14. A Year Later: How Nadila Is Living Her Best Life After Health Coaching

Nadila completed my Food and Holistic Health Coaching program exactly a year ago.  When we starting coaching in January 2022, Nadila was suffering from long covid, autoimmune conditions like Hashimoto's, acne, food allergies, low confidence and self-esteem. Not only did she completely heal during her time in Food and Holistic Health Coaching, a year later she is still reaping the benefits and leveling up on her wellness journey. Join us as we share an intimate conversation with Nadila, whose tale of resilience and transformation is bound to liven your spirits and fuel your journey toward healing and self-empowerment.

Navigating the complexities of Hashimoto's disease, dietary sensitivities, and the psychological maze of weight management, Nadila's experience resonates with anyone who's fought to understand their own body. Her revelations with acupuncture, the nuances of tailoring a diet to one's unique needs, and the triumphs over food allergies in dining scenarios are not just stories. They're lessons in self-advocacy, the significance of emotional well-being, and the art of crafting a life that celebrates wellness as much as it does flavor.

Our episode isn't just a recount of Nadila's milestones; it's an invitation to reimagine the landscape of your well-being and to recognize the profound ripple effect of investing in Health Coaching. Through Nadila's eyes, we see the many ways our health journeys shape us, encouraging us to take charge of our health and influence the communities we nurture.

You are invited to connect with Nadila on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadila-yusuf/

Thank you so much for listening!
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Transcript

Naihomy: 0:09

Welcome to the Wealthy Generation Podcast. I am your host, naomi Jerez, your Bronx race, dominicana wife, mother of two new BFF and food and holistic health coach. I went from living a surface level healthy life to learning firsthand how to live my best life, rooted in wellness, and get my status back. Whether you're a wellness enthusiast, a food lover or simply curious about creating a healthier, more vibrant life, this podcast is your guide. We're going to dive deep into topics that will inspire you to make positive changes and elevate not only your well-being but those of generations before and after you. Stay tuned for exciting conversations, expert interviews and a whole lot of inspiration that will lead to action.

Naihomy: 0:59

Welcome to the Wealthy, wellthy Generation Podcast with me, your host, naomi Jerez. Hi friends, welcome back to the Wealthy Generation Podcast and that's WELLTHY. I'm sure you're sick of me of saying that already, but I really want you to know what the wealthy is. Anyway, today is such a special episode because I actually have one of my former clients joining me. We ended, or she graduated from, my one-on-one food and health coaching program back in December 2022. I'm excited for her to share her story because I want to keep inspiring hope that you can change your health around. That's number one and number two, that you can make changes and it can be something that's sustainable. So I really wanted to bring her on to share how she has continued on and is currently leveling up on her health and wellness journey, a whole year after we were done with coaching. So I want to introduce to you Nadila.

Nadila: 2:24

Say hi. Hi everyone, I'm so honored to be with you all and just share my story. I hope that my story helps others. But also, jess, I was listening to one of your episodes and I think it's all about community. Even though you may not know someone, you may feel invisible in your journey. You may feel so alone. There's so many other people that might be experiencing what you're experiencing, and so I hope that I can shed a little bit about my own experience to help others. I am someone who really loves to give, so I'm just here to give A little bit about me.

Nadila: 3:04

I'm Nadila. I'm based in Alexandria, virginia. I work in the DC area. I actually work for a tech company and my job there is a DEI strategist and I lead sort of like program management. That wasn't just the only thing. I did. A super career, pivot. I was an educator for about maybe over 10 years, was in the classroom, was a college guidance counselor, trained folks, coach folks, managed a high performing team Somewhere along the pandemic.

Nadila: 3:41

Because of my life and I'll share a little bit about that I decided to also change my career path, and I think that all happened also due to my health. So I'm sharing that to say like that's what I do. But the real way I introduce myself now is not really connected to my work. It's more connected to my values and I'll just share.

Nadila: 4:03

I am a dog mom my dog's in the room you might hear her bark. Her name is Nadila. I'm a wife. I'm a sister, a daughter and a godmother and aunt. There's so many things about me that are not just work. Work is just one part of my identity that I've learned. I would say the biggest part of my identity right now is gratitude, like something I practice every day, and wellness. I'm a yoga teacher. I would never be saying that. You would have asked 10 years ago if I was going to be a yoga teacher. I'd be like help, no, I love yoga. And yeah, I'm so many things. I'm an activist, I'm a social justice warrior. These are the things I think that are also values of mine, and so I just want to share, like I introduced, what my job was, but really who I am is more than that.

Naihomy: 4:53

Yes, I love that introduction and thank you for really clarifying that, because I think that a lot of us tie our worth and who we are just to the work that we do to bring to support us financially, and the truth is that we are way more than that. So thank you for bringing that up. So, nadila, tell us a little bit about where you were with your health and wellness, or where you were not, before we started working together.

Nadila: 5:25

While I remember reaching out to you. We have a previous relationship, even before you were my coach, and I'm like hey, yes, we went to college together.

Naihomy: 5:36

we went to college together. Okay, good, we're classy scholars too.

Nadila: 5:42

Just kicking ass and doing great things. I reached out to you just to find out like what was your business. I saw you in IG. I saw you helped a few people that I knew and I was curious. But really when we got on the phone together I kind of it was like a therapy session, to be honest. I was like here are all the things. Here's the full list of all the things and I'll just share it with everyone.

Nadila: 6:05

And as I share it, I think when I share my story I heal a little bit more every time. I think there's a place where you're silent about your story and you're invisible. And then there's also a place where you share it so that it could help other people who feel so alone. And at the time when I came to you, I felt so alone. I felt like there's no answers. I felt like no one could help me. So when I contacted you, we were in the pandemic. I had just recovered from long term COVID. I started a new job at the current tech company that I'm in right now and I came to you with a lot of grief and I'm saying grief because at the time I don't know exactly what it was, but now that I've had time to process it. It was grief, it was pain, it was trauma, it was like everything altogether. So I'll just start in.

Nadila: 6:56

During the pandemic, my father in law unfortunately passed away from cancer. During that time, while he was passing away in a hospice, my mother was diagnosed with uterine cancer and she's also a doctor working in New York City helping folks with COVID during the pandemic. And then, while that was happening, the insurrection happened January 6, that day also was the day I was diagnosed with COVID. Pre-vaccine wasn't vaccinated, never left my house because they already had autoimmune diseases. I was already dealing with health issues. I had to go to the doctor, probably caught it in between doctor visits or something. Turned out my COVID was really bad. I was hospitalized January 7, covid, pneumonia and everything in my life was sort of on pause. My mom was not slown, getting a surgery hysterectomy my father and I just started hospice and now I put my husband through the situation where I'm in the hospital now with COVID.

Nadila: 8:02

And that was really the moment where everything in my life kind of came to a head and really impacted my health. I never took time off from work unless it was to travel or go on a vacation? I never. I was into yoga and I was meditating and things like that, but I never felt like I was doing holistic things. I also have Hashimoto's and Alopecia, so I've lost my hair a few times.

Nadila: 8:28

During the pandemic, I learned that Hashimoto's was really impacting me, my skin, my gut. No one could actually tell me what was happening, but one of the things I learned through that is Hashimoto's could impact whether or not I can have children or whether or not I can carry full term. So really, when I came to you which I believe was that was in January 2021, I came to you October 2021, when I really felt like I had long term COVID. I had all these health issues with Hashimoto's. My skin wasn't feeling good, I lost my hair. No one could help me and I truly believe in in like science and medicine. I will say that as someone who has parents who are doctors, I believe in that. But I will also say going through that process was so alienating because no one could tell me the right answer of why I was feeling the way I was.

Nadila: 9:26

So when we did talk and I got on the phone with you, I said I'm eating well, I'm whole 30, I'm gluten free, I don't eat junk. I don't really know what's going on. And then you asked me how do you feel when you eat? Well? And I'm like, fine. You were like no, like how do you actually feel If you're making broccoli and that's a vegetable that you like? How do you feel? And I'm like I'm not excited about it, I'm just eating it because I need to. And you were like did you know, when you're feeling negative about the food you're eating, it's going to impact your mental and emotional health. And I'm like that's probably why I never feel full after I eat something that is good, but I don't want it.

Nadila: 10:14

And I remember that I was emotional too, because I felt so alone, I felt depressed, I felt my anxiety was high. I just wanted to know the answers of what was causing this, and I think one of my big things was during the pandemic. I developed this like terrible, terrible rash on my face, and that was one of the things I told you was. I'm like allergic to everything. So laundry detergent, body wash, shampoo, like I just got allergic to everything. I didn't know what was going on which caused this like rash on my face, and I was so embarrassed to tell anyone. I didn't want to even show my face on video, as you know, for months, and I think when I came to you, I was at a point where I've tried what I could. Maybe I have to do something that I haven't tried and trust the process. That's when my journey started with you. I think I came to you when I was at the lowest point, or I had come out of my lowest point to access help.

Naihomy: 11:18

Yeah, that's quite a journey and a lot to deal with in a very short period of time. So, thank you so much for being vulnerable and sharing everything that you were going through. And I do remember when we spoke and because Nadila and I go way back to college I knew that this was not her. I knew that this was not you. I knew that I could see how broken you were and that made me really sad, because Nadila was very vibrant and very happy and she was like always had a pep in her step, and to see her this way made me feel very sad and I also knew that, although it was going to be quite a journey, we could do something about it.

Naihomy: 12:16

And, like Nadila said, she comes from a family of medical professionals and she's been through all these appointments and everything and no one can really tell her what was going on. Now to be clear again, as I always say, I am not a medical professional. I am a certified holistic integrative health coach. But what I am trained in from a functional medicine perspective not that, again, I'm a medical professional is looking beyond surface level, what's happening and that's exactly what I was doing here and something that the American medical system doesn't do. And trust me, I love science and this is why I'm here too, and I also very much believe in science is connecting the dots.

Naihomy: 13:09

Everything is very isolated, like Hashimoto's will treat your thyroid skin will take you to a dermatologist, you know co radio see another specialist. But very rarely do we start connecting the dots as to what is the root cause of all these things. So that's where my mind was going when I was listening to everything that was happening, and I also want to point out that what we never consider oftentimes is the high amount of stress and trauma, of circumstances that are going on in our lives that cause certain medical conditions. Like Nadila mentioned that her father in law passed away, her mom had cancer, she had really bad COVID. We as a society were just like in the thick of it with COVID and all that also affects our physical health. So can you walk us through a little bit of, let's say, what your challenges were in coaching or what your experience was, because you said you had tried everything. So how was this different for you?

Nadila: 14:23

That's a good question. I think when I came to you, I had started going to a woman's clinic in Los Angeles that's where I lived before moving to Alexandria and when I went to the women's clinic they were like you probably need to rehab your gut and I appreciated them bringing that up, but I'm like okay, so how?

Naihomy: 14:46

What do?

Nadila: 14:46

I do. They're like you know have bone broth, have some probiotics, don't eat any dairy, don't eat any sugar, and a few months you'll feel good. And they prescribed me with a probiotic and I was kind of on my way and, by the way, I really loved the clinic I went to. I felt like it was really good support. But the support that I was looking for was if I needed to do those things I need to work with, not a therapist or a doctor, but like a coach that will help me, like check in with me about my food, someone I can talk to weekly, and I would say that was one of the things that you know I tried to do. Like I tried this clinic. I got some answers a little bit, but I didn't get like the one on one that I needed. So that's like one thing. The other thing is the clinic offered acupuncture and I absolutely my acupuncturist. I don't even know how to send her this. I would love her to. She changed my life. I love her so much I don't know how to contact her, but she really helps me learn that I carry a lot of my trauma and my grief in my gut and that if that I don't heal that. It's going to come out in other ways, like the. The heat in your body builds up and it actually comes up. So that's why I was having like skin issues. That's why I may have like seen my hair fall out. I just like wasn't releasing things. So I learned a lot from her, but I knew that I needed more than that.

Nadila: 16:19

The last thing I would say I tried is I was going to an endocrinologist during the pandemic. I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's because my levels and my thyroid were all over the place. I probably had it my whole life, but no one ever told me. And my endocrinologist was like I don't think you need medicine for this, but I think you can treat this by dietary changes. And I'm like okay, what is that? And she was like well, you know, a lot of times Hashimoto's is linked to celiac or like gluten sensitivity or gluten allergy. Just cannot get out of gluten. Man, I love pasta. I'm listening to one of your other episodes so I'm sharing that. They love bread, I love pasta. But it wasn't that hard for me to cut out because I already was eating like a whole 30 diet. So I'm like all right, it's not too bad and I think I can cut it out.

Nadila: 17:14

That wasn't the hard part of cutting out gluten. The hard part was eating things that were not making my body reactive. Because one of my doctors said don't eat dairy, so I started eating vegan cheese. Another doctor said don't eat gluten, so I started buying gluten free bread. But then there's so many products and gluten free products that are so bad for you, so I wasn't eating as mind mindfully as I could, and that's one of the things I learned from you. You were asking me like what's in it? And then I was telling you to drink my peanut butter and be like did you know palm oil was excise.

Nadila: 17:56

Oh shit, I am not putting the right things in my body. So I think I've tried out those things, but I never really had like the individualized attention that I think I needed to actually see success. I mean, let's just talk about wait for a minute. I came to you. I said I wanted to lose weight and I'm not like your body person. I'm average weight, I'm a smaller figure sized person. And you were like, why does that matter? And I'm like I just want to feel good. I want to like look good in my clothes. I want to like make sure it feels loose and everything. Within the first few weeks of us working together I dropped like 10 pounds. Now my journey with understanding weight is very different, but I was so excited about those results. But I think those results were also lifestyle changes that I made. Like I was cooking at home, I wasn't afraid to like throw what I had onto the stove. Immediately I started seeing like changes that I was scared to do on my own, that you sort of guided me through.

Naihomy: 19:04

I really want to point out the feedback you got from individual doctors and the changes you tried to make to help yourself right.

Naihomy: 19:14

Like, if they tell you know dairy and you love dairy to some extent, then you were switching to vegan cheese and because you were taking care of like kind of the allergy part of it and the gluten, okay, well then, gluten free.

Naihomy: 19:29

But something that you were told in the clinic is you have to take care of your gut health. So when we're piecing all these things together, it's like, okay, well, what's in the vegan cheese and how does that affect my gut? And what's in the gluten free bread and how does that affect my gut? So I really love to think about it as this Tetris puzzle where, okay, you're taking one thing into consideration, but you have to take other things into consideration to heal, to like, okay, you're, you may not be eating gluten, but how does the gluten free products then affect your gut and how can you get creative? Because I know that every step of this journey for you was an obstacle, or like an obstacle course, because I know you mentioned that you were throwing things together in the kitchen. But cooking was also a challenge at first and thinking about your weight was also a challenge at first, so you really did work through so many things in this journey.

Nadila: 20:30

I know I mean. The list goes on.

Naihomy: 20:35

Let's stick with weight for a little bit, as I know that's a concern with a lot of women. And how did your thoughts change about weight? Because I remember there was a particular question that I asked you and I said Nadila, will there ever be a time where you're not trying to change your weight and your body? I don't know if you remember that.

Nadila: 21:02

I don't remember that, but I still think the answer is.

Nadila: 21:07

I will always want to change that. I hate to say that. Okay, so here's my thoughts about Wait. Now I want to. Actually everyone should watch this YouTube clip, or this clip of Quinta Bronson and Oprah talking. And Oprah asked her what's like the thing that you learned this year or the question that you had for yourself? And she was like I asked myself, do I love myself? And her response was like so just just hit me. I was like wait, actually everyone should ask themselves that Do I love myself?

Nadila: 21:46

And that for me, you know, a lot of times we equate self love to how we look, how we feel, what job we have, what relationships are with us. We never really think about us in the picture. I bring this up to say I absolutely love myself right now, like 100%. I give myself love every day because I need to love myself in order to love others and do my best work. But I also need to like believe that the number one person that I can help is myself. First and for weight, I feel like I've always wanted to try to control it, because there's a standard of people say like the skinny you are, the pretty you are, the more successful you are. That's all bullshit.

Naihomy: 22:35

first of all, I've never heard of that Okay.

Nadila: 22:39

I think it's a corporate thing, but you've worked in corporate, I don't know. It's just like some of the things that men tell me. I'm like what are you saying right now? I'm like I'm not going to be these weird perceptions of weight and beauty and just a whole list of things, and I've kind of learned that if I don't love myself, then I'm not going to be my best self, I'm not going to feel my best self, so my weight journey no longer matters as much. My question that I ask myself is do I love myself today?

Nadila: 23:10

If I don't, then why and I think that's the hard question, right? There's other ways that I've thought about my weight. Now, instead of being anchored on a number, it's more about do I feel good in my clothes? Do I look good? Do I feel happy? Am I wearing the right size? I'm not trying to fit into like.

Naihomy: 23:32

Reach oh my God, yes, I love that. You just said that Keep going.

Nadila: 23:39

I'm like why am I buying these leggings? I know I'm not going to feel comfortable. That Let me just buy a size up, I'll feel better, right.

Naihomy: 23:46

And yeah.

Nadila: 23:48

Like you know, I'm maybe I'm buying clothes that's too small for me and now, because I bought it and it's a smaller size, I'm obviously not going to love myself in it because it's not comfortable, it doesn't look good on me. So it's been less about the number and now it's more about strength. Like I told you, recently I hired a personal trader.

Naihomy: 24:11

Yeah.

Nadila: 24:12

Shout out to my gym. It's an all women's gym. I don't even know how I found them it was like, honestly, a Google search but I think I manifested it. I was like I want a community, I want a woman's space when can I find that? And I want a community that is diverse, like I just don't want to be in a homogeneous community anymore. I found a gym exactly for me, hired a personal trainer this year. Man, both of my trainers are kicking my butt. One helps me with the smaller body parts and muscles that I need to really work on for getting stronger and better at yoga. So we do a lot of bar and Pilates. The other instructor I have is all about weightlifting, squats, barbells. I didn't even think I could do those things. She strapped on 245 pounds and I had to move across the room with this strapped on.

Naihomy: 25:11

I was like I don't think I could do that, and I did it.

Nadila: 25:14

So it's been less about weight for me and it's been more about my strength and how confident I feel, how happy I feel in my body. I just want to feel really just badass.

Naihomy: 25:27

Do you?

Nadila: 25:27

Oh my gosh, of course. I mean I feel like I could lift 245 pounds. So I you know it was a risk. It was definitely a risk to hire a trainer and invest money there. It was definitely a risk to like go to a gym and pay money. I also have a Peloton. I do yoga. I've found that I don't need to work out every day and I can listen to my body. It's going to tell me when I need rest and it's also going to tell me when I can go and push myself.

Naihomy: 25:56

Yeah, absolutely. Y'all you need to listen how confident, the confidence shining through on herself. I love that for you, just the confidence coming from your inner self, your inner worth, what you are doing, instead of relying on outside sources to confirm that for you. And there's two things Now that I mentioned that, because another thing that we really worked on during our time was number one what does exercise look like? Because now you're like, oh, I'm dragging 200 pounds across the room, but to get there was a hold on a journey. And number two, the validation portion of it. Knowing that like you're just so self-validating right now and you're loving on yourself, but before it was a lot with external validation that we worked on. Do you want to touch on that a little bit?

Nadila: 27:02

I think one of the things you told me was the only person you need to validate yourself is yourself. I'm just going to say that again the only person you need to validate you is yourself. Like I don't need my husband to tell me that I look good he says that to me all the time.

Naihomy: 27:27

I love it.

Nadila: 27:30

I don't need him to do that, because I already feel it for myself, and so I need to validate myself, because that is also going to instill power in me For sure.

Naihomy: 27:46

I want you guys to hear that, because oftentimes we rely so much on external validation, but when you know who you are at your core and you've worked for it, is a very different feeling. So, moving on, thank you for giving us a little bit of a rundown of some of the things you worked through. What were a few of the results that you saw during doing this work?

Nadila: 28:17

Okay.

Nadila: 28:18

So one of the things Naomi does is she'll send you podcast episodes that remind you of yourself, of me, right? So you sent me this podcast episode and I'm like, do you need to listen to this podcast episode about integrative health from this doctor I follow? And I'm like, all right, I'll listen to it. I'm not really someone who reads and listens to a lot of things that are not related to work. To be honest, I'm like, okay, I'm down. So I listened to this podcast episode, which I think we should link, maybe, to the newsletter so folks can listen to it.

Nadila: 28:50

Okay, this doctor was talking a little bit about how he was working with a patient. She had Hashimoto's and other symptoms. They literally cleaned her diet. Still no improvement with her skin, things like that and he was like, I don't know why this is still happening. And then he said, oh, you know, I had an epiphany that what if she had lead poisoning? What if she had, like, old fillings in her mouth? And then you sent that to me and you're like, listen to this and just like, actually be intentional about what you hear. I'm like, okay, cool, I come back to you the next week.

Nadila: 29:25

And I'm like, oh my gosh, I have these old fillings in my mouth from like back in the day like 1996. I don't even know, like way back. You're like, well, did you want to go to the dentist and get them checked out? And I'm like, okay, I hate doing operations, I hate going to my doctor's appointments, but I will do them. So I went to my dentist, who I absolutely love in Los Angeles, and I was like, can you look at my fillings? And she was like, yeah, there's nothing that I need to change. They look fine. And I was like okay, but can I ask you a question Do you think that there's lead in the fillings? And she's like when did you get the stun? And I was like in the nineties. And she's like, yeah, definitely.

Nadila: 30:05

And one of the things we found after working with you is that lead poison sorry, not lead in mercury poisoning in the fillings mercury poisoning is in fillings mercury and that can impact Hashimoto's, that can impact skin, that can impact gut, that can impact sleep. She took out my fillings and she was like, yeah, I'm definitely sure you may have had mercury poisoning and I'm going to replace it and clean it up and everything will be good. I never knew how important dental work is for the body and now I am like paying for extra dental things because I'm like I need to like have the best teeth in the whole world, Mostly because I didn't know how triggering it was for my gut. I also had a close relationship with my dentist where she asked me things about are you a trauma survivor and that can also be impacting your sleep and your jaw and like the way you breathe at night? She gave me exercises to work on and I think that was like eye opening. So that was one of the things I found out. I had mercury poisoning.

Naihomy: 31:17

That was huge, that was huge.

Nadila: 31:19

And immediately after, two or three months later, my skin cleared up, I felt better, I felt lighter. I don't even know how to explain it. It's just like knowing that it was out on my body.

Naihomy: 31:33

Oh good.

Nadila: 31:34

The other thing I wanted to mention is one of the things I learned in our coaching is I was eating a lot of almonds because I don't really love meat and you know that I eat chicken. You taught me how to cook fish. I've been cooking fish. I've been cooking chicken. I don't really eat a lot of red meat. And one of the things that we had talked about because I wanted more protein is I was eating a lot of nuts, so like cashews, almond, almond butter. And you had come to me and you were like, hey, I saw this and you're eating a lot of almonds. What kind of almonds are you eating? And I'm like I don't know. She's like can you go and check? Go check. And then you had shared with me that almonds could cause skin sensitivities for folks that might have might not have a full nut allergy, but might have the skin of the almonds.

Nadila: 32:29

Yes.

Naihomy: 32:30

Not the almond itself is crazy, yeah, the intricacies.

Nadila: 32:34

Exactly so. I took almonds out of my diet. Rest in peace, almonds, I love them so much. I had no skin inflammation, like zero, like it went away.

Naihomy: 32:48

Yeah, because your skin cleared up, and then you were like, hey, I'm having these little bumps everywhere and I don't know what's happening.

Nadila: 32:57

Yes, and that was from that.

Naihomy: 32:59

Yeah, anytime you see something on your skin, look at your food.

Nadila: 33:05

I just want to say that Go ahead, sorry, yeah exactly and at first I was like, isn't that dairy I'm eating? And you're like well, we had already, at this point in time, I stopped eating dairy, like vegan anything. Instead, one of the practices I've learned is like buy organic and buy like fresh and buy ingredients, like products with limited ingredients, like read the label. So the cheese that I do eat now is mozzarella. I buy organic products. I make sure my sour cream I use sour cream a ton In different products I want to make sure it has like one or two ingredients, nothing that's going to cause inflammation to my body. So those are some of the things I've also learned is watch. It's not about watching what you eat, but taking intentional care of the things you buy, the products you invest in.

Naihomy: 34:03

Yeah, can you also touch on a little bit, because that's one area of things I feel like, what you buy for your home and what you eat in your home, but a whole nother section of it is dining out, and I know because of your sensitivities and because what you ate had such a big impact on you, on your gut and your skin and all that, oftentimes you were scared to dine out and it really limited you because it's something that you really loved and enjoyed, and you not only for yourself but with your partner. So can you share a little bit about how you were able to eat out with confidence as well?

Nadila: 34:51

Yes, I just had a memory where I called you crying with something.

Nadila: 34:58

So here's the story. I had moved across country from Los Angeles to the DC area. I was living in a community where I don't know. I just like didn't feel seen or comfortable yet and my cousin was like, let's go out to this restaurant. And it was a cheese restaurant and I love okay, I love love cheese. So I'm happy that I'm not eating vegan cheese. I love the real stuff. So we went to this cheese restaurant and they had gluten free grilled cheese sandwiches and I'm like great, I would like this on gluten free. This is what I want, whatever the food comes.

Nadila: 35:40

And I'm looking at it, I'm like this stuff he doesn't look gluten free. And my husband's like, oh, you know, these days gluten free looks so good. It looks like looks like the same thing, let me try it. So he tries it and he's like no, it's definitely gluten free. And I'm like, okay, fine, if we think it is. It was like a. Really it was like a Chebada run.

Nadila: 35:58

At this point in time, I was already gluten free for like two, three years. I put it in my mouth and I was like I don't think this is gluten free. It's like too good to be. But maybe, maybe, you know, I'm on a different hose. I'm in a different restaurant I've never been to. Maybe it's the right thing. I call over the waiter and I ask them hey, can we just confirm this is gluten free bread? And they were like, oh my goodness, that is definitely not good gluten free bread.

Nadila: 36:33

And immediately I start crying in the restaurant. I'm so upset. I think a lot of it had to do with, like, I just moved. I'm still trying to find my place. Even though I'm here, I want to advocate for myself in the restaurant. And then I did, and then this happened and then cut the way. The restaurant wanted me to pay the bill, like pay for the food, and in my tears I was like there's no way we're going to pay for this food. I'm crying and telling the manager we're not paying for this. They made me a new dinner and everything I took at home and then I immediately called you. I was crying in the parking lot because I was so upset.

Nadila: 37:10

And I realized that I still had power in my order. The order didn't come out right, but I still have power in taking care of myself immediately, like I have the skills and tools to do that. You were like double up under your probiotics, take an allergy medication, maybe have some lemon water in the morning, like I need what I had to do. Now, when I go into a restaurant, I am kind of like I tell my partner that I don't really mind where we go, as long as there's options, and I don't need to look at the menu before going because I know how to modify the menu for me. Usually, when I go to a restaurant, I now tell them, especially when I'm making reservations. You can automatically tell them if you're allergic to things, so you don't actually have to tell them about it.

Nadila: 37:57

So when I do that, I don't really have to bring it up, but when I don't do that, I tell the waiter. We trust I'm allergic to gluten. Cross-contamination is OK for me. No nuts, no soy. That's one of the allergies that I had that you and I talked about. That I actually found out at a restaurant. Someone told me soy is actually a product of gluten and I'm like, oh my god yeah.

Nadila: 38:21

Don't be that. So I feel more confident in asking for what I want and I'm also balancing what I want. Like now I don't even get alcohol unless I feel like it's necessary. Now I usually get like I'll get a sandpale of green with lemon, or if I really want a glass of wine, I'll do that. If I really want an alcoholic beverage, and let's say it's a margarita, I'll say, bring me this type of tequila and wine and they're like OK. But I want to make sure that if I'm going to put alcohol in my body or if I'm going to drink something or if I'm going to eat something, I ask questions that will make me feel more confident in knowing what's going into my body. Most people, I want to feel good after I eat.

Naihomy: 39:13

Exactly so. Many of us do not associate feeling very sick to what we just ate. That's one or two. It becomes very normal Because, just from what I've seen, it's just normal not to feel well after you eat. People are bloated, people are super tired and if you're eating food that really serves you, you actually feel good and energized and like clear-minded and you're able to move on with your day as expected, instead of it being such a struggle and then having to rely on other sources, like coffee or more sugar or sugar at all, to help you finish off the day.

Naihomy: 40:02

So thank you for sharing those experiences. Let's just do a little run-through of all of the other results that you've got, because you got quite a lot, and then I want to go into how have you been able to keep this going for a full year. What has the experience been like? Is it torturous? Is it super easy? Do you enjoy it? And share a little bit about how you've been living your best life, from going to not wanting to show your face on camera to doing some super bad ass things in your life and career, and I can start with the wins. I know I just threw a lot right now and I'm like Naomi, you're just going on a rent. But the mercury poisoning was one, lowering your Hashimoto's numbers by over half on your blood work. Your antibodies was another.

Nadila: 40:58

What else? Let's actually talk about that one, because we didn't talk about that. One of the things that you told me was can I see your blood results? Are you going regularly? I'm like I really don't want to be needle in everything, but I went and now my personal trainer, who's also a functional medicine training to be a functional medicine doctor, she asked me for my labs too, because she's like it's not about how you look all the time, your weight, it's also about what's going on internally With the things that I've done.

Nadila: 41:34

Going gluten free, not having processed sugar, not having processed pretty much anything has really altered my Hashimoto's. I've been able to not. Fortunately, I don't have to take any medicine for my Hashimoto's. In fact, when I showed my recent labs to my personal trainer, she's like, yeah, technically you still have Hashimoto's, but you have it well under control and it's not active. You will have it, but it's not active. There's no type of sign of any inflammation in your body, and that is well to do, because I'm literally taking care of my body. What I'm eating is actually helping me manage my stress, my sleep, and I'm sleeping through the whole night.

Naihomy: 42:20

Which that was not a thing too. That's something that we worked on.

Nadila: 42:23

That was definitely not a thing, and I've learned how to manage that. Like now for sleep. That was a win for me. Sleep has always been hard for me because of my own childhood trauma, things like that. For me, I just felt like I was never getting enough rest. But when I started working with you, I was implementing things like having a hot cup of water before bed, cherry tart a little bit of that sometimes, making sure I don't work out two hours before bed. There was a few things that I implemented that really took care of me actually trying to get rest, and one of that was also stress management, like what.

Nadila: 43:06

I'm actually doing for stress management, so I felt like that was also a win. I'm now sleeping through the whole night Uninterrupted.

Naihomy: 43:17

That was another one. So sleep, hashimoto's. I think your confidence is not a tangible win, but something that really you developed, and you developed by learning more about yourself and taking really good care of yourself. So walk us through now 20. What year is this? 2023. 23.

Nadila: 43:46

I'm like I'm lost.

Naihomy: 43:48

I'm like, yeah, I'm like I'm planning for 2024. We started 2021. Like, what year are we talking about? Ok, 2023. How has this year been for you, with this lifestyle change that you have experienced?

Nadila: 44:03

This has been. It's interesting. A few weeks ago my husband was like how was the year? Like the year was so great and I'm like was it? And it took me a minute to actually think about it and I'm like this was one of my highlight years, Like one of the years that I'm going to like really appreciate with deep gratitude. I don't know, I think I just took risks. Even like coming on this podcast was a risk. I did an IG live with you, maybe last year around this time, and I was like I would never do that, but I'll do it, I'll try it out. I told myself that this year I would do the things that bring me joy. I would invest in the things that give back to the community. I co-chaired a fundraiser. I spoke at it. It was such a phenomenal experience For those of you who are a woman of color and you're looking for another community and you want to invest in your career development. I applied to Harvard Business School and I did a woman of color executive leadership program. I got it.

Nadila: 45:08

I got a scholarship to do it. It was one of the most beautiful, incredible experiences that I've ever had. I mean, I left with a network of people from the group. I've learned things. I went to Tribeca Film Festival. Based on that, someone from the Harvard program invited all of the women in the program to go to Tribeca Film Festival. I bought a house. I mean, I never thought we would be able to buy a house. Luckily, my CFO of the family was able to figure it out but we bought one of our dream homes that we wanted. We have amazing outdoor space and one of the things that I was able to do because I hated cooking before.

Nadila: 45:53

When I started cooking with you. I did not like cooking. Well, I would say I absolutely love being in the kitchen Now, which is a little bit wild. I do not like the cleanup, but I can throw it down. Now. I have my go-to meals. I have my kitchen sink meals. Whatever's in the fridge it's going into something I'll make it. I have my standard grocery list and because I loved being in the kitchen now and I like cooking, when we bought our home, the kitchen wasn't what we wanted it to be. My husband even told me he's like you're going to hate the kitchen. By the way, we bought the house without me actually seeing the house. He saw the house. I was at the Harvard program, but then we did and I just thought if we really want the kitchen we want, let's invest in it. So I did a complete renovation for our kitchen because I know I wanted to invest in our home, but also our wellness, and the kitchen is core to your wellness and I just wanted that.

Naihomy: 46:56

Say that again, say that again, say that again.

Nadila: 46:59

The kitchen is core to your wellness. I will also say you don't need the state of the art kitchen, you just need the basics of what you want in your kitchen to feel like you know what you want to make.

Naihomy: 47:13

Yes. Yes, I didn't mean it in the sense like you need to renovate your kitchen, but just having kitchen skills is really important to your wellness.

Nadila: 47:22

Yes, I'm feeling confident. Also, my husband really needs to have a recipe and the other day I was like you don't need a recipe. I thought my mom she's like just close your eyes, put one, two, three, she's got all the time.

Naihomy: 47:37

What's your background, what's your cultural background? Just so people know, because I think it's just such a bipop thing.

Nadila: 47:46

I am from Bangladesh. Yes, my parents are from Bangladesh. I am Bangladeshi, american and Muslim. And I mean, my mom throws it down in the kitchen and I always ask her for recipes and she's like I don't need to give you my recipe, you can just make it. So helpful.

Nadila: 48:04

I know, and now I was spending $20 a week on bone broth. I would go to this grocery store in Los Angeles. For those of you in LA, you know what store I'm talking about. They have very expensive products. One of the products is bone broth that they make in-house. It was so good I would usually buy their bone broth. Now that I live in a different part of the country, there's more limitations, and now I just have learned how to make the things I need. I make bone broth every week. In fact. I was thinking I could make a lot of money if I sell this.

Naihomy: 48:41

Yeah.

Nadila: 48:42

Yeah, I make my own raspberry jam, no sugar in it. I literally make whatever I want. I can make it. I made my own birthday cake. I made a five-layer cake and my family was like what did you make? I was like I really wanted something that I could eat, that I knew was made from love and that I know that I could enjoy. Yeah, I want to know what the products are in. So that was my year. I did these amazing opportunities. I traveled internationally. I just kind of was. I think my word of the year is re-energy Just re-energize and risk. I took a lot of risk, but it manifested with courage as well.

Naihomy: 49:30

Yeah, if you would say, if you would share what are strategy-based, what are the things, the basic things, because there can be a laundry list to add, but what are the things that are core to your health and wellness, that you do, let's say, on a daily basis or very often?

Nadila: 49:58

I will always have a dog in my life and I bring that up. I don't think you need to have a pet in your life to do this, but my dog is also my emotional support dog. I have her for other reasons, but the beauty of having her is that she provides me a lot of structure and routine, and one of the things I do every day is I hit more than 10,000 steps a day. We walk her. At a minimum, she needs three miles a day. At a max we try to do six. We're always walking. That's always part of my routine. And when I'm not exercising let's say I skipped the gym or I don't do a Peloton workout I know that I've still given my body exercise by even just being with her and being outside. So like that is number one. If you can walk somewhere further, if you can take public transit, even if you. Sometimes, even in my office, I just stand at my desk and for an hour like implement some type of walking would be like my number one thing.

Naihomy: 51:01

I'm glad you consider walking exercise now.

Nadila: 51:04

Yes.

Naihomy: 51:05

You remember that. Yes, you were like I'm like Nadeela, you walked three miles and you're like she would tell me she would be like I didn't exercise. And then I'm like what you do in your day. You're like, oh, I walked Nala for three miles and I'm like I don't know.

Nadila: 51:24

That's exercise.

Naihomy: 51:24

Yes, it is exercise.

Nadila: 51:31

It's also weight, weight strength training.

Naihomy: 51:33

She's 60 pounds. I'm not walking like you know a small dog.

Nadila: 51:36

Yeah, yeah, yeah, perspective Very good. Um, the second thing I would say is I plan ahead. Like when I'm anxious about food. I'm like I'm not going to eat my own food. I think some of your other clients do this as well. Um, my office offers me two meals a day and snacks, and they have good stuff. But sometimes when I go to the office I see that they have soybean, they have wheat and, like everything, sugar. Um, now, I plan what I want to eat and I try to make sure what I'm eating has 30 grams of protein. For every meal I have, I don't know how big protein was until I started working with me. I'm like okay, am I eating my, my? I got my husband hooked on it because now he will go to the gym and he'll be like where's my, where's my protein? Um, so I I like pre-plan. I bring my own stacks. I know exactly what.

Naihomy: 52:31

I'm eating.

Nadila: 52:32

I'm not stressed about it. The third thing I would do is because I now like cooking. I try to cook one meal a week that I've already made previously, like something that's like a routine meal.

Nadila: 52:44

One meal a week, that is meal, something that I haven't tried, and then one week a meal that's recycling, Like what's in my fridge that I can need to put magically together, just do Um, and so I've been keeping up with that. It's really hard. It also helps us save money when we do that, because one meal will will give us like a few meals, not just one Um, but I've also been doing that. I think one thing I can probably do better, since I always give myself feedback, as you know, that's one of my values, like I learn and grow and always reflect on what I could do better.

Nadila: 53:18

One of the things I was doing with you was having lemon water in the morning and that's been a little bit harder for me, but I'm doing that when I can. I'm having probiotic, um, probiotic medicine Like vitamins in the morning as well Bone broth when I can. Like I know what I need and what I need to reset. I also know what I need as a routine. So those are like those. I sounds like a lot, but I will say these are lifestyle changes that don't feel like I'm carrying any weight, like yeah, it just it feels so natural to me to do all of these things when I need to do them. I'm going to go ahead and do that. I'm going to go ahead and do that.

Naihomy: 54:00

I'm going to go ahead and do all of these things when I need to do them. I'm glad you mentioned that because If you're listening and you feel overwhelmed by you know Nadela's routine and what she's doing now is totally fair. But what she did mention is that is a lifestyle Shift, and I think I mentioned that, but it doesn't. It's not something that happens from one day to the next. We work together for nearly a year To to really dig deep into each one of these Challenges that was happening and let's throw in mindset, work and and past traumas that would come up and just so many things that it's little by little and how she mentioned like I am just super nosy when it comes to what you're eating.

Naihomy: 54:58

I don't just you can't just tell me, oh, I'm eating crackers. I'm like, okay, what kind of crackers? Where? How are you having your crackers? When are you having your crackers? How do you feel when you eat your crackers? Like it's literally a rabbit hole of questions, because no one ever thinks to go that deep With food and how it's impacting you and connecting all of the dots.

Naihomy: 55:21

So, yes, it might feel like a lot, but it's just because you're not there in your journey just yet, and that's totally fair, all right, and first of all, I also want to say that going from now wanting to show up on Zoom to leading a fundraiser and being part of hardware programs and showing up in person at work, like those are real growth moments too, where because I told you during your coaching, I'm like Nathila, you are meant to change this world. Like you have so much to offer, you have unique perspectives. Like you cannot be hiding these places. You can't hide Like it's not for you. You have so much to give and to offer. So I'm really, really, really happy that we're here right now, absolutely.

Nadila: 56:21

Thank you so much. And I would say for listeners out there listening to this, my journey is a lifelong journey. It's not like you do it for 12 months and then, like you're done. I'm always learning new things about how to take care of myself, how to invest in my balance and my wellness, and it's not easy. But I think what reminds me of getting through it is how much I've already been through.

Nadila: 56:49

Like, for me, it's just a reminder that I'm going to love my future self more than I love my current self. And I'm just going to I like I'm always looking to that and I, when my, when my personal trainer is like I know you can lift this much, and I'm like, no, don't, don't make me do this. I have to think to myself if I do this, I will appreciate this in the long run. Like, if I try to do this, you know, obviously I'm going to make sure I'm not like injured or things like that, but my motivation is making sure that I can have all of the things which you know. Ultimately, it's like do I have time, do I have health and do I have like wealth Right? And so those three things are like always on my mind time, health, wealth in some ways, and I think part of that, like the core to that, is taking care of your wellness so that you can manifest those things.

Naihomy: 57:49

Yeah, for sure, because you are your most valuable asset. You are your biggest asset. If you are not well, you can't go after any other goals. So, with that said, if there is someone who's really struggling right now and they are feeling alone and not seen, very similar to you, and they're kind of debating whether food and holistic coaching is something for them, and how might this be different? Because usually everyone I work with has been through a laundry list of different strategies or support systems to really try and help them feel better and get better, and they're still not where they want to be. So what kind of, I guess, suggestions would you offer somebody who's in that place that is feeling really lost right now and this might be a good option for them?

Nadila: 58:50

I think one thing and this is something we talked about in the beginning when I started my journey with you is how do you afford it?

Naihomy: 58:58

Okay, yeah, we did talk about that.

Nadila: 59:01

Yeah, for me, I have to change my mindset on how do I want to spend my money. What I learned through this process, what I learned is my number one priority is investing in my wellness, and now when I look at my monthly costs, I'm like this is all going to my wellness and I think if you're worried about that, one of the things you should think about is this is a long-term investment. It's not short-term. It's not like buying a bag or a pair of shoes. This is more of a. You're investing in yourself and your care right now to see a future version of yourself.

Nadila: 59:43

That's going to feel really good. So if there's someone out there on the fence like I think they should think about that. The other thing, the last thing I'll mention, is I'm open If folks want to come and chat with me about and I'm not a professional in this, just so everyone knows but if you want to come and ask me questions, you can find me on LinkedIn. Naomi will drop in my LinkedIn information. I check LinkedIn all the time. I'm happy to have a informational call with someone and just remember like you are your number one fan.

Nadila: 1:00:19

I think a lot of times we were told and taught like don't love yourself. That's like cheesy you know, but I actually think loving yourself helps other people love themselves too.

Naihomy: 1:00:34

That we'll leave it at that. I just told that to my client. I had a client call previous to this recording and I said the best thing you can do for loved ones who you want to kind of expose to this kind of lifestyle rooted in wellness, I said, is to fully model it for them, to fully do it yourself. And that's exactly what you just said, because people get curious. The best way you can love on others is to love yourself. The best way to show others without being pushy because I'm not about that either without being pushy or anything is to just live in it, Just be yourself. You put it into practice, you show up that way and it will your energy will, you know, leak into others and it'll spark curiosity.

Naihomy: 1:01:33

And yes, I will link your LinkedIn information in the show notes for anybody. For anybody who wants to reach out to Nadila, you should just talk to her regardless, because you should just book an informational call with her anyway, because she's done some amazing things in her life. So if you're looking to connect, especially in the women of color community, she's a great one and I really want to thank you for your time, for your vulnerability in sharing your story and being with us in this community, because I do think that is very powerful and I really do hope to share more perspectives on how this is possible. We don't need to remain stuck. We don't need to remain in pain and in frustration. There is hope out there, and you are quite an example of that. So any last words before we close off, and then we'll go.

Nadila: 1:02:29

I think my last word is write a vision statement of who you want to be, and that is it. Write down who's the person that you want to see for yourself in a month, in six months, in a year, in two years, and manifest it. I will tell you. I'm looking at my vision statement right now my vision board and my statement and I have accomplished every single thing on it. It took me two years to do that, but I have literally gotten to all of it.

Naihomy: 1:03:03

That's beautiful, yeah. And who decide who you want to be. I think episode number two is just on that and as part of your journey, deciding who you want to be and then taking action, taking baby steps. So thank you again, naxila. I appreciate you. Go, reach out to her.

Naihomy: 1:03:22

Listen to other episodes of Wealthy Generation. I would be so happy if you would leave a review, hit the like button, subscribe. I think the like button is for YouTube. Anyway, you know what to do. I appreciate y'all and listening and I will see you next week.

Naihomy: 1:03:42

Bye, thank you so much for tuning into another episode of Wealthy Generation Podcasts. Your time and attention mean the world to me and I'm truly grateful for your support. Come and join my community over on social media by following me on Instagram at Naomi Harris, where you'll have access to real time healthy inspo and see what I'm up to in my own wellness journey on the daily. I invite you to keep elevating and evolving your holistic health journey. By subscribing to my newsletter at NaomiHittscom, you'll receive exclusive content, valuable resources and juicy stories straight to your inbox. But here's the best part you have the power to spread the WELL wealth. Share this episode with a human who could benefit from this topic. Together, we can create wealthy generations.

Naihomy: 1:04:38

I will be back with another exciting episode next week, so make sure to subscribe to Wealthy, wellthy Generation Podcast on your favorite platform so you always make time for your wellness. By the way, remember I am a certified integrative nutrition health coach. I am not a medical professional. This content should be listened to for informational and educational purposes only. None of it should be considered medical advice. Always reach out to a medical professional for your health care needs. Peace out.