Latest / Tone It Down / From ‘The Biggest Loser’ to Real Wellness: Kim Lyons on Strength, Balance & Aging Well

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From ‘The Biggest Loser’ to Real Wellness: Kim Lyons on Strength, Balance & Aging Well · Tone It Down

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If what you're trying to do is stressing you out and putting your nervous system in a
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really unsafe place, everything's going to backfire on you.
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This is your weekly girlfriend chat, the kind that we all crave, where we can show up exactly
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as we are, laugh until we cry, get honest about the things we're navigating, and all the private
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girl talk that we need more of. No pressure, no perfection, just real women, like us,
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sharing real stories with real connections. Over the years of Tonadab, I've learned that the
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most transformative moments don't always happen in a workout, they happen in those conversations
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before and after. When we realize we're all going through something, when we feel seen,
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and that's what Tonad down is built on. My intention is simple, to help you tune back into yourself,
0:49
to quiet the noise and to remind you that you're allowed to evolve. This is Tonadab.
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I'm sitting here in Palm Springs, California right now, staring at the exact set where we filmed
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Radiate and Rise just a couple months ago, your new Tonadab fitness challenge starting May 4th.
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Just sitting here, just reminiscing about how amazing it was to be on set with China and
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Ari and Christina, and how excited I am that it's finally here, but it is 8 a.m. on a Sunday. This
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episode comes out Tuesday. I've already turned it up. So I should put it down Tuesday. You guys,
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I'm about to head to stage coach. If you don't know what that is, it's a music festival. It's
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kind of like Coachella. Everybody knows Coachella, but this is the country version of Coachella.
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I haven't been to Coachella since beyond say headlined, and I was like, that's good for me.
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Did that. But yeah, I've never been a stage coach. So I'm about to head out there, wish we luck
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because of the time change between Texas and California. I was up at 3 a.m. super excited,
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though. I hopefully I make it to post alone when you headlines tonight. But any who, a lot of
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exciting things happening. Okay. Today is Tuesday. So yesterday, if you didn't already see it,
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the irradiate and rise sneak peak workout is released on YouTube for free. So it's in your app now
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because you know every Monday, we have a new workout or new content every single week in the app.
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And if you haven't joined the app yet, it is on YouTube free. So you can work out with China and
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Ari and Christina and have a fabulous workout and see you get a little glimpse into what
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radiate and rise is going to be for the next four weeks. So we start together as a team
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on May 4th. So that's this coming Monday, May 4th. And I programmed this just for those of you.
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I read all your comments, listened to all your voice. And this I programmed for those of you
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who want to feel stronger mentally and physically and push the limit. It's incredible. I'm going to
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do it with you and we're going to get stronger together. So yes, make sure you're signed up in your
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app to start with us next Monday, May 4th. And for those of you who haven't joined the app yet,
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there is a seven day free trial. So get in there, check it out. You're not going to want to miss it.
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And you know, because we have to have a celebration, right? So on May 3rd, which is this coming Sunday,
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we are doing a radiate and rise kickoff partay in LA. So if you're in LA, there's a link in the show
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notes for the event. It's at the point in Manhattan Beach slash El Segundo area. We haven't done a
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live tone it up, like just tone it up workout and event in so many years. And I am really comfortable
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about this. So many people have already RSVP. I love it. Because if you go on the invite, the
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party full invite, you'll see girls like talking to each other. And there's some people flying out
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from the East Coast. So this event on May 3rd Sunday starts at 9am. We have a workout with myself,
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Steph and China. We have some cameos from your other tone it up trainers coming in. And then we're
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doing a live tone it down podcast. And yes, you who show up get to get on the mic and ask your trainers
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whatever you want. And then we also have some tone it up nostalgia trivia games going on with
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some really cool prizes from T.I.U. approved brands. We're just going to have so much fun.
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I'm literally so excited for this. We got a DJ. We are going to just have fun. I feel like
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I just want to have fun with everyone. See everyone and work out, meet people,
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make friends. There's so many tone it up girls who are meeting the girls and the girlfriends
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that they met through tone it up at this event. So anyways, I'll see you there if you can't make it.
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I know it's just one event in L.A. And we are planning a few others. So always DM at tone it up or
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Karina Don where we should come. I've gotten all of your DMs and I love all these locations. But yeah,
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I cannot wait to see you next Sunday. Okay, okay. So into this week's podcast,
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Kim Lions. Kim Lions, she lives in the South Bay. Her most of each known her for years. And so when
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I was recently in Orange County in a couple episodes, we had the panel. Kim was on the panel.
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And so we sat down one on one. And she is a fitness icon, former biggest loser trainer
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and women's health champion. She shares about her remarkable journey from landing fitness magazine
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covers to coaching women through the most transformative season of their lives on the biggest
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loser. And we really dive into the real conversation around pyramid applause, protein, lifting weights,
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why finding your balance is the greatest gift you can give yourself. This episode is truly a
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beautiful reminder that you are not behind. You are not alone. And the best is absolutely
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still ahead. You hear me? All right, enjoy this episode. Oh, and if you're watching on YouTube,
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I'm sorry, but we filmed this in Laguna Beach. We're like, oh, the beach is like a beautiful
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background. Let's set the cameras up this way. So it's super dark. Hopefully you're just listening
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to this versus watching it on YouTube. Sorry about that. We'll do better, but you can at least
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look at the beautiful ocean. But enjoy this episode. As always, hit that subscribe button. And
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share this with a friend who may enjoy joining the conversation as well. Love you.
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Welcome to tone it down, Kim Lions. I love it. We are here in Laguna Beach,
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Dana Point, California at a conference. We had a panel today, which will be uploaded either
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after or before this. And we discussed mental fitness and fitness wellness, all the things.
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So you need to tune in there. So now I have you here in my tone it down podcast studio on the beach.
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And you just came from Brian Johnson, who was speaking at the conference. Okay, what did you learn
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from him? You know, it's so interesting because I think so much of it is about balance.
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And you know, Brian Johnson represents such the extreme of the biohacking industry. And I feel like
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for me, it was I'm doing so many things right. But I have found my balance where I can still have a
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life and have a kid. A lot of things he talks about. You're like, okay, that's not realistic for the
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everyday person. And I feel like some of you people are intimidated by going, well, I can't do
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that. So I don't know where to start. I don't do any of it. So it's really important for people
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to digest what to do with where they're at and take those baby steps to improve their life.
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So yeah, we dove into Brian Johnson. You know, he's going to live to be like, whatever,
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I think is this is it wants to be immortal basically. It's the goal. So I know, okay,
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if she loves in her most of each. Yep. She reminded me today that like 20, 25, how many years
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ago might have been longer than that to be honest with you. It was either 25 or it has to be
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like 20, 25 years, 20, 25. Yeah. Yeah. And you ran into me and with roller blades?
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Well, actually, the first time I heard about toned up, I had an intern that was working with me.
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And she said, do you know the toned up girl? She's like, they live somewhere around here. And I
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at that time did not know. So I looked you guys up. And I'm like, oh my gosh. And then after that,
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I started seeing you guys on the beach filming here and there. And I was like, there they are.
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And I just loved everything you guys were doing. I just thought it was absolutely so fun and
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amazing. And here we are. X amount of years later. And we're still hanging in. Still here.
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I'm still hanging in and still figuring out life and longevity and aging and all the beautiful
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things. And I mean, I've had the privilege to hang out with your husband as well.
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My big crazy husband, yes. Yeah. Oh my gosh. That time we had sushi.
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For those of you that don't know out there, my husband is Gunter Schler camp. And he's a very
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muscular, huge, funny teddy bear. He's just the most amazing human. That's all I can say. But
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he's something else, right? He's something else for you. Can just like, we literally, we're on
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the corner of Rose Crans. And we are just laughing so much like the stories he would say in that
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act. And the big German accent. Yeah. German accent. He's like so big and like,
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you were dying laughing. He has that strange it factor that you can't help but just be
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drawn into every word that he says. And you just have to laugh a little bit because he says things
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directly as they are. There's no filter with that guy. So it's it's always fun.
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And you all met when you were doing competitions, right? Yeah. So we were both sponsored athletes
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with Joe Weeter, who was basically the godfather of bodybuilding. And one of my biggest goals,
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when I was a fitness competitor, was to secure a contract with Joe Weeter. Yeah. And I was the first
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athlete that they signed before I got my YFBB pro card. So it was really interesting. And then I
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became pro a year later. But Joe Weeter saw something in me really early on. Yeah. And then you
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did that. And then you were one of the coaches on the biggest loser. I was. Yes. So that was
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another big transition. I went from kind of the height of my career being a fitness competitor.
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And on every magazine cover. Yes. And the magazines, my gosh, it was amazing. It was amazing.
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I know. Like muscle fitness and all the fitness covers. And it was such an amazing time of going
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from looking at all the magazines and going, oh gosh, I would love to do that someday and seeing
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girls that I admired in the magazine, to being that girl that I can't flip through an oxygen
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magazine anymore without finding a picture and going, oh my gosh, I remember that. So it's kind of
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like my yearbooks. Yeah. And I went from being the fitness model to busting my Achilles tendon,
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so that went into being a writer. So I kind of established that expert in the category. And that's
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what led me to being found by the producers of the biggest loser. Yeah. So I was asked to go in
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an audition. And, you know, I felt pretty special. I was actually on the sand dune, you know,
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the sand dune when I got called. And they said, we want like you to come in an audition for the
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biggest loser. And that was after one season. I didn't know that much about it. And I was like,
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yeah, sure. When did you want me to come? They're like, well, we're here at the offices now if you
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can come in. I had like sand on my forehead. I was sweaty. I had like the poof in my hair. I
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didn't really know what I was agreeing to. So I went straight to the offices from the sand dune,
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sand in my shoes, hot mess. I walked into the casting room. And there was about, oh, probably 50,
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60 other people that looked just like me in there. And I was like, okay. And I almost left. I almost
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left. Instead I signed in. And the sign-in sheet was like name contact or name manager agency
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agency contact. And I went to like, there's my name, self, self. Here's my cell phone,
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my cell phone, my cell phone, my cell phone. And I was just, I almost left. And I didn't. So
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something was meant to be. So what do you think made you stand out that we were, they were like,
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we want to hurt? You know, it's interesting because I think not knowing really what I was getting
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into really played to my benefit. I was just me. And I was already defeated. I'm like, I'm never
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going to get this anyway. So here you go. This is what I am. This is who I am. This is what I do.
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Take it to sing. Let it go. Yeah. So it was almost like I didn't have that desperation for wanting
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it so bad. I never had the dream of being in the spotlight on prime time TV. I had already kind
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of filled that through the fitness space. I was in my own little world of being famous in the
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small fitness space. And that was comfortable. Yeah. So to have that box filled, I wasn't in that
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that hungry trainer phase that I feel like a lot of people were. Yeah. So you get the call that
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like, did you have to go to another audition? Oh, girl, I went to like auditions for like four or
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five months. It was insane. And one thing that people don't know is I auditioned for season two.
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Okay. And I got the job in season two. I was about to do a fitness competition. I was shredded
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at the time. You're shredded right. So I was ready to get to. Well, you know, it's all relative.
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So I had a big pizza party with my friends. We celebrated going into season two. I got a call
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the night before I was supposed to start. And they said, we're sorry. Things have fallen through.
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Unfortunately, we can't break Jillian's contract. So we have to bring her back on season two.
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And we're talking Jillian Michaels. Yeah. So and they were like, thank you so much for coming in.
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We appreciate you. Bye bye. And it was that quick. It ended. And I thought to myself, what am I
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going to say to my parents who have constantly said, when are you going to get a real job? And I
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had told him I got a real job. And now I've already lost a real job before I started the real job.
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So it was devastating. But at the same time, the next day, I picked up the phone. I called my
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friend. She's like, that's crap. You signed contracts. You got to call him, give him a piece of
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your mind. And I'm like, yeah. And I was mad and I called and called the producers. And I was like,
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hi, this is Kim Lyons. And I just want to say, thank you so much for the opportunity. I was truly
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honored to be chosen. And if the opportunity ever presents again, I would feel I would be really good
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for the job. And I hung up. And I was like, well, that wasn't really what I had in mind for being
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tough. But that's how it ended. So that's a little piece. Most people don't know. But then they
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called me back the next season. You know what I love about that. So take that. You can always just
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go that extra mile. Say that, like, final reach out. Cause what do you have to lose? Exactly.
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Exactly. Exactly. And you know, and I think it was, it was that when they called me, they said,
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we're only bringing back the top 50 trainers from last year's audition. So when I went into the
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audition, the next year, it was basically starting all over with the top 50 from the year before.
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So to be chosen once was awesome. But to be chosen twice, I'm like, thank you. But I was much softer.
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That's the second time around. And the producers actually liked that better. They wanted a little
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balance. They wanted me to be more approachable, which I think was beneficial. Yeah. What was that
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experience like? Cause I feel like that was like in the beginning of reality TV and fitness to
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be thrown into that. Like, how did you personally manage going into a situation like that? It's
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kind of you're kind of blind walking in. And it must be like so much mental stuff going on.
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What am I doing? Yeah. Imposter syndrome. Perhaps absolutely. And that was, that was really
16:07
something that hit hard because listen, obese people don't go to trainers. They go to doctors.
16:14
Right. So when you all of a sudden go from dialing in six packs, making athletes faster and
16:21
stronger and to a completely opposite environment, now working with people who are fighting for
16:27
their lives and have over 50% body fat, there's no trainers out there that have extensive knowledge
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in that. So I went into it with everything that I know my background, stabilization, you know,
16:40
all the basics are still there as that foundation. But that doesn't meet the balance of where
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producers want entertainment values. So I wasn't thinking about entertainment value. I was thinking
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about safety. What's your name on the line? Yeah. 100% and I was terrified that I was going to kill
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somebody absolutely terrified. And I called the doctor, Dr. Heizanga and I said, I need to be
17:02
confident that I'm not going to genuinely hurt somebody by doing such extreme measures so fast
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with people. And he assured me that they were all medically tested. But I didn't, I had a hard
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time clicking into that entertainment value with a human life. So how much weight would someone
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lose and how much time? I mean, I watched every episode every season, but I forget. Yeah. So it was
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three months that we were on set very heavy and they were training very intensively. Of course,
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each week someone got kicked off. And I'll be honest with you, I can't remember what the total
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time frame was for the beginning to the finale. But they would lose, you know, about 100% or
17:41
100 pounds, usually more than half of their body fat is very extreme, very, very extreme and very
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fast. And when I was doing the show, it was hard. It was really hard for me to digest what was
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happening. But looking back on the show and seeing the impact that it had on so many people's lives
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on an inspirational way, I kind of look at it as the people on the show were kind of the sacrificial
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lamps to inspire the world of what our bodies are truly capable when you put them under the stress.
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And if you're obese, most of the time, and I say this carefully, most of the time you have some
18:21
pretty big medical issues happening. So what's more dangerous to live in these severe medical
18:28
issues or to lose the weight fast and deal with the consequences? So there's there again,
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you have to find that balance of what's doable and what's maintainable.
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So what is doable and maintainable in your in your opinion these days?
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The key is finding the balance of where you're at in your life. A lot of people can go all in,
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financially they can do it, time-wise they can do it. It's something that's possible to put a
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schedule around prioritizing everything around your health and fitness. The majority of us have
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kids, have family or family's jobs a lot going on in life. So you have to meet fitness with where you
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are in your life. If what you're trying to do is stressing you out and putting your nervous system
19:20
in a really unsafe place, everything's going to backfire on you. And I feel like that's where so
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many people go wrong. It's the little tiny habits that you can do every single day that are life
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changing. And those habits are simple things like maybe you need to bring your cortisol down in
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the morning so you don't reach for that highly caffeinated cup of coffee as you roll out of bed.
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You replace that with maybe a glass of water with electrolytes. That's doable for absolutely
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everybody. Things like shutting off our cell phones, which everyone's so guilty about right before
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we go to bed. Girl, I still do it too. Just roll and check in those emails one last time. It's so hard,
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not to. But you have to set those little habits in place. And I do know now if I'm on my computer
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or my phone late, I have my red light right there with me. So at least it's counterbalancing.
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So it's again, it's finding that happy medium, but those little habits that you can stack through
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the day that work towards your health and creating that safety in your body, that's powerful.
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Much more powerful than trying to go to the gym every day for two hours, you know.
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Yeah, I get a lot of questions because I have a community, tone-or-up community members,
20:29
leave voice-mails and messages. And we've been around since 2009 together growing up together.
20:37
So many of us are going through a pair of menopause, menopause, and that weight games
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have a lot of questions of women over 40. And I have watched you transform and go through it.
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And now you have, I give us all the tips. I tell you what. And I said this a little bit early
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on the stage is you have to learn your body. So many women go into this phase of life,
21:03
blindsided. And now it's playing catch-up because you didn't know what was coming.
21:10
Perry, menopause, and menopause are becoming a topic that is much more just out there in the
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universe and being talked about and understood and studied. And for many years it wasn't. So I like
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to empower women to learn more about your body. Things like function health. There are a lot of
21:30
other companies like that out there where they go in and they do all your blood work. And then they
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teach you why each marker means what it means. You can go in there and you can look at whatever
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biomarkers are off and what nutrients you're deficient in and start there. You can get incredibly
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powerful genetic tests where you can learn about what's going on in your microbiome or in your
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genetics. Things like for me, I really big one was oxidative stress. I lacked the ability to
22:00
neutralize oxidative stress in my body. So learning how to recover in a different way
22:06
was a life changer for me. What does that mean for those? So oxidative stress is really
22:11
anything. It could be the cleaning solutions that you're using that are toxic. It could be pollutants
22:15
in the air. It could be unhealthy foods. They're going to cause oxidative stress on your cells.
22:20
So really any kind of outside stressor, my body just can't deal. My cells just get clogged up and
22:25
they just go and they just can't clear out that oxidative stress. So it's almost like rust if you
22:31
well. It's like if you have a shiny little swing set and it gets rusty, it squeaks a little more.
22:35
It just doesn't work as well. That's kind of oxidative stress. So learning what's going on in your
22:40
body and using all the amazing things that are out there, even the microbiome tests, I use one
22:46
called myviome. And you can learn what foods do well for your body. So getting all of these
22:52
little pieces, they're like clues. And then you can break them down and go, okay, I need to focus
22:58
on this. I want to work on this. And we're in an age now where a girlfriend, you don't have to
23:03
Google stuff. You can chat GPT. You can put your tests in there and say, this is where I'm at.
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This is what I'm doing. This is what I'm dealing with. Help me reach this goal.
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And granted, you do have to double check it. But it's going to get you a good head start.
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For someone listening, I was like, wow, that's like a lot of information. How do I do that? Does
23:21
that cost a lot of money? Do you have to have the funds or does insurance cover these tests?
23:27
Insurance probably won't. But this is where I want to say for under $1,000, you could do all three
23:32
of those tests that I just mentioned. And there are simpler ones like rhythm, does a blood test
23:38
that I think is $79 or something. So there's definitely reasonable other options. But maybe we put
23:45
our money into less clothes, less, you know, the little things that we can all cut back on. And
23:55
listen, a lot of the times where we're spending money are things that are making us feel better.
24:02
When if you put your money into your health, you're going to feel better and live a more joyful
24:08
life and be happier. And then for longevity, spending less money on the back end, I don't know if
24:13
that's better. No, I look at things that I mean, I've seen girls say I can't afford to do that.
24:18
But then I go to out to dinner with them and they spend, you know, 60, 70 bucks on cocktails.
24:22
Yeah. And I'm like, how often do you do that? Because that's your blood test right there in four
24:26
outings. Back to community and the questions of, so I started going through Perry,
24:32
Minneapolis on as 37. Oh my gosh. No clue. And as you mentioned, we like people are talking about
24:39
it more. I literally thought I had COVID like seven times over. And I was nice with insomnia,
24:46
all the things, right? You don't have to answer. But personal question, like where are you at with that?
24:53
I am almost 53. I'm still Perry, Metapause. I'm like, at what point do we hit that, that over the
25:00
the hurdle, I guess you well? And your Metapause is actually just one day. It's that one year point
25:06
past, you know, where you've had your last cycle. Yeah. I'm not there yet. But I've been really
25:11
blessed through this entire journey just simply because after I had my son, my thyroid completely
25:18
shut off. Okay. And I went to three different traditional doctors who told me I was totally fine.
25:24
And I knew my thyroid wasn't functioning. I had every symptom. But when I went to regular doctors,
25:30
they said, well, you haven't gained any weight and your paper, your blood work looks good. And I'm
25:34
like, am I crazy? Am I crazy? I can't even remember how I got pointed in the direction of a
25:40
whole turf group, which is a longevity group. They did not take insurance. It was outrageous,
25:45
like expensive. And I was like, I have to do this because I can't feel like this. I was so tired.
25:51
It was so cold. I just wasn't right. And when I went in and they did their blood panel,
25:56
they looked everything. They're like, Oh, wow. Your body is not converting. And you basically have
26:00
Hashimoto's. And I'm like, Oh, okay. Well, that's not what I heard from three other doctors. But
26:06
coming in, that's where I started my journey with the bioidentical. I do a T3 and a T4. So I felt
26:13
so much better through that. But then I stayed with that group. So where most women kind of playing
26:19
catch up with HRT, I was ahead of the game. So I started progesterone right when I should have
26:25
according to my longevity doctor love for dress. It's amazing. All of a sudden I was sleeping again.
26:31
It was I just can't recommend it enough to people. And like that was a game changer for me.
26:36
Absolutely. And then I came in with testosterone replacement. I still have not with estrogen. I'm
26:42
not right. Quite ready. I I aromatized the testosterone very well into estrogen. So but being
26:47
ahead of that, you know, I haven't had the night sweats. And I almost feel guilty saying it. I
26:51
haven't had so many symptoms. Everybody keeps saying everybody's like, okay, if you're like
26:58
17, you never had the night sweats. I literally would be like cold, sleeping in a sweatsuit,
27:06
and then wake up. And you're just soaking wet. So I've heard the nightmares. I've heard them
27:10
over and over again. I work with so many women that are in their, you know, 40s, 50s, 60s,
27:15
and beyond. And I know I'm not going to be this lucky. Where one day I'm just going to be like,
27:19
oh, it's like happening in life is perfect. It's coming. I know it's coming. But you know,
27:24
when I do do a lot of things that are next level, things like the eight sleep pod,
27:29
it's a mattress cover that has liquid in it. And it measures your vitals all night. And it
27:34
raises and lowers the temperature according to your sleep cycles. You need this thing. It's amazing.
27:39
It actually has a hot flash setting on there. And let me tell you what, like I've never,
27:44
I haven't used this, but I have cooled it down. Like you can set it to a certain degree. And
27:49
it regulates your body temperature. So your body actually goes into deep sleep. And then it needs,
27:54
your body temperature needs to drop two degrees. So the mattress will detect that. And it will drop
27:58
it for you. It's fascinating. I'm going to give you the low down on this. I won't go too deep into
28:02
it because it's amazing. But it really is. So I have a lot of tools like that where I feel like
28:08
I'm ready. I'm ready for it. You know, like burning armoured up. I am totally. I'm so armoured up.
28:14
Okay. So women over 40, we lose muscle mass. Yes. So let's talk protein and whatever you're doing.
28:23
Oh my gosh. Yes. Yes. Yes. And yes, on every level. So protein is probably my favorite topic
28:29
because women don't get enough. Most women, when they come to me, they are eating 40 to 50 grams of
28:35
protein a day. So protein is made of essential amino acids. The body takes that protein. It breaks
28:41
down the essential amino acids and the body uses them to repair everything from our skin to our
28:46
brain cells to our, you name it, these essential amino acids are key for the body. So I recommend
28:54
women start with counting how many calories or how many grams of protein they're eating every day.
29:00
Count them. Look and see. Be aware. I've done that. And I realized that I didn't get enough.
29:07
It's hard. Same with water and hydration. Once you start counting, you're like, oh my gosh,
29:12
I'm not drinking enough water. I'm not having enough protein.
29:15
Yes. So, you know, and I tell people, I'm like, the amount that you should aim for is one gram of protein
29:21
per pound of ideal body weight. So if you weigh 300 pounds, I don't want you to go eat 300 grams of
29:27
protein. I want you to focus on what your ideal number is or somewhere close.
29:31
That's the question I've had. And I've had on big silence podcast with the trainer. I'm like,
29:36
what if someone is trying to lose weight and they weigh more and the trainer was like, oh no,
29:41
you just consume as much as you weigh. And I was like, that doesn't quite make sense.
29:45
It does add up. And you'll hear that again and again and again from people. And you know,
29:49
it'll go sometimes as high as two grams per pound of body weight. I'm like, okay, that's just let
29:54
ludicrous. So that's why I say per pound of ideal body weight. Yeah.
29:58
Just starting there is going to be such a good starting point for so many women because
30:04
what's happening, especially in the landscape of GLP ones, which I'm a huge fan of. We can get to
30:08
that. I am a huge fan. Took me a while to get there. It took me a long while to get there. But
30:14
watching so many people, they're now trading, sarco or trading obesity for sarcopenia.
30:20
So they're both going to hurt you in the end. Both of them sarcopenia is the loss of muscle mass
30:25
as you get older. Yes. And women over 40 lose a lot of muscle mass. So now we're going to age.
30:31
We're not going to be able to walk. We're not going to be balancing. We're not going to be able
30:33
to sit and stand on our own. We're going to be at that risk of falling and breaking a hip. And
30:38
then it's all downhill from there. It's a nightmare. So when I say these things, it's not to put
30:42
the fear out there, but it is to emphasize how critically important protein is for a body.
30:48
This is not something that you can just be like, oh, do tomorrow. And because I have a backup,
30:53
a plan B for everything. Listen, I have a hard time eating enough protein. I just do. So
31:00
you take essential amino acids that gives you all the building blocks that your body needs.
31:05
It's one tiny scoop. You're not drinking a whole big protein shake. It's one little scoop.
31:10
What's your favorite like brand? So there's, oh gosh, is it body health?
31:15
Amino acids are probably the biggest one, but I like clean. It's K L E A N. They have an
31:21
amino acid with H M B. And I mix it with almond milk or coconut milk. And it's almost like an orange
31:29
orange cool kind of a thing. Amino acids don't taste good. It tastes terrible. You can take
31:33
them in pill form too, but have you had keon? Yeah, I did. I took keon for a long time. I like them.
31:39
Their mango flavor is about the only one that I can swallow. And I say that with love because
31:44
again, they're so hard to make them taste good. It's not like these companies. They're doing
31:49
a good job of it is, but I did keon for a while. Definitely makes it in your water and just like
31:54
chug it for I try to put them in my smoothie. No, it ruins the whole time. I don't put them in your
32:01
smoothie. Don't ruins your smoothie. There's no help for these. I literally put them in this
32:05
much water and I'm like, boom, and I just pound it down because it's that important. So yeah,
32:10
it's especially if if people are taking GLPs, they've got to be supporting with amino acids.
32:15
All right, you've talked about GLPs twice. Yes. Cause I have an opinion. And you're a fitness expert
32:23
and trainer and you're you're bringing it up. Let's talk about it. Yeah, it's so important because
32:28
I actually got certified in peptide therapy because I was so angry. I was so angry at the people
32:33
that were landing on my lap that were having such severe issues. And I was out to prove the world
32:40
that they don't need these, but I needed to know the science behind them. I needed to know what was
32:43
happening. I dug in and I went in for the science. And what I found was that the problem was not
32:50
the compound. The problem was the pharmaceutical doses. So basically something that is beautiful
32:59
and helpful for our bodies was being demonized into this nuclear weapon that was just being
33:06
overdosed by crazy amounts. And like I said, people were finding that they were so sick now they
33:12
couldn't move. So now they're losing their muscle mass from the lack of movement. And they're also
33:17
losing their muscle mass and all their vital nutrients that we get from food because they just
33:22
couldn't eat. They just didn't want to eat. And for a lot of people that power was something they
33:26
had craved their whole life. So yes, they're going to lose weight. It's scary. So what I found is
33:32
microdosing. So now you can come in and again, it's finding that balance using a microdose of a GLP
33:39
is so powerful for inflammation, for longevity, for blood sugar balance, for so many things.
33:46
And you can still maintain your relationship with food. You can't just avoid food and avoid
33:52
eating and expect to be healthy. It doesn't work that way. So it's finding that balance of going
33:57
how much do I need from my body and not just blindly injecting what some pharmaceutical
34:03
company is making billions of dollars off of? Do you take GLP's? I have. Yes. So I started with
34:10
RetroDetide, which won't be out in the market yet. I do all research compounds and recently just
34:15
teamed up with another company. They do the prescriptions. We can get into that as well. But
34:20
I very much understand my body and I understand cell biology. So for me, it was a very natural path
34:25
to go in and learn about these compounds, learn about these molecules, things like BPC157
34:30
for inflammation, which, girl, we all have inflammation at this age. Let me tell you what
34:35
ourselves are screaming for help. So to come in and be able to calm the inflammation and then
34:40
to be able to come in and microdose with a GLP, not just with myself, but with my clients,
34:45
I saw this power of people going, okay, now I have the noise calmed down. I know what I need to do
34:52
and now I have the ability to do it. And it was almost like it could overpower the chemical
34:59
nightmare of food addiction to be able to come in and go, you know what to eat. Now, just take
35:05
that GLP to a level where you're not constantly thinking about food. And now we're balancing blood
35:11
sugar. And then we're also helping the body to oxidize fat, meaning move it out of the cells.
35:17
So a lot of beautiful things can be happening with a GLP, but the abuse of not knowing how to use
35:24
it in your body, that's where it gets scary. Yeah, I appreciate you talking about it because I've
35:29
been very on the fence about GLP's and yeah, and with people in the fitness industry who don't say
35:37
that they're using GLP's crazy. I'm like, do what you want to do, but if you can't say you have
35:43
a transformation. Yeah. And false advertising. So you have openly talked about it.
35:50
And let me tell you what I experienced because I think this is kind of fun too. Because again,
35:52
I love guinea pig. Like when Afken's diet came out, I was like, oh, I'm doing this all in. I
35:57
mean, I was baking in butter. Like I love using myself as a guinea pig because I can't talk about
36:02
something if I haven't experienced it. So when I went in, I was working with a very amazing
36:06
group of doctors and people that were certifying people in peptide therapies. So I started taking a very,
36:11
very, very small microdose. And I was like, oh, I feel nothing. I was expecting like all the
36:16
things. And I was like, oh, I feel nothing. And I took it for about three weeks. And I'm like,
36:20
I feel nothing. But all of a sudden, I was like, oh, wait a minute. Actually, I haven't been craving
36:25
chips. I haven't really been craving. I'm a salt girl, not sugar. I'm all salt. All the cravings
36:31
just went away. And I was like, huh. But I also noticed that there were some meals where I'm like,
36:36
oh, I just don't want to eat and I don't care. But because I had the fear of losing muscle,
36:42
I was pounding the essential amino acids. Like I was just like all in on them. So I was supplementing
36:48
to make sure I didn't lose muscle. And then I also have a clinical grade body composition
36:53
test at my house. So I was using that like weekly to test my body composition. I lost a lot of fat.
37:01
And I gained a lot of muscle. Nothing else changed in my schedule. So I already proved that
37:06
you can gain muscle and lose body fat on a GLP. But what I decided to do next and I do not
37:12
recommend this. I repeat, I do not recommend this. This is literally me just, I want to experience
37:19
things. I want to know what they feel like. So I purposely went to the clinical dose. Oh wow.
37:25
I was on my couch for two weeks laid out sick as a dog. I really literally could not eat much
37:34
less drink water. And this was at the lowest clinical dose, the lowest clinical dose. And when
37:41
I went in, I thought, oh, I'm probably going to have a little nausea. I'm probably not going to
37:44
fill two weeks. I was and girl, let me tell you, I lost a lot of fat during those two weeks.
37:50
A lot like you were like dehydrated and hadn't eaten and had no energy. I was I felt for my hair.
37:58
I can't believe what happened in two weeks. Like I literally would go like this handfuls of hair.
38:03
And this is with me supplementing and trying to get the nutrients through supplements,
38:09
powders, all the things. And all I could think of to myself is what a mess this is going to be for
38:16
the average person who doesn't drink electrolytes, who doesn't, who doesn't know how to nourish their
38:22
bodies. So that was one of the most powerful experiments I've done on myself. And I would do it
38:27
again just because I know now how incredibly powerful they are. And it scares me to death to
38:34
think about this compound coming out at these high doses. And even now when I look at trizepa
38:39
tied and all of these things and the amount that they're being dosed at, for example, a friend
38:44
of mine, she has maybe 20 pounds to lose. And she's had some medical issues. So I was like, I want
38:49
you to work with a doctor. I don't want to be in control of your peptide therapy. You need to work
38:54
with a doctor because she's had some past things. So she went to the doctor the first month they had
38:58
her on five milligrams, the second 10 milligrams, the third 12 milligrams. She has hardly anything to
39:05
lose. I'll tell you I was at 2.5 milligrams. And that's when I started side effects. So you can see
39:12
the amount of increase that they did for somebody that had very little fat to lose. I mean,
39:18
we've seen it in Hollywood. You know it's going to happen. And yet it's very difficult to pull back
39:24
from that control and not go too far. So it's dangerous. I'm going to go into my mental health
39:30
protection mode, taking an European and GLP ones and not addressing the factor of for those who
39:39
have a food addiction or something. What would you suggest? There's no magic. There is no magic.
39:48
And I think that's where that balance. And again, we've seen it. And I don't want to tear down
39:53
anybody because the point with mental health is sometimes what people say in the media is so
40:00
awful. And I've been there. I've been there. It's like you don't tear somebody down when they're
40:05
already vulnerable. That hurts my heart to a point where it almost makes me cry. Like I want to
40:09
reach out to people and be like, let me help you because that foundation isn't there. And you can't
40:15
inject something and expect things to get better. There has to be that foundation of nutrition
40:21
and mental health. You have to have that. So doctors aren't addressing that on a mental level
40:28
because they do not have time. Again, I don't take away from the medical world. If I break my arm,
40:32
I'm going to be right there. If I need a surgery, I'm going to be right there. But don't you dare
40:37
take somebody and give them a GLP when you have not come back to the foundation of their mental
40:45
health and their nutrition and their movement. It's not a first line of protection at all. It's
40:54
dangerous. I think that's where no expert here, but have an opinion. That's where we need to come
41:00
together of, okay, we're addressing this. We need to lose weight, but possibly therapy,
41:06
like it needs to be again, the 360 approach. What is your fitness routine? What are you doing?
41:12
Not just injecting. Yes. Absolutely. And then there's also with the mental health side or some
41:18
side effects. Or if you're prone to depression, like you could increase some of the GLP's absolutely
41:24
can throw you into a pretty scary depression. So there is a lot of negative. And unfortunately,
41:30
in our society, so much of it is based on losing weight. Whereas for so many people that I work with
41:36
with GLP's, it's not about the weight loss. That is the additional thing that comes. But it's more
41:42
about the longevity side attacking the inflammation. A lot of times inflammation is at the
41:47
root of the problem with even depression and a lot of things. So it's like if you can address
41:51
depression, but you know, there's other things out there that are better for inflammation.
41:57
Don't go straight to the GLP. So, you know, those are just being handed out like candy right now.
42:02
And it really, it is absolutely terrifying. So, you know, one thing where I realize with GLP's
42:08
is like, I can't fight this. It's coming. It's here and it's not going away. So my number one
42:15
priority became I'm going to start educating people about how to be successful with these,
42:22
how to find that balance and how to take your health into your hands and not just rely on somebody
42:27
handing you a full syringe of you don't know how many milligrams and you're just jamming it in your
42:31
body. And now you're in a whole hot mess. So definitely you've got to do your homework and you
42:37
have to tell the doctor that you want to micro dose because they're going to do a pharmaceutical dose.
42:42
Again, just our opinions here. There's a lot of strong opinions out there.
42:48
Okay, so women over 40, I want to know your arms. How much do you lift?
42:54
So here's what's funny about that is you know, my background, I lifted like a traditional body
42:59
builder. My whole life, like that's how I lived it. Heavy, heavy, heavy, it was the more the better.
43:04
But as I've gotten older and my time has become more valuable and I have a teenager who is just
43:08
starting to drive. So there's that whole element there. I focus on compound movements. I focus on
43:14
what's going to give me the most bang for my buck. I don't want to go in. I never lift biceps.
43:19
Ever. I will. You'll never see me doing isolation biceps. You know, you never will see me.
43:23
Okay, I still do shoulders because it's my favorite body part. Well, your shoulders like pop and
43:27
I just you know, but but I have phases. I go through phases where I'll put on a sundress and I'll be
43:32
like, I hate my shoulders. And then the next day I put on a tank top and I'm like, yeah, bring it.
43:38
You know, so I go through phases of being able to, you know, get a little leaner, get a little
43:44
buffer. But again, it's about knowing what your body responds to. And at the bottom of all of it,
43:49
is that protein? It comes all back to the protein. Let's go back to, okay, yeah, protein. Get your
43:54
protein and then lifting heavy for women. Yes, girls, don't be afraid to pick up some weights.
44:00
I love the little five pounders and whatnot. And even in turn up in the past, it's like, well,
44:06
even when filming videos, we were doing like 10 videos in a day. So we have like,
44:11
wait, and I literally will tell people, I'll be like, listen, this is my tenth workout today.
44:15
So choose a weight that challenges you because right now, no weight challenges me. No, I like,
44:19
I like a 15, 20, 25 upper body lower body. Don't be afraid of weight, especially over 40,
44:27
like, less sick girls. I found is a good fix for that for those of you that are doing workout
44:32
videos. I love doing timed segments because I'm like, do as many reps as you can in those 40
44:39
seconds and use a weight that's comfortable for you because if you're lifting heavy,
44:44
then you're going to get a little more rest. You're going to need a little more rest because you're
44:47
going to finish your reps faster. If you're using a lightweight, then you're focusing more on volume
44:51
instead of the time under tension. So it's a little bit different, but both methods work. Anything
44:57
you do and you can do consistently, girls do it. Like, I'm on board. 100%. I love that. Okay. So
45:04
where can we find you outside of rollerblading down the strand and her most of the beach?
45:10
Yes. Where do we find you to get more information workout with you? All the things.
45:13
Yeah. So I'm on trainer Kim Lions at trainer Kim Lions on everything. And I have to admit,
45:19
I'm not the best at social media. I'm not either. I'm really working on it. But can it comes back
45:23
to that mental health? Yeah. That's a rabbit hole. I love social media. But when I get on there,
45:28
I don't know what happens. Time just goes. The next thing I know, it's been an hour or an hour,
45:32
a half. And I'm like, what just happened? So I will get better about posting. But I do run a program
45:38
for women over 40 and it's called simplified cellular health. That program encompasses all the
45:43
nutrition and encompasses all the workouts. And the mental health, the nervous system,
45:49
being able to do what's important for us at this stage of life. And not what we did in our 20s,
45:55
because that's that time frame is different. Wait. Okay. Yeah. What did you do in your 20s?
46:01
20s. I was like, GI Jane badass. Like, it couldn't get intense enough for me. It couldn't
46:08
get hard enough for me. It was all about these your fitness competition era. Yeah. And my days
46:13
consisted of four to five hours of just working out. And it was hard at like intense stuff.
46:18
You know, so if I tried to do that now, my nervous system would be like screw you. We're out.
46:24
Yeah. Yeah. No. Thank you. And I don't have to do all that anymore. Either I work out smart
46:29
now. Yeah. I wish I could go back to my 20s. And if I do go back to my 20s and see with what I do
46:36
now would work better than what I did then. Wouldn't that be interesting? Like, if you could maybe
46:41
AI will like, yeah, have you come back? I got to ask chat GPT. I'm sure it'll come up with something.
46:49
All right. Well, thank you, Kim Lyons. You're so well done with me. We're going to go back to
46:53
the conference and learn more about longevity and all the good stuff. Yes. All the brands that are here.
47:00
I love it. Well, thank you for having me and thank you for everything you do. It's so fun to just
47:04
watch the community come together and, you know, not just tone it up, but also tone it down.
47:09
I love all of that. So find that balance. You know, it's so much easier said than done, but it's
47:14
a never ending journey. All right. Thank you. Yeah.