Episode 166: "I never really had a good foundation with nutrition." Amy S.'s Story

From skepticism and self-doubt to confidence and consistency, Amy's journey highlights what can happen when nutrition becomes a skill instead of another diet. 

If you prefer video, you can watch these podcast episodes on YouTube as well: https://www.youtube.com/@mindstrongfitness2541

Transcript

Becoming MindStrong Episode 166: "I never really had a good foundation with nutrition." Amy S.'s Story

Speaker 1  0:00  
Welcome back to the Becoming Mindstrong podcast. My name is Rachel, and I'm the founder and CEO of Mindstrong, where we are here for an education. The last thing that I ever want to be in this nutrition world is Rachel's 12 week diet is yet another diet where on the other side we have no idea what to do, so we gain all the weight back. We are here for an education. One of my favorite lines that we hear from our members time and time again is, I couldn't undo this unless I consciously tried. Right, you hear me say a lot on the podcast, if you know how to ride a bike, try to fall off the bike. When our brain is wired for a skill, it is - you can't unsee it, you've got the skill for life. And I'm giving that preference today because I am so excited to introduce you to Amy Inside Ignite, our signature 12 week program. We have women who come to us who never had to think about this stuff before menopause. They've always just kind of eaten, their body responded, they knew what to do, it wasn't an issue. Menopause hit suddenly, the old tool bag of our 20s, 30s, early 40s doesn't work anymore. And then we have some women who have yo-yo dieted for the past 2030 years, right? When they look back on their history, it's been this diet - lose a few pounds, gain it back, start again the following Monday, right? Then this diet, we lose a few more pounds, we gain back even more, we start again another Monday, and if that's been your journey, it is, of course very easy to have some beliefs wired in around this. Will just be another thing I try and fail at, because your brain has a lot of proof that that's been your, your truth so far. And the thing that I love about Amy's story is she flat out says to me, you'll hear her say this, Rachel, I was fully convinced this would be yet another thing that I tried and failed at, and then I'd be on to the next, and she's not alone in that, right? Again, because your brain, if that's been your story, of course, your brain's going to believe that it is wired with tons of proof, but as an educator, my heart overflow with hands in the air, hallelujah moment is talking to Amy on the other side as an Ignite alum, and hearing her say, I couldn't undo this unless I consciously tried. Right, you can't unsee it once you understand the skill, that's it. You have the skill for life. How could I go back to yo-yo dieting when I understand how this works, and there is no, no better music to my ears than hearing someone say, I thought this would be another thing I try and fail and start again the next Monday. To I am in complete control. I am in the driver's seat. I couldn't fall off the bike, so to speak, unless I consciously tried. So, with all that said, I am so excited for you to dive in with Amy's story. Check it out, I welcome to the Becoming Mind Strong podcast, the official podcast of Mindstrong Fitness. My name is Rachel, and I'm the CEO of Mindstrong, and we are here for two things. We're here for hope in a stage of life where it feels like we are doing everything right, and nothing is working. I am here to tell you, you are not broken. This is fixable, and I promise there is hope. And number two, we are here for truth in an industry that is designed to keep us confused with shake systems and point systems and frozen meals. I promise you, it doesn't have to be that difficult. Someone can teach you the skill of riding a bike, someone can teach you the skill of knitting, and I can teach you to master the skill of nutrition. So, are you ready? Let's rock and roll.

Speaker 1  3:34  
I'm you know my backstory, you know that I almost didn't start Mindstrong, because to this day I hate the nutrition industry. I hate being associated with it. So, when people find us from a random little video on Facebook or Instagram, the fact that we're here now is a level of trust I will never take lightly, because we all know it's an inundated industry. Social media is inundated, and Amy, I'm just so grateful that the algorithm did its thing, and we're here together. So, thank you for joining me today.

Speaker 2  4:13  
Absolutely.

Speaker 1  4:15  
So, let's go back a little bit now to pre-ignite Amy. Can you tell me a little bit about what was going on physically, emotionally, mentally that had you scroll in and had you looking for something?

Speaker 2  4:27  
Yeah, absolutely. So, pre-ignite Amy was somebody who thought I needed a quick fix, I had gained some weight just kind of out of nowhere, and I was looking at, okay, well, I'm getting older, and this isn't as easy as it once was, and I knew I never really had a good foundation with nutrition, you know. Some people say eat 15 times a day and eat these little snacks and do these different things, and just learning that that wasn't the right thing to do, and especially for my eight. Age, I just liked that it was geared towards people my age, people in the same situation as me. It wasn't some 25 year old girl who, you know, she doesn't have to do much to keep her cute little fit, you know, body, and that it was real. It was real people.

Speaker 1  5:20  
Yeah, I love that. So you find us, I'm not some 20 year old showing my booty on Instagram, saying just eat salads. So when you get started with Ignite, do you remember in those first few weeks were there any, I like to call them aha moments, like initial shifts where you're like, wait a second, this might actually be different, this might actually work for me in my stage of life, and for what's going on with my own symptoms.

Speaker 2  5:44  
Yes, but before I even get into that, I have to tell you, my mindset was kind of like, okay, you're going to have to convince me, because I never - I've never stuck with anything, you know. Oh, let me try this workout program, I'd be hard and fast for a few weeks, and then no, or hey, let me try this new way of eating, and then no. So it was kind of a hard sell at the beginning. Carly really had to work with me and kind of help me with this. She was so positive, and like, this is going to work, you're going to do great, and just learning the steps and learning the pieces and parts, and the why, the why I am like you, I'm an educator, and I ask my students regularly why, why, why. I tell them I'm a grown-up toddler, and I just ask why about everything. I'm so inquisitive, I want to know why we did it. Don't just tell me to do it. So, sorry, I started babbling, and I'm not sure exactly if I answered your question

Speaker 1  6:41  
real quickly. As a former teacher, differentiated learning is real. So, if right now you're listening to this episode as a podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, iHeartRadio, wherever you get your podcasts, know that it also exists in video form on YouTube. Similarly, if you're watching me right now on YouTube, know that this episode also exists as a podcast on all the platforms, so however you take in information best, know that we've got you. The podcast exists both in podcast form and video form. We'll link both in the show notes below, so you can learn however you learn best. Now let's get back to the episode you have. Well, you gave us the lead up that that it was hard for you to stick with something, which I think is such an important point, because so I mean I can't tell you how many conversations I have in a week with women are like, yeah, I start and it's shiny and new and exciting, and then when the newness starts to fade off, I lose interest, I lose dedication to it, and on to the next thing, and it never actually sticks, so

Speaker 2  7:41  
really, what it was is it was in biteable chunks, you know. It was here, let's try this first, and like the goals and the steps were very achievable, and the fact that it actually went straight into my life, and I didn't have to build my life around it, it just integrated into my life made a huge difference in sticking with it, and everything was achievable. It was okay. Let's get here. Great, you've got this down. Awesome, let's add this super. You've got this down. Let's move forward. And I just loved that I didn't have to change the way my entire family ate. I could still eat the same foods, I just had to do maybe different combinations, or I actually had to pay attention to serving size. What I didn't even think about that, you know, like maybe somebody else had more to background than I did, but not me. I was just like, I just like this, I'm gonna eat a whole bunch of it, and just like you said, the Tetris, and just trying to figure out what combinations to eat. I didn't have to say no, I just had to say, well, do I want this or this, or how much of this can I have, and so it was very achievable, just small goals that led to great success,

Speaker 1  8:52  
and I think, especially as educators, that's such an important point, right? Like, goes back to what I said in the intro about hating the nutrition industry, most people don't stick with it, because it's so restrictive. It's so put your life on hold and focus on nothing but this diet, if you want to be successful. And one of the things you know we talk about all the time is that major life overhauls don't actually work, especially when you're a busy teacher, or whatever. Insert career here, we need to find ways to make this flow with our lifestyle, and we don't need to work so hard, because we're pleasure-seeking creatures, so as we start to hit those little bite-sized goals, it's like, oh, that feels good. What's the next step here? And the snowball gets rolling down a hill.

Speaker 2  9:33  
Oh, absolutely, absolutely.

Speaker 1  9:36  
Do you remember some of the big shifts you started feeling again, whether it's physically, mentally, emotionally, like, when what did those changes look like? Where you started to realize, oh, something's actually happening here.

Speaker 2  9:48  
When we were talking about macros, I had no idea what that was, and just kind of like how to hit them, and what I can do, and how again I can eat what I'm. Meeting, but maybe differently, that helped a lot, and just the encouragement. Look, this is not going to happen overnight. Amy, you are doing well. We don't have to hit the finish line at the beginning, like you. You're going to have to pace yourself through this, and just learning that it's a process. It is not overnight. It's not what I was seeing, you know, what we all see online, and all these people, and, oh, I did this in, you know, two months, and it's like, you didn't, but that's a lie. And just my mindset that, wow, I can do this. Yeah, I can do this. This isn't what I thought it was going to be, and I can handle this. I can do this, and again, just the encouragement Carly gave, so much encouragement, because I can be a stubborn toddler sometimes. So

Speaker 1  10:52  
I love Coach Carly, who she's - she's such a natural butt kicker and best friend, cheerleader at the same time. That is a great description of her. That's incredible. All right, here's my last question. My favorite question for you. I want.. I put you in the coach's chair for a second. I want you to imagine that on the other side of this Zoom conversation, instead of Rachel, founder of Mindstrong, I am someone in a similar position that you are, where you know I'm getting to this stage of life, my body's changing. I'm gaining weight out of nowhere. I've tried things before, stuck with him for a while, gave up hope. I'm like, just get this weight off me, I don't care, like I want that quick fix type of type of thing. And I'm skeptical, because everyone promises the world and no one delivers. What do you, Coach Amy, say too nervous, skeptical, but I've tried a million things, Rachel. In terms of the journey ahead,

Speaker 2  11:50  
it's going to work.

Speaker 3  11:51  
Oh,

Speaker 2  11:52  
it's going to work, and you're going to learn so much about yourself and how you eat and all the nonsense that we've heard, it doesn't work, but this does. I'm a regular person, I'm a regular, weird, goofy person. I am not somebody who was hired. I'm not a model of any sort. I'm just a regular, average person. And I did it. And one thing that I would say to do at the beginning is take progress picks I did not, because at the time my mindset was I'm not going to finish this, so I don't want to see where I started, and I really, really, really, really wish that I would have, because there were times where I was a little concerned about the scale, but man, my clothes fit so much better, and so again, Coach Carly was just like, hey, that's that's a goal, I mean, that's results there too, you know. And I just, I really do wish I would have taken those progress picks. So do it, trust it, it will work. Small goals, small goals.

Speaker 1  12:54  
I love that. And I think that's where there's the educator brain unite, right? That's like, we always say math is going to math and science is going to science. The work works when you do the work. We don't need magic pills, we just need the why, the understanding that education piece to it.

Speaker 2  13:08  
Yes,

Speaker 1  13:09  
I love it. Is there anything that we didn't touch on about your journey, your transformation, anything else that went on in your time here that you want to share that I haven't asked you about yet?

Speaker 2  13:21  
I don't think so. It was very customized to me. I have food allergies, and they're horrible food allergies, like egg and gluten, so like it's kind of hard to find food. And Coach Carly was so good about, hey, why don't you try this, or hey, give this a try, or I mean, she would even do some research on, hey, I know you like this, so why don't you give this a shot. I really felt like it was, it was so personal and individualized, and I felt like every time I spoke to her, I had her full attention, I was on her mind, she was, she gives such great feedback whenever she would send information in about, you know, my weekly check-in. If I was being a little Debbie Downer or a little snarky, she would call me out on it, like, "Hey, I noticed that we weren't really saying nice things about herself this week. Let's see if we can reframe that. And, you know, just it was like you said, kind of like a best friend, you know? She really just called you out, but in a very loving way, like I see what's going on here. We're going to push through this, so I think the idea of the coaches, it's.. it's amazing. You are going to love this.

Speaker 1  14:34  
Oh, I love that, and I love that you brought up the personalization part, because this is a big concern for a lot of people if they're vegetarian, vegan, celiac, Tashi Motos, right? And our answer is always, we're not going to change your shopping list. It goes back to what you're saying earlier. We're going to tweak, adjust, play with portion sizes, but no one's going to say suck it up, buttercup, you can't eat eggs, you need protein, right? That it's not actually going to work, and that that's one of the big. Big, besides the obvious accountability and support, that's one of the big beauties of having a coach, is like, what the heck can I eat? And then we get to get our hands in the dirt together and figure that out. That's beautiful. Yes, Amy, thank you so much. I know there's so many women out there who feel the same way, of I stick with something, I get all fired up, and then I go off the deep end, the major life overhauls, all the things we spoke about, and I know I can scream this stuff till I'm blue in the face, but hearing it from someone who's an educator, who's busy, who's a regular person living life, that it is possible that there's nothing more powerful than that. For more information on Mindstrong Fitness, or to apply for a free one to one strategy session with my incredible all-female team, visit www dot mind strong fitness.com

Transcribed by https://otter.ai