What a difference a year makes! In today’s episode, I’m so excited to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the podcast with you, my friends, and to share some of the amazing things that have transpired over the past year.

This podcast sprang from a story that I’ll be sharing today and has become one of my passion projects. In today’s episode, you will hear from some of my most faithful podcast listeners, on how this podcast has shaped their lives.

What you need to know is that I am doing a special giveaway for my anniversary and you can enter to win! Follow me on Instagram to get all the details of the giveaway. 

This giveaway includes the Law of Attraction planner, my Grounding Day meal planner (this item won’t be released to the public until sometime in 2020, so this is a chance to get access to something exclusive!), and 2 t-shirts from the apparel line I am launching soon (another exclusive item not yet released!). 

If you go to iTunes and leave a review for this podcast, I will enter you in the giveaway, so head on over there and leave your review now to have a chance to win this awesome gift basket full of exclusive items! 

And thank you for an amazing first year! I am grateful for you!

I Wasn’t Planning a Podcast

I know lots of podcasters talk about how they had been dreaming for a long time about starting their show and how they worked for years to get to that point.

But to be perfectly honest, I wasn’t that person. I had zero intentioned of starting a podcast. 

See, I had this blog I had started and I was trying to use it to reach the women I wanted to talk to. The problem was that those women are busy and they didn’t really have time to read blogs.

What they did spend time doing was listening. And through some in-depth coaching, I felt led to start talking to them through my actual voice instead of my writing voice. 

This medium has allowed you and me to get to know each other on a much deeper, more intimate level. You can probably picture me right now, sitting in my closet, surrounded by clothes and other stuff, just talking away to you all. 

My only goals for this podcast were to keep it real and honest. I wanted to share simple tips and ways to transform your life that you could actually use. 

What Happened After I Started My Podcast

I started out wanting to share stories of my clients and address the common struggles that we as women face.

I wasn’t prepared for what happened as a result of starting this podcast. 

Rather than me finding women and using the podcast to help them, women are finding me and reaching out for help after listening to the episodes. They hear my unique approach to transforming your life from the inside out and they recognize something different in the way I go about things.

And so many women are ready for that change. 

What has happened as a result of starting the podcast is that I have met women from all over the world and they have become clients. Social media and online business create so many paths for us to connect with each other. 

So, my business has grown over the past year beyond what I ever thought possible as more and more women hear the podcast and reach out to me for help. 

How the Podcast Has Affected Others

The podcast hasn’t only affected my life, though. It has affected the lives of the women who have listened and those who have come on as clients that I have been able to help personally. 

I have discovered through my own journey of transformation that there is way more to health and wellness than a number on the scale. There is more than just the food you eat.

Beneath all of that is a ton of crap that we mostly don’t deal with. As I began to get my own health and weight under control, I knew that I needed to share what I had learned with others. 

The podcast has given me a way to connect with women I would have never had a chance to meet outside of them getting to know me through the podcast. Once they heard the things I share on the podcast, they wanted more.

They were ready to dig deeper and create true change in their lives. You’ll hear in a moment some of the light bulbs that have gone on for them and some of the incredible changes they have made over the past year. 

Behind the Scenes of the Podcast

One of the things about podcasting is that while you hear my voice every week, there is a lot going on behind the scenes that you can’t see. So, before I move on to the ladies and their stories, I wanted to tell you a bit about some of the people who help me get this show out to you every week.

I create the content for the podcast and figure out who my guests will be. But in addition to me, I have 3 other people on my team who help me with the podcast.

I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Steve for editing this show every week. He takes my audio and makes it into a package that sounds amazing, without changing the authenticity of what I’m saying. 

Steve also keeps me on track with my scheduling. So, Steve, thanks for being here from day one and for sticking with me. Here’s to hitting 100K downloads in 2020. 

Dawn is a more recent addition to my team and she is responsible for what you are reading right now. She takes my podcast episodes and turns them into what we as podcasters call show notes; you see them on my website as blog posts. 

If you hear me mention something on the podcast that you want to come back to or you want a link for, Dawn has it all right here for you. So, Dawn, thank you for jumping on board this team and believing in my message. 

(Hi ladies, Dawn here! Just imagine being the writer and having to write this about yourself…writing is an interesting business, for sure. LOL! Love ya, Amanda! Here’s to 52 more episodes! Cheers!)

Next, to Anjilee, I couldn’t do what I do without you! 

Anjilee is more behind the scenes of the business, helping with scheduling and other important parts of this circus. Anjilee doesn’t get to necessarily listen to the show or interact with the content, but she is a vital part of my business. Thank you, Anjilee. I appreciate you!

And finally, to you, my faithful listeners, I wouldn’t have a show without you. Your emails and feedback are the reason I show up (in my closet) every single week, inspired to release content that will provide value for your heart and your mind.

Your feedback tells me what you need more of from me and drives the show. So, if I could ask you for one favor, it would be to head over to iTunes and leave me a review, telling me what you appreciate about the show and how I can help you. 

Remember, if you leave a review this week, you will be entered into the drawing for the exclusive gift basket I am giving away! So, go leave your review today!

Guest Highlights

I’ll be honest, there is not a single episode that I’ve done that hasn’t taught me something. I learn from the feedback, I learn from myself and the thoughts that come out as I am processing and of course, I learn from my guests.

I wanted to highlight just a few things I have learned from specific guests and to encourage you that if you’re a new listener, go back and listen to some of the earlier episodes because they are so rich and full of great advice.

Episode 15

The first episode I would direct you to is the first time I had my husband, Justin, on the podcast with me. We talked about How to Grow Together in Marriage and we got very transparent about a turning point in our own marriage when I was growing and he wasn’t, and he had to make the decision to not be left behind. 

Episodes 9 and 34

Way back near the beginning, I had 2 of my own mentors on the podcast and these episodes marked turning points for me. 

In episode 9, I had Leisa Peterson on with me, chatting about how to create more abundance in your life. And then in episode 34, my friend and mentor Heather Chauvin joined me to talk about how to show up for yourself in your life. 

Listen, it takes hard work to level up in life and become the person you were truly meant to be, and these 2 ladies have been instrumental in helping me over the past 2 years become who I want to be.

Episode 13

I can’t fail to mention this episode with my childhood friend, Lindsay Pinkelman. If you haven’t listened to this episode, you must. Lindsay shares her story of putting her life on the line for her children and ending up in a wheelchair as a quadriplegic. Her story is riveting and amazing, and I promise you will walk away encouraged and strengthened. 

And now, I want to share just a few tidbits from some amazing women who wanted to share some things they have learned through this podcast…so, take it away ladies! To really enjoy these insights, I encourage you to listen to the full episode.

Abandoning the all or nothing mindset – “Before listening to Amanda’s podcast, I would have said that Amanda probably never enjoyed food like chocolate or wine, and that she worked out every single day. Meanwhile, I was living what I called #momlife, which meant that I rarely took care of myself through good food or exercise. Amanda taught me that my all or nothing mindset wasn’t serving me, and that small daily decisions do matter in the long run. 

It was only a few months ago that I categorized myself as someone who couldn’t do certain things because I wasn’t athletic, or I didn’t like vegetables, or whatever excuse I made that day. I learned that it really doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Small changes add up and we are all more alike than we are different.”

Overcoming a binge eating disorder – “Amanda is my online, virtual and audible coach who helped me overcome my binge eating disorder. I’ve always had a passion to help others live a healthier life but how could I do that when I couldn’t even help myself? 

I was filled with knowledge about nutrition and I ate healthy around 80% of the time. But I couldn’t seem to get control of the binging which was brought on by anxiety. 

Amanda’s podcast has helped me to overcome the all or nothing mindset that I carried for so long and the body image issues that held me back for years. Amanda has taught me that you need others to surround you and support you, so thank you, Amanda, for your passion for doing what you do.”

Doing the work to get healthy – “I wanted to lose weight but I had zero desire to do any of the work necessary to lose it. What I did enjoy was listening to Amanda’s podcast, and I truly looked forward to every Tuesday when a new episode would release. I figured one day maybe I would hear a tip that I might want to take action on.

Eventually, after about 4 months of listening, I decided to go back and pull out the FAN tip from the end of each episode and implement just those tips. I figured they would be easy to work into my life and what could it hurt? 

These tips changed my life. Prepping produce made it easy to eat more of it. I began to look at food as fuel. And as I incorporate these simple tips, things began to change. Since January of this year, I have lost 65 lbs., simply from making a few small changes.”

Bikini competitor to “normal” bod – “I’m a bikini competitor, as well as a mom, personal trainer, and nutrition coach. Coming off a very successful bikini competition season last December had me struggling to find a healthy mindset as my body adjusted to post-show eating and going from being “show stage lean” to “a normal physique.” 

When the Apple podcast gods suggested this podcast to me, I knew immediately that it was exactly what I wanted – to feel amazing naked. 

Episode 4, on emotional flooding, was truly life-changing for me and I had to share the podcast with my friends and on my social media. I also really appreciated episode 46, where Amanda talked about raising a daughter with a positive body image. As the mom of a daughter, this topic is super important to me.

Amanda, you’ve created a space that isn’t just about food, but is about our overall health. And not just our physical health but also our emotional health and even the health of our marriages. 

Thank you for putting out amazing, relevant content for the rest of us to learn from and enjoy.”

Okay, ladies, 52 episodes done…52 more coming up!

If you have enjoyed the first 52 episodes, be sure to hop over to iTunes and leave that review for your chance to win a gift basket full of unique items!

And if you have ideas or content that you want me to talk about, you can always comment below, message me on Instagram, or email me at support@feelamazingnaked.com. 

I would love to hear from you! And thank you again for listening.

XO,

Amanda