Professor Jennifer Etnier is a former athlete, a sports psychologist and a former coach whose research focuses on the cognitive benefits of physical activity. 

She is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and the National Academy of Kinesiology and has received the School of Health and Human Sciences Senior Research Excellence Award and Health and Human Performance Teaching Award amongst others. 

She was formerly the President of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity and Editor of the Journal of Aging and Physical Activity. 

She is also the author of Bring Your A game, a book that teaches mental skills to athletes who want to develop their mental toughness. Her new book Coaching For The Love Of The Game explores how to be the best coach you can be with countless mindset tools and technique. 

This was an very enjoyable conversation around topics that I’m personally very interested in. I also haven’t previously covered on them on the podcast so I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed recording it. 

Here are some of the things we talked about in today’s episode.    

• Building mental toughness and what the research says 
• Goal setting and the importance of the correct tracking metric
• Sleep deprivation and its impact on your day to day or physical performance 
• The thing that distinguishes top athletes –process vs outcome focused mindsets
• Exercise and its ability to improve memory retention  
• The research behind mental health benefits of exercise
• How to effectively coach kids, yourself of others by using the current sports psychology  

Shownotes: 

Research: 

Kinesiology 

Effects of an aerobic fitness test on short- and long-term memory in elementary-aged children

Exercise, cognitive function, and the brain: Advancing our understanding of complex relationships

An External Focus of Attention is Effective for Balance Control when Sleep-deprived.

Motivating Mature Adults to be Physically Active.

Alzheimer 

The Physical Activity and Alzheimer's Disease (PAAD) Study: Cognitive outcomes.

UNCG professor explores links between exercise and Alzheimer’s disease

UNCG Landing page for Physical Activity and Alzheimer’s Disease 2

Books:  

https://uncpress.org/book/9781469654836/coaching-for-the-love-of-the-game/

https://uncpress.org/book/9780807859902/bring-your-a-game/

BRIANS LINKS

Amanda is PN1 certified nutrition coach, weight loss specialist and award-winning radio personality and podcaster.

In January 2012, she made a New Year’s resolution to stop dieting and to start making the best decision in every moment. She resolved to just do the best she could, to stop forcing herself to eat vegetables she hated, and to stop paying for gym memberships she’d never use. Slow steps, small goals, and a lot of determination helped her to lose over 100 pounds and keep it off.

She is living proof that dedication, passion, and strength can be ignited in anyone. Her positive messages of health and wellness are regularly promoted on the radio, on her podcast, and throughout social media, where audiences are always eager to hear more about her weekly meal prep process, daily fitness workouts, and her fun-loving outlook on life. 

Amanda is not only lively and personable, she shows others how it is possible to change their lives, break old habits, and even have fun while doing it. 

I was on Amanda’s show a few weeks ago and absolutely loved her energy (and story) so I’m delighted she could join me for this podcast.

This is a must listen for anyone on a weight loss journey or for those who feel too confused and/or overwhelmed by the amount of conflicting weight loss advice out there. 

Here are some of the things we talked about in today’s episode. 

•     How she lost 100lbs by walking more and just making a few dietary changes
•     How that transitioned from walking to finding a new love for strength training and running
•     How to beat the feeling of overwhelm when you have so much weight to lose
•     How she used to binge eat to the point of pain and how she overcame it
•     The sad reality of losing friendships a weight loss journey 
•     And much more. 

Shownotes: 

Her book

Bite This! Cookbook Vol. 1

Her podcast - Pound This

https://poundthis.com/?ltclid=f40b38b4-fcb2-4f22-84cc-1ed94a8778a2

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pound-this/id1325659621

https://poundthis.com/?ltclid=8a076053-54da-48b5-acd8-d1b6df309519

https://www.instagram.com/youcanpoundthis/?hl=en

https://www.amandavalentinebites.com/

https://www.facebook.com/AmandaValentineBites

Leisa is a qualified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and founder of Make Me Sugar Free. 

She is also the author of the new book 7-Day Sugar Cleanse: Beat Your Addiction with Tasty, Easy-to-Make Recipes that Nourish and Help You Resist Cravings.

Leisa gave up sugar at the start of 2016 and created her blog to help other people break the sugar addiction cycle and help her audience on their way to a healthier and happier lifestyle.

Her Instagram page and YouTube channel makemesugarfree is packed with easy to make and tasty sugar-free meals as well as tips and advice on how to quit sugar for good and break the cycle of sugar addiction.

I’ve been following Leisa’s content for ages and I’m absolutely delighted we were able to organize this podcast. This one is for anyone who is looking to remove or reduce their sugar intake for a whole host of health or body composition reasons. 

Here are some of the things we talked about: 

• If you are doing your first sugar detox, what you NEED to know beforehand.
• Who should consider going sugar free and the main benefits 
• The reason for sugar addiction and watching out for your ‘sugar trigger’ moments. 
• The foods that hide sugar and make your detox harder 
• Sugar withdrawals and how long they last for based on your starting point
• Her thoughts on sweeteners instead of sugar 
• Everything you need to know about going sugar free
• The mindset that ‘going sugar free’ doesn’t need to be permanent, but it can improve your relationship with the foods that are high sugar

Links

https://www.facebook.com/makemesugarfree/

https://www.instagram.com/makemesugarfree/?hl=en

https://www.makemesugarfree.com/

Her Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFQ-o83WfSa_P4zIqYgVcHg

Her articles

https://www.scribd.com/article/487613007/Easy-Eats

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-7559715/Nutritionist-reveals-signs-sugar-addiction-break-cycle.html

Her programme 

21 DAY SUGAR DETOX PROGRAM

Her book 

7-Day Sugar Cleanse: Beat Your Addiction with Tasty, Easy-to-Make Recipes that Nourish and Help You Resist Cravings

Book link 

Miriam Kerins Hussey is an integrative health and wellness coach, keynote speak and founder of Soul Space.

She specialises in integrative Health and Wellness coaching that focuses on lifestyle as Medicine and getting to the root cause of performance and health related issues as this is the real awakening that allows lasting change and transformative breakthroughs. 

Her style focuses on the mind body connection and integrates a holistic approach to enhanced health and wellbeing.

I met Miriam at the 2018 Welfest event where we shared the stage in a Q+A with dietician Orla Walsh (from podcast 203) and this episode has been a long time coming. There are so many ‘penny drop’ and ‘ah ha’ moments here, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed recording it. 

Here are some of the things we talked about in today’s episode. 

• How stress and anxiety has become our ‘new normal’ and tools for moving past it in modern society. 
• How to build your internal self-compassion muscle 
• The art of reframing, letting go and the learning to surrender 
• The importance of mirror and inner child work 
• How small simple life changes make huge differences to your energy levels 
• Emotional eating and nutritional well being 
• And much more. 

SHOWNOTES

Miriam’s Website: https://soulspace.ie/

Miriam’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirkerins_integratedwellness/?hl=en

Miriam’s LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/Mirkerins_integratedwellness