055: The practice of self care and healthy lifestyle behaviors with Elaine Dusetzina

Jen Amos 0:00

Welcome to holding down the fort, a podcast show dedicated to curating knowledge, resources and relevant stories for today's military spouses so they can continue to make confident and informed decisions for themselves and their families. Because let's face it, we know who's really holding down the fort. I'm Jen a Moe's, a gold star, daughter, veteran spouse and your host for holding down the fort by us that wealth. Let's get started.

All right. Hey, everyone. Welcome back to season three of holding down the fort. I'm your co host, Jenn Amos. And as always, I have my new co host with me, Jenny Lynn strip Jennylyn. Welcome back to the show. Great. Thanks for having me. Glad to be here. Yes, it's so great to have you. I think we've been having some incredible interviews so far this season. And I'm glad that we continue to have some amazing guests on our show. So thank you for being a part of that with me and adding to the conversation. Oh, absolutely. This is such a joy. Yeah, I love it. If anyone wants to know, like, Jenny, Lynn, all she has to do her only job on the show is to just show up and share your thoughts. And to be quite honest, it's been a huge help for me, because I mean, I'm really good at small talk. But it's always nice to kind of add that extra perspective and take a break sometimes let someone else talk. So I appreciate Jenny Lynn just volunteering herself to be on the show with me and adding her perspective as an active duty military spouse. So thanks again. Jennylyn. Anytime. All right, so we are excited as always, because every time we get to do a show, it means that we get to interview another guest in our community here. And so I want to introduce you all to Elaine Doucet Sina. So Elaine is a certified health and wellness coach and navy veteran and retired military spouse. She is also a mom of two girls, and also a dog owner of her mama. Elaine, welcome to the show.

Unknown Speaker 1:56

Thank you so much. It's a pleasure to be here and honor.

Jen Amos 2:00

Ya know, I'm excited. I feel like this is really like the second show that I've created so far that I get to bring you on. And you'll have to forgive me I completely forgot how exactly we met. But I'm so I'm so excited, you know, to have had you on my other show, where you know, you were one of the first few people that I interviewed via Facebook Live. So thank you for doing that with me. And then now you're here on my show here at holding down the fort.

Speaker 1 2:26

Yeah, definitely. I think the first time we corresponded was through Facebook group, the Filipino blogger group. Yes. Where I That's when I found out about the Filipino American woman project and got involved with it.

Jen Amos 2:41

Yeah. So shout out to the Filipino blogger network over there in San Diego. Thank you for reminding me that I remember that. Now. That was almost like I think that was almost four years ago now maybe three and a half years. So as a half years. Yeah. So it's amazing how long we've known each other. And also fun fact, when I was leaving San Diego, my husband and I had a Scott and I had a bunch of stuff that we weren't taking with us. And so you came over to my mom's helped me take a bunch of my stuff. So thank you for for doing that.

Speaker 1 3:11

Definitely. Yeah. Thank you.

Jen Amos 3:15

Yeah, for sure. It was funny because there was this cleaning tool for I think the bathroom that that you took my mom was like, oh, man, I should take in that. I was like, Mom, you should see your garage. It's just full. Like, you're fine. You have plenty of things in the house. Yeah. Well, well, anyway, Elaine, let's go ahead and get acquainted with you for a little bit for people that are getting to know you for the first time. Why don't you just give a quick snapshot of your life today, particularly what keeps you excited or busy nowadays?

Speaker 1 3:43

Well, nowadays, you know, I'm, like Keith mentioned, I'm a certified health and wellness coach. So I started my business about a year ago. And that's what's been keeping me busy. And for me, it's kind of rough, because you know, I have my two kids, and we started the online schooling. So just kind of like keeping my focus on different things. And I feel like I haven't really grasped the whole becoming a business owner yet. And so I'm just learning a lot from it and growing from it, and also at the same time trying to grow my profession just in with regards to education and certification, just advancing myself. So I know more of what I'm

Jen Amos 4:27

doing. Yeah, for sure. I think that you're such a powerhouse because you served, and then you became a military spouse and watched your kids and then you went to school, and then you got certified and now you have a business and I just I feel like I mean, I don't think I told you this, but I feel like you're one of the most humble people I know. And also very accomplished and also very methodical on how you approach things. So I just like I see that and I really respect that of you.

Speaker 1 4:54

I appreciate it. I feel like I've been it just looking at it. Just reflecting back. It's a lot of transitioning from military to becoming a stay at home mom and a military spouse, and then now my husband's retired, so we're not really in the military anymore, but we do have the retirement to enjoy. And my husband still works as a Navy contractor. So we still kind of have that like connection with that. And then transitioning into becoming a business owner. It's all just continually just changing and evolving.

Jen Amos 5:28

Yeah, for sure. It's just this constant evolution. I think that's what life is, though. Like one of our colleagues, he said this, oh, well, he's about two years from transitioning out of the military. He's like, we're always transitioning, like, that's just life, you're always transitioning, like to think that you're not is like, that's an unrealistic way, and you find yourself disappointed, or maybe let down or with a lot of stress to think that you're not constantly transitioning. And I even think for myself of just how much we've transitioned and just the last couple of years, it's quite bizarre, but to accept that as life, you know, I think makes it easier for us to adapt a lot faster.

Speaker 1 6:08

Right. And I think that's one of our human needs is just to learn and grow. And, and those are one of the things that I valued, too. It's just continually learning and growing. as being in this profession that I'm in right now, I feel like it's just continually developing. And there's constant research that's going in with regards to health and well being and how it's so important to value that within our life.

Jen Amos 6:37

Absolutely. Speaking of transition, I do want to transition to our next topic. But before we do, I thought I'd check in with Jenny Lynn, and see if you had any thoughts you wanted to share? No, no, I'm

Speaker 2 6:46

excited to hear what she has to say about self care, especially in these crazy times. All right, being in health all the time.

Jen Amos 6:55

Yeah. So Elaine, today, we wanted to talk about the value of self care. And I think the first question I have to ask, and it sounds so simple, but I think most of us don't grasped it is self care, like what does self care mean? And what does it mean to you?

Speaker 1 7:12

Yeah, so for self care, I've read this definition that really just resonated with me. And it's the practice of taking an active role. And protecting our well being or it's our one owns wellbeing and happiness. So just that word practice, meaning that it doesn't have to be perfect so that it's there's progression that we're again learning and growing from it. And also practice, I've heard the the someone had said, practice, meaning it leads to permanence. So being consistent with it being consistent in what we do on how to care for ourselves. And for me, self care is our lifestyle behaviors and their like healthy lifestyle behaviors, that it doesn't have to be something that we have to go out of our way to do but something that we can actually weave into our life like eating well, or, and I have pretty much based on the education and training that I've done. And these are all evidence based approaches that it's, you know, eating well and moving well, sleeping, handling your stress. And then there's that part where the well being, it's not just the physical aspects, but also mental, emotional, spiritual. So there's that connection with others. And that connection and love part of it.

Jen Amos 8:38

When I think of the word well being, I always kind of go back to the way that you were describing it reminds me of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and how I don't know if the hierarchy is necessarily correct, but at least addresses the needs that we need, which is like a sense of security, a sense of safety, or, you know, a social life, as well as like food and shelter, and everything. And so when you kind of describe it, that's what I'm sort of thinking of is like, is that checked off? Because it's I think about how my mom raised me and it was always about like fulfilling your basic needs, like, Are you fed? Do you have a roof over your head? Are you going to college, you know, you're gonna get a job after college. But it's more than that, too. There's the emotional aspect to it as well, kind of like having that sense of purpose or mission in life or that desire to continue growing and learning. And so in a way that sort of is what I think about for the way that you describe self care. I know you didn't say this yourself, but I do like the emphasis of the word, practice because I think when we finally get to self care, sometimes we think we think we're so behind or we think we should have done this, we should have done that or we need to do this better or faster. And so I like the word practice because it feels like it's less pressure and it's more like hey, if you remember to do it, just get back on it. You know whether it's simple, go for a quick walk outside or drink a cup of water, but just being able to practice those little things. is a great way to, like you said, protect your well being.

: 10:03

Yeah. And you're right about it being a practice. So like, you don't have to be strict about it in a way that it's, you know, we have seasons in life that there's times when we can't fully integrate all of this things all at once and you, no one expects you to do that. It's just being able to meet those needs at certain points in your life, when and where it's most needed.

: 10:29

I mean, I would second being the great advice, but it's, it's a practice, I think a lot of people often consider self care are one off, like, I'll take a day and go do something really big and really fantastic. And then I won't do anything for another three or four months like, but the practice of just doing smaller things for yourself every day, I think is a really great reminder. And actually, in my opinion, leads to better well being than just that one big extravagant thing.

: 10:58

Yeah. And I'm glad you mentioned that, because there is actually a statistic that I read at people had, it's a thing, it was like, 44% of consumers believe that self care only for people who have time for it, because they think it's like this big extravagant thing where you have to schedule like maybe a spa day or going on vacation. But it's not necessarily that, like I said, self care is, you know, protecting you want to preserve your well being and want to maybe improve it. And that all just comes in with the self care routine that we can do and practice every day.

Jen Amos: 11:35

Yeah, fantastic. I'm curious to know, I mean, I feel like this is sort of an obvious question, but I think it's worth discussing. So where we're at right now, you know, in time of history, to me, it doesn't feel normal. And I feel like yes, it's important that we're practicing social distancing. And we are told to be at home. And it seems like there's a lot of good things that have come out of this to a lot of our surprises, like a lot of it's good to spend more time with family, or maybe do more self care. But there are also a lot of issues that have come up, you know, since the pandemic, and I think what I want to ask is, how important is self care? Now with the pandemic? Yeah,

: 12:14

yeah, definitely. I mean, I feel that it is more imperative nowadays to focus on ourselves and our health, it does. And I think the pandemic has put a spotlight on that, particularly for those who've been affected, or are suffering a lot more, there's people who are more at risk, because they already have existing pre existing conditions. So a lot of people who are at severe risk have a chronic condition. And that's documented in the CDC website, that if you have a chronic disease, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, you're more prevalent to like suffering from this virus. And just thinking about or just seeing, like, what our nation is composed of like right now, and looking at against statistics, because that's where research is done, that in America, six out of 10, US adults have a chronic disease, and four out of 10 have two or more. And all of these chronic diseases are preventable with lifestyle practice. And again, that information is out there, the research is there, and there's so much research available. But you know, again, the challenge is is just how we're going to do that, how are we going to take care of ourselves. And it's something that I think should be talked more about how it goes beyond just wearing masks and applying antibacterial because this won't be the first time that we would suffer as a nation because of a virus, if we don't take care of ourselves and take preventative measures now with regards to our overall health.

Jen Amos: 14:02

Yeah, definitely. I'm curious to know, because, you know, you mentioned that we need to spend more time talking about a healthy lifestyle. Why do you think we don't? Why do you think it's kind of overlooked or maybe not valued as much to have a healthy lifestyle? I mean, my take on it is that, it seems too easy not to do. It's like you could tell yourself, you're gonna walk everyday, you're gonna take care of yourself every day, but it's also easy not to do it. And I even think for myself, since this pandemic is started, you know, Scott, and I would just, you know, go to fast food restaurants because it's easy, you know, we could say like, oh, well, we we clearly we have a garden at home. We have kombucha we have like, a fridge full of like healthy stuff, but then we'll go get fast food, you know, so I don't know what I mean. I probably need, you know, like a separate one to one to have a discussion about my own personal issues. But why do you think in your opinion, is why do you think we're not talking about enough about maintaining, you know, a healthy lifestyle

: 15:00

Oh, well, there's so many different factors that come in. I mean, social influences cultural influences, sometimes we just get into the habit of doing things like we usually would take the easier route, like you mentioned, it's easier to get fast food, rather than having to cook at home and prepare food because that takes time. So it's just a matter of, I think, like, really placing a high value on your health and seeing it in that way to just put that spotlight on there, and how important is how our health is so important, and how it affects all every aspect of our life. And I think maybe because it doesn't come like fast, like, it's not quick, you know, you don't experience it. Like if you eat a fast food or fries and burger, it doesn't affect you right there. And maybe it could affect you with energy wise, you might feel that. But if you're so used to eating that type of food, you're accustomed to it, so you don't see it until maybe, I don't know, a year later, or two years later, when you go to the doctor, and you see what your biometrics are your cholesterol, and maybe your blood sugar is up. So you don't see it until much later. So you don't want to take action on it right away.

Jen Amos: 16:21

I see. So it's kind of like because you don't get an immediate reaction. It's not like when you eat a burger, it like shows up in your stomach, like immediately, you know, it takes a couple of burgers to start, like seeing it, you know, around your waist. And so that makes a lot of sense. It's kind of when it seems like it's too little too late. When you get that diagnosis, or when you get your stats, your blood tests where you're like, Oh, I didn't realize that all those burgers I was eating, you know, led to something such as this.

: 16:50

Yeah. And that's what happened to me. I would say when after, after I had my kids, I was really just focused on them. And I was good with preparing their food, but I wasn't taking care of myself. So I mean, even just like with doctor's appointments, I was I made sure they went to every doctor's appointments, but then I missed, like every I think I missed four years worth of doctor's appointments. And then when I finally went to that exam, I was just really surprised that I was like, how did I get to this point where my blood sugar was borderline pre diabetic. And I never thought that that can happen to me because I was running marathons. I wasn't paying attention to, you know what I was eating, or the level of stress I had. Because running can also running too much can also produce that stress and a sleeping while either. So a lot of it just adds up. And then it shows up. It impacts your health and you see it once you go to visit your doctor.

Jen Amos: 17:57

Yeah, I have heard that even too much of a good thing could end up being a bad thing. And I have heard people I spoke with someone a couple months ago now where he said that he ran himself to the point of depression. Because that's like all he did and and he's in Canada. And he's like, and he said, like, you know, it's really cold when you don't have any fat body. And I was like, I was like some people would envy that if you could if that was like your number one complaint. But anyway, Daniel, I just want to check in with you see if you had any thoughts?

: 18:29

Oh, no, I think this is great. I was reviewing my own self wellness routine during these times. And I was thinking about the lack of sleep like that's probably been the hardest for me during this is like just the constant mental fog then like rolls over into the night. And it's harder to get going every morning like the longer this goes on. That's been like my even though like we really try to eat well we exercise and I'm for sure not an over exerciser. That's not my problem. But just trying to keep it all balanced to stay like as well as possible under the given circumstances.

: 19:09

Right. And there's always that overlap that one can affect another and like you said, like even if you're eating well and getting exercise if you're not sleeping well that has an effect on your health and also with the cortisol as part of the stress like being released and cortisol has an effect on your blood sugar and all of it just like are intertwined and just the workings of the human body is amazing. And when you're not nourishing when you're not in the place where your body's not nourished with sleep with exercise with relaxation to handle stress or nutrition, all of those, they all count and they all have an effect on how your health and well being is.

Jen Amos: 19:55

So I feel like the advice I want to ask for right now is unique to the times I think for myself, for example, I've given myself permission to just eat whatever I want and not exercise, because who's gonna see me anyway? You know, it's just shoulder up. And I'll just wear a loose top. No one will ever tell you no. But obviously, that's not good for the long run. So for people who are maybe in the same situation as me that it's kind of using the pandemic as an excuse to maybe not take care of myself as well as I should. What do you want to say to people who, yeah, are also like maybe even telling themselves that they should get back into taking care of themselves again, but maybe they're finding it hard to do? So?

: 20:35

Yeah. I always like to do that inner type of reflection, where we have to ask ourselves, what's the most important, you know, what do we value in life, and how can is either a self care or lifestyle practice affecting that, because eventually down the line, it will be affected. And that's kind of like, the way I like to think about it. And the way I live my life personally, because I've seen its effect on me. And also even just short term, when I'm not taking care of myself, I know, I don't have the energy, and then I'm in a bad mood, and that affects my kids. So it's just paying attention to, like, how that affects the most important things in my life. Family is number one, of course. And that's how I would view it, so that it drives me to take better care of myself.

Jen Amos: 21:33

I think that's important to note, I was just thinking, not to throw him under the bus, but like Scott's like an enabler. He's like, Oh, let's eat this. Let's eat that. And at first, I was like, no, no, I'm self disciplined. I'm fine. I don't need that I will make a smoothie. But I think he weakened me. And and now I'm just like, at the end of the day, I'm like, Hey, do you want anything from like Taco Bell? Do you want something from McDonald's and, and when he used to, like, initiate it, and but however, I do know that it is affecting us, like health wise, and also sleep wise, like, it's hard to eat when you have a sugar rush at nine o'clock at night, you know, and the melatonin is not helping you go to sleep. So I think that's another thing to keep in mind is like, if not for you, then for the people that you care about, because and we talked about this offline, but it's like, if you take care of yourself, you also take care of the people around you, because you're setting that example. And especially because I mean, I'm not I'm not a mother, I'm a, I'm a third dog, mom. But you know, I imagine for parents, it's important to set that example. Because you know, your kids are looking at you, your kids are watching your every move. And if they see you taking care of yourself, then, you know, I think they pick that up as well.

: 22:40

Yeah, you're right. And it's important to even use you talking about Scott, as is your husband, just having that support system is so important. When you want to make a lifestyle change, you want to start taking those steps, so that you can have a healthy lifestyle, it's important to have like your family back you up with that on that. And part of it is just having that conversation that, hey, you know, I'm maybe just have a concern about it, that this is what I heard or what I've read that this can lead to, you know, the risk of chronic disease. And that's not the type of life that I want for myself and for you to have for my kids to have to witness and experience having to take care of me because like, as their mom, I want to be able to take care of them and then learning how to take care of themselves. So having that conversation and then that education. I know, my kids will probably say like, I'm the sugar Nazi because because I always would say something about sugar. And my husband makes fun of me too. But yeah, but they understand where I'm coming from, because I talk about diabetes. And that's yeah, I am at risk for it. And I have to pay attention to that. So so they are respectful and they Olson and they also understand how it can affect them. So you know that my kids don't have like a treat every day. I always tell them a treat is a treat, you know,

Jen Amos: 24:09

that's why it's called a treat. Right? It's not

: 24:13

coming from and they understand the why so I have to explain to them what like what how it affects your body and how it affects your well being. So that's education and having a conversation and having them support you along the way.

Jen Amos: 24:28

Yeah, for sure. Genuine I saw you laughing there. So what are your thoughts?

: 24:33

My kids would say the same thing about the food having grown up in the 90s when it was like diet culture and everything became like fat free and this and that. And now knowing that that isn't necessarily what actually fuels a healthy body, you know, as an adult and now as a mom, like I've really had to shift my mindset on what is healthy and I am like the meal not See at my house like, I have one child that like only wants bean and cheese burritos for breakfast, which I've had to relax on because at least there's some protein in that, and he will at least eat otherwise, he just ignores me going, Hey, here's some food. The other one would eat literally, whatever, and all of it. And so we have, I'm like, you have to have some sort of protein. And then you can have a small buffet like, and it's a constant conversation or house or like, they'll finish what I've made for dinner, and I'm still hungry, I'm like, Okay, well, you can have more green beans, or you can have more chicken and they're like, anything else, I'm like, you can have more green beans or chicken. And so like, we're trying to build those healthy things in our kids, because my husband and I both grew up in that diet culture. And as adults have really had to make a conscious effort not to live that way. So like, but teaching little people that without sounding like the overbearing, you know, crack the whip mom, or like, still allowing for, like, fun or treat without it being a huge thing all the time is a really fine line to walk.

: 26:09

Yeah, it is hard. And because because my daughter, she loves to bake, and I let her do that. And I think they're already at the point where they don't over, like they won't like, they'll bake cookies, but they'll have like one, one cookie, and that's it, so they won't over eat it. And I think they've gotten to that point what they already know. But it is hard. You know, it's it's something that you kind of like have to figure out how to do it in a way where they're not, they won't develop any type of disorder from it. You got to have that balance. So yeah, I get what you're saying.

Jen Amos: 26:49

I also appreciate how you mentioned in line, like the importance of knowing your why behind taking care of your well being and also explaining it to you know, your little tribe, like your little your family, you know, to your daughters and to your husband, because I think about my own upbringing. And, you know, it was just like, eat that or don't eat that or, like, if you eat that you're gonna get diabetes, you know, just very, very just blunt answers. And, you know, I didn't really realize how bad a sugar was for me till I moved out to the East Coast. And I started not that I've kept up with like a keto diet. But I started a keto diet when I moved out here. And I started to see how bad it was, you know, to have sugar or like how much sugar I actually had, you know, in my diet. And I know you recently held a was like a 14 day sugar reset. Yeah. And that had reminded me in that reset, just how much sugar I had in my diet and how much I continue to have. And so I think it's an ongoing discussion on the importance of taking care of our health. And I know we talked a lot about what we eat and nutrition. But just as you mentioned earlier, it's more than that, you know, it's also exercise, it's also your mental health, it's your sleep. And so there's so much to understanding that. But to remind ourselves that you don't have to know it all. You don't have to be perfect at it. You have to just consider it as an ongoing practice to continue bettering yourself. And when you better yourself and take care of your yourself. You know, you set that example for other people.

: 28:19

Yeah, exactly. You said it best with just making it a practice and that you don't have to feel bad if one day you didn't take care of yourself. But just having that practice and beat and trying to be as consistent as possible. Just doing and also doing just maybe one thing at a time, maybe that entire you know, that list of things you have to do with like eating well, and exercise and stress management. And now you have to, you know, sleep some nine hours, just putting all that on you at all at the same time makes it more overwhelming. So just pick one, and that is affecting you the most right now like gentleman said, she said there she's struggling with sleep. So maybe she can look at ways on how she can improve her quality of sleep or maybe get to bed earlier. I'm not sure exactly. What were you struggling with. But you know, just taking that part of your life because that's where you're struggling the most and see how maybe you can improve it.

Jen Amos: 29:22

Beautiful. Well, Elena, you went out of your way to collect some amazing resources for us, which I will mention in the show notes. I'm just curious which of the resources you shared is maybe the most favorite one for you that you want our listeners to know that is already provided to our community.

: 29:38

Yeah, well, there's you know, I found out about this Military OneSource program, which I didn't take advantage of, but I didn't find out about it until during the time. It was a tap class for spouses that they have a free coaching program for service members and families and it's a wellness coaching program. So you can I think it's called coach But I did provide a website for you. And it's basically talking with a coach to talk about what's your goal, what your wellness goals are. And I'm sure they'll spend some time with what that looks like for you, where you explore what's most important to you, and why, why should we value our health and, and that the exploratory assessments usually is the introductory session, and then you go into goal setting. And that, I think it's like just having that support someone to talk to you about your health and well being because it's, again, it's not the conversation that you would just normally have with your friends or even family, just having that support, to be able to talk about it. And we'll help you take action and move forward to improve your health. And the other one was, the VA has a whole health program. And like recently, I just found out through the National Veterans transition services, that's the reboot program. They've partnered with ASCII human. And there's a place called a wellness app. And it is a wellness app. And it's just not for veterans. But they've partnered with Tascam, and to offer like a free 30 minute coaching session. And it's it's a variety of areas, so like yoga and meditation and mindfulness. And there's also some transitioning areas there too, for like last life, transitions, different topics that you can address. And I've signed up to be a volunteer veteran coach, which, I mean, I haven't received any calls yet, because I haven't been as consistent with the giving my hours. Members, it's available, and that people veterans can also take advantage of

Jen Amos: 31:53

Awesome, well, thank you for taking the time to collect those resources. And even for the ones that we didn't list right now, I'll be sure to provide that in the show notes for people that are interested in exploring what is already available to them in regards to you know, taking care of the well being. So thank you, Elaine, so much for sharing that with us. So Elaine, I just remember years ago, or within the three and a half years I've known you, I sort of remember when you started your business, or at least the brand name, evoke strong. And I remember when you were doing Facebook, live interviews, and it's just been a wonderful experience to, for lack of a better term online stalk you and see your your progress and where you're at today in your business. And so I'd love to just share the resources you are providing as well as a business owner. And from my understanding you had recently How do I say like rebranded or focus more of your efforts toward veteran women for your services. And so I'd love for you to talk a little bit about that for our listeners, and how people can get a hold of you if they would like to learn more.

: 32:57

Let's definitely yeah, I think the COVID has made me again, do a lot of inner reflection and who I wanted to serve. And I went back to what what part of my life has really helped me grow as a person. And it was my life in the military. And so when I say Guan, I want to give back and I want to and this is why I have my business because I want to be in service to others. And I'm like, Okay, well, it makes most sense for me to serve fellow women veterans. So my business I've rebranded to serve women, veteran leaders, and to help them implement a lifestyle routine that would help them take charge of their health and prevent chronic disease. Like, because I mentioned earlier, chronic disease is a big issue right now in the United States. And also I've forgotten to mention american college of lifestyle medicine had done this. They've done a study for military health, and they've released this infographic of what military health looks like right now. And there is you know, again, chronic disease, obesity, blood Piper's in, yeah, all of that it's affecting our military readiness. And so it's definitely it's on top of minds of even our military because it's, it's also affecting that. So, so yeah, so I wanted to serve fellow veteran women veterans and and that's why I pivoted to that and it took the COVID to make me realize I wanted to serve best. But my website is so evoke strong.com And that's where people can find me on Facebook Instagram, at evoke strong Linked In. Elaine distancing, that's my name. So yeah, that's how people can get in touch with me.

Jen Amos: 34:54

Great. Thank you so much for sharing that Elaine and really for taking the time to be on our show today to share a little bit about your life and what led you into the industry that you're doing today and helping people with their well being genuine. I just want to check with you one more time, see if you had any thoughts or anything you want to add, before we close up,

: 35:12

I'm just super excited, I was scrolling the evoke strong website and the lady was talking being someone who works in the mental health care. Business myself, it's a great resource to know, you know, our, our missions and professional lives crossover quite a bit. So it's great to know this resource is out there.

: 35:29

Thank you so much. And it's it's a pleasure to meet you, Jenny. Great to meet you, too.

Jen Amos: 35:34

Yes. And just want to make sure also with you, Elaine, if you have I know we have in our notes here, just want to make sure you include everything if you had any final closing thoughts for us. Just final

: 35:43

closing thoughts. I mean, once again, is self care. Just find the value of self care in your life right now and put a high value on it. And let's think about lifestyle as the foundation to good health and when we include this healthy lifestyle approaches into our everyday routine, then that will lead us to again, protect, preserve and improve our well being.

Jen Amos: 36:12

Awesome. Well, Elaine, thank you once again. It's been great being friends with you for the last three and a half years. Not that we spend like every day together. It's been great. And everything also genuine thank you for CO hosting with me as always. Thanks for having me. Yes. And to our listeners. We hope that today's episode gave you one more piece of knowledge, resource or relevant story so you can continue to make confident and informed decisions for you and your family. We look forward to speaking with you and the next episode. Tune in next time