Welcome to Milestone Moments, the show where
we explore the journeys that lead to success.
I'm Sheila Slick, your host and founder of Five
Milestones. In every episode, we will bring you
insights from the minds of entrepreneurs, leaders
and experts who will share not just their expertise,
but the milestone moments that have reshaped
their journeys and led to significant achievements.
So if you're looking for motivation, you're in
the right place. Subscribe now and discover the
milestones that mark the path to success. Welcome
to another episode of Milestone Moments in Business
and Leadership. I'm Sheila Slick, your host.
And today my special guest is Michelle Dwyer.
Michelle helps her clients. create realistic,
sustainable changes to feel their best. She is
a board -certified holistic nutritionist and
a certified nutrition consultant. She holds a
Master of Science in Health and Nutrition Education
from Hawthorne University and is a trained hormone
cure coach. Recognized as a top health coach
by Coach Foundation, she has also received Best
of the Bay. and Best of Oakland awards. She integrates
science -backed strategies with personalized
support to help her clients achieve lasting wellness.
Welcome to the show, Michelle. Thank you, Sheila.
It's so great to be here. And it's great to have
you. So I'd love to learn a little bit about
you and how you turned your own health journey
into a mission to guide others with clarity and
compassion. What was that defining moment that
led you to become a holistic nutritionist and
health coach? Yeah. Thank you so much for asking.
And it really was. quite the journey and quite
the huge transition. So the brief version is
that in my previous life, I was a high school
English teacher. I loved teaching, but I was
really burnt out and I got really sick. I can
tell you the day that I got sick, it was in October,
about 14 years ago, and I just never got better.
I had a cough that wouldn't go away. My energy
kept tanking and month after month after month,
I just kept getting sicker and sicker and sicker.
Saw my doctor, they said, you're fine. I'm like,
I'm not fine. And so through that journey, I
ended up working with a naturopathic doctor.
I started to work on healing my immune system,
healing my gut, changing my eating plan, which
I thought had been pretty amazing beforehand.
So it was all very surprising to me. And slowly
but surely, I started to feel better. And I talked
about like this idea of the phoenix rising from
the ashes. I mean, it's really how I felt. what
turned out to be my last first day of school.
I didn't know it at the time. It was the end
of the day. I was checking my email and this
little ad popped up. This is back when ads popped
up and it said, do you want to transform people's
lives through holistic nutrition? And I thought,
I do. I do want to transport people's lives through
holistic nutrition because it had been so healing
and transformative for me. So I never click on
those ads, but I clicked on it and it was like.
Alice in Wonderland. By the time I sat down to
dinner with my husband, I was like, this is what
I want to do. This is how I want to serve. This
is how I'm meant to be. This is the transition
that I've been looking for, that I still get
to be an educator by heart, but I'm educating
about people tapping into their own wellness,
their own transformation, their own health journey.
And so began. And I decided to go back to school,
got my master's of science and health and nutrition
education. And then decided to open my own practice.
And so it's been such, I have to say that even
though it was so hard to go through that initial
illness, it was very scary. It was very lonely.
It was very isolating. It was very confusing.
However, it has given me the true empathy to
be supportive to my clients when they're in that
place and space, right? To really, you know,
I can stay with authenticity. I hear you. I get
you. I understand you. Your story is different.
Your experience is different. And I've been there.
And let's figure out how to move you to the next
step so that you're feeling as good as possible
as quickly as possible. And so here I am. 12
years later in, in practice. And it's, it's,
it's been, it's been a beautiful journey and
I'm, I'm very grateful for it. All right. I can
just feel your energy. When we began the podcast,
I was like, wow, you're so energetic. Thank you.
Wonderful hearing from how you are feeling now,
how that's quite a transformation, not just,
you know, career path, but yep. You're in general.
So yes to you. Thank you. Thank you. And I will
say, I mean, It has helped me shape my practice
and shape my business. When I made my business
plan, the number one thing on my business plan
and has remained is my own health and well -being.
Because if I'm not healthy, I'm not strong, I'm
not vibrant. I mean, I'm a human. I get to fluctuate
just like everybody else. But if I'm not prioritizing
my health and well -being in my business. none
of this matters, right? None of this matters.
So it's not just about being authentic and walking
the walk. It's truly that this is, my health
and well -being is the most important part of
my business and practice. And then everything
kind of follows from there. So health is really
general. If we were to niche down a bit, right,
to what specific health issues people come and
seek your guidance. Yeah, no, that's a great
question. Well, it's funny that you even say
the word niche. I've been in practice for 12
years and I have avoided niching so much. However,
there is a certain type of client that I love
to serve. So I work with things around digestive
wellness. I work around supporting people with
their blood sugar balance. I'm really passionate
right now about using continuous glucose monitors
with my clients to help them visualize and regulate
what's going on. going on with their blood sugar.
I have a lot of clients. It's just really lovely
that they're doing a lot of good things and they
want to just make sure they're. being in an optimal
state of health. They want to be strong when
they're 70, 80, 90 years old. And so they're
realizing the choices that they're making when
they're 40, 50, 60. And then the other area that
I'm super passionate about is supporting women
in perimenopause and menopause with that transition.
A, just like validating their experience, validating
their symptoms, giving them the support that
they need, whether it's through nutrition, sleep
support, stress management, mindset, strength
training. but also just listening and being like,
you know, we will get through this transition
together. And because I'm a holistic health coach
and certified nutrition consultant, yes, I get
to talk about food and nutrition, and I love
that. And also, are we connecting with people
that we love? Are we spending time in nature?
Are we getting good sleep and rest? You know,
are we doing the mindset work or the, you know?
the perspective shifts that we need. So that's
why I love it because I kind of do get to talk
about a lot of different things. So that's almost
tied into the second question that I had for
you. A lot of people do struggle with energy
dips, with stress, burnout. What would be that
one most important foundational shift, whether
it be food, mindset, lifestyle, that can help
them feel more balanced and energized? Yeah,
that's a great question. I mean, that's funny.
I was about, I have a million things in my mind
and one of them is also just like, are you hydrated?
Are you drinking your water? But, but we can
talk about hydration another day. You know, I
do really think when we are stressed and overwhelmed,
the last thing we need is a list of 12 things
to do. Right. And so many people can feel. like
their self -care and their wellness is another
thing on the to -do list. So number one, what
I would say is don't think of supporting your
health and wellness as something on your to -do
list, that it is the foundation. I know for a
lot of people, how they start the day sets the
tone for the rest of their day. So that's often
a great place to start, you know, waking up and
drinking a big glass of water, waking up and
brushing your teeth, waking up and doing a quick
mindfulness. It doesn't even have to be. for
20 minutes, doing some journaling. If you're
like, oh my gosh, I have no time for that. I've
got like four kids and we got to get out the
door. Taking a moment to make your tea, to make
your coffee and just take a deep breath before
you drink your morning beverage. I will also
say eating a good breakfast, right? Is there
a lot of protein in your breakfast? Are you not
having all the sugary things? Because then we're
just setting a tone for the rest of the day.
But I think if we can acknowledge like one thing,
especially in the morning. I think this is a
great way to start the day because then we think,
okay, no matter else what happens today, I've
done this for myself. I've done this for myself.
So I always like thinking about one tiny morning
routine and it really can be, it really can be
anything, right? It doesn't have to be something
like, I have to, you know, do 12 exercises and
do it like keep it simple and, and then really
honor that and then build, build from there.
So I feel like you're almost talking to me because
that's exactly me. I want to do so much self
-care. It becomes this huge list that ends up
on my to -do list. And then when I break it down,
okay, just make it a point to do this one. smaller
task. And lately it's in breathing because I've
had other guests that have explained the importance
of breathing. And, you know, we breathe every
day. We breathe every day. It's the most important
thing. We can go a couple days without water.
We can go longer without food. Sleep is hard.
We can't go more than a few minutes without breathing
and it's free and it's always with us. So I'll
need to incorporate number two or number three.
Rather than seeing it as that huge to -do list
to be like... you know, am I perfectly balanced
and as healthy as I could be? Absolutely. And
I think, you know, in this world of influencers
or people talking about self -care, there can
be this feeling like, oh my God, I'm like failing
at self -care. I'm failing at taking care of
myself, which is like adds to all of it. So it
really is, it's bringing it back to something
very simple, drinking a glass of water, taking
a deep breath, making a good breakfast for yourself,
packing your lunch, do one small, simple thing.
And I think the other thing, Besides the 12 things
is people will overshoot. So again, making it
tiny. So like the breathing, someone might want
to say, well, I should meditate for 60 minutes
a day every day. Sure, you can if you want to
and you have space for that. How about start
with three slow, deep breaths, right? It takes
one minute to do that. So I also say start, take
all the things off the list, put them in the
bonus category and then shrink it down as small
as possible. So I love that. So now I do have
another question. I know you said, no, I don't
like Tanisha, but the subject we're going to
just focus right now on midlife women, right?
Perhaps they're going through perimenopause or
through menopause. Would any of that change?
Like would breathing still be optimal or is there
a specific change that could help with? this
stage of life. Yeah. I mean, I really love supporting
midlife women. And I will say this is a big part
of my own milestone. I'm 51. I'm in perimenopause.
I call it late stage perimenopause. Like I'm
in the chaotic stage and I'm very vocal about
it. I will talk, you know, at the grocery store
about this because I want to destigmatize. I
want us to be having these conversations. I think
breathing is a great place to start. I think
really like. And allowing ourselves to have space
to just be quiet and connected to our bodies,
even if it's just for a minute, wow, that it
can be revolutionary, right? Especially for midlife
women when if we're serving, serving, serving,
going, going, going, doing, doing, doing, doing,
to take just literally one moment where you're
only... job to do is to breathe and be present
with yourself. So I think there's so much even
just in the power of the breath. Other things
that I talk to my women a lot about is making
sure you're getting enough protein. It's so boring.
It's so like over trendy, but are you eating
enough protein throughout the day? Because our
protein needs really do change. It keeps us balanced.
It keeps us stable. It keeps us satisfied. And
then the other really boring thing that I talk
about all the time is fiber. Oh my gosh, you
thought I would spend all my days talking about,
are you getting enough fiber? So there are these
very practical things. I'm also a big fan of
like. adding positive things rather than saying
like don't do this and don't do that and shouldn't
do this and shouldn't do that and then the third
one is prioritizing sleep i think um I know that
I cannot function well if I'm not getting the
sleep that my body needs. And even if sleep is
challenging, getting the best sleep that you
can, because that can start to happen in perimenopause
and menopause. So it really is coming back to
these basics. What do you need to do every day?
Are you breathing? Are you drinking your water?
Are you eating food that keeps you balanced and
stable and happy and grounded? Are you sleeping?
Because without those basic things, all the supplements
in the world, all the... hacks in the world all
the devices in the world is not going to make
up for any of that paying attention fiber fiber
protein water and sleep and then of course breathing
so what about The hot flashes, which is, I think,
one of the biggest complaints I've I could be
with friends at a restaurant right now or a son.
They're like turning red and putting the fan
up and the head up or it'll wake people up at
night. Yep. Yep. And I also want to say hot flashes,
yes. And there's some things we can do. And also,
if someone never experiences hot flash, you can
still be in perimenopause and menopause, right?
I believe it's about 70 % of women experience
some sort of temperature dysregulation. Sometimes
people get really, really cold in menopause and
perimenopause. But for the hot flash. We're coming
back to the breathing again. There's actually
been studies done that doing slow, deep breath,
doing diaphragmatic breathing, actually, because
your body is sort of in a, you can kind of think
of it as like a flare state, right? So bringing
that cortisol levels back down. A lot of women
will get, if they feel stressed or flustered
or they're on. you know, they have to like your
presentation, they'll kind of see that hot flash
come on alcohol, coffee, some of those can can
trigger it too. So really, what we're doing is
trying to bring like re -regulate the system.
So bringing that breath back down. In terms of
like non -pharmaceutical and non -supplement
things and also seeing what your triggers are.
Because if you're like, oh, every time I do this,
I get a hot flash. We want to start kind of tracking
that. And then at night, you know, there's lots
of things you can do. Keeping the room really,
really cool. There's cooling sheets. There's
lots of really great things to just bring your
core temperature down before bed so that you
might be less likely to be disrupted by the hot
flashes. sometimes people don't even get a hot
flash but they'll just get like night sweats
and things like that so yeah so for those who
want to want to either work with you or continue
learning or perhaps even get inspired by recipes
what do you offer and where can they find you
Great. Yes. So I'm at healthcoachmichelle .com.
Very simple. That's my Instagram. That's my Facebook
is everything is health coach Michelle. And I
have a number of different ways I love to work
with people. So I do one -on -one work where
we can really get very personalized. It's very.
thoughtful in terms of timing, meeting you where
you're at, going at the pace that works for you.
I do do some testing if that's appropriate. So
we can really kind of do a deep dive into your
health and wellbeing. I also have a group program
that I love. I adore. It fills my cup up so much
and it's such a beautiful way to serve called
Whole Life Nourishment. And it's a four month
group program where we get to talk about all
of these things, food and nutrition, sleep and
rest, movement and exercise. our habits and routines,
but we also get to talk about our connection
to ourself, our connection to others, our mindset,
and then also our mission and purpose because
we've been put here for a really, really positive
reason. And so I love that. It's all online so
people can join from anywhere. And then a third
really fun option, I'm running one right now,
is I do continuous glucose monitor groups where
someone puts a little sensor on the back of their
arm and we wear it for two weeks. It connects
to your phone and you... get to see in real time
how food stress, I know it's so much fun, food,
stress, exercise, sleep, how all these different
things are affecting your blood sugar. And it's
a really empowering way to know exactly what's
going on with you and your body and how food
and all these other things are affecting you.
And I love it. I run it as a group program. So
it's very accessible financially. And again,
it's all online. So those are a couple of ways
right now that folks can work with me. So what's
the biggest finding? People put on these stickers.
Is there like a common finding? I think people
are often surprised at a food that will really
spike their blood sugar, which is not helpful
for our body because that is very stressful to
the body. Ultimately, it can lead to things like
prediabetes or weight gain. I think what people
are also surprised about is the crash that sometimes
comes afterwards. So what goes up must come down.
So a lot of people don't feel a blood sugar high,
but they might feel that crash. And that's when
we're... If you've ever been hangry, if you're
a person who gets hangry, so people might feel,
and this is also where cravings come in because
you start craving sugar then. But the other thing
that I think people notice a lot is what they
have for dinner, when they have dinner, and how
much that affects their blood sugar, and then
how much that can affect their sleep. So these
are things that we're not ever tracking, but
all of a sudden the blood sugar is showing us
like. wow, I had a really terrible night's sleep
and my blood sugar was really high all night.
And then we start to look at these correlations.
And again, what I love it, I kind of think of
it as like a star check. Like this is the closest
thing we have to the future because then I don't
have to say anything about, I don't like to call
food a good or bad. I like to think is a food
working for us? Is it not? Is it nourishing or
is it depleting? What's working for one person
may not work for someone else. So in this group
right now, someone ate, I'll just pick something
simple, a banana. One person ate the banana.
No problem. The other person ate the banana.
It skyrocketed and then came crashing down. So
now she knows that. I'm not going to tell her
not to have the banana, but she can see this
is what it's doing to my blood sugar. So I love
it because it's also like a target. When we target
the blood sugar, we get to talk about. all these
other different things, what we're eating, when
we're eating, how much we're eating, stress,
even hydration, all these different, sleep, all
these different factors that come within that
beautiful target of blood sugar. Yeah, and you
don't have to be pricking your finger because
I've - Oh my gosh. Yes, I will say, I mean, if
you've ever seen a diabetic and this is for people
with not. So I only work with in the CGM group,
people with prediabetes or if it's just been
creeping up. I don't work with folks with type
one or type two diabetes. But if you've ever
been around someone, they have to prick their
finger multiple times a day to see what their
blood sugar is. This little sensor sits in the
back of your arm and it's just monitoring it
straight all the time for two weeks without ever
having to prick your finger. So I I love it for
the. the data and the visual that people get.
And again, so that they can feel empowered, they
can make choices. We talk about exercise and
how that can bring down blood sugar, doing squats.
So I give really, really practical tools to,
because, you know, we're going to eat the things,
we're going to live our lives, we're going to
have these fun things. So how do we do so in
a way that support our health goals and intentions?
You're a powerhouse between the energy and the...
teaching experience you've explained everything
very you know easy to understand and then with
this extra component in the group coaching it's
just like the full package so yeah thank you
thank you and so what is your next milestone
i love this question i feel like it actually
brings everything that we've been talking about
together um you know i really do feel at 51 that
there there there's a transition happening I
mean I'm I'm literally going through a physical
transition and I really want to honor and respect
that and I can feel what that means for my business
that it's going to be a shift in how I want to
show up it's going to be a shift in how I serve
who I want to serve how I want to support people
And so I am very excited about these CGM groups
and reaching more folks there. So that's definitely
a milestone that I'm looking forward to and really
partnering with functional medicine doctors and,
you know, really kind of coming together and
doing a lot of partnerships and also just being
very, I'm very curious about how showing up in
my own practice and my business and as a practitioner
looks. As I'm making this transition. So I feel
like it's a little bit, I'm in the tunnel. So
we will see what the next milestone is with that.
Yeah, I've been talking a lot about that. And
since it's in my case, right, with the self -leadership,
I've broken it down to five. I'm also bringing
in adaptation. And I'm thinking that's maybe
the next couple topics, right? How do you adapt
to changes? Well, absolutely. And I was just
having this conversation with a friend yesterday
who's also in business because everything feels
I don't know if this is true, but everything
feels like it's changing really quickly. Right.
I know we've been talking about AI, meaning even
just, you know, how much that's transformed things
in just a few years. So I think there's I'm curious
in terms of like how to bring. grounded wisdom
to fast paced changes and staying authentic to
myself and how I want to serve and also embracing
and like stepping into the flow of all that's
unfolding. Right. And so kind of holding that
tension of both of those pieces. Well, thank
you so much for joining me today. Thank you,
Sheila. And thank you all for tuning in to another
episode of Milestone Moments in Business and
Leadership. Until next time.