Episode 27 - F*it - Overcoming Obstacles with Amy Ledin
Less than one percent. That was the five-year survival rate Amy Ledin was given after being diagnosed with stage-4 non-small cell lung cancer in 2013. At just 36-years-old, the news came as a shock. “I wasn’t a smoker, I didn’t have a history of drugs—I was so surprised,” she recalls about her diagnosis.
The impending fear that tomorrow may never come didn’t just weigh on her out of her own despair. Married, and a mom to six children, Amy knew if she were to succumb to the grim statistics, she’d leave behind the beautiful life she’d built. So she decided to lean into the fear with unshakable determination, and spun the diagnosis on its head to instead make it the reason she’d take every chance she could. "I went all in on the belief that I would be the less-than-one percent," Amy says.
At the time of her diagnosis, Amy was submersed in the fitness industry as an online coach and was well-versed in nutrition and exercise. But she says that at the time, her own mindset surrounding health and fitness was seriously flawed, and she began questioning how she was treating her own body versus the more loving standards her clients were used to. “I had no confidence. I was restricting [foods], overdoing cardio, trying diet trends… I wanted it at all costs,” she says.
As she realized that her days were no longer guaranteed, the disconnect she felt between how she was coaching and living was more obvious than ever, and for the sake of her health, it was time to make a change. Amy’s determination to survive her lung cancer revved as she researched women who had beat it. Her brain was flooded with positivity. "What you focus on will grow," she says. She directed all her energy into taking a health-focused, holistic approach to exercise and nutrition to support her body, and she set her intentions on believing that she would beat cancer.
This mindset shift was exactly what she needed to put her health first, and a few years later, she also developed an important take-action system that she still relies on to this day. Amy’s daily agreement cards (DACs) prompt her to examine any areas of her life that she felt she could improve upon, such as spending more quality time with her children, and the following day she’ll set her goal as following through on that promise. She credits this daily practice as a way to consciously commit to positivity.
In March 2020, when the world put the brakes on due to the pandemic, Amy discovered she’d need to go through another round of chemo. But the news still didn’t stop her from staying in the driver’s seat of her own life, and she created her first podcast, F*It! While the decision was initially driven by fear, “I got scared. I didn’t want to regret anything,” she says, the experience has opened her eyes to just how powerful communicating and sharing can be. “When we don’t share our struggles, it can eat at us,” Amy says. “By sharing our ups, and especially our downs, we keep our minds healthy, we connect, and we grow."
Connect With Amy -- F*It Podcast on Apple, Spotify, and more! https://open.spotify.com/show/78uB4aUq4MfImBjL2x6NLX?si=7f021b153bb24290
https://youtu.be/IGw2d2o0CVw -- Her Daily Agreement Cards
Instagram: Amy_Ledin
