Don't Let Physical Fitness Get in the Way of Your Financial Fitness with Shawn Stevenson
As you can imagine, we see a number of people at the Financial Gym who are interested in overall wellness and typically belong to gyms, eat healthy and have other coaches in their lives. We applaud them for taking care of themselves; however, it often comes at the price of their financial wellness. When your financial wellness suffers, your mental health suffers, and all the work you’ve done is destroyed by the stress in your mind.On this episode of Martinis and Your Money, I am talking to Shawn Stevenson, host of The Model Health Show – currently the #1 Fitness & Nutrition podcast in the U.S. on iTunes – and author of the best-selling book, Sleep Smarter – 21 Essential Strategies to Sleep Your Way to A Better Body, Better Health, and Bigger Success. Shawn shares so many great resources and strategies to maintain overall wellness while not forsaking financial wellness. We want you to be healthy AND wealthy! Cheers!
What are we drinking?
Shawn — Spring water
Shannon — Schweppes Black Cherry Seltzer
Podcast Notes
Shawn started college as a pre-med major but changed to business during his freshman year because of the Eddie Murphy movie, Boomerang.
His world changed during college after his doctor told him he had the spine of an 80-year-old person when he was only 20-years-old.
He was diagnosed with an “incurable” spinal condition called degenerative disc disease.
Shawn discusses the placebo effect and mentions the book Mind Over Medicine by Dr. Lissa Rankin.
Two years after his diagnosis and gaining a lot of weight, he decided he was going to get well.
He put a plan together for his recovery that involved three things:1. Nutrition2. Movement3. Recovery
After 6 weeks of working towards recovery, Shawn had lost 28 pounds and significantly reduced his pain.
Shannon and Shawn agree that it is all about your mindset.
Shannon asks Shawn for his advice if people want to get physically healthy while staying financially healthy.
He mentions the podcast episode where he interviews Dr. Michael Roizen about financial fitness.
For the nutrition portion of his recovery, Shawn continued to eat the food he had always eaten, but he upgraded the quality by purchasing his food from farmer’s markets (which also saved him a lot of money).
There are several cheap or free alternatives to an expensive gym membership.
For the movement component of his plan, he exercised for free by walking.
Shannon mentions her friend who suffers from MS and stopped needing her medication over 15 years ago once she changed her diet and figured out exactly what her body needed.
Thrive Market is a resource that sells healthy food and products to its members at wholesale prices!
Shawn says all you need is 5 minutes of exercise a day.
He discusses the effects of stress on physical health and decision-making.
His podcast episode, Emotional Intelligence and Developing Altered Traits with Dr. Daniel Goleman, explains a child-study on delayed gratification.
Researchers found, years later, that the children from the study with the ability to delay gratification tended to do better in school, maintain solid relationships & employment and make more money.
Shawn’s personal example of delayed gratification is going to sleep instead of watching the newest episode of Game of Thrones.
Lack of sleep affects all aspects of your life.
Shannon says people don’t think about sleep as part of their overall wellness.
Shawn discusses how people mistake being busy for being effective.
To truly be financially fit, you need to be sharp which you can’t be when you are sleep-deprived.
One study from the University of Chicago found people lose 55% more body fat when they are well-rested compared to when they are sleep-deprived.
Shannon asks Shawn for the key to sleeping better.
His advice for getting better sleep is:1. Know the value of sleep2. Get 10 to 20 minutes of adequate sun exposure during the day3. Get "good sleep" nutrients
The things you do during the day help you to sleep better at night!
Shannon discusses how the stress from her divorce affected her wellness.
Shawn highlights the best ways to combat stress.
TAKEAWAY: It’s so easy to spend money on health fads and ineffective solutions but sometimes all you need are the basics to protect your health! If you need or want someone to help you manage to afford the wellness options that are critical to you, I hope you’ll reach out to my team at the Financial Gym. We are helping clients every day become the best physical and financial versions of themselves. You can schedule a free call here to find out more. No matter where you are in your financial journey, my financial trainers can help you get where you want to go. Head over or send friends to financialgym.com/friends to sign up today!
Random Three Questions
What is a book that changed your life?
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
If you were to win $1 million dollars, what would you do with it?