In short
Midlife wellness through small habits, with a focus on sleep, strength training, and hormone replacement therapy. Heidi Swapp explains how her mother’s diagnosis of primary progressive aphasia and her own hysterectomy/hormone changes pushed her into “longevity science,” then into creating her SHIFT program (small habits incrementally fortified together).
Guest background
Heidi Swapp is known for 25 years in the crafting/scrapbooking world (five kids; built a business while raising a family). After her mother’s cognitive decline and Heidi’s own health setbacks, she moved into health and wellness coaching.
Key claims
Sleep is the #1 lever for fat loss, muscle repair, and brain “garbage” clearance; strength training (about 2 hours/week) supports brain, bones, hormones, and confidence; self-love is the hardest but most important shift; Sudoku/jigsaw aren’t enough—metabolic health matters; HRT is a “tool in the toolbox,” not a magic pill.
Notable examples
Her shift from fat-phobic dieting/exhausted survival mode; using a hormone pellet after hysterectomy; starting morning light and a stepwise “shift” approach; teaching “forgive yourself” and daily “three good things.”
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOHeidi Swapp's Background in Crafting
0:45 to 1:54
Heidi shares her journey from successful scrapbooker to health advocate.
“We're both trying to build businesses and do things.”
Personal Family Health Journey
1:54 to 4:54
Heidi discusses her mother's diagnosis and its impact on her life.
“I mean, just like it used to be all getting your film developed and then it went to, you know, it just has changed a lot.”
Cultural Attitudes Towards Health
4:54 to 6:39
Heidi reflects on her family's attitudes towards health and diet.
“But ultimately, and this was right around COVID, she had to move into a facility that could care for her.”
The Impact of Her Mother's Illness
6:39 to 8:16
Heidi describes the emotional challenges of her mother's cognitive decline.
“I remember when she was told she had to go on something for her high cholesterol and she was just devastated that she had to take a medication and always was talking about her cholesterol.”
Discovering Personal Health Control
8:16 to 9:42
Heidi shares her turning point in understanding health and longevity.
“young mom if I was gonna work if I was gonna run this business if I was gonna do anything first I had to be a mom and that took me all day but when my kids were in bed I had all night right and so So that's how I lived.”
Health Challenges After Hysterectomy
9:42 to 14:01
Heidi discusses her struggles with weight gain and energy post-surgery.
“Okay, so you learn this at the complete right moment, which is usually when people hit rock bottom.”
Struggles with Weight and Energy
14:01 to 17:40
Learn about the challenges of weight gain and energy loss during midlife.
“So for the next nine months, I proceeded to gain about 30, 35 pounds.”
The Importance of Hormonal Health
17:41 to 21:04
Discover how hormone replacement therapy can impact overall health.
“Well, lifting weights is so good for the brain.”
Empowerment Through Strength Training
21:05 to 24:20
Understand the benefits of strength training and its effects on confidence.
“We've got to physically exercise and eat right.”
Implementing Small Habits for Health
24:21 to 28:00
Learn about the significance of small, incremental changes for health improvement.
“the very first thing that we have to fix is our sleep.”
Show all 16 chapters
Taking Control of Wellness
28:01 to 31:52
Discover the importance of controlling what you can in your health journey.
“I got to go sign up, and I got to pay for all of these things.”
The Power of Small Shifts
32:07 to 39:52
Understand how small changes in habits can lead to significant health improvements.
“I love hearing the whole story and understanding why you made shift.”
Creating Lasting Change
39:52 to 42:01
Learn how to implement effective health changes ahead of the new year.
“So I'm doing it a little bit different and I'm doing it in small group cohort kind of methods.”
Creating Healthy Habits Ahead of the Holidays
42:01 to 44:39
Learn how to maintain healthy habits during the holiday season.
“And now I'm going to get serious about some lifting weights and some body composition change.”
The Importance of Hormone Replacement Therapy
44:40 to 46:05
Understand the role of HRT in midlife wellness and its benefits.
“I just love your story that you're letting people know, like, it doesn't matter whatever age you're at.”
Excitement as a Key to Happiness
46:06 to 48:39
Discover how fostering excitement can enhance overall well-being.
“And I think that when we take that responsibility seriously, it blesses everyone around us.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Just Ingredients:Welcome to the Just Ingredients podcast. I'm Cara Lynn and here we dive deep into the journey of healing and wellness. If you're ready to learn, feel empowered, and take charge of your health, you're in the right place. Welcome back to the show everyone. Today's guest I bet a lot of you know from Instagram. It is Heidi Swapp and a lot of you guys know her from the crafting world. Yeah. But she and I had booths next to each other at a health and wellness conference this summer and we started chit-chatting and she is in the health and wellness space now. And so we have so many fun things to talk about today.
0:39Just Ingredients:So welcome to the show. I'm thrilled to be here and I'm happy to see you again. I need to like hang out and go on a girl's trip. That's what we know. I know we do. We need a break. Neither one of us go on girl's trips. Don't be ridiculous. But still, we should do that. Because we don't have the time. We're both trying to build businesses and do things. Yes. And we have kids and grandkids. And what are we doing? I mean, it is crazy. It is busy. It is super busy. Okay. Like I said, though, you've been in the crafting world for years and years. Yes. I mean, everybody knows you as the crafter and the scrapbooker and the cutesy thing.
1:14Just Ingredients:All the things that I am not, just FYI. Okay. So we have some work to do. Yeah, exactly. You're still doing that, but also are in the health and wellness space. So tell my listeners like why what what happened here I could talk for a really long time about this I'm going to try to make this pretty short because I have been a scrapbooker for 25 years and I've loved it and it has been what has supported my family and it has been a business and it's gone through a lot of ups and downs and it has changed a lot in those 25 years. I mean, just like it used to be all getting your film developed and then it went to, you know, it just has changed a lot.
2:02And the thing that didn't change was that I was working my guts out. I have five kids. And so I first started when I only had three kids, started the business side of it when I had three kids. I mean, I was always scrapbooking. And so I've always just worked myself silly, honestly. So 10 years ago, I would say 10 to 12 years ago, my mom started to demonstrate some issues with her cognition. And she was diagnosed with something called primary progressive aphasia. I didn't have any idea what that was. My entire family tree is memory care you know, memory loss situations. People dealing with dementia.
2:51Whether it was dementia or Alzheimer's. Honestly, that's just what I thought. That's what I expected. That's what I expected for myself. Okay. Makes sense. So when, but my mom started really early exhibiting these issues. Then it took a while until she was diagnosed. When she was diagnosed, there was no answers. Nobody could tell us what caused it. Nobody really knew what it was. And for anybody listening, this is like a frontal lobe communication disease of the brain. So everybody's familiar with Bruce Willis.
3:26Just Ingredients:This is what Bruce Willis has. It's not talked about a lot. It's a form of dementia. It certainly progresses any kind of brain disease, any kind of memory loss or cognition loss. It escalates. But for her, it affected her communication skills. She lost her ability to speak and her ability to understand. And for a while, she could write. And she always held on to numbers. So time made sense to her. She knew where she was. She wasn't incoherent. It was like she was aware. And so she was madder than a hornet. So she was aware. She just couldn't verbalize things to you. Yeah, that would be really frustrating.
4:06And it was extremely, extremely frustrating. So as things progressed and we would go to doctor's appointments with her and we'd try to figure it out, I kept on just thinking, I wonder how soon this is going to set in for me. So my mind was already like diagnosing myself. So every time it was like I was missing a word, I couldn't think of a word. Oh my gosh, I have it. You know, like so as she got worse, my anxiety was getting worse. And the doctors were like, it's not genetic. We don't know why. You know, her sisters didn't have it. This was different than what her mom had or her mom's mom had.
4:44So it was different. And there's still not a lot of answers. But as things escalated and we tried to take care of her, we had home health support. We had various levels of support trying to help my mom and dad. But ultimately, and this was right around COVID, she had to move into a facility that could care for her. And I mean, every day she was trying to escape. Oh, so sad. Like it was so hard. And then I'm going to say side note, she was so interested in her health. Always, always. She was to the obsessed level. Oh, wow. In fact, my mom was an excellent journaler. She was a prolific scrapbooker, even though she wasn't my kind of scrapbooking, like this fancy artistic.
5:28She was a very like functional scrapbooker and a very, when I say religious, I don't mean like religious, but she was journaling all the time. And so in her journal, it's like she's talking about how much she weighed. She's talking about how far she ran. Like it was very being skinny. Back in the day when it was important to her. She would not eat any fat. It was a highly, highly fat free zone.
5:55Just Ingredients:I remember those days because I was in college when it was a big fat free era. Well, I'm sure you and I are about the same age. What year did you graduate from high school? 93. Do you tell people? So I'm a few years older than you. I graduated in 90. And that's how I grew up. Being really, really afraid of fat, thinking sugar was fine, you know, and caffeinating. Oh, interesting. Right? Because I was also always, always had a million things that I was working on and trying to do. And so did my mom. And I'm just going to throw on this for like a side note. I don't know if we'll ever come into this, but her mom, super, super healthy, really into whole foods, made like weird drinking concoctions called tiger's milk.
6:37I don't even know what was in it, but like she was pretty holistic. I remember when she was told she had to go on something for her high cholesterol and she was just devastated that she had to take a medication and always was talking about her cholesterol. And I remember my mom being like, I'm not going to be like my mom. No, I'm not going to have cholesterol issues. So I'm not going to eat eggs. Oh boy. We're not eating red meat. Oh boy. We're not eating any fat. Like, so you know where I'm going, right? So I just thought this is what we do. We eat really lean. We exercise so we can eat what we want.
7:12Like, so you kill yourself with exercise so that you can get away with some calories. And some calories. The story of my family is, and I'm going to say this, very fat phobic. Like it was not acceptable.
7:25Just Ingredients:Oh, to be overweight. To be heavy. Yeah. And the comments, there were a lot of comments. whenever anybody says that. For the girls. Interesting. For the girls. And I'm talking about like, it was a culture for our family. For the younger listeners, this is how we grew up. You and I grew up in this generation where it wasn't cool to be strong. You needed to be skinny. There was harsh judgments upon those that weren't skinny. And we all feared fat. In college, I remember counting my grams of fat and I was so glad if I got less than 10 grams of fat per day, which is terrible. right because our hormones need fat our brain is mainly fat it needs so much fat I mean there's so many things in our body that need healthy fat nobody was talking about that no one I was afraid of fat and I wasn't sleeping because that's how I had an edge right moving into like when I was a young mom if I was gonna work if I was gonna run this business if I was gonna do anything first I had to be a mom and that took me all day but when my kids were in bed I had all night right and so So that's how I lived.
8:32Okay, so, fast forward. My mom has this brain problem, and I see this highly functional, capable woman absolutely change. Change completely. Completely change. And it was devastating because I thought this is my path.
8:45Just Ingredients:Mm-hmm. I would, too. Because of course it is. My grandma, my mom, this is going to be me. That's what you think. And so I went into my mom dying. and so now this is five-ish years ago, believing that there was nothing that I could do. Oh, wow. Okay, so this is all new for you. This is so new for me. I remember listening to a Huberman podcast and him saying Alzheimer's is not genetic. And I was like, wait, rewind it. And that sent me like learning about how important muscle mass is, how important sleep is, and then on into all of the lifestyle habits that have to be there in order for me to hopefully maybe possibly counteract the literal abuse that I have inflicted on myself for 50 years.
9:41Just Ingredients:Yeah. Oh, that's incredible. And so I was like the amount of hope that was infused into me at the exact time that I was watching my mom decline the hardest, when I was the most receptive ever and being taught for the first time for me that I had complete control of what my future actually looked like in terms of my health and my longevity. I was like all in. I love it. Okay, so you learn this at the complete right moment, which is usually when people hit rock bottom. Right. Right. It's when the cancer diagnosis comes. Right. Depression's too much. In this case, you know, the anxiety with your mom and all of that.
10:22Just Ingredients:So you hit rock bottom. Let's say you learn this, you have hope. But how did you go about learning all of this? Well, I will say in the scrapbooking, this is a very hands-on profession for me. So it's hours and hours and hours in my studio of me crafting. And so like, it's really hard to watch something on Netflix. It would have to be something that you don't have to actually watch. You could listen to. And so podcasts really are my favorite thing because I don't have to watch. I can just listen, listen, listen. And so it would be just hours and hours of listening. Now, I will say this. Back when I was in high school and transitioning into college, I wanted to go to medical school.
11:02Oh, okay. And whatever, all the things that happened transpired. I served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I served in Portugal. And in that transition, came home, got married, and I got bit by scrapbooking. It was really kind of when that happened. And when it was like, okay, I was excited about being married. I was excited about new babies. And who even aspires to being a scrapbooker? So I did have a lot of years and a lot of curiosity around in the medical field. I wanted to be a heart doctor. And back in this time, this is like in the late 90s, there was kind of this emerging preventative medicine, kind of baby starting.
11:46I still like, I feel like it's come a long ways. It has come a long way. So interestingly enough, that's what I was the most curious about when I was that age. Like, how can we prevent this? There's no money in prevention, so dang it. You know, but I turned into a scrapbooker and it was really, really weird. So I do have like a really artistic vein in one side of my family. And there I was doing scrapbooking, not anticipating at all. But I do have this real curiosity. And so I think that when those things kind of collided, you know, five years ago was also exactly the time that I had a hysterectomy.
12:24Oh, OK. So we're talking like five, six years ago. My mom is crashing out. I'm really crashing out because here's what happens when you get a hysterectomy. And I have a full hysterectomy because I had stuff happening with my ovaries always.
12:38Just Ingredients:OK. So we're talking about a full scale hysterectomy. And I'm like, what do you do with the hormone situation? Like, how am I going to handle that? He's like, you don't need to worry about it. Oh, wow. This is six years ago. Oh, wow. I'm 48. He's like, you're healthy. I was decently healthy. I had bladder problems. And I'm going to tell you, I don't know what camera I got to look into. If you've got a bladder problem, get it fixed. Insurance does cover it. You have any babies and you got a bladder problem. And so this holds people back. Now, my bladder problem was pretty serious because I was like having like, this is more than anybody wants to know but we're all friends here everything on my inside was was coming down so i had a little bladder like being squished something okay i don't i don't know exactly but when my doctor showed me in the model like what it was supposed to look like and then showed me my pictures of what it looked like i was like no wonder oh no wonder why i'm having problems so i got that fixed okay but getting your bladder fixed gives you your life back.
13:39I don't know who needs to hear this. I say this all the time, but if you don't feel like you can run into the grocery store without having a leak or it's miserable. Yeah, that would be.
13:51Just Ingredients:So that would be miserable. Okay. So you get your bladder fixed. I got my bladder fixed and I get a full hysterectomy. He was like, you are going to be great. In fact, I got things tightened up. We were great. Yeah. So for the next nine months, I proceeded to gain about 30, 35 pounds. Oh, wow. my energy just crashed. And I was used to being like a really high energy person. Again, staying up all night. This was my pattern. I was a late night person. I just told myself, I'm talking like not going to bed till two, three o 'clock in the morning. Normal. And I also wasn't a great eater because here's what happens when you're exhausted.
14:28You just eat whatever's the quickest thing, right? You're just grabbing for it. And I didn't know any of the things that I know now. So I was just living this survival mode. And when you lose all of your hormones. Can't live in survival mode anymore. The depression was real, probably because I was gaining so much weight. Anything that I had done before that maybe kept it at bay was not working. So I remember getting to the point when literally my fat pants, I was bursting out of my fat pants. And that was bad. And I remember my little sister, who is a nurse, and she kind of slid this paper across the table at me at family dinner.
15:07She's like, I asked one of the older nurses. So I'm about nine years older than my sister. I asked one of the older nurses on my floor, like, how to help you. Because everybody in my family knew. Yeah. Right? Because when you're the mom, when you're the woman in the family, people notice when you're not okay. Yeah. And that's hard because now everybody is like kind of tiptoeing around.
15:30Just Ingredients:Like, who's going to tell her? Who's going to ask her what she's going to do? You know, like, because I was volatile as well. Yeah. It was a hormone doctor. Oh, that she slid the paper to you. Okay. And I had not done a lot of research because I had been told, don't worry about it. You'll be fine. And it seemed just overwhelming. And nobody talked about hormone replacement. Yeah, five, six years ago. Even six years ago. Yeah. It was not even on the menu. Much more talked about now. Yeah. Thank heavens. Right. So I went and got my hormones fixed. This is about the same time that I learned. Like I could take charge of my, your brain health, my brain health.
16:08And for the first time in my life, I was way more concerned about my brain health than the number on the scale. Oh, I love it. And, you know, hormone replacement is a big topic. I don't know how much you cover it here. And I think I've learned so much about it. I'm such a believer and such an advocate for hormone replacement. I, I mean, I'm an extreme girl. So I went with the hardest hitting, which is the pellet. So I do have a pellet, research it. So within about three weeks, I was feeling better. And my brain, like I was going down rabbit hole after rabbit hole of how do I prevent Alzheimer's?
16:47How do I optimize my brain health? And it was like strength training. So I didn't know how to do that because I'd only ever just gone and done cardio.
16:58Just Ingredients:Yep. That was our generation. That's all you do. We did not do strength training. I got a coach. I still work with the same coach. And I'm going to tell you that learning how to lift weights is the most empowering, exciting, thrilling, hard, like best thing that you can do. I only lift weights two hours a week. Oh, really? Two times a week? Uh-huh. And there's a lot of people are like four times. I'm not trying to be in a show. Okay. I don't need to be in a bikini show. I just want to be strong and confident. And so So those two hours a week I put in the work and it's totally transformed my body in a way that in 50 years I'd never experienced.
17:40Just Ingredients:Well, that's incredible. Well, lifting weights is so good for the brain. It's good for your bones. It's good for your hormones. It's good for your gut. Like the list of things. Every single thing. Yeah. And it's so exciting, actually, when you hear people talk about what happens to a woman's body. when women lift weights, the transformation can happen so quickly for women. You know, we say things like lift heavy weights. We're not talking about 95 pounds in each hand. Like, like we're not talking about heavy weights for what my husband's heavy weights are. Right. But none of these two or three pound weights that you're, you know, like, that's what we used to do in our cardio classes.
18:17Just Ingredients:We used to be like, and pull, and pull. You know, like a two pound weight. And that does make you tired, right? But I love the weightlifting thing. You look amazing, like you lift every single day. Well, I do, and I absolutely do not. That's incredible. Okay, but you've learned all of this now, and you've now created a program to help other women, right? Just full disclosure, in my arena of crafty women, they don't like to hear it. Oh, they don't? And why is that? People don't like to hear it. Well, first of all, people are saying like stay in your lane. Oh, interesting. You're a crafter, not a health and wellness person.
18:58Just Ingredients:You're swapping. Yeah, stop it. Okay, that's ridiculous because all people need to be healthy no matter whatever their job or talent or hobby is. 100%. And so I really just thought everybody was just going to be so excited for me to come and tell them, change your entire life so that you can live longer and be healthier and do the things that you love. Because here's what was happening. is that I may have been doing this for a long time. So the women who follow me, the women who are scrapbooking, they're starting to tell me, I don't really do that. You know, like all the things we used to scrapbook, it used to be your kids, it used to be all these activities.
19:33And so life changes, right? And so then your scrapbooking changes. And then you're like, I don't really do this anymore. I don't have the energy for that. I don't have the energy for this. And I'm thinking, well, we can't just stop doing stuff. People would literally write me messages and say, I don't really have anything to document.
19:51Just Ingredients:Oh, that's sad. And I was like, that is sad. What do you mean? Let's do something with our life. But when you have low energy, when you feel like crap, when your body hurts, when you start to lose confidence, and that's what happens as we start to age, as soon as you feel a little weak when you're trying to do a hike, your confidence starts to go and that affects your brain. right and the minute you don't want to get down the big box of decorations to put out anymore because you're nervous to stand up on the ladder or the box is too heavy like some of these things start to affect your confidence which then stops you stop challenging yourself and then the body and the brain parallel each other as we let our body start to get weaker as we don't challenge our body as much, the same thing happens to our brain.
20:48It's just going to be like a little parallel. Makes sense. And all the Sudoku in the world isn't going to keep that brain sharp. It has to come from the metabolic process.
21:00Just Ingredients:Yeah. And so we all kind of thought, well, if we just do jigsaw puzzles and Sudoku, our brain's going to be sharp. It's not. Yeah. We've got to physically exercise and eat right. Yes. And sleep. There's a bunch of things. A bunch of things. There's a bunch of things. And this is where it gets a little bit stressful. My whole career, I've been a teacher and I've traveled around the whole world, like teaching people how to scrapbook, which seems kind of dumb, right? Like it's kind of like, I'm like, but these scrapbooks are amazing in a family. I mean, it's memory. It's capturing all the memories.
21:34It is. So it is amazing. It's like the heart, right? But I've always kind of felt like kind of nerdy. I'd sit on an airplane And they'd be like, no, what is scrapbooking? And I'm like, well, yes, I'm a Mormon. You know, like kind of this, there's like this cultural thing to it. And, but here's the thing. Every time I would teach a class, it's like, okay, you got to break it down into the small steps and you've got to make it easy to do. And you've got to make it kind of replicable. And you've kind of got to create a pattern that you can follow if you're teaching people. And so I've always been a teacher.
22:04And when you start to hear about all of the things that have to go into it, it's very much like crafting because with crafting you gotta have a lot of stuff right you can't just get one little stamp set and be like i'm gonna craft with this no that's true you need 70 stamp sets and you need not just three colors of ink you need 70 colors of ink right because if you're really gonna have it and so that's the papers that's where these scrapbook rooms start coming yeah like because you gotta have all of the stuff this is a little bit how it is there's a lot of stuff in this health space. And the reality is you don't really need all that craft stuff in order to make something beautiful.
22:44And all the noise in the health space, you don't actually need to be healthy. But it does really help to have it broken down and say, here's where to start. Yep. I agree. But what I learned, and this is the hardest sell, with a scrapbooking project or like a mini book project or some project I can like take all these photos of this project and I can say buy this kit and we will make this and people will buy it because they're like okay I want to make this I love that it looks so cute it doesn't work that way with health I know because they have to do something and it's hard because it's hard it is hard and there's not a kit and there's not
23:24Just Ingredients:this is what you're going to get and sometimes there's not a great like outcome to actually look at like your finished product of your scrapbooking. Months and months of doing the same thing. This is what we do. We look at like a health magazine and we look at that image on the front of the health magazine and we think that's what I want. We're looking for that end product. And for a lot of people, I think especially our age, it's, well, I want to lose weight. I want to be skinny. I want to fit in my clothes. I want to look good in a swimsuit or whatever that thing is. And so the message has always been, well, restrict your calories and get into the gym.
Read the full transcript
24:03Yep. And that's part of it. Only part of it. Hormones play a big part of it.
24:08Just Ingredients:Sleep plays a big part of it. There's a lot of things. But here's the thing that I believe so strongly in this teaching that I'm trying to create, right? That I've been like, how do I take this, what I have learned? All these podcasts and what I have tried and what my coaches have taught me, the very first thing that we have to fix is our sleep. And when somebody comes to you and they're like, okay, I want to get fit. I want to get fit. I'm ready. I'm ready to make changes. And you're like, okay, we're going to start working on sleep. And they're like, sleep? That's so boring. Right. That's not going to affect.
24:42That's not going to help me. The reality is number one thing that you can do for your body if you want to create change in your body is sleep. and unfortunately we're not sleeping great. In the shift program, do you teach like six hours, seven hours, eight hours or? Well, we teach a shift. So it's really hard if for many, many years you have been a terrible sleeper. And when I say terrible sleeper, I'm talking to moms who have high school age kids that want to stay out till midnight and you're thinking to yourself, well, if that kid comes in late, you know, like you're like, I got to be awake
25:19Just Ingredients:because if they come in late, that is it I'm taking away the phone or what you know whatever the thing is like how do I tell a mom you're gonna go to bed before your kid comes home yeah a mom is like like my whole entire job is to stay awake until my kid comes home so we have to teach in shifts so what I have had to do for myself is create little teeny tiny changes and then go back and create another little tiny change and then go back and create a little tiny change so I came up with an acronym the name of our platform of the program is shift and that stands for small habits incrementally fortified together oh I love that and so it's not one thing it is a lot of little things you know I think that every brand new year and happy new year like I want that staples easy button and I just want to like hit it I want to change my whole entire life I just want I'm like clean slate we're doing everything different and I can do it for like 24 hours right you know so this is taking on the program takes on 12 shifts oh okay 12 things and and we start out by teaching the science teaching a little bit of the science you don't have to do all the Huberman but we teach enough science to where you're like, oh, I probably didn't know that fat loss happens when I sleep.
26:47Okay. I probably didn't know that muscle repair happened when I sleep. I probably didn't know that my brain was being cleaned. Right. When I slept. I didn't know any of those things. Right. So then all of a sudden I'm like, if I want to clear the garbage out of my brain, I've got to actually sleep. And four hours isn't cutting it. Yeah. Right. I started saying, okay, I'm going to go to sleep in the 11 o 'clock hour. And it was usually like 11.59 that I'm like sliding in, you know, and now I don't get past 10.30. Oh, good for you. But it has taken me four years to shift myself. To undo that habit.
27:25So then we talk about what is our nighttime routine. And nighttime routine is just one of the factors because really the thing that affects your sleep, the very, very most is like actually our third shift, which is morning light. Morning. Yep. Which is, you know, all 12 of these shifts are completely free.
27:42Just Ingredients:Oh, I love it. Well, I mean, we got to pay for our protein. Well, and our good food, I was going to say. We got to pay for our food. But most of these lifestyle changes are choices that we actually have 100 % control of, and they are completely free. I love that. Which is why we don't do it, right? Because we have to be accountable. I got to go sign up, and I got to pay for all of these things. But the reality is, I think that humans tend to complain more and worry more about what we can't control than what we can control. Interesting. This is me, probably my whole life. I love being so worried about the things that I can't control.
28:21And when I started shifting and looking at this, like realistically, what are the things that I can control and realize that I wasn't controlling them? Like it was a really a humbling experience. So what I would say to answer your question, I told you it was going to take me forever. You asked me, why would you start talking about health and wellness? Why would you move into this space that is so overwhelming with experts and information and opinions and ideas? It's a loud space.
28:55Just Ingredients:Yes, very conflicting ideas. Sev, why would you do that when you could just scrapbook? Welcome to the world. Shut up and scrapbook, right? But what I'm not hearing in that space loud enough is that you can be in complete control of your future. You can decide what you want your 80-year-old self to look like. And you can take charge of that. You can be in 100 % complete control of that. And here is how. I feel better than I've ever felt in my whole life. Do I have less stress? No. Is my life easier? No. I'm still building my crafting business. I'm still supporting my family. I have grandbabies.
29:42I have a growing family, but I feel in control of my body. And when I wake up in the morning, I feel refreshed. I love it. The biggest eye-opening things to me was that when I eat protein, especially in the morning, I'm not a crazy psychopath. So it was affecting your mood. A million percent. Because now when I wake up and, you know, I'm, I'm pretty obsessed with this lady named the glucose goddess. Oh yeah.
30:16Just Ingredients:She's been on our show. Oh, she, yeah. Well, I gotta go back. I missed it. Yeah. I thought that I'd seen her, like, she's one that I really love to like trail after. When I eat a savory breakfast and I, and I actually love how she teaches because she doesn't say never eat a cookie and never eat chocolate cake. And I appreciate that because I'm not, I don't, I don't want to be miserable either. When I eat a solid breakfast, it just sets me up. For a good day. Yeah. And then at 1030, you know what happens? At 1030 night, I am ready for bed. Yeah, same. And that is it. I can't even stay up for a good time.
30:49Yeah, I'm the same way.
30:51Just Ingredients:We were at an event last night and I was like, okay, Okay, it's time to go. It's almost my bedtime. Get me out of here. Let's take a quick break to hear from our show sponsor. Active Skin Repair uses a proprietary formulation tested in hospitals featuring hypochlorous acid, a molecule that mimics the body's natural immune response to cleanse, soothe irritation, reduce inflammation, and support healing. Their hydrogel version creates a protective, moisture-rich barrier to keep skin hydrated, support faster healing, and provide a cooling, soothing effect for irritated or damaged skin. They've also launched the Active Skin Repair Hydrating Daily Sunscreen SPF 50, a lightweight, non-greasy, EWG-verified mineral sunscreen that provides broad-spectrum protection while helping maintain a skin's moisture barrier, making it ideal for sensitive or healing skin.
31:41Just Ingredients:Trusted by over 1 million customers and clinicians with thousands of five-star reviews, Active Skin Repair offers a simple, clean solution for the whole family's skin health needs. To learn more and get 20 % off your order, visit activeskinrepair.com and use code JUSTINGREDIENTS. You can also find Active Skin Repair on Amazon and at your local CVS. Now back to the show. So I'm sorry, I just spewed so much. No, no, no. I love it. I love hearing the whole story and understanding why you made shift. And I love that shift is free stuff and that it's little tiny steps because that is the problem. There's so much noise out there that people are like, I don't even know where to start.
32:24Just Ingredients:And even when I went on my health journey, because I grew up just eating the American Standard Diet and if it was on the store shelf, then I thought it was healthy and that's what we should eat. Well, especially when it says healthy. Yeah, or natural. Healthy choice. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, so I had to relearn it too, but I remembered working with my doctor being like, you have to give me one little step at a time because if you give it all to me, I'm just going to throw my hands up in the air and be like, I can't. So I love those tiny little steps. But I'm curious, besides sleep or weightlifting, what's been the hardest shift for you to take out of the 12?
32:58They've all been actually really hard for me. And I really have had to do it really slowly and pretty much with lots of resistance. I'm a real, it's not been just easy for me. Yeah.
33:10Just Ingredients:Which is typical, I think. That's more of the norm than not. But I'm going to tell you what is the hardest shift. And I also think it's the most important. And it's the hardest shift to teach. I'm going to tell you that it's loving yourself. I spent so many years being critical and judgmental of myself, comparing myself. And I don't even have to compare myself because I'm just mean enough to myself. You know, I don't even need anybody to try to be better than. I just am a real jerk to myself. I've had a lot of self-hating issues. And I did a lot of like, if it's fun, then it's not focused. Or if I enjoy it, we got to keep that at a minimum.
33:51You know, I just really was a highly work-centric, sacrifice-believing human. And I felt like if I was happy, then I was slacking. Oh, interesting. About the time I turned 50, I realized I was just so tired of hating myself. And interestingly enough, I wasn't trying to convince myself to love myself. That was a big thing when I lost Corey and my coach therapist podcast partner would be like, you have to best friend yourself. Like that was something we talked about all the time. Are you your own best friend? Are you supporting yourself? And I wasn't.
34:30Just Ingredients:A lot of women don't. Didn't know how to do that. Yeah. And I literally think that I just got so tired of hating myself. Like I just didn't have the energy to do it. That was when physically my body changed the most. Oh, interesting. I think that self-love is the most powerful shift. And the hardest, like you said. And the hardest. So I'm curious, though, how you teach that. Well, and that's what I'm saying. Teaching it is really, really hard. And, you know, first of all, you have to forgive yourself. And that's another one of the things that I've been working on since losing Corey is thinking every day there's that, there's the quote that you have to forgive yourself for the things that you didn't know.
35:13Just Ingredients:Yeah. I think self-forgiveness is really important. Yeah. And giving yourself grace for all of the things that you just can't do at all. We're not superhuman. Yep. The second thing was taught to me by another coach that she's got to be on her podcast. Her name is Ashley DeLillo. Oh, she was on our podcast. Oh, she was. Oh, good. Oh, good. Okay, you guys, go and listen to Ashley's podcast. She's great. She is one of my dear, dear friends. I hike with her a lot. She was my coach first and then became one of my dear, dear friends. And so can't coach me anymore. But she would teach me to love my arms because I can wrap them around the people that I love and love my feet because they're going to carry.
35:56You know, like, so we literally would talk about loving each part of my body for what it was doing for me. And that makes me feel emotional because I was so mad at myself all the time. I'm mad at my feet for not running faster. Or I'm mad at my butt for being so big or, you know, whatever it was. Like, she really helped me look at my body for what the capacity and what the capability and what it was giving me. And then she got me and she was like, look at the memories that your body has given you. I love that. And that was the one that really got me because I'm so thankful for my body.
36:31Just Ingredients:Yeah. Even though it's a hard shift, even if you think about like plants or growing little baby plants, you got to love them and you've got to nurture them and you've got to protect them. And when things are loved and protected and nurtured, they grow and they thrive. And that is our body too. Nothing thrives in toxic environments. and so if your brain is toxic it's not thriving yeah well I love what Ashley teaches about just the neurons in your brain and making the pathways to not be negative but to be positive something that I love that we've actually started having our kids do so that they can hopefully love themselves from a young age and we just started this like a month ago because of a psychologist that was on here is every night writing three good things that you remind me of the same because I listen to this podcast dr craig manning i want to go be coached by by him right like he was amazing yes yeah and so say it again writing down three things that you're proud of yeah that you did good that day and sometimes i'm a nitpicker and i love to judge and criticize my first reaction is to always go to the negative of like well we should have done this differently i should have done this differently and so it's been so good for me to be like oh i actually did this really well and I did this or, you know, and so it's a good training of your mind to look for the good.
37:58Well, and in that episode, you talked about the pathways of your brain being like a river. I know you talk about that a lot.
38:03Just Ingredients:From Ashley. She's actually the one who originally taught me that. Isn't that funny? A small world here. Yeah, she talks about that a lot and how we have control of that. We can divert those thoughts And it is hard, but that kind of awareness creates that neuroplasticity, which is so exciting. Yeah. And our mind doesn't know if it's truth or a lie. And so we have to tell our brains the good things. And that affects like that we can lift weights and we can get ourself to sleep and we can, you know, do the things to let us age gracefully. Absolutely. So I love that. That is so funny. Yeah. You need to have like a party of all of your guests.
38:47All the people that... And let me come.
38:50Just Ingredients:That would be a fun party, actually. It would be so fun. So tell the listeners, though, because they probably are like, oh, I can relate to you. I get it. Like, I'm confused with all the noise. Yeah, I hate making big changes. Yeah, after 24 hours on January 2nd, I'm already done with my goals. So if they want help or they want to join the SHIFT program, how do they find SHIFT? Okay. So I launched Shift like last year in November. And I saw it being something. And then it kind of morphed into something else. And the perfectionist in me and the entrepreneur in me and, ah, it's been a tricky thing.
39:31This whole health industry situation, these wellness people, like, this is hard. I laugh just because I know what you're talking about. It's really hard. and convincing women to put themselves even on the list is hard. And I know I don't have it perfect yet, but I'm also not wanting to give up. So I'm doing it a little bit different and I'm doing it in small group cohort kind of methods. And it's in four month increments. Oh, okay. So I'm getting ready to start a new cohort on October 1st.
40:08Just Ingredients:Oh, okay. So you can't come into the program anytime. Whenever you want. And it is a private coached group by me. And then I have a partner. Her name is Chelsea. She is my personal trainer. So she helps. She's amazing. I met her at the booth. She's amazing. And then Dr. Watts, who is a functional doctor, who helps us with blood work, who helps us with supplements. supplements we do get people on a liver support supplement and on a mineral supplement because most people our age our livers are not cranking the way they're overburdened with so many things through all the years so the liver is something that i believe in that if we can support our liver everything else yeah just does so much better our sleep our hormone protection you know know, all of our digestion.
40:58I mean, I don't have to tell you, but anyway. So if you are listening and knowing that it's kind of going to be every four months, this is the biggest, trickiest time of the year.
41:09Just Ingredients:October, November, December are really tricky times. And then you'll get hit with January when you're supposed to like become a new person, right? But if you start these shifts at this time, you're setting yourself up for this amazing beginning of a new year. So we start with the shifts and it's like sleep and hydration and eating protein at every meal and getting morning light and stretching and gratitude and regulating your nervous system and being playful and tracking and kind of all of these little habits that will take us through the end of the year while we kind of do a little reset on our liver, a little bit of a cleanse with a binder supplement.
41:55And then by the new year, you're ready to kind of jump into, okay, I'm sleeping and I'm eating. And now I'm going to get serious about some lifting weights and some body composition change.
42:06Just Ingredients:Well, I love that you're starting in October because a lot of people need help through November and December, which I'm like, if you can create them as habits in October and November, 100%. Thanksgiving and Christmas really are not that big of a deal. Well, and Chelsea has taught me a holiday is a holiday. Yeah, right? Okay. I have a hard time relating. This is bad. When people are like, oh, I blew it through the holidays. I'm like, enjoy your piece of pie at Thanksgiving and you're done. Christmas, enjoy whatever for that day and you're done. Move on. How did that ruin everything? Right. Still keep exercising.
42:42Just Ingredients:Still keep sleeping. Still manage your stress. Right. So I know. I know people struggle with it. I mean, the holidays are the most stressful time. We get ourselves really hyped up in our brains. And that is why January we're like, okay, I just have to change everything about myself, right? But starting in October is so powerful. It is. And then it's so exciting for a new year. So I'll be talking about it on my social media. I'm kind of still in this like learning, growing. I've had several people that I've coached. And I'm going to tell you that coaching is really exciting. Like it's really fun.
43:21Oh, I love that. And watching people change. Now, my goal is not let's help you lose all this weight. My goal is let's help you feel better and think better. And know what to do and feel confident. I love that. Okay, but tell them your social media handles so they can come. At HeidiSwap on Instagram. It's really the only place I'm doing Instagram. Except for everybody keeps telling me I should get on TikTok because that's where the new scrapbookers are. And I'm just like, wow, okay. I gotta get excited for that. Join Shift Collective is the Instagram for the shift. We also have a podcast that I do with Dr.
44:01Watts. And that's starting up again in October. We've had a little summer break. Oh, good. And then I have a private Instagram where that's where I interact with my group on a daily basis. So when you join the group, we have an app for all the tracking, for tracking the habits and interaction. And then on Instagram is where this little private group where I talk to you every day and teach. Oh, I love that.
44:26Just Ingredients:Okay. So if people want the help of a community, the accountability, tiny little steps, nothing major and drastic, they can come and find out all the info. Yeah. Okay. I could ask you like 10 million questions about the whole shift, but we'll save that for those that join. I just love your story that you're letting people know, like, it doesn't matter whatever age you're at. Let's just start. And I love that you're an advocate of HRT, hormone replacement therapy. Like it was life-saving to you. It was life-saving. And it really can be for others. I tell people it's another tool in the toolbox.
45:05Just Ingredients:I always tell people like if you're only doing that and not managing your sleep and your diet and your exercise, it's not the magic pill. Right. But it is a great tool in the toolbox. There's no magic pill. I know. We all wish there was. Believe me. Selling supplements, people think I sell the magic pill. And I'm like, none of these are the magic pill. But if you're low in vitamin D and you take vitamin D, it sure is going to make you feel better. So yes, it's true. Well, thank you so much for being here on the show. After listening to all of this, what's the one thing you hope people take away?
45:37I want people to know that they can be healthy and energetic at every single age. We're not supposed to wear out like that. Our bodies are magical. And I think that our creator has given us every single thing that we need. And I believe that our creator expects us and has given us the responsibility to really figure that out and optimize this physical body.
46:05Just Ingredients:I love that. And I think that when we take that responsibility seriously, it blesses everyone around us. I could say so much to that because I really believe in that as well. So thank you again for being here. I loved it. I always end my podcast by asking my guests five quick questions. Okay. Are you okay to answer these? Okay, here we go. Number one, what emerging health topic are you most excited about right now? Sleep was the answer to all of them, but that's too boring. So I love longevity science. I think it is so interesting. And I am so much more about how to get the most out of my years.
46:44And I just think it's fascinating and exciting. I know.
46:48Just Ingredients:Just last night at this event I was at, I was talking to someone all about mitochondrial health and the longevity. And there's just some really cool research out there about as we age, or mitochondria just need a lot of help and support. And there are things out there now to help it. And if we just support them, we're going to feel so much better. It's so exciting. Yeah. Okay, number two. What's a piece of advice you give your younger self besides to sleep? I'm just going to go back to the loving yourself. Like you're doing better than you think. Yeah. You're great. Give yourself grace. Yeah. Okay, number three.
47:23Just Ingredients:What's the one health practice you'll never compromise on no matter how busy life gets besides sleep? I mean, sleep is a big one, but I got to have fun. I've got to do something that I enjoy. I love that. Fourth one, what's your favorite just ingredients product and why? That is a hard one, but my current favorite one is the sweet strawberry electrolytes. That is a good one. Fantastic. Well, thank you. And last question, what is the best ingredient you've found to life? This is kind of a new decision in addition to sleep. I think you gotta be excited about something. And I actually think you should be excited about everything.
48:05The quote that just keeps running to my head recently is, a big part of being happy is being excited. And if you can be excited about getting out there to watch the sunrise, if you can be excited about chocolate-covered dates, or whatever it is, and let yourself really be excited, it changes the whole frequency in your body. And I think that's the best ingredient.
48:30Just Ingredients:I love that because I think a lot of people just go, go, go, go, go. And they forget to just be excited about something simple in life that can bring happiness. Well, thank you so much for being here. Listeners, go give her a follow. And if you're interested in anything that she said, go check out The Shift. I love what you're doing. We need more people like you, real people in the health space. There's a lot of people in the health space. And people simplifying it. So thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate it. Thank you for having me. It's so fun. Thank you for being here and being part of this community.
49:06Just Ingredients:Don't forget to subscribe to the Just Ingredients podcast. We've got so much more to share with you. And if you're not already, come join us daily on all social media platforms at Just.Ingredients. Until next time, keep choosing what nourishes you. you
From the publisher
I feel like Heidi and I have lived parallel lives — there were so many moments in this conversation where I found myself nodding along, thinking "that's exactly how it happened for me too." We have so many similarities in our stories, and some really interesting connections along the way. I'm so grateful for her vulnerability in sharing her story with us — she's just so real and relatable. If you're looking for a little inspiration to take your next step, or you're standing at the very beginning of your own health journey, Heidi's wisdom is exactly what you need to hear.
Here are a few of my biggest takeaways from our conversation:
Health advice isn't the problem — the approach is. We all know we should sleep more, drink water, eat protein, and move our bodies. Heidi digs into why sleep in particular is often the first thing to go for women in midlife, and why "knowing better" so rarely translates into "doing better."
"Shifts" instead of goals. Heidi's program is built around small, sustainable changes she calls "Shifts" — and she explains why this approach works so differently than a traditional goal, resolution, or restrictive fitness plan.
Self-forgiveness over self-judgment. Instead of grading a habit pass/fail, Heidi teaches women to grade their efforts and extend themselves the same forgiveness they'd offer a friend. It's a small mindset shift that changes how sustainable change actually feels.
Identity change comes before behavior change. Heidi walks through what happens when a woman moves from "I need to exercise" to "I'm someone who takes care of her body" — including her recent thinking on happiness itself as a habit you can build.
Community changes everything. Heidi shares why building and sticking with new habits is so much easier when you're not doing it alone, and how community becomes one of the biggest predictors of lasting change.
Tune in now and share this one with a friend who needs to hear it.
About Heidi
Heidi Swapp is a creative entrepreneur, designer, author, and storyteller who has spent more than 25 years inspiring women to embrace creativity and tell their stories. Through @heidiswapp, she continues to share her passion for creativity, connection, and living a meaningful life.
Now, Heidi is bringing that same curiosity and energy to women’s health and longevity. Through @joinshiftcollective, she is passionate about helping women in midlife see their future differently—not as a time to slow down, but as an opportunity to feel stronger, healthier, and more alive.
Heidi’s philosophy is simple: lasting change happens through small “shifts.” She now works privately with women, helping them make realistic changes in their daily habits, mindset, movement, nutrition, and overall wellness.
Connect with Heidi
Instagram: @heidiswapp
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