Kim C - The Buff Mama's Journey

In this episode of Quiet Connection, I'm connecting with Kim Chahat, also known as the Buff Mama, to explore her powerful journey through motherhood and fitness. Kim opens up about the mental health challenges she faced during pregnancy and postpartum, including her struggles with anxiety. 

She shares how fitness became a vital part of her recovery, helping her rebuild both physical and emotional strength. Together, we discuss the importance of seeking support, prioritizing self-care, and modeling healthy behaviors for their children. 

This candid conversation is a reminder that healing and strength often come from showing up for yourself—one step, one rep, and one day at a time. 

To learn more about Kim, visit her Instagram or Website. 

Takeaways

• Postpartum mental health is crucial and often overlooked.
• Kim's journey into fitness began with CrossFit and evolved into powerlifting.
• Pregnancy can be isolating, especially without a support system.
• Postpartum preeclampsia can occur even if blood pressure was normal during pregnancy.
• Anxiety can amplify postpartum, leading to intrusive thoughts.
• Seeking help for mental health should not be delayed.
• Fitness can provide a sense of purpose and boost confidence postpartum.
• Community support is vital for new mothers.
• Modeling self-care for children is important for their development.
• Balancing mental and physical health is essential for overall well-being.

Sound Bites

"Fitness gave me a purpose again."
"I love helping other women."
"Don't wait to ask for help."

Transcript

Chelsea (00:00)
Welcome to Quiet Connection, a podcast dedicated to ending the stigma around postpartum mental health. I'm Chelsea. This week, I'm chatting with Kim, known as the Buff Mama, about her journey through motherhood and fitness. Despite her history of high-functioning anxiety, Kim ultimately felt unprepared for postpartum anxiety. We explore the intersection of physical and mental wellness, emphasizing the need for both in the postpartum period. Here's Kim.

Chelsea (00:30)
Hello, today I'm here with Kim. Kim, how are you? I'm doing pretty good. It's good to finally meet you virtually face to face.

Kim Chahat (00:33)
I'm doing well, how are you doing?

Yes. Yes,

is. Talk to you a lot over chat. So yeah, it's nice to see your face.

Chelsea (00:45)
Yeah. Quiet Connection social media followers will know Kim as the Buff Mama and we've done a collaboration and I've shared some of your stuff and you are just doing some really cool things in the postpartum fitness world. So I'm excited to chat with you. Rather than read down my list of all about Kim, I'd love it if you could sort of introduce yourself.

Kim Chahat (01:02)
Thank you. Yes, me too.

Chelsea (01:12)
and let us know who was Kim before Kim was a mom.

Kim Chahat (01:16)
yeah, my name is Kim and before I was a mom, so let's see, so I guess starting back a long time ago, so I grew up in like a rural town in Oklahoma and it was a very small town and I lived there until about high school and then I moved to Northern California which I've been in California ever since then and I went to

high school there and then I went to college at UC Davis and I graduated in 2012 and then got my first job in biotech and it was around that time that I first discovered like fitness and working out. Before that I was always just cardio bunny in the gym doing treadmills and things and so it wasn't until around that time that I discovered it was CrossFit actually was my first.

first introduction into like strength training. And I did CrossFit for a while and I realized that I really enjoyed the strength aspect of that.

So after doing CrossFit for a while, I actually moved over to doing Strongman, which was really fun. I did that like competitively for a while and had a lot of fun with that. Eventually I met my husband and I moved down to Southern California.

And it was around that time that I switched to doing powerlifting. And so I've been doing powerlifting. I did it competitively for a while until I had my baby. And now I'm just doing it more for fun. That's kind of my background there. besides doing fitness coaching through my career kind of in biotech, I've been working in various labs. And I still work as a software engineer for a biotech company.

Chelsea (02:56)
Yeah.

That's crazy. I did not know that you are busy. my gosh. I have to say like, and I've wanted to say this to you so many times on Instagram, like, I am not a fitness person. Like it's something that takes a lot of effort for me. But like,

Kim Chahat (03:13)
Yes. Yes.

Chelsea (03:32)
I love your content. love your videos, but I'm also obsessed with your weights. Like, is that a weird thing to say? Like you have these like rainbow, like everything is so colorful in your home gym and like, and I'm obsessed with the vibe. So even coming from someone who is like not fitness.

Kim Chahat (03:45)
yes.

Yes.

Chelsea (03:55)
oriented, your content is very interesting and motivates me.

Kim Chahat (04:00)
Thank you. I love colors. I like the rainbows and the pink colors. yeah, try to make the gym fun.

Chelsea (04:06)
Yeah.

Yeah, I love I asked this question to everyone and I always feel so stupid asking it, but I'm going to do it anyway. Were kids always a part of your life plan?

Kim Chahat (04:15)
fine.

They were not. I actually did not want kids at all until probably three or four years ago before I started, know, before I had my son. So I was very, you know, very into fitness, into my career. And it was just not something that I ever really thought I would want. It wasn't until I met my husband and moved down to Southern California and my sister had kids and I, you know, was

really enjoyed watching them and being with them until I started feeling that pull to be a mother. So no, I didn't always want kids until probably about when I turned 30.

Chelsea (04:55)
Yeah, so see, I always feel silly asking the question, but it really does give me lot of insight into your like origin story. Like if we're thinking, if we're thinking like Marvel terms, like...

Kim Chahat (05:05)
Yes. Yeah. No, it's not a silly

question. It's always interesting to hear.

Chelsea (05:13)
Yeah. So when you met your husband and you made that decision that you both wanted to start a family, what did that journey look like for you?

Kim Chahat (05:22)
That journey, yeah, so see. So yeah, it was about probably three, three and a half years ago. We got married during COVID. We bought a house and been in our house for a while. And that's when we decided that we want to start a family. and then, so when I got pregnant,

It was right before my husband was going to leave the country for a year for work. So we weren't planning it then. We were going to wait till after, but yeah, it happened earlier. So yeah, he left for work for a different country, for France for a year. And so during the first trimester, I was by myself. I saw him once.

Chelsea (05:51)
my gosh.

Kim Chahat (06:11)
right at the beginning of the second trimester and I didn't see him again until the third trimester and he came home a little bit early so he was here for the birth and things. yeah, so was by myself for most of my pregnancy.

Chelsea (06:23)
Yeah!

Did you have any sort of a support system backing you through that?

Kim Chahat (06:28)
No, no, my whole family lives back in Oklahoma. So I did go visit them a couple times, but yeah, my whole family lives there. So only had a couple friends down here in SoCal.

Chelsea (06:40)
my gosh. I mean, pregnancy is a lot and it's isolating in and of itself. How did you sort of navigate that? What were you doing to make sure that that you were meeting your own needs during that time?

Kim Chahat (06:55)
Yeah, pregnancy was hard. I had morning sickness the entire time until I gave birth. And I just, I guess, leaned on my friends that were here. I have a workout buddy that I work out with. So that was really helpful to see her, you know, four times a week. And I did visit my husband once just knowing that he was going to be coming back home and he would call me all the time and he was really supportive from, from far away. So that really helped just knowing I had the support system, even if they weren't like.

here with me. Yeah.

Chelsea (07:24)
Yeah,

Morning sickness is awful and I am empathizing with you and to hear that you had it throughout your whole pregnancy is like, my God, I don't know how you did that.

So your husband's home, you're preparing for the birth. What was your birth experience like?

Kim Chahat (07:42)
Yeah, my husband came back in third trimester and then my, I was lucky my mom also came to visit for the birth and she was able to stay a few months to help. So that was amazing. for the birth itself, let's see, yeah, birth story. So I was laying in bed, was like 11.59 PM and my due date was like midnight. So was my due date. My baby decided, okay, it's time.

Chelsea (07:54)
wow.

Ha ha!

Kim Chahat (08:12)
you know, it's hit your due date at 12 a.m., so time to go. So my water broke like right at midnight. And yeah, it was a lot. I tried to go back to bed and then I realized there's no way. So we went to the hospital, but I wasn't in labor yet. I hadn't started any contractions, anything. But my water had broken. I had lost so much fluid that they induced me as soon as I got there. So then I was induced and

Chelsea (08:20)
my god.

Kim Chahat (08:42)
I wasn't, because I had lost so much fluid, every time I would move, my baby's heart rate would drop considerably. So I wasn't allowed to move. couldn't, I could lay on my back and maybe kind of roll my side or side, but I wasn't allowed to stand up or move at all. And I was in labor. I tried to last as long as possible without the epidural, but I eventually got the epidural and it was like 12 p.m. or 1 p.m. the next day.

And as soon as I got the epidural, I relaxed and it was super fast. It was like within an hour the baby was out. So I wish I got the epidural earlier because it just really helped me relax and then everything just happened as soon as I got that epidural. And yeah, that was fine. I felt really great. Stayed at the hospital for like a day, then I went home. And then it was a couple of days later that I started feeling really weird, like really.

Chelsea (09:15)
wow. Wow.

Kim Chahat (09:39)
Every time I would stand up, I would be super lightheaded and dizzy. It was hard to walk across the room. I just felt terrible. And I thought it was just normal postpartum feeling. So I didn't think about it. And my friend said, OK, you should check your blood pressure. I'm going to bring my blood pressure cuff over, and you can check it. And so I checked it, and it was like 165 over 105 or something. And I could

called my doctor and she was like, okay, you need to go back to labor and delivery right now. And I said, no, I have my baby's doctor's appointment. I need to go to that first and then I'll go. She's like, no, go in right now. I was like, no, I'm gonna go the doctor. So I took my baby to a doctor first and then I went to labor and delivery. I still didn't think anything was wrong. And then I went to labor and delivery and they also didn't really like think anything was wrong.

Chelsea (10:12)
Yeah.

my gosh.

Kim Chahat (10:32)
until they took my blood pressure. At that point, was like 182 over 112. And then they called, like they sounded an alarm and like six nurses came in and they gave me an IV and all this medicine to get my blood pressure back down to like the 160s. And they put me on a magnesium drip and then I was there for five or six days, trying to get my blood pressure under control. yeah, so was severe postpartum preeclampsia. Even though my blood pressure was normal the entire pregnancy.

It happened after birth. Yes, that was hard. Luckily, they let my baby stay with me. That was what I was most worried about. Yeah, so that was amazing. And it was still during kind of COVID times. They only let my husband visit during the day and only one person could visit me. yeah, so eventually they got it under control and I was just on a couple different blood pressure medicines for like two or three months until it stabilized.

Chelsea (11:05)
Yeah, which is something that

Kim Chahat (11:31)
But yeah, that was scary.

Chelsea (11:33)
Yeah, yeah.

Well, and so I think we're becoming more aware of preeclampsia in general, but I don't think a lot of people realize that there is postpartum preeclampsia and HELPP syndrome and that in and of itself is so scary because like you said, throughout your whole pregnancy, your blood pressure was not a problem. And if you don't have knowledge about it,

Kim Chahat (11:56)
Yes.

Chelsea (11:59)
just like what you said, you're like, this must just be normal postpartum stuff. But actually it's, yeah. Yeah. so.

Kim Chahat (12:03)
Yes. Yeah, like I even went to the doctor. Yeah, my baby took my baby to doctor and everything. I just was in denial. Yeah. Didn't even know. Yeah.

Chelsea (12:13)
So after that, so you're in the hospital, that's traumatic in and of itself to go through what you went through. I'm thankful that your baby was able to be with you. But again, like so many new parents or first time parents that I've been talking to, everyone seems to have had their babies in COVID times. And it really speaks to the toll that it took and is taking on parents who gave birth during that time, because

Kim Chahat (12:39)
Yes.

Chelsea (12:42)
you went through this and then you did start to experience some postpartum mental health challenges. How did that manifest for you?

Kim Chahat (12:48)
Yes.

Yeah, I've had anxiety my whole life. So anxiety itself was not new, kind of just high functioning anxiety. So I've been fine. But during postpartum, it amplified like 100%. And was not just that anxiety that was just kind of in the background. It was like intrusive thoughts, imagining the worst thing happening at random times and just feeling like this panic.

Chelsea (13:05)
Mm-hmm.

Kim Chahat (13:19)
that was definitely new and tough. And it really helped the first couple months having my mom there. I kept it at bay. And then as soon as she left, was like, just like hit me like a ton of bricks. that took me a while. Eventually, finally I started to get help for that. I started seeing a therapist, like talk therapy, and then also

Chelsea (13:34)
Yeah.

Kim Chahat (13:46)
I started Lexapro and trying out different meds. And so that was like life changing. And I wish I didn't wait so long. I think I waited like almost eight months to a year postpartum before I got help. But yeah, that's been life changing.

Chelsea (14:00)
Yeah, well, and it highlights too as well. Again, just like with we have this knowledge of preeclampsia and we don't have this knowledge about postpartum preeclampsia, like you had a preexisting mental health condition that you were very well aware of. And still you were like, whoa, what, like, what is this? Like it can catch you off guard. I'm...

Kim Chahat (14:24)
Yes.

Chelsea (14:25)
Thankfully, usually one of my questions is like, was your support system like in that time? It sounds like you had great support from your mom. How was your relationship with your partner through that experience?

Kim Chahat (14:34)
Yes. Yeah.

It was good, but he wasn't done with his out of the country trip. So he still had to go back to France. And so he was gone for like chunks of like four weeks, three weeks at a time coming back and forth. So it was really hard on him to go back and forth like that. And also, yeah, hard, hard for me because then I'd be alone with the baby, no support system for three or four weeks at a time with a newborn. So that was, yeah, that was definitely hard. Yeah.

Chelsea (14:43)
I was... yeah.

Yeah, what got

you through those weeks? Was it just like that mom superpower of like get up and go or?

were there other things you were doing? Yeah.

Kim Chahat (15:16)
Yes, yeah, was like that, like, yeah, you just,

I mean, you have to, yeah, it's like that mom instinct, like you have to just get up and take care of your baby. And I would call my mom a lot or like FaceTime my sister. And also, like I mentioned, I have that workout partner that comes four times a week. So she was like always showing up, always on time. And so having her and kind of getting that motivation to move and work out, like that was also huge for me.

Chelsea (15:44)
Yeah, well, and fitness plays such a huge role in your life before you had your baby and afterwards. Having that support network, even with just that one person sounds like it was a saving grace. In what other ways did fitness play a role in your postpartum journey?

Kim Chahat (16:06)
I think, yeah, for me, fitness was, it gave me like a purpose again. It gave me something to work towards, like, you know, slowly getting my strength back to where it was. It also just made me, you know, give me energy boost every day. It would, I would just feel, feel better, feel more confident. And as my body got like stronger again.

I'd also have my baby in the gym with me and he'd love just kind of like laying there and watching and you kicking his legs. That was that was cute. He still likes to work out with me. So that was that was always fun just being outside and getting him exposure to that too. So yeah just really really helped lifted my mood and made me more confident and strong.

Chelsea (16:39)
Yes.

Yeah, so what I think is really cool about what you've talked about in your journey so far too is that there's sort of this, there's a lot of the time...

there's a separation between seeking mental health help and the medication route and doing the physical health and wellness journey. A lot of the time there's this resistance between the two, like, no, I'm not going to go the med route. I'm going to do this. But it seems like you were really open to combining the two areas. You did mention that it took you quite a while to sort of seek help.

Do you think there was a reason behind that? Was there like a stigma, the stigma associated with it or?

Kim Chahat (17:39)
Yes, I think it was just the stigma, the thought of, okay, maybe I have to take a pill every day. And I felt like, I don't know, like, the stigma of like failing, you know, not just, just not, you know, having to, having to ask for help.

Chelsea (17:48)
Yeah.

Kim Chahat (17:52)
just was hard for me. although exercise is amazing for mental health and making your confidence and all that stuff, I still had those intrusive thoughts and that's not something that could be fixed only with exercise. yeah, getting help for that was, I wish I didn't wait so long, but a lot of it was around the stigma.

Chelsea (18:15)
That's why I just wanted to highlight that because I think that...

Everybody's journey is different and everybody's comfortability is different, but I think that it was such a beautiful sort of like marriage between taking action and taking control over your physical health and also taking control over your mental health. Like you said, you wish you'd done it sooner, but like both can exist at the same time. Yeah.

Kim Chahat (18:43)
Yes, they can. Yes.

Chelsea (18:45)
You mentioned that your little guy was like in the gym with you. love seeing the posts of, of, him doing the workouts with you and him, like, well, I love that you're, you're, you're fostering this, this like, just idea of taking care of yourself and having fun along the way. Like it's.

Kim Chahat (19:11)
Yes. Yes.

Chelsea (19:13)
That's what I mean. Like I've said it over and over again, but like your, what you are putting out into the world, like there's joy surrounding it. And I, like I said, coming from someone who struggles with fitness and being motivated and stuff, like going on Buff Mama on is so fun. Like I'm like, this looks fun.

Kim Chahat (19:22)
Yes.

Yes, yes and yeah.

Chelsea (19:42)
Yeah,

and that you can include your kids in that joy too is just so cool. But let's, I guess let's kind of like, let's dive into that. When did this shift start to happen that you took this like social media and coaching route in terms of helping other postpartum people on their fitness journeys?

Kim Chahat (20:02)
Yeah, so like I mentioned, I've been working out for 12 years and did all sorts of various strength sports and things. And I've always wanted to be a coach, but I just never really, I guess, went for it. And then after having my baby and realizing how fast he's growing, it made me realize like time is precious and I shouldn't just be sitting here wishing to do something. I should just do it. And so I went and got like all my official certifications and just like,

you know, general training and then I went and got certified and specialized in prenatal and postpartum women since that's the area I was really interested in. And yeah, I started that like a little bit after he was born, which also is really, really fun and helpful for my mental health is like doing something that I love. And, and yeah, so I started that journey and then I started my business.

coaching it was about one year ago so it's been about a year since I've started and yeah social media is definitely definitely tough but it was really it's really it's been really good for me because I'm really I'm more of an introvert so it really took me out of my comfort zone and forced me to like put myself out there and be seen and be heard and it's been really I guess a growing journey for me so

Chelsea (21:08)
you

Yeah, which has been really cool to witness and to watch. So I found your account through another account

It was Olivia Prince, Olivia Prince who has, yes, who has also been on the podcast. She was like, you need to, you need to check out, you need to check out the Buff Mama. You need to check out Kim. Like she's so good at this and she's growing her stuff. so I kind of was like watching this unfold as it was happening and it's been so cool. And

Kim Chahat (21:35)
yes, yes, she's nice.

You

Chelsea (21:57)
You have like given me inspiration and given me tips. I am NOT good at the social media thing at all. I Like I am still learning and honing my skills and as a fellow introvert I don't know if this resonates with you. But like like you said like it was helping with your mental health it has It has encouraged me to create

this village that we're all sort of told comes with parenting, but in reality doesn't really come with parenting. But through this, through doing things like this, like I have felt it's been really beneficial. Sounds like you've had a similar experience.

Kim Chahat (22:27)
Yeah.

Yes, definitely. And yeah, I love your account and how you're like letting, you know, postpartum women put their voices out and just be completely candid and just, you know, tell it how it is, which is awesome. Cause I feel like, yeah, so when you're pregnant, nothing really prepares you for that postpartum period. So I love that people are talking about it more and putting themselves out there and yeah, it's been, it's been great.

Chelsea (22:59)
I appreciate that. just, so listeners, like if you go back, this is like...

self promotion and promotion for you, like if you go back there and I bring this up because of how supportive you are and this just goes along with like building that village. I was like, I'd love to do a collab with you. Like let's do something. Cause I really would, I know nothing about fitness whatsoever, but I'd love to offer my followers and my listeners some simple things that they could do in those early stages to sort of, you know, work on their mental health, work on their physical health.

Kim Chahat (23:34)
Yes.

Chelsea (23:35)
You were so great about giving me feedback in terms of how I put things out there. And you're like, if you do this next time, try to do it. I didn't even know about carousels or anything about that kind of thing. I was like, I don't know what you're, okay. But so yeah, so while I'm talking about, right now I'm talking about social media and stuff like that. It ties to,

Kim Chahat (23:48)
yeah.

Chelsea (24:02)
creating this community. We're all promised this community and that like it takes a village to raise a baby and it takes a village and where's the village? You really didn't have a village. You really didn't have one. But taking, I guess taking that step and like you said, like raising your voice or even just, you don't even have to raise your voice, but like at least putting your feelers out and like you will find, you will find that village.

Kim Chahat (24:30)
Yes, yes, definitely.

Chelsea (24:31)
Yeah.

Do you feel like the village that you have created or the community that you have created through Buff Mama is fulfilling? like, that's such a stupid question. But like, how do feel like that has impacted your view of yourself as a mom?

Kim Chahat (24:44)
Yes.

Yeah, it's given me confidence, even just knowing, even just getting one message saying, you inspired me today or you motivated me today, or I think about this tip often, just hearing that is like, I mean, that's what I live for, is to be able to help and to inspire and it's given me confidence of putting myself out there and confidence in being a mom, knowing that I can help people and yeah, so it's been.

It's been really fun and definitely life-changing and helped me in my life outside of being a coach.

Chelsea (25:22)
I love that so much.

In terms of you had mentioned earlier on that you sort of had high functioning anxiety, definitely relate. So you had pre-existing knowledge of like mental health and whatnot. Is that something that you, I know your little guy is still pretty young, but is it something that you talk about? Is it something that you're mindful of in your like day-to-day parenting style? And is it something that you're comfortable talking to him about as he gets older?

Kim Chahat (25:52)
Yeah, it's something I'm definitely comfortable talking about and I'm very mindful because I know babies feed off your energy and they can tell how you're feeling. And so very mindful of going in with intention when I see him being calm, showing him how it's important to take care of yourself, like letting him see me work out, him joining in, just making it really clear that, yeah, he needs to take care of himself as well and trying to be calm. But it's definitely something I plan to.

talk with him about as he gets older too. So he would have less anxiety. So definitely.

Chelsea (26:27)
Yeah.

Yeah, that's I think that's one of the obvious this is not me or this is not my time. But like, that's been one of the harder things for me as my kids get older is seeing my mental health struggles manifest in them. I don't know if you're experiencing any of that. But

Kim Chahat (26:42)
Yes. Yeah. Yeah.

Chelsea (26:49)
It's definitely a challenge. Yeah, it's a challenge. You're

Kim Chahat (26:49)
A little bit. Yes.

Chelsea (26:52)
like, you're like, I know what that feels like and that sucks. And I wish I could just tell you like what you're feeling is, like the worst thing is not going to happen, but I can't and you have to feel it. But.

Kim Chahat (26:56)
Yes.

Yes.

Yeah, he has severe separation anxiety. So definitely probably gets that from the anxiety from me, but yeah, trying to like work him through it. Yeah. I guess giving them the tools to work through it is probably something that we didn't get that I want to, you know, give him to be able to manage.

Chelsea (27:12)
Yeah.

Yeah,

absolutely. it sounds like, it looks, mean, we all know social media is a highlight reel, but like, it really does feel like you are giving him those tools and you are modeling for him in taking care of yourself, what it looks like and what it can look like. So I just think that that's, I think that's super cool.

Kim Chahat (27:37)
Peace.

Yes, I can.

Chelsea (27:46)
I'm just looking through my notes because I want you've you've been so succinct. Like every now and then, every now and then I get these, I get a guest that like, it like hits every note, like, and you are like on the ball. you're like cruising through my bullet points. You really are. okay, so.

Kim Chahat (27:52)
You

I'm very, yeah, very efficient.

Chelsea (28:14)
while typically I don't on the podcast, like we say like we don't promote like specific programs or we don't support or promote certain treatments other than talking to your PCP and whatnot or talking to a mental health provider. It is part of your story, this fitness journey and everything and it is part of it is important and it is mental health and physical health are so tied together.

do you maintain your, care and, and physical health maintenance while also

making sure you're meeting your mental health needs like on the days that are really bad because I'm sure you still have those days. I'm sure anxiety doesn't just disappear. We just kind of learn how to live with it. How do you make sure that you are still reaching your goals and getting your needs met on those really tough days?

Kim Chahat (29:11)
Yeah, so for the physical fitness, like the thing that I do that helps is I schedule all my workouts on my calendar and I treat them like a doctor's appointment. Like every Sunday, I talk with my workout buddy, we schedule the time for the whole week, I put it in my calendar, I even block time off at work so that it cannot be interrupted. That's kind of how I always make sure I meet my physical goals. So I treat that like a non-negotiable.

Chelsea (29:22)
Mmm.

Kim Chahat (29:40)
Mental health, yeah, because I also have a full-time job in addition to coaching and being a what I do is on days that I don't work out, I try to take walks when I start feeling overwhelmed. I try to move around. That really helps. yeah, just trying to.

Something that I realized I was doing was like jumping from one thing to one thing and back and forth, back and forth. So now I do more of the time blocking where I just focus on my work when I'm working and then I focus on my business at certain times and I focus on work outside. Instead of like constantly context switching, I just try to focus and that really has been helping my mental health.

Chelsea (30:15)
That's amazing. That is a skill in and of itself. No, I was gonna say it it absolutely does not come naturally to me. That's something I need to work on. But but I love that I love. You're not the first person that I've spoken to that literally blocks in their calendar. Like, nope, this is time for me. This is time for the and I think that that's

Kim Chahat (30:18)
Yeah, it's taken a long time. not, not, it doesn't come naturally. So, yeah.

No.

Chelsea (30:45)
That's an awesome way, especially if you are hypervigilant like I am, like being able to see it on the calendar and that makes it like real, like you have to do this.

Kim Chahat (30:51)
Yes.

Exactly. I block off my work calendar

so no one can schedule meetings during that time. so I really put it in there and I pretended to doctor's appointment that I can't miss.

Chelsea (31:05)
Yeah.

So I guess diving in a little bit more to like Buff Mama and what you what you hope for it. What what do you see it becoming or what do you hope for for it to become in the next? I don't know. I hate that question on like, where do you see yourself in five years? I don't know. I don't know where I see myself in five minutes. But like, what are your hopes for Buff Mama moving forward?

Kim Chahat (31:24)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah. Let's see. So for, for me, I just, I, it's more of like a passion project for me. So it's something that I just really love helping other women. And so I just would love to reach more women, show them how powerful fitness can be, whether it be strength training or something else that you enjoy this, that's fine too. But it's, I just really want to, motivate women and know that, you know, just because you become a mom, doesn't mean that you have to stop.

taking care of yourself and fitness. So self-care is so important for you and like we talked about earlier, modeling it for your kids. So yeah, my goal is just to reach as many women as possible and motivate them and inspire to get started in some sort of movement.

Chelsea (32:19)
And that's so cool. You are a badass. I do not know how you juggle everything that you're doing. But you again, social media is a highlight reel, but you make it look easy, girl. Like you are killing it. So

Kim Chahat (32:30)
Yeah.

Chelsea (32:36)
before like you've literally like hit all of my points. cannot believe you right now. Okay. This is like, that's why I tell people is like, well, you have 90 minutes, but it really is just however this evolves.

Kim Chahat (32:41)
Thanks.

Yeah.

Chelsea (32:50)
So yeah, like I could sit here and hype you up all day, but you don't even need that. You're like your own hype person. And I also respect your time and I...

Kim Chahat (32:56)
Bye.

Chelsea (33:00)
so appreciate you coming and talking about not only your birth story and your postpartum story, but like your fitness journey and how that's played a role in everything. I guess what I would love to know is if you could pick one message to come out of this episode, like something that would, what do you hope resonates with my listeners from your experience?

Kim Chahat (33:23)
I think the biggest message is if you're struggling, don't wait to ask for help. It's harder to wait than it really is to ask for help. And it took me a long time to realize that. So I think just start, just ask for it and get help earlier. your life could be completely changed. And so I think that's the biggest takeaway is just start investing in your mental health now.

Chelsea (33:41)
Yeah.

Kim Chahat (33:52)
rather than later.

Chelsea (33:53)
Yeah, I love that. And it really, it is, it's not always easy to ask for help, but once you do, yeah, once you do more often than not, you will find there is an answer. There will be someone to answer.

Kim Chahat (33:59)
Not, yeah.

Chelsea (34:07)
Where is the best place for my listeners to find you if they would like to follow your journey, which I highly encourage them to do?

Kim Chahat (34:15)
Yeah, the easiest place is just my Instagram. So it's the.buff.mama. It's the best place you can send me a message. I have linked to my website there, but that is the easiest place. If you want to get to know me better and also talk, just send me a message.

Chelsea (34:30)
Yeah, I love it. That will be linked in your show notes along with your website. And what's really, really cool about Kim is that Kim is a real person and Kim will respond to you. There are a lot of accounts out there. There are a lot of accounts out there and you may not ever get a response, but I always get a response from Kim and which I so appreciate.

Kim Chahat (34:42)
Yes. Yes.

Chelsea (34:53)
So yeah, just thank you. Thank you for what you're doing. Thank you for making fitness feel fun. I'm not going to sit here and lie to you and tell you that like, I am motivated to get up and go start strength training, but it does help motivate me to be when I see like, Kim's, Kim's doing that. Kim's out for a walk or Kim's doing this. And I'm like, okay, well, I better go take the dog for a walk at least. You know what I mean? Like,

Kim Chahat (34:55)
Yeah.

Yeah, it doesn't have to be

strength training. It's just moving. That's important.

Chelsea (35:21)
Exactly. Yeah,

so it definitely inspires me and I get to take my little one with me along for the ride. So thank you for what you're doing. Thank you for advocating for mental health and physical health. And it was great getting to chat with you.

Kim Chahat (35:31)
Yes, thank you.

Yes,

you too. This was fun.

Chelsea (35:41)
Kim, thank you for sharing your story and for making my job super easy. You breezed right through all of my questions and gave us an authentic look into your journey as well as your joy. Listeners, be sure to check the show notes to find links to Kim's social media accounts and website. Regardless of your fitness level, I can confidently say from my own experience that just seeing her posts brings a smile to my face and inspires me to find ways to move my body.

You can keep up with us on Quiet Connection by following us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and threads at Quiet Connection Podcast. You can help our community grow by leaving us a rating and review on Apple podcasts or Spotify, and consider sharing our episodes on social media. To share your personal journey, you can contact us through our website at quietconnectionpodcast.com or by email at quietconnectionppmh at gmail.com.

Join us next time when another story is told and you realize you are not alone. I see you.