Here, her insights.
CrossFit is famously challenging.
How did you get yourself in that mindset to be able to push through?
Not just in competitions but day-to-day?
Julie Foucher, M.D., M.S.
:I think it is the day-to-day that’s the hardest, right?
It’s easy to think,Of course, I’ll keep going.
And until I answered that question, it became very challenging for me.
I struggled a loteven just feeling motivated to practice.
I also developed a lot of anxiety and was even depressed for a while.
What helped me the most was really identifyingwhyI wanted to do this.
mbg: What did you learn about yourself through that journey with CrossFit competing?
Foucher:The other aspect of my growth was how I learned and grew every single year.
I was building upon my own confidence in competing.
I always ended up surprising myself.
And I think that’s what held me back from probably doing better.
I was on the podium twice but never won the CrossFit games.
So for me, it’s just been about building up my confidence.
mbg: I find that so relatable.
I feel a lot of people struggle with those limiting beliefs about themselves.
Foucher:I can give one example.
It was the 2011 CrossFit games.
The year before, my first year as a rookie, I had placed fifth.
The first two rounds I was leading the event and had no problem pushing the sled.
She passed me and then I finished.
mbg: You mentioned balancing both CrossFit and going to med school.
How did you do it?
It was during my first year of med school when I was competing.
The other aspectone that I don’t likeis there were so many areas of my life that suffered.
I’m not proud of how I handled it, as those two things were my sole focus.
A lot of other things dropped to the background.
For example, I didn’t invest in a lot of relationships.
I realized how I had a lot of this backward in terms of putting achievement above everything else.
I had to work on my true priorities and put relationships at the top.
mbg: Again, I feel like that’s very relatable.
It’s hard to tell in the moment because you think you’re making the right choices.
mbg: I want to talk about how you take care of yourself.
Let’s start with sleep.
How are you prioritizing sleep?
But since then, no, I cannot function after a night or two like that.
mbg: What do you eat to feel your strongest?
I would barely eat any sugar.
I remember at one point my cheat meal was like a square of dark chocolate.
Foucher:This was right at the end of my competition career.
Someone I worked with at the time found a tool that creates a high-altitude environment.
And there was this thing that you would wear while riding a stationary bike that mimicked a high altitude.
So I did that a couple times a week to improve my aerobic capacity.
mbg: In terms of movement nowadays, what are you doing?
Foucher:I will always do CrossFit.
I think it is the best, most efficient way to stay fit.
But for me, it looks very different these days.
I would say the workouts I do now are basically the warm-ups Iusedto do.
But the focus has shifted.
It’s just about feeling good.
A lot of times that looks like a quick workout that I do in my garage gym.
Then I also mix in other things.
I walk a lot, go to yoga once a week, and have started playingpickleball.
Even sometimes I do Pilates, which is totally different.
mbg: What’s your favorite way to decompress?
Nature is a really great way to decompress.
I find being away from technology is what brings me back to myself.
But I didn’t know where to go until I found CrossFit a couple years later.
So I would say just keep an open mind and keep trying things until you find what you love.
mbg: That’s great advice… Movement is part of being a human.
I like thinking about it that way.
What has competing in CrossFit taught you that you’ve used in other areas of your life?
I think when you look at an overall goal, it can be very overwhelming.
You start to get anxious.
I apply that in my life all the time.
I just ask myself: What am I doing today that’s getting me closer to my goal?
