Episode 749: Health Over Hustle – Ditch the 9-to-5 Mentality and Thrive With Kim Cauti

EBT749 – Kim Cauti

[00:00:00]  Supercut 

You are going to want to download our bonus supercut that gives you all the information you need to master Pinterest. Head to eatblogtalk.com/masterpinterest to download today. 

[00:00:14]  Megan Porta

What if the secret to more traffic, more revenue, more success in your business is not hustling harder, but actually slowing down? In today’s very powerful conversation with Kim Cauti from Pretty Delicious Life, we dive deep into what chronic illness has taught her about business mindset and redefining her success.

Kim shares how choosing rest over hustle, setting boundaries and focusing on healing not only saved her health, but has also helped her business bounce back stronger than ever. You will be blown away by the numbers that she shares. If you’ve ever pushed through exhaustion thinking it was the only way forward, thinking this episode will change your perspective and maybe even your results. Probably your results. I hope you loved this episode. It was so fun to record.

[00:01:07] Intro   

Hi food bloggers. I’m Megan Porta and this is Eat Blog Talk. Your space for support, inspiration and strategies to grow your blog and your freedom. Whether that’s personal, professional or financial, you are not alone on this journey.

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[00:01:53]   

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[00:02:15]  02:27 

Hi Kim. Welcome back to the podcast. How are you?

[00:02:29]  Kim Cauti 

Hi, Megan. I’m good, thank you.

[00:02:32]  Megan Porta 

Yeah. When’s the last time you were here? I can’t remember. I didn’t look. Usually I look and I didn’t look. It’s been at least a year and a half, if not more.

[00:02:41]  Kim Cauti 

I think it’s been more than that. I feel like. Okay, it’s been like three.

[00:02:45]  Megan Porta 

Oh my gosh. Time flies. Well, we’re.

[00:02:47]  Kim Cauti 

I don’t know.

[00:02:48]  Megan Porta 

We’re due for a conversation.

[00:02:50]  Kim Cauti 

Yes, yes.

[00:02:51]  Megan Porta 

I’m super excited about this one, too, because it’s one of those topics that it’s like, people gloss over. Like, I don’t need to think about this or talk about it until it’s too late and something bad has happened. So I think that giving it attention is so important. So even if you think you don’t need this, you do.

[00:03:11]   

Everyone needs this conversation, and I cannot wait to get into it. But we want to know if you have a fun fact to share with us first, Kim.

[00:03:20]  Kim Cauti 

Oh, I sure do.

[00:03:21]  Megan Porta 

Oh, boy.

[00:03:22]  Kim Cauti 

So in 2000, I want to say eight, nine. I lived in New York City and I worked in MediaVine buying and advertising, and Martha Stewart was one of our, like. So one of the companies that I bought for was an advertiser on Martha Stewart. So I got to go to her show and meet her ahead of the show, and I think in that episode, she was.

[00:03:49]   

There was blueberry pie involved in some way, shape, or form, and she fed it to me. What?

[00:03:56]  Megan Porta 

Okay, this is crazy. Was it the most delicious bite of blueberry pie you’ve ever had?

[00:04:01]  Kim Cauti 

It was. It was very good. It was also, like, one of those moments where, like, I feel like I blacked out as well. Like, I would have to. I’m unsure of what’s happening.

[00:04:13]  Megan Porta 

Oh, my gosh. I mean, who can say that? That Martha Stewart fed them blueberry pie?

[00:04:18]  Kim Cauti 

I don’t know. I guess just me. Probably just me.

[00:04:22]  Megan Porta 

Was there any exchange? Did you have an opportunity to talk to her at all?

[00:04:27]  Kim Cauti 

I did. It was mostly about Whirlpool appliances. Oh.

[00:04:32]  Megan Porta 

Not what I was expecting.

[00:04:34]  Kim Cauti 

No. That was what I was there for.

[00:04:39]  Megan Porta 

Oh, my God.

[00:04:39]  Kim Cauti 

So it was really awkward. Ye. It was a really awkward moment.

[00:04:46]  Megan Porta 

This is the best fun fact ever. Thank you so much.

[00:04:49]  Kim Cauti 

You made my day. Yay.

[00:04:52]  Megan Porta 

Oh, gosh. Okay, let’s move on to you and your amazing blog. I’d love for you to give us just a little bit of a background on Pretty Delicious Life.

[00:05:03]  Kim Cauti 

Yeah. So I started my blog in 2016. I didn’t really start getting serious with it until after the pandemic. Like, I think a lot of food bloggers now. But I had started it when I was diagnosed with something called SIBO, which was back in 2016. And basically I just started it as a place to house fun recipes for myself while I was on something called a low formal diet to heal my gut.

[00:05:33]   

And I didn’t really know what I was going to do with it, but I just knew there wasn’t a whole lot out there at the time in the Low fodmap space. This is when gluten free, I feel like, was just, it was becoming a little less weird. And so it was just really like a space for me to help myself.

[00:05:54]   

And then, you know, fast forward to 2020 when I decided to go full time with it. I was like, this is what, you know, this is how I can help other people. I’ve helped myself successfully through these to make these types of recipes. I really want to be able to help others. So it’s grown a lot since then.

[00:06:13]   

I don’t just cover low fodmap now. I. Everything on my website is gluten free. And then I have amassed a ton of high protein recipes, which I feel like are so trendy right now. But I’m not doing that because it’s trendy. I’m doing that because it’s how I eat.

[00:06:32]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:06:32]  Kim Cauti 

And it just so happens to be something people are really focused on right now, which makes me really excited because protein is like, has been such a hero in my healing journey. Yeah. So it’s, it’s, it’s exciting to be part of that in more ways than just, you know, profiting from your food blog.

[00:06:54]  Megan Porta 

Yeah. So cool. I love, I mean, I kind of knew a lot of that, but it’s just fun to hear people talk through their journeys and what lights them up. I love it when people say, I’m excited about, I don’t know. So that’s super cool, the protein thing. Yes. My husband and I are on that train as well. It’s exciting to find new ways to eat protein.

[00:07:14]  Kim Cauti 

Yes.

[00:07:15]  Megan Porta 

Doesn’t involve protein powder.

[00:07:17]  Kim Cauti 

Yes. So it’s funny that you say that because that’s. I have been so, like, heavily engrossed in like, doing protein powder recipes, specifically protein desserts. And like, I will always stand by the fact that, like, if you’re a dessert freak and you’re trying to get more protein in your diet, that’s such an amazing way to do it.

[00:07:40]   

But I’ve really noticed how just eating like whole food protein sources is so healing and energizing. And I think protein powder is like a great way to keep get started. And I think a lot of people do have to start there. I had to start there myself. I think I had to start with, like, all the silly, like, packaged protein snacks that, like, are not doing anyone any favors as something that you’re eating on a regular basis.But, you know, protein powder is a great way to, like, bridge the gap. But it’s not, it shouldn’t be. Your be all and end all.

[00:08:22]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:08:22]  Kim Cauti 

And I say that as somebody who. Whose main niche is protein, powder, desserts. Yeah.

[00:08:28]  Megan Porta 

No, that’s. Love hearing that from you. All right, well, let’s move on to why you’re here. I love this topic so much, and that is just talking about how health, taking care of yourself, both physically and mentally, emotionally, all of those ways, is literally the foundation for the success of your business. So talk about that.

[00:08:49]   

How does that incorporate into your story?

[00:08:52]  Kim Cauti 

Yeah, so. Well, it’s where my story begins. But I really want to touch upon kind of what I’ve learned over the last, like, two to three years. I spent. You know, I spent about two years, I would say 22 to 24, fighting the fact that I was still dealing with chronic illness. Really just not allowing myself.

[00:09:19]   

You know, when I healed my SIBO, my brain was like, okay, we’re done with this. Like, we’re normal again. I’m using air quotes for anyone that’s just listening. And I just wanted to go back to, like, what life was like before that. And what I didn’t respect was that since then, I had had Covid a few times and really was wrecked from that.

[00:09:53]   

I’ve come to find out that I’m dealing with long Covid symptoms. It’s really, like, messed up my immune system. It’s woken up different autoimmune diseases in me. It’s really become a big deal. And I think I knew that in my gut at the time, but I didn’t want to face it because I had just spent three to four years healing my gut, and I was just so over it.

[00:10:20]   

I was like, this can’t be my life. This just can’t be my life. And so for two years, I just allowed myself to feel like complete crap. And I kind of ate whatever I wanted. I went back to eating gluten a little bit. I don’t have celiac disease, so it’s not like I was putting myself in danger by eating it, but my body just doesn’t like it.

[00:10:47]   

But I was eating it anyway because I was just over it. And one of the things I was really doing in my business was disrespecting the fact that a 9 to 5 Monday through Friday never worked for me in the first place. And I was trying so hard to just fit myself back into that box, but within my business, and I just.

[00:11:10]   

It was like I was hitting my head up against a wall for two years, trying to do all of these things that I felt like were what was again, air quotes, normal and not Respecting the fact that this doesn’t work for me and it’s never going to work for me, and that’s okay.

[00:11:37]   

Finally, after the. At the end of those two years, I was like, I can’t do this anymore. I was so broken. I felt so awful. Like, mentally, physically, emotionally, all of it just was at, like, rock bottom. I was ready to quit doing this, but I’m really stubborn, and I’m so grateful for that because I was like, there’s no way in this world am gonna do anything else with my time and my life.

[00:12:09]   

I love this. So I decided that I needed to put my health before anything else, even if that meant losing money, and even if that meant not getting as many brand deals or not working as hard on my blog or, you know, not, you know, sacrificing things that I love, like shopping, vacations, whatever.

[00:12:33]   

Like, I didn’t care anymore if that meant that I was gonna feel broke for a while. As long as I started feeling well.

[00:12:43]  Megan Porta 

Well, that was a brave decision to make. I love how you framed that. Like, even if it means not taking vacations or not shopping as much or whatever, you were all in because you had felt the pain of it. Right. I mean, I feel like sometimes we have to get to that point where it’s really uncomfortable and painful before we make that decision to feel better.

[00:13:11]  Kim Cauti 

Yeah. You know, unfortunately or fortunately for me, undecided. But I am definitely the person that I have to fall on my face. Like, I have to figure it out myself the hard way. I won’t listen to anyone who’s telling me, like, hey, maybe this isn’t, yeah, great. Like, maybe you should take better care of yourself. Like, I would have just told them to, you know, kick rocks.

[00:13:35]  Megan Porta 

Like, yeah, I’m the same way.

[00:13:37]  Kim Cauti 

I can do it.

[00:13:37]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, I am exactly the same way. And that. That has helped me to know how to treat other people. Have you found this too? Because I always have the tendency, like, if I have a friend who’s like, oh, I’m feeling awful, My business isn’t working. I want to say, listen, you have to start taking care of yourself.

[00:13:56]   

But the fact that people haven’t had so much grace for me in the past gives me that perspective, to have grace for other people where I just have to keep my mouth shut and let them figure it out sometimes.

[00:14:10]  Kim Cauti 

Yeah, sometimes I wonder. I’m an empath, and I wonder if that’s just like an empath trait. Like, we kind of have to figure it out for ourselves, so then that way we can meet others where they are.

[00:14:27]  Megan Porta 

Yeah. Yeah. So can we talk about some of the pieces here? So you talk about taking care of yourself and making yourself well and just prioritizing it. What is involved in that? What are some of the things you did to kind of get that momentum going? Because it’s can feel so you can be in a place where it’s so daunting and stuck feeling like, I don’t know how to get out of this, but you just have to start doing things.So what things did you do?

[00:15:00]  Kim Cauti 

So the biggest thing I did was I started working with a functional nutritionist. Her name is Marissa Fay, and I love her so much. She has been like, I. I don’t know how I can thank her in enough words for, like, how amazing she has been for me on this journey. I’ve been working with her for, like, almost two years now, like a year and a half.And I’m really glad that I invested in that, because going to the doctor, in my personal experience, has been pointless.

[00:15:31]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:15:32]  Kim Cauti 

And I will follow that with western medicine is important. We need. We need. But we need a balance of both, I think, and we’re not there yet. And so when I healed my SIBO, I had seen a functional medicine doctor because allopathic doctors did me dirty and were, you know, oh, you. Like, how frustrating.

[00:15:57]   

You probably just, like, need to move more and eat less or like, you know, just this same old, same old that we’ve all heard a million times. And so I knew this time around that I just had to go right back to a functional practice. And so Marissa specializes in gut health and hormone health.

[00:16:19]   

And I knew that those were two of the things that I was struggling with, or I had a feeling that those were two of the things that I was struggling with. So I just kind of cut out the middleman and went straight back to that. But some of the things that we worked on and like, this is why I’m such a.

[00:16:39]   

Like, forever Stan for functional medicine, is that we’re so focused on food and lifestyle so that, like, you can actually get better. You’re not just kind of, like, masking.

[00:16:54]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:16:55]  Kim Cauti 

Whatever’s happening and waiting for it to pop back up again later, which obviously really aligns with my business. So in an. In a weird way, this was good for my business because it gave me that experience again of what it felt like to not feel well and to heal. And, you know, slightly off topic, but after I’d healed my SIBO, I was like, oh, I kind of feel like a phony or a fraud.

[00:17:31]   

Because I’m not healing anything anymore, but I’m telling people how. You know what I mean? So I’m like, did I manifest this coming? And you know, now I know I’m not a fraud. I can teach people or I can share my story, and that’s okay. I can. I can heal and still be helpful to others.

[00:17:54]   

I don’t have to be sick in order to be helpful. But, yeah. So the first place I started was going the functional medicine route, and we worked really hard on my nervous system first and foremost, which I was like, why are we doing this? I didn’t understand at the time. I was like, I just need to feel better, and I need to feel better immediately.I can’t wait. I know.

[00:18:21]  Megan Porta 

I know that feeling.

[00:18:22]  Kim Cauti 

Oh, but when your nervous system is fried, you’re not gonna feel better.

[00:18:30]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:18:31]  Kim Cauti 

Working on anything else, like, burnout, is your nervous system being like, SOS Please. Yes, help. Like, pay attention to me.

[00:18:40]  Megan Porta 

So the nervous system thing, I know. I’ve experienced that, too, in recent years just after bouts of burnout, unfortunately. I know the feeling of it. What does that mean? Can you explain that at all? Like, your nervous system is basically, like, you said, SOS but things just kind of slow. They shut down. I don’t know how to explain it any better.

[00:19:02]  Kim Cauti 

For me, it was, like, truly, like, a fried feeling. Like, I. My anxiety was just. I almost can’t even explain it. It just. Everything was stressing me out, making me anxious, freaking me out. Like, I thought people were going to, like, break into my house. Oh, yeah. Like, it just, like, stuff that, like, now.

[00:19:28]   

Now that I’m saying it, I’m, like, laughing, and I think it’s irrational, but it was just like, my body was just in such survival mode. And it probably didn’t help that I was consuming a lot of true crime at the time, which I have since stepped from. That is so funny. Yeah, we’re not doing that anymore.

[00:19:53]   

Yeah. But, you know, it was. It was adding to the. It was adding to the panic and the anxiety. And, you know, I felt like I didn’t really want to leave my house. Like, it was just very. The complete opposite of who I am as a person. Like, I’m very extroverted. I love people.

[00:20:14]   

I love to go out. I love to meet new people. Like, I am probably trusting to a fault. Like, I don’t actually think that anyone’s gonna break into my house.

[00:20:23]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:20:24]  Kim Cauti 

So. So, yeah, so it just. It was really just like, I just felt fried. Like, everything felt, like, broken. I can’t really explain it any other way.

[00:20:35]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, no, I can relate to a lot of that. And I love that you went to the functional medicine doctor first. I think that was smart to just kind of go straight to someone who can actually help you. I know what you mean about Western medicine. Just feeling like you’re getting the run around, like there, like, nothing is helpful.It’s all the same thing. And yeah. Not to say that we don’t need it, because.

[00:21:02]  Kim Cauti 

Yeah, no, we do.

[00:21:03]  Megan Porta 

I have a very medical child who. He would not be here without western medicine. So I am very grateful for Western medicine. Beyond words.

[00:21:12]  Kim Cauti 

Yes.

[00:21:12]  Megan Porta 

But, yeah, I mean, I’ve had issues with, like, talking about the nervous system stuff, but also, like, physical issues in my body for years. I’ve been to the doctor so many times, and nobody ever mentioned the possibility that it could be food related. Not one single doctor mentioned food. And then it turns out it was all food related. And it was something that I figured out on my own.

So it’s. I know that frustration. It’s like, why aren’t people thinking of, you know, instead of like, okay, let’s treat your symptom. I’ll give you medicine for your stomach issues or whatever. Why, like, why is that? Why aren’t people thinking of the actual problems? And it could be something as simple as you’re eating too much sugar or whatever.

[00:22:03]   

Right.

[00:22:03]  Kim Cauti 

Or too much. Like, for me, like I said earlier, I don’t have celiac disease. However, when I eat gluten, I get severe pain in my joints and like, a little bit in, like, my muscles. I get. My sinuses get clogged. So it’s not for me. It’s not like, oh, I have a stomach ache, right.

[00:22:26]   

I. I have pain and my. I can’t, like, move my hands and wrists as well, and I can’t really breathe through my nose. And, you know, every once in a while, I’ll still eat it if I know that it’s good quality or, you know, if I’m in Europe, I can eat it and I’m fine.Which is a whole different conversation.

[00:22:46]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:22:48]  Kim Cauti 

But, you know, it’s just. It’s interesting to me that I had gone to my general practitioner just to be like, maybe this time I can do both.

[00:22:59]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:23:00]  Kim Cauti 

And I went to him and I told him I had gained 60 pounds since having Covid, and I cannot. I still am having trouble losing much, despite doing all the right things. Again, air quotes. And so I told him that. I told him about my lifestyle, my health history, whatever, and he was like, well, I don’t usually do this, but I could give you an antidepressant, and maybe that’ll help with your anxiety and help you feel better and also help you not eat as much.And I was like, what?

[00:23:35]  Megan Porta 

Something feels off there.

[00:23:38]  Kim Cauti 

Yeah. And I. I just was like, again, I’m. I’m not always great at advocating for myself with healthcare practitioners, and I’m trying to get better about it. And so I left the appointment being like, oh, yeah, sure, I’ll try it. And then I got home and I was like, I’m not depressed. Like, and I’m not stuffing my.

[00:24:00]   

I know I’m a food blogger, but I’m not sitting at home, like, right. Shoving food in my face like, there’s something going on. My lifestyle has not changed since having Covid. In fact, if anything, I would say I’ve adapted healthier habits, but I have 60 pounds that I can’t lose. So something. There’s not.

[00:24:23]   

There’s something that’s not making sense there. So why are we not questioning, what do your hormones look like? Are there foods that your body isn’t loving? What’s your thyroid look like? Why aren’t we looking at those things? Why is your first thing just to write me a prescription and then kick me out of your office?

[00:24:47]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, that’s exactly. Yeah. I don’t understand. But yeah, that’s like, probably a whole other rabbit hole we go down, right?

[00:24:56]  Kim Cauti 

Oh, yes. I’m going. Yeah, I’m kind of. I’m derailing us a little bit.

[00:24:59]  Megan Porta 

No, no, I mean, it’s. I think it’s important because if we’re experiencing it, Kim, I think a lot of other people listening probably are too, especially since COVID I don’t think you’re the only one that has experienced the long Covid symptoms and weird and, like, immunity stuff and.

[00:25:16]  Kim Cauti 

Yeah.

[00:25:17]  Megan Porta 

Autoimmune stuff. You are not alone. We’re not alone. So this is a valuable conversation just to question what doctors are saying to you and which doctors you go to and who you seek help from and all of that.

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[00:26:054]  Megan Porta

After you saw your doctor, your functional medicine doctor, what are some of the things you were able to put in motion that started helping you to heal?

[00:27:02]  Kim Cauti 

Yeah, like I said, one of the biggest things was just like caring for my nervous system. So that meant like doing a lot of like breath work and there’s like different like vagus nerve exercises that she has me do like in the morning and before bed. And now they’ve just become like a part of my day.

[00:27:20]   

Like I. But you know, before coming on here with you, I did some breath work just to like, you know, ground my energy a little bit and center myself and calm my nerves because you know, going on a podcast is sometimes a little scary. But so that was a big thing. And then really like I’m gonna sound like a broken record probably to people.

[00:27:44]   

But like sleep and prioritizing good sleep has been huge and like having a bedtime routine and like, listen, I know we see all these influencers that are like, here’s my five to nine before my nine to five and then my five to nine after my eh. Like it’s not, it doesn’t, it’s not.

[00:28:05]   

I don’t do eight, eight hours of self care a day. I like, it’s just not a thing. When I was really amping up my healing a year and a half ago, yeah, I did. I leaned into it a little bit more. But now that I’m kind of like back to baseline and feeling good, I would say my self care amounts to maybe an hour a day.

[00:28:31]   

Maybe like that might even be a lot. It’s just like little moments throughout the day of checking in with myself, calming my nervous system, taking a break, taking a lunch break, sitting down to eat lunch outside in the summer or just at my dining room table with my husband. He works from home, so we, you know, we try to do all of our meals together, which is really lovely.

[00:28:54]  Megan Porta 

Love that.

[00:28:55]  Kim Cauti 

I know not everyone gets that opportunity, but, you know, just finding like little pieces and pockets of my day where maybe I’m like, you know, cuddling with my dog Julia, who I’m obsessed with or going for a walk, whatever it is. Like, it doesn’t have to be this big huge to do that’s like Instagram worthy, you know, in your cute little matching set with your matcha.

[00:29:21]   

Like, it doesn’t. No. Hate like, listen, I love a matching set and a matcha, but I hope my point is coming across.

[00:29:31]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:29:32]  Kim Cauti 

How I’m meaning it too.

[00:29:33]  Megan Porta 

It is. I. I don’t think it sounds weird at all. If you want the long self care routine in the morning, great. If that works for you. I. I’ve been in places where that has worked really well for me. I’ve had the time and it’s felt aligned. But I love what you’re saying because I do this too.

[00:29:52]   

Just finding those little pockets that don’t have to take up a ton of time. Like the lunch thing, I can relate to. I started taking an actual lunch break.

[00:30:03]  Kim Cauti 

Yeah.

[00:30:03]  Megan Porta 

Started back in the spring for the first time. I’ve been an entrepreneur for 15 years. I’ve never done this. And it was life changing. I was like, whoa. I can actually eat my lunch without my computer and sit and enjoy it and taste the food and look out my window or be outside and enjoy nature.

[00:30:25]   

And it’s such a simple act. And it takes 15 minutes and it’s so powerful. So finding those little pockets, whatever lights you up and makes you feel more aligned. Another thing I’ve been doing is it’s really nice out here in Minnesota right now. So I just go outside with no shoes on and I just pull weeds from my beds and like, feet on the ground.

[00:30:49]  Kim Cauti 

Yep.

[00:30:50]  Megan Porta 

Or going inside and taking a big sip of water or drinking a glass of water. Little things like that are so rejuvenating. And I think they get a bad rap for being like, they’re not going to make a difference. But they, they can.

[00:31:05]  Kim Cauti 

They make all the different. Like, truly. Okay, here, I’m going to give you my list of non negotiables that have been insanely helpful for me.

[00:31:14]  Megan Porta 

Love it.

[00:31:15]  Kim Cauti 

Bare feet in the grass. I do the same thing. I pull my weeds or I water my flowers or whatever. My. My husband. I’m crazy and gross because. But it Is the best. No matter.

[00:31:28]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:31:29]  Kim Cauti 

Unless it’s like, pouring, like monsoon rain or like blizzarding. Like, I’m out there, bare feet in the grass at least 10, 15 minutes in the morning. And in the evening, being outside is so incredibly healing, I can’t even, like, say it enough. Daily walks, especially outside, hydration, just drinking water. Imagine that. And eating, first of all, eating enough and eating enough protein.

[00:31:57]   

I learned that I was not eating enough, and I thought I was eating plenty. Somebody who’s tracked their macros for probably too long in her life, I thought, oh, 1500 calories a day, that’s plenty. Like, that’s more than enough. And as soon as I started working with the. My functional nutritionist, she was like, girl, no wonder.

[00:32:21]   

Like, your body, your metabolism is slow and your hormones are effed. Like, she’s like, you are not eating enough food. Like, you’re not eating nearly enough food.

[00:32:29]  Megan Porta 

So that’s something we don’t think of, right? To not be eating enough. That is not on our radar, right?

[00:32:36]  Kim Cauti 

No, I’m thinking I’m eating more than enough. But I wasn’t. And then I would skip meals because I would get into like, hyper focus mode with work, and then I would get hangry and my blood sugar would go crazy. And I’ve learned that when you have too many blood sugar spikes up and down and, you know, not in between, but up and down, that is inflammatory.

[00:33:00]   

And when you’re dealing with chronic inflammation, like, I am doing that to your body is not doing it any favors. There’s. It’s really, honestly so fascinating. I could, like, derail this train so quickly, but I won’t have a lot.

[00:33:20]  Megan Porta 

Of angles we could focus on. I know there is just so much that’s interesting and that affects our. Not only our health, but our businesses. So I wanted to touch on rest a little bit too, because you mentioned sleep and how important that is. And I think it’s so easy to overlook that too, because of hustle culture and get up early.

[00:33:43]   

It’s like the. It’s something to be proud about. Like, get up early so early and you get all this stuff accomplished or you work so late or both. And I used to be that way, but I. I think the opposite is true, actually. Giving the. Your body the rest it needs and your mind the rest it needs is way more productive than buying into that.

[00:34:09]  Kim Cauti 

Hustle culture 1 million percent. I have proven to myself that that’s the case. I have proven to myself that hustle culture is not it. As somebody who used to work in Like a very toxic corporate hustle culture like environment. And like I said earlier, I tried to bring that structure into my business and for two years I, you know, didn’t feel well.

[00:34:36]   

And so it’s like, what, what’s the common denominator here? And that’s getting, you know, setting an alarm for 5am I don’t need to get up at 5am what am I getting up at 5am for? I don’t have children, I don’t have to leave my house to go to a job. I don’t have to clock in at any certain time.

[00:34:58]   

Why am I doing this to myself? So the first thing I did was I just stopped setting an alarm and I just let myself get up when my body wanted to get up. And if that’s 7:00am or 8:00am, like, who cares? Because I’ve realized that when I have the energy and when I’m well rested, I’m getting my job done and I’m getting it done well.

[00:35:25]   

And I’m getting it done in way less time than an eight hour, nine to five.

[00:35:30]  Megan Porta 

Yes.

[00:35:30]  Kim Cauti 

And I don’t need to waste my time sitting at my desk like, okay, what can I do now?

[00:35:39]  Megan Porta 

And find out. Working and exhausted because you’re waking up before your body is ready to get up, right? Yeah.

[00:35:46]  Kim Cauti 

That’s truly one of the biggest things that I have learned is that I need to stop, and I think a lot of entrepreneurs can benefit from this like, mentality, is that I need to stop trying to fit myself into this box that I was never meant for in the first place. If I can get my work done in two hours in the morning and then go for a walk or go to lunch with a friend or go get a coffee and then come back and maybe do some emails and do you know what I mean?

[00:36:20]   

Like, we don’t have to sit chained to a computer or chained to our content creation for 8, 10 hours a day. How are you letting creativity in anymore? That was one of the biggest things that I learned was I was like, I was struggling in my business and I was like, I don’t have any creative ideas because again, I’m banging my head up against the wall, you know, white knuckling, trying to control this.

[00:36:52]   

Instead of just being like, okay, what’s meant for me is gonna find me. So why don’t I just like let myself breathe for a minute?

[00:37:08]  Megan Porta 

Right. I think if you don’t allow the space for it, then of course creative ideas aren’t going to come to you. Sometimes we do just need to step Back a little bit and like you said, breathe and allow creativity to flow. I’ve so. I mean, there are probably way too many years that I’d like to admit where I was cutting off all creativity and ideas and flow and like, all that good stuff that lights us up and makes us excited about our businesses.

[00:37:41]   

I was cutting it off because I was too focused on being productive and being at my desk at 9 on the dot and working until exactly 5 and working in the evenings. And now I see that, you know, taking your hands off the steering wheel a little bit or a lot actually allows so many good things to come into your business, including revenue and traffic and.

[00:38:06]   

Yeah, all of those things that all of us want. Right?

[00:38:10]  Kim Cauti 

Yeah. I do not think that is. That it is a coincidence that now that I’ve prioritized my mental and physical and emotional health, my business has more than doubled from what it was and I’m working less. And listen, I hate when people say stuff like that because I feel like it sounds not real, but it is.

[00:38:34]   

I just proved it to myself. I think you can do it in your own way, and maybe it’s not going to be the immediate thing that happens, but I think that when you’re feeling good and you have energy and you’re happy, you’re magnetic, and what you’re putting your time and your energy into is infused with that good, good feeling good, you know, energy, good vibes, whatever, and it’s gonna come back to you because you’re putting.

[00:39:04]   

I. I told. I fully believe that, like, what you’re putting out, you’re going to get back.

[00:39:08]  Megan Porta 

100% and try it. If you don’t believe it, try it. I just had this conversation with my son. He’s 18. He. He tends to be a little more on the pessimistic side and, like, negative. Like, why. Why is this happening? Why can’t I do this? Why? You know, whatever. So I’m trying to infuse that positivity into him.

[00:39:29]   

So lately he’s been asking, what was his question about, like, friendships? He doesn’t connect well with his peers, but he connects well with adults. And he’s like, why not? Why don’t. Why don’t people give me that friendship? And I was like, okay, do an experiment. Put out so much positivity toward your peers for one week and see what happens.

[00:39:49]   

See what comes back to you, because what you put out comes back to you a thousand times more. So I love putting those little just experiment nuggets in his head.

[00:39:59]  Kim Cauti 

Like, say it.

[00:40:00]  Megan Porta 

Why not? You have nothing to lose. So Kim and I are saying that to you. If you feel like traffic’s down, revenues down, you don’t have the friendships you want in this space, whatever it is, put out what you want for. What do you say, Kim? Like a week, two weeks, and just see what comes back to you.

[00:40:23]   

I promise you, it’s going to be more than you could ever imagine. It’s just the way the universe works. It’s like magic.

[00:40:31]  Kim Cauti 

It really is. It’s something that I have relied on and leaned into for probably the better half of the last decade, if not longer. And I’ve just shown myself over and over and over again that it’s, it’s a real thing. And I think, you know, I keep talking about this like, two year pocket of time where, like, I wasn’t feeling well.

[00:40:55]   

I also wasn’t trusting the universe at that time either. Yeah, I was just, I was like, oh God, this is just, it’s never going to work again. I’m never going to, you know, manifest what I want again. Like, this is just it, like, blah, blah. It’s just, you know, just negative across the board.

[00:41:10]   

And so all I was, all that came back to me was negative. I kept talking about how I wasn’t making enough money or this. So that’s all I was being shown was, yeah, okay, you’re not making enough money. Yeah, you’re not making enough money. Because that’s all you’re saying is that I’m not making enough money.

[00:41:28]  Megan Porta 

If that’s what you say, that’s what we’ll show you more of, right? Yeah, it really is. I mean, it’s as simple as that. It sounds like too simple to be true, but yeah, just test it out. The hustle culture does not. And it kind of goes along with that too. Like, the more you hustle, the more you get back that whole energy.

[00:41:52]   

Like, yeah, let’s bring more hustle into your business and your life.

[00:41:56]  Kim Cauti 

Right.

[00:41:56]  Megan Porta 

When you start to slow down a little bit, it’s like those slow, more meaningful moments come to you too. So there’s so much to say about making the shift to prioritizing, yes, your physical health, but your mental health and your self care and finding those little things that matter.

[00:42:17]  Kim Cauti 

Yeah. So one of the things I realized too, like, while I was spending a lot more time trying to take care of myself was I realized that I had adhd. And it was something obviously something that I’ve dealt with my whole life, but I never really understood, like, why am I the way I am?

[00:42:42]   

And why can’t I sit still? And why can’t I work 9 to 5 Monday through Friday? Like, why can’t I fit into this little box? And I feel like ADHD is a hot topic right now, but I decided to learn more about it and was like, oh, okay, that’s me. Now I know.

[00:43:02]   

And now let’s see if I can work with this instead of, again, trying to put myself in this little box of whatever normal is supposed to be. And I think kind of coming to terms with that also in my healing process has been really amazing for me because I am able to respect my body and my energy so much more now and understand when I have a day where I’m like, energy is not there, mental clarity is not there, it’s just not happening.

[00:43:41]   

Instead of being like, what is wrong with you? And, like, trying to force myself to do something, I just say, okay, like, this is part of ADHD. And you know what? Tomorrow when I feel better, I’m gonna go into crazy hyper focus mode and I’m gonna get like two days of work done in a few hours.

[00:44:02]   

And so it’s really just like a testament to, like, learning how to listen to your body. Like, whether or not you have ADHD, whether or not you have chronic illness. Like, we all need to learn how to listen to our bodies because they’re so much smarter than our brains.

[00:44:19]  Megan Porta 

Yes. Okay. I. I’m really glad you brought this up because this is something I’ve been doing this year and I talked about my food sensitivities, allergies, whatever, earlier. Since figuring that out, I feel like I’ve just been so aligned with what my body is saying to me and like, okay, you don’t like that food. And this is something that, like, was over my head before this year.

[00:44:45]  Kim Cauti 

Right.

[00:44:45]  Megan Porta 

But now I feel like, oh, my gosh, all along, my whole life, my body’s been trying to talk to me and I’ve just been stuffing it under the rug. And now I feel like, okay, I’m going to honor you. And it just feels so good to know that my body’s been talking to me and hasn’t given up on me.

[00:45:06]   

And now that I’m listening, we can figure things out and I can feel better. So, yes, to your point, our bodies are always talking to us. I think a lot of us most of the time ignore what they’re trying to say. So just tuning in and listening and I think part of that is getting quiet and kind of aligns with what we’ve been talking about.

[00:45:28]   

Take Those breaks get outside. Do the things you need to do to not white knuckle so that you can hear what’s trying to be said to you. I think that is like listening to your body is such an important piece of this.

[00:45:41]  Kim Cauti 

And I think, you know, if we don’t do that, if we don’t listen to our bodies and what they need and hear, because ultimately illness and disease is our body literally screaming.

[00:45:55]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:45:57]  Kim Cauti 

If we don’t listen to that, what do we have anymore? You won’t. You don’t have a business because you don’t have a life. You don’t have health. You don’t have a body.

[00:46:08]  Megan Porta 

Right. And that’s our whole point for this conversation, is that you need to. Yeah. Show it for yourself so that you can continue to run your business. Because most people who start food blogs or other entrepreneurial ventures love their businesses. They love the creativity. They love showing up and putting in the work.

[00:46:31]   

So you want to make sure you can continue to do that. You are a valuable asset and your energy is so valuable. So protect it. And I could not love this conversation more. I feel like we could go on for hours and hours. Is there anything really important that you want to be sure to mention before we start saying goodbye?

[00:46:53]  Kim Cauti 

I think really just like the culmination of this whole conversation, like, make sure you give yourself that time to slow down, leave room for creativity, listen to your body. I love my business, but I love my health so much more.

[00:47:15]  Megan Porta 

Yeah. And it feels good to feel good, doesn’t it? When you start feeling good again, you’re like, whoa, this is amazing. I was masking all of this goodness for years. That’s at least what I could say about myself. And now it’s like, things become more clear. Everything becomes a little bit more beautiful and delicious and.

[00:47:35]  Kim Cauti 

Absolutely.

[00:47:36]  Megan Porta 

It’s kind of your. Your website. Pretty delicious life, right?

[00:47:41]  Kim Cauti 

Yeah, I guess so.

[00:47:43]  Megan Porta 

That’s funny. Well, I think this has been such a great conversation and like I’ve said a million times, extremely important. So I know it’s going to bring valuable insights to people. And I just know I’m going to get comments on this episode because it’s going to speak to people. So thank you for sharing your story, Kim, and for showing up for us today.

[00:48:07]  Kim Cauti 

You’re so welcome. Thank you for having me.

[00:48:09]  Megan Porta 

Beautiful conversation. Do you have either a favorite quote or words of inspiration to leave us with?

[00:48:14]  Kim Cauti 

Well, I already said it, but I had written down that my favorite quote from myself was, just listen to your body.

[00:48:21]  Megan Porta 

It’s smarter than you think that is absolutely perfect. We will put together a show notes page for you. If you want to go check that out, you can head to eatblogtalk.com Pretty Delicious Life. And you definitely need to go check out Kim’s platforms as well. So tell us where we can find you, Kim.

[00:48:39]  Kim Cauti 

Yeah, so I’m Pretty Delicious life everywhere, Instagram, TikTok, all the things and I think that’s how you find me on Substack too.

[00:48:50]  Megan Porta 

Definitely check out Kim’s substack. I love it. It’s like a little hug every time I see it in my inbox.

[00:48:57]  Kim Cauti 

Oh, thank you.

[00:48:59]  Megan Porta 

Well, thank you again Kim and thanks for listening food bloggers. I will see you next time. 

[00:49:09]  Outro

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Eat Blog Talk. Don’t forget to rate and review a blog talk on your favorite podcast player. Thank you. And I will see you next time.