This week, I’m giving you a behind-the-scenes look at my recent Vegas trip—and why it turned out to be my favourite one yet.
In this episode:
✅ My love-hate relationship with Vegas (I’m not a party girl!)
✅ My go-to hotels, restaurants, and hidden gems for a calmer, luxe Vegas vibe
✅ Shakira’s concert—and the powerful lesson it taught me about confidence and presence
✅ Why Cirque du Soleil left me reflecting on strength and joy in movement
✅ Real talk about body image, poolside insecurities, and how to feel free in your body
✅ Simple travel tips to stay healthy without guilt or obsession
Whether you’re planning your own Vegas adventure or want a reminder that confidence isn’t about your body size, this episode is for you.
💙 My Vegas Faves:
Hotels:
- Four Seasons Las Vegas (quiet luxury, non-casino, non-smoking)
- Virgin Hotels (modern vibe, great food, quieter than the Strip)
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Ready to build strength, feel confident AF, and lose fat without obsessing or stressing over it? [Apply to Join the Muscles & Mindset program here].
Connect With Me:
• Instagram: [@annejonesfit]
• Website: [https://www.annejonescoaching.ca/]
• YouTube: [https://www.youtube.com/@annejones]
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Welcome to the Muscles andMindset Revolution, the podcast
for ambitious women who want tobuild strength, feel confident,
af, and lose fat for good,without counting calories or BS
quick fixes.
I'm your host, Anne Jones,certified life coach, personal
trainer, and mindset expert.
After 15 plus years in thefitness industry, I know the
real key to lasting change isn'tjust what you do, it's how you
(00:24):
think.
If you're ready to shift yourmindset, build a lifestyle you
love and feel confident af,you're in the right place, let's
dive in.
Today's episode is a littledifferent.
I am just chatting to you like afriend, giving you a behind the
scenes look at my recent trip toLas Vegas, to see Shakira.
And of course I'm gonna spillsome Vegas tea, but I'm also
gonna share some big lessons andreflections about confidence,
(00:47):
body image, relaxing, and whatit really means to feel strong
and free, whether you are on thestrip, in sequence, or living
your everyday life.
And if you are tired of feelinglike you have to change your
body to go to Vegas, go to thepool, or live your best life.
Keep listening.
This trip reminded me as I amevery day of why this is not
true.
Okay, so welcome.
(01:09):
Let's talk Vegas.
So first of all, I am not aVegas girly.
I have friends and acquaintanceswho love Vegas.
They love the day clubs, thebeach clubs, they love the all
the things.
I do not, I actually have a lovehate relationship with Vegas.
And I was thinking about thisthis past week actually, this
(01:30):
whole time of planning thistrip.
I think that I'm holding somejudgment maybe towards Woo
girls.
Which of course is unfair, butI'm not, I'm not a party girl.
I don't like to stay up past10:00 PM I don't do drugs.
I don't have more than twodrinks, three in Vegas, I find
it very overstimulating.
I find it loud.
I find that there's a lot of,stuff I don't like anybody being
(01:53):
exposed to there, particularlyon the strep.
But I have also had a lot of funthere.
I love the shows.
I love the people watching.
There's great food.
I kind of love the desert, Ilove the mountains.
I love what it looks like.
I love the colours, I like toget dressed up.
So there are a lot of thingsactually I do like.
So there are a lot of thingsthat I do like, and honestly,
(02:13):
people often ask me about myVegas favourites'cause I have
been several times, so let meshare a few.
My favourite hotel is now theFour Seasons.
Not doing Vegas any other wayever again.
Although I would be open totrying the Westin, I'm a Westin
girly.
The Westin's off the strip, butthe four Seasons for the peace
and quiet.
I did like the Virgin for thevibe and the rooms and, they had
really good food.
For restaurants.
(02:34):
My favourites are sushi samba,which is in the Palazzo, and,
lemongrass, which is in thearia.
I also love Texas de Brazil,which is a steakhouse off the
strip.
It's a little ways out, more ina residential area, which is
called Something Village,something Townhouse Village.
I'm, I'm not being a very goodtour guide right now, but those
(02:55):
are probably my favouriterestaurants.
And I'm not a big shopper, but Ilove to look a little bit, you
know in Fashion show mall.
my number one store that Ialways go to, and I didn't make
at this time, just I spent toomuch time in the pool.
s called Attic Salt.
They just have funny t-shirts.
I always get mad at funnyt-shirts, fun sticker.
I bought some fun, like cheapjewelry there.
So that's my pretty much onlystore that I go to in Vegas.
(03:17):
I'll pop a list of all my Vegasfaves, hotels, restaurants, and
fun shopping spots into the shownotes for you in case you're
planning your own trip.
I'm not a gambler or a clubgirl, so I'd rather spend my
time at the pool finding cutebrunch spots.
I went to Brunch of the Windonce.
It was super fun and beautiful,or checking out new Cirque
shows.
This last time, I think was myfavourite Vegas trip ever.
(03:39):
So the very first time I went toLas Vegas, I was young.
I was maybe like 11 or 12.
I went my family and we stayedin the circus.
Circus used to have acampground.
Because we had a camper.
I thought it was so cool.
We didn't even do anything.
I don't think I got to go on therides or we just went in Circus
Circus and I thought it was socool that I was there.
if you know now like circus,circus is not it in Las Vegas.
(04:02):
And then as I got older, I havestayed.
I think the next time I wentback, I went back with my
husband and our best friends inmaybe.
The mid 2010s.
'Cause our friend was gonna aconference there.
We had a great time as couples.
We had a great time.
There was no real clubbing oranything.
But we had, we, I went to CelineDion with my girlfriend.
We went off strip to eat.
(04:23):
We went off strip.
The boys went off strip togamble.
Like we went to the CSIexperience, which was super fun.
We had some good food.
That was a great time.
We stayed at Treasure Island.
I can't remember why.
It was fine.
I learned a lot about staying inVegas.
Since then, I've stayed atTreasure Island at least two
more times'cause a girlfriendwanted to stay there for her
bachelorette and I actuallystayed there in January.
(04:43):
So I went to a conference and Istayed there'cause it was like
the best deal and my flight wasfree, but I hated it.
I hate it.
It is, it's in a convenientlocation, but it's old, which I
don't have anything against butthe casino.
You come out as you do in manyhotels in Vegas.
You come out the hotel part intothe casino, but the casino at
Treasure Island has a very lowceiling.
(05:04):
It's old, so it's one of theSmokiest casinos because the
ceiling is so low and it's fullof smoking everywhere.
There's no separation between itand the elevators.
There's no security at theelevators.
You don't have to swipe yourcard to go up.
I hated that.
I didn't love being there,particularly this past last time
that I went.
I didn't like it.
So I've done, I did CircusCircus, I've done Treasure
(05:24):
Island.
I stayed at Elara, which wasreally nice.
where else have I stayed?
Oh, I stayed at Virgin lastyear, which I actually loved.
It's newer and it's a little bitoff strip, but I really liked
it.
It was like really nice and newinside.
It was very chic and fun.
It's enough off the strip thatit's quieter.
There are great restaurantsinside.
It's a little newer and lesssmoky compared to Treasure
Island and some of the oldercasinos.
(05:45):
The rooms were super nice.
I got sort of a strip viewsuites quite away from the
strip, but you can see thesphere and everything, which I
sent my daughter photos and sheloved that.
So I really liked Virgin.
And it's off the strip, but youcan walk to fashion show and
within 30 minutes, whichusually, you know, when I met
Vegas in January, I love walking'cause it's warm, but it's not
(06:05):
super hot.
Walk everywhere.
This past weekend when I wasthere, it was very hot.
Never been there when it was sohot.
It was like 40 to 42 degrees.
Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot.
so I went this past weekend,because I had the opportunity to
go see Shakira.
I wouldn't say I'm like thebiggest Shakira fan, but reminds
me of my teenage years.
I love Shakira, love to see herdance, like she's just the
(06:26):
sexiest person in the world.
I think super talented and, Ihad the opportunity to go see
her anywhere and.
Vegas is one of the closest,least expensive places to get to
from the Canadian West Coastparticularly.
'cause I live somewhere whereyou have to get to Vancouver
just to go anywhere.
So was gonna go and thoughtabout gonna Mexico City to see
her because she did eight showsthere.
(06:48):
I almost went to Boston.
And then finally just let's makeit quick and easy.
Friday to Monday in an out bymyself, went to Vegas.
I found a good deal, a goodpackage deal to stay at the Four
Seasons, never in my life did Iever think I would be a person
who stays at the Four Seasons.
So I was super excited.
Still like a little bit of asplurge, but I was like so
excited to stay at the FourSeasons.
(07:08):
And I have to say, it is I waslike unlocked the secret to
Vegas for me because you, it'sat the very end of the strip.
It's attached to Mandalay Bay.
It's only the top five floors onone side of Mandalay Bay.
So it's like tiny, tiny pool.
you, when you arrive there'salmost no sign that you can see
from the strip.
You go through like a jungle toget to the door and it's like
(07:30):
quiet.
It is one of the few casinonon-smoking hotels, on the
strip.
It's so nice.
Like also I've heard about fourseasons, like customer service.
I never experienced it.
I was blown away.
I loved it so much.
I'm obsessed and then I fully.
I was literally just there tosee Shakira.
I was going with a really goodfriend of mine who lives in Las
Vegas.
We were gonna see Shakira and weended up also, getting free
(07:53):
tickets to Circ on Sunday, whichwas amazing.
So I was just there to do thosetwo things.
I'm not a shopper, I'm not agambler.
I literally stayed at the hotel.
I intentionally spent two fullpool mornings, like I was
dedicated to this and before myearly mid twenties, I was never.
A layout at the pool person.
I was talking to my girlfriendabout this actually because.
(08:16):
This was not modeled for me as achild.
Okay.
Like I did not grow up in thelifestyle.
First of all, we didn't liveanywhere near a pool or anywhere
where it was hot ever.
So I never saw my parents oranyone.
We never went on like a beachvacation.
We went on a couple cruises whenI was a kid, but we never went
on like a beach vacation and allinclusive.
I certainly never stayed at aresort where someone like seats
(08:36):
you at a chair and serves youlike that.
Has was not a part of my lifeuntil I got married.
I just was talking to mygirlfriend about how I feel
awkward sometimes'cause I feellike I didn't grow up in this
environment.
I didn't learn like how thisworks.
I feel very awkward.
But it was amazing.
And I spent two full poolmornings and so the pool was the
(08:56):
perfect temperature.
I had this like domy, they callit an orbit, this chair thing.
I had my book.
I was just, I was like so happy.
I was so blessed out.
I spent the whole mornings thereand then I hung out with my
girlfriend in the evenings.
And I, I guess it's like a bitof a, not a not vegasy
experience'cause I didn't reallygo to the strip.
(09:17):
I don't gamble.
But I do love the shows.
And I went to the shows and Ijust feel like it was my
favourite trip for all thesereasons.
And I waffled about booking itbecause I had already, I've
already had a few trips thisyear.
I was a little nervous aboutbooking it and I'm.
So glad that I did.
I'm so grateful to my March selffor booking this past weekend.
(09:39):
By the way, make sure you'refollowing the show.
So the next episode lands rightinto your feed.
So Shakira was at AllegiantStadium.
This is another reason that FourSeasons is a place to go if
you're going to a show atAllegiant, because the parking
situation at Allegiant is anightmare.
You don't even wanna take anUber there.
But Mandalay Bay and the FourSeasons are connected.
And then Mandalay Bay is rightbeside Allegiant, so it's a 10
(10:01):
minute walk for someone like mewho walks fast, a 10 minute walk
might be a 20 minute walk, andit's mostly inside, so you're
not super sweaty.
So it was amazing.
It was so many people, like65,000 people, but the vibe was
really great.
there were so many fun outfits.
Yeah, the energy was reallygood.
Everybody was super happy andthen holy cow, Shakira puts on
quite a show.
It's huge.
(10:22):
There's a lot of props.
The outfits are so fun.
A lot of outfits really like thethings that stick out to me the
most is her confidence andcharisma.
And of course she's Shakira,she's beautiful.
Like she's not super ripped orjacked and of course she's
beautiful, but she owns it,right?
And she does this thing with hereyes, like you'll see it in her
(10:43):
headshots and stuff.
Like she makes eye contact andlike walks.
I'm gonna try to do it.
And like starts walking away,but keeps this eye contact.
And that's what makes her sosexy is she owns her body and
her space and I just love that.
I think probably my favouritemoments were like her belly
dancing, which is crazy.
The dancing is my favourite partBut really watching Shakira
(11:05):
reminded me how confidence isnot ever about being the
thinnest woman in the room.
It is about owning yourpresence.
It's how you stand, how youmove, how you speak to yourself.
And I see this a lot in Vegas Imean, you see a lot of The
opposite of this in Vegas,there's a lot of insecurity,
obviously, but I always noticethis on a pool deck.
First of all, the things that Inotice on a pool deck is like,
(11:27):
oh, right.
Literally everyone hascellulite, literally every
person and social media is fakebecause all these bodies are
beautiful and real, and theyjust don't look like what you
see Posey Posey online.
so I really, I really love that.
So I loved Shakira.
I loved the dancing.
I loved hearing the old songslike that.
I heard when I was a teenager.
I loved the colours and thebling and the sparkles and the
(11:50):
dancing.
The dancing was for sure myfavourite.
So it was a great show.
Went to bed before midnight.
It was amazing.
Enjoyed my day at the pool thenext day.
And then on Sunday night we wentto Cirque de Soleil Mystere,
which I think is my favouritecirc that I have seen.
It was, you know, weird has nostory.
As many Cirques don't, but theacts were amazing.
(12:11):
The trapeze was amazing.
The, yeah, I think the trapezemaybe was my favourite.
The, oh my gosh.
the people and the, oh, this wasthe other thing I wanted to say
about Shakira.
She did like every dance genre.
She did merengue, cumbia, bellydancing, salsa.
She's like salsa version of someof her songs.
She did intense sort of.
You know, modern dance, but likejazz, kind of like poppy dance.
(12:33):
I really love that.
In Cirque de Soleil, myfavourite act was these two
female, I guess they would callthem like acrobats.
They were so strong and youcould tell that was like the
theme of the scene of the act orwhatever as well, was it was all
about femininity and they're ontop of the world and the men are
sort of bowing down to them,like these two women.
(12:54):
Did everything together.
One of them, like ham curled theother while she was in a
handstand, she, at some pointwas like on her belly and this
person is doing a handstand onher feet, and then she slides
under and is on her.
It was crazy, like it was some,I mean, that is the definition
of Cirque de Soleil.
as someone who knows howmovement feels in the body and
how to do a handstand and a hamcurl, like I'm always putting
(13:17):
myself in the position.
I did this at Shakira too.
Because the dancing is insane.
So as someone who has danced onstage before, both in a fitness
capacity and a competitivecapacity, all I'm thinking about
is how exhausted those dancersmust be.
'cause they are going all outand hitting it so hard for two
and a half hours.
So that is what I'm thinkingabout is the performers and like
how they are feeling, thephysical strength and artistry
(13:39):
of them.
So it's amazing.
And you can also tell mygirlfriend and I were talking
about this...
There's a extremely high levelof discipline, obviously in
training and execution of that,but there's also room for
flexibility and there'scommunication.
Like sometimes you can tell inthey're calling out, they're
communicating with each otherparticularly.
But there's like a plan B.
if this guy accidentally goesthis way, they have a plan B for
(14:01):
it.
So I just loved that example offlexibility.
I love the example of strengthas art.
We need more of that, moreshowing strength and real bodies
as art, more moving your bodyfor joy versus punishment,
right?
Like that looks hard, what thosecirc people are doing.
But it also looks really fun.
Like if you could do that, itprobably feels so fun And I
(14:23):
want, we need more of Moreexamples of moving your body for
joy versus punishment.
And I always love that aboutCirc.
It reminded me that strength isnot just about muscle or
fitness, it is about expressingyourself and experiencing life
fully.
And I love that Circ tells astory in that way.
as I mentioned before, both inVegas and at Shakira on the pool
(14:45):
deck, I see a variety of bodies.
I see no perfect bodies.
I see some enhanced bodies forsure.
But what I do see is thatconfidence isn't the level of
makeup or the body.
It is a way of being.
One of my first podcast episodeswas about how confidence and
(15:07):
body image are actually not asequated as we think that we are.
We think that body image is aresult of our actual body.
It's not, it's about how we feelabout ourselves.
You can be confident inliterally anybody.
You can feel not confident inliterally anybody as well.
I talk more about that on thatpodcast, but I think that is one
thing that I do love about Vegasis just how people show up.
(15:27):
It's the place where you canwear a sparkle, you can wear a
color, you can wear the shortestdress, you wear a bathing suit,
you wear nothing everythinggoes.
And I think that freedom, youcan see it as permission to feel
how you want to feel in your ownskin, which is how I see it.
Like I didn't pack a pair ofheels on this trip to Vegas.
I know that's the place to wearthe stilettos and wear the
(15:48):
heels, but I was packing in acarry-on.
I was going to a dance class.
I was standing at a concert forthree hours.
So I was not taking heels, and Ifeel like you have permission to
do that.
I feel like anything goes, and Ichoose to see that in as many
realms of my life as possibleversus, Ooh, most people are
doing this or that person isdoing this.
(16:09):
I also tried to think in thisfor, writing this podcast for
you, if I had any moments ofinsecurity and how I coached
myself through them.
And to be completely honest withyou, from a body perspective or
a body image perspective, I didnot, probably the most insecure
that I felt was at the pool deckwhen a 10-year-old boy.
(16:31):
Asked someone to set up fourchairs for him and then slipped
her a tip.
When I hadn't done that wasprobably the most insecure I had
felt the whole time.
So I think for me, I'm gonnagive myself that win in mindset
is that this is what I alwayssay about body image and
confidence is a positive bodyimage is not thinking that you
are sexy and thin all the time.
(16:53):
Actually, it's actually just notthinking about your body that
much at all.
which is me.
I just not losing any sleep overit.
And Vegas reminded me that thewomen who shine the brightest
aren't necessarily the leanest,right?
They're the ones who feel free,they look free.
'cause they feel free.
And that's the goal, right?
(17:14):
not to lose weight, but to feelfree.
And then I wanted to give yousome practical tips.
This is not an episode abouttravel.
I talk about travel a lot.
Actually have a travel guide.
I can link it in the show noteshere.
But I just wanted to remind you,as I always remember, a couple
things that are always broughtto mind when I travel is number
one.
I'm always grateful for myfitness and my mobility when I
(17:34):
travel, I wanna be able to liftthe suitcase.
I wanna be able to walk fasterthan those people standing on
that stupid moving treadmill.
I want to be able to walkanywhere.
I want to be able to walk up allthe stairs.
travel seems to be a veryphysical activity.
I want all of that and I want tofeel good and I want to do it
(17:54):
without obsessing over food.
And so I mean, I had a coupledrinks probably every day this
past weekend.
I never had more than three,Vegas.
I eat vegetables every day.
I ate breakfast every day.
this is what I always tellpeople.
It's summer vacation.
Right now we're going on travel.
Don't make it different.
Keep it as close to your normalliving as possible.
(18:15):
You can be in Vegas and eatfries for lunch and have had
avocado toast and salad forbreakfast.
You can have Prosecco on thepool deck without calling the
day a wash and drinking for therest of the day you can enjoy
food and wear a bathing suit.
You don't have to obsess overit.
If you live in the gray area, ifyou are willing to pick and
(18:38):
choose, give and take, listen toyour body.
You don't have to over exerciseto get there.
You don't have to hide your bodythere.
Nobody cares.
Literally, nobody is thinkingabout you or your body unless
you have a fun bathing suit,which I compliment everyone on
their fun bathing suits.
Oh, and their fun coverups.
Nobody cares about your body onthe pool deck, on the beach, I
promise you.
(18:59):
Nobody cares.
I didn't work out on thisparticular vacation.
I'm always like, if I'msomewhere for a short time.
I don't necessarily wanna spendor waste my time unless I did go
to a fun dance class with myfriend Ashley on Saturday.
We went to a Latin Fusion classwhere we learned a really sexy
chacha, which was super fun.
And then we walked everywhere,right?
I don't wanna spend my time withher or my time at this beautiful
(19:21):
hotel working out.
Like I love working out.
Maybe if I'm there for threeweeks, but if I'm there for
three days, i'm not spending mytime in the gym like that's, no,
I'm gonna walk.
I did, Ooh.
I got, oh yeah, you can get yogamat delivered to your hotel
room.
I did that.
I did yoga every morning beforeI went down to the pool.
So I felt like I moved my body.
I chose food that I love withoutfeeling guilty about it.
(19:43):
And then really for me, mybiggest mindset hurdle is
relaxing, giving into it, beingokay, doing nothing.
Enjoying believing that Ideserve this.
This experience, and I mean if Ican do this in Vegas, have this
healthy lifestyle surrounded bybuffets and cocktails and
sequins, I promise you can do itanywhere.
if you are listening andthinking, I want to feel free
(20:04):
like that, this is exactly whatI help my clients do.
My clients are constantlytalking about ease.
Th that is where we get them toso that they feel ease in their
bodies, not just lose weight,they do that as well, but live
fully without obsession or fear.
Life is too short.
So if you are ready for thatkind of confidence.
DM me on Instagram.
I'm happy to have a chat withyou, and I would love to know if
(20:25):
you are a Vegas person or not.
I would love to hear about it.
I would love to hear about yourfavourites.
I would love to know if insideor outside of Vegas you had a
moment that reminded you of howstrong and confident you really
are.
Come tell me on Instagram at@annejonesfit.
If you would love help feelingthis kind of freedom and
confidence in your body and inyour life without obsession or
(20:46):
restriction, send me a DM onInstagram at Anne Jones Fit or
check the show notes for mycoaching options and free
resources.
Life is too short to keepwaiting for perfection.
All right.
That's it for today's Vegasrecap.
I hope you're leaving thisepisode reminded that confidence
is not about your body orperfection.
It is actually about presenceand freedom.
(21:06):
If you love this chat, don'tforget to subscribe, so you
never miss an episode and comeout with me on Instagram at Ann
Jones Fit.
I would love to hear if you area Vegas person or not, and your
favorite confidence wins andstrategies.
Until next time, keep livingstrong, free and confident.
Thank you for being here andI'll talk to you next week.
Welcome to the Muscles andMindset Revolution, the podcast
for ambitious women who want tobuild strength, feel confident,
af, and lose fat for good,without counting calories or BS
quick fixes.
I'm your host, Anne Jones,certified life coach, personal
trainer, and mindset expert.
After 15 plus years in thefitness industry, I know the
real key to lasting change isn'tjust what you do, it's how you
(00:24):
think.
If you're ready to shift yourmindset, build a lifestyle you
love and feel confident af,you're in the right place, let's
dive in.
Today's episode is a littledifferent.
I am just chatting to you like afriend, giving you a behind the
scenes look at my recent trip toLas Vegas, to see Shakira.
And of course I'm gonna spillsome Vegas tea, but I'm also
gonna share some big lessons andreflections about confidence,
(00:47):
body image, relaxing, and whatit really means to feel strong
and free, whether you are on thestrip, in sequence, or living
your everyday life.
And if you are tired of feelinglike you have to change your
body to go to Vegas, go to thepool, or live your best life.
Keep listening.
This trip reminded me as I amevery day of why this is not
true.
Okay, so welcome.
(01:09):
Let's talk Vegas.
So first of all, I am not aVegas girly.
I have friends and acquaintanceswho love Vegas.
They love the day clubs, thebeach clubs, they love the all
the things.
I do not, I actually have a lovehate relationship with Vegas.
And I was thinking about thisthis past week actually, this
(01:30):
whole time of planning thistrip.
I think that I'm holding somejudgment maybe towards Woo
girls.
Which of course is unfair, butI'm not, I'm not a party girl.
I don't like to stay up past10:00 PM I don't do drugs.
I don't have more than twodrinks, three in Vegas, I find
it very overstimulating.
I find it loud.
I find that there's a lot of,stuff I don't like anybody being
(01:53):
exposed to there, particularlyon the strep.
But I have also had a lot of funthere.
I love the shows.
I love the people watching.
There's great food.
I kind of love the desert, Ilove the mountains.
I love what it looks like.
I love the colours, I like toget dressed up.
So there are a lot of thingsactually I do like.
So there are a lot of thingsthat I do like, and honestly,
(02:13):
people often ask me about myVegas favourites'cause I have
been several times, so let meshare a few.
My favourite hotel is now theFour Seasons.
Not doing Vegas any other wayever again.
Although I would be open totrying the Westin, I'm a Westin
girly.
The Westin's off the strip, butthe four Seasons for the peace
and quiet.
I did like the Virgin for thevibe and the rooms and, they had
really good food.
For restaurants.
(02:34):
My favourites are sushi samba,which is in the Palazzo, and,
lemongrass, which is in thearia.
I also love Texas de Brazil,which is a steakhouse off the
strip.
It's a little ways out, more ina residential area, which is
called Something Village,something Townhouse Village.
I'm, I'm not being a very goodtour guide right now, but those
(02:55):
are probably my favouriterestaurants.
And I'm not a big shopper, but Ilove to look a little bit, you
know in Fashion show mall.
my number one store that Ialways go to, and I didn't make
at this time, just I spent toomuch time in the pool.
s called Attic Salt.
They just have funny t-shirts.
I always get mad at funnyt-shirts, fun sticker.
I bought some fun, like cheapjewelry there.
So that's my pretty much onlystore that I go to in Vegas.
(03:17):
I'll pop a list of all my Vegasfaves, hotels, restaurants, and
fun shopping spots into the shownotes for you in case you're
planning your own trip.
I'm not a gambler or a clubgirl, so I'd rather spend my
time at the pool finding cutebrunch spots.
I went to Brunch of the Windonce.
It was super fun and beautiful,or checking out new Cirque
shows.
This last time, I think was myfavourite Vegas trip ever.
(03:39):
So the very first time I went toLas Vegas, I was young.
I was maybe like 11 or 12.
I went my family and we stayedin the circus.
Circus used to have acampground.
Because we had a camper.
I thought it was so cool.
We didn't even do anything.
I don't think I got to go on therides or we just went in Circus
Circus and I thought it was socool that I was there.
if you know now like circus,circus is not it in Las Vegas.
(04:02):
And then as I got older, I havestayed.
I think the next time I wentback, I went back with my
husband and our best friends inmaybe.
The mid 2010s.
'Cause our friend was gonna aconference there.
We had a great time as couples.
We had a great time.
There was no real clubbing oranything.
But we had, we, I went to CelineDion with my girlfriend.
We went off strip to eat.
(04:23):
We went off strip.
The boys went off strip togamble.
Like we went to the CSIexperience, which was super fun.
We had some good food.
That was a great time.
We stayed at Treasure Island.
I can't remember why.
It was fine.
I learned a lot about staying inVegas.
Since then, I've stayed atTreasure Island at least two
more times'cause a girlfriendwanted to stay there for her
bachelorette and I actuallystayed there in January.
(04:43):
So I went to a conference and Istayed there'cause it was like
the best deal and my flight wasfree, but I hated it.
I hate it.
It is, it's in a convenientlocation, but it's old, which I
don't have anything against butthe casino.
You come out as you do in manyhotels in Vegas.
You come out the hotel part intothe casino, but the casino at
Treasure Island has a very lowceiling.
(05:04):
It's old, so it's one of theSmokiest casinos because the
ceiling is so low and it's fullof smoking everywhere.
There's no separation between itand the elevators.
There's no security at theelevators.
You don't have to swipe yourcard to go up.
I hated that.
I didn't love being there,particularly this past last time
that I went.
I didn't like it.
So I've done, I did CircusCircus, I've done Treasure
(05:24):
Island.
I stayed at Elara, which wasreally nice.
where else have I stayed?
Oh, I stayed at Virgin lastyear, which I actually loved.
It's newer and it's a little bitoff strip, but I really liked
it.
It was like really nice and newinside.
It was very chic and fun.
It's enough off the strip thatit's quieter.
There are great restaurantsinside.
It's a little newer and lesssmoky compared to Treasure
Island and some of the oldercasinos.
(05:45):
The rooms were super nice.
I got sort of a strip viewsuites quite away from the
strip, but you can see thesphere and everything, which I
sent my daughter photos and sheloved that.
So I really liked Virgin.
And it's off the strip, but youcan walk to fashion show and
within 30 minutes, whichusually, you know, when I met
Vegas in January, I love walking'cause it's warm, but it's not
(06:05):
super hot.
Walk everywhere.
This past weekend when I wasthere, it was very hot.
Never been there when it was sohot.
It was like 40 to 42 degrees.
Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot.
so I went this past weekend,because I had the opportunity to
go see Shakira.
I wouldn't say I'm like thebiggest Shakira fan, but reminds
me of my teenage years.
I love Shakira, love to see herdance, like she's just the
(06:26):
sexiest person in the world.
I think super talented and, Ihad the opportunity to go see
her anywhere and.
Vegas is one of the closest,least expensive places to get to
from the Canadian West Coastparticularly.
'cause I live somewhere whereyou have to get to Vancouver
just to go anywhere.
So was gonna go and thoughtabout gonna Mexico City to see
her because she did eight showsthere.
(06:48):
I almost went to Boston.
And then finally just let's makeit quick and easy.
Friday to Monday in an out bymyself, went to Vegas.
I found a good deal, a goodpackage deal to stay at the Four
Seasons, never in my life did Iever think I would be a person
who stays at the Four Seasons.
So I was super excited.
Still like a little bit of asplurge, but I was like so
excited to stay at the FourSeasons.
(07:08):
And I have to say, it is I waslike unlocked the secret to
Vegas for me because you, it'sat the very end of the strip.
It's attached to Mandalay Bay.
It's only the top five floors onone side of Mandalay Bay.
So it's like tiny, tiny pool.
you, when you arrive there'salmost no sign that you can see
from the strip.
You go through like a jungle toget to the door and it's like
(07:30):
quiet.
It is one of the few casinonon-smoking hotels, on the
strip.
It's so nice.
Like also I've heard about fourseasons, like customer service.
I never experienced it.
I was blown away.
I loved it so much.
I'm obsessed and then I fully.
I was literally just there tosee Shakira.
I was going with a really goodfriend of mine who lives in Las
Vegas.
We were gonna see Shakira and weended up also, getting free
(07:53):
tickets to Circ on Sunday, whichwas amazing.
So I was just there to do thosetwo things.
I'm not a shopper, I'm not agambler.
I literally stayed at the hotel.
I intentionally spent two fullpool mornings, like I was
dedicated to this and before myearly mid twenties, I was never.
A layout at the pool person.
I was talking to my girlfriendabout this actually because.
(08:16):
This was not modeled for me as achild.
Okay.
Like I did not grow up in thelifestyle.
First of all, we didn't liveanywhere near a pool or anywhere
where it was hot ever.
So I never saw my parents oranyone.
We never went on like a beachvacation.
We went on a couple cruises whenI was a kid, but we never went
on like a beach vacation and allinclusive.
I certainly never stayed at aresort where someone like seats
(08:36):
you at a chair and serves youlike that.
Has was not a part of my lifeuntil I got married.
I just was talking to mygirlfriend about how I feel
awkward sometimes'cause I feellike I didn't grow up in this
environment.
I didn't learn like how thisworks.
I feel very awkward.
But it was amazing.
And I spent two full poolmornings and so the pool was the
(08:56):
perfect temperature.
I had this like domy, they callit an orbit, this chair thing.
I had my book.
I was just, I was like so happy.
I was so blessed out.
I spent the whole mornings thereand then I hung out with my
girlfriend in the evenings.
And I, I guess it's like a bitof a, not a not vegasy
experience'cause I didn't reallygo to the strip.
(09:17):
I don't gamble.
But I do love the shows.
And I went to the shows and Ijust feel like it was my
favourite trip for all thesereasons.
And I waffled about booking itbecause I had already, I've
already had a few trips thisyear.
I was a little nervous aboutbooking it and I'm.
So glad that I did.
I'm so grateful to my March selffor booking this past weekend.
(09:39):
By the way, make sure you'refollowing the show.
So the next episode lands rightinto your feed.
So Shakira was at AllegiantStadium.
This is another reason that FourSeasons is a place to go if
you're going to a show atAllegiant, because the parking
situation at Allegiant is anightmare.
You don't even wanna take anUber there.
But Mandalay Bay and the FourSeasons are connected.
And then Mandalay Bay is rightbeside Allegiant, so it's a 10
(10:01):
minute walk for someone like mewho walks fast, a 10 minute walk
might be a 20 minute walk, andit's mostly inside, so you're
not super sweaty.
So it was amazing.
It was so many people, like65,000 people, but the vibe was
really great.
there were so many fun outfits.
Yeah, the energy was reallygood.
Everybody was super happy andthen holy cow, Shakira puts on
quite a show.
It's huge.
(10:22):
There's a lot of props.
The outfits are so fun.
A lot of outfits really like thethings that stick out to me the
most is her confidence andcharisma.
And of course she's Shakira,she's beautiful.
Like she's not super ripped orjacked and of course she's
beautiful, but she owns it,right?
And she does this thing with hereyes, like you'll see it in her
(10:43):
headshots and stuff.
Like she makes eye contact andlike walks.
I'm gonna try to do it.
And like starts walking away,but keeps this eye contact.
And that's what makes her sosexy is she owns her body and
her space and I just love that.
I think probably my favouritemoments were like her belly
dancing, which is crazy.
The dancing is my favourite partBut really watching Shakira
(11:05):
reminded me how confidence isnot ever about being the
thinnest woman in the room.
It is about owning yourpresence.
It's how you stand, how youmove, how you speak to yourself.
And I see this a lot in Vegas Imean, you see a lot of The
opposite of this in Vegas,there's a lot of insecurity,
obviously, but I always noticethis on a pool deck.
First of all, the things that Inotice on a pool deck is like,
(11:27):
oh, right.
Literally everyone hascellulite, literally every
person and social media is fakebecause all these bodies are
beautiful and real, and theyjust don't look like what you
see Posey Posey online.
so I really, I really love that.
So I loved Shakira.
I loved the dancing.
I loved hearing the old songslike that.
I heard when I was a teenager.
I loved the colours and thebling and the sparkles and the
(11:50):
dancing.
The dancing was for sure myfavourite.
So it was a great show.
Went to bed before midnight.
It was amazing.
Enjoyed my day at the pool thenext day.
And then on Sunday night we wentto Cirque de Soleil Mystere,
which I think is my favouritecirc that I have seen.
It was, you know, weird has nostory.
As many Cirques don't, but theacts were amazing.
(12:11):
The trapeze was amazing.
The, yeah, I think the trapezemaybe was my favourite.
The, oh my gosh.
the people and the, oh, this wasthe other thing I wanted to say
about Shakira.
She did like every dance genre.
She did merengue, cumbia, bellydancing, salsa.
She's like salsa version of someof her songs.
She did intense sort of.
You know, modern dance, but likejazz, kind of like poppy dance.
(12:33):
I really love that.
In Cirque de Soleil, myfavourite act was these two
female, I guess they would callthem like acrobats.
They were so strong and youcould tell that was like the
theme of the scene of the act orwhatever as well, was it was all
about femininity and they're ontop of the world and the men are
sort of bowing down to them,like these two women.
(12:54):
Did everything together.
One of them, like ham curled theother while she was in a
handstand, she, at some pointwas like on her belly and this
person is doing a handstand onher feet, and then she slides
under and is on her.
It was crazy, like it was some,I mean, that is the definition
of Cirque de Soleil.
as someone who knows howmovement feels in the body and
how to do a handstand and a hamcurl, like I'm always putting
(13:17):
myself in the position.
I did this at Shakira too.
Because the dancing is insane.
So as someone who has danced onstage before, both in a fitness
capacity and a competitivecapacity, all I'm thinking about
is how exhausted those dancersmust be.
'cause they are going all outand hitting it so hard for two
and a half hours.
So that is what I'm thinkingabout is the performers and like
how they are feeling, thephysical strength and artistry
(13:39):
of them.
So it's amazing.
And you can also tell mygirlfriend and I were talking
about this...
There's a extremely high levelof discipline, obviously in
training and execution of that,but there's also room for
flexibility and there'scommunication.
Like sometimes you can tell inthey're calling out, they're
communicating with each otherparticularly.
But there's like a plan B.
if this guy accidentally goesthis way, they have a plan B for
(14:01):
it.
So I just loved that example offlexibility.
I love the example of strengthas art.
We need more of that, moreshowing strength and real bodies
as art, more moving your bodyfor joy versus punishment,
right?
Like that looks hard, what thosecirc people are doing.
But it also looks really fun.
Like if you could do that, itprobably feels so fun And I
(14:23):
want, we need more of Moreexamples of moving your body for
joy versus punishment.
And I always love that aboutCirc.
It reminded me that strength isnot just about muscle or
fitness, it is about expressingyourself and experiencing life
fully.
And I love that Circ tells astory in that way.
as I mentioned before, both inVegas and at Shakira on the pool
(14:45):
deck, I see a variety of bodies.
I see no perfect bodies.
I see some enhanced bodies forsure.
But what I do see is thatconfidence isn't the level of
makeup or the body.
It is a way of being.
One of my first podcast episodeswas about how confidence and
(15:07):
body image are actually not asequated as we think that we are.
We think that body image is aresult of our actual body.
It's not, it's about how we feelabout ourselves.
You can be confident inliterally anybody.
You can feel not confident inliterally anybody as well.
I talk more about that on thatpodcast, but I think that is one
thing that I do love about Vegasis just how people show up.
(15:27):
It's the place where you canwear a sparkle, you can wear a
color, you can wear the shortestdress, you wear a bathing suit,
you wear nothing everythinggoes.
And I think that freedom, youcan see it as permission to feel
how you want to feel in your ownskin, which is how I see it.
Like I didn't pack a pair ofheels on this trip to Vegas.
I know that's the place to wearthe stilettos and wear the
(15:48):
heels, but I was packing in acarry-on.
I was going to a dance class.
I was standing at a concert forthree hours.
So I was not taking heels, and Ifeel like you have permission to
do that.
I feel like anything goes, and Ichoose to see that in as many
realms of my life as possibleversus, Ooh, most people are
doing this or that person isdoing this.
(16:09):
I also tried to think in thisfor, writing this podcast for
you, if I had any moments ofinsecurity and how I coached
myself through them.
And to be completely honest withyou, from a body perspective or
a body image perspective, I didnot, probably the most insecure
that I felt was at the pool deckwhen a 10-year-old boy.
(16:31):
Asked someone to set up fourchairs for him and then slipped
her a tip.
When I hadn't done that wasprobably the most insecure I had
felt the whole time.
So I think for me, I'm gonnagive myself that win in mindset
is that this is what I alwayssay about body image and
confidence is a positive bodyimage is not thinking that you
are sexy and thin all the time.
(16:53):
Actually, it's actually just notthinking about your body that
much at all.
which is me.
I just not losing any sleep overit.
And Vegas reminded me that thewomen who shine the brightest
aren't necessarily the leanest,right?
They're the ones who feel free,they look free.
'cause they feel free.
And that's the goal, right?
(17:14):
not to lose weight, but to feelfree.
And then I wanted to give yousome practical tips.
This is not an episode abouttravel.
I talk about travel a lot.
Actually have a travel guide.
I can link it in the show noteshere.
But I just wanted to remind you,as I always remember, a couple
things that are always broughtto mind when I travel is number
one.
I'm always grateful for myfitness and my mobility when I
(17:34):
travel, I wanna be able to liftthe suitcase.
I wanna be able to walk fasterthan those people standing on
that stupid moving treadmill.
I want to be able to walkanywhere.
I want to be able to walk up allthe stairs.
travel seems to be a veryphysical activity.
I want all of that and I want tofeel good and I want to do it
(17:54):
without obsessing over food.
And so I mean, I had a coupledrinks probably every day this
past weekend.
I never had more than three,Vegas.
I eat vegetables every day.
I ate breakfast every day.
this is what I always tellpeople.
It's summer vacation.
Right now we're going on travel.
Don't make it different.
Keep it as close to your normalliving as possible.
(18:15):
You can be in Vegas and eatfries for lunch and have had
avocado toast and salad forbreakfast.
You can have Prosecco on thepool deck without calling the
day a wash and drinking for therest of the day you can enjoy
food and wear a bathing suit.
You don't have to obsess overit.
If you live in the gray area, ifyou are willing to pick and
(18:38):
choose, give and take, listen toyour body.
You don't have to over exerciseto get there.
You don't have to hide your bodythere.
Nobody cares.
Literally, nobody is thinkingabout you or your body unless
you have a fun bathing suit,which I compliment everyone on
their fun bathing suits.
Oh, and their fun coverups.
Nobody cares about your body onthe pool deck, on the beach, I
promise you.
(18:59):
Nobody cares.
I didn't work out on thisparticular vacation.
I'm always like, if I'msomewhere for a short time.
I don't necessarily wanna spendor waste my time unless I did go
to a fun dance class with myfriend Ashley on Saturday.
We went to a Latin Fusion classwhere we learned a really sexy
chacha, which was super fun.
And then we walked everywhere,right?
I don't wanna spend my time withher or my time at this beautiful
(19:21):
hotel working out.
Like I love working out.
Maybe if I'm there for threeweeks, but if I'm there for
three days, i'm not spending mytime in the gym like that's, no,
I'm gonna walk.
I did, Ooh.
I got, oh yeah, you can get yogamat delivered to your hotel
room.
I did that.
I did yoga every morning beforeI went down to the pool.
So I felt like I moved my body.
I chose food that I love withoutfeeling guilty about it.
(19:43):
And then really for me, mybiggest mindset hurdle is
relaxing, giving into it, beingokay, doing nothing.
Enjoying believing that Ideserve this.
This experience, and I mean if Ican do this in Vegas, have this
healthy lifestyle surrounded bybuffets and cocktails and
sequins, I promise you can do itanywhere.
if you are listening andthinking, I want to feel free
(20:04):
like that, this is exactly whatI help my clients do.
My clients are constantlytalking about ease.
Th that is where we get them toso that they feel ease in their
bodies, not just lose weight,they do that as well, but live
fully without obsession or fear.
Life is too short.
So if you are ready for thatkind of confidence.
DM me on Instagram.
I'm happy to have a chat withyou, and I would love to know if
(20:25):
you are a Vegas person or not.
I would love to hear about it.
I would love to hear about yourfavourites.
I would love to know if insideor outside of Vegas you had a
moment that reminded you of howstrong and confident you really
are.
Come tell me on Instagram at@annejonesfit.
If you would love help feelingthis kind of freedom and
confidence in your body and inyour life without obsession or
(20:46):
restriction, send me a DM onInstagram at Anne Jones Fit or
check the show notes for mycoaching options and free
resources.
Life is too short to keepwaiting for perfection.
All right.
That's it for today's Vegasrecap.
I hope you're leaving thisepisode reminded that confidence
is not about your body orperfection.
It is actually about presenceand freedom.
(21:06):
If you love this chat, don'tforget to subscribe, so you
never miss an episode and comeout with me on Instagram at Ann
Jones Fit.
I would love to hear if you area Vegas person or not, and your
favorite confidence wins andstrategies.
Until next time, keep livingstrong, free and confident.
Thank you for being here andI'll talk to you next week.
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