Healthy Lifestyle Solutions with Maya Acosta

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► Tell us about you and your podcast

Are you interested in improving your quality of life and longevity while minimizing your risks for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and other chronic diseases? Welcome to the Healthy Lifestyle Solutions Podcast!

Here you'll find evidence-based health tips, interviews with health experts trained in lifestyle medicine, and discussions on what you can do to prevent, halt, and in some cases, reverse disease with nutrition, exercise, sleep and stress management.

Your host, Maya Acosta, is a member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, part of the national Walk With A Doc organization, and has completed eCornell's Plant Based Nutrition Certification course. As a health & wellness educator, she has dedicated her life to empowering women to take control of their health.

In this show, you will find answers to common chronic conditions that adults face. You'll get expert opinions on nutrition, exercise, sleep hygiene, stress management, and reducing alcohol use. AND you'll discover nutrition tips, coaching programs, and lifestyle modifications that you can apply from the comfort of your home.

My listeners are between women 40 to 55 years old.
 

► Why & how did you start this podcast? 

Back in the day when talk radio was popular, I would tune in to a particular show that I liked. One day they had a guest expert speak on hypothyroidism. This is when I began to suspect that I had thyroid problems. This show saved my life. I learned about the power of this media to educate people on health issues.

As a wife of a vascular surgeon, I have seen the devastating effects of poor lifestyle choices. I started the podcast a couple of years after I adopted a whole food plant-based diet. Immediately I began to see improvements in my health. After doing additional research, I learned about lifestyle medicine, which covers nutrition, exercise, stress management, sleep hygiene, and healthy relationships to improve patients' quality of life.

It made sense that we teach patients that they are not at the mercy of a diagnosis. Western Medicine trains health professionals to treat diseases with medications and procedures but does not focus on preventing illness. On the contrary, Lifestyle Medicine equips health professionals to guide patients in making healthy lifestyle choices and creating long-term change.

I started the podcast in 2018 for patients and anyone who wants to learn about the power they have to improve their health and quality of life. Didn't take me long to release the first episode. But I was not consistent the first two years.
 

► How'd you find the time and funding to do this podcast?

I currently self-fund my podcast. If you include hosting, team and other expenses, I would say that I spend about $2,000/mth.

Regarding the production work, I did all my editing for the first three years. Last year I hired a team to support me. I produce two weekly episodes, one being an expert interview and the second being a solo one.

Still I spend about 20 hours a week in editing my videos, recording new intros and marketing. I stay busy.
 

► What do you gain from podcasting?        

I currently do not have any sponsors. I would like to discover how to monetize my podcast.

My podcast offers support for those who need it. I've improved my health by interviewing hundreds of health experts. I build relationships, collaborations, and a sense of community.

The podcast also highlights my passion for helping others which has opened doors for me. I've been invited to give food demos and nutrition lectures.
 

► How does your podcasting process look like? 

Most of my guests come from groups or organizations I am part of. For example, I'm the American College of Lifestyle Medicine member. Again, this organization is all about supporting patients in making healthier lifestyle choices. During the pandemic, we grew to over 9,000 members.

I select my guests and schedule them.

I follow up with a link to my onboarding video, Riverside.fm link.

We decide on questions that are appropriate for our conversation.

The day of...I record video and audio. Record no longer than an hour. Thank my guest.

I edit my video for Youtube, extra the audio, and run it by capsho. This ai service generates a title, description, and show notes for each episode.

I send my Guest Intake Form, Capsho info, link to recording, guest intro/outro recording to my team for editing.

They produce audiogram, episode post, and everything else on Buzzsprout.

They email my guest the day the episode is released and share content with them.
 

► How do you market your show?

My team shares each episode to IG, FB, and LinkedIn.

I create the Youtube video and I share to my newsletter.

Sometimes I run ads on Buzzsprout.

Sometimes I promote my podcast when I appear on other podcasts.
 

► What advice would you share with aspiring (new) podcasters?

I recommend that the individual record 5-6 episodes before releasing on Apple to be ahead of the game. This is mainly because some people quit after a couple of episodes.

Don't worry too much about equipment; just get started.

Know that it is ok to pivot and change the show's topic, branding, and hosts. These things happen.
 

► Where can we learn more about you & your podcasts?

Website: https://www.healthylifestylesolutions.org/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maya_hls_podcast/
FB personal: https://www.facebook.com/mayaacosta2
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayaacosta/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Maya_HLSpodcast
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/HealthyLifestyleSolutions1