Why I Was Hospitalized For Restrictive Dieting And Overtraining

00:00Real 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. I get myself on the Stairmaster, and I have like an hour-long session that I have to do.

00:33And I am exhausted. Exhausted. And so there's 10 minutes left of this session, and all of a sudden, there was the worst pain that I have ever experienced in my life shooting in my abdomen. What's up, you guys? Welcome to The WarriorBabe Show with Nikki Stott, co-founder of Warrior Babe. And on this podcast, we talk about mindset, methodologies, and tactics that will help you lose body fat, build muscle, be strong, and feel insanely confident.

01:08I am your host, Nikki Stott, and welcome to episode number 70, where I am going to share with you how I was hospitalized for restrictive dieting and overtraining. And so I just recently shared this story on my Instagram page with a before and after photo attached to the post. And in that before photo, it was just a couple of days before I landed myself into the hospital for such for restrictive dieting and overtraining. And then the after photo is today, 2023, which is, it's just, it was so crazy to look back at that before photo and then to where I am now,

01:46and to think that state of mind and what I was doing and why I was doing it at that time. So that's where I'm going to elaborate on a little bit because I think my story, even though it was competition days and it was like when I was in bodybuilding, I know from this story that I'm sure will resonate with some of you. I know because I've got, I've gotten over a hundred comments on that post on Instagram about how it did resonate.

02:16And so regardless of bodybuilding or not, there are women out there, maybe it's you that go to extremes, that push themselves in ways that is just not healthy and overtrain, restrictive diet, all of the things. And that's essentially kind of what bodybuilding is in this sense. I mean, from, you know, looking at it five years later, it's like, it's wild to think about that whole journey that people go on.

02:49And like, from my perspective, and this is my opinion, I think bodybuilding is so stupid. I do. I think that there are some amazing disciplinary actions that you learn from it. And like you, there's some reward, obviously, from that journey that you go through. But fitness in general is a way that you can learn so many disciplinary things and form such good habits that doesn't need to go to extremes like bodybuilding does.

03:22And for all of standing on stage for 20 minutes. And like, what I mean by extremes is like the ones that 100% go all in with bodybuilding and that sport and do the things to a T, which is exactly what I did. That's an extreme. And to get the type of result that you need to step on stage and win. Mind you guys, I was undefeated in my time. I went three shows undefeated and then be all the pros. Like, it was an extreme era of my life.

03:53And I am thankful for it. But at the same time, I think it's so stupid to step on stage for 20 minutes max. Yet you put your body through all of this hell for six months on end. Okay. And that's what I want to talk about today. So in that photo, if you guys do go to look at my Instagram, you will see that that before photo was a few days before I was hospitalized. And like I mentioned, with competition, man, I was training hard. Right. I was doing a super restrictive combination of up to three workouts a day. And let me tell you guys, it was working.

04:26It was working. I was lean. I was tapped in. I was strong. But you guys, man, I suffered so hard for it. And the way I suffered was not just the hospitalization, but it was, which I'm going to talk about in a second. But it was the fact of getting up for, you know, I said six months. You start prep pretty early. And at least I did to get ready and to be like dialed in. But it was upwards of like eight to like the 16 week mark where I, this is where I went too far.

05:03And I remember waking up in the morning and it was like 4.35 o'clock in the morning. And I would, I was half asleep. I'm half asleep putting my clothes on. One eye like full of sleepies. The other one's like, you know, half open trying to make sure I don't like, you know, fall for something in my apartment at the time. And grab my gym bag, grab my keys and literally like, like drag my feet down the hallway, get in the elevator, drag my feet to my car, drive to the gym, half asleep, walk in the gym and drag my feet to the stairmaster.

05:45And this is, this is one day specifically when all this happened, when I ended up in the hospital. And, and, but like I did that. I did those cardio things and I'm going to elaborate a little bit more exactly what it looked like. But I did that every day for upwards of eight to 16 weeks. Okay. Okay. And so that day, this day, I get myself on the stairmaster and I have like an hour long session that I have to do.

06:16And I am exhausted, exhausted. And so there's 10 minutes left of the session. And all of a sudden there was the worst pain that I've ever experienced in my life, shooting in my abdomen. And I was like, you know, this is what, this is what ran through my head. No joke. You know what the craziest thing is in this moment? I was doubled over on the stairmaster in this pain. I'm like, I have 10 more minutes left. I was like, I need to finish these 10 minutes.

06:47Yet I'm in the worst pain of my life. Doubled over. And I'm like, you know, step after step after step trying to get through it. And I'm like, like looking back, I'm like, this is, that was so fucking stupid. I didn't last the 10 minutes because that pain was so excruciating that I ran to the bathroom and I am in the stall of the bathroom. And I am fighting between passing out and staying conscious and passing out and staying conscious.

07:18And because I have a nursing background, I'm like, okay, let me put my head below my heart because maybe my, my brain just sees oxygen. I don't know. Like that's just a little bit. I just, I remember this so vividly, you guys. And I am, you know, I'm back and forth. And then I'm like, oh my God, in that, in that state of being back and forth, I'm like, I'm going to get sick. And I'm like, there's nothing. And it's five o'clock in the morning. I'm fasted. There's nothing in my stomach right now. I have nothing to throw up. And so I'm just sitting in the stall on the toilet, doubled over in pain.

07:51This one day, it had suddenly all of the things I had done the previous weeks and months had compounded on itself and it became way too much. And before I knew it, man, this is where I was. Trying to breathe through the literal hardest pain that I have, the worst pain that I've ever felt in my entire life. I was exhausted. I was burnt out. I was entirely malnourished. And my body had finally said enough. And so at this point, I somewhat managed to gather myself.

08:28And I walk out of the bathroom. And a friend at the time was like, are you okay? And I'm like, no. Actually, I probably was like, yeah, I'm fine. So ain't me. But actually, I think I vaguely remember being like, I was like, we need to go to the hospital. I was like, something's wrong. We need to go to the hospital. And this is where my body, like, you know, I'd say it was enough. And so we rushed to the hospital. I felt like literally, I remember like grabbing the car door, like handle.

09:04I remember grabbing that and just like sitting hunched over in my seat, doubled over in pain. Like I literally felt like my stomach was going to split open. And so this was the wild part. After they were running a bunch of tests, we discovered that it wasn't like, it wasn't appendicitis, which I thought it would be. I wasn't like this like obnoxious, like ridiculous food poisoning that I was just like, you know, being a baby about. It wasn't any like conventional cause of like, why I would have blistering abdominal pain.

09:34It was way, way, way, way, way simpler than that, which is just so crazy to think about. And once I discovered the reason, I kept asking myself, well, why didn't, like, why, why this didn't happen sooner? You know, why this didn't happen a couple of weeks ago or like a couple of months ago. And like, I, I was, I've been in the extreme this entire time. Now I knew at this point it had just like compounded over time, but like I was entirely exhausted from, I was doing you guys at this time. Let me just paint this picture of what my workout routine looked like and my nutrition looked like.

10:06At this time I was doing two cardio sessions a day. Okay. So 60 minutes in the morning, 60 minutes in the evening. I was doing six days a week, that six days a week on top of five to six days of intense strength training. So literally my day would be waking up that early, going to the gym, banging out a 60 minute faster cardio session, going back later in the day and doing my strength training workout. And then after the strength training workout, doing another 60 minute cardio session on the Stairmaster. The literal worst piece of equipment made on the face of the earth.

10:39If you know, you know. And so I was just entirely burnt out because I, I never gave my body a rest thinking that the only way to reach my peak form and to win. And then I was just going to be able to reach my peak form and to win. And I was just going to be able to reach my peak form and to win. And I was just going to be able to reach my peak form. And I was just going to be able to reach my peak form. And I was just going to be able to reach my peak form. And I was just going to be able to reach my peak form. And I was just going to be able to reach my peak form. And I was just going to be able to reach my peak form. And I was just going to be able to reach my peak form. And I was just going to be able to reach my peak form. And resonate with this. Because I know that it may not be that it's your competition that you're trying to compete. But it's like you do this to an extreme because you want X result.

11:13And so maybe you overtrain, which is exactly what I was doing. Or you undereat like I was. Like I was malnourished because I was eating way too little. After I was done competing, I actually went and looked. Because like what we did was I just followed meal plans. And I've shared this previously in podcasts. That macros aren't what got me the results. They're what sustained my results. So I'm going to share in another podcast some things around that. But macros isn't what got the results. I mean it like did.

11:44But I wasn't tracking macros at the time. I was doing this basic ass boring meal plan. No joke. Like fucking egg whites in the morning. Toast. Chicken. Rice. Broccoli. Chicken. Rice. Broccoli. Chicken. Rice. Broccoli. And then tilapia. And some freaking vegetables. Okay. So I was just literally following this meal plan. Exactly. To the T. Which is why I freaking hate meal plans now. And it is because you're so limited to that. Those specific things on that piece of paper that you get from a coach.

12:16Screw that man. There's so much more to life. The following exact. There's so much. Not just so much more to life. There's so many more options for you to choose with food. That you have available to you. But you're only limiting yourself to the specific list that you get from a trainer. Okay. Anyway. I was entirely malnourished. You guys. So when I went back and tracked to see how much food I was actually eating. Oh god. It pains me to say that I was eating like 900 calories a day.

12:47900 calories a day. And keep this in mind. Just keep this in mind right here before I share it with you exactly why I was hospitalized. I was eating 14 grams of fat a day. That's it. 14 grams. 14 grams. Let me put it in perspective for you. Is one tablespoon of olive oil. Okay. It's so crazy to think about. And I did that for upwards of like 16 weeks and 900 calories. And man.

13:18There's some people out there that go like longer than that. And go to is and do insane card and do insane training sessions on top of that. All for an X type of result when you can get the same. You don't have to. I'm going to. I'm going to. I'm going to share a little bit more on that. But anyway. Because I was so. I believe that the only way to keep my weight and keep my body composition just right. Was to continue to eat as little as possible and just enough to keep me going.

13:50So it should paint a picture in your brain. If I was like. I just need to finish these 10 minutes on the on the Stairmaster. I literally would do anything else just to keep me going. And so the actual reason that I was doubled over in pain in the hospital. 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.

14:21And 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. Remember when I said that I was only eating 14 grams of fat a day? The reason why I was doubled over in pain on the Stairmaster and then to the hospital and then running a bunch of tests was because I couldn't poop. Ladies, are you feeling frustrated with body changes you're experiencing during menopause? It's time to take control.

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15:26Visit 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. Seriously, the doctor and because I worked in the ER at this time, so I was very fortunate to have just family around me at that point, you know, all the people that I worked with. And so the doctor came in and he was like, I remember it was Dr. Clark. Shout out Dr. Clark.

15:58And he was like, Nikki, you're full of shit. And, you know, it was a nice laugh to have and like this whole thing that had unfolded during the whole day so far. Because it was like, you're full of shit, no pun intended. And because I was full of shit. Literally, the x-ray, my one whole side of my abdomen was just packed with poop. And it was overflowing now into my other side of my abdomen because there's nowhere more to go on this side that it started going over here.

16:29And so that's why I had the literal worst pain. That is the worst pain that I've ever felt. It was even worse than the kidney stone that I endured without having medication. And then I had to fight through for 24 hours. This was so sharp and just so localized in one area for like 30 minutes. Then until I was able to get to the hospital and get some pain medicine.

16:59Freaking wild. And like this, it's like a literal actual thing. I know people. I probably wouldn't have to believe it. Although I know like working at that time in the hospital, I've seen people be constipated before. But like never knew like how it happened. And it was because I wasn't eating enough. I wasn't giving my body what it needed to move everything through. Right? Fats is a huge component of your digestion and your bowel health. And when you don't have enough fat coming into your body, this is what happens.

17:32You get constipated because you don't have the macronutrient that is just so responsible to do all of this stuff internally and your hormones and all of that jazz. And I had 14 grams of it a day where like normally 60, 70 grams is like a good average for individuals. Now obviously depends, but for the individual themselves, but no joke, like 14 grams a day. And so this is why I'm telling you guys this story and why I share this story with you and why I've shared the fact that I haven't been able to poop before because of like this restrictive diet.

18:10But I've never elaborated on the entire story and like what actually happened that day. And then let me mind you, let me share what happened right after. So I had to go get Magcitrate. And I had to pump myself Magcitrate. If you guys know Magcitrate is something that, let me just say in layman terms, you want to make sure that you are next to a toilet within the next, within the 15 to 30 minutes after taking it, maybe upwards of an hour. Because you will just explode.

18:42So not to get so graphic, but no joke. And so immediately though, following that, on top of getting Magcitrate, I was like, my body needs food. And like, screw what I'm doing right now. My health became the most important thing in the moment. And like competition didn't matter. I think at this point I was, I was actually like six weeks or four weeks out from the first show that I had committed to that year, which I didn't end up doing. Because it was like a warm up show, but the bigger show is the championship.

19:16And I'm, you know, it's crazy thing. I did go through all of this, but I ended up winning the pro coming though. This is what I had to go through when I became the world champ in the women's physique division of natural bodybuilding. And so, yeah, so anyway, right after the hospital, I went to a local cafe for breakfast. And just stuffed my face with food. Pancakes, eggs, toast, hash browns, like all of the things.

19:50Syrup. And let me just tell you, man, I birthed a child. I birthed a child. Yeah, it was the biggest relief and such a great feeling after that. But anyway, look, why I tell you this is because you can restrict yourself in the short term. You guys can, and I know you, I know people have done this because obviously like I read the comments and like it was very, it resonated with a lot of people. You guys can restrict yourself in the short term and you, you may even see some like tangible results from it.

20:24But the longer that you suppress your body's natural needs, you guys, the harder you'll crash. And the faster that weight will come right back on. If I hadn't had a goal of having to compete in a couple of weeks, I guarantee you I would have spiraled out of control after that. No joke. No joke. But because I have a very, very, very strong discipline, like I am very good with self-discipline, very good with self-control. That if I didn't have that goal or that why, what I was working towards, which is so important for everybody, because that's what will anchor you back in to staying on the, staying the course, I would have spiraled.

21:06If I didn't have that why or that goal. And so I think that's very important for you to have too as well. But yeah, the longer that you do just suppress anything that your body naturally needs, like fats or rest, like you will land in the hospital. No joke. And like your body, you may have like me, I pride myself on my willpower and I have a hell of a lot of willpower. I have a hell of a lot of discipline, like I just said. But even though I have all of that and I think it will last forever, your body will eventually just shut down and it'll be like, dude, what the fuck are you doing?

21:46Like it's enough. And you do not need to take that path to get in control of your body composition for good. You do not need to eat 900 calories. You do not need to fear eating more food because look, you guys, I'm eating the most food that I've ever eaten in my life. And if you go look at that photo on my Instagram, that after photo, I am eating upwards of like 2400 calories in a day. And I am doing it four days max of strength training.

22:17And I am on no piece of equipment for cardio. I do. I focus on steps daily. And I am in the strongest physical and mental shape of my life. I have never been healthier in my life. And I have such a better relationship with balance in my life. I have crumble cookie. Like for the last three weeks, I have had crumble cookie once. And I don't fear.

22:50I don't look at food as like, you know, I don't look at food as like this. This is. I don't look at it in the scarcity mindset. I look at it as this is fuel for my body. Not just at a result level. This is fuel for my body internally to make sure that everything just functions properly. And because of that day, I look at it that way. It is such an internal healing that food does for you mentally and physically. Then it is so much more than just the results that you see on the outside.

23:23Sure, the physical is great. But the way that you feel when you feel your body the right way is priceless. And so that day literally changed my entire life. And that's where, you know, after I had been done competing and I put competing behind me. This is where really like the true journey of searching for macronutrients, understanding macronutrients and finding a path that supported and celebrated my body and still allowed me to

23:55build the physique that I had wanted and always dreamed of. This is what after that led me to where I am today. And my love for macronutrients and not looking at it as another diet. It's literally a skill set that can serve you for the rest of your life. And seeing the abundance of food that you have and the opportunities of food that you have and how you can have really, you know, whatever you want with wholesome foods in balance with also the things that you crave. And I am so thankful for that experience and that journey because the last five years of

24:33my journey have been the best yet. The first three years were rough. And I'm so thankful for what I have that that right picture that you guys will see if you go to my Instagram. Not only have I built so much muscle in that time, which was really cool to see. It's from the food that is from eating a lot of food, you guys, and from not depriving myself of what my body needed in order for me, because I always had the goal of building. You guys know, like building muscle is my thing.

25:04Building muscle is my jam. Building muscle is like what I get down with on a daily basis and what I preach to to all the women out there. And the biggest difference between that right, that left and right photo is food. And strength training. Strength training was a part of the first one, but I was overtraining in that aspect and doing way too much cardio to achieve, obviously, something that I was working towards to get on stage. But the biggest thing and why I have so much more muscle than I do from that photo and through

25:38the years of strength training is because I had food to help me get there. And I had all the good foods, man. All the good foods. Okay, so I say this because I know you guys can do this too. And I know that it resonated with you guys so much too. And some of you guys were like, can you please elaborate on this story on the podcast? So here it is. You don't have to do all those extreme things. You don't have to fear food. You don't have to live by the limiting beliefs and stories that you're playing inside of your

26:08head of what food is and why it's scary. And, you know, whatever, however you got to that limiting belief or story, it's not real. It's not true. You also don't have to go to the extremes of pushing your body to what I mean, like at a conscious level, just think about it. Like those things that I did were not healthy. And in that time, mentally, I was just so attached to a result that I didn't give a shit.

26:41And now looking back, it's like, wow, Nikki, you were so naive and silly and didn't put your health at priority. And so here I am today in 2023 saying like I have done in the last five years, put my health at priority by food, by strength training, by not overtraining, by not restricting myself. And you can do the same thing. Okay, so I hope that this story inspires you. And this is what we do inside of Warrior Babe. I have literally taken all of the mental frameworks, the training, the things that how that day changed

27:17my entire life, and what I searched for afterwards, I now have helped 15,000 plus women implement into their world. And to do it the right way, and to do it in a sustainable way, like the Warrior Babes fearlessly embrace sustainable practices. And if you're not yet a Warrior Babe, let's go, come on inside. But all in all, I hope that this podcast inspires you. I hope this podcast lets you know that you don't have to go to the extremes. You can nourish your body and your health in such an empowering way.

27:53Okay, so appreciate you guys. And I'll see you guys in the next podcast. Peace out. Hey, guys, real quick. If you're interested in taking your body to the next level, lose body fat, build more muscle, feel more confident, do it alongside one of our 30 plus professional coaches. Work one-on-one with her to eliminate all the guesswork that you may have. And all you need to do is just do the work that she tells you to do to get to those goals of yours. And to learn more, click the link below this podcast and apply to our VIP program right now.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.