The UX Teacher Prep Podcast

Ep 11. Committing to Better Health and Seeking Joy with Jite Lark

• Zee Arnold • Season 1 • Episode 11

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Teachers are known for their unwavering dedication to their students, often at the expense of their own health and well-being. In this episode, Jite Lark, a former educator turned administrator and women’s fitness and life transformation coach, shares her transformative journey and how it's shaped her mission to help teachers nurture their health to achieve professional fulfillment. Jite's inspiring story is a reminder of the power of self-care and the pivotal role it plays in our lives, both in and out of the classroom. Whether you’re in the process of seeking a new career, or staying in teaching for the long haul, this episode is guaranteed to inspire you.

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Guest Bio: Jite Lark is a fitness and life transformation coach who works with successful school leaders and professional women to rediscover themselves by being authentic, and enjoy all areas of life and health. With her unique approach, Jite helps her clients feel fulfilled and live vibrantly.

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Zee:

Hello teacher friends, Coach Zee here and in today's episode I have an exciting interview for you, and it's all about health and wellness. You're getting closer to the end of the school year and students are starting to get a little wild and you may be getting overwhelmed thinking about your career transition, so I wanted to tap in to chat about the importance of putting your health first. In today's episode, I interview Jite Lark. She's a 10-year teacher, turned administrator, and a fitness and life transformation coach who works with educators, school leaders and professional women to rediscover themselves and enjoy all areas of life and health. With her unique approach, she helps her clients feel fulfilled and live vibrantly. Listen as she shares what inspired her to start her own journey to health and wellness and then work with educators to do the same. Stay tuned.

Narrator:

Welcome to the UX Teacher Prep Podcast, the ultimate destination for educators who aspire to break into the field of user experience and product design. Your host, zee Arnold, a 15-year teacher, turned. Ux researcher is here to guide, coach and mentor you through every twist and turn as you make your career transition into tech. If you're ready for a more satisfying career and lifestyle and you want the balance to unleash your creativity, this podcast is for you. Now for the show today.

Zee:

Alright, Jite, it's so great to have you on the show. Jite: Hey Zee, how are you Zee: Great, thank you. I'm super excited to have you here today because, like me, you're laser focused on health and wellness, and I think a lot of teachers don't realize how important that piece is. So I'm really glad to talk to you today, and we can start by just telling everybody a little bit about who you are.

Jite:

I'm an educator, like you. I was in the classroom for 10 years, but I'm now an administrator. But really, at this phase in my life, I like to say that I am someone who's impacting ladies holding awareness to their health. That's why I am a server of ladies and I'm a motivator of women to take better care of themselves.

Zee:

Okay, that's awesome. So what inspired you to go in this direction in terms of women's fitness, women's health and just coaching women through that process?

Jite:

Long, long story but the main inspiration was watching my mother struggle through two different types of cancer. I'm just not ever really having the opportunity to bring her dreams to fruition. So for me, even when I started my journey personally, it was with an air of desperation because I didn't want to be her. I wanted to be someone who was able to live her dreams out. But then, somewhere along the line, I realized that, beyond not dying, I actually wanted to enjoy life, and I wanted to enjoy even the process of getting healthy and getting fit.

Jite:

So I switched a little bit from just the average dieting plan of eating less and moving more to really loving myself and adding on my emotional, mental well-being, not just the physical. So every day after the pivot, I say to myself not only will I continue to love every part of me, I want to shift the way teachers, educators, women in general approach wellness and fitness as more than just eating less and moving more, more than a number on the scale . Of course we all want to look good, but looking more in terms of how we look, talking about ourselves, how we are viewing ourselves internally, because I find that that is what is missing from many fitness and good loss programs that keeps the sustainability in place. When you love yourself, when your care is from within, when you are not critical about messing up one day, and when your self-worth is built and developed, when you add on the food and exercise, that's when the results start to happen.

Zee:

Yeah, that's very powerful. It's interesting because a lot of times we see other people in our lives go through certain things and then it kind of shakes us up and lets us realize that we want to go down a different path. So that's something I hear a lot. Different path so that's something I hear a lot. So, for you, what is it about educators that makes you have that passion to serve them in this capacity? You know, I have my thoughts on this because I was in the teaching system for 15 years and I saw a lot of things with educators and health and wellness that I felt needed improvement. But what do you see on your end?

Jite:

I see the profession being one that is extremely lonely.

Jite:

I see us, especially women, female educators, sacrificing ourselves and well-being for the good of kids and for the system.

Jite:

I see it as a profession that is not given the recognition and acknowledgement that it deserves, especially because we're putting almost everything that we have on the line to teach, to educate, to basically bring out everyone else's children, kids who basically bring down everyone else's children, and so my passion was for them, not only because I experienced that as well where I would not go to the bathroom as an example I mean, it's a trivial example, but it's just one of the many things that happened. I wouldn't go to the bathroom for the entire day because I couldn't sometimes get someone to cover me or I had just so many other things, but, more importantly, even my food choices, my overall well-being, was always, always, always at the back of everything, as I put everything ahead, and so I feel like, because of what we do and the circumstances under which we do, that it's very, very easy to sacrifice yourself. And so how it was like for ladies in particular who are in positions that I once was.

Zee:

Yeah, I feel like as, as females, we do sacrifice ourselves and put ourselves last a lot of times, especially as a mother. You know, as parents, we tend to put our kids first and then put ourselves, and I had the same feeling when I was teaching. It was just like the students, the students, the students and just so many things we had to get done on a day to day basis and period to period, prep periods. Everything was just-packed with just wanting to make sure everything was right with the students. So I definitely resonate with that idea of putting ourselves on the back burner in the teaching space. So for you, how do you balance your work and life? Because I know that you are probably super busy working in education still. So what are the maybe some of the strategies that you use to manage your work and life balance?

Jite:

Well, the biggest thing that I tell myself as a result of shifting my perspective towards wellness and fitness from just the physical to the internal, every day that I eat, I really love myself and I always say to myself if you love yourself, how would you be? So I'm becoming that person. I do the things that a person who loves themselves does, so I don't sacrifice the things that are important to me. I don't sacrifice the things that show me that I love myself. I'm integrity with myself. What that looks like is always exercising.

Jite:

Ideally, I like to exercise in the morning, but even if I can't, I make sure that every day includes some type of exercise. This also spills into the choices of food that I make. I don't exclude anything, because the mind always goes with the nots and what you can't have as opposed to what you can't have. But every choice that I make before I make that choice, it's just what someone who loves themselves will be into. As long as I continue to do that, every decision that I make about myself is in the good of moving me along or keeping me in this well space.

Zee:

I remember when I was teaching, the only things that I could really eat were quick things, right, snacks, candies, things that were packaged because I just didn't have time. I didn't have time to get lunch or even prepare lunch and all that kind of stuff. So what do you say to teachers who say they don't have time to eat right or they don't have time to really think about every single thing they eat, Like is this going to serve me in the right way? And I know you said you don't cut anything out and you don't limit yourself, but I'm guessing that you eat everything in moderation. What strategies do you use to make sure that you're doing that?

Jite:

There's the practical side where I encourage food prepping, but then there's the side where I say to them to really think about if you don't have time to nourish yourself, what do you have time for? And I find that 95% of the time it's not a time frame, it's more a worthiness thing and it's more an acknowledgement or recognition of the fact that they haven't prioritized themselves and even though they say they want to do this, they don't really want to do that. It's not a conversation that many people want to engage in, but it's really one that serves us. And so if you're able to be honest with yourself, then the next part of it is the meal prepping part. But most of the time, after the first series of questions, we ask them about time.

Jite:

What is it about time that makes you see that you don't have enough of it to care for yourself? That usually works, and then they're able to miraculously find the time. The time is always there. You don't lose it either. It's just deciding that this is important to you and using the time that is there. But on the practical side, you can meal prep. Meal prep works. It's a lot on the front end, but once you get into the routine of it. It gets easier and easier. So that's one way, but again, even being short on this time and not having maybe the most healthful foods around, it's still a matter of choice, Because I bet you come walking to even the most snack-filled shop and still come out with something that would fuel you. And I might add that it's not the things that you do once or twice, it's the consistent habits that people actually add up.

Zee:

That makes sense. Consistency that makes a lot of sense. So I feel like now that I'm in a place where I work remotely and so I feel like I have more time to do certain things, and I don't have to do things when I come home After work, I don't have to lesson plan and grade papers and stuff like that, and I feel like I have more time, or maybe I just I have the same amount of time, but I just feel like I have time back to do those kinds of things like the meal prepping. It's your commitment, that's what it is Okay, so it's my commitment.

Zee:

Yes, okay, that's interesting. That's interesting. I used to be like Sundays I used to take all day Sunday to work on my lesson plans, my grading and all that kind of stuff. And I feel like even if I had in the back of my head that I wanted to meal prep or get something ready for the week, I would still just start my day with OK, first I have to get this done, first I have to do my lesson plans, first I have to do my grading. And by the time I got to finish that it was like 7 pm, too late to do anything else, too tired.

Jite:

And so it always felt like, you know, that part about taking care of myself was on the back burner, because it was. And so the minute you shift and put yourself in the center and become the main act of your life, the things that you do change. Same day, same time. The difference is now I'm putting myself at the center, I'm wrapping your sleep. You're having time. I know in your instance you may have had more I wouldn't even say time. The opportunity was a little easier because, instead of grading and preparing lessons, you could move on to preparing meals. But I venture to say that even if you had made a switch while you were still in the classroom, you would still somehow be able to do all of it.

Zee:

Yeah, some way, some other.

Jite:

Yes. Commitment. It's the excuses we tell ourselves that hold us back. The minute we get honest with what we really want to do. Become that person trust everything that we do works out the way we want it to.

Zee:

Wow, I love that message of commitment and putting ourselves at the center and then letting everything else fall into place. So we were talking about food, and so I'm curious, because food is my favorite thing to talk about. I'm curious about what you eat in a day. What's your typical schedule for eating and what are the things that you like to eat in a day to keep you fueled?

Jite:

I eat a lot when you think about it, because I realized that eating less was doing me the opposite. It was a disservice to myself. So an oatmeal chia concoction. In the morning I had two boiled eggs. I had a huge salad midday Lots of cruciferous veggies, lots of protein, chicken meat. I'll put everything. I'll have a sweet potato and some more proteins, and then in the evening I'll have lots of proteins and lots of potatoes.

Zee:

Okay, so sounds doable. What about dessert? Do you have dessert?

Jite:

I do remember there's no exclusion. I do. I do in moderation. I'm not sure moderation is relative. I have yogurt, I have rice cakes, I have peanut butter. I don't have fruits because fruits add more fat to to my belly but mostly yogurt, rice cake, sometimes Cheez-Its. Of course, not all in one day. I very yeah, that's about it.

Zee:

Okay, that sounds good. That sounds good, so it's all about putting yourself first and balance. It sounds like it's all about balancing and everything in moderation.

Jite:

It's commitment to yourself and being in integrity with yourself.

Zee:

Got it, Got it. Yeah, that sounds right. I feel like I'm doing that now, but outside of the classroom if that makes sense.

Zee:

But I just felt like there was just too much stress to kind of focus on everything. But I believe you're right in terms of you can do it if you really put your mind to it, like put yourself at the center. Yeah, and you said something earlier about how you feel like teaching is a lonely profession. Can you talk some more about that, because I actually haven't heard anybody say it like that, and that was interesting to me, that you said it was a lonely profession. What do you mean by that?

Jite:

I mean I felt that even though I was around other teachers and other educators I still felt very isolated, and that isolation was one of the reasons why I

Jite:

gained a tremendous amount of weight because I sought for, I wouldn't say company, but I used food to some degree to compensate for the interactions I wasn't getting. You go into your classroom, you do what you do with the kids, you engage with adults around what you're doing or, unless you have formed some deeper connections, it's still all around that teacher role and what you do.

Zee:

Yeah, okay, yeah, that makes sense. Food to compensate, because I know I'm an emotional eater and I'm a stress eater. So there you go, that's it for me. Yeah, if you know, teaching, there's always going to be something stressful right in the day, on the day-to-day basis. So the way how some people handle stress is maybe they don't eat, or they just they just do other things. But my thing was I was a stress eater, so I would just grab, grab anything, eat anything, just to you know.

Jite:

And then you know, even the conversation, I was still all around the teaching. So there's no real, there's no connection outside of that, like just perpetuating the frustration, or even if you're celebrating, but it's still all around that. So I didn't quite get the fulfillment and I guess maybe that's not what I was supposed to be doing either. So you know, but it was very, I felt very isolated.

Zee:

What about mental health? What are some of the strategies you use? I mean, I'm sure exercising is great for your mental health because, I mean, that's the main reason why I exercise. So I guess, besides exercise, is there anything else that you focus on to, like, build your mental health? I recently.

Jite:

Well, I run, but I guess that falls under exercise. So I recently started meditating and I listened to audio books. For some reason that's very, very soothing. Doesn't matter what they look for, just the absorbing of, I guess the voice relaxes me. Now I'm being more selective with the audiobooks. For me, any podcast, any audiobook, meditation have been very helpful in addition to running. Running is like my safe space.

Zee:

Yeah, I like audiobooks a lot and podcasts as well. I find myself always having an audiobook or a podcast in my ear, even on the weekends when I'm cleaning. That's. I didn't think it was soothing, but now that I think about it it is.

Jite:

Well, soothing isn't the word, but it definitely shifts, whatever is happening. It gives me some relief.

Zee:

Relief. So you're a runner, yes.

Jite:

I love running.

Zee:

Running is life. Wow, tell me about that. So were you always a runner? Yes, like growing up.

Jite:

Yes, I always was. It's amazing. It's the most liberating activities for me. I love running.

Zee:

So you do like long distance running. What kind of running is this? It's long distance.

Jite:

I'm not a sprinter, this one I'm not explaining. I'm like I mean for the long haul I used to run my pedals because she spoke to me, but now maybe once or twice a year in my heydays, before COVID I was, I was running. I'd be going to, at the time, six running clubs and almost every, and at least 40 weekends. If I was in the country, I would be running on Saturdays and Sundays. I'd do 5Ks, 10ks, it didn't matter what it was.

Zee:

So when you run right now, what do you run for? Like 10 miles, 5 miles, how much running are you doing?

Jite:

Well, so when I'm training for something, I definitely am doing at least 20 miles a week. But now that I've scaled up, I used to run every day. Now I run at least four days a week and I'm doing no less than two hours, and then I'll do so. My commitment is to run at least one half a month and one 10K a month, and then every other run is 5K.

Zee:

We're opposites on that. Because I'm a walker, I can walk my way to fitness.

Jite:

I truly hate walking. I'm the slowest walker ever.

Zee:

Oh my goodness yeah. I can do a good power walk. I can do a good walk and I feel like walking really helps me clear my mind. And when I started getting back into fitness, when I left teaching, I was focusing on just getting my steps every day and just getting a lot of walking in and I feel like that just helped me clear my mind and walking outdoors and so, yeah, walking is my thing. I'm not a runner but I can definitely walk, walk it out.

Jite:

I don't like walking. I

Zee:

So, in terms of the teachers that I work with and that usually listen to this podcast, you know I have a lot of teachers who are thinking about transitioning out of teaching into a different career, try something different or just, you know, find a better work-life balance, and who are already in that process. So what advice would you give to them in terms of their transition, their health, their wellness or anything that you think that they might need to know?

Jite:

I would say that, especially in transition or as they prepare to transit into something, to definitely move in the direction of what truly brings them joy. I know it sounds very cliche, but if there's ever a time that you should bring all of you to the forefront that time is now. So don't leave this for something that brings you marginal joy or equivalent joy. Make sure that they are to the best of your ability, of course, make sure that it is in the direction of something that truly, truly lights you up. And then, in terms of wellness and fitness because it's something that you've made that decision everything

Jite:

If you're doing something that you enjoy, if you're doing something that lights you up, prioritizing yourself is just a natural progression of life and it won't be a challenge. It won't be easy, because nothing good is easy, but it will not be a challenge, it will be simple. I think when you start to struggle is when we are out of alignment with who we truly are, and so any moves that are being made should be towards becoming who you really want to be or in service of the new best, better version of yourself. Be true to yourself.

Zee:

That's powerful, that. What you just said just made me think I could have tried a little bit harder to focus on my health and wellness while I was teaching. Just try to put myself at the center a little bit more, because that's really who I am in the core. I needed to focus more on my well-being so that I could be able to give to others, but at the same time, I still wonder how much more I would have had to sacrifice on the teaching end. Yeah, so what do you have coming up in terms of your fitness coaching, your health and wellness? How can people learn more about you and reach out to you?

Jite:

What I did is to create a guide that helps you to really identify whether you're dieting, Because it's something that is loosely thought of oh, I'm on a diet, I'm on a diet, and truth is that diets are not what we really need, and so it's a PDF guide that says win your weight loss battles, it helps you to identify whether you are dieting and why the choices that you're making in an effort to get healthy and get fit and lose weight are not working.

Zee:

Okay, so we can drop a link to that guide in the description and in the show notes so that people can download it. Okay, cool. So what about if they want to reach you and maybe talk about how you can help them with their health and wellness?

Jite:

Well, the PDF has my contact info, but in addition you can follow me on Instagram, at jitelark, or you can email me at info at drjitelark. com.

Zee:

All right, Jite, it was so great to have you on the show today and to learn about your journey and what you're doing for educators. Hopefully, listeners will be excited about working on their health and wellness as they're going through this transition, or even if they're staying in teaching.

Jite:

I'm happy to have been here. It was nice connecting with you.

Narrator:

Thank you so much. Hey, thanks so much for tuning in. If you like this podcast, hit, follow and scroll down to leave a five star rating. Then share it with a friend. If you're looking for resources to help you on your tech transition journey, head over to uxteacherprep. com. Follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram @ uxteacherprep for daily tips and motivation. Have a topic you'd like to hear addressed on the show? Send us a DM on Instagram. If you're listening on YouTube, like, subscribe and share Until next time be well.