Neil Dudley: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Pederson’s Farms podcast. We are so excited you’re here. We appreciate you joining us. And we look forward to sharing these conversations with thought leaders from our industry. They’re going to paint a picture from every perspective – consumer, customer, vendor, employee, and peer – that I think is going to be super valuable, and we’re really excited to share. So, thanks for tuning in. Remember don’t tune out, and grab life by the bacon.

Hello. I appreciate you coming here. I know your time is not free to you, so we want to add value. That is the purpose of the Pederson’s Farms Podcast, and we’re going to explain some more of that. But right now, I got to be honest, I’m selfish, I want everybody and their dog to come to KetoCon. So go to ketocon.org and use the promo code bacon for $50 off your three-day pass. If you’re in the area, if you just want to become a part of the keto community, please come to this. Now, the reason I say I’m selfish is Pederson’s will have a booth. We’re going to be serving bacon, sausage, ham. We want the opportunity to show our products to you. We’d love to give you a better understanding of what we do and how it tastes. I believe if you give our products a try, we’ve got a really good chance of you becoming a fan, an PNFer we call them. And that is partially why all five episodes this month are focused around KetoCon. I’m interviewing, we’re talking to, we’re having a conversation with people that will either be speaking at KetoCon, founded KetoCon, working the Pederson’s booth at KetoCon. So, I think it gives you a really good opportunity to see and understand and hear a little bit before you even have to buy the ticket of what value is going to be there. So, thank you so much for just giving us that opportunity. Again, we’ll put all this info in the show notes, but ketocon.org, use bacon in the promo code or discount code to get you $50 off your three-day ticket. I really appreciate Robin giving that to us, and I hope you use it. Now, my name’s Neil Dudley. I’m the VP of Business Development at Pederson’s Farms, and I host the podcast. I’ve been in the industry for 20 years now, maybe a little over, and I worked my way up from a QA tech position to the C-suite. I mean, I really only got in the business because my best friend since kindergarten was made president of Pederson’s and he said, hey, will you come to work for me? And I was like, sure, I think that’d be fun. So now, all these years later, we’re still doing it and we’re still having fun. And I think it’s a great time for me to share these conversations and access to thought leaders, business owners, entrepreneurs, people that are making the food you eat. They are totally a huge piece of where your food comes from. And these stories are what I believe you have the right to know, understand, and get to hear. So, thanks for listening. If you love it, tell somebody, share it on social media. We need the support. We need for people to hear the story, I need your help getting it out there. If you didn’t like it, feedback is always welcome. We need that. We want to make it better. We want to make it valuable to you. So, if you want to hear what KetoCon’s going to have to offer, keep listening. I promise these people will add value and give you insight into the keto diet, the keto lifestyle, and many other things, everything from carnivore diet to intermittent fasting, to eating nose to tail, to how you keep an event alive throughout a pandemic where it’s pretty much shut down for a couple of times, a couple of years. Anyways, keep listening. Let’s do this thing. Thank you so much. 

All right, everybody, hey. Well, I don’t mean to yell hey at you. I appreciate you coming here and listening. I’ve got a great guest. Her name is Gigi Ashworth or Gigi Eats, probably more well known as Gigi Eats on Instagram and her YouTube and blog. Well, she’s lived a life that is quite valuable. It’s valuable to us for entertainment, education, and many other things. And I just want to welcome you to the show, Gigi, and say thanks for lending us some time, giving us a chance to hear your story. And I want to amplify it because I think it’s really awesome.

Gigi Eats: Well, I appreciate you thinking that I’m awesome and wanting me to be on your podcast. So here we are.

Neil Dudley: I got to admit, the most recent video I’ve watched was you and your husband trying stuff that you had got from maybe his Expo West or something, just different- And he ate the hot chip and then chose to eat a second one. And I was like, man, this guy. 

Gigi Eats: I know, what is wrong with you? I love those honestly. Prior to COVID, I used to go to the Natural Food Expo in Los Angeles. And I’d always get the weirdest foods because I was like I am so going to torture him with these things because he’ll eat anything. He’s not on any specific diet. So, he’ll try things. And there was a video where I don’t know if this is the same video that you watched, but I had him have cat food. I didn’t tell him it was cat food until afterward. And then he was like, are you kidding me? Seriously? I should file for a divorce right now. 

Neil Dudley: Well, just from that one video, it seems like you and he have such a cool relationship, just really fun loving, kind of willing to poke fun at each other and then accept that, so that’s kind of cool. So, if you’re listening and you want to see what I think’s a pretty fun couple, go watch some of those things they do together. 

Gigi Eats: I think we are pretty fun too. 

Neil Dudley: I also don’t want to dive into all of the history of Gigi Eats because there’s a good chance a lot of listeners are already familiar with you. They can Google Gigi Eats, and you can go learn all those things about her. She’s done a million interviews. She’s putting content out all the time. So, after this conversation, when you think, wow, I want to learn some more about Gigi, do that. Google Gigi Eats and you’ll have access to all kinds of stuff about her and her journey. I do want to ask, are large intestines optional?  

Gigi Eats: Clearly, they aren’t because I’m living without one. It definitely makes life a little bit trickier. And I know a lot of people, surprisingly, who have had similar surgeries and issues like my own, who struggle maybe a little less or maybe a little more, but we’re all sort of in the same pool, so we talk to each other constantly. We call it the poop talk, because let’s be real, that’s what your large intestine helps you with. And we’re not going to sugarcoat anything here because, I mean, when you think about it, everyone poops, haha. That being said, it is an option because when I had my large intestine, I had a lot more issues than I currently do. I still do suffer from: I have ulcerative colitis. I have celiac disease. I have Crohn’s disease. I have IBS is a very common complaint for a multitude of people across the world. And a lot of people don’t actually realize they have IBS. They just have these stomach aches, and they don’t really know why. And unfortunately, there isn’t really like a pinpoint as to what causes it. Everybody’s so uniquely different that what might cause my issues may not cause them problems. So, it’s interesting to learn about other people’s stories in that regard. And when it comes to not having a large intestine, I love hearing other people’s stories too. And then hopefully I can offer them advice. And that’s why I started, I mean, I know people can go Google me and stuff, but that’s really why I started all my social media pages, because, well, initially I was doing some other stuff on YouTube, making fun of diet and fitness trends of celebrities. But my true passion was helping people, especially in the realm of having celiac and Crohn’s and no large intestine because I’ve been living through it, and I’ve been studying it. And I just wanted to help people understand that it’s not a death sentence necessarily to have some organs in your body removed. In fact, instead of letting it control you, I try to help people control it. Because if you let it control you, then you’re going to live this ho hum lifestyle and you’re not going to ever want to do anything and like live life and enjoy it. So that’s what I’m all about.

Neil Dudley: Yeah. And that’s part of your story I want to amplify. I just get happiness from you. I mean, especially in your content, in this moment, and it makes some of the realities in your life, I guess, pass right by my consciousness where I don’t understand. There’s a good chance you’re sitting in that chair right now hurting, maybe, but you just fight right through it. Where do you think that resilience or that mindset comes from? 

Gigi Eats: I honestly feel like I was born with this mindset, and I have to appreciate that fact because I don’t let minor things get in the way of my happiness. I think I live by this quote of there’s always something worse out there. And so, I’m just very thankful for everything that I do have. I have an amazing support system in my family and my parents and siblings and all that kind of stuff. I have an amazing support system on social media. I get to do X, Y, and Z whenever I want to. And I am my own boss, so I work for myself, which is a blessing as well. So, I really just look at the little things that make my life awesome. And like, yeah, I might be suffering from a stomachache 24/7, and I might have to be worried about what might go in my mouth or what might be poisoning me when I go out to a restaurant. But also, I risk it. So, it’s like okay. But I’m also the type of person that talks and I ask questions and I’m not afraid to own what my, I’m going to call it, abnormalities are, and I shout it from the rooftops because, again, that’s something that I want to encourage other people to do. And I just, I don’t know. I have to honestly say I was born with a smile on my face. Like I was just a very- I’m a very happy person. So, I mean, I’m going to blame salmon for it because I eat a lot salmon, those omega-3 fatty acids, and I eat a lot of grass fed meats, which also have a lot of omega-3 fatty acids as well. So, I would have to say my diet plays a huge role in it, which, I mean, makes sense because what you eat definitely controls all of the functionalities of your body and your brain. And I know a lot of people who suffer from depression and then they go and eat cookies and cakes and donuts that are full of sugar and things that aren’t so good for you, and then they’re still depressed, and it’s like this vicious cycle. So yeah, I really believe that it’s a multitude of those things.

Neil Dudley: Sure. Well, I’d say, that’s kind of like talent, being born with a smile on your face, but talent doesn’t get you to the finish line. I mean, talent kind of just gets the race started in the right way. I think what you’re talking about, eating good food, eating salmon, high omega fatty acid foods, helps you, at least in your case and probably in everybody’s case, maintain that happiness. Like just because you start the race in the lead doesn’t mean you stay in the lead. You’ve got to keep working on that good mindset and those kind of things. So, I just want to encourage everybody to think about that in your own life. 

Gigi Eats: Yeah, I really focus, and as I said, I’m very lucky to be my own boss, so I really focus on the things that make me happy and things that I do to make me happy. And I’m not going to lie, I was born with this innate desire to create content via video and writing. I love to write too. And making people laugh and smile. So that puts the smile on my face. Like I was born wanting to move to Los Angeles and be a Hollywood actress. Let’s be real, no actress, cannot act my way out of a paper bag. My husband is an actor, and he tells me, no, no, you should not do that. But I can act like myself, and in my mind, that’s way better than acting like someone else wants you to be because that puts a lot of pressure on you to be good in that person’s eyes. Where for me, I’m like I’m just me. And if you don’t like me, then you don’t have to follow me. You don’t have to pay attention to me whatsoever. Then I’m just going to keep on doing what I’m doing. So, a lot of people get hater comments on social media, and if I see those types of comments, which I’m not going to lie, I’m very blessed with not getting that many hater comments, and usually it’s something really weird like they don’t like my voice or they think my eyebrows are weird. Don’t ask me where that comes from, but okay. But I tend to just laugh at those comments because it’s just what can you do about it? If you stew over some negativity, then you’re only going to turn into a negative person yourself, and then you’re just not going to be happy. So that’s my motto. 

Neil Dudley: Yeah. I think it’s a great one. Now I’m curious- 

Gigi Eats: About my eyebrows?

Neil Dudley: No, no. Well, do you listen to the lovers? I mean, sometimes that- So I’ve heard it said, if you’re going to do your thing, you really can’t listen too much to the lovers or the haters. You got to do your thing. What do you take- What’s your take on that? Because you get a lot more attention than me. I’m not used to it. I wouldn’t know how to deal with it. Do you let the lovers make you focus more on different things because- and maybe that wouldn’t be in your lane either. You know what I’m saying? 

Gigi Eats: I definitely accept compliments and praise. I’m not the type of person that says, oh no, stop it, don’t be silly, that’s not true. I definitely say thank you. I really appreciate that. Thank you for motivating me to continue doing what I’m doing. Clearly, I’m doing something right if you find it funny. But at the end of the day, what I usually tell people who ask me for any sort of advice on social media is post content that you love and that you’re proud of because you’re not going to be able to make every single person happy. So, the videos and the recipes that I’ve been creating as of late, and let’s be real, my entire “career,” if you will, I have been very proud of. I like to think outside of the box when it comes to making recipes and recreating old favorites that are zero sugar, zero dairy, zero gluten, all that kind of stuff. And when I create something that is such, I think that I’m a genius, and I’m just patting myself on the back. Sometimes those videos don’t hit as well as I hope they do, but at the same time, I don’t really care because, again, I am just really happy that I made this content and I just love what I did. And as I said earlier, making content makes me really happy. And that is what I strive for in life and what everyone should strive for in life. So, at the end of the day, I’m doing what I want. I’m doing exactly what I want to do. And if it puts a smile on people’s face, that’s a huge bonus. If people slide into my DMs and they tell me that I’m a genius for creating this recipe, or, oh my gosh, you made me my day today because of X, Y, and Z, obviously that makes me feel really good and happy that I could make someone else happy. But I am not the source of anyone else’s happiness. Only you are the source of your own happiness. So, while I might’ve had someone forget about their problems for five minutes, at the end of the day, I’m doing it just to make myself happy. I said happy like 15,000 times in this interview so far.

Neil Dudley: Well, I love to have an interview that’s happy focused. I mean, a lot of what’s going on in the world today is kind of, if you just pay too much attention to it, it’s a downer. 

Gigi Eats: Oh, absolutely. I sort of- I mean, I obviously listen to the news. I pay attention. I have my own views on things, but I don’t talk about them on social media because I am the least argumentative person on the face of the planet. I am nonconfrontational. I don’t deal with that kind stuff. And I’ll never post about that because I feel like I am a source for people who want to get away from that world. 

Neil Dudley: I wanted to ask, did you picture your career happening the way it has? Did you kind of know that what you do today was going to be monetizable and all of those things? When did you first kind of say, wow, oh cool, I can make a living doing this? 

Gigi Eats: That’s the funny thing. So I was born with this, as I said, with the desire to be a Hollywood actress. I went to school for broadcast journalism. I knew exactly- like I wanted to be on camera. It’s funny because a lot of people don’t know what avenue they want to take when they’re in high school or when they’re in college. But I always knew I wanted to be on camera. So, I was very lucky in that respect. For a hot minute, I wanted to be a competitive snowboarder. I did that whole thing. And one day, my mom was like, well, what happens when you fall and get hurt? I’m like good point. So, I decided maybe I want to be like a reporter for ESPN or something like that. But I always knew I wanted to move to Hollywood. I wanted to do something in the entertainment realm. In high school, I sort of figured like I’m not really the best actress, so maybe I shouldn’t go that route. But when I went to college, I did broadcast journalism. And then I moved immediately to Hollywood right after college, and I worked at E Entertainment, and I worked at another entertainment company as well. And I did things with celebrities like red carpets and interviews and E Online and all that kind of stuff. But then I realized like I don’t really care about celebrities, to be completely honest. Like, I don’t know why people put them on this pedestal like they’re the greatest thing since sliced bread. Let’s be real, sliced bread ain’t that good.

Neil Dudley: I think you’re talking about a really interesting thing though – in our culture, in our society, you’ll find celebrities get put on this pedestal like they’re super-

Gigi Eats: And they’re nothing special. I mean, they’re just like us.

Neil Dudley: Yes, totally. 

Gigi Eats: The funny is in those like US Weekly magazines, they have sections that say just like us. Truly, everybody, they are just like us. There’s nothing- like my husband and I have celebrity friends, and they’re just like us. Anyways. 

Neil Dudley: They’re normal people before they were celebrities. They’re just somebody’s friend from kindergarten. All of those things I think are really important. I just wish listeners would like they’re normal, they eat, they sleep, they have all these things. Yeah, they’re high performers. That’s kind of cool. You want to be around high performing people. They give you access to influence, but ultimately- 

Gigi Eats: Ultimately, they’re just us on television. Oh, wow. If anything, I feel so sort of sorry for celebrities though, too, because I feel like they have so much more pressure on them because everybody’s watching them. But anyway, when I was at E, I got some very valuable advice that if I wanted to have this on camera career, I would need to start a website, like my blog, Gigi Celebrities, I would need to do a YouTube channel. So, I started those things, and about three or four years into it – initially, I was just doing it for fun –I got an email from Underarmor. And they were like, hey, we’re going to send you some shoes. If you could write a blog post about them, we’ll send you $50. And I was like, what? You’re going to send me shoes and $50 for this blog post and promotion? How cool is that! So that’s sort of when I was like, people want to pay me for this? Cool. And then I started researching more about how to monetize my blog and social media. And I started joining a couple of these like middleman companies that would reach out to me when there was like a sponsorship that they thought would be a good fit and so on. And then I realized I could just do it myself and obviously make more money because the middleman wasn’t there to take a cut. And then it just sort of morphed into what it is today because my blog transitioned from talking about celebrity diet and fitness trends to talking about my own lifestyle because I realized that people actually cared more about who I was versus what celebrities were eating. I guess they only really care about celebrities and what movies are coming out or TV shows or something like that, which totally fine because I respect the actors who are working on their craft versus celebrities from like reality TV shows. Anyways, so that’s sort of when I realized, okay, I could monetize this. And then about maybe three years after that, it became my full-time job, which is pretty great and incredible. And that’s also sort of when my husband and I met, and he took my videos to the next level because he’s not only an actor, but he is a commercial director, and he was making his own videos and he had these amazing cameras and audio equipment and stuff like that. Whereas I was literally just using my laptop with no audio, no nothing. And I was like this is good enough. But he introduced me to so many different things and continues to introduce me to so many different programs and different equipment and stuff like that, which is very overwhelming. But once you learn it, it’s easy and it becomes second nature. And I love editing videos. It’s one of my favorite things to do. So, that’s kind of where it is now. And now my biggest platform is Instagram. I feel like a lot of people have sort of stepped away from the blogging space. There are definitely still blogs out there, but I had a recipe blog that was also humorous. However, I don’t know, you’ve probably seen these memes where people are like, oh my God, all of these recipe blogs write about their whole life story, I just want the recipe. And I’m not going to lie, I was totally one of those people who wrote these like long diatribes before the recipe showed up, and I’m like but my content, I love it. I’m so proud of everything I’ve written, but no one gives a crap about it because they just want the recipe. 

Neil Dudley: I relate to you so much on that. It’s even this podcast. I love every episode. Like I listen back to them, I’m like, damn, that’s the best thing anybody in this company’s ever put out, which isn’t true, but it’s how I feel about it. And I’m just like- so I just have to stay with it. I just keep saying, man, I know this thing is going to take off someday. There’s great content out here. I can’t be the only cowboy that cares about food, where your food comes from, the transparency of an industry, the really interesting and fun stories that players within the industry have, you’re a perfect example of that. So, I just think it just takes some time for people to find it. 

Gigi Eats: Yeah. Now I’m going to go back and listen to some of your podcast episodes because, I mean, prior to us kind of connecting on Instagram, I was not aware. 

Neil Dudley: Well, good. And any feedback is welcome. I think some of that stuff is just really valuable. I wanted to tell you your copywriting skills are really killer. I was on your website, and I was reading the copy just kind of about you. I’m guessing you wrote that and you kind of wrote it in a third person voice, and all that was just really good. I was like- and there’s another lady like you, her name is Melissa Urban, who’s just a great copywriter. I say just, it doesn’t mean diminishing that. But you are a great copywriter. She’s a great copywriter. And I think that’s a very good asset when you’re going to do this kind of work. 

Gigi Eats: I love, I love writing. It’s my biggest passion. I thought my career was going to be writing for magazines or being that on-camera host at E Entertainment. But obviously I found out I was not passionate enough about celebrities. And I would still write for a magazine in a heartbeat, but these days I just feel like magazines are not the thing. And even though they have their websites with articles and stuff like that, I still feel like I would be better as their social media person. And what I love about Instagram is not only can you do video, but you can do live stories, which I love because I just love to show off what I’m doing when I’m doing it. And then I can also have the blog post aspect underneath my posts for the day. 

Neil Dudley: Well, those lives are really fun too because you get that interaction with your audience. I mean, that’s kind of really cool too. Okay, wow, time flies. I was just looking at my recorder. It’s like already almost 30 minutes. I do want to ask you, you’re a mom, and I wonder as a young girl, when you first kind of started thinking about having kids, were you wanting to have kids your whole life? Was it- okay, there you go. I’m wondering, are there other girls out there that might be dealing with the same thing who did want to have kids or who don’t want to have kids and who have just digestive issues and that kind of stuff. Seems like you did just fine. Is there- 

Gigi Eats: The thing is I was told I could never have children. And I was totally okay with that. Some doctors, actually some fertility doctors, and I was totally okay with that, never wanted children at all. And I have no maternal bone in my body whatsoever. And then randomly, surprise, hey, you’re pregnant. And I’m like oh goodness. And then it happened again because I have two of them. I had joked the other day actually saying I should send those doctors like a Christmas card being like Merry Christmas, what is this? You should probably no longer be a fertility doctor. But I was told these things, that I couldn’t have children, because of my intestinal issues. However, I really feel like the diet that I adopted, which I don’t want to call it keto all the way, I would call it extremely clean keto without dairy, without nuts, and all that kind of stuff because I have food allergies as well. But I have to dedicate the fact that I was able to get pregnant to my lifestyle and diet. And then my pregnancies, my second pregnancy, I was far more tired than my first one, but otherwise, I was fine. I didn’t gain weight. It wasn’t anything crazy. I just continued to live my lifestyle. Also, I’m kind of hardheaded. My mom is a doctor, so at least I have her advice, but she’s been living a low carb keto lifestyle her whole life too. But I’m very hardheaded, so when doctors would give me X, Y, Z advice, like don’t eat fish, or don’t drink an energy drink, I’m like, no, I’m going to do exactly what I did before because if this is meant to be, it’s meant to be. And as I’ve said, I never wanted children. So, I’m like, if it happens, it happens. And I know that’s terrible to say because I know there’s so many women out there who are really struggling with fertility issues, and I want to try and empower them by saying look at your diet, try to incorporate more omega-3 fatty acids, try and ditch the sugars and the processed foods that you might be consuming. And also really, really talk to your doctor about your hormonal issues because a lot of times, there’s estrogen imbalances or women suffer from PCOS and they don’t even know it, or there might be some sort of issue with sperm and eggs and all that kind of stuff. Granted, I’m no OB GYN, so you can’t quote me on all of this stuff, but I would just really encourage women and men, because you can go as a couple, to talk about the issues with their doctors, if they do in fact want kids. That being said, I have two crazy ones and I definitely on the regular showcase how crazy they are and how I’m struggling because I never looked at a book on how to be a parent, not that I would recommend anyone do that because every child is different and every situation’s different, but I never looked at any of those books. I was always like I’m just going wing this because, as I said, I have no maternal instinct whatsoever and I’m not going to lie, I’m kind of selfish. Like a lot of people are selfish, but I’m selfish in the respect that I want to work. I want to work sitting on the floor and playing with my kids. And it can be a struggle, but the nice thing is I have my partner in crime, my husband, who really helps me when I need my time to work. He definitely takes the kids and distracts them and vice versa. So, we’re a really good team in that respect. And I love my children. I would never obviously get rid of them, but I just, I’m not going to lie. And I say this a lot, I hate being a mother, but I love my children. I know it sounds weird. And I like to be very open about that because I know, I know there are other people out there who feel the same way. 

Neil Dudley: Sure. I just want to applaud you because that is so transparent, honest, real, and I think most women – I’m stumbling over my words – but most women would be totally afraid to admit those things. Just because of the mommy shaming that’s sure to come, like, oh my gosh, here come all the people that say, you don’t love your kids? No, I didn’t say that. I said I don’t love being a mom, but I love my kids, or I don’t want to be a mom, but I love my kids. I just thought that was really great.

Gigi Eats: Yeah. And again, I like to be very transparent on all levels, and I’m very honest about everything, which I think is one reason why people tend to follow me on social media because they know that I’m going to be 100% upfront with them. And I do a lot of like taste test reviews on my Instagram stories and stuff. And I have no problem with saying that something is utter garbage. 

Neil Dudley: Yeah. Hey, now, and here you go, folks, because we sent Gigi some products, and I promise, she’s going to give you the real insight. And I kind of love that. I think we’re responsible to it. If you get something from one of our products, you eat it, and it tastes like crap to you, I need to know that. Our company is accountable for those things. It’s one truth that we have to really embrace. We have improvements to make and we need to be willing to get the feedback. Of course, we think everything we do is great, but we’re biased, we’re unfair judges, and all those things. So, some of this real life truth, honest feedback is so valuable to a brand in my opinion. 

Gigi Eats: I love being brand Guinea pigs and letting you know honestly how I feel. But the best thing for you, though, is I love meat, so- 

Neil Dudley: I mean, I had a pretty good- It’s a pretty safe bet.

Gigi Eats: So, we’re good there. And then, I asked for sugar free products, and I love that you guys have sugar free products because so many companies just sneak in sugar where there should not be sugar. So, I very much appreciate that, and I’m sure the keto community in general does as well. So, I’m very excited.

Neil Dudley: Yeah. That little no sugar nugget was pure accident. And it came from a couple of things aligning in our company. My dad didn’t really like our bacon. He thought it was too sweet. And we had people on our team that were kind of really into paleo and CrossFit at the time, so they were trying to stay away from sugar. And those two kind of conversations came together, and we said, well, just make some bacon with no sugar. Let’s just see what happens. And it turned out to be our number one biggest product, we got Whole30 approved. It just ended up being a really-

Gigi Eats: I see it in the stores. I’m very excited. I’m like oh, got to buy, got to buy, got to buy. So, I am definitely a consumer of your product. 

Neil Dudley: Well, I appreciate that. Last thing for the listeners, go back into some of Pederson’s content and pay attention to the Whole30 PCOS journey. We’ve got a lady that works with us that has PCOS, which I had no clue. I was like super proud of myself because I could say polycystic ovary syndrome. Yeah, that’s right. Big win for Neil. It really wasn’t that big a win, but- The more I- so she awoke me to that truth. Now I’m hearing about it pretty often. Like I think a lot of ladies are out there feeling pain from these things. And so go check that out and pay attention to it. It might be part of your problem. Diet is so important. Gigi, last thing- I keep saying last thing, you’re probably already like, look, dude, you’re way over time, but I can’t help it. 

Gigi Eats: No way, I could talk for hours. 

Neil Dudley: What is- you’re so transparent and honest, this question’s probably mute, but I’ve got to ask it. What’s a thing that we could get out of you on this podcast that people won’t already know? Is there anything like, oh, go listen to that Pederson’s podcast because right towards the end, Gigi tells you about blank? 

Gigi Eats: Oh, oh, like a little- like something about me? 

Neil Dudley: You or a thing you don’t share often. I know it’s a tough one. I was like the second- 

Gigi Eats: It’s tough. Well, as you know, I am “salmon queen,” but fun fact, when I was younger, I hated salmon. And I ran away from home because my parents tried to feed me salmon. So, there’s that. 

Neil Dudley: Was that because of the flavor or because that it was an animal? 

Gigi Eats: Because of the flavor. I’ve always eaten animal my whole life. My dad was actually, and still is, he’s a chef. He’s not like a professional chef, but he would do it on the weekends. We’re French, so he very much was into the French cooking. My mom could kill a turkey and put it in the oven, and it would be the driest thing ever. But my dad was the cook of the family. So that’s another little fun fact. And we used to make donuts on the weekend and duck fat, deep fried French fries, and all that kind of stuff. That’s kind of where my passion for cooking came from. But then the nutrition side came from my mother who I said is a doctor. And she also lived the low carb keto lifestyle for a very long time. And when I was diagnosed with all my issues, she was the one who sort of helped me adopt this new lifestyle. I went to boarding school for snowboarding. That’s a little fun fact I don’t really talk too much about. 

Neil Dudley: Any siblings? 

Gigi Eats: Yes, I have two siblings. I have a brother and sister. 

Neil Dudley: Do any of them have similar things? 

Gigi Eats: Yeah, my brother actually can’t have gluten and dairy and eggs and bananas. He’s got some random issues. My mom has some similar issues as well. My sister has weird ones. My dad’s totally fine, normal. Or if he has issues, he doesn’t talk about them or mention them because he wants to be able to eat everything.  

Neil Dudley: Or they are not affecting his life. I’m a bit hypocritical because I really believe in all these things, but if you catch me in the Mexican food restaurant, I’m not going to be eating very healthy. It’s just a fact. 

Gigi Eats: Bring it on. 

Neil Dudley: Yes, that’s right. Tortillas, chips, beans, rice, all those things. My consequences for those bad decisions aren’t very high. I stay generally healthy. I don’t have pain from it. I mean, I definitely have some inflammation. I can feel a difference in my body when I’m eating really clean. I think everybody could and would if they bother trying it long enough. But then ultimately my consequences aren’t really bad if I go off the wagon. So, I think it’s part of that motivation. 

Gigi Eats: Yeah. I mean, there’s a lot of foods that I strictly do not eat, but then there are some foods out there that have very weird symptoms that actually show up like three days later. So, this is a fun little fact that I feel like people really need to take note of if they really are trying to get down to the bottom of what could be causing some sort of symptom. For instance, eggs, I should not be eating eggs. All of my allergy tests say do not eat eggs. They’re highly reactive. But once in a while with a recipe that I’m creating, I have to put an egg in there, or I get a juicy burger, I want an egg on top because that yolk porn is top notch in my mind. And I like eggs. So once in a while, I’ll have an egg or two, and I just know three days later, I am going to be extremely exhausted, like full body fatigue. I don’t want to get off the chair. I always work out every single morning. That’s just who I am. But like when I have eggs and three days later, I’m getting on the elliptical or on the treadmill, I’m just like, oh my God, I can’t do this. I need like 14 energy drinks as opposed to two. But it’s really fascinating because obviously your body takes X amount of hours to digest specific things. And protein is one of those macronutrients that takes longer to digest than say carbohydrates. So, I’m not surprised it takes a couple of days for it to kick, but a lot of people might not know that. So, I think that something to take away from this podcast is write down what you’re eating and really take note of what happens to you three or four days later, and then pinpoint the specific foods and then do an elimination diet and kind of figure out from there versus going to a doctor. At a certain point, you can go to a doctor and figure it out, but it’s kind of nice to do the dirty work prior to. So instead of them being like, okay, well now you go do X, Y, and Z, you can be like, I’ve already done that, so let’s go to the next step. 

Neil Dudley: Ladies and gentlemen, I can’t ask her any more questions. I mean, I could, but we’d just be talking for two hours, and nobody wants to listen to a two hour podcast, although I would love to make a two hour podcast. Yes, they do. Although I do appreciate your time so much. I’m looking forward to a high five at KetoCon. 

Gigi Eats: I’m so excited about KetoCon. You have no idea. 

Neil Dudley: Yeah. It’s a really great gathering of the community and people that are out there learning and living and loving all- 

Gigi Eats: I’m doing a meet and greet thing on that Friday at 2: 40. It’s going to be lots of prizes and surprises. Woo woo! 

Neil Dudley: All right, good. Hey everybody, 2:40 Friday, let’s meet there. I’d love to meet- I mean, you’re like a marketing genius. There’s so much value in the things that you do. So, I just want- like, even other entrepreneurs that listen to this show because they’re like trying to steal some of Pederson’s secret sauce or whatever, we don’t have- I mean, people like Gigi are who I’m stealing our secret sauce from that just have these skillsets that don’t abound in our world. And I like to try to get close to them and learn what I can. So, I’m selfish in that way. 

Gigi Eats: Yeah. And I’m not going to lie, I answer questions. So, if people have questions about marketing, social media, how to grow, how to be your own boss, intestinal issues, everything, I love to talk. I respond to everybody on social media. People think I’m crazy, but I literally respond to every single DM and email. And I want to help other people. So, any questions, throw them at me, I’m here. 

Neil Dudley: All right, send the questions, everybody. Thanks for listening. I do appreciate your time. I hope it was valuable. It’s a thing you don’t get back. We’ve got to make that worth your time when we do this. And for me, I loved it. Gigi, thank you so much. 

Gigi Eats: Thank you for having me.  

Neil Dudley: Hey, everybody. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Pederson’s Farms Podcast. It’s been a blast bringing this to you, and I sure hope you enjoyed it and found value. If you did, tell a friend, share it out on social media, hit that subscribe button, or go check us out at pedersonsfarms.com. We sure hope you do. And thanks for being here.