Episode Transcript:

The Nourished Mama - Ep 1

 [00:00:00] Welcome to the Nourished Mama podcast. I am your host, Anna Robinson, certified nutritionist and wellness coach, plus fellow mama. This podcast is here to show you that you can live your healthiest, happiest, most vibrant life as a mama. Each week, I will be sharing different nutrition Lifestyle and mindset hacks that are going to support you in your health journey.

You can expect realistic and sustainable advice, plus strategies that can easily fit into your busy life as a mama. Because without a nourished mama, there can't be a nourished home. So if you are committed to creating a life filled with vibrance for you and for the ones you love most, then you are in the right place.

So let's get into today's life changing episode.

[00:01:00] Hello, and welcome to the very first episode of the Nourished Mama podcast. I am so thrilled you are here and I cannot wait to support you in your journey to thriving health as a mama. For those that don't know me, I'm Ana, a certified nutritionist and wellness coach who has a huge passion for women's health, in particular motherhood health. This comes from my own struggles and burning out in motherhood. Which I'm going to be chatting to you about today, and hopefully my story and journey will inspire you to take action and finally prioritise yourself. But first, a quick breakdown of how I got here and how I started my business, Nourish Us.

I became a certified nutritionist just over five years ago. I first started in family nutrition, supporting mamas with their children's nutrition and eating habits. But I very quickly began to see a common trend. So many mamas [00:02:00] obsessing over their children's health, which we naturally do, but unfortunately it was at the expense of their own. Most mothers were completely neglecting their basic needs and they were simply burnt out physicallyand emotionally, this struck a real chord with me because this was me six years ago. I knew I had to shift things. I had this inner calling to support mamas and really paved the way for a new version of motherhood, a version where we get to thrive too, alongside our family.

And this is what Nourish Us has turned into over the last five years. I'm so proud to say I've supported hundreds of mamas through their health journey, and I plan on supporting thousands more, including you. One of the most powerful things I've learned over the years is that without a nourished mama, there can't be a nourished home.[00:03:00]

We are the heart of the home. Health and wellness begins with us. It's up to us to support our own needs first in order to be able to guide our family into a nourished life. Unfortunately, I learned this the hard way, but oh boy, am I thankful and grateful that I did. About six years ago, I became severely burnt out in motherhood.

It started with the usual symptoms, extreme fatigue, brain fog, trouble concentrating, feeling overwhelmed and anxious. I had severe bloating and IBS. I began to have skin problems like eczema and pariasis, and my hair even started falling out. But I'm sure many of you can relate to this. I just powered through and ignored all of them.

Because this is what society has unfortunately taught us to do as mamas. It's made us believe that life is no longer about us [00:04:00] anymore. There are more important things than our own health needs and self care, but I can tell you now your health matters too. And it's just as important because ignoring these symptoms was one of the worst things I could have ever done. After a year of complete burnout, the universe decided to send me a sign. And no, it wasn't necessarily a good one at the time. I woke up one morning and I knew something wasn't right. I had a high fever, body aches, and my mouth felt very strange. I got up, looked in the mirror and my whole mouth was covered in ulcers.

It was the most bizarre thing I'd ever experienced. I spent that day in bed resting, but within 24 to 48 hours, I became a lot worse. I couldn't eat any food and the ulcers got so bad to the point where I couldn't even drink water anymore. I [00:05:00] became severely dehydrated, so my husband Michael drove me to the hospital.

I thought I would be there for a few hours. Get some hydration, see a doctor and go home with a script for some medication. Well, I ended up spending five days there. In that time, I saw multiple doctors, had several tests done. And can you believe not one person would actually tell me. What was wrong with me? This was a huge sign from the universe for me. The universe was telling me, you are simply, severely burnt out, mama. And if you don't change something, you are going to get worse. I distinctly remember laying there and finally realising why they tell you to put your oxygen mask on first. All those years of putting everyone before me, neglecting my own needs, feeling selfish to take time for myself.[00:06:00]

It all led me nowhere. I ended up in a situation where I couldn't be there for my kids. And naturally as a mama, this was heartbreaking for me. After this moment, my whole perspective shifted. I started to understand that I needed to pour from my cup first in order to serve from my overflow. That taking care of me wasn't just about me.

It was also about my family and the ones I love most. As a mama, we are the heart of the home. You control the standard of living, not just for you, but also for your whole household. It all starts with us. Now, even though that bizarre virus went away and I was able to return home, during those following weeks and months, I was still really unwell.

After some more testing, they found my inflammation markers were extremely high. And I had actually developed an [00:07:00] autoimmune disease, which was rheumatoid arthritis. This was due to the high levels of inflammation in my body that had been building up over the years. And once I received that testing, I just knew that virus was also caused by inflammation.

I ended up being told that I needed to be on medication for life. Medication that had horrible side effects. I knew that this was not how I wanted to live deep down. I knew there had to be another way. And during this time is actually when I enrolled into my nutrition study. I learned the power of food.

I healed my gut, rebalanced my hormones, naturally made lifestyle changes, prioritised me. And before I knew it, I was living a completely different life. And I've been showing fellow mamas how to do the same because we all deserve to live a life full of health, [00:08:00] happiness, and vibrance. Motherhood can be different to what we have constantly been shown by society. I also want to mention that I did stop taking that medication after a few short months and I've never needed it since. Now I'm obviously not a doctor. I'm not claiming that my approach to health can cure disease, but what I do know is that it can change the projection of your life and 1000 percent improve the quality of the life you have been blessed to live with your family. Now, I know that there are mamas of all ages here, but I want to go back to pregnancy just for a minute. During pregnancy, our bodies go through a vigorous process. We can become severely depleted. Causing extreme nutrient deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, and changes to our gut microbiome. This is all totally normal and okay during pregnancy.

Our bodies do this to ensure the healthy growth and development of our children. But the problem is, each time we [00:09:00] leave the hospital, everyone seems to tell us how to keep our babies alive. But no one tells us what we need to do in order to replenish our bodies. Then you add on top of that sleep deprivation.

We forget to eat, or we eat leftover scraps with little nutritional value. We naturally worry more, overthink, and often feel overwhelmed. And you can only imagine over the years, the strain this puts on both our physical And mental health often leading to burnout, postnatal depletion, hormonal imbalances, gut disorders, IBS and severe bloating, weight gain and extreme weight fluctuations, chronic fatigue and exhaustion, increased mood swings.

Difficulty concentrating and extreme brain fog, difficulty sleeping and insomnia, constant colds and flus and weak immunity, general loss of enjoyment and happiness, and increased [00:10:00] inflammation in the body. The thing is, we need to consciously be replenishing our body after pregnancy in order to heal and also to help avoid or lessen these symptoms that for some reason have been classified as normal in those postpartum years and beyond. And this goes for mothers of all stages in their journey, whether you are a few months or one to two years postpartum, you have older kids, or you could even be in those perimenopausal or menopausal years Either way, it is never too late to start your journey to thriving health. It's also important to note that these symptoms of burnout and postnatal depletion don't just occur in those early years.

I had a client who was in her late forties with teenage kids, and she was still experiencing many of these symptoms. And this goes back to my earlier point of we need to consciously replenish our bodies and prioritise our health postpartum. Otherwise, we [00:11:00] are just setting our body up to fail us. The good news is, one, it is possible to overcome and heal from burnout and potentially even avoid it.

Contrary to what society has made us believe as mothers. And two, this journey doesn't need to be complicated or hard. With the right food and lifestyle choices, you could be feeling like a brand new mama in a matter of weeks. And this is what I'm going to be supporting you with in this podcast. I will be bringing you solo episodes to help you with nutrition, lifestyle, and mindfulness practices.

And we also have an incredible lineup of guest speakers who are experts in women's health. Make sure to tune in each week for life changing advice and strategies that will help you live your happiest, most vibrant life as a mama. I hope you have a fabulous week. Lots of love, Ana.

Thank you so much for [00:12:00] joining me today. I hope this conversation has inspired you to live your healthiest, happiest life. Don't forget to subscribe and tune in next week. Bye for now.