, she came to me with super high insulin levels and we've got those right down.
And so it's re [00:14:56] sensitizing those hormones. It's bringing those hormones back online in a way that really serve and support. But the most beautiful thing for me was she's like, I [00:15:04] just feel like this is doable long term. And so when I can help someone that's where that nourishment piece comes in, create a [00:15:12] lifestyle that they live Bye rather than feeling restricted, feeling overwhelmed, huge thing that most people are struggling with now is there's an [00:15:20] information overload. And so it's like, how can we just simplify it, get those foundations in place, execute it, and then teach you how to [00:15:28] maintain.
Christa: Yes. I do think there's a lot of overload of information.
It's difficult, I think, for most people to tease out what's for them and what's not for them. What's [00:15:36] going to, and it's hard from the inside. Of looking out to say what you should do, because it's [00:15:44] not only confusing because there's so much information. I think it's also hard when you're emotionally attached to something, i.
e. it's yourself and the way that you physically feel to [00:15:52] trust a process, because if it doesn't happen right away, there's always that doubt in the back of your mind. Is [00:16:00] this worth it? Am I on the right track? And so having somebody guide you through like the processes that you're talking about with the [00:16:08] strengthening with the nourishing and with the educating.
I think is powerful in the fact that it helps people feel more secure in this [00:16:16] process because then they know, okay, great. I don't feel great yet, but you're encouraging them to say, hold on to the process, do this. And I think most [00:16:24] people need that. any time we're trying to reach a new level and we don't see immediate by immediate, like within three days, like most people are like, wait, is this worth it?[00:16:32]
No matter what we're talking about. I and so, yeah, I think working with a set amount of time with people and also [00:16:40] just in your experiencing your experience, recognizing how long it really takes to see change. My programs also start at 4 months because [00:16:48] most people need at least 90 days, like you said, to get there.
And then how do we move past that, like, resistance of like, okay, now I'm going to give up. It's been [00:16:56] 90 days. No, if you push through oftentimes, once you reach at least that 4 month mark. We've really solidified some new habits, some new knowledge about [00:17:04] our body, right?
Sheree: Yeah. And I always look at that first part is it's almost like a teething situation where you, that [00:17:12] you are looking at the feedback your body's giving you for making these changes, but you are almost hitting the reset button.
Like those first four weeks. [00:17:20] Really a little bit, not even a little bit. It is a reset. It's not about taking everything out. It's not about limiting and restricting yourself massively, but [00:17:28] it's like, what is not serving you? Like a lot of people come to me like, Oh, do you give me a meal plan? And I'm like, I honestly hate meal plans in my programs.
[00:17:36] There are the option, because I also understand sometimes when this is all new and all overwhelming, you just want something to follow for the first couple of [00:17:44] weeks or the first month, just to wrap your head around the changes that you're making. I get that I've been there, but my goal is [00:17:52] for you to be so educated and empowered enough that you can go to your pantry or your fridge at any point in time, put together a nourishing meal with whatever's in there, right?
Or [00:18:00] know that you've just got to pop down the road and grab a hook chicken and you can throw together a very quick meal. It's very much moving away from this idea that you have to follow [00:18:08] something to a T, because if you do that, you're going to come off the back of it. Not knowing how to support yourself and then [00:18:16] you're going to be constantly relying on being on a meal plan, which is essentially like being on a diet and it's not supporting you.
It also isn't [00:18:24] supporting your lifestyle. So what I typically will get people to do is fill in a food diary and it's not for me to sit there and criticize. That's what I say to people [00:18:32] because I instantly go, I don't want to show that to you. You're a nutritionist. And I'm like, look. One, my two favorite foods are pizza and ice cream.
So there is no [00:18:40] judgment here. And two, it's really for me to go, okay, so this is what you like for breakfast. What is the point? If you're someone that's a smoothie [00:18:48] person, me turning around and going, you need to be having eggs and you need to be having a steak for breakfast. If you're going. Yuck. That's the last thing.
I feel like I look at [00:18:56] what you're already doing and how we can improve that. So it doesn't feel so overwhelming, right? A lot of the times it can feel like a [00:19:04] massive shift and really go against what feels good for you and your body. And as much as we, as the practitioners are here to guide, your [00:19:12] body best.
You understand your body best, and it's about listening, starting to listen to your body, having that body [00:19:20] literacy, getting that feedback from your body and going, Hey, Sheree, I really don't feel like this is working, or you've told me to do this, and I'm actually feeling a little bit more [00:19:28] bloated. I'm like, okay, cool.
Wonder why that's happening. Let's explore. What is the deeper reasoning here? Okay, let's try changing this or let's do that. [00:19:36] Or is it because you're having something cold in the week leading up to a period that things have started to shut down? Ah, that was it. Okay, cool. How do we change it from here? [00:19:44] And then that becomes part of the educational process.
Christa: Mm hmm. Yeah. Working alongside, which to me, that's really the [00:19:52] personalized part of it, because not, there's not a blanket solution to everybody. There's not a blanket diet for everybody. [00:20:00] It really does come down to how does your body respond? How do you feel? And I think what you're describing is also really cool because it helps [00:20:08] the individual become more in tune with their body and then make decisions from there.
So that you can navigate in the future on your. On your own, and I [00:20:16] think a lot of people were busy. We're not fully in tune with our body. And, or we get used to just discomfort. [00:20:24] Like, I don't know, I get bloated every day to know what's normal. What's not normal just because you consistently have this doesn't mean that's the way you have to [00:20:32] be.
So yeah, I like how you're describing that you stay on top of, with people and help them navigate until they can walk on their own.
Sheree: [00:20:40] Exactly. And, like when we're talking about the foundation, I always like to liken, you're trying to build a strong house with the strong foundation there.
Your body is your [00:20:48] home. Like, in my opinion, it's the home for your soul. And so we only get one of these. We only get one. And if we can learn how to [00:20:56] nourish it and look after it and replenish it and the amount of women that come to me that are in their 40s and they're like, I wish I knew, I [00:21:04] wish I knew what I was doing to myself back then, or I wish, and I'm like, look, the last decade, the amount of knowledge, like thankfully with the internet, with [00:21:12] science, the way, the rate that things are advancing, we've learned so much, we didn't have this information 10 years ago, or if we did, it was very limited, [00:21:20] right?
So you cannot beat yourself up for where you are coming in.
Christa: But you
Sheree: can make a change from now and [00:21:28] like you said before, we do get so used to, oh, it's just normal for me to wake up tired. Like the amount of conversations that I know both you and I have, and there [00:21:36] are people sitting in our offices or on a zoom call and they're going, what do you mean I can have energy or, is it really possible? Like some people are [00:21:44] so stuck in that they've been stuck and unable to heal for so long. They can't even see that it's possible to lose the weight and to have balanced hormones and to have [00:21:52] regular bowel movement and to have optimal energy. It's like, no, that's a pipe dream, Sheree.
And it's like, it's not because when you nail those foundations, when you look after your home, [00:22:00] It really is possible.
Christa: Yeah. I love that. It's the hope. It's the hope and it's the [00:22:08] guidance and it's the solutions. So thank you so much for sharing all of that. And how I know that we always put our stuff [00:22:16] in the show notes, but how do you best respond if people have questions?
And by the way, you work with people outside of New Zealand as well, right? Yeah. [00:22:24] All over the globe. I love that. Even though the time difference, you're willing to get up early. Oh yeah. [00:22:32]
Sheree: My us, my European clients all over the world.
Christa: And yeah, that's the easiest way for people to work with you [00:22:40] individually.
Which way do you prefer? That's easiest for you.
Sheree: I'm on Instagram the most or I do have a quiz. Like if you want to go and you're like, I don't even know where to [00:22:48] start. And you just want to get a feel for what might be the root cause of why the weight shift, like not moving or what's actually going on in your [00:22:56] body.
From there, you can then book a complimentary call. So I can pop the link to the quiz in the show notes as well. If you just want something like that to start or just reach out to me, flick me a message. [00:23:04] I'm more than happy to get on a call. And like I always say to people, like the call is there to give you some next steps, regardless of whether we work together, like I'm here to support it's my [00:23:12] mission to help people heal.
And so if I can even give you one little tip that points you in the right direction, then I'm happy. And hopefully that [00:23:20] helps you too.
Christa: I love that. Thanks for sharing all your goodies.
If you love this episode, be sure to leave us a review, download and [00:23:28] subscribe. If you know someone that could also benefit from this conversation, please share. That's how we spread empowered health. We'll see you again for another episode of the [00:23:36] Wild and Well Collective.
