Welcome to the Happy Healthy Hustle podcast where we explore the intersection of health,
happiness and productivity.
I'm your host Christiana and I'm super excited to be here with you today.
Today we have actually a super special guest.
This particular episode was recorded via Instagram live in 2022 and I have an absolute amazing
inspiring women in wellness star on here.
Today we have Hollis Tattle.
So let me share a little bit about Hollis with you.
Hollis is actually now a popular instructor with the Lululemon studio and she grew up
in Northern California playing soccer and volleyball and became a college triathlete
while studying nutritional sciences at Cal Poly here in San Luis Obispo.
You can really feel her long lived passion for movement in her classes where she's
super warm and motivating and she pushes you to work a little bit harder.
She has a degree in nutrition and she furthered her nutrition further on with a nutrition
school and what she says, I can't just focus on my activity in nutrition.
I have to look at all aspects of my life and making efforts to reduce stress and sleeping
more.
So let's hear it from Hollis Tattle.
I'm super excited that she's here and of course if you have any questions, please let me know.
So the fun story really is that when I realized Hollis that you study here at Cal Poly, it
was totally like meant to be.
I was like, oh my gosh.
And I was in the school of nutrition.
This is so funny.
Yeah.
So you were here when I'm working right now.
So in a certain way we are like collected across the miles.
100%.
And oh, I miss that area so much.
I mean like running, I used to run Avila all the time near that bike path out to the beach.
Oh yeah.
And then I used to run Madonna Mountain all the time and then like going back like with
my team.
And then Polly's triathlon team and we did a lot of long runs out into the hills, you
know, beyond campus.
And it was such a beautiful place or like long rides.
We'd ride down to like Halcyon or you know out east of us and we'd have our pelotons
like a girl peloton or a guy peloton and our coach would just drive back and forth between
them.
But it's so nice to be out there because we didn't have traffic, right?
It's just like us on the road, maybe a random car or a farm truck or something.
I do not ride my bike here in New York City.
No, maybe just indoors, right?
Yes, exactly.
Exactly.
Yeah.
And I'm really excited because if you do know how is, you know, there's lots of energy involved.
So if this is your lunch break, you're going to get a little energy booster for the rest
of the day.
So if it's your afternoon break, even better, right?
First question is, what is your superpower?
We all want to write.
I so appreciate that question.
This is funny.
I have, I would say tenacity.
My dad will say stubbornness.
Sometimes I set my mind to something I just like bulldoze towards it.
And that can be a superpower.
It's gotten me through many difficult situations.
It's hindered me at times as well, I'll be honest.
But you know, it's that is life and we learn and become more aware of how to use that superpower.
And then we kind of need to like relax a little bit.
But I think that it's something that I have continued to train throughout the years, especially
as an endurance athlete, you have to have the tenacity to push through the lows, because
no matter how trained you are, you're going to have lows.
And so you just push through knowing that there's going to be a high on the other side.
And a lot of that training transferred to my professional life.
So as a competitive triathlete in college, you know, it was train study, train study,
train study somewhere in there, I slept in eight, not sure when.
And then when I joined the professional world, I used to be in real estate development and
project management.
And you know, it's like I had the experience of being on the bike for 100 miles, I had
the experience of running, you know, 20 miles, and I knew I could do that.
So like whatever problem or task I was dealing with at work that was hard, it was it was
nowhere as hard as what I'd been through.
And that helped me continue like with the task at hand.
And I don't know if that answers your question.
That was like a really long answer.
It's perfect, because in a certain way, the way that your character is built really kind
of transitions over to multiple parts.
And sometimes I tell my students to that, you know, you choose your own pain, so nothing
ever really comes without being kind of having the grit and the perseverance to push through.
So if you want to be super fit, it's not going to be always easy.
So you got to have that tenacity.
So let's maybe kind of go to the second question.
What's been your greatest challenge?
And why challenges in our life, right?
There have been so many.
Okay, um, honestly, I've been asked this question often before.
I think it's a great question.
And the answer that I most commonly give, and the reason why I give this is because
it's had the biggest, longest lasting impact on my life.
And that was fighting for my divorce.
I was in a very unhealthy marriage in my 30s.
And I had to fight really hard to establish my independence once again.
And that was all done here in New York City.
And to recreate myself, I lost myself in that relationship, unfortunately, is a very abusive
relationship.
And I did everything that I could to survive.
So when I got out of that, I was a shell of a human.
And to be single and alone on the East Coast in New York City to boot gave me a lot of
freedom to learn who I truly am and when I can be my most happiest, truest self.
And so the past six years has been that journey.
And I am incredibly thankful for everything that I have learned along the way.
And I truly love, love my life now and love who I am now.
And I don't think I would have this high level of appreciation if I did not have that, unfortunately.
I would love to have not had that.
But it's part of my life.
It's part of who I am.
It's part of my foundation.
And it helps hold me at true north.
And not only did I survive, but I feel like I'm thriving.
So I think that would probably be the biggest challenge.
It's very inspiring because certainly, we all have challenges in life.
Nobody just ever just kind of scoots through it.
And it might appear that way because sometimes people just see the end result of it, which
is you now being super happy and strong.
But the way to get there, the multiple years of struggling and pushing through is what
they maybe don't see.
So I really appreciate your honesty in sharing that because it might inspire somebody that's
maybe at the beginning of that journey to keep going.
Because they know there is a light at the end of this tunnel that's going to come.
Definitely.
And also, I think that it's important not to feel trapped.
I mean, I was 40 when I got divorced, right?
So I was recreating a whole new life at 40.
And I would hate for somebody to think I'm too old.
I don't have any options.
I can't make that change.
I would say you're never too old for that.
You never know how long your life is going to be.
And it's worth the step, definitely.
Yeah.
I mean, your ultimate happiness is really, it will make you a better person for others.
Yes.
Like make your, take care of yourself and then take care of others because you took
care of yourself, you're going to be an even better human being, right?
100%.
Yeah, 100%.
Thank you.
And that's something that I've had to learn as well.
Like I kept a lot of what I was enduring private, not even my family had any idea.
And I think the hardest part was sharing that with them, right?
Also I went through three years of in vitro fertilization and it wasn't really talked
about.
My ex-husband didn't want to even talk about it.
He didn't want people to know, right?
Because he saw it like as a failure.
And I think it's incredibly important to talk about because that was an incredibly challenging
part of my life as well, because it was the first time that I had really experienced adversity
because I'm so used, I'm such a goal oriented, focused person, right?
This is my goal.
This is how I'm going to get there.
And I'm going to do steps A, B, C, and I'm going to achieve D. And that was not happening.
I was like, what am I doing wrong?
Right?
And females do that.
We are like, oh, it's me, right?
Yeah.
100%.
I'm the broken one, right?
Yeah.
And now I think my lucky stars that it did not come to fruition because my guardian angels,
oh, I make her work so hard, but she knew, she knew that there was a better plan for
me.
So that's, I think like a forever sigh of relief.
So I really appreciate it.
And of course, you know, this is something truly honest being about it and thinking about
it that we sometimes as females, we seek the blame in ourselves, right?
So where we are like something must be wrong.
So I went to school with pre-men and, and then I realized that I wanted to be on the
other side.
So rather than fixing people, quote unquote, fixing people, I wanted to be preventative.
And that's why I really persevered the nutrition aspect and fitness.
So yeah, let's talk maybe a little bit.
That might also be inspiring to all the other females or males that I've maybe joining in
here today.
Who are your influencers or people that have supported you over the years?
Who has been your biggest influencers?
Well, I wish you could all meet my grandmother.
She is unfortunately no longer with us.
But she's probably watching from somewhere.
Yeah, exactly.
Oh, without a doubt.
My mom's mom, Francis, but we all called her Graham Fran for the longest time.
I thought that was her name.
And then I realized it was shortened from grandma Fran to Graham Fran.
You know, she was an incredibly intelligent, incredibly strong driven individual who didn't
take SHIT.
I don't know if I can swear on here.
Good.
So she just, you got that from her.
Yeah, 100%.
But she always remained graceful and was very respectful.
And you know, I think that her poise was unshakable.
And I really admire that.
And and plus, she was just cool.
Like, she was just like, a super cool, rad, independent grandma.
And granted, you know, my grandpa, who I was also equally close with, was amazing, you
know, but she had her own independent life as well, which was very rare in the 40s and
50s, you know, but she always told me like, have your own finances, have your own checking
account, make sure that you can support yourself.
And you know, like, those are really important lessons that we need to be reminded of.
Because you never know.
You know, you never know.
So yeah, she was always there.
And then I just feel really fortunate that I have an amazing mother, of course, who just
continued to share that love and share that support.
My parents are I always say very laissez faire.
They let me kind of just run around and do whatever.
And then if I messed up, I'd have to come back and be like, so I messed up.
And then I'd have to figure out some way to work it out.
And then here in New York City, I am blessed with an amazing, absolutely amazing group
of female friends.
And they're all a force to be reckoned with in their own way.
And when we come together, it's just magic.
And I think that's one of the things that I love most about being here in New York City,
because I feel like I have this like this network, you know, and that's really powerful.
And it feels really good to have them here in my life in the city, but just in my life.
Right, Lee or how is with regard to what she has planned in the future about those cute
shoes was showing us earlier?
Yes, to survive the speed project would be goal number one.
And then Lance and I are running the Leadville 100 in August.
So that's the 100 mile trail race in Colorado.
And so in between now and then, I'll be doing a lot of running.
And then maybe some more running with a side of running.
And so we'll be doing a lot of like 50 K's and 50 milers around New York City that we
can drive to for weekends.
So don't worry, I'm not gonna wear I'm still gonna be on Mir.
It's still gonna be teaching my classes.
And you know, being really strategic with my schedule, as far as recovery days, strength
days, running days, and then just making sure that I sleeping enough.
And eating enough.
And of course, you know, the I know that nutrition is a really important aspect.
We talked about Superpower earlier.
What's your go to workout snack?
I get that question a lot.
So what is your secret there?
It depends upon the workout that I'm doing.
I really does.
So thank you, Laura.
So cool.
Like if I'm strength training, I need fuel like I can feel a difference when I'm on the
floor. If I have not eaten enough, I just don't have the ability to lift like what I
want to lift.
I can I can run on you know, six miles or so in an empty stomach and feel fine.
Not maybe not like, like an easy run, you know.
And I'm working on my longer nutrition.
That's been something I've struggled with just finding things that settle and with my
stomach GI issues can be a little bit challenging on longer runs.
I ate a lot of bananas, I love fruit.
So like before a run or before a workout, usually some sort of bananas included some
sort of like nut butter of some sort.
So like my smoothie usually includes protein powder, bee pollen, green powder, vibrant
health, not butter.
I throw in additional strawberries for additional vitamin C and just kind of like boost the
base that Daily Harvest provides.
And that way I know that I started my day with at least like 35 to 40 grams of protein,
granted it's vegan, but still protein and fruits and vegetables.
So
Awesome.
I start my day with a smoothie too.
And of course, you are born in California, so the strawberries have to go in there, right?
Yeah,
exactly.
Exactly.
California.
I love it.
That sounds super simple.
Any questions for Hollis?
I'm kind of like looking through the comments.
What are your thoughts on intermittent fasting?
That's a really good question.
I think it depends upon individual.
So it works really well for some people.
If you've ever had disordered eating, I would say don't do it.
But if you haven't experienced any sort of disordered eating, you can always try it.
The whole idea is to limit the number of calories that you're consuming over that day or perhaps
over that week.
That's why most people do it.
Some people say that it gives them more energy.
It just depends on the individual.
And if you try it consistently for three or four or five days and it works really well
for you, then great.
Maybe that works for you.
But remembering that every body is so distinctly different, right?
And what works for one individual is not going to work necessarily for another individual.
And so that's why I'm always really passionate to say you have to be your own scientist and
do your own studies and try it out, right?
There's no harm in trying something out to see if it gives you the results that you want.
And if you find that it works with your lifestyle, great.
You know, that's awesome.
And if it doesn't work or if you feel forced or if you feel uncomfortable, if you're like,
oh, I have to do that, don't do it.
Why?
Like, you know, it's like you want you want healthy lifestyle choices to become part of
your life.
And otherwise, it just becomes a burden.
And then you don't like why why take on another burden?
There's enough that we all have to deal with.
Yeah, wellness is really also about, as the word says, feeling well.
So you don't really feel like it's a chore.
It needs to be something that gives you that joy and that happiness.
Right.
Feel well.
It's part of working out is that happiness that you get afterwards.
If you don't, amazing.
Exactly.
Yeah, that's what I listen to when I run.
Okay.
And then I'm running slow, easy miles.
Most of my running like 80% of my running is zone to very slow, very easy miles.
I wear a heart rate monitor.
I do everything heart rate based because I'm following very specific training programs.
So right now it's it's to build mitochondria.
So I'm like building this really strong foundation that I can then utilize in my ultras.
So a lot of slower music, if I listen to fast music, then I'm tempted to run fast and that
defeats the whole entire purpose of the run.
And I love podcasts.
So I listen to a lot of podcasts.
And then I listen to audible books, audiobooks.
And right now I just started the Will Smith autobiography.
Oh, it's so good.
I just read it.
It's so good.
And it's 16 hours.
So it's like that will get me through like a good chunk of training.
And I only listen to it on long run days.
So like this Saturday, I have to run 14 miles and then Sunday.
No, I run 16 this Saturday and eight this Sunday.
So I know that I'm going to like I save it for the weekend so I can like have something
to look forward to when I'm on those longer, longer distances.
If I'm doing speed, oh, you better believe it's like hard hitting EDM super aggressive.
I also love like heavy metal.
So sometimes it's a Metallica sometimes it's tool.
Anything to get me like ramped up and and in the mood to turn my legs over quickly and
push through because like those are hard.
I mean, it's uncomfortable.
It feels horrible.
I want to die.
And you just got to do it.
So the music helps putting your mind into it.
Yeah, so I saw this earlier.
How do you stay so motivated?
Um, motivation, ebbs and flows.
I am focused on consistency.
Like I keep like a day planner, right?
Like this.
This actually hasn't been color coded yet.
But I always write in my work schedule.
Then I write in my other obligations like my personal clients.
And those usually got highlighted one color, then I schedule in my workouts because I'm
very specific once again with my workouts, right?
I even write in rest days.
And those are all highlighted in different colors.
And then when I've done those things that are here, I actually physically draw a line
through or check it off.
That sense of satisfaction is excellent motivation for me.
I thrive off of that.
And so that works really well for me.
I am someone who does well with regimen.
And this helps me stay regimented.
And it helps keep me calm.
If my world gets a little thrown off and I feel a little like unsure of where I'm supposed
to go or what I'm supposed to do, it gives me a little bit of anxiety.
So I found that this really helps kind of anchor me down a lot.
And it's also my job.
Like I, I wanted like when I when I told the line of a race, I want to step up to that
race knowing that I've done all that I could do to prepare.
And I know the feeling from experience of stepping up to the line of Oh, shit, I did
not do the training I needed to do right.
And then you're in the race and you're like, Yeah, I should have should have been better
about this.
Or maybe I should have gone out to that party or maybe I should you know, like any kind
of learn.
Yeah, that helps also with maintain the consistency just because I've had those non consistent
experiences, shall we say, but I've always I've always been someone to follow follow
planner.
Yeah, I'm not that started like, honestly, elementary school, like sixth, fifth grade,
sixth grade, junior high, all the way through, like, you know, I can't get rid of it.
And I love it as a paper planner, see if it right in front of your eyes.
Oh, yeah, exactly.
And I think I remember things better when I write it out that I can see it like I still
on Sunday evening is when I do my like, Google Calendar desk calendar matchup to make sure
that it's all in sync.
I do like little reminders.
Hey, Hollis 30 minutes, you know, that's great.
But otherwise, yeah, I use I use my planner.
Any type of motivation to find healthy foods more accessible?
Or how can we make it easy?
Control what you can control.
So you can you control what comes into your house.
And so I think how you stock your cabinets, how you stock your fridge is is part of setting
yourself up for success.
And then if you have prepped foods, whether it's like cut up vegetables or cut up carrots,
have those front and center in a glass container in your fridge so that you see them so that
it's easy to grab.
Also, I think having like those quick, easy things like in the freezer is really helpful
or in the cupboard is really helpful.
And then I think that mindset is a big part of it as well.
A little shift of verbiage takes practice, but I think it can be incredibly powerful.
So rather than, oh, man, I can't eat and I never like to use that.
I try to go out of that.
Right.
Like, I can't eat that chocolate cake.
Instead say, I, I am choosing to eat half of the chocolate cake, or I'm choosing to
eat a whole of raspberries instead of the chocolate cake.
So you're empowering yourself.
So I always I always believe in empowering somebody to make a decision for themselves
and try to take out the restriction, try to take out the camp.
And I hate to label food as good or bad.
Food is food.
Food is fuel.
And so thinking about how you can kind of change the words that you use because it impacts
you but also those around you.
So those around us, especially little people, are sponges, right?
They hear a lot of our self talk.
And so sometimes it's like a little check in, like, would I ever want, would I ever say
that to a friend, would I ever say that to a family member, you know, and just kind of
thinking about who's listening.
Yeah, and certainly, whenever you say, oh, I can't eat that, your mind has a lot of power
about this too.
So I always say whenever you want to change your lifestyle, think about adding.
Yes.
Yeah.
And crowding.
That's another I think I love that because I always say that to you.
You want to crowd those things out, right?
Like you feel you fill in with those nutritious things like the apple or the pear or the apricots
or once again, see, I love fruit.
I can eat fruit.
I'm basically a monkey.
So so then you eat so much of that, you don't want the rest, right?
You know, like, I think that's a really excellent point.
Yeah, that idea of crowding it out.
Yeah.
Yeah, because then you really you more and of course, fruit has that magic power to where
you just feel healthier, just like a workout.
It's all of a sudden.
I know when I got married, my husband at the beginning, I had to change his nutrition.
He said all these salads and then I feel better.
All these salads after all right.
Have you read Viber Fuel by Dr. B for all you on here?
I can't recommend that book enough.
It's amazing.
But I think it's like important to know that when you are starting to if you are starting
to shift your diet, like adding more fiber, like eating more salads or adding more beans
or adding more vegetables, a lot of people say, oh, it doesn't it doesn't agree with
me.
Right.
But oh, yeah, yeah.
Just like you train your body, right?
You can't just walk into the gym and pick up a 500 pound dumbbell.
You have to work your way up to it.
You have to train your gut microbe to be able to digest those nutrients because you have
the microbes in your gut based upon the food that you eat.
So if you don't eat fruits and vegetables, you don't have the microbes.
So then when you eat it, it doesn't break down as quickly and then you get the fermentation
and you get gassy, right?
You're like, oh, yeah, really gassy.
So introduce new foods, especially really fibrous foods, cauliflower, beans, broccoli,
cabbage, right?
Introduce just little bits sparingly and start to build up your gut microbe.
Then you can start to add in a little bit more and then you can start to add a little
bit more.
And then and then that's when you really start to crowd out those unhealthy foods.
Right.
And a lot of research has been done and I'm sure you know this as well that the gut microbe
influences cravings.
So let's say you're like, oh, I have the worst chocolate craving because your microbes are
like, give me chocolate, give me chocolate, give me chocolate.
So then we eat it and we get the, oh, I got what I wanted.
So you just kind of have to like nudge them out a little bit.
I totally agree because it's I mean, your body is what you eat.
And if that's just the diet that you have, it's going to be expecting that.
So it's also your habits, right?
Breaking down the habits.
And I know we talked about book.
We always message each other about books.
So one of my really favorite books is the Atomic Habit book, right?
Were you really breaking it down into making these micro is a little changes, maybe adding
more fruit slowly and over time it will become part of your habits.
Yeah, any question that I'm scrolling through the comments here.
So meal preparation is helpful.
I plan to, so we got lots of planners here.
Love it.
That I kind of thinking about this and clearly this is also something that just like with
eating and starting slowly to change your diet, it's maybe also with the workouts because
they have sometimes people that say, I'm going to come here every day to your classes because
I'm a fitness instructor and I tell them, I don't know that you should come every day.
Maybe take some rest days.
They're really important for you would maybe to start with one or two times per week and
then you can take some walks and then you actually make it a habit instead of setting
yourself up for failure where you can't come every day.
100%.
I think that's very important to remind people of as well.
And also when people are trying to make major shifts, it's really challenging to change
a lot of things all at once.
So just pick out one thing, focus on that and like you said, make that habitual and
then you can add in another one and then you can add in another one or whatever it may
be.
But it's important to also look at your whole day.
How much do you move your whole day?
You know, and I mean, just kind of like seeing also we all have good days where things fall
in place easier and maybe you can work out and then on the next day we'll just pick it
back up and don't think, oh, I failed because I didn't work out.
It's all right.
We all have that.
Where it was maybe a challenge to get things done.
100%.
Oh, I just want to say today, for example, my day got out of hand.
The schedule got totally shifted and I didn't get my four miles in.
It's okay.
I'm not going to die.
No, I'm quite happy.
Thank you.
Yeah.
And I know that my next run is going to be even stronger because my body is going to
be even more rested.
And that's what makes me excited.
I know my legs are going to feel really good when I have to take on those 16 miles on Saturday
morning.
So I'm like, oh, it's going to be nice because Friday is always a rest day.
So I always take that on.
Love it.
And of course you have that amazing Will Smith book to listen to.
I do.
Any thoughts on cravings?
How to not give in or do you?
Cravings.
I think I've gotten much better about it.
I think understanding why I'm having a craving.
Usually if I'm craving something crunchy, it's usually because I'm anxious.
If I'm craving something sweet and like pudding-y, softy, if you will, that's not really a word,
but you get it.
Then I know it's like I just I need like a hug or I need some love.
So like understanding what I really need.
And if I'm feeling hungry, I'm like gosh, I just ate but I'm feeling hungry.
I'll start with some water because usually I'm thirsty because I'm always sweating.
And so I know I'm like, oh, I'm feeling a little dehydrated.
But if you've kind of checked in and you're hydrated, you feel like you're really good,
go ahead and have a little bit.
Like there's no harm in that.
Give yourself a little love and like appreciate the moment and feel really good about it.
So that being present is really important.
So in my research, I always really emphasize the connection between your mind and your
gut.
Because clearly, and it sometimes helps even if it's individually wrapped and along the
joy about unwrapping it and how it's easy to put it in your mouth and then really savoring
it and maybe eating it with your friends.
You're getting that social stimulation and this stimulation of your body, enjoying it
and not just mindless snacking.
So exactly.
It's making it more of a ritual.
Send Hollas any questions.
Let me know if you have any questions.
We really appreciated her time here because I know you're super busy.
Thank you so much for inviting me to join you today.
It's been so much fun.
Have a wonderful rest of your day.
Bye bye.
You too.
Bye bye.
All right.
That's it for today's episode of the Happy Healthy Hustle podcast.
Today was actually a special podcast.
We had a 2022 Instagram Live with Hollas Tuttle.
And today we listened to the shortened edited audio version of this amazing interview with
the superstar that is also teaching on the Lulelemen studio.
I hope you enjoyed our discussion and remember health, happiness and productivity are all
interconnected and we need to prioritize all three to reach our full potential.
Thanks for tuning in and we'll catch you next time.