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Netflix and Lift with Magan Mourad (sponsored by OnCall.AI)
24 Plays14 hours ago
Yasi and Steven get the unique opportunity to talk with one of the stars of Netflix's reality game show "The Ultimatum: Queer Love", Magan Mourad. Before she was exploring marriage with her partner, Dayna, she was competing at the U.S. National Weightlifting championship and becoming a fitness influencer. We get to chat with her about fitness in her life, her goals as an influencer, issues with sexual identity and family, how she survived the show through weightlifting and classical piano, and what's next for her.
Magan's instagram: @maganmourad
Her first podcast interview after the show: https://www.tiktok.com/@maganmourad/video/7525140317603958046
MSN article on Magan and Dayna: https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/relationships/are-dayna-mathews-magan-mourad-still-together-after-the-ultimatum-queer-love-season-2/ar-AA1HQiaw
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Transcript
Podcast Introduction & Sponsorship
00:00:06
Speaker
Welcome to the Athletes in the Arts podcast, hosted by Stephen Karaginas and Yasi Ansari.
00:00:20
Speaker
Hi there again, and welcome to the Athletes in the Arts podcast. I'm your host, Stephen Karaginas, joined as always by Yasi Ansari, and we welcome you to our little show. We want to thank our show's sponsor, OnCall.ai.
00:00:34
Speaker
If you want to make more money as a healthcare provider, use OnCall.ai to easily document and bill your phone calls and visits. Go to getoncall.ai to learn more and try it for free.
00:00:47
Speaker
OnCall.ai, software that improves physician lives.
Introducing Megan Marad: Fitness Influencer & Reality TV Star
00:00:51
Speaker
So today we take a deeper dive into the weightlifting and reality TV worlds. That's a pretty unique combination, but our guest today has extensive experience in both.
00:01:01
Speaker
Megan Marad is a fitness influencer and avid Olympic weightlifter who competed in the U.S. Weightlifting National Championships a few years back. However, she is now known all over the country as one of the contestants on Netflix's hit TV show, The Ultimatum Queer Love.
00:01:17
Speaker
She and her partner, Dana, were casted along with several other couples to find out if they are meant for marriage. So about her experience on the show, well, that's what we're going to talk about today. Love, intimacy, fitness, sexual identity, family, so many things to talk about.
00:01:33
Speaker
So let's get into it. So Megan, thank you so much for being on our show today.
Megan's Reality TV Experience: Social Media & Personal Recognition
00:01:39
Speaker
Thank you so much for having me. I'm doing so good. Awesome. Well, it sounds like you've been having a very busy summer since your show dropped.
00:01:46
Speaker
So what's it been like for you to suddenly become ah nationwide star? ands so That's one way to call it. feel like everyone kind of has their like perspective on the show. So I'm like...
00:01:58
Speaker
characterized in like different names, I guess. But honestly, it's, it's cool. It's just like a different life, really. It's like, like some people recognize recognize you on the street and all the in person interactions I've had have been all like positive, but I've definitely got like a mixed feedback on social media. And yeah, everyone's got their opinions.
00:02:19
Speaker
That is one as one way
Motivation for Joining Reality TV: LGBTQ Representation
00:02:21
Speaker
to put it for sure. So what led you to like smile-mannered young lady from Dearborn, Michigan to suddenly want to become a reality TV star? So, yeah. So the goal wasn't to become a reality tv star. It was more so like, like there wasn't a lot of representation.
00:02:39
Speaker
um Like, I guess like, With the LGBTQ world, like reality TV of that. And after watching season one, which was a spinoff off of the original Ultimatum straight version, it was called Marry or Move On.
00:02:53
Speaker
The spinoff was the queer love. And there was only one season that was out. And so when we watched it, it was like, it was like a lot more. I don't want to say control, but not a lot of... There wasn't as much messiness or like drama.
00:03:08
Speaker
um And it was... um like We related a lot more like emotionally. So we took our situation that we were having in real life and we just figured that it applied to the show's concept.
00:03:20
Speaker
And we thought that... um it would just be a good opportunity for us to figure some things out in our relationship based off of like Dana's concerns for me or like my concerns of
Challenges of Filming & Emotional Toll
00:03:32
Speaker
Dana.
00:03:32
Speaker
And, um, yeah, it was, I think one thing that we like, I guess, you know, there's just like such innocence before. Cause when you're not on reality TV, you don't really understand like the basis of like why they're doing things or like what's going to come out if you don't really watch a lot of reality TV. And I didn't,
00:03:51
Speaker
um I kind of figured it would be like a documentary type thing. And I didn't realize that entertainment was like the the moneymaker. Right. Yeah. A little more coercion, little more shaping of the narrative, so to speak. A little bit, yeah.
00:04:06
Speaker
Yeah. But it must be interesting to go through a an experience like that where you are kind of like turning yourself inside out. Like your you know things that you keep to yourself or to your fiancee, Dana, ah suddenly are outward on display and you're verbalizing these things and having to go through all that outwardly and then have...
00:04:27
Speaker
hundreds of people, thousands of people go chime in on it. So did that seem to be beneficial for you mentally in one way, or is it seemed to be negative of too much pressure on you? Or what was that experience like?
Life Post-Show: Emotional Roller Coaster & Public Perception
00:04:40
Speaker
Like during filming or after filming? like when it was During filming for sure. And then after seeing the response, but during filming, especially when you're being encouraged to be outwardly open with these things, yeah um issue like you you know emotional issues like this, how hard was that?
00:04:56
Speaker
So just being in front of the camera was hard. Like, I mean, thinking your own thoughts in certain situations are like, damn, like I gotta figure this out. And then you have like cameras in your face and you're like, uh, right. It's like a little nerve wracking. So that's like, you gotta get used to that. That's number one.
00:05:12
Speaker
um And then so many things are thrown at you. Like there's just so many moving parts. Like while we were filming and I just didn't have enough time to process things.
00:05:23
Speaker
So when I was, you know, asked certain questions and I was like, I was giving answers based off of where I was at in that moment. And it was much more raw. Um, but it was definitely like unprocessed information. Yeah.
00:05:38
Speaker
Yeah. So I don't want to say it's like word vomit, but there were there was just a lot. Like there was a lot. It's really incomparable to like real life, you know, where you can like take a moment and say, hey, like, you know, I need a sec or like you're only there for a few hours, whereas you're filming for 12 hours a day, five days a week for three months, you know, so it's a lot.
00:06:03
Speaker
So in your downtime on the show, did you have, was it really downtime or is it like yeah still, you had a chance to be to cut away for a bit then, huh? Yeah. Yeah. It was two days that we had,
00:06:13
Speaker
um I don't know how much I can like say because I'm technically under like an NDA, but um yeah, we had like two days off. That's good. yeah so and so After the whole experience was over um and going through all that and then having that um you know all that ah sudden attention, sudden intensity of experience, ah how did you feel right afterwards?
00:06:36
Speaker
Was it like euphoria? Was it like depression? Was it like, oh my God, this is like... ah the sudden vacuum of time to yourself. What was
Family Reactions & Support During Filming
00:06:45
Speaker
that? What was it like to finish this whole show up after of that intensity for such a long time?
00:06:49
Speaker
It was, um, Crazy. Like it was like you're, it's almost like you're moving to another country. Like you live in one world for so long where you get used to like a certain set of dynamics and then you move somewhere else. And it's just like the rules change.
00:07:04
Speaker
So you just have to like adapt to, you know, your new life or reality TV life but or filming life to reality. Cause like you're not in front of cameras anymore and you're going through like a big emotional dump and you still have to unpack everything that happened. Hmm. and then um you know watching the show back you go through like a roller coaster of emotions and the way that they like dropped the show is they they had two drops where they had like the first chunk and the second chunk and the the first chunk i was like loved nationally and you know everyone was just rooting for me and they loved me and they were all big fans and
00:07:44
Speaker
you know, even when I watched like the last three or four episodes, I was like, Oh, they're, they're not going to like me. They're gonna, they're gonna have their opinions, you know? And like, sometimes, you know, when people give you like constructive criticism or feedback, you're like, okay, like I can work with that. But when it's on like a national or like global scale, you're just like, Whoa.
00:08:04
Speaker
And like, it's just something you're not used to. And for me, like I, Like i thought
Insights Gained from Being on TV
00:08:11
Speaker
I had like thick skin in the beginning. And then like in the beginning when there's just like a flood of comments coming in, just talking about your character and what you did and who you are and who you should be with and who you shouldn't be with. It's just like, whoa, like it's a lot. And then you just learn to develop thicker skin to kind of like filter out what you can't control.
00:08:32
Speaker
um And then you just, you just keep focusing on yourself. Does it allow you to become more analytical and introspective on yourself afterwards? That's going through all that, like, you know, parsing these details of how you think and what you do and the actions you make here and your responses to that. I mean, is it, did you find that in the end somehow beneficial? Did you find it um just making you get in your own head and question everything? Or was it, it was an analytical process of that um somehow we able to glean some positives from that.
00:09:05
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I think one thing that is super different than real life is you don't really get to see yourself in third person. You don't really see yourself on a TV screen, like making choices, especially in such like an intimate environment.
00:09:19
Speaker
And um especially when you're there, like there's so many variables that are removed from your life where all you have is time to think about um like introspection and emotions and your Family, you know, your childhood and, you know, just important things in life, right? Or like the foundational key things that kind of make you who you are.
00:09:40
Speaker
um And yeah, so like watching it on the TV screen definitely gives, it gave me a ah bigger perspective and it kind of like... showed me how like I handle my problems, um just like watching myself. And I knew, like you know, when you navigate through life and problems and stuff, you realize like what your tendencies are and how you deal with situations. But when you watch yourself on TV, yeah given that these situations are much more like intense and dramatic, I was still able to pull like how I respond in certain situations and
00:10:14
Speaker
just like how I handle things. So definitely i learned watching myself too.
Support Systems & Mental Health During Filming
00:10:20
Speaker
and When it comes to reality television, and i don't know if this is something that you can talk a little bit about, but family dynamics.
00:10:27
Speaker
So you're filming, you're done filming, the season's over everyone's unpacking what just happened on the show. do you ever have to have like one-on-one conversations with different family members to kind of I don't know, clarify if anything has come up on the show.
00:10:46
Speaker
So luckily for me, so okay. So my partner, Dana had more of that experience that you're talking about than I did. Um, because she more so kind of like isolated herself from her support system where I didn't, I didn't have much capacity to talk to a lot of people cause there was just so much going on. Um, and just to give you a little bit of context, like,
00:11:11
Speaker
When I told my parents I was going on the show, they didn't talk to me for like a few months like at all. like They were pissed. they were ah you know Why do you want to publicize this part of your life that should be private? Whatever. um and you know Before I went on the show, I saw them, whatever, and they still didn't agree, but um they just told me they loved me anyways, and you know they were going to give me the benefit of the doubt and whatever. and so When I started going through all of these like hardships on the show and I was getting really stressed out, i and when you're there and and you're also so far removed from home and you don't know if people really care about you while you're there, you lean on the people who even though you know regardless of your disagreements, you know that they care about you. you know So I called my parents.
00:11:56
Speaker
And I was like, listen, like, I, I need to tell you what's going on in my life. And I need your support because this is hard. It's something I've never dealt with. And like, I need your help. And they're like done.
00:12:06
Speaker
Okay, we're here for you. And literally from my trial marriage, my very first trial marriage with, with Haley, I told them everything that was happening. Like my emotions towards Dana, my emotions towards Haley,
00:12:19
Speaker
um what I was going through, what was happening. And so they knew what was going on every step of the way. So when I came back from the show, there wasn't much I had to update them on, except for like why I made such a stupid decision of going on a reality TV show. Sorry if that was distorted. But yeah, they're like, you know, why do you, why, did why'd you do this to yourself? I'm like, don't know. I don't know. New experiences. Sorry, mom.
00:12:46
Speaker
No.
Athletic Background: Mental Fortitude & Weightlifting Journey
00:12:47
Speaker
So now that you've had that experience, would you change it or are you happy about it? I'm not happy about it It's like sometimes when things happen in life, it just comes. It like objectively comes and it just comes with a lot. And I think that's one of the things I took. Like it, it brought on a lot of damage, like a lot, especially if, you know, considering what happened and mine and my partner's trial marriages separately, there was a lot, like we literally started at rock bottom and had to build up from there.
00:13:17
Speaker
Um, but there were a lot of things that I learned about myself, like, and like what I need from a partner, how I can show up better. And like, sometimes you kind of, I don't, it's, it's not like an excuse as to like why people do what they do, but sometimes you don't really realize that you're showing up in ways for your partner that they need rather than like how you want to show up for them.
00:13:41
Speaker
So that was like a ah big learning curve for me too. Um, but yeah, would I do it again? No. Am I happy I did it? No, but there was just a lot to take in. you know Yeah.
00:13:54
Speaker
So the way they portrayed ah you, part of the part of the things they talked about on the show ah was your ah life in fitness. And so um how do you feel that was portrayed in the show as far as like what you do as far as working out? we're going to getll We'll talk about that in in a minute here, but I'm curious how you felt the show portrayed you because there was nobody else in the show that was really you know portrayed like that.
00:14:18
Speaker
Yeah. Um, I don't know. I mean, i don't know if I'm like answering it in the right way, but I don't feel like there was like enough to be honest. I feel like they're, they could kind of like capitalize on the fitness aspect. And there was a lot of, um,
00:14:36
Speaker
film of like me working out like we did like i don't know if i can talk about that but there was a lot of film there that could have been used sure and wasn't but um yeah i feel like that's what always happens every time i do nutrition videos too it's like there's like four hours of filming and there's only they're packaging it into what they want that final product to look like. So it doesn't always portray everything, but, but why don't you tell us a little bit about your athletic history and, and if there was any connection between that and the show? Um, honestly, if I had not been and athlete for like most of my life, I feel like I would have like,
00:15:24
Speaker
like I would have been sick on the show. Like I, but I guarantee I would not have the same mental health. Like that's what carried me through the show. Honestly, that was, that was, that made me like, I don't know. I just had such like mental fortitude going through the show and being myself.
00:15:42
Speaker
Um, because I don't know. i mean, i don't know if it's like a personal thing or an athlete thing. Cause I've been an athlete most of my life, but, um, No matter, like you just kind of separate the pressure and you just try to do what truly matters. And I think that's a big part of being an athlete. Like you only expend your energy on things you have control over rather than things you don't. Like you don't dwell on the things you can't control. You just kind of roll with the punches.
00:16:13
Speaker
So it definitely helped being, you know, a competitive athlete most my life. would you feel Would you feel like it's that resilience that you work on during – Athletic kind of carries through in the arts and through these new projects. It's the, like, I'm committed to this. I'm going to keep going through it.
00:16:31
Speaker
i have this resilience to make it through. Absolutely. who some So when you're, in I don't want to say when you're an athlete, but um when you get to a certain point in your athletic career of like seriousness and commitment, um you don't let your emotions dictate your choices.
00:16:50
Speaker
and the you know, filming, there was a big component of emotions there. And for me, um, I mean, it was, it was harder as time got, a got, um, like as time went on, but, um, yeah, part of my like endurance on the show was being able to kind of like separate my emotions from, you know, being more rational about situations.
00:17:15
Speaker
Um, You know, the thing is, your athletic career, I mean, you've not just did sports and just didn't play, you know, didn't compete in athletics. mean, you were actually at one point um competing nationally in U S weightlifting.
00:17:27
Speaker
And it's an interesting type of sport because, um people who obviously who lift heavy weights are going to have a physique that's allowing them to do that. And so that isn't always considered the physique that, you know fitness models are supposed to be like, or like Lululemon is going to put on their ads and such.
00:17:45
Speaker
So, um, how did you, first off, how does does someone get involved into competitive weightlifting? How was your journey? Uh, how did your journey start with that? So when I was in high school, um my track coach and one of the math teachers who was a volleyball coach, they i would like skip class and hang out with them. like They were so cool.
00:18:06
Speaker
And they would just tell me about their CrossFit workouts that they did. and I'm like, oh, my God, like that sounds crazy. And they're like, yeah, like do it once you graduate. And it was like my senior year, probably like my last semester of high school. i was like, you know what? I'll be there.
00:18:19
Speaker
So I joined. And, um, yeah, I started doing cross it and I just started realizing that I was really good at like just being strong and lifting weights and just being like very technical with it. Cause that's like what weightlifting is like powerlifting.
00:18:34
Speaker
It's more so just raw strength. You're pushing, you're pulling, and that's about it. Um, whereas with weightlifting, um, it's, it's much more of a dynamic move. Um, so yeah, I started getting really good at weightlifting and,
00:18:49
Speaker
um, yeah, I just started dedicating more time. And then that's when the nutrition aspect went in there and it's just kind of like learning as you go and the better you get, you meet bigger people who help you and yeah. And and then you start getting some exposure at, you know, bigger events and yeah.
00:19:06
Speaker
So you started competing then, right? And then, um so how does the competition work typically? Is it just like you sign up and then you Say, okay, I can lift this much, I think, so I'm going to into this class, or is it like a set regimen you have to accomplish to be able to get to that certain level, or how does the process work? Because I don't think many folks ever see really true weightlifting competitions on TV, except for maybe, you know, every four years at the
Weightlifting Competitions: Structure & Environment
00:19:30
Speaker
Olympics.
00:19:30
Speaker
Yeah. and I think they actually took out weightlifting because of the, they took, yeah, they took the sport of weightlifting out of the Olympics due to, um, I think like the, something about the regulations of banned substances, they weren't like, I guess like being strict enough about it. And so they just removed the sport entirely.
00:19:52
Speaker
Really? Yeah. Oh my gosh. That's one of the most, my earliest earliest memories in the seventies growing up was watching that on TV. All these, yeah oh my, that's crazy. Okay. So how does a competition work? i do you You compete at the U.S. Nationals. So like, how does this process work?
00:20:08
Speaker
With weightlifting competitions or weightlifting meets, that's like the correct terminology, um locally you can just register, right? And they base it off of weight classes.
00:20:20
Speaker
um And so, yeah, it's not about how much weight you lift. It's about your weight class. And then um in each weight class, it's about how much weight you lift total. And then the bigger the competition, they have like qualifying totals. So it's your best...
00:20:33
Speaker
um snatch and it's your best clean and jerk. They total that up and that's your qualifying number. So the bigger the meat, the harder it is to get into because the total is a higher one that you have to um qualify to get in.
00:20:47
Speaker
then how So how did it go for you as far as like what was the national ah competition like? Because that must have been pretty thrilling. Yeah, it was it was super thrilling. I mean, when you are getting into the world of weightlifting, especially with social media, you start following um like the bigger names and you know the people who are super strong and who are you know successful in their career. And like when you're at that level, everyone's just...
00:21:12
Speaker
In the back, like, you know, you have the stage where you're, where you're doing your lifts and in the back, it's like the training area and you just see everybody and with their coach and their warmups and, you know, so it's, it's a very cool environment. Like you're, you're with the top of the people in the country. So it's cool.
00:21:29
Speaker
Is there a lot camaraderie amongst everybody? um Or is all very cutthroat? like hey man It was very cutthroat. It was yeah it was pretty cutthroat. so when you're When the meets are held out of state or whatever state they're held in, there's like a training gym or a training area where people go. and It was like very cutthroat. like It was kind of like a like a little macho man thing where it's like you know you kind of show up. and I don't know. i
00:21:59
Speaker
From my perspective, it was like very ego-y and um people were just you know they just kind of wanted to show something get that mental edge over the competitors right for sure yeah um i did want to mention though like kind of just tying it back to reality tv and like so for me in my um in my experience, i was able to kind of like separate emotion from like my choices. Right. It was like, I'm just going to do what I feel like I need to do regardless of how I feel.
00:22:35
Speaker
And sometimes you can be a little too removed from your emotions because what's important is to have like a balance, right? Um, there's like a spectrum and you know, things are always happening and it's never all or nothing.
00:22:49
Speaker
So I think one thing, one really big thing that I did learn is like, you're not always in fight or flight mode. You're not always in survival mode. You know, like you do have to take your feelings into consideration with choices you're making because you can either make really big emotional decisions or you can make really logical decisions and you're not considering one or the other. So that, that was a really big thing that um I learned that was important to me.
00:23:12
Speaker
Yeah. Cause then wait in any sort of sport or competition, that level, you're going to have to be able to, you know, detach somewhat, but then also stay connected and stay grounded. It's gotta be pretty challenging. Absolutely. Yeah.
00:23:24
Speaker
Were you able to stay active while you were on the show? Like, did you still make time for your sport? So I wasn't competing anymore. Um, but I was, I was working out every day. Like, yeah, it was one of my main outlets.
00:23:39
Speaker
And, um, I also play piano too. Um, and I was going to order a piano. I didn't care. I was going to spend the money order just like a big, nice piano, but they ended up having one like in their little banquet hall area. So yeah, that was how i spent my my downtime.
00:23:54
Speaker
I would play piano and I'd just work out. And I got ripped. And i was listen, when you're stressed out and you're not eating and you're like working out, like you're getting ripped and you're getting lean and you look good. You might not feel good, but you look good.
00:24:09
Speaker
And we drink a lot. Oh, yes, of course. I'm sure get those inhibitions down, right? Yeah. I think the fire flight mode thing is interesting because that's why I always found um reality shows interesting.
00:24:22
Speaker
That's why I was so interested to talk to you about this because it seems like when you have cameras on you and people are talking in your ear all the time, you have 12 hours a day of of constant, you know, interactions with people.
00:24:34
Speaker
It can obviously put you into a fire flight mode artificially prompt for extended periods of time. and Absolutely. Massive cor cortisol level in your body that just really drains you. um And then you have to somehow, after a while, you you're on the show. How long were you shooting for?
00:24:51
Speaker
We were shooting for three months. Three months. oh my God. So, so three months of constant fire flight. So I got to imagine that obviously it's going to wear you down, but also that's what the challenge is to somehow detach. So you don't get overloaded constantly with ah with the fire flight cortisol response all the time and be constantly stressed.
Maintaining Fitness & Coping with Filming Stress
00:25:09
Speaker
um Do you feel that in the end that you're, you have now a better ability to handle that or is it still very challenging to um either get out of the fire flight mode or get reattached to the moment?
00:25:23
Speaker
I think, um, what I got really good at was making the choice of like, whether it's worth it for me to pursue something or not, because i if I were to pursue something that I now know would be very draining for me or very influential, um, and that may impact me in some sort of way, I am a lot better at making decisions like as to what can serve me and what won't serve me.
00:25:53
Speaker
So I think that's what I got really good at. Cause like, I am a ah person, like if you put me in, maybe anybody, but if you put me in an environment for long enough, um, I will be influenced. So yeah, one of the key takeaways I got was making better decisions, like not having to literally go through such destruction and damage.
00:26:13
Speaker
to understand like what that means. Like, Hey, like that doesn't feel good. I'm just, I'm just not going to do that. One of the things that comes up for me is before starting the show.
00:26:24
Speaker
So you are competitive athlete, um, you're competing, i'm going to say serious high level athlete, Usually a serious high level athletes have a rhythm, right? It's like go to bed at a certain time.
00:26:39
Speaker
Like there's regimen when it comes to their nutrition, mental health support, the right community, being really strict about training and then a few other things too, right? So as you were transitioning into reality show life,
00:26:54
Speaker
How were you able to mimic some of those strategies to make show to make sure that you showed up? I mean, i'm I've always wondered when someone is taken out of their own reality and put into this new reality, you know, is there, like, are they all sleeping? I mean, it sounds like you guys might have been up really late, but...
00:27:14
Speaker
Were there some things that you stayed committed to to support your mental health? And if not, did you wake up one morning and say, okay, I'm noticing I'm getting out of my flow right now. I really need to get back in. i need to like take care of myself, me, me, me.
00:27:30
Speaker
How do we take that next step to do that? Did they have those types of support systems on set? So in terms of support system, um you had your trial partner.
00:27:41
Speaker
Yeah. And there was a psychologist who you saw every so often, but not regularly at all. Um, and I did want to touch on two things. So I totally understand like your question and there's two things that happen.
00:27:59
Speaker
Um, the first thing is I have always been like a very vocal go against the grain person. And like, I'm not afraid to like, kind of like speak my mind and do the things I need to do to like preserve my whatever.
00:28:11
Speaker
um And so while we were filming in the beginning, they would kind of like give you snacks. And I was like, Hey, like, I don't want these Doritos. Like, is there any way I could get these like protein shakes instead? Or can I get these like healthier alternatives?
00:28:24
Speaker
Because it, you know, I don't, this is and a new experience. I don't need to have all these things changing. Right. I'm going to try to, you know, make the best choice I can. So, yeah. So we would be, um, filming, especially this was like during dating week.
00:28:38
Speaker
So the way the show is, is you go on the show with your partner, you split up. And there's a week of dating week. And throughout that week, you date other people and you look at your compatibility, whatever. And then you go into your trial marriage, the first one.
00:28:50
Speaker
And then after first trial marriage, you go into the second trial marriage. You decide who you want to be with and then you go home. So during dating week, um yeah, we we're being filmed all day. We're getting used to being front of the cameras.
00:29:02
Speaker
um And our days would probably end at like 1030 at night. And I'd be like, hey, can I go to the gym? yeah So they had someone, you know, walk me to the gym because you have to have a buddy the whole time.
00:29:13
Speaker
And I would just work out and I was used to working out really hard and I would do that every day just to maintain um a healthy mind. yeah Yeah. Just kind of like preserve myself. Like that's the only sense of normalcy I had was ah eating well and training hard.
00:29:29
Speaker
And so being that it was such a new environment for me, I didn't realize how much I was depleting my energy, you know, like we're filming 12 hour days they hit you up at, you know, midnight saying, Hey, you know, we're filming, you got to get ready at 7am next day.
Identity & Routine: Handling External Pressures
00:29:44
Speaker
So yeah. Um, and so I started actually, getting like dizzy and lightheaded. And I think I was having, ah having episodes of like low blood pressure. Cause I, I felt like I was about to like faint and I told them that and I actually ended up, they took me to the hospital and I was severely dehydrated. Um, and I ended up spending the night in the hospital and it's just like,
00:30:10
Speaker
So that's the point that I'm like getting to is sure when you're trying to preserve your normalcy with your like healthy habits, when you're in an environment that is so, um don't even want to say biased, but it's just so like intentional. It's so like purposeful, intentional, manufactured.
00:30:30
Speaker
It can only hold up for so long. So there are certain things that you have to, you have to just pick one or two things that you have control over. And then the rest is like, good luck. Cause i don't have energy.
00:30:41
Speaker
So I was eating very well there and I was training very hard there. Um, and everything else went out the window. but those are my too Yeah. everything else was just so hard. Like it was just, you know, you're, you're talking about such sensitive things, you know, you're in your childhood and your family dynamics and your personal struggles. Like it's, it's heavy stuff, you know? So you just cling on to the things that, I don't know, the the things that you feel like you can.
00:31:14
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, i just i just think about how important it is for anyone, even like the younger generation that's going into – reality TV or working with a new brand or whatever it might be. It's like, you can't lose yourself. You got to stick to some of the things that still help you show up your best self. I mean, could you imagine if you didn't take, you didn't work out something that's like part of you and then it would only be so
Role of Diet & Lifestyle in Weightlifting
00:31:41
Speaker
much worse. Right. yeah Um, and then maybe not getting the kind of, I mean, unpacking
00:31:47
Speaker
unpacking situations all day long and then dealing with these new dynamics. That's so hard. It's tough. And then you're in this like one set environment, right? And you can't just like leave and go do all the things that you want to do So yeah, that's great. And I hope that people, you know, take that on because that you can apply that to any part of your life, right? Like anything new that you're doing, if you're moving to a new job, if you're trying something new for the first time, it's really important to stick to some of your foundational goals.
00:32:17
Speaker
habits that's that allow you to show up your best self. Yeah, I will also say, um had I not been eating well and working out, I think you would have seen a very different um side of myself on TV.
00:32:31
Speaker
Because it's like, i mean, if you think about it, and you're, you know, day to day life, you wake up. um And what's the most important meal a day breakfast? Why? Because you you know, you're carrying momentum throughout the day, with um depending on the choices you make. So when you're doing things that's that are going to like benefit yourself in some way, you know, healthily, mentally, physically, um, it, that's going to carry over into the choices you're making with other things, you know, cause you're developing momentum.
00:32:58
Speaker
And so, yeah, I, I definitely, um, was impacted, um, positively with, you know, the choices I made by working out every day and and eating as best as I could.
00:33:09
Speaker
Yeah. Imagine the diet had to be crucial for the weightlifting competition when you were competing. I mean, it's got to be pretty hard. it takes a lot of work, it sounds like, to maintain the nutritional standards that your body requires to be able to build the kind of keep the kind mass, peak at the right time.
00:33:29
Speaker
mean, how much work was it for you from the nutritional aspect of learning and applying it to when you were competing in nationals? Wait, can you ask your question one more time?
00:33:40
Speaker
So it must be challenging for nutritional ah to, to be able to meet the nutritional needs to compete in weightlifting at the highest level. So how are you able to do that? How much work did it take to maintain the nutritional or better way put it is how much work is it to ah hone your nutritional ah intake to help you compete at the highest level?
00:34:03
Speaker
um It's a lot. It's a huge part of it. I mean, the, one of the, arguably the biggest part of, um, you know, being an athlete is your recovery and, you know, recover, you recover by sleeping well and eating well. And it was, it was a huge component of my, of my career.
00:34:22
Speaker
I mean, i I, would be eating five times a day and I would measure my food and I did that for as long as my career was. So I did that for like, like five years. hu
00:34:35
Speaker
Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. um So tell us a little bit about the weightlifting lifestyle. And what I mean by this is when someone is getting ready to train and compete, what do they um like? What is their day to day look like?
00:34:56
Speaker
Is it ah Like how many hours do you think it takes? I don't, I mean, I think that might look different for everyone. And I've worked with a lot of weightlifters as a dietitian and something that i have seen is they don't always get the best nutrition advice.
00:35:12
Speaker
Like some of it is, it's, I mean, like there's a group of people that really believe in the recovery piece, but then there's like a group of people that are like, we might have to restrict and then we will just go and eat anything that we want.
00:35:25
Speaker
yeah Um, I'd love to know your thoughts on it and what that day-to-day training looks like. So it, for me, like it started one way and then it kind of like ended in another way for me.
00:35:40
Speaker
Um, I feel like initially through like maybe like halfway, I had really good habits. Like i it was It was all that I did. Weightlifting was all that I did. Weightlifting, sleeping, and like eating. So I'd wake up, make my meals, go to the gym.
00:35:56
Speaker
And then after I was done working out like three plus hours a day, i would still be there to, you know, work on mobility. And I would essentially be in the gym seven days a week.
00:36:07
Speaker
And it it took me away socially, but it was my priority. Yeah. And it's, I wouldn't even say it's negative. It's what does it take to be a high level weightlifter and how do you, when you come across people who may not be following the healthiest of habits, because there is a lot of noise, I think in the weightlifting world too.
00:36:27
Speaker
and love that you brought up recovery, but how do you, you know, how do you maybe teach the next generation? What does a day-to-day life look like for a weightlifter and how do you balance so that you're not like being consumed?
00:36:41
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I think with any commitment, right, and we can just, like, keep it to weightlifting, is, like, you you always want to think about sustainability. It's like, how long do I want to do this for?
00:36:54
Speaker
How long can I do this for? And what's going to help me to be able to do this for a long time,
Sustainable Practices & Finding Balance
00:36:59
Speaker
right? And so a lot of people will start their diet just by eating chicken and rice and broccoli. Chicken, rice, broccoli, chicken, rice.
00:37:05
Speaker
And while that does the job and it works for some people, it doesn't work for other people. You know, like, you need variety. You need things. you know, that you need other things that that's going to keep you going.
00:37:17
Speaker
And, you know, what about when you go into social settings, like when you go to family events, you know, some people are literally starving themselves at events just so they don't like touch a brownie or they don't eat a carrot instead of a, you know, instead of broccoli. And it's just like, there are just so many ways that you can be healthy, lose weight, maintain a good body composition for your sport without going to such an extreme, um,
00:37:44
Speaker
um like level. And I, yeah, and I just, I learned that like later. And I think that's, it's kind of like, I mean, there's always a ah level of innocence when you're going into something and you know, you're naive, you don't know everything.
00:37:59
Speaker
um But it's important to work with the right people to teach you good things, because it's it's harder to break a habit than to start a new one. So yeah, I do think it's important to, you know, really be mindful of the like the choices you're making when you're, you know, choosing um just like good nutrition or like what you're doing to supplement your competitive career.
00:38:22
Speaker
Yeah, I think the sustainability of it is is very important because you could be training all day, but then what happens to the balance of Technically we call it work-life balance, right?
00:38:33
Speaker
Your score is your work. You wanna make sure that you're taking care of other areas in your life too. And it's something that's sustainable for you. Yeah, I mean, I think, I mean, I could speak for myself after I, you know, called it.
00:38:48
Speaker
um it was It was after my last, like, national weightlifting event. I was in a huge identity crisis. And it was, like, it was, like, I defined myself as an athlete for so long. And I always kind of, like, um I always based myself worth off of my ability.
00:39:05
Speaker
And it was like, hey, if I'm not doing all these amazing things, who am I? And so, yeah, that's another thing. I think a lot of people struggle with that. i think a lot of people, i mean, even out of college, right? It's like you're you're a competitive athlete during college and then you're getting ready to head into the real world. Not everyone teaches you what the real world's going to look like.
00:39:26
Speaker
I mean, we were interviewing people from the the circus arts recently and they were sharing how some of these athletes are getting recruited out of high school and then they go into the circus arts.
00:39:38
Speaker
And then if God forbid they get an injury, what happens next? you know but There's no um degree and there's no, so some of those challenges, but athlete identity. So that's a big one.
00:39:54
Speaker
How do you feel like I don't know if balance is the right word for it, but how are you flexible with that
Balancing Athlete Identity with Personal Roles
00:40:02
Speaker
identity? Because at the end of the the day, you are Megan too, right? You're Megan as a person. And now you're Megan as an artist.
00:40:09
Speaker
You're Megan as a pianist to some extent. um You're, I mean, I don't, you know, you're Megan as a partner. Right. So how do you, how do you balance all these different identities?
00:40:22
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, i think one of the biggest things, um like you have to figure out what balance is and like how you understand where your proper balance is. And I think like,
00:40:35
Speaker
One of the most like old school methods of figuring it out is just blowing stuff up, just doing the most and just like redlining things and just making mistakes. and I think, honestly, the the the biggest thing that will move the needle is to take risks.
00:40:51
Speaker
Take risks, do what you actually want to do rather than what people want you to do, because that's how you'll develop your own gauge and you'll realize what's too much for you, what's not enough for you, what you need.
00:41:03
Speaker
um You know, it just helps. It just helps you figure things out the fastest way. And it's it's the hardest way because, you know, like even talk about. it comes with a lot, you know, things are going to look different.
00:41:17
Speaker
Um, you know, I'm, I have, you don't see right now cause I'm wearing a hoodie, but my shoulders are freaking huge. um I'm at Kroger grabbing the frozen vegetables and I get some looks sometimes and you have to deal with so many different things of choosing the life you want or, you know, um, you know, with the balance and everything, if there's just so much that comes with it and you have to have that bravery and courage to,
00:41:42
Speaker
Let that lead you over, you know, the reactions you're going to get from the public or the comments that I read online or like, you know, what people think you need versus what you know you need. You know, it's it's really that bravery that helps you develop that balance the most and taking risks.
00:41:58
Speaker
So what's the next step then with your fitness journey? Because, you know, you have all this exposure now, you have all these opportunities now, and you, of course, fitness is a big part of your life.
Future Plans: Fitness & Mindset Seminars
00:42:07
Speaker
ah And you know obviously have to learn so much and gone through so much.
00:42:10
Speaker
ah What is your, what are your thoughts for the next phase of Megan here? I think i'm I'm so grateful that I have just like so many different outlets to like express myself. And one of the biggest things that I noticed that people struggle with is just getting started.
00:42:25
Speaker
So like, where do I start? How do I start? You know, what do I do? What are my priorities? Right. And for me, i i want to put like a program together. And I want to travel like hosting seminars with people um who want to get started.
00:42:43
Speaker
And I want to make it like more of like a fitness slash mindset um seminar. And with fitness, you know, we could talk about like movement patterns and, um,
00:42:54
Speaker
I mean, a huge thing that I learned from you, Dr. K is like discrepancy. Like, you know, if you're like how to figure out if you're in alignment or, you know, how can you help yourself? How do you develop more like body awareness? And literally like when I was working at the CrossFit gym and I would ask Dr. K a million questions, he'd answer all my questions and I'd go and answer them. I'd go answer all their questions with, you know, what he was telling me. And like,
00:43:18
Speaker
A big component is body awareness. So that's like a a really big thing I want to emphasize like in the fitness aspect of things. um Like identifying like what your like individual issues are rather than just like cookie cutter things.
00:43:34
Speaker
Right. And then um regarding mindset, I want to focus on developing – like your purpose. And I think when you understand your purpose, that's a ah driver for bravery and taking risks because it's like, why would you take a risk if it's not worth it? Well, what's worth it? How do you develop?
00:43:56
Speaker
How do you understand if something's worth it to you? And I think with kind of just like dabbling through so many different things in my life and struggle, struggling with like family issues of like acceptance for certain decisions that I'm making,
00:44:07
Speaker
Um, I feel like I got really good at that and I feel like I can help people. And it's like, they don't have to go through extreme circumstances to develop that. Like I can help with that. So that's something I'm working on. It's still in the works. It's not quite out yet, but I'm working on it.
Advice on Reality TV for Couples
00:44:24
Speaker
So at the end of the show, uh, the ultimatum, uh, you literally pick up Dana and walk off with her. yeah Are you going to use that for like the end of your seminars? Like if you want to be able to pick up your mate and carry her off,
00:44:36
Speaker
ah Then this is what you do. This is Megan's way of doing this. That was absolutely, especially an knowing you, I thought that was absolutely awesome. All this time you can have downplay your fitness and also they see just kind just pick her up and off her feet literally. Yeah. There's the icing on the cake. Yeah.
00:44:55
Speaker
That's so good. yeah um Cool. um So is there, so what's what's like the next, are you doing anything coming up here as far as like events or anything that we can tell our audience about that they can tune into or ah where can they see you next?
00:45:10
Speaker
So we've been traveling around um the U S to different States, but the events are more so like it's it's like nightlife events. So gotcha I'm working on developing my own seminar so I can create my own thing.
00:45:24
Speaker
maybe partner up with, you know, other gyms. Um, but yeah, so far it's, it's more so like nightlife that we're, that we're doing. So cool. Yeah.
00:45:36
Speaker
Well, if you need any help with the, um, with any of your seminars in the future, I think Yossi and I can definitely lend a hand if you need your help. Thank you. Um, any new filming coming up?
00:45:47
Speaker
Are you getting involved with? No, no new filming. I will say like, i don't I'm not against filming, but if you like are in a relationship, don't do it. If you're single, put yourself out there. like I would be open to like um the shows like The Challenge, you know like obstacles and competitions and stuff like that. like I would be so down for that, but anything that's like...
00:46:12
Speaker
But wouldn't that test the ah time? Like, doesn't it really put you into a situation where you have to navigate out of it?
Changed Perspective on Reality TV
00:46:22
Speaker
And then if you can make it out, you're you're golden. Like, does it not work like that?
00:46:27
Speaker
Like, you mean with the... With a relationship going into reality TV? you So you think that in the beginning, but it's just the circumstances are just so foreign. Like you're just not used to the circumstances. Yeah. like yeah like Like it's like another language. It's a new, completely different. Yeah. We probably should have listened to – Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey back in the day.
00:46:53
Speaker
They kept saying that. They were like, please just don't do it. and Yeah. Yeah. I mean, like my my partner, Dana, she is huge in reality TV. Like she loves watching reality TV. But like now that, you know, we both have been on reality TV and we're watching it again, we'd have such a different perspective watching And we're just so much more empathetic towards like the, the people on the show. Oh yeah. Like if, if you're not on there, you're just going based off of what they're giving you. Yeah. And, um, it's different.
00:47:23
Speaker
Yeah.
Final Thoughts & Gratitude
00:47:24
Speaker
Well, Hey Megan, it was wonderful having on the show. Thank you so much for sharing all those insights. It's a, it was incredibly, introspective and amazing to learn just you know behind the curtains a little bit and and the journey you went through and the the the person you are now coming through all it. So it's pretty impressive. So thank you for sharing all that.
00:47:41
Speaker
Absolutely. Thank you. I, I, one thing I want to emphasize, especially like being an athlete and just, I guess like having so many different experiences in life is like, it's okay to like commit to something, but I think it's also important to, um remember what the end goal is like in life.
00:47:59
Speaker
You know, it's not, it's not about one thing. It's about everything. So I think that's something like we all need a consider every now and then. Agreed. Yeah.
00:48:10
Speaker
Thanks, Megan. Absolutely. Thank you for having me. We'll talk to you soon. Sounds good. And that's the end of another show. We want to thank Megan Murat for being on our show today, as well as our sponsor, On Call AI, for helping us make the show happen.
00:48:25
Speaker
And if you want more information on performing arts medicine, please go to athletesandthearts.com. For Yasi Ansari, I'm Stephen Karaginas, and this has been the Athletes and the Arts podcast.