The Habit of Wellness with Nicole Walters

Jessica Honegger [00:00:03] Hey, there, welcome to Going Scared. This is Jessica Honegger, founder of the world changing brand Noonday Collection, and I am glad to have you here today. Our Going Scared community gathers here every week for direct and honest conversations that help you live a life of courage by leaving comfort and going scared. We are right in the middle of our habits for a highly hesitant habit keeper series, and I don't know about you all, but I just cleaned out my entire closet, which is something I have been wanting to do for the past couple of years. I have organized my piles. I am drinking my water every day. I am back to working out. I am learning to pay attention. I mean, this habit series is causing me to step it up in the absolutely best of ways. And I know that this conversation today, in particular, is something that I know I have struggled with a lot throughout my life. I talk about this in my book Imperfect Courage, but it is around the habit of wellness, and I have to say today's guest, Nicole Walters, she could have come to talk about so many things, and in fact, we're going to have her back on the show because she's launching a book in the fall. She rarely actually talks about this part of her journey, but she's done it with such a healthy and holistic mindset that I think is rare to find. I asked if she in particular, would talk about the habit of wellness to us today. Nicole Walters is a former top selling corporate executive who quit her six-figure sales job in front of 10,000 people, took what she knew and built a million-dollar business in 1 short year. She is now on her way to multi multi-millions. She has a TV show. She's a mom to three of her children who are all adopted. She's a wife to an amazing guy. She grew up in D.C. in a home where money was in seriously short supply. Her dad was an immigrant from Ghana and a cab driver, but he refused to let their circumstances limit their opportunities and it. Let me just tell you, Nicole is going to inspire you today. We're in the middle of a series on it's called Habits for Highly Hesitant Habit Keepers.

Nicole Walters [00:02:56] Habits for hot messes?

Jessica Honegger [00:02:57] Well, basically that's what it is. That's what it is. And so, we have… we're covering going to doctors appointments. I'm going to the OB-GYN for the first time in five years, I'm going to be going to the dentist first time since COVID.

Nicole Walters [00:03:10] I love this. I love this year, me, a whole new person. When you come out, it's like it was like a spit shine detail at the car shop.

Jessica Honegger [00:03:17] We're doing it. We're going for it. Yeah. So really the part of your story I wanted to hone in on is your health story, which I know is just a part of it because you work with entrepreneurs. I mean, I could dive in and talk about how you went from corporate America to now training entrepreneurs, monetizing people. I mean, that's like one of my favorite topics. I mean, that's the number one. I was on the phone with an entrepreneur earlier and I'm like, what are your revenue goals like telling you what your follower goals are? I like now. I believe it's

Nicole Walters [00:03:47] revenue to me. The real numbers? Yes. Yeah, well, it's interesting because I hardly talk about my health anywhere and actually my podcast, like with the relaunch, my first episode is actually all about it. So. Oh, so you're getting like, literally like I am because you know that most of the New York Times bestselling books and all the books that do really well, they're all health books, you know, they're all about, like South Beach Diet or Atkins. Like, people are just absolutely obsessed with like their bodies and not in a like a healthy, fine-tuning way, but in an obsessive like narcissistic, not, you know, society putting pressure on your way. So, I actually just kind of stayed away from it. I mean, I talk about it, but I talk about it in a like, let's not ignore the obvious. I look different, you know, but I don't talk about it in like, you know, heavy detail. So, I mean, I will absolutely go in a little bit, but I just it's just not going to be as sassy as I think some people may expect that it's going to be delightfully boring.

Jessica Honegger [00:04:47] I see this a I really like how you talk about it because we are in this weird time right now where I feel like it's either you're obsessed and everything you talk about is like your before and after journey. And it's like, and here's how I did it and sign up for the program that I'm selling so you can do this too. Or I feel like there's the super body positive movement that's like, don't even talk about this because you're fine just the way you are.

Nicole Walters [00:05:19] Which is also another side of it too. Because like, I know that [00:05:22] for me, personal moment is personal development. And so, yes, I absolutely 100 percent believe you shouldn't hate the body you're in while you're on your path towards being your best version of yourself. And I don't think the best version of yourself should be defined by society. But let's not ignore the fact that being excessively overweight is bad for your heart, you know? [20.5s] And so as long as your numbers and things are also in alignment of that, you know what I mean? Like, so it's one of those things where I think there's a big difference between being body positive and being body like, ignore it, like not paying attention to it at all. Know, and it's that sort of fine line that I think I always think it's important. Body positive movement, I think, is trying to focus primarily on just loving yourself along the way, which is critically important, critically.

Jessica Honegger [00:06:06] So I want to hear about and really, it's your health transformation. I don't want to focus on it. I don't see it as a body transformation, but it's a health transformation. So, spill the beans.

Nicole Walters [00:06:18] Yeah. So, I mean, I will spill as much beans as possible. So, I'm always really cognizant and self-aware about how much I talk about my body on the internet. Because people obsess, they absolutely obsess in the most unhealthy way. [00:06:33] And the number one question I always get is, what is your secret? So, I'm going to drop it here. You know, the secret is that when you want to do a transformation, when you feel like you need to improve, you go to an expert. And that's the first thing that I did. So, a lot of people are like, well, I want to know, do you count your macros? Are you doing keto? How often do you work out? What is your regimen? And I think that's where a lot of us cross the line in this sort of internet influencer space. We want to coach everyone, you know, and generally sharing out of enthusiasm. I think the intentions of the best, you know, on what we've done and how we think it'll help them. But the truth is, I feel like that's dangerous, you know, and it's the reason why I've kind of shied away from it. [39.3s] What I always tell people to do is start off with going to get an expert to go along with you on your journey. And I'm really, really candid about the fact that if there's anything you want to improve and it's something you've been struggling with, what makes you think that you're the best person to guide your process when you're the best, you're the person who got you where you are. So, it's like, that's good. That's just for years and years and years, right? Like, I'm sitting here like, oh, I'll do this next thing, or, oh, I'll try this fad, or I'll try these vitamins, or I'll try this workout thing. And I kept on not failing but finding one more way that it wasn't working for me in a long-term way. And finally, I said, if I want to learn. How to do jujitsu. I go to an expert, I don't just say, OK, well, let me buy a jujitsu book and then do that for three weeks and hope it works, you know?

Jessica Honegger [00:07:56] So is there sort of a like I want to call it? What was your moment like? Was it? Was it? Was it one moment?

Nicole Walters [00:08:03] Yeah, I do have a moment, so I will never forget. I was at a conference, and I was a keynote speaker in Boise, Idaho, and at this point I was the heaviest I'd ever been. I think I was like a size 22. I was coming up on three hundred pounds like it was just I was wildly unhealthy. Like, now it's worth saying that wildly unhealthy strictly means by numbers. It was not about how I felt about the way I looked. If anything, that was probably the biggest issue I think with my incentivization to lose weight, I liked the way I looked. So, like, I made my first million, you know, at my largest size ever, I was getting TV deals and, you know, my brand was growing bigger than ever. Like, my weight was never something that kept me from accomplishing the things that I wanted to do in terms of taking off that list. And I also thought, I look good. So, like, I felt like, at least for me, I wore my weight very well. You know, so like, I just, you know, and I like the way I dress, and I like my body, like I just really didn't have any issues with my appearance. But what happened in Boise was I. My keynote speech is very, very high energy. You know, like, I run up on stage and like, I'm dance, I'm jumping out like, it's just a lot of high energy. And for the first time, I went to go do my keynote and I'm in front of this great crowd. I'm pumped. I'm ready to do it. My really good friend Seth Godin is in the audience and he's watching and cheering me on or just I really wanted to kill it. And I get on stage and for the first, maybe like three minutes of my keynote, I couldn't catch my breath. And I love it because if you Google, if you look on YouTube, this keynote is actually out there. You know, it's like you can see it, you can watch it. And everyone says you can't quite tell too much, but you can see I'm a little out of breath and I remember in my head in that moment, the first thing that occurred to me was, oh my gosh, what if I can't catch my breath? Like, what is this feeling going to stop? Because I need to get into my keynote? Everyone's staring at me and I'm when I'm beyond winded. [00:10:02] And I realized then and there God had called me to do some really amazing things. And I had to create, build, and nurture the vessel that was going to arrive to each of those moments. And in terms of being on stage, you know, people pay the same price for, you know, for chunky Nicole as they pay for tiny Nicole, you know. So, either way, the question becomes, what is it that I want to give them? That's going to be the best show. You know, I mean, I'm holding them captive for forty-five minutes. Don't they deserve to receive my peak top value? [32.0s] And so as somebody takes their craft very seriously, I practice, I get coaches, I get a stylist, I get a makeup artist. Why wouldn't I also get a trainer to make sure that I'm able to deliver the best performance I can ever give? So, between running through airports, getting on stage, you know, keeping up with the life that I have here, you know, being physically fit for that life is a huge part of it. So, I mean, does it mean that I'm, you know, always peak training? No, like Michael Phelps eats 10 pizzas during off season. I mean, but when it comes up to Olympic season, you better believe I'm getting in fighting form because I care not just about myself, but about the people that I'm serving.

Jessica Honegger [00:11:13] So you go to a doctor then at this point or some sort of expert person

Nicole Walters [00:11:18] for a doctor, actually a doctor was my first step.

Jessica Honegger [00:11:20] Your doctor was your first step, OK?

Nicole Walters [00:11:22] Because the numbers I was looking at were the wrong numbers. [00:11:25] You know, like everyone gets so fixated on their scale or on their measurements, you know, and like, you hear that all the time, don't worry about the scale, worry about your measurements and how your pants fit. Like, I appreciate all of that. And yes, those are some numbers you can pay attention to but the numbers that really matter, like your triglycerides, your cholesterol, your blood pressure. Know these are the numbers that matter. Are you pre-diabetic and you better believe I was ticking off every single mark in the wrong direction. [24.4s] And so that was what got me shaken and said, I don't really care what any of these other things do, like losing weight and losing inches is going to be a byproduct of me making sure that I'm not pre-diabetic and that I'm not dealing with high blood pressure. So that's going to be the bonus to actually make sure my insides are in good shape.

Jessica Honegger [00:12:06] And how old are you at the time, huh?

Nicole Walters [00:12:09] That's the best part. So, I was I want to say I was 30, nope not even I had to be like 28, maybe. And so, there is nothing scarier than going into the doctor and sitting down and having them tell you, like, you're pre-diabetic and you will be diabetic if you keep on this path. And at the rate that you're going, you are literally shaving years off your life like you, you, you. Making it into 80 is highly unlikely at the path that you're going. OK, like, I mean, I am being told to your face while you're living your dream. [00:12:39] Mind you like, I'm not sitting in a cube all day, not using my gifts the way that I should be. I am living my dream and seeing it in front of me, and I'm also being told that my dream will be cut short because I wasn't taking myself seriously, like I was just without question. I couldn't argue with it. I had to make a change. [14.5s]

Jessica Honegger [00:12:54] OK. So, were you happy with how you were eating and drinking at the time? Like, was that? Yeah. Well, it's what was your relationship with food? Yeah.

Nicole Walters [00:13:06] So my relationship with food was one where I grew up in a household where food was not discussed in a scientific way. So, I just didn't understand how food impacted my body. And a lot of that had to do with, you know, cultural things. My parents are from Ghana, West Africa, so a lot of the foods that we ate were authentic to our culture. So, we eat a lot of stews and a lot of starches and a lot of vegetables that were pureed into soups and things like that. And all of that's good and great when your parents are controlling your diet, you know, because I was eating what I should be eating, you know, in terms of health and balance and all that. But when I got out into the American real world, I didn't know the difference between a burger and some nuggets and fries. And I mean, because I didn't grow up with that. So, you know, I started consuming things without knowing anything about calories or portions. I mean, for the minute I found out that a portion of rice was like a half a cup. I was like more like a half a plate. You're right, it totally, you know, like I didn't even understand. Or when you know, my nutritionist told me that you do recognize that a piece of chicken is a serving of chicken, not a three piece, you know, a three piece of chicken as a half a chicken. So, you eat a piece of chicken, you've eaten the half a chicken, you know, like these sorts of things just didn't occur to me. I just I was just eating to eat because this is what was I was being given. [00:14:23] And so once I really learned about food and not in a way that was disordered, you know, it wasn't. This food is bad for you. This food is bad for you. But it was an empowered perspective around what food does and thus, you know, make choices that are aligned with where you want to go. If you want to gain weight, you eat a certain way. If you want to lose weight, you eat a certain way. So, you know, once I was empowered with that knowledge, it became a lot easier for me to say, oh, OK, I get it. [26.2s] This is the type of thing I need to eat. But prior to that, it was like, just eat whatever feels good or whatever tastes good snack if you feel like snacking. What is a portion? And that was a very quick way to numbers that weren't in alignment with staying healthy.

Jessica Honegger [00:15:03] Oh my gosh, portions are everything.

Nicole Walters [00:15:06] Portions are everything like stuff like don't take the whole bag of chips to the couch, put some into a little bowl, you know, like simple stuff like that. If I just don't have it around me, I'm fine. Or another thing that I learned was, and these aren't like tricks of the trade or anything. I don't. I always tell I would start with your doctor because different things are different people. But me recognizing that when I'm hungry, all my body wants is food, and everything counts as food in me to my brain. So, when I say to myself, Oh, I'm hungry, I'm craving a blank, I'm not really craving anything. If I were to eat like an apple, that would also work, you know? So, I started having to remind myself of that. I also have to remind myself that grocery stores have food not just like fast food places. So, if you're hungry, you can easily pull over at a grocery store and buy like one banana or two apples. And like that counts as food, you know, like just simple stuff like that. So, like, I'll go into a grocery store and grab like, you know, an apple, a banana and then go to the cashier and then check out and I'll be good, you know?

Jessica Honegger [00:16:02] That's so good. OK, so describe that journey because I mean, you're going to be hungry for a little bit, right? Because you've been used to eating larger portions.

Nicole Walters [00:16:15] So I'll be completely candid with you. I wasn't hungry, OK? And the reason why I wasn't hunger was because I ate so like I was never in a position where I was like, I'm not going to eat food. I just chose to eat different things. So, if I was hungry, like there was one point where I'm not kidding, I was eating like mixing bowls of salads, you know, like I would get like because like, I was like, this counts as food. And in terms of like caloric nutritional value, like all of that, this all counts. You know what I mean? So, I'm going to scarf it and that works. Like, I never let myself be hungry and I still don't, you know? And I also don't deprive myself if I want chips like, I'll have chips. I just won't eat the entire bag like I used to. And then what happens is after a while and it's that after a while part, I don't want to minimize that. Sticking with it is the hardest. And for me, it's been about six years, you know, since I started the journey, you know, and kept the weight off because I've lost at this point, I think close to one hundred and twenty pounds. You know, since then it's been cut hasn't been 120. I'm probably being dramatic as far more like a hundred and something five doesn't. I don't think about the number like I care about my health. Like, I can go upstairs and not get winded. But yeah, a lot of it in terms of like it wasn't about being hungry, it was just about like, if you're still hungry, eat something, just don't choose to eat the rest of that bag of chips, you know, like for me and again, all the

Jessica Honegger [00:17:32] French fries, right?

Nicole Walters [00:17:34] I'm only speaking to me, not for other people. It might be something different.

Jessica Honegger [00:17:37] Yeah. OK, describe your movement journey.

Nicole Walters [00:17:41] Oh, you mean like activity? And just like getting somebody that some of the very beginning, it was really funny when I first knew that I needed to, like, get fit. I was like, Oh, well, cool. Like, I remember what I did when I was 24. Like, if I need to lose weight, you just got to hit the pavement workout, then you can eat that pizza, like that's how that works, you know, done and done. Yeah, no. You know, there's a special thing that happens to women's bodies after 30 and then after 35 and then when you hit 40 and no one talks about it, but it's like puberty, everything starts going haywire. So, you know, here, here, here, here, right? You know, so for me, you know, I went, and I was like, oh, you know, I came back from Boise, and I was like, oh, great, like, I'm just going to start running again. Like, this is activity. I blew out my knees. I mean, both of my knees were swollen at the end of the day, and it was because I was running with a body that was close to 300 pounds with the mindset of a body that at my heaviest before was like 220 or 200. You know, it just wasn’t the same. So, I realized when that occurred that I wasn't going to be able to literally run away from this problem like I used to, you know, I used to be. I was like, it’s going to be nutrition. Like, it's not, oh, I, you know, you hear people say, I work out so I can eat what I want, you know, like that wasn't the case anymore. And so, then I realized I have to actually handle it because if for some reason you have an injury and you can't work out, you can't. You want to just gain five pounds and you have to eat every single day, three times a day. So that means I had to choose life on my plate three times a day, like was no getting around it. So, I focus on nutrition in the beginning. But then I think it was last year. It's been about a year now between like stress and the pandemic. I'd gained like I gained about three 30 pounds over the I was like twenty-two pounds over the pandemic, and I don't feel bad about it at all. I literally was putting off putting inside of me an inner lining of a hug. You know, I was eating my donuts, my fudge, my popcorn. Do not care that I gained that weight during the pandemic because that weight kept me sane. I felt good about it, but I also need to get it off. So, for health reasons, so in March, I was smaller than I, but I still had off my original kind of like 80 pounds or so. But I realized that my numbers were ticking back up again, and that was super scary to me because I was like, why are my numbers going up when I'm so much smaller and healthier than I used to be? And I realized after I talked to my doctor about like, you know, like some long-term effects were still there in terms of like my blood pressure and all that for my choices I made. And he told me that the answer to get that heart health together wasn't just going to be nutrition, it was that I had to look at the page like I can't avoid. [00:20:14] So I started working out and I've been working out for the past year, and I managed to like I broke in new numbers around. Like, if we're just looking at the scale, my numbers look different. My body is more toned. Like, I look, I physically look and feel better and stronger. And it just started with walking and then a little bit of light weight training like, I don't do anything crazy. My goal is always, what can I do sustainably, forever? You know, like whether I'm now or like 60, I'm not here trying to throw cinder blocks and flip through the air. You know, I just want to make sure that whatever I do, I can always do it wherever I am like just starting small because I want to do this forever. You know, so that's where I am now and then. Oh, and then just generally being active. [42.5s] So I started like, I'm in L.A. a lot for work, so I snowboard now and like, I take walking meetings. So, you know, like this podcast? If it wasn't a podcast interview and I was just talking to you, I would be like walking while doing it. Just like, oh, I'll just go outside. It's nice, you know, just little things like that have added so much activity to my life.

Jessica Honegger [00:21:16] How has this impacted your rhythms with your family, your food rhythms with your family?

Nicole Walters [00:21:23] So that's something I always get from people where they're just like, how do you get the rest of the family on board and all of that? I'm not kidding. When I said, like, I looked at my family and I told them, like, look like I'm not healthy, like I need to stay alive, you know, and it just is what it is. And some of my family members are on board and some of them weren't, you know, at the time, and everyone has a journey that they have to get there at their own rate. But I just started making the choice I need to make. And you know, some people may say, Oh, that's selfish. Some people may say, like, well, what about their ability to eat their meals and all that? And I it helped me learn that my family can really take care of themselves better than I thought they could. You know, and that I needed to eat what I needed to eat to be OK. And I can't make that second fiddle because if I'm not physically here, you know, because I didn't take care of my health, well, no one's eating anything. So let me, you know, let me just go ahead. And, you know, if you guys are really hard firm on wanting to eat those French fries then someone's gonna have to go get them because what's on the table today is the salad. And if we don't like the salad, then you know, we're just going to have to figure out what else we're going to eat because this is what's being served. And because that's a good choice for everyone. Like, I wasn't making choices that were unhealthy. I was helping show them kind of what they should have been doing from the beginning.

Jessica Honegger [00:22:35] So how old are your kids now?

Nicole Walters [00:22:38] A little. So, I'm a little the not so little. So, I have a 22-year-old, a 19-year-old and a ten-year-old. So, what's great is my 10-year-old - You know, we adopted all three, so we've had her since she was three. And she has a very awesome relationship with food because she's been eating different foods since she was little, and she loves the salad and veggies. Well, my older ones, because of their prior life, they were eating a lot of like fast food and chips and sodas. And, you know, that was very normal in their world, and understandably so because of the how poverty affects your ability to eat properly. You know, for them, it was a challenge to say like, no, like, let's introduce healthy things and this is what a tomato is and, you know, stuff like that. So. But yeah, I mean, they're open to eating well and they've been supportive of the journey. And I mean, the husbands lost 40 pounds on his own, you know, but it took him a while to get on the same page as me, and I still continued my journey either way.

Jessica Honegger [00:23:33] OK, so six years, that's a long time. I mean, you're I'm going to just say, this is your life. This is your life.

Nicole Walters [00:23:41] I hope so. Look, I receive that.

Jessica Honegger [00:23:43] Yes, amen. So, but I know in those six years, I mean, you just described one after the pandemic. I mean, we fluctuate in weight. It's not just I start this health journey and the scale just goes down forever and ever. Amen. So, I find that when we have these moments where, well, OK, gosh, these things are fitting quite well. I'm, you know, I'm not quite sure what's going on here. And because sometimes it just kind of catches you a little bit, you know, like if you just start maybe increasing your portions a little bit or you have that extra glass of wine at night and it's like before you know it, you've kind of put on some weight. Oh, sure. So, it's kind of. But then getting back in that mentality of losing weight again, that can be hard. So, what do you do in those moments when you're like, I really want to get back?

Nicole Walters [00:24:36] I mean, I don't. I just I allow myself to indulge sometimes, you know? But yeah,

Jessica Honegger [00:24:42] but you said you ate like donuts straight? Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, like

Nicole Walters [00:24:46] that. Like, so usually what happens is, you know, I had to remind myself, like it was a twofold thing with the pandemic where in saying to myself, I'm going to get out, get into the world, live a little bit, be active. That wasn't just a food thing. That was a mind thing, you know, like it was a I think we all kind of suffered like a bit of a collective depression or blow and sort of dealing with the communal loss of our lives as we knew it. And you know what, what goes along with depression? You know, we may not take as good care of ourselves, and we may go to certain comfort things. And so, for me, letting go of the eating habits and some of this excessive snack foods or excessive calories or sugars or things that I already know from my personal body recipe are not the best for me. Letting go of that also was letting go of the grief and letting go of saying, hey, this is what my life is during this season and stepping it back into saying no, like I accept positivity. I accept this world like I'm getting back out there. So, you know, being out in the world and not being at home meant that I wasn't overeating junk food all the time, and it meant that I was doing more activity. So, all those things sort of aligned with it. [00:25:56] And honestly, like, I have a therapist that I see twice a week, you know, one once a week is impressive twice a week. Oh yeah, it started off it just once a week. But like, I'm going through some transitions in my life right now where I knew that I needed to have extra time, you know, and I'm and I'm never willing to shy away from the resources that I need when I need them. And so like, I sit there, I always joke like, you know, Wednesdays are for the fact that I deal with other people and Fridays, the fact that I have to deal with myself, you know? [28.4s] And so that's OK. So that's really good, actually. I see her twice a week. So, my therapist, you know, we talk about food also, you know, and it was, you know, why are you eating like this? And is it, you know, what has changed? What are you doing to change those things? [00:26:40] Because, you know, disordered eating, however, format, whether it's eating a lot or eating a little or eating the right for eating foods or whatever right food is for your body, you know, usually is tied to an emotion. It's tied to a belief system; it's tied to whatever else. [14.7s] So post-pandemic it was about working on all of that stuff and then the food things actually became, you know, they kind of started fixing themselves, if you will, because I was thinking more about the things that really mattered. And I think that, so I think that's a mistake is just like a lot of us think that it's just like, oh, no, I just want my pants look good or, oh, no, I just want to feel better in my body. I just want or whatever. But if you talk to anyone and Jessica, you have all the time when you talk to anyone about like, what weight loss represents in their life or their body, it almost always has to do with. Well, I'll have more confidence, or I'll have more drive, or I'll make more money, or it's always tied to something else. And really, that has nothing to do with food, you know? Oh my gosh, relief.

Jessica Honegger [00:27:35] Yeah. I mean, I just love I've told myself a story for so long that because I own this fashion brand and I am a public person, and I always thought if I was thinner, if I had sort of what New York fashion, once I'd be more successful. And if I looked this certain way, I would belong more if I didn't get invited to a certain event that I deemed, as you know, the event to get invited to. I would say, Oh, it's because of my body. And so, it was like, this protection, right? It was. That's a lie that was protecting me from just standing in my own story. That's fine. Then it's all gone back to childhood, my whole relationship with my body, my view of my body. You know, it's like I almost encourage people, go to a therapist first, you know, and then go to your doctor, who can help you get on board with this plan, you know?

Nicole Walters [00:28:36] Yeah, it's a team, right? Like, that's what you mean when you say that expertise team, like, it's not if you really think you're going to solve your relationship with food. [00:28:45] And I love calling it a relationship with food just because for some of us, it's a gain issue. For some of us, it's a loss issue. And so often we talk about weight as being this like, you know, you have to lose it or if you're overweight, that's the issue. Like, we all have. So, I have friends who have gorgeous, stereotypical society driven bodies and they still have disordered eating because all they ever do is drink, you know, sugary foods and their numbers are terrible and they never work out, you know, like they're not healthy either, you know, and it's because they have a relationship with food that's unhealthy as well. And so, if you have issues with your relationships, what do you do? You see a therapist, you see a doctor and you get the tools, and that's all it is. [40.9s] So for me, that's always been my approach. And during the pandemic, I was in a very rough relationship with food where it was more about comfort and being consoled and sometimes even entertainment and being bored and, you know, indulging and quick fixes that way. And that relationship did not does not serve me long term. And it's not something I need long term. So, when it came time to get back to it, I talked to my team again, my therapist, my doctor and, you know, my nutritionist and now my trainer so that I can get back into a healthy relationship. But I also acknowledge, I think it's important to say here out loud, I'm really blessed to have the finances and resources to be able to do that. I think too often people forget that or don't acknowledge enough that as a public figure, as someone who has a TV show, as someone who's out there and has been blessed to earn a great income, I have access to some tools and resources that not everyone does in the beginning. And I didn't in the beginning, but you can get started now with what you have, but don't go comparing it to.

Jessica Honegger [00:30:28] Overeaters Anonymous. Yeah, there are group.

Nicole Walters [00:30:32] You can get started. There's no excuse not to start, you know, but just I always think it's so important that like we not because we were like, oh, you just need this, this, this, and this. And it's like, Well, although that's hundreds, hundreds of dollars. And, you know, gas prices like, I can't afford that, you know, so it's just so important to acknowledge that, you know, I do have that financial privilege, but I didn't always, and I still started, so I still want to get people to start.

Jessica Honegger [00:30:56] Yeah, yeah. I mean, hopefully this conversation is a starting point for a lot of our listeners. Would you just close out with what you would say to someone who wants to go ahead and start, but doesn't feel like they have these resources?

Nicole Walters [00:31:10] Absolutely. So, I think that an automatic resource that we all have and that we should be engaging with is our doctor. Go in and get an expanded full panel bloodwork exam. I think too often we just go in there. We kind of nod our head and we don't take control of our medical sessions and we don't recognize that like we even though it's insurance, we're still paying for a service to be seen. So, I always go into my annual exam and that's actually where it started for me. I went in and I said, hey, I don't want just to sort of high-level blood panel. That's just kind of, you know, how's your iron? How's your this? Like I would give me the whole thing. Tell me everything you can tell me. [00:31:47] Honestly, you know, any time I've ever asked for a full blood panel, I'd say it's saved my life. So, I just really encourage people to engage with their doctors, to ask questions, to look to them as experts and not just your favorite influencer and create a team around you from the resources you have to get the change that you want. [17.3s]

Jessica Honegger [00:32:05] Thank you so much, Nicole. You can go check out Nicole at her website nicolewalters.com. Her platform is called Monetize Thyself, and she has helped thousands of women learn to do just that. I have to say, after we finish the conversation, she stayed on the call with me for another 20 to 30 minutes. She truly has a spirit of generosity, and she is someone that you are going to want to follow and engage with because she is going to help. You have the kind of mindset that is not going to help you focus on obstacles but is going to help you see your mountains and help you climb them. Go check her out. Thank you so much for joining us today on the Going Scared podcast. Our music is by Ellie Holcomb and I'm Jessica Honegger. Until next time let's take each other by the hand and keep going scared.