The Sonya Looney Show

Brian Asbill, MD, board certified in Cardiovascular Diseases and Clinical Lipidology, had a career defining moment back in 2013 (he’ll talk about this during the podcast). One of his patients, who had already survived two open heart surgeries and was still experiencing chest pain, came in to see him after a recommendation for a third surgery by a different doctor. Brian had a book in his office by Caldwell Esselstyn called Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, which he decided to share with the patient. This book, which recommended switching to a plant-based diet, changed this patient’s life. Three months later and 27 pounds lighter, he no longer needed many of his medications and his chest pain was gone.  This began Brian’s path to Lifestyle Medicine, becoming the first board certified physician in Lifestyle Medicine in 2017. Brian co-founded Ruckus Health, dedicated to supporting people holistically in uncovering their innate ability to live in physical, mental, emotional and spiritual balance. Dr. Asbi

Today, you'll learn the difference between fierce self-compassion and tender self-compassion. In 2017, I had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Kristin Neff to talk about her book “Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself,” and the basics of self-compassion. This week, I had the opportunity to reconnect with Kristin, doing a deeper dive into self-compassion and learning more about her latest book “Fierce Self Compassion: How Women Can Harness Kindness to Speak Up, Claim Their Power, and Thrive.”  ​​Kristin is a leader in the field of self-compassion research, creating a scale to measure the construct almost 20 years ago. With her colleague, Dr. Chris Germer, she has developed an empirically supported training program called Mindful Self-Compassion, and she co-authored The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook as well as Teaching the Mindful Self-Compassion Program: A Guide for Professionals. She is also co-founder of the nonprofit Center for Mindful Self-Compassion. She is currently an Associa

Our family made a lot of changes in the last year to our lives. We moved to an entirely new town, bought a house, changed our work environment, got pregnant with our second child, and we are raising a sweet toddler! Each month, I like bringing a solo episode to you. Usually, it's about a well-researched topic as it relates to topics covered on the show (and you can get weekly doses in my newsletter), but today, we talked about courage, parenting, marital satisfaction, and more! Key Takeaways   Why we moved to Squamish What it means to have courage to make changes Marital Satisfaction with a Toddler Matt's Running Journey Taking 3 years off racing Feelings about our new baby coming soon  

Emily Oster tells it like it is. The Professor of Economics at Brown University is known for her books that take a data-driven approach to pregnancy and parenting. Wondering what’s behind the sushi rule during pregnancy or how much coffee you’re allowed to drink? Curious about co-sleeping? Potty Training? Emily provides the data and analysis that drive these well-known rules.  Emily’s first book, Expecting Better, provides information to help women make their own well-informed decisions throughout pregnancy. She then wrote Cribsheet, a similarly data-driven book to help new parents navigate all of the conflicting information about how to breastfeed, sleep-train, and potty training.  Her most recent book, The Family Firm, provides a framework for data-driven parents to think about the key issues of the elementary years: school, health, extracurricular activities, and more.  In this week’s episode, Sonya and Emily talked about many topics of interest in early childhood development. Key Takeaways Hie

Dani Taylor and Giacomo are vegan bodybuilders. Sounds a little bit like an oxymoron, right? But these two married athletes are amazing examples for how you can be plant-based, strong, and champions. In this podcast, Dani, Taylor and Sonya sat down to talk about how to be a vegan bodybuilder, what steps to take to incorporate more plant-based foods into your diet, and their work coaching through VeganProtein.com.  Dani is a vegan figure competitor and champion. She co-founded VeganProteins.com and PlantBuilt.com, a nonprofit organization of strength-based vegan athletes who compete together to raise awareness for veganism and money for rescued animals at farm sanctuaries, with Giacomo.  As VeganProteins head coach, Dani helps women build confidence to lift weights for the first time and find their strength. She also specializes in vegan figure competition prep to help people prepare for competition. Giacomo is an assistant coach through VeganProteins and works with clients on a daily basis to help them

In this week’s podcast, Sonya sat down with Katy Milkman, a professor at The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine, to discuss behavior sciences, behavior change, setting goals, and much more. Katy conducts research that looks at insights from economics and psychology and how they can be harnessed to change consequential behaviors for good. She co-founded, and co-directs, the Behavior Change for Good Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania.  Last year, Katy published How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, which the New York Times named one of the eight best books for healthy living in 2021. She was also named one of the world’s top 50 management thinkers and the world’s top strategy thinker by Thinkers50. Katy’s extensive resume includes work with many organizations on behavior change, including The White House, Google, the U.S. Department of Defense, the American Red Cross, and more. She

Excuses can show up in several forms, especially when it comes to following through with goals and commitments. The biggest excuse often comes in the form of procrastination. We say we will do something later and then we never do it. Other forms of excuses show up as a reason to let yourself off the hook. Maybe you feel like you're too tired, too lazy, too unmotivated, or you just hate doing something. First, I am going to talk about big picture excuses- excuses that we make to avoid bigger life changes. Next, I'll talk about how to decide if the commitment we made is true commitment or just an interest, and how to make stronger commitments. FIGURE OUT WHAT’S REALLY HOLDING YOU BACK Here are some common excuses I hear or that I’ve caught myself saying. Try to notice your own narrative around excuses and the broader meaning behind those excuses. Here are a few examples. I’m too old to start (I hear this a lot with mountain biking… NOT true! My dad started in his 60s. My father-in-law is in his 70s

We all have ideas of what we want our life to look like. It could be something like weight loss, improving speed on the bike or running, or even cooking more at home.  When you set those goals, how do you go about doing it? Have you set goals and ultimately lost motivation or simply got out of the habit? With the impending New Year, many of us like to think about what we want to accomplish. In fact, fresh starts are a great time for habit change. (link). I'm here to help you set goals for the new year or any time that will actually keep you on track. In this guide, you'll learn: The mistakes people make with setting goals how to set a process or behavior focused goals (instead of outcome goals) how big of a goal is too big strategies to avoid the self-sabotage of all-or-none thinking SMART Goals: the actual elements of setting an achievable goal some ways to track your goals how to stay motivated with your goals ove rtime define what success looks like The Mistakes People Make with Setting Goals

Imagine rocketing head and face-first down a frozen track around 80 miles per hour with the rapidly moving ground just inches from your face. Well, that sport is called Skeleton and Duff Gibson won a gold medal in the 2006 Winter Olympics for being the best. Not only that, but he is the oldest gold medalist in history in the Winter Olympics, winning gold at age 39 after decades finding his niche in sport. Duff didn't start in Skeleton and spent a lot of time finding high degrees of success in winter sports, but it wasn't enough to help him realize his Olympic dream he had since childhood. Duff knew when to walk away and try new sports to help him achieve his ultimate goal- Olympic Gold. As an athlete, Duff was a provincial champion speed skater, a national champion and national team member in bobsleigh, and then a world and Olympic gold medallist in the sport of skeleton. As a coach, he led six different athletes to podium finishes at a world level. Competing against, working with, and learning from numero

Muay Thai is a martial art and combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques, and being plant-based has been a gamechanger for Cass Warbeck. Cass Warbeck started training martial arts at the age of 11 and is a black belt in Goju Ryu karate and black level in Kurama Yama kickboxing. After reading The China Study by T. Colin Campbell in 2013, she went plant-based and never looked back. A plant-based diet fueled her throughout her amateur Muay Thai fighting career and in March 2019 she fought for and won the World Kickboxing Association (WKA) North American Bantamweight Muay Thai Title. Cass has always loved inspiring and educating others to achieve better personal health through physical movement and nutrition. She completed a Bachelor of Science in Health and Fitness Physiology from the University of Calgary and worked as a Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP) certified personal trainer before applying to medical school. Currently Cass is a 3rd year medical

"It's too late for me. I'm too old to start." Have you ever used these excuses are barriers? Meet Ian Morgan, an ultrarunner who is crushing it in his 50s. And guess what? He didn't even start on this journey until he was in his mid-40s. Ian was primarily focused on his engineering career and property investment company in his 20s and 30s. Realizing that a primary focus on money, materialistic possessions, and career achievements wasn't making him happy, he took a 180 turn in his life. Ian said, " I was overweight, stressed, and unhappy with myself, so I started to run. This is where I discovered a passion for ultra running. Eventually, I sold everything I owned (Houses, cars, bikes, and all my furniture) and started living a more nomadic minimalist lifestyle, traveling the world and running 50 to 250 km plus ultra races in some of the world's wildest places." How did this happen? Starting as a proverbial couch potato to present day super-fit ultra runner (seriously, he ran a 2:50 marathon and as you j

Have you ever noticed that when you get close to the end of something hard, you wish you were at the finish line? I notice this feeling the most in a mountain bike race. It doesn't matter how long the event is, but when I'm 70% done (or sometimes even before), I start dreaming of the finish line. It also happens during a workout or a project.  We start anticipating being done and then wish to be at the finish line.  I admit I've even done this looking at how long it'll be before my son's nap, wishing the time away so I can have a break.  Why do we try to speed up time? Most of the time, we worked hard to even get to the start line, and then we catch ourselves wishing the time away.   I don't have all the answers, but there are my thoughts.  I think that sometimes we wish time away because we are bored, uncomfortable, or thought things would be different.  The thing I've learned through racing that applies everywhere else in my life is that the uncomfortable moments never last. The patience of wading thro

Sarah Sturm is a cyclist who can't be grouped into a specific category of cycling. Although you might know her bright smile and speedy results from gravel, she is a 2x Singlespeed Cyclocross National Champion, a podium finisher at the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike Race this year, has multiple high-profile gravel accolades (aka Belgian Waffle Ride, Steamboat Gravel (SBT GRVL), Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder, The Rift in Iceland, and more), and done a sizeable amount of racing road and cross-country mountain bike races... to bikepacking adventures for fun. Oh, and let's not forget to mention we met at the Trans BC Enduro stage race. When there are two wheels involved, Sarah's spirit for adventure, connection, and fun has taken her down many trails, roads, and paths. In addition to all the time Sarah Sturm spends cycling (in the saddle) and professional commitments, she also coaches young riders in the Devo Program in Durango, CO, and has a successful graphic design business called Oso Creative. Sarah isn't only i

Most of us try to balance the act of doing and the feeling of being in our lives. We ask ourselves questions like, "How can I work hard and have success without burning out? What do I need to do to feel fulfilled while striving for improvement?" Brad Stulberg, author of the bestselling author of the new book, The Practice of Groundedness, and also Peak Performance regularly researches, writes, and coaches on the many elements of health, well-being, and sustainable performance. And today, he returns to the podcast for his third conversation all about how to feel more grounded. His research suggests 6 principles of groundedness: acceptance, presence, patience, vulnerability, community, and movement. More specifically, The Practice of Groundedness focuses on: Accept where you are to get to where you want to go Be Present to Own Your Energy and Attention Be Patient to Get There Faster Embrace Vulnerability to Build Genuine Strength and Confidence Build Deep Community Move Your Body to Ground Your Mind

Sonya has been committed to a plant-based diet for almost a decade. Her interest in and passion for the benefits of plant-based eating has led her to connect to those equally committed to the space.  Cue this week’s episode with Stevan Mirkovich - owner of Planted Expo, a trade show, platform and network to connect Canadians to local vegan and plant-based businesses. Sonya will be speaking at Planted Expo this weekend and had a chance to speak with Stevan leading up to the event. Stevan is a recovering food addict, who experienced overeating, junk-food veganism, and eventually found his way to a plant-based style of living. He has guided hundreds of people in plant-based nutrition, cooking through sharing educational resources to help people transition to a better way of eating. Sonya and Stevan had a fantastic conversation spanning the topics of leadership, cooking, plant-based diets, human connection and more. "“That control piece is an interesting one because the truth is, you’re the only one tha

This week, Sonya gets personal and talks about all the details of her second pregnancy. She shares her experience from the first 20 weeks and some of the lessons she learned from her first pregnancy with her son. Key Takeaways: Why we decided to have a baby now Early pregnancy experience with a SURPRISE My biggest lesson as a parent Knowing when to trust your doctor How self-compassion and acceptance are helping me I’m okay if I am not achieving

After first connecting on Twitter, Sonya was interviewed on Lindsey Hein’s podcast “I’ll Have Another with Lindsey Hein,” where she talks with motivating and inspiring runners. Lindsey aims to inspire and refresh listeners in her conversations with runners of all levels, from your everyday runner to Olympic athletes.  Lindsey is an RRCA Certified Running Coach and coaches runners, writing personalized training plans for all distances - 5K to marathon distances. Lindsey also founded her own podcast network - Sandyboy Productions - which includes The Illuminate Podcast and The Up and Running Podcast. In this week’s conversation, Lindsey and Sonya talked about running, consistency, expectations, time management, and more. Key Takeaways The courage to try something new How she got into running How to stay consistent  How to meet yourself where you are with expectations Getting PCOS and a miscarriage What it means to have a performance you are proud of Powerful mantras How she manages her time Why she lov

Dre Baldwin went from playing NCAA D3 basketball to a nine-year basketball pro. His path to the highest level fo the sport required a level of discipline and toughness that drove him to build his “Work On Your Game” brand to share those tenets with a wider audience.  He is now a full-time entrepreneur who has authored 29 books and participated in TEDxTalks about discipline, confidence, mental toughness and personal initiative. He’s active on YouTube and has a daily Work On Your Game Podcast.  Sonya and Dre had a great conversation this week about how to go from thinking to action, self-belief, building confidence, choosing oneself and more. Key Takeaways Work on Your Game How to go from thinking to action How to deal with comparison Becoming a pro-basketball player and an entrepreneur Self-belief How to build confidence How to know when to quit or keep going Choosing oneself

It IS possible to thrive in motherhood and your career! This is the message that Molly Dickens, co-founder of &Mother actively promotes.  &Mother’s vision is a culture where motherhood is not a limiting factor in how women succeed professionally or personally, and where women can openly express their needs and receive support without retribution. It is a working world where mothers are supported as leaders and sought after as employees. Where the value of mothers in the workforce has become intrinsic such that new structural norms facilitate the needs of the modern family.  The mission is to break barriers that limit a woman’s ability to choose to thrive in both motherhood AND a career. One of organization’s first initiatives is creating cultural and structural change within the sports industry and shifting the narrative. This week, Sonya sat down with Molly, a scientist, writer, advocate, and mother of two. Formerly an academic researcher, Molly became a founding team member of a maternal he

I've spent well over a decade focusing on peak performance- both athletically in my quest to become one of the world's best endurance mountain bikers, but also in business and brainpower.  I used to think the key to peak performance was the focus on mastery: putting in the work to acquire the skills and wisdom to be a top performer in a given area.  While mastery and work ethic are certainly key components to peak performance, I have learned that there are multiple foundations upon which peak performance stands.  So what is the foundation to mastery, work ethic, and ultimately peak performance? The answer is not as simple as one thing, but it is as broad as one category: health.  Oftentimes, we think health is as simple as sick or healthy, but the category of health goes deep and wide.  Health encompasses emotional and mental health, physical health, environmental health, spiritual health, and relational health.  In my training as a health coaching through Vanderbilt's Integrative Medicine Program and work