June 21, 2025 • 40 mins
In this moving episode, Megan shares how her mother's alcohol addiction and eventual death profoundly impacted her life. This is a powerful story of turning deep pain into purpose. Megan bravely opens up about the heavy grief and the transformative journey that led her to become a successful bodybuilder and fitness/ mental health company owner.
Megan transformed her sorrow into strength, building an empire from heartbreak. She shares candidly about the challenges of growing up with an alcoholic parent, the difficult healing process, and how she found an empowering path through fitness.
Find her work on www.everybodysfitoceanside.com and www.mindfulbodys.com
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Producer & Host: Jennica Sadhwani
Editing: Stephan Menzel
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_03 (00:00):
I've never gotten anything less than an A in a
class.
She wasn't able to make my highschool graduation.
She would go away for 30 to 90days and then return.
You know, only 10% of thepopulation actually seeks
(00:21):
treatment.
You have to treat the mentalhealth component of it, not just
the addiction.
You have to address theunderlying reasons.
My grandmother must have spenthundreds of thousands of dollars
to help her, right?
Not everyone has that.
If you know that your coworkeris in recovery, why would the
(00:43):
work function be at a bar?
If you continue to live life andnot forgive people, it's going
to carry with you intoeverything else.
SPEAKER_00 (00:57):
Dr.
Megan, how are you?
Welcome to Multispective.
I'm super excited to have youhere.
I'm doing well.
Thanks for having me.
Yeah.
So I'd be curious a little bitif you could just start from the
very beginning.
Like, where does your storybegin?
Like, who is Dr.
Megan?
SPEAKER_03 (01:13):
Sure.
So I am born and raised inOceanside, California.
I still live here today.
My life began with mostlysports, right?
Always athletic.
And I played basketball incollege, got a Fulbright
scholarship, and then came backand both my parents were
teachers.
So education has always beensomething really big component
(01:36):
of my life.
So I got my master's in physicaleducation and health.
And then after that, I got mydoctorate in health and human
performance.
That's kind of where a lot oflike the foundation of what I do
now began.
(02:13):
And that is a passion businessthat I own because when I was
20, unfortunately, I lost mymother to alcoholism and the
disease just, it took her lifeand I was the one that found
her.
So it was a traumatic eventthat, you know, I made the best
of and has transpired me intonow helping others, not just the
(02:35):
fitness realm, but also in thesubstance abuse and mental
health
SPEAKER_00 (02:38):
realm.
Wow.
It's really interesting.
I just want to go back to like,you know, you mentioned that you
were raised an athlete, right?
Can you talk to me a little bitabout like the role that sports
played in your life?
How did it develop your mindsettowards like just life in
general?
SPEAKER_03 (02:54):
Sure.
So my dad is actually thewinningest basketball coach in
California high school history.
So basketball was always like akey component of my life, but I
did play, I mean, soccer,softball, just constantly
active.
Like after school, it was rightto a practice or right to a game
and then not get home till sevenor eight, even later at night.
(03:16):
And then having the disciplineof having to get all your
homework done too.
And because my parents wereteachers, you know, school was
so important.
And to this day, like Like, I'venever gotten anything less than
an A in a class.
Just very focused.
And the lessons that I wastaught is that you always have
to show up.
You don't miss a practice.
You don't miss a game.
You don't miss an assignment.
(03:38):
So, I mean, sports alone teachyou a lot about...
you know, teamwork, you know,being a leader, problem solving,
communication, being able toencourage and help others, the
value of practicing as somethingyou want to be good at, and also
what it feels like to win andalso what it feels like to lose
(03:59):
and to be resilient for many ofthose.
SPEAKER_00 (04:01):
Right.
I love that.
And what about in terms ofcontrol?
How would you say that you arewhen it
SPEAKER_03 (04:08):
A little bit before COVID, I really came into kind
of Christianity and the serenityprayer because I've always, you
know, had a little anxiety in mylife and what I can't as a
perfectionist, right?
So my mom was a world championbaton twirler.
So I, although I have like theaddictive traits and qualities,
(04:30):
right, I've, you know,transformed them into something
positive, but it also has aperfectionist, you know, avenue
about it.
So when I go Oh, yeah.
(05:08):
Yeah.
I
SPEAKER_00 (05:11):
just find it fascinating because on the one
hand, you had very, very highachieving parents who not only
did really well in their lives,but also expected so much from
you.
And on the other hand, you had amother who was battling alcohol.
So how did like discipline andyour kind of mindset of being an
athlete and all the disciplinethat came with that blend
(05:32):
together with, you know, knowingwhat was happening at home with
your mom?
SPEAKER_03 (05:35):
Sure.
So the simple answer would bethat I hid in basketball in
school.
right ignoring or pretendingthat something didn't exist that
if you're always gone at apractice or at a game or if
you're always in your bedroomdoing your homework it's it's a
way of ignoring it pretendingthat you know what's going on
(05:55):
inside the house is is you knowand that nobody knows about it
because I hid in basketball andschool and sports I was also
very naive to it for the longesttime I truly believe that like
my dad would always say oh shejust has another sinus infection
and I mean I didn't really knowwhat alcohol does to someone she
(06:19):
hit it for a long time you knowlike something like she would
make dinner and then go upstairsand not eat with us well you
know it just kind of seemed likeshe just wanted some alone time
or something like that and shewould come back down and eat
later just little things likethat I never I never went to
parties and I didn't do you knowthe whole like boys and social
(06:39):
thing too much.
So I didn't even know whatalcoholism was.
And when her life, you know, asyou said, kind of like started
falling apart, like she was nolonger able to uphold having a
job, that she had some DUIs andthen understanding that she
couldn't drive anymore andthings like that.
(07:00):
That's when it all kind ofstarted to, okay, this is a
reality and I'm kind of now partof it, right?
Now I'm going to have to takeher to meetings now.
I mean, she was like a skeletonof herself.
And as much as I
SPEAKER_02 (07:14):
was
SPEAKER_03 (07:14):
Mm-hmm.
(07:44):
You know, for a period of time.
You know, how could you misssomething like that?
(08:05):
And so I was just like mad.
But then at the same time, yourexpectations of that person
lower, you know, like it's kindof like normal that she wouldn't
be able to come.
And it's a lot of, you know, mymy ticket to kind of get away
from all that was going to befrom school and sports.
(08:27):
So I chose to go to a collegeout of state in Colorado as much
as I wanted to stay.
in like the San Diego area andbe able to like have my dad come
watch me play it was also betterfor me to leave at that time
because it was kind of at theheight of her struggles you know
(08:49):
in today's in my today's worldlike I didn't exactly get to
have any sense of closure I haveyou know guilt for the way that
I was towards her so as much asI want to say that I was mad at
her and even hated her at thattime.
I also received all of her greattraits, right?
(09:12):
Like she was a world champion,baton twirler, which they don't
even have a ton anymore, but nowI'm a world champion
bodybuilder, naturalbodybuilder.
You know, she, um, was verysmart and intelligent and now
I've written books and, um, Iown businesses, you know, she
ran a household and, um, wasable to get, you know, three
kids through one through lawschool.
(09:33):
you know, one to open, my sisterowns a dance studio in LA.
So she was generous and kind andalways wanted to help other
people.
And so I got that from her
SPEAKER_00 (09:43):
too.
You mentioned earlier, guilt issomething that you, you kind of
battle with quite a lot.
Can you talk to me a little bitabout that?
Sure.
So
SPEAKER_03 (09:52):
guilt is like a complicated emotion because
it's, Right?
It's reactive.
So there's nothing you can doabout what took place.
All I can do now is say theserenity prayer, and then
there's always forgiveness.
So at this point of my life, ifyou continue to live life and
(10:15):
not forgive people...
You know, it's going to carrywith you into everything else.
It's going to somehow exposeitself.
And so we have to, you know,forgiveness.
They say forgive and forget.
Forgetting is the hard part.
For me, forgiving is notnecessarily understanding 100%
(10:36):
forgiveness.
But 100% understanding that,like, I can't control it or do
anything about it now.
(11:08):
Right.
But we all we live and learn,right, as they say, and mistakes
are opportunities for growth.
(11:29):
And so now moving forward whenI'm surrounded or part of
someone's life who has astruggle like that, I understand
that I can't control any oftheir behaviors, that it has to
come from them internally, thatI have to almost be accepting of
the fact that they are incontrol of their actions and I'm
in control of mine and I canchoose to be part of their life.
(11:52):
But that it's a disease.
And there's always someunderlying mental health
condition that's transpiringthis to happen.
So I've learned a lot aboutmaybe compassion and maybe
empathy, too.
I would say that
SPEAKER_02 (12:11):
I
SPEAKER_03 (12:12):
have kind of a more like...
Yeah, I think that like, that's
SPEAKER_00 (12:25):
a really good way to put it.
And I kind of want to go back towhat you said earlier as well
about how like, you know, wecan't really control.
I did an episode with someonewho struggled with alcohol and
drugs.
And they mentioned that theirown mother had to actually like
kick them out of the house atone point.
And they had to experiencealmost being homeless.
And every time his mom wouldopen the doors and let him back
in, she was in her own house.
way kind of enabling him tosteal.
(12:48):
He would steal things and sellthings and then like make money
from that to buy drugs.
You know, for him, he had to hitthat rock bottom.
That rock bottom was the thingthat was really important for
him to be able to realize, okay,this is like enough is enough,
you know, and I have to turn mylife around.
And of course, it's verydifferent for different people
because some people may not getto that point of hitting rock
(13:10):
bottom, you know, and for somepeople, they just don't make it,
right?
And so I think it's really...
important that message thatyou're saying here as well is
that like yeah no one really cansit here and tell you what's the
right way or the wrong way todeal with it because for some
people it works and for somepeople it doesn't.
It sounds like you and your daddid do quite a lot in terms of
(13:30):
sending her to rehabilitationcenters and trying to help her
through it like she needed tofind that kind of reason for
herself.
SPEAKER_03 (13:37):
Going back to the guilt part is that when she
would go to rehabilitation andthen come back and, you know,
it'd be like a stellar two weeksof, you know, abstinence from
alcohol.
But, Yeah.
Yeah.
(14:24):
And then she'd fall back intomasking it and self-medicating
with alcohol.
So that's where guilt comes in alot.
And, you know, rock bottom...
Everyone has it.
There's no one size fits all.
It's an individual experiencewhen it comes to recovery and
addiction.
But rock bottom, I mean, somepeople can tolerate like the
(14:49):
worst of the worst.
And then, I mean, the substanceor the alcohol is so powerful
that they succumb to it.
So it really doesn't matter.
I mean, the ultimate consequenceis death, right?
But some people can even get asclose to an almost and almost
get there and still it's notenough
SPEAKER_00 (15:09):
there was no one way about it I mean different people
have totally differentexperiences and I do find it
really fascinating that youmentioned earlier though like
you know your mom was a batontwirler so I'm sure she was
super disciplined in her own wayin order for her to be a
champion in this area the amountof work that she must have had
to put in being in the sportsfield and I can see that that's
(15:29):
been passed down to you and andyour siblings as well and just
the way that you run your lifetoday but at the same time that
your mom Mom had turned toalcohol.
So addiction was a thing.
What was that?
What was that turning point forher?
Was there a specific thing thatcaused it?
Or was it just a slow progress?
SPEAKER_03 (15:46):
Well, I think a lot of it had to do with she was an
only child.
And then my grandfather passedaway.
So her dad, that was a bigcomponent of it.
And he had he was an alcoholicto functioning, though.
And then just some things thatlike I have recently learned of
in the past five to 10 years ofjust you know some personal
(16:09):
circumstances in herrelationships that um You know,
there's things that she had alot of broken trust in a lot of
different areas in her life.
And yet, because she was aperfectionist and disciplined,
she didn't want that image to betainted.
And so, although she had nocontrol over being able to fix
(16:31):
things or make things, you know,not...
not exist that do, it was a wayfor her to cope and to not feel
and to not think about thosethings.
She had some...
really great friendships thatshe confided a lot of things
that were going on in her life,but she didn't really want
(16:54):
anyone to know about that.
And so whether she was evenhiding that image when she was
in rehab and things like thatfrom, you know, really being
able to process, she was holdingon to a lot and medicating to
not have to think and not haveto deal with a lot of internal
(17:15):
aspects that she could havemaybe changed the environment
that she was in and maybe leftit but she chose to stay so
That's how she dealt with it.
SPEAKER_00 (17:26):
How did your family sort of like deal with the grief
when your mom
SPEAKER_03 (17:29):
passed?
Each of us had like a differentrelationship with her.
So I was in her everyday lifewhere my brother and sister were
already...
My sister was married and mybrother was in New York going to
law school.
So they were somewhat removedfrom seeing it and living part
of it.
So to them...
(17:50):
Her passing was more of a shock,where for my dad and myself, it
was like...
this is where it was going toend up.
So that would obviously affectgrief, right?
In knowing like that this daywas coming versus like, what
was, you know, how could thistake place?
(18:10):
And then my dad, he took a leaveof absence from teaching and
then eventually retired early.
And yeah, You know, my brotherand sister just continued to
start their families and carryon.
And I know that they're verysaddened and affected by the
(18:33):
fact that she's not here to be agrandma to their kids because
she would have spoiled hergrandchildren, like, to the
nines.
Like, Christmas at our house waslike, there was a Christmas tree
and then there was, you know, 15feet worth of presents extending
down the room.
I think all of us have, like,different holes that we wish she
(18:54):
was here that she could fill youknow and I was a lot I was young
and they were older so but it'syour mom like no one can ever
replace your mom And as sick asshe was, I'd take her back in a
heartbeat.
I would take her back in aheartbeat.
All the drama, all the trips tothe emergency room, I would do
(19:17):
it.
But I wasn't mature enough and Iwasn't educated enough as to
what was going on with her toknow.
And maybe if I were older, Icould have maybe found a
different avenue for her to seektreatment.
(19:39):
I think that for her, like howmy addiction treatment center
is, I think she would have donebetter with an outpatient
treatment center where she wentfor like three or six hours a
day, because for her, as Imentioned before, like she would
go way further you know 30 to 90days and then return and then
(20:03):
it's like once you now returnand sit where you were when the
problem existed I mean how doyou cope and I think she would
have done better with like goingsomewhere for three to six hours
a day and incorporating it tostill be able to you know be a
mom and be not totallyseparating herself I'll never
know but it's something that Ithink about
SPEAKER_00 (20:25):
that's actually a really good point do you feel
like um Do you feel like it'simportant that, you know, all
these rehabilitation centersoffer inpatient followed by
outpatient before letting thepatient go?
Do you feel like that would bemore successful for a lot of
people?
Maybe like start off withinpatient for those that are
very, very severely addicted andthat they really need to be
(20:47):
weaned off it and monitored24-7.
But after they've kind of gonethrough that initial withdrawal
phase to then go through anoutpatient option so that they
have that ability to integratetheir Like, you know, their
lives with it, like learn how tolive in the real world with it.
Or do you feel like there is areason why there are inpatient
(21:10):
only centers versus outpatientonly centers?
SPEAKER_03 (21:13):
So a lot of it does, you know, obviously it's the
case by case basis, but itdepends on the severity of the
individuals using.
There's also a lot that goesinto being able to seek
treatment, your resources andwhat you have.
So a person might need toactually go to detox before they
(21:34):
can even enter a facilityinpatient or outpatient.
Like for us, you can't have beenusing for a certain amount of
time before we can accept you.
You cannot actively be using,right?
So there's that.
And then there's the wholecomponent of insurance.
Do you have insurance?
If you don't have insurance ormaybe you have to find places
(21:55):
that have Medi-Cal, paying outof pocket is just not an option.
Or we might have someone whowants to become a patient and
yes, we accept their insurance,but their deductible is so high
and they can't even afford topay the deductible.
So they're turned away, youknow, because then they don't
(22:17):
have the money to pay out ofpocket.
And also, if you like are goingto do an inpatient, that's
obviously much more expensive.
And then if you decided to havea sober living, you still have
to come up with the money to payrent.
So there's a lot that goes intoit versus like, you know, my
grandmother must have spent.
hundreds of thousands of dollarsto help her, right?
(22:38):
Not everyone has that.
So there's a lot that has to gointo it.
And that's another reason why alot of addicts remain addicts.
And then usually it doesn't workthe first time.
So then it's like revisitingyour resources again.
And that is why many addicts,they run through relationships
(23:04):
because they, they just, they,they will dry some, you know,
take some, dry all the resourcesthat they have out and use
everyone they can in theirselfishness, um, because of the
disease.
So a lot of people end up withtheir pockets empty and trying
to help someone.
SPEAKER_00 (23:23):
Yeah, that's really sad.
I can imagine otherwise, youknow, why for certain
individuals, they just keepfinding themselves back in that
cycle because it's a wholecombination of things.
It's one, easy access to it.
Two, it's, you know, that nexthit, which is so much bigger
than, you know, your ownself-discipline.
And then, you know, coupled withwhatever emotional trauma that
(23:43):
you're having to unravel, which,you know, you haven't been give
in therapy or anything this isyour kind of medicine in a sense
so it's just it almost feelslike all the forces out against
you and then these institutionsbeing really expensive like
really expensive as well so it'skind of like then where where
does it really end like so whatwhat kind of method then do you
(24:05):
feel like is the most effectivethen in helping someone
rehabilitate from this what aresome of the success stories
SPEAKER_03 (24:11):
uh well you know obviously everything is
confidential and anonymous butmost people do well.
And this is just saying ageneralized approach.
It's a combination of cognitivebehavioral therapy.
So that might be, you know,you're meeting with a therapist
and it's all about dualdiagnosis.
So you have to treat the mentalhealth component of it, not just
(24:33):
the addiction.
You have to address theunderlying reasons, the causes.
Otherwise, you know, just havingsomeone not drink for or not use
for a period of time is a greataccomplishment.
But like with my mom, things aregoing to resurface.
(25:17):
That can help you stop drinkingand that also, you know,
something like methadone can bein use.
And there's all sorts ofdifferent newer avenues like
ketamine and different thingslike that that I'm not as
educated about because we don'toffer that, but people do go
down that realm as well.
There's EMDR therapy.
(25:38):
And then there's the componentof group support.
So that could be AA, that couldbe NA.
And some people have Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
(26:12):
you know, that have manybenefits, you know, using
exercise as a tool, finding ahobby to replace the time spent
that you once were using.
There's a lot of different waysto go about it.
And then another resource forpeople is also, you know, their
church can help them too.
Sometimes those ties do haveresources available.
(26:34):
Different places even havescholarships.
Nonprofits can, you know, helpwith someone to be able to
afford and get into a treatmentYeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
(27:12):
So it's again, it's there's justno answer for each person.
And you never know what they'vebeen through and kind of what
led them to this problem intheir life.
We all know someone that is, youknow, that has struggled with
addiction.
And we've all witnessed and beena part, be it in a friendship or
relationship or co-worker.
(27:34):
We see it and we see their livesaffected by it in a negative
way.
And I think it's important, too,that when you are trying to be
encouraging of someone, youknow, that you can be helpful in
(27:54):
the ways of doing things thatdon't involve environments or
activities that could betriggers.
You know, like if you know thatyour coworker is in, you know,
recovery, why would you ask themor why would the work function
be at a bar?
You know, it's being helpful.
Right.
(28:42):
Yeah.
Yeah.
asking someone if they just wantto come over and hang out.
That's okay too.
We don't have to live in a worldof so many distractions.
(29:05):
Just being in the presence ofsomeone else's
SPEAKER_00 (29:07):
is
SPEAKER_03 (29:07):
really nice.
SPEAKER_00 (29:08):
I like that.
Can you walk me through yourjourney of bodybuilding?
Like what got you into this andhow did that sort of progress
for you?
SPEAKER_03 (29:15):
When I started my fitness studio, a lot of my
clients would say, how come younever do any bodybuilding or
anything like that?
You're so fit.
And you know, I just, it neverreally crossed my mind.
And I always had thevisualization of like Arnold
sportsnager and the big beefedout everywhere you know and i
was aware too from working inthe corporate fitness side of
(29:35):
things and co-workers and soforth that you know they're
using performance enhancingdrugs so i was like it's not
really something that i want toteeter with because i struggle
with um once i start somethingi'm gonna take it and run with
it so anyhow my co-worker saidum you know, have you ever heard
of natural bodybuilding?
(29:56):
And I was like, no, what's that?
And he was like, basically, youwork hard, you eat right, and
they drug test you, and youshould try a show, and I'll help
you.
And I thought, okay, well, Idon't know, I guess.
But it was in December that wehad that conversation, and the
first local show was in March.
And so I kind of did the wholelike, okay, New Year's
resolution.
(30:16):
And I signed up for it.
It was in March.
By my second show, I won myprofessional status.
And so I just kind of like fellinto it.
After that, I got asked to be onTeam USA and I went to Italy and
it's taken me all over theworld, Australia, New Zealand,
South Korea, France.
I'm going to go to Bali in June.
I never really thought that Iwould be a part of, but because
(30:39):
I played basketball and I'vealways been athletic, it really
helps fulfill that competitiveside of being an athlete.
You know, I never thought that Iwould like in a bikini on a
stage when I was like abasketball chick with shorts
down to my knees and high kneesocks, you know, everything, you
know, but, uh, you know, itgives me a goal as well.
(30:59):
Something to work towardsbecause my life is exercise.
I could certainly just gothrough the motions every day,
but if I want results and if Iwant to continue
self-improvement, then I needsomething to work towards.
Right.
And so that's what bodybuildingfulfills
SPEAKER_02 (31:12):
for me.
SPEAKER_03 (31:13):
Um, I also just really enjoy it.
And I got this from my mom.
Like I'm a very, um, kind of,um, I love shopping.
I love clothes.
I love thrifting.
So like everything I do, like myaccessories, all this kind of
stuff, I love putting all ofthat together and my outfits for
a show too.
I like that creativity.
I like being on stage.
(31:35):
I like being on camera.
I like performing.
And also, you know, like for thepeople that follow me and that I
help, I practice what I preach.
I model the behavior that Idon't have any expectation of
anyone to do what I'm doing,right?
But I think that it helps whensomeone walks in my studio and
sees all of my trophies andawards that, you know, I'm
(31:55):
working hard and I have afitness goal as well.
And so I can relate to otherswhen it comes to like, you know,
eating healthy and exercisingwhen you really don't want to,
the discipline and that it's ajourney, it's not going to
happen overnight, all of that.
So sticking with something,being committed.
So all of those things help meto help other people as well.
SPEAKER_00 (32:16):
I love that.
You've got to really sculpt yourentire body, which means every
single muscle has to be workedout to a certain, you know, to
be able to achieve a certainlook.
Your body fat content is beingmeasured, like what you eat,
your input, your output, likethe amount of exercise and the
specific isolated muscle thatyou're working out to make it
(32:37):
this perfectly sculpted kind ofshape.
Walk me through, like, how isthat for you?
SPEAKER_03 (32:42):
I was supposed to eat like 30 minutes ago, so I'm
starting to fade out and that'snormal because I'm three weeks
away from a show.
I start Wow.
Wow.
Wow.
(33:21):
in may i'm gonna compete in losangeles and then two weeks later
go to bali and represent theunited states so it's like i
have a very strong why but it'sreally it it's a lot of
repetition of doing the sameboring things over and over
again um that can be from mychoreography to the weights that
(33:42):
i do and it's increasing youknow the load over time which
gets harder and harder right asthe as the diet gets stricter
and stricter but it's a processand you You know, I have a coach
that helps me because I'm acoach's daughter.
I like to have thataccountability, which also helps
me relate to my clients and thefact that, like, I'm not going
to go do it by myself.
I'm human.
I'm like, I'm not going to wakeup early or stay up late and do
(34:04):
it.
So I don't like exercising bymyself.
And that's, you know, it couldjust be like that someone's
literally just sitting in theroom, but I won't go do it by
myself.
So
SPEAKER_00 (34:13):
interesting.
What's your diet like?
Is it mostly carnivorous?
Is it just like meat?
UNKNOWN (34:19):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (34:20):
It's just protein.
SPEAKER_03 (34:23):
It's protein, vegetables, asparagus, maybe
sweet potatoes.
So it's not so much like acalorie count, but it is low for
how much exercise that I'mdoing.
But it kind of changes based onwhat I see in the mirror.
And it's not necessarily aboutachieving a certain weight or
body fat percentage, but morethe shape and symmetry of my
(34:46):
upper and lower body.
SPEAKER_00 (34:47):
Right.
That
SPEAKER_03 (34:47):
makes sense.
SPEAKER_00 (34:48):
I know we always talk about addiction in a very
dark manner, right?
Like addiction.
to drugs and addiction toalcohol and whatever not.
But for someone who's anathlete, do you kind of feel
like you have to be slightlyaddicted or obsessed with, you
know, working out in order to bea successful athlete?
SPEAKER_03 (35:06):
I think in some ways, yes.
You, I mean, you have to bepassionate about what you're
doing.
Passion and obsession can beinterchangeable, right?
But I think that for me, itreally is like it's an everyday
constant.
It's a priority.
But at the same time as an adultright we have responsibilities
and things that we have to do soas disciplined as I am there are
(35:29):
times when it's like if I didn'tget to do it now then yeah I
have to stay up later and do itso I am very driven in that way
and obsessed in that way likeI'm not going to just not do it
because someone walked in andyou know I understand that
making the sale is a lot moreimportant than you know whether
I did three sets of somethingthen I'm going to have to get to
that later and that can getreally stressful right when
(35:52):
you're trying to balance That'sreally, really
SPEAKER_00 (36:04):
impressive.
Dr.
Megan, final thoughts.
Share with us your social mediaplatform and a little message
that you would like to impart to
SPEAKER_03 (36:14):
our listeners today before we end the episode.
(36:36):
of me of myself clients doing adaily exercise I kind of give
like a fit life chat everymorning I've got stuff on there
like just my life too like withmy wonderful husband and I make
pug videos every day withfitness I have my cell phone app
fit pace that I created which isin the google play store I've
got my books that I've writtenon amazon if you look up my
(36:58):
author account Megan JohnsonMcCullough and then there's all
of this is like all found on mywebsite everybody's fit
oceanside.com So like you couldfind all of that information,
One Stop Shop on my website.
SPEAKER_00 (37:10):
Thank you so much for being on this podcast and
sharing your journey with us.
You know, the hard but also thesuper successful side of
everything and like the way thatyou've sort of turned adversity
into something so powerful.
SPEAKER_03 (37:22):
Thank you for letting me share my story and I
hope that it can help someoneelse out there.
Thank you.
SPEAKER_00 (37:30):
If you enjoyed the episode and would like to help
support the show, please followand subscribe.
You can rate and review yourfeedback on any of our platforms
listed in the description.
I'd like to recognize our guestswho are vulnerable and open to
share their life experienceswith us.
Thank you for showing us we'rehuman.
Also, a thank you to our teamwho worked so hard behind the
scenes to make it happen.
(37:54):
The show would be nothingwithout you.
I'm Jenica, host and writer ofthe show, and you're listening
to...
Multispective.
I've never gotten anything less than an A in a
class.
She wasn't able to make my highschool graduation.
She would go away for 30 to 90days and then return.
You know, only 10% of thepopulation actually seeks
(00:21):
treatment.
You have to treat the mentalhealth component of it, not just
the addiction.
You have to address theunderlying reasons.
My grandmother must have spenthundreds of thousands of dollars
to help her, right?
Not everyone has that.
If you know that your coworkeris in recovery, why would the
(00:43):
work function be at a bar?
If you continue to live life andnot forgive people, it's going
to carry with you intoeverything else.
SPEAKER_00 (00:57):
Dr.
Megan, how are you?
Welcome to Multispective.
I'm super excited to have youhere.
I'm doing well.
Thanks for having me.
Yeah.
So I'd be curious a little bitif you could just start from the
very beginning.
Like, where does your storybegin?
Like, who is Dr.
Megan?
SPEAKER_03 (01:13):
Sure.
So I am born and raised inOceanside, California.
I still live here today.
My life began with mostlysports, right?
Always athletic.
And I played basketball incollege, got a Fulbright
scholarship, and then came backand both my parents were
teachers.
So education has always beensomething really big component
(01:36):
of my life.
So I got my master's in physicaleducation and health.
And then after that, I got mydoctorate in health and human
performance.
That's kind of where a lot oflike the foundation of what I do
now began.
(02:13):
And that is a passion businessthat I own because when I was
20, unfortunately, I lost mymother to alcoholism and the
disease just, it took her lifeand I was the one that found
her.
So it was a traumatic eventthat, you know, I made the best
of and has transpired me intonow helping others, not just the
(02:35):
fitness realm, but also in thesubstance abuse and mental
health
SPEAKER_00 (02:38):
realm.
Wow.
It's really interesting.
I just want to go back to like,you know, you mentioned that you
were raised an athlete, right?
Can you talk to me a little bitabout like the role that sports
played in your life?
How did it develop your mindsettowards like just life in
general?
SPEAKER_03 (02:54):
Sure.
So my dad is actually thewinningest basketball coach in
California high school history.
So basketball was always like akey component of my life, but I
did play, I mean, soccer,softball, just constantly
active.
Like after school, it was rightto a practice or right to a game
and then not get home till sevenor eight, even later at night.
(03:16):
And then having the disciplineof having to get all your
homework done too.
And because my parents wereteachers, you know, school was
so important.
And to this day, like Like, I'venever gotten anything less than
an A in a class.
Just very focused.
And the lessons that I wastaught is that you always have
to show up.
You don't miss a practice.
You don't miss a game.
You don't miss an assignment.
(03:38):
So, I mean, sports alone teachyou a lot about...
you know, teamwork, you know,being a leader, problem solving,
communication, being able toencourage and help others, the
value of practicing as somethingyou want to be good at, and also
what it feels like to win andalso what it feels like to lose
(03:59):
and to be resilient for many ofthose.
SPEAKER_00 (04:01):
Right.
I love that.
And what about in terms ofcontrol?
How would you say that you arewhen it
SPEAKER_03 (04:08):
A little bit before COVID, I really came into kind
of Christianity and the serenityprayer because I've always, you
know, had a little anxiety in mylife and what I can't as a
perfectionist, right?
So my mom was a world championbaton twirler.
So I, although I have like theaddictive traits and qualities,
(04:30):
right, I've, you know,transformed them into something
positive, but it also has aperfectionist, you know, avenue
about it.
So when I go Oh, yeah.
(05:08):
Yeah.
I
SPEAKER_00 (05:11):
just find it fascinating because on the one
hand, you had very, very highachieving parents who not only
did really well in their lives,but also expected so much from
you.
And on the other hand, you had amother who was battling alcohol.
So how did like discipline andyour kind of mindset of being an
athlete and all the disciplinethat came with that blend
(05:32):
together with, you know, knowingwhat was happening at home with
your mom?
SPEAKER_03 (05:35):
Sure.
So the simple answer would bethat I hid in basketball in
school.
right ignoring or pretendingthat something didn't exist that
if you're always gone at apractice or at a game or if
you're always in your bedroomdoing your homework it's it's a
way of ignoring it pretendingthat you know what's going on
(05:55):
inside the house is is you knowand that nobody knows about it
because I hid in basketball andschool and sports I was also
very naive to it for the longesttime I truly believe that like
my dad would always say oh shejust has another sinus infection
and I mean I didn't really knowwhat alcohol does to someone she
(06:19):
hit it for a long time you knowlike something like she would
make dinner and then go upstairsand not eat with us well you
know it just kind of seemed likeshe just wanted some alone time
or something like that and shewould come back down and eat
later just little things likethat I never I never went to
parties and I didn't do you knowthe whole like boys and social
(06:39):
thing too much.
So I didn't even know whatalcoholism was.
And when her life, you know, asyou said, kind of like started
falling apart, like she was nolonger able to uphold having a
job, that she had some DUIs andthen understanding that she
couldn't drive anymore andthings like that.
(07:00):
That's when it all kind ofstarted to, okay, this is a
reality and I'm kind of now partof it, right?
Now I'm going to have to takeher to meetings now.
I mean, she was like a skeletonof herself.
And as much as I
SPEAKER_02 (07:14):
was
SPEAKER_03 (07:14):
Mm-hmm.
(07:44):
You know, for a period of time.
You know, how could you misssomething like that?
(08:05):
And so I was just like mad.
But then at the same time, yourexpectations of that person
lower, you know, like it's kindof like normal that she wouldn't
be able to come.
And it's a lot of, you know, mymy ticket to kind of get away
from all that was going to befrom school and sports.
(08:27):
So I chose to go to a collegeout of state in Colorado as much
as I wanted to stay.
in like the San Diego area andbe able to like have my dad come
watch me play it was also betterfor me to leave at that time
because it was kind of at theheight of her struggles you know
(08:49):
in today's in my today's worldlike I didn't exactly get to
have any sense of closure I haveyou know guilt for the way that
I was towards her so as much asI want to say that I was mad at
her and even hated her at thattime.
I also received all of her greattraits, right?
(09:12):
Like she was a world champion,baton twirler, which they don't
even have a ton anymore, but nowI'm a world champion
bodybuilder, naturalbodybuilder.
You know, she, um, was verysmart and intelligent and now
I've written books and, um, Iown businesses, you know, she
ran a household and, um, wasable to get, you know, three
kids through one through lawschool.
(09:33):
you know, one to open, my sisterowns a dance studio in LA.
So she was generous and kind andalways wanted to help other
people.
And so I got that from her
SPEAKER_00 (09:43):
too.
You mentioned earlier, guilt issomething that you, you kind of
battle with quite a lot.
Can you talk to me a little bitabout that?
Sure.
So
SPEAKER_03 (09:52):
guilt is like a complicated emotion because
it's, Right?
It's reactive.
So there's nothing you can doabout what took place.
All I can do now is say theserenity prayer, and then
there's always forgiveness.
So at this point of my life, ifyou continue to live life and
(10:15):
not forgive people...
You know, it's going to carrywith you into everything else.
It's going to somehow exposeitself.
And so we have to, you know,forgiveness.
They say forgive and forget.
Forgetting is the hard part.
For me, forgiving is notnecessarily understanding 100%
(10:36):
forgiveness.
But 100% understanding that,like, I can't control it or do
anything about it now.
(11:08):
Right.
But we all we live and learn,right, as they say, and mistakes
are opportunities for growth.
(11:29):
And so now moving forward whenI'm surrounded or part of
someone's life who has astruggle like that, I understand
that I can't control any oftheir behaviors, that it has to
come from them internally, thatI have to almost be accepting of
the fact that they are incontrol of their actions and I'm
in control of mine and I canchoose to be part of their life.
(11:52):
But that it's a disease.
And there's always someunderlying mental health
condition that's transpiringthis to happen.
So I've learned a lot aboutmaybe compassion and maybe
empathy, too.
I would say that
SPEAKER_02 (12:11):
I
SPEAKER_03 (12:12):
have kind of a more like...
Yeah, I think that like, that's
SPEAKER_00 (12:25):
a really good way to put it.
And I kind of want to go back towhat you said earlier as well
about how like, you know, wecan't really control.
I did an episode with someonewho struggled with alcohol and
drugs.
And they mentioned that theirown mother had to actually like
kick them out of the house atone point.
And they had to experiencealmost being homeless.
And every time his mom wouldopen the doors and let him back
in, she was in her own house.
way kind of enabling him tosteal.
(12:48):
He would steal things and sellthings and then like make money
from that to buy drugs.
You know, for him, he had to hitthat rock bottom.
That rock bottom was the thingthat was really important for
him to be able to realize, okay,this is like enough is enough,
you know, and I have to turn mylife around.
And of course, it's verydifferent for different people
because some people may not getto that point of hitting rock
(13:10):
bottom, you know, and for somepeople, they just don't make it,
right?
And so I think it's really...
important that message thatyou're saying here as well is
that like yeah no one really cansit here and tell you what's the
right way or the wrong way todeal with it because for some
people it works and for somepeople it doesn't.
It sounds like you and your daddid do quite a lot in terms of
(13:30):
sending her to rehabilitationcenters and trying to help her
through it like she needed tofind that kind of reason for
herself.
SPEAKER_03 (13:37):
Going back to the guilt part is that when she
would go to rehabilitation andthen come back and, you know,
it'd be like a stellar two weeksof, you know, abstinence from
alcohol.
But, Yeah.
Yeah.
(14:24):
And then she'd fall back intomasking it and self-medicating
with alcohol.
So that's where guilt comes in alot.
And, you know, rock bottom...
Everyone has it.
There's no one size fits all.
It's an individual experiencewhen it comes to recovery and
addiction.
But rock bottom, I mean, somepeople can tolerate like the
(14:49):
worst of the worst.
And then, I mean, the substanceor the alcohol is so powerful
that they succumb to it.
So it really doesn't matter.
I mean, the ultimate consequenceis death, right?
But some people can even get asclose to an almost and almost
get there and still it's notenough
SPEAKER_00 (15:09):
there was no one way about it I mean different people
have totally differentexperiences and I do find it
really fascinating that youmentioned earlier though like
you know your mom was a batontwirler so I'm sure she was
super disciplined in her own wayin order for her to be a
champion in this area the amountof work that she must have had
to put in being in the sportsfield and I can see that that's
(15:29):
been passed down to you and andyour siblings as well and just
the way that you run your lifetoday but at the same time that
your mom Mom had turned toalcohol.
So addiction was a thing.
What was that?
What was that turning point forher?
Was there a specific thing thatcaused it?
Or was it just a slow progress?
SPEAKER_03 (15:46):
Well, I think a lot of it had to do with she was an
only child.
And then my grandfather passedaway.
So her dad, that was a bigcomponent of it.
And he had he was an alcoholicto functioning, though.
And then just some things thatlike I have recently learned of
in the past five to 10 years ofjust you know some personal
(16:09):
circumstances in herrelationships that um You know,
there's things that she had alot of broken trust in a lot of
different areas in her life.
And yet, because she was aperfectionist and disciplined,
she didn't want that image to betainted.
And so, although she had nocontrol over being able to fix
(16:31):
things or make things, you know,not...
not exist that do, it was a wayfor her to cope and to not feel
and to not think about thosethings.
She had some...
really great friendships thatshe confided a lot of things
that were going on in her life,but she didn't really want
(16:54):
anyone to know about that.
And so whether she was evenhiding that image when she was
in rehab and things like thatfrom, you know, really being
able to process, she was holdingon to a lot and medicating to
not have to think and not haveto deal with a lot of internal
(17:15):
aspects that she could havemaybe changed the environment
that she was in and maybe leftit but she chose to stay so
That's how she dealt with it.
SPEAKER_00 (17:26):
How did your family sort of like deal with the grief
when your mom
SPEAKER_03 (17:29):
passed?
Each of us had like a differentrelationship with her.
So I was in her everyday lifewhere my brother and sister were
already...
My sister was married and mybrother was in New York going to
law school.
So they were somewhat removedfrom seeing it and living part
of it.
So to them...
(17:50):
Her passing was more of a shock,where for my dad and myself, it
was like...
this is where it was going toend up.
So that would obviously affectgrief, right?
In knowing like that this daywas coming versus like, what
was, you know, how could thistake place?
(18:10):
And then my dad, he took a leaveof absence from teaching and
then eventually retired early.
And yeah, You know, my brotherand sister just continued to
start their families and carryon.
And I know that they're verysaddened and affected by the
(18:33):
fact that she's not here to be agrandma to their kids because
she would have spoiled hergrandchildren, like, to the
nines.
Like, Christmas at our house waslike, there was a Christmas tree
and then there was, you know, 15feet worth of presents extending
down the room.
I think all of us have, like,different holes that we wish she
(18:54):
was here that she could fill youknow and I was a lot I was young
and they were older so but it'syour mom like no one can ever
replace your mom And as sick asshe was, I'd take her back in a
heartbeat.
I would take her back in aheartbeat.
All the drama, all the trips tothe emergency room, I would do
(19:17):
it.
But I wasn't mature enough and Iwasn't educated enough as to
what was going on with her toknow.
And maybe if I were older, Icould have maybe found a
different avenue for her to seektreatment.
(19:39):
I think that for her, like howmy addiction treatment center
is, I think she would have donebetter with an outpatient
treatment center where she wentfor like three or six hours a
day, because for her, as Imentioned before, like she would
go way further you know 30 to 90days and then return and then
(20:03):
it's like once you now returnand sit where you were when the
problem existed I mean how doyou cope and I think she would
have done better with like goingsomewhere for three to six hours
a day and incorporating it tostill be able to you know be a
mom and be not totallyseparating herself I'll never
know but it's something that Ithink about
SPEAKER_00 (20:25):
that's actually a really good point do you feel
like um Do you feel like it'simportant that, you know, all
these rehabilitation centersoffer inpatient followed by
outpatient before letting thepatient go?
Do you feel like that would bemore successful for a lot of
people?
Maybe like start off withinpatient for those that are
very, very severely addicted andthat they really need to be
(20:47):
weaned off it and monitored24-7.
But after they've kind of gonethrough that initial withdrawal
phase to then go through anoutpatient option so that they
have that ability to integratetheir Like, you know, their
lives with it, like learn how tolive in the real world with it.
Or do you feel like there is areason why there are inpatient
(21:10):
only centers versus outpatientonly centers?
SPEAKER_03 (21:13):
So a lot of it does, you know, obviously it's the
case by case basis, but itdepends on the severity of the
individuals using.
There's also a lot that goesinto being able to seek
treatment, your resources andwhat you have.
So a person might need toactually go to detox before they
(21:34):
can even enter a facilityinpatient or outpatient.
Like for us, you can't have beenusing for a certain amount of
time before we can accept you.
You cannot actively be using,right?
So there's that.
And then there's the wholecomponent of insurance.
Do you have insurance?
If you don't have insurance ormaybe you have to find places
(21:55):
that have Medi-Cal, paying outof pocket is just not an option.
Or we might have someone whowants to become a patient and
yes, we accept their insurance,but their deductible is so high
and they can't even afford topay the deductible.
So they're turned away, youknow, because then they don't
(22:17):
have the money to pay out ofpocket.
And also, if you like are goingto do an inpatient, that's
obviously much more expensive.
And then if you decided to havea sober living, you still have
to come up with the money to payrent.
So there's a lot that goes intoit versus like, you know, my
grandmother must have spent.
hundreds of thousands of dollarsto help her, right?
(22:38):
Not everyone has that.
So there's a lot that has to gointo it.
And that's another reason why alot of addicts remain addicts.
And then usually it doesn't workthe first time.
So then it's like revisitingyour resources again.
And that is why many addicts,they run through relationships
(23:04):
because they, they just, they,they will dry some, you know,
take some, dry all the resourcesthat they have out and use
everyone they can in theirselfishness, um, because of the
disease.
So a lot of people end up withtheir pockets empty and trying
to help someone.
SPEAKER_00 (23:23):
Yeah, that's really sad.
I can imagine otherwise, youknow, why for certain
individuals, they just keepfinding themselves back in that
cycle because it's a wholecombination of things.
It's one, easy access to it.
Two, it's, you know, that nexthit, which is so much bigger
than, you know, your ownself-discipline.
And then, you know, coupled withwhatever emotional trauma that
(23:43):
you're having to unravel, which,you know, you haven't been give
in therapy or anything this isyour kind of medicine in a sense
so it's just it almost feelslike all the forces out against
you and then these institutionsbeing really expensive like
really expensive as well so it'skind of like then where where
does it really end like so whatwhat kind of method then do you
(24:05):
feel like is the most effectivethen in helping someone
rehabilitate from this what aresome of the success stories
SPEAKER_03 (24:11):
uh well you know obviously everything is
confidential and anonymous butmost people do well.
And this is just saying ageneralized approach.
It's a combination of cognitivebehavioral therapy.
So that might be, you know,you're meeting with a therapist
and it's all about dualdiagnosis.
So you have to treat the mentalhealth component of it, not just
(24:33):
the addiction.
You have to address theunderlying reasons, the causes.
Otherwise, you know, just havingsomeone not drink for or not use
for a period of time is a greataccomplishment.
But like with my mom, things aregoing to resurface.
(25:17):
That can help you stop drinkingand that also, you know,
something like methadone can bein use.
And there's all sorts ofdifferent newer avenues like
ketamine and different thingslike that that I'm not as
educated about because we don'toffer that, but people do go
down that realm as well.
There's EMDR therapy.
(25:38):
And then there's the componentof group support.
So that could be AA, that couldbe NA.
And some people have Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
(26:12):
you know, that have manybenefits, you know, using
exercise as a tool, finding ahobby to replace the time spent
that you once were using.
There's a lot of different waysto go about it.
And then another resource forpeople is also, you know, their
church can help them too.
Sometimes those ties do haveresources available.
(26:34):
Different places even havescholarships.
Nonprofits can, you know, helpwith someone to be able to
afford and get into a treatmentYeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
(27:12):
So it's again, it's there's justno answer for each person.
And you never know what they'vebeen through and kind of what
led them to this problem intheir life.
We all know someone that is, youknow, that has struggled with
addiction.
And we've all witnessed and beena part, be it in a friendship or
relationship or co-worker.
(27:34):
We see it and we see their livesaffected by it in a negative
way.
And I think it's important, too,that when you are trying to be
encouraging of someone, youknow, that you can be helpful in
(27:54):
the ways of doing things thatdon't involve environments or
activities that could betriggers.
You know, like if you know thatyour coworker is in, you know,
recovery, why would you ask themor why would the work function
be at a bar?
You know, it's being helpful.
Right.
(28:42):
Yeah.
Yeah.
asking someone if they just wantto come over and hang out.
That's okay too.
We don't have to live in a worldof so many distractions.
(29:05):
Just being in the presence ofsomeone else's
SPEAKER_00 (29:07):
is
SPEAKER_03 (29:07):
really nice.
SPEAKER_00 (29:08):
I like that.
Can you walk me through yourjourney of bodybuilding?
Like what got you into this andhow did that sort of progress
for you?
SPEAKER_03 (29:15):
When I started my fitness studio, a lot of my
clients would say, how come younever do any bodybuilding or
anything like that?
You're so fit.
And you know, I just, it neverreally crossed my mind.
And I always had thevisualization of like Arnold
sportsnager and the big beefedout everywhere you know and i
was aware too from working inthe corporate fitness side of
(29:35):
things and co-workers and soforth that you know they're
using performance enhancingdrugs so i was like it's not
really something that i want toteeter with because i struggle
with um once i start somethingi'm gonna take it and run with
it so anyhow my co-worker saidum you know, have you ever heard
of natural bodybuilding?
(29:56):
And I was like, no, what's that?
And he was like, basically, youwork hard, you eat right, and
they drug test you, and youshould try a show, and I'll help
you.
And I thought, okay, well, Idon't know, I guess.
But it was in December that wehad that conversation, and the
first local show was in March.
And so I kind of did the wholelike, okay, New Year's
resolution.
(30:16):
And I signed up for it.
It was in March.
By my second show, I won myprofessional status.
And so I just kind of like fellinto it.
After that, I got asked to be onTeam USA and I went to Italy and
it's taken me all over theworld, Australia, New Zealand,
South Korea, France.
I'm going to go to Bali in June.
I never really thought that Iwould be a part of, but because
(30:39):
I played basketball and I'vealways been athletic, it really
helps fulfill that competitiveside of being an athlete.
You know, I never thought that Iwould like in a bikini on a
stage when I was like abasketball chick with shorts
down to my knees and high kneesocks, you know, everything, you
know, but, uh, you know, itgives me a goal as well.
(30:59):
Something to work towardsbecause my life is exercise.
I could certainly just gothrough the motions every day,
but if I want results and if Iwant to continue
self-improvement, then I needsomething to work towards.
Right.
And so that's what bodybuildingfulfills
SPEAKER_02 (31:12):
for me.
SPEAKER_03 (31:13):
Um, I also just really enjoy it.
And I got this from my mom.
Like I'm a very, um, kind of,um, I love shopping.
I love clothes.
I love thrifting.
So like everything I do, like myaccessories, all this kind of
stuff, I love putting all ofthat together and my outfits for
a show too.
I like that creativity.
I like being on stage.
(31:35):
I like being on camera.
I like performing.
And also, you know, like for thepeople that follow me and that I
help, I practice what I preach.
I model the behavior that Idon't have any expectation of
anyone to do what I'm doing,right?
But I think that it helps whensomeone walks in my studio and
sees all of my trophies andawards that, you know, I'm
(31:55):
working hard and I have afitness goal as well.
And so I can relate to otherswhen it comes to like, you know,
eating healthy and exercisingwhen you really don't want to,
the discipline and that it's ajourney, it's not going to
happen overnight, all of that.
So sticking with something,being committed.
So all of those things help meto help other people as well.
SPEAKER_00 (32:16):
I love that.
You've got to really sculpt yourentire body, which means every
single muscle has to be workedout to a certain, you know, to
be able to achieve a certainlook.
Your body fat content is beingmeasured, like what you eat,
your input, your output, likethe amount of exercise and the
specific isolated muscle thatyou're working out to make it
(32:37):
this perfectly sculpted kind ofshape.
Walk me through, like, how isthat for you?
SPEAKER_03 (32:42):
I was supposed to eat like 30 minutes ago, so I'm
starting to fade out and that'snormal because I'm three weeks
away from a show.
I start Wow.
Wow.
Wow.
(33:21):
in may i'm gonna compete in losangeles and then two weeks later
go to bali and represent theunited states so it's like i
have a very strong why but it'sreally it it's a lot of
repetition of doing the sameboring things over and over
again um that can be from mychoreography to the weights that
(33:42):
i do and it's increasing youknow the load over time which
gets harder and harder right asthe as the diet gets stricter
and stricter but it's a processand you You know, I have a coach
that helps me because I'm acoach's daughter.
I like to have thataccountability, which also helps
me relate to my clients and thefact that, like, I'm not going
to go do it by myself.
I'm human.
I'm like, I'm not going to wakeup early or stay up late and do
(34:04):
it.
So I don't like exercising bymyself.
And that's, you know, it couldjust be like that someone's
literally just sitting in theroom, but I won't go do it by
myself.
So
SPEAKER_00 (34:13):
interesting.
What's your diet like?
Is it mostly carnivorous?
Is it just like meat?
UNKNOWN (34:19):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (34:20):
It's just protein.
SPEAKER_03 (34:23):
It's protein, vegetables, asparagus, maybe
sweet potatoes.
So it's not so much like acalorie count, but it is low for
how much exercise that I'mdoing.
But it kind of changes based onwhat I see in the mirror.
And it's not necessarily aboutachieving a certain weight or
body fat percentage, but morethe shape and symmetry of my
(34:46):
upper and lower body.
SPEAKER_00 (34:47):
Right.
That
SPEAKER_03 (34:47):
makes sense.
SPEAKER_00 (34:48):
I know we always talk about addiction in a very
dark manner, right?
Like addiction.
to drugs and addiction toalcohol and whatever not.
But for someone who's anathlete, do you kind of feel
like you have to be slightlyaddicted or obsessed with, you
know, working out in order to bea successful athlete?
SPEAKER_03 (35:06):
I think in some ways, yes.
You, I mean, you have to bepassionate about what you're
doing.
Passion and obsession can beinterchangeable, right?
But I think that for me, itreally is like it's an everyday
constant.
It's a priority.
But at the same time as an adultright we have responsibilities
and things that we have to do soas disciplined as I am there are
(35:29):
times when it's like if I didn'tget to do it now then yeah I
have to stay up later and do itso I am very driven in that way
and obsessed in that way likeI'm not going to just not do it
because someone walked in andyou know I understand that
making the sale is a lot moreimportant than you know whether
I did three sets of somethingthen I'm going to have to get to
that later and that can getreally stressful right when
(35:52):
you're trying to balance That'sreally, really
SPEAKER_00 (36:04):
impressive.
Dr.
Megan, final thoughts.
Share with us your social mediaplatform and a little message
that you would like to impart to
SPEAKER_03 (36:14):
our listeners today before we end the episode.
(36:36):
of me of myself clients doing adaily exercise I kind of give
like a fit life chat everymorning I've got stuff on there
like just my life too like withmy wonderful husband and I make
pug videos every day withfitness I have my cell phone app
fit pace that I created which isin the google play store I've
got my books that I've writtenon amazon if you look up my
(36:58):
author account Megan JohnsonMcCullough and then there's all
of this is like all found on mywebsite everybody's fit
oceanside.com So like you couldfind all of that information,
One Stop Shop on my website.
SPEAKER_00 (37:10):
Thank you so much for being on this podcast and
sharing your journey with us.
You know, the hard but also thesuper successful side of
everything and like the way thatyou've sort of turned adversity
into something so powerful.
SPEAKER_03 (37:22):
Thank you for letting me share my story and I
hope that it can help someoneelse out there.
Thank you.
SPEAKER_00 (37:30):
If you enjoyed the episode and would like to help
support the show, please followand subscribe.
You can rate and review yourfeedback on any of our platforms
listed in the description.
I'd like to recognize our guestswho are vulnerable and open to
share their life experienceswith us.
Thank you for showing us we'rehuman.
Also, a thank you to our teamwho worked so hard behind the
scenes to make it happen.
(37:54):
The show would be nothingwithout you.
I'm Jenica, host and writer ofthe show, and you're listening
to...
Multispective.
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