gratitude

Light Psyde Podcast: Mind Body and Spirit

Light Psyde Podcast | Episode 19

This interview was everything.

It is completely different from anything I've ever done before. For the first time ever, I got vulnerable and publicly discussed my spiritual journey and life beyond my research and professional work.

I am so grateful to Dani for having me on Light Psyde. She was such an incredible host, who made me feel comfortable and confident to get intimate and share what is undoubtedly the most personally important podcast I’ve done to date.

We covered so many amazing topics along the way, including:

  • Redefining the relationship with my body after my eating disorder and bodybuilding preps

  • Why I walked away from pursuing a career in academia

  • Depression, burnout & getting to the other side of grief

  • How I was able to face my biggest fear

  • Becoming conscious of trauma, maladaptive coping and the road to healing

  • My meditative & spiritual practice

  • Finding purpose, self-compassion, and gaining acceptance

  • Daily routines & practical tools for creating daily anchors

  • Living my mom's legacy

“And the time came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” (Anaïs Nin, quoted in Broken Open by Elizabeth Lesser)

Victoria Felkar, PhD(c), MA, BKIN Doctoral Researcher, Practitioner, and Educator Victoria Felkar is an interdisciplinary researcher working across the field...

Podbean: https://lightpsyde.podbean.com/mf/play/ut6og3/episode_19.mp3

You can also find the audio version of this podcast on Itunes & Spotify.

Learn more about Dani Reardon & Light Psyde
Conscious Champions
IG: @lightpsyde
FB: @lightpsyde


Muscle Expert: Hormone Manipulation & Food as Therapy

Muscle Expert Podcast with Ben Pakulski #58

USING food as a therapeutic tool and hormone manipulation in sports

 

Can’t thank Ben Pakulski enough for having me on The Muscle Expert. I'll admit, I was nervous as all when I found out that I was the first female guest - but I think he managed to keep the entire conversation organic and flowing by not telling me we were even recording! Seriously, though - this was such a good podcast, and it was great to catch up, talk shop and educate on some really critical topics. Thanks again Ben!

 

Key Highlights:

  • How to balance fat ratios.
  • The menstrual cycle myth and why women should be wary of missing their menstrual cycle.
  • Glucose disposal agents, sex hormones, sleep deprivation, post-diet binge eating mitigation strategies.  

 

"Just don't eat like an asshole" 

 

EPISODE LINK:

http://www.benpakulski.com/podcasts/victoria/

 

ITUNES: 

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/ben-pakulski-podcast-muscle/id725296816

 

STITCHER: 

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/ben-pakulski-podcast-muscle-expert-interviews-how-to-build/ben-pakulski-podcast-muscle-expert-interviews

 

Learn more about Ben Pakulski & The Muscle Expert podcast:
http://www.benpakulski.com
FB: @IFBBbenpakFANPage
IG: @ifbbbenpak
Youtube: MI40 Muscle Intelligence

 

 

Time Stamps:

4:00 Victoria's dissertation topic, exploring the world of female hormonal manipulation in elite sport.

10:47 Hyperandrogenism in females. 

11: 40 Metformin for women post competition.

13:40 Strategies for women recovering from androgen use. 

16:12 Progestron, chronic inflammation and more.

17:35 Reducing dietary triggers, changing your breakfast and eliminating the major allergenic foods.

20:06 Testing for gut health, food mapping protocols, and biofeedback.

21:50 Using food as a therapeutic tool. 

23:38 Balancing fat ratios. 

25:29 The modern American diet,

25:1 omega 6:3 ratio? 

28:50 Women, the first line of defense to overcome the psychology the binge and purge mindset. 

33:43 Glucose disposal agents, hormones, sleep deprivation. 

38:05 Less is more when it comes to training and more is more when it comes to food.

39:00 The menstrual cycle myth.

42:10 Victoria's book, nonhormonal ways to fix hormonal imbalances. 

45:50 The critical biopsychosocial physical ecological model of dynamic relations. 

52:00 Finding gratitude and acceptance.

56:42 Managing variables. 

1:00:20 Morning routines and avoiding emails.  

 

 

 

Building Gratitude

The Gensis of #thankfulTuesday

For as long as I can remember I have have tried to take time everyday to reflect and find gratitude for the ‘little’ things in life. I'm not sure why, but on April 24th, 2014 I was compelled to share my thoughts with anyone who wanted to read them. 

Regardless of where I've been in the world, what deadlines I've had, or challenges ahead - I've taken time each Tuesday to share a message of personal gratitude. 

There have been days where I've had to choke back tears while writing my post, and others where I went over the social media word count by 1000. I will say this, spreading 'thanks' in either of these situations, has been and will be more powerful than I think I will ever fully understand. 

The feedback I have received over the years from these posts has been truly amazing, humbling, and special. When I first started my mini-mission, I would have never thought that one little post each week could have as much impact on my life, or the lives of others.  

So why do I do it? Why do I ask myself each Tuesday to share the answer to the question,  what are you thankful for? It's simple, really. 

Working, training, launching a personal training company, going to school full time, keeping relationships, being a present daughter and sister, and trying to figure out my health issues took it's toll on me. Midway through my undergrad degree, I fell into 'the grind'. I fell so deep and hard that I forgot to stop, breathe and be grateful for the world around me.

Both of my worlds - the academic and industry abyss - are fast-paced, dog-eat-dog kind of deals. I let them swallow me up. Spit me out. And swallow me up again a few more times, before I realized what I had done. In and among the deadlines, long hours and pursuit of perfectionism, I had surrendered any sense of gratitude for the very things that kept me grounded, the one that would help me grow, or just 'be.' 

Fast forward, and here we are. Over 3.5 years later, and gratitude has become my tool, teaching, blessing, coping strategy, motivator, method, and meditation.

It's my road map for this crazy beautiful journey I am on. It's the vessel for my passion, and my compass for when the seas around me get rough. It's the Polaroid I use to capture the brilliance unfolding around me, and the fuel for my purpose. 

You see, gratitude is so much more than a formula for personal success, self-help fad, or cult movement. When you are genuinely thankful, it is simply a way of life.

My wish for ... or maybe it's a actually a challenge to anyone reading this is to take time and reflect the simplest and most life-giving things around you.

Stop. Breathe. Be thankful.

Trust me. Life can and will get crazy sometimes. It is cruel and unforgiving, but there really is something to be said about time to ask yourself 5 words in order to wake up and see how beautiful life really is. Try it. Ask yourself, what are you thankful for? Don't think too hard about your answer, just throw down whatever the first thing that comes to mind is.

Today I am thankful for -

My loved ones, my body and health. I am thankful for me - and not just on Tuesdays but each and every day.

I am thankful for the gift of life, because no matter how wild it may be at times, this in itself is the most beautiful thing of all.

 

With love & gratitude, 

Victoria Felkar

 

P.s. If you dare to join me on this adventure, don't forget to hashtag #thankfulTuesday

 

 

More than a body.

For over 6 years, I struggled with how to be more than a body, while working in the industry that builds them.

It prevented me from getting information out into the world, and stopped me from being able to do good. Unfortunately, I allowed the social norms that I fight so hard within my work to break me, crippling the ability to engage, advocate, and create positive action through education. But, not anymore.

I'm no longer going to hide behind my articles, stay locked in lecture halls or in the shadows of backstage. Slowly but surely, I’m building the foundation needed to share my ideas, knowledge, research and passions. In the age of personal branding, social media and visual culture, this meant that I had to get in front of a camera. So, I did it my way.

Thanks to Rommel Ramirez, the images and experience was better than I could have ever hoped for. 

 

No tan, no prep, no diet or protocol were needed. I did my own make-up as I do on most mornings and attempted to conceal my bad skin. My hair was dirty and roots were showing. I was awkward, had no idea how to pose, and couldn’t wait to be home, in my pajamas and writing. But that's all exactly how it should have been, because that's who I am

How can I be more than a body, while being apart of the industry that builds them? For better or worse, followers lost or gained, challenges faced and questions asked, I will be me.

 

With love & gratitude,

Victoria Felkar


p.s. Don’t let the 15lb dumbbells fool you. Strength isn’t always measured by numbers. 

 

Photos by Rommel Ramirez
http://ramirezcreative.com/
IG: @ramirez.creative.photography
FB: @ramirezcreative26