What is up. And welcome back to talking Nutrition. Today, we're joined by Angelina brightly. What's up? Angelina, hey, I'm so excited to be here today. Good to see you again. After Nashville, it's been a while, right? I said, What was it? April? What was March? It was March. Oh, shit, so you feel a little bit further, yep. Oh, wow, right? When I was taking on my fat loss phase, so we can talk about that. Absolutely. Yeah, that's why I wanted to bring you on, because I think it's awesome to see you, like, as a mom and business owner, still getting the results right and also sharing that with your clients. And I think that's a big one, because a lot of people tend to think like, Yeah, I'm too busy or I have too much to do. You know, they're kind of putting everything and everyone before their own health, not understanding that it's actually making it worse, because you could show up better if you're actually healthy, right? But it's also easier said than done. I feel like so I think it'd be cool to bring you on talk about that, because and yes and no, right? But I want to bring you on get into it. I knew it's holding them back. We'll get into it. Yeah, absolutely. Because I feel like you relate to people really well, of course. I mean, you are mom, right? Sometimes I always feel like because I'm a dude, you know, I mostly coach women, I will say mostly moms, actually, now, so hearing it from a dude, sometimes it's like, you don't understand, you know? I mean, but I think they will when they hear your story, too. But let's start with you first, like, Who are you like? What do you do? Yeah, so, so I can definitely relate to all the moms out there, but I do think it, you know, it's nice to be able to relate to your clients, but I also think that there's something to be said about one like you walk the walk, right? So it's not like you're, you know, haven't been through your own trials and tribulations. And you know you're, you're a seasoned coach, and you know the science, right? So you know how to coach your clients. And I think ultimately that's the most important thing when you're looking for a coach, is like, do they understand, you know where you're at and how to get you to where you want to be. That's That's ultimately most important, because I've seen Mom coaches not know anything. So just because they're a mom doesn't mean they're a good coach, right? That's true. But yeah, that being said, Yeah, I'm a mom of two of two young boys. I had two kids in under two years. So that was quite an experience. The first kid I had was easy. I had it easy, I would say. And I was like, Oh man, what is everyone complaining about? This? Ain't that bad. Oh, my God, it's pretty easy. And then I had my second um, and they always say that, like, there's always one kid that, like, gives you your mom card that's like, testing you and, like, you know. And so that was my second one. Um, yeah, um, yeah, I had to as far as, like, my fitness journey goes, like, what shifts when you have kids? I think, I don't think that things necessarily get harder for you, okay, I think that you need to get smarter. So we're in your twins, you know, sure you can drink and eat mostly, whatever you want to go to sleep by 3pm and run on five hours of sleep and stuff like that, and you can't do that anymore. But it's, again, I just think that it shifts like you just have to be more intentional with where your time and energy goes now versus in your 20s. And so it's not necessarily that it's harder. I think it's just we have to be smarter, more intentional what we're doing. It's like, less cardio, more strength training, less shitty, eating, more protein, like just some intentional shifts. So I think that the hard part there really just comes from, I think again, it just comes from, like, awareness. I think most women just lack awareness of their current behaviors and habits, and so making that shift to be a healthy individual feels hard because it's just things that they're not used to doing. Does that make sense? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. I do agree. Yeah, 100% and I mean, a lot of is also just kind of thinking, Okay, well, I actually can't get away with all that stuff anymore. I can't just sleep five hours and drink and do all of this stuff, you know, especially if it's done well, we're also trying to fast and also eat low carb, and then we're also doing a lot of cardio, and now we feel like shit, and it's just making it worse, you know, let me ask you this, like, was it your own, like, fitness journey that got you into coaching? Yeah, this is a good one, yeah. So I actually I lost my first pregnancy to a miscarriage. I was 11 weeks pregnant, and I was obviously devastated, and so I was like, I was working a dead end job at the time. And I say dead end, it was a great job. I but I was still sucking to me. I was working a job that felt like I was crushing my soul on the daily. And so for a few weeks there, you know, I was, I was like, drinking a lot, and I was sad and didn't know what to do with myself. And then I realized, I was like, Well, I've got to turn this pain into purpose. This, you know, this didn't happen to me because of anything that I did, or there was. Something that I could change, or anything like that. And I had to just realize that, you know, I could take this situation as as an opportunity to better myself, because I wanted to get pregnant again. I wanted to have more babies. And if I was going to have more babies, well, of course, I was going to have to take care of myself like, you know, losing that first pregnancy, I think just really gave me an eye opening experience to like, I have to take care of me in order to take care of these babies that aren't even here yet. And so I started pouring into like I had been trained training since high school, and I was a collegiate athlete, but then after college, like many others could probably relate to I kind of, like, I would say, kind of lost myself, like I didn't know what to do after, like, not competing anymore and not being an athlete anymore, and so I was still strength training, but I would say I wasn't really being intentional with exercise or nutrition. And after that experience, that's when I really got into macro tracking and learned what that was and and, yeah, it really started getting intentional with weightlifting. And ultimately, I started sharing my experience online, of like, my loss, with my miscarriage and getting back into the gym. And people were just like, Oh my God. Like, you're so inspirational, like, I'm so glad you're sharing. And that was really scary for me. I was never a social media person. I didn't want to share my people 100% like, I was not, you know, I wasn't the Instagram girly. I didn't even have an Instagram at the time, and I started one just solely because it was bringing me connection. I was meeting other women who had either been through the same thing as me, as, you know, losing a pregnancy, or, you know, also wanting to find strength in in pain, or strength, just to, you know, to get into, into, like, a healthy state. So kind of just took off from there after experiencing something like that. And I think that anyone who's listening can really take from my experience there, because I see time and time and time again, whereas like so my my firm belief is always everything is happening for me, okay, whether it's losing my pregnancy or my sewer pipes in my house bursting and having to live in a hotel room for 36 days with two kids under two. That sounds fun. It was so fun, or finding out my kid has scoliosis, like I could name 1000 things that we've all been through. And it's not my life is harder than your life, or your life is harder than my life, but it's always this belief, if you can hold on to it, that everything is happening for me, instead of believing that, like, Oh, this is an obstacle, well, now I have to quit. This happened, so now I have to quit, right? So just imagine if I decided, like, oh, okay, I'm just gonna stop trying to get pregnant now, because this one thing happened to me, you know, my two beautiful babies wouldn't be here. Yeah. I mean, yeah, I think it's serious, is, like, your health and fitness journey, right? If you're not taking it seriously, like, that's maybe that's the problem, but it's just as serious, like, you need to treat it as so, yeah. I mean, I'm grateful that I didn't have, like, that big of, like an eye opening moment. I mean, for me, it was more like a one day, I just looked in the mirror. I was like, I gotta do something about this, you know, like, I felt like crap. I was overweight, but still, like, I think to a certain extent, sometimes getting those, like, those massive, like, you know, eye openers, I guess, and potentially be a thing, if at least we are able to turn it into something positive, right? Because that's the hard part too, because you need to be really mentally, like, resilient or strong, I feel like to get through those things and actually grow from it. And that's probably the hard part, anything like fitness related, to be honest with you, like, that's the hard part. Like, we all go through shit, but it's actually being able to then say, okay, it sucks right now, but let me actually try to grow from this, but that's if we can get to that point we're fucking, like, unstoppable, but it's hard though. Yeah, well, I think that's what, what's so important about, you know, people like you and me in this space, and being vulnerable and showing those sides of us is so important so that Gen pop, you know, just everyday people believe that, like, Hey, this is also possible for me, because I don't have to be perfect, and things don't have to be, you know, like, I don't need a Lambo to be happy, or, like, whatever, you know, we're thinking and seeing in fitness influence influencers, but they're big house. My house is so messy all the time, we can get into that too, as far as priorities go. But like, you know, We're normal people, and normal people can be happy, healthy and hot, okay? It's just like you need to know that, like it's real, that it's a possibility for you to go through everyday stuff like loss. Okay, I have a client who's like, losing her father right now, and. And, and, yeah, that's really, that's really sad, and that could be really debilitating, that could be, you know, energetically exhausting, but she's still showing up week after week, you know, and that's a different kind of mental toughness that it takes to be able to do that. But I think that just goes to show that we can do hard things, if you believe so, and that's ultimately what I feel like it comes down to with clients, is like, I can I really kind of tell off the bat, you know, if a client is going to be really successful or not, in the way that they speak about themselves and the thoughts that they have about themselves? You know, because ultimately, the way that you think affects the way that you feel. It affects the actions that you take. And so, you know, I don't know, what do you tell yourself when you're going through a hard time? Johan, tough one. I do want to, like, Bring one point out that you that you brought up, because we are also everyday people. You know what? I mean? Yeah. And I think sometimes with the fitness space, it's almost like people, they want to make themselves look like this, you know, like, up here, you know, look at me, but it's like, no, like, we're just fucking normal people, you know, who are also going through shit. But, I mean, that's a really, that's a good question. Fuck. I mean, I did go through a tough time, basically, like, second half of last year into, like, early this year, went through like, long term breakup and, you know, just a lot of changes, and I kind of, like, lost myself in a way, because a big eye opener for me, let's just get really a moment for me was like, yes, you didn't even know I love this though, no, because I think it is important for me. A big realization was, because I believe, like, if you're in a relationship, right, you should initially be happy on your own already, right? And then when that fell away, I was like, Yo, I'm I'm not happy. I've not been nurturing my friendships, right? I'm not going out and seeing my friends. All I do is work, and I'm sitting here in my now little room and I'm like, fuck, you know, kind of like that feeling of, like, starting over again. I think that pretty hard to be honest with you. Um, wasn't doing that great for, like, the second half of last year into early this year, my whole sleep got messed up. That took a long time to fix, you know, now it's in a great place. Actually, sleep is amazing right now. Stress is good, you know. Actually did write a post about the things that worked for me, and it's nothing flashy, nothing special, like, I had to do a lot of journaling, you know, a lot of talking with myself, you know, it's funny too, if I think about that, because if you had to ask me, like, maybe 510, years ago, I would have never thought it'd be meditating, journaling, those kind of things, you know. And I think some people, a lot of people, probably still think it's kind of like the hippie stuff, but it works. You know what I mean, like, we got to do that stuff, or, you know, go to therapy or something that is also going to be great option. But, like, lot of self development books, lot of journaling, just talking to myself, You know what? I mean, actually make a point of, like, actually going to see my friends again. That was a big one, making sure that was doing the things that I already knew as a coach that I tell my clients every single week I should be doing right? And now my sleep sucked, you know, which was a big one like that. That was a hard one to fix, but it's all just stress related, right? But going back to my meal preps, having a meal plan, just eating healthy training, like, not letting that kind of fall, you know, behind dying in sleep, morning routines, and then over time, like, slowly things got better and better. And I don't know, because it took a long time, but like, just one day it was like, Gee, you know what? Like, I'm pretty fucking happy right now. You know I mean, and as hard as the second half of last year was, I came out of that feeling way happier and stronger than I was before. You know what I mean? So then I was like, oh shit, I've actually, because of this tough time, grown a whole lot. And I want to say, like, I've probably grown as a person the most this, this last year, than, like, probably ever, you know what I mean, which I'm super grateful for now. But that's also the hard part, like seeing that now and being like, you know what? In a way, it was kind of good for me, which is weird to say, you know, because you don't want to be fucking half depressed, but like, it was good. It's happening for me absolutely, you know, it was, it was just one of those where, yo, like, you can't just work, you can't, like, not nurture your friendships, and, you know, and I was like, fuck, okay, I'd start over, in a way, a little bit, but, you know, like, We're here and we're feeling great, we're still growing every single day, you know, so it's, I love that, like, the first thing that you said, like, wasn't the meal prep, okay, or, like, the training, it was actually the connection part, is what you said. And I think that sometimes when we talk about your health and fitness journey, you know, we're like, fiber, protein, walk, 10k, step. Like, that's just like, great. Like, yeah, do those things. But I think that we forget that there's other pieces to our health, right? Like, yeah, if you're missing out on connections, real connection with people like this is going to feel hard. This journey is going to feel really hard. And so, you know. If you don't have somebody who understands. And I think this is where coaching comes into you know, a really key component here is that most people don't have the support. They don't have people who also prep their food or look at nutrition labels or care what they're eating right, and so you fall into those easily bad habits, whereas, like, if you can surround yourself, you know, which it sounds like you were surrounding yourself with people that were, like, feeding your soul and and, you know, and doing you good. And so that plays a really big component if you are surrounded by people that don't lift you up, that aren't pushing you higher. This is funny. Actually, I was talking to my husband the other day. Don't let my friends hear this. But they're like, we're just like, we we need, um, we need their friends. We're like, are like, my like, ever? My husband is kind of like, the go to person, like everyone asks him questions and like, how to do this and what to do this. And he's like, where's my help? Like, where's somebody I can look up to and, you know, and ask questions to and stuff, and so, you know, I think that's a really key point here. Is like, you got to have somebody, like, a little bit ahead of you. It doesn't even need to be super ahead of you, three steps ahead of you, that you can look up to, you know, and aspire to be or learn from, or respect to keep you evolving. Absolutely, I think the big part was even just being able to talk to people, because that was another one. I was like, Yo, I'm just, I'm not talking about stuff, you know what? I mean? Yeah, I'm doing the journaling. But I also got to talk to people, like, call my friends and make sure that there's some support. Absolutely, it's so important, because people always think like, now I should just be able to figure this out on my own and willpower through it. But no, you need some support, like we all do, and a massive part of health is like that community aspect and having relationships and right, not being on your own, and, of course, having people to discuss stuff with as well. But I thought was really cool, by the way, when we all met for the listener, like Angelina and I have the same mentor as well, as how many other people were there? Like, 2030 other ones or whatever, yeah, but massive group of coaches like we were all on one Airbnb was amazing. The cool thing there I was, like, because I, you know, struggle with the DMS and those kind of things that, you know, like we're all building businesses, and we all have our little frustrations just how the listeners, like, Yo, I'm struggling with fiber or protein. Like we as a business owner, also have things where we're like, fuck, you know, I gotta, gotta do this, or I'm struggling with this. I'm getting annoyed. You know, it was really nice to just be in a room with coaches like yourself, me like, you know, people are all different levels. People ahead of us, but also at the same level, hearing people just talk like, Yo, we're all actually going through the same shit while having similar, like, self limiting beliefs. We all have similar things that we struggle with. And sure, you might be stronger at certain points than others and the other way around, but it's gonna be the same thing for, like, fitness stuff and nutrition and all that. So whether it's business or something nutrition, fitness or like self development, like we do need those people around us, I think it's super, super key. And I think because of all the shortcuts and the quick fixes online, I think the only real shortcut is actually that it's like mentorship, guidance and learning from someone else who's ahead of you. You know, that's at least my opinion, like, I think that's the actual only shortcut. I totally agree with you. That's, yeah, that is a really cool take on that actually like relating it back to, like, quick fixes and stuff. That is the only shortcut is get around other people that are where you want to be, because they're gonna, they're gonna show you, they're gonna, you know, they're gonna, they're gonna show you that. Like, the those limiting beliefs are, they're silly, right? They're gonna show you like what you want is actually possible because they've either been through it, or know somebody who's been through it, or has the pathway to get there, or whatever. I know that like when I when I first started my business again, I wasn't a social media person, but I first saw like I was looking at like, I don't know if you know who, like Kendall stramble is, but she was like, the first like fit influencer that I ever saw. I was like, man, if this like, 20 something year old can do this. Like, I can do this. I didn't start my business until I was about 29 and so when I saw that, I was like, What in the world if she can't, I can't. Like, why not? Right? And I think that that's kind of like the mentality that you need to have surrounding your health and fitness journey is, why not? Why can't I be happy, healthy and hot? Why the hell not? Why can't I be a mom and be fucking sexy? Why can't I be a mom and be in the best shape of my life? Why can't I be a mom and not feel so tired all the time, like all my other friends are complaining about, I don't do that. You will not. I mean, sure I you'll hear me say, I'm tired sometimes, but I'm not that person that like you know. Like, I'm not complaining all the time about how tired I am, and if those are the people that you are only have around you that just say how tired and how much they hate their job and complain about their kids and their husband and stuff, you're just you're surrounded by the wrong kind of people. Because I promise you, while life is hard, it doesn't need to be that I agree. Yeah, that's a good point. I think you'll, you'll know a lot whether you're surrounded by the right people based on whether you feel refreshed and recharged or just drained after leaving that room, you know, yeah, and I think this is a big like, maybe like, wake up call for a lot of people listening is like, we all have those kind of people that we know right where we're like, Well, it's kind of nice to see them, but all they did was complain. And I'm actually trying to better myself, but they're just eating crap. And, you know, I do think that's actually a hard part, because I even see this with a lot of the women I coach in their 50s, 40s, 50s, plus they're so used to, like, certain, you know, wine nights, those kind of things that they almost feel like weird or guilty or like, shamed of like, being that, being the healthy one, you know what I mean? And that's a big conversation piece that we have with clients. It's like, so how do we do this when, you know, I'm trying to be healthy, but they're all drinking and blah, blah, blah, and I don't want to be like the boring person who gets left out, you know? So I can speak to this from experience, and I can also speak to it from a client perspective, but this year, so I would consider myself, I call myself a Yes girl. So, like, I will say yes to anything, a party, an adventure, drinking whatever. Like I'm a Yes girl. I'm going to do all the things and so in in Jan, so I hired a coach right before Christmas. Talk about timing. You say there's never a right time. I was like, forget that right now in the middle of holidays, and in January, I went sober for 44 days, and that was to again, I've been just like alcohol has just always been around me like that was my environment. My mom drinks, I would say, pretty regularly. My family all drinks regularly. And so alcohol has always been a part of, like, all of our family events and every holiday. And so it's all revolved around alcohol. And so in January, because I hired this coach who is, I wouldn't say she was a big proponent of being alcohol free, and so with her guidance, I went alcohol free for 44 days. And I'm I mainly, like, I didn't know what to really expect from the outcome. And more so like, I wanted to see how I felt and how my body responded, and what it was like to go to social events sober, and if I could do it. And the coolest part of that experience Johan was the fact that I realized that alcohol doesn't control me, and that I can control the alcohol. Because if you're drinking on a regular basis, and I'm saying like every weekend, you're drinking, or you're having a glass of wine every night, the alcohol is controlling you. You're not able to say no, right? And so I think it goes really kind of hand in hand with food, as well as, like, you want to be able to control the food and not have the food control you. And so, like, going through that experience, I just like, I felt like I took my power back, right? I was like, okay, I can actually be sober in social situations. I went to my girlfriend's birthday party in the city where they were all drinking until 3am I stayed sober is actually so much fun, because it was hilarious to watch everybody else stumble around hammered. And then I did, I think I did date night with my husband sober, and, like a few other big, big social events that, like, you know, really tested me, um, and it like forever changed my my relationship with alcohol. So, like now, I significantly drink less. Not to say that I don't drink now, but I think that now, like I can, I have the ability to say no, if it just doesn't serve me, you know, I don't need to have one just because it's Saturday. And I think that's the biggest like discussion, you know, that we could be having with our clients is just asking, like, well, what does this do for you? You know, is it? Is it really enhancing the experience? Are you doing it just because you don't think that you can handle the social situation, you know what I'm saying, and then ultimately, just looking at, like, what do you want for yourself? You know, like, so in January, is going through a big body recomp phase and going alcohol free for 44 days, like, completely transformed the way that my body looked. So if you're in this place where you're truly uncomfortable in your body, and you're tugging at your clothes and you're scared of what the scale says. I would say that, yeah, like taking a look at your relationship with alcohol is really super duper important, not only to your fat loss goals, but also to like your your mood, right, your your mental health. If you're if you're having depression and anxiety, like, that's not helping, right? And so I think it can be just even an empowering experience to see, like, oh, you know, like, let's test the waters. Let's go tonight without drinking. Let's go to girls night. And, like, you know, order a mocktail. And I think you'll realize that you actually have a lot more control than than you believe that you do around alcohol a lot more. It's funny too, because as you're talking about this, I'm like, I've had these conversations with my clients, you know? I think it's almost, I want to say, like, probably almost 10 people, actually, mostly men who I coach with. And we always talk about alcohol, right? So my clients go through a course, and we talk about alcohol, in a Chapter, and I just objectively explain what it does. And I'm like, Hey, I'm not going to tell you not to drink ever, but hey, this is what it does. I just want you to make a grown ass decision, right, with what we do and what we put in our bodies around the same time. I think, like, let's say like, from maybe may ish on April, May in a few check ins, like, people started to mention it, and they were like, hey, I want to actually try to go alcohol free for, you know, a month, whatever it is like at one point, like it was like one after the other, right? They all said the same thing. They all said they feel way better, right? To wake up more refreshed. They have more energy, less anxiety, those kind of things, right? They lost puffy and they noticed afterwards, like, Yo, I kind of don't need it anymore, like, I feel better if I don't drink. And every single one of them had a similar experience as you. Every single one of them said, I did it for a month. Someone else said, hey, you know what? It went really well. Let's do actually, two, three months. Someone else actually just stuck with it, and they all said the same thing in the beginning was a little bit weird. Maybe I had to get used to it. Little bit of peer pressure, especially if you go out with the dudes and, you know, you use a drink, and now they're just like, you know, I can have a drink if I want to, but most of the time I probably won't. And I think that's really cool, because you gotta feel better for it. And I think it's almost one of those where even if you tell someone like, hey, what am I just not drinking alcohol for a month? Or what about just not drinking caffeine for a month, most people are going to be like, Hell, no, you know. Are you crazy? You know. But I think if you have that response like, that's even more of a reason to actually give it a shot. Because I I swear, like, it's such a good experience. It's such well, it goes back to the control part, right? Like, if you think that that's crazy, that means that the alcohol and the caffeine is controlling you, and now we're out of control, right? Like, so it's definitely even more of a reason to try and go alcohol or caffeine free, because you get a dependency now at that point, right? And again, just like you want to be the one that can say yes or no, based on what you value, and ultimately, that's what it comes down to. What I value is different than what you value, and is also different than what all of your clients value, right? Like, I've got some clients that, you know, I've got, like, a younger one, she's in college. She's like, Yeah, I'm not giving up drinking, like, fair enough. I didn't either when I was 20. Like, fair enough. So, like, here's what we're gonna do to try to combat, you know, what you're going through and trying to get to your goals, right. Here's what we can do. So sometimes it doesn't always look like completely removing alcohol, but it can look like just be more intentional with it. So after I went alcohol free. I did. I did return to alcohol, but it was just more of like, Okay, do I need to, or do I want to? And so it kind of came down to more of like, when I'm on vacation, like I go up north to the North Woods, Wisconsin, if anyone knows where that is, but it's like in the middle of nowhere up north in the US, and there's nothing to do there. All they do is drink. They drink and they they they snowmobile, and they ATV and like that, they hunt and so, like, that's all I do, right? So, like, I'm like, okay, yes, here's an instance in which I'm going to partake in alcohol, right? I'm on vacation. The whole point is for me to relax and indulge and do whatever I want to do, gambled and road snowmobiles and hot tubs like, so, yeah, that makes sense, but like a kid's birthday party, maybe not. You know what I'm saying? Maybe not. Yeah. Why not? Yeah? So it's just like, I think it's just being more intentional and deciding that it doesn't need to be in every event kind of thing, and just asking yourself, like, what's important right now today? Or, well, not even just like the right now, even like, hey, how do I want to wake up tomorrow? Or, how do I want to feel like, next week? Like, when I check in about my progress, because I am currently in a thoughtless phase, and I say this goal is so important to me, yet I'm drinking, you know, 1000 calories worth of alcohol over the weekend, right? Yeah. So, so I actually, when I was overweight, like, that same year, I actually already quit drinking and smoking, but it was kind of similar. I was like, let me just when I managed to quit smoking, I'll just quit drinking. Might as well. And I did, and it was kind of indefinitely, and I did that for 13 years. So. I was alcohol free for 13 years. So fun fact in Nashville, Nashville is actually the first time I properly drank again in 13 years. So, like, but because wild, bad influence. No, that was a decision, you know, like, that was a decision. I was like, you know, let me just have a glass. You know, I was actually a little bit more than last but still, you know, since then, I've had a little bit of alcohol a few times one night recently at maybe, like, four drinks, and even just those four made me feel like crap the next day. So now I'm in a place again where I'm like, You know what? I'll have a drink here and there, but I'm pretty I'm good, you know, I don't really need it. And when we all meet again in Dallas later this year, I'll probably drink, but not too crazy, you know, like, not too much. I just don't need it, right anymore. And I've noticed now that even with four drinks, I just feel like crap. So I'm good, you know, like, yeah, drinking and there. I think that's important to note that, like, this is a journey, so, like, it is about constantly reevaluating yourself and where you want to go and what you want to do and who you want to be, right? And so, like, you're, I mean, you went 13 years alcohol free, and then, you know, and now you've had a drink here and there, and like, that doesn't that just means that we're, we're human, and we're just, like, constantly evolving. And so we again, like, you know, if you tapped in and decided, like, actually, it's not serving me at all, I'm gonna go back to alcohol free, then cool, right? Like, then that would be fine. Or I want to have a drink whenever I want to, here and there. Like, also okay and like, so I think the the most important thing here is, like, try not to let other people's opinions dictate your own. You know what I'm saying? This is your journey. This is your life. And so, you know, ultimately, if you're happy, that's the most important thing. So whether, if you're getting like, peer pressured by, you know, family members or friends to drink and you're like, it's just not in alignment with me, right? That's when you need to have, like, that support system or somebody else to talk to and say, like, no, actually, it's okay. I was lucky enough, like, I didn't really, I didn't really feel a whole lot of peer pressure. I thought I would for my husband, actually, enough. I thought I would for my husband. He it's not like he's a big drinker, but when we go do things, you know, here and there, let's, you know, we'll have cocktails. And I thought I would feel a lot of pressure from him, maybe, but no, like, not at all. He was like, Cool. And actually, if I was like, gonna pee, he was like, What are you doing? Like, you're not supposed to have that. I'm like, Oh, you're right. That's great. Yeah, I think it's a big one. It's also just paying attention to, like, hey, like, this is actually important to me. Like, how do I actually feel? And it's even just that piece. I think people just don't do it's just that reflecting, you know, like I also did. I was like, you know, I literally, it was just four drinks, and I felt like crap the next day. It's just not worth it, you know what? I mean, it really isn't, yeah, and so you can reflect on that, right, and say, like, Okay, I did this thing, or I ate this thing. So if I really related back to food, I ate this thing, we don't make yourself feel like shit for it, all right? It's already in the past I ate it, or I, you know, like, maybe I overate a dinner, or, like I binged at night, or whatever. Most of us will fall into this self sabotaging behavior where, okay, well now I feel like a piece of shit, or, like, with the drinking, I feel like a piece of shit, so I'm gonna keep doing things that make me feel like shit, and that's the problem. So it's not that you drink the four drinks, the problem is the aftermath. Right now. Do am I going to keep drinking? Or I'm going to decide here and now that didn't make me feel good, so I'm not going to do that again. I'm going to be the big boy. I'm gonna say I'm not going to do that again, and move on. And you know, don't hold the guilt and the shame, like, let it go. Like, what you did, leave it, leave it there, and decide you've got that awareness now to make that choice moving forward. And that's the most important piece there, yeah, 100% I mean, like, sticking with food. It's like, you literally have a chance every single day to just do a little bit better, you know, like, that's all you need to really worry about. It's just like, let's focus on today. Yeah, maybe I felt like, let's say we over ate a couple days ago. Okay, yeah. Are we gonna basically make the situation worse by beating ourselves up, saying, I suck and I don't have it in me, or just say, like, Hey, let me actually just try to understand the scenario. Okay, so over eight, what happened before? Like, how did I feel? Okay, so our stress, okay, maybe we're gonna look at stress. Actually, I barely ate through today. Barely had any fiber protein. Okay, now we know what we can do a little bit better today. Like, that's, that's literally the key. Like, if you just do that and you continue to just reflect and review, then you'll figure it out over time. That's where that support comes in again, too, because it's good to have someone over here who can basically be like, Yo actually. Let's zoom out a little bit. Slow down. Like, calm down. Let's objectively look at what's happened. It and try to figure it out for today and moving forward. You know, yeah, because we, most of us, like, are not very good at self regulating, no. And so having that objective point of view to be like, actually, you're not. You didn't just, like, gain weight overnight or and so something to just say, like, Hold up, wait a minute. Yeah. And what I like too is that, obviously, I mean, you're a coach. Were you a coach already when you got a coach or not? Yes, yeah. So I started coaching before I ever hired my first fitness coach. There you go. Yeah, me too, actually. And my first nutrition coach was, like, one or two years into coaching myself. But I want to kind of go back to that. Because obviously, like, as a coach, we understand, hey, we we truly value that piece, having someone on your team, right? Let me ask you this, like, what was like the moment where you were like, I'm gonna reach out and I'm gonna just change it for now? Like, I want to lose the weight, I want to look better, etc, wow. So after having the two kids in under two years, I was actually, like, I worked out all nine months both pregnancies. I was able to, I was able to, like, get back to, like, close, near my pre pregnancy weight with the second one. But when I stopped breastfeeding, I had gained 10 pounds. And that wasn't because of my hormones. It wasn't because of my cortisol, or whatever somebody wants to tell you out there, because I had kids, and now I'm just bigger now, and I have to wait more or anything like that. It was purely because of lifestyle so because when I was breastfeeding, and mind you, I had two boys, okay, so lots of food, okay, nourish these kids for an entire year. And so when I stopped breastfeeding, I kept up the same lifestyle habits. Wasn't moving as much. I was in the car. I was taking them to daycare. I was taking them to school. I was in carpool pickup lines. I was I was, you know, I was sitting more. I wasn't as intentional with my exercise. I was still snacking at night because I still felt that hunger. So I was eating more, but my body wasn't burning as many calories because I was no longer breastfeeding, and so that over time, I gained 10 pounds. I didn't realize it until one day I saw myself in a wedding photo, and was like, holy shit. What happened? And like many of you could probably relate to you're like, Whoa, what happened? And luckily, I caught it. I mean, 10 pounds is, I mean to some people can feel like a lot, right? And I wasn't fitting in my clothes, and I felt uncomfortable. And so I had tried to diet on my own twice, and I once was like I was, I was trying to, like, test out. So in Dallas was in January or October of last year, last time. So I was actually in like October and so anyways, somebody had come on and talked about rapid fat loss so, so I tried, like a, I tried, like a rapid fat loss protocol, and it worked for like two weeks, and I had, like dropped like a, like weight relatively fast. And then, and then I had, like, a health thing, so I stopped doing it, so it gained the weight back. So cool. Alright, there. And I tried to diet again, and I was doing all of the wrong things. I was trying to just slash my calories before I had rebuilt the foundations, right? So eventually I was like, Okay, I need somebody. Well, I'm taking care of everybody else, my two kids, my husband, my clients on my roster. I need somebody to take care of me, because I'm not programming my workouts. I'm tracking inconsistently, slashing my calories isn't working, and I feel like I'm in a hamster wheel. And so that was my moment. I was like, okay, not working, even though I have helped dozens of women up up until this point, lose fat and keep it off, it just I couldn't do it for myself. And that's not like a, I don't I don't think that was like a a lack of willpower or a lack of knowing what to do. It just was I needed somebody to just say, hey, here's the plan, here's what we're going to do, so that I could just make it really simple and easy for myself, right? I think most women are just making it way too complicated, and you need someone to just say, here's the plan, this is what we're going to do, and talk through it, obviously, because I think autonomy is really important along your fitness journey, but ultimately, just making it really simple, and here's how we're clarity and direction, here's what we're gonna do, yeah. And so got back to the foundations, and like you said, it wasn't anything magic, it wasn't anything crazy, but I sat at maintenance for three months. We didn't cut like I wanted to. I wanted to go into a fat loss phase. And she was like, No, here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna build muscle, we're gonna body recomp, we're gonna stay at maintenance. I was eating two honey, 200 calories. Working out four days a week. Walking was about 8k steps, I would say. Nothing crazy, nothing too unattainable. And then, yeah, sleeping and water and stress related. And I, you know, my body recomp was insane. I looked like a completely different person, and it didn't lose a pound. It was the exact same weight. And then was body fat. But I lost body fat, yeah, so the scale I wanted to point that out, because, yeah, good point. I think, I think a lot of women still just think dieting and they're almost afraid to eat more. I get that during condition, almost a thing, feel like that. You know, it's always been about eating less and less, especially women in their mid 50s, even more. I had a client in her 60s, same thing, you know, it's always been eating less. It's never been nourishing. It's never been fueling. It's never been weightlifting over cardio. That's, for a lot of people, the reason why they're where they're currently at. And even if they were to just say, Let's do three months of maintenance or maybe a little bit higher, right? We're just pushing calories. It's gonna fucking change so much. But I feel like that's that's a hard one for people to think, because they come they come in, I want to lose fat. They expect weight loss. And then we're going to say the opposite. Let's actually eat more. Let's actually eat more protein, more weights. You know what I mean? It is a hard one, I think, for people to kind of fully understand, unless they do it. Because every single person I've taken through a phase like that is like, yo, it's life changing, like nine and eight, it was even really hard for me mentally. I wanted to go into a fat loss phase. I had my mind was on that. And she was like, Nope, we're not going to do that. I was like, Okay. And then I had to. And then I did go through my fat loss phase and successfully lost the 10 pounds. But then coming out of it was another mental game. And so I think, I think, you know, just again, that's why you have support there for somebody to say, like, just like, talk you out of your mentee. Be like, stop fucking freaking out, because I was scared of going back up in my calories. I was, I was like, I had kind of gotten into that diet mentality of like, well, if I, if I eat again, I'm going to gain the weight again. And that's just not how your body works, you know. And so, no, it had to have conversations around, like, okay, it might go up a little bit because your glycogen is going to be restored, and I'm going to hold on to a little bit more water, and so it may go up one or two pounds. And like, that's okay. Like, that's just going to be normal, and we got to be okay with that, but it's not about the scale and the way. It's about how I look to myself, right, how I feel in my skin, how I feel in my clothes, and my muscles popping now, and these are muscles I never had before. And so, you know, after two kids in two years like that, feels really fucking good, and it doesn't matter that the scale is up. You know, at that point, it doesn't matter. You know, having those conversations is, is really important, because the the food, what do you want to call it? The scarcity around food is very real. You have to just eat as little as possible in order to maintain or in order to get to those fat loss goals. But I've never felt or looked better in my life than when I have been well fed and have muscle mass on my body. Did you do a diet at some point or No, was it just the muscle gain you just kind of maintained there? No. So, yeah. So I did three months of maintenance, and then I did want to cut because I was, I was, like, body recomp was really cool to watch, like, how it shifted and fat melted off. But at that point, like, I still had some, like, belly fat, and I was, I, yeah, so my goals were still to cut. And so she's like, Okay, you I build the foundations. I was tracking consistently. I was being very intentional with my lifting. I was lifting very heavy lifting to failure, and just everything across the board is consistent, right? And so then, basically I had earned at that point, right? But then you can also go into it like, then, then you're actually no at that point you actually can go into a phase like that, like you're good to go, from like a habit standpoint, like your body's at a way better place. You have muscle to show. Like, that's where you want to start the fat loss phase. Yeah, exactly. Whereas before, I wasn't, I wasn't in a good head space, I wasn't consistent with anything. So it really didn't make sense to then deprive my body of nutrients, right? Because as soon as you go, and I think this is where people, like, forget that when you go into a fat loss phase, when you're eating less calories, okay, like over time, things shift. Like I started to feel tired, I was fatigued, and my period symptoms started worsening, and maybe your training gets affected, and you're not lifting as heavy, and you can't build muscle when you're in a calorie deficit. So I think people forget that piece, right? And so the diet isn't meant to be forever. It's meant to get in and then get back out, because you don't want to live in a calorie deficit, because that's where you feel. Shit. Like, I mean, I didn't feel like crap the whole time. Like, that's not what I'm saying. But if you do that perpetually, always dieting, yeah, if you stay there, you are going to feel like crap. And so we don't want to stay in a dieting phase. You want to cycle that out. So I did, I only did it for eight weeks ago. Yeah, I'm done. That's great, I mean, but that's the best shit, though, and that's, that's how much people can learn from this. It's like, and it depends, of course, how much someone needs to lose, right? But if you do three months of muscle gain, and you recomp, you build muscle, you lose a little bit of body fat, which, especially for beginners, is really common. Very much to be expected. Even if you do that first and then do a shorter cut, the results will be better than just trying to just hammer fat loss for four months in a row. Right off the bat, every single time, like every single time, you're gonna get better results. Honestly, with my clients, my clientele, with being like busy moms, like I don't even here's what we focus on. We focus on quality food, okay, like that. Switch right there. Like huge difference, just in the way that you feel, your mood, your energy levels, clearer skin, more energy to play with your kids, like that, right there. Makes a huge difference. Okay? If you're not seeing this scale move, I mean it at that point, it's at least affecting everything else in your life, right? And then walking more, because it's a stress reliever. So now you feel better because you're accomplishing something, right? Like, oh, I went for a walk today. Like that. Felt really good. Maybe I called a friend and got that connection piece in, right? Maybe I took my kids with me, and now I got, you know, two birds with one stone, and that's I think something to be said here, too, is like your health and fitness doesn't always have to look like this rigid freaking plan, okay, the perfect macros and the perfect training plan, like it needs to include more fun, like go bike riding with your kids. Go play on the playground with your kids. Go dancing like my husband and I started Latin dancing this year, which has been really cool, like that. Yeah, that's cool movement, you know, and that's that feeds the soul. It feeds the body. While I'm a big proponent of strength training, okay, I think everyone in the world needs to be doing it, I will say that adding in those fun pieces to your journey, I think makes it more fun. In my opinion, I'm an Enneagram seven. I don't know if you know what that is, but I protect my energy and like, I don't want anything to do with something that's not fun. So, like, if you're somebody that's like that, like, you want to enjoy life, and you don't want your fitness and and health to be so rigid, well, like, that's where that, like, playfulness gets to come from. Like, can add those pieces that's still exercise, you know? And I think that that kind of gets forgotten, yeah. And I think, I think we need to look at those kind of things too. Even other than than movement and stuff, it's also just doing things you like and that bring you joy, like, that's the biggest part of stress management, is like, actually doing stuff that makes you feel good, you know. And I like that, you know, going on a walk. But also even things like dancing, like, so key, no, but that's, that's great, absolutely. And of course, the strength training too, like, over cardio, like, way more important, right? So, much more important. So what would you tell like, a busy mom who's like, listening to this, who's like, Yeah, it sounds great, but I'm just too busy. So it's just gonna go to what I said in the beginning here. It's all about how you think and the way that you talk to yourself, Okay, I'm a I'm a mom of two young, young boys, four and two right now, and a business owner, actually two businesses right now. And so there's a lot on my plate, and but I have never thought to myself, I'm too busy for this. I just don't think those thoughts, because it's not my reality, because I'm in charge of my reality, you're in charge of your reality, and so you are going to make time for the things that are important to you. So if you decide this is important to me, I want to feel like my best self, I want to model health to my kids. And you value those things, right? I think you have to sit down and really ask yourself, like, what do I value? I mean, I have heard from people sometimes, like, I just it, it just wasn't a priority for me. And that's okay, okay. You can say that. You can say this is not a priority for me right now. Okay. Then, then, you know, then that means something else is taking president, and you value that thing more. And that's fine. I think work sometimes happens that way. People value their work so much that their health takes a back burner. Or, you know, I guess that's the word that relates as to family. You value your family so much that you you put your health on the back burner, right? But then at that point, you have to ask yourself, well, like, Okay, I value my family, right? I value my family's health. Mm. So I lead by example. I do this with my clients. I do this with my kids. I lead by example. I can't they're not going to learn by me talking at them. They're going to learn by me showing them how it's done. And so that's why I take bike rides with them, and I take them to the park, and they we go for walks, and they help them. They cook with me, and they prep food with me, and that way they're involved. Because if you value family, okay, then you get them involved in the process. My kids are four and two, and they cut their own strawberries, and they think it's the coolest thing ever. It's like so much fun for them. Or like, weighing my food, you know, I when I meal prep, like, I weigh all my food and package it, and like, Mommy, can I help you? So they're involved in the process with me. So now I'm killing two birds with one stone. I'm I'm taking care of my house so that I'm well fed this week, so that I can take care of them. But also now they're involved in the process where I'm modeling, you know what a well, nutritious, balanced meal looks like, and I'm also getting in that one on one time. I think it's like, when you try to make your fitness journey like your own, like you isolate yourself from your family, and you're like, Oh, I gotta eat all these things and do all these things by myself and take care of the family. Like, yeah, that you're always going to run into a roadblock. It's always going to feel hard, but when you start to involve your family in the process with you, well then I think everything becomes a hell of a lot easier, because now it's not, well, I can't, I don't know, I can't, I can't watch TV with you, because I gotta go cook my food. Well, no, like, let's all go cook the food. Do it together. Yeah, go shopping. Like, 100% I, I want to point out something you brought up, and that's that you are actually weighing your food, doing your meal prepping with the kids there. Because this comes up in my check ins quite often, especially in the beginning moms who say, I don't want to be tracking for my kid, because I, you know, let's say I literally just had this conversation last week. She said, No, my daughter is, I think, like, early teens, 1214, or something. And she's like, I kind of don't, don't want to show her, right, because I don't want this to create, like, an unhealthy relationship with food, or it's almost like people want to hide the fact, which even goes back to the thing we talked about with alcohol, it's almost like they don't want to, they kind of want to keep it separate. Well, I am like, yo, let's, let's, let's own the fact that we're serious about our health and that we care about our family. And how about we just flip that and say, instead of me trying to hide the fact that I'm being healthy and trying to lose fat, you're the role model, like you said, you know, we're going to involve people. We're going to say, Hey, let's go shopping together. What have you guys, pick the produce for the week, or the fruits or the veggies, let's cut the veggies together, or let's cook together, and then translate those healthy habits. I think that's so much more important than thinking, Oh, I got a height effect that I'm cutting Sure. You know, I do think it's a responsibility too to where if people get too restrictive, okay, you're too obsessed with everything. Yeah, that's now on you. It's not about the tracking. I think that's on you now being like, just a little too crazy about it, because if we do it in a more fun way, we can turn this into something positive that will literally impact, like, your next generation. And I personally think that's more important, right? Yeah, I have this reel that I made. I was taking progress photos. I thought I would, yeah, yeah, with my two year old. Well, I have two actually. I was taking one with my four year old, and then I took, like, a couple months later, four months later, and my two year old happened to be there. I don't hide it right, like they're right there with me along this journey with me. And again, it goes back to how I talk about it. My kids will never hear me say I'm too fat. They will never say mommy can't be in this picture because she's too ugly. Something that I heard when I was young is and actually, my mom does it to this day. And mind you, my best friend and has modeled a lot of great things. That she's actually why I got into strength training. She used to take me to a place called women's workout world, but something she still kind of does to this day is like, she'll pick herself apart in pictures. She's like, don't, don't you dare post that. And then I always got to me because I was like, I in my eyes, I'm looking at you, and I think you're gorgeous. You're my mom, right? Like, I think you're great. This picture is great, but she's sitting there picking herself apart. And so that's something. Like, my kids will never hear me say, I'm never going to pick myself apart. They don't hear me call myself fat. Or, like, you know, like, pick out my I don't say, my mom. Oh, my mom, pooch. Or, you know, like, when I talk about myself, I'm like, and I'm talking about my belly. I'm like, I made you here. Like, this is where you were made. And I talk about how strong I am. So like, in that reel that I was talking about, I'm like, I was like, Is mommy so strong? And he's like, yeah, he like, you know, he does a he flexes with me too. He's like, strong. And so I think that, like, that's what you're modeling there. So not modeling. How do I shrink myself so much so that, like I'm now existent, I'm getting strong so that I can take up more space so I can advocate for my kids, for their health, for their life, for their needs. You know, nobody benefits from a weak mother, and that's what happens when your health is deteriorating, when you try to hide in photos, when you can't keep up with your kids, like you can't that strong mom that I know that you want to be, and so those are just kind of the things that, you know I would think about when you're having this conversations with your kids. It's just like, yeah, how are you talking about your health and fitness journey? You know, my kids are gonna grow up loving the gym because I take them to the gym with me, and they go to the gym daycare, and I'm like, okay, Mommy's gonna go get strong, and I'll go say, Mommy's gonna go burn calories, right? Um, and when it comes to the macro tracking, same thing, like, how are you talking about it? I say mommy's Mommy wants to make sure she's nourishing herself. Mommy wants to make sure she's learning about food, right? And you can kind of like, take them along with that journey and say, like, yeah, like, here's like, 130 grams of protein so mommy can build muscle. Here's 80 grams of broccoli so that Mommy gets her fiber in today, because these things help mommy feel good. You know, instead of, oh, I'm tracking my food because I want to lose weight. Well, yeah, well, now the conversation's in the wrong direction. Yeah, I love that. That's just such a refreshing kind of take on that stuff, because we're just turning into a positive, you know, which I think we should because, how is health not a positive thing? You know what? I mean, like, how is it not like? It can only be a good thing, in my opinion. And it's not obsessive. It's not obsessive to now say, You know what? Like, we're gonna workout consistently, we're gonna go on walks, we're gonna eat healthy, like, no, it's a good thing. You know, I like to use the word intentional. So when you're tracking your food, instead of thinking that it's obsessive, think about it as intentionality. I'm being intentional about the food that I put in my mouth. So that way, I make sure that I am building muscle and getting micronutrients in and feeling myself enough so that again, that I feel good, right? And this day and age with all the food noise, you know, like it's in all the processed food and the marketing and the media and all that stuff like it can it can be hard to what do you call it? Eating, intuitive eating, right? It can be hard to do. Yeah. And so instead of macro tracking being obsessive, I would say that it's being intentional and helping you learn what makes you feel good, and how you know and what health looks like for you for sure? Yeah, I guess the whole intuitive thing, like, it sounds good on paper, but like, You got to be intentional first before you can earn that, in my opinion, because you can start intuitively eating to get results. It just does make sense. It doesn't work because we got unhealthy and overweight because we intuitively ate, you know, which is the hard part to understand. But like that is how we got fat, you know, I'll just speak for myself so no one gets, you know, blood hurt. No, I got fat because I intuitively ate whatever the hell I wanted. That's, that's how simple that is. So we can start saying, I'll just eat whatever. Like, no, like, we got to be intentional. And if we use a tool like tracking, cool, like, I'm going to learn from it, and then afterwards be better without tracking. Because that's the whole point, because we're not going to track forever either. You know what I mean. And it also just comes down to a science standpoint, too. So, like, you can't change behavior what you don't know you don't know, right? So the first step to behavioral change is self awareness. So if you want to change your eating habits, it's not just about listening to whether or not you're hungry. It's like, well, no, I have to you know whether it's macro tracking or logging your food in a food journal or taking pictures with it, it's got to be managed somehow, because I don't know that my clients aren't eating enough fiber if I don't know what they're eating. So, you know, that's how we make choices in any area where life is like, we decide like, do I have money for that or don't die? Right? You look at your budget, your finances, like, where else is my money going, Okay, I do have money for that. You know, it's just a self awareness thing at that point. Angelina, I think this has been amazing, and I want to be respectful of your time, because we're just over an hour. It's been a lot of fun. I feel like we should do this again, because I feel like we could do another full hour and just not stop talking. But like I said, I'm sure you have stuff too, and I actually got to bed pretty soon. It's not 30 pm, so Oh my god, wrap it up for today as well. Thanks for being flexible with me. Of course, I changed the Google Calendar thing. I was like, fuck. I thought it was, you know, but it's all good. No worries at all. Oh, that being said, Where can people find you? And do you have anything else to share in terms of, like, updates or. Yeah, Instagram, Facebook, Angelina Bradley, well, Instagram is the Angelina Bradley, Facebook. Angelina Bradley, yeah, come over be friends. I would love to connect with anybody, and my door's always open. I think that sometimes people think, you know, like they're they're scared to reach out, or they're gonna get a robot with a lot of these accounts. Now, you know, whether it's me or Johan or whatever, like, you know, don't be afraid to ask questions and reach out, like if you're experiencing something or want to be educated on something. Because, again, you know what we said in the beginning was that you got to get yourself in rooms and around people who get you and get where you want to be and and whether that's just in a companionship or in a mentorship or whatever, you know, I've made really good, amazing friends, like now with Johan online, and you know, it can lead to bigger and better things. And so make those connections, you know, whether it's online or in person, because they can make all the difference. We'll make sure to link everything in the show notes and to our listener. We'll be back next week. I'll talk to you soon.