#18 | Part 2 Karen Koramshai - 3 Pillars Of Wellness & The Journey To Become A Wellness Coach

0:00:00 - Speaker 1

with heart palpitations and I thought, yeah, that was. I just felt like my body was shutting down. It was basically a year. It took me a year to fight, to get to the bottom of what was going on.

0:00:10 - Speaker 2

I was doing saunas at the time when I had breast implants and I always felt the next next part I wanted to come on is your sort of training to be a well-being coach. What sparked your interest in like training for, specifically for that, because you said it was during COVID right. You wanted to make the transition to full-time coach, not just doing your own thing.

0:00:30 - Speaker 1

Yeah, I think it's always been my passion, I think, sort of to learn more about health. I've always sort of been that sort of nerd where I've just been studying all about health, and especially I sort of. I was quite ill last year with breast implant illness, and I think that's what triggered me to sort of help others and help other women out there. So I think that's when I decided okay, this is what I want to do.

0:00:53 - Speaker 2

Let's talk about the breast implant illness. What actually is that?

0:00:57 - Speaker 1

So breast implant illness last year. I didn't know what was wrong with me. I started feeling symptoms, things like chronic fatigue, hair loss, literally to the point that I was brushing my hair and I started getting clumps of hair falling out. Um, I remember landing Dubai at the time and you know when, when it's that feeling, when you've got blocked ears, and I thought that's a bit weird, it hasn't shifted. When I landed and I thought I must, I must look into it. Four months down the line I felt like, oh, my ears are still blocked, which was really bizarre. So I started going to doctors and thinking, guys, my ears are still blocked, I feel super tired.

Yes, I had kids, but at the thought I just something felt a bit off, started doing these tests and then came back with. This was over a period of a year and it started coming back with things like food intolerances, which I've never had before, a leaky gut, which I've never had. Anxiety off the scales, heart palpitations. I used to wake up with heart palpitations and I thought, yeah, I just felt like my body was shutting down. So I went to GP at the time and they said they thought originally was perimenopause, because the symptoms of BII can be very similar to perimenopause and they thought, oh it's, it's perimenopause. Um go on HRT, which I did for four months. Um started putting the patch and I thought I just don't feel any different.

Felt no different. And it wasn't until I spoke to a surgeon in the States where he basically straightaway sort of said it's your breast implants. And at the time I thought, yeah, I had two sets, never had a leakage, never had a rupture. And at the time I thought, yeah, I need to take them eventually out. But I was scared how it was going to look physically.

You know the whole idea of it. I was just used to them, had it for over 14 years, two sets, and then, yeah, the surgeon sort of said you need to take them off. And it wasn't until I came back to the UK and I spoke to an amazing surgeon in the UK and he said, look, look, these were my symptoms. And he said, yeah, let's take them out. And I thought it's a gamble, it's a big gamble, but I thought, okay, I'm gonna take them out. And as soon as I took them out, I remember on the theater, on the bed theater, I started sweating like I've never sweated before and I thought I was being ladylike I've never sweated and it was literally the breast.

Yeah, it was the body, sort of just saying I'm free, now, I'm just. But yeah, I mean, it's not for every woman and and I think the important message here is to is to listen to that gut feel if you think something's off, try and seek medical advice and try and look into into how long before the symptoms started to and I think it took and telling it was basically a year. It took me a year to fight to get to the bottom of what was going on with me that's quite scary.

0:03:54 - Speaker 3

Yeah, a lot of people go to the same thing exactly symptoms, exactly and it started really small.

0:03:59 - Speaker 1

It was the chronic fatigue originally, it was just a bit like, which could be anything exactly and it was by the end of it, by the end of the year. It was so bad that, um even doing blood tests I could, they couldn't get blood out of my system because I was so severely dehydrated and I was drinking loads of water. It was just your body completely shutting down.

0:04:20 - Speaker 2

So what is it? Is it the fact that there's something foreign in your body for a long period of time? It's just like this needs to get out now, and it reacts to it.

0:04:26 - Speaker 1

So the surgeon in the States showed me the implant on top of a tissue paper and with no leakage or rupture. This tissue paper after 24 hours is completely wet and you can actually do that with liquid coming out of it. So imagine that in your lymph nodes. It's a recipe for disaster. But some women they don't have the symptoms and some women don't suffer from breast implant illness. They can go through the whole life with having no sort of symptoms. But my body was just sort of shutting down.

0:05:00 - Speaker 3

In your experience since then, because of your knowledge of it would have grown exponentially. How have you found that a lot of women have those similar symptoms that they maybe wouldn't have diagnosed? Yeah, until they see your story and gone wow, that's, I know, I like yeah.

0:05:14 - Speaker 1

I and I think the UK is still is still a bit slow with things like that, but I think in the US they're much more on it. Um, and I think it's the UK. There's stuff starting to be the way, an awareness of it is starting, which is great, but I think there's we still have a way to do a way long a long way ahead what lessons have you learned from that journey?

0:05:37 - Speaker 2

because I know it's. It's quite different. But with my ADHD and we're comparing it to not knowing what was wrong with me and, yeah, being super tired all the time, failing in school all these different things really messed in my head and I was like what is it like?

0:05:53 - Speaker 1

why am I?

0:05:54 - Speaker 2

yeah, what's going on? How, how was that for the year? Yeah, especially with your thing being like I don't know what's wrong with me. I know there's something wrong. I can't figure this out. Yeah, how was that for you mentally?

0:06:03 - Speaker 1

you do?

you start questioning yourself you do, you're like yeah exactly and everyone was like there's nothing wrong with you and I'm like there is something wrong with me I can feel it there's something off, uh, and the more sort of you know, I saw so many doctors and so many sort of it's just because the awareness is not there. And I think as long as people know of it, then it becomes easier. It's like perimenopause and menopause. Now, you know it's, it's now a much talked subject because people are more aware of it. And ADHD, you know, I think it's important to sort of always talk about and communicate on that completely agree.

0:06:39 - Speaker 2

But yeah, if you could look back, how long ago did you get them? You said 14, so I had two sets you.

0:06:46 - Speaker 1

You're meant to sort of change them every seven years, which I did, so I had them when I was really young, like late 20s, but yeah, I had two sets, change them after the seven years and then, and then that it wasn't until last year that started having the symptoms if you could look back I'm not sure how long that is now time-wise would you go and do it again in your late 20s?

It's hard because I loved having them. I'm not going to lie, I loved having them. I loved how they looked. Would I have them again? Probably not, but you know, it's just. You know I'm not. And I think in every lesson you have to learn from it and you know it did it for a reason, and you know. At least I got to the bottom of it. I think you've got to have always a silver lining.

0:07:37 - Speaker 3

You've got me asking was it the pressure of being in the modeling industry that made you want to do it, or did you always want to have them done?

0:07:42 - Speaker 1

I guess pressure as well. I think is just keeping up with the Joneses and just having that unrealistic standard of perfection which you know a lot of models do. It's in that industry. So I think, yeah, I guess both.

0:07:57 - Speaker 2

Yeah, what advice would you give to? I want to stay on that modeling point. I know we talked briefly about modeling earlier. What advice would you give to young people today who are looking to get into the modeling industry, who might be feeling the pressures of having to look a certain way from social media?

0:08:13 - Speaker 1

yeah, I get a lot of girls sort of send me messages now. It's just like I said, you've got to be thick-skinned, there's going to be a lot of rejection, um, and it's just whether you really want to do it you know, because there's so many now jobs that you can still be, you know, being creative and working on your image and stuff and not being modeling. But I think it's just make sure that you, you know you're prepared to a lot of rejection and don't take it personally.

0:08:39 - Speaker 2

And lastly, what would you like to give advice wise for people looking to get breast implants who may be in their late 20s? Being like this is going to be wicked. Would you advise and be like it could go wrong here, or would you go and just say listen, if you want them, go do it?

0:08:55 - Speaker 1

I think go with your gut, feel I think it's very hard. I still have girlfriends now that they've got the breast implants and they just refuse to see that it's going to do damage. But I think it's such a gamble I think you've got to go with your gut. I think the best advice I could give is if, if someone is thinking of doing it, either make sure that you're you've got an amazing surgeon, or just don't do it. It's just is it worth it?

I don't know, you know but it's very hard for me to say that because I've done it, so it's yeah, it's, it's, yeah, it's a 50 50 exactly I wouldn't.

0:09:32 - Speaker 2

I wouldn't do it now yeah, post-surgery, what did you make? Any significant changes to your lifestyle? Did you make any, you know, eating differently, being more hydrated, more active, or was that kind of just doing the exact same things you were doing before, but after surgery did you feel like you needed to change things up?

0:09:49 - Speaker 1

I did because I I discovered after you know, it takes sort of two years for the silicon to get rid of the body, for the body to get rid of the silicon. So it's things like you've got to detox your liver, um, you know, it's things like that that you've got to really hone in with diet, daily exercise, things like sauna to detox your toxins, things which I didn't know before.

If you've got breast implant illness and you're doing saunas, it makes the whole symptoms worse, which I didn't know. So I was doing saunas at the time when I had breast implants and I felt super tired. After I felt like my symptoms got even worse and it's it's now a link between breast implant illness and so on, and so it's it's like. You know it's a water, but it's the same idea of a plastic water bottle on the heat. You know it's not a good combination.

0:10:40 - Speaker 2

So I read an article and you were saying about ayurveda. Did you start ayurveda after your surgery?

0:10:46 - Speaker 1

I always loved ayurveda before, but I think it was after because it was. You know, it's bringing back the body into homeostasis. It's all about rebalancing the body, which I love the concept of it, and I know that my body needed the balance again. So that's when I started speaking to a lot of practitioners on the on the field and, and you know, I just loved having the herbs and more, the natural state of it all.

0:11:11 - Speaker 3

For those that don't know, watching and listening to this explain roughly what the process is.

0:11:15 - Speaker 1

So Ayurveda is all about rebalancing the body. It's about bringing the body back into homeostasis. It was created in India around sort of 3,000 years ago and it means the balance of life and it's it's very much, you know, it's sort of it's a holistic approach designed to help people sort of lead a healthier, longer life and a balanced life. I think the key here is the balance.

0:11:42 - Speaker 2

Does it include yoga? Yeah, it can do. It can do.

0:11:47 - Speaker 1

It's all about the sort of holistic in general your entire life in general is led through this process Exactly balance.

0:11:53 - Speaker 3

How does that look for you personally specifically. What does that consist of?

0:11:57 - Speaker 1

So it's you know things like I think if you're getting into Ayurveda, you've got things like one invest in a tongue scraper every morning I've got a tongue scraper.

0:12:07 - Speaker 3

It's really good.

0:12:12 - Speaker 1

It's all about, you know, chewing your food slowly and more, because it's very good for digestion, starting your day with water, things like that.

0:12:22 - Speaker 2

So yeah, exactly, okay. Yeah, I watched a TV program about these people in Japan, and they will make the eat with chopsticks oh yeah, slower, yeah, lose, weight, yeah your body can't process it properly, right?

0:12:36 - Speaker 1

you. I think you're meant to chew your food for like 32 times before you swallow it it's something I mean it's, it's full on, I don't do that I can do it. I don't do that but it's, yeah, it's just being more mindful, I guess, isn't it? It's just stopping and making sure that you chew that food.

0:12:52 - Speaker 2

Coming to diet, you sort of all your work's done under three pillars from what I saw on your website, you have diet movement mindset. I'd love to start on diet and debunk all three of them. What can people do for their diet, not just for their mental health, but also for their well-being? What are some of the most effective quick changes? That people can make where they could start right now if they wanted to.

0:13:13 - Speaker 1

I think when people ask me this, I think it's really important I always say to start small Because you've got to do your habits that can translate into your life. So it's whether you've got sort of a diet Coke in the day, just swap that diet Coke with something healthy. It's just doing small swaps and that eventually that can build up to healthy habits.

0:13:37 - Speaker 3

Compounds.

0:13:38 - Speaker 1

Yeah, exactly, I think it's really you know, and it's things like researching different food groups, like you know, fatty fish or leafy greens and their benefits. It's things like researching different food groups, um, like you know, fatty fish or leafy greens, and that their benefits, it's things like that, just being a bit more mindful of it and just doing small swaps throughout the day.

0:13:53 - Speaker 3

I think that makes it into a more long-term sort of habit I saw something really interesting that you did is a lot of people that follow you will ask for advice on nutrition and you'll end up cooking meals for them and to swap certain things.

0:14:05 - Speaker 1

That's a really cool idea that you're cooking stuff for yourself yeah, you know that other people want to do as well, yeah, I always do that, even like when I'm shooting with the team and stuff, you know, I always make sure that they're they're having a good lunch and things like that. So yeah, I live and breathe what I preach. So yeah, I do love doing that. I love cooking in general on your website.

0:14:23 - Speaker 2

You had a quote which I loved. I love my quotes and you said create healthy habits, not restrictions. Yeah, and I loved that and I was literally the first thing I saw when I was like, always stuck with me since I read it a week ago what are your sort of healthy habits around eating which do you try and implement into yours and your family's life?

0:14:42 - Speaker 1

I think healthy habits are so important. I think day to day, I think routine and mindset create healthy habits In terms of. I think it's coming back to the habits again. It's just making sure that you know I don't have chocolate or sweets in the house and things like that, where you'd end up sort of making bad choices. It's eating seasonal if I can, um whenever I can, organic if I can, um. Making sure I cook meals from scratch, um. Just no limit processed food as much as I can just coming back to the basics, I guess do you find cooking helps you with your mental health?

0:15:20 - Speaker 2

it does. It's amazing I mean I put the music on, it's quite meditative.

0:15:24 - Speaker 1

You sort of zone out, but yeah, I love it, I absolutely love it. You try and cook every day. I do.

0:15:29 - Speaker 2

Yeah, this is something I'm trying to do more is I'm not the best cook I've actually gotten, but I'm a big barbecue guy.

0:15:35 - Speaker 1

I like to barbecue. I can't do much else in the uk. It's a bit different, though. Yeah, it's a bit different, maybe like once, once a week max.

0:15:42 - Speaker 2

You could do that with the sun yeah but I find it so therapeutic I don't know what it is about cooking. You just said it. Then, when you put the music on, you're just cooking I think, I think because you kind of just you don't think about anything else you're focused on trying to make something good yeah, and you're, you're marinating. It's a process and then when? It's done, you sit down. It's such a rewarding feeling yeah and I actually think cooking's helped me massively with my mental health yeah is I suffer really badly with anxiety.

Uh, that cup stems from my adhd and my head is such a mess, like the way I sort of see my head is, if you just put a loose coin in a washing machine and it's just ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping everywhere, idea, idea. Oh my god, I didn't do this it's so erratic and I feel like when I'm cooking or when I'm in the gym or playing sport, I have two hours of just yeah silence yeah, I'm focusing on something

or when I'm doing this and you're trying to focus on question preparation and something else. It's the nicest thing for me, because I can't get silence, and cooking is just one of those things I love people to, just even if you're rubbish at it, follow your page, follow the steps that you do, and it's it's such a rewarding thing and something I feel like will be massive soon in terms of the mental health space yeah what's your sort of view on cooking going forward in the mental health space, whether it's just for kids, helping kids, do you reckon that would be something that?

0:17:00 - Speaker 1

could be big. Yeah, I hope so, and I'd love to see things like. You know, jamie oliver's doing an amazing job in that. Yeah, um, you know, see that more in schools. You know they should always have like cooking classes and stuff like that it's so good for them, um, but I think you're right, I think it's, you know it's it's sort of meditative. Meditative, it's sort of finishing that task. So you focus on the task, but it's quite enjoyable at it as well so it's rewarding, yeah, super rewarding.

0:17:25 - Speaker 2

Annoying when you do it wrong, though it's bad when you burn it. You're like I can't believe this, yeah, yeah no, it's great this.

0:17:33 - Speaker 3

Hi guys, I hope you enjoyed part two. First and foremost, if you are across youtube, make sure you like and subscribe and do comment below. It really really helps the channel out loads.

0:17:40 - Speaker 1

Here's what you can expect in part three, enjoy I think pilates is an amazing low impact sort of exercise, as you know I mean it is. It gives amazing results physically but also mentally, because it's the modeling industry. You know how I would look after and I'm so glad I did it, because now I don't. I I don't look back at it. It's those meaningful moments in life and it's just that daily routine. I think that makes me the happiest. It's just the smallest things.