Latest / I Am Wiser Podcast with Dr. Laura Purdy / Behind Every Setback Is a Comeback

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Behind Every Setback Is a Comeback · I Am Wiser Podcast with Dr. Laura Purdy

• 0:00
  Carol Covino: The very worst thing we can do is just stop.
• 0:02
  Carol Covino: And something that helped me too was I found as I was recovering everything that I could safely do movement-wise and did that.
• 0:10
  Carol Covino: Focused on my nutrition, focused on my movement, and allowed my body time to heal.
• 0:16
  Carol Covino: But I think it's easy to fall into a depression and feel like, oh, this is gonna last forever.
• 0:22
  Carol Covino: I was doing so well, this is a stepback.
• 0:31
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Welcome to the I Am Wiser Podcast, where the biggest questions in healthcare and wellness meet the collective wisdom of industry leaders and innovators.
• 0:40
  Dr. Laura Purdy: I'm Dr.
• 0:41
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Mark Burdy, and here we explore the intersections of AI, care delivery, telehealth policy, and more.
• 0:49
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Through the lens of those who are reshaping healthcare.
• 0:52
  Dr. Laura Purdy: This is not just about theory, it's about lived experience and real industry insights.
• 0:58
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Let's dive in and get wiser together.
• 1:01
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Welcome to today's episode of the I Am Wiser Podcast with Dr.
• 1:06
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Laura Purdy, where I explore the real stories behind groundbreaking healthcare innovations and the human impact they have on patients and providers.
• 1:17
  Dr. Laura Purdy: On that note, I am very delighted to be able to welcome Carol Cavino, a passionate health and wellness coach who helps women transform their bodies and embrace their purpose, especially during the often overlooked phase of life we know as menopause.
• 1:34
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Carol's own journey of personal transformation and her mission to empower others highlights exactly how menopause can be a time of strength, a time of resilience, and a time of newfound passion.
• 1:47
  Dr. Laura Purdy: With her expertise in fitness, nutrition, and coaching, she's here to share how women can not only embrace but also thrive through this powerful life transition.
• 1:58
  Carol Covino: Welcome, Carol.
• 2:00
  Carol Covino: Oh, thank you, Dr.
• 2:01
  Carol Covino: Purdy.
• 2:02
  Carol Covino: Thank you so much for the lovely introduction and for having me on the show.
• 2:06
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Well, thank you for being here.
• 2:07
  Dr. Laura Purdy: And I just want to say thank you for having me on your show almost two, maybe two and a half years ago.
• 2:13
  Dr. Laura Purdy: It's been a while since we connected, and I'm excited to touch base with you and talk about the life that we've lived since then and how we've grown wiser in our pursuits.
• 2:24
  Dr. Laura Purdy: So fill me in.
• 2:25
  Dr. Laura Purdy: What's going on?
• 2:26
  Dr. Laura Purdy: What have you been up to since 2023?
• 2:30
  Carol Covino: You know, it's been a challenging couple of years, but I have to say I've learned a lot through the process.
• 2:37
  Carol Covino: So we were talking, you know, off-camera a bit about me having uh back surgery.
• 2:43
  Carol Covino: It was a long uh standing problem that I had for about a decade or more.
• 2:48
  Carol Covino: So I did have uh back surgery about a year and a half ago.
• 2:53
  Carol Covino: Um, had to have shortly after that a rotator cuff repair.
• 2:57
  Carol Covino: So no, not was that a fitness injury?
• 3:01
  Dr. Laura Purdy: What did you what did you do?
• 3:02
  Carol Covino: Yeah, it was it was a kind of a freak accident.
• 3:05
  Carol Covino: I was out at the gym working out with my daughter, as a matter of fact, and she had thrown an extra plate on, and I didn't notice because I went to check a call on my phone.
• 3:15
  Carol Covino: So I sat down on the machine and pulled as if it were the lighter weight and felt that that kind of snap.
• 3:22
  Carol Covino: Um, so yeah, two big surgeries over the course of they were about six months apart.
• 3:29
  Carol Covino: Very challenging.
• 3:31
  Carol Covino: But the good thing that came out of that was being able to really work on my mindset.
• 3:36
  Carol Covino: So fitness is it's been such a huge part of my life.
• 3:40
  Carol Covino: I have a lot of energy.
• 3:42
  Carol Covino: I'm always moving, always working out.
• 3:44
  Carol Covino: And this forced me to kind of slow down and think about things, think about how I spend my time, think about the choices I'm making and work a bit on more of the mental aspect of health, so to speak.
• 3:58
  Carol Covino: So, you know, there's always those challenging times where we can choose to, oh my goodness, I'm I'm laid up, I can't work out, this is awful.
• 4:07
  Carol Covino: Or we can see it as an opportunity.
• 4:10
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Not being a victim.
• 4:11
  Dr. Laura Purdy: So you're talking about not being a victim of your circumstances, but almost viewing your circumstances as an opportunity to, what would you say, shift your mindset, look for opportunities in that time?
• 4:25
  Carol Covino: Yes.
• 4:26
  Carol Covino: You know, when you have to slow down, when it's kind of forced upon you, which with me, I'm always going, it has to be forced upon me.
• 4:33
  Carol Covino: It really gives you time, I think, to think about things, to think about, okay, um, even my business, how do I want to approach that?
• 4:42
  Carol Covino: Do I want to take it a different direction?
• 4:44
  Carol Covino: Um, I've been podcasting for five years.
• 4:46
  Carol Covino: We were talking about that.
• 4:48
  Carol Covino: Do I want to continue that?
• 4:49
  Carol Covino: So it gave me an opportunity to reassess, to take inventory of my life.
• 4:54
  Carol Covino: And then I feel too, it gave me so much empathy for my clients because working with women over 50, 60, sometimes 70, you know, they they have those joint issues, maybe.
• 5:07
  Carol Covino: They've had injuries, they've had surgeries, they've had knee replacements, things like that.
• 5:12
  Carol Covino: And to encourage them that, you know, life doesn't stop.
• 5:15
  Carol Covino: Your fitness doesn't stop there.
• 5:18
  Carol Covino: You can overcome this.
• 5:21
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Yes.
• 5:21
  Dr. Laura Purdy: I think what I tell people is our warranties start to wear out eventually.
• 5:26
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Eventually, but it's actually protective.
• 5:30
  Dr. Laura Purdy: It is protective for us to continue to exercise in the way that we can.
• 5:35
  Dr. Laura Purdy: I did a lot of work with disabled veterans when I was in the military, and we saw the same challenge there.
• 5:40
  Dr. Laura Purdy: If you have a surgery or an amputation or a head injury or insert issue here, finding a way to still meaningfully engage in your fitness can be really empowering and it can also be very healthy and healing.
• 5:56
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Do you find that for your clients too?
• 5:58
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Oh, yes, I agree.
• 6:00
  Carol Covino: The very worst thing we can do is just stop.
• 6:03
  Carol Covino: And something that helped me too was I found as I was recovering everything that I could safely do movement-wise and did that, focused on my nutrition, focused on my movement, and allowed my body time to heal.
• 6:17
  Carol Covino: But I think it's easy to fall into a depression and feel like, oh, this is gonna last forever.
• 6:22
  Carol Covino: I was doing so well, this is a setback, but behind every setback is a comeback.
• 6:28
  Dr. Laura Purdy: And so, yeah, I love that.
• 6:31
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Behind every setback is a comeback.
• 6:32
  Dr. Laura Purdy: But how I mean, how was that for you?
• 6:34
  Dr. Laura Purdy: You're the coach, you're the mentor, you are the role model, you are the person who women look at and say, if she can do it, so can I.
• 6:43
  Dr. Laura Purdy: If she believes in me, I believe in myself.
• 6:45
  Dr. Laura Purdy: How was that for you being in that position of the person who needed mentoring or coaching or pushing?
• 6:52
  Dr. Laura Purdy: How did you, was that difficult for you?
• 6:54
  Carol Covino: You know, it was.
• 6:56
  Carol Covino: I would be not truthful if I said, Oh yeah, this was a breeze and no problem.
• 7:00
  Carol Covino: It was so easy.
• 7:01
  Carol Covino: And I had, yeah, I had my good days and bad days.
• 7:04
  Carol Covino: So for instance, with my my shoulder, which was actually in many ways harder than my back, is I had six weeks of not sleeping because anyone who's ever had that rotator cuff repair, you cannot get comfortable.
• 7:16
  Carol Covino: No matter how you turn in the bed, you're forced to sleep in a position you don't sleep in.
• 7:20
  Carol Covino: So that was a challenging six weeks because without that restful sleep, you know, it's easy to go down the rabbit hole.
• 7:28
  Carol Covino: It's easy to get negative.
• 7:30
  Carol Covino: So, what I tried to do was take every opportunity I could to reach out to my audience to let them see the struggle, let them see I'm not perfect.
• 7:43
  Carol Covino: This is a struggle, and we we can get through this, we can come out the other side and be resilient through this.
• 7:51
  Carol Covino: And I ran a challenge.
• 7:52
  Carol Covino: I tried to focus on business and use that time to um, you know, create a challenge, create a program, a membership, things such as that.
• 8:02
  Carol Covino: And this helped a lot because keeping your mind occupied during this time, especially if you're a very physically active person, is important.
• 8:12
  Dr. Laura Purdy: So I'm hearing the wisdom here is during your time of struggle, number one, your mindset, your mindset, even in transparency and honesty to say, I'm not okay here, but your mindset was protective.
• 8:25
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Community, not isolating yourself, not withdrawing from your social circles or your connections to people for you, it would be your audience.
• 8:34
  Dr. Laura Purdy: But a lot of people want to isolate, they want to withdraw, they want to turn inward, but you turned outward.
• 8:41
  Dr. Laura Purdy: And then the third thing, what I'm hearing you say is instead of thinking about what you can't do, you focused on what you could, what you could do and what you can do.
• 8:50
  Dr. Laura Purdy: And those were three pieces of wisdom you could say that helped carry you through that time.
• 8:57
  Carol Covino: Yes, very true, very true.
• 8:59
  Carol Covino: Uh, the focus on the I can do these things and finding everything that you can do and doubling down on that, very important when you're recovering from any kind of injury, surgery, um, coming back from an illness.
• 9:12
  Carol Covino: And instead of focusing on I can't do this and I can't deadlift and I can't do a barbell squat and all these things.
• 9:19
  Carol Covino: No, you could not ensure.
• 9:21
  Carol Covino: Yeah.
• 9:24
  Carol Covino: So it it's you just have to reassess, you have to redefine, and and and life is like that.
• 9:29
  Carol Covino: It's constantly throwing things our way.
• 9:31
  Carol Covino: And and we make these plans.
• 9:33
  Carol Covino: We none of us plan on having these things happen, but they they they happen.
• 9:38
  Carol Covino: And being resilient, um, I think is is very important.
• 9:43
  Dr. Laura Purdy: How do you define resiliency?
• 9:45
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Like what is what is Carol's definition of resiliency?
• 9:50
  Carol Covino: I would say it's persevering, not giving up, moving forward, even if it's a baby step at a time, taking action, even if it's messy, even if it's not perfect.
• 10:03
  Carol Covino: And this is from I I was a perfectionist, oh terrible growing up.
• 10:08
  Carol Covino: My father would say, this is not going to help you.
• 10:11
  Carol Covino: You need to get rid of get rid of that.
• 10:13
  Carol Covino: And so kind of getting rid of that mindset and really adjusting to each thing that life throws at you.
• 10:22
  Carol Covino: And, you know, we were talking off camera about this.
• 10:24
  Carol Covino: Each decade requires something a little bit different.
• 10:28
  Carol Covino: So I think back to my 40s and the things, the changes I had to make then, my 50s and now in my 60s.
• 10:34
  Carol Covino: And so, resiliency, I think, is moving forward despite the imperfections, despite the messiness of life.
• 10:42
  Dr. Laura Purdy: With the imperfections.
• 10:43
  Dr. Laura Purdy: We could say moving forward with the imperfections, moving forward with the mess.
• 10:48
  Dr. Laura Purdy: I've heard it said, and I'm sure you have too, that the only way you can really fail is to give up.
• 10:53
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Because up until that point of giving up, we haven't failed.
• 10:57
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Right.
• 10:58
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Right?
• 10:59
  Dr. Laura Purdy: We're learning, we're struggling, we're trying, we're doing.
• 11:03
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Maybe we're taking a step back, maybe we're taking five steps back, but we're not failing.
• 11:08
  Dr. Laura Purdy: It is only when we give up that we have failed.
• 11:12
  Carol Covino: Agreed.
• 11:13
  Carol Covino: Yes, absolutely true.
• 11:15
  Carol Covino: And, you know, once again, just getting rid of that idea that everything's going to be perfect.
• 11:20
  Carol Covino: And in my mind, if we're not failing, we're not living.
• 11:23
  Carol Covino: We're not living life.
• 11:24
  Carol Covino: I love that.
• 11:25
  Carol Covino: Because you got to take chances.
• 11:27
  Carol Covino: You got to kind of fall on your face sometimes and and you know, try new things.
• 11:33
  Carol Covino: And if we're in a bubble and we're afraid to try anything, we're really not living.
• 11:37
  Carol Covino: Yeah.
• 11:38
  Carol Covino: What are we doing?
• 11:39
  Dr. Laura Purdy: What are we doing?
• 11:40
  Dr. Laura Purdy: We're playing it safe and staying in one place.
• 11:42
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Well, playing it safe, staying in one place.
• 11:44
  Dr. Laura Purdy: So tell me, you have put your podcast on hiatus.
• 11:48
  Dr. Laura Purdy: You had to kind of, you also mentioned to me that you have finished competing.
• 11:52
  Dr. Laura Purdy: So you are not going to be competing anymore so that you can make space for your body's need to slow down a little bit in this decade of life with all of the surgeries that you didn't plan to happen, that you got to have.
• 12:06
  Dr. Laura Purdy: So, what what are you doing in this phase of life?
• 12:10
  Dr. Laura Purdy: What does life have you up to?
• 12:12
  Dr. Laura Purdy: What does business, are you still owning a business?
• 12:14
  Dr. Laura Purdy: What are you up to these days?
• 12:16
  Carol Covino: Yes.
• 12:17
  Carol Covino: So I still have my health coaching, fitness and nutrition business.
• 12:21
  Carol Covino: I work with women who are primarily over the age of 50.
• 12:24
  Carol Covino: I run group programs.
• 12:25
  Carol Covino: I do some one-on-one, although I'm transitioning out of the one-on-one into more of a group model.
• 12:31
  Carol Covino: Um, so that's on the in the works.
• 12:34
  Carol Covino: Uh, I wrote one book that was a health and fitness book a couple of years ago, Finding Purpose in the Pause, Your Guide to Thriving in Menipause and Beyond.
• 12:45
  Carol Covino: But now I'm writing my second book that has absolutely nothing to do with health.
• 12:49
  Carol Covino: It's fiction, it's a novel.
• 12:52
  Carol Covino: But, you know, to those um women listening that are maybe in their 60s or late 50s, you realize, okay, time is really precious.
• 13:05
  Carol Covino: How I spend my time and the things you've been putting off.
• 13:08
  Carol Covino: Like I would always say, one day I'm going to write a book, one day I'm going to write a novel.
• 13:11
  Carol Covino: I've been saying that since I was 10 years old, eight years old.
• 13:15
  Carol Covino: But it's not going to happen unless we set aside that time.
• 13:19
  Carol Covino: So that's what I'm doing right now.
• 13:20
  Carol Covino: I cleared that space to be able to really fulfill a dream I've had since I was a little girl.
• 13:27
  Carol Covino: I don't know where that will take me, what will happen, but I'm going to get that book written.
• 13:32
  Carol Covino: I'm going to get it out there.
• 13:34
  Carol Covino: Very excited about that.
• 13:36
  Carol Covino: So I needed to clear up that space because I can't do everything.
• 13:40
  Carol Covino: I can't do all of the things.
• 13:42
  Dr. Laura Purdy: You have you can only do some of the things, right?
• 13:44
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Right.
• 13:45
  Dr. Laura Purdy: You can only do some of the things.
• 13:46
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Well, that's exciting.
• 13:47
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Can I ask you?
• 13:48
  Dr. Laura Purdy: I mean, I don't want to make you give away all your secrets, but what genre are you writing in?
• 13:53
  Carol Covino: Mystery and domestic suspense.
• 13:55
  Carol Covino: So psychological suspense.
• 13:57
  Carol Covino: It's um what I love to read.
• 14:01
  Carol Covino: It's my escape, and I listen to um audiobooks all the time.
• 14:05
  Carol Covino: And at a certain point, I had read every health and fitness book.
• 14:10
  Carol Covino: I'd listened to every health and fitness podcast.
• 14:13
  Carol Covino: I was getting a little bit burned out, and I still enjoy listening to those things.
• 14:17
  Carol Covino: But I'm like, you know what?
• 14:18
  Carol Covino: I need to step a little bit away and not always do work-related things.
• 14:24
  Carol Covino: Yes.
• 14:24
  Carol Covino: So that's when I kind of started reading again and reading the type of books that kind of light me up, that I enjoy.
• 14:32
  Carol Covino: And that's when I decided to write my own book.
• 14:36
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Hey, there's a beautiful piece of wisdom.
• 14:37
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Do non-work-related things.
• 14:40
  Dr. Laura Purdy: I'm saying that for myself.
• 14:41
  Dr. Laura Purdy: I'm actually saying that to me, but to all the people listening, do some non-work-related things.
• 14:48
  Dr. Laura Purdy: That's that's very healthy.
• 14:50
  Dr. Laura Purdy: We should do that.
• 14:50
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Well, I'm excited for your book to come out.
• 14:53
  Dr. Laura Purdy: I will totally read it and maybe you can come to Miami on your book tour, huh?
• 14:57
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Oh, I would love that.
• 14:59
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Love Miami, by the way.
• 15:00
  Dr. Laura Purdy: It's so fun.
• 15:01
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Okay.
• 15:02
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Well, so shifting again.
• 15:03
  Dr. Laura Purdy: So we've talked about, you know, what are we letting go of?
• 15:06
  Dr. Laura Purdy: What are we diving into, especially when it comes from our joy, our passion?
• 15:10
  Dr. Laura Purdy: You also shared with me prior to us getting started today, is that you have started to shift the way that you approach your coaching style and methodologies and some of the foundational principles that you use when you're working with your clients, especially about health in the, we'll say, second half of life, right?
• 15:31
  Dr. Laura Purdy: The later decades of life.
• 15:32
  Dr. Laura Purdy: So I would love to hear a little bit more about that.
• 15:37
  Carol Covino: Oh, absolutely.
• 15:38
  Carol Covino: I love this subject.
• 15:39
  Carol Covino: I've been I've been on a roll with it.
• 15:41
  Carol Covino: Let's do it.
• 15:42
  Carol Covino: So, what I feel, especially women of my generation, we grew up in a diet culture and everything was about counting calories.
• 15:51
  Carol Covino: You couldn't be thin enough.
• 15:52
  Carol Covino: I mean, that was actually a saying, you couldn't be wealthy or thin enough.
• 15:56
  Carol Covino: And I remember my mother dieting, my grandmother dieting, it was all around me, going on my first diet at age 13.
• 16:03
  Carol Covino: And over the decades, what I have found is women are holding on to that mentality of weighing a certain number on the scale.
• 16:14
  Carol Covino: And I'm not saying it isn't important to have a healthy weight.
• 16:17
  Carol Covino: And sometimes, yes, if someone needs to be in a caloric deficit, they need to be losing weight, it's the healthier option.
• 16:24
  Carol Covino: But what I see is too much of an emphasis on being thin, being small, women shrinking themselves down to a certain size.
• 16:35
  Carol Covino: Not enough emphasis on being strong, aging with strength, aging with power, having strong bones, being resilient.
• 16:44
  Carol Covino: And at a certain point, this doesn't serve us to focus just on let me let me diet down, let me do another detox, another six-week quick weight loss program.
• 16:55
  Carol Covino: We're too focused on that.
• 16:58
  Carol Covino: And really, if we just shift over to being healthier, being stronger, um, how are we going to lift our suitcases, our carry-on above into the bin?
• 17:09
  Carol Covino: Are we going to be able to lift up our grandkids?
• 17:11
  Carol Covino: Are we going to be able to climb a flight of stairs?
• 17:14
  Carol Covino: So as I've aged, this has naturally evolved.
• 17:18
  Carol Covino: And it's not that I don't think the aesthetics, how we look, isn't important.
• 17:23
  Carol Covino: Because yes, when we look good, we feel good, we feel more confident.
• 17:28
  Carol Covino: I'm all for it.
• 17:29
  Carol Covino: I'm all for if you can wear a bikini when you're 65, awesome.
• 17:32
  Carol Covino: Do it.
• 17:33
  Carol Covino: But I also feel that we need to be more focused on what is going to keep us independent, strong, and able to enjoy life.
• 17:46
  Dr. Laura Purdy: And to not be brought down by, maybe we could say the term like dysfunction or loss of function or lack of functionality due to the way that our bodies change when we age.
• 17:59
  Carol Covino: Yes.
• 17:59
  Carol Covino: Yes.
• 18:00
  Carol Covino: And, you know, I've seen this in my siblings.
• 18:03
  Carol Covino: I've seen it when I watched my parents age.
• 18:06
  Carol Covino: There is a certain point if we don't do, if we don't do certain things, if we don't focus on that, that muscle, building that muscle and really getting strong, working on the power, working on endurance, have making sure our cardiovascular is healthy.
• 18:24
  Carol Covino: It can kind of go off a cliff pretty fast.
• 18:27
  Carol Covino: And I'm sure you've seen that as a doctor.
• 18:29
  Carol Covino: It's like, um I believe Dr.
• 18:31
  Carol Covino: Peter Atiya calls it the marginal decade, where people just kind of drop off.
• 18:36
  Carol Covino: And I'm all for what can we do to age better?
• 18:41
  Dr. Laura Purdy: I love that.
• 18:42
  Dr. Laura Purdy: So you know what?
• 18:43
  Dr. Laura Purdy: I'm in my 40s, and I'll speak to the people in the 40s, right?
• 18:46
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Because I think in my generation, which would be the millennials, we think I'm not there yet.
• 18:52
  Dr. Laura Purdy: I'm not quite there yet.
• 18:54
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Okay.
• 18:54
  Dr. Laura Purdy: I'm not 50, I'm not 60, I'm not 70.
• 18:57
  Dr. Laura Purdy: I've got time.
• 18:58
  Dr. Laura Purdy: But let me tell you this.
• 19:00
  Dr. Laura Purdy: I've had five children and I've spent at least, as far as I know, at least over half of a decade being vitamin D deficient.
• 19:10
  Dr. Laura Purdy: And I will be in menopause within the next decade.
• 19:16
  Dr. Laura Purdy: My mom thinks that she went into menopause around age 44 or 45, but um, you know, when she was going through that, there wasn't a lot of education, there wasn't a lot of knowledge, it wasn't really a conversation.
• 19:28
  Dr. Laura Purdy: And I think it was more her going to the doctor worried that something was wrong with her and being told, surprise, you're in menopause.
• 19:35
  Dr. Laura Purdy: So I look at my next decade and I think, okay, vitamin D deficiency for over half a decade.
• 19:41
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Yes, I'm in my 40s, but my mother hit menopause in a couple years, right?
• 19:46
  Dr. Laura Purdy: At this age.
• 19:48
  Dr. Laura Purdy: And I need to, I just told my husband a couple weeks ago, I need to be in the gym.
• 19:53
  Dr. Laura Purdy: I need to be going to the gym.
• 19:55
  Dr. Laura Purdy: So I retired from the military.
• 19:56
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Well, I guess I left the military.
• 19:58
  Dr. Laura Purdy: I didn't retire in 2021, and I haven't worked out since then.
• 20:02
  Dr. Laura Purdy: So I'm in my 40s, not exercising, vitamin D deficient for half a decade, approaching menopause, and I have a grandmother who did have osteoporosis.
• 20:12
  Dr. Laura Purdy: So if you are a woman and you're listening to this and you're in your 40s or even 30s and you think that's not me, I don't have to worry about that yet.
• 20:19
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Yes, we absolutely do because you do not know when you will enter your menopausal stage.
• 20:25
  Dr. Laura Purdy: It is different for everyone.
• 20:27
  Dr. Laura Purdy: And the things that happen to your body in your 30s, in your 40s, in your 50s sets the foundation for the life and the functionality that you have in the 50s, 60s, and 70s.
• 20:38
  Dr. Laura Purdy: So I'm I'm ratting on myself here.
• 20:40
  Dr. Laura Purdy: I'm telling you, I will be going back to the gym because I don't want to break a hip.
• 20:46
  Carol Covino: You know, I have to tell you, Dr.
• 20:48
  Carol Covino: Purdy, I in my 40s, I was just, it was like I was asleep.
• 20:53
  Carol Covino: I knew nothing.
• 20:54
  Carol Covino: And like you said, no one was having the conversations.
• 20:57
  Carol Covino: So there was this shroud of shame around the subject of menopause.
• 21:02
  Carol Covino: It was an embarrassing topic.
• 21:04
  Carol Covino: You didn't want to admit you were going through that.
• 21:07
  Carol Covino: Um, doctors would tell you, okay, how you're feeling is just a part of it.
• 21:12
  Carol Covino: You know, you're just getting older.
• 21:14
  Carol Covino: And the information simply wasn't out there at the time.
• 21:19
  Carol Covino: And so I did all the wrong things.
• 21:21
  Carol Covino: I did everything you're not supposed to do.
• 21:23
  Carol Covino: Um, for me, it was I was the cardio bunny with with no weights, counting calories.
• 21:30
  Carol Covino: And that's how I was trying to control um the changes that I was seeing in my body.
• 21:36
  Dr. Laura Purdy: You mean like doing like tons and tons and tons of treadmill or elliptical and just trying to, but not building any muscle, so just driving it down to the smallest size possible.
• 21:45
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Is that is that what you're talking about?
• 21:47
  Carol Covino: Yes.
• 21:47
  Carol Covino: I was a marathon runner, so you can imagine.
• 21:50
  Carol Covino: And so when I was training for a marathon, it was sometimes uh a hundred miles per week.
• 21:55
  Carol Covino: I would clock in and then I would head to spin class while the kids were at school.
• 21:59
  Carol Covino: Maybe a boot camp thrown in there.
• 22:02
  Carol Covino: Oh my.
• 22:03
  Carol Covino: I just I was doing it all spin, boot camp, um, running at one point.
• 22:08
  Carol Covino: I was cycling long distances and running long distances.
• 22:12
  Carol Covino: And yeah, I had great endurance, but my body did not look good as I was as I was getting into my late 40s doing this.
• 22:21
  Dr. Laura Purdy: So do you so then do you recommend more weightlifting like the squats, the deadlifts, the arms, the back?
• 22:28
  Dr. Laura Purdy: What do you what do you recommend to women in that position?
• 22:32
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Or is it not enough of a one size fits all to be able to recommend like that?
• 22:37
  Carol Covino: I I do believe strength training is a non-negotiable.
• 22:40
  Carol Covino: That's that's my belief on that, just based on my own experience, my clients, everything I've learned over the the course of my career.
• 22:48
  Carol Covino: So strength training and non-negotiable.
• 22:50
  Carol Covino: How often you strength train depends on your your goals.
• 22:54
  Carol Covino: I would say, you know, minimum two to three days a week would be absolute minimum.
• 22:59
  Carol Covino: Four would be better.
• 23:00
  Carol Covino: Um, cardiovascular is important.
• 23:03
  Carol Covino: We have to keep that VO2 max up as we age.
• 23:06
  Carol Covino: Very important.
• 23:07
  Carol Covino: So we need that in there, but everything has to be within balance.
• 23:11
  Carol Covino: Yeah.
• 23:11
  Carol Covino: So um I think that women often will overdo the HIT workouts where they're doing, you know, five HIT workouts a week.
• 23:19
  Carol Covino: And I think of cardio like a prescription.
• 23:21
  Carol Covino: Like, you know, hopefully we wouldn't take a whole bottle of antibiotics that your doctor gives you all at once.
• 23:29
  Carol Covino: So, you know, it's it's in these measures.
• 23:33
  Carol Covino: And then I do a lot of walking, I do a lot of zone two cardio, which helps me relax my mind and my body.
• 23:39
  Carol Covino: So it's really about that balance.
• 23:41
  Carol Covino: But strength training, I think non-negotiable.
• 23:45
  Carol Covino: Um, the type of strength training, of course, that's gonna depend.
• 23:48
  Carol Covino: Like now I have back issues, so I don't do heavy deadlifts.
• 23:52
  Carol Covino: I don't load up a squat bar, but I do a lot of other, there's many different ways to squat, many different ways to work your lower body, your upper body.
• 24:01
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Yeah.
• 24:01
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Have you shifted into more body weight exercises?
• 24:04
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Like, do you do more body weight exercises like planks or I don't know, planks is the only thing I can think of right now, but are you doing more body weight exercises and less loading with heavy plates and things like that?
• 24:17
  Carol Covino: Um, actually, no.
• 24:18
  Carol Covino: I'm still lifting as heavy as I can safely do.
• 24:23
  Carol Covino: It depends on the move.
• 24:25
  Carol Covino: If I'm doing a shoulder press, you know, my shoulders heal now, I can I can move some weight on that.
• 24:30
  Carol Covino: I can move some weight on my back.
• 24:32
  Carol Covino: I have to be careful with the lower body.
• 24:35
  Carol Covino: Um, I use a lot of machines that put me in a fixed position, so I'm not using my back as much.
• 24:41
  Carol Covino: Yeah, so I work around my problems.
• 24:44
  Carol Covino: Um, I do very little body weight, maybe just for my abs, like you said, the planks.
• 24:48
  Carol Covino: Um and then I've incorporated a little bit of jumping lately for the bones.
• 24:54
  Carol Covino: Like, okay.
• 24:57
  Carol Covino: Um, more of that force down on the bones to um prevent osteoporosis.
• 25:04
  Carol Covino: Because I, yes, yes.
• 25:07
  Carol Covino: Um, I did on my last DEXA scan have a little bit of osteopenia in in certain areas that scared me.
• 25:15
  Carol Covino: So I've gotten really proactive with nutrition, supplementation, and this program where I'm just gradually, gradually putting in some jumping.
• 25:24
  Carol Covino: I love box jumps.
• 25:26
  Dr. Laura Purdy: I love it.
• 25:26
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Now, okay, I know you're not a doctor, but you are a coach and you've been doing this for a long time.
• 25:31
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Are there specific because we've talked about a few things.
• 25:34
  Dr. Laura Purdy: We've talked about vitamin D.
• 25:35
  Dr. Laura Purdy: I've been tested every time because I've breastfed for so long.
• 25:38
  Dr. Laura Purdy: We talked about um DEXA scans.
• 25:41
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Are there certain types of tests or imaging studies that you really tell your clients these are the things that you must make sure your doctor is doing for you?
• 25:54
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Because not all doctors might not recommend a DEXA scan, not all doctors, unfortunately, might not recommend vitamin D because there's no, you know, the American Heart Association doesn't tell you to do that.
• 26:04
  Dr. Laura Purdy: There's no Cancer Society that's saying you should test for vitamin D.
• 26:07
  Dr. Laura Purdy: These are things that either we have to ask for or our doctors have to know and be thinking about ordering it for us.
• 26:13
  Dr. Laura Purdy: So, what else do you recommend for your clients?
• 26:16
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Hey, make sure you're having this done, make sure you're supplementing in this way.
• 26:20
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Any recommendations like that that you that you have to share?
• 26:24
  Carol Covino: Um, I think it's important to get tested.
• 26:27
  Carol Covino: Like I do regularly test vitamin D levels because not everyone will need to supplement.
• 26:33
  Carol Covino: Like for me, I I just naturally my body just really produces vitamin D.
• 26:38
  Carol Covino: I'm out of the sun a lot.
• 26:40
  Carol Covino: So I tend to go too high.
• 26:42
  Carol Covino: So I do have it tested.
• 26:44
  Carol Covino: So I don't across the board, I've I've learned not to say to clients, oh, everyone should take this, because maybe that's not the case.
• 26:51
  Carol Covino: Yeah.
• 26:51
  Carol Covino: Um, I do recommend uh hormone testing, know where your hormones are at.
• 26:56
  Carol Covino: Not not every woman needs to do bioidentical hormone replacement, but I think it's a conversation that we should all have and we should make our decision based on being informed.
• 27:07
  Carol Covino: Know what's happening in your body, know your hormones.
• 27:11
  Carol Covino: Um, of course, your lipids, many of us, once we um transition through menopause, we'll start to have a problem with those lipids.
• 27:19
  Carol Covino: And it's bewildering.
• 27:20
  Carol Covino: It's like, wow, I never had this, I never had my LDL this high.
• 27:23
  Carol Covino: What is happening here?
• 27:25
  Carol Covino: I'm not eating, you know, a bunch of saturated fat.
• 27:27
  Carol Covino: What's going on?
• 27:28
  Carol Covino: So it's important to know those levels as well and certain vitamin levels uh for sure.
• 27:35
  Carol Covino: I have a practitioner.
• 27:36
  Carol Covino: I'm very, very fortunate.
• 27:38
  Carol Covino: I've had her since I was, oh goodness, 51.
• 27:41
  Carol Covino: And she does all of this for me twice a year.
• 27:46
  Carol Covino: I'm in having all of these tests run.
• 27:49
  Carol Covino: Of course, um, the mammogram, keeping up with that, colonoscopy, big believer in keeping up with all of this.
• 27:56
  Carol Covino: Yes, it can save your life.
• 27:58
  Carol Covino: Yep.
• 27:58
  Carol Covino: Um, so the DEXA scan, and it really is a crime, I think, that women are forced to wait so long before insurance will cover it.
• 28:08
  Carol Covino: And then they'll tell you, oh, it's only every two years.
• 28:11
  Carol Covino: And you know, a lot can happen in two years.
• 28:16
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Especially when your hormones, right?
• 28:17
  Dr. Laura Purdy: When your hormones have dropped and you're having all these changes in your life.
• 28:21
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Absolutely, a lot can happen in two years.
• 28:24
  Dr. Laura Purdy: So I agree.
• 28:25
  Dr. Laura Purdy: And I would even probably also throw in A1C.
• 28:27
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Hopefully, your doctor is checking for your A1C too.
• 28:30
  Dr. Laura Purdy: But that can also be something that I see creep.
• 28:33
  Dr. Laura Purdy: There, there are guidelines in place to tell you to test for that.
• 28:36
  Dr. Laura Purdy: And hopefully you don't have to ask for it like you do vitamin D and hormones.
• 28:40
  Dr. Laura Purdy: You will definitely have to ask for hormones.
• 28:42
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Nobody's gonna test you for hormones unless you're asking for it.
• 28:45
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Um, but A1C is important too to watch for, you know, signs of prediabetes or diabetes starting to creep up as well.
• 28:53
  Carol Covino: Absolutely.
• 28:54
  Carol Covino: Yes.
• 28:54
  Carol Covino: I typically do that one.
• 28:55
  Carol Covino: A fasted insulin will do.
• 28:57
  Carol Covino: Um, APOB is another marker that can be indicative of cardiovascular issues down the road.
• 29:05
  Carol Covino: Beautiful.
• 29:06
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Okay, fantastic.
• 29:07
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Well, Carol, we are reaching the end of our time here, but I feel like I could just talk to you for hours.
• 29:13
  Dr. Laura Purdy: And I remember feeling that way the first time we talked.
• 29:16
  Dr. Laura Purdy: You're so inspiring.
• 29:18
  Dr. Laura Purdy: You are a role model.
• 29:19
  Dr. Laura Purdy: You are handling everything that life throws at you with grace.
• 29:23
  Dr. Laura Purdy: And I can understand why people love you.
• 29:26
  Dr. Laura Purdy: I can understand why people want to be coached and mentored by you.
• 29:29
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Because even through life struggles and difficulties and transitions and changes, you are so positive and you inspire people to continue going even when things get hard.
• 29:42
  Dr. Laura Purdy: So thank you for being here.
• 29:43
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Thank you so much, Dr.
• 29:45
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Purdy.
• 29:46
  Dr. Laura Purdy: This has been an absolute, absolute pleasure.
• 29:49
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Likewise.
• 29:50
  Dr. Laura Purdy: So here's our last and final question.
• 29:52
  Dr. Laura Purdy: If somebody's listening to this and says, okay, I definitely need to be in one of her coaching groups because I need to know more about all of this stuff.
• 30:00
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Where can people find you these days?
• 30:03
  Carol Covino: Um, the best couple of places, uh, CarolCavino.com.
• 30:07
  Carol Covino: Very, very simple.
• 30:08
  Carol Covino: My website describes uh the programs that I'm currently offering.
• 30:12
  Carol Covino: I'm on Instagram, mostly on Instagram.
• 30:14
  Carol Covino: I'm on the other platforms, but that's the one where I'm most active.
• 30:18
  Carol Covino: That's at Carol CavinoFitness.
• 30:20
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Beautiful.
• 30:21
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Okay, well, thank you, Carol.
• 30:23
  Dr. Laura Purdy: I really appreciate you coming here today to talk to me.
• 30:25
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Hopefully, we don't wait two and a half years to reconnect again.
• 30:29
  Carol Covino: I know, I know, but that just shows time does go fast.
• 30:32
  Carol Covino: Thank you so much for thank you.
• 30:35
  Carol Covino: Take care.
• 30:35
  Carol Covino: Bye-bye.
• 30:36
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Bye-bye.
• 30:37
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Thank you for tuning in to the I Am Wiser Podcast, where each episode brings us closer to a wiser, more human approach to healthcare.
• 30:46
  Dr. Laura Purdy: If today's conversation inspired you or sparked new ideas, share it with someone who's ready to rethink healthcare.
• 30:54
  Dr. Laura Purdy: And if you have a story or innovation that could light the way for others, reach out.
• 30:59
  Dr. Laura Purdy: We'd love to hear from you.
• 31:01
  Dr. Laura Purdy: This space is yours too.
• 31:03
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Don't forget to follow, rate, and review us on your favorite platform.
• 31:07
  Dr. Laura Purdy: Until next time, stay curious, stay courageous, and stay wiser.