THRIVE feat Paige Brown - Mom Life, Keto Diet & Rocking Out Your Workout At Any Stage - Miltary Wife

Hey guys, welcome to the Thrive Show where we are talking all about creating a healthy lifestyle, a thriving business, and a thriving family. thriving business and a life of intention, even amidst the COVID-19 crisis. We have today a very, very special guest. She is a friend of mine, 2 years now, about 2 years or so. We've known each other in the virtual world. It feels like we know each other in real life.

Yes.

She is a mom. She's a military wife. She is a health coach. She helps women experience a better healthy life. and happiness. She is the Experience Better lifestyle and the creator of Sporty by Paige activewear. We have today Paige Brown.

Hi, I'm so happy to be here. Thank you for having me.

Of course. And I am so excited that you're here because we were talking before the interview, before we pressed record. Always the best conversations happen. And, you know, we were just talking about all the opportunity and the beauty that's in this time. Yes, you know, our hearts go out to those people who are suffering, and there are people who are sick. And even when we're in our situations that we're in, where we're isolated, that we can still create a lot of beauty. And as female business owners, we can step up and really serve.

Yes, I couldn't agree more. In this time, like I was saying, well, before we started recording, is I feel like what we have to offer is needed so much more now than it was because people are looking for somewhere to, you know, a beacon of hope, some light, some, you know, they need to hear, you know, we are going to get through this. Because some people aren't, they don't believe that they are, and that's scary, and the unknown is scary, but if we can just put out in the virtual world this content where they have somewhere they know they can go to feel a little bit better and know that there is still— the best is still yet to come. Like, there's nothing better than that for us right now as creators.

I believe that. That's so true. And I love that you said, you know, the fear of the unknown, because that's what I'm hearing more than ever. Is that, you know, if we knew the outcome, we could then handle it and shift. But the fact that it's unknown, and for, you know, a lot of generations, this is the first time they've really been in something like this.

Mm-hmm. So I was saying that to my husband, that I had— I never even thought in our lifetime that we would experience something like this, but Everything is always happening for us. I know they don't shed enough light on the good that is happening just to our Earth because everyone's like stuck at home. But good things are happening and we'll see it on the other side. On the other side of this, we will definitely see that.

Oh yeah, I like the ozone is healing. I'm hearing birds chirping that I've never heard before, like It's beautiful.

Mm-hmm.

And I think—

I saw a fox in my yard yesterday. I have never seen a fox before in my yard.

Wow!

Yeah, and we heard an owl. It was just like, we don't live out in the country or anything like that. We live in a pretty developed area. So to see that was like, wow, you know, life is still going. Nature is still, still out here. And it was just, it was kind of like, it was just a sense of hope.

I love that, the sense of hope. It's like those little things that you get, those little tidbits you get of just hope.

Yes.

It's beautiful. So how are you— I'm wondering, because you're home with a young child.

Yes.

Essentially, because you're a military wife, you are doing it on your own. All the military wives out there understand what I'm talking about. And so how are you balancing that entrepreneur mom life Mom life and staying sane in the midst of all this?

One of the biggest things right now is something that I struggled with in the past was asking for help. I felt that I always had to do it on my own. I didn't want to burden anyone with, you know, my life. Not to say that my child is a burden by any means. She is not. She is a blessing. But I need help with her in order to do what I do now at the level that I do it at. And I'm so thankful that My sister and my nephew are now living with us currently, and she has helped me out. One, we keep each other sane since her son is a year and a half and then my daughter will be 3 in May. They are balls of energy all the time, and they are at that stage where they're, you know, they're trying to get into things. There's less activities to do in the aspect of going out, so we have to get more creative. and how to keep them, you know, their brains stimulated and their attention just in better places. And so a lot of that balance has come from her help, but also because I talk to Ava as if, in a sense, that she's an adult.

Mm-hmm.

So I tell her, you know, this is a different time for us. We're gonna, you know, we're gonna be flexible. We're gonna be adaptable. We're gonna still have to move our bodies. We're still going to figure out a way to have fun. We're not just going to sit here and, you know, wait it out. We're gonna make the most of this time. And that's a lot of how I'm staying sane is the help and just letting her know on a 3-year-old level what's going on and why things are different. Wow.

Yeah, I think so many of us could take to heart what you just said. Because that whole, like, it's hard to ask for help. Yeah, me too. And probably 90% of the men and women that I know, it's, you know, we have that mentality of just like taking it on and taking it on and taking it on.

Mm-hmm.

So if someone's there, especially because you touched on something about, you know, keeping your daughter active and you keeping active. I'm hearing a lot about this, you know, the mom guilt of, oh my goodness, my kid is right now, like, I'm on a call and he's watching a screen or she's watching TV and there's like this mom guilt with that. How are you navigating that? How are you, you know, what kind of activities are you guys doing?

I have come to— what I've had to do is separate my time, my work time, and not overlap it with our activity time. It's so easy. To have my phone in my hand at all times. It's so easy for people to be able to reach me, and I have had to set the boundary, not only for myself, but because of the relationship I want to have with her, is uninterrupted time. So if we are doing an activity, if we are doing the Play-Doh, if we are, if we are drawing, if we're putting together puzzles, whatever we're doing, mom's phone isn't in her hand. Um, I can't do it because one, Me not giving my best to her and allowing, you know, to be answering messages or answering emails or creating content, I'm splitting myself in 2. And neither one is getting the most value they can get out of me. And I don't like that. That's not what I want. I want to be able to completely focus on what I'm doing so that I can bring my, my full energy, my full heart, and know that I'm actually in it. Because I truly believe she can tell the difference. When, you know, I'm looking over her shoulder and using fillers like, oh yeah, good job, but my phone's in my hand and I'm messaging. I definitely believe she can feel that. She can see it.

Mm-hmm.

But I definitely believe she can feel it even more. And so part of it has just come to the fact that I'm like, Paige, you have to set boundaries. You are a business and business have hours and you can create whatever hours you want for that. But you still need to have hours. You can't be stretching yourself in all directions all the time and expecting to be able to give your best. That's just not going to happen.

Amen, girl. Preach.

That is so true.

Oh my goodness. That is one of the things that, you know, I think when you scale your business and you get busy, like, these are a must, right? Like, we all have at least I know I too am very intentional about those time blocks and creating some sort of like boundary in putting the phone down at 5 o'clock and being wife, you know.

Yes.

Being businesswoman at this point because it's so easy to get consumed in that. So I love that you're talking about, you know, teaching your daughter in real time These things that some of us as adults don't even— we don't have it mastered yet.

So she's learning with me.

Yes.

I believe she needs to see, you know, mom doesn't have it together, but she's doing her best. And I saw a quote a long time ago that I totally feel in my heart, and it's not that she needs a perfect mom, it's she needs a happy one. So I need to show up happy even amidst everything going on. And it's not always easy, you know, but that's where you come to like the emotional space and work on your EQ to be able to say, hey, I'm choosing to have the best day possible. I'm choosing to make the best out of this situation, and I'm choosing to still be the mom that I've always told her and showed her that I'm gonna be. And I think that's something that's important, that especially if you haven't been at home For myself, I'm not having to struggle with the transition because I've been a stay-at-home mom. So I know what it's like to be with my kids 24/7 in the house. And I know that a lot of parents don't know what that's like anymore. And I know it's hard to be able to keep your emotional quotient, you know, steady, especially if, you know, now we're in financial trouble or people are losing jobs or being laid off and you don't know exactly where you know, the next— the money's gonna come from for the next meal or electric bill. It is very easy to get lost in that and then translate it into our kids.

Mm.

And nobody wants to instill hurt and pain and, you know, the unsure and anxiety into our small humans, but it happens if we're not careful. And it happens if we're not intentional with how we choose to show up.

That's huge. I love that you said choose to show up.

It's definitely a choice. I've learned that. Yes.

Yeah, I know that, you know, you and I both have very similar backgrounds in what we've gone through and then where we're at now. So I love that we can speak this language.

Yeah.

You know, the choice and choosing, and I think it's so beautiful. That you are, you know, not being a mom, like this stuff all sounds really great. And actually doing it, I'm sure is, like you said, very intentional. It's a process, right? And so I'm wondering, you know, because obviously, for those of you who don't know Paige, go check out her, her Facebook and Instagram and all that. She is in great shape. Like she is like, you know, great shape. You would imagine that she works out all the time. However, knowing the truth, you probably need to be very intentional with that too. So how do you do that? What does that look like?

Absolutely. So a little backstory. The reason that I even entered the entrepreneurial space was on accident, but I was looking to get the energy, my energy back. I was looking to weight. At that point, I was just very unhappy with myself. It was just after I had my daughter, and that's how I came into starting to use Pure Therapeutic Ketones for my fat loss and weight loss. Well, I lost the 70 pounds. One thing I do have to share— well, not even just one thing, but it's the biggest thing that I like to share with you guys. I'd never had a gym membership during this time, and I still don't. I probably— okay, I'm not gonna say I never will because I think at some point That'll be an outlet for me, but currently it's just not. But I didn't have a gym membership during this time. But what I did do is I brought my child along on this journey with me. When I started, all I could do was short walks. And so we walked. That's what we did. I started taking her on a walk. It started around the parking lot of our apartment complex at the time. Then it turned into a block and You know, it built up from there, but we took walks together and my body has changed a lot in the last 2 and a half, almost 3 years. But something that I found then was I used to use her outside of our walks, like doing videos at home or like having any workout equipment at home as like, I can't use it because she's not sleeping, or I can't use it because she's here. That was kind of an excuse for me until I realized and had the mindset shift that me working out, I'm showing her healthy. I'm showing her, you know, how to get the endorphins flowing. My workouts now, I work out 3 times a week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday. I do choose to lift more. Every single thing I have in my home for at-home workouts is from Amazon. I haven't like, it's nothing special. I honestly am like, oh, You know, this is what I need, and I'll check if Amazon has something for me to be able to have in the house. But I had to show her that we can do this together. And I do put out sped-up videos of my workouts every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of her running around me. These are not perfect workouts by any means. But she— you'll see her sometimes trying to do the moves I'm doing and We're laughing and we're just having fun with it because I'm not here to work out for the perfect workout. I'm here to move my body and I'm here to get those endorphins flowing and to put a smile on my face and focus on my health for her.

Mm-hmm.

So putting my health on the back burner by saying in the past, like, I can't do this 'cause she's up and, you know, she's gonna get in the way and I'm not gonna be able to do this the way I wanna do it, to changing all the way to the other side and being like, hey girl, we're doing this together. She knows when mom's about to work out. She has her own little bands that she grabs and we just do it together and we talk the whole time and we laugh and that's honestly how I'm still able to keep a healthier lifestyle is because I've incorporated her in instead of pushing her out and then using her as a reason not to.

That's beautiful. So what I'm hearing you say is that you've worked on adapting Your workout, whatever that looks like, and your lifestyle around not looking at— because like you, you did use the word excuse, like you could use it as an excuse. I mean, believe me, I can come up with all kinds of excuses why I'm not going to work out because I work out at home too. You know, it's like it works for me and I can come up with every excuse. You know, I don't want to get sweaty. I don't have to, you know, whatever it is. Like, there's so many reasons. But it sounds like you've kept the determination, the grit, and the adaptability, and you've just adjusted from there.

Yeah. Yeah. And it's an adjustment every time. Like, it's Monday today. I haven't done my workout yet. I will do my workout and she'll be running around and she'll be doing it with me. And don't get me wrong, there's times where it can get annoying because I'm like, okay, look out, you know, this is heavy. I don't want you to get hurt. But I also think, you know, I'm teaching her too, like, to be aware, you know? Like, there's so much more that is being taught besides working out. It's a time her and I now share together. And it's another time that, one, my phone's not in my hand. I'm not running my business. I'm not working my business. It's just me and her.

Mm-hmm.

You know, she'll come and go. And I just love that the reason I wanted to get healthy in the first place was for her. And that doesn't stop now, you know, just because I hit a certain number on the scale.

Hmm.

I want to instill it in her so she doesn't have to do what I had to do, where a part of the journey was weight loss. That hers is just, she knows how to have the balance. She knows it's good to move her body. She knows it feels good to be able to move. Her body because she saw it, because I modeled it. And to also know that it's always progress over perfection.

Yes.

That's something I want her to see.

I love it. I just want people to like really hook into this for a moment because I work with a lot of business owners. And let me tell you, like, you have that it factor, right? I want people to just like lean into this for a moment and hear what Paige said. That she found a clear enough reason why. And let's be honest, especially for parents, sometimes like for yourself isn't enough, right? I grew up with a parent that was so giving, so selfless, so like, but she would do anything for us kids, right? And you found a reason, a why, that was so motivating for you that when you talked about your workout, you didn't say, it's Monday, I haven't done my workout, I'll probably get to it. You said it in such a way that I will get to it. I want people to just lean into that for a minute. Because for you, what I'm hearing is that this is not an optional thing. This is a must. And this is something that you schedule and are very intentional with.

Yes. And I've broken it down to a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule because one, it's not overwhelming.

Hmm.

It doesn't feel like a chore like it used to. For me, working out used to be a chore. It almost— it used to be a punishment, like a punishment for not being where I wanted to be. And now I've just integrated it into my lifestyle because that's what I want, a healthy lifestyle forever. I guarantee you that when I'm, you know, 60, 70 years old, my workouts probably aren't going to look the same. But at least 3 times a week I'm going to be going on walks, or 3 times a week I'm going to be doing an aerobics class with my lady friends. Like, it's just going to be so ingrained in me that that's just what we do. And I hope that I instill that in Ava too. And it doesn't have to be this big, huge workout. Like, it doesn't have to be that. The important part is movement in your body and keeping your muscles active and your joints active so that you're having longevity later in life. I'm not looking to burn myself out here.

Yeah.

This is something to, you know, forever. This is a forever thing for me now, where in the past it was a yo-yo thing. It was like, okay, lost weight, and then back to unhealthy. Oh, now I'm not happy again. Okay, let me like power hour for a few weeks and then fall off again. Like, that's just, I just wanted to be done. Without. And so you make it adaptable, you make it work for what works for you. A gym membership isn't in the cards for me right now for what works for me. What works for me is incorporating Ava and doing the best I can with what I have and learning, like self-taught learning, you know. Pinterest is great, you guys, for workouts. YouTube is great for free workouts. You know, follow people who work out or even see if you can get in touch with them to help you build a workout. Like, there's just so many resources to be able to truly integrate it into your life and actually enjoy it.

I love that you said enjoy it. And something else you said that really stuck out for me was that, and I see people do this all the time, you know, they will punish themselves like, Oh my gosh, I ate a donut, so now I'm gonna go work out. It's almost like this punishing factor.

Yes.

I love that you talked about that because I don't hear a lot of health people talking about that. So that's— I love that you said that.

Yes, that was a transition and a shift in my own brain that I had to have, was that I needed to understand that I couldn't make this a punishment. Because if it was a punishment, it didn't feel good. And when it didn't feel good, I didn't want to do it. And when I didn't want to do it, I sat on my butt. And like nothing changed. So the biggest thing when it comes to having a healthier lifestyle and being more fit is allowing yourself to find a way to enjoy it. So yeah.

I love it. It's beautiful. So speaking of following people who do exercises, I know there are people on here that are going to want to follow you. So where do they find you?

On my Facebook page, Paige Brown. Find me on Facebook. As for Instagram, @TheExperienceBetterLifestyle, that's where you'll find me as well. I do have a Facebook group called Experience Better. And that's where I post more workouts. I post healthier lifestyle recipes. I do lives. I post motivation. It's just a support group in general, whether you choose to use the products I use or not. It's just a place to go to get ideas and to be inspired.

And if you guys are into the keto lifestyle, she does like little like cooking shows. It's so cute.

I love it.

Everything you make looks so good. I'm like, oh my gosh, this is amazing.

Thank you. I'm self-taught. Pinterest.

I love it. So what I'm hearing in your— the whole like the common thread in your entire story, your entire share. My experience of you today is that, you know, like, there's no excuses. Like, there's no reason for excuses.

No. Once you drop the excuses, you find your results. And that's truly what I found, and that's what I practice.

Boom. That's a hashtag right there. Like, drop your excuses, find your results.

I love it.

Well, thank you so much for coming on here today and sharing with us So many amazing takeaways in this interview. Like, this has been beautiful. I'm so glad to have you on here. So thank you so much.

Thank you so much for having me. I'm glad to be a part of this.

Absolutely. And everyone, go follow Paige. She's amazing. Find her on Facebook, find her on Instagram, get all those beautiful keto recipes, and her workout outfits are always on point.

Ah, thank you.

So go follow her and we will see you tomorrow. Bye.

Bye.