Just Enjoy Health with Dr. Meghan Birt

This week's podcast is a mini podcast. It's quick and short in length and is perfect for a little bit of encouragement for your diet. I'm a believer that healthy food can be fun and should be fun. We shouldn't live and struggle with deprivation and starting when eating well. We should take some time and enjoy dessert (healthy desserts) and figure out what foods make us feel satisfied, nourished and fueled all at the same time.   -Dr. Meghan

One of the most important things I do in my week is prepare for the week ahead. It may sound a little bit crazy, but setting aside time and getting purposeful about my schedule and plan helps me have the best week I can and take full advantage of all of the time available to me. When I say take full advantage of my week, I don't mean fill up every minute. I mean to plan out the week to schedule in work, rest and people that matter. When I plan an evening of rest I make sure to get my rest in my week. When my husband and I plan a date night we actually have a date that week. It also helps me get together with friends I want to stay in community with. Learn all about my 3P week and get the free download to start planning your week. (Enter your email below to get the free download directly in your inbox. High quality to use it week after week) If you use the 3P week sheet take a picture and tag it on Instagram under #3pweek This Episodes Sponsor: Beautycounter To Download the 3P Week Planner CLICK HERE 

Full Show Notes Here Sugar, the thing we are now told we should avoid. Oh, I get what you’re thinking, how do you do that? And how can something that tastes so good be so bad for you? How do you give it up for a day vs a whole life? Giving up sugar doesn’t mean giving up everything that tastes sweet. There are other things that taste sweet, right? And ways to make desserts without refined sugars and processed sugars. In this episode I talk about: What is refined sugar vs unrefined sugar What sugars to Avoid and Remove Why artificial sweeteners are even more dangerous than sugar How to read a label for sugar What unrefined and natural sweeteners to use Why I love stevia and raw honey How to start to cut out sugar in your life Read My  Sugar Blogpost for More Information Can I help you? Need a Sugar Detox?  Contact Dr. Meghan 

FULL SHOW NOTES HERE Good Morning everyone. I am so excited for you to listen to this podcast. I got to interview the amazing Kat Lee. When I was starting my podcast I made a list of women I wanted to interview for the podcast. Kat Lee was on my list because I love her podcast, The Inspired to Action Podcast, and her heart for women and one of her areas of focus, mornings. I have always inspired to be a morning person. To be completely honest I'm not the earliest riser and I don't know if that will ever change. But I do love to get my day started right. Over the last couple of years I have really been feeling the need to come up with a morning routine and one that makes me proactive to my life versus reactive to my life. Kat says she wants to wake up "for my life and not to my life". When my body was sick and I was going through a lot of healing I couldn't get out of bed early. I tried and would feel bad about failing in my attempts. As I got healthier I was able to get up consistently earlier and love it. I get up somewhere between 6:00-6:30am and get up and do a little workout and get in the Bible and plan out my day while the ideas are still flowing. It is amazing, that is the best way I can describe it. Not every day starts this way but it is how I start the majority of my days. My morning times have been so instrumental for me I wanted Kat, who is much more of an expert than I am, share with you some of her tips and encouragement that is meant to inspire you to Maximize your Mornings and start your day out right. About Kat Lee Kat Lee is a writer, speaker and podcaster. She is passionate about helping overwhelmed women become focused and purposeful so they can thrive instead of just survive. She blogs at InspiredToAction.com and helps run HelloMornings.org. Kat and her husband live in Texas with their three children. She loves running, God and Tex Mex food, not necessarily in that order. Show Notes Learn More About Hello Mornings Inspired to Action Planner Morning Kit Strength Finder

CLICK HERE FOR SHOW NOTES This episode is a mini solo episode I am putting out because I get asked a lot of questions specifically about digestion and a healthy vs and unhealthy digestive system. One of my areas of focus and specialties as a chiropractor and natural health practitioner is the digestive system. It has a lot to do with my own health story and my almost 10 years of being sick and not living to my fullest potential. In this episode you will learn about some of my favorite gut topics. How starting with healing the digestive system is the place to start in your body. What the microbiome is and why it's important. My own health story and how you can get help to heal your digestive system (once and for all). What is the microbiome? Dr. Meghan's Health Story Replay of Dr. Meghan's in-depth gut healing webinar Set up your Complimentary 20 minute phone consultation with Dr. Meghan

FULL SHOW NOTES HERE Today's episode of the podcast is all about Grocery Shopping. This is a fun topic for me because I really love the grocery store. I know that not everyone shares the same sentiment. The grocery store may be a place of frustration, temptation or give you feelings of dread. But it doesn't have to be that way. It can be fun, enjoyable and you can stick to your budget all while eating the healthy diet that makes you feel your best. Trust me on this one, we have worked hard as a family to get our grocery budget in a certain category of spending and are usually within about $25 of our estimated budget. This doesn't include any bulk purchases we make for my website recipes. Many of the recipes I make and photograph are from our nightly dinners or breakfasts and do come out of our food budget.

To Read Full Show Notes Click Here Meal Planning… it almost makes you break out in hives thinking about it, right? Where do you start and how can you make meal planning successful? Does meal planning even matter? Or maybe you meal plan but you have trouble sticking with the plan? These may sound familiar to you or you may have other challenges with meal planning. I want to share with you that I believe you can meal plan. And it is going to actually simplify your life and make meals and snacks a whole lot easier. There is a little learning curve to the art of meal planning, but you will get it. You will learn: The benefits of Meal Planning How to Meal Plan How to Meal plan if you're not that great at cooking How to find good and healthy recipes How to have ingredients on hand for your favorite go-to meals FREE Fuel Meal planning Resource Show Notes How to Meal Plan and Stick to your Meal Plan 

Full Show Notes Here Today's episode of the podcast features my friend Kate Doubler. Kate and I are "real life friends" or that's what I call us. It means that even though we both sit behind a computer and work online we actually know each other in real life. We met online and realized we not only both lived in Minnesota but about 20 minutes away from each other. We've got to spend time together a few times and we talk for hours and could talk for many more hours. The first time we met I was nervous because I was meeting this new person who I'd never even spoken to on the phone and I'm showing up at her front door. We hit it off and started talking about health, blogging, nutrition and everything in between and I looked at my phone and it was 3 hours later. We had to do our best to keep this interview a respectable length. Kate is a health rockstar! She knows her stuff, she's always researching, she's always learning and really finds JOY in learning more, trying new things, and taking care of the health of her family. The hard work means something to her; a healthy life. I think we can all learn a lot from Kate's attitude about health. You Will Learn: This was my first interview I ever recorded even though it's being released as episode 5 Where to start when you're starting to eat healthier How a well stocked whole food kitchen is important to your healthy food success How to save money by making things yourself What natural products to make at home vs what to buy (the resources to buy What Kate's working on in her health My favorite point: That your genetics aren't a life sentence! You have control over your health Bio: Kate Doubler is the author behind the blog Real Food RN. A busy working mom of three young children, she manages to balance working as a Nurse in the Emergency Department, counseling clients in her nutrition business and finding time to write about real food and essential oils. She loves experimenting in her kitchen and coming up with all sorts of new and creative real food recipes with the hopes of bettering the health of her family and anyone who follows her blog. She wholeheartedly believes that prevention is the best medicine. Find Kate on her Website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube Show Notes Kate's YouTube Channel Young Living Essential Oils Thrive Market Beautycounter: Natural Makeup and Skincare Kate and I talk about (it's the best!) The Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen Kate's Real Kitchen Shopping List

Read Full Show Notes Here Coffee. This entire episode is dedicated to everything coffee. It is not an all out research exploration of coffee, but it is a fun and informational episode that will explain how to choose a healthy cup of coffee and enjoy all things that go with coffee (like a heart to heart conversation with a good friend). PS. I will not be telling you in this episode to ditch coffee forever or that it's bad. Whew, we got that out of the way. You will Learn: If you should drink coffee and if you should not What makes coffee healthy vs unhealthy My favorite coffee drink and how you can make it at home (recipes below) or at a coffee shop The option and sometimes necessity of a coffee detox How to ditch the junk dairy creamers and find healthy cream options for your coffee Show Notes How to make a healthy cup of coffee blogpost  Newman's Own Organic Coffee K-cup My FAVORITE K-cup organic coffee (decaf option too) Spoonable powdered stevia Sweet Leaf liquid stevia Crio Bru Roasted Cocoa Beans Dandelion/ Chicory Coffee Alternative Recipe for homemade Mocha DIY Caramel Latte Iced Cinnamon Latte

READ FULL SHOW NOTES HERE *This episode says that it is the first episode and that is because I taped this one months ago and it was the first one I ever taped. Excuse that mis-speak and enjoy the episode Today's episode features my own health story. I shied away from sharing it for so long because I didn't think it was important or that it mattered. Why should I share the details of being sick and suffering through my early-mid 20's? It definitely wasn't my favorite season (read long and tiring season) to walk through. It was hard, tough, frustrating, disappointing and I felt drained and like a big huge disappointment. I didn't know I was sick at first. I didn't know what I was feeling wasn't normal. I just assumed I was lazy and couldn't figure out a way to be successful in life. I had unachievable expectations, never allowed my body time to rest and pushed myself far beyond what I could handle. I was exhausted and physically, emotionally and spiritually drained. I started on a path of figuring out what was at the root of my health problems and walking a natural healing journey that now allows me to life a life I love and run a business fueled by my story. Guess what? You have a story too. We all have a story to tell. For you, it may or may not be health related. But it is very important and God has given you your story to live out and share it with others. Show Notes Meet Dr. Meghan My Health Story Why you need a health coach My Mission and Vision