Have you ever felt like your body is no longer your own, especially as you navigate the complexities of midlife? You're not alone! In this episode of The Holly Perkins Health Podcast, I dive deep into the challenges many women face in midlife, particularly regarding body changes, weight loss struggles, and feelings of hopelessness. Join me as I introduce you to Josie, a remarkable 52-year-old executive who has faced the daunting battle of weight gain and low energy despite her best efforts with various diets and fitness strategies.
Have you ever felt like your body is no longer your own, especially as you navigate the complexities of midlife? You're not alone! In this episode of The Holly Perkins Health Podcast, I dive deep into the challenges many women face in midlife, particularly regarding body changes, weight loss struggles, and feelings of hopelessness. Join me as I introduce you to Josie, a remarkable 52-year-old executive who has faced the daunting battle of weight gain and low energy despite her best efforts with various diets and fitness strategies.
Josie's transformative journey is a powerful testament to the importance of strength training over the relentless pursuit of weight loss. By focusing on building lean muscle rather than merely chasing the scale, Josie successfully lost 26 pounds, significantly reduced her body fat, and reclaimed her confidence in her physical abilities. Her story serves as a beacon of hope, reminding us all that it’s never too late to make impactful changes in our lives.
Throughout our conversation, I share practical workout tips for maintaining fitness while traveling and encourage you to prioritize strength training as a vital component of your wellness journey. We discuss how building muscle can enhance your energy levels and improve your overall health, especially for women over 35 navigating the challenges of menopause workouts and midlife women health issues.
As I often say, “Rebuilding trust in your body is the first step towards embracing your strength. ” This episode is an inspiring reminder that true progress is possible at any age, even during perimenopause or menopause. Whether you're looking for nutrition for women, clean eating tips, or insights on how to track macros, I’ve got you covered!
So, are you ready to reclaim your health and vitality? Tune in to this episode for motivation and insights that will empower you to embrace your body and its potential. Together, we’ll explore how to cultivate a positive mindset around fitness and wellness, ensuring that you feel strong over 40 and beyond. Don’t miss this opportunity to transform your approach to health after 50!
Are you training to build muscle? For a limited time, you can learn exactly what I teach my most successful clients to strategically add 5 pounds of lean muscle in the next 5 months.
I'll walk you through the precise adjustments to your training, nutrition, and cardio so your body is primed and positioned to build lean, strong muscle - the kind that lasts. And you can get this live-recorded workshop for FREE (a $20 value). It’s called Optimized for Muscle Lab.
To claim your free recording, simply post a review of my podcast, grab a screenshot, and upload it at: https://www.hollyperkins.com/review
This is a limited-time offer, so don't wait — it normally sells for $20, and this is your chance to get it at no cost.
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Intro-Outro:
Have you ever looked in the mirror and wondered, is this just what getting older feels like? Maybe you've been doing everything that you've always done, working out the same, eating well, trying the latest nutrition strategy, and yet your body keeps changing anyway. The scale won't budge, your energy is low, you don't feel like yourself anymore, and somewhere in the back of your mind you start wondering if this is just simply your new normal. And it would be totally understandable if you feel a sense of hopelessness creep in. And I got you. Today's interview will prove to you that you can rebuild your body and your energy in midlife. You can build muscle and drop the body fat. This is the inspo that you probably need. So keep listening. Today I am joined by one of my clients, Josie. whose story is one I think that so many women will recognize. She's 52, has a demanding executive-level career, travels constantly for work, cares for her family, manages an autoimmune condition, and spent nearly five years trying everything that she could think of to lose weight and feel better. She worked with trainers, she hired nutritionists, she tried keto, elimination diets, and pretty much... Every strategy that promised results, but yet nothing worked. And actually, the hardest part wasn't even the weight gain for her. It was the feeling of hopelessness that was slowly creeping in. She began to wonder if this was just simply what midlife was going to be. But everything changed when she stopped chasing the weight loss and she started building muscle. Get this. In less than six months, Josie lost 26 pounds, dropped her body fat from 40% to 32.8%, gained 4 pounds of muscle, dramatically reduced chronic tendon pain that she had been told she might never be able to improve, and cleared the brain fog that had been affecting her daily life. And my favorite part, she found herself walking confidently into the free weight section of the gym which was a place that she had avoided completely. What I love most about this conversation is that it's about so much more than just numbers. It's about rebuilding trust in your body. It's about learning that progress is still possible, even during perimenopause or menopause, even with an autoimmune disease, and even if you travel every single week for work. And it's about discovering the strength that changes far more than your muscles. It changes how you see yourself. You'll hear some incredibly practical tips that Josie uses to stay consistent while she's traveling, how she approaches restaurant meals without feeling restricted, and one chat GPT travel hack that honestly even surprised me. If you've been wondering whether it's too late, whether your body can still change or not, or whether you'll ever feel like yourself again. I invite you to listen to this conversation with a wide open mind. Because as you'll hear in a minute, creating the body that you need to keep up with the life that you love often starts with one simple decision, choosing strength over the scale. Let's jump in. I so hope you're feeling inspired to take action on your own goals to become stronger and healthier, despite your current struggles. If so, you may be wondering, okay, so well, what are the actual steps to getting started? You'll want to listen to episode 105, Strong Over 40, The Science of Building Muscle, Strengthening Bones, and Living Longer, because I unravel the science behind muscle maintenance, revealing its critical role in metabolism, energy levels, and disease prevention. I challenge the common myths surrounding muscle loss after menopause. and present compelling research that shows women can significantly improve their strength at any age. This episode is not just about fitness. It's about reclaiming your independence and longevity through effective strength training. Just come over to my website blog and search Strong Over 40 so that you can listen to episode 105 now. I hope you enjoyed this episode. Did you know that for a limited time, you can learn exactly what I teach my most successful clients to strategically add five pounds of lean muscle in the next five months? I will walk you through the precise adjustments to your training, your nutrition, and your cardio so that your body is primed and positioned to build Lean Strong Muscle, the kind. that sticks around. And you can get this live recorded workshop totally free. It's a $20 value. It's called Optimized for Muscle Lab. In order to get it for free, simply post a review of my podcast wherever you like to listen, grab a screenshot of your review, and upload it to me at hollyperkins.com forward slash review. Just come to my website, hollyperkins.com, and add a forward slash review. This is a limited time offer, so don't wait. It normally sells for $20, and this is your chance to get it at no cost. And stay tuned for another brand new episode on Tuesday of next week. Stay strong, my friend.
Holly Audio Transcript:
Speaker #0
Josie, I am so excited to have this conversation with you. I'm so excited to share your story. I know that there are going to be a number of listeners inspired by you, but also who can relate to your story. So thank you. Thank you for being here. Tell us a little bit about you as we get started. I think it's so funny that you say you travel a bit. From my perspective, you travel a lot. And I think that that's what you do for, you know, for you to make so much great progress here over this past year with your health and fitness. Alongside of your travel schedule, I'm often watching you like, whoa, I need to take some lessons from you. So that's something that people can relate to because travel throws us all kinds of out of whack. I know for me it's my biggest challenge once I get consistent. So tell us a little bit about what your travel does look like because I know that's something so many women struggle with. And when you're in a busy season, how often are you traveling? Yeah. Yeah. I want to make sure we circle back to that at some point here in the interview, because again, I think that is something so many people struggle with. And so when the time is right in today's interview, if there's a moment where you want to touch upon some of your kind of strategies. if you will, that have helped you continue to make progress even during some of those busy seasons. But I really want to hear about before we got to know each other, before we had the opportunity to work together. Tell us a little bit about what you had been struggling with before you really decided to do something about it. What were the biggest things that were motivating you? Thank you. Hmm. Oh my gosh, there's like so many incredible aspects of that story. Certainly I can relate to. How long had you been struggling? I imagine it was probably a growing issue, something that had been brewing for a while. But when you really look at the concerted time where you were struggling the most, how long was that that you were quote unquote trying everything? Oh, wow. Yeah. Oh, that's frustrating. And tell me, mostly because I'm just kind of curious, I want to hear more about some of the things that you tried. Were there any things that were like really unusual or really extreme or anything like that other than working with a trainer or working with a nutritionist? Is there anything that jumps out at you that you're like, I can't even believe I tried that? Wow. That's wild. I'm curious. Did any of your doctors or trusted medical professionals or even your nutritionist, did any of them actually recommend keto or was that something you kind of explored on your own? No? That was all you? Okay. Okay. Yeah. I'm curious because I know for people who have autoimmune issues. A lot of medical professionals tell people to go keto, especially with autoimmune stuff. And a lot of my clients come to me really frustrated because keto is supposed to work, right? We have this idea that it's supposed to work. And we have this idea that it's a cheat code. And if a medical professional is telling you to do it for your health, I think a lot of people put a lot of belief in it. I don't think, I can honestly say, let me check my memory banks. I can honestly say I have never met someone, a woman, a woman in midlife where a ketogenic diet actually worked. And I've been in practice for 30 years and, you know, a ketogenic diet started about 30 years ago with the Atkins diet. And so I'm always amazed by how many people turn to that because, boy, the marketing on a ketogenic diet must be so good. But it really... you know, in my experience, it has not worked for women, especially in midlife and when they're navigating things that, you know, you shared. And so that makes so much sense. And I think a lot of people can relate to, to just like being really uncomfortable in your body and not feeling good. And I think that's the thing that is like the scariest. am I going to be like this forever? Am I ever going to overcome this? And did you get to that point where mentally you were just like, I might not be able to overcome this? Yes. Oh my gosh. I can so relate to that. You know, when I talk about my own health struggles, when they were at their worst, which was around 2019 and the beginning of COVID, that first year of COVID, I mean, I really remember being like this. I was 50. I had just turned 50. And I was like, is this what the next 30 or 40 years are going to be? And it's terrifying, Absolutely terrifying. What did you worry about the most? Hmm. Yeah. So I know where you are now, but I don't want to reveal that just yet. I would love to hear what you did do to overcome these things. And when I say that, I mean, what were the actual steps you took, the changes you made? What were the things you decided to do that have brought us to where we are today? Mm-hmm Hmm. That's amazing. And what I want to underscore here, again, is that often in autoimmune-related conditions and irrespective of that, even for a woman who's in midlife that doesn't have autoimmune issues or a disorder, So many people are told to avoid carbohydrates and that carbohydrates are more problematic. And that's what you want to be taking out to feel better. I think it's really noteworthy. Of course, I know this, but there are people listening that don't know I know this for certain. But what is astounding to me is that you started feeling better by adding them in when so many people are told to take them out. to manage symptoms. Talk to us a little bit about the types of carbohydrates you incorporated, because I'm curious. I know a little bit, you and I have had some conversations, but I'm curious where you stood with grains, where you stood with gluten, what were the carbohydrates that you first started incorporating? That's amazing. That's so great. And, um, what, um, Maura, you're going to want to pause and, and edit this part out. Hold on one second. I lost my train of thought. Um, hang on. I was going to go back. There was something in particular I wanted to ask you. Hold on, hold on. It's coming. It's coming. Oh, I know. During that time when you were making these changes and you made the commitment to, number one, strength train three times a week, number two, do your best to get the cardio in two or three times a week, and then made these diet changes, were you able to let go of this idea of weight loss as the goal or weight loss being the target? Or were you still wrestling with that as being a sign of progress? I remember. I love it. Yeah, because you feel so terrible in your body, you feel terrible about your body, you're in judgment about what it looks like. And now listen, I wish we could all get to a place where no matter what state our body is in, we... We could be loud and proud. We could be perfectly healthy, happy on an emotional level with where our body is. I hope someday we get there. But I also know that's pretty unrealistic. If you're uncomfortable in your body, it's hard to just, you know, snap into being positive about it. And that is the thing that's extra cool about strength training is that you feel different often before you look different. And that feeling different is so empowering, irrespective of the visual change or the change on the scale. And that's the thing that I think a lot of women don't know about strength training because they're so hyper-focused on the weight loss conversation. But a lot of it is the building of the muscle and getting stronger. just makes you feel better in your body even while you're on that journey to achieve whatever you feel your ideal body weight is. Mmm. That's so huge. So I have many more questions for you, but let's kind of cut to the chase. Tell us where you are now. Tell us about all the ways things have changed for you as a result of, you know, committing to a different program and committing to different kinds of habits. Tell us about the wins. Wow. That's amazing. Mm, that's wild. That's so huge. And, you know, the statistics alone that you shared are so... amazing and exciting and impressive. Tell us more about what are the other things that have gotten better? What are some of the other side effects or ways that your life is different? You mentioned more brain clarity, less brain fog, attributing that to increasing your carbohydrates. What are some other benefits that you've noticed outside of those incredible metrics? Thank you. That's amazing. That's so huge. And I do hear this, you know, often from people that even some of the hardest things to treat get better when you get the right strength training. And so when we talk about that, right, you, you actually said that. What Does it mean to you when you say, when I actually started strength training the right way, these wonderful things happen? What does that mean to you? Strength training the right way. That's so huge. That is so huge. And, you know, I've worked with clients over the years in a similar situation where there's, you know, a hamstring issue, right? Different diagnoses, but similar. And what a lot of people don't realize is that sometimes some hamstring dysfunction comes from the fact that they are simply being over lengthened because of the position of the pelvis in other words if your glutes are weak your pelvis rotates and dumps forward over lengthening the hamstrings and so getting that pelvis tucked allows you to strengthen your glutes better but it also brings the hamstrings into a more neutral resting position and i think that's a big piece of the puzzle for a lot of people and you know you said it yourself but without a doubt that made That was a piece of the puzzle for you in the journey with your hamstrings. What were some of your favorite exercises or are? Yeah. lying dumbbell pullover yeah it's my favorite yeah yeah you know that's funny that is definitely hands down one of my favorite exercises i know you know that but you know what's interesting those three exercises that you just mentioned all specifically target and strengthen hamstring strings and traps. Isn't that funny? So it doesn't, lying double pullover, let me correct that, lying double pullover doesn't necessarily strengthen your traps, but what it does is it improves the function of the traps by strengthening your lats. And so isn't that interesting that the ones you like the most are the ones that really were the most powerful in helping to correct your body? And I think on an intuitive level, that happens for a lot of women. It's like, if you stop overthinking it, and just start feeling into the workouts and being in the workout and finding the right intensity for where you are, you'll end up finding your favorite exercises. And those are often the ones that your body needs the most. Isn't that funny? A lot of people say that about Bulgarian split squat and I'm with you. You know, I want to comment on your comment that you hated Bulgarian split squat at first and you suspect that where you are with it now is not as heavy or as advanced as maybe some other people are, right? Which is probably true. But what's interesting is like my Bulgarian split squat is actually not that impressive. But it's so good and it's so powerful and it's so effective. And I think that it's really important for people to understand that your timeline and your progress is really based on how your body responds to certain exercises. It isn't about being the person in the room who can do a hundred pound Bulgarian split squat. It's really getting the intensity right so that your body gets the benefits. And as you see that progress... Whatever it is, it's so motivating and it's so inspiring. Yeah. I'm waxing poetic a little bit, but I was just thinking, because we share this, for years I loathed Bulgarian split squats and barbell back squats. Like they made me angry. There were times I would cry at the gym. I hated them so much. And I was doing only body weight only, right? I wonder what it is. And I know that you, um,probably have some insight into this. What is it that makes us have that transition from an exercise we hate so much to now be one of the most favorites? Like I am obsessed with Bulgarian split squats. I love them so much. Same with my barbell back squat. The two exercises I hated the most are now the two that I love the most. What do you think that is? Do you have any ideas? Like how do we make that transition?
Speaker #1
Hmm. Yeah.
Speaker #0
Achievement. Interesting. That's really interesting. And I've never, this is so impromptu, but like, I've never really thought about it. And I think now that you say it, I wonder if there are many women out there. who dislike strength training or are nervous about it or unsure about it for that very reason they feel they're not doing it right they feel they're not doing it good enough and therefore they don't enjoy it so again i wonder you know if there's anybody listening if that's you it makes so much sense but you know i think i think josie's a great example here where if you just focus on where you are, and each week getting increased. incrementally better that can serve as this achievement that then becomes a love for the activity. Yeah. Yeah. So on that day, when you decided to venture into the scary part of the gym, what were you thinking or what was your motivation? What got you to overcome that, you know, gym-timidation, if you will, of that part of the gym, right? Like, what was it? What was the, what was going through your head that you're like, I'm going over there? Hmm. Yeah. Right. And now it's accomplishment again, right? It's like, I did that. It's so empowering. I love that. So on that note, when you talk about like hard things and scary things throughout this journey thus far, what has been the hardest part all along?
Speaker #1
Hmm.
Speaker #0
Tell me about some of the specifics around those go-to meals. Like what specifically was breakfast? What specifically were your go-to items when you didn't have to eat with a group? Yeah, Simply Elizabeth. Yeah. That is a good one. That's a good tip. A lot of people think when they're in hotels, you can't order DoorDash or Instacart like you said. And that's been a learning edge for me over the past couple of years. I get groceries. delivered now when I travel because I travel a lot more. I love that. So give us one tip when you do, when you're traveling or you're at a conference and you have to have a meal with a group or with a set menu. Give us one tip that you think really helped you navigate that. Mmm, that's a good one.
Speaker #1
Yep.
Speaker #0
That is the best hack I think I have ever heard. That is a new one for me. That is genius. And it's accurate. I love that. I hope everyone is taking notes. I am because I'm not as a chat GPT friendly or skilled yet, but that is brilliant. That's an awesome tip right there. So if you were to kind of pull back and summarize, how has your life improved as a result of this transformation?
Speaker #1
Yeah. That's
Speaker #0
amazing. If there is a woman listening right now who can relate to some of the things that you've shared, what advice would you give her? Mm. Hmm. I love that. That is absolutely like golden sage advice. Oh, Josie, thank you so much. This has really been just like incredible. It's a joy to watch your journey. I'm so inspired by you. I'm so excited for you onwards and upwards. And thank you so much for sharing your story.
Speaker #1
Awesome.
Josie Audio Transcript:
Speaker #0
Sure. I'm a 52-year-old woman. I have a kind of a senior level administrative job, super busy. I have to travel a fair bit for work. I have been married for a long time. I have a really wonderful husband. I've got two great kids, one of whom has special needs and requires some extra supports and got some dogs and just, yeah, I have a great family and I love. I love my family a lot. I do. I do travel a lot. Sure. I go through seasons where I have to travel more than others. And I'm usually going to national conferences or committee meetings. So sometimes I'm able to have a little bit more control over what I'm eating. But a lot of time I'm sitting down with some sort of committee where we're having a lunch or a dinner and it would really be very awkward for me to not eat or to, you know, try to bring my own food. So So... It's meant having to be creative and really thoughtful and plan ahead for how to adjust. It varies. It could just be once a month sometimes, but then it might be two or three times in a month. Just depends on when, whatever the thing is, how often it falls.
Speaker #1
Sure.
Speaker #0
Yeah, I had gained a lot of weight from really a combination of perimenopause. And then there was a period of time that I had to take a higher course of a higher dose of prednisone. I have an autoimmune disorder. It's a very rare disorder that most people haven't heard about. And it was really causing me a lot of problems. In particular, I had some tendon pain that just none of the medications seemed to touch that really limited what I could do. And you I had grown up being a dancer. I had played sports. I had, you know, always worked out and always been fit. So this was really a change for me. And it was it was very difficult to manage. And, you know, over the course of my life, we've all had times, you know, after a pregnancy when I needed to lose weight or just, you know, different seasons, I knew what worked for me and nothing I did was working. Like I tried everything I'd done in the past. And nothing would move the scale. And it felt like the best I could do was keep my weight stable. But most of the time, it was still going up. I mean, and I tried every fad you could think of. And I just, I felt awful. I just felt so uncomfortable in my skin. And I felt really scared. I could kind of look at myself in the mirror and project out what it was going to look like in 10 years and 20 years. And I just knew this was not the life that I really wanted for me. And I think I think I also, to be honest, it's a little bit of vanity, but I felt embarrassed, right? I felt I'd always been a fit person. And I felt like when I would travel and see people I hadn't seen since the previous meeting, you know, a few months prior, I just felt like they would look at me and think, oh my gosh, she's just let herself go. And it was, it was a really. I was in a bad place. I tried so many things. I had tried. I tried working with trainers. I tried working with dieticians and nothing worked. And I think it was really that I got so tired of feeling awful and embarrassed. And I had a big event coming up at one of these meetings that I wanted to look nice for. And that was around the time I heard, I think it was your muscle for life session. And that really opened my eyes to why all the things I had been trying weren't working.
Speaker #1
I would say that was four to five years. Yeah.
Speaker #0
I mean, I went like, let's try keto, right? And my body just did not like that. But I tried it. I tried doing like this kind of crazy elimination diet, which was great in some ways to figure out what was maybe making some of my autoimmune symptoms worse. But then I knew I'd lost weight the first time I did that. So I tried to do it again just to make myself lose weight and nothing changed. You know, and... I was paying for a trainer. I paid for a very smart nutritionist. And I even paid a lot of money to kind of do like a daily check-in on what I was eating. And it just felt like nothing was working.
Speaker #1
No. That was me. I just did it on my own. I was getting desperate, right? Like what's going to work? Yeah. Yeah, right.
Speaker #0
Mm hmm. 100%. I was like, maybe this is just what life is for me now. Like, maybe I just have to accept that this is the way it's going to be. And that just felt awful, and kind of hopeless.
Speaker #1
Right.
Speaker #0
I was really worried. I was worried about my health. And I could think I could almost see in my body shape starting to look like some family members that I had watched get old and become very unhealthy. And I worried about what that would look like. I worried about not being able to, you know, worried about falling. I worried about not being able to do things as I got older. I was really worried about what that would look like for my health. Yeah, I think the first thing that I had to do is really make a commitment to myself that I was going to get stronger and healthier, right? I just had to make that commitment that I wasn't going to just let it go the way it seemed to be going. Especially once, to be honest, once I had heard your muscle for life and started to understand the science behind why things weren't working. I'm a big why person. So once I understood that, I was like, okay, I can do something about this and I have to commit to it. And so that was really important. Some of the specific things that I did is rather than just doing whatever workouts a trainer was telling me to do, right, which sometimes just felt kind of random or, you know, I wasn't as engaged in it. I was just doing what I was told, right? There's something different when you feel like you own it a little bit. And so having a plan and really that progressive muscle overload that you talk about, Holly, and having a specific plan that I could follow. So I started strength training three times a week. For the first six months, I did not miss a single session. And that's what I told myself, that that was no matter what, I had to do that at a minimum. I changed the way I did cardio prior to this. I was always a cardio person. Like if I, that would be the thing that I would do. And I thought that was going to bring me, you know, where I wanted to be. And I now have a better understanding of the role of cardio. And so my goal was for 30 minutes of cardio, three times per week, really trying to hit a specific heart rate target, but not just to do cardio and do it forever. And I'll be honest, that's the thing I was the least consistent in, but I always did some every week. And then nutrition wise, I started really, I had jumped on the bandwagon like so many women of just protein, protein, protein. Oh, I need more protein. I'm not getting enough protein. And I did not realize how much I needed carbs for my body to function well. And it ended up Meaning that the dietary changes I made didn't feel as restrictive because all of a sudden I was allowing myself more carbs. I balanced my macros out and, you know, to the 50, 25, 25. And I just started feeling better. Those were really the changes that I made.
Speaker #1
Right.
Speaker #0
Yeah, I know that my body does not like gluten. I've known that for a long time. I don't have celiac, but I definitely get more inflammation and my joints swell and more pain when I eat gluten. But I don't have a problem with grains. So I do incorporate like some oats and some rice. I will do potatoes. I love sweet potatoes. And I almost every single morning will have some sort of fruit in a smoothie, a protein smoothie. you I mean, I think I would be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about the weight loss at all. But I had realized that what really mattered was muscle, that gaining muscle would ultimately get me where I needed to go. And that that mattered far more than weight loss, weight loss without gaining muscle, I would just be weak. And I knew for my health, that was not where I wanted to go. So... I will say maybe I think it was about two months into the program. I don't know if you remember me telling you about this, but I went to a another conference and it was a warm area and I had not brought a bathing suit, but they had a gorgeous pool. And so I decided to go to Target and I bought a bikini, believe it or not, which I would never have worn. And I... I realized my body wasn't where I wanted it to be. But for the first time, I didn't really care because I was stronger and I felt more confident in my body. And I could tell, like, I felt like I looked like I'd been working out, even though I still had more weight on me, you know, than I wanted. And I was able to enjoy going to the pool. Whereas, you know, months before that, before I had really made this commitment, I would never have gone to the pool. like that. I would have just been in, stayed in my room. Yeah. Yes.
Speaker #1
Right.
Speaker #0
Yeah, that definitely happened for me. Even before I could see changes in my body, I started feeling more confident. And the other thing I will say, if you don't mind me mentioning also the carbs, the other thing the carbs did to me is really helped with brain fog that went with the autoimmune disorder. All of a sudden I was fueling my brain so that it could think. And that made a big difference too. And that helped me feel a lot better and more confident. Sure. So since, so in October, I joined the Body Composition Project. And since then, I've lost a total of 26 pounds. Between October and March, I did a DEXA body composition scan and my body fat decreased from 40% to 32.8%. And I gained four pounds of muscle. And I did all of that while I was still taking every single day a low dose of prednisone. So, you know, I've continued the workouts. I feel like where I am now in this phase is learning to listen to my body more. I definitely, from my mindset, had to commit to no matter what I was working out. So I didn't talk myself out of it, right, at the beginning. But now I'm learning to listen. And I've definitely, you know, I've had some ups and downs with some getting sick over the past couple of months. But it's been, it's easier for me to get back in the gym now when that happens. And I feel really good. I feel good about where I am. I feel good in the gym. I feel... I feel good about my body. I feel healthy. I think I'm stronger than I've ever been in my life. Yeah.
Speaker #1
Yes.
Speaker #0
Yeah, I definitely have more energy as well. I think that that has been huge. I had some pretty, as part of my autoimmune disorder, I had some pretty chronic tendon pain that all my doctors had told me was the most difficult thing to treat with medications. And, you know, I had. been avoiding doing certain exercises because of that pain, especially it was especially in my hamstring tendons. And I also had a lot of pain in my traps. And I would avoid a lot of certain exercises overhead or certain exercises with my arms because of the pain. And I just have to say that through proper strength training, I tried, I'm a like, an all in kind of person. And so, you know, in working with you, you had to help me like, slow down and back up a little bit. But once I started really figuring out how to do these exercises properly, and not just going for the heaviest weight I could, but like, get the technique down first, I virtually have no pain in my hamstrings, hamstring tendons now. And I never thought that would happen. I thought I was just going to have to live with that. And I can do things now with my shoulders and that pain is significantly improved in that area as well. I think I was, well, you know, if I was doing the gym on my own, I would just kind of randomly decide what I was working on that day. Or I might find some random, you know, plan on the Internet that some influencer posted or whatever, you know, and I was going to do that. And I, you know, I either was trying to lift too heavy because I was thinking that's what I should be doing or probably more commonly. I didn't think I could lift any heavier and I and I was worried like you often talk about on your podcast about bulking up too much right so I was kind of doing that let me tone thing right and so and I I didn't also realize and working with you helped me realize this that my posture was not right I had to get my shoulders in the right place to lift properly. And I also had to learn how to tuck my pelvis under. And I think that single change, and then from tucking my pelvis, strengthening my hamstrings and my glutes is what reduced the pain. I think that is one of the biggest things that helped me to lift properly. I started out hating Bulgarian split squats and now I look forward to them. And I want to be honest, like I have not been able to advance, like I probably, there's probably other women in the program that lift far heavier than I do, probably because of my autoimmune. But I still, I'm better at it. Like at the beginning, I couldn't do it at all. And I still need to hold on a little bit when I do it, but I'm so much stronger. And I can do it so much better. And so I really like that. I love the dumbbell glute bridge that we do. I love that one. And I like, I really like some of the, like the, the, the, oh, I'm going to forget the name of it now, but it's, it's we're laying on the bench and we, we bring the arms back and overhead that one, that one. Yes. I love that one. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker #1
Yes. Yeah. Yeah, that's true. I did not like any of those exercises at the beginning. Yeah.
Speaker #0
And it's so cool to start to learn your body. And I now can, I used to not be able to do this. I would just. overdo it and then be too sore for a few days but I can start to I've done it long enough now that I can start to figure out like oh I need to this is a little too heavy I need to lower or or no I can go heavier on this I'm going to be fine with this and I love being able to feel that now in my body Yeah.I think, well, one thought is I think you and I are both kind of achievement oriented, right? Like we like to do things, we like to accomplish them, like I can do that. And at the beginning, that's why we don't like the things that are hard, because we can't do it as well. And nobody likes to do something that you're not good at. And so when it starts to improve, I think to us, we like it because it represents a a goal, a challenge we've overcome, right? It's something that we've accomplished. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Like I found myself going, oh my gosh, I used to hate strength training days and love cardio. And now it's almost the opposite. And I love going to the gym now. And in fact, I've moved into the part that I used to call the scary part of the gym, you know, where all the free weights are and the big Olympic bars. And I always felt so intimidated. And I felt like people were watching me and that I was embarrassing myself. But the more you do it, the more You just don't even care. First of all, you don't care. But also nobody's watching you. They're too busy worrying about themselves. Yeah. Well. I had, I had been increasing my weight loads and I had, honestly, it was hearing other women in the group that we were in, um, talking about what they were doing. And I was like, you know what, if they can do it, I can do it. I'm just going to go over there and I'm going to do it. And, you know, I, I did feel self-conscious, but I've done hard things before. So I was like, this is, this is not the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. Um, so I can do this. And I just went and did it. And then it didn't seem so scary anymore after that. Right, right. Yes. Hmm. I think the hardest part was really figuring out how to do the travel. When I first joined the Body Composition Project, I was actually like, I think I traveled like in week two. And I was like, Oh my gosh, how was this a mistake? Like, I'm not going to be able to do this because I'm traveling. And so I had to figure out how to track macros and how to make good choices and then figure out how to do my workouts, either in hotel gyms, which are not always well equipped, or finding a local gym where I could buy a day pass. And I just, like I said, I made the decision that it was non-negotiable that I was going to do my three strength trainings a week, no matter what. And so I just made it happen. And then with, I certainly made mistakes at the beginning with the travel and I was, you know, couldn't figure out how to balance all the fat that is in meals that are prepared, you know, other places. And I've just given myself some patience and grace to figure it out. And now that I've done it a while, I know what my go-to meals are when I don't have to eat with the group. I know how to kind of pick and choose what I'm going to eat from what's available for the group. I usually bring a breakfast. that I can eat in my room because I can control the macros better there. And I bring some snacks and it just makes it a lot easier to manage that. Yeah, so a real easy one for me, depending on which kind of hotel I'm in, is to get a set bowl that I know meets my criteria from either Chipotle or Cava. That's really easy. You can change it up enough that it tastes a little bit different. But when I'm traveling, I don't mind if I eat that, you know, if I eat one of those every day just to kind of stay on track. If that's not the only thing I'm eating, right? Like if I just have that for lunch every day, that's fine. So I would usually get wherever I am. I would pull the Maps app out and just look what's walking distance, what's close enough that I could door dash it and start planning my meals. Breakfast, I like to bring one of those ready-to-make oats, usually a gluten-free version. I think it's Elizabeth something is in the name. But I use one of those. That one, yes. I use that because it has a little bit of flaxseed and some fats in it. And so I'll make that using the coffee maker in the hotel room. And then I'll just pack some protein powder and have a little protein shake to balance it out. And so I know I'm starting the day fueled properly. And then I pack usually some protein bars, some like turkey sticks or beef sticks. And we'll usually find some fruit once I get there. Another great trick is to do an Instacart order as soon as I get to the hotel to get the things that I need. Right. Yes. Um, so I have kind of figured out the size of a portion for protein and carbs. So that helps me, right? So I'm usually going to assess what I have and how much of this protein do I want to eat and how much of the carbs do I want to eat? I know that I might get too much fat, but if I can control the fat, I'll move things around, you know, push the sauce off or something like that. If I can't, I also know that I just have to. be on target about 80% of the time. So if that day has to be a little bit off, it's a little off, and I just start fresh the next day. Yeah, and I'll try to make control the rest of the meals, right, like so that I'm not that far off. But also at the end of the day, like you, I'm a huge perfectionist, and I've had to learn it doesn't always have to be perfect. And then another trick I've learned that I've started doing recently is if I have to go to a restaurant. I can ask chat GPT to find me a the best meal at that restaurant that hits 50% carbs, 25% protein and 25% fats and it will tell me how to order it to modify it to get it close. It's been great. Yeah, yeah. And then what It's pretty accurate. And then what I'll do is once I'm there, I'll take a picture of it and load it into chat GBT and ask them to tell me what they think the macros are so that I can just enter it into my tracker. Yeah, I mean, I honestly feel like a new person. You know, I said earlier, I think that I feel like I'm stronger now than I've ever been. I feel so much, just so much more confident in my own skin, not just because of how I look, but how I feel, right? Just feeling stronger. And I think I'm happier, you know, happier, more energy. no pain, you know, and don't get me wrong. It's not like working out cured my autoimmune. I still take medicine for it. I take some serious medicine, but I feel really good. And I don't want to stop. Like, I love it. I feel like this has become who I am now. So I think it's easy for us as women to push things aside. And I would say your health matters. You can pay for it now by taking steps now to change things and start taking care of yourself, or you'll pay for it with your health or with medical bills later. And all the people who need you and who care about you and who depend on you want you to be healthy and need you to be healthy. And then the other thing I think is I'm such an all or none person. Sometimes it could feel so overwhelming to think I'm never going to get to my goal. And I've really learned to not think about the overall goal. I mean, it's nice to know what you'd want to do, but just to think about what one change can I make today to be healthier? And if I can just make that one and then I can do it again tomorrow and then do it again the next day. And if you just... keep doing that one change, you're actually healthier than you were. And I just had such a tendency prior to this to think like, well, if I can't do it all, I'm not going to do it. But then I'm not getting anywhere. And if you can just make one small change and feel a little bit better, and then on top of then you then once you're doing that, you just stack one more small change. And before you know it, instead of putting it off and saying, I'll do it when you You're making little changes and now they start to add up. And instead of waiting three months for when it feels like, quote, the right time, you've actually started making progress. Thank you. Thank you. It was, it was really wonderful to, to be here. And, and I just thank you for everything you've done to help me get here. I couldn't have done it without you.