Intro:
Drew: Aloha everyone and welcome to the Fit2Fat2Fit Experience Podcast, I’m your host, Drew Manning.
Lynn: And I’m your co-host, Lynn Manning.
Drew: Thank you guys so much for joining us today. We have an awesome Podcast with Heidi Powell today. Heidi Powell, the wife of Chris Powell, from the hit TV show on ABC called Extreme Weight Loss. On today’s episode we cover a lot of deep topics with her. She actually opens up about her eating disorder, on a very personal deep level. She talks about what she learned from that, how she teaches her kids healthy eating habits, because she started when she was a kid with her eating disorders. Now her daughters are around that age, we talk to her about that. Also, how she balances both a crazy busy career with her family life. We even get into talking to her about what her biggest pet peeve is with Chris, which is hilarious. You guys are going to love it when she says what her biggest pet peeve is. *laughing*
Lynn: *laughing* Heidi is so down to earth. You guys are going to love getting to know her better.
Drew: Let’s go talk with Heidi Powell.
Drew: Ok, so today we want to welcome to our Podcast Heidi Powell, the one and only. 99.9% of you guys know who she is, but I am just going to do a quick bio so you know who we are talking about. First and foremost, Heidi is a mother of four beautiful children and she is the wife to Chris Powell, who is the host of Extreme Weight Loss. Heidi co-authored Chris Powell’s second book, “Choose More, Lose More For Life”, which is a New York Times Best Seller. She has had over a decade of experience of training clients and as a coach, mother of four and manager of the family business. Which is a lot of work and I know the work she puts into it. She brings a whole new perspective and level of compassion to the Powell’s approach of helping others overcome many of life’s challenges to create effective, long lasting success. When not traveling, for those of your who don’t know, they live in Phoenix Arizona. A lot of people are surprised that we used to live in Utah, they are like, ‘Wait, your not in LA or New York?’ Same thing with you guys, they are probably surprised you live in Arizona. But first, before we get started with the questions, Heidi. I just want to let people know that we actually know you from a couple of years ago when I was on the TV show with Chris. You and Chris are one of the people we instantly felt connected to. You know, we don’t meet too many people like that, where you instantly feel connection and a level of respect. We love what you do, both you and Chris. I just want to thank you once again for being on the show.
Heidi: Thank you. I appreciate that. And honestly, it’s hard, I think you guys would agree, in this world and in this business. Because, yeah a lot of people do think we work in New York or Hollywood. It’s hard to find people with pure intentions. When we find two people, like you guys, who are here to do the same thing that we’re doing, just here to make a positive difference in the world and you are both parents and you guys balance life like we do, it’s awesome. I feel an instant connection and it’s just …. you guys are people that we never want to let go, we always want to have you in our life and we always want to do incredible things together.
Truth.
Lynn: Awe! We love you guys. *laughing* I remember telling Drew before I met you, I was like, ‘You know, man it’s hard because in this industry I feel so much disconnected from so many other people because they are not …. maybe because all they do is body building or they don’t have families and I just feel like I can’t connect with them about that balance.’ And after I met you I’m like, ‘I love her!’ *laughing* So you’re the greatest.
Heidi: I remember that lunch we went to. It was at Alyssa’s finale for Season 3. I remember you and I, Lynn, were actually talking about that same thing. You started saying something and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, like you’re not alone.’ Because I feel the same way. All of these incredible trainers on TV must eat perfectly, they must work out like everyday. They don’t have kids, like I never felt like I would be one of them. But then it was so amazing to see like what kind of a reach and what kind of connection I could create with people when I actually let them in on who I really was and what my struggles are. And Lynn, you were an inspiration to that. Hearing you say you had a hard time too, I’m like, ‘Thank you. I’m not alone in this.’ *laughing*
Lynn and Drew: *laughing*
Lynn: Oh, I’m so glad! You know what, that’s leads perfectly into one of my favorite things about you, which I definitely …. was the first thing that came up when I thought about asking you questions for the show. I wanted to talk about your ‘Perfectly Imperfect Campaign’ because I felt like that really set you apart from the industry, the industry norm of the perfect body. I’ve even seen people do these horrible posts about, ‘don’t have babies because it could ruin your body’ And here you are, a huge icon in the fitness industry and embracing and showing women to embrace their bodies and embrace their imperfections. So, why don’t you tell me a little bit about that campaign. How did it come about? What were you hoping to accomplish?
Heidi: I think it all stems from the fact that I know how imperfect I am. I honestly …. it’s been …. I guess, it’s been a lifelong struggle for me, or at least for the majority of my life. I will say, I finally feel like I am coming into my own. But to find that balance, to find …. I guess, to come to peace with and be ok with who I am, perfections and imperfections and all. A lot of my, I think we tend to shame ourselves. Like, we tend to body shame ourselves and others and think if we don’t have that perfect body, if we don’t, you know, if we’re not on TV, if we’re not this, we’re not good enough. And in reality the more we shame ourselves, truly the less valuable we become because we really are only what we say we are. The more we can accept ourselves for who we are, tell ourselves how wonderful we are, even with our imperfections, the better off we are. I have to say too, a lot of this perfectly imperfect, the people we work with on the show, they all have these dark, really difficult past and these challenges. And as we started working with them, we realized none of them felt worthy of being on the show. None of them felt worthy of having a healthy, happy life. None of them felt just felt worthy in general in life. The craziest thing is, when we actually helped them get past those dark moments, those challenges of, I guess, imperfections, for lack of a better word, or even embrace the imperfections they had, I swear to you, they become some of the most powerful people we’ve ever met in our lives. It made me realize, ok, like people that have never made mistakes in their lives, people that don’t have imperfections, or maybe say that they don’t have imperfections, aren’t living life to their fullest. They really are missing out on so much life has to offer by kind of holding up that façade and trying to make everyone around them feel like they are perfect. There is so much to be learned, for ourselves and for other people, by embracing and accepting our imperfections. Not saying that we need to focus on them and be like, ‘Hey, I’m lazy and I’m accepting it.’ No! *laughing* But I mean, a lot of imperfections we can work on and we can make them better. But when it comes to, you know, body types. We can’t …. we can change the structure of …. we can change the muscular, the muscularity of our bodies and we can decrease body fat. But for the most part, if you are pear shaped, you’re always going to have that kind of build and you know what, it’s ok. Because a pear shaped body, when healthy and happy is absolutely wonderful and beautiful. A lot of mom’s out there, with stretch marks or whatever it is, I love the mom’s that call them tiger stripes.
Lynn: Mmhmm, yeah.
Heidi: One of my really good friends is a bikini competitor as well and she actually just got her pro card and she does have stretch marks and she embraces them and loves them. What she was able to do once she started to love her body was just so beautiful to me. So perfectly imperfect to kind of circle back around, really just builds upon that. Because, like I said, too often we think we need to be perfect. I said that for so many years, which kind of contributed to an eating disorder that I had. Stepping outside of that and realizing that the imperfections really do make me exactly who I need to be, has made me so much happier.
Drew: That is so cool.
Lynn: Oh man, I love that. Going into that and talking about that, I found it so powerful, not only your Perfectly Imperfect Campaign, but I found it so powerful that you were so brave to talk about your eating disorder. That’s something that affects so many women all over the world. Statistically it touches everyone’s life. Whether its a woman herself that has it, or even men that have eating disorders, or even if it’s just somebody that they love that suffers from it. I know it’s really personal, but I love when you open up and share about this because I think it can really touch a lot of people’s lives. I wanted to know a little bit about that from you. What was the age that you started having body image issues and that you started having your eating disorder?
Lynn: You know, it is so funny because I was just telling Chris this the other night. I actually, just to kind of back track, I was always …. even years after I was beyond my eating disorder, I was so ashamed of what I had been through. Because I thought, you know what like, I ruined my body. Like there were so many things that could go through my mind. I did this, I did this, I did this, like I will never be the same because of my eating disorder. I was just so ashamed. I never wanted anyone to know. In fact, I never told Chris, you guys, after we were married, about what I had struggled with in the past because I was that ashamed of it.
Drew: Really? Wow.
Heidi: Yeah. It was Season 1, working with Rachel Oliver. It was about six months in and Rachel was struggling because her dad had caught her with some destructive eating behaviors that kind of had mimicked a lot of what I had done. It wasn’t until I saw how hurt she was and I saw how alone she felt, like she felt like no one …. like she was imperfect. She was flawed, because she was dealing with this thing that no one else in her life, she thought, had dealt with. In an effort to make her feel better, I decided to open up to Rachel. It was seeing the impact, seeing how much it helped Rachel get through her thing, not only get through it, but also feel human and feel normal. That to me, I was like, ok, ‘If I can help one person in such a huge way, I am going to swallow my pride, get over it and start sharing with people.’ The people that need it, not just go blast to the world. But when someone needs to hear, you know, sometimes the only hope that someone has, is to know that someone else has been through it and has made it past it. I wish I had someone in my life, during that period of time, that could come to me and say, ‘Heidi, guess what, I’ve been there. I know where you’re at, you are at the darkest of dark time right now. I promise you can get past it, not only can you get past it, but you can become stronger.’ I think that would have given me so much hope because I did feel alone for a good ten years. Going back to how long, how early …. gosh, as crazy as it sounds, I remember having body image issues, I was probably close to ten when I started noticing. Yeah, I remember driving to gymnastics and noticing that the seatbelt cut my stomach in an area where it had a little fold, like a skin fold. My friend that would drive with me every day was more petite than I was and I noticed she didn’t have it. I would just notice that my thighs were bigger than hers, and I was a petite little girl but I just …. I noticed these things. At the same time, I grew up in a family that was, it revolved around fitness. My dad looked like Chris, but he was five inches taller. *laughing*
Lynn and Drew: *laughing*
Drew: Poor Chris. *laughing*
Heidi: *laughing* My mom is 53 and I think she is in better shape than I am right now. We always had kind of a high standard. Image was a lot in the family I grew up in. And I’m not saying my parents did anything wrong, because they didn’t. They tried their best to raise us healthy. I remember them saying, ‘Ok, lets do no chips or candy for one year and I will pay you “x-number of dollars”.’ So we were always doing something as kids, I knew like …. in my mind I thought, ‘He doesn’t want me to look anything other than what my mom looks like.’ At an early age it was ingrained and they were into fitness so they were always …. they weren’t just setting the example, they were like, ‘Hey, come work out with me.’ Just trying to have a family time, just all of those things in my stories I created around it, definitely contributed to feeling like I wouldn’t be lovable if I wasn’t, if I didn’t look like my mom.
Lynn: Hmmm…
Drew: Yeah.
Heidi: Now, hindsight, I know that was just me creating my own story and my dad and mom would have loved me regardless. But as a child, sometimes we don’t know that and it definitely impacted the way that we parent. I will never, ever have the foods that are off limits to my kids, because I know what it did to me. Our house was like full of Snack Wells, like everything fat free! Like we could have candy and licorice because it was fat free! And it was Diet Coke everything, so it was very different. It’s very different, we do everything in moderation at our house. It’s like, ‘Hey, yeah you can have a piece of cake or a donut but guess what, your doing to eat your chicken, your rice and your vegetables first. And then once you eat that, go for it.’ And chances are the kids, when they don’t feel deprived, they are not going to feel like they need to overindulge when they leave the house. And the same with exercise, never force that on our kids, instead we lead by example, we never ask them to come outside. But 9 out of 10 times, we’re out in the garage, they are right there with us. ‘Show us how to do that!’ It’s more of a lead by example then like ‘Hey, let me tell you what you need to do different.’
Lynn: Yeah, I love that. I love that. I think as women, especially since I said so many women have experienced either themselves or a friend or a family member that’s had an eating disorder, or just even in general body image issues. I know as the mom of two girls, I constantly think about how can I help my kids, my girls, not have these body image issues. How can I help them grow up to love themselves and to love their bodies? It’s really hard, it’s that hard balance. Because like you said, even with your parents, it’s not that they did anything wrong, but I like to hear those tips of how your helping your kids do something different. If you could break down …. I know so many people actually …. when we told people you were going to be on the show, I know I had several women reach out to me and say, this is the big thing, they said, ‘Ask her what was either the biggest or a couple of the biggest things that helped her to overcome that eating disorder or those body image issues.’
Heidi: Gosh, you know what …. it’s funny because …. I did go to therapy a handful of times but I have to say that wasn’t really for me. What really helped, it was in stages for me, believe it or not. Like as far as getting rid of the destructive behavior, which some people think is overcoming it, it’s not. It’s like, I think, the first step, that for me didn’t happen until I was pregnant with my first child, with Matix. So, that was probably only ten years …. Matix is ten, almost eleven now. So it was like ten or eleven years ago, eleven years ago because I was pregnant. Because for me, that was the first wake up call I had ever had. I remember my dad actually crying to me before, which he never cried, because he was a big teddy bear, just saying, ‘Don’t ruin your body. The last thing I want is for you to be in the delivery room, having a child and have’ …. I’m going to cry now, just talking about it. I remember him just saying, ‘I don’t want you to have a heart attack in the delivery room, please be healthy.’ Even that for me wasn’t enough, until I was pregnant with a child and I knew everything I took in and took out of my body was going to impact this little being. I was creating a life form, there was a spirit, like a little spirit child inside of me. That for me was enough to never think about binging and purging again. I still think in a way, I wasn’t eating enough at the time for sure. But for me, I think the biggest, most destructive habit I felt like I had, was the binging and purging. Those habits went away, I would say, about a little over a decade ago. As far as mentally changing, like the mental shift ….
Lynn: Mmmhmm….
Heidi: As crazy as it sounds, that probably didn’t happen until I met Chris. And again, he had no idea, he had no idea about an eating disorder. I just remember him talking about, you know, we were trying to build muscle at the time and he was like, ‘Take a leap of faith.’ Because my eating habits weren’t healthy, I was coaching people on one hand saying, you need to eat 5 small meals a day. And then me, myself, I wasn’t eating until noon or 1 pm. Then I would eat my next little snack at 4 and something at 7 or 8 and that was it for the day. I was probably getting 1200 calories, which for someone that’s active, is just not enough.
Lynn: Yeah.
Heidi: I remember Chris having me take this leap of faith and he was like, ‘Just trust me. If you want your body to metabolize fat and build muscle, I want you to eat a protein shake in the morning and 2 bananas and then 3 hours later, I want you to have some chicken and some lentils and then 2 hours later .. ‘ He went through these things and I’m like, ‘Oh my’ …. I had like a mental freak out. *laughing*
Lynn and Drew: *laughing*
Heidi: What is he trying to do to me?! *laughing* He used to say, he’d be like, ‘Hey if it doesn’t work, in two weeks, you can go back to what worked for you before.’ It took me like three attempts, I remember getting to a weekend and feeling bloated from all the food, and then I went back to what I was doing for 3 months. And then finally by the third attempt, I decided to give it 2 weeks. I tried eating as consistently and healthy as I should have been eating in the first place. It really, mentally for me, it did the trick because it showed me that I could eat 1800-2000 calories a day and be thinner and have less fat than ever before. I think when I also started placing my emphasis on how fit I was and how strong I was, the emphasis on the scale totally went away. The scale for me has always been a trigger. When I start stepping on the scale too much, I start thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, a size 0 and size 1 matter, and that number on the scale matters,’ not how much I can lift. But instead, Chris, he used to say, ‘Hey, you want a nice butt, like squat. Get faster, squat, stop trying to starve yourself to get a nice butt. Trust me, when you inflate those muscles underneath the fat, the fat layers going to look a lot thinner.’ *laughing*
Lynn and Drew: *laughing*
Heidi: So I guess I would say, having more kids and focusing on strength and being beautiful, not size being beautiful, hands down, shifted my mind.
Lynn: Hmm …. I love that answer. I love that answer. I have talked to a couple of other women that I know have struggled with body image issues and it’s interesting because I think both of them, I know one of them for sure, but both of them also said the same thing. That they shifted by focusing on strength and health and they definitely had to ditch the scale, which was always a trigger for them. Focusing on being stronger and healthier and kind of just trusting the process. As they grew in their strength and their ability to perform certain exercises or lift more or squat more or do a pull up, it helped them to let go of some of the insecurities around weight. I love that.
Heidi: Yeah. You find value in something else. Instead of value in the scale, there’s value in how many burpees I can do in 7 minutes. *laughing*
Drew: *laughing* How many burpees can you do? How many can you do, Heidi?
Lynn: *laughing* How many can you do? Just kidding.
Heidi: Well, ok …. *laughing*
Drew: Ok, you can brag! You can brag a little bit.
Lynn: Wait, do you really have an answer to this?
Drew: Yes, she does.
Lynn: You do? Ok, wait, I’ve go to hear it then, I’ve got to hear it.
Heidi: Well, honestly you guys, right now I could probably do like 7 burpees because …. not really, I could do more than that!
Lynn and Drew: *laughing*
Heidi: My training has changed so much since I’ve been focusing on bodybuilding and getting ready for this show.
Drew: Yeah.
Heidi: I’ve done like one Metcon in eight weeks. It’s really crazy. I have done zero cardio in eight weeks. *laughing* I’ve just been doing like bi’s and tri’s and weird stuff like that. *laughing*
Drew: Yeah. That’s so funny. *laughing* I kind of want to jump back really quick Heidi, if you don’t mind, because I know Lynn has a bunch of questions for you. I kind of want to jump back to the place in time where you were talking about on Season 1, where you finally let Chris know. I can guess, based off of what I know of Chris, but how did he respond? If you don’t mind me asking, when you finally told him about your past?
Heidi: You know, Chris knows when there is a delicate matter. And I think at the time, I didn’t even tell him …. I never even admitted to binging and purging because there was still so much shame around that. I just kind of said, I had eating issues, is what I would call it.
Drew: Ok.
Heidi: So, Chris knew, he never asked. He just listened. He would not ask because he knew it was something for me if I had, kind of hid it from him. I hate to say the word “hide”, but I kept it from him for so many years. That’s something that I am really ashamed of and I know, I mean I definitely got emotional when I would talk about it. Honestly, it’s been something where over the years, as someone has needed help, he’s heard more and more. And I am to the point now where I’m like, I can’t even believe I used to feel that way. I remember just feeling so depressed and in such a dark place and I can’t even imagine being there anymore. So, now I can talk freely about it, but it definitely was a very slow therapeutic process, even for he and I, to become open about it.
Drew: Cool. Thank you.
Lynn: That’s awesome.
Heidi: Chris is awesome, he’s understanding. He’s like the best of the best. If you guys only knew.
Lynn: *laughing* We know.
Drew: *laughing* That’s what I love about Chris and that’s why I said I could guess how he reacted and that’s kind of how I guessed he would react. Because he is such a loving, caring guy and so I can see that for sure. Kind of shifting gears here Heidi, I want to talk to you a little bit about the pressure of being in public. Let me just tell you from my perspective, and I was talking to Chris about this, after I filmed with him a couple years ago. Do you ever feel pressure when your out in public to eat perfectly or be like, ‘Oh, that’s Heidi Powell from Extreme Weight Loss, like why is she getting ice cream.’ Or do you ever worry about that because for me personally, I’ve had those situations where Lynn has sent me to the grocery store to buy …. *laughing*
Lynn: *laughing* Ok, this is where he is going to throw me under the bus. ‘Lynn told me to get her ice cream and someone stopped me in the store!’ *laughing*
Drew: It’s happened before! I used to worry! *laughing* Or going to the movies and she …. I won’t get any soda but she will get her Diet Coke Zero or whatever and I will take a sip of hers but I’m not holding it.
Lynn: *laughing* Oh geez.
Heidi: *laughing* Oh yeah.
Drew: Nowadays I’m not like that anymore, but I used to be really bad. But I was wondering if you, especially once you were on the TV show a lot, did you ever feel that pressure out in public? ‘Oh I don’t want to eat a donut because then people might think I’m not this healthy fit person.’
Heidi: That’s a good question and hearing you guys talk about your little couple issues …. I can totally relate in so many ways. *laughing*
Lynn and Drew: *laughing*
Heidi: But I will say it’s usually …. Chris has such a sweet tooth, like he loves sweets, he loves chips. Chris is definitely way more of a foodie than I have ever been in my life. So for him, I think from the origination of our relationship, he would send me to the store and be like, ‘Ok, go get me sour cream and cheddar ruffles chips.’
Drew: *laughing*
Lynn: *laughing* Oh my gosh, those are so good.
Drew: Uh, hu. *laughing*
Heidi: And I’m totally ratting him out right now! Because he will still do the same thing! He’s a little bit better now. But he had more of an issue with people seeing him in public. He will go at the airport to grab chips and he will catch someone staring, so he will like slowly back away. *laughing*
Lynn and Drew: *laughing*
Heidi: He will take the banana instead. *laughing* I think I have a huge advantage because I was not a part of the show at first and I mean I was, I’ve always been behind the scenes. So, the public image thing for me, has been so slow. Almost to the point where I haven’t noticed it happening, but I’ve always felt ok kind of being me. Because Chris and I stay so buried in our family and our home and our computer and our peeps, we really don’t see a lot of what goes on around. Like every now and then we’ll hear people be like, ‘Oh my gosh, did you see that comment when you posted you eating that donut?’ I’m like, ‘No.’ Because I rarely focus on comments. I really do, for good reasons. Because it just kind of tears me down and so I don’t really. And I feel like also, if people know that I can truly eat what I eat, not that it’s a lot of crap. But you know, a little bit of crap mixed in to some really good, whole, natural foods, then you know what, let’s give them hope that you don’t have to have a deprivation diet to be fit and healthy. Did you guys see the post where I was eating cheesecake in New York like three weeks ago?
Drew: Yeah.
Lynn: Love it. You know I love it.
Heidi: Oh, it’s the best! Someone had commented below like, ‘Oh my gosh. This is totally for show. She really didn’t eat that. She’s just making you guys think she did.’ *laughing*
Lynn: Oh my gosh! *laughing*
Drew: Oh my gosh, that is too funny. *laughing*
Lynn: Heidi is strategically placing that cheesecake in front of her! *laughing*
Heidi: I really did eat the cheesecake. Did I eat the whole thing? No, because I couldn’t, my portion was like a third of a piece of cheesecake. So I ate a third of a piece and maybe an extra bite and that was it. I honestly like it. I like people knowing, hey, guess what? You can eat a piece of cheesecake and still be fit.
Drew: Some of my most popular posts are when I post like cheat meals. Or out here in Hawaii, which is where we are living now, I post these Malasadas, which I love. *laughing*
Lynn: Basically like delicious donuts, but better. *laughing*
Drew: Those are some of my post popular post, man. *laughing* I get so much more engagement and likes. But when I’m posting, ‘Hey, I’m eating chicken and broccoli.’ It’s like, oh yeah, well that’s expected. *laughing*
Lynn: *laughing*
Drew: Anyways, kind of shifting gears here Heidi.
Heidi: You are more relatable with the Malasada, you know?
Drew: Yeah, and I think that’s why people kind of like it is because they see me as more relatable to what they go through. Anyways, kind of shifting gears here, Heidi, going into Extreme Weight Loss, especially now that you have a more active role on the show. What do you say to the people that think your kind of like the meaner trainer of the two? Because Chris is known as the nice guy, and here he’s not Jillian Michaels and then here you are, like punching this lady …. *laughing*
Lynn: *laughing* Oh my gosh, she’s like …. ‘Ok, ok, let’s backtrack!’ *laughing* She’s not sitting there abusing the contestants.
Heidi: *laughing*
Drew: Ok, but what do you say to the people that are like, ‘Oh Heidi is like …. ‘
Heidi: Seriously. Where did these questions come from?
Drew: These are questions from Facebook. *laughing*
Lynn: *laughing*
Drew: What do you say to the people who call you the meaner trainer of the two? Are you the meaner one in the relationship?
Heidi: You know, hey if you spent a day with us in our home, or with me and Chris, you would definitely see that I am the firm one of the two parents. I am the …. I hate to say it, but I might wear the pants in the relationship.
Drew: *laughing* I can totally see that. I can totally see that.
Lynn: I love it. *laughing* I think we are symbiotical on that.
Heidi: I don’t think it’s bad. I think sometimes being, if Chris and I both were like Chris, we would get taken advantage of in every single way. We would have nothing because Chris would give the shirt off of his back and everything else. It takes a balance. I’m not saying I’m like this extreme ‘bitch’.
Drew: *laughing*
Lynn: Oh my gosh. Your not even close.
Drew: No, but I think Lynn can totally relate to what your saying right now. She’s nodding her head.
Lynn: I think because I am thinking to myself, oh my gosh. Heidi’s way nicer than I am. So, if he’s thinking your the mean one beating up people, what is he thinking about me? *laughing*
Drew: *laughing* No.
Heidi: *laughing* Our peeps on the show do say, like they say, ‘Oh, Heidi is definitely the tougher one.’ So if they have to choose a trainer for a challenge, they will choose Chris. Because they know, like they can start talking to Chris about their hip and Chris will like start talking and forget to train them and the 20 minute workout will be up. And they will be like, ‘We’re done!’ So for me, I will be like, ‘Ha, ha, ha, this is awesome, but let’s talk about it after the workout.’ For me, I definitely, they always say I have a really nice way of nodding and smiling but still making them go. I do care. I care so much about people but I am going to be what I call a super friend and when I see them doing something that they shouldn’t be doing, I am going to call them out on their crap because I feel like if I didn’t, I would be doing them a severe disservice. Like you can’t become the best possible you with someone allowing you to get away with things over and over and over and over. But guess what, if you really don’t want to transform your life, I don’t need to call you out. Just let me know and I will move on and let you do your stuff. But if you do want to transform, here’s what it takes, A, B, C, D, E, F, G. And I am going to become your best friend along the way too.
Drew: Yeah.
Heidi: But, best friends call each other out and they help each other reach their potential.
Lynn: Amen, sister.
Drew: Yeah, I think it’s a good, a great balance and I think that’s why people like the show. It’s a good balance of your personality and Chris’s personality. I love the fact that they brought you on the show.
Lynn: It’s way better. Best season yet.
Heidi: Thank you.
Drew: *laughing* So this is kind of a tough question, Heidi, but what does life look like for you guys post Extreme Weight Loss. I know right now your in Season 5 and Season 6 is coming up. Probably, a Season 7, who knows how many seasons there are going to be. What do you guys foresee life looking like after the TV is done, after Extreme Weight Loss is over.
Heidi: You know when Chris and I set back and dream about it, we’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, it will be so nice to not travel and to be home with the kids all the time.’ Because that is definitely one of the toughest parts about Extreme, the way it is, we are always in a different state, like three months of the year we are in Colorado. To have some normalcy with our family, would definitely be nice. As I tell people, we kind of created a family around the show, because we had kids after the show had already started and the format had started. And as much as we try and bring it all into one place, we just can’t. It’ll be nice, our next thing in life will definitely create a show around our family. Or whatever it is, it will be created around our family first. I would love to go back, kind of iron things out with our family, make sure everyone feels secure and safe with mom and dad. It’s kind of like in church, you do like, you always put the big rocks in first and then the sands going to fit in the jar. *laughing*
Drew: *laughing*
Heidi: Right now I feel like we have started with the sand and we are trying to fit these big rocks, the really important ones, family in it and we’re doing it but …. I don’t know how much longer we can do it for. We definitely need to empty the jar, put the rocks in first and then pour in the sand so we can fit in everything important.
Lynn: Oh man, Heidi. You know some of the posts that have really hit me the hardest and I really think this resonates with women, is with our generation so many women work. So many women have careers in our generation and I’ve seen you post before about how hard it is, you know to juggle family and your career and even some times, breaking down a little bit about that. About how, maybe some regrets or how hard it is or feeling at the moment, maybe insecure as a mom. Since it is so common for us women, including myself, to both work and have to juggle family life, how have your been able to find a balance? What has helped you to do that?
Heidi: As much as I would like to think that I’ve found a balance. I think I am constantly finding balance and I think one week I might feel like I’ve found balance and I might feel like, oh my gosh, we can do this, this is so great! And then the next week will literally like wipe me flat out on my butt. And I will be like, what in the world is going on? I feel like I’m never with my kids because even when I’m home, someone has to keep the businesses afloat. I think, the way I continually create balance, is by keeping that in mind. I think if I thought there was no issue, I would be way off balance. My kids would have no concept of who their mom is because there is this whole job, this lifestyle is pretty demanding on me. But because I am constantly thinking that, Chris and I set back and we’re like, ‘Hey, Matix needs more of your time. There’s things going on in school. I think it’s because maybe he needs more mom time.’ So Matix and I will set …. really setting dates with your kids I think is one of the most important thing you can do. Even right now, you guys can see me on Skype, people listening can’t. I’m at home, as much as I can I work from home. We have an office, but for me, if it’s computer work and I can have Ruby on my lap, I’m going to do it. Because I feel like that’s better than going to an office from 8-5, for me personally, and not seeing my kids. Especially considering all of the time that we travel. We also try to do like, if we feel like Marley needs time with us, we will take just her with us on a business trip. Or just Chris and Cash will fly somewhere together, so we try as much as we can to do one on one. When we’re in town, I do not work after the kids come home from school. I have my phone with me and if Marley is in gymnastics say, and I am sitting there watching her, I will be texting away or emailing. But I try to respect when my kids are in the car with me, I try not to be on the phone with them, but it’s still really hard. It is.
Lynn and Drew: Yeah.
Lynn: But I love what you said. I think for me, people have asked me the same question, how do you balance work and kids and all the responsibilities, you know, church and other things. For me, it’s the same thing, I think it’s always a balancing act. I think it’s always progression as you go, finding what works and what doesn’t. But I do agree with you, I think always having that in the forefront of my mind, how can I do better, how can I be better, what more can I do with my kids? That’s the best way to have improvement. But you know, it’s funny because the biggest question I got, you know, what should I ask Heidi, the biggest question I got, kind of going along with that is interesting. The biggest barrier to fitness for women, so the number one reason women do not become healthy and fit is because they say time. You know so many women feel like they don’t have time because of my career, because of my husband, because of my kids. How do you make time for your health and wellness and how do you coach your clients in order to kind of show them, your health is a priority and make time for themselves.
Heidi: You know, I think you answered it in your question. Most people come to me and they say, how do you ‘find’, they use the word ‘find’, time for fitness? My response is I don’t find time, I will never find time, I ‘make’ time for fitness. It’s true. Whether its setting your alarm clock for 30 minutes early or really taking advantage of nap time, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do and especially now with this competition we are doing. It’s hit me harder than ever because I’ve been having to devote more time for exercising in this than ever before. It does require a lot of early mornings and late nights. I understand sleep is important and you should not compromise your sleep, but at the same time, what’s waking up 15 minutes earlier? It’s not going to impact your sleep that much, it’s really not. When you want something bad enough, you find a way to make it happen. You create a way to make it happen and I know as a mom, there is a little bit of guilt when I have a babysitter watching my kids and I’m working out. There really is, especially because of how much we work. I’m sure mom’s feel the same way dropping their kids off at the kiddie care at the gym. But the reality of it is, if we are not happy and healthy ourselves, if we are not happy, healthy moms, or happy healthy Heidi, I can’t be happy healthy mom. My overall sanity does impact how well I parent, and I think a lot of moms have a really hard time grasping that. I bet if you were to ask, most of the women out there would say that they have mommy guilt taking time for themselves. But it is so important. Like when you are on an airplane, they say, when the mask drops, who do you put the oxygen mask on first?
Lynn: Amen, yourself.
Drew: Yeah.
Heidi: You put it on yourself first because if your not happy, or if your not healthy, you can’t take care of a child next to you.
Drew: Yeah, that’s one thing I always try to tell people. You need to understand, if you don’t make your health a priority, your not as good of a mom. Even though you might not think that, you might think I’m sacrificing myself for my kids, I’m sacrificing my time, my happiness for them. But ultimately, you are better you when you’re healthier and you are happier. You are a better mom, you’re a better husband, you are a better employee. It doesn’t matter, you are a better you when you focus on your health and happiness. But that doesn’t mean you need to go to the gym for 3 hours a day, it can be just giving yourself some time out of the day so that its dedicated to you, making yourself a better you.
Heidi: You had said like the people saying, I need to sacrifice myself, to the people on the show, my response to that might be a little bit controversial, it’s ,”Your just being a victim.” And it’s true because people do …. that’s their reason. That’s their golden ticket on why they are miserable and their unhappy. People will come to me and say, ‘I just can’t because of this’ and I’m like, ‘Well, how’s it working for you? Are you happy? Are you where you want to be? Like, imagine how much happier you could be and your kids could be if you were in a place where you felt good about who you were. But it does require you get rid of that victim.’
Drew: Yeah, I love that. It’s so powerful.
Heidi: You said also, it doesn’t need to be 3 hours a day. I think a lot of people don’t realize you can get a total body burn in 4 minutes doing Tabata. You guys have done Tabata?
Lynn: Oh my gosh, yes.
Drew: Of course, yes.
Heidi: Just do one small thing every day. You can’t get a sitter for your kids? You know, go outside and run with them. Go play tag, it can be fun. It doesn’t have to be torture.
Drew: Yeah. For those of you who don’t know what Tabata is, it’s 4 minutes of total exercise. 20 seconds of intense exercise, followed by 10 seconds of rest for a total of 4 minutes. That’s what Tabata is. Kind of shifting gears here again Heidi, we’ve kind of touched on the fitness competition that you and Chris are doing. I think one of the questions we have and a lot of people have is why? You guys are in such great shape, which by the way, you guys look freaking amazing in those pictures.
Lynn: Ok, seriously. You and your bikini, I was like, I have a woman crush. Woman crush going down right now. I was like, man, Heidi and her bikini, I got a crush. *laughing*
Heidi: *laughing*
Drew: And here I am eating Malasadas, while you guys are posing and I’m like, oh man. But we are just curious as to why you guys want to do this.
Heidi: You know, I have to say it all started at one of our Season 5 finales. One of the guys actually, Josh and Kelli’s episode, what got cut from the episode was them telling us that they wanted to do a physique competition. And on stage they actually asked us if we would do it with them.
Drew: Oh, ok.
Heidi: Honestly, it’s something I’ve been wanting to do for years now. Chris is like, ‘That’s ridiculous. No way.’ I know I’m not going to win a beauty pageant, I’m like a mom of 4 kids. But it would be fun to do something where I could feel beautiful, like I have accomplished something on stage. When we were challenged, we accepted right there. They haven’t accepted yet, they challenged us but they kind of backed out. For the time being, they are going to do it next year they said. But when Chris and I give our word on something, we cannot back out. I also, to us, we’re like, hey this is a testament that trainers are not always where they want to be. There is always room for improvement and growth. We have not only, I guess it’s been a wake up call to how much we have to learn. We do have trainers training us, we have coaches telling us what to eat. We have a base, we kind of said, here is what we are doing, but we don’t know everything. Coaches need coaches and it’s fun to put ourselves in a position where we are the ones being coached through something to reach a goal. Because usually we are the ones coaching people to reach their goal. So we are kind of experiencing it from the other side.
Drew: Yeah, I totally get it and that’s kind of one of the reasons I have grown and started to love CrossFit. One of the things I got from CrossFit, was that I would always have to push myself in my routine. What am I going to work out today? But going to CrossFit for me, fit with what I wanted to accomplish, because I felt like I was being coached. It’s nice to just go somewhere and be told what to do. Even as a trainer myself, I love that break and to just say, ‘Hey, tell me what today’s workout is going to be and I’m going to do it.’ And you don’t have to think about it. So I kind of understand what your talking about there.
Lynn: Speaking of Heidi saying that she wanted the experience of the other side, that kind of goes perfect with your Fit2Fat2Fit question. *laughing*
Drew: *laughing* Yeah. So Heidi, this is one of the things that I’m going to ask almost every single guest on the show, and don’t worry too much about it. I kind of want to bring in the Fit2Fat2Fit Experience, right? Because that is what people know me as. No one knows me as Drew Manning, everyone knows me as the Fit2Fat2Fit guy. So I know you’ve been pregnant four times.
Heidi: Yes.
Drew: Honestly, would you ever do a Fit2Fat2Fit Experience?
Lynn: *laughing*
Heidi: *laughing* No, I would not.
Drew: *laughing* What? I was hoping you would accept the challenge on the Podcast and you would do it! No, I’m just kidding. *laughing*
Lynn: I would never. Heidi, I would never let you do that. I would never let you do that.
Heidi: Yeah, no. We had this conversation a handful of times and my reasoning for it isn’t that I don’t want my body to grow. Because I do that every time I have babies. You know my body grows to a certain size, I put on excess fat, I do all of that. But knowing how much I know about health and fitness and how it affects my wellbeing and my mentality, I don’t think I would be willing to risk it. Not just for me but for everyone that would have to deal with me in the process.
Drew: *laughing*
Heidi: *laughing* I already have my crazy days, like I don’t know if you want to add what goes with that. And in addition, I figure I have a 100 years on this earth, if I play my cards right. And I really do know that every unhealthy decision can take away from that. And then every healthy decision can add to that. I think I would just be …. I love life so much you guys. I know this sounds ridiculous, but I never want to die. And if I could live forever I would. I’d be so scared of taking away a year, two years, or even a month or 6 months. Life is too precious. I can’t. Sorry!
Drew: Yeah. No, it’s not a serious questions, at all. It’s just something to kind of ask people if they would do it.
Lynn: What he really wants to know is what would you eat? If you were to do it.
Drew: Ok, if you were to do it, what would you eat for six months?
Heidi: What would I eat? Gosh, those things you post on Instagram, the Malasadas or whatever. I would probably like eat a lot of them. But I am like a donut fanatic, I love them. They are like my favorite thing in the whole world and they look like an amazing churro/donut.
Drew: Yes, they are. They are a fried ball of dough, rolled in sugar of course and sometimes they fill it with like chocolate or coconut or guava or mango. It’s kind of like a donut, but it’s a Portuguese donut. And I kind of grew up on those. On Christmas mornings my dad would make those for us, since we are part Portuguese.
Lynn: You know what. I am going to wrap this up in a really fun way. We totally did not prepare Heidi for this, so this makes it like really, really fun. I told you Heidi, I was going to keep you on your toes. I am not a good host.
Heidi: *laughing* This is like the time that I freeze and I am like, ‘Ah …. ah …. ah.’
Drew: You have three seconds, you have three seconds to answer.
Lynn: This is my favorite part, this is my favorite part of the show everybody.
Heidi: Ok.
Lynn: So, this is how I want to end it. I’m going to ask you four questions. They are just random, whatever questions. You have to answer them as fast as possible and with the first thing that comes to your head. And they have to be honest.
Heidi: Ok. *laughing*
Drew: *laughing*
Heidi: I’m not good at this you guys.
Drew: It’s ok. These are easy, they are pretty easy.
Lynn: First thing that comes to your head. Ok.
Heidi: Ok, give me a math question, I’ll do good. Ok, shoot.
Lynn: Favorite dessert?
Heidi: Oh, a morning bun, Starbucks. Eat it every single day.
Drew: You do? Oh wow. Ok.
Heidi: Everyday, it’s a protein shake and a morning bun.
Lynn: Biggest pet peeve you have with Chris.
Heidi: The way he chews is really loud and his passing gas.
Lynn and Drew: *laughing*
Drew: Ok, that is too funny because when I first met Chris, he was just there farting in front of everybody and I was like, ‘Dude, I just met you.’ And he’s like, ‘Oh, everybody is used to it.’ That’s so funny.
Heidi: He’s always like, ‘I’m sorry.’ I’m like your not sorry because you keep doing it.
Lynn: Ok, most embarrassing moment?
Heidi: Ok, well besides the fact that every single day as soon as I get up on my heels, I literally almost fall on my face, if I have to pick something …. No, literally guys, I look like a baby deer with these things on. And I’m telling you, I think my most embarrassing moment is to come, on stage in Colorado, August 29th. I’m convinced I’m probably going to fall in front of everybody. From my childhood, I will say, I remember when I was like 8 years old. We were doing a, like a gymnastics dance at the county fair and I started tumbling and tumbling and tumbled off the stage. I swear to you guys, I have so many embarrassing stupid things, that I’m not even embarrassed anymore. Ever.
Lynn: I totally embarrass myself all the time and I literally embarrass people around me. I will look at them like, what? I don’t get embarrassed easily either.
Heidi: If I have something embarrassing happen, I am going to share it with everybody, because it’s too funny, you know?
Lynn: Yeah, me too, me too. Ok, this is the most important question of the entire episode. Last one and most important question. I heard you watch Game of Thrones. Who is your favorite and least favorite character?
Heidi: It’s going to be so disappointing because we literally started watching Game of Thrones the night I posted about it and stopped the night I posted about it. *laughing*
Lynn and Drew: *laughing*
Lynn: My gosh, are you serious? *laughing*
Drew: So, two people. *laughing*
Lynn: So, your like, ‘That one person who was the king, I didn’t really like him. That one guy who …. ‘
Drew: Well, it takes a lot of time. Like I’ll be honest with you, it takes a lot of time to commit to a series like that. That’s why I haven’t watched it. Lynn finds time, or makes time to watch it.
Lynn: I mean, I was really waiting for you to be like, ‘Of course Khaleesi, the Mother of Dragons is my favorite Lynn.’ And I would be like, ‘Oh my gosh, me too!’ I thought we were going to bond, but alright.
Heidi: Yeah, yeah. Like every now and then Chris and I try to be like normal and we will be like, ‘You know what, let’s watch a TV show for once.’ And it happens that night and then ….
Drew: *laughing* You try to be normal. I love it, I love it. *laughing*
Lynn: You guys are too busy to be mainstream. I mean yeah, between all my crazy schedule, I don’t have time to watch the entire series of Game of Thrones, but yeah, I have totally watched every single one of those. But it’s totally fine.
Drew: Ok, well thank you Heidi. We really, really appreciate all the time you dedicated to us today on the Podcast. We appreciate you being a part of it. Where can people find you online and on social media?
Heidi: Yes. Go to HeidiPowell.net. Social media, every one of them, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, its @realHeidiPowell, super easy.
Lynn: Yeah, we will make sure to put her information, her website and some links for her social media, in the notes for the show you guys.
Heidi: Awesome. Thank you guys.
Lynn: Alright, I am going to miss you.
Heidi: Me too, you need to come to Arizona or we need to go to Hawaii.
Lynn: I was going to say, I feel like we should have figured out like a really good excuse to have done the interview here. Like we want to interview you guys, but it must be done in Hawaii.
Heidi: Ok, I think the next one, it needs to be done on a beach. You know?
Lynn: Not because we want it to, but it needs to be. Yeah.
Drew: As soon as you guys get a break in your schedule, you’ll have to let us know.
Lynn: We love you guys.
Heidi: We love you guys too.
Outro:
Drew: Thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. We hope you guys enjoyed our Podcast. Please subscribe to our Podcast on ITunes, leave a review. We actually read everybody’s review and we will comment back. We really appreciate your support. Go to Fit2Fat2Fit.com and 2Fitathome.com to sign up for our newsletters and to stay in touch with us to learn the latest and greatest of what’s going on.
Lynn: Yeah. Thanks for listening you guys and tune in next time.
Drew: Aloha.
Resources:
“Choose More, Lose More For Life” by Chris and Heidi Powell
Perfectly Imperfect Campaign
HeidiPowell.net
Extreme Weight Loss
“Episode Recap”
In this episode, we get to know Heidi Powell from Extreme Weight Loss. She opens up to us and shares on a very personal level about her past history with an eating disorder. She talks about what she learned from that history and how she teaches her children healthy eating habits. She shares the message behind her ‘Perfectly Imperfect’ Campaign and how the more we can accept ourselves for who we are, realizing that our imperfections really do make us exactly who we need to be, will make us so much happier.
“What We Learned”
Too many women shame themselves for their imperfections. We body shame if we don’t think we have that perfect body. And in reality, the more we shame ourselves, truly the less valuable we become. There is so much to be learned by embracing and accepting our imperfections.
Heidi was able to overcome her unhealthy eating habits and an eating disorder by focusing on strength and being beautiful and not focusing on her size or the number on the scale. The scale can be a very big trigger for people. Finding value in something else besides the scale can lead you to a victory.
People need to know that you don’t have to have a deprivation diet to be fit and healthy. You can truly eat a donut now and then. Just focus on really good, whole, natural foods the majority of the time.
You can not become the best possible you with someone allowing you to get away with things over and over. When you see someone doing something they shouldn’t be doing, call them out. You will be doing them a great disservice if you don’t. Good friends call each other out and help each other reach their potential.
To help create balance with work and family, try setting dates with your children. Spending one on one time with your kids is so important.
You will never “find” time to work on your health and fitness. You have to “make” time. If we are not happy and healthy ourselves, we can’t be a happy, healthy mom or wife.
“How To Take Action”
Set your alarm clock for 30 minutes earlier to exercise. You don’t need to go to the gym for 3 hours a day. Just be sure you set aside some time for just you, that’s dedicated to making yourself a better you.
Set one on one dates with your children. Go out to dinner, see a movie, go to the park and just sit and talk.
Embrace your unique self and your imperfections. The more we can tell ourselves how wonderful we are, even with our imperfections, the better off we are. Practice positive self talk.
Just do one small thing every day for your health. If you can’t get to the gym or get a sitter, go outside and run around with your kids. Play tag, take your dog for a walk, ride bikes with your family. This way you get some activity in and you are spending time with your family.
