Moniqua Plante is an actor most known for her guest-starring season-long arc on ABC’s Nashville, and recurring guest-starring roles on shows like Drop Dead Diva, Banshee, and Southland. She is also a Certified Health + Confidence Coach for Actors and Creatives, and she truly believes that our health and wellness directly affects everything else we do in life—especially as creative beings.
Moniqua Plante on How Health Shapes Actors, Musicians & Creatives Career Future
Hello and welcome to episode 60 of Sing! Dance! Act! Thrive!
Are you a performer or creative who just wants to feel your best on-the- daily? Yeah, me too.
As actors, musicians and creatives, we want to make an impact on the world around us. That means bringing the best of ourselves to everything we do. And we often miss the fundamental link between performing our best and feeling our best.
It is just a hard fact of the entertainment industry that our energy, our confidence, and the way we look (whatever amazing way that is) are huge parts of booking any job. And how you are taking care of your instrument is the biggest contributing factor in your appearance, your energy, and your mood. Your instrument is the only thing you truly have control over in this business!
Today’s guest is my friend Moniqua Plante, who is an actor most known for her guest-starring season-long arc on ABC’s Nashville, and recurring guest-starring roles on shows like Drop Dead Diva, Banshee, and Southland.
Moniqua is also a Certified Health + Confidence Coach for Actors and Creatives, and she truly believes that our health and wellness directly affects everything else we do in life—especially as creative beings.
We had a wonderful conversation about her acting career, how experiences in the industry lead her to take control of her health and how she helps creatives feel good in their bodies no matter what size they are.
Be sure to click the links in the show notes to grab the amazing free gifts she has for you including the Feel Good in Your Body Book and I highly recommend that you take her up on her offer of a free coaching session for our listeners for a limited time. The Magical Morning Guide.
*Transcript Moto: “Done is better than perfect”
[00:02:56.100] – Diane Foy
Welcome to the show.
[00:02:57.470] – Moniqua Plante
I know I was so excited when you asked me, so thank you again. This is exciting. Yeah.
[00:03:03.090] – Diane Foy
So in your acting career, what have been some of the highlights?
[00:03:08.730] – Moniqua Plante
Oh, my gosh. Well, let’s see. I feel like I’ve been at it for a hundred years, you know what I mean? Yeah. You know, I started as a kid, like doing theater, but I didn’t move to L.A. until about 15 years ago, 14 years ago or so. So that was really when things got jumpstarted. And I would have to say, you know, some of the highlights when I started and gosh, I there was so many it seems like things really started shifting, you know, a little later when I started creating my own work, you know.
[00:03:42.390] – Moniqua Plante
But I think the thing that people most known me for is I had a really fun, you know, edgy type of show, recurring guest star on Nashville when it was on ABC and season three. And that was definitely a highlight because it started originally as just it was supposed to just be one or two episodes. And then they wrote me in for the entire season. And it was a really juicy role. And, yeah, just, you know, made me feel really proud of, obviously, the work I was doing and how I conducted myself on set. And they liked me enough and they just kept me, kept me going, which is pretty cool.
[00:04:19.650] – Diane Foy
I love that show. That show is so good.
[00:04:22.530] – Moniqua Plante
Yeah, it was fun and it was such a great cast. Everyone was really, really fantastic. Yeah.
[00:04:29.280] – Diane Foy
You mentioned that you moved to L.A. Where were you from?
[00:04:32.460] – Moniqua Plante
I’m from Northern California, from San Francisco Bay Area. And so I kind of I started acting as a kid, really, you know, musical theater and things like that. And I left it for many years, but then got back into it, obviously. And I was living in San Francisco at that time and, you know, just started doing theater and got my first agent and were, you know, was studying with the American Conservatory Theater and things like, yeah, just got got into it later.
[00:05:04.230] – Moniqua Plante
I had a big and a big part of me trying to say a big break in the middle there, you know, because I think I don’t know, I got into other things. I got into action sports, really. I was working and snowboarding and doing that a lot. So I had gotten out of theater and gotten into ballet and I was doing more athletic stuff to an ice skating and things like that, and then got into snowboarding and started working in action sports.
[00:05:30.900] – Diane Foy
And what were you doing in action? Sports. What was your job?
[00:05:33.840] – Moniqua Plante
You know, I was yeah, I, I worked for the Army. I worked for such an amazing company. It’s a bummer they they ended up going out of business. But this was like I said 100 years ago, it feels like I worked for a company called Twist Snowboard Clothing and sunglasses, and they made street wear and outerwear and snowboard gear. And they I mean, they were so cool, really cutting edge stuff. And for a time there, we were like right underneath Burton, you know, really just the sales were amazing.
[00:06:03.480]
And then they lost their financing. And so about that was that. And when that ended, I, I up and moved to Europe. Oh, yeah. When I lived in I lived in Spain. I lived in Madrid. Yeah, and I was always just a stay there for like six months, I ended up staying for a year and a half, almost two years, actually, and when I got back, I then started working for the X Games.
[00:06:32.600]
In San Francisco and did that for a while, and then eventually they moved. I think they were moving to Philly at the time. And I got to say, I’m pretty much a California girl,
[00:06:44.420] – Diane Foy
so no East Coast for you.
[00:06:47.750] – Moniqua Plante
Exactly. So not Philly anyway. Not that I wouldn’t. I mean, there’s a lot of great things in Philly, but at the time I just thought, you know, I want to do something different. And I just felt I felt the arts just calling me. And one of my friends just she kind of sat me down and she said, you know, girl, you always talk about acting. You’ve been talking about it forever. Why don’t you just do it again, like get back into it.
[00:07:11.900] – Moniqua Plante
And so that’s what I did. And I was in San Francisco at the time. So I enrolled, like I said, in the American Conservatory Theater and did that. And then I studied with some other really great people in San Francisco and got agents and, you know, started doing that thing. And it was mostly commercial. I did commercials and a lot of a lot of independent films and things like that. And eventually I thought, well, damn, if I want to really do this, I got to I got to move. So that’s what I did.
[00:07:41.630] – Diane Foy
And you mentioned ballet. Is that what you did from a young age?
[00:07:47.150] – Moniqua Plante
Yes, I was a ballerina and a competitive ice skater. And then I then that I became a snowboarder about all the way from graceful to kick ass. Exactly, exactly. So, yeah, I’ve been snowboarding since I was a pup. And, you know, I I’m definitely just an outdoors person. I love everything outdoors. I, I surf a little bit. I’m not not an amazing surfer, but I do it when I can and, you know, hike yoga really for anything.
[00:08:19.350] – Diane Foy
And so what was your big break, do you think, in acting when you got into it?
[00:08:26.000] – Moniqua Plante
You know, I think the thing I think the thing that shifted things, it really started happening when I developed, produced and starred in my own short film and it was called Pillow Talk, and it was a action sort of romance drama. And, you know, I’d been doing a lot of comedy up till then. And I love comedy. It’s sort of my forte.
[00:08:49.850]
And I really just wanted to change things up. And I wanted to be seen as a leading lady, an ass kicking leading lady. And, you know, like I said, I’ve been an athlete. I’d done all these things and I really wanted to do stunts. And so that’s what I did. I put it together. I had been part of a production company for a time there. And at that point I had gotten out of it.
[00:09:12.590]
But I went to my old producing partner and asked him to work on it with me. And that’s what we did. And it’s ten it’s ten minute short film, so much fun. And we went on to win, I think, 14 awards, including I think I got four best actress awards. We got Best Action Short and Breakout Action Star I
[00:09:35.810] – Diane Foy
your dream.
[00:09:37.670] – Moniqua Plante
Exactly. Exactly. And, you know, I just think after that things really just picked up and I don’t even know if it was that so many people saw it. I do think it’s more of like the energetic shift, you know, of that doing your own work and putting into something that you’re passionate about. And weirdly enough, I mean, after that, I did start booking more of that sexy leading lady type stuff. And it was within a few years I went on to book Femme Fatale.
[00:10:07.880]
I booked Banshee, I booked to Drop Dead Diva, and then I booked Nashville. And Nashville was really the thing that shifted things. That was probably the biggest that was definitely the biggest thing I’d done. Yeah, that’s the thing.
[00:10:21.950] – Diane Foy
More and more actors are taking it upon themselves to create their own work. I think that’s fantastic that you did that. Yeah.
[00:10:33.290] – Moniqua Plante
Yeah. And I mean, I, I actually produced a feature film too. I produced a couple of shorts. That was the one that I just had the most passionate about. The thing I want to say to that, though, and I was I was listening to a friend of mine speak the other day. And here’s, you know, so many people say that, like, you have to produce your own work, you have to produce your own work.
[00:10:53.720]
And, yes, there is something really amazing about doing that. But if that doesn’t light you up, yeah, you do it, you know, because I think there’s so many things put on actors like you got to do this. You got to do that. You got to have this. You got to do that. You got to you got to. Right. You’ve got to create. You’ve got to produce. You’ve got to shoot your own stuff. You’ve got to do it, you know, and it becomes like we become busy.
[00:11:16.160]
Like we use Busy as a badge of honor. Yeah, a bit. And, you know, I just think it’s I was really passionate about that project that was back in, I think, 2011. Jeez, that was ten years ago, you know, so I haven’t and I haven’t produced anything really since then. So, you know, again, it was because it was just something I was so passionate about. And and it did do what I wanted it to do, which was Sheft, how I was seen in my career. So that’s just my little nugget of wisdom with that, like, do create your own work if you’re really in.
[00:11:50.770] – Diane Foy
Yeah, yeah. Or partner with people who are passionate about the different aspects of a project.
[00:11:59.430] – Moniqua Plante
Absolutely same same idea, get, you know, find a way to be passionate about it, if that if it’s something that you feel that you want to do because it will help your career. You know, I definitely I definitely partnered with people for sure for that. I did not do that on my own.
[00:12:17.130] – Diane Foy
But it’s like people like Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon, all these actresses that say they’re the roles kind of dried up for them because they’re a little bit older now. And they just decided, well, OK, we’re going to create our own stuff and look at the amazing shows those two are doing.
[00:12:38.000] – Moniqua Plante
Oh, my God. Well, thank God for them, you know, I it’s because, you know, look, I’m I’m not a spring chicken myself anymore. And, you know, luckily because of them, I think the image of women in their 40s and beyond has really started to shift, thankfully, because, man, was I getting tired of like, you’re done. You’re washed up at 30, you know, because it’s just not true. And let me tell you something like as you get older, like my interest, I’m so much more interesting. I have so much more wisdom. I have so much more life experience to bring to what I’m doing.
[00:13:15.440]
And I’m such a better actor for it, you know, and I’m so much more interesting to watch. And I think that that’s that’s what they were missing by not having roles. I mean, I think women in their 40s and beyond are so much more interesting to write for because of all that life experience. And so I’m just very grateful for those ladies for opening it up, you know, and showing people that, yeah, you know, we’re still interesting. We’re still sexy, we’re still viable. You know, all of us
[00:13:48.230] – Diane Foy
there’s so many, like celebrities that are older that you could just go, well, yeah, I’m 50. So Jlo, you know, it’s like, yeah, you know, to work out more.
[00:13:59.960] – Moniqua Plante
But, you know, it’s still I always had I was like, yeah, this is like this is what it looks like. And it’s not, you know, like I said, it’s not not interesting. It’s not not sexy and not not sexual. And all of those things like I was like, yeah, this is what it looks like, get used to it. It’s not old and decrepit, you know. So, yes, it’s I’m very thankful that that they’ve done that because they’re just shifting the paradigm which Rich really needed to be shifted.
[00:14:29.030] – Diane Foy
And what are some of the struggles or lessons learned along the way throughout your acting career?
[00:14:37.980] – Moniqua Plante
You know kind of what I said, you know, find the things in it, you know, we always say like, oh, I just love acting, you know, but what are the parts of it that really light you up, you know, and do more of that? And I also think that, you know, you got to have a life. You know, looking back like I wouldn’t I wouldn’t go anywhere, you know, I went and take trips or, you know, things like that because I was so scared I was going to miss something, you know?
And of course, it’s always the way to book a vacation. You’re going to book a job or get a big audition. Right. And, you know, eventually that happened and I missed out.
[00:15:19.160]
I you know, I remember I was going to Hawaii with my family. It was like the first trip I’d taken with my family in years. And of course, I got a callback for a big show. And, you know, I was sitting in the airport, I got the call and I just was like, I you know, this is long before self taping. And I had to say no. And, you know, you just have to trust there’s always moreand I think that was the biggest lesson was to live your life, because the more you find joy and you know everything, the passion just in living life, that’s what you’re going to bring to your acting career. When you’re, like, filled up like that, it’s just you’re so much more interesting. And, yes, you might miss some things when you’re taking a trip, but, you know, there will always be more and you got to trust, you know, and the other thing I really learned was taking care of yourself.
Your health and wellness is has to be non-negotiable as an artist. And that was that was a huge lesson for me.
[00:16:25.030] – Diane Foy
And as it experiences in your career that made you start getting into health and confidence coaching.
[00:16:34.230] – Moniqua Plante
Yeah, for sure. Well, you know, because like I was saying, a lot of actors, we just have to do everything right. We’re running ourselves ragged. You know, I just was so worn out all the time. And, you know, I finally I booked I booked a pretty big guest star role that took me to Atlanta. And I was also shooting a film in Los Angeles at the same time.
[00:17:00.300]
And I did fly back and forth. I think within four weeks I flew back and forth four times and I got so sick. And here I was on set of a huge show. All my scenes were opposite the series lead. And I was so I was so sick. Like no one could tell the makeup artist did such a good job. But I couldn’t hear myself dying. I couldn’t hear what I was saying. I sounded like I was underwater to myself.
[00:17:28.350]
And I just was like, you’ve got to be kidding me. And I still had to fly. And I don’t know how I did it. And I mean, I was so on the air, I thought I could I could really blow all of this up right now, like I could lose both of his chops because I wasn’t taking care of myself. And it was it was a big lesson. So after that, I I actually started working with my own health coach to just sort of get myself back on track and back to a place where I understood what my body needed and and all of the things that go with it.
[00:18:03.750]
And then when I booked Nashville, I mean, I was flying back and forth to Nashville for a year and I thought, there is no way in hell I’m doing what I did last time. And so while I was on Nashville, I actually got my certification, my health coaching certification and life coaching certification while I was on the show. Cool.
[00:18:24.430] – Diane Foy
Yeah, yeah, yes. It’s important because you can’t achieve your goals when you’re run ragged and tired all the time and always getting sick.
[00:18:38.130] – Moniqua Plante
Oh, my gosh. Yeah. And as as creative’s, you know, whether you’re a musician, an artist, an actor, you know, I think it’s more so for people who are on screens. You know, it shows and I’m not just talking about the tiredness and stuff, but if you’re feeling, you know, under the weather in general, if you’re suffering from brain fog or, you know, digestion issues or you’re exhausted, like that is all showing up, whether you think so or not, like it’s showing up on screen, it’s showing up on camera.
[00:19:12.510] – Moniqua Plante
And, you know, it is truly my belief that your health and wellness directly affects everything else that you do. Like I said, especially as a creative, you know, if you want to have deeper, stronger, more meaningful relationships, focus on your health. If you want to feel more grounded and connected to your body, your life, your career, focus on your health and wellness. You know, if you want to have more self mastery, more discipline in what you’re doing, focus on your health and wellness.
[00:19:41.820]
If you want to book bigger and better roles, focus on your health, right?
[00:19:46.200] – Diane Foy
Yeah, and I think a lot of performers and artists are like me and you sometimes, like I know I was just so focused on the business and achieving my goals that I put health as last priority and money issues I’m working with, you know, I have to aim to grow.
Health and money issues kind of came up late in the year last year. Like, those are two things that I always put as last priority. I don’t want to think about it. The money issues definitely. I don’t want to think about it. And the health. Yeah, like when I get to where I’m going, I’ll have more time, money, whatever. But when you kind of realize that. Those are things that are blocking you. From achieving that or May in the future, like with health, if you don’t take care of yourself, then you’re not going to be healthy enough to enjoy everything that you’ve been working for, so that’s a kind of clicked it for me and I was like, OK, health and wellness and fitness is my home is my priority, and I actually make it a priority.
But that’s what it took like. Oh, how did that’s going to prevent me from getting to where I want to go. OK, priority and one.
[00:21:12.180] – Moniqua Plante
Yeah. At 100 percent. Well, you know, because I just find that so many actors, performers, creatives like yourself, they miss the fundamental link between feeling your best, you know, like I said, free of those symptoms that we often sort of ignore the little things that drag us down, brain fog, low energy, bad skin, digestive issues, lack of sleep. You know, we miss the link between feeling our best and giving our best performance when our time comes.
You know, if you’re functioning at 60 percent, even if, like you say, if you don’t know what, your performance won’t be 100 percent.
[00:21:50.880]
And that goes for any whether you’re an artist, an actor, creative, whatever it is, whatever you are putting out will not be 100 percent, you know, and the stamina that it takes to be an artist. And I’m not just talking about the stamina in the pursuit of, you know, getting there, but also like when you do a good job. Oh, my God. Like I said, look, you could be traveling back and forth for a year.
You can you know, you’re on set. You could have night shoots for a week. You know, you’re dealing with craft services that may not be very healthy. You know, you can just throw everything off. And if you are not taking care of yourself, you’re just not going to be doing your best work period.
[00:22:36.780] – Diane Foy
And like, whether you’re on set for insane hours or you’re on stage, you know, definitely when when you actually are on, whether it’s camera or stage, like, you have to give it your all. And if you’re just kind of like looking through it, you’re not going to get through it.
[00:22:54.200] – Moniqua Plante
Exactly, or you will, but then you’re going to end up getting sick or, you know, just again, you’re not going to be grounded and presence and really being able to marvel in the majesty of doing something that you love. Yeah.
[00:23:08.690]
You know, like I really like when I talk to and here’s the other thing. This is what I wanted to say is when I talk to my clients and, you know, especially actors, you know, I really want people to look at health and wellness as a lesson in expansion rather than one of shrinking. Right. Which is sort of what we’re sold like. You have to be small, smaller, smaller, smaller to bookwork, which is just not true.
[00:23:38.450]
Right. And your health and wellness, what it really comes down to is mindset, most of it. Right, because we are so sold this idea that it is so hard. Right. It is so complicated to to get healthy. And it’s and it’s really not. But it does take doing a deep dive. You know, it’s there’s no quick fixes. You know, everyone wants a magic pill. Right. This is what the diet industry sells us.
[00:24:05.420]
You know, the plastic surgery industry, the diet industry, the you know, all of those industries, even our food industry in this country, you know, it’s so backwards. It sells us on this idea, like take this pill, do this diet, do this other thing, and you’re going to magically be skinny and or healthy, which, of course, is never the case. And skinny does not equate to healthy. So I always put that out there.
[00:24:30.110]
It’s not about being smaller. And in fact, I want my clients. I want you to let’s look at how much space you can actually take up. Right. Like I want you to feel so confident in your body and what you’re doing that you’re going to walk into the room and you’re going to own it and you’re going to take up that space.
Yeah, getting on like the diet and fitness roller coaster, it just makes you more defeated in the end.
[00:24:57.590] – Diane Foy
And that’s why I kind of also didn’t make it a priority for a while, because it’s like I just don’t have it in me to do all the rules again and to go through all that’s really OK.
No, you can’t you can’t eat that. You got to eat this and in small quantities. And I don’t have time for that now.
[00:25:16.940] – Moniqua Plante
It’s really an unlearning I mean, that’s really what I go through with clients is like unlearning all of that and getting you more connected to your body. So you’re understanding what the foods you’re currently eating are doing and how they’re really making you feel. And then, you know, it’s baby steps, right? It’s small steps. It’s like changing small things, making these things habits. And, you know, when you start feeling better, you’re going to want more of that.
[00:25:44.180]
So it becomes easier to add on the next thing and then the next thing.
[00:25:48.590] – Moniqua Plante
And, you know, here it is like it’s just a hard fact of our industry that the way we look, whatever amazing way that is, you know, our energy and our confidence are huge parts of booking any job, you know, and the major contributor, the dependent factor, the backbone of our appearance, our energy, our mood is how we are taking care of this amazing instrument that we have. You know, what we put into our body affects every cell of our instrument.
[00:26:20.750]
So, yeah, I always say acting and even, you know, for music and stuff, too. It’s all when preparation meets opportunity, you know. Are you prepared when the time comes? I mean, we as actors spend so much time, money, time on classes, photos, reels, trying to get great reps, rehearsing, networking, filming, that we just forget that the most important parts of preparation is making sure that we are truly taking care of our instrument and that we are ready when our time comes, when our opportunity arrives.
[00:26:54.290] – Diane Foy
You can’t say, oh, I got this great opportunity. Can you give me a month or two to work out and go on a diet and get healthy?
[00:27:02.620] – Moniqua Plante
Oh my God. Yeah. Or what so many people I want. I used to do this too. I would book a job and then I would go on some crazy crash diet or some crazy intense cleanse. No.
And that depletes you to, like you said, like that cycle A, it’s just not healthy for our bodies, but it’s really bad for our mental fortitude. It’s just not good for our mindset. So it’s really about like like I said, it requires a deep dive
Let’s unlearn all that that stuff that we’ve been sold over the years about what healthy is and what healthy looks like, because it’s all individual. Every body is different.
Right. And what works for you, Diane, is can not work for someone else. And so it’s really individual and it’s about you getting it’s about you getting grounded down and more tuned into your own body. And it takes
[00:27:54.780] – Diane Foy
there is a lot of like I know I usually do this, too, there’s a lot of all or nothing thinking. I was all or nothing, and I’m proud of myself this week, the first week of January, because normally my first week of January, I plan on basically changing my entire life in a week. All of a sudden, I’m healthy. I’m going to workout this many days a week for an hour, and then my schedule is going to be perfect and my work, everything’s going to be wonderful. And then I get disappointed when I can’t do it.
[00:28:26.420]
So this year I was preparing my mindset for this all throughout December that, OK, I’m how I’m going to change. But, you know, I went into this week going I’m just going to ease into it. Ease into it. Yeah. I’ve you know, I’ll do a little fifth. And exercise, you know, and each day, just a little bit, I’ll work up to more because, you know, I haven’t done anything in a long time.
[00:28:56.530]
That little bit is a huge thing. And a nap before I would go into it going, yes, I can do this hour long workout that I used to do fine and then struggle through that and go, why can I do this the way I used to? You know, yeah. Just being gentle, I guess, and kind to yourself.
[00:29:17.010] – Moniqua Plante
Exactly, that’s such a huge part of it. We are so hard on ourselves. I mean, oh my God, girl, if we talk to other people all the way that we talk to ourselves, then we would have known and. You know, I mean, our self talk is is awful. And, you know, you are so doing it right. And that’s why I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions, because they don’t work.
[00:29:39.180]
They never stick. And it’s really about doing one thing first. Like, let’s let’s what’s the one thing that’s going to work for you? OK, and if that’s 15 minutes doing some some movement. Great. Do that. Start there. Get to where that starts to feel natural and a habit, and then you’re kind of into it because you’re feeling better. OK, now I’m going to look at some foods, you know, let’s look at some foods.
Let’s see what I’m eating, you know, but it’s again, it’s like you just have to take it step by step.
And let me tell you, the all or nothing mentality always leaves you with nothing, you know, because it just you can’t do it.
[00:30:17.610]
We we can’t do it as humans. And so that’s why my coaching is really and that’s why I call it confidence coaching, because there’s it’s so much about mindset and it’s so much about how you view yourself in your own body image and how you view food to what is your relationship to food, what is your relationship with your body, what is your relationship to self care? All of those things make a big difference in how you are going to maintain and how you are going to shift things.
[00:30:48.990]
And so that’s why I said it’s it’s baby steps. You got to take it slow and then you get out of that all or nothing mindset. And that’s when you start to learn to be more intuitive about what works for you. Right. The more calm and peace and quiet that you invite into your life, right. The more calm and peace and quiet you will have to. And it’s in those moments that you really will connect to your body.
[00:31:16.320]
You just understand what’s going on with it. You’ll understand what needs to shift. And that’s also when you can kind of connect if you believe in this sort of woo woo stuff, which I do, obviously, you know, that’s when you can connect to your intuition and all of those things, too. And so being healthy, staying healthy isn’t a goal. It’s just where you’re at at that point. I’m curious.
[00:31:43.550] – Diane Foy
Oddly, like some of the things that we’re talking about, like it’s making me think about how I coach on different subjects, but it’s like it’s Instagram. If you’ve never really done Instagram, all of a sudden it’s like, well, you got to do the feat every day. You got to do like five stories a day. You got to do and realise you’ve got to be on Instagram gvv. You got to do this and then you just go, oh, that’s way too much.
[00:32:03.920]
I don’t know how to do all that salt, do nothing. And it’s like, no, no. Start with the feed post. Yeah. I’m on to one thing when that’s. Yeah. You go on to the next thing to learn and then tackle.
[00:32:16.640] – Diane Foy
So it’s funny how I started thinking about that as we were talking about health and wellness. So another thing came up of. How do you approach people that come to you that are so they want the quick fix, they’re so stuck and they want like this overnight thing, how do you kind of get it across to them that. The long game is is the more valuable.
[00:32:49.580] – Moniqua Plante
Yeah, well, the long game is the long game is the only thing that sticks, you know, I have a client right now who, you know, when she was younger, too, she used to do Slim Fast.
[00:33:01.110]
Do you remember Slim Fast, the slim shakes? I don’t know if around anymore, but she’s like, I could do Slim Fast for two weeks and I would lose 20 pounds. And, you know, now she’s in her 40s and has had two children. And, you know, she’s an actor and she’s like, you know, it doesn’t work like that anymore, especially at that age. But, you know, it just takes a lot of talking.
[00:33:22.910]
And, you know, I always do a free 30 minute. I call it a vision and vibe session because it’s like I want to know what your vision is and we got to find out if we vibe, you know, because if you’re looking for the quick fix and that’s all you’re going to do, then I may not be the right coach for you. But by the way, there’s no coach that’s going to give you that because it won’t stick.
[00:33:46.040]
And so I have to you know, I always give people realistic goals, you know, and once, you know, once they have a few sessions, they get it because, you know, I have them, like I said, do a lot of inner work. And when that starts happening, they they hear things differently. Like I have another client who I just said something else to her this past session. And she’s like, oh, my God, I finally get it.
She goes, I know you’ve probably said this to me three or four times, but she’s like, I’m finally hearing it. And I’m like, yeah, right.
[00:34:21.650]
You know, but that’s what it takes. Right. And that’s true for anything like we’re not we don’t hear it. We won’t hear it until we’re ready to hear it, you know. And so it takes sort of stripping away the layers, you know, stripping away stripping away all that noise between our ears, you know, about body image, how we should look, what I should be doing, how this is that I need it quick. I need it that, you know, getting rid of all that noise and getting back to basics is one of the biggest things that will help anyone, you know, get things into the groove.
[00:34:55.850]
You get into the groove like we said, you start small, start small. So it’s really just to talk, you know, it’s just to talk because, you know, if that’s what they’re wanting, they’re just going to stay on the roller coaster.
[00:35:08.720]
You know, which my goal is to help people understand that being healthier is not hard. It’s it it’s not complicated. But there’s a lot of our old stories and habits that we have to uncover and sort of reframe before things stick. And that’s true for anything, really.
[00:35:33.650]
And I’m sure it’s even true, like with the with the work you do with your clients, you know, getting people out of stories that they’re telling themselves about things and you know that all or nothing mindset or whatever. And it’s just, yeah, it’s it’s it’s an unlearning and then early learning.
[00:35:50.690] – Diane Foy
I asked I get everyone comes to me, they want the quick fix. And it’s like I try to kind of say, like they want to get to the marketing part. I got a role in a TV show. I got a role in a film. I got a new single coming out. I need, like all the marketing stuff now. And whereas I want to start with them building a foundation, really getting to know what you want and your goals and your core values and all that, you know, foundation personal stuff.
[00:36:23.060]
And I just want to get to the it’s like, yeah, but it’ll be easier later if you do the foundation stuff, you know. So I try to kind of say that, you know, you were an amazing musician or actor overnight, so you’re not going to learn all this overnight. And yet the quick fixes don’t really sustain. Well, that’s what we’ve been sold, right? That’s that’s what we’ve been told in a society that’s that’s how we’re marketed to like do this to that it’ll be fast.
[00:36:54.170] – Moniqua Plante
And really, it’s the same thing. You got to set the groundwork. And that’s something that I do say to all my clients to like, especially if they’re wanting to lose weight. You know, if that’s their primary goal, it’s like, well, you didn’t gain it overnight. Yeah. You didn’t get to where you are and wherever your health journey is, you didn’t get there overnight. If people are coming to me and they’re in their 30s or 40s while it’s taking you 30 or 40 years to get here.
[00:37:21.620]
So, you know, let’s let’s give let’s give it its due and give it some time. But, you know, things can your body can shift fairly quickly, you know, depending on how you’re treating it.
[00:37:35.900]
I mean, that’s really the truth, you know, because when we’re wadded up with stress or, you know, all sorts of stories or we’re working out killing ourselves, like, ah, but your body thinks it’s in survival mode. So it’s going to do the opposite of what you’re trying to do, which is lose weight. It’s going to hold on to everything you have, you know. So it’s really like I said before, you actually started being gentle with yourself, being gentle with yourself and understanding what really works.
[00:38:02.190]
And there’s a lot of times, you know, pain is, you know, really connected to. Your health or your emotions and things like that, so sometimes people can think, oh, well, you’re in pain because you never exercise, you never work out. But really, it could be just a lot of emotional stuff you’re holding on to.
[00:38:26.380]
Oh, yeah, yeah, for women, I find this, it’s especially true, like, you know, just everything from our childhood to even and, you know, a lot of people don’t realize that our health can be affected even by, like, our ancestry, you know, and like I had I had another client who, you know, she would always sort of panic about not having food or something, you know, and so she’d then, like, eat really fast and, you know, eat whatever was there and would never sort of prepare stuff.
[00:38:59.530]
Like somehow she was going to run out of food or something. And it was so strange. And and I finally, you know, asked I was like, well, what the talk to me about, you know, talk to me about your you know, your background. Like, tell me about your parents. Tell me about your mom to me. And it turns out that her grandmother was a Holocaust survivor.
[00:39:20.390]
And was starving. And would like could only eat food when it was available, you know, and had this sort of mentality and that carry believe I do not like that stuff is sort of stored in a stew, like it can be stored in us on a cellular level, that sort of feeling, you know, that reaction. And so that’s what’s important about sort of, like I said, digging deep and understanding, because all of a sudden she was like, oh, my gosh.
[00:39:48.860]
Like, that’s in it all made sense, and so it was like, you have to then tell yourself, like I’m safe, I have plenty, you know, I have and you know, but it’s like she could never understand why where it would come from, like you’d panic.
[00:40:03.680]
And and I thought, oh, how interesting. But it’s like these revelations can come up in coaching, you know, and these are things that, you know, we don’t know what we don’t know.
[00:40:12.950]
Right. So this is why it’s important to get help, to get accountability, get someone who can be be there for you and create that safe space for you to figure this stuff out. You know, figure out where those blocks are, you know, what’s holding me back? What are those old beliefs and stories that I need to let go of?
[00:40:33.410] – Diane Foy
It always comes down to that, doesn’t it? Always everything diet, everything, though, is our childhood issues.
[00:40:42.590] – Moniqua Plante
But, you know, that is what we’re here to. That’s what we’re here to do right in our lifetime. It’s you know, we’re here to figure that stuff out.
[00:40:50.150]
And, you know, that’s why that’s why I just that’s that is my why. Right. Like that is why I love coaching, you know, especially coaching actors on health and wellness. Now, granted, I have a lot of other clients who aren’t actors for say, but maybe in creative creative professionals and things like that. But, you know, I love I love these epiphanies. I love this journey. I love being a part of it.
[00:41:18.470]
And I love watching my clients just blossom and become so in tune with themselves. And it just radiates. It really does. And it’s just it’s manages to be so wonderful.
[00:41:35.330] – Diane Foy
It’s so powerful. So you have a few freebees. Tell me about your freebies. We want free stuff.
[00:41:41.390] – Moniqua Plante
OK, I have two freebies that are oh, I love them both so much. One of them is called the Feel Good in Your Body book. And that is my gosh, I think it’s a seventeen page ebook that really introduces you to what I call the Fab Five, you know, the five pillars of health, beauty and vitality. And it’s it is sort of getting back to basics. But I think that’s what people forget. You know, when we start to feel out of sorts and not good in our body, not feeling good in our own skin, we forget that.
[00:42:20.450]
Just going back to the basic habits, right. Like how your are you hydrating yourself? How are you nourishing yourself? How are you moving your body? You know, and a lot of it is mind set, sleep, all of those things. So I cover all of what I call the Fab Five in there. And it really takes you through a five day journey of getting back to, you know, finally feeling good in your own skin.
[00:42:47.490]
Right, and then the second one is the magical morning guide, this I love because, you know, I really do think that how you start your day is a recipe for how you show up in the rest of your life, you know, in the rest of your day. And depending on what you have going on here and actor, if you’re running, you’re auditioning, doing sales tapes. And if you have another job and all these things and things are so crazy right now in the world to that energy is really, really heavy.
[00:43:16.020]
So I just encourage people to start with morning rituals that really help keep you grounded and connected and know there’s lots of different ways you can do this.
[00:43:28.260]
I give you lots of different lots of different ideas on how to do this, how to set it up, different exercises you can do. And it’s just really such a juicy, delicious, magical, dare I say. Way to start your day.
[00:43:45.780] – Diane Foy
Yeah, wonderful. And what are the links for people to go to for those?
[00:43:50.340] – Moniqua Plante
Oh, you can actually go to my website, which is w w w Monica Plant Wellness dot com and my name is spelled a little funky. So it’s M0 and I.Q. You A P, L and T wellness dot com. And if you go to the start here tab, all of the freebies are listed there. Oh cool.
[00:44:14.160] – Diane Foy
And where are you on social media.
[00:44:16.530]
Everything is Monica plant wellness for my health coaching business and then otherwise it’s just Monica plant which again is my IQ, EUA play and A.. So I have two accounts, one for kind of my personal in my acting career and then also Monica Plant Wellness. So I’m all over the place and.
[00:44:40.410] – Diane Foy
Well that’s about it. Like what’s what’s next.
[00:44:43.920] – Moniqua Plante
Oh my God.
[00:44:44.710] – Diane Foy
Future hopes, dreams, goals for acting and for health coaching and all that good stuff.
[00:44:51.180] – Moniqua Plante
You know, I just I still I’m still wanting to I just want to get everything fully online. You know, I just one of my core values is freedom. And so I really want to be able to just go wherever I want to go.
[00:45:07.950]
And, you know, so just exciting. It’s exciting that my business is growing and I’m really excited to just have a fully online online business and be able to finally travel a little bit after this craziness. Hopefully, hopefully this year sometime, but maybe not. We’ll see. I have a feeling we’re going to be dealing with this for a little while. But, yeah, that’s exciting.
And I’m up for a few parts right now. So, you know, of course, just living the dream, just keep working. And, you know, I’m writing a script, too, so, yeah, I just have my hands on a lot of different parts at the moment.
And you just keep going. But really just living your life. My my most important thing is just finding joy in that every day, you know. Right. Yeah.
[00:45:58.570] – Diane Foy
Wonderful. Well, thank you so much for sharing everything.
[00:46:03.050] – Moniqua Plante
Well, I hope this is helpful. I hope people get a few nuggets of wisdom in this that will help them on wherever they are in their health journey, on their career, you know. Wonderful.
[00:46:13.950] – Diane Foy
Great. Thank you so much. Thank you. What an inspiring conversation. Be sure to grab those freebies that we mentioned, and if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with your musician and actor friends and review it on Apple podcast, iPod Chaser, Stitcher or Cast Box, as it really helps the show get discovered.
