Own It with Samantha Warren

On this week's episode of Decades of Strength, we discuss the most common traits of our clients who have experienced success in their pursuit of losing weight. Almost all diets fail and rightfully so - it's hard to shed those pounds especially when you are looking for an end result. These statistics should not discourage you from your own goals! Today we each share our experiences with clients and get clearer on some of the equations for success: Being honest with yourself about what you want and what you are willing to do to get there, not having expectations or tying worth or success to results, and practicing gratitude and a 'one day at a time' attitude. Losing weight is hard, but keeping it off is harder. Focusing on what has already been achieved rather than the peaks still ahead will help you succeed long term and cultivate a healthier and happier mindset and life. Being coachable and having an open mind can make or break your results. If you aren't willing to think different, get outside of your comfort zone or trust in your coach, then how will you succeed? In the end it comes down to what your priorities are. You can choose to make time, or not. But at the end of the day, you are not bound by your circumstances. You have the power to change anything in your life at anytime. Your life is in your hands!

(I don’t fit in. I don’t speak my truth because I want to fit in and have everyone to like me. I don’t feel worthy enough to be in a loving relationship or open myself up to love. I can never do enough. I always feel the need to do more, be more, or give more to everyone else. I’m scared of success, the responsibility that comes with it and leaving others behind. I doubt & dismiss compliments because I don’t truly feel worthy of receiving them. I can’t slow down because there is so much to be done & I'm not doing enough.) If any of these statements resonate with you, the first thing I want you to know is that you are not alone. These thoughts [limiting beliefs & sabotaging tendencies] will make or break us. They are responsible for 95% of the thoughts in our mind. Although not conscious, they stem from childhood & move into adulthood. There’s days where I still feel like I don’t belong. And that I’m not doing enough to be important or feel worthy. But now, those subconscious thoughts that have been leading my life are no longer subconscious. They have moved to my conscious mind. Now that I have awareness, I have the power to change them. I have the power to rewrite my story & change what I tell myself & what I believe to be true. And so do you. So what’s my new story?: I don’t fit in. But maybe I wasn’t meant to fit in. I was meant to stand out. I was meant to be a shining light for you all. I created this podcast series to share some of the most inner thoughts & opinions of myself - with the hope it helps at least one of you. Tune in now.

Struggling with things but feeling helpless?? You’re not alone! On this week’s episode of Decades of Strength, join Nichole, Kim and I as we discuss our biggest struggles in the present moment and how important it is to talk about them, write about them, and distance ourselves from them. Becoming aware and understanding that we are not defined by our thoughts can be a game-changer and a mindset shift that can help you positive and focused!

On today’s episode I have Dr. Stephen Cabral, a naturopath who suffered severe health complications starting at the age of 17. He saw over 50 different doctors, tried over 100 different treatment protocols, but still saw no hope of recovery. Now, he’s overcome his health issues and wants to share his message with the world: don’t let anyone tell you that you have to suffer for the rest of your life. This concept not only applies to fat loss, but to anything you’re struggling with. Tune into this week’s episode to hear how Dr. Cabral recommends rebalancing your body and renewing your health.

Do you compare yourself to others on social media or in real life? Cool, me too. It’s easy to forget what happens behind the perfectly curated photo, the lighting, the poses, or someone’s nice jacket. Maybe you’ve wanted to look or be like “that girl,” but just because someone’s appearance seems great, does not mean their quality of life, relationships, family life or self-esteem is great. On this week’s episode of Decades of Strength, join Kim, Nichole and I as we talk about strategies to stay in our lane, eliminate the sources of comparison in our lives that do not serve us, and to remember that our worth does not depend on our bodies.

Our cookbook and healthy habits guide, Balanced Eats is FINALLY here!! One copy at a time, our goal is to help you remember that you aren’t alone and that you have the power to rebuild your relationship with food and quit your self-sabotaging. Just because you have struggled with food in the past does not mean that you need to struggle with food for the rest of your life. If you are struggling, we get it. For a long time, our mindset around food was damaged. Sam struggled with emotional/stress eating and wavering between cycles of clean, restricted weekday eating followed by weekend binges. Amanda had a history of ignoring her cravings and hunger cues and struggling to give herself permission to enjoy more fun foods. Ultimately, our struggles were mostly in our head - we were telling ourselves a story that was sabotaging our fat loss efforts. When we realized how many of you struggle with the same thing, we decided we wanted to write this book to help you re-learn how to eat, mend your relationship with food and eliminate the dieting mindset you’ve recited to yourself for the past years. You have the power to rewrite your story, and our book, Balanced Eats, will help you do just that.

Do you feel restricted with the foods you can eat or have a hard time being flexible with your diet? On this week’s episode of Decades of Strength, we invite a very special guest, Sarah Duff, to help us chat about how to regain control and reframe your mindset around food. We discuss our unique relationships with food and how we successfully allow ourselves permission to eat anything we want. Tune into this week’s episode to learn how to overcome any negative associations you have with foods and find a balanced way to eat and live without the need to track calories!

Do you feel like you’re in the passenger’s seat of your own life? On today’s episode, one of the most beautiful people I know, Salwa Galal, joins us to talk about holistic health - mind, body, and spirit. A life-changing one year trip to Egypt was what she needed to open her eyes and grant her the awareness she needed to realize that she had the power to regain control and determine the path of her life. Today, she shares with us how you can manifest that same power, too! Salwa is a jill-of-all-trades: a certified yoga instructor, soon to be mental health counselor, and talented aesthetician. She reminds us the importance of being in alignment, being present and strengthening your mind - the most powerful tool you have! Tune into this week’s episode as she gives us some actionable strategies for becoming more mindful, self-aware, and ways to slow down in order to rewrite your story and change your life!

Throughout our health and fitness journeys, Kim, Nichole and I have done many things wrong. A huge setback for all of us was suffering from an all-or-nothing mentality and not seeing the bigger picture. On this week’s episode, we wanted to share our biggest mistakes and lessons in health, mindset, nutrition and training! Tune into to learn how to shift your mindset and bypass years of our mistakes, which now, we are able to reflect on as lessons and the catalyst for our individual growth. We share why we quit doing hours of mind-numbing cardio, why 1200 calories is not the magic number, our candid thoughts on how we compare ourselves to others, why more exercise is not better, and why finding a balance between your mental, physical and emotional health can leave you with the most satisfying results and genuine happiness.

Have you ever said, I just want to be happy? Or maybe you’ve been looking for happiness outside of yourself - in a relationship, in food, alcohol, exercise, or any other coping method. On today’s episode, the incredible relationship & self-awareness expert Stefanos Sifandos explains to us how and why we need to get into the habit of self-assessment & observation of our own self-sabotaging thoughts & limiting beliefs. We get vulnerable as we share specific events that affected the story we tell ourselves. He shares why the voids in our pasts become our values, which means that the things we lacked in childhood or past relationships are the things which we now primarily seek. Tune into this week’s episode to learn how to become more self-aware in order to connect with others, to open ourselves up to lasting happiness and experience true fulfillment.