For me, it was always like an all-or-nothing affair with alcohol. I’ve just never been able to casually enjoy alcohol. It’s embarrassing to admit, but that’s my truth.

Hello my friends, welcome to the fitness podcast. The question is how can badass women leaders lose stubborn fat, feel amazing in their clothes and never say no to Bikinis again? All without giving up their Fast and Furious lifestyle they work so hard for? That is the question and this podcast is the answer.

I’m your host Natalie Hayes-online Fitness Coach, US Army captain, and formally overweight healthy eater. Due to my struggles with weight for my entire life, I’ve lived through just about every face you can imagine, from running every day and emptying my wallet on organic food to Bikini competitions and having Tupperware chained to my wrist in order to lose weight while traveling around the world on army orders. The difference between me and every other coach is I understand that different phases of life require different fitness approaches.

I’m passionate about helping women feel their best. I’ve spent the past decade learning everything there is to know about permanent weight loss in women leaders.

The information on this podcast is going to give you the tools you need to lose weight without feeling hungry, helpless or alone in this process. We will help you feel connected to other remarkable leaders. They will reassure you that your fitness and life goals are indeed possible for you. Now it’s time to get after the body and life of your dreams. Put so much on the line that your best self is forced to come out.

So not only did I move to Austin, but I also committed to go one year sober. We’ll talk about why I’ve decided to do that. 

I had a great time in Germany last summer. I really didn’t drink during most of my time in Germany. Last summer, the borders had finally opened up. Me and my friends had been hanging out at our army apartments, and for the past year, I had been just working on the business a lot.

Finally, we could take advantage of our time in Europe. We went out every weekend- Greece, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Italy many times. We also visited plenty of beaches and beach clubs. We enjoyed a lot of beautiful moments with our friends on our trip. We also made new friends from different backgrounds.

Traveling was a great learning experience for me. It helped me grow beyond my boundaries. But then, I also learned a great deal by focusing and applying myself on business. You get immense value out of traveling and business. And for that reason, I won’t ever turn down an opportunity to travel for business or something similar, because I know that traveling helps in enhancing my creative process.

But anyway, I guess to really kind of drive the point home, I have to tell you about my relationship with alcohol from the beginning, especially compared to people who grow up drinking in Europe. So it’s so interesting. And Europe, you’ll go to a like a bar or literally just outside like in the courtyard, and there’ll be guys 14, 15, 16-year-olds drinking in a bar after school that’s like there, their place like you know how we had like, I don’t know, you would go like, I’m from Wisconsin, we would go to Culvers or whatever we would do after school. These kids go to a bar and they just grow up drinking. It’s really interesting because there’s not a lot of alcoholism in Europe. And there’s not a lot of like teen pregnancies or anything like that. As opposed to how I grew up in the US drinking was not allowed it really not allowed in high school at all like in my group of friends. Like you’re kind of like a loser if you drink it was just like we really demonized alcohol up until like summer after my senior year of high school when I like started drinking. And then because it was just like senior parties and whatnot and then I just started drinking a lot like it was just a flip was switched. I was either not drinking at all to drinking just when I would drink I didn’t know how to not black out I didn’t know how to control myself. Because I was just like in fun mode. Like it was like I was either in not fun mode or I was in fun mode but fun mode only lasted so long until I just like didn’t remember my dumbass decisions was throwing up so that’s how I grew up like my relationship with alcohol was like it was just such an all or nothing thing. And that just continued like that didn’t stop in college. Obviously, in college, Anything is more normalized. But binge drinking is more normalized. It’s not normalized like it is in Europe where you just like sit down and like have some drinks, at least where I went to school in Madison, Wisconsin, like, it was you drink a lot like when we, we, at least for me, like when I drank, I drank a lot. I’m such an experienced person. It’s, it’s not that I even like loved drinking, I just didn’t want to miss the experience of college. I just like I never came out of that, like I never came out of like drinking either not at all or too much. And like, into my adulthood, I would go long periods of time without having one drink like bodybuilding preps, I wouldn’t drink at all, I never really drink at home, I only drink if I’m going out. And there’s like friends, and we want to like go out, like go to a bar, or go to a club. Like if we’re trying to, like a party, I don’t really casually drink because it messes with my fitness goals. So for me, it was always like an all-or-nothing thing. And I’ve just never been able to casually enjoy alcohol. Like, it’s kind of embarrassing to say that it’s, it’s my truth. So to bring this full circle, the summer when I was in Europe, I had a lot of moments where I realized I drank way too much than I wanted to, and I swore I would never do it again. And then kind of the same thing would happen.

So I realized I really didn’t have positive control over myself when I was in those types of environments. So I decided to just give it up for a year because the main issue with my drinking was usually social situations I wanted to have fun and fit in. So I just wanted to, I want to prove to myself that I don’t need to, or it really just to see what it would look like to go out and be social without drinking. And just experience me and the environment in a different way. As I’m recording this, I’m actually eight to nine months into my journey of sobriety. And here is kind of what I’ve learned as far as being sober. So during these couple of months, I’ve been to weddings, I’ve been out in downtown Austin, I’ve been out for Halloween, where everyone around me was just Shots, shots, shots, and I just didn’t have any.

So here’s kind of how it went. And what I’ve learned. I’ve learned that nobody actually cares if I’m drinking alcohol or sparkling water and or, you know, club soda, whatever. And after a while on the slate, nobody notices. So honestly, that was always a big fear of mine what will people think? Or just like, it will be awkward. I just thought it would be awkward. If I didn’t drink I’d be the only one not drinking. And I didn’t want to draw attention to myself. And some people do ask questions. And but I found that if you just say like, No, I’m not drinking right now, or I’m just taking a break from alcohol. Most people don’t press and they’re pretty supportive of you. I always just say I’m just taking a break from alcohol right now. And people are usually really supportive.

So nobody really cares what I’m doing. Surprise, surprise, everyone else is way more concerned with themselves and what they’re doing. Number two, being sober is actually kind of fun and its own unique way. It’s just a really interesting perspective to have a sober mind and be able to witness all the interactions going on around me. It’s just interesting to have a different perspective and a sober perspective. And I really appreciate it. A third thing I’ve learned it’s, it is invaluable. The feeling to wake up, not hungover with zero questions. The feeling of waking up and not remembering what I did the night before is the worst feeling I’ve ever had. And I’ve had it many times. So to have that peace of like, having no regrets, or no questions, or just not feeling like I want to just pretend the night before didn’t happen is an amazing feeling. And I used to live with that feeling so often. And number four, it’s nice to be able to take care of others when they’ve had too much to drink instead of always being the person being taken care of. It’s fun, I enjoy it. I don’t mind being the DD because I’ve been on the receiving end of so many people taking care of me for a lot of years. So I’m really happy to pay it forward and it’s a really, actually fun feeling.

So that is kind of what I’ve learned in my you know, eight months into my year of sobriety and I’ve really again enjoyed this process. Now looking forward, am I going to stay sober forever? I want didn’t say I’m gonna stay 100% Sober forever, but I will never drink again as I did before, I could see a world in which I can enjoy a glass of wine or a beer every once in a while, like with a meal or with friends. I never want to be drunk or blackout or anything. Like I used to live every weekend ever again. There’s just no place for that in my life in my lifestyle. And that’s just how I’m moving forward with my life. So, thank you all for listening. I hope this was valuable to you. And if you’re on a sorority journey, I want you to know that you’re not alone. Shoot me a DM on Instagram so we can chat.

Hey, thank you so much for spending some time with me today, I understand time is your most valuable resource. So I’m so grateful you spent some time with me today. If you are a woman who’s looking to lose some fat, and get in better shape, there are three ways that I can help you absolutely for free today. Number one is I’d love to gift you my free ebook. This ebook is called the guide to losing your first 10 pounds and it gives you everything you need to know to just take the first couple steps towards your weight loss journey. And you can get the whole thing at Felipe ink.com. The second way I’d love to help you for free is to gift you three fat-blasting recipes per week. These are going to be easy, simple recipes you can make for the whole family that is going to taste great and allow you to reach your fat loss goals. So you can find those in our fit-to-lead community. The link will be in the show notes. And not only that, but you’ll find like-minded women in this group who you can share your wins and struggles with along this journey. Additionally, I go live in this group often to help answer any questions you may have. So it’s a completely free group. Again, join us at the link below for three free recipes a week. And the third way is simply to leave a rating and review on this podcast. The more five-star ratings and positive reviews we get on this podcast, the more helpful guests I can get on which will help you guys increase your knowledge and be able to lose weight that much faster. Additionally, I’m doing a giveaway at the end of every month. So at the end of every month, I’m picking two winners who have left reviews and ratings on the podcast and gifting them a $25 Starbucks gift card honestly, not many people are leaving reviews and ratings right now so it could be the easiest cup of coffee you ever get. So please go ahead leave me a five star rating and review and I appreciate you so much and we’ll talk to you soon.