[00:00:00] Kara: Sick of the fatigue and fog? Fed up with the unpredictable flares? Hangry from the super restrictive diets?
Hello, and welcome to the Crunchy Allergist Podcast, a podcast empowering those who like me, appreciate both a naturally minded and scientifically grounded approach to health and healing.
Hi, I'm your host, Dr. Kara Wada, quadruple board certified pediatric and adult allergy immunology and lifestyle medicine, physician Sjogren's patient and life coach. My recipe for success combines, the anti-inflammatory lifestyle, trusting therapeutic relationships, modern medicine, and mindset to harness our body's ability to heal.
Now although I might be a physician I'm not your physician and this podcast is for educational purposes only.
Welcome everyone. I am so excited to welcome you back to this episode of the Crunchy Allergist Podcast. I'm recording this podcast on Tuesday, June 21st, which happens to be the day of the first day of summer, the summer solstice. It also means that we are close to being halfway through 2022.
So this next two weeks, we are going to do a little two week mini series called the Midyear Reset. Time where we can take stock where we are this time of year and where we would like to be by the dawn of 2023.
So before we jump in. Let's take a few minutes to revisit our goals for 2022. What did you have in mind as you were sitting? Perhaps in that comfortable couch wrapped up in a warm blanket. Maybe if you're lucky in front of the fire with a warm beverage in hand. As you were thinking about what you wanted to see for yourself come July of 2022.
Where are you hoping to have more restful sleep? Where you going to focus on having more fun and being more connected and showing more attention to your children.
Did you want to see improvement and your gut health? Less bloating, less gas, less uncomfortableness? Did you want to form a better relationship with yourself? Maybe you wanted to stick to a workout routine.
Whatever it was, I want you to get back to that goal that you've had in the beginning of 2022. And think about if that's still the goal that you would like to see for yourself. As we had on the second half of 2022 and onwards towards next year.
Now I want to set the stage on this first. Part of this two-week series of the mid year reset. To talk about those characteristics that I see in my patients, in my clients. And then I try to work towards myself because these are the five habits that we see, time and time again, in those who are thriving in life.
All right. So we are going to jump in to those five habits that really set you up for success. As we think about working towards those goals for the second half of the year. And really this is a great segue because the first thing or the first characteristic that we see that Thrivers will tend to do time and time again is, *they will set big goals for themselves. *
Thrivers are not afraid of dreaming the big dreams. They're not afraid of stretching what they feel their capabilities may be. And they're not afraid of thinking of what could be.
So that first characteristic is really embracing that unknown. That little bit of that scary sensation, like you're standing at the end of the high dive. And thinking about those big goals.
So as I think through those goals that I would love to see for myself, heading out of 2022 and into 2023, is I have a few particular things in mind.
I want to make sure I'm incorporating movement into my everyday routines.
I also have a goal of keeping myself flare free. This is a big goal. Some may say it could be unattainable or it may be not wise to set that as a big goal. But I'm not scared of it. Because even if I don't attain it. That's okay. This is my goal and I'm going to work towards it.
Each day, as we embark on that second half of 2022.
What we don't realize sometimes is that, progress will hide in those boring solutions and those things that we need to do day in and day out.
Our best year is a series of days strung together. So as I think about trying to add towards that goal, of being flare free. I want to stay focused on that goal and think about what things may help me continue to work towards it. *So the second habit of those who are really thriving is staying focused. *
Tuning out the naysayers tuning out the distractions and really doubling down on what that goal is. So as I think about that incredible goal of trying to stay flare free.
I am going to put that goal, I'm going to write it down and it's going on the mirror in my bathroom so that every morning and every night when I'm brushing my teeth, flossing, washing my face. It's right there in front of me. I can see it. I want to stay flare free. And that's going to keep my eye on the prize. I'm looking at it every day. I'm thinking about it twice a day, at least. And that is a great way for me to frame the beginning and the end of my day. In a way to keep my focus and my eye on the prize and to keep that big goal in mind.
Now, if you've been following the Crunchy Allergist and all the things that we stand for, one of the elements that we stand for is certainly being a science supported and also sustainable. But the other part of that is really coming from a place that's steeped in self-compassion. So it's three or four s. However you want to think about those or count them.
But really, as I think about this big goal and I realized it may or may not be attainable given, if I catch a bad viral bug or, something incredibly stressful happens. Like life happens. But I know with that element of self-compassion and coming back to that that work. In itself is going to help me towards achieving that goal. And it's also going to make it completely okay if I don't make it right. If I don't have a year without a flare it's okay. But I have that goal in mind and that is my goal. Whether or not I can achieve it or not. Putting that out there, saying it is scary, actually that I'm sharing this on this podcast with each of you, the hundreds of you that are listening. And, that's okay.
Scary is okay. So step one, or the habit, the first habit of those who are thriving. It's to set big goals. Say them out loud, stay focused on them. I put them in our daily routine. So for me, it's going on a post-it on the mirror. Another great place might be by the coffee pot or on the fridge.
Maybe I'll put them in all those places.* The third habit of those who are thriving is building your community, your tribe, your network*. We are a reflection of those who we surround ourselves with.
And so if I have this goal, of remaining flare free and doing that through a combination of taking my meds. Staying focused on ensuring I get a good sleep routine. Nourishing my body and my mind with love and compassion and nutritious foods most of the time.
I want to surround myself with folks who are also supportive of that goal. Who are going to lift me up and provide me with that same level of compassion that I'm working on providing myself too, right?
I want to surround myself with those folks who are going to encourage me to brush myself off and get back up again. Even if I deviate from the plan a little bit and remind me that I am worthy of my own love and attention as well. What have I done to do to build this network? And what do I encourage my clients and patients to do?
I think it's really important to find a network that is overall positive space. Surrounding ourselves with more optimistic framework, overall is really beneficial. It's this power of positive psychology. It's not perfect. We don't want toxic positivity. Like we understand the reality is we are dealing with our bodies that are misbehaving and sometimes the proverbial, what has hit the fan?
And we want to feel the sadness, the grief, the anger, that come with those situations.
But we also need to look to that community for support and to lift each other up.
So that's really what we've tried to build over and the Crunchy Allergist Facebook group. And the Air Squared program Collective, right? This group of folks who have a similar philosophy in their health. They are looking for sustainable solutions. They're looking for things that are based in science.
And they are also looking for things that are a little more naturally minded that are lifestyle based, things that they can actively do in their everyday lives to support their health and healing. Through mindfulness through sleep, through nutrition, all of those different pillars.
*So the fourth habit of those who embrace, who are thriving is to embrace failure.* To be okay with experimenting and realizing that sometimes when you're experimenting, you're going to fall on your face. And that's okay. I was talking with Charlotte this morning, I was able to drive her to her summer camp. And one of the things we liked about this particular day camp is that she was going to learn how to swim.
She is quite fearful of the water and it is been a bit of a struggle. To help her embrace that she may have to fail a little bit before she succeeds in learning how to swim. We've been working on celebrating those small victories together. That's also kind of part of your network and your support team, right?
Celebrating the victories and being there to lift folks up. But also helping her realize that she may have times where she swallows some of the pool water. Or she gets some water up her nose or her goggles move and her eyes burn. And that yes, that is not fun. Quite frankly, not my favorite part is swimming either.
But we refocused on the fact that these things are temporary and we went back to a story of the last time we went to a theme park. And she rode the rollercoaster. That she rode the time before, and this time, instead of being so scared, like she had been the first time. She had so much fun. She was exhilarated and rand her dad, after we got off and said, I did it. This was so fun! This is fantastic!
So embracing that risk, embracing the potential for failure and, certainly, pushes us to be vulnerable but it also opens us up to the possibility.
And also proves to ourselves, when we do embrace that failure and that we've survived. That we can get back up and we can do it again.
And that we have proven to ourselves, just this one more time, that we've survived our toughest days. And we'll continue doing so through the rest of the year and then on.
All right. So to recap what we have so far of those five habits, for those who are thriving. *They set big goals. They stay focused on those goals.* They keep their eye on the prize. *They build supportive networks to help them through those challenging times to lift them up.* To commiserate a little bit and to recognize that suffering, that is part of the human experience and they also celebrate those wins together.
And number four, *they embrace failure and that potential for failure.* They put themselves out there.
*Number five is they build successful routines. *
They do more of what works. They make it easy on themselves. They develop habits so that these behaviors that support their health and healing become an automatic response.
These small choices had up to considerable benefit. If you haven't read atomic habits or checked out the work of James Cleary. He has really popularized this idea of the power of small improvements. 1% improvement every day, over that 365 days in a year, leads to a 37 times improvement from where you started.
37 times where are you started just with these small, tiny little changes every day.
And what's amazing is vast majority of us. I have a good deal of room for improvement. So if we think about eating our fruits and veggies, only one in 10 of us in America eat the recommended amount of fruits and veggies each day. We know that eating more plants, eating more fruits and veggies is really important in anti-inflammatory living. The studies show time and time again, even those who are arguing paleo versus vegan versus Mediterranean. All of those diets, that folks experience improvement on, have one thing in common, they have more fruits and veggies overall on the whole. And so what are some ways that we can work on that? How could we maybe add one more serving a week?
Or another example, only one in five Americans gets the recommended amount of physical activity each day or each week. One in five, I am one of those four that does not right now. So this is one of the goals that I have for this next year. And so how are we adding this to our daily routine?
In this season, we are going on an evening, walk around our little block after dinner. It's a time of day where I can work on connecting and building that meaningful connection with my kids. Getting them away from the screens. It gives Oliver a little time to unwind and the stroller and relax as we think about getting him started on his evening and bedtime routine.
It's not too exhausting where at the end of the day, I still have some energy to get some steps in. And I'm not going to be using up tomorrow's spoons to get that done.
And it's flexible. So if we're not feeling great, or if it is raining out or something along those lines. What we've been doing is doing a little dance party as we clean the kitchen. So it's getting some physical activity in our tying that into our after dinner before bedtime routine. So we're making it easy on ourselves. We're making it a habit or tying it to other behaviors that are already part of the routine. And this is one of those areas where I have a lot of room for improvement, it's a big area.
That is going to really help me move the dial on my health. We know that fruits and veggies, physical activity, those are the big kahunas when it comes to anti-inflammatory living. The other ones that really come up on that radar, working on our stress and how we manage stress. How we get ourselves out of fight or flight.
And into that rest and digest mode. Whether it's meditation, thought work, self-compassion practice. Whatever it may be. We know that is also critical, and optimizing our sleep is another really beneficial. Can really move the dial on improving our health, lowering our inflammation. If we can improve our sleep.
We've talked about a lot. We've covered a lot today. On this first week of the midyear reset. Talking all about these five habits of those who are thriving.
So we're going to set big goals. We're going to push ourselves. We're going to feel uncomfortable. Little excited, a little nervous.
Maybe something that even seems impossible. Like I have a six month old and postpartum period is a really high-risk time for a flare. Both because of hormone shifts I'm exposed to all the daycare bugs, these are things that I can't change, right? But I can work on some of these other aspects that I've talked about.
I can stay focused with this goal in mind that I really want to work on. Being flare free. I'm going to put that in different places so that I revisit that every day I keep my eye on the prize. I tune out the naysayers and the other distractions.
I've worked on building my network, I have Jen and my, on my team. I have my coach, Kathy. I have my husband. I have my kids. We're all in this together. And I have my supportive girlfriends who are also critical in helping be our village and our supportive team that helps me stay focused, stay working towards those goals and helps lift me up when I need a little boost helps me with that resiliency.
We also want to embrace failure or the potential for failure. Get vulnerable.
Work on. Those skills that help us realize that if we fall down. We're going to experience that pain, that grief, that anger, whatever it may be. We're going to dust ourselves off. We're going to pick back up. And we're going to realize that we're not back at square one.
We're just starting back off where we left off.
And we're going to keep moving forward, working on those 1% improvements. Knowing that over time, those improvements compounds. And if we're able to make just a 1% improvement every day over the course of a year, we ended up at 37 times improved from where we started. It's incredible.
And number five, is we embrace successful routines. We don't need to reinvent the wheel. It's okay to focus on those things that are a little bit boring.
And to just get them into our routines so that they are an automatic response.
So as I think about what we're doing as a family, we are going to add in movement after dinner. It's just part of the routine. We clean up the kitchen. We go for a walk or we have a little dance party, and then we get up brush our teeth. Wash off our faces, all of those things, read our books and go to bed.
It's those successful routines that we fall back to and that become just that automatic. Like a metronome part of our day.
Just like brushing your teeth or me drinking my coffee. It's part of the every day. And it's those every day experiences that add up over time and we'll add up those every days, the seemingly boring days, add up to make the greatest year that we've had yet.
My goal for you after this, is to jot down, what your goal is? That big, scary goal. Between now and 2023. Post it up. Stay focused.
And if you found this to be helpful, I want you to subscribe to this channel. And share it with one other person who is also looking for naturally minded and scientifically grounded and sustainable approaches to anti-inflammatory living. Because, you know what, then you'll also hit number three, you'll be building your network.
Remember, you were only a few habits away from thriving.
Just like that woman you hope to be and you want to be. So start applying these habits today, and you will be well on your way to the best second half of 2022 that can be.
Thanks so much for joining us today on the Crunchy Allergists Podcast. I look forward to talking with you again next Monday for part two of the mid year reset. Take care be well.
