She Tried Every Diet & Failed… Until This (WarriorBabe Interview w/ Melissa)

00:00I was lugging myself around and just having no energy and hurting. You know, I would get muscle spasms in my back. I knew there had to be an answer. Like, I prayed for it. Look, you're an answer to prayer. I want you to know that. When I got into your modules, Nikkie, I started realizing this is way more than just a fitness program. Like, this whole mindset thing, it's good for my business.

00:36Hey, so today I've got Melissa with us. She is a WarriorBabe, and at the start of her journey, she thought that she was staying active, she was walking, she was playing golf, she was following different diet plans, but she didn't realize how stuck she truly was. And after years of frustration, WarriorBabe has changed everything for her. Now she's stronger, she's more confident, she's thriving like never before. She's going to be 54, right, Melissa? 54 years young? I think so, yeah.

01:06Yeah, that's right. I think so. I love that. All right, cool. Well, today we're going to dive into her story, and we're going to have you guys hear all about it. Melissa, can you share where you're from? And obviously we just said how old you were, 54 years young. But where are you from? Where are you at in the States? Uh, I'm in Louisiana. Before joining WarriorBabe, what was your internal dialogue like? Like, what were your thoughts running through your mind when it came to like your body, your health, and your fitness level? What was going on in your brain before you joined us?

01:38Well, the strange thing is I didn't really realize how bad I was till I saw a picture of myself. And I don't know. You just walk through life, and you think you're eating pretty healthy. Okay, you're getting some walking and steps in, probably more than the average person. Not really knowing what to do in the gym. So not doing a whole lot there. But, um, but just far as day to day, just not doing feeling like you're doing a terrible

02:10job. And then looking at a picture of yourself and going, Oh my gosh, I look like the Pillsbury Doe girl. Oh yeah. And, but feeling hopeless at that point, because you really don't know what to do different. You know, you just, you're doing what you're doing, but you don't know how to change it. Were there any like emotions or like struggles that you didn't fully acknowledge at that time? Like what was really going on like beneath the surface in terms of how you were feeling when you looked at that, that looked at yourself, like you joke around like the Pillsbury

02:41Doe girl, which I think is hilarious. But beneath that, what were your, what were your feelings like? Like, well, was it, it felt like that wasn't really me. Like I was looking at a picture of someone else, you know, cause I, in my, in my body, in my mind, I'm this, I'm this person that can achieve and can do well. And, and I pride myself in doing things the best that I can. And, and looking at that person in the photo, I was like, oh my, that can't be me.

03:13Right. That's not me. So really some disbelief, honestly, in, in, in that moment. And, and also some recognition that, oh, wait a minute, there's got to be a better way to do this because I'm not doing it, you know, and I thought, I thought I was. Yes. And was this a time that you were doing, you mentioned that you were doing different programs and trying different things. Like, was this at the same period of time where you noticed that or had you noticed this and you tried to get on the bandwagon of trying different things and then it wasn't working

03:46and was at the same time period? There was a, about a three year period where I did try V shred. Oh, probably three years before that I tried, um, we had something here called metabolic weight loss and I can't even remember what else, but, oh, uh, keto. I tried keto. Um, got in the books, studied them, learned a lot about the keto diet, felt like, because

04:18I had learned so much that just cause I had learned it, I felt like I could do it and I could do it right, but, and that it would help me. But that really wasn't the case. Even though I did it, it didn't really work. I thought V shred was a really good program, but it didn't, uh, when I first saw you, Nikki, I said, she's the female V shred. When I saw your videos, I was like, she's a female. Like, like I'm better than the female.

04:49I'm better than V shred though. I got to put that out there. You are. Sure. The, they, they got, they know food, they know macros, but like it, it didn't transition into this whole mindset thing. This whole, um, the way that your workouts are set out and trainerize where you just show up at the gym and your workout is in your pocket and you go, it's, they didn't, they didn't have that part figured out. Like you got it all, everything connected to where it flows and not just the part that you

05:24have it in your pocket where you can show up at the gym and go do the workout, but you're the next level. I got you. You're the next level. Oh, thank you. But, but looping back to the question, I had gotten, uh, into a car accident right after I did V shred and due to a, um, an injury in the right shoulder I had, and some other things that I had to go through. Um, I had stopped working out and I had just gotten to where I was walking and I was walking

05:55on the golf course and, um, at least three days a week, I was walking nine holes, sometimes more. I mean, I was getting my walking in. That's the part that blows my mind that I was just, it wouldn't walking be enough. Right. But I wasn't eating right, you know, and, and if you don't get the food right, then, you know, I was taking bits and pieces of what I had learned from V shred and what I had learned from keto and, and, and other things and put metabolic weight loss and putting

06:27all these together. But it wasn't the right combination to get me obviously where I needed to be. So I felt quite, and, you know, going back to that feeling, you know, question number one, and I felt helpless. It's like, okay, what do I do? You know, I feel helpless now. I'm doing all these things I think I should be doing and none of them are all terribly bad, but look at the picture. Your picture's worth a thousand words. Yep.

06:57We'll definitely have the pictures of your transformation here. Yeah. So before we dive into talking about, like you said that you were eating, you weren't eating well, or you weren't eating good, even though you're doing like all this walking, I want to, for, I want to ask this. Cause I think a lot of women are going to resonate with it because a lot of women feel this way. And maybe someone that's listening to this will have the same realization that you had, but you mentioned feeling miserable without realizing it. Can you like talk more about that realization when you finally came to the like awareness?

07:30Like, damn, I feel miserable. Um, so, you know, I actually, it took me a while to, you know, I guess I didn't realize how bad I felt until I actually, I've been in this program for 10 months and eating well and eating the right combinations of foods. And I think back and food was actually making me feel sick. Like I would eat and I would not have energy.

08:04If you'd wake up in the morning and you don't have energy and you can't get through a day of work, you have no desire to go work out because you just don't have energy. Food is, was not my friend, you know, I didn't have it right. So that's a little bit of a different answer. I did feel helpless, but I didn't realize how helpless I felt in the food area of my life. Now, when I saw the picture of myself, how bad I looked, then yeah, I, is what, what do I do to fix it?

08:38You know, I'm trying. It's not like I'm not trying. How is your confidence when you felt this way? Oh my gosh, terrible. You know, it's just, it's hard when you're tired all the time, when you can't achieve the things that you want to achieve. And it could be something as simple as just, you know, waking up and getting the things you need to do done for work. I had a lot of, I think, inflammation in my body from, from pain.

09:09But now that I look back, I realized a lot of that. It was from probably fat. I had stored in my body, you know, causing inflammation and the wrong foods. And it's just everything about the, the food affects everything in our body. If we don't, if we're not feeding it correctly. And then if we're packing on fat, we're carrying that around like a sack of horse feed. And it's hard, you know, if you're just trying to go through the simple, I got to get up and

09:47go to work movements of day. And you're carrying around a bag of horse feed all day long. I was lugging myself around and just having no energy and just hurting, you know, I would just my, I would get like muscle spasms in my back and, and I had some of it was from, from car accident, but I think some of it was just from the fact that I was so out of shape, you know, that you, it just, it's this, it's like a vicious cycle of feeling helpless in

10:21what you're trying to do in life. Just get up and go to work, you know, and do what you got to do and forget the gym. I wasn't even in the gym and I wouldn't show up in the gym if I didn't know what to do, you know, and I didn't. So, um, there's that. Okay. Okay. And this was all around what, so you joined Warrior Bay back in May of 2024, right? Is that what I saw? March. Yeah. March of 2024. And so around that time you were 53, 52, 53. And I'm fixing to be 54 this year.

10:53So. Let's go. Yeah. So this was all around that time or how, what was the timeframe? Like, was it 53, from, or were you were like, was it fifties? Was it, when was your car accident? 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

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11:57That's warriorbabe.com forward slash apply. All right, let's get back to the show. In 2020. So that would have been, I never really thought about health. So yeah, I was at the end of 2020. I'm trying to pull it together in terms of where are you, how long were you or how old you were when you were going through all of this and like trying to tie it to like, you recognize that there had to be an answer.

12:28There had to be like, you were searching for change. Even at 51 years old, like you recognize like, hey, I don't have to be this way. I don't want to accept that I have to be this way. I don't want to accept that I have to feel this way. Were you, are you done? Are you through menopause? Are you pre-menopause? I'm post, not, no, I don't know the correct term of it. I'm not done with it yet. I'm not done with it. So you're either pairing, you're going through it. I'm going through it.

12:59Okay. And then there's that. Yeah. Yeah. There's that. But that's cool that you didn't accept that you were, this is, this is just the way it is now. Like you wreck, I love that mindset. That's, that's a true warrior babe through and through. So let's talk about that. How did you find warrior babe? Like what initially drew you to the program? So your video, I think the first one I watched, I can't remember if it was YouTube or Facebook. Um, but I had already had a very tiny bit of success.

13:33Like I said, I did V shred in 2019. So that would have been the, that was coming up to right before my car accident. And I might have tried to keep going with him had I not had the car accident. Um, but that stopped me. Um, and I had to go into, you know, some rest and some recovery and, and, um, and it just,

14:04it really, the little bit of, of success I had with V shred gave me the taste that, Hey, I could do something better, you know, and it, uh, but it, but what shocked me was how quickly I lost it all. Like it was gone in that period of time from 2020 to 2024. It just, I lost every bit of the only thing I didn't lose was the thought that I could do it. You know, that there was something better and that I could do it.

14:36But from visually speaking in my body, it was just like, like a sponge, how fast I put all my weight back on. And anyway, you just hit all the markers in what you talked about that resonated with me on reasons why what you were talking about would work. So then, you know, I listened to you talk and everything you said made sense. I took all the knowledge I had gotten from everything I had learned. And I said, you know what she has puts all the pieces together.

15:08Like I have this puzzle over here, that puzzle over there, this puzzle over here. And I knew all the correct information from all those things, but I had nothing to tie it into one thing. And what you told me and what I first heard you say was, Hey, I'm going to take all those pieces and I'm going to put them together and I'm going to make them work. And then when I got to your testimonies, I was like, okay, I'm, I watched one and then two and then three and then four. And then I was like, I'm just going to watch all of them.

15:41Well, about a hundred testimonies later, I was like, I don't know if I can watch them all. So what about the stories convinced you to take the next, like to take the leap? Because if you watched a hundred of them, there had to be something that was repeating over and over and over again. Just every last one of them, most of them, it did impress me that you had girls straight out of college, you know, young girls, maybe some out of high school, but you had women

16:13all the way up to their eighties. And I'm like, you were capturing, I saw samples from every age group and I would send it, you know, one over to my daughter or I don't know if you can send those testimonies. I don't know. I probably tried. I don't know. But, uh, you know, if I saw one in my sister's age group, I would send her one. Or if I saw one in my sister-in-law's age group, I would send her one. I'm like, look, you've got to watch this. And I even sent one to my, my mother-in-law who she's in her eighties.

16:43I'm like, you gotta see this. These are women all ages that are having success here. This is not just for some little small sample group. It's helping all women. You know, and is this an American thing that we've become so confused in our education on how to, uh, take care of ourselves? Because, you know, my, my mother comes from a long generation of women who they don't, you

17:18know, that group that they don't think women should have muscles. They don't think women should work out. They should, you know, and, and that's so the, how did we get so messed up? You know, the narratives, the narratives that have trickled from decades, decades, from generations to generations. And that's a part of why Warrior Baby has been built to, to break those narratives, to break the mindset of what you ladies have carried throughout the generations.

17:48And that's why I love what you're saying. It's just like, or you said at the beginning of this before we were recording was how it's a whole like movement, uh, which is super cool to hear that. And you're not the first person to say that. And it's just reassuring that like we are doing our mission and our purpose here in the fitness space. And we want to rewrite all of the things and we're, we're on that path. So I think that's super cool to just hear that when you circling back to that though, did you, when you joined, like you took the leap, it was woman focused.

18:19Like you saw, you watched the hundred testimonials. Did you have any fears or like doubts about joining, like trusting another program after you tried the V shredder, you tried, um, the metabolic weight loss that you were mentioning. Like, did you have any fears about joining Warrior Baby? Uh, absolutely. Um, and that's why I watched a hundred testimonials because I was trying to cancel out every doubt, you know, like, like I'm going to find something in here to cancel every doubt I have. I know, I know I will.

18:50I'm just going to keep going. Um, what were the doubts? What were they? Well, financial, you know, is the first one where, you know, you don't know what it's going to cost. Am I going to be able to afford this? And then my son's voice would be in my head, mom. Um, uh, how does he say it? Uh, can you afford to do it? Can you not afford to do it? You know, what? And I, I just, I don't know if that makes sense to you, but to me, it really started to resonate. Can I not afford to do this? How did that resonate with you?

19:20Because I'm sure we would all like, I'm thinking something, but maybe it's different than how you would think it, but that would be somebody, something similar to who's listening to this. Like, where am I going to be if I don't do this? You know, because look where I am now, you know, where's, where am I going to be if I don't do this versus where would I be if I did? You know, and obviously my, my picture was telling me I was not going to be in it much better of a place. I wasn't having any, any success on my own. Um, my, my doubts were, could I do it?

19:56Like, could I commit to it? Was I, I knew if anybody had the answer you did, but could I make myself commit to do it? And would I be accountable to myself to do it? You know, those, those were the, if I had any doubts, those were them. Are you really ready to do this? You know, and, and your, your coaches, your, your first meeting, she kept asking, are you ready? You know, and I'm like, that's what I'm thinking. Am I ready?

20:27Was this, this is with coach Shelly, right? Yeah. Yeah. Well, the first meeting I think was with, um, I had her name written down, Santana, my first call. Oh yeah. All right. Yeah. Customer service. Yes. Before Shelly. Right. Santana, are you ready? I'm done. Then that's what I'm going in my head. I'm like, you took the words out of my mouth. Am I ready? Go. I am, but I was ready. I was really ready. So my point in time of readiness and your, uh, video, the first one I saw met at just

21:01the right time because I was ready and I felt helpless. I really did. Yeah. I'm so glad you made the decision and took the leap. So as you talk to Santana and as you talked to your coach, what were like your thoughts as you started the actual journey and like getting the programming and so it was a process. It was a process for me to trust a coach because I don't know what it is. And if all women are like this, but I just had so many years of, I can do it myself in my

21:32brain that it is hard to make the transition to trust a coach. And even though I made up my mind when I said, I'm ready, I'm going to trust the coach. There still was along the way, leaps of faith and having to trust the process that in that continued to build my faith in her, especially as she would come back and show me my improvements with measurements and, and, and things over time when I didn't think I needed all that.

22:06Right. I'm like, why are we, I know why we're doing it, but I don't know why we're doing it. And why do we have to do this again? You know, and then all of a sudden she would show up and show me something and I'd be like, Oh, it's working. It is working. You know, but, uh, that took time, you know, I learning to trust the coach and trust the process. Uh, I I'm 10 months into this and I would say right up into even maybe eight months ago, I was still struggling with some of that, but just trust.

22:41And just focusing on the one day at a time. And I'm going to win this day. One of those stacked on top of the other, on top of the other, on top of the other. And it's just keeps driving it home. You know, you can't, uh, you can't turn you back on the results. You can't, they're, they're, they're really, you know, they're, they're, the results are real. Hey, while you're listening, if you're getting value from this episode, take a moment to

23:13top that review button or share this podcast with a friend. It's a small gesture that goes a long way in helping more women find their way to feeling stronger and more confident in their skin. I appreciate you so much for taking the time to support this show. Let's talk about those now. So since joining the programs and joining where you're being, what, where are you now in your journey? So I am 10 months into this and you want me to just spit out a few of the numbers that yeah, of course you start, where are you now?

23:44Yeah. My, um, well, I know lean body mass is a big term, but I was down 1.54 in that, uh, weight. I'm down 15.6 pounds. My fat mass was down, uh, 4.46. My waist was down 3.8 inches. My hips are down 1.84 inches. My chest down 1.61 inches. Those are just a few of the numbers I went and grabbed.

24:16I think my waist is the most exciting one. It says 3.8 inches. But, um, my, uh, my, my strength just told me that how I feel. Um, I can't even remember the last time I wanted to take a nap. I'm like, are you kidding me? That's all I used to want to do was take naps. Wow. So your energy is so good. My energy is so much better. I mean, I might've had two or three Sundays over the last 10 months where I was like,

24:47oh, I'm going to take a nap. But it was Sunday and I'm like, that's my rest day. I'm like, I'm okay with it. But just the normal day to day, um, energy levels, or you don't realize it when you're going through it. But looking back at it, I'm like, when was the last time I wanted to take a nap? Let's go, Melissa. Like sitting here, uh, um, this is tax season for me, which is my most dreaded time of the year. And if I would be sitting here working on book work, um, previously in the last three

25:21or four years, I would have just eaten whatever. I don't know. Uh, what do you call it? Brain food, but it would make me feel sick or tired or it just totally, I really have a hard time explaining that. I don't, there's gotta be other women out there that have struggled with this because food was just not my friend. I was eating the wrong stuff. And, um, but now I'll go grab me some nutrient dense foods that fit in my macros and that I

25:51do every day. You know, I'm like, you know what? Just, just, just win the day. Just go eat what's on your, what's on your, what you've made from your own meal plan for today and let's see how it makes you feel instead of sitting around feeling sick. And do you know, I feel fine. I have my energy. I'm not happy about having to do taxes, but I'm getting them done. Yeah. God bless you for that. But let me peel back the onion with that statement around food made you feel sick and, and food was you were eating just kind of eat and, you know, mentioned that you were 15 pounds

26:24heavier at that time. And I saw that you wrote that you were eating like 2,500 calories, but you were like all over the place. Like what type of things were you choosing? Cause there's definitely women that are out there that are, you know, feel the same way. They're just eating to eat and they're choosing things that will satisfy them and get them through the day. What type, what were your food choices at that time? So anytime I, from day to day, I wasn't doing terrible. I would eat, you know, vegetables and not a terrible eater, drink a lot of water. And, um, I had a good variety of, of healthy foods.

26:55Um, I don't dislike a lot of things. So I would eat my veggies and my meats and all that. But what my biggest downfall when I would have to be like, okay, I have to go work at the desk today. So I'm going to go get a piece of gas station pizza, which is my favorite. I might drink a Dr. Pepper and eat a Snickers with it. Well, of course I'm going to be sick. It was the biggest sugar crash in the world. You know? Yeah. How'd that make you feel after having that? Yeah. Like, just like, yeah.

27:26Okay. Sure. You know, when you're 22 and you do that, it didn't make you feel so sick, but when you're 54 or 53 and you do that, well, now you've got this huge sugar crash and I've learned cortisol levels were probably off the wall. Uh, heck yeah. Did you know what cortisol was before joining warrior babe though? Were you aware of cortisol? No. Okay. I did not. I did not. And I love that part of warrior babe. And I haven't done as much with that as I intend to. Those are my next goals.

27:57That's where I love though. What you recognize, even though you mentioned earlier that like you're eight months in and you were still struggling, like recognizing that this is a journey, this is a lifestyle. This isn't like a, something that you need to be done in 30, 60 or 90 days. Like there's still habits that, you know, a lot of women have ingrained habits that they, that have been a part of their life for 50 years. You can't expect to get rid of those habits. You got to give yourself grace. Like you can't expect yourself to get rid of those habits in six months and eight months. It may take a year. And that's why a lot of women join warrior babe again for the second year or the third

28:28year, because they recognize that like, they still need the support. They still need the accountability. They have other areas that they're trying to navigate and understand. So for you, it's like the first year is like, cool. You've had amazing successes so far. You're still nailing down a bit of the consistency aspect. So the year two is like, okay, what does all this other stuff mean? You know, or more accountability, more support. So yeah, y'all have got accountability nailed down. And even when I don't think I need it, it's there. And I do need it.

28:58Man, rewiring the brain is, it's a journey. It is a journey. Yeah, it is. Yeah. It is. And the same things that worked when you were 24 are not going to work when you're 54. It's not. They don't. And you tend to, as a human, reflect back to those old things and think they'll work, but they don't. And it's. Amen. Yeah. And the women, like, you can't be following the same thing when everybody else is following

29:29or the similar, you know, a lot of women follow PDFs or they follow, they look at other people's macros and they're like, oh, I can try those macros. But it's like, they're not fit for you. So, or they're from a 25 year old or whatever you think that you did back in 25, like you're saying, you can't, it's not going to be sustainable here at 50. It's a different protocol for women that are especially going through menopause. Like it's drastically different. So talking about all these achievements, what do you feel like are your top achievements?

29:59Like, for example, you know, you've, you've mentioned a few, but like, what do you feel like really are the ones that you stick out at? Maybe outside of the numbers that we already talked about. What do you feel like are your top ones? I want to say the thing that's swirling in my mind right now is trusting my coach, being in a community and speaking in being involved in a community of other people, networking with them because we're, we're, we're like the lifestyle challenge really encouraged us

30:34to get out there and to post what was going on in our own journey. On, on your Facebook VIP Facebook page. And I didn't realize what a hermit I was like. I wasn't on there doing anything. And then when I started getting on there, I started noticing other women's journeys and their struggles and their achievements. And, and then as I'm posting mine and then they would all chirp in and give me advice. And it, I just didn't realize what that meant to me, you know, until I started doing it.

31:08And, and gosh, that was what, when was the lifestyle challenge? That was no, that ended in November. So, uh, that was March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November. That was nine months, eight or nine months into my journey. And I'm just getting involved on the Facebook page. I mean, it takes time to, to, to, to, it really takes time to get into everything that we need

31:42to support each other and to support ourselves. So I think for me, my biggest achievement, um, like the health and the fitness is like a by-product of the fact that I now have this relationship with the community and my coach that supports me going into the future. Whereas, like you said, somebody dependent on a PDF or a, uh, this Britain game plan, but no relationship.

32:13This is something I feel like that's going to propel me into the future. And, and I have something to stand on, not just this plan that'll be here today and gone tomorrow. You know, it's so much more than just a, a, a weight loss plan. I mean, this, this community across the nation, and I think you're, you've gotten out of the United States, haven't you? A few. We're so predominantly in the world. A few is just, it's incredible. It's, it's, it's so needed.

32:46And, and that I would say is my, my biggest achievement because we have kind of come into this world of thinking we can hold a phone or a computer and have companionship, but we need each other. We need our coaches. We need these babes around the world with, with the same journey and that we don't realize it, but they're going through the same journey that we're going through. They're learning the same stuff. They're in the same helpless bubble of isolation, you know, and, and this is a community that's

33:18pulling people together to sincerely help each other. And it just blows my mind when I get on there with a question and I'm talking about the Facebook page again, but that's not the only thing. I mean, I meet with Shelly once a month, um, see her face to face and, and, and, and she, she knows she's learning me. I'm learning her, but she's also helping me with the intricacies of my journey, you know, and she knows me down to a T like my shoulder was hurting yesterday or, or last week.

33:49How can we change this workout? And she's right there with me changing it, you know, or I got to travel, uh, this weekend. How can you help me change my workout? And she's right there with me. You know, you just can't get that. You cannot, you can't get that for number one. If you don't reach out and try it. Heck yeah. There's so much to unpack in that statement there, Melissa. The one of the biggest thing that I took away was the, the heartfelt comment that you made about the community and how it supported you along your way and how it's impacted your

34:22journey in such a positive way. And that you're surrounded by people that are like-minded and that are uplifting and that are encouraging you to, to, to, to keep going and keep, keep at it. Cause there's so much, there's so much potential that you still have along the rest of your journey. And that working with a coach, you said the beginning, trusting her more and leaning into her. You guys have a relationship. She knows you. She understands your body. I think that's what, um, is so incredible about having a coach and why the successes of, uh, we're able to stay with us is because.

34:54Once your coach knows you and knows your metabolism and knows your body and understands what works, understands what doesn't work or understands you have a shoulder injury. Like they know how to program things moving forward for you to personally make it something that you're going to be able to stick to rather than looking at a program and, and being like, Oh, I can't do this because I have this limitation. My coach forgot about it. Like there's a lot of programs out there that do that. Don't, don't take into account the personal aspect that is, um, is truly like the foundation of working with someone that's going to get you and, and help to propel you, propel you

35:28forward. So I love hearing, um, that that's truly so heartfelt in terms of like the coach and then also the community. How about you looking back at like your transformation? You mentioned it doesn't seem real. Like, can you describe what it looks like to look at your progress photos now? Uh, well, the photo is the most real thing. Amen. Yeah. Numbers are cool. The numbers are cool, but like, what does it look like to look at your progress photos? And I have to look at the photo from time to time just to go, Hey, look, this is, this

36:01is real in my head. I'm still working on the wiring. I love that answer. It's not an overnight thing. My neurotransmitters are still there. They're still working. I, it's taking a minute. That's hilarious. That's a hilarious answer. Okay. But if you had to put a feeling to it, what does it look like? You know, how, what does it feel like to look at that now? I, I, I do have an, a little more confidence than, than, than what I had, you know, I, I do

36:38feel like, um, I, I can, I don't know where that statement is going because still, you know, when people approach me or ask me or whatever, I'm going to share something with them, but, um, I, I do feel more confident in, in, I don't know where that's going. Oh, that's okay. That's okay. I guess it really doesn't seem real right now.

37:10Yeah. Yeah. That was one of the things I told, I told, uh, Shelly, I said, going into the new year, I don't even know how to ask this or how you're going to help me with it. I said, but I want this to start to feel more real, you know, and I don't know. I, it's kind of a weird thing really. Um, maybe it's almost surreal, you know, cause I think you work at it so hard for so long and don't get it right. And then finally, when you do feel like you're getting it right, it, there is a little bit

37:41of surreal to it. Maybe let me ask it this way. If you never made a change, where do you think you'd be today? And how does that make you feel? Oh gosh, I'd be right where I was, you know, or worse. You've come so far, you know, it's, it, you're, you're, you're 10 months in. And if you think about it like this, 10 months in with the progress that you've made, a lot of women go 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, trying to get anywhere to the similar progress

38:11that you've experienced in 10 months. That's pretty cool. So in my heart, I'd like to, I have this, like, I feel like I want to take other people with me in my heart, you know? And it's like, if I only make this journey by myself and only make myself better, I don't feel like I've done everything I want to do till I pull some people with me. You know what this video is going to do right now? It's going to pull people. And I just, it just, it just breaks my heart to see other women struggling.

38:43And there's so many things out there that you don't know what to trust. And I've even, you know, I've heard my sister say, I've watched this and that and that and this and I'm so confused and I don't know what to do and how many women do that. And, and it just, it just breaks my heart for them. And if I could tell people one thing, you know, you can trust this program and you can trust the girl that's, that started it. And that's, that's at the helm of the ship and her heart is in it for your heart.

39:14And you can trust it. You're going to make me cry. You couldn't get this far without, without having your heart. This is has her heart in it. Thank you. I appreciate that. And what's super cool is like, I feel the same way. Like one, like me, one person, but like, there's 75 other coaches. Yes. We get to, we get to pour into you guys and you're one warrior, babe, but this one warrior, babe conversation is going to get to so many people that don't know warrior, babe yet.

39:46And you could impact one life. You could impact five lives. You can impact 10 lives, but just hearing your words. And so together, God always says that you put two people together, you're going to create the biggest impact. So I think it's super cool that we're coming together and having this conversation right now. And you're being able to share your successes in this program. Um, so with that being said, like wanting to have other people hear more about this, you really wrote something that was super cool and you kind of talked about it already,

40:18but you wrote this in your, in your application. And then again, you mentioned it earlier about the money aspect. If someone's scared to invest in themselves, what advice would you give them about making their health a priority? Can you afford not to do it? I mean, my, my sister-in-law came up to me over the holidays and her knee was swollen or ankle was swollen and her body had had this whole allergic reaction to whey protein because this whole Octavia program is based on whey products.

40:49And if you eat whey products for two months and you're allergic to it, well, it's not a good thing. And I don't think she was eating five or 600 calories a day. And when I told her I was eating 1800 calories a day, she was like, what are you doing? You know? And I showed her my, my before and after photos from the lifestyle challenge. I said, look at this. I mean, it's just, I got to show you this because I don't want you to be in all the misery that you're in, you know, right now. And that breaks my heart to see you going through that.

41:20And, you know, I don't really know the answer because I know there's, you know, like in her situation, she's got children still at home and car notes to pay and all that stuff. And so in her mind, she can't see herself yet making herself a priority that way. But what I told her was, well, you know, when it's, when you get to the point where you've, you know, got all the kids lined out in their vehicles and all that, but when you, when it's time and when you're ready, you're going to do this, you know?

41:53I love that. I hope that planted a seed for her, you know, and that's just her, but she's not the only woman in my life that, that I would love to, you know, my sister, my, my, um, my own daughters, you know, my, my daughter got out of, uh, college as a dance, a competitive dancer. And, you know, she, she later told me and I, and I, I didn't realize it, but when you have worked out and competed and you have committed yourself to this lifestyle so rigorously

42:30for the four or five years that you're in college plus high school or whatever, before that she said, mom, I think I have PTSD about going to the gym because she's been so conditioned and driven. And, um, you know, I guess almost like being in the army or something, you just, her mind is, is tired of all of that. And they're not eating there. They're not eating correct, you know?

43:02And I can remember getting, walking away from high school where I had lifted weights and I was so sore. And I was like, you know what? I'm not, I don't ever want to be sore again. I don't care if I never get in a gym. I don't ever want to be sore again. Well, that led to a lot of years of not working out. But it's not, if you're not doing it right, then, then of course you're not going to like it. And, and I will say this, I told my coach, uh, we had a meeting yesterday, our monthly meeting.

43:32And I said, you know what? I just all of a sudden realized this out of the blue the other day. I haven't been sore in months. Like at first I was really sore when we first got started and, and, and for, for about two sets of workouts into it, we had our meeting and I said, we got to do something different because I can't walk, you know, like I was so sore, but we, we adjusted my diet. We adjusted, uh, she gave me some pointers on things I needed to do to help with soreness.

44:03She adjusted my workout and I kid you not, I'm in the gym. I'm pushing as much weight as I can. And I'm winded at the end of the set. Like I'm going in there working and I'm not sore. You know, it's because you're fueling your body with the nutrition that it needs. I'm fueling my body with the right food. And, and, um, and I'm only in the gym three days a week right now. And the other two days I get to go walk on the golf course if the weather permits. Um, and I'm not sore, you know, so I would love my daughter to know that there is a way

44:39to do this right where she's not afraid to go back in the gym. And I understand that feeling. Yeah. You know, well, that's the thing with your sister, with your, with your daughters, with anybody that, you know, when the time is right, change happens on one's accord. But I love when you said that, how can we not afford it? Like we afford what we want to. That's what you wrote in your application. The key is to believing that we need it and changed that. The only, the belief will come to those when they're ready. So I think that's super. And two more things.

45:11You got to know you need it. You had to know that what I was choosing was going to work. Yeah. And that's why those testimonies are so important. If I have faith in the process, which I didn't realize that that's what I was doing, but that is what I was doing. I needed faith in the process that it was going to work because in order for me to make myself a priority, I had to know that what I was going to do was going to work. So.

45:43And you said there was just two things. You said there's two things. There's one that faith in that process and that process for me included at the time, the only two things that I knew was correct eating and correct working out. Those two things had to work in order for the process to work. But what I didn't know, you know, was all the other stuff, you know, that warrior babe led me to, which was the coaching, the getting my mindset correct. The community. I didn't know all that, but what I did know going into it was I need to get my food right

46:20and I need to get my workouts right. And that's going to make this work. I didn't know all the other stuff. I love that. Actually, like, let me pick back, pick your brain on that because, you know, with the cost of our program, you're coming in thinking that you just need nutrition and workouts. Yeah. And you hear the cost of our program, but your, your mental framework is on nutrition and workouts. Yes. You come from like V shred or metabolic and things that are a little bit less expensive. Yes. Okay. So what made you say yes to, okay.

46:52Your framework is just nutrition and workouts, but like, you didn't know all of the other, maybe you did, but you didn't know the catalyst of which it could take you to in terms of mindset and the coaching and everything like that. Like what made you say yes? Well, my son had, I told you kind of earlier that my son had been trying to tell me that I needed a coach. Now he meant for my business, but I'm going to say this. When I got into your modules, Nikki, talking about atomic habits and I could go on and on

47:24through my notes and I'm only in on module tool two, lesson eight. I'm not done. Do you know how long you're, how far it goes? You got it. You got it. You're, you got, you got, you got, you got, you got, you got, you got a bit to go. Oh my gosh. I should be going through this thing the second time because I'm starting my second year, you know, in March, but my goal, right. I'm going to get busy, but so he said I needed a coach and he he's been telling me this for about three years. And, um, and I just, when I got into your modules, Nikki, I started realizing this is way

48:00more than just a fitness program. Like this whole mindset thing. It's good for my business. It's a transformation, Melissa. It's a whole transformation. It's a whole transformation. Talking about, uh, you know, habits and creating massive change. And, um, oh gosh, I could go through here and just some things in my notes. Um, oh, one of my favorite things, be addicted to long, long-term gratification.

48:33Cause everybody wants instant results. Um, but Lord, the just on and on all the notes you got. No, I'm mental endurance. I'm like, yeah. Yeah. But my, my favorite thing, the last, the last module I was in was module two, listen, seven. You said there's no finish line. That wow. If you stop, you're going to start going backwards and enjoy every step of your process.

49:07Being healthy and fit is a gift. Boy, no finish line. So my next module is three ways to apply consistency. And, um, so I was really desperate at the moment that I met you on Facebook and, um, and I, I took the leap of faith after watching a hundred testimonials. I'm so glad you did, Melissa. Truly like having you here today and hearing your story, it's so inspiring.

49:38And to know that it's going to resonate with so many women who feel stuck in their own journeys, like being, being what you just said, like you were, you were desperate. You're miserable at the beginning. You were in a place where you need to change and you knew that there was change. And then I know you said earlier that you made a prayer and then got answered by showing up worry babe on Facebook or whatever. And then you just started, you were absorbing it. You were like, I need to be ready to give me what God is about to, um, present to me so I can hold it.

50:09And so you dove into testimonials or did your research and then you dove in and said, yes. And that right there, and then now being able to share your experience, proving that it's not just about fitness. It's about the confidence, the belief, the strength. And as you mentioned, the community that's lifting you up. So I thank you for sharing your story. And, uh, as we tune out, is there one thing that you want someone to know before that? I didn't ask you today as we close it out. I want, um, every woman to know that she's worth it.

50:40That the dollar investment is a monetary amount, but it's not the only thing we're talking about here. That every woman out there is worth investing in herself and that it's going to affect every single other area of her life. Not just how good she looks in the picture she takes. Love that. That's so powerful. And, um, she won't regret it.

51:11Facts. And if you're watching this and you're listening to this and you've been inspired by Melissa's story and you're wondering if like, hey, can I do it? The answer is yes. A hundred percent. You, you just gotta be willing to put in the work as Melissa has and all the other warrior babes have. Yes. So amazing, Melissa. Well, thank you. And anyway, that's listening to this and wants to learn more about warrior babe, check out the links in the description below or warrior babe.com. But Melissa, thank you so much for your time today and sharing your story. It's been awesome to get to know you and hang out with you. And it's very inspiring.

51:41Thank you, Nikki. Real quick. If this episode resonated with you or gave you the push that you needed, I'd love for you to pay it forward. Drop a quick rating and review. Share the podcast with someone who might need it and help me keep spreading the word. Your feedback not only helps to show grow, but it might just be the nudge someone else needs to kickstart their transformation. Thank you so, so, so much for your support. Thank you.

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