Christiane Schroeter
Health & Fitness Coach
Christiane Schroeter started her business as a health and fitness coach in 2013. She has 20+ years of experience helping clients transform their daily wellness routines. She has worked as a professor for 15+ years and earned multiple national and international teaching and publication awards. Most of her clients find Christiane through her Happy Healthy Hustle Podcast, her Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, where she shares how to nurture your health without the overwhelm. Christiane Schroeter has degrees in Foods & Nutrition and a Ph.D. in Health Economics.
Connect with Christiane...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hello.happy.nest/
Website: https://hellohappynest.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HelloHappyNest
Full Transcript - Episode 9
Chantelle: Have a listen while today's guest Christiane, a 5/1, shares her story while you read between the lines. So Christiane, tell us, what does being a 5/1 mean to you?
Christiane: Well, it's truly exactly how you introduced yourself.
It is who I am. I am a true challenge taker. A full time professor and then health coaching on the side. I truly am a multi passionate entrepreneur. And I like to see how my full time job lines up with my part time job, which is being a health coach and I appreciate the challenge. I always say, this is the zest of life and what really gives me joy that I have these various different roles in my life that create a challenge, but at the same time, they also keep me young and fresh because I keep learning.[00:02:00]
Chantelle: Absolutely. And they do blend together.
I assume you are a professor of things related to happiness and health, correct?
Christiane: Right. I'm teaching innovation entrepreneurship and in my classes, we are always looking at creating the next best healthy innovation. What can we do in our life that might be a time saver, might be a more convenient solution to whatever we are looking at right now.
So very much picking up on trends. And looking at the challenge using again my 5/1 profile right there in how we can make something that currently exists a little bit more convenient or healthy or anything like that.
Chantelle: Okay, so all about optimizing then.
Christiane: Oh yes, for sure.
Chantelle: And the five line is all about having influence and impact.
How do you feel that you lead by example?
Christiane: I am very much a person that, I like to learn it myself, if I'm a student, and then I like to [00:03:00] influence others and leave an impact by teaching them. I really am embracing new findings, I embrace learning new things and then I like sharing them so leave any impact.
And I also in the classroom you asked me earlier about how these two roles are intersecting. I am very much emphasizing that we need to take care of ourselves. So, I always ask the students how they're doing, what the best part of their day was. I ask them about their friends or their families and if they're willing to share.
They might share some fun experiences that they had on the weekend or with their friends and families. So, I'm very much, even like to leave an impact as being a teacher that doesn't just teach course material, but also teaches how to be better humans in the world.
How can we interact with each other to build community, to build collaboration, to build friendships? Because if you think about our own university years, that was really the time when it was so easy [00:04:00] to build connection. And now we're moving and maybe being solopreneurs or we work for a company. It's much harder to build those friendships.
So I'm also all about reaching out and taking advantage of being a student and being in that unique environment and leaving that impact in the world by letting others know how amazing we are.
Chantelle: That's such an interesting take on living your values, really and highlighting that connection for students that creates such a powerful connection, being willing to engage with them.
Christiane: Oh, thank you. I appreciate the compliment and it kind of grew over time. At the beginning, when I started being a professor, it was mostly like, okay, I have to teach this and here and here and here, but then I really built the connection with the students. And it actually came to a point where, given that we are talking about human design here, there was a challenge in my classroom.[00:05:00]
Early on when I started working, there was a student there that actually ended up, passing away. And, if you are a professor, you know, it's life, things happen. But of course, because my students work in teams, that team then really lacked a very crucial member.
And they struggled, of course, because they are friends on these teams. All of a sudden, it wasn't just being a teacher and teaching course material, but also being a coach and a mentor and helping them navigate this very challenging part of their life. And I really told myself in that moment that I don't want to just have course material that they know me for, but they also know me for how does she help me overcome challenges?
How does she help me become a person that can go through challenging times and maybe become more resilient. And then I really started emphasizing much more the collaboration, the [00:06:00] community, taking care of ourselves, building connections with others in the classroom. And now it has become this whole like standalone thing to where students know that they need to mix and mingle in the classroom, that they need to talk to others, they need to exchange, who they are and what makes them special, because we're all really unique, and this is really how it started from a point of darkness and I'm using it to encourage students now that we need to take care of ourselves and we need to watch out for each other.
Chantelle: And build community and build agency- an important aspect of your work. I am a former educator. I used to teach in K to 12 schools and I taught for five years.
And one thing that's particularly interesting to me as someone who's been an educator and also now that I educate as an entrepreneur is just how that educational background affects what you do. For you, it's concurrent. You're doing both at once. For me, it was [00:07:00] one and then the other.
How do you think that the education element affects what you do in your coaching?
Christiane: So in my coaching, I like to have the opportunity to work with people one on one, I think that as a health coach, you can't just say I'm following this particular meal plan and or fitness plan and everybody is the same, everybody will love it and everybody will embrace it.
Everybody is very different, whether that's dietary preferences or things just don't sound good and it's the same with movement. and your physical ability to do these. And then of course it comes to stress reduction. So your body, your mind, your soul, everybody is uniquely different. And when I coach, I also like to build community and I like to let people know that maybe different things you've tried in the past didn't quite reach your wellness goals because you are not really deeply connected with who you [00:08:00] are. So one big step to reaching your wellness goal is figuring out really what makes you happy. What works well for you in terms of nutrition, what works well for you in terms of movement and what do you enjoy to relax, and that is really the goal that you take care of yourself.
And by taking care of yourself, you are learning more about who you are and what makes you your best unique self. And that's really the goal then to reach your wellness journey. Let's maybe use that word because it never ends, right?
Chantelle: Right. Yeah, a common thread that I'm seeing with one lines is that pursuit of external knowledge, whether that's in the form of education, like you've got multiple degrees and all of that, but it's also pursuit of knowledge of self.
There's this common thread of self knowledge that's so important to us one lines. So tell me about that line one as the investigator role. You've certainly gone deep into education with your PhD. One lines are often certification happy. We seek those out. We go [00:09:00] again and again and again for more education.
But that's a whole other level. I'm interested to know- what is your learning process like, and do you have any rituals around your own learning?
Christiane: So I very much enjoy being with others and people see me, of course, I think, Oh, she must be like a total extrovert being in the classroom all day and I teach fitness classes so I'm on the stage teaching people in the recreation center as well with a microphone on and all this.
I very much need my own time. So I am an extrovert when I'm teaching, but I'm an introvert when I'm learning. When I learn, I need my alone time and I need to withdraw myself and in fact, I'm actually at my home office right now and I make this very much my cozy, comfortable space and that's how I learn.
I really soak up the information and then I go out and I teach it. It needs to be this absolute balance of the two. I could not imagine being [00:10:00] in a cubicle, in a very busy workspace, I would not be able to focus very well and I would not be the same energized educator that I am right now.
Chantelle: And one lines always have particular fields of interest at any given moment.
What are your current line one obsessions?
Christiane: I am very much into podcasting, quite honestly, because I want to reach more people with what I want to share. And so I'm researching different ways of making that message heard. For instance, right now I'm transferring a lot of the content that I created to YouTube, so that maybe people that are not necessarily audio learners also can see visual elements with it and it's sometimes nice as well to tap into another audience right there.
I'm slowly but surely transferring all my audio content to video content and learning all about that. The technology aspect of it, I'm really passionate [00:11:00] about.
Chantelle: Interesting. Sometimes the five line expresses itself through influencing people on a larger scale and podcasting is certainly a great way to do that.
Can you share about the journey of your show?
Christiane: Yeah, so this is such a brilliant question too. I actually read an interesting book because I teach marketing as well about branding and how most brands are not just products. It's really the story that's behind it. And I thought, well, I have a health coaching business, but aside from teaching classes, nobody really knows my story.
So I started talking about it more on my podcast. I like to say like I'm bubbly. I'm like a fun and energized person when I teach and it doesn't really come across in just a blog or, in any other setting. So I created the idea of the podcast and and thought, well, maybe I should record some little videos and just share different knowledge.
And then I thought, well, what would be really cool is, to [00:12:00] give others a platform as well. So why is my podcast just about me? Because my favorite thing to do is interact with others. Maybe I have little videos where I'm going to interview a guest and that guest shares their own struggles and maybe how they overcome that struggle.
And that's now absolutely taking off. My podcast was created just seven months ago and at the end of March, 3/23/23. And now it's become one of the global 2. 5 percent ranked podcast because I think people really like it.
Wow, congratulations. Thank you so much. People really like the back and forth in the interview.
And they like to hear how others overcome struggles that everybody might have experienced.
Chantelle: Right, we can all relate.
Christiane: Oh, for sure. The podcast is called Happy Healthy Hustle. And it's very much about, you know, my particular blueprint, which is that 5/1 line. So I asked [00:13:00] people about their challenges, and how they overcome it, and who helped them overcome the challenge.
And that's what they share as part of my interviews. It's inspiring, it's uplifting, it's empowering, but there are definitely also emotional pieces in there because people go to those dark corners and then they share it as part of my podcast. It's very emotional to watch them because you think of them as being these successful individuals, but then they share how their lives really were and it's sometimes something that you don't quite expect because you just see them from the outside.
So they really share their deep insides and it's really empowering.
Chantelle: Right. And depth and finding the background is, is yet another line one quality as well to, to go behind the curtain and sort of understand someone's foundation, understand how they came to be where they are. That's a very one line thing as well, which is interesting. So thinking of your complete profile, the 5/1, and we've talked about this already, you [00:14:00] tend to be seen as like a problem solver. What's one problem that you find is recurring something that you find yourself solving again and again for your clients?
Christiane: Yeah, so I'm a very energetic person. I'm all about managing my energy. One of the most recurring themes I've seen is that people ask me about that. They say, Oh, I'm tired. I'm struggling getting motivation. I'm struggling even getting started. Procrastination, that's really a recurring theme I see all over, because if you really think about it, we kind of know what we need to do to take care of ourselves that we need to exercise, we need to eat healthy, we need to do whatever meditation or self care, but it's just the getting started.
And because I am that energetic person, I'm kind of like the Rara or the little cheerleader. I have that ability to kickstart people's wellness. It's amazing.
Chantelle: I love that. And one of your main offers, one of the ways that you do that is called Journey to Wellness. How do you feel that [00:15:00] your 5/1 nature led you to create that offer? And a part B to that question, what self knowledge did help you to inspire that creation?
Christiane: That's a great question. My journey to wellness comes in two different flavors. so to speak. One of those fully self guided program, where you have access to five minute little videos where I'm explaining how you can either way eat healthier, move your body or take care of yourself there.
Fun, we're putting the fun back in the fundamentals and there is also worksheets. There are different quizzes where you learn about yourself, because as we just discussed, the learning about yourself is so important, but what's very popular is actually the portion where I'm doing one on one coaching.
So it's called Journey to Wellness Next Level. So I'm adding a one on one coaching piece in there where I help people with the videos, with the quizzes as well as accessing different parts of [00:16:00] themselves in reaching their wellness goals. And I only have a few of these spots always available because I really want to dedicate my time to each client.
So what has helped me is when I created the videos, I didn't want to you know, create same old videos, like 20 minute pieces where I'm explaining something in detail. I really wanted to create fun videos that people can watch in the morning, maybe while they get ready for work. So it's short enough, but it's also fun enough that it maybe uplift somebody gives them energy for the rest of the day.
And I learned the video editing and then thought I should do this and use it in my wellness coaching because it will really set myself apart from somebody else that does wellness coaching. So I used the video editing knowledge. I used my health economics and nutrition knowledge. I have a bachelor's and a master's in foods and nutrition in making the content available and accessible and fun.
And then [00:17:00] lastly, of course, because I meet with people one on one mostly via Zoom, that I can really use my energy and help them kickstart and they know that I'm there for the listening to them. I have this unique ability to listen and connect with my clients, but also really empower them, like, let's do this.
I know we are a good team. And there's the community there supporting you and we can do that together. So there's really a lot of variety in terms of what people come in with what they have tried before, and I'm trying to make myself available, but at the same time, also you know, just understand what, where's your starting point?
Because we are all uniquely different- understanding where do you want to go? And what is it really that empowers you every day?
Chantelle: It sounds like you have a lot of unique differentiators in the course. I'm so curious as someone who teaches, as a professor and then also teaches online what your thoughts are on the online course [00:18:00] world- where do you think that's going? And I'm asking, because I too am trying to use my teaching knowledge and experience, but to teach in a new way. I'm developing essentially what's like a curriculum and I'm putting that out in a book every quarter that's on a different aspect of entrepreneurship. I'm using all of my old lesson planning skills and all of my engaging skills, checking for comprehension and all of that.
I'm moving it into this new format. And in essence, you're doing the same thing. You're moving the course format from the university aspect into this online educating world. I'm interested to hear your thoughts about that.
Christiane: Brilliant question. There was a lot of thinking involved when I created it.
So I looked at a lot of other health and wellness programs and I kind of explored. There's like, you know, the really big ones, the corporate ones then there are the ones that maybe are created by solopreneurs as myself. But they come from totally different backgrounds.[00:19:00]
So immediately from the get go, I thought about. All right, so what is my own unique story?
Because I want to make sure that I'm connecting my story and who I am. And I don't make it corporate, but I rather make it very authentic and relevant to other people that really want to take my courses. And then I thought about What am I myself struggling with is watching a 60 minute video and learning about it, because first of all, I don't have time.
I don't have the patience for this. And third of all, you couldn't have said this a little bit quicker, right? So I always feel there's a little bit of an impatience that's coming out when somebody feels they can really invade my time that way. So I thought it needs to be efficient. It needs to be short videos.
And I thought five minutes seems like a really good way to convey information and at the same time, maybe I'm going to create new habits, so I learned a lot about habits during [00:20:00] my PhD program and then also I read about a book per week, so I had to figure out. What makes a good habit? It's not just like a three day program, and we will not see any change in three days, really, either.
It needs to be something that's long enough. So instead of three days, three weeks, so that you can actually make a workout, nutrition, or mental health change, and it needs to be in a way that it can become part of your habit. So there is this positive reinforcement. You're starting to do it every day.
I'm checking in with you. You're checking in with the community. And you may be able to see results. And I've actually had people that did the 21 day program, and then they asked me, It ends right here. I want more. Is there a part two? And then I'm like, well, I'm so glad that you got so used to it.
Chantelle: Yeah, that's quite the feedback loop.
Christiane: Yes. [00:21:00] And I even have a community of people that basically stay on and we just have monthly meetings. Just keep going. So those were the aspects. So short videos, I felt it needed to be strong enough to create habits. It needed to be very personalized and customized and it needed to be fun.
That's the most important thing. That's why everything is very much my personality. It's. It's functional but fun. I'm creating content that's relevant for the individuals.
Chantelle: Mm hmm. Yeah, I think that's true. The era of being able to put out any old long video- 23 modules at 60 minutes a piece.
Those days are done. With people's attention spans, that move to shorter bite sized content is absolutely where things are headed.
Christiane: Yeah, what's amazing too, of course, is the way that you can access my course is actually through your phone or online, you can watch the videos, you can also listen to the [00:22:00] audio, and there are subtitles there,
Needs to be very accessible from all angles, for all people in all parts of life.
And that's really what I feel is one of the key goals that I set out to do when I started creating my program. And it needs to sound like there is no finite end to it. That's why it's called Journey to Wellness, that you can keep going and you can use the content and moving along with it.
Chantelle: Love it.
So this has been a very energizing conversation. You're right, your energy is totally infectious. We're going to slow it down just a little bit now. We're going to take a deep breath together and we're going to pull a card from the Custom Human Design Affirmation Deck by Glow Glow Juice HD.
I'm holding the 5/1 cards specific to your profile and we're going to take a deep breath in together.
And release.[00:23:00]
The card that has selected itself for you is, I allow myself to shore up my footing before I move forward. What part of my foundation needs to be secured? So I'll throw that question over to you. What part of your foundation needs to be secured?
Christiane: For me, I always need to make sure I have that alone time and the me time, so just grounding, for me it's important to go out into nature and going for walks and taking care of my own energy.
To be high energy, I actually need to balance it off with low energy, which is just nature walks and I listen to my books while I walk. So that I can learn, but at the same time, I also sometimes just pause it and just enjoy nature, silence, sounds, whatever there is going on. So my foundation is really just [00:24:00] connecting with myself and coming back to my, my roots, which is being out in nature.
Chantelle: Lovely. And where you are is certainly a great place to do that. So you can, you can connect and ground outside all year round, which is so nice. It makes me jealous as a middle of Canada dweller.
Christiane: Yeah, so I'm located in California. And what's beautiful here is I just walk around my neighborhood and building community by waving at people and checking in with them and it's quite lovely.
Chantelle: Yeah, I wonder how many of us Line Ones are out there on any given day walking around with our audio books in our ears.
You do that too? I do that too. Yeah, I did it just like a couple hours before the show here. Got my audio book, got my shoes on, going for a walk.
Christiane: Yeah, it's so important to reset. And I think that a lot of people underestimate really how much you can learn by listening. Yes, it makes you a better listener for your human [00:25:00] interaction as well.
Chantelle: Mm hmm. I do find I do most of my audio book listening is fiction. And if I'm if I'm listening to nonfiction, I have to follow it up by reading the book if I really care about the topic, I have to get the physical copy, because I will catch myself where my attention's drifted and I must be looking at whatever's happening outside.
I must be looking around. Same thing! Oh, my God. It's interesting.
Christiane: And so frequently I might test an audio book, which is nonfiction. And if I really like it, I feel like I need to have a highlighter. And I need to go back through some of them and then I'm like, Oh my gosh, I can use that content there. And then I want to put little post it notes on the pages and like, you know, share it.
Chantelle: And I know that you can bookmark in an audio book, but I never, I'm not going to do that. Half the year, it's too cold to have my finger out to press the screen to put a bookmark on. But yeah, I'm not a highlighter, but I do like to [00:26:00] have a notebook with me and, and be answering the questions and doing the journaling at the same time, usually if I'm really going to sink into a topic.
Well, I'm curious now, what are you reading right now?
Christiane: Actually, right now, I've started a very popular series that my book club is reading. So I'm going to pull this up here for you. So I like the Audible app and it's called A Court of Thorns and Roses.
Chantelle: Yeah, I haven't read it, but it's very, very popular.
You're right.
Christiane: Popular. So this is this is the first book. It's a quite a big book actually. I really like it because it totally creates a fantasy world and there's something that transports you to a place where you can see in front of your eyes that different fictional characters and I think that sometimes, you know, it's the beautiful thing about community that you're learning from others about books that they read and what really [00:27:00] changed their life.
And I would have probably not picked this up myself and I really embrace that I did pick it up because I think. It's, it's quite lovely. So I really enjoy it. What do you read right now?
Chantelle: Yeah, my book club does the same for me. It definitely brings up books that I wouldn't necessarily have chosen and some of my most favorite books ever have come from a book club pick.
Right now my book club is reading the Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell, which I haven't begun yet but I'm excited to dive into it. I think I'm going to grab a physical copy. And as an audio book read right now, I'm listening to, I think it's called the extraordinary. No, that's the same. Hold on. The invisible life.
That's the one, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. I'm a little late to the party on that one. I feel like everyone's already read it but me. But I'm a few hours into that one and, and I'm enjoying it. It's very good. Non fiction wise, I don't currently have one that I'm working through [00:28:00] but so many on the horizon.
Christiane: So many, yeah. And then also, just as a fun fact, so I did really like the fiction book
Lessons in Chemistry. Oh, yes. It's one of my favorite books of 2023. And just started watching the Apple TV show with it, with my daughter.
Chantelle: Oh, nice. Yes, out on Fridays.
Christiane: Yeah. And now I'm really embracing that and I think I'm going to reread that book.
Chantelle: That was a book club pick for me as well. And I did enjoy going deeper into it. My book club has women of many different generations. And it was very interesting to hear everyone's reactions to the book based on, where they fit in generationally. That really brings out a lot of depth of conversation, which is interesting.
Christiane: Yeah. We've come to so many levels here.
Chantelle: Absolutely. Thank you so much, Christiane. It was [00:29:00] beautiful to get to connect and speak with you. I know that people will want to listen to the podcast, Happy Healthy Hustle Podcast. Where else can they connect with you?
Christiane: My Instagram is my most used social media. It's @hello.happy.nest and where I post every day, a fun little video, and you can engage there. And I would encourage you, check out my website, because of course, that's where my information lives. And you can also look at my programs there. And that's all in one word. Hellohappiness. com. And I would love to welcome anybody, whether that's to my Facebook group or to my journey to wellness group.
