Kim Sutton: Welcome back to another episode of Positive Productivity. This is your host, Kim Sutton, and I’m so happy that you’re here to join us today. I’m also thrilled to introduce our guest, Jenny Eden Berk. Jenny is the Founder of Jenny Eden Coaching. She left her job of 13 years in the health education field to pursue her passion of starting her own coaching practice. 

Jenny, welcome, and thanks so much for joining us.

Jenny Eden Berk: Kim, thank you so much for having me. I’m so thrilled to be here.

Kim Sutton: Oh, you’re so welcome. I would love it if you would jump in and give an even better introduction and background on you. Because you know the full story, and you know what it felt like and experienced it.

Jenny Eden Berk: Yeah, I would love to share that. So yeah, as you said, I was a health educator for 13 years at a national health and weight management company. And in a chronic diet or myself, I was a little bit triggered being there because my sole job was to help and support other people to lose weight very rapidly. And after about 13 years of this, I started to realize that I wasn’t really helping people. I was actually just sort of putting a bandaid on a wound, and not really getting to the root cause of why people overeat, or binge eat, or emotionally eat. And I wasn’t sort of tackling it with my own life either. So after 13 years, I quit my job. I got my certificate in eating psychology coaching, and I started my own practice two and a half years ago, and I haven’t looked back. My practice is really about helping people heal the relationship with food and with their bodies. And it’s a much deeper approach than I ever did before. I’m seeing just so many breakthroughs and paradigm shifts, and it’s just amazing. It’s so meaningful for me.

Kim Sutton: Wow. Well, okay, this is not an area that I have any knowledge, or experience, or definitely not expertise. I mean, if I have no knowledge or experience, I definitely don’t have expertise. How long do you think you’re thinking about leaving a job? Or do you know how long you’re thinking about leaving your job and pursuing your coaching practice before you actually did?

Jenny Eden Berk: Yeah. The first 10 years were great actually, and I had my three children during that time. They were really flexible about me having the mom hat sometimes, and I could always leave to take my kids to a doctor’s appointment. So I kind of just, I want to say just put my head in and just did it. And wasn’t really thinking because I was so distracted with parenting and all these other things about what I was doing and how I was helping people. And then about, I would say, at the 10th year, I started to feel like, hmm, there are a lot of people who keep coming back, they’ve lost weight and look like they’ve gained it back. And now, they’re here again. And I started to feel like, am I really doing them a service? Like, is it really helping people? And I started to face these really tough questions, both with what the work I was doing for other people, but also for myself. Because I felt like there was always a spotlight on me to be a good role model, and to be super thin, and to diet. And that for me, that was always a trigger, and always really challenging. I was starting to feel like, what can I do to heal my own relationship with food? This can’t always be good, like aggressively dieting, and then gaining it back, and so on and so forth. 

So I would say there were three years that I was contemplating and starting to ruminate about it and doing the research. And everything sort of came to a head around July of 2000. What was it? 15 I’d say? And that’s when I started to be like, wow, what would it be like if I started my own practice? Do I have the competence to do that? Am I able to, like my kids are starting to get older and it just felt right. I was like, I’m doing this. This is the time. I feel really compelled to do it, and I just never looked back. I threw away my own scale. I stopped dieting, and I got my certificate and have been helping people ever since. It’s been amazing.

Kim Sutton: Wow, you throw away your skill. Yeah. That resonates with me right now because, well, I have to say my mother has an incredible metabolism. And for much of my life, I walked her same steps. But after having five kids, your body changes just a little bit.

Jenny Eden Berk: Just a little.

Kim Sutton: And the last of my pregnancies was twins. So more than a little, let’s just put it that way, listeners, more than a little. Okay, forgive me for this. But if you’re a woman and you’ve had kids, bless you who adopt more than you already have or even your first because you are doing amazing for another child. But having a child ourselves, every single pregnancy added like another 10 pounds to my boobs alone. Okay, sorry, just need to throw that out there. And again, I gave you an apology beforehand.

Jenny Eden Berk: No need to apologize.

Kim Sutton: So I was actually just in the past week considering getting a scale because I have been lazy. Okay, let me rephrase that. I got scolded last week for using the word lazy because I work a ton. But when you’re an entrepreneur, and I’m sure you have it, well, maybe you haven’t experienced it like this, but I’ve been not focusing on nutrition as an entrepreneur. I call the food lazy. We’ve been eating a lot of lazy food, what can we get out of a package and throw it in the oven and have it. Our family has not seen the produce aisle enough. Every event that I go to I’m like, oh, can I wear the same clothes that I wore to the last event? Thankfully, I haven’t really had to change those. It does a little bit of weight and appearance. Get a lot of mental energy if we’re not careful. And even when we are careful.

Jenny Eden Berk: Oh, my gosh, do you just nailed that? Yeah, you just nailed it. It takes so much mental energy and emotional energy to take care of ourselves, to nourish ourselves, and to move our bodies. And it feels like it should be so intuitive. Like, oh, this is what we’ve always done. We just eat what our body needs and craves. And we move, but because we don’t live in a society like that anymore, if we lived 100 years ago, it would be much easier. But now, all foods that are convenient foods tend to be processed foods, or fast food, or huge portions, or what have you. It totally makes sense. And I totally understand what you mean. As an entrepreneur, you’re so pulled in so many directions that it feels like, oh, just a big chore. Now, I’m gonna go make a home cooked meal and go to the Farmers Market and chop all these vegetables, it can feel really overwhelming.

Kim Sutton: Jenny, I live in the middle of cornfields or soy, depending on what the farmers plant in Ohio. And I am embarrassed to say that I have lived here almost 14 years, and I have never gone to the Farmers Market. And they have multiple times a week in my town during the right season.

Jenny Eden Berk: Well, I feel like it’s almost a luxury. Like, oh, like languish in your day and going to the Farmers Market, Listen to the music and pick out the perfect heirloom tomato, but it actually feels like a luxury to do that. And a lot of us don’t take the time to do stuff like that because it almost feels like an indulgence.. Like, oh, I have other things I need to do. I’ve got this deadline. I’ve got that interview. I’ve got this. So I can kind of understand why that hasn’t happened.

Kim Sutton: Oh, yeah. And the same happened with my own garden in my backyard. We spent a whole day within a couple months of moving into our house in March of 2016. We spent a whole day taking a small part of our backyard, taking the grass off the top row detailing it ourselves, what we needed to do to make a garden in a bowl? Is that the right word? I am making up words today. Well, I have to give myself a little bit of grace there. I did get pregnant with the twins and I was sick for months, and it just didn’t feel like gardening. But the garden still has the dirt patch, has been out there ever since. Not like I couldn’t go out there and plant new plants. We have snow on the ground. It’s April folks, we should not have snow on the ground in southwestern Ohio in April.

Jenny Eden Berk: We do too. It’s actually snowing quite a lot right now.

Kim Sutton: Oh, my gosh. But you inspired me just now, because now, the twins are big enough. And then I also have a four year old, the twins are three. We are planting our garden this year. Again, thank you

Jenny Eden Berk: Oh, you’re welcome. It’s so great with the kids. My little one loves to dig the little holes and put the seeds in, and they like to own it. When they are sort of a part of it, not only do they help take care of the garden, but they’re actually going to eat the vegetables from, like if I brought home carrots or something, they’d be like, whatever. But if it’s from the garden, they’re like, oh, what are we going to do with this? It’s like, that’s the same thing.

Kim Sutton: Oh, yeah, with my kids, I won’t even be able to get them in the door. I remember a book when I was little, Blueberries For Sal, S-A-L.

Jenny Eden Berk: I don’t remember that one.

Kim Sutton: Okay, it’s a children’s book, but Sal goes out with his mother and his picking blueberries, and they get separated. And all of a sudden, Sal comes across a bear. I won’t give away the book, but everything’s okay.

Jenny Eden Berk: Oh, I’m so glad, no spoilers, but everything’s okay.

Kim Sutton: But Sal is eating the blueberries out of the bucket the whole time.

Jenny Eden Berk: Hmm, that’s so nice. I love blueberry picking. Have you ever been to Vermont?

Kim Sutton: I have.

Jenny Eden Berk: Such amazing blueberry patches, bushes and all kinds of stuff. I wanted to say something about, regarding what you had said before about taking time to go to the Farmers Market, cooking and all this stuff. Do you know that Ted Talk speaker Mel Robbins, she’s also an inspirational speaker. So she tweeted something out that I was like, oh my gosh, that makes so much sense. She said, try this out. Instead of saying I don’t have time, try saying I’m not prioritizing this and see how it feels. And I was like, that is such a great shift. Mindset shifts because it’s always about prioritizing.

Kim Sutton: That’s so true. I sent my husband to the grocery last night, or yesterday, and told him what to pick up for the next few days for dinner. I gave him a lazy food list, but I could have given him a healthy food list. Taking the time that it would have taken to make the lazy food in the evening, taking that time in the morning and put it in the crock pot.

Jenny Eden Berk: What do you consider lazy food? I’m curious.

Kim Sutton: Okay, I told him to pick up a bag of chicken wings, or chicken nuggets. I mean, like the breaded chicken nuggets. And pizza rolls tend to be a popular item around my house. Lazy food to us is anything in a bag or box in the frozen food aisle that mom just has to throw in the oven and hope that she doesn’t burn, because I will burn out the stove. But I don’t burn stuff in the crock pot.

Jenny Eden Berk: Because crock pots are kind of like, you just set it and go.

Kim Sutton: Yeah, exactly. And we don’t have a pressure cooker. However, friends who are very food conscious and have told me time and time again, you really should get a pressure cooker.

Jenny Eden Berk: I’ve heard the instapot is amazing. It’s sort of like a pressure cooker and a rice cooker apparently, or a slow cooker.

Kim Sutton: I’ve heard that as well.

Jenny Eden Berk: I haven’t gotten one yet though. But I was gonna say that there are lots of ways that you can take lazy food and infuse it with nutrient dense additives, like adding and infusing your lazy food with nutrition. So for instance, if you get your pizza whatever, you can also buy some fruits and vegetables. Heat that up and put it on top, and then there you go, you have extra vegetables for that day. Yeah, there’s lots of lazy hacks, if you will, to build a little bit more nutrient dense meals taking the easy way.

Kim Sutton: Absolutely. I do have to give us both a little props. My husband and I, but you big props for what you’re doing. And I’m going to circle back around because I have a question on the tip of my tongue. Years ago, I went to a popular, I don’t want to call it Chinese, PF Chang’s.

Jenny Eden Berk: I know PF Chang’s.

Kim Sutton: Yes. And was introduced to lettuce rolls, lettuce wraps. Which listeners, if you’ve had them, they’re so delicious, but they’re so extremely easy to make at home. I hope I don’t get flagged by their legal team for saying this. But we just get chicken and egg, we bake it and put it in like teriyaki sauce, which I know that takes [inaudible], but we get lettuce at the store, and just make some rice at home, and then we make our own lettuce wraps. That’s always a huge hit. Not that iceberg lettuce is exactly nutrient rich, iceberg lettuce doesn’t have much, but we could easily switch it out with spinach or something.

Jenny Eden Berk: Well, spinach might be hard to make into our — but you could do like romaine lettuce would be great, or bibb lettuce, or like boston bibb. And that’s a brilliant, brilliant meal because the kids love baking their own stuff. Like if you ever had a taco and stuff.

Kim Sutton:  It’s like on the plate.

Jenny Eden Berk: Yeah, exactly. And it gets everybody involved, and it’s delicious, and it’s easy. I think that’s a huge win, win, win.

Kim Sutton: Thank you. Yeah, we’re gonna have to do that more often. They absolutely loved it last night. It was one of the first times in a while that we’ve seen them all actually sit at their plate, not try to run around and find electronics while they were eating, even the three and four. They want to know whoever’s phone is because they’ve learned our pin codes. They take our phones, they go to some obscure corner in a room where the other siblings will leave them alone. I mean, it’s hard to have twin three year olds and a four year old because they constantly want what each other gets. But then whoever’s phone that they had dies, and we can’t find it because it’s dead, and we can’t call it to find where it went.

Jenny Eden Berk: Oh, my goodness, then the crisis ensues.

Kim Sutton: Absolutely. Have you watched, This Is Us?

Jenny Eden Berk: Oh, yes, I love that show. I actually wrote a blog post about Kate, about the character of Kate, I’m very intrigued by, and I think that they did a really good job of portraying what the experience is like of a child who is starting to learn that they’re a little bit heavier than their peers. And in the delicate relationship between the parents and that child, and how they’re perceived by their peers, and the pain and the some of the aches that they carry around with them. I thought they did a really good job. I felt really like I resonated with a lot of her story. Did you feel that way too?

Kim Sutton: It feels so real. That show was one of my favorites. I watched like maybe three shows, and that is always on my list. I think they’ve done a great job, but or no buts. When she’s going to the weight loss support group, I’ve always found those portions of the show really fascinating. Not a bad way, just because they do such a great job. And then there’s the really, really, really, really skinny girl who goes, I forgot her name at the moment, but I never really thought about it until just some recent episodes that she’s struggling with her own inner demons as well. I can’t remember, I don’t want to give any spoilers, but she’s struggling on her own side. I mean, she’s not dealing with a lot of extra weight, but she’s struggling with how to remain a stick.

Jenny Eden Berk: Well, you bring up such a good point, which is that a lot of people make assumptions about how much we, and who you are as an eater, whether you binge or not based on your size. And in fact, it really has nothing to do with your size if your relationship with food is all up in your brain. I’ve had people come into my office who are 95 pounds, and they’re telling me that they binge eat, and they feel out of control, and they don’t have a good relationship with food. And their issues are just as relevant, just as important to dig into as somebody who is 300 pounds because it’s all about feeling that sense of fear around food, or out of control, or that you’re not empowered around food. And I really resonated with that story arc because Kate, I don’t think this is a spoiler, but she kind of has some disdain and scorn for this woman. Like, what do you know? And how could you possibly know what I’m going through? But I think that they start to really have an understanding with each other, that they’re actually, what’s going on upstairs, and their brains, and emotionally are very, very similar.

Kim Sutton: Absolutely. Absolutely. Are there any common themes that you see amongst your clients that are creating unhealthy eating habits? Are there any common root issues that need to be worked through that you see?

Jenny Eden Berk: Yeah, there are a few. A lot of it has to do with what the family relationship with food was like. Was the mom always dieting? Were there restrictions in the house? Did they start to feel guilty about eating and about their appetite? Or was it more like food is love, and it’s a celebration, and it’s encouraged. That’s a big part of it. Because families where the mom or dad chronically dieted, and was very appearance based, it tends to seep into our psyche where we start to feel like, oh, okay, dieting is important, being thin is important, restricting my food is important because that’s what mom does. It’s not like it’s so blatant, it’s more like a tacit understanding because children are so observant and they take in so much of the themes and the ways that their parents see the world. And then I would also say another theme is, if there’s been any trauma in that child’s life and they haven’t been able to find self soothing techniques, oftentimes, they will turn to food to solve those problems and to numb out to the problems because they haven’t been given an avenue to really fully digest those experiences and their feelings. 

So instead of really feeling the feelings, and finding ways to calm their nervous systems down to productively deal with those feelings, they use food as a way to, almost as a surrogate to the empty void that they’re feeling, or any discomfort that they’re feeling and that stays with them for a very, very long time. And then when we’re adults, it’s like, we wonder why we’re doing it. And we have to kind of go back to that, we have to sort of digest those life experiences fully in order to find other tools and techniques to really deal with really tough and complex feelings, honestly, and experiences.

Kim Sutton: That’s so fascinating. And especially, because I see a lot of parents, me, offering our children a food reward if they do something, if you pick up your room, I will give you two cookies. Or if you do this, we’ll get McDonald’s. A 15 year old staring at me and nodding right now. But it’s not just me, I see it all the time. If you’re good, I’ll give you a piece of candy. You’ve been going through the grocery. Right at the front of our grocery, there’s actually a little children’s fruit stand right in front of the produce section that has free banana knuffels for the little kid.

Jenny Eden Berk: Oh, that’s awesome. Oh, I love that.

Kim Sutton: It is awesome. Because I remember growing up, and the bakery at my grocery always had free cookies for the children. So I remember my grandmother, sorry mom if you did this, but I remember my grandmother always taking us by the bakery just so we could get our free cookie. My children love fruit. We just don’t have it as much in the house as we should, I have to confess. I’ve never taken them by the fruit stand in total transparency. I haven’t because I will do anything I can to avoid taking my three littles into the store because–

Jenny Eden Berk: I totally get that.

Kim Sutton: Yeah, it elongates the trip by like three. And I have to be careful that they’re not emptying the candy rack in the checkout. Because they do reach out their hands, and we have these little car shopping carts. And I’ll be on my way out and I’ll realize that while I was paying and checking out, they kept throwing the candy display piling into the cars. And then they break loose, like they figured out how to get unbuckled and they break loose. And then my favorite is that they go and climb up onto the side of anybody else’s cart. My kids are very friendly and they’ll start asking them why they’re buying this and that. What are you having for dinner tonight? What’s that? What’s that? Mama, we don’t have that. Can we get that? So it takes like a 10 minute shopping trip and it turns into 30, 45 minutes. So I will leave my house by 5:20 if I’m lucky, I have to get them at 6:00. By 6:00, I’ll leave here by 5:20, that’s a lie. I leave later. And I have to run in and run out of the grocery.

Jenny Eden Berk: I’m smiling so hard because–

Kim Sutton: You understand don’t you? So many mompreneurs, and just even moms in careers work, I can’t tell you how many of the other daycare parents I see rushing through the store before we get to the daycare. Like 13 and a half minutes left, let’s just hope the checkouts are not slow because we’re gonna have to pay $5 a minute. No joke there though, $5 a minute for every minute that we’re late per kid.

Jenny Eden Berk: Oh, I’m not surprised. I’m not surprised. Have you ever done this? You know you have more than like 10 or 15 items but you like to put it in a basket, and you go through the express line just hoping they won’t count.

Jenny Eden Berk: I’ve done it. Because I’m like, I’m in a rush. This is good enough. This is express enough, right?

Kim Sutton: I always go to the self checkout lane, though.

Jenny Eden Berk: That’s good. They don’t have that at Trader Joe’s though.

Kim Sutton: Oh, Trader Joe’s though.

Jenny Eden Berk: Do you have Trader Joe’s anywhere?

Kim Sutton: No, but I moved here from Westchester County, New York.

Jenny Eden Berk: That’s where I’m from.

Kim Sutton: I was living in a Fleetwood area of Mount Vernon.

Jenny Eden Berk: That’s so funny.

Kim Sutton: So I think it was up in Scarsdale or White Plains.

Jenny Eden Berk: That’s where I’m from.

Kim Sutton: So we would go up there a couple times and check it out. And down here, we’re about an hour away from Cincinnati, and there’s what’s called Jungle Jim’s, well, we’ve got Dorothy Lane Market, I’ve never even mentioned the stores in the show before. Dorothy Lane Market sells just super high quality food, and they have cooking classes. And then Trader Joe’s has anything from around the world that you can possibly imagine. But that’s 45 minutes to get to the other side of Dale. We’re going fromFleetwood area of Mount Vernon up to White Plains on any given Saturday because the whole rest of the county is trying to do it.

Jenny Eden Berk: Yeah, you just mapped out my version of hell.

Kim Sutton: Yeah, exactly. Oh, this is so not related to what we’re talking about at all, but I just had to share.

Jenny Eden Berk: Yeah. The other thing I, just quickly, you were talking about using food as rewards and stuff for your kids. And there’s also another way that parents inadvertently use food, but actually damages some of their relationship with food. If you get hurt, or if you’re bored, or if you skin your knee or something, we also give that as a comfort mechanism. Oh, you hurt yourself, here’s a cookie. Or you’re bored, okay, why don’t we go eat. You know what I mean? And that too can play a role in one’s relationship with food and self soothing.

Kim Sutton: Oh, I never thought about that. We got into the bandaid trap in my house. Or maybe I should say bandage so it’s not specific for one. They got hurt, they would get a bandaid. So I finally had to change the restriction that they get a band aid if they’re bleeding, because the band aid is turned into like little kid tattoos all over. But I can totally see how that would happen. I was just going to share though. And again, this is totally not related to what we were talking about. When my oldest, who’s 15, was born, we were living in Fleetwood. And listeners, if you’ve never been there, be careful driving. That’s what I got to say. Be careful driving. Thank goodness, Jenny, he was born at 4:00 o’clock in the morning because I would have never made it up to the hospital. The whole labor from the time I woke up to the time he was born was two hours total.

Jenny Eden Berk: Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness.

Kim Sutton: It shouldn’t have happened during rush hour, he would have been born on the Cross County Parkway. I was at the hospital for a half hour before he came in. I also thought, for adults jumping back into the flow over intended conversation, I can see that it could be so easy to, well, yeah, so easy to eat when we’re bored. Adults eat when these aren’t going right, eat at celebration, something goes huge so let’s go out for a huge celebration meal. And well, we even do it for birthdays. What restaurant are we going to? Are we gonna go to a Chinese buffet, which seems to be huge around here? And talk about eating a whole lot more than we should, all you need is a chinese buffet. And there you go, there’s like three days worth of calories.

Jenny Eden Berk: My kids love Chinese buffets too. I mean, there’s a reason we all love buffets so much. And it’s this idea of all you can eat that really speaks to us because of the abundance and the variety. And we are such a species that loves variety. I mean, why do you think there’s like 15 types of Doritos in the store, and like 80 types of Oreos? Because we love variety so much, and buffets give us that. So it’s always like a real treat when you can go to something like that.

Kim Sutton: Absolutely. I have found that when I’m feeling anxious or even in celebration mode, I’ve started journaling. What do you recommend for your clients?

Jenny Eden Berk: Oh, there’s so many things that we can work on together, and every person is different. So what I first often do is have that client make a pleasure inventory. So they make a list of everything and anything that gives them pleasure, joy, meaning and satisfaction. It can be anything from spending time with your best friend, to walking outside and feeling the leaves crunch under your feet. It could be really small things. And when we start to bring gratitude and find joy in these really mundane things, but also recognize what are the things that really light us up, that really give us passion, that have our dopamine centers, like reward centers light up, then food becomes what it’s supposed to be which is a way to nourish yourself in a way to fuel your body rather than having it replace, being the replacement for emotions that we’re either not wanting, or that we’re having too much of. 

So I think that making that pleasure inventory, anything besides food by the way, and then they can start to embody those things whether it’s journaling, like you said, or maybe joining a Scrabble league, or listening to podcasts or music, taking a walk, going hiking. There’s so many ways that you can have the dopamine and serotonin pathways light up and be front and center so that food just becomes like, ah. When I started my business, I was so engrossed and so passionate about everything I was doing that for the first time in my life, I was forgetting to eat. For me, that was huge, like I never forget to eat. I’m always aware of where my next meal is coming from. But because I was so passionate about what I was building, what I was doing, I literally was like, oh, yeah, I’ve got to eat something. My stomach’s growling. So it’s about really finding your passion and doing the things that make you happy as a whole holistic person.

Kim Sutton: I am so glad you brought that up because I have that problem too. Actually, when my husband went to the store yesterday, I did ask him to get me something for lunch for today. Well, also my kids are on spring break so I knew we needed something for lunch. But if we’re not careful, those other activities can also turn into addictions. What we’re doing instead of eating. I am a workaholic. I will confess that fully. Not only do I forget to eat, but I forget to use the restroom. Like go get something, and all of a sudden, my bladder screams. Oh, my gosh, you should have gone four hours ago. But there’s people who get into working out obsessively. It becomes that addiction that they’re doing it way too much. I know it’s probably hard for a lot of us to imagine that, but there are people who do it. I have a family of video gamers, which is not healthy. If you’re doing it out of not proportion, I’m looking for a word, let’s put it in there for me on my YouTube journey. Do you have any suggestions for how we can moderate these, not only food, but also, you just give the pleasure list, but the other activities so that they don’t become a replacement addiction? I mean that in a good way.

Jenny Eden Berk: I totally hear what you’re saying. You can’t replace one sort of addiction for another. And some of us are more inclined towards that type of focus and being myopic, and really like passionate to the almost to our detriment. What I would say is, I have this concept called pubs of happiness. And when I’m working with a client, I’m looking at all facets of their life. So it’s not just food, but also how they’re moving and exercising. Are they honoring their spirituality if they have that? Are they in community and honoring and nurturing their relationships? Are they pursuing their passions? Are they having balance? And then really, what it’s about is creating time and space, and having balance for all facets of who we are as human beings. Because when we’re in that balance, that’s when we’re going to really thrive and feel our happiest.

Kim Sutton: I love that. I love that. I just got finished, well, a few weeks ago reading Brendon Burchard, High Performance Habits. And he has a checklist that he has his clients go down, reviewing various aspects of their life. I think it’s 10 different areas once a week just to see how they are doing. I don’t think it would be a bad idea to review. Maybe not 10, but five areas every day. Even sleep. Well, I fell into it a few times working so much that I wasn’t sleeping like I should.

Jenny Eden Berk: Well, self care, there’s so much to it. It’s not just getting like a mani pedi, you’re right. It’s like having a good sleep hygiene routine. It’s making sure that you’re nurturing your relationships, that you’re doing things in community with people that resonate with you, and that you’re doing something to contribute to society or in some way. And there’s so many aspects of what makes us happy. And oftentimes, we’ll just focus on one thing to make us happy. But the truth is, we need it to be in balance. All of these aspects are important.

Kim Sutton: Absolutely. I totally agree. I would love to know what the, and this is jumping off of the food for just a moment. What have your self care systems and support have looked like in your personal and professional life since you started your business?

Jenny Eden Berk: Oh, that’s a great question. So when I was launching my book last April, I was kind of feeling really, really, myopic is the word that keeps coming to mind.  I was so singularly focused on the book, launching the book that I started to realize like I didn’t feel good, like I hadn’t moved my body enough. I wasn’t like taking self care breaks. So I started to write down things like, what do I need to do to launch this book successfully and still take care of myself and my family? Sometimes, it’s very basic. My trainer said: “Why don’t we workout outside today?” And I was like, great. And we went to this park, and we were literally like playing around with trees. Like I was climbing branches and ducking under things. And literally, just being in nature. It was so therapeutic for me. And just to get away from the screen, and to get my body moving in this really organic and playful way was so nourishing to me. I remember it so clearly, I was like, oh, this is exactly what I needed. And sometimes, we’re so focused that we don’t realize we need it until we’re actually doing it. 

So for me, self care is often in nature in some way. Getting time outside, spending time with people that care about you. Even if it’s just a phone call with someone who lives far away. Oftentimes, it’s mindful eating, and just being mindful in general, and that takes time to meditate, and be fully present and drop into my body to ask it what it needs right now. Which is very hard to do when you’re so focused as an entrepreneur. We just stay in our heads, and we’re not dropping into our bodies to ask it like, oh, do I need some protein right now? Or do I need to go to yoga? Or do I need some social interconnectedness? We need to read a book maybe, or take a break. So all of those things played a role when I was really, really focused on my book, and that I still do today.

Kim Sutton: Oh, I love that. What type of support systems and support team have you implemented? Or have you implemented?

Jenny Eden Berk: Well, my friends are a big support, my husband and my family. Other than that, I really just use Facebook groups sometimes. I’m in a couple of like self care, Facebook groups will give you challenges, because we need reminders. We need reminders that often as women, we’re always taken care of. I mean, you’re a mom of five, I’m a mom of three, we’re often taking care of everybody else, and every other thing in the house, with our kids that we completely forget about ourselves. So even if you don’t have a whole team, you can have certain people that remind you to, hey, Jenny, go outside for a walk. I have friends that will hold me accountable to that. Like, Jenny, you sound so tired, you go for a walk. I know that always makes you feel better. And I’d be like, oh, yeah. I’m in some Facebook groups that help, I’m in some challenges sometimes. I like to go to yoga classes because it’s a group of people together with the same goal. You know what I mean? And I think of that as a self care support team in a way. So there’s lots of avenues to do that.

Kim Sutton: Oh, I love that. I set up reminders on my phone and my 12 year old, especially, laughs at it because there’s a special ring that goes along with one of my reminders. It happens several times a day, it says, I have an abundance of peace, passion and prosperity in my life.

Jenny Eden Berk: Oh, I love that.

Kim Sutton: So when it goes off the first time, he’s like, what was that? And I told him, I have an abundance of peace, passion and prosperity in my life. And he says, what? I asked you what that was. I was like, yeah, and I’m telling you. And I say it again. So now, when it goes off, he’ll say it sometimes.

Jenny Eden Berk: What a great reminder.

Kim Sutton: Yeah. And well, what I really need to do is set more reminders in my phone so that I’m remembering to eat. And then I just get up and stretch my legs. The Pareto Principle, am I saying it right, the 25 minutes working, and then five minutes taking a break never has really worked for me because a lot of my tasks are very attention focused. I feel like if I get up 25 minutes and focus on that task, then I’m going to lose my train of thought. And then comes the war of multitasking. It’s gonna take me 10 minutes just to get back after that five minutes break.

Jenny Eden Berk: I totally know what you mean. I use this app called Brain.FM, I think it’s called. And they have other ones too where they play ambient music and it gets you super focused on what you’re doing, the tasks that you’re doing. And then there’s a timer. So when it’s done, it’s a good sort of natural reminder to get up and do something different for a little while. And you could time however you want. So for me, if I don’t have a good hour, I find it hard to delve into any sort of projects. I’m always worried about time, like it’s not gonna have enough time. I’m not gonna have time. But like, if I do, let’s say an hour and a half, I’ll set the timer on the Brain.FM to play that amount of time. And then when it’s over, the natural cadence to go and get a snack, or to go take a quick walk, or to call a friend, or do something different.

Kim Sutton: I love that. I also have heard of Forrester. I’m just trying to make sure that that’s it. Forrester will actually have you set timers, focus timers, while you’re working, it will be growing a tree.

Jenny Eden Berk: Oh, my god.

Kim Sutton: Yeah. And then you can make it so that it blocks you from accessing social media sites while the timer is on.

Jenny Eden Berk: That’s brilliant. Oh, I love that. I’m gonna have to check that out. It’s called Forrester?

Kim Sutton: Yes, Forrester. Jenny and listeners, I am so sorry. There’s a cat trying to break into my office. I think that it’s usually good enough to get them out of my office. But today, they are trying to break in, not out.

Jenny Eden Berk: I heard the cat, and I looked over because my cats are sleeping and I was like, wait, I hear a cat. It sounds just like mine.

Kim Sutton: Actually, this is the second time in the last week that I have thought that I got them all out. But there was one inside my office as it turned out, and another outside. So they’re whining at each other through the door. Positive Productivity, it’s not about perfection. This has been absolutely amazing. Jenny, thank you so much for joining us.

Jenny Eden Berk: Thank you so much. This has been so wonderful to talk with you. You’re so funny.

Kim Sutton: I know. We never know, I told you and listeners that we never have any idea where the conversation is going to go. I certainly had no intention of saying that my child could have been born on the highway. But if you were the one who is racing through the grocery at the last minute, know that you are not alone. Not at all. Jenny, where can listeners find you online and connect with you?

Jenny Eden Berk: Oh, yes, thank you so much. So the best place to find me is my website which is www.jennyedencoaching.com.

Kim Sutton: Oh, fabulous. It’s so easy. And listeners, if you’re driving or working out, or out for your walk, you can find that at thekimsutton.com/pp326. And Jenny, we’ll put any of your other social media links on there as well.

Jenny Eden Berk: Perfect.

Kim Sutton: Do you have a last piece of parting advice or a golden nugget that you can offer to listeners?

Jenny Eden Berk: Visit your Farmers Market, just kidding. Let’s see, I think one of the main things that came out of our conversation today is to really take that time to build self care. And no matter what you’re doing, there’s room, space and time for lots of other things that make you happy. But it’s up to us, it’s up to each of us to find a plan to make sure that we’re honoring and nurturing those other things in our lives too.