5 Small Habits That Will Change Your Life Forever

(00:54):

Now this is advice that has changed my life and it's also changed the lives of listeners around the world, listeners who are just like you. And if you take a chance and you give the advice a try, I guarantee you, you are going to feel the impact and it's going to help you create a better life. First up, we're going to cover a 10 day health reset that will change your life from the inside out. Dr. Mark Hyman is a renowned functional medical doctor and he said this sentence on the podcast, holy cow, when he said this, it made you and me both lean in. He said, you are only days away from optimal health. I'm going to say that again. You are only days away from optimal health and in the clip that you're about to hear, Dr. Mark Hyman will explain the research that supports this fact that your only days away from optimal health.

(01:53):

I mean, how cool is that? Then he's going to walk you through his 10 day health reset. Now, this is the protocol that he has researched over the years and that he uses with his patients in his private practice. Lemme tell you a little bit about Dr. Hyman before we jump into the advice that he shared. He's a medical doctor who is the head of strategy and innovation at the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine. He's the founder and medical director of the Ultra Wellness Center, and he has written 14 New York Times bestselling books and his 10 day health reset is one of the most viewed clips on my YouTube channel. It's also one of the most popular pieces of advice that anyone has ever shared on the Mel Robbins podcast. So let me set up what you're about to hear. Dr. Hyman has just shared this medical fact that your body is designed to heal itself and you're going to hear me reacting to that and then asking him to explain what that means.

(02:54):

And this is important because when you realize that your body is designed to heal itself, you'll understand exactly how his 10 day health reset that he's going to explain to you activates your body's natural healing capabilities so that you can tap into optimal health. So let's go to that clip where you're going to hear me asking Dr. Hyman to tell you about our body's intelligent design and the ability it has to heal itself. 

Dr. Mark Hyman (03:48):

Exactly.

Mel Robbins (03:49):

You

Dr. Mark Hyman (03:49):

Don't have to go to the doctor to get a prescription to heal your hand. It just knows what to do.

Mel Robbins (03:53):

Yeah. And so can you just expand upon that for somebody who has never considered that concept

Dr. Mark Hyman (04:04):

That

Mel Robbins (04:04):

Your body is designed when you know how to take care of it to heal itself, what the hell does that even mean?

Dr. Mark Hyman (04:14):

It's really incredible. I mean, I literally get to be the witness to miracles every day and people who are either wanting to just optimize their health and live a long healthy life, or people who have end stage diseases like type two diabetes, heart disease, autoimmune disease, dementia, whatever it is, a DD, depression. When you know how the body works, you can learn how to optimize its function, which is what we call it, functional medicine. And then you get rid of the stuff that's impairing our ability to function properly. And you put in the stuff that the body needs to thrive. So you take out the impediments to health, you put in the ingredients to health, the body knows what to do. Well, most people don't connect the dots between what they're doing in their life, whether it's what they're eating or the toxins they're exposed to or the stress they're under or the lack of sleep they're getting, or the fact that they may not move their bodies or learn how to all these things. They don't know how that's impacting them. They don't know how close they are to feeling good. We're literally only a few days, not weeks or months from feeling better.

Mel Robbins (05:12):

Okay, hold on. We're only a few days away from feeling better.

Dr. Mark Hyman (05:17):

Yes. It's really remarkable. I take people all over the world and I put 'em in these groups. We do these programs around the world and longevity programs, detox programs, and we change their diet. We move them a little bit, a little bit of yoga, not like running a marathon, but just general exercise, some simple body practices. And within six days, the average person reduces their symptoms from all diseases by 70%.

Mel Robbins (05:44):

Wait, what?

Dr. Mark Hyman (05:45):

Your life is not predetermined by some genetic destiny. It's the life and the exposome, which is all the sum total of all the experiences you've had, all the toxins, all the thoughts, all the relationships, all the food you're eating, everything washing over your biology, creating the expression of who you are in this moment. And so that's a very empowering idea because it doesn't just something that just didn't happen to you. You can actually be empowered to understand what those things are and change them and radically reverse your biological age, your health problems, your mental health, because the body has this incredible healing system, as we said. Wow. I think if people understand how powerful food is, they don't really have to listen to me. I mean, you can listen to this podcast, you can listen to a million other podcasts just for 10 days. Change your diet and see what happens. Not for a year or 10 years, but 10 days. Anybody can do anything for 10 days. And when you do that, you literally take away all the potential inflammatory foods, all the foods that are causing you to have issues, which is typically gluten, dairy, sugar processes.

Dr. Mark Hyman (06:57):

Let's go through a sample menu for a day. But it's basically protein and vegetables, nuts and seeds and berries. And so you,

Mel Robbins (07:03):

Okay, hold on. You said that very fast. Protein,

Dr. Mark Hyman (07:06):

Vegetables.

Mel Robbins (07:06):

Vegetables,

Dr. Mark Hyman (07:07):

Nuts and seeds and

Mel Robbins (07:08):

Berries, nuts and seeds and berries

Dr. Mark Hyman (07:09):

And lots of good fats. Olive oil, avocados. So it's basically breakfast could be, for example, a couple of eggs with sliced tomatoes and avocado with olive oil on top. Lunch could be a big salad with lots of different veggies and tomatoes. I could throw a can of wild salmon on there, put in some pumpkin seeds. Just lots of good plant

Mel Robbins (07:29):

Foods.

Dr. Mark Hyman (07:30):

Very colorful. Very colorful. And dinner might be a big piece of fish, chicken or nice small piece of meat with three quarters of your plate should be vegetables.

Mel Robbins (07:39):

Three quarters of your plate,

Dr. Mark Hyman (07:40):

Everybody. Yeah, I'll The other night I had a purple sweet potato. I had some roasted mushrooms. I had, I can tell it. Have a roasted eggplant. Whatever. You kind of get excited about broccolini. I make cruciferous vegetables every day. These are the broccoli.

Mel Robbins (07:54):

What did you say?

Dr. Mark Hyman (07:55):

Cruciferous

Mel Robbins (07:55):

Vegetables. What the hell were

Dr. Mark Hyman (07:56):

Cruciferous? Broccoli. Broccoli. Basically

Mel Robbins (07:58):

The broccoli family. What does cruciferous mean?

Dr. Mark Hyman (08:00):

It means broccoli, basically. Broccoli, collard collards, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, all those.

Mel Robbins (08:06):

The fibery your grandmother served, is that what

Dr. Mark Hyman (08:08):

You're saying? It's this family of vegetables. It's a super family. Got it. Because it actually detoxes your cells. It helps prevent

Mel Robbins (08:16):

Cancer. Wow.

Dr. Mark Hyman (08:17):

It boosts all the detox hormones in your, I mean molecules in your body.

Mel Robbins (08:20):

So I want to stop you real quick because you posted something two days ago.

Dr. Mark Hyman (08:23):

I did what

Mel Robbins (08:25):

That was, I'd never really thought about it this way. And it was, you'll probably say it better than me, but it was a very simple post that was like your cells, your brain cells, like all of this stuff, your skin, that all is continuing to grow. It doesn't just grow out of thin air. It actually is impacted and grows from the raw materials that you

Dr. Mark Hyman (08:51):

Get it.

Mel Robbins (08:51):

And so would you rather have cells that are made from a bag of Doritos?

Dr. Mark Hyman (08:55):

Exactly.

Mel Robbins (08:56):

Or cells made from a salad or a piece of fish. And when you boil it down that way, like holy cow, what I put in my mouth is what I become.

Dr. Mark Hyman (09:05):

Yeah, absolutely. You literally become what you eat. I mean, I just had someone on my podcast that doctor's pharmacy talking about the difference between, for example, pasture raised bison and bison. They were fed corn and feedlot bison, which are still better

Mel Robbins (09:23):

Than cows. And what lab? Bison.

Dr. Mark Hyman (09:25):

Feedlot bison meaning grown on a factory farm.

Mel Robbins (09:28):

Okay, got it.

Dr. Mark Hyman (09:29):

And they measured 15 different hundred metabolites. And what they found was so different among the same genetically identical bison. One had all these incredible molecules that come from plants. It was eating all these grasses. It had different fatty acid, it had different vitamins in it and different minerals in it. And it was just so profound. So you are what you eat, but you also are whichever you're eating, right?

(09:53):

And the whole thing goes up the chain. And we really have to get how powerful food is and do an experiment. Don't listen to me, don't listen to Mel. Listen to your own body. Your body's the smartest doctor in the room. It'll tell you what works and what doesn't. And when you stop this or that, you go, well, God, wait a minute. My joy don't hurt. Or wait a minute, I'm not having terrible reflux or heartburn anymore. Or I don't have migraines. What happened? Or my mood is better. What's going on? It's what you're eating.

Mel Robbins (10:20):

Wow. What are the top things that people should in this kind of 10 day window stop eating?

Dr. Mark Hyman (10:29):

I mean, anything that comes in a package basically. I mean, if it's canned sardines or salmon, that's fine. But basically anything comes in a package can or a box get rid of it if it's sugar, no. If sugar sweetened beverages, no alcohol, no. And it's not like I'm a food Nazi, but what I'm saying, get rid of grains and beans for a short time because a lot of people have inflammation from that. If they have a gut issue, grains and beans are healthy and they're good for you. But for some people they can be a problem, right? It's just like peanuts are good for people. But if,

Mel Robbins (10:56):

Well, what's the universal one? It's no gluten.

Dr. Mark Hyman (10:58):

No gluten, no sugar, no dairy, no alcohol, no processed food.

Mel Robbins (11:03):

Do you have any fun?

Dr. Mark Hyman (11:04):

Absolutely. I have so much fun. I have so much fun every day. I'm just kidding. My whole life is fun and I don't feel restricted. I don't starve myself. And the thing is, these foods are addictive, Mel. So people think I got to have have sugar. Well, can I have artificial? I know what people are listening thinking about. They're thinking, oh, Dr. Hyman, can I have artificial sweeteners or can I have stevia?

Mel Robbins (11:25):

Yes stevia, yes. Is stevia okay?

Mel Robbins (12:17):

I love that he said it's not your fault. And you know what else I loved was this moment when he one of the most respected functional medical doctors on the entire planet made you the expert of your own health. And I hope you will take him at his word that you take this experiment on because Dr. Hyman just demystified how you can tap into the intelligent design and your body's natural healing process to tap into optimal health. And here's what else I loved. This costs you $0. I love the fact that the cells of your body do not grow out of thin air, but they grow from the raw materials that you feed it. I mean, it blew my mind. You're going to have to eat. Would you rather have your cells that are made from a bag of Doritos or a salad and really good protein?

(13:08):

I hope that information sticks with you forever the way that it has for me. And if you want to learn more about how to reset your health in 10 days, I really want you to take the time to listen to that entire episode with Dr. Mark Hyman. Now that episode is linked in the description along with all of the episodes that I'm going to share with you today. And as always, if you look at the description on whatever platform you're watching this episode on or listening to the podcast, you're going to see a link that takes you to the resources page, that has links to all the experts, the studies, all of that is on our website for you. But the episode itself, it's just link below in the description. I wanted to make it easier for you. Alright, now that you know where you can find the episodes and you also know about your body's ability to heal itself, and you also know how to do a 10 day health reset, that's just expert number one.

(14:03):

We still got four more to go. And next up you're going to learn the trick that a Harvard psychologist uses to stop anxiety. And I want to take a quick break right now and give our fantastic sponsors the time they deserve because their support allows me to bring you all of this at zero cost. And when we come back, you and me, we're going to be diving into anxiety and a little later we're getting into money, confidence, and longevity secrets and more. So don't you dare go anywhere. I'll be waiting for you after short break. Welcome back, I'm Mel Robbins, and today you are hearing five of the most popular pieces of advice on the Mel Robbins podcast from the last 12 months. Now, Dr. Mark Hyman just showed you how to activate your body's natural intelligence by doing a 10 day health reset. And now we're going to activate your ability to stop anxiety with expert advice from Harvard's Dr.

(14:55):

Luana Marques. Now, Dr. Luana appeared on two incredible episodes of the Mel Robbins podcast and you absolutely loved her. So do I. And I love everything that she shares with you and with me. Dr. Luana has this remarkable and inspiring story of how she went from being poverty stricken in Brazil to becoming a professor of psychiatry at Harvard. Now she is a clinical practice and is also on the staff at Mass General Brigham, which is the number one ranked research hospital in the world for over a decade. And what you and I both loved about Dr. Luana is that well, yeah, she is the world leading Harvard trained expert, no big deal. Her advice is also simple, which means it can be applied easily into your own life even when you or a loved one is spiraling. So let me set up what you're about to hear because when she came to the studio to have this conversation, I was so excited to talk to her about how to stop an anxiety spiral.

(16:00):

And what you're about to hear is a clip where Dr. Luana is not only going to give you the trick to stop anxiety, but she's going to use herself as an example. Because here's what happened. You're going to hear the story of her telling you that right before she walked into the studio and did the taping with me, she had an anxiety attack. And so she's going to tell you all about that and how she handled it. 

Dr. Luana Marques (16:31):

Such a great question, Mel, because the first thing, if we're going to apply any skills, we need to create a pause. And in that pause we need to do a couple of things. First, we need to understand what was the situation that triggered any kind of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. I actually call this the thoughts, emotions, and behavior cycle. Okay, thoughts,

Mel Robbins (16:51):

Emotion, behavior, cycle cycle. Can we take the example of you waking up and not wanting to get out of bed?

Dr. Luana Marques (16:59):

Yes, absolutely. So any kind of situation, I woke up, my brain starts to spin and basically said, what if Mel Robbins doesn't like me? It was the first thought I had this morning. I have to just be honest with everybody. Listen, I'm sorry. No, I mean the anxious brain never quiets down. And so that thought, what if she doesn't like me, led to an emotion, which for me was a little anxiety and heart pounding my heart palms pretty strongly. And then my behavior was the third component was wanting to just stay in bed. I was like, maybe I just want to stay in bed. And you asked, what is the sequence? Well, it depends the entry way for me it was a thought, right? She's not going to like me, made me anxious, and then I wanted to be behave a certain way, but they ping pong, right?

(17:38):

If I laid in bed a little longer, I bet we have gone this way. Maybe I didn't bring the right outfit. The outfit makes a difference. She's so powerful, she's really not going to like me. What if I say the wrong? And those thoughts would go really fast, think anxiety would shoot up, and then the covers would come over. And then by the time I got out of bed, my baseline anxiety would be so high that I'd be having trouble thinking that trouble thinking would be interpreted as, oh, see, you do have a problem with anxiety and now the avalanche. And so it's a ping pong and it's so fast. And that's why that pause is so important whenever the anxiety happens, this is a trick that I can share with everybody that you can use it and you can do it right Now, how do you pause is the question. Take a piece of paper and literally write down your thoughts, linking them through your emotions, link them to specific behavior. What do you want to do? And this is why what we know scientifically is that writing activate the prefrontal cortex.

(18:36):

The prefrontal cortex, the part that helps us organize, execute, right? It's the center of the brain. That's the critical part of the brain. It is always computing for energy with our amygdala, the fight flight of freeze part of the brain. So when one is on, the other one tends to quiet down. So if you're in your anxious brain, get out of there by writing your thoughts, emotions, and behavior cycle. Just that little trickle on. I've seen hundreds of patients stop their anxiety cycle and that avalanche by creating that pause, it's so liberating to overcome a fear. That's true. Then your whole system quiets down and you're like, oh my God, I'm living my best life. And that's what I wish for everyone, that they find their little corners of avoidance, overcome it so they can show up. Are you being your best self? And if you're not, it's because you're avoiding.

Mel Robbins (19:27):

I love what she said about you and me and how we have these little corners right where we hide. It's so true, isn't it? How anxiety or nervousness or fear or panic or imposter syndrome can keep you in that little corner. How often you can find yourself avoiding not only experiences in life, but avoiding your potential and the potential of your life. I know exactly what she's talking about and I know you do too, because that was one of the most popular things that she said because anxiety is something that I've struggled with for a very long time, and it does make you shrink. So don't forget the trick. Create the pause, write it down, get it out of your head, because when it's on paper, you're not going to spiral. When you create the pause, you step out of your little corner. And when you stop avoiding the things that scare you, you unleash that potential.

(20:29):

And with the rise in anxiety that is so well documented today, especially in teenagers and young adults, this is an episode and the resources that Dr. Luana shares, this is something I hope you share with people in your life because they work. And Dr. Ana's two episodes on the podcast are wonderful resources for you. So if you go into the description, you're going to find links to those two episodes featuring Dr. Luana. Please, please take the time to listen to them and more importantly, share them with somebody who needs this information. Share them with somebody who needs this support. Okay? Because we're talking world-class, Harvard, Dr. Lawana, private session level support with those episodes. Alrighty, let's move on to a topic that gives you anxiety, which is money. And I got to be honest, I had been avoiding talking about money on the podcast for a long time, and let me tell you why I thought it'd be a total snooze fest.

(21:30):

I mean, come on. Financial planning, boring. And I personally, I dunno if you feel this way, but I feel this way. There's a lot of financial experts out there that are so fricking condescending and they speak in jargon and it's sort of like, you should know this. So I'm like, we don't need to talk about money. Well, then I found Tiffany Aliche, chaing baby, holy smoke. She not only brought the money, she brought the energy and the fun. She is so fantastic. Oh, we could not stop talking about her. And she got you and me excited about making a budget. Who gets excited about making a budget? You and I did after hearing from Tiffany Aliche. Tiffany Aliche is the money expert. You loved her. She's also known as the budgenista. She's a New York Times bestselling author. She has helped more than 2 million people just like you, save, manage, and pay off massive debt.

(22:29):

If there's anybody in your life who you think needs to get better with money, you better stop talking about 'em and share this episode with them. Let Tiffany set the record straight because this is not your usual stick to it. Advice Tiffany's take on money will help you see your money in a completely different way so that you understand how to make more of it and save it with ease. Now, she's also been there. She's been there in terms of being underwater with loads of bills to pay and no job. She was the victim of a scam. Unbelievable story. And that's also why she comes to the table with so much compassion for you because she knows just how overwhelming finances can be. And she also has this knack, Ooh, I love people like this knack for explaining boring things like budgets, snooze fest and bills.

(23:22):

I don't want to talk about that, but she has a way of talking about it that makes you just want to hear her keep talking, and she makes you feel like you're an expert too. And so when she came on the Mel Robbins podcast, one of the very first questions I asked her was about budgeting because I hate budgeting and I fricking love the analogy she gave. And by the way, this was one of your all time favorite clips to you. Just kept coming back to this over and over and over again, especially on YouTube. 

Tiffany Aliche (24:04):

I want you to think about a budget. The way what I say is how you think about your mom, right? So you've got three kids, right?

Mel Robbins (24:10):

Yeah.

Tiffany Aliche (24:10):

And so if say your son's like, oh, when he's little mom, can I have dessert? You'd say Yes after you have dinner, or if your daughter says, mom, can I go outside to play? Yes. When you do your homework, or Mom, can we go on vacation? Yes. If we lower the light bill. So your budget is like your mom. She's there to say yes. When if after, so it's really a say yes plan, but one that's safely implemented so you can maintain the thing that you want, right? Okay. So you could call it a money list. That's what I usually start with because people hate that name.

Mel Robbins (24:47):

I like the name money list. Yes. What does a money list mean? A budget. Okay. I love this reframe because I hear the word budget and I hear no and restriction, and you are saying no, that the budget is how you say yes to what's important to you.

Tiffany Aliche (25:04):

Yes. It's not there actually to tell me no. It's there to find the yes in the safest way possible.

Mel Robbins (25:10):

So for somebody hearing you say that, and they're like, but I've never made a budget or I've never stuck to one, I don't know what my budget should be. Where do you begin?

Tiffany Aliche (25:25):

Step one is to write everything down. Just the words of what do I spend money on? Don't think about the month just in general. So it's like, oh, the kids, oh, credit card. Oh, grooming going out. Just I want you to just write the words. Don't think about the money. Just words.

Mel Robbins (25:38):

Okay,

Tiffany Aliche (25:39):

So that's the first part.

Mel Robbins (25:39):

Step one,

Tiffany Aliche (25:40):

Yes. Then step two is now you say these words on my money list, how much am I spending approximately monthly? Some stuff you'll know, like your mortgage or your rent, some stuff you might not be sure, go pull out your bank statement and see on average the last few months, how much you're spending on groceries or eating out or grooming

Mel Robbins (25:57):

Or electricity

Tiffany Aliche (25:58):

Or water

Mel Robbins (25:59):

Or any of those things that you don't even really think, oh my God, I got that bill.

Tiffany Aliche (26:02):

Exactly. So then that's within a month frame on average, right? Yep. So that's step two.

Mel Robbins (26:06):

Okay.

Tiffany Aliche (26:07):

Then step three is to write down how much you make on average every month from all of your areas. So maybe you get alimony, maybe you get child support, maybe you have a job, whatever that is. How much are you making monthly? Then you add up step four, you add up how much you're spending monthly and subtract it from how much you're making monthly. I call that the tears and tissue step because usually people get there and they're like, can I have a tissue? And should you do this with a friend? Yes. Should we call Linda? Yes. Get yourself a Linda. So literally, so when I used to do one-on-ones, we would do all that and people would be like, okay. And then I would literally just grab a box of tissues and just put it here like it's about the water works. It's common,

(26:47):

It's common. They added up. I remember it was a nurse, I'll never forget, I'll call her B. And I came to her house and it was beautiful condo. And so we did that step and she started crying, and then I started crying because baby, I'm a baby. And she was just like, I didn't realize how much over I was spending. And she said, as a matter of fact, I can't even afford the air conditioning that's on. Can I turn it off? And I was like, yay. Yes. So we sat with the fan on because she just turned on the air conditioning. I was coming over. So I was like, turn off the ac. A fan is fine. That tears and tissue step allows you to see what do you need to do now?

Mel Robbins (27:23):

And so let's say you've done that, right? And you've made the money list and you see what's coming in and what's coming out. You're faced with the reality tears and tissues.

Tiffany Aliche (27:36):

Yes.

Mel Robbins (27:37):

And you see that you are outspending every month. What's actually coming in? What is the next step?