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#126: Rebecca Nugent: Why fat loss finally sticks when you rethink nutrition, mindset and movement
231 Plays23 hours ago
Are you struggling to make healthy habits stick or wondering how to lose fat without obsessing over every bite? In this episode of the Kate Hamilton Health Podcast, I sit down with certified nutrition coach Rebecca Nugent, who shares how she lost 55 pounds and transformed her life by embracing a simple, sustainable approach to health.
Rebecca opens up about her journey from Ireland to Taiwan, how she shifted from teaching to coaching, and why consistency, daily movement, and mindset are key to lasting fat loss. We talk about the power of walking, eating more (not less!), and turning healthy habits into part of who you are - not just something you do. If you’ve ever felt stuck in the cycle of dieting and frustration, this conversation is your reminder that lasting change is 100% possible.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
[0:13] Meet Rebecca Nugent and her unique path from Ireland to Taiwan
[1:03] Why nutrition, mindset, and fitness are the three pillars of sustainable fat loss
[1:15] How Rebecca lost 55 pounds and changed her relationship with food
[1:22] Daily walking: the underrated fat loss tool
[1:31] Building identity-based habits for long-term success
[17:16] How coaching supports holistic, lasting transformation
[28:52] The surprising power of movement in maintaining results
[36:33] Restriction vs. freedom: how to eat more and still lose fat
[41:42] Knowing when to shift from fat loss to maintenance
[52:41] Why appreciating the little things fuels big change
Links & Resources:
- Connect with me on Instagram here
- Connect with Rebecca on Instagram here
- Learn more about KHH coaching here
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with friends who might benefit. For more health and fitness tips, follow me on Instagram and TikTok @katehamiltonhealth.
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Transcript
Introduction and Guest Welcome
00:00:08
Speaker
Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of the Kate Hamilton Health Podcast. So in today's episode, I chat with Rebecca Nugent. Rebecca is a certified nutrition coach who specializes in helping women achieve sustainable fat loss through a holistic approach.
00:00:25
Speaker
Having personally lost 55 pounds herself, she is committed to guiding others on their fitness journeys.
Rebecca's Journey from Ireland to Taiwan
00:00:31
Speaker
Rebecca is originally from Ireland, but she now lives in Taiwan, where she moved a few years ago to teach English, and now she considers it her second home.
00:00:40
Speaker
She holds a Precision Nutrition Level 1 certification, grounding her coaching in evidence-based
Coaching Philosophy and Personal Weight Loss Journey
00:00:46
Speaker
practices. Her approach focuses on three core pillars. Nutrition, mindset and fitness with an emphasis on consistency and simplicity to achieve lasting results.
00:00:57
Speaker
Like honest to God, we could have been talking about my journey and my values around coaching. We have that much in common. We have a wonderful conversation where we talk about everything from nutrition, mindset, fitness, career change, creating space.
00:01:12
Speaker
to actually discover yourself. We talk about her weight loss journey and how that slow and steady approach gave her the lasting results that she has today. We talk about the importance of daily movement and walking.
00:01:26
Speaker
We talk about eating enough, keeping your calories high and how that actually benefits you long term. And we talk about how all of the habits that you put in place to reach your goals become your identity.
00:01:37
Speaker
And once they become your identity, they just become something that you will do automatically.
Goal Setting and Life Experiences
00:01:42
Speaker
We talk a little bit about goal setting and goals and how important it is to really value the little things that actually bring you the most happiness.
00:01:52
Speaker
This was a really, really enjoyable conversation for me. And I think there's so much value you're going to get from everything that Rebecca has to share to take on your own journey.
00:02:04
Speaker
Hi, Rebecca. Welcome to the podcast. Hello, Kate. Thank you so much for having me. i was just saying off air about how on paper we actually sound very much like the same person. Literally, like every time I listen to your podcast, I'm like, it's like me, but without kids and you're not in Taiwan. yeah but So it's like, yeah, Kate, if she just moved to Taiwan, just let's pick it's fine. Now i have thought of of emigrating and just, you going to Tesco and never coming back.
00:02:29
Speaker
I'm joking. But I'm really excited to hear your story and to hear your perspective and to dive into a lot of the similar beliefs and methods that we do share. But yeah, I suppose before we get into it, if you would like to introduce yourself, tell everyone a little bit about you,
The Impact of Moving and Personal Reflection
00:02:46
Speaker
your backstory and what's led you to being here today.
00:02:49
Speaker
Yeah, I feel like naturally when you get asked that question, there's so many different like avenues. But I think naturally to keep it related to nutrition and mindset and fitness, it actually does tie in with my move to Taiwan because I moved to Taiwan alone.
00:03:03
Speaker
And I remember just having so much time alone really gave me the opportunity to actually realize that something was off. I feel like sometimes we get so caught up in like the rat race, day-to-day life. And ah even every client I speak to now and every friend I speak to, like life is just wild at the moment. And I heard you say that before and in previous times that like...
00:03:23
Speaker
During COVID, we all had a chance to actually realize, oh, we should slow down. And we did. And we swore we'd never go back to this. And now we're just like here, busier than ever. And I think moving to Taiwan was kind of my own little moment of that. I was just completely alone and I had so much free time. And I really, really, really realized I was so unhappy internally and externally.
00:03:44
Speaker
And I think when it's external, it's one thing. But when it becomes like really internal, that's deeper. And yeah, I just had a bit and ah of an epiphany one day and ia like, you really need to change.
Realizations and Lifestyle Changes
00:03:55
Speaker
I got very caught up in the, just like my priority was just like having the crack and like health was never a priority. And then reaching 25, you just kind of have a moment. I feel like either go one way or the other, like you keep doing what you're doing and just, you know, or else you kind of have to make a change. When I was 110 kg, I was like, this can't continue. yeah.
00:04:16
Speaker
I remember the day I bought weighing scales for my body and for food and I hopped on it. I didn't understand kg at all, which is actually a technique I use with clients because we're so accustomed to stones and pounds in Ireland.
00:04:29
Speaker
So when I saw 110 kg, it actually meant nothing to me. It's only now when I'm like, oh, That was that was quite, you know, different what I am now. And from that day on, I just became so, so, so.
00:04:43
Speaker
I don't like the term obsessed, but you know yourself, like we are so caught up in this world, but it's for the best. Like I am so interested in nutrition. the psychology behind it, the depth of the nutrition, I suppose, and the depth of health, because we would have always associated health with just weight. That's what I would have associated with. And it was just skin deep, but it's obviously not.
00:05:04
Speaker
And it's led me down this path now. And nutrition was always something I was interested in. Like we come from an agricultural background in my family. And I feel we were always very like level-headed when it came to food and nutrition and whatnot. But I obviously just kind of Yeah, I was the one in the family who never got their athletic side really. and the nutrition just never really clicked.
00:05:26
Speaker
It was always an interest of mine. I wanted to study in college, but I didn't get the points. And it's funny how it all comes back around. And I think I was listening to you saying similar stuff as well. Like I was teaching for years and I always loved it.
00:05:38
Speaker
And I didn't leave teaching because I didn't enjoy it. But it was obviously very, very, very, you know, it's a tiring, taxing job. And I think coaching is kind of amalgamating nutrition and teaching into one. And that's ultimately why i love it so much. And that's why I'm here.
00:05:54
Speaker
Sorry, I didn't know you were a teacher. I'm literally like, we are the same person. That's so funny. So were you a primary school teacher a secondary school teacher? Well, see, now to move
Balancing Teaching and Nutrition Coaching
00:06:05
Speaker
abroad, teach English, like I'm not an actual teacher. I studied business in Chinese. Oh, you're teaching English in Taiwan, is it? Yeah.
00:06:12
Speaker
No, I was teaching English for years, but then there does, like you kind of get other opportunities. So I got to dip into PE teaching as well, which was hilarious. Like literally teaching Gaelic football to a bunch of Taiwanese teenagers. It was just great. Yeah.
00:06:26
Speaker
Yeah, high school, usually high school here in Taiwan. I've always taught secondary school. It suited me a little bit better, but I'm not a real teacher like yourself. Well, you sound very much like a real teacher if you're working with kids and you know you're making a difference in their lives. Have you moved away from teaching or are you still teaching and then ah moving into the world of nutrition on the side?
00:06:46
Speaker
No, actually last year I just took the leap. Like I do think my parents were a little bit like, what? But I just was like, you know what? I need to go all in on this. And the beautiful thing about teaching in Taiwan, I think Ireland is similar-ish.
00:06:59
Speaker
Like there will always be work. Like it will always be there. You'll find something. Particularly in Taiwan, like there's so much work here. So I just said I'd take the leap and go full on into the nutrition. And like it was a big risk.
00:07:13
Speaker
But you know yourself, like it's so time consuming with content and everything like
Remote Coaching Challenges and Community Building
00:07:17
Speaker
that. I just had to, I couldn't do both. And you're trying to wear different hats, like one minute you're a teacher, next minute you're a coach. And it was, it was too exhausting.
00:07:25
Speaker
But after living in Taiwan then for a couple of months, just working for myself, a kind of missed the teaching. Like that's the whole point of living here is to be in the community and the society and the culture.
00:07:37
Speaker
So now I do the odd bit of subbing, actually, and I really, really, really enjoy it. Like, it's really fun because it's on my terms and subbing is obviously a little bit different. I dabble, let's say, but no, nutrition coaching is the main thing.
00:07:49
Speaker
It can be a very lonely job when you're working with people online. It's so amazing, the flexibility of it. But yet you you're suddenly not part of a tribe anymore. And that that that can be quite difficult to get used to. And obviously you build your own tribe, but then it's a tribe you're kind of in charge of. So it's nice to be around other people with similar interests. This is where like, you know, for me, like I'm kind of veering my way back towards CrossFit a little bit because I'm like, like get to be around people and it's a community and it's, you know, it's it's really nice to be able to just switch off and just yeah be around people in person.
00:08:22
Speaker
Yeah, I think because we obviously got so used to that in our careers, like teaching is so full on. There's literally just people everywhere, questions all the time, like the days absolutely fly. And that kind of environment really suits me.
00:08:34
Speaker
But obviously the coaching is so flexible and I enjoy it so much. So it's about finding the balance as well. Like that's why I'm so adamant of always having check in calls with my clients, because like I'm just dying
Self-Discovery and Emigration
00:08:44
Speaker
to talk to them. And we're eight hours ahead ahead here in Taiwan.
00:08:48
Speaker
So I usually get like everything done and then people start waking up in Ireland and the texts are coming in and the calls are coming in. And I'm like, oh, you know, it's like social again. So it's it's a nice balance at the moment.
00:08:58
Speaker
And it's interesting what you were saying about, you know, us being so busy and being so busy that we don't even like, you know, that there's external unhappiness, but then there's internal unhappiness.
00:09:09
Speaker
And what I think about that busyness that I talk about. And like I so struggle with it all the time. Like it's like this constant fight to keep the quiet so I can actually hear what I really want and feel what I really want.
00:09:24
Speaker
Because I think when the external noise and the external, even it doesn't even have to be external unhappiness, just external busyness and noise. it makes it impossible to even know whether you're unhappy or not inside. Like, I didn't even think about that. I was just go, go, go. I was just being, you know, there's what's next, what's next, what do I have to do today? What's happening tomorrow? And you're just being dragged along by this busy lifestyle.
00:09:46
Speaker
And I do think a lot of young people, young Irish people are getting that space when they emigrate, when they move away. And they're getting that space to be it like, whoa, hold on a second. I don't have to live this right race. I can do it this other way.
00:09:57
Speaker
Whereas I didn't do that travel at that young ah young age because I had kids when I was quite young. So I kind of just was like straight into it. And then like I've said in other podcasts, like COVID was first time I ever stopped and was like,
00:10:09
Speaker
Oh, I don't actually don't know that I want to do this. ah It was first time I ever thought about what I actually wanted and discovered things that I was passionate about. And it's just so interesting that you said that that's what happened when you moved away and probably the exposure to, oh, look at the wider world as well.
00:10:27
Speaker
That was probably huge for you as well. Yeah, and I think it's easier to stay in your lane and stay in that like ignorance of the reality. Because before Taiwan, I did actually live in China for three years and then it was Ireland.
00:10:41
Speaker
And I moved to China with friends. And we were always around each other, lived with friends, everything was friends, friends, friends. And then like, if I wasn't in work, I was with my friends. If I wasn't in work, like we'd go out.
00:10:53
Speaker
Like I was always surrounded by people, I was never alone. And then like you said, just getting that space when I moved to Taiwan alone, I actually, i I resisted it so much. Like, it was so difficult. i was like, why am I doing this? Like, should I just move back to China? Should I just move back to Ireland? Like, being alone is really, really, really uncomfortable because I had the external and internal unhappiness.
00:11:14
Speaker
And COVID forced the whole world to do that, like, which in hindsight is so unique and interesting that we all had that chance. But just to reiterate my point of like, I really think it's easier to stay in your lane. Like, it's easier to...
00:11:29
Speaker
to not face the truth almost. Like it was so difficult for me to do, but it was just inevitable. Like I realized how unhappy I was, but I can see how we can get so caught up in that because sitting down and taking that me time and realizing, oh, this is a bit off or something's wrong is the hard thing to do.
00:11:48
Speaker
And it's kind of like that thing you always see on Instagram and online about like choosing your hard, like, you know, all that we do to be healthy mentally and physically and everything is hard. But then ultimately being unhealthy is really hard as well. And it's like, which one is better, you know?
00:12:03
Speaker
Yeah. From my experience, from working with a lot of people and from my own experience as well with myself, that our lifestyles get so busy that we get to the stage that like, like I've said, we don't realize how unhappy we are, but there is that like that fear of stopping.
Facing Challenges and Embracing Holistic Health
00:12:23
Speaker
Even if it's an underlying fear, the fear of being alone that you talk about. like I experienced that quite young with a small baby being like 23 years old, being like, oh my God, please don't leave me on my own with him. I don't know what to do. would you know like But you know that sitting with that unhappiness and that insecurity and you know a lot of our destructive habits that are stopping us from being healthy are all habits that we've put in place to protect us from deep down that unhappiness, that insecurity, whatever that underlying thing is that we all have, like any of us that are over the age of 25, if you've made it through the education system, even, you know, you're going to have layers of insecurities, layers of bits that you've built up that don't serve you, that that but you've put in place to protect you that end up self-sabotaging. So when it comes to, you know, uncontrollable eating in the evening time, it's usually because
00:13:11
Speaker
Deep down, there's an extremely uncomfortable feeling that you're trying to distract yourself from. It's not just food. I'm just using that as an example. It can be overworking. It can be overtraining. It can be drinking. It can be drugs. It can be whatever.
00:13:24
Speaker
There's so many different ways we do it. But like, I think one of the biggest harmful substances, it's not even a substance, but I'm going to say substance anyway, is using busyness as an excuse to not actually face yourself and your circumstances.
00:13:39
Speaker
Yeah, 100%. And I think like you mentioned something there about whether it be overtraining or overworking or drinking or whatever it may be, like it can actually be a healthy habit, but because it's so excessive and it's it's being used as a distraction or it's been used as an escape, that actually makes it ultimately unhealthy.
00:13:58
Speaker
And it's something I'm always trying to observe with myself, clients, friends, family, everything. Like, Just because something on paper is a healthy thing, anything in excess is unhealthy.
00:14:10
Speaker
And yeah, exactly what you just said there. It doesn't matter what it is. If it's been used to distract yourself from the busyness and not face yourself, I see that as an element of unhealthiness. And sometimes when I see these extreme transformations, when people go from like excessively, you know, obviously we see lots of stuff online now and maybe they were like very overweight and then they've went and done a bodybuilding competition.
00:14:34
Speaker
Now, like that's just not my, picture of health. It might be otherwise, but I see that as they've almost replaced one unhealthy lifestyle with another because bodybuilding is ultimately an unhealthy sport. Like it obviously depends if it's short term, long term.
00:14:52
Speaker
Sorry, not bodybuilding, like the competitions, if it's long term or short term or whatever, but just to kind of draw it back to nutrition and everything. Like it's about always being able to evaluate and take a second Is this actually holistically healthy or is this particular habit just healthy? You know, if it's compromising other areas of the holistic health wheel, for want of a better word, then I would see that as almost it's unhealthy because it's taken from another area.
00:15:21
Speaker
But it takes that time and that self-awareness to figure that out. Someone can tell you or figure it out for you, but... You need to understand it yourself as well. And that's what this whole journey is about. Like I figured that out at around 27, let's say, but I'm sure plenty people figured it out at 21 and maybe people figure it out later. Like it takes work.
00:15:43
Speaker
That's what causes this yo-yo diet cycle of this diet culture. It's like you're just basically putting a bandaid over a, what's the expression? Bandaid over a dime crack. I think it's a bandaid on a broken leg, I think. Bandaid on broken leg. Perfect. bush nothing ah But yeah, they'll do another diet or they'll start running or they'll join the gym and this'll fix it, this'll fix it. And it's not, it's just you're adding into a lifestyle that needs to be looked at, a mindset that needs to be looked at whole life.
00:16:15
Speaker
I always say this kind of all the time on the podcast. This is ah not me telling everyone to turn their lives upside down and you know leave their partners and leave their jobs or anything like that. But it is a case that more often than not,
00:16:27
Speaker
We're not talking about a diet like anyone who comes on board with me will know that we're not talking about a diet. We're looking at your whole lifestyle because the habits like, you know, most of us are busy professionals. We're busy mothers. We're you know busy parents, whatever.
00:16:42
Speaker
Very few of us are actually lazy. You know, we're not lazy. We're just so overworked. We're so overwhelmed and we don't even know where to start. This is why like with my coaching, the number one thing that's most important is creating space in your day for daily reflection.
Guiding Clients to Self-Discovery
00:16:59
Speaker
Because if you don't know what's wrong, how can you ever fix it? Or if you don't know that there is something wrong there, how can you ever start to resolve it to get to a place of freedom, to get to a place of health, to get to a place of where you're meant to be?
00:17:13
Speaker
Because that's the problem most of us aren't aware. Yeah. And that's why I think like our role there is to guide because that's something I'm very conscious of when it comes to coaching, because naturally I'm a certified nutrition coach.
00:17:24
Speaker
And like, no matter what certificate you kind of have, there is no certificate there that's like, let's say a life coach certificate. I mean, maybe there has, I haven't looked into it, but it's like what determines a life coach, let's say. But all I do know for sure is when it comes to nutrition, fitness mindset, it trickles so much deeper than just like the aesthetic or the health.
00:17:45
Speaker
And, you know, sometimes if you're having a conversation with a client and you can kind of see that, you know, maybe relationship wise, it's not the healthiest or there's a habit that they've mentioned that like my husband does this or my boyfriend does this. And sometimes I'm like, I'm never going to comment on that because if I'm not a relationship coach, so it's not my place.
00:18:03
Speaker
But I can ultimately see that that little part is actually making a big difference. So like you said, it's about guiding people to reflect on that and giving them the space and the time and probing the questions.
00:18:14
Speaker
to guide them to what could be fixed here. And it takes, sometimes it takes weeks, sometimes it takes months, but I feel people will always, as they become happier in themselves physically and mentally off the back of improving their nutrition, fitness and health and lifestyle, they'll figure out those things. And I see it time and time again, like people start to figure out oh, this doesn't feel right because they've got something to compare it to.
00:18:39
Speaker
They've seen the strength and the happiness that comes off of them practicing healthy habits and improving their nutrition and improving fitness. And therefore they'll realize like, oh, this maybe this relationship is a little bit, and whether that be a romantic relationship could just be a friendship or and where I remember realizing there was a big correlation between my nutrition habits and also my spending habits. I was very all or nothing with my spending habits as well. Like if I went on a weekend away, be like, whoa, like money doesn't count, you know, like when you know when you're in the airport and you're like, what is money?
00:19:09
Speaker
Like I realized I had like a little negative association there, but just because I had learned it from nutrition, I was then able to relate it to something deeper like finance. I found that really interesting. So I don't bring up those topics with my clients, but I kind of, I can see them starting to realize little things. and and that's the beauty of the journey, really.
00:19:30
Speaker
Yeah, and you see where it all stems from, it stems from connecting in with our true selves. It stems with quieting the noise. It stems with actually just giving yourself a little bit of focus, which is what a lot of women are not great at doing, especially the older we get, the busier we get, the more responsibilities we get.
Building Daily Habits for Long-Term Change
00:19:47
Speaker
You know, like when we put in the habit of like the daily walk, suddenly you're out walking. whether it is with a friend, which you know is good for your health as well, or whether if it is by yourself, where you have that time to reflect, you're doing it automatically without thinking. Or if you're going to the gym and you're training, it's you and your thoughts. And there's a certain amount of yet you working through your thoughts and there's a certain amount of you being very present in the moment, giving you a break from your thoughts.
00:20:11
Speaker
which then leads to that wisdom actually being able to surface, which is what creates the long-term change. What I'm really interested to hear a little bit more about is your own personal weight loss journey as well.
00:20:23
Speaker
And kind of what you found worked for you, because am I correct in thinking was, is it 55 pounds that you have lost? Yeah, so I have a converted to that because Irish people generally don't understand kg. Sometimes when I say 25 kg, I see people's jaws drop. But then I'm like, do we actually know what that is?
00:20:40
Speaker
So my sister luckily was a personal trainer at that time and still is. So I had her to go to for the guidance. But I was alone in Taiwan ultimately. But I literally remember her telling me the number and now I am I'm six foot tall. so being 110 kg and six foot tall, like, you know, you're allowed pretty high calories.
00:20:58
Speaker
And I remember her telling me, OK, I want you to eat 2400 calories every day. Now, I'd never tracked like I think I had my fitness pal on my phone, but I'd never really stuck to it. So naturally, I probably was quite inaccurate at the start.
00:21:10
Speaker
But I started to eat 2400 every day. But I genuinely thought she was like sabotaging me. I thought she just wanted to be like the skinnier sister, you know, like I was like, how am I going to lose weight?
00:21:22
Speaker
Like it was so much food. Like, you know yourself, 2400 is quite a lot, especially when it's good quality food. Like, naturally, can add up quickly when it's pizzas and chips or whatever. But when it's good quality, high protein, high fiber, it's a lot of food.
00:21:36
Speaker
And I remember I'd get the end of the day and I might have 200 calories left. And she's like, she would literally be like, Becky, go out to the kitchen, get some dark chocolate and peanut butter and eat it. Like she'd be like, meet those calories.
00:21:47
Speaker
And I understood what she meant because it was about implementing the habit of like the consistency there with that. Like I obviously could fit in chocolate and peanut butter. Like I was just being dramatic saying that I was too full because, you know, the way you want to feel like Oh, I can't eat that much. I'm too skinny. Like all those terminologies that we used to just love using.
00:22:06
Speaker
So I think I ate that amount for about three or four months. And then there was a bit of a slowdown and I'd probably lost five or six kg at that point. Then she lowered me to lower calories. And I think I wouldn't say I finished off because like you never finish this process. Like you said, it's not a diet. It's a lifestyle.
00:22:22
Speaker
But I was still eating such high calories. Like I don't think I ever once felt hungry. Genuinely, and never felt restricted. I never felt hungry. And it just clicked. Like, I couldn't believe that this is how easy it was supposed to be the whole time.
00:22:35
Speaker
I probably shouldn't say easy, but how straightforward and simple. I can't believe that that's the way it was the whole time. Like, why was I doing special K diets and Weight Watchers and Slimming World as a teenager? Like, it's not that complicated.
00:22:49
Speaker
So i lost consistently for about a year and then it was definitely time to kind of take a bit of a break from it because dieting and deficiting for that long is mentally and physically taxing. And i found like I wasn't really enjoying life in Taiwan. like There's so much food to be enjoyed here and I wasn't eating it because I was always trying to eat at home.
00:23:09
Speaker
So I took me little bit of a break for about two years and I maintained, which is obviously amazing progress in itself. Like I really stayed in and around the same weight bracket. And then in the past two years or so, I've really pushed at it again, particularly wanting to become a nutrition coach. Like you want to just become better. Like you want to set an example for your clients too.
00:23:30
Speaker
But now I'm kind of out the other side where like weight is the last thing on my mind. Like I couldn't care less what the scale says. It's more so like the strength and the fitness that comes with this. And I never thought I'd get there. But that's the beauty of this whole thing of you look back on yourself four five, six years ago and you're like, how did I used to think like that?
00:23:49
Speaker
You know, like and that's why it's such a work in progress. And it's not an overnight thing. It's a constant daily decision to better yourself that leads you to that healthier place.
00:24:01
Speaker
And yeah, it was just high calories, sustainable, realistic. Like it was a long journey, but I was ready for it. And I can see that in clients when I meet them as well.
00:24:11
Speaker
You can see that in signing up with you, they're ready for that change. And I've noticed more often than not, clients always trust me with the higher calories. Like they're like, whoa, that's a high number, but it keeps it so sustainable and realistic. And that will forever and always be my approach because it's exactly how I was successful in it.
00:24:29
Speaker
Yeah, no, I couldn't agree more. And we I really do want to dive right into this nutrition and the idea of more food. I'm saying this in case of forget so we can bring it back to this. You know, that how important it is to eat, to keep calories high.
Kate's Coaching Services
00:24:43
Speaker
Like, you know, it's an absolute game changing way of of moving forward to actually achieving long term results that you can actually keep off.
00:24:52
Speaker
I just wanted to interrupt the podcast for a moment to talk to you a little bit about Kate Hamilton Health online coaching. So we have two coaching options available. We have our elite coaching and we have our group coaching service.
00:25:08
Speaker
Our elite coaching service is bespoke individualized coaching, which will help you to finally break free from diet culture with one-to-one anytime support from your coach and with access to a safe, supportive community.
00:25:23
Speaker
This is a higher ticket coaching option and the coaching is by application only. If you go to my website, KateHamiltonHealth.com, you will be able to apply for elite coaching through there and we will be in touch to organize a call and to get you up and running.
00:25:38
Speaker
in relation to our group coaching. Our group coaching starts on the first Monday of every month. When it's full each month, we do close the doors. With the group coaching is about building the habits, body and energy of the healthiest version of yourself and finally make it stick. We include personalized calories and portions, food lists, recipes, meal plan ideas, step goals,
00:26:04
Speaker
Home or gym based workouts, depending on what you want, changed every eight weeks. Mindset work, app access. So that's the Kate Hamilton Health app, which will be your hub for everything. Weekly yoga classes, WhatsApp group community, weekly group Q&A with myself, fun challenges, daily habits form, weekly self check in. fortnightly check-ins with your coach, a library full of lifestyle guides, a library full of lessons, seminars, and all of this is updated regularly.
00:26:35
Speaker
We have weekly group Zoom calls with myself and the team, regular guest seminars where we get experts on to talk more to you about different topics that and we need experts on for. it And then we have in-person events twice a year that you will get at a major discount as being a member of the Kate Hamilton Health community.
00:26:54
Speaker
So as I said, this starts the first Monday of every month. If you go to my website, KateHamiltonHealth.com, you will see when the next group coaching intake is starting for you. the we close the doors as soon as that intake is full or the Monday before the group coaching starts. So usually that last Monday of the previous month.
00:27:17
Speaker
So if you head over to Kate Hamilton health.com, all of that information that I've talked through is on the website. You'll be able to book your spot for the next intake there. And I will chat to you all then.
00:27:31
Speaker
But I just wanted to ask you a few more things then about your own journey. So in relation to movement, what kind of like movement and training and stuff were you doing ah along the journey or has that changed over this long period of time?
00:27:44
Speaker
So obviously at first the goal was just weight loss. And when you're that size or that unhappy, you're just desperate to get the weight off. So the calories my sister gave to me and I remember at the time she asked me my rough exercise and I was like, oh, like I walk and get a coffee in the morning. Like it could have probably totaled from teaching all day or whatever, it probably was around 6,000 steps.
00:28:05
Speaker
Ultimately, we always have that 10,000 in our heads, which is actually so negative, to be honest. And that actually comes from a Japanese word of just the name of the concept of moving more. It just comes from, it sounds like 10,000. So they just took 10,000 on it, but it's not feasible for everyone. And it's really low for some other people.
00:28:23
Speaker
So my sister had said, okay, do 7,000 then. So I aimed for 7,000. And that was literally just like getting off the bus to stop earlier than usual, going to work or something to build up that extra thousand.
00:28:35
Speaker
But then you become hungrier for it and you want to move more and you realize that the more move, the better it is. So that quickly went from 8,000 to 9,000 to 10,000 and then easily like 12,000.
00:28:47
Speaker
It was just constantly walking. Like any chance I had to walk, I would walk. And I think that that's something that is such a game changer. When you realize the impact that walking can have, we've always associated weight loss with being, okay, I need to start running or I need to start going to the gym.
00:29:04
Speaker
I could honestly probably say the majority of my weight was lost from just walking, obviously nutrition, but the exercise would have been walking. Like the gym had very little to do with it. I mean, if anything, I've built muscle in gym. So none of the actual like the weight side of things is probably very unrelated.
00:29:22
Speaker
It was all steps. It was all steps. And then I think after about a year, I had gained the confidence to join the Gaelic football team here in Taiwan. I had went a couple times when I was heavy, but I just I just didn't have the confidence for it. Like I was so unfit and so unhealthy and unhappy and myself.
00:29:38
Speaker
So that was another byproduct of like because of the weight loss and because of the steps, I didn't necessarily get fitter, but I got more confident and I was able to join a whole community here, which ultimately bettered my life.
00:29:50
Speaker
And that's the like trickle effect of weight loss, because what starts off as a couple kg and the scales opens you up to this whole community, which is now literally my family and my life here in Taiwan is the football team.
00:30:02
Speaker
So I think. The epiphany that the power of walking and steps is ultimately the lead domino when it comes to exercise. Like going to the gym for an hour is really, really, really not effective when the main goal is weight loss.
00:30:17
Speaker
And that was such an eye opener. Yeah, using that hour just move your body a little bit more by walking. Like if you're stuck for time, obviously. Are you now at the stage, are you at maintenance?
00:30:29
Speaker
I'm just curious because I'd love to know, you know, when you kind of got to where you wanted to go, because I know a lot of people listening will be like, how did she keep it off?
Maintaining Weight Loss and Healthy Habits
00:30:38
Speaker
What like, did you bring calories back up gradually?
00:30:42
Speaker
Did you find your calorie maintenance is much lower after losing so much weight? Like what have you done to kind of Yeah, to to manage it, I suppose. Yeah. And that's actually one of the main reasons why I feel coaching. That's why i wanted to become a coach because it's literally like I hate saying it's complicated, but it's important to keep everything really, really healthy and to do it right.
00:31:03
Speaker
So because I had lost weight so gradually and sustainably, like we're talking like 0.3 to 0.8 of a kg every week. Because I had done that so gradually, when I finally decided to take a diet break, like my habits were so second nature and habitual that to be honest, I ah didn't really go back to eating like loads or whatever.
00:31:24
Speaker
But it wasn't the way I would like to do with my clients where we gradually work their calories back up to maintenance. I think at that point I was just so ready to... Like I had just gotten into a new relationship and it was just I was just ready to switch off from it. I think I, let's say, moved into another chapter.
00:31:41
Speaker
But then when I went back to losing weight, I got a a serious slap in the face when I went back to my 2200 calories or whatever. And weight was not budging. And naturally, that makes sense. At that point, I would have been 15 20 kg lighter.
00:31:56
Speaker
of course, like you're not gonna have the same calories. So I tried and tried and tried for weeks to do it by myself. And the weight was just not budging because naturally my maintenance was way lower.
00:32:08
Speaker
So then I got back onto my sister and she kind of advised me of it. And I remember going lower with the calories, but I didn't actually like being someone who's six foot, like you can eat a lot of food and you do need a lot of food. And I didn't ever want to be down by 1700 or 1800 or anything like that. And I don't like talking about numbers too much here because obviously everyone is so different and it is very personal.
00:32:31
Speaker
But I realized then like this isn't the way it should be. So I started to work it back up gradually by about 50 calories a week to work my maintenance up. But at this point I was studying nutrition. So I was kind of a bit of a case study for myself.
00:32:43
Speaker
It was about this time last year when I started the business. I was really, really, really focused on losing the weight. I couldn't care less about this now, but I felt a little bit of that imposter syndrome of like you can't call yourself a nutrition coach.
00:32:55
Speaker
When you don't look like the typical coach online, obviously. And this is something that I kind of dread about the industry is obviously everything is just like, you know, there's just it's all about your body, really. It's all about how you look like.
00:33:08
Speaker
I'm adamant to never really post pictures in bikinis or stuff like that. I just don't want it to be about that. I don't want to draw away from the fact that it's so much deeper than how you look. And I feel like if my page becomes about how I look or how my clients look, it's losing the point because that's not what I care about anymore.
00:33:27
Speaker
so it was about this time last year when I really started to coach that I realized like I can't be coaching that this is so much more important than weight. and only be focusing on my weight. So I was already into the gym, but I started to take it very, very, very seriously. And I already had high protein, but I started to, I mean, really like, you know, the way there's the graph or the metric of like, oh, 0.8 to like 2.2 grams, like,
00:33:53
Speaker
There's high protein and then there's high protein. So I started to take nutrition and stuff a lot more seriously. And then when you start to see like the muscles and the definition and you feel so much stronger, like I live on the fourth floor, I never take that the elevator. Like I'm always just running up the stairs anywhere I go. If there's stairs, I'm taking it because you feel like you can and you're just so much stronger and fitter.
00:34:15
Speaker
So it was a process like that's why there's such a ah market for coaches because When you've got a lot of weight to lose, it's not as simple as just like cutting the calories and dieting a little bit before a holiday.
00:34:28
Speaker
Like when you've got a lot of weight to lose, it's long. It's a long-term process and it needs to be done right. It needs to be done sustainably, healthily, realistically to keep... so that like you just don't jump into low calories and then your body adapts and you've got nowhere to go.
00:34:44
Speaker
Like I see it time and time again with clients that they've been trying to lose weight on like 1600, 1500. fifteen hundred And one, it just won't work because it's not realistic. But two, if they eat that low for a long time, then the metabolism adapts.
00:34:56
Speaker
And they naturally become a little bit, you know, they're less likely to move. They're less likely to take the stairs. Whereas eating more and fueling your body makes you do those extra things. Like it's going to make you want to run up the stairs as opposed to take the elevator. And it's going to make you want to get off the bus earlier, walk 10 minutes instead of driving.
00:35:14
Speaker
And I think that's the biggest difference with... The journey five years ago that I started was just weight loss, weight loss, weight loss. Whereas now it's like, how can I eat as much as possible to feel as strong as possible? And it's an amazing feeling. I think you can probably relate. Yeah, it's about it becoming your identity, isn't it? Like, it's like I am someone who walks every day.
00:35:35
Speaker
I'm someone who takes the stairs. And, you know, if you do a good bit of travel, you'll know this. Like, and I think of it every time I'm in the airport, you know, when there's the escalators, up or down, it doesn't matter. And there's the stairs beside it.
00:35:46
Speaker
and everyone goes on the escalators and it's like me and David, our bags, are we're like, oh, we're taking the stairs, you know, like that you just need to go into a public place and see if very few people will physically take the stairs.
00:35:58
Speaker
And if you can make that your identity, be like, like, obviously I don't mean if you've got a 20 kilo bag that you need to be hopping up the stairs or that like, you know, what it is all those little things like it's starting where you are and doing what you can, isn't it?
00:36:09
Speaker
That I think A lot of times people will start and they're comparing their day one to someone else's day 100 and everyone had to start somewhere. Some people will start their journey a little bit more experienced than others and there's nothing wrong with where you start.
00:36:24
Speaker
It's just about stepping a bit out of your comfort zone, but not flinging yourself into the depths of overwhelm and being like, what like what
Nutrition Mindset and Calorie Tracking
00:36:33
Speaker
can I do? And this brings me back then to if we talk a bit about nutrition and about our mindsets around nutrition,
00:36:38
Speaker
This is where it comes to crowding things out, isn't it? Rather than taking things away. It's like, how do I improve my meals? So looking at how your diet is. Do you eat breakfast, lunch and dinner? Oh, no, I skip meals or whatever. Right. Well, what what do we need to do? We need to add in meals. We need to make sure we're getting we're eating more regularly. It doesn't have to be three meals. It can be four or five. It depends what suits the person.
00:36:58
Speaker
But like i kind I would argue kind of you need three, at least three anyway. So it's like add that in, right? what Now, how do your meals actually look? Do we need to add more protein? Do we need to add more fiber, more vegetables?
00:37:10
Speaker
And add things in. And that brings me to the point then about you with your high calories. And this is the approach we take as well. Like when we start clients, the one thing that we all, because we do, we take people on in groups and everyone's like, if my calories are too high. I won't lose weight. My calories are too high.
00:37:26
Speaker
And it's like, just trust the process. It's not like we're not afraid to bring people's calories down. We will as it necessary. But literally you said it and I say it all the time. If you start too low, you have nowhere to go.
00:37:38
Speaker
Yeah. And I think like sometimes people think like, oh, I can't possibly eat that much. But the interesting thing is if they're carrying weight, more than likely they have been eating that much and more.
00:37:48
Speaker
And that's ultimately while we're while we're there. Obviously, everyone's story is different, but I can't eat that much or that's very high. Actually, before, and my sister used to also also say that to me when she started coaching me, like, well, the goal is to eat as much as possible and maintain your weight.
00:38:03
Speaker
And I remember i I was obviously just going through a difficult phase, but I was like, no, it's not. want to spend that much money on food. And like, why would I want to eat that much? Like it just, I was just like resisting it.
00:38:14
Speaker
But then I realized that it's about having that food freedom of, yeah, maybe like food. five or six days of the week, I'm not eating, let's say that much. But then on a Friday, I go out for a meal with my friends and I have the freedom then to choose ah starter and a main course and a dessert.
00:38:30
Speaker
And I'm not saying that's the ideal way to do it, but once in a while. But it gives you that freedom of like, OK, because I've eaten a little bit less, let's say these days, it balances out and it's giving you that food freedom, which is ultimately going to remove the friction and the negativity around it.
00:38:47
Speaker
And it's also about the, you know, the whole overeat restrict cycle, like the more restricted we are, the more you want food. It's just human nature. So if you've got higher calories to play with, you're never going to feel restricted. And that's something I'm always touching base on with my clients. Like, do they feel restricted? And I can tell the ones who are obviously aren't focusing on food quality. And then we need to draw in that, like, we need to prioritize this over this so that you don't feel restricted. And yeah Once you feel don't feel restricted, you won't overeat. And that's why having higher calories is going to long term make you lose weight as opposed to the lower.
00:39:25
Speaker
But it's it is a bit of a ah mind. Like it's confusing, isn't it? Because we grew up to eat less. Like we grew up believing you had to eat less and move more. When I would actually advocate, it's usually eat more and move more.
00:39:37
Speaker
Yeah. And it's actually eating more volume, less calories than before you were tracking. The point that you make when someone says my calories are too high, it's like, yes, but if you're here and you have body fat to lose, you have been eating more calories than this. So these calories are still going to be less than if you weren't tracking at all.
00:39:56
Speaker
And I think with the restriction point and it is like it's kind of we are we're trained for that. I'm on a diet. I should be eating less. And it's kind of like this punishment thing or it's kind of nearly an excitement thing at first. It's like, oh, I need to feel like I'm on salads all the time and feeling really restricted. It's this weird kind of self punishment thing. I think we do.
00:40:13
Speaker
But I think what happens is our brains start to play tricks on us when we're restricting. So little things will start to happen like yeah, I won't really track that properly or I'll just, you know, loosely track this, that. Like you kind of start to lie to yourself without even, and I think a lot of it's done subconsciously and I'm not like pointing finger at saying like you guys are lying to yourselves. Like we all do this. I think it's human nature.
00:40:37
Speaker
If we're restricted, we find ways to, or we're like, oh, it's grand. I just did 15 minute HIIT workout. Like that's definitely, you know, outdone this. And it's like, we start to kind of compensate and we start to play tricks on ourselves.
00:40:49
Speaker
Whereas if we just Fuel to be healthy, to be nourished, to be strong, to be fit, whatever your goals are. And fat loss will be a side effect. Like you don't see someone who moves their body every day that finds a sport or, ah you know, an activity that they enjoy, that they do regularly and they eat good quality whole foods.
00:41:12
Speaker
that are overweight, like your body will naturally get to where it's supposed to be. Obviously, I'm a huge advocate for tracking calories to educate yourself. What are you consuming? How should you consume? What are your energy requirements? You know, like I think it's really, really important tool.
00:41:27
Speaker
My point is when we start calorie tracking and we get active and we get to a point where we're like, OK, I'm in a healthy weight range now, you know, this is where the brain can start to play tricks. mostly And this is where we have to be careful.
00:41:41
Speaker
When is enough enough? And I actually get this question quite often from clients that are coming near to to go, how do I know when it's time to maintain? yeah And that's such a good question because it depends on the person.
00:41:55
Speaker
For me, I won't bring someone past a certain point because it's not what I do. Like yourself, I don't believe in going down this path of getting stage lean like a bodybuilder or anything like that. I don't believe that because that is not healthy in another direction.
00:42:10
Speaker
I think a good indicator of knowing when you've got to where you need to get health wise is when you've you've dropped your calories and your body's stopping responding.
00:42:21
Speaker
You're in a healthy weight range and you're in a size of clothes that you wanted to be in and you're not so fixated on a number that you have to weigh a certain number or even that you have to be a certain size clothes either.
00:42:34
Speaker
We can start think that we're not lean enough. Oh, I need to I need to keep going. I'm not skinny enough. enough I'm not lean enough. I'm not fit enough. It's like for me, and I'll finish, I'll let you talk in a second. I'll finish on this point. For me, love it's always at about 10 stone.
00:42:47
Speaker
Okay, 140 pounds, 64 kilos, I think, if we're we're doing all of the metrics. I know when I get to that point, I can maintain that easily. If I stop tracking, my weight might start slipping up a little bit and I'll just tidy up a little bit. And it's it's fairly easy to maintain in and around 10 stone.
00:43:01
Speaker
See, trying to get down to like nine stone seven, try to lose another seven pounds or another two or three kilos on that. It's unsustainable for me. It becomes restrictive. I would need to be obsessive. I would have to withdraw from my lifestyle.
00:43:13
Speaker
And I'm not willing to trade that or to look a certain way. And I wouldn't be healthy because I would like in my head, be like, I can't get enough protein and I can't get enough healthy fats in. I'd like, no, this is not doing my body any good. I'm for a context, I'm five foot six, but I'm quite broad. Like I'm quite, you other word like big boned but I'm not like i never I don't have a petite frame so I weigh quite heavy for quite a small amount of body fat if that makes sense but I'm really aware that that's where my body likes to sit and I feel fit I feel full of energy I feel strong at that weight give or take sorry it's never less than that that would be at about the lowest would be about 10 stone and it could go anywhere up to 10 and a half you know and I like to if I'm going over the half I'm like okay okay get your shit together
00:43:55
Speaker
But don't know what your thoughts are on that in relation to how to know when enough is enough.
Balance Between Process Enjoyment and Self-Improvement
00:44:01
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's when it comes down to like, I mean, in terms of myself, in terms of clients, like I experienced it as well when and wasn't enjoying it anymore. Because I feel like when you are actually doing this process right and you have made the lifestyle change in the correct way, it's actually really enjoyable.
00:44:20
Speaker
Like it becomes... Part of your identity, like you said, you are someone who walks every day and you're someone who gets enough protein and eats enough fiber and cares about their health and their sleep. It does become part of who you are, but it should be a really positive thing.
00:44:35
Speaker
I remember the the stage when I kind of, like I was saying, when I kind of just needed to switch off from it because it had been a year And there had been little diet breaks in between that, but it had been a year.
00:44:45
Speaker
i didn't have a coach. Like my sister would guide me here and there, but she wasn't like a set coach. But it's because like you're always looking for the lower calorie version of everything. Like you're in the supermarket and you're looking at two different types of digestive biscuits and you're picking one because it has 68 calories instead of the one that has 74.
00:45:03
Speaker
Like that's the kind of stuff where... It's when it's unenjoyable and I'll hear it in a client as well when I'm like, that's the sort of stuff that's it's actually quite minuscule right now. We don't need to be thinking that deeply.
00:45:16
Speaker
We need to zone out of that and really focus on how you're feeling. And that's why all of my questions and conversations are always based off like how is mood? How is well-being? How are stress levels, energy levels, sleep and the questions like you said about like reflection and taking that space. I'm always asking about wins and challenges.
00:45:36
Speaker
And I think, like you said, it's about when the number on the scales doesn't mean that much to you anymore. That's the biggest indicator that you've kind of made it to that point, because I don't know if it's an Irish thing. And I work with women who aren't just Irish and I definitely see it in them, but maybe not as much as Irish, but The obsession with the scales is wild.
00:45:57
Speaker
Like, and I'm not surprised because when I think about my upbringing, like it was all just scale, scale, scales. But when someone starts to pay more attention to their measurements as opposed to the scales or when they're delighted because they fit back into a dress that they haven't fit into in three years or so, and the scales has stopped being kind of mentioned or the scales really isn't affecting their emotions anymore.
00:46:20
Speaker
that's when I feel like I know from my clients and they know from themselves that like we've made it to that phase where the main priority is actually health and again holistic health not just but internal health or whatever it's also about mental health like not looking at the scales all the time not always pushing for more and more steps when it's actually affecting like it's too many steps like it because obviously there's taking away from family time or it's taking away from sleep or, you know, like it's, yeah, it's, it becomes obsessive in a, in a different way.
00:46:53
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
Aligning Goals with Personal Values
00:46:55
Speaker
I think another thing for me as well, and it's something that I've been working on a lot lately, you know, that like I'm such a goal orientated person, but it's learning to sit with, why am I always trying to improve myself?
00:47:08
Speaker
Why am i always trying to change myself? And there's a difference between having goals just for the fun of us and for, you know, to achieve things. But like, we really need to ask ourselves why our goals are our goals. So like for a little context in my own life,
00:47:22
Speaker
I've made a huge career change over the past few years. I'm growing a business. The business has got growing really well. It's quite all consuming, but I'm also a mother of three. Like my eldest is doing his junior search, you know, have a 13 year old, sorry, I've got a 15 year old, a 12 year old and a seven year old. So like life is busy with them.
00:47:38
Speaker
And I sacrificed a lot of friendships and a lot of relationships in the pursuit of, of, of this career change and building this business. That all has very much as a very clear purpose in mind, you know, like the fulfillment of the work that I do now, the freedom that it brings me in relation to my own time and where where and when I work, being able to help as many people as possible. So that like I'm so clear on those goals.
00:48:01
Speaker
But because I'm so goal orientated, I'll often be like, oh, yeah, no, I need to run 10K. Oh, no, I need to sign up for this half marathon, which I haven't done, thank God. Or, you know, I need to. do a photo shoot or i need to do this or that, you know, like, and I'm always like trying to get stronger or get fitter or get leaner.
00:48:18
Speaker
And then it's like, okay, why do I always have to feel like I have to make myself better? And I think that's a really good question for anyone listening to really ask yourself.
00:48:31
Speaker
Like I've got really, really clear on my values. What are my values? Family. Family. freedom, health. right. So now I'm like, OK, if I'm pursuing something, is it actually in line with my values or is that my ego talking?
00:48:45
Speaker
Is that my self-sabotaging voice in my head that's telling me I'm not good enough talking? And that can like I think when you can zone in on that, it's a really great way to know whether the direction you're pushing in is is the right direction.
00:48:59
Speaker
Yeah, and I think like we're only human and a lot of times the reason we get caught up in those things now, a lot of it I think is because of social media. I don't remember being like that years ago. Like in school, we would have chatted about goals and like you would have want what university you wanted to go to or what country you wanted to go to next. But it wasn't this like excessive need.
00:49:20
Speaker
to do like extraordinary things. And it probably has come from social media. And even like, I genuinely will be honest. I remember running my first 5K and being buzzing off the kudos I was getting on Strava.
00:49:33
Speaker
And I only went for my next 5K because of the kudos. Like the kudos is what got me through that, which is so ridiculous. No, Rebecca, I ran my first 10K. All right. And I think I talked about on my social media at the time. I ran my first 10K a few months back.
00:49:46
Speaker
And I stopped, my sister rang me right at the end of it. Like, and I had my watch connected. So I thought I was finished and it stopped at 9.96 or something. And I cried. Like, I actually cried.
00:49:59
Speaker
Like, I was running with my husband. Davey's like, Kate, what's wrong with you? And I was like, no, I'm not. Like, I'm not okay. This is like, and I can't run this again tomorrow. I'll be injured. Yeah. and it was go Yeah. I was, isn't it amazing? And I was like, it was because I didn't get the,
00:50:14
Speaker
the trophy on Strava. Literally. Is that what it was? I ran 10K, but I didn't. Yes, exactly. And I remember was only a couple of weeks ago. I went out for a because every now and then I'll change it up from a 5K into a 10. Like when I say now and then, I mean like twice a year and I'll go out and be like, OK, I'm doing a 10K. And I finished the 10K, but I actually kind of had 12 in my head the whole way around because I was like, oh, well, like, you know, I did 5K before I did 10K before I should try And I wasn't trying to better myself.
00:50:44
Speaker
I wasn't just trying to push myself to 12K for me. It's almost like because i'm I'm doing more than I was before and probably was to see the personal record trophy on Strava.
00:50:55
Speaker
And by the end of the 10K, I was absolutely wrecked and I didn't do it. And I remember halfway through that day feeling like little bit deflated. And I had to actually just call myself i out on it and be like, are you actually daft? Like you went out this morning and ran solid for 58, 59 minutes or whatever.
00:51:12
Speaker
And you're disappointed in yourself. Like we we are divils for it. And actually envy the people who don't have that tendency. and I think everyone has it to an extent. like But naturally, I think being caught up in this social media more, this world more, like i'm get i will I did get very caught up in it last year and just like,
00:51:32
Speaker
more is always better rather than less is more. And like you said, it's about taking that second to kind of realize like, why do I need to do this? Is it for myself or is it for other people? Is it for the kudos? Is it for the likes or what is it for?
00:51:46
Speaker
And that once again comes down to like, I'll i'll figure this stuff out in my daily walks or in the gym. Like this is the epiphany that you kind of have when you have that me time.
00:51:57
Speaker
And yeah, I totally agree with you there. I've i've been there and it's we're all a work in progress. Like we're all only human. And I think there is an expectation that as coaches, like we have it all as figured out or whatever. Like I'm only 20.
00:52:10
Speaker
twenty um i was about to say twenty nine I'm only 29. I'm 30. Like if I'm coaching women who are almost double my age and have had kids, like they have a life experience that I don't have.
00:52:21
Speaker
So I don't have it all figured out. Neither do they. Like we are all human and it's about accepting that we all are where we are. Once again, it's about enjoying the process, isn't it as well? Like that. Yeah, like having goals can be good, but it's really enjoying the journey and enjoying the habits that get you to the goals. Like because it is about the little things. Like if I ask you now, actually, i will ask you that now.
00:52:43
Speaker
Like what actually brings you joy? Like what things in your day, like in your day or in your week make you genuinely happy? Like give me one thing if you can think of something.
00:52:54
Speaker
Obviously the kind of the confidence in yourself, not and I don't just mean physically, I mean like personality wise, mentally, like from living the life I've lived and all of the hard things I've done in the past couple of years, which are related to weight loss and not just that as well.
00:53:11
Speaker
Like ah honestly feel like I could walk into any room and handle any situation. And that that is something that gives me that kind of I don't know if that's the kind of happiness you're talking about. But it that you you feel like you have that resilience that it brings you like. Yeah, it's a piece yeah like it's a piece that's come off of this journey that like, you know what, I can do hard things.
Finding Joy in Daily Habits
00:53:31
Speaker
And it sounds trivial, like when people are in the gym and you hit a PB on the bench, that that might trickle into like that you can walk into any job interview and not feel nervous or whatever. But it genuinely does have an impact. And that's something I feel like brings me so much happiness is recognizing like you have built this character.
00:53:50
Speaker
And that's such a strong why then for you getting in the gym and doing it. You want to go in because you want to feel that feeling. And it's like for me, what brings me the most joy in my week? Like I love going up the mountains hiking. Like I love being out nature. I love being out walking.
00:54:05
Speaker
I love things like getting up an hour before my kids and having like a coffee by myself. little things like that, or I started doing like a morning yoga practice and I really enjoy that.
00:54:18
Speaker
And I'm like, it's the little things. Like it's never like we were striving for all these goals of like, you know, looking a certain way, running whatever we're running or lifting whatever we're lifting or, you know, business goals or life goals, you know, financial goals.
00:54:34
Speaker
The things I've just listed and things you've just, listed you've just explained there, they don't cost a lot. And I think we can get so caught up in getting there, like, you know, on our weight loss journeys, on our fitness journeys, our business journeys, whatever, being like, when we get there, when we get there, we'll feel like, you know, I'll be happy when I'll be happy when.
00:54:53
Speaker
But when you actually think about it, like it's the minor things. that make me so happy and that make us all so happy. And like it's really that's really anyone listening is such a worthwhile like exercise to do. Make a list of things in your week that genuinely bring you joy or maybe things that bring you joy that you don't get a chance to put in your week.
00:55:14
Speaker
Because now I'm like, I will literally make sure like obviously there's shit that has to be done as a grown up, you know, and I do resent it a little bit. Sometimes I don't like doing the grown up things, but you know, they have to be done.
00:55:25
Speaker
But I'll always make sure there's a little bit of joy in there. Yeah. and And I think we forget to, don't we? We do. We definitely do. And like, that's what comes back to like the whole self-reflection thing. Like it sounds all airy fairy. And I come from a family where, you know, like my dad would be very hard worker. So my mom would just get on with it. And they probably think I'm away with fairies, but it's so important. And I think the answer I gave you there, like was probably probably a bit deeper than maybe you were looking for, or like, obviously there's so many things that make me so happy.
00:55:56
Speaker
But I think I remember doing this exercise with students here last year when I was teaching because like the education system here is very, very intense and they do get very caught up in their goals, which is to do really well in tests and whatnot. So it's not just fitness related.
00:56:10
Speaker
I remember we had like a bit of a spare class. And I took the opportunity to do like a happiness list with them. But first I had to teach them about the reality of happiness, which ultimately comes from dopamine.
00:56:21
Speaker
And it's also something I'm often trying to touch on with clients as well, because all of our habits come from dopamine. And I see the term dopamine being like thrown around online and then they call it like cheap dopamine and like looking for the long term dopamine.
00:56:36
Speaker
But we made a happy list and I did it for myself. And I remember like the top three things were like coffee walks like that for me is ultimately number one. Like I love waking up in the morning and I just get out immediately and go for a walk.
00:56:49
Speaker
Second thing is sun, which I know is hard found sometimes in Ireland and it is here too. Like it's not obviously the grass isn't always greener, but just that little bit of sun or like whether it's a full day of sun or it's just half an hour of it, but getting out into the sun.
00:57:05
Speaker
Like and then thirdly, I remember putting sleep, which is so daft. But I think when you understand the importance of sleep and you know you're prioritizing sleep, you know, you're really, really you're doing well for your body there because like, no, no that's a good one.
00:57:18
Speaker
Yeah, that's a good one because like there's nothing nicer than getting into a nicely, freshly made bed and, you know, in your cozy jammies and, you know, get with a good book or whatever.
00:57:30
Speaker
When you have kids, right, this is when you really understand, you really value it. Now, like my kids are older now, so it's fine. I sleep. but I go to bed before some of them. At this stage, you know, I need my husband. I'm like, you sort them. I'm going to bed.
00:57:40
Speaker
But when, like my sister has just had a new, had a new baby and he's absolutely adorable. But I, it just, what it reminds me of that stage when you have a newborn and and people listening will will know exactly what I'm talking about.
00:57:51
Speaker
That anxiety of not knowing how much sleep you're going to get and when you're going to be woken is real. And it's, it feels like it's never going to end. Now it does, they grow up real quick.
00:58:02
Speaker
But in the, in the moment, I remember when my oldest Jaden, like when he, was newborn and like he'd wake in the middle of night. and i'm like, oh my God, this is my life now. I'm like, I'm never going to sleep a full night ever again.
00:58:13
Speaker
That's how it felt. So now like I really value my sleep and I really love, I'm like, I feel so lucky that I get to go to bed and you know, touch wood, there shouldn't be anyone waking me in the middle of the night and I get a good night's sleep. It is kids little things, but like we can't function without it.
00:58:29
Speaker
Yeah, because when you understand the importance of it, then obviously you're like so grateful that you can do that. And like obviously with this job as well, we have a bit more control and that as well.
00:58:40
Speaker
But yeah, just go back to the the happy list, let's say I really realized and I realized from my everything that my students put as well, like it wasn't about like owning things or it wasn't about like you said, the bigger goals. It was just Like most of them were free and they were just little things and so simple.
00:58:59
Speaker
And like that ultimately is what this is all about is getting to a place.
Conclusion and Appreciation
00:59:03
Speaker
Because years ago, I wouldn't have went on a coffee walk because one, I didn't like walking because I was too overweight. Two, I probably would have thought drinking coffee was like getting a latte was bad for me. So going for a coffee walk, I actually made a video about this before and I love to push this point.
00:59:17
Speaker
Like... Years ago, if you had told me that I'd go out and I'd walk because ah going for a walk was like a big deal, whereas now going for a walk is just a walk, like it's not exercise, whereas I used to view it as exercise, like a task.
00:59:31
Speaker
And then I'd go to get a coffee, which if it's an oat milk latte is probably going to be 100, 150, 200 calories. If you had told me that I'd go for a walk, like exercise, And go get a drink that's going to ultimately have calories in it.
00:59:45
Speaker
It would have not made any sense in my brain. Like, but aren't you trying to lose weight? Because ultimately we always were trying to lose weight growing up. Like everyone was always was just trying to be lighter and slimmer and skinnier.
00:59:56
Speaker
It just made no sense. Whereas now it's like those calories don't matter. And it's not a walk. It's not a task. It's like two really, really enjoyable things that have become a daily habit, which have made my life so much more positive and healthy.
01:00:10
Speaker
And it's all those epiphanies that is our what really matters here. Yeah, it's so important when you recognize what those little things are that you hold on to them for dear life and you don't sacrifice.
01:00:24
Speaker
Like if you're losing the little joys in pursuit of your goal, something's off. and hundred percent 100% Rebecca, thank you so much for coming on and chatting to me today. This has been such a lovely conversation.
01:00:38
Speaker
Yeah, thanks so much for having me. Honestly, I was dying. I couldn't wait to get onto the the call with you. There's so much value there. And like, we really do share that same mindset in relation to how to approach reaching our goals and getting healthy and losing weight and getting fitter and stronger and doing it in ah in a healthy, like, yeah I think, do you know what it is?
01:00:59
Speaker
Our... value of how important health is, is the same and our step by step process. So thank you so much for it's been so lovely to talk through these things. And there's so much value here for everyone listening to to take with.
01:01:20
Speaker
I just want to say thank you so much for listening to the podcast. I would just ask for one thing from you. If at all possible, could you make sure that you subscribe to the podcast? It really does make such a difference.
01:01:32
Speaker
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