Season Series: Summer
Brie Towne's healthy skepticism is This Summer's wellness hack
Season Series
Summertime has a nostalgia of childlike fun for me. Now that I’m no longer sweating in NYC subways or freezing in the SF fog, I enjoy a suburban season. Summer is not without confusion on how to balance, how to manage feeling great and saying yes to fun.
Brie Towne and I met at a MTHR retreat in Cape Cod. At the time, she was living in Boston with her kids and husband. Taking a wellness break with other Moms opened the door for riveting conversations, reflections and truths.
Diving deep into truths, science and practices worth focusing on, Brie’s healthy investigation helps cut through the current stream on wellness faux gurus, advertisements selling the latest powder and influencers with zero educational background.
It’s refreshing to have someone fearlessly calling out nonsense. Recently, after my own diatribe on cold plunging for women, I seek out the truth over trends.
Founder of Verdure House, a nutrition consultant, educator, and science communicator helping folks cut through the wellness noise. From Manhattan Beach - just a little ways from LAX - the Towne’s spend as much time as possible soaking up the sunshine and ocean spray. Her 4 kids are 12, 11, 9, and 6 and all in school full time - finally. Her house is full with humans and a 2yr old pup and a 5yr old cat and spend much of any extra time I have running on the strand and reading fiction to get lost.
This Season Series: Summer is inspired by the WSJ Magazine Cover story Q&A.
Hi Brie —You’ve lived on the East & West Coast and are back in LA, what is the difference between the two summer seasons? I’ve lived on both sides of the country and notice a difference in how each handle summer. I’d love your perspective on Summer in LA!
Brie: Ooooh, okay so summer on the east coast - we spent 2 summers splitting out time between Boston and the Eastern shore of Maryland - are HUMID AF. Boston was gorgeous in the summer and I think I said a hundred times ‘this is what LA is like all the time!’.
Maryland is hot and sticky and absolutely not my kind of summer or lifestyle. LA - at least where I am at the beach - is lovely.
It gets a bit crowded with tourists or folks from the eastside coming out to cool off, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Our family spends a lot of time at the beach - my oldest daughter plays beach volleyball and we all go down to watch - and we don’t take for granted living this way.
Summer Fun
How do you define balance in the heart of summer? Do you struggle with finding the right alignment for you and your family and work and school, etc in a certain season? If not, have you found one season of life more challenging than the next?
Brie: This is the first summer that I’ve been on top of things and in a financial position to get the kids in camps and events and programming for almost the entire summer. Usually it’s just me trying (and failing) to keep them entertained while I try to keep working in the margins. I’m really excited to give them some fun activities to pass the time and give myself a much-needed break.
In our time at MTHR, during the panel facilitated by @bigtimeadulting we spoke about how Moms beat ourselves up so much. In summer, I feel like I’m battling not working enough or not keeping my kids entertained with road trips or crafts or volleyball. How do you keep your mindset in check, especially when school is out?
Brie: I gave up a long time ago feeling guilty about whatever I do as a mom. It wasn’t serving me or my family and was making it a whole lot more difficult to be present and just enjoy life. I read or heard somewhere years ago “if you’re worried about being a good mom, it means you are one” and somewhere between that and therapy, I realized that I am good enough.
When my kids are watching TV or playing at the beach or reading a book or bickering about Mario Kart – I’m still a good enough mom. We do what we need to do to get by and if everyone’s taken care of and happy and healthy then I’ve done enough.
Myths, Facts and Falsehoods
I’m drawn to your work especially when you debunk myths or push on wellness ‘facts’ that are not backed by anything except a trend. In a world where information flows so easily through social media channels, what’s one thing women should do to protect themselves from falling into a trap of falsehoods?
Brie: I think the biggest thing we can do is to be skeptical. There is so much nonsense out there that ranges from innocuous to questionable to outright deadly. Be a skeptic, check for credentials.
For example: anyone can call themselves a ‘nutritionist’ or ‘health coach’. Some of these folks have zero training or education in the field, some have a 6-week certification course, some have advanced degrees. I’m highly skeptical of those who are not degree-qualified. Nutrition is a science - and it’s not really one you can learn on your own from blogs or reels - I know, that’s exactly what sent me back to school. Ignore flagrant and sexy and all-or-nothing claims: “this ONE thing” or “X is toxic” or “never eat Y” – nutrition and health science is nuanced and requires degrees and levels of distinction.
The best advice will kind of sound wishy-washy and come with caveats like ‘sometimes’, ‘most’, ‘often’, ‘it depends’. It sounds counterintuitive, but information including those words and phrases is more likely to be accurate and useful.
Navigating so Much Data
What has helped you stay strong in this season of life when the wellness trolls keep promoting diet culture or false information?
Brie:
Having friends and colleagues in the field also working hard to cut through the noise helps a lot. We have a group chat where we send memes and nonsense posts to laugh at and, if I’m being honest, be snarky and make fun of. It helps to have that space to laugh it off and vent before taking to social media ourselves to debunk without shaming folks.
It’s hard because I know most people out there are just trying to improve their health and feel good and find some answers. I’ve certainly been there and can empathize–it’s HARD to navigate and it’s just getting harder the more uninformed voices enter the conversation.
What is one high cost wellness ‘hack’ you can’t live without?
Brie: I’ve been thinking about this for weeks and honestly can’t come up with an item. All of my wellness is incredibly cheap and accessible. I think the most expensive part of my wellness routine is my dog? Walking and exercising him is a big part of my well-being and he’s not cheap!
Inexpensive Must Have
What is one low cost wellness must have?
Brie: I feel like 99% of true wellness is low-cost ;)
I guess if I had to pick one maybe sprinkling nutritional yeast on everything from popcorn to pizza – a little extra protein and vitamins in a cheap tasty package.
This conversation is part of the Season Series, exploring transitions, mindful leadership, and the power of living in the “&.” To connect with Brie Towne, visit:
Website | Instagram | Substack
***The Visualization Vault is LIVE.
Enjoy this 5 minute guided visualization moving from Spring to Summer.