302: Supplements for building muscle; Clean living for the home; & More of what's working for me...

ELLA Hey, you're on Air with Ella and this week we are playing with a new format. That is where I share five takeaways from recent episodes, things that have really stuck with me, things that I'm doing, four things that are working for me that I haven't shared with you yet and that's not tied to an episode, and then three thank yous for whatever I am particularly grateful for right now. Quick programming note, I am now with almost every single episode publishing full transcripts and or detailed timestamps in the blog for this episode. You can find all of that at onairella.com. I do that because sometimes you want to go back and hear like a full paragraph of what was said and so now you can see the full transcripts in the show notes. Just started that a couple of episodes ago. And then before we get started, I want you to know that all the things that I mentioned will be linked in the show notes again at onairella.com because it's boring for you if I just keep repeating that. So just know that anything I'm talking about here is going to be linked and summarized. I take notes for you and all of that is found at the site. Okay. Or look in the show description and it'll take you right there. All right. Without further ado, let's jump in. Okay, five takeaways from recent episodes. These are things that have really stuck with me and the reason that I want to do this is because you know, I get excited about new tips and tricks and supplements and things that we learn and things that we hear, but I don't always implement all of them all the time. I think I would go mad if I did. And so I was wondering if you thought it would be useful if you know, once every month, once every couple of months, I shared with you things that have really stuck and are working for me. So you're going to have to tell me if this is of interest or not. Okay. Number one is supplements that I have learned more about because of the show because of these recent interviews and that I am using pretty much every day and definitely consistently every week. Those are the only ones I'm going to share with you because of course I dabble in other things but these are the things that have really, really stuck for me. Okay. Creatine. I learned about that with Selene Yeager when we talked about perimenopause and building muscle and I realized that as a vegetarian, I could possibly maybe very likely be not protein and therefore not getting enough amino acids, which makes it 10 times harder for me to build muscle. And so I have, I purchased creatine based on that conversation and I am taking just one serving of that every single day in my sports bottle. Okay. I am trying to build back muscle after having frozen shoulder for so very long and my arm just completely atrophied, not to mention the muscles in my back, et cetera, et cetera. And we'll talk more about that in a minute. The other thing that I am taking is a high quality omega three, six, nine blend. That is Udo's oil and I rotate that. We talked with Udo in an episode, I guess it was last season, but I'm also taking a supplement that is a high EPA DHA blend and that is something that we just talked about with Stephen Cabral. And I am making sure to take very, very high quality in that. So it's not cheap, but again, I do not get enough good, healthy fats in animal proteins because I do not eat animal proteins. So I am really focused on that, but he was recommending that for almost everybody, whether you're a vegetarian or not. Now it goes without saying that I'm not dispensing medical advice or even nutrition advice, not at all. I'm just sharing with you what I have committed to and what is working for me. I also, I have to be honest with you because I'm a poser. It is easy to think that I eat clean all the time and I'm eating nothing but plants and I'm just munching on kale every day. And the truth is I don't eat enough fresh food. Like I actually try to eat one really good robust meal a day and then a lot of my other meals are, you know, they're, they lean a little bit towards the convenience food. Now it is plant based for me and I tend to eat pretty clean convenience food, but nothing is as good for you as good fresh food. Right. And I just, that's not three meals a day for me. So I am doing a greens powder, a fruit and vegetable blend powder. And just for me, it's like, it's just a way to make sure I get eight to 10 servings of vegetables a day. So you've heard me talk about some in the past and I will share the three that I have on rotate. Okay. Okay. Let's move on to number two in our five takeaways from recent episodes. This one is more about business and relationships. And that is I've realized after several of these conversations with multiple guests that the word networking just doesn't work for me. When we talk about expanding our portfolio of people, when we talk about reaching out to people and asking for help maybe, or reaching out to people and asking how we can help them, you know, I mean, we understand what networking is. The word just doesn't work for me. I can't get excited about it. So I am swapping that out. I am changing my language to building connections. So instead of saying networking, oh, I need to network more. I'm saying I love building connections. I want to build more connections and that absolutely works for me. So I have been putting my money where my mouth is. If you and I are connected on Instagram, then you have seen me post, you know, recently I threw out an invitation to lunch to a bunch of people that I don't know in my women's network that I've mentioned before and the women's executive network and 20 people said, yes, I knew four of them. Now I know 20 of them. And we just met for a lunch in DC and it was absolutely fantastic. I put out the test balloon, right? And some people responded. It was fantastic. And it's never not going to feel a little bit vulnerable to invite people to do a thing. And I just want to encourage you to do it because if three people had shown up, it would have been a wild raging success because I would have been able to connect with three new people and build those connections. So in short, networking does not work for me, but building connections absolutely does. And I hope that you will not be afraid to make the first move. All right. Number three takeaway. I need to lift weights. Oh my gosh. After talking to Dr. Vonda Wright and then talking with Selene Yeager, like this is not optional. And I personally used to rely heavily on heavily on body weight resistance exercises. And those are obviously fantastic. And by the way, an amazing place to start if you're just kind of getting back on the wagon here. Absolutely amazing. I'll talk about that again in just a second. But I am realizing that if I want to sort of power into the next decade the way that And if I want to have my very best chances of coasting through this next season of my life in terms of perimenopause and then the dreaded M word, I don't apologize for hating that word. I definitely need to lift weights again, which I have not done in ages and ages. And by the way, I have no idea how to use a weight bar like the classic weight bar. Like I don't even know the bar itself is heavy. I don't even know how much weight I would put on there. But I am lifting with free weights. Right now I use everything from 10 to 20 pounds depending on which movement I am doing, which muscles that I'm working, you know, which ones I can do. And I do hope to increase that by 20% or so some of you are probably laughing. You're like, that's adorable. 20 pounds. That's so cute. But I hope to increase that by about 20% as I said, as I build strength back after losing the use of my arm for almost a year, right? So I am even mimicking all of the exercises that Dr. Carlos Barrio shared with us in that episode about dry needling and then the functional movements and the three exercises he says he cannot live without. I took that to heart and I am doing them and I'm doing them with free weights. And by the way, can I just say it's like kind of nice to see muscle on my arms again on my back. Like I've kind of missed that. So I just want you to know I'm seeing changes in my body and I am very happy about it and I am committed to lifting weights that right now for me feel heavy. So if you're lifting more than that, I'm really proud of you. So if you don't know where to start, start with body weight. If you have not lifted a weight ever or you haven't lifted a weight in years, start with planks and hold that position and use your core to stay in the plank position. If that feels like too, if that's too strenuous, then start on your elbows and plank. Okay. Then move up to more of the push up position and then also include some push ups and I don't care if you can only do one and I really don't care if you're on your knees, but do some push ups and do some planks and that is a beautiful place to start and you're working your arms and your back and your core. Just start, start where you are. Use what you have, do what you can, but just start. Honestly, if you want to age much better, I just honestly believe my personal take is that you have to do resistance training. You know, if it brings you joy, blah, blah, blah. Okay. At the end of the day, you do you, right? Okay. The fourth out of five takeaways is I did the Venn diagram exercise that Christina Wallace introduced me to in episode 300. She's the Harvard Business School professor who was sharing that she is quote a human Venn diagram, right? Those are the overlapping circles and I actually, well, first of all, I created a template for you so if you have no idea what I'm talking about, you can just pull the template down from the show notes, but doing this exercise genuinely helped me articulate my value proposition. I've alluded to this a little bit on the show, but I've been struggling with how to explain my business consulting offerings and my work in corporate communications and strategic communications and then my podcast and my events platform. And I took this exercise seriously and I created my own Venn diagram and it was insanely helpful. I actually, I don't know if this is a good idea or not. You can look at my LinkedIn and tell me, but I actually put a simplified version of my Venn diagram in my LinkedIn profile. So it's there. Again, I've created a template for you that you can download if you want to do the same. Okay, so I'll post that with this episode, but it really helped show the relationship between what I do in the corporate world for executives and business owners. It really helped show the relationship between that and then what I do with this platform. So if you do this, I would love to see your results. Okay, thanks Christina. All right, five out of five takeaways. I am, this is from an episode I did with you, just me. So I have taken some real gems, some real gems of wisdom from ON AIR WITH ELLA. And I'll tell you, she mentioned two probiotics. Okay, I'll stop being silly, but I am still rotating my two probiotics that I mentioned in episode 292, I think it was, which is no surprise because I had been using them for about two years before I even mentioned them here. And I did that because I don't like recommending products that I don't know if they work. And so I am still obsessed with these. I take the soil-based probiotic and then I take the Oxyceutics probiotic and I rotate them. I go on off every other day. But there are two things that I did want to mention about them that I did not say in that episode. Number one is I rotate them and I only take them five to six days a week. And then I only take two a day, regardless of what it suggests on the packaging, because one of those, I think it's Oxyceutics recommends that you take four a day and they're pricey. So I just wanted to let you know that I only take two a day, regardless of the suggestion and it is working beautifully for me. And the reason I know this is because I see a huge difference if I skip more than two days, both in bloating and well, you know, the other stuff that probiotics help with. So I just wanted you to know that I am still totally obsessed with those. Let's talk about four new things. These are things that I do or I use all the time. And I you tell me what you think. All right. And for some bizarre reason, I wanted to start with household stuff. I have no idea why some of you are going to be like, what this took a turn. Now I am not a germaphobe and I am not a strictly clean living gal, though I do try. But I do take some measures to reduce my toxic load and I'm going to share some of those with you as well as what I consider to be like life hacks. So again, I have no idea if this format is going to land with you guys or if you really care about my household tips. But here we go. There's only one way to find out. OK, so four things. Number one, this is like household clean living stuff. All right. I always wash my laundry on cold except sheets and towels. I think hot water is not only hard on the environment and possibly your utilities bill, but it's also really hard on your clothes. And half the time, like actually, what am I saying? 80 percent of my laundry, I think, is like athletic wear. So it absolutely no need, not good for them. And I never, ever, ever use dryer sheets because dryer sheets are filled with toxic chemicals. Sorry, I should just say chemicals. I should not call them toxic. Maybe you have a better relationship with them than I do, but they are endocrine disruptors. They are no bueno if you are prone to asthma, allergies, migraines. They are worse for children because their bodies are impacted more. But even the ones that say they're green and eco-friendly, I'm skeptical. This is just one person's opinion. OK. But also, they don't actually make clothes softer. They don't like make clothes inherently softer. They make them feel softer by coating them with a softening agent like steric acid. One expert says it's the equivalent of putting a thick layer of lotion on your hand. That's essentially that coating is what's happening to your clothes. So like, I don't want it. But also, that softening agent can build up on fabrics and even make towels less absorbent because they're now coated. Also, when you use them, the dryer vent is then blowing airborne compounds called volatile organic compounds or VOCs into the air. And the US EPA, the Environmental Protection Agency here in the US, classifies seven of those VOCs as hazardous air pollutants. So like, not for me. And by the way, if static cling is a problem, I cannot believe I'm talking about this. Just get your hands slightly wet and separate the clothes with damp hands. Water kills static cling instantly. OK, I'm going to get through this even though I am fully laughing at myself. All right. Number two, we don't wear shoes upstairs. Some people and of course, a lot of people in other cultures, of course, remove shoes at the door. And for us, like, that's just not going to happen. Like, I'm just keeping it real. We're not going to remove our shoes at the door. We're just not a remove the shoes at the door kind of people. However, we do take off our shoes before going into bedrooms. They just carry too much bacteria. They carry toxins from the outside world, remnants from outside of any kind, organic or inorganic, for me to want them in my carpets or where I sleep. And last year, I actually added an air filter to each bedroom. I got them off Amazon for a not terrible price and they work really, really well. And another pro tip, instead of replacing the filters when they say to, which is a little spendy, I clean and then dry the filters with a hose or in my case, in the basement sink. And I say that because please don't do this in your kitchen. Thank you. But anyway, so air filters in the bedrooms and no outside shoes in the bedrooms. All right. Last household tip from your Holly Holly homemaker. Do you know that limbo state between clean and dirty clothes when you've worn something once but it definitely does not need to go in the laundry pile and but it feels wrong to put it back in a drawer like it just doesn't feel right. I have purgatory hooks for those clothes that remain in limbo. I hang them on the hooks, wear them again and then wash them when they actually deserve it. So I also have a drying rack in my bathroom that serves this purpose. Hang it up there, whether it's a bathing suit that's drying or just, you know, the hoodie that I wore for 20 minutes that morning and I don't want to launder it. Okay. So love a purgatory hook for clothes and or drying rack if you have space. Okay. Number four is definitely enlisting your entire household. And if that's just you, then okay, but clean up every night so that you wake up to a new day. I do not preach on this. Again, my strategy is always for you to do you, but I'm sharing this just in case it's helpful. Waking up to a huge mess is just not an optimal way to set your mind for the day and your environment truly does matter. Here in this house, whomever cooks does not clean and everyone else helps clean up fully after dinner. Now when we're empty, empty nesting, that's singular. Whoever cooks doesn't clean any other person does blah, blah, blah. If you're in anyone's home, then everyone pitches in except for the cook to clean up after dinner. But if the living spaces are a mess, those get straightened up by everyone who benefits by living here before we retire for the night. So the last man standing, if someone is still hanging out, turns off everything and straightens up his or her sofa imprint, right? Like I'm not waking up to your mess. But the real point here is do what you need to do to start the next day with a clean slate. And by the way, this is a PS, we're still only doing four, but this is a PS, like a parenting and partnering tip. If you are old enough to tell your parent what kind of clothes you want to wear, then you are old enough to do your own laundry. Put another way, if you're old enough to have your own phone, if you're old enough to play video games, then you are sure as hell old enough to do basic household chores. Okay? Now I want you to sit this and share it as you like, or just keep playing it on rotate, on volume 10 in your home, whatever you need. Okay, I got you. Okay, finally, three things that I am grateful for or happy about. Number one, I am relaunching Patreon for this community. And this time I am doing something very, very different, but I will explain more about it in a few weeks. I will fully, fully officially launch it in August. It's live right now if you want to check it out. But Patreon, as many of you already know, is just a way to help support the show. And that is incredibly helpful if you're able to do that. And there are tiers through which you can support the show. But for the second two out of three tiers, I am going to start releasing bonus content on Patreon. So it's going to be a little more opinionated, possibly slightly controversial. I will also release episodes that never make it to the air. I will share video episodes that are just me, and we will do six live calls a year that you can join. So again, this is just a teaser, if you will. I don't really mean it that way. I just want you to know that this is happening, that I'm setting it up now to launch fully and beautifully in August. But if you want to see it, it's at patreon.com. And of course, you just search on air with Ella. I'm very excited about that. My goal is to build more of a community, actually, and one that can interact basically in person. Okay, the second thing that I'm really grateful for is the new reviews that you've been sharing. That gives me life. Like, I gotta say, when you're doing this, and some of you podcasts, or you are a creator in your own right, you're doing something when you're doing when you're creating, you know, it's just me and a microphone and my Mac, like it's just me right now. I am so grateful that I am in your ears right now and that you are willing to hang out with me. When you leave a review, that's actually one of the only ways that I actually hear from you. Here is a recent one from Wendy G. “This was a game changer for me. The advice was amazing and I have been working on my Venn diagram. (Oh, good for you, Wendy!) I've always struggled to succinctly explain what I do in an engaging way that'll snag people's attention. Seasonality and work and life is a real thing and now we have practical tips to embrace it. Thank you, Ella, for being an amazing advocate for women.” Wendy, I see you. Thank you. I love you. I'm really grateful to you. Okay, three out of three. I am grateful for being able to swim again after 11 months and 10 days of not being able to raise my arm. But who's counting? So for me, this means that I can race again. So this feels like a really big deal to me and I am now able to sign up for three triathlons, which I'm going to do, by the way, in the Northern Virginia, D.C., Maryland area. So if that appeals to you in any way, message me and maybe we can meet at one of those things. That would be amazing. But just the sheer gratitude I feel for being able to use my body almost completely normally again is just something that I want to share with you because we take these bodies for granted and you might be listening and you might be hurting in one area or seven. You might be struggling with your own injury recovery or you just might not feel great. And so my real message to you is when we do fully function, that is such an unspeakable privilege. I just want to encourage you to use that body. And if you are, in fact, in a period of healing or recovery right now, I just want you to know that patience with yourself and giving yourself enough grace to know that you can build it back or to not stop trying to find resources to help you or to come to me if I can help you find somebody in any area. Don't give up on yourself and use that amazing, beautiful body that you were gifted. So finally, I am grateful for you. This is just a bonus. Doesn't count as a three. I'm just really grateful for you. I'm so grateful to you for being a part of my life in this community and I love you. And as always, I want to hear from you. So message me somewhere. You can shoot me an email or a DM in Instagram. Let me know something that you're excited about. Better yet, drop it in a review and let me read it out loud on the air. OK, I am on my way to England for a wedding and then I turn around. I come back for a few days and then I turn around and go to another wedding in Tennessee. So I will be I will be fully wedding deemed. It is a summer of love. Yeah, so I'm sure I'll be sharing some wedding outfits on Instagram. OK, I have to tell you, I'm actually a bridesmaid in one of the weddings and I find that first of all, thank you. I appreciate the honor. I don't know. That makes me a good goal for some reason. Anyway, yeah, I'm doing the whole thing. Dress, the whole thing, the whole thing. So you can look for behind the scenes content about that. All right. Go get outside, get moving and have such a good day. See ya.