Functional Medicine and Motherhood | Martina Harms | Work Like A Mother, Episode 1
In the first episode of Work Like A Mother, host Marina welcomes certified PA Martina Harms to talk about functional medicine and living a rich, energy-filled life holistically. With over 17 years in the field, Martina shares her career transition from emergency to functional medicine due to her personal health challenges, and explains how this led her to a systems biology approach. Balancing her professional insight with her role as a wife and mother to three, she provides valuable takeaways for the audience on achieving better health and quality of life.
Mentioned in this Episode:
To Hell with the Hustle, Jefferson Bethke
Take Back Your Family, Jefferson Bethke
Outlive: The Science & Art Of Longevity, Peter Attia
Martina Harms
Marina Tolentino
https://www.marinatolentino.com/
YT: @marinatolentino
Subscribe to my newsletter for more behind-the-scenes and encouragement from me!
https://marinatolentino.myflodesk.com/worklikeamother
Transcript:
You all right? On this episode of the work like a mother podcast, we have a special guest. Her name is Martina Harms. Let me just tell you about a little bit of Martina. So she is a certified physician's assistant with over 17 years of clinical experience. She works with clients to optimize their energy, their mood, and their metabolism, which is so important. And it's all holistically through functional medicine testing. She has a master's of science in physician assistant studies from the George Washington University in Washington, D. C.
She's got a bachelor's in science in exercise science, also from GWU, and she's a certified practitioner with the Institute for Functional Medicine and the School of Applied Functional Medicine. All of that on top of it. She's a wonderful wife and a mother to three little girls. So she's got a full plate, none to say the less. But I'm so glad to meet you today for the first time. This is the first time we've ever had a conversation, actually, and to have you on the show and just to share a little bit about what it is you do and why you do it. And I think, ultimately give our audience some takeaways of how to have a more energetic and a better quality of life, that'd be the huge win. So thank you.
Awesome. Thank you so much for having me. I'm honored to be here today.
Yeah. So it's so good. So I'm curious, because you don't hear the word functional medicine often. Most people wouldn't know what that is. Right. So can you explain your career journey and what got you here?
Okay. It's a long story, but we'll try to make it short as possible. So I started as a physician assistant in emergency medicine, or we're now physician assistant, physician associate. Our name is changing. But I worked in the ER. I worked shift work. I worked long, weird hours, and I loved it. It was amazing.
It's very adrenaline junkie kind of job, and it was very rewarding. But as I had children, it got too much. Children drain a lot of that life force energy. So it just became really too hard to do the balance between that type of schedule and having kids and having a family and living out here and all that stuff. Basically, after my second child, I started having health issues. I was clearly tired because I worked a lot, but I also had kids, but it was like I was doing all the right things. I was getting the right sleep. I was doing all the things that I thought I should be doing and following the diet plans, and I still had all this weight.
I was depressed, I was anxious. I was just not myself. And I was like, this is ridiculous. So I went to my doctor. She begged her to order these lab tests. She reluctantly did, and then was like, everything is fine, but if you want, I can give you an antidepressant. And I'm like, no, I don't think that's the thing I want right now. So I talked to one of my friends.
She was like, I just saw this functional medicine practitioner. And I was like, what even is that? So I started going down the rabbit hole, and I was like, you know what? I'm just going to go because what do I have to lose? I'm not jumping on this bandwagon. So let's see what this is about. So I went and saw her, and she had this diagram of the Krebs cycle, which is like, if you're a science nerd, it's like organic chemistry. And she's just showing me in a very scientific not woo woo way, like, these are the vitamin and mineral deficiencies that you probably have, and this is what's going on. And I was like, oh, okay, this is actually based in science. This is cool. So then I signed up for the training, like, the very next day of getting my own certification because I knew that that's what I wanted to do next.
And so, yeah, I quit my job, I left the ER, I studied functional medicine and got certified. And I've been working with people on their functional medicine journey since then, which is a systems biology approach. So in conventional medicine, you have, people are specialists in different fields, and there are still some specialties in functional medicine, but functional medicine looks to zoom out. So instead of like, oh, you have this diagnosis. So let's name it. Blame it, tame it. It's more of a, well, why do you have that? What's the reason behind it? What are the genetic factors?
What are the lifestyle factors?
What is your environment like, what's your diet like, what's your movement routine? Like, all those things that play into how you actually feel versus like, oh, you have this problem. Here's a medication for it.
Treat the symptom.
Yeah.
So would you say it's similar to, like, a naturopathic doctor? Is that as easy? Yeah.
So naturopaths are, they are trained in a specific school of medicine, and there are naturopathic doctors who practice functional medicine, but it's not exactly the same, but there's a lot of overlap.
Okay. Yeah, I love that it takes into account the full circle. Right? So it's not just you as a body, but it's also emotional. It's mental. Yes. Hormonal. Like all the things. That's so incredible.
And I think I'm just starting to get into this world. And as you see it online, it's becoming more and more popular. Right. So just the things like the ice plunges, that is not a normal thing.
And now all of a sudden it's like the rage.
Right. So it's definitely like coming out and about. And then I think too, with the supplement world, we've seen a change in those. And so instead of just like adding a bunch of junk just to get a result, now it's like, well, how does this really make me feel? I think is a big transition. No, that's awesome. And I'm glad that you've had that personal experience to have the why to then bring you on this journey. Yeah, that's super good. And then you recently had a surprise kiddo, mid pandemic, right? Yeah.
So tell me the ages of your girls.
So I have a nine year old, a six, almost seven, and a two ish, almost three. Yeah. So I thought we had two. And we have two little girls and we're like, okay, we're done, we're good. And then pandemic happens and we're like, oh, surprise, surprise. Our little bonus baby. And, yeah, so when I had set up my business, I set it up knowing that I had two children and they were in school and everything.
That's like, it's all going to be good.
And then like, oh, wait, I got to do this all over again, baby phase again. And it's such a blessing and it's amazing and incredible, but it definitely throws you for a loop when you are running your business and doing all these other things because, yeah, one more kid is not really one. It's like exponential.
Right. So talk to me about that. What was the big transition from like, okay, we got two unlocked, we got our schedule set, now we have a third. What's some advice you'd say to someone who's like in that phase, even going from one to two, that's a jump.
I think the biggest things are just expect to need help. Expect to need help. Expect that you are not going to be able to do all of these things yourself. And if you try, you will burn out, you will feel bad. You will not be the best version of yourself. And it doesn't necessarily mean to like, you have to hire a million people, but even just like tapping into your resources in your community what are the programs available around you? Where are the mommy groups? Where are the people that you need to be around so you can feel sane? True. That, I think, is probably my best piece of advice. And then from two to three, some of the ways it was really great because there's a four year age gap between my middle child and my youngest, so she wasn't a baby anymore, but they regress as soon as she have a baby, but that's okay.
But, yeah, whatever. She was six years old when the baby was born. She was super helpful and was really into it and had a really great awareness around what everybody needed. And without parentifying her, she was super helpful. And they have a really close bond.
Which is really cool. Yeah. Think it jogs me back to when we had our first. I was in San Diego, we were in the coast guard. We didn't have any support system. And so I literally had to go on Facebook and be like, where are the mommy know? And luckily, I think it was the navy at the time. They had this system of all of us who are pregnant at the same week. Like, we all got together and got to go through that transition together.
We had a meetup afterwards. But it's like, if you don't have that community, you have to make one.
You have to make it.
You literally have to get out of your comfort, chill, and go find the people. They will not find you. And there's so much hormonal changes and mindset stuff that's constantly going on.
Totally.
You just need that sanity that you're not alone.
Yeah, absolutely. And whether you're staying at home or going back to work or trying to juggle what you're actually going to do after baby comes and how are you going to manage all that? And I think that's something that people are talking a lot about more. It's like you don't need a perfect nursery. You don't need all of the gadgets and the toys and the things you need your support system set up. You need to make sure you have meals prepped. You need to think about that postpartum period and a couple of weeks, but even months when you're not sleeping and you're just like a shell of a person for a little while that you should be planning for. I don't care about your aesthetic nursery.
Yeah, exactly.
It doesn't matter.
Function. This is the key here. Functional health. Functional parenting. Exactly. Yes.
Absolutely.
That's so good. Okay, well, I wanted to jump back into the health side of it, but trends, you've seen. I feel like trends are coming and going and they come so fast and some of them stick, some of they don't. What are some that you've seen that are maybe negative or harmful in the last two to three years? Have you seen any of those?
I think that one of the biggest things that I've come to understand through functional medicine training and then just my own life experience and then just seeing all these different things is that we really have to acknowledge that everyone is very different. We are all individuals and everybody reacts to things differently. And so there are certain things that get promoted as these, like, blanket, this is good for everybody. And I cannot think of. There are very few things that are literally good for everybody, that there are not people that have bad reactions to them, that have their own emotional reasons to not have a good reaction to them. Whether you're talking about practices, supplements, whatever, there's all these different ways that you can have a different experience from somebody else. And so just acknowledging that you may not have the result that your mom, your sister, whatever, had to the exact same thing just because of who you are as a person. So, yeah, all that being said, I think one of the ones that sticks out the most is like, fasting is having a moment.
I mean, or not even having a moment. It's been having a moment. It's been going on for a while. And I think women in particular are in a sticky situation where it does work really well for some women and it does work for almost everyone right off the bat.
Like, just sort of like that immediate.
Immediate change of physiology. Kind of get some old cells out of there, turn over, get you out of some bad habits of maybe foods that you were gravitating towards in the morning that were maybe not the most healthy to begin with. But long term, depending on your physiology and where you are in your life, it may actually not be very good for you. And there's like so much nuance to it that when people are just like, just do it like this or have these fasted workouts and you're already super depleted for your adrenals and you're already nutritionally not great, you can get in a lot of trouble, and then all your hormones are off and you're missing your period and you're like, oh, I don't know why I feel so bad.
And then let's use the roller coaster. Exactly.
And then you're on the diet train again, and then it's all that stuff. So, yeah, I think fasting is one of those sticky ones. But it can be really good for people. I'm not totally blasting it. Even ice baths, contrast therapy, ice baths. There are some people that just because they are already in a kind of cortisol overdrive state, they're in this fight or flight state all the time. Adding another stressor, like cold, like that can be potentially not in a long term way, but in a short term, they might not feel really good in a cold.
Sure.
And they might have a very uncomfortable reaction to being in it. And so, I mean, overwhelmingly, I think people respond really well to it. But that's another one just to keep in mind of, like, maybe that won't feel good for you.
Yeah. So how do we, I guess, put that filter on? Because it's comparison analysis. That's all we do. We scroll, we compare it. Oh, I like her body. Let me do what she's doing. How do we reframe when we're looking at that and deciding we're so gullible, I guess, is what the thing is. So how do we help?
Yeah, that's a really hard question. I think we all have to ask ourselves that all the time because there is always something to aspire to and have physique goals for, and have all these things for. I think one of the things that I've come into really, truly believing at this point is that intuitively, you know, and it sounds like, I don't know, this supposedly scientific person is saying this, but no, I really do. Once you can kind of clear away all of that stuff, all the noise of this person said this, and this person said that. If you can really tune into. How does it feel in your body when you think about x, when you think about this food, when you think about this practice, does your body say yes? Or does your body say, and your intuition is usually right now, a lot of times your intuition has been lifelong, overridden by your little chatty brain that's saying, like, no. And so it takes a little bit of practice to get into that, listening to that intuitive voice inside. Because if your intuitive voice tells you to eat oreos, then I don't know, probably, maybe that's not your intuition.
It might be your gut bacteria, but that's a whole separate conversation that, yeah, we just have to really tap into what are our goals? What are the things that we're working on right now? If you're in absolute survival mode because you have kids at home and you're trying to run a business and you're trying to do too many things.
Any.
Of those things is not going to work because you're not getting enough sleep. So, like, okay, so all these cool things and gifts and gadgets, and that's so great. And those are just supplements. They're in addition to, if you don't get the basics down, forget all of the trending stuff.
Yeah, no, that's great advice. And so I'm actually kind of going through that right now, personally. I have a coach for fitness, and she's like, digital. It's a group community thing, but it's like she wants me to track macros and proteins and all of this on top of the fitness, which is only three workouts a week, and it's doable. But I think when we scale back, we're like, okay, there are some patterns of health and wellness that are universal. Walking steps. Right? Yes. Drinking enough water, eating more green food than we are of the processed food.
Like some very basics. And I think if we just like, whoa, whoa, whoa. From the over analysis, it's like, are we even doing those essentials first? Probably not. Maybe. Let's start there. And then I was telling you right before this, I'm on this caffeine detox right now. And so there's probably a lot of things we need to remove before we can even add in more. Like, just get rid of all the gunk first and then start fresh.
And that in itself is a heap and just its own journey. But that's a really good filter, I think, just stepping back and going like, okay, is this for me? Does this feel good? What does my gut tell me about this? I know my body. If you don't know your body, start discovering it again. Slow down. Unplug it a little bit.
Yeah, totally.
Yeah.
Because it does get really overwhelming. There is just so much. I mean, we're constantly being exposed to so much content, so much information. And that's another thing that can be really helpful, too. If you're feeling really overwhelmed and you don't feel like you can listen to your intuitive voice is fast from social media, get the apps off your phone, don't engage with them. Give yourself a little bit of breathing room and space, and then you might be able to hear your own personal compass come back 100%.
No, that's really good. And I think I just heard this stat. Like, in the last 2020 years, we have more information than we have ever been able to have. Right. And so that is a good thing, and that is a negative thing, but realizing the control is in our hand, and we have to physically put it down.
Put it down. Yes, exactly.
That's the takeaway. Yeah. Okay. What do you think is the biggest threat to women's health right now? What are you seeing that's like, oh, shit. If we could just change this one thing, it would change everything. Can you think of anything?
Honestly, I think the biggest threat is this idea that you can have it all. You can do it all, because I do think you can have it all, and you can do it all, but you can't have and do it all at once, girl. You cannot. You just cannot. You can't be, like, super mom and super business person and super wife and super, like, you cannot wear all these hats at the same time. You're going to have to switch and trade, and you're going to have to scale back on one thing so that you can push another or get more help in one area so you can do another thing. This idea that, oh, well, my mom had a job and I did this. We live in a completely different world than our mothers, our grandmothers.
All of these different situations are just completely different. And we don't have the family support that we used to have. We don't have community support like we used to have. And like you said, you have to find it. You have to create it. You have to go look for it. It's not just part of our lives anymore. And so, yeah, I think really breaking away from this idea that you have to do all of those things in order to be worthy, in order to be successful, because success looks really different for everybody, and it doesn't necessarily mean being a super mom, having the job and doing it.
There are so many flavors of it that I think we need to get away from this idea that we need.
To just, like, hustle, hustle, hustle.
Because that is what makes women crash and burn. And then they come see me.
Yeah. They're like, wait, I tried. I did what all the gurus said, and I failed. Yeah, no, girl, spot on. Like, mic drop right there. We can end this podcast. So, that's part of the reason of why I started this podcast in the first place, is because we're not having enough of these conversations. So I started this journey in 2018 when I was owning three businesses.
It was crazy town. I had wedding planning. I had a furniture rental company, then I had the honey company. And one of my best friends and I are always having this conversation of like, well, is it enough? Why are we doing this? Why are we working so hard? Right? And then Jeff Bethkey came out with a book called to hell with the Hustle. Have you heard of that one?
Yes.
So good. And then take back your families'other. One. Both of those books I highly recommend for anyone. But the whole concept is like, seasons of life, number one. And just recognizing these generational trends and how industrialization has changed everything. And again, just the last 20 years, it's a completely different landscape and family structure and community than it was 20 years ago. So I'm now facing this loneliness epidemic.
We're scrolling all day and we're engaging with all these people, but how many face to face conversations are we having? None. Or, like, really meaningful one. Like, yeah, we have small talk, but who's really saying, like, well, how are you really doing? Those conversations are not happening. But I think, I mean, we could go on and on about that. It's just realizing patience. We want it now, and we want it yesterday. And then we keep seeing all these other people who are in our space succeeding, and we think that they have.
It all right, but we forget they.
Have 1015 years of experience to get them there. They have a whole team behind them that you don't see. So we're just comparing ourselves with the influencer, not realizing that there's all of this trial and failure and building to get there when we're still in the baby phases. And so it's just totally unfair to ourselves. It is. But that's really great advice. I agree with that one for sure. Any big myths that you want to bust when it comes to health and wellness?
I don't know if so much myths necessarily, that the thing that a trend that I see a lot of is following diet trends is really the biggest one, is that a lot of women. I mean, I'm 42 now. I grew up in the heat of diet culture, and everyone always on a diet all the time and every magazine cover talking about dieting and losing these many pounds as a teenager, thinking that I always had to lose weight and the weight and the way your body looks and all that stuff being, like, the central point of everything. I think that there's so much unhealthiness and poor relationships that we have with food that we have to really look at that are perpetuated by now influencers pushing superfoods and pushing this diet thing and that diet thing. And this is how you lose weight. And da da da da. That overwhelmingly, these diets don't work, obviously, because then you wouldn't eat another diet and another diet and another diet. They're not sustainable.
They're quick fixes. They don't fix any underlying problems. So trying to get out of the noise of diet culture is probably one of the hardest things that women have to do right now and also getting out of it for our kids because I know how damaging it was for me. And then growing up with it, and then to see my little girls and wanting to hold their little ears, protect them from wanting to judge their bodies, wanting to. Just getting their little internal voice to proclaim love and acceptance more than to being like, well, it'd be better if I was ten pounds lighter. It'd be better if this. There's one thing for having goals for yourself, but there's another thing to just be constantly self judging.
And we are the biggest role models for our little girls. So I always try to be mindful of how I talk about myself in the mirror and when I'm getting ready, getting dressed or whatever, because she is a freaking sponge. My daughter's three and just. She'll do what mommy does.
Absolutely.
And the programming is already being set with Disney and whatever. These are their role models, and so mommy doesn't look like those role models, so we have to talk about those. Yeah, that's really great. I think a big myth that I am always facing, too, is that to be healthy, it's expensive, that I need to buy organic, that I need to have a trainer, that I need to have all these things. Would you say that's a big myth? Talk to me about that.
Well, I think it's partially a myth because there are so many foundational practices that are completely free. The sun, the literal sun, being out in the sun and being outside and being in nature is free. Meditation is free. Breath, work is free. You can pay for a lot of these things. Also, you can complicate things, but a lot of grounding, being on the earth free, all those things. But yes, when you're talking about organic, that is more expensive. When you're talking about buying supplements, that is more expensive.
But to me, I think one of the biggest things that I have come to accept is that you can pay for it now or you can pay for it later. Because if you don't take care of yourself when you're in this much more easy to adjust, you're not a set in your ways, and your physiology is younger, your physiology is more primed for change, that you're setting yourself up for a longer, more enjoyable life. And so to me, it's worth it. I did a funny video the other day on functional medicine math, because, girl, math is a thing, right? So the idea that if you buy a bunch of supplements and they help you feel better, then you don't have to go to your doctor, so they're free.
We just save so much money.
We just save so much money. If you have a gym membership and you're moving your body and that's free, if you meditate, that's like investing. So now you're going to live forever. We're making money now we're making money.
Yeah.
So there's definitely some funky math in there, but I just think of it more of, like, investing in my personal future and also as a mom wanting to be able to get on the floor with my kids and, like, play with them and then my grandkids eventually. And if I'm not physically feeling great or if I'm not mentally there, that's going to be hard because, yeah, I'm 42 and my youngest is three years old. I'm going to be the oldest mom at graduation or not the oldest. I'm not a spring chicken, so I just need to keep it up for both me and my family. So it's just an investment for now as opposed to later.
Yeah. And I think one of the biggest things, too, is, like, the opportunity cost of, like, yes, okay. I can keep doing what I'm doing today, which is, like, survival mode, and I'm so just. My brain is open to whatever ad is in front of me, which is the wrong mindset. Right. So it's the american diet that gets fed to me. So that's what I end up eating because I'm influenced by that. If I keep doing that, what is the cost 20 years from now? Totally.
Just that picture alone in itself is kind of crazy. And then, like I just said, I just came off of the Tony Robbins event, and they say, like, well, if you would die for your children, why wouldn't you get healthy for them? Yes. And I'm like, oh, my gosh, shake me now. And it's so true, because by not changing my patterns, by not changing my behavior, I am designating myself to that 50% increase in diabetes. Like, all the things, two thirds of Americans are obese, and it's insane. So just knowing that data, it's all scientific. It's not woo woo. Like, the research is there, so that's really good.
One of the big things you talk about is energy, which energy is life, right? This is how we function. This is how we feel. It controls our emotions, our physical, our thoughts. Talk to me about some big energy hacks or ways that women can just get a boost.
Really? I think the biggest untapped resources I just briefly touched on is the sun. Like the actual sun, because we are circadian beings, and we override our circadian rhythms by all of the artificial light that we have in front of us all the time. Our computer screens and our phones are just blasting us all the time. And so being able to get outside within, like, 30 minutes of waking, and if you can catch that first morning light, that's what's going to set you up best for the day. But even five, even 10 minutes of that in the morning will wake your body up. And it also sets you up to have better sleep at night because it starts the clock on when you should be awake and when you should be going to sleep. And then if you can also get sunlight right before bed or right around sunset, it just gives your body the right messaging of it's time for bed and then avoiding screens. I know that it's hard because we are all working.
Our kids get to bed and we're like, let me do this last thing. So if you have to do it, there are programs that you can put on your computer that shift the red light balance so that you're not getting blasted with as much blue light you can. Blue light blocking glasses, different things to prevent you from getting that kind of ramp back up, because that's, a lot of women deal with that, too, is that they put, they're so tired, they put their kids to bed, and they're all, like, zoned out from the sound machine, and then they come out and then they get a second wind, and now they're awake and they're doing a bunch of things and they're getting all their to dos done because everybody's out of the house and that's my time. And then they lay in bed because I'm awake.
Yeah.
And so part of that is the light, and part of it is just not being in that circadian rhythm. So you'll get better sleep, which will then give you more energy. So it's not as quick of a fix. Sometimes it can be. Sometimes just literally getting outside and getting some sun in your eyeballs can be that magical boost. The other thing that I think is something that has helped me with energy is to keep my coffee. I mean, I only drink one cup a day now, and I go through periods where I completely eliminate it and completely eliminate caffeine, but I don't drink it first thing in the morning. It is not good for blood sugar reasons.
Even if you're drinking it black, it increases your cortisol and then your cortisol awakening response is your body's response to waking up, literally. And so it's supposed to have a nice little peak. Yeah, so it's stress. It's literally the most stressful part of your day to your body is getting from dead asleep to awake and standing up. Super stressful for your body. And so it's supposed to peak and it's supposed to do this nice little thing. And if you then add coffee, which is going to kind of rev everything up a little bit more and have not eaten, don't have any protein, don't have anything else, you kind of keep your spike higher in the morning, and then you're more likely to kind of crash out in the afternoon. And that's when everybody's going for that, like two or 03:00 cup of coffee, which then keeps you awake at night.
That is a big one. Water with making sure you have minerals in your water is one. A lot of us either have filtered water or we're drinking tap water, which should be filtered and making sure whether you're adding, having some sort of electrolyte drink that's not made with yucky ingredients.
Do you have a brand you want to drop? Is there a favorite?
So I like a few of them. Elementee is one of them, or element. They sell little packs. There's also ultima. U-L-T-I-M-A-I like ultima. And there's another. Oh, Redmond. Like the Redmond salt.
They make one called relight.
I've never heard of any of these. I'm going to look.
So that can also be an energy boost for some people. And then there's a gazillion different supplements. But I don't like to recommend supplements because everybody's different and everybody's individual. And so depending on what your underlying reason for not having a lot of energy is, I'm going to tell you to do something different. And also, knowing what your life stressors are, what your lifestyle is like, is going to impact what I recommend. But I think getting sunlight, making sure you're getting enough minerals in your water, going to bed at the same time.
Yeah, a little bit of mindfulness, but so much of it, we're on autopilot, and especially with the wake up, it's like, okay, so our body is stressed waking up, but then what do we do? We check our phone, which then stresses out more, and then we go straight to coffee. We don't even have water. We just have coffee. First thing. Give me a shot of something.
And then we wonder why we're so tired in the afternoon. We're like dying at dinner time. Like, everybody go to bed.
Yeah, but I think we can totally. For me, what is it? The bedtime routine. After 08:00 it's like, usually that's my closing shift, so I'm cleaning everything. I'm resetting for the day, but I can turn the lights down. I've heard there's like those led lights where you can do red lights and just making that like your self care moment too. Have fun with it. It doesn't have to be a check the box, make it a mood, make it a vibe. Right? Yeah.
And have fun with it. No, that's super good. Yeah. Well, I know we're running short on time, so tell me, you've got something new to announce. You've got this new program. What is it? Who is it for? What is it going to do? I'm really excited.
So I have a new membership called functional motherhood because moms need all the support that they can get. Essentially, it's a twelve week program where we're going to meet weekly, going over different topics in basically helping moms who are feeling overwhelmed and they want to make their family's lifestyle healthier, but they don't even know where to start giving them more actionable items that they can implement in their families, like right now. Cool. Going through some of the functional medicine stuff in terms of lab tests, where to get started, what to talk to your doctor about, how to advocate for yourself as a mom, as a parent, and then just having access to me as a practitioner in your back pocket where you can message me personally and then you can also be in the group chat. And then we'll have more like community events for support and like minded moms who are going through the same health journey as you.
Love it. Oh, my gosh. Sign me up. Yeah. And is this open to anyone? Like mainland too? Or Hawaii only?
Yes, it's open to everyone who wants to be on the time zone. We haven't picked a meeting time yet, but, yeah, basically anywhere.
Amazing. So that's perfect. Right? In time for January. We start the year right? Get a reset. But I think learning these core rules of health and wellness that are scientifically proven, they're not. Woo woo. It's not like, get some crystals, it's like, no, this is the minerals that your body needs and you're lacking them. Right.
That's totally it. Super excited for that. That's going to be really good. So every episode I ended up with a couple rapid fire questions. These are just fun. Okay, give me a Starbucks order. What's your favorite thing?
So currently, the cinnamon dolce late with either the oat or almond, but I have problems with those. If I find myself at a Starbucks, that's what I would do. But I add collagen. I always add collagen to my coffee. I'm a collagen.
You carry it in your purse. I do.
I literally have little pouches of it because it makes me feel so much better when I put collagen on my coffee.
You're, like, at. So it's not totally bad. Yeah, exactly. That's good. What's your go to make for dinner? If it's last minute and you're like, shoot, we just need to eat.
Like, what do you do? So if I have it in my house, I like to do just, like, sheet pan stuff. So cut up whatever veggies I got. Chicken, throw it on, whatever the marinade is, throw it all on the pan and heat that, because then I got a vegetable, at least one vegetable that someone will eat and a source of protein. And then I'll either throw some potatoes in there or something like that for a carb. If my kids get to me first, they want spaghetti and meatballs as, like, their ultimate, which is pretty good. All the good.
Good.
Yeah.
What's your fave? Go to department of target and your favorite designer there.
Ooh. Go to department in target.
It's okay if you don't have anything. I don't know.
I have one seasonal holiday. Whatever the holiday decorations are, whatever target tells me I need. That's the section. That's the one.
Yeah. Okay. Got it. Check. Do you have a favorite designer that you follow or care?
No, not really.
No. I'm lame. Okay. Everyone's their own name a book or a podcast you'd recommend to the audience. This is all working, woman. We're trying to do the balance. Do you have a favorite book or podcast?
Well, the podcast that I'm really into right now is Huberman lab, just because it's very deep, science based, and I'm a super nerd, so I could just listen to people talk about neurotransmitters all day. If you're not as nerdy, let me think. What's a better not nerdy one?
Or a.
Should I just have a book? Oh, there's a new book out right now. Or not that new. But Peter Attia, who's another functional medicine health expert, he just came out with a book. Not too long ago, called outlive. And it's all about longevity. And again, like strictly science based ways to improve your longevity and live a fulfilling life. Not just live to an old age.
But to live a happy old age, a vibrant life. Yes. Not when we're a vegetable.
Yes.
Okay. Do you prefer TikTok or Instagram?
Instagram. I'm not allowed on TikTok.
Too dangerous.
My husband's a cybersecurity expert.
I'm not allowed. Noted. And then where can people find you? How do they connect with you after this?
So on Instagram, I'm the most active, which is I'm Martina Harms pa. And then my website, where you can book a discovery call with me is ww, martinaharms.com. And yeah, those are the two easiest.
Ways to connect with me. Absolutely. And I was looking at your website. You have Amazon links over there, my dear.
I do.
So a great shop for someone who's like, wait, I'm in baby phase or I'm in work phase or whatever. You have them all categorized for products that you'd recommend and that you've used personally. So that's a huge, like, aha. I love that. Well, thank you so much for your time today. This was so good. We could have kept talking hours like, holy moly. But I'm so glad to have made the connection.
Like, we're going to be friends now.
Totally.
And I'm going to book you for the January thing. We're going to do it. It's going to be so good. So thank you for being here.
Thank you so much for having me.
