Jessica shares her story of coming from a home where she felt like she had to take care of herself from a very early age. She was no stranger to hard work and providing for herself.

Mindset as far as taking care of herself and making money was all she knew. She did not know how to dream or even think futuristic. She was stuck in flight or flight mode that started very early on in her life.

We both share how we had the mindset of "I don't need a man to take care of me"... until we got married and had a baby and everything shifted for us. For Jessica it was when she gave her life to the Lord that she felt the desire to be a mom.

Then another mindset shift after becoming a mom, "I don't need any help, this is my job." And also feeling like because you didn't make any money that you also couldn't spend any money. A lie that we tell ourselves, and actually believe.

We put so much on ourselves and we don't communicate with our spouse, and we forget to take care of ourself. The mind is so powerful and when we tell ourself we aren't worth the expense to take care of ourself, we believe it and don't even allow the idea that maybe we could spend money on ourself.

What if you got curious and were open to taking a look at how you could still stay at home with your kids and make money and feel better?

Has your life been flipped upside down? Are you letting all that stress fall on you to care for everyone else? What is the narrative you are telling yourself? If you aren't careful your health will be what takes the biggest hit and it can take you down.

If you are praying for a change, be open to the fact that it might not look like what you think it's supposed to look like. God works in mysterious ways, and not being open minded is keeping you from the answer to your prayers.

When you have an open mind to notice what God is showing you, so much can change, and it can be simple. When you have a clear mind and vision, you can hear the Lord and see what is showing you. Do not let fear hold you back. A true mindset shift can change everything!

This is our story and we are not the same people today that we were 10 years ago! I hope that listening will open your mind and encourage you.

Good morning I hope you have an amazing day!

You're tired, moody, maybe not sleeping well, and you're

wondering, is it stress or is my body changing? Today I'm going to help you figure out if what you're experiencing is perimenopause or stress, and what to do about it!

Why is it so confusing? Stress and perimenopause over lap ALOT in symptoms. Fatigue, sleep disturbances, weight gain in the mid section, anxiety, irritability. Most women normalize it as stress and miss the early signs of perimenopause.

If stress is the one driving the symptoms, then things such as a temporary break from something that stressed you out or a vacation with lots of rest will help. If its cortisol driven then you will be wired but tired.

Perimenopause driven symptoms are related to the cycle and hormone fluctuations. Your periods begin to change and they will sometimes be lighter, heavier or even could skip one. You start having night sweats and hot flashes, or vaginal dryness. Anxiety and mood changes seem to be out of the blue and after a week off work or letting go of a stressful obligation doesn't help.

What about when it's stress and perimenopause? Stress actually males perimenopause worse. High cortisol will tank progesterone leading to more severe symptoms. Stress is keeping you awake, hormones fluctuate and then insomnia becomes unbearable.

Simple Steps to help:

Track your symptoms for 2-3 months (cycle, sleep, mood)

Ask your practitioner to do hormones testing

Lifestyle resets that help BOTH stress & hormones, such as:

balance blood sugar, movement that calms such a yoga, prioritize sleep, magnesium and adaptogen herbs.

If this sounds like you, you are not broken nor are you alone!

Follow, subscribe, and share with a friend!

Leave a comment if you can relate?

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supplements that I take to help: https://shareplex.us/share/Mbc6Jjb

In this episode my good friend and BII sister & I discuss how important it is to get the information out there so that women can make informed decisions and better understand what could happen.

Breast implant removal is more than a cosmetic decision—it can be a vital step toward protecting your overall health. For many women, implants can lead to complications such as chronic pain, autoimmune symptoms, capsular contracture, or breast implant illness. Removing them can help reduce inflammation, restore natural body function, and improve long-term well-being. Your health should always come before aesthetics, and understanding the risks is the first step in making an empowered choice.

My Facebook feed is FULL of everyone saying how sick their kids are and school just started back. This episode is to give you some tips and encourage you to make some easy changes to stay out of the doctor's office, get well faster, or stay well.

First let's look the child's diet. (this also needs to be looked at if the child has behavior issues) If you target the gut health through diet and probiotics then you can boost their immune system, and 80% of the immune system is in the gut. If the diet is all processed foods, and they are a picky eater, then make some simple, basic changes and then build on that. Tostios brand makes 2 versions of their chips, and the better one is called Simply. Start to learn how to look for the bad ingredients that are causing your family more harm than you know. AVOID: artificial colors (causing a gut/brain disturbance), Seed oils (you only want olive oil, avocado oil and coconut oil) because they cause inflammation in the body, and added sugars but especially artificial sugars (aspartame, Sucralose)

Look for real cane sugar or even better, stevia or monk fruit. Start by making some small swaps, even put the chips into a zip lock bag so they don't see the package. LOL

Try adding more fruits and veggies in their diet perhaps in a smoothie in the morning. It's best to not let them see how you make it! Just saying. Call it a milk shake if you need to.

Have conversations with your kids about trying new food and talk to them about how it can help them stay healthy and not feel bad and need to go to the doctor as much.

If this is still an issue and you can't get them to eat or even try any new foods, then you need to consider supplementing their diet. Supplements are just that, meant to fill in the gap and supplement

where the diet is lacking. I recommend this children's chewable that is a methylated multi-vitamin and probiotic in one. https://plexusworldwide.com/Aliciatrotter/product/plexus-xfactor-kids-chewable-multivitamin-probiotic

One of my favorite things to give my family when sickness does strike is Elderberry Syrup. I make my own and you can too. Find a simple recipe on my blog here: https://trottingthrulife.blogspot.com/2013/10/elderberry-syrup.html

Or get a kit mailed to you and watch the webinar on how to make it here: https://trottingthrulife.blogspot.com/2013/10/elderberry-syrup.html

Natural remedies do work, but you have to start them immediately and be consistent using them until the sickness is gone.

These suggestions are just that, suggestions only. This is NOT medical advise and was always check with your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions or concerns.

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Today I'm interviewing my friend Ellen about why and how she prioritized her physical and mental health before she ever wanted to get pregnant.

By the time she was in her 30s she was heavily addicted to sugar and to American standards she was considered healthy, but she didn't feel healthy. She used some gut health supplements and was able to kick her sugar addiction and soda habit. While also losing weight along the way. When her gut got healthier she noticed she was a happier more positive attitude in herself.

This breakthrough in her health lead her to have a desire to become a mom. Her advise to anyone out there who also isn't sure they want to be a mom because they don't feel healthy physically or mentally: Keep it simple and start with one thing at a time, stacking on more healthy habits at a time. And if you don't feel worthy to take care of yourself, know that is a lie. You are worthy of taking care of you so that you can feel and be your best health. And if your budget is the reason you think you can't, then she encourages you to look at your budget and write it all out and see where you could scrub the budget and do some things less to make room in the budget. Because it's all about priorities and what's important to you. She's a 37 year old first time mom and it's important to her to be able to run and play and chase after her little girl.

If you really believe that God wants you to be at home with your baby and yet you need help with your health too, have faith that He will provide a way. This is the power of prayer.

Ellen saw the value in her habits that were leading down a not so great path and she decided the change had to start with her. Her one regret once she became pregnant was that she didn't continue her chiropractic care throughout her pregnancy. She said just like some people think when they start gut health supplements and start to feel better that they don't need them anymore, that's what she did with the chiropractic care. Her back had been healed but she didn't continue the care and ended up with a horrible back injury at 38 weeks pregnant.

She also thinks her labor would have been a lot better if she had continued the chiropractic care.

We talk about things that we have discovered since having kids, and how it has changed so much for how we do things. No judgment here of course, just encouragement to strip up curiosity to look at what your habits are and what you could do different. Start simple and pick one thing to start with in making changes with your family and their food to better their health. And preparing yourself for it to be trying but you can do it mama! It might suck at the beginning but if you stick with it, you'll see so many better things and a whole new life. You and your child deserve that!

Find connections to get the support you need.

You can find me on Facebook:

https://facebook.com/alicia.trotter/

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https://instagram.com/alicia_trotter/

Hello to the perimenopausal women out there. I wanted to talk today about one word that I recently learned what it meant. Because we are in this together ladies! Estrobolome! This means that the liver and gut are responsible for cycling out excess hormones out of the body. Both hormones we naturally make, B-HRT, and hormone mimickers from toxins in our environment.

So when our liver isn't detoxing well and neither is the gut, then a crucial and often never talked about piece of the hormone balance game we are in is missing. So what can you do? I mentioned the supplements that I have taken for year and talked about the specific simple steps to achieve this missing piece of the puzzle. I will link here a cart with the exact products I use.

https://shop.plexusworldwide.com/cart

And as always be sure to follow me on social media to connect more, or leave a comment.

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I don't want the guys listening in to think I'm only talking to the girls here. This episode is for you fellas out there to give you some cliff notes on things that women go through that may make more sense to you. Then once you get curious about these things I'm talking about and learn a little bit more, it might just make your relationships a little bit easier.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out or leave a comment. And get curious and do som research on it too! Hopefully by continuing to listen you will continue to learn more and be the encourager that the women in your life need to help them live their best, healthiest life without the overwhelm.