How Fitness Saved Me

00:00Feeling good about myself, feeling confident about myself, and holy shit, you guys, I cannot express how that saved my life. What's going on, you guys? Welcome back to The WarriorBabe Show, or if you are a new listener, welcome to The WarriorBabe Show with Nikkie Stott, co-founder of WarriorBabe. And on this podcast, we talk about mindset, methodologies, and tactics that will help you burn body fat, build muscle, be strong, and feel insanely confident. I am your host, Nikkie Stott. And guys, welcome to episode number 48. And I was like, man, what am I going to talk about?

00:39Like, I was like, I have no idea what I'm going to talk about in this podcast. And then all of a sudden, no joke, I got up, I walked away from the computer, and I came back. And I feel like I have a really good, I'm like a little nervous, I feel like I have a really good podcast to bring to you guys right now. And it's why fitness or how fitness saved my life. And I don't know who needs to hear this. But maybe one of you guys needs to hear this. And maybe you resonate with this too, as well. I don't think I've ever shared this story before.

01:09Maybe I did a little bit in episode number one, when I shared like how I got into fitness. But I want to share how it saved my life back in 2015. And the reason really why I got into it, and I was reading this, I was reading this quote, I have to find it. Hold on a second. Yeah, I was reading this quote from a team member of mine. And it said,

01:39When I die, I don't want people talking about what I critiqued. I want them talking about what I created. And then there's another one, a world for all opportunities, resources, and adventure right there in front of me. Yet I choose to fight over the easy bite, even if it's a trash. So those two things, those two quotes, I want to talk about what I did in my life that saved me and that why life matters. And at the same time, I want to dare yourself, like I did me, to get outside of your comfort zone.

02:13Right? Don't be scared to change. So basically, back in 2015, I was in a three-year relationship. I was engaged. I don't know how many people know that. I know I've shared that periodically throughout Instagram and my story and through that journey. But I was engaged for, I was in a relationship for three years, engaged for a little over a year. And, you know, there was mishaps and things that broke up that relationship, but it broke it up for a good reason.

02:44And so, start of 2015, like I shared in episode number one, I was a New Year's resolutioner, right? Because literally, we had just ended the engagement right around Christmas time, right around New Year time, 2014. And, again, I don't know who needs to hear this, but when I was inside that relationship, I, looking back now, like now I am who I am. I am who I am so deep to my core, and I couldn't be more proud of that.

03:17And it's because of fitness. But inside that relationship, I was, I had no idea who I was. I was so quiet. I was so submissive. I was, I still at the time, trying to figure myself out, but nowhere near as bold, confident, strong as I am now. I just kind of like was on the back burner. And there was little glimpses of like Nikki in that relationship that I can see that I was trying to break through. But I remember when I tried to incorporate gym and strength training and eating better into my life, that person at the time, and God bless him now, I don't know what's up now or what he's doing now.

04:00But I remember at the end, I hope to God things have changed and he's learned, you know, he's a different person for maybe the person he may be with now today. But in that relationship, it was very much like you cannot go to the gym or I need to be at the gym with you or who did you talk to in the gym or like very controlling. And which is very opposite of who I am. I am very independent. Please don't.

04:31Almost like the way I can say it is, you guys, is like, obviously, in those years, I was very insecure and I was still trying to figure myself out. But I knew deep down in my core, there was so much more of a vibrant human being that I was being. I felt shelled. I felt like I wasn't being who I authentically was. And I was just appeasing and showing up and smiling and doing all the things that I thought was normal when you were in a relationship. Right.

05:02So when I started to do those things of wanting to work out and wanting to go into the gym, all those questions arose and it always was a problem. It always was something it was like it which led to me not wanting to go and go to the go to workout or because I always felt like I had to I would always have to come back and literally map out step by step what happened in my hour long session of a workout. And if I talked to this person, oh, what did you talk about?

05:32Oh, was he hitting on you? Like, that's what I dealt with at that time. And I know looking back, it's like I was insecure. I was attracting insecurity. That person was insecure. It was just a very insecure relationship. And I now look at it now and the type of person I truly am have obviously grown through that is because I'm very independent and I'm very like, you know, I do my own thing and I'm very secure within myself. I know who I am to my core. But it didn't you guys like I can like going back.

06:05I'm probably like all over the place right now just because I'm like trying to remember all of the things, but also make sure I'm, you know, pinpointing how you probably could feel connected to this if you are. So back when that relationship ended and guys like I can't express or explain how in the first four months of 2015, I felt more alive than I ever have before in my life. And, you know, back in that time of the breakup happening, it sucked.

06:38It sucked because you're attached to that person for so long and you have an identity with that person for so long and you don't really know what's to come afterwards. You have no idea because that's the future and you don't know what the future holds. But I knew like things were screaming at me, red flags that we can call it right now. That's like a term of 2023 or 2022. The red flags were just popping up left, right and center. And, you know, it's like, okay, at that point, you just got to call it.

07:11And that's what happened. And as soon as it did, no matter how hard it was, I remember laying in my bed for fucking like five days straight, you guys. No joke. Five days straight, laying in my bed, didn't eat, was so upset, was so sad because I was like, I'm never going to find anybody else. I'm never going to be with anybody else. Like, yada, yada, like, you know, the whole dramatics of being 25 years old and like your world crumbling down because your love, like you lost the love of your life. It's like wild to look back at now.

07:43But with that, so within that interim, right, the next four months, I finally stuck to that resolution that I had for myself, which was getting in shape, feeling good about myself, feeling confident about myself. And holy shit, you guys, I cannot express how that saved my life. Like, the first four months of 2015, I, like I said, felt more alive than ever. So basically what happened when I was laying in bed was my grandfather was like, Nikki, like, what are you doing?

08:15Right? Because I lived at home with my grandmother because I was taking care of her because she was sick. Like, and my grandfather was still very vibrant, very doing all of the things. And he came up to the room and he was like, what are you doing? Like, almost like a pattern interrupt, right? Like, you're so much better than this. You're going to find other people. You're so young. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Like all of the things that a grand, wise grandfather would be telling you. And I think it was finally like, obviously one day it just set in. I was like, you know what?

08:45I call him gramps. I'm like, you know what? You're right. You're right. And that's where I made the switch of like, okay, gym, going to the gym. I have no idea what I'm doing. Like I shared in episode one a little bit about my story. I had no fucking idea what I was doing for the first like four months of the new year. I was just doing random shit, going into the gym, doing random exercises, trying to eat better, got obsessed with like exercising, wanted to start running because I thought running was the way. So I signed up for two or three half marathons in the beginning of that first half of the year.

09:16Did all of the things. But that is literally what saved my life. Because I look at it now, I definitely would have been divorced. Look hands down. Because it would have gotten louder and louder and louder and louder. And my true self would have broken through at some point. So I'm grateful that that did end. And I am so blessed that I went on to do things that I knew because I was I did sports my life. Like I was field hockey, basketball, track when I was in high school.

09:48And so that always made me feel really good. So getting back into that made me feel really good. And it made me feel like who I truly am. Like I finally was starting. Like a big reason why I wanted to have a strong body was to have that match my inner personality. The true core of who Nikki Stott is, which is so bold, so confident to this day. Like I so I'm kind of sharing like a little bit of two things here. Why fitness saved my life, but how more importantly, how it helped me see my true authentic self and core self of who I truly am.

10:22Hey, 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. And being able to get uncomfortable and being okay with being scared to change and experience new things moving forward. And why life matters, right?

10:55Like why knowing and learning who you truly are. And the only way you're going to be able to do that is by, you know, trying things you've never done before. And looking at things as if this looks like it's super scary. I have no idea what to do, but I'm going to try and do it because of the outcome that I know it can give me. Right? Like I knew at the beginning of 2015 that what I wanted to embark on was a pretty hefty thing.

11:25Changing your body composition. I say it all the time. It's like that is such a big phrase to unpack because the truth of it is that it takes time. It takes patience. It takes discipline. It takes willpower. It takes sacrifice. It takes all of the mental fortitude to push through to achieve changing the way your body looks. And so being able to embark on something like that and knowing what the outcome, it was scary at first.

11:58But I was okay because I feel like I was at rock bottom with like not knowing who I was and having this identity break of being in this relationship and almost being married and going down that avenue of life to stopping all of that. And thank God. I thank God. I really do. Like to having that system, having that break in my life, having that happen because it did allow me to be okay with change and be scared of change and know how change can really be so powerful for you.

12:33And so started doing all of the things that I shared in episode one of my story with getting into bodybuilding and winning and taking first place and being undefeated and beating all the pros and then becoming world champ in 2018 of winning the best women's physique title and all of those things. And it was along that journey, you guys, that I embraced discomfort. I embraced change. I embraced loving that this is me and this is who I am and I am bold and I am confident and I am going to do things that are hard, right?

13:08Do the suck. Do the hard. Embrace the hard. Embrace the suck. Because it was in those moments that what I was almost muted to by just kind of living life and almost living life on somebody else's terms to living life on my terms and being loud and embracing that and knowing who Nikki Sa truly was and is. Like I had this identity of me in high school, right? Of like, I was friends with everybody.

13:42I spoke to everyone. And I played sports. I had a lot of friends. And then basically, you know, being in this relationship for four or five years, three years engaged, four or five years together or whatever it was, losing myself. Like truly losing who I was. Like not knowing who that high school person was, almost like I said, muting myself. And then, God bless having this break happen that I had the opportunity to truly figure out who I was.

14:17And from 25, 2015 and on, I can authentically say I am my true self. And I will always show up authentically as who I am. I will never try and be anything that I am not. I will never present myself online as anything that I am not because I have been in that situation of feeling of being who I was not. And I will never be that person again. And I don't care how, you know, it may be perceived me saying F word sometimes or me being just confident or me being more, you know, what I mean.

14:51But like I am proud of what I have done in the last eight years. And that is because fitness saved my life. Fitness helped me identify with who I truly am and be able to have the characteristics that I have today that I almost lost. And so if there's anything that I can say to you guys, I want you to dare yourself to get outside of your comfort zone. I don't, you may not be resonating. There's some of you, the guys that are, you know, not in relationships or happily in relationships or whatever.

15:26But maybe there's something in your life that you feel like is holding you back from doing the things that you want to do. And so I encourage you to get outside of your comfort zone and challenge yourself to be okay with being scared to change. And if you feel like there's a part of you that is bold and is confident, I can tell you by you going and getting underneath of a barbell or by you going and pushing some weight in the gym or by you going and challenging yourself to do, you know, whatever it is that you want to do with running or calisthenics or CrossFit or all of those things.

16:01If you just do that, you will find, you will learn more about your true self because it's you versus you in those moments. It's you versus you under the barbell. It's you in your own mind being like, you can do this or you cannot do this. And when you believe that you cannot, but you'd still push through when you do, guys, I promise you, you unlock a whole new level of understanding who you are in that moment. And realizing that you could have easily given up, but instead you push through and you're like, damn, I am stronger than I think.

16:37I attribute that all to fitness and helping me get through this great area of my life back in 2015 because I pushed myself through very uncomfortable moments when I was competing and getting ready for stage and learning. Even just guys, even just from walking into the gym for the first time, you experience a shit ton of emotions. You experience, oh, I'm too scared to go walk into the weight room. That was me.

17:07I still walked up to the weight, to the cardio machines and did cardio for a decent amount of time until there was a moment that was like, no, you are not this person that is scared to do shit. You are this person that is strong and bold and will walk into the weight room, not give a fuck what anybody thinks around you and do what you need to do. That is in alignment with the things that you want to accomplish. It's weights. Weights was the thing that I knew was going to change my body composition and I couldn't ignore it anymore. I couldn't do tons of cardio. I had to get uncomfortable by going into the weight room and by pushing some weight.

17:39Right? So out of all of that, you have to challenge yourself to get uncomfortable. You have to challenge yourself to be in uncomfortable moments because that's how you will gain more confidence within yourself through action. Right? Confidence is a skill set. It is something that you're obviously not born with. You develop with it over time. And if you are somebody that wants to develop more confidence within yourself, the only way you're going to be able to do that is by doing the things I'm sharing with you post my 2015 breakup.

18:13Right? All of the things that I unleashed my power within. I revealed my true self. I did it by doing things that were uncomfortable, but by giving myself more confidence. Right? It's by you going through the actions that you have to do to get more confidence within yourself. So that was a fucking long ass rant. I don't even know if it all made sense, but I felt like I walked away from my computer and I was like, damn, I don't know what the freak to talk about right now.

18:45Like, and that came to my mind when as soon as I got up, there's something in, you know, getting up and just walking away that truly means some things. But the thing that came to my mind was that fitness saved my life. And that was like, okay, how did fitness save my life? And it just goes back to 2015. And thinking about that time in my life that sucked and that we had to create a new identity for myself, that I'm so blessed that I was put up to that challenge because it is who I am today. And that's how I got to where I am today is doing the uncomfortable things and taking action.

19:19Not even thinking. You can't think about things for too long, you guys, because fear does ruminate. And the more that you think about the things that you have to do and the more that you think about how scary it is, you're wasting your time and your energy on those thoughts rather than just taking the action on those things that you know you need to do. And when you just move forward, there's no room for thought. There's no room for fear. You're already in the action. And the action is in motion. And that's how you're going to gain the confidence. That's how you're going to become that bold, strong, confident self by just doing the thing.

19:51So I don't know. I hope this podcast helped you. I hope it helped you understand a little bit more of like being okay with change. Life matters. Your life matters. You are strong. You are bold. It's inside of you somewhere. You just have to release it. And the number one way that I can say you're going to release it is by just being okay with being uncomfortable and taking action. No matter what it is towards what you want to accomplish. All right, you guys. I appreciate you listening to that. I hope it really did help you in some way or another. And I will see you on the next podcast.

20:24Peace out. 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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