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20. Why Eating "Pretty Well" Isn't Enough in Midlife · Midlife Glow Up: Simplifying Fitness, Nutrition and Healthy Habits for Women over 40

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Most of the women that I work with tell me that they eat quote unquote pretty well.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: And they're definitely not wrong.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: They are making an effort.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: They're being intentional about some things.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: But here is what I'm noticing across the board.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: You might be doing some things right.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: You grab a salad here and there.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: You try to watch your portions.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: You're choosing the grilled chicken over the fried chicken.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: You're cutting back on the junk food.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe even did dry January.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: You're making an effort.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: And those things definitely count.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: But you're probably still making some critical mistakes.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: And in this season of life, after 40 and beyond, eating quote unquote pretty well isn't enough if we want to not just survive but thrive in our later years.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: The stakes are higher now.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: So what worked well for us when we were younger just doesn't cut it anymore.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: Our body needs more from us, not less.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: Today I'm going to walk you through the most common nutrition mistakes that I see women over 40 making.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: These mistakes are actually keeping you tired and stuck and frustrated with your body and feeling like you just are continually spinning your wheels but not getting anywhere.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to the Midlife Glow Up Podcast, where we simplify fitness, nutrition, and healthy habits for women over 40.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Joan Dandonow, your midlife health and wellness coach.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're ready to feel strong, consistent, and confident in this season of life, you are in the right place, my friend.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: So here is what I see all the time with women that I work with.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: They're trying, they're making an effort, but they're still making some critical mistakes.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: And the mistakes aren't obvious.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: You might think you're doing the right thing by eating less and skipping meals so that you can save calories or even cutting out whole food groups or being quote unquote good during the week and then wheels come off on the weekend.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: In midlife, these strategies that might have worked before, they will backfire.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: So today I want to walk you through the most common patterns that I see and more importantly, how to reframe your thinking about them so that you can actually make changes and start feeling good in your body.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: So let's dive in.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: So many of you are not eating enough total calories throughout the day.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: You've been fed this narrative your whole life that we should shrink, that we should eat less, that we should restrict and cut back.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: And so even to this day, even if it's not intentional, you are skipping breakfast or having a latte and calling it breakfast.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: You're looking at food as good or bad instead of asking, what does my body actually need right now?
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: And you might even be doing some version of fasting or extreme dieting, thinking that that is the plan to feeling better.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: But what's actually happening is that your body is going into conservation mode, like starvation mode.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: When you don't eat enough, your body doesn't trust that food is going to come again.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: So your body slows down metabolism and it holds on to every single calorie that you take in.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: And it then begins to break down muscle tissue for energy.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: So what's really happening is you might not even feel hungry anymore.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: I hear this all the time, but Joan, I'm not hungry.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: So like, why should I eat if I'm not hungry?
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: And like you have to eat in order to get your metabolism to rev up.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: If you have dieted off and on for a long time, your metabolism has adapted to running on fumes.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: So research shows that prolonged dieting or like restriction of calories can actually negatively impact your bone density.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: And we're, if that's happening to us and we're going through perimenopause, into menopause where estrogen is rapidly declining, that is like a disaster right there.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: We're also accelerating muscle loss.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: So we have to reframe this.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: We have to look at food as fuel.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: Food is actually information for your body.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: Food is not the enemy.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: Restriction is the enemy.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Your body in midlife needs more support.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: If you think about food as support, like you would not expect a car to run without gasoline, right?
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: And you wouldn't put the cheapest gas in your nice vehicle and expect it to run well, right?
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: So we have to think about this.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: Our body requires nutrients in order to maintain muscle and support metabolism and keep your hormones functioning and give you energy.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: So instead of asking, how little can I eat?
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: Start asking, Am I giving my body what it needs to thrive?
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: And when we do that today, we're setting the stage for the next decades to come.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, of course, this is my favorite to talk about.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: This is protein.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like I have been shouting this from the rooftop since 20 years ago.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: So you are probably aware that you need to be getting protein.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: You're probably on your way to increasing your protein now because it's everywhere.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: I know that my feed is full of it, and I know that I am looking for these types of things, but I hear this all the time on all the main podcasts and all the books and the articles and the Instagrams.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's all about protein.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: So I want to break this down a little bit and explain.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, there was a study done in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, and they followed 49,000 women and found that women who were getting adequate amounts of protein had a much higher rate of healthy aging.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: They were maintaining their physical function, their mental health, and they were staying free from chronic disease.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: The research also shows that most postmenopausal women are getting way less amount of protein than they are supposed to be getting.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: Science tells us that we actually need between one and 1.2 grams per kilogram of body weight.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: If you are dealing with illness or stress or you're trying to build muscle, you might even need up to 1.5 grams per kilogram.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: Or you don't have to like crunch numbers, but I just want to give you when I'm coaching women, I say, let's just aim for that 100 grams.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: If that, if you spread that out over four meals throughout the day, it's very doable.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: And here's why this matters so much.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: When we don't have enough protein, we are losing muscle.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: Also, if we don't have enough protein, our metabolism slows down.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: We become weaker and more fragile and more prone to injury.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: And research shows that protein intake of at least 1.2 grams per kilogram of body weight is essential for preventing muscle deterioration, for maintaining functional independence as we get older, and for reducing the risk of falls and frailty in older adults.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: But protein is so much more than just about muscle.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: It actually plays a crucial role in our mood and our gut health.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, tryptophan, we hear about that on Thanksgiving, right?
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: Turkey is a good source of tryptophan.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: Well, turkey is protein.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's all kind of related here.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: Tryptophan is an essential amino acid that is the precursor.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: So the what comes before serotonin production in your brain.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: So serotonin is our mood-regulating neurotransmitter.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: It affects how you feel emotionally.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: It helps you to regulate your appetite and support sleep, and it even has an impact on your gut health.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: So when you're not getting enough protein, you're not giving your body the building blocks that it needs to produce adequate serotonin.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: So we have to reframe this.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: I know, I mean, all the memes all over Instagram are like, how could I possibly get in this much protein?
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's a full-time job to get in my amount of protein that I need to get in.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: But it is essential.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not just about building muscle, it's actually about maintaining your independence and your strength and your mood and your quality of life as you age.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, moving on, we have to talk about carbs, the four-letter word.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: So many women are afraid of carbs.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like carbs are the enemy.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: So we want to avoid them and restrict them and only quote unquote allow yourself to have them on special occasions.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: But cutting carbs is not the key to weight loss or health.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: Our brain literally needs carbohydrates to function.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: So if you've ever gone low carb and you find yourself like walking around in a daze, that is because carbohydrates are necessary in order for us to have a brain that functions.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: There was a study out of Tufts University that found when women eliminated carbs from their diet, they performed significantly worse on memory-based tasks.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: Their reaction time was slower, their visual spatial memory was impaired.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: And all of this happened in just one week of carb restriction.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: Your brain uses glucose as its primary fuel source, and it has no way of storing it.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: So when the body breaks down carbs into glucose, then those travel through the bloodstream directly to your nerve cells for energy.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: When you are restricting or cutting carbs, you're literally starving your brain of its preferred fuel source.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not just about memory and cognition.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: Carbohydrates also play a role, here it comes again, in serotonin production.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: And when like serotonin is the neurotransmitter that regulates your mood, your appetite, and your sleep.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: So when you eat carbs, your body produces insulin, which helps the tryptophan get into your brain.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: So when you have less carbs, you have less serotonin, which means you have more irritability, anxiety, mood swings, all the things we don't want.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm not saying that we need a load up on carbs.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: Carbs naturally come into our diet without having to try very hard.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: So if we focus on fruits and vegetables and legumes and whole grains, then we are getting what we need from what was put on our earth for us to consume in order to function properly.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: So carbohydrates are actually a non-negotiable.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: They're not the enemy.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: Restriction is the enemy.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: The right carbs at the right times do support your brain and your mood and your energy and your metabolism.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, moving on to the next area where I see women getting tripped up a lot.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: They're either skipping breakfast or they're not eating very many meals throughout the day.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they're not like intentionally dieting or fasting or whatever, but they just are not getting around to eating very much throughout the day.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: So I want to just share that if it's true that we need about 100 grams of protein in our day, it is very hard to fit that in, as well as the amount of fiber that we need and the amount of colors and vegetables and antioxidants, all the things, right?
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's almost impossible to get the amount that we need in just a couple meals throughout the day.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: And if we were to sit down even in three meals and try to get what it is that we need in order to fuel our bodies, it's probably more food than you actually want to eat at one sitting.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: So what I recommend is eating anywhere from four to six times throughout the day.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: You can call them meals, you can call them snacks, feeding windows, whatever works for you.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: But the point is that you're fueling your body every couple hours, every two and a half to maybe three hours.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: When you spread your food out throughout the day, then you can actually fit in all the protein that you need without feeling stuffed.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, your body can only process about 25 to 40 grams of protein at a time in order for muscle protein synthesis to happen.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: So eating every few hours allows you to distribute the protein throughout the day.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: Second, eating regularly keeps your blood sugar stable.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: Research shows that when you skip breakfast, it leads to higher blood glucose concentrations throughout the afternoon and the evening.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: But when you eat every two and a half to three hours, you're going to avoid those energy crashes and the mood swings and the cravings that come from blood sugar roller coasters.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: And third, it just makes life easier.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: So you're not walking around starving, making poor decisions because you're desperate for food.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: You're not overeating at meals because you waited way too long between eating.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: So it doesn't have to mean that you're sitting down to six full meals at a time.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: But it might look like breakfast around 7, mid-morning snack around 10, lunch is maybe 12:30, afternoon snack around 3:30, dinner around 6:30.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're up late, maybe even an evening snack around 8:30.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: These are not like prescriptions.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not telling you this is exactly what to do to be healthy, but I'm just giving you an idea what it might look like to spread out your feeding windows throughout the day to give yourself the opportunity to get what we need from protein to color to fiber and give your body what it needs.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: So the reframe here is that more frequent eating isn't grazing or lack of discipline.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's actually strategic fueling that supports your metabolism, your muscle, and your energy.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: Next up is this hesitation to adopt food prep.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I hear this all the time.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: I just don't have time to food prep.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: I hate cooking, I don't want to spend hours in the kitchen.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: But the truth is, if you leave it up to, oh, I'll just figure something out in the moment, there are two things that happen.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: Number one, you'll be starving, you'll have no food prepped, and so you'll grab whatever's easiest and fastest.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: Usually that's processed, not very nutrient-dense food that doesn't necessarily align with your nutrition goals.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: Or scenario number two, you're not hungry at all because your metabolism has slowed down so much that your body is no longer efficiently using its fuel.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: This is not a win.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: It's not good that you're not hungry.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: This is your body going into conservation mode and holding on to every calorie because it doesn't trust that more food is coming.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: So the solution here, it doesn't have to mean you're doing some complicated process in the kitchen that takes you hours and hours, but it does mean that you are committed to setting yourself up for success.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: And it could be as simple as buying pre-chopped veggies, getting a rotisserie chicken, keeping hard-boiled eggs in the fridge, having protein powder on hand, stocking frozen vegetables and canned beans and maybe some precooked proteins.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: The point is you need a plan.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: You need food that is ready to go.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: Because when you're hungry and you're tired and you're stressed, you will not make good food choices.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: You will make the easiest decision.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't have to be complicated, but it does have to be done.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: Even if you're not actively like cooking or even chopping something, but you are thinking ahead to stick a protein bar in your purse before you leave to go out for the entire day of running errands, then that can be considered food prep.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: Ideally, we're eating more whole foods and we are doing some prep ourselves, but I just want to reiterate here having a plan is strategic and setting yourself up for success is so smart.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: The other thing that I see is women just feeling so overwhelmed by all of the conflicting information about nutrition, whether it's keto and paleo and vegan and intermittent fasting and macro counting and intuitive eating.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: So we get stuck.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: And then we think because we're not doing one of those quote unquote diets, then we must need to overhaul everything.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: And we must need to start fresh with a new meal plan and new recipes and new supplements and then that feeling of overwhelm it keeps you stuck because you you're just gonna keep doing what you've always done, even though it's not working, because you don't really know where to begin with all the mess of information that you're getting.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: But the truth is we don't need to do everything.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: We just need to do the right next thing with baby steps and then overhaul our life over the course of, I don't know, months or even a year.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: So how do we move from eating quote unquote pretty well to actually fueling our bodies, feeling good, having energy, maintaining muscle, and setting ourselves up to age well over the next decades.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: Well, let's start with what you don't need to do.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: You don't need to overhaul everything at once.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: That is what's gonna keep you feeling overwhelmed and stuck.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: Instead, we need to take baby steps and focus on one thing at a time.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_00: We need to build on what's working before adding the next piece.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: So we start with protein, just protein.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: You learn how much you need, where to get it, how to prep it, how to fit it into your day, and you practice this until it feels easy and automatic.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: I encourage you to go back to episode five, how to eat for energy and confidence without tracking, dieting, or restricting.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: And inside of that episode, I go over the four by four method, and that is exactly how you can start with focusing on protein.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_00: From there, I would recommend really dialing in that breakfast.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: How can we get in a solid, blood sugar stabilizing, protein-rich, fiber-rich breakfast that is satisfying to you?
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: Because once you figure that out and you practice it and you repeat it and it becomes part of your routine, then from there, we can move on to optimizing lunch and dinner and snacks one step at a time, one week at a time.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: So let me paint a picture of what this eventually looks like.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: When you're eating every two and a half to three hours throughout the day, maybe four to six different feeding windows might look something like this.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: 7 a.m., breakfast.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: We've got 25 to 30 grams of protein, some quality carbs, and some healthy fats.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: So, for example, maybe we're having a couple of eggs and some Greek yogurt with some berries and some almond butter.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: Then around 10 a.m., we're gonna have a mid-morning snack with protein.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_00: So this could look like an easy protein shake with maybe 20 grams of protein.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_00: For lunch, maybe this is around 12:30 or one.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: We've got 25 to 30 grams maybe of protein.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe you went ahead and grilled up some chicken over the weekend.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: You batch prepped a whole bunch of veggies, so you're just gonna throw those together with half a sweet potato, and that would be a really well-balanced, high fiber, high protein lunch.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: Around 3:30, it's time for your afternoon snack.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe we've got some cottage cheese with some veggies and hummus.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_00: Around 6:30, we're gonna eat dinner.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: And notice if you had a filling meal, a snack at 3:30, then when you're fixing dinner around 5:30, you are not starving.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: You're actually just fine.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: You're not ravenous because you actually fueled your body and you know that another meal is coming pretty soon.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: So then at 6:30, maybe we're having salmon and a different veggie than you had at lunch with maybe some quinoa and some beans.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: And that is a full day right there.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_00: If by 9 p.m.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: you're still awake and you're getting a little hungry, you have something else.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: My favorite go-to in the evening is a protein pudding.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: So I make my protein powder into pudding and I add a little bit of almond butter on top.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: It is delicious.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: Otherwise, I might have some fruit or a handful of nuts.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_00: But throughout the day, you've consumed, if you followed that, around 100 grams of protein.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: You've gotten plenty of fiber from fruits and vegetables and whole grains.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_00: You've gotten in your quality fats from maybe some avocado and some olive oil and some almond butter, and you've got some carbohydrates like your oatmeal and your sweet potato and your quinoa at dinner.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: And what happens is your brain is functioning, your muscles are not deteriorating, you're not starving, you're actually fueling strategically.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: But all of this is not going to happen overnight.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: You build this routine one step at a time, and typically with support and guidance because you're just not really sure where to begin.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: So let me recap what we have covered today, the mistakes that I see women making and the reframes that are going to help us really go from feeling stuck and frustrated to feeling empowered and energized.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: So the first mistake was just not eating enough total calories.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_00: Either we're restricting or fasting, or we're just trying not to quote unquote eat too much.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_00: But the reframe is that food is fuel and your body in midlife needs more support, not less.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: So when we restrict, we're slowing down our metabolism and we're breaking down our muscle.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: The second mistake is not getting enough protein.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: Protein is not optional.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: You need about 100 grams per day to maintain your muscle, to keep your metabolism running, and to ensure that you can stay independent as you age for as long as possible.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: The next mistake is skipping or skimping out on breakfast.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: So breakfast really sets the stage for stable blood sugar and energy all day long.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: Your mom was right.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: The next mistake is trying to cram everything into a couple of meals throughout the day.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's just too much, right?
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: So eating four to six times per day, maybe every two and a half to three hours, makes it way easier to hit your nutrient goals and keep your energy stable.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_00: The next one is just not planning or prepping any food.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: So when you're hungry and you're stressed, you are not going to make great decisions.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_00: You're going to make easy decisions.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_00: So make healthy food the fast food by planning ahead.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_00: And finally, feeling overwhelmed and trying to overhaul everything at once is keeping you stuck.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: So we have to instead take baby steps, one thing at a time.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_00: Build on what's working before you add in the next piece.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: The bottom line in midlife, eating pretty well isn't good enough.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: We need intention and strategy and a step by step plan.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: So where do you go from here?
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: So you might be thinking, Joan, this sounds great, but I have no idea how to actually implement this in my life.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_00: This is exactly why I created the Midlife Glow Up, my eight-week group coaching program.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's specifically designed for women over 40 who are overwhelmed by nutrition and ready to stop waiting for someday, and they're ready to take control of their health.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_00: Someday is never gonna come unless we make it happen.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_00: And you deserve to feel amazing right now, not at some mythical point in the future when everything is perfect.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_00: So here is just a quick overview of how the program works.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_00: You get to choose your track inside of our eight weeks based on where you are right now and what you need the most support in.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_00: So the fitness track is for you if you are not currently lifting weights at least two times per week and hitting all the major muscle groups.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: We start with baby steps.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_00: I'm talking really manageable, doable movements, and we progress over the eight weeks.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_00: Remember what we talked about.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: We need adequate protein for muscle maintenance.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_00: You also need to be using those muscles through resistance training in order for your bone density and for your metabolism and maintaining muscle mass.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: I know that it can feel very overwhelming.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: So that's why inside of the fitness track, we break it down step by step, week by week.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: The nutrition track is for you.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: If you see the value in focusing on getting your nutrition dialed in.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_00: And here's what I love about this track: we don't overwhelm by a complete nutrition overhaul on day one.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: Each week we focus on one specific thing.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_00: So week one, we're focusing on sufficient protein as your singular focus.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_00: Not everything, we're just focusing on the protein.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: So we break it down exactly how much you need, where to get it, how to prep it, how to fit it into your meals and your snacks throughout the day with the four by four method.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: Week two, we dial in breakfast.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: So this is where we're thinking more about not just the protein, but we're adding fiber and we're adding antioxidants.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm gonna give you recipes and strategies and things that you can make ahead of time so that everything is laid out for you and all you have to do is apply it to your actual life.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: Week three, we move on to lunch, same process.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: We simplify it, we strategize it, we make it doable, and we continue this way, building on what you've already mastered until by the end of eight weeks, you have a solid routine that you can continue for life.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_00: This is not a diet that you white knuckle your way through.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: This is actually a lifestyle that feels sustainable.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_00: And you'll walk away with tons of recipes, ones that you've actually tried and know work for you and your family, strategies that fit your real life, not some perfect version of it.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_00: You'll have habit tracking tools to help you stay consistent long term.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_00: You'll be part of a community of women who are facing a lot of the same challenges as you.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_00: They're in the same season of life.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_00: They get it, so you're not alone.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_00: And most importantly, you will walk away with the confidence that you can maintain this because you built it one intentional step at a time.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_00: This is not about perfection.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_00: It's not about restriction.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's just about giving your body what it needs to thrive today and for years to come.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_00: So if you are ready to move from pretty well to, gosh, I feel incredible, I want you to DM me on Instagram at JonesFitZone with the words glow up.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll send you all the details about the program, including how to join the next cohort that starts soon.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: And currently we are in the pre-sale phase, and I'm offering$100 off if you lock your spot in before February 17th.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_00: I know that you are putting in the effort.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_00: You are trying.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_00: But effort without strategy is just gonna leave you exhausted and spinning your wheels.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: It is time to get intentional.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's time to have a strategy.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_00: It's time to execute the plan one week at a time with support every step of the way.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_00: I hope hearing some of these mistakes and some of the reframes was helpful today.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_00: If anything stood out to you or you just want to share an aha moment that you had, head over to Instagram at Jones Fitzone and send me a message.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_00: I would love to hear from you.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening, my friend.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, progress over perfection and consistency over intensity.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, keep growing, keep glowing, and bye for now.