The Picky Eating Summit with Lena Livinsky (EP 137)

[0:15] Hello, everyone, and welcome back to my unhealthy podcast, the show where we talk about health, wellness, life, and all those things that we keep putting

[0:26] off in an effort to live healthy and be happy. But we're going to talk about them here in a practical way and give ourselves, you know, baby steps on how we can make things better. Today's show, if you have been listening, One of the more popular guests is back with me, Lena Levinsky, is in the house. And Lena and I talked about picky eating for a few shows. Lena, welcome back. Thank you for having me back. Such an honor. I think it's my third time. Wow. Yeah, yeah. I do want to let people know, so you're here for a very special reason. You have a summit that's coming up, and we'll get to that. But I do want to go back and forth. People that maybe started here for the first time, tell them about you. You basically came on and helped us understand how parents can better understand feeding challenges.

[1:23] Recognizing that picky eating is sometimes not the problem. It could be a symptom. Yes, 100%. I will even say... Most of the time, 99% of the time. Yes, it's a symptom. But yeah, so I'm a pediatric speech language pathologist and picky eating specialist. And I have worked with feeding challenges or kids with feeding challenges for, nearly 15 years now, which is blowing my mind. I don't want to talk about my age.

[1:56] But yes, when I started off, I learned to treat feeding, very much based on the behaviors of the child and how they were around the table, around the plate, and focus on what they were eating and try to extend a diet from that angle. But over the years, and especially once I had my son, I learned that that approach did not work for most children because picky eating is not a diagnosis. It's a symptom of something else happening. So if we're only focusing on the eating aspect or the food, then we really are ignoring the root cause issue that is causing these behaviors, right? So once you focus on the child and not the plate, that's truly when you can address some of these underlying causes. Yeah. So those were two great discussions. I'm going to have links to both of those episodes in the show notes. So we will talk about that and you can learn about, you know, how to observe your child without trying to diagnose them and how to recognize those feeding concerns and figure out if you might need some professional evaluation. So you mentioned you're a pediatric speech language pathologist, feeding specialist, also founder of Livin Sky Kids and host of the Livin Sky podcast. Yeah.

[3:20] I want to ask one question. I know we're off track already, but your bio has these initials after your name. C-C-C-Dash-S-L-P. Yes. What is that?

[3:34] Well, when you're an SLP, you need to have some extra credentials in order to practice. And I'm blanking on the first C, but it's like, oh, Certificate of Clinical Competence. That's what the C-C-C is. So once you get your C's and your clinician, then you can, in most states, you need these to practice speech pathology. So it's never like just SLP, it's triple C. Gotcha. Yeah.

[4:05] All right. So let's get to talking about what we're here for. You have brought together 27 experts for something you've put together called the Picky Eating Summit. And that is coming up November 5th through the 7th. And let me ask before we get started here, how did you get 27 experts to basically come together and tackle this area of topics. Well, 26. I'm one of them. So it's basic. So honestly, you have mentioned I'm a podcast host. That has been a great way for me to build relationships with incredible people in the field. So some of the people who are coming on to the summit, who are speaking at the summit, are podcast guests, other people such as Dr. Elisa Song, who's my mentor. I'm part of her practitioner group.

[5:09] She's coming on because we have a personal relationship. And then also because of her, I went to a few conferences and I met other practitioners there. So some of them, they're also speaking. There are a few of them. So you kind of get to know people in this circle once you go into whole child health or more of a holistic health circle. And you make acquaintances. You meet people who you resonate with, people you truly trust, and you want other people to understand their perspective because they truly are experts in a certain area. So that's kind of how it all came about. But I have to tell you, probably out of organizing this entire event, the hardest thing is.

[5:57] Speaker, communication, management, just getting everything kind of squared away because there's so many people with so many busy schedules. Yeah. Was probably the biggest thing that that took me forever so, we have already recorded everything like you mentioned that the summit starts in a week so that's squared away so that's nice but yes that was probably the biggest thing so this feels like a full-on, you know uh conference event that you would have inside a convention center a lot of moving parts um, so let's go back what were the questions that coming up, that parents were asking, that who was asking these questions that made you say, we need to develop an entire summit?

[6:48] You know, that's a great question. There's just so much misinformation out there, so much misinformation, and parents are not getting clear direction. And whether that is from well-meaning providers, whether that is from therapists, who unfortunately were not trained in this way, because I myself was not trained in that way either. I had to train myself. I had to seek out my own education.

[7:15] So that is really what, sorry, I just saw my husband outside randomly and I lost my track of thought. I was like, what are you doing here? Side the window. But that's really why. I've wanted to do a summit for a long time because I feel like that's an opportunity to have conversations that address many different angles of this. Because on my podcast, you know, I can have an episode on gut health, another one on nervous system regulation, another one on nutrition, and so on and so forth. And there are many people usually one at a time that come on to talk about it. But in a summit, you can kind of like bring it all together, kind of like an electro hall in a way. So for parents who want to have a direction, they don't have to wait another week and then get disconnected and then, you know, perhaps not have the answers right away. So I just felt like that was the best way to bring that information forward so we can truly start making some changes because picky eating is becoming very popular. And hopefully, you know, we can do something about that. Yeah.

[8:21] So the summit, as you heard us say, it's virtual, running for those days. A lot of the stuff is pre-recorded, but in terms of what a viewer should expect, are they coming in and getting any sort of a conference feel, or is it just simply, different sessions that they can watch? Is it one at a time? Can they select from different sessions? How does it work? Yes. So I played around with the idea of how I wanted to set it up. I do want it to feel not overwhelming to the parents. So instead of saying like, you have 24 hours to watch these three sessions or whatever it might be, I know for the parent listening who, might have a child with chronic disease or just children in general, they're busy, right? So the way I set it up is the summit will be available for viewing for four days. All the sessions are going to be available for four days so people can pick the ones that interest them. The first day, I did divide them up into three days based on kind of a topic. So the first one, or more, maybe not a topic, a theme. So the first day is look deeper when we're really trying to understand what's going on underneath picky eating. And what are some things that could be contributing.

[9:42] Then the second day is feeding foundations. So looking at feeding skills and things like that, maybe things that are mechanical, but also nervous system from a different perspective.

[9:56] Speaking with a child psychologist who is going to get into like feeding disorders and things like that. And on a third day, the theme is create change. So these are kind of really focusing on what are some things I can really do at home to start implementing these changes. Although it's not as simple as that. Every single person talks about the things you could do based on their topic. But I still wanted it to feel like.

[10:25] Okay, these are the areas that maybe I should look into first. And then these things, maybe I can look at it from this perspective in this category. It's just kind of how it worked out in my mind. But essentially, it's 18 sessions. I'm teaching every single day. So I'm going to have a lecture every single day. And then there's going to be five other lectures or interviews with other experts. And then we also, in the Summit Hub, we have a community. It's called Picky Eater Among Us. And anybody can join and ask questions and hopefully, you know, discuss whatever is on their mind because I feel like having a community around this is so important because it can get so lonely. So everything in the hub, I try to make it so that it's not overwhelming, it's easy, not too long, and hopefully people will have a platform where they can still ask questions. And then on the actual third day, so because it's three days of lectures, it's still open on the 8th, but it's just for viewing.

[11:29] So the third day, I'm doing a live Q&A where we're going to be doing our giveaway, because we have quite a few prizes that were given away. And also, I'm going to be there so we can discuss some things live. If any questions come up for moms or dads or caregivers that are at the summit, I'll be there to guide them. All right. Okay. So it looks like it's a nice little step progression each day where you're kind of getting, you know, the starter of, you know, learning to understand the feeding struggles day two, getting more of a foundation, you know, the oil skills, chewing, and then day three would be applying information through nutrition and stuff.

[12:09] And you said free viewings available through Sunday. Yeah.

[12:13] Uh before we i want to talk about the giveaway but before we do that let's go ahead and at least mention there are uh this is technically a free summit, and so when you look in the show notes I m going to have a link for the free pass but then you have an optional all access pass for one year of access so is that one year of access to this summit, yes to this summit to all the conversations um, everything the moms might need. Because with picky eating, it's hard, right? Because as you're getting into this, and perhaps you don't really know, okay, but I don't know where to even start, right? I'm just kind of learning about this. So maybe in a few days, you might notice, oh, but my child is showing signs of this. So let me go back and listen to this talk, or maybe in a week or two or three, something happens, and you're like, oh, I want to learn more learn more about this. So that's why I, you know, I wanted to make sure that this is available for people who want to learn more.

[13:12] And yes, so if you purchase an all access pass, it's $97. And then you have access for the entire year. And that comes with transcripts of all the talks. So if you want to just read, you can do that as well. Not everybody wants to watch audio versions, if you just want to listen kind of like a podcast, and then also a picky eating roadmap. App so this is essentially um based on these and these and these symptoms perhaps these are the talks you should, watch or you should listen to so it gives a parent's kind of sense of direction of like okay well i can't listen to 18 talks so let me pick a few and that can guide you towards the ones that are going to be most beneficial for you and then also have the connected ads workbook which is essentially just like a companion to the entire summit so you can start to, pick out some patterns in your own child and it can kind of like walk you through okay what am I really hearing what am I noticing kind of helps you to really jot it down and get some ideas of where you might want to start with your own child. Right. So now if somebody, I'm going to have both options on the show notes, so you can get the free now as well as the all access.

[14:26] How long do they have to get the all access? Is it something where somebody can sign up for free and then if they realize, oh my goodness, this is way more information that I can consume, can they upgrade to the all access later? Yes, they cab until the 9th, end of day of the 9th. So it's like a five-day period when they can actually purchase, well, more, because you can purchase it now. But up until November 9th, you can purchase the All Access Pass. Okay. So they can attend, get information and stuff. And then, of course, you mentioned the prizes.

[15:01] I see that there are 16 prizes. Mm-hmm. 11, very generous, yes. Yeah, okay. Okay. Give us an idea of maybe one or two prizes, and then we'll talk about ways that people can participate. Yeah. I'm actually just looking at the template now, see which one I'm going to pick. But one of them is actually virtual access to the Health and Healing Expo from Documenting Hope, where I'm speaking on their picky eating panel. That conference is happening in November in Orlando. So that's from the 20th to the 21st of November. And that's bringing together incredible minds and it's not just picky eating. Pick eating is just one panel. This is just whole child health. It's more of an expo than just like a convention so you can go in and.

[15:52] Really look at groundbreaking products in this area in our this holistic area of health and also listen to talks from the best people in the pediatric health space. So it's an incredible opportunity to learn a ton and get a lot of answers for your child if you have a child with any type of chronic issues um and then, Also, there's so many, it's hard to like pick one, but the Apollo Neuro is our grand prize, I called it. So that is a wearable, you wear on your wrist or you can put it on your ankle and it sends off vibrations that actually affect your nervous system, right? So you can set the modes that you want. And for example, if you want to be really focused because you need to study, You can choose the focus mode. You can choose a calm mode. Let's say you're getting on a plane. You're really nervous. That's the one I use the most. And you're like, oh, I'm going to get some good vibrations. It really helps me to like stay regulated. But they have so many different benefits from it. And you can actually use it with your kids as well, which is really cool. So it's just like a nervous system regulating tool. So those are two that we are giving away. Very nice. Very nice. And then on the webpage, when you go to sign up, folks, you can see all of this.

[17:16] And then it gives three ways to win. So there are prize drawings and they have to accumulate points. Well, because the platform, that's how it works. Every time you watch something, every time you comment, every time you engage in the Picky Eater Mamas community, then you're going to get a point from the platform. We're hosting a member vault. So it's pretty cool. So the more engaged you are in the summit, essentially, the more chances you have of winning the giveaway prizes. Nice. Yeah. And, of course, there is a secret word in there. I'm not going to tell you what it is. Yes. So when does that start? Because I know that people, it's going to be in one of the summit conversations. And so I guess the first person to get it and email it could win a prize. Yes. Yes. I thought that was pretty fun. I don't know. For some moms, it's kind of like a scavenger hunt in a way.

[18:19] But yes, the first person to figure it out and hear the word and email me will get a pretty full price. Okay.

[18:26] Folks, we should probably put a little bit of a disclaimer here. The summit is educational. It does not replace feeding therapy or health care providers. This is just people getting together, sharing information. If you have any issues at home, you still need to go see somebody. Of course. Always. Whatever you hear on the internet, you should always consult with the provider you trust.

[18:54] Okay. Again, folks, we're going to have registration links in the show notes. You can find them in your pod catcher or head over to the website for this episode

[19:04] on healthypodcast.com and they will be there. You can register. You can go ahead and get a head start. See all of the 27 speakers, 26 including Lena here. So, Lena, thank you very much for sharing about all this. Oh my gosh, thank you for having me and always giving me a platform to share my crazy ideas. I appreciate you. It's not crazy. You got 26 friends to put together a summit, and I'm sure you're going to have hundreds of parents that want to learn and figure out how to help their kids. Yeah, we already have over 750 people who have registered. Nice. Yeah, so we're hoping to get a few more because we have a week to go. But yeah, lots of people are interested because it's a big issue right now. And it has been for a while, but I feel like it hasn't been discussed much in this way. So people are very interested. Yeah. And again, if you're listening to this and this is the first episode you came across, check the show notes for the links to our previous conversations and hear Lena explain picky eating and how we really need to look at it in a much different way.

[20:11] Sign up for a free pass. even if you're not sure at least you'll have access and you can get at least one of the sessions in and then decide if you want to listen more and of course you can purchase the all access pass and have access to all of this, for a full year so yeah, Lena I ll let you get back to it i know that's still a lot of work to go to do to get ready for that and lots and lots thank you so much for having me though but thank you again and look forward to uh to success for you. I appreciate it. Thank you. All right, folks, that is going to do it for this very special episode. Please support Lena and go and check out the Picky Eating Summit. Again, just hit the free pass. Just check it out. See what you like. See what you can learn. And That should do it. Come back and tell me what you found out. We will be back with more in upcoming episodes. I will check in with Lena after the summit and see how things went. But until next time, go out there and find one thing to do that can make your life healthier and happier. We'll see you soon, folks. Holla.