Podcast Summary: Exploring Health, Fitness, and Empowerment with Carol Wentzel

Introduction:

In the “Cosmos and Commerce” podcast, hosts Janis Francis and Michele Cook sit down with Carol Wentzel from Amanda Black Fitness to delve into her journey as a health and fitness coach, specifically focusing on women’s health during menopause.

Getting to Know Carol Wentzel:

The hosts introduce Carol Wentzel, a health and fitness coach with Amanda Black Fitness, as their special guest. Carol shares her personal journey, battling weight and body image issues, and the turning point that led her to become a health coach for women in menopause.

Discovering Balance and Self-Love:

Carol recounts her struggle with weight and self-image, undergoing various fad diets and intense workout routines. She learned that finding enjoyment in fitness and embracing a balanced approach to nutrition was the key to improving her mindset and overall health.

Transitioning to Health Coaching:

Carol discusses her journey into health coaching, starting with her personal training certification in 2021. She describes how her connection with Amanda Black Fitness evolved from ambassadorship to becoming a coach, sharing her personal experiences and struggles.

Mindset Shift and Nutrition:

The conversation shifts to Carol’s transformational mindset shift around fitness and nutrition. She emphasizes the importance of understanding that fitness doesn’t have to be grueling, and that a balanced approach to nutrition leads to sustainable changes.

Defying Conventional Wisdom:

Carol challenges the common misconception that working harder is the solution. She emphasizes that a tailored approach, leveraging personal strengths, and finding a sustainable balance are crucial components of success.

Unpacking Menopause Myths:

The hosts and Carol discuss the misconceptions around menopause and how it affects women’s fitness journeys. Carol advocates for women to believe in their own abilities and align their fitness goals with their personal values.

Empowerment Through Manifestation:

Carol believes in the power of manifestation and how focusing on goals and values can shape one’s journey. She shares her practice of daily incantations to reinforce positive beliefs and empower herself.

Lessons from the Journey:

Carol shares key lessons she has learned, including the importance of perseverance, not quitting when faced with setbacks, and consistently reflecting on progress. She advocates for embracing data and evidence to counteract negative self-talk.

Future Outlook and Empowerment:

Carol discusses her future goals, including further education in coaching, and the empowerment that comes from focusing on what brings joy and fulfillment.

Conclusion:

The podcast concludes with gratitude for Carol’s insights, focusing on empowerment, mindset shifts, and the importance of balanced fitness and nutrition in women’s lives.

Key Takeaways:

• Carol Wentzel’s journey from battling weight and body image to becoming a health coach.
• The significance of finding balance and self-love in fitness and nutrition.
• Transitioning from personal training to health coaching with Amanda Black Fitness.
• The importance of a mindset shift in approaching fitness and nutrition.
• Challenging the notion that working harder is always the answer.
• Addressing myths and misconceptions around menopause and fitness.
• Empowerment through manifestation and positive self-belief.
• Lessons learned, including perseverance, reflection, and embracing data.
• Future goals and the empowerment derived from focusing on joy and fulfillment.

Links

Facebook
Instagram
Atomic Habits by James Clear
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
Mindset:The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
Sleep Smarter: 21 Essential Strategies to Sleep Your Way to a Better Body, Better Health, and Bigger Success by Shawn Stevenson

Transcript

[00:00:00] Janis: ​

hello everybody. Welcome to Cosmos and Commerce. I’m Janis Francis and I’m here with.

[00:00:11] Michele: Michele Cook from Body Ache Escape Massage Center.

[00:00:16] Janis: And we are here with a very special guest, Carol Wentzel. Carol Wentzel is with Amanda Black Fitness. I am a health and fitness coach for women in menopause. I’m super excited to be here with you both. We’re so happy to have you. So happy.

[00:00:35] Michele: welcome.

[00:00:36] Janis: I have known Carol for. Over 30 years. Yeah.

Yeah. And when Michelle and I had talked about doing this podcast we both talked about it and thought that Carol would be an excellent guest to have. And Michelle, since I know Carol so well, I’m gonna have you do most of these questions. What do you think of that? Yeah.

So getting to know Carol Wentzel with Amanda Black Fitness.

[00:01:02] Michele: Carol, what led you to become a health coach? Tell us a little about your journey.

[00:01:08] Janis: I have battled my weight and my body most of my life. I was a sort of chubby, overweight child. Grew into a teenager that wasn’t overweight, but always thought that she was. When I had my children, I put on some weight then and didn’t really know how to manage that. And so for a good part of my adult life, like from, mid twenties until my mid forties, so a good 20 years, I just, went through fad diet after fad diet and thought that was the answer.

I thought that was what would cure me of all of the discomfort that I was having with my body and my self image and Finally, I just realized that it comes

down to, finding out what I enjoy and doing those things, and not restricting out. Foods or starving myself, although my stomach is growling right now, so you would think that I am, but I haven’t.

I ate breakfast, I promise it was at 6:00 AM though. But I found a balance and figured out that I didn’t have to hate my body to change it. And that’s what led me to health and fitness and helping other women.

[00:02:34] Michele: I think a lot of us women can relate to the vicious cycle of our body image and punishing ourself with diet and then working out all the time, but you figured out a way to do it lovingly and in a beneficial way.

So how long have you been a personal trainer now?

[00:02:59] Janis: So I got my personal training certification in 2021. I went to work for a gym, a very small gym located in Heath, Ohio. Maybe 400 people at Max can’t come there. And. So since then though and I started out just doing a little bit of training on the side. I still worked full-time job at that time and, I, I just started getting my feet wet with learning about coaching and so then I took some nutrition courses and became a nutrition coach.

And The woman who was my coach at the time worked for Amanda Black, and she changed the way that I thought about nutrition and exercise. And so I reached out to Amanda and I was like, listen, I feel like this is my calling. I literally had only trained two people at that point.

I reached out to her, I’m like I wanna work for you. And I’m sure she was like, oh. No no, I’m sure she was like, oh my gosh. Yes. And so she gave me some ways to get my feet wet in the industry and I took that and ran and I became like an ambassador for her.

And so I would, talk about her program on social media so then, I stepped it up and I was like, listen, I really wanna be a coach for you. So she talked to her husband, who is the CEO of the company. And they interviewed me. I had to go through three interviews. I was

terrified.

[00:04:36] Michele: intense.

[00:04:37] Janis: Yeah. And they brought me on. And that’s how I started. I started out with four or five clients and since then, and that was in like March of 2022. And since that time I am up to 43 clients

at a time,

and having a lot of. Success with these clients. I have taken, more classes in mindset and in advanced nutrition.

So yeah, I’m constantly learning. But I’m open to that and that’s one of the things that I love about this is I can just continue to improve and continue to grow. And that’s, what I was looking for.

[00:05:19] Michele: You said that you noticed your mindset improved when you started taking coaching from your. Health coach what was your mindset before and then what’s your mindset now like with the, in regards to the way you thought about food diet?

[00:05:38] Janis: At the time I really thought that fitness had to be something grueling and something extremely hard. And if I wasn’t lying dead on the ground after my workouts, then it wasn’t an effective workout. I also thought that nutrition was the only way to lose fat was to eat as little as possible, and I really learned through.

Their coaching, that is absolutely not correct. And so I started to look at nutrition a lot differently, and it was more about a a more abundant mindset. And I know that sounds woo and airy fairy, but in reality that’s really what. It is, it’s, knowing that hey, nothing is off limits and you can still, enjoy your nutrition.

You don’t have to cut out everything that you love. And the more you love something, the more you’re apt to continue with that particular habit. If we’re talking about habits. And so it was just finding the joy in food again and enjoy, eating and nutrition from that standpoint. That’s, where it all started for me.

Can I tell you what surprised to me about it when I because like I said, I’ve been care for a long time, was the amount of calories that you consume Yeah. That you do consume when you’re in that process. And maybe that is, it really is one of your questions. Yeah. Because, prior to coaching, I would eat very little for a long period of time, but then I would, Go through these bouts of eating a lot of

calories and it was regulating my nutrition and having a more steady stream of nutrition rather than, starving and then overdoing it and starving and overdoing it.

It just, leveled it out for me and that has been a game changer for me.

[00:07:32] Michele: Nice. So you have 43 clients.

Who would you say your favorite type of client is to work with, like your niche clientele?

[00:07:43] Janis: So my niche clientele would be me. Me before I found. Some balance with nutrition and fitness women who are, extremely driven. Women who believe enough in themselves and have enough success outside of diet and fitness that they could leverage what they’ve learned in other areas of their life and bring that into health and fitness and, women who Just pretty much need to believe like they do in other areas of their life that they can do this with health and fitness.

So that would be my ideal client. Oh. Who my favorite clients are.

I would say the resilient ones, the ones who you know, aren’t deterred by doing it wrong and who aren’t afraid to do it. Messy and imperfect and just exactly what we’re doing right here, still going forward. Even though we’ve had some like technical delays, and that doesn’t fluster them, and they’re like just rolling with the punches.

That’s my favorite kind of client.

[00:08:44] Michele: Okay, that leads me to another question. You mentioned habits and talking about resilient clients, and what would you say are the characteristics and habits of your most successful client?

[00:09:01] Janis: I would say that ones that you know are active, the ones that enjoy getting outside. Having a little bit of movement in their day but aren’t like tied to a specific thing are open to, all kinds of activities and finding what they like to do. As I’ve coached more, I’m starting to realize that, it isn’t just one kind of workout that works.

It really is the workout that the woman enjoys doing. And can stick with that is

realistic for her lifestyle that is realistic for her interests. And those are the clients that you know do the best because they found what they enjoy doing and aren’t forcing themselves to do something they don’t enjoy.

[00:09:47] Michele: Yeah. Oh, that’s great. What’s the best way you have found to get clients?

[00:09:55] Janis: So just being myself just talking about my own struggles my own sticking points, things that I find that trip me up. And just being super, like blatantly honest about it, that my life is messy and there’s a lot of times that I don’t get a workout in and I’m okay with that.

And Just picking up, and doing better the next day or literally the next decision is a better decision because I screw up all the time.

[00:10:23] Michele: Oh, don’t we all? If somebody says they don’t, then they’re lying. Right?

[00:10:29] Janis: exactly. Yeah.

[00:10:31] Michele: Okay. So I love what you said about how you get the clients. Is there like a particular stream that you find clients? Do you get them by referrals? Do you get them by your social media posts? How do

people

[00:10:43] Janis: all of the above men, mainly through social media. A lot of referrals. And then, I have, even before I was a coach, before I had any kind of education in this, I posted about my journey. And how I started. And I have, I get a lot of people that way because they relate to me.

I’m literally like every woman

I really am. I am not an anomaly. I am, I, by no means is my physique perfect. And I think that a lot of people relate to that.

[00:11:14] Michele: Yeah. So would you say that your number one tip is to get clients, is just sharing your vulnerability and being yourself and,

[00:11:22] Janis: Yep.

[00:11:22] Michele: but you’ve gotta always be out there and marketing for yourself for like sharing.

[00:11:30] Janis: Yeah. And just like I said earlier, I’m not perfect. That is something that I could do better at. Because I, as with every other person in this world, there’s stressors and, that is something that I could definitely improve on. Is just being more out there,

[00:11:47] Michele: But I can’t we all, but you are out there a lot. I noticed. I saw all your content. Do you have any tips as far as that goes? Like any hacks that you can share about. Sharing content on social media. Since this is a business podcast, I guess we’re gonna talk business, so

[00:12:06] Janis: Yeah. Yeah, definitely don’t overthink it. Talk. I have found, because when I first originally started doing this I always thought that I had to have this professional looking thing and I had to have a backdrop and I had to have all this.

I have found that if you just get on and talk about, a specific sticking point or a pain point that does more.

Good. Then not just getting on there and talking about what I know, because

this is literally my obsession is learning about this learning, ways to help. And so I just get on there and, I find what has happened in my life, if I can, Talk about that authentically, then people will relate to it.

And then I talk about how I like navigate through that. And that seems to land,

[00:12:56] Michele: Okay. I guess in the health and fitness industry, there’s I. An unending supply of content. You could talk about stuff for years.

[00:13:07] Janis: Yeah. And I think Carol’s an original too. Yeah. I love your

walks around the lake. Yes, exactly. With her boxer dog. Exactly. Maisie and Yeah. And

[00:13:17] Michele: I have a boxer too.

[00:13:18] Janis: You do.

[00:13:19] Michele: in

common.

[00:13:20] Janis: the best?

[00:13:21] Michele: Yes. Yes. Mine is a nervous wreck. I had a starter on Prozac. But, okay.

Throughout your journey, what are some of the key lessons that you’ve learned?

[00:13:35] Janis:

Is keep going. If you screw it up, you literally can just keep going. Don’t quit. Learn from it. Look back and reflect on it and see, what was the barrier, what was the obstacle, and then, you literally can use that experience to fit, fail better the next time.

That is always something that I have said is let’s fail better the next time because you’re going to be at a point where you’re going to fail and learning from that so that you can fail better the next time. Will always set you back into the path for your goals. Also just look at the data.

I have, tell my clients this all the time, is look at the data. And Because a lot of times they’ll feel like, oh, I’m not making enough progress, or I’m not making fast enough progress. And I say, let’s look back at the data you have made incredible progress.

Let’s think about how far you’ve come from a year ago. And then push back on that thought of, I’m not doing enough, or I’m not reaching my goals fast enough, or, I’m failing at this. You can’t always. Control the first thought that you have, but you can control the second thought.

And so I always want them to, acknowledge that, Hey, you’re having this

negative thought, but let’s see what evidence we have to support this thought. Do you have any evidence? And by looking back at the data, you really can see, oh wow. Six months ago, I couldn’t walk for 25 minutes.

Now I’m walking like for an hour.

[00:15:09] Michele: Yeah.

[00:15:10] Janis: And measuring that kind of data versus how you’re feeling. Cuz a lot of times our brain is going to tell us something completely different than what the data tells us.

[00:15:21] Michele: That’s true. We always are telling ourselves.

Yeah,

always. There’s false stories going on in our heads.

[00:15:28] Janis: Hundred percent.

[00:15:30] Michele: So you talk about the data is are there any trackers that you like to use or do you just write it down in a notebook and refer back to it? How do

you Track the data.

[00:15:40] Janis: I used to use MyFitnessPal but I have since stopped tracking my calories. And basically what I do is just structure meals. Now I focus on getting protein and fiber in it every meal. And that’s really helped, maintain my weight that I’m at right now. For other clients they generally use either MyFitnessPal or Fitbit.

And then our platform for Amanda Black Fitness syncs with those two apps. And so I can

see all of their nutrition information through

[00:16:13] Michele: oh, so you keep them very accountable, huh?

[00:16:16] Janis: Yes. Yeah. Some of them, not all of them, some of them don’t. Some of them use like picture method where they send me pictures of what they’re eating.

Others do write it down, but I would say that 75% do track their their through some sort of app.

[00:16:33] Michele: Awesome. So you think that protein and fiber are the keys to have at every meal. That’s like your secret sauce. Would you

say?

[00:16:42] Janis: Yep. That is my secret sauce secret. That helps me manage my hunger from meal to meal. I don’t go into the meals typically today. I is not the case starving

and so I can make really rational decisions and I don’t make impulsive decisions generally because I’m not starving going into that meal because I had fiber and some protein in the meal before.

[00:17:06] Michele: Okay. Do you ever carry around like emergency snacks with you for when you are like starving and can’t. Get a meal in.

[00:17:15] Janis: Sometimes when I’m traveling, yes. Typically, like I knew I was coming here, I knew we were gonna eat, so I had, I knew that we were gonna have some food here. I’ve gotta spread and I’m, I know Janice, so she’s gonna have lots of good, nutritious food here but if I’m gonna be out all day, yeah I typically have a protein bar or something like that, that I.

Or like an apple or banana, something.

[00:17:40] Michele: Okay. What’s your favorite protein bar?

[00:17:43] Janis: Quest,

[00:17:44] Michele: Oh, okay.

[00:17:45] Janis: the lemon the lemon cake one. Hands down. My

favorite with coffee.

[00:17:50] Michele: I really like the brands called Fulfill. It

tastes awesome. If I was there, I would give you one, cuz I keep one in my purse all the time.

[00:17:59] Janis: I’m really like, my husband hates protein bars. He hates the texture and stuff. I freaking love them. I like them too. I’m, yeah, I am a big fan of protein bars,

[00:18:09] Michele: Yeah.

[00:18:10] Janis: many cal grams of protein are normally and a protein bar. The Quest ones that I use are 20 grams. That’s a lot. That’s a good amount.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:18:18] Michele: Is that typically the amount of protein that you get at a meal is 20

to

[00:18:23] Janis: typically,

generally I get about 25 to 30 grams. So like with my pro, if I do that for breakfast, I will have that with some Greek yogurt and some fruit

with the protein bar, and it’s really balanced.

[00:18:37] Michele: What would you say is a pivotal moment or decision that significantly impacted the trajectory of your business?

[00:18:45] Janis: It definitely was when I Realize that I suck at this. And what I mean by that is, as with anything that you’re new at, you’re not going to be great at it. And as educated as I felt like I was as experienced as a, with my own trajectory of my health journey, I was not a great coach when I first started.

And I had to really work on those skills and I seriously considered for a couple

of months of quitting this and just going and getting a different job. And I really pushed through that discomfort and I took massive personal responsibility for it. I had four clients quit on me, like all pretty much around the same time,

and I was like,

[00:19:36] Michele: the ego.

[00:19:37] Janis: oh, my ego was.

Seriously bruised. Aw. And I was like, I don’t know if I’m cut out for this. And, I took a lot of like harsh feedback for a couple of months when I first started. And pushing through that was very pivotal. Getting on the other side of it, learning from it, accepting that, hey, and look at you now.

Yeah. With 43. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:20:01] Michele: I can relate to that. In the beginning I was so I’m a massage therapist and in the beginning of my career I was losing some clients and I wanted to know why. So I , started sending out surveys after their massage, and I got some harsh feedback, but it helped me learn the most

[00:20:18] Janis: It

[00:20:18] Michele: of

Yeah.

[00:20:19] Janis: yeah, the ones that were the most difficult and the ones that were the most brutal on me are definitely the ones that I learned the most from. I really looked back and was like, yeah, I probably played that all wrong.

[00:20:31] Michele: Yeah at least you learned from it and moved forward and grew. Look at you now. What are some bad recommendations that you hear in your profession?

[00:20:44] Janis: That carbs are bad for you to limit carbs? I hear that the most I also hear work harder that infuriates me. because if they knew how to do that, they would,

especially in most of my clients, are really successful women in other areas of their life. They know how to work hard. They don’t know the kind of work they need to do.

They think they do. But it really, is figuring out, getting down there in the trenches with them, like what their evenings are like with their kids, and, figuring out where that, that sticking point is for them. And it isn’t about working harder, it’s about, working smarter.

[00:21:25] Michele: Yeah. So what’s something simple someone could change in their day to help them work smarter?

[00:21:33] Janis: Get enough sleep

[00:21:35] Michele: Oh

yeah.

[00:21:36] Janis: yeah.

[00:21:37] Michele: you have any tricks on the best way to do that?

Menopausal women who wake up with night sweats.

[00:21:43] Janis: that’s me. Stay in bed. You can still get rest while you’re in bed. And Four hours is better than two. So stay in bed. Go to bed, don’t stay on the couch. And, really start working on a nighttime routine that sort of lets your body know that it’s time for bed. And for me, I, because I’m menopausal as well Or at least hormonally I am.

I don’t have a uterus anymore. I don’t have any of that, but I’m still going through all of the hormonal changes that are happening and, a lot of anxiety, like out of nowhere, just having nighttime anxiety. I’m like, this is new. Like, why is that happening? And that is a menopausal symptom.

And it made me like really Hunker down on the couch and zone out and numb myself with tv. And, I had to learn how to let my body know that, hey, it’s time for bed. And, trying to get to bed the exact same time every night washing my face, changing into my PJs, putting my phone away.

Maybe reading a little bit to really signal to my body that it’s time for bed. And I went through several months where my hot flashes were horrible and wake me up in the middle of the night and I just had to force myself to stay in bed and really try to go back to sleep. And a lot of that was like visualization and, trying to like meditate through it and, take my mind off of all of the like spinning it was doing.

[00:23:14] Michele: Yeah,

[00:23:15] Janis: So yeah.

[00:23:16] Michele: definitely. I read this book I forget the author’s name. Sean Stevens, he wrote a book called The 21 Tips to Better Sleep. And the one that helped me the most was making my room completely dark.

[00:23:33] Janis: Yeah.

[00:23:33] Michele: I got blackout curtains. I covered every little light with a black tape and

[00:23:38] Janis: no tv.

[00:23:39] Michele: no tv.

It really helped.

[00:23:41] Janis: light. Really does, keep your brain awake and that’s really what you need to like quiet down a little bit.

[00:23:48] Michele: Yeah. So I think there’s a setting on every phone that you can take that blue light off.

[00:23:54] Janis: Yeah.

Or at least reduce it.

[00:23:56] Michele: Yes. It helps a lot. What are some of the more uncommon things that women in menopause can do to stay healthy?

[00:24:07] Janis: Honestly just believing that you can do it.

I think that, because the diet industry has really made women believe that they can’t have their dream body for the rest of their life, they will always need another diet to get there. And that has really affected the belief in themselves that they can do this, that it is something sustainable.

It is something that they can have for the rest of their life. Just changing that mindset.

[00:24:37] Michele: Yeah, I agree. Mindset is like 90% of it. Huh?

[00:24:42] Janis: Yeah.

I think the, dismantling habits that don’t work for you anymore. Old belief systems, limiting beliefs and just like you said, your mindset, believing that you can, and really, having that growth mindset that, you can change and you have to do is, look at it a little bit differently.

[00:25:03] Michele: Yes. How do you set goals and how do you stay focused on achieving them?

[00:25:12] Janis: And this took a lot of time for me. I started to because I would let other people influence my goal setting for and, when I learned how to like really prioritize my values and the things that I. Identify with, the kind of woman that I want to be in five years or where I want to be in 10 years.

You know how I see myself. And that’s been a game changer as well. And, the things that we value are the things that we will work for.

[00:25:45] Michele: That’s

[00:25:45] Janis: so that has really changed. It isn’t that I want to wear like a size four anymore, which is what my goal was forever. I just wanna belittle. And in reality, I want to be a woman who is fit and healthy and can keep up with grandchildren and can go to, a park and walk around it all day and not be in pain and not need to go back to the hotel room and take a nap.

So that’s what I prioritize my values and set goals according to those values.

[00:26:20] Michele: That’s great. Do you have any suggestions on how people can figure out their values? Is there any exercises or do you know anything

[00:26:29] Janis: I think just look around your life and see the things that bring you joy. For me it was, my family and my house and some financial freedom and go with those the things that you’re doing. Are going to be the things that you value most of the time. For me, I’ve always had a really great work, work ethic.

So I knew that I would work for whatever it was that I prioritized. And I just looked closer at that, I used to go to work because I wanted to afford a certain lifestyle for my family. Now I’m like, I want some personal fulfillment in my career. And so that’s what I focused on, was developing that career for my myself that I would take some fulfillment away from.

[00:27:21] Michele: Nice. Going off the subject a little bit, what is the book you’ve given the most as a gift and why? Or what are one or two books that have greatly influenced your life?

[00:27:35] Janis: I gave my kids some books for Christmas one year, and it was mindset by Carol Dweck.

[00:27:41] Michele: oh yes.

The fixed and growth mindset. Yes.

[00:27:46] Janis: yes. And then books that I freaking love are uh, Habits,

I have read it a thousand times probably, or, skipped around and read different things and I always take away something different from it.

[00:28:00] Michele: okay.

[00:28:01] Janis: And the four agreements life-changing books for me, it really, they really were. And that’s where I learned a lot of like how to set goals, cause, through the atomic habits, I really started to identify who I wanted to be.

[00:28:15] Michele: Okay.

[00:28:16] Janis: acting like that person.

[00:28:18] Michele: Nice.

[00:28:20] Janis: Yeah.

[00:28:20] Michele: think I have that one on my audible list. I just need to

play

[00:28:24] Janis: Oh, it’s so good. It is so good.

[00:28:27] Michele: Okay. You convinced me. All right. What purchase of a hundred dollars or less has most positively impacted your life recently?

[00:28:38] Janis: Books is my thing. I am a, I’m a reader. I love reading. And I would say books because that is, someone who has extreme expertise in a subject area is condensing it down to a couple of hours of work. how much more affordable can it get bucks at the most for a book.

[00:29:01] Michele: Yeah.

[00:29:03] Janis: Yeah.

[00:29:03] Michele: are you gonna write your book?

[00:29:05] Janis: Oh, I know. Good question. I know that is a great question. I have thought about it. You can start it. Yeah, I should. I should.

[00:29:14] Michele: What daily habits do you do that you find the most effective for you

Contributed to your success?

[00:29:25] Janis: every single day with the exception of Saturday and Sunday, cuz I don’t do anything on Saturday and Sunday if I’m being completely honest with you. I set an intention every single day

[00:29:35] Michele: Oh,

what’s

[00:29:36] Janis: I want.

If it’s a workday, then I look at my check-in list or my client list today and identify like, how am I helping this client today?

[00:29:48] Michele: Okay.

[00:29:48] Janis: they need help with? And then what value am I going to bring to their life?

And then on non-work days it’s okay, what am I wanting to do today? If it’s a a workout day, then you know, I set my intention for what kind of workout I wanna have. If it’s a just, walk the dog kind of day, then, do I want to, listen to a podcast?

Do I wanna listen to one of my audio books? Do I just wanna take in nature? I set the intention.

[00:30:14] Michele: Okay.

Are there any other habits that you like to incorporate?

[00:30:19] Janis: I do like incantations, and that sounds so even just saying it out loud I am like almost embarrassed to say it, but it works for me.

[00:30:28] Michele: I

[00:30:28] Janis: like affirmations,

but it’s a little bit like stronger than that. I, went through Catholic school as a child and I was always drawn in by the ritualistic part of it.

And so incantations feel like that to me. I do incantations and I basically like, tell myself that I am well spoken, that I am articulate, cuz that was one of the hardest things for me was Being more articulate. In my head, I could tell you or understand what’s, see I’m doing it right now.

I couldn’t figure out how to convey it. To someone in a digestible way. And I have started to like just, remind myself that I am articulate, I am concise. I, I do get results. I do provide value I those things.

And so every day that’s what I do.

[00:31:25] Michele: I love it. I, for a little bit there, I tried to make it a habit where I would do incantations, why I jumped on a mini trampoline

kind Forgot

about it

[00:31:34] Janis: like,

the physiology of your body really enforces that.

Yeah.

[00:31:39] Michele: Have you taken Tony Robbins classes?

[00:31:42] Janis: I haven’t taken his classes, but I’ve consumed every single piece of social media or any kind of like media by him. Yes.

[00:31:50] Michele: Okay, so you know, there’s the state and the physiology and the focus, and that’s your triad.

[00:31:56] Janis: Oh, yeah. Yep. Yep.

[00:31:58] Michele: All right. what is something that you believe that most people would find controversial or unconventional?

[00:32:07] Janis: It’s that you need to work harder.

[00:32:09] Michele: Okay.

[00:32:10] Janis: And I, I. Before becoming a coach, I followed every single fitness enthusiast influencer that I possibly could, got so many like wrong messages and it is that, you are just not willing to work hard enough.

[00:32:26] Michele: Okay, this has been a common theme. Now my question is, what is hard enough? What? How? Because somebody sitting on the couch all day is definitely gonna need to work harder. So

What’s What’s the balance between working too hard and not working enough? What’s that perfect

[00:32:43] Janis: And that’s very human dependent. And it’s going to be dependent upon their goals and what they want to achieve and what they’re willing and able to do. Because if you’re talking to a 320 pound, woman she’s not gonna get to the gym five days a week. But could she go walk to her mailbox once a day?

probably

That’s probably more than she’s doing right now, but if you are constantly bombarded with the message that you’re not working hard enough, then you know, you start to believe it. And then are like, what’s the point? I can’t get to the gym five days a week? Why would I even try

what they’re capable of doing?

And then, Showing them in other areas of their life, leveraging what you know. Cuz like I said, most of the women that I work with are extremely successful women who, in other areas of their life put a lot of effort into. But they believe that, if they can’t get to the gym five days a week, then they’re not gonna see any progress.

[00:33:42] Michele: So they just don’t

go at all.

[00:33:44] Janis: exactly.

[00:33:45] Michele: I gotcha. So they think that there’s so much work needed, they just give up before they even start.

[00:33:51] Janis: I can’t do that. I have five kids or I have two kids and work hours a week.

[00:33:57] Michele: Where if you just fit in a little bit more than you did before, you would see progress.

[00:34:03] Janis: Yeah. Making like a 10% shift, after a year, that 10% is huge.

[00:34:09] Michele: It’s gonna add up.

[00:34:11] Janis: Yeah.

Yeah.

[00:34:13] Michele: Janice,

[00:34:15] Janis: Yes, ma’am.

I’ve Like I said in the beginning, I’ve known Carol for a really long time and she has inspired me. Oh.

Get emotional. Dang. No, but she’s inspired me a lot and I, like yesterday I texted, I’m like, Hey, I rode my bike for the first time since my, the surgery on my foot, and almost like three times I stopped. But then Carol said, I’m so glad that you listened to your body and and finished on your terms. And finished on my terms.

There’s a lot of empowerment in that, and A lot of women don’t have that empowerment to even make a decision like that.

It’s just recognizing that, drawing their awareness to it, and then leveraging it for the next time. Carol, where do you see yourself in five years? That’s something that I need to do a little more work on.

I feel like I have so much to learn as a coach still that I haven’t really given the time that it needs to, look five years down the line. So that is definitely something I need to do though. Yeah.

[00:35:18] Michele: Yeah. Do you believe in manifestation?

[00:35:22] Janis: I do, I believe in what, you focus on and where your attention goes, your energy flows. Yes, a hundred percent for sure. And what in the world

is what you’re gonna keep getting. I

manifest the incantations. Yes. that kind, it’s the same

thing like you’re putting. Yeah. You putting that energy out there.

Yeah,

Get it back, right? Yeah.

[00:35:42] Michele: Are there any questions that you thought we should ask that we didn’t?

[00:35:46] Janis: No, you guys did a great job. I loved the questions. I love how went deeper than just nutrition and fitness because it is so much more than that and I really appreciate having that platform to discuss that. Yeah, I think you did a great job with your questions, so thank you.

[00:36:02] Michele: All right.

Carol. It was a pleasure getting to know you. You’ve inspired me to take some action today. I’m gonna

go walk my dogs

[00:36:10] Janis: Oh good. That’s

[00:36:12] Michele: glad I got to meet you.

[00:36:14] Janis: I’m so glad to meet you, Michelle. So you can find carol@amandablackfitness.com. And then on Instagram, I am Coach Carol Wentzel. On TikTok, I’m just Carol Wentzel. And then on Facebook, just Carol Wentzel.

[00:36:30] Michele: Easy enough.

[00:36:31] Janis: W W e n t z e l.

Okay. Awesome. We’re gonna, I told her that we could link to her website

[00:36:39] Michele: for sure.

If you would like to be a guest on Cosmos and Commerce, you can email me at Michele body ache escape.com or Janis at

[00:36:50] Janis: janis@homesbyjanis.net or humble crate llc gmail.com.

You

[00:36:56] Michele: for

[00:36:56] Janis: have a great day.

[00:36:57] Michele: Bye!

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