The amazing Terilyn Adams stops by to give a REAL review of the SNOO; talk baby sleep and her journey through severe postpartum anxiety and why she chose medication; and to share her passion for running, incorporating Athletic Mom into her training, and more!
Liz Talks Episode 38
- Personal Updates [2:07]
- Introducing Teri Lynn Adams and reviewing Snoo [5:13]
- Postpartum Anxiety [29:19]
- Running [44:26]
TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to Liz Talks. I’m Liz, and I’m a nutritional therapy practitioner and best-selling author; but here, I’m 0% professional and 100% mom, spouse, friend, and over-analyzer. We’re going to talk food, beauty, family, fitness, mental health, friendship, marriage, and everything in between in this season of Liz Talks, and I’m so glad you’re along for the ride.
Remember; this is a podcast about thoughts, feelings, and opinions. And I definitely do not give individual, personal, or medical advice.
This is episode 38, topic: talking baby sleep, the Snoo, postpartum anxiety, exercise, and more with Teri Lyn Adams of AFoodieStaysFit.com.
In case you missed it, last weeks’ episode 37 was about sun protection from food, choosing where you’re birthing, and more.
Before I begin, I want to quickly thank Arrowhead Mills for their generous sponsorship of this podcast. Next time you go to the store, I’d love to have you support a company that supports my work and look for Arrowhead Mills products. You can also find them on Vitacost.com.
I also want to remind you about an affiliate that I absolutely love, and that’s Vibrant Body Company. Please do not keep wearing a bra that is uncomfortable and restrictive and awful. Go to www.RealFoodLiz.com/Vibrant, and use cod LIZ15, all caps, for 15% off.
I was all sports bras all the time before this. Even those super soft ones from Lulu; which are great, but really, really, really like having a “regular” bra that shapes me the way that I want to be shaped that looks so much better in clothes but also does not feel awful and restrictive and like it doesn’t care anything about all the lymph flow around my armpit areas. So everything they have is amazingly comfortable. Their bra is no wire, certified clean. Their shelfy tank is like buttery soft. I wear it all the time. And their underwear is super comfortable. And again, I know you’re sick of hearing it. But I’m team thong, and this is my favorite thong of all time.
So www.RealFoodLiz.com/Vibrant. Use code LIZ15 in all caps for 15% off.
- Personal Updates [2:07]
Liz Wolfe: Ok, time for some personal updates. I want to point folks to a couple of birth episodes; or birth related episodes that I’ve done. I did some birth related episodes in the early, maybe first 10 episodes, of the Liz Talks podcast. And I also recently did an episode with Elizabeth Joy Presta; that was episode 36. And the upcoming episode; probably 38, will be with Lindsey Meehleis, an incredible midwife out of California, who just speaks so eloquently about birth. She speaks about things like breech birth, which is something I have experience in. Well; I haven’t given birth vaginally to a breech baby but my first was breech, and I was sort of; not forced into, but I sort of ended up with an emergency C-section. So I really love to hear midwives and OBs; some of the few OBs out there that are talking about breech birth. Lindsey is just phenomenal.
And I’ve been talking about these things; for whatever reason lately they’ve been coming into my consciousness, or coming into my frame of thought, and it’s just really neat. And today’s episode, Teri and I talked about her experience with birth, postpartum anxiety, and it was a really, really beautiful conversation. So I feel like the universe is just leading me to have these conversations right now, so I wanted to point folks to a couple of other podcasts that I’ve done just talking about the range of birth, baby, mothering experiences that there are out there.
Another note; after we recorded this episode, Teri and I; this is on a totally different topic, but Teri and I decided to bundle up our training courses. So Athletic Mom is my training course, and Rookie Runner is Teri’s. Teri has run a ton of races. She’s run the Boston Marathon. She’s just this amazing runner. And she has a course as well. And we decided to bundle them up and price them at $99 for both, which is like a 66% savings or something crazy like that.
So Athletic Mom by itself is an 8-week program with full training, full exercise library, nutrition, recipes, and all kinds of bonuses. And that sells for $99, and Rookie Runner is closer to like $200. So this is kind of a ridiculous price for both courses. But given that Teri and I are our own bosses, we can do this type of stuff sometimes. So we decided to go for it.
So even if you already have Athletic Mom, you could still grab this bundle for less than it would cost to go buy the Rookie Runner ala carte. And if you end up doing that, and you want to gift the Athletic Mom to somebody else, just reach out to me or reach out to the Athletic Mom team and I can get you sorted out.
So this offer; we’re just going to put it out there with an unspecified end date. This episode comes out mid-August. So at the very least this offer will go through August 31st of 2022. But if you’re listening to this after the fact, still, go to www.RealFoodLiz.com/Bundle and it very well might still be available. So go check it out if you’re interested, like I am, actually, in working a little bit on your running skills.
- Introducing Teri Lyn Adams and reviewing Snoo [5:13]
Liz Wolfe: Ok, so I want to give a little bit of a bio on the friend and professional mentor that I’m talking to today. I’m talking to Teri Adams. Teri Lyn Adams. And she is the founder of A Foodie Stays Fit. She’s been blogging since 2004. She talks about running, fashion, beauty, family. She’s one of the most articulate and driven and intelligent women that I know. And prior to running her own business full time; her own businesses full time, she worked in corporate America. First at Goldman Sachs as a financial analyst, and then at BB&T and Wells Fargo managing national social media, video and digital campaigns, all kinds of stuff.
She lives in Winston Salem, North Carolina with her husband Tommy and her son Thomas. And let me just tell you something about Teri; she is one of the most organized, successful, phenomenal business mentors I’ve ever had. And I talked a couple of episodes ago in my episode with Noelle about a project that I’m doing with a couple of other women around women in business. And providing virtual, digital type mentorship opportunities at an affordable price. At this point, it’s possible that we’ve announced the name and the details; I don’t know yet because I’m recording this a couple of weeks in advance. Because as of this air date I will still be either traveling or at family camp with my family. So we may have announced it by the time this episode airs. We might not.
But she’s a big part of that. And just learning from Teri has been worth thousands of dollars in what could have been business consultations or business courses for me. So whether you’re a rising entrepreneur, or someone that just wants to do, you know, whatever. Small potatoes on the internet where you just want to earn a small living to cover your groceries. Or to cover your skincare addiction. Whatever it might be. Or you want to sell millions of dollars’ worth of online courses. Whatever it is. To learn from someone like Teri or Noelle; probably to a much less degree me. But I’ve done ok. Is just such a great opportunity. so I’m really grateful for her friendship, and the fact that I’ve been able to learn from her over the years. So, let’s get started with this interview with Teri Adams.
I know I wanted to bring you on here to talk about running. Running for people who hate running. {laughs}
Teri Lyn Adams: {laughs}
Liz Wolfe: Or just running in general. But I want to talk about something else first. I want to talk about the Snoo. Can we talk about the Snoo? Your face. Your face just like {laughs} lost all it’s color.
Teri Lyn Adams: I’m like convulsing. {laughs}
Liz Wolfe: Did you notice; alright, so Teri and I both have little kids. My littlest is 2, and we tried the Snoo. Well, maybe I should back up. So the Snoo is an electronic bassinet. And I totally understand; I understand the point of it. We don’t have our parent village anymore. Not all of us can be that super goddess mom that is up every 15 minutes soothing and pacifying and nursing and connecting and all of that stuff. So I personally was really, really nervous with my second that I just would not survive the nights the way I survived with my first.
With my first I was 32, I only had her to worry about. So we had some really difficult sleep times, but we got through them. I didn’t think I could handle that with a second baby. And I felt like I couldn’t be dead tired driving my kid to school in the morning and run off the road. So I just got myself so worked up into this panic, and I had heard about the 5 Ss. Right? From Harvey Karp.
Teri Lyn Adams: Mm-hmm.
Liz Wolfe: The shushing, and swaddling, and all of that stuff.
Teri Lyn Adams: Swaddling.
Liz Wolfe: Shush, swaddle. Swimmy? Swimmy… Samsonite!
Teri Lyn Adams: What is it?
Liz Wolfe: I don’t know. I don’t remember.
Teri Lyn Adams: I don’t either. I blacked out.
Liz Wolfe: {laughs} Blacked out for six months.
Teri Lyn Adams: I’m going to Google it.
Liz Wolfe: Ok, you Google it and I’ll keep talking. So I watched all of that, and that kind of did and didn’t work. And also on top of that; if anybody has listened to my old podcasts about sleep “training”; it’s a whole, there’s a mountain of issues here that I know I’m just kind of skating right past. Which is that babies need connection. There’s a whole range of stuff that I advocate doing that I was not emotionally; I was too emotionally unhinged to actually do them in those moments.
So anyway. The point is I bought an electronic bassinet hoping it would be this miracle. And it would be like; we put the baby in this bassinet and it gently rocks them in a super safe American Academy of pediatrics approved way. And everything is fine, and baby goes to sleep, and everybody gets so much sleep. And there are people out there that swear by the Snoo.
Teri Lyn Adams: Swear by it.
Liz Wolfe: Yes. Like, life saving swear by the Snoo.
Teri Lyn Adams: I’m so happy for them, and I hate them too.
Liz Wolfe: {laughs} Same. All of the reviews on the internet; everything you Google, is so positive.
Teri Lyn Adams: {laughs} Have you Googled it recently? My blog post pops up.
Liz Wolfe: Oh, no!
Teri Lyn Adams: Yeah. If you Google Snoo bassinet review, I pop up and it says, “Why we hated it.”
Liz Wolfe: {laughs}
Teri Lyn Adams: So spoiler alert; I hated it. And I could make money if I said I liked it.
Liz Wolfe: Yes.
Teri Lyn Adams: Because then people would buy it. But no, I hated it.
Liz Wolfe: You could probably make a lot of money. Because desperate parents in the throes of sleep deprivation are the target market. And I don’t think they’re trying to put one over on anybody. I think it was made, and I think it does help a ton of people. So I was very, very disappointed that it did not help us. And I’m going to speak negatively about the Snoo. But I don’t want anybody to take offense. Because we’re just talking about our experiences. We’re not saying you should not use the Snoo.
Teri Lyn Adams: Right.
Liz Wolfe: Because whatever your situation is is whatever your situation is. Maybe you want to go back and listen to my podcasts about sleep training and about how we handled it. because I think that was profoundly transformational for me, especially with my first. But it took me a while to get back there with my second.
But we buy this thing, and the way I would describe it is an automatic jerker. It just jerks the baby back. So you put this baby in a straight jacket that is attached to the bottom of the Snoo. So you just zip them in. So they’re literally just straight jacketed. And then if they make noise, the bassinet starts to go back and forth and back and forth. And if they keep making noise, you can set it to go back and forth faster and faster and faster and faster. And it’s literally just like blulunlululu. It’s just jiggling these little babies.
Teri Lyn Adams: And the noise. The noise gets loud too.
Liz Wolfe: Yes. The noise gets louder. Which is; just something about it was profoundly unsettling for me. So, ok. Tell everybody about your experience with the Snoo.
Teri Lyn Adams: Ok. So first the 5 Ss. I Googled.
Liz Wolfe: Ok.
Teri Lyn Adams: We have swaddle. So the Snoo is trying to recreate the 5 Ss. So it has swaddle, side or stomach position; which that’s not safe in their early days. Shush. So I think that’s the white noise. Swing. And suck. So those are the 5 Ss of what soothes the baby.
Liz Wolfe: Ok. Yes. And the side I think is when you’re holding the baby to get them to fall asleep.
Teri Lyn Adams: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. When you’re holding them.
Liz Wolfe: You kind of turn it slightly.
Teri Lyn Adams: Yes. Yeah, you’ll see; like our doula would always hold him sideways.
Liz Wolfe: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Teri Lyn Adams: So I got pregnant at 35, 36. He was our first. I know myself well enough to know that I don’t do well without sleep. So the very first thing we did when we got pregnant is that we preordered the Snoo. We had multiple friends reach out and were like; you have to have the Snoo. It’s a game changer. We went ahead and just bought it. Because we were so confident that it would work. And were like; if we ever have a second, we’ll just keep it. We didn’t even look into renting it. Which, I think rolled out right after we bought it. Which kind of sucks.
Anyway, we didn’t rent it. We straight up bought it. And it’s not cheap.
Liz Wolfe: No.
Teri Lyn Adams: Isn’t it like $1000?
Liz Wolfe: It’s like $1200. I mean, to their credit they have the rental program. Which I think is amazing.
Teri Lyn Adams: Yeah.
Liz Wolfe: I actually think that’s definitely one in their column, that they offer it as a rental. But if you buy it outright, it’s $1200.
Teri Lyn Adams: Yeah. It’s expensive. So, I did not have the smooth labor and delivery. We were in the hospital for 5 days. And I had not slept. So we were already very sleep deprived coming home. Then, we had a child that was not a good sleeper. Like; not good. {laughs}
And I work for myself. And I was planning on taking maternity leave. So I could be very present. I was waking up with him all the time. I was breastfeeding 100%. It’s not like; I bought the Snoo to try to give me a leg up, but I was already able to be really present day and night. I didn’t have to go back to work really soon, any of that. So I had all those advantages. And we just wanted the Snoo as a little extra hand holding.
The first couple of weeks that we had it, I was not comfortable with how much it shook him. So, initially I adjusted the settings so that it wouldn’t go up high. And he was tiny. When we brought him home, he was under 6 pounds. And they say it’s safe even for preemies; a lot of preemies do really well with it. And I was just not comfortable with the amount of shaking. So I adjusted the settings. And the louder it got, the more irritated he seemed to get.
So then I was turning down the sound. And I’m like; I’m adjusting all of these things that are why I bought it in the first place. And then we had a postpartum doula, and she would stay overnight. And she taught me how to use it manually. So we figured out he did better at certain settings. Like you could adjust it to start a certain way. You could stop it from escalating. And he did better in it with her. But she was literally sitting up all night next to the basinet, and when he needed to nurse she was bringing him to me.
So she was using the Snoo, but she was also manually adjusting it. Like, sitting there next to it.
So we used it for I don’t know; how old is he? Four months. And then he started to roll. And so we’re like; ok, time to go to the crib. Getting rid of that thing was one of the; like, my husband and I are both very nostalgic. We were like; {slap, slap} see ya.
Liz Wolfe: {laughs} Get it out.
Teri Lyn Adams: I almost felt bad selling it to the mom. And she had preemies. And I told her; this did not work for us. We’re getting rid of it because we hated it. I have to tell you that. As a mom to a mom that sleep is hard; I have to tell you that. She’s like; I know. It works for some people. I’m like; it does. Yes. It absolutely works for some people. It did not work for us. So I just have to say that. She’s like; ok. You know. I appreciate it. And she took it. I hope it worked great for her. But Ugh!
Liz Wolfe: Not a good experience.
Teri Lyn Adams: No! And I think what’s annoying is there is this secret club; when I started talking about not liking it, so many people were like; oh my gosh, my baby hated it too. I’m like; it’s ok to say that your baby hates it! Everyone is like; oh the Snoo! The Snoo is the best! And I’m like; it’s ok to say that your baby hated it. But people won’t say it.
Liz Wolfe: I don’t know; I’m sure they have some really good PR marketing team. And maybe that is why there was such a slew; when we were looking. {laughs} a Slew for the Snoo. When we were looking at reviews of it; I read every single review on the website. And then I read every single thing I could come across, page after page on Google. And I think they just must have a really good PR team that’s really good at capturing and promoting the experiences of people who really liked it. And the reason; I mean, you and I have talked about talking about this forever on this podcast. Well, not forever. The podcast hasn’t been around for that long.
But we’ve been talking for a long time about talking about this. And it’s not because I want to trash the Snoo. It’s because it would have really, really helped me not feel like something was wrong with me or my kid if I had known there were other people out there that did not have a good experience with it.
Teri Lyn Adams: Exactly! If I had given myself permission to be like; I kept thinking I was doing it wrong, or it was me, or it was him.
Liz Wolfe: Yes!
Teri Lyn Adams: I was like; if I could just pull the plug, literally, and just go to a traditional bassinet, maybe he still would have slept crappy. Probably. But I wouldn’t have had that guilt that I was doing something wrong.
Liz Wolfe: Yeah. Yeah! For sure. So we ended up; we got rid of it pretty darn quick. And you know; people say, you didn’t give it long enough to work. This and that. But it was also the fact that I was just uncomfortable with; first of all, they wake up and you’re zipping them in and out of this literally; it’s a swaddle but it’s one of those that you zip them into. And it’s attached to the mattress.
Teri Lyn Adams: Like you have to hook them.
Liz Wolfe: You have to hook them. It just felt weird.
Teri Lyn Adams: And I woke him up every time.
Liz Wolfe: Every time.
Teri Lyn Adams: Taking him in and out.
Liz Wolfe: Yeah, the in and out.
Teri Lyn Adams: And there are all sorts of work arounds.
Liz Wolfe: Yeah. It just wasn’t going to work. And it’s a beautiful bassinet. Structurally; architecturally, I think it’s very pretty. But we ended up just going with the halo. Which is that rotating bassinet. You can get the more expensive one that makes sounds or whatever. But it’s just a little bassinet. Not little. It’s probably a little bit smaller than the Snoo. But we loved it. And now I’ve passed it along to two other moms. It’s super durable. You can buy a new mattress for it when you swap kids or whatever. You can buy; it’s got kind of a kidney shaped. The mattress is an interesting shape. But you can buy off brand sheets for it. You can buy silk sheets, which is nice. It helps baby not get a bald spot in the back of their heads and stuff like that.
So it’s like; there’s equipment out there for it. And it’s not just that you can only get it from one place. Which is, with the Snoo, you have to order their swaddles, and all of their stuff. And nobody else seems to make anything for it. I mean, that might not be current now, because my youngest is 2. But it was just too much.
It was easy to return though. I will say that. Again, they have the rental program. It’s expensive, but they have the rental program. It was easy to return. They were very nice. So I think they’re going about their business with a lot of integrity. It was just n-o-t not for us at all.
Teri Lyn Adams: No. It gave me more anxiety.
Liz Wolfe: Yeah!
Teri Lyn Adams: And I still. Did I tell you I even called their customer support?
Liz Wolfe: No.
Teri Lyn Adams: I called them to be like; am I doing something wrong? My baby gets mad when it gets going faster and when it gets louder. My baby hates it. And they were like; oh, some babies are just more sensitive. So I adjusted the starting settings, so it would start more gently. And I capped it so it wouldn’t get so loud. And I put this in my blog post about it, but I was like; the product was designed to do XYZ, and they’re telling me to stop X and Y. At some point, should they just not be; you know, for some babies this just isn’t a good fit. It sounds like it’s not a good fit.
Liz Wolfe: Yes.
Teri Lyn Adams: You’ve been trying for three months. Let’s just get you a return.
Liz Wolfe: Yeah.
Teri Lyn Adams: I just feel like they would; I don’t know. Maybe not everyone feels as strongly about this as I do. But I’m like; kind of like Nordstrom. I will shop with Nordstrom because they have a really good return policy, and I trust them to always do the right thing. I feel like I would be more comfortable promoting Snoo. And they don’t sponsor me; it doesn’t matter. But just that consumer trust to be like; you know what? It’s not a good fit for you. I just wish they had said that to me.
Liz Wolfe: That would go a long way.
Teri Lyn Adams: Instead of like; turn everything off.
Liz Wolfe: Yeah. Turn it off. Turn it back on.
Teri Lyn Adams: So to your credit; I remember when I was pregnant and I told you I was getting the Snoo. And you were; I didn’t know you as well then. But you were so …
Liz Wolfe: Diplomatic?
Teri Lyn Adams: Yes. You were diplomatic.
Liz Wolfe: {laughs}
Teri Lyn Adams: And I was like, so did you like the Snoo? And you were like; you know, it didn’t work for us.
Liz Wolfe: {laughs}
Teri Lyn Adams: And I was like; I don’t think I asked you more. I should have. But you just said; it didn’t work for us. And I was like; ok, well it’s going to work for my baby. I know what I’m doing. It’s going to work for my baby. It did not.
The thing that worked the best was the Ollie swaddle that you sent me.
Liz Wolfe: I sent that you, didn’t I?
Teri Lyn Adams: Mm-hmm. And they were impossible to get at the time.
Liz Wolfe: Yeah. Yeah. Are they still a big thing right now? Do you know? You’re way past swaddles.
Teri Lyn Adams: One of my friends just had a baby. And I saw her baby was in the Ollie swaddle.
Liz Wolfe: Nice.
Teri Lyn Adams: So it must still be around.
Liz Wolfe: So we ended up using; so my first, I’ve said this many times. I was her pacifier and I was her swaddle. And I think that that is biologically appropriate. But in the modern world, there is also a tipping point where it becomes impossible. And it was impossible for me the second time around. Maybe because my tolerance level is lower. I don’t know. There are many people who do it with two, three, four, five kids. And they do great and they can handle it. I couldn’t handle it. I couldn’t handle dealing with; there was a pandemic. Dealing with my 6/7-year-old, homeschool, all of that stuff and also just constantly feeling like I couldn’t put my baby down.
So I shouldn’t even have to explain myself around that but I still feel like I have to. This is just my lens. But I don’t know. It was just hard. So I started using things that I didn’t use with my first. So, I tried every type of swaddle. I tried every type of everything. We did a little bit of sleep training, which I recorded podcasts about previously. And what we landed on that I think is now off the market. So, whoops. We landed on the Miracle Blanket. Which, it has these little flaps inside the swaddle that you pin their arms down with, which also made me feel kind of bad. But she would always work her arms up to her mouth and then she would wake herself up.
Teri Lyn Adams: I remember you telling me about this.
Liz Wolfe: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Which is probably; I should have read it as a sign that she needed something. Some kind of stimulation in that way. Whatever. I get it. I was not truly being a responsive parent. But that’s where I was at the time. So we pinned her arms down with a swaddle. {laughs}
Teri Lyn Adams: {laughs}
Liz Wolfe: So she couldn’t do that anymore. Sweet, sweet baby girl. But I think recently with these new guidelines from I think the American Academy of Pediatrics, I don’t think the Miracle Blanket is considered safe anymore. And I should look that up. I should look that up before I say it.
Teri Lyn Adams: So I think they came out with that one, and the nested bean.
Liz Wolfe: Yes!
Teri Lyn Adams: Because we used the nested bean. I also; we were uncomfortable with that, too. I wish what I had tried; and I was just so hell bent. Can I say hell on this?
Liz Wolfe: Yeah, yeah.
Teri Lyn Adams: I was so hell bent on swaddling that I didn’t even try it. The swaddles where their arms were up. Like the love…
Liz Wolfe: Oh yeah.
Teri Lyn Adams: I think he would have loved that. Because he always, and still does, sleep like this.
Liz Wolfe: Sleeps with his arms up.
Teri Lyn Adams: Yeah. I’m like; why did I not try that?
Liz Wolfe: I don’t know. Because at a certain point, you’ve tried 17,000 other ones and you’re like; I’ve just, we’ve just got to. And by that point, often times they’ve just transitioned into the next thing.
Teri Lyn Adams: Exactly.
Liz Wolfe: We ended up doing; this is funny. We ended up doing another thing after we transitioned after swaddling. People talk about the magic merlin suit. Which is just like…
Teri Lyn Adams: Oh it freaks me out.
Liz Wolfe: Stay puff; so many things that freak me out that are just these crutches of modern parenting, just so we can deal with our lives. {laughs} But I did do; I think this is another halo product. It’s like a transitional sleeper. And it was this quilted, just slightly thicker but still, you could get circulation through it. But slightly thicker and a longer sleeve, a little bit past their elbow. So they still feel a little bit of; you know, snugness. Not snugness. Not weight. But just a little bit of extra thickness around their arms. And that I loved. I loved it. And I need to remember what it was called. I believe that’s also from Halo. And it was just so soft. And I wish she could have stayed in it forever. So soft. So cozy. I’ll see if I can remember what it was called. Some kind of Halo sleep sack, but it was transitional.
And Halo; Halo is a good company. I think their story has something to do with losing a baby to SIDS, and that’s where the company was created. Just really, really sad but they’ve made something really beautiful out of it.
Let’s see; organic cotton. Gosh, I can’t remember. It’s quilted, and it was really, really nice. I loved it. I’ll try and figure out what exactly that was and put it in the show notes, now I can’t find it. Sorry guys. Not super helpful. But we did that instead of Magic Merlin, and by that point she was turning over. And when she could get herself to her belly; which, again, I think a lot of people in a lot of other places do belly sleep from very, very early on. But you know; number one. When something is repeated to you over and over again as being dangerous; even if you parse apart the statistics and start to ask questions, it’s still really, really hard to deviate from that.
Oh, you know what we also did? Speaking of it being hard to deviate. And now I’m going to say something that’s completely, completely deviation from the norm and I could probably get myself in trouble for it. We actually; this is how desperate I was. We ordered the Amby baby hammock from Australia. It’s used up and down Australia, and even in the NICUs there, I believe. But it is like; zero percent ok in the United States. So I had this shipped in from Australia. Do you see that?
Teri Lyn Adams: Oh, yeah, oh.
Liz Wolfe: Yeah. She’s like; for those of you not watching. Which would be impossible because I don’t have a video option. But for those of you just listening, Teri is looking at Amby baby hammock on the internet.
Teri Lyn Adams: And I’ve got my mouth wide open.
Liz Wolfe: With your mouth wide open. And that was amazing. But I never felt confident enough to do night sleeping. So I would literally just do that for supervised naps. And what’s amazing about it is that you kind of cuddle them up, and you put them in this little baby hammock. Again; listen. I’m going to get in trouble for even talking about this.
Teri Lyn Adams: You could get in trouble for anything, Liz.
Liz Wolfe: I got in trouble for a reel about orange juice. So.
Teri Lyn Adams: I know. And I tried to defend you. And it would let me.
Liz Wolfe: Thank you. You couldn’t tag. I deleted some, and I got some angry DMs. But that one, that one, that one message. I was like; you know what? Whatever.
Teri Lyn Adams: It’s crazy.
Liz Wolfe: You’re being silly. But the Amby hammock, you put them in there and you can just very gentle; not bounce it. Not like aggressively bounce it. But it’s almost like swaying in the wind. And it was like; I want to be in the Amby baby hammock. This is so nice. And you can give them that really soft bounce. Where you don’t have to be hunched over, in pain, doing it. But you can give them that same feeling. So I would just get her to sleep there. I would move it outside. And as she got bigger she would hang out in it, and it just kind of sways really gently. And I did; this was during the pandemic. My trainer would come, and he would come do outside training. Socially distanced training sessions with me. It sounds so bougie, and it is, but whatever.
But I would take that outside. So she would be outside, I would be here, he would be there doing these socially distanced training sessions. And she would just hang out. Looking at the sky. Looking at the trees. Just gently swaying in the breeze. It was great. And I would sit next to her, if she was taking a nape in it. I would sit right there and I wanted to say read a book, but I would scroll my iPhone. So, you know, if I’m being honest. That was great.
Teri Lyn Adams: I feel like he would have loved that. Because what we eventually found that helped him fall asleep better than anything; we would swaddle him and hold him, and we’d bounce on a yoga ball.
Liz Wolfe: Mm-hmm. Just that gentle bounce.
Teri Lyn Adams: Well, yeah. And we would sing him a song. “We’re bouncing on a ball. I’m staring at the wall. It’s time to go to sleep.” {laughs} And he’d go to sleep.
Liz Wolfe: Go the eff to sleep. Yes.
Teri Lyn Adams: That was an iteration, for sure.
Liz Wolfe: That was an iteration.
- Postpartum Anxiety [29:19]
Teri Lyn Adams: Well and it was hard, too, because I have really, really bad postpartum anxiety. And I was so terrified of doing something wrong. And I thought raising a newborn was black and white. If I did XYZ, then he would be a good sleeper.
Liz Wolfe: Yep.
Teri Lyn Adams: And if I did this; I was so terrified of doing something wrong. Like the side sleeping or the stomach sleeping. I know lots of people will put their baby on their stomach or their side while they’re sitting right next to them. I thought he could literally never do that. I’m like; that’s so dumb. I held him. What we ended up doing was a lot of contact naps. Which, I’d never heard that term before. But I held him for most of his naps. And if I had a work thing, then we would have; it was a part time doula who would hold him. Because we don’t have family here.
I was just so terrified of something happening to him. Like, irrational fears. Which, I can look back on now. But there were so many things that I would have tried; there was some swing that has been discontinued that people liked. There’s like a black market for it.
Liz Wolfe: Oh, the Rock and Play?
Teri Lyn Adams: Yes.
Liz Wolfe: I never had one of those. I heard tales of it.
Teri Lyn Adams: Somebody brought one to my house. And I wouldn’t even put him in it, because I was so terrified it was going to kill him.
Liz Wolfe: Yeah.
Teri Lyn Adams: And I realize that yes; some of these things are unsafe. But I also realize now, that I’ve gotten medication and help, that postpartum anxiety is going to make you think really irrational things when there’s so much to parenting that I think is instinctual. And you just have to really go with your gut. But your baby; every baby is going to be different. And you can’t say that these are rules that are going to work for every baby. Because it doesn’t work that way.
Liz Wolfe: No. It doesn’t. Ok, so I also had a really interesting journey with postpartum anxiety, and ended up doing a bunch of different things. I actually talked about this in one of the early episodes of the podcast if anybody is interested.
Teri Lyn Adams: I remember that.
Liz Wolfe: So, I did not do the medication route. So I think it would be really cool to hear from you maybe a little bit more about that journey. Anything you feel like could be helpful for people, since you took a different route than I did.
Teri Lyn Adams: Yeah. I remember listening to your podcast. And I think we talked about it, too. So I have a history of anxiety. And I’d never been on medication for it. And thankfully I already had an established relationship with a therapist that I’d worked with for 10 years. And in retrospect, I can see more clearly how she saw red flags because she knew me so well. And this was all over the phone, because we weren’t meeting in person. It was during 2020.
And she very quickly said, based on some of the things that I had told her, that she thought I needed medication. And now I can be like; ok. She’s known me for 10 years. She’s never suggested medication. If she’s seeing it now, she’s seeing red flags.
And I resisted it, probably for at least 2 months. I just would not go on medication. I would talk to everyone about; well what do you think? What do you think? What do you think? And then it got really dark. I may have told you this. I’ve not told many people this. I started having suicidal thoughts. And that’s not me. That’s not something I’ve ever struggled with. I was having really, really dark thoughts. And I told me therapist; they’re just fleeting. It doesn’t stick. I’m not worried about it.
And she said; these things can turn so quickly. They can just go wrong so fast. And she’s like; I think that you’ve been viewing the medication of what’s best for you, what’s worst for you. You didn’t want the side effects. You didn’t want to get addicted. You didn’t want whatever. She was like; I’m going to ask you right now. What is best for Thomas? And Thomas needs a healthy mom. So I went on medication.
And now I’m still on it. He’s almost 2. And I wish I had been on it sooner. It completely changed my life. Even my husband will say; it absolutely changed my life. And not just aside from obviously the really scary stuff. And I couldn’t sleep. Even if Thomas was sleeping, I couldn’t sleep. I would be up for days and nights on end. But I just could not go with the flow with anything. And if something was off schedule, or someone showed up unannounced, or someone was late. It was not good. {laughs}
I’m definitely still a little uptight, but it really, really changed my life. And if you had asked me 2 years ago, I would have said I’m very, very anti-medication. And now, I’m a pretty big advocate for getting it if you need it. And some people I think just do need it.
Liz Wolfe: Yeah.
Teri Lyn Adams: I think that; I asked my therapist. I was like; why, I know I’m sleep deprived but why can’t I manage it now? And she’d never told me, she said I have generalized anxiety disorder I think is kind of the broad. She’s like; well you’ve always been able to run. Your running kept your anxiety at bay. Or managed it at a baseline. And when you’re postpartum, you can’t run. She’s like; you have no coping mechanism.
So we worked on other coping mechanisms. But she was like; you just need that boost to get you back up. And she explained the science to me, because I’m a Questioner, if you’re familiar with the Four Tendencies. I need to understand how it’s going to work. So she explained the science to me, which of course I’ve promptly forgotten.
Liz Wolfe: {laughing}
Teri Lyn Adams: But, I’m very, very, very glad. I tell my husband; I never want to go off it. And I know some people stay on it forever. And I know other people have a goal to get off it. And my goal was to get off it sooner. And now I’m like; I don’t know. I was so nervous about everything. To a; what’s the word. Debilitating; is that the right word?
Liz Wolfe: Yeah.
Teri Lyn Adams: I was debilitated. So for me; and I’m on. Well, I’m not going to say specifically what it is. Because everyone is going to be different. But there are some that are more like for postpartum depression, and some that are more for postpartum anxiety. Which again, I didn’t know. So there are different medications. And there definitely is an adjustment period. I had the worst cotton dry mouth for two weeks. It was like two to three weeks. We had to adjust my dosage a little bit. And now I feel like the best version of myself. I feel like myself before I was a stressed out adult. {laughs}
Liz Wolfe: I; well, first of all I love you for sharing all of that. And I think it’s a perspective we don’t get. I just think it’s amazing. And I literally don’t even know what to say, other than I feel really, really privilege that you chose to share that on my podcast.
Teri Lyn Adams: Well I think you cover topics that nobody will. And I think it’s important for people to hear these perspectives.
Liz Wolfe: Yeah.
Teri Lyn Adams: Because I think people can look at the internet. And I never shared this. And be like; oh, she’s having such a good postpartum period. I mean, people knew my baby didn’t sleep. But people didn’t know the really bad thoughts I was having. And I think people know about postpartum anxiety. But I don’t think people know that it’s probably happening to more people than they realize. And I think if you can normalize it a little bit and get help sooner, I think it can change a lot of postpartum periods.
Liz Wolfe: Yeah.
Teri Lyn Adams: And I love you, so it’s like I’m just talking to you.
Liz Wolfe: Aww!
Teri Lyn Adams: So I would tell you. So if anyone comes and is mean to me about my story; you know what? I’ve got five brothers.
Liz Wolfe: {laughing} You don’t even need me. You’ve got five brothers.
Teri Lyn Adams: {laughs}
Liz Wolfe: Well, you know, it’s just like with anything. I think where we get tripped up is when we fully outsource our decisions, and we stay on medications that aren’t working for us. Or we don’t on medications and stay in a life situation that’s not working for us. Or whenever we just stay on a path because we think that’s the path we’re supposed to be on. And we don’t modify or edit. We don’t feel empowered enough to make a change. Many, many times in my life where I could have just made a pivot; for whatever reason, I was just not aware of the power that I have inherently to own my own experience. And I think that’s maybe just a theme of motherhood, or even maybe just being a woman in the world today. Where oftentimes I think we don’t understand the agency that we actually have and the power that we actually should be using day to day and in situations like this.
So, I don’t know. I just think it’s really amazing. Especially in the wellness community that you made a decision that maybe you felt like at the time was like; oh, I shouldn’t do that!
Teri Lyn Adams: I felt like a failure.
Liz Wolfe: Yes! Feeling like a failure. But you still pressed forward and were like; I’m going to do this. And be aware enough of what’s going on that I can continue to do what’s best for me and what’s best for Thomas. You know. Thomas needs a healthy mom.
Teri Lyn Adams: Well and I think what was really lucky, too, and a lot of people don’t have because either resources or circumstances. I don’t live by my family. I live in North Carolina. All my family is in Utah. Although I have one brother that moved her recently. Long story.
But at the time, I didn’t have anyone living here. So it’s not like I could call my mom and be like; mom, can you come hold the baby while I sleep? And for the record. Do not tell a mom to nap when the baby naps. Because if she has postpartum anxiety, she is not napping. She is sitting there worried that her child is going to scream.
But I did have a therapist already. I had an OB that I was friends with whom I could text. And one of my best friends is a therapist. And I also had resources to hire a postpartum doula. So, yes, I had a team in place. But a lot of people don’t. And that’s like; I think about these moms that don’t have that. Or they don’t even know that a doula is an option. You know?
And there’s a group in Winston; oh, what’s it called. I need to look it up. I want to say the motherhood collective. But they’re basically trying to form these motherhood groups. Kind of like you see there are breastfeeding groups. Kind of like getting community back together that’s been broken with the pandemic. Where I think it’s important to have; if you don’t have a therapist in place, how do you even find one? And if you don’t really trust your OB, and you don’t want to tell anybody you’re having these dark thoughts. Or you don’t have anyone to come hold your baby. To have that community; which was what I was saying about this group that they’re forming. I think it’s called the motherhood collective. I’ll look it up. Not that it matters, not that everyone is in Winston.
Liz Wolfe: You never know.
Teri Lyn Adams: But they’re just forming this community where moms can get together, and get out of the house, and talk about what we’re struggling with. My doula group had a Facebook group that it’s like; hey, I’m struggling with this, and they would refer to a postpartum specialist. Or they would refer; if my baby isn’t latching, they would refer to a lactation specialist. Networking; what is the nonbusiness word? Connecting? I don’t know.
Liz Wolfe: Yeah.
Teri Lyn Adams: Just connecting with other moms is so much more powerful than I anticipated.
Liz Wolfe: So, I was talking to; I had an interview with Elizabeth Joy Presta who is a doula in Chicago semi-recently. And one of the things we were talking about was how; this isn’t a top down thing. A lot of the things she was talking about were like; some of the things that happen in hospitals that are not necessarily based on current evidence. So, for example, not allowing women to eat or drink during labor. It’s archaic; it makes almost no sense whatsoever. And yet it’s still something we hear from doctors and nurses in the hospital.
Doctors and nurses obviously have a very important job. But, sometimes they’re expected to know far more than is really within their scope of talents. So what’s happened over the last, I don’t know, however many years, is that midwifery is becoming a more common component of the women’s care model. And doulas are entering the picture. And doulas are coming into hospitals and talking to doctors about things.
And so things like, for example, delayed cord clamping. That didn’t come down from the OBs having some big OB meeting and saying; hey, best practice is now delaying cord clamping for a set period of time. That stuff came into the hospitals through doulas, and midwives, and informed mothers, and people that were asking for something different. And that’s where this is all going to start. It’s not going to come top down for us; it’s going to be from the moms, from the doulas, from the midwives, from the collective. Which is why that’s a great word. And hopefully it trickles up.
So before you leave the hospital, before you leave the birth center. Before your midwife heads out from your homebirth; you’re going to get plugged into a group of resources that are going to send you on a positive path where you’re going to have more of a safety net. Where you’re going to have people around you that are like; hey, it really seems like Teri is suffering. Or, at the very least, that you feel like you can go to and be like; I need help and I don’t know where to go. Because the more people you’re surrounded with, the more likely it is that somebody is going to know somebody that is going to be able to refer you to something. And that’s where that power is.
And you know; one conundrum and one dilemma that bugs me a little bit is that women are doing this for each other. But many of us; we need to make a living. I wish that this type of work was valued from a monetary perspective; or could be more profitable so that the people that are toiling to give women, especially those under-resourced women that need so much support that are toiling to bring that to those people could actually make some kind of a living wage doing it. But that’s a whole nother conversation.
Teri Lyn Adams: Yeah. {laughs}
Liz Wolfe: {laughs}
Teri Lyn Adams: I feel the same way.
Liz Wolfe: Insurance companies just can’t afford it, I guess.
Teri Lyn Adams: I know, they’re really struggling. It made me think when you were saying about doing things differently in the hospital. I had a hospital delivery. I did not traditional, compared to most people here. And I was telling one of my friends about it. And she was like; how did you even know to ask for that?
Liz Wolfe: Uh-huh. Yeah.
Teri Lyn Adams: So she didn’t know what she didn’t know. But then like what she was telling me about with some of her stuff. I’m like; if you didn’t want to do that, why did you do that? She’s like; I didn’t think I had a choice. So basically they wanted to induce me at 36 weeks. And I did not want to be induced. And I was telling my friend that, and she was like; so you just told them no? And I was like, yeah. I said no. And she was like; well didn’t they pressure you? And I said, yeah they did. Every single week. We kind of negotiated to where I had to go in twice a week for NSTs. And we had a cut off of; ok, if I get this far along then we’ll agree to an induction.
But she was like; so you just told your doctors no? And I was like. Yeah. And I think a lot of people… and maybe in our community, we’re all very used to going against the grain and telling people no, because for the funsies of it.
Liz Wolfe: {laughing}
Teri Lyn Adams: But my friend, she was very much a rule follower. She was like; it never crossed my mind to disagree with my doctor. And I’m like; they’re humans too. They’re just going, again, by the rulebook. That you think it has to be black and white, and you forget that it should be a conversation.
Liz Wolfe: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it took me 5-some years to want to even get pregnant again because I could not find a practitioner that I felt like I could have a human conversation with. And that I could trust to be there for the emotional side as much as the physiological side. So, it’s just; I mean, it’s tough.
- Running [44:26]
Liz Wolfe: Do you want to talk bout running?
Teri Lyn Adams: Sure.
Liz Wolfe: Because I just realized we’ve just been like gabbing for 40 minutes. Which I love. But I also want; we need to talk about. You were talking about running before, and it was so interesting to me that your therapist was like; you had this coping mechanism. And that wasn’t available to you immediately postpartum. So obviously running is a really powerful thing in your life. So my question then, when you were talking about that, is how did you bring it back to a healthy place?
Teri Lyn Adams: How did I bring running back to a healthy place?
Liz Wolfe: Yeah. Yeah. You know; so it wasn’t a coping mechanism, but rather something that enhanced your life. Just a good thing for you.
Teri Lyn Adams: You know, I don’t think I ever knew it was a coping mechanism. It was just something that I loved doing.
Liz Wolfe: Well anything can become a coping mechanism. Especially if it’s something that brings you joy. It can turn to that; yeah.
Teri Lyn Adams: So I guess over the years, she and I talked about; because I have run over 50 races. I’ve done multiple marathons. Boston marathon. Those ultra relay races that are like 24 hours.
Liz Wolfe: OH my gosh.
Teri Lyn Adams: I run a lot. And she and I would have a lot of conversations around why are you running so much. And I’m like; it’s because I love it. But then I would get injuired, I would fall apart. So it was; we had conversations over the years about it. And I think that; I knew I felt better when I ran. But she never told me. And maybe it was intentional. That she thought I had an anxiety disorder.
So I never viewed it in that lens. I viewed it more as a body image thing. I was using it to control my weight. And now, it’s interesting. I don’t know if it’s postpartum or if it’s the medication. I’ve wondered this a lot. And I was running multiple races a year. I have had zero desire to race since I’ve had him. And I’m still running anywhere from 20 to 40 miles a week. I just don’t care about training. I don’t want to follow a training plan. I just want to go out and I want to run and I want to see my friends and I want to run in a happy place.
So I think a lot of it was like; perspective shift of where I want to spend my time. And I want to get my workout done and get time with friends so I can get home and be with Thomas. I am a grade A helicopter mom.
Liz Wolfe: {laughs}
Teri Lyn Adams: I am obsessed with him. Like, really obsessed with him. So I think perspective and priority shifts. But I also think the medication has helped me get it to a place where I’m not using it to lose weight. I’m not using it to find self-worth. I’m not using it to burn off stress. Because I am healthier.
So even though I’m still running the same amount, my motivation is different. I don’t know if I answered your question. But.
Liz Wolfe: You did! That was so good. I loved that. And I feel like that’s where I’m at, too. So that’s where I’m at, too. And I feel like I’ve talked publicly about this. About the Athletic Mom program where I just; and it’s hard. It’s hard, admittedly to sell something on doing something good for yourself and feeling good. All of us have this automaton inside of us that’s like; oh, that catches my attention because of the before and after pictures. You know, whatever it is. Because I might be able to change my body and look more like this ideal that I hold in my head.
So it’s hard to sell something based on just enjoyment and happiness and athleticism and healthy aging. But that’s where I’m at with athletic mom where it’s just like; I love to workout. And I show up to workout. And I haven’t stepped on a scale in years and years and years. I haven’t worried about it. God bless stretchy pants, because it doesn’t matter. I could be in a wide range of body weight, body fat, size whatever it is. And I can fit into the same clothes. It’s amazing. I don’t have to worry about going out and buying new jeans.
Because I get it. Postpartum; you don’t want to have to buy a whole new wardrobe. I get that. There’s a lot of money in a new wardrobe. But just for the sheer enjoyment of it. Just from moving my body and to know that I’m going to age more healthfully that way, and be there for my kids. Set a good example and all of that stuff. Just the joy of it. And I hope everybody can get to that point someday. No matter what type of program they’re using.
Speaking of which; you have a program.
Teri Lyn Adams: Yes. And it was interesting when you were talking, I was thinking about; I have the Rookie Runner program. And I renamed it three times.
Liz Wolfe: {laughs}
Teri Lyn Adams: Because I can’t quite get the right name for who I’m trying to help. And it’s really; people that want to love running and don’t, for whatever reason.
Liz Wolfe: It me!
Teri Lyn Adams: {laughs} What? Did you say “it me”?
Liz Wolfe: It me! {laughs}
Teri Lyn Adams: You know; it’s kind of like the Snoo. Some people just aren’t going to love it. And that’s ok. Just find something you love. But I did; I was working on the marketing materials for it. And I sent out a survey to all of my followers, and the most; what’s the right phrase? Most people said why they wanted to run was because of how it made them feel. It wasn’t that they wanted to lose weight. It wasn’t that they wanted to run a race. It wasn’t that they wanted to run but got injured. It was; I know how good it makes me feel.
So the people responding to the survey are not necessarily my target audience. Like; yes, we welcome everyone in there. But my target audience is the person that runs once in a while. They know they could love it. But they just can’t figure out how to get there. And they can’t figure out; how does that person run, and they don’t get injured? And how does that person run, and they look effortless? And how does that person run so fast and I can still walk.
I want people to find the joy in running. Maybe that’s what I should have named it. The Joyful Running Program. But it’s more for people; there are so many things out there. Like Peloton or training plans. They tell you what to run. They tell you; go run this many miles. Go run this many minutes. They don’t tell you how to train. And there is so much that goes into running inf you want to run long-term and not get injured and enjoy it, that people are like; oh, running is great because all you need are running shoes and you just step out your door and run.
Liz Wolfe: Mm. Yeah.
Teri Lyn Adams: And I’m like; well, yes. But you also need to know how to train smart. What to eat. How to stay motivated. How to troubleshoot injuries. All the supporting pieces are missing with it. Of every program I’ve ever seen out there. So it was; yes, there are certainly training plans inside of it. But mine is more; I’m going to teach you to fish. I’m not just going to hand you a fish. I’m going to teach you to fish.
So that was the goal of my program. Really teaching people how to love running so they could fall in love with a workout that adds to their life and that makes them feel better about themselves.
Liz Wolfe: So I’m interested in this because; one of the things I’ve done with my trainer and the co-creator of the Athletic Mom program. We’ll go out to the track now and then when it’s really nice weather and he’ll actually do; we’ll talk about running form. We’ll talk about sprinting form in particular. And it’s very interesting to me. I really like breaking it down that way. And I like thinking about it in a really holistic way. Not just in the; put on your tennis shoes and start trying to make your legs go a little bit faster. Which I’ve tried, and I hate it. Always.
But the other thing that I’ve been more interested in lately; as I’ve just kind of taken on new challenges and realized; I don’t have to do anything as a punishment. And I feel like any time I’ve ever tried to run, it was always like; I’ve got to do this to lose weight. I’ve got to do this to get skinny. I’ve got to do this to, whatever it is.
So I’m just in such a different mindset now that I feel like I might be interested in doing a little bit more running. I can’t believe I’m even saying that. But part of it is also; every once in a while I’ll break into a jog, and I’m like; wow. This is a movement pattern that I do not feel comfortable with. And I feel a little bit like; I don’t know. Like a baby deer. I just feel like I can’t coordinate my muscles and bones and joints in a way that I want to. {laughs} To be efficient. So I feel like I’m interested now. I’ve done a lot of sprinting, but I feel like I want to do some yogging. Just some yogging. Can your program help me with some yogging?
Teri Lyn Adams: Yes.
Liz Wolfe: Ok.
Teri Lyn Adams: I mean; yogging is;
Liz Wolfe: Right? Is that running? Jogging? I think it’s a joke from Anchorman.
Teri Lyn Adams: Oh I never saw that.
Liz Wolfe: I don’t think I saw it either. But I think I’ve just heard the joke enough times.
Teri Lyn Adams: I was like; yogging. Is that jogging and running?
Liz Wolfe: This is me trying to be updated on some pop culture instead of just old references to Princess Bride.
Teri Lyn Adams: And isn’t Anchorman like 20 years old? Oh, I love Princess Bride.
Liz Wolfe: My demographic is what I’m saying.
Teri Lyn Adams: I feel like if you sprint, then you can. Everyone has different types of muscles that they’re dominant in. Fast twitch and slow twitch. So you’re working primarily your more fast twitch ones by sprinting. I have really efficient slow twitch muscles. Sprinting for me, my body; I really like track workouts. But sprinting it’s like my feet don’t know what to do.
Liz Wolfe: {laughs}
Teri Lyn Adams: Oh, we’re going fast now.
Liz Wolfe: We’re going fast.
Teri Lyn Adams: So I feel like; if you can sprint, then it would just be changing your training a little bit. It’s still running. It’s just different speeds.
Liz Wolfe: So I feel like we should do, like a program exchange. I feel like I should do some Rookie Runner and you should do some Athletic Mom. Because I feel like that would make us more well-rounded athletes.
Teri Lyn Adams: Yes. Is this a good time to tell you that I dread strength training?
Liz Wolfe: {laughs} It is a great time. I dread yogging. I dread it! But it’s a good skill to have. It’s a good thing to be proficient in. And then with the strength training; and with Athletic Mom it’s mostly like bands and stuff. So you’re actually not…
Teri Lyn Adams: Oooh!!
Liz Wolfe: Not just doing resistance training, like you would think of it. Like traditional resistance training. You’re actually working on your stability. And your agility. And all of that. Like your strength through different ranges of motion at the same time. So it should actually be a good thing for you as a runner, I would think.
Teri Lyn Adams: I would get injured a lot less.
Liz Wolfe: Yeah!
Teri Lyn Adams: I like strength training. I did CrossFit for years. I have weights. I just bought some shiny new 25-pounders.
Liz Wolfe: {laughs}
Teri Lyn Adams: But I don’t; I’m not good at doing. It’s almost like PT exercises. The exercises that I enjoy are not the exercises that are going to help me prevent injuries.
Liz Wolfe: Oh yeah.
Teri Lyn Adams: I never do anything laterally. Is that side to side?
Liz Wolfe: Yeah. We do a lot of lateral work.
Teri Lyn Adams: I never do lateral. So I feel like this would be a really good exchange. {laughs}
Liz Wolfe: I think it would be really good.
Teri Lyn Adams: You just have to make me do it! I feel like; it’s one of those things I know I need. But this is what I’m saying. It’s not that I dislike it. It’s that I’m going to wake up and I’m always going to want to run. And so it’s like; I need a way to incorporate smart strength training. Not just; not like squats and lunges. Not that those are bad. But I need more smart training at this age to help me run for the rest of my life.
Liz Wolfe: Well you’re basically selling my program for me.
Teri Lyn Adams: Is this your program?
Liz Wolfe: Yes. This is the program. You’re selling the program for me. And I wish I had consulted with you before. I’m going to turn my video off just so our connection stays good.
Teri Lyn Adams: OK.
Liz Wolfe: Ok. Stop the video. There we go. So, yeah. You’re basically selling the program. Because that’s what it is. And the other good thing about it. And this is probably the exact same thing for Rookie Runner; is that it’s done for you. We have an exercise library but we also have these full on coached workouts with cues and coaching. So you don’t have to be like; ok, how do I do this move. Let me Google it. And the other thing is; CrossFit is great. Like you get strong in CrossFit. But it’s also kind of like; I don’t want to use the wrong word. But it’s like a scattershot thing. You do one thing one day, another thing another day. And yeah, if you’re an elite CrossFit athlete then you’re prepared for everything. And broad motile domains or whatever.
But what Athletic Mom is; it’s like, it’s 4 workouts a week for 8 weeks where everything builds on the next thing. So everything you’re doing is very intentionally building strength, stability, mobility, agility across all of these ranges of motion. So it’s not just like; oh, you did something with some weights. That’s what CrossFit could be.
Teri Lyn Adams: Yeah, that’s what I need!
Liz Wolfe: You did something with some weights.
Teri Lyn Adams: Yes. And that’s what I do.
Liz Wolfe: But what we’re doing is programming. It’s programming.
Teri Lyn Adams: It’s like having a person trainer that I don’t have to pay $100 for each time?
Liz Wolfe: Exactly. Let me pay that money for you, on your behalf.
Teri Lyn Adams: Ok. {laughs} Ok.
Liz Wolfe: And then just enjoy that. And then I’ll do the same thing.
Teri Lyn Adams: Is there really stability?
Liz Wolfe: Yeah! It’s all of it! Yeah. That’s why we called it Athletic Mom. Because it’s not like strong mom. Yeah, you’re strong. But athletes are strong, coordinated, capable, stable, mobile, all of those things. And you can train all of that and you can train that without dumbbells. The first 8-week program is bands, minibands, kettlebell and slam ball. And you can modify. There are other ways to do it. But this is like basic, at home stuff.
Teri Lyn Adams: Am I still going to feel like I got a good workout? Sometimes when I do my PT exercises, I’m like; ugh, I still feel like I need to run.
Liz Wolfe: Yes. Oh my gosh, for sure. And you can also; the other thing you can do, is if you have these bands. I mean, it’s the same as you can do with weights and stuff. We don’t prescribe a weight or a specific band that you’re supposed to use. If you want to more focus on mobility and agility, you can go light and then you can go do a run after. But if you really want to focus on building strength through all of these ranges of motion, you can use more resistance. If you really want to get a cardio workout, you can do it faster.
This is why bands are so awesome. They take up no space. They’re really affordable. And they’re super customizable in a way that dumbbells and barbells; which I love, by the way. I love it because it makes me feel like a badass. But they’re so useful in a way that dumbbells and barbells are not necessarily. especially for that desire. Where you want to be able to do everything else that you want to do in life, and not feel like crap.
Teri Lyn Adams: Right. I think I could probably use some of them as a warmup, even.
Liz Wolfe: Totally. And we have the Daily Fix, too, which is like our lead in. Like, it’s our free thing.
Teri Lyn Adams: I saw you posted one today.
Liz Wolfe: And that’s like PT stuff. That’s like joint mobility and things like that, just to get your circulating, ready for the day or whatever. And that can be a little bit boring but it’s like 5 minutes.
Teri Lyn Adams: It’s like stuff that you need to do.
Liz Wolfe: Yeah. You can split up the workouts. You can do one a week and just see how it affects your running.
Teri Lyn Adams: Ok. I will do this.
Liz Wolfe: Do it! Ok, I’ll run too. The running this is going to be hard. But I feel like I’m ready for some kind of a new challenge. And I’m not going to go out every day. But I think it would be really good if I incorporated some kind of smart running training once a week. I think it would be really fun. So I’m into it.
Teri Lyn Adams: Well I think it’s good because so many people who run, they want to follow like a Peloton workout. Or they want to follow a training plan. Whatever. This is not going to replace it. It’s going to give you the tools so that you can do it successfully and not get injured. Because I hear from so many people; I tried to train for a race but I got injured. Or, I can’t get faster. Whatever. It’s kind of like giving you the tools to succeed, for whatever program you want to do that involves running. So any training plan. If you want to do a Peloton round. Or if you want to go run with your friends. This is going to support that so you can enjoy it more.
And I think that’s kind of the jist of both of our programs; it’s giving you the tools so you can just enjoy your workouts more.
Liz Wolfe: These are like; at what point did we hit that place where we’re like; I don’t have to care about that dumb stuff anymore. I just want to have a really good, healthy life.
Teri Lyn Adams: Yes.
Liz Wolfe: To the degree that I can. It means we’re old. {laughs}
Teri Lyn Adams: I know, it’s like; when did that flip? {laughs}
Liz Wolfe: It’s nice though. It’s a good place to be.
Teri Lyn Adams: It is nice. It’s very; it’s peaceful.
Liz Wolfe: It’s peaceful. It’s freeing. It’s peaceful. It’s nice. I think we should end it on that, actually.
Teri Lyn Adams: Yeah. That is a nice; good way to wrap it up.
Liz Wolfe: Nice way to stop. Ok. Thank you so much for coming on, Teri.
Teri Lyn Adams: Thank you for having me. I’m beyond honored.
Liz Wolfe: Alright friends. That is it for episode number 385. You can find Teri @TeriLynAdams on Instagram or at AFoodieStaysFit.com. You can find me @RealFoodLiz on Instagram. And I want to stretch out a big thank you to Arrowhead Mills for making this episode possible. Remember, you can ask me anything by sending me a DM @RealFoodLiz on Instagram. But the best way to ask is to go to www.RealFoodLiz.com/AskLiz. That way, your message doesn’t get lost in my inbox.
I appreciate you! I’ll see you next week.
