[00:00:00] Joseph Grech: Hi everyone, and a very warm welcome from myself, Joseph Grech, on our latest episode of the podcast, Coaching in Focus. I am super, super excited today because I am joined by the very amazing Ags Galand. Ags, how are you doing?

[00:00:19] Ags Galland: Yeah, I’m really cool and very excited to be here. Thanks for having

[00:00:23] Joseph Grech: me. Thanks for making a bit of time for joining us today and sharing some of your expertise in relation to a very interesting topic about mindful aging and coaching.

[00:00:33] Joseph Grech: To give you a bit of background as well in relation to Agz, Agz is a nutrition and health coach. She’s currently based in New Zealand, although I know that Europe is her home and we hope to see her again here very, very soon. She’s an alumni of BECOME, um, she’s added our diploma with us, and she’s also one of our mentors as well, supporting other trainees.

[00:00:55] Joseph Grech: And as I mentioned, we’re here to talk about mindful aging, coaching, and nutrition, and how that can support people, and also explore Ag’s experience working in this space. So, maybe as a starting point, X, um, tell us a little bit more about yourself and about what you

[00:01:11] Ags Galland: do. Mm hmm. Thank you for that. And I think you did, I mean, you did, um, do a good job already.

[00:01:17] Ags Galland: So I’m a nutrition and health coach. I do have a few different certifications under my belt, but I think the recent one added to my resume, let’s say, is my master’s in personalized nutrition. The idea of, of me working in this space is really combining coaching, combining that approach, um, on one on one coaching and group coaching together with that nutrition knowledge and nutritional therapy coaching, uh, which I am absolutely passionate about.

[00:01:44] Ags Galland: So that’s for me, hopefully going forward. I’m in my last year of training. Uh, it’s been a long journey, but very exciting. And yeah, at the moment I’m based in New Zealand, as you said, and it’s been lovely to explore this side of the world. And who knows when they might be back to. You know, a little bit closer to civilization, but for now, um, this is home.

[00:02:05] Ags Galland: You might have guessed, I am quite passionate about healthy aging and, um, kind of midlife and what does it mean to all of us and how to make it more intentional and more mindful.

[00:02:17] Joseph Grech: Let’s start with that, maybe. Let’s start with his idea around mindful ageing, um, what it actually means, why it’s relevant

[00:02:25] Ags Galland: today.

[00:02:26] Ags Galland: Yeah, this concept is, I see ageing as one of those things that it’s very certain, it’s one of the only certain things in life that we will all age at some point. Uh, we will all, you know, not to make it grim at the first five minutes of the podcast, but then we all die at some point, but yet we, we know so little.

[00:02:43] Ags Galland: So it’s something so unavoidable, but we know so little. And we, um, a lot of the times quite fearful of it. Maybe we resist to talk about it. Uh, a lot of the time we may be in denial, you know, with things like puberty or childhood, every stage we really embracing it. And we really put. attention to celebrating it and to making a point of, you know, going through different stages of life.

[00:03:06] Ags Galland: However, when we get to midlife or when we, you know, kind of past the 40, the 50, the 60, that kind of celebration is not, um, you know, nearly as present. And, and actually it starts to almost like tip into the other way. In today’s world, I guess the way, the way I view it, because we also rushed, you know, we’re going through our twenties, which are fun.

[00:03:28] Ags Galland: Then we’re going into thirties, which are also fun, but also a little bit more responsibilities. Then we’re going into our forties and you know, everything adds on, right. Whether you have a family or not, whether you study extra thing, whether you, you know, working two jobs or not, depending on what your lifestyle is and your choices are, we just all have so much on.

[00:03:48] Ags Galland: And we really lay, we really kind of rarely stop and pause and think about, you know, age, what are the choices I’m making? What are the choices that serve me? What are the choices that do not serve me anymore? What does it mean for me to, oh, you know, like I have. a few aches here and there. Um, maybe, you know, does my lifestyle need to change?

[00:04:09] Ags Galland: What does it mean for me that I see my first, you know, or five or, you know, 500 first gray hair, all sorts of things, just kind of rushing through life and, you know, neglecting those experiences. And, and I think mindful aging as a concept for me is really kind of encouraging that slowing down a little bit and, um, maybe reflecting.

[00:04:30] Ags Galland: Um, and learning to see it as a part of life, as a part of that, something that will, you know, unavoidably happen and, and, and decide for yourself, how do you want to approach that? Uh, whether there’ll be through that denial or resistance, or do I have it in me to embrace it? Or if not yet, what are some steps that I can maybe take towards that to make myself.

[00:04:54] Ags Galland: you know, enjoy that part. It’s still so much life ahead of us. And, and there are some ways that we can make it, um, make and make it enjoyable. And it doesn’t have to be crazy, you know, that doesn’t have to be as wild or the same as you, as it was when you were 20 or 30. Um, it’s just about approaching this process a little bit differently with more.

[00:05:15] Ags Galland: maybe self awareness. So the benefits

[00:05:17] Joseph Grech: of this idea about being more aware, making choices that we want to make, rather than just aging without noticing, and then perhaps in our 70s realizing that we didn’t make those choices in our 40s, that perhaps we could have wanted to. Is that, is that what it is? Is that part of it?

[00:05:38] Ags Galland: Yeah, and it is part of it. And it’s also making, I think for me, a big part of that co kind of. mindful aging concept is also looking into how do we want our years to look ahead of us? There is this concept of lifespan versus health span, for example. So those are some years that, you know, lifespan is really the number of years that someone will live throughout their life, right, from birth to death.

[00:06:05] Ags Galland: And then you have health span, which is really, it’s been on, I guess, out there as a concept very recently, if you follow, or if you’re in this sort of area, but it’s really just number of years that someone is healthy without any kind of disabilities or chronic diseases, et cetera. And that, you know, because our lifespan, so the years we live have been extending, our health span, sadly, as a have been, you know, declining.

[00:06:32] Ags Galland: And for me, when I think of mindful aging as well, this is a concept of, how can I make choices now that will help me to extend that health span? And that may include physical health around, you know, how we, how we walk when we’re 70 or, um, you know, what can I do now? that I’m able to walk when I’m 70 or what we eat now and how is that going to affect my health going forward.

[00:06:58] Ags Galland: Um, and there can be concepts around mental health, right? Mental and kind of wellbeing, cognitive health, and that’s super important as well. So I think there’s. a lot to it, but definitely that self awareness is that first step as with anything to do with, you know, with coaching and getting one another.

[00:07:15] Ags Galland: Yeah. Yeah. You,

[00:07:17] Joseph Grech: um, that’s exactly what I was thinking, how nicely it bridges this idea around nutrition, health, physical health, mental health and key aspects in coaching practice, such as elevating somebody’s self awareness. And I can really see. the link between the two areas. Do you have maybe any, any stories, any examples from clients who you’ve worked with that benefit from coaching for mindful aging?

[00:07:44] Ags Galland: I do have some and there are a couple of, I guess I see a few different Themes that maybe pop up typically when clients come to me and we, you know, that topic comes, I do work with, and not only, but predominantly women. So there was a lot of discussion and coaching around, you know, perimenopause and around that mindful midlife.

[00:08:05] Ags Galland: There was so much that changes for women around, you know, kind of 40 and up. Um, and you know, it’s not only talking about all the kind of society expectations and beliefs that we’ve. grew up with. Um, it’s also, you know, how just life changes, you know, like with all the different responsibilities, as we mentioned with all the different extra agendas and things, and it’s just life is really busy.

[00:08:27] Ags Galland: Um, so a lot of women on top of that experience, that whole. Yeah. Different symptoms, body changing, body image changes, um, you know, different beliefs potentially that comes with things like lack of confidence and maybe different levels of self esteem. So there was a lot of, there’s the theme around that and potentially how do we embrace that or how do we maybe first, it’s not even embrace that it’s first to acknowledge that, right?

[00:08:51] Ags Galland: That accepting, acknowledging this is what’s happening, then making a choice. It’s how do I want to. Make a different and what are some choices that I can make towards that and then potentially learn to maybe embrace it or learn at least to accept that and and and try to work with it or try to live around it because again as we said it’s unavoidable and there is also that other thing that it’s you know people.

[00:09:16] Ags Galland: do realize, hey, this is what’s happening. I’m already proactive around some stuff. I just don’t know exactly how to change it. I maybe struggle with some of the beliefs I have, or maybe I need some actual practical, you know, like we’re talking just literally coaching around, you know, your routine or your practices.

[00:09:35] Ags Galland: What, what are some things that may need to change for you in your life? To reflect certain, you know, maybe lifestyle changes. Maybe there is something, you know, around your health issues or wellbeing issues, maybe your capacity to, you know, or resilience. So we do, so there is almost like two different sides to it or themes.

[00:09:55] Ags Galland: That’s the kind of denial and I, I don’t know what’s going on, but I think something needs to change. And there is also that awareness already where people like, okay, I think I’m there. I just don’t know still what to do with it.

[00:10:06] Joseph Grech: Right. Which again, kind of reiterating Mag, that is kind of so called in coaching factors, right?

[00:10:11] Joseph Grech: One is around working in relation to the mindset of the individual, and then the second kind of stage, you’re talking about actions, once the individual is aware of their beliefs or things that they want to change, how they’re going to implement. that change. You also, you said, you said you, uh, you studied nutrition as well.

[00:10:30] Joseph Grech: You’re doing your MSc and nutrition is often a concern as people age as well. So how do you incorporate nutrition guidance into your coaching

[00:10:41] Ags Galland: as well? And that’s a really good question because it is, it’s tricky in a way that it is different. Um, the, the style of, I guess, nutrition advice or nutritional therapy that I will fully be practicing as of next year is personalized nutrition.

[00:10:58] Ags Galland: So we do take into account people. Particular genetic makeup, people, you know, health history. Um, it’s not like a cookie, cookie cutter, um, you know, diet or approach that people can get from the internet and just follow. It is really personalized. It takes a lot of effort to implement, to, um, you know, uh, work with people, to, um, arrange it for them, et cetera.

[00:11:21] Ags Galland: But so kind of almost divided into two different, I guess, how I do it now. and how I will do it going forward. But at the moment, um, because nutrition is almost like the field that you, you know, if someone doesn’t know about, you know, potential benefits of certain, you know, fruit and vegetables and how food can be medicine for them in, in their particular setting or in their health condition, it’s really hard to maybe elicit that.

[00:11:47] Ags Galland: You know, response and ask them for answers, um, as coaching would do because, you know, if they don’t know, they probably don’t know. So it’s that kind of that knowledge and mentoring piece, uh, which is so different to coaching. Um, so I typically would, you know, again, be very upfront with the clients and, you know, set agreements around how do we.

[00:12:05] Ags Galland: you know, how the coaching sessions or how the program will look and how do we address certain things that there will be elements of, you know, coaching where I wouldn’t be giving advice and I wouldn’t be telling you certain things around nutrition. And there will be also sessions or parts of the sessions where, you know, I will make it clear that this is now we, you know, discuss in particular elements of nutrition or your diet, et cetera.

[00:12:28] Ags Galland: So it’s. It’s just around making that quite distinct for the client so they know that there is a difference and, and seamlessly kind of incorporate them into the program. And you know, everything is always tailored and individualized. So some clients would be happy to work with more of, you know, around the coaching side of things.

[00:12:46] Ags Galland: Maybe they know their knowledge is already quite vast and they quite happy to actually be challenged and to. Um, be coached rather than actually maybe learn and some others will be, you know, on the opposite spectrum. So it’s really just depends on, on where, where people are at and going forward. Um, that’s something to be, to still be decided, but I feel like it probably will be more focused, maybe potentially having separate packages or, um, separate offerings for people.

[00:13:13] Ags Galland: So it can be even more distinct for them to, you know, if you just really require nutritional therapy with a limited spectrum. coaching scope, that’s an option. Or we can do, you know, wider coaching scope, which I still believe they complement each other so beautifully. Um, because there is, you know, nutritional therapy or nutrition is just a change in general behavioral change.

[00:13:35] Ags Galland: And I, I almost cannot view it now without coaching. Um, so, um, so like, I

[00:13:43] Joseph Grech: know that, for example, I need to eat certain foods, but I might not be eating them, right? So like, sometimes if, if I’m in that space, is this idea around coaching is not a, a learning method for absolutely everything. So, for example, somebody might be really clear in relation to the nutritional benefits of eating healthily, um, practicing certain habits, but they’re not doing it.

[00:14:10] Joseph Grech: And that’s when coaching becomes quite useful, addressing mindset, because they have the knowledge. But it’s how, how do you support somebody actually do that behavioral change, as you

[00:14:22] Ags Galland: mentioned. Absolutely. Absolutely. And it’s a lot around, you know, from what I see at the moment, you know, a lot of it is, you know, around the mindset piece.

[00:14:30] Ags Galland: You know, we know we, we, we typically smart humans. We know what’s good for us. You know, the, when we think, and when we step back, the principles are very, very simple in a way, you know, that’s not about biohacking and doing crazy diets and miracle foods and superfoods and all that. It’s just. you know, it’s a few simple principles that we probably all know.

[00:14:52] Ags Galland: Um, but it’s, it’s around that behavioral change and it’s around, you know, obstacles that, you know, what’s standing in your way, what needs to happen here that it will be different, you know? Um, and I think those are some questions that some people are good at answering themselves. Um, and potentially thought of themselves and, and in many instances, you know, many people have not thought about any of that and that’s have been stopping them from making those changes.

[00:15:18] Ags Galland: So I think you’re right. Coaching is just fabulous for that. Yeah.

[00:15:22] Joseph Grech: Yeah. And it’s that kind of that challenge in coaching that we talk about where. I can imagine working with a client and, and exploring this idea around, you know, you have this knowledge, you’ve tried things before, things are not working.

[00:15:34] Joseph Grech: Let’s kind of really explore what’s happening here. Then just simply set some actions. Yeah. For that pattern to be repeated again, and then the Exactly doesn’t complete. Did you know that I’d become. We offer a number of different coach training programs to people just like you. If you’re new to coaching, there is a level one diploma in integrative coaching.

[00:15:57] Joseph Grech: If you’ve been coaching for a while, or perhaps you’re already an ACC coach, then we have the advanced diploma in integrative coaching, which leads all the way to the PCC credential by the ICF. We also have a number of CPD programs and certificates, including mentoring and supervision. To find out more, go to tobecome.

[00:16:17] Joseph Grech: org or just check the show notes.

[00:16:25] Joseph Grech: The other thing that is coming to mind is around body image. I imagine grey hairs. earlier. I do have quite a few of those. You can see them very well here. You can see

[00:16:33] Ags Galland: mine, but they’re there too.

[00:16:36] Joseph Grech: And I’m sure they’re in the thousands now. Um, but how do you support people navigate this change in perhaps in body image, self esteem that comes naturally with aging?

[00:16:50] Ags Galland: Yeah, it does come naturally, doesn’t it? And it is a big thing, especially, I mean, I don’t want to, you know, kind of single out here woman, but especially for women in today’s society, it is a huge thing for men as well. You know, many people just generally link their value and their worth. to how they look and how they, how potentially people view them.

[00:17:11] Ags Galland: And because aging has been seen as such a, I guess, concept of, you know, the youth is the desirable thing. You know, any decline is, you know, frowned upon. We, we should always look certain way. We should only wear, you know, this and this and have this sort of body or this sort of leg or arm or whatever, you know, things change, our bodies change.

[00:17:31] Ags Galland: That’s something that will happen. So those are the sort of things that, um, definitely are visible. Um, around that kind of population of, you know, 40 up where, where a lot of changes starts to be, you know, kind of sneak up on us. We may not see them, you know, overnight, but one week or one day you just wake up and you’re like, Oh, well, I haven’t seen that before.

[00:17:50] Ags Galland: Or you know, like how many of you are here now? So, um, so it’s definitely present and a lot of it is around, you know, that acceptance. So acceptance, there is a belief change, um, that may need to be shifted, uh, or that may need to happen. There is work around visualization or imagining it, you know, there’s work around a lot of, you know, a lot of the time we, we do start at basics, like around values, you know.

[00:18:19] Ags Galland: What are some values? What’s important to you? Um, how come is important to you? Where do you see yourself in, you know, five, ten years or even, you know, we go further and like when you’re 70, how do you want to look? How do you want to move? What do you see yourself doing? I think those are some sort of questions that we do explore.

[00:18:37] Ags Galland: Um, within, um, that kind of mindful aging coaching, you know, it does, can help with that body image change. It’s a lot of work. It is something that, again, it’s, it’s, um, you would know it too, you know, links so, so many different beliefs and societal, as I said, expectations, but it is something that can absolutely be a part of the discussion.

[00:18:57] Ags Galland: And for some people it will talk about. It’s

[00:19:01] Joseph Grech: about strengthening your core, your real you, who’s, you know, that kind of what’s on the inside in a way. So, because that in a way can, can stay, doesn’t need to change. If you know what your values are, they can be a bit more constant as I feel like

[00:19:21] Ags Galland: we, you know, as I said, like It’s such a fast, fast pace for many of us. You know, we kind of breeze through, it’s almost like our twenties, maybe early thirties. It’s like research we’ve been doing with our life. And then, you know, after that the real game begins. And a lot of the times we just have not maybe had time to think about it.

[00:19:40] Ags Galland: You know, what do I really want? What do I like? What am I choosing? You know, why am I choosing this? Do I even like this? You know, those are some sort of questions that we can get wrapped up, um, you know, again, as we grow older and maybe we started to get more, you know, self awareness and realize certain things around our behavior or our actions.

[00:20:01] Ags Galland: And that can get confusing, right? This is the time where a lot of people kind of like to do that soul searching and, and maybe work with someone like, you know, yourself or myself to, to figure some stuff out. And I think it’s very, it’s very normal and it’s very natural just because of that. weird time of our life.

[00:20:20] Ags Galland: It can

[00:20:20] Joseph Grech: also, I’m reflecting on this, it can also feel that it’s another choice, another thing that we have to do. So that’s why I’m thinking about myself. Well, I might push it away a little bit. It’s something else to think about. How do I want to be in five years time? What can I proactively plan for my later years?

[00:20:37] Joseph Grech: It feels like it’s one extra thing on my to do list, but actually it’s a really important thing. Part of that to do list. Yeah, the more that I kind of push it away The the less I’m able to live authentically because I’m just kind of on this Threadmill of life. I’m just kind of doing things again and again over and over without mindfully noticing and making choices around them.

[00:21:01] Joseph Grech: So it feels like it’s a really important part of

[00:21:03] Ags Galland: it. Yeah, absolutely. And it can be, you know, a lot of us are in denial, you know, like, Oh, I have time. Oh, I don’t have to think about it yet. Or like, Oh, aging, I’m still young. I still got it. But we, I think a lot of us do internally feel like, Hey, something’s just not the same anymore.

[00:21:18] Ags Galland: You know, the same tricks don’t do the same trick. And you, and I think you know, if we do not spend enough time to maybe consider that or reflect on that, um, you know, things are, I’m not saying like, Oh, things will just decline and start to go downhill from there, but that’s something that’s slowly, slowly chip away.

[00:21:37] Ags Galland: And when we talk about mental health or, you know, physical health, even. I think there is this kind of concept in the healthcare and, you know, within healthcare in general, that it’s easier. Oh, I’m just going to treat it when the time comes. I’m just going to treat it versus I believe. And I really kind of like the concept of prevention a little bit more, you know, instead of treating it when probably it’s might be too late or might be really hard or might be really expensive or whatever the reason is, what are some things that I may do?

[00:22:09] Ags Galland: Yeah. They’re not going to cost me as in like money, or they’re not going to cost me a lot of time or energy. They’re just little things that I can maybe try to start to incorporate now to prevent any of that going forward. And I think that’s a way more powerful way to look at it. In terms of our years ahead, you know, it all kind of links up to what I’m doing today.

[00:22:31] Ags Galland: It will have some sort of impact on what we’re doing, you know, in a year or five years time. Um, and how we feel then as well.

[00:22:39] Joseph Grech: And also sometimes, because we’re thinking about this from, uh, as kind of not noticing these things, but it could be that we don’t notice them because we’re so engrossed into what we of, Um, creatively, if we really enjoy something, if we’re passionate about something, we tend to work really hard towards it.

[00:22:59] Joseph Grech: And we might not notice that our body is telling us to slow down a little bit, because we’re enjoying the doing quite a lot. But actually being mindful and saying, yeah, I love doing all of this. Stuff, but also let’s listen to what my body’s telling me around. Exactly. Yeah. How it feels, what it needs.

[00:23:15] Joseph Grech: Mm-hmm. How it needs to be nourished as well. Mm-hmm.

[00:23:18] Ags Galland: Exactly. And that comes with practice, right? Not everyone is, um, has that skill yet. Mm-hmm. . Um, it’s something that we just need to learn to practice, to be able to pause and ask ourselves those questions. And you know, what, is it good for me now? Yeah. I know that something was good for me a year ago or five years ago.

[00:23:34] Ags Galland: Is it still the case? Like, how does it make me feel now? And just be able to, you know, re evaluate and see where you’re at today. You may not be in the same place and you might be in a better or worse, like, doesn’t matter, but it’s just that that those little differences, as you say, paying attention to it.

[00:23:50] Ags Galland: I think that’s really what, where it’s at. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:23:53] Joseph Grech: So Ax, we’re, uh, we’re getting close to the end of our podcast. I, of course, want to thank you for being here, but also before we do, I’m going to sneak in one last… Next question. I know that a lot of our viewers will be interested in this topic, so I’m just wondering if there’s individuals who might want to develop themselves further on this.

[00:24:12] Joseph Grech: Either, whether they’re new coaches, whether they’re interested in nutrition. Mm-hmm. , are there any tips that you might share, perhaps that have helped you, that can help

[00:24:21] Ags Galland: someone else? Maybe let’s give it a three or four quick tips. Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. . Um, and I feel like the one that I always love is, you know, knowledge, knowledge is power and, and, And let’s not be afraid of it.

[00:24:35] Ags Galland: I think, again, going back to that denial and, you know, resistance about, Oh, knowing and do I want to know how, what to do and that I’m aging, et cetera. Let’s, that’s going to happen. Right. So how can I then empower myself to know once I know I can make better choices and that’s just. you know, with everything in life.

[00:24:53] Ags Galland: So I love, I love that as a concept. In terms of the resources, kind of more into like people to look into or, um, some, you know, books or et cetera, there are a couple of, I mean, there are so, once you dig into this area, there is actually, it’s a lot going on. And I, you know, my master’s was, was very obviously academic and science based and evidence based.

[00:25:12] Ags Galland: We, um, you know, we’ve gone through a lot of. different, you know, research papers and studies and people. So there was actually, um, quite a huge area, um, in science currently in research that looks into healthy aging and, you know, from, um, kind of genetic and epigenetic side. So that’s something that people may want to explore Keen, maybe to, to look into that physical side of aspect of aging in general.

[00:25:38] Ags Galland: I think there was one that I particularly always go to doctor. It’s a medical doctor. He’s based in the U S and he has a podcast called the drive. Um, and he is huge on, you know, healthy aging and he’s very. kind of into the whole idea of like, how can I even be better when I’m 70 than now that I’m, I think he’s around 50 or so.

[00:25:57] Ags Galland: Um, and he had a book out recently as well, um, that is full of beautiful, um, you know, tips, not only on like physical health, but mental health and, and stress resilience, et cetera. So that’s, I feel like all of those concepts really add into to that mindful aging and help people to. be more, you know, in tune with their body.

[00:26:16] Ags Galland: And as we said, start to like become more aware and start to make maybe different choices if they decide to do that. Yeah. I think those are probably, I mean, there’s heaps of books for women that I could recommend. Um, if you want, I’m happy to send you a list. We can add them to show notes. you know, kind of around midlife, et cetera, that are insightful.

[00:26:34] Ags Galland: And again, very important for that knowledge piece and knowing what’s happening or what’s going to happen for us. I think that’s already, uh, you know, we can make choices from there and that’s very empowering.

[00:26:44] Joseph Grech: Brilliant. We’ll add them to the notes as well. And I’m sure. Uh, we’ll add your contact details.

[00:26:48] Joseph Grech: So if anyone wants to reach out, um, and have a chat with you directly they can as well Thank you for spending a bit of time with me. I know that our viewers would Have got a lot out of our conversation today It’s a question that we get asked quite a lot about supporting people as we age. Um true life wonderful and And, um, hopefully I get to see you on the podcast very soon as

[00:27:09] Ags Galland: well.

[00:27:10] Ags Galland: Absolutely. Thanks for having me. It was lovely to talk about it. Always keen to do that. So, yeah, thank you for all listening and being interested in it. Take care. Take care. Bye.