Season 3 – Episode 6: Tash Waddle
INTRO
TAJCI:
Fitness and health is about so much more than exercise and proper eating. It is a catalyst for change and affects every other aspect of your life. This is the philosophy of my guest today, Tash Weddle, the owner of TNB Fitness and also a founder of The New Beginning Center where she works with low income women and transforms their lives through holistic coaching and training.
BUMPER
I’m Tajci. At 19 I was a superstar and I was lost inside. I left it all behind, switched continents and started all over. Years later I found myself lost again, this time in the American Dream. This is a story about awakening. About living the life you were created for. About going inward and discovering the joyous and purposeful person you and I are both meant to be. This is Waking Up in America.
TAJCI:
So much about how we feel about ourselves is connected to our physical self. Often times it’s easy to get unmotivated to exercise, to move, and yet it’s that physical activity that our bodies need in order to produce the hormones that make us feel good about ourselves and also to be healthy. Ever since I started this show I wanted to have a guest that will talk about this. How to create a turning point at which we say “Yes, tomorrow I’m starting to take care of myself and my health.” I’m so excited and honored to have Tash Weddle. Thank you so much.
TASH:
Thank you.
TAJCI:
So you’re… how would you introduce yourself best?
TASH:
I’m a coach.
TAJCI:
You’re a coach. But not a life coach?
TASH:
I’m an all kind of coach. What I do, you can’t just say it’s just nutritional coaching, you can’t just say it’s fitness coaching because I’m helping people live their best life however I can help them do that.
TAJCI:
I’m so glad you’re saying that because oftentimes you know, coach is a fitness coach, or you know, or a life coach and there’s no connection. So let’s start. I want to know your background. How did you come to be who you are today?
TASH:
Well, I started out on a basketball court in Indiana shooting baskets in Fourth Grade and I did grow to be six feet too tall so basketball was my destiny.
TAJCI:
Yes.
TASH:
I got a full scholarship to play in college. And unfortunately though, before I went to North Carolina State to play I blew my knee out and tore my ACL. And it’s important to note though that basketball was my identity. I spent so much time, it was my passion. It was all I ever thought about. And going to NC State injured meant I have to sit out for a year. I had surgery, I had to sit out for a year.
TAJCI:
Oh, wow. Give me the age at that time.
TASH:
I was 18.
TAJCI:
Yeah, that’s the time when you are changing.
TASH:
It’s a major transition, yes. I come back from that surgery and I do it again. And long story short I had three knee surgeries in less than two years.
TAJCI:
Was basketball your dream?
TASH:
It was. It’s really what I wanted to coach. It’s all I ever wanted to do. Probably so much my identity that it wasn’t healthy, you know? And I guess it was a gift, looking back now, those injuries, because it forced me to go through this transition to rediscover myself—who am I really?
TAJCI:
Yes. And we had many guests on this show that gets stuck in that identity of their passion and then like you said, you get to a point in life where you don’t know who you are.
TASH:
Absolutely. That’s how I felt. And I was depressed. I couldn’t make myself go out of bed, I couldn’t go to class, and I started to use food—emotional eating. I went from the end of my freshman year I was 140 pounds to nearly 200 pounds by the end of my sophomore year. It was bad and I was miserable.
TAJCI:
What kind of food were you eating?
TASH:
Just junk food, just self-medicating, you know? I go to the gas station, get whatever and just try to
TAJCI:
Were you aware that you were distracting and numbing?
TASH:
Oh, absolutely. But it was an addiction. And you know, another gift though that I went through that because now with the women I work with I have walked in their shoes. I see that it’s a very common thing that women have emotional eating.
TAJCI:
Did you feel, I mean, you spent your whole life, everything you know is exercise regimen, discipline, and so that must have caused a lot of confusion inside of you.
TASH:
Yeah, incredible guilt and shame. You know, I was an athlete and I think I just got so sick and tired I realized that there was nowhere else to go. The bottom, I hit the bottom. I didn’t want, you know, to be in this body. I just wasn’t comfortable. I wasn’t happy.
TAJCI:
Was it that one day you walked in the bathroom and said, “Oh, don’t want to be in that”?
TASH:
No. I think it was a building up process that eventually, you know,
I believe that people change for two reasons: one, you’re sick and tired of where you’re at and you’re sick and tired and you’re ready to do something about it, and the second reason is that you do something that feels good and you feel successful at and you want that feeling more. And that’s exactly what happened for me.
TAJCI:
We’re talking to Tash Weddle about the turning point that happens when we’re sick and tired of being sick and tired. And then we find out when we come back what that transformation brought into her life.
TAJCI:
Here we are with Tash Weddle, a coach—a holistic, a whole-person coach
TASH:
Yes.
TAJCI:
Both body and mind and spirit.
TASH:
Yes.
TAJCI:
How beautiful. So we’re at the point where you grew up as an athlete, your dream is shattered when you have the injuries and then you start eating, emotional eating, which becomes an addiction, and you wake up, which you thought was overweight.
TASH:
Oh yeah.
TAJCI:
And then what happened? What are the steps that you took?
TASH:
Well, I was dealing with my injuries at that time. So I walked to the weight room on my own. When you’re on a basketball team you’re supposed to go workout with the team but I went on my own and I just liked the way it felt. I was like, “This is where I’m gonna fix this. This is where I’m gonna heal myself.” And I did.
TAJCI:
I imagine, sorry, being a musician I imagine you walking into a gym late at night, and some beautiful music playing and there’s Tash picking up a weight. Was it like that?
TASH:
Well, there usually is music playing in the weight room.
TAJCI:
That’s the only way how I would do it if it was a movie. But I’m asking because you know, that moment is so hard for most of us.
TASH:
Absolutely. It is so hard to take the first step. It’s the hardest step to take.
TAJCI:
But you made it.
TASH:
I did.
TAJCI:
And you found a different kind of satisfaction in strength training.
TASH:
It was empowering because I could be successful still. I mean, even though I wasn’t able to play the sport that I loved, basketball, I was able to set goals and achieve them. And I’m very goal oriented and I just found my match. It was also, I was always challenging myself.
TAJCI:
Right.
TASH:
Not competing against someone else. And that’s what I needed at that time. It was just to deal with myself.
TAJCI:
Wow. Yes. So once you’re dealing with yourself is that where your identity is restored? Because it’s still, you’re still immersing yourself in just a different kind of athletic activity.
TASH:
Yeah. Well, I did. I loved it so much I transferred schools, I had a great strength conditioning coach and continued to play basketball and finish my career. But I was inspired so much with my experience with this coach that I chose to become a collegiate strength conditioning coach for my career. And I did that for 17 years. And I would say that yeah, I had another you know, that was my identity again. Yeah, I worked with college athletes, this is an important job you know, and it is important.
TAJCI:
It’s a beautiful job.
TASH:
We all get caught in our bubbles.
TAJCI:
Yes. Especially when we have success, like you said.
TASH:
Yeah.
TAJCI:
So then what happened?
TASH:
So then in my 17th year of doing that I realized there’s a whole world out there and I don’t know anything about it and I’m really tired of living in this bubble. It was not gratifying work for me anymore. It was all about wins and losses. It was ups and downs. I lived from season to season just waiting for a break at that point. I realized I just needed to do something else and so I have taken my skill set and chosen to start The New Beginning Center, which is a nonprofit that helps women.
TAJCI:
Yes, and when we were talking, when we were preparing for this conversation, you mentioned you had a friend that was instrumental.
TASH:
Yeah. So I had all the knowledge I needed in exercise, nutrition, and coaching and behavior change but I did not have business knowledge or nonprofit management knowledge. So I had a friend Chris McCarthy who was a Habitat for Humanity CEO and I was her trainer at that time. And so she suggested this and basically got the ball rolling.
TAJCI:
The reason why I bring this up is because I always encourage our viewers to be that someone. We all need that someone to give us that.
TASH:
Absolutely.
TAJCI:
The first coach and then a friend to help us on that transition, point of, and make that first step.
TASH:
That’s absolutely true. I mean, Chris, a phenomenal woman, but that was such a gift to me but it was meaningful for her too, to be able to pass on her. She was retiring and she was passing on what she knew to help it to carry on that.
TAJCI:
You know, the beautiful thing I noticed about guests talking about their turning points is how once we really awaken to the place of “Who am I? And what is really my purpose?” it seems like there is always that social enterprise, that giving back, that desire to give back.
And my guest is Tash Weddle, when we come back we will talk about The New Beginning Center and her work with low income women to try and transforming their lives.
AD:
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TAJCI:
My guest is Tash Weddle and we’re talking about an amazing transformation that includes body and mind and spirit, which is actually what every good life transformation does.
TASH:
Yeah.
TAJCI:
So once you, now you find your identity, you’re looking for a more purposeful life and you setup New Beginning Center. And you mentioned, you said something beautiful that athletes are really good as business people or as workers because you have time management?
TASH:
Time management, we’re goal oriented, competitive.
TAJCI:
Competitive. So tell me about The New Beginning Center.
TASH:
It’s been in existence now for nearly five years. I started our first pilot group with four women just to see how this would go. And they did phenomenal. They lost 12% of their body weight. It was truly life changing for these women. I hit the road, foundations are giving money to us. We have fundraising events, we had this social entrepreneurship with TNB fitness but now we are serving about 380 women a year.
TAJCI:
Wow. How beautiful.
TASH:
What we do is, it’s technically a year-long program where women, regardless of their ability to pay, can receive free training or sliding scale fees and they come two to three times a week to our facility and we go through 12 weeks of nutrition coaching and we exercise and we also do some life coaching. We do personal mission statements, we do vision boards, and things like that. So it’s a totally new beginning for them.
TAJCI:
Sounds like a very different way to coach.
TASH:
It is. Maybe some people consider it a little New Age-y. But it’s working because we’re achieving about 8% weight loss in 12 weeks, in the first 12 weeks. And that’s phenomenal. That’s enough to reverse Type II Diabetes.
TAJCI:
Wow.
TASH:
And 67% of the women either decrease or stop taking their prescription medications.
TAJCI:
Wow. That’s amazing. But those women still have to come to you. They have to have that initial desire.
TASH:
They have to have the initial desire to take the first step. We do have two satellite locations and we hope to expand this model in the future. I like women to come when they are sick and tired and they’ve tried other things because then they have a little bit of willingness to listen to me.
TAJCI:
Yes, yes. And I think most of us have experienced, I’ve tried this and it didn’t work and I’m sick and tired of it not working. So what do you offer that’s different? Like, what concrete steps do you offer?
TASH:
Well, first thing is, we only work on changing one habit at a time.
TAJCI:
Oh, that sounds so good. Yes.
TASH:
Because if we work on one habit you’re 80% likely to be successful with it. As soon as you add a second habit, your success rate drops to 20%.
TAJCI:
Let’s just repeat that. So if you work on one habit
TASH:
Work on one thing
TAJCI:
That you’re changing, you have 80% chance of success.
TASH:
Yes.
TAJCI:
So like what would one habit be that I could start tomorrow?
TASH:
Our very first habit is to drink 8 cups of water a day.
TAJCI:
Okay.
TASH:
And I don’t let people move on until they’re doing that. And then we want to eat four palms of protein. And we use the hand guide. And then we want them to eat about four to six fists of veggies. And then we move on to the carb habit, which we want to eat real food that did not go through a factory. And then we back up everything too. It’s eating to 80% full.
TAJCI:
Right.
TASH:
Eating slower.
TAJCI:
Right.
TASH:
So we’re eating mindfully. We’re working on the mindfulness part.
TAJCI:
Yes.
TASH:
But each week we roll out a new habit. And we score their food logs and give them feedback and we talk with them and we find solutions and we talk about prepping your food at the beginning of the week, setting yourself up for success. We talk about cleaning out your kitchen with all your trigger foods, setting yourself up for success.
TAJCI:
Yes.
TASH:
And just staying focused on that one thing. And it really needs to be like brushing your teeth. You don’t forget to brush your teeth. It’s a habit.
TAJCI:
Yes. It’s a habit.
TASH:
That’s really how we want to get these habits ingrained. They may take years. But they know what they are and they know the system. Even if they don’t follow them 100% of the time they have phenomenal results.
TAJCI:
You know what, I’ve heard it so many times, drink eight cups of water and drink, you know, eat protein and vegetables. We’ve read it so much and I think everybody knows it. Why don’t we do it?
TASH:
Probably because we have an all-or-nothing mentality. Guys don’t work 95% of the time, there’s a reason. Because we think it has to be perfect or we quit. And it’s, you know, we need to have a mind shift of instead of thinking “I can’t have this,” or “I need to get this out or stop eating that,” it needs to be, “How many good things that add value to my body can I get in a day? Let me count the good things I’m doing. Let me focus on what I do need. Let me change how I do think and identify me.
I’m a vibrant, healthy, strong woman who values my health.”
TAJCI:
Right.
TASH:
I eat these good foods. I eat foods that add value to my body. I don’t diet.
TAJCI:
Yes. So it’s a positive mindset instead of just like, I was talking to a friend about having you as a guest today and I said, “I’m so excited because I never go to the gym,” so that’s like immediately it’s that negative, “I never do this,” “I don’t do this,” or “I’m not good at this.”
TASH:
Right.
TAJCI:
And all these thoughts. We have to shift in order to adapt these new, good, positive habits and have success, see the success. Is that what you’re saying?
TASH:
Yeah. I mean, you could change, “I don’t like going to the gym,” or “I never go to the gym,” to “I enjoy moving my body.”
TAJCI:
Yes.
TASH:
And that will take whatever form it should be.
TAJCI:
And that’s another question, you know. A lot of people make that turning point, “Okay, I’m going to be serious about diet and exercise,” once they have a medical problem.
TASH:
Yeah.
TAJCI:
And so what we’re exploring in this show is how can we create these turning points before the big wake-up call happens? What is some of the motivation? Like if I came to you and I said, “Help me to motivate myself. Help me to be healthy.”
TASH:
I think what becomes motivating is it feels really good to take care of yourself, it feels really good to prep your food, it feels really good to get enough sleep at night. It really feels really good to do all these things. A lot of people, maybe even normal weight come to me but they don’t feel good.
TAJCI:
Yes.
TASH:
They know that something’s missing and it’s really not about the food, it’s really not about the exercise. It’s about a lack of self-nurturing behavior.
TAJCI:
Yes.
TASH:
And that’s what I want to be addictive.
TAJCI:
But you know, I have viewers who’ll say, “But Tash, I have kids. I have two jobs. I can’t. Once I take care of everybody else I have no energy.”
TASH:
I see it all the time—women who have raised their families and have put themselves last and they’re tired and they’re exhausted and they’re kind of resentful about it. And I mean, I work a lot of hours myself. I just don’t buy the “I don’t have time,” because we make time for what we value.
And if you value life and living the fullest life that you can then maybe just take some soul-searching.
TAJCI:
If you value life, take some time to soul search. Wow. We’re talking to Tash Weddle. And when we come back we’ll have some more awesome wisdom.
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TAJCI:
Tash, thank you so much for all the great tips that you gave us and thank you for listening to your soul and following your call to helping others. What I really love is that you have your TNB Fitness support The New Beginning Center. So I think that would be one of my motivations to know that with my membership, with my working out I’m helping out somebody else. That could get me to a gym.
TASH:
It is great motivation for a lot of our clients, yeah.
TAJCI:
So thank you. And we’ll have links to your company and if you ever visit Nashville come stop by. Alright, so I have an email from a viewer, Stephanie from Cincinnati. And she says, and I know this is a common problem, she says, “I get really depressed about my finances. And when I’m depressed I eat. And then I become unmotivated to exercise. How can I stop this cycle?”
TASH:
I would say that next time have a plan of just pausing and even if it’s just breathing, five breaths. And it doesn’t even mean that you have to change your behavior. But you just have to ask, what am I doing this for? What do I really want?
TAJCI:
You know what, one thing that I advise my coaching clans is to practice this when times are good. To kind of like adapt practice, now I want to eat candy well, and I’m not depressed, I’m going to change that behavior, have a plan, breathe, and when I’m in a good place practice that. And so hopefully you are ready when depression comes.
TASH:
And when it comes to exercise it’s been shown as effective as Zoloft and research. So it’s funny about exercise, when you feel depressed you don’t feel like doing it but doing it would really help your depression. So sometimes you just have to talk yourself into getting to the gym or getting in your gym clothes and by that point you’re good. Five minutes in, you’re not going to stop.
TAJCI:
Yes.
TASH:
And nobody ever regrets going to the gym.
TAJCI:
Alright. Let’s do one word answers. Ready?
TASH:
Yeah.
TAJCI:
Alright. What brings you most joy?
TASH:
My dogs.
TAJCI:
What scares you the most?
TASH:
Failure.
TAJCI:
What are you most grateful for?
TASH:
All the opportunity and love in my life.
TAJCI:
One thing you’d like to be more of?
TASH:
Easy going.
TAJCI:
What is your biggest challenge?
TASH:
Getting around my own self.
TAJCI:
Last book you read?
TASH:
All The Light We Cannot See.
TAJCI:
I believe in?
TASH:
Love.
TAJCI:
All that our world needs is?
TASH:
More love.
TAJCI:
If I could abolish anything from the earth it would be?
TASH:
Fear.
TAJCI:
Favorite sport?
TASH:
I don’t like sports. I spent my whole life in them.
TAJCI:
Favorite local charity?
TASH:
The New Beginning Center.
TAJCI:
Who do you want to help most?
TASH:
The people that are willing.
TAJCI:
Fruits or vegetables?
TASH:
Vegetables.
TAJCI:
Oh please! Europe or Latin America?
TASH:
Europe.
TAJCI:
Sushi or Mediterranean cuisine?
TASH:
Mediterranean.
TAJCI:
Shoes or bare foot?
TASH:
Bare foot.
TAJCI:
This year I claim?
TASH:
Do better than ever.
TAJCI:
Thank you.
TASH:
Thank you.
TAJCI:
This is such a treat to have Kat Hunter here.
KAT:
Thank you.
TAJCI:
So when I asked Tash to bring a musical guest she knew right away who she’s going to ask.
KAT:
Yes.
TAJCI:
And I said it would be great if it was your client. So this is why it’s such a treat because I want to know, is this possible?
KAT:
Yeah, it all worked out. It all lined up. We’re ending the end of the 12-week program that we were doing so I don’t know if she kind of threw it out there as a “You gotta do this.” But no, Tash and I have been friends for a really long time and I just happen to have a song that just kind of fit in perfectly with what she enjoys and kinda where I’ve been over the last span of 20 years of my life—pretty much each verse.
TAJCI:
And the song?
KAT:
It’s one Decade basically. Yeah, so the song is Second Wind. It kind of had an athletic tone to it.
TAJCI:
Oh you mean like the second wind when you wish you would not have a
KAT:
Like when you’re running and you can’t do any more and all of a sudden that second wind kinda catches in and you can push a little further. So it just fit in perfectly.
TAJCI:
So what was your goal, you challenge while working with Tash?
KAT:
First of all, to complete it. Twelve weeks is a long time and it is a big commitment but she brings a lot of knowledge, a lot of encouragement that you can’t get anywhere else. So when she had the certification and she said, “Would you be interested in doing this program?” I was like, “Yes, absolutely. Sign me up.”
TAJCI:
So Tash, when you have a friend is that harder than a stranger to work with?
TASH:
I actually did a transformation with Kat many years ago and I knew her work ethic so I was like, “Yeah, you could do this absolutely,” because she works hard and I can count on her to show up. And she’s super easy for me to coach so I just already knew her character.
TAJCI:
Wow. So do you think other singer-songwriters can do the same thing?
TASH:
Anybody. I mean, the way I coach now is I meet everyone where they’re at. And it’s not about meeting my expectation, it’s about getting a little bit better than you were yesterday every day.
TAJCI:
Yes. And I can’t wait to hear you sing.
KAT:
Thank you.
TAJCI:
Thank you so much.
KAT:
Thank you for having me. Thank you.
KAT:
If I had time for the donors on the ways
I’d buy myself right out of this place.
Saying why I eat that mid-well steak
Wish I had more time for the donors always
That black warrior rolls right past my home
I’d call my friends but my friends are gone.
Who’s gonna hear my brand new song?
I’d call my friends but my friends are gone.
I think it’s time I head the road before I get old
That salt water washing off my feet
That cold still air was sweet but brief
Flown me back where I belong
My heart feels clean now that I’m home
And I’m feeling young again
Think I’ve caught my second wind
Same zip code but a brand new street
Same pillow but a brand new sheet
I feel in love with somebody I know
Right here at home, right under my nose
Now I can hear the song
It’s been playing all along
TAJCI:
What can you do to get out of your cycle and create that turning point that will shift you into life in which you’ll feel good physically, in your mind and in your spirit? And how would those around you benefit if you felt healthy and great in your body? And I do hope that you will share this episode with your friend, someone you know struggles with weight or health and could use a little bit of inspiration. Visit WakingUpRevolution.com to replay this episode and share it. And there you’ll find links and more support so that you can create that turning point in your life. Thank you so much. We’ll see you again.
OLGA:
I’m Olga Alexeeva. I’m the artist and owner of O’Gallery. This episode was filmed at my studio at Marathon Village, Nashville. Please visit us at ogalleryart.com. Thank you.
