Transcript
Speaker: Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of the Kate Hamilton podcast. In today's episode, i interview Maria McCarthy. So Maria is an online coach and personal trainer. and she is all She has also become a friend of mine and I'm working closely with her within my Lead Her Mentorship.
Speaker: But we have a fantastic conversation around everything, really. We talk about her story and her weight loss journey. We talk about parenthood. We talk about health and fitness. We talk about fat loss. We talk about restrictive diets. We talk about her experience of doing a photo shoot and the preparation that went alongside that.
Speaker: We talk about the importance of goals and how to approach them. We talk about mindset, self-belief and manifestation. This is one of those conversations that I'm just so high energy after recording and I can't wait to share it with you. So without further ado, here is the episode with Maria McCarthy.
Speaker: Maria, welcome to the podcast. Thank you Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it and Tell everyone a little bit about you and what you do and then perhaps kind of your journey that has led you to where you are today.
Speaker: Okay, well, my name is Maria. I work under the alias of Miss Mac Fit, or as my seven-year-old, soon-to-be seven-year-old calls me Missy Macie Fitty. Oh, that's so cute. It is cute, isn't um i am 41. am a single parent slash co-parent, and I got into fitness about 10 years ago.
Speaker: ah which is quite wild. i I actually started my journey and you'll know this because you have an association with Go Gym in in Greystones, don't you? yes Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. So I started my fitness journey back in 2015. I actually had, I was in a job that I really disliked, a job a job that made me incredibly stressed and um I developed what I thought was a tremor in my head and I know this sounds absolutely bonkers but i um I went to the doctor several times I said like there's something shaking in my head and um they they referred me on to different places and I went to an osteopath and I got different scans and MRIs and whatever else and I thought I had Parkinson's like I thought I was I thought that was it you know this was the story of my life you know um but it turns out that the stress that I was under and was causing like my central nervous system to almost uh the job that I was in and um
Speaker: A friend of mine was getting married in Australia and I actually went to visit her for a month. And lo and behold, the tremor went. And when I came back, I realized that, OK, it is the job and I need to shift things. um And a job came up in Go Gym in Limerick.
Speaker: They were just after opening and it was for 10 hours a week. And everyone thought I was crazy. They were saying, like, why are you leaving a 40 working week?
Speaker: job just around the corner, all these benefits and you're going to work in fitness, which is I suppose, like what's the word I'm looking for? it is unpredictable maybe is probably the best word and I just thought you know what I need to be in the environment that I absolutely love and I went for the job and I got it and it was 10 hours a week and I just built it up from there to a full 40 hour a week job. I worked in sales and marketing, i became a PT, I studied nutrition
Speaker: um all while working in the gym. i did a lot of my groundwork, I suppose, on the gym floor and the tremor was no more. The tremor had gone completely. So um it was essentially it was all in my head, but it was that's how it started my journey into fitness. um And then I just started working with clients and built it up to what it is today, which I'm probably skipping a few years. But um no, you've given so much here de for us to focus on. and And let's bring it back to that tremor, right, for a minute, because
Speaker: This is such a warning sign, you know, that a lot of us ignore and we don't all have the same thing. But that tremor that you felt in your head, like I my my nervous system gives me other signs. So when I was younger, like when I was dealing with anxiety, one thing that i used to feel sometimes was it was like a tremor at the base of it. Was it at the base of your head?
Speaker: No, it was literally like literallyly in my head. I'd actually have to hold my head and be like, oh, just stop this tremor. yeah like That used to happen to me at the base of my skull, the back of it. It would be like a vibrating thing that would happen. I'm like, oh. and and Or like I would get little heart flutters, like little heart palpitations. And like that, I had to go and get all the tests done and nothing. if if They just put it down to anxiety. But it's funny, my that's how my body rejects things differently.
Speaker: that aren't right for me. yeah And that's taken me to nearly 40 years old to actually realize that, that that's my body being like, this is not for you. I'm i'm allergic to this. Please stop. And that can be jobs, that can be situations, that can be doing too much. And I didn't realize that. And and I think by you mentioning that that's just made me realize we all have that in different ways it might be heart palpitations might be a little shake of the head that it might be something else like a tightness in the chest heart finding it hard to breathe it could be sickness as well can't it yeah but I think every chronic sickness and you know I'm not specialized in this field or anything but it can be chronic sickness or chronic illness and it can be um skin breakouts or you know like
Speaker: um let's say you have like a sore on your arm that keeps raising its ugly head, you know, or sore on your leg, but it's all down to, it can be, I should say, because I don't want to. There can be medical conditions as well. Yes, but yes but like quite often for,
Speaker: quite often than not it is actually stress related and my whole body was rejecting where I was and listen I know at that time people thought I was mad like they and I even remember specifically the doctor thinking that I was mad he was like you're 31 like what are you talking about you're not you don't have Parkinson's and I was like but this shake isn't going away like I feel a constant vibration in my body you know And when I went to the osteopath, I always kind of leaned towards more holistic side of medicine anyway, um rather than. I suppose, the pharmaceutical side, you know, but when I went to the, um, the osteopath, um, he did a lot of work on my head and like, um, just, I suppose, different positionings and stuff like that. And I did get great relief from that, but it was only until I stepped out of the environment into
Speaker: Australia which is a country that I absolutely love and and I went back over there and I could just I could literally feel my body come back to normal if that makes sense so yeah it was it was a bit of a crazy journey and it was only through that then that I kind of moved into the holistic side, um studied a little bit of natural natural medicine. um And then actually I got pregnant and um I had, I got pregnant with Adam and I had to drop out, which is really unfortunate. I'd love to go back into that again and because I really believe in the holistic side of things. and
Speaker: and I thought honestly when I got pregnant I thought like this is the end of my fitness journey I didn't really there wasn't too much social media I suppose or I wasn't really involved in social media I didn't know how I could fit it all in together or tie it all in together and I kind of lost my way then um and I gained a lot of weight in pregnancy so I jumped from 70 kg roughly speaking and I'm quite tall as well to one hundred and fifteen kagey um um post-pregnancy so I had gained 45 kg and I really didn't recognize myself anymore and like all the things that I would have practiced daily like I would have practiced gratitudes all throughout my pregnancy but then in the kind of haze of uh post-pregnancy and breastfeeding and sleepless nights and all the things that go along with it I had kind of lost my way a little bit and I was struggling to get back into it um and then obviously COVID had started um and I really like everyone we were all we were all kind of cast into this I don't know this bubble apocalyptic feeling wasn't it like yeah It was crazy. Nobody knew how to react. Nobody knew what was really going on. And obviously I was new mother at that time. um didn't Couldn't find my way back. um And I remember...
Speaker: of I call it the picture of change, but um I had went to visit my parents' house when we were allowed to visit in April. So COVID had started, what, March or February or March time, wasn't it? Yeah, it was And then in April, we were allowed to visit within this certain radius, but it had to be outside. So I sat outside my parents' back garden because they hadn't seen Adam, my son, in X amount of time as it was for everyone. And there was a picture with me and Adam on Adams on my lap and I was looking down and I dossed when that picture was taken and i saw it afterwards it just it just, it stuck with me how unhappy I was and how I didn't recognize myself or my own body or anything else that went along with it. I was so uncomfortable. And that was the moment of change for me, you know? and I call it the picture of change. Like, and I've often, I've got often to the ladies that I work with now, I often bring it up that there was a moment where it just snapped, something clicked inside my head. And I was like, you know what? If I don't make a change now,
Speaker: I'm going to be like, paralyzed to stop it in a couple of years time it's going to snowball so now is my opportunity to do it um and i had actually just went back to work so while nobody was taken um while everyone was i suppose um losing their jobs in covid i actually got a job and i worked in a event company that um all the events were cancelled and i had to organize all the cancellations and stuff like that um and i went and worked for them for a year and a half but in that time
Speaker: I started posting my own journey about how I was losing the weight postpartum. and how I wanted to do it in a healthy and sustainable way, you know, and I wasn't overly restrictive on calories. I wanted to make sure that I um i always left room for a treat. and But ultimately, you know, at the start, I couldn't walk. I couldn't exercise. I had really bad hip pain, pelvic girdle pain in pregnancy. So I really struggled to actually exercise.
Speaker: So the time that I would have spent exercising, I put all that time into my food and learning, I suppose, food inside out and upside down. And to this point, that has has been what has kept me going because I lost the 45 kg, but I also gained so much knowledge around food. And that like that to me was freedom, you know, um So, yeah, on this point that you make a knowledge with with weight loss or a fat loss, you know, and and this is why I'm really not a big believer in meal plans, because, you know, you lose weight while you're on the meal plan.
Speaker: You stop doing the meal plan. You haven't learned anything. You end up just going back to the way things were before. You know, they can serve a purpose within a structure coaching plan where you're also learning how to kind of build your own meals. But.
Speaker: that The education piece is everything, isn't it? Like, you know, and like, it's so important to me and my coaching that my ladies are learning what works for them because there is no one size fits all. And these, this, these long journeys of losing 45 kilos as a perfect example.
Speaker: It takes time and during that time, but you don't have be miserable in that time. you know, that can be such a time of learning and empowerment and really enjoying the process. And and suddenly you turn around you're like Jesus, look how far I've come.
Speaker: Yeah. And can I just say the 45 kg was lost over a four year period. It wasn't like that. I lost overnight or anything like that. I still had to, and I, I really believe that this is what makes me such a good coach is that I, and I don't want even mind saying that it's because I went through the steps myself. I felt the feelings of, you know, the scales, not moving the frustration that comes along with it, the impatience that you find, um like throughout your journey, you know, the the wanting it all to happen overnight, whereas in actual fact, if you if you really want it to happen, you're going to be okay with...
Speaker: the process you know you have to go through it you have to feel all the feelings of it in order to you have to grow as a person don't you as yeah like so I had a similar journey and similar like you it took me four years and it was after my last pregnancy as well and I was injured and I was kind of rock bottom and I just had really didn't recognize my body had lost my confidence and was really like you know it was painful even to walk afterwards it really really back to square one kind of situation yeah and I lost over the four years, 52 pounds. I don't know what that is in kilos. Probably about 30 kilos. Probably. Yeah, i think it's yeah, it's roughly about half. So 25 30. Yeah, slightly.
Speaker: slightly higher yeah yeah but yeah about 25 to 30 kilos whatever that is 52 pounds anyway and that's incredible but again it was slow and steady and it was holidays there was christmas there was no perfection and i have lived it so i that's what i teach as well and i just for most people i really believe it's the only way because you have to grow with it It has to become your new identity. Like, and I'm such a believer in these identity based habits that if you're forcing yourself to do things because you feel you have to do them, it's so hard to like, it's impossible to make them stick. You'll always revert back. So Yes, initially, of course, you have to force yourself to get up off the couch and go for the walk. But while you're doing that, it's like, why am I doing this? No, like being present. I always your why has to be the strongest why. can't be it can't be. I want to get into a dress. I want to feel good for a wedding coming a holiday or whatever. Your why.
Speaker: and I've often said this through my clients and coaching platform and everything else. It needs to be so hard to talk about that. You know, it is deep rooted. It's sacred to you. it is your it's your like deepest, darkest feelings. You know, that is what is going to get you out of bed in the morning when it's cloudy outside and it's raining and you don't feel like getting up and getting moving, you know, and.
Speaker: it is hard to talk about it can't be something as superficial as you know and like I know that that sounds harsh but it can't be as something as superficial as wanting to fit into a dress or you know wanting to do six week shred just because you have something at the end of it it can't be that because you know when times get hard you need to be able to draw back on exactly why you're doing this in the first place yeah and also then to be able to give yourself a little bit of grace that sometimes stop forcing it and just you know if you're if you're there's a lot going on if you know you're under the weather or whatever skip it out it's okay too it's the bigger picture it's being able to zoom out and look at that bigger picture and like just to give people a bit of context and you know feel free to share yours if you want but like for me my why for living a healthy lifestyle for eating relatively healthy for
Speaker: training right relatively like to training regularly for moving my body most days is my old lady body and the reason and not my old lady body like it that when I'm like super old and you know i think like my kids are 16 13 and 9 Give me another 10 years.
Speaker: And like, I i want to so many adventures. Like I want this so much. Like I had my first child at 23. I want to travel like yeah I want to. and But I want to travel for like I will want to come and go in my life.
Speaker: for decades like and so I want to live as well for as long as possible and you know enjoy all you know the grandkids and hopefully great grandkids and but you know have the family life but also have the adventure life and like I love going up mountains and I don't get to do it that much at the minute because my kids are all play football or athletics and um my weekends are kind of taking over me but anytime I do get to the top of a mountain I'm always like I feel so lucky that I'm able to get here You know, yes and just the I just love adventure and exploring and not not sorry, not over adventure. Like I won't be doing bungee jumping or anything, but I do. I just like to explore new places. I love being out in nature and I would hate for that to be taken away from me.
Speaker: And that can be taken away from you through illness and severe. yeah Yeah, like the the deteriorating body. And look, you know, you can't you can't predict everything in life, but you can do what you can to give yourself the best chance, you know, and I know things happen to people who don't deserve it and no one deserves it. And, you know, but I'm going to do my bit and that's my why. But that also doesn't mean that I'm going to beat myself up if I have a really bad period. And I'm like, you know what?
Speaker: I'm not able for the gym to- today. I'm not going to beat up and be like, oh my God. Oh, you know, like, yeah, bigger picture. I go to the gym most, at most weeks, three to four times a week. And that's fine. and There's a week where we don't go, you know?
Speaker: And one thing that I actually teach my clients is like, tell me what your bare minimum is, because when you start working to your bare minimum,
Speaker: you take that pressure away, you know, so you're not saying, right, I need to do three to five sessions per week and I need to hit this, this and this. Whereas if you actually just turn it on your head a small bit and work the opposite way and go, okay, so What is going to keep me ticking over this week?
Speaker: And it might be one to two sessions, you know, like, but at least you've moved. of at least you've done something, you know. So, yeah. yeah And I think that identity stuff, like if you say I am so like, and like you probably get this a lot. A lot of people will ask me, how many steps should I be doing every day?
Speaker: I'm like be someone who walks every day. It doesn't matter. I am someone who walks every day. I am someone who lifts weights every week. So if that's only once, it doesn't matter as long as you've done it in the week. Like you said, that bare minimum, I think that's a really good place to start because you can build from it and then you start to do it because you want to.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. and be And you develop a love towards it rather than a begrudging i I have to do this you know where you're dragging yourself there you're doing it because you actually want to do it but also in saying that you have to find something that you absolutely love you know and I'm a massive advocate for you know if you are moving your body whatever way shape or form whether that is a fitness class whether that is strength training whether that is Pilates whether that is yoga what whatever your little thing is
Speaker: the that is enough, you know, like it is just to move your body. um And rather than overcomplicate I don't think everyone needs to do a high rocks. I don't need, I don't think everyone needs to be a runner. I think that you have to find the movement that works for you.
Speaker: And that's why there's so much choice out there, yeah you know, and that's why we're so lucky that there's so much choice out there. I was saying, yeah, and you need to actually get out and explore and be brave and try different classes yeah and try different things. And just because you keep trying and you're like, oh i don't like this. I don't like this. It's you don't. It's not like, oh, oh, I keep trying everything and not sticking to it. It's like it just might not be right for you. Keep exploring. You want to move your body clearly. You're exploring this. You'll find what you like and give things a chance as well. Like I think it's about getting the balance, isn't it? Giving things a chance and be like you can kind of grow to to love it. And and.
Speaker: I think even with things that you love, there is also sometimes in there a certain amount of you do have to push yourself ah to get up and go. Like I still to this day have to do this with the gym. I never have to do it with the walk. Me too. Walking is my thing. I just like I love it. It's my escape. It's my mental health. It's my meditation. It's my everything. So like I i will I'd walk all day.
Speaker: But I always have I'm always a bit like, oh, I'd much rather just now head to Greystones and get a coffee and go for a walk. okay go to the fucking gym you can go for your walk after what I'm really struggling with at the moment is a like I love the gym I would go three four or five times a week no problem at all but I've just come out of a photo shoot prep and I'm really struggling to find my way back into the gym again which is a really weird space for me to be in because yeah you know like I've I've done it for so long I've trained continuously throughout all the years
Speaker: I had such a focus over the last couple of months. And now that that focus is gone, I'm really struggling to find myself again. And I do find myself, like you just said there now, looking towards different things. Maybe it's not back to strength training I'm going. Maybe it is, you know, trying something different. I don't know what it looks like at the moment, which is in a really interesting space for me to be in because ah like I didn't think that this would happen. The gym was always my sacred place and that was my sacred hour and i absolutely loved it but now I'm just I'm i'm at a not across ah maybe it it is a crossroads a little bit which is what I would say you probably need to really just think about your why And what you actually want right now at this state, this next stage of your life, you know, and like take I don't mean like, you know, I'd say that now on the podcast or anything, but, you know, to really think about that. Like so for me, for example, you know, I've like i I've chopped and changed quite a bit over the years.
Speaker: And I'm like, I know I love getting out for my daily walk. like Walking is my cardio. I do a good brisk walk every day. And like, you know, like it's my alone time. It's where I clear my head. It's where all my creative ideas come. So it's kind of a business strategy for me as well. like yeah It's my meditation. I go by the sea. I love the sea. i if I can get somewhere really nice, I'll have my coffee there. like I it can I can meet a friend some days. It can be social. So like that's my thing. Right.
Speaker: And then with the gym. ah like I've tried different styles of training over the years. Right. And I do just like this my strength training, my, you know, push, pull legs kind of style. Right. Yeah. And I love it when I'm there, but I do have to push myself to go a little bit sometimes. But when I'm there, I love it. And I know deep down in my why that that's important to me for my old lady adventure body.
Speaker: So then I'm like, hey you you just you just you just got to get it done because it's going to keep you strong. it's going to keep you mobile. But i also love that we both both work in fitness and we still feel these feelings. Like it is so super important to say that out loud because i think that...
Speaker: A lot of the clients that would come to me or, you know, um like come to my classes or anything like that would say, oh, you're always motivated. You're always you're always smiling and at the gym and happy to do it and whatever else. But actually, in in actual fact, I'm just really disciplined when it comes to my training.
Speaker: albeit not for the last couple of weeks but I normally am very disciplined and I love that we can work on and building that discipline all the time that you know we still have those moments where we say to ourselves I i don't feel like going today I could easily go and meet my friend for a coffee but we're we're honing in on that discipline and going well you know what I'm doing this for my old lady body and I i know that I'm going to positive or whatever your reason is yeah whatever yeah yeah yeah yeah my reason is very similar to your reason so um yeah like it all it all makes sense I'm gonna ask you one question and anyone listening I want you to answer this as well have you ever regretted it when you didn't want to go to the gym and you pushed yourself to go not once
Speaker: Yeah, because it's always the first five minutes. That's the hardest. You always always feel better. after better ah i'm sorry Obviously, if you were like super sick and you stupidly went, then you're going to feel that fairly quickly. Like, oh, this was a mistake. But in general, when we're just feeling, you never regret it. And how does it feel when you you do it anyway and then you go about the rest of your day?
Speaker: And it feels amazing and it feels like I've accomplished something, but also I want to take us back to the bare minimum. And I would say to myself at that point, what is the bare minimum that I can do in this session to get me through the session? And whether that's two or four exercises,
Speaker: whatever it might be, you decide your number of what your bare minimum is. And that's what I do. So like I've went plenty of times and I have pretended I've left my leggings in the car or, you know, something like that. I've pretended that someone called me and I had to leave the gym. And then I've sat in the car and talked myself back around and went, okay, I need to go back in.
Speaker: But it has taken me to sat um sit in my car, excuse me, and go, what are you actually doing here, Maria? Like it is, it's going to be over before you know it. And like that internal dialogue needs to happen, I suppose. And then I went back in and I've done my session, but I've always worked to the bare minimum. So I might go, Right. OK, on a good day, I might do eight to 10 exercises. But on my bare minimum day, I'm just doing four. I'm moving my body. I'm getting it done.
Speaker: You draw a line through the sand. You come back the following day and you repeat, you know, so like that then builds that identity, I suppose. And.
Speaker: discipline within yourself to know that you can feel those feelings of I'm not going to do it today and overcome them and just get them done anyway you know I think the gym has is so much more than just getting stronger or fitter like you're teaching yourself skills that spill into every area of your life and that resilience that you build that you run back to your car you sit there you give yourself a good talking to you get yourself back in you you know or you don't and you then you feel you crap for the rest of the day and and and you learn from that and then you push yourself a little bit more the next time and like that's how we grow it's through resistance so you think about resistance training is how our muscles grow but resistance in life is how we grow and it's like obviously we don't want to be pushing against resistance 24 7 like that's not good for our health no it's exhausting but at the same time
Speaker: But we need a little bit of push and then we need a little bit of rest. And there's it there's a right balance. Too much of anything isn't good. Too much being too kind to yourself isn't good. Too much over pushing yourself isn't good. But there should always be a little bit of resistance, a little bit of push and a little bit of pull. 100%. 100%. I absolutely love it. I don't... It pains me to think that people don't actually train and move, you know, because I feel like they're missing out. You're just...
Speaker: you're missing a big piece of all of this, you know? And I often, like, I often talk to ladies who would say, like, I'd love to love it, but I don't love it. And I'd love to get into it, but I just can't do it. And I always say to them, like, you have to start small. you know, you can't, you can't start at the top of the mountain. Like, you just have to start with the basics and then build on it then from there, you know? And then need with your head. You just have to tell yourself that. Like, you know, I do salt. I'm like, oh, I just couldn't be bothered. I don't want to go in and lift heavy. I don't want to. look And I'm like, I have to say, okay, go in and just move. Just lift. Lift what you feel like lifting. Now I always end up lifting heavy. because I warm up to it you know what I mean like sorry heavy for me like it's probably not heavy for anyone for yeah but but that's the whole point this is all so personal like it is it's your heavy it's your resistance I think when you're lifting weights that feel heavy for you it's so fucking empowering like you just I can't describe it but if you're pushing yourself too hard yeah of course you're not going to like it but so just ah like 100% agree with you on that
Speaker: Or one thing I actually love to do with clients, I haven't done it in a while, but in working with PT clients and on the gym floor, if they've worked with me for a while and they've lost a significant amount of weight, like let it be 10, 15, 20 kg, whatever, whatever their number is, it's significant to them.
Speaker: I like them to carry that weight with them while they train so that they can feel what it feels like to carry that extra bit of weight with them. Does that make sense? Yeah. um And that moment is always a really empowering moment for them because it's that like it's now in the physical so they can they can actually take on that weight but they can also hand it back um and that physical exchange just tweak something in their brain and they realize what they've been carrying all that time, you know, um and it it becomes really powerful. It's not, um it's, yeah, is it's just really powerful.
Speaker: That is so powerful. Yeah. Like if you think about doing 10 squats, right. But no weight. And then you think to say someone has lost 10 kilos and they put a 10 kilo sandbag on their back. Yeah. Or a weighted vest is one of my favorite. Oh yeah. Weighted vest. Yeah. And just walk around with that extra 10 kilos on you. Yeah. vi Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. They don't realize, you know, and I suppose that's the whole thing is that, like it's it's much bigger than just a number like it really is and yeah I always want people to see the bigger picture and we've talked about that before you know that it isn't just um your body that changes your mind actually changes first before your your body changes and that's the most important thing and I want people to actually realize that is that your your mind is the number one thing that will change you know
Speaker: Yeah. Talk to me a little bit about your photo shoot. Now, like we won't we won't spend too much time on this because I know this experience isn't particularly what you coach, but it was really, really empowering experience for you. And I know me and you've spoken about this prior to it. And I'm like, oh, yeah, I just don't get it. But so I do want to talk about this because you did a photo shoot recently and you did and you did diet for this photo shoot. You looked incredible.
Speaker: it was quite challenging for you, particularly at the end, you know, tracking your calories at what would be quite low for you. yeah and And really just like you and you looked incredible on the day, but I know that you are very upfront with how,
Speaker: difficult it was but also just what it did for your mindset and what you took from it that you're bringing forward to your life so I suppose if you want to just share a bit um the photo shoot do you know what the photo shoot was never were supposed to happen um the it it all came about my friend actually who is a client of mine as well a client who has become a really good friend um had booked herself in to do a photo shoot and um I threw the jigs and the reels of it all had decided against doing it and said look do you want to do this and of course you know when I take something on I have to go head first into and I said yeah you know what I'm going to do this and
Speaker: A coach got on board, a fabulous coach, Bex Power. She is amazing. She is like a pro athlete. And to even be coached by her in the first place was just a dream come true, really. um And I just put my best foot forward. I just said, look, I'm going to I'm going to put my all into it. um And had I had. so i had Being 70 kg pre-pregnancy, I had gained 45 up to kg had lost that kg over period.
Speaker: And then I kind of started to loosen up a little bit. And, you know, I was having definitely more sweet treats, more chocolate, more nights out, more ah more of the more indulgent side of things. And I started to gain a little bit weight a little bit of weight and I had moved up to 79.4. So I just wanted to take that 9.4 kg off, um,
Speaker: And I said I would do the photo shoot just to give me the focus for 16 week period. And that was the most important part for me was that I really wanted a focus. um And what it gave me was more than I ever thought it would. It really made me feel invincible. And I know that that is quite a big statement, but it made me realize that anything that I set my mind to, I can absolutely do and accomplish, you know, that it is all just in the basic steps and actions. Um, so I, I did the photo shoot. I dropped down to 68.4 kg on the morning of the shoot. Um, so it was about 11 kg or so of a difference and yeah, it was amazing. It was tough work. Like there's no question about it. Um, it my bike is here in front of me I spent more time on the bike than anything else um and I just followed the plan like that was all I didn't do anything that was i suppose left of field or anything like that I just did what my coach told me to do and I think that's what the missing piece in all of this is is that
Speaker: um people sign up for coaching and they don't actually do what the coach is laying out for them not everyone by any stretch but a lot of people would go oh like i'll i'll leave that go and i won't do this and i'll be a little bit um kinder to myself when it comes to calories and macros and whatever else. Whereas if you actually stick to the plan, the plan works. And that goes for anything that goes for any plan, whether that's a business plan or a fitness plan or
Speaker: ah plan for a house, you know, you might have to take sidesteps and deviate a small bit, but ultimately the plan is going to work as long as you stick to it. And not every plan is going to be for you and not every coach is going to be for you as well. So that's also an important point to remember. But, yeah you know, like I'm not everyone's coach and I absolutely know that. and You know, I'm not...
Speaker: um yeah but your But your experience there with this coach that you were working with and it was the right fit for you and you trusted her completely, you ah admired her and respected her and you followed the plan and I presume with...
Speaker: the extreme I say extreme is bit over the top but you know the extreme I'll use the word extreme for lack of a better word extreme it was extreme because you know it wasn't your lifestyle based coaching which is I suppose how you and I would naturally coach and I think it's important to talk about this because I think when people see coaches photos online which quite often are their photo shoot photos The extreme that happens, no not not for most of it, but for those, particularly those last few weeks yeah of that of the diet for the photo shoot, it is extreme in the sense with that you're following the plan. I presume, now I'm presuming, so please do correct me, I'm presuming calories went a little bit lower than what you'd be used to. yeah you There were no nights out, there were no things, there were...
Speaker: one night out yeah um so i was really strict on myself towards the last couple of weeks calories were ridiculously low to a point where i would never coach my own clients to such low calories but i was i had a goal we had the goal set and this is the extreme measure that we needed to take to get to those now Would I do it again? Absolutely. Like, you know, the, I, I told, I said this to you afterwards is like, I loved the focus. And if you had asked me four years ago or five years ago, would I ever do a photo shoot like that? And I've done a few, I would have never in a million years said yes to it. No, I like there it was a solid no, but it just felt like the right time for me. I was able to give the focus for the 16 weeks.
Speaker: the calories were low, but they were also manageable. And also I feel like I wouldn't have been able to do it had I have not have done the work previous to that. Like I had the discipline in place, you know, i had the knowledge of food. I had, um, the,
Speaker: the momentum I suppose of the foundation yeah I had a really good foundation and the understanding that you knew this goal was temporary yeah that this extreme was temporary that this focus was temporary that the photoshoot was the goal and then that afterwards that you would bring yourself back up or your coach with your coach um would bring yourself back up to what was your normal yeah so I'm about I'm about two months post shoot now and I have moved from 68 kg to 71 kg so even in that like it's so minimal like that isn't even anything that I need to be worried about because she has taught me how to reverse out of it with no extreme measures in place you know um So like, I suppose I was very blessed that I went into it with the right mindset and that I had done the work previous to know, to understand food and to understand training and all that side of things. So yeah, I like i i loved it though. I told you this, I loved it. And I know you hate the word prep, but like, I would, you know, I would go back into prep in the morning. I absolutely loved it. Me giving out about the word prep is just me being cranky old and mean, I suppose. But yeah, and no. And I think it's lovely to see someone with such focus, determination and then such pride in actually just seeing it through. And that doesn't have to be for photo shoots or diets like it. But I think it's such a great quality to have in something that's important to you. And and I think from you talking about this, what is so important is is is showing up for yourself and doing what what you said you wanted to do and what's required to get there and being really proud of yourself for getting there. And then also to realize, I think what we can learn a lot from talking about these photo shoot preps is that.
Speaker: for most women who aren't looking to do photo shoots and who are just trying to lose a bit of weight, go into those extremes, you know, without realizing that this yo-yo dieting of trying to lose weight and the cutting the calories super low yeah and doing it for four days and then binging all weekend because they've been restricting all week and it's just a cycle or they'll do it for a few weeks and then they'll give up and they'll binge for a few weeks. And, you know, I just haven't done the work, you know, what and the foundations aren't there.
Speaker: The foundations aren't there, you know, um, And like, look, as a coach, and you know this as a coach, if if someone signs up to me tomorrow, I could 100% put them on a thousand calories and go, you know what, like, you're going to lose weight off this, just do what I say, and you'll lose a buckle out of weight. But ultimately, like, the I care about the women that I work with, and I want to bring them back to a point of balance within their lives so that you know, the food that they're eating, the quality of the food that they're eating, because ah ultimately that's what gets you to the point of. And then that's it. It's just so necessary, isn't it? Like the low calories. It's just like you want to be able to lose weight on as high calories as possible and over a long period of time so you can actually enjoy your life. Because if you said, Yeah, like take like 1200 calories is often like a buzzword. You know, a lot of women presume they need to be on 1200 calories to lose weight. And, you know, how many calories you need to be on to lose weight depends on so many more factors. We can't give a blanket statement like that. But in my opinion, like 1200 calories is really, really low for any woman. And i am it's just...
Speaker: but Like women, we've got women losing weight on 2200 calories, 1800 calories. Like it it depends on on the woman and so many different things. It's just so unnecessary ah to to be in good shape, to be healthy, to fit, to feel confident in your clothes. I never.
Speaker: eat less than 2000 calories ever like I just don't and ah but I'm not looking for an extreme result I'm happy I am a size 10 I'm five foot six I'm a size 10 and I'm like 10 and a half stone I don't know what that is I'm i'm old school i don't know what that is in kilos 60 something probably about 68 kilos I'd say about 68 kilos I'm five foot six and I'm a size 10 and I have a decent amount muscle on my frame I also have a bit of body fat in my frame, but I'm happy there. I know it's healthy and I just kind of want to maintain that healthy. That's kind of my vibe. Sometimes I want to lose a few pounds, but then it just balances out. like yeah So I think... knowing what we want is so important so I think it's so funny when me and you have this conversation about the prep and I'm like I just don't get it I don't get it because it's not a goal of mine you know i mean and I'd have different things that you'd be like oh god okay I don't get it and I think it's so interesting to have these conversations yeah I like if he but ah so if you think about this logically right if a woman comes to you and wants to lose weight because she has gained a significant amount of weight whether that would be over um a a period of time and not just overnight like she may have consumed upwards of 3 000 4 000 calories per day something along those lines so in order for her to be in a deficit from where she's starting her starting point she gets to be in a deficit with quite high numbers until her body doesn't respond anymore whereas the
Speaker: Coaches that are coaching clients to come back to 1200 calories. Yeah. Are actually like they're causing so much strain. Stress. Like dysfunction. That they don't. They don't actually care. and If you think about it logically, you can actually say to yourself, well, this lady is coming to me that she needs to lose this amount of weight. um And in order for her to lose that amount of weight, her calories can actually start quite high and then you can reduce them down over time. time rather than this idea of let's start her low and have her have nowhere to go to you know yeah um and that's a mindset that I always have to I suppose speak through a client so that they understand it themselves because they automatically assume that they should be on the lowest amount of calories you know um and that's like that's that can be a battle like you know that can be really tough to get through to someone that they need to eat which sounds bonkers But it it is the absolute truth, you know. And that I think is the one thing, not the one thing, but one of the main things that holds women back from making progress. It's them not accepting that that. And we have this as well, nurture coaching myself and my coaches, that with a new client, one of the first things that they'll push back on is the calories we give them. my calories Everyone does it. Yeah, everyone does it to trust the process. This is the key to lasting change. This is breaking like the low calories have never worked before and they haven't worked before for a reason. It's too restrictive. You can't stick to it. If you could stick to it, you're going fuck up your metabolism. It'll stop. Your body will stop responding and then you won't be able to make any more progress anyway. So either way, you're shooting yourself in the foot. You have to build the muscle. You have to lose the body fat slowly. You have to build the foundations. but also have to have energy to do all the things that you want to do and you also don't have to give up your whole life you get to it go and have a glass of wine you get to meet your friends for lunch you can have a chocolate bar with your cup of tea you can have a bit of everything it's about just organization and structure yeah it really is and consistency my favorite word yeah yeah and you know what like in the weight loss that i have had
Speaker: the 45 kg and then the 11 kg which is like they're both significant numbers like I never felt like yes the photo shoot was a little bit more extreme but like I never really felt like I was being extreme you know like I yeah I still ate the foods that I would normally eat um when I lost the 45 kg pardon me I made like I actually wrote down a list at the very start of it and I have i still have the list. If I was to diet, it what would allow me to stick to this diet long term? And my two reasons were I love pasta. I'm an absolute pasta nut. I'd have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner um and like loads of different variations ah of it. But um I said like pasta was the top of my list. Chocolate was the second thing on my list. So like I had to have things that I loved within it. So in order for me to continue to have the things that I loved, I needed to learn the things that I loved. So I needed to learn pasta inside out and upside down. I like to the point where I used to do these little games with myself. I sound really sad now when I say this, but I take spaghetti out of the packet or out of the container and I'd be like, that's about 100 grams and I put it on the weighing scales and it would be like 99.7 I'm like oh yes you know like they're the things that they're the things that I think people should be learning you know because if you're going to stick to this long term like I would never have stuck to my diet if I knew that I couldn't have past pasta within it you know or if I couldn't have chocolate so they were the first things that I learned and then I worked backwards from there um And I also simplified it down to having three key ingredients within my meal. And then the rest then were like what I would call, you know, like,
Speaker: but your free foods essentially but you know your salad items your veg all the things that you can add volume to your meals you know so like I only ever kept it to three main ingredients and then worked backwards from there so like a like my carbohydrate source my protein source my fat source and built the meal around that so like the more that I could simplify it the easier it became and now I'm at a point where you know I have my meals out I don't have to track as um rigidly as I did before i have so much more freedom around food I understand food um and that to me has gotten me to this place of keeping the 45 kg off and living this sustainable life because I took a little bit of time to learn it you know um and made the mistakes around it so look that's my take on it yeah no I can really relate it's funny I can relate to what you've said there in relation to like for me like a business goal so if I'm like you know Like at the minute, you know, I've been like the summer has been chaotic. The kids have been off. We've been on holidays and we're back. Then we've been somewhere else and we've been back. So there's been a bit of travel or whatever. Whereas now, like I'm, you know, I've got my nourisher coaching. We're building out leader at the minute and everything's going really well. But have a lot of work to do.
Speaker: So in my head, I'm like the rest of this year and like it's September as we're recording this heading into the winter. i was like all winter and spring. my focus I'm like I'm simplifying my life it is work and family work and family I'm like there's no more travel there's no there's no more unnecessary things I'm to be saying no to a lot of things and I just want to work this is what I want to do and I want it's my focus and I want things to have the have time to grow and so it's kind of the same thing if you've got a focus of of of a photo shoot it's like I'm simplifying my life I want to do this so it's the same thing be comfortable in saying no to things yeah and like your environment matters, like the people around you matter. Um, and once I was outspoken about the photo shoot and talking to my friends, it did become like my identity, I suppose. Cause it was, it was just, it was the top of my, it was the top of my talking point all the time, you know? um
Speaker: Because everything related back to that but I think that's how it needs to be when you do have a focus like that you just you it needs to become all that you take think about all that you talk about all that you do your environment matters the people around you matter. that they know when it is and that they can support you through it You know, um this idea of doing it alone and like not being a village, you need a village, you know, you need you need a good environment. and So, yeah.
Speaker: But I think in relation to talking about goals there, kind of that bridges nicely and too, because I want to talk for the last few minutes a little bit about manifestation, because I know we're both very big manifestors. And I know some people are like, oh, Jesus, they cringe at the thought of manifestation. But, you know, this is manifestation is a scientific thing. And I think in relation to talking about goals and achieving them and, you know, focusing. And I think one word that's.
Speaker: is really, really important in creating a vision and seeing it come to life is obsession. And obsession is seen as a bad thing. And I don't know about you, but anything worthwhile that I've ever built has consumed me in a really positive way. And people might say, oh, you're you're you were working until midnight. What? You got up at 5 a.m. m you You know, and I'm a big believer in sleep. Sleep is really important for us to function and not burn out. But and you can't achieve, you can't run full speed in the direction of your dreams without a little bit of obsession.
Speaker: A healthy obsession. Exactly. A healthy obsession. And there's a time to push and there's a time to pull. But when I'm talking, I'm talking obviously much more from a business perspective than ah and a health and fitness perspective. But also, you know, if you're someone new who's joined the gym and you're so excited and you're booking into all the classes and you're just loving it, it's all you can talk about. and someone's like, oh, Jesus, you're very obsessed.
Speaker: so what what's wrong it's your new it's if you're you're enjoying it you're discovering i like when i first started training in the gym lifted a barbell for the first time and i was obsessed it was my whole personality it really was like and and moving into entrepreneurship became has become my whole personality and as i moved through that um so i think what's really important is for us to allow ourselves to be ourselves yeah and to to lean into what actually gives lights us up gives us that energy makes us be like oh yes let's we want to get up in the morning we want to do whatever it is that excites us regardless of what other people think and and doing it stop and stop holding ourselves back because we're worried about what other people will think of us
Speaker: Talk to me a bit about your thoughts on manifestation on any of that stuff that I've just spoken about there. Oh, listen, like manifestation has been a huge part of my life. Um, I remember specifically back in 2009 which is quite a while ago I I first bought the book The Secret and by Rhonda Byrne and um I lived by The Secret I carried it around my handbag with me I had I wish I had that same copy now I i do have another copy but um like i highlighted all the pieces within it I
Speaker: bolded down different chapters that I wanted to revise. and So much so that I worked with an older man um in Cork and he used to, Rhonda Byrne wrote it and he used to sing to me, help me Rhonda, help me, because I was, it was my whole, it was all that I talked talked about.
Speaker: And um I got up myself a notebook at that point and i printed out a picture of the map of Australia and I said that I was going to make up my business to go to Australia and I did like it's it came to fruition and I went there and i spent four years in Australia um and then like you can say I manifested that you can say that I took the action steps in order to get there but like you know it was something that I focused on I believed that I was going to get there because it was always a dream to get there and then It actually came to fruition, you know, um a couple of years later, then I was working in a recruitment office in London and they invited all the junior and senior sales consultants into a meeting room.
Speaker: And this was around September. I'm trying to think maybe 2014, something like that. So like we're talking 12 years ago. So this is how long i have really and truly believed in this.
Speaker: And um they said, we're doing a sales competition for the next September, October, for the next four months. That was it. It was 16 weeks. So The next four months we're doing a sales competition. At the end of this competition, the winner is going to win ah flights and accommodation to New York City.
Speaker: And you know it's between the junior and the senior consultants. Now I was only a junior consultant. I was only after starting there. And I left the boardroom, the meeting room, went back to my desk,
Speaker: printed out a picture of the big apple, stuck it to my computer. And then every single week past that date, there was targets that you had to hit in order to get into the draw. And every week I just missed it by the skin of my teeth. But, you know, I was in at seven o'clock in the morning. I was leaving at seven o'clock in the evening. I was trying my hardest to get my name into the draw to win the golden ticket is what it was called.
Speaker: And on the very last week, I happened to be off on the day that the the the targets came in and my boss rang me and he said, Maria, I don't know how you're after doing that but you're after getting in on the very last week, your name has gone into the draw. And I was like, I told you like,
Speaker: I told you that this is my holiday or this is my trip you know and I was I'm sure I pissed people off in the office because I kept on referring to the New York trip as my trip and then when they were talking about it I'd be like oh you're talking about my trip are you and then the night of the Christmas party they did ah the draw for the golden ticket and my name came out and I was like I told you all like I told you I was going and went to New York um flights and accommodation um paid for and it was amazing I got to take my friend with me who had been through um quite an ordeal at that time so it was lovely to be able to share that with her as well um and then like over the last couple of years I and I know you've interviewed actually Yvonne has been part of the podcast hasn't she Yeah, she's been on twice. Yeah. Yeah. So Yvonne Trachian, I met her at Wellfest 2025, I believe it was. So um we met these girls at Wellfest and they said um they said that they were going to a manifestation talk. And
Speaker: i I was with another girl that I knew and I said, you know what, like I'm i'm going to go to this. really I really love manifestation anyway, and i'm I'm really interested to hear it. And we sat up near the front and the vibes were high. We were all dancing. And if you know Yvonne, you know, like that she does bring the vibes.
Speaker: And um we sat and we listened to her. And at the end, I put up my hand to ask a question, but I actually got quite emotional when I asked it. So it was a question I can't really remember, but it was a question around confidence. And I'm struggling really with my confidence at that particular time and something I've always probably struggled with. But I'm kind of coming out the other side now. Like I i never believe these things are happening to me. It's it's it's a weird space. But I ah asked her this question. And as I asked the question, I got emotional. And she said, you know what, I'm going to invite you on to my next challenge. And I was like, oh, my God, this is amazing. So like anything, she's like what Yvonne does and her manifestation challenges amazing.
Speaker: unbelievable but you have to do the work at the other side like it's not just handed to you um so I um did everything by the letter like wrote my letters to my future self um you know knew clearly what I was looking for practice the steps if I show you my kitchen window you can see like that I'm always grateful for things so I look at my kitchen window every single day so it made sense for me to put some notes on it to say like thank you for my health thank you for all the money that I have received in my life thank you for you know giving me Adam like he's the greatest gift I've ever been given and I look at those every single day then I've done two of Yvonne's manifestation courses one last year and one this year and then I went to Oprah last week
Speaker: Should I tell the rest of the story? If you're, I wasn't going ask about it because I wasn't sure if you wanted to share. Please do if you're comfortable. Absolutely. So I went to Oprah last week and I talked about this with you afterwards, like Oprah, I have always wanted to hear Oprah speak and I love to go to any, like any motivational speaker, anything that is just, it's my jam. It's what lights my soul on fire. Yeah. i love it love The nuggets of information. And I was trying, i was trying so hard not to be on my phone, but at the same time i wanted,
Speaker: I wanted to be able to capture the the, like the real life moment of her saying something that was profound, you know, and it's Oprah, like she's obviously going to say something that you're like, um and she, she basically said like one of the most important things was she was talking about, she was talking about lots of things and they were all equally important. But one of the things that stood out to me was, you know, she was talking about your environment and the people around you, you know, and if the people around you aren't supportive or aren't,
Speaker: um are or are jealous of you I suppose that they're they don't belong in your life you know and that might be a hard pill to swallow but that's just the fact of it that you have to surround yourself with amazing people who are lighting you up and um who are bringing out the best in you rather than the worst in you And I left that and I was completely and utterly buzzing after it. I couldn't sleep. I was, you know, it was just, it was Oprah, like it was electric, you know? And then on, that was the Monday night. And then on the Saturday, Yvonne, again, at the manifestation coach had an event in Johnstown Estate in Meath. And I had tickets bought for that. So off I went up to that.
Speaker: Oh my God, it was so good. like we Like, I went in on my own. I didn't know anyone there. Sat with a fabulous group of women. All introduced ourselves to one another. you know like it was just really positive, empowering. it was just fabulous. like we were We were really blessed with the day. and I left there on a complete and utter high. like i i Fives were...
Speaker: shooting out through me I don't know how to describe it but um then on Sunday night I entered a draw um for a chance to win a car or 50 000 euros and i won the euros
Speaker: I still find it so strange that I'm saying that. Like when you rang me, was it Monday that you rang me, was it? Monday, yeah.
Speaker: Like life changing. I was like, oh, I'm in the gym. I can't answer. And then you text me, oh, I won 50,000 euro. And I was like, I'll ring you two minutes. Like I'll be out two minutes. Wait. Yeah.
Speaker: i but haling yeah can i just have a disclaimer there and say i ran kate because she's my business mentor oh yeah that's not to brag yeah yeah i just i wasn't picking random people on social media to reach um yeah i ran sorry we know each other on a personal and a business level yeah yeah behind the call She wasn't ringing everyone in her phone book, although you probably felt like it.
Speaker: But I think like this story, right? And look, there'll always be skeptics when it comes to manifestation. And the thing is, and a lot of it is to do with your reticular activating system. is not what it's called? It's, you know, what the attention you bring in. and So like there is there's a lot more neuroscience coming in to back up manifestation. And you can meet the skeptics might be like, well, um Maria must just be one of those people. She's lucky. She wins these competitions. Your life is by far perfect but far from perfect. Like all of us, we all have our ups and downs, you know, and our struggles. So it's not like you sail through life and everything's perfect. You just win everything. I was given up last year. yeah like yeah it was I was done. i was i was done. And actually twice since then. So I got scammed at the end of last year. And I don't mind saying that, but like you know there's a couple of thousand. i will
Speaker: like I wasn't best impressed, but it happened. And I obviously got on and moved on from that. And then towards the just before you and I started working together,
Speaker: um I said you know what I'm gonna I'm gonna go back to the safety of a um a paid job that I go in nine to five and I work my hours like i paid at the end of the week I want to buy a house for my son like or for me and my son together you know I need stability and I was I that was twice that I was saying you know what I can't do this anymore and by by some unknown so reason I just I'm stubborn maybe like I just kept on pushing and then the lead her um coaching came up and i was like because I had signed up do you remember um you I know you remember that but I had signed up to your previous coaching yeah when you were kind of testing the waters and then you were like
Speaker: know what? Yeah, it's not the right time for me. And yeah, it wasn't the right time. You know, and like I said, and I will quote myself on this. When you're ready, I'm ready. And I was like, I'm coming because I did want to learn from you, you know? And I think what's really important in relation to this manifestation is our first call that we had. And earlier this year, you were very. very skeptical yeah i'm not skeptical but not skeptical with me just should you were very protective of your yourself i was so guarded yeah guarded yeah and but rightly so so at that's what's been lovely and the only reason why i'm saying this is you were guarded after everything that had happened to you and how you know you really have a you know you're um you're a mom you have responsibility you're trying to build stability and a home for your your son and um
Speaker: you you were scammed and all of these horrible things happened and you were guarded. But what's been wonderful to watch over the past few months working together is how you've opened up. And this is what this is why I want to do. I think it's so great to talk about this is just to explain why we block things in our life. And as you opened up and you just it starts by doing like it's not like a manifestation. You sit back you're like, oh, universe.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah. Show the way. away like you know i yeah sorry We can walk around and be like, universe, show me the way. But you it was like one step, right? I'm going to do this. I'm going to jump on discovery calls with clients again. I'm going to up my prices. I'm going to do this. I'm going to do that. I'm going to start classes again. I'm going, you know, it's do. But it's not having a big, huge, giant business plan. It's like one step. And then the next thing. And I think that's what manifestation is. It's getting.
Speaker: clearer what do I want and you knew what you wanted you wanted stability you want a home you want you want freedom and you want happiness and you like you know you I'm sure you have other things that are more personal to you but that's what you want so the vision is there the motivation is there and all you need to think that the mistake people make with manifestation is they think that they'll get what they want but you won't receive what you want you'll receive what you are And that's the secret.
Speaker: And what happened to you by taking those steps and building the evidence over the past few months to get your confidence back, your energy rose. You went to events like Oprah, Yvonne to help raise your energy even further. Your energy matched 50,000 euro. And what happened? You received 50,000 euro. And that wasn't even you. It's not like you specifically said, universe, I'll have 50,000 euro. Maybe you did, but I don't think you did. I know.
Speaker: ah No, like ah you're so right because everything since we started working together, a lot has changed, like a lot, a lot has changed. And I suppose I feel more aligned now than I ever did. i was so burnt out, like I, over the last few years, and I think, I suppose, I thought the scam was the final final nail in the coffin, like, and then I thought, like going back to paid employment was...
Speaker: that was it you know and like that was a big hit for me as well because obviously I had to get my mind around that as well and be okay with that and I always said it doesn't it doesn't matter what I do as long as I provide for my child there is no airs or graces about me I will like I will always provide you know um but at the same time it was a hard pill to swallow because I was like oh my god am I losing what I've worked so hard to achieve and then you know, yeah, you're so right. Like I, like my confidence started to slowly come back and,
Speaker: you know, the ability to be able, because I often find as a single parent and look, Adam has a fantastic father. Can I just say that we're co-parents, we have a great relationship, thank God. um But I do kind of get a lot of my creative ideas here sitting in the evening time, you know, watching the TV or working or whatever it might be and having the likes of the lead her, the lead her mentorship to be able to bounce ideas off or, you know, even text yourself and be like, okay, so this my thought process today. Like that to me has been worth its weight in gold, you know? And I don't think that you realize the platform that you have created either because I wouldn't have been able to,
Speaker: open myself up to all of this, you know, um without that platform being there. So i I want to specifically say thank you to you. Like, I really do appreciate You know how grateful I am anyway, because I always tell you, but it's just, it's given me my drive back, you know. um And then, like, this win, obviously, it's fantastic, but my key morals still so stay the same, you know, like that i like I've big plans and I don't want to, I don't want to get distracted. I now more than ever, I want to focus in on exactly what I want to achieve.
Speaker: You know, now's the time. Now's the time. And I think your journey as well, it's it's the reminder to zoom out, isn't it? like we like Life is not always like, whoa, amazing. There's tough times, but it's just, it's kind of learning to let go of the grip a little bit and trying to having that trust in ourselves. And then when we start to build our energy back up, it's just being, becoming what we want to achieve. And it's funny with with Lead Her, I very much wanted to create
Speaker: what you've described there that safe space for women to it's what I didn't have building the business what I didn't have this is what I have been craving for like this is what I've been craving for and and I've had you I've had amazing mentorships over the years to help me build my business and and I've learned a lot from them like so much but having a group a safe space, a small group of people that just fucking get it, that just get it, that you can just text, you can say your crazy thoughts because entrepreneurs have crazy thoughts.
Speaker: And yeah remote normal people think we are crazy because they are crazy thoughts, but other entrepreneurs don't. And that's what's needed. And that's safe space. And it can be quite a lonely journey. And and for LeadHER, that was really important to me that that that space was created. and And that was the thing was that I...
Speaker: like I was so lonely and I didn't really realize how lonely I was until I started working with you guys um and like because we are like a we are joint unit now at this stage but and I know you lead us but we're all together in it but I didn't realize how lonely I felt and it wasn't that I needed i needed to be like held or anything like that but I did need um a a space that I could be vulnerable and talk about my business because, you know, I want to keep my friendships to my friendships, you know, and like for us to talk about normal life things, but I wanted my business just to be a little bit separate. And I just feel like that's the space that you created. and
Speaker: so you build you build business friends don't you like yeah like you girls talk amongst yourself like obviously we have our group calls and you know everyone gives each other advice as well and then some of you text privately as well and I remember that first day when I when me and Lorna were talking our uh Lorna and myself and Vicky were talking and you were like oh you guys talk to each other yeah I was like yeah do you know and at that moment it really took the pressure off me I was like I don't need to facilitate as much like you know yeah I was like you know and we all have so much expertise to give each other as well but even like to the point that you're making friendships from this like you know you went to the Oprah thing you invited Lorna who's another one of her ladies and you went together and you know you was shoot that was together a few sorry sorry
Speaker: yeah i was just saying we're only together a few months like and yeah it's so far this is what's happened it's just the power of women when we come together just and lorna was the perfect fit you know that because there was moments within that um within that speech or talk that oprah was given like and i'd look across at lorna and she was like oh but like yeah wow like that was just you know like she we're very much on the same page I think um we're both similar age we've got young kids you know um we um we both coach women you know just we have we're in the same um area you know and that's what love about us all is that there's no competition it's just we're all rooting for each other and that's what the most important thing is because i like I'm a supporter. I don't believe in like cutting another coach down or anything like that. I'm the opposite. I will raise them up, you know, and that's that's extremely important in all of this.
Speaker: There's so much success to go. There's enough success to go around for everybody. You know, that there there is no limit to what we can achieve and what we can experience in our lives. And if we wish it upon others, we will also receive it. So and absolutely. Yeah. yeah awesome sorry thank you I'm conscious of your time. So final question and we will tie things up.
Speaker: What does the word health mean to you? oh Oh, um, health, health to me actually has changed a lot over the last few years. Um,
Speaker: Health to me is really balance and balance in body and mind. i don't think you can have a healthy body and not have a healthy mind and vice versa. I think you you need to work on both simultaneously, you know. um And health to me just means sticking around that little bit longer for my child, you know. Like you said, it's a really strong why of mine being able to move through this life comfortably because there's you know, it's hard enough without having to deal with health issues on top of it. So look, we just do our best. But yeah, that's that's kind of what health means to me. I used to think it was aesthetic, like, and that you used to be ripped in order to be healthy. Whereas in actual fact, I think if your mind is healthy first, well, then your body will follow. um
Speaker: And that probably took me into my 40s to understand that. um and yeah that's kind of what health means to me I couldn't agree more um Maria thank you so much this has been such an amazing conversation and I can't wait for everyone to listen to us and I know everyone is going to love it as much as I have loved it so thank you so much thank you for having me I honestly you know how grateful I am anyway I tell you all the time so thank you so much Thank you so much for listening to this episode. And as always, if you enjoyed it, please do share it with your friends and your followers in your WhatsApp groups, on your stories. If you do tag me at Kate Hamilton Health and at Kate Hamilton Business and do share the episode with anyone that you think it may help.
Speaker: Also, if you haven't yet, please do subscribe to the podcast. This makes such a difference in growing it. These little things of sharing it with people who need it, subscribing. and And I really, really appreciate and your help and your support as I continue to grow this.
Speaker: If you are looking for support with your health and your fitness goals and you want long term sustainable approach that is realistic and science backed, this is exactly what we do inside my Nourish Her health and fitness coaching.
Speaker: If you're looking for support while you're building your business and you want to do it in a profitable way that doesn't cost you your health and your freedom, this is exactly what I do in my Lead Her business mentorship.
Speaker: I've shared links to both in the show notes. So if you're interested, have a click, have a read, reach out to me. I'm happy to answer any of your questions and I hope you have a great day and I will see you on the next episode.
