Laura Clancy: Wit and Fit

Laura Clancy joins Coach Pete in the studio to discuss Wit and Fit, staying active, and the challenges of maintaining fitness as we get older. Recorded August 2013. Call 800-661-7383 or text PLAN to 600-700. Transcript Automatically transcribed from this episode; timestamps are approximate. 00:00 And today we have a very special guest in studio. She's come down from Arlington, Virginia, and her name is Laura Clancy. Now, she's not related to Tom Clancy, I don't think. Maybe you are, Laura. No, no, no. I used to wish, but now I have my own Clancy goodness about me. Well, you've written a book, and it's called Wit and Fit. And I think this is a book that everyone should pick up, because as we get older, it's a lot harder to stay in shape, isn't it? It absolutely is. I really didn't get into shape myself until my mid-40s. Wow. Okay. So then one day you decided that it was time to be in shape, or how did that work? Absolutely. Just to back up the story, I was an overweight teen, and in my 20s, I took off weight and kept it off until I had children. After that, life happened, and I gained 30, 40, 50 pounds. 00:48 I was almost 200 pounds when I gave birth. And after my second child, I decided to take it very seriously, losing weight very seriously. And I went on a diet, lost the weight, but it came back shortly thereafter. At about the age of 44, I went to personal training school, and the rest is history. So I've been five years fat-free. So you're a personal trainer, too. Yes, I'm a personal trainer. Now, writing this book, you've written it from first-hand knowledge a lot. I noticed in there there's some pictures of you before and after and all the different motivational techniques you used. How can somebody out there who's listening, and everybody I talk to, if they admit it, they're a little bit out of shape? Yeah, most people are. And even I, I have some issues as well. 01:33 I'm not as endurance-oriented as I am strength-oriented. I believe anybody can do it. And I also believe a little bit is better than nothing. Well, do you believe in the momentum-building process? I mean, you have to do something to get started, right? Yes, I do believe in that. I think it just depends on the person. It's very, very specific to the person and how they want to lose weight. But I think that you have to look at it for the sustainability factor rather than just, can I lose 30 pounds in a month? That's a good point because I've talked to a lot of people over the years who had dramatic weight loss because I hadn't seen them in a while. And then I see them, and they're not even the same person. There was that commercial where the boss asked if you lost weight or if you've, whatever, but it was like the guy had done some hair things, so he had more hair. 02:23 So no one knew, they knew something was different. But when I see some people, after they've lost a lot of weight, they don't even look like the same people anymore. They really don't, yeah. But the problem is these same people, they disappear again for a while, and the next time I see them, they look like they used to look, like they've gained all that weight back plus more weight. And there's a lot of studies out there that say when people do that dramatic weight loss, maybe deprive their body of carbohydrates, doing that anti-carb diet. Right. They end up craving carbs, and their body gets mad at them. And when they do finally fall off the wagon and start to eat again, the body stores a lot more than it used to because it's worried you're going to take it away again. That's exactly right. And usually people who take off weight, they're more interested, particularly women, they're more interested in the weight loss than really the other part of it, which is gaining muscle and burning more fat because that also creates higher metabolism. 03:15 I agree. I used to be in real good shape. I need to get back in shape. But the problem is when I was in real good shape, I could eat more because I had more muscle. And you could get away with cheating a little more as long as you kept working out. And what happens, though, a lot of people stop working out and then start eating more. So instead of working out, they decide to eat. Well, that's a double whammy in the wrong direction. That's exactly right. Yep. And it's not just when you eat, but it's what you eat a lot of times. Believe it or not, it's not just what you eat, it's when you eat. When too. Okay. Well, there goes my midnight snack. Mark, my producer, we was laughing at that, too. Mark, are you a midnight snack or two? Yeah, just a little bit. So, hey, it all happens, right? And it's okay to do it once in a while, but you don't want to get in a routine. That's right. I basically try to teach people, if you can get it right 90% of the time, eating every two to three hours, trying to limit your calories, and certainly cutting back on your carbohydrates, particularly processed carbs, 04:13 then if you are doing that 90% of the time, you're going to actually lose weight. Whether you want to or not, it will just happen. When we talk about processed carbs, now we're in the generation now where everything's in a box. And I heard somebody once say, if it's in a box, it's probably not good. I absolutely wholeheartedly agree. And actually, that ties into the financial piece as well, because it's much cheaper to get those boxed products onto the shelves and to store them. So it's easier to go and buy that box of macaroni and cheese, but it's really, truly not good for your body. Yeah, and frozen dinners, too, the easy convenience. We're in a fast-moving society, but if people take a little bit more time, they can get fresh food. Yes, yes. And I'm not necessarily a big organic food eater myself. 05:02 It's a financial ability. It's a matter of financial. Nope. Nope, not coming out. It's okay. Just reset yourself. Yeah, I'm not as much an organic eater myself. We tend to eat things from the grocery store just like everyone else. We do buy some things organic because that's what the grocery store offers, so I'm happy with that. But I don't think that's absolutely necessary. I wouldn't let that hold me back. When you see how much they charge at the store for some of the supposed organic stuff, I mean, you could go broke trying to eat well. Oh, absolutely. So there's a bit of a financial factor in that, too, as far as designing a diet that makes your waist smaller but not your wallet too small. Right. And there is a lot of credence to fresh fruit is more expensive than that box of macaroni. 05:52 I understand that. But there are things you can do. You can buy boxes of whole grain rice rather than white rice, probably a little bit more expensive but worth the extra money. And from what I understand, the canning process now for fruit, not the syrupy fruit, but canned fruit, is good enough. So you have to kind of weigh that financial outlay with really sustainability. So like the fruit cocktails or the peaches or pears, as long as they're in water, not the heavy syrup kind of stuff, right? Yes, I would. Yes. Yeah. Well, I used to like that with some cottage cheese back in the day. I love cottage cheese. It's a staple in my diet. My family doesn't like it, but I do. Well, it goes well with a lot of things. Folks, again, we're talking to Laura Clancy. She's the author of Wit and Fit. 06:38 It's a fantastic book. She's from Arlington, Virginia. I was going to say, she's from Arlington, Virginia, and she's joining us on the show. I mean, this is a great book. It's available on Amazon. It is not available on Amazon yet. Okay. Yep. I came out with it about a year ago, and I have a collaborative work. I came out with it about a year ago, and I haven't quite figured out how to use this book and help people the most. That's really important to me. I have been privileged to work with people who now want to collaborate with me, and we have a collaborative cookbook coming out soon. 07:23 Ah, nice. So that may be wrapped into a package. Okay. Okay. And put on Amazon. I haven't quite figured it out. What I really do. is I'm going to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to Mindset, you have to get your mindset around it. Nutrition, which is very, very important. And then the physical fitness. And that primarily is weight training, which I'm an avid weight trainer. 08:13 Now, you just wrote a chapter in a new book. What's the title of that? New Rules of Success. And that's available on Amazon. That is available on Amazon. It was a collaborative effort. It was a collaborative effort, and it will be used at Wexford University in California, which is a fitness university. It's a supplemental text for their students. That's pretty cool. So what's the subject or what's the main idea of that book? What are all the chapters about? And what was your chapter about? Well, my chapter actually seems to be very different from everyone else's, which is fine. I'm a little bit different myself, and I'm comfortable with that. My chapter basically, it's one of my favorite chapters that I've written. It's almost a mirror reflection on success and what I believe is success. 09:01 I don't think that you have to be successful all your life to be a success. And my chapter basically talks about that. That's a good chapter. And now, does your husband follow your diets along with you? No, he does not. Do you catch him cheating every now and then at midnight and stacking? I try not to look. How about your children? You have two sons. Yes, I have two sons. My oldest son is a lacrosse player for his high school. And he's also started training with my old teacher and powerlifting coach. My youngest son, I train him myself, and he is into proper eating. That's nice. Starting young. Yep. Now, if you could give – we've got a couple minutes or less than a couple minutes here on this last segment here. We've got about a minute or so left on this segment here. 09:50 If you could give the listeners out there one piece of advice, if they feel they're a little bit overweight or want to get started going in the right direction, what would that one piece of advice be? Wow, that was a big one. Take your time. Right? You can edit it. Yeah, you're going to have to edit that one. Yeah, we can definitely edit it. One piece of advice. Let's see. Okay, can you ask it again? Absolutely. Yeah. If you could give our listeners out there just one piece of advice to at least get them started in getting in better shape, what would that be? I think the biggest priority is that they must believe in themselves. They must believe that it's a sustainable thing that they can do. And that's the mindset piece because a lot of people just see that short-term, I'm going to lose seven pounds, and that's all they're thinking about. 10:38 If they can look out without creating anxiety and say, I will just take this one day at a time, I am a firm believer that imperfect action trumps perfect inaction. Yeah, doing something in other words. Absolutely. Now, and one final thing, do you think Hollywood and all the magazines are hurting people more than helping when they're showing these real skinny people on covers and all these entertainment shows? Everyone's all in best shape ever, and you just think that you give up a lot of times because you can't get in that kind of shape. Is Hollywood hurting people? I don't think it's hurting people. I think it's up to them. Again, it's their mindset and where they're going with their mind. I think everybody's shape is different. I've had to come to terms with I have very large legs, and I've been very uncomfortable in my body for many years. 11:29 And then come to find out I'm a competitive powerlifter, those legs actually help me. Yeah, that's right. They're helping me squat 248 pounds and deadlift 265 pounds. So I'm pretty happy with them, although they still are the biggest part of my body. Folks, again, her name is Laura Clancy. The title of the book, Wit and Fit. But if you join this interview later and want to hear it again in its entirety, visit us on FinancialSafari.com and click on the As Heard On radio segment there. Laura, thanks for your time today. Thank you so much, Pete. I really appreciate this opportunity and look forward to working with you again. We're going to have some segments from Laura, folks, by the way, in the coming weeks on the show, just little wit and fit kind of segments. So look forward to them on later shows. Again, Laura, thanks for your time today. 12:15 And, folks, we'll be right back after this.