Thrive Like a Mother Podcast
I'm Ebony and I'm a mama to 3 beautiful souls. I'm learning how navigate my trauma healing while building the life I never dreamed was possible. I'm a survivor of childhood abuse and for the longest time, I believed that if anyone knew my story, I wouldn't be worthy of love. Many years later and now I know that it far from the truth.
On the Thrive Like a Mother podcast, I'll share the resources and tools I use on the daily to cultivate a healthy mindset break the wheel of survival. Here we're about honesty and transparency. Because at the root of it all, my purpose in creating this podcast is so that you know you are never alone in your journey.
There may be laughter, there may be tears and we'll do it all by linking arms and learning to thrive together.
Thrive Like a Mother Podcast
Small steps, big impact: Transforming your health one day at a time with Traci Kasper
Ready for a health transformation that actually sticks? Meet Traci Kasper, living proof that it's never too late to reclaim your wellbeing—even after decades of less-than-ideal habits.
Traci's story will resonate with anyone who's ever felt trapped in survival mode. After turning 40 and facing a potentially debilitating autoimmune diagnosis, Traci made the decision to transform her health despite years of not eating food that fueled her and avoiding movement at all costs. Her candid admission that she once survived on grilled cheese, pizza, and ice cream while believing exhaustion was just part of aging makes her remarkable transformation even more inspiring.
Traci's emphasis on sustainability over perfection sets her apart from in the wellness space. "Consistency compounds," she explains, highlighting how small, manageable changes accumulate over time to create profound transformation. Through her 30-day elimination protocol, Traci discovered inflammatory triggers that had been silently deteriorating her health for years. The results were undeniable: 30 pounds lost, clear skin, unprecedented energy, and a complete reversal of her health trajectory.
Traci shares her wisdom in today's episode including:
- her two non-negotiable wellness habits (pure water and green supplements)
- why shopping the perimeter of grocery stores transforms your nutrition
- how affirmations can rewire negative self-talk patterns
Her experience completing the rigorous 75 Hard program—initially quitting but later succeeding when doing it in honor of a friend who'd lost her baby—demonstrates how our "why" fundamentally changes our follow-through.
Whether you're struggling with chronic health issues, feeling stuck in a body that doesn't feel like home, or simply ready for more energy and vitality, Traci's mantra offers hope: "There's always another way." Connect with Traci on Instagram @Tracialyson to grab her free morning routine guide and discover how accountability might be the missing piece in your wellness puzzle.
Thank you so much for listening in! If anything in this episode resonated with you, it would mean the world to me if you left a review or shared it with a friend or on social media.
And don't forget to tag me so I can personally thank you for helping me get the word out.
Follow and chat with me on Instagram:
Podcast account - @thrivelikeamother.podcast
Personal account - @thrive.empowered
Sending you light and love always!
Hey, love, I'm Ebony and welcome to Thrive Like a Mother On this podcast. We're scared for our truth, but that fear is what fuels us to truly live in it. You're in the right place if you feel like you're stuck in survivor mode and you're ready to step into who you were truly meant to be. I'll share resources and tools I use daily to help you in your journey towards a healthier mindset and to break the wheel of survival. The journey may not be easy, but you won't have to face it alone. I'm a mama of three, healing day by day from past trauma, and I'm on a mission to build a life I've always dreamed of but never thought was possible. So, love, if you're ready to believe in what's possible, let's link arms and thrive together.
Speaker 1:Hey, loves, welcome to another episode of the Thrive Like a Mother podcast, and I'm really excited, y'all. Today's episode is for the woman who's ready for something more more health, more freedom, more alignment, and y'all can see I have the most amazing guest on with us today. Tracy Casper is here to remind us that there's always, always another way. Remind us that there's always, always another way. So, tracy, she is a health and wellness mentor who is literally walking the walk and she's helping others do the same, and I want to just jump right in and just let listeners know just about your journey right now and what season of life you are in.
Speaker 2:Yes, thank you so much for the intro. I'm so happy to be here. So hi everyone. I'm so happy to be here. So hi everyone, I'm Tracy.
Speaker 2:If you don't know me, I am an auntie to three, a wellness advocate and, most importantly, living proof that we can do anything we set our mind to. For most of my life, I so I just turned 40 and I'm in the best health of my life right now. And rewind about 10 years. I was in the worst health of my life Because for most of my life, I ate like a toddler. I had grilled cheese, quesadillas, pizza, french fries and ice cream every day.
Speaker 2:For every meal, I refused to move my body, I avoided vegetables and I just had believed that feeling tired, bloated and uncomfortable was just part of getting older. You know, that's how it is. But then I I went to the doctor. I was looking for, you know, an answer and I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. I didn't know anything about it and when I started to research, I felt like I had received a life sentence and I had saw that people in their early 40s could not work, they could not walk, they could not drive, and it was so sad and right then. And there I decided this is not going to be my story, yeah.
Speaker 2:So from there, I tried vitamins, I tried healthy processed foods, gluten-free this dairy-free, that Everyone kept telling me I need to change the way I ate. And I said no, I'm 30 and this is how my life is, so I'm not going to do that. My life is so I'm not gonna do that. But at that point I had it changed my mindset so I had still. I was still eating like I had been avoided move. I avoided any movement at all costs. I wouldn't even go on a small walk and I was just hoping something external would be the quick fix. But obviously nothing worked because I wasn't really doing the work. So everything shifted when I tried 30 days to healthy living, where you avoid the highest allergenic foods for 30 days and then at the end you reintroduce them back, one at a time, to see how your body reacts to those and then you get to decide, moving forward, how you want to incorporate those. Yes, I really wasn't expecting much.
Speaker 1:I was really hoping to prove everyone wrong, that it wasn't going to be the fix that that I needed.
Speaker 2:But after only like four, five days I felt so good that I was confused. It was, it was the strangest feeling. And then I finished the 30 days. I felt amazing and realized I had no idea how bad I was feeling until I started to feel better. So I started fueling my body with clean, anti-inflammatory foods, supporting my gut. Drinking water Sounds so simple, but it's not. It's hard and then just gently moving my body every day.
Speaker 1:Nothing crazy.
Speaker 2:Wow, my skin cleared up, I had energy which I didn't realize I never had. I lost 30 pounds and, most importantly, I felt strong for the first time in my adult life. Wow, that's amazing. So eventually I tried the challenge 75 hard yes.
Speaker 1:Oh, y'all heard about this one sounds crazy.
Speaker 2:I got 25 days in and said this is nuts. Like I'm not an athlete, this is crazy. So I just continued on the journey that was working for me. But then, two years after that, I had a friend who lost her baby at two days old. It was a healthy pregnancy, nothing was wrong, it was just complications at birth and it was gut-wrenching. I can't imagine going through that type of pain. Yeah, but what she did was she used exercise to heal her body and heal her mind exercise to heal her body and heal her mind and a group of us decided that we were going to do 75 hard in honor of her and her little one Getting the chills.
Speaker 1:Yeah, same because, yeah, y'all have no idea how much like just making a decision to shift your perspective and say, okay, this, you know, this is the way I'm, I'm going to heal like we talk about that too, like there's always a different way. There's always your way, your path, your, you know your pace and just goodness, yes.
Speaker 2:And so when I tried 75 hard, that second time it wasn't, it wasn't in honor of me, it was in honor of them. And anytime I felt, oh, I don't want to do this, this is hard, I thought this isn't hard. Losing your baby is hard. And that just shifted everything. And I flew through 75 hard and then after that I ended up doing the whole live hard program for a year and it just shifted my mindset in ways that I could never have imagined.
Speaker 2:None of these changes happened overnight. It was baby steps, one at a time, overnight. It was baby steps, one at a time. It happened over five years and one, just one tiny decision. The next decision one walk, one skipped excuse, but it was consistent and it added up. So now I get to help other women realize that it's not too late, you're not too old and you don't have to feel stuck in a body that doesn't feel like home. Yeah, you can make changes. Whatever your goals are, I'm here to help you, and if you're not sure where to begin, I've created a freebie. It's on my Instagram.
Speaker 1:Perfect, I was just about to ask about that.
Speaker 2:It's just a very simple morning routine. It can be the first baby step to get you going. Yes, and I'm also here for support, because that was a big part of my journey was the accountability and the support. So you can grab that by going to the bio, my bio and my Instagram at Tracy Ellison.
Speaker 1:I'll make sure I link it in the show notes for y'all too. Absolutely Thank you.
Speaker 2:And if you're someone who's passionate about clean products, wellness or just sharing, I want to let you know that I actually joined the company that helped change my life and now I help others and get paid to share it. If that's something that interests you, just shoot me a DM and I'm happy to help or I'm happy to give info. Yeah, no pressure Absolutely.
Speaker 2:If there's anything at all that you take away from this, it's that, no matter what you're going through, no matter how far you feel from where you want to be, you can do it too.
Speaker 1:Yes absolutely so. Let's, let's speak because we we've talked to the woman. Now Y'all already have an option. Now y'all already have an option. Now Y'all have an option of a baby step that you can take with Tracy, who is giving you a freebie, just like one small step, and you kind of keep taking those steps right now. Right, and I want to talk to that woman again, like the woman who literally like feels stuck and feels like nothing is working. What would you say to her right now? That maybe she's like I don't know if I even want to do that for you. Be like how? How would me changing my morning routine help? You know someone who's skeptical. What would you say to her?
Speaker 2:So in the beginning of any journey feels like nothing is working. It feels like the slower you go, it feels like nothing is making a difference. But over time nothing is making a difference. But over time those small differences really compound. When I started my journey I was just going on walks and I mean you go on one walk, it doesn't really feel like it Once. If you stay consistent and consistency does not mean constant you do not have to do it every day and you do not have to be perfect. That's important, yeah, yes, your body needs rest too. But if you just stay consistent and keep it up, over time the consistency compounds.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely, I love that. Okay, so let's, let's talk again. We're talking about women taking care of themselves without it feeling like, oh, like I have to do this right, like we just talked about this, it doesn't have to be perfect. It's not like this to-do list item that you're checking off every day just to say, oh, I did it. How do you specifically help women learn to take care of themselves without it feeling like that, without it feeling like, oh, I've got to check this off every day?
Speaker 2:So if you really want a change, it's going to be hard, but you get to choose your hard. So do you want to stay stuck in the ways that aren't working for you, or do you want to make a change? And what's really helped for me is accountability. So you just do, we'll talk and we'll set up your personal goals it's not my goals, it's your goals and we'll make one small change at first, and I will be there and you can. You can text me, you can DM me, say, hey, I did it, and then that just makes you feel so good that you did it.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So accountability is really helpful.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I say, I say that all the time. I think things changed for me a lot and like my health and wellness journey when I got locked into a community, when you know, I realized, okay, I'm not the only one over here, struggling, you know, trying to get out of bed, trying to talk myself into keep going, and things like that. So, yeah, y'all plug in with Tracy like she's. She's literally gonna be your wing woman in this and like she's been through it. So, yeah, y'all plug in with Tracy like she's. She's literally gonna be your wing woman in this and like she's been through it. So she knows all the, she knows the things that are gonna come up for you. As you're trying, you're thinking, gosh, do I have to keep doing it Like you need? You need that support for sure. So I want to do a fun, a fun question what is in your mind? What's one like non-negotiable wellness habit that we all should be doing?
Speaker 2:oh, that's hard. Two came to mind. Can I say two?
Speaker 1:okay, yeah, say two yes, give us two.
Speaker 2:Okay, the first one is drinking water yes not anything added to your water, not, you know, the drops or anything like that, just water and you can drink every day, anytime. Any more water than you're drinking now is a huge improvement, yeah, oh, and then the second one is the one, and now I'm giving you a sneak peek into the morning routine. The one that really changed me was taking a green supplement. Yes, now we want to focus on whole foods and getting your nutrients from foods, but in the beginning it's really hard to make that change if you're not already doing that. And this green supplement, just over three days, helped me with bloating. It helped me, you know, clear my gut, stay regular, and it's just, it's kind of my star product that I that really just boosts my, my health journey.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I can attest to this y'all. I literally there are days when I might skip it and I notice and notice either. If not that day, definitely the next day I'll notice the difference. So, yeah, definitely reach out to Tracy like she's. She's got your back on that. You guys need to get locked into that, because the same like when I talk about nutrition just and cook like a mother and people are like how do I introduce more variety? You can't just start piling. I mean, you can start buying more veggies on your plate, but think about just how sustainable that's gonna be if you haven't been doing that consistently, like the small steps, small, consistent steps, you know, introducing slowly, not just like, okay, I've got to make this change instant and this is going to be like my magic fix, like you have to.
Speaker 2:You have to keep going the word sustainable, and that is key. It's not a quick fix, it's not something that you know. Do these things? Drink this one drink and it's going to change your. You're going to lose 10 pounds in 10 minutes. It's make small, consistent changes over time and then it becomes sustainable.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, I love that. Okay, this is a. This is a fun one. I can already have some in my mind too, because I did these kind of like, you know, in my 20s. But what is one wellness myth that you wish we would just like ditch and get rid of? So many choices? Yeah, like I said, so many came to my mind. I was like, oh yeah, I've been there.
Speaker 2:Most of the quick fixes. The low calorie, low sugar. Yes, it, it's so harmful for your body and basically it's just processed um, if you really focus on, like ebony always says, you know whole foods and it's to make it really easy, it's the perimeter of the grocery store. Yes, that's true.
Speaker 1:That's all the good stuff is.
Speaker 2:Yes, and so if you focus on that, that will be so helpful for your health.
Speaker 1:Yes, I love that perimeter of the grocery store. I haven't even thought of that. But yeah, you think about it. All that icky stuff that we probably should be putting in our bodies they're in the aisles for sure. Yeah, yeah, oh, that's so good, so good.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, oh, that's so good, so good, and I teach it after the 30 days I teach an 80 to lifestyle you never want to feel deprived so there's a time and a place for those things, but every day, for every meal, is not the time.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, that's true. Okay, so let's talk about grounding. Is there a particular grounding practice that you can share with our listeners, like on those days where you're just like going, going, going, you know, not slowing down? Is there something that you can tell them to just bring them, you know, back to center?
Speaker 2:Probably deep breaths for your mind. That's what really gets me grounded. I've practiced affirmations and at first affirmations can feel like you are crazy and this makes no sense, but again, consistently, over time it starts to help. I was somebody who would always negatively talk to myself and that really affected my health. So once I started and you can do anything from I am beautiful to I'm in great health, and it may feel untrue at the start. It may feel untrue at the start, but over time the way you talk to yourself really affects your brain. So that's one thing that I do. And then something for my nutrition that I do is, again, you want to focus on whole foods. I'll just keep saying that. But if you're on the go and you want to really prepare yourself for success, I use a protein shake that is free of harmful ingredients. It does not mess with your gut. It does not mess with your gut. It actually helps your gut. And, um, it tastes delicious. My three-year-old nephew. When I walk in the door, he goes chocolate milkshake, chocolate milkshake.
Speaker 1:he has no idea he's getting vitamins and minerals and 25 grams of protein.
Speaker 2:all the goodies vitamins and minerals and 25 grams of protein All the goodies. So anytime I'm on the go go go, I just pack a protein shake and you just have to add water to it. Then you're prepared and you're not, you know, you don't have to go grab fast food or um. So preparing is the key, which.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yes, yes, I share that all the time. Y'all know all about prep and how important that is yet to stop you from, you know, making decisions that probably won't serve or, you know, really fuel your body or your mind. Gosh, just goodness. Thank you, tracy. So I want to. I want to end with two things. First, do you have a mantra or a quote that's guiding you in this season right now?
Speaker 2:pretty much there's just. There's always another way. If one way doesn't work for you, try another way. If something is working for someone else, that doesn't mean it's going to work for you, so. So you need to find what works for you.
Speaker 1:Yes, exactly. And then is there anything that you would leave the women that are listening with today? Basically just that, no matter what you're going through, no matter what you've been through and how far you feel from where you want to be, yeah you can do it, yes yes, exactly, exactly, goodness, okay, so I want you to let everyone know where they can connect with you at um and reach out so the best way to connect with me is on instagram, at tracy.
Speaker 2:All it's Tracy with an. I Allison with a Y and that that is the best way.
Speaker 1:Yes, perfect Tracy. Just thank you so much for sharing your heart, sharing your wisdom. My goodness you, you seriously like reminded us, reminded me, that like it's okay to pivot, it's okay to try something new and to keep trying and really just to keep taking those small steps and trusting that, like there's always another way, there's always a better way, you truly just have to keep like living and showing up in life. Just thank you for everything.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for listening love. If anything in today's episode resonated with you, share it with your bestie or share it on social media and tag me so we can chat about it, as always, sending you light and love, and remember you are worthy, you are enough and you deserve to thrive, are enough and you deserve to thrive.
