#154: {Healthy in the Valley Series} How to Eat to Combat Stress with Autumn Enloe

In 2009, Melissa Rose started her business in the basement of her home. She taught the art of dance to students of all ages while her babies were right along with her in the pack and play.  With her passion, resilience, and tenacity - she created a business that has become "The Highlight of Your Week" for her tribe, her team and her community.  

Along with running a successful brick and mortar business, Melissa is also a visibility coach for brick and mortar businesses, Melissa guides other boss ladies to a flourishing brick and mortar business that provides for their own tribe - creating a legacy for themselves, their family and their community.  

Melissa is a super mama of five kiddos, enjoys super long hikes (without her kids) or playing in her garden.  At the end of the day you can find her snuggling with a self development book most likely with an ice cold beer

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Melissa: As studio owners, we are a unique group of people. Many of us teach privately or we have group classes. Many of us teach in the evening hours as well as the day hours. So our schedules are all over the board, let alone adding in a family and kids and partners and all the other things that we do in our community. So eating well is sometimes pushed to the back burner and I wanted to bring it just into the light a little bit because we can have the best strategies, the best marketing, the best team, the best systems, and automation, and really run a tight ship. But if we are not taking care of us (ourselves), if we are not taking care of the person who's in charge of it all, what's the point, right? So I want us to be well in all areas of our life. So that's why I wanted to bring on Autumn Enloe.

Melissa: Autumn is a nutritionist and is just a lovely soul who loves to work with busy mom entrepreneurs. And she is also part of Healthy In The Valley. So if you are local to the Saint Croix Valley area, go ahead to healthyinthevalley.com and grab this download filled with offers from business owners who specialize in health and wellness in mind, body, and soul. Autumn's business is featured in there and she has some exclusive offers just for you, for those of you that are local. Otherwise, you'll be able to click on the show notes and check her out and see all the things that she has to offer. So, without further ado, let's dive into this beautiful episode with the lovely Autumn Enloe.

Mellisa: Hey There, studio owner! You've put your blood, sweat, and tears into creating a Brick and Mortar business that serves your clients and impacts the community you love. You are my hero! And I'm pretty sure we could sit down and talk like besties do because I get it. I've had my studio business for over twelve years, a handful of kids, and a few passion projects that I love, like this one. Hey there, I'm Melissa Rose, your visibility coach for the studio owner who wants more stellar clients coming through their doors, more bank in their bank account, and more time to hang out and be completely present with those they love most.

Melissa: In this podcast, we're going to share the nitty-gritty of running a successful studio business, sharing stories, talking strategy, and learning practical tips that leave you inspired, empowered, and equipped to create your epic life every single day. So, if you're a dance studio, yoga studio, pilates studio, or a fitness boutique studio, you are in the right place. Add some kiddos into the mix and maybe a life partner and I call you a rebel woman, ready to dive in? Let's get real!

Melissa: Welcome Autumn Enloe to the Brick and Mortar Visibility Podcast. How are you?

Autumn: Good. How are you?

Melissa: So good to see you on this beautifully gray, dismal November day after all the sun and gorgeousness, let's just say a little bit to wake up today.

Autumn: Yes, definitely. Definitely.

Melissa: But I'm excited to talk to you because you are going to be our expert nutritionist for busy studio owners. And as a studio owner myself, trying to navigate, A) the energy levels and going through your day, my best time is from 06:00 a.m. To 11:00 a.m., and then we have that afternoon slump, and then we go into teaching mode for the evening.

Autumn: Yeah!

Melissa: And thankfully, I'm not teaching as much in the evening, but it's a big a) mental game and just physically.

Autumn: Sure!

Melissa: So before we dive into you giving us some tips and tools and advice and all the knowledge, tell people who you are, what you do, and who you serve.

Autumn: Yeah. Well, thank you so much for having me. I'm super excited to chat more about nutrition today with you. So, just a little history. So I was born and raised in the Midwest. I have a husband and two kiddos. And I've been in the wellness field for over 14 years now. So I started my career in corporate wellness. So I originally went to school for community health education because I was actually really scared off by all the science classes that you have to take to be a dietitian. So it's a lot of science. It's like organic chemistry and biochemistry. And I was just like, "Heck no!"

Autumn: So, I first went to school then for community health education, and worked in corporate wellness. And then while working in corporate wellness, I was always so drawn to nutrition and just the power of nutrition and how I saw nutrition playing a role in my health and my life. So, whether it was like my energy or my digestion or how my body was handling stress.

Autumn: And so then I decided to go back to school. I bit the bullet, got my Masters, and did all the required classes to be a dietitian. What most people probably don't realize about registered dietitians is that it's a super competitive process. So after you do all the coursework, you have to apply to do an internship. So it's not guaranteed. And less than 40% of applicants actually get placed.

Melissa: Oh, wow!

Autumn: And you need to do your internship in order to qualify to take your boards. So that process alone is really stressful. And fortunately, I got placed into an internship, so took my boards, and took them actually two weeks before my wedding, which I definitely would not ever do again, or recommend anyone ever do.

Autumn: But then so started my career as a dietitian. I originally actually worked in a private practice setting, so I worked for another dietitian in her private practice. So that actually taught me a ton about business and just being in that private practice setting because I wasn't taught that in school. And then I also did other various roles as a dietitian. So I was a pediatric dietitian for four years, worked at a functional medicine clinic, just miscellaneous, like, contract work. And then I started my private practice over four years ago. So November 8 is actually the day when I officially kind of launched. And that was like my full-time gig.

Autumn: And I wanted to start a private practice because one), I was doing a really long commute to the cities, and I had my daughter at the time, she was one, and I felt like I never saw her. So I felt like I would go to work, pick her up from daycare, we'd maybe play for an hour, and then she'd go to bed. And I was like this is... wasn't really why I became a mom. So I was looking for more flexibility and just to be home with her more along with more flexibility on how I could work with my clients.

Autumn: So working in like a clinical setting, a traditional clinical setting, there's not a lot of time that you have available with your clients and then also just what you can really talk about with your clients, right? So my approach is more holistic. So when I work with clients, we're really digging into not just their nutrition, but also things like their gut health or lab values or sleep habits or stress levels, because that all play a role in our health, right? And so those things you can't necessarily do in like a traditional dietetic setting.

Autumn: And so, as many business owners, I went through that period of hustling, doing everything myself, doing a million projects, I really wore 'busy' as a badge of honor, which I bet a lot of women can relate. And over a year ago, I went through that total burnout period. And so at that time, I just felt like I had to work all the time. I would stay up to like 10:30, or 11:00 after the kids went to bed to work. I'd wake up at 05:00 a.m. to get work in. I'd be working on the weekends. I would be staying like client after client and feel exhausted even before I went to go pick up the kids.

Autumn: And I... at that time then I did some lab work on myself. I'm kind of a nerd and I love doing all the lab work and all that stuff. And I found out that my Cortisol, which is that stress hormone, was completely crashed. So usually it raises when we're under stress, but over time, your adrenals can get fatigued, and then they're not producing enough Cortisol. So I had really low Cortisol. I was depleted of a lot of nutrients, I was feeling tired all the time. I had blood sugar imbalances. Felt irritated when I couldn't get work done, like always felt like I had a million things on my to-do list and really wasn't showing up as the best version of myself, both personally and professionally.

Autumn: So that's when I really had to look at what I was doing in my business and really making stress management a priority, used to be something that, you know I'd kind of brush off, or do like a five-minute meditation and think that was good for the day. But I really had to make some changes and am so super excited just to talk more about stress today because I think it is something that often does get put on the back burner, and it is really something that we need to prioritize. There's not enough, like, kale or smoothies that can really combat like the effect that stress can have on your body and your business.

Melissa: So interesting. Its kind of like the cobbler has no shoes, you're the nutritionist, and then you find out that your levels are not in sync as they should be or whatever.

Autumn: Right!

Melissa: And stress is one of those things that creeps up on you, or it's one of those things that you have been with and under and dealt with for so long, you don't realize what it could feel like not to have it or to have a portion of it. For example, I was just talking to a friend. I was like, I'm a dance studio owner, so my nights are teaching dance. And they've been that way for years. I've been teaching dance for 20, or 30 years. It's just like, this is what I do, so I don't know anything different. So now that I'm able to be home on the nights I have my kids, that was such a huge transition for me. I didn't know what to do with myself. I didn't know just the weirdness of it because my kids were finally at the age where they wanted to go play outside and not have anything to do with mom, and I didn't have to change diapers or anything.

Autumn: Right.

Melissa: But that stress just creeps up on you. And I personally... I shared this, in my blog that last year or this past March, my body just completely shut down with... and I had hives for six weeks. That huge welts all over my body and it lasted for six weeks. And somebody said, 'your adrenals are shot, you need to rest'.

Autumn: Yeah.

Melissa: And I was like, what are you doing? Like I was in... I was in bad shape.

Autumn: Yeah. And it's so common for business owners because we do have that hustle mentality and have all these ideas and there's like a million things that I want to do, but I just really had to hone it in and be like, what is my priority? And yeah, stress is something that definitely does creep up over time. And like I said earlier, I used to wear busy as a badge of honor. Like, the more I could say that I was doing, the more successful I felt. And it doesn't have to be that way, right? So, yeah, really making it a priority and really being just mindful about where your stressors are coming from.

Melissa: Amen. People will say, 'Well, you can't do it all', and I disagree. I think you can do it all. You just don't have to do it all right now. There are seasons when you can do it all. So, all right, let's dive in miss Autumn, you have a busy day ahead, it's super stressful, and you know it's going to be a long day, What can we do right at the top of our day to get things started on the right track?

Autumn: Yeah, I love this question. So first, I always recommend clients to try to eat something within an hour of waking up. So we want to really fuel our body after fasting overnight, right? We're not eating in the middle of the night, and so we want to really fuel our bodies. So I always give this example of just like we would... you know if we're going on a road trip, we fill our car with gas, right? We wouldn't expect it... our car to go a long way with an empty tank of gas. And that's exactly how our bodies are. We need to fuel our body so that it can give us energy, it can give us the mental clarity that we need.

Autumn: And so when we can fuel our body first thing in the morning, this is going to support your blood sugars, which is really like the basics of any nutrition program or any whether you're looking to support your hormones or reduce stress or reduce your cravings or improve your energy. We need to first look at blood sugar regulation. Also, looking at eating first thing in the morning is going to help with your energy, and can help reduce your cravings. So we often hear like, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and I've definitely seen that with clients. So we do want to eat something within an hour of waking up.

Autumn: If you feel like you aren't hungry first thing in the morning, which I... I hear that from clients sometimes. We want to then maybe eat like a small snack. Over time, your metabolism will start to speed up and you'll actually start to feel that hunger in the morning, which is a good sign. And so fueling your body first thing in the morning.

Autumn: When it comes to what to eat, I talk a lot about PFF at every meal. So that's Protein, Fat, and Fibrous Carbs at every meal. So PFF. So protein is especially important for busy and stressful days because our bodies actually need more protein when we're under stress. And it is the macronutrient that I find that most women are really lacking in. So for example, instead of having like a bowl of cereal in the morning or a granola bar or toast, look at, what are some more protein-rich options. So maybe that's like Greek yogurt with berries and nuts or an egg bake or some protein smoothies.

Autumn: So you can kind of rearrange what you're eating in the morning to make it more protein dense. And so I love to do like for an easy hack, I love to make an egg bake on the weekend, and then I'll just heat that up for breakfast throughout the week. Same with, like, if you like to do yogurt parfaits, like making a big batch of that ahead of time and then just grabbing and going because I know the mornings can get hectic, and especially if you have little ones and you're a busy business owner. And so preparing ahead of time is really key.

Autumn: The third tip I want to say, when it comes to just, like, setting up your day and your morning for a busy day ahead is looking at caffeine intake. And so I'm all about a good cup of coffee. I mean I have coffee every day. But when we look at drinking coffee on an empty stomach... So if we're waking up and going right to the coffee pot and pouring ourselves a cup of coffee, that can be really hard on your adrenals and your digestion. So we want to make sure that we're eating something first thing in the morning and then having your coffee. I always like to start my day with a warm cup of lemon water and then eat my breakfast and then have my cup of coffee.

Melissa: I'm just listening right now, I do everything wrong. You're going to have your work cut out for me, oh my gosh! Okay. All right.

Melissa: Okay, eating first thing in the morning. So what I find when I eat first thing in the morning is that I eat more throughout the day, and I don't like that.

Autumn: Yeah. So when I say like eat first thing in the morning, we want to do, like, within that hour window. But that's also really supportive of your metabolism. So the goal is to speed up our metabolism, and have our metabolism work more throughout the day instead of it slowing it down. So if you think of like, if you've ever been on a diet or like you're cutting calories or skipping meals, your metabolism actually slows down because it's trying to protect you and hold on to the energy that you have. And so we don't want that to happen, right? We want to really support our metabolism, help to speed it up, and nourish our body. And when it comes to being stressed and having a busy day ahead, we need to be fueling our bodies so that it can fuel our brain, so we can think better and it can fuel our metabolism so we have the energy to get through the day, and we don't have those, like, afternoon crashes.

Melissa: So good, so good. All right. Okay. What about hydration? This is a big one for me because I am a terrible water drinker, but I am doing 75 hard right now, so I'm doing a lot of water. So what can you do about hydration and talk to us about what we do through the day, and if we don't like water, what are some really good beverages to help with that hydration intake?

Autumn: Yeah, great question. So water is something that definitely gets forgotten, especially if you're busy, right? And staying hydrated throughout the day really affects our Cortisol levels, that stress hormone. So we do want to make it a priority and really be mindful about our hydration and what we're drinking throughout the day. So I would suggest keeping things like a water bottle... I see you have a water bottle right there, like, at your desk or if you're running errands, if you're on the go a lot throughout the day, making sure you always have a water bottle with you.

Autumn: The goal is to drink half of your body weight in ounces of water a day. So if somebody weighs 160 pounds, they should drink at least 80oz of water. So this might seem like a lot for you. I have some clients coming to me, like, drinking like one glass of water throughout the entire day, right? So that might seem like quite a bit, but we want to just, you know, start off slow. It's not from... about going from like, 0 to 180 in a matter of one day. But looking at, like so if you have a water bottle, maybe it's like 24oz, doing some calculations on how much... how many times you need to fill up that water bottle throughout the day to get you to your goal.

Autumn: I've even had clients, if they have multiple water bottles at home, they'll just fill up those water bottles. Maybe it's like three or four water bottles, keep them on their counter or their desk, and then have those as, like, a constant reminder. There's also... you know, you can buy water bottles with timers on them or alerts on your phone to help you remember. There are ways and tricks to help you remember to hydrate, but water really should be our main beverage throughout the day.

Autumn: If you don't like water. So I know water... just drinking plain water can get kind of boring sometimes. You can add some flavor to it. So, one thing that I love to do is infuse water, so I'll take fruits and veggies that are about to go bad. So if I have cucumbers that are getting a little slimy or some lemons, I'll add that to water and infuse it to add some flavor. So that helps to just kind of spice things up a little bit.

Autumn: I also love to do... use frozen berries, so I'll just grab a bunch of those and put them in water and infuse it. So that's super delicious, too. So you can consider infusing it, and then that's also just a good way to use up produce that's about to go bad.

Autumn: You could also do some herbal teas. So I just say herbal just because we do want to check our caffeine intake throughout the day. And then especially as it's getting colder out in the Midwest, it's nice to have a good cup of tea throughout the day.

Autumn: One thing that I find is really helpful, especially when it comes to stress and energy, is adding electrolytes to your water. So this not only gives you flavor, but electrolytes are minerals like potassium and magnesium, and sodium. And these help your body adapt to stress and also help your body to hold on to the water a lot better. So you're not constantly, like, peeing out your water throughout the day, right?

Autumn: We often hear like if you're adding more water... drinking more water, you're peeing a lot more. And that's kind of a barrier for people to even drink more water. And so electrolytes help your cells to hold on to some of that water. And I find a lot of clients that add electrolytes to the water, they tell me that they have less cravings, they have more energy, especially those, like, afternoon crashes, and it just gives your body, like, those extra nutrients that it probably needs during stress. And so that's an easy thing you can do. You can buy those in little to-go packets, add those to your water bottle, and that will help give it flavor and then also some nourishment as well.

Melissa: Okay, all right, good to know. So you can just get those in like a little packet, like a little flavoring of sorts.

Autumn: Yeah! Yep. Yeah, there are different brands. Like NUUN is one brand. N-U-U-N. LMNT. Re-Lyte is one that I love to use. So you want to look for, that it has, you know, things like sodium and magnesium and potassium. Those are like those main electrolytes that you want to get in.

Melissa: Okay, good. Good to know. Awesome. Okay, so we talk a lot about nutrition. Eating first... first in the morning, that's going to be really hard for me. That's just really hard, always has been. But if you had to give one nutrition tip for busy business owners I'm going to ask one question first before this one, though, okay? So this is selfish because for me, what I do is I'll eat, I eat pretty cleanly. I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and like chicken and stuff like that. And I will find that I like mass eat... And I've been doing this since my kids were little. My oldest is 19. So I like, feel like you didn't have any time to eat, and then the kids go down for naps, and then I would just gorge because I knew I had to teach then from like four to eight that night, and I didn't want to eat after coming home from teaching.

Melissa: So... Just those like snacks, and things. Help me think, upgrade besides like nuts or granola bars or stuff like go-to stuff that we can do or grab and go. I don't know. I've always done that. And I find that my body naturally does that anyway. Even now I have more time between the two and four time is when I get crazy.

Autumn: Yeah.

Melissa: I just eat everything.

Autumn: Yeah, So ideally, we're eating our largest meal in the morning and then having our smaller meals at night. So usually it's the opposite, right? We're having like you know... Maybe we're having a small breakfast or not having breakfast and then having a little bigger dinner and then having our biggest meal or having a bigger lunch sorry. And then having our biggest meal at dinner. So we want it to be the opposite. So we want to get our biggest meal right away in the morning if you can.

Autumn: But I would really focus on... I mean planning ahead is really key, especially with kids and if you're teaching and all of that and so what are some things that we can prepare ahead of time? Even if it's like making a smoothie the night before and then reshaking it up in the morning. Things that I love to do are like egg cups, I'll make it batch of that and have it on the go. Fruit with like cheese or nut butters or even like homemade muffins, to that I'll add some maybe collagen peptides or some flaxseeds to get in some extra fiber and healthy fats that way. Even just things like cottage cheese and fruit, things that you can kind of grab and go really quickly. But we do want to make sure that we're trying to eat more in the morning so that we don't have that desire to kind of binge and indulge later in the afternoon.

Autumn: I hear a lot from clients that when they... like they're not eating throughout the day that much like maybe they're busy with work or kids and so their blood sugars are constantly low. And so then our body, when our blood sugars are always low, our body starts to crave more carbs and more sugar because it's trying to get your blood sugar back up. And so that's when we typically have a lot of those cravings and then start binging more at night because we're just not nourishing our body enough in the middle... or at the beginning of the day. And so that would be something that I would look at is just kind of like the portions of your meals and having a larger meal like at breakfast if you can. And then really planning ahead with some of those items that I said like the egg cups or yogurts or things like that, just to have ahead of time.

Autumn: That is one thing that I'd recommend is really prioritizing protein at every meal and snack. Like I said earlier, it's the macronutrient that most women are lacking in. It's also the one that we really need to plan ahead of you know, because if it's chicken you have to cook ahead of time, or eggs you have to make ahead of time, right? So it's not something that you can just like, always like grab and go. So it does take some planning ahead but it really is the macronutrient that we need so much under stress and it also is going to help with hormone health and supporting your neurotransmitters. Those positive fields of brain chemicals. Helps with moods, it helps with reducing your cravings, helps to keep you full longer. So really prioritizing protein is really key.

Autumn: With protein, generally I recommend about the palm size of your hand. So if you're having like chicken or beef or fish or at least 25 grams at meals and so 25 grams, like if you're looking at whether it's a protein powder or greek yogurt, like something like that, trying to aim for 25 grams at a meal. And then at snacks, having about half of that. So maybe that's like 10 to 15 grams of protein at a snack.

Melissa: All right. I think the overall theme for me is, 'Plan Ahead and Think Ahead'. And as a busy, and we're all busy, it's just making sure we take that. And I can plan ahead for business, I can plan ahead but... In that taking care of yourself and planning ahead that way, it's so common sense, but it's so hard sometimes, hey everybody?

Autumn: For sure, for sure. I will say that planning ahead and just meal prepping, in general, doesn't have to take hours. I think sometimes people get intimidated by that, that it's going to take an entire Sunday to meal prep and cook all your meals. And when you think of like meal prep, it's more so like just having a plan for the week, like knowing what am I going to have for dinners this week? What are some easy lunches I can have? What are some quick breakfasts I can have? You don't have to make every single meal in one day, right? It's just knowing what you're going to have and having the ingredients, like going grocery shopping, and getting the ingredients.

Autumn: For me, what's most helpful is always like, prepping a 'breakfast'. So like I said, I make egg bakes or yogurt parfaits or something like that, just to always have on hand because the mornings are so hectic, I'm trying to get two little ones ready and out the door and all of that. And so always having something for breakfast prepped ahead of time. And then just keeping like lunches simple, whether that's like salad or dinner leftovers, soups, it doesn't have to be some Instagram-worthy meal, right? And then dinner is just like having a plan for that and incorporating leftovers. It doesn't always have to be making new meals all the time.

Autumn: Yeah, and you can even like... I'll put an egg bake in the oven and then go do some laundry or play with the kids. You can incorporate meal prepping into things that you're already doing at home.

Melissa: So helpful. Thank you so much, Autumn.

Autumn: You're welcome.

Melissa: This was really helpful and eye-opening and good reminders. I'm sure many of you have heard this before or portions of this before, but it's always good to be reminded and kind of check-in where you're at. So, Autumn, how can people learn more about you? Do you have anything that you want to share with our audience? Let us know.

Autumn: Yeah, so my website autumenloe.com, so I have different recipes on there. I have education on there. You can also connect with me on social media. I'm pretty active on there. So I'm on Instagram and Facebook as autumn.enloe.nutrition. So I'd love to connect with you on there. And I also have a free Facebook group called Nutrition Makeover For Moms so you can find me on there. I include different recipes and tips. I go live on different health topics in there so you can check that out. And then I also offer one on one virtual nutrition coaching, so along with some testing. So I do like food sensitivity testing and mineral imbalance testing. So if you're interested in learning more, I have a short coaching application right on my website at autumnenloe.com.

Melissa: Awesome. Thank you so much, Autumn. This was super helpful. And we will have all those links in the show notes, so please check her out if this is of interest to you. To be proactive in our health is better than reactive for sure.

Autumn: For sure!

Melissa: So thank you so much for your knowledge and for sharing your wisdom with us.

Autumn: Thanks for having me.

Melissa: Yes, of course. All right, everybody, we will see you here same time, same place next week. Have a great week. Peace. Bye-Bye.

Melissa: Oh, my gosh, you're still here. You are such a rebel woman. I have to meet you. Come on over to the Rebel Women Tribe on Facebook created for Brick and Mortar Business owners just like you. In this group, we empower, encourage, and support each other. And every week I come in and share with you a tip, tool or strategy that I'm learning in my Brick and Mortar Business to help you and yours. And you guys, this is the real stuff, the nitty-gritty in real-time of what's going on. So come on over to the Rebel Women Tribe on Facebook. I can't wait to meet you.