The Uneducated PT Podcast - #60 Alycia Thompson Ward / Women's Health Surgery Coach

Episode Date: November 29, 2024

In this episode of the Uneducated PT Podcast we spoke to Coach Alycia Thompson Ward. Alycia is a surgery coach who helps people get back to full health through her compassion, education and experience as a fitness coach. In this episode we speak about Pelvic Inflammatory disease, PCOS, Hashimoto disease, PCOS Flare ups, the common mistakes post surgery and much more. 

Hello and welcome to the uneducated PT podcast with me, your host, Carlo Rourke. The goal of this podcast is to bring on interest and knowledgeable people from all walks of life, learn a little something from each conversation and for you, the listener, just learn something from each episode. So don't forget to subscribe to the channel, press the box below, show some support and I'll see you on the next episode. Before we get started, I want to address the elephant in the room. So Ward is an Irish name, correct?

Yes, it is. Tell me about that. so I am part Irish so I'm part Jamaican part Irish and also like two years ago found out part Indian which is just amazing but yeah I've been to Ireland

once I shot with Peter Bennett photo shoot he's amazing but I've never actually met my people's properly well we'll have to take it to Ireland and show you I'm just outside of Dublin at Wicklow there which is the nicest county in the in the country so I'll show you around. Is that why McGregor's from?

McGregor's from, well, at Dublin, but he was also, he lives outside of Dublin, just in Kildare, which is like on the side of Dublin, and then I would be south of Dublin. Let's go there. I know, I know you're a huge

McGregor fan, aren't you? I love that night. You're a big, you're a big UFC fan, aren't you? Yeah, because of him. I love McGregor. I love Nick Diaz, Nate Diaz. I love all like the OGs of the fight game, the fight game, just like you were to say. But yeah, that's it.

Alicia, I want you to just tell the listeners a little bit about, well, like, let's get straight into it. So will you tell them a little bit about like the life savings surgery that you had, that you went through and how that shapes the work that you do now? And then just talk a little bit about the work that you do now. Okay. So last year, I was in Spain and I decided to go there just to work somewhere else. and I felt really fortunate I could do that.

When I came back, I decided to come back a few days early because I had a client photo shoot. I thought I'll settle back in the UK, do the shoot, and then I was going to go somewhere else. But when I came back, I went to a friend's house and we had like a meal together, okay? And when I had that meal, I was like, oh, I feel a little bit like I've got indigestion. And she's like, oh, mate, just stay over.

I said, no, I'll go home. I just need to wake up, go train legs tomorrow, and then crack on because the shoot was like the day after. that. Anyway, that next morning, I woke up instantly. As soon as my feet touched the floor, just collapsed. I had no idea what was going on. And in describing the pain, it was just like someone had got a knife and was just cutting straight across my pelvis. It was horrendous. And I was calling out for my mum, because thank God, like, you know, she was there at that time. This was back in the UK?

Yeah, thank God. So I'm in the UK. So I flew back. The day I was meant to fly back was the day I collapsed at home. So the universe was working. I decided to come back early and I asked, well, screamed to my monkey call an ambulance and that wait was like two hours, two and a half hours and we couldn't wait because I was literally like, I am going to die. I can't even describe the pain.

Anyway, my mom, thank God, drove me to the hospital and she wasn't even meant to be around that day. She just wanted to check in. got to the hospital and instantly collapsed again and went was admitted and they said we found a mass on your ovaries no idea what that means no idea you know at that point because they can't test anything what that meant so got rushed into theatre and they said you had a 10 centimetre dermoid cyst on your right ovary so a dermoid cyst is something which you're usually born

with. So it's whilst you're developing in the womb, for whatever reason, like a pocket of skin may fold over. For me, it was a pocket of skin around my ovaries. And because that's not meant to be there, the body will just feed it to grow because it's just strange. So it had teeth in it, it had hair, it had skin, because it was like trying to form something. So at that point, I was 23. So in those 23 years, there was no signs, there was no warning, which is very strange. I was about to ask is that that's not common, isn't I? No. No. Usually my stomach

well, should have been really distended. I was so slim. I was dieting for the shoot, so I was in great condition until, you know, that all happened. But the scariest thing was they were like, that could have been fatal. And for me, I thought, oh well, okay, it's an ovarian cyst. Like, of course we don't want it there.

But how could it have been fatal? and it's basically because had the cysts kept getting bigger, they can get to the size of like watermelons and the organs will just move things. Had that a burst, the body could have gone into shock, infection, everything. And at that point, I forgot to mention, I did have an infection, so they were treating that as well. But I was in surgery for well over four hours

and they wanted it to be like a 40-minute thing. But thank God, like they saved everything. I woke up the next morning. And I think I just mentally switched off because I was like, okay, this has happened. Like, what am I going to do about it? You know? And when I was sat there just listening to all the women in the ward, every ward I was on, it was the women who got me through it.

And like, even my mum, for example, she was always there. And speaking to the patients, they were like, list, like, this is pretty much it now. Like, you've had your surgery. You're in the system. You had a surgery. You probably have a women's health issue because I wasn't diagnosed with any women's health issues at that point. So you didn't have any symptoms previous coming up to this? Zero symptoms. Like I was at the gym. Like literally, before I flew, I trained legs. I always trained legs.

I was hip thrusting like 100, 120 KG. I was on the leg pressure, just smashing everything. Zero. The only issues I'd had would be around like my period sometimes, which we'll get on to like the story behind that. Even issues with like acne and stuff like. but nothing pointed towards what I do have or had. But it was what the women were saying. They were like, we are more or less the forgotten ones now. You just got to crack on.

And I was saying I was a coach and they were like, oh, that's amazing. Like, you'll probably bounce back so quickly. And I'm sat there. And I was still, I was still replying to all my clients. I was doing check-ins off at the hospital because I just,

I didn't want to lead them. And like, it was great to just have something to focus on as well. And I'm listening to all these people and I'm getting really angry because all these women have such massive stories and every single one is saying that's it. Like we'll be at the doctors again after this

because they'll just give you more drugs. We don't even know how to get stronger. We dare step into a gym because we're so unconfident and they've just given up and I was like, yeah, that's not happening. So when I was going to the toilet? Literally the nurse had just been

to just check every. and everything was healing okay. My mum got me up and I was waddling to the toilet on the ward and I was like, mum, I am going to help women who have had surgeries or health issues because I'm over it. I'm going to help them get back on the feet and just do their fitness journey again. Did you decide that there and then? Yeah. Oh, yeah.

My mum was like, okay. Because she's very used to me being like, this is happening. It's like, all right. And that was it. So I'm speaking to them and I'm like, Emma and Rachel are then. names. And I was like, what do you think to this? Because this is what I want to do. This would help you with this way, because you don't even know how to strengthen your core after, like, at that point, they're at six surgeries. And they're like, oh, no one's ever done that. So I don't

know. But if you want to do it, go for it. And I was like, okay, so I got home, started changing, like, certain contracts in, like, business side of things to just see how I could do things. It's crazy how the universe works because I have been coaching women with endometriosis. and I've had surgeries for years. But I'd always stayed in the realm of gen pop. So like women who want to gain muscle or, you know, loose fat, which I loved. And I still work with so many of those ladies. I've not called them.

It's just the passion now was, like my purpose was so much greater. So I literally was like, you know what to do less. You just need to make it happen. And now I'm coaching women from all over the world who have had surgeries, or they've had children by a C-section or, you know, vaginal birth. But the biggest thing, it's women who have women's health or chronic health issues and or have had a surgery have a home now, and they're just living their best life.

So I love it. So there's loads that I want to go into you and like different things from PCOS to, is it Hashimoto's disease? That's not correct? Forgive me now. I'm very ignorant on all these women's health issues, but you're going to teach me today. flare ups and all that.

So, but I suppose since you touched on, I want to ask about this. And that's kind of essentially about coaching clients around post-surgery, just as you obviously went through to surgery. So what was your like recovery process like and what were some of the challenges that you faced with your recovery

that probably helped you to become a better coach and to help other clients do the same thing? I'll be so real. My recovery was a hot mess. And all my clients know this, I'll say, look, pride. Because I think, and I have so much respect for the NHS,

like they literally, those surgeons saved my life. Some individuals, however, can really see you in a way that just isn't there. So just because people knew I was fit and a lot of the coaches, doctors were like, yeah, we know your background, we know X, Y, Z, so you should be okay. When actually I wasn't.

Like I was left for six months with a serious pelvic infection, which I kept going to my GP, he's saying, I'm not okay. And all I'd get is, no, this is normal. Like, you've had a major surgery. Of course you're healing. But with me doing this for so long,

and also as a woman and a human, knowing my body, it wasn't right. So then I went to a different doctor in 40 minutes. He was like, you've got this, you've got this, and you've got this. So then we sorted it. But in terms of my recovery, I did what I could. So I made my own, like, core and pelvic strength reengagement plan.

sort of that. Even in terms of my nutrition and stuff like that, I sorted it. And when it came to the gym, I was actually at the gym for nine months, but I wasn't a woe with me. I was like, okay, can you do yoga?

And McGregor helped me massively with this. On God, on God. And when I meet him, I'll tell him. Because when I was recovering, I watched his Netflix documentary and he was like, movement is medicine. There's always something we can do. So I was like I am going to get even further in my steps today.

I'm going to go and do this yoga class because all the doctors were saying is what I can't do. But I'm glad in a weird way that that happened and my recovery was rocky like that because I can now sympathise even more so with my gills because say if they're getting fobbed off, I'm like, no, you need to go to this type of doctor and say this and get this blood test done so they can actually take you a bit more seriously. It's huge. So I'm glad it happened. And also, I have a much better appreciation for fitness.

It's not any more, more the aesthetic side of things or the competitive side of things. It's what's my life? Like fitness and health is huge. So now when I set foot in the gym, I'm like, even if I have a rubbish day, we all have it. I'm like, well, there was a time you couldn't even stand by yourself. So go and do your leg session. It's just a different appreciation. Yeah, that's a very good point in terms of like your perception around the things that you're doing.

Because obviously before this happened, you said you were prepping for a photo shoot, weren't you? Yeah. So it's like you could be doing the exact same training session. You could be doing the exact same leg session. But instead of doing it now to prep for a photo shoot, you're doing it for almost just the quality of life. Exactly. Exactly. And I think it was such, I didn't say this, but it was such a mind screw in hospital.

because I went from being in Spain so independent and happy, not caring the world of anything to do with health, to then let's say 36 hours later, I'm having to be lifted by two nurses to go to the toilet and to help me wipe myself. Which is obviously going to be even more, a more difficult thing for you to handle being someone who, you know, comes from a fitness background to, like you said,

is independent where like like would you say that you know the way you touched on that like you just focused on what you could do rather than what you couldn't do in terms of the recovery process because obviously as a fitness trainer that's like a lot of things that you're going to coach people is all right what what are you in control of and and set in managing realistic expectations was that easy for you to do or was it difficult for you to do because obviously like you had certain strength levels and fitness levels and that's obviously getting pulled back but then you also have the coach's perspective of being like, okay, what can I do? What's in front of me?

I'm a bit of a nutcase. So I actually loved that I was noticing because I was like, I need to change the narrative. If I'm the whole time in these nine months, so I didn't, at the point when I was in it, I didn't know it would be nine months my recovery. But I was like, if you this whole time are going to focus on woe is me, I can't do this, I can't do that, you are going to be driving yourself into a ground. So for me, like, I remember it was like the Northern General in Sheffield and the nurses had just got me to the toilet and I was sitting there and I was broken. I know I'm sitting here now being like quite optimistic and talking, you know, but honestly I was a mess and having to speak to doctors about serious things and like at 23 saying, do you want kids?

Because if we have to do a hysterectomy this is what we'll do. It's like you don't think of these things. But I was broken, but I decided after the surgery was done. I was like, now what are you going to do about it? So it's all about mindset and I don't want anyone listening who is going through like a surgery or any bad period in the life to be like

oh well I've just got to crack on. It's like you're allowed to be sad like it's part of the process. But they gets a point where you're like you need to put it in your peripheral and just do this. So I was in here doing my office So I was in my office doing Coral and Pelbit work.

And I was like, every single session you do less is closer to actually not having to do it. You don't have to do it forever. But it really for me, I didn't think of it as a coach's hat. It's just how I've always spoke to myself. Like I'm very into manifestation. So I'm all about if the mind can conceive it, it can achieve it. So you will be back at the gym soon. Look at all you can do and just.

Yeah, make it happen. That's what I was about. Well, that has to be kind of your biggest asset. If you're probably at a stage where you're limited in what you can do physically, it's like you have to have that perspective or else you're just going to, like you said, you're going to drive yourself insane. Is that one of the common mistakes you see with people who have had similar health issues or had surgeries and are trying to kind of get back is that, you know, they're almost probably trying to do too much too soon?

100%. But it's not their fault. and I always say to my client, I know you think you're the problem because you are told you the problem. We all are, you know, and we have women's health issues. So, of course, we're going to think it.

We literally have the surgery. At this point, from what I'm gathering, and for myself, you don't get a follow-up really anymore. So you just have to crack on and figure it out. And then women who cannot stand, you know, just sitting or being still, which is quite common,

they'll get into the gym. start doing way too much, but how are they meant to know? So for me, it's actually working with women on their self-esteem because they beat themselves up that they've got an issue, that they've had surgery, and that after the surgery, they've not bounced back. And not bounce back in terms of body and the physique, it's bounce back in terms of being a mum, being a girlfriend,

like being a daughter, being their own self. So that's the biggest thing we work on. And like you said, doing too much too soon, I have to rewind a lot of things with them and then show them how it's done and they learn as well. Yeah. But I suppose when they have that emotional support of you to kind of bounce ideas back or how they're feeling, that that's going to help because at the end of day, if you don't have that support, you're going to be your biggest enemy in your head.

1,000%. And the biggest thing is when we're going through these things, for many of us, we do have a support system. So be it family, friends. but if not any of those family or friends have been through what you've been through even similar, they can't resonate fully and it just makes you as the person going through it despite talking to people inventing

it just makes you feel that bit more alone so having the girls be able to yes, like work with me as a team but also have the tribe with everyone else in there who's like I get it you just feel seen and then what happens is women actually can build better relationships with family and friends because they've got us to be that side of the life

yeah they feel they feel validated they feel seen so they can they can continue on with their lives yeah that that makes complete sense can we talk a little bit about okay so pelvic inflammatory disease and PCOS can you can you explain these to a clueless man and also in terms of like how the symptoms impact your quality of life. Okay, so PCOS is something a lot of women are born with. And I want to say now it's not your fault if you have PCOS. I think so many women, again, have fed this narrative by medical professionals that you just need to lose weight.

Like it's your fault you gain weight. You need to lose it. You'll be good. That's not the case. Like it can be to do with your insulin resistance. it can be so many things as to why you have PCOS. But I see PCOS as like a broad term for many, as I said, different symptoms. Different types of PCOS.

For me, for example, I've got more inflammatory style PCOS with some insulin resistance. And many times doctors will just put you on the combined pill. Why do they do that? It's to try and balance out your hormones. because with PCOS, usually you've got too much of the male hormone testosterone, more androgens. With that happening, the ovaries, with it being PCOS, more or less going to overdrive, with them going into overdrive and creating more and less of certain hormones, all these things can happen.

You've got the weight gain, you've got the insulin resistance in terms of you'll be ingesting food, but it's not actually turning into energy properly, so you're sluggish, losing hair, acne or gaining hair, like facial hair, for example. But it has a massive knock on on effect on your periods because if your testosterone so high, your body is just like, or as a female, thinking, what do you want me to do? Do you know what I mean? So it's trying it's best. It'll say, okay, you don't need a period this month, which, you know, we want to be having those. So we need to get to the root cause of why that's happening. So for me, the biggest root cause was insulin resistance.

And then we'll get on to like the Hashimoto's do with thyroid. And with the insulin resistance and stuff like that, what kind of symptoms come up for you? For me, it was every time I ate food. Yeah. Wasn't that I was hungry after it. I just felt like I had not eaten in about a week because I was so fatigued no matter what.

Then maybe like an hour later, I get a spike or sometimes 10 minutes later, I get a massive spike of energy and then be dead again. Even in terms of my gut. So I'd notice as I was recovering, as I was getting stronger, my gut, it was like a stubborn body fat and bloating inflammation that didn't want to budge. But on top of that, I looked so in my face, just so swollen. And even that, having that knock on you confidence thinking, oh my God, I look like a balloon. and I don't want to go out and you're already fragile from recovering.

It's a bit of a knock on effect. Does that impact your body image, relationship with food? And do you have clients, I would presume a lot of your clients would suffer from the same symptoms, yeah? Yeah, so it had a massive knock on effect on my body image

because I'd taken the time to get used to my scars. That's not an issue. It was more than, I feel like a balloon. and because of that I now want to just wear the baggiest clothes ever which if you want to have baggy clothes wear baggy clothes it's cool

however when you actually want you to go somewhere or meet a friend and you just feel crappy it's just going to radiate it impacts your social life then because you don't even want to go out then to the thing that you're supposed to be excited to go out there exactly and then that affects your relationships and then it's isolation again feeding into the fact

you're the problem it's sexy it's like a whole cycle But like with that, in terms of relationship with food, so back in the day, but quite a few years ago I had an eating disorder, which I've recovered from. And I wouldn't and I don't ever want to let myself go back there. But for me, it was my appetite just went. I was managing, honestly, on a good day, two meals a day, which you try your hardest with your mindset to keep strong. But it does have an effect on like your energy that you can give to people. people. So I knew there was an issue going on and then got to the root cause and, you know, sort of that. And that's where the Hashimoto's came in. Hashimoto's. Yeah, I was going to say,

explain Hashimoto's for me. So Hashimoto's is basically an autoimmune disorder, which affects your thyroid. So for me, I got my blood's done. And I was like, I need to know what's going on. So I had actually antibodies which were a little bit higher signaling my thyroid was in overdrive basically. And in terms of like stages, say there's like, if you want to say this for like beginner intermediate and then up, I'm kind of at the beginning stages which I'm grateful for because I'm now able to do things that can keep the Hashimoto's at bay. But with Hashimoto's and PCOS, no one's ever really said this but I'll say it. I see them as almost like siblings because with your PCOs,

it's all these array of symptoms like you've got the weight gain unexplained like it can just happen overnight you hold on to weight you're fatigued you're tired and quite depressed for so many of us but it's more the hair growth and regular periods that are under PCOS Hashimoto's it's more the tiredness

depression it's the weight gain joint pain and so many things I think I said tiredness but is it common that them too can be yeah Yeah. Sometimes you find that PCOS could be the driver for the Hashimoto's because if you think, well, if the PCOS is the reason

and insulin resistant, then the body will be kind of almost trying to fight something and then you could find that certain hormones that can affect your thyroid can be heightened and it's just a thing. So like do you have clients that come to you looking for like body composition goals and they have all these women's health issues

that they have to deal with as well. Like that, like, if you, like, put it this way, you put it like a Jen Pop client in front of me with no issues, maybe a man. It's like pretty simple to be able to help them to lose body fat. You probably don't have to worry about all these other issues and all these body image issues and these difficult days. It's like, all right, stick to your calories,

hit your train and hit your steps. You'll probably be all right. Water and it, like, how do you kind of cope with all these kind of, cope with all these kind of different issues going on with these women while also trying to help them achieve this goal that they want? It comes down to teamwork. I always say it can't be a dictatorship. I think even when I was coaching like Gen Pop clients,

it was never a dictatorship. But like, say one of my clients, she has endometriosis, adenomyosis, PCOS and pelvic inflammatory disease. I'll get on to what that is. I know I'll get over that. So she has some of the. big four. When it came to her, we had to sit down and say, we need to figure out what's going on with your symptoms. Let's find a pattern. Because for women like us, we can't just look at the scale.

We can't just look at measurements or pictures. If we find that saying, our leisure phase, we're not as tired, we're not as depressed, we're not as anxious, that's huge. And it shows we're doing something right, be it the supplementation, the nutrition, the training. Yes, there's more plates we need to spin with my girls but once you get in a rhythm it's great but it can you're not you're not going straight into nutrition training and

steps all the thing it's like figuring out how to kind of work around all these issues to basically produce a performance that they can produce 100%. I mean at the beginning it'll be say if someone who's had a surgery and it was like six weeks ago

we'd need to sort their core and etc first but we still look at the nutrition we still you know get the steps done it's just not as did the did did you it's probably going to take a lot longer and you have to kind of manage realistic expectations that like it might be two steps forward one step back 100% and it's actually them having the support with that and not feeling guilty because we flare-ups they can happen at any time they can derail everything if you don't know how to work through it then as soon as the flare-ups passed, you're then in a massive rut of what's the point you're starting again.

Whereas if you've got that person or the people, you can say, this is exactly what you do. It's not your fault, but you can do X, Y, Z means as soon as a flare-ups done, you're flying, you know? So I would imagine, like, there's a lot of kind of frustration and anxiety around kind of these physical limitations that they have. And I suppose your job is then to kind of be that emotional kind of support system that they need so they can continue to keep trying and keep putting steps forward. Yeah. For everyone who I coach, even myself, we all have elements of health anxiety,

but the biggest thing that keeps it at bay is every single day doing something for your health. Yeah. Whatever that is. Whatever that is. But even in terms of expectations and say if someone's taken 10 steps forward and then they have to take a beat because say with fibromalage, for example, whole body disorder, and it can flare up at any point

and you can be an excruciating pain all the time, but sometimes a flare-ups can be debilitating. We need to look back and say, yeah, but you've had three months of no flare-ups. You went from a flare-up every week to three months of nothing. And sometimes that can just get you back in the game

and then you carry on. Is there any way to figure out, like, where the flare-ups come from? Like, will they just come at random? Or is there kind of things that you can put in place, like reducing stress? there's so many different scenarios because everyone's different like even for anyone who has endometriosis if you diagnose on the same day have the same stage same surgery it's your endometriosis

in the affection differently but the biggest thing is when it comes to like the frequency and trying to pinpoint what it is sometimes it can be life like you've got a job to hold down you're stressed about your next surgery, you're stressed about anything, we can do so much in managing things. Or it could be, because so many of our girls, they get the social life back and they go ham, which I love that. I want you to go like, you know, get pissed if you want. But doing that, we've got to say, right, just prepare yourself if that happens and we manage it. But say if it's nothing to do with going out and it's more a stress, it's a deadline to do with work or a situation in personal life, I work with them on the mindset and, and

more their solution-solving side of things to help them do what they can. I'm not saying my mindset coach, by the way. It's just sometimes you just need that help. But yeah, that's the main thing. With Hashimoto disease, like, is it a case where you can kind of overexert yourself quite easy and you get fatigued quite easy? It can, but more so for myself, I've found with it being more autoimmune, when I get ill or I have an infection, it hits me a lot harder and it can sometimes take a lot longer to get over.

But again, when you have certain protocols in place, so for myself, I don't have gluten or dairy, because it was clear that it was causing a lot of inflammation. Removed it. Anytime I have it again, now I flare up massively, so I avoid it like the plague. But that in itself changed everything. So I have regular blood tests just to check over certain things. to keep an eye on them. And I really believe just data and information is key. So I presume that's a big part of your job as well.

The minute someone starts to work with you, it's just taking data because then patterns will start to occur so you can kind of figure out what's going on and where these symptoms are coming from. Yeah, because I'll always say to my girls, yes, you join me. Yes, we've got certain protocols in place. And no one can have the same plan because of what we said,

you know, it affects everyone differently. It's too complex. It's not a just... Yeah, 100%. But yes, we'll see results, but I still want them to get their bloods done. Just so I can say, right, maybe this is the next step or, you know what, we're cruising, we're cool. But I just think even for them, if they have their bloods done and then I can go through it them and say it means this, it means this, it means this. The self-esteem improves again because they're like, oh, I know what's going on, you know?

and if they go to the doctors, which I've done in the past, you can just give them your bloods and you can have a bit more of a in-depth conversation. PCOS flare-ups. What are some of the most common triggers for PCOS flare-ups? Is there any kind of big ones that stand out?

The biggest one for me, and I found my girls, it can be around ovulation because for many of us, we don't ovulate. And for some of us, it's extremely painful. But we can also get,

follicular cyst and our ovaries which can burst at this, not fatal like a dermoid or anything like that, a lot smaller, but they naturally burst around ovulation. So when you've got PCOS, if you've got that follicular cyst bursting, or your body is trying so hard to ovulate, it can just be so painful.

So I even find ladies, because so many women who have endo, because like one in 10 women in the UK have endo, one in 10 have PCOS. More often than not, they have both. So even when endemic shows, is having a flare up, for example, even with my girls, we would plan in days where you're a lot less productive.

Like, guilt-free, that's your time to just lay out on the sofa. But because we have that data and we can see how long that flare-up might last, for example, we know when it's time to kick things up again. Makes sense, yeah. I want to, does any of this impact fertility? Because I know you spoke about before we jumped on about some big wins with your clients. Yeah, yeah. So PCOS, any, a lot of health issues, but mainly women's health issues can have an impact on, you know, women's reproductive ability. But I think that's why it's so important to have those conversations with your doctor. Do all you can with your health. But in terms of like PCOS, for example, the reason it can affect fertility is because if you're not ovulating or you're not having a bleed every month, it will have that effect. But then other things will come into place. But like we said at the start of this call, the biggest thing that's been happening recently is so many of my girls becoming pregnant.

And I'm not saying I'm God. I'm not saying it's, you know, I've clipped my fingers. I really do believe it's been a multitude of things. But because they've been told so many times, you may not be able to have kids or after this surgery again, it's going to reduce that risk. And you've got ender, you've got PCOS, everything. It's going to be difficult until it's possible. and a lot of the time it's because they know what to do. Mentally they feel better. They're healthier.

And then quite a few of my girls have fallen pregnant recently, which is, yeah, they message me after they've told the husband or sometimes they message me before the boy before they're going to love. As long as you don't text the husband, like congrats. But it's great for them as well because I find with a lot of my clients who are in relationships, sometimes their partners do message me because it can be so. tough when you're trying so hard to support them, you're scared to even, you know, be close to them sometimes because they're always in pain and they can believe sometimes it's that helplessness

that they believe they're also the problem. So having that conversation with them and then seeing them happy as well because they're about to be a dad, it's amazing. And then we're transitioning to the prenatal side. So that's exciting. That's, that's unreal. I think that's probably the best kind a client win you can have. 100%. Yeah, it's amazing. I wanted to throw a few wisdom rounds at you. So first question I wanted to ask you was, when you look back, what advice would you give to your younger self, especially during them challenging periods of your life?

Stay calm. Even when things are good, even when things are bad, just stay calm. And I've always said that because when things are going good, you can get really excited. and you can just be like, and then you forget things, you're acting like a crazy person. Even when things are bad, you can just dig yourself into a deeper hole, whereas I'm not saying you can't be saying,

I'm not saying you can't be happy, but just stay calm and just get to the goal. That's my biggest thing. Yeah, I like that. And what would you want more women suffering with these health issues to know? You're not the problem. Even with the women I coach,

and I know I coach women who have health issues, have had a surgery. They're also still women. So a lot of them, yeah, they want to feel sexy in a bikini. They want to feel great. They want to go to the gym. And unfortunately,

they've gone with the wrong PTA, they've gone with the wrong coach. Their plans haven't worked because it's not been tailored to someone with X, Y, Z. Yeah. I would imagine, I would imagine, like, someone with them issues,

I'd say someone who has lots of flare ups and stuff like that, but they just want to, they want to feel better in themselves. They might want to look better. And then, like, going to maybe a physique coach or something is probably going to have disastrous results in the end because they're not going to

understand the complexities of that. Oh they just think you're being lazy or you're not being adhering. You haven't followed your calorie goal or yeah. Yeah. Do you find that? Do you have clients that have come to you from kind of them backgrounds and obviously

like there must be I'd imagine there must be a lot of people out there who like are suffering from these health issues and end up falling into the trap of just going with that kind of a coach who probably just trains the masses and doesn't really have any kind of previous knowledge on them issues. And it makes me sad because these coaches will then just keep them on

as a client just for a number. Yeah, not even being able to help them but not really caring about that. Yeah, they know that. Or they'll not even say, let's go look at your bloods, let me learn more to better help you. No, they're not bothered. so they'll just keep on going and it's it's appalling because then when someone has already had such a rock in their self-esteem that's even worse because they've trusted that person so i always say to my girls like you aren't the problem it's literally been your setup and i've been there but i've been my coaches in the past where i've been like i'm following everything or you know what i have had a bit of extra chocolate today like dark chocolate because i am absolutely like flawed I have no energy or I'm absolutely ravenous because my calories, because I'm not losing weight

with my insulin resistance. I wasn't losing weight, so calories were low and cardio was crazy. Not the case. I'm I with a really great coach now who just gets it, which is amazing. But it's really, really tough. Do you think a lot of it is about giving yourself grace? 100%. Because you're the one living with it. You're the one going through it. yes, you have these goals.

And let's not even make it about being sexy or confident. You just want to feel like you're in your skin. And you want to feel like you're in the driver's seat. And if you want to get up and get some jeans on, go for a coffee, go for a walk, you can without overthinking everything. That's the biggest thing. Okay. Last wisdom question I'll ask yourself.

What's a belief or perspective you held strongly in the past that you've changed your mind about? Ooh. I know. It's a very, there are difficult questions to just ask you on the spot, but what's a belief that you had before that you've changed your mind about? One in coaching and one in life as well. Is there anything that you used to do in coaching that you're like, oh, I would never do that now or I would never approach it that way?

Okay, the only one I can think of right now in terms of fitness, and I'll get to what you ask, yeah, is competing. So I was going to compete in bodybuilding. and so glad I didn't. My values have changed massively in terms of how. Yeah, I would imagine that. Yeah, it would be almost now it would be almost conflicting, 100%.

And yeah, of course, I want to still feel good. Like I'm doing a photo shoot soon, not to be like, oh, I just want to rip my clothes off. Again, it's for me to have a goal that this time last year could not even think of. Yeah. And it's honoring my body still with health in my mind. So that you were, did you not put your, your group through a photo shoe a couple of months ago as well?

I thought I seen that. Yeah. So, oh, how did, how did they find that? They absolutely loved it. Like, genuinely, I was crying pretty much the whole time because I'm just so proud. But again, so many of them, women's health issues had had, some of them had had surgeries. And also some of them didn't have any issues, okay? like they were from, you know, the pre-Switch, but it's still with me.

Because even that, we're bonded as women that we want to see people win. So it's just amazing. But in terms of life, my perspective that has changed is I no longer ask the permission. What do you mean by that? So back in the day, like a few years ago, I'd always say or ask people around me, I want to do this, but like, what do you think? Do you think I can do it? in hospital, something just switched in me where I was like,

this is almost like my second act, because we don't get sequels in life, but it's my second act to be like, right, let's live life so differently. And I was auditing myself, I was like, you're a chronic people pleaser, you care what people think, I care so much what people thought about me,

it was debilitating. That's different now. So I was like, I want to help women do this, I'm going to do it. And they're going to have a home and it's going to be this. And it's translated into so many other things. In coaching, say if, like the beginning of my career, it would be, like many of us, we see a client isn't losing that weight and we think, are you being adhering,

you have that conversation? I'd get bloods done quicker. So that's maybe something I'd do. And I urge more coaches to do it. And if you don't know how to read bloods, there's so many people out there who can teach you or read it for you and tell you what to do. Would you say you're a more empathetic coach that haven't gone through all them experiences? I think I've always been empathetic, but since I've gone through it myself, I truly can understand a lot more.

And we're just, you're connected in a way where you don't have to explain how it feels like, I just know. It's experience and you can't really, you can't read experience in a book. Yeah. And I, I almost like saw myself as just someone who, I don't want to say a guinea pig on myself, but I was like, Why do I feel this way at this point in my recovery? Oh, it's post-dot blues. That's normal. Okay, how can I help someone else going through that?

And we do that in the program. Isn't it funny the way something that would have been one of your biggest challenges ended up being your purpose? Yeah. I believe everything happens for a reason. I know that can be a really annoying saying for people. Yeah, but it's always, it's always the annoying sounds are just annoying because they've been said so many times because they're true.

Yeah, no, like I was sat there and I was, thinking, what is this teaching me? Like, why is, sometimes I don't know why things have happened, but I do always believe there's a greater purpose for things. So speaking to Emma and Rachel and everyone else in the wards I was in. And Rachel's also one of my warrior clients now as well, big up Rachel. But all these, that's hilarious that you just kept straight out of operation, bagged yourself a client. But no, because she, um, has had so many surgeries, stage four endo. And she was also just sat there thinking,

if you can help me with that, I'd love to, because no one has ever actually given her a look in, you know? And she's preparing for a hysterectomy soon. So we'll smash that. But what were we talking about? Yeah. So I was sat in hospital and I was doing so much introspection

and I was like, you need to just follow your gut with this. And I'm so glad I did because it's, it's authentic and I'm so happy helping people. I love the way he said, what's this teaching me? Because that's a really good reframe from like, why has this happened to me to what's this teaching me?

I can literally use that for like anything that's going on in your life. Like, you know, I've over it. You know, I'm a fat loss client. Like I've over it. You know, I was out and I ate this, this and this. Okay, what's this teaching me rather than I'm such a failure. Exactly. And then even with my girls, like, again, the human.

they'll have times they overeat or they turn to food to soothe something, we go, okay, let's see what that was teaching us. The body somewhere along the line is probably thought, I'm stressed, I'm overwhelmed, that we turn to food. So let's just really work on cutting that, you know, equation and changing it. So yeah, but definitely what can I learn from this? How can I help others as well? Because the amount of conversations I was having, it was like a pattern. near enough every day because as you do you ask people

what you do for work and stuff like that and I was like no this can't be it and a big thing I've got to say this I went on social media after the surgery

looking for someone to help me a coach who's had a surgery has health issues but wants to like becoming empowered through the fitness journey and feel great again

and feel strong I could not find one person and how big is a coach industry as well that's all for because I've like interviewed so many coaches and I haven't came across anyone with the niche that you have.

Yeah. I'm proud of that because it means it's helping someone. Yeah. And they've got a home because I felt so unseen as well that I was like, I feel unseen and I know how to bounce back in a sense of getting my strength back. How is everyone else feeling? You know? that was a big thing.

You said that you used to be a people pleaser. So bad. How did you? I won't say get over that because I think everyone has a degree of it still in them if they've been a people pleaser. But how did you become less of a people pleaser? I started saying no. And just being like, no.

And then it was almost like, you know, you want to cry and you've got a really soft throat. Yeah. You feel terrible inside for saying no. Yeah. It was training myself because it got to a point I was running myself into the ground being a yes person I was like I'm so unhappy

And like then of course you start blaming other people Oh it's them it's them Yeah you resent them then Even though you're the one that you're the one that booked yourself up But take accountability That's a big thing for me like Not everything's your fault 100% We can't always say I'm the issue

But my God We are in control of more than we think or we're the reason for things more than we think. Even like relationships, for example, I've always thought it took a while to get here, my God. But I think now, if I know someone isn't right for me, for example, but I choose to stay, then I've chosen that. Yeah.

So you can't be annoyed that you're upset if that makes sense. If they keep on upsetting you or whatever. Makes perfect sense. It depends on the situation, but yeah. Yeah, I think a big thing would, as well even if you like if it's a stage right when you're younger and maybe you have less confidence in who you are it's like you stay with someone even if they're not right for you because it's like oh well like at least they at least they love me so even if it's not right for me to a little bit

whereas you can you can if you understand yourself a little bit better then it's easier to say no to things what you're not changing you choose in that's what i was trying to say so even like when i was in the hospital and i was like if you're you're not changing this narrative for people and yourself, but especially for everyone I was speaking to, you are choosing to be part of the problem. And I don't want to be that. So even when it came to the people pleasing,

I was like, you are choosing to put yourself last, even though you claim to be this independent, like boss bitch. Like, you're not acting like it because you've got no boundaries. Yeah. I talk to myself like that. It's a difficult, it's a difficult thing to challenge in yourself to be like,

okay, you're actually choosing to be unhappy and all the things that you're complaining about, whether it's your job, your relationships, your health, it's like you've chosen that. Yeah. A big thing that helped me was therapy, though. I can't say I woke up one day after being a chronic people pleaser

and I nearly didn't even get into coaching because I was trying to please my family so much by doing a degree I didn't want to do, for example. Got to a point I was like, we're not doing this. It didn't change. And a massive thing was therapy, even during my,

recovery as well. And I don't think there's any shame in that. And I just want to say that for anyone who's like, oh, no, not sure on it. It's, it's great. Well, I'm glad you're able to say no to people, but I'm glad you said yes to this podcast. I've one more question for you and then I'll let you go. So what does success look like for you right now in your everyday life? Oh, honestly, it would be being authentic. Because even though I have, you know, helped people, people and I'm helping people, I'm not ever, I haven't and I wouldn't ever lose my authenticity or empathy for people. And that's a big thing.

So you know we were speaking about these physique coaches who will see people as numbers. Yeah. Not happening. Nobody ever let that happen because the success side is that I've been through a journey and it's still happening, but I know myself and that's success where no one can tell me who I am like I know. Yeah. Makes perfect sense.

Right. So if there are people out here listening to this who have, who are going through kind of similar circumstances, health issues, where can they find you to reach out to ask you a question or to work with you? How can they get in contact? Main thing would be Instagram. So at Alicia underscore BBA at A-L-Y-C-I-A-U-B-A and just drop me a message. It's me. I'll just, yeah, have a chat. You've been amazing. Thank you for coming on today. And I'm going to leave everything in the show notes. so people can reach out and have a chat with you, okay? Thank you so much having me.

Thanks for watching. If you like that episode and you want to see more content like this, make sure you're subscribed and I'll see you on the next one.