Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
#132: Nicki Thompson: Overcome self-sabotage to build lasting health with mindset and habits
21 Plays16 minutes ago
In this episode of the Kate Hamilton Health Podcast, I sit down with Nicki Thompson - a seasoned fitness and mindset coach with over 20 years of experience - to chat about her powerful journey from extreme restriction and binge cycles to true freedom around food and health.
We chat about how intermittent fasting can be more than a physical health tool. It can transform your mental clarity, emotional resilience, and overall relationship with your body. Nicki shares her insights on breaking free from toxic diet culture, understanding the psychology behind eating habits, and creating sustainable healthy habits rooted in your core values.
Whether you’ve struggled with restrictive eating, want to build lasting wellness routines, or are curious about fasting as part of a balanced lifestyle, this episode is packed with wisdom, actionable strategies, and a refreshing perspective on what real health looks like.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
[00:00] Welcome to the Kate Hamilton Health Podcast
[00:15] Meet Nicki Thompson: Fitness & Mindset Coach on a mission to transform health from the inside out
[00:23] Nicki’s personal story: From restriction to self-awareness and freedom
[00:44] The role of intermittent fasting in shifting health and mindset
[01:16] Building healthy habits through mindset shifts and self-awareness
[03:13] Nicki’s early years in the fitness industry and lessons from a toxic gym culture
[06:20] From body obsession to sustainable habits rooted in real health
[13:23] Redefining health, body image, and success
[16:59] Moving away from restriction toward small daily wins
[27:21] Making small, consistent changes for big long-term impact
[32:03] Introducing fasting in a mindful, balanced way
[44:25] The physical and emotional benefits of intermittent fasting
[47:55] Strategies for managing cravings while fasting
[52:10] Creating flexible fasting schedules that fit your life
[56:41] How to connect with Nicki
Links & Resources:
- Connect with me on Instagram here
- Connect with Nicki on Instagram here
- Learn more about KHH coaching here
- Download Nicki’s free guide here
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with friends who might benefit. For more health and fitness tips, follow me on Instagram and TikTok @katehamiltonhealth.
Music b LiQWYD Free download: hypeddit.com/link/xxtopb [http://hypeddit.com/link/xxtopb] Promoted by FreeMusicPromo [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbycji-eySnM3WD8mbxPUSQ] / @freemusicpromo
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Guest Background
00:00:10
Speaker
back to another episode of the Kate Hamilton Health Podcast. In today's episode, I chat with Nikki Thompson. Nikki is a seasoned fitness and mindset coach with over 20 years of experience in health and wellness.
00:00:23
Speaker
Though she initially focused on discipline, calorie tracking and intense workouts, she struggled behind the scenes with cycles of extreme restriction and binging and feeling trapped. Her breakthrough came when she shifted from relying on willpower to cultivating self-awareness and understanding the psychological drivers behind her behaviors.
Fasting, Self-awareness, and Habits
00:00:44
Speaker
Fasting became an unexpected tool for her, not just for physical health, but for her mental clarity and emotional reset, helping her observe patterns without judgment. Nikki holds certifications in functional nutrition, health coaching, cognitive behavioral coaching,
00:01:01
Speaker
Rational Emotive Behavioral Coaching and Goal Success Coaching. She now helps women over 40 break free from the cycle of self-sabotage, gain confidence and build sustainable, compassionate relationships with their health and their bodies.
00:01:17
Speaker
This was actually ah really refreshing conversation. Nikki has such a fantastic attitude when it comes to habit formation, mindset, overcoming limiting beliefs, learning to understand yourself and...
00:01:33
Speaker
general self-awareness and how important that is for real health. She has a really deep understanding of what deep health really is.
Fasting: A Supplement, Not a Necessity?
00:01:42
Speaker
We talk about everything from moving away from restriction, what keeps us stuck, how we can stop judging ourselves and be more curious, learning to create that space to discover who we really are, what our values are, and try and create habits based on those values. And that's how real change happens. so We do have a good conversation around the topic of intermittent fasting, which Nikki is a fan of, but she has an extremely open mind in relation to what is suitable for what client.
00:02:14
Speaker
And I love the fact that she takes the approach of the fundamental habits for a healthy lifestyle, which are far more important. And that fasting is something that can be used in a similar way to supplements where it's like we've got to fix the diet, we've got to fix the lifestyle first.
00:02:30
Speaker
And just a really, really interesting perspective on it, especially in relation to self-awareness and connecting with yourself, which I just found fantastically interesting.
From Gym Desk to Fitness Professional
00:02:41
Speaker
So without further ado, here is the episode with Nikki Pops. Hey Nikki, welcome to the podcast.
00:02:54
Speaker
Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here. I am so excited to chat. I'm so excited to learn a bit about you, about your story, and i suppose everything that you now teach others to be healthier, to be happier.
00:03:08
Speaker
So would you like to share a little bit, I suppose, to start out about you and about your story? Sure. Oh my goodness. So I feel like I lived about 10 different lives, but I'll just stick to the health and fitness part of the story. So it's been like over 20 years now, maybe even going on 25 years that I've been in the health fitness industry in some capacity.
00:03:33
Speaker
i feel like I've had every role, but when I first started out, I was just working at a gym front desk because i was passionate about being at a gym, left a secure job with the government as a contracts advisor. People thought I was crazy and just wanted to be immersed in the fitness world. From there, it was actually my boyfriend at the time that got me into it, and I just wanted to be fully immersed. And from there, I got my personal training certification, group training certification, but I was really in the gym. And especially 20 years ago, I feel like that environment was...
00:04:12
Speaker
Not gonna lie, a little bit toxic. I didn't even fully realize it at the time. It took a while, but you know we were always promoting these like quick fixes and drop 30 pounds and you know in six weeks and putting people on practically starvation diets, I would say. Looking back on it and they're in boot camps and you know they would see great results by using pure willpower to get through these like very intense bouts of challenges or whatnot.
00:04:42
Speaker
And then the challenge would end, they would go home and go back to whatever their habits were in the past, maybe even usually it would be for weight loss. So they gained back the weight, sometimes even more. And guess what? We had a customer right back in our next challenge. It was just like this cycle where we were just, you know, putting people through these intense workouts and eating plans and,
00:05:07
Speaker
I was like living that myself and as a coach and trainer, I'm not going to lie. I would be out in front of the world, just like being inspirational and encouraging and you can do it. And behind the scenes, I had my own battles with emotional eating and it was Literally, I was living the same the same life that my clients coming to the gym, going through these challenges were going through.
Health Coaching and Mindset Shift
00:05:31
Speaker
The only difference is that I had the appearance of looking healthy, looking in shape. But really, I was facing those same battles. you know Whenever I would feel stressed or out of control in some way, i would go home and I could easily eat an entire bag of cookies and kind of go through that...
00:05:49
Speaker
spiral of shame and feeling bad about myself. And so then I would like go hard on stricter dieting and more working out and telling my clients to almost do the same thing until I was just burnt out. And I was seeing that Clients coming through the gym weren't having long-term success. i was not having long-term success with my own eating habits.
00:06:13
Speaker
The only difference is I had that that look of being in shape to kind of hide behind in the real world. And that's when I started to become more interested in... how to maintain healthy habits. Like what is real health? Because I was kind of fed up and I'm like, it ain't this.
00:06:31
Speaker
So that's when I started like digging deeper into what could help me improve my eating habits, stick to it, And I got into mindset, goal success, a little bit of cognitive behavioral coaching. i got certified in functional nutrition and just started applying everything that I was learning and started to finally see the results. And i at one point, decided to get out of that
00:07:04
Speaker
part of the fitness industry and more into health coaching because what i found out in my journey and self-education was that my issue was not really food it was deeper than that and i finally realized that i had to get to the root cause and if skip forward a little bit in that journey i started dabbling and fasting to support the health journey that I was already on.
00:07:35
Speaker
And what was amazing about fasting was that not only did I see like physical changes because I would use fast kind of as a reactive measure. Like if i was feeling a bit of inflammation in my body or not sleeping well or what digestive issues, i would do a ah two, three day fast and it would go away. But then i wanted to have these benefits, not reactively, but like, what if i was proactive with the use of fasting?
00:08:04
Speaker
And that's when I started with intermittent fasting. So it was fasting a little bit, a little part of each day. And I feel like it changed
Skepticism about Fasting for Fat Loss
00:08:12
Speaker
my life. I i know it sounds so corny, so cheesy, but it really did. And it was because I not only received the physical benefits of fasting, but whenever I would take food off the table, literally and figuratively, I realized I had this space, this pause, this moment to really...
00:08:32
Speaker
analyze the um emotions and cravings that would come up. And because I couldn't just immediately and impulsively go for food, I had the chance to really find out what these root causes that would make me want to impulsively eat were. So I really loved the space, the ability to go inward, the ability the ability to have that self-awareness that wasn't really there when I would just automatically reach for food whenever things got uncomfortable in life or I felt resistance towards something.
00:09:06
Speaker
So yeah, that was a little bit long, but that' that's the short version of my my story of how I got to being a health and fasting coach. This is so interesting. I've literally, don't know, you can probably see me here. like scribbling notes. I'm like, because I'm like all these different stages of your journey. I'm like, right. Okay. We need to talk about this, this, this.
00:09:24
Speaker
So I have a list here. Okay. So like i do I do want to spend a good bit of time talking about fasting. I'm a skeptic when it comes to fasting, particularly in relation to fat loss. but I'm really excited to talk a little bit, to dig a little bit deeper on that and to learn a little bit more from you in relation to that. And some the things you've said have really kind of like struck a
Gym Culture and Social Media's Impact
00:09:40
Speaker
chord with me there. So I want to come back to that, but let's take it back a little bit first and let's talk a little bit about that gym environment because 20 years ago, like everyone's into the gym now, not everyone, but you know, every second person is into the gym these days, you know, I have a 15 year old son, and him and his friends are all starting to go to the gym. It's, you know, it's it's a thing. Like it's cool to be, it's cool to go to the gym 20 years ago.
00:09:59
Speaker
Not everyone was going to the gym. So like you definitely have a head start on that mindset, on that journey, on what a lot of people are just exposing themselves to now. And I think that although the industry has gotten better, there's still a lot of toxicity within the fitness industry and it has been magnified by social media.
00:10:21
Speaker
I'm always talking about this in the podcast. I'm like, just because someone looks a certain way doesn't mean they're healthy. And in fact, These people we're looking at with their rock hard abs and you know these perfect bodies, most of them have achieved these by doing unhealthy extremes.
00:10:40
Speaker
You are so right. And sometimes the people we are admiring on social media, on Instagram, like you said, they look amazing, the abs, the everything. And being in the industry and around a lot of people like this, they're some of the most insecure people I've met. They're going through a lot of their own issues. And it's also because people kind of look to you for inspiration and they see you as, you know, someone they look up to. kind of It can play with your mind as a fitness coach, where now you want to maintain this look no matter what. You're always comparing yourself to someone else. Like there's always that fitness or health coach that's doing better than you or looking better than you. And how can I achieve that?
00:11:24
Speaker
And honestly, that was a lot of my own issues back then when I was in really like deep into personal training and part of that gym environment was, comparisonitis and wanting to live up to a certain ideal and you just start and it's it's impossible.
00:11:41
Speaker
For me, it was not sustainable. It felt impossible. And it kind of like leads you to not feeling good enough all the time. And that's where a lot of behind the scenes like, rah, eat a whole bag of chips tonight. I didn't feel great about myself today. And then the next day, oh, what did I do? And let me like,
00:11:59
Speaker
you know, go twice as hard at the cardio. It was just like a very extreme cycle. And I do see a lot of fitness influencers or trainers still kind of struggling with that. And I feel like social media has just exacerbated it you know,
00:12:14
Speaker
I feel like we really have to be careful, like you said, because a lot of young people are getting into the gym earlier and earlier now, and they're seeing this, and I feel like they're already getting that those messages that do anything to achieve this look. So it just wasn't even anything about health.
00:12:32
Speaker
It's becoming lot about health and more about aesthetic by any means possible. And that's what i want I wanted to get away from, which I did. Yeah, exactly. And it's that it's the normalization of bodybuilding these days as well, that every second person in the gym then is like, oh, I'm going to do a bodybuilding show or they start out with a photo shoot and suddenly it's a bodybuilding show.
00:12:51
Speaker
And that's not health. It's not health. and You know, and a lot of a lot of sports, you know, is extreme. And when you're when you're competing at that level, In any sport, it can be unhealthy, but yet we need to get this message out that there's a huge difference between health and perceived health and for our young people. And as well, if we even just look at female health and I work with a lot of women to, you know, help them lose weight, get healthy, get to a healthy body weight and, you know, build those sustainable, healthy habits for life.
Real vs. Perceived Health on Social Media
00:13:23
Speaker
I think we need to normalize what a healthy female body actually looks like. accurate and and cut And it's like all shapes and sizes and it's not just ripped and it's not just skinny. I feel like we've really taken ah very limited, we have a very limited idea of what a healthy person should look like.
00:13:44
Speaker
And I love to change that. And as a woman who is 45 and usually working with women who are my age and maybe a little bit older, we really need some to set some realistic expectations because it just breaks my heart when clients come to me and they feel like they're failing at something, they're failing at ah achieving what in the end is sometimes not even real health, they're chasing an image or... So when we're able to shift the mindset around what health really is and starting to
00:14:18
Speaker
create values as a healthy person and realizing that it's just in small everyday actions rather than hitting that gym hard to to get these abs by summer or for a wedding. You know, I want to,
00:14:33
Speaker
Just help women understand that there is bigger and better goals to go for or achieve than just what we're being shown in images that can make you feel like you're winning every day instead of feeling like, oh, umm so I still haven't reached that goal I have, so I feel sad. It's like a lot of women I work with,
00:14:56
Speaker
are not happy in the moment because they haven't reached a goal. And I love helping them learn that health is in your everyday actions and you can feel like, like I just said, you're winning every day and not like, oh, I still haven't achieved what I want.
00:15:10
Speaker
Yeah, and it's always a number. It's it like, it's always, yeah, I haven't hit this time in my running or I haven't hit this weight. Or like, if we're not comparing ourselves to the woman next to us, we're comparing ourselves with our 20 year old self.
00:15:25
Speaker
And it's like, oh, I remember before I had children, I weighed 130 pounds. Oh, OK. Yeah. What? I'm not even going to lie. I still have to check myself with that type of thinking. And that's the thing. the The journey and the work is never done. really it's just it's a practice daily and I can still sometimes see myself slipping and I have to like pull myself back in like whoa whoa whoa don't go there you know that that oh me when I was 20 and like you said doing all these things like you're not going back to what you were before this is something new and and and that's what I have to remember it's never going back
00:16:05
Speaker
And it's it's always better. New and better. Exactly. Like I would not swap the life that I had at 20 years old with the life that I have now at 39 years old. like I just, you know, and so if you wouldn't actually swap the life circumstances, you know, obviously the body is going to be different. The body has, has been through 20 years more of life, whatever, whatever that means for the person.
00:16:26
Speaker
And I think it's really important to, honor our strength that we've been through for whatever we've been through and honor our experiences and our, our, yeah, our experience and our expertise that we now can bring to our
Aligning Health with Personal Values
00:16:40
Speaker
health.
00:16:40
Speaker
So what I'd love to get into now is how you moved away from this. When you say moving away from this restriction, because I know there'd be women listening who are like, oh my God, this is me. I can't even go out for dinner without stressing out like that.
00:16:52
Speaker
I'm you know feeling super restrictive. I've achieved the body of my dreams and like, but I can't keep it. And I'm so unhappy. How do we move from this restriction to a stage where we are, like you said, winning every day?
00:17:07
Speaker
The first thing that I invite clients to do is to just... Think of health more in terms of your own values. So usually when I work with clients, i one of the things I ask them first are, what are your core values in life? And a lot of that for, and I said, let's say just your top three to five and I'll for a lot of them, health is not even in there. Like they they might be, oh, family, and you know I value yeah honesty, integrity, a strong work ethic, self-development. I don't know, but a lot of times health isn't there. So then I get them to understand that
00:17:47
Speaker
most of our actions are automatic and comes from our own view of ourselves, our own identity. So if health is not even in your top five, now anything related to your healthy habits is likely going to feel a little bit like a chore, a little bit like, oh, i got you know I have to do this to achieve this outcome.
00:18:11
Speaker
Whereas when you start seeing yourself as I value health and now health becomes I'm going to have a glass of water instead of a glass of Coca-Cola.
00:18:23
Speaker
I'm going to take the stairs today instead of taking the escalator. I'm going to run today because it supports my health and I feel good about it. Now it's like every day, every little thing you do that supports these values feels fulfilling on a deeper level, like because it's coming from an intrinsic place so versus always looking at health from an external lens of I'm doing this to achieve this. And it just doesn't feel as good internally. It feels a little bit more like work. So the first thing I do is get them to, if you're really serious about this, to start seeing health as part of your identity, as part of your values. And then little actions throughout the day can make you feel like,
00:19:10
Speaker
hey, I lived a fulfilling life. I done things to support what I truly believe and value. And I feel like when you live like that day to day, the results start to come automatically. You're no longer focusing on the end game. You're now just focusing on the process and what you're doing for you every day. The next thing I want them to kind of reframe in mindset is to stop seeing this lifestyle as restrictive because now you're in opposition with yourself on a daily basis where I think this is restrictive. I think it's almost feeling a bit punishing in a sense if you feel that it's restrictive, but I do it to achieve this certain thing.
00:19:58
Speaker
They're in opposition. The the desire that that you're looking for, the outcome that you're looking for, does not really match this day-to-day life of, oh, this is restrictive. It will not be sustainable in the long term. It's when your thoughts, words, and actions are all in alignment that things start to feel almost magical, almost easy. effortless, I can do this.
00:20:22
Speaker
And you're not stressing about it. You're just living your life and doing what you need to do as a healthy person. That is part of your values. Instead of looking at it restrictive, look at it as healing.
00:20:34
Speaker
Just that little switch makes things feel a lot less heavy, a lot less resistance, doing what you you know, right action to achieve whatever it is you want to achieve, whether that's weight loss or it could just be feeling good in your own skin.
00:20:50
Speaker
When you start seeing the actions you take as healing, as self-care, as supportive instead of restrictive and I got to do this, That little shift just makes things so much easier.
00:21:06
Speaker
And then the third shift I would say to make is just loosen the grip a little bit. well You know, life is about experiences. So, you know, I say 80, 20,
00:21:19
Speaker
but you know even if it's 75, 25, I don't know, is still really good. You need to live light. Don't stress every time you're going out to dinner with your friends.
00:21:30
Speaker
What I say is go out to dinner with your friends and enjoy that meal. Love it, savor it. This is part of life and it is still part of health because that's mental health.
00:21:41
Speaker
How are we enjoying life if, oh, I can't do this and I can't eat that and I can't enjoy this because I'm trying to lose this 20 pounds. Like the whole thing is just exhausting when you're living in that way.
00:21:52
Speaker
But when it's just about hey, I'm a healthy person as part of my values. I see the actions I take as healing, as self-care, as supporting me.
00:22:04
Speaker
And I also see that life is about living and I can go out and have that cake and really enjoy it. And there's no issue, just get back to it the next day. This is one thing that the resistance starts to fall away and things become easier. And those external results they want, they happen as a byproduct of living these values instead of being in reverse trying to chase the outcome and totally hating the process.
00:22:31
Speaker
Yes. i ah he couldn't I couldn't have put it better myself. It is about losing yourself in the process, setting that knowing that that that you have goals, but enjoying it, like just losing yourself in it. And also what the point that you made about and the values.
Kate Hamilton Health Services Overview
00:22:49
Speaker
Just wanted to interrupt the podcast for a moment to talk to you a little bit about Kate Hamilton Health online coaching. So we have two coaching options available.
00:23:00
Speaker
We have our elite coaching and we have our group coaching service. Our elite coaching service is bespoke individualized coaching, which will help you to finally break free from diet culture with one to one anytime support from your coach.
00:23:16
Speaker
and with access to a safe, supportive community. This is a higher ticket coaching option, and the coaching is by application only. If you go to my website, KateHamiltonHealth.com, you will be able to apply for elite coaching through there, and we will be in touch to organize a call and to get you up and running.
00:23:35
Speaker
In relation to our group coaching, our group coaching starts on the first Monday of every month. When it's full each month, we do close the doors. With the group coaching is about building the habits, body and energy of the healthiest version of yourself and finally make it stick.
00:23:53
Speaker
We include personalized calories and portions, food lists, recipes, meal plan ideas, step goals, home or gym based workouts, depending on what you want. Changed every eight weeks.
00:24:06
Speaker
Mindset work, app access. So that's the Kate Hamilton Health app, which will be your hub for everything. Weekly yoga classes, WhatsApp group community, weekly group Q&A with myself, fun challenges, daily habits form, weekly self check-in. fortnightly check-ins with your coach, a library full of lifestyle guides, a library full of lessons, seminars, and all of this is updated regularly.
00:24:32
Speaker
We have weekly group Zoom calls with myself and the team, regular guest seminars where we get experts on to talk more to you about different topics that we need experts on for.
00:24:43
Speaker
And then we have in-person events twice a year that you will get at a major discount as being a member of the Kate Hamilton Health community. So as I said, this starts the first Monday of every month. If you go to my website, Kate Hamilton Health dot com, you will see when the next group coaching intake is starting for you. So we close the doors as soon as that intake is full or the Monday before the group coaching starts. So usually that last Monday of the previous month.
00:25:14
Speaker
So if you head over to Kate Hamilton health.com, all of that information that I've talked through is on the website. You'll be able to book your spot for the next intake there. And I will chat to you all then.
Making Health a Priority
00:25:30
Speaker
So, you know, when you ask clients, what are your values and health doesn't come up in it. So if someone listening is is doing that, it's like, what do I value on your listing things? And health isn't something that comes automatically to you.
00:25:42
Speaker
I think it's okay. It's important to recognize that it's okay that if up until this point in your life, health hasn't been a value of yours, that's okay when we're younger we kind of get away with it don't we and and we tend to be like social you know climbing the ladder socializing with our friends all those things tend to take priority but it do does kind of hit at like somewhere between 30 and 45 I think people are a bit like shit I need to start focusing on my health a little bit and it does and it happens to most of us and if you're listening to this podcast then you're obviously health is some sort of of of value to you so anyone listening this this is very relevant to
00:26:19
Speaker
And I think what you made the point there as well in relation to like those automatic behaviors, the automatic thoughts and, to be able to view yourself as this person with a new value of health and not having to always fall into the same thought patterns. The thought patterns might come, but you can also be like, I do value my health now.
00:26:40
Speaker
And you don't have to be stuck in the past. You're not defined by who you used to be. Like we all have a story. Not all of us have come from really perfect backgrounds. I don't doubt how anyone listening has come from but a perfect background.
00:26:53
Speaker
It doesn't define who we are no Exactly. Every day is a new day to reinvent yourself. Like this idea that I am who i am because of the past. I meet a lot of clients that felt that way. I even felt that way at one point until I finally realized that every version of you already exists.
00:27:15
Speaker
You literally just have to turn towards that version and you start with little action. So if today is your day that I'm gonna make health a priority, and don't think you have to rehaul Overhaul your whole life.
00:27:29
Speaker
You don't. It starts in the small actions, like make it easy. Make it easy and doable, especially at the beginning, and celebrate those small wins. And it might be just I value health.
00:27:44
Speaker
I'm going to stop binge watching Netflix until 1 a.m. m and go to sleep because sleep is the foundation of all health. I think it's one of the main pillars even before working out or anything else.
00:27:57
Speaker
Just something like that. I'm going to go to bed at 1030 instead of midnight and thank yourself for doing that. And that is a win for you, you know, in that day. It doesn't have to be a million things. You just simply have to find little moments of proof in your day that I'm living as a healthy person. And the more you show yourself that proof, that's where the rewiring in the brain happens and where the thought patterns can start to change a little bit more naturally.
00:28:27
Speaker
It does take time, it takes practice, but you just have to decide the person you want to
Embodying a Healthy Identity
00:28:34
Speaker
be. And what I also find helps is writing a list of who is this person that I want? Who is this healthy person I want to become?
00:28:43
Speaker
What does she do? What does she eat? How does she act? Does she go for a walk after dinner? Like create this whole persona on paper so that then in your everyday life, you kind of have that as an anchor to make decisions quickly. You know, you remember that,
00:29:01
Speaker
yes, this healthy version of me can take a flight of stairs before riding the elevator. So you see, it's not, I have to take the 15 flights of stairs.
00:29:11
Speaker
Maybe this time it's only one. Break those automatic habits that might've been associated with an older version of yourself, just breaking the pattern.
00:29:23
Speaker
with something small every day starts to build that proof. And if you continue with that, you will see you will naturally want to do more. Now one flight of stairs turns into two with no fight at all in your head.
00:29:35
Speaker
It might even lead to, wanna go check out that gym or that yoga class. and You start to see the change just happen naturally as you do very small actions in your day to confirm this healthy version of you that you're trying to embody and it doesn't have to happen all at once yes yeah no i couldn't agree more and i think as well it's about adding in rather than taking things away and i think having the mindset of that you're adding to your life you're adding in more sleep rather than taking away netflix no one's saying you can't watch netflix just adding in more sleep there we just might need to adjust the time frames it's we're adding in more vegetables we're adding in more protein rather than taking away carbohydrates or taking away chocolate or taking away, you know, we're not taking away dinners out with friends. we're We're adding in where, you know, I think when you're adding to your life, it kind of happens naturally. And you're so right. Like baby steps.
00:30:32
Speaker
Like you won't even notice the difference at first, like these changes, though, compound hugely over time. And like we all know, like, ah can you believe it's July? Like, where is 2025 gone so far?
00:30:43
Speaker
Time flies. So think about between now as you're listening to this and the end of 2025 by just making small little changes, just adding in, adding in your daily walk, adding in one trip to the gym a week or one home workout or whatever it is that, and like it doesn't have to be, you don't have be adding works, walkouts, walk, works, walk, works, workouts, protein, vegetables, sleep, the whole lot all in one go. Take it one thing at a time. What feels most manageable?
00:31:10
Speaker
And like I always say, it's about stepping out of your comfort zone, but never to the point of overwhelm. Like yeah you can't stay too comfortable. You're never going to change there. need to step, but not too, don't jump off the the cliff into overwhelm, just one step at a time.
00:31:24
Speaker
That's exactly it. And i love that you you brought up thinking of things as adding in because that is another thing I work on with my clients. Like whenever you feel resistance towards something, always think about what you're gaining. It's instead of what you're you're losing. We want to shift away from that scarcity, lack, restrictive mindset to that abundant mindset of always what you're gaining. You're gaining more help, your health, you're gaining more sleep, you're gaining more well-being. you're So i love that you brought that up. It's so important.
Fasting for Emotional Awareness
00:31:59
Speaker
In relation to talking about like adding things in and then taking things away, i think it's actually a really good time to bring in the topic of fasting. Okay. So what I loved that you said. So my first of all, like my main issue around fasting for clients that want to lose weight that I work with. So I'm not at all saying that intermittent fasting doesn't work and doesn't have health benefits. And we will talk about this now in a minute.
00:32:20
Speaker
But what I'm saying is have a lot of people come to they're like, oh i think I want to fast. And it's because they want a quick hit, a quick fat loss. They want to basically skip breakfast and be able to snack all evening and, you know, have a shorter window for to eat all the calories. are but You know, that there it there tends to not be the right intention behind fasting. So I find for most women that I work with, what works well is regular meals with a decent amount of protein, carbs and healthy fats, plenty of vegetables.
00:32:48
Speaker
You know, keeping full on the regular tends to work well, ah especially for keeping blood sugar level stable, cravings at bay, all of that. So this is this is the approach that I live myself and tend to teach others.
00:33:03
Speaker
However, you made a really, really good point there about fasting, which I would love to dive into a little bit, is that space for reflection. Because one thing that I've noticed for a lot of of women, they struggle with binge eating, emotional eating.
00:33:20
Speaker
And it's like, and I know you have experience with this where we're eating to suppress emotions, whether they are happy emotions, whether they're sad emotions, painful emotions. And the the approach that we take within my coaching is that we create that space.
00:33:34
Speaker
So what I have is that, you know, it's like you're creating a gap. between the emotion and the action when you are going for those biscuits, it's like, okay, I need 30 minutes. I need to go for a shower. I need to go for a walk. I need to go empty the hot press. Whatever you need to do.
00:33:49
Speaker
need to go full clothes. Do something, give yourself 30 minutes, and then come back to the situation as you're less emotionally drunk, right? That's the way I kind of look at it. So it's really interesting to me that gap that I'm talking about is exactly what you're talking about you experience from fasting.
00:34:08
Speaker
So tell me more. So first I'd love to address that although I am a fasting coach, that's what I put on my you know on my website and if people want guidance and fasting, I'm completely there. But just to say, i do not recommend it to every client.
00:34:26
Speaker
I do not think fasting is a the be all and end all. It's just one tool among many to achieve, to support your health. So the first thing I'll use, one of the first things I talk to clients about is why they want fasting. And definitely lee if they're coming to me from a place of, oh, I want a quick fix.
00:34:47
Speaker
I will not suggest they do fast. um I always say that they should start with a kind of set up phase before starting fasting, which would be to kind of get your sleep hygiene under control first before starting fasting.
00:35:06
Speaker
It would get your stress under control or at least have tools for managing stress before you start fasting. I would also suggest a week or two of Even if the goal is weight loss, which the majority women that come to me, that is what they want to do.
00:35:22
Speaker
I would say at least two weeks of not reducing your calories at all, but just switching to whole foods. And this is not to say we're never going to eat muffins or pancakes or whatever your love is ever again.
00:35:34
Speaker
But I'm just saying if you're new to fasting, have a period where you kind of clean up your your diet. Because a lot of times these cravings,
00:35:45
Speaker
are influenced by whatever your diet was. Like if you're coming off, you know, eating processed foods, carbs, and now you're jumping into fasting where you're going to have periods without food and your body's used to like, you know, functioning and getting energy from the constant intake of glucose, or i call it like sugar, sugar, fuel, fuel from sugar, then you are going to experience a lot of challenges during your fast.
00:36:14
Speaker
So I kind of recommend what would almost be, I guess, a keto diet almost for a couple of weeks before fasting, just to get your body used to using fat a little bit more as fuel, because that's what's happening during your fast.
00:36:31
Speaker
So that's number one, just to say, I don't think fasting is for everyone. or you don't need it. And sometimes when I get women to do that reset, they already, and even without reducing calories, all we did was fix the sleep, manage stress and take out processed foods. We didn't even cut calories.
00:36:49
Speaker
I even say, eat till you're satisfied. Just make sure it's whole food and prioritize protein and healthy fats and carbs. And they sometimes will already start seeing the weight loss they wanted before even fasting. And I'll say, keep going like this. Don't add in the fasting. We'll see later on.
00:37:05
Speaker
But if they've done that and they still want to go for the fasting for maybe other benefits, because I love fasting for every benefit more
Facing Emotions for Transformation
00:37:15
Speaker
than the weight loss. That is just a byproduct if you if you do it intentionally.
00:37:20
Speaker
But once you're in it and now you're starting your fasting again, I always say start slowly. we want to practice. eating enough and nutrient dense food during your feeding window. And then when you are in your fast, you're going to notice those cravings, those impulses to want to go eat.
00:37:39
Speaker
And this is where I invite women to Breathe, like get acquainted with those feelings, like learn yourself. It is so interesting to start to really understand yourself. So that automatic, I want to go get a snack is time to actually stop, pause, take a few deep breaths and really breathe into the feeling. And I invite them to tell me what is a craving for you?
00:38:07
Speaker
Name it physically, like, is it, tightness in your chest? Is it so certain thoughts start running through your mind when you want to go get that snack? Is it sweaty palms? Is it like your mouth starts to walk? Like name every physical feeling and this helps the separation of you and your choices and the craving itself instead of believing that the minute you feel what a craving is,
00:38:36
Speaker
that that is your cue to then go eat. Now, when those feelings come up, it's a cue to stop and go inward and kind of get that self-awareness and to ask yourself once you've done kind of that body scan of, oh, that's what a craving is for me, physically speaking. And then I start inviting them to ask questions like,
00:38:58
Speaker
what do i really need right now? What do I really need in this moment? And take a few seconds. And right now, the way I'm explaining it, it seems maybe long and cumbersome to go through this process, but it really is just a couple of minutes when you when you do it live in the moment.
00:39:15
Speaker
And sometimes you might, that's when you realize that, oh, I'm not actually hungry hungry right now. I'm feeling this. um One of my biggest personal realizations was that anytime I would be working, because I worked from home for a long time, and I still do with my health coaching clients, but if I hit a roadblock in whatever I'm doing on the computer,
00:39:39
Speaker
I have an automatic instinct to go get a snack. It's so odd that I didn't even really make the connection. like it was just, oh, I feel like having a snack. But now that I had to like stop, pause, breathe, what is this? What am I really feeling?
00:39:56
Speaker
And then it made me realize in that moment, like, oh yeah, I'm having a hard time right now is what I'm doing. Okay, Nikki, just breathe and let's keep going. And so, and sometimes I would do this process again and again and again, so many times throughout the day.
00:40:13
Speaker
And that's where I really start to see what are my triggers. And when you're very aware of what your triggers are and can take that second of pause between just impulsively going to snack or whatever the case may be, this is where your power lies. This is where the choice lives, is in that pause. And when you know what the trigger is, it makes the ability to make a choice even easier.
00:40:37
Speaker
Because you know what it is. It's not hunger. It's, oh, I'm stuck on this. It's not hunger. Oh, I'm just bored to tears right now. What can I work on? Maybe I can go for a walk. The more you know yourself, the more you know your triggers, the more you take that pause, the better you get at making ah choice in the moment.
00:40:55
Speaker
And that's what I love fasting for. And it's life changing when you get to that kind of realization where it's like we are so uncomfortable with getting uncomfortable when it comes to emotions.
00:41:09
Speaker
And like we are so distracted nowadays that it's really hard to actually, it's really hard to be bored, first of all. But it's ah ah even if it's a stronger emotion than boredom, like boredom is quite neutral, like it is boredom is quite negative in a way, but it's quite neutral too.
00:41:24
Speaker
There can be really, really tough emotions that come up that we are distracting ourselves with through social media, that we are using food to mask alcohol, cigarettes, whatever it is that we're using to to help us cope.
00:41:38
Speaker
And when you take away that the filling that void or that masking, that feeling, it really does make you have to face it head on and make the according changes.
00:41:53
Speaker
So it ends up sometimes, doesn't it, being a little bit more than just about food and health? Suddenly it's like, shit, my whole life needs to change. Not that you need to change your whole life, but that it can it can get to the stage. Well, like this is what happened to me. like During COVID, I was like, I don't want to be a teacher anymore.
00:42:10
Speaker
And it was the first time I had space to actually think about it. That it's amazing what changes you can make when you actually just face yourself head on. Yes, I agree. And same thing happened with me. So many realizations during COVID because of just having that time to sit and think and have time and space with ourselves. And I think we really do underutilize questions.
00:42:37
Speaker
quiet time with ourselves. It is such an amazing and powerful tool that wait we underutilize just for you know being able to understand ourselves better, to be able to maybe process emotions and things that happened in our day or even in the past sometimes.
00:42:56
Speaker
We don't like just sit with ourselves enough. um It can be really difficult, like you said, and it can bring up so many emotions, but I feel like it's necessary for real transformation. If you're ever having ah hard time achieving something, it may be time to just like sit and think and feel what's what's really going on here. Start asking yourself those questions and uncomfortable feelings might come up, but that's getting out of the comfort zone, like we said.
00:43:26
Speaker
Yeah. And that's going to lead to you putting these these things into your life that we spoke about earlier in the podcast. to create that healthy lifestyle for yourself when you really start to know yourself. But like, if you're not aware of these automatic behaviors in relation to, if we're talking about fasting, in relation to food and what you do to to mask emotions, if you're not aware of it, first of all, then you can't actually...
00:43:49
Speaker
change, like, you know, you can't change something you're not aware of. But what I, what I love, what you said as well about fasting is that, you know, all those fundamental habits need to be in place first. So it's kind of like supplementation in a way, isn't it? That like people ask me, what supplements should I be taking? I'm like, none until you fix your diet and your lifestyle, get more sleep, drink more water, eat more whole foods, deal with your stress. All of this stuff needs to happen first.
00:44:11
Speaker
But then it's just yeah quite interesting to me that this fasting can it can be a window too to this connection to her to ourselves that we find quite difficult to reach.
00:44:25
Speaker
What are the physical benefits to intermittent fasting from your perspective?
Physical Benefits of Fasting
00:44:30
Speaker
From my perspective and for many of my clients, I would say that mental clarity is a big one.
00:44:37
Speaker
I was dealing with so much brain fog, especially as someone who's in perimenopause. I really loved that as a benefit, improved sleep.
00:44:47
Speaker
And I just wanna caveat this. If you're already dealing with insomnia, I do not recommend starting fasting. Like I said, sleep has to be in place.
00:44:59
Speaker
So I feel like I just got deeper and better sleep. But if you're just, like I said, in a season of your life where things are very stressful and you're not sleeping, don't look at fasting as the fix, but it can improve. Fasting is just a tool to use to support your health.
00:45:16
Speaker
Just more energy, more sustained energy throughout the day. And I know that might be in opposition with what you were saying about having more regular meals throughout the day, prioritizing protein, healthy fats and carbs.
00:45:29
Speaker
But if you're eating enough and proper foods during your eating window, then I've noticed more sustained energy throughout my day. And I think it just depends person to person, you know, if that will be the case. Because I have seen people who eat the three, four, five meals a day, smaller portions, very nutrient dense. And they're doing great in life. So perfect. You don't need fasting.
00:45:56
Speaker
Me personally, if I eat the exact same foods, but not fasting, I personally will feel a bit more sluggish during the day. I feel more energy when I have those breaks between meals and fasting.
00:46:14
Speaker
So mental clarity, improved sleep, deeper sleep, more energy throughout my day. It clears up my skin. i feel that I really, I deal with autoimmune issues that present itself through my skin, like eczema, and that becomes under control when I do intermittent fasting every day.
00:46:34
Speaker
Yeah, I think, yeah. Well, this is not really physical, that's more mental, but I was going to say improved self-control and self-confidence. But if we're just looking at physical, I would say those are the main benefits. Mental clarity, better sleep, improved appearance of skin, more sustained energy during the day are the are the top ones that for me and that I hear from my clients.
Individual Health Approaches
00:46:57
Speaker
And I think what you've actually said really well here as well, what said without really saying is that there is no one size fits all. Fasting is not going to be for everyone. The way my approach with, you know, each regular smaller meals, that's not going to suit everyone as well. And and I do try and get this. i hope I get this across well through this podcast when I interview different people but from different areas of health, that there is no one size fits all. And we have to be curious and we have to see what works best for us.
00:47:25
Speaker
And if what if someone listening what If what they're doing now isn't working, it's again, back to what we were saying earlier in the podcast, stop trying to force something because when you get it right and it's right for you, it does.
00:47:37
Speaker
Although yes, oh yeah things can be difficult and we have to step out of our comfort zone and things can be uncomfortable. but it should also feel effortless and uncomfortable at the same time. That's kind of but like a, nearly a contradiction, but it's true, isn't it? Like it's, yes, you're feeling challenged, but you're kind of thrilled by the challenge and you're enjoying it. And I think that's really important. What I love to ask actually physically about the fasting cravings.
Managing Cravings and Gut Health
00:48:00
Speaker
Is this something that, you know, as from someone who's come from a background where there was a lot of restrictive eating going on, and I know you're not restricting by fasting, you you are fueling properly, but having a large window where you're not eating and a smaller window where you are, does it trigger cravings?
00:48:19
Speaker
If you set yourself up with a good prep, it allows you to manage cravings. First of all, they're they come up less, they're less intense and they're much more manageable if you have set yourself up properly before starting fasting. So what I mean by that is if you're coming from, like I was saying earlier, a diet where there's a lot of processed food, a lot of fried food or fatty foods, sugary foods, you've created a whole ecosystem in your gut So you're now going to have psychological cravings. That's more cravings that are habit. Like maybe you're used to eating a snack at a certain time.
00:49:00
Speaker
You're used to grabbing snacks. Like I was saying, when things, for me personally, things get tough when I'm working, I'll go grab a snack. Like these are more, just habitual desires to go eat food.
00:49:13
Speaker
But then there's also like a biological side of it, physical, physically, where if your gut microbiome is, biome is one where it's used to getting these sugary or high fat foods, your gut is literally sending signals within your body to keep eating those types of food to feed that microbiome.
00:49:35
Speaker
So to make things easier, if you take a week or two to before starting fasting to cut out those foods, and it happens relatively fast, the turnover of ah bacteria in your gut to one that are not tied to these sugary foods.
00:49:53
Speaker
And I always say, add fermented foods when you're doing this this week of cleanup. It will help to reset, put new healthy bacteria in your gut. And then when you eat the veggies and everything that feeds that good micro, the the good bacteria that's now in your gut so that now when you're into fasting,
00:50:12
Speaker
The cravings that come up are more on the psychological side than the biological, like that internal urge, the signals, yourre your bacteria wants to get fed with that that good sugary stuff.
00:50:27
Speaker
That's not an issue. You're dealing more with just patterns and habits now. And that is so much easier to manage than the physical side of things.
Balancing and Enjoying Fasting
00:50:37
Speaker
it kind of, it just makes it less intense.
00:50:41
Speaker
So let's say I went away on vacation. Sometimes I will drop all fasting. Like I am not, I'm i'm somewhere new. I love eating. I'm a foodie. I am going to eat. And so I might go for a away for two weeks and I'm eating all kinds of things that I'm not used to.
00:50:55
Speaker
And then maybe are sugary or whatever the case may be. i will not just jump right back into fasting when I get home because it will feel like torture. Like, my body is craving those types of foods. And it would be too hard for me to be in resistance against that. It's just, it would be like a fight against myself. So instead, this is where I go into eat until you're satisfied, but we're cleaning the diet.
00:51:23
Speaker
And so this is where even me, if I go away and i when I come back, I do the reset myself every time. And it's just eating clean once more for a week or two.
00:51:33
Speaker
getting those fermented foods in to kind of reset my belly and then i restart my intermittent fasting routine. So if you're able to do the reset, clean up your diet during the fasting period, the cravings are really not that intense and they're very much manageable. i feel like it's more the physical side of things that makes cravings feel unmanageable, difficult, just really not fun to deal with.
00:52:02
Speaker
And That's where it's hard. And that's why I never suggest someone just jumping from their regular lifestyle into fasting. So when you're fasting, what, how long do you fast for? And how many, like how many hours do you fast for? How many hours do you, is your eating window?
00:52:17
Speaker
So I'm definitely at a point now where I listen to my body. So I'm not on a strict protocol anymore. When somebody is newly starting out, I do suggest they stick to a protocol, but I can fast anywhere from zero hours a day to, um well, I would say it's always, cause I never eat as soon as I get up. So at least 12 hours.
00:52:40
Speaker
could be to 20 hours a day. And it depends, and this is not me forcing it, oh, let me eek out one more hour. This is how I feel good and I feel fine. Like, I'm not gonna eat if I feel good and I feel fine. and You know, and if I start to feel hungry, I'm going to, I'll eat. And as long as overall in my week, I am hitting my, you know, my calories, my macros. I'm a macro counting girly. I will admit that. I don't think everyone has to do it, but it gives me great data to make sure that I'm not under fueling.
00:53:16
Speaker
And so as long as overall in a week, I'm hitting those numbers for calories and protein and healthy fats and carbs, I'm not too worried about it. I might, you know, if it's before my cycle, I noticed that sometimes the week before I'm about to start my cycle, I feel more ravenous. I'll eat more carbs and I won't fast. Like, this is what I'm trying to say. It's not that serious, y'all. Like, ah like,
00:53:41
Speaker
Just listen to your body and you will be fine. As long as you're mostly, and not completely, because I love to eat, food is also an experience. as long as you're mostly eating healthy food, as long as you're living from those values of health and wellbeing and supporting yourself, it's not going to be a big deal if one week you don't feel like fasting. It's not going to be a big deal if today I fasted 12 hours, but tomorrow I'm on the go. Things are, it's a very active day and I'm not feeling hungry.
00:54:11
Speaker
I don't need to I'm gonna drink water, I'll drink my electrolytes, I'm fine. That's the thing, it's when we get into rigidity that life starts to feel more like a chore.
00:54:21
Speaker
So at the beginning and you're just learning with fasting, sure, do a protocol, start with 12 hours a day, that might just mean because your sleeping time counts as fasting time.
00:54:32
Speaker
That just might mean eating breakfast at 10, depending on when you get up, instead of immediately. It's not a big deal. Just practice with that. Stay a little bit more regimented at the beginning. But as you things start to feel effortless, as we said, that's when you can start playing around with things. And I actually see benefits in not sticking to a rigid fasting cycle forever.
00:54:58
Speaker
the body adapts very quickly. So if you're feeling great with your fasting and you've been doing 14 hour fasts for however long and you're feeling good,
00:55:09
Speaker
to 16 hours or throw in one 24 hour fast, play with it, have fun with it. What do you notice about yourself? What emotions came up now that you tried 24 hours for the first time?
00:55:21
Speaker
This is where just having fun, being aware of what's going on in your body is part of the process as well, because we want to stay in tune with our bodies to know when to scale it back maybe, because the goal is not just keep eating as less as possible and extending the window as long as possible. That's not the goal.
00:55:41
Speaker
And some people actually go into it thinking that like, oh, if fasting is good, more fasting must be better. And it's like, no, no, no, no. no That's not how it goes. Go gradually. stay in tune with your body. If you're feeling great and loving the results that you're seeing, play with it a little bit more. And don't forget the mental benefits as well, the self-awareness that comes along with it. I just see fasting as this holistic tool on so many levels to just support your health mentally and physically.
00:56:11
Speaker
you know what, Nikki, it's just been so refreshing to talk to you about all of these things, because what I love about your attitude, your approach is it's
Conclusion and Connecting with Nikki
00:56:22
Speaker
not rigid. It's not like this is right and this is wrong. You need to do this. You need to do that.
00:56:26
Speaker
And I think, you know, we have a lot in common when it comes to the mindset side of things and and the the step-by-step approach. And I've really enjoyed this conversation. I've taken a lot from it. I just want to thank you so much for for coming on and and sharing your expertise with us and your perspective on everything. If anyone is interested to connect with you, follow you, find out a little bit more about you, where's the best place to find you?
00:56:48
Speaker
Yes. So I can be found. I'm mainly on Facebook and LinkedIn. I feel like that makes me sound so old, but I don't know. I do have an Instagram account as well. It's just, it's that one is more personal, but everything is fasting with Nikki.
00:57:05
Speaker
And you if you search that either on Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram, you will find me. And if any of your audience has questions about what I said today, feel free to reach out. I love, I can talk all day about health, fasting, wellness, mindset. So i will welcome any questions they might have about what we talked about today.
00:57:26
Speaker
And I also have something that I will share with you that you can share with your audience, which is my two week mindset reset guide for anyone who may be interested in starting fasting, I want them to start the right way. And this guy just gives them step-by-step actionable steps to take to get you ready to fast so that it is an enjoyable, adventurous, fun, learn-about-yourself journey and not some willpower drag where you feel restricted because because I don't want that for anyone who's interested in fasting. I want them to go into it feeling empowered.
00:58:04
Speaker
And so I will share that with you that you can share with your audience. And so, yeah, fasting with Nikki. Amazing. Thank you so much. We will share that in the show notes and people will be able to click and have a look. And thank you so much.
00:58:18
Speaker
Thank you, Kate. Have a great day.
00:58:29
Speaker
I just want to say thank you so much for listening to the podcast. And i would just ask for one thing from you, if at all possible, could you make sure that you subscribe to the podcast? It really does make such a difference.
00:58:42
Speaker
If there's a particular episode that you've enjoyed, please do share it in your WhatsApp groups, share it on your stories, tag myself and the guest. in your stories. All of these things really do help to grow the podcast. And obviously, if there's anything you'd like to reflect on, please do leave a comment.
00:58:59
Speaker
It would mean the world to me and I will you on the next.