6 Things I Wish I Knew At The Beginning Of My Fitness Journey

00:00The journey that you are on, embarking on, is so much more of a mental game than it is a physical game. What's going on, you guys? Welcome to The WarriorBabe Show with Nikkie Stott, co-founder and brand personality of WarriorBabe, where we talk about mindset, methodologies, and tactics that will help you lose body fat, build muscle, be strong, and feel insanely confident. I am your host, Nikkie Stott, and welcome to episode number 27, where we're going to dive into another listener Q&A.

00:35So you guys know the drill by now, if you've listened to the other Q&As from this podcast, that I drop a question box on my Instagram story from time to time, asking you guys what questions you would want answered on this podcast that are worthy of long answers. So the questions that you guys have, ask them to me in that box. I'll take them if they're worthy of providing long answers and bringing them to this podcast. So typically, I do like two or three questions in one,

01:10but today, I'm going to, it's a little bit of a different answer and question than what I've received before. So I'm going to just stick to one question and one answer, because I really like this question a lot, and I feel like it can totally serve all of you guys, no matter where you're at in your journey. Specifically, this is like speaking to the beginning of someone's journey, but I think like you could take these little golden nuggets I'm going to share with you,

01:40no matter where you're at. It could be your beginning, or it could be the middle, or it could be like you need to get, pick it back up. Or you could be, you know, a vet, and you still could probably take one of these golden nuggets and apply it towards your journey. Okay, so I feel like, and it's a great question, which I'll say in a couple minutes, but I feel like this overall arching theme, it's different, kind of, but it's going to serve you guys in so many ways. All right, so the amazing question that got asked,

02:10I know I like built that up there for a second, but it was, what are some things that I wish I knew at the beginning of my journey? So it's a full experience story from what I've experienced. I'm going to share with you guys in hopes that again, some golden nuggets come from this, or like, you're like, oh my God, I've felt that before. I know what she's talking about, or I'm dealing with that right now. So it's like, I wish I knew these things at the beginning of my journey.

02:41Looking back now, eight years, that I feel like I could have accelerated a little bit more in, had I known these things, you know? So let's get into it. There's six different ones, and each one's going to elaborate with some type of story or experience that I have been in. And I'm sure you guys, again, will resonate. So the first one is that you need to know, is that most women will need to go through multiple phases of a cut,

03:13of a reverse diet, and a maintenance phase to achieve the goal of building more muscle and changing your body composition. Okay, so to share the experience, starting out, I think I shared this in episode number one of the podcast. I thought that I had a goal and my body would stay there. Like, just so naive to the whole transformation of a body. And it's just funny to laugh all now and now. But like, I was like, I hit this goal. My body will stay like this forever,

03:43no matter how much I eat, no matter what I do. No problem. Man, was I wrong. I yo-yoed you guys for quite a bit until like I wrapped my head and my understanding, my knowledge around these three concepts, a cut, a reverse, maintenance, like even a surplus. Or like, I like to call it, people call it bulking. I call it a build because it's like better on the mindset that way. But it wasn't really until I wrapped my head around the understanding and knowledge of these specific phases.

04:16And I'll elaborate on them deeper in another podcast. It's because there's differences that go to each one. And there's different tactics that go to each one. There's different outcomes that go to each one. There's different goals that go to each one. So I'll wrap around that on a podcast on another one. But for the sake of this one, it's like, you need to know this. Like, you need to know if you want to change your body composition and you want to build muscle, you're going to need to go through multiple phases

04:48of a cut, of a reverse diet, maintenance, a build, X, Y, and Z. Multiple phases. Let me just say that. Multiple phases. Like, I didn't fully put that into practice, you guys, with consistent effort doing those things until like two and a half years after accomplishing like my first transformation. So I yo-yoed for quite some time. And I shared that in podcast episode number one. I shared my journey in that episode. So if you guys haven't listened to that one, definitely go check it out. I'm sure you guys will 100% elaborate so much more on my journey.

05:20And I know you guys will definitely resonate on a lot with that. So I didn't fully put that into practice until like I understood it more. I had the knowledge around it. I dove into each of them for two and a half years. So like, I wish I knew that at the beginning of my journey because I would have saved two and a half years essentially of like not of doing it the right way. But like if you want to build muscle and if you want to change the way your body looks, like just think about that. Like I say this all the time. That is a lot. That's a lot to unpack in that sense.

05:51Change your body composition. Like I no longer look the same way I looked eight years ago. Ain't no way. I look totally different. And so it takes time. But like if you want to do that, you're not going to be in one caloric deficit, in one fat loss, in one cut. Like will you achieve something with one cut? Yes, absolutely. But to continue going, to keep continuing to change the way your body looks, to keep continuing to build more, to keep continuing to, you know, do all of that,

06:23you have, it will take you time and also it's going to take giving your metabolism a break because like you're not going to stay in one cut for the rest of your life. You're not going to stay at like 1500 calories for 10 years. Like, I mean, you have some people have, but like that's not the right way to do it. You want to eat and maintenance, especially if you want to build muscle and especially if you want to change your body composition. Okay. You've got to do that multiple times. So that's number one. So this woman will need to go through phases of a cut, of a reverse diet, of being in maintenance

06:54to achieve the overarching goal of building more muscle and changing your body composition. Just accept that right now. It ain't going to be one fat loss cut. It ain't going to be one, I lose 20 pounds. If you want to build muscle, you got to go then up into maintenance and then up into like a lean building phase. Guys, I like even to speak to one of my clients, Cheryl Beaver, like badass woman right there. She's 60 years old and she has gone through, we're now in probably her third or fourth cut.

07:25She's gone through three builds so far working with me and we've been working together for like three years now. I don't take any new clients, but we have amazing coaches on our team that work with clients. But that's point in blank and like her body composition is completely different. And even at 60 years old, man, has she gained so much muscle. It's unreal. But yeah, so she's gone through multiple phases. So like, please know that. Just like, if that's anything that like, it's something I wish at the beginning of my journey

07:57of all the six I'm going to share with you, it is that for this main one, the main one, the main one of them all. Okay. Understand that. Accept that. And have fun with it. Go through multiple phases of them. And like, if you do want to learn more about the multiple phases, this is everything Warrior Babe is about. Literally, this is exactly what we teach in our blueprint course and the education modules and what our coaches put their one-on-one clients through. So if you don't want to have to know how to do all of those different phases and just have

08:27someone do it for you, VIP program is where it's at. If you want to learn this, right, because everybody's body is unique and you want to make it sustainable for you. Blueprint course, education. If you're like an education geek and you want to learn all of this, literally what our entire blueprint program is all about and all of the adjustments on how to adjust your nutrition through all of those phases. Like I said, it's an in-depth conversation going between each of those phases, but it's inside of our courses. Okay. So that's number one.

08:58Number two is that it's not just about appearance. And while many people focus on fat loss for aesthetic reasons, it's also so freaking important for your overall health, you guys. Like starting out for sure. Like I, we all do this fat loss and wanting to feel better in our skin for the looks. There's nothing wrong with that, by the way. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. However, it's not what it's all about. Like what you do now though matters.

09:31Like what I did 25, how I changed my life around from the habits I was stuck in to the new habits I've created will forever change the trajectory of my health for the rest of my life. Okay. So that it's not just sure. At the beginning, a hundred percent, like we all do it because we want to feel better and look better and feel more confident. But it's not just about that. It's not all about that. You guys, it is so important for your overall health to kick any bad habits that if you're

10:02not eating enough, or if you don't have much muscle tone to your body and you hit a phase of life like menopause, where it's really important to strength train because it literally paves the path of like your future health trajectory. It's like literally you can be on, you could shoot, you could be a menopause and never worked out a day in your life. And that's going to pave the path of where you are at in 20 years. And guys, I can tell you that that's not going to be an optimal place that you want to be

10:32in 20 years if you don't take care of yourself right now. So it's all, it's so important for your overall health. If you do a menopause, since we're here on this example, decide to do something different for the time this, at this point in your life. And you decide to start strength training and decide to turn around all of your bad habits. That is that path that you go on there is going to forever change the trajectory of the health that you're on for the rest of your life. You could be so strong at 17, 80 years old.

11:03If you make the decision now, what you do now matters for the rest of your health trajectory. So it's not just about awesome, cool. There's nothing wrong with that. But it's not all about that. It's so important for your overall health. So that's number two. Number three, lifting weights will not make you bulky. Okay, ladies, lifting weights is not going to make you look like this masculine she-hulk.

11:35So it's a funny story. When I first started working with, I told you guys in episode number one that I hired a coach because like hiring somebody that is a professional in the space just saves you so much time. You're literally buying their knowledge and buying their failures. And they're going to help you get to where you want to be a 10x the time. So I shared with you guys that whole story there. But when I started working with him, the comment that I made at his house the day I met him and was sharing with him all of my goals, I remember this so vividly.

12:05He had this dope ass gym in his basement and he had mirrors, right? And so I'm like looking at my physique and I'm like, you know, again, looks like I want to change it. I want to build more muscle. I want to feel more confident, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I like freeze in my tracks. I'm like, but I don't want to get too bulky. I don't want to look like a man. I remember saying that. And I'm sure you guys do. Like I'm sure this is so common. Women are just so afraid they're going to get so bulky. I've heard this so many times.

12:36And listen, women, you guys, we have lower testosterone levels than men do. So that makes it harder for us to bulk up unless, and I joke about this, unless you're taking the, actually, it's not a joke. It's like true. If you're taking steroids, ladies, then yeah, you're going to bulk up. You're going to look like a man. Jaw lines are going to change. Your voice is going to get deeper. All that jazz, like 100%. But unless you're taking the roids, ladies, you won't get as big as those boys.

13:07I promise you. Or the ladies that do take the roids. I promise you. It's just not possible. If you're, I'm 100% natural. I've been tested, polygraphed, peed in a cup, got that shit tested. Totally 100% natural. And I'm not bulky, right? I don't look like a man. Although, dude, I get some hate on comments. This is actually a future thing I wish that I knew before my journey. But I get some hate on comments saying like, you know, that I take roids and that I look like a man. And what juice are you doing?

13:37Yada, yada, yada. Ladies, are you feeling frustrated with body changes you're experiencing during menopause? It's time to take control. If you're between 45 and 65 years old and tired of struggling with body fat and muscle loss, Warrior Babe is here for you. At Warrior Babe, we've helped over 18,000 women just like you lose body fat, build toned muscle, and understand their bodies better with personalized plans based on hormone and thyroid testing and more.

14:14Imagine knowing exactly what your body needs to see real results and results that last. Look, don't wait anymore. Take charge of your health and join our community of strong, empowered women. Visit warriorbabe.com forward slash apply today to start your transformation. That's warriorbabe.com forward slash apply. All right, let's get back to the show. Unless you have ample levels of testosterone, like up to men's level testosterone,

14:49you will not bulk up like a man. If you have that, you will. Okay, I probably have a little bit higher testosterone levels as to why I can put on muscle as much as I have in the last eight years. But unless you like if you since we have lower testosterone levels, it makes us harder to bulk up looking like a man. Okay, so you will not because of you touching the weight and strength training, you won't bulk up bulk up and look like a man unless you decide to take some steroids.

15:20Okay, so that's number three. Hey, hey, just want to drop a huge appreciation to you guys listening to the show. It means a lot. I hope you guys are enjoying it. And there's so much more to come with it. If you are enjoying it, hit the subscribe button. I'd appreciate that tons. And also it would help this podcast reach others who need to hear these messages too. Thanks so much, guys. Let's get back to the show. Number four. It is way more of a mental game than it is a physical one.

15:50110 percent, 150 percent. You guys know that a main pillar of this podcast is mindset. Because the journey that you are on and barking on, you know, as a vet even, is so much more of a mental game than it is a physical game. Like for sure, the workouts are super challenging, right? You go into the gym. It's totally challenging. The type of stimulus that you're putting your body under. But it is nothing compared to the mental self-control and discipline needed to say no to the damn cookie that you want to have when it's not in allotment with your macros.

16:29Or, you know, it doesn't fit into where you're at in your fat loss, calorie deficit. Or like skipping a night out with friends because you know it's not going to help with your mental game and your workout energy for the next day. Right? So like a challenging workout is challenging. And a physical component of this whole journey is challenging. But it is nothing compared to the mental self-control, the discipline, the willpower, all the mental game.

16:59All of the mental game that's going to be, it is nothing compared to that needing to say no or do things that you probably don't want to do but need to do. Because it's going to help you get to the results that you want. Like point blank, end of story. Mental game, way more harder than it is with the physical. Like for example, here's a good story. When it comes to when everybody around you was eating all of the food and like you're over there with a packed lunch, that was me. Like some of the hardest yet also some of the most rewarding moments because this is where I really tapped into some like high vibe, like connected to my future self moment.

17:41But it was when we're standing in the ER break room, right? And everybody is eating pizza, donuts, like all of the bad stuff. If you guys work in the healthcare, you guys know that your break rooms are just filled with shit. And I'm over there eating my packed meals, like chicken, broccoli and rice when I was competing. Or even when I wasn't competing, I still packed healthy food because the options of pizza and donuts just didn't fit into my day as much as the break room offered. But that was some of the literally some of the hardest moments like it required so much willpower to not take a donut, like so much willpower to say no.

18:23Like it just but like at first it was really hard. And then it also just got so much more rewarding. It got so much more easier because of all the times I had to say that. I built up so that's like if there's anything to the journey that I've experienced a self-control and discipline is one of the biggest things I'm so grateful for that I have developed. Because it's literally like it's helped to build such a solid framework and foundation that I have for my sustainable lifestyle is the ability to be in control of the mental game and be in control of self-control and discipline.

18:57So it is so much more of a mental game than it is a physical one. All right. So that was number four. Number five is that people will judge you. People will judge you. Like if you're at the beginning of your journey, if you're in the middle of your journey, even if you're a vet, man, like you're being judged. I've talked about this in previous podcasts. You're being judged for what you're doing, for the way you eat, for the way you work out, for why you get up at 5 a.m. in the morning. And again, let me remind you, it has nothing to do with you.

19:29It has to do with the other people's awareness of themselves because they wish they were doing what you were doing. But they will judge you. You will be judged. Like I said, I get judged for the way that I look. I look like a man. I'm too bulky in some people's mindsets. And again, because that's because they're thinking in terms of what they want. Right. Or, you know, everybody has an opinion. Everyone is. I say that the opinions are the cheapest commodities on earth.

19:59Like everybody has a flock of opinions just waiting to be accepted by you. But if you can stay strong in a positive bubble that you know this is the journey that you're on and you're doing it for yourself and yourself only and not for the people that have all of the opinions to say or the people that wish they were doing what you were doing. If you can just keep that positive bubble around you and not allow any of that shit to pop it, you will be golden. And I highly recommend, you know, that you keep that bubble positive around you and you keep it strong because, again, yes, you will be judged.

20:30Every aspect of your journey will have some type of criticism, some type of opinion, some type of judgment towards you. Okay. So stay strong. Stay strong. Find people that are doing what you're doing and get in that environment, that space that they're in. Because they're going to be way more accepting of you. You're going to accept yourself because you're accepted by them. And you're going to just find more enjoyment from them. Right. Instead of the people that just don't get what you're doing. So that's number five. People will judge you. And then the last one of the things that I wish I knew at the beginning of my journey.

21:04And I hope that, you know, one of these things is helping you guys. You're resonating with one of them. You're resonating with all of them. But I hope there's one golden nugget that you can take away today in a 20-minute podcast. There's, you know, a couple, five minutes. And you're like, damn, that hit home. Right. Like, that's just, I hope from the bottom of my heart that that just changes the perspective for you. But number six, and I definitely wish I knew this at the beginning of my journey, is just be mindful of who you look up to. Right. So like social media, it's the way of our day and age today.

21:34And just make sure that like the fitness accounts that you are following, make sure they're making you feel more confident within yourself and not shameful. Make sure that you feel inspired by them and not insecure. Right. Or that you find yourself comparing yourself to them. If you are comparing yourself, know that you can do it too. Right. It should be a form of inspiration, not a form of like, I'm insecure. So make sure that those accounts that you are following make you feel this way.

22:04They make you feel confident in yourself. They make you feel inspired. They make you want to feel like you can go and take this action too. Pay attention to how you think and how you talk about yourself as a result of these people that you look up to. Like, that's so important. Just hands down, like, because there's so many fitness gurus out there that may not even feel confident or secure within themselves. So they're doing all of the wrong things in order to get a specific type of result. And then you're following them. And they may be, you just gotta, you just gotta make sure that you're feeling at a, you're

22:40feeling confident, you're feeling inspired. And that, you know, the way that you're talking about yourself or thinking about yourself is in a positive reflection from the people that you follow. Okay. So just make sure and be mindful of the people that you look up to while you're on your journey and that they make you feel good. And that you feel like you can go take the same type of action that they took. And it's a positive outcome because there's some people out there and fitness gurus that like are doing six days of training for two hours or they're doing only, you know, uh,

23:10they're eating at this ratio, but really it's not the right way. Maybe that they're insecure. They don't feel confident within themselves. They're doing this. Who knows? There's, and there's also people that just say the wrong thing out there. So just be mindful of the people that you look up to. Make sure you feel confident. Make sure you feel inspired because it's really important, you guys. So those are six things that I wish that I knew at the beginning of my journey. I think hands down, number one is the most important one. Um, you need to, so I'm just going to run through them again.

23:42You need to be going through multiple phases of a cut, reverse diet and maintenance to achieve your goal. Number two, it's not just about appearance. You know, again, people focus on fat loss for aesthetics, but it's also important for your overall health. Number three, lifting weights will not make you bulky. Number four, it's more of a mental game than it is a physical game. Number five, people will judge you. And number six, be mindful of who you look up to. All right, you guys. I hope that you guys enjoyed this podcast. If you did screenshot, um, the, this podcast and then write whatever one you're, whatever

24:18one resonated with you the most, and then tag me on social media. I would love to see that. All right, you guys. I'll see you in the next episode. Real quick. The only ask I could ever have of you guys is to help spread the word so we can help more women lose body fat, build muscle, reach their goals and feel insanely confident. And the only way we can do that is if you rate review and share this podcast. So the single thing I ask for you to do is if you could leave a review, it will take you 10 seconds and it will mean the absolute world to me and may change the world of someone else.

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