How I Fuel My Workouts & My Family with Plants

0:005 a.m. I'm up with a crisp Celsius energy drink running 12 miles today grab a green juice quick change and head to work meetings workshops one more Celsius no slowing down working late but obviously still meeting the girls for a little dancing Celsius live fit go grab a cold refreshing Celsius at your local retailer or locate now at Celsius dot com you said you were over him but his hoodie is stealing your rotation it's time grab your phone snap a few pics and sell it on de pop listed in minutes with no selling fees and just like that a guy 500 miles away just paid full price for your closure and right on cue nope but I've got tonight's dinner paid for start selling on de pop were taste recognizes taste list now with no selling fees payment processing fees and boosting fees still apply see website for details spring is here and the shopping list is long time to make a lows run by three bags get three free of stay green one cubic foot garden

1:03soil plus right now members can earn four times the points on an eligible purchase start spring off strong with these deals and more our best line up is here it loads balance the three twenty five while supplies last soil offer excludes the last and why loyalty program subject to terms and additions silos dot com slash terms for details subject to change point booster subject to exclusions and more terms apply one time only offer diaculture owes cars and apology because cars are not the enemy let me proclaim here and very clearly I eat carbs I eat bread I probably have a piece of bread or a bagel with me at all times and I am not exaggerating from the box media podcast network I am Robin Arson and this is project swagger your transformation toolkit my cookbook is out today y'all it is called it's a hustle it is back with seventy five high protein plant based recipes I am so proud of it these are my favorite recipes this is how I feel

2:08myself my family I have two kids being an atlas and I have a husband his name is drew Butler I got drew into plant based eating and now he is a pro baby in fact in our household he is called the smoothie king and we have his smoothie recipe in this book I have been plant based for over twelve years and some of the biggest myths out there about plant based eating are that the recipes are low protein or that they taste bad and I am going to bust those myths including countless others in this and includes my food philosophy and it's intended to for you to take what helps you and leave what doesn't if there is a certain type of food or ingredient that you're like you know what that's not my vibe then don't eat it girl it's okay I really wanted folks to approach fueling with the same confidence that they have choosing your favorite outfit or finding the workout that that moves you and works for you to mark the

3:09occasion in this episode's fire starter session I wanted to talk about the pillars of nutrition and how I applied those pillars to a plant-based life so I did not grow up plant based I am a Latina I grew up eating Bernille fried pork and chicken and all these things I had a one singular turn point at a bodega in New York City it was back when I during my corporate days of law and I went to the same exact bodega like corner deli in New York City in Midtown and I remember standing there and you know with the same person who's always making my salad and I would get the same feta cheese the same grilled chicken and then this one fateful day the grilled chicken was undercooked and I was sitting there in my office and just took this my son would say totally yucky bite and it was I

4:13was just like I got to find a new way I got to find a new way and so the next day when I went in to get my salad having grown up with beans and legumes my very first food that wasn't breast milk was black beans okay I was like let me go back to my roots so I got a couple black beans on my salad anyway and then that became my lunchtime vibe it ended up becoming a plant-based salad and it was iterative so I was still eating dairy at the time I was still eating eggs at the time and I would say it was probably like a year and a half process were slowly meal by meal ingredient by ingredient I started folding in plant-based foods I didn't go home and throw out everything in my pantry that process might work for people like kind of a cold turkey approach I found that particularly overwhelming I didn't put pressure on myself to like turn the page and all of a sudden I was this new this new person and during this time period my mom started looking looking into what's called an anti-inflammatory diet and the

5:14anti-inflammatory diet is predominantly plant-based their entire books and studies around this so please dive into that if you're if you're interested and so then she started eating more plant-based foods and then our meals and our holidays kind of started having this side table of plant-based dishes and then the meat eaters would also eat from that side table of the plant-based dishes and then you know our traditions they didn't stop they expanded and I choose to take a more expansive view of things that are super nostalgic that we can fold in kind of new core memories so now that you know my story I want to get into key ideas that shape my nutrition that shape all of our nutrition whether we know it or not this is scaffolding you can use to plan how you fuel first I want to talk to you about macros as in macronutrients they are pillars of nutrition three things your body needs in large amounts protein carbohydrates and fats what role do each of these macros play protein is your MVP for muscle

6:19growth baby your body needs it to rebuild tissue and it also supports your hormone health your immune system and it helps you feel full and satisfied and plants have protein plants have the protein you need in fact for example lentil one cup of lentils has 18 grams of protein that's the equivalent of three scrambled eggs carbs diet culture owes carbs and a positive because carbs are not the enemy let me proclaim here and very clearly I eat carbs I eat bread I probably have a piece of bread or a bagel with me at all times and I am not exaggerating when I say that this is a myth I bust in death in my book eat a hustle but in short carbs are your body's pry Mary fuel source and critical to help you sustain energy especially as athletes finally that's they are essential for brain function hormone balance and helping you absorb key vitamins plus some of the best longevity benefits are unlocked by the healthy fats found in avocados nuts and seeds now I want to talk to you about something

7:23that isn't technically a macro but I still consider a pillar of my nutrition fiber according to a major study nine out of 10 Americans aren't getting enough daily fiber that scares me why does that matter fiber improves your cholesterol levels reduces your risk of heart disease stroke diabetes and colon cancer if you're over 50 the recommendation is at least 21 grams of fiber for women and 30 grams for men and under 50 25 grams for women and 38 grams for men and personally I think that that's low I get on average 50 grams at least a fiber a day and I do think when you are introducing more fiber into your diet you don't want to go from zero to 100 I can think that you know that might cause gastric distress and of course always consult with your doctor and your dietitian for things that are super personal to you I'm just sharing my experience the key is that having fiber every single day ideally pulsing it in

8:23every single meal you are doing your body good and you're introducing more longevity into your lifespan because studies also show that increasing your fiber is actually adding yours to your life so now you're interested perhaps on increasing your plant intake and decreasing your meat intake here are my tips start with one meal a week literally just one and begin to swap ingredients swap chicken for tofu swap steak for satan and listen I know that some folks are very anti like the faux meats and there's an argument that oh it's processed anyway you got to start somewhere right so if you're swapping the meat burger for the veggie burger that's in the the Whole Foods case I just do what you got to do right and then you iterate this is the idea that little by little amounts to a lot give yourself some

9:25grace start with one meal and then swap out ingredients that are more meat focused for more plant focused batch prep grains and proteins for salads bowls and wraps during the week if you have roasted veggies and grains already prepped and I like to actually prep them separately so for example I make roast some potatoes and roast some cauliflower with some very basic salt and pepper and then I'll judge that up when I'm ready to eat it and I might make it more sauce more vegan the more Asian inspired more Thai inspired really what I discovered in cooking for myself and swapping meal by meal starting with lunch and then moving to some dinners and then moving into some breakfast little by little I discovered that once you start identifying the flavor palette that you love you can absolutely incorporate that with things like tofu and beans and and satan and vegetables right like these are things that are

10:26just waiting to be remixed into you know the flavor palette and the spice rack of your kitchen I think that you gain creativity and you gain an entire produce section that is that is at your disposal so those are some tips and if you're introducing these tips into your routine I want you to pay attention to how you're feeling on the days when you're eating more plant-based you are the only one that's in your body how are your energy levels how's your digestion how's your sleep do you feel more energized do your workouts feel feel different how is the timing of your meals right like for me personally I tend to eat salads more at night I I'm not going to eat a big raw salad and then go teach a 60-minute hit run um at Peloton I'm usually eating salads and more raw fibrous foods at night um and but I'm eating carbs and protein during the day so you do have to listen to your body watch your digestion watch how you're processing these foods but I do think if you give it a few

11:27weeks it does sometimes take a little bit of time for your body to adjust and your microbiome will start to crave more plant-based foods yes this is possible I did it um personally um I really noticed that my afternoon slump was aided completely by eating plant-based foods I no longer have this feeling at 330 in the afternoon that I'm just like crushed by the weight of my schedule give yourself grace and give yourself time support for this show comes from Shopify momentum isn't some magical concept you find it by building the systems in your life that set you up for success and maintaining them day after day and whether you're launching something new tightening how you sell or finally treating your side business like your main business Shopify helps you move faster without losing control I have used Shopify personally before and it makes everything simple by having one login for everything no more guessing your passwords hoping you have them saved on the

12:28device that you're using everything is in one platform with one login making your life that much simpler Shopify knows that the next great idea the next great business can come from anyone anywhere at any time so if you've been dreaming about starting your own business now is the time to take that dream and make it your reality ready to build your own empire head to Shopify dot com slash swagger and get started today on December 12 Disney Plus invites you to go behind the scenes with Taylor Swift in an exclusive six episode docuseries I wanted to give something to the fans that they didn't expect the only thing left is to close the book the end of an era and don't miss Taylor Swift the era's tour the final show featuring for the first time the torture poets department streaming December 12 only on Disney Plus this episode is brought to you by state farm listening to this podcast smart move being

13:33financially savvy smart move another smart move having state farm help you create a competitive price when you choose to bundle home and auto bundling just another way to save with a personal price plan like a good neighbor state farm is there prices are based on rating plans that vary by state coverage options are selected by the customer availability amount of discounts and savings and eligibility vary by state you've reached Robin let's get to this first question from Jenny hi Robin your class has helped me so much during the year I battled in beat stage 3 rectal cancer and in the year I've had since cancer where I've tried to put my body and spirit back together especially since early onset menopause has entered the picture my question for you is how do I learn to accept what is instead of resenting that part of me that won't ever return to what was and how do I learn to love the new version of myself oh girl that is so intense thank you for

14:35sharing that first of all I've never experienced anything like that and I and I venture to guess that there are support groups specific to your experience out there especially in a digitally connected world where you can find folks that are seeing your story because they've been there so I would never want to presume something but I know when I've been in stages of life at least for me when I was in again very different medical journey but when I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes I had a morning period that I allowed for myself and I actually had almost I go like a grief ceremony for me it was journaling and then like burning pages it was very like ritualistic in that regard but I allowed myself a grief ceremony and that I was mourning you know that if I were to have kids it was going to be a type 1 pregnancy and that's a very specific journey that we can get into another another episode but I would encourage you to find a ritual anger yourself in community and then find a ritual or many small rituals that allow you

15:41for that grieving process and then focus on what you can do I think that that's what I realized when I was embarking on marathons and older marathons now with insulin and this type 1 diabetes experience that was like my constant companion I had to focus on what I could do when I could still do instead of thinking of the body or the experience that I totally took for granted you know just months prior and we do take it for granted because you don't have perspective until you have perspective and giving yourself peace with that I think is incredibly important but focusing on the small things that our bodies can do even if they look different than they did yesterday thanks so much for your question Janine next up we're hearing from Amy hi when life gets hard what helps you resilience not just to get through it but to truly grow stronger what is one piece of advice you would offer someone who's really in the thick of it you got to remember your greatest hits baby I

16:44think that we are in the throes of it when cortisol is high when you feel like the hits just keep coming it's super easy to forget all the times that you triumph you know I say often we've made it through 100% of our worst days I mean and there are like big moments in the story we were like oh yeah I I survive that you know medical stuff life stuff grief stuff but we don't give ourselves credit for the smaller less intense and dramatic moments that we're still surviving and thriving I think that we should be more habitual about writing these these things down write them in your journal leave yourself a voice note do a little selfie video you know we're we're we're always recording things in this day and age why not record the moment when you get out of a meeting and you're like I feel really proud about that or the moment when you send that email and you're like yeah girl you just did that save them as little breadcrumbs for when you don't even know you're gonna need it

17:45because I do find that the message from you to you is always going to be the most powerful and that's all we're going to get to today thank you for all of your questions keep them coming 1877 all swag for this week's edits I want to tell you about two of the parenting books that have really helped me on my parenting journey I have two young kids and I will admit I was completely overwhelmed with all of the amazing literature and research and information out there for young parents so the two books in today's edit are first hunt gather parent what ancient cultures could teach us about the lost art of raising happy helpful little humans by Michaeline Duke left so this book I read when Athena was around two years old and I love story I love thinking about what indigenous folks have been doing you know for eons and and how we can really anchor ourselves in

18:50the wisdom of these cultures one of my biggest takeaways from this book are the ways in which we can give kids agency we can let them do things that are genuinely look useful around the house since Athena was two years old she's been throwing away her own diapers she's been putting away her dishes in the dishwasher she's at least helps wash dishes he has been using a swiffer I kid you not since he was 18 months old and I just let him let them lead where their curiosity lies but we make very clear in our household what is useful behavior for our home as a team as a family it's like we're team family and you know obviously it takes a lot longer to clean the floor with a two year old but it's I found that it's worth the effort and I really appreciated what hunt gather parent had to say on the matter and it actually freed up a little bit of time and energy that we were putting in to trying to control behavior and there was a little bit more freedom in allowing

19:58with parameters and really giving the kids agency actually and what they could do to contribute to the household the second book bringing up baby one American mother discovers the wisdom of French parenting by Pamela Druckerman this came as a recommendation from my girl Danielle my girl Danny and I was pregnant and I was like what book do you recommend it was like the only parenting book I read the only baby book I read was this one bringing up baby and I mean I think we have this illusion right I've like the the beautiful French mom who just looks so fabulous and it's effortless but I found that this book it was both liberating because in it she describes kind of the framework with you know there are some rules that you're origin on and then there's like a whole bunch that you just kind of like let flow within the framework and I think Drew and I have really adopted a semblance of this in our home there are some things that are like this is

21:03the rule this is the way it's done then there are other things that it's like we can color outside the lines and I'm really proud of us for tuning into the values that really matter for us as a couple and as a family and then not being neurotic about anything else and you know granted we just have young kids I know that the roads apparent height is super long and what you do in your household is what you do in your household baby I'm not coming with any judgment but these were two books that were worthy of belonging in the edit that's it for today folks go pick up your copy of Eat To Hustle if you haven't already see you soon for even more actionable takeaways follow project swagger on instagram and tiktok at project swagger spring just slid into your DMs grab that boho look for that rooftop dinner those sandals that can

22:04keep up with you and hang some string lights to give your patio a glow up spring's calling Ross work your magic tires matter they're the only part of your vehicle that touches the road tread confidently with new tires from tire rack whether you're looking for expert recommendations or know exactly what you want tire rack makes it easy fast free shipping free road hazard protection and convenient installation options go to tire rack dot com to see tire test results tire ratings and consumer reviews and be sure to check out all the special offers tire rack dot com the way tire buying should be rinse knows that greatness takes time but so does laundry so rinse will take your laundry and hand deliver it to your door expertly cleaned and you can take the time pursuing your passions time one spent sorting and waiting folding and queuing now spend challenging and innovating and pushing your way to greatness so pick up the Irish flute or

23:05those calligraphy pens or that daunting beef Wellington recipe card and leave the laundry to us rinse it's time to be great