Fuel For Thought
Join hosts Tracy Elizabeth and Nicole Heller on Fuel For Thought, the empowering podcast designed to help women unleash a healthier lifestyle. With their expert insights and unwavering dedication, Tracy and Nicole delve into the challenges faced by women in achieving optimal health and provide actionable strategies to overcome them. From debunking myths about nutrition to exploring the latest fitness trends, they leave no stone unturned in their quest to fuel your body, mind, and soul.
Each episode of Fuel For Thought offers a wealth of practical advice, inspiring stories, and interviews with leading experts in the health and wellness field. Tracy and Nicole bring their unique perspectives and personal journeys, making every discussion relatable and authentic. Whether you're struggling with emotional eating, searching for sustainable weight loss techniques, or seeking to boost your overall well-being, this podcast serves as your go-to resource for transformation.
Through lively conversations, evidence-based research, and practical tips, Fuel For Thought will equip you with the knowledge and tools needed to make informed decisions about your health. Uncover the secrets to maintaining a balanced diet, discover effective workout routines, and learn how to build a positive relationship with food. Fuel For Thought embraces the mantra of relentlessly overcoming obstacles to achieve your desired results.
Tune in to Fuel For Thought and join Tracy Elizabeth and Nicole Heller as they inspire, motivate, and empower women to take charge of their health, harness their inner strength, and unlock their true potential. Subscribe now to embark on a journey towards a healthier, happier you!
Fuel For Thought
Empowering Journeys: Celebrating Our Favorite Podcast Moments From Season 1
As we closed the books on our 2023 season, a pearl of wisdom from Angela Monahan still echoes in our thoughts: "collaborate, not compete." Angela's metamorphosis from a cocoon of self-doubt to a butterfly gracing the bodybuilding stage is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Her story is a beacon for anyone seeking the light of personal growth, and our conversation with her sparked a celebration of female strength and solidarity. We unfurl our own journeys from the shadows of insecurity, sharing how Angela's triumph, alongside our collective victories, shapes a tapestry of success. It's a heartfelt conversation that proves when women lift each other up, the sky is merely the starting point.
Parenthood, with its laughter and tears, is another cornerstone of our season's narrative. From the warm nostalgia of Ryan's barber shop anecdotes to Lauren's invaluable insights on the unique symphonies our children compose, we've spoken from the heart about the art of listening and the courage it takes to pivot when necessary. These stories culminate in a call to action, urging us to flip the switch, advocate passionately for our little ones, and seize teachable moments. The finale of our discussion stitches together a patchwork of lessons on confidence and personal style, reminding us that confidence is crafted through action and the courage to step outside fashion comfort zones. Embark on this journey with us as we share how a stylist helped us redefine our sartorial identities, proving that the clothes we wear can be both armor and expression of our innermost selves.
Follow our journey on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/fuel_for_thought_podcast/
Hey, welcome back to Fuel for Thought. I'm Tracy Elizabeth, I'm Nicole Heller and we are excited to come back. Our season two of 2024.
Speaker 2:I'm so excited for season two. Oh my gosh, I can't believe it. I can't believe it, I know.
Speaker 1:I know it has been such a crazy experience.
Speaker 2:It's been an amazing experience. I can't believe it's another year, I can't believe it's another season for Fuel for Thought, and we wanted to come together today to do a little kind of just come together and one of our favorite moments for 2023, what were our favorite? Not our favorite guests, because we loved all our guests, but our favorite moments with our guests of 2023, our favorite highlights. So we wanted to bring that to you guys today.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so one of our guests, angela Monahan, was such an amazing episode that we had the privilege to share with her, and she was our first guest.
Speaker 2:She was our first guest so that was a big deal for us because we were kind of like I don't know how to ask somebody to be a guest on a podcast, I don't know how to do things like that. So that was a big deal for us. I'm really proud of us. It was.
Speaker 1:It was, and our listeners thank you that gave us some feedback on that, because we really focused on perception and I think that's a huge deal, especially when it comes to women, on how we perceive people, and Angela definitely brought some really great values to that episode. My gosh, yes. So one of my favorite quotes from that episode was collaborate, not compete. Yes, and I mean even when Angela discussed that, it was like that moment of pause that you and I were both like, oh, yes, yes, yes, that's exactly.
Speaker 1:And she really was talking about her inward confidence and how people actually perceive the outward confidence and it wasn't aligned. And when she came into a place in her mind where she was like you know what? I want to stop wishing, like, I want this, I want that change she talked about I need to collaborate and not compete, and I thought that was just amazing and that stuck with me, because I felt that way for so many years of my life where I was sitting there Felt like I was not even competing, but competing in my mind of. I was feeling so disgusting with myself, I was feeling embarrassed, I was feeling angry, I was envious of the women that I was watching succeed. And don't get me wrong, I'm all for. I wanted to celebrate them, but it was that little piece of me of saying, well, why can't I be that person? Why can't I do those things? What did you think about that?
Speaker 2:So I think when I think about the year and our time, knowing Angela right. So let's look about the year from even the time that she was here with us, miss Booji Angela. Even the time she was here with us on the podcast. So we were intimidated when we first met her because we were in a place that we weren't reflecting inward and we perceived her even though she was in a place of struggle. We perceived her, and really judged, from a place of insecurity for ourselves.
Speaker 1:Sorry, Angela.
Speaker 2:Yeah, apology, like really, and so many women do that. But as we progressed and even had her on that show think about the end of the year when we had the privilege of watching her stand on a stage and compete in a bodybuilding competition we were crying. Yes, we were crying and seeing her. But think about your emotions of her on that stage. Like, my emotion was so proud and so excited for another woman to feel those feelings, not even a woman in the peak performance, in the peak pinnacle physical, all the things she was in that place, and I didn't feel like I was crying, one single piece of insecurity. I was just in a pure state of happiness for someone. Like, think about that evolution of what Angela has brought to our life and the growth that women can give to one another.
Speaker 1:Like that, that's Amazing, yeah, and even when she was here for that interview, she has any. She didn't even decide at that time. I think it was just a little bit of a topic of conversation that you both had about whether that was something that she wanted to make a commitment for. And it was still something inside of her knowing that inner desire was watching women bodybuilding and do bikini contest like, but that Insecurity was still within her that she didn't feel. Yeah, I was actually even a month right up to registration because I feel like she did she work for her?
Speaker 2:she worked for it, but she didn't register yet.
Speaker 1:Yeah she was working for it, but we wanted to buy the tickets and she was like I don't know what I'm doing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm like girl, I'm like we want to go, but but I agree with you because that, thinking about that interview and then thinking about our friendship prior to that, in that moment, when we weren't even friends and meeting her well, watching her, not even meeting her, and seeing, knowing how we felt then when we were sitting at that jujitsu, jujitsu mat, so go back and listen to episode two, because that's what we talked about the history of our friendship and and Nicole and I were both close to 300 pounds at that time, very uncomfortable on the mat, and Angela walked in looking all beautiful and we thought she was confident.
Speaker 1:But you know she definitely talks about that in the episode and then fast forward to I don't know like 10 years later. Here's Angela and a bikini on stage and confident like I think that that for me, why I was so emotional was knowing how she felt about even registering to now, all of a sudden, that lights which went off and she felt all of that hard work, that dedication, that commitment that she was Just as worthy to be on that stage than any other woman that has been probably there four or five times like it was amazing.
Speaker 2:It was an incredible experience and it was an incredible, incredible experience for us to witness the growth and what a gate. It was a gift to us as well, so thank you, angela.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so that definitely was a great episode, so check that out. Episode two for just building confidence and really seeking the people that are Doing the things that you want to do, feeling the way that you want to feel and collaborate and not compete. That was definitely my takeaway from that episode. Love it All right. So let's move into our second highlight.
Speaker 2:Who's our second one? Oh, a girl, lauren episode seven.
Speaker 1:Now this, this one was more personal to you, I think. Yeah, a couple of different levels. So you want to start with that one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love it. So Lauren came on for our Mother's Day episode and what I loved about Lauren's episode is it was there was one honest moment and I feel like I had an honest moment, you know, with Ryan the other day and I was sharing it, you know, on social also and Lauren shared about, you know, zach coming out wearing a t-shirt and her automatically feeling this feeling of embarrassment.
Speaker 1:It was a gaming t-shirt. It was a gaming t-shirt.
Speaker 2:Yeah for commitment day.
Speaker 2:Yeah and you know Her, her mom's shoulders went up and you know she didn't think it was appropriate. She didn't reflect inward at that moment to say wait a minute, let me, let me see. You know how he feels about this and she made him change. But then, after conversation and reflection, she he came home from school that day and she had a conversation with him and realized that he really is so gifted in that arena and Took pictures of him wearing it and, you know, reinforced him in that way and it ended up being such a beautiful experience. So, you know, I was listening to that and that was one of my favorite moments because, you know, as a mom, you know, with a son with autism, and you know kids that have all kinds of things, you know what happened to go it on and whatever teen, just teenage life in general, you know it's so important to sometimes just pause and listen. You know I shared the other day this story with Ryan.
Speaker 2:You know we moved, you know, six months ago, about an hour away, and one of the biggest things for Ryan was, you know, his barbershop and we worked a long time for Ryan to get comfortable with his barbershop and you know, when we moved.
Speaker 2:We got him a new barbershop and Ryan's super adaptable and he was fine with his new barbershop. So, turns out, I was coming, you know, to visit, you know to near a old house and I was like, ryan, you need a haircut, do you want to go to your old barbershop? And he was like, yeah, I want to see Eddie. And I was like okay. So I walked, we walked in to the old barbershop and the old barber was so excited to see him and Ryan was so excited to be there and just knowing that there was somebody there that Understood him and saw him and and just got him like there's no reason why I wouldn't want him as part of Ryan's life. So I feel like Lauren's episode gave me, you know, that feeling of we have to see our kids, you know we have to pause and and see them, and I love it.
Speaker 1:I love that part of it and I think, just to add to that a little bit, because I know we're on on that episode Lauren had also, in that, in that situation too, talked about feeling that guilt of not really knowing.
Speaker 1:Like, as a mom, you, you think that you should know everything right when it comes to your child or children. And then, especially for Lauren specifically also, a teacher who works with children with special needs is sitting there thinking like, wow, I just failed, not only as a mom, but I failed as a teacher because I wasn't listening to my child, I wasn't listening to my student. And I know, that night, when you were at the barbershop with Ryan, she sent me a picture, of course, and I was crying, looking at Ryan sitting in that chair, and knowing Ryan and also knowing how super adaptable he is, but taking that moment of releasing that guilt but knowing it as a teaching moment, because I think if we don't listen or we don't know how to listen to our children, right, we're going to work on that, but then if we don't look at the situation as a teaching moment, we're going to miss those other opportunities moving forward, for him that now you won't.
Speaker 2:Yeah, maybe you won't and I know, but I think that it's important, like we want to. We want to teach our children flexibility. We want to teach our children that you know this is not an easy world that we live in and we have to be adaptable, we have to be flexible. But there are some times that it's okay to need certain things and lean on your parents for those certain things, and your parents have to pause and hear you. And that was directly in line with Zach coming out, you know, with that shirt on, and you know it's such. You know, I see it as a foreshadowing like Zach is going to be out there one day, you know, doing a gaming truck. Yeah, and a gaming truck and doing amazing thing and coding, like he's going to, he's going to be doing amazing things. So I really it was a special episode from Mother's Day for me, like just having Lauren here and really she's a huge asset to all of the community of parents with children with autism, so it was really a special episode for me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think one of the takeaways that I got from that too is about having that candid voice, and we've talked about this on other episodes as well, but for this one specifically, we talked about really taking the time to get to know someone. Again, looking at even the previous episode we talked about with Angela is having that judgment, so really getting to know other women and other moms, and rather than just looking at somebody and saying something, Ask the questions.
Speaker 2:Ask the questions, ask the questions.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Go in there with the intent to listen, go in there with the intent to explore who that person is, because you can probably contribute to something in their life.
Speaker 1:And I think that even for myself, like getting to know AJ's parents you know friends, parents and Mr Rob over here getting to know his family like that's important because our children need that and we need that. We need to really, you know, I think actually in that episode there was a conversation right when somebody had said something, or we actually talked about it with Ryan too, where they're not speaking to the child, they're speaking to the adult with the child and really just take that moment to use your voice, Like I do that with Ryan all the time. So when people are talking to me instead of them talking to Ryan, I'm like he's listening, Like you can ask him that question, and I think it's really important that if you listen to that episode episode seven to really understand that sometimes your voice is valid and finding a way to get that out there, just so you can plant that seed and let that person stop and think and reflect. And if they don't, then you move on. Right, but you feel good about saying something.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I'm learning that from her too. Yeah, All right. So my next highlight of our next person we had interviewed is special to me. It was my cousin Jess that was. I love the episode. We had a lot of beeps on that episode.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was a good one.
Speaker 1:It was a really good one. The Al guy did not like that, so right there with that says name Al.
Speaker 2:My favorite part of the episode is literally my favorite part of the episode was just flip the switch. Yes, just flip the switch. She's like why can't we just flip the switch.
Speaker 1:She does that all the time for that, for certain things. But yeah, it's the truth, it's the truth, it is the truth. So why do you think that that was valuable to our listeners?
Speaker 2:Because I think that and I feel like so many people are dealing with it now into the new year like there just has to come a time in your life where we have to stop overthinking over criticizing over everything, like over indulging Just stop, Just stop reading over analyzing, over researching over everything and just fricking stop and just flip the switch to do the thing that is going to serve you. So like that was Jesse's whole premise, was that, with a lot of beeps, with a lot of beeps, just freaking stop. Like you got to know that there's a time in your life where you're just freaking done and you decide that it's time to flip the switch and it's it's. I know that sometimes it sounds like it's impossible and I know sometimes it sounds callous, but sometimes it's just necessary, sometimes there's just no other way way to make something happen.
Speaker 1:The decision has to be made and I think if you're a woman out there sitting there saying, you know, I want to flip that switch, but I don't know if I'm ready, or like you haven't got to a place where you feel, like Nicole said, you're just done and fed up, like. That's why it's important to surround yourself with the people rather than moving away and isolating yourself, but find those people for whatever it is that you're looking to do or to feel, so that you can get to the point to say I'm freaking, done like because you're going to move away from that piece of I'm going to, I'm in competition or I'm envious of that person, so I really want to learn how to collaborate. And then we touched on that episode about confidence and I mean you were pretty like oh, and I got it written down with like underlines of like, because she was like really voicing it in episode four and talking about like confidence isn't given, like it's just not. People want to wait for it.
Speaker 2:I know, like, like people just wait for it, like I'm going to, I want to be confident. Okay, what do you? Is you just going to happen, like it's a shirt that you put on and you're just going to feel confident? No, like it's something that you build. It's something that comes over time. It's something that comes from honoring commitments to yourself. It's something that you build and work for. It's not something that is just handed to you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and like Jesse got that in that episode, she was, she was passionate about that too, like she knew that you had to let go of your past. The other thing that I really love that we talked about in that episode was she's getting letting go of the past, but not so. We talked about letting go of what doesn't serve you from the past and not bringing it into the future. Right, but we don't. We don't have to leave it all in the past. Like a strong woman, a strong person, knows that you can reach your hand back for those people and Take, yes, internalize what does serve you, but not necessarily leave those people behind, because you don't have to internalize everything from the past, but it doesn't mean you have to close the door on that. You can go back and serve, and that was a beautiful part of that episode. It really was.
Speaker 1:I Don't want to keep yelling, cuz I will keep yelling, no no, it's true and I think we've we personally experienced that in our own lives and we talked about that in the first couple episodes of sharing our friendship and how we both met and we talked about a bump-it story and that bump-it story was kind of the foundation of our friendship. When we were both sitting on a bump-it, 300 pounds sold total of 600 pounds on this tiny little bump-it but crying and feeling desperate.
Speaker 1:And you gotta give it to the bunk bed company. I mean, I'm saying that.
Speaker 2:I won't shout out the brand, but I'm just saying.
Speaker 1:But, like, thinking back to that moment, did we feel confident in any way? No, did we surround ourselves with people at that time? No, like we didn't even know how to. All of our friends were kind of like in the Same bucket as us. But the difference is that over time, we did get to a place where we were like enough is enough.
Speaker 1:And I think what's really special about now and you're talking about it before like, like when I had said, find those people, like there are actually. Social media gives you that platform to meet people and you, we ourselves, are surrounded by a community of people where they are also stuck right. Yeah, so, like when we started our health and I'm gonna say this humbly, but when we started this, we didn't have that. It was me and her, and I mean a couple of our friends too, but that was it. Like we were literally trusting this process because we were so desperate. We wanted to feel confident and we went back confident. It was not given to us. We forced ourselves through daily, consistent action steps to work towards that, but we had each other. Now, people out there. You have people to look into. You have this great podcast. You have other people that you can actually say you know what. I want to borrow that confidence. I want to take those strategies. What am I gonna do differently next time?
Speaker 1:But switch huh, flip the switch, flip the freaking switch. And I was getting to the part of here like the only way through through the obstacle is to go through it. And if you feel stuck right now like ask yourself, well, why am I stuck? What are you waking up in doing every single day? That's consistent that you want to change. And I really love that piece, because we can't just say I'm waiting for the flip To switch and do nothing. You have to do something. And then the last piece of that episode was about If you got that gut feeling three, two, one, go like I just said that that was really good and we talk about that a lot of times too yeah, just do it, just do it, just do it just do it, just do it, make it happen, all right.
Speaker 1:Oh, this one was a really good one. Yes the last person that we interviewed was Carissa, episode 16 or a lot of fun our wonderful Stylus and we actually I don't think we really filed it up on that episode on what actually happened when we got styled. What do you mean? We didn't, I don't know, but we can talk a little bit about that.
Speaker 2:But what we should take away from from a Stylus that I need earrings, that I need to not only use Louis Vuitton pocketbooks, that I should be styling my purses and my jewelry and I should get better at no, I'm just kidding.
Speaker 1:She's really not. But yes, yes, but.
Speaker 2:Carissa did give me a beautiful pair of earrings that I did wear through the holiday season with a beautiful blazer and shirt that I would have never purchased ever. That Carissa styled me and it looked stunning when I went out for the holidays. So I was really, it was really amazing. But Carissa was amazing when we were being styled and on the podcast, just talking about the confidence, not about size, but just the confidence of wanting to feel good in your clothes, the confidence of wanting to try new things. It's incredible.
Speaker 2:It's an incredible piece for a woman to want to give that gift to other women.
Speaker 1:I love that when she had just stated that an everyday woman can feel beautiful and confident, and I thought that that was really beautiful because we definitely wanted people to take that away from the episode and not again Look in a place of judgment and look at us and say, well, they don't know what it feels like, oh no, we know what it feels like to sit in a dresser room and cry our eyes out because nothing is fitting and they don't have our size, and then stop going right like I stopped. We started wearing pajamas everyday because they were so comfortable, but I love that Carissa capitalized on that. That she would style anybody Just who is willing to be open and trust her with the opportunity to give her the moment to say this will look great on you, put it on. And then give that moment of an opportunity to really feel in her own skin what that feels like. I love that piece.
Speaker 2:Yes, I loved it, though I did try on some things that really pushed me out of my comfort zone. She wore a dress. I did wear a dress, which actually didn't.
Speaker 1:I really liked it. I loved it. So, no, I'm not gonna thank Terrence for saying he did not like it, because then she didn't buy it.
Speaker 2:He didn't like it, but I actually ended up. I was gonna get it for a party that we were going to and then instead I actually really loved the dress that I wore to that party instead of the dress that I had tried on with you.
Speaker 1:Yeah well, the dress that you wore to the party was something you would have probably worn anyway.
Speaker 2:Yes, but I really.
Speaker 1:The other dress was more like a sparkly teenage dress.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, it was very cute, but I really did feel beautiful in what I wore. But it really was a wonderful experience with Carissa.
Speaker 1:The takeaway. One of the last takeaways from Carissa's episode that I loved was she had said what will be the worst thing that could happen if you were to walk into a store and ask for a stylist, which she actually said was free, which was amazing. So if the financial piece is a worry of somebody, which most people use as an excuse anyway, that's not an excuse because it is free.
Speaker 1:So White House Black Market I always say that wrong, you can go right in there and ask for a girl, Carissa, but I love that. What will be the worst thing that can happen? And then you actually commented back and said it gives the woman the ability to let go. And I think that that's just an amazing statement, because you and I both felt that moment even there with her, when she was coming with all these different sizes, and we reflected on a moment of sitting in a dressing room when we were at all different seasons of our journey. So I love that.
Speaker 1:Me too the ability to let go.
Speaker 2:Letting someone else shop without the baggage that you have. Yeah, so those are our favorite highlights, yeah, and we just want to say thank you. We want to say thank you for an incredible season. Yes, thank you so much. An incredible season and incredible guests and an incredible time together. It's just, I can't believe we did that and I'm looking forward to another year together and she loves me.
Speaker 1:She's keeping me.
Speaker 2:I'm not fired, doing fun things and just continuing to find our voice, and we love to hear from you guys too.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:Drop us a DM on our Instagram All our handles are here below and we just want to hear from you. We want to hear what strategies you use, we want to hear what you want to hear. We want to bring the value to you. So thank you so much for traveling this journey with us and we will see you guys next time. Yeah, bye, guys.
