Hey, everybody. Matt Measures from Clickstream
Studio. Welcome to another edition of Good News
York. It's been a while since I've been here,
but I might do it for a while and get things
going. We got this new spate that's coming along
nicely. If you haven't been following, follow
along on all of our socials, TikTok, and all
of those to see the progress of that in downtown
Syracuse. And don't forget about our sponsor
ads on the go. Get ads on the go dot com. Our
man Zach in the billboard truck is the coolest
dude in town. I saw our man driving around and
hey, make a podcast. Well, wait, that's our ad.
And that was Zach in the box trucks driving around
Syracuse. It was pretty cool. But without further
ado, we have a guest. This is this is great way
to start our morning. Her name is Alex, and she
is the founder of Salt and Stone Event Company,
which just sounds really cool to begin with.
I'm just going to say that's great for an event
company. Alex, welcome to Good News York. Hi.
Thank you for having me. If you wouldn't mind,
let's jump right in. Tell us a little bit about
yourself and this event business that we're talking
about today. Yeah. Where do I start? So. Salt
and stone has been a long process within myself.
Really? Do you remember Chucks on the Hill? On
SU Hill? Yeah. Yeah. OK. So my grandfather had
opened, he owned that plaza. OK. And then, you
know, Funk and Waffles. And you remember when
they were in the basement there? That was the
best looking. The best looking. So that was my
grandma's deli. Oh, wow. So my grandfather owned
the building, and then my grandma had the deli.
And it was a little big, right? It was pretty.
And then she moved out, and Funk and Waffles
went in. But so I really was in, I started there.
Right? And I was just a child, 10, 11, and then
I was like 12, and I could, then I could be the
pickle girl for the deli, right? I could put
the pickles on the plate, and it was a very important
job, how you place the pickle to not mess up
the sandwich. It's a big deal. And so I started
there, and that's when I kind of, I liked people,
and I liked taking care of people, right? And
so eventually I kind of grew from there, right?
I had to go to like high school, and I had to
go to college, you know? And then around 19 years
old, I had to get a job, but I didn't have a
car. So I traveled to different cities and I
knew that there's like central systems. And I
was a ball circus, that was central system. We're
a city, why wouldn't we? And that's when I discovered
we don't have a very good central system, so
to speak. But nevertheless, I figured out the
bus schedule and I figured out that I could work
downtown. And then that's when the bus schedule
kind of picked up. So from Weeville, you had
two hours. You had like six o 'clock, seven o
'clock in the morning to get on the bus. And
then you had to be back on the bus by about 4
.30 to get back home. So I had to go to work
and I had to finish college. So I went on Craigslist
because that was when Craigslist was cool. And
Prano Fresh is opening up. Do you remember Pirano
Fresh in Hanover? It was right next to Bull &
Bear. And so Mark was opening up Pirano Fresh,
and I didn't know it at the time. And I said,
OK, this is great. I can take the bus because
they open up early. I'll go to work in the morning,
and then I'll go to college. I went to school
at OCC. And so I was able to do that and schedule
my classes. And so I opened up Pirano Fresh.
And then Mark's like, come host over at Bull
& Bear. And so I did that for a little bit. And
then I figured, well, I was making a good amount
of money. And I figured, well, there's apartments
above here, condos, or not condos, lofts, sorry,
lofts. And I said, well, I might as well just
live above where I work and then cut the whole
central. bus out all together, you know? And
so that's what I did. I was 19 years old. I was
working at Bull & Bear and I was going to school
at OCC and I was taking the central bus. But
I'm from Baldwin'sville and so all that was relatively
new. You never really, you know. A different
experience, absolutely. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And
so I did that and I lived in Hanover when I was
19. And with that, I was able to pick up a couple
shifts at Empire Brewing Company. And I was a
host over there for the nighttime. And then World
Martini Bar is in Hanover Square. And so I would
cocktail waitress over there. And I really got
to just take it all in at, I think, a relatively
young age on my own. I was 19, living on my own
in Hanover Square. And that's when I really kind
of fell in love with the city and the people.
and where I really got my grounds and bone structure,
you know, from that. And I had some really good
mentors in the business that were able to kind
of guide me. You know, don't do this, don't do
that. And I took it all in and that was really
good. Then I graduated college and I moved to
Miami. which was, and I've traveled all over
the place, Chicago and Denver and Miami. I was
like, yeah, okay, I'll go to Miami. And I worked
there for a little bit and it is not like Syracuse.
A lot of people have that experience. Yeah, go
to Florida. It's better there. Yeah. Yeah, it's
warm. I did that in my 20s as well Did you also
you know? Yeah? Yeah? Yeah? Yeah, but so I there
was a lot of cool things that Syracuse didn't
have and it just was mind -blowing You're like
whoa like what do you mean? There's an ice bar.
What is an ice bar, right? You don't know and
um and I and I lived there for a little bit and
then I And then you always kind of come back,
right? You're like, okay, I like fall and I do
like to see snow. You really appreciate those
things and how beautiful where you live really
is. Sure, absolutely. And so I came back and
I wasn't sure exactly if I was going to stay
or if I was going to go. So my mom lived in Miami.
My dad still lived here in Baldensville. So I
came back for a little bit and I talked to Dennis
over at Mohegan Manor, because I grew up there,
so I knew him. And I said, Dennis, I know it's
the holiday season. Is there any work I can do
while I'm here to just kind of make a little
money and hang out? And he's like, yeah. And
so I did that. I did that. And then I met my
husband, and I didn't go back. That's the story.
That's the story. That happens that way sometimes.
It does. And so I stayed here. I have four kids.
So I kind of. I'm done having kids no more so,
you know, that's when I was like, okay I'm done
having kids and now I'm in a place where I can
build myself where I want to go and I've worked
at rail line for four years and Rob has been
really great because I've been pregnant and you
know, so I think you know often take me back
and I love Rob He's great for that and and I
really was able to develop myself even more there
And there was one day I said, I said, hey, Rob,
I want to do a craft cocktail competition. He's
like, what? Like, yeah, I want a craft cocktail.
Can I put one on? He's like, you know, we've
seen those done before, and they don't really
work, Alex. And I was like, yeah, but it's not
mine. It's not mine, you know? And I, please,
Rob. And he's like, OK, you can do it. And that's
where I kind of, it was a make or break for me.
Either I can do it and pull it off or I can't
and I'll accept that. And we did good. We did
really good. I pulled in and I can't tell you
how many people that I went to when I was developing
this and creating this and building this that
said, you know, we've done these before and nobody
comes. Good luck. And I was like. Yeah, thank
you, thank you. I was like, man, man, you guys,
come on. But we got about 120 people in. We had
10 bartenders bartending. They each had their
own station. And everybody, we had a band, Brian
from Name Brand Covers. He was our singer, solo
singer, and he did a great job. And we had some
vendors out on the patio. So Rail Line is a rooftop
bar, and then it's got. a second rooftop on top
of that. It's a really neat space. Yeah, it's
an incredible space. And so that, to me, really
solidified that I am capable. What I felt inside,
I was able to put out forward. And that was when
I said, OK, I feel confident to do this and go
forward with it. Awesome. Yeah. And from that
point, you decided, let's do it as a legit business.
And that's where Yeah. Where Salt and Stone came
from? Yeah. So yeah, I'm a rule follower. I like
it. Some people are like, you don't have to do
it. Just get a DBA. You don't have to. I'm like,
no, no, no, no, no, no. I've worked events and
I've done things for long enough. I need it umbrellaed
and insured because anything can go wrong. And
so I did. And so Salt and Stone is dual purpose.
We are Salt City. But it's also the one seasoning.
So I'm community. I like community and development.
togetherness. And it's like the one ingredient
that I think everybody uses, no matter who you
are and where you come from. That's absolutely
true. That's a great way to look at that. Yeah.
And then stone would be just a firm foundation.
Sure. Yeah. I love that. Thank you. How long
ago was that? When did the company actually...
informed, I guess. I don't know if that's proper.
Was it November? It's like November 28th or 29th.
So it's a brand new venture. Yeah, it's brand
brand new. Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. Yeah. That's
so cool. And then so sounds like the first big
thing you're going out with is this new reoccurring
Monday night event. Is that is that accurate?
Yeah. Tell us a little bit about this thing.
So it was probably about a week and a half before
Christmas, and I called. I have a photographer,
Abby, and she's fantastic. And I said, Abby,
I want to do Monday night socials. And I would
like if you could take people's headshots. Let's
update their headshots. Sure. And she's like,
OK. Which I love about her. She's like, OK. I'm
like, OK. She's like, well, why Mondays? And
I said, well, I'm like, Mondays because Saturdays,
Sundays. All the girls, you know, and the guys,
they go and get haircuts and they get their nails
done and they look pretty. And Monday's like
the beginning of the week, you know, so you're
fresh. And she's like, okay, I can understand
that. Yeah. She's like, but it's winter time
and it's slow. And I'm like, well, it is. And
I'm like, and that's the point, you know, because
there's not much to do, you know. And so you
might as well just do something, you know. And
so that's kind of how it formed there. You know
headshots aren't cheap if you ever go and do
them so it's $15 and we bring in some light food
and and and then you get to either like a headshots
or if you come with your Team from work, you
know, you get a group photo and it's awesome.
Yeah, that's really cool And so this event is
it's a really it's not a one -time thing, right?
It's a recurring Monday evenings from five to
seven thirty. Did I get that right? Yeah. Awesome.
Yeah. Awesome. What is the you mentioned a little
bit. It sounds like it's it's kind of a young
professional thing. Who's kind of your target
audience for this? Yeah. Yeah. Young professionals,
people who are either just kind of getting in
the field or even if you've been in the field
and you know. People are like, oh yeah, I need
to update my photo, my head shot. You go to work,
so it's set at five, right? So you get out of
work and you come down and whether you just hang
out with your team from work or you invite someone
out to it and you just hang out. I wanna say
there's not really a structure to it. I have
co -branders, so February is jam -packed. We
have CNY professionals under 40 coming February
9th. And so it's just a place to gather and hang
out and just get to know each other on a real
personal, not awkward level. Sure. I love that.
Facilitating that is exactly what you need. I
think you're absolutely on the right path. And
people talk about all the time, they don't have
their third place anymore. People are off in
their own worlds, and I think they very much
want to. need opportunities exactly like this.
So this is pretty cool where it's not just a
random, hey, let's get together at some random
place. You've got an event. You've got a cool
thing happening. You can get some photos done.
You can do some networking. It's pretty cool.
It's pretty cool. Thank you. Tell us if you wouldn't
mind just a little bit more about the venue.
So this is at the rail line. And I mentioned
earlier, I just think it's such a neat event.
For those who aren't familiar, or maybe aren't
even from Syracuse, can you tell people a little
bit about just what's unique about this place?
Because it's not some unit in a plaza where you
might find a bar or restaurant. It's a pretty
unique spot, right? Yeah, and you definitely
can miss it if you don't know about it. So it's
high up, off the ground, like you mentioned.
The front of the building is all glass, so you
have just a high elevated view of the city and
then I You kind of walk out and there is garage
glass garage doors onto a very large Patio if
you will I mean, it's huge. I don't even it's
not a patio. It's just it's huge And so you have
all that and there's like Rob created this really
nice waterfall and pond back there he did a good
job with it and And there's some fireplaces and
some patio furniture you can lounge at. And then
you can go upstairs onto, so you're already on
a rooftop, right? And then you go upstairs to
another rooftop where he has created a garden.
And he's done a great job. Because I said, I
said, bro, Rob, how do you, how do you get the
dirt up there? He's like, wow. So there's there's
a machine apparently that has like a arm system
and it shoots the dirt and mulch up to the third
floor. That's incredible. Incredible. That's
so neat. Neat spot right behind Salt City Market.
Anybody who's familiar with that, if they've
driven by that in Salina, just just. Go around
the corner. It's red. It's a big red thing. You
can't miss it. It's a rail car, right? That's
where rail line comes from. Alice, this has been
awesome. We love hearing all about this. Is there
a website, a Facebook, if folks want to learn
more about this and keep an eye on it, where
should they go? Yeah, I have a Facebook and an
Instagram page. So Salt and Stone Events Company.
It's right there. Awesome. Anything else that's
going on? Is this kind of your main focus, I'm
guessing, with the new venture? Is this a particular
event? Do you see other events happening under
the salt and stone banner? Yeah. So this is one
that I have right now. I have one in the summertime.
It's a bit different. So what I do is I create.
my own events. Whatever they come to my mind,
I just kind of push it out. And so I don't do
weddings. I don't do birthday parties. I don't
those are that's somebody somebody else is really
good at those. I could you know what their special
moment and I, I, my heart cannot take disappointing
people like that, you know? And so if it's my
own event, I can disappoint myself. You know,
that's how I, yeah, yeah. So the other one in
the summertime, it's gonna be like a 2000s throwback
party. There might be some like, I'm gonna call
it water pong because we're not gonna put beer
in it. But there might be like a water pong competition
going on and we have a DJ and it's gonna be a
great time. But for now, That's a far ways away.
For now, I just have the Monday socials. Kids
these days play beer pong with water, like regularly.
Yeah. Oh, you know, the way you're supposed to
do it, you got the ball in the cup and you're
supposed to drink the cup of nasty beer with
the pong. Kids, oh no, we can't do that. No,
no, no, no. I don't know what's happening anymore,
kids these days. I know. We could talk for hours
about kids these days. Alex, this has been awesome.
Thank you so much for joining us on Good News
York and telling us all about this. And also,
let's check in. This event is going on through
March periodically. Drop by and tell us a little
bit about some of the different things you've
got going on in these various Mondays. Absolutely.
We'd love to hear more about it. Thank you. Thank
you for having me. Thank you so much. And with
that, we'll be back with some more Good News
York. Hello and welcome to good news York sponsored
by ads on the go get ads on the go calm I am
Mike producing with you on this Tuesday. I think
it's Tuesday, right? Yeah. Thank you, Danny Danny
Tripodi on the ones and twos over there Um, it
is Tuesday. It is the new year. I am joined by
a very special guest today Matt's not here Matt's
out. Uh, I think he bought a pair of snowshoes
and he's trying out I know, but he's a weird
guy. He's not here today, but I am joined by
a very special guest. I'm very excited because
my mother -in -law is a retired PT professor
from Ithaca College. So when I heard that we
were going to be sitting down with a physical
therapist, I thought, hey, I think I can hang
in this conversation. From Minnie Milestone Physical
Therapy in Cicero, New York, right here in the
Syracuse area, Brittany Schuler. It's only one
clap, but better than none. Brittany, you are
the founder of Many Milestones Physical Therapy.
And when I went on the site and started researching
and doing the story, I really I really enjoyed
your story. And I like kind of what your your
mission is about. And one of the first things
I did read up on was that you knew and this is
rare sometimes you knew in high school. that
this is what you wanted to do. You wanted to
work in the physical therapy field. Was there
a specific moment? Was there a person that influenced
that? How did that all come about? Yeah. Well,
originally, I thought I was going to be a math
teacher up until about my senior year of high
school. And then one of my friends just started
talking about physical therapy. And I was like,
well, I play sports like maybe I can work with
athletes. They get a lot of injuries. They need
a lot of rehab. And from the get -go, so senior
year, then I was able to do some BOCES, and I
went and learned allied health. So just learning
anatomy and physiology. And then Thursdays and
Fridays, we got to job shadow. So I job shadowed
a school -based physical therapist. I was in
the hospital. I got to see a few surgeries, and
then job shadowed a hospital -based outpatient
clinic, and she did wound care. That one was
a little crazy, seeing just big open wounds and
how they, like, PTs can... dress and do all of
that as well, not just nursing. But I didn't
obviously go that route. But I wanted to be a
math teacher because I always loved numbers and
kids. So my goal is always to work with children.
And but once I got and saw like how they could
help people because that was another like mission
I was always drawn to is just any way that I
could help somebody. So my senior year, I think
job shadowing those individual physical therapists
and seeing what they did drew me to that profession.
So then I got a scholarship to Clarkson and they're
known for engineering But they don't a lot of
people don't know they have like a tiny little
physical therapy school so and their classes
maybe like 21 24 kids like That was their program
was like 24 kids a class. So it's pretty small
and it's all problem -based learning but that
kind of Sealed the deal. It was small that they
do a lot of like critical thinking and a lot
of like self learning which is how I learned
best but Yeah, once I was able to see the physical
therapist like during my senior year that kind
of like was a yep This is what I can do. I can
work with kids. I can help them And that was
Pretty much it and there's there's still numbers
involved. No, we always numbers involved We have
to count the number of reps. Yeah, exactly Which
by the way Clarkson great hockey school side
note? I know that. I think I went to one or two
games while I was there. Tell anybody with only
one or two. As long as you went to one, that's
that's all that matters. You know, as you touched
on there, there are people when they hear physical
therapy, they think of, you know, oh, my ankle
hurts and we're going to go and we're going to
do some exercises. And there are so there is
so much more to the field itself. There's a lot
of different things. And you specialize in a
lot of that in some areas, specialized areas.
We'll get to that. But first, I want to stick
with your background. You are the founder of
Mini Milestones in Cicero. And I would love to
hear how that was founded. How did this come
about? You know, it's a leap of faith to to to,
you know, open your own practice. That is, as
I said, you know, you can you can work with athletes,
you can, you know, work at a practice, but to
to run your own practice is a big undertaking.
Talk a little bit about how it was founded. And
also, I love if you could talk about the meaning
behind the name. Yeah, of course. So I come from
a background working in the hospital setting.
I started in Watertown, did more like adult acute
care. It was very slow, but it was, it got my
grounding and confidence in like therapy. Coming
to Upstate, I worked there for about 10 years.
I was the lead physical therapist on the neuro
rehab. And that kind of solidified my like love
for neuro in the brain. And then November 2020
when I went to school base and then there's my
kids like working with the children I got to
an upstate because I was the lead pediatric PT
But it wasn't always a full caseload as a lot
of adults because we don't always want neuro
Kids like that means like brain injury spinal
cord injuries. I love doing it, but you're just
kind of getting burnt out so into school base
and I get to see these kids for like 20 30 minutes
at most but I can't I could never treat how I
thought was appropriate, because we're always
kind of told how to, and we get set this expectations,
I guess. But working in the school, I'm like,
I know that it's just a deeper level I can help
these kids on. And again, I love working with
kids. So I'm like, how can I do this? And so
I started doing some of it on the side or during
the summers. And then I was like, I got to make
this bigger, because I was seeing such change
in these kids. It's just been my passion to,
like, help these kiddos how I can, but many milestones
came about with, like, making every milestone
count, even the little ones, because with some
of these kids with, like, drastic diagnoses,
you're only going to see small improvements at
a time. But those are huge in their daily life.
Like, just being able to... I had one kid, when
he came to me, all he could do was sit, and now
he's practically running and jumping. But we
first had to, like, go from sitting to laying
down and sitting, like... from sitting to laying
down and be like that transition to be able to
do that first. And then we got him crawling and
then we got him standing. So it's like even even
the mini milestones are like huge progress in
some of these kiddos lives. And I think it fits
perfectly with the name and like the children.
That's exactly why I wanted you to bring that
up. That's what hit me right away was it's also
a life lesson. You know, you hear a lot of times
that, you know, people like, for example, it's
the new year and everyone's like, I'm going to
go to the gym and I'm going to change my life.
And then, you know, they kind of start slowly
like they can't get, you know, muster up the
energy to do it. And what you'll hear people
say is, well, don't think about going to the
gym five times. Let's just start with one day.
And you're applying that physical therapy. And
the fact that you're doing it with children,
I mean, that's so touching. You know, when you
go to see any sort of doctor in any field, You
want someone that cares. Yeah. So I think that's
what jumps out to me about you and your practice
the most is that you are it's not like, hey,
I'm a P .T. and I have a practice. It's it's
you're putting your heart and soul into it. And
one of the main main parts of that is I see individualized
care come up a lot on when I when I looked into
your your background and into the practice. Can
you just explain what does that mean? And. Is
that something that is kind of unique? Like,
is that is that something that not all PT clinics
or practices use or implement? Well, I hope they
all do. Sure. Right, right. Some but some like
ortho, you get a total knee, you're going to
do the same exercises. It's just like a protocol.
But I want to do I come from like a whole body
or a whole brain, whole body approach. And even
though I see a lot of neurodivergent kiddos,
autism, non -verbal autism, high -functional
autism, ADHD, or other neurodiagnoses, when I
assess them, I assess their cranial nerves, like
each part of their brain. And some kid might
have like a deficit on their sensory on this
side or this side, and it's like through testing.
So it's like I have to individualize it because
not all kids with autism will present the same.
Not all kids with ADHD will present the same.
So I have to figure out their body the weak areas
and then we focus on those areas to kind of balance
the brain to like help so individualized kind
of comes from that because each kid is their
own unique self and we got to figure out their
weak areas and address them from That aspect
that's so great and even even in the world of
autism We learned over the years that not all
autism is the same either right? You know, there's
a whole there's a whole spectrum And you may
have already answered this, but what do you feel
kind of sets you apart? You know, many milestones.
What's what sets your practice apart from other
other PT clinics and practices? I come from a
lot of like cutting edge technology, so I don't
just do hands on. I do a lot of hands on like
dynamic movement intervention. I'm a level C
certified. I don't know if anyone else in the
area is. I use photobiomodulation, which is cold.
level laser therapy. I don't think anyone else
in the area has it within like a good three -hour
radius. I have people coming from like Albany,
Rochester, Ithaca areas. Neurosage, which is
like a brain -based video game where they use
like auditory and visual input to target certain
areas of the brain. And then there's interactive
metronome. So I research and I take courses on
these technologies so I can use them. And I have
kids that come in And I don't work on reading,
writing, communication because I'm not speech,
I'm not OT, but when you address like our primitive
reflexes, which is the foundation of our brain
development, you're going to see improvements
all over. So I had a mom like, oh, he's able
to follow directions, not for me, but now my
mom and his aunt and he's more focused and he's
playing with his sister and he's communicating
better. But it's like, I believe it's these technologies
because of how they rewire the brain and how
they like target certain areas of the brain,
which... It's not Really around this area yet,
right? I'm cutting edge. You really are in every
way I mean the practice itself is cutting edge,
but you just said yourself that you're constantly
researching and using these these new technologies
and and and That's awesome. That's it's incredible
and I Are you I know obviously? One of your specialties
is in the neuro field Is your practice, do everything
across the board or does the whole practice just
focus on the neuro side? I have quite a few kids
with like developmental delays. So they come
in to me, they're not walking yet. Maybe they're
not ADHD or like autism or something, but they
just have a gross motor delay. I still see them
and address them because that still somehow comes
back to the brain. Everything comes back to like
our foundation development. Because with any
kind of gross motor delay, you might have a learning...
I think I read somewhere where there's 100 %
of learning disabilities stem from a gross motor
delay, which is what us SPTs address, is gross
motor movement. And if I can figure out, again,
the weak areas, then I can address the other
issues going on. If it's a coordination issue,
balance issue, I'm like, all right, that's your
cerebellum. How can we focus on that? Vibration
plate leads to the cerebellum. do certain like
activities and target these areas. So I don't
just see the autism in ADHD. I see like zero
to 21. I do have a few adults like a stroke case.
I think 95 % of my population is peds, but I
do see a few adults as well. Concussions, I've,
they lost their post -concussive symptoms in
like three to four visits using like the lasers
and certain like eye exercises and everything.
They get back to full functioning, exercising,
running like miles. So yeah, I think it all can
stem somehow from some kind of like addressing
the brain. But if I was to hurt my hip, because
I'm an old man these days. Oh yeah, no. Would
you refer to you or is it mostly the neuro patient?
Yeah, no, that is more of an ortho case. I could
address it, but I don't feel as specialized in
that area. um or comfortable because so it is
that i do send them next door to like on adaga
pt i'm like i think you need to go over next
door and what you just taught me something because
up until today i thought gross motor was just
something like a mechanic work down gross gross
motor skills i'm gonna write that down um so
owning your own practice is a huge undertaking
but there seems to be a lot of challenges in
your field but i think more than that So many
rewards. What are some of the challenges and
rewards that do come with owning your own practice?
Oh, gosh. Yeah. Challenges like the business
aspect. I'm sure. Making sure your financials
in order. Marketing, which I haven't really done.
Everything's been word of mouth. I've been full.
You're here. Yeah, exactly. This is the stuff.
This is a mini milestone. Exactly. See what I
did there? Mini milestone. But that's something
that's been hard because it's like I try to manage
my social medias, but it's like I'm so focused
on. my patient at the time. Like I can't always
videotape. I can't always do certain things.
So it's like trying to wear all these hats at
once. That's probably been the biggest challenge.
The rewards is just randomly on a Saturday, look
at what we're doing at home. They're walking
now. Like they're practicing the PT at home.
Parents have my number. A lot of them do and
they reach out randomly and that gives them pretty
much open access. I probably shouldn't, but Well,
they but I just love hearing those things and
I feel like we I can collaborate better when
we build a sound like relationship they trust
me and I think that's the biggest reward is them
trusting me with their kid their kiddos I'm so
impressed by you. I'm a father of two kids and
if God forbid anything was wrong with my kids,
I would be a wreck and Having someone like you
that is not only as good as you are at what you
do, but that is willing to say, hey, here's my
number. Let's keep an open line of communication.
That's huge for a parent who's worrying about
a child. And I think that's amazing. Now, in
addition to the challenges of owning your practice
itself, let's be honest. There's a lot of challenges
facing PT involving the health care system today.
What are some of the challenges you deal with
in that realm? Insurance is probably a big one.
Probably number one, I would assume. Yeah. They
just keep cutting rates and expenses for everything
go up. So I do accept some insurances because
some are easier to work with than others, but
I also do a hybrid model, but not everyone feels
comfortable like doing cash base. And that's
hard, but it's like once they see the difference
in their kids, it's just like a no -brainer for
them. They're like, okay, I'm going to figure
out like a budget to be able to do this for a
few months. Like if I don't accept their insurance.
But I think that... Accepting insurances does
kind of tie our hands and limit how we can do
it, because they don't cover everything. So it's
like we do have a couple cash -based add -ons,
like the Neurosage or the Interactive Metronome,
because insurance is like, meh, this doesn't
always count, or they don't see it as something
that we should be doing. But the difference that
I've seen using those tools is huge. I think,
yeah, that's... The biggest one for me. You know,
again, my mother -in -law is a retired PT professor,
and this is where she comes in. She gave me a
good one. I asked her, I said, you know, I came
up with some, you know, stuff to talk about with
Brittany Shuler, by the way, founder of Mini
Milestones Physical Therapy. But I said, hey,
you know, anything I should bring up that I wouldn't
know. And she taught me about a thing that in
your in your field is a real thing, and that's
called PT burnout. Oh yeah. And she said, it's
a very real thing. How do you deal with the potential
of burnout? And maybe explain a little bit what
that means, the PT burnout itself. I'm in a few
PT groups and they actually talk about that.
And I think that comes from outpatient clinics,
many like orthoclinics. They just have such a
high demand. You're seeing multiple patients
in an hour. You're limited to like 30 minutes
because... So with insurances, whether you see
them for 30, 60, 90 minutes, you're getting like...
Say 50 to 60 bucks. It's like a capped rate and
then so then they're not being rewarded for their
like efforts and their knowledge And you're just
kind of like you feel like you plateau unless
you go out and own your own business Then you
can kind of grow which that's kind of what I
did. I was working in the hospital I felt that
burnout because it's like you have these demands
you have these quotas that you need to meet you
have these productivities that you have to meet
and everyone is like but how I want to treat
these patients need me. I need more time with
them, but we are capped. We got to meet these
KPIs in order to function in these certain areas.
And I think that really just drives a lot of
us mad. So what advice would you give young PT
students in regards to avoiding or managing PT
burnout? Finding a clinic that addresses that.
I've always thought about it like because I my
plan is to expand so I'm like How can I pour
into my employees to make them feel like valued?
That's a huge thing Noticing that maybe they
do feel burnout. So hey, here's like a gift card
for massage go take some me time Yeah, and Like
breathe or like hey, how can I help during the
session so that you know, you're Not feeling
so overwhelmed just figuring out ways because
as an owner I'm going to eventually have employees
and I got to figure out how to manage that so
that you know the retention rate is there because
it's cycling through but as like a young PT find
a clinic that you love find your passion because
if you're coming into the PT world you want to
help people and that I think right there is like
that should be your mindset I'm here to help
people but if you start to feel burnout then
that might not be the right area for you, you
might need to like find a different setting because
as PTs we can do a lot. We can do Peds, we can
do neuro, we can do pelvic floor, we can do like
in the hospital, we can do sports space. So if
you're in the hospital and you're more of like
a sports -minded, ortho PT, see if you can either,
if that hospital has like an outpatient, you
can move to like that setting or some PTs are
moving cash space and doing like home visits
and doing that. I have a few friends doing that
and that's... That made a difference because
they're again, they're helping the people how
they want to help them And I think that's a big
thing. It's like we have this mindset of how
we want to help people but we can't always Do
that in these certain settings? I have a friend
We call them dinks double income. No kids. Oh,
yeah They have a giant RV and For a while they
they would travel the country for a half a year
rent their house out and she was a traveling
job And I just, it made me realize, you're right.
You can, it's rare that you go into a medical
field and you have so many options. You know,
a lot of it's specialized. In the PT world, you
do have a ton of options. Is there a huge difference
in the way that a PT has to treat kids as opposed
to adults? As far as, not as much as, I guess,
what they call bedside manner is like technique.
The whole the whole realm of it is is that a
challenge? Is there a difference? There are some
similarities, especially if like a kid fell and
broke their leg because playing football, playing
sports, the ortho aspect is kind of similar.
And then like gait mechanics and everything can
kind of carry over as well. But then there is
like I can be more hands on doing that DMI, the
dynamic movement intervention with kiddos. That's
more hands on and that kind of caps at a certain
age. And then you can modify. Okay. So babies
and like up to five, you can be a little more
hands -on to where I can always do that with
bigger people because they're way too big and
I can't handle them the same way. I can try because
I, again, I have that lady with her stroke and
I try to modify to her in that aspect, but there
are some like adult exercises that I'll see on
like Instagram because there's a lot of beauty's
posting and sometimes I get great ideas. I'm
like, how can I modify that for this five -year
-old? You're like somebody younger. I feel like
we're the MacGyver's of the medical world. Great
reference. You go into the room with a patient
and a paperclip and you come up with a solution
and they're fine. We were even just like the
lasers. I have two of them now. I'm like, how
can I put these here? And we're looking around
the clinic and we're like, tangle them together
so that we can use both of them at the same time.
Yeah, we, there was a one PTA that I worked with
in the hospital and I literally called him my
giver of the PT world because the way he came
up with some of the things, I'm like, like, how
do you think of this? Yeah, but see, but that's
that's how you're built. Like that's again, this
is why I was really impressed by you is because
you're always thinking ahead. You're like, how
can I, you know, individualized care? I'm going
to open my own practice. You know, I want I want
to work on this and I want to try this new procedure.
I just I'm really impressed by that. As far as
the difference between treating kids and adults,
educationalized, was that something? No? It's
the same. Yeah, we all have... So it's either
six or seven years of schooling. We all have
our doctorate now. So we're a doctor of PT. But
I am like a board certified neurospecialist,
brain injury specialist and clinical primitive
reflex specialist. So it's like you can specialize
in things. So if you can be an ortho specialist,
you can be a pelvic floor specialist. So after
school, you can kind of specialize a little more,
but coming out, we're more of like a generalist.
And then we'll go ahead. Sorry. No, you're OK.
Because we have clinics, we have clinicals that
we have to do. So we have to do one hospital,
one outpatient specialty. We had to do four PTAs.
I think you have to do three. And the fourth
one, you can kind of pick as you please. And
if you have like an interest, maybe your last
one might be something that you are interested
in. But you have to meet like those certain things
so you can kind of come out and go into what
you feel comfortable doing and then specialize
from there. That's awesome. And I have it right
here, actually. This is it was perfect segue.
So, Brittany, I have it written down. I had to
write it down. You are a board certified neurological
specialist, certified brain injuries, brain injury
specialist, as well as an introductory level
C DMI certified practitioner and certified primitive
reflex practitioner. Because of my mother -in
-law, I'm aware that like not every PT is specialized
in this. Can you explain what all of those mean
and what additional education and training like
went in to get those certifications? So to become
like a board certified specialist, you either
need to do like a, it's almost like what the
doctors do, where you do your residency. Yes,
thank you. Where you can do like a residency.
Following school like you can go right from school
into a resident I'm sure you could do that at
any point But you have to meet like a certain
number of clinical hours and then take us a test
So I sat for my boards to become a PT and then
when I was like nine months of pregnant I sat
for more boards to become a specialist after
studying for like seven months But I had been
in the field for I think five years and then
you have to have like 2 ,000 clinical hours or
something like that So I sat for those and then
three months after that I sat for another test
for the brain injury specialist because working
in the hospital in the neuro field I saw a lot
of brain injuries and then going to the school
and learning about primitive reflexes and how
like the foundation of a lot of like learning
disabilities and other things I went and wanted
to learn more about that so then I learned more
about that and took a test and then the DMI is
um that's three different courses that I went
to they were like two days long um a lot of like
hands -on practice but So I've been to three
of those. Each one you go up a level. My word.
That is wildly impressive. A couple more questions
and we'll get you out of here. I'm fascinated
by this. I don't know. It's kind of a weird question.
Is there any sort of, I don't know the word this
correctly, PT that you find more rewarding than
others or something that you really enjoy? Like
is there a certain injury you love? working on
or a condition of any sort? Mainly those autism
and ADHD, because I know we never want to say
we want to cure it, but these parents, some of
them are struggling. Just mentally, they're exhausted.
These kids have high needs. If I can do anything
to lessen that burden or help these kids focus
better, help them regulate, it's going to improve
the quality of life of not only the kid, but
the family and the parents, which - A lot of
them get that burnt out feeling. They're always
worrying and they worry so much about their kid.
Are they being treated well at school? Are they
like doing this? But if I can, again, I don't
always specifically address those areas, but
I know what part of the brain that they come
from. So if I'm addressing those areas of the
brain and we're making them stronger, then you're
going to see more of that regulation aspect.
You're going to not see as many meltdowns. They're
better focused. So I have this one girl where
She got glowing three weeks straight. The mom's
like, this has never happened. She hasn't been
this well behaved in school for like three weeks
in a row. And this is like huge. And so like
her teachers are noticing. I had a kid that had
seizures and last summer I got like a text from
mom like he's seizure free. But his little cake
said my brain is healed. But he came to me not
this December, but the previous being pulled
from school because of behavior. So his mom always,
it was affecting her work. So she had to leave
early to go get him. We did a three -week intensive.
He went back that Monday after break. And again,
complete difference. And then she sent me the
teacher report. Like, he comes in, he still might
be a little chatty, but he sits down. He wants
to work hard. He wants to do well. And he's like,
not behavior. So what's that mean? He's doing
better. Teacher is able to like manage and teach
better. Mom isn't having to leave work. So it's
like, it's not only the kiddo. It's just, it
like bleeds over into like other areas of their
life, which is... Huge. I mean, that's as rewarding
as it gets. Yeah. You know, it's rewarding when
you help someone up the stairs, you know, as
a human being. I mean, every day of your life,
you're you're you're changing people's lives
for the better. And do you find it hard to separate
work from home because you're you're really dealing
with people on a personal level. And obviously,
you can tell you have a huge heart. You have
to to do what you do and the way that you do
it. Isn't it hard for you to not bring it home?
And how do you deal with that? Yeah, I think
my husband wants to say yes. Yeah, I bet. Because
he like, again, having like that access. And
I need to be better about setting boundaries.
Like, all right, between like 430 and nine, like
don't take any calls or texts from patients and
like wait till the kids go to bed. Boundaries,
yeah. Yeah. And I think that's the biggest thing
because I want that relationship and I want them
to be able to do that. But. self -wise and family
-wise, I do need to be better about that. Because
that's PT burnout too, in a way. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Just that open access and just that mental
power of always like, oh, I see the text. Like
I got to do it now. But people can wait and I
just need to be. Just need to learn that. I get
it. But yeah, it definitely carries over. And
sometimes it just wears on you. Like yesterday,
this kid came in and it just wasn't a normal
session because he just seemed more dysregulated.
He was like a little more aggressive. And I'm
just like, I know that's not the kid. But by
the end, he was like cuddling me and I was able
to like sit there and do this. And I went out
to the waiting room and was chatting with mom
and he just had his head in my lap. And so I'm
like playing with his hair is like I'm talking
to her and telling her how it went. But it kind
of just carries over to home because you're a
little burnt out. And then sometimes it's hard
going home and playing with the kids because
I'm like, all right, I just mentally had to do
all of this and hang with all these kiddos. So
I worked before I came here. I worked for a year
and a half in an elementary school. And I have
a new found respect for teachers. And I built
such a strong relationship with these kids. And
I, too. would bring it home. And I find myself
getting upset at night thinking about kids that
were in unfortunate situations. But I also remember
I caught myself being very short with my kids
sometimes. Not like mean or yelling, but where
I would normally be like chipper and ready to
go outside. I'm like, ah, okay, you know. Yeah.
And that's a real thing. It does affect your
home because you're around kids all day and you
just, you can't, you know, muster up the... the
mental energy. Last question was, was, you kind
of already mentioned a little bit. I'm sure this
has happened. Is there a moment or moments where
you had a patient where you thought this is,
this is not hopeless, but there's not much we
can do. But and and you just saw a miraculous
turnaround. I mean, that's a few of my kiddos
because they come. the one that is walking and
running now like they come in with a grim hope
like the doctor said he had like a almost like
a brain injury from less oxygen at birth and
they always do those things i'm like okay like
can i really do like it's that imposter syndrome
it's like can i really do this can i really make
a difference um but we have to appreciate those
many milestones so when he came in and he did
that weak intensive and then we got him going
like laying down the sitting by himself okay
We're getting somewhere and then a few months
later came back for another intensive Then I
had him crawling with like the first two days
and I'm like, okay So maybe he can be a little
more mobile But you just get like are these doctors
right? Like am I like doing am I taking on too
much? But I'm seeing like all these these changes
and like that it is possible even with like these
nonverbal kiddos they with the the low level
laser therapy that I use the parents come back
and like I don't know what's in those lasers,
or if it was those lasers. But like these last
three to five days, their behaviors were better.
And I'm like... Give me those lasers. Can I borrow
that laser? Pretty much. Britney Schuler, you're
amazing. Give me the plugs. Plug your business,
whether it's a phone number, some sort of event
you have coming up, email, address. Give us the
plugs. All right. So you can contact me at minimilestones
ppt at gmail .com. You can set up a free phone
consult. We can chat about how I can best serve
your kiddo. And then usually we go right into
an evaluation and I let you know where the weak
areas are, how we can best address them. We do
intensives for quicker results. So that's like
one to three hours a day for every day for one
to three weeks, whatever can kind of fit into
your schedule. I do accept some insurances, UnitedHealthcare,
Excellus, MVP, Cigna, Medicare, because I do
see a couple adults, and then the other is CashBase,
in which you would get super bills, and then
you can submit them to your insurance if I don't
take them and get reimbursed yourself. Where
are you on social media, if you are? Instagram
and Facebook. Instagram. You can do it. I know.
Dr. Shu, the brain PT. The Brain PT, and then
Minnie Milestone's physical therapy on Facebook.
We'll make sure that when we put clips out in
the episode, we'll tag you and all that. Brittany
Shuler, founder of Minnie Milestone's physical
therapy. Some call her Brittany. I call her MacGyver.
Thank you for coming on Good News York, sponsored
by ads on the go. Get ads on the go dot com.
Honestly. You know, you're not just a physical
therapist. Your story is fantastic. And thank
you for sharing it with us. As a father and just
as a human being, I appreciate how much you don't
treat it as like I'm going into work and I can't,
you know, it's a nine to five thing. You really
do care about your patients and it really shows.
So thank you for joining us. Again, Brittany
Shuler, founder of Mini Milestone Physical Therapy
in Cicero, New York. Stick around. Matt is coming
up. He's got a great interview next on this Tuesday
edition. of Good News York. You can follow us
at Good News York, GoodNewsYork .com, and you
can follow me on socials at MikeBTV. I'll see
you tomorrow, but stick around for Matt next.
Hey guys, welcome back to Good News York. I'm
Matt from Clickstream Studios. Welcome back.
This has been a jam packed episode between Mike
and I. We've got a lot of really incredible interviews
and we've got another one on deck. You might
notice that I've got a guest here in studio and
this is really exciting because Quite frankly,
I could use your services. So this is this is
something that I hope that we're gonna learn
a lot But first don't forget good news York is
sponsored by ads on the go get ads on the go
com Shout out to our man Zach in the billboard
truck driving around spreading the good word
all over all over the greater Syracuse area Check
him out. He's an incredible young guy and he's
got a great service. He is awesome. You know
Zach? Yeah, I do. From the Liverpool Chamber.
He's just the most impressive young man in the
world. He is. He really is. But anyway, without
further ado, let's jump right into you. This
young lady here who has been happy enough to
join us this morning, her name is Emily Gozzi.
And I understand that you work in the nutrition
field. Yes. Well, thank you so much for having
me. I'm really excited to be here. I am a registered
dietitian. So I help busy professionals feel
confident in their skin and in the kitchen through
nutrition counseling, education, and support.
Wow. She's got that down. I love that. That's
impressive. What does all that mean? Yeah. So.
Kind of to back through a little bit of my history,
when I was in high school, I had an eating disorder.
And part of my treatment, I had to go see a registered
dietitian. And up until that point, I thought
I wanted to do sports marketing, sports management.
And she really changed how I thought about nutrition,
how I thought about the food that I was eating,
how I just kind of went through the day. And
I was like, this is so cool that you just get
to talk about food all day long. I love to cook.
I love to eat. So I went to school for nutrition.
And really what a registered dietitian is is
Anyone can call themselves a nutritionist. Not
anyone can call themselves a registered dietitian.
I see. So it's our job to kind of educate and
take all of the scientific research, the new...
food pyramid and make it into an applicable,
digestible way for the American people to understand
how to make those nutrition changes as well as
support disease states. Like if you have diabetes,
I had a call with someone this morning who has
chronic kidney disease, navigate that with nutrition
to help keep you healthy as long as we can without
having to go on medication. So really nutrition
is preventative medicine. Gotcha. Now, tell me
how this works in the whole sort of healthcare
model. Are you an independent person somebody
might come to? Are you someone that a doctor
would refer to? How does that work? Both. Okay.
So my practice is entirely virtual. I live over
in East Syracuse, but we serve clients all over
the state and all over the US. We can get doctor's
referrals if you have, let's say you need to
lose weight in order to have a JET replacement.
We absolutely accept doctor's referrals, but
a lot of our clients come from word of mouth
as well as social media. Wow. That's incredible.
And what is the most common ask, I guess, you
know, when somebody comes to you, is it just,
I'm unhealthy, fix me, or are they more specific
than that? A lot of it is weight loss to begin
with, but then as we start to work together and
unpack all of those things, people start to find
that their energy improves and that their labs
are improving, but they didn't even come to us
to talk about their labs. They didn't see that
as a big priority. And that's really the beauty
of working with a registered dietitian is that
we're not just focused on that one piece, we
really take your health into that whole picture
to help you feel your best. And what also can
be translatable over the next 90 years, not just
the next 90 days. That's really, really incredible.
So there's so many things to dive into here.
First and foremost, just some basics. So who
do you work with, age ranges, things like that?
So most often we work with individuals between
the ages of like 30 to 65. We have some outlier
clients too. So ambitious clients, but they just
get out of college and like, I want to take care
of my nutrition and my relationship with food
now. And I have a client who is 83 and she's
just so fabulous and fun to work with. She tells
me about her mermaid classes that she goes to.
Wow. I know. So a good variety of clients, both
men and women. I would say a majority of the
people that reach out to us are women. Maybe
that's because I'm also a woman where they just
feel more confident and comfortable, but we do
have a good mix of men clients as well. I don't
do active eating disorders because you really
need to be specially trained in eating disorders
to help somebody. But if you have a history of
eating disorders, a disorder eating, they absolutely
can help you. Wow. Wow. Is there... Obviously,
so many things are custom and personal to each
individual person, but is there sort of like
a very common go -to that you start with with
the majority of people? Yeah, that's a great
question. I always start with building a plate
because we are not taught nutrition in school.
Research shows that we're spending less and less
time on nutrition education. They can't need
at least 50 hours of nutrition education each
year. They're getting eight. very disproportionate.
And no wonder we have all these health issues
on the rise. So we always start with like, how
am I building a plate? What should I be looking
for? And I like to use an acronym called PCC.
So we're looking for protein, we're looking for
carb, and we're looking for color. Those are
those three things where if we have those on
our plate and then we'll work on portion sizes
and slowing down and listening to your body.
But if we have those three things on your plate,
you're most likely going to be able to get the
fiber that you need, the antioxidants that you
need, enough protein in and having that good
balance too where it might not just be a full
plate of pasta. You're also going to be getting
the protein that keeps you feeling fuller for
longer and then the fiber too that helps to reduce
disease risk. Wow. That's incredible. Is there
something that I'm trying to think of the best
way to phrase this question. I guess, is there
something that people overdo the most or is there
a real big culprit that everybody's battling?
That's a great question. I think protein is almost
getting a little overplayed right now. We need
protein, absolutely. I do agree with the dietary
guidelines that just came out of 1 .2 to 1 .6
grams per kilogram is that recommendation. However,
we don't need protein in everything that we eat.
You know, you can just have regular popcorn.
It doesn't need to be protein popcorn. The protein
chips, they don't taste great. So realizing that
not everything has to be protein -fied. We do
need those other macronutrients. And then also
I'm seeing more and more people with very high
intakes of sugar sweetened beverages. So lots
of soda, lots of sweet tea, lots of juice where
those things will have some nutrients for us,
but we're better off not drinking as many of
our calories and really trying to look at that.
the majority of our calories coming from the
food that we're eating versus what we're drinking.
That's incredible. If you could, can you talk
a little bit more about sugar? Just because I
personally have found that it's a horrible, addicting
drug that has done bad things to me over my lifetime.
And it's interesting, like you mentioned, new
guidelines have shifted a little bit, putting
some focus on, hey, less sugar. I feel like maybe
for the first time they're really telling people
that. But just kind of what is your opinion overall?
Is it as bad as I think it is? Is that overplayed?
How do you feel about that? So we have to understand
that sugar is part of the carbohydrate umbrella.
Sugar just means simple carbohydrates. So the
sugar that we get in carrots or apples, it's
going to be better for us because it's not like
they're pumping a syringe full of sugar into
the apple to make it sweet. When we have those
types of sugars, there's more fiber, there's
vitamins, there's minerals in there. However,
when we're eating candy, we're eating cookies
or cake, those things, we're not getting heart
-healthy fats. We're not getting fiber that help
to keep us feeling fuller for longer. Those also
help to slow down digestion. So if we're having,
let's say, a piece of cake and there's no other
protein with it like a glass of milk, that's
why you put glass of milk with Oreos. They also
take good together too. having that cake on,
it's on your blood sugar level goes up and you
get this energy burst. Like, oh, I feel really
good. You get that like high feeling. Then your
body shoots off insulin and it comes crashing
back down again and you get that tired, lethargic,
off feeling of like, well, I guess I need more
sugar. You might not be having that conversation
with yourself, but your brain is thinking it.
And so then we're having more of those cravings.
So we can get on this roller coaster of like,
I have it and then I feel like crap and then
I have it again and I feel good. So if we can
get off of that roller coaster, you're gonna
feel a lot better. But it's all about what we
can pair those things with. So maybe if you really
want the chocolate, we could do chocolate with
a handful of almonds. If you really want the
cookie, maybe you're having that cookie with
the dinner that also is a great source of heart
-healthy fats, proteins, and fibers that help
to slow down digestion so that you're not feeling
ravenous in an hour and you're not feeling that
energy bottom out where those cravings start
to creep back in. Wow. This is great. This is
the best interview I've done in weeks. I'm learning
so much. This is phenomenal. If you could take
us just a little through kind of the process
of when you work with somebody. So we'll say
I come to you and I say, Emily, I'm a mess. Where
do we start? Yeah. So we'll do an introductory
call together. We'll go over your goals, what
you're looking for. I like to say to my clients
or potential clients, tell me your nutrition
history. And like, I could go on for hours. I'm
like, that's fine. I've got time. I want to know.
I want to know what's happening and going on.
So we gather kind of that data. And then we go
over like, OK, here are the options. If you're
going to work with us one on one, if you want
to join our membership, if you want to join our
group program, we figure out what might work
best for you, your budget, your time constraints.
Then after that, if they're working with us one
on one, we have them fill out our nutrition assessment
form. So that goes over our health and nutrition
history. They can send over their labs to us.
They send over medications, supplements. They
talk about it. in that form the relationship
with food. So maybe you grew up in a place where
you might've been food insecure and you weren't
allowed to have really good or there wasn't the
ability to have really good nutrient dense foods.
Or your family was very against junk foods, very
against sodas and cakes and cookies. Where now
if you're around those things, you feel like
you can't stop eating around them. We wanna know
that stuff, because that's stuff that we can
work on together. We also have our clients go
over and do a three day food blog at least for
us. So at least two weekdays and one weekend
day. Give me a better idea. of where we're starting
from. I always tell our clients, I'm sure you
can eat salads all day long, but please don't
start because I'm not going to recommend that
to figure out what's going to work best. And
I don't want you to show off to me that you can
eat healthy. I want to see what's actually happening
because that gives us more data and information
to say, here's what we can do next to help you.
From there, we usually set what our overarching
goals are together, whether working together
for three months or six months or beyond. And
then with each of those follow -up calls, they
have access to us in between appointments where
our clients can reach out to us, kind of like
phone a friend. If you have questions or concerns,
you're going out to eat, you're making a meal
plan. I had a client call me. She was down in
Florida visiting in -laws and she's like, oh,
I can tell my mother -in -law's relationship
with food is not great and it's impacting my
relationship with food. Can we talk about that?
That's the beauty of working with us is that
you have us in your back pocket as needed, almost
like concierge nutrition. And then with follow
-up calls, we get sent over to them a checking
form. So it goes over, like, how did the last
couple of weeks go? What are some strengths?
What are some weaknesses? What questions do you
have? How can we help you? We can pull up the
analysis through our app on your food tracking
of what's your calorie intake look like, all
of these macronutrient, micronutrient goals,
and then help to create those baby steps from
there. So it is not a cookie cutter program at
all. Everything is based around the client, their
goals, their progress, and what they're looking
for. Wow. That's incredible. I'd love to get
your input on a wide variety of things. There's
so many of these different types of diets and
things like that that people do and with varying
success, right? And then to some degree, I think
almost like you were mentioning with protein,
we start to hear that so much that the fad pieces
come up like the protein chips. What are some,
I guess I would say legitimate. if folks were
to look at some of these things that aren't necessarily
a fad or a scam or something that people should
dig into a little bit on their own. So I really
like if someone's looking to follow a particular,
let's say, diet regimen, the Mediterranean style
eating plan is still one of the most recommended
and most successful ones. So that's a diet that
really includes a lot of whole grains, fruits,
vegetables, heart healthy fats. All of those
things are very powerful with antioxidants that
help to reduce inflammation in the body. trying
to still have red meat, but limit it. We don't
need just take every single night. It's a high
source of saturated fat. It will cause your cholesterol
to be elevated. So really leaning into that.
And another really good one too is called the
DASH diet. It is the dietary, I don't remember
what the acronym is, but it's to stop hypertension.
So many Americans have hypertension. I think
the statistic is almost 50%. And so this whole
diet goes through trying to get you to eat less
of the processed foods that have more sodium,
that have more saturated fat, that's going to
have that direct link to your blood pressure
levels. Wow. You mentioned processed foods and
that was something that I wanted to talk to you
a little bit about. People say that, you know,
that's one of the biggest problems is we eat
these processed foods and even a lot of these
processed foods in America that they don't eat
in Europe and other parts of the world. And people
will say just eating the same types of things
in other parts of the world, they come out a
little healthier. Do you find, is that true?
Was that sort of a wives tale or what are your
thoughts on kind of those standards that we have
here versus other parts of the world? So every
country will have their own kind of same thing,
the dietary guidelines for Italy, Germany, all
of that. a lot of it is based off of let's say
international research. I know a few of the dietitians
that lobby with Washington and they actually
aren't against the sodas because this one woman,
she's also a registered dietitian, she had a
food pantry and before she's very against a lot
of these processed foods and then she was talking
to a family that said, well, I don't have any
money. The only money that I can spend on groceries
is the food stamps. And the soda that I give
my kids keeps them feeling fuller for longer
because of the carbonation. So there are absolutely
flaws in there. And I think when we look at what
other nations are doing with as far as reducing
pesticides, absolutely great. Reducing artificial
flavors, artificial color sweeteners, absolutely
great. I think it's still a lot of the food industry.
Pepsi Cola is paying a lot of money to have their
stuff kind of beyond the food pyramid and to
be endorsed. Sure. So money absolutely talks
and there are lobbyists for a reason. I think
we have to look into how can we make some of
the foods more affordable for people to eat in
those fresh foods. And I firmly believe that
eating healthy foods doesn't have to be expensive.
you don't have to be getting the fully prepared
and cooked, let's say pulled chicken that I got
from Leibniz the other day, when you can get
a chicken breast for $2 or a pound of chicken
for $2 .50, and you can make it yourself. The
bag of Fritos scoops I had to get for a pimento
cheese dip I made last week was $7. You can get
so many fruits and vegetables for that amount
of money. So trying to look at it in that perspective,
and then also remembering too that all of our
food is processed. There is nothing that we take
that is out of the ground that you eat it right
away. So we are going to have some of those nutrient
losses. I think it can be better as far as monitoring
what's getting put into our food, the amount
of sodium, the amount of artificial things to
keep it lasting longer. We really should be paying
attention to more of those things, but I think
we have to catch up on how can we educate people
that eating healthy doesn't have to mean that
you're sacrificing flavor and you're just eating
raw carrots all the time. So absolutely. I think
with the international standards, I think it's
starting to creep into the U .S. where, you know,
there was a red dye number three that was banned
last year. I think that takes effect in seven
years. There's absolutely more work to go. But
I think we need more of that nutrition education
around teaching people that healthy eating doesn't
have to be expensive. And you can still make
nutrient -dense meals and not have to rely on,
you know, soda to kind of fill your kids' bellies.
Yeah. Yeah, I hear you. Speaking of kids. What
is a great place to start? If you've got young
kids, you want to set them on a path for healthy
eating. Talk to me a little bit about just a
good, easy family meal that folks should be thinking
about. So kids can be picky, and when a child
is not hungry, they're actually very in tune
to their hunger and fullness cues. We are all
born intuitive eaters, and we can get conditioned
out of it through Clean Plate Club. So trying
to not force your kid to eat if they're not hungry
because it's just gonna cause some trauma some
meltdowns around meal time But trying to serve
foods that are familiar to them So I don't have
any kids a few of my friends have kids and what
I've really observed is that They will still
make that PCC plate for their child, but they
might not mix those flavors So you're probably
not gonna be serving let's say goulash to a four
-year -old where they're like I don't like all
these stuff together try to keep things separated
out and me Maybe there's two or three foods that
you know that your child is going to eat, but
start to give them some of those other foods
that they might not like yet. Maybe broccoli
is a scary food for them. Just have them put
it on their plate. You can tell them you don't
have to eat it. Play with it, smell it, touch
it. What does it look like? Does it look like
trees? Does the stalk look different from the
top of it? It can be a really great way to start
to get kids interested. And once they become
familiar with it on the plate, they're more likely
to eat it. But really trying to keep things simple
for kids is really important. because they're
not really ready sometimes to have those very
complex meals. Unless you have a very advanced
eater in your house, trying to keep it as simple
as possible might help to expose them to those
different foods. And then as they get older and
their palates change, then we can start to mix
those things together. So still abide by that
PCC, protein, carbon color, but have their favorite
foods and then have some of those challenge foods
there as well. I love that. I think that's phenomenal
advice. I really appreciate that. Emily, I've
got a few other things I want to ask you, but
before I get much further, I want to give folks,
again, a chance just to figure out where to find
you. So real quick, where's the websites and
socials and things like that where people can
connect? Yeah, you can go to NourishedWithEmily
.com, N -O -U -R -I -S -H -E -D. Nourish is a
very hard word to spell sometimes. So nourishwithemily
.com or follow us on Instagram at nourishwithemily.
I'm also on Facebook, Emily Gozee. I'm on TikTok.
I don't post a ton on there, but I'm on there
and I'm also on LinkedIn too at Emily Gozee.
Awesome. Emily, how long have you been doing
this as your own venture? Yeah, so I started
my business at the end of 2018. I was still working
full -time in a nursing home until about October
of 2020. Then I worked for the Onondaga County
WIC department for about 15 months or so. So
in January of 2022, it's actually been now four
years of me being full -time in my business.
So I've had it for eight, but now four years
full -time. Is that for other professionals in
your field, do they typically go into private
practices or are they working with bigger medical
organizations, things like that? I think it's
a mix. We are definitely seeing with onsets of
other. credentialing platforms like a Nourish
or a Berry Street where people can go into their
own business, but they are technically contractors
of those larger companies. In school, it wasn't
really encouraged, honestly, to go into your
own practice. It was like, you can go work in
a nursing home, you can go and work in food service,
you can go and work in some private practice
settings, but we weren't really given the tools
to start your own business. I had to seek that
out through using the Wise Center in Syracuse,
the business center. as well as I was shadowing
other dieticians when I was in school who had
their own practices. And I think if we started
teaching some of the dieticians earlier, that
you can do this on your own, that you don't have
to be in a larger conglomerate or working for
a hospital, I think will grow even further. And
dieticians are already in demand, but I think
you'll see more and more practices starting up
too. If someone's looking for a dietician, they
just Google around, they find you, they find
three other options. What questions should they
be asking to find that the person, the service
is a good fit for them? That's a great question.
So you really want to make sure that you are
working with someone that has experience with
what you're looking for. Because I have a great
friend, she only does kidney stuff. So you wouldn't
want to go to see her for weight loss because
she is a kidney dietitian. So looking to see
what their specialty is, looking to see who they
primarily work with, also looking to see what
people are saying, you know, the good, the bad,
look at Google reviews, look at the testimonials.
And then I always tell people like check out
my Instagram first before you give us a call,
you'll get a real good vibe of who we are, how
we do it, what we do. Cause that's going to help
to tell you too of like, will this work out?
You know, do I like their style and what they're
teaching? So do a little bit of the research
and see, see what you like. And you absolutely
can have calls with other dietitians and see,
you know, what they're, what they're about, what
their teaching style is. And if you mesh with
them. That's great. That's great. I can tell
you just some personal experience. Uh, the one
time that I saw a dietitian, um, They sent me.
I was in the hospital at the time. The guy was
a jerk, quite frankly. And I was trying to explain
to him where I came from and what had worked
well for me. And he said, oh, yeah, that's trash
and don't do that. And it was like, all right,
thanks for wasting everybody's time. Because
it's just completely not paying attention to
anything that this guy's telling me. And that's
one of the reasons I wanted to ask. With every
type of care, you've got to find the right folks
that are a fit for you. But I really loved your
answer on that, just finding the right person
to work with. And just because your doctor might
have referred you to one practice or one dietician,
or let's say you go to one of the big area hospitals
and they have their own dieticians, you absolutely
can look at the other dieticians. They just know
only who they have on staff. So that's where
like doing your research and finding the other
dietitians in your area or finding one online
is a really great strategy to figure out like
what's their style, you know, how long are their
appointments? Sometimes I've seen people only
do 15 minutes appointments. You can't get through
much in 15 minutes. So seeing how they build
their schedule, how they work with you, what
their philosophy is, and you can ask them to
when you give them a call that they're not going
to charge you just a... kind of check in to see
their offerings and everything. Ask them what
their style is, like what their approach is with
nutrition. And they should be asking you more
about your nutrition history and what's going
on as well. How in depth is it typically? So
you work with somebody, are you getting right
down to helping them plan every meal? Or is it
more just guidelines of what to choose? How does
that work? So my goal is for you to be your own
dietitian at the end of this. Sure, I can make
you a meal plan, but you would hate what I would
put on here. You don't want to be eating salmon
four times a week. Sure. with our style is we
teach you kind of the guidelines. We teach you
how to build the plate. And if you want to use
that call time for us to go through planning
your breakfast, lunches and dinners for that
next week, absolutely. Your 30 minutes or an
hour is up to you and how you want to choose
them. And I'll often ask clients, I'm like, OK,
we went through this check in piece. I know that
you said that you've really been struggling with
lunches. Let's talk about it. Do you want to
spend a few minutes planning what those lunches
might look like for you? Because I want you to
have more of that ownership over building the
plate and what we're looking for. versus me just
telling you what to do, because I don't think
you'll enjoy it. As well as, I want you to graduate.
I want you, like I said, to be your own dietician
at the end of this. So if I'm just telling you
what to do, I'm not actually setting you up for
success. It might work in the meantime, but you
might say, like, I'm good. I feel great. I've
lost all the weight. And then a month later,
you're like, well, I don't know what to eat,
because Emily's not telling me what to eat anymore.
Yeah. I got you. OK. I love this. There's just
something. You're phenomenal. right on every
single thing. I love it. It's just really, really
impressive. So with that, I'd love to finish
up with just some rapid fire questions, if you
don't mind. Let's do it. So what I'd love to
do is just throw some random things out at you
and just give me the first thought that comes
to mind and we'll go on from that. So let's jump
right in with GLP -1s. Can absolutely be supportive,
especially if you've struggled with weight loss,
but you should be working with a registered dietitian
if you're on them. Okay. Because we don't want
you to lose all your muscle mass. Your muscle
mass is your metabolism. Many people are just
taking the medications, not changing anything
with their lifestyles, nutrition, and support.
And then they've lost all this muscle mass, they
come off the medication. So they've lost a lot
of their metabolism and they gain the weight
right back. Okay. Weight training. 100%, especially
for women, which most women or some women can
be a little bit apprehensive around. Women have
that increased risk of osteoporosis. Weight training
is how you reinforce your bones and help to prevent
osteoporosis. Plus strength training is how you
change body composition. You will not get chiseled
and very defined and strong from just doing cardio.
Gotcha. Okay. Keto or low carb diets. No. Not
my favorite because your brain and spinal cord
do need carbohydrates to be able to run efficiently.
Most people are successful in keto because they've
cut out a good chunk. They're in a calorie deficit,
but it's very hard to stick with for the long
run. Also too, we do see increased risk of high
cholesterol, high triglyceride levels with eating
a very high fat diet. Most people are not doing
a true keto diet. They're just eating a high
protein diet and proteins very easily can get
turned into carbohydrates through a process called
gluconeogenesis. Wow. in ketosis. They're not
having those ketones in their body because their
body is using proteins for carbohydrates. Wow.
Okay. I was going to ask you a Mediterranean
diet, but you already talked to us about that.
I love that that is the go -to answer for everybody
still. I guess I will say favorite Mediterranean
meal. Oh, I love a good gyro. All right. It might
be a little bit higher in fat, but we love to
go to Baghdad and Salt City Market and get like
either a gyro salad or the the gyro hummus with
the pita chips and the pita. Really, a gyro is
a perfect sandwich. You've got the carbs. You've
got the protein with the lamb or whatever you
prefer. And it does have a ton of vegetables
in there. So it's one of my favorite dishes.
All right. I'm going to hit you with kind of
two at once. Juicing in general and then juice
cleanses. So juicing, it depends on what you're
using it for. You do lose all the fiber when
you're juicing things. So it's not going to have
that effect of like eating an apple and your
blood sugar is going to slowly come up and come
back down. When we're just having the juice,
it's just carbohydrates. So it'll spike and then
come back down. So I try to tell people to use
it sparingly, just even with any juice, whether
they're juicing it themselves or not. But you
can get vitamins and minerals out of it. Juice
cleanses, not my favorite. Basically you're just
paying for a really expensive three days of diarrhea.
Not worth it. Fair enough. Fair enough. The last
thing that I will ask is gym membership versus
exercise without a gym. It depends on what you
can stay committed with. And that's what I've
been telling my clients these past couple of
weeks is what do you want to do where if you
like strength training, then absolutely get a
gym membership or build your home gym. But if
you don't know what you like to do, you don't
know if you want to do weight training or you
don't know if you want to do Pilates or spin
class, like try that stuff out. Many gyms will
offer that drop in rate where you can go and
see a class and try it out and see if you like
it. There's also so many free videos on YouTube
where you can try out many of those modalities.
without having to pay for a gym membership. But
the nice part is your insurance typically will
help to cover the cost of a gym membership. So
always give your insurance company a call and
ask them what that gym benefit is. That's a great
tip. That's an absolute phenomenal tip. I love
that. Last one. Favorite cheat, dessert, something
you shouldn't recommend. So I am a sucker for
some Fresca. Oh my gosh. So diet soda is not
the best for us because it does have aspartame.
Aspartame and high amounts can accumulate in
your liver and cause liver changes. So we try
to keep it at a minimum. But I love a good fresca,
especially on the golf course. My husband and
I like to golf or just sitting there at the end
of the night with our little eight ounce cans.
If it's not that, it's probably one of the desserts
that either of my parents have made, whether
it's like a mousse cake, it's cookies. I love
to throw one of those either with my lunch or
my dinner and it's delicious. I do have to ask
you one more rapid fire one, alcohol. Yeah. So
that's a hot topic right now because with the
new dietary guidelines for Americans, they're
almost encouraging it. However, we do know that
alcohol is a class one carcinogen. So it can
cause cancer, breast, stomach, uterine, all of
those. So I'm someone who does drink. I'm participating
in Dry January right now, but use it with caution.
I always tell our clients of being mindfully
aware when you go into situations of like, is
it worth me having a drink right now? Like if
you're going out to dinner and this place is
a wine spectator place and they've got beautiful
glasses and bottles of wine, go right ahead.
But try to be mindful of that relationship with
alcohol. Try to limit it as best as you can,
because it doesn't really help us with our health
overall. Yeah. What about the old, I guess the
old wives tale of one red glass, a glass of red
wine a day sort of thing? Is there any genuine
benefit to something like that? There are tannins
in it, which can help with heart health, which
can help with reducing blood pressure level.
However, you can also get those same tannins
from having dark chocolate. You can also get
those same tannins too from having something
like a congucha or eating fruits and vegetables.
So while there is a little bit, we still have
that risk of, it can increase that risk of cancer.
Okay, wow, this is we learned so much in a very
short period of time. This is incredible. I love
this Emily nourished with Emily is the business
is also the website right where folks can check
it out What else should we tell people? Yeah,
we have a group program that's kicking off on
January 26 This is capped at 10 spots. It's six
weeks long So it's our Weight Loss and Healthy
Habits group program. There are 10 sessions.
Eight of those are educational sessions. Two
of those are community calls. You have access
to a dietitian in your back pocket. You get a
call with us included over that time. There are
payment plans available. So we'd love to see
you inside of our small group program that's
kicking off on January 26th. That's awesome.
That's awesome. All those details on the website.
Join that. Get healthy. You'll know all this
stuff. And then I don't have to ask all these
questions. And that's that's what people should
be doing. Right. Emily, thank you so much for
joining us on Good News York. This has been honestly
very, very educational. And I really appreciate
it. And I know folks will too. Thank you so much
for having me. This has been awesome. Come back
any time. There's novels of questions we can
get into. But for today, I think we got to call
it a day. This has been a jam -packed episode
of Good News York. I really appreciate everybody
following. Like, follow, subscribe, share. And
as you noticed, we're still in the current studio,
but we are moving to the new space anytime now.
Before you know it, you're going to turn this
on and it's going to look completely different.
And we're pretty excited about that. So jump
over to clickstreamstudios .com if you want to
learn more about that, or if you want to grow
your business online, that's what we do for you.
So with that, I'm Matt Major. Peace out.