More Than Anxiety

Ep 128 - Longevity Secrets Through Mindful Living with Christine Ross

• Megan Devito • Episode 128

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Join Megan Devito in this episode as she chats with health and wellness coach, author, and podcaster Christine Ross about living a long, healthy life. Christine shares her own health journey and what she learned from researching the Blue Zones – places where people live to be over 100 and stay healthy!

Here's what they cover:

  • Christine's BEAMS method: Balanced Nutrition, Enjoyable Exercise, Aloha Friends, Mindful Living, and Sustainable Lifestyle. It's all about finding what works for you.
  • Why "enjoyable" exercise is key.  Forget the burpees if you hate them! Find movement you love.
  • The importance of Aloha Friends. Having supportive people in your life.
  • Mindful living vs. autopilot: Being present and intentional with your choices. No more zombie mode.
  • How to break bad habits and create healthy routines.
  • Tuning into your own answers: Learning to trust your inner wisdom.
  • Christine's books, "Health Beams" and "Discover the Adventure of You," and where to find them.

If you're stressed, anxious, or just want to live a healthier, more fulfilling life, this episode is for you!

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Megan Devito:

Welcome to the More Than Anxiety Podcast. I'm Megan Devito and I help ambitious women break out of the anxiety cycle that keeps them frustrated and stuck. Get ready for a lighthearted approach that will change what you think, how you feel and what you believe about yourself. This podcast is full of simple steps, a lot of truth talk and inspiration to take action, so you walk away feeling confident, calm and ready to live. Let's get to it.

Megan Devito:

Hey there, welcome to episode 128 of the More Than Anxiety podcast. I have another fantastic interview for you. Today. You get to meet Christine Ross. I'm not going to do all of the talking about her, because she does such a great job of introducing herself. Christine welcome.

Christine Ross:

Thank you, Megan. I am so excited to be on today and be a part of your podcast, so thank you.

Megan Devito:

You're very welcome.

Megan Devito:

Tell everybody what you do and how, like, what brought you here, what brought you to this podcast?

Christine Ross:

Well, what brought me to the podcast is we just kind of connected together over social media, became friends and like, hey, I've got a podcast, I do too, let's be on each other's, and we collaborated. So yes, so thank you for that opportunity. So I am a health and wellness coach, specializing in behavior change and nutrition, and i've've written two books Discover the Adventure of you and Health Beams so, and I also have my own podcast, the Radiate Health and Wellness Podcast.

Megan Devito:

I love that and I'm always excited about people who write books, because it's one of those things where I'm like I could write a book and then I'm like, well, I don't know what to write about. So tell us. So. Your most recent book is the Beams book, right?

Christine Ross:

Health Beams, yes.

Megan Devito:

Tell me more about that book.

Christine Ross:

So that book was. I was getting a lot of different questions of, oh can I really create a life that prevents disease? So that took me into really researching people that live the longest without disease and are healthy. And can you know, they're 102 and they get up and off of the floor with ease. So that brought me into really exploring the work done through the Blue Zones and a few different people that really researched and did the science. But I just really gathered, pulled all of their information. I mean I even visited some of the different countries and stuff, some of the different countries and stuff. So my book, Health Beams, is really focusing on just what does it take to really live a full, long, healthy health span, to focus your life on being healthy and long, rather than live till you're 90, but at age 52, you're feeling not so great and like you're just done. So just be. Yeah, have that energy. So do you want to hear, like the beams method, what it's about?

Megan Devito:

Yeah, Tell me everything.

Megan Devito:

But before we go further, because I know I asked you this question when we talked a while back, like when we first met, and you said the blue zones, and I remember thinking I don't know what the blue zones are. So I'm guessing, if I don't know what the blue zones are, there's probably a lot of people like blue zone. I don't know what that is. What is a blue zone?

Christine Ross:

Yeah, so the blue zones are the top places where it's mostly Dan Buehner that discovered and he's like a natural geographic guy. He was looking for the places of people with the most , so the people that live to be at least 100 years old. So these zones are, yeah, where those people live and it's just the insights that he gathered of how are they living to be so long, or, yeah, living to be living so long and being healthy. That's the blue zones.

Megan Devito:

Okay, In my head that is like Nepal or, yeah, I'm thinking like certain parts of Asia. Where are the blue zones? I'm positive it's not in America.

Christine Ross:

So well, there is one in America that would be in California. It's in a society that's led by the Seventh-day Adventists, okay. So there is that one, okay, and there's one in Greece, italy, off of an island, off of Asia. I can't think of all the places right now, they're a little scattered everywhere.

Megan Devito:

Yeah, okay, so it's not like there's this, it's not, then, certain sections of the world, it's just smaller communities then.

Christine Ross:

All of them seem to be small communities, yes, yes, that are a little bit distant from everything else and that, I think, has allowed modern- dayism to not be a part of their culture, which we are seeing some of that coming in more and more, and it is changing their health and that's kind of something to look at, that's really important.

Megan Devito:

Yeah, I think we hear so much about all the things that we're doing that are making us feel anxious or making us carry extra weight, or making us our bodies hurt or they're giving us diseases, and we're like, oh, yeah, yeah, and we just accept it.

Christine Ross:

Yeah, well, with me it's after learning that I had breast cancer, I wanted to know why I had breast cancer, so that's really kind of what started my whole research. It wasn't anything to do with genetics, so for my genetic testing, the doctor counselor told me that it was more than likely due to economical things. So I started looking at that. From the food that I ate, the air that I breathe, the lotions and potions I put into my skin, laundry detergents, what are all the different chemicals that I am bringing into my body that could possibly have contributed to that cancer, and what can I limit, not use to be able to prevent a reoccurrence in just a healthier way than taking pharmaceutical drugs for the rest of my life? So to me it was really about causing or preventing the initial cause, versus just slapping a bandaid on it. And yeah, just, I was told by some doctors oh, you're healthy, just keep doing whatever it is that you're doing.

Megan Devito:

Yeah, so no, I really love that you took a minute to look at that, and so, when you think about the things, how did you decide? Did you start with like I'm giving up everything and then I'll add things back in, or was it I'm gonna take one thing out at a time, or was it? How did you decide what to do?

Christine Ross:

Each thing's a little bit different. So with food, it was definitely cold turkey. I had heard of all these miraculous cures of people eating nothing but plants and vegetables, so I went on that strict vegan diet, but that one's been a little bit more of an opposite, I have figured that this had caused me so much stress and that anxiety which you're well aware of, right? Yeah, I realized I was doing more harm than good to my body to stress over every single little thing that I ate.

Christine Ross:

But to allow myself I call it my 90% rule. So like, if I go out once a month and there isn't something that fits into that vegan, you know what I'm open to eating fish. If there's something that I saw on the menu that just has a little bit of cream, okay, I mean mean, but I do keep standards of I'm not going to eat pork, chicken or beef. That's kind of the main restrictions. And there was actually one oncologist that I talked to about this and she was so supportive of it and that made me feel just so much better too. It was. I mean, I have had support coming from holistic doctors, but to have an actual oncologist on board to know the benefits of eating whole foods, plant-based diets, and that was great.

Christine Ross:

So, going back to your question, so the food thing, that was a big change and then kind of we work stepping back a little bit and then all the other environmental toxins has just been a little bit of learning at a time, learning how to detox what I can't control and then just learning more and more as far as what are the best natural toothpaste soaps. I've been making my own lotion, just melting down different like body butter and shea butter and oils and stuff. So just you know, can only do so much at a time and just being okay with that. Yeah.

Megan Devito:

I like that. So is the research that you did for yourself. It sounds like when you were looking at Blue Zones, that's kind of what led to you. Was your journey what led you to writing your book, or was that already in the works?

Christine Ross:

So that led me to well, because I was getting questions from different clients and stuff, so that led me into more and more research to really be able to assist people on a bigger scale than just little me just figuring out what I can do to prevent cancer. So it was giving answers to a lot of people that were searching how to live that long, healthy health span.

Megan Devito:

Yeah, so inside the book is it? Is it mostly tips on how to have the healthy lifespan from the things that you're doing or tell me more about? Like the meat of the book meat I shouldn't say that it's not vegan but the inside the workings.

Christine Ross:

So, to answer your question to begin with, so the book it's not just some ordinary book, it is a workbook. I do that because I know that you know your body so much better than anyone else and, as being a coach, I know that if I ask the right questions then you can come up with the right answers that will work for you and then be able to work through what you've been able to answer. So that's part of the book that and I know I mean it's just a part of you know, the law of physics or whatever it is that what you think about is the first start of manifestation. But once you put your thoughts into action, onto paper, writing that out, it is putting those thoughts into tangible form, which is just part of the process of putting it into your reality. So instead of just reading a book and being like, oh yeah, that's great, I will do that tomorrow, and then, you know, three months later a friend says, hey, I read this book, it's so great.

Christine Ross:

And you're like, oh yeah, I read that book too. And they're asking questions like, oh, so did you. You know how has it changed your life? Like, oh well, I was going to do that and I kind of forgot about that because I got distracted by this and that. So by really working as a kind of like a journal, I say, putting those actions into tangible form to turn into reality sooner. So that's the workbook. So as far as the BEAMS, it's an acronym for B balanced nutrition, E is enjoyable exercise, A is aloha friends, M mindful living and S is sustainable lifestyle. So do you want to hear a little bit about each of those.

Megan Devito:

Tell me more.

Christine Ross:

All right. So with balanced nutrition, it's just really coming down to what is that correct fuel intake for your body as a vehicle? You know to really be the guinea pig of your own body, to feel what is nourishment for you. So, like I explained earlier, with choosing to be 100% vegan, there were some things I learned didn't work 100% for me, but I definitely. One balanced diet would be a balanced diet of whole food, so that's a whole array of colors and vegetables and fruits that are from plants and not from things like Froot Loops.

Megan Devito:

They may be full of color, but I don't think they should be categorized in the same group as food. Yeah, I'm glad you brought that up, because not all colors are the same. Yeah, they're not created equal.

Christine Ross:

No, and every single color of real food has different nourishing qualities. So just to be able to create a balance and feel what works for you, so that's balanced nutrition E enjoyable exercise. I mean just enjoyable, just emphasis on that. So if you love going to the gym and doing sets of burpees, hats off to you. That's wonderful, that's great.

Christine Ross:

But for the majority of us humans that's not enjoyable. So to just work through, find what brings you happiness. Say, I've got my dog Boady in the back here. If you can see him, he's what gets me up and going every morning. I can count on him putting his head on my lap and being like mom, aren't we going for a walk today? Yep, yes, and that brings me joy, to be able to really just have him by my side, my companion, he's my little supporter there to just go for a walk and be in nature and just brings me so much in to just that time and it's enjoyable.

Christine Ross:

And then another enjoyable exercise is I like gardening and that can take lot of hard work and but I get for the hard work, I reap the joy of it to just go out and pick a fresh tomato or papaya or pineapple, whatever it is, because I'm here in Hawaii, but I just love that, just brings me joy. So find something that you love doing that can be sustainable for a lifetime. That and one of the things is like, if I can walk at least three miles today and yesterday and tomorrow, maybe I'll skip a week. That's okay. I went on vacation. Get back to it if I keep on doing that today. But I'm 102, I should be able to be keep on doing the same thing, because I did that the day before.

Megan Devito:

Yeah. So I love that. That's really. I love that mindset right there, that like I can do it because I've been doing it, and that's amazing. And so often we tell ourselves well, I guess I'm getting too old for this.

Christine Ross:

Yeah, that's a wonderful excuse for some people. Yes. A, aloha friends, that brings me into just having those people that are your roadside assistants. You can call on, no matter what time of day, rain or shine, and they are there to assist you with whatever it is. It's those people, or four-legged creatures, like my dog, bodhi here, that get you to go for those walks, or, you know, let's go for a hike today, let's go play in the water, whatever it is. To be supportive, and not only I know I'm talking about exercise but supportive to be there when you're really going through something, when you need somebody to lean on, to just talk to, to have that connection, those deep conversations where you don't feel like there's any judgment or anything about what you're saying, that 100, just acceptable. So, aloha friends and it goes with the energy of aloha, just that whole, just love, accepting, taking care of, nurturing energy.

Christine Ross:

So, after Aloha Friends, mindful living and I mean that just kind of describes itself right? Just be conscious of what you're doing when I do the comparison to the vehicle, instead of living your life on autopilot, where I mean right now it's the end of the year Like what did you do this year? Like, oh my gosh, I don't know. You know, got up in the morning, had my coffee, went to work, came home, ate dinner, watched Netflix, went to bed. It's just this autopilot. To get off of that and just start living with intention and with purpose, being mindful of the choices that you're making, the food that you're eating, the thoughts you are thinking. Everything starts with your thoughts. So if you're going through any type of stress or triggers or anything, once you can learn to be mindful, to control your thoughts, the whole world is yours yeah for sure that's a big one.

Christine Ross:

And then a sustainable lifestyle is really just whatever you're doing. Make it sustainable. Like I talked about the walking, it's something I can do, I know, it's something I can do for a lifetime. My way of eating just a whole foods diet, it's something I feel like I can do for a lifetime. It's not a quick fix fad diet, it's something I'm just going on for 30 days, while sometimes those type of things might be necessary to have just a standard, a strong foundation that is sustainable. So, and then that goes with your body, and yet so in the Beams Method it all all just intertwines. One thing really does lead to another, and then after each chapter, I have questions, like I said, to really just fully dive deeper into your life and how to apply it. So that's the BEAMS.

Megan Devito:

Yeah I, that's amazing, but it's like it's so good because it's so specific. Yes, let's talk about how you're moving, let's talk about what you're eating, but also very broad, where it's not like, no, don't I think so often when we think about, oh, I want to be able to take care of myself and I think of the things that I can't do. But you left it so open for people and, just starting with the idea of of you know yourself and you, you have options right, like you can choose. Are you going to, are you going to do this, are you going to do this? And you get to decide.

Christine Ross:

Exactly. And then, after you've done that, well, how do you feel now that you've done that? Is it a good or a bad thing? And learn from that.

Megan Devito:

Yes, yeah, but it was good, it was so, but it was in tune. The idea of being mindful with the things that you're choosing or the things that like, just really capturing your thoughts in the moment, I think is so important.

Christine Ross:

Yes, just being conscious, living consciously.

Megan Devito:

Yeah, and when we get to a place because so often so many of my listeners are they're stressed out, they're anxious and they're like I'm stressed out and I can't help it what I do is I grab the Oreo cookies because I'm stressed, and so did I think about it. Yes, I grabbed the Oreos. How would you coach somebody on that? What would you tell them? The Oreos.

Megan Devito:

How would you, how would you coach somebody on that? What would you tell them?

Christine Ross:

Well, it's all up to what happened when they ate the Oreo cookies. Were they able to eat just one, or was it all or nothing?

Christine Ross:

And they just ate the entire box, right. So it's very individualized how I would go with that. From the person that just ate one, I mean, that's, that's amazing, okay, so you felt like you, you know, just got to have that little treat. You know how did that work for you. And then the ones that ate the entire box. Well, we go with a different approach of just questioning of what was going on with that and be able to just use a cognitive behavior change, find something else you know that triggered it and go through all of those fatalities.

Megan Devito:

Yeah, I think it's such a good thing to be able to create that distinction between, yeah, I was mindful, I knew I was eating them and so was it more of an urge, was it actual, a conscious decision, or was it yours, like your typical habit, which I think is always so interesting on how we go down those paths of this is what I've always done and this is how I ended up this way, like living on autopilot, right, Absolutely Living on autopilot, which so many of us do.

Megan Devito:

And I think that we have this place where it's like am I being mindful or, you know, are you doing things mindfully or are you in a routine or are you in a rut? And I think that there's so many people like I need to create routines, and I'm like, yes, you do, but they have to be flexible, because some of our routines, I feel like we get stuck in ruts, whereas I think the key, I think it's just the mindfulness component of it, like coming back full circles to the thing that I forgot, that I was going to say before. It was really back to that idea of being mindful, so that you're not stuck in a rut and calling it a routine.

Christine Ross:

That's great, and isn't it great that we're forgetting what we're talking about, as we're talking about mindfulness, right?

Megan Devito:

But at least we're conscious of it Exactly, at least we can edit it all out, right? But yeah, I do think all of that is so important and we do our minds get so full, like mindful, versus being mindful and just recognizing that, like this has been my bad habit for so long when I'm stressed, I grab wine, or when I'm stressed, I snap at my spouse or whatever it is that we're doing. But that just because it's a bad habit doesn't mean it's a good routine that you're in and being able to be mindful of. These are my reactions and this is what I do, and I just love the foundation that you gave and that it's not just stop doing this one thing, stop doing this one thing, which has really led me back to that original question that you know, just knowing yourself, so well.

Christine Ross:

So, yeah, so you brought up being like mindful of all this stuff going on versus being mindful. What comes to me, the difference of that is when you're truly being mindful and conscious, you're in the moment. You're not worrying or concerned about everything else that is going on, you're just enjoying what is going on right now.

Megan Devito:

Yeah, yes, that's such a big deal, which leads back to what we just talked about before we started recording this, when we were talking about all those drones flying around, and I just want everybody I mean, if that is a place not that this has anything to do with the topic, but, going back to the idea of being mindful, the second that you're thinking about it it's already in the past tense, and so to stay truly in that moment, you have to be in your body, in the moment, right now. As soon as you realize that you're not, it's already in the past. And that is a big deal, especially for people who like to punish themselves or to be really like, focused on the future, on like, oh, what if this, what if that? We're not there yet or it's already too late. We're just here, here, here, here, here, and it's just this ever moving thing and we're doing pretty great. We just have to give ourselves a little bit more flexibility and love.

Christine Ross:

Yes, just another huge thing that in my podcast, my books that I like to put out to really assist people in doing like my number one thing if I can get out there is to learn how to tune into your own answers. So if there's, and not just made up, you know. So if there's and not just made up, you know hogwash, muggy, brain-ness that's going on in your mind, if it's something negative or something positive. But whatever happens in the future, to be able to make your own choices that you feel good about that came from yourself, rather than following another leader that you don't know where their choices came from, where are they leading you to? Or maybe you feel like they're to make the choice. If you do want to follow them, to really feel that's the right answer for you is to go with them, so we can do this.

Christine Ross:

All about different types of things, right podcasts on traditions and beliefs and talking about just the belief in Santa Claus. And I mean you can relate this to everything from the thoughts in your head, people that you know just telling yourself I'm not good enough. It's like well, where did you hear that thought from? Why are you thinking that it's not of yourself? And just tune in and find that beauty and that life within you.

Megan Devito:

So yeah, that's so good and it's so important, whether we're talking about how you're going to take care of your body, how you're going to take care of your mind, how you're going to decide what you do later on in the afternoon, even like, what would I like, what do I know I need, because we know sometimes we don't like the answer, like maybe you know that you need to move your body and you're like, but I don't want to, I just want to lay here, I mean, yeah, but you know right. And getting to that place where you're like, yeah, I know I can, I know what I need and I know that I can do it yeah, I totally get you.

Christine Ross:

There are some days where it's like you know, it's just's just been raining. I haven't been out. It's been more days that I go without really moving my body. It's more like I don't really want to do that. But yeah, I know deep within I get to do that and once I and I mean, if it's still raining, raining, pouring, I can't get outside if I do some yoga inside or just some type of little exercise, I feel so much better. I'm like a completely different person after so, yeah, I love that.

Megan Devito:

That's fantastic, so tell everyone who's listening. Who do you work with? How do they get in touch with you? Where can I get your books?

Christine Ross:

So I work with whoever just feels that, calling that they get to work with me to really allow me to be their coach, whether it's finding what are your values, your beliefs, are you working with nutrition, dieting, and really get to have a coach to assist you in being your own guinea pig and trying different things and just asking the right questions. Well, how did you feel? With that I mean physically, mentally, spiritually, everything, and it goes into, yeah, just different things with relationships, but really I coach people into tuning in to your own answers, knowing what works for you that can be sustainable for your life. So, as far as my books, they're available.

Christine Ross:

Um, my book Discover the Adventure Of You that one we didn't really talk much about, it's really that was my first book. It goes into just gratitude, practices, finding your beliefs, going through your child memories, finding that inner child within you, having a discussion with that person. Um, relationships, your relationship with food. I mean there's so many things that are in this book and it's really just self-discovery discovering who you are, because I've had so many people ask me I just want to know who I am. So if you're there, you're ready to dive deep, go into Amazon Books and Noble. I mean that one is like on all the major book platforms.

Christine Ross:

My other book, Health Beams that one I did just launch on Amazon, self-publish it, so it is only available on Amazon. You can also get more information on both my books on my website, radiate health and wellness. com, and also on my websites. I have posted different recipes just to assist you in eating a little bit healthier and blog posts and creating a healthier lifestyle, and there's also links there for my schedule of pre-consolation with me to contact me, ask me questions, so you can also contact me, get a hold of me on Facebook, instagram, whatever it is. My email is probably the easiest because I know that there's people out there that have questions that are deep that they don't feel confident about putting onto Facebook or somewhere where other people can see their comments. So if you have just a really deep and intriguing question, just email me radiatehw at gmailcom. I love that.

Megan Devito:

I will make sure to put all of those links in the show notes so that everyone listening can find them. They can get your books, they can get in touch with you, however it is that works best for them. Thank you so much for joining me today.

Christine Ross:

Oh, you're welcome so great to be on. And you were on my podcast to Radiate Health and Wellness Podcast, so this has been great getting to know each other and being each other's guests. So fun.

Megan Devito:

I always love it. Podcasting world is wild. It's good Like I've met so many interesting people. It's been fantastic. So thank you, thank you.

Megan Devito:

I hope you enjoyed this episode of the More Than Anxiety Podcast. Before you go, be sure to subscribe and leave a review so others can easily find this resource as well. And, of course, if you're ready to feel calm, to stop overthinking and have a lot more fun, you can go to the show notes, click the link and talk to me about coaching. I'll talk to you soon.