Natalie D'Adamo | Hope Motivates Action Podcast

S07 | 05 – How We Fuel Our Bodies to Function with Natalie D’Adamo

Lindsay Recknell Podcast Leave a Comment

“You are what you eat” gets taken to the next level today as I’m joined by Natalie D’Adamo to discuss “clean” eating.

What does it mean, and why should we consider it? As Natalie says, the food we eat is what makes us, so we need to fuel our bodies to function the way they’re supposed to. If you’re feeling down, lost, or disconnected from yourself, the food you’re eating may be the root cause.

Natalie believes that transitioning into a “clean” lifestyle is a manifestation of wanting more for yourself and the rest of your life. Listen in as she shares how small changes in your diet can be transformative in your overall life and health.

About Natalie D’Adamo: 

Natalie D’Adamo was born and raised in South Africa and moved to Canada in 2000, where she quickly found a feeling of home. Shortly after getting married and wanting to start a family, 3 years of fertility issues led her to start researching the effects of the chemicals we are being exposed to daily in the products we use and food we eat. Through learning to naturally support the body in doing what it does best, Natalie was able to naturally conceive two children, and loves to teach them about clean living and making good food choices to really thrive in life.

The information she learned ignited her passion to find health and wellness personally through keeping fit and living a clean lifestyle. In following these passions, Natalie discovered Precision Nutrition, where she completed her official designation towards health coaching. Natalie has achieved great personal wellness for herself and her family in the last 10 years. She is very excited to help others achieve balance and wellness in all aspects of life, and particularly women’s health.

To learn more you can visit her website, and follow her on Instagram and Facebook.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Transcription

Lindsay Recknell  0:03  

Hello, welcome to another episode of the Hope Motivates Action Podcast. I’m your host, Lindsay Recknell. And this is take two of this episode where I get to introduce you to Natalie D’Adamo. Hello, Natalie. 

Natalie D’Adamo  0:16  

Hello, Lindsay. 

Lindsay Recknell  0:17  

It is a pleasure to have you here today. Thanks so much for joining me. I’m excited for people to hear your story. I think your sort of life journey, your fitness or your nutrition journey is really going to inspire some people. So let me tell people a little bit more about you formally, and then we will get to hear your story. 

Lindsay Recknell  0:38  

So Natalie was born and raised in South Africa and moved to Canada in 2000, where she quickly found a feeling of home shortly after getting married and wanting to start a family. Three years of fertility issues led her to start researching the effects of the chemicals we’re exposed to daily in the products we use in the food we eat. through learning to naturally support her body and doing what it does best. Natalie was able to naturally conceive two children and loves to teach them about clean living and making good food choices to really thrive in life. 

Lindsay Recknell  1:08  

The information she learned has ignited her passion to find health and wellness, through keeping fit and leaving a clean lifestyle. And following these passions, Natalie discovered Precision Nutrition, where she completed her official designation towards health coaching. Natalie has achieved great personal wellness for herself and for her family in the last 10 years. She’s very excited to help others achieve balance and wellness in all aspects of their life. Life, and particularly in women’s health. 

Lindsay Recknell  1:34  

Amazing What a great passion. I mean, I know because you and I had a conversation before we started recording, but I know how your passion for this work just comes through in everything you do. So tell us more about how you use this passion and how you’re using hope to motivate action in your life.

Natalie D’Adamo  1:52  

Yeah, so I think, you know, going through that struggle of trying to conceive for three years and just feeling hopeless, right? Just kind of really sparked this, this passion for learning of how our body works, and what fuels our body to be functioning optimally. And yeah, so that kind of led me down this journey of you know, what creates a healthy body to conceive and then carry a child. And that kind of also translated into once I had my children what’s the best way to raise them, so they’re really thriving in life, both physically and mentally. 

Natalie D’Adamo  2:36  

And that’s kind of that’s what gives me hope. I mean, they gave me hope at first when I managed to learn so much about my own body and how it functions and then also to see the outcome of having to be able to conceive two children naturally, and then carry a healthy pregnancy and have a healthy delivery. And then now seeing my children who are 10 and nine thriving and just how their bodies function and heal themselves quickly and, and fight viruses naturally and stuff like that. So yeah.

Lindsay Recknell  3:07  

It does, it feels very, very hopeful. I had fertility issues back, gosh, 12 years ago, not that long ago, 10 years ago, a long time ago, it feels like and nobody talked to me about how nutrition could be a thing. I mean, how did you- Where did you start? How was that even something that you thought of could be a cause of some of the things you’re experiencing?

Natalie D’Adamo  3:34  

Just basically, I mean with fertility, I mean a but also the products that we were using, so things that affect the hormones are so chemically, you know, things that we’re applying to our skin, that where it gets absorbed into the body and how that affects our hormones. And then that also kind of leads me down the path of what we store our food in. So plastics. And then again, getting into how clean is our food and the chemicals. So high sugar, just the cooking oils and how that affects inflammation in the body. And, again, it’s kind of like creating that whole homeostasis in the body of having a balanced body through everything, like everything that we’re exposed to and how that you know creates a healthy body.

Lindsay Recknell  4:26  

That feels overwhelming.

Natalie D’Adamo  4:29  

It’s so funny because it’s like to me obviously I understand the site with my clients and stuff I really do have to break it down. I’ve just had a baby step up getting started and it really is just, you know, baby steps of just starting small by cleaning up your eating and reducing your sugar and and then moving slowly into the products that you use. And yeah.

Lindsay Recknell  4:55  

So if someone is thinking about maybe someone is in a similar scenario that you were in where they’re struggling with their, with their wellness? Where? Where should they start? What is the like, biggest bang for your buck kind of place to start?

Natalie D’Adamo  5:16  

I think for me, number one, nutrition really is a huge part in our health. And it’s kind of like, what, to me? Yeah, starting first off with the food that you eat, just really clean that up. That, to me, is the number one thing. Because the food that we eat is what makes us. that’s our cells are everything, and they just have the energy. 

Natalie D’Adamo  5:42  

So it’s, you know, when you’re, when you’re happy, and you’re feeling good about what you’re eating, they’re translating to the energy and how your body absorbs that food. And they’re To me, it’s kind of what helps translate into better health, physically and mentally. And, and yes, starting from there, and just, yeah, wanting more for yourself, as I feel like, you know, hope is, wanting more of yourself health wise, and how that translates into the rest of our life.

Lindsay Recknell  6:10  

And excuse my naivety, what does it mean? When you say clean up, you know, clean eating, what does that mean? 

Natalie D’Adamo  6:20  

So, like reducing your eating, reducing the size of the sugar, the getting into more of like eating whole foods, nutrient rich foods. So not doing the fast foods, not doing the high sugar is just getting back to like basic eating, basic eating the way that our ancestors ate and stuff like that, if we can grow our own food, and then also just starting to prepare more food at home, right? 

Natalie D’Adamo  6:46  

Once I think we get into that connecting of preparing the food ourselves, and cooking from home learning to prepare foods from scratch, and it doesn’t have to be super complicated, like meals, I think people a lot of people get overwhelmed with having to think that they have to cook this long meal that’s going to take you hours to prepare. But I think clean eating can just be, you know, simple, it can be made in half an hour in just good protein, good veggies and yeah, just simple foods like that.

Lindsay Recknell  7:20  

I really like food. And I I mean, I feel like I’m a reasonably healthy eater. But those transitions are hard. You know, how? How do we do that?

Natalie D’Adamo  7:41  

And to, again, starting with I don’t know, I always go back to start going into like the grocery store and getting familiar with different ingredients, and experimenting with different ingredients, and then getting into your kitchen and experimenting. I think for me Even I wasn’t always somebody who enjoyed cooking and actually knew how to cook. And then I think once I started to understand deeper of what foods that for our bodies were different foods that the proteins, carbohydrates, you know, all macros what they do for our body. 

Natalie D’Adamo  8:24  

Once I started to understand that deeper, and then developed a passion for Hey, I want to feel healthier, and what will make me feel healthier? And just making that connection to the food that I’m putting in my body. And yeah, like, I mean, yeah, just getting into finding different recipes and having a fun time. And there’s also a connection thing. So bringing your sprouts and bringing your kids in and, and that’s a family affair to where we’re all putting energy into it and enjoying the food that we eat and bringing us together.

Lindsay Recknell  9:00  

That connection over food comes up a lot on this podcast. And I think it’s fascinating, because well because I like food, but also because wedo. We tend to gather around food, right? We build community around food, and we get to know each other around food. So I really like that idea of making these meals events that are where the food is the central piece of it, but it’s really complimentary to the community building that’s happening at the same time. Um, interesting. 

Lindsay Recknell  9:36  

One of the questions I was thinking about asking you was about families and about spouses. Because I, I don’t know, but I have to think that some of your clients must come to you and say Yeah, but you know, my spouse is not interested in eating anything but you know, red meat and meat and vegetables. What advice do you have for people to know how to address those scenarios?

Natalie D’Adamo  10:02  

So I have had a few clients where that is the case. And it does make it harder when you don’t have that support, right? Where you’re feeling like you’re on your own. So it’s funny, because with those clients, I would send them kind of some unique recipes. And with these clients every time their spouses ended up, because what they would do at first is, is cook these meals for their spouses. And they were certainly hesitant of trying them. 

Natalie D’Adamo  10:37  

And then once they discovered, like, this is actually really good, like, good food can taste good, like healthy food can taste good. And it just really transformed them into being like open minded and actually saying, like, okay, I want to cook with you and, and join in with you. 

Natalie D’Adamo  10:55  

So yeah, it’s not always easy, but it’s taking that step to, to, I mean, going, doing the shopping together, first cooking the meal, try and sweep them off their feet with a really amazing, you know, meal that they might otherwise not try, right. And then if it takes a few times, it takes a few times, but yeah, just keep building towards that doing that together and, and trying new things.

Lindsay Recknell  11:22  

So hiding the ground turkey in my spaghetti is not the way to go. I mean, if that works, it works. Okay, husband, if you’re listening to this never right. 

Lindsay Recknell  11:39  

So one of the things I really enjoy is cooking together. That’s, you know, you kind of make it you kind of make a date night. Do you have like, a clean nutrition cookbook you recommend? Do you is there you know, as a guru that you follow that has fabulous recipes? Tell me your Pinterest list, you know, give us some options here and where we can find some great recipes. 

Natalie D’Adamo  12:05  

Honestly, I don’t even have too much of like, I have my own database of recipes that I haven’t sent out for my clients and stuff. But yeah, I’ve kind of I don’t really even have a set Guru. I have like, as far as like health podcasts that kind of just teach you more about understanding deeper how our body works with food. And The Model House Show with Shawn Stevenson. He has a great book of Eat Smarter. And it’s an incredible book. And it really is just broken down in the most simplest terms to truly understand like how foods work for our bodies and how they translate into our health and affect our life overall. So there is definitely one that I really recommend.

Lindsay Recknell  12:53  

No, yeah, that’s excellent. It’s really great. What about these fad diets? So we talk about like, there’s the clean 30? Or these kinds of things? What do you say, when clients come to you and say, I want to try this clean diet? Is it? I mean, is it cool? Should we do it?

Natalie D’Adamo  13:16  

I Gosh, I can’t stand the term fad diets, because I just feel like there is no one diet that fits all. And I feel like that is such a, it’s just, it’s a small. It’s not something that sorry, what’s the word I’m looking for? A fad diet’s just not, it’s a short term goal. It’s not something that’s sustainable, right. 

Natalie D’Adamo  13:40  

And so I really believe in like, rather focusing on creating foundational habits of you know, the healthy habits and building from there to something that’s sustainable, that’s going to, you know, you’re going to stick with for a long time because it’s about health. And I feel like you achieve health and achieve what you want. Whether it be physically and in the energy that you want from the food that you’re eating, it’s, it’s going to be something that you’re going to stick with and sustain for a long time. And that’s what you’re aiming for. 

Natalie D’Adamo  14:11  

As far as like fad diet, it’s you might lose the weight and get the results that you want or for short term, but it’s not gonna be something that’s gonna, you know, be sustainable, because as soon as you stop that fad diet, you’re just gonna go right back to square one, right? So I truly believe in rather more of the holistic approach of just whole nutrient rich food. When we’re eating food that is nutrient rich, that our body knows how to process and understand, then, you know, that’s how we create a balanced body and we get the results that we want. 

Natalie D’Adamo  14:43  

Health comes naturally when the body is in balance versus trying to, you know, cipher through like, keto, or all these different kinds of diets, which by the way, I’ve tried and and it’s great and all but it’s not sustainable, right. I’ve learned that through experience. So that’s my biggest recommendation is always just something that’s sustainable and real and that we can stick with for a long time and works for you, right?

Lindsay Recknell  15:08  

Yeah, I think you nailed it that whole. You want this to be a lifestyle choice that you can, that you can maintain forever that can fit into the rest of your life. Because if you’re trying to do something that is so outside of your norm outside of your, you know, that, that’s too hard to do consistently, you’re not going to do it when the going gets tough or when you’re exhausted or when you’re starving. Right? If you can find some ways to make it sustainable, you’ll just be that much more successful. 

Natalie D’Adamo  15:38  

Exactly. Yeah. 

Lindsay Recknell  15:40  

You mentioned the word routine, which is something that I’m a huge proponent of and is definitely one that has been one of the keys to success in my life, the way that I get. All the things done that I seem to accomplish is by finding ways to find routines and ritualize many aspects of my life. We’re creatures of habit, right? And our brains are designed to be efficient. So if we can help it do that, why the hell, why would we not do that? Do you have any suggestions on routines that we can start to establish that will help us on this healthy journey?

Natalie D’Adamo  16:22  

Yeah, so I think creating and doing the same thing pretty much every day. So like, for me, I have my set routine of I do my workout in the morning, after my workout, I have my protein shake, and then I’ll have my first meal and build my carbohydrates around the time that I’m most active. 

Natalie D’Adamo  16:44  

And just, you know, it’s not even complicated for me, where I’m always having something different every single day, I have a lot of the same things every single day, like when I first make my first meal of the day that my snack after that my lunch, it’s a lot of it is pretty much the same and changing just slightly during the week. But otherwise, it’s the same to not over complicated. And I think that that’s my biggest advice is to rather just simplify for yourself and have the same kind of routine every single day of the things that you want to eat. 

Natalie D’Adamo  17:14  

And then also to prepare yourself. prepping is huge. And that really sets you up for success. Because if you’re just an especially when you have a busy schedule, and it’s knowing I’ve worked two days looking like you know, tomorrow, the day after, and how you can prepare your staff beforehand and setting yourself up that way. Right? Because that’s our biggest sabotage is when we’re like busy and hectic and we’re just and then we’re hungry. And that just goes downhill from there. So.

Lindsay Recknell  17:43  

Um, it’s so funny when you say you know, you exercise at the same time you eat the same thing like I am. So that guy, that girl too. I do the exact same route on my bike every single day, I come home and I have this same breakfast. You know, I might have a strawberry instead of a blueberry but you know, I have the same thing. 

Lindsay Recknell  18:05  

And people say to me, but that’s so boring. You know, I can’t possibly. It’s so boring. What do you say to people when they say that? 

Natalie D’Adamo  18:16  

Um, but then how has everything else been working for you? I feel like if you’re always chasing something that isn’t boring. How has that been working out? Right. So I think it’s it’s, it might sound boring, but I think I mean, that feels satisfying to you. Right?

Lindsay Recknell  18:31  

Hugely. 

Natalie D’Adamo  18:32  

Right? 

Lindsay Recknell  18:33  

Yep. 

Natalie D’Adamo  18:33  

Just makes you feel grounded and content to know that you have this routine and it works for you. And then that makes you feel satisfied.

Lindsay Recknell  18:41  

Yeah, I you know, brilliant answer. It’s like, I feel like I set you up for that. And I totally did this for my life because it’s so for me, it’s a matter of priority. I like to eat . We’ve established this a couple times. But I save my food decisions for later in the day. I do my, I have my routines in the morning when I’m trying to conserve as much energy as I can so that at the end of the day, I still have that energy. And so I find the things I prioritize making routines out of the things that don’t matter as much.

Lindsay Recknell  19:22  

 like my mother in law says that I wouldn’t wear clothes if somebody hadn’t invented the hoodie. Because all I wear is yoga pants, a tank top and a hoodie. It takes the decision making out of it for me. Um, but wearing you know what I’m wearing is not a priority for me. It’s absolutely a priority for other people and they shouldn’t make a routine out of what they wear. But for me, that is not a priority. 

Lindsay Recknell  19:50  

For me a priority is you know how I’m going to spend my evening with my family as an example. That’s not often the exact same because That’s what I’m saving my energy for at the end of the day I’m doing all these boring things. Are these routine things? Because that, for me, is more of a priority than worrying about what I’m going to wear in the morning. 

Natalie D’Adamo  20:12  

Yeah, yep. And I feel like for me, that’s where what health is, for me. That’s my number one life priority is, I just feel like if if I have all of my you know, everything in check for my health wise, like nutrition, my exercise, everything like that my routine setup, if I’m feeling healthy, everything else in life falls into place, because that’s just the ripple effect of that. And the same thing that I’m trying to teach my children, right is making their health a priority, what they eat, and that if they’re feeling healthy, that translates into everything else in their life.

Lindsay Recknell  20:50  

When you’re speaking to your clients, and I imagine when people come to you the very first time they are not feeling their best, they are not feeling healthy, they are looking for change. How do you give them hope?

Natalie D’Adamo  21:02  

I really asked them, that question of are they, they’re there for a reason, they’re coming to me for a reason. And obviously, it’s because they want more for themselves, they want to feel better. So it’s making that decision that you know, this is you want more for yourself, and you’re going to be committed to it. And just the hope of like, understanding, starting again, with that understanding of what it can give them if they’re feeling their body, right. And just, yeah, that hope of wanting to feel better. 

Lindsay Recknell  21:40  

And what if somebody’s listening right now is on the edge, they are feeling that pull. And it’s but it’s terrifying. I mean, a commitment to your health is a commitment. Like that takes a lot of work. What do you say to those people on the edge that are listening right now?

Natalie D’Adamo  21:57  

I, I always say the thing of, you know, if you if you don’t start now, I mean, like where you could be in six months from now could be so different. And if you don’t start now, then you know, you could be looking back and six months from now or even a year and be like, why didn’t I start.

Natalie  22:14  

And it’s something I’ve like, it’s always, like, you got to just accept the fact that it’s gonna be challenging in the beginning. it’s going to be a learning curve. Everything worth, you know, that’s good is hard in the beginning, but you have to want that for yourself. And in the outcome of that is just it’s I mean, it’s worth it. This is life, we need to be living and thriving and enjoying our life. And the best way to do that is to be feeling good while we’re doing it.

Lindsay Recknell  22:45  

One of the things my husband always says is the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time to do it is now. you know, so it kind of feels the same, right? 

Lindsay Recknell  22:58  

If we’ve gotten to a place where we’ve grown into adults, and our health and fitness and wellness has taken a backseat, you know, the best time to start is now if you find yourself in that place. 

Natalie D’Adamo  23:10  

Exactly. Yeah. 

Lindsay Recknell  23:12  

And another quote that comes to mind, the second time this has come up today actually, is around that whole change and transition. One of the books that I love is called the 5am Club by Robin Sharma. And everybody should read it by the way, it it is for sure about getting up at 5am, which everybody knows I’m a huge fan of, but that’s not the whole, like, that’s not what you’ll get out of the book, he will not leave there a an early riser, if that’s a problem for you people.

Lindsay Recknell  23:42  

But what he says in there is that, you know, change- transition is hard at the beginning, messy in the middle, and gorgeous at the end. And you know, if we go in and kind of with that mindset, that, that knowing that we can do hard things, it’s going to suck in the middle. And at the end is just going to be awesome. Once we’ve got those routines and sustainability built in. I think if we go in with that mindset, if it would just be that much easier to be more successful. 

Natalie D’Adamo  24:17  

Absolutely. And I mean, even for me, I’ve been living there now for over 10 years, and I feel how that really translates to every area of my life. You know, when I’m having a different difficult time mentally just it makes you that much stronger. I feel like when you’re feeling good to be able to get through challenges better, right?

Lindsay Recknell  24:38  

Yeah, absolutely. 

Lindsay Recknell  24:40  

Well, this has been so so awesome. You know that I asked one question at the end of all of my shows to each of my guests and that is Natalie. What gives you hope?

Natalie D’Adamo  24:51  

Yeah, first, as a mom, I think to see my children you know thriving and just really being children that are active and healthy and that what I’m teaching them is paying off. That is definitely something that gives me a lot of hope. 

Unknown Speaker  25:11  

Secondly, when when my clients come to me and they say to me, you know, I’m starting to feel great and my energy is picking up all my digestive issues are clearing up and and that they’re really starting to see the results you know, in their energy and physically This is something that really gives me so much hope and so much joy and it just lights my fire to keep you know, sharing that with people and you know, helping people to achieve their their best health.

Lindsay Recknell  25:43  

No, that’s just awesome. Like I said at the very beginning, your passion for this topic, your passion for other people in their wellness really, really translates so well, I know I can see your beautiful face and other people can hear your beautiful voice. 

Lindsay Recknell  25:58  

But it’s just awesome to hear how transformative it can be with small changes, you know, with going to the grocery store and making it a fun time and building it into your daily life in your you know, date night with your spouse and, you know, family time with your kids. It’s totally possible and it feels very hopeful. So, thank you so much for joining me today. It’s been a real pleasure. And I look forward to continuing the conversation. 

Natalie D’Adamo  26:24  

For sure. Thank you for having me on. 

Lindsay Recknell  26:26  

Take care. 

Lindsay Recknell  26:31  

I hope you enjoyed this latest episode of the Hope Motivates Action podcast. These episodes are a labor of love inspiring conversations with hopeful people make my heart happy. If you also love this episode, it would be amazing if you could go to Apple podcasts and leave a review five stars if you’re into it. It’s these reviews that encourage Apple to promote this podcast to their network and the more people that listen, the more hope we can spread into the world. 

Lindsay Recknell  26:54  

Don’t forget to check out the show notes of this episode to find all the links to my guests’ books and other resources referenced in this episode. You’ll also find the link back to my website where you will find additional support and resources for you, your team and your community. I truly believe that the future will be better than today by taking action over the things we can control and hearing from these guests on these episodes. I know that an even more hopeful future is totally possible. 

Lindsay Recknell  27:18  

I’m always looking for inspirational guests so if you or anyone you know would like to be a guest on the show please reach out you can find me on the contact form of my website at expertinhope.com or by email at Lindsay@expertinhope.com. 

Lindsay Recknell  27:34  

When I was a teenager when my sisters were leaving the house to go out for the night, I always made it a point to remind them to call me if they needed me. It was my way to tell them that I cared and would always be there for them. I’d love you to know the same so all of you listening out there Call me if you need me. 

Lindsay Recknell  27:49  

Again. Thank you for your love and support of this podcast, my work in hope and your intentional focus on making your future better than today. After all, hope without action is just a wish.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Lindsay Recknell | Expert in Hope | Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram

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