Untitled - April 11, 2025
00:00:00 Unknown: Hi, I'm Denise, host of the Working Moms Redefined podcast. Let's join together as we lessen the hold of mom guilt in our lives, thrive in our careers, and raise great kids. You are doing enough. Let us boost your confidence today on this episode of the Working Moms Redefined Podcast. Welcome! Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Working Moms Redefined Podcast. My name is Denise, and what a pleasure it is to get to have Shelby Kammerer with us, you guys. This person is amazing. I can't wait for you to get to hear all things health. Nutrition, fitness, and really removing the pressure that you might feel from things like food tracking, nutrition workouts, and all of these things that sometimes in our mind we're like, am I doing good enough? It's hard to show up in the ways in which you want to each and every day, especially when we know the importance of exercise and eating right and portion control and all of that stuff that you're like, you know what, I know, but right now is not that time. That's okay. And that's where Shelby comes in and walks alongside with you because wow, she is an asset to so many of us. Shelby, Wear so many hats, right? She's a mom. She's a wife. She loves fitness and health and wellness. She's a certified personal trainer, a registered nurse, and a mom of three. We are excited to work together to learn how we can really inspire ourselves to show up in the best way possible. One thing about Shelby that really stands out to me is that she loves to focus on prenatal and postpartum women and weight management. But realizing that there is no one size fits all when it comes to health. And isn't that what we want to hear right to know that we're going to have customized conversations to really. Look at the holistic and the whole picture of what goes on in our lives. And Shelby likes to dive in to get to know you. So from her experience, whether it's CrossFit to fitness to dance. She's tried lots and lots of fitness opportunities and really wants to focus on you. She specializes in one-on-one coaching, group coaching, online workouts, and if you're like, wait, Online workouts. I'm telling you, it's a personal experience. It is possible as well as nutritional tracking. But her favorite is to stay home with her two boys and her girl. And lean into the beautiful life that she is. So I am very excited to share with you Shelby Kammerer, who I've worked with personally and admired very much over the last several years. Shelby, welcome. Hi, thank you. Thank you so much for having me. It's our pleasure. Now, Shelby, let's get started. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your passion behind your career while also showing up as a working mom. So, I mean, you covered it really well. Um, I'm a wife. I've been married for six years to my husband and we have, um, two beautiful boys and a daughter. Um, a son that's four years old, our daughter is two, and then our son is just, um, eleven weeks old. So a wide range and a lot going on as far as being a busy mom. Um, which I love. I mean, I'm so passionate about being a mom and I think all of us can relate to the fact that our lives completely change. When we become moms. Um, and then I'm also, like you said, a certified personal trainer. I focus on, um, mostly one-on-one coaching, but also group challenges and stuff like that, mostly with women, but also with men. Helping people find the best version of themselves and whatever that looks like for them. Um, and really that passion grew when I was nursing so I don't currently practice my nursing career right now so I can stay home with my babies and do this job. Um, which I am so grateful for. Um, and then, but when I was working in the clinic, I saw this big gap in, um, Kind of the care that we were providing to our patients. So, so many people would come in and they'd be overweight or they'd have high cholesterol or blood pressure issues and we'd tell them follow a diet and exercise. And, you know, and they walk home and not be able to, you know, what, what do I do with that? So I really kind of shifted and was like, I want to be that person that helps them fill that gap. So that's really where I became super passionate about Helping people in the fitness and nutrition side of things, um, kind of away from the nursing side of things. You have seen women specifically in all walks and seasons of life. What would you say is the biggest hurdle, if you will, when someone is being told, okay, you need to implement a diet and an exercise routine and what's their response often? Um, some of them are just, okay. And you can just tell that they're like, I don't know what to do with that. And other ones ask, like, What kind of diet? What kind of exercise? Because it's so broad. It's so out there. Um, and then what I tend to see is when people follow a diet, they're just... Um, they're restricting themselves. So they're just, okay, well, if I need to follow a diet, I'm just going to eat a thousand calories and I'm just going to do that, you know? Or, um, when it comes to working out, they mindlessly go into a gym and just kind of Do some stuff maybe or they just kind of go for walks, which are great too, you know, whatever it looks like for them. But, um, for the most part, a lot of people, when we would say, you know, follow diet and exercise, you would just hear them say, okay. And then they'd come back in a year, six months, and you know, it just, they didn't end up sticking with anything. Maybe they tried it, but nothing stuck because they didn't have any direction and they didn't have anything to follow when it came to that. You do a great job of walking alongside your clients in a lot of capacities. And would you say that oftentimes in the very beginning when you start meeting with someone, They almost say, how am I going to fit this in? My schedule is already packed. So like you said, I walk with women with all seasons of life. Some of them don't have children. Most of them have children. In different stages. So maybe they have toddlers. Maybe they have, you know, school-age kids, teenagers, whatever it may be. But I hear that all the time because everybody's busy. No matter what You know, what your life looks like. We're always busy in some capacity. Um, so like you said, I walk alongside them and we figure out how To make it in their lifestyle. So it doesn't seem like a lot of work. We fit it in here and there and we figure out what's going to work for each person because everybody's different. Some people, you know, if they do have toddlers, they're constantly going trying to Manage these little things, you know, and if they have school-aged kids or teenagers, they're running in the car all the time going to sports events and different things like that. So it's whatever it looks like for them and that's always different for every single person. So I really do try to Talk with them and figure out what their life looks like. You know, do they have busier seasons where we can take advantage of some other seasons where it might be a little bit slower and, you know, prepare ourselves for those busy seasons and things like that. I think of the importance of time of the day as to when I get my workout in because I remember when the kids were under the age of three. And the idea was I would love to get up and work out, but I am exhausted. At that point in my life, I said, okay, I'm going to, if I'm going to make time for this, it has to be a workout during the lunch hour because I need sleep, right? Whereas now the kids are a little bit older, right? Eight and six. And so I can wake up at 435 and get a workout in with the rest of the day ahead. And I'm not great with a fluctuating routine. And so you work through empowering women to be able to see, okay, what is actually doable right now? Yes, what's going to change and then working through that. I'm feeling that so much now because, you know, I didn't have a newborn. You know, three months ago, I was able to utilize the gym daycare and do a maybe a mid morning workout or my kids were sleeping through the night they were had a good foundation so I could get up early and get my workout in but now like you said with. A newborn who's up, you know, in the middle of the night and usually he's up in that, right in that time when I would need to get up to do a workout and I can't necessarily... Commit to something like that. So it does look completely different now. It's either in the middle of the day with the kids sometimes or when the other two are solidly napping and I might just have the newborn or lately it's been Later and on in the night after we put all of the kids to bed and that's, you know, that's just what it looks like right now. But knowing that every single season changes like you said. So for those who are in every season and busy. What are some quick and effective workout styles or types that you might suggest for people to look into? So definitely, especially what I've been resorting to lately is, um, quick and effective. So the biggest thing is to make sure you go in with a plan. If you go in and you're just kind of like, I'm just gonna do whatever I can. Whatever I can fit in, you might not get in a really effective workout. So the more you can plan ahead of what exactly you're going to want to achieve in your workout, That way you really feel like you've done something. So if we, it's almost like having a to-do list. If we know that we've checked it all off, we feel like we've done something. So, um, it just gives us a sense of, um, satisfaction after when we have that workout done. Also utilizing minimal equipment. So if you do work out in the gym, don't try and do a lot of stuff on machines that might be taken up at the time when you want it or using a barbell and all of these things where you're walking around the gym a lot. Stick to a bench and some dumbbells and just, you know, work through that thirty minutes if that's all that you have on your lunch break or something like that um And also just never underestimate movement in general. So the more that you can move, so you If it is taking your kids for a walk, that can be really great exercise, you know, or when you're doing chores, walk around while you're doing them or walking up and down the stairs, like never underestimate Just movement in general, um, especially in this season of my life, you know, I just, movement is what I want to get in. That's kind of, I try to think of like something's better than nothing and Um, and that's kind of a motto that really started to resonate with me when I became a mom is I had to really kind of push aside that, um, expectation of I'm gonna get all of this stuff done. I'm gonna hit an hour workout and stuff because that wasn't the case all the time especially with really little ones. I'd get interrupted or sometimes they would be joining me for my workout so it wasn't gonna be the most effective, you know. Hour long, really tough workout. Um, but something was always going to be better than nothing. So that's always what I told myself. Even if they were all awake and that was all I could get done, that was going to be way better than getting in nothing at all. So I think that mind's Mindset shift can really be, um, effective when we go into looking at our workouts and whether or not they're effective or not. It's, you know, make sure that we're getting in something, but make sure that we're being intentional with that something. If that makes sense. Listeners, do you see what I'm saying that Shelby makes you feel like you're doing a good enough job with simple movement? And so many of us need to hear that from time to time because we're like, okay, if I'm not doing, you know, five workouts a week at forty-five minutes, And then rest and stretch on the weekends. I'm not doing good enough, which wow. I mean, what do you really need to look for? Is that thirty minutes of like you mentioned movements a day or what is something that you hold yourself to and does it change really day to day? Yes, absolutely. Um, so like I said, I hold myself to movement. I want to move my body every single day. My goal right now has changed from what it looked like You know, six months ago where I wanted to hit five workouts per week and I wanted them to be really strength focused and, you know, I was able to really set a good foundation of what I wanted those workouts to look like. Now, having a new baby, having three little ones, that doesn't, that's not realistic for me right now. So my goal right now is to move my body every day and to strength train three times a week. So Sometimes that's at home. Sometimes that's in the gym. But those are my goals. And um, I really try to set them as a priority throughout the week. So um, Um, I don't allow myself to wait until the end of the week. So I don't give myself the excuse of, oh, I'm not going to do it on Monday. I'm not going to do it on Tuesday because then when I get to the end of the week, then, um, You know, I've, now I have to try and fit in three strength training workouts between Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and that might not be realistic, um, especially with ever-changing schedules with little ones and phases and stuff, so. Um, my kind of non-negotiable, what I have to get in throughout the day is just move. Just move my body and whatever that looks like, whether it's dancing in the living room with the kids, whether it's going for a walk, um, walking on my walking pad. And even stretching and doing like some mobility work and just some relaxing core work if I don't have a ton of energy at the end of the day, but I still want to prioritize that movement. Do whatever feels good for me right now. I love it. You mentioned strength training, which that means weights. Some women might be intimidated by lifting or afraid that they're going to bulk up or think, okay, is this Don't I just need to be doing cardio? What would you say about, you know what, it's really, it's really great that all women do some sort of strength training. Yeah, it is. Um, it's great, but it's also really, really important as women. And I do feel like, you know, like you said, some women are like, I'm going to bulk up. I don't want to bulk up. Um, And I'm here to tell you that you won't. Those women that you see that are like really, really built, they have had to work really, really hard to get that. They've had to dye it in a certain way that is Far beyond what most people do. They've had to lift in the capacity and they've done it for so many years. Um, so I promise you, you're not going to bulk up. Um, but weight training is super important for women and Just because, um, you know, we tend to think of weight loss. We want to do all this cardio. You're going to look completely different if you just do cardio to lose your weight. Or if you do resistance training because we want nice shape. We want our muscles to be filled out and we want that nice body composition. Um, but it goes way beyond just that aesthetic part of it. Um, if you have more lean muscle mass, you're going to have a better metabolism. So you're going to burn more calories just resting if you have more muscle mass than fat. So somebody who has, they could weigh the exact same weight. But one person could have more muscle and one person could have more fat. The person who has more muscle is going to burn more calories just sitting there than the person who has more fat composition. So that's why it's super important also, um, It helps with our weight loss. Sometimes we think that if we gain muscle, how are we going to lose weight? But it actually does help so much with that metabolism and losing weight. It's also really great as we age for like bone density and So we're gonna really avoid osteoporosis as we get older, you know, even if you're in your 20s and 30s, it's something you want to think about later. Um, it's also gonna help with our heart health, our blood pressure, circulation, things like that. But also as moms, I think one of the biggest things is strength training is going to help us in our everyday life. And that's something that we really want, right? Like, Whenever I am carrying two children up and down the stairs or I have, you know, the car seat and I'm carrying the other one through the parking lot and people are like looking at me and I'm like, this is why I work out. This is it. Like, in this phase of my life, this right here is why I work. I'm working out so that I can manage my children because they're small and I want to be able to run with them and play with them and carry them through the parking lot and if they want to be carried up and down the stairs both at the same time. I want to be able to do that. So, um, and that's one of the biggest things I think as moms and just people in general is we want to be able to do our life more effectively. Um, And we want strength for that. So, and we want to be able to feel, as we get older, I feel like, feel able and empowered and The things that make us feel that way is like being able to run with our kids or if they're on the playground and they say, like, come play with me. You know, we don't want to say, like, oh, no, mommy can't because, you know, I can't do those kinds of things. So. Um, that I think is one of the biggest reasons why like women should continue um, to work out and in the phase of whatever life, you know, looks like for you but for me as a toddler mom and a baby mom Being able to carry all of them and carry the car seat and stuff like that is a big enough reason, you know, to strength train. I love that comparison because one, those cars, they're heavy. I love that comparison. So when we think about Heading into exercise, we obviously know it's not a one-size-fits-all. And you mentioned, right, going in with a plan. That's really such an asset to all of us women. And you help Do so. So at the end of this episode, we will make sure to give you information, listeners, as to how you can connect with Shelby so that she could... Create that plan for you because I don't know about you, but I get tired of making decisions sometimes. And if somebody can just tell me what to do that will work and be effective, Great. Take my money. You know what I mean? So alongside with that is nutrition. And as much as I would love to say, no, I'll just overcompensate and work out all of the time and I can still eat whatever I want whenever I want. That's not real life as much as we would love to think so. It's not. And so you do a great job of putting together meal ideas and plans in which you should be able to eat them when, but What are some easy, healthy meal ideas that you could provide just off the cuff for families? Um, so some of the biggest things that we do right now, um, and that we've done honestly for years, whenever we're in a pinch, Is we always have on hand frozen steamable vegetables. You can never, you know, you don't have an excuse to chopping up those vegetables or are they going bad? They're frozen. They're in your freezer. They're ready to go. Um, the ready rice, it's Super easy, ninety seconds, it's all you need to get that ready. And then, um, we really like ground meats for something quick and easy. So we- They cook so fast. Um, it does, you know, it barely takes any time at all. And we, our biggest go-to whenever we're in a pinch, whenever we need something quick, um, that the kids will also eat is something like tacos. You can ground up the meat super fast. Um, and then you can put it over rice. You know, you can put it on a salad. You can, um, put it in a quesadilla for the kids. It's so easy and so quick. Um, another thing that we like to have on hand that we usually pick one up each week is a rotisserie chicken. It's Already cooked for you. It's ready to go. You can just pull all the meat off of it. And like I said, you can toss it with those steamable veggies in that rice packet and you have a meal right there. It's so easy. Um, and sometimes I think that we overthink it so much of like, um, how long something is actually going to take. But if we can really narrow down our meals to something quick and effective or have the things prepped up, it's so much easier. So much easier. Since working with Shelby, I realized the power of having, like she mentioned, a ground meat protein in the fridge. Just do two, three pounds at the beginning of the week. Have that. My favorite recipe that I have really been into and am consistent in making this time and time again was using ground beef, white rice, um, To make a cheeseburger bowl. So then I put some, like, sugar-free ketchup, a little bit of cheese, some pickles, and it is so filling, it's delicious, and it's easy. Yes, that's one of my favorite things to do is like, so like with the ground beef or sometimes there's some ground turkey, you can do that same thing with, like you said, the burger bowls, which are So good. It's like you're eating a burger. It, like, literally tastes the same. Um, or you can toss it in and you can do it with, like, beans and rice and salsa. And now you've got to totally... You've used the same basically things. You have the lettuce. That's exactly the same as your burger bowl. You have beef. That's exactly the same. We've created two different tastes and I feel like that variety can just be enough. To make us stick with it and it's not like, it doesn't get boring when you can just kind of mix it up in just the tiniest ways that makes it, you know, makes it like you're eating something totally different. Such a good point to say, the simple switches, because some of us get bored. And along the lines of getting bored, this is where my... I guess biggest struggle is is first of all learning how much protein I need to eat every day and how to get it in and so When people talk about, specifically health and wellness coaches, about you've got to get your protein, you've got to get your protein, how am I going to get my protein? Like, it can be overwhelming, but making these types of switch is always overwhelming. It's always nice. We know protein's important, but how can you help us women who are like, where do I even start? How do I track? How much do I need? Protein conversation can go on for a while, right? Oh, yes. Oh, yeah. I think if you talk to any fitness, nutrition type of person, if you bring up protein, you're like, ah, yes, let's talk about it. So I won't go into like a ton of detail, you know, obviously we all know it's super important. Um, but I really think sometimes tracking is great if you can use like MyFitnessPal. That's been, it's been around for so long and it's super user-friendly and Um, it can give you a really good idea of how much protein you're getting in in a day and sometimes that's key to just track one day that looks normal for you and it can be really eye-opening to how much you're actually consuming. Um, and then knowing your goals. So that's where sometimes a nutrition coach comes in. Typically, and it's going to look different for everybody, but You know, usually we want to consume about 0.7 to one gram per ideal body weight. That's kind of where we want to be at. So that can give you a good idea and it's usually a lot more than people are actually consuming. Because protein's not the most fun to get in. We really like those carbs and fats. Those are fun. Those taste really great. Protein tends to be the hardest one and it's not as convenient. Um, so either tracking or just even being mindful of what is, what, how much protein you're getting in throughout the day. So where are you getting your protein from? So knowing what is, um, what can, has protein in it I think is super important too because sometimes people don't realize some things that have good protein in it and making those swaps. So when you're looking at labels at the grocery store, Start looking at them and start to see like, okay, this one has eight grams of protein. This one has no protein. Which one do I want? So really looking at that if you don't want to go the tracking route. So you can just kind of stay mindful of At each meal how much you're getting in. And I think one of the biggest tips for people when it comes to when they say, like, I can't get in enough protein throughout the day or how do I get in this much protein? It's really important. Trying to, um, spread it out throughout your day. So don't try and consume all of your protein at two meals. That's going to be a lot. And it's going to feel like a lot. So if you can sneak it in where, um, and that's where things like when you know what has good protein in it, you can start to sneak it in throughout the day. So when you're having a choco, have black beans with it, which also have protein. Swoop Switch out your sour cream for plain Greek yogurt, which has really good protein in it. So you just took a meal that maybe was going to have... Like fifteen grams of protein just based off your meat, but now you have something that has like twenty-five thirty grams of protein. So you've just, without adding more meat to it, because a lot of times people are like, I don't, I can't eat that much meat throughout the day. Well, there's so much other stuff that has protein in it. So if we can kind of utilize those things to increase your protein and also get it in through snacks throughout the day, it's going to be super, super helpful. I promise that the sour cream to Greek yogurt switch, you won't even notice. At first, I was just like, this, no, this is going to taste bad. No way. It's going to be weird. No way. Yeah. You can't even tell. No, you can't. You're so right. There are studies, research, all sorts of stories, too, that tell us that motivation only lasts forever. For so long. Sticking with health and wellness really does not have an end time, right? There's not a date. Or a goal to really reach towards. Yes, you're going to have, you know, markers that you want to meet. But a health and wellness journey is for life. Yes. That can be hard. Motivation only lasts for so long, right? And then the discipline has to kick in. Yep. How would you say and encourage working moms to To stay motivated when they might feel overwhelmed or exhausted or what is the point of this? Mm hmm. Um, so like you said, motivation isn't forever. Sometimes we have little pockets of motivation. So it could be a vacation coming up. It could be a wedding coming up. So utilizing that motivation when it's there. But also... Resorting to that dedication. So becoming dedicated and when it becomes more routine, we start to, it doesn't feel like as much work. So the more routine you can make it, And the more enjoyable you can make it, especially if when it comes to your workouts, if something doesn't, if it isn't enjoyable, this style of workout, try something else, try a new class, try different things. Switch it up when we kind of lack that motivation. If we're kind of feeling like we're getting just in a funk with exactly what we're doing, switch it up. If you have a coach, tell them that. So because, you know, as coaches, we don't know what we don't know. So if you don't tell us that You're really feeling this lack of motivation. We can switch things up. Like let's try some, you know, higher intensity workouts. Let's try something different. Um, and sometimes that's enough to kind of kick that motivation back in. Just that little switch up. But also, I think it's really important to find a why. So really, if we can center ourselves around a why, um, we can always go back to that. So why do we want to be healthy? And as moms, we do everything for our children. So if we can sometimes flip that mindset of I'm not doing this for me, I'm doing it for them. So I'm becoming healthy for them. It can be enough to kind of motivate us because we can feel selfish when we're doing it. Like, why am I doing this? You know, I'm taking this time out for me. But by being better me, I'm being better for them. So sometimes it's just that switch too as moms because we want to be better for them. We want to, we do everything for our children, you know, but we're also doing this for them. So that I feel like can be really, um, The thing that can switch us from why am I doing this? This is pointless. Um, you know, I'm just going to give up. Well, if you give up, you know, you're in a way you could say like, I'm letting, I'm not being the best version of me for them. So I'm going to keep Pouring into me so I can do more for them. I think that can be enough. I love that. That mentality shift can make such a difference. And it's something that I struggle with still even, I would say, from time to time today, right? If I don't get that workout in before they wake up, um, just last week. Just last night, I, they were up a lot, even at the age of eight and six, and I, after church, said, okay, well, We're gonna go work out. You can come with me or you can't. It's up to you. But it's a little harder when you're like, okay, I'm really choosing time for me. Versus time with them. But what I might suggest too is like, have them come with you. They can come into the room with you. Now, is that workout quite as successful as it would have been? No. No. But it's time spent together. But it's taken me a while. And I don't know about you, Shelby. And this might be a place where we get vulnerable sometimes. We all know as moms that our bodies change significantly when we have kids. Whether it's stretch marks or I remember, I will never forget, I lay down in bed on my side Probably a week after Sydney was born and I felt movement as I laid on my side. I felt my belly that apparently previously was pretty, uh, intact. I felt it again. And probably what, you know, is or was fat kind of like fall down over my hip. And I was like, what, what just happened? What's that feeling? Of movement that had never previously been there before and you're thinking, oh my gosh, like in your mind now, it's how am I going to get that body back? How am I going to get to where I was? That's hard. It is hard. Is that something that we need to really kind of, like you mentioned before, change our outlook and think, okay, things are going to look Different while also wanting to look as good as possible. I think it's hard because we're trying to find ourselves in so many ways. And when our body does not reflect necessarily how we want. We take it personally and put guilt on ourselves to try and get back to what was when, is that really even healthy? No, um, and I see that so much and one of the biggest things that, something I saw after having my first was, um, You are always postpartum so you are never going to go back to what you were before. No matter if you've had kids ten years ago, fifty years ago, you are postpartum. You have had a baby and you are never going to be what you were before. And that's a beautiful thing. Um, sometimes we think it is, um, a terrible thing. We look back at that old body, you know, and we're like, I want that back so bad. But you've just gained something beautiful and your body has gone through something, whether it was twenty years ago or whatever. It has gone through something and it has created something and that is in it. of itself just absolutely a miracle and it's beautiful and we need to sometimes remember that that um, we did something incredible um, and I think even as Early postpartum moms, um, but also ones later on in life. We have to give ourselves grace because our body did do something crazy. You know, we grew a human and, um, Sometimes multiple humans at one time, you know, all of these different things that are just, um, crazy in their miracles and that we need to kind of remember that. But we also always think of I want to feel confident. I want to look good. You know, I'm gonna do all of this work. I want to look good. Um, so we have to kind of See what that looks like realistically now. So we aren't twenty years old never having a kid before. Our body has stretched. It has grown. It's not going to look the exact same as it did, but that doesn't mean it can't look great and that doesn't mean it can't feel great. So it's finding a new sense of confidence and kind of going more towards Feeling confident now and strong now. So if we can kind of shift away from the aesthetic, always focusing on what we look like, what does the scale say? Why don't I look like this person? Um, because everybody is different. Everybody's life is different. That person might have You know, two hours to work out in the gym and only have one kid that sleeps through the night and you might have a kid that doesn't sleep through the night and that, um. You know, it's going to look different for every single person. And I think if we can focus on the present and in the future instead of focusing on the past, that is key because the past is behind us. We're not pre-pregnancy anymore. We are this new person. Um, what can we do right now? And where do we want to see ourself in the future? That can be, um, you know, kind of that shift in mindset of I want to feel strong and confident and Later, so I'm gonna do all of this stuff now instead of really trying to focus on I need to get that body back. I need to get that body back because That body is a body that's never gone through what you just went through um, so You need to focus on what you can do right now and shift that mindset to I want to feel strong. I want to feel confident and I want to look good in this body that I'm in now. So I think, you know, I hear all the time. I want to get my body back. How do I get my body back? You're not, you're not going to get your body back, but that doesn't mean you can't feel great and confident and strong and look great now. So I think, you know, like you said, that mindset shift is super important. And so many of us know that. We know. But it's almost as if when somebody who is an expert like yourself in this field gives us permission to not feel as if we have to, it's like a weight lifted off. And I think that that's the power behind investing into yourself through a personal coach like yourself and having that accountability partner to say, hey, I did not get But two workouts in last week. And you just say, that's okay. You had life, right? Because you encourage people to take notes about what is going on. That is more than just a piece of paper. And it's quite, quite beautiful. Something that is hard is to measure your body and to take photos of So that you can have a before and after. The first time I was encouraged to measure my body, I thought, okay, this is different. This is more than just how tall am I, right? It's... What is my waist measurement? How might my arms look in three months? And I remember doing it, first of all, being like, ugh. Why? Why am I doing this? And then you see what happens in, you know, a month, three months, when you're able to show yourself the progression that you have made by simply taking an additional photo. And It was hard at first for me to do so, right? You are standing in a swimsuit or clothes, whatever you feel comfortable with. And you look at yourself in a way that is probably more critical than should be. And you think, okay, okay. This doesn't have to be forever if you're a little hard on yourself. And then you later in three months put a side by side and you're so dang proud of the That you can now see that maybe a number on the scale wouldn't show. What would you say to somebody who is hesitant to take the photo or to jot down the measurements That are like, oh man, that really means that it's real. First, take the picture and don't look at it. That's one of the biggest things that I tell people. If you don't want to look at it, don't look at it. You know, but also look at it and use it as motivation and To say that this is how I am now. This is exactly how you are now. There's no changing that. This is the way that you are. But there's so much room for growth. Um, and you're going to look better. You're going to do better. And it can be motivation for some people to look at that and be like, Wow, this isn't, this isn't what I want to see. This isn't what I want to be. Um, and that's okay. Sometimes we have to realize that We can sit in those feelings of like, I really don't like what I look like right now. And that's okay. It's, we all have those feelings. We are our own worst critic. Um, but also see the beauty in it and see that. There's so much growth in this person and that, you know, in three months when you look at those pictures because we don't feel, sometimes we don't see the changes that we're going through as we're going through them. But when we get two months down the road, three months down the road, when we can actually put those pictures side by side, we can see so much has changed. And it can be the... Just that little bit that we need to keep going because sometimes when we look in the mirror and we see it every single day, we're like, nothing's changing. Nothing. I don't look any different. You can't tell me I look different. But when we put those pictures next to each other and you can visually see the changes that you've made, sometimes that can be enough to be like, wow, I'm gonna keep going because I've done that in three months and now what am I gonna look like in three more months? Like, I want to look even better. So then you can look even better. So using those pictures and those measurements as a tool instead of using them to make yourself feel bad. You know, they're not there to make you feel bad. They're not there to make you feel less than, um, or, you know, to put you down in any way. Um, but they're utilized as a tool, especially for coaches and stuff when If you're an online coach like myself, I don't see you all the time. I don't, um, you know, I can't take those measurements for you and never let you see them. So you do have to do those things yourself. And there's a lot of, um, great things that can come from that. So, and like you said, stepping on the scale. A lot of people don't like to step on the scale and the scale isn't the best way to track progress. Because two people that, like I said earlier, two people that weigh the exact same can look totally different based on body composition. So, um, when we can take those measurements, we can take those pictures, we can see that changes are happening and Even if that number on the scale isn't reflecting those changes because so many people, if that scale is not changing, they're done. You know, I'm not going to do it even though they might be seeing so many other changes. Their clothes might be fitting differently and they can say that. Yeah, my clothes are fitting a lot better. Um, I have more energy. I'm sleeping better, but the scale's not changing. It's like, okay, look at all the great things that are happening now. But we get so focused on this one that's not. This one thing is not changing in the way that we want it to. So, um. We can have these other ways to measure our progress too, um, which are the, you know, the measurements and the pictures. Yeah. I like to compare taking photos of myself to a conversation when your kids are seen by someone that they haven't seen in a while and maybe it's only been three months maybe. Right. Six months. And they go, oh, my goodness. You know, Hudson has gotten so much taller. And you look at him and you're thinking, oh, my goodness, my bad mom for not realizing that he has grown like two bitches. But you, as you said, are consistently around your kids. And so you don't. Seeing that change, apply that to yourself as well. Exactly. Yes. Yeah. You're not going to notice those changes in yourself from day to day because you see yourself every day. But, um, like you said, somebody that hasn't seen you for three to six months and if you've been working hard, they're going to notice those changes. Um, and you, and you might be like, wow, really? Like when we think about Working out and nutritional aspects. Supplements come to be a topic. There are so many darn options. Oh my goodness, right? Whether it's whey protein, pea protein. You know, colostrum has been a Facebook ad that I have seen lately. I mean, magnesium, collagen, there are so many. Greens, reds, right? Yeah. I guess where would you start, right? For somebody who is just starting out versus someone who's been doing this for a couple years, what are your thoughts on supplements? Look, where do we... Integrate all those types of things. Yeah, it can be super overwhelming. Um, and one thing that I always remind people of is that supplements are supplements. They are meant to supplement our health and they are meant to fill gaps. So if we don't have a gap in a certain area, there's no reason to supplement there. So figuring out where we might need to supplement is important. So we want to focus on our overall health, our vitamins and minerals. We want to focus on our gut health first. So if we don't have a healthy gut, things don't metabolize right. So you could be putting in all of these supplements and you could be wasting your money because if they're not metabolizing right in your system, what's the point of having them? So focusing... Um, first with my clients, we always focus on health and wellness. So getting in proper vitamins, whether that's a prenatal vitamin or a multivitamin. Do we need more vitamin D this time of year? Do we need magnesium for certain reasons? Finding those things that are going on in their life if they're not sleeping well, different things like that. Um, if they are in, um, a menopause age range, so are they going through menopause? Are they postmenopausal? What do we need for that person? Um, Um, and that's something that is, can be really individualized. But really starting off with your health and wellness. So starting off with your multivitamins. Um, if you're in the sixth season, do you need more vitamin C? Um, do you need more vitamin D because you're not going outside as much? Whereas in the summer you might, if you're outside all the time, you don't need to supplement with the vitamin D. Um, and then making sure that we're focusing on the getting in like the greens and the reds if we don't eat a good variety of fruits and vegetables. So even if you're somebody who eats fruits and vegetables but you tend to eat the same ones all the time so you only eat broccoli, um, maybe some lettuce and then you'd stick to strawberries. Well, you're not eating a large variety. So getting in those greens and reds can fill the gaps of, um, the variety that you're lacking. Um, and then if you struggle to get in protein, um, Add in a protein supplement. It's really great to, you know, fill those gaps in your protein. But also if you're working out, it's super important to have that protein intake after your workout so you can rebuild those muscles. Um, So, you know, like you said, it kind of goes with supplements, um, what phase of life you're in and where you're at. Do you want... Do you have those big aesthetic goals to train for something so you want to really increase your protein? Um, you want to take the pre-workouts, different things like that. Those aren't Necessary for everybody. Um, so that's something, you know, when it comes to supplements, what do you need? Where are your gaps and what do you need to supplement with to fill those gaps? Um, and that's something that a coach can help with, but anybody can, you know, are you taking a multivitamin? If you're not, start, you know, um, start with those little things and then add in where you want to. Um, as we age, we don't, we don't, um, make collagen as well. So that's why we start to get wrinkles and different things like that. Our joints start to hurt. So start supplementing with collagen. You know, it's just, um, doing little things. Sometimes supplements seem super overwhelming for a lot of people. Um, but when we can really look at what we need as a person because you can go into a supplement store and you see all these things on the shelf and you're like, what do I need? You know, I see all of these things. Well, maybe I do need that. Maybe I do need that. Figure out what you might lack in your own self and start there. Start with your gut and your overall wellness, your, you know, your probiotic and your multivitamins. Start there and then add in where you feel like you need to. Um, so definitely supplements are important. Not necessary unless you have gaps which I feel like we all have gaps so supplements then do become somewhat necessary um, but start small start with your overall wellness and then as you know, you get into more Goals and specific things then you can start to try different things. The advice of looking at the gap and finding what fits that gap is such a good thought to keep in mind and not necessarily something that I've really considered because. We are shown do this and it will benefit you and I love that thought process from you. We have been pouring into listeners so much today about your health and wellness with Shelby Cameron and SC Fitness. Now, I want to ask you because not only do you Advise and help. You also walk the talk, right? You do what you're advising and helping other women do. Now, as a mom managing fitness and nutrition and family and work, What is like your number one non-negotiable habit that you prioritize each and every day? Um, so that's looked different every season, but right now, um, kind of like I said earlier is just move my body. I'm going to move my body today in whatever that looks like. That is a non-negotiable for me. And hopefully in the next few months that can change to be a little bit more specific on what that movement looks like. Um, but right now it's just move my body every single day. That is a non-negotiable. Um, some of the other things that I are non-negotiables is getting in my water every single day. That's not only for me, but I'm nursing my son. So, you know, that is important for me to get in for me, but also for him to have that milk supply for him. Um, but you know, just move my body. That is my non-negotiable. Running up and down the stairs with my kids as we're playing, you know, or dancing in the living room or walking on my walking pad. Or getting an intentional workout. I'm going to move my body today. Um, because it makes me feel so much better. And it makes me a way better mom when I move my body. So true. So true. You have a great way of phrasing how to remove the guilt, the mom guilt, if you will, when it comes around exercising. Um, Do you honestly struggle with those thoughts as well? Maybe not even within the exercise realm, but where do you struggle sometimes? We all do. We just all do. Oh, yeah. Um, I struggle with the mom guilt all the time, especially this phase of life when I have a newborn that needs me all the time. Um, you know, and then another little one who has never... Really experienced having a little sibling. Um, it can be really, really hard to feel that guilt of this baby needs me. This one needs me and that one needs me. So everybody needing you all of the time. Um, and then sometimes they go to bed at night and I'm like, Did I do enough? Did I do enough for them? You know, and it was really funny one time. I, my newborn was crying. My younger daughter was crying. And then my son also needed me to do something. And he's a little bit older. So I looked at him and I said, um, You know, everybody needs mommy right now. I can only do so much right now because he can kind of understand that. And I was like, can you please wait a second? And he told me, mommy, you just need to grow another arm. And I was like, well, buddy, that would be great if mommy could just grow another arm. But have you ever seen somebody with three arms before? And he was like... No, I haven't. And I was like, you know, so sometimes we feel like we just are needed all of the time and that's kind of where a lot of my mom guilt comes in. It's like everybody has needed me today. Did I give them enough? Did I give this one enough and this one enough and this one enough? Um, but one thing where my fitness and everything and wellness has come into play is that At the end of the day, I feel empty, you know, like my cup has just been poured out and I have nothing left in me. If I'm not pouring into myself in some way, I can't keep pouring into them and I have noticed if I keep pouring and pouring and pouring and my cup is empty, I'm not the best version of myself. So then I feel even more guilty because maybe I didn't handle situations the way that I, I wanted to. Um, so if I pour into me a little bit more, I pour into them better and I'm more patient with them and everything goes a lot smoother. Um, but yeah, that mom guilt is real and it doesn't matter. I think what phase you're in, you're, there's going to be some way that you're going to feel guilty. Um, you know, and I don't think we ever need to feel guilty. Um, It's something I've had to tell myself for pouring into ourselves a little bit because if we can be better us, then we can, you know, be show up for them a lot better and not really. Has taken me a lot of time to say like, I'm going to take a little bit of time for me so I can be better for them. Um, even though that might be taking time away from them specifically and Um, and in this phase of life, you know, and I think something that if you, if you feel guilty taking time away from them is find a time when you're not with them to get this stuff done. So whether that's waking up early in the morning or doing it after they go to bed at night or doing it at nap time. Time when you're not going to be with them to pour into yourself so that when they are awake you can spend all that time with them and be a better version of yourself for them. Um, you know, I think it's important and just Feeling out what this phase of life looks like and knowing that no matter what, we're going to have that little bit of mom guilt. And managing that together is huge. It helps to know that other people are going through that or working through it. Oh, yeah. Yeah. You did that today, right? Like, you chose to set up a little bit of a time with your mom to watch the kids. Unlike, I don't know if you all, if you're watching online, you could, might have seen a little head pop over. So cute. It's important for you to make time. And Shelby did that to pour into all of you. And so we are very grateful for you and your time. Now, after having gotten to learn from you for the past hour, there are probably people who are ready to take a next step. or to learn more or to pour in themselves in a different way and Shelby, how can they get in touch with you to see if maybe you're the right coach and fit for them? Yeah, so there are a few different ways that you can reach out to me. Um, you can follow me on my social medias, which is scfitness905. Um, and all of my contact information is through there as well. Um, I keep all, everything in there. Or you can reach out to me on my website. That is scfitness905.com. And there is a form that you can fill out on there if you want to start coaching or if you just want to open the conversation of what that might look like. Um, and when I hop on calls with people, whether they want to start the coaching or not, I always try to give them something to take away with them. So. Um, you know, if you just want to hop on a call to chat about what you could be doing different, whether you jump into the coaching or not, um, I always try to leave you with something to walk away with to help you with where you're at right now. Um, and that you can start implementing in your life, whether, whether that's signing up for coaching or just, you know, continuing on with your way. Um, But also I try to provide a lot of stuff in my social medias too. So if you follow me on social media, you know, I try to pour as much as I can into there as free advice and to help motivate you. Um, so you can Like I said, follow me on Instagram, sefitness905. Um, I also have a Facebook page too, um, where I, you know, I'm putting posts too. So if you want to reach out, definitely do. Send me a message and, you know, we can just have a conversation. I love talking with moms and all the different seasons of lives. Ones that are, you know, Past where I'm at so that I have something to look forward to and ones that maybe are behind me that are just becoming new moms. Since becoming a mom have loved pouring into other mothers and letting them find the best version of themselves because that looks different for everybody. And you do it so well. Shelby, thank you for your time, your expertise, your love, and helping so many of us realize the importance of making time for yourself, for your health and wellness, and removing that pressure of mom guilt for you. Listeners, we are going to link some fun things in the show notes. We will, of course, provide social opportunities for you to connect with Shelby and We'll talk a little bit more too about supplements and we'll link some of Shelby's favorite supplements in the show notes and that burger bowl recipe. We'll include that too because Shelby is so right. She wants to provide value to you personally. For nothing, right? And this is a way for her to be able to do so through this capacity and create that relationship that so many of you deserve. So Shelby, thank you again. We so appreciate you. Thank you so much for having me. Um, I hope everybody really enjoyed it. And remember, you can do hard things.
