# How kidney stones can save your life Source: https://kidneystonediet.com/preview/ep/how-kidney-stones-can-save-your-life/ Published: 2023-06-27 --- [![Kidney Stone Diet Podcast](https://kidneystonediet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Kidney-Stone-Diet-Podcast-1-1024x1024.jpg)](https://kidneystonediet.com/preview/podcast/) [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUGs8IETWvM)[Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-kidney-stones-can-save-your-life/id1528474326?i=1000618499552&uo=4)[Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/29gxYbJM5QQYHbjpKS24kr)[Amazon Music](https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/0868148d-adfd-411d-b3f2-71a0ad1461ec) June 27, 2023 --- ![Jeff Sarris](https://kidneystonediet.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Jeff-Sarris-150x150.jpg) Jeff Sarris Host ![Jill Harris](https://kidneystonediet.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Kidney-Stone-Diet-Jill-Harris-150x150.jpg) Jill Harris Host This week, Jill talks about the unexpected benefit to having kidney stones. This podcast is designed to entertain and inform — not provide medical advice. Always consult your doctor before starting any treatment. **HAVE A QUESTION? _**\ Leave us a voicemail at (773) 789-8763. \ **SUPPORT THE SHOW _** - [Join the Patreon](https://patreon.com/kidneystonediet) - Rate Kidney Stone Diet on [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kidney-stone-diet/id1528474326) or [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/5O9BXOJUFnnT6JSgfxramx?si=T6lIOozgTUO8K6MobpVWsQ) - **BUY JILL’S FAVORITE PRODUCTS _** - [Silk Coconut Milk, Unsweetened](https://amzn.to/3jUd9x8) - [Good Karma Non Dairy Unsweetened Flaxmilk](https://amzn.to/3vQZN7J) - [Ripple Unsweetened Pea Milk](https://amzn.to/3GOP7wB) - [Oatly Unsweetened Oat Milk](https://amzn.to/3Gvjwi2) - [Healthy ‘N Fit 100% Egg Protein](https://amzn.to/3lgfXWb) - [Fairlife Core Power Elite High Protein Shake, Vanilla](https://amzn.to/3jlVKNV) - [Hydroflask](https://amzn.to/3CAD2bU) **WORK WITH JILL _** - [Kidney Stone Prevention Course](https://kidneystonediet.com/kidney-stone-prevention) - [Kidney Stone Diet Meal Plans](https://kidneystonediet.com/mealplans/) - [Safe Snacks and Desserts Ebook](https://kidneystonediet.com/ebook/) - [24 Hour Urine Collection Analysis](https://kidneystonediet.com/24-hour-urine-analysis/) - [Private Coaching](https://kidneystonediet.com/coaching/) **KIDNEY STONE RESOURCES _** - [Kidney Stone Diet](https://kidneystonediet.com/) - [Kidney Stone Diet Resources](https://kidneystonediet.com/resources/) - [Oxalate Food List](https://kidneystonediet.com/oxalate-list/) - [Kidney Stone Diet Recipes](https://kidneystonediet.com/recipes/) - [Meat Protein Calculator](https://kidneystonediet.com/protein/) - [Kidney Stone Diet Podcast](https://kidneystonediet.com/podcast) \ **WHO IS JILL HARRIS? _**\ Jill is a nurse and health coach that specializes in educating patients on kidney stone prevention. For more than 20 years she’s helped patients understand that kidney stones can be prevented with the right treatment plan. It’s one thing to be told to lower oxalate or drink more water, but HOW do you do it? That’s where she comes in. Through the educational resources at [kidneystonediet.com](https://kidneystonediet.com/), stone formers can learn everything they need to know to significantly lower new stone risk. *Some of the links above may be affiliate links which means that we earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!\*\ —— ***Kidney Stone Diet is a SPYR Podcast _****\*\ [*More SPYR Podcasts*](http://spyr.fm/)*_*\ Starting Now / By Amara ## Chapters - 00:00:00 Navigating Life Stress and Group Support - 00:01:41 Balancing Caregiving Duties and Mindful Eating Habits - 00:05:57 Creating Novel Memories To Slow Perception of Time - 00:10:09 Overcoming Perfectionism and Embracing Dietary Flexibility - 00:14:06 Surrounding Yourself With Inspiring People For Growth - 00:17:03 How Kidney Stone Prevention Triggers Health Transformations - 00:19:49 Building Sustainable Habits and Accessing Prevention Tools ## Transcript ### Navigating Life Stress and Group Support 00:00:00 The following is designed to entertain and inform, not provide medical advice. Always consult your doctor before starting any new treatment. 00:00:20 Jeff Sarris Welcome back to the Kidney Stone Diet podcast, the show about reducing your kidney stone risk and living your best life. I'm your host and fellow student, Jeff Sarris. 00:00:28 Jill Harris And I'm Jill Harris, your little old kidney stone prevention nurse. 00:00:34 Jeff Sarris And we are back at it remotely recording the episodes. So that is a little a little downer cuz it's always fun in person. But just it works better this way, and then we meet in person when we can. But… 00:00:47 Jill Harris Yeah, and then yeah. And then yeah, cause I don't like I can't give you a hug or anything, that's a bummer. But you know, we it's hard because of our schedules. We're busy, and you know, it's it's a lot to get together and do this. Unfortunately, I wish we lived very close to each other and our schedules weren't so crazy, so we do our best, people, to get you those live episodes here and there. We'll do some in fall, for sure. We'll do some in a month or two. We'll do more. It's just so much fun for us, too. And then I get to see Amara. 00:01:15 Jeff Sarris Yeah, it's always fun just to come together, just changes it up. And it changes the dynamic, too, which is fun. Just cause through the computer is always a little different. But yeah, you were talking beforehand about this week in the calls, you were diving into some of the sort of live a better life side of things around stuff. I don't know if you wanted to touch on that at all, just before we dive into the question this week. ### Balancing Caregiving Duties and Mindful Eating Habits 00:01:41 Jill Harris Yeah, it's interesting because, you know, with the Kidney Stone Prevention Course—and I know people, "Oh, here she goes selling that course." I ain't selling nothing, folks. There's plenty of free stuff that we provide. So, don't buy nothing if you don't want to buy anything. But what I love about my course is what we do in the in the accountability calls that come with it for the first month. And so, in those accountability calls, we're not just always talking about how much oxalates in rice. We're talking about the reasons why we eat, how to stay mindful. A lot of us are the same age. We're getting older. Our parents are sick. We're stressed with that. Things are going on. We may, like me, still have children at home. So, you're balancing all this stuff. You're working a lot, all the things. And so, we talk about in those calls, how do you stay compliant to a healthy lifestyle when your life is falling apart on certain days, right? So, how do you do that? And people show up for those calls, and they talk about what's going on, so they have a safe place to put it instead of going into their kitchen and eating their feelings. So, those calls are amazing. I love them also because we're talking about real life stuff. So, this week we were talking about—and the reason I'm talking about these calls is because these topics, I like sharing on this channel in general. The average age for this channel is 50s plus, 60s, 70s. I think, actually, it's 70s if you look at the demographics. So, it's my age and older. And so, you know, I'm always talking to patients about in that group, we're on the back half of our life, and I know people like, "Oh, geez, this is a happy show." But it's look, guys, it's it's just real. All of us are going to leave the earth one day, and we should think about these kinds of things. And what we were talking about this week is, you know, basically there's you know, you should be spending your time thinking about what is actually important in your life. Think about it. Think about simple things like just joy and how much you're getting each day. Are there days that are going by 1, 2, 25, 72 days going by, and there's absolutely no joy? You might want to rethink things. Because we're not aging backwards. Time's moving. And as the older we get, man, God, it goes so fast. I mean, it's already July in a minute, right? So, by the time this airs, it will be the last week of June. And so, it goes like that. And so, every day I do a little check with myself. And I'm like, "Did I get any joy today?" "No." And that could be as simple as, you know, having a good conversation with Finn, my dog, looking at the moon when it's full, looking at stars, whatever. Doesn't have to be a crazy things. Did I get enough joy? If the answer is no, then I want to wake up the next day and search for a little bit more. And maybe trim my to-do list, because that shit's always going to be on a list, you know. Don't don't keep adding and worrying about that. It's not done because you're not thinking about that kind of stuff on your deathbed. So, in our in our accountability calls, we're talking about real life stuff and really the meaning of life, what it means to each of us, how we want to get a better one, what are the things we're holding onto unnecessarily that are keeping us feeling heavy emotionally, and also many people heavy weight-wise. So, sifting through all that stuff, so we truly can live a better life. So, those are the kinds of—and people probably like, "Oh geez, I don't want to join that course!" But I'm telling you, it's so awesome because it really does ground you as to what is important on a day-to-day basis. You know, Jeff? And I know that you also love talking about and thinking about these kinds of things, so, you know, that's what we do there. And we talk about kidney stones, obviously. But go ahead. ### Creating Novel Memories To Slow Perception of Time 00:05:57 Jeff Sarris Well, yeah, it's just it's There's so much there's so much monotony. We all sort of we can build this life where we don't even realize that it's zooming by. And like one of the things, too, cuz you mentioned how life goes faster as we age, and it comes down to laying down new memories. Like there's been all this research that there's just less novelty in our lives the longer we go on. So it actually feels like it's quicker, but when you can reflect and find these moments of joy, find these things to lay down a new memory, it'll actually slow life down. Like it's it's plausible to do it, because it's all our perception just of how everything feels. 00:06:40 Jill Harris Absolutely. And I just don't think we think about this or talk about this in our circles enough. And so, you know, it goes along with nourish your nourishing your body in a way that brings you strength, that makes you feel energized, that makes you feel confident. That's what is That is what a healthy lifestyle is. Nourishing your body—of course, you're going to have a hot dog and crinkle fries some sometimes. Who cares? Just get right back on track. But moving your body, nourishing your body, and also nourishing your mind is part of that equation. And in order to nourish your mind, you need or it will at least be helpful to start being reflective. Are you living the best life that you can given what life has thrown at you that day? Some weeks are great, man. There's not a lot of stuff going on. You're sailing through it, and then all of a sudden, something comes up and you're like, "Somebody got sick," or "Somebody's in the hospital," or "Somebody died," or whatever. And then you can only do your best for that day. It ain't going to be like it just was on the easy rider days. Now, you have to adjust. So, people will come to that group and say, you know, "This is going on. I totally fell off our plan here. I went out to eat. It was just quicker." And I say, "And, of course! Of course. You're doing the best with what you had thrown at you that day." So, what happens with people is that they have their plan, a week or two go by and everything's going wrong in their life, and they don't follow their plan, and then they're like, "Well, forget it! I just screwed up two weeks." No, you didn't screw up nothing. Life happened. The third week, better, good. Get back on your plan. And that's how we stay consistent. Consistent doesn't mean every single day for the rest of your life you're not going to have something thrown at you and have to make do. That's not what consistency means. It means are you getting back on track as soon as you are able to. That's what being consistent is. That's what being mindful is. Some days are not going to be so great, folks. You're not going to get your water in, you're going to eat too much salt, you had a sugar craving, and whatever. It's okay. Know that, get back on track when you can. So, every day living your best life means doing the best with what the day brings you. It does not mean perfection and too many people fall prey to perfection. That doesn't work. So, we need to just let the pressure off of ourselves. More pressure we have, the more we're trying to be perfect, we're going to binge somewhere, folks. It's impossible. You also have to enjoy life. So, you know, the things that we talk about in that accountability group are really complex and very meaningful. I get so much joy out of that group because people are vulnerable, they share what they're going through, we do it in a safe place, everyone is supportive and loving. And you know what? Sometimes you don't have that right in your house. So, to have a place to put that, well, it's just really super special is all I can say. And I and I without even putting words in people's mouth, anybody that has gone to my accountability groups would say the same thing. They're pretty special and we are a family there, so, you know, we learn a lot. I do, too, quite frankly, so, yeah. ### Overcoming Perfectionism and Embracing Dietary Flexibility 00:10:09 Jeff Sarris Yeah, absolutely. Do you have any advice for letting go of perfectionism? Because like I know that is, like for me, that's a huge challenge. Like it's not it's not simple. 00:10:21 Jill Harris No, it's not simple. So, there's a few things I like about myself. One of them is I'm not perfect at so many things. The things that I'm really focused on, I want to be perfect, but I'm so not good at so many other things that I've learned that balance. A lot of patients that come to me, they're working with me privately or they're working in the Kidney Stone Prevention Course and they are look, they're throwing money at this problem, and they want to get it done right. So, most people, many, many people who work with me are perfectionists, and we spend a lot of time unraveling that and letting people understand that flexibility will give them their life back. Flexibility will give them their life back. We cannot be perfect, and this is why diets don't work. Also, people who tend to be perfectionists are not the most relaxed people in the world. I know the things that I'm trying to be perfect about, I get like this. And if you're watching if you're if you're just listening, my face is very scrunched up and my shoulders are high, and I get really stressed trying to be perfect in the areas that I care about most, right? And so, when I feel my body feeling stressed, I will check in with myself, and I'm like, " it's good enough, sister." And one of the few So, I have these sayings in my own life that I try to bestow upon patients. And the reason my patients say I'm so wise is because I've screwed up a lot. And so, I've learned a lot, because I have failed a lot. And we also need to stop fearing failure so much. Failure is like a gift, and we should as long as we're learning from it, it's a gift. If we're not, then well, that's just silly. We should learn from it, but don't be afraid of failure. So, I have learned to say to myself, "Girl, it's good enough! It's good enough." It's good enough, and I try to let it go. But this is just like a healthy lifestyle is a practice. You're not going to be a perfectionist today and be more flexible tomorrow. You're going to start thinking about it, and then you're going to practice it. And when you do start creating more flexibility in your lifestyle, in the way you manage your expectations of yourself, well, your whole your whole body will relax, your mind will relax, and you'll get more joy. So, sometimes joy isn't just looking at the moon or buying a pocketbook, joy is about how we forgive ourselves, how we let go of the fear, how we start looking at ourselves in a way that says, "You know what? Maybe I should reevaluate the way I'm doing something, because I'm not feeling so great. I feel too much pressure and stress." And as we get older, we really want to work on that, too. It's really, really important. Because, again, no one's making no one's like, "Oh my God, I'm so stressed. Honey, get me a bag of lettuce!" No one's saying that. They want crappy food, right? So, when we deal with our stress or we notice it and then we can make small little changes every day we're practicing, you know, everything just starts fitting together. But as I always say, think months to change these things, months to start changing, and then the rest of your life to keep practicing it, because you'll always want to go back to old habits. That's ingrained in our brain, those old habits, right? So… 00:13:48 Jeff Sarris Yeah, change is hard. Like the whole thing with the body is trying to stay to keep stasis, like homeostasis, keep everything level as it was, as it is. So, it's like it's so much easier. That's why it's so much easier to put on weight than take weight off, because the body just wants to stay there, and our brain's just going to be the same way. ### Surrounding Yourself With Inspiring People For Growth 00:14:06 Jill Harris Absolutely, it's so interesting, isn't it? Yeah, absolutely. So, Jeff and I, folks, love talking about these kinds of things. And it's it's stuff we want everyone to really start bringing into their own lives, being more mindful about how you're spending your days every day. Is there enough joy in it? Some days there will be more than other others as far as joy, but really being conscious of how you're spending the rest of your life. It's so super important, you know? And who you're spending your time with for the rest of your life, right? Don't want to hang around people that bring you down or are negative. I always like being with people that are better than me. And I don't even mean it in a bad way, like I'm bad. I'm just saying I like to be with people that lift me up, smarter than me so I can learn more, doing interesting things. Oh, look at that! Look at that! I want to learn from people. So, ever since I've been really small, I've always sought out—well, I'm still small, younger. 00:15:06 Jeff Sarris [laughter] 00:15:07 Jill Harris So much younger. [laughter] Ever since I've been a young per- ever since I was young, I always looked for people that were smarter and better. And again, not like I don't have confidence in myself, just something I can aspire to. So, those have always been my friends, people I'm really close to. I like that. Like a lot of people are maybe jealous, or I want I like I'm like, "Oh wow, that person's interesting. I'm going to learn from them." I love that. That's why you and I, we love YouTube and, you know, podcasts and everything. I'm always searching people who have more things to another way to look at things or say things, so then I can talk to my patients and students about it. We could talk about it here, right? Because, Jeff, and then I'll shut the hell up, here's the deal: I don't know why we're taking another breath unless we're learning and growing. I mean, what are we doing sitting in our chair watching Wheel of Fortune for the rest of our life for the next 20 years? What are we doing, folks? It's a wake-up call! It's like, how do you want to spend your day? That's something you get to decide, honestly. That's it, I'm done. I know. People are like, "Well, let's talk about chia seeds!" Jill, shut up! 00:16:15 Jeff Sarris [laughter] No, but this is so important, because also, if you have the diet perfect and you're not living, and you're so focused on the diet, sort of what is what's the point? Like why optimize a part of life that should enrich one's life if that actually takes from it? And like, and I like how you said that, being around people who lift you up. Like, we want the we want it to be additive—the people we surround ourselves with, our experiences—like, our diet and lifestyle. We want it to be additive to what we're experiencing day to day. If it's if it's taking away from us, it's it's worth reflecting and trying to see, "Okay, why does it take away? What needs to be changed for me to just live, to really experience this shot that I have at life?" ### How Kidney Stone Prevention Triggers Health Transformations 00:17:03 Jill Harris Absolutely, I think it's so important. And here's the other thing: when you do start incorporating more activity into your life, eating well, this term "lifestyle," I mean, anybody that's worked with me or anybody that—you don't have to work with me—anybody that's watched the podcasts, been on YouTube, been on the Facebook page, there's thousands and thousands of people there. Everybody that you don't have to pay to learn this. That's why we give out all this free information. But anybody that has incorporated these changes because they got a kidney stone, they will say, "What I have gained from these changes, of course, I want to stop making kidney stones, but I've gained I don't I've gotten off my blood pressure medication. My A1C is lowered. But more importantly, Jill," they'll say, "I have more energy now than I ever have, ever! And I lost weight, Jill, and I wasn't even trying, cause I was just focused on the goals of the Kidney Stone Diet and making sure I don't get another stone. And now I'm 100 lb lighter." That's not an exaggeration, folks, I have tons of people that have lost so much weight, because now they're paying attention to what they're putting in their mouth, albeit the kidney stone pain got their ass here. But once it did, they were like, "You know what? I feel freaking great!" And until you have a perspective of how crappy you have felt, you don't get that until you start feeling good. And so, this is why we can talk about kidney stone stuff for all these years, because it changes people's lives. That disgusting, horrible experience you had with forming a stone has now change- well, they change their lives, because they never want to go through that again. And it's it's busted their life just into a whole other stratosphere! So, it's really amazing what you can do when you're mindful and also flexible. Because you have to be flexible, like we started the conversation, because you're going to want a freaking ice cream cone sometimes. Nobody cares about that. It's always about what we're doing over time. These one-off little foods that we have cause we love them, nobody cares, enjoy them. Don't beat yourself up, and that's what part of being flexible is, and move on. But it's really amazing, it really is, what you can do with your life if you have the reflection, and then if you have the dedication, and if you have the consistency, your whole perspective changes. Your whole life can change, honestly, honestly. 00:19:45 Jeff Sarris Yeah, we have more control over our outcomes than we tend to believe. ### Building Sustainable Habits and Accessing Prevention Tools 00:19:49 Jill Harris Yes, we certainly do. So often we just want to say, "Oh well, I guess this is just it now for me." [laughter] It's just not it! I've had people come to me year after year after year and say that, and, you know, by the end of the year, they change their whole life! And I always say, it takes six months to a year. Don't be falling for, "Oh, it took two weeks to get abs of steel." That's bullshit, people! It's not. It's not going to happen. It takes time, dedication, commitment, being kind to yourself, being mindful, and it's going to be the best work you've ever done in your whole life, because the gifts you get from it, well, you I promise you. I promise you, you'll understand once you get there. 00:20:31 Jeff Sarris Absolutely. Well, I think that's a good place to wrap this week, and we'll just get to a question next week. 00:20:38 Jill Harris Yeah, I do, too. We didn't have a question. Did we have a question? Didn't we? Well, [laughter] we'll do it next time. We'll do it. This is long, yeah. 00:20:45 Jeff Sarris Yeah, this'll be good. But if you're out there with a question, the number is 773-789-8763 and then we will feature you on a future episode. And you can find everything, the accountability group as part of the Kidney Stone Prevention Course at kidneystonediet.com. 00:21:03 Jill Harris It's on sale! 00:21:03 Jeff Sarris Oh yeah, it's on sale still as of this recording. 00:21:05 Jill Harris Yeah, plus the smoothie book comes with it. So, you're actually saving 50 bucks, people. We have the cheapest course on the internet with the most experience, by the way, half what other people are charging, just so you know, cause we roll that way here. 00:21:19 Jeff Sarris Yeah, and so many free resources: the oxalate list, which if you pop your email in, you'll get a downloadable printable version of it, of all the safe oxalate foods. The foods that you can eat, instead of being all reductive, it is additive again, and showing the myriad things that are good that you are you have no worries about consuming. And we also have the meal plans and everything else you can find at kidneystonediet.com. 00:21:48 Jill Harris The newsletter! 00:21:49 Jeff Sarris Oh yeah, the weekly newsletter. 00:21:50 Jill Harris Like this week's newsletter, I'm giving a free recipe in there, and it's a doozy, too, people. Just free if you're on the newsletter, so that's worth it, too, to sign up for that off-rate. 00:22:00 Jeff Sarris Yeah. So, thanks again for tuning in, and we will see you next time. 00:22:04 Jill Harris Thanks, guys. Please subscribe, press the red button. We love you. Get some joy today!