PP Babe: Justine Campbell

A dear friend of our Founder, Bethany, (and our entire team!), Justine Campbell is a contagious ray of sunshine and serious wealth of knowledge. This mama has made such an impact in the lives of women and couples over the past decade through her coaching + courses and we can’t wait to share her story + wisdom with you. Not only does she nerd out on nutrition and tirelessly research information, she passionately shares all she’s discovered to empower her community to lead healthier, happier, and more fruitful lives – in all the ways. 😉

I’ve always been interested in health and nutrition–I have a family history of obesity and a lot of health issues and I think I knew from a young age that I didn’t want any part of that. This interest…or obsession, rather, led me to study nutrition in college and I became a Registered Dietitian back in 2009. Once I began working as an inpatient clinical dietitian at a well-known medical center, I really struggled with the “sick-care” model I was seeing first hand which led me to dig into the world of functional nutrition.

This completely changed my perspective on the healing power of food and a healthy lifestyle and finally gave me the confidence that I could truly help people. That I could give them some of the tools they needed to live their best life. I started a little nutrition business and saw anyone and everyone I could, but in 2014, my husband and I experienced a miscarriage that kind of flipped our world upside down.

I thought I was healthy…how could this happen? Am I broken? Will we ever be able to have a baby? This was when I was introduced to the world of preconception preparation by my own Functional Nutritionist and it quite literally changed my entire life–from my personal health journey to my career path.

As I openly shared about our struggle with miscarriage and what we were doing to overcome it (physically, emotionally, etc.) on social media and a podcast I co-hosted at the time called Colorful Eats, I started hearing from woman after woman that they’d been through the same or similar situation and had never told a soul or had never heard anyone else talk about it the way I had. I realized this was an area of health that was rarely talked about and most women and couples felt alone and broken along their journey to baby with little to no hope. So I decided I was going to speak up about infertility + loss, try to break down some of the stigma around it (like, you are not alone or broken!) and educate + empower couples to take charge of their fertility health.

If I really sit into this question and think big, what inspires me the most is my children. And your children. And their children. And that couple’s kids over there. Thinking about the power of food and lifestyle on our own health and how that, in turn, can affect positive change in quite literally every area of our lives…this ultimately creates a more balanced and nurturing environment for our (future) little ones. That’s huge. I think it’s been my own experience and seeing the fruits of our healthy eating + living labor unfold first hand in our daughter’s health that has inspired me to lead this movement, knowing that the practice of preconception prep has the potential to have this beautiful + life-giving ripple effect.

On the daily, this has just become real life. Which is what I hope for when I teach couples how to nourish and care for their precious bodies and how to navigate their environment. For me, it’s about being aware of how my body feels as I eat and move and live. And it changes as I shift from one season of life to the next. My food philosophy is super simple (focus on real food + listen to how your body responds) because we are all so different and our food intake should mirror that fact. It’s not about “good” and “bad” food or doing everything perfect, it’s about making little daily choices that create a big ripple effect throughout your entire life. It all sounds powerful, but what it boils down to is living life with intention.

What we do before conception and during pregnancy plays a huge role in the health of our little ones (or future little ones) long term…like into their adult years. To me, this is the ultimate form of prevention…getting to the true root. The food you choose to eat and the way you live prior to even “trying” for baby, has the ability to improve your health even down to a genetic level, in turn, upleveling the health of the genes you and your significant other pass on to your little ones.

As you eat more nourishing whole foods, as you begin to identify toxins in your environment and remove those you have control over (think beauty + skincare, cleaning products, linens, etc.), as you become more aware of your stress and learn healthy ways to deal, you naturally create more internal balance–healthier sperm and eggs, effective detoxification, balanced hormones…the list goes on and on. These are all areas I teach in-depth within my course, one-on-one with my clients and within my social channels.

Preparing your body for a healthy pregnancy is all about approaching conception mindfully. It’s about making upgrades to your daily life–food, environment, products, stress, sleep, etc.–that have the ability to positively impact your overall health which ultimately supports fertility health.

Oh where do I even begin!? PP deodorant has been a staple of mine for years (like the old days when Bethany was slangin’ deo from her farmhouse kitchen!) and I’m pretty sure everyone in my life is a believer now! I am a huge fan of the Cleansing Oil, Geranium Facial Mist and the Plumping Serum – I use these 3 every night before bed and I am absolutely obsessed. And not only because the products are squeaky clean and work so well, but I love that they’ve allowed me to create a night-time self-care ritual that encourages a beautiful calm at the end of my day (and has been the thing I look forward to most on those really challenging mommying days).

My food philosophy is all about keeping it real, being intentional and allowing it to bring you joy. Focus on nutrient dense, whole foods as much as possible and listen to how your body responds (symptoms like bloating, headaches, mood swings, etc. are the way your body asks for help). The food we eat quite literally has the ability to act like medicine in our daily lives–how empowering is that!? Because you have the ability to make choices every day that bring you health. But let’s be real, we all have a sweet tooth here and there or crave Grandma’s classic family recipes so here’s my take–figure out how to uplevel your favorite recipes and desserts by creating real food versions. Think organic ingredients (whenever possible), as much fresh produce as possible and making swaps that matter (like using zucchini or butternut squash instead of regular pasta or using raw honey or coconut sugar instead of processed white sugar).

And the healthy life is not about perfection, so don’t even go there. It’s about eating and living with intention, listening to what works best for your individual body and creating a healthy environment (both inside and out) that brings you joy.

Wow, thank you. It’s been quite the journey over the past decade or two and now, as a mom to two incredible little girls, the juggling act is in full effect! What I’ve learned is there is no such thing as “balance”…it’s more about figuring out what works best and feels best for your life. It can be so easy to compare your situation to someone on Instagram or Facebook, but you rarely ever see or know the whole story. During this season of my life, with two young children, I have learned to be incredibly focused during the hours I have childcare and make the most of my work time. It has definitely changed things, but I feel like my work means more than ever today as I reach for my dreams and share my passion for helping and supporting others with them. Ultimately, my joy comes from the Lord – walking in His will for my life, being able to do what I love on the daily and having a family that loves and supports me in that. I believe joy is a choice…it’s a mindset you live in even when things around you aren’t going great.

Photography by Stefanie Johnson