She Quit Adderall, Stopped Drinking, and Finally Made Weight Loss Stick

0:03 Welcome to the No More Wasted Days podcast. I'm your host, Sarah, and today I'm talking to Ashley Beeman. I actually found Ashley Beeman in 2020, I believe, on TikTok. She was talking about body positivity. anti-diet culture. And then all of a sudden she started a 365 day alcohol-free challenge. And I was like, what is she talking about? And she would start every video saying day three of not drinking for 365 days as a person who does not have a problem with alcohol, but has seen what a life without alcohol feels like. And I was like, this is so interesting. And then as I watched her more, I found out she used to be a Beachbody coach. And I was like, okay, there's a lot about this lady where I feel like we have a lot of things

0:49 in common. Fast forward, I've been following her for quite a while now since then. And I've gotten to watch her move from the anti-diet culture into the bikini competing space, which is totally different. But she's done it in a way that is so respectful. And I don't want to say that bikini competing is not respectful either. but in a way that doesn't feel like restrictive. That's what I'm trying to say. And instead, in a way where you can tell she just loves every minute of it and is doing it for like all the right reasons. Isn't there for the body aspect of it, but more for the let's see what I can do aspect for the mindset aspect of it. I do want to tell you I've signed up for Ashley's latest challenge. She's doing an

1:35 eight week challenge that starts on, I believe, October 19th. I'm all signed up for it. I actually talked about it in the episode before, but it's going to take you through the end of the year. So instead of ending 2026 feeling like, ugh, I didn't fuel myself properly, I don't feel my best, you're going to learn how to do this and actually feel your best. And Not turn every holiday into a cycle where you just totally fall off and you're feeling like, gosh, I did it again.

2:05 So I did this because I could feel that voice in my head saying, let's just say forget it to a weight loss journey, which I have been on a very slow weight loss journey in this past year. And I want to end the year with some more momentum. I want to end the year with a little bit more weight loss on this. So if you're interested in that, the link is in the show notes of this episode.

2:24 You can go check it out. And I've also put a coupon code there for the listeners of the podcast. So you can save $ 100 on this challenge. Now, Ashley is going to share all about not only ditching alcohol, but that she ditched Adderall. And that's what we spend the first part of this episode talking about. Ashley started taking Adderall in 2014 because of ADHD. And although she loved how it worked for her, it ended up becoming more of a crutch for her and then at a point an addiction for her. And she knew she had to kick it to the curb. And it was the first thing that she ditched. And then she started working on changing her relationship with food and her relationship with her body. and then came ditching alcohol. And her whole

3:09 story is so motivating. If you're motivated as you listen to it, be sure to go follow Ashley on socials. Just look her up. It's Ashley Beeman, and you will find her on all social media platforms. And then you can also find her podcast, which is called the Fit Freedom Podcast. But again, if you go into your podcast app and you search up Ashley Beeman, you will find her. Lastly, before we dive into the episode, I want to remind you that you can get that October pass to the Daymakers where you can join the Daymakers for 30 days, no subscription, and it's $ 19. If you're looking for a community that's going to support you on your alcohol-free journey, whether you're just at the sober curious stage or you're

3:48 farther along, you need a sober family to walk alongside you, you may just find that in the Daymakers. So check out that link in the show notes and start the Daymakers for 30 days today. All right, now I'm going to let Ashley take it away. Welcome to the podcast, Ashley.

4:03 Thank you.

4:04 I'm so glad you've been able to join us. I've been meaning to have you on. You're one of the people who's been like on my mind. I was like, oh, I got to have Ashley come tell her story. And then I was like, oh, now is the perfect time. A part of your story that's very interesting is you are alcohol free. But one thing I know about you is you struggled with Adderall.

4:26 Early on.

4:27 And I wanted you to actually start with that, which will be different for our audience. But one thing I've found is the addiction parallels really start to layer. So can you take us back to your Adderall addiction? What did you believe it was giving you? And when did you realize the cost was just too high to keep going with it?

4:46 Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for having me on.

4:48 I am very excited. I know we've been connected for a while. And really just resonate with your story. It's very similar to mine. So back in about 2014 is when I got diagnosed with ADHD.

5:04 I was struggling just in life.

5:07 And I remember one day... It was taking me three hours to unload the dishwasher. And I remember telling my husband, something is not right. I don't feel like I can focus on anything.

5:17 And he pushed me to go to the doctor.

5:20 Not pushed me, but was like, why don't you go to the doctor to see if there's anything that can be done. Prior to that, I do have to give a little backstory. I was on a weight loss drug called fentanyl. And so I had been on and off that drug for a long time. And when I went in to get diagnosed for my ADHD, she was like, it looks like you've been self-medicating with Phenermine because it's very similar to Adderall.

5:46 They're on the same wavelength.

5:48 And she said, so do you want to go on Adderall or do you want to maybe just go back on the Phenermine, see if you can get your life in order and then come off of it?

5:57 I'm like, I got 10 pounds to lose, so why not? Let's do it.

6:01 And then once the 10 pounds were gone, I was like, no, I think we need that script for Adderall. And it was good until it wasn't. And it was really, it happened really quickly. I was able to focus. I felt like I had more confidence than I ever had in my entire life. And I was never hungry.

6:20 And so I was like, this is like the magical drug. I don't have to think about food.

6:26 I feel like I'm on top of the world.

6:29 I can get all of these things done.

6:31 My creativity was through the roof and I kind of looked like I was like super woman from the outside.

6:38 And then we went on a trip. So I used to.

6:40 Be a beach body coach back in the day. And we went on a trip that I had earned to Mexico. And I realized really quickly that I needed that Adderall was a crutch.

6:53 For me in order to be around people.

6:56 I didn't really have the confidence unless I had the drug. And that was the first time that I took more than I was prescribed. I'm pretty sure I was probably awake the entire time we were at that trip in Mexico because I just kept.

7:10 Taking more and more.

7:12 So for me, it gave me what I couldn't find within myself. It gave me confidence. It gave me the ability to focus. I felt like I was really creative. But inside, it just really started to destroy everything really quickly.

7:29 Yeah, that's I'm like, I can't even imagine because you were drinking probably two on the Mexico trip. And it was just like everything on top of everything. Yeah. One of the Beachbody Success Club trips is one of those moments where, oh, that should have been my rock bottom. And it wasn't. And I still always look back at it and go, oh, my God, I tried to blame that I had the bad alcohol that everybody talks about.

7:51 I'm like, no, I just drank way too much. I look back at it now. I'm like, oh, my gosh. So when you're quitting, when quitting Adderall, it changed your body. And I know that was a big part of everything. So how then did you rebuild your relationship with weight and control and self-trust? What just what did that look like coming off of Adderall?

8:13 Yeah, it was not easy.

8:15 I gained a lot of weight really quickly, probably about 20 pounds. And it was just I just knew I didn't want to go back because either I was going to die or I was going to be alive for my kids because I could not control myself around it. So I kind of had no choice at the time. I was still coaching for Beachbody. So I would go all in on a program, lose some weight and then end up gaining it back. And it was just this ongoing cycle that I created. for myself, but eventually it got to a point where I just learned to function.

8:49 I started getting really curious about how I could function without this medication and still have ADHD because I did have 80.

8:56 I do have ADHD. Yeah.

8:59 And one of the things that I had to accept was that my day-to-day life is going to look different than a neurotypical person's day-to-day life. And really just learn to ebb and flow with those things. So it was a whole process of healing my relationship to my body, but also learning how to function like a normal human without wanting to go back.

9:23 But I think.

9:23 My will to want to just get better for my kids really pushed me in that way. At the same time, so I quit the Adderall cold turkey and we had already planned to go to a Tony Robbins event six weeks later. And I always say that I really think that really solidified me not to go backwards because it was just one of those things where it just, it was so powerful that it almost was like that line in the sand moment where you're like, okay, now is the next chapter and we're going to learn to heal and we're not going backwards.

9:57 That's really cool. So do you think that your recovery with your, how you look at your body is started at the same time you quit Adderall or were those two different things for you? Because I know you struggled a lot with saying, I've always been on this weight loss journey. I've always gained and lost the same weight.

10:15 So was that all together or was it like ditch Adderall first? And then you were like, okay, now this is the next thing I'm working on.

10:22 Yeah.

10:22 So first it was, let's get rid of the Adderall. And I really worked on myself during that time. But it wasn't for another couple of years did I really start to go down the route of I need to heal my relationship to food because I just did not have a good relationship with food, to my body, to the scale, to just all of the things because I was stuck in a cycle of lose the weight, gain it back, lose the weight, gain it back. And I just I was tired of the cycle. And so like we were talking about before we got on here, I found a book called The Epic Diet and I was like, oh, this is going to change everything. And while it helped me, I feel like every season has its like lessons and can help you. It helped me to really heal my

11:09 relationship with food. But at the same time, I ended up gaining 60 pounds. So it was first it was Adderall. Then it was, all right, let's deal with these other issues around body image and food and all of those things.

11:22 OK, yes, it's so funny because now people are going to hear you talk about the fuck it diet here. And then I'm talking about it on next week's episode as well. And it was not planned at all. It's just been something I've been thinking about. And I even told Ashley, I was like, I was listening to your podcast and you mentioned it. And I was like, oh, that's the one she did. Because I actually found you on TikTok way back during the pandemic, which I can't believe that was a long time ago now, but it was.

11:52 And I found you because you were doing a 365 day alcohol free experiment. That's why you popped up on my feed there. And I was definitely in the alcohol free space at that point. And I was watching you kind of do alcohol free and say an F you to all diet culture. And I was just very intrigued. So why did you choose to quit drinking for one year?

12:16 Because you really had a name on it and you came on every single day and you would say day three of someone quitting drinking who's not an alcoholic. So what, why'd you do it? And were you doing one year, no beer? Or was it just something you were like, I'm doing this on my own or tell me all about it.

12:33 My relationship to alcohol, I grew up, Alcohol was just a part of her life. It was what everybody did to celebrate. It was, I'm sure you know about this a lot. Celebrate, to cry, to drink away the stress, to have fun.

12:46 And it's all I knew.

12:48 And in the process of healing my relationship to my body, there were times where I would go three weeks without alcohol. Or one time I went 90 days without alcohol. And I just kept having this feeling of, I wonder what life is like without alcohol. I've never experienced it. It's all we do. It's all of the people around me do.

13:08 And I actually watched a friend of mine do a 365 day no alcohol challenge. And so at the time I knew that I could go months or weeks without having it. But I was just like, I have this one life to live. And wouldn't it be like I would be doing myself a disservice if I didn't know what it was like to live sober. I didn't want to commit to doing it forever. But I was so curious.

13:37 And so it was in November.

13:39 It was November 15th of 2020. And I kept telling everybody next year, I'm going to go the whole year without drinking alcohol. We're going to do the whole year.

13:47 And finally, I'm like, why? waiting until the new year. And I just committed in November.

13:52 And I'm like, if I can get through the holidays with all of these people drinking.

13:56 Then I'm going to be able to rock the rest of the year. It's going to be great.

14:00 Yeah. Oh, God, if you can do it at the end of the year, because that's been part of my thing. I've got people going through 100 day alcohol free challenge right now. And we don't end until January 1st, because at first I was like, I'll let them end on December 30th so they can decide what they're doing. And I was like, hell no, we're going to the first.

14:17 They're going to ring in new year on the first. And I'm like, that was perfect. So I love that you just stepped right into it. So during that, you didn't decide you were quitting forever during that whole year, because this is, you're going to be like, God, she remembers this. I just remember that there was at some point you drank afterwards. I don't know how far, but what kind of led you then to say, because you don't drink now. You're like, And are you now are you just I don't drink, but it's not a forever thing.

14:48 What does it all look like?

14:49 So I think I ended up going like four hundred and thirty something days. I don't remember the exact number without drinking. And then I just wanted to test the waters. And I was like, let's see what's going to happen. And I remember we were on a family vacation, which is so weird to think that I did this on a family vacation.

15:10 But I'm like, time to test it out, hanging out with my kids. No, let's try. I think I had a margarita and a glass of wine or something. And I hated both of them. I hated the way that I felt. I hate everything about it.

15:25 And so after that, I just kind of was like, this isn't for me. Now, I will be completely transparent. There are maybe one or two times a year where I will have maybe a glass of wine or something. But Like 99.9% of the time I don't. There are times where I've gone years. It's not, but I do like to be transparent because I want to make sure that everyone knows.

15:49 So I just, when people ask me, I just say I don't drink.

15:52 That's the answer is I just don't drink and nobody will probably know when I do drink. Not that I need to hide it or anything, but anytime that I do, it's, I don't know.

16:02 It's just. It's nothing that I share with the world.

16:05 Yeah.

16:06 And you don't love it anymore when you have it. And it's just kind of, and I picture that maybe that's how I could be, but then I kind of know I'm like, I'm.

16:16 A little different. Yeah, no. And it never is.

16:18 I'm like, okay, like the first taste will taste good. And then after that, I.

16:22 Don't even really want this. So why am I even doing this?

16:25 So like I said, 99% of the time, it's a no for me. Life is so much better without it. And I I was the poster child for Mommy Needs Wine.

16:35 I know you'll share pictures and I'm always like, oh, I have one like that. Oh, I have one like that. It's like the work clothes that talk about that you were drinking. I'm sure part of your brand with Beachbody was like, Look at me. I drink and I'm fit. Like that was totally my thing. Isn't that so wild to me?

16:53 Yeah. Like you were talking about some of the darkest moments you had on those trips. Like we're both coaches and we're here drinking the entire weekend away.

17:03 Like it's wild.

17:05 Yeah.

17:05 And I have other, I've had other Beachbody coaches on. I'm, I don't know, not too many, but it's all been very similar. Oh, you're on the success club trip and yeah. which I totally am rolling my eyes, can't see it. But it's like on this success club trip with all these other coaches that are health and fitness coaches and the amount of drinking that was happening. And granted, that was like a cut loose moment. But then at their conference, which is like, you're there to learn how to run your business and promote it to other people. The drinking was crazy at the conference. And my first one that I went to without drinking, I was like, It was eye-opening, but it was also, I was like, okay, it's not

17:45 all drinking. I definitely was looking for the drinking, but I was just like, man, I'm very happy. I'm just happy I don't drink anymore, really. Because I'm never going to say, oh, it was Beachbody. They said, you should do this. And it totally wasn't. But it was definitely the promotion of find your pillars. And I confidently picked one of mine out to be, I'm a drinker. yeah.

18:08 And it's just, oh my gosh.

18:10 Okay.

18:11 So you've quit Adderall, you've ditched alcohol. How, and now it's like, you've got addictive patterns happening here. And I feel like you talked about this. Cause I, when I wrote this question, I was like, this is a little forward, but I feel like you talked about this recently. Like I, and correct me if I'm wrong. I feel like you've used your addictive patterns to your advantage. To be like, but I also don't want to say you're addicted to being the best version of yourself, but from the outside, it looks like you are and not in a bad way at all. But, and I haven't shared with everybody, I did at the beginning, but Ashley is a bikini competitor.

18:47 She's done different wellness competitions and she's badass. You watch and you're like, the transformation has been amazing to watch from like 2020 to, we were talking about this before, to eating butter noodles every day on TikTok and telling people about it. Eat your butter noodles, damn it. If you want them, eat them. To like, just like the amazing amount of discipline, which we'll talk about too. But it was a very long way to say, do you think the addictive patterns have helped you or have you had to watch it at all as you've done all of this?

19:21 I think both.

19:22 Well, it's important to say exactly both. There was one moment where I was like, OK, if I can be addicted to these things, then I can get addicted to waking up early, to fueling my body properly, to just these basic habits.

19:38 So that helped me.

19:40 When I was coming out of the Adderall to just be able to function like a human on a day-to-day basis. I was like, if I can do those things, then I can take care of myself and grow my business and do all of the other things I needed to do.

19:53 Now, when it comes to competing, there is definitely a very fine line.

19:57 And anytime I've worked with two different coaches to step on stage as a bikini competitor, and I've had very open conversations. This is my past. I have had issues with disordered eating. I do have addictive personality. And one of the things that I always say, even though I have really big goals with competing because I love it, is I'm not willing to do anything to get on stage.

20:20 So for me, when I look at health, I look at like all encompassing health, meaning it's not just the body.

20:27 It's the body. It's the mind. It's the soul. And it all has to come together.

20:31 And so I kind of have the people around me who are able to call me out and be like, hey, I think like We haven't gotten to that point yet, so that's good. But if it were to get to a point where they're like, I think this is going a little bit to the unhealthy side, they're allowed to call me out and they're allowed to say those things to me. So I always have to do like a check in with myself just to make sure.

20:55 But so far it's been good.

20:57 So I do think that you can use those addictive personalities to your advantage. And it's just having the self-awareness to know when it's going to go too far or not.

21:07 Yeah, because it can definitely go in a wrong direction with health and fitness. And that's, I want to put that out there for people because I often tell myself like, why can't you just get addicted to eating carrots? Why is it always Cheetos with you? And I'm just like, okay, we can do this. We can change it. But it is so much more than that. And I think that's one thing when you ditch something like Adderall and we'll talk about identity shifts too, for sure. You have to make an identity shift. And I think that's what you've done so amazing at when it comes to how you talk about healthy eating in your body. Because even following you, I never feel like it's this, you have to do this type of eating, and there's definitely no shame with it.

21:49 It's a very cool way to do it. So after experiencing both diet culture and the anti-diet movement, how did you balance the self-acceptance and the sustainable weight loss? Because that's something that I definitely... struggle with. And I think there's a lot of women who quit drinking and they're quitting drinking because they hope it'll help them lose weight.

22:11 And I'm always like, please don't quit drinking because of that, because sometimes you gain weight and then it's really upsetting. But just how did you find that balance between the two worlds? Because they're so different.

22:22 Yeah.

22:23 So I have the addictive personality. So I always say it's a pendulum swing. I went from being super deep in diet culture to all the way over to the other side of where there were no rules, but in reality, there ends up being some rules in the anti-diet space. I learned a little bit from both, but I finally found my middle ground. So I had gained 60 pounds and I actually really healed my relationship to my body during that time.

22:49 And that sounds backwards, but I was more confident than ever.

22:53 I felt great, but I was wildly unhealthy. I have Hashimoto's and hypothyroid and my labs came back and they wouldn't even read on the labs because.

23:03 The numbers were so off. It was just like, oh, wow.

23:06 My antibodies were like 2,500 plus. And I'm like, okay, we need to do something and we need to fix this. And I did not want to go back to gaining and losing weight over and over again. I'm like, there has to be a different way to do this. And so- I guess I'm up for 365 day challenges. I'm not sure, but I committed to 365 days.

23:28 Me too.

23:29 I really like them.

23:31 And that was actually before I quit drinking.

23:33 I committed and then three months into that is when I decided to quit drinking. So I just said, you know what? I'm going to show up and we're not going to start over. If we fall down, we're just going to pick ourselves back up. The next meal, the next hour, the next day, even if it's the next.

23:49 Week, And we're going to see what happens in a year.

23:53 And when I got to like that three month mark where I decided to quit drinking alcohol, that really allowed me to be even more consistent because I was the weekends I had. I was able to have a weekend, although the sugar cravings come in when you first start stop drinking. But I was able to balance that out.

24:10 And I just found my middle ground along the way. Where I was able to enjoy the food that I wanted to eat, but I could still, I found tracking macros, which was really a game changer for me. I hadn't done that in the past. And I was able to still eat the foods that I wanted to and be on this 80-20 journey, but still see results. I lost like 25 pounds in the first year, which a lot of people are going to be like, that's not very much.

24:36 But I was ecstatic because I had not gained the weight back.

24:40 And so it was just this, like, like you said, this identity shift where I asked myself, like, what if you just became her? And when I say that, like, I would look at girls who had like abs and shredded bodies and all of these things. And I thought that's what I wanted. But in reality, what I wanted was their lifestyle. I wanted a girl that woke up early.

25:03 I wanted to be the girl that liked going to the gym and had these habits and things. And it was the same thing with the alcohol, like, what if I just experienced this? You have this one life to live. So cool that we get to experience all these different things. Let's just experience what this is like. And that was where I started to find my middle ground. And then, of course, the addictive personality takes it to the next level and has to get on stage.

25:27 You're like, but what could I do that's even more extreme? I've already done this amazing thing because I remember I was just obsessed with your idea of I can still eat whatever I want to. there's no right or wrong food, which I've always been pretty good at understanding that. I'm like, food has no moral value. We can eat whatever we want.

25:47 And I've never been a person who, when I binge, I'm like, okay, now I'm going to go work out so much. Cause I'm kind of like, that doesn't work. But I am like, The idea to just keep going for one year and say, I'm just going to, if I fall off, I'm going to get back on. It wasn't even that you were like, for one year, I'm going to be perfect. It was just for one year, I'm going to show up and be on a weight loss journey, but not feel like I have to force it in any way. And that really resonates with me, especially where I am now. So it's cool to see like it works if you do it that way.

26:22 Yeah. And I think like we're really... rushed like as women. Let's try to get there as soon as possible. Let's do this.

26:29 But there's nowhere to get to because once you get there, we have to keep going. And so it's learning how to fit it.

26:37 Into your day to day life.

26:39 And sometimes it looks like we're eating perfectly, tracking our macros and other days we don't.

26:46 Even like last week or this.

26:48 Week, I shared like I ate over my macros and we just get up the next day and we keep going.

26:53 Yeah.

26:54 And it's not the end of the world. And it's just kind of like now I get, and I love too, that you talk a lot about collecting the data, looking at it and being able to just say, this is what's working. This is what's not. Now let's, we have that information. Now let's keep going forward with it. So it all makes it a lot less easier and a lot more easier than like your, your contain, you have to fit into your little containers. I've talked a lot about the color coded containers on here, those damn things.

27:21 I never had the I had the color coded containers, but I found them to be ridiculous. So I just measured everything. But I was a 21 day fix girly for a while, especially after I quit drinking. That was one where I was like, I'm just going to do these damn containers and really stick to it and get addicted to that. And I'm like, wow, it really works.

27:40 But it was also because I was not eating enough.

27:42 That was the first pro.

27:44 80 Day Obsession was the first time that I ever in my entire life gone 90 days without drinking.

27:49 Oh, really?

27:50 And see, I didn't do it on 80. I was like, I'm not going to quit drinking. I don't care what you say.

27:54 And what's wild about that is I felt so good.

27:59 And I don't know if you remember.

28:01 But right after ADD obsession was over, they sent us back to Mexico. So we were on this super strict diet, no drink, nothing. And then we just went to Mexico and I'm like, like, I didn't know how to handle myself.

28:15 Right.

28:16 Right.

28:17 So in a YouTube post and on Instagram, I think you posted this one everywhere. You had a before and after, and it was like a six-year transformation or something like that. That's the cool thing too. If you follow Ashley, nothing's like, look what I did in two weeks. It's always, this is where I started, then this is how it happened.

28:36 But you talked about that discipline, like I'm going to just read it because I actually wrote it down here. So weight loss, you said that discipline eventually became devotion. And then you said, discipline says, I have to do this. And devotion says, this is who I am. And with this mindset, it can take a woman or anyone into the, you can put it into your alcohol-free journey or weight loss journey. And I love that it's the devotion to yourself is what you went into. Can you expand on, do you remember that post? Can you expand on it a little bit?

29:08 Yeah, because I talk about that a lot. I think at the beginning, we do have to use a little bit of discipline.

29:13 So I've studied a lot of NLP, which is neuro-linguistic programming, which is the subconscious mind.

29:19 So it's how our patterns work.

29:20 And how to rewire your patterns and things like that. So the goal is to get things to be effortless. And so a lot of people will come to me and they'll be like, you're so disciplined. And I'm just like, I'm not so disciplined. This is just the way that my life is. But if you were to go back six years ago, I wasn't doing this. same things that I'm doing now that I was doing six years ago when that transformation started.

29:44 So it's almost like at the beginning, you do have to use.

29:47 A little bit of willpower and you do have to use discipline, but you just slowly start creating this new identity where it's just things that you do.

29:58 And it's the way that you show up.

30:00 So I don't really like to call it discipline anymore because I don't feel like it's discipline.

30:06 I feel like it's just devotion to who I am and who I have created.

30:11 And that was the one powerful question that I asked myself was, what if you just became her?

30:17 And that was part of that process.

30:19 And you actually, it's almost like you are becoming your most important person. You're going to take care of yourself in the most important way. And- Just I love that. Just be her. Because I always think that with when I quit drinking and I was like, what if I just ditch alcohol? What if I just ditch this whole personality that I had before and become this new personality?

30:41 So I'm kind of excited to see where it can go with a weight loss journey or beyond that, too. And so what does I ask every how every guest this one? What does the idea of no more wasted days mean to you?

30:54 For me, it's really just like being present. Because when alcohol was a part of my life, I thought I was being present. But in reality, I was missing so much. It was such a wild experience to... I felt like I was experiencing life for the first time, like that whole first year.

31:14 It was the coolest experience ever.

31:17 And that whole year, that's how I want to live every single day.

31:21 Even if it's just... basic things that I.

31:24 Do in the morning, having my coffee, being present for that, getting the kids up, being present, being where my feet are.

31:31 And I say that a lot. It's like, just be where your feet are.

31:33 And we have times where we get in the clouds and we're in our head a little bit too, but it's just coming back down and enjoying every little piece of life that you can without trying to numb out with certain things or not just not being present.

31:47 Yeah.

31:47 Yeah.

31:48 That's what I found too. And when you say it was like a whole new life, that's how I was just like, this is like a whole new world. And I kept thinking, do other people know about this? Do other people know that if you quit drinking, your life feels so much easier and simpler and you're not stressed over the things you used to be stressed over? It's just an amazing gift. And you can then focus in on the bigger goals for yourself. So I want to talk a little bit about your upcoming challenge. I have signed up for it because I was like, ooh, this is perfect timing. And it was funny because I was telling my husband, I was like, if I sign up early, I get $ 100 off. Got to check in with the husband here. And he's like, what is it? I'm like,

32:28 it's going to take me through the end of the year. And I was like, and you know how last year when it was between that time from Christmas to New Year's and we felt like shit and we were like, why do we do this to ourselves every year? I was like, we won't do it to ourselves. If like, if I'm doing this, I'm going to be like, I'm in it. So it's not, you're not taking people through a hardcore, intense challenge, right? It's called fit and fueled, correct?

32:52 Yeah. Fueled and focused.

32:54 Fueled and focused. I was like, I'm going to totally get it wrong.

32:56 You just like totally explained it a hundred percent. I was like, oh, I don't need to do any more talking. I think all of the talking for me. So I ran this challenge last year, and my goal is to help people find their 80-20, really. Let's lay a foundation to go into the new year feeling good. Let's learn how to navigate enjoying holiday things while still putting ourselves at the top of the priority list and still putting our goals up there. and be able to really just navigate all of the food things.

33:29 Because I feel like we get so.

33:31 Consumed with either we need to be perfect or F it, like we were talking about before.

33:36 This can be the three months where I just don't do anything, which is totally what I did last year. I got to Halloween and I was like, eh, I'll get back on January 1st.

33:44 Yeah.

33:44 And I was like, the damage you can do, and I don't want to say the damage, but I basically had this amazing weight loss from like September to October 31st. And I was like, wow, I'm doing it. And I just gained all of that back and then felt terrible. And then it was really hard to get back on track afterwards. So yes, I totally interrupted you. I'm sorry.

34:06 Oh, that's okay.

34:06 There was one holiday season that I actually, we had planned that we were going to do a weight loss challenge as a family in January. And I, tried to see how much weight I could gain.

34:17 Oh my gosh. You're like, I can really do this. So then I can have a big loss right at the beginning. Yeah, no, I'm very excited to be able to do, have this season be like the, you were talking about it on your podcast, be the momentum time of the year. And going through and building that momentum now.

34:36 So when January 1st comes, you can actually step into your goals with a lot more confidence this way.

34:42 Yeah, I always say there's different phases when it comes to health and fitness, right? And unfortunately, a lot of times we're just solely focused on that fat loss phase. However, I think there's a phase before then. There's like, let's lay the foundation and gain some momentum. I'm not saying that you're not going to see fat loss because.

34:58 You probably will.

35:00 But let's get the habits down. Let's learn to deal with the food now. And then in January, if you want to dial it in and go all in, you're already going to have that foundation and that momentum laid.

35:10 That's the goal of the challenge. Yeah.

35:12 And you have the chance even to do the non-tracked days and then going right back into a track today.

35:17 Okay.

35:18 On Thanksgiving, you can have what you want to have if you choose to do that. And then the next day, get right back on track, which I think is the hardest part.

35:25 Yes. And we're going to go over that and learn that for sure.

35:29 But what I would love to do is give your listeners the coupon because $ 100, the early bird is off. But I can send you a code where anybody that listens to the podcast.

35:38 Can still get $ 100 off and they can get in.

35:41 Oh, that would be awesome. So I'll put that link in the show notes for everybody so you can check it out.

35:45 And I would.

35:46 Love to see some people in the challenge that kind of go, oh, I listened to the podcast. I joined because I think that would be cool. But definitely check it out, especially if you're like me. I could feel it creeping in on me. Like I'm already starting to loosen the reins a little bit. And I know what I could do then if I just say I'm going to.

36:04 And I totally play the card of I don't do anything fun anymore. I don't drink.

36:09 I don't smoke.

36:10 I'm so boring. I deserve this.

36:12 And I'm like, no.

36:13 We're not going to play that game this year.

36:15 Yeah.

36:15 Yes. I love it.

36:17 And then where can everybody find you on social media and anything else that, and I, or if they want to work with you with one-on-one coaching, how do they do that?

36:25 So everywhere I'm on Tik TOK, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, all the places it's just Ashley Beeman. So you can just search Ashley Beeman and I will pop up and you can just send me a message and.

36:35 I will respond wherever. And we can check.

36:38 Perfect. All right. Thank you so much for being on the podcast. I really appreciate it.

36:42 Thank you so much. It was fun. Yeah.

36:44 Hope you enjoyed that interview with Ashley as much as I enjoyed getting to listen to her chat. I told her before we sat down that I've been really listening to her podcast a lot. I've been finding it really motivating. So to get to actually sit down and talk with her today was a really big treat for me. I loved hearing her Adderall story because I've just heard bits and pieces of it and hearing it was super motivating of the how we can change our mindset and be in one place and then take away one substance and then start working on the next step and then take away the next substance and then really dive into becoming that person that we've always wanted to be or that vision of ourselves that we've always had but never been

37:27 able to quite figure out how to get there. Remember, if you're feeling inspired by this story, go follow Ashley on social media. It's Ashley Beeman. And check out the link in the show notes if you're interested in her fueled and focused program. And if you haven't already, it would mean the world to me if you could rate and review this podcast. I know it seems strange, but ratings and reviews are a huge way to help out podcasts.

37:49 It's totally free for you and it's a big support of this podcast. So if you enjoy listening each week, be sure to subscribe on whatever platform you listen on and rate and review the podcast. All right. Thank you so much for listening. And remember, life is short. Don't waste another day of it to alcohol.