Unlocking Wellness: How to Reclaim Your Relationship with Food

Tricia: 00:00:03

Hey there, and welcome to mealtime magic and mayhem, the podcast that's all about embracing the crazy, messy, and downright chaotic side of family dinners.

Tricia: 00:00:10

I'm Tricia, your mealtime mentor and kitchen witch.

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And let's get one thing straight.

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This is not your typical how to have a perfect family dinner kind of show.

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Because honestly, family dinners are rarely perfect.

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They're loud, they're messy, and half the time someone's crying.

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And it's not always the kids.

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But you know what?

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That's exactly where the magic lives.

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It's in the burnt toast, the last minute table, and the nights when you're eating cereal off paper plates.

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Because it's just life.

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It's not chasing some Pinterest worthy mealtime fantasy.

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It's about reclaiming the table for what it really is, a chance to connect, laugh, and maybe spill a little wine along the way.

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In each episode, we're diving into the nitty gritty of what it means to juggle all the things dinner, kids, work, maybe your own business, and trying not to lose your damn mind.

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We'll be talking about turning those daily struggles into connection points and finding joy in the mayhem.

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You'll hear from some badass guests, moms, coaches, experts who know what it's like to be in the thick of it, and they're not afraid to spill their own tea on mealtime disasters.

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And I'll be right there, sharing my truth, my snark, my sarcasm, and probably an embarrassing kitchen story or two.

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So whether you're hiding in the pantry for a minute of peace, trying to figure out what's for dinner or just here for a little company, you're in the right place.

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Let's laugh at the chaos, find the magic, and remind ourselves that mealtime doesn't have to be perfect to be special.

Tricia: 00:01:31

Welcome to mealtime magic and mayhem, where the mess is part of the magic and every meal is a new chance to connect, or at least survive with your sanity intact.

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So let's get into it.

Tricia: 00:01:45

All right, welcome back to mealtime magic and mayhem.

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Today, I'm excited to have Courtney Merrickle with us.

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Courtney is a powerhouse in the fitness and wellness world.

Tricia: 00:01:53

A life coach, gym owner, mom of two soccer obsessed kiddos, she's the founder of the Shift Project, where she helps women flip the script on health, confidence, and their relationship with food.

Tricia: 00:02:04

After battling her own struggles with disordered eating and body image, Courtney now guides women on a journey to embrace true wellness beyond just a number on the scale.

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We're going to talk about how her personal experience navigating the ups and downs of diet culture, learning to tune into her body's true needs, and finding freedom from restrictive eating shapes the way she helps families break free from the negative food narratives.

Tricia: 00:02:25

Courtney's story fits perfectly in with our podcast because, like many of us, she's juggling the crazy demands of family meal time amidst sports schedules, which are insane, and homeschooling, running a business often with her husband coaching at their gym during dinner time.

Tricia: 00:02:40

But through it all, she's found ways to bring magic and to bring her family together at the table, where she's creating connection and wellness in the midst of all the chaos.

Tricia: 00:02:49

So, Courtney, let's jump right in.

Tricia: 00:02:52

Love for you to say hello.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:02:54

Hello.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:02:54

How are you guys?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:02:55

I'm so excited to be here, and.

Tricia: 00:02:57

I'd love for you to share how your own journey with food and body image has really influenced the way you support families and, you know, kind of how the shift project began.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:03:05

Yeah, of course.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:03:06

Thank you.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:03:06

So my struggle with food and body really started when I was, like, 16.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:03:11

I, you know, ironically, looking back, like, I was always, quote unquote little, but I wasn't comfortable in my skin.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:03:16

And so that kind of led me down this path of being anorexic.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:03:20

And honestly, like, looking back, I would survive on, like, a tablespoon of peanut butter while getting straight A's and playing varsity soccer.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:03:27

So not sure how that was actually possible.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:03:31

So a lot of my food journey was just not eating right.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:03:33

And food was labeled as good or bad, which for so many of us, when food is good or bad, we think then we're good or bad.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:03:41

So, you know, that was my struggle through high school, through college, I literally went to the dorms, and then I threw up dinner every night, and nobody knew.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:03:49

So mine was a very quiet struggle.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:03:51

In high school, my best friend knew and was sort of on the same journey, but in college, nobody knew.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:03:56

And so I finally got out of that battle of actually, like, throwing up every night.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:04:01

Basically, I landed at the dentist with 17 cavities between my teeth, and that scared me to death.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:04:08

And so I was like, people are going to find out.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:04:10

So I got away from that heart, straight from fear, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:04:15

But I still never got to the place where I ever enjoyed eating because either I had to eat food that tasted bad because it was quote unquote diet food, or if I was eating food that I got to enjoy, then I felt bad because it was going to make me fat.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:04:28

That was my.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:04:29

That was my fear.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:04:30

So that lasted for a long time.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:04:33

Until I honestly, like, started my gym, got into a place where I started understanding it was not what my body looked like, but instead of what my body could do.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:04:42

And when that happened, that was kind of the first big switch for me of like, well, it's cooler to be able to deadlift 250 pounds when you weigh 110 pounds than it is to, like, get down to 100 pounds, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:04:54

And so that was a big switch for me.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:04:56

And just being in that, like, your body gets to be strong.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:04:59

It doesn't have to be tiny, and tiny doesn't make you.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:05:03

It doesn't define you.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:05:04

But it really wasn't until about eight years ago.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:05:06

I went on a deep dive healing journey to figure out why I had food and body issues.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:05:11

To be quite honest, it wasn't for me.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:05:13

It was for my daughters, who were, like, two and four at the time.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:05:18

And the fear of passing that on to them subconsciously was, like, the catalyst for my change.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:05:24

And I'm so thankful I did it.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:05:26

You know, it changed my entire being, how I show up in the world, what I teach, honestly, what I say to them, you know, and just my ability to seafood now as the amazing thing that it is, which is fuel, but it's also connection, it's love, it's.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:05:41

It's contribution.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:05:42

It's all of those things.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:05:43

And so that's really my goal, is to, like, my honest life goal is to help young girls feel confident forever and never have to go through those ups and downs.

Tricia: 00:05:52

I love that so much.

Tricia: 00:05:54

And there's so many things that hit me as you're telling your story.

Tricia: 00:05:56

And I know that we've briefly talked previously, you know, I.

Tricia: 00:06:00

And we jokingly talked about my best friend mentioning I'd been on a diethouse as long as she's known me, which is, I'm 55, y'all.

Tricia: 00:06:06

And that was when I was twelve, right?

Tricia: 00:06:08

Is when we met.

Tricia: 00:06:09

Like, that's a really long time to be in that vicious cycle and that roller coaster.

Tricia: 00:06:13

But I think back to that girl who thought she was so fat because all her friends were a size zero or a size two.

Tricia: 00:06:19

And because I was naturally, if I were in shape, I would say I naturally have more of a gymnast shape.

Tricia: 00:06:26

And so at that point, I was like, I thought I was fat because I looked so much different from them.

Tricia: 00:06:32

And nobody, I don't remember ever having conversations to tell me otherwise, right?

Tricia: 00:06:38

Because I always watched my mom on that same up and down journey.

Tricia: 00:06:41

She was always on a diet.

Tricia: 00:06:43

And I look back at the pictures now of me at that age.

Tricia: 00:06:48

And I'm like, damn, I wish I was that fat.

Tricia: 00:06:51

Like, right?

Tricia: 00:06:54

I look back and I was literally, for my build and my body, I was too skinny because I wanted to wear my best friend's clothes.

Tricia: 00:07:01

And, like, what a serious, I'm just going to use the word, pardon my French, mind.

Tricia: 00:07:08

Fuck that.

Tricia: 00:07:09

I look back and I think that's when it really hit me of, like, you really have been on the wrong journey.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:07:16

Yeah.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:07:17

And most women are.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:07:18

I mean, almost every client I work with, most of my clients are between 30 and 60.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:07:24

And, you know, it started with watching our moms, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:07:28

I mean, I remember my mom's first diet, and my mom, my best friend and my mom.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:07:32

And my best friend was best friends with my mom.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:07:34

Or what am I trying to say?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:07:36

My best friend's mom and my mom were best friends.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:07:38

Goodness, that was hard.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:07:39

And so they did it together.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:07:41

They went on weight watchers in this must have been.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:07:44

So I was probably twelve or 13.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:07:47

So I'm 47 so early nineties, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:07:50

And, you know, that was their first diet.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:07:52

And we all had to count the points and we all had to do the things.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:07:56

And, like, luckily for me, my mom didn't ever yo yo.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:07:59

But when that's what you see and that's what we're sold and that it doesn't matter how you're built.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:08:04

Like, you should be this size, and even when you are that size, you're not happy.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:08:08

Like, I.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:08:09

I was that size.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:08:10

But for me, what I started to believe was that we put so much value in ourselves or we put so much self worth in our body.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:08:17

And it's like, that.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:08:19

Where did that come from?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:08:20

And no one's talking to you about why to be healthy or how to be healthy or, you know, that we get to enjoy food, you know, and just that understanding.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:08:29

And like I said, looking back, I'm like, I played college soccer, and I'm like, man, how much better could I have been if I had some food in my body, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:08:37

If I had.

Tricia: 00:08:37

How did you not pass out is what I want to know.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:08:40

I don't know.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:08:41

Like, I honestly look back and I'm like, it's kind of impressive, but it's not in a good way, in a terrible way.

Tricia: 00:08:49

I'm like, man.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:08:50

I'm like, if I had only known.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:08:51

And that's, you know, and I think that's the big thing about shifting the narrative from, you know, how to a, how do we look at ourselves?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:08:58

How do we feel about ourselves understanding that?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:09:01

Like, we could all do the same exact workout and eat the same exact food, and we're going to look different, and that's okay.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:09:06

Right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:09:07

Like, genetics are different, and it's like our.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:09:10

What can, you know, again, what can your body do, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:09:13

And how does food affect that?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:09:15

And not just physically, but, like, mentally, emotionally.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:09:19

I mean, I look back at all of those pieces, and I'm like a.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:09:22

Like I said, I got straight a's.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:09:25

I was a great student.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:09:26

I'm like, how?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:09:27

I go for, like, 3 hours without eating out, and I'm like, I have no brain cells.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:09:31

I need to eat.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:09:31

Like, I don't.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:09:33

So, yeah, it is.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:09:35

So that cycle of, I've been on and off a diet, like you said, for 35 years, and it's like, man, that's not anywhere that we all deserve to live.

Tricia: 00:09:44

No.

Tricia: 00:09:45

You also mentioned that what was really the catalyst for you changing was wanting to be an example for your daughters.

Tricia: 00:09:51

And I'm going to briefly bring this back to me just one more time.

Tricia: 00:09:55

As I think about.

Tricia: 00:09:56

You're talking about in the early nineties, right?

Tricia: 00:09:58

I'm talking in the early eighties, and my grandmother owned or ran a diet center.

Tricia: 00:10:03

And so I remember the really restrictive diets, and it was like your one grapefruit and your cottage cheese, and for lunch, you get freaking chicken broth.

Tricia: 00:10:15

And, like, that's what I watched.

Tricia: 00:10:18

I always thought that dieting meant these harsh restrictions.

Tricia: 00:10:23

And then my daughter, who's now 25, I mean, she was well past ten before my best friend mentioned this.

Tricia: 00:10:33

And I had this realization of the example that I was setting for her.

Tricia: 00:10:39

And she was tiny, tiny, skinny, and very worried about staying skinny.

Tricia: 00:10:44

Not worried about getting fat, per se, but it was the age of the thigh gap.

Tricia: 00:10:49

I don't have a thigh gap.

Tricia: 00:10:50

Or, I mean, whatever the newest craze is.

Tricia: 00:10:53

Right, right.

Tricia: 00:10:54

And so I just want to honor you, one, for navigating where you were to where you are number one.

Tricia: 00:11:02

Like, kudos.

Tricia: 00:11:03

Like, it takes a lot of bravery and commitment and dedication.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:11:07

Thank you.

Tricia: 00:11:08

One to say it.

Tricia: 00:11:09

Do it.

Tricia: 00:11:09

All of those things.

Tricia: 00:11:11

But I really love what you're trying to do, not just for your daughters, but for other young girls.

Tricia: 00:11:15

Because I think we've both been in the situation where maybe.

Tricia: 00:11:20

And it's not even conscious, right.

Tricia: 00:11:21

But where maybe we weren't given.

Tricia: 00:11:24

I don't want to say the best example.

Tricia: 00:11:25

Like, they were bad examples because we all do the best with what we have with our children, right.

Tricia: 00:11:30

But knowing what we know now, we have the ability to change it.

Tricia: 00:11:33

And so I just think that's really amazing.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:11:36

Thank you.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:11:36

And I honestly, I, like, I look back and I go, I'm so blessed that I had them, because I don't think.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:11:43

And this sounds terrible, but where I was at that point was, I don't think I ever would have believed I was worth that investment.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:11:50

Right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:11:50

Like, when.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:11:51

When I went into my program, it was $12,000 and it was ten months, and it was like, this was a commitment, but for them, it was worth it.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:11:58

So, yeah, I feel blessed and grateful.

Tricia: 00:12:01

So that kind of leads us into our next segment.

Tricia: 00:12:04

So I wanted to ask, like, what role do you think food plays in creating connection?

Tricia: 00:12:09

And I'm going to go a step further.

Tricia: 00:12:10

And confidence within families.

Tricia: 00:12:11

Right.

Tricia: 00:12:12

Because that's a big part of what you're talking about, is confidence, accepting ourselves.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:12:16

Yeah.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:12:16

So it's huge.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:12:17

So one of the biggest shift I ever had in my life was learning the six human needs.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:12:22

And it was one of the first things we did inside of my program.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:12:25

And so essentially, it's certainty, uncertainty, loving connection, significance, growth and contribution, and really breaking that down.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:12:36

And for me, my disordered eating and my stress around food in my body was my need for certainty.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:12:42

Right.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:12:42

It wasn't serving me, but when other things, when I looked back at my life, every, like, every time.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:12:47

So going to college, being in high school, I went through a divorce when I was fairly young.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:12:52

That's when it would always show back up.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:12:53

And so what I realized was that I was really certain on how to diet and how to be really good at it.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:12:59

I wanted to be the best dieter.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:13:01

Right.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:13:01

And so it gave me something to stress about when there was something else going on.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:13:06

Right.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:13:06

And so it met my need for certainty.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:13:08

And so for me, what the big shift was, was I actually learned to meditate and to breathe and to come back into my body and to get out of my head and that practice.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:13:17

And I was a very, like, I'm very core masculine, so the idea of, like, laying on my floor in the morning and meditating was crazy.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:13:24

Like, I literally, the first meditation I had to do.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:13:27

So my mentor's name is Sam, and I was listening to her recording, and I was laying there and she said, where do you feel safe in your body?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:13:33

And I remember being like, that is the dumbest question I've ever heard.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:13:37

I don't feel safe in my body.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:13:39

Like, I've hated it for 25 years.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:13:40

I don't.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:13:40

There isn't a place I feel safe.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:13:43

But the commitment was, we did this every day.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:13:45

And so I did it every day.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:13:47

And pretty soon I was like, oh, I have intuition.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:13:51

I have feelings that live in my body that I've ignored forever.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:13:56

And that's the answers.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:13:58

So for me, that was the huge switch to the point where I was at some point, like, I still meditate every day, but there was a point where I was addicted to it, probably in not a good way of, like, if I don't start my day this way, what's going to happen?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:14:11

So for me, I learned how to.

Tricia: 00:14:12

Laugh because I swear I did the same thing.

Tricia: 00:14:15

And I'm like, I not, not from the same, you know, the journey we're going through.

Tricia: 00:14:20

But, like, when I started, I was like, oh, this really works.

Tricia: 00:14:22

Like, if I don't do it every day, I'm failing, right?

Tricia: 00:14:26

We find something else to attach that identity to.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:14:29

Yeah, yeah.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:14:30

And I was so afraid of, like, because for me, what I learned was that I could create the energy I desired instead of showing up every day in the energy I didn't.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:14:38

But, you know, there was so much fear and, like, well, if I don't meditate, if I don't do this, then, then the day's gonna fall apart, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:14:45

And then I had a couple days where somehow I missed my alarm or something and I was like, oh, okay, I'm still okay, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:14:50

But what I really, when I came out of that for myself, so that was my big switch.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:14:53

And literally that, that was it.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:14:55

That was the main thing.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:14:56

And then all the stuff started to fall away.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:14:58

Like, it wasn't like I had to fight it, push it away.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:15:00

It all just, like, magically disappeared.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:15:03

It's.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:15:03

I mean, really, when I look at it, I'm like, if you had told me that's how it would happen, I would have told you you were nuts.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:15:08

And I was never be going to be like a breath work facilitator and a meditator.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:15:12

Like, that was not what I thought was going to happen, but the deeper I got into it.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:15:16

And when I started to coach other people on this, if you look at those, every single one of those needs for most of us gets met by food.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:15:25

And so when you can start to go, okay, like, certainty, knowing that we have food uncertainty.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:15:31

So many of us use uncertainty and variety in the kitchen because you're like, I kind of have the same day to day, I want to eat something different because it meets my need for variety.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:15:40

Right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:15:41

The big one.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:15:41

The need for love and connection.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:15:43

When you're creating something together, you're spending time in the kitchen, you're doing that like, that's quality family time, where hopefully your phones are put away unless you're looking at a recipe.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:15:52

But, like, you're in it together, you're creating connection.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:15:55

And then I think about.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:15:55

I always think about that.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:15:56

I always use a grandma example.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:15:58

So we've had people that we used to do, like, strict diets, and this was before I went through my health journey.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:16:04

And they, like, we have a lot of hispanic families, and they would be like, well, I have to, on Sunday nights, eat grandma's food.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:16:10

And they were like, I can't tell my grandma I can't eat her food.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:16:13

Well, if you look at that, it's because it's meeting grandma's need for significance and grandma's need for love and connection and grandma's need for contribution.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:16:21

And nobody's going to break grandma's heart and say, I'm not going to eat your food.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:16:24

And so what I think is really cool is when we can actually say, like, I always tell people.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:16:29

I'm like, if you have a trainer or a coach that tells you food is just fuel, run and run as fast as you can, because it's not.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:16:37

It's all of these other things, which is beautiful, because sometimes I want you just to eat for connection and for love and for enjoyment.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:16:45

Right.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:16:46

And other times, yeah, I want you to, like, pay attention to what you're putting in your body and how it makes you feel.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:16:50

But I think that's what's really cool, is when you can start to really accept that food is more than just fuel and how else is it serving you?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:16:58

And then you can see why sometimes changing habits is so hard.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:17:02

Because if, like, if it's meeting your need for certainty or variety, like, if you go back to Covid, when everyone was stuck at home and the only variety we had was, like, food and alcohol, if you had said, well, you can't have any, because we lost all of our sense of variety and our sense of certainty.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:17:17

So I think that's the really big piece of, like, understanding that it does get to play a different role in our life and letting that be okay.

Tricia: 00:17:25

I think that those are really great points.

Tricia: 00:17:27

And I'd honestly, when you said needs, I was thinking Maslow's hierarchy, and you went in a totally different direction.

Tricia: 00:17:33

And I love those, and I'm definitely gonna want to drop those in the show notes, because I really love that perspective, because it's so true when you talk about the hispanic client not wanting to disappoint grandma, but it also served her need for connection to her grandma.

Tricia: 00:17:51

And I don't want listeners to think from a standpoint of disappointing, but it's from a point of belonging and a point of connection that was important.

Tricia: 00:18:01

And the food that grandma makes is filled with love, because when we.

Tricia: 00:18:06

This is a big part of mine.

Tricia: 00:18:08

The intention and the energy.

Tricia: 00:18:10

Whether you're cooking in the kitchen together or by yourself, the intention and the energy that you put into the food that you cook comes out at the table.

Tricia: 00:18:17

People can feel it.

Tricia: 00:18:18

It's palpable.

Tricia: 00:18:19

They can taste it.

Tricia: 00:18:20

They can smell it.

Tricia: 00:18:22

Like, it just completely changes the environment.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:18:25

And so changes your state.

Tricia: 00:18:27

Even bad food can create connection and laughter and conversation.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:18:31

100%.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:18:32

100%.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:18:34

So this is a funny story.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:18:36

So my mom used to.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:18:37

We always had sit down dinners, and my mom wasn't like, she doesn't love to cook.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:18:40

It's not her thing.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:18:41

And she would try a new recipe.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:18:42

And this is my dad's, like, polite way of being like, you know, he'd be like, well, it's not bad, but you should probably never make it again.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:18:49

And then we would all laugh.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:18:52

I'll go back to having hamburgers and pizza.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:18:55

She would try it, and he'd be like, it's not great.

Tricia: 00:18:59

Yeah, my family, I drive them crazy.

Tricia: 00:19:00

Cause I'm like, well, what would you change about it?

Tricia: 00:19:03

What can I do to make it better?

Tricia: 00:19:04

Especially if I like it and they don't.

Tricia: 00:19:06

Right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:19:06

Yeah.

Tricia: 00:19:06

But I'm also always on a fact finding mission, so, like, this is sort of a sidebar, but it kind of leads into my next question, so.

Tricia: 00:19:14

But my son absolutely hates anything squash related.

Tricia: 00:19:16

The texture, like, literally makes him gag.

Tricia: 00:19:20

I have tried, and I'm a big proponent of, like, you've got to introduce foods at least eight times before they start to like it.

Tricia: 00:19:26

That's it.

Tricia: 00:19:26

It's scientifically proven that it can take up to eight times.

Tricia: 00:19:29

And sometimes it's the fact that it might be canned versus fresh or fried versus roasted or steamed beyond recognition.

Tricia: 00:19:36

Like, there's a million ways to cook every single vegetable, right?

Tricia: 00:19:39

And so I would just be like, if we fix it this way.

Tricia: 00:19:42

And he was like, how many times can I tell you?

Tricia: 00:19:45

I don't like squash.

Tricia: 00:19:47

No.

Tricia: 00:19:48

He always had this three bite rule.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:19:49

Yeah.

Tricia: 00:19:50

And I'm like, at least eight.

Tricia: 00:19:52

Because there was one time we did spiralized zucchini in a salad.

Tricia: 00:19:55

We never cooked it, and he liked it.

Tricia: 00:19:56

And so I was like, oh, he does like zucchini.

Tricia: 00:19:58

He just doesn't think he does.

Tricia: 00:19:59

No, I I give up.

Tricia: 00:20:01

The kid does not like zucchini.

Tricia: 00:20:03

But I bring that up because the next thing I want to talk about are, like, strategies that you use to help parents teach their kids about nutrition in a way that makes it easy, accessible, and fun.

Tricia: 00:20:14

Like, how do you integrate that nutrition education into family life, especially for, whether it's kids with busy schedules or I'm going to say picky eaters.

Tricia: 00:20:22

And I don't mean those with true sensory disorders.

Tricia: 00:20:24

I mean those that are trying to establish control and genuinely be picky.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:20:29

Yeah.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:20:29

So the hardest answer is, like, start as young as you possibly can.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:20:34

So if you have little tiny kids, but if you don't, I mean, and I think we got lucky because we, you know, we were very conscious of nutrition as parents, but I was also really conscious of, I don't want my kids to ever feel like they're restricted.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:20:48

So we had kind of a balancing act.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:20:50

And I remember asking our pediatrician when we were young, I said, well, how do we know if they're getting enough and whatever?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:20:55

And he said, the way I look at it is it's the parents job to decide what.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:21:01

And it's the kid's job to decide how much.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:21:03

And if you give them healthy, nutritious food and they want to eat two bites, then they eat two bites, and eventually they will eat, right.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:21:10

And so I think it's not getting in the battle of, you have to eat this, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:21:15

It's like, you have to try it.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:21:16

I will never forget, I sat, my best friend and I, when we were probably ten, sat for 2 hours eating some peas.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:21:22

And, I mean, it's sort of a core memory, which is funny because I hated peas, and my parents did not make me eat peas.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:21:28

And we sat at her, like, breakfast nook and ate peas.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:21:31

We'd have uppie and drink milk and have uppie.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:21:33

We probably had to get a gallon of milk, but I hated peas.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:21:36

I still won't eat peas.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:21:38

I'm like, they're disgusting, and they never got any better.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:21:41

So I think the biggest thing is, like you said, can you.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:21:44

Can you cook it in a different way?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:21:45

Right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:21:46

Can you help them, like, see that it's different.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:21:48

But for us, we try to really talk to our kids about what food does inside of their body.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:21:53

So my.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:21:54

My kids will be like, can I have this?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:21:56

You know that?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:21:56

And most of us default to carbs because carbs taste good, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:22:01

And so my kids are like, can I have whatever it is, oatmeal.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:22:04

And not that oatmeal is bad, but they're like, can I have oatmeal and protein, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:22:09

And so for, I mean, all the clients I serve, almost no one eats enough protein, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:22:13

So try to get them to start with some kind of protein, branch out, see what they like, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:22:19

But help them understand.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:22:20

Like, we have athletes, and so we tell our kids, I'm like, you need to feel yourself like an athlete, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:22:25

Like, do you think that professional athletes are not eating enough?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:22:29

And we're lucky because our kids are very.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:22:31

Because probably we've done this long enough.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:22:34

They're intuitive.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:22:35

And if they feel bad, I'm like, well, what'd you eat yesterday?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:22:38

And trying to get them to understand, like, what you did yesterday affects how you feel today, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:22:42

Like, and my oldest is very sensitive to sugar, and so she'll stop.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:22:46

She'll just be like, well, that's going to make me feel bad, and I want to feel that way.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:22:49

But I think if you start to go, there's vitamins and minerals.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:22:52

This is what that's does in your, you know, and maybe it's even educating yourself of, like, well, what do carbohydrates do?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:22:58

And you're like, okay, they give me energy.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:22:59

Well, what makes me feel good?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:23:02

What tastes good?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:23:02

How does this add to my overall health and my enjoyment, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:23:06

And so I think the younger you can start them, because as they get older, they get it in their head of like, we have a friend who's like, she, she eats, she's nine, you know, and her parents swear she'll eat Mac and cheese.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:23:19

She'll eat, you know, chicken nuggets.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:23:22

And one other thing.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:23:24

And I'm like, well, like, you're on a rough battle.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:23:27

But my kid, like, my kids, we got lucky because we give them, like, banza pasta.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:23:31

So it's chickpea pasta.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:23:32

But because they'd really never had regular pasta, they didn't have any comparison.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:23:36

So they just think that's what pasta tastes like until they go to their grandparents and then they find out what real pasta tastes like.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:23:40

But it's actually pretty good.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:23:41

So, like, banza makes a Mac and cheese that actually tastes pretty good and has some protein, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:23:46

And so it's there.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:23:48

No one's ever gonna have a perfect nutrition, but can you create things?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:23:51

Can you make, like, can you make chicken nuggets that are made with better ingredients?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:23:56

Right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:23:56

Can you get them involved in, well, this is how we bread it and this is how we, this is how we fry it, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:24:02

And so I think for everybody, kids or parents, if they can understand why to some degree, mine still very often.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:24:09

So they're eleven and almost.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:24:11

Yeah, eleven and almost nine.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:24:13

And they'll still be like, what's protein again?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:24:15

And we go back to like, this is what protein is.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:24:17

Like.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:24:17

I think they understand now why.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:24:19

So, and it's just, I think, like, have fun with it.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:24:22

I think when you make it too serious and you make it too structured, then it just feels like rules.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:24:27

And nobody likes rules, so can you give them boundaries?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:24:29

Right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:24:30

Like, I need you to have, you know, this or that.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:24:32

And like you said, with texture.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:24:33

So it's funny because we do fresh green beans.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:24:36

Well, my youngest asked if we could buy canned green beans one day, and I was like, okay.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:24:41

I mean, whatever.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:24:42

Like, canned green beans, whatever.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:24:43

She loves them.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:24:44

She'll just go to the pantry.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:24:45

She wants the single served ones.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:24:47

She goes to the pantry, opens them, puts them in a bowl, puts them in the microwave and eats them.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:24:51

And I'm like, great, that's perfect, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:24:53

And so giving them options, but also you got to demonstrate the behavior if you're like, hey, we all need to eat vegetables, and you need vegetables.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:25:02

They're.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:25:02

They're watching.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:25:03

They're like, mommy, they are watching.

Tricia: 00:25:04

It is so much more about what they see than what they hear.

Tricia: 00:25:08

We've always just been really big proponents of eating from the rainbow, right?

Tricia: 00:25:13

Making sure that there's multiple colors on the plate.

Tricia: 00:25:16

I don't care what the colors are.

Tricia: 00:25:18

And if we haven't gone into detail about, you need to know what this food does.

Tricia: 00:25:21

I love that you do that, but it was, you've got to have different colors on your plate.

Tricia: 00:25:25

Your plate can't be beige because I know that that's just going to be carbs.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:25:28

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:25:30

I love that.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:25:31

And I think helping them understand, like, okay, well, how do I like chicken cooked?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:25:36

I mean, I shared this with you when we chatted before of, like, I'm not a spice person, but that might not mean that my kids want super bland chicken.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:25:44

So how do I cook it so they like it, or can I like my kids?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:25:48

I laugh because my.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:25:49

You would think my kids are bodybuilders.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:25:50

They love chicken and rice, but just butter and soy sauce and, like, plain shredded chicken.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:25:56

Not that, because that's what I have to give them, but they like it.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:25:59

And I'm like, I think the chicken's terrible, but they like it and so great they can have it when we're running around and it's crazy.

Tricia: 00:26:05

Well, the other thing I want to kind of reiterate is asking your kids for whoever's listening asking your kids again, I'm going to go back to, like, I jokingly ask my family if they don't like something, what they don't like about it, and I'm just kind of a snot about it.

Tricia: 00:26:19

Not in a snotty way, but I know it annoys them and I know they're trying to tell me they don't like it without telling me they don't like it.

Tricia: 00:26:25

And so.

Tricia: 00:26:26

And there were a lot of years where you couldn't tell me you didn't like what I cooked without my feelings getting hurt.

Tricia: 00:26:30

Like, I've been on my own journey through all of that whole confidence thing, and now it's just kind of become, because that's the history.

Tricia: 00:26:37

It's kind of a game for us.

Tricia: 00:26:38

But literally, I'm going to go back to the green beans thing and the canned versus fresh.

Tricia: 00:26:42

I love fresh green beans.

Tricia: 00:26:43

I do not like canned green beans.

Tricia: 00:26:45

I will eat them, but I do not like them.

Tricia: 00:26:47

I don't buy them unless somebody asks me to.

Tricia: 00:26:50

My son hates fresh green beans because they squeak when he eats them.

Tricia: 00:26:54

It's the texture thing.

Tricia: 00:26:56

And so he could have just told me I don't like green beans and I could have never fixed green beans again.

Tricia: 00:27:01

Right.

Tricia: 00:27:03

I bet if we were in a restaurant, an asian restaurant, and they had twin poor vegetables, he would eat the heck out of some fried green beans.

Tricia: 00:27:10

Right.

Tricia: 00:27:11

So I go back again to find out what it is that they don't like, and because it's going to give you a lot of insight into if you want to go for that three times, eight times, whatever.

Tricia: 00:27:21

What do you try next?

Tricia: 00:27:22

Versus just trying another canned green bean that then you're like, well, you didn't like it last time, so not going to give it again.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:27:28

Right, right.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:27:29

Well, and I think as a parent, it can get frustrating.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:27:32

And I'm not a fantastic cook.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:27:34

Like, we are very boring eaters.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:27:36

So that's great advice for me to be like, well, what don't you like about it?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:27:39

Right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:27:40

Because I'm like, but then I think if I had this where I need you, I'm like, well, if they don't like that part, what would I do?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:27:45

Yeah.

Tricia: 00:27:46

Oh, I have lots of tricks for green beans.

Tricia: 00:27:49

Lots of tricks for fresh green beans.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:27:51

Yeah.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:27:51

And that's.

Tricia: 00:27:51

I'll rattle off a couple and we'll move on.

Tricia: 00:27:53

But wrap those bad boys in prosciutto and roast them in the oven with a little olive oil and salt and pepper.

Tricia: 00:27:59

You get that salty, you get the protein.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:28:03

Okay.

Tricia: 00:28:04

My other favorite.

Tricia: 00:28:04

I even take frozen green beans in this case, if that's what I have.

Tricia: 00:28:08

But I do a little toasted sesame oil and a little bit of garlic, and I saute a stir fry those bad boys in that and add a little bit of soy sauce and sprinkle my sesame seeds.

Tricia: 00:28:17

You get some extra nutrients, but you don't get quite that squeak that you do if you just steam a fresh green bean.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:28:23

Yeah, that's awesome.

Tricia: 00:28:24

So I have those.

Tricia: 00:28:26

That's what I'm here for, so.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:28:27

Yeah, exactly.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:28:28

And I think that's what you're such a cool resource is.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:28:30

You can say, like, okay, well, if you don't like steam.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:28:33

Like, I have nightmares of the my house smelling from steamed broccoli when my mom was dieting, and I actually like broccoli, but honestly, like, I'll eat it when pf changs makes it.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:28:44

But if I cook it myself, I'm always like, well, I'm not doing this right.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:28:48

This tastes like what it did when I was in 9th grade, and I don't want to eat.

Tricia: 00:28:51

Yeah, don't.

Tricia: 00:28:52

Don't steam it.

Tricia: 00:28:53

Roast it, and sprinkle it with a little bit olive oil, a little bit of salt and pepper, and a little bit of brown sugar.

Tricia: 00:29:00

Helps caramelize a little bit.

Tricia: 00:29:01

And.

Tricia: 00:29:03

Okay, like, I'm not saying douse it.

Tricia: 00:29:04

You don't want to add a ton of sugar, but it does create a nice caramelized brown.

Tricia: 00:29:08

It brings out a sweetness.

Tricia: 00:29:09

And vegetables that kids don't normally.

Tricia: 00:29:11

That kids are, I think, usually looking for that you don't get if you steam it and you don't get the funky cabbage smell.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:29:17

Yeah.

Tricia: 00:29:18

Yes, please.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:29:19

No.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:29:19

Please.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:29:20

No.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:29:20

Yeah, no, we don't want to.

Tricia: 00:29:21

Service announcement on vegetables is never, ever, ever cook a frozen Brussels sprout.

Tricia: 00:29:26

Not ever.

Tricia: 00:29:27

Oh, they're an abomination to vegetables.

Tricia: 00:29:31

Only cook fresh Brussels sprouts.

Tricia: 00:29:33

That's my public service announcement.

Tricia: 00:29:34

While we're on the subject of vegetables.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:29:35

I love that.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:29:36

Oh, I have a public service announcement because it came to me.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:29:38

One thing we've done that's super fun is take them to the so in the color thing, take them to the store, go to sprouts or whole foods or somewhere like that where they have produce people that will help you and try a new fruit or vegetable every week.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:29:51

We did that for a long time, and it was so fun.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:29:53

It was like, oh, they're like, how do you cook this?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:29:54

I was like, I don't know.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:29:55

I guess we'll figure it out.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:29:56

But we would ask the guy like, what is this?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:29:58

How do you cook it?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:29:59

And then we try it, and we'd be like, oh, that was good.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:30:01

Or that wasn't good.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:30:01

So that's super fun, too, of like.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:30:04

And now men are old enough that they'll actually talk to the produce people and be like, what is this thing?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:30:08

Right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:30:08

And so I think that's a really fun way, too, is when they're involved and when they feel like they have.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:30:15

I mean, we all want to be in control of what we're doing.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:30:18

So if you can ask them, like, hey, we're going to try this, can we make it together?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:30:21

Right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:30:22

That is one of the hardest things for me is my youngest is a yemenite.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:30:25

Her love language is acts of service.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:30:27

And sometimes I'm like, can I just make it?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:30:29

And she's like, no, I can help.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:30:30

I can help.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:30:30

But I'm like, that's okay, let her help.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:30:32

Let her help.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:30:33

But there are the times where you don't have time that you want them to help, but if you can let them be involved, I feel like that gives them a lot more ownership, too.

Tricia: 00:30:40

Yeah, absolutely.

Tricia: 00:30:41

And that could be something as small as, hey, I've got to finish up this call.

Tricia: 00:30:45

Here's what we're cooking tonight.

Tricia: 00:30:46

Can you get all the ingredients out for me?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:30:48

Yeah, yeah.

Tricia: 00:30:49

And by the time they're done with that and you're done with your call, they've probably moved on to something else anyway.

Tricia: 00:30:55

Right.

Tricia: 00:30:56

It is one way for them to help out, and then it's like, hey, you wash the produce.

Tricia: 00:31:00

I'm going to do this over here.

Tricia: 00:31:02

Just, it doesn't have to be like the whole kitten caboodle.

Tricia: 00:31:07

Right.

Tricia: 00:31:07

You don't have to have somebody with you in the kitchen if that's not your thing.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:31:10

Yeah.

Tricia: 00:31:10

But it does make them feel more comfortable and welcome and more apt to try new foods if they're involved with it, for sure.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:31:18

100%.

Tricia: 00:31:19

You mentioned going to the produce section, picking out a new produce.

Tricia: 00:31:23

A couple of my favorites are the farmers market, because you see things you don't normally see.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:31:27

Yep.

Tricia: 00:31:28

And it's fresh and it's pretty, and everything's laid out a little differently.

Tricia: 00:31:31

And you've got the energy of the farmers market.

Tricia: 00:31:33

Right.

Tricia: 00:31:34

And everybody growing their own food.

Tricia: 00:31:35

And so that's another fun one.

Tricia: 00:31:37

And just let them pick out something and figure out what to do with it.

Tricia: 00:31:40

Right.

Tricia: 00:31:40

And then my son is always.

Tricia: 00:31:42

He always loved ramen noodles.

Tricia: 00:31:44

My kids love.

Tricia: 00:31:45

And so one year for Christmas, my son bought me, like, the steamer basket.

Tricia: 00:31:49

So I could make, like, chinese dumplings and stuff from scratch.

Tricia: 00:31:51

Have I done it?

Tricia: 00:31:52

No, I have all the things, though.

Tricia: 00:31:54

But we went to the asian market, and I was like.

Tricia: 00:31:58

He was like, what is this?

Tricia: 00:31:59

I'm like, I have no idea.

Tricia: 00:32:00

And he was like, can we try it?

Tricia: 00:32:01

I'm like, sure.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:32:03

Yeah.

Tricia: 00:32:03

I mean, and it was about a 50 50 success rate, right?

Tricia: 00:32:07

Like, he wasn't a fan of dragon fruit.

Tricia: 00:32:10

I had no idea what to do with lemongrass, but, like, it was fun and we both got to learn something new.

Tricia: 00:32:18

But it was a totally different array of items.

Tricia: 00:32:21

Right.

Tricia: 00:32:21

If you go to, like, the hispanic market or an asian market, that's a great idea.

Tricia: 00:32:25

It's a fun way to mix it up and just be prepared that things might not turn out the way you want.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:32:30

That's often in my life.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:32:32

So I'm like, well, okay, we'll go back to your rice.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:32:34

But we tried.

Tricia: 00:32:36

All right, so we've talked a lot about family and kids.

Tricia: 00:32:39

Let's shift a little bit into body confidence and wellness for women.

Tricia: 00:32:42

So what advice do you have for women who are struggling to find that balance between family nutrition and their own body confidence?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:32:49

Yep.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:32:50

So I think not just the confidence piece, but the piece of.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:32:55

I hear it all the time is, like, if I shift my nutrition, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:32:59

Like, I take out the word diet, but if they think if they shift their nutrition, they have to cook two meals.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:33:04

And I just am like, no, you don't have to cook two meals because, like, a.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:33:10

Like, your kids are.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:33:12

They're watching.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:33:13

And so, you know, maybe you alter it slightly or maybe whatever.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:33:16

But it's like, if you are the main person that cooks, right, you got to figure out stuff that you're going to enjoy and that they're going to enjoy.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:33:23

Because if you have to cook two meals, you will never make it, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:33:27

So figure out that it's either they're old enough, they can figure out what they're eating, right.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:33:31

But also they're watching and they're seeing that you're trying to make yourself better.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:33:35

And probably what you're doing is good for them as well.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:33:38

Right.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:33:38

But on a confidence piece, I think it's, again, it's shifting into your physical body is not who you are.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:33:47

Right.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:33:47

And I fully believe that you should feel great in your body and that you should love how you feel and you should have confidence.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:33:54

But once we can let go of, like, my worth is based on what I look like and start to go, okay, how do I want to feel right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:34:02

How do I want to show up, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:34:03

And if you.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:34:04

So this is my favorite quote, so fear pushes us until vision pulls us, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:34:11

And so if you get to a place, and that was big for me in my own thing of, like, how do I want to feel, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:34:17

And so it's like, well, if I want to love my body, but I'm currently in a place where I really kind of hate it or I don't like it, and I'm not being nice to myself, okay, if I did love my body, how would I show up, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:34:28

And I had that, and I had to realize that I was so afraid of what could happen instead of what I really wanted to have happen.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:34:36

And I was like, well, if I want to have more energy, I want to feel vibrant.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:34:38

I want to feel active.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:34:40

What are the actions that I could take to get me there, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:34:43

And for me, it was a lot of the same stuff I was doing.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:34:46

It was, I'm not a good vegetable eater, I'll be honest.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:34:49

Like, if I don't think about it, I don't.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:34:52

Like.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:34:52

I just don't naturally default to them.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:34:54

But I was like, if I'm honest with myself, I feel better when I move my body.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:34:57

I feel.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:34:58

And it doesn't have to be exercise.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:34:59

Go on a walk, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:35:00

I feel better when I have some, you know, when I have fruits and vegetables, I feel better when I'm hydrated.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:35:05

I feel better when I'm these things.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:35:07

And then, so if you're like, well, if I was already those things, what would I do?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:35:10

And then you just start slowly doing them.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:35:12

Like, I'm a big fan of 1% shifts, because if you look at most people, and the reason that diets are on and off again is we go all in, and then two weeks later, we're like, this is dumb.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:35:23

I don't want to do this.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:35:24

And we go all out, and we've been sold the lie that to get your physical body to change, you have to have these crazy diets you have to take out.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:35:32

Right now, carbs are the bad guy.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:35:33

Right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:35:34

And nobody wants to do that.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:35:35

I mean, that only works for, like.

Tricia: 00:35:36

30% of the population.

Tricia: 00:35:38

Yeah.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:35:38

At most.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:35:38

And for a very short amount of time.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:35:40

Right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:35:40

And so, you know, it's like, how can you, like, what.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:35:44

What actions can you take that will stack, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:35:47

And maybe it's.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:35:48

I always tell people, I'm like, maybe you focus for a while on having breakfast.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:35:53

That serves you right.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:35:54

Like a take out the word good and bad food is not good or bad, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:35:58

It is not.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:35:59

There is food that is more nutritious.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:36:00

There's food that's less nutritious.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:36:02

There's like, I always tell people, if you have that vision, are you acting in alignment with the vision?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:36:06

And if you are, great, then, like, try to have more food that's in alignment.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:36:10

Right.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:36:11

And so if you're like, okay, I'm just going to see, can I have, can I.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:36:15

For most women, can I just eat breakfast?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:36:17

Right, but can I have a breakfast that has a protein, a carb, and a fat?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:36:20

Right.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:36:20

Keep it that simple.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:36:21

And then, okay, I got breakfast.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:36:23

I did that for two weeks.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:36:24

I feel like breakfast is coming easier now.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:36:26

Okay, how can I shift my lunch, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:36:28

And maybe for some people, and I see this, for a lot of women that have families, it's like breakfast and lunch is easier because they're probably not eating with their families, right.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:36:38

They might be eating at the office or they're eating by themselves or whatever.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:36:41

So it's like, okay, focus on those two at first and then, okay, well, if you normally cook something, can you just add a vegetable to it?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:36:48

Right.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:36:48

Can you have, you know, I think sauces get a lot of people in trouble, right?

Tricia: 00:36:53

Yeah.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:36:53

Can you just have less sauces?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:36:55

Right.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:36:55

And just make it a consistent effort and know, and again, the biggest thing for confidence, I think, is the intention, because for me, my actions didn't change a ton, but the intention.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:37:06

So I was coming from the intention of, like, I want to feel really healthy and happy versus the fear of I don't want to hate my body.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:37:14

And it's a very different energy.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:37:16

And here's another fun fact.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:37:18

The energy in which you're eating affects how your body metabolizes food.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:37:23

So if you're.

Tricia: 00:37:24

Say that one again, though.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:37:25

Yeah.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:37:26

The energy in which you're eating affects how your body metabolizes food.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:37:30

So if you're in a happy, joyful, great place, like, have you ever had that where you're like, oh, I went out and I had drinks and I ate food that wasn't necessarily in alignment.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:37:37

I woke up and I felt great.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:37:39

Because you had a great night and you had fun, and you had all these other hormones and endorphins, and there's a whole science behind it.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:37:44

But if you're, like, in your kitchen and you're frustrated and you're eating your feelings in a tub of ice cream, you're going to wake up the next day feeling terrible.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:37:52

So you could literally have the same, same food and eating it in a different state of mind that it affects how your body metabolizes it.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:38:00

So, again, if you're eating with joy and excitement and let's try something, let's have fun, and let's make it for our family.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:38:06

Your.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:38:06

Your body reacts differently and emotionally and physically, you feel better, too.

Tricia: 00:38:11

I would venture to say that you're probably also less.

Tricia: 00:38:14

You're probably likely.

Tricia: 00:38:16

In some cases, we're talking, let's say, the ice cream, for example.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:38:19

Yeah.

Tricia: 00:38:20

In that moment of joy, of jubilation, you're having a great time.

Tricia: 00:38:23

You're probably eating less of it, too, because you're distracted and having a good time.

Tricia: 00:38:26

There's.

Tricia: 00:38:27

There's more going on that's.

Tricia: 00:38:29

That's driving that energy.

Tricia: 00:38:31

Right.

Tricia: 00:38:31

If you're sitting with a tub of ice cream, you're usually doing it because you're in your feels.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:38:35

Yep.

Tricia: 00:38:35

But then you probably eat a lot more of it, too.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:38:37

Yeah.

Tricia: 00:38:38

Right.

Tricia: 00:38:38

So it.

Tricia: 00:38:39

It's.

Tricia: 00:38:40

It's and.

Tricia: 00:38:40

Or.

Tricia: 00:38:41

Right, like, because it really is about.

Tricia: 00:38:44

It goes back to listening to your body and being conscious of.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:38:47

Yeah.

Tricia: 00:38:48

What different foods do to you.

Tricia: 00:38:49

Or I am a chronic ib's sufferer, which is really awkward to talk about on a podcast, but here we go.

Tricia: 00:38:55

And stress is my number one trigger.

Tricia: 00:38:57

So you're right.

Tricia: 00:38:58

I can eat the same food one day and not have any issues.

Tricia: 00:39:02

But the next day, depending on what's going on in my life, if I'm super stressed or feeling emotional, I might have a totally different reaction.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:39:10

Yep, yep.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:39:11

Yeah.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:39:11

And it's, you know, and I think it's one of those things, too, of so often.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:39:14

And this was my story.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:39:15

Like, I was so mad at my body, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:39:17

I was like, you don't do what I want.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:39:20

You don't look the way I want.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:39:21

You know, blah, blah, blah.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:39:21

Like, I was so mad at my body, and then I remember the day, and I did a live about it, and I was like, man, I have no reason to be mad at my body.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:39:31

I was like, I have starved it.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:39:33

I have over exercised it.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:39:35

I talk shit about it every day.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:39:36

And I was like, okay, body.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:39:38

We kind of get on the same page.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:39:39

Like, I want, this is what I desire, and this is what, like, my body was like, thank you.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:39:44

Can we just get on the same page?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:39:45

And so when we get into the place of, like, okay, I'm not mad at my body because it's having this reaction to food, but what can I do so that I can eat things that serve my body so that I feel better or for you, like, how do I manage stress?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:40:02

And for so many of us food is.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:40:04

I actually have a course that's, like, break free from emotional eating.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:40:08

The title fell flat because people don't want to admit that they emotionally eat.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:40:12

We all emotionally eat.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:40:13

Every single one of us eat when we're happy, eat when we're sad, we eat whatever.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:40:16

And so it's for you.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:40:18

It's like, well, I wonder if you, like, did some deep breaths or you went outside or you, like, took a pause.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:40:24

It'd be interesting to see if there's other things you could do to change your physiology before you ate that food and what it would do.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:40:31

And that would be a fun.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:40:32

That would be fun.

Tricia: 00:40:33

That's a great point.

Tricia: 00:40:33

I'm.

Tricia: 00:40:34

Okay, I'm going to do an experiment.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:40:36

Yeah.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:40:36

Yeah.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:40:37

And that's.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:40:37

That's what I tell all of my clients is that, like, you're your own science experiment.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:40:42

Create more awareness of, like, okay, it's great that you figured that out of, like, okay, it's not just what I ate, but it's the other state, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:40:49

Like, our bodies work.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:40:51

It's all connected, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:40:53

It's all connected.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:40:54

And so go, okay, well, if I do this, this is what happens.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:40:56

If I do this, this is what happens.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:40:58

Or sometimes it's a combination.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:40:59

Like, I have certain foods that if I eat them together, my system doesn't like it, but if I have them separate from each other, I'm totally fine.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:41:07

I'm like, that doesn't even make any logical sense, but it's a truth.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:41:10

Don't do that thing.

Tricia: 00:41:11

Yeah, 100%.

Tricia: 00:41:14

Now I have a science experiment.

Tricia: 00:41:15

I'm excited.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:41:16

Yeah.

Tricia: 00:41:19

I think so often we connect self love and confidence, and I think it was you I was talking to that really talked about.

Tricia: 00:41:24

You don't go from talking shit about your body to self love.

Tricia: 00:41:28

There's a really important step in between that we all miss.

Tricia: 00:41:34

Can you talk a little bit about that before we.

Tricia: 00:41:37

Before we move on and wrap up?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:41:39

So I think that's one of the most important things, is that if we're coming from a place of, I hate my body.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:41:43

And that was my story.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:41:44

I hated it.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:41:45

I was mad at it.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:41:46

I was all of these things.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:41:47

And it's like, you can't go from this far side of hating something to, like, I'm just gonna wake up and love it, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:41:54

So that middle piece is just acceptance.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:41:57

And I honestly had a really hard time with that word because I'm like.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:42:00

I'm, like, a driver and a doer, and I was like, well, if I accept it, I've, like, given up.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:42:05

Right.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:42:06

But what it really is is that you just accept you are where you are.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:42:10

And so often, as humans, we make things worse than they are.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:42:14

Sometimes, if we don't want to admit how bad they are, we make them better than they are.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:42:17

And it's like, can you just be where you are?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:42:20

Right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:42:20

Like, this is just my body.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:42:22

This is where I am.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:42:24

And so now if I've let go of all of that, like, negative self talk, and.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:42:28

And that's a big thing, too, is language.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:42:30

Listen to how you talk about yourself.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:42:32

And would you say out loud to yourself, like, if that was your best friend, would you say that stuff to her or your daughter?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:42:40

Yeah, exactly.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:42:41

Or your daughter?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:42:42

And, like, 99% of the time, you wouldn't.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:42:45

And so for me, I remember the day, and I think I shared this story with you.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:42:48

I.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:42:48

Like, I was it.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:42:49

I woke up, like, two in the morning.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:42:50

For some reason, I get up early anyway.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:42:52

But I was in my kid's bathroom, and I opened the shower curtain, and I had no emotional response.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:42:58

I was just like, this is my body, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:43:00

Not my.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:43:01

This wasn't my worth.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:43:02

This wasn't who I was.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:43:03

It was like, this is just where I am.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:43:04

And I was like, oh, my gosh, this is crazy, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:43:08

And so then from that place of, like, this is where I am.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:43:10

Then from that visionary place, then you can start taking steps.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:43:14

Okay, well, how do I.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:43:15

How do I love myself a little bit more?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:43:16

How do I actually.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:43:18

Can you look in the mirror and say that you love yourself?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:43:20

Right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:43:20

Like, do some of that, like, say those words to yourself?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:43:23

And so it's really important to be honest with where you are, be really clear about where you want to go and release the past, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:43:32

And I always tell people that the coolest thing about where you are in life, it's great and terrible.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:43:39

Like, you are where you are because of the decisions you've made, whether that's your health, your finances, your family, you are where you are.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:43:46

But the best part is you can make a different decision tomorrow, and you can make a different decision the next day.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:43:50

So you have all of the power to create change.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:43:54

If you don't like where you're at, and it doesn't have to be this overhaul of your life, it can just be one thing at a time.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:44:01

Maybe today you look in the mirror and you say, I love you.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:44:03

Right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:44:04

And then tomorrow you say it, and then you say it again.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:44:06

And maybe by day ten, you might actually mean it.

Tricia: 00:44:09

I love that.

Tricia: 00:44:11

So how do you find with being a gym owner, and you've got your own business, and your kids are competitive soccer players.

Tricia: 00:44:20

How do you find that mealtime balance in your own family and just share a little bit with us about what works for your family?

Tricia: 00:44:28

And I feel like we could talk all day, but kind of what you found works that our listeners can, can relate to and maybe a couple of things that they can try that you found work for you.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:44:38

Yeah.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:44:39

So for us, simplicity like that is the biggest piece is we are not.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:44:44

So when my husband and I first started dating, we were both personal trainers, and we learned very early on that, like, we weren't gonna eat at the same time.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:44:50

We didn't eat the same foods.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:44:52

We didn't eat the same amount of food.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:44:53

And so trying to figure out what we wanted to do together, we're just like, you do yours, you do yours, I'll do mine.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:44:58

So with our kids, and we do homeschool, so we get to cook more now, like, but it's usually at lunch.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:45:03

We just started homeschooling this year because we have a little more time.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:45:06

So our afternoons are not as crazy.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:45:08

But for me, it's simplicity.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:45:09

Right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:45:10

Can you have.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:45:11

I'm not a huge fan of leftovers.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:45:13

I used to try to, like, meal prep, and I'd spend all the, all Sunday meal prepping, and the only person that ate it was my husband and my kids.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:45:19

And I was like, I'm doing this for myself, but I don't really like leftovers.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:45:23

But what I can do is, like, I can have chicken breast cook that, you know, or cut, even if you just cut them and then you throw them in a pan and you cook them and it takes five minutes, I think, for vegetables, I know for my kids, they like cucumbers.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:45:36

So if the cucumbers are cut and they're hungry, I can be like, eat this while we have something cooked.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:45:41

So I think being, like, having some staples and having some go to meals that are really simple is probably what keeps us on track of, you know, this.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:45:52

This is the, these are the five go to meals that we have.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:45:55

But we are not fancy chefs.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:45:56

That is not our thing.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:45:57

And maybe we will at some point, but that's like, life is crazy.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:46:01

And so I think for sports parents, too, there's this running joke of, like, either your kids eat dinner at four or the dinner at nine because you're gone, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:46:11

And, like, and I'm super lucky this year.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:46:13

My kids have practice at the same time two of the three days, but on the other day, we leave at 430.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:46:18

And we get home at eight.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:46:19

Right.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:46:20

And so it's, it's going.

Tricia: 00:46:21

You need on the go options that aren't fast food.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:46:24

Right, exactly.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:46:25

Yeah.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:46:25

So we have certain things that we can take hold.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:46:28

Chicken salad is my favorite recipe ever.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:46:29

It's the simplest thing ever.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:46:31

It's chicken, grapes, walnuts, and, like, a paleo, mayonnaise, mustard.

Tricia: 00:46:36

Perfect.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:46:36

So it's so simple, you can eat it cold.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:46:39

Right.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:46:39

So find the stuff we eat.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:46:41

A ton of beef sticks.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:46:42

I mean, there's, they're not great options, but I'm always like, you know, have the, like, the one that has early practice has to bring a good snack and then have dinner.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:46:49

We get home, the one that has late practice needs to snack before, you know.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:46:53

So.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:46:54

So, honestly, I think for so many of us, they're like, everybody's in the kitchen making these amazing meals that, like, you might make, but I don't make those meals.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:47:03

And so for us, it's like, can it be simple?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:47:05

Now, does that mean that I should, like adventure and try other things?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:47:09

Absolutely.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:47:09

And for us, that's a little more of the weekend thing.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:47:12

But I think take out the judgment that it has to be this sit down, beautiful five course meal.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:47:18

99% of the time, my kids are eating while sitting on the trampoline and I'm like, great, you got the food in.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:47:23

So take out the standards of what you think everybody else is doing, because like you said in the intro, that's probably not what's happening.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:47:29

No, but, but try to focus on, like, honestly, I tell every client, if you can have a protein, a carbon, a fat, and your carb should come from some kind of healthy source.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:47:38

If you do that, 80% of the time, you guys are going to be just fine.

Tricia: 00:47:41

Yeah.

Tricia: 00:47:41

And the truth of, the truth of the matter is, like, most of us, like, we know that I'm a meal time mentor in kitchen, which I love to cook.

Tricia: 00:47:48

I love to spend hours in the kitchen, but I work a full time job.

Tricia: 00:47:51

I have this business during the week.

Tricia: 00:47:54

Like, if it takes more than 30 minutes, I'm not doing it.

Tricia: 00:47:56

I don't have the energy for it.

Tricia: 00:47:57

And something that takes hours in the kitchen happens, like, once a month or when I have the spare time to, like, get creative or I want to experiment or I just want to be in that space.

Tricia: 00:48:07

Right.

Tricia: 00:48:08

I choose them very carefully so that I'm in the right mindset when I do it.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:48:13

Yeah.

Tricia: 00:48:14

Right.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:48:14

Yeah, I think, too.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:48:16

The other thing that, that I do that makes my life better is when I do cook.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:48:20

My husband has to clean.

Tricia: 00:48:21

Oh, that is always our rule.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:48:23

Yeah.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:48:23

And.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:48:24

But it's like, make that a thing or that the kids have to clean up or whatever.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:48:27

Because sometimes, like, when I do try to be more adventurous, then I look around and I'm like, I've made a giant mess and now I don't want to clean it.

Tricia: 00:48:34

Like, every dish in the kitchen.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:48:36

And I am not at, like, I am not a, I'm not a clean cook.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:48:39

I don't even know how.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:48:40

I'm like, how did that end up like that?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:48:42

So, yeah, I think the more that you can make it, not just your job, if you're the mom or the dad or the one that's cooking, but I would say follow you and find some simple recipes.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:48:51

Because it's like, if it's like, okay, this is what I'm supposed to make tonight, and I know how to do it, that would make life that much easier.

Tricia: 00:48:58

Thanks for that plug.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:48:59

Of course.

Tricia: 00:49:00

Um, I love, I'm going to go back to your leftover comment, and we're going to save the rest of that for another day.

Tricia: 00:49:05

But one of my favorite things, I hate leftovers.

Tricia: 00:49:07

They do.

Tricia: 00:49:08

And so I've been having a ton of fun finding ways to repurpose them into something different.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:49:13

I love it.

Tricia: 00:49:14

And so, and I don't care if you buy stuffed mushrooms from Sam's club and you throw them in the oven or you, because you're.

Tricia: 00:49:19

You're probably going to hear me say this and go, like, I would never make stuffed mushrooms.

Tricia: 00:49:22

You could buy them from Sam's or the store and bake them, and you still have leftover stuffed mushrooms.

Tricia: 00:49:25

Like, I am not saying everything you cook even has to be homemade.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:49:29

Yep.

Tricia: 00:49:29

Keep a frozen lasagna around for when shit gets real and you just can't even think about it.

Tricia: 00:49:34

Need somebody else to do it.

Tricia: 00:49:35

Because even your kids can throw a lasagna in the oven.

Tricia: 00:49:37

Like, we're not talking seven nights a week here.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:49:40

Yep.

Tricia: 00:49:40

But I chopped up those stuffed mushrooms and I put them in, mix them in with my scrambled eggs the next morning.

Tricia: 00:49:46

So I had veggies, I had protein and all and a little bit of breadcrumbs.

Tricia: 00:49:52

Right.

Tricia: 00:49:52

So.

Tricia: 00:49:52

But, like, I had all that in my breakfast where I normally wouldn't include vegetables in my breakfast.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:49:57

Yeah.

Tricia: 00:49:57

But it was a way to reuse them without feeling like I was eating leftovers that I can't stand.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:50:02

Yep, I'm with you.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:50:04

I love that.

Tricia: 00:50:05

That's another super fun idea.

Tricia: 00:50:06

But, yeah.

Tricia: 00:50:06

Follow me for more ideas.

Tricia: 00:50:07

On that?

Tricia: 00:50:08

Yes.

Tricia: 00:50:09

We're going to wrap it up because I feel like we could talk all day, and we've already been talking for a while, but I.

Tricia: 00:50:14

What's one message you'd like listeners to take away when it comes to family meals and building a healthy relationship with food?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:50:22

Well, have fun.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:50:24

Right.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:50:25

Food gets to be an amazing part of your life and your kids life, and try to take away the judgment for yourself and for the food and just be present.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:50:34

That's, I think, for so many of us, just be present and life will turn out just like you wanted.

Tricia: 00:50:40

How do you make time for that connection?

Tricia: 00:50:42

Because you guys are always on the go and you might be eating at different times.

Tricia: 00:50:45

What do you do to make sure that you have that truly connected time together if it's not mealtime?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:50:52

So that we're lucky because we homeschool.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:50:54

So I get a lot of, like, one on one time.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:50:57

But, I mean, I.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:50:57

This sounds so cliche, but, like, just being present and putting your phones down of, you know, asking them if your kids don't homeschool.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:51:04

Whenever I would pick mine up, I'm like, okay, well, what.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:51:07

What, you know, what went well today?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:51:09

What could you have improved on?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:51:10

And what are you excited about tomorrow?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:51:13

Last tip, we started doing this with our children because we needed it.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:51:16

And so every night before we went to bed, everybody had to say three things they were proud of that they did that day.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:51:21

It is so much harder as an adult than you think because you're like, woman, I'm not there yet.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:51:25

And so we started doing that where we all had to say three things we were proud of, and it changed the energy of taking chances, taking risks, being brave, and then we got to cheer each other on for the next day of like, okay, this is what you're going to do, or this is what you did.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:51:40

So that's one of my favorite nighttime things.

Tricia: 00:51:43

I'm all about creating those questions that really give you insight into how they think and feel and see the world and different ways to get them to share and open up.

Tricia: 00:51:53

And I love that question.

Tricia: 00:51:54

I think that's great.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:51:55

Yeah.

Tricia: 00:51:56

Okay, so can you tell us a little bit about your 21 day health reset and how it could benefit our listeners and then finish up with where can they find you in the best way to connect?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:52:05

Awesome.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:52:06

Yeah.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:52:06

So I have.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:52:08

I have a 21 day health reset.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:52:09

And so it's not focused so much on food, but on so in everything we coach, there's four pillars so physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:52:18

So this health reset has different days focused on different things, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:52:21

There's days focused on, you know, getting foods high in high, like superfoods, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:52:26

There's another day that's like you're going to take a couple breath breaks, you're going to go outside, you're going to get grounded, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:52:32

So it's super simple.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:52:33

I have another program called mindfulness and macros that connects the two of like, your nutrition, but also like, how does it affect your life?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:52:41

So the 21 day is little, just snippets.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:52:44

So it's simple things that you can implement every day.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:52:47

I don't want you to be overwhelmed.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:52:48

Don't want you to be like, I'm going all in, right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:52:50

It's not that energy, but it's just, it's just, can you have a few minutes every day of awareness of like, what are you thinking?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:52:56

What are you feeling?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:52:57

What are you putting in your body?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:52:58

Are you moving it?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:52:59

Right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:52:59

Because awareness is the answer to everything.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:53:02

So you get it in a PDF, you get all 21 days, but then you also get an email every day that you're like, oh, yeah, right.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:53:09

Because habits are hard.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:53:10

So it shows up in your inbox and you get to look at it and the parts that you don't love, just skip them.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:53:15

Right?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:53:15

But maybe it gives you a few ideas.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:53:17

Like, I highly, I shouldn't say this, but I doubt very many people do all the steps of the 21 days.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:53:22

But even if you do a couple, I'm like, let's be honest, but even if you do a couple of them and you go, oh, that really affected my day, it felt really good to go out in the sun for five minutes or it felt really good to really disconnect or really connect with my family and disconnect from technology.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:53:36

Even if you have those little tiny things, it's going to start to change and those stack over time.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:53:41

So that's kind of what that is.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:53:43

So the link will be in the comments.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:53:45

It's totally free.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:53:46

There is a free consult.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:53:47

So if you're like, you know what, I love what you're saying, but like, how does this work in my life?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:53:52

And what could this look like?

Courtney Merrickle: 00:53:53

We can jump on a call.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:53:54

I am like, I am not a salesperson.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:53:56

I love to teach, so there's always the option for a free call if you want to go to my actual website.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:54:02

It is www.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:54:04

Shift the letter to a better you.com.

Tricia: 00:54:09

Beautiful.

Tricia: 00:54:10

Thank you so much for sharing all of your nuggets of wisdom.

Tricia: 00:54:14

This was amazing.

Tricia: 00:54:15

I'm inspired to try a few things and I got my 21 day reset and I'm starting it today.

Tricia: 00:54:21

Yay.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:54:21

Okay, well, keep me posted.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:54:23

Thank you.

Tricia: 00:54:23

I will.

Tricia: 00:54:24

Thanks so much for joining us on the podcast.

Tricia: 00:54:26

It has been so much fun talking to you and I feel like we have a lot more to talk about, so stay tuned.

Tricia: 00:54:30

Maybe there will be a part two.

Courtney Merrickle: 00:54:32

Perfect.

Tricia: 00:54:34

That's a wrap on today's episode of mealtime magic and mayhem.

Tricia: 00:54:37

I hope you're feeling a little more ready to tackle the dinner chaos and find some magic in the everyday.

Tricia: 00:54:43

If you've enjoyed this episode, I'd love it if you could take a quick minute to leave a review on Spotify, Apple podcasts, or wherever you're listening.

Tricia: 00:54:51

Your feedback helps this show reach more amazing women just like you.

Tricia: 00:54:55

It totally makes my day to hear what's resonating with you.

Tricia: 00:54:58

Until next time, keep finding those sparks of joy around the table.

Tricia: 00:55:02

Thanks for listening and I'll catch you in the next episode.