Botox and Burpees
Botox and Burpees
S05E94 Proven Strategies for Achieving Success with Fitness and Nutrition Coach Jessica Wende
Join us as we welcome Jessica Wende @jwbfitness3, a remarkable fitness and nutrition coach who’s a shining example of resilience and passion. From conquering childhood health challenges to achieving All-American status in the 100 meters and earning an esteemed Hall of Fame nomination, Jessica’s story is a testament to dedication and perseverance.
Her journey is filled with insights from two decades of educating students in New York City, culminating in her precision nutrition certification that has empowered both her and her clients.
Discover how personalized nutrition coaching can transform your fitness journey. We delve into practical strategies, client success stories, and the importance of balancing life and wellness effectively.
Jessica shares essential tips about balancing macronutrients, allowing for flexibility in your diet, and how food journaling can be a game-changer for those unaware of the nutritional value of their meals. Whether you’re an athlete aiming to enhance performance or someone eager to kick-start their health transformation, Jessica’s insights on personalized fitness plans are invaluable.
• Introduction to Jessica Wende and her fitness journey
• Insights on the significance of macronutrients for health
• Strategies for meal planning and sustaining healthy habits
• The importance of coaching for accountability and motivation
• Practical tips for busy parents and professionals
• Addressing misconceptions about weight loss drugs and nutrition
• Emphasis on setting realistic goals and prioritizing self-care
#jessicasfedupnutrition
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Welcome back for another episode of Botox and Burpees. I'm here with my very special guest, jessica Wendy. She's a fitness and nutrition coach and I've known her for years. She is fantastic, and today we're going to learn a lot about practical insights, personalized coaching, actionable advice. We're going to talk about a couple of real life scenarios as well and also learn a little bit about Jessica herself, her life and what got her into fitness and nutrition coaching. Her Instagram handle is JWBFitness3. And I think one of your hashtags which I really like is Jessica's fed up nutrition. I like that hashtag. That's a good one.
Speaker 2:Thank you very much, appreciate that.
Speaker 1:So welcome Jessica. Tell me a little bit about your life, your, your fitnessing background, your life background and and what got you to where you are today.
Speaker 2:Okay, so I am a precision nutrition, exercise and nutrition coach, I could say. Since I was little I always had a extreme interest, you could say, in nutrition and exercise. I remember in second grade I was diagnosed with high cholesterol.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 2:So I remember going through my mom's cabinets and looking through and reading food labels and recognizing which foods had higher cholesterol or not. So I was always very well aware, starting off very young or not. So I was always very well aware starting off very young. As I got older I started really excelling in track and field. I ended up actually running for the USA team in Israel in 1997. And I was very, very interested how nutrition could help me on the field. So and I was always, always, always in the gym. Even in high school we didn't even have, I would say 25 years ago, lifting programs, so I would go from practice into the gym and I would talk to trainers and that kind of got my foot in the door in nutrition and fitness. I ended up running Division I track at James Madison University.
Speaker 1:Oh, go Dukes.
Speaker 2:Yes, and they had an amazing program there. I ended up being part of a program called URAC and URAC was almost the equivalent of a Chelsea Piers in New York City. They had everything from like rock climbing walls, boxing classes, spinning studios, and after I finished with my track career, I ended up becoming a group fitness coach. So I took my fitness to a different avenue and I really, really loved working in groups and helping people and I just loved everything about it. Fast forward, as I went through JMU, I ended up picking a career in kinesiology and nutrition. What's really interesting? In Virginia you can't major in teaching. You have to major in the subject you're teaching.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 2:So I loved kinesiology how the body worked, how it moved. I loved the science of nutrition, and then I started teaching in New York City. I'm still there, so this is actually my year 20.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, Congratulations.
Speaker 2:Thank you, thank you. So I actually teach physical education and health, and what's pretty cool about my job is I teach weightlifting.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 2:Yep, I teach yoga and I teach nutrition and for years I was doing marketing with a skincare company and everyone used to say to me Jessica, why do you sell skincare and you don't do anything with fitness and nutrition? You do so much like you're so knowledgeable about it and people would just ask me advice about exercise and nutrition. So I decided when my son 2018, I was home I decided to go for my certification. I have friends that are in the fitness industry. One of my best friends I think very highly of her she was in People Magazine for like top trainers and I said to Joanna I said what is the best certification for nutrition? And she spoke very highly of precision nutrition.
Speaker 2:So when I was home during that year, when my son napped, I became really involved in all the work that was involved with it and to me it wasn't almost studying. It was like learning so much that I was a sponge that I kept on wanting to learn more and more about it. So, 2018, I became certified as a precision nutrition coach. I started off with a lot of friends, originally as clients, not taking money, just being like my guinea pig and learning a lot about them. Fast forward, 2019,. Around that time COVID hit yeah, and it kind of my business exploded.
Speaker 1:Oh really.
Speaker 2:Yes, I had so many people reach out to me and saying, jessica, I've put 20 or 30 pounds on in a year. And it was the same thing and I just would look back and see what the change was with them and a lot of them was daily movement. So these were people that worked in New York City, that walk all over the place and since they were home they weren't getting any movement in.
Speaker 1:Of course.
Speaker 2:And on top of that, they were going into the kitchen and they were eating more than they were normally eating, and I saw a huge change in people's lifestyle during that time.
Speaker 1:So you grew up in New Jersey, right.
Speaker 2:I actually grew up in New York.
Speaker 1:Oh, you did. Okay. And then what were your events that you specialized in for track?
Speaker 2:So I was All-American in the 100 meters. Yeah, it was pretty cool. I actually just received a phone call from my old track coaches that I was just nominated into the Hall of Fame for track and field.
Speaker 1:What was a good time back then for 100 meters?
Speaker 2:So I was running 11.7 automatic camera.
Speaker 1:Wow, and that's crazy because you're not. Your body type doesn't look like most of the 100 meter athletes I see running, I think, like a Usain Bolt or you know these people who are very long, lean, tall, like long legs, like explosive. What was your secret in terms of being such a good sprinter?
Speaker 2:So I would probably say hard work. So.
Speaker 1:I could work all day and I don't think I would be a great sprinter.
Speaker 2:And I was also great out of the blocks. So I focused on a lot of plyometric work and I did a lot of weightlifting, which I think really helped me and set me above a lot of my peers Because, like I said, 25 years ago there weren't many weightlifting programs that were out there for high school athletes.
Speaker 1:What made you decide that that was like? How did you even know? Did you have a coach that told you that this was sort of the way to do it?
Speaker 2:I? Um, not really so. I was working in high school. I was working in the gym, so I was working at the front desk. Yeah, so a lot of the personal trainers they wanted me to be their guinea pig.
Speaker 1:Oh, I see.
Speaker 2:So I would work a lot with them and they would train me, Um, and then my kind of times have like they kept on dropping, they kept on dropping. I'm a very competitive person in nature, so I would always write down my times and I would try to do better each meet.
Speaker 1:So you saw what what that was doing for you and you just kept working on. It Sounds like you've been in the gym almost your whole life, basically.
Speaker 2:Yes, I have.
Speaker 1:So now for your own health and fitness. What do you do as your personal workout regimen? You're a full-time teacher, you commute to New York, you have a family, so what is it that you do to try to make sure you stay fit in your schedule?
Speaker 2:So my fitness is non-negotiable. So I think a lot of, especially when we talk about working with clients. It's learning to make yourself a priority, and I think especially mothers, even fathers, in general they lose sight of that as they get older and have a family. So I get up really early in the morning. I am one of those 4.30, 5 am annoying gym people and I try to get into the gym. My non-negotiable is five days a week and then on the days that I'm not in the gym, I do some type of like low intensity cardio just to move my body.
Speaker 1:Do you program your workouts yourself?
Speaker 2:Yes, I do.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay. And what is your favorite workout or thing that you do, that you like to do when you're fitnessing?
Speaker 2:So I love classes. Unfortunately, with my schedule, it makes it very, very hard to do classes, so my favorite classes of all time are my Saturday classes at Bison. I love the partner workouts. I also love boot camp classes that they used to have at Venom. What I currently do now I absolutely love. I used to say legs, but I feel like if you do legs right, they suck.
Speaker 1:That's why everyone skips leg day.
Speaker 2:Yeah so, and I try to do legs twice a week.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I would say my favorite day has become back day. Really, I love doing back, love it, love it, love it. And I actually downloaded the Peloton app and I love their running apps. It's amazing. I love Jessica Sims, I love Alex Toussaint. They're motivating me, they push me harder than I would do it on my own and it's probably the closest thing that I could get to a class setting with my schedule right now.
Speaker 1:I like that. You're agnostic and you try all the different things. I try everything and that's how I got to know you was from CrossFit Bison. You're agnostic and you try all the different things.
Speaker 2:I try everything.
Speaker 1:And that's how I got to know you was from CrossFit Bison and I saw your intensity level and it was always super high. I would say I agree, crossfit is not an aesthetic or bodybuilding or a traditional weightlifting type of program and I know that's what you gravitate towards. That's sort of what got you to where you were and how you look and what you do. So I totally understand that. But you're right, bringing in some intensity, especially on a partner workout, can really drive you pretty hard.
Speaker 2:And it's so funny because the CrossFit workouts and bison were the same workouts that I was doing in college. The programming was so similar, besides doing the handstands on the wall, but like the lifts, the clean, the clean and jerks, it was all explosive movement and, as a sprinter, that was so important to incorporate into your training. That's very cool.
Speaker 1:Now nutritionally. What do you do for yourself these days?
Speaker 2:Okay, so I am a big macro person.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And people. I have a lot of clients that reach out to me randomly and they're like I want to do macros and then they don't know anything about macros.
Speaker 2:So macronutrients is just a name of how much protein, fat and carbs your body needs, based on your goals. Right, so it changes. I think a lot of people as we get older they think as you go through menopause you're going to basically lose your body and I feel like a lot of things that you see on social media they target towards menopause Social media you have to be so careful of, because the problem with nutrition everyone eats, so everyone thinks that they're an expert.
Speaker 1:Of course.
Speaker 2:So as you get older, your body needs more protein because you lose muscle mass. So macronutrients also kind of make you aware of what you are eating. They're not for everyone. I work with clients who do hand portions, because your hands go with you everywhere.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:But I like doing my macros because it gives me a little bit more flexibility in my diet.
Speaker 1:Flexibility, which is usually sort of yeah, because I've tried macros. And I would say the first thing is, I think it's super helpful because, you don't, I did not even realize exactly how much I was eating or what the proportions in terms of carbs, fats, proteins I was eating, but I felt like after a while like I'm surprised you stuck with it, continued, because after a while I'm like okay, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know what I'm doing more or less. And then the other thing was I found myself at the end of the day saying, okay, I need 10, 10 grams more fat. So I'd have to like grab a handful of walnuts or something and stuff them in my mouth and be like, okay, I meant my macros for the day, and I felt like it was kind of stifling me a little bit. I'd go to a restaurant. I'd be like, oh my God, I don't even know what to order because it's going to totally screw up what I like. I don't know what these numbers are.
Speaker 2:So it's funny. So my biggest thing whenever I work with clients, it's all about planning. So I say plan the day before. Also, I think it's very important to work in that range. So if you have macro numbers, for an example, and your protein number would be 180 grams, maybe your goal for that week is number one. Perfection never exists. It's always going to backfire on you. So maybe working if it's 180 grams protein within that day backfire on you. So maybe working if it's 180 grams protein within that day, maybe a realistic number is anywhere between 175 and 185.
Speaker 2:When you're going out to dinner, if you've done macros for a while, you know maybe that four ounces of, let's say, steak is the size of your palm, so kind of guesstimating. I think anything that is on the dot extreme is going to completely backfire. So I think planning and working within a healthy range is something that's more realistic, that makes my clients adhere more to whatever their macros are and macros are not for everyone.
Speaker 1:Do you have cheat days?
Speaker 2:Of course.
Speaker 1:And what's your favorite cheat then?
Speaker 2:days, Of course. And what's your favorite cheat then? You know, it depends. I love salt and I love my chocolate. So my favorite foods, I love sun chips orvis cheddar.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow, yeah.
Speaker 2:Those are good. Or tostitos with lime, those are great and I love like a brownie, or I love fried chicken.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:Yep, so I'm all over the place. It depends on my mood, but yes, I do have cheat days. I think being consistent 85 to 90 percent of the time is something completely realistic. That's going to get you to your goals.
Speaker 1:So, speaking of goals, tell me if I'm a skeptic and I'm listening to you right now and I'm saying, like you said, I know more or less what I need to do. Right, I eat, I move. Why would I need a coach in the first place? Why do I need Jessica Wendy to help me?
Speaker 2:So I think a lot of people that come to me for coaching is number one. They're completely unaware of the nutritional value that's in their food. I have a lot of clients that come to me that might be obese and so that was me.
Speaker 2:So usually when I start with my clients, the first thing I have them do is I have them food journal, and what I have them do is I have them take photos of everything they eat and drink, because usually photos don't lie, and especially during the weekends, because, let's be honest, weekends could be 35% of your week and I don't really know many people that eat the exact same way they do during the week on the weekends.
Speaker 1:Of course.
Speaker 2:So I think a lot of them don't realize, and I feel like a lot of my clients, it's not so much their carbohydrates are so high, but their fats are through the roof.
Speaker 2:Really and fats you don't need to eat a lot of it. But fats there's nine calories in one gram of fat, so it's very calorically dense compared to fats, compared to carbohydrates and proteins, so you don't need to eat a lot of it for the calories to really add up. So I think it's having nutritional value. I think also a lot of my clients they need to learn how to deal with stress, stress management. They need to work better on time management and priorities. Those are those issues as well.
Speaker 1:How do you help someone with that? Those are lifelong type of habits.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, yes. So we kind of work on the whole thing. We work on stress management, we work on sleep, we work on priorities and we work on nutrition, because they all go hand in hand, because you could be following your macros exactly and then boom all of a sudden, like your kid is sick, like what do you do? And that's what I do with my clients every week. We say, okay, what are some things coming up? You're traveling. Okay, how can we make progress when we're on vacation? We're going out to eat, we have Christmas, we have a birthday party. So what are some things that are realistic, that you could work in the gray area, that you're still going to make progress, because perfection never exists.
Speaker 1:What kind of tools do you use to help your clients, like what apps or tracking?
Speaker 2:So I am with Precision Nutrition. I also, my platform is Precision Nutrition.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:So on that, it's a habit-based coaching. I have some clients that completely love it and I have some clients that are not like big fans of it. I have clients everything is individual approach with my coaching. So, like I said before, I have clients that love doing macros and I have clients that are completely terrified of it, that just want to do hands or say to me Jessica, just tell me what should be on my plate. So with the Precision Nutrition, I use that where they. We focus on habits, we focus on goals for the week. All of my clients do their measurements on there, but my clients that do macros. I'm a big fan of chronometer, so not a big fan of MyFitnessPal anymore. I feel like a lot of the entries are wildly inaccurate. So I use the platform chronometer and I also use the Precision Nutrition website.
Speaker 1:How many of your clients also do personal training in addition to nutrition coaching with you? Like most, some half.
Speaker 2:Some, it depends. Some months I have, I only train in person for home.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And then I do have clients where I write out programs, so it's a little bit different.
Speaker 1:Right so it's not.
Speaker 2:I don't see them, but I might write out some programs from them. So I would say it's basically a split 50-50.
Speaker 1:Okay, Give me a success story or two of a client that you had. That you really didn't think was going to. You know was a real challenge, and what do you think was a secret for how they were able to get themselves to where they wanted to go with what they were doing?
Speaker 2:how they were able to get themselves to where they wanted to go with what they were doing. Okay, so I was thinking I was like I've had so many different success stories. I would say I had a client that started with me Word of mouth, completely random. She was telling me that basically nothing worked for her. She had a huge sweet tooth, she would have all of these cravings, she knew what to eat, but she would just go off the rails. So basically what I did like I told you in the beginning I had her food journal and she was eating like no protein. Yes, Wow.
Speaker 2:So protein in my opinion as well as fiber, I should say vegetables is so important to include in your diet. Protein takes longer for your body to digest. It also needs more calories for digestion and as we get older we need more protein. So I really upped her protein, we got into weightlifting and her body completely transformed, just physically. But when she first started with me, she told me she disclosed to me that she was very depressed and that I've helped her so much feel better, just not on the outside, but on the inside too.
Speaker 1:So that was a really, really great, great feeling what do you do now with clients that are on weight loss drugs like the Ozempics out there? Now, that's a big thing, so you probably are into CEDAR.
Speaker 2:So I've seen so many stories. I had a client that I work with very closely and she lost a lot of weight in the beginning and she became kind of stagnant and she started on it. She didn't go to her doctor, it was another doctor that prescribed it to her and she I mean everyone has different side effects- stories everyone's individual, but she had a really negative experience with it where she had fecal impacting.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:Yes, Wow. So it was a little crazy and she was like I am never doing this again, but I've had clients that are on it. That has definitely served as a tool for them. My biggest thing with those drugs is not having them be a Band-Aid to their lifestyle. So, okay, they're not eating as much, so they're losing weight, but some of them their hair is falling out because they're not getting enough nutrients. So it's really important that when you're on those drugs, especially that you're getting protein in and you're getting your nutrients in and you're still moving your body and you're still weightlifting because you don't want to lose muscle mass. Because once you lose your muscle mass, your resting metabolism is going to be so low and that's what causes that crazy yo-yo dieting. So it's keeping up with the lifestyle. It will be great for clients that keep on doing the healthy habits that need a jumpstart. But for clients that are just putting the band-aid of, I just don't want to eat and I'll eat a chocolate bar whenever I want.
Speaker 2:I don't think it's a good idea.
Speaker 1:Agreed. That fecal impaction just reminded me of being a resident. We always assigned that task to disimpact patients to the most junior, either intern or medical student, and I've been the recipient. I've been the medical student who had to go to a room and do it, and I've sent others it's not fun no. And I would recommend avoiding that if you pop the pill.
Speaker 2:Yes, and it was because it slows down your stomach.
Speaker 1:I'm seeing.
Speaker 2:But when you're not eating anything because you're not hungry and you're not drinking enough and you're not moving, you're going to have issues.
Speaker 1:That's terrible, so I'm glad that that worked out. Okay, let's go through a couple scenarios here, some samples of some typical possible clients you might meet or have met. The first one is the busy 40 to 50-year-old professional works extensively, has to travel maybe, or has a lot of work, stress, poor sleep, whole lifestyle is sort of not really.
Speaker 2:All out of whack.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's pretty disordered and they don't know much, except maybe that they're no longer 25 years old. They're gaining weight, losing energy. They just don't feel right. Someone like that comes to you. What's your approach for them?
Speaker 2:Okay. So what I do is I work backwards so we talk about what their long-term goal is. So it's very specific. Are they trying to be healthier? Are they trying to lose weight? Are they trying to gain muscle? So what I do is I look at everything, so it's not just nutrition. I want to know how many hours they sleep. I want to know how many meals they're eating out. I want to know how much alcohol they're drinking during the week. I want to know what medications they're on. I want to know who does the food shopping in the house. I want to know, okay, they're going out to eat, what is their food selection? And then what I have them do is I say to them I want my clients to feel successful. So I say, okay, I want you to pick the lowest lying fruit. What is something that you think, with your week going on, that you could maintain 85% consistency?
Speaker 1:And what is it usually that they can start with?
Speaker 2:It's individual for every single client, so it can be. I have clients that are like, oh, I could up my hydration this week. That's really really easy.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Because a lot of my clients don't people in general don't drink enough water. Absolutely you should be drinking 65% of your body weight Coffee. They're drinking Right Soda, right Red Bulls, right, but not water.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:A lot of my clients might just start with vegetables. Let's increase your vegetables. How can we put more vegetables into?
Speaker 1:your diet.
Speaker 2:So you just start with that tiny little thing, tiny little thing, and then what we do is we build every week. I want them to feel successful. I have clients that come to me and they're like I want to do it all, and then, unfortunately, a lot of those clients get completely overwhelmed. And then we go back to step one, breaking things down individually.
Speaker 1:How long would you say it takes someone to make a substantial change in terms of progress? Because people think it takes three months and then they're just like it's going to be awesome, I just have to do this for 90 days.
Speaker 2:I think three months they'll start if they are consistent. They'll start feeling better in their clothes, They'll start having more energy. Five months, people are starting to take notice. By a year like I would say a year people have made dramatic results.
Speaker 1:Let's do the second scenario Young 20, 30 year old young adult, very fit, was probably a good athlete, maybe in high school or college. Now wants to. Now is in the job you know, has a job, is working, and if it's a woman, she's like I just don't want to get bulky. I don't want to. I want to stay lean, I want to work on my core.
Speaker 2:Oh, I hear that all this time. And that was me. Oh, I hear that all this time.
Speaker 1:And that was me. So how do you address the? Because that's such a prevalent social image.
Speaker 2:I hear it all the time.
Speaker 1:Reinforced by media.
Speaker 2:And it's so funny and it's like a lot of these people that come to me are people that I used to work out with and they're like I don't want to do legs because I don't want my legs to get bulky.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:It's actually the complete opposite. So if you think of muscle, if you have five pounds of muscle in your hand and you have five pounds of fat, they're both the same exact weight, but which one is smaller in size.
Speaker 1:The muscle is denser right.
Speaker 2:It's a lot more compact. It's smaller. So if you're lifting weights, the exact opposite is going to happen You're actually going to get smaller. So if you're lifting weights, the exact opposite is going to happen You're actually going to get smaller. The only way you're going to get bulkier is if you increase your fat and you're taking in too many calories than your body needs. You are not going to get quote unquote bulky. And I tell my clients you're going to get bulky if you're eating too much, if you are working in a maintenance or you're working in a deficit and you're weightlifting, your body is going to completely transform. So when you are on a diet and you're in a caloric deficit and you're eating enough protein, your body's going to burn fat and it's going to burn muscle. If you're weightlifting and you're in a caloric deficit, you're going to burn fat. So there's a big difference.
Speaker 1:How about the guy who's in that situation? They're like I just need to get. I'm so skinny, I need to get jacked, I need to get bulky. It's the exact opposite. I want to get big.
Speaker 2:So it's number one. I tell clients like if you want to get bigger, you got to eat more calories and you got to get into the gym. So you can't be eating base, you can't be in the gym one or two days a week and expect to get to your goals. So I actually worked with a personal trainer and he wanted to have that same goal. And when we talk about macros, for example, my macros for carbohydrates are around 180. My macros for carbohydrates are around 180.
Speaker 2:His carbs were like at three something oh my God, he was eating all day but he had amazing results. But in terms of if a client wants to get into the gym, and number one, it takes a long time to build muscle. It's not something people think that they're going to go to the gym Like. I've had clients that start with me and be like I don't want to go to the gym because I put muscle on really easily. And I'm scratching my head and I'm like do you know how long it takes? Like, if a female like wants to go to the gym and she is like consistent five days a week and she is on point with her nutrition, someone like my age would. It would be amazing if they could put on half a pound of muscle a month.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And that's it's so hard to put on muscle, um, so it's going to take time and it's going to take consistency, um, and it's also frequency.
Speaker 1:Do you program differently for um men versus women in terms of your workout regimens or how you train them?
Speaker 2:It's a little bit different, I think, based on the individual I see. So I have clients that have no experience, that are just kind of like going with, like starting off with body weight because they can't even balance, and then I have clients that have been doing it for a long time that he's kind of just a little bit of a push.
Speaker 1:I got it All right, so let's talk about the third scenario. Busy parent two, three young children, very stressed, time crunched.
Speaker 2:Were you there. This sounds like my typical client.
Speaker 1:Yes, trying to squeeze in some better nutrition and fitness, but it's hard. You're meal prepping for your kids, you're meal prepping maybe for someone else, and then you're also trying to meal prep for yourself. And doing all that while trying to maybe also have a job like how does that work for somebody?
Speaker 2:So I think that biggest thing is like time management and priorities and learning to say no. So my biggest thing is if you really want it, you'll figure it out. That is my typical client. It's just kind of making time for yourself, learning to say no, utilizing people in your family to help out, having your kids help out in the kitchen, keeping things simple, Like what are some simple meals that you can put together when your kids are in sports and you're flying from this place to this place? That takes 10 minutes to whip up? What are some snacks that you could grab with you when you're at? I'll give you an example. My son wrestles, so some of these wrestling matches are six or seven, six, seven hours sometimes.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:So what's something that you could throw in your bag. That's really quick, because it's a lot of times those type of clients don't eat for like seven or eight hours and then when they get home, they just grab whatever they want.
Speaker 1:Right. What do you do in terms of nutrition for your family? You have kids, yes, do you do something different for them? Obviously, their kids are just like I just want chicken nuggets, like. What do you do to manage that?
Speaker 2:so it's funny. So I meal prep. Usually. I spend like a saturday or sunday for a couple of hours meal prepping and I have three kids I have a 16 year old, I have a 13 year old and I have a seven year old. So I am flying solo. I have full custody of my kids, so I am busy. I'm at the point now I feel like my 16 year old has really gotten into fitness and nutrition and my 13 year old is starting. So I meal prep all these, all this food, and then they eat it.
Speaker 2:They like what you make For years ago it was not like that. I'm like what happened? Like I meal prep everything individually for the week and you guys are eating everything Stop. So I try to keep things like really simple. A lot of times with macros it's portion sizes. I think the biggest thing is keep things simple. So if I make tacos like I'll just focus on, okay, getting a leaner cut of ground beef or ground turkey, I'll get like a 93 to 99%. They might have taco shells. I might just throw mine on top of a salad.
Speaker 1:I see.
Speaker 2:If we're doing like all my kids eat eggs. Eggs are really simple. I try to find things like I focus on. Okay, I'm getting three proteins during the week, how do I prepare it? I might prepare it a little bit differently from my kids than I do for myself when I'm in a bind. I love the real good chicken. You ever tried it?
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 2:So it's actually coated in cauliflower rice.
Speaker 1:Oh what.
Speaker 2:Don't tell my kids that my mom actually bought it accidentally from Costco once. I was like this is really good and I turn like the nutrition label over. I'm like the macros on this are amazing. The carbs are really low, the fats are really low. I like the ingredients and the proteins off the charts and my kids like it. So I put that in the air fryer so that's like a go-to quick, easy meal for me. Kids love, like I said, tacos. That's quick and easy. My kids eat rotisserie chicken. That's easy. So I just try to keep things like. I don't have time to cook five or six different meals. So I just really try to keep things easy and simple. But making, let's say, a pasta, I'll have some, but my portion size might be a little bit different than my kids.
Speaker 1:How about micronutrients? Do you take supplements? Do you recommend any type of supplements for your clients?
Speaker 2:So supplements are kind of like very unregulated In the term natural. There's no regulation for the term natural, so I think most clients should be on a multivitamin. I think most of us, especially anyone like north of Washington DC, especially this time of year should be on vitamin D, and then the rest depends on what their needs are. I'm not a huge supplement person. Got to be completely honest. Supplements I take are I take magnesium. Now, in terms of just trying to get a better night's sleep. It's interesting because my brother works for Vitamin Shop.
Speaker 1:Oh, he does.
Speaker 2:Yes. So he was like telling me. He's like Jessica, there's a big sale this week, everything's 40% off, what do you want? So I was like this week, everything's 40% off, what do you want? So I was like I need something for sleep. And he's like don't do melatonin. So, um, I'm I'm not a big supplement person. It's multivitamin, vitamin D. Um, people ask me all the time about creatine. I could go either way with it. Um, I like my pre-workouts just because I need that extra caffeine in the morning.
Speaker 1:Which one do you like the most?
Speaker 2:So I like the Monster.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I like the strong stuff. Listen, I get up at 4.30 in the morning, so I need something that's going to throw me right in.
Speaker 1:Got it Nice, all right. So what other tips would you have for someone who's starting on this or listening and saying this is something I really do want to engage in, but they're not around here, maybe they're somewhere else. What can they first do to sort of get started with the fitness journey, or nutrition?
Speaker 2:journey. Number one, I think, just finding figuring out what their goals are. What exactly are they looking for? Um, realizing that nutrition in their body is not going to change overnight. Um, it's something that is going to be, um, something that they can do consistently. I know, before the podcast was starting, we were talking a little bit about exercise and which one is best. I think the best thing that is best for you is something that you know that you're going to be able to be consistent with. Whether it's Pilates, whether it's weightlifting, whether it's CrossFit, you want to pick something that you know that you enjoy. Same thing with nutrition. I have clients that come to me and it's just finding foods that they enjoy and recipes that they'll actually eat instead of like. It reminds me of the Instagram reels of like people eating broccoli and holding the piece of chocolate under their nose and taking a bite.
Speaker 1:Like breathing in the chocolate and then like stuffing the broccoli in their mouth.
Speaker 2:So it's just finding foods that are nutrient dense, that you enjoy eating, and recipes and things that are quick and easy. It's all about finding things. That nutrition is so individual, so what might work for me might not work for you, so it's finding things that are individual, that you know that you can maintain.
Speaker 1:Where do you get your energy and motivation? I mean listening to what you do with all the responsibilities that you have. What motivates you to get out there and to help so many people when you yourself have so much on your own plate?
Speaker 2:So by nature I am a fixer and I am a doer. Not many people know I'm a domestic violence I should say not survivor but thriver, and I think everything built on my struggles of what I went through and my family helps me, want to help other people and my biggest thing is having my client feel successful, people finding successful. I feel like that drives me energy-wise to want more, to do more.
Speaker 1:It's so funny because I think people's circumstances are often so challenging and people can either use that as an excuse not to get things done, or they use that as motivation.
Speaker 2:It could either break you or drive you Right.
Speaker 1:Because I could hear someone say you know what I was in that situation and that's why I am not successful and I can't thrive is because of my negative experiences that I had. But you're the person who said because I had these issues in my life that impacted me, I'm going to turn around and become an educator, become a successful athlete, become a mother of three and train others and coach others on doing more. And so I feel like that wasn't your experiences. That was you reacting to your experiences as whatever was intrinsic to you that got you to take that and then drive with that.
Speaker 2:Yes, whatever was intrinsic to you that got you to take that and then drive with that. Yes, and I think the biggest thing is, I thrive off of people feeling successful with themselves and hitting their goals and feeling good and confident. I think it's the best feeling in the world.
Speaker 1:Jessica, I'm so impressed. Thank you so much for guesting. Remember you can follow Jessica on Instagram at JWB Fitness 3. And how else can they get a hold of you?
Speaker 2:So I actually I'm on Facebook as well under Jessica Wendy. It's funny, when I went through my divorce I changed my name, so Wendy is actually my middle name.
Speaker 1:Oh, is that right.
Speaker 2:Yes, so it's funny. When I moved to Wyckoff about 10 years ago I got so many Christmas and holiday cards to the Wendy family. They used to laugh, so my last name is actually Bernstein. Wendy's my middle name, but on my links I also have my ProCoach app so you could click on that as well to set up a consultation, and through my social media handles as well, on Facebook and Instagram.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. Thank you again and wish you the best for 2025.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much, Sam. It was a pleasure to be on.