Latest / Motherhood Alliance Podcast / How to Lose Weight the Healthy Way w/ Maria Bearson | Bearson Fit
Transcript
- Britney: Hello everyone. Welcome back to the podcast. This is Drea and Britt with motherhoodalliance.com and we are excited to welcome Maria Bearson to the podcast. She is a certified online functional health coach, a nutrition coach and the founder of Bearson Fit, where she helps women lose fat, build strength and create sustainable habits that fit into real life. Maria is known for taking a practical, tailored approach to coaching, combining evidence-based nutrition, mindset work and strength training to help women feel strong and confident without extreme dieting. Hey everyone, welcome to episode 2 with Maria. Maria, we're excited to have you back. Welcome back! Maria: Thank you so much. Britney: I appreciated hearing your story so much in episode one. So if you guys are just tuning in to episode two and you haven't listened to episode one yet, please go back and listen because Maria really told her story of how she was a bodybuilding pro and then after she ended that she gained 30 pounds pretty quickly and just felt a lot of shame around that season. And then now she's been able to get to a healthy weight and not only that but she coaches women through it. And so we covered so much in the first episode and I feel like that's a really good Maria got into the field after experiencing firsthand how confusing and extreme the fitness industry can be. I'm really excited about diving into this in episode one. So make sure you check out that episode. She became passionate about simplifying the process and teaching women how to fuel their bodies properly, move their bodies with intention and develop a healthy mindset around food. Maria is a wife and mom of two young kids. So she understands the challenges of balancing motherhood, business and personal health and wellness. base and understanding of where you've come from. And honestly, even though so many people, most people have not done bodybuilding, but maybe they've tried a diet and they've lost weight and gained weight. And it's been this like cycle and really this just like mental shame game in our heads of never feeling content and always comparing ourselves to others. And so your story is so relatable to so many people. So again, listen to that one before you're jumping into this one, but let's just continue the conversation specifically for the people who really feel like they identify. And outside of coaching, she loves strength training, spending time outdoors with her family, running the mom walk collective events and living the fun, but balanced lifestyle she teaches. We are so excited for you guys to learn from Maria today. with the overall feel of your story. There's so many diets out there and so many people tried them and they've lost weight. They've gained weight. There's different types of diets that are ⁓ right? Or ⁓ you're specifically looking for weight loss, like keto seems to be the big thing. And so how do people navigate this? I guess the first question is, is there ever a time and place for specific types of diets? Maria: Yeah. So I think let's back up a little bit because I think that we'll about mindset again, our mindset around the word diet ⁓ is important because we, it's like, it's kind putting them into this, something that they are ⁓ on ⁓ something they are off. And I think that that is the foundation of problem is that we aren't Andrea Renkas: Hmm. Maria: seeing this as a long-term solution. And it's the reason why, what is it? 97 % of diets fail because they go off of them and it's not sustainable. So the question going back to like the keto diet as an example, yes, diets work until they don't because they're going to decide that they don't want to be on keto, a keto diet for the rest of their life. and the problem is that we're blaming ourselves instead of the method. you know, it's, it becomes this like internal identity thing that we aren't capable ⁓ of in a happy, healthy body because we're not to follow through on any specific diet. And that's the, that's not the problem. The problem is that we are associating diet of being something that we are on or off versus just living in a healthy way. I'd be happy to go into specifics on the diets if you would like as well. Britney: Well, I think, I think your point, your point here is that it's really about lifestyle, right? And creating a healthy lifestyle that can be maintained for longterm. But at the same time, I know I would agree. I'm guessing you would agree with me that like whole foods and like eating healthy foods is still going to be the way. So in a way, even if you are eating healthy, you are still restricting from the things that maybe shouldn't be in your diet every single day. And so. Andrea Renkas: Yeah, well, that's great. Britney: Even if you don't have a title around the word diet, how do you still navigate this whole like, I really should limit how much I eat of this and I can eat a lot more of this. How do you mentally navigate that piece of it? Maria: Yeah, this is something that I talk with clients on on day one and that is not restricting yourself from your favorite foods. I think that that is first and foremost a very important thing. But you're also, I say that I follow the 80-20 ⁓ rule. 80 % ⁓ of diet should be coming from whole natural sources. That's your proteins. your fiber sources, your fruits, your vegetables, um, all of those things that are going to keep you satiated and full and help you just feel good. It's going to provide you with the micronutrients that you need and 20 % of your diet. This is where instead of saying, Oh, I have to limit myself or completely restrict myself from all these things. This is where the mindset changes to. Okay, now I get to, I get to, have my ice cream tonight and I get to enjoy cookies or cake with my three year old son on his birthday. Like I am never going to completely these things from my life. And I think once you start flipping the script on what you are allowing yourself, ⁓ it everything. Britney: Yeah. How, what would you say about snacking? Cause I think that that's something that a lot of people really struggle with as well. So if we're sticking, sticking specifically with, ⁓ let's just stick with the weight loss because I think a lot of people are looking for that. They're just not happy with the body that they're currently in. So when you're starting to coach somebody, you're coaching them through ⁓ and looking at themselves, maybe through a different lens, but then there's also, I mean, some changes that are maybe happening with the food that they're putting in their mouths. And so. I guess, you just give us kind of an overview of what ⁓ plan could look like for a goal of weight loss? Maria: Yeah. And this is going to be person dependent too. So I hate to say that, but everything is really custom to what the individual is going through and what they're capable of in any season of life too, right? That might change. Right now I have two kiddos at home where I'm making breakfast for them. And it's just like, my meals aren't super structured in the morning where I'm sitting down and having you know, this amazing breakfast and just have time to sit down and eat it, right? It's like, ⁓ I made breakfast for my kiddos, which was eggs and a little bit of cheese on it and some coconut oil inside and whatnot. And they just, they love that, meat it all up and a little bit of sausage. And truthfully, that's all we had this morning, which, but it's like, ⁓ another person ⁓ not be in that situation where They are waking up early and they are going to the gym and then they are riding to work where they might need to structure things a little bit differently. I would say going to snacking. I usually, I like the idea of having three balanced meals throughout the day with at least 30 grams of protein in each of those meals. In addition to that, snacks, totally fine to have. always, if it is going to be a snack, like to prioritize, again, protein, but also a fiber source or one or the other. ⁓ I find when we are snacking, it's this highly processed food that comes from a package or something like that where it's not going to be as satiating. Britney: So Maria, let's stick with the topic of weight loss here because I think a lot of people really are struggling in this arena. Where does one even start when it comes to weight loss? Maria: I think the best place to start is to take an honest account of what your day to day looks like. This could be something as like writing down on a piece of paper, all the thoughts that are going on in your mind as it relates to loss, your, your downfalls, any like, ⁓ gosh, I, I need to go for the pantry or like guilt feelings, that sort of thing. But What this does is it gives you like an honest overlook of in view of what is going on in your mind on a daily basis. I think that it develops ⁓ ⁓ what you are doing. ⁓ think also on that piece of paper, ⁓ down what you are eating ⁓ the day is wonderful place to start. If it's not something where you're like, you're tracking, anything right now, just taking a diary or a food log would be wonderful. But really like becoming aware of what it is that you are doing well and also what are your shortcomings and what do you need to actually work on ⁓ order to be able to put a plan together. Britney: I like that like 10,000 foot view almost first. Like let's just start journaling a bit. It's writing down food. Now when you say writing down food, are you saying just like loosely or are you saying like actually tracking macros? Cause I do feel like that is a huge thing where people are like, that stresses me out. That is so much more work. I have kids running around. Now I have to measure things. So like what type of tracking would be helpful to start with? Maria: Yeah, if I mean if somebody was just going to just for the day they wanted to figure out in the course of a week, I that starting there if they don't already know and they're not tracking or they haven't done anything like that before, just writing it down is a super powerful spot to start. I ⁓ I say as a coach that does help clients and they, a lot of them do track. with an app. I love the chronometer app. And the reason I say that is because you can not only when you're logging your food throughout the course of the day, once that day is over, you can actually not just look at the macronutrients, which is important, but you can also look at the micronutrient status, which no other app that I'm aware of has that. And you can look at I mean, do you know how much selenium or chromium that you have in your diet? Probably not, right? Most of us don't know. But it is something where like, if you are having cravings or constant, like you're having certain symptoms, you might be able to track it back to what you're eating. You're like, ⁓ my gosh, my energy levels are so low and I am getting almost zero B12s in my diet, like throughout the entire course of the week. That's a good thing to know. it's not like it needs to be a long-term strategy for them, but just something where they're like, okay, here's one day of what this looks like. ⁓ it can give them some good feedback. Britney: For sure. I do like that. And it at least gives you visibility into maybe some things that you didn't even realize, right? So just out of curiosity, do you encourage macro tracking long-term? Like, do you still do this for yourself today? Maria: No, so I haven't tracked macros for, probably been over a year. one of my favorite parts of helping ⁓ is they will for a short period of time track their macros or track calories and protein. ⁓ they get an idea ⁓ that gives them an idea of how many calories are in food, how much protein is in that specific food, ⁓ they're doing is they're turning over those labels and they're starting to understand overall caloric balance. ⁓ they start to get that understanding, I will present a new challenge to them, which oftentimes clients like start to get this success and they're in this happy spot where they're like, ⁓ I'm killing it and I feel really good. I will have them start to not track. And that's a whole nother mindset thing because they've gotten so used to it where now we're going to take days where we are not tracking. And it's more of a test to themselves and using their intuition a little bit, but also their knowledge of Andrea Renkas: Yeah. Maria: What they know is in that food based on the last, you know, say six months that they were working and they were actually tracking. and they're, ⁓ using that and putting that to the test and actually like creating this lifestyle out of it. Right. I think that that is very important and I never, I would never present it as a long-term solution for anyone because it is tedious and I don't think it's realistic or sustainable. Britney: You mentioned the word intuitive, which makes me think about intuitive eating is a really big phrase used now or ⁓ of nutrition. But I think a lot of people also don't trust ⁓ their and their intuition. It kind of goes back to the question we asked in episode one of like, how do you know if your body's actually craving something or if you just sounds good at the time? Right? So like, it is kind of like this. mindset thing. so with the tracking piece, you also mentioned calories. Do you feel like weight loss, the basis of weight loss is kind of that calorie in calorie out piece. And so that's a, that's part of why you're tracking is to see how many calories you're consuming and making sure that your macros are in the right ratios. And then you're also looking at the workouts that you're doing and you're kind of doing this calculation You trying to have less calories than what your set point is so that you're losing weight. Is that kind of the concept that you're, you're encouraging here? Maria: Yes. So first I'll touch on the intuitive part. So I recognized in my brain I had said intuitive when I was saying it. in addition, on top of that, understanding and the knowledge ⁓ of ⁓ what is ⁓ in food. in using that as well. So you're not just, it's not just a trust within yourself that you're just going to do the right thing. And, know, you can intuitively eat your way into obesity my opinion. but, because, ⁓ yes, I want this food and I like it, you know, but you know, you also have that knowledge part as well. So I think that that is important to talk about the calories in versus calories out. Yes. Any diet that you go on will work as long as you are in a caloric deficit. Now, how many calories somebody should eat? Like there's all these calculators out there that tell you they can spit out a number and say, this is how many calories that you can eat. And the reality is, is that is so individualized based on your genetics based on your metabolism, based on how just your overall lifestyle, the movement that you have throughout the day and even medications that you're on. This can all play a role. Another big one is ⁓ dieting history. If you have dieted, gone on the keto diet and you're drastically reducing calories or it doesn't matter any diet and you're drastically reducing calories and then you in a surplus like I was in my bodybuilding shows and then you're dieting and then surplus and if you are constantly in that phase that can sort of wreak havoc on your metabolism ⁓ and put you at a lower set point because of the dieting. yes, calories in calories out is incredibly important. Britney: How do you feel like dieting and even your experience with bodybuilding women, what does that do to our hormones? Maria: Yeah, where do I start with that? when are dieting in, if we're in the bodybuilding sense, and really, guess, ⁓ form of dieting, are naturally going to, your metabolism is going to adapt when you are dieting. And everyone talks about like, ⁓ I have, I don't have a good metabolism, or they'll talk about that, but metabolism doesn't actually really change until you're like 60s, which is crazy. But, they talk about their metabolism and it will down regulate. What, and what does that specifically mean is that you will burn less calories throughout the day when you are in a dieting phase ⁓ if you are consuming less calories. the significant that you are dieting, meaning the less calories that you are eating, the faster that your metabolism is going to adapt, which is why you do not want to be in such a caloric deficit. In order to kind of have this long-term sustainable change, you want to be just under, ⁓ I call it like the minimum effective dose where you're losing weight sustainably ⁓ a ⁓ period of time, and you are just under where your ⁓ is. Britney: What are your thoughts on intermittent fasting? Cause I know that this is a really popular thing right now. And there have been a lot of studies that show really good health benefits when it comes to, you know, your cells being able to renew themselves and things like that. But it's also been talked about a lot with weight loss. So if somebody is looking to lose weight, do you feel like this could be something that fits in? Would you consider this a diet? Is it more of like, you can, you're still make, as long as you're hitting your caloric intake, it's just really the eating window. What are your thoughts on this topic? Maria: Yeah, let's talk about that. I'm very passionate about this. So let's talk about it from a weight loss perspective. The reason why intermittent fasting works is you are shortening your eating window. So, there's a lot of research that has done been done on this, but call it, you know, six or eight hours. It doesn't matter, but you have only a certain amount of calories that you can eat during that window in the rest of the time. you are not eating. So it just naturally brings down the number of calories that you are eating, which is the reason why it works. And I say that there's been studies that have been done showing intermittent fasting, people who eat the same number of calories in that period of time versus they eat that those amount of calories over balanced, let's call it three balanced meals throughout the day. And there isn't a difference in weight loss. So really it comes down to your overall caloric balance. that works for someone and they enjoy intermittent fasting, and it's not doing anything crazy to their hormones. I would say go for it. If it works for you and your lifestyle and you like it. Yes, ⁓ a hundred I would be careful with women who are menstruating that during certain times in their cycle, it doesn't necessarily make sense for them to be in a fasting state for that period of time. And I do know that there's quite a bit of even people who are well known in the ⁓ fasting world who preach about it. They also are aligned with that, which I love to that, you know, their hormones for women are being taken into account in that state, in that case. For, ⁓ and I also that like postpartum ⁓ for, you know, breastfeeding and certain times it just doesn't, it doesn't make sense, Britney: So another thing that I often think about with weight loss is people have been trying to lose weight for a long time. So at what point, at what point, if you are coaching someone, would you say, you know, there's something more going on here and maybe they need to see someone who's maybe a functional medicine person or like something's off with their hormones or there's just like something else going on that is causing them to hold onto weight. At what point would you recommend that? Maria: Yeah, you know, if they're in a state where they've been working with me for a while and they've been in, I don't want to say a caloric deficit, but if they have reduced their calories to a specific level and they are doing all the right things, they seem to be sleeping well. They seem to be just like on track from ⁓ an overall adherence standpoint and they but they are still not losing weight. number one, I can actually read some basic labs. So like your CBC, your CMP, I always will recommend that when clients are getting blood work done to ⁓ me what to get because things like vitamin D and there's things, certain things that aren't pulled that would be very beneficial, like a full thyroid panel for women and ⁓ some different things that would be helpful. But that being said, if they are going the bathroom, meaning going number two four times throughout the day and ⁓ their are loose or like that, that would be a case where I'm like, okay, well, maybe some further might be beneficial for if they're having some digestive health issues. absolutely bring. I work with a functional doctor here in town and I would absolutely connect them if it was something that they were interested in exploring more. Britney: Okay. What would you say about genetics? when, you know, like some people are like, I've just always really been heavy. Can, could anybody become a bodybuilding pro, you know, or is it, or do genetics really play a factor in this? Maria: Yeah. So genetics do play a factor. What is the, the, ⁓ quote? It's genetics load the gun, but lifestyle pulls the trigger. And I think that that is such a powerful thing. And we talk about from a mindset perspective too, because if you are a believer and you have created this identity around not being able to lose weight and I'm always going to be this size and maybe you're not super overweight, but you still have this identity within yourself that like, ⁓ everyone in my family is this way. So I'm going to be this way too. You even ⁓ subconsciously you are going to fall into patterns that are aligned with what you think of. ⁓ what you are thinking of yourself on a subconscious level. So it is very important to understand that you have so much more power than what you probably give yourself credit for. Britney: Hmm. Well, I feel like that renews hope for people because I think there are a lot out there that are like, I'm, I'm just always going to be where I am. and, but I also, I'm not comfortable with where I am. So I love that you shared that in general, when someone is looking for weight loss, what would you say if you were to throw a percentage at it? You know, a of people are like, well, it's 80 % nutrition and 20 % workouts really, but we're going to throw the mindset piece in there because obviously you're very good at explaining that this is key. So like what percentage of this journey is really mindset? What percentage is nutrition? What percentage is the physical activity? Maria: Wow. I've never been asked this question. That's wonderful. I would argue that 60 % of weight loss, and that is a huge percentage. I know I would argue that that is 60 % is, is mindset. And the reason that I say that is that anybody who is going to sustain their results, for the long term has to be in the right mindset. And if it doesn't start there and they don't have that solid foundation of, know, I'm not going to feel guilty. I'm not going to self-sabotage for eating some ice cream. And you know what? Maybe I did eat a little bit too much last night, you know, in air quotes, but not letting that dictate what they do the next day. And instead of it being the reason that they spiral, it's the reason that they get back on track because they're in the right mindset. So I would say 60 % of that is going to be mindset. Britney: And then out of that last 40%, how much is nutrition versus workouts? Maria: I would say. 25 % nutrition and the rest of that being workouts, maybe 15%. And when I say workouts, movement is incredibly important. I mean, we could talk about the risks, like the cardiovascular risks and, you know, obesity and strokes ⁓ ⁓ list goes on and on and on with what can happen if we are in a metabolically healthy state. But so much of it is going to be nutrition and move movements important to what I think it's like, it's hard to parse it apart and say that there's, you know, a specific percentage to it. But I feel like that is a good I don't know, percentage. Britney: Well, and I know that, you know, this is all relative. So it's, it's not like this is science right here in these percentages, but I think you're making a good point of movement is healthy for our body for multiple reasons. But if you're looking for weight loss, specifically spending three hours a day in the gym is not necessarily where you're going to find that result. Right. And so a lot of it really just does come down to mindset. And I think that's where having a coach like you is so important. just so that our listeners know ⁓ is offering a free consult. Maria: Yeah, yeah. This is... Britney: Plus $100 off a 12 month coaching program for you if you're hearing her, hearing about her from this podcast. So just make sure you reach out to her if you are interested in that. Maria, what's the best way to contact you? Maria: Instagram, maria.beerson, B-E-A-R-S-O-N, or they can email me at beersonfit at gmail.com. Britney: Okay. And I know we talked briefly about your coaching program in the first episode. So if you guys didn't listen to that, make sure you go back and you can get some more details in there. But we are going to have a couple more episodes with Maria because I have a lot of questions still about just general eating, healthy eating. Like whether somebody is still trying lose weight or if they're at a healthy weight, a weight that they're happy with, how do you maintain healthy eating? Especially when you're we're all living in this like really busy parenting lifestyle. So we are going to continue to pick your brain. I also want to spend a little bit more time on mindset. because I think a lot of people have this all or nothing mindset and that really not only affects us mentally but also it affects us physically and in other ways as well. So thank you Maria for your time. We're excited to hit pause again and continue the conversation in the next episode. Maria: Thank you.