Taught Not Told Podcast
Our mission is to teach you everything you need to know and implement so you can be extremely successful on your journey towards health and fitness. I strive to make complex topics and challenging methods stupid simple to understand so YOU can take action with confidence knowing what you're doing will WORK! Please enjoy!
Much Love,
Coach Tyler
Taught Not Told Podcast
EP#37: Unlock Life-Long Health: Carolina Gonzalez’s Fat Loss Journey
Ready to transform your lifestyle and achieve sustainable health goals?
Join us on the Taught Not Told podcast as we sit down with Carolina Gonzalez, who shares her compelling two-year journey from rigid routines and social sacrifices to a balanced, fulfilling life guided by her coach, Tyler.
Carolina’s story is a testament to overcoming low energy levels and stringent workout schedules, and finding joy in the process. Her candid discussion about the challenges she faced and the triumphs she achieved offers a relatable and inspiring narrative for anyone looking to integrate healthy habits into their daily life.
You'll learn practical strategies for planning and improving daily habits that Carolina and Tyler have perfected over the years. From tracking food intake and pre-planning meals to setting mini-goals and using alarms as reminders, this episode is packed with actionable tips to help you stay on track.
Carolina shares her significant milestones, such as weight loss and body measurements, and discusses the benefits of eating more while building muscle and boosting metabolism. Hear firsthand how prioritizing sleep and self-care has not only improved Carolina’s health but also enhanced her relationships and personal happiness. Tune in to celebrate Carolina's inspiring journey and the invaluable coaching support that has propelled her towards ongoing success and well-being.
In This Video We Cover:
00:00 Introduction and Background
01:24 Finding Balance and Integrating Healthy Habits
07:18 Setting Boundaries and Planning Ahead
10:20 Prioritizing Sleep for Energy and Well-being
15:10 Tracking Food and Making Mindful Choices
19:11 The Benefits of Working with a Coach
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Hope you found this helpful!
Much love,
Coach Tyler🤍
Welcome back to the Taught Not Told podcast, and I'm here with a very special episode with my client, carolina, and today we're gonna talk about her experience working together. I think we're coming up on just about two years now and I'm so excited to share some of her wins, some of the amazing things we've been able to accomplish together and also, I think, the most important thing, my favorite thing, is the balance we've been able to create in her lifestyle. I think the most important thing, my favorite thing, is the balance we've been able to create in her lifestyle. So, that being said, carolina, could you give us a little rundown, give us an idea of who you are, where you're from, if you're open to sharing, how old you are, maybe, and we'd love to hear just about you and your life story and what brought you here.
Speaker 2:Awesome. Thank you, Tyler, for having me on today.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:Carolina Gonzalez, and actually tomorrow will mark two years that we've been working together. And let's see, I'm originally from Montclair, california, and I live right now in downtown Los Angeles. I am 37 years old. I have been into working out all things health and fitness for a very long time. I've had my highs, I've had my lows, I've been through so many different gyms, so many different fitness challenges, and so I decided to start working with a coach, because I'm a person who likes structure, I like programs, I like to follow schedules, and so I decided to start working with you. So I can, you know, get some direction on where to go.
Speaker 1:Amazing, amazing, and taking things to the next level is absolutely what we did. Now I want to know, before joining, right before we got started working together, I would love to have an idea of kind of where you were before, right before our first phone call, before we got you into the program. You know, what was your energy like, what was your body and your relationship with that, what was your mindset, discipline, what were some of those things that you recall from two years ago, before we started, like, where were you in all those aspects? If you don't mind sharing, yeah, sure, definitely.
Speaker 2:So I will say my energy level was low. I was working out five times a week. I was very rigid and I would accomplish my goals week. I was very rigid in how I would accomplish my goals. So I was always like, okay, in order for me to be healthy, I have to do XYZ and I'm going to have to give up all these other things. And so I was basically living a life that wasn't sustainable part of being healthy and doing work and all things life and it was stressful, felt like I couldn't enjoy the food that I wanted to enjoy, I couldn't go out with friends because I knew I'm going to go to bed late, I'm not going to eat, you know right. And so I remember just feeling like there were a lot of inconsistencies, for sure, and there just wasn't a good relationship with between me and all my healthy goals that I wanted to accomplish.
Speaker 1:And you're not alone in that, I would say most people end up in a start from that position too.
Speaker 1:And what's crazy is, like you mentioned, like you were working out five days a week and still having a hard time and I mean, to be honest, a lot of people just have a hard time showing up even once a week. So the fact that you were already showing up for yourself five days a week, already conscious of these behaviors you had, it was really just like fine tuning and figuring out, okay, what were you doing right, what were you doing wrong and we'll dive into that in a moment here. But my question is is, like, what was the biggest challenge that you were facing before we got started? Like, what was the biggest thing that you believe was standing in your way of, like really taking your results to the next level, being able to lose the weight? And, by the way, I don't know if I even got what was your original goal? Like, what was the original goal that got you to sign up or decided to make you decide it was?
Speaker 2:to lose body fat was to lose body fat, and I was not doing that at all. I wasn't eating right, I wasn't eating enough protein. Doing that at all, I wasn't eating right, I wasn't eating enough protein. I quite honestly, didn't know, like, what to eat and I didn't know, like, how often I should be working out and what steps I should, how many steps I should be taking a day, and so there were a lot of things that I didn't know what to do and I was just doing what I thought I should be doing and not getting results. And I think, like I mentioned, it was I was so, I believe, that I could only do this or that, like I was not integrating my healthy habits with my regular lifestyle. So that was the biggest challenge right there. It's like I need to. I need to figure out a way to be able to do both. Otherwise, I'm not going to get the results that I want and still enjoy the things that I want to do life.
Speaker 1:Now we're in a much different place, right, yeah, and exact thing that you just spoke on, which is that balance of not thinking everything's black and white but really almost finding that gray area in between, of, like in the foods I love, I can still go out with my friends, I can still go dance and go out with my friends and still see results.
Speaker 1:So that kind of goes into my next question, which is like what have you achieved and what is the lifestyle look like now that you've been able to integrate these habits and things into your lifestyle?
Speaker 2:So what I've been able to achieve now is being able to accomplish my, my daily protocol into my regular life. There's I, like I mentioned, I integrate things. I'm not stacking goals on top of goals. I'm I'm like rethinking what I have to do. It's like, okay, I, I need to take steps, but I also need to go walk my dog and I also need to take a break from working out, so, getting my butt outside. I'm accomplishing all three, all three things right. I'm getting my steps, my dog. I'm getting a mental break from the computer because I have a very high, demanding job and it's hard to take breaks. And so you know, oh, I need protein intake, right. So, oh my gosh, I have to call back a friend. Okay, well, I'm going to make my shake while I call my friend. So I've been able to figure out how to integrate all these different things and still live my normal schedule throughout the day love that.
Speaker 1:I love that. I feel like that's, that's the ultimate mission and the fact that we've been able to really accomplish that. Like, my favorite thing is on your weekly check-ins, when I read like went out this weekend and I was able to go dance with my friends or went to a concert, or I was able to do these things and I was also able to still hit my weekly goals I was still able to get my steps in.
Speaker 1:I was still able to get my steps in. I was still able to get my protein in. And the most important thing from my perspective is also going and doing these things and being able to have these foods and not have any guilt or shame behind it. I feel like so often people have this thing where they'll go eat with their friends and then after, like I feel like shit, like I just put this food in my body, I regret it, I'm so mad. I just ate that. Like you also can go out with your friends, have some food.
Speaker 1:That maybe isn't the most ideal but you also know like, oh, I hit all my goals for the day. I have the room in my calories, I have the room in my caloric budget to fit these things in that I love I, I can still have the drink, I can still go dance and party and, by the way, that gives you the extra steps, so you're stoked about it.
Speaker 2:Exactly, there you go, yeah.
Speaker 1:So I think it's awesome the lifestyle you've been able to create in being able to integrate. I feel like a lot of people have a hard time finding ways to integrate habits such as the protein, such as the steps, into their lifestyle. So I'm curious do you have any tips or habits or things that you've done recently or over the last two years that you found like this is a little hack for me, for me to get my steps in, or it is a little hack for me to get my protein in? Do you have any that you could possibly share?
Speaker 2:I do. I do so, yeah, over the last two years I've learned and with your help too, I've learned ways to build these habits right. But it involves a little bit of pre planning, which is fine, because once you do it you know so often it just becomes nature. So I will say I do track my food. I do track, at the very least, my protein and my calorie, and so in the mornings I'm kind of deciding what I'm going to eat for the day. I do maybe like pre-plan a few things and then in the evening, just so it takes the guesswork out later in the night, right? So I'm not struggling like, oh my goodness, what else do I have to eat? And if I don't end up eating it, that's OK, because maybe something else replaced it. And if I don't end up eating it, that's okay, because maybe something else replaced it. So I always have like backup meals already pre-planned in my fitness valve. I also sometimes set alarms.
Speaker 2:I know this sounds crazy but, there's been times where I'm thinking, oh, I'm done for the day, I ate all my protein, all that, and then I wake up in the morning I forgot to drink that shake or whatever right. And so every now and then if I'm like, okay, I'm gonna have to eat one more time and I'll set an alarm, whatever the time is, you know, make sure you drink your shake or have one more snack. So sometimes I set alarms. I do have like a mini goal where I try to hit 4000, 5000 steps by the middle of the day, and so that encourages me to take a morning walk and make sure I'm moving around. So it kind of helps with that goal. So I'm not last minute in the day trying to get 8,000 steps. So again, it's just like it's just little things, little pre-planning things. I mean, I'm definitely still not perfect, I'm still working on my sleep, but it's acknowledging where you can improve and then figuring out how you can get better in that habit.
Speaker 1:That's amazing and I think that'll be super helpful for whoever is listening to this. So my biggest takeaway from that was, like you actually plan ahead. I feel like so many people go into every day like, oh, let's just wing it and find out what happens, you know.
Speaker 2:I used to be like that too, and that's okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah. But you know, obviously, if you want to go to the next level with results, you want to go to the next level with the changes you're seeing, the habits you're integrating. I think it's important to plan. And this is the thing is that these things early on for you, from at least my perspective you can tell me if I'm wrong here, but from my perspective, early on, these things were like okay, I have to be super regimented, I have to integrate these, I have to learn these habits, I have to make them part of my lifestyle. But now I feel like a lot of these are a lot more intuitive, like you, almost without trying, get the four to 5,000 steps before noon. Right, you, noon. You get the water intake in before that time of day. Oh, protein, hitting your protein goals. I don't think we've missed a protein goal in like 16 weeks. And then, on top of that, I think, the sleep one.
Speaker 2:I know early on.
Speaker 1:this was one kind of off and on a little bit. We definitely had a hard time with the sleep. I know you're a very busy person. You're very career driven. You are always kicking ass in your career field. We have gone through some job changes and very stressful things throughout the last two years working together, but you never let your health suffer because of these changes.
Speaker 2:And.
Speaker 1:I think one of the big, most important things that you've been able to really dial in over the last, say, five, six months. I feel like we've been consistently getting at least seven. But I notice on your check-ins you always say your energy is like sky high, just at the moon, when you get really good sleep. And I'm curious to know what have been some of the tricks or habits or what are the big things that you've been able sleep and I'm curious to know what have been some of the tricks or habits or what are the big things that you've been able to do.
Speaker 1:I know, maybe conversations with people around you, I know when you're with your family for a little while, maybe setting some boundaries, but I'm curious what are some of the leap habits that you've been able to build into your life to improve your sleep quality, because I know it's played probably the biggest role in your daily energy levels.
Speaker 2:Yeah, if you can recall the first year we worked together, it was failing my sleep goal for a long time. Well, you said the key word is boundaries. So I think I've had to work on that and setting boundaries fair boundaries with my family, with my friends, and just being honest and saying, hey, I'm going to go to bed early tonight or hey, I'm going to call it a night, I'll see you guys tomorrow. You know, like I think it's just getting comfortable with stating what you want, right, getting comfortable with saying, hey, I'm going to say yes to my goal and going to bed early and just being honest. And at first you and I talked about this for a lot. You feel bad a little bit, but then you end up getting used to like, okay, this is what I need to do in order to get to point B, right, and I remember how good I feel when I do get good sleep, have so much energy even through the weekend, and I get so much done, and so.
Speaker 2:But it's just practicing boundaries. You know saying, hey, I pick up a phone call, hey, I can chat for about 15 minutes and I got to. You know, go to sleep and my friends will always respect that and um, and then also to uh, my, my phone. You know we're all guilty of being on our phones and scrolling and things, and so I've had to take some time to learn like you don't always have to respond right away, um, and so it's like you know it's an emergency, someone will call me, and if it's a message and I need to respond to it tomorrow morning, then that's fine, and I have a lot of friends who now text me saying you're probably asleep now, and so I think it's working because they know my, yeah, they know my schedule now and so, um, so, just putting the phone away and and I know it's hard, I mean, I still struggle with it too, but it's putting the phone down, you know, an hour or 30 minutes before at least, and then just getting in bed reading a book, meditating.
Speaker 2:I've got into meditating a lot lately too, and so I have my phone down on my nightstand as far as possible, but I'm playing something from YouTube and I'm just meditating, which helped me with work too, and so doing that stretching right before bed to foam rolling, that really relaxes me and it helps me to go to bed. So there's a lot of little things that I that I do in order to me to going to bed. So love that and.
Speaker 1:I feel like a lot of people tend to feel that like, okay, setting these boundaries, am I being selfish or to to a degree, you kind of have to be to an extent of like in order to really change these habits. You do have to be a little bit selfish at times, but I will say I feel like it is less selfish because you also know when you're getting better sleep you're a better person to be around, right? Yes, exactly your energy is better.
Speaker 1:You're more fun, you know you're less stressed out and I feel like that's one of the most important things I've noticed personally because, by the way, I can totally relate to you Sleep, the phone thing, being able to go to bed at a consistent time every night, like even to this day. I have my moments, I have my days, but ever since I've really made sleep a priority in my life, I've noticed these things and I noticed I'm a much more pleasant coach to be around, whether it's at the gym or just at home. My energy is better and attitude is better and so I totally can relate to you on those things. And I think if there's anything I were to tell the people listening, it's like don't be afraid to be a little bit selfish at times, because in return.
Speaker 1:It's going to build and make those relationships with friends, family, whatever even better. So, going back a little bit to what we've achieved, I know one of the things that sparked this idea of getting on the podcast with you is that we actually just hit our lowest weight since working together. So that's freaking exciting. So I also know that you track your waist measurements and stuff. So what are some of the biggest achievements we've had since working together?
Speaker 2:More like metrics, wise biggest achievements we've had since working together. More like metrics wise, I would first of all I've I've lost five pounds the last two months or so. I think that was awesome and I think it's just being consistent as much as possible. I've lost inches around my waist. I've lost at least almost two inches off my waist and what else. My arms are slimming down also, which is nice, and I'm sure my body fat has gone down as well and um, just overall, I just feel really good too, like when I'm wearing my outfits.
Speaker 2:Now I'm like I like how this fits, or I'm feeling more comfortable wearing my high-waisted shorts, I'm tucking in my shirt. Um, I'm just feeling really good inside and out. I really am. But yeah, numbers are going down and I'm super excited about that. I think our like our goals for me to be down about 120. I'm at 122, so we're almost there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, super close, I love it. Yeah, so I think the clothes picture you sent me the other day ideally I'd like to attach you here somewhere, but that picture was amazing. You sent me the other day. You could see your confidence. You were just very comfortable in your clothes. That was super exciting, and I think one thing that you can't really track with a scale or a tape measure that I think is by far one of the most important things from my perspective is that you're eating more food.
Speaker 2:And.
Speaker 1:I feel like in the past we started at such a low calorie amount. We spent a lot of time building up your metabolism. We got you up to building a ton of muscle. You're by far the strongest you've probably ever been, would you say? That's true? Yeah, definitely. And so the strength is there, the muscle's there, your weight's lower than where we started, and with a significant amount of muscle like your quads, your glutes, your back muscles. It's crazy to see those pictures side by side and on top of that, like we were eating more now. Now we're in a cut right now, so obviously our calories are a little bit lower. We're trying to drop that body fat. But what's even better is that the same calorie amount. Where we're eating now is where you were maintaining, if not gaining, weight before, and now you're dropping pound after pound every week, the same calorie amount, and that's like the most mind-blowing thing that I love to see yeah, 100.
Speaker 1:And I think my favorite part about that is like now, once we get you to that goal, once we get you to a more comfortable, confident place where you're like, okay, I am like I'll go in a bikini anywhere and everywhere because I'm so confident right?
Speaker 1:I think it's great because now, once we bring you back up to maintenance, you're eating more food than you were when we started and being able to maintain the healthiest, the leanest physique that you've ever had, and that's what makes me happy, and I think that's what also makes you very happy, as well, right, definitely, I love food.
Speaker 2:It's such a foodie I remember when you, when we dropped my calories, I was like I'm able to do this, but uh, yeah, I'm looking forward to that phase.
Speaker 1:And you know what's crazy is, even at the calorie amount you are in, even in a deficit, even while losing body fat, you're still going out. You're just you. Just you were. Where were you, where did you just go on like two vacations.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so two weeks ago I was in Palm Desert and I we went out to eat. I had all the food that I wanted. I I didn't really hold back, to be honest. I had a drink, I had a little bit of, like, ice cream at the end of dinner. Like I wasn't holding back, I wanted to have a good time. I tried everything and it fit fine. You know, like, obviously I have two big bowls of ice cream, obviously, but still got to enjoy the things that I like.
Speaker 1:So yeah, and she came back and her weight's still dripping. It's crazy, that's amazing. So, carolina, it's been amazing working with you. I know we're so close to our goals. We're still crushing it. My question is would you recommend taught, not told coaching to a friend family? Would you recommend to someone else, and if so, why?
Speaker 2:Yes, I would. There's a lot of reasons, but I would say the first one is that it's helpful to have a program in place. It's helpful to have an expert working with you week by week to figure out what to do, what you can improve on. I've learned so much from you just in the last two years. I learned a lot about myself and how I can improve in living a healthier lifestyle. And one thing I like to add is that no one's perfect. I'm not always consistent, and you've always reminded me that I'm human, and it's really encouraging. I'm not a perfectionist, but I do always like to be crushing my goals, but I appreciate that you remind me that, hey, it's okay if we don't do something, and it just motivates me to just get right back onto it the next week. And just being in this program has helped me to stay consistent with my goals.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for sharing that. Yeah Well, Carolina, it's been an absolute pleasure working with you. And I'm so excited to see what we accomplish next. Aside from that, is there anything else you had on your mind, anything else you'd like to share?
Speaker 2:up consistently. I'm working out. When I'm on vacation, I'm not stressed about what I'm eating, and so it's been such a pleasure. Thank you so much for coaching me in the last two years.
Speaker 1:I really appreciate it and I made my day. Thank you so much, carolina, I appreciate it, and thank you so much for taking the time to come on the podcast today and share your journey, and I cannot wait to see what we accomplish next. And, as always, keep up the good work.
Speaker 2:Thank you, see you later. Bye.
