In a recent email from Coach.me, a smartphone app devoted to positive habit formation, I was introduced to a healthy eating coach named Anjali Shah.
Since a lot of the Coach.me community is in love with versions of paleo, I was happy to see a health coach dedicated to helping people transition to a truly healthy diet, with little or no animal products or heavily refined foods.
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So I moseyed over to Anjali's food blog, The Picky Eater, and checked it out.
The blog is gorgeous. Well designed, well laid out, and full of delicious-sounding recipes accompanied by mouth-watering photos.
I'm not shy about reaching out to big shots when it comes to this podcast, so I emailed her to invite her on as a guest. I didn't have high hopes, since she had already scored more PR than I've ever dreamed of.
She's been on the Food Network, the Dr. Oz Show, Oprah.com, Cosmo UK, Reader's Digest, Shape Magazine, Women's Health Magazine, the Whole Foods Market website, and much more. I figured I'd get a canned answer from her PR firm telling me she's booked solid until 2023.
So I was pleasantly surprised to receive a personal response from Anjali a few days later, graciously accepting the invitation.
When we had our “pre-game” chat to prepare for the interview, I was shocked to discover that she doesn't have a PR department. Or a marketing department. Or any kind of a department. Heck, food blogging and health coaching isn't even her fulltime job.
Anjali has somehow managed to become famous and influential in the world of food without even trying. She just puts out her content and the world comes to her.
OK, now I was intrigued. Having experienced the other side of this – being an author desperate to get a 30-second soundbite during the 5am slot on some AM radio station in rural Ontario – I wanted to discover the secrets of Anjali's effortless appeal to some of the biggest media outlets in the food and lifestyle universe.
Because cracking that code can allow all of us to become more powerful advocates for healthy and regenerative ways of living. Imagine becoming an ace marketer to yourself, giving yourself messages that enable you to make positive choices in line with your big values.
Imagine sharing your lifestyle so positively and seductively that family and friends are naturally drawn to “what you've having,” as the famous line in Harry Met Sally put it.
And imagine being able to cut through the media clutter and nonsense with messages of lifestyle and health sanity that empower people, rather than leaving them more hopeless and confused.
In our interview, Anjali and I cover:
- the double meaning of “picky eater” – and why we should embrace that epithet with pride
- Anjali's struggle with the Freshman 15 – and how she ended it victoriously
- the most important mindset needed when faced with someone clinging to a behavior that doesn't serve them
- how her “pizza, ice cream, and French fries” husband led to start The Picky Eater – and honed her cooking skills in the process
- how to defuse the “pressure to be perfect” when attempting significant change
- the “small and simple” approach to improving our diet
- how to have fun with spices
- how to prepare food efficiently when you have a fulltime job at Google, a part-time job as a health coach, a popular blog, and a toddler
- how to raise infants and toddlers to love eating plants
- how to get found by giant media outlets without trying
- the secret to healthy moderation
- and much more…
Oh, and here's a word cloud comprised of 6 months of posts on The Picky Eater Facebook page. See if you can figure out at a glance the secret to her success:
Enjoy, add your voice to the conversation via the comment box below, and please share – that's how we spread our message and spread our roots.
Links
Coach.me – smartphone app for creating positive habits
Looking for Transformational Change?
You know how when you discovered plant-based eating, you basically went, “Holy shit, how come the entire healthcare system isn't totally embracing this as one of the most powerful keys to disease prevention and reversal!”?
That's how I feel now about a psychological approach to transformational change called “Memory Reconsolidation.” Few psychologists have heard about it, and when they do hear the radical transformations it can bring about in a very short time, they're often skeptical to the point of disbelief.
But I've added Memory Reconsolidation work to my own coaching, and can attest to its amazing efficacy. So much so, that I'm devoting the next year to mastering it, studying with the best clinicians and teachers in the world, and then introducing it into health coaching through my trainings.
Right now, I want to triple my coaching practice to get more and more opportunities to do this work. And I'm lowering my fees – a lot – to make it easier for people to work with me.
If you're interested in working with me (and willing to commit to a minimum of 2 months), click the link below to open the form in a new browser tab and I'll get back to you within 3 business days.
Yes, I'm interested in Memory Reconsolidation Coaching.
You CAN Change Other People!
Well, that's what Peter Bregman and I claim in our provocative book of that title.
What we really mean is, you can help the people around you make behavioral changes in their own best interests. If you think you're powerless to help people change, it's because you've been going about it the wrong way.
Discover our straightforward, replicable process here: You Can Change Other People.
Audiobook: Use the Weight to Lose the Weight
Listen to Josh LaJaunie and me narrate our latest audiobook, about how to start moving when you're obese.
It's $10, and Josh and I split it evenly 🙂
Tip Jar
This podcast is not underwritten by advertising, so I can experience complete editorial autonomy without worrying about pissing off the person paying the bills. Instead, I pay the bills, with your help. It's free for those who can't afford to pay, and supported by those who can. You can contribute to the growth and improvement of the podcast by clicking the “Support on Patreon” or “Donate” buttons on the right to help out.
Music
The Plant Yourself Podcast theme music, “Dance of Peace (Sabali Don),” is generously provided by Will Ridenour, a kora player from North Carolina who has trained with top Senegalese musicians.
It can be found on his first CD, titled Will Ridenour.
You can learn about Will, listen to more tracks, and buy music on his website, WillRidenour.com.
Gratitudes
Thanks to Plant Yourself podcast patrons – Kim Harrison – Lynn McLellan – Brittany Porter – Dominic Marro – Barbara Whitney – Tammy Black – Amy Good – Amanda Hatherly – Mary Jane Wheeler – Ellen Kennelly – Melissa Cobb – Rachel Behrens – Tina Scharf – Tina Ahern – Jen Vilkinofsky – David Byczek – Michele X – Elspeth Feldman – Leah Stolar – Allan Kristensen – Colleen Peck – Michele Landry – Jozina – Sara Durkacs – Kelly Cameron – Janet Selby – Claire Adams – Tom Fronczak – Jeannette Benham – Gila Lacerte – David Donohue – Blair Seibert – Doron Avizov – Gio and Carolyn Argentati – Jodi Friesner – Mischa Rosen – Michael Worobiec – AvIvA Lael – Alicia Lemus – Val Linnemann – Nick Harper – Bandana Chawla – Molly Levine – The Inscrutable Harry R – Susan Laverty the Panda Vegan – Craig Covic – Adam Scharf – Karen Bury – Heather Morgan – Nigel Davies – Marian Blum – Teresa Kopel – Julian Watkins – Brid O'Connell – Shannon Herschman – Linda Ayotte – Holm Hedegaard – Isa Tousignant – Connie Haneline – Erin Greer – Alicia Davis – Heather O'Connor – Carollynne Jensen – Sheri Orlekoski of Plant Powered for Health – Karen Smith – Scott Mirani – Karen and Joe Crabtree – Kirby Burton – Theresa Carrell – Kevin Macaulay – Elizabeth Rothschild – Ann Jesse – Sheryl Dwyer – Jenny Hazelton – Peter W Evans – Dennis Bird – Darby Kelly – Lori Fanney – Linnea Lundquist – Emily Iaconelli – Levi Wallach – Rosamonde McAtee – Dan Pokorney – Stephen Leinin – Patty DeMartino – Mike and Donna Kartz – Deanne Bishop – Bilberry Elf – Marjorie Lewis – Tricia Adams – Nancy Sheldon – Lindsey Bashore – Gunn Marit Hagen – Tracey Gulledge – Lara Hedin – Meg from Mamasezz – Stacey Stokes – Ben Savage – Michael K – David Hughes -Coni Rodgers – Claire England – Sally Robertson – Parham Ganchi – Amy Dailey – Brian Tourville – Mark Jeffrey Johnson – Josie Dempsey – Caryn Schmitt – Pamela Hayden – Emily Perryman – Allison Corbett – Richard Stone – Lauren Vaught of Edible Musings – Erin Hastey – Sean Owens – Sagar Naik – Erika Piedra – Danielle Roberts – Michael Leuchten – Sarah Johnson – Katharine Floyd – Meryl Fury – for your generous support of the podcast.
Disclosure
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