Quick Fix or Trap? | 3x Ms. Olympia Whitney Jones on Eating Disorders, Semaglutide, & Peptides

When you're in those, those crazy mental states, you think there's no way you could live happy without having this eating disorder.

What was the story of your eating disorders? What even started that?

My disorder with eating started at performance based. So I was in high school, I was a track athlete. I had like the stomach fluid been going around. My family had had it. It was right before one of my meets and, you know, we're lining up in the blocks and I thought, oh, my gosh, I feel like I'm gonna throw up. And I ran off to the side and just threw up. But I felt better. And they're like, called me Whitney. Get in the blocks. Okay. Boom. Had the pr. Best time of my life. And of course, in my brain, I attribute it to I just emptied my body and I was lighter. Well, then you have all this information of this is what people do to stay skinny. So that's what then started it because you get the positive reinforcement to go, okay, well I can just continue this eating disorder. And that way I'll never gain weight. So mine started out as like bulimia. Then I went into okay, I'm gonna starve myself, which didn't work out because then, you know, I cheered in high school and I would pass out before games. So then I realized I needed to eat. Then it went back to bulimia binge eating. At a certain point, my parents really kind of intervened. They were like, this isn't good. They were trying to encourage me to go the right route and I couldn't stop.

Welcome back to the Hannah Hammond Show. I am so excited to have my friend Whitney Jones here today who is just an absolute badass boss in all areas. And I know you through Genius Network and Joe Polish and you live here in Arizona. Yeah. And you are such an inspiration to me. And I'm so excited to hear your story today because I don't know it fully and excited to learn, but Whitney is. Has won Miss Olympia, which for those of you who don't know, is basically the super bowl of bodybuilding in the world. Like for the world. And she's won it not only one time, but three separate times. And was the first woman, and I don't maybe still only woman to win as a mother as well.

There have been some sense which I think is broke the record. Even more exciting, you know, but yes.

Yeah. They always say, like the. They used to say that whatever the five minute sub, five minute mile was impossible. And then as soon as one person broke it, then people could totally open.

Up the Doors for it. Yeah.

But and then also on top of that, you're just a serial entrepreneur.

Yes.

Yeah. And you're a mother of two boys, 16 and 18 years old. You're more recently of co founder and owner of Unstoppable 365, which is a health and wellness company that helps not only with nutrition and physical health and getting in shape, but the mental battle of that too, and reaching your highest potential. And I think there's a huge correlation between mental health and physical health.

100%.

Yeah.

100%. Oh, yeah.

So, yeah, I'm just excited to hear your story. I have a lot of personally selfish questions to ask you because I've shown a lot. I love it.

I love it. And I'm excited to be here. I know we talked months ago and you were talking about launching it, and then you got started and then now to be a guest, like, this is so fun. I love it. And congratulations. That's so cool. It's great to see your growth.

Thank you, Whitney. I'm super excited. And as we were just talking about, I wish I could do this all day. Just talk to amazing people.

I know. Hey, let's make that happen then.

I know that's the goal.

Yes. Yes.

Well, awesome. Well, I'd love to hear, like, what is your story? How do you get into bodybuilding as a female especially? And I. I know bodybuilding wasn't a sport at my school, you know, type thing. So how did you kind of, like, what was your childhood like? What was your inspiration to be so disciplined? I know you are a lot like me as well. Like, you were always a high achiever in school, Right? Always. Probably a perfectionist in all areas. Right. So, like, take us through that journey of. From the beginning.

Sure. Well, yeah, Clearly, I think you and I connected instantly because we say we share so many of the same personality traits, characteristics, and that's what it was. You know, growing up, I was an athlete all my life, just trying any and every sport that I could that my parents would allow me to. I grew up with two older brothers, so I was constantly trying to keep up with them and just being the little sister. Like, you're so annoying. And, you know, I had to level up in order to be allowed to kind of play with them and, you know, kick the soccer ball or do whatever. So I just loved being active. Well, fast forward, you know, through my life. Graduated college, and it's like, okay, then you get into the career world. Well, at that point, like, fun activities, college sports, high school sports. That's supposed to be in your past. But for me that was such a release, stress, joy, creative outlet that I really enjoyed. And so I just started kind of lifting. I hated gyms at that point because it was just, let's be honest, a meat market. And I thought I just kind of want to work out. So I started getting an endurance event. So marathons, triathlons, gifts just as a goal. But it was like, it's wear and tear on your body. And then of course it's like I wanted to just be fit, toned. And what I was doing, I wasn't. My nutrition was not at all on point. I didn't have that background. I was doing hours of cardio because you have to train that way. So I just started getting this horrible, skinny, gross body and lack of muscle. And so what I thought I was going after to be fit and healthy. I, I was not doing it the right way. I didn't have proper guidance from a person who could train me. Nutrition was way off point. Clearly you and I have kind of talked off camera a little bit. I had eating disorders, so I wasn't fueling my body right. So, you know, at that point I said, I need to stop, I need to just do something different. Well, thankfully I, you know, got some help and recovered, was able to put eating disorder behaviors in my past. And then I found out about this sport of competing now. To me, bodybuilding was like that word even now resonates with men and Arnold Schwarzenegger and like the big muscles. I didn't like that. But I started learning. There's all these other divisions. So I actually compete in the fitness division where that is athletic performance based. So we do have to get on stage and they judge our physique, but it's kind of like a beauty pageant with muscles that. So you get out in a pretty bling bikini, you get all glammed up and you kind of do model poses. But in my division, so we don't flex it all on stage, we wear heels, jewelry, like so that's what I loved about it. But then I love the athletic component. So 2/3 of our score in the division I compete in is based on back flips, dancing, choreography. I do break dancing. So you have this creative talent and literally there's so much you can do within the two minutes. So all of us on stage are very different. We can kind of perform and bring different styles and genres to the stage. So I love that. But I had no background, I was not a gymnast. Everything I had learned was just Being a daredevil child. But I loved the challenge of something that was completely foreign to me. I had zero expectations. So I'm getting in a sport I know nothing about. I did love the aspect that you get to come out with whatever music. And I love high energy hype, almost like hip hop style music. You could dress up in whatever costume you want. And it was just this creative outlet that I poured my heart and soul into because life is hard. There's so many things that were thrown at me. You know, post 30, that's like life was just heavy. And so this was an outlet that I could control. I could control if I went to the gym and spent an hour, you know, working on new techniques and skills and flips and tricks, not just going to the gym and lifting. And it was something I could control, where each day I could feel accomplished and proud of, where then you go home and you have life, career, and all these things that are just hard that you have zero control over. And naturally, as humans, we need an aspect to control our life. And of course that's something that is a reason why people have eating disorders, right? Especially a lot of women. So trying to have a positive outlet to deal with the heaviness of life and all the responsibilities allowed me this, with this sport where I could be excited about something and expressive and, you know, work out some of the stress or anxieties of the days. And that's what really kind of made me just gravitate towards it. So I loved it with zero expectations. And then I actually just started kind of doing well and thought, oh my gosh, now what do I do? I'm a pro athlete, you know. Then it became qualify for the Olympia. And I thought, oh gosh, this will never happen. And then it did. And then I thought, gosh, this is one and done, I'll never qualify again. And then, you know, a couple years through, I ended up winning it. It was like, what is happening? But you know, I always feel if you do things for the right reasons, with the right purpose, and you have passion behind it, things will work out. And again, I was not there to win. I wanted to win on my own terms. And know I gave my prep and my weeks of preparation, heading to the stage, everything, so that when I stepped on stage, before I hit the stage, I could validate did I win or not? And it was up to me now if I got a trophy or not. Icing on the cake, cool. But at the end of the day, I know, did I give it my all towards the Goal I set and I 100% attribute my success in the sport to that fact that it wasn't outcome driven, it was effort given and like whatever I put in, I would get out. But your expectations have to be realistic so that you can go, did I give it my all? What outcome should I expect?

Expect?

But I do. I've loved the sport. It's been amazing to have different opportunities and platforms. And again, after the first year I won the Olympia, learning I was the first mom, I thought, this is crazy, but most of the women I'm competing against are in their 20s and here I got started in this sport at 34.

Oh my gosh, I was way. I thought you were 34.

Oh gosh, no, I'm 40, 47. So you know, I'm like age is just a number and I think that's great. I think it's neat to go, gosh, you know, I can hold my own against these 20 year olds and then I can obviously continue to age. I won my first Olympia at 41.

Wow.

So it's like, gosh, this is, you know, you can achieve so much if you truly put your mind to it and you have belief in yourself. But that's where I feel like a lot of people struggle. They want to believe in themselves but they don't take that, that opportunity to go, what if I did? And at that point that's where you truly can achieve success.

Thank you so much for sharing that, that's so awesome. I love when I any moment where I get goosebumps, I was like, ah, that was one of them.

But thank you.

So were you, you, what were you doing for a career? Like were you just, you, were you intending to make, turn this into a career? Was it just a hobby, passion that you were kind of escaping your, your career and the other stuff at home and, and then did you ever shift, like when did you make that shift into. I, I guess let me back up to do compete at the level you competed. It's a big, a lot amount of time, totally. But were you still working at the same time?

So prior to getting into this, I worked for an ad agency. So I've worked in different industries. But what actually happened, I was pregnant with my second child and, and there were some complications so I was put on bed rest for three and a half months and you know, my personality, I don't sit still. So it was a very eye openening experience to go through. Now obviously with pregnancy, you know, it's temporary and there is a reward at the end you have a beautiful child who's born based on you trying to do everything you can to be healthy during those times. But I was only allowed to get out of my bed. Like, I was strict bed rest. I couldn't even sit up straight. I had to lay flat like it was. It was crazy because I was constantly having contractions. So in order to keep the baby safe and try to take my pregnancy as long as I could to term, it was do nothing. So, you know, going back and forth to doctors because I was in and out of the hospital for the three and a half months driving to the hospital, I would just see, you know, people walking through the neighborhood or going for a run. And it physically affected me to go. It is crazy how so many people take the ability to be active for granted. And it's so crazy because I get so emotional. I used to cry all the time going to the hospital, going, I would love to just walk right now. But I knew, quit having this pity party for yourself. You're going to be able to walk in two months or in one month as the countdown came. But after that, that's where I flipped and I said, I need to do a job. I need to work in an industry where I can use what I've learned and really make an impact. And that's what got me into becoming a trainer. I was already doing it for fun out of my garage, you know, outside of my normal advertising job work, I'd come home, I'd train friends, neighbors, and, you know, put them on diets just because it was always an interest of me. But after I had my second child, I quit my job. I went and got a job working for just a very local chain gym, making minimum wage. So in a way, it's like you just left this amazing job, tons of potential, and you went to go be a trainer. Weird hours, making no money. But I just felt in my bones, I knew this was. There was a purpose there. And I felt that I needed to. To use my passion and purpose to help people understand. Do not take this for granted. There's people who are, you know, paralyzed, disabled. They would love to have the opportunity that so many of us have that we don't utilize. And it just drove this fire in me that, hey, I want to live, breathe and walk the walk, talk the talk, and help other people utilize what they have right at their fingertips that they're not. So, you know, that was one thing that kind of got me into it. Then, of course, I ended up a year and a half after that had an opportunity to open up my own gym. That was the first business I ever owned. I'd never been a business owner at that point, and I thought, this is crazy. The time of year, the economy was worse. But again, you just, you know, you're a business owner, too. There's times when you're like, I need to do this. There is a reason I'm being drawn to it. So opened up my gym and at that point, that's when I really learned about this sport of competing and got me interested in it. And I thought, let's just do it. This is a new challenge. Something besides doing marathons and triathlons. Again, knew nothing about the industry, but I just like goals. I like any type of challenge that is completely out of my wheelhouse. And I got in and loved it. And, you know, the. To your point, having the gym as my workplace makes it pretty easy to not make excuses as to why I'm getting workouts in. Whereas someone who has a 9 to 5 job, it's absolutely understandable. It's not as easy to get in your workouts, to get in the gym, get in a lifting session or cardio. It's easier when that's my environment every single day.

Yeah.

So I was lucky to be able to do that. But I mean, plenty of my friends work nine to five jobs, have crazy stressful in like insane hours that they're putting into their career. And they're still doing this as a sport, as pro athletes, even amateur athletes, just because they love having that goal.

That's so awesome. I love that you just followed your passion and. And what? Not just what made sense financially or what everybody else told you to do. Right. And yeah.

Crazy risk. I thought, what. I mean, literally, there were times getting my first paycheck, I went, oh, my gosh, what, what have I done? You know, you go to college, you're going to get this great job, which I was very grateful I had and very fortunate and left it all to go do this. I thought, I really hope this pans out.

Yeah. I remember leaving my kush corporate, you know, engineering job for Caterpillar and went off and started my own business. Yeah. And I'm like, same thing. Everybody's, what did you do? But, yeah, you just, you find a way and you can't. When you're doing something that you know is not aligned with your integrity of who you want.

Yeah.

There's no amount of money that can make you do it, at least for me.

So 100%. And your joy day to day like that's where advert. I loved that job, but I wanted to make a true impact in a person's life, whether it was 100 thousands, but to know I truly improved their way of life, their livelihood, helped create, add years to their life because they're now healthier. So things like that, helping teach people proper nutrition, how to implement exercise in your life when you are crazy busy. I was a single mom, so trying to balance two kids, opening businesses, trying to compete to be a world champion, it's like never would I have ever thought those things. But when I'm there trying to show other women you can do this, it then goes back to your own head to go, I need to walk the walk and talk the talk. So if I want to achieve these things, find a way, there is always a way. And sometimes you need that guidance and support so that not only are we serving others, but we're also serving ourselves. Because if we're not healthy, happy and, and kind of putting that energy and vibe out to others, it doesn't matter what we do or what we give to them. We have to be able to take care of ourselves first and foremost.

So I want to go back because I know I've struggled from eating disorders, with eating disorders for many, many years. And you know, I. We didn't have a lot of money growing up, so we ate very poor diets, obviously weren't taught in school how we should be eating and the country poisons us with horrible food, processed food and everything. And so I was always a chubby kid and I was always made fun of for being a chubby kid, particularly under my own roof, by my brothers and stuff, and so by my, my one brother particularly. But when I hit high school and social media became a thing and other girls, I started seeing other girls and being around that environment, that's when I really started dieting. And then I got the positive feedback from everyone, like, oh, you're looking so good, you're losing weight and all this stuff. And then I just became an extremist with that and it turned into losing 40 pounds. I was, you know, 95 pounds at my lowest and I'm 5 foot 7 approximately. And. And then my. And I still thought I was very fat. Like, I was so insecure, you wouldn't see me in a bathing suit ever. I would cry on the scale, like really bad mental issues. But that. And it caused me to isolate. So I wouldn't go to parties, like with any food there. I wouldn't go to dinners or lunches. I Wouldn't go to lunch at school and all these things. And it was a very. My struggles with eating disorders have been the most isolating and difficult thing for me in my whole life and the hardest for me. Like, I'm disciplined in every area of my life.

Right, right.

And it's always been the hardest. And it's been such a, like, shameful thing for me.

Sure.

Like, why can't I control this? Or why am I just this. This way? And it's like, shouldn't be this hard and type of thing. Um, but that turned into a sleep eating disorder because I was so hungry, my body was like, I'm forcing you to eat.

Yeah.

And then I would start sleepwalking and eating and gaining a lot of weight, and then that just turned into binge eating in general, which I've struggled. I still struggle to this day. I actually have a. An eating coach. And so a lot of what she's taught me is like, the whole reason the binge eating developed was because the scarcity mindset, because you kept telling yourself, I can't have this, or I'll start another diet tomorrow, or I'm gonna fast for a week, or all these crazy things I would do, which causes your brain to want it more. And it becomes not a logical decision. It's like. It's like survival, fight or flight. So as a pro, professional athlete, obviously, especially, I know some people that compete in just bodybuilding competitions or fitness competitions, and there's a severe restriction of for sure. It's like close to the competition and things like that and just like, insane discipline. I mean, I don't even know what your body fat is, but I can see every vein in your body, so I'm sure it's super low. Like, how have you. What was the story of your eating disorders, if you don't mind sharing what's. What even started that? Because for me, it was being made fun of so much for being chubby. And then what did that kind of look like for you? And then how did that transition as you got into fitness and especially professional fitness, how has that shifted and transitioned for you throughout that journey? And has it helped or hurt the. The issues in relationships with food?

I mean, these are all great questions. And the biggest thing is, you know, it's. It's sadly so common and it happens. And even more so because social media, everyone just puts this perfection and image. And then there's filters and there's Photoshop, so you don't even know what you're seeing is real or not. And especially for younger minds who aren't looking at it, you know, the way adults are or the way we really should and going, that's not real. So sadly, it's very common for me randomly. You know, again, I'm used to seeing all this in the magazines or whatever. I was never phased by it. My disorder with eating started at performance based. So I was in high school, I was a track athlete. I had like the stomach fluid been going around. My family had had it. It was right before one of my meets and you know, we're lining up in the blocks and I thought, oh my gosh, I feel like I'm gonna throw up. Oh, this is not good. I gotta get down in the blocks. And I ran off to the side and just threw up. And I was like, oh my gosh. But I felt better. And they're like, called me Whitney Doug, get in the blocks. Okay. Boom. Had the pr. Best time of my life. And of course in my brain I attribute it to, I just emptied my body and I was lighter. So how else do you say, oh, that was the best race, the best time I'd ever had in my hurdle event. So that's what started it. So it became performance based. Now granted that never happens again, right then when you're, you're going with the same strategy. I never had that same time. Even though I was going and making myself through throw up. Well then you have all this information of this is what people do to stay skinny. So that as a female we are naturally just. That's something that makes us feel good. We need that validity to be like, oh, wow, I'm pretty. What? So that's what then started it because you get the positive reinforcement to go, okay, well I can just continue this eating disorder and that way I'll never gain weight. It didn't work out well for me because as an athlete I was pushing so hard and with performance based stuff you have to eat. So mine started out as like bulimia. Then I went into okay, I'm going to starve myself. Which didn't work out because then, you know, I cheered in high school. My eating disorder continued through college, so I cheered and also danced in college. And I would pass out before games. I've passed out at games cause I was starving myself. So then I realized I needed to eat. Then it went back to bulimia, binge eating. And I was the highest weight I'd ever been. You know, just cause you puff up and your body, your body's going through craziness. So At a certain point I had started, my parents really kind of intervened. They were like, this isn't good. They knew, they were trying to encourage me to go the right way route. And I couldn't stop. And it's like I kept going. I can be so successful in so many things. I got this. I can get it under control. Sadly, when things get so bad, you can't. And you need to work with professionals to kind of retrain your brain and flip the script so that you can become healthier with the habits and continue on. But as you know, when you're in those, those crazy mental states, you think there's no way you could live happy without having this eating disorder. There's just no other way. Or your brain goes, okay, fine, I'm going to stop having an eating disorder and I'm going to look horrible and I'm going to be so fat. And that sounds like death to you. So it totally screws up your mind. And you do, you know, a lot of people who think they can do it on their own. That's a scary line to walk because sometimes it just gets worse and worse. So if you can find professionals to help you, there is hope. And, you know, I was fortunate. I finally, I did work with a great counselor who helped get me through that. And by the grace of God, I never went back.

Oh, that's amazing.

And that was, you know, early 20s was when it was done. And I've never turned back. But I went through many years of going, wow, I can't eat a carb without physically inflating. My body just was not able to acclimate to a normal diet. And so what it boiled down to for me was I had to be consistent for so long, trying to eat healthy with the whole scarcity mindset. Everything is anything you're told you can't have. That's all you can focus on. So I needed to ease myself into giving myself some grace to go, okay, let's eat healthy and still have some fun. That is a mindset I still to this day, do daily. That is a way I coach my clients. It's the philosophy I did as an athlete, even going into my prep. So, yes, you have to be very specific with what you're eating. I'm in a sport where they judge your physique and you have to get lean and tight. But I will say I have the most efficient metabolism now that I've ever had. It continues to get better with each and every year. So again, I said, I'm 47. My eating disorder ended in my early 20s. I have gotten better every single year by just being consistent, not being restrictive, not doing crazy fad diets. It's literally the basics of eating healthy, you know, having a good balance of stuff. I have cheat meals, I'll go out and have drinks. I, I love sugar. But I also don't go absolutely crazy overboard. The one thing is, with as much as I train or lifting, you can time certain things. Like, like I said, I love sugar. So you can have that specifically around certain training times or, you know, if it's been a crazy hard day, you have to replenish it. So really kind of finding the foods that you love, not putting massive limitations on it, and then you start finding, oh, Hannah, you can have these treats. Well, once you're told you can have it, your mind starts going, I don't really want it. But it's being told you can't. And I think too, with women, there's so much, especially very successful, highly influential women, naturally, we don't like to be told we can't because it becomes our nature to go, I'm going to prove you wrong. I can. So something as simple as, oh, if you want to be fit, healthy, you can't have these things that doesn't like, register in our heads. So then it becomes an obsession. And that's the problem. Once we're given freedom to think clearly for ourselves and make wise choices, yeah, it doesn't happen overnight, but those patterns become so easy. But it's doing it the right way and getting your body to re acclimate to its new norm. And it is absolutely possible. I mean, I eat donuts all the time, even when I'm in prep for a competition. And people think how it's because I don't do crazy restrictions. And I'm very conscious of what my, you know, how much food I'm taking in. I don't track macros anymore. People think I have this very set diet. I know my body so well because I've chosen to really dive in deep to it. And the truth is, it's not that difficult. You know, granted this is what I do for a living, but I started doing this before I was a trainer. So I got started in the industry when I was 34. So between ending my eating disorder in my early 20s to 34, I was still pouring my head into wrapping around how can I get a better relationship with food so I can continue to be on the right path and never backtracking into this eating disorder. And then how can I have a good metabolism so that I'm not constantly having to be so careful about what I eat. And once you start learning about your body and what works. Cause everyone is different. There is no black and white. What works for you is gonna work for me and work with. Everyone is different. So it's a matter of really fine tuning what is it that's gonna work best for you and fueling your body to do so. And then again, being an athlete, I have to properly fuel my body. I can't do a two minute routine of dancing, flipping, you know, plyometric pushups without proper fuel. So food became the resource to power my performance versus something that had this negative connotation to it. It became, this is going to make me a better athlete. This is going to fuel me to have the energy and the cognitive clarity to be sharp when I need to in a meeting and to have the energy to chase my kids around on the playground. So food became a different purpose in my mind, in my body and for me as a whole than it ever had when I was younger.

Yeah, I think that's great. And that's what my coach explains too, because I was talking to her this morning on our weekly call and I'm like, you know, some people though, are so disciplined and they don't binge eat because they can't. They're not having it. She's like, but it's a different motivation. Yeah, she's like, their, their motivation and their addiction is the, the sport or the performance or the result. And so this becomes something to fuel a different thing. Their motivation is not the food that they're giving out because they're not giving up anything. Yeah, they're choosing, you know, and it's just like, she's like, same with me. Being vegan, it's not. People like, wasn't that restrictive? She's like, no, I hate eating meat. It's, it's like I would have, you know, I'm not giving anything up. This is, I'm moving towards pleasure and the brain wants to move towards more pleasure. And so I'm working on that still too. I'm like, yeah, I get the most, I get more pleasure out of food than anything else. Like food and like business and making money and. Yeah, but it's, it's interesting. Just that mindset shift and that balance of not putting so many restrictions and yeah. Things into place. So I, I'm trying to be cautious, but then it's, you know, because part of my healing or recovery or getting a better relationship with food is not putting restriction. Like, not dieting, not weighing myself, not putting restrictions on food. But then I'm like, okay, well, now I can just eat anything, and I just want to. I'm just going to eat it also, like, finding that balance. And. And yeah, it's.

And it's not easy. And let's be honest, like, when. When you have that pattern or you've gone through something like that, it's almost like people say, oh, if you're an addict, you're addicted to one thing, you go to the next. And so people have always asked, who are you now? Now that you aren't having an issue with an eating disorder, is your disorder the sport? Totally fair question. So I am in the belief that you can't just completely get rid of something, something like that and not have any side effect. I still am human. There are times that I will go and I'll step on the scale, and I'm like, oh, wow, okay. I probably need to rein it in a little bit, but I've found a way to make a joke out of it. Like, how many mornings I can't even tell you, Do I sit and look at the scale? And I'm like, well, whatever, you know? And it's like, you have to find a way where it doesn't sabotage your entire day. You wake up, you're feeling amazing. Whenever, great day, you have all these great plans, and the scale ruins it. That was a normal thing for me. So you have to find a way to be like, if. If I was a little bit weary, that it might not give me a good number. Don't get on the scale.

Yep.

You know, for years, I got rid of the scale. I'm like, I don't want to know, you know? Or the jeans that fit a little tight, I'm like, I'm throwing them out right now. Those damn jeans, you know, whatever it is, that's a trigger, identify those triggers, get rid of them. And a lot of times, when you get rid of this constant obsession or the things that are the triggers, it makes it easier. It's simple. Things that I tell people, don't buy the foods that are those catalysts that really kind of sabotage your progress. But it is common in the sport. The sport itself is a very good healing ground for people who've had an eating disorder. There's a lot of athletes in our sport who went through it. You also have the other side where. And to be honest, a lot of it's bad coaching where they diet so hard, extreme low calories excessive cardio, that's hard. Your body will always take a toll. And then the competition's over. If they don't reverse diet, which means you slowly, you know, you get down to a lower body fat, lower weight, you got to go back out just at the same pace. That's hard to do when you don't have a goal like that and you've been deprived of all these foods. You see people shoot off the other end. So it's really about having the proper mindset and going in. And if you have to restrict way too much to go into any type, event, activity, sport, you gotta stop. You've gotta be able to call yourself out on and say, this is setting me up for failure. Because it will.

Yep. Because your body will say no eventually. And then you're a whole nother mess. And I'm having to rewire your brain and your habits and everything. So with like so many of the trending diets like keto or intermittent fasting or, you know, vegan diets or anything like that, what is your advice to people who are trying to build a healthy relationship with food and like, how, you know, be healthy and fit? Because we want to look good. Like, I want to be thin and look good in a healthy way, but I don't want to have a negative consequence of that either. It's like, what's your advice on diets and finding a way to eat healthy that is right for you and that's going to get you the results that you would like?

Well, so it's funny because a lot of times people are expecting this, like, grandiose answer. I 100% know from myself as well as, you know, I've been doing this for almost 20 years now of actually like doing diets and coaching people. And then of course, as a certified professional, not quite as many, but at least 15 now. And the answer is the basics. So first question I'll always ask people, what diets have you tried? What are you currently doing? And oh, by the way, which foods do you like? Those are three simple things that will tell you everything. Now, everyone has probably tried at least one crazy fad diet, if not 30, 40, some crazy stuff. Everyone wants that quick fix. It's all marketing. And anything where there is restrictions is never something you can maintain. That is the God's honest truth. And, you know, so there's all these trends. Intermittent fasting was big again. It kind of goes in these ebbs and flows of coming back and popular. It's kind of going back out again now. Everyone is different. So if that works for you, I would never be one to say, nope, that's bad philosophy. It doesn't work. My question would be, what is the maintenance plan? Like, if you're doing this to get to a certain goal, whether it's lose weight, gain weight, whatever, what is your maintenance plan and is it realistic? So for a lot of women, something like that is not realistic. So we're going, going, going, and you're driving, and all of a sudden you have this meeting and you're like, oh, I'm supposed to be fasting, but I feel woozy. If you eat a protein bar or anything, few grapes. Now, did you just break the rules of intermittent fasting? Now you're upset at yourself. You just sabotage things. But yet you do have to still have a career and a job and function and be smart and you have energy. So sometimes these crazy restrictive things aren't the way to go. And then what happens when you reach your goal? Now it's a fun weekend trip with the girls, and they're all going to go out for brunch. Are you going to sit there and not eat? So there's certain things that lifestyle isn't normal or, you know, people who do the no carb diet. Atkins was huge.

For a while, that was the first thing I did.

Yeah.

And when I was, like, 14.

Yeah.

I think I started. No, I started with just starting to eat fruit. I never had fruit. So I started eating more fruit.

Yes.

I lost some weight, and then I started doing no carb. And then I lost a lot of weight, and then I didn't need a carb for, like, four years. Well, then it was like, okay, I eat no carbs. I'm plateauing. And then it was, I'm gonna lower my calories. And I started eating literally just lettuce and carrots.

Oh, years.

Yeah. And I've just. I. Do my skin turn yellow?

Yeah.

Orange. Yeah.

And that's the thing that most people don't realize. Like, with eating disorders, you're doing it for vanity. Right. You want to be skinny. Well, then your hair's falling out and your skin looks awful. You look like you're a drug addict. Your teeth are so, like, all these things that make you look hideous are caused by an eating disorder. Yet we're creating and we're following these rules of an eating disorder because we want to be pretty and accepted and look like the model on the magazine. But no one talks about what actually happens when you have a true eating disorder and shows you a picture of that. Like, that resonates deeper than seeing, oh, if I do this, I'll get this. That's not reality. So, you know, it is unfortunate, but again, it's not something people can maintain. So my philosophy is, if you ever have to completely restrict something that's not given to you by a doctor to follow for a health condition, it's not going to be something that you can sustain. So what is your plan B? And if you don't have a plan B, which I would challenge the plan B, then don't even try, because the progress you make. A lot of people who did the Atkin diet say they lost 20 pounds as soon as they stopped. And maybe they lost 20 pounds in three months. They would have lost the 20 pounds. Three months later, they're up to 30, 35. So they gain the weight back and more, and it's like, wow. So why even waste the time going down a path that's not sustainable? So it's a matter of really finding, okay, what are the foods you like, what are the foods you don't like? Now, let's work together a meal plan that is something that you have, foods that you love. Let's figure out where to get these foods that aren't as healthy in your daily plan. So you can still have them and you don't feel restricted, but yet you're still being accountable to yourself. And more importantly, let's give options. Because if it's black and white, eat chicken and broccoli every meal. At some point, you're gonna be like, screw this. Or especially for business professionals, you go out to a luncheon, what are you gonna do not eat? Or that almost creates more questions. Or you bust out your Tupperware. You have to still kind of be normal. What if you're single and you're going on a date? Guarantee the guy's gonna be like, all right, one and done. I'm not gonna date a weirdo who just stares at me the entire time because they can't eat. Like, that's not fun.

Yeah.

So it's really just trying to find, what foods do you like? What foods do you not like? Let's create a plan that's going to work for you.

Yeah, I think that's good. And do you recommend, like, sticking to macros and things? I mean, as flexible as you can be, you think that that's the best way to have a well balanced carbs and fats and proteins?

And I do, because that's the thing. Like, you need proteins, fats, and. And carbs if you aren't getting any of it, like the carbs, think of carbs as your energy source. Proteins, think of that as your muscle source. And kind of toning up fats help with your cognitive level and also with the energy. So that's a very basic, you know, like kind of cliff note version of what macros are. But I like that because it gives options and it gives flexibility. And for busy people, we need to be able to like work within the chaos of a day. So just really kind of learning to be conscious of making healthier choices. When you go out to a luncheon and you're ordering, there are healthy things you can get. Maybe not as exciting, but you can get chicken Alfredo or you can get a grilled chicken breast with some, you know, maybe some grilled potatoes and then some asparagus and it's still going to be great. That's a great meal. So it's just being more conscious of what you eat and being able to go, okay, that wasn't what I planned to have today, today, but I didn't totally completely derail myself. And women typically always will function better on macro based plans than anything that's very strict and rigid. Men can follow that stuff better and they don't like necessarily having to think through macro based and flexible dieting or flexible eating. They're like, just tell me what to eat and I'll eat it. Women, we like to have our choices because we get tempted or we want a little taste of this and that. And it's just the nature of who we are as humans. But I think macros are a great way for a long term sustainable plan that help you just kind of be more conscious and aware of. Oh, like, I mean, how many times have we looked at something we're like, oh, I had no idea that was so full of fat or whatever. I thought I was eating healthy. So it's more of an, a constant education aspect of approaching the way you eat.

I went to maybe Cracker Barrel one time or something, one of those restaurants, and they had calories on the menus. Yeah, there was a bowl of a loaded baked potato soup. And I can't remember the exact number, but I'm pretty sure it was like 7,600 calories.

Oh, wow.

And it was just a bowl of soup. And I'm like, I would have thought that the soup was the healthier option.

Totally. Yeah.

Like you guys are legally allowed to serve a meal that will make someone gain two pounds of literal fat on their body by the time they Leave dinner?

Yeah. Just one meal.

One meal, yeah. And so it is scary, especially because a lot of places don't show the calories and you really don't know. And in our business, like, I eat out every meal. I have a protein shake at home in the morning, you know, fruit protein, all that stuff. But for the most part, lunch and dinner, I'm out every single day with clients or friends or whatever, building relationships.

Totally.

So. So there's an increasing recognition of the connection between mental health and physical fitness. How has fitness shaped your mental resilience? And how do you coach others to strengthen that connection through Unstoppable365 in your business, where you really understand and tie in mental health to physical health?

Great question. It goes back to, honestly, my own personal experience of dealing with life setbacks, hard situations, you know, losing my mother to cancer, when, you know, at very unfortunate and kind of sudden going through a divorce, these heavy things in life. And so, you know, again, in both those situations, I had two young boys and I thought, my gosh, so I'm either going to be one of those women that are a complete train wreck that ruins the lives of these two boys who now are just kind of not great humans and don't grow up in a very safe, comfortable, providing environment. So I thought, I can't do that. How do I find myself so that I don't spin out of control when I'm so sad or upset and, you know, just not knowing how to handle life? That's where I was able to go. I've got to do something productive that is better and good for me. So again, people go into drugs, alcohol, whatever is a way of coping. And obviously I didn't want to do that again. My whole point was I need to stay sane and solid and it'd be a good, stable foundation for my boys. So that's where I poured into exercise. And you learn a lot because it's not the people want to be congratulated and given the rah rah when they do something good in front of others. What are you doing though, when no one's watching? And that's where you really learn so much about yourself. And so getting up early in the morning and just going for a walk around my neighborhood before I got my day going, you know, if I didn't have my boys and I could just get up and do some stuff for me, or, you know, having them sitting in front of the TV while I'm cooking dinner and I'm doing squats, you know, while I'M doing something, it's just being active in and allowing yourself to feel that sense of accomplishment. So whether it's 10 minutes that you're doing it or, you know, again, you're doing it because, you know you need to, not because you want to. It's doing it because, you know, consistency and having a routine and really being dedicated to personal growth, that's where you really get that good sense of accomplishment. It's nice and great when you go in and do a workout because you have free time in your day and you're full of energy and you're like, yeah, I just want to go. It's the hard days where you do it, and it's the last thing you want to do. And that's where you learn true grit. And that's where mentally, it will get you out of these dark places, because it's doing the hard stuff during hard times that make that step forward. So mental health, especially, you know, during COVID was a very tough time in our industry because people were losing jobs, people were getting sick, families were stuck at home within the walls, and they're like, I want to murder my kids and my husband. And, you know, it's just they can't cope. And so mental health went really plummeted, and we're still dealing with a lot of those after effects from it. But the one good thing was people found exercise as an outlet, and it truly is one of the best, most beneficial outlets for you. When you're going through a hard time, going through a dark place or in a dark place, it releases endorphins. You can sweat it out, you know, boxing, kickboxing, anything that's physically active. Sometimes punching things is a huge release. I'm lifting heavy weight, jumping this anaerobic exercise or aerobic exercise, where your heart is just pounding and you're pouring sweat, there is a release in you that feels that sense of empowerment, accomplishment, because you chose to do it. And that is one thing. So anyone that is even just trying to say, oh, go do a kickboxing class when you're having a very hard day or you're in the depths of depression, way easier said than done. But saying, go, walk around your block and just breathe, get out and breathe fresh air, get out amongst your walls, something as simple as that can truly, like, propel you to take that next step forward to go, okay, I feel like I can breathe right now. I feel like I can maybe handle the next hour, maybe not the next day, but it's really going, what can I do? Just to keep me from getting deeper. I need to either at least stay here. And then once you can stay stable, then you take steps to really get yourself out of that hole. But it exercises 100%. I mean, it's proven. It's the way to go. And again, it goes back to control. We all need that sense of control. So what do you want to feel proud of at the end of the day? Yeah. You went to this meeting. You did this. But I went and did that workout that I didn't want to do, or 15 minutes while I'm watching a TV show. I'm doing high knees or dancing, whatever. There's so many things you can do to just release the endorphins and change your mood so that you can feel like you can handle life.

Yeah. And for me, I resonate with that so much because I notice a very direct correlation between my mental health and my exercise routine.

Right.

Yes. You know, I was so insecure and so deep into isolation and anxiety and depression and eating disorders and all these things. The last thing I could possibly do was go, leave and go to the gym, you know, and do something like that. And I had never developed a gym practice or routine. And so I was so uncomfortable and so anxious, I couldn't even leave the house for a long time. And the one thing I would do here and there would be go for a walk or try to go for a jog. And I always noticed I felt better. But ultimately I got on antidepressants because I could. Couldn't get over that. That hump. And then that. The biggest bridge that those helped me, I'm not on them any longer. But the biggest was it cut the anxiety enough for me to have the confidence to get to a gym.

Yeah.

And I. And then, you know, I. By that time, I had made enough money in my businesses where I could invest in a trainer. And that was the hardest thing was to invest in myself.

Yep.

And take the time away from the deals and the clients and all that stuff. But as soon as I started going to the gym and had a trainer because I was nervous. I'm like, I feel like, you know, I'm sticking out like, a sore thumb here. And that helped me. Someone's telling me what to do. I'm, you know, here at this gym, and every time I felt so much better. And, I mean, over the course of a few years of, like, actually starting to get into shape and be proud of my body and look in the mirror and be like, this is the first time I've Ever been proud of what I'm looking at? You know, because I've been skinny and I hated it.

Right.

I totally overweight and I hated it. And now I'm strong.

Yes.

And then now I have the confidence to go to the gym, and now I can go in there without a trainer. And actually, so I just encourage anybody listening to this, no matter where you're at in your life, like Whitney said, start with going for a walk.

Yeah.

You know, in your own neighborhood at night when no one's around, if you're in that position. But if you're struggling to get into a gym and you feel like a sore thumb, you're, you're, you know, you stick out and you don't belong there. Like, invest in yourself. Hire a trainer. You can find a way. Go reach out to Unstoppable365. They'll get you on the, the nutrition plan that's actually healthy. The mental health plan plan, the eating plan or the workout plan and everything and just full service. And it's critical. I think, like, that is, should be the number one priority in every single person's lives because it's, it has a ripple effect.

Yeah, it does. And especially for women, you know, the good thing is nowadays they, they're really promoting strong, powerful women. Especially if you have massive aspirations to be a high level achieving female, then you gotta not just look the part. You could be perfectly, you know, Barbie, whatever. But if you don't have that mindset of powerful, confident woman, it's gonna, People will see through it through. Yeah.

And that affects your business and you really, it affects everything. And so I know there's no way I could have ever been on camera or have a podcast if I didn't do the things to get myself in physical shape and feel good about myself. And now, like, no matter what, I get physical activity every single day. Even if it's just in any amount.

Like going on, it doesn't matter. Just get out. Do it for you.

Yeah. My, my coach, my eating coach I've been talking about, she says, like a lot of people like us, type A or overachievers are all, are very all or nothing.

Oh, completely.

So it's like I'm either a pro fitness person or I'm a slob on the couch and I'm never going to the gym. Yeah. And so she said something that helped me so much was the habit is not to. The habit to put into place is not to go to the gym every day. Because we tend to be like, well, I'M gonna lift heavier today or I'm gonna go longer today or whatever. And then you just don't go, yeah, but rather, I'm gonna put my tennis shoes on every day. Yes, that's it.

Yeah, I'm gonna do something active.

And then. Yeah, and then if you. Whether that's just stepping outside and walking for 10 seconds, or you go to the gym for an hour or 10 minutes, or you go hike the mountain for six hours and do a trip, like, whatever that looks like each day is just getting the habit of putting your gym shoes on, and any amount that you feel is best for that day is do it. And so that really helped me to get the practice of every single day I'm doing something active. And it's not the pressure of I.

Need to do more, and it's something new. You know, again, for a lot of women, it's like, now, zoom meetings everywhere, right? So get a walking treadmill. And I can't tell you how many meetings I do now. Like, I. I do ton of my meetings on my walking travel now. So many of the people that I'm on camera with, they're like, oh, I got one because of you. And people think, there's no way I could walk and talk. Well, you don't have to be at a 4.0. Like, you can walk, and then if you are trying to speak and you feel a little, like, labored in your breathing, step to the sides. But when you're listening, you can walk then. So something as simple as that, or stay at home. Moms, you know, they're like, I can't leave the kids. Okay, well, make it a game. You're holding your baby and you're doing squats or, you know, jumping around. You can be active for 5, 10 minutes, no matter your environment. So it's a matter of people saying, I can't. I'm like, bullshit. I challenge you. That's an excuse. It's an excuse that we feed our brains to make us feel better about doing nothing. And it's complete bullshit.

I want a walking treadmill. Yeah, that's such a great idea.

Amazon. You'd be shocked. They're not even exclusive expensive anymore.

Really?

Yeah, it's literally folds up. They have super cheap ones. They have. Joe has several at his.

Several.

It's like, there's tons. They, like, I have now a full treadmill and just. I have a platform that I can put my laptop on everything. They make it very usable. So even. Anyone on a budget, again, I'm telling you, I'm like, that's an excuse.

Yeah.

I can't afford one. Like, I guarantee you can't.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I've seen some. I mean, and that's the whole thing is.

Yeah.

Investing in yourself over all things else and you can find a way to make the money to.

Totally. Yep.

I know, I know. I'm already thinking of the excuse of, like, where would I put it?

Totally.

It's already done. I. I'd have to move my desk.

Like, it's very small. Hannah, I'm telling you, you will find a spot.

Yeah. Well, thank you. I. I know that's a big thing. Lila Hermos. Rosie does. Yeah. The walking treadmill. And I. It's genius because I love to walk.

Yeah.

Move. But. Okay, cool. So let's see. Okay. Burnout. So we just talked about all or nothing. Yeah. And burnout is a really big thing, especially for any overachiever type thing. And I'm very much in all or nothing. I'm either professional at something I'm doing or where I know nothing about it and I'm not doing it all. So.

Totally.

When I started working out, I would do those. I'm going to the gym every single day, seven days a week, an hour at a time, blah, blah, blah. And then it was, I'm so burnt out. I don't want to do this anymore. And then I'm not showing up for four months, which recently happened to me.

Yeah.

And I started. And then the excuses like, well, I'm traveling at conferences and, yeah, my ex is at the gym and totally, it's hot, Whatever.

Right. Right.

So. So how. What is your strategy for balancing peak performance with rest and recovery in order to avoid burnout?

So I. Personally, for me, I get bored way fast. So if I just had to go into the gym and lift, I would have never lasted a year. So I constantly have to change it up. Whether it's, you know, something like going hiking, going for bike rides around my neighborhood. I love that. I'm now into. I'm getting into martial arts, so I started taking jiu jitsu and Muay Thai. I have to constantly be challenged and stimulated differently. And I like all of it. So, you know, if you can recruit a friend to do things with, that helps. So have a friend who likes to hike, have a friend who likes to play pickleball. Have a gym friend. Or do you like to go to classes because you want to go to the gym but you don't want to have to think about, I'm going to Lift this and go to this machine. Go to a class. Do you like swimming? So there are a kazillion ways to be active. I always say the best way to get rid of burnout, if you're in it or just to avoid it in general, constantly challenge yourself. Now, as athletes, it's tough because it's very strict. If you're trying to be in a physique type competition, you have to be in the gym and you have to be lifting, and it gets very boring and repetitive. But there's a goal there, so that's easier to stay on target with. But for most people, that's not livelihood. So for my regular clients who aren't trying to compete on stage, it's, what do you like to do? Well, I love to dance. Okay. You know what? Have you heard of those stripper classes? Those are so fun. You know, again, maybe you don't want to be a stripper. I'm not trying to tell people to go do that. But it's just like, this is. Wait, what? And I have some of my tomboy girl clients. I'm like, I want you to go take a stripper class. They're like, whitney, you are nuts. I'm like, yeah, clearly, but try it. And they have the time of their life because they're like, I look like an idiot. But there's no judgment because most of the people in that room are there going, I don't know why I'm here. Or do an aerials class where you're on those silks and aerial yoga. So there's so many different things you can do. I always tell people, try something new. You may hate it, but what if you love it? What if you love it and maybe you love it for three months and then you're like, all right, I need something new. Always try things. Even, you know, most gyms, like, for example, my muay Thai, you could go do a month class and just try just to change it up. Kickboxing. Maybe it's karate, maybe it's jump rope. So whatever it is, it's like, just try something different, even if it's for one day. Because people can go to the gym. And I'm one of those. I go to the gym, I'm like, I don't want to get on a machine and I don't want to see a dumbbell. So I'll create a circuit and just. It's no weight. Like, I don't have any weights or anything. It's all body weight. I'm going to do box Jumps, and then I'm going to do burpees, and I'm going to do jumping jacks, and I'm going to do bounds. So I'll just write a circuit plan and just. It's something different. Just because I'm like, I don't want to do the normal stuff. But that's for me personally, that keeps me interested. And for so many clients, I regularly challenge them. Okay, we're going to try something new, so let's brainstorm. What new thing have you thought you want to try? So just this week, I had a client go, maybe I'll try rock climbing. And I'm like, yes. She goes, but I'm so afraid of heights. I'm like, even better. You're going to address two things. You're going to face your fear. You're going to get out. You're going to be active. That's a hell of a workout. Upper body kills. You. Like, it's hard.

Yeah.

She loved it. She's like, I never would have done it if you didn't literally call me out and push me to do it. And she already signed up for her next one next week. So it's just these little things that be like, huh, I should try something. And heck, if anyone's stuck, reach out to me, message me. I'll throw you 800 different ideas and pick one. But just try stuff that's interesting, intriguing, maybe completely out of your realm, and you may absolutely love it.

That's such a great idea. And it's funny that you said, I'm sitting over here laughing because I have a friend who's been trying to convince me to go to one of the stripper dance classes for a year now. And I'm like, I cannot move my hips. Like, no matter what amount of drinks I've had, no matter what I'm on, these hips are not moving. A head bob is as most as you're going to get out of me.

Then you got to try it. I'm telling you. I went for the first time two years ago with one of my friends, and we actually had to wear heels. And I thought, I'm gonna fully break my ankle. It was so awesome. And the environment there, it's almost always welcoming from everyone who's ever done it. They're like, everyone in the class is looking around like, you're not looking at me, right? I'm not looking at you. I'm staying in my own lane, and I look like a fool. And you just laugh. I mean, talk about an ab workout. It's hilarious. You gotta do it at least once once in your life. Yeah, I'm not this sexy. Woo. But in there you're like, I feel like an idiot. But then you kind of think, ooh, maybe I could be sexy.

Yeah, right.

You never know.

She was showing me a video of her one time and she's gorgeous. Yeah. So sexy. Colombian. Oh, you wear six inch heels everywhere already. Like perfect for it. But I seek the ladies in the back and I'm like, oh my God, totally.

Yeah, that was me.

I'm like, I don't want to be the one on that video that you're showing to someone.

That is so funny.

Yeah. I didn't even know that was a thing.

Yes. Oh, it's a, it's a very popular thing.

But so trends right now in, in health and fitness. So I want to get your opinion on all of that and what's kind of going on. And there's always new fads, new trends, and it's so hard to decipher what is good and what is again, just big pharma or big food trying to just sell people on the next thing that's actually going to end up damaging everybody so much more. We have 75, I think 74 or 75% is the statistic of Americans, including children are overweight or obese. And I don't remember the percentage, but a lot of mental health issues. A high percentage of the population has mental health issues. A lot of percent of the population is on medications, is on drugs. Whether they're, you know, they're, they're legal drugs, but they're still drugs.

Right? Totally.

I know for me, I think at one point I was on 14 different medications.

Yeah.

And I don't even know if I was 20.

Wow.

And nobody ever asked how I was.

Yeah.

How are you doing? Like, how is home life? How was your mental health? How, you know, it was just, oh, what's your symptom? Let me treat the symptom. Here's your drug. Well, now you have all these other problems. Let's treat that. Here's another drug. And then here's the next diet. Why don't you try this diet and pair it with this drug? And so like right now trends are peptides and semi glutide. I don't know if. I don't think that's a peptide. Maybe it's a peptide.

Yeah. The whole ozempic and all of that craziness. Now what's so crazy about this is obviously it is not a weight loss drug. It is now being coined that that's not what it originally was set out to be. Unfortunately, that is now the big push because again, everything goes back to the fads, instant gratification. They want the fast results without having to do the work. Ozempic is now coming out to show the adverse effects of it from people who have been on it and what he essentially does. It's a starvation. So it's a doctor prescribed eating disorder because you cannot eat. It makes you physically sick people. You inject it and then you throw up, you're nauseous, you can't eat, you have no appetite. So it's a way that prevents you from eating. Which in a way is like outside of the throwing up part. Right. People like, great, because I am hungry all the time. What people don't realize though is it's eating away your muscle. So again, this isn't something that, you know, people like. I just want to do it temporarily. Okay, so what happens, you've dropped £20. You may have lost weight, but you lost your muscle. So muscle is what helps. You have a healthy metabolism. So when you stop doing that or you have a day where you eat regular, you go on a date, or it's your birthday or you go on vacation, you eat regular, you're going to gain muscle weight. And then it sets on this pattern of, okay, no one wants to be on these drugs where they throw up every day. Think about it, you have a job. I missed my meeting because I was in the bathroom throwing up. I was so nauseous I could not make the meeting. It starts affecting people's lives. So they stop it. Well, now they're slowly gaining all the weight back. They now don't have the muscle. So they are skinny, fat. And so you're starting to see these people's bodies where they have the hair pain because they lost the weight, but they didn't lose the fat, they just lost muscle. Well, not everyone wants to be like bodybuilder, ish. Especially women. They want tight, toned bodies. So you have these toned arms, but all the muscles gone. Now you just have flabby arms. You can't change that, you can't undo that. The amount of time it's going to take to so quickly put that muscle back on is years where you lost it so fast from this drug. Yeah, but no one wants to think about down the road, whether it's two months down the road, a year, five years. So they're starting to now have a lot of people come out and be vocal about this is what happens when you are taking Ozempic to lose weight. It's a quick instant fix to lose weight. You pay for it in the long term. And so again it always goes back to if it sounds too good to be true, it 100% is. And if that was a healthy way to do it, it probably wouldn't be promoted and marketed so well. There's not money in the basics. Doctors, big pharma, the industries that are all about health and fitness, they aren't supported by hey, why don't you just eat right and stay active? That's not a money making. And as a personal choice, you can go and do that without needing anything.

Yeah.

So that's what people have to be conscious of. They have to be realistic. I am 100% not a fan of Ozempic. There are again, for certain medical conditions medically necessary, great. If you have a doctor who is telling you you have to do this not for weight loss but because of medical issues, fine, totally get it. Would never bat an eye at that. But when people are specifically taking it because they need it and want it to lose weight, you are shooting yourself in the foot and you will pay for it either real soon. Because again, most people aren't doing this as a long term solution, but at the very least it will affect you for the long term. For sure. 100%, no questions asked.

I was at the Bobby Kennedy Maha Make America Healthy Again rally and they were talking about these obesity numbers and the, you know, there are so many foods in the US that are outlawed in all other countries and we're the, you know, only a small percentage of the population like this percent of the population, but we're 75% of pharma pharmaceutical sales in the world globally. And all these crazy numbers and then now they're saying that Ozempic is, should be prescribed to like 12 year olds as a lifelong drug and yet they're still feeding them cheese curds in school and all this poison food to cause obesity. So it's absolutely insane what's going on. And I guess what, what is your opinion on the administration that's coming in and the movement of Make America Healthy again? And I, I mean, I don't know where I guess I'm going with that question, but just, do you think that it's possible for change? Like true change?

100%. I think what he's doing has never been done. It's unprecedented where he is actually saying I'm not giving up on this. You know, there's a lot of things politically where people say I want to do this and I want to do that. He has been screaming this from the rooftops RFK for a long, long time and he firmly believes it. And I think we've seen from his past when he's passionate about something, he, he goes all in. So I love it because obviously this is what I live and breathe in my industry and there is so much need for better education, more knowledge to really expose a lot of what's out there. So what we're giving to our kids, what we're feeding to our kids and simple things like, you know, again, people think oh, I'm eating a salad and yet you look at the calories and you're going to oh my gosh, I thought I was eating healthy.

Yeah.

It's not that people are choosing to be ignorant. They are being, bless you, sorry, that's right, they are being misinformed and it's, it's all marketing, it's propaganda. So there's just different ways where people think, oh, I'm being healthy, I'm feeding my family properly, I'm giving my child ozempic. No, you have to be an advocate for your own health, for your own family and really be open minded to listen. So I think what he is doing and his big push, I don't see a downfall on it. Now granted, that doesn't mean everyone believes whatever your political values are. At the very least, I would just ask people to listen, be open minded and think about the adverse effects if you don't follow that path. Now again, there's plenty of the foods that are outlawed in other countries that I'm like, oh man, I really like those.

Do you know what any of them are?

Well, Pop tarts, for example. Oh gosh, certain cereals, you know, stuff like that. But again, everything in moderation. Sometimes I just want to bite and I'm conscious of what I put in my body. But then again, you know, it's like you have to still have some fun. I am not an all organic eater by any means. Now would I like to be? Sure. But I also like to have some fun here and there. Eating organically for a lot of families is not possible because it is more expensive. So does that mean you're doing wrong? No. But are you constantly all processed food, fast food to your children all the time? So it's about small behavior changes that can truly add up to massive change. I think the way he's putting this information out there and a lot of times people need to hear the message over and over before it finally sinks in. How can that be wrong? Be more conscious of what you're eating, what you're feeding your children, the actions you're taking to be active or inactive. It can't hurt to have this brought to the forefront time and time again. So I am all for what he is doing to truly make America healthy again. Let's do it. Our country is like being suffocated with all of this toxic foods and drugs. And let's just shake it off now. Again, I don't expect people to go 0 to 60. I'm not that way. I don't follow everything he does, but I'm way more aware and that's what matters. Just being conscious of doing better and making wise decisions for your own health. Yeah.

What I know I skipped over there because I got all, you know, Bobby Kennedy thinking about that. But back to the peptide thing. We talked about Ozempic. I know we only have a few minutes left here, but what I have heard. I was at dinner in one of my masterminds the other day with a longevity doctor, and he said that he is a big fan of nad. What are your thoughts on nad? I'm actually taking it, like, because someone. Someone at the dinner was like, oh, I got an IV of NAD and I was so sick for like weeks. He's like, it was horrible. I'm taking it recently just. And glue a thione, which. I'd love to get your opinion on it. And bio boost, like B12. Sure as just like a weekly, you know, little shot.

Yeah.

And I've felt, I think good, no negative side effects for it. But, like, what are your ideas on nad? I know that's another big fad that people are doing. Is that you think that's a yay or nay.

I don't think it's. It's bad. Like glutathione B shots. Those are all. A lot of the peptides are things people don't realize. They're what your body naturally produces too. So, you know, there are some. Some crazy things and there's some modified peptide stuff that can be questionable. And that's not entirely my area of expertise. However, I do know about several of these. Several of the popular ones, Glutathione is great. Just again, it's kind of just keeping your body healthier. Vitamin B, that's natural. That's an energy booster. That totally helps. I know a lot of my friends are on that. I've done those in the past. Nad. I haven't heard Anything really bad about it. I personally did one of the IVs. Now I am a weirdo with some of my health stuff and some things that people have touted as amazing totally has the opposite effect. That was one of them. So I went in, trying it. You know, again, I'd never heard a bad thing and the only thing I could say is that it made me feel almost like drugged, I guess, for lack of a better word. Like I just felt kind of out of it. So for a few hours afterwards I thought, and it was iv. I thought, wow, I can, how do people do this? But then I have friends who do it and they back to work and leading a massive meeting 30 minutes later. I think it's totally different for everyone. But I personally have not heard negative, negative things about any of those three. Okay, so. And you know there are, there's a lot, there's good and bad with peptides. I think you have to be careful when you're looking into it and researching it to see someone that is saying it's bad. What are some of the other things going on in their life? Maybe that, you know, they took this and it made them blow up. Well, maybe they were eating horrible and they were taking this. Peptide had no correlation. Maybe it has nothing to do with weight, you know, So a lot of times you have to read further into it, do some research, ask people who've actually specifically taking it, talk to more than one doctor and get their opinion and their take on it. If people are all saying the same thing, try it, it may not hurt. Again, these aren't, you know, crazy street drugs that people are trying and it's like ultra risky. So again, I always say go through a doctor, but do be your own health advocate and see if it seems right for you. Some of them can be pricey. So if you're going to invest in it, make sure you know what the heck it is. Make sure you know what expectations you have for the outcome. Perfect.

And then closing out here. If you could give one message to everyone listening about taking control of their health today, what would that be?

Gosh, the best advice I have is take it one day at a time. You can't go 0 to 60. I don't care who you are and no one is perfect. So you may be. Have a great day. Yesterday you got to the gym, you ate great, you mentally were feeling good. Your mental health is on point. Be realistic to know that the next day may not be like that. You have to be realistic about life and all you can do is control the efforts that you put in each and every day and say you binge eat, say you fall off the wagon and you go and splurge and you're like, oh, my gosh, I've been so great for weeks. One day will never define your future. What matters is, if you have a bad day, how do you come back from that? If you have a bad mental day, how do you come back from it? What actions are you taking to make the next day better? So, gosh, I've had. I'm so stressed and plenty of bad days recently, and it's like, thank God tomorrow's a new day. I get to rewrite whatever it is and whatever went sideways that day. I have the ability to make it right. This day and yesterday's in the past. You cannot change it. Don't beat yourself out. Don't beat yourself up about it. Give yourself grace. Just focus on forward, moving momentum and what you're going to do. And literally, perfection is. It's the. The worst thing in our minds that all of us have done at some point in our lives, and it will never work out for you. So just roll with whatever the day brings, whatever your goals are, just. Because even if you have a weight loss goal or a show goal or whatever, if you fall short and you don't make it move the goal. It's not. Nothing that I do is rocket science. It's really instilling people the support they need, the belief in themselves, and setting forth realistic, tiny steps and actions they can take each day to get them to their goal. Whether it's tomorrow, a month, a year, eventually you will get there, because consistency is always the key.

Thank you. I learned so much today. So nice to sit with you for an hour. And thank you so much for being here.

And honored to be here. Yes. Thank you, girl.