4 the Health of it!
4 the Health of it!
Balancing life as a wife, mother, & servicewoman in USAF with Amber Lacy
On this episode of 4 the Health of it, I talk with former USAF Staff Sergeant, Amber Lacy, about her self journey into the wellness and nutrition field.
Welcome to another edition of For the Health of It. I'm your host, Cory and K-Pad Paget. And today we have with us uh a longtime friend of mine, family friend. Uh our moms went to school together, and we went to school together. Uh Amber Fields. Amber, what is your last name now? I know you got married.
Amber:Lacey now. Amber Lacey. Yes.
Korian:Good deal, good deal. So, Amber, just just uh main thing I want to re- uh talk to you about today is just your fitness journey. I've been following you along uh on your Instagram and whatnot, and I see you got the name OneFit Mom. Uh to me uh what inspired that?
Amber:Um, I would say one Fit Mom came about, probably during the pandemic, um it was a really stressful time. At the time, I was active duty military, and then I was also a mom to two kids. And so all of those things were new to me and it was very overwhelming. And so um, yeah, it was, I think it sparked a lot of anxiety, and I had never dealt with that before. And so for me, it was a new thing that I was going through and just trying to navigate through that. Um, I was like, I have to do something because I started developing like um heart palpitations, and there were other health issues that I had started to encounter, and I was like, I have to do something. I was going to doctors, um everyone was like, Oh, you're fine, but I didn't feel fine. And so for me, um that's kind of where I really got consistent with working out. I've always been active, I've always been an athlete, um, but never really got into weight training like I am now. And so that kind of is where it started for me. Um yeah, and here we are today, four years later. I can't believe it's been that long, but um still going strong. Okay.
Korian:I tell everybody, uh, the last four years have been on like fast forward, basically. Like uh just sitting in the house like a year and a half of those, I mean, that proves it. But uh, you were talking about you were having heart palpitations, like, and then you said your your doctors were telling you you feel uh you you're good. So can you talk to me? Like, was your blood pressure elevated? Was your BMI out of whack? What's up with that?
Amber:So um initially it started, I would say I also experienced um, just to go back, um, a little bit of postpartum as well. And so I think that's really when it started for me. I wasn't getting much sleep. Um, I worked in a high stress level um position in the military. And I was also, again, a new mom to uh at the time I had a 15-month-old and a newborn. And so I think all of those things piled on top of each other. Um, it really, and if I'm being honest, I noticed it maybe for six months that I just kind of ignored it. And then, and when it got to the point where it was like, okay, something's not right. And when I say heart palpitations, I mean, you know, just the skipping of the heartbeat and feeling like I'm being attacked by a bear is how they describe it, how how a counselor would describe it. But um yeah, just experiencing all these symptoms and I was going to the doctors. So during that time, I did my my blood pressure was elevated. I was getting high readings, and that was the first time that I'd I'd ever received a high reading for um high blood pressure. And that lasted almost a year. And so it also kickstarted my passion for nutrition because the more research that I did, I realized like, okay, we have to now check what are you eating? Are you working out? Because it goes first, it goes more into it than just are you, you know, running and working out, being active. You also have to check the what are you stressing about. And so there were a lot of things that I um I realized I needed to change in my life, and that's kind of what led me on the path of nutrition.
Korian:Okay. Uh so talk to me about that. Because you did, I mean, we're kind of going at the end and then working all the way back to the beginning. But can you talk me through your uh you did like a 30-day juice or 60-day juice? Can you talk to me about that?
Amber:Um, so before I did that, I started off um doing like a 21-day fast. And that was just through my church. Um, you know, I did the Daniel fast, and that was my first time ever doing any type of cleanse or detox. And for me, it was more spiritual for more spiritual reasons. Um, and the the way that I was eating was just a part of that. But during that time, I noticed that I was sleeping better, my energy was coming back, I wasn't experiencing the heart palpitations, and so I was like, okay, I'm I'm on to something. And um that kind of led me into, and again, when I during my research, I discovered juicing. Um, I found this guy, his name is John Rose. I don't know if you've ever heard of him on YouTube, but um he helped millions of people through Juice Fast. And so I just kind of picked up on that. And um as I dug into it more and did more research, I learned how to juice, what type of juicer to buy, and I just started doing that. And so I started off with a um three-day juice fast. Okay, and probably one of the hardest things that I had ever done at that time. And um that kind of led me into juicing daily. So that's a part of my everyday routine now.
Korian:Okay.
Amber:And so, well, I'm not gonna say a diet, it was a raw food fast. Um, and that's where I only ate fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, smoothies, nuts, and seeds, no cooked foods.
Korian:No cooked foods, okay. And what what was the thought process behind that? Um what can you so like what were you hoping to gain out of that? Or what did you gain out of that?
Amber:So for me, again, it was so just to go back, um, when I mentioned I was dealing with a lot of health issues. So on top of that, there were beyond the health or the heart palpitation, sorry, and the high blood pressure, there were a lot of hormonal issue imbalances. And so I really just wanted to feel like my old self again. And that's kind of my mindset going into it. Um, I would say, and I also last year injured my back. Oh, wow. And so during weight training, I injured my back and I went to the doctor get to get it checked out. They told me that, you know, oh, it's you should be back to normal in about a month, give it a few weeks. A few weeks pass, still having back issues, and it was so bad to the point where I could not sit down for a long period of time. I couldn't stand up. It it felt like, you know, one of those tweaks, but that led into pretty much a almost a year-long injury.
Korian:Oh, wow.
Amber:And so I knew it, the root cause of it was inflammation. And so that also had a played a huge part in why I did that. And so um get getting started into that fast, like I said, within three weeks, I started noticing no pain. Um, I was feeling clear-minded, I was able to sleep, and just a number of other health benefits that came along with it. And that was that was intended to be a 21-day raw food, and it turned into a 60-day.
Korian:Okay. All right, went from one month to three.
Amber:Yes.
Korian:So let's back all the way back. It's 2008. Uh, let's say February-ish. Now let's go, let's go January. Yeah, January 2008. I'm at Perk, and like I said, we went to high school together. We're from the same era. Okay. Uh, I remember seeing the article in the paper. I can't remember if this was online or I actually saw it in hand. Uh, there was a picture of you. You said you were an athlete, and it says something about a thousand points. Did you score a thousand points that year or your overall?
Amber:I think that was a combined number throughout my three years at Bilexi High.
Korian:Okay. All right. Talk to me about that. Uh just just your sports career at Biloxi.
Amber:Um, I enjoyed it. Um, it didn't when I think back, I mean, those were great accomplishments, but during the time I was just playing ball, doing what I'd always done. Um, and that's not toot my own horn or anything. But um no, I grew up.
Korian:You were great, though. Like you were really good.
Amber:Thank you. No, I grew up playing basketball, and so for me, it was just me going out there having fun. Um, like I said, I started off actually, I started off at D Iverville in my ninth grade year. And then I transferred to Biloxi my 10th, and I played there from 10, 10th, 11th, 12th. And so um, yeah, Coach Brown, he was our coach at the time. He trusted me and he allowed me to play and be myself. And so, yeah, I loved it at Biloxi. Good. Had had fun times there.
Korian:So uh where did you go after high school?
Amber:So after high school, I went to Meridian Community College. I played there for two years. Um, tore my ACL. And so that kind of it, I tore my ACL of my first year. Um, and that experience, I think that was like an eye-opener for me, or I guess where my love for the game changed. Um, I was like, this is putting a lot of wear and tear on my on my body. And so um I think as time went on, I kind of lost the passion for basketball. But I still enjoyed playing because, like I said, it just came natural to me, but um, it just wasn't my main focus. And so year two, I played a full season, did very well. Um, but I was just ready for a change.
Korian:Gotcha, gotcha. And then I I remember you being at Southern Miss when I was there.
Amber:Went to Southern Miss. I went there um the year 2010 to 2011.
Korian:Okay.
Amber:And after that, um I decided to move back home. I took an internship here and um worked that summer. And then after that summer, I ended up moving to Vegas. And so I spent a couple years in Vegas, and that's where I joined the military.
Korian:Okay. So so basically after you tore your ACL that second year, you just said you're done with the sports. I did. I did.
Amber:Okay.
Korian:All right, and then uh what made you move out to Vegas?
Amber:Um, I found my husband. Okay, all right. And I wanted, I've always been a very spontaneous purse, the child, I would say. Um my mom will tell you, like, Amber is not, she's out-of-the-box kid. And so I've always been that way. And anything that was spontaneous, I enjoyed doing. And so when the opportunity presented itself to move, I was like, you know what, that doesn't sound like a bad idea. Um, and although it was very spontaneous, it was scary. But again, it was something that I was excited about. And I'm glad I did because it allowed me to gain my independence and allowed me to grow as a person, as an individual. And so I learned a lot during that transition. And even after joining the military, I learned a lot as well. Um, a lot of maturing that came along with that. So that was a good, I feel like it was a good move.
Korian:Okay. What made you join the military?
Amber:Um, what made me join the military? I think it was one of those things where it's kind of drilled, at least in my family, where it's like you either get a job or you join the military. Right. Or you go to school, right? Right. And so I had done both of those. I went to school, I got gotten a job, and the only thing that was left was the military. And so also I had student loans from when I went to USM. So I had to pay those check as well. Gotcha. Um, and so that's kind of what led me down that path. Um, I knew it wasn't going to be long-term for me, but um, I enjoyed every bit of it. I I learned a lot in the military and I was able to experience things that I don't think I would have experienced had I not.
Korian:Okay. All right. Uh, and what was your job in Military?
Amber:I started off as a knowledge operations manager, and so that's pretty much equivalent to like information technology, IT. Okay. Um, and then they split our career fields, and then I went over to administration. And so I did my last six years in administration. Okay. Um, and so that's that's pretty much where I um where I ended.
Korian:Gotcha. And what was your highest rank?
Amber:I was in E5. Okay.
Korian:And and that's uh staff sergeant. Staff sergeant. All right. Hey, congratulations. Uh, and thank you for serving up the street. Uh not everybody can do it. I go down that path. Uh but hey, uh, kudos to you. Did your sister go in the military?
Amber:No, she um she did not. She worked in DC. Okay. So she had been in DC for the past 15 or so years.
Korian:Gotcha, gotcha. So you're you're what's so it's 2020. You're still in the military, right?
Amber:Yes.
Korian:Okay. All right. Uh, so you did you are you still in the military currently or are you retired?
Amber:No, I separated. And so during that time, um, that's kind of where that transition period came where I was like, you know, I knew that again, I knew it wasn't going to be long term for me. Um, I just didn't know what was next for me. And during 2020 is when I kind of, I guess if you will, gain the courage to make the decision. Because when you go from stability, financial stability, and I mean, you pretty much have it laid out for so many years and to just make a drastic decision like that, um, it does require a lot of thought. And so um, once I finally was certain I prayed about it, I was like, okay, yeah, it's time. So that was during in the height of the pandemic. It was, I think I submitted my separation paperwork, maybe in it was a quick turnaround July. Okay. And I had separated by the end of November. So well, really officially at the end of 2020. So 2021 was my official separation date, but I just used my my lead that I had saved up for those last few months.
Korian:Right, right, right. I mean, you all were you on FMLA? Does the military do fmla?
Amber:Um, I don't what is that?
Korian:Uh it's like the maternity leave and whatnot?
Amber:Because you okay, we they do offer maternity leave. No, so maternity leave, you um when I was in, it was 16 weeks, I believe.
Korian:Okay.
Amber:So you get that right after you give birth.
Korian:Gotcha.
Amber:And so you go straight into maternity leave from there. So no, I actually continued for a year and I separated uh almost two years after.
Korian:Gotcha, gotcha. So when was your uh second child, second son born?
Amber:He was born August 2019.
Korian:2019. Oh, okay, gotcha.
Amber:Oh, he was born the year before 2020. Yes.
Korian:Okay, okay, all right, man. That is rough. Uh I know my my wife and I, we had our child 2021, so she got pregnant towards the end of 2020.
Amber:Okay.
Korian:I mean, I don't know if you know, but she's in the medical field, and it was rough, man. It was rough. Even me as a teacher. I mean, not trying to toot my own horn, but it's that I I'm thankful, thankful to be back to some kind of normalcy.
Amber:Yes, yes.
Korian:So, so let's talk about you said it's 2020, you're going through your health concerns and whatnot, and you're trying to figure out what you mentioned, what's his name? John Ross, or what was the guy's name? John Ross. John Ross, okay.
Amber:I'm sorry, John Rose. John Rose.
Korian:John Rose, okay. All right, and besides him, who's somebody else that you kind of reached out to or looked up and just studied their work?
Amber:Um, so I kind of went down, and I'm sure like most people who are dealing with health issues and they're just looking for a quick answer and they're not getting answers from their doctors, they go down this rabbit hole. And so I went down a rabbit hole. Um, I went through a bunch of naturopathic doctors because I wanted to find the root cause. Um and the more that I, the more research that I did, and the more, I mean, I spent thousands of dollars and I I'm not exaggerating on the pro on the cost, thousands of dollars on naturopathic doctors who pretty much told me the same thing and gave me herbal supplements, which no, not to that, but um it just for me, it still wasn't getting down to the root cause. And again, that's what I was looking for. And so um people like um what's his name? Dr. Josh X. I don't know if you're familiar with him. Um, he's a doctor, uh the influencer on YouTube, but he's also a um doctor who helped his mom through cancer, her battle with cancer. And um I discovered uh Dr. Yaki Awaken. He's someone who I actually still follow his work. He's um he's he's a biochemist, but he kind of like a he acts as a doctor, but he helps a lot of people through um a lot of health issues. And so there are just a few people, but the person who I really um follow now is Dr. Brooke Goldner Goldner, and um she reversed her lupus, and so she's she's a medical doctor. She at a young age was diagnosed with lupus, and um she her met her husband, who was a nutritionist at the time, and he helped her with her nutrition, and um she discovered as she just started exercising, changing her lifestyle, her numbers were changing, and so um now she helps thousands of people cure their autoimmune disease. So I um I I'm very into finding the cure and the root cause, and so that's kind of what I look into, and that's kind of what influenced what I am about today. Okay.
Korian:Are you training anybody else?
Amber:Or am I training anyone? So I actually do more like health coaching. And so that's just for me, I like to look at the whole picture, not just fitness or nutrition, but also like how are you managing your stress? Um, you know, things like that, just finding other alternatives outside of those that once one isolated thing.
Korian:Right. So how did you how did you go about uh doing that?
Amber:Um, it really just started from word of mouth. I started with my family and then, well, I would say with myself, people just asking me, like, what are you doing? Like you look good, um, and just sharing my personal journey. And it started with family, and then that led to friends, and then friends telling their friends, and family telling their friends. And so um I get people come up to me all the time or they'll message me and say, Hey, you know, this is what, and I don't claim to be a doctor or anything like that. Right now I'm studying nutrition, but um, I do do consider myself a health coach. And so when people come up to me, they're like, Hey, what are you doing? The first thing I ask them is I like to to look at their entire lifestyle. You know, how are you eating? How are you sleeping? What are you doing to manage your stress? And so forth and so on. So um, that's kind of how it started for me. Okay.
Korian:Uh cool. Is there any particular number of clients you got?
Amber:Um, I would say right now, currently about five that I'm working with actively, but um, over the course of since I've been doing this, I would say close to 20, 25. Okay.
Korian:That's what's up. That is what's up. Uh so we talked about uh you getting into shape and whatnot, and you said you always kind of been an athlete. Have you ever considered doing any uh any crossfit uh events or or powerlifting or weightlifting or even bodybuilding?
Amber:To be honest with you, no. Um that's not really my thing. My thing is just so in the beginning of my fitness journey, I was all about looking good on the outside, but I'm more so focused on looking good and feeling good on the inside. Um, because I notice a lot of fitness influencers, they deal with a lot of health issues. And, you know, I feel like that's a really important responsibility to have, you know, influencing people and they're looking at you and they're like, oh, what is she doing or what is he doing? I want to do that, but they don't know what you're dealing with personally. And so for me, I'm more focused on um ensuring that I'm healthy from the inside out. And so I focus more on like again, your whole health. So nutrition, you know, mental health and things like that.
Korian:Okay. And what do you do currently as a career?
Amber:So right now, I just I went back to school and um I got my undergrad in psychology. Okay. And so initially I wanted to pursue mental health counseling. And so I still, I still will. I'm not discounting anything. Right. But right now, nutrition is my focus. So I'm I'm studying um nutrition, currently studying nutrition. And um hopefully eventually I can merge the two. Yeah, and so um, but my focus is uh sticking to health coaching and just you know, getting those certifications.
Korian:Gotcha, gotcha. So talk to me about uh balancing uh post-pandemic. Uh so current like kind of right now, ish uh balancing your job as a wife, your job as a mom, and then your your job is taking care of yourself because that's I mean, I was telling somebody earlier, I mean, the most important person in your life is you because yes, working something last. So tell me how you balance yourself or balance your life and your workload.
Amber:Yes, um, so it's not easy. At least it was not easy for me in the beginning. Um, I found myself the intent was to put myself first, but when you have small children, obviously they come first. And so um early on after separating, it was because I was also a full-time student. So I'm a full-time student, full-time mom, full-time wife. And so um, for me, it was they were the priority, they were the priority as much as I wanted school to be and or to put myself first. Um it sometimes I had to take those breaks. And so there were times where I took breaks and with the help of my help of my husband, him helping out, um, and the help of my family, that helped out a lot. But um, it took a while for me to put myself first. Um, again, I was going to the when I would go for my checkups and they would tell me, you know, oh, do you have high blood pressure? Does this run for your family? That's when I really took it seriously, where I said, you know what, I have to put myself first. And so that's when I um started prioritizing my health and um mental health, and really just started taking care of myself. And now it looks like self first, and then I can take care of my family. Right. And so um I kind of operate every day in that way.
Korian:Okay, all right, and that's not selfish. I mean, I there's probably somebody out there thinking, oh man, she's I used to feel that way.
Amber:Mom guilt is real, it's a real thing.
Korian:I again you cannot pour into somebody with an empty glass. So I'm I'm selfish myself, last child of family. Uh, so I mean, I I'm all about putting me first and then handling uh what I got next for you. So you said no to the athletic career. Uh but I I've like I said, I follow you on Instagram. Uh I see you got your kids. Is that in basketball or is some kind of short sports or something like that?
Amber:I have them in everything. So they're in basketball, they just finish swim, um, football, soccer, anything that comes up, I try and get them involved. And um really I just want to figure out what they enjoy. I always ask them, like, what are you into right now, or what would you like to play? And even if they hadn't tried it yet, they still hadn't tried baseball. So baseball will be next. Okay. Um, just to see what they're into. Um, the same with music. And I just had them in a fashion show last weekend just to see, you know, if it was something that they were interested in. And so yeah, I just I I believe in exposing your children to every as much as possible to figure out what their likes and dislikes are. And so yeah, they're they're involved in everything, but currently playing basketball.
Korian:Okay. Is that something that you your mom and your uh folks inspired uh put into you?
Amber:She did. Um, my mom was very big on being involved. Um, I can remember her putting me in pageants and I remember playing tennis and basketball, softball. I I did it all. She had me in etiquette classes.
Korian:Oh wow. So did you did you play uh tennis for the school or just like no?
Amber:I took private lessons.
Korian:Okay, okay. All right, uh, I don't know if you know, but my wife played tennis in college.
Amber:Oh, did she?
Korian:Yeah, I beat her. So I record against one each other uh against each other's one-on-one. I'll beat her once when she came back to beat me the next time. Uh but uh is your husband an athlete or does he have any sports experience?
Amber:Uh he played uh football, some football in college, but um, and then he's played a little bit of basketball. He was actually um a part of the one of the Air Force base teams, okay, uh basketball teams. And so he's athletic also. Um, but yeah, football and basketball were his things.
Korian:Good deal, good deal. So, how old are your children now?
Amber:So my oldest, he's six, and then my youngest, he's four. He'll be five August 5th. So two weeks. Oh wow, man, you yes, 15 months apart.
Korian:I was about to say, Emory, you put some jokers out. Yeah. I would have been stressing too. Is your husband okay? God dog.
Amber:No, he went through it too. We both went through it, yes, for sure.
Korian:I remember, I remember uh when my wife had our baby. I had one co-worker, Miss Mabry. She was like, uh, I told her we used to have duty together. I told her, I said, you know, in nine months we're gonna have another one. It's gonna be a boy. And then like two months after that, she was like, Coach Patrick, how's it going? I was like, Yeah, that baby ain't happening no time.
Amber:When she got a dose of baby number one, right?
Korian:I was like, No, not again, not again. But uh about 25 months apart, so okay, that's good.
Amber:I think the more space, the better. Yeah, yeah.
Korian:Uh and you know, my my three-year-old, she can kind of help around. Uh she can she can keep herself busy. I'll say yes. So that's that's the main thing.
Amber:Yeah, they don't require as much um, you know, just following around them. They're a little bit more independent by the age.
Korian:So uh let's talk about what goals you have for yourself, your career, and all that. So yeah, just just talk to them.
Amber:So um my ultimate goal, like I said, is to become a dietitian. That's the ultimate goal in the nutrition realm, but also a counselor and merging the two and helping as many people as I can through um health coaching and also um helping moms overcome postpartum. Like that's for me, that's a huge thing. That's kind of that, I mean, that's really what kick-started my whole health coaching was that I just wanted to feel better after having kids because you do kind of lose yourself after becoming a mom. And you know, it becomes more about everyone else and taking care of everyone else. And not only that, you're also dealing with the physical effects of those changes. And so um, yeah, just helping as many people, as many moms as I can um through health coaching. And so that's my number one, I guess you could say, career goal.
Korian:Gotcha.
Amber:Okay.
Korian:Uh any timeline on that?
Amber:I don't. I one thing I learned about putting um a date on timelines or putting a date on on your goals, got will show you the. That it's not our timing, it's his. And so I've learned that very, very early. And so everything in God's time for me.
Korian:You are not lying, Amber, like at all. I've I've can attest to that.
Amber:Yeah, every time I've set a goal and I'm like, okay, I'm gonna complete this at this time, this time, you know, something comes up where it's like I have to postpone or hold off and get back to it later. So I always, anytime someone asks me that, everything in God's time.
Korian:I like that. Everything in God's time. So let's go ahead and wrap it up. I went ahead and put your Instagram name up there. I hope you don't mind.
Amber:Uh no, no, not at all.
Korian:But yeah, shout out your Instagram, shout out anything else you may have or any other projects you may have going on.
Amber:Yeah, so I'm uh you can find me on Instagram at one fit mom. I'm also on face, that's one underscore fit mom. So one spelled out, zero n e underscore f I t m o m. And you can also find me on Facebook at Amber Lacey. That's Amber L-A-C-Y. Um, I have a Facebook group on there, and we just post a bunch of health stuff. Um, we share photos, videos, any important information that's been updated. Um, I like to share in the group. So yeah.
Korian:All right. Well, hey, this has been an episode of For the Health of It. I'm your host, Corey and KPAM Paget. And Amber, thank you so much for coming on.
Amber:Thanks, Corey, for having me. I really appreciate it.
Korian:All right, y'all have a good one.