A quote I LOVE the sound of… and still need reminding to actually live 😅 “Ask yourself, ‘What if it were easy?’ Then go ahead and do that.” Tim Ferriss So naturally… I made an acronym 👀 💚 E.A.S.Y. ✨ ENJOYABLE Sometimes we accidentally make healthy habits feel harder by focusing on everything we won’t enjoy. “What if this was easy?” might look like: 🥔 keeping meals simple 🌮 repeating favourite recipes 🎧 listening to a podcast while food prepping ☀️ walking outside instead of forcing yourself onto cardio machines you hate Healthy doesn’t need to feel miserable to “count.” ⚡ AUTOMATIC You know what makes things feel REALLY hard? Overthinking them for three hours before doing nothing 😅 “What if this was easy?” might look like: 👉 immediately chopping vegetables after groceries 👉 setting a pot of lentils on to cook while making breakfast 👉 putting workout clothes on before motivation arrives 👉 scheduling the thing instead of mentally wrestling it daily Tiny automatic actions save enormous mental energy. 🌱 SUSTAINABLE Setting the bar too high can secretly become procrastination and perfectionism. “What if this was easy?” might look like: 💪 a 15-minute workout 🥗 one EASY tray-bake meal to have on repeat this week 📹 one imperfect video instead of waiting to become confident first 🚶‍♀️ consistency over intensity The best routine is rarely the most impressive one. It’s the one you’ll actually keep doing. 🫶 YOUR BEST INTERESTS Some things feel easy now… yet become heavy later. Future-you matters too. “What if this was easy long-term?” might look like: 🌈 keeping healthy food visible and ready 😴 protecting sleep 💚 choosing habits that support your energy instead of draining it 🥙 learning a few EASY healthy meals that make eating food that loves your body back feel realistic instead of overwhelming The older I get, the more I think “easy” is underrated. Not because life should be effortless. Because unnecessary struggle is exhausting 😅 I'd love to know: Where could you make life 1% easier this week?

I started this community as a support group for anyone who struggles with emotional eating or excess weight. These are the challenges that I’m passionate about helping to solve and have become very knowledgeable about as a result of my own struggles. As you may have seen via posts and announcements, I’m playing with the idea of making Thrive a place that’s more generally about all aspects of health and wellness. The idea is to make this a place where various health and wellness experts and professionals can share master classes and we can all up our health and wellness game in a variety of areas, and discuss concepts we may disagree about, and learn and grow. But, I put the cart before the horse. It would have been good to ask before jumping in and making changes. Better late than never, so I’m asking now. Do you like the idea of sticking to the core concepts we started with…focusing on overcoming emotional eating and letting go of excess weight? Or does it excite you to have this be a group that’s more generally about health and wellness and not specifically tied to just emotional eating? Regardless of which direction we decide to go, I will still be here talking about overcoming emotional eating and letting go of the mental, emotional, and physical weight that holds us back. Vote in the poll and share your thoughts in the comments. Please and thank you 😊

I’m about 63.5 hours into my fast now. Here are some of the things I’ve been doing... In the morning, I do relaxation, meditation, in bed, for about 30 minutes. Ok, I do this every morning, not just when fasting, but it feels so much deeper and more profound in a fasted state. I try to do relaxation at night as well too, before I go to bed, it helps me sleep better. Last night, I listened to Relax and Manifest Abundance on @Victoria Gallagher’s awesome Believe App. And I conked out and slept really well, which doesn’t always happen during longer fasts. I sometimes get a flow of inspiring ideas when I do relaxation while fasting, which is fun, and I’m ok with letting lots of them go cuz I can only do so much! Then, I drink a glass of water with half a lemon squeezed into it, and a few dashes of salt, to get an electrolyte boost. This is super energizing for me. Then, I make my tea. I’ve been having herbal/green tea with Pao D Arco to combat candida (which I’m prone to) and stress reducing herbs like lemon balm. Green tea gives me good antioxidants and energy to get through my morning. I drink this before noon so the caffeine doesn’t mess with my sleep. For the rest of the day, I drink water. After my drinks, I do 10 minutes of rebounding to support my body in detoxing. In the evenings, I’m working on dry fasting for at least 10-12 hours. So, no water overnight. This is a change for me cuz in the past, I would often drink lots of water before bed and take sips when I get up to go to the bathroom. I’m noticing that dry fasting helps me sleep better and makes me less cold during these longer fasts. I’m often freezing at night during longer fasts, but that just doesn’t happen when I dry fast for a few hours before bed. Learned from Dr. Mindy Pelz that giving ourselves time to dry fast increases production of Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), which is like fertilizer for the brain. It’s also really good for bone density and strong bones as we age.

My birthday is on Friday, May 1. All I want for my birthday are some stem cells! What are stem cells? They’re cells that can shift into ANY part of the body that needs healing and care. They’re like chameleon cells. They’re kinda magical. God is good. They can turn into bone, muscle, organs, skin, whatever is needed at the moment . People pay thousands of dollars to get stem cells injected, yet our body produces them for free when we fast for 72 hours or more. If you want to join me in a stem cell fast, you just have to decide when you want to start. It can be any day this week. If you haven’t experimented with fasting much, it would be better to start with the 14-day Intermittent Fasting Challenge in the Classroom. A 72 hour fast is ideal for those who have done some fasting before. You can use the Self-guided 36 hour fast in the Classroom to prep for it, then extend the time you’re fasting . If you’re malnourished, pregnant, in the week before your period, or nursing, fasting is not the right strategy for you. If you have any medical conditions, be sure to check in with a trusted medical provider before doing a fast longer than 16 hours. I’ll share some principles of prepping for a fast in the comments. When is YOUR birthday? Share it in the comments and I can add it to our calendar :)

You can submit anytime before next Friday, May 1st! Remember to check out @Ben Sherry ’s community, the Oracy Club if you want some support with crafting your Story! We all have a story of transformation or two, from our past, present, or future. This contest is your chance to share your story, learn from the stories of others, and maybe win a month of Thrive Community VIP, which includes a one-on-one Thrive Deep Dive Session. If you're a business or Skool Group owner, you can absolutely use this story in your business. This could be your signature talk, or it could be a separate story. You can enter up to three stories! How to Participate- 1.) Pick a story of transformation you want to share. It doesn’t have to be health or wellness related, it can be in any area of life. Reflecting on transformations we have gone through in one area can actually help us create transformation in other areas. It can be a story from your past, something you're going through right now, OR a story written by your future self about a transformation you have yet to go through. The latest option can be very fun and a powerful way to connect with future you, and yet all of these options can be fun and insightful for you. If you'd like to share a client's story of transformation, you can do that too, as long as you've entered a personal story too. 2.) Use the Stories of Transformation tab to share your story as a NEW POST. It can be shared in writing, or it can be recorded as a video, on YouTube or Loom. It can be as long as it needs to be, it's entirely up to you. 3.) Vote by liking and commenting on stories that have been posted. Top 3 Stories of Transformation creators will get a month of VIP!! If winners are already on VIP, they'll get an extra one-on-one Thrive Deep Dive Coaching call. 4.). Post your Story of Transformation wherever you'd like...this is your creative material, you can use it to connect with others, promote your community, or in any which way you'd like.