She was a former fitness competitor, a dental hygienist, a mom of two daughters who are both athletes - and she kept telling herself it was not that bad. It was not like she was obese. She still worked out sometimes. It was just seven pounds. But she could not recognize herself in the mirror, she was avoiding photos, she stopped caring about herself, and her husband noticed the sparkle was gone.
In this episode I sit down with Kristin, a Powerhouse Academy member who is six months in and about to travel alone to a retreat for the first time in her life because she finally feels like she can.
This is not a story about a dramatic transformation. It is a story about seven pounds and everything that was hiding underneath them.
In this episode, we talk about:
- Why seven pounds had her avoiding photos, date nights, and her own reflection
- How the it's not that bad mindset was quietly shrinking her life
- What a previous online coach did wrong and why she still takes ownership of it
- Why she almost had buyer's remorse the day she got her first meal plan
- How the simplicity of the program was the thing that actually worked
- What changed in her marriage when she started showing up differently
- How her husband started working out and her daughters started asking about macros
- What she would tell any woman sitting on the fence telling herself it is not that bad
If you have ever told yourself it is not that bad while quietly opting out of your own life, this episode is going to hit. Kristin's story is proof that sometimes the smallest number on the scale is hiding the biggest shift waiting to happen.
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.
Podcast Transcript
She Lost 7 Pounds and Got Her Whole Life Back: Kristin's Story
INTRODUCTION
I introduce Kristin as someone who was low-key panicking before our first conversation and then low-key panicked again after joining - and how watching her journey has been remarkable. Kristin is a dental hygienist and mom of two daughters who are both involved in sports, which means her schedule is essentially their schedule.
WHAT WAS HAPPENING WHEN SHE REACHED OUT
Kristin describes looking in the mirror a few weeks before reaching out and not recognizing herself - feeling like she was looking at an old woman who was not her. She had been following me for almost twenty years from her own fitness competitor days. When one of my posts came up she made a comment on a whim, not really expecting anything to come of it. She describes herself at the time as someone who had been living in the it's not that bad mindset - not overweight, not unhealthy, still working out sometimes, but deeply unhappy.
WHAT IT'S NOT THAT BAD WAS ACTUALLY COSTING HER
The it's not that bad mindset was showing up in very specific ways - avoiding photos her husband tried to take of the family, wearing leggings and a sweatshirt on date nights, losing all desire to go shopping with her daughters, stopping Botox because she stopped caring, wearing glasses full time because she stopped caring about that too. Her husband noticed the sparkle was gone. She knew it but was not ready to admit it because everyone around her kept reinforcing that it was fine.
OTHER PROGRAMS SHE HAD TRIED
About five years ago Kristin worked with an online coach who gave her macros and some training guidance. It helped a little while she was in it but the moment she left she went back to old habits because there was no lifestyle infrastructure built underneath the plan. She takes ownership of her part in it but acknowledges that a program without a plan for after is only solving half the problem.
WHAT MAKES POWERHOUSE ACADEMY DIFFERENT
Kristin highlights three things - the decision fatigue removal of having everything laid out, the mindset and habit coaching that runs underneath the physical program, and the simplicity. She admits she almost had buyer's remorse the day she got her first meal plan because it seemed too straightforward after years of complicated competitor-style programs. Week by week the simplicity proved itself and six months later she describes it as her new normal - she just preps her food and goes to the gym without having to think about it.
THE FEARS GOING IN
Kristin's biggest fear was not the program failing but herself failing - she had tried things before and gone back to old habits and did not want to repeat that pattern. What shifted her mindset was deciding this was her Hail Mary. If this does not work then she was just going to be old, fat, and sassy. She went all in and gave herself no other option.
THE RESULTS
Six months in Kristin can barely recognize herself in the mirror - but in the best possible way. She recently went on a family vacation and threw on a swimsuit without a second thought, spending the whole trip present with her kids instead of anxious about how she looked. Her husband started prioritizing his own health after watching her consistency. Her daughters are asking about protein and carbs because they are athletes and they are watching. The whole home has been reorganized - no more junk, simpler eating, more clarity across every area of life.
THE RIPPLE EFFECT ON FAMILY
I connect Kristin's story to something I talk about often - that the wife is the health decision maker of the household and when she takes care of herself the whole family gets healthier by default. Kristin describes her husband fueling off her consistency, her daughters learning what healthy habits look like at a young age, and the dynamic between her and her husband shifting back to something that has more energy and spark. She also credits the mindset work with changing how she shows up in her marriage.
ADVICE FOR WOMEN ON THE FENCE
Kristin's advice is that this was probably the best investment she has ever made in herself and she is conservative with money. She says this will be the last program people try - not because it is a miracle but because it teaches the habits that actually last. She also says you have to want it and you have to be willing to do the work and let go of the expectation that results happen overnight.
CLOSING
Kristin closes by sharing that she has learned more about herself in six months than she expected. She is about to travel alone to a retreat - something that would have terrified her before - and she is doing it because when you feel good you want to try new things. Her final message: you are never too old and it is okay to ask for help.
