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EP633: Fitz Koehler - Muscles Are Sexy
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"You never have to be perfect. But should you move the needle forward 1% every single day moving forward? Yes, it’s good for you and it’s good for the people you love.”
Success in business and entrepreneurship begins with the same foundation as success in life—health and fitness. Without a strong, energetic body and sharp, focused mind, even the best business strategies fall flat. This episode dives into why prioritizing your fitness is the ultimate power move for long-term success.
Fitz Koehler, fitness expert, race announcer, and cancer survivor, shares her unfiltered insights into the transformative power of health. With a no-nonsense approach, she discusses how fitness not only helped her overcome cancer but also fuels her to live vibrantly and inspire others. From battling through gruelling treatment to running the Boston Marathon, Fitz’s story is a testament to resilience and the value of investing in your physical and mental well-being.
Guest Bio:
Fitz Koehler is a globally recognized fitness professional, keynote speaker, and author of the Cancer Comeback series. As the founder of Fitzness, she has spent decades inspiring people to prioritize their health through TV appearances, corporate engagements, and live events. A cancer survivor and advocate for joy, Fitz believes fitness is the ultimate foundation for a fulfilling life.
Expert action steps:
1. Control What You Can:
“In every single situation, control what you can. Know the difference. If you can’t control something, let it go. Let it go. But if you can, your nutrition, your exercise, your work output, whether you show up early, stay late, all of those things, control what you can.”
2. Live on Perspective:
“Traffic jams are better. Red wine on the carpet is better. The flu is better because all of that pales to being a kid with cancer. So perspective, perspective, perspective.”
3. Hunt for Joy:
“I’m a joy addict. I’m very fortunate. I was born with a passion for joy. I will choose to be happy in any situation. However, if that’s not you, you can still become a joy addict. Make it a habit.”
Learn more about Fitz:
• Website: https://www.fitzness.com
• Books by Fitz:
• My Noisy Cancer Comeback: Running at the Mouth, While Running for My Life https://www.fitzness.com/blog/my-noisy-cancer-comeback/
• Your Healthy Cancer Comeback: Sick to Strong https://www.fitzness.com/blog/your-healthy-cancer-comeback/
Visit eCircleAcademy.com and book a success call with Nicky to take your practice to the next level.
Recommended
Transcript
Rebounding to Vibrancy
00:00:02
Speaker
I looked in the mirror and I shuddered. I really was pretty appalled by what had become of me, but I never ever had a doubt that I would rebound and not only get back to normalcy, but get back to vibrancy because yay, I'm a fitness expert. I knew exactly how. And I had this perfect little plan laid out where I would baby step myself forward with strength and cardio and flexibility and balance and make tiny bits of progress and never have a setback. And then my my mental game is
Introduction to Thought Leader Revolution
00:00:28
Speaker
hardcore too. And so I did get all the way back to normal
00:00:36
Speaker
Welcome to the Thought Leader Revolution with Nikki Ballou. Join the revolution. There's never been a better time in history to speak your truth, find your freedom, and make your fortune. Each week, we interview the world's top thought leaders and learn the secrets of how they built a six to seven figure practice.
Meet Fitz Kohler: Fitness Pioneer & Cancer Survivor
00:00:54
Speaker
This episode has been brought to you by eCircleAcademy.com, the proven system to add six to seven figures a year to your thought leader practice.
00:01:10
Speaker
I'm your host, Nicky Baloo. And boy, do we have an exciting guest lined up for you today. Today's guest is the founder of the movement that is Fitzness.
Fitz's Fitness Industry Journey
00:01:24
Speaker
She is someone who has stared death in the face and spit in her eye. She is the one, the only,
00:01:33
Speaker
The legendary Fitz Kohler. Welcome to the show, Fitz. Well, thank you for the big, fat introduction, Nicky. Nice to be here. Good to have you. So, Fitz, tell us your backstory. How'd you get to be the great Fitz Kohler? Ah, yes. How did I get to be so noisy and bossy? i Well, I do a variety of things. I'm a fitness pro and I teach on a mass scale. So most everything I do is via mass media, TV, radio books, magazines, online content, corporate presentations, keynote speeches, things like that. Anything to get to a large amount of people and bully them into taking great care of themselves. I'm also a professional race announcer and the author of the Cancer Comeback series and another book. And how did I get here? I started teaching fitness.
00:02:23
Speaker
Right before I turned 15, fell in love with it, had a few opportunities to teach around the globe, teach on television, and just fell in love with the art of connecting with people and helping them live better and longer. it's It's magical to see people, to see their lives change when they start acting on their own behalf, whether it's weight loss or gaining strength or working on balance, but to see people proud of themselves, to see people energized to take on new challenges and new careers and new loves and you know everything in your world.
00:02:57
Speaker
will improve if you take care of the fundamentals. And so I'm so fortunate. I love what I do. And yeah, retirement's a dirty word to me. I'm just so pleased to be where I am and helping the people that I help.
Cancer Diagnosis & Aggressive Treatment
00:03:11
Speaker
Good for you and God bless you. So walk us through your journey. I mean, cancer, what happened?
00:03:20
Speaker
Yeah, so it's interesting that that's the thing, right? that's ah yeah People look at someone like me. I'm not only a fitness pro, but I walk the walk. I'm a vegetarian. I do all the exercise. I never smoke. Boy, did I... I drank like a sailor in college. I went to UF. I was a gator. So that could be a weak spot for me because alcohol makes you certainly more prone to cancer. But in late 2018, I went in for a standard mammogram and I walked out.
00:03:48
Speaker
with a clean bill of health. My scan was crystal clear. There was nothing there. And then about six weeks later, I was at a race weekend where I was running a race and I got out of the shower and I rubbed my under boob naked, just standing there, rubbed my under boob and I found a grape sized lump. And it turns out that I had breast cancer and it already in six weeks had already spread through my lymph nodes. And so within a few appointments and scans and biopsies and so forth. I had a surgeon call and say, I'm so sorry, but you do have breast cancer. It's running through you like wildfire and we need to treat you urgently and aggressively. And so they did. I had about 15 months of chemo and intertwined 33 rounds of radiation and some surgery and it was hellacious. It was brutal. I feel like I got dragged behind a horse for 15 months. however
00:04:39
Speaker
i i I made some incredible decisions that were so beneficial to me and I learned so many. so many things. I mean, i'm I'm certainly not that person who says, oh, thanks, cancer. It makes me better. I'm glad I had cancer. Because some people say that and I think you're effing nuts. You have lost your mind to be grateful to have had cancer. However, I would be derelict if I didn't acknowledge there were some wins with my mental status and my physical capabilities and my life overall. So now that I'm on the other side of it, I'm taking those lessons learned and
00:05:19
Speaker
terrorizing the world, going out to do big things that make me happy. And I'm i'm no holds barred on that. That's crazy. That's crazy. um It's incredible that you caught it and you beat it, right? Yeah. Yeah. Hey, listen, if I hadn't rubbed my under boob and I had waited till the next mammogram, I'd be dead. There's no chance I would have survived at the rapid pace it was running
Early Cancer Detection: The Role of Self-Examination
00:05:45
Speaker
through me. I think I found my lump in February.
00:05:48
Speaker
By June, it would have hit my brain. It would have hit my lungs. I would have started coughing. I would have started with headaches. like There's no way I would have survived had I not found that lump. Very fortunate.
00:06:08
Speaker
Do you believe or are you a believer?
Questioning Survival Purpose
00:06:12
Speaker
I'm not a disbeliever, but I don't have deep faith. I don't have deep faith. I have questions. I'm agnostic, certainly not atheist. It strikes me as though you were spared for a bigger purpose.
00:06:29
Speaker
Perhaps, that's a nice way to think, perhaps. Although this is where I have a problem with thinking any magical being targeted me and said, yeah, let's keep her, is I live a few miles away from a University of Florida hospitals and there's a pediatric cancer unit and there's all sorts of babies with cancer.
00:06:48
Speaker
And those babies will die. and And there's just no way in hell I can imagine I was chosen over these beautiful babies. I also never have think, why me? I never have had the pity party because of those babies. So I would never place myself above them. um I just think they exist. So why not me? why Why not me with cancer, right? You know, a lot of people in this day and age don't even take care of their
Health Issues: Environment & Nutrition Impact
00:07:19
Speaker
health properly. I think I i followed um Robert Kennedy Jr., right? For the last little while. He's 70 years old. He's a beast. You look at him online. You know, he takes his shirt off, man. He looks pretty good. He looks pretty good for a 70 year old man. And um he's spoken eloquently about how
00:07:42
Speaker
ah When his uncle was president, ah one of every 35,000 Americans had autism. Now it's like one out of every 33. It's disturbing. It is disturbing. and Most people today aren't even really thinking about how do I maximize my health? How do I take my health to another level?
00:08:06
Speaker
You think about that a great deal. You go out there and you teach it. And you had a big honking challenge in the form of cancer come and try to knock you off course, but you beat it. I gotta believe there's something divine in that. I gotta believe there's something special ah in in you being chosen to discover this early enough that you could do something about it and you could overcome it.
00:08:35
Speaker
Well, I do appreciate that. And, you know, sometimes people look at me and they say, well, if it's whole or head cancer, what what does it matter if I eat all the beef and smoke all the cigarettes? I'm gonna get it too. And the reality is, is yeah, I did get cancer and the RFK thing, he's onto something there. I don't know if he's accurate with 100% of his statements or guesses. his is i don't I'm losing words, right? We know where I'm going with that, but he's onto something. So in America, breast cancer is one in eight women. One in eight American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. In Asia, one in 40 will be diagnosed. If you take an Asian woman out of Japan and you move her to America within a short time, her chances
00:09:24
Speaker
ah kind of having breast cancer but go into that one in eight pile. So it's something within the environment or something within nutrition, right? However, so there's there's the why me thing. Perhaps there was a chemical in my in my in my food or in my environment, and I'm guessing that probably is why I ended up with cancer.
Fitness Habits in Cancer Recovery
00:09:43
Speaker
however My fitness habits certainly paid off and I got about five, six months into my treatment and the first six months of my treatment were absolutely nightmarish. I was living with, let's say, a violent stomach bug or a tequila hangover, whatever you want to call it. That was me.
00:10:02
Speaker
and I went in for meme chemo number six and my doctor, was my oncologist was saying, Fitz, I'm so proud of you. You've been doing great. and I was um sitting there bald with no lashes where my fingernails had ripped off and my insides had been through a cheese grater and I was losing weight. And I said, Dr. Gordon, I'm a catastrophe. Why would you suggest that I'm doing great? I'm a mess. He goes, Fitz, I'm not saying you haven't suffered. You have you've really suffered. However,
00:10:31
Speaker
so many and He said, I've given you the meanest drugs I give any cancer patient. The meanest drugs, he said, and many people are hospitalized for a month. Many people have a feeding tube with these drugs. He said, you haven't had any of that. I mean, I did spend one night in the hospital, but he said,
00:10:46
Speaker
You have been traveling around the country, announcing your races, doing your keynotes, doing all these kinds of things. If it weren't for your commitment to fitness and nutrition coming into this and through it, there's no way you would have been able to keep up with your professional schedule and all the other things you want to do. So yes, you've suffered, but your fitness has paid off big time. And so that was a real light bulb moment where I thought,
00:11:09
Speaker
I'm right. I'm right. Fitness really does fix your life. And then the chemo continued to wear on me. I'm very human. And so I was emaciated. I ended up, I lost so much weight and I lost so much strength and I was, I was a little skeleton and At that point where I hit what we would call rock bottom is I looked in the mirror and I shuddered. I really was pretty appalled by what had become of me, but I never ever had a doubt that I would rebound and not only get back to normalcy, but get back to vibrancy because yay, I'm a fitness expert. I knew exactly how and I had this perfect little plan laid out where I would baby step my step
00:11:48
Speaker
and baby step myself forward with strength and cardio and flexibility and balance and make tiny bits of progress and never have a setback. And then my my mental game is hardcore too. And so I did get all the way back to normal and then about a year or so after finishing treatment, I ran the Boston Marathon and you know, life is so big and awesome right now. It's it's really Fitness did pay off. So did it prevent me from being diagnosed? Maybe not. But did it carry me through and get me back to living as large as possible? Absolutely.
Balanced Fitness Routine
00:12:22
Speaker
So what's your fitness routine like?
00:12:26
Speaker
Well, it's probably not as crazy as people think it might be. So when I was training for Boston, certainly there was lots and lots of miles put in. My number one focus is always strength training. I believe strength training is the fountain of youth. It's a secret to remaining injury free, being resilient, having energy. i think I think muscles are damn sexy, you know, big strong muscles, small, lean, curvy muscles. I love strength and so strength training is my number one focus. I do that every other day without fail, whether I'm on the road or you name it, I'm doing strength training. I also focus on my cardio respiratory, my heart and lung capacity because
00:13:08
Speaker
Hearts and lungs are pretty damn important and there's a pretty interesting study that someone with cancer is 72% likely to have that cancer metastasized or spread if they're doing high intensity cardio exercise. So I walk, I run, I do ballroom dancing now. I recently was in a ballroom dance competition at Dancing with the Stars. So I do ballroom, which I love. And then I do balance training, cause I don't want to fall down. I don't want to fall down now. I don't want to fall down in 20 years. I watched my mother fall all over the place and it's, it's nightmarish. So balance training. And then of course a lot of stretching. So I stay busy. I don't do, my workouts aren't insane. They're consistent and they're productive. I'm always challenging myself. How many days a week do you train?
00:13:57
Speaker
I would say six. I normally take a day off to be lazy, but even on my lazy day, I'm probably walking two to three miles with my dogs, roaming through the forest with them. I have two doggos and they deserve it. I have a 15 and a half year old lab Greyhound mix and she still can rough house and play. and And we do two to three miles a day for her to keep her ah healthy and to keep her around as long as possible. And fitness is really,
00:14:25
Speaker
made her life special and long as well. Yeah, that's
Nikki's Fitness & Bodybuilding Journey
00:14:31
Speaker
pretty beautiful. Yeah, I'm a big believe believer in in in training too. Are you a workout guy? What do you do?
00:14:36
Speaker
Yeah, i um I am. I i lift weights six days a week. um I'm training for a bodybuilding competition in the summer. I did my first one this past summer, the day before my 57th birthday. And the goal is, I've got a coach, goal is to get me to my IFBB pro card by age 60. So that's what I'm going for right now.
00:15:06
Speaker
That's incredible. Congratulations. I love it. and And you, like Robert Kennedy, will be able to take off his shirt at 70 and or also go wild. yeah um i Yeah, I'm ah with a lovely woman who's, um she's into marathons too, like she's run 23 of them. She also has run 12 hours on a treadmill three times and set three world records for doing that for distance. And she has started doing strength training too. So she's getting herself lean and tight. She was always lean, but now she wants to get her her muscles
00:15:45
Speaker
in her upper back and shoulders. That's where she's been working on in her arms. And then she wants to get the the glutes, all the ladies want to get their glutes bigger. Right. Well, I tell you what, I'm sure my bum was fine before cancer. But when I lost all the weight, I remember turning around and probably about the same time where my mom was shouting at me, you you look like you're in the Holocaust, you need to eat. But I remember turning around and catching my my rear end in the mirror and I looked like I was 90. I called it chemo, but it was just flabby and flat. And I thought, bleh, I didn't want anything anything to do with that. So lunges and squats and squat jumps and leg press and hack squat, all of that is definitely part of my life. because I don't know, a flat,
00:16:32
Speaker
flabby, fanny. It's just not a nice city if nobody wants to. No, no, no.
00:16:42
Speaker
I'm a fan of her butt right now. A big fan. Good for you. I've always been, but it's just getting better all the time. God bless her. um So yeah, I think it's important for people to train. I think it's ah if you're in business and you're not fit, yeah you're done.
00:17:02
Speaker
your ability to keep ah going is going to be cut short. There's folks in their 50s that are 30, 40, 50 pounds overweight.
Healthy Family Habits
00:17:14
Speaker
And I'm telling you what, if they don't do something about that, they are five to 10 years away from a major life event, a health event that's gonna irretrievably ah negatively impact our quality of life. And that's not a good thing.
00:17:30
Speaker
yeah You know, you're you're spot on and it's interesting. people might You might be the smartest person, the most most capable person, the person with the greatest resume on earth, but will you even get the opportunity to share that? If an employer looks at you and thinks, yeah, they don't look like they could keep up. They look like they're out of shape. They're probably going to call in sick a lot. They're not going to have a lot of energy. They're not going to give you the interview. They're not even going to get to your damn resume if they look at you and think,
00:18:00
Speaker
Yeah that could be a problem but if you walk in strapping standing up straight shoulders back posture is a real winner people are drawn to that and what do they say first impressions are established within seven seconds and so.
00:18:16
Speaker
they might leave it they They might never get a chance to see what's behind the curtain, how wonderful you are. If your posture sucks and you're overweight or you you got bags under your eyes because you're a sleepy guy, you know you can reverse all that with exercise, with nutrition. It's it's something fitness is something absolutely 100% of us can attain. If you are obese, it's not hereditary. It's real.
00:18:42
Speaker
cultural, your family taught you crap habits and you kept them. You decided, all right, I'm going to be just like them and I'm going to keep eating all this garbage and I'm going to skip out on the workouts and I'm not going to sleep well. I'm going to drink. Yeah. That's why you're all obese. You all have crap habits.
00:18:57
Speaker
Or you could be the first person to change your family tree. You could be the first person to start watching what you put in your mouth. You know, it's funny. People are like, well, I can't eat healthy. I have kids. Oh, really? Are those kids jacking up your jaw and shoving garbage in your mouth? And why are you buying garbage for your kids? Have a little.
00:19:15
Speaker
Have a little investment in their future because you know what sucks is outliving your kid. Your kid grows up to be a type 2 diabetic, gets their toes cut off at 35 and kicks a bucket at 40 and you watched it happen.
00:19:30
Speaker
because you raised them to be unhealthy? Oh, nothing could be more punishment punishing. Your kid has a heart attack or suffers heart disease because you taught them to have terrible habits. That's your fault. That's on you. So it really is...
00:19:47
Speaker
necessary for everybody to start taking their health seriously. to Today, you don't have to be perfect. You never have to be perfect. But should you move the needle forward 1% every single day moving forward? Yes, it's good for you. And it's good for the people you love. Amen. 100% agree. 100% agree. And frankly,
00:20:06
Speaker
If you're a business person, it's good for you in business. It'll make you better able to perform because you're gonna have more energy, more stamina. yeah And people who work out are smarter. The dumb jock theory is a flawed theory. right It's actually the brilliant jock theory. The more you exercise, the better your brain works. And that's been proven by science.
00:20:30
Speaker
Absolutely. And one of the things that most CEOs have in common are morning workouts. They start each day with some exercise, whether it's a walk or a swim or some weightlifting or yoga. Most CEOs start their day with exercise.
00:20:46
Speaker
And they should, honestly, they should.
Fitness Preparedness for Health Crises
00:20:48
Speaker
if If they don't do that, it's ah it's a bad idea. It's a terrible idea if they don't do that. Exercise is a game changer for everybody, absolutely everybody. Yeah, the other thing for your listeners, I'm sure some of them might be rolling their eyes, thinking, oh, Nikki, oh, Fitz, I'm not into lifting. Okay, listen to this.
00:21:12
Speaker
you should prepare your body today to do battle because you never know when injury or illness will strike that's right so for me it was cancer surprise out of the blue i didn't plan on it it just showed up in my boob and i went okay dealing with this now um you get struck by lightning, you get hit by the bus or I don't know, you trip and you fall. And if you are healthy and fit going into that crisis, you will recover and rebound so much more efficiently and effectively if you are healthy going in. But if you're kind of wimpy and sick when you get hit by the bus or when you're diagnosed with cancer or heart disease or ALS, whatever it is, you're you're starting way back. You just moved your start line.
00:21:55
Speaker
miles, miles back from everybody else. And you know, if you're gonna go into battle, would you rather go into battle as Mick Jagger or John Cena? I'm going John Cena every f freaking day.
Vegetarianism & Health Implications
00:22:08
Speaker
100%, 100%. Although it makes some pretty good shape for a dude his age. No question. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But still hit either one of them with and with even a ah motorcycle and see who gets up first. yeah No, amen, amen, amen.
00:22:23
Speaker
So let's talk about nutrition. You're a vegetarian. I'm a carnivore. So talk to me. Why are you vegetarian? Purely because I love animals. I have so many friends that are cows and chicken, and I just couldn't do it anymore. I was raised as the ultimate carnivore, having beef and pork and veal. I'm so sorry for eating those baby cows, right? But um but yeah, I just love animals. Now there is it's certainly a healthy way to be a carnivore.
00:22:51
Speaker
ah But there are there are also some caveats in there where, you know, beef, red meats, you you're you're it's a stage, I think it's a class 2B carcinogen. So you're far more likely to have digestive cancers if you are a ah red meat consumer. so We all make choices. i'm not I'm certainly not someone that's going to lean in and poke you in the chest and tell you you're a bad person if you're eating meat. It's not for me because it makes me sad. But if you are a carnivore,
00:23:25
Speaker
move forward with caution. It shouldn't be one of those things you're like, ha, I eat meat all day. That's probably nothing to be proud of. So you can eat some meat, but maybe choose some more white meat, some fish over the red stuff because colon cancer is not a good time, I've been told.
00:23:43
Speaker
well you know um Let's just say we're going to agree to disagree because I am a fan of of ah of the carnivore lifestyle. I was a vegan for four and a half years. At one point in my life, it didn't work for me. um Eating meat has worked
Diet Debates: Carnivore vs. Plant-Based
00:24:05
Speaker
for me. It's been great. There's a lot of um There's a lot of folks who passionately make the argument for carnivore, and there's a lot of folks who passionately make the argument against carnivore. All I can say is that for me, it works great to eat meat. Yeah, I mean, everybody makes their choices, right? Yeah. So I just had a i just had a cardiologist, chief of cardiology at the Community Hospital in Monterey Peninsula in Monterey, California.
00:24:35
Speaker
Gosh, how does his name just fall out of my head? I'm so embarrassed. Doctor... Anyways, i have my podcast is The Fitznist Show. So I have this doctor on my show and he's he was obese and then he started learning all the things a cardiologist learns and he went plant-based and so he's lost hundreds of pounds and now he runs marathons. But one of the things he said is, you know, ah you can't... Well, he he said,
00:25:04
Speaker
All cardiac deaths or almost all cardiac deaths would be removed if people went plant-based. And he also says one of the most important things that he could see for men is he calls it save the schlongs. And most erectile dysfunction is just a matter of high cholesterol.
00:25:22
Speaker
and that's a vein, right? Or it's yeah, so you get high cholesterol clogged up in your Wang. And then when his patients come in with heart issues, they also happen to have erectile dysfunction, they don't know it's correlated. And when he puts people plant based there, all of a sudden, Mr. Happy comes back to life. And so there are certainly some wonderful benefits of being plant based. now I don't think anyone has to go cold turkey unless they have the moral issue like I do. However, if you have more plant-based meals and maybe cut back a little or change the type of meats you're eating, it may prove beneficial.
00:26:02
Speaker
Well, I've had Dr. Sean Baker on my show and he's the author of the carnivore diet. And that's all he does is he basically eats steak and he's my age. He's 50, 57, close to 58. And he's an absolute beast. He's he's six foot five, 260 pounds. He doesn't have an ounce of fat on him.
00:26:20
Speaker
um And I've also had Dr. Anthony Martin on my show. And he he wrote the book, Eggs, Meat, and Cheese, and Sons, Steak, Steel, and Sleep. And I've read the works of Dr. Casey Means, Good Energy, and Max Lugavera, who wrote the ah the Genius Foods series of books. What these folks have to say around eating meat, and certainly has been my experience, is meat isn't the problem. It's all the extra um highly processed foods and excessive consumption of carbohydrates that people have that have had them you know gain all this weight and so forth. And I can speak for myself
00:27:01
Speaker
I overate carbs. and There was a point in my life. um I'd been a top trainer. I got out of that. I got into business coaching. I gained over 50 pounds. And all that gain was associated with eating more carbs, all of it. As soon as I cut back on the carbs, ah I lost the
Nikki's Weight Loss Experiences
00:27:18
Speaker
weight. I went down 60 pounds. I went down from 227 to 167. And it's not that I don't eat carbs. I eat plenty of carbs. I eat sweet potato. I eat green beans. I eat fruits and so forth.
00:27:31
Speaker
but what you know the shrine factor as you put it, I'm sorry, I'm embarrassed. um I was raised by a mother not to talk this this way in front of a lady. but the i'm just Now you're making my cheeks go red.
00:27:45
Speaker
like um yeah I have found my libido has dramatically increased since I lost the weight. yeah Of course. yeah so And my woman is a very beautiful woman. She's five foot eight, blonde bombshell, gorgeous. And I felt embarrassed at her being so slim and beautiful and me being so fat. That was one of the things that really motivated me to get myself into shape.
00:28:12
Speaker
but During the year and a half since you know I lost the weight and I've been back to ah to the weight range that I'm in now, um man, I feel like I'm 20 years younger in terms of my libido.
00:28:27
Speaker
Well, so there's a few things and congratulations, it's exciting and and wonderful for you and you're a blonde bombshell. ah So you you lost weight because you cut calories and it's true that protein is less dense in calories than crackers, for example. I think it's nine calories per gram of protein. I can't remember how many calories per gram of like a starchy carb, right? A processed starchy carb. And protein is more filling.
00:28:56
Speaker
right So it's one of those things that provides satiety. So you're eating less. You just, you cut your calories. You changed what you were eating, but if you ate as many calories with meat, you would have kept the weight on. So you didn't lose weight because you switched to meat. You just, you switched up your consumption and cut the
Diet Book Industry Critique
00:29:15
Speaker
calories. The calories is responsible for the weight loss. And I'm so happy you read all of these books. And there's a very famous one that probably the pioneers on the high protein, high meat, high fat diet, Dr. Adkins, who's a classic case of a ah the meat, a pro meat guy who sold lots of books, refused to have any real studies done, and then he died of heart disease. And so, caution.
00:29:41
Speaker
you know and And anyone who's promoting any diet at all is pretty negligent. that' That tells me that they want your dollars, right? So I've been offered millions of dollars throughout my 30 something year career to promote this diet, that diet, this pill, that pill. I've never once sold out to the American public or the world because I care. I care and I care about the truth. Anyone who's hawking a diet is out for your dollar. Don't be confused. They're not out for your health. They're saying, what can I do? What can I put together That sounds good. They'll sell a lot of books, get me on a stage and people will give me their money. and get I get all saved and people give me their money and I did tell them nothing but the truth. I sell zero products. The word diet is only used on my website when we're mocking it, when we are... talking down and talking about these stupid thumbbag vultures in the fitness industry that are selling lies just to take your money and they don't care what happens 30 years later or 10 years later when you drop dead of a heart attack or if your wiener doesn't work or if you're losing your vision from diabetes, none of those things matter to these people. So you bought a diet book, don't ever do it again.
00:30:51
Speaker
Well, I'll tell you, I didn't buy a diet of book to follow the prescription and I'm following um my ah my bodybuilding coach's advice on what to eat, how to train, how much to sleep, etc. And he is not a carnivore. He's not a low carb, high carb guy. I'm eating a classic you know classic golden age of bodybuilding type of diet. You know what I mean? There's lots of lots of protein, there's a moderate amount of carbs, and there is a moderate amount of fat. During the times where I'm about to get on stage, like when I was getting ready to get on stage,
00:31:28
Speaker
everything went down. the The protein went down, but the carbs really went down. They went down a lot, a lot more than the protein. And the fat was ah practically zero. You know what I mean? He had me eat, you know, chicken breast and i and I, no oil on it. I had to cook it by itself. You know what I mean? in It's own juice. Let me tell you, I get sold after a while, right? Just eating chicken breast. It sure as heck does. ah But It worked. I got lean. I got super lean. I went on stage. I was cut. It it it was all that good stuff. um And I hear what you're saying. These guys are selling books. Not Tony Martin. Tony Martin's been a doctor who's at his own clinic. His books are honestly not, they're self-published and he puts them out there because he strongly believes in this. I think you should meet Tony Martin. I think you'd like him. You you and he would disagree on a lot, but I think you'd have a great conversation. He's a really good dude.
00:32:18
Speaker
so So, here's the deal. I'm sure I would get along with him. And the way you're eating is for bodybuilding, which is very different than general but population stuff. We're talking about people who just want to be healthy. um But I'm not a researcher. Just let's be clear. I don't go out and do any research. I'm utilizing the research that when when the ah and NIH and so forth says,
00:32:41
Speaker
Asbestos is a class 1 carcinogen. I go, okay, I don't want to need asbestos. Cigarettes, class 1 carcinogen. Okay, I'm not going to smoke cigarettes. Red meat, class 2B carcinogen. Okay, thank you.
Balanced Diet & Health Issues
00:32:54
Speaker
If I'm going to have meat, I'm going to have chicken or turkey.
00:32:57
Speaker
I'm not going to go for a proven carcinogen. And some people are like, well, if it's hormone free, that's not true. It's just B. It's a class 2B carcinogen. And so cancer isn't the only disease, but it's a real big freaking problem worldwide. There are millions and millions. I tell you what, the worst thing I see every day are people buying my books.
00:33:18
Speaker
Why are they buying my books? Because people are being diagnosed with cancer. They say, my dad has brain cancer. Can I get your healthy cancer? Come back. And I say, I'm so sorry your dad has brain cancer. I hope this helps. But it's everywhere. So is diabetes. So is heart disease. And our country can't afford this.
00:33:36
Speaker
this issue with obesity and people learning the wrong way. I mean, if someone goes out and they eat nothing but cheese and eggs and beef, are you kidding me? We're saying that person's gonna be a healthy guy? Absolutely not, they should, no, no, they should be having blueberries and raspberries and broccoli and potatoes. And maybe they have some cheese. I eat cheese, I'm not a vegan, I'm a vegetarian, right? I have ah some eggs, but that's not the whole gamut.
00:34:04
Speaker
I focus on the high nutrient, high fiber products and some protein. And the reality is people can only use a certain amount of protein. And and once they've hit their max because they've only done so much strength training, well, that protein either gets stored as fat or used as energy. But you can only can you can only benefit from so much protein. And if you're having this at the cost of fiber and vitamin A and vitamin C and vitamin D and all these other things and you're missing out. So I'm the psychopath that really promotes eating nutritiously, right? eating pro Eating whole grains and some lean proteins, whatever you choose and lots of fruits and vegetables and drink your water. And then you know if if if you want to have a couple of Cheetos, fine. If you want to have a beer, fine. Maybe 80 to 90% of your intake should be quality
00:34:59
Speaker
And you don't have to give me any money for any any products. You just go to the grocery store or the farmer's market and get some nutritious stuff. Yeah, like I said, you know, I appreciate your point of view. My my own my own take on this is I don't follow any one guru's right point of view. i I don't eat just all meat. I definitely don't eat all cheese. Cheese and I love cheese. It doesn't agree with me too well. It's not on the bodybuilding plan. um I have Greek yogurt. That's that's the yeah the dairy that I have on a daily basis. ah Zero fat Greek yogurt. But
00:35:36
Speaker
You know what Nicky you're not the person um you're not the person I'm preaching to right now you have some listeners out there who hear this book and they go oh meat and cheese and eggs okay I'll do that and then they go and do that and then they suffer the consequences and their digestive system hits a brick wall because now they don't have any good fiber in their diet, right? so and So I think you are doing a good thing. I think you're probably on the right track. i um I would be hopeful that you don't end up with some digestive cancers if you are consuming a lot of red meat, but that's on you. You figure it out like time will tell, right? But you have some listeners who aren't as savvy. They're not bodybuilders and they're not as passionate about you. And God forbid they hear about this. and Meat and cheese and egg book, and they're like, yes, that's the thing. I want those people to know that that don't, just don't. Trust me, this is not gonna benefit your longevity or your quality of life or the way your systems work.
00:36:32
Speaker
Well, I appreciate your passion. Yeah. You are passion. Endless. You know, I think I'll say this. i I'm a fan.
Genuine Connections Over Social Media
00:36:43
Speaker
ah I'm a fan of steak. I love steak. I'm a fan of getting in the sunshine. I think vitamin D from the sun is super, super important. I feel good whenever I'm in the sun. I'm a fan of sleep. Man, in my old age, I've learned to love sleep. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, oh my gosh, the best, yeah. Yeah, it's the best. And I'm a fan of steel. Lifting weights. Lifting weights. So the 4S is there. They they definitely work for me. But I wanted to have this conversation. They want to be respectful. But so you know um it's so good to hear opposing points of view. And it's good to see someone so passionate about what they do as you. So Fitz, if
00:37:27
Speaker
Someone is listening to this, and like you say, they are not a health and fitness guru, and they're just thinking, yeah, you know what, I'm overweight, I'm 30 pounds overweight, 50 pounds overweight. I need to do something about it. I gotta get better at this. What's your advice?
00:37:47
Speaker
Well, watch what you put in your mouth and don't make any excuses about it. nobody's Nobody's shoving food into your face. so So go back to kindergarten where they taught you to eat lots of fruits and vegetables and whole grains and drink lots of water and and then
Four Pillars of Fitness
00:38:01
Speaker
have a little fun. I think we've beaten nutrition to death, but really what you put in your mouth is very, very important. And then when it comes to fitness,
00:38:08
Speaker
1% better that's your goal never say i'm gonna run a marathon tomorrow if you haven't been running right you have to start somewhere and baby steps are really the secret to long term success and when you pursue fitness you gotta do all four pillars you can't just walk and be a fit guy right so you gotta to do.
00:38:27
Speaker
cardio respiratory, that's for your heart and lungs, you know, do strength, that's total body strength, not just your biceps or your butt, and work all the muscles and that, ah you know, strength training is becoming more capable of lifting, pressing, pushing, and pulling against resistance. That makes you more powerful, more resilient, and of course, a lot hotter because muscles are sexy. And then there's Flexibility, which you could also just, you know, a good synonym for that is mobility. Nobody ever says, hey, gee whiz, my back hurts or my back is stiff and means it in a good way. your Your joints are meant to move in all sorts of different directions. Your shoulders, your hips should go in big circles. Put them through big circles every day. Focus on stretching and you can, you know, for me, I stretch my hips every time I let my dogs go potty. I open the back door and I stretch my hips. And if you make stretching part of your everyday routine,
00:39:20
Speaker
Oh, you'll start to feel better. You'll start to stand up tall. You'll have more energy. And then the last pillar of fitness is balance training. And balance is essential, so you don't fall down, whether you're 40 or 60 or 80. Falling down sucks and it leads to not only embarrassment, but possibly head trauma and broken hips and early death if you're if you're in the right age group. So balance training is as simple as standing on one foot while you brush your teeth.
00:39:46
Speaker
get it done and you know, things in your life will start to improve. So fits. Yeah. Where do you want to send people to find out more about the incredible movement that is fitsness?
Fitz's Online Presence & Friendship Focus
00:40:04
Speaker
Yeah, well, hopefully, if they come to fitsnes.com, that's F-I-T-Z-N-E-S-S.com. That's my home base for everything. And you learn about fitsnes, but most importantly, you can learn about you. There's well over 100 free workout videos. There's the exact formula for weight loss, which will teach you how to eat the right amount or the right food for the size you want to be. And it's free. I've got my Spotify playlist. You can get my podcast there.
00:40:29
Speaker
Everything, my books, it's all they're all at fitsnes.com. I'm also at fitsnes on Instagram and Facebook and YouTube. And you know what I ask is if people follow me, I promise quality content in return, but I'd much rather have friends than followers. So please reach out and say, hi, I heard you on Nicki's podcast and I disagree or I'd agree or whatever it is. But yeah, I love i love actually connecting with people. So fitsnes everywhere.
00:41:00
Speaker
You know, Fitz, I really like what you just said. You said a lot of cool things and I appreciate the debate, but the best thing you said that honestly, I've never heard anybody else say this, and I mean anybody, you said I'd rather have friends than followers. I thought that was genius. No, thank you. I'm gonna call the episode that I'd rather have friends than followers. That's a good name for the episode. I gotta tell you, Fitz,
00:41:31
Speaker
Pretty smart cookie, girl. I'm working on it. Thank you. That's smart is my favorite compliment, Nikki. That's the one I like best. Pretty smart cookie. Pretty smart cookie.
Embracing Femininity & Chivalry
00:41:42
Speaker
You know, you're crazy not to like steak, but you're smart cookie. Hey, listen, this is what you got to know. It's I do like steak. I was a steakaholic. And funny enough, my nose is not a vegetarian. So whenever I smell it, and I can still taste it. It's so good. So I know it's hard to give up. I know it's hard to give up. My nose is like, come on, let's go. And I say, ah, we can't. We're friends with Bessie, but. We're friends with Bessie, yeah. well yeah youre You got a big heart. you're You got a bit of a bleeding heart, but it's a big heart. And that's a good thing. One of the things I say that I love and respect about my woman, because she always says, oh my God, I can't believe I'm getting so emotional. I'm surprised. and and i And I look at her and I go.
00:42:25
Speaker
but you're a woman, you're supposed to be emotional. A good woman is an emotional woman. A good woman is an emotional woman. You're not a man, I wouldn't want you to be unemotional. Like my best buddy, I want you emotional. That's how I know I'm with a beautiful, feminine, good woman when she's emotional. You know, so.
00:42:43
Speaker
you go isn' it isn't it fascinating how many people are like don't I'm not just a girl or what I like being a woman I think there's so many wonderful advantages to being a woman and I'm also a fan of chivalry and I've taught my children you know my son should open the doors and mind you I'm chivalrous as well i I open the door for lots of people and especially anyone older than me and so forth I'm equally chivalrous but If I'm with a guy, i I don't reach for the door. I let him be the man. And I tell my daughter, if you want to be treated like a lady, you have to act like one. So you can still speak your mind. You can still wear pants. You can still be the breadwinner. But there's something fabulous about being a woman and and letting a man be a man. And some of those traditional values are pretty cool.
00:43:26
Speaker
ah Very cool. You know, um there's a TV show called ah Sons of Anarchy ah that um one of the characters um was played by Katie Segal. She used to be Peggy and married with children. yeah And so she was having a an argument with another strong woman in the show was an FBI agent.
00:43:55
Speaker
ah And she looked at her and she said, sweetheart, um when you get over yourself and you stop strapping on your store-bought male business, right? ah Maybe you'll wake up and figure out it's a lot of fun being a girl, right? Yeah, it is. Amen. And I just looked at her and I go, yeah, it is. You gals have a lot more fun than we men do. Let's face it, it's just a fact. If you let yourself, if you let yourself. And I thought, I thought that was great. I'm glad to see that you like being a woman. That's a good thing in this day and age. And I love men. I love men. Men are the best. Shame on anyone picking on men and masculinity because I think it's pretty awesome. Bless your heart, a woman after my own heart. We need more women like you out there. Keep saying that. Keep saying that. You'll help the next generation of women to learn that.
Top Three Life Tips
00:44:52
Speaker
So this, we like to end off each episode by asking you, our guest expert, what are your top three expert action steps? These are your three best pieces of life
00:45:07
Speaker
business health advice in bullet point form that you believe will help my listener take their experience on this earth to the next level. What say you?
00:45:21
Speaker
Okay, so I think they've already heard me beat fitness and nutrition to death. So I'm gonna start by saying control what you can in every single situation. Control what you can, know the difference. If you can't control something, let it go, let it go. But if you can, your nutrition, your exercise, your work output, whether you show up early, stay late, all of those things, control what you can. You can't control anybody else but yourself, so do that. Number two, live on perspective.
00:45:49
Speaker
i Before I got sick, I ran into a little girl at the grocery store. I was in the 10 items or less checkout lane behind a 83-year-old woman and she was paying with a check for her 4,000 items and I was kind of frustrated. I looked over to lane number two and there was a a little five-year-old in a Snow White dress with a bald head and I thought, oh, what that family must be going through? And then I looked at my line and I felt embarrassed for stewing and I thought, I will never complain out of over anything again that is not being a kid with cancer. And so that has prevailed and that makes every single thing in my life better. Traffic jams are better. Red wine on the carpet is better. The flu is better because all of that pales to being a kid with cancer. So perspective, perspective, perspective. And then hunt for joy. I'm a joy addict. I'm very fortunate. I was born with a passion for joy. I will choose to be happy in any situation.
00:46:44
Speaker
However, if that's not you, you can still become a joy addict, make it a habit, find a reason to be happy even when there's red wine on the carpet, even when you're in a traffic jam. So it's not just a perspective, it's the pursuit of joy. And when you do that, everything in your life will become more exciting, more entertaining and quality. that's That's the quality part because what good is living long unless you're living well?
00:47:13
Speaker
Fitz, I love these expert action steps. They are awesome. Straight up awesome. And Fitz, you're all right. You're not. You're all right, Nikki. I like you very much. I love your smile. You're pretty awesome. You're pretty awesome. I love your smile, too. You're fabulous. So, listener.
00:47:32
Speaker
Fitz Koller is the real deal. Even though she's crazy and she won't eat steak, God bless her. She's the real deal. She is somebody with a joy for life. She's somebody with ah a lot of great knowledge and she's somebody you can learn from. So go to a website, fitsnes.com. That's a pretty unique website.
00:47:52
Speaker
you know, take advantage of what she has to offer. And um if you enjoyed this episode, if you learned something that touched your heart, do us a favor, share it with someone else who needs a lift.
00:48:09
Speaker
Because right now, during this time, there's a lot of people that need a lift in life. There's a lot of people who go through days, and they're not addicted to joy. They're addicted to feeling terrible, or they may have horrible life circumstances. Give them a lift. Share this episode. Bring a little joy into their lives.
00:48:28
Speaker
and if you enjoyed this episode, do me a favor and give us a like, a rating, a review. Honestly, that really helps us. It helps us with the algorithm, which helps get this in front of more people who need to see it. Okay. So please make sure you do that. Thank you so much. Click like people. Why not? So easy. Gotta do it.
00:48:52
Speaker
gotta do it and Fitz Koehler, the Fitzness woman herself. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you so much for your passion. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with me. I learned a lot. God bless you. Bye team. This episode has been brought to you by eCircleAcademy.com, the proven system to add six to seven figures a year to your thought leader practice.