The Therapy Edit - One Thing with Steph Claire Smith on strengthening identity and wellbeing

Episode Date: November 18, 2022

In this guest episode of The Therapy Edit, Anna asks the co-founder of Australian brand, Keep It Cleaner, Steph Claire Smith for her One Thing. Steph shares her advice to all mums that making space for the things that you loved prior to motherhood will make you feel better and more in touch with your identity.Steph is the COO and co-founder of Australian health & wellness app, Keep it Cleaner which you can visit here https://keepitcleaner.comShe’s incredibly passionate about using her past experiences with toxic diet & exercise culture to help others build a healthy relationship with food & exercise. Steph has owned multiple successful businesses, is a proud mum to her son, Harvey, host of the KICBUMP podcast, co-host of the KICPOD, author of A Girl’s Guide to Kicking Goals and has over 80 health food products stocked in supermarkets across Australia.You can follow KIC on Instagram at @keepitcleaner and you can follow Steph's personal account alongside her loyal 1.5 million followers at @stephclairesmithAnd a special treat for listeners of The Therapy Edit... Use the code THERAPYEDIT via the website (not the app) for one free month of membership! Once the login is generated on the website they will then be able to utilise the app.

Hello and welcome to The Therapy Edit with me, psychotherapist's mum of three and author Anna Martha. Every Friday, I invite one guest to tell me the one thing they would most like to share with mums everywhere. So join with me as we hear this dose of wisdom. I hope you enjoy it. Hi everyone, welcome to today's guest episode of The Therapy Edit and I am really excited. I am speaking to Steph Clare Smith, who is literally on the other side of the world right now in Australia, which is amazing. I don't think I've ever spoken to anyone on here quite so, literally so far away. Steph is Monta Harvey.

She's the co-founder of Keep It Cleaner, which I'm going to ask her to explain a little bit about in a moment. But it's all about movement, mindfulness and meals that feel good for you. I literally loved the three Ms. I love a bit of alliteration as people who follow me. will know. I'm always trying to sneak it in there. And Cup It Cleaner is all about finding your personal recipe for a healthier, happier, lifestyle. And they've got a little line on their website that I also loved saying it's not about the scale. It's about the smile. I love that, Steph. How are you today? I'm good. Good to have you. Yeah, it's so good to be here. Thank you so much. And it's,

it is quite well being on the other side of the world, but don't you just love technology? This is amazing. It's amazing. A few years ago, this would have been really kind of stilted, And the signal, do you know what I mean? It would have been, I had a friend growing up that was in Australia. And every time we spoke to her on the phone, it was a bit kind of, you know, had to keep waiting. But you could be, you could be next door. You could be next door.

So stuff, tell us a little bit about Keep It Cleaner. We'd love to know. Yeah, basically, Laura, my best friend and I, and she's the CEO and co-founder of Kik. We started KIC years ago because we saw a little gap in the market. it when there was a lot of fad diets, quick fixes, you know, challenges and a lot of guilt around food, calorie counting and all that. We kind of wanted to take it back to basics and just create a program that was, you know, feel good for you and find your recipe, as you said. So it's all about showing that there's so much variety to health and health, healthy life or healthy

lifestyle looks different in everyone's, in everyone's own life. So they've got to find what suits them and what brings them joy. And I think for us, that moment that we actually started to enjoy moving our body and enjoyed exercise as opposed to using it as some sort of punishment for something that we did or to just look a certain way, we started to enjoy it a lot more and motivations started to come a lot easier as well. That's amazing. And I love that you've got the kick podcast as well, haven't you?

Yeah. Be such a valuable resource in bringing different voices into that space. And I hear you so much on how movement. needs to be reflective of where you're at and who you are and what you need because I used to hit the hit really hard, the high intensity interval training. And I remember getting to a point thinking, you know what? I actually don't find this fun anymore. And I don't think my knees like it anymore either. And it was going on that process of trying to think, just because I've always done this doesn't mean I always need to. Yes. And there are other forms of movement out there.

And I love how you use the word movement because it's got a softer kind of. connotation, hasn't it? You know, for me, that might be walking or... Yeah, well, I mean, that's exactly right. And for me, as soon as my goal started to be just just to move my body in some way, you know, there was a day, you know, back in my past where if I had done a yoga flow, I wouldn't have classified that as a workout. And therefore I would have, you know, been upset with myself for missing... That was my relationship with exercise back then, whereas now I see movement as something to, you know, to do for my body and my mind and my soul and it's like celebrating what my body can do it. And it's not always a challenge. It doesn't

need to always be a challenge where I push myself to my absolute limit. And I find what I feel up to that day. And I think that's why I love the variety that we have is because some days I just feel like doing a 10 minute, you know, Pilates workout. And then other days I do feel like going into a hit workout and going at my hardest and trying to beat a PB. And it's all about trying to find what works for you because as you said like if you if you're doing some sort of exercise just because it's trending or um you know because someone else does it or a friend does it but it's not something that fills you with joy you're not going to keep up with it and you're probably going to lose the motivation for it yeah or you're going to be doing on the premise if i need to i have to

and it's different i think the way that you were talking about movement there and how you approach it now compared to how you used to there's just a respect in that isn't there respect of your body and your capacity and perhaps your mood and perhaps the time of the month and what's going on in the wider picture of your life and an acknowledgement of your needs. It's really different, isn't it? So, oh, well, I can't wait to hear what your one thing is. So I'm going to ask you now before we accidentally end up covering it somehow. So Steph, what's the one thing that you would love to share with all the mums today? So I think the one thing, it's an ongoing struggle and it has to do with exercise, but it is that kind of tug-war of spending time with my son Harvey and making

time for myself. And that's hard, you know, be it a working mum, be it a mum, you know, a full-time mum from home. Like, no matter what your situation is, it is really hard to carve out that time for yourself. And that is what I, I suppose, classify as the time that I'm exercising. That's me time. It's very special and I don't take that for granted anymore. And I think these days, because life's quite busy at the moment, particularly with work, which is all exciting things. But it is busy. And so if I'm at home and I'm not working and I'm carving out time to exercise, it's like, I know that that means less time with Harvey. And so it's this constant battle of like wanting to fill up my cup with him. And because he really does feel me with so much joy, so much purpose and brings me so much

energy. But exercise really does that for me as well. And that was a huge part of who I was before having Harvey. So it's about not really losing touch with that. And I think every mum listening would be able to relate to maybe that one thing that really, really filled them with joy that was a big part of their life before having a kid. And there's no doubt a lot of us kind of lose touch with it along the way and maybe lose a little bit about identity. And I think I'm not necessarily always looking at trying to be the old version of me. But it's just about having that element. And for me, that's exercise and moving my body and that being a passion of mine. having that still in my life in some way, shape or form is really important.

It's just that I've removed that kind of guilt or that kind of level of where it needed to be. So my routine is completely different to what it used to be. Like before I had Harvey, before I was pregnant, I would have been working out five or six days a week and maybe between half an hour to 45 minutes at a time. And I loved it. And I was probably the fittest I'd ever been right before I got pregnant. And then even through my pregnancy, I was really fortunate to feel well. enough to continue to move my body. And so I was really able to keep up quite a good routine.

And then obviously postpartum happened and I had a break and I had a rest and I really removed my kind of pressure to move my body and I just kind of wanted to be at home in my little bubble. And the furthest kind of exercise I did was some, you know, pelvic floor stuff that we have on the kick app or with my physio and that was about it. But once I could get back into exercise, that kind of yearning for wanting that routine came back. And when he was a newborn, and I wasn't working, I was kind of able to do that and I was able to make time for it, even if it was 10 minutes, I was able to make time for it almost every day. But as life's gotten busier and he's, you know, only down to one nap a day as well. And he's such a busy little toddler.

And as I said, when I'm home, I just kind of want to soak up that time with him. It's gotten really hard. So realistically, my routine is more like maybe working out three times a week and those sessions, I'll have one with my PT, which is like my solid, if I get that in the week, I'll feel really amazing and energize. That's like a solid hour of strength. And then other than that, it might just be, you know, 10 to 15 minutes of Pilates at home. And I'm okay with that. And then I'll go for a walk whenever I can. And I know that that's very different to where it once was, but I think when I think back to where my routine used to be, that was when I was in the mindset of like, you'll never regret a workout. It always feels good afterwards. But

I will say that now when I have to consider making time for a workout, I'm considering giving up time with him. And not always. Like sometimes I can get it done with him around me and can try and make it work. But I think any mum listening would know that that's a bit of a juggle. And so for me, it's like trying to find the importance of, you know, what would I rather do today? Would I rather have this 20 minutes to myself and to smash out a workout? Or do I really want to soak up Harvey time before I go to work? Yeah. So it's just different. It's different questions, isn't it? You're that you're being confronted with those moments that you have. And I was just grinning as you were talking there because I remember once doing a workout in Florence. So I think my boys were asleep. She'd woken up really early. So I just went downstairs and I thought, I'm going to do some yoga. And I remember having the baby bouncer, a play mat and a jump roo. Do you have a jumproo in Australia? They're kind of the little bouncy. And I had these kind of three things for her. And she just kind of alternated. And every now and again, I'd like pop her in a different one. And it's just, you know, you just kind of find creative ways, but it's not the same, is it? And, you know, how do you feel after those 10 minutes

knowing that you used to maybe have that extra time, you know, when you're able to grab those kind of those 10, 15 minutes for a little class or, you know, some movement on the floor in your living room with Harvey around? How do you feel after that? I still feel like for me, I'm giving back to my body in some way. So I still feel like it feels better than if I was to go without and I don't have guilt around moving my body anymore like if I if I don't move my body for a week for whatever reason I don't feel the shame or guilt because of some you know aesthetic goal that I've had it's more that I know emotionally and mentally I won't be on my game I'll be tired and I won't feel myself and so when I start to go days on end without exercise I just start to crave even

just the littlest bit like as I said even if it was 10 minutes of Pilates and that's all I have time for I know that that little time for myself will make me feel better and make me feel more energized and strengthen my body even just a little bit. And so I think for me, it's just having the mindset of even just a little bit, we'll do. And then that's better than nothing for me personally. Obviously, there's times where I need to have a complete break. And, you know, I just actually came out of a week of a complete break because we were filming new workouts and those weeks are massive, massive on the body.

but it was really funny it was um you know my body had jumped from this slower routine to you know having to work out for over two hours a day when we were shooting um which is excessive for anyone let alone me when you compare it to my other routine but it was funny my body just kind of got through it and my mindset I was just so excited to have uninterrupted exercise yeah it's like a real a real treat yeah absolutely well there's a real transition there and a shift isn't there and how you've approached it as you've approached movement as you've kind of transitioned into motherhood. And I used to be very, like your story resonates a lot with mine.

I very much used to be kind of go hard or go home. You know, kind of just all in. Everything would be high intensity. Everything would be kind of, you know, just, I'd just work out really hard. And I remember also being very much for yoga is something you do to relax. It's not, you know, it doesn't tick the box of movement. but actually now I have a whole new respect for all different forms of movement. And my approach is now very much of something is always better than nothing.

Like, you know, if your phone had a tiny bit of battery on and you were heading out for a few hours and you had like 10 minutes before you left the door, you wouldn't think, oh, there's no point in just plugging it in to get that extra few, you know, bars of charge. You know, you just plug it in because you know that you might need it. and I try and see movement as the same thing, you know, nothing, you know, something is always better than nothing, like even if it's just a stretch on the floor in front of the television. I was going to give us a little bit of something and we're always giving out as moms, aren't we, be it in our work or our parenting at home.

So I absolutely, you know, I love, I love that transition. What's your favorite? What's your favorite form of movement at the moment? Like, if you had 20 minutes today, what would you think, oh, you know what? this is what I'm going to do today. So I would probably do a bar session. I love our, we've just more recently launched Bar Pilates into the app. And for me, it's just like a really good combination of strength and Pilates.

I feel the burn so quickly and you could do it a class as short as 10 minutes and really feel like you've got a really good burn. And majority of them are no or low equipment. And I can do them with Harvey around. like I'm not jumping around or anything like that. So I feel like they're the easiest ones to fit into the schedule right now. And the trainer that we have on the app that takes them, Kika, she's Italian and she's full of energy and she's just so much fun.

So it'd probably be that, but I still have a real soft spot for strength training. Like as I touched on earlier, when I do get to see my PT Danny and really kind of smash out a good lower body strength session with him in the gym, that really fills me with a lot of joy too so I think if one day I can maybe make time for two of those sessions a week that'll like have me sorted but for now the one the one is good I think I never quite realized how physical motherhood was yeah you know and actually working on our working on our strength working on our core strength is going to service so well because even my daughter's three and a half and I'm still kind of hooking her up on my hip you know and you're thinking what's happening to

your body for years of doing that you know you need cause strength, don't you, to be able to hold yourself and support yourself and support all of the different kind of, I mean, I don't, I don't know. I'm no, I'm no professional, but I just know that sometimes if I'm not doing strength training, like I do feel it in my back, just the way that parenting is so physical. So I think it is a really lovely gift to ourselves when we're exploring what movement we benefit from, both kind of, you know, the physicality of parenting and moving around the world every day and the way that we sit and the way that and I found that with bar actually it really kind of prompts you to as soon as I say it I kind of sit a little bit

straighter and the movements the movements are really deceptive aren't they because they're kind of really small and you think oh this is all right for a few seconds and three seconds yeah oh my goodness yeah so I think you know it's it's a wonderful thing to be thinking about how might you move in a way that is respectful to both your needs and what you feel like. And they don't, they don't always look the same thing today. Sometimes I need, I need to do something slow, but I might feel like doing something fast when actually, you know, it's just determining and having a little think about what that might look like for you each day.

Oh, absolutely. And I do, I really do love training from home. And I think a big part of that as well is when I do get to train when he's awake. I mean, I would love Harvey to grow up. I was really, really active as a kid, and I was always really encouraged to play sports and be active in that way. And I would love him to grow up watching his parents kind of, you know, put their health and fitness as a priority in life and get that done even if it is around the home. I think that would be really cool if I was to kind of instill that same passion into him. So I've got to keep doing it in front of him.

It's the best way, isn't it? And Florence has got this tiny little yoga mat. I think it's actually meant to be, it's meant to. to be something that you put under your knee, you know, to kind of support like double padding, but she uses it as a tiny yoga mat as like the size of a, you know, a dormat. But as we, you know, I think it is lovely for them to see you investing back into yourself. And it is for them, is for them too, is next. It gives us a little bit more that we're ultimately, most likely going to be giving back out to them.

So you've mentioned an app. Can you tell us a bit more about what you've, what you've, you've got for us to look at. Yeah, it's, it's, it's super exciting. There's a lot of variety on there. So we have something like over 700, yeah, over 700 recipes, um, over 570 workouts. And our workouts, our master classes, they're, they're semi live. So we film them and we film them all the way through. So when you follow them along, um, it's like we're, we're there with you going through the struggles. Laura and I appear in some. of them but also the trainers take some on their own but if the trainers are on their own they are doing

the workout with you the entire time and encouraging you through making sure you know you've got all the correct cues for your form and everything like that but I know working out from home I need that like extra energy from another being to like get me through a workout yeah I'm with you on that absolutely you know totally so and it's like someone else is in it with you so it's very much like that and we have a huge variety so we've got hit boxing strength Pilates bar Pilates, yoga. We've just launched dance cardio, which is a ball of fun. And for us, it's just, we're just continuing to talk to our community who is super engaged in such a beautiful community at that. But they're really, really open with feedback and we love hearing it. That is just

music to our ears and just fills our soul so much joy is why we do what we do. So yeah, that's pretty much what you can expect on the app. Your passion is contagious and obviously comes, know, both from your experience in your job, but also your experiences of mum and your journey with your relationship with exercise. So, and movement. So thank you so much for sharing that with us. So staff, to finish off, we ask our guests and quick five questions. Are you ready? Yeah. What's a motherhood high for you? Oh, a motherhood high. Um, with Harvey, when he reaches up to hold my hand, whether he's like trying to take me somewhere or he just wants to hold my hand because there's a step in front of him. I don't know why,

but ever since he started doing that, it's like, it melts me every time. That's melting me and I haven't even met Harvey. Yeah, I think it's just that reach of like, help me and like being that assistance for him. It just, oh, it means the world. Oh, lovely. And what's a motherhood low for you? Oh, the guilt that comes with being a working mum, I think. For me, I, yeah, I feel like that questioning whether I'm doing the right thing, even though I feel like I am, I feel like that's just going to stick around because I love him so much and I can't get enough of him. But I know I'm doing the right thing for us and for me, but it's, yeah, that guilt is bloody

hard to deal with at times. Yeah, you're not alone on that one. And what's something that makes you feel good, anything? Time with family. But if it wasn't to include Harvey, something that makes me feel good is watching. Disney movies. Oh, brilliant. And that's not including Christmas one soon. So it's like, just by myself. Oh, I love that. I love that. And finally, how do you describe motherhood in three words? Purposeful, all-consuming and magical. Purposeful, all-consuming and magical. Yeah, brilliant. Well,

thank you so much for joining us here, Steph, and for sharing. your passion and your journey and your skills as well with us. Oh, thank you. No, thanks for having me. Thank you for listening to today's episode of The Therapy Edit. If you enjoyed it, please do share, subscribe or review because it makes a massive difference to how many people it can reach. You can find more from me on Instagram at Anna Martha. You might like to check out my three books, Mind Over Mother, Know Your Worth, and my new book, The Little Book, The Little Book, for new mums, grounding words for the highs, the lows and the moments in between. It's a little book. You don't need to read it from front to back. You just pick whatever emotion

resonates to find a mantra, a tip and some supportive words to bring comfort and clarity. You can also find all my resources, guides and videos, all with the sole focus of supporting your emotional and mental well-being as a mum. They are all 12 pounds and you can find them on anamatha.com. I look forward to speaking with you soon. Thank you.