Transcript
What's up, you guys? Famous Ashley Grant here,
and welcome to More Movement, Please, a podcast
where we talk about getting our bodies moving
and finding joy in the journey. Today, I am so
excited to bring you the first episode in a special
three -part series featuring my incredible fitness
instructor, Rhonda Goode. You guys, this woman
is fabulous. She's wonderful, she's beautiful,
and I'm honored to share her story with you.
In this first episode, we are diving into where
it all began for Rhonda, that pivotal moment
in 2011 when she walked into a gym at 35 years
old and made a decision that would change her
entire life and ultimately change the lives of
many other people. We're talking about the family
health history that scared her into action, the
generational patterns of diabetes and high blood
pressure that she was determined to break, and
how she was able to lose 120 pounds and five
dress sizes. by showing up for herself day after
day. Now listen, I'm going to give you all a
fair warning. Rhonda doesn't sugarcoat anything.
She's going to tell you exactly what it took,
including the hard truths about food addiction,
family dynamics, and why your Mountain Dew habit
might need to go. And yes, we're definitely getting
into her very specific salad requirements. Because,
apparently, not all lettuce is created equal.
So this is part one of three. Buckle up. And
let's get into it. I'm just excited that you're
here and welcome to the show. So we're just going
to kind of dive right in. You posted March 30th,
2018 about your gym anniversary. You had joined
on March 31st, 2011. And I'm curious as to what
was happening in your life at that time at 35
years old that made you join the gym. I was still
at a desk job and I felt horrible. I had come
out of working. probably 70 hours a week and
was slowing down. And so I had more time available
and thought, I really need to do something about
this before it gets out of control. Because I
watched my family and my mother and I thought,
and of course, a coworker is who talked me into
joining the gym. And she lasted about four weeks
before she left me. And I looked around and thought,
you know, I don't. notice anything physically
different yet, but mentally I feel better. I
feel better if I'm here. And so I just kept going.
And then when I wasn't sleeping in the middle
of the night, I was at a 24 hour gym at that
point. So at 2 AM, I'd still go back and I'd
walk on the treadmill and I just kept going.
And I thought, I'm going to do this. I'm going
to change the trajectory of my life. I'm going
to do this for nobody but me. whether there's
anyone next to me or not, I'm going to do this.
So a coworker talked you into it, but then you
kind of just fell in love with it. Well, I was
really determined not to be my mother. Okay.
And I tell everyone that there has to be a driving
force and it's usually not going to be necessarily
your partner or your best friend. It's usually
within you. And there has to be something that
says that. Whether you feel like self -esteem
and worth is worth it or not, that I'm going
to probably be here. And if I'm going to be here,
what condition am I going to be in? Yeah. And
another thing that you said led you to it was
the genetics factor. In multiple posts, you talked
about having really bad genes on both sides,
being headed in the same direction as your family.
Can you paint a picture for the listeners as
to what you were seeing in your family's health
that scared you? And how did you break that generational
curse? All of my mom's generation, not her parents,
but her generation and all of her cousins were
diabetic and high blood pressure. They were diagnosed
in probably their 30s, 40s with high blood pressure
first. Then came diabetes. And diabetes, of course,
is very common. And when people are diagnosed
with it, it's often looked as if it's not a big
deal because you're given plenty of medication
to manage it. And, you know, it's rare that people
have doctors that talk to them about. how to
address it without medication because everything
is handed to you in pill form first. And as long
as it's managed that way and you're supposed
to kind of watch your diet a little, it's good.
And then starts the insulin slide where all of
the oral meds aren't going to control it because
you also aren't addressing your diet or your
weight or anything else. So now you're moving
to needles. And then you're moving to needles
multiple times per day and then you're increasing
your dosage. And I mean, this was early on, you
know, for her in her 50s, but watching all of
them. And then I, too, was guilty because I would
go to family reunions and there were no family
reunions on my mother's side until after my grandmother
died, which I thought was kind of interesting.
It was almost like they looked and thought, oh,
people just die because it was sudden. And I
thought we should probably get together. And
so you would watch them, all of them, just pile
a plate as high as they could pile it. And it
was almost like a competition between the men,
especially sons and their fathers. And I would
watch them just go back and go back. And you
would be guilty of it too. Not that you were
competing, but it was just the environment you
were in. And so the photo that I post, kind of
here and there on social media of me is not just
a picture of me, like when I was bigger, but
is a picture at the reunion with my mother. And
we both look like we are just in a food coma
because we are, I mean, our eyes are like, we
look like we're on drugs. And, you know, and
when I look back at that picture, I mean, it
was like, wow. I mean, that's That's something.
I mean, I looked like I was drugged out. And
I'm sure that I had just consumed all that food.
And it was an after photo. And I was huge, you
know. And I was not that old, probably, let's
see, probably 23 at that point. And so. I mean,
I started gaining weight as soon as I got married,
which is very typical because of lifestyle changes
and lots of females go on birth control and that
doesn't help. And I did all of that too. So it
wasn't just that I also had a desk job, but just
looking at that. And then my father's side, same
thing, all high blood pressure, all diabetic.
His mom lost half of a leg to diabetes before
her ultimate death from cancer. My father died
from cancer, but had diabetes the entire time.
And so dying doesn't scare me, as I tell everyone.
Living like that does, where you just are not
in control of your life because everything is
built around all of the medicines you take. You
feel like garbage all the time. You're not physically
active and you have no energy. And it just. compounds
because i don't feel well so i don't feel like
moving well i'm not going to move because i don't
feel well and i haven't moved in oh 10 years
and it's just you know and you just get used
to it you get comfortable in it but watching
all of them was i'm an only child with no children
by choice and so for me i was like there's no
one to take care of me yeah and so i really need
to do something about this before it's too late
because it can get too late yeah Yeah. It is
interesting that you said that you look like
you were drugged out because, you know, they've
done studies and they've shown that sugar is
has the same things, some of the same effects
as cocaine. And yeah, that's it is a drug. It
is a drug. Yeah. Well, back in 2020, you said
that you were down 120 pounds and five dress
sizes. And you shared a photo from when you were
25, gaining weight every year with that best
job, working 10 hours a day. Walk us through
the transformation of what it was like to start
making those physical changes, not just physical
ones, but who you became as a person through
the process. You know, at first when you start,
well, I think for most people, I mean, and everyone
will tell you that physical activity is the easy
thing to start and do. And it is. I mean. You
have to start, though. But once you make it a
habit, that's easy. Addressing your diet and
other things, it's not easy. I mean, most of
us want things that are quick and simple. And
I always cooked, but I cooked simple meals and
still do. So it wasn't that I was necessarily
eating out a lot, but I ate out more. I mean,
when I would go to McDonald's at my biggest.
And I was with my mother who would encourage
me to get more food because, honey, you're going
to be hungry if you don't. So I would get two
double cheeseburgers and a large fry and a soda
and consume all of it. And my mother would sit
there and look at me after she'd also eaten an
enormous amount of food and say, do we need to
go back through the drive -thru and get more?
I mean, it was just constant encouragement of.
You know, and I don't know if because my my parents
didn't live through the depression. So it wasn't
that it was just this mindset that they had.
So you kind of have to unlearn that, that, OK,
I may still eat some bad things, but I also know
that I should probably stop at a certain point
instead of just not stopping as I'm eating, you
know, because people don't really understand
for the most part when they're actually hungry.
Because it's, well, I eat at this time of day
every day, or I eat this much every time I eat,
or I always, I don't like leftovers or I don't
want to throw food out or whatever it is. And
so they just keep going back. So you got to have
to unlearn that too. And I think that's the first
step from normal people that aren't going to
get on these fad trains of doing all kinds of
crazy things is that when am I actually hungry?
So am I going to slow down and eating? Because
that's the other thing, too. People eating while
they're driving, people eating while they're
working at the desk, people eating all the time
because they don't realize it. Or while they're
watching TV. Or watching TV or whatever. Everything's
mindless, you know. So it's stopping and saying,
oh, I'm full. Yeah. I don't need any more, whether
that's potato chips or whatever. I mean, I'm
full. And then as you change your diet, I mean,
I stopped eating fast food completely. I didn't
give up soda for. probably the first year, just
because it was like, well, I'm definitely not
seeing the results I would like to see. And I
was a Mountain Dew drinker, which is common in
this state anyway. And, you know, I mean, as
far as like how many I consume today, I don't
know, but probably three, four. I've never been
someone who has to have liquid with me all the
time. So it's not as if I just drink, drink,
drink, because I didn't do that. I've never done
that. I don't do it with water. I just, I don't.
And there's a lot of times I don't drink with
a meal. Because I don't necessarily feel compelled
to drink. I drink when I'm thirsty. I drink when
I'm working out. But it was the small steps like
that. Because I've never taken any gigantic,
crazy steps with food. I mean, I still eat, you
know, carbs and chocolate, as I tell you, every
day. Now, yesterday, at the end of the day, I
was like, did I eat chocolate today? And sometimes
I have to think about it. And it's like, oh yes,
I did. Okay. Well, you've consumed your amount
that you should have today. So you've had to
think about it. You must feel like you need some
more, but you're not going to do that. But now
we all have bad days, whether that's emotional
or whatever. And there are some days when I go,
oh, I'm going to eat it again. Yeah. I don't
care. I'm going to eat it again. Yeah. You know,
or I'm going to go to Cold Stone and get the
biggest thing of ice cream in the chocolate dip
cone with chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. Because
I know I work out every day and I'm going to
eat it, you know, but I don't do that weekly
even. Yeah. So it's just a it's just a change
of I'm still going to have treats. I'm still
going to eat what I want, but I'm probably going
to manage it better and eat less of it and maybe
less often. Yeah. But, you know, so it's all
that that you have to. And then as your mindset
changes and you physically start seeing changes,
of course, you became more confident. I mean,
of course you do. Yeah. That's part of it. And
then as you become more confident, many times
the people around you get really threatened.
And it's very common. And I tell people a lot
that, you know, do not be surprised when your
family who isn't willing to do the work. Because
my mother, up until she died, you're doing too
much. You're going to burn your body out. You're
working too hard. You're doing too much. You
know, and I always used to tell her, well. It's
going to wear out. So I can either wear it out
working it out or I can wear it out sitting like
you're sitting 25 hours a day. Like, I'll take
this. It is better. It feels better. So, you
know, so but it's just and it's very interesting
because most people deal with body dysmorphia
when you start and you are always going to see
yourself as the big person. And even now in the
mirror, when I look at myself, when I see my
shadow. Like in the sun. I mean, I'll never forget
the first time I really noticed my shadow in
the sun. I was like, who is that? Because you
just don't believe that you're that size. So
when you go clothes shopping, you go a size or
two too big. And some people are just more comfortable
in bigger clothes. I mean, you know, I don't
necessarily want a tight shirt for a lot of things,
but there's also just going in a dressing room
and going, oh, I can wear a medium. Or, oh, a
small fit. Wow. You know, wow. Because, you know,
you never really think that you'll get back to
that. But that's also part of the realization,
too, is that if you're starting in your 30s or
your 40s or your 50s, that you're not going to
have the body you had when you were 18 and 19.
It's not going to happen. And that's OK, because
you really don't want to have anything back from
18 or 19 because you were usually really young
and stupid. You know, so it's just what can how
can I be the best version of this age? And what
does this age look like for me when you look
around you and see other people that are your
age and younger and how horribly they live? Yeah,
they're all like in pain. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So
you've been adamantly consistent about one thing
across everything that you've ever posted. No
pills, no patches, no shakes, no surgery. And
you even mentioned that watching your mother,
your outlook became eat less, move more, stay
away from pharma. So since you're so opposed
to quick fixes, what do you say to people that
want the easy way? There's always a side effect.
Always. May not be soon. You may not notice it
immediately. But ultimately, there are always
going to be downfalls from taking the quick route.
It's going to affect you physically in some way.
I mean, I have not known one person before Ozempic
and all the shots. I've not known one person
that had any kind of weight loss surgery that
didn't have lifelong side effects from it. Not
one. And some are severe where they've got to
go back and have more surgeries. Some is just
constant stomach problems, constant. You know,
but I've never known one. And so, you know, all
the quick fixes and all the, I mean, you remember
back in the day when it was legal speed, like,
I forget, it started with a D, but there was
a diet pill that was on the market for years.
And then there was FinFin. But all these things
were pulled after they realized that, oh, this
is really causing heart attacks in people, you
know, because it's legal speed. And so, again,
I mean, if we're trying to get healthy. then
I mean, if you're, if you're going to just let
your heart explode, then just let it explode
from being fat and eating whatever you want.
I mean, so I, you know, I just, I don't believe
in pharma at all. So, you know, so I would, I'm
like, stay far, far away from it. And there are
always going to be people who say, well, I've
had no side effect. They're always, and I'm sure
there probably are. Yeah. There's always a small.
percentage of you know and lucky them yeah lucky
them yeah i mean i don't know if you know this
or not i think i did tell you but i'm not sure
12 years ago i did try the shots and pills i
was uh you know doing those Phenermine pills
and all the crap. And I lost 80 pounds. And then
I gained it right back the second I stopped.
Oh, yeah. And I remember getting an EKG and the
doctor literally saying to me, your heart seems
like it's going to stop. Like, what is happening?
What are you doing? And they were like, you should
not be doing what you're doing. Yeah. But yeah,
I gained it all back. And it sucked. Yeah. I
mean, that's the thing with almost all quick
fixes and all fad dieting, which is why I don't
prescribe any of it, including keto. I know sugar's
bad for you. I mean, I know that I'm not stupid,
but I also think it's unrealistic for the majority
of the population to say, I'm not going to eat
sugar. And I understand too, that it's a withdrawal
thing. Yeah. I mean, if you really stuck to it
and took it out of your diet for at least a month,
I'm sure you'd feel much better. I'm sure I'd
feel much better, but it's just not a bridge
I'm willing to cross. Not right now. Maybe I
will someday, but you know, right now it's not
going to happen. Got to have a chocolate. Got
to have happy foods. Yeah. Well, let's talk about
consistency over motivation. You posted motivation
subsides over time. Discipline is required to
keep going, keep showing up and working out even
when you don't feel like it. Those who quit lack
discipline. That was pretty direct of you. So
talk to me about the difference between motivation
and discipline. Well, everyone is motivated when
you start because you're motivated when anything
is new, whether that's a new job, exercise, a
new relationship. Everything's fun when it's
new. And then everything loses its luster over
time. So then you have to make a choice. And
all of my folks will tell you when they drag
themselves into the gym, they don't feel well.
They always feel better when they leave. They
may not feel great. I mean, they may be getting
sick. They may have had a bad day. They may be
exhausted, but they still feel better when they
walk out the door than when they walked in the
door, period. And that's just the way of worse.
Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, that's the way it works.
Well, how do you show up on the days you don't
feel like it? Well, that just probably comes
from work ethic more than anything else. I mean,
I never called into work on my desk job until
the very end in the last few years when I really,
really, really hated it. And then I started using
up some some time because I was like. Oh, boy,
because I never took vacations or anything else.
And so I started taking some time off then. But
I'm a hard worker and I always have been since
I was 17. I mean, I started working full time
at 17. So it's just what's in me. And I know
that regardless of how I feel, I show up because
they show up and they always show up, period.
At least a few do. Yeah. Yeah. Get a get a rotating
revolving door of people. Yeah. Yeah. So, you
know, and if you don't show consistency, I mean,
most people are looking for consistency, period,
in all aspects of their life. And so they know
they're going to get it with me. They know that
I'm never going to cancel a class or call a sub.
And so I'm there. They don't want to come see
me. That's fine. But they always know I'm going
to be there. And so. I wouldn't, I don't even
consider no matter how bad I feel, no matter
how tired I am, I still drive myself in. Yeah.
I remember even the day after your mom passed
you or you were there and I was shocked that
you showed up. Yeah. Yeah. Well, you're switching
gears. You say the scale is a liar. You said
you always tell people to measure when you start
and the scale moves very slowly and will disappoint
you every time. So if not the scale, what should
people be tracking? Definitely measurements and
then how their clothes fit. Obviously, everyone
has their favorite pants or their favorite shirts
or whatever the case may be. So as you start
working out and your body changes, you'll notice
that not only do you lose inches, but your body
just shifts. Things just shift. That's just how
it goes. And then for a very long time, like
every six months, I would notice shifting because
it was like. Hmm. I can't point it out, but this
shirt fits different than it did, you know? And
so it's definitely not. And people talk about
non -scale victories all the time. And, and those
are definitely something to take note of. I mean,
if you can't climb a flight of stairs without
losing your breath and then you can clearly that's
a victory. But when it comes to you and looking
at your body every day, because none of us are
happy with what we see. I mean, that's just human
nature. um, you know, you have to, you have to
really track like measurements and how things
fit that you have been wearing for the last two
years. You know, every time you grab that pair
of pants and then they start getting too loose
or the butt sagging or they're falling off. And
then it's like, Oh, so something really is happening.
Yeah. Well, it's like, even today I'm wearing
a shirt that I haven't been able to wear in 10
years. Yeah. There you go. Um, and I remember
one of the posts that you did, there was a picture
that you had posted and you said that, uh, When
you were filling out your retirement paperwork,
you were wearing an extra large and the shirt
you were wearing that day was like a small, I
think it was. And I was just like, yeah, that's
what I want. Yeah. So you've repeatedly said
eat chocolate and carbs every day that you do
that. But you also said I do not endorse no carbs
and no happy foods. But how do you balance what
you're eating and enjoy it while you're still
seeing results? Like what's your approach to
food that doesn't feel like deprivation? Um,
I try to manage things. So, um, I mean, I still
am. Pasta is my favorite thing in the world.
I could live on pasta. Uh, and so I used to,
what I used to do is, um, and I would always
justify it is I would get those nor, uh, little
bags of pasta. Yeah. 600 calories. Okay. So I
would eat that for lunch and be like, this is
600 calories. Everybody eats 600 calories at
lunch. I mean, 600 calories. So, you know, I
would have that for lunch and then I would fix
dinner and fix meat and vegetable and then more
rice -a -roni or whatever, you know. And it was
like, yeah, well, you know, whatever. So now
if I'm going to have pasta for dinner, which
I do, not daily, but I mean, I do, you know,
as my main course kind of thing. I mean, I'll
throw in some meat and veggies on it with it,
whatever. But at lunch, I'll have a salad, which
I have every single day. And yes, I'd never get
tired of my salads. And I know people think,
how can you eat the same thing every day? And
I think that a lot of people say that it's like,
well, when you're going to fast food restaurants,
you don't think about the fact that you're eating
the same crap like a burger from here or a burger
from there or, you know, or fried chicken. I
mean, it's really like all the it's all the same.
Like, you know, so I mean, people don't really
think about that. So. I stick with my salad every
single day. It's the same. I may vary what I
put on it slightly. And no protein. I do not.
And I don't eat heavy during the day because
I work out again at night. So my heaviest is
at night. And I don't eat at, I usually don't
eat until 8 o 'clock. And no, I don't go to bed
at 9 or 10. So, I mean, I have that conversation
with people all the time too. You shouldn't eat
that late. And I'm like, well, what time do you
eat dinner and what time do you go to bed? Yeah.
So to me, it's just like I don't get home until
after seven. So I eat at eight, but I also don't
go to bed until twelve or one. Yeah. So it's
about the same, you know. So I don't really think
it's detrimental because to me, it's apples and
apples. Like you're up four hours, you're up
four hours after you eat dinner, whatever the
case is. So I just try to manage like if I'm
going to eat pasta, you know, at night, then
maybe I'm definitely not going to have a baked
potato with the salad. that day maybe I'll have
soup a lot of times these days I'm just eating
the salad it's all I'm eating in the middle of
the day and having a protein drink like a muscle
milk in the morning if I'm really really hungry
I'll throw a bagel or something into the mornings
but I'm back on the muscle milk train right now
so I didn't know this well yeah so I've been
doing that most mornings and salad and then I
eat dinner at night and then usually I have the
chocolate after the salad usually. I always have
a salad first and it's like, oh, it's time for
chocolate. Yeah. So what's your go -to fixings
for the salad? What do you put on it? Has to
be a spring mix. I prefer a 50 -50 blend. I don't
mind spinach, but I have to have some colorful
lettuce. So here I am at the grocery store every
week and I vary between two stores that I shop
at all the time, but I get the big plastic bin
of salad. So here I am looking at it. To see
if it's colorful enough for me and if it's also
not wet. Because in the plastic bins, they last
all week if it's not wet. So this week I couldn't
find any that was sufficient that I liked. So
I went with my spring next, but it was too much
greens. So then I went and bought some artisan
lettuce and some purples to add to it. So that's
first. It's got to be colorful. I do not want
any iceberg lettuce in my salad. I think that's
just a cardinal sin. There's no nutrients in
that anyway. So it just tastes like water. Yeah.
And it's usually wet. I like a dry salad. So
cherry tomatoes, they got to be cherub or sweet
tomatoes. I don't like just any tomato. The ruby
reds, private selection, are the best. Cherub
tomatoes, cucumbers, sugar snap peas, feta, always
feta. throw on some croutons they got to be the
fat ones though like puffy fat they can't be
those cheap looking square ones that are hard
they got to be like the texas roadhouse crunchy
spongy ones so i get those and garlic butter
throw a few of those on and some ranch but i
don't drown my salad and dressing like some people
like i put a good amount but not you know how
some people are just so anyway So yeah, that's
it. That's the go -to every time. Wow, you guys,
I don't know about you, but hearing Rhonda talk
about looking at that photo of herself and her
mother in a food coma at a family reunion, it
just hits different, doesn't it? It really does.
It really makes you think about every single
thing you have done and consumed and the lifestyle
patterns that you're in and the ones you can
change. In the next episode, things are going
to get even more real as Rhonda opens up about
watching her mother's health decline in those
final years and how that experience shaped not
just her fitness goals, but her entire philosophy
about aging and what she wants her future to
look like. We'll also hear about how she became
a fitness instructor and built the loyal community
that shows up for her classes day after day,
even after a 12 -hour shift. If today's episode
resonated with you, I would love to hear about
it. You can find me on social media pretty much
everywhere at Famous Ashley Grant. And if you
can't find me at that handle, just search Famous
Ashley Grant and I'm sure I'll come up. And hey,
if nothing else, I hope this episode inspired
you to take a look at your own health history.
I want you to ask yourself, what trajectory am
I on? Is it time for things to change? Onwards
and upwards, my friends. Have you worked out
today?