183: Clean(ish) with Gin Stephens
In this week’s episode, Gin Stephens and I talk about her book Clean(ish) which is an informative guide about cleaning up your food and home environment without becoming overly dogmatic or fixated on an unattainable level of perfection. The more we can minimize the toxins that we put in and on our body, the less it has to struggle to stay healthy and maintain optimal weight. Most people don’t realize how modern toxins (things our ancestors didn’t have to deal with) interfere with our hormones and promote fat accumulation. 😱
It can be overwhelming to try and remove the overload of toxins we’re exposed to on a daily basis, but each little change you make can add up to a big difference: a hand soap here, a cleaning product there, a new, upgraded lip gloss when you run out of your old.
Listen in as Gin and I discuss food, products, fasting and all the ways we can clean up our bodies without putting too much pressure on ourselves along the way.
EPISODE 183: Clean(ish) with Gin Stephens
Show Notes
(0:00) Intro
Hello my friend, welcome back to the club, how are you today?
We have a guest with us and she doesn’t know it but we could be besties.
She loves and is an expert in Intermittent Fasting - she’s written several books including Delay Don’t Deny, Feast Without Fear and the NYT bestseller called Fast.Feast.Repeat.
She used “ish” in her most recent book title Clean (ish) which is what we’re going to talk about today. If you’ve listened to this podcast long enough you’ve heard me describe my approach as ish. I like the way Gin describes it in the book, she says, being Clean(ish) is about developing a focus on real foods and healthier home environment without becoming overly dogmatic or fixated on an unattainable level of perfection. It’s making small, doable changes that have a positive impact on health while still living an enjoyable lifestyle.
(2:33) So, Gin, you were an elementary teacher for 28 years. How do you go from that career to becoming a NYT best seller and expert on fasting and living a cleaner lifestyle?
Struggled with weight, yo-yo dieting
Fad dieting
Yo-yo’d up to 200lbs
Discovered intermittent fasting, hasn’t been overweight since 2015
Built communities and continued to teach
Talk about that and what made you decide to start eating real food even though you had been able to lose and maintain the weight solely through IF?
Story of the goal weight
The Science of Skinny
For 10 weeks: Did not eat ultra processed foods or alcohol
In 2017, saw What is the best diet for humans? - Eran Segal
Bio-individuality
Glycemic responses
Feast without Fear was born
Tastebuds opened up the palette of real food
(22:25) And then you hit menopause and had to make a few tweaks. Tell us about that.
As we go through menopause, our hormone levels go nuts.
We need estrogen and progesterone
Body can’t manage blood glucose as well
Every choice is about feeling good
(27:23) Let’s talk about toxins (or toxicants!) and how they interfere with our hormones and increase our fat cells.
Fertility / infertility: Endocrine disruptors
Hormone mimics - xenoestrogens (bind to hormone receptor sites)
We can make a difference when we consider what we put in our bodies, on our bodies, and what is in our environment.
Bio-accumulation
Absorbing chemicals through the skin
Chemical sensitivity
Toxic load
(42:58) Can you talk a little bit about obesogens?
Obesogens (fat as an endocrine organ, chemicals lead to more fat storage and promote formation of new fat cells)
(49:06) Greenwashing
Innocent sounding words
Natural flavors
Fragrance
Switch Natural (app) — scans ingredients list
(54:28) Anchor Questions:
Anchor Meal
Green Chef
Daily Harvest
Anchor Verse (favorite bible verse or one that is presently speaking to you)
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13
Please tell people where they can find you, your books, your podcasts, your groups
Find everything on the website here
(104:05) Outro & Disclaimer
Thanks for listening! Have a healthy and blessed week!