- Why even a doctor and nutritionist can get overwhelmed by diet culture—and how Dr. Natalia broke free
- The hidden costs (emotional and financial) of chasing the “perfect body” through supplements and extremes
- How a 20-minute workout and simple nutrition plan helped her get better results than hours in the gym
- The power of community support, accountability, and mindset in making real, lasting change
- How investing in yourself—beyond trendy fads—can transform your confidence, your relationships, and your life
I threw out my waist trainers, my hair extensions, and my big nails because I love the way my body looks now—natural, simple, and easy. - Dr. Natalia
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More about the Unfiltered Fit Life podcast
Ever wish you had a fit and straightforward BFF with over 15 years of experience to help you filter through all the information regarding fitness, nutrition, and life?
That’s exactly what you’ll get when you listen to the Unfiltered Fit Life Podcast.
Join Former Bikini Olympia Champion, mom of 2, and fitness coach Nathalia Melo each week as she shares fitness, nutrition, and life tips to help busy working moms simplify their fitness journey so they can learn easy and simple strategies on how to lose weight and feel sexy AF.
After helping over 5000 busy working moms, Nathalia has found the blueprint to fitness, nutrition, and life success, which she will be sharing in this podcast: actionable tips that will help busy working moms be more present at work and at home.
This show is for you if you realize that nothing good comes from your comfort zone and are ready to challenge yourself to achieve great things. Follow Unfiltered Fit Life wherever you are listening to join us each week for a splash of sass, humor, and a whole lotta truth.
The podcast transcript for this episode of the Unfiltered Fit Life podcast follows
Nathalia [00:00:02]
Hello. Hello there, fam. Welcome to another episode of the Unfiltered Fit Life podcast. I'm Natalia Mello, your host. And today, I have a very special guest who is also called Natalia. Hi, Natalia.
Natalia [00:00:13]
Hi. How are you?
Nathalia [00:00:15]
I'm good. It's so funny because I don't see a lot of people, that have the same name as me outside of, Brazil. So, it's it's quite fun. But my yours doesn't have the age of mine has. So that's the the the difference.
Natalia [00:00:30]
Yep. Many many people says that it writes with h, but, no, mine is not like that.
Nathalia [00:00:36]
Yeah. I think in Latin, and Natalia is Mexican. And I feel like in Latin America, people try to make the the names a little bit more ornamented. That's what happened with mine because yours is the right way. Mine is the embellished way.
Natalia [00:00:51]
I like yours.
Nathalia [00:00:52]
Thank you. Thank you.
Meet Natalia: Guest Intro
Nathalia [00:00:52]
Well, so Natalia is a member of the Powerhouse Academy. She's 42 years old. She has a daughter who is two years old. She is, an ER doctor, and she is amazing... I brought her here today to share her her story because I feel that her story is very in line with the struggle that I see a lot of women having...
Natalia’s Background
Nathalia [00:01:26]
So, Natalia, thank you for being here. Can you can you tell us a little bit about you? ...Anything else that I'm missing?
Natalia [00:01:40]
I think that I used to be an athlete too. I used to do ice skating. I think that that's mostly my my intro.
The Struggle: Life Before Powerhouse Academy
Nathalia [00:01:51]
Love it. Love it. So, Natalia, can you tell me what you were, you know, whenever we first started chatting, what were you struggling with? Where were you, you know, emotionally, physically whenever we first had our conversation?
Natalia [00:02:07]
Emotionally, I think I was in my baddest because, as an athlete, I was, I was used to look all the time perfect...
Burnout & Frustration: Training, Nutrition, and Exhaustion
Natalia [00:02:53]
And I didn't see the changes, so it was frustrating because I was training as hard as you know you have to because you have done it before... I was living a healthy life being really unhealthy in all of the ways.
Nathalia [00:03:15]
And just for a little bit of a background, in addition to being a doctor, you also have a nutrition, background. Right? Yeah. So which is awesome.
Natalia [00:03:26]
...But when you are drowning in your own troubles and trying to do the quick fixes. Even you know they are not the right thing to do, you just are in a complete mess. And I was, like, doing everything wrong...
Why Seeking Help Isn’t Always Easy
Nathalia [00:04:10]
...I feel like that is a a a challenge a lot of women have, letting their ego get in the way. Oh, I've done it before. Oh, I was an athlete...
Natalia Opens Up: Impact on Marriage & Self-esteem
Nathalia [00:04:56]
Are you do you feel comfortable talking a little bit about that?
Natalia [00:04:59]
Yeah. Actually, in in my marriage, it was a real big trouble... I wasn't feeling comfortable. So having, like, intimacy and everything, this was like, no. I don't like it. I don't want to see me like that...
Previous Coaching Experiences: Bulking, Cutting & Despair
Nathalia [00:05:47]
...how have you found that what you're doing now is different from your previous experiences with other methodologies and other coaches? How is it different?
Natalia [00:06:24]
The first thing of all, it's that it's simple and it's short... Actually, I I did the method you always thought, the bulking and then the cutting....
The Emotional Cost: Gaining Weight & Losing Motivation
Nathalia [00:07:58]
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It sucks to hear that...
Natalia [00:08:36]
Ten kilos. Ten kilos... I eat it, like, seven times at the day. Every three hours, I have to put on a meal...
What’s Different About Powerhouse Academy?
Nathalia [00:09:41]
I think that, yeah, the simplicity. In the meals, in the... exercise routines, I can't do it in twenty minutes because I think I I need, like, to be more I don't know...
Girl Power: Community, Support & Accountability
Natalia [00:10:34]
And the chat we have a the WhatsApp chat with the with all of the powerhouse girls that are in the program... So it helps. And, actually, it helps you stay in track...
Nathalia [00:12:01]
Yeah. I love that. I love that...
Initial Hesitations—And What Changed
Nathalia [00:12:19]
...what were you, a bit skeptical about before speaking with me? Like, what, what were you fearful? What were you skeptical? What were the things that made you be like, I'm not sure?
Natalia [00:12:50]
...I think I've been doing the same with no results. So Mhmm. Why is this so different?... what really made me, like, trust and go for it, it was like, when I see you in Instagram talking about different so many different topics, you are really truth about it. You're not going to to tell me, you're gonna make it in three months, so let's do it...
Honest Expectations & Trust
Nathalia [00:14:25]
I love that you said it's so funny. I don't know if you have, listened, but I a few weeks ago, I recorded a podcast episode that was literally about that. Like, the whole episode was about that, about, you know, you open social media and then you have all the, you know, guarantee that you're gonna lose x amount of weight...
Natalia [00:15:34]
Every person is different...
From Skepticism to Success: Letting Go of Old Beliefs
Natalia [00:16:17]
Because I was doing, like, two a hundred press. You know? It was, like, hours on the gym, and it was, like, I don't think this is gonna work. Today, actually, is is Wednesday. Everything hurts. And I just train, like, for thirty minutes, and it feels like two hours for the day. So it works it works perfectly.
Investing Differently—And Smarter
Nathalia [00:16:38]
...you mentioned you were like, you know what? Now that I think about and I speak even with some of my friends, I can see that we end up spending so much more in doing all the the other stuff that is not necessary. Can you talk about that? Because I thought that it was very interesting.
Natalia [00:17:24]
Yeah. Actually, I was like, you know, maybe if I go to the perfect gym in Mexico, the one that is the highest gym...
Supplements, Quick Fixes & False Promises
Natalia [00:18:20]
Like, try therapy on your like, the the freezing of the fat in the belly and all that kinds of different static treatments. Right?
Natalia [00:18:27]
I did everything because I said, okay. I'm working out. I'm eating well. So maybe machines and some supplements that burn fat when I'm sleeping. And the amount I paid in all of that stuff during these two years... I think it's the same amount.
What’s Really Worth Your Money
Natalia [00:19:01]
Yes. With the false promises. That was the thing. How can some stingy burn fat during the night? I mean, where is your mind as a doctor to buy those stuff?
Overcoming Shame & False Beliefs
Nathalia [00:19:16]
I'm not judging. I'm not judging at all, but I love that you are, like, that you are acknowledging because you know? And and I think that this is very refreshing for women to listen as well...
Natalia [00:20:18]
Yeah. Actually, my husband was like, you already spend, like, so why is this gonna be so different? ...
Safety Nets & Lasting Change
Nathalia [00:21:18]
We provide and I think that that's the thing. I feel a lot of people...
Natalia [00:22:00]
...you're stressing out about exercise and eating, yeah, you're stressed and your cortisol is going up. And in this program, that completely goes down...
Natalia’s Turning Point: Embracing Simplicity
Natalia [00:23:46]
Yeah. Actually, those two weeks, you can feel, like, stressed out, but I can tell you I didn't went up. ...
Everything Changes: Confidence, Energy, and Joy
Nathalia [00:24:02]
Yeah. No. A %. So, in what has changed, Natalia? Like, since you, since you started, what what has changed? What, where are you now?
Natalia [00:24:16]
I'm enjoying my going to the gym again so much. I'm feeding, you know, my clothes that I was wearing before I was pregnant, so that's wonderful...
Progress in Less Than Three Months
Nathalia [00:25:49]
I think yeah. Just three months, and I just I'm gonna I'm gonna for I think in April 14, it's gonna be three months.
Natalia [00:26:21]
And I lost I think I was in sixty three kilos... five kilos, and a little bit less because I mean seven fifty seven and a half.
Nathalia [00:26:44]
Okay. So we're looking at about 11 pounds...
Freedom from Old Habits & Pressure
Natalia [00:27:18]
A %. I'm feeling so so much more different because I have the energy. I I can... now I'm natural. I'm feeling perfect the way I am.
True Confidence: Letting Go of “Overdoing”
Nathalia [00:28:16]
Oh my goodness. I I got goosebumps listening to to you talk about this because...
Natalia [00:28:59]
Actually, I was to I used to do the waist trainers. I was to I use it all the time because after my baby, I waist trainer, that what, like, gave me a little bit of I get rid of the waist trainers. I get rid of my hair extensions. ...
Your Advice For Women on the Fence
Nathalia [00:29:39]
Oh my god. I love that so much. So what advice, Natalia, would you give would you give to, you know, someone who is on the fence about about the powerhouse academy?
Natalia [00:30:04]
Actually, I will tell her that it's completely the best... If you're gonna do it, make your money worth it. Just go for it. Take your your head out of of the program and just go with the flow, and this is an investment for a long time...
Letting Go of Old Beliefs to Embrace Change
Nathalia [00:32:03]
Yeah. It's kinda, the way that I like to to talk about, and I love that you said that because, you know, I have seen time and time again…
Nathalia [00:33:38]
So I need help and I need support. So I I have so much respect for that, and I really appreciate you for for trusting us in your journey.
Natalia [00:34:03]
No. Thank you.
Nathalia [00:34:05]
Thank you guys for listening. I will see you next week. Thank you so much, Natalia, and I'll see you in the chat.
Natalia [00:34:11]
Thank you.
