Helping Athlete's With Body Image and Food Insecurity Ft. Tasia Lancaster

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:14):
Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode
of the Shift Show, where mynumber one goal is to bring you
the tools, ideas and the latestscience to help you change
athletes' lives.
My name is Dave Tilley Today onthe podcast, very excited to
bring on my good friend, tasiaLancaster, formerly Tasia
Persevich, under her new name,essentially to just share all of
her kind of updated thoughtsand things that she's kind of

(00:34):
been reflecting on related tosomething she's so good at
talking about, which is kind ofbody image issues and kind of
fueling or, you know, somedisordered eating and things
that she really struggled withas an athlete.
She was a high level collegegymnast and then she went on to
compete in CrossFit, competingin the CrossFit Games, won the
CrossFit Games on the team, thewhole kit and caboodle as a pro
athlete and now she's kind of ina different season of life

(00:56):
where she shifted into more ofhelping, kind of, you know,
other females kind of work ontheir journey through, you know,
body image or health andwellness and kind of some
disorder eating as well and justreally sharing a lot of amazing
information around the spaceand around the topic.
And in the last kind of sixmonths, as she's been going with
this.
She's been sharing so muchamazing content on social media
around her journey, the thingsthat she's struggled with, the

(01:16):
revelation she's had and howshe's kind of in a much
healthier season of life now,away from you know, constantly
worrying about what she lookslike and what the scale shows
and kind of all the thingsaround her performance.
And you know, because I saw herjust putting out so much great
information, I was like you know, it's great, it's a great time
to have Tasia back on thepodcast and kind of revisit some
of these things.
And so in this episode we reallybreak down, you know what I
think a lot of people need tohear, particularly now as we're

(01:39):
in the middle of so manycompetition seasons for
gymnastics or the spring seasoncoming up, and it's just
something I think all youngathletes really need to hear
around.
You know how do we approachsome of the society issues
around image and the waysomebody looks versus what their
performance demands of them ina sport and kind of society kind
of garbage around some of thesethings and aesthetics and kind
of body weight or the number onthe scale, but also, more so,

(02:01):
just the conversation around howdo you approach.
You know fueling yourself welland you know dealing with some
of the issues around food.
And also, how do you deal withthe pressure of you know,
competing and kind of everyonelooking at you and judging you
based on what you look like, howyou perform.
And you know Tasia has reallybeen through it all.
She's been through the side ofgymnastics, which was about
performance and many aestheticissues that she had around her
her weight and her looks whenshe was competing in college.

(02:23):
And then she moved on to theCrossFit Games where you know,
obviously she was competing at avery high level and trying to
manage the pressure and people'syou know judgment and what she
was doing and kind of all thethings that she looked like as a
female.
And I think now she's in agreat situation where she looks
back and reflects on all of that.
So I haven't done a lot ofpodcasts lately because I've
been so busy with other projects, but I really wanted to get
this one together and outbecause I think it's such an

(02:43):
important topic.

Speaker 2 (02:44):
So yes, live again.

Speaker 1 (02:46):
Hello, how are you?

Speaker 2 (02:48):
Hey, I'm well.
How are you?

Speaker 1 (02:49):
Back on the podcast, new last name.
Here we are.

Speaker 2 (02:53):
I know I can't believe it.
I'm so excited to be here.
I think we were just talking.
It's been quite a few yearssince I've been on.

Speaker 1 (02:58):
I know I think like three or four and I think we
were chatting offline before butI feel like a lot of the stuff
you've been through and thatyou're posting about, I feel
like you have a differentperspective on now that you're
away from competing as a highlevel athlete and you're kind of
in a different phase of yourlife and I just see you posting
so much like good content that Iwas like, yeah, if I had a
daughter, I'd want her to lookat what Tasia says and what
Haley's posting and like peoplethat are strong women you know

(03:20):
in this space, and I think that,yeah, it cued me to.
We were texting about somethingelse, but I was like, oh, we
should definitely double down ongetting you back on the podcast
and chatting about some thingsaround like food and fuel and
body image.
I feel like you've gone throughwhat a lot of people are going
through or don't know, maybethey're going through right now.
So, yeah, four years removed, Ithink you probably maybe look
at things a bit differently.
Am I wrong there?

Speaker 2 (03:40):
No, you're right, and thank you so much for saying
that, for having me.
I have definitely grown andevolved and I loved even what
you said there.
You were like even if theydon't realize they're going
through, because I look back,even on my story and being like,
oh, I didn't realize some ofthe things I might've been doing
or experiencing were disordered, um, or it was just normalized.
Or like, oh, it's normal tohate your body, or it's normal

(04:03):
this, and there's actually adifferent way to live and there
is a lot of freedom and joy tobe found, and so I'm really
excited to talk a little bitmore about that evolution.

Speaker 1 (04:13):
Yeah, for sure.
So give people the speed runversion of like your athletic
career gymnastics, crossfit andthen we'll get into more of like
the needs.

Speaker 2 (04:19):
Sure, yeah.
So I started gymnastics at agefive.
I was part of gymnasticsculture in the 90s, if that
tells you anything.
Same same, so competed ingymnastics from age five.
Through college I competed atthe University of New Hampshire.
Shortly after, you know,stopping competing in gymnastics

(04:52):
, I transitioned into CrossFitas a way just to be healthy and
my competitive drive just kindof kicked up and I fell in love
with the sport and kind of wentlike head first into CrossFit
and competed in the CrossFitspace for about I think, eight
years.
I competed as an individual in2016 at the CrossFit Games and
then I competed on CrossFitMayhem Freedom at the Games in
2018 and 2019, where we won bothyears, which was really cool
and fun experience and so that'skind of like my sport history,
yeah.

Speaker 1 (05:10):
Yeah, and I feel like the reason I want you to go
through that is because there'stwo things.
One is that I think you sellyourself short man.
You were like an absolutesavage athlete.
Like you were so competitive,you were so fierce, Like it was
fun to watch and I think I knewyou when you were on individual
qualifying and then when youwere with Rich and those people
through those two years.
So it was cool for me to likebe a part of your journey and
watch you.
But I feel like I saw you gofrom like oh, this is fun to
like no, this is my full timejob.

(05:31):
I'm super hardcore.
I'm committed like all ofmyself to training.
No-transcript physicaldepartment of like, oh, my

(05:53):
shoulder, my back, whatever it'slike.
Oh, I'll deal with this stuffwhen I'm done competing.
Or, you know, I'll like foodand fuel and body image.
I think in the female side inparticular, it takes a bit of a
backseat to your competitivegoals.
I don't think that's healthy,necessarily, but the real, the
reality of high level sports isyou're going to get banged up

(06:13):
Like it's part of the grind forsure.
So is that what you wentthrough?
Did you feel as though you kindof like were sliding that under
the rug, or were you alwayskind of in the middle on it?

Speaker 2 (06:21):
No, I definitely feel like I was sliding it under the
rug as far as, like you know,willing to sacrifice crazy
things to be a champion and todo well and to succeed, and I
think you know part of thatdrive is really valuable.
Obviously, I think working hardis super valuable.
There's going to be sacrificesif you want to be a high level
athlete, but I also believe thatyou don't have to do it in a

(06:44):
way that's super disordered andyou know, to be a high level
athlete, but I also believe thatyou don't have to do it in a
way that's super disordered andyou know, to be fair to myself,
I didn't even realize what I wasdoing.
Disordered, it was verynormalized within the space,
whether the gymnastics space, um, and then even you know, in the
CrossFit space, it was morelike I was surrounded by a bunch
of guys working out a lot oftimes and they weren't maybe
struggling with the same thingsas me, Um, and so same things as

(07:07):
me, and so you know, I thinkthere's a lot of nuance, but if
I had maybe better support orunderstanding or education, or
and also, you know, I have apast with body image issues and
food issues, so it's likethere's so many different layers
.
But yeah, I was 100% on thelike level of whatever it takes.
No matter what I'm going in,I'm going for it.

Speaker 1 (07:24):
Yeah, yeah, and I think so too.
I think, on the male femalething, that's a really good
point is that you know there'sjust a huge, uh, double standard
Maybe it is, I don't know howyou say it between, like, what
is expected and normal, likemale athletes versus female
athletes, right when, I think,in your situation, between
gymnastics, you know, being anaesthetic sport, and then
CrossFit just being CrossFit.
I think a lot of people pinthese insane, unrealistic

(07:44):
expectations of, like they wantyou to have the performance at a
super high level but look adifferent way, and I think the
best examples are like Olympiclifting, crossfit, powerlifting,
these sports where you need tobe very strong, very powerful,
and the way you train, the wayyou feel yourself, drives that
goal.
But then, of course, you don'tlook like a you know ballerina
dancer, or you don't look like agymnast or whatever.
And so you get these likedouble standards where, like,

(08:06):
they cheer you for the metalperformance, but then low key
shit on you for the way you lookor what you do when you're
fueling and whatever.
But the opposite is true, thoughif you're not winning, you get
destroyed for not winning andyou get, you know, praise
because you look a certain wayand I feel like, when you see
that intersection, a lot, a lotof female athletes I work with
struggle with the fact that,like I'm trying to eat and train
in a way to get my athleticgoals, but then I also feel

(08:26):
awkward that I have musclesaround my kid, like my friends
and like my, the guys that arewith me comment on them and I
feel really awkward about that.
I see that as a guy.
I'm not sure if that was truefor you growing up and as you
got a little older.

Speaker 2 (08:36):
Yeah, totally, I definitely relate to that
intersection, especially for mein the CrossFit space.
I was training at such a highvolume and I naturally put on
muscle mass pretty easily and soI got really strong.
I had a lot of big muscles andthat was something I really
struggled with and I was able tocope in some ways as far as

(08:57):
like, okay, I'm really going tofocus on, like my performance
and things like that, which Ithink is helpful when we're
talking about body imagespecifically.
It's helpful to an extent, butit's also a prison in itself if
we're putting our whole bodyimage within our performance
Right, and so I think there'slevels there.
But I, for what I did when I wascompeting, was like, okay, I
know that I have this one goal,and when I was in it and working

(09:19):
out as far as, like you know,at the CrossFit games, I wasn't
thinking about my body.
But then when I come off thefloor and I even have reflected
on this, I've like even standingon the CrossFit Games podium
and thinking about, oh my gosh,like the pictures of my arms and
what I'm going to look like andjust realizing that I wasn't
fully present, living in themoment, because I was so
consumed with what my body lookslike and, like you said,

(09:41):
there's this standard of peoplecheering me on because I'm on
the podium and then I would getcomments on YouTube videos about
my body all the time.

Speaker 1 (09:49):
Yeah, yeah.
And I think I see thishappening in gymnastics too,
because in the last 10 years thesport has shifted so much more
to be like a power-based sportwith like strong women.
Like I really love thatnarrative of like Ellie and
Simone and so many people whoare like strong ass women and I
think a lot of kids maybe nowsee them.
It's like wow, look at Simone'smuscles, Look at how strong
Ellie is.
They see her deadlifting andstuff.
And so I think the nextgeneration of gymnastics that

(10:10):
you know we didn't grow up andit's going to be a bit more
power oriented.
But I think as a kid, you're sosusceptible to the outside
comments from people becauseyou're developing your identity
and you're trying to fit in withyour friends, and so I work
with like 15 to 18 year oldgirls who like want to live with
us and want to do stuff, butthey they're worried.
Like I don't want to look like aman, I don't want to have these
giant arms, but it's like thatis the fuel to get you your goal

(10:32):
, which is a college scholarship.
Like you want to compete forthis team and to stay healthy
and do that, we have to get youstrong and develop how painful
that can be when maybe it's notthe outside noise, it's the
internal critique, it's theinternal monstrous voice that's
telling you you don't look likethis.
Or look at this girl on TikTok,or look at what this person
looks like who does volleyballand I wish I had her body.

(10:54):
I hear so many of those passive, aggressive comments when I
work with people.
It breaks my heart right,Because these people are
insanely good athletically andthey're happy when they compete,
but they feel bad that theylook a certain way or that
someone's judging them for that.
You know what?

Speaker 2 (11:07):
I mean yeah, and so I really yeah, it's so relatable,
truly, and you brought up acouple different factors there,
right, like the internalstruggle.
Plus, we have comparison now,especially not just comparison
within, like in the nineties wedidn't have social media, so it
was like I might've beencomparing myself into the gym
but I'm not going home on myphone and having like a constant
speed roll of comparison.
Um, but really developing thatinner sense of I mean the truth,

(11:30):
like I talk about this with myclients and clients I work with,
is, you know, the truth is thatyou are worthy, valuable and
loved, and that has nothing todo with your body, shape or size
or what you're achieving, notachieving.
And really developing thisstrong sense of self-worth as a
young woman and just recognizinglike beautiful thing that your
body is is like literally avessel that gets to carry you

(11:53):
through life, and you have thisopportunity, whether it's in
gymnastics or sports, to to dosomething really amazing and to
not to hold this unrealistic,unrealistic expectation that
you're never going to have badbody image days, because the
truth is we are going to havethem, but it's.
What do we do with those?
How do we work through those?
How do we not let that dictateus?
Like for me, at one point Iconsidered actually quitting,

(12:15):
because that's how much I wasstruggling with my body image
and I didn't know what to do andlike that's not the point we
want to get to right, and I'mglad that I didn't.
Looking back, wow, I'm so happyI didn't.
And so I think there's a lot ofvalue in developing that inner
sense of self-worth with thehelp of, you know, really
helpful peers or parents,guardians, people like that and

(12:37):
obviously on your own, and alsoholding like okay, life isn't
perfect and we're going to havesome of these struggles as well.

Speaker 1 (12:44):
Yeah, and maybe just to kind of zoom in there a bit
on the things that you wentthrough, what are some of the
things that, whether it wasgymnastics growing up, like the
high school, college, or whenyou're competing, like what were
some of the main either, likebody image, fueling issues that,
like you struggled with that.

Speaker 2 (13:02):
You feel like now, you know you getting weighed and
body fat tested around age 13.
And I actually have, um, likeevery two weeks, weighed and
body fat tested, and I rememberI had this distinct memory of
passing a hundred pounds on thescale and just this feeling of
like why, like I'm trying tolike yeah, just like I really
don't want to be at a hundredpounds, and like, looking back

(13:24):
now with my logic and myunderstanding is like yeah, of
course you're not going to weighless than a hundred pounds, um,
but you know, that's reallywhere the struggle started,
because there was lack ofknowledge and education from the
coaching staff, you know, andthings like that, of like, how
do we feel our bodies?
It was really like we eat lessbecause to be smaller back then,

(13:44):
to be smaller was to performbetter.
We know that's 100% not true,um.
And there was also thisnarrative running through the
gymnastics space, you know, inthat kind of um, you know
Corolli era of just like we'regoing to go hard, beat ourselves
up.
Like that's the way Um, and alot of us lived by that and it
doesn't have to be that way, andI made a post about this during

(14:06):
the Olympics, but with, likeSimone and the girls on the team
, it was like hey, the truth is,you don't have to be this like
tear yourself down, starveyourself to be successful.
They prove that, and so I thinkthere's a lot of beautiful
change happening as well.

Speaker 1 (14:24):
Yeah, I, I'm a big like cheerleader for a lot of
the people who are in thatgeneration that are still
competing.
So, whether it's a strengthtraining and like cross training
and like doing a bit of both,that's one, but also like very
openly about fueling yourself.
Well, fueling for performance,like trying to drive the engine
with like a lot of hard trainingneeds a lot of intake, but also
just like the longevity aspectof it, because I mean like
Ellie's 28, I want to say, andthen Becky was 30, you know 30,

(14:47):
at her fifth Olympics.
Like I think because of themisnomer that was false, that
like, oh, we have like one ortwo shots to make an Olympic
team.
They would sprint at 10 to 14.
And then there's kind of justbreak people until we found a
team of five that could stand upand do gymnastics.
And I think now we see, okay, ifI have 20 years in my career
and I think about this with likegymnastics to CrossFit
gymnastics, to other stuff atall, college gymnastics, it's

(15:08):
like okay, we might have 15 moreyears to get here from the age
of, like you know, 10 to 30.
So like I think it reframes howyou approach maybe the 10 to 15
year old gap, in my opinion, anda lot of coaches are starting
to maybe change their approachto that speed at which we push
kids.
But, yeah, I think it's good tosee positive example like that.
I think about, like those threefor sure, and, like I said, you

(15:29):
and Haley, I think are verypositive, good influences on
social media, people who aretrying to approach things in a
very different way now that whatyou've learned.
So it seemed like it was mostlyaround your weight and the
number on a scale and then also,maybe, like I'm sure, food was
attached to that right, like allyour food choices were not
based on energy and practice.
It was based on what the numberon the scale in two weeks would

(15:50):
say, correct?

Speaker 2 (15:50):
Yeah, 100%.
And you know now, knowing asmuch as I know about nutrition,
it's like you could have had somuch more energy.
You could be feeling great,Like, how much better would you
have done.
You know they're notcultivating this fear around
fueling ourselves and eatingenough, especially as a young
woman who is growing andchanging and exerting a ton of

(16:12):
energy.
When I think about it logicallynow, I'm like man.
The calories I should have beenconsuming at that age needed to
be really high.
And because I startedstruggling with restriction by
my own accord at a young age ofjust like, okay, I want to be
smaller, I want you know this tohappen that I was experiencing
things that I look back now,like even like binge eating

(16:32):
saltines and jelly at the end ofthe night, which is like, yeah,
carbs and sugar, my body needslike a sleeve of these to refuel
, Um, and so, yeah, I think it's.
It's cool, Cause it's taught mea lot and it has, you know,
helped me to understand and then, hopefully, to empower the next
generation as well.

Speaker 1 (16:52):
For sure.
Yeah, and so it sounds likearound you know weight the way
you look, versus not performance.
Are there other factors, causeI'm guessing you're like there's
like the high school collegeversion of Tasia.
Were there other factorsbesides just the image that you
had of yourself that influencedthat?
You mentioned some societystuff.
There's no social media butother outside things that people
listening should have on theirradars, like okay, these could
be concerns if my daughter orson starts to exhibit these

(17:15):
things, or if I myself feel asthough this conversation is
resonating quite well with me.

Speaker 2 (17:19):
Yeah, totally.
I think media literacy, just ingeneral of understanding, okay,
whether it's a show or a TVshow, like thinking about some
of the shows in the nineties Iwon't drop names of them, but
things that we watch where itwas like okay, what message is
this show particularly trying togive me?
Or this commercial?
Or it's saying that if I'm thisway, it'll be happy and

(17:40):
successful, and all these thingslike we can see, we can
understand now.
Okay, being successful and allthese things like we can see we
can understand now, okay,there's an underlying message or
a body trend or something um,that is put out in front of our
face.
Like during the 90s there waslike heroin chic, which was like
basically being sickly thin andthat was put in front of our
face of like okay, this is atrend that is in our body, is

(18:01):
not a trend, it's not a project,it is not something like that.
And so being able to understandand recognize those things,
even as like a parent or at ayoung age, you know, obviously
we can look.
If we're speaking specificallytowards guardians and parents,
the best thing you can do is bea good example as far as, like
you know, heal your ownrelationship with food and body
like talk neutrally about foodand body and not put like a

(18:24):
strong emphasis on these certainthings, which I know is so much
easier said than done.
Um, but there's little stepsthat you can take to really
start working on that yourselfIf that's something you struggle
with as well.

Speaker 1 (18:36):
Yeah, I love all that .
I'm just writing notes Cause Iwant to come back to so much of
this.
I think the the, maybe thenexus of all these conversations
when you're younger, I think,is I think, unfortunately, I had
this.
A lot of people, it seems likethey, have this like if I do
this and I look a certain way,this will give me this and I'll
be happy, right.
That seems to be the equationthat I think, wrongly, a lot of
young athletes have, and on oneside, the competitive is like OK
, if I look shredded and I don'tweigh a lot, I'll win my meets,

(18:59):
I'll win this competition, I'llget my scholarship and I'll be
so happy because you know I'm,I'm the best, right, or whatever
else is me.
They think that the food andthe lack of food and the
overtraining and the not takingcare of yourself equals I win,
or I get a scholarship, whichequals outside parents or
outside friends, or oh my God, Ican't believe.
You're going to blah, blah,blah school and you're getting a
full ride.
That's so amazing.

(19:20):
Look at her on YouTube, right,like I.
Look at her on YouTube, right,like I think that's the thing
and that will make me happy,right, and there's a lot of
other pieces.
I think, even with athletes,underlying at high school is
like oh, if I, if I'm skinny andI have a six pack and I look
hot, I'll have the like a hotboyfriend, girlfriend, and that
will make me happy.
And I can't tell you how wrongthat is as someone who has seen
people on the other side oftrying to be happy and even

(19:40):
myself struggling growing up,like, oh, I want to compete, to
win, to get a spot.
If I get a spot and everyonecheers for me, I'll be happy,
right, and like.
None of that was true.
I don't know if that's the samefor you, but like none of the
equation was like, if I do allthese things and look a certain
way and I'm shredded, I'll behappy.
It was the opposite.
I was miserable, like because Iwas so tired and so exhausted
and I was always worried aboutwhat other people were saying
and thinking about me, becausethat's all I focused on.

(20:02):
What are they saying about mymeats?
What are they saying about myscores?
What are they saying about howI look, nonstop, all the time?
So I think there's a pitfallthere.
It's the opposite Not going tomake you happy, you know.

Speaker 2 (20:12):
Yeah, totally.
I mean I have.
Just when I think about myselfat my leanest and how unwell I
was number one as far as justlike feeling miserable, not
sleeping well, irritable,constantly thinking about food,
constantly thinking about mybody.
Yet I was at a body size wherepeople were commenting on my
body all the time, so it wasreinforcing this, like, okay,

(20:34):
this is better than what I wasbefore, despite the fact that I
feel absolutely miserable andI'm not happy.
I have the body that I thoughtwould make me happy, and I'm
actually really unhappy andstressed about maintaining it or
wanting to continue to getsmaller, like there's no end
point when we put happiness onour body size and we know that

(20:55):
this is like if you want to behappier, do more things that
make you happy, Go out therelike, live with purpose, seek
things that bring you joy, andit's not going to come through
body size, that's for sure.
So I very much relate to thatas well.

Speaker 1 (21:10):
Yeah, and I'll kind of talk about so.
I reframed mine as I got older.
Unfortunately it was a whileaway, but, like, I stopped
reframing my like self-esteemaround what people said about
how I look or how smart I was orwhat I was doing into just like
, okay, am I a nice person, do Iwork hard and am I doing things
that genuinely make me happy.
And I feel like when I followedthat track it was after college,
unfortunately, but it was morelike, okay, if I can lay down my

(21:33):
bed at night and say like, okay, I'm a good person, I'm doing
the best I can, I'm trying tolive well, I'm trying to live
morally and ethically.
I butt off to do things thataren't fun and aren't
comfortable but they serve theend goal that I have.
And then, like you know, I'mtaking time to do the things
that I genuinely love, even ifpeople you know kind of give me
crap for it.
I'm doing the things that Igenuinely love and enjoy.
It helps you kind of have alittle shield or a little bubble

(21:55):
around all the you know thepeople who are shooting,
shooting criticism your way.
That's what I did no-transcript.

Speaker 2 (22:35):
Maybe you value, you know, your faith or whatever
that is, and building up thesethings outside of your physical
body, just like what you said islike these are the things I
value, I'm living in analignment with those values and
that's really going to bring youthat sense of purpose, bring up
that self-confidence, andthat's really going to bring you
that sense of purpose, bring upthat self-confidence.
And you know, confidence is apractice, it's not something

(22:57):
that just like is or isn't, andso I think a lot of those things
can be really, really helpful.

Speaker 1 (23:04):
Yeah, and I think another thing I want to I'm
going to note, to come back to,is I feel like the adults, the
parents, the people who are,maybe, you know, helping
athletes do this, because whenyou're in it, when you're 15, 17
, 18, you have a bit of likeblinders on or like all you see
is red, all you see is likesports and my friends, so you
don't really see the thingsgoing on.
And I feel like as parents ashard as it is, I'm not a parent
but I work a lot of younger kidsit's like the best thing you

(23:26):
can give a kid is a positiveexample to follow, right?
So I feel like the people who Ihave the most respect for in
the world not that I don't havea lot of respect for me, but
like it's like the dad who'slike 55, has three kids he's got
a four-year-old, aneight-year-old and a 12-year-old
and he's up at six in themorning, you know, cooking a

(23:49):
good breakfast, he's getting aworkout in, he's like trying to
know oh my God, you're soamazing.
But like that is the type ofpeople who have the most respect
for, who are just trying theirbest to do well and lead a
positive example for their kids.
And of course, there's always,like you know, influential
sports stars, people who youlook up to, but I don't know, I
feel like all the people who Ifeel like I've made a good
impact on, it wasn't that I wasgiving these heroic speeches.
I was just like I've just triedto make my life into like this

(24:12):
is what I do.
It's hard, I don't.
I would say 80% of most of thehealth stuff that I do I don't
love doing.
You know, working out is fun,but it's not exactly my top, top
excitement level.
So, yeah, all the meal prep,all the you know, the the
exercising stuff, you can findways to make it more enjoyable,
but it's hard.
It's not skipping your workoutsand kind of slouching around.
So positive examples in the dayto day, nitty gritty, I feel

(24:35):
like, are some of the mostimpactful things for kids these
age, you know.

Speaker 2 (24:38):
Yeah, 100%.
I agree with that, and you knowI do a lot of the things that
I'm like reading about andlearning about within the food
and body image space, likehealthy relationship with food
and body image, is really forthe parents to be like.
Like you said, the example.
That doesn't mean perfect,right?
We're not looking for perfect,whatever it is, it's just doing

(24:58):
the best you can with what youhave, which is exactly what you
said.
It's like, hey, I'm going toprioritize this, but I'm also
going to be able to set thisaside.
It's not a stupid rigid routine, but it's like, oh, I value
this, so I'm going to take abreak here and making these
decisions and just mirroring ordoing it, because our children
will become our mirrors, so thepeople below us will mirror that

(25:18):
.

Speaker 1 (25:19):
Yeah, and back to kind of social media.
You know I follow a lot ofpeople who I think have good
perspectives on social media,and Gary B says how social media
is just a tool.
So I feel like you choose yourfeed right.
So like, if you only followthese ridiculous examples of
edited AI people who havenothing to do with real life All
you're going to see is that andyou're just going to dig your
own hole.
I mean, versus if you try tointentionally follow people like

(25:40):
yourself and Haley, who arestrong people, who have put out
useful information, like you cancurate a feed or some resources
that are beneficial,inspirational.
You can use social media as atool for good and, of course,
you're going to run into somemadness here and there all the
time.
But I feel like, even thoughyou have that to your exposure,
you can limit the stuff that'skind of like not really for you

(26:01):
and use it in a way that'spositive.
I've learned so much and I'vemet so many great people from
social media and I feel likeit's possible to use it for good
.
You just have to kind of curatethe right angle.

Speaker 2 (26:11):
You know what I mean 100%, I think, a social media
detox.
We do that within my program aswell.
It's like okay.
And we have to be so careful onsocial media because the AI
editing, we don't know what'strue and what's not true.
And so being very intentional,like with our brains, and being
like we're seeing this one pieceeven me I show very

(26:33):
authentically on social media,but you still don't see all of
the behind the scenes junk andmess that's happening because
I'm setting up a camera to filmsomething and so just
recognizing that 100% everythingthat you see is curated to some
extent, does that mean it couldstill be authentic and true and
real?
Yes, but also we're not seeingthe other 95% of someone's life.
And then being really careful,just like you said, of who we're

(26:56):
following, we have theopportunity to curate our feed,
that what we're taking in can besomething that's incredibly
helpful and positive and trueand all these different things,
and not maybe something that'sdisordered or that's really
unhealthy, driving me into amindset that's really negative.

Speaker 1 (27:15):
Yeah, very, very good .
I appreciate this so much.
Okay, so it sounds like we havelike basic awareness is
probably the first step of thispuzzle.
To kind of help out.
Just knowing that maybe some ofthe things are not healthy when
you're binging or you're likeweighing yourself constantly or
always thinking about whatpeople look like versus what you
look like, and then it soundslike personal values are a
really good way to anchoryourself and like what you care
about and what you want.
Are there other tips or thingsthat you find maybe you give

(27:38):
people advice on, now thatthey're they're kind of
struggling through this?
Is there anything else on thedocket there?

Speaker 2 (27:43):
Yeah, totally so.
I mean, body image isincredibly complex and I think
there's things that we can doright away though that can be
super helpful, like building upour personal values, just like
you said, really tuning into ourbody.
Like I know, for me personally,I became very disconnected from
my actual body as far as justam I?
Do I have hunger cues?

(28:03):
Do I have fullness cues?
Making sure I'm reframingeating as an act of nourishment?
Food was my enemy.
Food is something thatnourishes our body.
It's so necessary, and sothere's little things you can do
.
If you're like strugglingparticularly with bad body image
, we know that.
You know our body image iscultivated by you know our

(28:24):
upbringing.
We've got media.
We've got just the things thatwe're taking in.
Obviously, if we have any pasttrauma, things like that,
there's a lot of differentfactors that are coming in that
are cultivating our body image.
But there are things we can dowhere we're close, that fit you,
that feel comfortable, thatfeel good.
Making sure we're eating enough, eating regularly, nourishing

(28:44):
our body with hydration, movingour body in a way that feels
good.
Just like you said, we're notgoing to love every single thing
that we're working out, but ifwe're staying really stagnant,
we might feel worse in our bodyand so moving our body in a way
that feels good, surroundingyourself with connection, people
that you really care about andwho value you for who you are
outside of your body, you know,obviously, reframing negative

(29:06):
thoughts is something I do a lotof work with with clients of we
can't control our automaticthoughts as they come in our
head, but what we do, the spiral, we can control that spiral.
And so, yeah, the first thing,just like we said at the
beginning of this, is awareness.
Am I even aware of the thoughtsthat are like bouncing around
in my head?
And so bringing some awarenessto that and trying to work
towards, you know, speakingtruth and gracious words over

(29:29):
yourself and your body, becauseI had the harshest critics ever
living inside of my brain and ittakes time to it, takes
practice, repetition.
This isn't an overnight thing.
It's like if I've been talkingmean to myself for 20 years of
my life, it's probably going totake longer than like a week of
me saying nice things to myselffor it to feel natural.

Speaker 1 (29:49):
Yeah, no for sure.
I love that reframing too,Right, so like reframing food
from like the enemy or somethingthat's like limiting to like
fuel, right Fuel, but not justlike generally fuel.
It's fuel for what you careabout.
What are your goals?
I find for myself and forothers it's like okay, like it
doesn't matter what people wantof you.
What do you want?
Do you want to just like trainin your sport and have fun with
your friends and just enjoyyourself?
Do you want to compete?

(30:10):
Do you want to?
Not?
I think whatever they careabout is what you have to have
context, specific conversationsaround.
So like, okay, food is fuel tohelp you get this skill, to help
you compete in this competition, to help you.
Who knows what everybody elsehas, but I think a lot of
younger kids, I feel likeunfortunately, sometimes what
happens is they tell people aproblem and the person reversed
it Okay, well, when I was yourage, or like when I went through
this, like, well, it doesn'tmatter what you wanted, it's

(30:31):
what I'm trying to get throughand I think that like validating
, like how hard it can be andhow it does suck sometimes.
Just the reality of the worldwe live in is hard.
I feel like a lot of young kidsI talk with are just like yeah,
but like this is just the world.
Like, yeah, unfortunately thisis like this is unfortunately
the brutal reality of can't getaway from.

(30:52):
And I think validating some ofthe fact that it does suck and
it is uncomfortable is important, but then also trying to find,
okay, what do you care about,what do you want to do?
And then on that, I think theroot issues for many things
probably need to be addressed.
I feel like, unfortunately,sometimes when you get a bit
older and this was my collegepost-college career, when I was
kind of away from the sportthere was a lot of like root

(31:13):
level stuff that I kind of likerealized that from my family, my
upbringing, whatever that wasreally like sensitive
information.
So you have to try to dig intothat.
It's uncomfortable and it'shard.
So, whether it's like on yourown, whether that's with like
your best friend, whether that'swith a therapist professionally
, I feel like sometimes, untilyou really dig out the roots of
the weeds, it's not going toreally give you the opportunity
to look at it from a biggerpoint of view.
You know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (31:32):
A hundred percent.
I agree with that and you know,like, looking at our core
beliefs, just like you said,these things that are instilled
in us from a young age whetherit's from our upbringing,
messages we receive the worldaround us Like we do have to do
some of that deeper work to getfully released from that are the
things that you can do.
You can take steps towards tohelp yourself and to become, you

(31:55):
know, have a more positive bodyimage and you know, root
yourself and personal values asthings.
Of course, but, just like yousaid, most things with body
image and food have a deeperroot and so it doesn't have to
be something like scary ornefarious.
You know, obviously we can, ifyou need professional help, 100%
seek out a therapist.
Professional help, I'm allabout that.
A therapist has really helpedme in my perspective of a body

(32:17):
and things that I've beenthrough.
So I'm all here for that.
But also just even recognizing,okay, what are some of the
messages I might've received asa young person that are still
running through my mind today?

Speaker 1 (32:28):
Right, right, and on that too, you have a couple like
key ones that you feel like youhave like a ripple effect, like
you realize like a few bigevents maybe in life really were
hard for you.
Everybody goes through thosethings and that's the other
piece of it too, is it'sunbelievable?
Because I've never met somebodywho in the athletic world who
doesn't struggle with food, bodyimage or like performance
related frustrations or goals,and every single one of those

(32:49):
people literally thinks they'rethe only person who's dealing
with it, so they don't want totalk about it, they don't want
to like lean on somebody for it,they don't want to bring it up
at all because like, oh, thismust just be me, by myself being
a weirdo, it's not likeeverybody on the entire planet
who's a human has this problemtoo as well.
I literally have never met fromthe very young athletes like
the elite Olympic people or thelike the highest level.
All your, your heroes that youprobably look at, struggle with

(33:10):
the same stuff that you do.

Speaker 2 (33:12):
Totally.
I'm so happy you said that too,because it makes me just think
about how food issues, bodyimage issues, shame these things
thrive in secrecy, in the quiet, in isolation, and we find
already so much.
Freedom is to find a safe space, a safe person, like you said.
To be like, hey, this is howI'm feeling.

(33:32):
And then to be like a safeperson, like you said, to be
like, hey, this is how I'mfeeling.
And then to be like, oh, me too, Like you're not alone, to
recognize that you are not alonewithin that space of your
struggle and there's no shamefor struggling on these things,
Just like you said, to validateyeah, this is like really hard.
And where can I get supporthere as well?

Speaker 1 (33:49):
Yeah, yeah.
So yeah, the, the, the valuesthat you kind of had, and the
way you kind of reframe thatpiece was, it sounds like, was
the main source of like you kindof helping to get yourself out
of the mud a bit.
Are there other things that youwere doing or you realize now?
Later that was like, oh, thisis probably a better way to
think about this.
Or if I could go back and talkto my younger self, at 16, who
is eating a thousand saltines inthe middle of the night, like
what you would try to offer themas advice.

Speaker 2 (34:10):
Yeah, absolutely so.
Like we talked about personalvalues, is definitely huge piece
and reframing those thoughts as, like you know, food's not the
enemy, it's not something thathow my thought was always like
how can I eat less instead ofhow can I nourish my body better
, how can I care and respect mybody?
And I think, with body image,sometimes we get into this, um,

(34:31):
this space where it's like, well, I just have to love my body to
do this, and it's like, no,let's start with care and
respect.
We don't have to go juststraight to loving our body to
be able to do those things.
How can I care for my bodytoday?
How can I respect my body today?
Really reframing food asnourishment fuel and also that
it's so much more than that tooas well, I'm a really big

(35:00):
proponent of like food is also away we connect.
It's culture, it's pleasure,it's joy, and so like food is so
much more than just this thing,and so I think bringing that
into the space has been really,really helpful for me.
And then, yeah, just comingback to the truth of what you
know, faith is a really bigasset for me.
So what the Lord says about meand that you know my body and
who I am is valuable andfearfully and wonderfully made,

(35:21):
and you know that's rooted intruth and I believe that's true
of all people, and so justreally coming back to those
things can be really helpful.

Speaker 1 (35:30):
Yeah, yeah.
And then on that too, how aboutmore like on the like, the
competitive side?
When you were like more in theCrossFit era, like competing
cause, I feel like the youngerhigh school, college of like
body image, what people think ofme, you know what my image is
to other people, like there'slike an identity thing.
But when you're older and I findthis maybe like the NCAA uh,
national team Olympic levelpeople, they're like not so much

(35:50):
in the what I look like, it'smore so like performance based,
like they are either paidprofessionally or they're like
getting a scholarship to perform.
So I think their, theirstruggles, transfer a bit more
into like the competitive natureof like I have to either look a
certain way or or compete acertain way to get this score,
to serve my team, because I'mgetting paid, or like this is my
livelihood and I feel like it'sa different, uh, maybe root

(36:14):
cause of why they're maybe notmaking the healthiest choices
overall for their body, not justfor like eating and stuff.
But what about as an actualhigh level athlete who's
training and trying to get acompetitive goal?
Is it different for you or wasit?
Was it more of the same?

Speaker 2 (36:26):
Do you mean in regards to like fueling?

Speaker 1 (36:28):
Yeah, I think like fueling, but also just like I
think I think back to likesidelining your health for a
competitive goal I think that'swhat I see more in the older
person is like the injuries, thefueling, the sleep quality, the
mental health aspect of thatAll that I feel like is shelved
If that means that I win becauseI'm on a team that needs my
score or something like that.

Speaker 2 (36:48):
Totally.
Yeah, I really relate to that,as that's how I lived, 100%, and
so I wasn't reading thequestion at all.

Speaker 1 (36:55):
Not a little bit.

Speaker 2 (36:56):
Um, and you know, I had a really profound experience
actually was when I stood onthe top of the CrossFit Games
podium and was like, okay, well,that didn't bring me what I
thought it was going to bring me.
It wasn't the.

Speaker 1 (37:12):
Cass did the same thing, bro.
That was crazy.
Cass did the same thing whenshe won.

Speaker 2 (37:16):
Yeah, and you know not to say that it wasn't a cool
experience.
I'm grateful for it and Ilearned a lot, but we put these
things on a pedestal when we putour entire identity and being
into this one facet of our life.
Is it a cool, important part ofit?
I'm here for working hard, likeI said, in competing and
achieving hard things, but it'snot going to bring you the

(37:38):
fulfillment that you think it'sgoing to bring you and when I
look back on my career, actually, where I see the most joy is
like the day-to-day in the gymhaving fun, the moments when I
was really like enjoying what Iwas doing, and so, yeah, I
definitely don't think that youhave to completely shelf your
health and your mental health.

(37:58):
I actually look back and I'mlike if I had rested more, I
probably would have been bitter,and so there are some harsh
realities like that, but notseeing this as the thing that's
going to bring you fulfillment,because ultimately it won't.

Speaker 1 (38:12):
Yeah, and I think you know, I think people, the
demons that people have at thislevel, are like the fear of the
unknown or like what if itdoesn't happen the way that I
want?
Right, and I think, um, timFerris has an exercise called
fear setting, where youliterally write down the worst
possible scenario that wouldcome from that situation and you
, you play out what the nextlike three days, three weeks,
three months would look like.

(38:32):
And, uh, a lot of high-levelathletes that I work with will
do this exercise and I thinkit's like for them.
It's like, you know, I make anational team and I get a spot
at the Olympics and then Iliterally bomb in front of the
entire world and I lose my team,a medal or whatever.
And it's like, okay, like thenwhat?
Like they probably watchvolleyball the next day and
forget about that gymnasticsthing until, like the moment,
like it comes up on the news andthen, oh my God, all my friends

(38:54):
will talk about me and this wasI'll get.
Everyone will critique me, but,like, probably the people who
care about you the most won'tcare that much.
You know what I mean and Ithink that most people in that
situation who are worried aboutan, a college team or you know a
games team or something likethat.
They're worried about dropping,you know, the ball and fumbling
in these big moments they have.
But in that situation when youreally zoom out it's not as

(39:15):
devastating as I think peoplethink it's going to be.
But not knowing that on thefront end is hard.
You know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (39:23):
Yeah, 100%, and that was my mindset too.
It's like if we didn't winbecause of something I did, like
my whole life would just bedestroyed, which isn't the case
at all.
Right, and so being able to havethat I've never did that
exercise I do think that'sreally really helpful.
I know an exercise that I diddo often was really just
bringing myself to the presentmoment, as our brain can get

(39:46):
really caught in the what ifsand no, no in this and it's like
, ok, can I slow down andactually think about the wind
hitting my face or the flow ofthe flag up there or the person
in front of me and like,literally, that was such a
grounding exercise for me on theon the actual competition floor
was like I can't slow mythoughts down, so I'm going to

(40:08):
have to bring myself so presentto stop them.
Um, because it is a veryexciting nerve wracking.
It's a privilege to have thatpressure, to be doing something
you care so much about and love,and so there is value there and
at the same time, you're somuch more than your sport yeah

(40:30):
um, and those things so yeah,and I find that the again the
people closest to you.

Speaker 1 (40:34):
If they're close to you, they're probably also
athletes.
They're also people training onyour team at a high level.
They they have all had massiveyou know bombs or like massive
moments.
They fell apart.
And I think it's important tosurround yourself and only take
valid feedback from those reallyclose people.
You care about your bestfriends.
Like I remember having like twoor three teammates and then,
like you know, my family membersand like some of my other

(40:55):
friends who weren't gymnasts, ifthey were ones giving me
feedback about like me acting acertain way or kind of being
dramatic or something reallywrong.
I took their feedback with likea 10 X impact.
Like, okay, if my best friendis telling me something is up, I
should probably listen.
But the vast majority of whatpeople worry about are not
people who they should caretheir opinions, right, like, I
think, the uh, the courage to belike in the arena actually

(41:18):
competing, right.
That's why people are watchingyou on TV.
They're not in the CrossFitgames, they're not in this meet.
They're not at Nationals, atOlympic qualifiers, right.
What's Kobe's quote?
Booze, don't block dunks.
I think that's like my favoriteof all time, the people who are
the loudest are the ones thatare literally eating popcorn,

(41:39):
judging you from their TV stance.
So if your best friends andyour coaches, who have coached
you for 20 years, give you someinput, that's one thing, but
most of these people, theiropinion, should just go right
over your head.
I know it stings and it hurtsbut, like these people are not
sacrificing all of their timeand effort to do what you're
doing.
That's why you're there doingit and they're watching you do
it.

Speaker 2 (41:52):
Yeah, that's super valuable and I wish that I had
had that perspective during mytime.
Competing is like I was sowrapped up in, just like people
pleasing, but like pleasing who,these people that don't even
know me because I think thatwould have been a much more
freeing stance to be in.

Speaker 1 (42:11):
Yeah, and the majority of time that I find in
these people who are really highlevel is like by yourself
you're training.
By yourself you're grinding.
By yourself you're, you know,meal prepping.
By yourself you're turning theTV off, saying I'm not going to
the bar at eight o'clock so youcan go to bed at nine o'clock so
you can wake up and train andlike all of the 95% of the work
and the time and the effort isnot seen.
They only see you for five daysright out of a year in the

(42:33):
CrossFit game situation and Iremember I don't remember what
year it was, but I was therewith people and they were saying
like, yeah, I have three daysfor my entire year's effort.
Like everything I've done in myentire year is these three days,
and so I'm sorry if I'm alittle like quiet or I'm a
little sharp with you, as fanslike I have to focus a lot and I
feel like everybody judges youon those three days but not the

(42:53):
95 to 98% of all their time thatyou're by yourself working out,
you know.
So, yeah, I just think thatpeople lack perspective
sometimes with sports in general.
Maybe it's more of a soapboxkind of thing, but when you work
with athletes behind the scenes, you see all they go through
and all they sacrifice and allthey do it.
It came up with Simone and hersituation last Olympics.
But like it's just unbelievableto me how quick people are to,

(43:14):
you know, throw stones when theywould never in a million years
be pulling any of the sacrificesthat these people do.

Speaker 2 (43:20):
Totally.
Yeah, we have no idea what'shappening.
You know the people on theoutside of the training and what
that looks like.
I have my own experience topull from and be like, yeah,
there was a lot of really,really hard times and things.
You know that we, I mean, justlet a blood sweat and tears,
right, like they say that you gothrough to get to that point
and, um, you have to let thoseexternal factors kind of just

(43:43):
you know, slide off your back.
You know as hard as it can be.
We can take a second and say,like you said, I don't like the
idea of like suppressingemotions but to validate that
sucks, that hurts.
I wish that didn't happen.

Speaker 1 (43:59):
And I'm going to let it go and like move forward,
yeah, and being able to like.
I think now you and I areprobably like five to 10 years
away from the high levelathletic things.
But like, if I look back onsome of the things that I
thought were absolutelydevastating in the moment, I
barely I barely blink at themright now, like I thought they
were the worst thing to everhappen in my life and really
they're not.
Like it sucked and it was awful.
I wish it didn't happen, butalso, uh, it's not as awful as

(44:20):
you think it may be five yearslater and two.

Speaker 2 (44:23):
I think sometimes it sets you up for even like a
better success story.
Like I totally bombed my firstregionals.
I remember in 2015, I was likethe dark horse to like qualify
for the games and I had aadrenaline dump and just crashed
and burned.
And then I remember, like 2016,that season, just like training
and being like with a differentperspective of I'm going to go

(44:45):
in and just like do my best andthat's it.
And then I went in andqualified in like an epic
fashion and it's like I learnedso much.
You learn more from yourfailures than you do from your
successes Um, and to see that aslike okay, a failure is really
just a lesson to learn.

Speaker 1 (45:01):
Yeah, I think that's a very important thing too.
I think the vast majority ofpeople won't even attempt to do
things that are scary or hard oruncomfortable or their big
goals, because they're soworried about one, the amount of
discomfort and work that goesinto it.
But two is like what happens ifit doesn't work out?
And I feel like when you, whenyou take a step back and you
think about like, okay, well, atleast I have the courage to

(45:21):
pursue my goals, to pursue thethings that are really hard to
pursue, the things that are thevast majority of people don't
want to do, or even like thepassive version of me wouldn't
be willing to sacrifice for, Ithink it gives you a lot of
perspective about how to be abit like you know more, I guess,

(45:42):
kind yourself or applaudyourself more.
Because if the vast majority ofpeople won't even attempt these
things because they're hard orthey take a lot of time or
whatever, if it doesn't go well,you can still be like, all
right, at least I'm out heregrinding man, At least I'm out
here trying.
I'm not just sitting aroundsaying like, oh, I'd love to
qualify for regionals or I'dlove to make this team.
At least you're out thereswinging versus that, I think.
I think I think a lot aboutthat in the early days of

(46:03):
starting shift, which was likethe vast majority of it, which
is like Friday nights by myselfmaking a website and watching
YouTube videos for 18 hoursevery other day, but like I was
happy with myself that I did it,because that's what it took,
it's like all right, at leastI'm doing the hard work to try
to figure this shit out.
You know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (46:18):
Totally yeah, and I'm sure you had some failures
along the way that taught you alot, just like anyone.
And I think if you're nothaving quote unquote failures,
like where you're like, okay,that didn't work, you're not
really learning and growing.
Right, that's how we grow.
Growth comes through discomfort.
There's not like a way aroundit.
And so reminding ourselves, ifwe're just like constantly
comfortable, maybe there'ssomething missing there.

Speaker 1 (46:41):
Yeah, I just.
I listened to this yesterday.
Have you heard of the lonelychapter theory here between
Chris Williamson?
It's very cool.
So, chris Williamson and AlexRamose, you talk about how, like
, there's this lonely chapter.
When you pursue anything that'sworth doing, you have to
separate yourself from, like,either your old ways or your
friends who are a bit stilldraggy right.
They still want to go to thebar, they still want to stay up
late, they still want to eatlike crap, they don't really

(47:01):
want to work out.
So you're distancing yourselffrom people who you know maybe
aren't serving you, but you'renot quite at the point where
you're surrounded by peers whoare pulling you towards these
high level goals.
So you know you're and mealprep and work out twice a day.
So you're not quite away fromyour.
You're far enough away fromyour friends that you don't want

(47:23):
to hang out with, who are doingthings that you don't agree
with, but you're not quite witha group of people who are really
raw wrong.
You to like, do the right thing,and I feel like they call it
the lonely chapter, which islike this middle part where,
like, you're just by yourselfhaving to make harder decisions
and pull influence from yourself, not the outside noise, and I
don't know.
I just really resonated withthat because I think I've gone

(47:43):
through phases of that, like inhigh school, when I was like,
okay, I want to get to collegeand I want to compete with these
people, but no one else aroundme really is putting in the same
sacrifices or work that I am.
So you're just kind of like byyourself and you feel like a
little bit of a weirdo.
You know what I mean.
I feel like you feel like alittle bit of a and he says,
like you're getting all thesecomments like, oh, you're not
going to go to the bar again,you're going to stay home and
read a book.
Okay, you fucking nerd, you candeal with that and it's like

(48:05):
ouch, but you have a goal andyou have something that matters
to you.

Speaker 2 (48:20):
So it pulls you towards it.
Heard of it before and I canthink of lonely chapters in my
life and just pursuing certainthings and that we always have.
I feel like a lot of times wehold this perspective, that like
we just want it to be like thiscontinual, like happy cycle or
things like that, which, ofcourse, we want happiness and,
you know, joy in these thingsbut we're going to go through
lonely chapters and strugglesand things to have.
That's what creates meaning andpurpose and so, um, if you are

(48:41):
struggling or going through alonely chapter, that's doesn't
mean you're like not on theright route Right, exactly, and
I think you know, like you said,you're you're very faith driven
.

Speaker 1 (48:49):
I think there's things to anchor in which is
like some people anchor in faith, some people anchor in um the
future goal that they're tryingto achieve.
I think a lot about, like youknow, building a life that I
love.
You know I'm doing these thingsthat are harder and that you
know.
Maybe you don't feel great inthe moment, because I have a
vision of, like a great life andthink it's something I love and
I'm on the path.
I don't know how the wines willget me there, but, like, I have

(49:10):
to keep doing the harder thingwhen it's the, whether it's like
the goal you have for yourself,whether it's just like the okay
, I'm doing the harder work andthat's like challenging.
I think Alex also says that youknow you don't get a self-esteem
by shouting positiveaffirmations in the mirror.
You do it by doing hard thingsand having a proof of undeniable

(49:32):
evidence that you, you're doingthe challenging things.
So, yeah, I just pull a lot ofthose quotes of like, when
you're by yourself and you'redoing stuff that people maybe
aren't, you're like you knowwhat?
At least I'm, at least I'm here, at least I'm showing up, you
know.
At least I'm grinding.

Speaker 2 (49:43):
Yeah, and putting yourself out there.
And I think, too, we sometimescan get really like.
We have like tunnel vision,which I think is great.
But what if, like, even likethe goal you're set, it's even
bigger and better than that?
Like to have this opportunityof like, I'm going to put my
head down and grind and maybeit's going to be what I dreamed
up and maybe it's going to beeven greater, you know, or maybe

(50:06):
I'll fall flat and then it willdevelop into something
different, like we aren't onjust this, like perfect one
track.
There's going to be a lot ofthis.

Speaker 1 (50:11):
Yeah, yeah.
And you find things.
Once you, once you move on fromyour athletic career, you find
other things that give you driveand give you meaning, give you
purpose.
I feel like you know I'vewatched you kind of go from the,
the, the hardcore, competitive,pro athlete thing to now you
have a new found, you know,sense of purpose, motivation,
drive, and I feel like peoplealso are like, oh, like
athletics and competing is theonly thing that I'll ever find

(50:31):
this much enjoyment from, maybe,maybe.
But I feel like there's goingto be a lot of other things in
the world that you pick up like,okay, now I want to start a
non-for-profit and I want tostart a company.
I want to do something elsecompetitive athletic goals, you
know, front of marathon orwhatever, like I feel like you
can hit your wagon to anothercool thing, and it's not always
going to be about athletics,even though in the moment you
feel like this is my whole lifeforever.

Speaker 2 (51:03):
Totally.
That is so relatable and like Ihave this passion over here
that I am super passionate aboutand obsessed with and it
doesn't tie to it does, I guess,in some ways, but like it's not
my body.
It was the first time Iexperienced purpose and joy and
love and something that didn'thave to do with my body
physically performing, um and sothat's been really fun to like,

(51:25):
cultivate and to remember likeyou are so much more than just
like your athlete persona.

Speaker 1 (51:30):
Yeah, is that starting a business and doing
what you're doing now?

Speaker 2 (51:32):
Yes, yes, I love it.

Speaker 1 (51:35):
Yeah, what do you do?
I actually never really askedthis, but is it like kind of
like client consulting, workaround, all these things that
we're talking about?

Speaker 2 (51:40):
Yeah, so I work with group coaching and one-on-one
coaching to help women healtheir relationship with food and
their bodies.
And yes, I love it so much, I'msuper passionate about it.
Just seeing women find freedomand joy and, just you know,
peace again around food andtheir body is like something
that I just don't think I'llever get over.
It, to be honest.

Speaker 1 (52:01):
That's amazing, yeah, and I feel like you must have a
good sample size then.
Is it similar to what we'vebeen talking about, which is
like society issues, past sportissues that the root of a lot of
people's issues?

Speaker 2 (52:10):
Yeah, I have a lot of past athletes come to me,
whether in the CrossFit space orbodybuilding space, everyone's
story is very unique anddifferent.
Right, you know, we've gotpeople who have like really hard
upbringings that might bedriving some of these issues.
Then we also have people whomaybe just social media is
driving some of the issues, orsports, and so recognizing that
everyone's story is reallydifferent, but what we do to

(52:30):
find healing and how we buildawareness to create change and
then just cultivate thoughtreframing, looking at the
nervous system, even like am Iliving in a constant state of
stress?
Is that affecting?
You know how I think about foodand my body, and we can see how
even coping with or, you know,trying to manipulate our body or
manipulate food can be a waythat we cope with things that

(52:51):
are going on and not to get intothe weeds, but it's just very
complex and I love seeing justthe freedom that comes from
doing the work.

Speaker 1 (52:59):
Yeah, I do.
I do find that too as well thatyou know, for a lot of people,
I think people, my family, Ithink I've seen this with is
like food, or, you know,drinking or whatever else, or
like video games, whateverbecomes like a numbing agent for
maybe some of their root levelfrustration, stress, or you know
.
I think a lot of it comes downto like you know, unmet needs at
a baseline level.
I feel like some people justlike want connection, they want
social stuff, they wantfinancial security, they want a

(53:21):
job they enjoy and they don'thave those things, unfortunately
.
So like it's, it's just souncomfortable.
Sometimes they just use foodright as a way to, you know,
numb themselves, and so everyonehas their different, uh,
unfortunate situations, but thegood news is that they can all
be amendable.
You know, I think I've nevermet someone who wasn't able to
kind of like dig in the weeds,step back, get some help and
like really tackle these thingsfor sure.

Speaker 2 (53:39):
So it's definitely a positive, uplifting end here
100% and fundamental needs isyou're right on the money with
that and so, but a lot of usmight not even know that.
That's why I'm coping, and sobringing some awareness to that
is can be life-changing.

Speaker 1 (53:54):
It's amazing.
Well, I think that's probably agood place to wrap.
I don't want to keep you allday long, but where can people
find you in your new endeavors?
I feel like a lot of peoplewant to follow up.

Speaker 2 (54:01):
Yeah, so my Instagram is Tasia Persevage it's still
my maiden name and then mywebsite is Tasia-Persevagecom
and you can find all myinformation there as well.
Let's go.
I'm so happy for you.
I'm so happy to cheerful.
Yeah, thank you for having me.
I've loved this conversationand just being able to catch up

(54:21):
and talk about all these amazingthings.

Speaker 1 (54:22):
I know it was more so of a cheat code, just to talk
to you as a friend, and thenhappened to be like a podcast.
But two things can be true atonce.

Speaker 2 (54:28):
Yes.

Speaker 1 (54:29):
All right, we'll talk soon, thanks, you nailed it
girl.