Watch the interview: https://youtu.be/iGU3cxLeQkk
Listen to the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/icoach-nutrition-radio/id1451459928?i=1000466059993
Coach Justin: “Mhm Alrighty guys, welcome back to I coach nutrition radio today. I have a very special guest and I always laugh at myself because I intro that way every single time But anyways, I’m a very special guest, a friend, a former client that we worked together for a while, but it’s been about two years since we worked together and it’s just been so cool to see everything that she’s accomplished since our, you know, working together and then even since then, over these last couple of years and her, her growth not just physically in the physical transformation but but mentally has been has been amazing and I’m excited to bring her on the show and be able to share her story with y’all and hope that inspires y’all to you know, really take control of your life and allow yourself to live your best life So without further ado, Bridget, what’s up girl, How are you?”
Bridgette: “I’m so excited, this is so cool.”
Coach Justin: “Yes, yes first podcast for Bridget here, so she’s gonna be super famous, everybody go go follow her on the instagram world. She’s, she’s crushing it in in life now doing I don’t know what is it exactly you do now.”
Bridgette: “Yeah so technically I’m a licensed real estate agent. but I am an apartment locator so I just do professionally own apartments. and I work for smart city locating and it’s the best job ever. I have to wake up every morning and pinch myself. I can’t believe it’s real it’s just a really cool company to work for. And you know I worked in the restaurant industry before so totally life changing. I love it. It’s pretty awesome.”
Coach Justin: “That’s awesome. I love it. And real quick tell everybody what your instagram handle is because basically that’s how y’all promote and I mean you share a lot of like really really good deals especially here. So for all the local people that listen to the podcast, what’s your instagram handle? And what what what what piece of it for anybody looking for? I guess an apartment like that’s your bridges to go to.”
Bridgette: “Yeah so the cool thing is we have over 93 K. Followers on our instagram So we have a lot of cool so we are the only locator in all of DFW that can negotiate deals with apartments. So we can get like killer prices for awesome places. So it’s pretty cool. You can follow me at Bridget B. R. I. D. G. E. T. T. E. M. H. D Z. And just send me a message and I can help you find a good deal on your next apartment.”
Coach Justin: “That’s awesome Yeah no, I mean I literally look at the pictures you posted your stories and I think back to like when I had an apartment, like an Austin Ranch like I don’t know, eight years ago or whatever and like the prices that I was paying for those and what they look like and then the prices here eight years later and what they’re paying.”
Bridgette: “I’m like yeah and it’s funny because sometimes I’ll get like college clients and I’m like oh my gosh if I could have gotten a deal like this when I was in college like total game changer because some of the places I was living in in college like questionable, you know? And now there’s just this awesome competitive market that we get to work with and so I’m like man, you guys have it so good.”
Coach Justin: “That’s awesome Alright girls, so let’s dive into it. So obviously I want to share your your transformation. I want to share the journey of obviously before working together during the time of working together and then kind of over these last two years and everything that you’ve accomplished since working together. but let’s take it back first just for the listeners here tell everybody kind of a little bit about your your your past and growing up, your your relationship with food, nutrition your body, you know, what was life kind of growing up for you? Elementary, middle school, high school college. and then kind of up into the point when, before we started working together.”
Bridgette: “Yeah, so I think this part is so important to talk about because I used to compare myself a lot to a lot of, you know, different body types, but as I got older, I realized like my childhood and my upbringing and the habits that I’ve developed and I mean since I was so young, kind of shaped where I was struggling with in my adulthood so I think growing up, you know, my my dad’s mom was a £600 woman, she was like succumb to a chair for the majority of her adulthood, so I definitely had the genetics of not really just being thin or being fit or being able to eat whatever I want. but I grew up as an only child and my dad was always pretty conscious about organic and stuff like that. He never really promoted drinking soda and eating a ton of sugar and all that stuff. So you would think that I would have been like a pretty healthy child, but I’ve always had just such a bad relationship with food until this day, I’m definitely a binge eater and I was an only child, so I think I was forward a lot of the time and I would just Benji, I mean I would eat when I was full, I would eat until I felt sick., and you know even, and this is totally personal, but I really want to share it because I want to relate to other people but even at like 10 or 11 years old, I remember like making myself throw up and that was just like, such a young age to be even thinking that way, but I just always really struggled with body image and my relationship with food. So, as I got older, I, you know, went into high school and my weight always fluctuated, it’d be like one year I was, you know, a chunky kid and then the next year I was thinner and then the next year I was trying, I could never just get ahold of my weight going to high school, I’m pretty thin, I joined soccer and I played soccer for four years during high school and it was great. My body was great. I was eating like after the games, I would get like a double meat, double cheese, extra large fries, extra large coke because you know, when, yeah, when you’re, you know, running that much and doing that much party as a kid, like you need to fuel. So I was eating a ton and then like senior year, kind of got into like the parting face or drinking and, you know, all those things and stopped playing soccer and I just blew up and carried it over into college and was kind of struggling and then right at like 21 all of a sudden I dropped like £40 and was really thin, was under eating, I was eating I remember for lunch I would just like spinach and parmesan on top. I mean it was like so bad, but I was so thin and I was like, this is what I’ve always wanted, I’ve always wanted to be, you know, so skinny and I have pictures where like my ribs are like coming out of my rib cage, it’s just so bad. But I thought that was like, the way I wanted to look. So when I was 20 for my dad ended up getting a really sick, he had a stroke and I was in the hospital with him for about five months and when I say I was in the hospital was practically living there and I wasn’t sleeping I was maybe eating once a day, sometimes it was like hospital food, which wasn’t like the best quality. again, no sleep, which I can’t stress enough, like when you don’t sleep, your body just shuts down, right so in about six months I put on £55. my dad end up passing april 2016 and I needed a distraction so I thought, you know, I’m going to lose some weight and that was the start of the journey. honestly just started as a hobby. I just wanted to distract myself and do something to keep my mind off of losing my dad and I had it all wrong. I was eating salads and I was doing a bunch of cardio and it just wasn’t working and I wasn’t able to lose the weight. So that’s, that’s how it all started.”
Coach Justin: “Well, thank you for sharing so openly, obviously for those of you that don’t know Bridget and I are friends and, and, and close outside of the podcast here. So we hang out and talk all the time. So I’ve, she, she shared a lot of this with me and that’s why, I mean it’s, it’s inspiring for somebody to be able to kind of pay it forward and share, you know, their experience and their journey because there are so many other people out there that are struggling and that are going through across, and I’m talking with people that are, you know, that have gone through similar things there. So thanks for sharing. First off. and, and, and I think, you know, the thing to highlight here is what were the influences throughout that time?”
Bridgette: “Like, looking back on it now, Like, it was like social media. I mean, obviously, like, what, what were the influences there for you that we’re making you have this this idea in your, in your head of like this is what I want to look like. Yeah, nation, definitely media. at the time, this is when this sounds so silly but it’s so true. This is when the Kardashians started blowing up, you know, so they were starting to become like the picture perfect body type and they had like the big hits but tiny waist, which is so hard to accomplish for a lot of people. and then I have a lot of friends that could like literally eat whatever they want and not gain a pound and so I’m eating with them because you know, we’re having fun and we’re going to the movies and we’re doing all these things and I’m just not able to do those things and so it was definitely a combination of the people around me, it didn’t struggle with their weight like I did. And then media instagram was blowing up when I was in college I mean it just became this huge thing. We all know instagram like runs the world now and at that time it was so hard to like be watching all these people post these picture perfect body types and they’re like sitting down and they don’t have any rules and any skin showing. And so I was like, man, I just want to look like that. I have always been my dream ever since I was a little girl. It’s just to look good and where my definition of good, which is definitely scared at times and so yeah, it’s just a combination and, you know, being being a young, you know, it’s hard, you know, there’s a lot of pressure of, you know, dressing cute but not letting your body type overtake your outfit And I mean there’s just so many things and, you know for somebody that had been struggling without their whole life, it was just really easy to get caught up in comparing myself for sure. Yeah. So when, when we first I guess came across each other. So we first met through I guess just was it strong like working? Yeah that’s that’s how we met. Okay. and then I guess we knew each other probably for how long before we started working together and doing like the actual coaching I honestly think it might have been like four months when I four or five months when like I finally was like, all right. I think I’m gonna I’m gonna do that cause I have been like working out consistently for a few months and at that point I was like, all right I need to get my nutrition right. So yeah.”
Coach Justin: “Well, and the interesting part there too is like you like based off what you said, like with the nutrition kind of leading up to that point and trying to lose the way and like eating like nothing. And then on top of that you you started doing crossfit, which like for you it was such a new stimulus on the body. Like you, you hadn’t really lifted weights before ever. So you kinda have, I mean like, even though you, you were definitely under fueling yourself, you were kind of having some of those like newbie, you know, adaptations if you will, but at some point like, were you ever like, okay I feel like absolute crap. I mean, because like, just knowing that you were eating so little and then working out so hard at what point, like what made you like reach out to me in the first place and like say, okay obviously what I’m doing is just not working and I need to, I need to seek, seek the help there.”
Bridgette: “you know what’s crazy is at the time, like, I have all these things going wrong with my body. I had gastrointestinal issues. I was fatigued all the time and I thought that that was normal. You know, I was like, you know, this is just the way my body is and I kind of normalized the way I was feeling and when I started telling at the time I was in a relationship and I was, I was telling him how I was feeling, he was like, you know I don’t think that’s normal, like, there’s something going on and I remember going to a few doctors and they were doing all this blood work and couldn’t find anything and I was just like, man, like, it’s gotta be something and I started Googling and I started seeing all these things about you know your diet and what you’re eating and so I mean I tried all those things like put a scoop of coconut oil on your coffee every morning and use your energy levels like literally I could fall for anything that somebody would tell me because I just wanted to feel better you know and then obviously I was you know doing crossfit and new to that world and I was so weak I didn’t have like a lot of muscle mass and here I am trying to throw on these weights and I mean you know like we laugh about it now but I have no idea what I was doing and I was like man like I just want to feel strong, I want to feel like I can accomplish like just small things. I remember like it’s crazy saying it now but I just wanted to be able to do one push up, One push up was my goal and like now like I can obviously you know exceed that but at the time like The male push ups I could probably do like 30 like without oh my God it’s crazy to even say that So two years.”
Coach Justin: “I just want to highlight that real quick here two years ago the goal was to be able to do one push up. This girl is cranking out 30 push ups Yeah two years like that’s that’s that’s basically that’s called like magic because that typically doesn’t happen.”
Bridgette: “Yeah. And I mean like for people who don’t know me out there, like I have never been like very coordinated. Like I just, even in soccer, I was not good. I just never I was an only child so I didn’t run around a lot. Like I just I started from the ground up.”
Coach Justin: “Well and the first, the first time that you lifted weights, was that what, how old were you then?”
Bridgette: “24 24 years old was the first time that you started lifting weights.”
Coach Justin: “So got it okay, cool, sorry, continue.”
Bridgette: “No I love it. So I was talking to you, you know, you were helping my form and my technique and you talked about nutrition and I went home and I thought about it and I was like, you know what, like what do I have to lose at this point? Like I’ve done all the little gimmicks, all the little tricks, nothing’s working I feel like crap, I can’t lift a lot of weight to save my life. And you know, my dad passed up a stroke and he was overweight and I was like, man, I don’t want to be like that, you know, I don’t want my kids to be like that one day and you know what can I do today to change my life forever. And so I kind of just was like, you know, I don’t know anything about nutrition, but I’m gonna trust this guy, he seems pretty cool, he’s really nice to me, even though I don’t know what I’m doing, so I’m just gonna go for it.”
Coach Justin: “That’s awesome, I love it and, and you know, that was the start to, to kind of the journey and there was obviously a lot of education along the way and a lot of awareness that was built, but you know, I wish we could have said that the journey was just like so easy and that it just happened like that. But you know, as we were kind of talking before this, I mean, I haven’t done it yet, but I’m sure if we went back up to the text message thread from two years ago, there would be some, there’d be some funny texts in there, but I mean you’re not alone in that, right? I mean this is, I’ve been working with a lot of people for a lot of years and like that’s very, very common because you know, like it’s, it’s, it’s one of those things where you, you commit to a process, you know, you maybe you, there’s the financial investment, there’s a time investment, there’s the investment of just like, you know, basically lowering your guard and like humbling yourself and saying, I’m gonna take advice from this person and there’s all those different elements of it, but you know, signing up is just like the very beginning of it and a lot of times when we’re in our head and I’m no different, I mean I’m the same way we’re all human beings, but it’s like as soon as we sign up, we want it yesterday, you know, we want results yesterday. and so that’s, that’s just how it is kind of in this, in this, have it, have it right now, you know, mentality that this world that we live in, so talk to talk to the listeners a little bit about kind of the journey from the time that we first started working together and just kind of threw that whole entire time that we worked together and just like the I really want you to like highlight like just the struggles that you had because, you know, some people believe it or not, they think that they’re alone in that journey and they think that they’re the only ones that are thinking that way and it’s just not the case. I mean that’s, that’s not everybody, but a lot of people that are going through that journey. So yeah, share the share, share the journey, Bridget, Some people feel like they’re alone.”
Bridgette: “I am some people, I, you know, I have this image in my head like, all right, I’m gonna start my nutrition program with Justin and like in two months, I’m gonna be looking hot and I remember thinking like I’m going to Costa rica, so I wanted to feel comfortable in a bikini and I mean even till this day being in a bikini is one of the most uncomfortable things for me. and it’ll probably take a long time to get over that. But in my head I was like, I’m gonna feel great in my bikini in two months, you know So I had this thought in my head in two months, I’m gonna, you know, lose £30 and you know, I’m gonna move move on my life looking great, right? And that, that was not the case at all. And it took me a long time to realize that like I had really taken a blow to my body, especially when I was living in a hospital with my dad, you know, at the time my whole body was covered in hives. So there wasn’t only like external factors, there were a lot of internal things going on that had caused a lot of damage to my immune system too. Just a lot, a lot of things and my metabolism obviously. And so I think I wasn’t really like taking your account, okay, I have really beat my body up, it’s gonna take a long time to get on the right track I just wanted instant results. And so, you know, obviously if anyone out there is struggling with, it’s not happening it will I would love for you to go on my instagram and see my before and after pictures are mind blowing sometimes it’s crazy. So that process, honestly, I couldn’t have done it without your guidance and talking me off a ledge because let’s be real, you have a game plan, You are like, all right, I’m gonna follow this game plan because I want the results so bad and moms are going by and nothing happened. And I remember like crying so many times, like there was so many times where I was trying to pick a date night and I couldn’t pick one spot to go eat because it wouldn’t fit into my macros that I was trying to follow at the time and I had these unrealistic expectations for myself and it was driving me crazy and it was just like making me cry all the time and I would text you and you would just, oh my God spit knowledge on you know metabolism and my body and I would be like, God, he’s so right Like I need to be easier on myself. Like it’s going to come. I’m not a very patient person obviously. And so it was even harder for me because I just have no patience. so I would say it took about like six months of being consistent and when I say consistent, I mean like 4 to 5 workouts a week while working at 70 hour work week, some weeks, my job was crazy and then literally following my macros like protein fat carb eating way more than I had ever eaten. Which is crazy because I have this belief if I eat less? Oh it was wait and now I was eating at the time, I was eating double triple, you know what I had been used to eating and that was a huge learning curve. I remember in the beginning I didn’t even have an appetite for it. Like I would have to force myself to eat because I just wasn’t hungry now and Justin you’re gonna test with this, I could eat all day long and like still be hungry. So hilarious I have an appetite of like a freaking huge bodybuilder man. I feel like it’s hilarious.”
Coach Justin: “Well, and maybe even to give people a little bit of context there, like in in that period where you’re in the hospital, you know, it’s like looking back on it now, what do you think calorie intake was like, you know, for for that period of time? And it was, it was five months, right five months you’re probably taking in how many calories a day? Maybe like 600 calories a day and not sleeping And then as you get into kind of the restaurant industry there, I mean again, sleep out, you know, the shifts you’re staying up till whatever time at night, I think a big piece there, you know, just to highlight was like, what what are what we’re kind of your starting statistics like when we first started together like we’re like height weight. What were you doing from a workout standpoint then like where are you at currently right now?”
Bridgette: “Just highlight those real quick before of course, so at the time when we started I was 5, 400 almost 100 and £70 like 100 and 68. And this was like very little muscle mass. I don’t know what like my fat percentage was, but I will tell you that there was very little muscle because you have never lifted weights in your life before that, right? Yeah. No And I was working out like five times a week for I would say like 2.5 years and then now that was 2017, so now we’re in 2020 and I’m 54 still that hasn’t changed And I’m 100 and £25 it fluctuates, there’s sometimes around like 100 and 30 and you know it really doesn’t bother me. And I don’t know what my muscle mass is but I would say it’s definitely a lot more than it was when we started Yeah.”
Coach Justin: “Yeah, no that’s amazing. I mean it’s amazing, it’s amazing physical change, but I think as we continue the story here you will see like even the more amazing like like mental change so okay sorry to interrupt you again. So yeah, I just I think there was a lot of, like mental things. I had trained my brain to believe a certain thing and I think, I think honestly, like media have done that to like, how many times have you like seen something like on a commercial that you could buy? And it’s like, you know, lose weight in 30 days fat burner. And so you have this idea in your head because that’s what you’ve been told for your entire life, that you can lose weight in 30 days or you could go on a crash diet or you can go on a juice plans and dropped 10 lb., and so I had to retrain my brain, to think a whole new way. And then I also had to retrain my entire body to react to things. And in another way, because I had trained my body to only be hungry once a day and that’s insane, right? And I had to completely turn my metabolism around. and it was really, really hard and looking back now, it feels like it blew by, but at the time it felt like a lifetime, you know, I was, I just felt like I was doing everything right. And I mean, you can attest to this. I was that client that was really strict and doing everything to a point where I was making crazy and you would even tell me like, you need to have a cheat day, like you need to just go enjoy yourself like grab a donut, get some hot cheetos because that’s my weakness and I wouldn’t do it and it would make me crazy and so I did that for about six months and after six months I said, you know what, I’m gonna, I’m gonna just keep going, but I’m gonna live a little I’m gonna enjoy my date nights, I’m gonna enjoy my weekends, I’m gonna eat some hot cheetos once in a while if I feel like some hot cheetos and the second I let go and I was still, you know, working out and still following like a really good eating habits, but the second I just let go a little bit all of a sudden the weight just started dropping. And I remember I would see it in pictures on instagram, I’m like, oh my gosh, my face looks like way thinner or these pants are like really big on me and I just kind of started having the second, I just like, let myself just be patient and still enjoy my life. It definitely just started happening. And when it started falling off, I mean it started falling off, I remember like it felt every week I was like, okay, I’m like looking thinner and thinner and people start recognizing it and they’re like, oh my gosh, like you’re losing a ton of weight and it was you know, so rewarding and now I look back, I’m so thankful and now today I have found a balance of my life, like I know how to enjoy my life while sticking to my, my plans and you know making sure that I don’t fall off and I love it. Like I wouldn’t, I wouldn’t want to go back to where I was not just because of the way I looked, but mentally and I think when you accomplish something that big especially when you have genetics running against you when you accomplish something like that, it gives you confidence to go and accomplish anything. And so now obviously even in my job, you know, I feel like I could I could do anything and so it just changes your whole mentality. it teaches you like if you have a goal, like do X, y and z and you will get to that goal, it might not be tomorrow and it might not be in a year, but you will get to that what if you set your mind to it. And so definitely like the most life changing thing that I ever did, not just the way I look, but my whole life in general, Oh, I love it well and, and, and this is something I talk about all the time, but it’s just so cool to see it play out and become true, you know, because it’s like this truly is the foundation for excelling in every other aspect of life when you get the nutrition and fitness part down, like that foundational piece there, it allows you to grow into all of the other areas, like personal development obviously is a really, really big part of, you know, just basically reaching your God given potential in life as a kind of reference it and, you know, I think it’s one of those things where it’s like if you can get that as the foundation that can help you to control the way that you feel right, and then from there you can start to work on other areas of life as well, whether it’s spiritual or relational or whatever it may be.”
Coach Justin: “So I love it. I think that’s it’s just so cool to see because I’ve heard so many stories, you know, like this of, you know, people, we all get into places like dark places like whether it was something that was done from somebody else or something that we did to ourselves and and digging ourselves out of those places is one of the most challenging things you can possibly do, you know, but it’s also one of the most rewarding things that you can possibly do. So I love it. I think that the story, I mean especially like, y’all go seriously, go check the check out her instagram and have your mind blown here and maybe we’ll even like I need to like post, I’m gonna find one of the good text messages and I’m gonna post the show notes just so y’all can see so good.”
Bridgette: “Like I would literally text him at like, one am crying freaking out and here’s the, here’s the worst part about it right?”
Coach Justin: “Is like every like if you go and you invest in yourself and you hire a coach, like of course you want to get results. And one thing that I knew with her and and I tried to be transparent with and and and talk about from the very beginning was like knowing your background and knowing everything that we’ve gone through and knowing where we’re currently at right now, in terms of how many calories you’re consuming and how much you’re working out, you can’t like just eat less and expect to like lose weight right now. And so, you know, you hear that word like reverse dieting throwing around quite a bit these days. And you know I never wanna tell somebody that in the very beginning when we, when we first started working together, because I found that a lot of people are just under recording when it comes to logging their food on like my fitness pal. And so although my initial thoughts are looking at the numbers and being like, oh my God, they’re they’re significantly under eating once we look into it, they’re they’re consuming way more than what they’re logging but for you, it was like, you know, we, we start working together, you’re being super like, the motivation super high, the discipline is really high, you’re being super consistent and for whatever reason, you know, the body just wasn’t responding and like it was one of those situations like for a coach and it sucks because it’s like when somebody comes to you with all the motivation in the world, like you want them to get, you know, they, you want them to start seeing results instantly And there’s some cases where people have to go through kind of this reverse diet scenario just because they have been, you know, whether they knew it or not, they had been basically starving their self up to that point you know, and and a lot of the times the stress plays a big factor as well. so the combination of all the stress, the lack of sleep, the under eating, you know all of those different components that like it just it took a toll on the body and so, you know, the biggest reminder to her other than just like trust the process was like, you have to think to yourself what’s the alternative, like what we’re working on building right now is building healthy habits that you should think about incorporating in your life for the rest of your life. And so whether you’re seeing the weight loss or not, you’re starting to feel better That’s a, that’s a win, right? So as the biofeedback as we reference it is starting to improve, you just have to remind yourself that like, look, even though we wanted these immediate results, you’re gonna be doing these healthy lifestyle habits for the rest of your life. So whether this takes three months or six months or three years, it doesn’t matter because this is the, this is the forever plan, I love that because people are like, well if I did this crash diet, I could lose weight in 30 days and you know what Yeah, maybe you could, but you’re talking about life like are you are you like succumbing yourself to a diet that you are not gonna be able to hold yourself up to for 5 10, 15, 20 years And if you are then in 5, 10 15, 20 years, you’re gonna run back into the same issues and go on another crash diet. And so you have to find something that works for you that you it’s not a diet it’s a lifestyle that’s something that you can implement in your life and that makes you happy and that you can enjoy for the rest of your life and I think I have to figure that out.”
Bridgette: “Like I had to figure out this isn’t about just now, this is about Bridget and five years from now, this is about Bridget and she’s a mom this is a about Bridget when she’s a grandma, like I need to be able to do something that is going to fit my life in all phases of my life and that was a huge learning curve and definitely got it down now but the second you just, you totally throw that out the window, totally throw out the out the window of like, well what if I just try this new really cool diet everyone’s talking about and all the Waiting 60 days. Just picture yourself doing that for 10 years and if you can’t do that for 10 years, don’t even try it’s not worth it.”
Coach Justin: “Yeah, absolutely. You know, it’s funny, I, I’m very into nutrition but I’ve also varied into like money and finance and all that type of stuff and I’ve been comparing the two a lot lately because if you think about it right, think about how many people in their twenties are living this, this lifestyle where they’re living way above their means, right? That’s the same exact comparison of somebody doing a crash diet. Like you’re, you’re doing it for the short term you’re not playing the long term game and eventually that bites you in the butt just like it does with your money, like eventually just get so much in debt that you can’t live that lifestyle anymore or whatever happens Or maybe you just keep crash dieting and like taking yourself through that, that starting and stopping and you know gaining and losing cycle and eventually psychologically it just breaks you down so much that you’re like, okay enough’s enough. So yeah, it’s, it’s funny how the two are so similar, you know, we, we grow up and I feel like most people don’t learn about nutrition and they don’t learn about finances, right? And those are two things in terms of like personal development, in a sense that we, that we need to learn at some point in our life and earlier we can learn it the better because again, it’s such foundational items for everything in life there.”
Bridgette: “Yeah And you know what’s crazy is most of us are like that because of what our parents did. Like, you know, my my word bringing, I didn’t have a lot of financial stability and then didn’t have a whole lot of stability with my eating habits, right? And My dad was amazing and I’m so thankful. He gave me a lot of other things but he didn’t know either. He, I mean he was born in 1938. Okay, so back then people weren’t really paying attention to any of this. And so I think now I’m not a mom yet, but I want to change the script for my kids one day. You know, I want to be a good influence on them. And so I think it’s so important for us to like break that, that chain cycle of like, all right well this is what I learned as a kid from my parents love them.”
Coach Justin: “Thank you, But I want to do something better for my kids and teach them about eating habits at the early age because it’s so important and teach them about finances and all these things. So yeah, I think it’s, it’s so cool to be able to like say I’m gonna break the cycle for sure. Well the best part of it is, it’s like, you know, the saying of like kids don’t listen to what they say, they watch what we do. And so the best thing that we can possibly do as parents is live that lifestyle, right? And that’s, I think the important thing to highlight there too is just like even knowing that you had genetics working against you, you could have played the victim card with that for the rest of your life and instead you took the initiative, right? And you said, I’m going to change Like I’m going to work on this. And so I think that that’s the biggest piece for, you know, a huge piece for people to just hear and to remind themselves of is if you’re working towards something right now and you’re not seeing the results or it’s been taking a long time or whatever it is. You just have to think to yourself like what is the alternative? You know like are you gonna just start going and treat your body like crap and you know eating like crap and drinking all the time and never working out because eventually it’s gonna catch up to and you’re gonna have to address it. Hopefully, you know, it’s probably gonna be like maybe more of a medical condition type of way, right So I don’t want to let yourself get to that point. So I want to dive back into kind of like the the the period of time where essentially because we worked together for how long I think it was like seven or 8 months, seven or 8 months and so I got it down it was like okay, we’re good. Yeah, so we worked together for like seven or eight months. But at that point like that wasn’t the point where you had like lost all the way and started transforming your body and all that stuff like really? At that point it was kind of like it was the coming to jesus moment, right? It was, it was like, look, I know this has been a while and you’re not seeing the body composition changes that you want to see, but you have to trust the process and you have to keep living your lifestyle in this way and I promise you it will play out. And basically we just kind of you know, like maybe communicated like you you would like shoot me over your wins and stuff like you know over the next few months. And then at what point did you start, you started seeing the changes there? Like how long after after we stopped working together there you know, I would say it was probably about, but it was popular guys, it was a year.”
Bridgette: “After I started when I started seeing a little bit of changes, but it really wasn’t until about a year and a half, that I really started to like, I mean, total 1.80 and so it’s funny looking back now, I’m like, gosh, a whole year and a half it took to get there and then even now my body is still changing. so it still hasn’t stopped you know, I’m still, you know, losing fat and gaining muscle and it’ll probably be that way for a while. And so I feel like, alright until it’s rated up kids or something, I don’t know, but well your body took a year and a half though your body took a year and a half of being consistent with healthy habits before it felt safe, which is basically kind of how I referenced before. It felt safe for your, for you to finally start losing the weight and changing the body composition Yeah, exactly. And when I say a year and a half, I mean, like, I hadn’t lost like a pound and I was so frustrated because I was like, really, like, not even £1 after a year and a half, I mean, it had probably like fluctuated a little bit of counter to here and there, but there was like nothing and to me obviously at the time I was looking at the scale a lot too and that’s something that really was biting me in the butt as well, because the scale is not everything.”
Coach Justin: “That was one of the big challenges because, like, you had never lifted weights in your life and here you go. And you started doing crossfit, you start lifting weights five days a week. And so it’s this interesting dynamic of, like if somebody started off and they gained let’s say, £10 of muscle and lost £10 of body fat, Net zero on the scale there and you feel like a failure but ultimately you could have, that could be an amazing body composition changes with that, you know?”
Bridgette: “So, and I was doing that before and after pictures every every like couple months and oh my God, they were all horrific at the time, I was like, I was like, I was the same, you know, just freaking out in about a year and a half later, then I started seeing the results and it was mostly my pants, like, I feel like my pants are always the defining factor for me because we are our own worst critics. So when you’re looking at the mirror, you’re like, yeah, I look exactly the same But then when you go and put on your pants and they’re like, baggy, you’re like, wait a minute, what I’m seeing in the mirror is not real because these pants fit me three months ago, you know? So that was how I started really seeing the results. I’m looking back now. I wish I would have measured myself a little bit more because then I feel like I would have gotten a little bit more reassurance if I would have seen the measurements changing. But thank God for my genes because that was what was telling me, Hey, what you’re seeing in the mirror is not real, that is in your head, you are losing the weight and look at how bad your hands are. and so for reference when I started, I was a size 12. currently I’m wearing a size zero jeans right now and I’m still Kirby, I have big hips and big thighs and you know so it’s not like I’m super skinny or anything like that, but they do make pants these days to like hug your curves because that’s, you know, that’s in now So yeah, yeah, we have a whole year and a half and so I really want to stress that to people who are like in the starting process right now, or maybe not even there yet. Maybe they’re like, do I even want to go through this? Like, I promise you it is the most rewarding thing and it will change your life in so many different aspects, but it’s going to take time and consistent You’ve got to develop a whole new routine, You’ve got to be very consistent. I will tell you there are times where I’m going out with friends on a friday night and I’ve got to rearrange my entire schedule to squeeze my workout in, so I have to really plan my whole day like alright, so if I get all this done during the day, I’ll have time to get an hour workout and here and then be able to get, get ready and make it for dinner. So you have to be intentional with your time and you have to be intentional with your schedule. It’s not gonna just come easy, like yeah, I’ll just fly by the seat of my pants and work out when I have time or when when when I feel like it, you have to really do you know how many times there’s like, I don’t wanna go to the gym, I’m just so tired, I work a lot, you know, we’re all there, but when have you ever gone to the gym and regretted it and then one time when have you skipped a workout and regretted it, you know? And so I just told myself that all the time, like man, I really regret it if I miss this workout and I’m gonna feel so good if I get it in, even if it’s something quick, even if you’re like, I just have to do something really fast, get your heart rate up, just move, you always, I feel so much better after So it is just one of those things where if you are out there and you’re struggling like if you are consistent and re vamp your schedule to make it work for you. It will be the most rewarding thing you’ll probably ever do except I mean your parent, I’m sure that’s pretty rewarding too. But you know, it’s one of those black changing things for sure.”
Coach Justin: “Yeah, I love that. I mean I think you know obviously the reality of it is is like we prioritize the things that are important to us and if nutrition and fitness and sleep and hydration and stress management, all those things have never been important to you up into the point where you want to start making those changes. I mean, yeah, you gotta you gotta prioritize the time and everything when you first start is harder and it takes longer and it’s it’s just new, you know, it’s a it’s a whole new life skill that that you’re learning there. But you know I think it’s just amazing because somebody that doesn’t lose a single pound and a year and a half, most people would quit. Most people would quit way before that I see people quitting that for one month of not losing weight. So I mean that’s that’s the takeaway here. I want to scream from a mountain is guys, what is the alternative? I’ve said it now three times. What’s the alternative? Like you could have, you could have just said screw it and gone back to doing whatever, stopped working out and like who knows what would have happened I mean, I don’t know, like who knows, who knows what would have happened. Not only, you know, the physical changes, but like the mental changes that have now like lead you to where you are now because when you’re confident in your body, it translates into other aspects of life as well. Like you become now you’re confident and I mean you’ve always been super social and and confident, I feel like, but now probably more than ever, you know, and even outside yourself, you’re motivating for other people and that is also rewarding. Like I can’t tell you how many messages I’ve gotten on instagram from people like in another state state, they’re like hey, I stumbled across your page and yeah, I just wanna let you know, you’ve motivated me to change my life and like I’ve had people send me pictures of like their their before and after. I’m like, oh my gosh, that’s so awesome. And to know that like, because I made that change in my life and decided after a year and a half I still wasn’t gonna give up and keep going and now I’m helping other people, it’s not a ton, you know I don’t have a ton of followers, anything like that but there are a few people that have messaged me and that is insane because then they’re gonna go and help people in their life, you know? And so even so much outside of yourself to be able to be a motivation because let’s be real, we all know that there’s women out there that can eat whatever they want and enjoy their life and we’re all comparing ourselves but there are a lot more of us and the more we motivate each other and lift each other up to make changes like we’re gonna see okay, it’s not very common where you can eat whatever you want and you live your best life, you know? And so yeah, I think that’s just something to remind yourself that like people are gonna want you if you make a change and anything you do, people are gonna see it and if you can help others, that’s amazing too, you know?”
Bridgette: “So yeah, but a year and a half and like you said I just said if I give up now I’ve already put in a year and a half, am I just going to throw that out the window like okay, well wasted a year and a half of my life, heck no, you know, might as well just keep going. No, I mean it’s lit like I mean 100% it’s like again like let’s throw finances like I don’t know you work for all these years pay off debt and then something happens and you’re like screw it, I’m gonna file for bankruptcy, like nobody would do that, you know like you keep working hard. So I don’t know, it’s it’s, it’s, it’s definitely a mindset, it’s definitely something that takes a lot of time. It’s definitely something that, you know, everybody has their own unique journey, but you know, I would just encourage people to listen to stories like this and there’s tons of them out there just to remind yourself that you’re not alone, you know, and you don’t have to sit there and try to be perfect and like be crazy, crazy strict on yourself and you have to, you know, you, you truly do have to start loving yourself as soon as you start that transformative journey in order for you to ever make the mental or physical changes that you, that you’re looking to make. Yeah, and that’s something I also want to touch on. So like in the beginning I was very strict, like I said to the point where you’re driving me crazy and so I think that was a really good thing for me to at least try to do because it was bringing me structure and it was bringing me discipline but today, being happy with my body and where I’m at and having a great routine. I want to stress that I enjoy myself. Like I had a cookie today, you know? so I’ll have pizza probably this week, I mean it’s valentine’s Day today. So you know, I’ll probably splurge or whatever and so I want to stress that once you get to a point where you feel good about yourself and you have a good routine, you can still enjoy your life and I had to learn that too, I had to figure out like, okay, I’m not, I’m not gonna ever be a person where I never eat another bowl of pasta for the rest of my life, you know, and so I want to paint like a realistic expectation for everyone else out there it doesn’t mean that you’re never gonna have ice cream again cause a lot of people are like, yeah, I don’t want to do that, like I want to be able to eat donuts and you will be able to do that, it’s just fitting it into your life. So like for me, what has worked for me is I know it’s thursday, I’m going out with the girls and we’re going to eat bread and pasta and wine or whatever. Then I know monday Tuesday and Wednesday I’m gonna be really good with my meals, I’m gonna make sure that I’m hitting it and like hitting on my macros and getting my workouts in and then thursday when that day comes, I’m definitely gonna get my workout in so that I feel good when I’m going and splurging on wine and pasta and bread and if that for you is the weekends and you know, be really good during the week and on the weekends, enjoy yourself and so I, that’s what’s worked for me. I think it’s different for everyone but I wanted to just stress about the fact that like it’s not like I’m one of those people that will never have, you know, a cookie because I literally have one an hour ago.”
Coach Justin: “So that’s all of us, Right? I mean, I love mexican food and margaritas and pizza and sushi and burgers and all of it. Like all of every, I mean like, especially out here in like the Dallas area is like a nation out here. I mean what most people do for fun is they go to restaurants where they go to get drinks or whatever. So yeah, you have to find balance I preach about it all the time. Like if there’s 21 mills in a week, 17 mils of them are dialed in your cooking them yourself, the other four, you can have the flexibility to be social, go out and do whatever And I feel like that’s a really good balance that’s sustainable for the rest of your life. You know, there there might be a vacation or something where you go up higher than that or maybe there’s some weeks that you don’t go out four times. You don’t go out four times. It probably saves you 400 bucks that week, you know, so but yeah, you have to have, you have to have balance, you have to have sustainability every single person in the beginning when they first start on something Their motivation is really, really high and that’s why they want to go all or nothing mentality and they’re so used to the diet culture of being so restrictive that that’s what they think that they have to have But you can grill if you can build in that balance from the very beginning, which is essentially asking yourself, what are my non negotiables? What are the things in my life that I have to keep in order to be able to do this stuff and, and transform my, my habit in my lifestyle here and be able to, you know sustain it for the rest of my life, right? So maybe it’s a date night with your wife every week. Maybe it’s, you have to have wine every week or whatever it is. What are the non negotiables allow yourself to have those things that you can stay sane and you can enjoy the process, right? And then dial in the oil and other stuff there. But balance looks different for everybody and it’s such a, you know, you can’t just throw out like a blanket statement, it’s, it’s so different for everybody, but, Bridget, I know you’re busy and I want to respect your time here and I have to help on a coaching following three minutes, but last little bit of last last little takeaway, last little nugget, whatever you wanna wanna, whatever you want to share here with the, with the listeners. What’s the last piece of advice that you have for them here Yeah.”
Bridgette: “I think the last piece of advice is just to be like kind to yourself, be kind of, your body, you’re doing a great job and I think like, just making sure that you stay consistent is obviously so important but making sure that you’re finding happiness too, and that’s in anything if working out is making you happy, keep doing it. If even healthier is making you happy, keep doing it. And I think like we just get so caught up in like the way we look and that I am my own worst critic, you know, and so I, I’m preaching this to myself as well, but the true, true, like key important factor is happiness and when you’re happy with who you are and what you’re doing in life and what you’re accomplishing, accomplishing everything else is just gonna fall into place and so just trust yourself, trust the process. and I think you can really like accomplish anything you put your mind to, you’ve just got to really put your mind to it.”
Coach Justin: “So I love it. I love it, as I always say, you have to know when to give yourself grace and you gotta know when to be disciplined, that’s the, that’s the happy life So I love it Bridget. I’m so incredibly proud of you go check out her instagram and see how much of a badass this girl is and thank you so much for taking the time and sharing your story with us. I, we should have probably looked more time so we could, we could, we could probably going to be a longer, Yeah, this could be a 24 hour podcast here, but anyways well, hey, thank you so much for taking the time and yeah, we will chat soon.”