How to Take Back Control of Your Health & Nutrition

[00:00:00] Christine: Welcome back to the MilSpouse Mastermind Show. Here we are entering January and the number one New Year’s resolution, according to statistics is health. People want to prioritize their health in the new year. We know it’s important to be healthy, and yet how we. Sometimes eludes us, especially if we have a spouse that’s deployed or we have young children at home and we’re not sure how we prioritize and actually do the things that we know we need to do to help us reach our health and fitness.

[00:00:41] Goals and sometimes we think there’s a lot more to it than there actually is, and that’s why I am so excited to bring to you a conversation with Kristen Noriega. She is a registered dietician, nutritionist, military spouse. And homeschooling work from home. Mom of four, essentially living proof that moms can get in good nutrition and movement, even in the midst of the chaos of raising littles, spilled milk, cold coffee.

[00:01:18] Unused gym memberships and all. So what do you say? Let’s go ahead and get started with today’s show.

How to Make Real Growth Happen in 2023

[00:02:19] How do we make growth happen in our lives in 2023? How do we actually turn that dream on our heart into a reality? How do we actually make progress on the things that matter to us? How do we stop feeling like life is just passing us by? How do we live with intention? In our everyday lives, how do we develop the habits, the rhythms, and the routines that are actually going to lead us to the life we want to live a life with meaning and purpose, a life that is fulfilling.

[00:03:01] as a military spouse regardless of what season of life that we are in. If you are questioning how to do this, you want some help really planning out your year, then sign up for my plan. Year 2023 workshop, we’re gonna map out your goals for your out, what is achievable for you, make your plan and know how to handle w what to do.

[00:03:27] When the unexpected happens, you don’t have to just give up on your goals. If you are afraid of disappointing yourself, if you are tired of feeling discouraged that you’re not making progress, if you want to live a more meaningful and fulfilling life, this. Is for you. If you are ready to craft a life of purpose as a military spouse, then let’s do this together.

[00:03:57] Come join me Thursday, January 19th, 10:30 AM Pacific, 1:30 PM Eastern Standard Time. Just go to milspouse mastermind.com/plan. Your 20 23 2 register. And yes, a replay will be available if you’re. Able to join us live. There will also be a workbook for you to download that will help you plan out your year.

[00:04:25] I want you to sit with the fact that you do not have to wait for tomorrow to chase your dreams. It’s because it’s about. What we do today, that matters. That begins right here, right now. So go to milspouse mastermind.com/plan your 2023 and register today. All right, so today we are talking about health and fitness and how to improve your health this year.

The #1 New Year’s Resolution Is Improving Health & Fitness

[00:04:57] You are going to love this conversation with Kristen Noriega, so I won’t make you wait any longer. Let’s dive into my conversation with Army Spouse Kristen Noriega. Well, Kristen Noriega, welcome to the MilSpouse Mastermind Show. Would you tell us a little bit about yourself and what you.

[00:05:19] Kristen: Yeah, thanks for having me here, Christine.

[00:05:21] I’m super excited to be here. I’m Kristin Noriega, registered dietician nutritionist, and I’m the host of the Baby Weight Nutritionist podcast. I’m an Army wife. I have four kids. We’re homeschooling, they’re 7, 5, 3, and. Almost one, maybe the time this is airing, she’ll be one just a few days out. And I help moms lose weight via food freedom and really try to do it in a faith fueled way and

[00:05:53] Christine: realistically, And I love this because you are totally in the season of having your hands really full with four, seven and under and U P C S this summer.

[00:06:06] You guys cannot see it, but as we are recording, she has a PCS sticker right in the background. So I know this is real life. So I really am excited to talk to you today about health and nutrition and. Actually looks like when we are trying to navigate all the things in military life. But before we get into that, I love hearing people’s background stories.

What’s Your Military Spouse Story?

[00:06:31] So would you tell us your military spouse story, how you got introduced to military life and what that was like?

[00:06:39] Kristen: I would love to talk about that. So there I was, this tiny little 17 year old girl , and we were at a, I was at a church retreat for confirmation and there was this weird annoying guy and lo and behold, we started talking and so we started dating.

[00:07:01] The year before our senior year, and then we both went to the University of New Mexico together. And of course my family felt like I was throwing away my future to go to our state school with my hus or with my boyfriend, but I had a whole slew of reasons to go. And he did R O T C and was doing the guard thing.

[00:07:21] So I’ve been. We are, we’ve been together and doing the military the same time throughout all of it. And so we’re just, this week celebrated our 10 year anniversary and of being married and let’s see, so yeah, so we’ve

[00:07:39] Christine: Well, congratulations!

[00:07:41] Kristen: Thank you. Dated in high school, dated in college, got married like right after, and you know, been moving all around the world since.

[00:07:49] Christine: So talk about what that was like your background in dietetics nutrition and, and what did that look like as you were realizing, Hey, I’m marrying this guy, he’s going into the military. What, what is life gonna look like for me?

[00:08:07] Kristen: Terrifying. Okay, so, I didn’t want to be a new a dietician. I was in college to be a dentist, and I got into seven different dental schools and there we were.

[00:08:19] He’s going through the process of getting his first duty station. You know, we don’t know anything. We don’t know how it works. We don’t know. We’re so blind to the whole process and we’re trying to match up how we could be at least in the same part of the country. and then I commit to a school in South Carolina and he gets orders for Kansas.

[00:08:41] And it didn’t feel right to me. It was this whole crazy year, our senior year of college, and I felt like I dove into pre-entry and my heart wasn’t really there, and my mom died that year and I just had all these huge radical changes and so I let it go and I moved to Kansas with my husband. Continued to like, I’m like, okay, I’ll get my master’s in nutrition now.

[00:09:08] I don’t know what else I’m gonna do right now, but I just gotta do something and it’s gotta be worth my time. And then lo and behold, I was like, okay, this is pretty cool. I like this. I think I’ll continue on this path. And yeah, so again, another time in my life where people are like, you’re doing what for this guy?

[00:09:24] And I’m like, no, I’m doing this for myself. . He’s amazing to him. He’s wonderful, but for my peace of mind, I can’t be over here and he can’t be over there. Like I said, my mom died that year and all these mm-hmm. crazy big changes. And so I went where I was called to be, and we don’t understand these things when they happen and nobody else understands our decisions, but, , they, they work out the way they’re supposed to work out.

[00:09:51] Christine: And that’s where you had that sense of peace, that yeah, you know, this is, this is what feels right. And it wasn’t like you just didn’t do anything. You found a way to pivot and say, okay, I’m gonna try this instead because this thing is not working and so I’m gonna try something else. And you ended up really liking what you found.

Finding Fulfillment as a Military Spouse

[00:10:13] Kristen: Yeah, I did. I mean, I dove in and met some really great people at our first duty station. Met some of my best friends there, and ended up just really falling in love with this career field. And it’s not even just a career. It’s like this is how I get to fulfill my purpose. I get to help women feel better in their bodies and do it in a way that helps them show up for.

[00:10:41] Life better, to be better spouses, to be better mothers, to be just a better woman, to feel better. And so that is so fulfilling to me. More than any fillings I could have ever done in a dental office. more than any crowns or implants or any of that I could have ever done. I get to help women right here, and I get to be at home raising my babies at the same.

[00:11:07] Christine: And I mean, it really is finding that sense of purpose, a way that really lights you up and allows you to impact the lives of other people and, and I love that it is possible in this military life, even when it doesn’t work out the way that we initially planned it to be, but that it all is possible. And it’s not like you’re just throwing away your life.

[00:11:31] It is possible to. Purpose in the season that you’re in. Yeah, absolutely. So, so talk about, I would love to hear your journey of, okay, you’re finding this fulfillment in nutrition and then you, I’m assuming, start having babies, like talk about that season and that transit. . Okay.

[00:11:59] Kristen: You know when you think you’ve gotta figured out and then the military’s like, hell, you don’t

[00:12:06] That was my life. That is my life. So I, we get pregnant and my husband deploys. Well, he goes to NTC like two weeks after my earth. First baby’s born, I have a C-section and it’s awful. And you know, all of the things. And he goes, he leaves for five weeks, then comes back and then he deploys. And at the same time I’m going through my national examination to or exam to become a dietician.

[00:12:35] And that’s really where I just felt. Okay. My personal body story was just so bogged down that winter. I can just so feel all the feelings, RA whole, like see solo parenting, my, my son trying to keep it together for our first deployment. Living in a place where, you know, I had my support system there. I truly had my Army family there, but, No, like my sister wasn’t there.

[00:13:09] My, my dad wasn’t there. I missed those people. So trying to, you know, just keep it together. and feeling really crappy in my body after my first baby and feeling like, oh, I’m gonna, you know, I’m gonna breastfeed and it’s gonna come off. That’s what I’ve learned in school. That’s how it should be. I eat well, it should be fine.

[00:13:27] And then it wasn’t like that. And just then like going through that first Christmas and tugging out my shirt and feeling really crappy about it and ugh, all the things that should have been happening. And so that was our first. and he came home and we got pregnant again and he, we PCSed and he deployed again, and like we just, were on this cycle of deploy ntc.

[00:13:53] Deploy ntc, baby, ba in like, and finally now we had our most recent baby. She’s. Like I said, she’s almost a year old and he’s been here her whole life and just two weeks ago he went t d y for a week and I was like, oh my gosh, what am I doing? This is so hard. I haven’t done this in like a year or two.

[00:14:12] It is so hard. It’s when you’re in it, it feels like it’s never gonna go away. And then when you get to the other side, like you realize you can do really hard things. You’ve done some amazing things. , you’ve lived to tell the tale ,

[00:14:31] Christine: but it feels really hard in that season when you are moving and solo parenting and babies and, and just the transition, at least for me, like the transition from, I’m just, you know, doing my thing to, now I have another human that’s reliant on me 24 7, and my spouse is gone and I don’t have the, you know, like I had a support system, but it wasn’t.

[00:14:57] People that were always gonna be there. And so I just know, and then babies back to back cuz mine are three, five, and seven, so similar ages to yours, you know, just that season of we moved four times in, in that same time period. And feeling like I don’t, I don’t know which way is up right now. I, I don’t know, like how to really find myself in this season.

[00:15:23] Talk about your journey as you were going through all of this and like figuring out, Hey, what’s going on with my body and how do I actually take care of myself?

Reclaiming Whole Person Health After Babies

[00:15:33] Kristen: So my story in my body, like I just said, you know, that after my first baby, it was just like frustration and confusion and I was stuck in diet culture, feeling like it was like calories and calories out.

[00:15:47] And that’s not the case when you’re breastfeeding and when you’re raising little ones. It’s just not, and when you’re, when they’re, you’re high stress, you know, we’re all military spouses. It’s high stress. No matter what anybody’s gonna. And on any given day, there’s something high stress . And so it was this journey of me having to unlearn what I learned in school.

[00:16:10] Cause it just doesn’t add up the way they teach us in the books. So I had to unlearn all of that and really realize that. For me, for it to work, meaning for me to feel healthy and to feel good, I had to get my, yes, my nutrition in line, my movement in line, but also my emotional and my spiritual health.

[00:16:35] Those had to be taken care of too. My, my social health, you know, there’s so many more aspects to health than just what you’re eating and what exercises you do, and so. , it’s been this journey, a personal journey that I’ve been now able to help other women go through to realize that you have to have all of these pieces or your puzzle’s not complete it.

[00:17:01] You can’t make, you can’t feel your best without all of those. And also just side note, like it’s been a process of figuring out for me that my happy. Doesn’t depend on my weight. It doesn’t depend on my, you know, all the other things I listed. But also it doesn’t depend on my husband. My happiness doesn’t entirely depend on him, and it’s not his job to make me happy.

[00:17:30] And so that’s just kind of like, like I said, side note, but if anybody you hear listening can kind of. . Hold on to that because you’ve gotta do what you gotta do to make yourself feel good and whole and happy and complete. And then you can be there for him and he can be there for you, but it doesn’t depend on him.

[00:17:50] Christine: Absolutely. I don’t know. Absolutely. No, I love it because it’s so true, like we think. What, how we live is dependent on other people, but really we have the ability to take control and to find the things that are going to breathe life into us. I would love to know, number one, like what that felt like to have all of this book knowledge and to be like, I’m trying all the things that I’ve known and it’s not working, and then what you did to really figure out, okay, what does.

[00:18:23] Oh,

[00:18:26] Kristen: I don’t know that I could even slow down enough to really figure it out that winter. And then we got pre, like, then he came home and then I was pregnant. So like it was really more of like after my second baby that I was really able toss. Breathe, even though he still was deployed, but like really try to figure it out.

[00:18:49] You know, it wasn’t just magical breastfeeding weight loss. And so then I had to really do some research and figure out what this balance was supposed to look like and stumbled into food freedom and intuitive eating. And seriously, those are not things that I was taught. and I should have been, and I hope in the future that every dietician to be will be taught those things because they’re so integral into living your life.

[00:19:20] If you wanna live a life where you’re calorie counting and counting macros and points and all of these things forever and ever. , that’s not much of a life. That’s a life chained to your system that you’re following. It’s chained to the foods that you’re eating and you’re focusing always on the food.

[00:19:40] When you can break free of those chains, then you can focus more on your family and you can focus on what you love and what you enjoy and your relationships and all of the other wonderful things. Matter so much more. So

Finding Food Freedom as a Military Spouse

[00:19:55] Christine: talk to us a little bit about food freedom and intuitive eating and kind of unpack for us what that is and how that differs from so much of the things that so many of us have been taught.

[00:20:08] Kristen: Yeah. Okay. Well, so most of us, let’s just kind of recap what we all know. We all know we’re supposed to be. Skinny and we’re supposed to fit into this size of pants and we’re supposed to weigh this many pounds, but it’s a whole bunch of BS because it’s all unrealistic and it’s made up. If we were supposed to all look the same way and if we were all supposed to, you know, be totally stick skinny.

[00:20:39] We would’ve been created that way, . We just worked. So, you know, and we’ve, we’ve grown up in this era of magazines being airbrushed and shows with women who are just so unbelievably perfect. And then we turn and look in the mirror and we’re not perfect to that standard. And we we’re just not supposed to be.

[00:21:01] So when we set ourselves up for perfection, we’re never gonna get there. So really pulling back from that and trying to find our. Middle ground. So I like to say there’s all and there’s nothing, and then there’s a whole bunch of messy in the middle. And messy in the middle is really where your food freedom and peace with your body lives.

[00:21:27] It lives in that messy middle. It’s not throw it all to the wind and just eat whatever you want, but it’s not restriction and dieting and exercising to make up for an alcohol. Binge on the weekend. It’s not that, that tight regulation and it’s, it’s just in the middle where you can enjoy your fun foods.

[00:21:53] You’re regular eating a lot, regularly eating a lot of nutritious foods, cause your body’s craving those and you feel in control and you’re moving your body in a way that feels good and honors what you like and who you. And that is freedom in itself. And I also like, I actually don’t know if you’re a Christian or anything like that, but I truly believe too that when you call Jesus and God into the mix, that’s when you really have your peace and your food

[00:22:23] Christine: freedom.

[00:22:25] Yeah, for sure. For sure. So talk about for us as military spouses, especially those with littles at home, when all of this feels impossible and you’re trying to do all the things and you’re kind of like in that fog, right, of just trying to make it through the day. Like where do we get started?

How to Start Reclaiming Your Body as a Military Spouse and Mom of Littles

[00:22:46] Kristen: You get started by making the next best.

[00:22:50] So who cares what you did yesterday? Who cares what you did this morning already? The one thing you can do right now after you listen to this is make the next best choice. So that might be switching to water, that might be going on a walk this afternoon that might be adding in some vegetables to your dinner that you know, there’s so many next best choices that you can do.

[00:23:12] And I know listeners, you can get out a piece of paper and. Five things down that you could do today that would make you, that would send you on the path to becoming the woman that you wanna be. And they can be small, small things. And that’s where you build habits in the small, tiny baby steps. Don’t write down, you know, start new diet.

[00:23:35] That’s not gonna do it. Write down something. Add carrots to my snack or something like that. So that’s where we start when we’re living in this fog, when we have kids coming out of our ears and bouncing off the walls and our husband is deployed, you start with the next

The Habit Change That Can Transform Your Life as a Military Spouse

[00:23:55] Christine: best choice. I love that. So talk to us a little bit about meal planning and, and how to choose healthy.

[00:24:07] talk about where we get started and if we’re not, you know, focused on all of the macros and what, what makes for a balanced meal? Okay. So

[00:24:16] Kristen: the easiest hack that I could give you is to hold up your hands in front of your face like a circle, and pretend that’s your plate. If you see your plate in front of you, draw a line down the middle of it and make half of it.

[00:24:30] Fruits or vegetables. So it doesn’t have to be either or. It could be a combo. If it’s breakfast, it could be all fruits. That’s fine. You don’t have to eat green peas at breakfast, cuz that would be torture. You know, , just whatever you have in your fridge, pull it out. Put it on the. And fill at least half of the plate with fruits or vegetables.

[00:24:51] So that is such a no-brainer. You can do it right now with whatever you have on hand. You don’t have enough salad. Okay, you have a cucumber. Add that to the plate, whatever it could be to get half of the plate. That sounds super simple and it sounds totally, radically different than counting points and macros and worrying about all the nitty grit.

[00:25:15] but if you can form this one habit, it’s going to change your life. . Yeah. And then you also said meal planning. I just wanna encourage everybody to really break down what you think meal planning should look like and when you’re gonna meal plan. Meal plan for what your life needs. You don’t have to fill your fridge with all these glass containers and mason jars and all of this stuff that takes four hours on Sunday.

[00:25:42] you know, you don’t have that time when you’re living in this season and you got kids everywhere, husband’s gone or you know, he’s so exhausted cuz he is been training all week and you’re exhausted cuz he didn’t get home till 7:00 PM You know, you don’t, you don’t have to go into the kitchen and meal prep by anybody else’s standards.

[00:26:02] So get in the kitchen and do what you need to do to get you through the. Day, the next two days, how whatever it is that’s gonna set you up for

[00:26:11] Christine: success. Such, such good advice. Because I know I’ve been there with littles and husband gone and just saying, okay, like what do I do? How do I get dinner on the table?

[00:26:23] And then you’re just pulling out like whatever you can do. And sometimes it’s just like, okay, we’re gonna throw the frozen chicken nuggets on the plate again. Let’s. a little bit about exercise cuz we’ve kind of talked a little bit about how to get started with healthier choices when it comes to what we’re putting on our plate.

How to Take Back Control of Your Fitness as a Military Spouse

[00:26:43] Let’s talk about the workouts for a minute, because I know I’ve, I’ve been there where you’re trying to like do the workout video and your kids are climbing on top of you and it’s like, I can’t make it through a 30 minute workout in an hour. Talk about how we can do this. Well, ,

[00:26:59] Kristen: yeah. Right. You can’t do it at home.

[00:27:01] You can’t do it on post. Cuz now they don’t have childcare And Covid stopped that and, well, there’s no more in-Home Care Anywhere. And , you know, on and on. There’s. Barriers when it comes to trying to separate your exercise a apart from your kids instead. This doesn’t necessarily work for everybody, but I would encourage everybody to try this.

[00:27:26] Think of quit thinking of exercise as like, It’s gotta be done at the gym. I used to do that. I used to teach exercise classes and I tried it after my first son was born, and that lasted like a month. And that was like guys. I, I, I quit. I quit . But we gotta really break down those again, like those preconceived notions of what workouts should look.

[00:27:52] Moving your body should feel good and it should feel like a stress relief. It shouldn’t feel, it shouldn’t make you anxious. So if you’re trying to do that workout video and it makes you wanna pull your hair out because your kids are in the way and you can’t, you know, you just can’t do it. I would suggest thinking of your movement as smaller chunks that you can integrate throughout.

[00:28:20] So if you get in five minutes of dancing, like a crazy woman with your kid in the morning, you get in a 15 minute walk where you pick up the pace a little bit, get a little sweaty, it’s fine, no one cares. And then in the evening, you know, do 10 minutes of whatever at, lift your kid up and do some squats.

[00:28:42] So you just did, what was that? 5, 10, 10 25 minutes of movement. When you could have done none cuz it made you too anxious with your little one there. So smaller pockets, smaller amounts, a little bit less stress, and it’s gonna be fine. It’s a season and you just gotta move your body and allow yourself to feel good and allow your kids to see it.

[00:29:07] You’re teaching them that this is normal. That it’s normal to. mom doesn’t have to go do it in a remote corner in the house. Mom doesn’t have to go do it at the gym. This is the norm. We move our bodies, we get silly, we get crazy, we do squats and it’s fine. ,

[00:29:25] Christine: we love what you said about moving. Your body should feel good in choosing things that really.

[00:29:31] Make you happy instead of doing it because you feel like I have to get this done. I think where a lot of people get stuck is not knowing what to do. Like if I have 10 minutes, what do I do? So number one, like what do we do when we don’t? Know what we should do. And then number two, I would love to hear you talk about finding accountability because we can have these great in intentions for our day and, and then like life gets crazy, the kids having a meltdown and then all of a sudden like, well, I was gonna spend 15 minutes doing this, and then it just gets pushed to the back burner.

How to Find Accountability in Your Health Journey as a MilSpouse

[00:30:07] So I would love to hear you talk about that.

[00:30:09] Kristen: Okay, so the first one, what do you do when you don’t know what to do? Shameless plug here. Over the summer, I had a series on the podcast. Every Monday I had a workout, so you can go pop that in, you can do the workouts while you’re, you know, with the kids around.

[00:30:27] Everyone’s around, it’s fine. You pop your headphones in and they’re really family friendly. It. I don’t remember them, but let’s do 10 pushups. Let’s stand up now and we’re gonna do 10. Like I’ll talk you through it. So you could do that or look on Pinterest, like that’s fine too. You know, take a screenshot of something and then just hold your phone.

[00:30:47] Leave your phone on, on the table and peek over at it after you do step one, step two, step three, . Okay, and what was the

[00:30:56] Christine: second question? So what do you do when you have the best intentions and then life gets crazy? Yes, accountably?

[00:31:04] Kristen: Well, for starters, you take the next best step. Don’t live in the past.

[00:31:08] Don’t feel guilty if you missed yesterday’s workout. But don’t and, and don’t let this let you spiral out of control. One missed workout can be a missed workout, or it can be the start of a downward. You gotta pick which one you want, so then make the next best choice. You just keep moving forward. You missed your workout this morning and you’re super bummed and irked about it.

[00:31:33] Hey, this is now your opportunity to get up and walk around. If you’re at work, go up the stairs, come down. If you’re on post, there’s a million parks on post. Take your kid out out in the stroller. If it’s 9:00 PM. Maybe you need to go to bed. Maybe you could stretch, maybe you could do a few planks, like of course, lean into where you are and how you’re feeling.

[00:31:57] But don’t let yourself downward spiral. Just, just because one missed today. Just keep moving forward and accountability. Sure. Find a friend. Join a group. Join a free Facebook group. I’ve got one for you if you’re interested. Lots of ways to find just small little account. Your sister, shoot her a text.

Turning Your Passion into a Purpose-Fueled Business as a Military Spouse

[00:32:18] Christine: I love it so much because you totally understand what it’s like as being a mom with littles, and yet you are able to speak so much truth and so much life.

[00:32:29] I would love to hear how you went about building this W way for you to be present with your kids and to be able to follow your husband around and really build a. Oh,

[00:32:44] Kristen: therapy

[00:32:49] No, I mean, I, I would say being present is something we are constant. We, you have to constantly strive to do that. And number one thing would be put the phone away. You know, get off Instagram, get off Facebook, and literally just go put it away. Set a timer on your phone if you need to for 20. Be with your kids for 20 minutes.

[00:33:11] I heard a podcast recently where she was saying I couldn’t, I don’t even remember which one, but. Whatever you’re doing at this time, do this thing really well. If you are reading a story to your kiddo, do it really well. If you’re on the phone with your mom, do it really well. If you’re FaceTiming your husband, do it really well.

[00:33:33] Don’t try to do five things at the same time cuz you’re not gonna do them well. So if you’re somebody who’s running a business from home, if you are in, be in at that time, you know, get the kids busy, be in go hard. and then go play hard. , if you’re working out, even if the kids are around, sometimes it works to just set a 10 minute timer, go hard, and then be done and get back to the rest of your life.

[00:34:02] So that’s really worked for me, just really trying to be super intentional with where I’m focusing at

[00:34:09] Christine: that. I mean, it’s so good because it really comes back to being able to connect with the present moment and be present where you are at right now. But that intentionality does so much for us to be able to do the things that are really on our heart and still be there for the people that matter most to us.

[00:34:30] And so I. The fact that you were out there doing this is such an inspiration to so many people. So talk about what you do, what you offer. You have a podcast, tell us all the things. Okay.

[00:34:43] Kristen: Yeah. So the best place to start is to just pop over to my podcast. I’m sure it’s linked in the show notes. It’s below.

[00:34:49] It’s the Baby Weight Nutritionist podcast. Lots of free tips there, and I have a free Facebook group, and then I do help moms who are trying to get healthier, trying to feel their best. I have a group program where I walk you through eight weeks and it’s. Step by step and you build habits and you have support and that accountability, and you get to the other side and you’re feeling confident.

[00:35:17] You have energy, you’ve lost the weight as a byproduct of doing all this other, you know, mental and strategic work, and we’re, you’re in a place where, , you’re no longer focusing on the scale. You feel good you’ve, your food and movement systems are in place and you know you in eight weeks. It’s crazy. The changes that my clients see, and a lot of my clients have actually been military spouses, like that’s.

[00:35:46] You know, we’re, we’re friends with each other and that seems to be who it is. And so like I get it when you’re saying, I’m so tired, I was up all night and my husband is tdy y again. Like, yeah, girl , I get it, , but you can still do it. So it’s, it’s a fun community. It’s a fun program that’s called the Baby Weight Loss Blueprint, where I coach you to lose weight and find your food.

Feeling Good in Your Body as a Military Spouse

[00:36:13] Christine: Well, and I love that, you know, this is like, we can be stationed all around the world and still have that connection and that community and be able to support one another. And so it’s, it’s inspiring and it’s exciting to see like what is possible. Both for how we can actually get to those places where we feel good in our bodies and where we’re we wake up and we’re ready to embrace the day.

[00:36:42] And from the perspective of there’s so many opportunities to find purpose, to be able to work from home, whether you’re in Germany or in Guam or in the States. You know, it’s just, there’s so much opportunity and possibility. As we wrap up our conversation today, I would love to know what is on your heart?

[00:37:06] Is there something that you would like to leave military spouses? What? What would you love to share? I would love to

[00:37:13] Kristen: just say, enjoy where you are. Enjoy this season that you’re in. If it’s hard and it is rough, it’s gonna pass, it will, and you’re gonna look back and you’re gonna say, Man, that was terrible.

[00:37:29] And I’m so glad we did it because I learned so many things. The deployments that you’re going through, the long work hours, the crappy work conditions, the terrible commander who, whatever it is, and however that’s affecting you, you’re gonna get through it and find some support, find that friend. You can cry on her shoulder and it’s gonna be.

[00:37:54] That’s on my heart. .

Finding Joy In The Midst of the Hard Seasons

[00:37:56] Christine: I love that so much because you know, we’ve been through lots of hard seasons, but they all pass. And when we can reflect on those seasons, that’s where. So much growth and so much change can happen if we allow ourselves to learn from it and grow through it. And, and so to be able to embrace the season that you’re in and know that this is not the season forever, especially in those seasons where your spouse is gone or you have newborns and you’re not sleeping at all, like it doesn’t last forever and.

[00:38:35] Really being able to lean into the season that you’re in and and find joy in the midst of the hard. So thank you so much for coming on and sharing with us today. You’re

[00:38:47] Kristen: welcome. I’m happy to be here. And I love what you’re doing on the podcast. I. Scrolling through all your episodes and thinking, oh gosh, I gotta listen with this one.

[00:38:56] Ooh, this one, I gotta do this one. . So keep doing what you’re doing, Christine.

[00:39:00] Christine: Yes, you too. And I, I really feel like you know, this military spouse community is a very special community. We are better together and each of us are able to use our skills and, and what we are called to do and really make a difference in the lives of others.

[00:39:16] So thank you for what you. Guys, isn’t she incredible? I love what she said, especially as we wrap this up about enjoying this season of life. And yes, it can be hard, and I know we wanna look ahead. We want to think about, oh, when this happens, then life will get better when my spouse returns my. Will be better when we’re able to move to that duty station that we love, then life will be easier.

[00:39:48] But we are talking about making the most of a new year. We’re talking about achieving our goals, but more than anything, my wish for you is to be able to be present this year to embrace the season that you’re in, to soak in the beautiful moments. even in the midst of the hard in in my life. My baby turned four just a few weeks ago, and it was this realization that I am moving into a new season that I’m not in that season of chaos and life with littles, my kids are able to do things more independently.

[00:40:29] and I think back to being in that place of having three kids under the age of four and feeling so overwhelmed and, and people say, oh, you gotta embrace it because it’s it. It goes by so quickly. And that is true, but also you’re in survival mode at the moment and in the moment, and it feels really, really, But even in that hard, there are moments of joy.

[00:40:55] There are moments to just sit and soak in the opportunity and, and the blessings that are in that season, even in the midst of the hard And, and as Kristen said, when life feels overwhelming. The only thing we need to worry about is just making the next right choice. Living a meaningful life comes down to the choices that we make on a daily basis to live with intention, to align our actions with our values, and to make the most.

What Will You Focus on In 2023?

[00:41:31] Of what we have right now. So I hope this conversation blessed you. I hope you got a lot out of it. If you are ready to be more intentional with your year this year, please go sign up for the plan your 2023 workshop milspouse mastermind.com/plan your 2023, or I’ll have. Below in the show notes, go check out Kristen’s podcast, see all of the amazing resources that she has available.

[00:42:01] I will see you back here in a few days. Until then, may you live filled fueled, and full of joy.