Dr. Erica Steele – Many people look to extreme diets to help them with their nutrition. Extreme diets can be extremely harmful as you shock the body from one extreme diet to another. If you just started to eat. Only meat in your diet versus having any of the fiber from the fruit and the vegetables, your body can go into shock and therefore damage the digestive system.
So it’s important to choose a healthy lifestyle with your eating, eating enough calories, as well as managing your sensations of being full and hungry, and even managing your emotional triggers and getting to know those emotional triggers is key to having a long lasting healthy diet. Emotions such as boredom, frustration.
Anger can trigger your unhealthy eating habits. Alternatives to extreme dieting include more of a lifestyle of eating healthy. That includes not skipping meals, making sure that you’re getting an adequate amount of calories in your day, managing your emotional triggers around food. As well as balancing your proteins, your fats, and your carbohydrates can all be really helpful when you’re learning to incorporate a healthy lifestyle of eating.
Speaker 1: What does it mean to live holistically, and how can you get your whole family involved? For answers, we turn to Dr. Erica Steele from Holistic Family Practice. Dr. Erica, how are you doing?
Speaker 2: Hello April. I’m doing so well. Thanks for asking.
Speaker 1: Good. Alright, so what exactly is a holistic lifestyle? How do you define that?
Speaker 2: Yeah, so holistic is everything, right? It’s body, it’s mind, it’s spirit, right? It’s the environment. It’s how we feel about our work, our relationships, our mental, our emotional or spiritual connections. And even looking at the ancestry, which is a little bit of what we’re talking about. Okay, so what Can parents get their children hooked on, living a holistic life?
Yeah, so children are very intelligent. I think a lot of times we don’t take into consideration that they’re watching everything that we’re doing, and they are just taking in information moment by moment and really studying us. So I think the biggest thing is if parents model certain behaviors, right?
I have a. She’s an adult now. But I modeled all of those behaviors as she was growing up. So we talked about our food, we talked about nutrition, we talked about emotions. We really talked about meditation and yoga. E even if she didn’t do it per se, at least as an adult, at least when we were growing up, she was exposed to all of that, and my parents did the same. So I was very, And
Speaker 1: That’s cool too because, when she gets stressed out, she knows she has a go-to that she can use. So why do you need to do it early, when the kids are young?
Speaker 2: Because they don’t, they’re impressionable obviously, especially before they get into school and they’re getting influences from their friends and. The school system, et cetera. And so really putting those foundations in place early is really important because that subconscious mind develops between zero and eight years old. So all those memories and all those experiences and perceptions are all based around what they’re exposed to when they’re in that zero to eight year old. Okay.
Speaker 1: I can’t imagine sitting a two year old down and saying, okay, now listen, Johnny, we’re gonna be. Holistic and so like how do you introduce it to your kids? Is it more of an action type of thing? And you, you do what I do.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it’s totally action. So like even with my two year olds that I treat in my practice, right? So when, let’s say I have to listen to their lungs or their heart or whatever, I actually model that breath. Okay, go ahead and take a deep breath. And then I take it in and then hold it. And then, so really I’m showing them and they do it. They, I have a three-year-old, he was a three-year-old who would talk about his emotions.
He’d be like, I’m so frustrated, Dr. Steele, and so I’d say, oh, you’re frustrated, and why are you. Frustrated because I can’t play with my toy, okay, I understand. And what are you gonna do with that frustration? So we can really guide them through the process. Especially helping them to put that language and that communication to how they’re feeling.
Especially cuz a lot of times they don’t know. They don’t know what they’re, yeah.
Speaker 1: I know that three years old sounds precocious. Okay. I know that you have an online course. Can you tell us about it?
Speaker 2: Yeah, we do. So I really developed an online crash course for people that wanna be holistic, right? Because there’s a lot of buzz around being holistic and people don’t really always know about what it means to be holistic. So I’ve developed it’s a, about a six to nine month course, and it just goes over from beginning to end, practical tips, tools, things that people can implement every single day so that they can take that into their lives and then teach their kid.
Speaker 1: All right, Dr. Erica Steele, thank you so much for being with us today, and I love the hat.
Speaker 1: Beautiful view of the beach. Ladies, many of us worry about the health of our men’s in our men in our lives, but how do you get them to see the doctor without being invasive or even nagging? Dr. Erica Steele from Holistic Family Practice in Virginia Beach is here with Summit Advice. Hey, Dr. Steele. How are you doing?
Speaker 2: Hello? I’m doing well.
Speaker 1: The nagging effort only sometimes works. And I know I do it, and I’m sure women are into it. And we don’t even realize that we’re nagging.
Speaker 2: We just say the same because it’s important; we’re passionate about it, so we’re continuously on and on. And they perceive it as nagging.
Speaker 1: Got it. So what is another method of communication that will get your husband or your man and your life to the doctor?
Speaker 2: So masculine men, most of the men that typically don’t go to the doctor, right? More of the manly men, they really they wanna make us happy. Okay? And coming from our emotional state, I’m worried about this, or I’m concerned about this, or I have a fear about this, could you give them the power? Position in that and ultimately provide them with a choice. Okay.
Speaker 1: Give them the power. So you’re doing a little mind game. Okay, got that.
Speaker 2: Yeah! It’s not manipulation.
Speaker 1: that’s not with questions. Okay, so what are, what is being missed by men who decide not to go to the doctor? What are some of the things? That could happen to them. Yeah. Because they just wait till the last minute to go.
Speaker 2: I think common metabolic health concerns, so like hypertension, hyperlipidemia, which is high cholesterol, obviously if they’re overweight, they realize that, but typically these other contributing lifestyle factors, so they’re not drinking enough water, they’re eating too high fat of food. Those sorts of things. And what that is, it’s almost. Rocket fuel to whatever genetic predisposition they have, right? Unfortunately, sometimes that’s why men don’t go to the doctor because they’re so afraid. I’ve had many male patients come to the office. I don’t wanna end up like my dad. My grandfather all died young. I really wanna get on top of this, but that’s not the norm. Most men tend to avoid repressed. I got it and did not deal with that. I got it.
Speaker 1: So, what symptoms do you need to look out for that may be related to health issues?
Speaker 2: Yeah, so chronic headaches, a headache is not typical. Okay. That’s a classic sign of dehydration. Naturally, if you’re sluggish, energy is lost, and you must power through things. You’re fatigued, and you’re not sleeping well. These are all really precursors to letting you know that you know something is going on. If you just don’t feel fully revived, refreshed, and. And naturally, physically, you can’t do what you usually would’ve done.
Speaker 1: Got it. So when dealing with a health issue, are there some factors men should be mindful of as they age?
Speaker 2: Naturally, what I just mentioned in terms of all the metabolic health conditions, we talked about, you guys spoke with the other doctor from the urology perspective, prostate and inflammatory processes around the prostate, the bladder, those sorts of things increased Ur. Those are definitely things to pay attention to and be mindful of.
Speaker 1: So when you have that woman in your office with their man, Yeah. What is the dialogue like, and then what are some of the happy stories you know you’ve had because he’s decided.
Speaker 2: Some of the dynamics I’ve seen are that the wives are angry and afraid. Okay. That’s really because they’ve been trying and trying to enforce. Their husbands or significant others have generated a health condition, and they’re scared they may lose them. Oh. So that’s some dynamic, but recognizing for the woman, like it’s ultimately their choice, and you’re not making a choice for them, but you’re supporting them in the selection and communicating from a place of your concern. Okay. Because if you don’t speak from that, they really don’t understand its importance.
Speaker 1: And how are the men when they come in?
Speaker 2: I sometimes think a little shell-shocked. They. Do. They wanna make you happy. Sometimes they don’t know how. They’re overwhelmed. We, as women, sometimes get overwhelmed with our health. When you’ve been making a particular habit for 40-something-plus years. Yeah. And you’ve got this big elephant in the room, and you need to deal with it. It’s like, where do I start? What do I do? And that’s one of the things that I really do. Specialize in my practices, creating step-by-step approaches. We’re going to do some things over time. It’s, we’re gonna focus on our water and our stress. We do it incrementally, so it builds over time,
Speaker 1: so it’s manageable. Yeah. Okay. So I understand you have some classes that are coming up too. Tell me about them.
Speaker 2: So we have three classes. So this one’s all about Dad’s and Dad’s health. Obviously, in alignment with. Day. So we’re looking at helping and encouraging Dad to stay conscious of his health. This is the perfect opportunity to passively bring either your father or your husband’s significant other to that class cuz we’re all gonna be talking about mental health, and we’ll also be doing meditation in this class.
Speaker 1: Wonderful. And those are the dates for it. And then how do we make an appointment with you?
Speaker 2: We can; I have a scheduler, which is fantastic. So you just call our office at (757) 685-4325. Nine to nine is when our schedulers open, and they schedule. We make a 15-minute complimentary wellness appointment.
Speaker 1: Wonderful. Thank you so much, Dr. Steele. It’s always a pleasure when you come. Yes, sure.
Speaker 1: they say when mom’s not happy, no one is happy. And that’s true, but women can often neglect themselves, especially with self-care, especially right after having a baby. Dr. Erica Steele from Holistic Family Practice in Virginia Beach is here with some advice on how to help new moms and how they can maintain a healthy style.
How are you? Thanks. I’m doing so well, thanks for tease us a little bit about what we’re doing and Christine. Nice here.
Speaker 2: Relaxing. I, she’s, yeah. And she’s a perfect model because she has children herself. . We’re gonna be talking about body contouring because a lot of times when women have babies, it’s a big process.
Yeah. When a woman has a baby. When you have children, I have a daughter. And so our bodies go through so much and muffin top, the little mommy, pooch, belly, really little kangaroo situation. And what do you do? Like you love your kids, but you also love your body too. I. Go ahead.
I, no, sorry. I look at my 15 year old and she’s got like an amazing body and I’m thinking that’s where my body went. That’s where it went.
Speaker 1: That’s where, yeah. But you also have to remember, especially new moms, it took you 10 months or nine. To build that body. And so give yourself time to, get it back.
Yeah. So tell me about this alternative and what does it do?
Speaker 2: Yeah, so it uses radio frequency, uhhuh, . We use the in mode body contouring device. Okay. So it’s totally natural, which I love, obviously. Yeah. And so it actually offers a detoxification component to it. Oh. Because it uses the radio frequency in suction and actually vibrates the fat cells underneath and actually gets rid of ’em, which is pretty amazing.
Speaker 1: Oh. Can you show us how it works? For sure. I’d love to. And tell us about some of the things that it.
Speaker 2: So that’s it. Skin tightens. Really helps with any fine lines. Also wrinkles, like the sagging too. , we have one patient of ours who just had twins, and the little saggy belly from that.
Amazing the results, even after one treatment, which is pretty amazing and it doesn’t hurt or anything. Doesn’t hurt at all. It does warm up a little bit, so it heats, but it’s very variable. It’s still different from other treatments.
Speaker 1: I can see her skin turns a little bit red. Yes. In a place where you apply, but then it goes away instantly. Exactly, yes. Okay. So what are some of the other things in addition to this that, that moms can be doing to focus on themselves a little bit?
Speaker 2: Obviously taking 15 minutes, I’m like a big proponent of that 15 minute a day. For sure. Okay. Be making sure that like they start the day with just a gentle relaxation is so important, especially with like our mommies.
Little babies and things like that and putting everyone on a schedule. Okay. Children love schedules.
Speaker 1: Now I’m looking at that machine. There is the same machine that’s going on her stomach.
Speaker 2: Yes, exactly. Yes. That’s SGE are my clinical assistant and she’s doing it in our office.
Speaker 1: And how does it change from the back of the leg to the stomach? Same process. Same thing.
Speaker 2: Same process. Exactly. And usually we use a little wand initially to heat up and warm. The body before we actually do it. That’s so funny. When you said wand, I said a little wine. I was like, oh. So just, okay. You’re like, that’s what we do. I know. That sounds great. Exactly. Said wand. Okay.
Speaker 1: Yeah, a little w Yeah. And so how many sessions do you need to have before you start seeing the results?
Speaker 2: So usually a couple sessions, like one or two really, works well. And then naturally, because I. Sick doctor. I really educate people. Sit down and do a consult with them and find out what their diet is find out what their nutrition looks like, in terms of what they’re eating and making sure that they’re getting everything that they need.
Because if you don’t have a healthy diet, you’re not drinking enough water, you are not, you don’t have to exercise a lot actually when you have your diet and nutrition in order. You really don’t have to kill yourself in the gym, which is nice because a lot of moms, they have fatigue because they’re running around after little ones.
Speaker 1: What is the biggest. Stake, I think that new moms make that. You think that they make? I
Speaker 2: think a lot of body shaming and self shaming. , like not giving themselves that time. lot of the stuff I work with is a lot of mental and emotional stuff. It’s like accepting and forgiving yourself.
Okay, you just went through a big process. And it is, like you said, it’s gonna take some time. It took 10 months to get there. It’s gonna take some time. Not as much. Usually they. For every year, you’ve been out of balance. It takes a month. Okay. So
Speaker 1: yeah. Okay. And stop looking at Instagram and Facebook, please. All these celebrities who have all of this team that’s cooking them, they do. Exactly. And then they bounce back in six weeks. So don’t compare yourself to that.
Speaker 2: And they go on really crazy restrictive diets, right? So you can lose all of that if you’re on a super restrictive diet, but that’s really not healthy for long term. Okay.
Speaker 1: And I know you have an event that you wanna talk about. Tell a really great.
Speaker 2: So February 20th, we have a big launch sales event. We are really excited that people from NMO are flying in. It’s gonna be a really incredible event. And also we offer 20% off at that event. So wonderful. It’s very cool.
February 20th, five 30 to seven 30, we’ll have food from Clean Eat. We’ll have some scout and cellar wine, so if you wanna stop by it’ll be yummy. Clean wine too, which is really cool.
Speaker 1: And do you need to make a reservation or no?
Speaker 2: Yeah, RSVP would be helpful. You can either call our office or go to our website and register.
Speaker 1: Okay. Thank you so much, Dr. Erica. And there’s the information where you can get in touch with her. Thank you, Christina, for lying there so nicely.
The time is now for another Wellness Minute with Dr. Erica Steele from Holistic Family Practice in Virginia Beach. People choose to lose weight, feel great, and maintain their health every year. But however, a lot of times, people will select quick fixes and fads to be able to help keep their weight.
Having a hot, high-protein diet and maintaining low fats are vital in making necessary dietary changes. Protein helps you to repair and heal fats. You wanna keep nice and quiet, even healthy fats, ensuring that you drink adequate water, at least a gallon a day. Flush and detoxify the body, as well as move your body at least 30 minutes a day, both with strength training and cardio.
If you drop the quick fads and the quick-fix solutions, you can maintain your weight and help your body stay healthy for a long time. Also, mindset is critical to stay motivated throughout the process because health is built deliberately and consistently over time.
