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Fueling Wellness: Allison Cazenave's Nutrition Secrets
3 Plays9 months ago
Join us as we delve into the world of nutrition with Allison Cazenave, a Registered Dietitian and expert in Oncology Nutrition. Allison shares invaluable insights into how proper nutrition supports fitness, weight loss, and overall health. Drawing from her extensive experience in various medical settings and her own private practice, she enlightens us on the integral role nutrition plays in healing and wellness. Amidst personal trials, including her husband's ongoing health battle post-COVID, Allison remains steadfast in her belief in the transformative power of nutrition and a positive mindset.
Get in touch with Allison for a personalized nutrition plan:
And as always, remember:
YOU ARE STRONG.
YOU ARE CAPABLE.
YOU ARE WORTHY.
I love you and I’m ENDLESSLY rooting for you!
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Transcript
The Significance of Body Composition
00:00:00
Speaker
Body composition is the bigger topic than just weight management and it's under a conversation piece. It's not talked about enough. As far as your body composition, how much muscle you have compared to how much body fat to your fluid.
00:00:17
Speaker
you can weigh the same. So Mandy and I can weigh the same, but we can have completely different body compositions and we can be completely different in health aspects. If she has low skeletal muscle mass, high body fat, she's clearly not in a healthier state than someone that is a good quality muscle mass with a moderate to lower body fat. So when we're looking at just
00:00:41
Speaker
food, nutrition, physical activity, movement, your body as a female, it all plays together, but it's so hard for females in general, males as well, but more females because we're so hard on ourselves, we're so critical.
Introducing 'Finding My Best Self' Podcast
00:00:55
Speaker
We want to look this way and then when we don't
00:00:59
Speaker
We just self-sabotage. Hey girl, welcome to Finding My Best Self, the podcast where it's totally okay to show up in your leggings and messy bun, because let's be real, that's our uniform here. The only rule is to be unapologetically yourself. And I'm Mandi, and joining me is Pam, the queen of finding the silver linings. We're here to share laughs, tears, and everything in between.
00:01:21
Speaker
Think of us as your new best friends with some stories to tell and wisdom to share. From face palms to victories, we're diving into the journey of self-discovery, wellness, and what it means to truly embrace who you are. So whether you're conquering the world or just trying to find your phone in the black hole, I mean purse, we've got you covered.
00:01:39
Speaker
Because here it's all about encouraging you to lace up those sneakers or don't, we're not judging. And join us as we explore what is truly means to own your confidence and find your best self. So pour yourself a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and let's get into it.
00:01:57
Speaker
Hello and welcome back to another episode of Finding My Best Self.
Guest Introduction: Allison Kosnov
00:02:02
Speaker
Today I have with me myself and Mandy and Allison and I should have asked you how to pronounce your last name before we got on because I will totally screw it up.
00:02:13
Speaker
So I will let Allison say her last name for you guys, but Allison is a wife and a mama and she wears so many hats. So I now told her that too. I was like, I typically would go down the whole list, but I will probably say a lot of those names wrong too. And there's a lot of them. So I'm going to let Allison tell you guys about herself.
00:02:34
Speaker
So, Alison, just a little bit about who you are, what you do, your husband, your children. Sure. So, last name is Kosnov. I'm Alison Kosnov from Houma, Louisiana, and I live in Thibodaux, and I am married.
00:02:50
Speaker
Don't ask me how many years, because I can't count in my head. We've been together since 2007, married in 14. I have a seven-year-old and I have a two-year-old, and life is just wild.
Career and Focus on Integrative Nutrition
00:03:02
Speaker
For my trade, I am a registered dietitian. I'm also an online health and fitness coach. At my full-time job at Maryburg Perkins, I'm an oncology certified dietitian, so I work with cancer patients throughout their treatment journey.
00:03:19
Speaker
and after as well. So we also have survivorship clinic where we work with them after they're done with treatment to help them get to their best self once they're done. Other credentialing that I do have is an integrative and functional nutritionist. That is my most recent credentialing along with a certified lead therapist where I work with
00:03:40
Speaker
food sensitivities and helping patients figure out specifically what they are sensitive to, removing it from their diet and following the LEAP protocol so that they feel better immediately. That is so much. I know. That's so amazing. How do you like... Oh, and I have my own personal online private practice. Sorry, I forgot to mention that. I do that on the weekends.
00:04:02
Speaker
I'm like, I'm like trying to keep up with you saying them all. And I'm all I can think while you're saying all this is how do you even keep up with life or, I mean, I know what it's like trying to keep up with one full time job and now starting MBS that come to podcasts. I'm like, I don't know how you keep up with all of that. You wake up before everybody else wakes up and you go to bed. Everybody else kind of has been asleep. Longer days and time management, I guess.
00:04:31
Speaker
That goes into what we were talking about before on the podcast. And I find that that's like a trend that we're seeing is waking up before everyone else. Like that's whenever you have to get that time out for yourself.
00:04:46
Speaker
Yeah, yes, I've been getting up at four since I started with Beachbody. I'm teen years ago, and it used to be just self development. And now it's just transition to working and doing my clients, educations and sessions preparing.
Balancing Life with a Structured Routine
00:05:01
Speaker
So it's just a transition. I've been a 4am or for a long time now. So now it's just a habit. It's not a chore anymore. Now, when you say that, so is that when also you work out or are you working out in the afternoon?
00:05:14
Speaker
I do I work out so I get up at four. That's when my alarm goes off. I kind of fiddle around get up about 410.
00:05:19
Speaker
I have a second alarm at 4.10 to make sure I'm out of the bed. And then I start with my pre-workout and I start working. And then around 5 o'clock, I go do my workout. I work out from about 5 to 5.45. I get ready for myself after that. And then at 6.30, my alarm goes off and I'm getting my kids up and getting out the door for 7.15. No time for error. That's how it's done. No time for error. Yeah. No, I get that.
00:05:49
Speaker
my morning. Like if I don't have, like you said, 10 alarms set for different things, like I'm it because I mean, I get it because you're in the middle of your work or you're in the middle of your workout and you get to the time that you're going to have to get ready. And it's like, Oh, I can't push getting ready because then I have to get the kids ready. And so it does, it has to be structured in order to fit it all in. Absolutely.
Journey into Oncology Nutrition
00:06:11
Speaker
Well, going back to your work,
00:06:13
Speaker
Is there anything specific career wise that drove you to wanting to do each of them? Like I know that it started with oncology, but what has kind of been the progression to get all of these certifications?
00:06:26
Speaker
So starting, I guess, starting with my clinical career, I started in the wellness field when I got my registered dietician. When I became a registered dietician, I started in the wellness field. And then from that job, I was actually not even in the dietetics field for a while. I couldn't find a job locally. So I was doing
00:06:47
Speaker
more retail and then got a job at a local hospital and have kind of just transitioned from that within the clinical field. I started as an inpatient dietitian and was kind of nicely forced into the oncology world and the certification on that end was merely for self-development and education because I had no knowledge. I was brand new and
00:07:11
Speaker
in my internship, we didn't have any educational and oncology nutrition and I know it sounds crazy. I had no idea that was a thing. So when they told me that's what I was going to do and I'm like, okay, well, you got to tell me what I need to do because I don't know. So that certification was more started along the lines of I'm going to order this book, I'm going to study so I know how to help my patients. I need to know
00:07:33
Speaker
what I can do to make them better and do my job to the best of my abilities rather than just kind of flying by the seat of my pants and okay well this is what I was told so I guess this is what you need to do. So it was more just kind of on my end and then I've been an oncology certified dietitian for about four years and as of last October with my private practice
00:07:56
Speaker
really got into the integrative and functional nutrition aspect because I wanted to look at the body as a whole. I didn't want to just look at food. I wanted to look at how stress plays into it, hormone management, kind of just all the factors that the body goes
Holistic Health Beyond Nutrition
00:08:10
Speaker
through. It's not just nutrition. It's major. It's a big part of it. But what else can we do to compound the health
00:08:16
Speaker
aspect of nutrition and your whole body. Yeah. That's crazy. So I'm going to share something and only because I know that I can because she told me it's okay. Um, cause I know that you can't speak about your patients, but I talked with Brandy and Brandy, if anyone listened to the podcast episode, the interview that we did with Brandy Verda, you actually helped her.
00:08:38
Speaker
at some point because Brady is. I didn't know that. How cool. Yes, I know. I know. I was texting with her the other day, just giving her, we actually got some more pictures in. So I was like, we got more pictures, go check them out. And then she gave me some feedback from her doctor that she recently got. And
00:08:59
Speaker
I told her for whatever reason, the podcast got brought up and I was like, we have someone coming on who's at, you know, does oncology or whatever. And she was like, Oh my gosh, is it Alison? Please tell me it's Alison. She was so excited. She was like, if it's not, I'll be excited no matter what. Please tell me it's Alison. So she clearly loves you so much and that you've helped her in her journey.
00:09:19
Speaker
So I wanted to tell you that's all that I wanted to do when I started and same with my practice outside is So when I'm in the cancer center, there's that aspect but there's so much more help to be had outside of that and as a dietitian, it's Scary to do it on your own. So if you're not in an outpatient facility a clinic, it's just I feel like it's such a under pushed opportunity
00:09:45
Speaker
for health because a lot of our health crisis starts with exercise, movement, nutrition, food choices. And we live in South Louisiana.
00:09:54
Speaker
Everything is comfort food, good food, fatty food. My reason was to just have an opportunity for someone. If they needed me, I was there. And it's kind of just exploded, which I'm super thrilled about. And then where the future holds, I'm not sure. But it's been a whirlwind and exciting one, for sure. Yeah. You mentioned nutrition and hormones. And so Mandy and I recently had a conversation about this. This was just a personal conversation her and I were having
00:10:23
Speaker
about how eye opening it was for us whenever we found out about the correlation between what we eat during different times of our cycle in the month and how much it can help how you feel just because, you know, us women, we have at different points in our cycle with the hormone levels fluctuating that there's actually protocol for the different types of foods that you can eat to help you to feel better and not have those, you know, those waves and those ups and downs during the month as much.
00:10:52
Speaker
Isn't it incredible? That's crazy
Nutrition and Women's Cycle
00:10:55
Speaker
to me. I wish I would have knew about that a long time ago, because it would have helped a lot of months of just struggling and pain. But it is even the workouts, tailoring your workouts for that certain time too. So it's really intriguing. And that's why another reason why I wanted to have you on here, because not only back in our Beachbody days,
00:11:18
Speaker
We, uh, you know, just connected on health and fitness and all of that, but just, it's really inspiring to see what you have done and what it's, it's taking you to and open in that conversation that I think neat. Like you said, there's so much to be had. So yeah.
00:11:34
Speaker
So I know you said that you don't have necessarily any sort of pivotal moment in your life, but is there maybe anything that you've maybe dealt with just recently, personally, that's kind of, I guess, in your career or in your personal life?
00:11:52
Speaker
personal life always. And then career wise was starting this. So just kind of backstory, I dive everything headfirst. I'm just like, I'm gonna figure it out later. Mandy can attest to this. When I started Beachbody, didn't second guess it. I thought it would be cool to be on TV. I was never on TV, but it was still cool. Mandy got into TV time. I did not.
00:12:19
Speaker
And then with this side, I call it a gig, but career, someone, a friend, another dietician said, hey, you want to do this at the same time? It'd be cool to help people. And I'm like, sure. So I didn't even ask questions, which is interesting.
00:12:36
Speaker
And then my husband has been ill on and off for about five or six years. So that's kind of been hard. I'm kind of the go to work mom and then I come home and he's there helping with the kids. So it's a little different life than I expected. You know, when you think about
00:12:55
Speaker
when you started the marriage with two working individuals, that's kind of what you anticipate and you don't expect it. I'm 35 now, so 30 that your life is going to be turned upside down and you're not a one income household, but a one working parent household. It's
00:13:11
Speaker
it's different and it's difficult, but you adapt. And I didn't even tell him that I was starting this. I didn't tell him that I was starting the new education that I was doing. I just, I'm focused on improving me so that I can improve us as a family and as a couple as well in the future. So that's kind of where my guess, my grind and hustle comes from is how can I make us in the best position for all the opportunities that may come, you know?
00:13:41
Speaker
I love that. I want to like scream, preach, like really loud because
Embracing Uncertainty in Decision-Making
00:13:47
Speaker
yes, because that's something that we, that we talk about so much of a few things, right? It's just the taking care of you. First of all, first and foremost is I'm going to do the things that I know that I need to do, whether
00:14:02
Speaker
it is physically in my career, you know, mentally, whatever those things that it is that you need to do to make you your best self. Because when you do, then everything else follows. You have a better marriage, you're a better mom to your kids, you're a better, better, you know, daughter or sister, whatever the case may be. So all of those things, it plays such a big factor. And then just the
00:14:24
Speaker
Like you said, you just go for it. So when an opportunity presents itself, there's no, don't overthink it. And that's something that I can't preach to people enough. It's just not to overthink it, not to try and talk yourself out of it. Don't do, don't play the what if game, you know, what if, what if it doesn't go right? What if I fail? What if, what if, what if it's just, just go for it. And so like you said, you just don't even think about it. Just yeah, sure. Okay. Let's go. Maybe think a little bit, but not too much.
00:14:55
Speaker
Not too much. One thing that I've always told people, you know, when I first thought about doing MBS, because Manny and I laugh, like her and I are very much like that too, just like you is that, you know, we think of something and we're like, Oh, okay, I'm gonna do this. Okay. Something else comes up. Oh, great. Let's do that too. And then, you know, and then sometimes we're like, Oh, maybe that shouldn't have done that.
00:15:14
Speaker
So let's, you know, try something else. But so this time around, I did take a little bit of time to think about it. Not a whole lot. It was like two weeks. But what I tell people is that when you can't stop thinking about it, when it stays on your mind, then you need to do it. It's meant to be. Absolutely. Yeah. For sure. And I think that too, because, you know, just, I mean, going back to everything that you've talked about is if you overthink it too much, kind of like that situation that you had
00:15:42
Speaker
that you almost talk yourself out of it. And so it seems to be just looking back on years of doing it over and over is even when the times that it may not have worked out like you wanted, something came out of it, right? So like something either a relationship, a friendship, or some type of situation where you had to learn in that situation has always prepared you for like the next thing. And so I can honestly say that about you, Allison, because even going back to
00:16:12
Speaker
Like I keep going back to Beachbody cause that's just, you know, yeah, I knew we were that, but you know, like I, I got to know you even more than, and I feel like everything that you did there, you have brought into what you're doing now, you know, just helping people, even creating things, you know, all the, all the graphics and everything we had to do back then, like all of that has, has, you know, it's helped now.
00:16:40
Speaker
Gosh, I sent her a picture the other day. And it was a graphic that I made a long time ago. I didn't even know what it was on. And my feet were cut off. And I'm like, oh, it's come so far. It's just like, you know, you live and you learn and you figure it out. But, gosh, that's horrible. But I do know that even that experience and everything going back to helping people then has, even for me and Pam, helped us to do this now.
00:17:09
Speaker
everything kind of leads to the next thing, whether it worked out the way that we wanted or it didn't, it's prepared us for the next thing in life. So it's, it's pretty neat to see it play out that way. Well, yeah. And just because you wanted X to happen, doesn't mean that Y and Z isn't better. You know, it doesn't have to be how you wanted it. It can just be a different path. Right. Well, I know we talked a little bit about time management, but whenever it comes to, I guess let's, let's go back to like mom life, right?
Work-Life Balance Strategies
00:17:39
Speaker
So I know that you're working, you're doing different things. Do you have kind of a routine in the afternoon as far as like family time or time management in that sense? Cause I know that that's what I struggle with, right? Like we're constantly, we're at work, we come home, we have other things to do business wise. And so how do you carve out a time for like family time in a sense? Yeah. So my schedules on the weekend are two slots per day and the rest are
00:18:07
Speaker
for my family and for my exercise, because I do run on the weekends too, so it's a little bit longer. During the week when I get home, I really don't start opening a computer, emails, anything until Catherine goes to bed at about 7.30, 8 o'clock. So just trying to find the time and then making the most of it, trying to stay present. It's challenging because you want to answer the email. You want to answer the text because there's always that urgency there, but it can wait.
00:18:36
Speaker
Yeah, I know we've talked about that. Oh, yeah. This episode is brought to you by MBS Fitco. Excitement is in the air at MBS Fitco as we prepare for our upcoming launch. We're introducing a line of premium activewear designed to seamlessly fit into both your workout routines and daily life. Our versatile collection is perfect for your workouts and equally suited for your day-to-day tasks, ensuring you look and feel your best, no matter the occasion.
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Speaker
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Speaker
MBS Fitco is more than just activewear. It's a lifestyle. Join our community and be part of our exciting journey from day one to celebrate fitness, self-care, and your hero within. Don't just wear it, live it. All right, now let's dive back into this episode. Okay, so you said two things. You said that you carve out time for your children and your family and that you carve out time for you.
00:19:48
Speaker
And so I'm going to say it again. I'm going to, I sound, I know I sound so repetitive, but it is carving out time for everyone. And it's almost like a time blocking thing. And I know this sounds crazy and I know it sounds like, is that really what life has come to? Right? Is that we have to like time block, but when you're busy and everyone has in this day and age,
00:20:11
Speaker
Everyone has so much going on, right? Everybody is so busy, whether it is between, again, their family at home or their careers or the birthday parties and the bridal showers and everything. There's always so much going on. You know, someone wants you to go hang out here and there and it's so
00:20:30
Speaker
How do you make sure that you are still having that one on one family time and how you are still going to make sure that you have your me time and it's putting those first and you have those times scheduled in like that is
00:20:46
Speaker
You know, so it's just as hard as it is to say no to responding to the emails and stuff like that. It's also saying no to people when they're like, Oh, well, you know, there's this party or there's this party or Hey, let's hang out. It's well note that is this time or sure we can come, but we won't be there until this time, you know, and it's not just because if not, then you're, you're giving your life away to whoever else, right?
00:21:10
Speaker
And I think that that's what's most important in what you said is that you, it's carving out that time and making sure that you follow that as much as you possibly can. So that's really important.
Nutrition's Role in Fitness and Body Composition
00:21:23
Speaker
Okay. So let's talk about nutrition because that is a lot of what you do, right? A lot. The majority of what you do falls back on nutrition. So, and a lot of what we talk about on here is just physical fitness and being active and stuff. So I want to, I want you to really talk about the, the correlation between nutrition and fitness. Cause I know how I see it and how I preach it and how
00:21:49
Speaker
you know, that as much as physical fitness is important, nutrition is really important. Yeah. In your professional opinion, because you're the professional, I say it, I'm just, you know, Oh, you just, you just work out. You're just beach body girl. So, you know, you can't exercise a bad diet. So you have to make them pair. You have to marry them.
00:22:10
Speaker
Um, and I'm not saying that you can't have a good bowl of gumbo, you know, it's all about balance and it is about movement too, but purposeful movement. So I love to tell my patients that just because you walked up the stairs to go fold your clothes doesn't mean that that's your exercise. Like I need you to get your heart rate up. And if that's what gets your heart rate up, we'll work on getting a little better, but we need purposeful exercise. And specifically as we age, we lose muscle mass.
00:22:37
Speaker
females in general, body composition is the bigger topic than just weight management. And it's under-conversated piece. It's not talked about enough. As far as your body composition, how much muscle you have compared to how much body fat to your fluid, you can weigh the same. So Mandy and I can weigh the same, but we can have completely different body compositions and we can be completely
00:23:04
Speaker
Different in health aspects if she has low skeletal muscle mass high body fat She's clearly not in a healthier state than someone that is a good quality muscle mass with a moderate to lower body fat so when we're looking at just
00:23:21
Speaker
food, nutrition, physical activity, movement, your body as a female, it all plays together, but it's so hard for females in general, males as well, but more females because we're so hard on ourselves, we're so critical. We wanna look this way and then when we don't, we just self-sabotage and sometimes, you know? Yeah, we know all too well.
00:23:46
Speaker
But yeah, I honestly think that that's something that we've also talked about just, you know, going back to that time where we were super, more super critical of
Changing Dietary Needs with Age
00:23:57
Speaker
ourselves. And that's something that we're trying to bring awareness to also is that, you know, what happened five, 10 years ago is not going to be the same case. Now your body, like you said, your body composition or just how your body runs, something that you did then is just, it's not the right
00:24:15
Speaker
course of action for you now to get the results that we ultimately want to see. Yeah. I know I've dealt with that a lot recently, um, because I am very young to be going through this, but I'm actually going through perimenopause right now. So my diet and nutrition has totally changed on me because of that. Like my hormones are not the same. And because of that, like my diet has to be different. It's crazy because I noticed that the way that I used to eat when
00:24:44
Speaker
let me go back let me step back before i say that so you said that about the body weight about how to people can be the exact same way exact same high exact same everything and have different.
00:24:55
Speaker
body composition. So I have and I've kept all of these pictures over the years. I have side by side pictures of me when I was at my absolute best as far as body fat percentage goes. And I think I would think I was right around 147 pounds at that time. My body fat percentage was down to it was like 15%.
00:25:15
Speaker
but I also, and I was in a size two at the time, but I also have pictures of me at 147 pounds and I have no idea what my body fat percentage was, but I was wearing somewhere between a size, I was wearing a size eight and close at the time. So it's crazy to see and to understand that when
00:25:34
Speaker
It's your body fat percentage, your muscle mass, all of that makes such a big difference. And I look so different in those two pictures side by side. Physically, you can look at me and see how different I look. And you feel different as well. Oh, God. Yes. Yield the difference. Absolutely. Yeah.
00:25:51
Speaker
And so what I was going to say, so going back into how, you know, my diet at that time when I was eating and cutting fat and working out the way that it was, I have attempted to try to eat like that now. And my body is like, no.
00:26:07
Speaker
No. And it's all just because my hormones are so different. And so I've learned that I have to eat a different way now to, you know, to maintain where I'm at because I can't eat that way anymore. So it's the nutrition side is just, it's so, it's so intense and it's so unique, but I, you know, I do, I see people a lot that are like, you know, I work out and I work out and I work out and I'm, you know, I'm not losing weight. And I'm like, well, what are you eating?
00:26:35
Speaker
you know, because it's the nutrition is first and foremost, like it's, it's really an 80 20. In my opinion, like it is so much more the food that you're eating than the workouts that you're doing. And also the quantity I feel like kind of since I've gotten into this side business, the volume of food and calories that people are eating is so marginal compared to their needs. So we all have an estimated nutrition needs based on your body composition.
00:27:03
Speaker
your weight, your height, your age, your gender, you have an estimated needs. And just, we have to eat enough to even be able to lose the weight and the body fat. And then just, it's eye-opening to see that when people go on diets, they restrict so much. And like you're saying, they work out, they work out, they burn all the calories, but they're not fueling, they're not giving their body even half the nourishment that they need to meet that goal. So how is your body gonna keep running,
00:27:33
Speaker
kind of mastering everything it has to do if you're not fueling it, you know? Yeah. So polar opposite too, right? So a lot of people immediately think like, you know, oh, I'm eating too much. That's why I'm not losing whereas some people it might be the complete opposite is that you're not eating enough in order to lose the weight. And again,
00:27:51
Speaker
that is what I started to notice is at that time when I was younger, when I was 10 years younger and able to cut fat and all of that stuff is I was able to work out and eat this many calories and I was cutting fat and all like gaining all this muscle
Caloric Needs and Under-Eating
00:28:04
Speaker
and stuff. And I couldn't do that now because my body will not like I require a little bit more calories and a different type of calories in order for my body to cut. And it's been a struggle, right? Cause after years of me doing that and I kept and I'm like, I'm eating the right things. I'm doing what I was doing before and it's not working while
00:28:21
Speaker
Why is this not what is wrong? And it was because I wasn't taking in enough calories. I wasn't eating enough. I was really, and truthfully, I was starving myself. Starvation, absolutely. And just not knowing. And I thought I was like, I'm doing what I was doing before. And so as our bodies, as women, as we change, hormones change and we get older, a lot of things change.
00:28:43
Speaker
It took a lot of understanding for me to, you know, and it's not talked about enough. It's like you said, it's not talked about enough that for people to know and understand this that, you know, that your body's changed and also just metabolism in general slows down as we age to top of that. So it's fun. It's fun being a female. And that's literally the conversations we've had. We're like, man, at some point it just seems like it, it goes downhill, but it really doesn't. It's just, you have to change up your mind.
00:29:13
Speaker
to doing something else that you, you wouldn't have thought to do, you know, like I've tried, I mean, everything under the sun, I think at this point, and going back to you just doing the food sensitivities. A couple of years ago, I did one of the tests for food sensitivities. And I was curious, you know, I was eating the rice, the chicken, the broccoli, all these things. And I was breaking out in rashes and bloated and just feeling disgusting, really.
00:29:42
Speaker
And come to find out I had a very high food sensitivity to broccoli. And so anytime I eat broccoli, I have the same reactions and it was the healthy food, right? It's like, how is the healthy food making me feel like garbage right now? And it's because of the sensitivity, so. Yep. Leave it to Mandy. You made me laugh. I want to be like, we're all doomed. We're all doomed. Down here. It's all doomed. I mean, you know.
00:30:10
Speaker
I'm reaching 40 right now, so it's good times. That's what I said, like this perimenopause thing. I'm like, what the heck is this? What is going on with my body? I don't like it. Make it stop. Yeah. Yeah. And then somebody commented on, posted a picture of me working out last night or whatever. They were like, you look like you're 25. And I'm like, yes, getting younger. My body is not telling me that. But if I look that way, then great. That works. Oh my gosh.
00:30:39
Speaker
Well, if we had to switch gears and talking about just doubt and uncertainty, whether it's your professional life or your home life, like, is there any kind of like doubt or uncertainty that has kind of like stopped you from doing things? I mean, I know you go full in and go full force, but you know, I feel like we always have those kind of like self-doubt moments. Sure. It's like, okay, am I on the right path? Am I doing the right thing? So what would that have been for you?
Overcoming Self-Doubt and Career Changes
00:31:08
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I'd say yes and no, like I mean, same as Beachbody, we're going to keep going back there. But you know, when you do so well, and you get so amped about something, you want to know how you can do more. And there's only so many hours in a day. So like, I work nine, well, 830 to four. No, I'm sorry. I work eight to five.
00:31:28
Speaker
I don't even know my hours at this point. And then you come home and then you find time to do the other things. But like, what if things could be different, but the doubt creeps in? Well, this is a great job. This is a stable job. What would life look like elsewhere? You know, not job, but maybe do what I'm doing on the side full time. But it's always terrifying. Always. I can't jump full in on everything, right? Have to have some doubt and some fear.
00:31:57
Speaker
Well, I mean, we can. I think it's just, I don't know. And I feel like that that goes back to just that personal development that you take time to do. Because if we're constantly in our head telling us, oh, it didn't work out before. So who's to say this is going to work out? Like, am I wasting my time putting my energy into something? But a lot of that
00:32:19
Speaker
gets validated whenever you you feel you know that sense of purpose and things are going the way that they should be going and it's kind of like you have to reassure yourself like i am on the right path you know doing whatever i need to do yeah that's where for me that's where a lot of the journaling comes in or just the the little bit of time that i take to just sit alone in my thoughts it helps with that a lot that for me personally that's that's where i'm able to
00:32:48
Speaker
work through those thoughts because they pop up so much for me, they do, personally. So what is one piece of advice? Of all the advice that you can give, with all the hats that you wear, what's the one piece of advice that you give our listeners based on something that you've learned in life?
Pursuing Dreams Despite Challenges
00:33:08
Speaker
Go for the biggest and the hardest dream because every step along the way is going to get you a little bit closer to something
00:33:17
Speaker
Even if it's not where the dream is, it's things along the way, and that's your ideal dream, so everything will fall into place. Don't change gears, don't give up, just keep going, no matter how long it's gonna take you, but you'll be happy if you keep going. Yeah, just don't stop. I love that, yeah.
00:33:34
Speaker
Yeah, don't stop because I feel like we stop ourselves like every time. And it's like we said, just to, I guess, kind of recap what was said earlier. It's not to stop because even if it's not, like you said, even if it's not the dream that you're going for, even if it's something
00:33:50
Speaker
what you would consider even if it's a lesson. Even if it's a lesson that comes out of it, it's still for the greater good. And that's the biggest thing for me is always letting people know that even when it seems like it's not good or even when it seems like it's bad, the lessons are blessings.
00:34:06
Speaker
because it's something that you can learn and grow from, but it will eventually lead you to whatever the next thing is. And then you'll be like, well, I already know that not to do whatever from, you know, whatever happened before. So even, even the bad is always, it's always, always a good. So if you wanted our listeners to take away one thing, and I know we talked earlier about running, so I, I
Setting Personal Goals for Progress
00:34:32
Speaker
don't know. I don't necessarily know if we want to talk about running, but
00:34:35
Speaker
I did want to kind of add that in that you are an avid runner and you talked about, you know, I guess that was my question too. Like as far as taking away, you always have done hard things and you've all, I say it's hard because you know, I'm not a runner, but just in general, like you've always put your best foot forward and tried something new and everything. So if you had to give one piece of information just for the listeners to take away, whether it's nutrition, fitness, you know, self-improvement, what would that be?
00:35:04
Speaker
First of all, I'm not an avid runner. I just like to run. You are an avid runner. Avid. I run for the peace and the sanity of the crazy. It's fine. Is it every day? No, absolutely not. Absolutely not. OK. Not avid. You can take that out. I think I'm kind of going to fall back on that last one. It's just set the goals that you want, whether it is in fitness, in just your day to day life, in your
00:35:34
Speaker
self-development, your self-improvement, but you need the goals. If we don't set them, we'll never reach them. So setting the goals and like we said, even if it's not where we, where we're going to be or where we thought we'd be, you're still closer too. But if we talk ourselves out of it, you've at least started some of it because you thought through it, but we need to start with setting the goals because I feel like women
00:35:58
Speaker
In general, we're more hesitant because we think of everybody else first, right? So we need to set our goals so that we can even get the first foot forward. Because if we don't set them, they're just getting pushed back and back. And then you're going to look back and say, oh, I wish I had done that. And you don't want that. You want to get what you want, you know?
00:36:17
Speaker
Absolutely. So our famous question that we like to ask and how we end all of our episodes, what does finding my best self, the woman beyond the Cape mean to you? Oh, okay. So beyond the Cape in my eyes is the human that we are. So finding your inner peace, time, tranquility, just putting the Cape aside and finding your best you can make you
00:36:47
Speaker
or help you become a better mom with the cape or a woman with the cape. You can't be your best self if you're not giving everything back. You can't, again, same as the empty cup. You cannot keep filling from an empty cup. You have to keep rejuvenating. You make sure you're happy, you're healthy, you're in your good frame of mind so that you can be a good mom, a good wife, teacher, dietician. We'll throw that out there. Runner, all of it.
00:37:15
Speaker
you just, it has to start within. I love that. 100%. I know. That is it. And it goes back to everything else that we've talked about. It all comes back to us. And if we're not doing the things that fuel us, then we can't be our best self for us or anyone else. Absolutely.
00:37:33
Speaker
Well, thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Alison, so much for coming and sitting with us today and talking. If you're listening and this episode resonated with you, like social media, TikTok, like comment. Like and subscribe. Leave us a review.
00:37:51
Speaker
Share this episode with a friend. We're looking to expand our podcast out to more audience and help other women around the world and just to get it out there. So like I said, if it resonated with you, share it with someone and we will be back soon. Our next episode will be Mandy and I. We have a duo episode that we've recorded for you guys.
00:38:14
Speaker
And last but not least, you are strong, you are capable, and you are worthy. We love you and we're endlessly rooting for you. We'll catch y'all next time.
00:38:24
Speaker
Well, that's a wrap on today's episode of finding my best self. It's been real. It's been fun. We hope you found a piece of your story in ours and feel a little more inspired to chase after your best self. And don't forget to share this episode with someone who needs a little boost today or a good laugh and make sure to subscribe to our podcast. So you never miss an episode. Nothing says owning your confidence, like a new outfit from MBS Fitco. Check out the show notes for the link to shop our luxury athleisure. Go ahead, girl, treat yourself.
00:38:54
Speaker
And if you've got a story to share or a topic you're dying for us to cover, drop us a line. Our email is in the show notes. Just reach out and let's keep the conversation going. So until next time, keep owning your confidence, embracing the chaos. And remember, the best version of you is just an episode away. And again, we love you and we're endlessly rooting for you.