Functional and Holistic Nutrition with Olivia Macioce

Episode 28 of the Fuel the Fire Podcast hosted by Shanon Safi, RD, LDN.

In this episode Shanon, sits down with Olivia Macioce, a functional nutrition specialist, who runs an online practice that focuses on auto-immune and hormonal issues in women. Together they discuss Oliva’s personal experiences with imbalances, how it shaped her life & career, as well as the importance of looking at overall health when it comes to reaching your goals.

In This Episode:

Meet Olivia and her journey from bodybuilding to holistic health (02:26)

Always work with someone who looks at your health as a result! (13:48)

Olivia talks functional nutrition and common imbalances & symptoms she sees in her clientele (21:38)

Stress is a big cause of hormonal imbalances, how can we start fixing that? (30:19)

Olivia shares how life pushed her into where she is today (37:30)

Episode Transcript:

 There's a time and a place for everything, but having that higher level knowledge of the hormonal side of things, what's really underneath the skin. That's what got me into realizing you don't need the harsh medications in order to rebalance hormones and to see the results that you're looking to see.

Hello. Hello. Welcome to the Fuel Fire Soul podcast with your host, Shannon Safi. I have so many amazing offerings coming to you guys, and some are for free. If you haven't already. Download my healthy hypnosis meditation and give it a listen. I've really been loving exploring hypnosis ever since I got certified because it's really helped tap into my subconscious and get my mind really focused on these new empowering thoughts.

I absolutely love it. So, take this as an opportunity to tap into the magic and get that experience for yourself. I do also have some one-on-one spots open now, so shoot me a message. Let's have a conversation about it. I really want to help women really feel empowered and love their bodies and just change the way that they see their body.

So, if you've been struggling with self-doubt or any kind of body image issues, hit me up. Let's talk about it and let's help you transform. So, in today's episode, I'm going to have an amazing guest on. We have Olivia, who is a functional nutrition specialist. She specializes in working with women who have autoimmune and hormonal issues, and she does all her work online.

She focuses on mindset and mentorship. She believes. Truly that the mindset is what really needs to shift before you can experience the external changes. Listen now to hear her holistic approach to wellness. Hello. Hello. Welcome to another episode of the fuel fire soul podcast with your host Shannon Safi.

Today I have a very special guest. We have Olivia with us. I'm so excited to get into a conversation with her today and really get to share some of her magic with you all. So yeah, Olivia, tell the audience a little bit about yourself outside of your career first. Yeah. Hi, guys. I'm Olivia. Thank you, Shannon, for having me on here today.

I'm super excited to dive into all of the topics and all the things. We'll probably maybe talk about some energy healing. Who knows? We'll get into a lot here, but I currently live in Atlanta, Georgia. I'm from Pittsburgh originally and outside of my career. Wow. That's actually a trick question.

I have a puppy and I love to watch. Take her on walks and spend a lot of time with her and my boyfriend, Michael, as well. We spent a lot of good family time together. So, it's just us here in Atlanta. So, we go to a lot of comedy clubs and just have a lot of good quality time together. Oh, I love that. I really love a good comedy club.

I like started taking an improv class. So, I've been really excited. I'm going to be exploring that arena as well. Really? Maybe we'll see you on stage next time. Oh yeah, one day I'm going to fly down to Atlanta and you're going to be so shocked. I know. Well, awesome. Yeah, I really love that. I feel like a lot of the listeners are also dog people.

Well, so they love to hear that, too. Hopefully. I love all animals, but, you know, this is the first own dog that I've had. We've always grown up with a dog, but, you know, we just adopted her back in October, it was, and she's six months now, so, it's been a fun journey. She's in a streak now where she barks at everything, so it was nice when she was really quiet all the time.

Yeah, she's going through that stage. Yep. So, what would you say is something that people are generally surprised to learn about you? So now this was kind of hard. I actually had to ask Michael about this one. Whenever you sent me like some questions, I was like, Michael, what is it? What is that? What is the one thing that people are surprised about?

And he said that I competed in bodybuilding and that kind of threw me off because when I look at my audience on Instagram, that's The social media app that I, you know, mainly use if you've been following me for a while on there, which most of my followers have, they've been with me through all my journeys and stages.

So, like they know about my body voting and I guess what, you know, he was getting out there was. If you don't know me and you look at me now, you would have no idea that I used to compete. So, for the people that are just getting to know me, or maybe you just scroll through like the past year or two on my Instagram, you'd be like, oh wow, she used to compete.

No, she didn't. Like you probably would have no idea. So that would probably be the most surprising thing I feel like. Yeah. I can definitely relate to that. And that's funny because that's kind of how we knew each other. And actually, I don't know if you remember, we were like, I think both coaching. Yeah.

Yeah. Like I remember seeing you at like the slippery rock bodybuilding show. And I think you had some athletes in there and I had a couple of athletes in there and yeah, like I was in the thick of that too. And it was honestly kind of like this segue into where I'm at now, but yeah, let’s talk a little bit more about your journey with that and how you went from being a bodybuilder to being more holistic.

And yeah, just a little bit more about where you're at now with that. Yeah, it's definitely been a transition. And so, I competed for 4 years in the figure division through the MPC, which those of you that are not familiar with watching, that's the National Physique Committee. It's the highest level of, you know, competing for bodybuilding that you can be in.

I mean, they have a level like the IFBB pros, but the MPC like runs that whole organization. So, I did that for about four years and it was great. I liked being competitive and I was always a competitive dancer and I did cheer and everything growing up and I wanted that next level of competitiveness.

And I was in between CrossFit or bodybuilding, like, which one do I do? And I was drawn to bodybuilding because I liked the idea of getting glammed up and going on stage being a previous like dancer and cheerleader. The idea of performing and being on stage was, you know, very exciting and intriguing to me.

So. Coincidentally enough, when I was kind of going through that decision, my sister, who also competed with me just for our first two shows, and then she decided that it really wasn't for her, but she had texted me and said, like, I'm competing in a show. And I was like, well, this is perfect timing. I think we should do this together.

So, we hired different coaches, but we competed in our first two shows together. And I absolutely loved it. I love grit, the discipline, the work ethic, everything that goes into that just came so naturally for me. So, I continued doing it for, like I said, about four years. And my last competition prep was in 2019 and that was rough.

I felt like my body was resisting me the entire time. And you know, the athlete in you is like, keep pushing, keep pushing, keep pushing. Like, who cares? Like, you know, you're going to do anything you can to step on that stage. So, whenever your body's resisting, oh, just like keep increasing cardio, keep decreasing food.

Like just keep pressing on the gas. And I feel like looking back on it, the reason why my body was resisting so much was because my cortisol was so through the roof. I had a tragic family death. I lost my cousin. And then I was going through a lot of things with, like, relationships and stuff. I had a tough major in school that was starting to get really difficult because, you know, you're heading into junior year, which, you know, junior year is really the set off for it being a really difficult year.

So, looking back, I'm like, holy shit, like, my poor adrenal glands, like, everything was through, through the roof. No wonder why my body had so much resistance during that time. And, I did the show, got second place, I looked really, it was my best look to date, you know. But, afterwards, I was reverse dieting.

Okay, which, for some of you that might not be familiar with reverse dieting. Basically, when your calories are so low, your body adapts to that low caloric base, you have to slowly pull it back up to get your metabolism back up. So, I was in my reverse diet phase, which, was still very strict and very clean, like egg whites in the morning, chicken for lunch, like, you know, egg whites at night.

Like it was still my, like the same five food sources, right? Like very clean bodybuilding structure. I was still maintaining my cardio, my workouts, everything. And I was somehow just gaining, gaining, gaining, gaining weight. And I'm a little bit under five foot to give you guys some of a reference.

And I wound up within, like, I want to say it was less than 12 weeks. I had put on like 50 pounds. It was high inflammation. Like, my entire face was puffy. My joints were stiff and swollen. I was so uncomfortable. It was, I guess, uncomfortable has to be the word that I would use. Very uncomfortable situation in every way.

Mentally, physically, emotionally, very uncomfortable in not a good way. So, I got lab work done and everything, and all my hormones, everything was completely tanked. Shut off. I had like zero hormonal production whatsoever. So typically, that's, you know, a pretty good gauge if you feel like you're having hormonal imbalances.

It's like, okay, if you know that you're eating really well and you're consistently working out, but somehow, you're just magically gaining all this weight, that's when we know that something beneath the surface is a little bit off. So that was definitely the case for me. And it took me Over like three years to really get everything off and rebalanced and to get to where I am now to give you guys a little bit more information about that.

Whenever they, whenever the doctors had saw that my estrogen was solo, my progesterone was solo, what was the first thing that they did? You should get on birth control to pull back up your estrogen levels and everything else. And I was like, absolutely not because my body has a habit of having the opposite complete reverse effect.

To any medication. So, I knew if I were to hop on the hormonal birth control, I would be one of those girls or it would cause me to gain even more weight. Like it would do my body more of a disservice than it would to help. So, I decided no. And that's when I found Andrew from Case Specific Nutrition. And I actually went to see him as a dietician for a little bit because one of my good friends had worked with him and recommended me.

So, I actually went to see him and he helped hold me accountable to healing my hormones through food and everything. So that's exactly what I did. I healed my hormones strictly just through food, through diet, through stress relieving activity. So actually, taking a step back from resistance training taking a big step back.

And that's what got me into realizing you don't need the harsh medications in order to rebalance hormones and to see the results that you're looking to see. So now I, that's what I help other females do. Wow. Yeah. It's such a journey that a lot of times we have to go through with our body to really come back to sometimes like the most simple, basic way of.

Taking care of ourselves. Yeah, I think with the bodybuilding, it really is something that the lifestyle of it, I think has a lot of appeal to people who like that discipline and like having structure and routine and you get so comfortable with that. And when you come out of it, it can sometimes be challenging because your body kind of like you said, especially as females, it does require a lot of hormone balancing and, you know, like when you're getting your body fat so low, it can definitely affect a lot with your estrogen because your estrogen receptors are in your fat cells.

So, when you get that lean, it throws things off. And it makes sense why you started to kind of experience a little bit of that difficulty with getting your body back to how it normally was. Yeah, for sure. And I take ownership in the fact that I mean, I kept pushing when I shouldn't have because when your body is resisting against you, that's it trying to tell you to stop.

Something's going on. And I just kept pushing. So, for any of you listening to this, if you've ever felt like you've been in that situation or you're going through that, you know, if your body keeps resisting against you, that's a key sign to maybe take a step back, you know, maybe you should. Take a step back, reflect on everything that you're doing.

Talk to your mentor, talk to your coach or, you know, whoever about it, and maybe pick up a game plan and incorporate things that are going to help lower stress, like tap into that parasympathetic nerve system. Do some yoga, do meditation, start getting into those things, because in the long run, it'll save you a lot of hassle.

I mean, I'm grateful for it because it's. I'm here where I am right now because of that because of the journey and the difficulties and everything that I've went through for my body and it's transforming into the coach and into the functional specialist that I am today. So, it's almost like I, you know, the universe put me through that on purpose, right to get me to this point.

So, I'm grateful for it. But if anybody can definitely learn from it, it's to listen to your body. When you start seeing that resistance, it's time to probably pull back a little bit. For a lot of people, I feel like it's challenging to really even know what your body is trying to tell you. Because even with like, what I am curious about is with your relationship with your coach at the time, when you were telling him about this, would you say your coach fully trusted and believed that it was truly your body?

Or did he have any resistance thinking that There was something else that you weren't telling your coach or how did that conversation go? It was a complete conversation of just keep pushing and that's another Factor to look into to where whenever you're maybe seeking a coach for any Nutritional matters right whether it's competing whether it's just lifestyle or weight loss No matter what it is be very careful who you work with make sure if you are a female It has to be somebody who specializes in the hormonal side of things.

I fully believe in that and not even specializes, but that can really understand the backbone of hormonal function and things like basic things like cortisol and estrogen and testosterone, like very basic things like that. Whenever you're looking at some basic lab work. Because every female nowadays has some, it's something and it's, you know, a lot of it's because the food that we're eating toxins that are in our products.

I mean, life is pretty stressful for everyone. I feel like we live in a society where we don't know how to slow down and we're being told not to slow down. So, we're completely. You know, neglecting that parasympathetic nerve system that self-care that we need, that's really important for our mental, emotional, physical health.

So, I would, you know, take into consideration a coach who really embodies all of those factors. Because for me personally, I mean, I take ownership in the fact that I kept pushing, but my coach at the time also was not knowledgeable. About what was happening, you know, I work with clients now who will you can start to see the patterns where it's like they want to keep pushing and I'm like, hey, this is why maybe we need to take it a different route.

Or have you ever thought about this? Or here's the science behind why this could be happening. X, Y, and Z. And that stuff was never brought to my attention. It was always just like, okay, well, we need to go harder because we're 6 weeks out and your body is still resisting. So, even more cardio. You know, I was on zero carbs for eight weeks straight, like zero.

The only food I was consuming was eggs, egg whites, chicken, and asparagus. That was so definitely a lot of things that did not serve my hormonal function or my body at the time. It's so tough. And yeah, just on the note of asparagus, man, when I think back to my bodybuilding days, like, I don't think like to this day, I just don't ever really need to look at a piece of asparagus.

Nope. Or rice cakes. That's another thing where I'll buy them because they can be a great snack. You can dress them up with like hummus and tomatoes and like all these things or peanut butter and banana. Shannon, I kid you not, I bought a pack of rice cakes three months ago. They are unopened, still sitting in my pantry.

I can't get myself to eat them. Yeah, it's funny. I feel like there are a few foods that I think about like, oh, that must have been some kind of traumatic time because I really can't look at these things the same way. It's really wild how experiences can really influence that even like years later.

Yeah, I think that's so helpful for people to kind of think about. And even when, like, I don't know if you've experienced this, but I've definitely had clients who I tried to open up a conversation about, like, adding in more food or increasing their rest. And sometimes people are frustrated Afraid of that and resistant to it because they're very hyper conscious or just like so afraid of what.

Their body will do if they don't keep moving or if they start to eat a little bit more. How do you kind of help people through that now? Or have you had that come up in your more recent coaching? Oh, yes. A thousand and 10%. I mean, there is not a single client that I work that I work with that isn't overdoing it.

You know what I mean? A lot of the times they'll come to me where they're working out three times a day and X, Y, and Z. So. My approach to that there, and maybe you can even help me out on any other coaches or professionals listening to the podcast. Maybe fill us in on what your method is there. I found it to be beneficial.

A slow, gradual approach is always the best. And you never want to tell the client that what they're doing is quote unquote wrong, right? Like you never want to come off that way to a client. So, you want to be encouraging to them and hey, like. They are being very active and being active is great, right?

But I always focus on the education piece of it. So, explaining why overspending, you know, can maybe not be as beneficial to where the body is currently at. And then we gradually pull back. So, because, you know, again, they might be a little bit timid, they might get a little bit scared. So gradual pullbacks.

Typically, I start with cardio. And if they're telling me that they're doing, like, an hour of cardio every single day, and it's not for what their needs are, then I'm like, okay, well, what about us trying, like, 30 minutes of walking every day? Let's start there. Like, slowly pulling back there while very slowly feeding them up.

Because if somebody is working out that heavily, they're most likely under eating. And we know that the metabolism can be stuck and it's in a very resistant place. So, we need to work that metabolism back up kind of touching back to that reverse diet phase that I shared with just a few moments ago.

So that's the kind of phase that I would start to head into to reboot their metabolism essentially. So, I always am very up front with the client. Like, hey, yeah. You know, we're going to very slowly start increasing calories. I know that this is something that you feared before. I get it. I've been there too.

Like, here's my own experience. And but let me tell you, here's why we're doing it. And that really allows the client to then instill their trust within you. Trust. I think really is the biggest thing. And not only trust in the coach who's talking to you, but also self-trust to know that like your body is going to really begin to communicate with you more through this process and being able to tap into that and trust that the information that comes up.

Is something that you'll be able to hear and understand and utilize say, I think with a lot of diet programs to sometimes it can cause a person to really disconnect from their internal cues because they're relying heavily on what they're told they should eat or how they're told they're supposed to work out and it kind of like, yeah, it's that.

dangerous cycle, like reentering that phase where you're ignoring what your body's telling you because you're trying to follow this plan that you think is gonna do this thing for you. And so, yeah, it can sometimes be a slippery slope in that way. For sure. I totally agree. And, you know, being able to just instill that trust and belief.

And over time, the client will become receptive to that. Yeah. So, let's talk a little bit more about what things look like for you. Now in your career. So now in my career I really specialize in the functional hormonal side of nutrition, which is super cool. Never thought it would turn out to be this way.

I originally just started coaching bodybuilders and then it transitioned into like some weight loss clients and lifestyle. And now it's fully like the functional hormonal side of thing. I do see some clients who are a little bit more lifestyle. But we're really focusing on my client load being a little bit more of those high-profile cases.

So, clients that require lab work, so on and so forth. So, I'm currently in a functional nutrition mentorship course to help further my expertise and knowledge. It's actually through my first ever bodybuilding coach that I hired when I was 17 years old, who I wish I would have kept working with because I probably would have, you know, maybe gone through some of those things, but that's okay.

But yeah, so I'm through his mentorship course and I'm learning. A lot so much. You know, last night, for example, we got into depth about like lab work review and all of that. So, it's allowing me to really serve those clients at a higher level and serve women in the entire country and throughout the world at a higher level because there's actually not many coaches who really specialize in that arena, there's a lot of people who are just macro coaches, and they give you macros and a training plan and X, Y, and Z right?

And don't get me wrong. There's a time and a place for all of that. I have clients where it's like, you know, we do start with the basics because they have to learn the basics. They don't have any habits. They have no structure. They don't know how to portion food. It's a complete unknown. So, you know, don't get me wrong.

There's a time and a place for everything. Truly. Are you. But having that higher level knowledge of the hormonal side of things, the whole, what's really underneath the skin that allows you to serve people at a much higher level. And it's really cool to, you know, over the past, I feel like. Seven months or honestly, maybe even longer, maybe more like eight months.

I've really taken initiative to step into that role. That's awesome. For sure. And I think what's really beautiful is that you take the time to really get to know and understand where the client is at so that you can really meet them there and give them the information that will best suit what their goals are and what they're looking to do.

Yeah, for sure. And a lot of the times, you know, things even come up like some of my clients who might just be like more entry level that require the basic foundation knowledge. You know, we start to see some resistance and then, you know, we request lab work and it comes back and you realize that like estrogen is so off cortisol through the roof.

And I mean, it's all these things. And you're like, well, good thing that, you know, that's something that I can specialize in because now I can help you at that level versus having to then pass them off to somebody else because I'm not specialized in that arena. And I feel like yeah. And this might be getting a little bit off topic, but that's where a lot of coaches can get stuck because if they're just like macro and in training only, if they might have people who are resisting, and that may be say to them, oh, well, I do have hypothyroidism or PCOS or Hashimoto's or any of those other autoimmune hormonal and balance disorders that a lot of females are adapting now and.

Instead of saying, well, now I have to send you off to another professional because it's almost like embarrassing that they have to say that, you know, to them, I mean, it's not essentially, but sometimes people might feel that way. It's easier for them to then keep the client and to try to help someone who has hormonal imbalances or autoimmune diseases when they're not necessarily qualified to versus passing them off.

Does that make sense? Definitely. I think it really shows how professional you conduct yourself because I think in this case, if you're not sure, I think some coaches might try to push it and be like, we're going to stay working together because I want this business and I, like, I'm gonna keep trying to push through and figure out what's going on when sometimes it's like, oh, okay, like, there is someone that's probably better suited to help you through this and it's not me.

And like, I think that's like, that's really cool and really important because everyone has different expertise. And there's going to be, you know, to me like the right people who need your help specifically will find you and it's good to pass along people to another coach that they might be better suited with.

I totally agree. Yep. So, if, or I guess what are the signs? When you say someone's like being their body's like being resistant to it. What does that actually present itself as sure? So, I mean, if we're looking at, I guess from my clients specifically that have to upload photos every week, we can sense through photos, maybe some inflammation.

Which is over time, it's experience that you kind of have to have the eye for. So that might be a very like specific thing that I look into as I look at photos and I can sense like inflammation maybe around the knees, like around the joints in the stomach area, but other signs that are a lot more common that any individual can kind of pinpoint your digestion.

So, are you having one solid bowel movement every single day and the consistency of that bowel movement? Sorry, guys, not to get gross, but this is true. You know, this is the biofeedback that we look into your sleep. Are you sleeping 8 hours a night? Are you falling asleep easily? Are you staying asleep?

Are you constantly waking up throughout the night? If we're constantly waking up throughout the night, that's probably actually a sign of blood sugar and imbalances, which whenever that's going to be imbalanced, we can maybe sense that other hormones could be imbalanced as well. There could be things like no hunger levels, a very low sex drive, acne, hair loss, hair thinning, excessively oily skin, excessively oily hair.

Stiffness, tightness in the joints, brain fog, headaches, fatigue chronic fatigue. Maybe you could even experience like random skin rashes, maybe even things that aren't itchy, but you could have like abrasions on the skin. Those can all be telling signs and symptoms that there could be something of an autoimmune disorder that could be triggering, even like swelling around the thyroid, your thyroid, your.

Is where your hormones are produced. So even some swelling in the neck might signal that something hormonally could be off as well too. Yeah. I think it's helpful for people to kind of see that because they don't always make the connection to it being hormonal or something that can Be adjusted like through working with a coach, because I think a lot of times, we isolate some of those symptoms and we're like, oh, like, I have this rash.

I should go see a dermatologist, which like is great because you're moving in a direction to start to get answers. Oh, for sure. Sometimes, I think in, like, Western practices, we kind of just treat symptoms rather than being like, okay, where is this really coming from? Like, is this a hormone imbalance? Is, like, what chemistry in your body?

Or, like, is it your sleep? Or, you know, these other things that can absolutely influence it. And so, I think it's really good for people to start to understand there is like a connection through all the systems in your body that are affected by things very, like, holistically. Oh, yeah. Yeah, for sure. I mean, there’s, I mean, a lot of the times, like, let's say you might have, like, a random rash and it's not going away.

You know, maybe something that you do there is start to ask yourself the questions of, like, how have my bowel movements been? How has my sleep been? You know, like, what other symptoms am I having? And start to pinpoint, like, the diet and the Movement side of things as well, too. Like how often are we moving and, you know, if we're moving too much and have a high stress job, well, then cortisol is through the roof.

And guess what? Whenever we're stressed, that can cause random rashes as well, too. Once again, they all kind of just circled together and versus getting a topical cream for it that could temporarily fix it. But guess what? It's going to keep on coming back because we never fix the root cause of the problem and the root cause of the problem is.

better stress management. If you have a really high stress job, and I work with clients who have very high stress jobs and you have to earn money, you have to be able to feed your family and to make a living. So sometimes we can't necessarily cut out the job right away. So, what do we do? We actually pull back on resistance training and the gym.

And instead of resistance training six days a week, well, we do yoga six days a week, right? We start implementing self-care practices to help better manage. Those cortisol and those stress levels, just to kind of give a little bit of an example. That's so helpful because I think people listening are also going to start to think about and ask themselves, like, in what way could I potentially be overdoing it?

Because I, you know, like, I know you're a little bit spiritual too, and I really look at it from like the balance of like masculine and feminine energies where You know, like, as females trying to succeed in this world, we push ourselves more into our masculine, and that's more of, like, the doing and taking action, and sometimes it benefits us to pull back and do a little bit more rest, and so I think it's kind of Becoming comfortable with the thought that being in your feminine energy and allowing things to flow and incorporating more rest and play can actually be a solution to some of the health struggles that we face.

Yes. Yes, I definitely agree. And I have a lot of friends that do like the pole dancing classes just to tap into that more feminine side and to release and like you said, play and dance and have fun. And, you know, that's something that I will recommend to clients who are more on the high stress end too, is like, Go join something like that.

Go join like a dance class or like an art class or you know, I encourage them to kind of take that path to join something just to help express that creative outlet. And it also takes your mind off of all the day to day stress. Whenever you're in those creative practices, it's allowing you just to really focus on the art and the nature of those things versus.

all the other hectic stuff that's happening in all of our lives constantly. Stress is inevitable, and there's nothing that we can do to necessarily stop certain things from happening, but it's really understanding how are we letting these situations affect us, and what practices do we have in place to alleviate that stress, or even just be more accepting of circumstances, and just like, reminding ourselves, like, The good things about our lives, because like, you know, especially in ambitious women that are in those more stressful jobs that want to achieve highly.

I see it so often that, you know, it's like we forget to have fun or we just don't think that fun. And tapping into our sexuality and our sensuality is a priority when in reality it naturally just makes you more magnetic and you flow better and you just feel better and just it, yeah, it's like, it's scary to let go of that control, but it's so important and crucial to taking care of their body and their mental well-being.

Yeah, and that's something I personally got forced into, like, obviously being a bodybuilder, I, oh my god, I'm known for really over pushing that masculine energy sometimes, and, you know, going the more holistic route really kind of forced me into bodybuilding. tapping into more of that feminine side. So, you know, practicing yoga and all the self-care things and taking care of myself.

And it's such a confidence booster. And without confidence, I mean, then where does that really lead us? You know, how are we showing up in other areas of our life? So, I feel like being able to tap into both masculine and feminine energy and being aware about that and being aware of like When to be a little bit more masculine and when we need to pull back and maybe be a little bit more feminine.

I feel like that's, you know, a really higher version of of yourself as being able to know when to tap into both of them. Yeah, it's really something where you need both energies, right? And like, whether, whatever your gender is. You have both energies in you and it's just knowing like, okay, in these situations, I need more masculine in these situations.

I need to be more in my feminine and it's practice, you know, like, you know, we don't grow up and we're taught in school, like. Hello, this is your masculine energy. This is your feminine energy. Kind of, you know, I think society is kind of built around masculine energy. So, I think we just, I think we kind of push forward thinking that is the way we're supposed to operate.

But yeah, it's really cool. You kind of noticed that in yourself and seen where it is that you need to like push forward with certain things and where you need to pull back and really kind of like allow for things to flow a little more easily. Yeah, totally. And I love watching other clients and other women also accomplish that.

It's pretty cool. And I think it is becoming a lot more common. I see it a lot more now on Instagram. I don't know if it's just the audience that I follow, but I am starting to see. A lot more of that. A lot more people tapping into their to their feminine side, which is really cool to see. Yeah, because I really feel like there is shame around it.

At least personally, I felt that way where, like, it was almost uncomfortable to be in my body in that way because it felt like. Wrong to be because I, you know, I think just even the way I was raised and I know I, are you Catholic? I think I maybe or were raised Catholic. Yes. Yeah. Like raised primarily Catholic.

Yeah. Yeah. I think with like, when you're like, raised with those sorts of. The morals, I think sometimes can create a disconnection with like your sexuality because it's something that in the church space, you're kind of taught to like repress and not let out. And like, you're supposed to do that. Like, you're not supposed to like use your body in this way.

And so then like. To me, it kind of creates, like, it created this disconnection from my body and, like, you mentioned the pole dancing classes, like, I remember I tried when, like, when I was in college, when I was very much in, like, my masculine energy, and I was, like, they were, like, okay, like, now, like, sensually roll your hips into the pole, and I was, like, I physically no, and I, like, stood there, and I, like, couldn't do it.

Cause I was just like, so uncomfortable with the thought of like letting myself do that in a place in front of other people, but like me now, yeah, I would have been the same way. Yeah, right. What was your shift like, like really that transition between kind of like where you were at before and like, what really kind of took you to the space that you're in now?

Especially like. Even that like spiritual side of it. Like, I'm really curious to hear about that. That was actually, wow. That was a really big transition that of course I resisted against. You can sense maybe a little bit of stubbornness within me. I think that's the Aquarius side. But so, what really got me into the whole spiritual and that well was I was actually in, in a beauty business, like I had a beauty business. I had like a team and the whole thing and I did it for about 2 years, a little over 2 years. I want to say only 2 and a half years. Actually. Yeah. So. You know, it was going really well. I had made it to the top 2 percent of the company. It's like the number one haircare brand in the country.

Great products still love them, but there were a lot of indifferences on the team that I had built. And now this is where it gets a little bit tricky. I feel like there was such an energy difference and a lot of it just has to do with. The demographic of my team was very young, 20-year-old girls who essentially, and it's doesn't mean that they're bad people or anything like that.

It's no, it's just the mental maturity that it takes to get to the top 1%. And what it's truly like to be in the top 1 percent of the company and in life. And that's the path that I was going towards is the path that I've always been working towards. And I'm currently still working towards. Right. You know, you have to have a higher level of energy and awareness and everything to get to that point.

That's where our energies were just very imbalanced. Like, looking back on it now, I can relate it to, like, the proper terminology is just an imbalance in energies. I have a little bit of that higher energy and the understanding of what it really takes to be the top 1 percent and how to get there. And that's okay.

That at that time, the people that were maybe on my team just weren't ready for that yet. It's not that they don't have it in them or anything. It's just at that time. We were at different points in our lives, right? So, things really, because of those indifferences fell through with the team atmosphere and with my team.

And looking back, I mean, I've always been a very strong leader, a very strong mentor, but there's things that I would have done differently a hundred percent. But that's a part of growing and being a leader. You're never going to be perfect. You're constantly growing and learning and being a mentor.

And I will say a part of me felt that I was being Picked on big time because I wasn't so perfect and oh, I would say like one wrong thing and then it would like, you know what I mean? Like kind of spiral and not even a wrong thing, but I guess. You know, being an Enneagram 8 and like an Aquarius, I can be very intense, and a lot of times, other people aren't as intense, so I really had to learn to like, know who I'm speaking to, if that makes sense, so, it's not that I ever say the wrong things, it's just the level of intensity at which I present those things, right, so, you know, kind of just learning to really read the room and how to present some things a little bit more Perficient, I guess.

And any who, everything kind of fell through with my team and it was very difficult for me and I decided to let go of the business and. You know, understand that I meant for us more like I meant for a higher serving purpose. Like, I feel like that was a very great stepping stone for me. And it taught me so much on sales and how to be a mentor and a leader in that arena, but long-term and.

What God's plan for me is and the universe. It wasn't that I meant for a much higher vibration. So, I had to learn to accept that. And I started to get into like crystals and understanding crystals and meditation. And I used to be in meetings like, Oh my God, constantly. I was so busy at the time. I was also managing a gym full time.

So, my schedule literally went from to like 11 PM. Like I didn't stop all day. Like even whenever I was the hours, I was managing the gym, I was still working my business constantly helping my team, blah, blah, blah. And looking back on it, yeah, I really did a disservice to my health as well too. I mean, my cortisol is definitely through the roof, all the things, and definitely had some adrenal fatigue coming out of it.

But when I came out of it, I was still managing the gym. And I was like, what do I do with all this extra time on me? Like I don't have calls to lead anymore. Like I'm not in meetings constantly anymore. Like all these other things. So, I started going, I started taking fitness classes after work every day.

I do Zumba. So, tapping into that feminine side and doing dance classes and doing Zumba and having fun. And I would do it with my members. Cause I did them at the gym that I was managing at the time. And it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it. So. I took myself out of what was a toxic environment for me at the time, and I filled that time to make myself better.

And at that time, I didn't know what that looked like for me, but I knew that if I kept doing the right things, and if I kept making myself a better person, if I kept growing, if I kept learning, that eventually, it would all come together. So, needless to say, about like, six months after that, maybe five months after that, it was end of September, beginning of October.

I wound up in the emergency room a few times and I was very, very ill with mono Epstein Barr virus. And I'm the type of person where I don't even get a sore throat, like I never get sick, never ever get sick and all of a sudden, my body completely blacked out on me. I was out for like 8 weeks, like out, like was just in bed for like 8 weeks.

Couldn't go to the gym, the only thing I could eat was like soup. I was really really sick and to be honest, it went on a lot longer than that. I actually had chronic fatigue up until like last month, so it lasted for a really long time before I got into, I got further into like holistic healing, which I can dive into a little bit later.

But when I got that sick, that's when it hit me where it's like, well, I have all this time on my hands and instead of just lying in bed, like watching Netflix, I'm going to go finish my nutrition certifications. So that's what I did when I was sick. I went online and I finished my certifications and then I actually started my own business.

It's really crazy how those things happen. It's like, if I would have, you know, never gotten as sick as I did a little over a year ago. What I have ever fully gone back to coaching full time. You know what I mean? Would I have ever gotten back in? And this also pushed me more into the functional holistic side as well.

Because I was left with also a lot of unknown answers and a lot of other things, and of course they ran me through all this testing. It took them two weeks to diagnose me 20, 000 worth of medical bills to find out that I have mod. Are you serious? 70 percent of Americans. Get in half mana. It's no different than diagnosing the flu or strep throat.

And seriously, like, I was like, okay, yeah, that just goes to show I'm nothing but a customer to them and they're just trying to collect money from me. So. Yeah, that really pushed me into getting back into coaching and furthering my education and to continuing my certifications. I went to school for public health science, so I was in the health science field, had that background, had that knowledge, and I pretty much just had to finish some certifications to get started with my own business, which was really cool.

But that's what really spiraled me into where I am now. I left managing the gym and did my own business, and then I kind of trickled into the weight loss corporate industry, which I decided really wasn't for me. And now I'm online full time. I'm a functional nutrition coach for Hannah Osmond Fitness, HO Fit.

And I work online. I see Clients online. I deal with, like I said, those high caliber clients and it's all shifted me into that place. Yeah. I love to hear that journey and I know we're coming up on the hour and I bet everyone's also really interested in learning more about what you do and reading more about you.

So, if people do want to connect with you, where is the best place to do so? Yeah. I would say on. My Instagram is Liv, L I V, and then my last name, are you guys ready for it? It's kind of a tongue twister but I'll spell it out for you. It's M A C I O C E underscore. So, you can find me on Instagram that way.

Awesome. Yeah. I'm really excited for people to get to see your posts. I know that I love seeing what you post and you share so much and it's. It's really inspiring and motivating, so definitely keep doing that. We'd love to see it. We'll tag everything in the show notes too, so people have links to click, so they'll be able to find that pretty easily as well.

Oh, very good. Thank you so much for having me on here. Awesome. Thanks for being a part of it, and I can't wait to release this so everyone can experience it. So yeah, you'll be hearing this in real time, so it will be released as you hear me saying these words. Thanks so much for listening to today's episode.

If you're enjoying listening to this podcast, I have a special gift for you. If you leave a review and send me a screenshot, I will send you something personally in the mail just to show you how much I appreciate your help in helping me spread the empowerment across the world and showing other women the magic that they have within themselves.

Just the same way you do, babe. If you are enjoying this episode, then I would love it if you took a screenshot and posted it on your story on Instagram and tagged me at Fuel the Underscore Fire. Let's have a conversation about it. Let's chat about it. Let love to hear your thoughts and your feedback. I'm here to support you in any way that I can.

I love you guys so much and I'm excited to keep coming at you with some new guests, new information and new techniques to keep blowing your mind and making you feel invincible. Thanks for listening. I love you. Bye.