In this episode of PCOS Unfiltered: Nourish, Heal, Thrive, Lindsie sits down with Shelly Jefferis, a health and wellness educator with over 40 years of experience helping women build sustainable, life-giving habits. Together, they explore what it really means to take care of your body across the seasons of life—from early fitness foundations to motherhood, perimenopause, and beyond. Shelly shares why health should never feel punishing or overwhelming, how movement naturally evolves as we age, and why listening to your body is far more powerful than pushing through exhaustion. While this conversation isn’t PCOS-specific, the lessons are deeply relevant for women navigating PCOS, hormonal shifts, burnout, or chronic stress. From prevention and longevity to grace-based wellness and reducing toxic overload, this episode is a powerful reminder that caring for your health now can profoundly shape how you feel for decades to come. If you’ve ever felt confused by conflicting wellness advice or pressured to do “more,” this episode will help you reconnect with a simpler, more compassionate approach to health—one that supports both longevity and quality of life.
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(0:00 - 35:23) I think about that with people that sometimes it takes that health scare before they make the change and I and that kind of breaks my heart like I I always feel like like I mentioned earlier take the steps now do it now so you can potentially prevent anything happening later even though it's not a guarantee but let's do what we can while we're healthy and feeling good and carry that through into future years and and a big area that I'm I'm getting more and more involved in is just talking and coaching on longevity and what can we do to to improve the different areas of our lives that carry us into a longer lifespan. Hi friends welcome back to PCOS unfiltered nourish heal thrive I'm your host Lindsie and today's conversation is one that every woman whether you're navigating PCOS, perimenopause or simply trying to feel better in your body will get something from. I'm joined by Shelly Jefferis a health and wellness educator with over 40 years of experience helping women live their healthiest happiest lives. She's a retired college professor global wellness partner and the founder of Moms Who Flourish a community built to help moms prioritize self-care reduce toxins and reconnect with what truly matters their health their energy and their joy. Shelly and I talked about how movement and fitness evolved through the seasons of life the power of prevention and why health doesn't have to mean pushing harder. It's really about listening to your body giving yourself grace and creating sustainable habits that make you feel good. Even though we don't talk specifically about PCOS today everything Shelly shares from understanding your body signals to reducing toxins and managing stress applies beautifully to hormonal balance and long-term wellness. As a reminder the content shared on PCOS Unfiltered is for informational and educational purposes only. The views and opinions expressed by the host and guests are not intended to serve as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified health care professional before making any changes to your diet exercise or treatment plan. The information shared is based on personal experience and expert interviews and it's not a substitute for professional medical guidance. So whether you're a mom a teacher or simply a woman ready to take her health back into her own hands you're going to love this one. Let's dive in.
Hello hello so happy to have Shelly here with me. Yeah we're just gonna kind of dive on in. So Shelly tell us a little bit about you and kind of just how you got into health and wellness. Well actually thank you for having me on Lindsie this is great to do this today together. I actually was introduced to fitness way back in junior high was where my love of fitness started. So it's been many many years and I just I started loving fitness and running and I know some people might go are you crazy but I had a great PE teacher and she just had a positive influence on me and it's so great because all these years later believe it or not we are friends on Facebook and I have actually been able to tell her in person thank her because honestly that that was where it started and then from there I started working in a gym and then from there I went on to get my degree and my master's degree I started teaching college and it's just continued and I have just loved it and I just feel very blessed to be working in a field that I feel I can make a difference and help others and also the fact that I've been in this field all of these years I'm very I'm very proud of that and I know you know not a lot of people are working in the field that maybe they studied or they originally pursued which is so totally fine we can always pivot and make changes it just so happens that for me it's always been something linked to wellness nutrition fitness through all these years. Yeah I think we're very similar in that aspect yeah because I was like same way I was just always the the active kid and it's like crazy because you said PE because I hear I don't know I don't I don't have kids myself but I don't know if they really have PE apparently that much anymore which is a shame. I was in charge of I was actually the program director for the physical education program at my children's elementary school for about seven or eight years and which was really great in the beginning and it was a really great program the way that it was structured and that wasn't all on me that was also the principal putting in how she wanted it to flow and it worked great but I have to admit what happened was the way that we would structure it we would have four stations of activities and so the students would spend you know 15 minutes 10 minutes whatever at each station they would rotate and so we had at any one time three four or five of us on the on the out on the playground teaching and I have to admit it was a little frustrating for me at times because who they brought in didn't have the background in teaching nor the background in wellness nutrition fitness PE so I I was responsible then for also kind of training them and and giving them the material and I actually had taught a PE for children course in college so I had done that and I had taught this to college students and so that came in handy I'm not gonna lie that was really great however I just found like over time that got to be a there was a high turnover so they would bring some new people in people would leave and in what they would do is they would bring people in and hire them as like aides and so anyway to your point it there's there's so much potential out there for for elementary school children to influence them and help them to create a positive outlook on fitness and exercise and health and that was really always my goal and it's a shame because that is one of those programs that does tend to get cut first or they bring someone in that really doesn't have the education to teach in that area and and it's not you know back in the day many years ago I know there was always kind of this running joke that when you are working on your degree in physical education it was like oh you're just gonna go like throw a ball out kick a ball around with kids that kind of thing and I you know we know you know we know better that that's there's much more to it right yeah and luckily that's evolved over years as far as the for the most part as far as the you know attention that it gets and how important it is to have someone qualified to be teaching our young children in it it just doesn't happen as much as it should be as far as I'm concerned and so that that was always a little bit tough for me to to see that and I still see that on occasion and you know I just again I my hope was always just to help these young children kind of shape their attitude towards towards their own personal health and fitness and working out and such so that later on in life it's something they continue to want to do and so you know I I hope that I hope it's still happening I just don't know how often and how frequently it's happening especially in elementary school yeah I mean I think just yeah part of it's like just becoming comfortable with your body you know and then I mean when we had the gym my husband and I I feel like we would see it a lot because we would get some younger we could keep or we could take I think 14 was the youngest 14 or so was like the youngest that we could take and so it was great for them you know to start learning some coordination but you could see that they probably weren't getting a lot of that but I think even some adults I almost feel like we're probably you know I said I say adults but probably like early dolly 20s and you could probably see where some of that there was a breakdown because they were really struggling with with coordination and and just moving you know in general so yeah super super important of course well and it's interesting you bring that up because I think we take it for granted that mm-hmm they are skills that do need to be taught and it's not just again going back to throw a ball around and kick it around the field no I mean there's so much more to it and I think the average person that they just don't know they just don't know because they don't have that understanding of what's really involved and like I said I taught the course at the college level and it was an upper division course and it was an entire course about teaching physical education to elementary school aged children you know it's a big deal and so I you know I get I get I get kind of fired up it's important knife I really it's really really important yeah so what's kind of your like favorite aspect of health and wellness now like a question I think I think I have evolved now to it for me personally it has evolved into my own personal routine and my personal workout program has has definitely evolved over the years and it's normal that that would happen as we as we you know go up there in years but it's more of like okay what do I feel like doing today do I want to do a little stretching do I want to go for a walk because I have been a runner like I said for decades and run like almost every day and now there are a few days where I'm like you know what what am I what is my body wanting to do or feeling like I need to do and I think that's really important to to really get in touch with and I don't think as we are younger that doesn't always happen and and again you know I talk a lot about with age comes wisdom right where we just kind of realize a lot more things and that we don't have to go spend hours in the gym and it's not feasible anymore really schedule is back in you know whatever maybe our early 20s we could do that but it doesn't happen anymore and it's not necessary so that's one for me personally but I think my most favorite is to just really share the message with others and help others to take steps to be their healthiest and feel their best and also to convey that message that it doesn't have to be overwhelming or strenuous it should be you know life-giving and provide energy for your day-to-day life and for some it becomes a stressor and that's the last thing that I want for people you know it should be something that helps you to manage your stress and helps you to de-stress and it's not like another thing to add to the list and I just really like to try and help people give themselves grace and know that it doesn't have to take a lot of time and it doesn't have to be very very strenuous I mean sure it's beneficial to mix in some of the higher intensity workouts but overall it's it's really just the whole idea of being healthy being able to function as a healthy adult and take steps to be preventative too with our health so that later on in years we can hopefully be healthy and take steps now so that we're not dealing with illnesses in in chronic disease later on in life. Yeah yeah no it's I love everything you said about that I mean and I think that's it's super important for our listeners too because there's so much out there like with PCOS you know and this could apply to women in perimenopause menopause you know whatever there's like so many conflicting things out there it's like yes you should be lifting weights no you shouldn't do anything intense and I mean I always tell my clients and and I think I've said it even on other you know episodes it's like the best workout you can do is the one you want to do you know whatever like you said whatever kind of fills you up and not just feels like I have to do this today and I think it's important too because women with around their cycles you know you have to sometimes consider some of that your energy may not be as great you should not be lifting heavier doesn't mean you shouldn't you can't lift at all but if weights are your thing you might just need to take it a little bit easier that day or just do some active recovery and get in some yoga or just some light stretching that still counts you know for something moving your body and you get a lot of benefit from that yeah yeah I love love all that so what are you working on now fill us in on that I've been working on a couple things I I still teach college even though I retired a couple years back but I but I still have a couple classes I teach here and there which has been really really fun to be able to continue to do that and I did start a podcast a couple years ago and we're gonna get you on my podcast I'm super excited about you know I just have had a couple things placed on my heart one was to start a podcast and that was placed on my heart years ago and I started it to about two years ago and then in addition to that I knew that I wanted to start a community for moms and and help them with their wellness journey alongside their motherhood journey so when I when I came up with my community moms to flourish I it was an idea it just hadn't quite materialized and it was I didn't have all the clarity in the beginning and it took a little time to really think it through and to come up with what I wanted to call it and all of the things that but I just knew that I wanted to combine I mean this was what was brought to me my years of wellness and my years as being a mom to my biggest passions and and and that's how it came to be so the the purpose and the mission of moms to flourish is to empower moms to put their wellness and their self-care their health as a priority and do so through group coaching one-on-one mentorship we have in-person live events that we've put on and it's a continual journey and continual build of the community and I'm excited to see what the future holds because it's it's definitely it's definitely there in my heart and I just feel like there's so much potential and there are so many lives out there to to touch that can be impacted and I find it's kind of a common theme that many times moms will you know not not put themselves as a priority their their health and their their self-care kind of goes on the back burner or on the sidelines and I just want to be that person to guide them and help them and help them to be accountable but also kind of to what we've been talking about is help them to understand it doesn't have to be you know you have to go for a two-hour run or you know it could be a simple thing and it doesn't mean it we take our fitness lightly or that we're lazy it just means you can accomplish a lot in a little time it doesn't have to be a lot of time out of your day and giving yourself time to fill your cup and this goes to anybody really so that you can fill the cups of others in your life whoever that might be and so it's it's definitely it's definitely my I don't know if you would say passion project I feel like it's a movement that I want it doesn't keep being and yeah so that's what that's what I've been working on that's so great I mean it is it's so so important I mean I don't know how many women I talked to and yeah whether it's a mom I do I am talking obviously I know from my nursing background but just other nurses I met with a teacher yesterday and it is it's so common that we are just go go go all the time taking care of everybody else until yeah maybe until you have that health scare or something like really wakes you up from that and you realize how important that is to to take care of yourself first you know that you really need to do that I think to Lindsie you bring up such a good point and you know this because of your background I always like I mentioned earlier about the preventative measure like let's not wait I saw this happen with my dad and you know you know God love him he's no longer living but he when he got diagnosed with diabetes and then he had fatty liver disease he made some quite drastic changes in his day-to-day life and and you know and I'm sure it helped us have him for you know maybe a few years longer than we would have but I think about that with people that sometimes it takes that health scare before they make the change and I and that kind of breaks my heart like I I always feel like like I mentioned earlier take the steps now do it now so you can potentially prevent anything happening later even though it's not a guarantee but let's do what we can while we're healthy and feeling good and carry that through into future years and and a big area that I'm I'm getting more and more involved in is just talking and coaching on longevity and what can we do to to improve the different areas of our lives that carry us into a longer lifespan but also not just living longer but feeling good when we're here right I think that's such an important concept and who knows what the future holds I mean but that's that's my goal is like yeah great feel good have energy as long as we're here and I mean we do the best we can and then we see what happens right yeah yeah I always say quality over quantity like you know I just I want I want to still be able to do what I want to do up until you know it's my time and yeah like somebody could say I want to live to a hundred but if you're stuck in a bed you know riddled with disease is that really what you want to do you know and I mean I so I like said I don't have kids I have two little nieces that I love dearly they're up in Michigan so they're a ways away but I go see him every few months and I'm still like I'm out there running riding bikes with them you know they're climbing on me or doing cartwheels in the living you know all that stuff I love that I can still do that and actually be a role model for them with that stuff too and so I think it's there's probably a lot of women out there that that want to do that you know they say they want to do that but I think what you're offering is is a really good way to to get them there yeah yeah thank you yeah and I just know I just want to serve them I want to be that you know again for accountability but also the guidance and the education and the support in what does that look like you know I have a mentorship a group mentorship starting in January in addition to that I'm opening up a couple you know one-on-one spots I mean sometimes individuals you know sometimes people prefer the one-on-one or they want to just go a little bit deeper faster like and just be on that one-on-one journey which is fine I you know I'm open either way it's just I'm here and I'm ready to to serve the best that I can and it's really interesting when when you hear and in your part of this too such the small percentage of us that are being proactive with our health and fitness and and and and I I think that and this might be you as well but I think that sometimes I take for granted because it's been my life for so many years and then when you hear that like we're in like the top I don't know maybe even 10% I don't even know if people actually are being proactive taking action knowing what to do the majority don't know but I also think and this is the no fault of their own it's confusing and I use my students that all the time I would say my goal is to answer your questions give you some clarity and bring you know concrete information to you and and and and and studies and information that's that's going to help you because there's so much noise and it's so confusing and I and I would always say so this is my profession and I get confused so I can't imagine right person and so again it's like it's not their fault I mean there's just stuff coming out as time as you know yeah you know you hear a big a big topic I hear often about are those that are you know the influencers that might have hundreds and thousands millions of viewers and people are listening to them and in some cases what they're sharing maybe isn't accurate sometimes sure I'm sure it is but sometimes it's not but that's that's what happens and so trying to combat the noise and just help bring clarity to people direction I think is really really key yeah yeah I mean there's it is there's like so much out there I mean and we have the gym we had I mean there was a gym on every corner you know and I even told people as I was like talking to him about memberships I'm like there's a gym on every corner you can go on YouTube Google anything of course now there's AI you know and you can have chat GPT come up with a workout plan for you so it's not that you know the information is there it's just yes it gets confusing and some people need that extra guidance and that extra you know accountability and just kind of motivation that's not coming from them you know somebody else kind of guiding them on that so to really then just take that first step and start with something well and I think that you have a good point too with with talking about the AI and the chat GPT you can get a workout you can get the information but you're not getting that you're not getting that connection with a human you're not yeah person whether you know in some cases it might be through the zoom and maybe it's not in person but having that connection that human connection is so important and we're hearing about it so much that you know nothing can replace that and I think that when we the country was shut down we all realized that oh my gosh yeah we we survived it for a little bit we all survived most of it but that's not how we're meant to live I know we're just not and so now that that's why you know when I initially with moms who flourish I initially was gonna start with my coaching programs and then I went wait a minute I want I want to create a community in-person event and so so that's how we started and so we've had three in-person events so far and for that very reason to be in community to be together in person and it's just there's nothing like it really yeah yeah and I think we we as a society you know are getting back to that because I think yes COVID played a role in that and it's weird because I was just on a call with somebody else I was like COVID was almost six years ago that's crazy it's so crazy isn't it yeah yeah and so now I think we're finally starting to realize like okay great you know it was it was convenient and obviously yes when we were all we all needed to isolate and you know keep each other safe but then of course that carried on you know jobs and all that stuff like people were still working from home but now yeah I feel like there is that that shift to want to connect more again because we've been missing that now for a few years and you know there's there there's still that working from home which I love I think that's definitely wonderful but you also have to then kind of like get yourself out of the house you know it's so easy to just get locked into what you're doing and be inside and I just ran into a family friend she's my one of my daughter's good friends and she she was telling me the other day that she she's working remotely from home and she just doesn't really get out much and I thought gosh you know and here's someone a young young beautiful girl and I'm like that that would be tough yeah yeah and mentally you know mentally and physically yeah it's not really you know I feel they're tied together really when you think about it but it's really just not good yeah yeah so you recently became an empty nester so how's that feeling tell us about that how's this transition you know this new phase of life you know it's actually it's gone a lot smoother than I thought it would to be honest having three children and each time having them go to college and dropping them off was tough and coming back home and that adjustment was was really tough and so with each of them it was challenging but I feel like one thing with our youngest he he did a summer ball and so it's the first time before he started his freshman year he was away for summer ball and it was the first time that he was away from home and I really like the first week I really struggled and I thought oh my gosh what is this gonna be like when he goes away like miles away to college and I go back to that and I I often think and I say I think that was God preparing me because I had that week of just tears almost every night and then when it came to actually going to college yes there were tears but it wasn't as difficult as I thought it could be so and it's not to say it still isn't hard like it's it's so interesting you know one of the last times I was with him and I was leaving and I cried all the way to the airport and we're talking this was just this was just a couple months ago so it just depends on sometimes it's the the weekend and the experiences and and and also just you know it's just our emotions sometimes sometimes it's easier than other times and sometimes it's harder and having everyone home for Thanksgiving was was wonderful and then having to say goodbye wasn't as hard because it's like okay we'll see in a couple weeks kind of thing I'm like I like the sound of that but I just I feel grateful that you know my husband and I like each other we enjoy being together so that's a bonus and then you just look forward to those moments with your kids and as a family and you you make plans and you you to me that's what I will share with other moms and dads it that gives you something to look forward to you know that next visit or when you're gonna go and see them or whatever that looks like so I just I feel for the moms who you know of course there are moms that that that has been their entire identity and yes it's a huge identity for me however I'm grateful that I also still work a little bit outside of the home and I still always did work and so I had that going on at the same time but yeah it's um it's quite an experience and I just I like to just share that with moms too and especially those that haven't gone through it yet I also want to be that maybe that sounding board and also sharing with them what's helped me and I know for me personally I just I find that just taking the time and this is for any experience and for any of us in life taking I'm just gonna say yeah yeah go through the emotions I mean I learned that early on I'm like okay we came back we're coming back on Sunday from dropping you know one of our you know our daughter or one of our boys off I'm gonna give myself 24 hours or the whole next day to just be what whatever that looks like am I gonna cry on the couch I don't know am I just gonna relax I'm gonna go for walks I don't know but I'm give myself that time and so I like to really that's my one big thing I like to let moms know and I really encourage them to do that and give yourself because I know I've heard a few say oh you know I came back and I just I just got busy you know that helps me to be busy I'm like okay that's great but you know I'm like I want to think like and say but I don't but I'm like it's gonna it's gonna come bite you in the book gonna catch it you know you're gonna crash and burn trying at work or whatever you know I go what that's going on so I mean I'm not I am NOT a therapist but I do help me yeah yeah but yeah I like what you said I mean that applies to to any phase or transition you know and anybody's life really you just you have to you can't suppress it it will catch up with you you have to be able to process it plan in some extra time you know like you said if it's dropping the kids off you know maybe it's their first day of school in general you know or they're actually leaving and you won't see them for a few months like whatever it might be but just still planning in that time for yourself I mean yeah seriously 10 minutes a day even you know in general I mean even maybe some prep time leading up to that like when you know it's gonna be a difficult time right he's making sure you're taking care of yourself sleep and getting in some good sleep that's super important can can help you in situations like that as well so yeah that's super super important and you have a great point too it can be any phase of motherhood or any any big you know transitions anything the experiences same same thing right but yeah it's a give your give yourself time and give yourself grace I don't think I don't think we do that enough no definitely not definitely not and that can affect how you're feeling you know that's one thing like I know I say my program too is to give yourself some grace like you're not gonna be perfect every single day and I don't think I'd want you to be you're gonna stress yourself out more you know so you have to you have to just learn from it and then pick yourself up and keep moving forward sure yeah yeah well I love this conversation so where I'll put some links in the show notes but you are in California so for any in-person stuff if you want to share like kind of where they can find you and then just how to connect with you as well absolutely I'm probably the best place would be on Instagram right now I do have I have to two accounts there one is at wellness with Shelly J and then I also have at moms who flourish and I always encourage people to reach out even if they just have some general fitness nutrition wellness questions I'm always happy to to answer questions and help in any way that I can another topic that I really like to share on and educate on is toxins and reducing that exposure and if anyone has questions about that please feel free to reach out and for any moms out there who might want to find out more about my upcoming mentorship program and our in-person moms who flourish events please feel free to reach out I'm happy to share with we'd love to have you and I also do have a free Facebook group for moms who flourish so there are different ways to to be a part of the community so so feel free to reach out awesome yeah like I said I'll link everything the show notes as well but thank you so so much for being here I think there is lots of good good nuggets in there that we can take so yeah I'm sure our listeners got a lot out of that and I really appreciate you being here thank you thank you Lindsie for having me it was really great conversation.
I hope you loved this conversation with Shelly as much as I did her message is such an important reminder that health is not about perfection it's about progress awareness and giving your body what it needs in each season of life for women with PCOS that message hits home even deeper learning to tune into your energy move in ways that feel good manage stress and limit toxic exposures are all key parts of supporting your hormones naturally and Shelly's wisdom fits right into that bigger picture of mindful empowered living if you want to connect with Shelley be sure to follow her on Instagram at wellness with Shelly J and at moms who flourish and check out her mom to flourish Facebook community and her own podcast words of wellness with Shelly I'll link everything in the show notes for you and as always thank you for listening to PCOS unfiltered nourish heal thrive if this episode resonated with you take a quick screenshot share it on your stories and tag us because when women share what's working we all rise together until next time keep nourishing your body healing your hormones and thriving from the inside out.