Committed To Success
Cloe Luv's Committed to success podcast covers the the journey of some of her favorite success stories while keeping you updated on her own journey.
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Committed To Success
Redefining Success: Health, Veganism, and Embracing ADD with Jacque Reid
What does true success look like? Is it just about money and fame? Join me, Cloé Luv, as we reframe success to include health and mental well-being. Dive into my personal experiences and misconceptions about veganism, and meet Jacque Reid, who transitioned from local news to becoming BET Nightly News' first Black anchor. Hear about her journey, the mental hurdles of covering hard news, and how balancing career and health can redefine success.
Ever wondered how ADD or ADHD can be a superpower? Jacque shares her own eye-opening experiences, discussing self-discovery, the importance of self-compassion, and how understanding her brain's unique wiring helped her thrive as an entrepreneur. Together, we tackle the myths surrounding these conditions and provide practical tips on mindful planning and maintaining order, especially for those juggling multiple responsibilities.
Want to transition to a vegan lifestyle but don't know where to begin? Our "12 Months to Vegan" program makes it easy, helping you replace one animal-based product each month. Get a comprehensive look at how veganism isn't just about food but extends to skincare, clothing, and overall wellness. Through our engaging discussion, discover how aligning your health choices with your lifestyle can lead to a more vibrant, successful you. Tune in and unlock the secrets of balanced living and authentic success.
Are you looking for a blueprint to help you find your lane in success? There is no one blueprint and everyone's journey is different, but by listening to the stories of others, you can and will find your own lane. This podcast is dedicated to helping you find your unique version of success and will arm you with enough information that you can cherry-pick what works for you. You'll hear interviews of some of your favorite people and learn from their expertise in their respected fields. Everyone has the ability to be successful, and your host, chloe Love, will show you how. This is the Committed to Success podcast.
Cloé Luv:Hello, my Clovers, and welcome to another episode of Committed to Success with your girl, chloe Love. Now let's have some Chloe time. Today I'm going to talk about success in the sense of like your health and your mental health. So many people think success is just about money and fame, and I've had people up here who've made a lot of money and fame but what I love to stress on is that success is balance. So there are going to be so many reinforcements, so many examples and you're going to hear me stress this with my guests over and over and over because everyone's road to success, or even their road to health, is different. Everyone's definition of health is different. How your health impacts you and your career, your relationships, your love life, your spirituality. It's different, and sometimes we don't think that that plays a big factor in how we're showing up in life or how it's impacting us from showing up in life.
Cloé Luv:Veganism is a trending topic when it comes to health. Some people believe that, hey, if I become vegan, I'm not going to be able to get the nutrients that I need. I'm going to be hungry all the time, I'm going to miss out on good food and good taste, and then on the other aspect of it. Some people have turned vegan and it was the best decision of their life. They feel better, they think better, they're able to move better and they found vegan foods that are just as good as meat-based or dairy foods. I know it's hard to believe, but I've tasted some of this stuff myself and I have been taking my own journey into taking my health into my hands. I'm going into my forties I haven't gotten there yet, but I'm quickly approaching the finish line and I want to show up at 40 in shape, in health, of course, being a household name by then, but I want to look good and feel good.
Cloé Luv:When I show up and speak to you guys and deliver this content and give you Chloe time and give you these interviews. I want to be good. Right, I don't want the sugar addictions. I don't want to feel overweight. I don't want to feel uncomfortable, and when I say overweight, for me it's a feeling of like swollenness. It has nothing to do with fat per se. It's a feeling of weight that is not healthy. So there are some people who are technically overweight by the definition of the doctors and the health department, but they're still healthy.
Cloé Luv:What I'm talking about is the unhealthy overweight where your blood pressure is high and your fingers are swollen or you're having heart palpitations because it's clogged with grease and stuff like that. That's what I mean by that. So the weight of those things, it's like a double entendre. Most of you guys know that I come from the music industry. I'm not a rapper, but I'd be having a bar or two and I like to drop them double entendres when I can.
Cloé Luv:So it's the weight of carrying all those things on your back and what it's doing to your body. You cannot be successful that way. If you're feeling those things, maybe you're not, and I'm not here to tell you what you should or what you shouldn't do or give you health advice, but what I'm here to tell you is that whatever your health is, you need to align with it and you need to figure out what that balance is for you. You need to evaluate how the things that you're putting in your body is making you feel, because you cannot be successful if you have not mastered that part. So I hope that you guys resonated with that.
Cloé Luv:Chloe Clo Lutime Cloé time I had to get that off my chest and out of my mind. Thank you for listening and I look forward to see what you guys have to say about that particular topic. Stay tuned for a quick commercial break. I will be right back. Clovers. Hello, my Clovers, and welcome to another episode of Committed to Success with your girl, chloe Love. Today we have an amazing guest, your friend and mine, miss Jacque Reid. Jackie's known for being the first Black anchor on BET Nightly News and you may have seen her on things like NBC, giving you guys the greatest entertainment stories, cnn and much more. Welcome, Jacque.
Jacque Reid:I'm doing all right. It's been a whirlwind day so far we're only halfway through it but these days have been busy in a good, good way, so I'm well, I'm well.
Cloé Luv:That's always a good thing. Well, tell us a bit more about yourself, jackie, and your career and the things you've done.
Jacque Reid:Well, I am from Atlanta, Georgia, and I started my love for journalism and news started when I was in high school. I was on my high school newspaper, literary magazine, all those things and that continued in college, graduate school, and then I, you know, started in local news as a reporter and anchor and worked my way all the way up to, you know, cnn headline news and then I landed at BET, which you mentioned. And then when I got to BET, I kind of realized that I didn't really want to do hard news anymore. It can be hard on you mentally to cover so much negativity all the time because you really have to delve into the details. And so BET gave me an opportunity to cover entertainment and so much more lifestyle. So I went in that direction after BET and started doing radio. And then, when I came back to television after BET, I started doing lifestyle for NBC and entertainment. And most recently I decided to take my Emmys and become a lifestyle influencer in the vegan space.
Cloé Luv:So that's it. Yes, yes, cool brand. All amazing things, all amazing things, all amazing things, all the basic things, all the basic things. It's so funny that you brought up the uh like that, that job at BET being hard for you because of reporting negative news a lot. I saw an interview when I was researching and you talked about showing up to the scene sometimes and you would cry with the families and have to bring it together to show up. That way, how do you separate the job from the person? How are you able to do that?
Jacque Reid:I mean, just like anybody else, right? Whether you wait tables, whether you're a school teacher, whether you're a banker, no matter if you have to interact with people on your job, we all have personal things that we're dealing with, or we all have just our own way that we react to the world around us. Or imagine, after you know the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery when he was running, you know just going out for a jog and they shot him to death and you hear that news and, as a black woman, right, you connect to that, you know. And someone who has, right, you connect to that, you know. And someone who has black sons, you connect to that. But you have to go give a presentation that day, right? Or you have to. It is like that. It's like it impacts you deeply already because you, I didn't know him and you, you know, don't know him, but you know that story because it's happened too many times in our community. Now, imagine having to talk to taking already, having that pain, then having to go and interview his family.
Cloé Luv:Yeah.
Jacque Reid:Interviewing his mother and his loved ones and going to the scene of where it happened and seeing that up close and personal, hearing that pain, personal, always carrying that pain. I mean imagine being a reporter back in the day when Sandy Hook happened and all those babies were shot to death and having to go on the scene and interview parents as they're waiting outside because they had to wait to find out if it was their kid or not, and doing those interviews and like that. And tomorrow what's the story? You know. Tomorrow what is it? And you know, and every day it's a new hat, it's a new tragedy, it's a family in pain, and so you kind of take all that in because you're experiencing it and it can take a toll on you.
Cloé Luv:Do you feel like the need to bring that awareness to the public and to deliver the news in the most authentic way helps you with dealing with that? Like I have a job here to bring awareness, so does that help you bring it together and show up in that way for us?
Jacque Reid:I mean. To me it's important to let people know what's going on. I think it's just like the you know, back in the day when Emmett Till's mother made the decision to let his body be shown.
Cloé Luv:Yeah.
Jacque Reid:As painful as that was for her to experience, that she wanted the world to know. We do have to expose the ugly and the bad and the negativity in the world so that people can learn from it. Absolutely so. It's important, but it's a tough job. People think that being a reporter and a journalist is so glamorous, you know, but it's not. It's far from. I mean, there's that side of it because you're in the public eye and the way that we are, but it's a. It's a really tough job. It's a very tough job.
Cloé Luv:Well, thank you for showing up the way that you have for us and bringing us the information throughout the years, because you've done an amazing job and I know I know for me. I watched the news. I started watching the news because of you, so that you know if you weren't doing what you were doing, I wouldn't have been watching the news. So thank you for showing up in that way. When you think about, when you think about success, what, what does success look like to you in your eyes? What is the definition of success?
Jacque Reid:Authentic happiness To me. You can have all the money in the world and look successful on paper or look successful in other people's eyes, but if you are not happy, if you are not enjoying your life, if you do not feel fulfilled, then you are not successful to me.
Cloé Luv:Absolutely, absolutely. Do you think that there are some boundaries that you should not cross when it comes to obtaining that success?
Jacque Reid:Absolutely. I think that you need to stay true to yourself. I think that you need to be kind. I think that you need to be kind. I think that you don't need to. I don't think success should come at the expense of other people's failures. I don't think that you should step over step on people to climb higher. I think that you should do the opposite and bring people up, lift as you climb. I just think you should be authentic. I don't think you should lie. I don't think you should swindle people and I don't think that you should, you know, get engaged with criminal activity in order to be successful. There's a better way to do everything. There's a more authentic way, there's a more ethical way to do things, and I think we need to lean into that more. If betraying yourself or the values that you were raised on, or just you know, if you're a Christian person the values of your faith, if you're betraying all of that and, like I said, including yourself just to get ahead, then what are you doing?
Cloé Luv:Absolutely, Absolutely, which was going to be my next question, but you answered it. How do you keep your brand integrity intact? And that's how, Basically, you don't sell yourself short or you don't lie to people or lie to yourself. Those are all great tips and people don't understand how important it is to hear that, especially from someone like you who's climbed the ladder of success and has graced all the TV channels and the things that people want to do. They may think that you know what, if I just do this thing, you know I'll get there and then I'll get better. But hearing this from you will help people who are thinking about doing that thing that compromises their moral compass or that violates themselves. Like you know what Jackie didn't do that because Jackie just sat here and told us that she graced all these covers and she's done all these things by keeping her brand integrity intact. So I'm really, really, really happy to hear you say that and I'm glad for the people that hear you say that and come from a brand like yourself.
Cloé Luv:So we had a convo about ADHD. I was telling you, like Jacque, I think I got ADHD and I was saying it. I was telling you that, like I've said it to other people and they thought that I was going crazy, and you were actually the first person was like girl, check this out, Do you feel this? You should take a test, because I have it too. And it took me aback because usually, when you hear about people who have ADHD, you hear like they're not able to complete certain tasks or that it would hinder them from being successful. Able to complete certain tasks or that it would hinder them from being successful.
Jacque Reid:And someone like you, who is so successful. How were you able to manage that with having ADHD? Well, I have ADD. I'm lucky that I don't have.
Cloé Luv:Well, I shouldn't say that I'm lucky. I just don't have the hyper part of it, the hyper part ADD. Sorry, my apologies.
Jacque Reid:No, no, no no, but it's the same. It's definitely the cousin. Just some people have the hyper part. Add sorry, my apologies, no, no, no, no, it's, but it's the same. It's, it's definitely the cousin. Um, just some people have the hyper part, some people don't.
Cloé Luv:I don't um, yeah, no, I don't. I have the hyper part. I don't have the hyper part, I have the, the other part.
Jacque Reid:I was saying the wrong acronym you know the hyperactivity, I mean, you'll know it's like yeah no, it's, it's.
Jacque Reid:It's a different um side of it. I definitely don't have that, but I definitely do have add. You know it's it's. It's a different um side of it. I definitely don't have that, but I definitely do have ADD. Uh, you know the lack of focus, um, and and just unorganized um and just so many other things that that come with it for those who know about it. For me, it was a problem because I didn't know that I had it for years and one day I was reading something like about seven years ago I'm still new to this. Seven years ago I was reading a magazine or something. I was reading about these symptoms and I was like this sounds like my life. And it comes with so much frustration because you feel you really beat up on yourself.
Cloé Luv:Yeah.
Jacque Reid:What you lack and the mistakes that you made. I definitely was really hard on myself. I felt, you know just, I did not feel successful at all. And so I said to myself, let me go get diagnosed. And so I did and and I can tell you, before I got diagnosed I was in therapy and I said to this therapist I think I have ADD, um, and she was like she didn't. She told me she didn't believe in that. Maybe it was something else. So there are a lot of people who are like naysayers of it.
Jacque Reid:Um yeah, but anyway, I went and got tested and, sure enough, I definitely was diagnosed with it, which equipped me with the ability to give myself a break and say, okay, my brain functions differently than other people's brains, so I have to give myself a break. For you know my room being a mess or not being at my purse being a mess, or you know my room being a mess or not being at my purse being a mess, or you know not being able to find things or being late, you know to things all the time, which was just like I just feel like, oh, I just would get so mad at myself all the time because I was like why can't you just be better and do better? But once I got diagnosed and I realized, I started really studying and realized you know that my brain is different, so I have to give myself a break. I also opened up to giving myself credit for all the things that ADD has given me. You know I have great ideas right.
Cloé Luv:I love that.
Jacque Reid:Energy to do so many things and so that other people don't have you know what I mean. And people will say people said to me I'm like wow, you have great ideas. You know what I mean and that comes from you know, always thinking and always coming up, absolutely.
Jacque Reid:And so I realized that I would thrive as an entrepreneur. I realized that I would thrive making my own schedule and having my own hours and doing my own thing and leaning into that. And so that's what led me eventually to the path of being an entrepreneur, because I knew that I needed my morning, like my mornings need to be, if I want to get up at 5am and do yoga for an hour and then go for a walk for another hour, or if I just want to wake up early and just lay in the bed for a couple of hours, just to kind of let my brain just, you know, be at ease and just kind of stay on its own.
Jacque Reid:There's some ADD people that will recommend that for you that you don't get up and get out of the bed and just start going, that you give your brain a moment to catch up and to wake up, and so just kind of learning. Those things helped me manage it better, helped me manage my life better and helped me like myself better.
Cloé Luv:That that you will preach into the choir. Because, as you know, when we talk we come up with amazing ideas and it's just like boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. And when I would speak to people they'd be like you know, you're some kind of like alien the way that thoughts roll through your head and roll out, and for a while I felt like I felt very isolated because, even though it was a talent of mine, I felt like people thought I was strange because they didn't roll things out that way, because they didn't roll things out that way. And then I started meeting more people like me and I found out that we all were diagnosed in one way or another whether it was moderate or low, with ADD. So I kind of call it like the superpower.
Cloé Luv:I'm like it's low-key a superpower, you know. But being unorganized and all of those things are also things that I have an issue with, and when you don't show up in that way, it can make you feel unsuccessful, no matter what you're doing or no matter how the world sees you. How do you deal with that and how do you implement project management to make yourself feel more progressive when you're dealing with things like that and ADD?
Jacque Reid:Well, I definitely have a planner. I'm someone who has to write things I can't put them on.
Cloé Luv:I love that.
Jacque Reid:I have. I'm looking at it now. I have a planner that I look at every morning and every night and when something happens or when I'm planning something, I try to the best of my ability. I give myself a lot of grace to write it in my planner so I can see there are moments when I'll like I may go a week without looking at my planner and it will throw things off and I love how I feel when I manage my time better, when I have my planner, when I know what's going on in my life.
Jacque Reid:So that's one of the main things. And then I mean I just kind of one of the main things, and then I mean I just kind of I try to give myself a lot of grace. I try to do the best that I can, because when you're someone that has a lot of ideas and you know this, Cloé, you got a lot of pots on the stove, it's like yes.
Jacque Reid:And you may have seven pots on the stove, a really big stove, right. And then you're like oh, wait a minute, let me put these three things in the oven.
Cloé Luv:Oh, but wait.
Jacque Reid:I did. Let me put that in the microwave, and so I I have a great. What do I want to call her? She's like a brand representative that works with me and she makes sure that, when it comes to my ideas for working with brands, that I manage that well. She's like wait, because she's not that person like me. She's more kind of like okay, wait a minute, what's the budget for this? She's more dealing with the numbers and the facts and things like that. And then I'm lucky enough to have an agent who will say to me hang on, hang on.
Jacque Reid:That's too many ideas. Hold on, you know what I mean. So I have people in my life who say, okay, wait a minute. And even my sister, you know, is someone who is just like, wait a minute, slow down. So I have my wranglers, um, if you will. But other than that, I also know now how my brain works, so I catch myself you know, I mean you, I I know you're gonna relate to this I'll sit and make a things to do list and, girl, I'll be like page one still like all these things.
Cloé Luv:You all this gotta be done by tomorrow girl.
Jacque Reid:Yes, it's like things to do today and it's like so when I try to be realistic here is what here is like my golden rule eliminate one problem or issue today and don't create a new one. Oh, meaning, don't miss a payment on something, don't not do this, don't, don't, because that will create a problem tomorrow. So try, but try to deal with something that is a problem today or something that's an issue. Deal with it today and don't create a new one tomorrow, because when you have ADD or ADHD, there are a lot of issues that follow, whether they be financial or you know, you don't keep up with things. You know your paperwork, documents, things like that Girl.
Jacque Reid:I couldn't tell you where my birth certificate is, but it's around here somewhere. But you know what I mean. It's like things like that. But I give you know I'm not going to worry about that today, but I'm also going to make sure that, if I, you know that my wallet is organized. So, if I like, when I go somewhere and if I use my credit card, I put it back, because there have been days where I'm like, okay, where's? What did I do with my credit card? Oh, and it's in my jeans pocket or it's in the coat that I had on two weeks ago.
Cloé Luv:Oh, the purse from yesterday.
Jacque Reid:Come on, I got to go to the storage. What did I do with those keys?
Cloé Luv:Where's those keys at?
Jacque Reid:And it's practicing mindfulness. It is being present in the moment and saying to yourself okay, let me make sure that I put this here, let me make sure that I put these keys up, let me make sure that after I make this purchase because I got a million things going on in my mind I can stick my card anywhere and not pay attention.
Jacque Reid:Let me be intentional about the thing absolutely in the moment absolutely and that make that, that I have to really practice that and it really makes a difference. It's like, have you ever seen the movie with Samuel Jackson? A long kiss, good night. Yeah, yeah, and if you remember, in that movie he plays this like uh, uh, like not a detective, but he's like somebody who helps you find people and like, uh, investigator investigator, yeah yeah.
Jacque Reid:So when we see him and he's like I'm taking on my jacket and I'm putting it on the chair, I'm putting the key in my pocket, I'm doing it. And he said and she, what are you doing? He's like I sing, so I don't forget. I sing to myself, so I don't forget things, and that really works. That's so cool, you may not sing, but you say stuff. Okay, I put my phone in my purse.
Cloé Luv:Reinforce the action.
Jacque Reid:I put my chart, put my headphones here.
Cloé Luv:Love that.
Jacque Reid:Yeah. So it's little things like that, little habits that I have put in place, and I still have a long way to go. But I'm happier now because I'm not so I don't beat up on myself so much right now, because I understand that my brain is different.
Cloé Luv:That's beautiful and what a unique way to use mindfulness. When people think about mindfulness, I've never heard it used in that example like for that, so that's a new way for people who haven't thought about using mindfulness for that. That's that. That was a really great tip. Now, speaking of tips, we've spoken a lot about health. We've spoken a lot about dieting. I've complained to you and let the people know you're not the one to complain to if you're not ready to make no change. You are not the one to babysit somebody who is sitting up here saying the same thing over and over and not ready to make that change. And that's what I really love about you giving people that push, but you also arm people with the resources and the knowledge to be successful in that health journey. Tell us about 12 Months Vegan.
Jacque Reid:Okay, I'm so proud of this program and I love it because I am vegan and I have my Vegan Sexy Cool brand. I get so many people asking me about eating vegan you know what I mean the main thing, and how do you do it? What do you eat? I'm thinking about doing it, or I tried and it wasn't successful. I have so many conversations with non-vegans, it is crazy. I even said to myself I was going to get a shirt with uh, vegan, sexy, cool and like ask me anything, because I'm talking to people about it.
Jacque Reid:I don't mind at all, because I want and you know this I want everybody to be vegan, Everybody.
Cloé Luv:Absolutely.
Jacque Reid:And so I don't mind talking about it, and so I created this program, 12 Months to Vegan, because a lot of vegan programs out there that guide you in how to eat vegan. It's just like go, just give up all the meat, give up all the seafood, give up all the dairy.
Cloé Luv:Today, Cold turkey.
Jacque Reid:Everything we try not to say cold turkey in the vegan world, oh, sorry about that.
Jacque Reid:But yeah, because you know we're all about the animals Absolutely Warm and loved. Absolutely Warm and loved, but absolutely yes. But I had to learn to stop saying that myself, but it is a way to ease into it. So every month and we started in January, but you can jump in at any time we replace something in your kitchen that is dairy or meat based, that's animal based, with its vegan counterpart. So in january it was butter. You may not eat butter every day, but you definitely use it. You spread it, you saute with it, you bake with it. There are so many vegan butters out there to replace your dairy butter with. Just for the month of jan. Keep on eating your chicken, you can keep on eating your steak, you can keep on eating everything, just not the butter. Who can't do that? Right?
Cloé Luv:You can do that that sounds easy enough, fair enough.
Jacque Reid:Okay. So then the next month for February, the month that we're in you can either keep doing the vegan butter or you can go back to dairy butter. I suggest you keep doing it, but it's your choice. So you can just hyper-focus sorry, you can hyper-focus on the items for February, which are milk, yogurt and ice cream. So just those three things. Switch to vegan milk, switch to vegan yogurt, switch to vegan ice cream, and what you're doing is you're learning, you're trying different things without the pressure of what am I going to eat for breakfast? What am I going to eat for lunch? What am I going to eat for dinner? What am I going to buy at the grocery store? You're just getting these things and because now there's so many options out there, you may try vegan ice cream and hate it. Try something else, try another brand. There's so Jermaine Dupri even has vegan ice cream at Walmart. I mean there's options out there.
Jacque Reid:Give them a try. Make it an experiment for the month of February. Most people love vegan milk, so they're already drinking plant-based milk yeah yogurt.
Jacque Reid:You know, maybe you don't even eat yogurt, but if you do try some of the plant-based yogurts out there I don't know why my throat is so dry, excuse me, try some of the plant-based yogurts that are out there. The thing is it's just dipping your toe in and then the month of March forgive me if I'm wrong, but I think it's breads and desserts so you can go back to drinking whatever milk you want, whatever yogurt you want, whatever ice cream you want for the month of March. Or I suggest you bring it all along with you, because as we go we get into the summer months, which gets into the meats. So I think June is chicken, I think July is beef and pork, I think August is seafood.
Jacque Reid:But now you're on this journey where you're learning about vegan brands right, we have a Facebook group where you're talking about recipes and different ingredients that you wouldn't have tried before, like tofu or something like that. You know everybody. And there's this community that we have. That's a great community. That's really growing fast, but it's a it's a private community, because I really wanted it to be a place where people could be kind to one another, where they can talk where they could give advice, and it's a safe space.
Jacque Reid:So you know so we've got seafood in August and then, I think, september is cheese, which is one of the biggest thing people tell me. I cannot give up cheese.
Cloé Luv:More than steak.
Jacque Reid:Yeah, girl, more than steak, Cheese is the one, because a lot of people don't like steak. You know what I mean. Some people don't eat beef or they just they're not like it's a smaller group. Cheese is the one thing that-.
Cloé Luv:Cheese, is it, that's true?
Jacque Reid:Cheese is across. Everybody you know wants that cheese and there are great vegan cheese options out there. And then for October, november and December we end the year with October it's all about breakfast items. So for the month of October you're going to eat vegan for breakfast. But look through January. From January to September, you've been figuring out all these things that you like, right.
Jacque Reid:Yeah, and then for November it's all lunch items, right, all lunch through November, but you've already figured so much out. And then December it's dinner items, and then in January of 2023, together we're going to do the whole month vegan, and then beyond that.
Jacque Reid:So then, you've learned along the way what you like, what you don't like. You've experimented with things. You've learned about brands, you've learned a little bit about veganism and if this is something you could really do, you've learned a little bit about veganism and if this is something you could really do, and then you know, after the month of January, you're well equipped with enough information to go to the grocery store and say you know what, if you choose to do it after that, to say you know what, I'm gonna get this, this and this. I love it. You know what you're doing, you know the brand the food you like.
Jacque Reid:So it really is to me an easier way to step into eating vegan.
Cloé Luv:That was really thoughtful. I really love that. That was something that we spoke about before you released and I was like, please do this, do this, do this, because there's so much like when people give you meal plans. It's so just cutthroat that it's really unrealistic for a lot of people, especially when you don't have a community to support you through it, when you don't know where to even start or what the good brands are, and you don't have people around you that can suggest those things. So I love that you thought about it from all aspects of what a person would need to go through it and to live it that way. I'm grateful and I have been. I just substituted butter cause I haven't had time to try have to try the new ones but I I shared it through a lot of my friends, so I've gotten some suggestions on some good vegan butters, uh, from some of my friends who are also doing the challenge, so I'm going to be trying that out and, um, I'm already on plant-based milk, so I got a head start there.
Cloé Luv:I'm grateful for that, but you really inspired me to show up that way, to want to be healthier, and that being a big part of success, because most people think about success and they just think about the money aspect of it or the fame aspect of it, but there's so many other variables that we ignore. I'm guilty of my health being one of the variables that I ignore that I've spoken to you about and I really feel like this. I'm excited about it because I really feel like this is something that I want to master going into my forties. And just showing up like Angela Bassett, you know. And just showing up like Angela Bassett, you know, angela, was goals for people like listen, I was in my 20s like dang Angela better than me, you know. So I want to show up that way.
Cloé Luv:I know that's the vain reasons of it. Of course, we want the mechanisms of the body to be working well and to have long life by the grace of the most high, and all of those things, but there's a lot of vanity in it for people, so we're going to address that part. How do you feel like veganism helps you show up? Like your skin, your nails, like your body. How do you feel like it adds to the beauty of people?
Jacque Reid:You know, in two ways. I mean, I definitely feel like my body is better. People may or may not know a lot of the meats that we eat because of the antibiotics, and a lot of the things that the animals eat, and even what's in their systems, the trauma of them being murdered in order to end up on your plate. All of that you're you're taking on if you believe in energy, right? So there's that it caused meat and dairy, and we know this about dairy because so many of us are lactose intolerant.
Cloé Luv:Yeah.
Jacque Reid:We eating animal milk. Women don't make breast milk and sell it. You know it's for our babies, right?
Cloé Luv:Yeah.
Jacque Reid:That milk is for that animal's child, that animal. So our bodies reject it, no differently than it's just like eating breast milk, drinking breast milk from another human, from a woman. So it causes inflammation and I had some issues because I'm a runner and so I was having runner's knee. In my knees I have bunions and so I was having inflammation around my bunions and my feet. Whenever I would put on heels I had to stand for a minute and let my feet adjust. I was having issues getting in and out of the car and I went to physical therapy and nothing was making a difference. And this was right before I decided to become vegan and after I did about a month in, all the inflammation went away. All of it went away.
Jacque Reid:I don't, for the life of me, understand why people, especially black people, are so married to girl. I gotta have my ribs, girl, I gotta have my wings. Girl, I gotta have my cake. But then we're ending up in the great. We talk about diseases that impact us disproportionately, and then we're like I don't know why that's so unfair. Yes, a lot of it has to be. It has to do with how. We're like I don't know why that's so unfair. Yes, a lot of it has to be.
Jacque Reid:It has to do with how we're treated in the medical community, but a lot of it has to do with how we eat you know and that was really highlighted during COVID, when so many of us were at risk before there was, you know, any kind of vaccine, because diabetes, hypertension, all that, heart disease, all of that is alive and well and thriving in the Black community. Right, we know this, but we accept chronic illness more than any other group. It is amazing to me. It's almost like we're proud of it.
Jacque Reid:Girl we get up, child. Oh, I can't get up, but let me get another plate. Let me get, girl. You need to fry to fry, girl. That ain't this chicken, ain't, girl, my mac and cheese and all the stuff we put in. We just brag about how unhealthy we are, yeah, and the foods that we and we don't even think about.
Jacque Reid:You know the things that are in our neighborhoods particularly yeah if you live in an all-black neighborhood, maybe you know, maybe it's um a lower class, um, I hate to say lower class, but a low income low income yeah yeah, low income neighborhood that and the fast food restaurants that are there and all you know. Maybe you don't live there, but our people live there and yeah look at the politics right. Look at it. And that food at a lot of those restaurants is the worst meat coming out of those factory farms.
Cloé Luv:Right.
Jacque Reid:It's the worst of the worst, and so we don't think about it. We don't think about where our food comes from, we just eat it. And so, for me, I feel like my skin is better. I know my skin is better. My body is definitely better, I feel better, I have better energy. I'm just all around healthier because of it. And people will say, oh, you can't get proteins. No, if you learn how to eat properly, you know, then you'll get the nutrients that you need.
Jacque Reid:People eat unhealthy on a non-vegan diet on a regular basis Too much fried food, too much processed food, too much sugar, too much sugar. And nobody's saying to them you're not going to get what you need. On a non, you know no, but all of a sudden you go vegan and you're eating more fruits and vegetables you know what I mean and legumes and beans, and people are like you're you're not going to get what you need. It's crazy. So I feel better on, you know, my body feels better, but my spirit is also better because I know that I am making choices. That puts me in a space of kindness that I say to me. I say you know what? Sure, I love a burger, I love a steak, but I would rather see an animal live its life and thrive than have that burger, and so every time I eat, I feel like it's a form of activism and I feel like I'm doing something to make the world a better place.
Cloé Luv:That's beautiful. That's very empowering, actually empowering. Actually. Do you feel like, since you've become vegan, that has also helped with, like, the clarity of your mind and or, or when it came to the ADD, do you feel like going vegan has helped, uh, your mind in any way?
Jacque Reid:Well, I definitely think that the foods that we eat uh can impact our mental health too.
Cloé Luv:Absolutely.
Jacque Reid:It's in our body. So I definitely feel. I just feel more at peace, I feel more centered. I just have more clarity in how I'm able to navigate the ADD. I feel like it's made a difference in my mental health.
Cloé Luv:That's good.
Jacque Reid:That's good.
Cloé Luv:I cause I can see that I haven't gone vegan but just from uh my own, like sugar addictions and the things that it causes me to do and kind of adds the hyper activity, I can imagine kind of removing those things from my life on how that would allow uh my brain to be a bit more free.
Cloé Luv:So that's why I asked that to see, cause that's what I envisioned it would feel like, but I'm not sure that's what I'm looking forward to to see how that feels as well. I'm sorry I didn't hear you. I said you definitely will feel better. Yeah Well, you know I'm going to give it a try. I've already started, so I'm excited about it, but I do know some vegans that aren't healthy.
Jacque Reid:Do you tell people how to be a healthy vegan? Cause that's also important. It is because you can be unhealthy, because you've seen it on the internet a lot of fried foods. Uh, you know a lot of just. I see what my neighbors yeah, I mean yeah, you, you're not gonna. You can be an unhealthy vegan, because veganism is not about health. Being a vegan means that you're an animal activist.
Cloé Luv:Yeah.
Jacque Reid:You, when you're vegan, it's not just about food, it's about everything. You don't do anything that that involves harming an animal. So my skincare products, my hair care products, my makeup, my clothing, I don't buy. I don't have leather furniture none of that I don't buy, or I don't in any kind of way purchase anything that has that would have an animal diet.
Cloé Luv:That's important for people to know.
Jacque Reid:Yeah, it's not just what you eat. That's why I say eating vegan and some people will call it plant-based. Yeah plant-based people will still eat fish and meat and things like that, because plant-based means that you eat mostly, uh, fruits and vegetables. It doesn't mean that you necessarily don't eat animals. Okay, you eat vegan. But if someone says that they are a vegan, that means no leather shoes, no, no suede anything, no fur, anything. In everything that you do, I read labels constantly, but I'm so used to it now.
Cloé Luv:Oh, that's. That's a great distinction. I don't think a lot of people know that. I think they believe that it's just about, like you said, eating mainly plant based, but they don't understand that it's a lifestyle. And that brings me to Vegan, sexy, cool. What can we expect from that? What are the topics that you cover?
Jacque Reid:my baby, as you know well. Uh, there is a podcast that we're relaunching this month. That's going to be really exciting. Um, and I have a website, vegan sexy coolcom, and I have a YouTube channel where you can learn more about 12 months to vegan, and I'm all over social media with vegan sexy cool. So being a sexy cool is really a destination, what I wanted it to become, cause it took me a while. I was like, yeah, I love this name, but what do I want it to be? And I'm vegan, and but what do I want vegan sexy cool to be?
Cloé Luv:and you're sexy and you're cool well, no, you know but let me say for you thank you, ma'am.
Jacque Reid:I wanted it to be a place where people could go for uh references for products where they can go yeah not just information, but what butter do. What butter do I recommend? What milk?
Jacque Reid:yes you know, if you want some vegan shoes, okay, I never heard of that there were vegan shoes but okay, aren't they all made of pleather and look cheap? No, there's some fabulous, high fashion vegan shoes out there. Yes, I want people to know more about where they can find these things so they can explore it and then maybe one day, you know, just say, okay, I'm doing this.
Cloé Luv:Absolutely, that's a game changer. Right there. I really can't stress on how much that's a game changer, because when you're looking just like you said, you're like well, I don't want to change my style Cause I don't want to miss out on certain glam, but you always look fabulous. And when you're able to tell, yeah, you always look fabulous. So when you're telling people, listen, everything that I'm wearing is vegan, so you can also still look fabulous and I'll help you because I'll give you the referrals of where to go, that is going to be. That's such a game changer where people can try more because they don't have to figure it out.
Cloé Luv:A lot of the times, people figuring out, trying to figure it out on their own, is what deters them from trying. But when you're like listen, I'm giving you information, I'm giving you references and you have me, you see me. I think that makes it a no brainer. It's like all right, I can do this, I can show up this way. So I feel like that's, that's. That's a really big ad that you've given us. And is there like a membership course or a membership price or anything like that too? No, it's all free.
Jacque Reid:And this is all free.
Cloé Luv:This is all free.
Jacque Reid:So no one has any excuse. No excuse at all. Just come, hang out, learn, come to the facebook group, follow us on social media, come to the website, sign up for the newsletter, all that love it, love it, love it, and that will, of course, be in the show notes.
Cloé Luv:Is there anything else that we can look forward? That's coming from the jackie reed brand my gosh.
Jacque Reid:So many good things coming. Nothing I can talk about right now, but there's some good things. Okay, just be on the lookout, follow you.
Cloé Luv:Just follow, subscribe to the website so we can get the newsletters and all that good stuff, all that Fantastic. Well, this brings us to our last part of the show with you, the trivia part. This is the fun part. So I'm going to ask you a few questions that resonate with you and the most authentic answer which we know you're very authentic when it comes to how you answer, you know you give it to us. So my first question is what is your favorite comfort food that you go to when you need that, that extra zhuzh and that upliftment?
Jacque Reid:Popcorn.
Cloé Luv:Popcorn. You have a favorite brand.
Jacque Reid:No, I like popping the kernels. I don't like microwave popcorn because there's so many, too many chemicals. So I like getting out a pot, putting some olive oil in there, shaking it up Nice. And then I melt my vegan butter and I'll either either put some truffle salt or regular salt, and I'll usually have like a glass of wine or a glass of champagne with it that is so cool popcorn and make and making it from scratch, not the quick, uh, microwave part.
Cloé Luv:The process in itself must be soothing. Yes, fantastic. What is your favorite song that you put on to like when you're about to go do a power meeting or when you need to pull yourself out of a rut? What is that go-to song for you?
Jacque Reid:Anything by Layla Hathaway. She is my absolute favorite vocalist. I love her, one of the things I mean, I love her music so much. Maybe the Joe Sample album is one that just is very soothing to me, but just anything with Layla Hathaway.
Cloé Luv:I'm hearing her in my mind now I can see how it just changed your whole emotion, like it just put you in this place of just bliss.
Jacque Reid:I love her so much.
Cloé Luv:It's absolutely my favorite vocalist you guys hear that you should be a fact you had on Jacque. You better go check that out and put that on your playlist. I want to feel how Jackie just felt even thinking about it my girl.
Jacque Reid:I love her love her.
Cloé Luv:And what is your favorite quote? What is that quote that speaks to your soul?
Jacque Reid:Oh, I don't know if I have a favorite quote. Oh, yes, I do. My grandfather I don't know anyone who said it before him, but my late grandfather, my maternal grandfather, would always say and my mother and I always say this they don't know, and they don't know that they don't know yes yes, my favorite sayings. And it just sometimes you have to just kind of step away from an argument or step away from trying to save someone. No, and then they don't know that, they don't know so there's so much power in that sentence.
Cloé Luv:Yeah there is so much power in that sentence. I love that. Well, this was fun. I had a great time. I can't wait for everyone to check out your brands and try this 12 month vegan challenge and be a part of a vegan. Sexy, cool and uh. We would love to have you back for updates on where the brand is going, what you've done, what you got coming out and how we can be involved. Can you tell the people where's the best place to follow you?
Jacque Reid:Ooh, facebook. I would say Facebook because that is that's where the Facebook group is. It's such a great community. I would say Facebook and YouTube.
Cloé Luv:Okay.
Jacque Reid:Would be the best places to see the most current content, because we're really I'm revving things up on on YouTube and, and you know, the Facebook is my main social media platform, and then I would say YouTube is secondary to that.
Cloé Luv:Okay, so we'll also have those links for you guys to to to join and follow. Well, Jacque, thank you for coming. It was really great having you and we look forward to having you back.
Jacque Reid:Thank you so much. This was great.
Cloé Luv:Okay, my Clover. Stay tuned for another quick commercial break. Welcome back, clovers. What an amazing, amazing episode. Oh my God, I love Jackie so much. Amazing, amazing episode. Oh my God, I love Jackie so much and, just like the other people, I've grown on Jacque, someone who I get advice from, that I'm able to speak in a safe place of things that I'm going through, that I feel, and she always gives like pure, authentic, from the heart advice and that's what I love about her brand.
Cloé Luv:When we talk about brand morphing, authenticity is at the top of that list and this is as brand morphed as it can be is Jackie Reid. She is the goals of brand morphing. So I really want you guys to follow her and follow all the advice and the websites and the things that she has going on. And even if you don't want to be vegan, it is important to be able to implement those things and maybe remove some things to help you along the line in your road to success in health. You may not take the full plunge or you may, but it's good to be armed with those or equipped with that knowledge and the resources and the tools that she's dishing out so that you can show up a lot more healthier mentally, emotionally and physically in this life.
Cloé Luv:Jackie Jacque gave some great jewels. You know we got to talk about the jewels that was dropped and I want to make sure that you guys caught a few of them. One of my favorite parts is when she talked about they don't know what they don't know, and they don't know they don't know. This is something that this was. She first heard it from her grandfather, but this is a saying of mine as well. They don't even know, they don't know and they don't even know they don't know that they don't know.
Cloé Luv:Like, we say this in my house as well, and what I loved about her addressing that is that when you're trying to prove something to someone or argue with someone or you get yourself worked up, sometimes you got to stop and think this is insanity, because they don't know, and they don't even know. They don't know. So why am I here getting myself so worked up when I have the power in this situation and I have the knowledge? If someone is receptive to receiving that knowledge, then you can offer it and you can enlighten them of the things that they don't know. But one great example she gave of that is to know when not to try to save somebody, because not knowing and not knowing that you don't know is one thing, but not caring is another. That was a jewel that hit home when Jackie said that Knowing when not to want to save somebody or not to try to save somebody because they're not ready, they're not ready to come out of that ignorance, of not knowing that was one jewel. And the next jewel that she spoke about when it comes to the things that you interact with, whether it be meat products or things that have bad energies that you put into your life and if we're talking about our spiritual journey, when it comes to success, you have to be able to decipher what bad energies you have around you, inside of you and out, to remove those things out of your life. You cannot be successful if you continue to keep those energies around you or inside of you. That can be by way of things that you need to get off your chest bad thoughts, bad emotions, things that you're ingesting, whether it be drugs, certain foods, sugars, anything like that. You really got to be mindful and I love the example that she used of mindfulness. You really got to be mindful and have deep intentions on why you're doing what you're doing with everything. Nothing is too little.
Cloé Luv:Jackie Jacque talked about being intentional with putting her credit card back to make her life easier. She talked about doing that so she doesn't create another problem the next day while trying to solve other problems. I mean, these are all jewels that when you hear it in a sentence it sounds so cliche but are so impactful on your journey to success. Success and those little things that you're stopping from happening allows it not to add up and cause a domino effect when it comes to other things that you're trying to fix. So, clovers, I hope that you enjoyed this episode. I hope you guys got all those jewels and until next time, click the notifications, leave a comment, let me know what you liked, what you didn't like, give some advice that you have to add to the episode, because we love advice here. And you know, until next time, peace out, clovers.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Committed to Success podcast. Make sure to subscribe to the podcast, share and tell a friend, rate and review and join us next time. Check out the show notes on the website for links to everything that was mentioned in this episode. For all upcoming events, services and products, visit www. cloeluv. com you.