We often believe that we should naturally have healthy habits that help us be our best selves. We expect ourselves to automatically know how to care for ourselves in ways that will make us look and feel as close to “perfect” as possible. Yet, in real life, most of our habits are learned and formed unconsciously–often early in life as a response to family dynamics and other forces below our radar. And given the strength of these hardwired patterns, it’s all too easy to fall back into old dynamics even when we’re trying our best to create healthy new habits. And when we slip up, we often feel hopeless and helpless–huge triggers that can pop us right back into negative cycles that make us feel increasingly stuck and broken take a look at the negative thoughts and mindsets that are at work behind the scenes, it is possible to break the cycles that. But, if we pause to compassionately take a look at the negative thoughts and mindsets that are at work behind the scenes, it is possible to break the cycles that hold us back.

Join Dr. Carla and BodyHolic founder Di Katz-Shachar, in a compassionate, uplifting discussion that can help you create lasting healthy habits. Topics discussed include resilience, self-love, self-compassion, self-doubt, perfectionism, change, comparison, compassion, judgment, non-judgment, habit change, health, fitness, healthy habits, lasting change, healthy eating, exercise, working out, workout, addiction, addictive behaviors, journaling, journal, self-care, self-awareness, health education, reprogramming, mindset, and healthy change.

Please note that this episode may contain sensitive material; listener discretion is advised.

Emergency Assistance Note: If you or someone you know needs immediate support, please call your emergency services. In the US, 24/7 help is available by calling “911” or “988” (Suicide and Crisis Hotline). Support/informational links are in the show notes.

Books by Dr. Carla Manly:

Joy from Fear: https://www.amazon.com/Joy-Fear-Carla-Marie-Manly/dp/1641701218

Date Smart: https://www.amazon.com/Date-Smart-Transform-Relationships-Fearlessly/dp/1641704675

Aging Joyfully: https://www.amazon.com/Aging-Joyfully-Optimal-Relationships-Fulfillment/dp/1641701412

The Joy of Imperfect Love: https://www.amazon.com/Joy-Imperfect-Love-Creating-Relationships/dp/1641709057

Oracle decks by Dr. Carla Manly:

Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1757477615/imperfect-love-reflection-oracle-cards

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Imperfect-Love-Reflection-Oracle-Cards/dp/B0D1Z5M4YK

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Stuck in Bad Habits? Create a Stronger, More Confident You with Expert Di Katz-Shachar

The Keys to Creating Healthy Habits and Lasting Change

We expect ourselves to naturally have healthy habits that help us be our best selves. We think we should automatically know how to care for ourselves in ways that will make us look and feel as close to perfect as possible. Yet in real life, most of our habits are learned and formed unconsciously, often in response to family dynamics and other forces below our radar. Given the strength of these hardwired patterns, it’s all too easy to fall back into old dynamics, even when we’re trying our best to create healthy new habits.

When we slip up, we often feel hopeless and helpless, huge triggers that can pop us right back into negative cycles that make us feel increasingly stuck and broken. If we pause to compassionately take a look at the negative thoughts and mindsets that are at work behind the scenes, it’s possible to break the cycles that hold us back.

We’re joined by an amazing expert, the founder of Bodyholic, who will offer practical insights for creating lasting change. We’ll focus on this listener’s real-life concern. “Help, please. I’m stuck in a vicious cycle of losing weight, getting fit, and then gaining weight and not exercising. It’s awful. My husband has seen me go through these ups and downs, and he encouraged me to reach out for support. I can’t afford therapy, so I hope you’ll talk about this and give me pointers on how I can get out of this bad loop. I’ve been in this cycle since my teens. How can I change my eating and exercise habits for good? I’m so frustrated.” With that issue as the focus of this episode, I’m Dr. Carla Marie Manly, and this is Imperfect Love.

I’m joined by an amazing guest, Di Katz Shachar, founder of Bodyholic, who, building on her Master’s Degree in Public Health, brings over twenty years of real-life experience helping others forge healthy bodies, minds, and spirits. Welcome to the show, Di. It’s such a delight to have you with us.

I am so happy to be here. Thank you so much for having me.

Di Katz-Shachar’s Life Of Resilience

Thank you for joining us. I know there’s a time difference, so I appreciate your bright and shiny self being with us for you at a late hour. Before we launch into this important question of the day and the heart of the show, could you tell our audience a little bit about what makes you you?

Yes. I think if I could put it into a few short words, I would start with my favorite word, which is resilience. That’s my favorite word for so many reasons, but that is what makes me me, for good and for bad. It’s who I am. I fall, but I get back up, and then I fall and I get back up. That’s how I roll. That is probably the most encompassing. I believe in doing good, minimizing the harm as much as possible, and trying to overshadow any harm that’s happening in the world as much as I can, and in compassion. Those are the three drivers.

Resilience, kindness, doing good, and being a force of love in the world, making the world a better place. That’s beautiful, so thank you.

I hope I’m a force of kindness. I’m trying.

I’m aware that you’re a mom of two kiddos. Having kids, especially in today’s world, takes a lot of awareness and special kindness. Wanting the world to be a better place, especially for the next generation, is one of the biggest and best moves each one of us can make. They don’t have to be big ways. They can be small ways, being a good parent, working on your anxiety, eating right, picking up trash, all of these little things we can make.

Public Health And BodyHolic

If we doubt the negative impact we can make and the positive impact we can make, then we’re putting our doubt in the wrong place. Doubt doesn’t belong in the equation in my estimation. Anyway, thank you for starting us off on that platform. It feels good. Let me ask you another question. You have your Master’s in Public Health. How did that lead you to start Bodyholic, and if you can tell our audience a little bit about what makes Bodyholic so special?

My Master’s in Public Health was a very long Master’s. It was supposed to be the route to a doctorate. I ended up being part of the faculty, and I was in five years of research. Unfortunately, the reasons for that weren’t so great. It took me a while to figure out that there were political things going on at the university. I fell right into that political game. That was important for me to understand because once I understood that, I decided that I’m now going to go into the private sector. It was a breaking point for me. What do I want to do? What can I do? What can I put out there in terms of content and help?

The digital world was flashing before my eyes because at this point, it was right before COVID. In the middle of my master’s, COVID broke out, and all that political stuff was happening. I was like, “I’m going to go into the private sector. What people need right now,” at this second, it was 2020, “is an online platform that creates a supportive community and works out wherever you are.” It was one of the first platforms that was created at that time. The reason was that this was a lifelong dream. I was like, “This is the time. I’ve got to do it.”

We started working out online and creating a supportive, beautiful community on WhatsApp and Facebook. That led to bigger challenges, where it’s like, “Let’s do a transformation challenge together.” We’re tightening up our health habits, working out, maybe doing a little bit more walking throughout the day, and things like that. It grew into a podcast and a community. That’s what it is, where public health is focused on empowering people to take their health into their own hands. That’s exactly what I’m aiming to do.

You are doing it. I took a little bit of time to look at your website. It’s a lovely website with so much to offer, whether it’s apparel or community. It’s that community sense of, “Wait, you’re here, you’re supported, you’re welcome.” It’s one of the things I do when I’m looking at clothing. I’m naturally small, but I know a lot of people who have very different body sizes. You had what I always look for. Is there someone who is not this petite or hard-bodied profile? Is there someone who looks not ideal that some people put out there all the time?

Curiosity Is Our Best Friend

It’s lovely to see that. I thought matching you with this listener’s real-life question was a good fit for many reasons, including your authenticity and your compassion. When we look at the habits that form early on in life, our relationships to exercise, to emotional eating, to addictive behaviors, those people often end up blaming themselves for not being able to change these habits. As with the listener’s question, I hear that question. I get that question in various forms every week, whether from clients or through my portal. It’s such an important one, because I believe that our brains get wired, and they get wired into certain habits. Plus, we all have unique physiology.

What works for person A may not work for person B. One of the biggest things that can break us early on is when we have this ideal. I think it’s two things. One, this ideal that we must look like this person on Instagram or Facebook, even though our body is not meant to look that way. It won’t ever look that way. That’s good, and that’s okay. Two, the push for many people to resort to a weight loss drug or a weight reduction diet rather than a lifelong healthy diet may not be getting to the underlying brain patterns, mental patterns, and psychological patterns that often create the break in the healthy pattern they’re trying to hardwire. What are your thoughts on this? I’m going to back off and throw the ball in your court.

I think that you are very wise, and everything you’re saying is so incredibly important. It is a privilege that you are allowing me to take part in this, answering this woman’s question, and also in this episode. There is a lot to unpack here. This woman is not alone, first of all. I think she’s in good company. As you said, you get this question regularly in various forms. The call for help is something to be admired and absolutely to respect. She cried out for help, but there were a lot of women who were maybe even around her. Maybe she’s surrounded by them. They are not talking about it, but might be in a similar situation because it’s that prevalent.

First of all, this specific struggle is so normal. Not that I think it’s good that we have been wired that way. I say we, as in this generation, probably the generation before us, and the next generation, unfortunately. I would be curious to know what diets she has tried, how strict the rules were, and what triggered the cycles all the time, because it sounds like there may have been diet trends and then a trigger that makes you fall off the trend. It could be that the trend that she took at one point was so restrictive that she didn’t need a trigger. The body had to survive. It does what it does and gets the calories, whether you like it or not. I would offer and invite her to sit down and understand what it was in the past, what the cycles look like, and try to identify the patterns.

Let’s take a pause. This is a lovely time. Thank you for calling out the importance of taking a step back and becoming curious. Curiosity, as you point out, is our best friend, not judgment, not blame, not sitting in the shame that all too often arrives when it jumps in the room when there’s a relapse. Shame hops right in, sits on our lap, and starts hitting at us. Instead of going into that pattern, and if the pattern does start, I agree with you, curiosity is a good friend. It’s like, “Shame is here. Blame is here. Let’s get it off my lap. Let’s put it over there.”

As you say, be curious. Start looking at the patterns, not judging. I think that journaling is such a wonderful tool here because journaling helps us not judge ourselves, but become the researchers of ourselves. Let’s be curious, as you said. I was doing my exercise routine for a week. As you said, curious about the diet. What diet was I on? Was it only letting me eat grapefruit and a protein snack at lunch? No. Of course, anybody is going to relapse if you have that difficult diet to live on. Your body is going to be rebelling. I love how you broke it down in a gentle, compassionate way of being curious. Start a journal of what diet you were on, what your exercise habits are, and what your triggers are.

Finding The Right Support System

Especially with this individual who can’t afford psychotherapy, there is perhaps some work to be done in going back into childhood because she does seem self-aware. She says, “I saw these patterns when I was a teen.” What caused them? What were the triggers? Were people leaving you out? Was a parent shaming you? Was a sibling shaming you? Was a teacher shaming you? What was happening? I noticed one big piece of your work is that you believe in community. You believe in support. I don’t want to jump ahead. Can we talk if this is the appropriate time about the place of support? In this loop where we’re creating curiosity and the awareness of the old habits, where does the community come in?

I had written down support and underlined it when you said that. The reason is, first of all, the curiosity, the journaling, and a whole mindful approach. When I say mindful, what I mean is what you said, being curious and not judgmental. I love it when you said you become the researcher of yourself. I don’t know if this woman’s partner or husband, she was referring to him, urged or pushed her, and it could have been the most gentle push ever, to write to you. I don’t know if it was that or maybe it could have been a little bit of a different nature. Maybe it’s not so supportive. It could be either-or. I don’t know.

If there is the option of support with your significant other, that is wonderful. I don’t want to assume anything. I’m going to say if there is, then you sit down with that person and you see if you can share what can you share about your research of yourself, what you’re finding, and what is something that is triggering for you because maybe that can be eliminated or at least reduced with the support and by the support of your significant other.

If the home environment, the marriage, or the partnership isn’t as supportive as maybe you need it for this specific time, everybody has their own lives. When we’re converged into a single home, in a single family, it might not always be at the perfect time when someone is having a breakdown. What do you need to provide yourself with as much support as possible? This is where I want to ask you. I don’t know what is offered in the United States so much. I know that, where I am, there are a lot of resources because there’s a little bit of a socialistic background. There’s a lot out there. You have to find the right group of people or the right doctor, and it will be offered to you. I don’t know what you have in the States in terms of this.

It’s a good point. I’ll answer that, then I’m going to jump back to something you’ve said that I appreciate. For the audience, no matter where you are in the world, realize that support is somewhere, whether it’s your partner, your best friend, a parent, an adult child, a hospital that can give you some references, or a local community service. If you’re too exhausted and frustrated to do the research on your own, ask a friend or ask someone to help you. If you have a library that’s nearby where you can get some books to read, but generally in-person support, a woman’s support group, even if it’s not a habit change support group. Sometimes, in communities, there are low-cost or no-cost options.

I used to run a quite considerably sized women’s support group. The fee was nominal. Why? Because it was a public service. There are people out there around the world. In the US, so much depends on the community. So much depends on whether or not you have insurance, but even for those who have good insurance, sometimes the resources are very scant. You have to be your own research engine and your own support in finding someone.

There are also different online groups, such as meet groups, that you can join where you can hike together or walk together. In the course of doing those community activities, you can certainly find more resources. Often, I’ve found in working with clients and my women’s support group, it’s that first step out of the shadows of shame and into, “Wait, I’m struggling with this. Can you help me? I’m struggling. Can you help me?” I know if someone says to me, “I need help,” I’m right there front and center.

That’s how it is in the US, very much based on where you live, as well as how internet savvy you are, how much you have a computer and a phone at your disposal to do the research, and things like that. It all depends that said, but I do help to try to empower people, ask, ask, ask. Don’t be afraid to pester your doctor. Don’t be afraid to go to that community clinic. Ask. You have that right to ask. You have the right to be heard. You have the right to get support. That’s that piece. I want to jump back. Did that respond to you well enough?

That did. I appreciate it. To also emphasize what you said, when you feel like there isn’t that much around you physically, then going actively and finding a walking group, a hiking group, or reaching out online, could be very powerful.

You’ve seen that firsthand with Bodyholic, where having a community that says, “You can workout anywhere. You can do it.” I was watching one of your videos, so I wanted to be at least somewhat familiar with you. There was one where you were working out, doing plank or something with some very interesting-looking weights. They almost look like they were made of wood.

Those are not weights. I have a little bit of a wrist issue, so I use handles.

Those were handles, and you were putting them on a mat in what appeared to be your living room, looking out the slider door. We forget that if you can’t afford weights, maybe you have some water bottles that you can use, all these things. The reason I was jumping back was that you were talking about the importance of talking to a partner if the partner is a good source of support. We can put any safe person in that slot, it doesn’t have to be a partner. Maybe you are not partnered. Maybe you have a best friend, an adult child, a confidant, or a mentor. All of those sources are supportive as you’re growing your self-awareness, if you don’t have a psychotherapist to reflect with and to tease apart some of these things.

I agree with you so much on the importance of having that sounding board. I was chatting with two of my dearest friends, and I was unraveling an issue with them. Even if they didn’t have the answer to my issue, as I talked to them, light bulbs were going on in my head. It’s like, “I put this together.” I was smiling because by the time our time together ended, we often listened to each other’s things, and I was like, “I have a better handle on this now.”

The Art Of Habit Formation

It’s that part of hearing ourselves talk to someone else, someone who’s loving and supportive. They don’t have to have the answers. It’s not important to have answers. Sometimes, it’s important to be able to detangle the patterns that are all clogged up in our minds. Thank you for highlighting that. I think this is an often important part of habit change that is missed. The audience might be saying, ”Now, get to the habit change.” This is the habit change. These are the foundations of habit change. It’s the self-awareness, the passion, and the understanding. Back to you, Di.

No, you’re right. This is a habit change. It’s exactly the “jumping” into the habit change that makes it very often temporary, because habit change is so deep. It’s rewiring your brain, and it’s such a deep process and such a long process that it’s okay. It’s not supposed to be, “Sunday, I woke up like this. On Thursday, I’m a different person.” It’s not that. It’s one day after another, exactly where you’re saying, talking to the people who are compassionate and can hold what you’re saying, whether they have the answer or not. They probably don’t. That’s not the point of the conversation. The point of the conversation is talking it out and processing it with that person, slowly but surely.

Another component here is also making sure that what you are consuming in terms of content, which includes the people around you and what you’re looking at as you’re scrolling through social media, the more positive and empowering it is, the more you are going to be “nourished” in terms of your mind and your psyche. You’re going to be so much better off instead of looking at what you mentioned before, Carla, the stick figures. Not even going there. Right now, I have so much trouble reading the news sometimes. I have to remove some of the news sources that I follow on social media, because sometimes, I can’t consume that. Whatever it is, we are living in an era where social media is so prevalent and so constant.

I’m waiting in line. I’m scrolling through social media. I want my kids to fall asleep already, as I’m scrolling through social media. I’m about to fall asleep, I’m scrolling. It’s everything all the time. Notice what you are consuming. You could have your entire feed all about empowering quotes. You might not be forever, but maybe until you feel a little bit better, until you feel like some of the wounds are scarring, and you’re starting to feel a little stronger, then you can add other things back in. For the beginning of habit formation and habit change, we are so delicate and so fragile. We have to treat ourselves like that.

Recognizing Positive Patterns In Life

Taking a pause to go a little deeper with this. Especially if it’s diet, food, or even exercise, we don’t tend to realize that it’s similar to any addiction. If you’re an alcoholic, you don’t walk into a bar in the first days of recovery. You take great care to surround yourself with people in situations where you’re not tempted to break that newly formed baby habit that’s just getting its tiny little legs.

On social media, I try hard to steer clear of, but I have to pop in because I have it and I’m responsible for responding, I’ve noticed, I don’t know how it happened, but in my feed, I was all of a sudden getting all of these women, these idealized, very high, perfect looking, eighteen-year-old. I’m not eighteen. I started, “I don’t feel very good about myself.” I realized it’s because I kept seeing these images that were making me feel not.

I purposefully began searching for dogs, specifically, because I have a giant schnauzer. I thought, “I wonder what will happen if I start searching dogs, if that’s what it will start feeding me, because that’s how the algorithms are supposed to work.” Even though I’m not on that much, when I was driving with my husband, and I looked, we were laughing because of the cute things that came up. For our audience, notice if what you’re looking at is making you laugh, see more of it, and engage in more of it. If it’s making you feel sad or not so great about yourself, why would you do that to yourself? Why would you purposefully give yourself doses of a caustic substance if it doesn’t feel good?

I love how you say, “Watch your consumption,” because you weren’t talking about food. You were talking about the consumption of material that ends up in your body. We feel it. The body feels it. We feel sad. We feel icky. It ends up in your mind. It ends up in your spirit, and then you’re going to feel low. What are you going to do? You’re going to reach out for the thing that we all know as our first comfort. Whether we were bottle-fed or nursed at a mom’s breast, our first comfort is generally food. That’s what we naturally reach toward, something to eat or something to drink. I like looking at it as a researcher because it gets a bit purer when we take that step back.

I wanted to share this because it’s so interesting. I used to pair nighttime with this particular little snack cracker. I won’t give it the name because I don’t want to give it a bad reputation. I grew up with my dad eating those at night, one of the only times I would get attention, if at all. It was eating these snack crackers at night, if he’d share a couple with us. Now, I’m much aware of how these patterns work, but I couldn’t realize why later on in life, I developed a new liking for these snack crackers. I thought about it and did my journal. There it is, you pattern that particular little snack cracker with your dad with a little bit of attention, and it felt good and yummy. Of course, you would try and get that same sensation from eating a snack cracker.

That sensation is not in the cracker. It is somewhere in me and in relationships. If we remember that we all have these little patterns that were hardwired into us a long time ago, and sometimes, more and more throughout the way, realize they’re just patterns. Once we become aware of them, then we have the choice to find that yummy feeling of that snack cracker, that milkshake, your ice cream, or whatever it is.

On the other end, not exercising. Maybe you felt, as a kid, better when you curled up in your room with a book than you did if you were outside being bullied while you were exercising. Who would want to exercise if exercise were paired in your psyche with being bullied or left out? I love going back to that part because it’s so much of what you’re about, this compassionate look at how you became you. Back to you, Di.

I love the cracker story. I love that understanding. One of the things about Bodyholic is that I understood that there are a lot of people who won’t go to the gym, because they’re so uncomfortable in the gym. That’s okay, you don’t have to go to the gym. The thought of someone going for 30 minutes on a treadmill and lifting weights, and during those 30 minutes, feeling horrified, mortified, and uncomfortable. On the one hand, you want to say, “Nobody is looking,” which I believe to be pretty true, but it doesn’t change the fact that that person is feeling horrible. I’m not going to try to convince that person.

First, let’s get you moving because it’s that important. It’s that important that you start moving and lifting, as you said, water bottles, books, and a bag with books. Whatever it is that you’re lifting is great, whether you’re doing push-ups against the wall in your kitchen or your kitchen counter. Once you feel a little bit more comfortable, then maybe go out and even work out outside or in your garden. It’s interesting because just like there is the cycle of falling off the wagon and what your listener was describing, that vicious cycle of falling on and back, falling off and then back on, there’s a similar positive loop that happens with exercise. You don’t want to do it, maybe you’re uncomfortable, and then you force yourself to do it. By the end, you’re feeling so much better.

I’m not saying everybody is going to feel better after 30 minutes of exercising. A lot of people, and most people probably will, even just a little bit. That next time, you’ll already have this, “I remember how good I felt.” You also might be going outside of your four walls, maybe taking a speed walk outside, or going to the gym all of a sudden. There’s this positive loop of releasing all those endorphins, dopamine, and the happy hormones.

I appreciate that you brought that up because you’re highlighting one of the key parts of habit change. Often, we set our sights so high. “I’m going to run 3 miles, even if we haven’t taken a run since middle school. I’m going to lose 50 pounds in a month or two months, whatever it is.” Research shows many people with a New Year’s resolution don’t even make it through the first week. Why? I believe it’s two things, which are expectations that are too high, amorphous, and not clear enough, and also using unconsciously that inevitable lapse. We all have lapses. We’re human. We’re not perfect. That’s why I call it Imperfect Love. Using that lapse as the excuse to, “I’m a failure, it’s never going to work. I’m going to go back on the couch, back to my old habits.”

You’re talking about starting small, making it doable, feeling that boost of being in the sunlight, do these little baby steps. It’s funny, as you were speaking, I was thinking of another little story. I was gifted a little hip band by someone who knows that I sit a lot and get uncomfortable. Hip bands, if you haven’t seen one, are big elastic circles. Mine is probably, I don’t know how wide, maybe 6 inches wide. It’s enough to loop around my hips.

The person who gave it to me said, “This will help you not get lower back issues.” In between clients or during my day, I’ll hop up, I’ll get my hip circle, I’ll do my little squats. It’s only three minutes to a funny song that I listen to again and again. I won’t give the name of the song because it’s funny. Anyway, I will say because it’s so funny. It’s Tom Jones’s song Sex Bomb.

The reason it’s such a perfect song is, I’d never heard the song, my brain paired it with this video I saw of this beautiful horse and rider doing this beautiful equestrian event. Every time I do that, with a little hip circle, I’m listening to the music, but I’m also in my mind’s eye seeing the horse prance and the rider with the horse. Notice how you can do these pairings to make something as simple and inexpensive as a hip band, be this break, and then I pair it with music and a visual image. I’ve done my, rather excruciating sometimes, little squats. All of these are little baby things that we can do. There’s no failure. You go for a day, and you don’t do it. It’s okay, you’ll remember your hip band the next day. I love that you make it, and that some of your content is very approachable.

The Power Of Simply Showing Up

It is. I was recently discussing that wonderful, powerful feeling sometimes. I workout in my tiny little space. I go into my little tiny space by myself. The camera is on now, but it used to be that it wasn’t. I do my workout. Sometimes, I feel super powerful. I’m like, “I did it.” Sometimes, I show up. I’m bodyholic. I think everybody can tell also once they know me well enough, once you’ve been working out, you can already tell when I’m feeling like, ”Let’s do it.” Sometimes, I cannot believe that I am on the mat. That means that the workout is going to be five minutes because it’s too much for me right now.

I know that physically, I feel better after I workout. I know that my back is going to feel better after I workout. The stretch, a little move, and I did it. If it’s five minutes, I can still take it off my habit-forming list. I’ve had this with my own clients, where sometimes they literally came to the workout, we chatted, there may have been tears involved, it was that hard of a day. We walked back to wherever they were supposed to go. We did some speed walking because it was that hard. Sometimes it is that hard, but showing up is a habit-forming.

Thank you. That was so honest and authentic. To hear you say that there are days you don’t want to workout, there are days you’re saying, “I don’t even want to do this for five minutes,” it gives us pause and hope. I hear you saying that it is a relationship. Just like it takes time to build a relationship with a husband or a friend, and have them become a best friend, our habits are our relationships, our relationship with food, our relationship with exercise. Sometimes, those habits were formed well from childhood forward. Sometimes, we need to patiently build a new relationship and take baby steps one day at a time.

I have this amazing woman who trains with me on Bodyholic. She has been training since day one. I get to know these people because the WhatsApp group gets cozy. She’s on the other side of the world. I remember I fell because when my oldest took a leap, we both got stuck in the sheets. I was going to get off. I was holding her. I was trying to get off the bed, and I didn’t want her to fall. I quickly turned around so that I would take the fall, and she would fall on me. My back was out.

In the workouts, I’ll never forget, I was showing up. I was barely moving for my community. I’m like, “I know you don’t think I’m working out, but I am.” I remember her saying, “If Di showed up with a back that was totally out of commission, and she was doing the tiniest little moves, I’ve got to show up for my workout.” This is true. You do. I live in an area of the world where the sorrow, pain, and things that I never thought I would live through are happening before my eyes.

I had days where I was in the corner of a room because we weren’t leaving the shelters, not taking too far, not taking steps away from the shelters. We were close to the shelters. I put my phone down to make sure that I upload the workout, and also because I know it’s going to make me feel better. I put a chair in the corner of the room, and I did chair Pilates. I started stretching a little bit. Even those workouts are up on Bodyholic. Those days happen to everyone. I don’t care how gorgeous you are or how much of a six-pack you have. If you’re a human, then those days are going to happen. They’re bound to happen. That’s nature.

Appreciating And Nourishing Your Body

Thank you again for your honesty and your authenticity. We can take all that you offered and break it down to whether you are creating new habits with your relationship with food, exercise, something else, or all of the above. It is truly much the same. Create healthy relationships. Know that the healthy ones take time to form. There may be relapses. They’re not an excuse to give up. I want to highlight that you offered that you said you had hurt your wrist. If you get hurt, you can make modifications. As you said, you might do isometric exercises in a chair or something, realizing it’s a journey. Keep plodding forward one sweet, precious step at a time. Di, it’s such a delight. I know it’s bedtime in your area, so I’m going to let you go. Any final tips for our audience before you let them know where they can find you?

I think recognizing how wonderful it is to have the body that you have in whatever shape or form. That is so amazing. The fact that you can wake up in the morning, and whether you want to roll out of bed or not, you open your eyes, and that’s amazing. Nourishing that amazing body and mind of yours with all that good stuff that can only help you thrive and flourish is such a wonderful gift. Look at it that way, from that point of view, as opposed to “I relapsed.” It’s just, “This amazing body of mine.” If you’re a mother, you have created life. If you have trouble walking, but you’re making it from point A to point B, look at how amazing you are that you made it to point B. Let’s nourish that. Let’s keep that going.

You brought another image to mind. I was thinking a couple of years ago, I was in the bank and in line. This woman came in, I don’t know how old she was, maybe in her 90s, and she had a walker. The clerk recognized her and said, “Hello, so and so, how are you?” She said with a huge smile, going bit by bit in her walker, “I’m still walking.” She was gorgeous. She was beautiful. She was radiating and so proud that she was still walking. I agree with you. When we watch our mindset and make sure that we can step into a little bit of sunniness, a little bit of support for this precious being that we each are, and we have one body. Taking care of it with as much TLC as we can muster.

For the audience, before we go and before Di tells us where you can find her, I do want to say that Di’s phrase at the beginning, I wrote it down, paraphrased it a bit, because it was so special. “I fall and fall, I get back up. That’s how I roll.” It’s so beautiful. Remember, we’re all going to fall. Do we get back up? Do we say, “That’s how I roll. I get back up?” Thank you. Where can our audience find you, Di?

I’m going to have to dry my eyes. You’re so sweet. I am on Instagram, we finally made an executive decision to change my Instagram from @Bodyholic to @DiKatzShachar. People were looking for me and couldn’t find me. I’m by my name, Di Katz-Shachar. I’m on YouTube under @BodyholicFitness. There’s the Bodyholic podcast. I honestly read every DM, and I respond. If I can offer support and help, then I do. I’m present out there.

Thank you. Find Di. She is a wealth of healthy and loving information and support. Thank you, Di. Thank you, as always, to our audience. It is always such a privilege to spend time with you and to reach your hearts, your minds, and in this case, your bodies. Take good care, and thanks again. This is Imperfect Love.

Important Links

• Bodyholic
• Di Katz Shachar on LinkedIn
• @DiKatzShachar on Instagram
• Bodyholic Fitness on YouTube
• Bodyholic Podcast
• Bodyholic Products
• Bodyholic Blog
• Rip It Up. For Good: Your guide to the best shape of your life. Minus the stress…
• Women In Wellness: Di Katz Of Bodyholic On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing
• Bodyholic on Facebook
• NAMI HelpLine
• Dr. Carla Manly’s Website
• Dr. Carla Manly on Instagram
• Dr. Carla Manly on Twitter
• Dr. Carla Manly on Facebook
• Dr. Carla Manly on LinkedIn
• Dr. Carla Manly on YouTube
• Dr. Carla Manly on TikTok

About Di Katz-Shachar

Di Katz is a master fitness trainer, entrepreneur, public Speaker, podcaster, and author with nearly two decades of experience transforming lives through holistic wellness. As the founder of Bodyholic, she empowers individuals to achieve their fitness goals with personalized training programs and expert guidance. Her book, “Rip It Up. For Good: Your Guide to the Best Shape of your Life…Minus the Stress” is available on Amazon. Di brings over 20 years of hands-on training experience, combined with a Master’s in Public Health, to help others in their fitness and wellbeing journeys.