This week on the Stephanie Kase Podcast, we’re doing something fun. We won’t be talking about business this week, instead we’re talking about my journey to non toxic, clean living over the past three years. Over the past few years, I decided to make a lot of lifestyle changes and really take ownership of my health. It’s been important to me to understand the root cause of things in my life and create a healthy lifestyle to support that. What started as a few simple product swaps slowly morphed into many big lifestyle changes impacting how I live and eat. I hope that this episode provides some great resources and things to think about, wherever you are on your health journey!
Where My Journey Began
To start, I had pretty severe acne growing up – cystic acne that would cause my debilitating headaches. I couldn’t focus on anything. Nothing I used was really helping to change that. Around then, my mom mentioned that what you eat can impact what you’re feeling. I was in so much pain that I was willing to try anything! The first thing I did was eliminate processed sugar. So, it was an immediate lifestyle change for me and the acne completely went away. Anytime I had processed sugar, it came back. I really focused on this healthy eating style from ages 14-16 and when we moved to Ohio, I kind of fell off the bandwagon a bit. Thankfully, my hormones had started to level out and if I ate sugar, it didn’t cause the cystic acne so that was good at least! But, it was my first experience with a healthier lifestyle change.
Fast Forward to 2020
Somewhere around 2013, I moved to Ohio and things began to shift. At the time, I felt I was living a healthy lifestyle. But I was eating a lot of processed foods, food with sugar, and using products for myself that had dangerous chemicals. But around 2020, I started to notice so many people I followed online were dealing with major health issues. They were sharing about products that they’d started swapping out – including the research – and I realized how many things I was using had chemicals. Even when I thought they were natural. It blew my mind.
I remember on Black Friday in 2020, I decided to place some orders to begin swapping out products at home. At the time, I knew people would have sales and I knew there were lots of things I wanted to change out. There’s a lot to think about: from skincare to makeup, to cleaning products to deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, body soap, like literally anything you can think of that you put on your body! I actually read something recently that says the average woman puts 12 products on her body every day – and they usually contain toxic ingredients. I remember placing my first order with Primally Pure that year. It was an expensive order, especially compared to whatever body scrub I’d get from Target, but I decided it was worth it. I didn’t want to be putting all those chemicals on my body long-term. I bought skincare, deodorant and body butter that day. That’s when everything began.
Making Swaps
From that point forward, I decided anytime we ran out of something at home, I would buy the non-toxic alternative. I didn’t want to be wasteful and let’s be honest, it’s expensive to make these changes. So, I looked for products that didn’t have the chemicals linked to cancer or that would mess up my hormones. I wanted to live a clean lifestyle as much as possible. At this point, I wasn’t really making any diet changes. I was eating what I wanted, for the most part.
Clean Living and Pregnancy
In August 2021, I found out I was pregnant. Pregnancy for me definitely propelled my health journey forward – more than just swapping products. I wanted to make bigger lifestyle changes as far as what I was eating and how I was moving my body. All of my research began with looking at different birth choices. I ultimately decided a home birth was right for me and started working with a midwife towards the end of my first trimester. I did go without her for a few months, but I had horrible nausea and food aversions. It was so real – to the point I felt like I couldn’t eat anything.
Once I began working with my midwife, she provided resources on how to eat well and take care of my body holistically. One of my favorite resources was “Real Food for Pregnancy” by Lily Nichols. I recommend this book all the time! I actually still follow the healthy eating principles. To be clear, when I say healthy eating, I don’t mean we’re 100% strict. But overall at home, we try to eat whole foods, full-fat foods – really the way God created food to be eaten. We work to eliminate toxic ingredients. During my pregnancy, I ate lots of protein, ate more calories from whole foods, full fats and added butter to my diet. If I had fruit, I added nut butter to counter the natural sugar. I really just wanted to take control and ownership of what I was eating – especially with my pregnancy.
Another thing we began to look at is how we source meat. We use the Farm Fed Box, which is a meat delivery system and it’s 100% grass fed and organic. I wanted to get local food that was as organic as we could afford.
Making Swaps in Our Home
As we’ve made swaps for our products and food, I’ve tried to remember to not stress too much. If I’m stressing too much, it will do more harm than good. But, we try to avoid toxic products. We look for things like sugar, seed oils, artificial dyes, chemicals and we work to reduce plastic in our home.
We’re not perfect, but we do feel the benefits. I feel nourished and like I’m taking care of myself. Plus, I have more energy. We’re able to show up better for our babies and for my business, too. I’m sharper. There’s also long-term benefits. We’re eliminating things now so we can avoid issues later on.
As you start looking through alternatives, just make sure you’re reviewing things. Something at Target that says “natural”, it probably isn’t. There’s so many chemicals in the products out there. Many people think that the alternatives won’t work, but they will – and sometimes even better.
Favorite Resources
I’ve put together a freebie that has some of my favorite resources for clean living – a list of all my favorite products, as well as what I try to avoid. You can grab that here. I love Primally Pure for skincare, deodorant, and laundry. For cleaning products, there’s always alternatives. I use Luna for shampoo and conditioner – just make sure you follow their directions! Check out my list for all of the details and discount codes.
I hope that you enjoyed this look into clean living with me and find some new products you’ll love! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. I’m more than happy to talk about this with you!
My Favorite Products
Truly Free – 50 Free Laundry Loads
Farm Fed Box – Use code STEPHANIE for 20% off
Primally Pure Natural Skincare
If you’re listening and you have ideas about what to talk about next, please send in your requests! I really do want to know what you want to hear about in future episodes. Email me at [email protected] with your questions!! I can’t wait to hear from you! Don’t forget to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, too. We appreciate all of the support and love!
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