Vanessa G Fitcast

I'm back from maternity leave, and in this episode Omar and I are sharing the full story of Marina's birth.
We'll start with how I landed on a home birth, something I never expected to choose, and walk through the conversations and experiences that slowly shifted my perspective away from just assuming I'd birth in a hospital.
I talk about the fear I initially had around birth itself, how I worked through that fear, and why choosing an unmedicated birth felt right for me. We get into the anxious final weeks of pregnancy, going a week and a half past my original due date, and how a biophysical profile scan gave me the peace of mind to trust my body's timing instead of feeling pressured to induce.
Then we walk through labor itself, from those first contractions late at night to realizing much faster than we expected that things were moving quickly. I share what transition felt like, the moment my water broke, and what it was like laboring in a birthing pool at home surrounded by a team I trusted and felt safe with.
Omar shares his side of the story too, including what it was like catching Marina as she was born. I also get into the mindset work that carried me through the intensity of labor and how reframing pain as sensation made such a difference.
This episode is raw, detailed, and honestly one of my favorite conversations we've recorded.

Time Stamps:

(1:52) Officially 6 Weeks Postpartum

(4:47) My First Encounter With A Home Birth

(8:42) Unmedicated Births

(13:22) Convenience of Care and Selection

(16:22) Passing The Due Date

(18:42) In Your Own Time

(23:12) Going Into Labor

(34:47) Completely Skipped Early Labor

(38:48) Omar Catching Marina

(42:17) Preparation
-------
Learn more about the Vital Spark Coaching Functional Reset Method.
-------
Click Here to apply for 1-on-1 coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts.
-------
Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation.
-------
Click Here for my Free Top 3 Labs training to get to the root of bloating & exhaustion.
-------
Click Here to download a Free Hormone Healing Blueprint.
-------
Check out our YouTube Channel for more free training.
-------
Click Here to read our Client Google Reviews.
-------
Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!

Welcome to the eighth and final episode of the Coach's Corner Series!

Today, I sit down with Coach Rae to talk about something we don't see many functional health companies address: relationship with food.

We dig into why diet culture and social media have made it so hard for women to feel at peace with food, from the Britney Spears waist era to today's constant stream of body trends.

Coach Rae shares the signs she looks for when a client's relationship with food might need extra attention, from fear of carbs to being afraid to keep certain foods in the house. We talk about why functional health can't just be labs, meal plans, and supplements, and why the mindset work around food fear matters just as much as the physical protocols.

Rae walks us through how she approaches clients with real GI symptoms who are afraid to eat, including how elimination diets can help separate true food sensitivities from fear driven reactions. She also opens up about her own twenty plus year journey with food and control, and why curiosity with yourself is often the starting point for change.

We then talk through the personality patterns she sees most often, the anxious perfectionists who feel safest when they're in control of their food, and why that sense of control can actually make your nervous system more fragile over time. Rae reminds listeners that struggling with food isn't about a lack of discipline, and that healing is possible no matter how long you've felt stuck.

This is a real, honest conversation about what it actually looks like to build freedom and peace with food.



Time Stamps:



(2:37) Why Women Struggle with Food

(5:02) Signs of Food Relationship Improvements

(10:52) Where To Start When Working On This On Your Own

(22:52) Parting Words on Relationship with Food

(24:32) Please Share With A Friend

-------

Learn more about the Vital Spark Coaching Functional Reset Method.

-------

Click Here to apply for 1-on-1 coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts.

-------

Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation.

-------

Click Here for my Free Top 3 Labs training to get to the root of bloating & exhaustion.

-------

Click Here to download a Free Hormone Healing Blueprint.

-------

Check out our YouTube Channel for more free training.

-------

Click Here to read our Client Google Reviews.

-------

Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!

Welcome to the seventh episode of the Coach's Corner Series!

Today I'm joined by Coach Lindsay, and we're getting real about what's actually not working in the functional health space, even when practitioners mean well. 

We break down five major red flags to watch for, starting with practitioners who don't address nutrition beyond a generic food list. We talk about why using supplements as a bandaid, without digging into the root cause, just becomes another quick fix that doesn't actually heal anything. 

Coach Lindsay shares her own health journey, including how infrequent check ins with her provider left her feeling stuck and unsure of her progress. 

We also get into why rigid diet plans can backfire by teaching your body to adapt rather than building real metabolic flexibility. And we can't talk about functional health without talking about training, so we cover why using the right training stimulus matters just as much as nutrition and supplements when it comes to hitting your goals. 

If you've ever felt like you're doing everything right but still not seeing results, this episode will help you understand why, and what a more complete approach to healing actually looks like. Lindsay brings so much heart and expertise to this conversation, and I know it's going to help so many of you see your own health journey differently.

 

Time Stamps:

 

(1:54) What's Not Working Within Functional Health

(4:12) More Advanced Nutrition Concepts

(8:09) Gut Health

(9:02) Questions To Ask Your Practitioner

(10:19) Supplements Are Band Aid Fix

(15:37) Frequency of Communication

(20:20) Flexibility With The Strategy

(27:47) Training As A Stimulus

-------

Learn more about the Vital Spark Coaching Functional Reset Method. 

-------

Click Here to apply for 1-on-1 coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts.

-------

Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation. 

-------

Click Here for my Free Top 3 Labs training to get to the root of bloating & exhaustion.

-------

Click Here to download a Free Hormone Healing Blueprint.

-------

Check out our YouTube Channel for more free training.

-------

Click Here to read our Client Google Reviews. 

-------

Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!

Welcome to the sixth episode of the Coach's Corner Series!

In this Coach's Corner episode, I sit down with Coach Krista to talk about something so many moms carry silently: guilt. We dig into why women, especially moms, feel guilty spending time, money, and energy on their own health, even when their families would benefit most from them doing so.

Krista shares her belief that if you teach the mom, you reach the entire family, and why understanding your own body is what equips you to help your kids, spouse, and even aging parents. We talk about how kids learn far more from what they see us do than from what we tell them to do, and why modeling healthy habits now shapes how our children will care for themselves as adults. 

Krista offers practical, tactical advice for having open conversations with your kids and your spouse about why you're prioritizing your health, so they can actually show up and support you instead of feeling confused or left out. We also get into how to talk to kids about supplements, measuring food, and tracking macros in a way that frames these as tools rather than sources of shame. Krista draws a helpful comparison to using a calculator or ruler until you build the intuition to not need them anymore. 

Finally, we touch on the almond mom conversation and why context and intent matter more than the behavior itself when it comes to raising kids with a healthy relationship to food. 

This episode is a reminder that taking care of yourself isn't selfish, it's one of the most powerful things you can model for the people who love you.

 

Time Stamps:

 

(1:14) For All The Mom’s

(4:00) Where Mom’s Struggle The Most

(10:50) Conversations with Family

(16:50) Addressing Health Changes with Your Kids

(23:45) The Slimfast Era

-------

Learn more about the Vital Spark Coaching Functional Reset Method. 

-------

Click Here to apply for 1-on-1 coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts.

-------

Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation. 

-------

Click Here for my Free Top 3 Labs training to get to the root of bloating & exhaustion.

-------

Click Here to download a Free Hormone Healing Blueprint.

-------

Check out our YouTube Channel for more free training.

-------

Click Here to read our Client Google Reviews. 

-------

Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!

Welcome to the fifth episode of the Coach's Corner Series!

In this Coach's Corner episode, I sit down with Coach Soraya to unpack one of the most misunderstood topics in wellness: detoxification. 

Soraya shares her own journey from years of over-exercising and chronic restriction to discovering that her body needed support, not more discipline, a shift that accelerated after becoming a mom. 

We break down what the lymphatic system actually does, why it doesn't have a built-in "pump" like the heart, and why simple daily habits like walking, deep breathing, and hydration matter more than expensive detox gadgets. 

We dig into common misconceptions, from detox teas to the "if you have a liver, you don't need a detox" myth, and talk about why foundational habits like sleep, nutrition, and stress management have to come first. 

Soraya introduces her "bucket" analogy for toxin load and the "clogged sink" visual for why adding more without addressing the drain doesn't work. 

We also walk through what a flush protocol actually involves, why clients often feel worse before they feel better, and how she coaches clients through that discomfort without white-knuckling the process. 

Finally, we cover simple, low-cost ways to support the lymphatic system daily, from dry brushing in the shower to gua sha and restorative movement. It's a candid, practical conversation about trusting your body instead of trying to out-supplement it.

 

Time Stamps:

 

(1:45) All Things Detoxification

(6:00) What Detoxification Really Is

(10:02) Adding More vs The Drain

(14:05) Where To Start

(17:20) The FLUSH Protocol

(25:30) Supporting Detoxification On A Daily Basis

(28:35) What Is Your Body Trying To Tell You?

-------

Learn more about the Vital Spark Coaching Functional Reset Method. 

-------

Click Here to apply for 1-on-1 coaching with my team of Metabolism & Hormone Experts.

-------

Follow @vanessagfitness on Instagram for daily fitness tips & motivation. 

-------

Click Here for my Free Top 3 Labs training to get to the root of bloating & exhaustion.

-------

Click Here to download a Free Hormone Healing Blueprint.

-------

Check out our YouTube Channel for more free training.

-------

Click Here to read our Client Google Reviews. 

-------

Enjoyed the podcast? Let us know what you think and leave a 5⭐️ rating and review on iTunes!