The Flipping 50 Show

In these times natural remedies for immune boosting, hormone balancing, and gut repair are growing in number. This interview episode features a guest whose own health scare led her away from a corporate life My guest: Kristy Garnet (Cl.H., M.Sc.) is a Holistic Living Empowerment Mentor & Clinical Herbalist serving high achieving professionals in healing naturally with clear & customized recommendations that do not sacrifice grace or luxury. Having been in the corporate world for nearly 20 years, Kristy understands the demands a career puts on her clients’ health & personal life. She offers corporate executives, business owners, and "type As" a way out of the overwhelming "alternative" health & wellness world so that they can fully stand in their power to choose the most appropriate holistic approach for them, release emotional resistance, and balance a career with luxurious self-care so they can reach their goals with energy & ease. After a serious health scare in her 20s, Kristy started to discover the alternative health arena but was concerned she needed to give up the luxuries of modern life and the high-end lifestyle she enjoyed.  Questions we answer in this episode: You think luxury the missing link when it comes to holistic living & healing, can you say more about that? But first, let’s define luxury. How do natural remedies & mindset awareness empower healing? What are the results when you begin to embody luxury? Where do you think can people find more time and energy? Let’s explain the difference between treating symptoms and the root cause – and why it’s so important to distinguish your goal Your URL to send listeners: almandinewellness.com Social media links: @almandinewellness https://www.facebook.com/almandinewellness Holistic Living with Luxury January 10- 21 2022 Save Your Spot: https://www.Flippingfifty.com/kristy

Is the intermittent fasting lifestyle attractive to you? If you’re curious about it, new to it, or a raving fan of it, you’ll want to listen to this episode with author Gin Stephens. In the last few years the intermittent fasting lifestyle has caught the attention of all ages, both genders, health practitioners as well as the media. Used correctly under the right circumstances it can boost longevity, support better fat burning, and natural detox. Used inappropriately under the wrong circumstances it could backfire. How to know the difference? Listen in as we discuss the scenarios. Episode sponsor: After 50 Fitness Formula for Women Podcast listener special: Use code Podcast20 My Guest: Gin Stephens is the author of the NY Times and USA Today bestseller Fast. Feast. Repeat., and Delay, Don’t Deny: Living an Intermittent Fasting Lifestyle, an Amazon #1 best seller in the weight loss category, as well as Clean(ish): Eat (Mostly) Clean, Live (Mainly) Clean, and Unlock Your Body's Natural Ability to Self-Clean (2022). Gin has lived the intermittent fasting lifestyle since 2014, losing over 80 pounds. She is the host of 3 top-ranked podcasts: Intermittent Fasting Stories, The Intermittent Fasting Podcast (w/ Melanie Avalon), and the Life Lessons podcast (w/ Sheri Bullock). New Resource: Gin has a new book coming out in January 4, and available for preorder now: Clean(ish): Eat (Mostly) Clean, Live (Mainly) Clean, and Unlock Your Body’s Natural Ability to Self-Clean.  Gin splits her time between Augusta, Georgia and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where she lives with her husband and their three cats. Gin is also a mother to two adult sons (and she is thankful every day for the intermittent fasting lifestyle that makes her life easier). Questions we cover in this episode: Tell us about your own intermittent fasting journey. You were way ahead of the wave, what turned you on to IF? Explain the clean fast and why it matters. Why did you write Clean(ish)? What does it mean to live a Clean(ish) lifestyle? How does being Cleanish fit into an intermittent fasting lifestyle? Connect and follow: ginstephens.com IG: @GinStephens  

It’s that time of year! Time to countdown the top 10 Flipping50 Podcasts for Menopause Health & Fitness in 2021! It’s all based on your votes by downloads. All things considered, not a big deal. It does show I didn’t have a good vision. I couldn’t have imagined that we’d be approaching 2 million downloads or supporting a community of over 250,000 women in menopause. Many of you came from my YouTube channel, or Facebook or saw Flipping50TV episodes. Some of you “met” me from my TEDx talk. Wherever we met, I’m grateful – for you and for the stories you share, the questions you ask, that all help someone else. It takes a village and each individual in it. So, let’s do this… as any respectable Iowa girl would do it, Letterman style. The 10th Top Flipping 50 Podcast for Menopause Health & Fitness is…. (Cue drumroll) #10 When Your Menopause Calorie Deficit Backfires   https://www.flippingfifty.com/menopause-calorie-deficit-454/ Eat less, exercise more, so goes the dogma. It’s wrong. Dead wrong. Are you eating enough for your fitness to stand a chance getting the rewards you want? #9 Are You Strong Enough? If the Unthinkable Happens   https://www.flippingfifty.com/strong-enough/ This is an interview episode with Pam who was a part time group fitness instructor for 2 decades when an accident tested how truly fit she was and changed the value of her health. #8 Total Body or Split Routine Strength Training in Menopause   https://www.flippingfifty.com/total-body-workouts/ I’m both glad and a bit alarmed about this one making the top 10 podcasts for menopause health & fitness list this year. Glad because this rumor and strategy is potentially limiting progress, keeping you exhausted, and ignoring science. Alarmed because it tells me that a lot of fitness professionals – or at least fitness marketers – are suggesting you work out as a body builder or figure competitor in midlife which has a strong potential to wreak havoc with your hormones. Bottom line, is it is always about evidence of monitoring your body fat and muscle, your sleep, stress, belly fat, and energy levels just to name a few, that should determine if it’s working for you. #7 Where to Start Exercise | Ask the Menopause Fitness Expert   https://www.flippingfifty.com/?s=Where+to+start+exercise By the way if you’re listening to the Top 10 Menopause Podcasts for Health & Fitness at the end of 2021 or beginning of 2022, I have a couple resources for you. First, it’s my annual tradition to do a Planning session with you Live on Facebook between Christmas and New Years. There’s a Virtual Retreat happening January 8th you can still get in on until it closes on the 5th. And STRONGER – my 12-week strength program and the CAFÉ Flipping50 membership are open for limited time. Links in the show notes flippingfifty.com/menopause-podcasts So there’s something for everyone, if you just want FREE, you know you need support and this feels like a good fit.. or you’re just saying YES to yourself and jumping into the membership while we’re open. #6 How to Time Protein for Optimal Muscle & Recovery   https://www.flippingfifty.com/protein-for-optimal-muscle-455/ Any talk about protein and muscle or fat is a hot topic for us here. So, this detailed podcast will explain the importance not just of what, but of when you eat. Distributing protein correctly around your workout and throughout the day is far more beneficial than allowing an app to tell you that you hit a number at the end of the day. Learn more about your midlife energy needs in this podcast. The 5th Top Flipping 50 Podcast for Menopause Health & Fitness is… (drumroll, please) #5 What’s at the Core of Your Menopause Belly Woes?  https://www.flippingfifty.com/menopause-belly/ Is it fat? Is it bloat? Is it lack of muscle tone? If it’s fat, from where? If it’s bloat, from where? #4 Total Body Workouts vs Total Body Exercises https://www.flippingfifty.com/total-body-workouts/ Based on your goals Based on your hormone, joint, ligament status and health history I look at menopause as a sport. Here’s how to train. #3 7 Secrets to More Muscle in Menopause https://www.flippingfifty.com/muscle-in-menopause-2/ If you can lift heavy, you should. But what if you can’t? How to reach fatigue and be successful when you can’t go heavy is what this episode is all about. #2 Blunt Fitness Facts as We Age | Real Talk Interview   https://www.flippingfifty.com/fitness-facts-as-we-age/ In this interview episode, I chat with Susan Niebergall who enjoyed a career as a school counselor and then became interested in fitness. As so many others do, she first solved her own challenge with midlife. She’s a straight talker, and we openly tackle myths and mindset crazy-ness that infects midlife women. #1 Plant vs Animal Protein for Midlife Women | Ask the Experts   https://www.flippingfifty.com/plant-vs-animal-protein/ Protein, really any food-flavored conversation, is a popular topic among women in midlife. So it’s no wonder that this one hit the top #1 podcast for 2021. Another interview episode this one with the team at Wise & Well. Maria Claps and Kristen ___________ and I break down the reason behind advocating for animal protein for hormone support. It may ruffle your feathers, it may confirm what you thought or your body was telling you, but either way I think you’ll be glad you listened. BONUS: The Menopausal Woman Interview with Dr Christiane Northrup   https://www.flippingfifty.com/menopausal-body/ Putting this episode that’s been out for less than 7 days up against episodes that have run for more than 11 months is a little unfair. I know from the early comments across our social media sites that this episode is on its way to being a top 10 podcasts for menopause health & fitness. And … My Personal Favorite… Episode #500 How I’m Dealing with Grief and Beyond https://www.flippingfifty.com/coping-with-grief/  

00:00 What if you had an opportunity to ask one of the visionary pioneers on The menopausal woman anything? Well, I did. As the Flipping 50 podcast launches into the second 500 episodes, I am honored to be joined on this episode by Dr. Christiane Northrup. She is not only an articulate and intelligent woman who has insights few others do; she is funny. Behind the scenes I told her after the interview, interviewing her was like dinner and a show. And I’m sure you too are going to love it. My Guest: Christiane Northrup, M.D., visionary pioneer in women’s health, is a board-certified OB/GYN with more than thirty years of clinical experience, former assistant clinical professor of OB/GYN at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, and three-time New York Times bestselling author of Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom, The Wisdom of Menopause(1994) and Goddesses Never Age. In 2013, Reader’s Digest named Dr. Northrup one of the “100 Most Trusted People in America.” In 2016, she was named one of Oprah Winfrey’s Super Soul 100, a group of leaders who are using their voices and talent to awaken humanity. And in 2020 & 2021, she was included in the Watkins Spiritual 100, a list of living people that make a unique and spiritual contribution on a global scale... Questions we answer in this episode about the menopausal women's body: Q) Why do you call it the Wisdom of Menopause? Q) You say that “The brain catches fire at menopause.” What do you mean by that? 29:16 Q) You also say that the “dictates of the soul” come to the fore. Can you give us an example of this? Q) What are your thoughts on hormone replacement? Do you think every woman should consider it? Q) We’ve visited this topic but it’s such a good idea to clarify the difference between synthetic and a bioidentical hormone? Explain a bit about the difference of using a compounding pharmacy? 33:01 Q) You recommend the herb Pueraria Mirifica [Pronounce pwuh·raa·ree·uh mr·i·fuh·kuh] for menopausal symptoms. When should a menopausal woman start this? Can she take it if she’s already on hormones? 38:58 There is one gold standard… exercise. 39:42 Q) Many women complain of a “muffin top” around their middles, even though they haven’t gained any weight. Let’s unpack that for them. Q) You say that it is women in their 60’s and beyond who are having the best sex of their lives. Many women do of course experience vaginal dryness, so how can we equal the playing field for them? Connect: Join Dr. Northrup's worldwide community on  www.drnorthrup.com/newsletter and connect socially on Facebook, Twitter, MeWe, Telegram and Rumble. Resources mentioned: amata life.com    

I recorded an extra special episode for the Flipping 50 podcast that reveals everything you can find inside the STRONGER Tone & Define made for menopause program. On this episode I shared all of the workouts, the quick start guide, the science, the Facebook group and coaching, the course member’s area, pre-program materials, additional opportunities for exercise nutrition and the mindset taught inside the 12-week program. Plus, I answered all your questions about the STRONGER program along the way, like: What exactly is the STRONGER Tone & Define program Who’s right for the STRONGER program What exactly is different about a made-for-menopause program How long each of the workouts are What equipment you will need to complete the program at home How you want to plan your week and timing of the workouts When you can reasonably expect to see and feel results What kind of results and comments do STRONGER participants actually see during and after the program Tone & Define I hope you enjoy it, whether you’re already in and joining us, or you’re trying to articulate to a friend what’s different about this program, because it’s absolutely an honor to support women in midlife and their second half who themselves influence so many people with their own health habits. Health, wellness, and fitness influence every aspect of your personal and professional life. But this episode is only available until the end of the month, so check it out before it disappears. If you’re not already lifting weights, already feeling more energy and stronger, notice you don’t have the aches and pains most women your same age have then joining the STRONGER Tone & Define program is the thing you need to do now. Get the full details about the STRONGER Tone & Define program here. Why Strength? When you feel stronger, more energy, improve your mood and brain health, (all very well documented results from strength training), you use your gifts and talents and serve your purpose better. You’re better in every role you have from partner, mom, daughter or sister to owner, employee, leader, boss. It’s not about the belly, the hips, the biceps. Those are a positive side effect and benefits. It’s about longevity, avoiding illness, and living fully every year of your life. SNEAK PEEK video Let’s face it, we put chemicals in our bodies on the daily. We take prescription medications with negative side effects and then we question exercise, or supplements, or hormones like they were arsenic. Or simply ignore that bodies are meant to move and in the automation of nearly everything since we were born, we’re moving less than any prior generation and have been exposed to more toxins in our lifetime than any other generation. Muscle Not Fat Chasing fat loss doesn’t work. Focus on increasing lean muscle does. Without lean muscle you don’t have strength and you don’t have metabolism to help you age without obesity, insulin resistance, and other diseases. Whether you call this mid or post pandemic (post it’s onset), the effects of pandemic circumstances have negatively impacted weight and health. This is one step in the right direction. Intentionally underwhelming, simple straightforward and based on science about women in menopause, not athletic 20-something males. Small steps, like twice weekly strength training changes the aging path of your muscles, your bones, and your brain for the better. JOIN US INSIDE STRONGER NOW (doors close soon).

Finally, a book with simple, commonsense steps for health from a woman with an unlikely source of inspiration. Whether you’ve had adverse childhood trauma, know it, or not, this is an episode (and a book, and a woman) you will find inspirational. My Guest: Dani Williamson MSN, FNP owns Integrative Family Medicine in Franklin, TN; focusing on gut, autoimmune thyroid (Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis is her passion), hormone and adrenal health with her patients. Her approach embodies a physical, emotional, mental and spiritual process to healing. Dani is a graduate of Vanderbilt University School of Nursing Nurse Midwifery and Family Nurse Practitioner program. She is on the board of Middle Tennessee chapter of the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention and believes strongly in addressing issues of adverse childhood trauma and its relation to overall long-term health conditions. Her first book Wild & Well Dani’s Six Commonsense Steps to Radical Healing was released November 9, 2021 (Morgan James Publishing) and I have a copy… and you should too! In fact, I think even for the reluctant, it is a perfect holiday gift. Simple, easy-to-read, beautifully laid out... this is a great gift book for so many reasons. (Start with you!) -Debra Questions and Discussions we answer in this podcast: Your mother has Alzheimer's Disease, and you are an only child. I read your story of molestation and physical and verbal abuse from 2 stepfathers. How have you managed to resolve the pain and now single-handedly take care of your mom as the Alzheimer's progresses? This is an issue for 10's of millions of people worldwide. How do you do it? Your childhood was traumatic, how have you worked through the trauma? Do you incorporate your knowledge of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) in your patient care? You spent 24 years struggling with chronic lifestyle diseases (IBS, LUPUS, including hives/welts, and depression) what was the turning point for you to begin healing your body from the inside out? You had trauma as a child, had an affair during your marriage, fell on hard times and put yourself though nurse practitioner school while raising your kids the past 18 years as a single mother. How did you do it all and still take time to eat well, sleep well, exercise? How important is community and support at home when you ask a patient to make changes in what they eat and how they eat? What if the spouse/partner/children are not on board with lifestyle changes? In addition to the book, you have an "Inflammation is the Devil", online course for our listeners. Tell us about that. You clearly live Wild & Well and your life has for sure been wild and now well on top of it. What was the inspiration for your new book (Wild & Well: 6 Commonsense Steps to Radical Healing)? Why now? Connect with Dani: https://daniwilliamson.com/ Dani on social: Facebook: Dani Williamson Wellness Instagram: @daniwilliamsonwellness YouTube: Dani Williamson Wellness   Wild & Well: Dani's Six Commonsense Steps to Radical Healing Other recent episodes: Episode 500! How I'm Coping with Grief and Goodbye Why You Self-Sabotage Your Weight Loss  Resources: STRONGER Tone & Define Flipping 50's Membership Cafe 

This is my story of lessons of loss, and the gift waiting in grief. This special episode is our 500th together!  I am crying before I even walk in the door. I know that everyone else is already there. I know this is the beginning of one of the hardest, but unavoidable weekends of my life. My career path was really lit by walking with my mom the summer before my freshman year in college. Not accidentally for me, and based on science, not accidentally at all, walking has always been the simple and easiest needle mover. When I wasn’t doing anything else, as in that summer when I started. When in my 40’s I was doing everything else as in training for my second Iron distance triathlon, and in my mid 50’s during the pandemic when stress was high. Reducing cortisol with low level activity like walking can be one of the absolute biggest needle movers, especially for women post menopause. (research shared in previous episodes). This 500th episode is dedicated to my mother. And because so many of my listeners have been here, are here, or will be here, I’m sharing the end and what I learned and take with me through even this, the first holiday season without her physical presence. Inside Once inside I hug my brother hello. But it’s not just a hello. It’s a hug for all the feelings of having our fears be realized. Knowing how even though we knew, as we all do, this is the way it will end, that it’s the hardest goodbye we ever had to say. Having hugged my siblings and my niece and in-law, I wiped a few tears and stepped around the kitchen island to the table where most were gathering. Just then I was hit with the power of a 7-year old hug and completely lost it. My youngest great nephew knows how to hug. And I would be the benefactor of that a few times that weekend. Once, while at my mom’s visitation, the kids were drawing cardinals – a favorite symbol of hers- to add to her casket as a final send off. My niece said, Owen has something he wants to give you when you have a minute. So, I went into the fellowship hall where they were and squatted beside him. “Your mom said you had something you wanted to give me.” Immediately he smiled and simultaneously stood and hugged me again. I may or may not have told my niece if one of them was missing when they went to leave… they’d know where to look. Long Life Well Lived My mom, she was 95 and just over two months. On her 95th birthday she expressed the wish that she could go to the Brown Bottle instead of cupcakes in the dining room. No doubt once there she’d have had a glass of wine or a margarita. My brothers and sister and I each spoke at the service. We hadn’t heard or seen each other’s messages beforehand. And yet, we beautifully complimented each other, humorously played off of each other, and shared our love for mom. Watching her leave that church alone was one of the hardest parts of the day. She wasn’t going home with one of us. We all knew where she was going but that moment of letting go was hard. She’d needed a little help letting go, too. One Last Chance to Hold Her Hand In mid-October, I flew to Iowa (where my mom lived) to meet two clients and support them on a half marathon. It had been planned for a couple months. My mother’s downward spiral came as coincidence. Or was it? During a scheduled photo shoot, I got the message that she’d been non-responsive for 21 hours and was braced for the fact she might not be conscious during my visit Monday. But I changed my plans, needing to hold her hand and see her. I got up early Saturday and drove to see her, letting my brothers know only when I was 10 minutes from town. One of my brothers was with her when I arrived. He informed me that for the last 30 hours they hadn’t had any response but 2 minutes before I walked in she opened her eyes. I held her hand, looked into her eyes. I told her goodbye. Where Should I Be? My flight back home was early Tuesday morning and I remember boarding and wanting to run off off that plane. What was I doing? But I also knew it could be days or it could be weeks and no one knew. On Wednesday afternoon in Scottsdale, I got another phone call from my brother. I stared at the phone again this time willing it to tell me what this message was going to be and not wanting to hear it. He told me, hospice suggested we each tell her again that it was okay to go. All the signs were there she was physically there, but not letting go. I found some irony through my tears that at 95 one of your last messages might come from a cell phone held to your ear. A device that wasn’t even invented decades earlier. Oh, the changes you’ve seen in your life, mom. So, in tears I told her what a great life she’d given me, and that I was safe and happy, and she could go. An hour later, my phone rang. This time I knew. Through his own tears my brother Al shared that our mother had gone to heaven shortly after my call. Right after my loss I was quiet for a few days. I’d assumed I’d be back on a plane heading to Iowa by the weekend. But as it was we delayed the service for a few weeks so everyone could be there and we avoided prior existing conflicts. I resumed client sessions again. Twice on the same day I was the recipient of not one but two heart-felt condolences by women who had lost their mother at tender ages of 8 and 14. Even in my acute grief I was made aware of how clearly we never know how heavy something might be, just because the person carrying it makes it look light. I was so blessed to have had my mom for so long. The day after the service I woke up the morning after the service having slept better than I had in months. I’d been dreaming about her vividly, always good ones, since just before and after she passed. But that night was peaceful and deep. We were meeting at my brother’s house to write thank you notes and talk about any remaining details. I didn’t want to go. Not because I didn’t want to be there. Because I didn’t want to leave. Leaving that day, I would be starting the new life. The life without her physically here, without her to call, without her voice, her handwriting on another Christmas or birthday card. I would be leaving all the people who shared such similar memories of her, who love and miss her as much as I do. If walking into the door that started the weekend was hard, the idea of walking out the door leaving them seemed far harder. I drove to Des Moines alone after that to return my rental car and fly home. But I don’t remember it. Lessons of Loss  I woke up exhausted the next day. Feeling as if I’ve lived a lifetime of memories in a few days, felt a lifetime of emotions, filled buckets with tears. [The show notes are just a skeleton of the episode. For the complete story, listen to the episode.] My son will not remember this about me. And that’s okay. I smile at the thought burnt bacon in his house might make him think of me. I went to the Hallmark store a couple days after getting home from the funeral. All of her cardinal figurines were given away. And it’s one of the things I most wanted. So, I bought one, and placed it beside dish that has held M & M’s since I can remember that was once her mother’s, then hers, and now sits at my house.  I’ve watched videos of my mom and I on Facebook over and over. Thanks to COVID, two years ago was the last time I spent Christmas with her. I’m so glad I made that trip. Heart Breaking As I'm further from my mom's passing, I know I felt my heart broken at first. Gradually, I’ve realized, it was broken open. There was so much love among our family members as we were helping her to the end of her life and helping each other then and after. There is so much goodness to remember.  We grow the most during our trials not our easy times. The young boys who hugged me so tightly and said openly, “I love you so much, Aunt Deb,” will probably love deeper and smile brighter because they lost someone precious five years ago. I’d moved to Boulder a couple years before and I was there to help my niece and those boys because of my own midlife crisis, you might say. Coincidence? Or “God thing” as a friend of our family would say? Things at the moment you may think happened to you, you might later look at happening for you. I hope you feel as blessed for the time you did have with those that you loved, for the moments where things mysteriously worked out even if you didn’t realize that’s what was happening at the moment. My Mother’s Unintentional Gift My career for the last 37 years has been much in thanks to my mom. Walking with her the summer before my freshman year of college was the first time I’d enjoyed self-initiated exercise. It started something for me. And no accidents here either that at no less than 3 pivotal times, grounding in walking again has made the difference in fitness & health changes that surpass any endurance triathlon training I’ve done in the last two decades. Whether I’m walking on a Colorado trail, a desert trail, or sidewalks around my neighborhood, there will always be a reminder of sidewalks shaded with maple trees on the way to the Methodist church where we turned around and the feeling of her beside me. We will all experience grief. There’s not a right or wrong way through it. That, however, is what we all must do. We don’t go around it or dodge it. We go through it. And it changes us. For better or worse. There’s No Right Way I am an introvert, a loner, potentially, though I don’t love that word at all. I’m independent and I am not alone or lonely. I am most creative and recharge with alone time. And yet I needed so much that houseful of people around me. So many times in life I have thought things happened. They happened to me. Truly though they happened for me. Signs happened. Catalysts happened. A journey of an entrepreneur, certainly I think a female entrepreneur is full of opportunities for personal growth. Had I not been on it, I might not have been in the place to be so willing to accept help during this time. We often think – both men and women – that we can carry it, we can do it and think that asking for help or accepting it when it’s offered is a sign of weakness. Not everyone’s expressions for you will resonate, and yet, accepting that what they’re doing is well-intentioned and letting it go at that… also helps them. We generally like to be in a place of offering support, giving value where we can, and yet fail to allow others to do that for us at times. Asking for and Receiving Help Whether for you it is receiving help for exercise, for nutrition, daily health habits, or for something bigger such as loss of a loved one, or an illness- yours or someone else’s a small shift can change everything. And a little walk that started as half a mile to the Methodist church and back can become an entire career that supports a community of hundreds of thousands of women. -Debra

Why would you sabotage your weight loss? Yet we do! This episode will show you insights from an expert in weight loss who has experienced many of the trials of weight gain and loss. Consider how what you've tried, how it started and how it ended. If you can treat it all as data or feedback, would it change anything? Would it change the way you feel about yourself? Would it change your willingness to try again? How might you be served by sabotaging yourself? Seeking weight loss yourself? My Guest: Jennifer Powter, founder of The Weight Loss Academy and best-selling author of Diet Disruption: The Weight Loss Solution for the Chronic Serial Dieter and Stop Sabotaging Your Weight Loss: Why You Do It and How to Fix It, is one of the nation's top life transformation coaches. She works with high-achieving, driven women who want to feel good in their own skin and feel confident again. As a Weight Loss & Mindset Expert for women over 40, Jennifer has helped thousands of women reclaim their bodies (and their minds) by taking a truly soulful and scientific approach to weight loss and establishing a solid foundation for lasting transformation - one that empowers women and helps them stop sabotaging their success. Questions we cover in this episode: Why are you so passionate about helping women get healthy? You've taken a hard stand against the dieting industry with your book; why? For women who have "tried it all" to lose weight, what do they do next? What are the biggest weight loss myths out there? Talk to me about your dandelion metaphor… What are 3 key takeaways from your book that you think our listeners should know? Connect for a free copy: https://jenpowteronline.com/book Social media links: Instagram: @jenpowter FB: https://www.facebook.com/JenniferPowter Resources Mentioned in this episode: Flipping50 Fitness Specialist  

Moderate amounts of HIGH and of low intensity exercise vs “moderate” middle-of-the-intensity pyramid. zone 1 = your daily activities of life. You walk the dog. You go up and down stairs. You garden. You golf. You have an active job. Zone 2 = endurance, steady state exercise at a low all-day pace You go for a bike ride and could ride for hours if you have water and food as needed. You go for a hike, and it’s not so steep you can’t just go for hours taking in the sites. You might go for an easy jog or swim just enjoying it (and this is where things begin to go wrong in those who think it best to always “push” or those who don’t understand the value of assigning a purpose to a workout and sticking to it. Zone 3 = for the kind of distance training associated with half marathons, even 10ks (6.2 mi) in those with less experience. Few of us need Z3 , however, with “cardiac drift” heart rates go up if not monitored and observed and easy recover activity easily becomes zone 3. This is what’s observed for most and especially for women in midlife, as the “no benefits zone.” In fact, a better term could be, the reverse fitness effect. Zone 4 = out of comfort zone training. This is where you interval. Zone 5 = tolerated for very short times, might contribute to 5% of total exercise time. Not likely to be sustained beyond 30 seconds because the availability of fuel is so minimal and ability of the body to access oxygen is long past. Yet, with brief recovery, it can be attained again. This is like the sprint to a finish line when you give all that you have left. Mentioned In This Episode: Eating too little podcast Upcoming Master Class:  Dec 8, 2021 Strength Training for Optimal Aging and Body Composition

Are you eating too little to lose weight? How would you know? Eating consistently less than your body wants will slow your metabolism. You will lose your metabolic flexibility. There is no way you can eat less and less, continue to exercise the same or more and not stress your body, causing a ripple of negative reactions.  That’s what this episode is all about. You may have reactions to this content. That's okay. It's to be expected, really. You've been conditioned.  Endurance athletes say things like, I have a hard time believing I'm eating too little to lose weight.  In fact, they are the ones at greatest risk for losing lean muscle. Menopausal athletes or exercise enthusiasts, even more so.  But it's normal to have a response like that. Endurance runners have long had eating disorders, or dysfunctional feelings around eating. The desire to be lighter, thinner to be faster is strong.  If you have low energy availability, you’ll risk: Thyroid function disruption Endocrine disruption Muscle loss Workout performance (therefor results) suffers Negative Mitochondria and muscle and muscle protein synthesis effects Low Energy Availability causes: Too low overall calories Too low protein Too low carbohydrates Too low fat Any combination of these Culprits: Dieting intentionally Fasting without conscious refueling and intentional goals  Keto continuously  lifestyle dietary choices (inadequate EAA in plant-sources) Protein needs To Maintain: Ideal body weight in lbs = grams of protein Your Maintain weight daily Protein need: To Lose weight: X 10-15% more Your weight loss daily protein need: (see handout link below for a worksheet to do calculations) **Regardless of overall need, it needs to be consumed at a specific dose. 30 grams of protein minimum – no more than 50-60 grams for best ability to synthesis. Carbohydrate needs Light activity days/Recovery/short interval days 1.4 gm carb/pounds bodyweight Your calculation: 1.4 x ___________ = ______________ 60-120 minutes of endurance exercise 1.8grams x body weight pounds Your calculation: 1.8 x _______________ = ______________ More endurance training – increased the carbohydrate need 2-2.7gm per pounds (this is also where you’re no longer going to find you make weight loss possible, but you’re working toward performance and preventing muscle wasting that will happen. Fat Servings per meal is an easier way to adjust and consider 5 servings a day, is 1-2 at each meal. Most foods with protein contain fat or meal prep or condiments contain fat. Low fat and higher carbs (high activity days) Higher fat and low carb (lower activity days) When both fat and carbs are high, we have issues. Even with “healthy resistant starches” this is true. Examples: I do a 20-minute HI interval training session and that’s my exercise– that’s a light day for carb But still higher than most women are trying to go (100 grams is as low as I would recommend for an active woman and never would I go that low for an athlete) Based on 130 lbs 1.4 x body weight = 182 grams of carbs The same 20-minute HIIT interval session before a strength training session (40-minute session). Now, that boosts my need for carbohydrates, not just protein. So, I am back to at least 1.8g/body weight in pounds of carbs on these days. 1.8 x body weight = 234 Timing of recovery meals is important too. You want to eat by bookending your workouts with adequate fuel. Pre workout and post workout both matter. During recovery if you are HIGHLY active woman: The ratio of protein: carbs post workout is ideally 1: 3 or 4 if you’re endurance training and need recovery quickly for that next workout. If you’re not that active and simply exercising at minimum, you are a little less concerned about that. If you’re exercising intentionally 5-6 days a week for an hour (or more) you are “an athlete.” So, for more active women with a threshold of 30 grams of protein at each meal you want 90 to 120 grams of carbs in that meal as well. What does that look like? Carb counts of some high quality carb choices: 1 cup cooked oatmeal 27 grams 1 cup of frozen berries? 21 grams Medium apple 25 grams 1 medium sweet potato 27 grams Banana 27 grams 1 cup Chili 23.5 carbs 1 cup butternut squash soup 23 1 slice of pumpkin pie 46 grams If you don’t repair & replenish your protein & carb stores during the window (0-2 hours with sweet spot at 60-90 minutes) you’ll be more tired the next day, find next workouts harder – though less effective, dead legs, etc). Sample meals during one day and carb count: Smoothie with half a banana and 1 cup of blueberries         34.5 1.5 cups of chili and an apple                                                 60.25 Sweet potato and berries  for dinner                                     38.0                                                                                                 132.75 Falls short of even the lowest need for carbohydrates (182gm) for a 130 lb woman. If you’re increasing training levels, eating during activity will help. (Long bike rides, long hikes) That isn’t accounted for in the example. What’s your Energy Availability? Fat Free Mass = your muscle weight only Example: 130 lbs, 54 lbs of muscle mass Dietary energy intake (kcal) – Exercise energy expenditure (kcal) divided by Fat Free Mass (kg) For Example (2000 calories is easy math- just as example) 2000 kcals/day – and expend 250 kcals in 30-minute HIIT divided by 24.5 kg (54 lbs divided by 2.2) Please note:  in the actual podcast and on the cheat sheet there is a (major) error) Apologies for the oversight!  ***CORRECTION to original post: 54 DIVIDED by 2.2 = kgs = 71 is my Energy Availability (EA) gms/kg body weight Your Calculation: Kcals in a day: ___________  - Exercise energy Expended (use a tracker or online estimate) Lean Muscle mass kg _______ (lbs x 2.2) = ________________ gms/kg bodyweight What's true: <30 -45 is considered low energy availability. So, Houston, do you have a problem? What did you learn? Flip: Do Not use an online tracker to estimate your micros, as there is no consideration of your hormonal signs and symptoms. Definitely don't use this number daily. In 37 years I've witness college students to 70-year old women become so obsessed they ignore the obvious - the way they feel, sleep, love, enjoy life as signs of health, and think that feeling like crap on the way to a goal will somehow magically make them happy when they reach it. (They rarely reach it, but when they do? The maintenance requires more exercise and fewer calories). That math does not equate to health. The opposite has proven true every time. Reliance on counting calories in and out daily usually results in weight regain (beyond what was lost), adrenal issues, and abandonment by people and of things they used to love doing.  Ramifications of Eating Too Little while exercising more intensely: Done for a long period of time, performance will suffer. The body will choose to break down muscle for energy (and not fat, because that is far more difficult to do). Women who are already good at using Free Fatty Acids (FFA) for fuel don’t need to do endurance exercise AND they don’t want to be in a huge calorie deficit if they’re active regularly. That’s especially true if you sway to the loving exercise and overdoing it side of the continuum. You can’t stay here for extended periods of time and get long term results. While you may experience results short term, you’ve got to return to higher calorie (high quality) intake with adequate protein and carbohydrates to sustain results. Female Athlete Triad When this happens in younger women we refer to it as the Female Athlete Triad. It’s true of exercise enthusiasts as much as athletes. In order to reduce body fat and weight to achieve some societal expectation of athleticism, or perception lower weight will improve performance, athletes diet and menstrual disorders result. In midlife the same endocrine/hormone disruption occurs, it just isn’t evidenced if you’re not cycling regularly or at all. The diet you’re using to lose weight is potentially keeping you fat and tired. Bottomline: Eating too little can cause weight loss resistance and a cascade of other issues including thyroid disfunction and inability to gain or maintain lean muscle. You may be able to gain strength. But ultimately performance will suffer. (If you’re an athlete you’ll see this sooner, but even an intentional exerciser is an athlete will find she no longer feels good after workouts or has more energy from workouts; she has less). She may default to caffeine and or sugar cravings, feeling always (or never) hungry. Ultimately, if you need to lose weight, you will if you’re eating and exercising in a way to reduce inflammation, avoid cortisol increases, and you fuel your exercise with protein, carbohydrates, and veggies (supporting micronutrients and alkalinity). If you aren’t losing weight, it’s time to check in with your macronutrients and reconcile what you think is happening, what is happening, and what needs to happen. At some point, you can’t continue to reduce the number of meals you eat, the amount of calories you consume, the amount of micronutrients you provide your body and still expect to optimize the stress of exercise for weight loss. You’ll instead be slowing your metabolism with one foot on the gas and the other on the brake. References: Wasserfurth P, Palmowski J, Hahn A, Krüger K. Reasons for and Consequences of Low Energy Availability in Female and Male Athletes: Social Environment, Adaptations, and Prevention. Sports Med Open. 2020;6(1):44. Published 2020 Sep 10. doi:10.1186/s40798-020-00275-6 Slater J, Brown R, McLay-Cooke R, Black K. Low Energy Availability in Exercising Women: Historical Perspectives and Future Directions. Sports Med. 2017 Feb;47(2):207-220. doi: 10.1007/s40279-016-0583-0. PMID: 27430502. This episode follows a recent one you might like: It’s more than about how much protein Dr. Gabrielle Lyon interview Another stellar resource for you: Betty Rocker interview with Dr. Stacy Sims Handout: https://www.flippingfifty.com/eatenough Resources: Flipping50 Café membership https://www.flippingfifty.com/cafe Stronger: Tone & Define https://www.flippingfifty.com/getstronger Jan 2021 Virtual Retreat https://www.flippingfifty.com/2022-vretreat The Ultimate Smoothie Guide