The Checkup with Doctor Mike - Doctors Said She Was Going To Die, But She Refused To Believe It | Sophie Grace Holmes

Episode Date: December 1, 2024

I'll teach you how to become the media's go-to expert in your field. Enroll in The Professional's Media Academy now: https://www.professionalsmediaacademy.com/Follow Sophie Grace Holmes, the world-record marathon runner and endurance athlete:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sophiegraceholmes/?hl=enhttps://www.sophiegraceholmes.com/00:00 Intro 01:26 Guinness World Record17:18 Cycstic Fibrosis30:25 Drugs In Gyms / Adversity34:34 Her Diagnosis42:02 Problems with Healthcare45:31 Training Others / Paddle-boarding49:44 The CF Community53:27 Personal Life59:22 Regrets1:03:00 Nutrition1:05:52 Sadness1:10:29 Sports PsychologyHelp us continue the fight against medical misinformation and change the world through charity by becoming a Doctor Mike Resident on Patreon where every month I donate 100% of the proceeds to the charity, organization, or cause of your choice! Residents get access to bonus content, an exclusive discord community, and many other perks for just $10 a month. Become a Resident today:https://www.patreon.com/doctormikeLet’s connect:IG: https://go.doctormikemedia.com/instagram/DMinstagramTwitter: https://go.doctormikemedia.com/twitter/DMTwitterFB: https://go.doctormikemedia.com/facebook/DMFacebookTikTok: https://go.doctormikemedia.com/tiktok/DMTikTokReddit: https://go.doctormikemedia.com/reddit/DMRedditContact Email: [e-mail] Producer: Doctor MikeProduction Director and Editor: Dan OwensManaging Editor and Producer: Sam BowersEditor and Designer: Caroline WeigumEditor: Juan Carlos Zuniga* Select photos/videos provided by Getty Images *** The information in this video is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images, and information, contained in this video is for general information purposes only and does not replace a consultation with your own doctor/health professional **

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Why? Because I don't believe that's the reason I die. And also, I've got goals that I've set for that I want to achieve when I'm 80, so I don't have time. Of course, like, you know, without being naive, maybe, but I would never live that way. Imagine as a young child being told you won't live past 16 years old, that you have a genetic condition called cystic fibrosis, which will thicken your mucus, in turn choking vital organs like your lungs and pancreas. That it would likely turn every breath into a struggle

with worsening effects on your body over time, and you'll need to be incredibly careful with how you treat your body just to survive each additional year. Now imagine after hearing that saying, nah, I don't care. I want to live my life to the fullest. And then going on to climb Mount Kilimanjaro,

paddle boarding from the Bahamas to Florida, and setting a world record by running 30,000, 36 marathons in just 36 days. Well, now, imagine no more. Please welcome one of the bravest individuals I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Sophie Grace Holmes to the Checkup podcast. Let's get started.

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Conditions apply. Scotia Bank, you're richer than you think. Why did you stop at 36? It's a good question. I did think that when I got to 36, I was like, you know what, I could probably get to 50. But I think also I would have been single, friendless, homeless. Okay, so it was a lot of pressure to start running 36. marathons in 36. I think so. I think it was a lot of pressure on my friends, my family,

my partner. Not little did I realise, but my dad crewed me every day as well. Okay, fair. So 36 was, ended up being a bit of a random number because the reason behind the want for the word record was because I wanted to run 30 marathons in 30 days, which was set when I was 16 because when I was 16, living with cyst fibrosis, I got told I wouldn't make 30. And so to celebrate life, I decided it was a good idea to try and run 30 maraths in 30 days. But at the time, it was COVID. And so that couldn't happen. And then this year, I got into London Marathon. And I was also doing the Edinburgh Marathon. And I thought, well, it was a few more. Wow. And the plan going into it was 36? Yes. Okay. So you're like, I'm going to hit 36 and

you hit all 36. How does fitness training for multiple marathons differ than when you're just training for one? So the training was by far more, the most intense thing I've ever done in my entire life because I was running 100 miles a week minimum for a good few weeks. And we had to do something called a simulation week, which is a test week to see whether you're ready mentally and physically. So you run 20 miles a day and then finish on a marathon.

And in theory, you get through that and you're fine. And I was, which was incredible. And also mind blowing about what the body can do. Right. And I think one of my big phrases that I've kind of stuck to this year is believe you can decide you will. Because it's like so much of it is in your head about what you can and can't achieve. And so it's just about the narrative you tell yourself. And so when I was going into this, I was like, you know, I will not stop unless I physically cannot move, i.e., I

broke a leg or something like that because I believe so strong that it was possible. And I want to be able to show that you can do hard things to hopefully inspire other people just to chase after the things that they want to achieve. Are you saying that running a marathon, running many marathons, is more of a mental feat than it is a physical feat? In a way, yeah. Really? How so?

Because obviously I started to be number one, got that done, woke up the next day and I was sore. And I was like, what have I done? what have I decided to do? And so mentally I was like, do you know what? It's only going to be hard and you can do hard things. You've just got to put one for it in front of the other. And eventually you'll get to the end. And I also reminded myself that I would rather be trying to run for the day

or trying to get to the end of the marathon than fighting to breathe, which is what my reality could have been. So fight to run a marathon, fight to breathe. I know which one I would choose. Right. Is there ever a period of time, whether you're in between marathon, or you're in the middle of a marathon where you're thinking,

oh, hey, this isn't so bad, I'm kind of in a good flow or is it always feel like torture? Depends on the day. Like yesterday with a New York marathon, I felt good, I felt strong, I didn't have anything in my mind that was doubtful or anything.

I just loved it, and let's face it, who wouldn't love running through New York? Right. You know? But I have had times where everything in my whole entire being has wanted me to stop and quit.

But that's where you want to get to because that's where you grow and that's where you kind of understand who you are, what you want out of life and your capability. And so I'd encourage anyone, maybe not running 36 marathons, but pushing their own limits to like where you then grow and push yourself because why not?

We only get one life, so you may as well see what you can do. Right. What strategy do you use that we perhaps can mimic in trying to get to the next step and constantly setting a new record for ourselves? I think it's just mindset. What's that mindset?

Keep reminding yourself that you can. believe that you can and there's another phrase that I kind of live to when I'm trying to make a decision and it goes like this so it's the excuses that you make today that could be the regrets you have at the end of your life and so if you're looking to make a decision on something imagine the 90 year old you sitting there would you regret not giving this situation a go or would you not because I live in fear I guess because of my journey of not doing something or missing out and not being brave enough or having the cover to try but why not try anyway like you either don't do it you learn and then you try again or you'll sit there in that regret which is horrendous thinking oh what happens if I had tried my whole life could have changed for example if you hadn't started your podcast which has changed your life I'm sure and you've met so many incredible people then you wouldn't be the person you are so you use FOMO as a way to motivate yourself maybe yeah she's not bad it's interesting how people will sometimes label things good or bad. And I always try and encourage people to not think

in those black or white terms because what ends up happening is you lose the opportunity to make something that's a negative, a positive, or at least see the silver lining in the negative. So people will oftentimes villainize stress. And they say, oh, stress is terrible. It shortens your lifespan. You want to avoid stress. And while chronic stress, that's true, you want to avoid long-term stress where you never get a break. It's unrelenting. That could have negative health repercussions. But in general, your viewpoint of stress of how you think about stress matters as much, if not more, than how much stress you actually experience. So if you can make stress your friend and you view your body as preparing you for a challenge and that you're trying to overcome a challenge

and even if you don't, you'll learn something. That mindset will allow you to have better outcomes from the impacted stress. Absolutely. Have you had situations where that has played out in your life? Yeah, and I actually agree. And I think you need an element on a certain amount of stress. Because I think for me, like I know that I will end up more in a negative mindset state if I'm not pushing myself or not getting out of comfort in some way,

whether it be with work or whether it be with my physical fitness. Because I think as humans, like we need to have goals to strive for things. Because otherwise, I think, you know, we, it's a dangerous place to sit in comfort and I think although it's lovely nothing grows there and nothing helps you achieve anything there and so you just need to find that middle ground because obviously like I wouldn't say to people oh well you need to grow my 36 marathons to you know do that but one marathon is incredible right half mouth is incredible 5k's incredible but I think you need to find what that middle ground is so that you're growing and enjoying life

and finding out who you are. Because I think one of the most pinnacle moments of my life was when I was 19 and I got told I had two years to live. My reaction to that was, well, I don't believe you. Perhaps naivety you paid the power. But I then went and summited Mount Kilimanjaro because I had one doctor sammy off. And I sat there on the top of Mount Kilimanjaro

and I was like, do you know what? If I can do this, what more can you do? And you only get that experience by pushing yourself out of comfort to see what can be done. why would you not want to explore, see the world, and do different things while we're here? You're truly a non-compliant patient. I am. And it's taken me years to convince the doctors that it's okay.

I think the way that you're doing it is amazing. And what you're talking about of stepping outside of your comfort zone is an important principle, not just in health care, but in nature. So when we think about bones, we want our bones to be strong. And we think, oh, well, if you take the load off the bones, they'll be stronger, or less likely to break? No. Actually, when you resistance train frequently, especially into older age, that allows bones to be more resilient, more protective of fractures. Same thing with our muscles. If we want them to grow, we have to challenge them and actually break them down. Our immune system

needs challenges regularly in order for it to function well. Same thing with our mental health in the way that you're describing it as setting a challenge, failing, but overcoming at one point. Our bodies work in homeostasis, which is essentially a barometer. And the barometer can decide when something is cold based on what it felt like when it was hot. It feels this opposite when it experiences hot, what it was like when it was cold. And I think people lose sight of that because they again want to create the shortcut of I want to be comfortable. I don't want to be overly stressed. And I think that's coming as a reflex to how perhaps society was 20, 30, 40 years ago, where it was push, burn the candle on both ends. And it created some negative

of health repercussions. And now we kind of flipped perhaps too far the other way where it's look for comfort, seek comfort, don't challenge yourself. And there needs to be the little middle ground where you're challenging yourself appropriately in a way that actually rewards happiness. The example I frequently give to my patients is try going to a basketball court and throwing a basketball full court trying to make the shot. It's going to be pretty boring because you're almost never going to make it.

Even if you make it once, it's going to be rare. but now move closer to the basket and shoot a free throw you'll make some of them but not all of them and you could seek to get better if you get really good at that move a little further back to the three point line and you set that challenge for yourself so that you are getting an adequate amount of reward when you do hit that milestone but not so much that you are failing over and over and over again because that's not fun either and it's really about that balance so I'm curious how you got to the balance of saying okay 36 marathon because that's a that seems like an extreme but it might be a balance for you I think for me like one of the things that I've realized because obviously running 36

marathons and 98% of them being solo you get a lot of time to think which is a good thing but also can be quite dangerous okay and I think what I realized more so than ever in this challenge is one obviously what you can achieve when you don't give up but also because of the journey that I've had and the diagnosis that I've had I use extreme challenges to overcome because I truly believed at the time that the only way that I was going to survive was by doing these big challenges and these big goals. But what I've realized during that time, obviously these things are incredible and I wouldn't change them because I love to do at least one thing a year that is big and I think that's enough. But what I've also realized

is it's about the build up of doing things. So the way I like to explain to my clients is not every single day we fill 100%. Sometimes you do, so you put 100% in the bank. Tomorrow you may feel 40% so you put 40% in the bank, but this all builds up over time. So it doesn't matter that you don't have to do 100% all the time because you're still going to be cashing in every single day so long as you're showing up at whatever percentage you're at.

And so for me, I kind of apply that to these challenges, to these things because I think the temptation is to always want to PeeB and always want to do your best, but actually you don't need to, because those things will come anyway. But I think you have to enjoy the being and enjoy doing life and things because otherwise we lose sight of who we are if we're constantly chasing.

How did you realize who you were in the sense of I get when you get a really serious health diagnosis and you say, well, I want to stay active. But you seem to be able to take it to the extreme level. How did you know where that line was for yourself? Well, I like to test the line. And I think, although for some people, because it's hard, because obviously, as you know, with cystic fibrosis, everyone has different experiences. And I am fortunate enough to be on the new medication that's out, which has changed a lot of things for me.

And I guess part of that was, well, I want to see what my body's now capable of. Now I can actually breathe and not have to worry about, you know, dying and, you know, all these things. And I think for me, like, I like to try and see if I can bump the line up a little bit, in different ways. Like this year, it was all about the marathons. But next year, I think, is going to be about getting back into the mountains. And there's a challenge called the spaghetti tour, which is about summiting 10 to 16 peaks over 4,000 metres in the Alps in,

I think, like, five or six days. Okay. But for me, it's like, I just thrive and, like, want to just experience life in as many ways as possible, while we're able to because I think the temptation and the, you know, the generation that I've certainly been in was you have to work, push yourself, work hard, but my journey has been like, well, I've got to do as much as I can because I don't know if I'm going to still be alive. Now I'm healthy and stable. It's like I found that balance of I want to explore the world and I want to do these things

and push my body and mine because it's where I'm happiest in that struggle where you're questioning every decision you've ever made, but also just live. And I think it's something that a lot of people forget to do. Why do you think they're forgetting? Because I think they focus on just wanting to make as much money as they can, which is amazing. But what are you going to do with millions in the bank if you've not experienced life? Like, what I've kind of, what I kind of say to people is, imagine you're 90 years old. It's your last day and you know it's your last day.

And I show you a video. The video, the first one, is the life that you know, you've lived it, you know every detail. The second video is the life that you could have had if you were brave enough and have the courage to live life on your terms. And it's more amazing and more phenomenal than you can ever imagine. Would you go back? And if the answer is yes, then you've got to start doing it now. What's a good first way to do that process?

I think just decide a goal that you really are passionate about and start backwards. Because I think you want to get to that goal, right? But it's about the journey of getting to the goal. but it's who you become while having the building blocks of the failures, of the successes, the people you meet, the connections you make, the decisions you make. And it may take a year, it may take 10 years, but it doesn't matter. But so long as you are going after those things that you really do want to achieve

and build the life that you really want to be and be the person you want to be and don't be afraid to do that because I think so many people are. And it's a shame because you're one decision away from a different life. that's a great way to put it i i've always thought about it in the way of don't think about the next time you think about what you want to do do what you're scared to do and even for me i have a lot of fears heights this that and throughout the channel's experience was keep doing all those things on camera and eventually you'll find something that you truly love that you don't even know you enjoyed uh with this channel i became a professional boxer i flew an f-16 airplane all these

things that normally I would have never done, and I'm still scared of doing them, but they've pushed me to a level where it's cool to be able to experience that. And looking back at it, thinking, oh, if I wouldn't have done that, how much would that have sucked? And I hope people take away from that that they should have a little bit of bravery in themselves, not in the world around them, but in themselves, to try and try and fail at least. When we think about failure and difficulties that you've had, you touched on it briefly with your diagnosis. Take us through what cystic fibrosis meant to you when you were younger and how it's evolved as time has gone on. It's a really interesting one because I love sport and I was in all the teams at school.

I used to think that I didn't have cystic fibrosis. Despite all the medication, I had absentee tablets a day, nebulizers, hospital stays, all these things. But because I was the best in pee, I assumed, which is silly really. I assumed that I didn't have it because I was like, the doctors must be wrong. Like, I've been told that I wouldn't make 16 years old, but, like, I'm winning the 100 metres against the men. Like, what's going on? And it's looking back, it's quite a refreshing mindset, because I think as an adult, you kind of lose sometimes the ability to be playful and the ability to kind of be a bit more imaginative and things like that, just because life stress has come in and, you know, you've had different experiences build up. And so, for me, the most fortunate thing was my parents allowed me to live.

my life because when I speak to a lot of people online, their parents understandably don't want to let their kids do anything because they're scared they're going to get sick. The doctor that I had growing up said to my mum and dad, let her do everything and if it gets sick, it gets her unwell, we'll discuss it. Because in their view, it was like if she will have a shorter life, at least let her have her life. And I couldn't be more grateful for that because I've done so many things throughout my childhood, like different experiences, traveling. I was fortunate enough to have a horse, which is against the rules of cystic fibrosis. And I've done all these things that have shaped me as a person and led me to believe

and have the confidence that I can do things. And I think that's one of the most important things is you have to go out and show yourself that you can by constantly pushing yourself and constantly doing things that potentially no one else believes. And so I did that. And then when I did get unwell, I decided to believe in myself and the ability to get better so strongly that the doctors eventually had no choice. And they did turn around and say, we believe you now. How can we firstly help you achieve the things you want to achieve?

How can you help us help other people with CF, try and get better within doing sport, eating better mindset? Because I think it's a new modern way of thinking, isn't it? back then there was no research and they were so scared to let people use their lungs through sport just in case something went wrong but as we've said you have to use something and push it to be able to help you get better and so for me I think having a bit of a naivity around the situation that I was in and truly believing that I was fine has helped me get through all the herders and all the hospital stays and all the predictions because at one point you know I was sitting in hospital, wired up to Sony machines, and I had the doctor sitting on the end of my bed

being like, it's too late. Doctors are known for teaching patients about their condition. Do you think you equally or even more so taught your doctors about the condition? I think I helped them see a different point of view. Help them see perhaps there was possibilities of helping a condition outside of conventional medicine taking tablets and all these things, because I think rightly or wrongly so, you know, doctors have to learn a lot and they're not always taught

about, you know, health and fitness in the same way as they have a fitness professional because it's not their job, right? But understanding the power of how health and fitness can help you just on your mindset alone, let alone your body, can quite literally transform someone's life. And I was fortunate when I was unwell

that I worked with a high-level physiologist and a running coach who just wanted to see whether it was possible. And so we did all the VO-2 max testing and all of these things over a series of weeks. and obviously saw improvement. And with that data, I then gave it to the doctors. And they were like, okay, well, maybe people can't do it to this level.

But what if they then start or start walking or do something that could help them? Yeah, that's how I always thought about medicine, even in my education being that I'm a DO. I'm a doctor of osteopathic medicine. In the US here, we have two types of doctors, MDs and DOs. And in the DOO mindset, we like to treat everyone, whether they're one-year-old or 100, one-year-old as an athlete. So we want to help them think through things with a rehab mindset that you're going to be retraining yourself. So if you have Parkinson's and you have issues with your gate, yes, it's dangerous to walk, run, but it doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. In fact, we

encourage patients to do it. And obviously, we try to do it safely. That matches their abilities and keep challenging them to do more. Because so many times I see those patients become demotivated or afraid to try new things, but the more that we can try to do more, maybe they won't be running 36 marathons and 36 days. I think that's a reasonable thing to assume, but maybe they'll be able to walk 36 blocks. And that could be such a game changer in someone's life from an independency perspective where they can go to the store, get their own groceries on their own, with a risk that they might fall. Risks need to be managed. And if you're aware of those risks, and truly I think the only way you could be aware of those risks if you take them first, you can then make the decision for yourself

and keep that bodily autonomy. So I think that's awesome. What was your age when you first learned about the fact that you had cystic fibrosis? I think I was about five or six because one of the biggest memories I have, when I was younger, I used to be really obsessed with ribina. And I used to think, because I used to drink it a lot, that when I took a blood test, they were taking ribina out. And my mom was like, okay, this is fine, because she's happy to do it. And I think that was kind of one of the moments. I was like, okay, there's definitely something. Like, I'm not sure what, or like what it all means yet.

And then I'm not sure what it's like in the US, but in the UK, we have these really big lung function machines. And one of them, you have to sit in a bubble and it's like a glass, like, a glass, like, door and like you sit there and you're all closed in. And my mom said to me, you're having a sterical movement because you don't want to be in there. You don't want to be locked in there because basically what this particular test did was removed the air system when you were breathing.

into the tube to test. And I think it was kind of one of those moments where I was like, this is not normal. My friends don't have to take tablets when they eat. They don't have to take all these nebulizers in the morning. They don't have to have percussion physio. But it didn't scare me. I think it was just, I didn't know any different.

And I wanted to find a way to manage and adapt my life so that it wasn't a definition of me. It was maybe a driving force of what I wanted to do. But it was never going to be something that. was at the forefront. Because I think having an illness that you have to really maintain a monitor every day, it can be so easy for it to become your identity. And instead of that, I wanted to use it to be able to do as many things as I could. And I wouldn't change my journey purely on the basis that I would not have done all the things I've done without it. Like, I would be a completely different person. And so, yes, it's frustrating when it does wear its head every so often. But I think it did

push me even from a young age when I was training and stuff because people were like, oh God, you shouldn't be able to do with this stuff, but you can. And I found like a lot of confidence in that. What was your parents' mindset being a kid going through all these treatments? I think obviously when I was diagnosed at four months old, they, I did a video with them on YouTube. And one of the phrases that I will never forget is they felt like they were bringing up a child to die. Because for them, you know, they didn't know what they were heading into. They didn't know what was going to happen. But I think the nice thing about it is I think they've learned a lot from just my attitude to life. I think it's enabled them to live a little bit differently, be a bit

braver. So you've impacted their way they live life. Really? How so? Because I think for them like, with the generation that they were in, it was very much you've got to play safe, you've got to work hard, save all your money, which yes, that's great. I think it's made them. want to just explore a bit more, be a bit more playful, enjoy life, maybe not do 36 marathon 36 days, but certainly inspired them to kind of live a bit differently, purely because nobody knows when their time's up. I've been fortunate to almost have been told that I've got a time limit so that I have lived and I've, you know, if, for example, in a year's time, they were like, too late for you, I could sit here and very much say, well, I've lived and I'm

really happy with the fact that I have really experienced life. And I know a lot of people that haven't done anything. And that sends fear into me. Reflecting on the fact that as a young child, you've impacted your parents' mental health, their lives, the way that they live their lives, how does that make you feel? Quite proud, actually. And I think it's really important to be proud of yourself, because I think it's something that you feel a bit strange about admitting. But I think you know, they were so scared because every single time I'm like, oh, I've got a new idea. They're like, oh, no. Here she goes again. But I think it's one of those things where like I am really proud of that drive and I'm really proud that I want to just go out and try

and achieve these things because, you know, I set to set goals that scare the absolutely hell out of me. Like the thought of it absolutely makes me sick. Was there any tension when you were trying to promise them that you're going to do this new challenge? I think I just said to them I'm doing it and that's it and my dad was like I'll take five weeks off work and I'll support you Wow

So your parents were really supportive throughout the journey They were incredible and I'm just really fortunate I'm very much niche to my friendship circle and the people I kind of associate with and I think that's a really important life-changing thing

because you become the circle you surround yourself in so you've got to find people that want to see you in people that will be there no matter what and people that will help you elevate, right? Did you have to cut people out of your life that weren't that way? Absolutely.

And I'm not afraid to do that. I'm not saying I go to someone sorry, but I think you have to understand. I'm very much the kind of person where I can notice energy a lot so I can walk into a room and be like good energy, bad energy, it's going to drain me or it's going to give me energy and I'm a firm believer of you know, you've got to cut out things that aren't good for you

whether it's activities, whether it's people, and even opportunities, because I think you know whether it's going to be good or bad for you. And, you know, it's changed everything for me and being brave enough to do that. Because it's hard, especially if it's someone that you've known for a long time or, you know, even in a relationship sense, that can be really hard because you don't necessarily want to do it. But if it's not good for you, you're only going to get in your own way because of that because you're not brave enough to make a decision.

so it's something that I kind of seen over the last few years I guess especially with the way COVID was in 2020 and I had to basically shut my business live in my one bedroom flat for 16 weeks on my own and I couldn't see anyone and that kind of time really showed me who was there who wasn't there and I think that kind of experience made me brave enough to go do you know what if I want to be the best version of myself

and I want to be the person I aspire to be, firstly I need to show up as that person to make that happen, but also understand who is in, who is good for me and who's not. It's quite fascinating to me that on one hand, you say you have to be very aware of the things that are bad for you and get rid of them. But on the other hand, you also do a lot of things that normally people would say are bad for them,

like running 36 marathons and 36 days. Is this just you having a very firm understanding of who you are, where you can make that very niche distinction, or are you doing this with a different strategy? Now, I've spent a lot of time over the years, really trying to understand myself, my mindset, who I am, who I want to be, my health. Because I think it's really important.

How do people make decisions based on what they want unless I really understand and are brave enough to delve into the areas that potentially you don't want to? Because I think we all have things that we want to improve, all things that we're not proud of, you know, decisions we've made in the past or whatever.

but I've taken a lot of time to really figure that out because I want to become the best version of myself there's certain things that I want to achieve that are going to make me need to be that person and so I spent the time trying to understand me as a person obviously we are forever evolving as people depending on what we do, experiences we push ourselves to do but I think it's one of the biggest things

I'd recommend people doing even though it's uncomfortable and it's quite scary and there's things you're going to discover that maybe you don't like but that is the only way you're going to move forward can you take us through a specific situation when you went into one of those instances going through something you were afraid of or something that made you feel uncomfortable but you came out on the other side successful yeah of course so one of them

I was quite a bit younger and I was working in London so for a reference I used to be a one-to-one PT coach in a gym and there was a certain gym in London that I was working in very high-profile celebrity clients. And I thought that I'd like jackpot here. High-paying clients, fantastic. But the reality of the gym was completely different. Because the owner of the gym, including many of the people that worked there and the clients, were regularly doing cocaine on a daily basis, coming into work, throughout work,

to maintain themselves, I guess, or just because they weren't happy and all these things. and I remember sitting there thinking the opportunities that lie here due to the clientele could be incredible but I cannot push myself into this environment because firstly it's not me and it's not good for you and it's not actually going to help me in the long run and so I shut that door and this is where I'm a firm believer of shutting doors and as that was kind of closing I heard a message from someone and he was like oh I want you to come a PT with me but I need to interview you first. Anyway, this particular situation led me into working with the Qatar royal family,

the Saudi royal family for years in London, flying around the world, living in L.A. and all these things. And that situation wouldn't have occurred if I hadn't have shut that door, said no, I knew it wasn't right for me, which then led me to basically traveling the world with these incredible people. Wow. What experiences did you have strong takeaways from in traveling the world. You've just got to do it. It's such an phenomenal place. Yeah, what place stands out for you the most?

Oh, there's so many. That's the problem. Like, I was lucky enough to go in Summit Mont Blanc, which if you are at Love Mountains, and it's one that I would recommend before, you know, global warming takes over, because it's just nothing like being in the mountains and having the ability to be what feels like on top of the world.

I know a lot of people risk their lives climbing mountains. I believe there's like legitimately people who have lost their lives climbing Mount Everest and there's a lot of people who undertake that challenge. Why do people do that if it's such a risk to their lives? Take me through that mindset. I think people just love to be able to push limits. And things are like climbing Everest, which I'm not sure I would actually do. most because it's actually really commercial.

Yeah, I remember reading it, there's like a lot of trash there now and it's kind of not the right place to go. Do you know what as well? Most people die on Everest because of the queues to the summit. Really? Because it's so oversawled despite it being like 100,000 pounds to do. Wow. But most people die because they're waiting to summit, which is why I wouldn't do it.

Okay. Because you're paying all this money. You have to live on the mountain for three months. They were climatized. and then there's a chance that you may not do it I've got a friend that had summer has summited he's got cystic fibrosis but done all the main summits of the world

and he took him three attempts and he just said like he lost friends doing it and all these things and I think one of the mindsets is I think you just don't think it'll be you that you go out to do these things and you just think oh that wouldn't happen to me

which is in some ways a blessing because if you didn't have that mindset, you wouldn't go after these things, would you? But I think as human beings, like, we just want to push and see what we can do and experience life. And we forget the fragility of life sometimes. Yeah, we can lose focus on that. And speaking of climbing mountains, what's it like when your doctors tell you, hey, you're not going to see age 16? How does that land for you? I just didn't believe them. I was like, do you know what? So no sadness in those moments for you. no one of the most um the biggest things that stands out was when i did reach 16 they're like oh well done

you've kind of got through the predictions but you definitely won't make 30 and i just said how do you know you're basing this on what evidence other than comparing to other people with CF right and i think for me it's a really dangerous thing to say to a patient because i'd never want to remove someone's hope even just to have another day because i think unless you've got the right mindset, you're not going to receive that very well. So teach me for a second. I have to tell a patient, maybe not for cystic fibrosis, but on numerous other occasions, different conditions,

if I have to tell them what their expectancy is based on others, which is all I can do, really, when we're talking about doctors making recommendations, we go off of the past, what we know, what we've learned. How does a doctor tell a patient what they know, but maybe that it will be different for them in order to not impact? their motivation and excitement for life?

I think firstly, just going down the line of, you know, this is your diagnosis. It could be X, which is the negative news. However, you know, you never know what you could do or how long you could be here or how much you could improve your life if you implement some healthy changes. Because obviously you don't want to turn around and say to someone, oh, well, you're not going to die or you're not going to have these problems. but I think giving someone even a glimmer of hope can extend someone's life

even just by a little bit if you have a terminal diagnosis of course like there's never going to be a good way to offer that news but at the same time don't take away all aspects of hope because at least try and encourage them to live where they can because I think it's one of those things

where you either receive the information and you're like okay well you know, the doctor thinks I've only got two years to live. So what am I going to do with that time to ensure that when that day does come, I'm really satisfied in how I lived versus, well, I've only got two years to live, so I'm just not going to do anything. Do you consider cystic fibrosis of terminal illness? Not for me.

Why? Because I don't believe that's the reason I die. And also, I've got goals that I've set for that I want to achieve when I'm 80s, so I don't have time. But I think it's one of those things, of course, like, you know, without being naive, maybe, but I would never live that way. Is it exciting to see that over the last two decades or so that the life expectancy has nearly doubled?

Absolutely. Do you know what? It's one of those things where, obviously, with this new medication, I never really thought that it would happen in my lifetime. Are you talking about a CFTR modulator? Yeah. That I never really thought that this would be a thing in my lifetime, not because of being a negative or anything like that

but because it kind of came out of nowhere because I think the US had it first and then in the UK it took about five years for it to be passed because of the expense of it but I kind of had accepted that that's okay because I know how to look after my body and you know I didn't know any different and then obviously taking this medication

I then understood what it did because within three hours I was actually out of breathed like a normal person and that's how quick it is. So that's phenomenal and it's going to save lives. Obviously, there are some people that can't take it. So there's, you know, there's lots going on hopefully for that to change. But I'd fully accepted that it's okay. Yeah. Letting, giving up control, but in the meantime saying I'm still in charge of this vehicle is a powerful, powerful coping mechanism. For the condition itself, what symptoms did you experience or have you experienced

throughout the course of CF? So I think for me, the main one was digestive issues, obviously breathlessness, being really salty. And that's not what people think it is. No, I know. Because they think salty is like angry. Yeah. So salty skin. Yeah, salty skin. Sweat glands. They're the main ones for me. But since being on this medication, they've kind of all gone. Wow. So symptom-free at this point. So yes, completely symptom-free. It's obviously still taking the medication and still taking digestive enzymes, but that's all I'm on compared to having AT tablets a day. So completely life-changing. How do you describe, like if I'm a friend that you're making and you're trying to explain to them what cystic fibrosis is, how would you describe the condition to them?

So the first thing I'd say was it's definitely not glamorous. Because the years I have had of being told to stop being a smoker when I've had a cough or been coughing, he's crazy. I'd say to people, if you want to know what it feels like when you're having an exacerbation, I would ask you to put a corset on and try and run down the road and breathe at the same time. Because until you've kind of experienced having a lot,

lower lung function or being out of breath or low sats, it's really difficult to kind of understand that even just walking down the road or even sitting and talking can be too much because you physically can't breathe. Like full on air hunger. Yeah. And then what about the outside of respiratory symptoms that you mentioned GI issues as well? So for that side of it, if you obviously get your dosage wrong of your medication, you're either in a lot of pain because people with CF can get, as you probably know, something called DOS, which is obstruction of the bowel, which is the worst pain that I've ever experienced in my entire life. I actually had my appendix wrongly removed because of it. Wow. To that side of it, but obviously the other

if you're going to go to the complete other side of it, it's, you know, you can't be too far away from a toilet, but not only that, the pain, because obviously your body can't deal with anything. I think some people with CF don't actually have pancreatic issues. but for me it was one of those things where I had to ensure, especially with all these mountains and challenges that I love to do, that I had to get it right. Has it ever impacted your electrolyte levels, your fatigue levels? Has that been an issue for you?

Definitely. And I think that's one of the things that I've realized from a younger age where I obviously didn't understand all these things because I'd be out and about doing my thing. And then all of a sudden, I'd have nothing to give. I have no energy. I just needed to sleep. And obviously, for me, that was, you know,

my body is working harder than most people. people's and that it was probably, you know, lack of hydration, electrolyte issues and all these things. And this is where I hope that, you know, there is more education coming in for people that are younger so they can understand. Because I was obviously none the wise and my parents wouldn't have been educated because I think sometimes in hospitals, doctors, dietitians and things don't always explain things in a way that help people. And especially growing up, my my mom and dad were basically told to feed me anything to ensure I put weight on, which is not a great advice.

Right. Speaking of not great advice from the health care system, what's been your relationship with the health care system and how has it evolved in the last few years? So I've always been fortunate to have doctors that are great and, you know, obviously not the one that told me I was going to die, but he's come around. Okay. When you say they're great, what were they doing that was positive? they're happy to listen, happy to try and understand your point of view,

trying to adapt to your kind of way of thinking. Because I think, which I fully understand, when doctors and nurses are seeing patients that are sick all the time, it's really hard for them to kind of adapt sometimes. Because if you're always giving people bad news and being like, oh, you're really ill or like, you know, it's easy just to think, oh, here's just another one that's going to go down that road, right? But then when I was last in hospital and I said to them,

okay well I want to try and get better can I please have some weights in my room and can I go for a run they're like okay and I've got videos of me doing all of this in the hospital just to try and help other people to be like yes this is hard I might only be able to do one or two reps at a time but I'm doing it and that's what the difference is has anyone maybe doctors even doubted the fact that you had cystic fibrosis when you were doing all of this I think when I started to be able to do more, they were like, are you sure we've got the right kind of like diagnosis in terms of have you got? They've said that legitimately. Yeah, like, are you like, because I think the I've got the most common strand. So like, I think a lot of people that I did

know when I was younger have died. And I think for them, once I kind of understood myself and kind of understood how to manipulate my health, they were like, okay, this is unusual. Like, this isn't something that we're used to seeing. And I think. I think there's so many more people now coming through doing fitness. It's becoming more normal. But I think for them, they were just a bit like, well, you're against the grain. We don't really know what to do with you because we're not educated in that kind of severe either. Whereas I was willing just to go out in the dark and be like, let's just see, shall we?

See how my lungs react. Well, you literally during COVID did a marathon around your lawn? I did an Iron Man. So I live on the beach, so obviously, knockout did that. and then I did 190 kilometers on a turbo train in my lounge. And then I had a 50-meter shuttle outside the front of my house. So I did a marathon there. So I think it was 834 laps.

Okay. Physically, obviously amazing. What are you thinking about when you're doing that? You must be really good at entertaining yourself. Oh, I just like the suffering. Okay. Is that true? I do like the suffering, yeah.

Why? I think it's just where I feel most comfortable. Believe it or not. Because I think for me, like, I feel like I'm fortunate enough to be able to push myself to be that person. So you feel that you're fortunate enough to suffer. Yeah. Wow. I'm fortunate enough to be able to push myself to suffer to do these things.

And also, I love being able to do things that maybe 1% of the population would like to do. Just to be different, to stand out a little bit. Because I think for me, I like to be myself and I like to not be like anyone else. else. Because I think so many people try and be like everyone else. Because I think there's something so unique and important about being yourself. How has this journey changed your ability to work with your clients, who you are training, perhaps to do something amazing or just as simple as start an exercise program? I think for them, it's kind of showing them that not one size fits all. There's different ways of doing the same thing for the same outcome. And I think for them, where I've kind of

showing what can be done. It gives them the confidence to know that, one, I'm adaptable to I will listen and help them to get to where they want to get to, but also believe in them because so much is about belief. Yeah. Does it ever work backwards that they get demotivated? They're like, look what you're doing and I can't even do this. Sometimes they're like, oh, you've just gone out and run around since then. I can't even go to the sofa. I'm like, come on, let's go. It's a good motivational tactic. I wanted to ask from the beginning, when you said that you were very young with the initial diagnosis of cystic fibrosis, was that caught by a screening program when you were an infant?

Or was it later in your childhood? So it was later because I, when I was born, we didn't do screening when you, you know, they do the hillpric test now. So I was diagnosed because, so firstly I was 10 weeks early, so I was small anyway. And my mom was not sure that there was something quite right. But because I was premature, the doctors said, she's just young got it so they pointed it to that but my mom was like well she's not breathing you know her digestive system isn't taking anything like she's she weighs two kilos

and i was four months old and the doctors didn't listen fortunately there was a nurse on when i was in hospital who had a child with cf and she touched my skin and she was like had me tested and obviously it came back as positive. Wow. So without her, you know. Wow. The nurse is always keeping us in check. How many stories have I heard and even experienced myself with that?

It's amazing, isn't it? But then you're a team, you know? You are a team. That's incredible if that's how you found out. Because these days, I believe like every child is screened for this now, at least in the United States. And the reason we do such important screen. is that if we find out early, evidence has showed that we can prolong life, improve quality of life. And actually, you know, there was at a period of time where we thought that screening might actually have some harms

because then it would cause patients to spend more time in hospitals amongst one another and there could be infections that are spread this way. But then as we did more research, we found that not to be the case and that early intervention was actually beneficial. That's interesting, isn't it? Because obviously your paper safe can't really mix. yeah um although i did do a paddibord race in the u.s i think it was about five years ago now and it was for a charity called i can't remember what it's called but anyway it's a cf charity

in the u.s that basically fund to help patients under 16 get equipment and the event itself is called crossing for a cure so you on a paddaboard paddaboard from the bahamas to florida which is i think 80 miles overnight it's 80 miles 80 miles 80 miles every year every night, through the Gulf Stream. You do technically have like a tailwind. Do you have to go to the Bermuda Triangle? I'm not sure they exactly. I mean, I've done it, but I didn't.

Wow. Do you know what the Bermuda Triangle is? That's scary. Like, people disappear there and you're on a paddleboard? Yeah. And are people around you or you just kind of? No, so you've got support boats. I think the last year that did it, they had over 300 people doing it.

So from like canoeing, paddle boarding and like hand paddle boarding. But it was such a power. event because obviously they had a few people with CF doing it and then we had this photo all stood six feet apart of all of us who were going to then go and do this event and it's just so nice because it's so rare to be able to see other people that understand the same struggles that you're going through so it is a phenomenal event if you have a fancy giving it a go yeah 80 miles on a battleboard totally you can do in a team so okay fair maybe I need I need the doctor Mike team over here to help me out with Amex Plus

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visit your local Volvo retailer or go to explorevolvo.com. Oh, this is it, the day you finally ask for that big promotion. You're in front of your mirror with your Starbucks coffee. Be confident, assertive. Remember eye contact,

but also remember to blink. Smile, but not too much. That's weird. What if you aren't any good at your job? What if they dem out you instead? Okay, don't be silly. You're smart. You're driven.

You're going to be late if you keep talking to the mirror. This promotion is yours. Go get them. Starbucks. It's never just coffee. Is the cystic fibrosis community close? Like, are you tight-knit with some individuals or organizations? I think so.

I think met on the majority of it. We are because no one else kind of gets what goes on. because it's really hard to kind of tell people because you never know by looking at someone most of the time that there was anything going on and also I think it's because we can't actually or shouldn't really meet in person so it makes a bit of a difference when you know you connect with someone you're like I do you understand yeah what uh when you do chat or talk in forums at meetings what is the conversation about I think mainly it's just about how you are

like how you manage it, mindset. Because I think the mindset of people with CF is changing because the opportunities are changing, the healthcare is changing. And I think people are now seeing that you maybe can do more than you've been told. Has anyone ever specifically reached out to you, given your circumstances for advice?

I do. I have it all the time from moms, people with CF to people with CF. Because I think it's easy to kind of see someone who's on day 500 of their journey. And when you're on day one, you're like, how's that person gone from here to here? Like, I remember when I could only run 200 meters down the road

and she ran the new marathon yesterday. And I've run the 38 marathons this year, but I still remember not being able to run. Reflecting on that, what's the feeling that comes? For me, I think it's, thank God I was brave enough and naive enough just to try. Because it's so hard, because I think, I remember, so I've got a golden retriever at home called Nala.

and one of the reasons that I bought her was because I wanted someone to run with and I remember that so specifically because at the time this was pre the modulators and I remember thinking well I can't really run anymore because I'm so out of breath on my sats drop that I can only run a little bit

but I need someone to get me out I need someone that needs to go out every single day and that was her and so you know once she was old enough we started running together and it was a little bit was like really lovely and stuff off. And so for me, like she almost saved my life. Wow.

Just by simply the need of going for a walk. Wow. That's how I thought about when my mom passed away, I actually got a dog for my dad, a Siberian husky, with the same principle in mind of trying to hope that she would keep him active. And she's done a phenomenal job at that because Siberian huskies have so much energy. So, you know, obviously it started off with him walking with her, then jogging with her. now unfortunately she's a tripod because she had a little little health situation but she's still doing great he's still taking her out every twice a day probably still and she's um she's a warrior and dogs really do have that impact on

humans yeah yeah like i have two dogs myself so i'm i'm really passionate about dogs i have two newfoundlands oh they're massive massive and they love swimming so they're always into pool and always in good mood and uh i will say that's the one big difference between dogs and humans. I've never seen my dogs, at least in particular, in a bad mood. Have you? No, they're always happy. They're always up for anything as well. Yeah, what, what, we need to, yeah, how do we get that? Do you know, that's the one thing I remember thinking, like, oh, I need to be more like Nala. I need to be more like her. Like, she's enthusiastic. She will always say yes. I mean, she's a very snacky girl. Like,

she loves a good snack. But she will never say no to anything. If you're like, oh, come, let's go here. Let's go there. Let's go swimming. Let's climb a mountain. Just always. always happy. It's got to say yes. That's so funny. Take me through what your life looks like now with your business, with the fact that you're running the New York City Marathon. You also had some personal great news happen recently.

I did. Thank you. Yeah. So tell us about that. So I love the fact that with my life, it's a bit chaotic. Okay. And not every single day is the same. And I have the choice and the ability to work from anywhere in the world.

which was one of the goals I had when COVID hit because I want to be able to say yes to any opportunity. Like for me, for example, running the New York Marathon was actually work. I got to run the New York Marathon as my job, right? How phenomenal is that? And so I was an in-person personal trainer for eight years. COVID happened. I then threw everything online, social media,

and just basically said yes to as many opportunities that I physically could. to be able to grow as a person, to be able to grow my business, and just be out to work with some dream brands and people that, and, you know, meet people like you, like, you know, I think that's the beauty of the online space, isn't it? You get to connect with so many amazing people and have so many amazing conversations. And so on a daily basis, it's a bit different. Like, obviously, I've got my clients online. I've recently launched a business for my sister. She's coach in Dubai. Wanted to get online. So we basically have joined forces. She specializes in nutrition and strength training, obviously, running,

and so it's kind of like the perfect combination really wow and then uh how is the personal life yeah good recently got engaged was a surprise congratulations how is how is the surprise how did it play out um so he was very nervous like it was one of those things where i obviously didn't realize until he was acting strange so i was like okay this is but that's chaos you love that oh no i love the chaos but it was like we've gone away to the cotswolds in the UK with dogs and it was like the Saturday morning and he woke up at like five, being like,

do you want a coffee? I was like, it's funny, like I'll have an early morning but like very away. Like, whatever. Anyway, I've never seen a human being

get dressed so quickly in my life to take the dogs out for a walk. Hmm. I was like, okay, this is weird. And then he kept going, you should set your phone up. We should have a photo with the family as in the dogs.

I was like, okay, this is weird. You never asked me to take my phone out. Obviously I normally do because it's my job, but like, I was like, okay, this is weird. And I was like, oh, no, not here, not here. And he was like, oh, God, this is so annoying. Because normally I'd just play, yeah, let's just go.

And I was like, okay, this is just really weird. And then we were getting to the walk. He was like, no, no, we've got to go this way now. Because obviously he was trying to like get the courage and like do the thing. And then I was like, okay, this is a bit, there's something going on here. And then obviously just went down on one knee. Wow. And you guys have been together for a while?

A couple of years, yeah. So we actually met through a mutual friend's wedding. So we kind of knew each other when we were younger. But he, three years ago, got diagnosed with a former blood cancer he had a blood clot on his intestines which basically gave him sex and nearly died

so it's to have obviously emergency operation and had to kind of have a meter of intestine removed wasn't a pick line for a year and all these different things so it was quite serious and that was while you were together no so this was the year before but we kind of got reunited

in my friend's wedding which I hadn't seen him for years but I'd heard that he hadn't been very well but he didn't then had his reversal because he had a stoma had a reversal um and obviously saw him at the wedding and i was like oh my god are you how are you and he was like i just had my operation two weeks ago i don't like hug me too time um and then obviously like one thing led to another a few months later and here we are what's his name it's called jame he also has a gone retriever and we

accidentally had puppies oh accidentally it was an accident because i remember that my dog nala came in went into season and my mom and dad they've got a house in france and normally they would have taken her. But they were like, oh, like, we'll just leave her this time. Like, it'd be a bit tricky, whatever. She was like, but be careful because the guy you're now seeing, his dog is intact. And I was like, oh, it would be fine. And then obviously.

Before you know it. So how big is the litter? That's six. Wow. They were very cute. So what happens to the six? So my mom's got one. We've got a couple of friends with one and got two that are far away.

But they're beautiful. And like we get to see them all the time. Oh, that's awesome. Does Jamie ever ask you questions? about handling the medical journey as well as you have? He does, yeah, because I think for him as well, where he's obviously, you know, with his diagnosis and having to have a low-dose chemo injection every two, three weeks.

Because obviously for him, like, it's a completely different scenario in a way because it's an adjustment as an adult. I obviously don't know any different. Got it. So, you know, one hand, obviously, you know, he's like, oh, God, this sucks because I now have to do this thing

and I have to monitor my health much more closely. and I've got all these side effects and all this stuff. Whereas I'm like, oh, well, I'm used to it. You know, for me, it's like it is what it is. But I think that's the beauty of it. Like, it's the constant learning and the mindset shift. And, you know, for him, especially since he's had this diagnosis, he's lived in a completely different way.

Because of you. Yeah. Okay. So you encourage him to run in marathons? Well, he did an iron man about six weeks ago. Wow. So there's little things that... You're a bad influence.

I'm a great influence. No, you cause people to run marathons. so you'll be next we're going to run a marathon. I feel like I'm about to run a marathon. Was that a bonding factor for you guys talking about your health? Or is that something that just what most people saw on the surface, but you guys talk deeper than that? I think it is because I think it's the understanding. You know, some days you just don't feel well or you just don't have it. And I think it can be frustrating for other people when you look healthy. And you're like, I just don't feel it today. And they're like, oh, but you're fine. Yeah. You sound like someone who's

very much into the controlled chaos, where you're in control of the chaos. You're very proud of the achievements, and rightfully so, that you've accomplished. Do you ever look back and say, I would have done this a little bit differently? Maybe more or less, what have you? On certain areas, yes. So I would have cut out certain things much quicker. But unfortunately, I think that's the power of growing up. that you were only know certain things

and you learn certain things through experience and age I would have you know one of the questions I have actually recently been asking myself is if I hadn't have had cystic fibrosis so bearing in mind obviously the journey being told you're not going to do anything

you're not going to have a career I fell into the fitness industry because I needed to get better I always wonder what I would have done what path would I've taken what career would I have chosen because I'd been a completely different person because if you think about it like at the time there was no need for me to think oh god

I need a pension or I need like longer security and financially or whatever it was very much like say yes to everything in case one day you can't um but I wouldn't change anything per se because I don't think you should have any regrets things play out I think the way they're supposed to play out and I do truly believe that things that are meant for you won't pass you by but they would only come to you when you're ready to do them and receive them, because there are certain things that I would have wanted to do when I was younger, but actually when they did happen, I wouldn't have been knowledgeable enough,

or I wouldn't have been ready to take that responsibility or pressure. Yeah. Did you answer that question to yourself about what you would have been like, had you not had cystic fibrosis? No, and it's something that I'm still discovering, because it's a really hard thing to do, because you may be like a completely different person. But I think for me it would be like,

would I still be interested in fitness if I hadn't, I've had no choice but to ensure that I kept fit. Because I think, as you would know, fitness gives you such a good grounding of discipline and understanding and sense of achievement and confidence in yourself

and it surrounds you with amazing people. You are just simply trying to achieve the same or better themselves. And so I'd always encourage anyone to try a sport or get into a community that you can really thrive in and people encourage you because some of my friends

that potentially don't love fitness I wonder what they do firstly on a daily basis if you don't do any kind of fitness like what do you do with yourself I start my day with either going to the gym or going for a run or a swim or something which then for me sets up the day

because I'm a firm believer of win the first hour I'll win the day but I just wonder whether I would have taken like a more of a corporate role or i don't know like for example like my sister who lives in singapore became a doctor because of me and my health right so you i think you don't really realize the ripple effect that you have as a human being i don't think you ever really will because you know unless people tell you how are you supposed to know but also some people maybe subconsciously do something because they've seen say for example i've obviously done the marathon

People are like, oh, well, actually, like, it looks quite fun. Maybe I'll do a marathon. You know, it might be something that they may have never really thought about doing. This episode is brought to you by Mewmue Mew. Introducing Mutein, the new feminine fragrance by the iconic fashion house. Mutine captures the youthful, unconventional essence of the Mewewew Girl, brought to life by a gourmand, intimate and enveloping scent of wild strawberry and brown sugar accords. Mutein is not a statement, but a knowing glance, a sweet,

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slash uncertainty oh hi buddy who's the best you are i wish i could spend all day with you instead uh Dave you're off mute Hey, happens to the best of us. Enjoy some goldfish cheddar crackers. Goldfish have short memories. Be like goldfish. The white chocolate macadamia cream cold brew from Starbucks is made just the way you like it. Handcrafted cold foam topped with toasted cookie crumble.

It's a sweet summer twist on iced coffee. Your cold brew is ready at Starbucks. Yeah. To do this type of, I mean, one marathon obviously is tricky, but the most of multiple marathons, fitness is tough. What do you do for nutrition? I can't even, because you also have to consume more calories than a typical person because of your condition, am I right? So that's the hard thing. So when I was obviously doing the marathons, I was trying to get in about 5,000 calories a day. Wow. That's a lot of calories. For some people,

that sounds really fun. I mean, not really. That's a lot every day. When you're trying to do it in a good nutritional way. Yeah. It's just impossible because as well for me, there were so many things in the balance. Obviously, I had to monitor my lungs because obviously your immune system drops massively when you're doing something like this.

I did end up losing about six kilos as well. Wow. Which was a bit strange for me, actually, because I went down to a weight that I was when I was last ill. So it was a bit of a bittersweet, like, yes, this isn't healthy, but it won't take long to fix it. It brought up those feelings. But also, like, it kind of.

re-surfaced a lot of things that I'd completely forgotten about. Because I think when you're so used to, especially in the mirror, like, looking at yourself in a certain way, then you're like, because I remember it so well. And it was, I think it was Marathon 35. And I was getting changed in the hotel ready to go and do the marathon. I mean, I was looked at myself and I was like, wow, I don't even know, I don't even recognize myself anymore. And that's crazy.

What do you do in general when those negative feelings do creep up? Because they're creeping up for everybody. That's a human condition. I try and be realistic with them because I think sometimes as humans we try and just bat them away and think, oh no, we can't, you know, every cloud has a silver lining

and all these things. But I think sometimes you just have to sit with them for a little while and be like, do you know what? It's actually really important as a human being to experience emotion because I think something that I've learned about myself

is that we, I suppress a lot of emotion because I associated it with being ill. So for example, every time I had a heartbreak in my 20s I ended up in hospital every time I was almost put under that threshold and so for me I ended up shutting down loads of emotions

and just blocking lots of things out because I didn't want to die when in reality that's definitely not healthy and that's definitely something that I've worked on a lot because I don't see why we should have to do that because as humans we're supposed to fill all these emotions because if you want to be able to feel like the ultimate high of happiness

you have to be able to feel the other end of the spectrum as well And I think what's healthy about the generation that we are now is that we're willing to be open and talk about it and work through these things. Whereas my mom and dad's generation, for example, it was very much, you can't talk about anything and you shouldn't feel sad and you shouldn't fit all these things, but we're supposed to. And that's healthy. And in speaking of that barometer that we actually brought up earlier in this conversation

where we're coming back to the topic, it's actually quite neat. Talking about our sadness should not necessarily mean we're talking. talking about it as a pathology, meaning that there's a medical or mental health problem when you're sad. Sadness is an acceptable human emotion. In fact, it could be a positive emotion. It could be a motivating emotion. But what I see quite often, I'm curious if you have this in your own personal life with

friends, perhaps, my patients will come in and they'll tell me that they think they have a mental health disorder and they'll pick one off of a list. When in reality, they're just experiencing sadness that is quite appropriate for the loss of a loved one, a difficult situation with schooling or breakups, and frequently the conversation needs to be about it's totally acceptable to be down right now. Do you feel like people in your life sometimes lose sight of that as well? I think so. And I think it's obviously there's no blame, but I think social media doesn't help. Because I think one of the biggest ones I see is anxiety and we're supposed to feel it. And I think it's one of those things where people

forget that you're meant to be nervous about certain things or feel anxious like for example yesterday i felt more nervous about doing the new york marathon than i did running 36 marathons why who knows oh why yeah why i don't know how weird is that so i think it's one of those things where people associate certain things and they're like oh i must have this and i must be medicated when actually it's just normal to feel all these different things yeah but i think social media just doesn't help in some respect like it's amazing tools to make you know bring awareness and things like that but i think sometimes it just doesn't help. And I think you forget that, as we've said,

we're supposed to feel all these an array of emotions are healthy, and you're allowed to feel that. I actually had a mini debate in the midst of a podcast with another creator, Dr. Mike Isratel. He's a PhD, and he said that, wouldn't it be awesome if we can create some sort of pill that will prevent us from ever being sad because sad is a useless emotion?

I disagreed. What's your take on? I disagree. Why? Because if you never feel sad, how can you feel happy? How do you know the difference and how do you know what you want if you never feel sad? Because I think, for example, if you're going to relate it to a relationship, if it's always happy, how do you know it's the right relationship for you?

How do you know that you're getting what you need from that person to support you mentally and physically and your needs, your love language, all these things? So, you know, you're supposed to feel, if you feel sad and it's constantly sad and they're constantly hurting you and constantly, that's not right. you, but if you never feel that, then it's going to be very flatline. It's going to be very boring. So do you find it suspicious when couples say like, oh, we never fight? Everything's always great. Yeah, that's not right. Because I'm not saying that, me and Jamie, like, never really argue, but we have healthy communication. And I think that's one thing that people need to try and

develop is being able to communicate with different people and understanding their level of communication. Because I think especially when you're having an agree, a disagreement or a discussion, you need to try and understand it from their point of view because if you think about it, each person that you meet sees you in a different way so the person that you are is never going to be the same. So the way you see yourself is different to the way your team sees, your friends see, your relationship, you know.

So I think, you know, I think you need to feel sad. Yeah. And it's not a negative thing. Well, you know, speaking of bad advice, what is the worst advice you ever gotten? What's the worst advice? Probably for me, was that you can't do something

because I'm the kind of person fortunately but unfortunately if you said to me you can't go and run across America and then I'll show you I'll go and start now so like I think for me it's like don't ever discourage someone because it's very much a perception of yourself

like if you say to someone well you can't ever you can't ever go and be a boxer well yeah you might not be a professional boxer but you could become a boxer you know it's never discouraged someone because it's the perception that that person has of themselves if you're willing to put someone down like that so could the worst advice you've ever gotten be also the best advice in a way because it pushes you to achieve right for you specifically in your case

it seems like whenever anyone tells you know you're like oh i'm just very stubborn and i'm just like i can do anything all right so my goal here maybe then should be to say something that you can't do and make you do something pretty incredible challenge me you should become a physician what anything whatever you're most passionate about sure i was actually looking recently into um more the psychology of sport side of things okay because i think for a lot of people even i think professional athletes a lot of it comes down to that because there's been a lot obviously with the olympics that have been on this year um where people have either

been made or broken because of their mindset, not their talent. Right. Do you think that is a chicken or the egg scenario? And I'll explain what I'll mean, what I mean at this. There's some people who have a really great control, and then there's some people who don't. Is there a way to actually teach that control where you could make the difference? Is it a way?

I think there is. But I think you have to be wanting to do that and you have to be ready to receive. that because I think one of the hardest things for human beings to take is criticism because we don't like to be told that we've done something wrong or we're not good at something or we need to change something. I think if you're not willing to be open and try and see the other side of it or try and understand the advice of someone who potentially has more experience than you then you're never going to get anyway. It's like walking into a room saying, well, I'm the best person here and I have all

the most knowledge. Well, no, you can always learn something from one person. Exactly. In boxing, the analogy is like you can become a better fighter sparring someone significantly worse than you. You can. I actually did a white collar fight a few years ago. Oh, really?

It was so much fun. Yeah. Well, talking about torturing yourself, that's... It's the hardest training in the world, honestly. I have never experienced anything like it in my entire life, but it is also really satisfying when you hit someone in the face really well. It makes you feel alive hitting and also getting hit. Yeah.

Like there's no, like the way you described how you feel when you run is pretty much the same way that you feel when you're in a ring fighting someone. Oh, it's incredible. But it's like the quickest minutes of your life as well. It does fly by. And also people say, oh, it's three minutes. That's nothing. No, no, no.

I challenge people to do one round in three minutes and see how fast you get tired after 15 seconds. Honestly, I think it's one of those things. People always underestimate. And I'm like, no, no, you go and try it. Yeah. You tell me how long you want to survive. Yeah, when people say like, oh, why do amateurs only do two minute rounds?

They can't do one extra minute. I'm like, you have no idea. No idea. It's like when I was younger, I used to be a 400-meter track sprinter, which in my head is like the worst distance in the world. Why? Because it's just an all-out sprint for, well, under a minute. Okay.

Which is hard. But people are like, it was only one lap of the track. Excuse me. It's just one laugh. I'm like, you go and try and do it in what the Olympic, Olympians do it in. Yeah. Oh, I got that's so funny. What do you find is the biggest challenge these days in training individuals to become more fit?

It's a discipline. People just don't have the discipline. Why do you think that is? I think it's because they want an easy life. But if you do hard things, life becomes easier. But if you do easy things, life remains hard. So you have to be disciplined for actually things. be better. And actually, you feel better as a person. I think people just struggle with the

discipline because they want the comfort, but you only get the comfort if you live in discomfort. Do you ever have issues with your patients falling or your patients or clients falling for misinformation? Absolutely, because I think there's just so much information out there. Who knows what to believe? What's the worst thing that they've repeated to? They're like, oh, I found this shortcut. I think mainly around nutrition. Because they're, there's so many trends and there's so many things that people say,

oh, you should do this and you should cut calves and it's like, no, like you, you know, I understand why people want to try certain things and everyone's bodies are different. So everyone does need,

does have different needs. But at the same time, there's a lot of people irresponsibly showing information on big platforms and sharing like certain tablets to lose weight and all these things.

Yeah. And I just think like, you know, there are actually no shortcuts in life in anything. you just have to put in the effort. Yeah, you have to embrace the suck. You do, but you can find so much joy in that.

Yeah, what is the secret? Like, teach us how do you embrace enjoying feeling shitty? Just enjoying the control discomfort. Control the controllables. The fact that you're in control is the variable that sticks out to you. Yeah. Because you think about it, right? So you have a choice when you're doing something that's hard,

how much hard you can take. and that will determine your result. So say, for example, you're in a boxing ring and you're willing to do the three minutes and you're willing to give it 100% versus someone that can only give 50% in those three minutes. You're obviously going to achieve more. So it depends on how much you can do,

but the only way that you can increase their threshold is by leaning into that hard all the time or regularly enough. So if you're going to relate it back to, say, running, the only way that you're going to get better is by doing interval training and tempo training. But you also need the easy training, but you have to get comfortable really pushing yourself

and it's going to hurt. Yeah. Do you ever get negative criticism of you saying that? I do, but I think that's healthy. I'm not afraid of being like the criticism. What do the critics say? Firstly, one of the biggest ones I've had is, you don't have CF.

It's easy for you. Which is mad. Wait, they're lying? They think you're lying? Well, yeah, they do. I think it's, you know, it's a reflection of their perception, right, because maybe they do or don't have CF, but they're not doing. And I think the only people that are criticizing you is the people that are doing less than you because no one who's doing more is ever going to criticize you. That's interesting.

I had a World Cup winner, a player of the year, female soccer champion, Carly Lloyd on this podcast. And she talked about how she doesn't like the trend in sports where there's more comfort. being introduced from a load management perspective, decreasing strain on the body. She said, like, rest is obviously important, but when she would go to the World Cup, she'd be training just as hard as when she was home, where people took it easy during the World Cup. Do you feel that's happening in sports as well, or do you feel like it's an appropriate shift to allow the body to recover? I think it's just a very personal thing.

Because I think the problem is that most people probably overtrain. Really? If you're the kind of person that loves training and you love achieving, the likelihood is that you don't rest enough and there's a lot of power in rest and recovery because obviously that's where the fitness happens. But then if you're a professional athlete,

there has to be a certain threshold that you keep to for as long as you physically can, but the only way you know what that is is if you're actually doing. Because there's a fine line, like in your, there's a zone where that's where your fitness happens. If you go above it, you're more likely to get injured or unwell.

If you go below it, you're never going to achieve your potential. Yeah, finding that line is so hard. When I had my professional boxing match, I had to lose 20, 30 pounds. I had to really up my cardiovascular training because I was nowhere near in a shape for a three-minute round fight,

you know, multi-round fight. And I think that there's a world where I probably overtrained for that fight where I was sparring well into the week before on fight week. I was still running five, six miles. People are you doing? I'm like, oh, but I'm going slow.

It shouldn't be that bad. And I never knew what that line was. Whereas if I think now, if I took a week and a half off before the fight, it's not like I would have been less trained, but I would have been very well rested. Yeah. And I think that is a significant advantage. So unless you do it and fail maybe at times or have the greatest guidance of the world, how else do you know?

Well, that's the thing. but with something like that, do you think it would have affected your mindset going into it if you'd had a week and a half off? Hard to say. You know, there was a fear of going into the fight where even in my warm-ups, I felt tired. And that fear was there during the fight. Whereas if I didn't have that fear and I was so well-rested and I was like, I can just go on forever, which after training for a year for a fight, like you've got to be confident in your fitness.

And if you didn't have that, I think that could impact the mindset negatively. But again, hard to know, right? I love mindset because I think you never know for you until you push yourself into situations. How do you know how you're going to react? Yeah, because I think I had a moment of dissociation during the fight where going in, like, walking out to the ring, I had no nervousness. That's amazing. I think that's a problem. Were you okay?

That's what I'm saying. I don't think so. I don't think I was okay because you're going out to fight. a professional who's been doing this for his livelihood and doesn't want to take a loss wants to embarrass you basically and I'm just like yeah hey everyone I'm happy to be here and it's like completely dissociated because I think that was the only way I found that I could deal with that level of stress I can understand that though you never had that happen in in your moments because you're always very much in the zone right I had no no I have done

I think you might have been actually when I was walking down to my own ring really Because I think it's one of those things. Obviously, it's a brand new experience for me. Never done it. Yeah. I'd only had six weeks to train. That's the other problem. But I think it's like, it's a coping mechanism.

Right. Because if you've never been in a situation before, you either are a bag of nerves or I guess you just, oh, way you're described. And you're just like, cool. Anyway, this is what I'm doing now. And that's it. Yeah. Tricky stuff.

Well, look, I appreciate you sharing your journey. It's amazing to take away. so many of the variables that you've used quite successfully in your life, hopefully the viewers will get the same benefit that I have in talking to you. And I hope you continue tackling the most incredible challenges. You have the mountains coming up? I'm hoping to, yes. Is there anything on a bucket list that you have that you're like, I'm keeping that one for the back of my head? So obviously, I've done triathlon before, but there's an event called Archdark, which is, from Marbleuch in London to the Arctic Triumph in Paris.

And you basically run from London to Dover, swim the channel, and then you cycle to Paris. And you basically do it as fast as you can. Okay. So maybe thinking about that in a few years' time. Wow. All right people go to follow along that journey. So all my social handles are just my name,

which is Sophie Grace Home, Simple. Awesome. Well, Sophie, thank you so much. Congratulations on the Guinness World Record and finishing the New York City. Marathon. Great accomplishment. It's been a pleasure. Thank you.

I'm so grateful we got to pull off this episode with Sophie. Luckily, she was in town for the New York City Marathon, and we were able to schedule her for an appearance while she was in town. I actually had the privilege of speaking to a lot of professional athletes on the show, including Carly Lloyd of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team. That's right. Some consider her the goat. Head on back to our episodes to find that one and listen to it right now.

And if you enjoy this episode, I really appreciate if you could leave us a five-star review, potentially a comment, as it's the best way to help us find new viewers. And as always, stay happy and healthy.