Carolina Salazar On: Habits That Upgraded Her Life, Feminine Energy, & Cycle Syncing...

"you have to learn to validate yourself and choose consistency over perfection"

Meet Carolina Salazar, health coach, hormone specialist, and content creator based in NYC. She does it all from hosting a Podcast and creating inspiring content to teaching women about cycle sycing and tapping into your feminine energy. Also you'll want to make her recipes ASAP.

When it comes to finding balance, finding freedom with food, and upgrading your mindset, Carolina is someone you'll definitely want to hear from.

So let's get into it...

Can you introduce yourself for the readers?

Hi! My name is Carolina Salazar-Paranhos and I am a holistic health coach, Youtuber and the podcast host of Inner Growth! I work with perfectionistic women to help them strengthen their relationship with food and their bodies, develop more self compassion, and let go of a 0-100 approach in order to find balance. I share content about body love, food freedom, mindset, recipes and self care!

Walk us through your journey to becoming a content creator & holistic health coach…

I started creating content in May of 2020 – at the time, I was doing a workout challenge called 75 Hard and wanted to share the journey on TikTok. I was also experiencing a big transformation in my life after starting therapy, reading self growth books, learning to cook and meditate, so I also began sharing content about that.  Though I had struggled for many years with trying to shrink myself and not having a great relationship with food and movement, it was after implementing these shifts that I learned about the power of living a holistically healthy life, so I enrolled in IIN to become a holistic health coach that summer.

Back in 2020 there weren’t many people talking about wellness on TikTok so my account grew quickly – I got to 10K followers by August, and then 100K by October/November. Going into the fall of 2020 and my senior year of undergrad at Wharton, I started to grow on Instagram, completed IIN, launched my podcast, and continued to learn about wellness. Although I knew deep down that my biggest dream was to become a full time content creator and entrepreneur, I wasn’t sure how I was going to get there, and post-grad I ended up moving to NYC and going into a marketing role at a big company. 

A little while later, I got a talent manager, which really helped me grow my creator income, and I also changed jobs to work at a startup in the creator space, while also continuing to pour into my content. I eventually went to part time, then decided to take the leap and go all in on content in November of 2022. Since then, I launched my YouTube channel and grew my Inner Growth 1-1 coaching business, and I am so grateful that I was persistent and now get to do that full time!

What does a typical day in the life look like for you?

Truly every single day is different for me – but I usually spent my weeks doing a mix of filming for YouTube and editing, creating short form content, having 1-1 calls with my clients, keeping track of emails and deliverables, and shooting brand deals that I am working on! I also always make time for some self care daily – whether that’s simple skincare in the morning, working while on my walking pad, listening to podcasts, doing a workout, journaling or watching a comfort show with my partner in the evenings!

What is the best piece of business advice you’ve ever been given?

Strength isn’t the absence of fear – it’s the willingness to act even if you feel afraid.

3 habits that have upgraded your life?

#1. Adding electrolytes to my water, I love the brand LMNT!

#2. Using Google Calendar and actually adding everything on there.

#3. Walking more regularly!!

Did you have to push through any limiting beliefs to get to where you are now? If so, how has your life changed once you pushed through those limiting beliefs?

ABSOLUTELY. When you’re going outside of your comfort zone, it is so natural that limiting beliefs will pop up. I definitely had to be mindful of who I shared my dreams with because a lot of the time, people don’t fully believe in you until you are successful, so you have to learn to validate yourself and choose consistency over perfection. Subconscious rewiring, listening to high vibrational frequencies, visualization meditations, vision boarding, and present moment journaling were all very powerful in helping me push through!!

If you could go back to the start of your career, what would you do differently?

To be honest, I don’t really think I would change much because I am a big believer that everything I went through happened for a reason and was preparing for the “me” I am today. 

Wellness, Cycle Syncing, & Gut Health

3 actionable steps someone can take to heal their gut?

One of the best things you can do is to find a practitioner you trust and get a GI map done. Without a GI map it’s really hard to know what’s going on in your gut!! Two other really powerful things are regulating your nervous system (through slowing down, getting adequate sleep, meditation, breathwork, knowing when to stop for the day and reducing overstimulation), and drinking enough water!

What inspired you to learn about cycle syncing and how has it impacted your life?

I actually first came into contact with cycle syncing because of TikTok – I can’t fully remember the first post I came across about it. After realizing that women’s bodies are hormonally VERY different than men’s bodies, and that we experience hormonal fluctuations throughout our cycle, I knew I wanted to be able to connect with myself in that way, so I went off birth control in March 2021, educated myself on the cycle and began to track each phase of it. It was a huge learning curve to understand my body post-pill, but it has been so worth it! Now, I am so much more self aware, I am able to maximize my productivity, feel more empowered about my fertility and also show myself more self compassion at different parts of my cycle.

Best tips for someone who wants to start cycle syncing & doesn’t know where to start?

The first step is learning about the cycle because it’s impossible to cycle sync if you don’t even understand it in the first place! I have a cycle syncing course ($99) and a hormone handbook ($19.99) with all the information you need to understand the cycle!

After that, I would recommend starting to keep track of cycle markers – especially your cervical mucus! That can give you a lot of information about where you are at in the cycle and help you understand what your body is like in each phase.

What does a typical day of eating look like for you?

Again, this changes day by day, but on average, a day of eating for me usually looks like: a greek yogurt bowl with fruit, granola and seeds for breakfast right after waking up and a matcha americano or latte around 1.5-2 hours after waking; then for lunch and dinner I usually either have a homemade nourish bowl or an easy sheet pan meal with a high quality protein, healthy fats, complex carbs and vegetables!

Your current favorite wellness hack?

Having a balanced protein packed  breakfast within an hour of waking up – I used to resist this so much but after implementing it my body has been feeling INCREDIBLE and I am so much more energized.

Beauty Favorites & Tapping Into Your Feminine Energy

How do you tap into your feminine energy/ when do you feel like the best version of yourself?

I tap into my feminine energy by allowing myself to go about my days with a bit of structure but enough room to flow within that and make decisions based on my intuition. I also tap into my feminine by going on nature walks, taking myself on solo dates to the park, tanning on my roof, listening to music, dancing, expressing myself through my outfits, allowing myself to ask for and receive help, learning to disconnect from work, taking epsom salt baths and being caring and loving with my partner.

3 skin care products you can't live without…

I am obsessed with the True Botanicals ginger turmeric cleansing balm, the Osea Undaria Algae Body Oil and the Kora Organics Noni Glow Radiant Face Oil.

What are your favorite clean makeup brands and products… ?

Anything from ILIA – I love the hydrating lip balm in the shade Faded and the concealer. I am also obsessed with the Kjaer Weis Invisible Touch Liquid Foundation, Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Luminous Powder Blush and the Jones Road Sunkissed Miracle Balm.

What makes you glow?

More than anything, I believe your glow comes when you grow – when you learn to deepen your relationship with yourself and learn to love yourself regardless of your imperfections. That said, I also believe that drinking enough water, eating whole foods as much as you can, and switching to matcha over coffee (as much as possible) helps a LOT too. When it comes to products, I am a big fan of face oil and gua sha, the Tan Luxe tanning mist (it gives the best tan), and the Jones Road Sunkissed Miracle Balm.

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Where you can follow Carolina:

@thecarolinalifestyle on IG, YouTube, & TikTok

Podcast: Inner Growth