speaker-0: I don't know how much more life-changing it could possibly be. I did not trust my intuition. I I mean that's like the hands down the most traumatic thing in my life. I wanted to raise that white flag ⁓ and say, let I'm here I am, here I am, let's build peace. And I'll at the end of that six months actually did run my first marathon. I f
speaker-1: Hi, I am Wendy Kim, and welcome to my podcast, Follow the Pull. As an accomplished speaker, author, and entrepreneur, my career has been more meaningful and impactful than I could have ever imagined. And it's simply because I relentlessly follow the pull. I listen to my intuition versus relying on other people telling me what to do. The pull is what life is telling you that you truly desire. What is in alignment for you. And when you move in that direction, you Can't help but have what you want. Every week on my show, I will provide the tools and tips along with interviews of people who are successful and thriving, who have learned to follow the pull. Welcome to the Follow the Pull podcast. ⁓ I'm Wendy Kim, your host, and I'm so excited to be here today with Lauren Callahan. And I'm just going start off by introducing her. She's an integrative wellness consultant and speaker, former therapist, an ultra-endurance athlete who helps high-performing women support their bodies so they can sustain the life they're already leading. As an internal family systems practitioner and former therapist, she understands the emotional and behavioral patterns that drive high achievers. And I'm so excited to be with you here today. Lauren, welcome to the Follow the Pull podcast.
speaker-0: Thank you, Wendy. Thank you for inviting me on.
speaker-1: Yeah, it's so good to have you here. So I like to start off the podcast asking what listeners are going to get from listening to you today that's going to make a difference in their lives.
speaker-0: Yeah. So one of maybe the biggest ⁓ experiments for me in following my intuition, following that poll, ⁓ was leaning toward a more plant-based diet. And so I've done ⁓ gut health and nutrition c consulting for a while, and I've always been the one to say ⁓ eat anything, no restricting, no restricting. And I would still say don't restrict. ⁓ but to me I I felt like ⁓ following a plant-based diet was very restrictive and I received A lot of advice that pretty much said the same thing. And so, ⁓ you know, eventually went down this path where I felt like I needed to trust or at least experiment with my own intuition here, and decided to try a more plant-based diet. And it was one of the best decisions that I've ever made. ⁓ for my health, energy, athletic performance, hormones, all the things, right? And so fast forward, now that this has very much become a part of my life, I realize it is not hard, but it does take some relearning. And so part of what I do now and what I would love to offer to your listeners as some takeaways is just ⁓ some simple tools in how they can implement that in their lives if that is a path that they feel feel a pull toward.
speaker-1: Okay, great, Lauren. Look I'm looking forward to to learning more about that and sharing that with our listeners. ⁓ before we get into that, I wanna learn more just about your background and and how you got here. I wanna ask, how has following the pull, how has listening to your your gut or your intuition made a difference in your life?
speaker-0: Yeah, it ⁓ I I don't know how much more life changing it could possibly be. I mean it's really like, you know, how much of a of a different person than you used to be can you be now? Like that that is what it feels like for me. I mean and and very much to you know, very deep, you know, spiritual even kind of level where I'd say for you know the majority of my life, I mean I'm 45 now, so I think I can safely say at least two-thirds of my life. ⁓ I did not trust my intuition. I didn't trust ⁓ that pull that I would feel. ⁓ and and really that came from you know very core beliefs around I'm bad. If we could keep it really simple, right? ⁓ that I am bad. I need something or someone or an energy or spirit or God or something outside of me ⁓ to make me whole. and that event that that got to a point where that did not work and and I made some very drastic changes. I mean, for one, I went completely to the other side of the world. Okay. I live in Louisiana Louisiana now. I used to live in Canada for a bit. ⁓ I went all the way to the other side of the world. in Bangladesh. I mean and I brought my two kids. They they were ⁓ two and four at the time. I mean the you know, really drastic kind of things. ⁓ and that really began a process for me of trusting my intuition. Came to a point at some point, ⁓ Really it was I I started doing a yoga training. This was really kind of the start of any sort of ⁓ physical and maybe even real spiritual fitness for me if we can use that term. ⁓ and and really had this moment of believing I'm not bad, I'm actually good and whole and perfect to the core. And maybe there are things that I need to shed off, you know, as all of us have. But really to the core, we are whole and we can trust our intuition, we can trust the you know, that pull that. we feel and just trust that it's right. ⁓ and that really is okay. And so that really began a path of me learning to listen to that inner voice. And I say voice, but also that's a very somatic thing. Sometimes it's not a voice, but you know something in your body. You feel a poem in your body. So when I say listen to that voice, I mean that very broadly. But that really is what began that process of just trusting that ⁓ I could go with what I felt, what I what I heard, what I knew to be right.
speaker-1: Yeah, wow, okay. So I I hear that you felt pulled to actually go from Louisiana to Banglades.
speaker-0: Yes. Yeah, I did.
speaker-1: Could you could you walk us through a little bit of what what what was going on in your mind, in your heart, and your gut as as you were making that that decision and what how ultimately did you have the courage to do that?
speaker-0: Yeah, I'd say a little bit of it was the way some circumstances strangely fell. ⁓ so some really unique kind of coincidences kind of came into play. But I mean, honestly, you know, if anybody called it a midlife crisis, that would be very fair to say. I wouldn't argue with that, although I don't really feel that it's that way, but it certainly looks that way. Really like I just grew up with ⁓ you know, I I grew up in in Louisiana, right? Like Bible belt, very conservative kind of Southern Baptist Christian, which is not a b a bad thing, but I I'm just saying that that came with a certain amount of experiences and beliefs. ⁓ you know, there was a certain amount of abuse that I experienced as a kid and so you know, part of the ways of being that I learned out of that was that I I needed to be good and and do the good thing. ⁓ do things that ⁓ you know, I I don't know, good is maybe just the the best way to describe it. And so ⁓ I learned to not follow ⁓ my heart in a lot of circumstances. And I think it just got to a point where I I had too many questions, I had too many frustrations. ⁓ I I didn't I didn't feel like a human being anymore. It didn't feel like I ⁓ I I maybe I just felt very trapped and and n I am not saying that that was like any person outside of me that was making me so. I mean I think just internally I felt very trapped and and did not know just how to be myself. And and I think you know there there were some circumstances, you know, up until that point I ⁓ you know, there are international child development organizations and I had always wanted to ⁓ you know, be a part of those and ⁓ my ex husband and I we did give ⁓ to some organizations like that and we happened to be supporting kids from Bangladesh and so we would write letters and I was very, very just very interested in their lives. I loved hearing from them. I loved you know, learning about their experiences and and it was one of those things I just randomly met somebody who was from Canada and They were working for Chevron, but so they were living for three years in Bangladesh and they were like, You can come stay. I mean it was it was weirdly coincidental, like some opportunities that arose. ⁓ so I I guess maybe the path to getting there w it felt a little smooth at first. It was kinda crazy once I got there.
speaker-1: Yeah, w okay, tell us what it was like to sit there.
speaker-0: ⁓ you know, so I was there for a year and a half. you know, I I want to give you the end of a story before I tell you some of the things that happened. The end of the story now, you know, end quote unquote. My my ex husband and I we actually get along very well. We co parent very well. We're I mean, honestly, we're kind of like a model as far as like positive co parenting. But at that point it was the act it was the exact opposite. So, ⁓ you know, very, very awful ⁓ you know, separation that we were. through during that time. It was not positive in any way. so so there was that. And but there was also this year and a half time period where, you know, I was the kind of person I didn't want to show up somewhere and ⁓ live in one of the most impoverished countries on the planet and live like a white American. I just I didn't, you know, I wanted to live as one of the people there as much as possible. And I would say for the first half of the time that I was there, that was that went really well. but and and I did really well with acclimating to the culture and learning the language and just really trying to take on their culture as much as possible and just be one of them. And and I would say about halfway through it got to a point where I I just realized that that goes to a point. And if I was really gonna progress beyond that, you really need to be there for a long time or just do a better job than I was doing. But I really felt like I came up against a lot of barriers as far as like maybe the charm was over. I don't know if they ex maybe had expectations of me as an American. And you know, I I felt in a sense like I was not ⁓ yeah, I don't know, like they had different expectations of what an American would be like. And ⁓ yeah, I I felt like the charm wore off and it was hard acclimating and internally I began to have a lot of resistance ⁓ to their ways. ⁓ and I think that I don't know, I think that's kind of a normal part of the acculturation process sometimes. And if I'd spent there, you know, if I'd spent more time there that probably would have looked a lot different. but I ended up leaving just the circumstances with my ex husband and my kids and what we needed to do to work out custody and so came back to Louisiana and began that process of of healing and reforging a very positive relationship with him. You know, and again, I mean it it worked. It was hard work and we ⁓ yeah, it's we do fantastic co parenting, honestly, today.
speaker-1: Yeah, well, I g I get that to some degree because I I lived in Japan for five years and it it is a different experience being what we would call or what they would call gaijin, which is basically foreigner. And it's it's different when you're coming from a different culture and trying to integrate versus being more of I guess a novelty if you will. So that makes a lot of sense. Was was that time would you say that that was like a reset for you? Or what what did you learn from that time?
speaker-0: You know, I think a truer word would be something like more of a breakdown. ⁓
speaker-1: Okay. Yeah.
speaker-0: really like it it I mean on all levels it just got to where maybe at the beginning I really felt like I had like this new sense of purpose and this new identity and you know felt like I was really fitting in and could like build a life. ⁓ and then that began to break down and so I I think on all levels, like with religion that was actually a pretty huge one. ⁓ certainly, you know, with my relationship that was that was happening. you know socially. Right. ⁓ had been building ⁓ you know friendships over there but was was coming against that block and so I I felt like on all levels there was there was just a breakdown and I was really feeling it to my core and I'd say by the time I came back, ⁓ especially because it ended with me not having my kids. ⁓ and so when I came back, I mean I I had a lot of work to do ⁓ over the next year. And it was just because of the awful circumstances around our divorce that I ended up not having my kids for about a year and a half. I mean that's like the hands down The most traumatic thing in my life. Yeah. ⁓ so really like I I came out of that barely being able to think straight. ⁓ so reset, yes, that is true. I mean, because there truly was a reset on all levels, but I would say that it started with an absolute breakdown. ⁓ but I I don't think that that was a bad thing. I mean, I think that anybody who's experienced ⁓ growth after a breakdown would would agree, right? Like some of the worst breakdowns you can experience are the times where you actually get reforged and and I I say get reforged as if it's like a passive thing. Maybe that you know that's a little bit true, but it's also very active, right? Like you some of it like a lot of it is grace and then a lot of it is like you choosing to grow after a difficult experience. And ⁓ honestly I'm so thankful. I'm so thankful for that breakdown.
speaker-1: So what okay, ⁓ so you have this breakdown and then how did what happened after that?
speaker-0: Yeah, so the next you know when I when I got back to Louisiana I'd say the next year and a half, ⁓ I well, okay, let's put it in perspective. I I came back from Bangladesh without my kids and then I had a half full suitcase and I have five I have five hundred dollars. That is like all that I had. ⁓ thankfully I was able to go stay with my parents ⁓ for about a month. you know, got a job, had tons of expenses because of the divorce and I lived ⁓ in a like okay I remember I just come from the most impoverished country on the planet one of them I came back I lived I lived the most impoverished year that I've ever experienced I mean because any every penny I had I had like I had to save it to go like to see my kids and that sort of thing. I worked two jobs at a you know I was a teacher I worked at a coffee shop every day I ate peanut butter sandwiches and carrots
speaker-1: I can't.
speaker-0: I mean I got pink eye one day and I just thought it was gonna be the death of me because I'd have to lose a day of work. I'd like I didn't have insurance, I'd have to pay for the doctor. You can't fake it. I mean it's not like a fever, you just wait till it passes. Like you have to get medication to treat pink eye, you have to pay for that. I mean it cost my entire month's food budget. So, you know, again, coming back to like I I could barely think straight for that first year and a half, but I was, you know, determined to survive and to build a positive life ⁓ for the sake of my kids, right? and that's what I did and we slowly started crawling out of the hole that I felt I was in at the moment, and reforging a very positive life in a way that I just never felt like I had really experienced. I mean, not that I like I had beautiful experiences when I was younger, so I don't wanna undermine that, but I had a lot more ⁓ choice and freedom, even just internally now, as far as what I was going to believe and the life that I was going to build and the relationships that I wanted to create. And that was a beautiful thing.
speaker-1: Wow. Okay. So it sounds like you were going through a really difficult time. how how did intuition play a role in you, I guess, digging yourself yeah, I think you said digging yourself out of that hole to create like a a beautiful life that you you have now?
speaker-0: You know, I I think that one way that it played a part, ⁓ I I made a decision that nobody in the world agreed with. So when I came back and and my ex husband and I were, you know, trying to get things together, right? On like f We were trying to build trust because we had none at that point and create something positive for our kids ⁓ in the midst of having no trust, right? ⁓ well remember I came back with nothing and but we had we had a divorce to do which cost money in America, I'm sure anywhere, but ⁓ and I had none. I had kind people offer to ⁓ you know, let me use a credit card or something like that so that I could hire a lawyer and I wasn't willing to do it. It was already So ugly. you know, the you know, there are different lawyers, like some are interested in peace and some are not, and he had one that was not. And and I don't believe that was him. I mean, I I understand why he did it, but because of the lack of trust between us. But what I knew intuitively was that the second I hired a lawyer, for one thing, I was putting somebody else in debt, in addition to myself, but also I was going down a path. where we were gonna fight, like we were just gonna fight and we were gonna be bitter and there was gonna be hatred. And I had experienced the results of that as a child, like that ongoing bitterness and hatred resulting from a divorce. And I didn't want that in my life. And so I went into court with no lawyer. made that decision, I'm not doing it. I'm just gonna go represent myself. And anybody in the world would say that's a very bad decision. I would tell anybody in the world now that is a really bad decision but I did it because I just felt like I I wanted something different. I wanted to raise that white flag ⁓ and say, let I'm here I am, here I am, let's build peace. And I'll tell you, I got murdered in court. Like it was really bad. Like that was one of the reasons why everything ended up costing so much money and had to save every penny just to like see my kids for two hours on a Saturday. That's how it went down ⁓ for about a year. ⁓ it was really bad. But what I can tell you is that move that I made was actually pr I I I believe one of the most important steps in building trust, I think that it completely I think that it shook things up. Like who does that, right? And I think ⁓ it communicated my willingness to just be peaceful in whatever way possible and we built on that. We really did. Like we began the process of just creating peace and building trust in a way that I I I mean, people do it. I I I feel like I don't see a ton of it. But I I know that people do
speaker-1: Yeah, I I I guess that like you you trusted your gut when everybody else was like, What are you doing? That's not a very good idea. And even maybe like after you made that choice, you might have been questioning, okay, was that a good decision? 'Cause here I am financially like in d you know, disarray, but ultimately you trusting your gut and your intuition led to you having this trust and having this foundation that you could build on such that now you and your husband are able to co parent well when before if if you had gone to court with a lawyer it it would have probably become just an ongoing battle.
speaker-0: Yeah, just completely ugly. Yeah, I think that ⁓ I I think that ⁓ the move that I make, even though that I made, even though initially like it really was horrible. Like I I mean that was I don't even know how I made it through that year. Other than again, just survival and and wanting like I needed my kids. But ⁓ but really I think that that move that I made was was necessary to disarm ⁓ husband. And and again, I mean there you know, that was that was my fault as well. I created distrust. I mean, we did it for each other. So ⁓ yeah, so I'm glad it's intuition.
speaker-1: Yeah. So in terms of your talk a bit more about your career and and how that came to fruition and and what what you're doing now.
speaker-0: Sure. So ⁓ I eventually I once things got very settled and we were both you know, my ex and I were building very positive lives, ⁓ and we could be normal people again. ⁓ I went back to school and I got my I got my degree ⁓ so that I could be a therapist. And so I was a practicing therapist, ⁓ for a while and I mean it was wonderful. I loved it. And Alongside that, ⁓ I was also training to run my first marathon. I was never you know, I had not been athletic in a very long time and very little so and like high school. But ⁓ yeah, so I picked up running ⁓ with who's now my husband. We were running together. But I always had trouble running a marathon and and really for four years I tried to do it and I never couldn't do it. I was like, I'm healthy, I'm like I eat healthy, what is the deal? Like I train, this should not be an issue. And ⁓ but I just always had some kind of issue with inflammation and recovery. And so I basically went down this rabbit hole of gut health. And I would have just assumed that my gut health was fine because I ate healthy and exercised, that sort of thing. Well, I got my gut health tested and it was horrible. It was like I got an F. If you could put a grade on it, I got an F. And and and so basically I went on this six month mission to improve my gut health naturally. And I did. ⁓ and I watched those numbers go up. felt better and at the end of that six months I actually did run my first marathon. I finally did it. ⁓ but not only that, I like just a couple of months after that, I ran my first fifty mile Ultra. And then a couple miles a couple months after that, I completed my first Iron Man. And then I did another fifty mile Ultra and then I did another Iron Man and then I did a hundred K run, which is sixty two miles. ⁓ and that was all within one year. So certainly to say that improving my gut health change things ⁓ you know energy wise and with inflammation and recovery ⁓ would be an understatement but what also really intrigued me in that process was that as I improved my gut health, so did my mood. So did my sleep ⁓ so did my you know like gastrointestinal health so gas and all the things right you know my immunity like I never got sick anymore And and I could see, you know, again, these numbers and my gut health tests reflecting that, but I but I felt it. And especially the one on mood, that's the one that, you know, remember I was a therapist. That's what intrigued me the most. I was like, I I could see, you know, I had really low serotonin. and I had not known that serotonin is produced in your gut, ninety percent of it. And so just by improving your gut health, you can just naturally up your serotonin. ⁓ And so I experienced this process and then you know, it was just completely amazed. So when people would come into my office when I was a therapist, of course I want to help them with trauma and you know, emotions and thoughts and all the things, but I wanted to say, can we look at your gut? I feel like this could be really easier.
speaker-1: Yeah.
speaker-0: And so, yeah, I mean I I love therapy, still believe in therapy, but I I just was so amazed at how you could really take the work out of the process of improving your mental health by improving your gut health that I eventually I I made the transition ⁓ to being a nutrition consultant so I could help people with their gut health.
speaker-1: Wow, okay, that that is so powerful. So practically speaking, if if I wanted to just start improving my gut health today And I I know there's not it's it's not necessarily like I I've actually done some work with with personally with my gut health and I actually worked with a gut health specialist, but so I know it's not just like a quick fix, take a pill, that kind of thing. But if there were like a few steps that I could start taking today, what what would you what would you recommend those steps be?
speaker-0: Yeah, so yeah, I'll reiterate what you said. It's it's very ⁓ it's individual. you know, every every person's gut is as unique as they are. But yeah, there are some things that tend to be pretty standard. And ⁓ what I noticed in my work as I continue to do gut health and nutrition consulting was that the number one thing every single time was the same and and that was to increase your fiber. ⁓ eat more fiber. And and I'm realizing maybe it maybe within the last year ⁓ actually how important that message is. ⁓ I think that I was somebody already that ⁓ tended to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and you get fiber from plants. So fruits, vegetables, whole grains, ⁓ beans, lentils and chickpeas. you know that's where you get fiber from and I was already someone who tended to eat a lot of that. ⁓ but you know, now it's you know, I I think especially with women, ⁓ in midlife and beyond, ⁓ we are so inundated with this message of you need more protein. Okay, you're not feeling good, you you need more protein. Your hormones are off, are you getting your protein? ⁓ and that's not wrong. That's not wrong. Like you you do need your protein, but the effect of it, I think, is that women are ⁓ a lot of times overdoing it on the protein or just not getting it from high quality sources. So too many animal based animal based products and things like protein shakes, none of which have fiber in them. Some protein shakes may add fiber, but also protein shakes can be they can often be disruptive to your gut. And once again women are like, Well, I thought I I hear this all the time, I thought this is what I needed to do. Like I thought, like I don't even like the protein shake. I just thought that I needed to have it. ⁓ When really there are some very simple things you can do instead. But but all that to say, you know, really most Americans do get enough protein, but like ninety seven percent of Americans get maybe half of the amount of fiber that they need. And so the reason that that is important for one is just because, you know, people are like, Doesn't fiber just, you know, make you poop I mean it does, and that's not a bad thing. I think that some people don't realize that, you know, how important it is that you're doing that every day at least once. Yeah. ⁓ but you know the thing is your your gut is mostly made of bacteria. Like there are more bacteria than human cells in your gut and those bacteria need to eat something. Most of the bacteria live in your large intestine where most of the food you have eaten, the nutrients have already been absorbed. What's left of what you eat that makes it down to your large intestine is usually fiber. And that's what the bacteria eat. Like they need fiber if they are going to eat and be healthy. So if you're not giving them that, if you are just, you know, stuffing yourself with protein, and often stuffing yourself to the point, you know, this is my experience with a lot of women, stuffing themselves to the point of eating so much protein that they don't have any room for Fruits and vegetables and and whole grains, you know, high quality carbs, there's just no room for it in their stomach. Well, their gut is not getting any food really. They're not getting fiber. and what we know is that your gut health is attached 100% to every aspect of your health. That's why scientists call it your second brain, right? So if your gut health is suffering, then every aspect of your health, your immunity, your ⁓ mental clarity, your emotions, your energy, all of that will suffer. So that is the number one thing that I would tell people is to increase their fiber.
speaker-1: Okay, that is so interesting. And do you recommend just I I know you mentioned like legumes, whole grains. ⁓ there's there's also supplements for fiber. Do you do you recommend like psyllium husk like the f fiber supplements or or should it just be through food?
speaker-0: So unless your doctor is telling you to take a fiber supplement, I would say don't take one. Like get it from Whole Foods. And fi fiber supplements, ⁓ they often can have a negative sort of effect. I would say though, if you're taking one, psyllium husk is the way to go. But I would not take one unless your doctor is telling you specifically that you need to take one. Yeah, get it from get it from Whole Foods. And you can you can get plenty. You really can. If you if you are Yeah, if you are eating what I like to call fiber first, and I actually ⁓ you know, this was ⁓ this was something I was gonna mention. I created a little mini course, it's on my website, ⁓ for how to eat fiber first. So this is just how to eat in a way that you are getting fiber and protein at the same time. And and part of that is that it it's just it's not separate, right? Like you don't have to think Okay, I have to have my protein and fiber. If you're eating plants, like primarily plants, you are going to get both. You're going to get fiber and you're going to get protein. You need to give it a little bit more intention. Like you need to make sure that you're having protein rich ⁓ foods from the you know from plants. yeah, sorry, did I ask did I answer your question? I'm thinking back to what
speaker-1: Yeah. I was also wondering because in the beginning of the podcast you were talking about making the decision to go plant based. And to your point, I think because of the emphasis on protein, I've definitely heard from from some people, like I I've heard yeah, plant based is good. I've also heard y no plant base is not good, you're not getting enough nutrition. What could you share with us your your thoughts on that?
speaker-0: For sure, yeah. So, you know, before I went exclusively plant based, ⁓ which, you know, I say that with the caveat that every once in a while I do ⁓ maybe I'll eat an egg or something, okay? Okay. So I I don't wanna I don't know, I don't wanna put off an air that like I'm doing it all the time, a hundred percent of the time, but basically I am. Maybe about ninety eight percent. Yeah. But yeah, so when I Actually years back, after I'd begin after I'd begun improving my gut health, experienced amazing changes, ⁓ it it started to go backwards again and and I didn't know what was going on, but I'm like pretty clear that for one thing I was getting into my forties, okay, and things just happen when you're a woman getting into your forties. And the other thing was I I was really overtraining and and still do. I mean, let's be honest, like I know that I overtrained
speaker-1: Yeah.
speaker-0: Yeah, I mean it was and I was training for my first hundred mile or ⁓ hundred mile run. So I was doing I was doing a lot a lot of overtraining. So things were going backwards, but I wasn't connecting the dots. And I I talked to the dietitian one day and I asked her, I said, I said, I don't like want to go plant based, but I'm wondering if it's something that I should try. And she said, Lauren, I'm so glad you asked me, do not do that. And I was like, ⁓ okay. Why not? And she said, because people who go plant based are squishy. And I was like, well, I I mean I don't want to be squishy. She said she said people, she said, vegans who are not squishy are that way because they were already you know, muscular and then they went vegan. And I was like, well, okay, like I don't to be squishy. And so I completely dished the idea.
speaker-1: Okay.
speaker-0: You know, fast forward, I'm in a place where I am super slow. Like I I've never been fast as an athlete. Like I'm always middle to the back of the pack and I'm totally fine with that. But I was like really getting slow. ⁓ like to the point where I just yeah, I mean it w it was it was not myself and I knew that it wasn't myself. And also I just didn't feel good. Like I would get sick often. I was having a hard time sleeping again. you know, I these female like health issues. I would get them repetitively and I I was just so tired of it. And and in the midst of that I came across an another ultra endurance athlete. ⁓ his name is Rich Roll. And he has done some incredible things. Like, you know, there was one week where he did the equivalent of five Iron Man events, like within seven days time, right? He was on the cover of Men's Health magazine. I mean you can find him you know on like whenever that issue came out, he is not squishy. Like he's the opposite of squishy. And he is one, I mean he's he's ⁓ vegan and and he is one that was not, you know, super well trained and then he went vegan. He actually was super unhealthy, got totally winded by just walking up steps and he was like, I gotta change something. And that's when he went plant based and got super healthy and he's on the cover of Men's Health magazine. And I'm like, he is not squishy. And he's an ultra endurance athlete. Okay, what But I was still like, okay, plant-based is that's that's still too restrictive. And women are at risk for being restrictive. I mean, that's the first thing that women do is find something to restrict, right? Right. And so I was like, I cannot support this message. But then I just woke up one day and I was like, I'm so sick of feeling this way. I'm gonna try it. I'm gonna go plant based for three weeks. just to give it a little time. I was like, I don't care if I have to eat nothing but cucumbers, if I feel better.
speaker-1: Mm.
speaker-0: Then that's what we're doing. I don't care if family gatherings are weird, because I do live in central Louisiana. It's not, you know, a thing here. we you know, we like jamble eye on things like that. ⁓ you know, I was like, I don't care if I have to cook two different meals for me and my husband. I mean he does cook too, it's not like that's totally up to me, but ⁓ you know, I was like, I don't care.
speaker-1: Yeah. Okay.
speaker-0: Like I just I'm gonna try it and I wanna feel better. And so I was determined. I like, I'm gonna like this. I don't care what I what I eat, I'm going to like it. And that's kind of the headspace I went into. I I'm gonna like every single thing that I eat. And so, you know, I was on this really like ⁓ you know, that determined path for a few days. And after a few days I was like, Okay, I actually do like this. Like this is not bad. I mean you just you you just get used to not having a few things, right? Almost like your body just needs to detox for a little bit. And I'd say for the next three weeks, every once in a while I had a moment where I was like, man, I kind of you know, I really miss having cheese. That would be nice, but it's really okay. Like, I was fine. And then I began sorry, let me back up. I'd say after two weeks, that's the moment where I said, you know what, I do feel different. And I'm not I'm not sure how I feel about this yet, but I feel different. And I kept going with it. Four weeks in, I remember the day that I said, ⁓ my god, I finally feel like myself again like this is me this is Lauren this is how Lauren feels and it felt so good it was so empowering it was so freeing but then two weeks after that so six weeks after going plant based I remember the day that I said I don't just feel like myself anymore like I feel immortal like I feel like I can do anything and that is the moment I mean from then on I actually tripled my training I actually started building my business more I ⁓ that's when I went back to school. So I'm getting my doctor of science right now. It was like my I did that and like talk about the opposite of restriction, right? I didn't feel like I was restricting in what I was eating, and now my life was the opposite. Like I never had to have that moment where I said, Well, I probably just need to cut back, you know, like I'm too stressed. No, actually like I had so much more energy. It felt like the inflammation and stress just melted. Like I don't know a better word. to say then it just melted away and I had the capacity to do just about anything that I wanted to do.
speaker-1: ⁓ my goodness. Wow. So it sounds like you literally listened to your gut. Exactly. And you you got your gut healthy and then you
speaker-0: Yeah.
speaker-1: followed your intuition, followed the pull to go plant based and just allowing yourself to to take it baby step by baby step, which is what I recommend when people are following the pull, that they don't have to make a huge life changing decision. Like you you didn't just say, Okay, I'm gonna be vegan for the rest of my life. You were like, Okay, let me try this out for a few weeks, let me try okay, let me try this out for a month and month and a half and you kept going, which is which is and it sounds like it was extremely life changing for you. What would you say to people who are maybe not quite ready to to go full on plant based, but are interested in in possibly exploring it?
speaker-0: Yeah, for sure. ⁓ so one thing is, you know, for sure you can check out that mini course that I made. ⁓ which, you know, i I would say that I give a framework. It's not like a meal plan, I give a framework for how to ⁓ look at each meal and you know, what you want to look at getting in and those meals. and so, you know, if it's if if somebody wants to eat more plant based, you know, you can use that course as a stepping stone. But also, I mean, just to keep it really simple, like where can you add more plants, right? Breakfast, lunch, dinner, where can you add more? ⁓ you know, where can you substitute an animal based protein, for example? ⁓ for a ⁓ protein rich ⁓ plant source. So for example, you know, where can you take out the meat and have beans or lentils or chickpeas instead? Where can you try tofu? ⁓ my god. Okay, so you're in California, but once again I'm in Louisiana. People are very scared of tofu.
speaker-1: I mean,
speaker-0: Like I'll saute it for dinner, I'll put it in smoothies, I have soy milk and I tell people all the time, ⁓ you know, soy milk, right? Like it has about an equivalent amount of protein to dairy milk. And sorry, soy does not have fiber. I should say that. ⁓ but w where my mind is going with that is that when you have ⁓ a plant based source of protein, your body just digests it better. So you often have more room for other foods. So keeping that in mind. Soy soy milk is not a fiber source, but it is a plant-based protein. And so you have more room in your belly for things like fruits and vegetables and whole grains.
speaker-1: Yeah, okay. Yeah, well I I'm Korean and so I absolutely love tofu. I think and I've actually what my best friend she used to not like tofu, but ⁓ when I actually when we made it in our Korean traditional way, she loves it now.
speaker-0: Yeah. ⁓ that's awesome.
speaker-1: I would say that it's probably just because they they haven't they're not used to it. They haven't had it prepared in a very like if you're just gonna eat like a plain block of tofu, obviously that doesn't have much flavor. But having it having it prepared with like the right the right spices, the the right seasoning can really transform tofu. So don't knock it, go go online, try some ⁓ tofu recipes. Yeah, I really I really just love what you're sharing so much and it just again it it it really does align with the theme of follow the pull, which is not that you have to have every single thing figured out in your head and have like forty steps lined up. It it's just that one baby step forward that you're feeling pulled toward.
speaker-0: Yeah, like you know, I'll I'll admit I I am I I can be kind of extreme and so when I made the decision, like I changed overnight. but you're and so I I certainly felt the benefits of it faster. But you're right, my mindset at the beginning was I'll try this for three weeks. It wasn't I'm doing this for life, right? So that that did make a difference. yeah, and you know, one thing I I realize even more so now about how much I really was following the pull. I mean I think now that you know I'm in school and so I'm I'm learning to take a much more critical look at the research that's out there and it's interesting how when I believed that eating plant based was restrictive, you can find the research that will support that belief. But after I followed my intuition and said I don't care like I'm just trying this. Somebody else did it and it worked for him so let me just see if works for me. Once I did that and believed now that plant base is good for you, you can find the research to support that. And that's kind of disturbing that you can find whatever research you would like to find based on your own beliefs. And it's just, you know, for one thing, it's because we're human. So even researchers are human and they're biased. And there I mean, there are, you know, forty different places ⁓ where you can introduce bias into a research study. So You know, I'm not saying that research is bad. I rely on it. And yet, ⁓ I I don't think it's the end all be all. Like I think that you have to trust your intuition. There are politics and money ⁓ that go into research and it biases the results.
speaker-1: Yeah. It's going a as we keep on saying, it's following your gut because like I I believe that for some people plant based is the way for them. And I believe that for other people it may not be the way for them. But it's it's allowing yourself to explore and to follow your intuition. And there was actually this study that Where they they took these women who were house cleaners, or actually they were hotel cleaners I should say, and they believed that they were not getting enough exercise. So but when they were told actually you're doing a lot of exercise in your job, their their vitals act like their cholesterol went down, like all of their health vitals actually improved. So I I do really believe what you're saying. Like the the power of what you believe is gonna affect the efficacy of whatever you you are implementing for yourself.
speaker-0: Yeah.
speaker-1: Yeah, so it it's right, like it's it's your following your gut, your intuition and and what you believe to be true for you. But Lauren, thank you so much for this time. It was it was so great being with you today and hearing your journey. How what's the best way for people to find out more about you?
speaker-0: Sure. So ⁓ my website is lauren b.callahan.com. The B is for my middle name, Brianna. So lauren bcallahan.com and then my Instagram is Lauren B ⁓ Callahan. Yeah. So yeah, super simple.
speaker-1: Okay. Okay, thank you so much for being with us today.
speaker-0: Yeah, thank you, Wendy. I appreciate you having me on.
speaker-1: Hi, I am Wendy Kim, and welcome to my podcast, Follow the Pull. As an accomplished speaker, author, and entrepreneur, my career has been more meaningful and impactful than I could have ever imagined. And it's simply because I relentlessly follow the pull. I listen to my intuition versus relying on other people telling me what to do. The pull is what life is telling you that you truly desire. What is in alignment for you. And when you move in that direction, you Can't help but have what you want. Every week on my show, I will provide the tools and tips along with interviews of people who are successful and thriving, who have learned to follow the pull. Welcome to the Follow the Pull podcast. ⁓ I'm Wendy Kim, your host, and I'm so excited to be here today with Lauren Callahan. And I'm just going start off by introducing her. She's an integrative wellness consultant and speaker, former therapist, an ultra-endurance athlete who helps high-performing women support their bodies so they can sustain the life they're already leading. As an internal family systems practitioner and former therapist, she understands the emotional and behavioral patterns that drive high achievers. And I'm so excited to be with you here today. Lauren, welcome to the Follow the Pull podcast.
speaker-0: Thank you, Wendy. Thank you for inviting me on.
speaker-1: Yeah, it's so good to have you here. So I like to start off the podcast asking what listeners are going to get from listening to you today that's going to make a difference in their lives.
speaker-0: Yeah. So one of maybe the biggest ⁓ experiments for me in following my intuition, following that poll, ⁓ was leaning toward a more plant-based diet. And so I've done ⁓ gut health and nutrition c consulting for a while, and I've always been the one to say ⁓ eat anything, no restricting, no restricting. And I would still say don't restrict. ⁓ but to me I I felt like ⁓ following a plant-based diet was very restrictive and I received A lot of advice that pretty much said the same thing. And so, ⁓ you know, eventually went down this path where I felt like I needed to trust or at least experiment with my own intuition here, and decided to try a more plant-based diet. And it was one of the best decisions that I've ever made. ⁓ for my health, energy, athletic performance, hormones, all the things, right? And so fast forward, now that this has very much become a part of my life, I realize it is not hard, but it does take some relearning. And so part of what I do now and what I would love to offer to your listeners as some takeaways is just ⁓ some simple tools in how they can implement that in their lives if that is a path that they feel feel a pull toward.
speaker-1: Okay, great, Lauren. Look I'm looking forward to to learning more about that and sharing that with our listeners. ⁓ before we get into that, I wanna learn more just about your background and and how you got here. I wanna ask, how has following the pull, how has listening to your your gut or your intuition made a difference in your life?
speaker-0: Yeah, it ⁓ I I don't know how much more life changing it could possibly be. I mean it's really like, you know, how much of a of a different person than you used to be can you be now? Like that that is what it feels like for me. I mean and and very much to you know, very deep, you know, spiritual even kind of level where I'd say for you know the majority of my life, I mean I'm 45 now, so I think I can safely say at least two-thirds of my life. ⁓ I did not trust my intuition. I didn't trust ⁓ that pull that I would feel. ⁓ and and really that came from you know very core beliefs around I'm bad. If we could keep it really simple, right? ⁓ that I am bad. I need something or someone or an energy or spirit or God or something outside of me ⁓ to make me whole. and that event that that got to a point where that did not work and and I made some very drastic changes. I mean, for one, I went completely to the other side of the world. Okay. I live in Louisiana Louisiana now. I used to live in Canada for a bit. ⁓ I went all the way to the other side of the world. in Bangladesh. I mean and I brought my two kids. They they were ⁓ two and four at the time. I mean the you know, really drastic kind of things. ⁓ and that really began a process for me of trusting my intuition. Came to a point at some point, ⁓ Really it was I I started doing a yoga training. This was really kind of the start of any sort of ⁓ physical and maybe even real spiritual fitness for me if we can use that term. ⁓ and and really had this moment of believing I'm not bad, I'm actually good and whole and perfect to the core. And maybe there are things that I need to shed off, you know, as all of us have. But really to the core, we are whole and we can trust our intuition, we can trust the you know, that pull that. we feel and just trust that it's right. ⁓ and that really is okay. And so that really began a path of me learning to listen to that inner voice. And I say voice, but also that's a very somatic thing. Sometimes it's not a voice, but you know something in your body. You feel a poem in your body. So when I say listen to that voice, I mean that very broadly. But that really is what began that process of just trusting that ⁓ I could go with what I felt, what I what I heard, what I knew to be right.
speaker-1: Yeah, wow, okay. So I I hear that you felt pulled to actually go from Louisiana to Banglades.
speaker-0: Yes. Yeah, I did.
speaker-1: Could you could you walk us through a little bit of what what what was going on in your mind, in your heart, and your gut as as you were making that that decision and what how ultimately did you have the courage to do that?
speaker-0: Yeah, I'd say a little bit of it was the way some circumstances strangely fell. ⁓ so some really unique kind of coincidences kind of came into play. But I mean, honestly, you know, if anybody called it a midlife crisis, that would be very fair to say. I wouldn't argue with that, although I don't really feel that it's that way, but it certainly looks that way. Really like I just grew up with ⁓ you know, I I grew up in in Louisiana, right? Like Bible belt, very conservative kind of Southern Baptist Christian, which is not a b a bad thing, but I I'm just saying that that came with a certain amount of experiences and beliefs. ⁓ you know, there was a certain amount of abuse that I experienced as a kid and so you know, part of the ways of being that I learned out of that was that I I needed to be good and and do the good thing. ⁓ do things that ⁓ you know, I I don't know, good is maybe just the the best way to describe it. And so ⁓ I learned to not follow ⁓ my heart in a lot of circumstances. And I think it just got to a point where I I had too many questions, I had too many frustrations. ⁓ I I didn't I didn't feel like a human being anymore. It didn't feel like I ⁓ I I maybe I just felt very trapped and and n I am not saying that that was like any person outside of me that was making me so. I mean I think just internally I felt very trapped and and did not know just how to be myself. And and I think you know there there were some circumstances, you know, up until that point I ⁓ you know, there are international child development organizations and I had always wanted to ⁓ you know, be a part of those and ⁓ my ex husband and I we did give ⁓ to some organizations like that and we happened to be supporting kids from Bangladesh and so we would write letters and I was very, very just very interested in their lives. I loved hearing from them. I loved you know, learning about their experiences and and it was one of those things I just randomly met somebody who was from Canada and They were working for Chevron, but so they were living for three years in Bangladesh and they were like, You can come stay. I mean it was it was weirdly coincidental, like some opportunities that arose. ⁓ so I I guess maybe the path to getting there w it felt a little smooth at first. It was kinda crazy once I got there.
speaker-1: Yeah, w okay, tell us what it was like to sit there.
speaker-0: ⁓ you know, so I was there for a year and a half. you know, I I want to give you the end of a story before I tell you some of the things that happened. The end of the story now, you know, end quote unquote. My my ex husband and I we actually get along very well. We co parent very well. We're I mean, honestly, we're kind of like a model as far as like positive co parenting. But at that point it was the act it was the exact opposite. So, ⁓ you know, very, very awful ⁓ you know, separation that we were. through during that time. It was not positive in any way. so so there was that. And but there was also this year and a half time period where, you know, I was the kind of person I didn't want to show up somewhere and ⁓ live in one of the most impoverished countries on the planet and live like a white American. I just I didn't, you know, I wanted to live as one of the people there as much as possible. And I would say for the first half of the time that I was there, that was that went really well. but and and I did really well with acclimating to the culture and learning the language and just really trying to take on their culture as much as possible and just be one of them. And and I would say about halfway through it got to a point where I I just realized that that goes to a point. And if I was really gonna progress beyond that, you really need to be there for a long time or just do a better job than I was doing. But I really felt like I came up against a lot of barriers as far as like maybe the charm was over. I don't know if they ex maybe had expectations of me as an American. And you know, I I felt in a sense like I was not ⁓ yeah, I don't know, like they had different expectations of what an American would be like. And ⁓ yeah, I I felt like the charm wore off and it was hard acclimating and internally I began to have a lot of resistance ⁓ to their ways. ⁓ and I think that I don't know, I think that's kind of a normal part of the acculturation process sometimes. And if I'd spent there, you know, if I'd spent more time there that probably would have looked a lot different. but I ended up leaving just the circumstances with my ex husband and my kids and what we needed to do to work out custody and so came back to Louisiana and began that process of of healing and reforging a very positive relationship with him. You know, and again, I mean it it worked. It was hard work and we ⁓ yeah, it's we do fantastic co parenting, honestly, today.
speaker-1: Yeah, well, I g I get that to some degree because I I lived in Japan for five years and it it is a different experience being what we would call or what they would call gaijin, which is basically foreigner. And it's it's different when you're coming from a different culture and trying to integrate versus being more of I guess a novelty if you will. So that makes a lot of sense. Was was that time would you say that that was like a reset for you? Or what what did you learn from that time?
speaker-0: You know, I think a truer word would be something like more of a breakdown. ⁓
speaker-1: Okay. Yeah.
speaker-0: really like it it I mean on all levels it just got to where maybe at the beginning I really felt like I had like this new sense of purpose and this new identity and you know felt like I was really fitting in and could like build a life. ⁓ and then that began to break down and so I I think on all levels, like with religion that was actually a pretty huge one. ⁓ certainly, you know, with my relationship that was that was happening. you know socially. Right. ⁓ had been building ⁓ you know friendships over there but was was coming against that block and so I I felt like on all levels there was there was just a breakdown and I was really feeling it to my core and I'd say by the time I came back, ⁓ especially because it ended with me not having my kids. ⁓ and so when I came back, I mean I I had a lot of work to do ⁓ over the next year. And it was just because of the awful circumstances around our divorce that I ended up not having my kids for about a year and a half. I mean that's like the hands down The most traumatic thing in my life. Yeah. ⁓ so really like I I came out of that barely being able to think straight. ⁓ so reset, yes, that is true. I mean, because there truly was a reset on all levels, but I would say that it started with an absolute breakdown. ⁓ but I I don't think that that was a bad thing. I mean, I think that anybody who's experienced ⁓ growth after a breakdown would would agree, right? Like some of the worst breakdowns you can experience are the times where you actually get reforged and and I I say get reforged as if it's like a passive thing. Maybe that you know that's a little bit true, but it's also very active, right? Like you some of it like a lot of it is grace and then a lot of it is like you choosing to grow after a difficult experience. And ⁓ honestly I'm so thankful. I'm so thankful for that breakdown.
speaker-1: So what okay, ⁓ so you have this breakdown and then how did what happened after that?
speaker-0: Yeah, so the next you know when I when I got back to Louisiana I'd say the next year and a half, ⁓ I well, okay, let's put it in perspective. I I came back from Bangladesh without my kids and then I had a half full suitcase and I have five I have five hundred dollars. That is like all that I had. ⁓ thankfully I was able to go stay with my parents ⁓ for about a month. you know, got a job, had tons of expenses because of the divorce and I lived ⁓ in a like okay I remember I just come from the most impoverished country on the planet one of them I came back I lived I lived the most impoverished year that I've ever experienced I mean because any every penny I had I had like I had to save it to go like to see my kids and that sort of thing. I worked two jobs at a you know I was a teacher I worked at a coffee shop every day I ate peanut butter sandwiches and carrots
speaker-1: I can't.
speaker-0: I mean I got pink eye one day and I just thought it was gonna be the death of me because I'd have to lose a day of work. I'd like I didn't have insurance, I'd have to pay for the doctor. You can't fake it. I mean it's not like a fever, you just wait till it passes. Like you have to get medication to treat pink eye, you have to pay for that. I mean it cost my entire month's food budget. So, you know, again, coming back to like I I could barely think straight for that first year and a half, but I was, you know, determined to survive and to build a positive life ⁓ for the sake of my kids, right? and that's what I did and we slowly started crawling out of the hole that I felt I was in at the moment, and reforging a very positive life in a way that I just never felt like I had really experienced. I mean, not that I like I had beautiful experiences when I was younger, so I don't wanna undermine that, but I had a lot more ⁓ choice and freedom, even just internally now, as far as what I was going to believe and the life that I was going to build and the relationships that I wanted to create. And that was a beautiful thing.
speaker-1: Wow. Okay. So it sounds like you were going through a really difficult time. how how did intuition play a role in you, I guess, digging yourself yeah, I think you said digging yourself out of that hole to create like a a beautiful life that you you have now?
speaker-0: You know, I I think that one way that it played a part, ⁓ I I made a decision that nobody in the world agreed with. So when I came back and and my ex husband and I were, you know, trying to get things together, right? On like f We were trying to build trust because we had none at that point and create something positive for our kids ⁓ in the midst of having no trust, right? ⁓ well remember I came back with nothing and but we had we had a divorce to do which cost money in America, I'm sure anywhere, but ⁓ and I had none. I had kind people offer to ⁓ you know, let me use a credit card or something like that so that I could hire a lawyer and I wasn't willing to do it. It was already So ugly. you know, the you know, there are different lawyers, like some are interested in peace and some are not, and he had one that was not. And and I don't believe that was him. I mean, I I understand why he did it, but because of the lack of trust between us. But what I knew intuitively was that the second I hired a lawyer, for one thing, I was putting somebody else in debt, in addition to myself, but also I was going down a path. where we were gonna fight, like we were just gonna fight and we were gonna be bitter and there was gonna be hatred. And I had experienced the results of that as a child, like that ongoing bitterness and hatred resulting from a divorce. And I didn't want that in my life. And so I went into court with no lawyer. made that decision, I'm not doing it. I'm just gonna go represent myself. And anybody in the world would say that's a very bad decision. I would tell anybody in the world now that is a really bad decision but I did it because I just felt like I I wanted something different. I wanted to raise that white flag ⁓ and say, let I'm here I am, here I am, let's build peace. And I'll tell you, I got murdered in court. Like it was really bad. Like that was one of the reasons why everything ended up costing so much money and had to save every penny just to like see my kids for two hours on a Saturday. That's how it went down ⁓ for about a year. ⁓ it was really bad. But what I can tell you is that move that I made was actually pr I I I believe one of the most important steps in building trust, I think that it completely I think that it shook things up. Like who does that, right? And I think ⁓ it communicated my willingness to just be peaceful in whatever way possible and we built on that. We really did. Like we began the process of just creating peace and building trust in a way that I I I mean, people do it. I I I feel like I don't see a ton of it. But I I know that people do
speaker-1: Yeah, I I I guess that like you you trusted your gut when everybody else was like, What are you doing? That's not a very good idea. And even maybe like after you made that choice, you might have been questioning, okay, was that a good decision? 'Cause here I am financially like in d you know, disarray, but ultimately you trusting your gut and your intuition led to you having this trust and having this foundation that you could build on such that now you and your husband are able to co parent well when before if if you had gone to court with a lawyer it it would have probably become just an ongoing battle.
speaker-0: Yeah, just completely ugly. Yeah, I think that ⁓ I I think that ⁓ the move that I make, even though that I made, even though initially like it really was horrible. Like I I mean that was I don't even know how I made it through that year. Other than again, just survival and and wanting like I needed my kids. But ⁓ but really I think that that move that I made was was necessary to disarm ⁓ husband. And and again, I mean there you know, that was that was my fault as well. I created distrust. I mean, we did it for each other. So ⁓ yeah, so I'm glad it's intuition.
speaker-1: Yeah. So in terms of your talk a bit more about your career and and how that came to fruition and and what what you're doing now.
speaker-0: Sure. So ⁓ I eventually I once things got very settled and we were both you know, my ex and I were building very positive lives, ⁓ and we could be normal people again. ⁓ I went back to school and I got my I got my degree ⁓ so that I could be a therapist. And so I was a practicing therapist, ⁓ for a while and I mean it was wonderful. I loved it. And Alongside that, ⁓ I was also training to run my first marathon. I was never you know, I had not been athletic in a very long time and very little so and like high school. But ⁓ yeah, so I picked up running ⁓ with who's now my husband. We were running together. But I always had trouble running a marathon and and really for four years I tried to do it and I never couldn't do it. I was like, I'm healthy, I'm like I eat healthy, what is the deal? Like I train, this should not be an issue. And ⁓ but I just always had some kind of issue with inflammation and recovery. And so I basically went down this rabbit hole of gut health. And I would have just assumed that my gut health was fine because I ate healthy and exercised, that sort of thing. Well, I got my gut health tested and it was horrible. It was like I got an F. If you could put a grade on it, I got an F. And and and so basically I went on this six month mission to improve my gut health naturally. And I did. ⁓ and I watched those numbers go up. felt better and at the end of that six months I actually did run my first marathon. I finally did it. ⁓ but not only that, I like just a couple of months after that, I ran my first fifty mile Ultra. And then a couple miles a couple months after that, I completed my first Iron Man. And then I did another fifty mile Ultra and then I did another Iron Man and then I did a hundred K run, which is sixty two miles. ⁓ and that was all within one year. So certainly to say that improving my gut health change things ⁓ you know energy wise and with inflammation and recovery ⁓ would be an understatement but what also really intrigued me in that process was that as I improved my gut health, so did my mood. So did my sleep ⁓ so did my you know like gastrointestinal health so gas and all the things right you know my immunity like I never got sick anymore And and I could see, you know, again, these numbers and my gut health tests reflecting that, but I but I felt it. And especially the one on mood, that's the one that, you know, remember I was a therapist. That's what intrigued me the most. I was like, I I could see, you know, I had really low serotonin. and I had not known that serotonin is produced in your gut, ninety percent of it. And so just by improving your gut health, you can just naturally up your serotonin. ⁓ And so I experienced this process and then you know, it was just completely amazed. So when people would come into my office when I was a therapist, of course I want to help them with trauma and you know, emotions and thoughts and all the things, but I wanted to say, can we look at your gut? I feel like this could be really easier.
speaker-1: Yeah.
speaker-0: And so, yeah, I mean I I love therapy, still believe in therapy, but I I just was so amazed at how you could really take the work out of the process of improving your mental health by improving your gut health that I eventually I I made the transition ⁓ to being a nutrition consultant so I could help people with their gut health.
speaker-1: Wow, okay, that that is so powerful. So practically speaking, if if I wanted to just start improving my gut health today And I I know there's not it's it's not necessarily like I I've actually done some work with with personally with my gut health and I actually worked with a gut health specialist, but so I know it's not just like a quick fix, take a pill, that kind of thing. But if there were like a few steps that I could start taking today, what what would you what would you recommend those steps be?
speaker-0: Yeah, so yeah, I'll reiterate what you said. It's it's very ⁓ it's individual. you know, every every person's gut is as unique as they are. But yeah, there are some things that tend to be pretty standard. And ⁓ what I noticed in my work as I continue to do gut health and nutrition consulting was that the number one thing every single time was the same and and that was to increase your fiber. ⁓ eat more fiber. And and I'm realizing maybe it maybe within the last year ⁓ actually how important that message is. ⁓ I think that I was somebody already that ⁓ tended to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and you get fiber from plants. So fruits, vegetables, whole grains, ⁓ beans, lentils and chickpeas. you know that's where you get fiber from and I was already someone who tended to eat a lot of that. ⁓ but you know, now it's you know, I I think especially with women, ⁓ in midlife and beyond, ⁓ we are so inundated with this message of you need more protein. Okay, you're not feeling good, you you need more protein. Your hormones are off, are you getting your protein? ⁓ and that's not wrong. That's not wrong. Like you you do need your protein, but the effect of it, I think, is that women are ⁓ a lot of times overdoing it on the protein or just not getting it from high quality sources. So too many animal based animal based products and things like protein shakes, none of which have fiber in them. Some protein shakes may add fiber, but also protein shakes can be they can often be disruptive to your gut. And once again women are like, Well, I thought I I hear this all the time, I thought this is what I needed to do. Like I thought, like I don't even like the protein shake. I just thought that I needed to have it. ⁓ When really there are some very simple things you can do instead. But but all that to say, you know, really most Americans do get enough protein, but like ninety seven percent of Americans get maybe half of the amount of fiber that they need. And so the reason that that is important for one is just because, you know, people are like, Doesn't fiber just, you know, make you poop I mean it does, and that's not a bad thing. I think that some people don't realize that, you know, how important it is that you're doing that every day at least once. Yeah. ⁓ but you know the thing is your your gut is mostly made of bacteria. Like there are more bacteria than human cells in your gut and those bacteria need to eat something. Most of the bacteria live in your large intestine where most of the food you have eaten, the nutrients have already been absorbed. What's left of what you eat that makes it down to your large intestine is usually fiber. And that's what the bacteria eat. Like they need fiber if they are going to eat and be healthy. So if you're not giving them that, if you are just, you know, stuffing yourself with protein, and often stuffing yourself to the point, you know, this is my experience with a lot of women, stuffing themselves to the point of eating so much protein that they don't have any room for Fruits and vegetables and and whole grains, you know, high quality carbs, there's just no room for it in their stomach. Well, their gut is not getting any food really. They're not getting fiber. and what we know is that your gut health is attached 100% to every aspect of your health. That's why scientists call it your second brain, right? So if your gut health is suffering, then every aspect of your health, your immunity, your ⁓ mental clarity, your emotions, your energy, all of that will suffer. So that is the number one thing that I would tell people is to increase their fiber.
speaker-1: Okay, that is so interesting. And do you recommend just I I know you mentioned like legumes, whole grains. ⁓ there's there's also supplements for fiber. Do you do you recommend like psyllium husk like the f fiber supplements or or should it just be through food?
speaker-0: So unless your doctor is telling you to take a fiber supplement, I would say don't take one. Like get it from Whole Foods. And fi fiber supplements, ⁓ they often can have a negative sort of effect. I would say though, if you're taking one, psyllium husk is the way to go. But I would not take one unless your doctor is telling you specifically that you need to take one. Yeah, get it from get it from Whole Foods. And you can you can get plenty. You really can. If you if you are Yeah, if you are eating what I like to call fiber first, and I actually ⁓ you know, this was ⁓ this was something I was gonna mention. I created a little mini course, it's on my website, ⁓ for how to eat fiber first. So this is just how to eat in a way that you are getting fiber and protein at the same time. And and part of that is that it it's just it's not separate, right? Like you don't have to think Okay, I have to have my protein and fiber. If you're eating plants, like primarily plants, you are going to get both. You're going to get fiber and you're going to get protein. You need to give it a little bit more intention. Like you need to make sure that you're having protein rich ⁓ foods from the you know from plants. yeah, sorry, did I ask did I answer your question? I'm thinking back to what
speaker-1: Yeah. I was also wondering because in the beginning of the podcast you were talking about making the decision to go plant based. And to your point, I think because of the emphasis on protein, I've definitely heard from from some people, like I I've heard yeah, plant based is good. I've also heard y no plant base is not good, you're not getting enough nutrition. What could you share with us your your thoughts on that?
speaker-0: For sure, yeah. So, you know, before I went exclusively plant based, ⁓ which, you know, I say that with the caveat that every once in a while I do ⁓ maybe I'll eat an egg or something, okay? Okay. So I I don't wanna I don't know, I don't wanna put off an air that like I'm doing it all the time, a hundred percent of the time, but basically I am. Maybe about ninety eight percent. Yeah. But yeah, so when I Actually years back, after I'd begin after I'd begun improving my gut health, experienced amazing changes, ⁓ it it started to go backwards again and and I didn't know what was going on, but I'm like pretty clear that for one thing I was getting into my forties, okay, and things just happen when you're a woman getting into your forties. And the other thing was I I was really overtraining and and still do. I mean, let's be honest, like I know that I overtrained
speaker-1: Yeah.
speaker-0: Yeah, I mean it was and I was training for my first hundred mile or ⁓ hundred mile run. So I was doing I was doing a lot a lot of overtraining. So things were going backwards, but I wasn't connecting the dots. And I I talked to the dietitian one day and I asked her, I said, I said, I don't like want to go plant based, but I'm wondering if it's something that I should try. And she said, Lauren, I'm so glad you asked me, do not do that. And I was like, ⁓ okay. Why not? And she said, because people who go plant based are squishy. And I was like, well, I I mean I don't want to be squishy. She said she said people, she said, vegans who are not squishy are that way because they were already you know, muscular and then they went vegan. And I was like, well, okay, like I don't to be squishy. And so I completely dished the idea.
speaker-1: Okay.
speaker-0: You know, fast forward, I'm in a place where I am super slow. Like I I've never been fast as an athlete. Like I'm always middle to the back of the pack and I'm totally fine with that. But I was like really getting slow. ⁓ like to the point where I just yeah, I mean it w it was it was not myself and I knew that it wasn't myself. And also I just didn't feel good. Like I would get sick often. I was having a hard time sleeping again. you know, I these female like health issues. I would get them repetitively and I I was just so tired of it. And and in the midst of that I came across an another ultra endurance athlete. ⁓ his name is Rich Roll. And he has done some incredible things. Like, you know, there was one week where he did the equivalent of five Iron Man events, like within seven days time, right? He was on the cover of Men's Health magazine. I mean you can find him you know on like whenever that issue came out, he is not squishy. Like he's the opposite of squishy. And he is one, I mean he's he's ⁓ vegan and and he is one that was not, you know, super well trained and then he went vegan. He actually was super unhealthy, got totally winded by just walking up steps and he was like, I gotta change something. And that's when he went plant based and got super healthy and he's on the cover of Men's Health magazine. And I'm like, he is not squishy. And he's an ultra endurance athlete. Okay, what But I was still like, okay, plant-based is that's that's still too restrictive. And women are at risk for being restrictive. I mean, that's the first thing that women do is find something to restrict, right? Right. And so I was like, I cannot support this message. But then I just woke up one day and I was like, I'm so sick of feeling this way. I'm gonna try it. I'm gonna go plant based for three weeks. just to give it a little time. I was like, I don't care if I have to eat nothing but cucumbers, if I feel better.
speaker-1: Mm.
speaker-0: Then that's what we're doing. I don't care if family gatherings are weird, because I do live in central Louisiana. It's not, you know, a thing here. we you know, we like jamble eye on things like that. ⁓ you know, I was like, I don't care if I have to cook two different meals for me and my husband. I mean he does cook too, it's not like that's totally up to me, but ⁓ you know, I was like, I don't care.
speaker-1: Yeah. Okay.
speaker-0: Like I just I'm gonna try it and I wanna feel better. And so I was determined. I like, I'm gonna like this. I don't care what I what I eat, I'm going to like it. And that's kind of the headspace I went into. I I'm gonna like every single thing that I eat. And so, you know, I was on this really like ⁓ you know, that determined path for a few days. And after a few days I was like, Okay, I actually do like this. Like this is not bad. I mean you just you you just get used to not having a few things, right? Almost like your body just needs to detox for a little bit. And I'd say for the next three weeks, every once in a while I had a moment where I was like, man, I kind of you know, I really miss having cheese. That would be nice, but it's really okay. Like, I was fine. And then I began sorry, let me back up. I'd say after two weeks, that's the moment where I said, you know what, I do feel different. And I'm not I'm not sure how I feel about this yet, but I feel different. And I kept going with it. Four weeks in, I remember the day that I said, ⁓ my god, I finally feel like myself again like this is me this is Lauren this is how Lauren feels and it felt so good it was so empowering it was so freeing but then two weeks after that so six weeks after going plant based I remember the day that I said I don't just feel like myself anymore like I feel immortal like I feel like I can do anything and that is the moment I mean from then on I actually tripled my training I actually started building my business more I ⁓ that's when I went back to school. So I'm getting my doctor of science right now. It was like my I did that and like talk about the opposite of restriction, right? I didn't feel like I was restricting in what I was eating, and now my life was the opposite. Like I never had to have that moment where I said, Well, I probably just need to cut back, you know, like I'm too stressed. No, actually like I had so much more energy. It felt like the inflammation and stress just melted. Like I don't know a better word. to say then it just melted away and I had the capacity to do just about anything that I wanted to do.
speaker-1: ⁓ my goodness. Wow. So it sounds like you literally listened to your gut. Exactly. And you you got your gut healthy and then you
speaker-0: Yeah.
speaker-1: followed your intuition, followed the pull to go plant based and just allowing yourself to to take it baby step by baby step, which is what I recommend when people are following the pull, that they don't have to make a huge life changing decision. Like you you didn't just say, Okay, I'm gonna be vegan for the rest of my life. You were like, Okay, let me try this out for a few weeks, let me try okay, let me try this out for a month and month and a half and you kept going, which is which is and it sounds like it was extremely life changing for you. What would you say to people who are maybe not quite ready to to go full on plant based, but are interested in in possibly exploring it?
speaker-0: Yeah, for sure. ⁓ so one thing is, you know, for sure you can check out that mini course that I made. ⁓ which, you know, i I would say that I give a framework. It's not like a meal plan, I give a framework for how to ⁓ look at each meal and you know, what you want to look at getting in and those meals. and so, you know, if it's if if somebody wants to eat more plant based, you know, you can use that course as a stepping stone. But also, I mean, just to keep it really simple, like where can you add more plants, right? Breakfast, lunch, dinner, where can you add more? ⁓ you know, where can you substitute an animal based protein, for example? ⁓ for a ⁓ protein rich ⁓ plant source. So for example, you know, where can you take out the meat and have beans or lentils or chickpeas instead? Where can you try tofu? ⁓ my god. Okay, so you're in California, but once again I'm in Louisiana. People are very scared of tofu.
speaker-1: I mean,
speaker-0: Like I'll saute it for dinner, I'll put it in smoothies, I have soy milk and I tell people all the time, ⁓ you know, soy milk, right? Like it has about an equivalent amount of protein to dairy milk. And sorry, soy does not have fiber. I should say that. ⁓ but w where my mind is going with that is that when you have ⁓ a plant based source of protein, your body just digests it better. So you often have more room for other foods. So keeping that in mind. Soy soy milk is not a fiber source, but it is a plant-based protein. And so you have more room in your belly for things like fruits and vegetables and whole grains.
speaker-1: Yeah, okay. Yeah, well I I'm Korean and so I absolutely love tofu. I think and I've actually what my best friend she used to not like tofu, but ⁓ when I actually when we made it in our Korean traditional way, she loves it now.
speaker-0: Yeah. ⁓ that's awesome.
speaker-1: I would say that it's probably just because they they haven't they're not used to it. They haven't had it prepared in a very like if you're just gonna eat like a plain block of tofu, obviously that doesn't have much flavor. But having it having it prepared with like the right the right spices, the the right seasoning can really transform tofu. So don't knock it, go go online, try some ⁓ tofu recipes. Yeah, I really I really just love what you're sharing so much and it just again it it it really does align with the theme of follow the pull, which is not that you have to have every single thing figured out in your head and have like forty steps lined up. It it's just that one baby step forward that you're feeling pulled toward.
speaker-0: Yeah, like you know, I'll I'll admit I I am I I can be kind of extreme and so when I made the decision, like I changed overnight. but you're and so I I certainly felt the benefits of it faster. But you're right, my mindset at the beginning was I'll try this for three weeks. It wasn't I'm doing this for life, right? So that that did make a difference. yeah, and you know, one thing I I realize even more so now about how much I really was following the pull. I mean I think now that you know I'm in school and so I'm I'm learning to take a much more critical look at the research that's out there and it's interesting how when I believed that eating plant based was restrictive, you can find the research that will support that belief. But after I followed my intuition and said I don't care like I'm just trying this. Somebody else did it and it worked for him so let me just see if works for me. Once I did that and believed now that plant base is good for you, you can find the research to support that. And that's kind of disturbing that you can find whatever research you would like to find based on your own beliefs. And it's just, you know, for one thing, it's because we're human. So even researchers are human and they're biased. And there I mean, there are, you know, forty different places ⁓ where you can introduce bias into a research study. So You know, I'm not saying that research is bad. I rely on it. And yet, ⁓ I I don't think it's the end all be all. Like I think that you have to trust your intuition. There are politics and money ⁓ that go into research and it biases the results.
speaker-1: Yeah. It's going a as we keep on saying, it's following your gut because like I I believe that for some people plant based is the way for them. And I believe that for other people it may not be the way for them. But it's it's allowing yourself to explore and to follow your intuition. And there was actually this study that Where they they took these women who were house cleaners, or actually they were hotel cleaners I should say, and they believed that they were not getting enough exercise. So but when they were told actually you're doing a lot of exercise in your job, their their vitals act like their cholesterol went down, like all of their health vitals actually improved. So I I do really believe what you're saying. Like the the power of what you believe is gonna affect the efficacy of whatever you you are implementing for yourself.
speaker-0: Yeah.
speaker-1: Yeah, so it it's right, like it's it's your following your gut, your intuition and and what you believe to be true for you. But Lauren, thank you so much for this time. It was it was so great being with you today and hearing your journey. How what's the best way for people to find out more about you?
speaker-0: Sure. So ⁓ my website is lauren b.callahan.com. The B is for my middle name, Brianna. So lauren bcallahan.com and then my Instagram is Lauren B ⁓ Callahan. Yeah. So yeah, super simple.
speaker-1: Okay. Okay, thank you so much for being with us today.
speaker-0: Yeah, thank you, Wendy. I appreciate you having me on.
