How to Get Sober, Eat Better, Get Healthy, and Lose Weight Along the Way

Hey guys. So today we're going to do a little bit different where we're going to talk to Laura

Benisaki. So Laura, your story is very inspirational to me. It's motivational. And I love how it gets

tied into fitness. And so for my audience out there that they're used to me more educating with a little

bit of inspiration, I want to provide a little bit of boat. And so you always mentioned your

sobriety. And I think for people that have actually gone through it

they know how tough it is to give up a habit, right

So like a lot of us have habits that we take in our lives and maybe we don't even realize

it that these are bad habits. And bad habits don't just come in a form of drinking

Bad habits could come in a form of drugs. Those are the easier ones to point at. But in our industry, in the fitness industry, and what I see is bad habits come in crutch eating

So as we know, food is tied into everything, right? Like if we're sad, we're at a funeral, what's there

Food. Food, right? If we're happy, hey, let's go celebrate. Let's go eat. Right. We're bored. What's in the fridge? Right. And so I figured that we can tie this in and, you know, the sobriety of how we can clean up some of our habits. And then how can we be consistent? How did you do it? And then what keeps you going? So what does your day to day look like? And then what is your like current or future goals? So let's start about just

telling us kind of like your story. So how long have you been sober and what was the journey from

like its peak to where you are now? Okay. So as of June 7th, I will be nine years sober. It was not

an easy one in the beginning of my drinking. I mean, I really always went to the excess. I never knew

there was limits. I just, I didn't have any limits. I didn't have an off switch

which eventually led me to alienating my friends, my family, not wanting to be around me

because it just, I wasn't happy individual. So give me an example

It would be, would this be like a weekday thing? Would this be a weekend? Okay

So Friday starts, you're done the work. You've had a really tough week or whatever battles throughout the week

And Friday afternoon, evening, how does that work for you? So Friday, once I was done work, I would head over to the liquor store

I would get an abundance of alcohol and I would start drinking and I would start numbing the pain, pushing it down and using it as a crutch to be able to get through that weekend and kind of numb that loneliness and numb some of my past experiences that I had gone through

I didn have any healthy ways of coping with it nor did I think I wanted to at that point I wasn I guess I wasn ready And that just the way I coped as I used up

You're pretty extroverted person. Like, everybody here loves you. You pretty much know everybody

Like, it feels like you've been here for 10 years, but it's only been, what, a year? It's been a year

Yeah. It's been a year. So, and like, it feels like I've known you forever. Like, even though I don't see you much, I'm curious about the loneliness

So, like, what is loneliness to you? Um, you know, I think the loneliness of the depression, I felt like, I always felt like if I had a family or if I met somebody or if I had children or if I, you know, if I took certain steps in my life, I'd be happy. And what I didn't realize is I had to have that happiness and that, um, getting with that loneliness had to come within and kind of starting to love myself. Um, and that will be more on, on the, the journey of the sobriety that that came for me

So is it kind of like you felt a void in your life and then to kind of like block out everything that you were worried about or, you know, like worried to me being anxious is thinking about the future. So if I don't do this, I'm not going to get that. Being depressed is like I should have did this. And so I'm going to, you know, make that all my feelings. So was the alcohol kind of something where it's like, you know, when I'm drunk or buzz or whatever, like these thoughts

like they don't exist in my head. I would think that they would numb them

and push them down and they did for a bit. It worked for a bit until it stopped working

And then it just became a very big problem in my life. And people didn't want to be around me

My family didn't want to be around me. I didn't want to be around me with the way I was acting

And my life became something that kind of something of a nightmare, I feel

which it's no longer. And I'm so incredibly grateful for that. So how do you, today I did that post

It was actually really eye-opening to me because I'm a very like, tell it how it is person, right

And I would rather you tell me where we stand than me not know where we are

But that's not for everybody. And like today I did the post. And honestly, like everybody that kind of tells it how it is

I feel like you're a very outspoken person. If something bothers you, you're going to tell somebody

And I got multiple replies from very similar, like, people. But then I had the discussion with my wife, who was a very, I'm not going to tell you how it is

I'm going to listen to you talk. And then maybe we can talk about it and I'll tell you how it is. She's, you know what I mean

She works it differently than me. And I was like, well, yeah, we need to create, you know, some type of balance between the people that kind of like just agree

And but, you know, in their head, something's going on. And then somebody that tells you how it is. So when people are talking to you about this problem because you said that your family started to like reject you and like friends didn be around you Like I feel when we get into our problems we get so very me me like me centric right like you can tell me how it is but that not

how it is right you can tell me what I want to hear but that's not what exactly like we get so

focused so for people that are going through those problems whether it's somebody going through

a divorce right like they're like I just need to get off they get so focused on one problem right

and then they like let go. And I've seen this happen in like the gym's perspective where they're like, you know

I'm having trouble with my kid at home, right? And so they're like, I need to take a break from the gym

Or I, you know, going through this divorce. And so I need to just get this guy out of my life

And then I can get back to building a better version of me. So when you're stuck in that like that mold, that one mold of you right then and there

how did you like, how did you shake that off and just like, you know

You know, I had family that loved me very much and cared enough. Stuck through? Stick through it with me and give me an ultimatum

At the time, I didn't understand the ultimatum, and I was very angry about it at the time

Now I'm so incredibly grateful, and it was simply my parents saying to me

that we could not be in your life if you continue down this path. But we'll stand by you 110% if you choose sobriety, need help

And so that's when I went to go get help. And I think that putting things off because we have to work on something else isn't the answer

You have to dive in headfirst. You have to work on it because if you don't, you can put it off for years

You can put it off for the rest of your life and then it's too late. You have to work on it now

I would like the audience. And this is tough because the people that don't answer are the introspective people

The people that don't want to create controversy, they don't. they don't want to create debate

They don't want to get into a heated agreement. Like, you know, they would rather just like say, okay, yeah

oh, yeah, that's the right way and then not do it. So I would like to know, like, my point of view is like, and I've learned this

Like, I've only really been shocked once ever in my life. And that's when the gray hair started to come

Okay? And I've really only been shocked once in my life. And I'll tell you this, I get it

Like, I was so stuck. I remember laying in bed and I couldn't lay in bed because I was so worried about things

that I was like, lived my kids. and I was like, like, I don't cry

And I was like just, like, just crying out of nowhere. And like, you know, like, you know, wipe it off, right

It was just so sad. And the best thing I ever did was just focus on 1%

And I know it sounds tacky and I say it all the time, but I live by that. It's like when you get stuck, just do one thing, you know

But I want to know. And maybe I'm wrong. Maybe there's a different way. Maybe I'm right

But there's obviously a different way. So I like to challenge the like the people that are following me watching this video If you have a different approach to getting through a problem what is it Because she saying the same thing that I saying And I know and the guy I was talking to today he the same way

You got a problem. You got to, you got to fight through it. You know, that's what I hear

nine out of ten, but maybe I'm just talking to the same people. So I'm curious as to the audience that's

out there, is there another method? Because for us, Laura's saying, if you got a problem

you can't just like not focus on like you know you can't let your bills go away like you know most of

us will continue to work but some don't we can't just let our health deteriorate right a lot of us will

won't like some people will just like I'm completely quitting the gym you know I need to take time off

work and they just I feel like that that just digs them deeper deeper but maybe somebody out there

has a different perspective like how drunk would you get I guess and then like did you get to a player

like yeah this is not working and I'm like done or did you just keep going like how did that work

kept going. It was lock out drunk every weekend. And then Monday I would promise myself that I wouldn't do it again. And I would do it again come Friday night. And then Monday morning I'd feel awful and feel like death. And then Friday, I would do it all over again. It was that the insanity of my thinking that kept me in a vicious cycle that I just couldn't find my way out of

Okay. So for anybody out there that is stuck in this vicious cycle

What words of advice would you give to them? Take the first step

Mine was walking into a meeting. If it's health and fitness, walk into the gym

make that first step. And I tell you that each step you take will get easier

And nothing in life that is worthwhile is going to be easy

But it's going to be worth it. It's always going to be worth it

Love it. So for me, there's layers that I keep peeling back

And that's what eventually led me to the fitness part. So let's stop there

Let's, let's, for the audience, next video, let's talk about where you hit that limit

where, you know, people gave you the ultimatum. And then, you know, how did that look

Because, you know, it's just like fitness journey. People walk through this door

And I'm the most proudest moment I have when somebody that comes through this, door and they get through workout is that they come for a second. So and then the third, right? And so for

the audience out there, people that are just starting in a journey or they're trying to face a

problem because even people that have 3,000, 4,000 workouts have problems too. And they're always

going to come around. How do we get, when we get into the heart of that problem, what are the

steps and things that you went through and did in order to get you to where you are