Are you struggling with weight loss as you navigate the complexities of midlife? You're not alone. In this enlightening episode of The Holly Perkins Health Podcast, I sit down with Michelle, a remarkable client who has undergone a transformative journey over the past year. At just over 50, Michelle faced daunting challenges related to hormonal balance, weight management, and muscle loss, particularly as she entered perimenopause. Despite her dedication to the gym, she found herself battling a decline in muscle mass and bone density, prompting her to seek my guidance in her late 50s.
Are you struggling with weight loss as you navigate the complexities of midlife? You're not alone. In this enlightening episode of The Holly Perkins Health Podcast, I sit down with Michelle, a remarkable client who has undergone a transformative journey over the past year. At just over 50, Michelle faced daunting challenges related to hormonal balance, weight management, and muscle loss, particularly as she entered perimenopause. Despite her dedication to the gym, she found herself battling a decline in muscle mass and bone density, prompting her to seek my guidance in her late 50s.
“I never thought I could feel this good again,” Michelle shares, reflecting on her journey. Together, we explored how shifting her mindset about nutrition and exercise could lead to sustainable weight loss and improved health. We moved away from restrictive diets like intermittent fasting and low-carb eating, embracing a more balanced approach that includes carbohydrates and strength training. This shift not only reversed her osteopenia but also helped her gain lean muscle, significantly enhancing her energy levels and overall well-being.
This episode is a must-listen for women over 35 who are looking for effective workout tips and nutrition strategies tailored to their unique needs. We dive deep into the significance of progressive strength training and proper nutrition for women navigating menopause. You’ll discover how small, manageable changes can lead to profound results in your health journey.
Michelle's story is a testament to the power of resilience and the right guidance. If you're seeking motivation for women in midlife, or if you want to understand how to eat for muscle and optimize your wellness, this episode is packed with insights. Join us as we discuss clean eating tips, the importance of protein for women, and how to maintain mental health while pursuing your fitness goals. Let’s redefine what healthy eating means for you and explore the best practices for toning workouts that can elevate your fitness motivation.
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how to reclaim your health and vitality. Tune in and let Michelle's inspiring journey guide you towards your own path of weight loss and wellness! If you're interested in womens health, this is the podcast for you.
Get FREE lifetime access to my 4-week Strength Without Stress program today! This unique program helps you build lean muscle and reduce inflammation—without the fatigue from long or intense workouts. All you need to do is post a review of my podcast, grab a screenshot, and upload it at: hollyperkins.com/review
This offer won’t last—soon it will sell for $197. Don’t miss your chance to grab it free!
• Transcripts can be found on the official blog page for this episode here
• Find me on Instagram: @hollyperkins
• Discover more on my website: hollyperkins.com
+Follow so you'll know exactly when new episodes are available on Tuesdays.
Speaker #0 Michelle, I am so excited to talk with you. I'm so excited to dive in and have you share with us some of the details about your journey over the past year. I think that as I've watched you over the past year and through the program, First of all, your results have been incredible and very exciting, and I will let you talk about that. But as a coach watching your progress, I know there are so many women out there that are looking to achieve some of the things that you have done. And your story is so special because of where you were before we started working together and where you are now. So I am really excited and thank you for sharing your story. I know that there are going to be hundreds, if not thousands of women that listen to this episode who feel so inspired by you. So simply by us having this conversation today, we're going to inspire people. So thank you for being here. Tell us a little bit about you. And I want to hear a little bit about you personally, but also I know that our listeners would love to hear. what you were struggling with before we started working together, the things that inspired you to reach out to me and to be open to trying something new. So tell us a little bit about you. Speaker #1 Well, first of all, thank you for having me, Holly. This is great and it's an honor to be here with you today. So a little bit about me. I'm in my late 50s. I've struggled with hormonal balance. ever since I was like in my really like mid 30s, early 40s. I went through perimenopause at an earlier age. And with the struggle of the hormone balance, I also struggled with my weight and not in a like a huge way, but it was always, it was always this perpetual, like if I could just lose this last three to five pounds and sometimes it would creep up to even more than that, it would be like, you know, five to 10 pounds, um, when my weight would pop. And so, um, I have been a gym rat basically my whole life. I've always worked out. I've been a class junkie, but what I was finding is that, um, over the course of five years, I lost five pounds of muscle in a five-year period. And I was doing the intermittent fasting. Um, you know, thinking I was doing all the right things and it really just quit working for me. It started working against me. Then I found myself, um, doing my bone density scans, um, found that I entered osteopenia, um, in 2023. So from 2019 to 2023, um, you know, going from normal, all of a sudden in 2023, I entered osteopenia. And I was not okay with that because for obvious reasons, but when I have, when I work out every single day and I'm at the gym and I'm doing what I think is strength training, how is it that I'm losing this muscle? And why is it that I've now entered osteopenia when I'm doing all the right things in your books? So when I heard you. being interviewed by another podcaster that I absolutely love and follow. When you were being interviewed and you started speaking my lingo, you were answering the questions, you were addressing osteopenia, you were addressing muscle mass, muscle loss, and strength training, progressive strength training. You started, you were talking about that there is, you know, for women in my age group, that there's hope, and I didn't have to settle for that. So that's a little bit, that's... That's a little bit about me. Speaker #0 Oh my gosh. It's a little and so much, Michelle. Like I just, I'm trying so hard to keep my mouth shut because there were so many times that I was like, oh my gosh, yes, yes. And that too. Thank you for sharing that because that is so much and what a beautiful way to encapsulate it. There are so many women experiencing this. This is exactly what I talk about when women get into their fifties, they want to improve their muscle and their bone density. They're taking action. And I agree. When you first came to me, you were doing all the right things, right? And yet, you still were. Deteriorating is a brutal word to use, but really that is what was happening. You were losing muscle and your bones were getting weaker. Exactly. You were deteriorating and you shouldn't have been because you were working out, you were strength training, you were eating very well, minus the intermittent fasting. You know my opinion on that. It does tend to be catabolic and problematic, but you were that person. And when you came to me, I remember when we had that first conversation. Inside, I got so excited because you were the exact person that I want to work with because I know we can fix these things. And these things do happen if a person doesn't follow the right protocols, but it doesn't mean they
have to happen. And that really is what you speak to, the fact that you were aware that you were trying to build muscle and get stronger bones, but yet we're going in the other direction. and something needed to change. And I'm so glad that what you heard was the hope that you could change because, oh my goodness, you did. I want to hear just a couple more things about some of your practices before we started working together, and then we'll reveal where you are now and some of the things that changed in between. So tell us a little bit about before you and I worked together, let's say 2024. and beyond and prior, what did your workout like life look like? What kind of workouts were you doing? What did your nutrition look like last year? Speaker #1 My nutrition was, was I, so I've, I'm, um, I'm actually a holistic, um, natural chef. Um, and so I, food wise, you know, I'm a believer in whole foods, all organic, you know, um, Pastor Ray's, blah, blah, blah, all this stuff. So, you know, my food selections and cooking and all that, like, that's a no brainer. It's just how I eat. It's what I do. But as far as food timing, what I eat, how and how I how I eat has drastically changed. And I would also say Well, so in the sense of like, what you've taught me is, has been a game changer. It's, it has absolutely changed my metabolism. It's changed, it's, it's changed my body. Of course, the workouts have also, you know, been a big part of that. But eating within an hour of waking has been a huge game changer and incorporating carbohydrates into my life. You have to understand I came from a... paleo almost you know marginal keto um you know uh lifestyle so to speak and so my carbohydrate intake was super super low and whenever i wanted to lose weight you know or oh now i'm you know getting ready to go on this trip or we're getting ready to go here there i need to really take this weight off so that i'm not going into my vacation on the high end i need to go in on the low end so I'd really worked hard to try to get my weight at a lower point before, um, we'd go on vacation or do a getaway weekend or whatever it is. And so I was one of those low carb girls that, you know, the poor banana got such a bad rap, right? And yeah, Speaker #0 poor bananas and carrots and the potato. Speaker #1 So it so not only am I happier because of the carbohydrates, but I feel so much more satisfied. Yeah. And. And, I mean, the results have been, it's mind-boggling to me. I know. Like I was so, I don't want to say brainwashed per se, but I was definitely so on that train of low carb. You know, if you want to lose weight, you just got to go low carb. Don't eat the stuff. Speaker #0 So let me ask you, so we can hear explicitly, right? Yeah. When you described in the past how... first of all you were you were low carb focused sometimes even lower carb yes when an event or a trip was coming up and you felt you wanted to drop the three to five pounds before the trip yes would you reduce Speaker #1 your carbs even more did you at that time did you believe weight loss was eat fewer carbs eat less eat less and work out so then i picked up my cardio doing spin classes like crazy doing more, you know. Kickboxing or combat classes. Yeah, I was work cardio. So I was, I was working out for two hours a day and then, and then I would walk on top of that. So I would always walk, um, in the morning by myself. And then my husband and I always walk after dinner at night. So I'm walking, you know, and those are like two and a half miles a pop. So I'm walking five miles a day on top of two hours. Did you want to do anything else that day besides exercise? Like I just felt like all I was doing, this is like my whole life has become, you know, this is my existence is just, working out and there's more to life than just, you know, I mean, it's important and I'm an advocate of health and working out and exercise and all of that stuff, but it doesn't, I don't think it's necessary to. Well, Speaker #0 yeah, especially when part of it is because you do enjoy an active lifestyle. There is that part of it, even if we took your body weight or body composition out of the equation. You know, I see you as someone who would exercise anyway. You genuinely love it for what it is. And in addition to that, the piece that is, I guess, worrisome is that those two classes a day plus the walking plus the calorie restriction and carbohydrate restriction was because you were chasing three to five pounds. It's not like you needed to lose 50 pounds. This was a three to five pound. journey that had you on this yo-yo of up and down and up and down and, you know, really
getting nowhere. It's the hamster wheel that I talk about all the time. And when I look at that, I'm like, wow, that's a lot of effort for three to five pounds. Does that make sense? Speaker #1 Totally. It was exhausting. And it truly was a hamster wheel because I never got where I wanted to be. Speaker #0 Right. You never got where you wanted to be, plus you lost muscle and softer bones, right? Which when we met, that was the big piece of it. And I remember two things in our early discussion. One was the concept of introducing more carbohydrates and how worried and scared you were in the beginning. We started you at moderate carbohydrates. In my world, 40% carbohydrates of your daily calories to me is low carb. It's technically not. But in my world, I don't like people to go below 40% carbs. And I remember we started you there simply because you were worried and scared of the carbohydrate, the banana and the potato. And then you can share your story with us in a moment. But then I also remember really having to, in a way, retrain your brain to understand that. The way to win the battle on the three to five pound cycle wasn't more spin classes and more kickboxing. It was building muscle. And so many women struggle with that because they think, well, but if I add three pounds of muscle, the scale is going to go up. And what I want is the scale to go down. And what so many women don't realize is the muscle goes up, yes, three to five pounds, but it takes off usually. double the amount of body fat so that the scale still does go down at the end of the day. I think your situation is a little unique because you were already at a good body weight. Body weight wasn't really, really the issue for you. It was the interplay between muscle and body fat, right? So tell us a little bit about where you are now and what happened as a result of making some changes in your habits. Speaker #1 Well, I'm happy to report that I've since reversed my osteopenia. And I've got the DEXA bone density scan to prove that. And I'm just so thrilled. And talking to my naturopath, she was, she was blown away. Blown away. So I'm super excited about that. And I have gained three and a half pounds of muscle, which I am thrilled. That's been in a six month. Period. Six months. Speaker #0 Oh my gosh. Speaker #1 Six months. Gained three and a half pounds of muscle. I'm so thrilled. Speaker #0 Yeah. Speaker #1 And the body fat, I've only lost like a pound of body fat, but I feel like, I mean, I'm just going to keep going. I'm just going to keep going. And what I do notice is my body is different. And I would also say my relationship to the scale, you know, has also changed. And that's been because of you, Holly, to kind of get me out of that mindset. But it was only like this relationship. It was the relation. It was, I knew how I felt when I weighed a certain number. And that was the only point of reference that I had to, to, to be able to know kind of how that felt or how I felt in my body at this certain weight, which was a lower weight. But knowing my body now, it is much leaner. It's tighter. It's, um, it's, I'm smaller through my through my midsection, which is kind of where I wanted to lose it. And, and surprisingly, and unexpectedly, like my butt is bigger, which is, it's higher, and it's bigger. And that was the probably the one of the more noticeable changes was, I mean, so my, my jeans fit totally different. I'm actually getting compliments at the gym from people that I didn't even that I didn't even know before have walked up to me and said, you just look. really good. You look so fit. I've seen you around. And so I'm getting random people commenting and that's really been kind of fun, actually. Speaker #0 It's so fun and it's so rewarding and validating. And there are so many women that hear, wait, she gained three and a half pounds of muscle. That seems scary. And your butt is bigger, right? So until a person experiences what that's like, it could sound scary. But the truth is I've seen your photos and it doesn't, you don't look bigger. You, you are small. You do look smaller. It's just, you look better all around. And that's the thing that until a person experiences it, it's so hard to communicate. Um, because so many women are just still, as you said, really brainwashed by the scale. And we think the scale. And the number is the goal, but that's only because women haven't experienced what you just described. And without a doubt, you know, I want to go back and look at your last exoscan again, because are you right that your body fat only went down by one pound
because your photos look like your body fat went down more than a pound? Is that accurate? Speaker #1 Yeah, I think so. It is, okay. Yeah, yeah. Because I mean, Speaker #0 I literally can see your photos in my mind's eye and I'm like, that doesn't seem right. So the scale has stayed the same or gone up? Speaker #1 Scale's gone up. Scale's gone up. And I mean, I can confidently say that, that I'm totally OK with that, which, you know, if you were to ask me six months ago, I would have said, hell no, I'm not OK with that because only because of that point of reference. When I weigh this, I feel like that, right? And I can relate to it in a low number and then I can relate to it in a high number when my weight pops up. But I've only known that. um or let me put it this way I I I know my body differently now um and so that number no longer matters so I I mean I my genes and how I feel in my body I am I look better flatter stomach um smaller waistline just there's just less I just feel like there's less I feel like I'm smaller even I There's something different about my, like even my chest or through my shoulders. There's something that's shifted or changed. And I don't know that I could articulate exactly what that. Speaker #0 I will articulate for you because I was actually going to say that next. Speaker #1 Okay. Speaker #0 And I mentioned this in my last voice memo to you. Once we looked at your final photos and Dexa, what has happened is you've started to balance out your body from top to bottom. So when we first started working together, you had some beautiful muscle development in your upper body, but you had lost muscle in your lower body. And so there was a small percentage of an imbalance between your upper body and your lower body. When I look at your photos now, you're more symmetric. And so the musculature on your lower body has come up. And I would argue the musculature on your upper body, the body fat that you lost was probably more in your upper body in your tummy. than it was in your lower body. So muscle came up on your lower body, body fat came down on your upper body, but also you've started using the muscles of your upper body differently because of the exercises, the balance, the technique. Your traps have mellowed out and now you've got more lats and more delts. And that ends up creating this really beautiful aesthetic that looks great, but it also helps you to feel better and move better. And so when I look at your photos, That was the first. one of the first things that I noticed was it was like, Ooh, you're a lot better balanced now. Does that make sense? Speaker #1 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It feels, it feels leaner somehow. Like, yeah. across the show. It just, and I, and I feel so much stronger. And then I know I am because I can look at my numbers. I can look at, you know, where I started with the weight load that I started with and where I am today is drastic. And so I know, and I, and I just feel stronger. I can remember. being in a class where it's like high reps, right. And these strength training classes that I used to take, um, all these high reps with 10 to 12 pound weights, some, maybe a 15, um, for lower body, but, um, um, yeah, it's, Speaker #2 it's, Speaker #1 it's totally now, now I walk over and I can grab, I can grab a, um, you know, a 25, 30 pound dumbbell and in one hand and not. think twice about it where, you know, um, yeah. Or even, yeah. Speaker #0 So let's talk about, because I know, you know, we've, we've touched on where you were and where you are now. Um, and I imagine there's a woman listening right now. That's like, okay, but what did you do differently? I know that one of the things we've talked about is you started eating in the morning. Uh, you stopped intermittent fasting, increased your carbohydrates. Speaker #1 Yes. Speaker #0 Tell us more. And now Now, in full transparency, when Michelle came to me, we had several conversations before the decision really felt right. She enrolled in my program, the Body Composition Project coaching program. So she did go through my program. And really and truly, when I do these stories with my most successful clients, it isn't to just be like, what did Michelle do to be successful? She enrolled in the Body Composition Project. That's not what we're really here to talk about. But I did want to share that piece of information. More importantly really is, Michelle, if you would share through your perspective, what were those other changes either in your workout programming or more changes in how you were eating during
the day that you feel were the most impactful to get you from osteopenia to healthy bone density, to get you from losing muscle to now gaining three and a half pounds of muscle. Like if your friend said, Michelle, what did you do? What would you say were the biggest actions and habit changes you made? Speaker #1 Oh my gosh. Well, definitely, definitely eating first thing in the morning was a huge game changer. So, and then just increasing my carbohydrates, like not being afraid of them. And it took a while. I mean, being, you know, going from this low carb girl to. you know, carbohydrates are okay. And this is, this is, it was really kind of a mind bender, you know, so mentally it was, took me a little while to get used to. And, but now, oh, it's no problem at all for me to hit. It's no problem, but to hit 45, 50% carbohydrates, I mean, not a problem at all. So I just feel like my, my repertoire of, of foods has been, um, it's a, I have a broader variety of foods that I'm, that I'm choosing from and it's just more satiating. It's more, um, and I just feel, uh, more well fed. I don't know how else to put that. Speaker #0 Yeah. When you, so tell me, because I remember some interactions we had, um, tell me some of, or I should say, tell us because other people are listening. Tell us. What were some of the benefits you noticed as you started eating more carbohydrates early on? Speaker #1 My mood, first of all. I just felt happy. I mean, I just feel happier in general. And I just feel like my blood sugar level is much more stable. My meals are more satisfying. It's fun. It's fun to eat carbs. Speaker #0 Yeah. It is fun to eat. That's the other thing, right? It's like people come to me and they're keto junkies. And I'm like, but do you really not like carbohydrates? I don't know that I've ever met a single person who doesn't like carbohydrates. Humans really, we are designed by nature to gravitate to carbohydrates. It's in our DNA. And it always makes me laugh when, you know, people do finally, like you. They're open to incorporating more carbohydrates. And all of a sudden, it's like, oh, my gosh. I mean, I can actually eat some pasta. I can actually eat oatmeal and brown rice and fruit and bananas and potatoes. Oh, my God. It's really I mean, it's just a much better life. And, oh, by the way, beyond that to then also have it be part of the solution that helps you build muscle and lose fat is sort of like really the mind bender. Speaker #1 It is. And Holly, before I forget, the other thing that has been a major change is my digestion. My bowel movements. I had been eating this, you know, this paleo lifestyle, this ketogenic, whatever, you know, for 10 years. And when your bowel movements change, and then they just that's, oh, I guess this is just how it is. Right? You forget what normal is. And so as soon as I started your program, that that was a major change, like all of a sudden. Speaker #0 And that is huge. Let's talk about that for a moment. We don't talk about it a lot on the podcast, but... But your regularity and the characteristic and quality of bowel movements, I've always said is one of the best indicators of your health. And that's the thing that, first of all, women don't like to talk about this topic. I don't know why I talk about it all the time. I like it. It is such an incredibly important part of your health. It is direct feedback to your health. And we see this so many times. I have women, I feel a diatribe coming on, but let's go there. I have women come to me and they're like, so why is it a problem if I eat too much protein? Why is eating too much protein a problem? And there are several reasons why it's a problem, but that is one of them. Generally, if someone is eating way more protein than they need, you are going to see a difference in your digestive health. because the more protein you eat, the less... space there is for fiber and all of these beautiful compounds that come from carbohydrates. And so that is like the telltale sign when your carbohydrates and your proteins aren't really optimized because when they are, your whole system works better. Most people are generally less bloated. They have better regularity. They're less gassy, all of that. So I could go on and on, And I know that's not what we're here to talk about. but thank you for bringing that forward because so many women struggle with digestive issues wow yeah it's huge um i love that thank you so much for sharing that tell us a little bit about more specifically how your workouts what you changed in your workouts what you did different at the gym what are you doing what were you doing during this time of
change because i know what you're doing today could look a little different since we've spoken But while you were in the body composition project, what did, how did your workouts look different compared to what you were doing before we started working together? Speaker #1 Well, um, so I was doing, I, I only did classes. I never used to go to the weight room, um, upstairs. Uh, so I was doing just weight strength training, body pump, um, and another, um, what they call the body shred. class, which is weights and cardio, doing a high intensity circuit training class. And then I would do a couple of yoga classes. I'd do some Pilates. I would, I was at the gym at least, you know, a couple hours, you know, a couple hours every day. Maybe there'd be, you know, maybe a couple of days a week I would do just one class, but I was at the gym every single day, which is fine. But. um, it just seemed like I was perpetually like chasing this, you know, um, uh, what you, I think what you call more is better than more, more must be better. And so, um, I do spin classes. Um, yeah, so I, I was just a class junkie and, um, that's why I couldn't understand what wasn't making sense. why my results weren't making sense to what my efforts and what my actions were. Speaker #0 Yep. Speaker #1 I should be experiencing the opposite of what the numbers were showing. And it just wasn't making sense. Speaker #0 And so if your best friend said, okay, well, then what did you change? What did you start doing that made the difference in your body? Speaker #1 Oh, oh, so, well, in your program, um, I just started following your program and, um, I, you started doing um Speaker #0 the heavier, doing heavy weights upstairs. So I was three days a week doing strength training and then two days a week doing cardio, which was actually kind of an interesting way of doing cardio. Actually, it all felt in the beginning, it felt initially easier because your steady state cardio concept. That felt relatively easy coming from this high intensity interval training, circuit training, busting it out kind of stuff that I thought, oh, this must be good for me. And I'm sure there's some benefits to that. But the results out of your program gave me results, gave me the results I was looking for. So the strength training. has been really kind of cool because of kind of watching my weight loads increase. So I was definitely, you know, cognizant and conscientious about increasing those those weight loads often. And, and I'm at a totally different place now than where I was. So I would say that progressive strength training has been a major shift in what I what I've changed. That's been a major, major shift. Speaker #1 Yeah. It's almost like years of classes where you'd go into the classes and absolutely work hard with those eight, 10 or 12 pound dumbbells. But that's exactly what I mean when I say, but is she actually increasing her weight load? And you look back on two years of classes and you're like, well, I go to body pump twice a week and I always use the 12 pound dumbbells, but I'm working my butt. off. And that's when the equation is broken. You're going in, you're going in, you're working hard and you're using 10 or 12 pound dumbbells, but the weight loads aren't increasing, right? That's where that hard does not equate to progress. And I remember you and I had a conversation and one of our first conversations, because you were bordering on baffled. where it was like, Holly, I am working so hard. I'm using heavy weights in my exercise classes. I remember you said that to me. And I'm like, tell me what kind of weight loads you're using. And you're like, I'm using like the 10s and the 12s in my classes. And to you at that time, that was a heavy weight load. That was working hard, honestly and genuinely. But I knew, well, you should be doing a Bulgarian split squat with 15 pounds in each hand. That's 30 pounds. Very different. right? Or 20 pounds or 25 pound dumbbells. And it's really just a perspective shift to your point that now when you go back to those classes, because there's nothing wrong with classes, it's how they're fitting into your programming. But now you're going in and you're picking up the bigger dumbbells. That would have never happened in the class. You're picking up the heavier dumbbells in the class now because you went upstairs to the weight room and you were doing true progressive overload programming. with those other exercises. Well, Speaker #0 yeah, I'm not going back to, I'm not going back to strength, not, not, not, not going back to classes. I have, I'm, that to me, I think would be a complete and
utter waste of my time to go back. Like there's like, I feel like there is no turning back at this point, you know, and, and comparatively to the rest of the people that are in the class, they're using five pound dumbbells, five to eight. And I'm, you know, and I actually, you know, I mean, I started out and when I was doing those. you know, I was doing eight to 10 and then I went up to like the 12 and a half. So I was like one of the few people, and then some of them, I was doing 15s and people would always come up to me and say, I mean, these are pretty good size classes. I go to a very nice gym, um, here in the Bay area. And, um, there's a, it's, it's a, it's a big class and there's a number of people. And I was one of the few people, the people come up and say, gosh, you, oh my God, you use these really heavy weights. And I'm like, well, you know, you gotta like, you gotta, you gotta, you got to challenge the body a little bit, you know, and so I always, I was of that mindset, but, but it wasn't enough. And I think as what you had told me was, um, um, it's, it's really muscle endurance versus, you know, building new muscle, more muscle. Speaker #1 Um, Speaker #0 and so. I think you kind of described it more as like a cardio workout. I mean, that's great. There's benefits to the class. I mean, you're moving and you're exercising and all that, but you're not going to necessarily build muscle per se. No, Speaker #1 to some degree, right? And like there are shades of gray in all of this, right? But it really is true because of what I talk about specificity of exercise. So if you want, if a person wants to build muscle and become stronger, there is a specific protocol for that. And if a person wants to go sweat and get their heart rate up and have the social aspect of a class, there is a specific protocol for that. And so it isn't that classes are wrong and classes are bad. Because they serve a purpose. And I know for you, part of it was you loved the social aspect of your classes. That is a very legitimate and respectable reason to exercise. And that could be okay if the person is happy with their body composition, their muscle development, and their bone density. Where I come in is if you're doing all of that to become better, but you're not actually becoming better, that's when the system is broken. it's not that you're body is broken. It's that the specificity of exercise and the protocol is wrong for what you're actually trying to accomplish. And it's always such a joy for me. This is why I wanted to have this conversation with you because, you know, when you and I first spoke, I know you, you really, um, how shall I say it? Like you had drunk the Kool-Aid of the classes and the intensity and the intermittent fasting and the low carb and the keto. And you were very convicted and felt that you were doing all the right things. And so whenever someone comes to me like that, there's always this moment where I am always open to being wrong. And I'm like, well, let's just see. Let's just give this a go and really change these protocols that you think are working for you. And let's find out what happens. And. I always am kind of biting my nails along the way because of course I want the best for you. And in a non-negatistical way, I hope I'm right, right? Because I'll be able to help you better. And it's always just such a joy when it does turn out to be the best case scenario, with it being easier than you thought it would be. And you said this in an interview, but would you agree that where you are now, you actually got here with way less effort? And it was actually way easier than you thought that it would be. Speaker #0 Yeah. Yes. Yes. I would definitely say that. Speaker #1 Yeah. Without a doubt. I see that all the time with my clients because so many people think if I work harder, I will get farther. And most of the time for women over 40, 45, it's actually the opposite. And that's what we saw with you. So thank you so much for being such an incredible student and adhering to the program and following the program. And just being such a great example of what's possible for other women out there. If there's a woman listening right now, which I guarantee there is, who's inspired by you, what advice would you give her? If she is where you were a year ago and she feels like she's working so hard and she's tried everything, but nothing works, what advice would you give her? Speaker #0 Oh my gosh. Eat within an hour of waking. Start there. And progressive strength training. really does work. That's I, you, you, the progressive strength training is, um, that's been a game changer for sure. Yeah. And I've, and I've, I've got
the, the numbers to prove it, you know, the, the, the DEXA scans, um, um, to show that and, you know, yeah, the, the, I, I, The, the, when I, when I first started to program month, month, month one, month two felt like, oh, this is, I was taking a lot less time at the gym. So that felt great and, um, felt relatively easy. I was like, well, this is a lot easier. I know you said, oh, it's going to be easier than what you're doing. Like I was really feeling like I was killing myself at the gym. And, and so, um, and, and, and then, and then, you know, I mean, the workouts got a little harder, right? now that it was a few more reps it was you know some extra sets and that type of thing but um but it's still it's um it's doable and um yeah it's it really has um it's changed my metabolism in such a huge way um that's the other thing i really wanted to um make a point too is, um, I feel like my metabolism is so much more forgiving and flexible. So, you know, if we, you know, do have maybe a little more indulgent weekend, you know, it's, it's not the end of the world. Like I, it, it would stress me out. Like, oh my God, you wake up Monday, Monday morning after a nice weekend, you know? Oh my God, you feel like what just happened. I felt like I, you know, um, and it would take, it would take me all week that I'd really have to like pour on the coal and double down and all that stuff, you know, and I just go hard during the week. And I, I just, I don't really feel like, I feel like my body's keeping up with me. And in that in that regard. So like, if we do have, I mean, I still I mean, I watch it, I'm totally, you know, it's not like, oh, your program's over. And now I'm, you know, free to the wind or or whatever you want to say, like, you know, um, but it's, it's kind of nice to, to, to, to not worry about it as much as what I once, what I once did where it would stress me out or, oh, we have this big weekend coming or we're, oh, we're going on vacation or whatever. Um, I don't worry about it half as much as what I. Right. Speaker #1 Because your body doesn't, your body is more flexible. Right. And you don't have these swings of changes. Yeah. Yeah. I love that you shared that. So lately I've been hearing some messages out in media about this concept of metabolic flexibility. And often the voices and the people that are talking about it will encourage a person to do high carb, low carb days and do alternate their carbs throughout the week, right? To create metabolic flexibility. And in my mind, all you're doing is creating more chaos. You're creating metabolic chaos by taking... your carbs way up and then your carbs way down and then your carbs way up and to me it's the silliest thing because when your body is really optimized through nutrition that it's designed for when you feed your ferrari the fuel it wants it runs the best and it's a lot more forgiving and that's exactly what you're experiencing and so if you have a weekend that's maybe a bit more celebratory or you have travel or vacation it's not these big swings of certain kinds of foods while you're on vacation and then restriction when you're not to me that is what's causing metabolic inflexibility is when people are swinging and there's no consistency and so you've become so consistent with your macronutrient distribution and with your calories because you're not having to restrict when you come back. or you're not able to double down on Mondays like you used to. So your body really is so much more forgiving. And the human body actually, its innate operating system is flexible. That's why we are still here on earth 1.9 million years later, because we're designed to be flexible. And now you're eating in a way that allows it to do that. So I'm so glad that you shared that because that You just illuminated it so beautifully and so many women are in the pattern of what you just described where they loosen the reins a little on the weekend, but then they feel the result of that on Monday. So they restrict those reins and tighten them up until Thursday and then loosen the reins again. And to me, if a person is intentionally following that pattern and it works for them, fine. But most of the time, it really feels. chaos causing in your head because it's always this having to make a change based on a regret that you had from something you did over the weekend or while you were on vacation and to me that's just you know a recipe for chaos and disaster so michelle i feel like i could talk to you forever thank you so so so so so much for sharing your story and i think you're just such a beautiful example of what's possible for
women of all ages is. And the fact that you're not in your 20s really illuminates this even more. So thank you. Thank you for sharing your story. Speaker #0 I really want to thank you, Holly, for all of your expertise and your program and all your work and your coaching, all of it. It's really been life changing. And I remember, I think expressing this to you when I started getting the results was this has been, I feel like the the magic key that I've been looking for because nothing was not everything that I had learned or knew that I once worked for me stopped working. And. And then I just felt like I was at this loss of, well, now I don't, I guess I just have to accept, you know, I am in my 50s. I'm in my, you know, late 50s. And I guess this is just part of aging or this is part, and I didn't want to have to accept that. And so, you know, I feel like, you know, you gave me the magic key that is something I'm going to be able to have for the rest of my life. Speaker #1 Yeah. Yep. That's it. That's it. I often say to people, You know, when people invest in themselves in one of my programs, often I say, this probably will be the last investment you ever make in your fitness and nutrition again, because this will take you for the rest of your life. And there might come a time where you gain weight. There may come a time where you get off track. If you just come back to these protocols, they work every single time at every single decade. And I think that's key, Speaker #0 but I think, but I think that right there is key because, you know, there, there may be a time that I'm going to be okay with maybe having a little more body fat on me. And, and, and, and it's that relationship or that conscious choice, like that is empowering. Speaker #1 Yeah. Speaker #0 Because I know that if, if I really want to, you know, if I, if I really want to get my body fat down, I know exactly what to do and just, I just need to keep going. Um, but if I want to relax a little and you know, I, I have a different relationship to my body. I don't feel that panic. Like, oh my God, I'm going to be fat the rest of my life. You know, um, so yeah. And I have a tool. Speaker #1 As you said, you have a tool and a key that you can employ whenever you need to. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Speaker #0 So I thank you so much, Holly. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much for your work and what you're doing. It's, um, it's been. It's been life-changing for me, so I appreciate that.