Latest / Two Girls and a Cup of Wellness / Exercise After Breast Cancer: Making Fitness Fun with Carly Fauth | Ep 15
Transcript
- Crissy Florio: Welcome back for another two girls and a couple wellness conversation. This is Chrissy and I'm Marie and today as you know, we have the amazing Carly with us and ⁓ This this beam of light ⁓ Just I have so much to say and I will try to refrain from just blabbering but Carly Fauth: ⁓ thanks. Crissy Florio: never, but I was introduced to Carly a couple of years ago. I think a couple of years ago now, maybe a year and a half. Carly Fauth: Yeah, I like lose track of time, but yeah, think it was like a year and a half. Yeah. Crissy Florio: Yeah, ⁓ through a mutual friend. And our friend just reached out to me and she said, you just you have to meet Carly. I think the two of you guys would just get along so well. have so much in common and you just have to meet. So she put us together. And it was just that the moment that we got on the phone and I think it was a zoom, we just. Carly Fauth: Yep. Crissy Florio: were, yes, this is such a beautiful connection. And now we're coming kind of full circle because Carly too is her own podcast host and had me on her podcast ⁓ a while back. And so I'm so excited to have you now on our podcast and introduce you to Marie and get to also introduce you and have everybody in our community learn to love you like I do. Carly Fauth: ⁓ what a nice introduction. And I think it's important to point out that this is meant to be because the person that introduced us, I actually have not seen or talked to in probably 42 years. So this is just somebody that was like, must have the old connection and put us together. So I think that's even another layer of the story that makes it really nice is because it's not somebody that I even talk to that much anymore. Crissy Florio: Thank Wow. Wow. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, no, absolutely. So Carly is in Boston and she shows up in social media so beautifully with all of her posts and social media content around fitting fitness in and having fun while doing it and making it, putting it in a way that is so obtainable for people who will have that excuse, ⁓ I don't have time. And you put the BS and the BS behind that. ⁓ Carly Fauth: Yeah Yeah, yeah, that's I think I'm on a mission to redefine exercise because I think it's become something in our culture that everyone likes to talk about. And there's so many things on social media. I'm sure all of your listeners have seen them. It can be a little overwhelming of what you should be doing and what you shouldn't be doing, depending on your time of your life or where you're going through. And I think sometimes it can cause people to just freeze and always feel like they're doing it wrong. So my goal is to help people fit in fitness during their day so that it becomes more of their lifestyle and I'm not saying going to the gym for those longer workouts is bad, that's great, but how can we incorporate more movement throughout our day so it just becomes something we do and something that we like to do instead of looking at it like something else you have to add to your to-do list because we're all busy. Yep, yep, yeah. That's exact or push-ups, counter push-ups while you're waiting for your pasta to boil or your coffee to brew, there's a million things you can do. Crissy Florio: Yeah, like something that you have to do, right? So are we gonna do lunges while we're vacuuming? Squats for the laundry. Yeah, that's for real. And she does post those on her Instagram. And it's so cute. The videos are so they always make me smile. And she's doing squats while she's getting her coffee in a coffee parking lot or she's doing push ups on her counter. I would make the girls in the clinic jump up and do squats. I'm like everybody 50 squats and they look on Maria's squad. Carly Fauth: I do. ⁓ Thanks. Yeah, that's really what I'm known for. Yes. Yes, it's so important because it's not really just for your body, but it's more importantly that quick win is for your brain. So in a setting like that, like asking your nurses to do it, I mean, it's a quick refresh for everybody. Makes you feel better. Crissy Florio: Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. So when did your fitness journey begin? Carly Fauth: ⁓ I have thought a lot about that over the, that, well, I guess I was creating this method and then I was trying to figure out what it is that I liked to do, helping people get connected to fitness. And I think it started back when I was in second grade. I went for, my dad was a runner and I got these, like, it's not like I didn't have sneakers, but you know, I don't know. I had this babysitter that would always give me hand me downs and it was like a big thrilling thing. Cause I thought she was so cool. And there were a pair of running sneakers in the hand me down back that were like two sizes too big. and my dad was going out for a run and I was like, I'm gonna go for a run too. And I went one time around the block and I remember the sound of the sneakers like hitting the pavement like it was like a smack because they were too big. And I got back and I felt so good. And that was the first thing ⁓ that even as a little kid I was like, I feel better. like feel happier. I feel like accomplished. I can't believe I made it around the block and I didn't stop. So I think that was my first clue to how good exercise could make you feel without attaching it to any kind of like, and the part like wanting to look better in my body. That wasn't even a thing. It was just, I enjoyed it. So fast forward, I played sports. I really Crissy Florio: Mmm. Carly Fauth: liked athletics, I liked exercise, I've always been consistent and connected to it, but I thought that I should get a real ⁓ job. so I was in marketing and advertising and all these things. And then I started teaching fitness as a side hustle. And I really realized like that was my calling because Took a little while for me to go, but I started to gain a real big following and I was teaching something. I got my certification in bar and I and I people would be shocked to know this, but I don't even like bar. But it was like the first thing that was offered to me. I'm like, OK, I'll do it. I was eight months pregnant at the time and I thought, well, if I'm terrible at it, I'll just blame it on the fact that I'm a bit as big as a house and then no one will think any less of me. But I did it. And then I just developed a following with this bar thing. ⁓ And I realized it wasn't the. Crissy Florio: Mmm. I love that. Carly Fauth: thing I was teaching it was the seeing the light bulb go on and people's faces that like Carly's class is fun like exercise can be fun. I feel so good. So. That's how the whole thing started. And then I realized that I didn't, I got certified in a whole bunch of different things, but I was like, it's not the thing, it's helping people get connected. So that's how I came up with this method of really like taking a deep dive to people, with people to find out what they like to do and how they can incorporate more into their life. Like what's fun to them? What did they like to do as a kid? And then I developed this 15 minute method because I was working with a lot of really busy people who were telling me they didn't have time to exercise. And I was like, you have time, you have 15 minutes. And it was working. It was a stackable amount of time. It made sense to people. So that is how I got started. And then I was diagnosed with cancer and realized my method could really help me and did help me stay connected to exercise throughout that journey. Crissy Florio: Mm-hmm. What year was your diagnosis? Carly Fauth: 2024, very dark day in February and my kids were coming home from school. Crissy Florio: ⁓ wow. Mmm. Yeah. Carly Fauth: It always happens. I got the call as they were walking in the door from the doctor and they were like, you have cancer. my friend, my son, my youngest son had a friend with them and I was just like, ⁓ of course it's right now. Yeah, very dark day. But I was like, this can be the dark day, but I got to turn the light back on. that became my mission to turn the light back on for myself and try to show people how they could turn their light back on through fitness and exercise mostly. Crissy Florio: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And how did you incorporate your fitness in your cancer journey? And how do you feel that it truly helped you get through on the other side? Carly Fauth: Well, first of all, we were talking about the great care doctors in Boston. And I am very thankful for everything Dana Farber did for me. And I love my surgeon. I don't think there is enough done as far as recovery or talking about fitness and rehabilitation in your body. I had a double mastectomy. I chose to go flat. It's still shocking to me that I was not offered physical therapy. one, you know, somebody just gave me a sheet and they said, this is what you can't do. Nobody told me what I could do. But because I knew my body so well from having this mind-body connection over so many years, Crissy Florio: I wasn't either. Thank Carly Fauth: And the doctor would tell me, don't do this and don't do that. was like, OK, I'll take ⁓ it with a grain of salt. But I know my body, and I know what I can start to do. I used my 50. That started the whole thing where I was like, I'm going to use my own method that I've been helping other people with to get myself back in shape. Because I knew 15 minutes was not a scary amount of time. It was low risk for injury, especially the way I teach things is just like meeting people where they're at. So I just started doing these 15 minute put together my own sets of like opening my chest and trying to get my hands up the wall. And like, I realized that that 15 minutes was so powerful because when I went back to my surgeon for my post surgery checkup. She was like, I've never seen someone heal so well. Like you're so open and your scars look great and you look great. And they like, what did you do? And I was like, I did exactly what you told me not to do. And she was like, ⁓ and I was like, yeah, I mean, I know my body. And she's like, she didn't really have anything to say. And I was just like, well, yeah, I just, was. Crissy Florio: I love that. Yeah. What do they say? It's unfortunate because in countries, several countries around the world, Sweden, New Zealand, they prescribe exercise as a treatment, but not here. You can't bill for that. And that's what I saw in primary care. The doctors would say, just do some exercise. Well, what does that mean? Just do some exercise. can't, but they're so focused on ICD codes and billing. It's very frustrating. And there's so many anti-inflammatory effects of exercise, especially post-surgery. Carly Fauth: That's the problem. Yes. very. And when I started chemo too, I remember going into my oncologist office because I had just started this business and it's just me. And I teach, I do the class with my students because I'm virtual. So I went in, was like, what is this gonna look like when she told me it was aggressive chemo and she laid it down exactly what it was gonna be like. And I said, should I quit my job? Will I be able to move? And she actually was very honest. She's like, don't know that much about exercise during cancer treatment. But here's a book that I just saw the author of the book speak, and there's a lot of research coming out about the importance of movement and exercise during cancer treatment. Why don't you read this book? And it was called Moving Through Cancer. And from the first page, ⁓ by Katie Schmidt. Crissy Florio: Hmm. Carly Fauth: Schmidt, yeah, have to, I think that's my brain, know, chemo brain, menopause brain, anyway. ⁓ So from the first page, I was like, it resonated with me so well, because she was telling these stories about these people who did exercise through cancer. And I was like, okay, here's my roadmap. And she even, I think she said 10 minutes, but I was like, okay, 15 minutes is mine. And I was like, I can do this. I don't know what it's going to look like. All I can do is try, but I am going to... Crissy Florio: Yeah. Carly Fauth: make sure I move at least 15 minutes a day. I'm gonna continue teaching. I'm be honest. I'm gonna tell people exactly what I'm doing. And I was able to exercise every single day through my cancer treatment. Even when I was like, I had some severe, like I had painful neuropathy on my feet, still moved. ⁓ I never missed a day of teaching and I never missed a day of exercise because the 15 minutes was like, if I can just get up, put my sneakers on and go for a walk for 15 minutes. That's my goal. And most, would say 90 % of the time I could go for 15 minutes more. It was just that initial get out the door. was like a building block and it was like my anchor. So I set off on this experiment to show people like what can be done when you're going through aggressive cancer treatment that makes you wanna put your head over the toilet. I had no hair, I had no boobs. I looked like a walking lollipop. I just had this big head that would go like this. And that was my goal, was just to try to help people. And it ended up helping me so much more than I ever realized, not only physically, because I was able to hold on to some of my muscle that was being taken away, but mentally. Like it prevented me from going down the rabbit hole on many days where I could have easily slid down. Crissy Florio: Yeah, mean, kind of creating a sense of normalcy, right? And being able to do the things that make you happy and that you find joy in and that you love doing. A cancer diagnosis for a lot of people will strip that from them. And some people, know, the woe is me people will make that an excuse. ⁓ I'm going through treatment. I don't feel good. And I know I did definitely a few times as well, right? Where I was just like, I just, I can't get out of bed, right? Carly Fauth: That was my normal. Mm-hmm. Crissy Florio: But to be able to make the decision for showing up for yourself day in, day out, even on the days where you feel at your lowest or at your worst, definitely changes. It sparks something kind of in your mindset and just that emotional piece to it as well. And so it's so beautiful and so inspiring that you're able to share that. Carly Fauth: Mm. ⁓ thank you. Yeah, I feel like it was like there's so much about the cancer experience that you have no control over. I mean, you're given this diagnosis. You have literally no control over what the cancer is going to do to your body, what the treatment is going to be like. But I was like, where is the controllable? Because I am a control freak. I was like my exercise and my fitness and my resilience and my mental health. Crissy Florio: Yeah. Carly Fauth: I have a little bit more control over that than I do the rest of the cancer stuff. So I'm just going to hold on tight and I'm going to hold on to that and control the controllables because that made me feel more settled in the situation. Crissy Florio: Absolutely. And there's a lot of research about exercise with depression and mindset, serotonin increase, dopamine, norepinephrine. But that's interesting. I'm definitely going to look at that book. Yeah, for sure. Add it to my stack of 100. Carly Fauth: Yep. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Yep. It's a great, it was my Bible for, I was just like, ⁓ it can be done. Like, I'm not crazy by thinking this, because I get a lot of people, like they push the rest thing all the time. doctors, nurses, the on-call nurse during the weekend, when I would call and ask a question, the first thing was like, Carly, have you heard of rest? And I wanted to throw the phone across the room. I was like, Crissy Florio: Yeah, that's great. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Carly Fauth: Goodbye. Like just tell me, is this something to be concerned about? Yes or no. And if no, please stop talking to me and stop talking about rest. Yeah. Crissy Florio: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. mean, gosh, when we when going through a cancer diagnosis, I know for me in the beginning, I too was the same way. was like, I don't know how my body is going to react to the chemo. And I had surgery after I had chemo first and then double mastectomy and reconstruction. But when I was going through chemo, I think there's a misconception out there where you're just going to feel like crap all day long every day as you're getting it. And it's actually not really that way. I mean, you feel kind of icky the first couple of days. ⁓ Then you may have kind of a stretch of time that you feel okay. Maybe not at your best, but definitely not at your worst. But then it's like time to get ready to go to the next chemo. And each chemotherapy, I had six. each one kind of that timeframe of not really feeling good expanded a little bit longer with each each time. But I just told people I still get up and I move my body. go for walks. I will do my yoga. And some days my yoga looks more like yin and breathwork and meditation. And some days my yoga looks more like true vinyasa style yoga where I'm feeling strong and I can do things. And some days I would lift weights and I would just listen to my body. and do what I could every day. And it seems like you're teaching the same thing, but I just, still love the 15 minutes. just like, love it. Carly Fauth: It's just like, it's not only for cancer patients, it's for anybody who has lost their confidence or wants to add a little bit more strength training and then they feel like they don't have the time or they don't feel confident about it. It's just, it's a stackable amount of time and most of the time, like I said before, 15 leads to 15 minutes more. Crissy Florio: Mm-hmm. Carly Fauth: And it's just something that doesn't seem to stress people's brains out. It sort of becomes a game too, to see how many times you can fit 15 minutes. And then it could be anything, like you said, Chrissy, it could be yoga, it could be a walk, it could be strength training. There's so many ways to move your body. I think the more we can really explore those things and get away from social media with telling us what we should, yes, we all know women of a certain age should be strength training. We get it, we got it. But it doesn't have to look like power lift, Crissy Florio: Yeah. Carly Fauth: and it doesn't mean you can't do hit. It's just like, inform yourself, look at like, look at the stats, inform yourself of like what the true basic guidelines are and then see what you like and then filter out the noise because there's always gonna be somebody telling you you're doing it wrong or you're not doing enough or you need the weighted vest or the... Crissy Florio: Yeah. Do this. The weight of this thing cracks me up. Carly Fauth: latest and greatest supplement. can't, I like, I can't. just, I am like, I want to bang my head against the wall. I'm like, you are making this so complicated. Can we go back to the basics, please? It's just moving your body. Crissy Florio: You Right. Well, when you think about it like that, when you put it into that perspective, in my brain, it's coming back to intuition. Hello. When you are just scrolling through Instagram or social media and you're looking at all of these videos and your feed is flooded with all of the things that you should or should not be doing, it's pulling you away from really, truly understanding what your body needs. Carly Fauth: Yes. Mm-hmm. Crissy Florio: intuitively making decisions what feels right for you. For me, you'll never see me run. Running is not my jam. I would much rather power walk all day long, which I walk really fast and I can probably walk faster than she really does. And she talks just as fast as she runs while she's rolling, because it is almost a runner walk. And I remember I have the best picture of my dog passed out on the couch after a walk with Chrissy for like 45 minutes. Carly Fauth: Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Eugh! you will have to walk together because I'm 5'11", I have long legs and I'm fast so people, don't even think I'm walking fast and everyone's like, are you so happy? Yeah. Crissy Florio: If we do that, I'm bringing my roller blades. Yes. Okay, so I have a question. So we are going to be speaking to a group of moms coming up very, very soon, both of us, their mothers are preschoolers. And I remember when I had those three kids when they were little, I mean, I still have my three kids with their teens, but when they were little, it's crazy. Sometimes you don't even get out of your pajamas. Give some practical tips that you would suggest a mom who's tired, exhausted, you know, maybe living on a little bit of goldfish that we can share with our group. Carly Fauth: Yeah. Yeah! Yeah, I think especially for new moms, I mean, if it's a baby and the baby's not moving yet is to just make incorporate even five minutes. Like if the baby goes down for a nap yesterday, I you're supposed to rest when the baby's resting. But maybe you do like break it down to like the bare minimums 20 squats. Come up with something come up with some exercises that you don't mind doing. That's the first thing. Like if you hate burpees, please don't add burpees to the thing that they are your list or you're not going to do it. So maybe you don't mind squats and Crissy Florio: Mm-hmm. Right. Carly Fauth: and you don't mind jumping jacks and you don't mind a plank. Build your own little set and then create based around your schedule of your kids when you can fit your little sequence in, whether it be like you're gonna set a timer for five minutes and cycle through a certain amount of exercises or maybe even longer, whatever time you have, or, and try to attach it to something that you already do. So I make the joke about the coffee. I'm always gonna make my coffee in the morning. So that's a habit that's already established. So what other habits do you have that are already established? Brushing your teeth is another great one. And then attach your movement sequence to that. Because if you stack it on top of that, number one, it's gonna be easier for you to remember. And it's gonna become something that you do consistently because consistency is the name of the game. mean, 10 squats or 15 squats is not going to do much for you unless you continuously find a way to do 10 to 15 squats. So I think that's one you can do when your kids are really little. But then when your kids get older, I always say like, Crissy Florio: Mm-hmm. Carly Fauth: Kids love to move. Your exercise does not have to look like a gym session. You can turn on some music with your kids and dance around the living room. That counts as cardio. You can add some, I keep going back to squats, but any kind of strength training you can do, you can add that to that. Go to the, I actually used to do this. I would take my son to the playground, depending on his age. When he was younger, they were shorter. But when he was older, if he had a friend, I could have my eyes on him. I'd go off in the corner and I had a Tabata timer and I'd build my set. Crissy Florio: Bye Carly Fauth: And I keep it very simple, like squat jumps, jumping jacks, or whatever it is. And I do my little workout in the corner and watch him play. You're setting a great example for your kids. And you're also getting what you need to be a better mom. Because I think women in general, and especially moms, put themselves second. And if you start that when your kids are little and you never come out of it, it's just going to get worse and worse as the kids get older. Because we all know it gets harder as the kids get older. We think it's not. We think it's so hard. Crissy Florio: ⁓ yeah. ⁓ does. I am dealing with that now. Carly Fauth: ⁓ it does. So if you start that, if you take the time yourself and start building it in, that will continue as long as you're consistent with it and you start feeling how good it feels in other aspects of your life to be able to take care of yourself, even in small increments. think we just got to get away, like I said before, of like, I didn't get to the gym today. Great. You didn't get to the gym. So you still have your body in your house and you could still do things. Think outside the box, work it into what you already do. Crissy Florio: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Carly Fauth: And be creative, like just get comfortable with a couple of movements and build around that. Crissy Florio: And one thing that I always say to either my clients or people that I'm just chatting with that are asking what I do and, ⁓ I just can't get into the rhythm of working out or whatever. I'm always like, just once you do a workout or move your body in any way, whatever that looks like for you, remember how you feel afterwards. You always feel so good. then there's a blockage of why you don't make it a habit. Carly Fauth: Yes. Crissy Florio: Right. And I always just say, well, just remember how good you feel and let that decision and that feeling pull you into doing it and making it more of a daily habit. And with these helpful tips of just doing small things, like playing the ball with the kids, right? Running after them, playing chase with them, even when if your kids are little, picking your kids up and putting them in the swing and doing certain things, that's all movement and it adds up. Carly Fauth: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. They are very... That carrier, that car seat carrier, remember that's like dupes with bicep curls. Yeah, I love that you brought that up because when I work with clients too, I'm like, I think we need to get away. When I'm saying find the joy in exercise and fitness, I'm not saying you're going to go into a workout thinking, ⁓ my gosh, this is so fun. I'd rather be doing this than anything. I'm not saying that. I'm saying you're going to get... It's fun because of the joy you feel when you're done. Crissy Florio: And those kids are heavy to lift. I lifted a toddler the other day and I said, oh my gosh. Oh, yes. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Carly Fauth: and you're not going to be motivated to do it unless you take the action, motivation doesn't happen. Momentum needs to happen before you feel the motivation. So if you're expecting like waiting for it be motivated, it's not going to happen. Momentum leads to motivation. It's like a car. Like if your car is stalled and you go try to push the car all by yourself from a stopped position, it is so hard. But what would happen if somebody came and gave it a little head start? Crissy Florio: Hmm, that's good. momentum? Thank Carly Fauth: and then you joined in to push it. It's much easier because you have the momentum of the wheels. Yeah, that's exactly right. That's how I came up with it. was like, oh yeah, it's like a cartoon. Crissy Florio: All I see is like the Fred Flintstones. That's great though, because you always think lack of motivation. I love that. Love it. I'm stealing it. Right. And a lot of people, when they start ⁓ down this path of working out and fitness and health and overall wellness, unfortunately, they attach it to an outcome. I have to lose this weight. I have to lose inches on my waist. I got to fit into these clothes. And while that Carly Fauth: Motivation, you're not going to be motivation. You're not going to find it. You're not going to find it. Mm-hmm. Crissy Florio: I'm not saying it's a bad thing, right? We do want to have goals, but when the attachment becomes expectation and you get to that point and then you're like, okay, great, I'm good now. And then you stop again, rather than allowing your goals to also keep you in the present moment. Carly Fauth: Yep. Crissy Florio: of what it is that you're doing and the joy that it brings you. And then yes, of course, the losing the weight and feeling better and all of these things are great, but the expectation or the attachment to the outcome pulls you away from the present moment and what you're doing right then and there. Carly Fauth: Yes. Yeah, and I think especially as we get older from perimenopause and menopause, that becomes a real problem too, because a lot of the work that women are doing that is so good for them, like the strength training, it might not show up on the scale. Like I just wish everyone would throw out their scale. ⁓ Crissy Florio: Yeah, totally changes. Carly Fauth: Yeah, I think your body, I did a reel on this yesterday where I had a client who said she was so frustrated because she tried on a dress that she had for five years. And the last time she tried it on, it was a little big. And now she put it on and she couldn't zip it, but she's been eating well and exercising and she looks great. And she was so like defeated and deflated. And I was like, keep in mind that Just because you can't zip up the dress does not mean you've gained this exorbitant amount of weight. Your body shifts where it holds things. So maybe your boobs have gotten bigger or your hips are not like you're storing the, have more belly fat just because things are just distributed. Crissy Florio: Mm-hmm. Distributed. Distributed. Carly Fauth: distributed. ⁓ my goodness. ⁓ Yeah, you know, it's put in different places. So the fact you can't zip up the dress, maybe just because that style of dress does not fit the new body you have, don't abandon ship. The work that we're doing, especially as we get older, is so important for the inside. And we have so much, we put so much importance on the outside. And again, I'm not saying that's not important. We all want to feel pretty. But the inside, Crissy Florio: Yeah. Yeah. We don't. We don't. Carly Fauth: The amount of clients I have that go and get like ultrasounds of things and the doctors are like, holy cow, what have you been doing? Like you look amazing on the inside. The work shows up on the inside first. And if we can attach exercise to how we are feeling, like you said before, as the most important thing, the rest will come. It just might take a little bit longer, but we have to be patient with ourselves. And listen, you don't get the days back, the days where you feel crappy in your body, like, And whatever you believe in, God, the universe doesn't say, ⁓ you felt bad that day about yourself. I'm going to give you an extra day. That's your day. Like, don't waste it feeling so bad about yourself because you don't get it back. And that's why I think it's so powerful that if we can just attach the feeling, it becomes so much easier to come back to. Crissy Florio: Yeah. Yeah, I love that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I tell patients too, as we get older, it's not about, we're not going to look at the Kardashians, not that I even want them, but I don't want to. I'm just saying that, you we look at these people and you want this body. I want, I don't want osteoporosis. I want nice, good looking organs. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. I want to be strong. The days of me wanting to be skinny just aren't. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and like I said, our bodies do change and shift, you know, as we're all kind of in that, that Carly Fauth: We're not, and do you really want to? Like, I'm like, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I want to be strong. No! Yeah. Crissy Florio: time of our lives when we're perimenopause and menopause talk is everywhere. Apparently I'm in menopause. ⁓ My doctor told me, I was like, ⁓ okay. Thank you, chemo. think chemo just put me on the fast track of that. Yeah. Appreciate you. But so talking to that part of our community, because I think our community is a full range of different types of women and ages, but kind of talking to ⁓ Carly Fauth: Yep. Chemo does a lot of things. It gives a lot of presence. Yep. Mm-hmm. Crissy Florio: the older part of the community, what would be some things and tips that you could provide to someone who is dealing with some either perimenopause or menopausal symptoms that just kind of don't, that are making them not feel like themselves? Carly Fauth: It's so hard. I feel like I deal with this kind of thing and with myself too. And again, it's going back to understanding that what is happening in your body is like it's biology. like it's your it's in your body. It's not you failing. It doesn't mean you're out of shape. It doesn't mean you are doing something wrong because I think that's the first thing that happens, especially to women, old women who are reaching that age who have done things a certain way for years and it's always work for them and then all of a sudden it's not so you immediately think that you're doing it wrong and that there's something wrong with you. I think the first step is to realize that all women go through this. Every single person is going to go through it a little bit differently and again it goes back to trying to use exercise as a way to feel better and I advise I just did a keynote workshop and the topic was like explaining exactly what's happening in your body from perimenopause and menopause and how the pressure to workout and exercise can be so overwhelming. So I gave tips just like we did for the new moms or how you can get up from your chair during your work day and add a little bit more in and focus on the way you feel. Crissy Florio: Yeah. Carly Fauth: after you do it. And I even have, anytime I do a talk, I have people get up and move, usually before we have to do the thinking part. And then when we sit back down, I say to them, like, are you ready to think now? And they're like, I never even realized how much movement helps my brain. So if we can start thinking about flexing the mental muscle and to get ourselves back into the enjoyment of it. And also the biggest tip I can give is Remember that just because you did something for 20 years doesn't mean you have to keep continuing to do it. It may not work for you anymore. That doesn't mean you can't do the thing. You might have to do it differently. So I'll use myself as an example. used to love HIIT workouts that like smacked me in the face and I'd be laying down panting like I like sweating. I like, it was like I like to be abused in a workout. And like that fed my soul. It energized me. And lately, I just like, I hate this. Like it doesn't, it leaves me depleted. I sense that for the rest of the day, because my cortisol levels are probably out of whack, that I'm nervous and I'm anxious. So what I realized is I still do like to do HIIT workouts. I just have to do more sit workouts. So sprint interval training, which means that you do the interval and the rest is equal to or more than the work. So it's not exhausting your body. My body can handle that better. I can push for 30 seconds knowing I'm going to have a minute off to recover. And then I can push really hard again. And when I'm done, I feel better in my body. I had the same feeling I used to for my HIIT workouts, but it feels like it's smarter. So I think, I think women of a certain age need to be more open-minded that there's so many ways, like I said before, to move your body. Maybe you move it to the water. Maybe you get into yoga or Pilates or Crissy Florio: Okay. Carly Fauth: I was a runner, now I really love run walking. Being open-minded and attaching your physical, like your self-confidence and your worth based on what you can do physically in a workout. I think there needs to be a whole shift. Bottom line, you need to be open-minded to change. It's a shift, it's a change and transitions are hard, always. But there are ways to transition. Yeah. Yeah. Crissy Florio: Yeah. And a check-in. And a daily check-in. Because even today, today, I was planning to go to 75-minute hot penhasa flow. And I woke up, and just the thought of being in the hot room and not depleted, I was like, no, I'd much rather really get a strong weight workout in my garage, go for a walk, be outside. And I'm finding that decision coming up more and more for me. My body is craving that a little bit more sometimes rather than being in the hot yoga room. But sometimes you crave the heat. I know I do. Yeah. And then sometimes I crave hot yoga. it's just a matter of taking a few moments, closing your eyes, maybe a few deep breaths and just checking in and what feels right in the line for me today to be able to move my body. Carly Fauth: Yeah, sometimes I do too. Yes, yeah, especially when it's cold. Yeah. I think it's that it's tuning in. And I'm glad you said that because I think too, like I used to exercise to tune out. I used to exercise to numb things that were bothering me. It was an escape. And now I'm finding that with this new way that I'm approaching exercise, I'm tuning in and I'm moving through it instead of trying to escape it. So if I'm feeling sad or nervous or... Crissy Florio: Alright. Carly Fauth: whatever, frustrated. I'm not trying to push the feelings down with the exercise. I'm trying to like move my body through it so that I can get through it and not, and it won't bother me in the same way it was doing before, because it's always going to come back. It's like you can shove it down, but it's going to pop up somewhere else. So why not use that in your form of exercise? And that comes in with tuning into what your body needs when you're feeling frustrated, when you're feeling sad, maybe on the days that you feel sad, you want the hot yoga room. I don't know. Crissy Florio: Mm-hmm. Carly Fauth: whatever works for you, but really tuning into what your body needs. And that is so important as we get older. And that's something that should be enjoyed. Also, the fact that like getting massages and going to acupuncture, I used to think that stuff was a luxury. And now I realize that I need it to be able to do what I wanna do. And I'm leaning the hell into it because I'm like, who doesn't wanna go for a massage? I'm like, this is great. I like getting older. Crissy Florio: Yeah, that's a necessity. Carly Fauth: I can do this stuff and not feel guilty about it. So finding those things that make you feel better about yourself and your situation. Crissy Florio: Yeah. Mm. Mm. I love that. I know. This was great, Carly. Yeah. You're wonderful. Carly Fauth: ⁓ thanks. I love talking to you guys. Because you totally get what I'm saying. Crissy Florio: I knew it. That's me. Yeah. I love it. And it's all about inspiring others and educating others and empowering them to make aligned choices to better themselves, to live the life that they deserve and to just be more conscious about what it is that they deserve. Carly Fauth: Yep. Mm-hmm. Yes. Yeah, that's what it's all about. It's just, and again, it's just listening and just like, I don't know, let's not complicate things so much. Let's just go back to the basics and really get, this is a time, especially for women, just addressing women like us, me, going through perimetropos and menopause. It's like, this is such an empowering time too, because this is a time for you to realize who you want in your life. Crissy Florio: Hmm. Carly Fauth: What do you want for the rest of your life? Who do you want to be? What are some goals you have? It's a time to reevaluate. That's the nice part of transitions. When you transition, you can discover new things about yourself, but you've got to be open to it. It's not going to be like a magic wand. You have to do a little of the work too. Mm-hmm. 100%. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it's great. We're redefining perimenopause and menopause. That's what we're doing. Yep. Crissy Florio: Mm-hmm. Right. And a lot of women are doing some great things. Yeah, yeah. this age. A lot of women, I know. Yeah. I know. all It's awesome. Yeah. mean, it's... We're... Yeah. That's right. That's right. I love this. Well, thank you so much, Carly, for sharing your light with us. Amazing. I have a feeling this isn't the last time you'll be I don't think so. We might have to make a trip to Boston. Carly Fauth: Thanks for having me guys. What a great conversation. I love and I want to have you guys on my podcast. I had Chrissy, but I want to have the both of you on. OK, good. Crissy Florio: Okay. Yes. Deal. Deal. I love it. Thank you, Carly. Yes. Thank you so much. And until next time, my friends, bye. Carly Fauth: Thank you guys.