In this interview with Anna Doktor, Health and Wellness Coach we talk about 3 of my favourite topics - Sleep, Exercise and Nutrition!
For all the show notes and contact details head on over here.
If you love this show, please leave me a review. Go to RateThisPodcast.com/5starwellbeing and follow the simple instructions.
Thanks so much for listening!
For everything else 5 Star Wellbeing please head to the Evenstar Wellbeing website.
Please join me on socials as well:
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LinkedIN
Music by Ian Hildebrand
In this interview with Anna Doktor, Health and Wellness Coach we talk about 3 of my favourite topics - Sleep, Exercise and Nutrition!
For all the show notes and contact details head on over here.
If you love this show, please leave me a review. Go to RateThisPodcast.com/5starwellbeing and follow the simple instructions.
Thanks so much for listening!
For everything else 5 Star Wellbeing please head to the Evenstar Wellbeing website.
Please join me on socials as well:
Facebook
Instagram
LinkedIN
Music by Ian Hildebrand
All right. Okay, cool. Let's start. So today I'm really delighted to welcome Anna Doctor Who is a health and wellness coach and has her own business based in Brisbane in Australia called Anna Doktor Wellness Coaching. And I'm really interested to hear Anna's own story about how she got into the practice that she's in now. And also, of course, the tips that she can give the rest of us. She has had a really interesting journey herself through some really hard times, and some times where she has not been very well in different ways. And I think that that's a wonderful way to learn and to understand how we can bring things into our own lives to help ourselves. So that's why I love having guests like Anna, along so welcome, Anna, I'd love to start first of all, if you can tell us a bit about yourself and your journey and why it is that you're doing what you're doing. And also probably just describe a little bit about what your job is now - this business that you've created for yourself, what actually you do to help people.
Anna Doktor:Thank you. Thank you so much. And first of all, thank you so much for having me on your podcast. And for the lovely introduction. Um, yeah, I guess it started probably a few years ago, when you know, I was living in a constant state of stress and overwhelm, and pressure. And I guess I live that way. And I thought it was normal, because so many of us live the same way. And yeah, I guess, you know, I was I was always busy. And again, thought it was normal. I was always tired and lacking energy, and not really looking after my health. And again, I was accepting that's how we should be. And I guess that's life. Yes. And again, everyone else is the same. Just no time, no energy. And, you know, I was climbing the corporate ladder, I had my side hustle. I bought a house at that time and was renovating so you know, just managing a lot in my life, you know, my family here, my social life here. But I found that the busier I was the less happy I was. And I think I was even more stressed. And I didn't really was, I wasn't probably finding myself in all of it. And things got even worse, in terms that I went through very challenging times with my family, I went to a grieving process, I went through depression and anxiety, I battled PTSD. And things got very, very dark, where it was very hard to, I guess, show up as my best self, and yet fulfill all the needs and the commitments that I had in my life. And I strongly believe that knowledge is power, so I decided to research, everything I was able to get my hands on in terms of habits and behavioral patterns, why we behave the way we behave, what motivates us why we procrastinate, where our energy comes from. Because deep down, I felt that there has to be a different way to life, there has to be a different way of meeting all the demands. And I guess one of the biggest things that I did was research a lot about stress. So where stress comes from, why we feel stress, what are the stressors and overwhelm and what really happens in our bodies, in our minds when we go through stress and overwhelm and that we're always under pressure. And because I believe that knowledge is power only when you use it, I start implementing all the you know, tools and strategies from you know, behavioral science and neuroscience to see, you know, what's working, what's not working, how I can change my life. So of course I also research a lot about nutrition and how that impacts our energy levels. So I start eating better, right I start actually getting the connection between what we put in our body is the energy we get outside. And of course, you know, I needed really look into my sleeping patterns, take back my mornings, and start being productive, not just busy but productive, and increase my energy levels. And of course, I needed to redo my whole stress reaction, we all have stress, we all react differently to stress. But nevertheless, we need to understand how that impacts our mental health and our physiological health. Right. So yeah, I started implementing everything I learned. And I guess, again, I like to say that, you know, the teacher appears when the student is ready, I came across a wellness coach in Australia, and I thought, Okay, I will take it to the next level. And I enroll in the program, and I just fall in love with, with coaching, and the tools and the techniques that they use and how they approached, I guess, health and wellness. So I got a certification, I became a certified health and wellness coach, and I decided to change my career and go into coaching. So I open up wellness coaching, my private practice is in Brisbane. And yeah, because I realized that there are so many of us living in a constant state of stress, and overwhelm and pressure, and always being tired and thinking that this is normal. But when we have the challenging times we can't meet the demand because we're not in our optimal health and wellness. And I truly believe that when you live in your optimal health and well being you're capable of achieving anything.
Arwen Bardsley:Yeah, absolutely. So heaps to unpack from that. So really, what you're saying is that, you know, I guess most people are living in a state where they're, they are experiencing these things that you know are stress and fatigue, and not looking after themselves basically, with eating the right things and getting enough sleep. So therefore then when something else comes into life, that something else goes wrong, like what happened with you with the family situation, then, unfortunately, that's when it all comes undone. So yeah, yeah. So I think that it's really important for people to hear that. For it to really be something that you think about again, and again and listen to that, again. That even though you think you're okay, and you're going on and you're fine with five hours sleep, and yes, you can have another takeaway meal for the fourth night. When something goes wrong, which none of us can predict, you know, these things you don't know where something's gonna come from, that's when you're really going to be in a really difficult place.
Anna Doktor:So, yeah, yeah, that's just, it's so true. It's just so true, what you said, I think, again, because it's this expectation that it's normal that, you know, we're always tired, or it's normal, that we don't sleep, it's normal that we don't eat and then, you know, we're we're a little bit if I might say, surprised, right, that we can't cope with the demand that we never have time, that we don't have the energy to do things. And yes, when, like you mentioned, when things get to maybe a little bit unlucky it can break down. Right? Yeah. In some area in our life, then we just think, well, I don't know what to do. And then we just think, Okay, well, our health is not really in optimal. Our mindset, it's not as healthy as we would like to. And then it's very, very hard to get us ourselves basically, from the point where we are into a better state. Because yeah, most of the time, we'll probably don't really have a healthy support system. Yeah. Yes. From you know, from from whatever challenging time we're experiencing to go best to the you know, all the time.
Arwen Bardsley:Yeah, absolutely. And, yeah, I mean, I think that the lifestyle that so many of us have is one where yeah, the bucket is constantly being depleted. And then you get to the point where the bucket is completely empty. And that's where you know something goes wrong, and you've got nothing to draw on. So I know we keep we keep going on about this everybody but it's so important and that is you know where health coaching comes in to help you with a preventative approach and being proactive about your health. And people will complain about, oh, it's expensive to do things like that. But my goodness me, it is so much more expensive to be unwell. So yeah, we really can't say that enough.
Anna Doktor:I know, it's funny, you know, I actually read it somewhere. So I'm not taking credit for it, but I read it somewhere. He was actually a life coach from the States. He said, Well, you know, when you have problem with your pipes, you call a plumber, right? When you you have problem with, I don't know, your light switch you call an electrician. So when you have a problem with your health, or even to prevent it, like, why you don't look for a health practitioner, who can help you? Yeah. Yeah, just help you with your health. And yeah, with your with your well being, because the thing is, like, life is not gonna get any slower. Let's face it, it's not like we're going to, you know, have those beautiful days where we have nothing to do and everything is perfect. And you know, everything is done, and we're just relaxing. And when the bliss state, yes, that would be beautiful. But life. It's so busy, and it's getting busier. And there is more and more demand on our energy, on our time on our focus. We're distracted like, yeah. And there's even more and more things that stealing our focus and distraction isn't going to get easier. Right. So we need to have healthy coping mechanisms in place. So yeah, when you know, there is more trouble we know how to be resilient.
Arwen Bardsley:Yeah, that's right, you need to have a healthy baseline. So when you said that you had PTSD? Can you tell us a bit more about that in terms of how did that manifest for you? You know, do you think this is something that other people might have that they don't know that they have?
Anna Doktor:Um, yes, I would say yes, definitely. It's, I think it's something that people don't talk about. And I guess, for various reasons, but mostly, it's like they just yet either they don't want to face it, that they have something like PTSD. And that's probably me. I was, I was thinking, Okay, this is not me. But then when I started researching about, and I was thinking, Oh, my gosh, I have symptoms, in terms of mostly, it's like when you have, you know, flashbacks of traumatic events that happen. But I would say that, for me, probably the biggest thing was that I couldn't sleep. Yeah. And that was a very big impact on my sleep. I literally had sleepless nights. And of course, there wasn't only that reason why I had sleepless nights, but most of the time, yes, because I could not calm my mind. I could not get myself into a safe space. Yeah. Even fall asleep. So yes, I had, you know, reoccurring traumatic dreams, and I wasn't able to fall asleep. And again, I wasn't really. Yeah, I think I wasn't really facing the fact that okay, I might be suffering from PTSD, and I need to address it. And I think that's probably where a lot of people, might find, might be in a similar situation.
Arwen Bardsley:But that, but this is something that would only happen as a result of a major trauma, not as a as a result of the everyday small t traumas that I you know, that we all have full time.
Anna Doktor:Yes, no, no, that would be a more traumatic event in your life that happened. And I mean, you know, it can be a very drastic event. But yeah, on you will be a traumatic event on a certain level.
Arwen Bardsley:Yeah. Okay. So let's talk about sleep then. Because I know that that's something that I mean, obviously, when you're saying you were having sleepless nights, that's it's literally torture isn't it. That people use sleep deprivation as torture, if they, you know, are way inclined. And I know that you talk about fixing your sleep, and your sleep patterns, especially as one of the first steps to getting yourself back into a state of wellness. So can you tell us about that? So I suppose you've you've already mentioned sleepless nights and bad dreams and not being able to fall asleep. So anything else that you want to talk about in terms of the quality and quantity of sleep you're getting and then how you did address it?
Anna Doktor:Yes. Oh, gosh, I think we don't talk enough, I guess about sleep. And I think we're not connecting you know, the dots between the importance of sleep and not only the length of sleep, but the quality of our sleep, and our health in general health. But yes, for me, it was due to sleepless nights, I was going to bed at random times, I was always tired. And, you know, I didn't have energy, or anything, I wasn't motivated. But I also, you know, my mental health, like my emotions, gosh, they were so out of balance. I was either grumpy or I was frustrated, you know, or I was groggy and everything. Because yeah, I wasn't, I wasn't really giving enough recovery time for my body and my mind. Also, there were other aspects, I guess, you know, the stress and the overwhelm and the pressure, and I guess some of the coping mechanisms that I had, like, alcohol consumption. So you know, I was trying to get myself to sleep with alcohol. And then, you know, at the morning, I couldn't get out of bed. So I was just drinking a lot of coffee to again get me going.
Arwen Bardsley:Such a typical negative cycle that people put themselves in now.
Anna Doktor:Yes, yes. Because, you know, we think okay, glass of wine, that then turns into two glasses of wine, whatever is given because, you know, it will make make us fall asleep. But then, you know, this really interrupts our sleeping patterns. And we can get deep stages of sleep, which are the most important because that's when all the healing in our bodies happen. So of course, I had this, you know, the roller coaster, I guess, you know, yeah. And drinking and, and coffee of the morning, but I guess, um, again, I came across a life coach. And it was a lot of talking about building a morning routine. And I'm a really big believer in morning routine. And I talk about all the time, and I encourage everyone to have a morning routine. Because I guess, for me, my morning routine started with a very simple thing, just getting up when the alarm rang. And now this is a very simple thing. And people then go, 'I do it all the time'. But do you because just because the alarm rings, okay, and you grab your phone, and either you snooze it or horror of horrors, you start sharing on social, checking the weather, the emails...this is not getting up. And this is not waking up, right? This is just going into our negative patterns, I guess. So for me, the biggest thing, and the first thing was to get up when the alarm rang. And it was interesting, because it's a simple thing. But, you know, I start doing it. And I start seeing how I guess my mental health was shifting. And I'm guessing the whole thing here is that our tendency as human tendency is to have everything in control. And we want to control our behavior, we want to control others, we want to control the environment. And when we hear the alarm clock at the morning, and we hit the snooze, but we're not really in control of our morning, right? When we get up when the alarm rings, we're actually did something and for me, at that time, I was going through a grief process for me, I was dreading mornings, right? I didn't even want to get out of bed in the morning. So I didn't have anything in control. And again, when we are in stress and overwhelm, we're in a state where we have no control over anything. So for me not hitting the snooze button to get up, I actually start getting a control of my morning, because then it was me in control of what I did next. And this way, it might seem very simple, but he helped me to build confidence that I'm able to, you know, look into my day, and I'm able to plan what I'm gonna be doing. And I'm able to control or have the biggest illusion of control because let's face it, there is no true control. Yeah. Illusion of control. And that helped me to keep going. And of course, I start adding other things to my to build my morning routine. But because I research a lot about sleep and the sleeping patterns and the circadian clock, you go to sleep and wake cycle, I start testing the times when I was going to sleep. Then when I was getting up, and again, of course it takes time, but I started finding myself that I was getting sleepy more or less at the same time at night and then again because I started doing my morning routine I knew that I had to get up in the morning, which meant that I needed to allow enough sleep during the night. So I needed to go to sleep at roughly the same time. So I start adding other elements. And of course, I look into my coping mechanism with stress and alcohol consumption. So I needed to, change that pattern a little bit. And yeah, and then I was able to. Going back to, I guess, to building a morning routine, I was able to add other components like, you know, meditation, so I was able to get a little bit, you know, yeah, getting the focus to be more on me, so I can plan what I will do in my day. So I could, you know, hack into the productivity science, I guess, a little bit. But once I start, it came a little bit like a domino effect. So once I started adding all the components, I noticed that, yes, I was sleeping more during the night, I was able to control my emotions a little bit better, that I was getting, maybe lengthier, or longer stages of sleep. And then yeah, I started seeing that, you know, I had a little bit more energy during the day. So I was able to, you know, incorporate some body movement, some, you know, exercising. So again, that helped in my overall health, and, and well being.
Arwen Bardsley:So, can you tell us, can you take us through what your morning routine is now?
Anna Doktor:Yeah. So at the moment, my morning routine is very well built, I guess. So of course, I started the morning at the moment, because we're just going into summer, I get up at 530. And, again, like I I have my phone away from my bed. When it rings I physically have to get up. Right, because I'm up. I'm up, right? Um, I meditate. And the woman at the moment, actually, I'm following Ziva meditation.
Arwen Bardsley:Oh, yes. Yeah, yeah, very good.
Anna Doktor:Yes, I meditate at the morning. I like it. Because it's short. And, again, a lot of us just think I have to sit still for 30 minutes. And I mean, to be frank, I don't have time in the morning just to meditate. So I prefer to do it in 15 minutes. And then I set priorities for the day. So I always pick three things that have to be done. And then I plan all the other things for the day. And then I go
Arwen Bardsley:Sorry to interrupt but when you're doing this are you actually like writing them down? Is that your method?
Anna Doktor:Of course, of course. I mean, I would love to do everything in my head. Yeah.
Arwen Bardsley:Well, no. Yeah. Because if it's in your head, then it's in your head, and it's taking up space in your head. And it's much better to have it out of your head. Isn't it?
Anna Doktor:Yes, yes. And I think, you know, it's really funny thing, and I guess that's one, I don't know, if we talk about motivation, okay, we can get ourselves to do anything, but then we can talk ourselves out of doing anything, really. So I can say in my head, okay, this is, you know, a priority for me today. But then you got to be aware that it's so easy to sabotage my mind and just say,'Oh, no, I'm not gonna do it'.
Arwen Bardsley:Yeah, true of course.
Anna Doktor:Of course, I have, I have a journal and I set the priorities, I always write it down. So even if it's not done or something, it's like you said, it's, you know, it's out of your mind, out of your brain, you're not taking up the space. And yeah, it's just there on a piece of paper. And once I do that, I go for a walk. So I walk everyday. I actually walk in nature. I'm lucky that I live very close to nature reserve. And I can literally walk there is across the road. So I go there for a quick quick walk. So again, it's you know, body movement is just so important for our physical health, but for our mental health, and then you know, I get the bonus of being being in nature and actually starting my day in nature and then I come home and you know, that's, that's really where my day start.
Arwen Bardsley:Yeah, yeah. Okay. Oh, beautiful. Okay, and I'd like to also talk a bit more about sleep. I know that you mentioned the deep, the deep sleep that therefore helps our body and most importantly, our brain to repair and rejuvenate itself. So is there anything else you'd like to add to that? So I mean, I guess it's trying to just come to the most basic levels for people and understanding well, how do they know if they're getting that deep sleep? What else other than not drinking a lot of alcohol, especially right before they go to bed. And also, I would say try not to drink caffeine as well, probably in the second half of the day. But was there anything else that you would add as to what people should do to make sure they get that deep sleep? And how they can tell if they are?
Anna Doktor:Yes, I would say yes. And just adding to what you said, Of course, I guess any stimulants. So yes, caffeine, like not to have in our bodies. I mean, each body individually, right, so we might digest, you know, food, or I guess, yeah, alcohol or caffeine or whatever, in different ways. But yes, definitely, just to not have any caffeine in the second half of the day. And then because again, with nutrition, we, you know, there are, of course, so many different thoughts on what to eat and when to eat and everything. But again, digestion takes a lot of energy. So probably, it's not the best way to have, you know, a very big, heavy meal, just before we go to sleep, it's probably better just to have, you know, a lighter meal. So again, looking into our maybe meal planning a little bit, but I would say one of the biggest one will be probably physical activity, again.Our bodies are not designed to be, you know, stationary for most of the time. And if sit the whole day, and then we come home, and we have a big meal, maybe with glass of wine, and then we sit down, well, you know, the whole stress from the day, it's in our body, we're storing it. So the best way to relieve that stress is through a physical activity. And when I'm talking about physical activity, I'm not saying we have to go to the gym, and just, you know, do, I don't know, whatever you do in the gym. I don't go to a gym so I don't know. But I mean, if you have to have some sort of physical activity, go for a walk for a jog, I don't know, go up and down, you know, it starts in your house, anything. So you move, and you relieve that stress, because when we're talking about stress, we're actually talking about cortisol production. So if your body produced a lot of cortisol, it means that your melatonin, the hormone level for sleep is low, which means that it's going to be very, very hard for you to get to fall asleep. So you're looking at hormonal balances. And again, you can reduce the cortisol all through physical activity. And again, the way for example, for me, like I have a morning routine, but I also have an evening routine is a beautiful way of self care. But the evening routine, it's all done to send signals to your body into your brain, that it's time to slow down. It's time to switch off. It's time to go to bed. Yeah. And I would say yeah, one of the elements, I guess of evening routine, yeah, it will be activity that tells your body that it's time, you know, to go to bed. But digital detox, oh my goodness, that would be probably one of the best things that you can, you know, do to your brain, because we're, you know, our brain, it's overloaded with all the information. And then if just before you go to bed, you're still on, you know, social media or checking emails or doing anything else, you know, let's say with your phone, then you not switching your brain. Your brain is very active. It's, you know, just thinking, oh, I need to do this. I need to do that. Like, you can't fall asleep, because you use your brain it's too stressed to calm down and to go to sleep.
Arwen Bardsley:Yeah. And not only that, but you've got the blue light from the screen. Yes. Turning your melatonin off again.
Anna Doktor:Yeah, yes, yes. But yes, yes, exactly. But yeah, I would say the evening routine. Because, you know, again, it's like when we're when we children when we were children, our parents, you know, give us a bath, read us a book and put us to bed, right? Because we feel safe. And we feel okay, now it's time to sleep. But I mean, if we use our bed for everything, you know, you're going to eat or anything like that. I mean, we're not sending any signals from our body or our brain, that it's time to go to sleep.
Arwen Bardsley:Yep. So you've told us your morning routine. What is your evening routine?
Anna Doktor:Your new routine, um, I love to read. So for me, it's always reading and I love baths, that warm baths but again, you kinda need to plan it. So you know, your body temperature then can you know, lower before you go to sleep. But I would say any calming activity, you know, any any journaling? If someone does it, you know, any there are so many beautiful activities, you know, like the coloring and things like that. For me, usually it's a bath or a shower. And it's a little bit of a routine. I again, I love to read. So I'm always with the book. And again, I don't read in bed, I have my own special reading nook, you know, which again, I design it with, you know, with a nice plant and the candle and everything. So I actually read there, because I'm reserving my bed for sleeping.
Arwen Bardsley:Right. Interesting. Okay.
Anna Doktor:Yes. So I read there and again, I'm usually off electronics. And screens, probably around maybe two hours, even before when I go to sleep again. It really depends. Sometimes, you know, he's like, Okay, I need to just do this. But I try not to, because, again, I see myself, and this is another thing you would know if you have a nice and good quality sleep. Because if I get up the morning, and you know, I either can't get up, or I feel tired. Okay, yeah, I know that okay, the night before. Yeah, I was, you know, I was on my phone for too long. Or maybe I had the meal a little bit too late. And of course, I I try not to have any stimulants, I usually drink some herbal tea. And of course, I take my alcohol consumption, well under under control, so I don't tend to drink during the week at all, and then if I have a glass of wine or something, I really try to not have a bit late in the evening. So it doesn't disturb my sleeping patterns.
Arwen Bardsley:So how, how long before sleep do you think you need to finish consuming alcohol if you do consume alcohol?
Anna Doktor:Again, different thoughts. And I think you will be dependent on your body and your digestive system and how quickly your body can remove it from your bloodstream. But again, I tried to have you know, probably like, two hours before. So you know if there is anything, and I drink a lot of water, and I want to say at the moment, you know, I live in Queensland, it's very humid. You have everyone just telling you all stay hydrated. So you have a bottle of water with you. So I drink a lot of water as well, just to help to you know, my body also to remove all the toxins.
Arwen Bardsley:Yes, yeah, yeah. Right. And yeah, so basically, if people wake up feeling unrefreshed, then that's a really good indicator that your body is not going into the deep repairing sleep that it needs overnight.
Anna Doktor:Yeah, yes, yes, of course. I strongly believe you know, in the mind body connection, and our body sends us signals all the time. Most of the time, unfortunately, we ignore the signals and then we end up with problems in this body where we are. Because even you know for me when I was living in a very, you know, stressed and overwhelmed state, my body was telling me, my body was sending me signals. My body was telling me Hello, very moody. Hello, I didn't get any sleep, you're not gonna, you know, go for exercise, because I don't have any energy to give. This is a very easy indicator. Our body sends us signals all the time. So yeah, your body will tell you at the moment if you cannot get up the morning. If you're tired and you know, even if you get up in the morning, and the first thing you thinking, 'Oh, my gosh, I need a cup of coffee to wake me up', then you know, you didn't get enough. And again, I would say by using the word enough, but every person is different. Because it will depend on the level of stress that you have in your life at the moment, how busy you are, you know, maybe you have, I don't know, stressful events coming in your life. I don't know. Maybe you're on holidays and you relaxing. So of course, there will be different amount of what is enough, but your body will tell you.
Arwen Bardsley:Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And, yeah, I just think we're so bad at listening to our bodies these days. Unfortunately, it's just people are not attuned to their bodies. So it's a practice and you just need to start practicing it.
Anna Doktor:Yes, it's a practice. Because I think again, a lot of us take our health for granted. We didn't work to get it, right? We just have it. And we just, we, so we assume that it's just gonna be there forever. But for me, it's like, you know, it's a little bit like that with nutrition. If we don't fuel ourselves, we shouldn't expect our body to carry us throughout the day, and meet all the demands that we have. Because we're not really looking after our body. So yeah, we're, we take our health for granted. And I think that's why Yeah, that's why I think I'm so in tune with with coaching, because it's a preventative form, right? Because sometimes it's not for for all and thank goodness, that is not for all, but sometimes when our body says 'This, is it, it's enough'. Sometimes it's a very late stage, and maybe there is already like, underlying, you know, life threatening illness, that is happening. And it's and again, this is not because it just happened overnight. It's because for many, many years, our body was sending us signals. And we were just ignoring them. Yeah, words, ignoring them, or just not even being aware of them.
Arwen Bardsley:Or not aware of them. Exactly. Yeah.
Anna Doktor:And it's just, you know, and sometimes it is maybe too late. And sometimes it's a wake up call. But I would say, yeah, it all comes down because we don't listen to the signals, and our body sends us signals all the time.
Arwen Bardsley:Yeah, so true. So I noticed that you have what you call three pillars of health. And I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that they're sleep movement and nutrition. So yeah, we've talked a lot about sleep. And you have certainly mentioned quite a bit about movement as well. Perhaps with nutrition, and I know, you said that for yourself, that was another major thing you did was to start to eat better. So perhaps can you tell us a bit more about that, again, in sort of basic terms of what people can do to help themselves and you know, what does eating better actually mean?
Anna Doktor:Yes, yes, I actually believe that food, it's medicine, and you can heal yourself through food, but also, I like to use the, you know, analogy with car, if you you want your car to get you somewhere as quickly and as smoothly as possible. But if you don't put good quality, petrol, then well, probably breaks down and they're not gonna get you to your destination is the same with our bodies, and with our nutrition. And for me I've actually I've been a vegan for for many, many years, and I've been on a plant based diet for over 20 years, I guess. But, but again, it's not exactly, you know, that, okay? If you're vegan you're healthy or unhealthy no, it's what you eat. And again, when you're stressed, or when you're not listening to your body, most of the time, it's a you know, a quick meal or it's a you know, pre-prepared meal or processed food, right? That's, that's mostly our diet. Well, for me what matters is actually you know, researching about nutrition and then getting the balance between you know, the proteins, the carbohydrates and the fats that works for my body. And for me a really big thing was sugar and overall everyone already heard it but yes, I went through you know, 'I quit sugar' and I eliminated all processed sugar and I guess part of the program is that you remove all sugar so even the natural sugar you know, that you have in in fruit for example, so sugar, but yeah, that was probably again a very big wake up call in terms of I guess what we eat but that sugar is in everything.
Arwen Bardsley:Yeah.
Anna Doktor:So you know for me again, it was that awareness. Because you know, it's yeah, you need to build and you start you need to start taking a healthier food choices, but knowing what agrees with you and what doesn't, and then getting the balance, you know, right. And yes, removing I would say maybe all or as much as you can processed food from your diet. For me I eat a lot of fruit and a lot of veggies. I love different types of spices and herbs so I adding all that yeah, into the mix and and yes I do not do any processed sugar. I do eat fruit, I love different types of fruit. But again, I'm more aware of how much sugar I should be consuming. So I can monitor I guess my energy levels, and I don't have you know, the sugar cravings. I don't have any more, you know, because when we have, when we, when we eat sugar, our energy, you know, goes up, but then it plummets. Very, very quick, so I don't have those those, you know, dip I guess in energy anymore. And again, because that's how, you know, sugar affects our bloodstream, I guess. And our energy energy levels, but I would say that there is so much again, information out there, but it's only our body will tell us what percentage of carbohydrates we need, or what percentage of fat we need, or what percentage of proteins we need, so we can live and we can operate in our optimal health.
Arwen Bardsley:So are you suggesting that once again, this is something where people need to be attuned with their body? And what it's telling you about the, you know, quantities of those macronutrients?
Anna Doktor:Yes, yes. Because quite often, you know, it's, you know, we go to the shop, and we just buy whatever things without even reading the ingredients. Yeah. And then, you know, with, for example, feel, always say, Well, yeah, because there's probably some inflammation happening in our body. And then connecting that, for example, you know, if you add that item, and you didn't feel well, and most likely, there was some something in that processed food, or in that item, that is making you sick, so then removing that from your diet, and just seeing how you feeling. That's, I would say, Yeah, that's one of the, you know, the most important things that you can do for your health. Just building that awareness.
Arwen Bardsley:Yeah, yeah. Okay. Yeah. So, so basically, Whole Foods is really the message. So avoiding processed foods as much as possible. That's exactly the same message I would give. And, yeah, and avoiding sugar especially. Yeah. You know, cane sugar, processed sugar. As well, it doesn't mean you can't have anything sweet. But yeah, just really, like most people have way, way too much. And it's really toxic for the system. So just cutting that down. So So do you mean, you went through the actual 'I quit sugar program' from Sarah
Anna Doktor:Yeah, yeah. And it's very, it's very Wilson? interesting, because, um, your palate changes. Yeah. And then in a sudden, you know, you just think, oh, I can taste different flavors. And I didn't even know because it changes. And again, for example, for me, it's, I can say straight away, like now, I can say straight away that something it's too sweet. I was like, Okay, this is too sweet. Like, for example, not going to have it. And it's not because of the added sugar. Sometimes I might eat a banana. And the banana will, of course, are very high in fructose. Sometimes the banana can be too sweet for me, because I redid my, my palate. Yes, I stripped all the sugars, all the carbohydrates. And then we started introducing a little bit step by step again, and then I got to my threshold when I'm like, Okay, this is now too sweet. And I can't really tolerate it. But yeah, and yeah. I just want to say that it's, it's, it didn't happen overnight. Yeah, right. It took it took time and you know, yes. At the beginning, you know, yes, I felt you know, a little bit sick, you know, I had headaches you know, withdrawing right, for my body from all those toxins. So of course, I went through all of that, you know, muscle pain and everything, but then it's good. It's actually good that you feel it because it means your body is doing the detox. Cleansing you from all that. Yeah, the toxins I guess that you know, we put into ourselves. But I guess you know, nutrition, it's a funny subject because a lot of us have very emotional relationship with food. And a lot of us use food as a stress management technique. And again, if we don't, kind of connect the dots, then we probably don't even see that yeah, we were binging on some food or you know, we craving some sugars. Because, again, there is something else, that it's maybe not working in our life
Arwen Bardsley:Something that's missing.
Anna Doktor:Yeah, something's missing. And we're trying to cope with that through food. But again, a lot of us are not really aware that that's, yeah, that's what we're doing. Because for me, it's like life, its flavor, right? So it's not about you know, having the doughnut right once in a while. But I mean, eating the doughnut every single day or even more donuts, yes, that's probably not what your body it's it's craving or it's needing, and it's probably not getting all the energy nor the nutrients that it needs. So I would say yeah, definitely balance. Yeah.
Arwen Bardsley:And important to mention as well, that, in fact, it's often not exactly your body, it's the bacteria in your body, the bacteria in your gut that are addicted to the sugar and need the sugar to grow and to multiply and that they're actually controlling you. So, you know, I just find people find that a bit helpful to at least not feel bad, like they're weak, or you know, they've got no self control, because in fact, no, you don't, because it's these little critters that that are controlling you. Yeah, and that, you know, and that's why you have that horrible detox experience when you give it up.
Anna Doktor:Yes, that's so so true. Actually. Lately, I've been reading this great book about gut health. And yeah, and there was, you know, the good bacteria, the bad bacteria, but I mean, yeah, it's like a little bit like little monsters, right? Living inside of you and craving sugar, and the more sugar you give them the stronger they are no more super they want is a really? Yeah, interesting relation. But yeah, again, because you see, a lot of us feel guilt. I guess that Oh, no, I had that doughnut, and you know, you feel guilty. And You You have all those, you know, negative self talk, and you're just saying how bad you are and everything because you had the donut. But this is not you. Yeah, yeah, exactly. I would say like, yeah, like you mentioned, it's all the little monsters.
Arwen Bardsley:little monsters. Okay, so can you just tell us a bit about your practice in terms of you know, what, what people could expect if they came to see you? What processes do you take them through. And just to add to that, so Anna does work with people online. She's mainly just doing that at the moment, but will be doing on person in person, sorry, from next year. But so just wanted to make sure everybody's aware, it doesn't matter where you are, you can connect with Anna and work with her. But I'd love for you to tell people what you actually do with them when they do want to go through some coaching with you?
Anna Doktor:Yes, um, so I guess at the core of my coaching is for people to understand themselves better, right? It's again, it's whole coaching. It's, it's all about your self awareness. Because I believe that once you know, what's happening, what drives you, what is working, what is not working, then we can look into a plan, but I guess in practice it seems that that yeah, I'm using a lot of, you know, tools and techniques from, you know, behavioral science, neuroscience, but it's, you know, a lot around, you know, getting a questionnaire. So that's how we starting, you know, we were looking at different areas in your life, we're looking where what's stressful for you where the stress comes from, we're looking at different areas in your life, and we're looking at what's working and what's not working. Because again, a lot of people feel like everything, it's not working in their lives, right, which is not the case, there are a lot of things that are already working in life. So what would you we've got, we're looking at what's working, we're gonna be building on that. And that means we are building a roadmap to get you from your current state where you are now, to your healthy self, whatever that might mean, because we're, of course, working a little bit here around vision and where you want to get and yeah, building, you know, setting behavioral goals. Which is the roadmap to get you from A to B, but mostly as a coach, I'm there to help you get started to get you to build a momentum and to keep you on your toes and keep you accountable. Because you know, a lot of people and I guess this is all thing a lot of people can go online and they can just say, Oh, I had the vision. I know where I'm going. And okay, that's it. Right? then a month later, you just think, oh, but nothing improved. But if you have a coach, right, I'm that accountability buddy for you, I'm there to really keep you on track and help you to overcome any lapses. Because there are going to be lapses, there are going to be roadblocks, so I'm there to help you to move you towards your goal, whatever that might be.
Arwen Bardsley:Fabulous.
Anna Doktor:Yes, and yes, as you mentioned, at the moment, I offer one on one coaching sessions, which are online, but in the new year, I will be taking clients in person in Brisbane in the Brisbane clinic. And yeah, I offer coaching packages, again, working around stress, and overwhelm and understanding where that is coming. And, you know, building your pillars of health. And, yeah, I offer also a lot of free resources, through my website annadoktor.com.au. That you were, you know, I have a blog every week, and again, I blog about I guess everything to do you know, with stress, overland, productivity. I guess, you know, sleeping recovery time, anything around health and wellness, I would invite everyone to get on my newsletter, so you can get it. But then again, you know, I offer videos, which are, you know, little, I guess, snaps, of like, you know, a mental hacks. So it's a very short video, you know, how to be more productive? Or how to deal with stress or motivation, or, you know, nutrition or anything like that. And I over also free guides at the moment I have around time management, because actually, time is the biggest stressor that there is, right? I don't think there is anyone on the planet who doesn't complain, they would like to, you know, our lack of time. So again, yeah, you can access that all through my, through my website. And yeah, I'm working on some programs, and I'm collaborating with with other beautiful people, which means that that's gonna be released in the new year.
Arwen Bardsley:And I know that'll be here before we know it. So with your, your coaching packages, so do you have sort of a, you know, do people do a set number of sessions with you? Is that how it works?
Anna Doktor:Yes, yes. So you can either do a, you know, like discovery session, and then you know, of course, we need to see. Yeah, if you know, if the chemistry is there, if we can work together, and also, you know, I'm, I'm there to help you to get to your point, but there has to be some work on your part, too. So we need to see where of course we were matching. And then yeah, the other packages are three sessions or six sessions.
Arwen Bardsley:Okay. Okay. And would people normally come every or do a session every couple of weeks or every month?
Anna Doktor:Yeah. So the first the first session is a longer setup session, it goes for hour and a half, and then the two follow up sessions are 60 minutes. And then the sessions usually are no, they're either depending on the individual client, but it's either following week or two weeks later, but no later because we need I need to get you to get progress, you know, you need to build a momentum. And I want you to see results. And now, if we, I mean, this is neuroscience, right? If we have a project and we say to ourselves, okay, I'm going to complete it in 30 minutes, you're going to get done in 30 minutes. If you say to yourself, I'm going to do it in three hours. You're gonna do you're gonna take all the time, right? The duration between sessions is too long, then you kind of losing the momentum. And that's, of course what I don't want to happen. So yeah,
Arwen Bardsley:yeah. Great.
Anna Doktor:Yeah. No longer than Yeah, no longer than two weeks in between. And of course, you know, you're you're able to purchase another package, you know, or work on another area of your health and in such a way other additional options.
Arwen Bardsley:Alright, sounds good. And yeah, you do have some really good free resources. So I would recommend everybody does hop over to your site. So it's Anna, can you say what the website is again?
Anna Doktor:Yes. So what's my name, actually, so it's Annadoktor.com.au
Arwen Bardsley:Yep. Okay. All right. Great. And so before we finish up, Anna any last tips anything else that you feel like you really want to say before we finish up the interview today?
Anna Doktor:Yes, yes, I would like to say is probably my first tip would be to educate yourself. Honestly, there is no, no need to feel guilty or just feel like I'm stupid because I don't know something. And that's stopping maybe you from you know, learning something, the best way to start making healthier lifestyle choices. It's to have the knowledge to know different things and see what works for you. And whatever you do in your life just start, okay, don't wait for the perfect time. Because it doesn't doesn't exist. Yeah. Right. Just start right now. Wherever you are in your life with whatever resources you have, whatever you think you you may be you lacking or you don't have or whatever, just start right now. Now it's the best time and when you start, go slowly, okay? And be gentle to yourself is a process is going to take time. But be gentle and you can build your confidence by taking small steps. But you know, with my morning routine, I really I started with something very small. But once you start with small step, you can keep building the next one and next one and the next step and the next step. So starting slow. Okay, it's better than not starting at all. I would only say that. And yeah, it'd be gentle on be gentle to yourself. Yeah, during the process.
Arwen Bardsley:Wonderful. Thank you so much, Anna. It's been really great having a chat today and learning about your practice and about your own path as well. So really appreciate you sharing and encourage people to have a look at all the wonderful resources that you offer.
Anna Doktor:Well, thank you so much. It was a pleasure. chatting with you today. Thank you so much.
Arwen Bardsley:Okay, take care.
Anna Doktor:You too.