Pursuit of Wellness - Solo: Healing My H. Pylori, Best Sex Positions for Fertility, Botox & Answering Your Juiciest Questions

Episode Date: June 13, 2024

Ep. #107 Welcome back to another solo episode of the Pursuit of Wellness! Get ready for a lively update filled with recent travel tales and special moments, including some unforgettable horseback rides with Greg. Exciting news awaits as we delve into our Bloom projects, including a thrilling pitch session with Whole Foods! Plus, I'm diving into the juiciest questions you've sent in, from boy drama voice memos to transparent discussions about botox, balancing health with real life, and the secrets behind a successful podcast. So glad to have you here, let's dive right in! Leave Me a Message - click here! For Mari’s Instagram click here! For Pursuit of Wellness Podcast’s Instagram click here! For Mari’s Newsletter click here! For POW Brand Promo Codes click here! Sponsored By:  If you want to take the next step in improving your health, go to lumen.me and use code POW to get $100 off your Lumen. Listeners of my show can save $250 by going to mylifeforce.com/pow. Give Lifeforce a try and find out what the healthiest version of yourself is capable of. So go to plunge.com and get your incredible Cold Plunge tub TODAY! Use code POW for $150 off your purchase at plunge.com Show Links: Bloom Colostrum EP. 99: Solo: An Exclusive Event in NYC, Fi’s Ozempic Journey, Food Noise & Fertility Update Oura Ring NaturalCycles e11ement skin spray superhuman The Toast Giggly Squad Brush Creek Ranch Topics Discussed 02:41 - Business and life updates 04:40 - Wyoming trip  07:34 - Trail riding 09:09 - August Jackson Hole trip 10:56 - Cluckingham Palace update  16:39 - H. Pilori & antibiotics  19:59 - Entrepreneur of the year event & new photoshoot!  22:07 - The oura ring  24:15 - Nail routine  25:06 - Thoughts on having a gender reveal party  25:42 - Humidity and skin 26:34 - Where I get Botox  26:42 - Food noise & binge eating  29:34 - Pursuit of Wellness question  30:14 - Handling my own instagram  30:58 - Why I do Botox  32:05 - Baby names  32:27 - Least & most favorite exercises  33:26 - DICCC Method  34:29 - Fertility weight gain  35:06 - Workout split  35:34 - Riding goals 36:30 - Managing Cortisol  37:53 - Thoughts on boob jobs  38:53 - Fillers, Botox, & Scupltura  39:55 - Creatine  40:30 - Sex positions for getting pregnant  41:58 - Podcast recommendations  42:55 - Buying property  43:35 - Starting a podcast  45:04 - Thoughts on POW guests  46:24 - Blue & red light therapy  46:48 - Where’s Lulu 47:34 - The move from LA to Texas  48:24 - Engagement ring  48:59 - Spironolactone 50:04 - Dream podcast guests

This is the Pursuit of Wellness podcast and I'm your host, Mari Llewellyn. Hi guys, welcome back to the Pursuit of Wellness podcast. Before we hop into today's Q&A, I have a very, very exciting announcement about Bloom's new product. Guys, this is huge. We just dropped our very first colostrum and collagen peptides. We have been wanting to make a colostrum for over a year now. You guys have heard tons of different experts come on the show and talk about the benefits of animal protein and colostrum in general. It has so many amazing benefits. It boosts immunity, supports gut health, nourishes hair, skin, and nails. It was very important to me when we sat down and I chatted with the Bloom team about the creation of this product. I wanted to make sure it was coming from the best possible

source. You guys know how picky I am with my meat when I eat any dairy products and things like that. So our colostrum is third party tested from family dairy farms in the USA and it ensures that calves are fed first always. If you don't know what that means, it means the baby cows eat first and this is just additional colostrum that is produced. I know that sounds a lot of confusing, but some companies take colostrum and are leaving the calves with none. And we want to make sure we're avoiding that. So I feel really good about our grass fed collagen as well.

Bioactive colostrum helps strengthen the immune system, overall health. It aids in gut health and digestion. Grass fed collagen enhances skin elasticity and hydration and reduces the appearance of wrinkles and promotes a youthful glow. It also really helps with healthier hair and nails. I think this is the perfect supplement to add to your greens or your favorite beverage. I have been experimenting with colostrum for a few months now and I definitely noticed my nail growth is so much stronger and my hair has grown so much. And you guys may have

known recently I'm working on my gut health, my H. pylori, and this is the perfect supplement for me to support my gut health with. So go check it out. The colostrum is alive on Amazon. I will leave a link in the description box and I really hope you enjoy. What's up guys? Welcome back to the show. It's just you and me today. We're doing a little solo chat. I have some updates and we're going to do a Q&A. I asked you guys to ask me the juiciest possible questions. So let's see what you asked me. And I want to get to some questions that I see over and over again,

because I know you girls have some questions for me. So we're going to get to that soon. I just got to the studio. I just got off of a Whole Foods pitch. I don't usually share like my behind the scenes business stuff, but that's like an example of my day. My day started out with pitching Whole Foods to try to get Bloom on the shelves because I have seen a lot of demand to see Bloom in Whole Foods. But Whole Foods is, they're tough cookies. So we pitched with the whole Bloom team. I told the story of Bloom. Greg killed it. CEO vibes. And then I ran over here.

I had quite the eventful evening and morning because my sweet puppy Arnold ran into a bush covered in sticky seeds. So his ears were matted full of these sticky things, like burrs. I don't know the correct word for them, like sticky burrs. His leg hair, like he's a pretty fluffy guy, head to toe covered, like no way in hell i was gonna get these things out without fully bathing him so i was sitting we actually have a pet shower in my house which is bizarre and so nice it's in the laundry room so i put him in there and i was sitting on the ground with him like fully soaked head to toe trying to get these seeds out and the only thing that ultimately worked was covering him in coconut oil. Like whole bath was covered in coconut oil. I was covered in coconut. Arnold was covered in coconut oil, but I was brushing him for two hours. So ultimately we got everything out,

woke up this morning to take him out of his crate because he sleeps in the crate at night. My man's was a grease ball, like covered in coconut oil still. And I could tell it was like bothering him. So I gave him another shower. I actually showered at the same time as him to be more efficient. And now he's off to the groomer because I couldn't get all of it out. So that was my morning. We just got back from Wyoming two days ago. So just to give some context, I got Greg a ranch stay for Christmas. And if you're listening and you're like, oh my God, Maurice's ranch, really crazy. Like I know everyone makes fun of me for how I say ranch. If you're American and you're listening, ranch, like a ranch, ranch. Anyway, it's this ranch called Brush Creek in Wyoming. I've stayed

there before and had an absolute blast. So I got him a stay there at Christmas for June. And we went with our friends, Leo and Priscilla, and it was so much fun. We took Arnold. He's a fantastic traveler. Lulu doesn't like to travel. So yeah, planes give her panic attacks. She doesn't even really like cars. She's kind of a homebody gal. So Lulu stayed home. We took Arnold and we did a stop in Boulder, Colorado, which is where I lived, me and Greg lived for a year. And it's actually where we started Bloom. So it's kind of a very nostalgic place for us. We went and saw our first house together,

which is this little green townhouse. We did the hike that we used to do every day. We went to all of our favorite coffee shops, showed Leo and Priya around. And it was just really special to see and also to take Arnold on all of our favorite hikes. Spent the night there and then we drove four hours to Saratoga, Wyoming, and stayed

there for I think three days. And I was literally in heaven. I was on horseback almost the entire time. The great thing about staying on a ranch is that there's activities for everyone. So, you know, Greg went shooting, I rode horses, we walked llamas. There's ATV tours. Leo and Pri went fishing. Like there's so many different things to do. I obviously was like wanting to do horse activities the whole time. So I did a barrel racing lesson. I've done one of those before and I just had a blast. The horse I was on was named Zorro and I rode him last time and I'm literally so in love with this horse guys he's such a cute little speed demon like he goes really fast but he's also so short compared to my horse

Bo so it kind of feels like he's going faster than he really is because his little legs are just going and going and going and he loves doing barrels so he was just flying around the barrels it was so much fun I honestly like if they were selling him, I would buy him. And I did ask multiple times, are you selling this horse? Because I'm so in love. And I've honestly, I really think I want to take up Western lessons out here in Texas at some point, because I just think I love English riding, but there's something about Western that's so much more like relaxed and fun that I really enjoy. So my dream is to one day have two Western horses, one for me, one for Greg, and we can go trail riding and things

like that. So TBD. And then somehow I convinced Greg to do, so they have different trail rides and they're different levels. And I have always wanted to do the level four trail ride, which is the highest level. And you trot and lope, aka canter, gallop through the plains of Wyoming. And you go through rivers and it's so much fun. I signed us up without telling Greg because Greg's never trotted or cantered. So in my head, I was like, oh my God, like, I really want to do this. But I'm nervous that Greg's gonna be afraid or fall off or, you know, anything could happen, really. I mean, he's never done any of those things. And so we got on and I, you know, I told the guy, which was a girl I've ridden with before,

she's awesome. I was like, you know, my husband hasn't really done this before. I'm kind of worried. And she was like, he'll be fine, don't worry. And I was really nervous the whole time for him. But guys, he was incredible. Like we started trotting and he had the best seat, meaning like he was staying in the saddle. He wasn't afraid at all. He was like talking while we were trotting. And then we start cantering and he was completely fine. And we were going fast. So I was super impressed. And he was like jumping over rivers. And I was like, is he like a cowboy? Like, I didn't know this about him. And that's like my dream. So I've been really nice to Greg for the past couple of days because I just really appreciate the fact that he did that for me. And we got off and I was like, are you obsessed? Like, do you want a horseback

ride with me? And he was like, I'm not obsessed. And I was like, well, you're really good. So maybe, maybe you should take this up. So yeah, I was in heaven and some of you were like, oh, I thought you were staying for a whole month. That isn't until August. So this was just like a fun little weekend trip. In August, we are staying in Jackson Hole for the whole month, which I'm so excited for. I do plan on doing Western lessons there probably twice a week or something. I need to find, if anyone listening lives in Jackson Hole, like please DM me. I don't know what the likelihood of that is, but I'm looking for a place to horseback ride and we're going to bring bikes. We're going to be very active. I'm kind of taking the month off work-ish. Like I can never really take off that much, but you know, we have a board meeting in Jackson Hole.

I'm probably going to do some things. But that is the month that I was planning on deleting my social media, which I think also being in Jackson Hole, being remote, you know, we're kind of staying near the Teton National Park. Like we're out in nature. I think it's going to be uncomfortable for me at first. Like even when I get to the ranch for the first day or so, I'm kind of like, oh, I feel itchy to be working. Like it's kind of

me needing to let go of my sort of like obsessive nature and just kind of chill and go with the flow. So I think at first I'll be a bit uncomfortable, but I'm pretty sure that after two weeks, I won't want to leave. I just, I really think that if I didn't have the job I have, if I was younger, like a lot of the girls working on the ranch were in college, I think I would love to work on a ranch and just be on horses all day long. I would really, really love that. It brings me so much joy. So I'm really excited to be in Wyoming for the month we're gonna have friends visit we're gonna go to the rodeo every weekend the dogs are coming it'll be a blast I feel like I'm talking a lot about animals but I wanted to

update you guys on my chicken journey so if you didn't know I got a chicken coop it's called cluckingham palace also known as buckingham palace but cluckingham you know and i have seven hens and every time i leave for a couple days and come back they are massive and i came back this time and they're all like grown-up chickens like they look so different so i went in fed them some worms this morning by hand and they are so aggressive now like they used to just be really soft and gentle and now they fully like peck my hand um I do try and pick them up every now and again just to you know get some bonding in they don't love when I pick them up um they still sort of run away a little bit but the silkies don't mind it the silkies are the ones

with the fluffy heads oh and I wanted to update you guys on their names. So the two silkies, the two black fluffy ones are Branston and Pickle, which if you're not from the UK, you may not get that reference. Look it up. It's a pickle sort of chutney that you put on sausages. So Branston and Pickle. And then I've got one brown sort of white fluffy one called Sausage, and then I've got a full white one named Einstein, because she, I know it's a boy name, but she's a she, is the smartest one of the group and figures everything out first. So that's Einstein. My speckled one is Hermione, just because I'm such a Harry Potter girl that I needed to name one of them Hermione, and she's like really sweet and lets me pick her up, which I feel like it's Hermione vibes. And then I have Pecky Becky,

which I haven't really renamed her. She came to me as Pecky Becky and I've just kept her Pecky Becky. Who am I missing? Oh, Banana. I have an orange one named Banana because she was a yellow chick and the kids who were watching her before I had them named her Banana and I kept the name. As you guys know, I have experienced a pretty dramatic weight loss journey. I lost 90 pounds back in 2017. And I get a lot of questions about what tools I used. And it's interesting because I feel like the technology has greatly improved nowadays. I used to have sort of like a bare bones routine and I was really relying on my own research. And now I've

discovered Lumen, which is the world's first handheld metabolic coach. It's a device that measures your metabolism through your breath. And on the app, it lets you know if you're burning fat or carbs and gives you a tailored guidance to improve your nutrition, workout, sleep, and even stress management. This would have been so helpful to me back in the day. I was always trying to figure out what was working best for my body. How many calories should I be intaking? How many should I be burning? It's a really tough question to answer. And I feel like this is such a good tool if you're on that journey. All you have to do is breathe into your lumen first thing in the morning and you'll know what's going on with your metabolism,

whether you're burning mostly fat or carbs. Then lumen will give you a personalized nutrition plan for that day based on your measurements. You can also breathe into it before and after workouts and meals so you know exactly what's going on with your body in real time. Lumen will give you tips on how to stay on top of your health game. We've had so many different experts come on the show and talk about metabolic health and metabolic flexibility, which I believe Sal DiStefano really focuses on. And that's where Lumen really shines. It refers to your body's ability to efficiently switch between using different fuel sources like carbs and fats. There are preferred times to use each and how well you can switch between them on the metabolic flexibility spectrum this will give you a metabolic flex score that you can track

and improve on so if you want to take the next step in improving your health go to lumen.me and use code POW to get $100 off your lumen. That is l-u-m-e-n dot m-e and use code POW at checkout for $100 off. Thank you, Lumen, for sponsoring this episode. You guys know lab testing is like my Roman Empire at this point. I rely so much on lab testing to figure out what's going on with my body whether it be my gut health issues my acne my fertility it's so so crucial and i get tons of questions about where you can get affordable lab testing done and i recommend life force life force is leading the way for personalized proactive health it gives you access to regular blood testing measuring more than 40 biomarkers every three months coupled with functional medicine support from their team

of clinicians. It is so important to test regularly so you can understand how things like your hormones, critical nutrient levels, and metabolic health are impacting how you feel today and identify any risks you should be aware of in the future. If you've ever done lab testing you know the results come back and they are so difficult to interpret. I basically have no idea what they're saying. It's a different language. So it's really important that you get clinical interpretation. You won't be on your own as their team of functional medicine clinicians will help you interpret the results and walk you through your personal blueprint to improve your health. If you've ever thought about going to a functional medicine doctor or getting a concierge doctor to go deeper into your health, you know it can be incredibly

expensive and there are such long lead times to get seen. A Lifeforce membership is only $129 a month with no commitments. You are never locked in. Listeners of my show can save $250 by going to mylifeforce.com slash pow. That's mylifeforce.com slash pow. Give Lifeforce a try and find out what the healthiest version of you is capable of. So that's the update on the chickens. Also, guys, I have officially been on antibiotics for my H. pylori for two days. If you missed this update, I kind of found the reasoning for my acne, I'd say a couple weeks ago at this point. I got my gut health test results back and I saw really, really high levels of H. pylori, bacterial overgrowth, parasite, etc. And we kind of had the realization that, well, someone told me when you have high levels of

H. pylori, it's either coming from your house or your spouse. Kind of had the realization that Greg and I have probably been passing back and forth this bacteria for the amount of time we've been together, which is almost 10 years. So him and I are both on this antibiotic protocol and it's pretty intense. For the next two weeks, I'm on two different antibiotics and I think one of them is for like side effects. One of them's amoxicillin, one of them's like lanzopropyl something. I don't know the names of it. Clarithociamin, I don't know. I'm butchering the names of them's like lanzopropyl something. I don't know the names of it. Clarithosiamine. I don't know. I'm butchering the names of them. But it feels really weird to be on like a medication because I'm so, you know, I've been doing natural methods for the past like three years.

And I'm definitely noticing some stomach sensitivity. Greg and I both had really itchy skin last night, which is apparently common, and a little bit of like aching. Like I had a random like ear pulse like ache happening. So hopefully I'm not dying. And I'm really curious to see what happens with my skin. And this is a three-step process. I actually started working with a new doctor. Emily is still such like an important person to me, love her so much. And she said to me, you know, I think you should see a gut specialist at this point, which I really respect. So I've been chatting with a doctor. You may know her, Dr. Gabrielle Lyon. She's been on my show and she has a fantastic team and she's amazing.

And they've been kind of coaching me through this process. So phase one is for the H. pylori and bacteria. Phase two is for the parasite. And then phase three is the rebuild phase where we will use supplements and peptides to rebuild my gut. So I also feel really good about this because I kind of think with the fertility journey, I was almost trying to juggle too many things at once. I was set on having a baby. I was set on clearing my skin, constantly feeling defeated about my skin and pregnancy at the same time. And it was just like a really tough mental patch for me.

And I think saying, okay, like, let me focus on the bacteria because also when you get pregnant, you pass on a lot of the bacteria to your child, which I never, ever want to do. So fixing this, clearing my skin is making me feel at peace. And then, you know, who knows, potentially this is getting in the way of my fertility journey. So I feel good about focusing on this first. I will keep you guys updated on how I'm feeling. So I cannot drink alcohol for the next two weeks. And we kind of have a lot of events coming up. So, you know, no alcohol for me. We head to LA next week for the Entrepreneur of the Year event, which is a black tie event. Greg and I are bringing some of the team members and we will essentially find out live time if we won. They have like, I think over 200 people submitted. It's like the most people ever

submitted for Entrepreneur of the Year. I think there's five winners. So keep your fingers crossed for us. Let's see. If you know, even if not, it'll be a fun event. And I'm excited. And then we're also doing a big photo shoot for the new product that I've been alluding to. If you guys missed it, we posted teaser on the Bloom page of Fee and I talking about the product. And it's probably like the biggest thing we've ever done in Bloom's history, other than like launching, obviously, and the greens. This is going to be a whole new category for us and super, super excited. And I think a lot of you have kind of guessed what it is. Also, Greg and I have started watching Entourage, which is a show that's been recommended to us so many times. And I guess it's really old, like it's giving early 2000s vibes.

I love it, but I also hate it. And let me explain. Because, like, I do love seeing the behind the scenes of the, you know, Hollywood and acting and agencies and things like that but it's so outdated that it's like incredibly misogynistic and the words they're using it's kind of like it would never fly if it were released today and just the way they talk about women and two women is kind of making me cringe a little bit but I like have to keep in mind that it's a different time I'm like you know I keep looking

at Greg and going like, seriously, that you like this show? Like these people are so disrespectful, but at the same time, I'm enjoying it. So I feel like I've blabbed enough. Let's pull up the questions. And I haven't looked at these yet as per usual. So let's check these out. Let's answer this first because I see this question a ton in my DMs as well. The question is, do you think the Aura Ring is worth it? What's your favorite features? So I don't know if you guys can see. Let me hold it out. There you go. I actually just got a new Aura Ring. Greg got it for me because I had my old Aura Ring for like two, three years and it was really beat up and they now have a new style which is more rounded and it's just more comfortable and cute. So I am a huge fan of the Oura Ring and this isn't

sponsored. Like they literally don't even answer me. So I love the Oura Ring. I actually got Fee one as well. I think for your birthday, right? Christmas, something. I'm a huge fan for many different reasons. I think my favorite feature is the fact that it syncs up to natural cycles and tells natural cycles your temperature, which is really helpful for tracking your period, fertility. If you're trying to not get pregnant, it's also helpful for seeing that ovulation window. It just gives you a ton of information. And then I really like the sleep tracking because I think sleep is such a crucial part of health, wellness, routine in general. So I like the fact that it shows me how many hours I

slept, how deeply I slept, my HRV. It kind of gives me like, you know, how am I doing for the day? It's pretty good at tracking heart rate and steps. I wouldn't say it's like the best, but I'm not much of a like calorie tracker. I do try to get 10,000 steps a day and it's helpful for tracking that. I think it's a really nice tool because it's cute and easy to wear. I'm not much of an Apple Watch type of girl. I don't love how they look on me personally. And I also don't want notifications in my face all day because that stresses me out. Like I would prefer to check my Aura app on my own time. So with this, I just kind of forget that it's there. And I think it's like a really, and it's lasted me guys. Like I know it's kind of a big investment, but it's really lasted me. I have my old one for

two plus years and I just got this one and I swim in it, I shower in it, I exercise in it. I think it's really like versatile. So, Aura, you better answer me because I'm obsessed. What do you ask for when you get a manicure? Your nails are so cute. Thanks. So, I have been into square nails for like a year now, which is kind of, I don't know if it's a hot take, but I know a lot of girls love the almond shape. I actually think square looks better on my hands and kind of like classy vibes. So I get square with like slightly rounded edges. And I've been getting Russian manicures here in Austin and they last a long time and they're very detail oriented. Like they make the cuticle perfect. My nails grow quite quickly, but when it grows out, it still looks pretty good. I've been really into red lately, but I got white because

I have a photo shoot coming up. And I think this is like equivalent to like a bubble bath type shade. So yeah. And these are all my real nails except for one that broke. When you get pregnant, do you guys want to know the gender or keep it a surprise? Definitely want to know the gender. However, I do want to do a gender reveal party where someone knows the gender and like sets it up with the cake or a balloon or whatever because I think that moment is just so special. It will probably be Fi that will find out first, but she's so bad at keeping secrets that I'm like, is that the right move? You know, like, is she going to like completely ruin the whole thing? So it might have to be someone else. And I also think it'd be cool if you found out

the same time as me. She's sitting right next to me, guys. I'm not talking to myself. Do you feel like the Texas humidity has impacted your skin my skin clears up during trips to colorado yeah i actually do think it's made it a little bit worse like i kind of thought humidity helped the skin i feel like my skin is better in dry climates actually um so yeah i have noticed that the humidity is tough. And I feel like you're sweating all day and wearing makeup and like, it's just harder to keep the skin like clean, if that makes sense. And that's why I use that spray element stuff that I order on Amazon. It's spelled E-1-1-ament. I'll put the link in the show notes. But it's like, if you are acne prone and you exercise

and walk or whatever, and you sweat, it's good to bring with you because it kills the bacteria on the face right away. So you don't need to like stress about washing your face right away. Where do you get Botox done? I get it on my forehead, between my brows and my crow's feet. And that's it. Do you struggle with food noise or binge eating I would have to say no I think everyone has their own thing and I struggle I definitely have I struggle with obsessive thinking and being obsessive about my routines and things but it kind of attaches itself to other things like skin fertility I've gone through periods of time where I probably

over-restricted and had food noise because I was literally starving. Like when I was in LA, I remember like getting super duper lean and all I thought about was food. And it was really horrible. And it was my only experience I've really ever had of like sort of disordered thinking around food. And it was maybe for a couple months. So I can't even imagine having it constantly. So I personally don't struggle with that. But Fi has spoken about her experience with that. So if you want to go back and listen to our previous episode, she's spoken about that a few times. Greg and I just moved into a new house in Austin, as you guys know,

and we are recreating our wellness room. We had a whole wellness set up in Venice and we were like, let's do this bigger and better here in Texas. And we knew we needed a cold plunge and plunge came in clutch because they have the absolute best products on the market. Cold plunging is such a big part of our routine. It's truly transformed my mental health, my sleep, Greg's inflammation, like we're both truly addicted to it. And they were kind enough to send us their plunge all in. It's the most revolutionary plunge yet. The plunge all in features powerful cooling down to 37 degrees fahrenheit it also has smartphone connectivity for the ultimate control and a

sleek exterior design to inspire it really looks so gorgeous in the wellness room it creates just this spa environment it offers a truly plug and plunge setup and makes maintenance a breeze thanks to an easy access filter. You can enjoy pure ice cold water that's ready whenever you are. So I personally love to go back and forth between the sauna and the cold plunge. I have noticed whenever I cold plunge, my HRV when I sleep at night is so much better than when I don't. It really helps your body cool down and is the perfect thing to do before you sleep. It's also amazing for anxiety. If I'm ever like really panicking, I put myself in the cold plunge and I come out a better human. So you can go to plunge.com and get your incredible cold plunge tub today. And by the way,

use code POW, P-O-W, for $150 off your purchase at plunge.com. That's code POW for $150 off your cold plunge at plunge.com. That's code POW for $150 off your cold plunge at plunge.com. Do you not ask what their pursuit of wellness is anymore? Okay, so for context, I ask almost every guest like what wellness means to them at the end of every interview and occasionally I don't ask and here's the reason guys like it just depends on the vibe of the conversation and the guest if I'm running out of time or it's a guest that loves to elaborate and speak for a while and I know asking that question will take us way over time I don't ask so it kind of just depends but I do need to question will take us way over time. I don't ask. So it kind of just depends, but I do need to get better about asking every single time because I know you guys like it.

And I do think it's like a really valuable question as well. As busy as you are, do you handle your own Instagram comments, posts, etc? Yes, I do. A lot of people are surprised by that. I handle all my posts, all my editing. I don't really read comments that much, but yes, I do all of it. Occasionally, if I'm off the grid, like for example, in Wyoming, I deleted social media, Fi helped me with posting about the podcast that day.

And I might, I definitely will have her help me run the account when I'm off in August. But I do everything myself, which I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. But I just think sometimes like, yes, it's good to delegate. But sometimes it's like, if you delegate everything, what do you have left? And I just want to be the person running my account. Not to be rude, but since you enjoy all health and well-being, how come you do Botox? I do Botox because I make a lot of like stressed out faces like this. I don't know if my lines are gone yet.

And I don't think that living a perfectly clean lifestyle is possible. In today's day and age, I do my best. I set myself up for success. But Botox is one of the things that I'm like, you know what? I want that. So I'm going to do it. I think like being held to a standard of perfection is crazy. And I hope I don't give the impression that I'm this like perfect health personality day to night. Like that's not the case. In Wyoming, I was eating cookies every day and bread pudding and having dairy and having coffee

and really enjoying myself. So I'm definitely not someone who's like super intense. I mean, I am an intense person for sure. But you know, I have my things that I enjoy doing. Do you have baby names picked? I kind of do. Like, I have two favorites. I don't think I should say it on this platform. But I really like L names because Greg's last name is Laveckia. And I have a boy and a girl name beginning with an L that I think are so cute. So we will see if that works out. The most overrated exercise in your opinion?

Ooh, I will say, I think exercise in general, no matter what, as long as you're moving your body is beneficial. Like I don't care if it's really having an impact or not. It's good for the mind. It's good for the brain. It's good for health in general. I think that there are certain exercises that don't make as much of an impact as people would think. Like I think people who lift weights and don't increase the weight over time or always go for a super easy light weight. Like I think that,

and I'm coming from like sort of a bodybuilder meathead standpoint here, but I think sometimes that could be like, you're not going to see the result you want. Like I think if you want to weightlift, you need to increasingly get heavier over time. And I think sometimes people are afraid of doing that or they just do like accessory movements. I think compound movements are really important. Mental health practices you use to deal with acne flare-ups. So I think I've spoken about the D-I-C-C-C mantra on here. I will try to find it and link it in the show notes, but it's basically where you say a mantra in your head. You could insert any health issue. It's like, I demand, I instruct, I command, I compel, I code my skin to work perfectly and

properly. And I know that it can. Every time I start going down a dark spiral about my skin, I remind myself of that mantra. I remind myself that it's temporary, you know, be grateful that my body is showing me that something's wrong and try to like focus on things outside of the way I look, you know, keep myself busy, do things I love, hang out with people I love is really helpful. I feel like something I internalize is like, oh, I'm not good enough to be around these people because of my skin. And then when I do allow myself to go be around people without makeup and they accept me and love me regardless. Like that's a really good reminder of, you know, no one else cares as much as I do. Someone said, how much weight have you gained recently? I'm trying to conceive to and need to gain.

I don't weigh myself. I don't know how much I weigh or if I've gained or lost. I feel like that's not really a focus of mine. I just try and eat whole foods, try to exercise, try to walk. I'm not much of a scale person. I just kind of look and see how I'm feeling and how I look. I mean, I probably, yeah, I'm definitely heavier than I was in LA, but in LA, I was way too lean. So I feel good with where I'm at right now. Not that you asked that, but. How many days are you lifting? I'm lifting about four to five times a week right now. My sessions are a lot shorter than they used to be. I used to train for like an hour plus. And now today I worked out for 30 minutes. I did a 30 minute chest and shoulder workout, but I really don't take a lot of rests in between. I like go back to back with my exercises to be efficient. And then I always

walk outside with Arnold. So that's kind of my routine at the moment. What are your goals with riding Bo? I want to do another show, I think in June. My goals of riding Bo are just to keep improving. You know, he has a back leg suspensory issue, so he'll never be able to jump like super duper high, but that's not even really a goal of mine. Like I don't want to be unsafe. I do really enjoy jumping. But just to keep getting better, get more experience, potentially do a show this summer. Yeah, I like really want my technique to be better. I want to feel like more and more confident on him. I mean, I feel pretty confident on him right now. We've gotten to know each other really well. And honestly, I like everything about having a horse, like the care that it takes, like showering him, grooming him,

putting him in the field, making sure he's good. Like I just tacking him up, like every stage of it is enjoyable for me. So yeah. How do you keep your cortisol down as a busy business owner? I really like breathing exercises right now. And I feel like that people think that's woo-woo and I did too, but it actually is super duper effective and it takes five minutes. There are so many different apps and like YouTubes you can watch where it's like breathe in through the nose for four seconds, breathe out for four seconds, you're kind of doing it on a beat. And I feel like it's the thing that I see the most noticeable difference like right away. What is my hair doing? So highly recommend trying a breathing exercise. And then also,

I'm obsessed with the app Superhuman. I've spoken about it a few times. It's by Mimi Bouchard. And it's like active meditation that you do on the go. So you could be cooking, getting ready, whatever it may be, and listening to a positive stream of words. I am someone admittedly who needs a boost. Like I'm genetically prone to depression and anxiety. And if I don't take care of myself, it will creep in. And having positive, like, even if I'm not really paying attention, just having positivity in my vicinity is helpful to me. Like I can't watch scary movies. I can't watch things that are sad because I feel like my dark thoughts kind of creep in, especially at nighttime. So having something positive to start the day is like really beneficial for me. Your opinion on boob jobs. I think they're awesome

if you want to do that. I do. I think they look amazing. I have a little bit of fear around breast implant illness because I've seen what that can do. And, you know, I've had moments, I've actually had a boob job consultation before just because when I lost a lot of weight, like my boobs definitely look different after because they used to be a lot, a lot bigger. And I had a consultation and thought about it, but then I was like, you know, I think I'm going to get pregnant within, a lot bigger. And I had a consultation and thought about it. But then I was like, you know, I think I'm going to get pregnant within the next year or so. I don't think it's worth it for me. I kind of wish I had done it in a way. But at the same time, with my acne situation, I feel like I would have blamed the implants and probably gotten them

removed knowing me. So I'm glad I've waited. I will say after having kids, like I really want to do it because I think it's an area that like I would just feel so much more confident about. And like almost all my friends have them done. So yeah. Thoughts on aesthetics, like fillers, Botox and Sculptra. I have done Botox a few times.

I did it recently and I like it. I feel like it helps my forehead. Sculptra is interesting. I've never done it, but I think what happens is they inject something that stimulates your own collagen. So it builds up over a couple months and I've seen people do it in the face. Some people do it in the body. Seems interesting. I know if you want to do it in the body, it takes like a lot of product to work. So I don't know how I feel about that. Filler I've done in my lips previously. I'm not a huge fan of it in the face because I feel like it travels and it ends up looking weird over time. I love my lip filler. For some reason, it's still in there after two years. And I will say I find it

to be so painful when I get my lips filled. I'm crying. It's horrible. I dread it. So if I can avoid it, I will. But I've done it a couple times. Do you use creatine? Thoughts on creatine? Please really need the input. So creatine is the most scientifically studied supplement there is. And it's really beneficial. I took it throughout my fitness journey. It really hydrates the muscles. I find it to be really helpful for exercise and recovery. I have just started taking it again recently and I'm completely obsessed. And we are actually highly considering launching a Bloom creatine because I think the girls need, you know, a creatine as well as the men. And I really love the formula we have. So stay tuned on that.

What are the best sex positions for getting pregnant? Not for me, but would love to know. You know, I don't know that there's a certain position that's the best, guys. Like, I think you just got to do the deed and hope that it lands in this correct spot. I know a lot of gals love to put the legs in the air for 10 minutes afterwards. I have done that. I will admit I do that. I also think just relaxing for 10 minutes rather than hopping up because what I learned is that the fallopian tubes will actually tense up if you get up too quickly and won't allow what needs to happen to happen. So if you could just lay there and chill and relax for 10 minutes, I think that'd be really beneficial. I know some girls get really crazy with it and they put like a period cup in to prevent it coming out. They use Mucinex,

like there's all these different tips and tricks. Oh, while we're on the topic, I just want to say the person who recommended the sex every other day technique is Heather McDonald. I think that Fi incorrectly said Heather McMahon last time and she DM'd me and let me know we said the wrong Heather. So Heather McDonald, thank you for your technique and sorry that Fi said the wrong name or I said the wrong name, whoever. Don't hate us. Thank you. I think she thought you were me. The amount of times that happens, guys, where people literally think that Fi is me is so funny. Top podcasts that you are listening to now. So funnily enough, I used to only listen to

wellness podcasts and like self-development podcasts. Since having my own show, I feel like I spend so much time talking about wellness and learning that I like don't have a capacity to learn any more in my free time. At the moment, I've been listening to The Toast with Claudia Oshry and Jackie Oshry. Oshry? Oshry? Oshry? And I watch or I listen to Giggly Squad with Hannah Berner and Paige DeSorbo and I'm obsessed. I do be giggling along with them and I really enjoy it. So I'm not saying that those are the most like, you know, you're not going to like learn a ton. I mean, maybe you would, but I just find them to be fun and easy to listen to. But I really admire any podcaster and I love meeting fellow hosts. Someone said, you have the ring, the cars, the house, the horse, what's the next splurge? We actually just bought the property behind our house. We're actually in the process of it. Hopefully it

goes through, fingers crossed. I don't consider that a splurge necessarily. I think it was kind of an important investment for us because the person who owns the property was planning on building townhouses behind our house. And we absolutely love the house we're in. And we want to protect the property, the space. And we also just think Austin is like a fabulous market to be invested in. So I guess you would consider that the splurge. Is the podcast a lot of work? Yes, I would. I would say yes. I think I get a lot of people asking me for advice on podcasting and I think the number one thing I say is it will take over your life if you do it correctly I feel like you know if you're listening and you want to start a podcast consistency is really key people want

something to listen to every single week if not multiple times a week so you know I do two episodes because I think this is my most important platform right now and I want to show up for you guys. And yeah, I think posting multiple times a week, making sure you're doing social content, which is a whole other aspect, editing, titles, descriptions, YouTube, Instagram, Reels, TikTok, researching guests. The actual recording is the fun, easy part. The behind the scenes is the hard part. For me, I find it to be so fun and fulfilling that it doesn't really phase me. But yes, it is a lot of work and Fi and I dedicate probably 90% of our time to the podcast and it has paid off. I think putting the amount of work in that we do, we probably take it a lot more seriously than some other people, but I think it's shown in the results of the show. I mean, we've been top 10 health and fitness podcast since the day we launched, which is crazy to say. And thank you to you guys for supporting us. But yes, it's a lot of work, but so worth it.

Do you ever sit in interviews with people on power and think they're a load of shit? I would never say that. I think everyone I've spoken to has brought some value and insight for sure. What I've learned is that people are experts in different things and I can't take what everyone says as law. I think for a while I felt very overwhelmed feeling like every time I sat down with someone, I wanted to try something new or change the way I was doing something. What I've learned now is bio-individuality is a real thing and I need to take things with a grain of salt and stay true to my intuition and what I know to be true

for me. It can be hard for me because I get a lot of advice and a lot of information thrown at me constantly. I think me and Fee made a comment about the sweet potato raspberry situation. One of my guests told me to stop eating sweet potatoes and raspberries because of my acne, which he was probably coming from a really good place. But like that was triggering for me because my skin has been such a challenge for me that I was like, oh yeah, I'll try that. And then I got home and I was like, wait, no, like I love my sweet potatoes. I love my raspberries. They're good for me. So I have to kind of remind myself of that as I go. Have you tried blue light therapy for your acne and did it help? Yes. I think blue light therapies are really effective,

but you have to be quite consistent with it. Do you like your red light mask? Deciding if I need one, also an acne goalie. I've been using the Omnilux. I think it's $300. I feel like it's good. It's not super comfortable, but I think it's a good method if you don't want to splurge on one of the crazy expensive ones. Where's Lulu? I'm so done with this freaking question, guys. I address this on my social media. Lulu is, I've had her for nine years. She's such a big part of my life. She saved me and I'm obsessed with her and I revolve my life around her. She doesn't like to travel. She doesn't like to be around other dogs. She's not as bold and crazy as Arnold is, so she's not

on camera as much. The things you see on my social media are not a direct depiction of how my life is and just because you don't see her on my content constantly doesn't mean she isn't like our child. So I'm really done answering that question. I know most of you don't think that that's something worth asking. It's just the few who are crazy. Do you guys still have a house in LA? If not, why the move to Texas? We do not. We sold our house in Venice. It was such a nice house, but it was, you know, not a place for us anymore. We still have our HQ in LA. So we visit quite frequently, but our whole life is here in Austin. Our house is here in Austin.

Reason for moving to Texas, we partnered with Nutribolt, which is the portfolio company of C4 Energy. And they invested in us and we've partnered up with them. And they are based here in Austin and we're working on really exciting projects together. And we want to have a family and I feel like Austin is a bit more suited for that. And we absolutely love it. Why don't you wear your original engagement ring? Both are gorgeous. I'm just curious. So this is my original engagement ring on my neck. This is really special to me. It was Greg's mom's ring that she bought for herself and Greg gave it to me and it's so, so special. So I wanted to put on a necklace and wear it every single day. To be honest, I think the round diamond just didn't really suit my finger. And I wanted to get something that I chose myself for my engagement ring. But this diamond will

always mean a whole lot to me. And I love that I can wear it every day on my neck and give it to my future child. What are your thoughts on spironolactone? You know, I used to take spironolactone for like two, maybe three years. It worked, like it kept like a majority of my acne at bay. But spironolactone isn't this like quick fix, easy thing. You cannot be on spironolactone when you want to get pregnant because it will affect your baby's genitalia, which I think is really scary. And it makes me question, like, why are we all taking this medication that's really just keeping symptoms at bay when there's probably a deeper issue to be resolved?

I do completely understand. Like, I've been through it. Sometimes you just need a medication that's going to help. I think for me, what it did was mask what was truly going on for a couple of years. And eventually, if you want to have kids, you'll have to come off of it anyway. Feelings on Zevia. I actually drink Zevia every night. It's like a stevia soda that doesn't have any calories in it. And I absolutely love it. I love the dark cherry. Who is your dream podcast guest, dead or alive? Andrew Huberman,

probably. Love Andrew Huberman, Peter Atiyah, Joe Dispenza, maybe. Jay Shetty. Jay, are you listening? Who else? I mean, I've had a lot of the people that were my dream guests, to be honest, which is absolutely insane. Whitney Simmons. She doesn't see my DMs, but I would love to have Whitney on the show. Okay, guys, I think I should call it there. I probably went longer than I should have for a solo, but I was just really enjoying your questions today. Ooh, when is the Branch Basics episode coming? Couple weeks, guys. And it was so good. Alison was incredible.

Like, I can't even say so much depth there. Like, we didn't just talk about cleaning products. It was a whole 360 interview that I, one of my favorites I've ever done, honestly. Okay, I said I would stop, but now I'm seeing all these new ones. Favorite books you've been reading or have read? I'm reading Demon Copperfield right now. It's a big book and it's taking me some time to get through it, but now I'm seeing all these new ones. Favorite books you've been reading or have read? I'm reading Demon Copperfield right now.

It's a big book and it's taking me some time to get through it, but it's incredible and I feel like I'm learning a lot while it's fiction-based, I believe. Really, really love it. Would you ever want to train for an event like a triathlon? Yes, that's a big life goal of mine. I feel like potentially after I have a baby, I'll do something like that.

Aw, literally screech with excitement every time I see a new episode pop up. That's so cute. Thank you. Love ya. Wait, someone sent a voice memo of a juicy boy talk. So here's a juicy story for you. Long story short, I met a boy in Spain for like an hour, but I didn't think anything of it. Then a couple months later, I get a follow on Instagram and he flies across the entire world to San Diego to visit me. And it's great. He's a great guy. He's such a gentleman, treated me amazing. We had a great two weeks together, but he simply just isn't my type. And I feel so guilty now because he just flew across the world to take a chance on me and he told me he loves me and everything like that but it's almost like I'm being love bombed but I feel like I have to give this guy a chance

because he did such a big gesture for me he's just not my type I like the American cowboys and now it's like Italian mafia looking guys into me. So would you go for it or stick to what you know? First of all, I would say don't feel pressured to do anything. Like it was his choice to fly across the world and that's a fun experience. Like, you know, no regrets, kind of cool. But if you don't like him, no pressure, girl. Like seriously, I don't want you to ever feel like you have to do something because someone did something for you. That was his choice. However, I am someone when my friends are like, oh, he's not tall enough or he's not my type. Give it a second to learn about who the person is because when I first met Greg, I didn't think he was my type. He didn't look like anyone I'd ever

dated. But the more time I spent with him, he became my type and I'm absolutely obsessed with him. So I feel like give it a minute and learn about who he is as a person maybe. And then if it's not it, it's not it. But thank you for that juicy boy talk. I don't know if we've ever had anything like that on a Q&A. Didn't even know you could send a voice note like that. Anyway, guys, I should call it here. I'm running late. I got to go. We have a fantastic episode coming up on Monday with Josh Axe. It's very mindset based. It's about healing and mental ways that you can like handle health issues. He was fantastic. We talk about hormones. We talk about Chinese medicine. We talk about fertility. Such a good episode. Can't wait for

you guys to listen. Don't forget to subscribe and review. Love you so much. Peace. Thanks for joining us on the Pursuit of Wellness podcast. To support this show, please rate and review and share with your loved ones. If you want to be reminded of new episodes, click the subscribe button on your preferred podcast or video player. You can sign up for my newsletter to receive my favorites at marilowelland.com it will be linked in the show notes this is a wellness out loud production produced by drake peterson fiona attics and kelly kyle this show is edited by mike fry and our video is recorded by louise vargas you can also watch the full video of each episode on our youtube channel at marifitness

love you pow girls and pow. See you next time.