Thyroid-Healthy Eating With Chef Ginny

Hi everyone, welcome back to DrTalks where we are continuing our series on thyroid health and today we have a very special guest. We have a chef with us today. This is going to be one of the most practical talks that you are tuning in for. And I’m really excited to welcome Ginny Mahar. Welcome Ginny.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC

Hi Dr. Halderman, thank you so much for having me here today. Yes, it’s absolutely a pleasure.

Dr. Kelly Halderman

Why don’t we start by letting everyone know who you are, how you became interested in even thyroid health make the connection with, you know, your training as a chef.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC

Sure, yeah, so I’ve ended up, you know, currently I really focus on thyroid healthy diet and lifestyle specifically. I create a lot of thyroid friendly recipes and things like that, but my background is as a professional chef. So I’ve got a 20 plus year, you know, experience as cooking, professionally, working as a cooking instructor and catering, you know, all kinds of things. So food has always really been my life. And then in 2011 I became a thyroid patient. I ended up with hypothyroidism which I four years later got tested and found out was actually Hashimoto’s and that really changed everything for me because those first four years where I was kind of in the dark about the whole thing, I really didn’t know I didn’t know about like the power of diet and lifestyle. 

I didn’t know there was anything more I could be doing than just taking my thyroid medication every day and calling it good and you know, was actually kind of discouraged at my doctor’s appointments, like, oh, diet and lifestyle, it’s not gonna make a difference. You know, just take your leave, both I rock scene and your TSH is normal, so you’re fine. It’s whatever’s going on with you isn’t thyroid related. Well, meanwhile, my health was really kind of going down the tubes. I was just sick and tired all the time. Like, my body was so tired. I was mentally tired of course. So there’s like the brain fog and all that stuff, but on top of that, like, I couldn’t even get over the common cold, you know, my body just wasn’t thriving. And so I ended up, you know, over and over, I’d have things like laryngitis that would last three weeks at a time and that would turn into strep throat and that would turn into tonsillitis. So I’m on all these antibiotics and you know, I used to be a person who would say, I don’t really get sick very often and all of a sudden I’m like, I’m just, this is not normal for me and just really, you know, it really took a toll on me mentally and emotionally to like what is going on, there’s got to be something I can do. I don’t, I know something’s off and so, you know, I ended up hitting rock bottom kind of started doing some research ended up finding a new doctor got tested for Hashimoto’s and really things started to open up for me then as far as this, you know, awareness that it, there’s more to it than just taking a pill every day. It for a lot of us if we want to feel well and thrive if we want to have energy, if we want to be able to think clearly if we wanna, you know, just be able to get over the common cold in my case.

I mean a lot of those things really resolved almost immediately when I made that shift and I made that shift with the help of this new doctor who was in the, you know, more holistic realm. And the first thing she talked to me about was food, anti inflammatory eating because you have an autoimmune disease. And you know, even just for people who have thyroid issues, she’s like this is the energy issue, it’s a metabolic issue, you know, so lots of colorful produce and avoiding, you know, foods that kind of take energy away from us. Like for me, there were some really specific dietary triggers like gluten, dairy, sugar. I had to really, you know, think about like alcohol does this still have a place in my life. 

So really just tweaking things and I always emphasize to people, you know, food isn’t the only piece of the puzzle, but I really firmly believe it is an essential piece and personally absolutely has been for me because you know, you know, as a thyroid patient yourself, there’s ups and downs, you know, as a woman, you’re gonna have hormonal fluctuations. I mean, we’re aging, there’s all those things, our bodies are in a constant state of flux. So, you know, there’s been road bumps along the way, there’s been medication adjustments and things like that, but the constant and I think the best, one of the best, most powerful tools I have in my toolbox has always been food and really focusing on what is the best, you know, inputs I can give my body food wise to like boost my energy, boost my vitality, boost my health and support myself that way.

Dr. Kelly Halderman

You bring up so many excellent points. And the first one is that I trained in the medical model. I treated people for hypothyroidism and I did not receive any education that diet was important. I definitely, you know, was actually, you know, practicing the model then was a patient when I got my own diagnosis. And really you feel very helpless and hopeless because you feel that your body is broken, that there’s, you know, something that’s out of your control. And then when you bring in food, I think this is why you have such a powerful and large following on social media is that food is something that we intuitively know affects our body. And it just makes sense to people to again re re emphasize that we have full control over what we put in our bodies and that that is the underpinning of the biochemistry that goes on in our bodies. And so if we are diagnosed with hypothyroidism of course it really makes sense that something that we’re doing three times a day, 365 days a year is going to be impactful. And so I myself had a lot of dietary challenges. 

When I was diagnosed I was literally eating, I was a junk food vegan, was eating Doritos and pizza and diet, Mountain dew or mountain dew on call, you know just things to just keep going and it crushed my body and really taking control of what I could do with nutrition was absolutely astonishing the results. And so this is your story too, you are a chef, I mean you can really come in and have all that knowledge and bring that to people. And so my question for you is what’s your approach to thyroid friendly eating. You mentioned yourself you having some issues with dairy and gluten and sugar and of course I share those as well, I’m just very, very careful with no gluten maybe sometimes like like you said, I mean up and down even as we heal, there’s some up and downs, sometimes dairy sometimes not, but sugar of course is is there an approach like a foundational approach that you like to teach the people that you coach.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC

Yeah, so you know in a lot of ways as you kind of pointed out like thyroid healthy eating is healthy eating, but there are some like specific you know, characteristics of what I call thyroid healthy eating. So specifically it’s anti inflammatory, it’s nutrient dense, it’s got health supportive and ultimately it’s personalized. Now a lot of people are like well just tell me what to eat, what’s the thyroid diet and that is kind of a tricky thing because there is no one size fits all thyroid diet because we’re all bio individual. We have unique dietary triggers, but there are those kind of common like rocks to look under number one being gluten, then dairy sugar soy is problematic for thyroid you know, processed food, things like that. So it really kind of takes, there’s no way around the fact that it sort of takes some trial and error and experimentation to find what works for me and what doesn’t work for me. 

So that’s where a lot of people start with some of these common dietary templates, like maybe they start with gluten free dairy free or paleo or a I. P. Which is the autoimmune protocol. And that’s more like a full elimination diet. So it really depends on like what’s right for you, where are you at with your health, what is your health care provider feel is you know the best place for you to start. And those dietary templates can be helpful because they give us a starting point and they also provide like a common language where we can say, oh well I’m paleo, oh well great. Here’s a bunch of my paleo recipes you can, you know, so that’s helpful and it makes things like recipe searching easier. 

So, you know, I think that can be if you’re just starting out any of those templates can be really, really helpful to like simplify and you know, ultimately we discover through that. Well, what can I reintroduce? What can I tolerate? You know, we want that dietary diversity ultimately and we want to figure out like that ultimate personalized bio individual diet that helps us feel well, where are meals are we’re enjoying them, they’re sustainable for us as in they don’t take you know, all day to prepare, we’re not like chained to the kitchen and they make us feel good. So when I think about like what are the pillars of thyroid healthy eating that are kind of universal within that like realm of, you know, anti inflammatory, nutrient dense health, supportive and personalized. The five pillars of thyroid healthy eating are number one, lots of colorful plant foods, preferably organic if you can clean animal protein. So you know, your grass fed beef, wild caught salmon, things like that, pastured poultry healthy fats, so you know, your avocados nuts, if you can tolerate them? Olive oil, things like that and adequate hydration, we all need to, you know, that’s kind of universal, but I think especially important for us as thyroid patients to drink enough water and ideally filtered water because there are some, you know, chemicals put in a lot of municipal water supplies that are directly disruptive to the thyroid like chlorine and fluoride. 

And then also the fifth pillar I try to incorporate what I call thyroid supportive foods and that can mean a few different things. So I think of things like foods that have key thyroid supporting nutrients in them like selenium or tyrosine. You know, foods that like support our thyroid function in some way, maybe they support it indirectly. Like one example I think of as beets, beets are really supportive to the liver so that’s gonna help with thyroid hormone absorption and conversion and metabolism. It’s not necessarily like, oh, beets are great for your thyroid, it’s like thyroid, you know, as you and dr eric so beautifully pointed out in your book and you know, when we’ve talked is it’s not just what’s going on right here with your thyroid, it’s the whole system and how you’re processing, converting and utilizing that thyroid hormone and so you know, foods like that can support you your you and your thyroid indirectly. So those are the that’s kind of like the breakdown of what I call thyroid healthy eating.

Dr. Kelly Halderman

Okay, I have a question and I’m so glad I have you to ask this too because I’m getting this question about the really surge in eating organ meats or taking organ glandular zor you know, a company that I like just came out with a comprehensive organ supplements. So give us your thoughts on all things organs.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC

I think that especially, you know, liver I feel is an absolute super food. I mean if there’s like a handful of eat more of this because it’s gonna help you have more energy and feel better. I think liver is amazing. You know the way that it supports our liver, the way it has so many b vitamins, there’s so many micro nutrients there and the nutrient density of liver is so high. I feel it’s absolutely a superfood. So, you know, organ meats, I don’t have it’s one of those things that people kind of a little testicle, right, they get a little squeamish about and a lot of them are just not widely available. But I think if you wanted to like dabble and experiment in a very powerful health supportive food, Absolutely liver, like, you know, patties and I mean there’s delicious ways to prepare it.

Dr. Kelly Halderman

Absolutely. Okay, great. Because I just, that’s just been on my mind lately and I’m like, oh, I can definitely ask you about your thoughts because some things get really popular because they’re marketed. Well not because they’re actually good for us and I think that there can be issues with so forcing of some of these glandular and so you want to be really careful with that, you want to make sure it’s from a very, very healthy animal. But of course you’re talking about actually eating liver in its state where you can make a pate have liver and onions and things and so whatever way you spend it, I think that liver is indeed a superfood. So I completely agree with you on that one.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC

Well you bring up a good point too and I’m glad you mentioned that because it is really important like those clean animal proteins, you know, to compare an industrially raised cow to a pasture raised grass finished cow. You’re almost talking about two different foods nutritionally environmentally the whole thing, the whole thing. And I know there’s a lot of debate on that, but you know, this is what I do and I deep dive into these ingredients and there’s a lot to be said for, for sourcing your animal protein carefully. But I I also, I don’t think it’s a fad at all. I mean, since I’ve been doing this, you know, listening to the experts like liver is not a fad, I don’t think organ meats are a fad and the auto immune protocol community especially really emphasizes like try this, See how you feel. I know when I eat it, it’s it’s a game changer. I’m like, I feel this, this is like superhero food.

Dr. Kelly Halderman

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Our ancestors were on onto something right? When they definitely consume organs. Yeah, I don’t, I definitely don’t see it as a fad either. I just caution people that when all these companies start coming out with these glandular that contain all the organs and glands and things just to, just to be careful, you know, just to be aware that some products are, are less than desirable and you nailed it when you said Ginny that when you look at the factory farm animals versus the grass fed pack, they’re just almost two different categories of food. And we could go on and on about the ratios of omega six fatty acids, omega omega three’s and how the Omega sixes were trying to minimize because they’re so prevalent in our, in our processed foods and so we’re trying to choose, make choices and choose meats and other foods that are higher in that omega three and you’re going to get that when you spend more money on pastured eggs and grass fed beef and things. So I completely agree with that. So my next question, very practical one as a busy mom as you are a busy mom. How do you make this way of eating? How do you make it even doable? I mean obviously don’t spend all your time in the kitchen and I see you active on social media doing all kinds of other things. So can you give us an idea of how you actually do this practically. 

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC

Sure. Yeah. I mean nobody wants to spend all day in the kitchen including a chef. Like I used to do that and I’m like those days are behind me. You know, I have other things I wanna do, I wanna eat well, I want to love what I eat, I want food to be a source of joy and celebration. I also want it to be doable on a school night where we’ve got three other things going on that day. So personally, you know, A gluten free diet with minimal dairy, minimal grains, minimal sugar, soy and alcohol and at home I’m cooking for, you know, a somewhat finicky 11 year old and a husband who has no interest in giving up gluten or dairy. So you know, in case you’re listening, I think a lot of people feel like, well my family isn’t gonna go paleo with me, they’re not going to go gluten free with me. So this isn’t gonna work. There’s ways, this is what we do and it’s, you know, it takes time to sort of figure that out, but I’ll tell you how it works for me. So a lot of what we do is we take family favorite recipes and they’re broken down into like adaptable version. So things like taco night or spaghetti night or pizza night or burger night. They’re totally customizable.

So like one of the most popular recipes on my website is my deluxe burger salad with special sauce and roasted sweet potato fries on the side. I love burger night. I have burger salad, my husband and son, they want the bun, great that and that’s fine and it doesn’t take really any extra work they’re having. You know, I just have like greens and my burger, I’ve got all the toppings if we do it up, you know, there might be caramelized onions on there, sauteed mushrooms, avocado, some bacon, you know, and then I make like a just a simple like a kind of like a burger sauce that they can put on their burger I use as my salad dressing. So that’s just one example of like, you know, simple family food and the same can be done with Taco night. You know, they might want their flour tortillas or corn tortillas and I have my chickpea flour or almond flour tortillas that you know work for me. It’s like really not. You know, once you sort of figure out those like staple recipes, it’s pretty easy actually and you don’t.

Dr. Kelly Halderman

Also my kids actually prefer now that I’ve switched over to like the almond flour. They asked for those because they’re actually they taste better to them and I would agree but continue delicious.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC

Yeah and I don’t feel like I’m missing out at all. Or like look at them eating their burgers and I have to, I’m like you guys are missing out, this is better and I feel great after I eat this, you know, So like really, I always sort of tell people don’t be intimidated by the chef title and all of that, you know because really I am catering to an audience who’s not necessarily foodies. These are people live in real lives, a lot of busy moms, just people who desperately want to feel better and they want to be a they want this to be doable. So I’m not out there trying to impress people with fancy chef recipes, you know, I’m trying to make this doable for people. 

So I think my background as a chef is what helps me take simple things like you know going back to like the roasted beets or something like that, simple things, simple tricks, cooking techniques, fresh herbs seasonings that take like just a couple extra seconds, but that elevate those foods so that there’s something really special and they taste amazing and and they give you that sense of joy and this is delicious, I am enjoying eating this way. Other people like it, if I have friends over, I don’t have to like make separate food for them, you know and yeah, so it does take time but it’s totally doable and that’s kind of like my the most of what I try to provide people with is you know those doable quick and easy family friendly recipes that are colorful and nutrient dense and delicious.

Dr. Kelly Halderman

Right? And I see the feedback on your social media posts. It’s the majority, it’s just overwhelming. Like this was simple. This was easy. You know, there’s, there’s nothing that I think that people like, again, they’re drawn to you because you’re practical, you’re giving them this ability to step into this way of eating without again having to think of themselves as cooking three different pots on the stove and buying all this food for one, you know, one child. And then this way and this way it’s, it’s, it’s like going to the really foundations of health and thereby, I bet you’re optimizing both your son and your husband’s health as well. Again, you know, not, not even really, you’re not changing per se, but you’re again, you’re just, you’re being that good example too of how food can be very powerful make you feel good because my teenagers, you know, they, they still want like lucky charm and they still want Cheetos and we’ll go on vacation and they’ll eat some of those foods that they really don’t have at home and they’ll feel terrible and it’s really sad, but yet a very nice learning experience for them to go, oh really? What I feed my body really matters and you know, to kind of watch when I do meal. Perhaps I use a lot of crock pot recipes. 

So it’s just ready to go and people can like pull out the barbecue chicken and they can just pull out and have it on a bun, like you said have it on a salad and things. But definitely going to go to your website for some of those more practical swaps because you know, taco night again, I think I nailed Taco night, but I could use your burger salad. Sounds sounds absolutely amazing. And I think that leads me to my next question about misconceptions because I think a huge misconception is I can’t do this, I have to feed this family. Everyone, you know, is used to eating the standard American diet or the standard way or or how about this one? I don’t cook, I’m sure you’ve heard this one, I don’t cook, I can’t do this kind of walk us through those misconceptions of where you bridge that gap so well and help this, help people implement this diet in.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC

Yeah, yeah, there’s a, there’s a lot of that and a lot of people just, they get stuck in that like this is just too hard. I can’t, I can’t do this. People have a lot of deep emotional ties around food that’s real and that grief process is part of the deal. It is like, I mean as a chef, I was absolutely devastated. It took me years to get to where I am now with this. So you know, I and I made all the mistakes and all the pitfalls and you know, so I think that’s part of what I can offer is like look, I’ve been there and I’ve kind of figured it out, but it’s also just important to know like this will take time, it will be an adjustment, be kind and compassionate with yourself. You know, I think one important thing with going back to family is to communicate with your family about your dietary needs and goals. You know, I tried to just like I’m sort of a lone wolf and I was like, I don’t want to inconvenience anyone. You know, these are real fears that we have and we have to work through. It’s like this is a journey that’s about your whole life and your personal growth too. So I learned along the way. Like I have to let my family know, you know what these foods just, they make me feel bad. I notice it. 

I really feel like when I stray from what I know is right for my body, there’s consequences and them understanding that and getting that because I shared it with them is a big part of what has helped them like come around to, oh okay, we want to support you. Okay, what are we? You know last night my husband made friday night we had fish and chips, one of my son’s favorite things and my husband is one of my husband’s specialties and he always now is like I got you some gluten free panko, you know, like it’s just part of his so that when we have those like kind of special meals that you know say he’s making, I can be a part of it. Like gumbo is one of his favorite things. My husband’s a great cook as well, gumbo is made with a wheat based flour route to thicken it. He always makes it with cassava flour now so I can have it, you know, and it took us as a family, it took us a while to get there but communicate with your family or the people you share meals with so that they know and understand and get like, you know, there’s this is why I because nobody who loves and cares about you wants you to feel bad, you know, even if it is a little bit of an inconvenience and it is a little bit, it is an adjustment. There are some, you know, restrictions that we will probably find we have to abide by in order to feel well, but you know, it’s ultimately, it’s just so positive and then as they’re on board then as you said that nutrition awareness totally trickles down like the whole eating the rainbow thing which is another, you know, it’s sort of, I think could be, may be perceived as a fad, this is not a fad, this is, it’s not going anywhere, this is about getting the vast array of phyto nutrients which give us vitality and energy. 

Those are, these are the things that make us glow from the inside out, it’s eating a variety of colorful foods, all colors of the rainbow, like my son loves that, I’ve seen him be like mom, let’s put tail in this, you know, let’s add mango to the salad so that we can have all the colors with dinner tonight, you know, So it just, It takes time. But if you stick with it, it can be something incredibly beautiful and life supportive and it isn’t just for 30 days, it isn’t just for six months, this is life long, this is about you feeling really well and supporting your health and learning about your body and how to support your body with food for the rest of your life. So you know just that you know leave that there as just that emotional piece of getting over that hump and saying I’m worth it, I get to have needs and I need to communicate those needs with the people who love and care about me and then I’ll just mention one another kind of misconception people have because I get this a lot is Guy, Transgenic foods. 

So these are foods with you know thyroid inhibiting properties they, you know are purported to like block the uptake of iodine and and basically like slow your thyroid function and you know, you may have more familiarity with the like the studies and stuff that have been done around that, but what I hear most from most of the experts I glean from these days is that really the thing with guy Transgenic foods? Like a lot of the research was maybe a little bit just kind of blown out of proportion. And that these, if you look at the list of great transgenic foods, it’s like all cruciferous vegetables, stone fruits, strawberries, I mean the list is a mile long and it’s full of super nutrient dense plant foods. And the tragedy of it is that it’s made people afraid to do like to eat broccoli for example, and you know, that’s one thing I spent a lot of time kind of educating people about, I don’t want to say there isn’t like it’s a myth. I don’t think it’s a myth that’s not my, you know, from what I’ve learned, that’s not my perception that it’s a myth per se. But the myth that you shouldn’t eat any of those foods. 

I think that that’s the myth. And what I’ve learned is most, you know what I hear most often from the experts I follow now is if you eat those foods in reasonable amounts and if you cook them whenever possible, these are health supportive for like the vast, vast majority of thyroid patients, the the benefits far outweigh the risks. So I’m curious sort of what you, what your opinion is on that, but that is something that I hear a lot people are like, I’m, I’m trying to eat thyroid healthy. So I’ve cut out broccoli and kale and cauliflower and I’m like, oh, you know, you don’t have to be afraid of those foods. These are some of the most health supportive foods you can eat.

Dr. Kelly Halderman

I would totally agree with you Ginny. I think that the message got blown out of proportion and that we’re recovering the, you know, the messaging of itself was don’t rely, you know, don’t have your diet so heavily, don’t eat broccoli all day long, don’t eat these foods and really the downstream effects. I’m not sure if we are conclusive on those as well. And so I of course tell people to not, not be afraid of a very balanced diet. So when you’re eating the rainbow, you’re going to get so many greens and then add in some blues and some red. So I really, I think the, those foods are powerful and they can be very, very helpful. So I totally agree with everything that, that you said about that. I think that cleaning up that misconceptions has been a big part of what I do with thyroid health as well and Dr. Eric as well. 

And so I think that with your coaching program and how you help your clients and they struggle with changing the way they eat. So that’s kind of one of them where it’s like, there’s a lot of bad information out there, a lot of fake news out there, where we need to clean that up. What else do your clients struggle with again? I think you nailed one thing was you deserve to let your family members know because they love you what you need. So that’s probably a very challenging issue. Just emotionally, just knowing that you’re worth it and that they want you to be healthy. So that’s one of what else do you come across in your practice where it’s just so hard to change?

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC

Yeah, I think, one big thing is this idea that the person with the most restricted diet wins, you know, that can be like a common pitfall for people who maybe do like the autoimmune protocol diet, which is an elimination diet. I mean you’re kind of like clearing the slate and you’re doing this for as like a healing, a gut healing, you know, trial basically it’s meant that elimination phase is meant to be temporary. And sometimes people think, well if I just keep cutting out more and more foods than I win, then I’ll feel better, right? If I’m just more restricted and more, you know, disciplined with myself, you know, and I think that’s one thing to just be aware of because those elimination diets. 

Can I absolutely believe in them and it’s a tool I’ve used several times, you know, when things kind of go off the rails, it’s like, okay, it’s time for a reset, I totally believe in the the the healing therapeutic power of those diets and the usefulness and also how eliminating those foods and then reintroducing them can build our awareness of that personalized, like which foods are right for me and which ones should I maybe consider, you know, not continuing to have in my diet, but the ultimate goal of them is reintroduction. You know, I think that’s the important thing to know is you’re always working even when you’re on that restricted diet temporarily therapeutically for healing, the ultimate goal is reintroduction and to get to as much dietary diversity as we can tolerate, you know, because food freedom is important and and that just can be like one pitfall and I think that on the other end, like maybe on the other end of the spectrum of that is wanting like the quick fix or the magical fix, like just tell me, you know, like what just what supplement is gonna fix it, you know, and it just doesn’t work that way. You know, it really it’s not one thing, it’s all the things and you know, even some like I believe in supplements, I take supplements, my supplement program is constantly changing based on what I’m going through, what I’m working on what’s popping up, you know, what time of year is it? All that stuff and it takes time. 

So there really isn’t a one magic silver bullet that’s gonna fix this? It’s it’s just, and I think if the quicker we can embrace that, like this is my life, my energy vitality and dreams are worth this work and this commitment to my health and to giving myself the best that I possibly can and, you know, ultimately what has to happen is that our choices about food have to get passed through an upgraded filter. Like I was a chef, I mean, I’m a hedonistic by nature, I’m like, I want it all and lots of it, you know? But ultimately I had to say, is this serving and supporting my well being like every bite that goes in my mouth, or even every supplement that goes in my mouth, is this serving and supporting my well being, or is it diminishing it and getting to the place where we’re committed to supporting our well being that way, that’s you can’t put a price on that, that’s lifelong, game changing long term optimizing health, you know?

Dr. Kelly Halderman

Preach Ginny, that was beautiful. I mean, like, so well said, like, just bringing it all together, you’re just very holistic in the way that you’re approaching this and it’s so desperately needed this message. It’s not just food, it’s your life, it’s your choices, it’s, you know, not using that supplement as a, as a crutch or, you know, using as a quick fix, that’s what, you know, I’ve really changed the way I look at supplementation, it’s like, am I taking this because I’m trying to cheat the system here, or am I taking this? You know, because it’s supporting my physiology where I have holes in my physiology. So we talked about in the the thyroid debacle about the nine fitness factors. And we’re on your podcast Dr. Eric and I talking about it’s not usually just one thing right there. There’s there’s nine areas where we can optimize a huge one is our dietary choices. 

Then there’s a respiratory fitness and there’s an environmental fitness. And a lot of these I’ve noticed is that we were teaching this class over the weekend, recording the tire debacle. Is that a lot of the other fitness factors such as environmental fitness. They tie back to food a lot. Like you started off saying making better choices with trying to go organic, trying to do that. But even your emotional fitness feeds into your dietary habits. And so I want to just emphasize that restriction piece of people just pulling and pulling and pulling and suddenly there they can tolerate or they’re they’re able to eat five foods and they feel like I’m just so restricted. And almost that’s something they should be proud of because they’re so restrictive when you said it. So well that’s not the aim. 

The aim is to really have your body tolerate the foods that it naturally can tolerate. Some people are different, we are genetically different epigenetic li different and some people can’t tolerate gluten, I don’t know who they are. I’m very jealous of them when the breadbasket goes by. But they really can’t tell and they even have hypothyroidism and some there are people out there who can definitely tolerate other different foods. So I digress, but you know, your message of, you know, this being not just about food about, you know, making better choices for ourselves, you know, being are advocates for ourselves, be feeling empowered, you know, you you really do that for people just following on social media, you know, you’re not my coach, but I feel like I’m being coached by you and I just love it and I love your optimism is so contagious jenny. Like it really is and I want people to follow you. So where can we find more about you online?

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC

Well, first, thank you so much for that. I know we agree on so much of this stuff like and it’s just I love one of my favorite parts of what I do is all the amazing people I get to meet and connect with like you and Eric just it’s fun to be on this shared mission together. So I really appreciate it and I loved so much of what you put in the book about all those fitness factors. I just, you know, I couldn’t agree more and that that’s that’s what it is, that’s what it’s all about. So it’s like those small, sustainable, healthy changes, you know over and over, so thank you. But yeah, people can find me online on instagram at hypo thyroid chef or on facebook at hypothyroidism chef and on hypothyroidism f dot com and then I also have a podcast called thyroid healthy bites. 

Dr. Kelly Halderman

Got it, okay. And I’ve listened to a couple of episodes and I’ve just, I’ve really learned some very, again, very practical things. So go find jenny online, follow her and you also have a coaching program. Right? And that’s, can we find out about that through your website?

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC

Yes, so I am a functional medicine health coach in addition to being a court on blue trained chef. So I kind of like we’ve those things together, so I do work with people one on one and then I also have a program to sort of help people get kick started with thyroid healthy eating, that’s, you know, of course you can do kind of self guided. So and then if people of course want, you know, one on one help with that, we can we can add that in. But yeah, the thyroid healthy meal plan kickstart is kind of a good place, I think for people who want to get started with this, want to learn more about it and want to also get some meal plans, shopping list tools, recipes to kind of take the guesswork and just some of the work work out of it for them to make it easier to get started. That’s a great place to start, so.

Dr. Kelly Halderman

Well. Very good. Well Ginny, thank you for being so generous with your time today. I really appreciate it and have just a wonderful rest of your day.

Ginny Mahar, FMCHC

Oh, it’s been my pleasure. Thank you so much Dr. Halderman. I really appreciate it.