(light music) - Hey everyone, and welcome
to my first ever Q&A video, which is also an extra special video today because it's in celebration of a hundred thousand
subscribers on this channel, which is pretty darn phenomenal. So, before I go any further, I just wanna say thank you once again for all of your support, and kindness, and lovely comments on all of my videos. I've had so much fun getting
to know so many of you and I'm excited to welcome
even more subscribers, into the Downshiftology community. I'm also excited for today's Q&A video, because I think it'll
give you a little bit more insight into me, the
person behind Downshiftology. Now, I received over a
hundred different questions between YouTube and Instagram. And, of course I can't answer
all of those questions today, but I will try to answer the questions that popped up most frequently. After the questions, I do
have an awesome giveaway today and you definitely wanna
stick around for that. For now, let's just dive right in. I have an undergraduate degree
in international business, from Pepperdine University,
and I have an MBA from USC, which is the University
of Southern California. My entire career has been
in business and marketing, but the industries I've
worked in have varied. I worked for a NASA
technology startup company early in my career, and I
was an advisor to the UN, and I lived in Afghanistan for a year. That's probably a whole
nother story for another day. The bulk of my career
has been in healthcare, and I was a marketing
executive for a world renowned cancer research institute, a
diagnostic imaging company, and a molecular diagnostics company. This isn't exactly a short answer, but I will try to keep it brief. About six years ago,
after years of a bunch of random, unexplained symptoms, that seemed to add up over time, I was ultimately diagnosed
with celiac disease. At the time, I had massive fatigue, that I just blamed on being
an overworked executive. I had seasonal allergies, that
kinda came out of no where. I started getting some
skin issues like eczema, and I would have bouts of
dizziness and fainting spells, along with other random symptoms. I visited dozens of
doctors, and I was given an inhaler for the seasonal allergies. I was given corticosteroids
for the skin problems and I was told that I just
had really low blood pressure, which is why I was lightheaded
and dizzy all the time. Over the course of several years, I felt like we still
weren't getting to the root of the problem, so I turned to Dr. Google, to see if I could connect the dots and find some sort of commonality between all of these
symptoms, instead of looking at them and treating them individually. Well, this autoimmune
condition called celiac disease kept popping up, mainly from
blogs with personal stories. I'll admit while I'd heard of it, I didn't really know what it was. So, I asked my allergist at the time to test me for it, and
while she was reluctant because I didn't have
classical textbook symptoms, I persisted, and my lab results came back, and I was ultimately eight
times the positive level for celiac disease. I was kind off the charts. After that I became well
versed in everything autoimmune and all of those other symptoms started to finally get names, like Hashimoto's, psoriasis, and endometriosis. After all of my diagnoses, I continued to work in corporate
for a couple of years, but finally reached the point
of just complete burnout. It was about this time that I started to realize the importance of things other than food on wellness, like stress, sleep, and self care. I left my job and told myself I was gonna take a year
off to reset my life. And that turned into six
months of taking time off, and six months traveling the world. And it was a trip that my
friends and family referred to as my version of an
Eat, Pray, Love trip, because I ended up spending
two months in Sydney, two months in Chiang Mai,
Thailand, and two months in Bali. In that year, I learned
how to manage my symptoms and really nourish my body
through diet and lifestyle. On a bit of a whim, I
started Downshiftology, with the hopes of
inspiring others to forge their own individualized path to wellness and make small yet powerful changes. And, as for what drives
me, it's this community. It's you guys. Every time you comment on a video and you tell me that you've
adopted some healthier habits or that you've felt the best in years, or even that your husband
has eaten zucchini noodles for the very first time and he loved it, that's what drives me. To have a community, that
is supportive, and positive, and uplifting is beyond rewarding. In the science word, ology
means the study of something. And, what benefited me the
most after going gluten free, was reducing stress,
prioritizing good quality sleep, eating simple, fresh food,
and prioritizing self care. So, essentially getting back to basics, and downshifting my life,
thus Downshiftology was born. I actually received this
question several times, which I thought was funny, but I am 41, and my birthday is August 31st. I was actually born in
Auckland, New Zealand, but my family moved to Southern California when I was 18 months old. Ironically for the first
37 years of my life, I was only a New Zealand citizen and got my American
citizenship four years ago. I have one brother who is
two years older than me, and he frequently makes appearances
on my Instagram Stories, and even though we are 41 and 43, we pretty much just act like 12 year olds when we're together. My family is all really close. I talk to my mom several times a week, and while my dad was
diagnosed with Parkinson's about 10 years ago, he is
still the most positive person I have ever met. I do not, and in fact, I
never really cooked much before I started Downshiftology. I can whip up a gluten
filled sugar filled cake like nobody's business. Many family and friends, for years, said that I should open a bakery,
because I was quite famous for whipping up really extravagant cakes, especially for my niece
and nephew's birthday. In hindsight, let's just
say it's a good thing that I never opened that bakery. I'm a firm believer that
there is no one best diet, that we're all extraordinary
unique based on our genetics, our microbiome, which is our
gut bacteria, our lifestyle, our ancestry, our environment,
and so many other things. And this is why a certain diet, or a certain diet modification
may work for one person but it may not work for you. One of the things that
you may have noticed on Downshiftology as well,
is that I don't prescribe to or define myself by any one label. Now, my food may be
labeled as vegan, or paleo, or low-carb, and that's simply
so that you guys can find what you're looking for easier. But, when it comes to how
I define the way I eat, I say that I just focus on healthy, whole foods, and wholesome ingredients. And for me, those happen
to be gluten free. This means that I can easily
flex and modify my diet, should my nutritional needs change, or my hormones, or my digestion change, or how my body responds to
any individual ingredient. Because I choose to eat the way I do, first and foremost for wellness, that means I'm always
listening to my body, and modifying based on what
makes me feel my absolute best. Alright, of course not. I am definitely not perfect,
and nor do I strive to be. I just try to do the best I
can, the majority of the time. But, I have been known to
polish off an entire bag of gummy peach rings, which
have no redeeming value and are pretty much pure sugar. I guess it's sort of like
eating a Cadbury egg every year at Easter, and I do that as well. This is a good question to
answer after the previous, and here's the thing, when
I indulge in those less than stellar food choices, I tend to feel like crap the next day. Overtime, I have learned that
I don't like to feel crappy, so once you become really
mindful of how your body is responding to food,
and connect the dots, it is far easier to practice discipline. Absolutely not. If I were to eat gluten, it would set off a massive autoimmune flair and chain reaction inside my body. While I may physically feel
better after a day or two, studies have shown that
that inflammation in my body could actually persist for
several weeks if not months, which means that I would then
have a weakened immune system. And if my body's immune system is pre-occupied fighting gluten, that means it's not doing
its proper function, which is fighting cancer cells, viruses, germs, and infections. I wear my ring on my right
hand, because I'm single. I actually bought this ring
for myself on my 35th birthday. I think many times we are
always waiting for someone else to buy us a really nice piece of jewelry, especially when it comes to rings. I was really proud of myself
and my accomplishments in my life at that point in
time, so when I turned 35 I decided to splurge on a Tiffany ring. Oh gosh, you guys, I am horrible when it comes to any
sort of beauty routine. Though, I will say that I have started to adopt higher quality, natural, and organic skincare products
as I've gotten older, but when it comes to my hair, this is definitely a case
of genetics over anything that I have personally done. Though, I will say, that I
have never once dyed my hair my entire life. So, all natural hair. If you see it getting darker
as the seasons change, that is simply due to the sun and mother nature doing her thing. When I left my corporate career, I did become a certified health coach and took on clients that first year, but as Downshiftology has grown, I no longer provide any type
of personal consultation. I get a lot of inspiration from friends, and family and other food bloggers, restaurants when I'm eating out, and of course, traveling, from all of the different spices and flavors. And, because I'm gluten free,
if something inspires me and it's not gluten
free, I'm always looking for ways to modify or tweak it, or perhaps make it a little bit healthier. But, food, first and foremost, no matter how healthy it is, always has to taste delicious in my books. Oh boy, do I have some travel stories, but to answer the first question, traveling as a celiac
definitely adds a layer of complexity, but it is 100% doable. I've actually found that eating overseas and while traveling,
many times to be easier than eating in the US. At my core, I am massive wanderluster, and I have actually traveled
all seven continents, including Antarctica. I have travel stories from
living in Heidelberg, Germany in college, I did a study abroad program, to living in Afghanistan, with the UN and traveling through India and Pakistan, to taking my mom on a
few little adventures, through Kenya, and
Tanzania, and South Africa, and Antarctica, and Egypt. And then, more recently I had
some adventures motorbiking my way around both Thailand and Bali. (light music) Travel is the one thing
that absolutely sets my soul on fire, and if I ever have any lingering autoimmune symptoms, they all seem to magically
disappear when I'm traveling, because I am so extraordinarily
happy and relaxed. I'll probably have to do some videos on healthy travel in the future,
but if you are interested in traveling the world healthy,
happy, and gluten free, I did write a very comprehensive
ebook on the topic. If you're interested in that, I will leave the link for you below. My kitchen is definitely not as clean as you guys always see on these videos, especially right after filming the videos and I usually show some of that aftermath on Instagram Stories. I received a lot of
questions on specific recipes and ingredients, so as a
reminder, all of the recipes that you see on my channel
are also on my website. But, on my website I can
go into far more detail in the cooking process, and
I usually provide extra notes and tips on the recipe page as well. So, more than likely your question is already answered
over on the recipe page, but if it's not, just pop me a comment and I will answer that as well. I thought that this was a very
thought provoking question to end on, and after
some recent conversations with family and friends, to be honest, I don't know if any of us are
where we thought we would be. I mean, I for one, never
imagined myself single and with no children at 41, and I definitely didn't imagine myself getting diagnosed with a whole slew of autoimmune conditions. But, at the same time,
I also didn't imagine having a very successful
career in healthcare, becoming an advisor to the UN, traveling all seven continents and making friends around the world. One thing that I have learned
in my four decades of wisdom, is that life always
keeps things interesting, but right now, I couldn't
be more happy and grateful to have Downshiftology and this amazing, growing community of millions
of readers and subscribers, which is a heck of a lot
more than just my mom, dad, and brother following me now. Alright, so let's switch gears
and talk about this giveaway. Many of you know that
one of my favorite items in my kitchen, is my Vitamix blender. Vitamix has generously
donated one A3500 blender, which is the same model that
I use, to one US subscriber. Now, unfortunately due to electrical and country specific requirements, we can't shift this one internationally, but not wanting to leave out
my international subscribers, my good friends at ZWILLING have offered up one ZWILLING
Pro 12 piece knife block set, and these are the exact same
knives that you guys see me use in my recipe videos, to
one international subscriber. I will personally pay to have it shipped anywhere in the world. So, here's how you enter. To enter the giveaway,
you need to make sure that your subscribed to my channel with the notifications turned on. So, click the red SUBSCRIBE box and then the notification bell. Then in the description box of this video, there will be a link to enter the giveaway and it will verify that you're
subscribed to my channel and ask you for your
name and email address. This information will only be
used to contact the winner. Now, because we have two different prizes that are location depend, you do need to list the country in which you live. After that, if you'd like
additional bonus entries, you can follow me on Instagram,
Facebook, or Pinterest. Just click on each link, which will take you to
each social media platform, and click the Follow button. And lastly, you can share this
giveaway with your friends and if they enter, you'll
get an extra entry as well. I hope you guys learned a
little bit more about me today. If you have any burning
questions that I didn't answer, feel free to pop those
in the comments below. In terms of new videos, I
have two coming up very soon that are highly requested. And that's another meal prep video and a what I eat in a day video. Those will be in addition to a lot of regularly scheduled recipe videos. Thanks again for all of your kindness and support on my channel, and we will see you guys again in the next video. (light music)
