Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 Hello, my little sugar cubes. Welcome to the fitness manifest podcast. If you
Speaker 1 00:00:07 That's a resort
Speaker 2 00:00:10 Side effects might include motivation, empowerment, giggles. Enlightment inspiration.
Speaker 0 00:00:17 Welcome to the fitness manifest podcast. My name is Teresa Sado. I'm a personal trainer teaching you how our bodies work, how to incorporate new healthy habits and how to reach fitness goals with longevity in mind today, I wanna introduce and welcome Tracy plush core to the show. Tracy is the founder of self-made you and the host of the secrets of the self-made podcast, which helps men and women create self-made wealth and wellness through life coaching. Tracy focuses on teaching critical skills necessary to manage your mind and overcome any obstacle, including overeating over drinking time management career and relationship changes. So, Tracy, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to come and talk on the show and, and share your advice and, and knowledge to our listeners.
Speaker 3 00:01:10 You bet. Thank you so much for having me. I don't. That is such a mouthful. Isn't it? <laugh>
Speaker 0 00:01:15 Good though.
Speaker 3 00:01:15 That's no short bio right there. <laugh>
Speaker 0 00:01:19 I feel like it's, it's always easy to, it's easy to add on. It's harder to take out for sure.
Speaker 3 00:01:25 Mm-hmm <affirmative> yeah, yeah. But thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here.
Speaker 0 00:01:29 So we're gonna be talking about three main topics in this episode. Um, she's gonna share the four basics of weight loss, how you can stop overeating and how focusing on your health and fitness goals can actually make you have a more successful career.
Speaker 3 00:01:44 Yeah. Yeah. And so that sometimes I think gives people a little bit of pause, like really what does one have to do it, the other, so, yeah, it'll be fun to talk about that.
Speaker 0 00:01:54 Yeah. I, I definitely it's something that I've been realizing this past year, year and a half and I, I don't think I've yet completely, you know, broken down. What does it mean and how, how deep it really affects us, you know, movement and creativity and all this stuff with, you know, how we perform in our, in our career. So I'm really looking forward to, to what you have to say and have to share. Awesome. Awesome.
Speaker 3 00:02:25 Yeah. Yeah. Well, where should we start?
Speaker 0 00:02:28 I think we start with the four basics, um, and then just kind of go deeper and deeper in the conversation and in the mind work stuff later.
Speaker 3 00:02:36 Okay. Yeah. So I, um, have found that I learned better when I have frameworks to use. I just have a higher level of confidence when I have something visual to really kind of pull me through the understanding of certain concepts. So I like to use acronyms. I like to use visuals. And so when I'm talking about weight loss specifically, I talk about four basics. And because I like to be a little clever and cheeky, I use the acronym self S E L F because I am the owner of self-made you and I'm, uh, I believe strongly that by taking responsibility for your results, whether they're intentional or unintentional, you are self made. So sometimes I have clients that come to me that take full responsibility for all of their results that they're created, creating the unwanted and the wanted. And sometimes I have people coming through our doors that want to learn how to do that.
Speaker 3 00:03:43 So the people who are wanting to lose weight and keep it off, I teach the four basics, which the S is solving the mind math. And I will say Theresa, that is the component that I think every other mainstream weight loss program out there neglects to teach it is the one thing that will have you. Yo-yo dieting, I'm doing air quotes, but it's the thing that keeps you from sustainable weight loss is, is the mind math that's going on? The thoughts that you have no idea you are thinking that are creating or generating certain feelings within you that have you behaving in such a way that either has you plateauing or gaining weight. So solving the mind, math is the S the E is eating the foods that fuel you, and that looks different for everybody. So you gotta understand what does it even mean to be fueled by food?
Speaker 3 00:04:50 The third, the L is learning to collect data so that you make decisions based in data versus drama. Two very entirely different outcomes. When you make a decision based on drama, like, um, I've never been able to lose weight, therefore I'm not gonna try any longer. Like that's a very dramatic thought, right? Mm-hmm <affirmative>, you could look at the data that your blood is offering you like looking at your blood glucose and maybe understanding that you're actually insulin resistant and what it would take to become insulin sensitive. And then you would be on the path to sustainable weight loss. So we teach our clients how to the third basic is how to collect data, to make your decisions so that you don't revert back to dramatic type thinking. And then the fourth basic is fasting. And that is not to be restrictive, not to be extreme.
Speaker 3 00:05:51 It's really to balance out your insulin, which is a hormone. And when you fast, you're just putting longer periods of time in between your meals, so that you give your blood an opportunity to you, uh, reduce the insulin. And so that you can tap into the stored body fat as a source of energy and not use what it is that you're eating as a source of energy. So, um, those are the four basics that might sound a little bit complex, but we teach it in a really easy to understand way. And I think if you're always thinking about S E L F you will have a comprehensive and a more sustain experience losing and keeping the weight off.
Speaker 0 00:06:39 So then how does the mind math differentiate between the drama? Cause I there's something like, I, I definitely work with my clients on how we speak to ourselves and, and making sure that if we, they go off what they had planned for, they just take a step back and avoid that, that spiral into, oh, I made a mistake. Oh, well, I can just, you know, keep going and keep eating. And I'll just restart on Monday or, or spiraling into that, that mind tunnel of, oh, because I quote unquote failed. That means that I am a failure and, and having that strong attachment between our value and, and our productivity or a success. How, how do you guys teach, you know, the differentiate between the, the mind math and the drama.
Speaker 3 00:07:31 Yeah. So I like to first start off with why you even have the mind math, why you're even having the drama, right? It's because you have a part of your brain that I like to call your primitive brain. Now that part of your brain is the part that runs kind of on default. It's the survival part of your brain. You don't even think intentionally about, you know, the thoughts that you're having or the feelings that might be running through your body. It's just happening on as almost a default mechanism. And that primitive part of your brain has a very big purpose. That purpose is to keep you alive. And so you're constantly avoiding, um, pain seeking pleasure, and that primitive part of your brain really wants to be efficient. So it's going to think the thoughts that it's always thought like that you have been thinking probably since you were a very little girl, like those thoughts come very quickly to mind because it's right there.
Speaker 3 00:08:34 It's very well practiced. It's become a belief. And so when I say be efficient, it doesn't want to expend a whole lot of energy to really think about certain circumstances. It just wants to grab that first thought that you've always thought like, um, I'm unworthy or some iteration of it, right. Or something that has to do with your value. If I, if we go back to your, um, scenario that you've heard your clients talk about where they make it mean something about their self worth, right? Those are thoughts that probably are so ingrained in them because they thought I'm so often that that's what comes to mind every single time they maybe quote, unquote, the mark. So it's important that you recognize why that's happening in the first place. It's not because you're broken. It's not because you're, you know, there's something morally wrong with you, genetically wrong with you, or that you're predisposed to being overweight.
Speaker 3 00:09:34 That's not, it it's only because you haven't understood yet how to manage those primitive brain thoughts. It's not to get rid of primitive brain thoughts. It's just to manage them. They're supposed to be there because again, it keeps you alive. What I want you to overcome is the reaction that you're having to those primitive brain thoughts. I instead want you just to notice 'em and then I want you to respond by questioning them because they are very fear based. They are very dramatic. And if you start to question it like, is it really true that you'll never be able to lose weight because you haven't been able to do it in the past? No, that's a very dramatic thought. What else could you choose to think? Like it's possible that this might be the way that I could learn to lose weight, which it looks entirely different.
Speaker 3 00:10:34 It's not just a script or a, a list of, you know, things to check the boxes off. It's literally managing your thoughts so that you feel different. But to answer your question, Theresa, it really starts with understanding why you're currently getting the results that you're experiencing. And when you can show somebody utilizing their circumstance, they will have an easier time kind of buying into that concept. And they'll be more likely to apply it to their life. And they'll see quite quickly that when they change intentionally their thinking and their feeling, they, by default, they organically get different results than what they've always gotten. And so the mind math is simply the difference between reacting to primitive brain thoughts and responding to prodigy brain thoughts, responding from a prodigy brain from a more discerning place, um, a more like logic based truth based non dramatic place. And when you do that, you get very distinct differences in your experiences.
Speaker 0 00:11:49 Yeah. I definitely wanna highlight what you mentioned about awareness, cuz I think that's the, the first step is cuz like you say, we, we have these narratives that who knows how long they started, how long ago they started and to the point where we don't even notice ourselves, like speaking it to ourselves. Right. And unless you take some time and, and purposely pay attention, write them down, you know, however you keep track the best, then it's not gonna change and you might be stuck wondering, well, how come it's not working? What am I missing? Where it's, it's like, you're saying it's, it's those thoughts. And I'm sure that that having those constant dramatic thoughts, like you're saying it also keeps your cortisol high, which it, it influences your leptin levels, your grin, uh, these two hormones are, um, in, uh, grin is the hunger homo hormone.
Speaker 0 00:12:44 And then leptin is the satiety. So it makes you feel full. So cortisol influences both of those. And sometimes that's the missing key. And like you're saying, once you realize, and you make this decision, this is not the narrative that I want to continue. I wanna make a change. And you start telling yourself a more positive narrative or more kind narrative, even though you might not believe it in the beginning. And it might kind of feel weird the more you do it, the more like you say that more, um, what, what did you refer to? Not the primitive brain, but the more
Speaker 3 00:13:16 The prodigy brain,
Speaker 0 00:13:17 The more the prodigy brain will, will accept it. And we'll be like, you know what? You're right. You're right. Yeah. I can do this.
Speaker 3 00:13:23 Yeah. Yeah. And that's just your prefrontal cortex. I mean, we all have the, the, like the back part of our brain, which is the more of the primitive part of our brain. And then we all have the prefrontal cortex, the front part of our brain, which isn't often triggered to run the show. The default part of your brain is the primitive part. And you have to know that. And once you really understand that science, um, you'll be less likely to, you know, cast a lot of blame onto yourself or to judge yourself. So I self-made, you is steeped in education so that you can understand why you're getting these results. It's not because you're morally bad. It's just because you don't yet understand why things are happening. So to answer your question, that's where we start is really teaching the difference between the, the parts of your brain that create thoughts and how you can be more intentional with your thinking and feeling.
Speaker 3 00:14:26 And it's not the power of positive thinking. It's literally what is more believable that makes you feel different. That's what we're going for. So it might be believable to you. It, it might not be believable that you can get to your goal, weight and stay there within, you know, three weeks. Like that's not believable, but there's a possibility that you could learn a new way to enjoy losing weight and keep it off. Once you get to the goal, like you just want to kind of manipulate the narrative, I guess, to your point, so that it becomes believable. So you can actually wrap your arms around that because that will make you feel different. And therefore you'll show up in a different sort of way, creating organically, creating new results. You shouldn't even have to try. So I I'll say that that's the biggest distinction between the programming that I offer.
Speaker 3 00:15:28 And a lot of these other mainstream diet programs is like, they start from the place of here's what you need to be doing. Here's the script, here's the list. Here's, you know, just check the boxes. I start at the level of your mind because when you find that thought, that makes you feel differently, you show up in an organic way. You don't even have to try you just in retrospect, you notice holy cow, there is, I don't start by checking the boxes. I actually start by believing something different that makes me feel different. And that feeling might be so subtly different, but just even the subtle different will have you making different results, creating different results for yourself.
Speaker 0 00:16:16 Interesting. I, I like, I think that that's a better approach starting with the mind work because it doesn't, I mean, most of us know what it means to eat healthy and how to lose weight. Obviously there's special circumstances, but the knowledge and the education is out there now it's just bridging from what we know to actually implementing it and maintaining those new habits. Mm-hmm <affirmative> so versus feeling like, oh, I should do, you know, X, Y, and Z. It seems like with your programming and, and the lessons that you teach, it becomes more of, this is where I'm at. This is where I wanna be. And I actually want to do these things versus feeling forced to do it.
Speaker 3 00:17:00 Yeah. Yeah. I mean the, probably the number one statement I hear the most is I know what to do. I just don't know why I'm not doing it. <laugh> and I'll just tell you what that stems back to is. You've got to solve the mind math. There is a problem right there that you've got to solve. And it's just, I like to say it's just math. It is you change one variable, which by the way, that variable is your thinking is the thought you change, that you will get a different result. So that is the component that has to change that everybody overlooks. So yes, of course, you know what to do. You've been served that, you know, that checklist a million times and the reason why you're not doing it is because you have a narrative going on in your mind that you are probably unaware of. And so it would behoove you to get to the root cause that narrative is the root cause.
Speaker 0 00:18:00 Okay. What about like having, cuz you're saying having a, a prolonged Fest, uh, between like no late night dinners to maybe like a late morning breakfast mm-hmm <affirmative> but is there a difference between having that prolonged fast versus like having more time in between your meals?
Speaker 3 00:18:22 Um, you know, that's a place to start, I would say. And again, it depends on what it is that you're trying to achieve, but I don't think that there is a lot of room in anybody's diet or day to day diet for snacking. I just don't see why that's actually necessary now, am I do I snack? Yes I do. Because I will allow my primitive brain to tell me I'll react to it, thinking that I'm hungry and most of the time I'm more like emotionally hungry, right? I'm not physically hungry, but I like to really kind of shift that mindset for my clients and tell, help them understand that food solves one problem, hunger, true hunger. Like if you're using food for any other reason, you really need to evaluate that because it's probably creating results in your life that you don't like. So if you're using food to kind of numb the feeling of overwhelm or stress or guilt or shame or whatever it might be, that's probably not serving you very well.
Speaker 3 00:19:32 And so we wanna like really kind of take a step back and look at food as the solution to one thing. And that one thing is hunger. So I like to get my clients into the mindset of, you know, starting off, you can eat three meals a day, but I do not want your meals being any longer than one hour. So you have a hard start and a hard stop. And the reason why I do that is because I know myself and if I don't have like a time limit, then I'm the master negotiator and I'll get to the end of my meal and you know, I'll have eaten a great meal, but then I'm like, Ooh, you know what? I'm not quite done. And now I'm gonna add a cookie because I'm still eating my meal. Like no <laugh>, that would be stacking <laugh>. So I like to just really put some strong boundaries there and just say, okay, go ahead and eat your three meals no longer than one hour. I like to give my clients some guidelines, the ones who are looking to lose weight, that it should be high in good fats, a moderate amount of protein and really low refined carbs. Your carbs should come from green vegetables. Leafy greens can come from some berries, but um, I want you to really limit the amount of sugar and flour that is in your diet.
Speaker 0 00:20:53 Nice. And then that also kind of get rid of, gets rid of a lot of water, weight too lower carbs, have, uh, a tendency to, um, make you maintain a lot of water. So if you do a lower carb diet, then you'll see definitely a big increase in weight loss in the beginning. And then obviously just like any plan it'll kind of die down a little bit and you'll start losing weight in smaller increments. But if it works, that's fantastic. That's the main thing as long, you know, as long as it works for you and you can maintain it for, you know, however long you wanna keep the weight off.
Speaker 3 00:21:27 Got it. Yeah. And, and as lunch you're like enjoying the journey too. Like if you are starting to feel deprived or you're starting to feel restricted, then that's the sign that you need to solve the mind map because you're only feeling that way because there's a thought like a real insidious thought that you don't even know exists, but that's your sign right there. You start feeling restricted or deprived it's because you have a thought that you are believing it's a, it has probably been with you since you were, you know, we big and you need to change that narrative period. If there's one takeaway from this podcast, that's what I want your audience to hear. If, if you're feeling something unwanted, whether it's restriction, whether it's shame or guilt or deprivation, it's because you are thinking a thought and that thought is not serving you.
Speaker 0 00:22:20 Absolutely. So let's say everything in your plan is doing going great. You're staying consistent. You're seeing results. You're feeling extra confident and that starts to bleed into your work and your productivity. Can you kind of explain, like what, what do you think it is about exercise and, and, and just eating better? I mean, is it mainly just because you're fueling your brain, it can, you know, be more creative and it can solve problems easier or is it that plus just a renewed sense of confidence that you're like, li let me, you know, take on new obstacles and, and you start seeing that progress.
Speaker 3 00:23:01 I would say that it is hitting on four different levels. It's because mentally, emotionally, physically, and metabolically, you are thriving. You're in a state of wellness in all four of those areas. So yes, mentally you are thinking more clearly. You probably have, um, limited the amount of brain fog. You probably are experiencing more energy. Um, emotionally, like you said, Theresa, you're, you're experiencing more confidence. So those two things alone will for sure, have you showing up at work in a different sort of way, when you have more energy and your concentration is stronger, your focus is stronger and you have confidence. Like it's a game changer right there, but physically, right, physically you are more active physically. Maybe you're showing up earlier. You're not like dragging yourself out of bed. You probably are a smaller size in clothing, which then contributes to the confidence. Um, and then metabolically, like metabolic is for sure the most overlooked component.
Speaker 3 00:24:17 And ironically that equates to longevity that, that equates to a longer life. So, you know, it also has everything to do with your energy again. Um, but I would say where I really put the emphasis is when you are metabolically flexible, you are dramatically decreasing your risk for chronic illness and diseases. So you are going, your immune system is gonna be much stronger. You're going to be able to fight off a lot of illnesses, which of course translates into a better work experience. Um, so yeah, I think it's, it's because of those four components, you are thriving in due to the weight loss, but my clients, the students have self-made you, they're very intentional about that. Like I teach that right out of the gate that this transformation, as much as you want it to be physical news flash, it's gonna be mental, emotional, and metabolic as well as physical. And that's the biggest gift I could ever give you because it will translate into all areas of your life. And that's huge.
Speaker 0 00:25:33 I, I would also like to add, cause I, I wrote this article, um, talking about like lessons that working out and are at least persevering through a goal, teaches you, cuz it, I feel like at least personally going through the journey of, you know, I, I tried something, it didn't work out. Let me go back to square one, let me try something else. And you know that those cycles of, you know, I can't give up, I don't wanna give up, let me keep going. Let me keep going. Teaches you also perseverance. It teaches you gratitude. It teaches you just so many little lessons and like the, the benefits of challenging your body and, and seeing how it grows. I feel like that also easily translates into your job and, and the risks that you're taking.
Speaker 3 00:26:20 Oh, for sure. Yeah. I would say that those are, you know, those are part of like your executive functioning skills. Like you were learning how to make decisions. You're learning how to evaluate what worked, what didn't work, what am I gonna do different? So, absolutely. I think that's a great point to, to get behind. Um, those skill sets are so valuable in every, every area of your life. But if you are employed by somebody, like, I love talking to my clients about the professional side of their life, um, because my clients get an opportunity to do one-on-one client or one-on-one, um, calls with me and nothing's off the table, even though they came through the door, wanting to lose weight, we can certainly coach on professional, uh, circumstances. And the one thing that I love to remind them of is their capacity for being self-made their capacity for taking responsibility for their unintentional and intentional results. It's like a superpower and what employer out there doesn't want to hire somebody with the superpower of taking responsibility. Like I just wanna say, thank you. <laugh> very much for sending those people my way. Like those are the kind of employees I wanna, I wanna hire. Mm-hmm <affirmative>, you know, when you learn that skillset, you are literally unstoppable. So yeah, that's a great point.
Speaker 0 00:27:56 I, I love how you, you, we started with the self-made and taking responsibility and now we're, we're wrapping it up with the self-made and responsibility. I like that. Well, that, that was it. We got through everything. Um, so now next is the manifest challenge. So for anyone new that's listening, the manifest challenge is an action step that helps you progress in your health journey. You come up, you came up with, um, a manifest challenge for listeners. You could do this for just a week, just two weeks, or what, what do you recommend?
Speaker 3 00:28:27 You know, I, I think, you know, make your goals, um, easy to achieve. I think the, the, one of the most self sabotaging moves that we find ourselves doing on the frequent is creating some really huge grandiose goal and, you know, and, and proclaiming to the world that, you know, we're gonna, you know, eat a low carb, high, fat diet forever more, and we're gonna run three miles every single day. Well, come on, you know, let's start with like minimum baseline. Let's start with some declarations that are almost so hard to not do. So I would say asking yourself the question like is how doable is this? If I had to rate this on a scale of one to 10, how doable is this? Because I forever more will not go into this self sabotaging move of proclaiming. I'm gonna, I'm gonna enter into something that is maybe like a negative one on the doable FA factor.
Speaker 3 00:29:40 I wanna make this so doable, so easy that it's hard not to do. So it's like a 10 as far as doability. Um, so I think that's a really good question for people who are going after herb engaged in the manifest challenge, like is what you are studying out to do. Is it so easy to do that? It's hard not to like, think about it in that way. Like, don't go out there proclaiming something that is hard and trying to, you know, make yourself believe I can do hard things. No, like make it so easy. That's hard not to do.
Speaker 0 00:30:17 I love it. I, I would also, I would like to piggy buck on that and say, um, cuz sometimes we can kind of convince ourselves like, oh, I think it's do it. Well, it's probably doable, right? Because we think of our future self as this more productive, more energized version of ourselves. But I would say after you figure out, okay, this is what my realistic goal is, then ask yourself, okay, what obstacles may come up? Like what if there's a change in my schedule? What if there's um, you know, I don't know. I ran out of time and I didn't, wasn't able to cook. And then in those circumstances, okay, well what is your solution? And if you can answer them easily, then I think that you, you can be more confident and like, say yes, this is a for sure, 10 it's realistic, it's attainable.
Speaker 3 00:31:05 Mm-hmm, <affirmative> brilliant. Yep. That is. And what you're doing right there to really bring it full circle is you're making a decision ahead of time and you're utilizing your prodigy brain. Your primitive brain is very, knee-jerk reactive, right? It'd be in the moment and be very drama. You avoid being in those situations when you make a decision ahead of time utilizing your prodigy brain. So I love creating strategy of creating strategies to overcome obstacles that haven't even arose yet. Like you create a strategy for an obstacle ahead of time and you do that utilizing your prodigy brain, which ends really well <laugh> so yeah,
Speaker 0 00:31:49 Don't don't even give your affirmative brain a chance to speak. You're like, no, exactly. I don't need to hear, I already have my solution. I already have my answer. Yep.
Speaker 3 00:31:57 Yep. That's exactly it. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:31:59 All right. Thank you so much, Tracy. Um, if followers wanna hear more from you, um, what, what are the best, uh, like social medias or website? I know you have a podcast that you guys should definitely check out. Um, yeah. So what, what are your handles? And what's the, what's the best place for people can find you?
Speaker 3 00:32:18 Yeah. So my podcast is secrets of the self-made. So you get to hear all the stories of my students and the things that they have created for themselves. Um, my handle on Instagram is self underscored made you, and we have all sorts of, um, free resources there, but I would say the place to find me and to get probably the best resources is at our website. Self-made u.com, which is S E L F dash M a D E. And then it's the letter u.com. We have a free quiz takes about 90 seconds and it reveals your diet persona. It reveals what your relationship is with food and how that relationship is keeping you overweight. And then once you get to see, um, your unique persona, we offer you a free five day challenge that starts with solving the mind math. So lots of freebies, if you go to self-made u.com,
Speaker 0 00:33:21 I love it. So I would say listeners work on the manifest challenge and then go take the diet personality quiz. Yeah. Um, I'll link all of her social media and the website and podcast in the show notes, uh, below. Um, that's it for this episode. Thank you so much for listening and uh, I'll catch you on the next one.
Speaker 1 00:33:41 You
Speaker 2 00:33:47 Side effects might include motivation, empowerment, giggles, enlightenment, inspiration.
Speaker 0 00:33:53 Good in.
