October 1, 2024 • 38 mins
Jodi and Gio from the Mindful Muscle Podcast share their personal transformation journeys and the impact it had on their lives. Jodi's health scare and desire to avoid medication led her to prioritize her health and make lasting changes. Gio's struggle with weight gain and fertility issues motivated him to take control of his health. Both Jodi and Gio emphasize the importance of mindset and mental health in the transformation process. They started the Mindful Muscle Podcast to inspire and support beginners on their fitness journey, while also addressing the struggles and normalizing imperfections. In this conversation, the hosts discuss various topics related to health and fitness, including mindset, weight loss, and the challenges faced by women and moms. They emphasize the importance of having a strong why and prioritizing self-care. They also touch on the misconceptions about losing body fat and gaining muscle, such as the obsession with the scale and the need for quick fixes. The hosts share their favorite episodes of their podcast and provide information on where to find them.
Takeaways
- Transformation journeys often start with a significant event or realization that motivates individuals to prioritize their health.
- Mindset and mental health play a crucial role in the transformation process.
- The Mindful Muscle Podcast focuses on supporting and inspiring beginners on their fitness journey while addressing the struggles and normalizing imperfections.
- Health and wellness are holistic, encompassing physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Having a strong why is crucial for embarking on a health and fitness journey.
- The scale is not the only measure of progress; focus on other indicators like measurements and how you feel.
- Quick fixes and medications may offer temporary results, but long-term success requires healthy habits and lifestyle changes.
- Prioritizing self-care is not selfish; it sets a positive example for children and improves overall well-being.
- Finding time for exercise and healthy habits requires making it a priority and valuing its long-term benefits.
CONNECT WITH GIO AND JODI
INSTAGRAM
YOUTUBE
PODCAST
GIO
JODI
If you like this episode, please be sure to subscribe everywhere you listen to podcasts!
FOLLOW ME on INSTAGRAM
Check out the WEBSITE
Help support this podcast by buying me a cup of coffee. I need it to stay awake editing!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Welcome to Ella Go.
My name is Lisa.
Join me on the journey inhaving real raw and
uncomfortable discussions aboutfitness, health and everything
in between, because, let's behonest, this journey would suck
if we don't get our shittogether.
Okay, welcome back to theElegoo podcast.
(00:42):
Today's guests are Gio and Jodifrom the Mindful Muscle podcast
.
Welcome, guys.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
So I'm gonna talk a little bit about your not only
your podcast you both have apodcast well together but you
also had a transformation.
Both of you had atransformation, both of you.
And can you you know whoeverwants to start first, jodi or
Gio?
Gio, if you're a gentlemanyou'd say Jodi Talk a little bit
(01:15):
about your transformation.
Just give us a little glimpseinto that.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Sure, seven years ago , I was weighing over 230 pounds
and at age 35, I was diagnosedwith hypertension after
experiencing heart palpitations,and it scared me to no end to
have to change my life, becauseI have two small boys and I grew
(01:41):
up with a parent that wasconstantly in and out of the
hospital, who had a massive listof prescriptions that he was
put on, and I did not want to godown that route.
Medication has its place, but Ididn't want to keep adding on
to health issues by continuingto neglect my health.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
So, jodi, did you like prior to that?
Did you have, like you know?
Have you tried?
You know, dieting, did you doall of that?
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Absolutely.
In fact, my first taste of dietculture was elementary school
because my mom was a WeightWatchers leader and she would
give me plain rice cakes andback in the 80s those were
disgusting tasting They'vegotten better and honey and diet
soda and yeah, it was abouttaking up less space back then,
(02:37):
not being healthy.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Wow Okay.
So when you had that healthscare, like how soon, were you
like, okay, I'm going to do this.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Pretty much immediately.
At the time I befriended somelocal moms in my area and we
were trying to lose weight, butI wasn't really taking it
serious.
It just seemed like the socialnorm to constantly have to feel
like you have to lose weight butfortunately, have to lose
weight.
So, but fortunately, ithappened right after that
(03:08):
accountability group started.
So I leaned into them.
I believe it or not, after whatI just said to you about my
first diet culture experience, Ijoined Weight Watchers because
two of them were following thatprogram.
So it was just like, okay, Ihad somebody to ask questions to
.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
You know it's so we laugh about it now.
But I mean, I don't know if youremember, um, the great food
diet, uh, I mean, and this isthings that we were exposed to
at such a young age slim fast.
I remember, like having thoseshakes at 12.
Like, why was I?
What was my mother thinking?
(03:44):
Like that's not okay.
So, but it's such a different,you know, culture now with you
know, versus then, when no onereally like said what was the
big deal?
You want to lose weight?
Okay, but it's a wholedifferent culture now.
Okay.
So, gio, share us, share yourstory.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Yes, I was relatively in shape all my life till 42.
But then my wife and I hadtrouble conceiving and while she
began eating a fourth meal,unfortunately, I started joining
her.
So from the ages of 42 to 47, Iballooned to my heaviest.
I never crossed 200 pounds, butI got to 199.5, and that scared
(04:24):
me.
But I was 35% body fat.
So so it was skinny fat.
And one day I was at the pooland I saw an older man, older
than myself, and he was in shape.
Then I looked at my belly and Ilooked at him and for the first
time in my life I felt pity formyself.
But I snapped out of it realquick.
I said, yo, I could dosomething about this.
(04:44):
And I started with a diet and alot of walking.
But then I realized the weightwasn't coming off the way I
wanted to.
It wasn't coming off as fast asI wanted to and I didn't like
how I was looking.
So it wasn't until I startedlifting weights that the weight
that I was losing was coming outfaster and I was liking the way
I was looking.
(05:05):
So choose a physique and allthat.
So it was me that got over thatembarrassment at having let
myself go.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
You know, it's interesting, like both of your
stories, how that if you're Jody, you had the health scare and
Gio, you were like thatembarrassment.
There was something that gotyou to get to that point where
you're just like, okay, I'mgoing to do it.
And I hate to compare it tothis, but food is an addiction,
(05:40):
and to any addiction they alwayssay you got to hit rock bottom
right To sober up and all that.
So it's very similar when itcomes to wanting to lose weight
because the mind doesn't want todo hard shit, like it doesn't
want to do hard shit, you know,until you're like, no, this is
(06:02):
about this, this has to happen.
Until you're like, no, this isabout this has to happen.
Like Jodi, your story of thehealth scare.
What kills me is that there arepeople out there that have had
a similar health scare andthey're just like, oh, okay,
well, maybe I'll do it.
You were just like mm-mm,that's it, I'm done right.
It took that to happen whereothers that might not be what
(06:25):
needs to happen for them tochange their mindset.
What are your thoughts on that?
Speaker 3 (06:31):
Yeah, I think a big part of it, like the last words
my father said to me.
He originally had brain cancerand then develop a blood clot
and that's actually what causedhim to pass away develop a blood
clot and that's actually whatcaused him to pass away.
His last words to me was I amtired of this shit and I think
that's a big part of like whythis scared me so much.
(06:53):
It's like he got to a pointwith all his issues that he had
enough before he passed and Idid not want that.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
You know you mentioned that enough is enough.
Right, All of us at some pointsaid enough is enough.
But I wish I could capture that, because there's a lot of
people hurting who don't know.
I really can't explain why.
I just said enough is enough,but I've never looked back.
I wish I could capture that andI joke around with Jodi.
If I could capture that andsell it, I'd be a trillionaire.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Forget about it, my God.
Yeah, well, you know what it is.
Is that I think it's?
It's, it's what it's their, whyit's the thing that is going to
really like hurt them thatthey're proud of or their ego.
You know, and it's differentfor different people.
You know, like Gio, you sayingthat it was, you know you felt a
little like embarrassed, like,oh my God, look at me, this
guy's in better shape than andthat was what got to you.
(07:54):
You know, and I think thateverybody has a different makeup
.
Everyone has the.
You know, the camel that breaksthe, what is it?
The straw that breaks thecamel's back?
Everyone has a different straw.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Hey, you know what's funny, that if you would have
asked me at that point, you knowwhat are the tenets of good
health I would have told you.
But look, even though I'm 35%plus body fat, my internal
numbers were good.
My cholesterol has never beenabove 122, right so.
(08:31):
But it's almost like you'reblinded to your own foolishness
and something had to snap me outof it, which was the incident
at the pool.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
You know, Gio, let's talk a little bit about that,
because I was having a.
I may have been having thisconversation by myself, but it
was the conversation of howsomeone is healthy.
What does healthy look like?
Gio, you said you were skinnyfat.
People don't even realize whatthat is.
(08:57):
You look thin on the outside,you look healthy, but inside
you're a whole mess.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Yes, yes, inside you look healthy, but inside you're
a whole mess.
Yes, yes, you know, I thinkjody said or I forgot where I
heard, like I said, maybeinternal common conversation.
Think jody said right, theskinny people think that skinny
equals healthy.
And there's so much more thatgoes into health.
And I know, with type 2diabetes, people that are rip
city and yet they have type 2diabetes and you would think,
wow, they're a beacon of health.
(09:28):
That's not necessarily the case.
It needs to be a holisticapproach.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Yeah, and I'm so glad you said that, because that's
exactly what whether it was aconversation with myself what I
was saying to this person thateven though you know they are
fit, they're ripped, they're,they got abs, you know they may
not be healthy inside,especially with a lot of other
(09:55):
things on on how they even gotto that point.
But let's also talk about the,the, the mental health, the
mindset.
I mean you might be healthy oryou look like you're ripped and
all that, but mentally you're amess, right, A hot mess.
And again it's talking aboutwhen someone says I'm about
(10:18):
health and wellness, Well,that's mind and body, that's all
of it.
So let's transition to thepodcast.
But before we talk about that,how did you all meet?
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Well, do you want this or do you want me to take
this one?
When I started, I had a lot ofgym phobia.
I was too embarrassed to go inthe gym.
So I found this app calledFitBot and it actually shows you
what to do.
You can put in your goals, whatyour equipment you have
available to you, and they alsohave a Facebook group, and I was
(10:58):
one of the active members inthat Facebook community, and so
was Gio oh but how did that alllike?
Speaker 2 (11:07):
how did the connection happen?
Speaker 1 (11:13):
So Jodi is a photographer, an awesome
photographer.
She posts pictures of hertransformation, and others do as
well, and I gravitated towardsJodi because it's kind of
similar to mine.
Hers is a female version, right, mine's a male version.
We both lost a lot of weight,we're both very consistent with
our workouts, we're in the gymalmost every day, we talk about
(11:34):
nutrition, and I know this, herand others, but her, she's
balanced.
It's not one extreme or theother.
Long story short, we planned aretreat, several of us, about
nine of us, and we metphysically in Arizona about a
year ago, and that's how weconnected talk about the podcast
(12:06):
, but I just had a question Withthe transformation.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
You both had this transformation.
What has that done for yourlife?
I want to talk a little bitabout that because obviously
there's some hard work that goesinto these transformations.
But then the end goal, or thejourney what has that done for
you?
Has it changed your life?
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Yeah, 100% has changed my life.
I didn't have a greatrelationship with myself before
and I never want to give theimpression that my weight had to
do with it.
It had to do with not takingcare of myself.
I wasn't a priority.
I was too shy to speak my mindwhen I was overweight because I
just wanted to fit in so bad.
(12:48):
And when I started prioritizingmy health, I started loving
myself because I was treatingmyself like somebody I loved and
I started getting to the pointwhere I'm like you know what?
This is how I feel.
I'm going to say it.
If you don't like it, oh well,this is who I am and I have more
friends of it, because I thinkpeople gravitate to people who
(13:10):
are them, their authentic self,where before I was too timid to
be myself and I originally was agraphic designer for a
financial company and I amcurrently looking for work, but
I am a certified personaltrainer and nutritionist.
So that's going from art schooland the artsy kid to let's go
(13:33):
work out, you know.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
That's definitely a big change.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
To me what's the opposite.
My mom always used to jokearound that I had enough
confidence for all my siblings,but when I hit the moment where
I discovered all the weight thatI had let myself go, it was
more about being honest withmyself, right To live the
commitments that I put formyself that I wasn't.
I've always been healthy.
I've always been athletic, from42 to 47.
(14:01):
And I was blinded.
I didn't realize.
I let myself go because we wereworried about the first
pregnancy.
People with celiac disease havea higher rate of miscarriage
second trimester as opposed tothe first.
And so I stopped golfing, Istopped walking, I stopped
exercising, I stopped doing alot of things, and then I was
eating.
And finally, when you know it,all of a sudden you're out of
(14:24):
weight and I needed to align myvalues back with who I was, with
my actions.
And so that's what.
And so now that I've done that,I realized that it has helped
me.
It's my I don't want to sayconfidence of my level of
commitment in other areas oflife, knowing that if I can do
this, I can do anything as well.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Okay, this is pretty fascinating because you both
were talking about, obviously,the body transformation, but
even through the journey, youhad an emotional and mental
transformation.
People transform their body andthey still look in the mirror
(15:08):
and see that overweightindividual.
They see that individual thatthey don't like so much.
They think that, okay, I'mgoing to lose the weight, I'm
going to be happy.
Well, no, you got to work onthat mindset.
So it's interesting that bothof you which is, I'm going to
say you're outliers, becauseboth of you had not only the
body transformation, you had themental and emotional
(15:31):
transformation, and that doesn'toften happen.
So I know this is going to be aquestion that people are going
to want me to ask you how didyou both lose the weight?
Speaker 3 (15:43):
For me.
Originally it started withWeight Watchers, and then I
transitioned to calorie countingand focusing on protein and
fiber as my goals, and thenweightlifting a lot.
I know you are a running coach.
I don't love cardio.
I will run, though, because Irecognize that it's really good
(16:06):
for all of us, and I have asthma, and it's actually helped my
asthma significantly because Imake myself do it.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Okay, joe.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Yeah, and for me I mentioned, my internal numbers
were good, so I just reducedbecause, look, you can gain a
lot of weight eating what isquote unquote considered a
healthy food, right?
You overeat rice and beans andbroccoli and vegetables.
You're going to gain weight, itdoesn't matter, it's healthy
food.
So calories counting.
And obviously, as I mentioned,weightlifting and I don't like
(16:38):
to run either.
I do it occasionally.
My favorite form of cardio,though, is a Peloton.
I get it, I get on it, I lovethe mental aspect of it more
than I do running, and that'show I lost the weight.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
Okay, okay, I'm not going to like Doug, what's hard
is discipline to stay at it.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
But discipline grows the more you do it and then,
like Jody says, becomes an easyas brushing your teeth.
It becomes a part of you, and Iknow Jody's been working out
since she was a fetus.
I have a current streak of 152weeks of working out, six days
consecutive.
So it's just like brushing yourteeth every day.
I put on my underwear every dayand I just work out.
(17:22):
It goes hand in hand.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
It's just, it's life, it's just like breathing, it's
just part of who you are in yourlife.
So it's just, it's life, it'sjust like breathing, it's just
part of who you are in your life.
So it's not just and I thinkagain, that is because you both
had a uh, emotional mentalchange, transformation.
You wouldn't have been sayingthe things you're saying right
now if it wasn't for that aswell.
(17:47):
Uh, okay, let's talk about thepodcast.
All right, how did that allhappen?
You met and then what did yousay?
Let's do a podcast together.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
I've been doing a podcast for FitBot.
It's a long story short, butthe two other people and I
connected and we ended uplaunching the official FitBot
podcast.
But after that, you know, evenfamous bands break up.
People want to do their ownthing, and I decided I wanted to
align with someone who'ssimilar to me, and so I
approached Jodi and we were justpresenting something together
(18:20):
in the F5 Challenge group, whichactually sponsors our podcast,
and so we did a presentationwith me from the male side, her
from the female side, and thatled to the podcast.
And that's how I see it, jodi.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
Jodi, you see it any different?
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Yeah, I think too.
I think when Gio wasrepresenting Fitbod, it was a
big corporation so he couldn'tfreely pick the topics, like you
can when you're doing your ownthing without somebody holding
you back.
Not that we like say anythingcrazy or offensive, but it's
great to just be able.
(18:58):
Hey, I feel like doing thistopic, what do you think, and we
roll with it.
We don't have to worry aboutsounding corporate and happy.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Okay, so what is the mission of the?
What's the purpose of thepodcast?
It's called the Mindful MusclePodcast.
I could just imagine what thisis all about.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
We focus on the beginner, because Gio and I are
very much, very familiar withthat phase in the journey of
life and we want to show peoplethat it's doable, but also that
your mindset and your mentalhealth matters.
You can't hate yourself intohealth.
It doesn't work that way.
You cannot neglect your mentalhealth while aiming to be fit.
(19:43):
It doesn't work like that.
And we want to show people thatit's not about being perfect
Nobody's perfect.
Want to show people that it'snot about being perfect Nobody's
perfect.
Perfection is the enemy of goodenough, and that everybody
stumbles on this journey.
I think my biggest issuestarting out is I was expecting
to be 100% perfect and when Iwould stumble, I would let that
(20:03):
stumble become a roadblock.
And no, it's completely normaland we need to normalize the
struggles and be honest with it,because if we fake it and make
it seem like it's peachy keenthe entire time, the beginner
tries, they stumble and they gowell, there's obviously
something wrong with me, so Iquit.
(20:23):
So I'm looking out for theperson that was the old me, the
person looking for hope andinformation to get started and
not give up.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Yep, we cater to.
You know the advanced as well,but our heart is with the
beginner, because I know Ibasically did a lot of research
on my own and I obviouslydiscovered the Fitbox group and
that was a lot of motivation andasking questions.
But at the beginning part of itit was just me by myself
(20:55):
searching on the internet.
So we just want to help theaverage person.
Another thing is I don't wantto say Jody's age.
She's free to do that herself,but I'm 51 years old and they
told you that it can be done.
If I can do it, nothing special.
If I can do it at 51, thoseyounger than me can actually do
it as well.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
I'm 42.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
She's a baby.
Yeah, she's a baby.
Okay, you know, I love that youguys, although you're, you know
, you're both obviously you'retalking from the male
perspective and Jodi from thefemale, but you're both
different ages and you know thatis why I did I don't know if
you saw recently I did a reelwhere I was like showing my body
.
I was like, yep, this is it.
(21:33):
You know, because menopausethat's going to hit you and that
your body completely changesand the way you work out and the
way you eat, you know it'llslap you in the face.
You're like, wait a minute,I've not been overeating, I've
(21:57):
been working out what the hell'sgoing on, you know, and just
going with that transition andbeing okay with that.
And I think a lot of that again,like you both are talking about
, is that mindset and being ableto say you know, hey, this is
part of the journey, and I lovethat.
You said that, jodi, that youknow, if you don't, you're not
honest in your own journey.
You know, hey, this is part ofthe journey and I love that.
You said that, jodi, that youknow, if you don't, you're not
honest in your own journey.
You know, and it's just likekids like.
That's why they always say showyour kids when you're you're not
(22:18):
yourself.
Show them when you're unhappy,when you're upset, because you
cannot be.
You know, for me, super mom,super woman, all the time the
cape is on, but superwomanstumbles and I want my daughter
to see it.
You know, I want her to seethat because when she stumbles
she's going to be like okay,look, it's okay, cause mom did
it.
You know, um, but if you'reonly showing that perfect, you
(22:39):
know self, your perfect journey,like you just said, jodi,
they're going to say wow, whycan't this happen for you?
What the hell did I do wrong?
What's going on?
So I love that you both sharethat, Okay.
So the podcast.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Well, let me share something about Jodi's post last
night, which is so true becauseof, for me, the way I handle it
is.
I look at my weekly average formy weight.
Jodi went out last night.
I shared her reel on my story.
You know she went out lastnight, came home and weighed
four and a half pounds more.
Well, that's not because shegained all that fat overnight.
(23:16):
She probably had waterretention.
But if you let it get to yourhead, I can never go out.
I love what she said.
I'm not going to makerelationships, friendships just
because I'm freaking out aboutsome gain.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
Yeah, no, I, yes, I read that and I was like,
exactly Like what are you goingto do?
Not live your life?
You still got to live your lifeand be a human being and I
think you know, think about it.
You're going to be like bescared to thrive when you're 60
because you're going to gainweight.
Come on, you know, okay.
(23:52):
So, going back to not only withyour experiences interviewing
people on the podcast, but evenyour own experience and, jodi,
you being a personal trainer anda nutritionist, what do you
find people don't understand themost when it comes to losing
(24:12):
body fat and gaining muscle?
And you know there's so muchinformation out there, but it's
that one thing that you're justlike how do you not get this?
Like what is that one thing?
If you both have, you know,your own opinion on that?
I'm going to say Jodi, go first.
I'm going to say the scale yourown opinion on that.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
I'm going to say Jodi , go first.
I'm going to say the scale.
Looking at it, everybody thinksif it goes up, that you're
screwing something up.
And it's not normalized howfluctuations work and you could
be eating 100% perfect for aweek and it might not go in the
direction you want it to go andthat's normal.
(24:51):
And like I've heard women say,oh, I haven't lost any weight,
but, and I'm like, okay, howabout your measurements?
Oh, I'm down an inch in mythigh and I'm down here.
I'm like, bruh, it's like youare kicking ass, but you're not
seeing that because you're toofocused on the value of the
(25:15):
scale that you give it.
That value, I mean yikes.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
Yeah, so Jodi as a Weight Watchers alumni to
another Weight Watchers alumni.
It was always the scale.
You know and, and you were, andpeople would be like what
happened.
I've been following the pointsand all that and you know you
were focused on that damn numberon the scale.
Yeah, I got to agree with youon that one, jodi Gio.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
For the record, I'm also a CPT and a nutrition coach
, and you know so many peopleget so fixed in the
micronutrients and counting thatthey can't enjoy an occasional
donut or an occasional ice cream.
I, for myself, eat anywherebetween 400 to 1200 calories of
ice cream every Saturday, andsometimes people feel that if
(26:05):
they're not 100% then they falloff the rails.
No, be you know, show yourselfsome grace, have a donut every
once in a while.
It's not what you do one time,it's what you do in the big
picture, and if your big pictureis healthy, like myself and
Jodi and yourself, then it'sokay to indulge every once in a
while.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
Yeah, we, you know it's crazy because even with
weight rot, weight watchers likethey weren't focused on the
meal, the healthy meal, it wasabout the points.
So people are eating like theboxed Weight Watchers, like how
much sodium is in that, right,the boxed Weight Watchers,
morning, noon and night, andthey were like I don't know why
(26:46):
I'm not losing weight.
So hello, sodium here.
I mean it was not the mosthealthiest way to eat, or, oh, I
ate a piece of pizza.
There goes my points Then.
I'm going to starve myself forthe rest of the day.
It was such a crazy time.
Oh, weight Watchers, you crazy.
(27:10):
I don't know how it is rightnow, but anyways, let's go back
to the episodes with yourpodcast.
Um, I wanted to ask you whathas been your favorite episode,
or the one that was just soenlightening that you were just
like wow.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
Well, for me, I obviously the reason I enjoyed
your episode is a theme.
It runs through what yourepisode was about.
It's when the guest comes in,that's genuine relaxed, where
they look.
It's just a living roomconversation, because sometimes
I remember one guest trying tosay that it was all about being
scripted, that she didn't wantit to be scripted, and I just
(27:50):
love this laid back feel, jodi.
Speaker 3 (27:54):
I love.
I think my favorite episodebesides yours I really did
appreciate.
Like one of the questions Iasked you was about like what
seems to be a barrier with women, and you mentioned that a lot
of women don't think thatthey're good enough or worth the
effort to do something forthemselves, and I think that's
(28:17):
unfortunately true.
But I would also say probablymy next favorite would be Shelby
.
She was homeless, in her car,living in her car for a year,
yeah, and that actually led forher to prioritize her physical
(28:37):
health and her nutrition becauseshe was living in a small car
for a year.
And just in case you know,something happens, you need to
be able to move quickly and it'scrazy how people yeah, yeah,
yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
And sorry, Jodi, not that something you were
mentioning, but that's theattitude, and that's the
attitude I love about Jodi isthat we're going to make the
best of it no matter what, andthat's what we want to instill
in people, regardless of the age.
You can do this.
Just put your mind to it andyou can be the healthiest person
you can be.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
Yeah, yeah.
So, jodi, this is more towardsyou, because even though you
know what you just said, joe,it's like just do it, and you
know you, you can do it.
But especially for women andmoms, it's like they get
paralyzed.
They know what they want.
(29:35):
Then they got the informationthey.
They can look it up on theinternet.
You got pinterest, you got.
I like I said just I think Isaid it on a post you got
everything that's free to you,you know.
But they almost feel paralyzedto make that first step, um to
to going on to that journey.
(29:56):
Like, did you experience any ofthat?
I know that you said that youhad that health scare, but even
before the health scare, did youalways say, yeah, I wanna lose
weight?
But then it's like, oh yeah,that one thing I wanted to do, I
forgot about it.
You know?
Like how was that for?
Speaker 3 (30:11):
you.
I think the biggest issue isthe mom guilt taking time to do
something for yourself, but it'snot a flex to neglect your
health.
And okay, they watch what we do.
I mean, right before I got ontothis call, my son was like mom,
(30:33):
look at my bicep.
Well, why do you think he doesthat?
Because he sees his mom do that.
If I want them to take care oftheir health, they better see me
doing it too.
They're not going to do what Isay, they're going to do what I
do.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Yeah, you know, yeah, Like you know, yeah, the mom
guilt.
But if you do what you need todo, you actually are showing
them how to be a betterindividual.
And I don't know about you,Jodi, but I felt like me getting
into running and all that mademe a better mom, Absolutely
(31:12):
right.
Like, do you not realize that,ladies, you feel like you're so
empowered, you, you know, you'renot as stressed out and you're
in such a better mood that youare just like?
I mean, I always tell the story.
You know my daughter, you know,and I'm a single mom and I
remember one time I was in a badmood and she's like Mom, did
(31:34):
you run today?
And I'm like, no, I didn't.
And I'm like, oh my God, mydaughter knows, oh my God.
So, yes, you're absolutelyright, the mom, the mom guilt,
is the thing that that stops alot of women from going into
that journey.
Gio, what are other obstaclesthat you find?
(31:57):
I mean, I know we talked aboutthe mom guilt, but besides the
mom guilt, what have youexperienced has been the
obstacles for other people?
Speaker 1 (32:06):
It's been the notion that people say they don't have
time, you know, and Jodi is forpeople telling her all the time
oh, you're lucky, you get towork out.
Well, jodi wakes up at three inthe morning sometimes to get
the workout in.
And so, look, if you really buyinto the health, then it is
something you're going to do andyou're not going to let anybody
stop you.
And so I admire people likeJody, I admire people like
(32:27):
yourself, I admire people whofinally say enough is enough.
My, my health is important, andif I have to wake up at five,
six or whenever, I'm going toget it done and for me, you know
it's easy because it's thefirst door I see when I open my
bedroom, it's my gym door.
And so people have toprioritize when they're going to
work out, set a time, stay onit and do it.
(32:50):
My wife works out three days aweek.
She's busy, she's a doctor, butshe reminds herself that it's
important not only for her, andI hate missing deadlines.
Sometimes, if I don't go towork out, you know I hate it, I
get antsy.
But sometimes I've done aworkout to keep my streak at 11
PM at night because it'spriority number one, and I want
(33:13):
to be independent at 99 yearsold.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, you know.
I think that it's the valuebecause, like Jodi, I'm up at
four, okay, and even prior, andI start work early.
But even prior to that, if Iwanted to do my workout and
again, you know, being a singlemother, I had to wake up extra
early before she woke up andunfortunately, my daughter was
(33:39):
the kid that did not sleep in.
She woke up early.
So I'm like, damn it, she's upat, nobody has a problem waking
up to get concert tickets or,you know, working at certain
things.
So it's that value and I think,like for Gio you know, gio, you
(34:10):
say it at 90, like that is huge, like me going to see in a
nursing home.
I don't want to be that, that'snot what I want to be.
So that is valuable to me andthat's why the why, the why is
so important.
On why is it that you're doingthis?
And it's got to hit theheartstrings, it's got to make
(34:33):
you a little teary-eyed, it'sgot to hurt, like, why am I
doing this?
And I said this in your show.
I'm doing this because I'm anolder mom and I want to be
around for my daughter.
I get a little teary-eyed whenI say that.
So the why is so important toget you on the journey.
With that being said, what areyour thoughts?
(34:55):
Because there's that?
Why, right?
With that being said, what areyour thoughts?
Because there's that?
Why, right?
What are your thoughts withthese get quick, lose weight
quick medications that are allout there where it's like a boom
, I lose the weight and bam Like.
What are your thoughts on that?
Because, again, you don'treally need a why.
You're just taking themedication, the hard work I mean
(35:19):
.
I'm seeing the transformationlike it's on fire.
What are your thoughts, jodiand Gio?
Speaker 3 (35:26):
I think the problem is a lot of these medications
are being offered by non-medicalprofessionals, like you're
seeing them advertised.
I've seen them advertised onWeight Watchers and spas and
it's like you should be doing itwith the guidance of a doctor
and you still need to addresshealthy habits If you need to
(35:49):
take the medication to help youget to a point where your health
is extended.
I understand there is no cheatcode for that, but you still
have to eat healthier, you stillneed to get movement.
So I think it's essential, ifyou're doing it, do it under the
care of a doctor, but stillwork with a nutritionist or a
(36:10):
certified personal trainer tomodify those habits to keep it
lasting, because we don't knowwhat's going to be the what's
the after effect Like if youstop taking it, what happens?
Speaker 1 (36:23):
Do you revert?
Speaker 3 (36:24):
back, or we need to make sure we're not just relying
on medication alone.
Speaker 2 (36:30):
Yeah, yeah.
And there's no side effects tothe waking up early and running
or lifting.
There's no side effects of that.
All right, you guys, this hasbeen really great.
I love talking to you.
Where can we find your podcastand where can we find both of
you?
Sure.
Speaker 3 (36:50):
We are on YouTube Mindful Muscle Podcast.
We are also available on Apple,spotify or your favorite
podcast provider.
We also post a lot on Instagram, which is mindful underscore
muscle underscore podcast.
My individual social media isLivia Chaos L-I-V-I-A-K-A-O-S,
(37:12):
and I post a lot about mytransformation, inspirational
quotes and devastatinglyterrible memes that are
inappropriate.
Speaker 2 (37:23):
Oh, I like that Okay.
Speaker 1 (37:25):
You can find me at GeoMarin7 at Instagram.
You could also find me atGeoMarin on X and I just, you
know, take what Jodi posts andput it.
But I do put my own stuffsometimes and I talk about my
transformation.
I like inspiring people.
I don't post that often, butwhen I do, I try to make it
substantial.
Speaker 2 (37:46):
Again, thank you to both of you.
Like I said, I just love we arejust like hanging out and
having this conversation and Icould keep on talking.
Um, thank you so much for beinga part of this show.
And again, thank you forallowing me to be on your show,
and I'll actually put on thenotes, not only how to get ahold
(38:07):
of you and Jodi, the episode.
I'm going to find that episodethat you mentioned.
That was one of your favorites.
That sounds very interesting.
I want to check that out, butwhere we can find you and I'm
going to guess the same thingfor the email it's the Mindful
Muscle Podcast.
Speaker 3 (38:24):
Mindfulmusclepodcast at gmailcom.
Speaker 2 (38:29):
Perfect, okay.
Well, thanks again everyone anduntil next time.
Bye.
Welcome to Ella Go.
My name is Lisa.
Join me on the journey inhaving real raw and
uncomfortable discussions aboutfitness, health and everything
in between, because, let's behonest, this journey would suck
if we don't get our shittogether.
Okay, welcome back to theElegoo podcast.
(00:42):
Today's guests are Gio and Jodifrom the Mindful Muscle podcast
.
Welcome, guys.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
So I'm gonna talk a little bit about your not only
your podcast you both have apodcast well together but you
also had a transformation.
Both of you had atransformation, both of you.
And can you you know whoeverwants to start first, jodi or
Gio?
Gio, if you're a gentlemanyou'd say Jodi Talk a little bit
(01:15):
about your transformation.
Just give us a little glimpseinto that.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Sure, seven years ago , I was weighing over 230 pounds
and at age 35, I was diagnosedwith hypertension after
experiencing heart palpitations,and it scared me to no end to
have to change my life, becauseI have two small boys and I grew
(01:41):
up with a parent that wasconstantly in and out of the
hospital, who had a massive listof prescriptions that he was
put on, and I did not want to godown that route.
Medication has its place, but Ididn't want to keep adding on
to health issues by continuingto neglect my health.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
So, jodi, did you like prior to that?
Did you have, like you know?
Have you tried?
You know, dieting, did you doall of that?
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Absolutely.
In fact, my first taste of dietculture was elementary school
because my mom was a WeightWatchers leader and she would
give me plain rice cakes andback in the 80s those were
disgusting tasting They'vegotten better and honey and diet
soda and yeah, it was abouttaking up less space back then,
(02:37):
not being healthy.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Wow Okay.
So when you had that healthscare, like how soon, were you
like, okay, I'm going to do this.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Pretty much immediately.
At the time I befriended somelocal moms in my area and we
were trying to lose weight, butI wasn't really taking it
serious.
It just seemed like the socialnorm to constantly have to feel
like you have to lose weight butfortunately, have to lose
weight.
So, but fortunately, ithappened right after that
(03:08):
accountability group started.
So I leaned into them.
I believe it or not, after whatI just said to you about my
first diet culture experience, Ijoined Weight Watchers because
two of them were following thatprogram.
So it was just like, okay, Ihad somebody to ask questions to
.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
You know it's so we laugh about it now.
But I mean, I don't know if youremember, um, the great food
diet, uh, I mean, and this isthings that we were exposed to
at such a young age slim fast.
I remember, like having thoseshakes at 12.
Like, why was I?
What was my mother thinking?
(03:44):
Like that's not okay.
So, but it's such a different,you know, culture now with you
know, versus then, when no onereally like said what was the
big deal?
You want to lose weight?
Okay, but it's a wholedifferent culture now.
Okay.
So, gio, share us, share yourstory.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Yes, I was relatively in shape all my life till 42.
But then my wife and I hadtrouble conceiving and while she
began eating a fourth meal,unfortunately, I started joining
her.
So from the ages of 42 to 47, Iballooned to my heaviest.
I never crossed 200 pounds, butI got to 199.5, and that scared
(04:24):
me.
But I was 35% body fat.
So so it was skinny fat.
And one day I was at the pooland I saw an older man, older
than myself, and he was in shape.
Then I looked at my belly and Ilooked at him and for the first
time in my life I felt pity formyself.
But I snapped out of it realquick.
I said, yo, I could dosomething about this.
(04:44):
And I started with a diet and alot of walking.
But then I realized the weightwasn't coming off the way I
wanted to.
It wasn't coming off as fast asI wanted to and I didn't like
how I was looking.
So it wasn't until I startedlifting weights that the weight
that I was losing was coming outfaster and I was liking the way
I was looking.
(05:05):
So choose a physique and allthat.
So it was me that got over thatembarrassment at having let
myself go.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
You know, it's interesting, like both of your
stories, how that if you're Jody, you had the health scare and
Gio, you were like thatembarrassment.
There was something that gotyou to get to that point where
you're just like, okay, I'mgoing to do it.
And I hate to compare it tothis, but food is an addiction,
(05:40):
and to any addiction they alwayssay you got to hit rock bottom
right To sober up and all that.
So it's very similar when itcomes to wanting to lose weight
because the mind doesn't want todo hard shit, like it doesn't
want to do hard shit, you know,until you're like, no, this is
(06:02):
about this, this has to happen.
Until you're like, no, this isabout this has to happen.
Like Jodi, your story of thehealth scare.
What kills me is that there arepeople out there that have had
a similar health scare andthey're just like, oh, okay,
well, maybe I'll do it.
You were just like mm-mm,that's it, I'm done right.
It took that to happen whereothers that might not be what
(06:25):
needs to happen for them tochange their mindset.
What are your thoughts on that?
Speaker 3 (06:31):
Yeah, I think a big part of it, like the last words
my father said to me.
He originally had brain cancerand then develop a blood clot
and that's actually what causedhim to pass away develop a blood
clot and that's actually whatcaused him to pass away.
His last words to me was I amtired of this shit and I think
that's a big part of like whythis scared me so much.
(06:53):
It's like he got to a pointwith all his issues that he had
enough before he passed and Idid not want that.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
You know you mentioned that enough is enough.
Right, All of us at some pointsaid enough is enough.
But I wish I could capture that, because there's a lot of
people hurting who don't know.
I really can't explain why.
I just said enough is enough,but I've never looked back.
I wish I could capture that andI joke around with Jodi.
If I could capture that andsell it, I'd be a trillionaire.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Forget about it, my God.
Yeah, well, you know what it is.
Is that I think it's?
It's, it's what it's their, whyit's the thing that is going to
really like hurt them thatthey're proud of or their ego.
You know, and it's differentfor different people.
You know, like Gio, you sayingthat it was, you know you felt a
little like embarrassed, like,oh my God, look at me, this
guy's in better shape than andthat was what got to you.
(07:54):
You know, and I think thateverybody has a different makeup
.
Everyone has the.
You know, the camel that breaksthe, what is it?
The straw that breaks thecamel's back?
Everyone has a different straw.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Hey, you know what's funny, that if you would have
asked me at that point, you knowwhat are the tenets of good
health I would have told you.
But look, even though I'm 35%plus body fat, my internal
numbers were good.
My cholesterol has never beenabove 122, right so.
(08:31):
But it's almost like you'reblinded to your own foolishness
and something had to snap me outof it, which was the incident
at the pool.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
You know, Gio, let's talk a little bit about that,
because I was having a.
I may have been having thisconversation by myself, but it
was the conversation of howsomeone is healthy.
What does healthy look like?
Gio, you said you were skinnyfat.
People don't even realize whatthat is.
(08:57):
You look thin on the outside,you look healthy, but inside
you're a whole mess.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Yes, yes, inside you look healthy, but inside you're
a whole mess.
Yes, yes, you know, I thinkjody said or I forgot where I
heard, like I said, maybeinternal common conversation.
Think jody said right, theskinny people think that skinny
equals healthy.
And there's so much more thatgoes into health.
And I know, with type 2diabetes, people that are rip
city and yet they have type 2diabetes and you would think,
wow, they're a beacon of health.
(09:28):
That's not necessarily the case.
It needs to be a holisticapproach.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Yeah, and I'm so glad you said that, because that's
exactly what whether it was aconversation with myself what I
was saying to this person thateven though you know they are
fit, they're ripped, they're,they got abs, you know they may
not be healthy inside,especially with a lot of other
(09:55):
things on on how they even gotto that point.
But let's also talk about the,the, the mental health, the
mindset.
I mean you might be healthy oryou look like you're ripped and
all that, but mentally you're amess, right, A hot mess.
And again it's talking aboutwhen someone says I'm about
(10:18):
health and wellness, Well,that's mind and body, that's all
of it.
So let's transition to thepodcast.
But before we talk about that,how did you all meet?
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Well, do you want this or do you want me to take
this one?
When I started, I had a lot ofgym phobia.
I was too embarrassed to go inthe gym.
So I found this app calledFitBot and it actually shows you
what to do.
You can put in your goals, whatyour equipment you have
available to you, and they alsohave a Facebook group, and I was
(10:58):
one of the active members inthat Facebook community, and so
was Gio oh but how did that alllike?
Speaker 2 (11:07):
how did the connection happen?
Speaker 1 (11:13):
So Jodi is a photographer, an awesome
photographer.
She posts pictures of hertransformation, and others do as
well, and I gravitated towardsJodi because it's kind of
similar to mine.
Hers is a female version, right, mine's a male version.
We both lost a lot of weight,we're both very consistent with
our workouts, we're in the gymalmost every day, we talk about
(11:34):
nutrition, and I know this, herand others, but her, she's
balanced.
It's not one extreme or theother.
Long story short, we planned aretreat, several of us, about
nine of us, and we metphysically in Arizona about a
year ago, and that's how weconnected talk about the podcast
(12:06):
, but I just had a question Withthe transformation.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
You both had this transformation.
What has that done for yourlife?
I want to talk a little bitabout that because obviously
there's some hard work that goesinto these transformations.
But then the end goal, or thejourney what has that done for
you?
Has it changed your life?
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Yeah, 100% has changed my life.
I didn't have a greatrelationship with myself before
and I never want to give theimpression that my weight had to
do with it.
It had to do with not takingcare of myself.
I wasn't a priority.
I was too shy to speak my mindwhen I was overweight because I
just wanted to fit in so bad.
(12:48):
And when I started prioritizingmy health, I started loving
myself because I was treatingmyself like somebody I loved and
I started getting to the pointwhere I'm like you know what?
This is how I feel.
I'm going to say it.
If you don't like it, oh well,this is who I am and I have more
friends of it, because I thinkpeople gravitate to people who
(13:10):
are them, their authentic self,where before I was too timid to
be myself and I originally was agraphic designer for a
financial company and I amcurrently looking for work, but
I am a certified personaltrainer and nutritionist.
So that's going from art schooland the artsy kid to let's go
(13:33):
work out, you know.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
That's definitely a big change.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
To me what's the opposite.
My mom always used to jokearound that I had enough
confidence for all my siblings,but when I hit the moment where
I discovered all the weight thatI had let myself go, it was
more about being honest withmyself, right To live the
commitments that I put formyself that I wasn't.
I've always been healthy.
I've always been athletic, from42 to 47.
(14:01):
And I was blinded.
I didn't realize.
I let myself go because we wereworried about the first
pregnancy.
People with celiac disease havea higher rate of miscarriage
second trimester as opposed tothe first.
And so I stopped golfing, Istopped walking, I stopped
exercising, I stopped doing alot of things, and then I was
eating.
And finally, when you know it,all of a sudden you're out of
(14:24):
weight and I needed to align myvalues back with who I was, with
my actions.
And so that's what.
And so now that I've done that,I realized that it has helped
me.
It's my I don't want to sayconfidence of my level of
commitment in other areas oflife, knowing that if I can do
this, I can do anything as well.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Okay, this is pretty fascinating because you both
were talking about, obviously,the body transformation, but
even through the journey, youhad an emotional and mental
transformation.
People transform their body andthey still look in the mirror
(15:08):
and see that overweightindividual.
They see that individual thatthey don't like so much.
They think that, okay, I'mgoing to lose the weight, I'm
going to be happy.
Well, no, you got to work onthat mindset.
So it's interesting that bothof you which is, I'm going to
say you're outliers, becauseboth of you had not only the
body transformation, you had themental and emotional
(15:31):
transformation, and that doesn'toften happen.
So I know this is going to be aquestion that people are going
to want me to ask you how didyou both lose the weight?
Speaker 3 (15:43):
For me.
Originally it started withWeight Watchers, and then I
transitioned to calorie countingand focusing on protein and
fiber as my goals, and thenweightlifting a lot.
I know you are a running coach.
I don't love cardio.
I will run, though, because Irecognize that it's really good
(16:06):
for all of us, and I have asthma, and it's actually helped my
asthma significantly because Imake myself do it.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Okay, joe.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Yeah, and for me I mentioned, my internal numbers
were good, so I just reducedbecause, look, you can gain a
lot of weight eating what isquote unquote considered a
healthy food, right?
You overeat rice and beans andbroccoli and vegetables.
You're going to gain weight, itdoesn't matter, it's healthy
food.
So calories counting.
And obviously, as I mentioned,weightlifting and I don't like
(16:38):
to run either.
I do it occasionally.
My favorite form of cardio,though, is a Peloton.
I get it, I get on it, I lovethe mental aspect of it more
than I do running, and that'show I lost the weight.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
Okay, okay, I'm not going to like Doug, what's hard
is discipline to stay at it.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
But discipline grows the more you do it and then,
like Jody says, becomes an easyas brushing your teeth.
It becomes a part of you, and Iknow Jody's been working out
since she was a fetus.
I have a current streak of 152weeks of working out, six days
consecutive.
So it's just like brushing yourteeth every day.
I put on my underwear every dayand I just work out.
(17:22):
It goes hand in hand.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
It's just, it's life, it's just like breathing, it's
just part of who you are in yourlife.
So it's just, it's life, it'sjust like breathing, it's just
part of who you are in your life.
So it's not just and I thinkagain, that is because you both
had a uh, emotional mentalchange, transformation.
You wouldn't have been sayingthe things you're saying right
now if it wasn't for that aswell.
(17:47):
Uh, okay, let's talk about thepodcast.
All right, how did that allhappen?
You met and then what did yousay?
Let's do a podcast together.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
I've been doing a podcast for FitBot.
It's a long story short, butthe two other people and I
connected and we ended uplaunching the official FitBot
podcast.
But after that, you know, evenfamous bands break up.
People want to do their ownthing, and I decided I wanted to
align with someone who'ssimilar to me, and so I
approached Jodi and we were justpresenting something together
(18:20):
in the F5 Challenge group, whichactually sponsors our podcast,
and so we did a presentationwith me from the male side, her
from the female side, and thatled to the podcast.
And that's how I see it, jodi.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
Jodi, you see it any different?
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Yeah, I think too.
I think when Gio wasrepresenting Fitbod, it was a
big corporation so he couldn'tfreely pick the topics, like you
can when you're doing your ownthing without somebody holding
you back.
Not that we like say anythingcrazy or offensive, but it's
great to just be able.
(18:58):
Hey, I feel like doing thistopic, what do you think, and we
roll with it.
We don't have to worry aboutsounding corporate and happy.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Okay, so what is the mission of the?
What's the purpose of thepodcast?
It's called the Mindful MusclePodcast.
I could just imagine what thisis all about.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
We focus on the beginner, because Gio and I are
very much, very familiar withthat phase in the journey of
life and we want to show peoplethat it's doable, but also that
your mindset and your mentalhealth matters.
You can't hate yourself intohealth.
It doesn't work that way.
You cannot neglect your mentalhealth while aiming to be fit.
(19:43):
It doesn't work like that.
And we want to show people thatit's not about being perfect
Nobody's perfect.
Want to show people that it'snot about being perfect Nobody's
perfect.
Perfection is the enemy of goodenough, and that everybody
stumbles on this journey.
I think my biggest issuestarting out is I was expecting
to be 100% perfect and when Iwould stumble, I would let that
(20:03):
stumble become a roadblock.
And no, it's completely normaland we need to normalize the
struggles and be honest with it,because if we fake it and make
it seem like it's peachy keenthe entire time, the beginner
tries, they stumble and they gowell, there's obviously
something wrong with me, so Iquit.
(20:23):
So I'm looking out for theperson that was the old me, the
person looking for hope andinformation to get started and
not give up.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Yep, we cater to.
You know the advanced as well,but our heart is with the
beginner, because I know Ibasically did a lot of research
on my own and I obviouslydiscovered the Fitbox group and
that was a lot of motivation andasking questions.
But at the beginning part of itit was just me by myself
(20:55):
searching on the internet.
So we just want to help theaverage person.
Another thing is I don't wantto say Jody's age.
She's free to do that herself,but I'm 51 years old and they
told you that it can be done.
If I can do it, nothing special.
If I can do it at 51, thoseyounger than me can actually do
it as well.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
I'm 42.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
She's a baby.
Yeah, she's a baby.
Okay, you know, I love that youguys, although you're, you know
, you're both obviously you'retalking from the male
perspective and Jodi from thefemale, but you're both
different ages and you know thatis why I did I don't know if
you saw recently I did a reelwhere I was like showing my body
.
I was like, yep, this is it.
(21:33):
You know, because menopausethat's going to hit you and that
your body completely changesand the way you work out and the
way you eat, you know it'llslap you in the face.
You're like, wait a minute,I've not been overeating, I've
(21:57):
been working out what the hell'sgoing on, you know, and just
going with that transition andbeing okay with that.
And I think a lot of that again,like you both are talking about
, is that mindset and being ableto say you know, hey, this is
part of the journey, and I lovethat.
You said that, jodi, that youknow, if you don't, you're not
honest in your own journey.
You know, hey, this is part ofthe journey and I love that.
You said that, jodi, that youknow, if you don't, you're not
honest in your own journey.
You know, and it's just likekids like.
That's why they always say showyour kids when you're you're not
(22:18):
yourself.
Show them when you're unhappy,when you're upset, because you
cannot be.
You know, for me, super mom,super woman, all the time the
cape is on, but superwomanstumbles and I want my daughter
to see it.
You know, I want her to seethat because when she stumbles
she's going to be like okay,look, it's okay, cause mom did
it.
You know, um, but if you'reonly showing that perfect, you
(22:39):
know self, your perfect journey,like you just said, jodi,
they're going to say wow, whycan't this happen for you?
What the hell did I do wrong?
What's going on?
So I love that you both sharethat, Okay.
So the podcast.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Well, let me share something about Jodi's post last
night, which is so true becauseof, for me, the way I handle it
is.
I look at my weekly average formy weight.
Jodi went out last night.
I shared her reel on my story.
You know she went out lastnight, came home and weighed
four and a half pounds more.
Well, that's not because shegained all that fat overnight.
(23:16):
She probably had waterretention.
But if you let it get to yourhead, I can never go out.
I love what she said.
I'm not going to makerelationships, friendships just
because I'm freaking out aboutsome gain.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
Yeah, no, I, yes, I read that and I was like,
exactly Like what are you goingto do?
Not live your life?
You still got to live your lifeand be a human being and I
think you know, think about it.
You're going to be like bescared to thrive when you're 60
because you're going to gainweight.
Come on, you know, okay.
(23:52):
So, going back to not only withyour experiences interviewing
people on the podcast, but evenyour own experience and, jodi,
you being a personal trainer anda nutritionist, what do you
find people don't understand themost when it comes to losing
(24:12):
body fat and gaining muscle?
And you know there's so muchinformation out there, but it's
that one thing that you're justlike how do you not get this?
Like what is that one thing?
If you both have, you know,your own opinion on that?
I'm going to say Jodi, go first.
I'm going to say the scale yourown opinion on that.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
I'm going to say Jodi , go first.
I'm going to say the scale.
Looking at it, everybody thinksif it goes up, that you're
screwing something up.
And it's not normalized howfluctuations work and you could
be eating 100% perfect for aweek and it might not go in the
direction you want it to go andthat's normal.
(24:51):
And like I've heard women say,oh, I haven't lost any weight,
but, and I'm like, okay, howabout your measurements?
Oh, I'm down an inch in mythigh and I'm down here.
I'm like, bruh, it's like youare kicking ass, but you're not
seeing that because you're toofocused on the value of the
(25:15):
scale that you give it.
That value, I mean yikes.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
Yeah, so Jodi as a Weight Watchers alumni to
another Weight Watchers alumni.
It was always the scale.
You know and, and you were, andpeople would be like what
happened.
I've been following the pointsand all that and you know you
were focused on that damn numberon the scale.
Yeah, I got to agree with youon that one, jodi Gio.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
For the record, I'm also a CPT and a nutrition coach
, and you know so many peopleget so fixed in the
micronutrients and counting thatthey can't enjoy an occasional
donut or an occasional ice cream.
I, for myself, eat anywherebetween 400 to 1200 calories of
ice cream every Saturday, andsometimes people feel that if
(26:05):
they're not 100% then they falloff the rails.
No, be you know, show yourselfsome grace, have a donut every
once in a while.
It's not what you do one time,it's what you do in the big
picture, and if your big pictureis healthy, like myself and
Jodi and yourself, then it'sokay to indulge every once in a
while.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
Yeah, we, you know it's crazy because even with
weight rot, weight watchers likethey weren't focused on the
meal, the healthy meal, it wasabout the points.
So people are eating like theboxed Weight Watchers, like how
much sodium is in that, right,the boxed Weight Watchers,
morning, noon and night, andthey were like I don't know why
(26:46):
I'm not losing weight.
So hello, sodium here.
I mean it was not the mosthealthiest way to eat, or, oh, I
ate a piece of pizza.
There goes my points Then.
I'm going to starve myself forthe rest of the day.
It was such a crazy time.
Oh, weight Watchers, you crazy.
(27:10):
I don't know how it is rightnow, but anyways, let's go back
to the episodes with yourpodcast.
Um, I wanted to ask you whathas been your favorite episode,
or the one that was just soenlightening that you were just
like wow.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
Well, for me, I obviously the reason I enjoyed
your episode is a theme.
It runs through what yourepisode was about.
It's when the guest comes in,that's genuine relaxed, where
they look.
It's just a living roomconversation, because sometimes
I remember one guest trying tosay that it was all about being
scripted, that she didn't wantit to be scripted, and I just
(27:50):
love this laid back feel, jodi.
Speaker 3 (27:54):
I love.
I think my favorite episodebesides yours I really did
appreciate.
Like one of the questions Iasked you was about like what
seems to be a barrier with women, and you mentioned that a lot
of women don't think thatthey're good enough or worth the
effort to do something forthemselves, and I think that's
(28:17):
unfortunately true.
But I would also say probablymy next favorite would be Shelby
.
She was homeless, in her car,living in her car for a year,
yeah, and that actually led forher to prioritize her physical
(28:37):
health and her nutrition becauseshe was living in a small car
for a year.
And just in case you know,something happens, you need to
be able to move quickly and it'scrazy how people yeah, yeah,
yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
And sorry, Jodi, not that something you were
mentioning, but that's theattitude, and that's the
attitude I love about Jodi isthat we're going to make the
best of it no matter what, andthat's what we want to instill
in people, regardless of the age.
You can do this.
Just put your mind to it andyou can be the healthiest person
you can be.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
Yeah, yeah.
So, jodi, this is more towardsyou, because even though you
know what you just said, joe,it's like just do it, and you
know you, you can do it.
But especially for women andmoms, it's like they get
paralyzed.
They know what they want.
(29:35):
Then they got the informationthey.
They can look it up on theinternet.
You got pinterest, you got.
I like I said just I think Isaid it on a post you got
everything that's free to you,you know.
But they almost feel paralyzedto make that first step, um to
to going on to that journey.
(29:56):
Like, did you experience any ofthat?
I know that you said that youhad that health scare, but even
before the health scare, did youalways say, yeah, I wanna lose
weight?
But then it's like, oh yeah,that one thing I wanted to do, I
forgot about it.
You know?
Like how was that for?
Speaker 3 (30:11):
you.
I think the biggest issue isthe mom guilt taking time to do
something for yourself, but it'snot a flex to neglect your
health.
And okay, they watch what we do.
I mean, right before I got ontothis call, my son was like mom,
(30:33):
look at my bicep.
Well, why do you think he doesthat?
Because he sees his mom do that.
If I want them to take care oftheir health, they better see me
doing it too.
They're not going to do what Isay, they're going to do what I
do.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Yeah, you know, yeah, Like you know, yeah, the mom
guilt.
But if you do what you need todo, you actually are showing
them how to be a betterindividual.
And I don't know about you,Jodi, but I felt like me getting
into running and all that mademe a better mom, Absolutely
(31:12):
right.
Like, do you not realize that,ladies, you feel like you're so
empowered, you, you know, you'renot as stressed out and you're
in such a better mood that youare just like?
I mean, I always tell the story.
You know my daughter, you know,and I'm a single mom and I
remember one time I was in a badmood and she's like Mom, did
(31:34):
you run today?
And I'm like, no, I didn't.
And I'm like, oh my God, mydaughter knows, oh my God.
So, yes, you're absolutelyright, the mom, the mom guilt,
is the thing that that stops alot of women from going into
that journey.
Gio, what are other obstaclesthat you find?
(31:57):
I mean, I know we talked aboutthe mom guilt, but besides the
mom guilt, what have youexperienced has been the
obstacles for other people?
Speaker 1 (32:06):
It's been the notion that people say they don't have
time, you know, and Jodi is forpeople telling her all the time
oh, you're lucky, you get towork out.
Well, jodi wakes up at three inthe morning sometimes to get
the workout in.
And so, look, if you really buyinto the health, then it is
something you're going to do andyou're not going to let anybody
stop you.
And so I admire people likeJody, I admire people like
(32:27):
yourself, I admire people whofinally say enough is enough.
My, my health is important, andif I have to wake up at five,
six or whenever, I'm going toget it done and for me, you know
it's easy because it's thefirst door I see when I open my
bedroom, it's my gym door.
And so people have toprioritize when they're going to
work out, set a time, stay onit and do it.
(32:50):
My wife works out three days aweek.
She's busy, she's a doctor, butshe reminds herself that it's
important not only for her, andI hate missing deadlines.
Sometimes, if I don't go towork out, you know I hate it, I
get antsy.
But sometimes I've done aworkout to keep my streak at 11
PM at night because it'spriority number one, and I want
(33:13):
to be independent at 99 yearsold.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, you know.
I think that it's the valuebecause, like Jodi, I'm up at
four, okay, and even prior, andI start work early.
But even prior to that, if Iwanted to do my workout and
again, you know, being a singlemother, I had to wake up extra
early before she woke up andunfortunately, my daughter was
(33:39):
the kid that did not sleep in.
She woke up early.
So I'm like, damn it, she's upat, nobody has a problem waking
up to get concert tickets or,you know, working at certain
things.
So it's that value and I think,like for Gio you know, gio, you
(34:10):
say it at 90, like that is huge, like me going to see in a
nursing home.
I don't want to be that, that'snot what I want to be.
So that is valuable to me andthat's why the why, the why is
so important.
On why is it that you're doingthis?
And it's got to hit theheartstrings, it's got to make
(34:33):
you a little teary-eyed, it'sgot to hurt, like, why am I
doing this?
And I said this in your show.
I'm doing this because I'm anolder mom and I want to be
around for my daughter.
I get a little teary-eyed whenI say that.
So the why is so important toget you on the journey.
With that being said, what areyour thoughts?
(34:55):
Because there's that?
Why, right?
With that being said, what areyour thoughts?
Because there's that?
Why, right?
What are your thoughts withthese get quick, lose weight
quick medications that are allout there where it's like a boom
, I lose the weight and bam Like.
What are your thoughts on that?
Because, again, you don'treally need a why.
You're just taking themedication, the hard work I mean
(35:19):
.
I'm seeing the transformationlike it's on fire.
What are your thoughts, jodiand Gio?
Speaker 3 (35:26):
I think the problem is a lot of these medications
are being offered by non-medicalprofessionals, like you're
seeing them advertised.
I've seen them advertised onWeight Watchers and spas and
it's like you should be doing itwith the guidance of a doctor
and you still need to addresshealthy habits If you need to
(35:49):
take the medication to help youget to a point where your health
is extended.
I understand there is no cheatcode for that, but you still
have to eat healthier, you stillneed to get movement.
So I think it's essential, ifyou're doing it, do it under the
care of a doctor, but stillwork with a nutritionist or a
(36:10):
certified personal trainer tomodify those habits to keep it
lasting, because we don't knowwhat's going to be the what's
the after effect Like if youstop taking it, what happens?
Speaker 1 (36:23):
Do you revert?
Speaker 3 (36:24):
back, or we need to make sure we're not just relying
on medication alone.
Speaker 2 (36:30):
Yeah, yeah.
And there's no side effects tothe waking up early and running
or lifting.
There's no side effects of that.
All right, you guys, this hasbeen really great.
I love talking to you.
Where can we find your podcastand where can we find both of
you?
Sure.
Speaker 3 (36:50):
We are on YouTube Mindful Muscle Podcast.
We are also available on Apple,spotify or your favorite
podcast provider.
We also post a lot on Instagram, which is mindful underscore
muscle underscore podcast.
My individual social media isLivia Chaos L-I-V-I-A-K-A-O-S,
(37:12):
and I post a lot about mytransformation, inspirational
quotes and devastatinglyterrible memes that are
inappropriate.
Speaker 2 (37:23):
Oh, I like that Okay.
Speaker 1 (37:25):
You can find me at GeoMarin7 at Instagram.
You could also find me atGeoMarin on X and I just, you
know, take what Jodi posts andput it.
But I do put my own stuffsometimes and I talk about my
transformation.
I like inspiring people.
I don't post that often, butwhen I do, I try to make it
substantial.
Speaker 2 (37:46):
Again, thank you to both of you.
Like I said, I just love we arejust like hanging out and
having this conversation and Icould keep on talking.
Um, thank you so much for beinga part of this show.
And again, thank you forallowing me to be on your show,
and I'll actually put on thenotes, not only how to get ahold
(38:07):
of you and Jodi, the episode.
I'm going to find that episodethat you mentioned.
That was one of your favorites.
That sounds very interesting.
I want to check that out, butwhere we can find you and I'm
going to guess the same thingfor the email it's the Mindful
Muscle Podcast.
Speaker 3 (38:24):
Mindfulmusclepodcast at gmailcom.
Speaker 2 (38:29):
Perfect, okay.
Well, thanks again everyone anduntil next time.
Bye.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com