Ep 35 Courtney Bursich – 4 Pillars of Health

Meet Courtney:

While I’ve always considered myself “healthy” I never truly understood the dynamics of my body and the role that nutrition played in my overall health. After having my two girls I knew that I needed to make changes that would allow me to feel free from the pressure to look a certain way and be confident that I was feeding my family well.

Out of desperation to see changes in my own body came a desire to dive deep into the world of nutrition and holistic health. I’ve experienced a complete transformation in the way I feel and look and know full well that diet and lifestyle determine far more than a mere number on a scale.

What I’m going to share with you will reshape the way you think about food, your lifestyle choices and health.

Show Notes:

ABOUT COURTNEY

• My progression in the overall health space has really evolved for the last 4 or 5 years
• I’ve always had an interest in nutrition, training and really a healthy lifestyle
• But it wasn’t until I had kids and really starting experiencing a lot of physical and mental changes that surround pregnancy and post-pregnancy
• I was probably like everybody else. I wanted to be healthy because I wanted to look good and if I look good then that made me feel good
• My frame of mind definitely changed after I had children because now I am responsible for keeping other little humans alive
• I also was experiencing a lot of emotional instability and obviously, the physical changes that go along with pregnancy and post-pregnancy are pretty dramatic
• So, I kind of began this personal mission to educate myself on the nutrition aspect and also how much lifestyle really plays such a critical role in the expression of our DNA, genetics and how we feel
• I went and got my primal health coach institute certification last year and I have been taking on clients and working with groups of people
• Now, I am kind of doing stuff a little bit more on a broader scope where I can speak to multiple people – podcasts are great way to do that
• We are conditioned that our DNA is kind of written in stone before we were even born
• But what we are beginning to learn is that, there are so many outside factors and variables that really determine if genes are expressing themselves
• These genetic snips are very common, but they give us these proclivities towards different behaviors, neurological responses, hormones, immune health and certain lifestyle patterns impact when these genes turn on or turn off
• So, they are not necessarily bad genes, it’s just that there is a component of the gene that is stimulated in an adverse way in just a normal lifestyle
• It is almost like figuring out the blue print of your body and figuring out what’s going to work in your favor and what might work against you
• We are not locked in what we are born with. We can adjust our lifestyle to bring out the best in our bodies
• You don’t have to have a full DNA panel done, that is not necessary
• But, what I do love to do with my clients when I work with them is to really help them be this detective with their own bodies
• So that they can become very self-directed in how they manage their diet and lifestyle
• I want to help you figure out where it is that your body is struggling by looking at these four different areas – nutrition, exercise, sleep and stress management
• I like to walk people through what their body is having to manage
• I like to give people a little bit of exposure and help them identify because we just don’t think of these areas as being factors of our health
• I want them to be able to make those shifts and really feel the benefit and I feel like that is what creates lasting change because that motivates people to continue making better choices for their health because they are experiencing the benefits
• I want people to appreciate their body along their aging process
• Having worked with several clients, it is not just about telling people to eat whole real foods because we all know that and that is a good thing to focus on
• But, conditioning the mind is a lot harder
• We slide back into this pattern of thinking that our joy, self-appreciation or self-love comes from checking all the boxes from getting to where we think our bodies should be
• Having that joy when your body may not feel or look its best and still having that competence and knowing that you are doing the right things to create healthy patterns in your life so that your body feels its best
• The first tip is just be okay with living in the middle of the gray area
• I am very black or white so, if I feel like I am doing something right, then I am good, confident and happy
• But if I feel like it’s not right, we carry this guilt or shame and you feel like you failed
• Life happens in that middle area
• If you are going to live on those extremes, then know that your mental state is going to be attached to every decision you are making
• And it’s not fun and you will miss out on so many great life experiences
• Honestly, that’s where our bodies want to be
• Everything we are experiencing makes up our day to day
• Just wrapping your head around not fitting your body into a certain mold of a nutrition pattern or diet
• It is about finding what’s best for you and being able to be okay with that and being okay with things not being clearly defined all the time

FAVORITE FORMS OF SELF-CARE

• Self-care is so important for balance
• Most people live in their sympathetic nervous system
• The cortisol response is not bad, it’s just that this modern lifestyle we are living we have one stressor after another, so we have this cortisol that is elevated all the time
• So, we have this crash and burn effect
• Self-care could be as simple as doing slow breathing techniques
• Really taking deep breaths, like filling your belly and kind of hold your breath for a long time and release that air out
• I tried to do it 1 or 2 times a day. Just bringing that body back to balance
• It is a very simple practice and very easy to incorporate when you have got so many things that you are probably managing as it is
• That helps digestion, so doing this before meals will promote and stimulate digestion
• But if you are super stressed out, your digestion is probably pretty poor, you probably have some inflammation and that’s going to work against in you in terms of keeping your immune system up
• We want our cortisol to be down towards at the end of the day so that our melatonin will start to rise
  
• The nutrition part is just so simple because it really just comes down to eating real foods
• I always like to tell people, “if you don’t envision it growing or walking on the Earth or swimming in the ocean, then it’s probably not a real food”
• It’s really about resetting the way that you are looking at the food
• You have to work on that mind component and really realizing that food is nourishment, that is what is fueling our body
• For not giving our body the right resources then we can’t be surprised when things are broken down
• We don’t have to live this way, we just need to really evaluate what is our priority
• When you really can just commit to eating those things, you start to see the benefits
• I know that it is not going to be easy at first, but if you can stick with it long enough to start seeing how your body responds in such a positive way, then the thought of having these processed foods or sugar-based foods, will be a lot less appealing
• You have to be committed to the health of our body
• I am paleo, kind of keto, more low carb-ish – definitely somewhere in that sphere
• I have done a lot of research and reading about dairy and most of the pasteurized products, I would not eat them
• I have incorporated raw based products into my diet
• I would definitely focus on quality
• Some of the cultured products are a great way to start

FITNESS RECOMMENDATION

• I do love the high intensity burst workouts
• Whatever it is that keeps you coming back, keep your body moving and active, then do that
• Whatever it is that gets you excited and make it fun, that’s where I would say, get committed to something
• It doesn’t have to be that particular thing forever
• Finding what it is that will keep you excited is really what’s keeping it a habit and make it a part of your lifestyle
• Give your body a chance to recover
• You are never going to see growth if your body is in deficit
• I probably do 3 days of weight training, a day of burst training and a day of yoga

WHERE CAN PEOPLE FIND YOU

• Instagram: organic_blondie
• Facebook: Courtney Bursich Health Coach
• Website: organicblondielife.com

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