Episode 53: How to be “green enough to be healthy & chill enough to be happy,” with food advocate and “Mamavation” leader Leah Sedegie
Episode Description
“You have to be green enough to be healthy and chill enough to be happy.” That is the motto of today’s guest and mama of three, Leah Segedie. Leah works closely with some of the leading scientific and medical minds of our modern era to democratize health principles for “digital moms.”.
Us Soul Mammas are so fortunate to have Leah on the show today because she is a mama leader, speaker and writer who will be sharing tactile tips for keeping our kids safe from toxins and illuminating dangers in our home; many of which we may not have known before. For instance, did you know that black plastic utensils in our kitchen have chemicals in them that are nowhere near safe and should be chucked immediately? And this is just skimming the surface.
In her book and today, she shares about the three major things to avoid in our homes: Food packaging, pesticides and fire retardants. This passionate mama is also the author of Green Enough: Eat Better, Live Cleaner, Be Happier (All Without Driving Your Family Crazy)She is also the founder of the Mamavation® community (which she’ll be sharing about today), a social media consultant and food activist! She was also named“Mom of the Year” by Shape Magazine being named the fourth most influential Mom Blogger by Cision Media.
We try to keep our kids safe in the best ways we can and sometimes detoxifying our homes can feel overwhelming. I love that Leah has a down to earth and do-able approach for mamas who want to eliminate chemicals from our homes and lives and can relate to us as mamas first and foremost. Leah also has quite a story to tell about loss, eating disorders, losing 100lbs, and gaining a whole new purpose in life.
Take-Aways:
(16:34)
Things can happen in smaller increments. Losing weight is an example. Leah lost 100 lbs over a year.
(20:04)
Leah got into Green Activism after reading about prop 37 which and GMO labels while she was nursing.
(21:32)
Leah’s mom blog activism turned into 8,500 bloggers in her network and an expansive mom community online.
(30:43)
Why she believes our lowest lows propel us to our highest highs.
(39:29)
Leah shares some tactile mom tips for detoxifying our homes.
(48:40)
Why failure is good for growth
Memorable Quotes:
“I just decided that the only way to make their life better was to change myself. And I just instinctively knew that my life would create their life and that they would model what I’m doing.”
“If I wanted my kids to be healthier, then I needed to be healthier, if I wanted my kids to be confident, I needed to be confident, I realized that I had to do all this and it was on me.”
“I didn’t ever want to give myself a goal that was so lofty that it overwhelmed me. And so those five pounds turned into 10 pounds, turned into 20, turned into 50, turned into 80 turned into a hundred, turned into about 120 pounds that I lost.”
“You need the contrast, your soul needs that contrast , you need to understand and know who you are based on the ups and the downs.”
“I have to allow myself to be wrong and still love myself. That’s the thing- I think as women, we hold ourselves to this expectation that we always have to be right.”
“We have to get used to failing and then saying to ourselves, ‘I’m still a good person’ and get back up. I don’t think we’ll do that enough. And that is with everything.”