wholistic eating

 

Award-winning health and wellness coach, mindful eating expert, and 2x international bestselling author, Michelle Sugiyama, joins us in this episode as part of the Author Series for the latest #1 International Best Selling Book, Break Free to Health & Vitality. In today’s episode learn the importance of managing our stress and simple everyday things we can do to take care of our health and well-being. “Embracing the Journey with a Bumpy Wheel”— a simple but powerful exercise that will allow you to find which dimensions of your health you need to pay attention to.  By taking back control of our bodies with healthy foods, positive thoughts, and spiritual reflection, we can live a life of health & vitality. Tune into this week’s episode of Break Free to Brilliance for tips on how to smooth out your bumpy wheel of life. Join Seema Giri Host and #1 International Best Selling Co-Author Michelle Sugiyama.

 

Quotes:

 Whatever you’re meant to do, it somehow finds you. Your purpose finds you sooner or later.  

– Seema Giri (11:03:07-11:25:03)

“(My chapter, ‘Embracing the Journey with a Bumpy Wheel” is about how) Our journeys are never smooth. Our wheels are always a little bit bumpy. it’s about how wellness has so many other dimensions than just the physical dimension.” 

– Michelle Sugiyama (17:17:46-18:54:10)

“What changed for me (during the writing process was) knowing that I could be a force in the world. To really help people recognize that their health means so much not just to them but to their loved ones, their friends, their family, their community, and the world.”

– Michelle Sugiyama (30:10:39-30:49:53)

“Find out what is working for you and what is not. It takes a little bit of time, but this is your life we are talking about. You have to take the responsibility. There’s no one else that can do it. You have to take the responsibility of your life. So you have to try different things. You’re going to get exhausted. You get tired, you get frustrated. Guess what? That’s all normal. And then what do you do? You bounce back.”

– Seema Giri (37:43:81-38:21:73)

“I think it’s important, if any of the listeners have children or grandchildren, to really somehow stress the importance that health is everything. Because I think if we can get the newer generations onboard, Then it’s just gonna make the world a happier place, right? Because if we’re not healthy, we’re not happy and vice versa. “

– Michelle Sugiyama (40:19:47-40:51:09)

The Interview

Welcome to Break Free to Brilliance Podcast. I am so happy to be here with you for another amazing episode. This is part of our Author Series interviews. We have a wonderful guest, Ms. Michelle Sugiyama from our recent bestselling book, Break Free to Health and  Vitality, which is part of our Break Free  Series. 

So let’s get started first with a grounding meditation, and if you’re driving, please follow along, but don’t close your eyes. So let’s get started. Hold your eyes and take a few deep breaths, at your own pace. So inhale and exhale. And with every exhale, just let go of things that are not serving you right now. I know you had a lot of appointments and things to do before our time together today, and you have other appointments after our time together. Just let go of those thoughts and worries. I promise you, they will be waiting for you when you’re done. 

Grounding Meditation

Take another deep inhale. And with your exhale, just get  comfortable in your chair, in your position, whatever position you’re in and keep your back straight. And feel into the now. And with your next inhale. I would like you to bring into awareness your heart and think of a happy moment. It can be from any time period of your life, just choose one. Whatever comes into your mind right now. I want you to take yourself back to that time and relive that moment as if you’re living it for the very first time. Take in a deep inhale and just remember the feeling, the ambiance, the smell, who are you with and the bliss and the peace and the joy that you felt. Feel that now.

And with your next inhale, I would like it to bring your awareness to the top of your head where the crown chakra is. And I want you to think of a second happy moment. It can be from any time period of your life. Take in a big inhale, exhale, and just feel the feelings you felt at that time, the joy, the bliss, the peacefulness, that, that contentment. Feel that as if you’re feeling it for the very first time. 

With your next inhale, I want you to open your mind and heart to the possibilities of what you will hear and take away from our session today. It might be for you that you need to hear something, or you might be the messenger for someone who needs to hear it from you.

Now with the next inhale. I invite myself and Michelle to open ourselves up to the possibilities of what our audience, our listeners, need to hear from us today.

And that’s bringing ourselves to this moment and be a hundred percent present right here, right now. And with the next inhale and exhale. We’re going to be a hundred percent present and right here with each other, you may open your eyes with a great big smile.

 

 Welcome, Michelle. It’s so wonderful to have you on the show today.

 Hi, Seema. It is such a pleasure being with you today on your awesome podcast.

Thank you. And Michelle, would you like to share what came to you during that meditation?

Wow. Well, I just want to thank you for some of those wonderful memories that I had in my past.

Just brought so much warmth and joy into my heart. I was smiling during the meditation. The first one was when we picked up my adopted daughter for the very first day. She was four days old at the hospital and it was such an amazing moment for my husband and I, so that’s what came up for me.

Beautiful. Thank you for sharing that. You know, we have access to this at any time, but we tend to forget. It’s just a matter of closing your eyes for five minutes and just having access to that. We have access to that joy and that blissfulness at any moment when our day is not going the way we want, but we tend to forget that. So that’s why I like to start with that and bring us back to that moment. 

Well, it’s so exciting to have you back on because you are now a two-time international bestselling author. How does that feel?

Well, it’s crazy to me, honestly. I just am so overjoyed about it. I’m so grateful and honored that many people around the world supported our project, bought the book,  even just liked a post. So I really want to thank everybody out there for getting us to number one, international best-seller.

Yes, it certainly is a collaborative effort. And if we can’t do it without our, our listeners, our well-wishers, people who need this book. It was such a great combination of all of those people. But before we get any further, Michelle, I’m going to give you a formal introduction. 

Oh, okay!

Michelle Sugiyama is a nationally board-certified health coach. And for over 17 years, Michelle has engaged, inspired, and empowered people to move towards their best selves. She is the founder of Mindful Eating and a nationally Board-Certified health and wellness coach and Master-Certified health coach. Michelle has an active and thriving coaching practice and has been the highlight of numerous employee wellness programs.

She is an international speaker, two-time number one international best-selling author and was named the Most Inspirational Health Coach and Excellence in Wellness Education by Global Health and Pharma in 2020. She also holds a Culinary Certification from Le Cordon Bleu and a Master of Science in Organic Chemistry from Ohio State University.

Well, Michelle, that is a very impressive credential. 

Thank you. 

Whatever you’re meant to do, it somehow finds you. Your purpose finds you sooner or later.  

– Seema Giri (11:03:07-11:25:03)

Tell me about your journey a little bit. So you were in chemistry and now you transitioned into mindfulness eating coaching. How did that happen? 

Yes, correct. So, I went to college and really had no idea what I wanted to be, but you know, my dad was an engineer. My mom was a nurse. I really was kind of – I don’t want to say forced – but they really wanted me to do something in the sciences. I really wanted to be an artist, to be honest with you, but dad was like, “No way. That’s a good hobby, but that’s not what you’re going to become.” And so, you know, I did the good daughter thing and got my degree in chemistry and went into the industry for about a decade.

It was about the eighth year. It just was not working for me. I was not really happy. I was going through a lot of stress at the time and decided I’ve got to get out. I just need to get out. So I decided to go to culinary school and because for the most part I figured, I’m young enough now. If I don’t like it, I can always go back into my field, but it’s something that I should do now before it’s too late. 

So I became a personal chef, decided to cook healthy meals for families so they can have conversations around their dinner table and not just go to drive-throughs or eat convenient packaged food that they buy at the grocery store. 

And I loved that and decided to start speaking. I started going to corporations and doing seminars about healthy eating and healthy cooking and have just really, truly enjoyed this path toward helping people really put themselves and their health first, because really, our health is truly our wealth. So that’s kind of it –  in a nutshell – why I do what I do now.

That’s amazing. I have the same background. Not in chemistry, but how parents mandatorily encouraged me to go into business after four years of saying “you’re going to be a doctor, you’re going to be a doctor.” So all through high school, I was taking all science classes. I was geared towards that, taking some of the most difficult classes such as AP Biology.  Getting accepted into pre-med and then (my parents) saying, “You know what? No, I changed my mind. Study business. You will get ahead faster in life”

Yes. 

But I realized whatever you’re meant to do, it somehow finds you. Through whether you’re just not satisfied in your current career or the career you studied. Or you don’t do as well, you don’t thrive as well. Something happens. Your purpose finds you sooner or later.

I believe that is so true, Seema, and you know, both of us being Asians. And I’m not saying it’s just the Asian culture, but you know, we really want to please our parents. And they really want us to focus on something that’s science-related. Or become a lawyer, a doctor. 

Yes. I think what they do is they know certain professions have higher chances of success. It’s predictable, that’s why they encouraged you to go into those fields. Traveling the path less traveled is a little bit scary for them because security is so important. And through being a lawyer, a doctor or in science, it’s  a given track record for success.  But it needs to be combined with the interest of the individual to really take off.

Absolutely.

“(My chapter, ‘Embracing the Journey with a Bumpy Wheel” is about how) Our journeys are never smooth. Our wheels are always a little bit bumpy. it’s about how wellness has so many other dimensions than just the physical dimension.” 

– Michelle Sugiyama (17:17:46-18:54:10)

 

So you went through that, you found your passion and then you decided to become a writer, not once, but twice. So what inspired you to participate in Break Free to Health and Vitality? 

Sure. Probably my grandmother, as I write in the book. And really, she is my inspiration to really do what I’m doing now as well. And also my inspiration to write in Break Free to Stand in Your Power, which was our first book together. I mean, she was an amazing woman. She lived to be 101 years old. Her mantra was health is number one. 

But you know, she did not live a stress-free life. I mean, she was the wife of a serial entrepreneur as I write, and wore a lot of huge hats. But she was truly mindful about how she moved her body. Like she gardened well into her nineties and would read the newspaper every day. So she was mindful about keeping her brain active. And then of course what she ate. So she truly walked that mantra of health is number one. And so she is my biggest inspiration.

That’s amazing.  I think that’s what we need to do now: get back to the way our grandparents lived and ate, which was more natural food, more right out of the garden and a lot of movement. Activities back then were such that it was part of your day-to-day life.

And now our life has become so sedentary where we don’t get that much activity and we’re gaining weight, which is leading to all kinds of other chronic illnesses. That is what we’re trying to change through our stories, through our transformational journey and sharing it in this anthology.That is what we are trying to change. Let people know there are other possibilities.

And especially during this crazy time, right? The pandemic and forest fires and all sorts of stuff. I mean, people are eating more and moving less. And there’s a lot more stress going around.

And because of the pandemic and the fires, the opportunity to be out is so much less. Being together, you know, humans need that connection of being together. Not having that opportunity is also causing a lot of additional stress.

What advice do you have for people who are going through this? How do they manage and handle it?

I think there’s some easy things that we can do every single day. I teach about stress and what we can do about it. And the three things for me is walk, talk, or relax. So when I was going through my big stressful moments in the chemical industry, I could have just simply walked around my building. Or you can just take a quick walk around your block. Or even do the stairs in your house if you can’t go outside. Sometimes my father – he lives with us, he’s 88 – he just walks around in the house. 

Call up a good friend or a family member that you can have a nice conversation with. And then relaxing could be something like listening to music, picking up a book for enjoyment. Or like your breathing exercises that you just did to welcome everybody in. I love to do those breathing exercises because it’s so quick and effective. 

I’d like to teach people how to do box breathing. So it’s kind of like, breathe in for four counts, hold for four counts, and then breathe out four counts. So yes, walk, talk, or relax.

Those are great: walk, talk, and relax. And basically what’s happening when you’re doing that is that you’re changing your current state to a new state with the movement. And that just gets you out of whatever mindset that you’re in at that time.

Yes. You’re creating some endorphins, you get your blood flowing.

Yes. Sometimes If I sit for too long, it’s hard to get up. I am like a robot, just waking up. 

Especially those knees (laughs)

Exactly. Sometimes, in one place, I just  jump up and down, you know, or do some dance movements. It doesn’t have to be long. It can be really quick and that can help you change your state and get into more flowing movement. 

What did you name your chapter in this book?

So it’s “Embracing the Journey with a Bumpy Wheel.” Because our journeys are never smooth. Our wheels are always a little bit bumpy.

That is true. What do you hope people get out of reading your chapter?

Well, I think it’s about how wellness has so many other dimensions than just the physical dimension. The physical dimension would include nutrition, exercise, and even sleep. But there’s all these other dimensions that we really need to consider.

For example, if our emotional wellness needs attention, it can affect how we move. We might not even want to move, right? We might not want to even get out of the house. Let’s say if we’re really sad or depressed, it can also affect what we eat or how we eat. We might be grabbing for a lot of highly processed starchy comfort food, right? So we need to look at some other areas, not just exercise to lose weight right now. And there’s eight total dimensions. And I mentioned that in the chapter  because when I was going through my state of an eating disorder which I suffered for many years, my emotional dimension and spiritual dimension really needed some care.

Now I agree with you. We have so many other aspects of life that affect us. It affects the way we eat, the way we breathe, the way we sleep. And these are things for you to notice what is going on.

It may not make sense because  you feel “I’m healthy. I don’t feel stressed. I got a great family. What is going on?” You need to check these other areas of life, like your relationships. It could be your relationship with your significant other, or your work relationship, or friend relationship, or other relationships, or even finances. I find finances is a big one that affects you in so many ways that you don’t even realize.

Totally agree. 

Yes. So with your bumpy wheel, what I’m hearing you say is that you need to explore the other areas as well to see, okay, what else is not going the way I want it to? Because sometimes it sneaks up on you, you don’t even know. Sometimes, it’s like an underlying cause that is coming up in different ways and you don’t even know what it’s related to. 

That underlying cause – do you have a suggestion of a way to figure out what that underlying cause is?

I do. So there is this activity called the Wellness Wheel. There’s a lot of Wellness Wheels. You can just Google it. I have one that I have created for myself and even my clients. And there’s a link in the book where you can just download. There’s no strings attached, believe me. You can do this activity and it doesn’t take very long at all. 

You answer some quick questions about each dimension: emotional, social, financial, intellectual, occupational, to give you an idea where you are in that dimension. There’s the wheel where you kind of put a dot for each dimension. And it tells you, oh right, I’m pretty content with my physical dimension, but it looks like maybe my financial dimension is a little bit weak and in need of attention. Because you end up connecting the dots and the things that need a little bit more attention, the dot is closer to the center of the wheel.

And so when you connect, you can see how your wheel is shaped and where it’s bumpy.

That is a very powerful exercise. I’ve done your bumpy wheel, Michelle, and when you’re doing it, you really need to be honest with yourself. Sometimes we’re like, oh, let’s just put the higher number in this area. But this is really a tool for you to be honest and it’ll open up your eyes to the areas that you didn’t even realize were causing a problem in your life. And then they’ll give you an a-ha moment. And no one’s going to see it unless you show it to anyone else. This is just for you. So make sure to, first of all, get the book and read Michelle’s chapter of the bumpy wheel and download the bumpy wheel. It’s going to be very, very effective. Very eye-opening. 

Well, thank you for doing the activity, Seema. I’m glad that you did it. 

Yes. I always like to try the process of all of my authors because you know, you guys are experts in your area. You’re the authority. So who else am I going to listen to? (laughs)

(Laughs) 

Right? For me, it’s so easy. You’re all with me. We’re all part of it. We’ve gone through the journey together. I know you so well. Michelle, you and I have known each other for five, six years now? 

I think so, yes.

We’re from the Juice Plus community, which is an amazing whole food product and something that really was a catalyst in my healing and I think, yours too. So it was so great to connect with you when I first moved back into the Bay Area.  After your first book with me, Break Free To Stand in Your Power, which was also an international bestselling book, you got some awards and accolades after that, you were really able to build your authority with the book, right? 

Yes. I’d say that was probably the biggest one, which was quite a surprise. And I think that was prompted by the book.

Wonderful. And then you also got a fitness award. I believe the book has also helped with your visibility, since your article has been covered in several magazines.

Correct. I did an article for Yummly and it was about mindful eating. Like I said earlier, because of the pandemic, people are just grabbing a lot of snacks, like that snack cabinet has got our number. Like my daughter, for example, when she first started virtual school, she was literally just trying to forage for food every 20 minutes. And I knew she wasn’t hungry. She was just either frustrated or bored or overwhelmed. So I think this whole mindful eating thing is so important right now.

It sure is. You really need to see why you want to eat before you grab that item. Really ask yourself, am I hungry or am I bored? Am I overwhelmed? Like you were saying, what is it? Lately, I’ve been having a lot of sugar cravings too, and I don’t eat a lot of sugar and I’m still having the sugar cravings. So it makes me wonder, what is going on?  I started asking myself what sweet things am I craving in my life that I’m not getting? And I’m trying to fill it with this. Is that a good way of going about it, Michelle?

I think you’re right. Asking yourself those questions: Am I really hungry? What’s going on with me? Am I thirsty, first of all, because thirst can be a trickster. We can believe that we’re hungry, but we’re actually thirsty. Grab a big tall glass of water, kick that back, and decide if you actually need to eat food. But then asking other questions of yourself. It’s not a short article, but it’s pretty succinct. You could just look it up. It’s by Yummly.

If you just Google that with your name, Michelle Sugiyama, it will definitely come up. So tell me, Michelle, what was different about the whole writing process this second time around? 

What changed for me (during the writing process was) knowing that I could be a force in the world. To really help people recognize that their health means so much not just to them but to their loved ones, their friends, their family, their community, and the world. 

– Michelle Sugiyama (30:10:39-30:49:53)

Oh, I think I can’t even say it was easier, Seema. I wish I could say that. I never was a writer. English and writing were my worst subjects in school. And I just can’t even believe that I’ve actually written two books now. But for me, this time around, I wanted to tell more stories because I think that’s how people connect with the written word. And so I still tell a few stories. One is about my grandmother. I tell a little bit more about my story and then also an amazing, awesome story about a wonderful woman. She was my client, a very stressed out entrepreneur, and the steps that she had to go through in order to really have vitality and less stress. Then the weight just naturally comes off. We didn’t even focus on weight loss, but that is what happened. She just ended up dropping a couple of dress sizes and becoming a lot happier.

Wow. It sounds like you found the bumpy areas of her life, focused on that, and showed her how it affected other areas of her life.

Yes, that’s true. That’s correct. And also it’s just her realizing that she is the expert on her own health. She knows exactly what she needs, but she needed some support, some accountability. And then she can go into more of a maintenance mode.

That’s wonderful. You know, I think what coaches really do is show you your blind side. You know, as we’re driving, we have the mirrors to show us our blind side and that’s what you do because you can see that.  Encouragement and accountability are so important.

Michelle, you said something very important, which I really want to emphasize because so many people out there think they can’t write a book because they’re not good at writing or they’re not good at english. They don’t consider themselves as writers. I don’t consider myself a writer and this is my fourth book.

I never thought I would be doing anything like this, but like what you said earlier, when it’s your purpose to do something, it finds you sooner or later. So this is my purpose, which found me sooner or later. But all you have to do is share it from your heart. There are experts, we have editors and proofreaders that read and correct everything and help you maintain your voice and share your story. How was that for you?

Oh, it was a great experience. It really was. And to know that I had the backing from  you and your team made me feel much more comfortable. So I really thank you and your team for making this book amazing. And just helping all of us authors out.

Yes. That’s the thing. That’s one very important message that you brought up. It’s scary because you’re doing something different. You’re doing something new. And even though this was your second book, you felt it was a little difficult because you’re writing from a different perspective, right? Last one was Break Free to Stand in Your Power (which was about) How do you claim your power. This time it’s Break Free to Health and Vitality. It’s a different perspective. It’s about how do you really live a life full of vitality regardless of your circumstances.

What changed for you during this writing process?

Oh, let’s see what changed for me. Probably knowing that I could be a force in the world, even though it’s the second book. To really help people recognize that their health just means so much, not just to them, but to their loved ones and their friends, the family, their community, the world. And I’m just grateful that I have the opportunity to affect so many people in a positive way.

That’s very powerful. This is a reminder. Like you said earlier, your health is your biggest wealth. If you don’t have your health, you can’t do anything. If you have wealth, there’s a lot you can do. If you don’t have wealth, there’s still a lot that you can do, right? But if you don’t have your health and – I mean, everyone can see in the last two years what’s happened when you don’t have control over things, and when you’re not taking care of yourself, chances of contracting viruses, getting sick is so much higher. So it’s so important to really continuously build up your immune system. And that is my passion. My passion, my mission is to create a world that I want to live in, that I want my children and grandchildren and the future generations to live in. In order to do that, we have to do our part and come forward with our gifts that are given to us, living the purpose that we are meant to live. And I can’t do it alone. That’s why I compile anthologies so more people come together and more people share their stories. It’s a big multiplier and all of us pouring this energy and the possibilities of healthy living, of vitality, of standing in your power, of having peace, love and unity – first with yourself. So that you can become the best version of yourself and pour that out. Not from your cup, but from the saucer that it’s overflowing in.

Oh, I love that, Seema. That’s wonderful. 

And you’re a huge part of that. The more books you write in, the more different angles you’re sharing and it’ll click a light bulb in people’s minds. And already, we’ve gotten such great feedback from all of the books we’ve done, not only from the authors, but everyone that attended our Break Free International Summit. People who are reading the book, people who are participating, people you are sharing it with. So it’s already having a ripple effect. How does that make you feel, knowing that there’s such a ripple effect of what you are doing?

Oh, gosh, it’s just so amazing. And my heart is just so happy about that, just to know that this huge ripple effect is going on. So many people are reading it. People are getting whatever they need out of it. it’s totally different from one person to the other. But, you know, with the number one bestselling status, I think one of the categories was stress management, right? And it is amazing how interconnected stress and sleep and immunity and chronic disease and weight. It’s all connected.

Like for example, if we’re really stressed out, that can lower our immunity. And also if we don’t sleep well, it can lower our immunity. Like I heard you say that you’re really right now into how we can supercharge our immunity. You know, a couple of things. Sleep well, manage your stress. And also nutrition is so important too. Physical exercise. I mean, we can directly affect our nutrition and exercises, and we can manage our sleep and stress.

Yes. And I am the perfect example of that because, you know, six months ago, I couldn’t walk beyond three miles. Since I recovered from my three forms of autoimmune issues, I’ve always been eating healthy, but then I realized I had to dig a little deeper because I wasn’t releasing weight.

So I dug a little deeper and realized the healthy food that I was eating was not right for me. I had to go even further. Finally,  I just adopted the autoimmune protocol, which means you basically just get to eat a few of the greens, you know, no spices. So for an Indian person that was hard not being able to eat spice, except for turmeric and salt – that’s my spice level – I had to drop everything. Can you believe it, I’ve only released 20 pounds, but I’ve been doing this for almost six months. I should be half my size right now. So there’s still something. Now, I’m like, I’m just going to love my body the way it is. If I’m meant to be this way at this time, then fine. But I’m still gonna do all the healthy stuff.

If, despite doing all the healthy strategies, I’m still this way, then, I’m just going to love myself in this  form. I’m not going to try to be anything else, right.  Because I have wonderful gifts. I can walk. I can take care of myself. I’m independent. So since I’ve done that, my body has allowed me to participate in 10K marathons, which is 6.2 miles and  half-marathon. That’s 13.1 miles.

Over the last weekend, I accidentally walked 15 miles and I was thinking I’m not able to do 13. I got to do 13 somehow. My app that I was using to measure my distance stopped working. So I said, okay, I’m just going to do this round a little bit, this round also, just for good measure. And then I went to another location. I was like, I’m just going to do another round here for good measure. So I did my for good measure, like two, three rounds, extra of the park I was passing. When I got home, I was so sore after a couple of hours, I felt that  this level of pain doesn’t feel right. It doesn’t feel like 13.1 miles it feels like its more. Because I’ve been walking 10 miles regularly I was used to the long distance and I knew what that soreness level was. So finally, I checked on Google what I’d walked. I measured the distance and it was 15 miles.

That just goes to show you that when you’re tracking things all the time, you’re somehow, sometimes, holding yourself back. Here I was thinking I can’t even do 13 miles. And I went beyond that. If I was measuring I would have never done that. So now I know that I can extend myself even more.

So I guess the lesson I’m trying to convey is, do what you can, be intentional and don’t do it because you want to lose weight. Don’t do it because of something, do it because it’s the right thing for your body.

Find out what is working for you and what is not. It takes a little bit of time, but this is your life we are talking about. You have to take the responsibility. There’s no one else that can do it. You have to take the responsibility of your life. So you have to try different things. You’re going to get exhausted. You get tired, you get frustrated. Guess what? That’s all normal. And then what do you do? You bounce back. You get back on track. I’ve been doing that for so long, but you’re always one step ahead. And you’re a little bit healthier than before, and you can live a better life this way.

So true, Seema, and congratulations for walking those distances. Oh my gosh. I think it’s so true. We just need to start doing what we like to do, first of all.Listen to yourself. Like if you feel like, oh, I can only walk not even a mile, a half a mile or just four or five minutes, then just do that, you know? Start with baby steps and then see how you feel, keep progressing. Do a little bit of a challenge. But you know, what some people do is they’ll hire a personal trainer and they get trained for an hour. And the next three to four days, they’re so sore, they can’t take it, and then they just drop it because it just was too much for them.

But you know, simple things, like just parking farther away from the grocery store, just to get a couple extra steps. This is something that anybody can start with.

The dog. You have to walk the dog. (Laughs)

So true. So true. We did get a COVID puppy and we are absolutely walking that dog every day. My daughter will complain like, oh, I don’t want to walk the dog today, but nope, you got to do it.

I think it’s important, if any of the listeners have children or grandchildren, to really somehow stress the importance that health is everything. Because I think if we can get the newer generations onboard, Then it’s just gonna make the world a happier place, right? Because if we’re not healthy, we’re not happy and vice versa. 

– Michelle Sugiyama (40:19:47-40:51:09)

 

Yes, start where you can. That’s what we’re trying to say. Start where you can, do what you can, and then progress and get a partner. That helps. I have a coach that is helping me with the marathon training. And then of course, I’ve immersed myself in the environment of all you coaches, wellness coaches, so that really helped.

Michelle, it was so wonderful to have you on today. Are there any last words of wisdom you would like to share with our listeners?

I think it’s important, if any of the listeners have children or grandchildren, to really somehow stress the importance that health is everything. Because I think if we can get the newer generations onboard, Then it’s just gonna make the world a happier place, right? Because if we’re not healthy, we’re not happy and vice versa as well.

So it’s really important to somehow get it across into these young minds: let’s take care of our bodies. Let’s take care of our brains. Eat vegetables and eat fruits!

Basically what you’re saying is give the gift of life to the next generation.

Absolutely. Because we depend on them. They’re going to be running the world, right?

Exactly. We need to really make sure they have a great way of thinking, a good mindset, a healthier mindset. So we can really create a better world. 

Absolutely. 

I hope you enjoyed our time together. Make sure you evaluate your own situation, your own life right now. What is an area that could use an upgrade? And do what you can.

And if you’re in a family, do it as a family. It’s a great activity. If not, then, you know, we have a walking group where we walk together over Zoom. So if you don’t have someone close to you, you can hop on FaceTime or Zoom or whatever other form there is, and walk together that way. So do something, do something that you can. Make sure you get our book, Break Free to Health and Vitality, if you haven’t. The paperback is out. Make sure you download Michelle’s bumpy wheel. 

Michelle. Thank you so much. And we’ll see you until next time. This is Seema. Thank you for joining us.

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