Fat Loss As We Age - Angie Lee Intervies Natalie Jill on this Topic

Hi, I'm Natalie Jill, fat loss expert turned lifestyle and high performance coach. Welcome to Listen up the podcast. On this podcast, I do what I do best. Taking complicated information that is relevant to us now and breaking it down simply with actionable steps you can implement to level up your life. I also regularly interview some of the most inspiring and courageous men and women on the planet who at their worst, learned how to achieve success greater than anything they ever, ever dreamed possible. Creating everything from nothing. If you are new here, I encourage you to go back and listen from episode one, when this podcast was previously called Leveling up for the Full Transformative Experience. It's that time of year, resolution time. And as we start thinking about wrapping up this year and getting into 2022, I know what so many of you are thinking is that 2002 is going to be a new beginning, a new chance for all of our goals, especially health, fitness, fat loss. Those come up as a top goal for so many people as we wrap up a year and start a new year. And I want to help you with that today because fat loss is my expertise. It's what I've been doing for years and years, well before I ever started this podcast here. So I'm doing something a little different. My good friend, Angie Lee, she is interviewing me on all questions related to fat loss as we age. I hope you'll find this helpful and interesting and I want to let you know that if you want to dive in more to this topic, I'm doing a a totally free interactive virtual workshop coming up a number of different dates. You can find that@www.nataliejillclass.com. all right, enjoy the episode.

Alrighty, let's dive into all things fat loss.

Yes, my favorite topic.

I am so excited to dive into this with you because I know that a lot of the women listening are curious about this and I think there's a way, I know there's a way to do fat loss in a healthy way and sustainably. And I know that right now in the health and wellness culture, it's looked down upon to even talk about fat loss. And God forbid people want to lose weight. But listen, if it's for health conditions and or it's your life, it's your body, you can do what you want. If for some reason you want to lose weight, I still believe we can honor that desire while still realizing that we can be grateful for the body that we currently have. So I want to address fat loss in a healthy, sustainable way, but also release the shame around wanting to Lose fat. Because there's a million different reasons why somebody would want to lose fat, and that's okay. It's their life, you know.

Yeah. And you know what, Angie? It's so interesting, but if you look at any. Any person that wants to achieve a goal in life, one of the biggest things that holds them back, you know, this is their. Is confidence in themselves. It's just that general confidence in themselves. And fortunate or unfortunate, when we are struggling with our body image or our health, that wreaks havoc on our confidence. It does. So a lot of women will come to me like they're wanting to achieve other goals, but this is the thing that's holding them back. They don't feel confident in their own skin. And as much as the Body Positive Movement has made such a big impact, it could be still triggering for people because then they go into self beat up, like, why haven't I accepted? Or what's wrong with me that I'm focused on this? So it's still a very heavy conversation that I have with women daily where they want to feel confident. It's not about being a size 6 or it's just they want to feel good in their own skin. And that involves fat loss.

It does, yeah, absolutely. I think it's. It's interesting to look at it from both sides of the spectrum. Like, hey, if somebody wants to lose fat, let them. Whatever they want to do, they can do. You can look however you want to look. If that's a size 12, if that's a size double zero, if that's a size two four, whatever it is, it doesn't matter. And so it's almost like the Body Positive Movement went. The Body Positive movement went way too far in shaming women to ever want to change their physique when that can be somebody's goal. So it's like, whatever.

Yes. Whatever makes you confident, whatever is going to make you thrive, whatever is going to make you feel like your best self. I'm in support of. With women.

Yeah. And be healthy. You know, there is a point where it's. It's necessary to lose some weight for people who. It's impacting their organs, and the extra weight is impacting their energy levels and how they show up. So I want you to first address kind of the mistakes that you see in fat loss.

Yes.

What you see people doing wrong. Because there's a lot of diets, and every day there's a new diet, the grapefruit diet. The diet. I've pretty much done all of them. I Love being a guinea pig. But. But at the end of the day, it's interesting to really figure out what, which ones work for you. But I'd love for you to talk about the mistakes you see and then we'll dive into your thoughts on caloric deficits and stuff like that.

Totally. So many mistakes. But the number one mistake is so many diets out there are so focused on deprivation. What you can't have, what you must give up, what you can't do. And the reason I have fully decided that's a mistake is when you go in that direction and you set yourself up for failure. Because the second you're told, think about it just in our lives, when you're told you can't do something or you shouldn't do something, it's human tendency to want to do it. So then you have this story of I did this, am I a bad person? Or I failed or I have a setback. When most people start a traditional diet plan where you're giving up entire food groups or really focusing on lack, they might start off strong, but the second they feel they made a mistake, it goes into something yourself beat up. So the number one mistake I see is trying to follow a totally restrictive plan because that doesn't work in lifestyle and that sets you up for failure and feeling bad about yourself. That's the number 1 1.

What do you feel is the other big mistake you see when it comes to dieting? Is it the, the severe caloric deficits? I mean let's, let's dive into that a little bit.

Yeah, so, so that it. Well, and before I get into caloric deficits, then the second thing would be really focusing on the scale. You see, when we focus on the scale also that fluctuates daily. We can't control that. You're going to fluctuate daily just as a female especially. So what's more important is to focus on how you're feeling, maybe your measurements, how something fits. But the scale is one of the worst things. It definitely wreaks havoc on your mindset. Think about it, you're feeling good, you're feeling empowered, you get on the scale, it didn't budge the way you want it to and immediately go to self beat up. So that's the problem. Calorie deficits, dramatic. When you're counting calories. Not a fan of that. Now, based on science, sure. You create a deficit of 3,500 calories, you lose 1 pound of fat. Can't argue that the problem with focusing on calorie Counting is we grossly underestimate. Underestimate how many we're burning in a day. I'm sorry, underestimate how much we're burning in a day. And we overestimate that as well. So we underestimate how much we are, sorry, consuming. And then we overestimate how much we're burning. So it's very hard to track that. And two, when you look at a food, it's very hard to know exactly how many calories in it. Think take an apple, for example. How many calories in an apple? Well, it depends. How big is it? How ripe is it? There's a lot of variables. So when you're really stuck on calorie counting, counting calories like that, it can get very challenging. Yeah.

What are your thoughts on if it fits your macros? You know, it's interesting. I, gosh, six, seven years ago when I was doing bikini shows, I didn't know about flexible dieting or if it fits your macros. So I just ate cold chicken breast and six ounces of broccoli and two almonds every two hours. And it was disgusting. And, oh, my gosh, I mean, I got ripped. But I was depressed, literally depressed. So my thoughts are, I kind of wish that I had known about metabolic. Um, I kind of. I kind of wish I would have known about flexible dieting, because I think I would have implemented a little bit of that. But it's interesting that I just thought it was the type of food when in reality it's, it's. It is still both. I mean, there is still science to calories in, calories out. I mean, you can't deny that aspect a little bit.

What do. You can't. You can't deny the calories and calories out. It's the how we're tracking it that's an issue. So when you talk about flexible dieting, um, different, like even intermittent fasting, if you look at that, all of those have a place. But the question that you want to ask yourself is, is this something I can do for a lifetime? That's number one. And then the second question is, is the food I'm consuming, is it actually doing anything to help me? So, for instance, you take a bag of M&Ms. And you look at the calorie content. You can't. You know that that is not going to do for your body what those same calorie content in a lot of vegetables would do for your body. For example, there's so many health benefits in the unprocessed natural, real foods. Versus okay, we're just going to put this food in because it's the certain calories or it fits into the definition of what I'm supposed to be eating in that category right now. So choosing those natural, real, unprocessed foods that actually add goodness to your body is what's going to help with the cravings, with the fat loss, with your energy, with your focus, with all of those things. So I don't love the rules of let's just follow flexible diet, or let's just intermittent fast and eat all our foods in a certain amount of hours. There is stuff behind that. But then what foods are you choosing and are they helping or hurting your body?

Yeah. So if the woman listening wants to lose 10 to 15 pounds, she's just wanting to tighten up a little bit or tone up as we, as we say, tone it up. What, what would you say are her first few initial steps if she's eating fairly healthy? She thought she was. She goes to the gym maybe once or twice a week, but it's just that stubborn last 10 to 15 pounds that she feels like, is this hormonal? Is this, I'm not dieting hard enough. I mean, this, this is where it can get pretty complicated.

Yes, yes. So the number, the first two things I'm going to tell you are not going to be exactly tactical when it comes to nutrition and fitness, but they're super important. And then I'm going to get into some of the do this, do that. But the first two things, and I talk about this a lot, is decide and vision. And let me explain that. Number one, most women haven't actually decided they're ready to lose or release that weight, whatever that number is. What they do is they say things like, my hormones aren't allowing me, or I've tried everything, or it doesn't work in my body, or these injuries are preventing me. There's a story associated with it. A decision is, I am going to release these 10 pounds, these 15 pounds, these 50 pounds, these 100. Whatever it is, it's a firm decision that it's going to happen and it's stopping. That voice of all the reasons why you haven't been able to. Those I call false assumed truths, the fat, the false assumed truths. When we come with a story of why we can't, we have not actually decided we're going to do it. So that's number one. The second thing is the vision. What is it that you actually want for your body? So that's more than I just want to lose 10 or 15 pounds, it's. Why do you want to lose it? Is it for health reasons? Is it to be more focused? Is it so you can feel more confident getting really clear on what you want and why you want it? Why you want it. You see most people jump right into the action. I just got to beat myself up harder at the gym. I just got to diet harder. Those things that you just said. But when we skip those first two steps, we're missing something critical there. You know, in your life, Angie, when you've decided something, it happens like when you've made a firm decision versus when you say, I'm going to, I'm going to dabble or try. Then once you've done those things and you're clear on that, then it's stepping into the food and the workouts. And there's some critical things I want to say there about that. Number one, with workouts, this is really critical. There's two words I want people to focus on progression and intensity. Most people go and do their workout and they're not actually progressing and they're not being an intent doing it intense. I want to explain what those mean. Progression is not doing three sets of 12 of the same exercise week after week, year after year. When you do that, I hear things like, oh, What I did 10 years ago is no longer working for me. It's not that that exercise isn't working for you. You haven't progressed. So progression means you go a little heavier, you go faster, you go longer, you do more. It's doing something more. You're constantly increasing. And then intensity doesn't mean you're an Olympic sprinter. It means you're being intense for you, meaning you're going to go do a workout. Uh, if I go with you, Angie, and maybe you can knock out 20 pull ups, but I can't do any, let's call it you pushing past 20 pull ups is intense for you. But me working towards, towards one might be intense for me. But if you focus on progression and intensity, your body changes. When it comes to food. The biggest rule I have for people, and it's so simple, they, they usually will giggle. But most people aren't actually doing this is to focus fully on eating an unprocessed, natural, real food diet. So that means foods that once grew. So fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, oils, lean meats, concentrating on foods that once grew. And my motto is eat so much of the good that you make less room for the bad. So now the pizza, the other stuff is not as tempting because you're filling your body up with so many great, natural, unprocessed foods.

Yeah, I love that. It's interesting because I think a lot of people immediately go to calories in, calories out, when in reality I think it's a mix. Right. It's like you need the high quality foods, but also you need to look at your portions.

I see it as both, yes, and calories in, calories out will work short term, but what it doesn't do is help you with long term health. It just does not. It might work short term on the scale, but if you're just focusing on calories, you're giving up a lot of macronutrients. You're not looking at foods that fuel you. I mean, as we're recording this, I'm 50 years old right now and a lot of times people will say to me, oh my gosh, I'm shocked that you're 50. And to me I'm like, well, what's 50 supposed to look like? And the reason they think I don't necessarily look 50 is fully from how I've eaten and moved my body. And because I focus on 99% of my diet being unprocessed, natural, real foods that heal us, you counter inflammation, you naturally have fat loss, you naturally have more energy and focus. All things work because of that. And you've seen me, Angie, I don't never eat junk. I mean, I'm definitely human, but it's focusing that on the majority of the time. If I was focused on calorie counting, I wouldn't be necessarily getting in all of those nutritious foods. And a little unknown to thing is that when you're eating natural, real foods and you're balancing them right with fats, proteins and carbs, you naturally are not going to have those cravings, you're not going to be hungry. So the need for calorie counting goes away because your body self regulates. It tells you when you actually are hungry, when you're actually full. That's how you knew you're doing the right things. When you're strictly calorie counting. One thing I'll see people do wrong is they'll add in things like artificial sweeteners or fat free foods, or they think, oh, there's no calories in the soda, so I can have it, you know, or there's no calories in this, this I can have it. But what happens, you load your body with artificial sweeteners, your body thinks it's getting more foods and it's not so now you're going to create cravings and more hunger. So it's a vicious cycle. Not to mention what it does to your gut health, which also is going to contribute to fat gain and your mood. Yeah.

When I think of leanness, if somebody asked me what are some of your tips for maintaining leanness? The three things that I do that are very mundane but to be honest, I mean, I'm sure you're going to tell us about this. Fat loss isn't necessarily sexy. It's a lot of just consistency. I would say it's walking sleep and protein balancing my blood sugar. Those three things have been huge for me. I'm curious, what are your things that if you were on a, I almost said a deserted island, but what three things? If you couldn't give it up and you had to really think of the three to five things that really have contributed to you maintaining a, a general leanness. I mean especially now at 50.

Yes.

You could basically kind of slack off for a few weeks and you'd still maintain, I feel like leanness because you have, you've built up so much consistency.

Yeah, so, so it's a, as a great question and I will say I had a bunch of injuries last year. It was like a running joke with my friends, like I couldn't believe, just freak accidents that got me injured. And the reason I maintained my body for the most part was because of the consistency with diet. So number one, it's going to be your diet. It's what you do the majority of the time. So typically if you, when you are not working out, when you're not moving your body, your body needs less calories. So it's going to be less hungry. So it's listening to that and not fueling for things you don't need. So when you are sitting on the couch or not working out, your body's not actually hungry. But when you start with the junk food or the snack foods, you're going to go down a different cycle. So it's listening to your body and really feeling for what you need versus what you just want. That's, that's number one. Number two, being daily active, like you said, moving, not sitting. When you're working, can you use a stand up desk? Can you walk in pace when you're on the phone? Can you go for a daily walk? Can you just generally move your body? That's key. You don't want to be inactive. The more you're inactive, the more you're setting your body up for that. That game next Thing you mentioned it, sleep deprivation, that's huge. When you don't have enough sleep, your body will try to self regulate. It's going to look for more food, it's going to look for more calories, it's going to look for that to feel. And that creates another issue. We start craving carbohydrates, we start craving sugars because we're tired. So sleep is going to help dramatically that. But my number one rule, the biggest thing for continually staying at your peak self and not gaining that excess unwanted fat is using those, that progression and your intensity in your workout. So for instance, you said you love to walk, but going for a faster pace walk, getting your heart rate up so you've got that anaerobic going that's going to really start to tap into fat burning and it makes a huge difference. I would much rather put somebody on a 20 minute intense interval workout where you're spiking your heart rate and you're in fat burning mode for the rest of the day. And you also develop more lean muscle, which lean muscle, you burn more calories at rest. I would much rather put somebody in that than tell them to just go do an hour of just whatever workout.

My question is, this is fascinating. My question is about cortisol and working out. Because what I've noticed is I actually, I looked worse the more I worked out. So I want to know what that is, what's going on? It's got to be an inflammation over training thing. Because I think when people hear, I think when people hear that, they're like.

What do you mean?

I'm like, no, when I was doing CrossFit I was super puffy, I was super inflamed, I was definitely heavier, my joints hurt. And then I switched to yoga, walking and some resistance training sprinkled in and I looked better. So I was like, what is going on? This is crazy. I don't know if it's because I also ate a lot more when I was doing CrossFit, so my caloric expenditure was out.

You know, there's a lot of variables. Yeah, there's a lot of variables through.

The roof, but it could have been.

A number of things. One, if you did have something going on with your thyroid, that would absolutely affect that. Because when we do have something with our thyroid or adrenal fatigue, those high intensity intervals could, could create a problem. So that, that is absolutely true right there. It's not as common as people think, but that is a possibility. Number two, when you are training that way, especially that CrossFit style, you are going to want to eat more, so you're going to be hungrier. So I, I'd have to look at what you were eating along with that. But that could have created that for you. Absolutely. And also what's going on in your life affects cortisol, so stress affects that. A lot of variables there. So the key is figuring out what works well for your body. And I know you, Angie, so even when you think you're training light, you are doing intense things. So you are getting that benefit. You might, might have just going a whole nother extreme level when you were doing those.

Yeah, it's interesting. I've talked to a bunch of girlfriends about this recently who are switching their intense workouts for more walking in yoga and restorative stuff and they look and feel better. So.

Yeah, but yoga can be intense if you think about it. I mean, the, what you're doing in yoga is still intense and progression. And if it's changed for you, if it's changed for somebody, you're gonna see a result with that.

That's true. I'm curious about working out with your cycle. I've been trying to match my workouts with my menstrual cycle.

Yeah. Yeah. So that's a great question. And I'm curious what you're doing with that. Exactly. But the way that it works with your cycle is you're gonna feel very different at different times of the month and you're definitely gonna be stronger at certain times of the month. So for instance, the week that you're ovulating, you are very focused, you've got the most energy, you've got, you're going to be able to be a lot stronger and have more intense workouts. That's no question there. And right before you're going to feel, right before your cycle, you're going to feel tired, less down. So it is important to know what's going on there. So for the. My biggest reason for people is to not be in self beat up because what happens is right before your cycle you're feeling tired, not as strong, whatever it is, and it's easy to go into self beat up. That what's wrong with me, I'm not being as intense, but being aware of your cycle, tracking it, using an app to track it, knowing when you're having it is very empowering just in life in general to know why certain times you feel better than others, why you feel stronger than others, and then taking advantage of that.

Yeah, how I'm doing it is Essentially, like you said, I'm matching my. Yeah, it's kind of like, I guess. And we'll get into hormones. Because I know you love talking about hormones. To me, it feels like. To me, it feels really natural and intuitive now. It's like, okay, when I'm menstruating, I'm tired. I'm really tired that week, so I'm not going to force myself to go crazy. So essentially, what I do is just. The week that I'm menstruating, I give myself permission to not do anything intense. I walk a lot, but that's about it. And then when I'm in ovulation, that's when I do my most intense stuff. But it's been really cool, and I think it's been really healthy for my hormones.

Yes, it is. And I think I innately do that. So as you're saying that I'm like, you know what? I think I probably just innately do that. That's one of the things about being really in tune with your body. I look at it like a body of water. If you were to walk by a really clean body of water, like a beautiful body of water, and you throw one piece of trash in it, your eyes would go right to that trash and you would know what caused it to look funny. However, if you walked by a really dirty body of water with lots of trash and muck and junk in there, and you threw more trash in, you wouldn't even be able to see it. It just would look bad. And I really use that analogy with our bodies because the cleaner you are with your nutrition, the more you're eating natural, real, unprocessed foods, the more you're listening to your cycle, the more you're in tune with your sleep, with circadian rhythm, with your body, with your movement, the more you're in tune with it, you start getting very aware of what's affecting it. And that is super empowering. Like, you know darn well that when you feel like that and you eat one food and now you feel swollen or something's hurting, you know what's causing it, or you know that, gosh, I was dragging on this workout and, oh, it's that time of month. It's my hormones. You want to know that. So you want to be that clean body of water, so you know it's affecting it. And I think in your case, Angie, you are that. So you're very aware, and that's why you are so attracted to those types of things, because it makes so much sense for you. Because your body's so in tune with that.

Yeah, that makes sense. I'm curious what you think about intermittent fasting?

Yeah, yeah, great question. So I actually like intermittent fasting. The problem with it is that it's very challenging to make it a lifestyle. For those of you that don't know, intermittent fasting means you're eating all of your foods within four to six hour window and then you're fasting the rest of the time. The general thought process behind it is when your body's secreting insulin, you're not burning fat. So by not eating, by fasting you're not secreting insulin. So you're going to be in higher fat burning mode. Great. Yes. Does that work? Yes. However, two things. One, you still want to make sure you're eating natural, real unprocessed foods in the window. Okay. Because it's very easy if you're eating whatever you want. You might have a drop in weight in general, but it's not necessarily fat loss or helping with your health. The second thing is, can you use that for a lifestyle? Most people can't live eating all their foods in four to six hours. So what I teach is something called modified fasting, which means you are going to give your body a break. It's just not that extreme. So the break that I teach is 12 hour window at night. So let's say your last meal is at 6 or at 8. You don't eat until the next morning at 6 or 8. For me, currently my last meal is at about 6 o'. Clock. I go a little bit longer. My first meal is probably about 10:30 or 11 the next day. So to me that's a modified fasting window. It's not as extreme.

Yeah, that's what I've been naturally doing is I stop eating dinner around five or six and then trying to eat when I'm intuitively actually hungry around 8 or 9pm in, in the, around 8 or 9am in the morning. And so I've been naturally kind of listening to that and it feels really good. I think it's when just, I think it's when people go really extreme that it seems to be.

And also in our years of fitness, Angie, and you know this from back in your competition days, it was taught to eat every two to three hours. You didn't want your body to eat its muscle. That was the thing. So when you're eating every two to three hours like that, could it work? Sure. The problem is most people, they're not eating that specific the way you did in fitness at that time. So we are, we're keeping that insulin secretion going. So I also teach that there's no need for that. You don't need to eat every two to three hours. It's eating when you're hungry, stopping when you're full. So spreading those meals out also gives you that break. If you spread them out more, you have that gap and that's a time that you're not secreting insulin and you up your fat burning chances that way as well. Yeah.

And I feel like it's really good for anti aging.

It's extremely good for anti aging. Extremely good. But so is eating those unprocessed foods. I cringe when somebody is fully keto or they're fully just counting macros or calorie counting and they're not looking at those things. You will rapidly age yourself if you are not eating those foods. Vegetables, fruits, those things help you with anti aging big time. They're going to help with cell restoration, they're going to help turn things over. You want, you need those foods for skin elasticity. We need collagen, we need a lot of these good foods. So when you give up too many things, you might look thinner, you might feel that, but you're not going to do anything to help with the aging. Yeah.

Before we get back to nutrition. To nutrition. What else do you love for. For anti aging? I know everyone is probably super curious how you look 30 and you're 50, so we need to know everything.

So number one, it's going to be the, it's going to be the food. So eating natural and processed real food. Number two, it's going to be getting real vitamin D. I'm a huge fan of that. I'm a fan of the sun. I don't mean go bake and tan in the sun, but you got to get outside and get nature every day and get some real vitamin D. That's huge to me, getting your sleep, getting a really good solid night's sleep. I'm a fan of the Oura ring because it tracks your sleep exact. So you know, if you're getting deep sleep, if you're getting good quality sleep, that's critical. That's when your body repairs itself while you're sleeping. So it's critical to get that the next thing is your gut health. Your gut is your second brain. I mean, this is so critical. So when you're eating artificial sweeteners, when you're eating fake foods, when you're eating inflammatory foods like lots of dairy, grains, sugar, you're wreaking havoc on your gut. You're not doing anything to help the aging process. And then there's just a few things I love supplement wise. I'm a huge fan of collagen. Collagen is the building bones for our gut, for our spine, skin for our hair, for everything. So huge fan of collagen. And then the biggest thing, and you're going to laugh at this, Angie, but be around people that are, that are youthful, that are having fun, because there's a heavy story with people my age that were too old and it's too late and I don't love it. I don't love being around people my age that are complaining of aches and pains and complaining that they're too old and it's too late. I would say I've got a lot of flipping friends that are your age. I do. Because I don't think about my age when I'm with you guys. I just do. It's just feels natural and normal and I have fun and I'm enjoying life and I'm not focused on the fact that I'm 50 and what that's supposed to mean.

Yeah, that's so smart of you. I feel like. Yeah, I don't even think about it unless you bring it up. You literally feel 30 to me.

So. But it's, I mean, it's. Seriously, it's not amazing to be around a lot of people complaining about their pains. Like, I don't want to hear it. I'd rather like, I just want to be around youthful. I just want to be around that.

Yeah, well, I'm sure there's some woo woo science behind that, you know, I do. I think there's something to be said about the environment that you're in. And if you're hearing the stories of I'm in pain, I'm old, I'm in pain, I'm old. Well, eventually you become the people you hang out with, so that becomes your reality.

It absolutely is. And I like to redefine what 50 is. I tell women all the time, you are not too old and it's not too late. But I. That's where that decision comes into play. Because if you've decided that it's too old and you're too late and your injuries or whatever are stopping you, you will keep going down that path. There's no harm in deciding the opposite. You know, deciding that you are. You know, my last book was called Aging in Reverse Decide that's you. Like, obviously we can't Stop aging. That's. It's a blessing to be able to age, but you can choose to do it in a very empowering way.

Yeah. If you were 30 years old again, what would you, what would you tell your 30 year old self if you could go back in time and sit down with her?

I would tell her everything that I just shared with you. And then I would tell her to stop tanning because that is one regret I have is from literally like baking in the sun from. And tanning beds years ago. So I would have told myself that. But other than that, I'd say, I would say everything I've done now, it took me years to really fine tune and figure this out. So I do regret some things that I did. I regret that I calorie counted. I regret that I tried to give up full food groups. I regret all of that because I believe that contributed to the injuries that I got. Had I eaten the way that I eat now, I believe I would have avoided a lot of that. Those things build up over time. If I were to do an MRI on all of your listeners, most people would have degeneration in their, in their back, for instance, every. As we age, we all get some kind of degeneration. What that means, how you feel it, what that, how that expresses itself. That's all from our diet and our movement. So by taking care of yourself earlier, you're going to avoid a lot of that. You know, I think of things like, you know, think of doing like squats or leg presses or any of that. Angie. When we're younger, we just do them to do them. When you're older, you really start to connect the dots of like feeling it in your glutes, feeling it in your hamstrings, doing them correctly, you don't get back issues. A lot of our issues in our lower back and suffer from doing things incorrectly because we weren't in tune with that. We weren't listening to our bodies. We didn't know.

Yeah, absolutely. Do you think when it comes going back to fat loss, are you a fan of people initially counting their calories just to get an idea of portions or what are your thoughts on these apps like MyFitnessPal?

I'm completely against calorie counting. I think it sets us up for failure. I've helped way too many women out of it. I'm a fan of balancing your food. So looking at proteins, carbs and fats. So first rule, what are the unprocessed natural foods I'm going to eat. Second rule, I've got to add in more of the good to make less room for the bad. The third thing is how do I balance things together? So every time you eat, are you having a protein, are you having a fat and are you having a carb? Making sure you're balancing. Now there's all different kinds of carbs and I list them as like the ideal and then the not ideal. The ideal carbs are fruits and vegetables. Huge fan of fruits and vegetables because they add a benefit to our body. Not a huge fan of a lot of the starchy processed carbs at all. Not a fan of the gluten free donuts or the bagels or any of that. Doesn't mean never never. But it's really being aware that's not adding any benefit to our body. So balancing the proteins, carbs and fats with the right choices from those, you're going to see a huge change in your body and it's liberating to get away from the calorie counting.

Yeah. So it sounds like you're a big fan of balancing blood sugar.

I am, but I don't teach people like we've gotta balance your blood sugar. Instead. I just know that it naturally happens when you're doing those things. I find with people, at least with the gosh, I've helped over 250,000 women lose the weight and keep it off. What I found with them is there's a lot more success in simplifying it for them. The more detailed we get in that, the more people overthink and the more they go into self beat up when they think they're doing it wrong. So I really like to simplify things for people and have it be as basic as possible. They were eating natural, unprocessed foods and we're balancing them out. It makes such a big difference. I know like you, for instance, Angie, you eat like that naturally without even. Because it's ingrained in you in a lot of ways. You eat like that. Yeah. And for. It's amazing how many women don't fully understand that because they've been misled by so much information overload. They think it has to be so complicated.

Yeah. I'm curious your thoughts on what if someone listening is thinking, well, Natalie, I have really bad cravings and I'm hungry all the time.

Yes. Yeah. Then you're not. Then you're not eating the way that I'm talking about and somebody might get triggered initially and go, yes, I am. I'm eating totally clean. No, I'd have to look at what you're eating. I'm telling you having oatmeal and a banana for breakfast is not eating clean. I'm telling you that what people are eating and they think is clean is not clean eating. Eating egg whites for breakfast is not ideal. Not what I, what I what I mean, when we are lacking and we're not eating the right balance of protein, carbs and fats and the right foods, we are absolutely going to have cravings, we're going to be hungry. When you're balancing that way, like in the method I teach, and thrive when you do that, your cravings go away and you're not hungry. So it's trusting that process and stepping into that and it's, it's got to forget a little bit about the other things we've been told. Otherwise it keeps us trapped. Yeah.

So you're a huge fan of balancing the plate with carbs, proteins, fat.

Absolutely. I think it's critical.

Yeah. What are your thoughts on? I feel like I know what you're going to say, but I feel like a lot of the women are curious about supplements and fat burners and pre workouts and these, these supplement companies that, you know, we see these ads on instagram to lose 12 pounds in 6 days if you just drink this tea.

So my gosh, so much to say there. What? I'm not anti supplement supplement at all. Like, I think there's a definite place for supplements. Heck, I love your CBD oil. It's a supplement. However, supplements are meant to supplement be in addition to real natural foods and I'm not a fan of quick fixes. I do not believe there's any quick fix that doesn't have a caveat to it. So when you take a supplement that has that. If you take a supplement that's meant to replace or be a quick fix, it's not going to work long term. Fat burners, for instance, wreak havoc on your metabolism. They're a nightmare for you. They might work initially, but what are they doing to your heart? What are they doing long term to your brain, to your body? You're going to have a rebound effect from that. I've seen it for years with, you know, think about guys that use steroids. Like think about they use testosterone, they're killing it at the gym. As soon as they stop, what happens to their body if they're not producing anymore and they're going to backfire and gain a lot of weight. So you got to be really aware of what you're taking and why. So I'm not anti supplements. I'm just. It's a very. It has to be very strategic. I'm a fan of testing your blood, knowing exactly what you're lacking and need first and not playing a guessing game. I strategically use cbd, for instance, every single day. And I know you do too, Angie, because I know it helps with stress, which ultimately helps with cortisol, it helps with my sleep. All of those things are amazing. So being aware of that, but not just stacking supplements because there's some quick fix promise.

Yeah, absolutely. I would love for you to walk us through a day that is fat loss. I don't want to say, what's the word I want to use? I don't want to say fat loss positive. That sounds weird, but I'm like, wait, edit that out. That sounds weird. But going back to fat loss, I want you to walk us through an example day of some really good habits. Because to me, at the end of the day, fat loss is habits. Our life is just habits. If you have great habits, then you get the outcome you want. If we look at our goals, it all goes back to habits. So totally to me, what would that example day look like? Whether it's the sleep, the low intensity walking, the hydration.

I'll give you an ideal. I'll give you an ideal. And I love what you just said because you can be an entirely different person. Everyone listening. This is really. If you're going to write one thing down, you can be an entirely different person by changing your thoughts, actions and habits. So we talked a lot about thought, the belief, what's possible. But your actions and habits are what then make it come to fruition. So you can be an entirely different person by changing those things. And the question I used to ask myself before I was fit, before I was healthy, was if I was the girl, that is who I want to be. If I was that person already there, what are the actions and habits that I would do daily? So instead of saying, what do I feel like doing or what do I need to do? I would say, if I am that girl operating from who I want to be, what, what would I need to be doing today? And that's how I made those choices. So I've continued to do that every single day. It's the question I ask myself every day. If I want to be my ideal self, what are the actions and habits I have to do? So that is not picking up your phone and scrolling Instagram. I like to do it too, but that's not going to help me get me where I want to go. I know that. So the things that are a must do every day is I've got to one, create space just to think and daydream. It's critical. That sounds so funny and woo woo. And people think they don't have time. But for any goal, you've got to have space to just be yourself and think and daydream. That's number one. Number two, moving daily. I love going for a daily walk. I'm standing while I'm at my desk. I pace when I'm on the phone. It's constant action so your body is staying in motion. Number three, constantly fueling myself with unprocessed foods. Like, okay, it's a game with myself. How many vegetables can I get in today? How many natural real foods can I get in today? And on that note, how can I stay hydrated? So I carry around a huge bottle of water all day. Most people that are walking around chronically dehydrated, believe it or not. And it shows up as I'm tired or I have cravings or I'm foggy headed or I'm hungry. And a lot of times it's just your hydration. So constantly drinking that water and staying fueled there. And then finally when I do do my workouts, which is not every day, it's a couple times a week thinking about that progression and intensity. So I'm making it count. So that's I'm going to get in, I'm going to hit it hard for 20 minutes, I'm going to bust my butt and then I'm going to spike my metabolism for the rest of the day and get out of there.

Okay, so tell me a little bit about your sleep and your thoughts on this because I know this isn't sexy to talk about, but it's real. Sleep is so important when it comes to fat loss.

Yes, I sleep nine hours a night and I know that sounds really excessive to people and I get it.

I love it. We're twins.

Yeah. But I sleep nine hours a night. I crave it. I want to be in bed by 9 o'. Clock. That's what I do. I sleep nine hours. My husband makes fun of me and I don't care. I tell him that's why I look 30 years younger than him. Just kidding. I'm just kidding, Brooks. But. But I love to sleep. And you know, it's funny, I used to make fun of my mom doing the same thing when she was my age. My mom's 75 and she looks like she's 50 and I know that has a lot to do with it. Sleep is when you repair yourself.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I'm curious, some more mistakes before I want to ask you about adhd. We're going to get to that. But yes, I'm curious. More mistakes you see when it comes to fat loss. Like things that you see that you're like, oh, man, I know that that's. Seems like that might work, but it really doesn't like things you see and. Or things can really help them.

Yes. Okay. Keto is one example. Keto has a medical. It could work for a lot of things. It can work for type 2 diabetes. There's some research on it with cancer. There's some medical reasons for. Keto makes sense. I think it's a huge mistake for most people. It's going to rapidly age you. It's not something you can stick to for a lifetime and it's not enjoyable. So I think that's a huge one. And I've helped more people get off that keto bandwagon than I can even care to count. It's really screwed with a lot of people. So I'm not a fan of that. Now. I'm not saying it doesn't work. There's some people that have mastered it and it's amazing. I'm not going to fight you on it. I'm not challenging you. But for general weight loss, I'm not a fan of it. That's number one. Two, I don't like anything that gives up entire food groups. And as soon as you're saying you can't have carbs or you can't have fat, that's a problem to me. That's a big problem. Three, the big mistake we've beat it up already was the calorie counting, because it's hard to be accurate with that. And then the fourth thing is anything that's fully extreme like that HGC, if I am saying that right, HCG diet, where you're going extreme low 600 calories a day, dangerous messes with your metabolism. That's an extreme mistake. And then the most recent mistake that I still battle with some people is the eating every two hours. That was something that we definitely did 20 years ago. It came from the bodybuilding industry. It makes sense for growing muscle. Your body can only process a certain amount of protein at one time. So to put on muscle as a bodybuilder, you've got to do that. It makes sense. It doesn't make sense for general weight loss. Most people don't do it right. And they'll end up gaining weight by eating every few hours like that. So those are the main mistakes. I see the biggest mistake, which I didn't mention yet, the number one is what I call the false assumed truths. It's going into a plan, going into a program with the belief that you've tried everything and nothing's going to work because you're shooting yourself in the foot before you even start with that belief.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Oh, I love that. Let's chat a little bit about adhd. We both have it. We both love it. It's our superpower. It's the best.

Yeah.

But going a little bit into, I mean, we can, we can hit it from the health aspect, but also the entrepreneurial aspect. How, how do you deal with it and what do you, what do you think about it? What are your current thoughts on how to manage it and all of that.

So I love my adhd. I'm going to be real. It was not amazing growing up in school because everyone kept labeling me and, and kept telling me that I wasn't applying myself or I wasn't trying hard enough. And that really should change because I believe it's a gift. When people have ADHD, I think it's a superpower. And with most ADHDs, you have the ability to hyper focus and then you have an ability to hugely tune out. So. So it's. It's either or. Almost every entrepreneur I know is adhd and it's a gift. Just like on this podcast right now with you. I'm hyper focused. I can be super hyper focused when I'm interested, when something's important, when I need to concentrate on it, when something's not important, my body will tune out to it. I can't make myself focus. And I think it's actually a gift to know that about yourself and to not waste time on things that aren't important. It's kind of like my clean water analogy. Right. You know, it's a good thing. I don't think it's negative to not be able to force yourself to learn boring things. I just don't. So I don't, I don't have an issue with it. I think that it's all how you look at it. If you yourself have ADHD listening or you have a child and you've been worried about it, like, do I need to medicate them? Do I need to do all that? You know, I would change your perspective and look at it as a gift. And how can you do that. My daughter is also adhd and she's really channeled it into her music, into her art. I think it's amazing. Is she an amazing student? No, but she's amazing in a lot of other things, and I'm not worried about it in life. So I fan her things that she is amazing, amazing with and help her get better at those. Yeah, yeah.

What do you think about the current supplements for adhd? I'm a huge fan of nootropics and playing around with those. I know you and I have fell in love with a few different brands of nootropics.

I think nootropics can be amazing. It's got to be the right formula for the right person. I know, like with me, nootropics, some have worked, some have not. And it all depends on what's going on with you. Like, for instance, I have the MTHFR gene. I think you do too. Angie. Do you have that? Yeah. So there's a good part of the population that has that. We are wired a little bit differently. So we got to be. Be really aware. If you. When. If you have the kind of brain that is always gas on, like it's just gas on and rarely gas off, then nootropics can either calm that or can put you in a hyperdrive there. So it's really just being aware of how you feel on certain things. So again, I'm not anti supplements. I'm just really aware of. Are you cleaning up your diet first? Are you moving your body? Are you hydrating? Do you have those things down? So now you know, if you're adding something, is it actually helping or hurting you?

Yeah, absolutely. Oh, this is so juicy. I'm trying to think what else I want to know about fat loss. I have, like, so many questions. I want to, like, dig even deeper into fat loss because, yeah, I feel like they're probably like. It's just so overwhelming. It's like.

Yes.

Where do you even start?

Let's talk about. I've got two questions that most people ask.

Yeah, let's go ahead.

Let's go. Let's talk about belly fat naps. You want to talk about those?

Because. Oh, my gosh.

Okay.

As I didn't think of that.

Okay, so belly fat's the big one I get from women. How do I lose belly fat? And they send me pictures squishing their skin together or whatever it is. Okay. So whatever is going on in your stomach, there's. There's three things it could be. Number one, it could just flat out be bloat. Now, bloat is excess water retention and there's a few things that cause that. So bloat is caused by, number one, artificial sweeteners. Huge bloater. It can be caused by eating foods that your body does not do well with. Huge allergens to people are dairy, grains, sugar. Dairy and grains are known bloating foods. So not everybody reacts to it, but a lot of people do. So bloating can go away simply by giving up dairy and grains, with a lot of people giving up artificial sweeteners. Huge right there. Also hormone fluctuations. Me personally, I probably gain five to seven pounds before my cycle every month, just in bloat and water weight. It goes away once it starts. So bloat is one thing that you might be squeezing. The second thing you might be squeezing is excess skin. Now, excess skin will not change. So for instance, you've just had a baby, you've just lost a lot of weight, you might have excess skin. If you look at a picture of me, I've got abs, but I also have excess skin. So if I were to squeeze it together, you would see that. But with excess skin, although you cannot eliminate that. I don't care who tells you what about some wrap or potion, it's not going to eliminate the skin. But what you can do is you can drastically change the appearance by developing your core, developing your ads, you're growing muscle there and then losing overall body fat. That will change the appearance drastically. And then the third thing that could be going on with your belly is just purely fat and stomach fat. You can't spot reduce. But by doing the right strategic exercises, really working your core things like planks and then losing the overall fat, you're going to make a gigantic difference on how that looks. And know the more muscle you have. So the more you work on building abs, even if it's under the layer of fluffy stuff, the more you work on developing ads, the abs, the more muscle you have and the more fat your body burns at rest. So you drastically will change the appearance of abs with that. So that's what's going on with belly fat and the midsection.

Yes. Also, let's talk about how crunches are a waste of time. I mean, could be good for the back, and I think planks are good for the back. And certain core exercises are good for back stability and back strength. But when I was competing in bikini shows, and I think some people might be surprised to hear this, but I think you'll obviously resonate with this and understand This. I didn't do one crunch to get my abs that shredded. And still to this day, I have a good midsection, and I don't do any crunches, but I am doing a lot of, you know, I am moving a lot, and I am eating really well. And so for me, it's nutrition, sleep, movement, the compound movements, when I am doing resistance training, some sprints here and there if I want to, but I'm. I'm not doing crunches ever. And I have found that that is such a crappy thing in the fitness industry that people are wasting 30 minutes with their personal doing crunches.

Yes, you don't need to do crunches, but here's what you do need to do. And I know you've got this down. Angie, you're great at this. When you're really in tune with your body, you want to constantly be using your core, which is your midsection. Your core is not just your abs. It's your whole midsection. So it's your back. It's even, like, your upper thighs. It's that whole midsection area. So when you're in life, moving, like, even if you're sitting, listening to this right now, whether you're driving or sitting, I want you to think about this for a minute. Sit with your feet down, put your back straight, and. And I want you to, like, sort of put your shoulders back, squeeze your abs, and push your ribs down a little bit, and you'll feel your abs engage. Okay. If you're standing, you can do it, too. If you're standing, you could squeeze your butt, put your shoulders back, and really put your ribs down and just squeeze that midsection. When you do that correctly, it takes the pressure off your lower back, and you're just engaging your core. If you concentrate on being in that motion, no matter what exercise you're doing, no matter what you're doing throughout the day, you naturally will start to develop those muscles in that core section, which is a amazing, important step in developing that. That whole area. So you do that, and then you dial in nutrition and do the intensity and progression. You're going to develop those abs in that area. You absolutely will. If you're looking for just, like, what's the exercise to do? There's a lot of exercises. My favorite one is going to be planks for me, and I've brought a lot of people into planks. And the reason is when you do planks, because correctly, they take pressure off your lower back and they develop there. It's actually a full body movement versus Just abs. They're really great for strength training.

Yeah. What would you say when it comes to exercise, if somebody feels like. I guess I'm trying to think. My question, if somebody feels like they. Like, where would they even start? Because I feel like a lot of the women listening aren't even. They possibly might not even work out at all. So it's like, do you start with high intensity, low intensity?

Oh, my gosh, yes.

Do I start with weightlifting? You know, Great question.

And when the women that come into my thrive program, by the way, they. I tell them that workouts aren't even mandatory. So workouts aren't even. The first thing you've got to do. The first thing you've got to do is go through the mindset stuff of deciding, so what is it that I want? I've made a decision. What's my vision for what I want and why do I want it? Number one. Number two is going to be the nutrition aspect. Then the three is the workout part. And it doesn't have to be as crazy as people think. The first thing is just start with movement. So just start with walking. Even starting with walking is going to make a big difference. Then the next step is what's intense for you. So if you've never worked out or you're completely off track, you haven't done anything, you start with something. Anything's better than nothing. For instance, and I'm not telling people to go do this. I'm just going to give you an example. If I were to tell you to just go do pushups for five minutes or hold a plank for five minutes, most people would go, oh, my gosh, that's impossible. Or that's so hard. But think about if you were to work on pushups or plank for five minutes a day and you've never done them, how much that would change your body. So it's not about the amount of time or specifically what you're doing. It's about can you progress and be intense for you? So just moving your body by walking and then starting with one or two movements will start to change your whole body?

Yes. What you just said about it not being about exercise first, it's so true. It's first the mindset, stress reduction, nutrition, and then fitness, to be honest. Right.

Yes. It's not the other way around. And what people will sometimes say, well, but so and so is they just work out like crazy and they eat what they want. Great. They're an Olympic athlete. That's amazing. If you are an Olympic athlete, you could do that too. So like if you, if you're training that kind of crazy intensity, amazing. You probably don't need to worry so much about all the food you're eating and all that. But most of us are not Olympic athletes. So I say start with the mindset and the nutrition first.

What percentage would you say is nutrition versus fitness? Do you think it's 80, 20?

Gosh, I think it's. Honestly, it's like 90% until you become that super athlete. When you're a super athlete, it does. The workouts can outweigh the nutrition. I'll tell you, when I was at my peak, like my absolute best fit is shape, when I was knocking out 30 pull ups at a time, it honestly wouldn't have mattered what I ate at that point. But most people are not there. So for most people it's going to be about 90% nutrition.

Yeah. Isn't that so interesting? Because everybody's killing themselves in their fitness class and going crazy and doing all of the orange theory and CrossFit and these women are killing themselves. I mean, trying to puke, they're working so hard. When in reality you don't have to work out that much and that hard. I really, really believe that it's nutrition first, 80 to 90% and then sprinkle in fitness. But think of it as movement, not killing yourself at the gym. I mean, do you believe that people can get super. Not super, but do you believe that people can get lean and look really healthy and possibly athletic without going to the gym? Can they do it at home?

They absolutely can. You could? Totally. I built everything on home workouts initially with people. But here's the thing. Most people are drastically under consuming protein. You can't build muscle without protein. You can't maintain the muscle without the protein. So yes, your nutrition and then just doing movements at home is going to change your body. So for sure. So the gym, the added intensity, all those extra things are great if you want to do them. I'm not saying they don't work, they do, but it's not necessary for what you want to do to change your body. Yeah.

It's crazy because I remember I used to think it was the opposite. I thought if I work out hard enough, I'll be in the best shape of my life. And when I was doing fitness modeling and things like that, it always came down to my nutrition. That was always the needle that made me leaner. It was never more workouts.

No. And like I said, it can flip if you love the intense stuff. And you want to. If you're training like an athlete at that level, it can flip. So there comes a point. But with all the women that I've helped, all the people I've helped, it's the nutrition that was the missing link. I hope you loved this episode. If you want to dive in deeper to the topic on fat Loss as we age, I'm going to highly suggest that you go to NatalieJillClass.com once again. NatalieJillClass.com I'm doing a totally free interactive Fat Loss As We Age masterclass and I'll be staying on as long as needed to answer all of your questions. I've got a few dates coming up, so check that out. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to listen in as my guest today. If you found this episode valuable, please share share it with friends and on social media. I don't advertise this show so I rely on word of mouth and reviews to get it out in the world. The biggest thank you that you can give me is Leaving me a review. And a nice one. I hope. By the way, this is how others find these episodes. If you do leave me a review, be sure to message me@supportnataliejill fitness.com with a screenshot of your review because I would love to send you a free digital download of my Table DSR Journal as a thank you. And please don't forget to connect with me on social media at Natalie Jill Fit on Instagram and Facebook.