PA school has a way of turning your health into the thing you deal with later.

Ashley Turner is a PA with a background in nutrition, and she came on to talk about staying functional during school - eating in a way that supports you, moving your body, and not treating self-care as something you'll get to after boards.

She shares what's worked for her personally, including her experience with intermittent fasting and a nutrition program she followed. Her broader point is the one I'd underline: find something sustainable that fits the schedule you actually have, not the schedule you wish you had. What works for her might not be what works for you, and that's fine.

Study blocks, long rotations, and cafeteria food are all coming. Having a plan beats improvising at 10pm.

What we talk about:

• Eating well when your schedule is out of control
• Staying active during didactic year and rotations
• Her own experience with intermittent fasting
• Building habits that survive a hard week
• Why self-care isn't a reward you earn later
• Setting realistic expectations for yourself

Resources:

Pre-PA counseling: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/pre-pa-counseling

Free application timeline: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/free-application-timeline

PA Program Map: https://www.thepaplatform.com/pa-platform-map

Free resume download: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/free-resume-download

Mentioned in this episode:

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Welcome to episode 94 of the Pre PA Club podcast.

Today I'm going to introduce you to Ashley Turner, who is a fellow PA and just really awesome.

She has an interesting background in nutrition and she's going to teach us a little bit about how to stay healthy in PA school and we're going to talk about how we both did or.

Did not do that.

Welcome to the Pre PA Club podcast.

If you want to learn how to become a physician assistant, you're in the right place.

I'm your host, Savannah Perry.

Let's get to it.

Alright, y', all, before we jump into this interview with Ashley, I wanted to remind you about MyPA resource, which is a personal statement editing service and you can use the code the Prepa.

Oh, not the Prepa Club.

Sorry for a discount with them.

If you are still looking for help with your personal statement, I know that you know, it's July, people have submitted, but if you are one of the few that has not and one of the reasons is your personal statement, get some help.

Don't keep dwelling on it because you could change it forever and keep looking at it.

So get someone else to look at it and tweak it to give you that confidence that you are ready to submit.

So go to myparesource.com to do that now.

Now I'm really excited to share this with you, me and Ashley.

Ashley and I connected on Instagram and we kind of decided we might be the same person just in different locations.

So we have very similar kind of paths as far as being PAs and having families.

So we're able to relate very well.

And I think she's just really cute and great at being very genuine and sharing who she is and her struggles.

So I'm really excited for you guys to hear from her and we'll jump into that in just a second.

I also wanted to remind you about PA school prep.

If you are about to start PA school and need a refresher on your anatomy, physiology and medical terminology, just to feel confident going into that first semester, check out paschoolprep.com and you can use the code Pre Paclub there as well.

Alright, let's hear from Ashley.

And I know that then you're all going to want to follow her on Instagram and send her tons of questions.

Here we go.

Okay, I'm Ashley Turner.

I'm a certified PA and I work in Campbellsville, Kentucky, which is a small rural community where I grew up.

I work in general surgery.

I've pretty much been in general surgery since graduating PA school.

I live in Campbells with my husband and 14 month old son and all my family is here.

And I also too do virtual health coaching with the faster way to fat loss as well.

So that's kind of me in a nutshell.

Okay.

So how long have you been a PA?

So yeah, right along the same path.

What kind of was your background before PA school?

Did you go straight in or do something before PA school?

Well, I graduated from the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor's of science in nutrition and food science.

So dietetics and I wanted to go to PA school right after school and I had my heart set on uab.

I always wanted to do surgery.

So I applied only there following undergrad and I did not get in.

That was a huge blow to the ego.

But that's okay.

I think it all worked out in the end.

I'm actually very glad.

So I ended up taking a year off and I worked a lot of odds and end jobs.

I shadowed a lot of PAs.

I worked as like a nurse tech and doing triage in different sort of clinics around Birmingham, Alabama actually moved there.

I also cheered in college, so I became a cheerleading coach at uab.

And I also was a cheerleading coach in an all star group down there as well.

So I was working like three to four jobs during that entire year.

And I reapplied to UAB as well as another program, Tribeca in Nashville.

I secured an interview with Tribeca but did not get in that second time the applies cycle that I did.

And then I applied to uab, got an interview and got accepted that second time, which I was really excited about.

And it all worked out because I'm from Kentucky.

I was a resident of Kentucky and moved, moving down there for a year and taking that leap of faith to reapply and do all that.

I actually got in state tuition and became a resident and was able to do that, which was very helpful in the long run.

That is a really big move and I think maybe something that a lot of people wouldn't necessarily be willing to do even if they really want to go to a school, which UAB is on the top of a lot of people's list.

Oh yeah, yeah.

I really, I sing the phrases of uab.

I had a really good experience.

I think you can find faults in every PA program.

You know, I think you can nitpick any program and say, oh, I wish I would.

They would have done this better.

But, you know, I really can't find many.

The staff was just really great.

All the educators were just really wonderful setting up.

Our rotations were huge.

And they had just a lot of great resources and a lot of great preceptors.

So I have no qualms with uab and it definitely does speak volumes to applying to jobs because people will interview me and ask me about my training at UAB and I've had people specifically ask for UAB trained PAs.

And it was, it was really, it was really great.

So I love my program and I'm glad I did take the leap of faith to move down there and work my tail off for a year and some weird jobs.

Hey, make it happen.

So I also love surgery and I think if I did not do derm, I would do surgery.

Are you actually in the or?

What is kind of your job look like on a daily basis?

My job currently I'm not in the OR as much as my previous jobs.

So being out of PA school, this is my fifth year.

I don't know if this is a good or bad thing, but this will be my fourth job coming out of PA school.

So I've moved around a little bit.

I actually came to this community right out of PA school and I really thought to be with the general surgery office.

But I kind of fought with administration for nine months and they were not letting me move into that office.

They wanted me in urgent care, which I did not enjoy.

I really did do a study to do surgery and so I was a little bit frustrated in that regard.

So anyway, I ended up securing a job in A level 2 trauma and acute care center in Bangor, Maine as a locum tenems.

So I did travel for nine months, ended up taking a permanent position with that job for the next year and a half.

Then I got married and life moved back to Lexington where I did general and vascular surgery and then back to general surgery here.

So in trauma and acute care, in my vascular and general surgery job, I was.

My first priority is pretty much the or.

I did a lot of critical care in my trauma job.

We really acted as first year residents.

We had the pagers.

We were first called for any issues on the floor and we rotated doing like a floor call and critical care call and also trauma call.

So we would respond to the code, the trauma codes, and we would also be first assisting in the or.

And that is really how that ebb and flowed through that trauma service, which was really exciting.

I got to do a lot of procedures, a line, central lines, chest tubes, thoracentesis.

And I was learning some bronchoscopies, therapeutic bronchoscopies at the end there.

So it was really awesome.

And my vascular and general surger group, my first priority was the OR as well.

So we first assisted majority of the time and rounded on patients here I kind of do a little bit of all of it.

I rotate to the hospital and clinic.

I do a clinic for two weeks that I'll rotate through the hospital where I do a little bit of or and then round on patients and do consults in the hospital.

Okay, cool.

So yeah, you're kind of all over.

What are your hours like for my.

Clinic weeks because there's three PAs in our service.

So we rotate two week stents in either the clinic and then we're hospital.

Then there's kind of a float two weeks where we have a little bit of an easier schedule.

So we get a few days off.

Not a few days, but some mornings off during the week if the load is light through the hospital.

So that way, because coming after that hospital two weeks is a little gruesome because the hospital two weeks were pretty much there from 7 to 5, Monday through Friday.

Sometimes you can go home early.

It just really depends on the workload, the patient load.

And also you're pretty much have to be there in case consults come in because you're going to be kind of the first one to respond to consults and anything of that nature.

But in clinic it's pretty much 8 to 5 and then we have a half day on Friday.

So it kind of rotates.

It's been pretty nice.

It's been nice for work.

Life balance for me.

Having a new child.

Yeah.

What is your level of autonomy or kind of your relationship with your supervising physician or physicians?

It's changed a little bit.

It's gotten a little.

What's the, how do I say?

Autonomous?

Is that a word?

Yeah, autonomous.

Yeah.

So it's gotten a little less autonomous.

Hopefully it's chromatically correct.

I clearly did not get an English degree.

But as I, as I went through my jobs from trauma, acute care, then my job in Lexington, Kentucky, in this one, in my trauma job, the trauma surgeons, they let you go?

I pretty much chest tubes.

I saw one, did one and then went to the floor and did one by myself.

The trauma surgeon looked at me and said, you can do this, right?

I was like, yep.

So I marched to the floor by myself with a student.

And that was really the second time I put a chest tube in, and that was quite terrifying because my patient was awake on the floor in stable condition.

So those are always the most terrifying chest tubes to put in because they're really alert.

So they were very autonomous.

And in my practice there, although if I ever needed them, they were a call away.

They trained us very well.

I had other PAs that trained us very well and were there with us every step of the way.

I saw a lot of chest tubes before I did that and a lines, and they were just very good at feeling the situation and knowing when they needed to be there and knowing when they felt confident in my ability.

With all the PAs, they did a wonderful, beautiful job with the relationship between the supervising position and the pa.

Being in a smaller practice in a small town, it just makes it a little bit complicated because everybody knows everyone.

So you're pretty much seeing your patients at church, at the Mexican restaurant, you know, everywhere in town.

So you kind of can't.

You don't have that luxury.

Just because patients want to see the surgeon, they want to see the surgeon, they want to see your physician because that's who they're seeing out in the community.

And having that mid level is just still a little bit new in a smaller rural community.

So it's just a little bit different.

But they still do a really good job of incorporating us into the practice.

Interesting.

Okay, let's kind of.

I'm interested to know, so you.

What made you interested in nutrition?

Like, why did you choose that as a major?

And was it helpful for PA school?

Yes, I would say yes for PA school and also my career now.

But I was first a biology major and I enjoyed the biology classes, but I hated coming out of the class and not really being able to apply it to my everyday life.

That really frustrated me that I spent all these hours learning things and I was just like, I want to just do something with this now.

Like, I want to learn something that I feel like I can apply to my life now.

And at the time, all through four years of college, I was a collegiate cheerleader.

So being in shape, being at an appropriate size for our sport was very important.

My sister was a nutrition major, and I would be kind of in the mix with her, seeing what she was learning.

And I was like, oh, this is really awesome.

You know, I feel like what you've learned in class could apply to your life now.

This things that you can know and build upon and just continue on for the rest of your life.

That would be really helpful.

So I switched my degree to nutrition and I ended up loving it.

I loved it because, like I said, it helped me through my fitness level in college and where I needed to be and wanted to be.

And as far as being a PA right now in our general surgery clinic, again bringing in the rural community, we do a lot of primary care through our clinic.

So I think in a lot of larger communities, when patients come to your general surgery clinic, they pretty much already come with the diagnosis and they come with pretty much the plan of action, what you're going to do.

They have the appropriate studies ordered and you pretty much know their problem and know your plan of action really before you see the patient a lot of the times.

But here they come in a lot with vague symptoms and they kind of get shuttled to us to kind of figure out and decipher between their symptoms.

And a lot of times it's like nutritional things, it's ibs, it's constipation, diarrhea, that's diet related, it's lactose intolerance, it's gluten sensitivities and coaching through that.

And I have a, there's a surgeon, Dr. Barr, that I work with who's very sweet and people will come in with these complaints and he's like, she's the expert, please talk to her, Just listen to what she says.

I'm like, okay, so he'll like walk out of the room and then I'll counsel people through.

Even with people with diabetes who are so lost and clueless and they want to know more about carbs or their diet or losing weight or different things that cause sensitivity.

So it's been really great.

It's been really helpful in this environment.

Okay, that's, that's an interesting way to think about because, yeah, my biology degree was useless, basically did not learn much that I could apply to life.

So I'm sure there's things you could do.

But yes, it's very difficult.

Mitosis and things.

And figuring out like, are you gonna use organic chemistry?

No.

You're not ever going to ever?

No.

Okay, so I want to talk about.

This is something we've never really talked about on the podcast at all is staying healthy in PA school, which we touched on, we talked about a little bit before.

But I mean, I don't necessarily think I did a great job of this.

And looking back, I think I would be better at giving tips than when I was in PA school, just because it's really hard when you're in the thick of it.

And like you said, you're just trying to survive is what it comes down to is, you know, you're not necessarily thinking about what you're eating or if you're eating or if you're working out because school is such a big priority.

So do you think you did a good job of kind of taking care of yourself and your health during PA school?

I think I stayed active.

I don't know if my diet was quite as tight as I would want it to be, but I think I stayed fairly active, which was huge.

My first year PA school, I was still coaching cheerleading, so I was able to work out with the cheerleaders and I even went to games with them and stayed active with them in that regard during my didactic year.

So that was really easy.

Staying active and kind of having an active release, stress relief from PA school, something to get my mind off PA school, my mind out of studying.

So that was very therapeutic for me.

And as far as overall health, I think that did wonders for me in my first year.

But yes, I don't think my diet really did well the whole time.

I think they're cramming stuff in your mouth because you're up at 3am trying to study for that test and you're just like trying to stay awake.

You're going to Einstein Bagel.

That's what was bars, you know, like just getting something to survive class because sitting there for six hours is so mind numbing.

At least you can enjoy the cinnamon delicious bagel and kind of keep you awake.

So I don't know if I did the best really with my diet, but I think staying active and finding that downtime and finding that stress relief when you feel like everything is kind of coming down on you and it seems so serious in the moment.

I feel like I did fairly well.

So the only reason I worked out was because two of my now, I mean they're still my best friends, but two of my friends in PA school would go to the gym and basically make me go and they would do these workouts and they would run and I was like, I'm not running.

I will walk with you guys around the track, but I'm not running.

They would always try to get me to mud runs and 5Ks and I was refused to.

But they, they were very kind to me and I'm glad they were still my friend and are still my friends.

But I was just saying like I always had such a bad attitude about it.

But looking back, I'm very thankful that they encouraged me to do that because it was A good stress relief, and that's how we really became friends, is because we were able to talk about non school things or sometimes we could study while we worked out, you know, and kind of quiz each other.

But I mean, yeah, so that was not necessarily my priority, but something I did just because people need me.

Yeah.

And I think really managing your expectations on what healthy means to you at this point in time, like having a raging six pack and a bikini body probably is not the best time to think about in PA school.

You know, like, maybe you don't have the time to keep your nutrition as tight and also, like, hit the gym as hard as you want it if you're trying to be in a bodybuilding competition or something.

But really managing those expectations.

And like, what does healthy mean to me right now?

And healthy means thriving in PA school, having the energy to study, and having the energy to still maintain my relationships during this very stressful time in my life.

So really digging deep, getting in your feelings, as Drake would call it, and really managing those expectations, what healthy means to you at the moment, and then really guiding your life in that way.

I think that's the number one tip is find that stress relief and don't let PA school be consuming.

Go out, have fun, have fun with your friends and get that stress relief.

I think that could be the single most best thing you could do in PA school.

Yeah.

And just, I mean, make time for yourself.

Yes, that makes sense.

So also, like, I.

And I mean, even in the sense of just kind of check in with yourself and make sure that you're doing things to take care of you, like eating and doing things that you're doing.

Joy for stress relief.

I've said it before, but I love reading.

And I didn't read a single book for fun during my entire time I was in PA school.

And when I was living at home and my parents invited me to go grab food, I would say no.

And I would tell them they could bring me something back.

And by then I was usually asleep.

And so I just didn't eat dinner.

And that's not healthy.

That's not making good choices for yourself.

And again, looking back, I can see that.

I don't know about your class, but my class had a snack closet.

Did y' all have a snack closet?

Okay, no, that was like our fundraiser, except for I think we just had it at cost.

So they would go to Costco and buy all these snacks for the closet and then we.

You could get a candy bar for like 25 cents.

I mean, it Was great.

It was not great, but it was great.

So I don't know if your class has a snack closet, but you may want to fashion yourself when it comes to everyone.

When you interview to PA school, probably the number one question is, so do you have a snack?

You might want to ask that at your interview.

If they have a snack closet in their house, you need to make.

Send them to your book.

And that's an important question.

That's not what I included, but it should be because, yeah, we had a great snack.

I hope they still have that going because it was.

It was great on the honor system.

So you just put your.

Put your money in the slot and take the candy or the food or the chips or the Coke or whatever.

That is fantastic.

Yeah, it was great.

But yeah, the Santa closet was good.

And then I do remember also, like, I was not necessarily one of these.

I tried to bring my lunch every day, most days, but we didn't really have many options to go get food anyway.

But we had people in my class who ate out every single meal.

Like, literally, they would bring Starbucks for breakfast.

It was so expensive.

They would go get something for lunch at the little cafe thing and then they would all go out to dinner.

And I was like, like, how are you doing that?

Yeah, one, I couldn't afford that.

And two, yes,.

But.

All right, so we met on Instagram through Warren the Skin, who's been on the podcast.

But so you.

How'd you get into nutrition coaching?

And I, I love, like, one of my things I love is when PAs, because I feel like PAs in general have a lot of other interests outside of being a pa, So, I mean, there's people who have clothing companies and all kinds of stuff.

So how did you kind of get into this kind of side nutrition coaching on the side?

Yeah, Well, I never would have guessed in a million years that I would do something like this because one, it was funny I was thinking about this today that you tell yourself these things, these things you would never do.

One, I'll never move back home.

I'm back home.

Or two, man, I could never, like, sell anything or do the whole Instagram thing.

Like, I just couldn't do it.

That just seems terrible and ta da been such a joy.

And I honestly found it because I've obviously, obviously always have been interested in nutrition.

I have a degree in nutrition.

I was a college athlete where health and nutrition and fitness was really important.

And like, basically my everyday life, I eat, slept and breathed, working out and eating healthy and being athletically active.

So it's always been an interest.

And I always dabble in things that are like, kind of hot on the market a little bit, you know, Whole 30.

I've done a little bit of low carb, not strict keto, but that didn't last very long.

But always just finding ways to incorporate healthy things into your life.

Because I knew from the very beginning, even as a nutrition major, that good health and preventative health starts with what you eat, period.

We even learned that in PA school about diet and exercise, like losing weight, being healthy for preventative disease, 90% diet, 10% exercise.

So I always have known that diet has had a huge component on your outlook on your health and the preventing of chronic illness.

So I've always kind of had a passion for that, especially because people in my family have chronic illness.

And I always try to be like, no, eat this or eat that.

So I kind of research for them and always kind of do that.

So I always dabbled in it.

So come in.

Postpartum, I was lacking motivation.

I was three months postpartum.

I had a friend of mine, Lauren, who was a faster weight coach.

I had seen her posting and kind of in the beginning I made fun of her because I was like, this is ridiculous.

And look at her.

Like, I cannot believe this.

Like, what the heck?

So I finally gave in because I pretty much hit a low point, you know, I was not making good choices.

I couldn't cut the sugar dragon.

What I, you know, brought into postpartum diet Coke was my best friend again.

And basically every meal was refined sugar.

And I was like, I've got to stop this.

I feel miserable.

So I took the leap and went into a group and I was overwhelmed at first, but after learning the strategies, it interested me even more.

And then I got on PubMed at work and looked up articles on intermittent fasting.

Was like, I think there is something to this.

So I started looking at the research and the medical research that's been done.

And there, there is, you know, it was incredible what I was, you know, learning and reading.

I was like, oh, I think this is legit.

Like, I think this is real.

What they have discovered and working alongside our metabolism.

I really think the code has been cracked here.

I wasn't deprived.

There wasn't a mean macro, There wasn't a macro that was eliminated or saying, that is the bad guy.

It was, it was what I felt like.

I learned in nutrition, everything in moderation.

We have treats, we have carbs, we have fats.

It's just at the right times, at the right places and the right kinds.

And so it was just a wonderful way to just envelop everything that people tell you into one system and one structure.

So I loved it.

So because of that, then I became a coach.

And I'm a born teacher.

And I'm a born coach because I coached uab cheerleading.

I teach people.

I taught swim lessons in high school.

I taught gymnastics in college.

So I'm a born coach.

I love to do it.

It's my passion.

So having nutrition and coaching all at once and preventative health, it was kind of a dream come true, honestly.

That's awesome.

So.

So I did the program, and I thought it was really interesting.

And you were a good teacher.

Just like, the whole, like, back, like, the metabolism stuff, and actually at AAPA this year, they had an intermittent fasting lecture, which was super popular.

It was, like, full.

Yeah, they.

I mean, they talked about, like, all these different ways you can do it and, like, all the studies and stuff.

It was.

It was great.

It's incredible.

Yeah.

So I tried Whole 30, which was awful.

I actually tried twice.

The first time made it 15 days.

The second time was when I was postpartum.

And I don't know what was going on my body, but it made me so sick.

Like, physically, I was getting sick.

It was awful.

And I tried to be right postpartum, and it went awful, too.

I made it four days.

Yeah, me too.

And that's what I was like, I'm waking up sick in the middle of the night.

My husband's like, are you pregnant?

I'm like, no, I'm not.

Like, I don't know what's happening to me.

So it was just not a great experience.

And I was doing it with my medical assistant at work.

He's also one of my best friends.

And I was like, we're not doing this again.

Like, if I ever say I want to do this again, we're not, like, shut me down.

Not happening.

But I was like, you.

I was, like, so desperate to not be squishy anymore.

Which.

Having a baby is amazing and wonderful and all that, but, like, it rocks your body.

So I'm with you there, because mine is 12 and a half months old.

Yeah.

A little baby, but.

Okay, so give us.

So somebody who's never heard of, like, intermittent fasting.

Fast, weighted fat loss.

Like, just give me the basics of what that means, and everyone can go do their own research, but kind of.

What.

What does that mean?

So what intermittent fasting specifically means or what the faster way is about?

I guess, like, What Faster Way is about, and then what each, like, because I know it's the intermittent fasting, carb cycling, and now I know those mean things to you, but I did not.

I'd always heard about macros.

Like, that's what I was heard, like, eat your macros.

Macros, macros.

And I was like, I don't know what that is.

Like, I didn't learn that in school.

I don't know what that is.

So give us a breakdown on that.

Yeah.

So the Faster Way to Fat Loss is a program.

It's an online program that guides you through.

There's kind of the six pillars of the Faster Way, and the.

And the main one is really intermittent fasting.

So intermittent fasting is really the basis of the Faster Way to Fat loss.

That's where that comes from.

And then you add in the others, which makes it kind of a awesome program altogether.

But intermittent fasting, you have whole food nutrition, you have macros and macro tracking, you have carb cycling, strength training, and combined with hiit and then also community.

So accountability and community.

You join a community, you join an accountability group with me where I coach and teach you through all of the aspects.

So it's all of these things, and then I teach you through all of these.

I teach you the metabolism of each macronutrient, why it's important for us to have them.

I teach you why carb cycling is effective and what's happening metabolically in our bodies to show the results and the fat loss that we're having.

And I also go over intermittent fasting, and again, what is happening inside our bodies and how intermittent fasting works with playing on our insulin levels and depleting our glycogen stores out of our liver, increasing autophagy and apoptosis with cellular regeneration in our body.

So I go through all of these things in the group, and I teach you kind of how to put it together in a cohesive flexibility, flexible plan.

So it's all online seven weeks.

And we do it through an accountability group.

And you have access to me daily and with weekly trainings.

Okay.

So I just.

I'll say kind of what I liked about it.

So, number one, I liked having you as a coach because I know you have a background in nutrition.

You're a pa. Like, you actually know your stuff, and you're not some random person who decided they want to coach people in nutrition, which I feel like I see sometimes.

And I'm like, wait, why are you qualified to do this?

And so that was great.

And also, like, I thought I tried intermittent fasting a little bit, and I always thought it would be really hard.

But once I, like, got in the groove, it really only took a few days for me to kind of get in the group, which I've been sick recently and trying to breathe and survive, but I'm finally, like, over that hump.

And so I'm like, okay, I need to get back.

Also, like, the teaching.

I don't know how to explain this.

Like, I felt like I understood my body better and, like, what it needed and why, which was really helpful.

And then I also, like you said, being, like, didn't.

Which.

I'm gonna be completely honest with you.

I think I told you this, but, like, I did not stick to the rules very well.

Like.

Like, I pretty much ate what fit my macros, even if it was, like, dairy or whatever.

But, I mean, I didn't feel deprived of anything.

I felt like I was eating a lot.

Everyone says that.

Interesting.

Like, and that's one of my problems is, like, I don't feel like I can eat enough.

But then I was still, like, seeing things change and losing weight.

So it was really cool.

Really interesting how all of that works.

And.

And one thing, if anyone decides to do something like this, like, planning ahead to me was key.

Like, and that's what I've learned.

If I don't plan ahead, I'm gonna choose the easiest option, which is usually the closest option, which for me is either Zaxby's or McDonald's, which sounds.

Because I'd get a pretty good salad, that's fine.

But I haven't found any great choices at McDonald's.

So, I mean, I just.

I learned a lot doing it.

So, yeah, I think it's huge.

And I think it's such a great mindset shift for people, especially people who come from the 90s and are scared of fats, and then people who come from keto land and are scared of carbs.

And I.

And I preach all the time.

I don't think there's a bad macro.

I think you just have to find what fits for you and what makes you feel good.

Because some people do decrease their carbs and things, and you have somebody to kind of sound bored with.

You know, you're kind of going through this program, you're eating a lot, and you're telling me how you feel.

So you're telling me how you feel throughout the whole thing.

When we troubleshoot, if I don't know the answer, I go find it for you.

I'll research it for You, I'll find somebody else that knows the answer and that we really just kind of brainstorm to find something that works and feels good for you.

Because at the end of the day, if I just tell you rules and follow them and they're not flexible and they're not personalized to you, you're not going to thrive and you're not going to survive in a lifestyle like that, and then it's going to be pointless.

So it's really nice to have somebody to sound bored off of, to be like, well, these are actually my pain points, and I'm not really feeling good in this part.

Is there something that we can do to adjust?

So that's what I really like about it as well.

And I think people really get that mindset shift to.

There's not a bad macro.

And I think, really, I'm a huge proponent in thinking, if you understand how and why we do it and what is going on, you just feel so much more empowered to do it.

You're like, oh, I get it.

Somebody's not just telling you, hey, do this.

I'm like, hey, do this.

Because this is what's happening, and it's super cool.

And so it's a lot easier to kind of stay on track that way.

And just like you said, you just felt, like, more empowered, more confident to be like, I'm eating this, and I don't feel one guilty about it.

I feel really good about it, and I'm gonna go on with my day, and I know this is going to fuel me appropriately.

And boom.

Yeah, I need to get.

Get back on it.

But that's that thing too.

Like, I feel like now I. I do understand it, and I can kind of.

Yeah, and you have an ebb and flow.

You can be a little bit more flexible.

You can kind of.

I don't like to say off the wagon, but, you know, you can be less strict tracking and you kind of start to naturally track your foods, and then you can kind of go back to it, depending on where you are in your journey.

If you're at maintenance, if you want to change this, change more composition here, it just all depends on where you are in your journey.

It can be flexible to meet that need.

No, it's great.

All right, well, tell us where we can find you and follow you and get more info and ask you all the questions.

Yeah, so if you go to yourpaplatform.com I think, backslash Instagram, Right.

There'll be a link that goes to my page as well, that goes to the Faster Way main page and we'll see me as a coach and we'll talk more about our pillars of the faster Way, what to expect, what rounds kind of look like, and more information.

But I share a lot of tips and information on my Instagram.

That's probably the main place that you want to follow me and see what's going on.

I share lots of Faster Way tips and I also like to dive into a of lot, little bit of the science and the why with my posts and a little bit of my stories.

So my handle is Ashley phillipsturner.

You can go follow me there.

And I keep you up to date on when my rounds start, when they begin, when you can register.

And again, there's lots of tips and information and try to keep you up to date on the latest research or what's coming out, what's healthy, and kind of some Mythbusters too.

You hear stuff and you wonder, oh, should I be doing that?

Should I be not?

Like, should I drink celery juice every hour?

So I kind of go over some stuff like that.

And if there's any pain points for people, I'll.

I'll go into a story or something and share what I've learned or a pain point of another client that I feel like someone would benefit from.

So Instagram is the best place probably to follow me.

And also check out the link on the P platform dot com.

Okay.

And when are you starting a new round?

I have a new round of July 15, so it starts in on Monday.

It's seven weeks total.

The first week is all prep week, so you do not have to come in July 15th knowing anything.

You can be clueless as anyone.

You don't have to know what a macro means.

If you've never fasted in your life, that's fantastic.

You don't even have to go to the grocery store before Monday.

Just show up in the group Monday, learn all that week, and then you can hit the ground running the next week.

So that first week is all learning.

You could show up as unprepared as possible.

Perfect.

Well, I think this has been very informative, and I'm sure you'll get tons of questions, but thank you.

Happy to answer them.

All right, y', all, that was Ashley.

So I hope you found her as endearing as I did.

Sorry, my voice was kind of quiet.

I'm not really sure why.

I think I need to talk closer to my microphone, but try to do better next time.

I have some more great stuff coming up for you, so we're gonna get a sneak peek at what a mock interview is like with someone who is applying and interviewing this cycle.

So I'm excited to share that with you.

And some financial stuff coming up.

And then I'm going to have some more PA students, newly graduated PAs, lots and lots of really good stuff, as well as some more voicemail questions, which if you have your own voicemail question, go ahead and leave it.

The link is in the bio.

And then if you have any questions for Ashley or questions about faster way to fat loss, feel free to message me.

Message her.

And then my link to get more info is in the description as well.

So there's thanks so much for following.

If you've enjoyed this episode or any episodes, I would love for you to subscribe and then give us a review and let me know what else you want to hear about.

See you guys next time.