Live Your Personal Best - Workout Motivation and Healthy Living For Current and Former Athletes

64. Feel Guilty for Wanting to Be Healthy? How to Leave the Judgement Behind

Have you ever felt shame and guilt for wanting to be healthier? This is not something that people talk about often, but it is within us. Many factors can contribute to your feeling that, especially in today’s very opinionated world. I myself have recently been feeling guilty and ashamed of my fitness journey because of influence, even though to be honest, I had no reason to.  

 

In this episode of Girls Gone Healthy, I talk about the shame and guilt that we sometimes experience for being health conscious. Listen in to learn the importance of having and following your intentions not to be swept under the wave of shame and guilt. 

 

Key Takeaways:  

• Why you shouldn’t allow other people to have a say in your health and fitness choices because that’s your business, not theirs.  

• How comparing yourself, especially on social media can lead to guilt and shame about your journey.  
• How some people who’ve found food freedom shame those doing things differently from intuitive eating. 
• The importance of following plans that work for your body rather than what you’re told- eating with intention. 
• Keep in mind that it’s normal to feel guilty and it’s your opinion that matters most. 

Episode Timeline: 

• [3:22] Understanding where the guilt of being healthier comes from.  
• [5:30] Comparing your health and fitness journey with a promotion at work.  
• [8:45] Why I started feeling guilty with my fitness story after joining TikTok.  
• [14:01] Why you shouldn’t allow yourself to be shamed for choosing to diet over intuitive eating. 

Quotes: 

• “I just want to be a little bit more intentional with my choices for my body so I can show up better in other areas of my life.” [8:21] 
• “If dieting didn’t exist, intuitive eating would just be called eating.” [16:12] 
• “You have yourself, you have your intentions, and what you want to do is up to you.” [18:19] 

 

Links:  

Instagram: https://bit.ly/3f5fGxs    

Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/2PZ2zTC     

Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode and please leave a 5-star review if you enjoyed the show! 

63. Why You’re Letting Excuses Get in the Way and What They’re Costing You

What excuses are holding you from achieving your desired goals? Is it inauthentic with your journey? It is so easy to get caught in what others are saying about fitness. But did you know you are more likely to achieve your goals by being authentic and doing whatever feels good to you?  

 

In this episode of Girls Gone Healthy, I speak with Aura Martinez, a self-discovery and empowerment coach who helps others discover themselves powerfully so they can live life to the max. She has a background in nutrition and wellness and is the author of the book ‘Creating a Lifetime of Wellness’. 

 

Aura herself struggled with a bad relationship with food and weight issues and had to work on her inner self to truly be healthy and achieve her goals. Listen in to learn the power of working on your inner self to heal both your internal and external self.  

 

Key Takeaways: 

• How curiosity and understanding of your triggers and weakness can change many areas of your life. 
• Change the relationship you have with food and your body to change your relationship with yourself.  
• The importance of working on your inner journey to reach your desired goals.  
• Understanding that your first home is your body and you should prioritize taking care of it.  
• How to release the excess baggage by removing all things that are weighing you down.    

• The importance of having the help and support of a professional with your journey.   
• Why you should start your self-discovery journey by understanding what your needs are in every area of your life.  
• The power of a burning desire in eliminating all the excuses in your journey.  
• Find a way around your excuses to achieve your goals.   

Episode Timeline: 

• [1:34] Aura explains how she transitioned from a wellness and life coach to a self-discovery and empowerment coach. 
• [4:01] The emotional and mental factors that contribute to an unhealthy relationship with food. 
• [5:01] All the things that Aura learned about herself after her self-discovery journey.  
• [7:03] How Aura takes people through their inner journey. 
• [10:57] Aura explains what she means by ‘releasing the excess baggage’. 

• [13:16] Understanding the process of self-discovery.  
• [17:38] Why you should start with a burning desire to achieve your goals.   
• [24:27] She advises that you enjoy your weight loss journey for greater benefits.  

Quotes: 

• “The relationship that you have with your food and body is a reflection of the relationship that you’re having with yourself.”- Aura [3:36] 

• “It requires persistence to keep doing what you’re doing even when you plateau.”- Aura [5:20] 
• “The inner journey is important in order for us to get to whatever goal we want.”- Aura [7:59] 
• “You’re the start to everything in your life- everything starts and ends with you.”- Aura [17:04] 

 

Links: 

www.auraemartinez.com  

https://www.instagram.com/auraelenamartinez/ 

Instagram: https://bit.ly/3f5fGxs    

Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/2PZ2zTC     

Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode and please leave a 5-star review if you enjoyed the show! 

62. Changing Your Goals: How I Went from Elite Athlete to Overweight to Finding Fitness

A health and fitness journey is about transitioning to what feels right to you today like we talk about all the time in this show. Whatever looks amazing today may change for you tomorrow or in a few months. I have made quite a few transitions myself since my athletic days, and to be honest, I’m still evolving. So, how have you transitioned? 

 

In this episode of Girls Gone Healthy, I talk about my health and fitness journey from a Division 1 Athlete to now, and the transitions I’ve made. Listen in to learn about my latest transition, which is a contrast to group fitness and does have a goal   

Key Takeaways: 

• How the extremes of athletics can lead to a skewed perception of how health and fitness looks like. 

• Why you need to spike your passion for working out, especially if you used to be an athlete.  
• Understanding why you don’t need to have a goal when going through transitions in your fitness journey. 
• The difference between group fitness and training alone at the gym.  
• Learning to fall in love with a different workout activity; and taking small steps towards a certain goal.  

Episode Timeline: 

• [3:03] What it was like to be a coxswain for a division 1 rowing team for 7 years. 
• [4:44] The lifestyle I chose after retiring from athletics after college, plus how I went back to working out. 
• [10:14] Events that led me to join group fitness and how that has been going so far. 
• [15:20] Why I decided to sign up for a ‘standard gym’ for strength training.  
• [20:57] The mental challenge that being in the gym alone has turned out to be, compared to group fitness. 

Quotes: 

• “You need something to spark that fire to spark that passion alike.” [13:51] 
• “As you’re going through transitions, you don’t need to jump into something that doesn’t feel right or feel like you need to have a goal or not.” [19:05] 
• “Before I could shut out my thoughts, and now I’m living with them, and pushing myself through them.” [24:13] 

Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode and please leave a 5-star review if you enjoyed the show!       

Work with me: http://emilycoffman.org/beyondthehype/   

Instagram: https://bit.ly/3f5fGxs   

Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/2PZ2zTC    

61. Transform Your Choices into Habits

So, you managed a 10-minute walk earlier today? Excellent! Remember that success only comes when you decide to meet yourself where you are and by staying consistent. You have to learn how to show up for yourself by transforming your choices into habits. How about instead of setting goals when motivated, you create intentional systems that will help you keep going when you don’t feel like it?  

 

In this episode of Girls Gone Healthy, I speak with Kathleen Trotter, a fitness expert, author of Finding Your Fit and Your Future Fittest Self, life coach, and an overall health enthusiast. She explains the importance of making healthier life choices from a place of grace and compassion instead of shame and hate. 

 

Listen in to learn the value of starting where you are and with what you can accomplish to make your fitness journey more realistic.  

 

Key Takeaways: 

• Stop shaming yourself and find whatever activity you enjoy to start there.  
• Understanding that your fitness will change in every season of your life, and it’s about meeting yourself where you are and staying consistent.  
• Learning to create a habit of moving before you can tweak it without making unrealistic expectations.  
• How to teach your brain how to show up for yourself by setting doable goals.  
• How to create habits by intentionally forming systems that nudge you towards those habits.  

• Learn to hold yourself accountable with compassion and grace.  

Episode Timeline: 

• [3:17] Kathleen explains how her mom inspired her to start her health and fitness journey and write her first book Finding your Fit. 
• [11:09] How to choose a fitness activity that works for your body and mental wellbeing.  
• [20:19] The process of making your choices into habits by setting systems for the less motivated future you.  

• [28:59] The importance of empowering yourself and not shaming yourself when you don’t accomplish your goals.  

Quotes: 

• “We anticipate that things are going to be so much harder than they’re going to be and we make them bigger than they are.”- Kathleen [5:49] 
• “You got to make a win small enough that you can actually do it.”- Kathleen [9:24] 
• “You got to standardize the habit before you can optimize it.”- Kathleen [10:24] 

• “You have to create systems that save your future less motivated, tired, angry self for when you don’t want to do your goals.”- Kathleen [21:13] 
• “You have to architect the life you want and you have to decide how you’re going to live it.”- Kathleen [26:09] 
• “Just because you’re not paying attention to your health doesn’t mean your health is not happening.”- Kathleen [26:56] 

  

Links Mentioned: 

https://www.kathleentrotter.com/   

https://www.instagram.com/fitbykathleent/    

Work with me: http://emilycoffman.org/beyondthehype/   

Instagram: https://bit.ly/3f5fGxs   

Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/2PZ2zTC    

Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode and please leave a 5-star review if you enjoyed the show!

60. Help! My Relationship is Making Me Gain Weight – Balancing Personal Relationships and Individual Goals

How has your relationship changed your health and fitness habits? Relationships are different but we all change in one way or the other. Some people motivate each other by setting working out and eating schedules that allow them to enjoy each other’s company and still live healthily. Are you one of those people? If not, you should be thinking about how to improve your health and fitness habits for the better, even when in a relationship.  

 

In this episode of Girls Gone Healthy, I have my boyfriend Matt over to speak on how our relationship has affected both of our health and fitness journeys. Matt is a former hockey player turned golfer and snowboarder.  

 

Listen in to learn the importance of being each other’s motivators in a relationship.  

 

Key Takeaways: 

• How a relationship can either make or break your working out and eating habits.  
• The different stages of a relationship and how they each affect our eating habits. 
• The importance of having one of you be the motivator when the other is demotivated.   
• Learning how to balance your health and fitness habits when in a relationship.   
• How to find motivation in yourself and not allow being in a relationship to slow you down. 

Episode Timeline: 

• [2:35] Matt explains how our relationship motivated him to work out and also changed his eating habits.  
• [8:24] Matt explains his reaction and experience attending my fitness classes from rowing to spinning classes. 
• [16:32] Why you don’t always have to sweat for it to count as a workout.  
• [18:29] How I learned to break the unhealthy cycle that occurred when I was with Matt. 

• [23:50] How I and Matt learned to find our individual motivation to stay on the fitness path.  

Quotes: 

• “When you’re in a relationship or you’re dating, it might be harder to fit in more time to exercise by yourself.”- Emily [16:01] 
• “Find your motivation whether that’s your partner, or if it’s just something you want to get into.”- Matt [26:11] 

Links Mentioned in The Show: 

Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode and please leave a 5-star review if you enjoyed the show!      

Work with me: http://emilycoffman.org/beyondthehype/  

Instagram: https://bit.ly/3f5fGxs  

Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/2PZ2zTC   

 

59. How to Lose Weight as You Eat Your Donuts - Taking the Confusion Out of Nutrition and Weight Loss

What if I told you today that you can eat whatever you want and still get to lose weight? But that’s impossible you say…I understand that after years and years of jumping from one diet to the next, it can be hard to believe that you can eat carbs and lose weight. But you see, it’s all about healing your relationship with food and shifting your mindset. Are you ready? 

 

In this episode of Girls Gone Healthy, I speak with Rachel Freiman, an international coach, and a bestselling author. She teaches women how to lose weight while they’re still eating donuts. 

 

Rachel believes that it is the small baby steps that make the difference when committed to and without expecting perfection. Listen in to learn how to shift your mindset today and start showing up for yourself to make the change you need. 

 

Key Takeaways: 

• Understanding why nutrition should be taught as a skill that can be built on. 
• Why your failure in healthy habits isn’t your fault but what you have been conditioned to. 
• How to heal your relationship with food and trickle it down to your kids.  
• Make the mind shift and the baby steps with your health and fitness instead of going all in at once.  
• How to shift your mind with your health and fitness without expecting perfection.  

• Stop thinking that taking care of yourself is selfish and start showing up for yourself.  

Episode Timeline: 

• [2:03] Rachel narrates how Mind Strong became the name of her business.  
• [6:32] How Rachel transitioned from the teaching world to the fitness world. 
• [9:25] She talks about her book ‘Becoming Mind Strong’ which is 70% mindset and 30% fitness.  

• [15:05] Understanding macro tracking and how it gives you the freedom to eat whatever you want while staying healthy.  
• [19:52] Rachael explains how you can commit to continuing with your healthy habits even when you mess up. 
• [24:43] Learn to put in the work, show up for yourself, and start inspiring others.  

Quotes: 

• “Anytime you tell yourself you cannot do something; you are setting yourself up for failure.”- Rachel [11:09] 

• “The idea with macro tracking is one we want to make healthier choices the majority of the time, while still allowing for those fun foods.”- Rachel [18:59] 
• “When you’re taking care of yourself first, that is literally the least selfish thing you can do.”- Rachel [26:20] 

 

Links Mentioned in Show: 

Connect with Rachel Freiman: https://www.mindstrongfitnesscoaching.com/ 

Work with me: http://emilycoffman.org/beyondthehype/  

Instagram: https://bit.ly/3f5fGxs  

Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/2PZ2zTC   

 

58. This ONE Thing Will Make You Happier Today!

Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today! I know you don’t like those small tasks that barely add any excitement to your life, neither do I. But it doesn’t make it better to keep pushing them off for tomorrow because more often tomorrow never comes. Always keep in mind that it is the accomplished small goals that add up to the bigger ones.  

In this episode of Girls Gone Healthy, I talk about how you can make yourself happier today without waiting for tomorrow. Listen in to learn the impact of accomplishing small goals on your mental wellbeing. 

Key Takeaways:  

• How pushing things down the to-do list that never get done only sucks your energy.  

• Think of the small things you always get stuck with that you can do today and accomplish.  
• Reduce your stress and anxiety by not waiting for tomorrow to work on small goals.    
• It is important to understand that it is the accomplished small goals that add up to the bigger goals.  

Episode Timeline: 

• [3:14] Ask yourself what you can do today that you normally don’t, so you don’t have to do it tomorrow.  

• [6:14] How working on your goals today will excite you and reduce your stress levels.   

Quotes: 

• “Do one thing today that tomorrow’s you will thank you for.” [1:43] 
• “Fitting just one more thing today will help with the overwhelm of tomorrow.” [8:05] 
• “You’re taking that stress off of tomorrow, you’re taking that anxiety off of tomorrow, and you’re showing up for yourself at the moment.” [10:10] 

 

Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode and please leave a 5-star review if you enjoyed the show!    

Follow along on IG: https://bit.ly/3f5fGxs  

57. Dating Vs. Dieting: How Your Dieting Patterns Are Impacting Your Dating Life

Have you ever taken a moment to think of the similarities between dating and dieting? Maybe you should look at your own dating or dieting patterns because there’s a possibility that your dating history is as bad as your dieting history and vice versa. We often continue making excuses with bad diets and relationships, not necessarily for ourselves, but for the outside world. But for you to heal your bad nutritional habits, you need to stop looking at others, and instead pay attention to your body from the inside out. Find your food freedom and be liberated! 

In this episode of Girls Gone Healthy, I speak with Toni, a registered dietitian, the owner of Diet Tips with Toni, and recently gave a TED talk called Once Upon A Diet. She helps heal people’s relationships with food, gain self-confidence, and find balance in their eating habits. 

Toni struggled for many years with bad eating habits and body image until she found value in good nutrition and gained confidence. Listen in to learn the close similarities between dating and dieting and how healing one can lead to healing the other.  

Key Takeaways: 

• The difference that simple healthy eating and exercising can make for your confidence.  
• Learning how to balance taking care of yourself and being happy with where your body gets when you start living healthily.  
• Stop trying to please society by striving to look a certain way.  
• The similarities between relationships and dieting and why both should be about elevating your happiness.  
• How to change or stop pushing for different results by repeating the same thing over and over again. 

• Understanding that healthy looks different on everyone and not to compare your journey with others.  
• The importance of surrounding yourself with healthy people with the same goals as you or walking the same path as you.  

Episode Timeline: 

• [2:14] Toni narrates her bad relationship with food and a negative body image growing up.   
• [12:50] She explains the similarities between dating and dieting for their restrictive and compromising nature. 

• [18:57] Why a nutritional plan should be about elevating what you love, with the same applying to relationships.  
• [20:49] How ending a toxic relationship helped Toni move forward even with her food habits.  
• [26:26] Tips on how to stop the dieting cycle whether with an eating disorder or with a disordered eating pattern.  
• [32:32] She advises on the importance of surrounding yourself with healthy people to succeed in your journey.   

 

Quotes: 

“You shouldn’t feel in a relationship or on a diet that you can’t do the things you used to love and enjoy.”- Toni [17:32] 

“At the core, everybody wants love and attention and to be accepted.”- Toni [25:55] 

“Your health is not just your physical health, it’s a combination of your physical and mental health.”- Toni [32:07] 

“Anybody who is actively trying to work on themselves to make themselves better is going to be really successful in this world.”- Toni [32:37] 

 

Connect with Toni: 

https://tipswithtoni.com  

https://youtu.be/pJreg5-oOuw  

Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode and please leave a 5-star review if you enjoyed the show!      

WORK WITH ME: http://emilycoffman.org/beyondthehype/     

56. How to Talk Yourself Out of Bad Decisions - Quit Bad Habits and Break Free From Addictive Behavior

Don’t we all wish we could resist unhealthy urges that seem to come out of nowhere? The ones that end up becoming bad decisions stopping us from reaching our goals sooner? What if I told you there’s a way you can talk yourself out of those unhealthy urges? Surf the urge is a technique that will help you ride out the urge like a wave. YES, a wave! 

 

In this episode of Girls Gone Healthy, I talk about the surf the urge technique and how it will help you get rid of your need to satisfy unhealthy urges. Listen in to learn the importance of consistency in riding out your wave of urges.  

 

Key Takeaways:  

• Bring awareness to the urges you’re having and sit on it for a bit.  

• How to get stronger by repeatedly building resistance against your bad habits and urges.  
• Try the ‘put something into a jar’ technique to signify the completion of your urge without acting on it.  

Episode Timeline: 

• [1:50] How to think of your urges as waves that you allow to build up and then calm down.  
• [4:07] The breathing technique that will help you ride out your wave of urges without acting on them.  

• [6:42] How I adopted the breathing technique to get rid of a bad habit I had developed.  

Quotes: 

• “Research shows that urges don’t typically last for more than 20-30 minutes, especially if they’re not acted on.” [2:44] 
• “The thing with these urges and trying to break a bad habit, it’s whatever you repeat gets stronger.” [6:18] 
• “It’s not easy every time, but it gets easier every time.” [9:14] 

 

Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode and please leave a 5-star review if you enjoyed the show!     

WORK WITH ME: http://emilycoffman.org/beyondthehype/     

55. Unhappy in the Bedroom? Food Freedom Could Be Your Answer

Are you truly enjoying sexual and life pleasures just the way you are without judgment? I know the journey to loving and accepting your body isn’t easy, but unless you acknowledge your underlying body issues, you won’t enjoy yourself either. You have to create a connection with your body no matter what size or shape you are in to find pleasure with it. 

 

In this episode of Girls Gone Healthy, I speak with Ekaterina Timofeeva, a food freedom and pleasure coach who helps women heal food and body obsession and express their sexuality. She struggled with a dieting obsession for many years before finding the right resources and support to form healthy eating habits. 

 

Listen in to learn the importance of creating trust with your body to find intimate sexual pleasure.  

Key Takeaways: 

• The importance of finding support and accountability to help you get through your unhealthy eating habits.   
• How educating yourself with the right resources and tools can help you get to your health goals faster. 
• How to experience sexual and life pleasure by getting in tune with your body after transforming one area of your life. 
• Learning to let go of the negative self-image you have for yourself to create trust with your body.    
• How to accept your reality and then work towards bettering yourself.  

• Physical and mental practices to help you become aware of your body and develop a connection with it. 

Episode Timeline: 

• [1:48] Ekaterina narrates her journey with unhealthy eating habits and the negative effects she experienced with bikini competitions. 
• [5:03] How she got through her bad eating habits with the help of a therapist and taking responsibility. 
• [7:57] How she became a pleasure coach, teaching women to enjoy both sexual and life pleasures.  

• [12:53] Why you should learn to accept and love your body before making improvements.  
• [19:08] Simple steps that will help you change and stick to healthy eating habits.  

Quotes: 

• “Once you fix one area of your life, the other ones improve.”- Ekaterina [8:07] 
• “Without acceptance you cannot move forward in anything in life- you have to accept the situation you’re in and then work on bettering.”-Ekaterina [14:21] 

• “Simple things are actually the ones that work if you keep on doing them consistently.”- Ekaterina [22:17] 

 

Connect with Ekaterina 

https://www.instagram.com/ekaterina.timofeeva_/ https://www.facebook.com/ekaterina.timofeeva.104  

 

Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode and please leave a 5-star review if you enjoyed the show!    

WORK WITH ME: http://emilycoffman.org/beyondthehype/