Last week I launched The BeingBrigid Show and I’m still in awe of the response from this community. Hitting #1 in nutrition in the United States and #32 in all health and fitness podcasts within 48 hours tells me one thing: conversations around women’s health, nutrition, and lifestyle support are desperately needed. 

A neighbor told me after binging the first three episodes that, for the first time, she’s beginning to understand the missing pieces of her menopause journey. She’d been dismissed by multiple doctors and unable to ask questions in her 15 minute appointments. 

She shared that she and her friends feel totally lost. They are confused about whether to use hormone replacement therapy. They are stuck normalizing symptoms that shouldn’t be normalized. And no one is talking to them about the role of nutrition.

My mother-in-law texted me when she was listening to say she’d been with a group of breast cancer survivors recently and not one of them was given nutrition or lifestyle recommendations during treatment.

One of our clients with an autoimmune condition messaged me too. She’s now in remission and trying to wake up her family and friends to what’s possible when you support your biology.

These are the stories that fuel this show.

And as a thank you, I’m taking you behind the scenes to share the seven mindset shifts from the last six months of launching this show that directly apply just as much to lowering inflammation, balancing blood sugar and feeling like yourself again. 

1-Know Your Why 

There were plenty of moments I doubted my ability to bring this show to life. There were days when I wasn’t sure this show would even come together. What kept me going was my why: helping more women feel better, think bigger, and live with more energy and confidence through food as medicine.

Your why is the anchor when you start thinking, who am I to pursue this? or maybe I’m not capable. This is why my team and I always begin our programs with a reflection on your why. It gives you something bigger and more meaningful to continue to tap into.

2-Push Yourself Out of Your Comfort Zone

I cannot remember the last time that I have felt this uncomfortable as often as I have. These last few months stretched me farther than I’ve been in a long time. Starting something new is uncomfortable but it’s giving you an opportunity to grow. Growth should feel uncomfortable. 

What would it look like to live your life more fully? To have the energy to do so because you fuel your body in a way that supports your hormones, blood sugar and gut health? To improve your symptoms in order to have the mental and energetic capacity to show up bigger, bolder and more vibrant? This become possible when you push yourself outside of your comfort zone. 

As my Grandpa shared in episode 2: “Life is not a dress rehearsal. Each day is precious—don’t waste it.” 

3-It’s Never Too Late to Start 

I found a journal entry from 2016 with “start a YouTube channel” at the top. To know that I wrote this and had it on my heart and mind 9 years ago sometimes pains me. If I allowed my brain to jump to a critical place I would think: Had I started then, I would have had thousands of episodes at this point and helped so many more people. And if I’m honest, I do go to that place sometimes. But I have to quickly pull myself out to reinforce: the most important thing is that you started. No matter how “late”. No matter how long after you initially dreamed about it. You started and you are doing the best that you can at this moment. 

The same is true with your health journey. People delay changing their nutrition or lifestyle because of regret or shame that “should’ve started sooner.” The only way to continue to avoid your goals is to stay stuck in that regret or shame and allow it to paralyze you. To allow it to keep you from moving forward. But you are better than that and your health is too important to keep putting it off. 

As the saying goes: “The best time to start was yesterday. The next best time is now.” 

4-You Won’t Be Perfect & That’s the Point 

My first expert guest interviews with Dr. Julie Foucher and Kayla Barnes, were a disaster on the audio side. Their voices were turned up ALL the way in my headphones and I struggled to pay attention because their voices were ringing so loud in my ears. I tried to correct it in the moment but wasn’t able to figure it out so I just continued with the audio blaring in my ears. After that day, I said to Johnny that I think the audio is really messed up because it can’t be normal to hear everything that I was hearing. And Johnny fixed it in a few seconds while also asking: why would you have not said something sooner!?

When I told my editor that this happened, he said, “that’s ok! It will be great to go back to your original episodes one day and hear how bad they were!” He quickly recovered and said: not that the episodes were bad!!! But you will continue to learn, grow and get better. 

As someone with minimal podcasting experience, it feels vulnerable to show up and act like I know what I’m doing. But that’s the case for every beginner. There is no bypassing that step. This is also true when you are working towards a health goal and dialing in your habits, it can feel vulnerable and hard. The sooner you stop chasing perfect and embrace progress, the sooner you create space to succeed.

5-Lean Into Your Support System

This show may have my name, but it’s not just me. My husband, Johnny and my sister, Grace spent hours of additional time with the kids and helping set up my podcast studio. And my incredible team of talented and passionate people put so much into this. And of course everyone of you who shared, rated and subscribed to the show are part of that too. 

My friends Farrell and Ronit believed in me before I fully believed in myself and spoke this show into existence. And Johnny has been insisting for years that I start a podcast. When I launched the show I had no expectation of hitting the top 100 Health and Fitness Shows. Literally zero. When we got to the top 100 and then to #32 of all Health and Fitness Shows and #1 in nutrition, he said “no duh! You should believe in yourself more”. 

Identify your support system. Who believes in you before you believe in yourself? Who will support you and go the extra step to help you work towards your health goals? 

6-Identify When the Path is Forming 

So often we only celebrate the final outcome–the podcast launch, the 50 point cholesterol reduction or the 20 pounds of weight loss–but there is a key step in that journey that is important to recognize. There’s power in noticing when the path is forming. 

For me, it was a subconscious shift last July when I thought: I really can do this. That quiet moment came long before the podcast went live. The path was forming in front of me. This part of the process typically happens before the tangible win surfaces. And so many people miss celebrating it, often jumping to what still isn’t right or what you still haven’t achieved. This is a magical part of the process that often leads to the destination. 

It reinforces the idea that it’s not as much about what you accomplish but who you become in pursuit of accomplishing it. 

7-Accomplishing the Goal is Just the Beginning 

When setting out to achieve any goal, most people will focus on the outcome. We mistake the fact that achieving the outcomes is just the beginning. Launching this podcast felt amazing but two days later, reality set in: now I need to create weekly episodes! There’s a lot of work to be done! The “win” was just the start of the journey. 

The same is true for health journey. Reaching your goal weight, improving cholesterol, or lowering blood sugar isn’t the finish line. It’s step one. Sustaining those wins requires systems, structure, and mindset. As the saying goes: “You didn’t come this far to only come this far.”

Here’s to the journey that shapes us and the systems that keep us going! Keep working towards your health goals. I’ll be sharing how I can help to support you on your journey in the coming weeks.