Latest / Motherhood Alliance Podcast / From Bodybuilding to Weight Gain to Wellness: Maria's Story 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. Maria, welcome to the podcast. We're excited to have you. Maria: Thank you so much for having me. I'm happy to be here. Britney: We're going to be learning so much from you because I know that you have quite the experience with different arenas in your life when it comes to nutrition and different arenas. We're going to be starting to talk about your story because you actually were a bodybuilding pro for a while. And so let's just start from the beginning. because as you'll share throughout this episode, you've had ups and downs with your own body and your own mindset. And I'd love to take this episode to just dive into them. Cause I think so many people are going to relate to different pieces of your story. So how did you get into fitness in the first place? And then before you became a bodybuilding pro, like what was your mindset around food? How did you look at food? Did you even think about food? Did you eat whatever you wanted as a teenager? Like start at the beginning and help us understand where you came from. 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. 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. Maria: Yeah, so I guess let's roll back all the way to high school. I was fairly active in my high school years. I played basketball and volleyball and just was always out running and dabbled in a little bit of like lifting weights and that sort of thing. But it was nothing, you know, like progressive overload. It didn't know a whole lot about it. But it was something that interests me. Fast forward to college. ⁓ Same thing. I just have always loved working out and just being active. ⁓ really kind of got me into the bodybuilding world is my brother, Tony, had competed. So I got to watch him sort of go through ⁓ whole dieting phase and what is involved with bodybuilding. But it wasn't until I actually went and saw him compete and it wasn't seeing him compete. It was for the very first time seeing women up on stage back in, gosh, it might've been 2008 or 2009. And I was just like, my gosh. And it wasn't necessarily the physiques of these women that I was seeing. It was the confidence that they were just radiating on stage. And it was so, so cool to see them in that position. And I just said to myself, One day, I wanna do that. Britney: So how old were you at this time? Maria: So I would have been 18, around 18 years old. ⁓ so I guess we can ⁓ forward a little bit. I was very into, started getting more into strength training, even in college. ⁓ I to UW Madison, I dabbled in some different women's strength training classes, and even like they had... Andrea Renkas: Okay. Maria: some like restorative classes and yoga and different things like that and and just gotten more familiar with the idea of progressive overload and strength training in general and but it wasn't until 2017 where I really started to all right let's find a coach let's actually put this into action and and I started a training program and started actually at that point. That was when I started tracking, tracking macros at the time and just learning so much at that time about food and how to, you know, feel myself properly for not only workouts, but how to also like live a little bit and also, um, you know, stay on track and just what it meant to have a proper nutrition plan. But for, training for a bodybuilding show. It's just so much different than your average lifestyle, right? So it was. Andrea Renkas: How long is that training period from like when you start? Maria: So I, yeah, I prepped for six months. Andrea Renkas: Wow. Maria: So for six months, I was putting food in containers. I was tracking every single calorie I ate. I'm a type of person. I'm very social. I like to go out. I like to enjoy my cocktails. was like zero alcohol, zero. There was a time I remember in Madison, if anybody's familiar with the tornado room, it's a steakhouse, going out with some, my. boyfriend at the time was now my husband and in another couple and I brought my own containers to Tornado Room. It was that strict for me because I did not want to veer off the plan kind of afraid that I might lose progress if I do that. Andrea Renkas: Yeah. Britney: Do you feel like your mindset at the time, because you had a goal, you had something you were working toward, the nutrition was going to dictate how you did there, do you feel like that was hard for you at the time, or was it pretty easy? Maria: hard in the sense that like, yes, I'm weighing it. It's all consuming. what thought about every single ⁓ minute the day for six months, which ended up being seven months because I won my pro card and continued on after that for a little bit. and so in that sense, but not hard in the sense of it's all or nothing. Right? So this, is the reason I became a coach is because I did not do so well after, after my shows when that goal was over. but during that time when I was, you know, just hyper focused on the goal, that was pretty easy for me. it was after the fact that I kind of spiral. Britney: many shows did you do? like what was the total time frame that you were doing a show and then maybe taking a break and doing a show and you got your pro card so then were there more shows after that? So what was your total time frame of like living in this? Maria: Yeah. the month or the timeframe itself, I started prepping in the fall of 2017 and I, um, it was six months before my first show that I had, and it was, uh, what's called an OCD bodybuilding show. It's just one of the many federations. It's a natural bodybuilding show, um, that are out there. And then the second one was three weeks later. that was the ⁓ is what that was called. And then I in order to win the show so I say ⁓ I got my pro card but anybody who's not familiar with bodybuilding probably doesn't know so you have to win ⁓ your class which is ⁓ of women it's your height so it's short medium and tall ⁓ and there be up to you know 20 people in ⁓ one class And then the short, medium, and tall winners all compete against each other for the single pro card. So that's how you win the pro card. So I did that both in the WNVF and then I did that again in the OCB show. I had gotten a call from someone few weeks after that that said, would you be willing to compete in ⁓ at pro level for, for ⁓ at a pro show? And I said, ⁓ like it took me a while to yes to it because I knew that I would have to compete for a while and ⁓ had these concerts lined up and all these things going on that I was like, ⁓ my gosh, I'm going to have to be in for another month. But I did and I actually I won that show as well. Andrea Renkas: It's amazing. Britney: Cool. I'm sure that was an incredible experience. So you did that show. And so how did your mindset shift change? Were you like, okay, now I can eat whatever I want finally. And I can, I don't have these restrictions. so like, tell us about how did everything change? I'm sure your workouts were very strict, ⁓ hours in the gym before that. Now you can go back to a lifestyle of whatever you want. So tell us about that journey. Maria: Yeah. So I feel like this is the most important part of the conversation and where I need to get so real because when I think back of that, mean, bodybuild, it was such an incredible part of my journey and my life and everyone was coming over and complimenting me. And it's like, it's so much hard work and discipline and all these things. And then I have my last show and But leading up to that months before I stopped, I was messaging my coach and I was just like, but can we talk about what happens after the fact? Because I'm so nervous. I'm so nervous. I'm just going to gain all this weight back and I don't know what to do. I'm very much type A type person. I'm looking ahead and I just, I want to see the future and know what the plan is and have everything dialed in. And my coach, unfortunately at the time was just like, no, we don't need to worry about that. Let's just think about that after the fact. And it's something that I just like weighs on me so heavily because I knew that I needed more support than what I was getting at the time. So after the fact, it was like almost instantly where I didn't have this goal and I was like, okay, well I'm going to eat this cheeseburger now and I'm going to eat the fries. And then you know what? I am so hungry because I'm at 8 % body fat. I have like nothing left on me, which is not sustainable. Right. I am so hungry and my hormones are tanked and just craving things all the time. And it was just like, I had this insatiable hunger. And I would, I'm going to say like, I didn't have like a binge eating disorder, but I was, I was binge eating a lot. And I mean, I would have like some cereal and then I would have some more and then I would like go get ice cream later. And then it was just constant. Um, and I felt so shameful, so guilty. I gained, um, 30 within ⁓ ⁓ only 5'2 and I gained ⁓ of the weight back plus some and it was ⁓ body fat because I had consumed so many calories in a very short period of time. So you can imagine, you know, working so hard for six months, getting all these compliments and then going through ⁓ And that was really like just the hardest part of my life at the time. Britney: Did your coach provide any guidance during this season or was it like, ⁓ you're done bodybuilding. So we're not working together anymore. Maria: she did, but it wasn't the right type of support. ⁓ And this is why ⁓ I started coaching, I like, I, I started to figure it after while, right? But I, I knew that I needed something in, in mindset. I know that mindset is so important as it relates to ⁓ fat loss. to how you feel about yourself to, you know, speaking kind words to yourself and all these things. And I had none of it at the time and just that I needed to get that. And once I started doing that for myself, also getting certified in mindset coaching, that really ⁓ what things for me. is understanding the language that needs to be said to clients to be able to have lasting change. so they are speaking more positively to themselves. they're not, you know, like they can catch themselves early if they're going to the pantry and just like taking a step back and asking themselves some questions and just doing some internal reflection. And I never, I didn't have that type of support, unfortunately. And like, Andrea Renkas: Thanks. Maria: I don't blame anyone, know, if you're not certified in that or you don't, ⁓ if you just don't know that person was doing the best that they could at the time. So I don't, I don't want to, you know, ⁓ say bad things about that coach or anything, but it was just, I didn't have what I needed at the time. Britney: You you talked though about how your body was almost in like starvation mode from going through that experience of having the strict diet and high workout plan and stuff. So I think this is a common question a lot of people struggle with is how do you recognize emotional eating and just kind of in your case, like the freedom to have what you want versus like your body's actually saying, no, we are starving and we need this nutrition, eat more please. So how do you, how do people navigate with that mindset wise but also understanding the triggers that their bodies are actually physically sending them. Maria: Yeah, I think in order to answer that question, you really need to back up and look at the individual and ask them, you know, are you eating mostly whole foods throughout your day? And like, what is your diet comprised of? And how did like, how is it structured throughout your day? I mean, are you are you trying to fast all day and then you're so hungry and then in the evening that you just eat, you know, 2000 calories worth of food? in one sitting. So I think it's hard to answer it without understanding they're currently eating and how their looks. With that said, if they ⁓ are eating whole foods and they're prioritizing protein, they're getting fiber sources in, and all of that, and they're still having cravings, there may be some deeper layers and deeper things that we need to dive into in that case. And this is one thing not to get like too into coaching, but I think it's so important to ⁓ additional things like how are your stress levels? ⁓ there a trigger that happened with that? That's like a mindset thing. Also digestion. Are going poop every single day? This is something that's very important in how ⁓ How do those look? ⁓ Because if you aren't the nutrients that you're eating, even though you're eating very clean, if you're not absorbing them, then there's an issue that we need to look further into. Britney: at this point in your story, ⁓ had gained that extra 30 pounds, you were having a lot of shame. Then what? Maria: Yeah. Um, I started YouTube thing things and looking up different things. And this is actually something I don't talk a lot about, but I, again, I think it's very important as I started just doing my own research on how to get myself out of where I was. And, you know, I mean, I'm literally like typing in how to stop binge eating after dieting shows or you know, mean just like as basic as it comes. And that's, that's one thing where I think like there's so much information out there. That's it. It can be a good thing. It can be a bad thing, but it can also be a wonderful thing too. If you are using it in the, in the right way that feels good for your nervous system, I would say, you know, if it feels good to you and it helps you then That's a wonderful thing, you know, if it feels aligned with you and your energy. Britney: At this point, what were you doing for workouts? Did you kind of give up on them? Were you still doing average person strength workouts? Were you still lifting heavy? Maria: Yeah, I was still lifting heavy. wasn't ⁓ structured I was in such a hard spot at the time, like right after my shows. I will say too with the heap of hormone shifts that were happening, not only due to the ⁓ surplus calories and the increased blood sugar. mean, my blood sugar was always all ⁓ over place and ⁓ just everything that was going on at the time, I would get in very intense migraines, the worst that, mean, I don't really deal with those, but at the time for like three weeks, I remember it was the worst migraines I have ever had in my life where I would just be sitting on the gym floor and I would text my boyfriend at the time saying, if I end up in the hospital, I just want you to know this is what I'm experiencing right now and I just have to sit and lay there and it just so debilitating. So ⁓ it hard to stick to ⁓ a like workouts at the time because of mindset and because of shame and guilt because of where I was at. Britney: So how long did you sit in this season before you were able to start making mindset shifts for yourself and find a healthy weight? So let's go into like the next part of your story of how did you go from this extra 30 pounds to now feeling healthy? How long were you there? And then like, what was the tipping point for you? Maria: Yeah, you know, I was probably in this bad for, I would like at least six, ⁓ six months. It was but then it was like, I would start to have these little wins where I would get, you know, there were four days where I got ⁓ four days workouts in and ⁓ I ⁓ able be consistent with my nutrition and it was mostly whole foods and I didn't stop to get fast food, which by the way was never something that I did until after my shows. It was just crazy. And I started tracking the tiniest things that I would do throughout the week, which I think is such a great takeaway for people who are looking to just get started somewhere is to give yourself credit for the things that you are doing. Andrea Renkas: Hmm. Maria: because there's always going to be more that we can be doing. But to give yourself credit for the things that you are doing throughout your week that are putting you in the positive direction. And that's what I started doing. mean, whether it was drinking 100 ounces of water or, you know, again, like not going through the drive-through this week and eating mostly whole foods and all those things. Britney: Yeah, I love that. Were you tracking your macros still at this time? Maria: no, because it was very difficult for me to go to a place where I was weighing every ounce of food. and, but I say once I started to get back on track and started feeling better with myself, I hire another coach I thought that that accountability was just so important for me. I was already at a decent spot at the time, but I hired another coach because I was actually considering doing another bodybuilding show, which I didn't end up doing and I'm so thankful for, but she helped me to get everything to be more consistent in my day to day. Britney: Okay, so you're saying that you started just finding these little wins every day and kind of baby steps back toward health, right? But so when did you kind of discover mindset coaching for yourself? Was it through this coach that you worked with or is this something that through your research you kind of discovered and was like, ⁓ my gosh, I think maybe it's not necessarily my workouts or fully my nutrition. It's actually my mindset. When did you kind of discover this shift? Maria: I always knew that, I mean, mindset played a huge role and I knew that I was one that was doing the self-sabotage ⁓ that everything that I was doing was because of how ⁓ perceived myself. ⁓ So I knew that, but I didn't ⁓ into or find the coach that I was really interested in what she to offer until Andrea Renkas: Mm-hmm. Maria: 2020. So that happened in 2018 when I was competing and did all of that. And then it wasn't until 2020 that I got certified in the mindset coaching. Britney: Okay, so at this point, you hired this coach, you said you were kind of already in a decent mindset and path, but then you hired this coach. And so what do you feel like the balance was for you to figure out what your, how do you know what your healthy set point is for your body? Like if people are just, they're just uncomfortable, but they're also like, I can't lose weight and I feel like my body is stuck here and I feel like it's genetics. versus this is what I crave and society puts a lot of pressure on what we think we should look like. So like what is a healthy goal when somebody is trying to lose weight to set to know that is where their body's like happy place is, the like percentage of body fat or things like that. Like how did you know what your goal should be since you had been on such an extreme in the past? Maria: Yeah, I think that's a good question. And you know, again, I, I, I said that I was at 8 % body fat. I knew that that was so unrealistic longterm for me. I just knew based on my activity levels and my dieting history and just how I feel comfortable within myself that, you know, around that I would say, anywhere between 16 to 20 % body fat would be in hopefully for me at the time, because I wasn't looking to bear children at the time. And there's all sorts of things that really play a role in where you should be at body fat wise and also what your bot how your body responds to that too. But for me personally, I felt most comfortable between that 16 to 20 % where it was like, Yes, now I can go out and enjoy a Friday night fish fry and I can do this stuff. And I can also, you know, ⁓ for me, it's so important to have calories as high as possible while still being happy, ⁓ you know, in your, in your current body. And it's like, to think we're always in this dieting mindset. And I think it's, it's a place that I try to get clients out of because It's just a natural thing that society tells us we need to be eating less and doing more and weighing less and like pulling back and asking yourself, like, does that make you happy though? Like, yes, you're, you're at the lowest weight and ⁓ leanest you've ever been, but are you, are you happy restricting yourself so much ⁓ that level? And are you willing to sacrifice that? And I think it's like, it's a question to ⁓ anyone. that is looking to lose the weight is why, number one, is this an internal thing where you're going to feel more confident and happy with yourself? are ⁓ instead focusing on the weight loss, shifting that to what current habits ⁓ do have in your life right now that you aren't happy with? What are you currently doing that... you don't enjoy about yourself because that is ultimately where we need to start, not, Hey, let's see if we can weigh less because that's, mean, there's many ways that we can weigh less on the scale. could stop lifting weights and lose muscle and weigh less on the scale if you wanted, you know, you could start yourself of water for a few days and probably, you know, go down for a little bit, ⁓ you know, and not have salt in your diet, which I don't recommend by the way, but. Britney: Right. Andrea Renkas: you Maria: ⁓ And there's all sorts of things that we could do to manipulate the scale. Britney: Yeah. Well, we're going to save diving more into the details and FAQs of weight loss for another episode. But now to kind of fast forward, now you're a coach, right? And so why don't you tell us a little bit about what your coaching looks like for somebody who is maybe struggling with something like this in their season of life. Maria: Yeah. So most of my clients do come to me for weight loss. And my clients check in with me on a weekly basis and they essentially answer every week a series of questions that I have for them that is kind of based on them and what's going on in their mindset from the last week. And like, how did the last week go on a scale of one to five? Why? ⁓ what obstacles did you face? How did you or did you not overcome them? Just some like basic questions that I can get them to answer and have some foundation of where their mindset is. But in addition, I do have them track things like digestion, sleep, energy, mood, all these things that play a role in fat loss. And I do have most clients track at least for a period of time. calories and protein, also we things like their weight and measurements and pictures. ⁓ And if like there are certain medications that they're taking, all of that stuff that potentially plays a role in fat loss as well. And really when they check in with me, I will send them a voice memo in return that is ⁓ usually around 10 minutes long about the past week. what I recommend, things for the future. I may have some questions for them to get back to me on. And then if they have questions throughout the week, they are more than welcome to respond or to ask me questions. And, you know, it can be a back and forth conversation. Britney: For sure. I love that you're touching on all of it, right? And the accountability piece, like you said, when you went back to having a coach was because you really needed somebody to hold you accountable, but also give you some perspective that maybe you hadn't thought about. What about the workout aspect of your program? Is it something where you're kind of figuring out what would make sense in their life and then they are doing that independently? Do you work with people like a personal trainer? Tell us about that aspect. Maria: Yeah. So I'm not personally a personal trainer. I, ⁓ lot of my clients that come to me are already, they already have some type of workout program. However, if they do not, it is absolutely a part of what we do. So I have, I have like seven or eight different recommendations, ⁓ know, ⁓ and if they don't want to pay for an app, YouTube videos and different things, I know you guys have put out. over the years, many, many free content for, for videos and whatnot, but, of options them. But the point I think for anybody who isn't working out or doesn't do that stuff very regularly, it's like, there's always going to be something for everyone. ⁓ And the is to just be moving your body in a way that you haven't done before. Britney: Yeah. I love that. Well, I'm excited to continue with three more episodes with you because there's so many questions to ask not only about your journey, even continually. So thank you for sharing your journey and being so transparent and honest because you have a unique journey compared to what I would say most, people have not been bodybuilding pros, but a lot of people have tried a diet and they've lost weight and then they gain weight and then they feel that shame that you fell and then they try a different diet. And it's just the cycle. Maria: Mm-hmm. Britney: And so in our next episode, we're really going to just continue this conversation, diving into diets and different fads that are out there and FAQs that people have around weight loss. And we are excited for you to continue to give your expertise so that these people can feel hope again and feel their mindset shifting from desperation to excitement about what their future holds. So thank you, Maria. Maria: Yeah, thank you so much.