Break the Cycle and Transform Your Life w/ Maggie Topham

00:00My life just started to change. I just became healthy. My body started changing. Everyone started asking me, what is going on with you? Your family starts to notice. Work started going better. My marriage started going better. Everyone wanted to know what was going on. And I wanted to tell everyone. What's up, everybody? Hey, you guys. Welcome back to another episode of The WarriorBabe Show. And today, my friends, we're going to have some fun. I have an amazing guest on here with

00:36us. And she's been in the industry for over 30 years. She's taught every type of class. She's done all of the bad diets. She's coached hundreds of women, but had her own struggles too with weight gain, with failing health and depression, which pushed her to dig even deeper. And that journey led her to functional medicine, to metabolic health, where she found lasting solutions and has just paved the way for herself and her health. And today, Maggie is here with us. She is a certified

01:12integrative health coach. She's a published author. She's passionate advocate for women reclaiming their health and the second act of life. And I love that. And my friends, you guys have probably seen her in Warrior Babe advertising and for being a brand face with me as a leader in the community. And she's helping to just use her voice to show what's possible at any age. Maggie, my friend, welcome to the show. Hi, Nikki. Thanks for the nice welcome. Awesome. You made me sound so important.

01:46You raised the bar a little too high already. You are, Maggie. You're a very important person. You're the MVP, okay? Most valuable player. All right. So you've built a pretty awesome platform that really empowers women, especially in midlife, to reclaim their health. Can you just take us back to what sparked your journey to not only like transform your own life, but to also dedicate yourself to helping others do the same? I can already feel emotions coming. Why does this happen

02:21to me? Oh, because you care. And I love that about you. I do. I care a lot. And I, there's just so many women who feel like I feel, and I, that's what sparked it all. So yeah. And like you've said, I've been in the health and fitness industry for a long time, tried everything. I've been through every stage as a 20 year old, as a 30 year old, as a 40 year old, now I'm in my fifties and yeah, it's a whole different ball game. And I'm sure there's women going, yes, yes, it is. You know,

02:52I used to be able to say, I think I'm going to up my miles and lose five pounds this week. And I could do it. It worked. And you know, it just quits working, like literally stops working, which we all know. And, uh, I just, the depression started to get really bad. This was about five or six years ago. And life was, I felt the spiral, you know, one thing led to another led to another funny thing is I, one of the first things I noticed, I'm like, why do I have this horrible heartburn? Like,

03:23what is this? What, what's going on? So that was one of the first things I'm like, I gotta get rid of this. And then the heartburn leads to, then you're not sleeping. And then like, it just cascades weird stuff starts to happen, but it started with heartburn, which is so crazy. I thought I gotta get rid of this so I can start just feeling better. Cause if I get rid of my heartburn, maybe I can sleep. Maybe my stomach that has something to do with my, with my gut health. So it just started to put things together, but it started weirdly with heartburn. And, and I, I just start, and we'll get

03:54into this more, I'm sure. But I started with one little thing. I thought I've got to get this figured out. And of course, doctors are just putting you on antacids and then more antidepressants and how that all just cascades into a spiral of dark. For sure. You can totally touch on that. Yes. Because we definitely, I've talked about this on episodes before, you know, the medical system. Yes. That's what they have to do. You know, they don't get to the root problem though. And it's, and it's sad. And it really, for the most part is not really their fault. So it's just

04:25the way the system is. And I'm not going to sit back and take that. So I just started studying my brains out and just learning and listening to everything I could, got my hands on everything, went to school that I'm, I'm going to figure this out. I went to my doctor and said, Hey dude, here's some stuff. And he was actually awesome. He's like, Hey, good to know. So, so anyway, my life just started to change. And of course I skipped a lot of really important parts, but I just became healthy. My body started changing. Everyone started asking me what is going

04:58on with you? Your family starts to notice, uh, work started going better. My marriage started going better. Everyone wanted to know what was going on. And I wanted to tell everyone because when you have good news, you want to share it with the people you care about. And I, I, I wanted to share it with everyone. So that's how it all started. And I started seeing, I'm not going to cry. I started seeing the happiness that came to women's lives when this started happening, when they just started

05:32taking care of themselves, started realizing they were worth it, started realizing it didn't take away from their families. It gave more to their families. It gave more to their life. And that right there, the first person I helped, I thought, Oh, this is it. This fuels my fire. This is it. So that's, that's how it all got started. I love the full circle-ness of that. You know, you had your own struggles, you sought answers, you found the solutions, and then you have spread the

06:02good news to those that also needed to hear it and have helped them. I want to come back to, I know you that have gained the same, how many pounds over and over and over? 50 to 60. Yeah. This is, this will be my fifth. This was the fifth time losing that amount of weight, not counting pregnancy. So that's over 200 pounds. This body has lost over 200 pounds. That's crazy. Yeah. It's weird to think about that way. And gained the same 50 to 60 pounds, five different times. Yep.

06:33So can you like bring us along like that journey? Like what were you doing? Was it the fads? Was it the under eating? Was it the, like, what did that look like to you during those times? Yeah. Oh, always under eating. That's what we were taught. Cut out all the fat, eat 800 calories. You know, well, first, first you'd start, you know, I'd start tracking. I'd get down to like 15. That didn't work anymore. Okay. We got to go to 13. Okay. We got to go to 1100. All right. Now we're down to 800 and we're not losing anymore. We're just getting really tired and really depressed and

07:08really soft, no muscle. You know, you can feel my bones through my skin and how long can we sustain that? That is not sustainable. Every time it was that way, every single time. And so, and of course, when you do it that way, every time it comes back and it comes back with a vengeance because you have wrecked your metabolism, wrecked it, no muscle. So the, the day you decide to eat one extra lollipop, boom, it just every time. So, you know, it takes about six, six months or so to lose weight like that.

07:43And then it come back in six weeks, almost every time. And I remember the last time, the last time I did this, I remember I was at my brother's birthday and his birthday cake was there. And, oh, I love that white, thick, nasty frosting. I love it. Oh, so you're more of the frosting lover than the cake lover? I love the frosting. Wait, same. Give me all the frosting. I scrape it off my husband's and put it on mine. So you, and you do like the corner pieces? Oh, yes. The one that has like the big, like round, it's a balloon made out of frosting.

08:19I'm like, I got it. I got you. Yeah. And my tongue turns red. Yeah. Really great. Oh, I knew I loved you. We were at this birthday party that I'm just going to have a little. And I remember like eating the frosting off the whole side of the cake. And I was like, oh no, what have I done? Like I lost total control and that's it all. It started, it all came back. And the last time I was like, okay, I'm not, it's not coming back this time. It is not coming back. When you do it that way, it is going to come back. Your brain can't sustain that. Your body can't sustain that. There is no,

08:52your body wants you to survive. So it is going to force you to eat food. It is going to force you. It's way stronger than our willpower, way stronger. So that's why I knew this time had to be different, had to be different. And I knew I'd been doing it wrong. If I'm going to do the right way, we're going to figure this out. I can't wait until we get into the right way. And we're going to talk about that. But I know you touched on a little bit earlier that you said that your health struggles pushed you to towards like functional medicine and metabolic healing. And you mentioned some of

09:25those early warning signs. Were there more other than the heartburn? Like what were some of the early signs that told you something needed to change? Well, I couldn't eat without my stomach hurting. So I knew my gut health was off and the worse my gut was the worse my mental health was. So that was one of the first things I learned is how closely tied gut health and mental health are. That was, I was like, what? They say like our vagus nerve is our, or our gut is our, is our second brain, right? Yes. Yes, absolutely. And then I started learning about blood sugar. And because of course,

09:59my A1C was off the charts. So I was pre-diabetic and of course cravings and your blood sugar is just like, I'm like, I, no one should feel this way. And then your moods are like this. My poor family, I'm so glad they put up with me. It was, it was a lot of that. And I, you know, I, me thinking, oh, it's depression. No, it's metabolic health. Everything is tied to metabolic health. Your food is your information for your body or your body processes to run the way they're supposed to.

10:34So if you don't give it the right information, it cannot run the way it's supposed to. So it's so sad that people aren't aware of that. And they're taking, thank goodness for medicine. Thank goodness for antidepressants. They save lives, nothing against antidepressants. For me being on them 27 years, there was other options for me. So nothing against antidepressants. They're needed many times, but for me, there was other answers. Yeah. I was actually just having a conversation with a woman on Instagram after the recent podcast

11:08that I put out on Monday and talking about like, those things are like tools they're given to us for tools, but they shouldn't be like the end all be all. There should be ways to navigate. Do you feel the same way about that? Yes, absolutely. Yeah. Cause there's, there's emergent things we need to help us right away. It does take longer to look upstream, get some labs, see what's going on. And, and I think that's why functional health, you know, you go to your doctor, you get a pill, you walk out and you're going to feel better for a couple of days until the side effects. And then you need something else. So, and, but that's when I

11:43first, I'm like, what is functional health? I didn't even know what it was. When I started studying and understanding the way the body works as a whole, I thought this, this is the answer. And everyone needs this answer. Everyone, everyone I know needs to answer. So your gut, your gut was screaming at you. So what was it you, do you remember you were having reactions to certain foods or was it almost like everything and anything that you were eating that you were getting like a reaction to? It was when I think back, I want to say it was everything,

12:15but really I'm sure it was highly processed foods. I mean, I've been raising teenagers and what's easy to grab, you know, let's eat the goldfish out of the cupboard. We'll throw it on a salad and we'll say it's healthy. So there was just a lot of things like that, that I didn't even realize the word inflammation. I thought it meant when you had a broken arm and you were swollen. Like I didn't know, I didn't know any of this. So just starting to study and realize how food is information for our body and, and what, you know, our country struggles a bit when it comes to making

12:51money off cheap products. So we have to do our part and we can't leave it up to anyone else. It's up to us to learn and to feed our families well, because no one else is going to do it for us. Ladies, are you feeling frustrated with body changes you're experiencing during menopause? It's time to take control. If you're between 45 and 65 years old and tired of struggling with body

13:22fat and muscle loss, warrior babe is here for you at warrior B. We've helped over 18,000 women, just like you lose body fat, build toned muscle and understand their bodies better with personalized plans based on hormone and thyroid testing and more. Imagine knowing exactly what your body needs to see real results and results that last. Look, don't wait anymore. Take charge of your health and join our community of strong, empowered women. Visit warrior babe.com forward slash apply today to

13:54start your transformation. That's warrior babe.com forward slash apply. All right, let's get back to the show. Yeah, exactly. Well, I love that little bit that you just added there. I think that's really important for people to take away. So once you start prioritizing your health, because I think a lot of women definitely struggle with this is putting their health first, but they feel like because being a mom and or a grandmom, you know, they feel like you have to put others first. But when you started to

14:27shift gears for you and focusing on your health, what were some of the biggest challenges that you faced, especially while balancing your family responsibilities? I've always been into health and nutrition. There was better ways to do it. So my family was used to me taking off going on a jog, you know, trying to cook healthy. Oh, mom's, you know, she's on a health kick. But then you do start to, when they actually start to see changes, not so much, my family's always super supportive. They're all into health and nutrition too. It's the way I've tried to raise my kids, whether I had the right

15:01information or not, the effort was there. A lot of it though comes from others, from, you know, people at work. Oh, you're not going to eat that. Are you? You know, they're the break rooms full of birthday treats. Oh, you know, the little jabs here or there. And some people really struggle with that. It does make things a little awkward. Sometimes people don't like to see other people makes them feel bad about themselves because they know someone else is doing what they wish they could do. And

15:32that's the last thing I wish on anyone. I'm not going to say, Oh, I'm not going to eat sugar. I'm not ever going to shove that someone else's face. No one else will actually even know how I eat unless they ask specifically. I just do my thing. But other people in the, you know, outside in the world, they, they take notice. You get the jabs, but you just realize it's because they wish they, they were doing what you finally had the courage to do. Yeah. The ones that speak up have the most, you know, insecurities around the situation and that, that do the jabs. But I think what's cool

16:06that what you said there that really resonate with me is because when I worked in the ER, that the break room was always full of donuts, pizza, soda. And then there was me off the side during, or eating my own like meal. And it was just moving the way, like moving in eating healthy. And you know, how you said, like doing your own thing and, and just keeping that like your, the way that you chose to be, and then not pressuring or making anyone else feel bad. That's just what you wanted to do.

16:38Then I noticed that everybody in the ER would bring in healthier snacks over a period of time. Like six months later, everyone was eating healthier and working out, which is really cool. It's not crazy. Yeah. And that exact same thing on my birthday, they brought like all these like healthy health. Most of them, I still couldn't eat what they thought was healthy. The effort was there, but it is, it is, they start to realize, Oh, that's just the way she is. They, they start leaving you alone. Exactly. I know some people really struggle with this. You know, they go to Thanksgiving with their

17:10extended family and they're panicking. I don't, I don't want to offend, you know, aunt Betsy. I don't, and it is hard. It's, it's a real problem. I think that people, that people have, but if people love you, they'll support you. Exactly. That right there. Amen to that. So you said that you don't lose weight to, to get healthy, you get metabolically healthy and your body becomes a size that it's intended to be. Can you unpack that and what that means through the listeners? When I first started this, it was the first time I thought I, my goal wasn't weight. I knew I might

17:47lose a little weight and I was hopeful for that. I thought, Oh, if I could get back into those, you know, size 14 skinny jeans, I'll be pretty stoked about that. So I just started really focusing on, on blood sugar, on gut health. And, and the first thing, I know sometimes fasting's a bad word. There was a time and a place for fasting. There was a time and a place for no fasting. This was one of the times when I was working on gut health, I needed some time to rest and digest. I needed my gut to heal. So I started off. I thought if I can go just

18:1912 hours, go without food and then really work on my gut lining, bone broth, some different things like that, really trying to heal my gut. Um, that was, that was my first goal. And I quit eating highly processed foods. So naturally you're going to turn to more whole foods. So things just started to fall into place. Once you start, I didn't restrict anything. I just replaced things, started replacing my highly processed foods with whole foods, not even really consciously thinking

18:52that much of, of it. I just, you know, you need to eat. So let's eat some stuff that's going to help me out. And my, I just started shrinking. My body became healthy within three to four months. My hemoglobin A1C was down, like I was at 4.8. My body was insulin sensitive. Then I could actually start eating and not feel horrible. My guts started, I'm like, Oh, so normal people feel

19:23like they're not bloated all the time. Um, and then of course I really started, well, muscle started showing. So I'm like, well, that's cool. Maybe I should work on that a little more. And I knew that it was crucial for my metabolic health to have more muscle. Like muscle is, we've all heard Gabrielle Lyons say a million times. It's the organ of longevity and it's, there's so much more to it than that. And I knew, I knew I wanted to keep my, my A1C down. I knew I had lost a lot of muscle in my

19:57past diets. So I started putting on muscle and my body said, yes, yes. And thank you because it, it responded really well. Granted, I also knew I needed to about triple the protein I was eating. That made a huge difference. So things just start falling into place. My, had someone shown me a picture of my body today, five years ago, I would have thrown in the towel and said, there's no way that's happening to me. Like that is, there's no way I, I, it would have seemed like way too big of a

20:32goal. But the fact that my first goal was just, I got to get rid of this heartburn, got rid of that. Oh, I need to get rid of this bloat. Just one thing after another. I just kept improving. And then this happened. This just happened. I love that breakdown because of how your body was giving you signs and you didn't just accept that, oh, this is just me getting older. And this is just what happens. And you know, the things that a lot of women start to experience at your age and how doctors

21:07are just saying, this is normal. And then you just continue to feel like a stranger in your body and you're just accepting it, but you didn't accept it. And that's what I love that breakout down is like, okay, you knew that heartburn isn't necessarily right. It, you, you shouldn't feel that as often as you were feeling it. And so there had to be a reason and a solution to fixing it. And then the gut became your next pillar to accomplish. And you didn't just accept that this is just how it is.

21:38You're like, no, like there's gotta, like, there was more to finding the solution of making you healthy in that realm. And then I love that you were just like, I just stopped, like changed the way I was eating, like the processed foods out the door, whole foods in the door, which is like the very first step. Anyone and everyone I hope is inspired to make when they hear that, listen to this episode right now. It's like, just throw out everything in your house if you can. Okay. Maybe not everything, but the processed foods and start to just choose more wisely. And I know people are going to be like,

22:10oh, but it's so expensive. Yeah. But like, it really isn't though. It's not. And then think about what, what costs would you rather pay more for your health in the future or your health right now? And then if you, yeah, if we break it down, like for, I don't know, I'm actually curious for your household while we're on this tangent right now, how, like, what's your grocery bill in the week? And then like trying to divide that across like seven days and then like five meals a day, like breaking it down. It's, it's really not horrible. I mean, granted now it's

22:44just my husband and I, I mean, the kids come over a couple of times a week. So I always have a ton of food in the house. I'm always so, and I, and I don't groceries. I'm finally at a place in my life where I, I'm so blessed. I don't need to be super careful. So yes, if I have two choices, I'm going to get the more expensive organic. I am. I haven't always been there and that raising kids and living paycheck to paycheck, that's a little more difficult. Like I, I validate that for sure.

23:16But we all know if we're eating highly processed foods, we're going to be hungrier. We're going to need a lot more of it. It's not going to satisfy you. So when you're spending your money on quality foods that are dense with nutrition, it's going to go a lot further, a lot further. So that's something to consider as well. So as far as the, the grocery bill goes, yeah. And we go out to eat a lot too. When there's just two of us, we're like, let's just go. Yeah. So, but I have that freedom now.

23:48Yeah. But, uh, when I feed my whole family though, like we're, we're eating, you know, good quality grass-fed steak and, and some organic sweet potatoes and no one complains everyone. Healthy food tastes better. Yeah. It does. It does. It really does. Not only does it taste better. I mean, it's also the aftermath effect of it. Like you were saying earlier, it's like the information that we're giving our body, you're going to feel so much better giving it the healthy whole food rather

24:19than the processed food, because the aftermath is going to be different. You're going to feel full and energized, or you're going to feel sluggish and tired. Yes. Yeah. So after Sunday dinner here, no one's just laying around watching ball games. Let's go on a walk to the park. Yeah. Everyone is just, and you want your family to be healthy. Like that's what this is about. I'm making everybody do family walks. Yes. You know, my partner or I'm with my family. We're all, we're out doing walks. We're always, we're always in a big huddle walking down the middle of the street.

24:51Always. Oh, I love that. I love that. Ladies, are you feeling frustrated with body changes you're experiencing during menopause? It's time to take control. If you're between 45 and 65 years old and tired of struggling with body fat and muscle loss, Warrior Babe is here for you. At Warrior Babe, we've helped over 18,000 women just like you lose body fat, build toned muscle, and understand their bodies better with personalized plans based on hormone and thyroid testing and more. Imagine

25:24knowing exactly what your body needs to see real results and results that last. Look, don't wait anymore. Take charge of your health and join our community of strong, empowered women. Visit warriorbabe.com forward slash apply today to start your transformation. That's warriorbabe.com forward slash apply. All right, let's get back to the show. Going back because you were like strength training, right? That was like the last bit of that, the way you broke that down. You describe muscle as like armor. Can you share how strength training plays a proactive role, especially in midlife and

26:02beyond for women? So when we think of armor, we think of something on the outside that it's going to protect us from falls. It's going to make us stronger. It's going to make us more resilient. But if you think about it from the inside and metabolically, it is protecting you from future disease. The more muscle you have, the more mitochondria you have, and I'm going to try not to get too sciencey right now. Get sciencey. Yeah. Get sciencey.

26:35The more mitochondria you have, the more ATP, the more energy you have, the less of those senescent, those zombie cells, those cells that just die and wreak havoc in your body, turn into cancer, turn into things we don't necessarily need. All of us have cancer in our body every day and our bodies are always working to fight that always. So give your body, give your body the tools it needs to stay healthy. Granted, sometimes there are just wacky things that are going to happen and someone

27:10really healthy is going to get sick. Yes, that happens all the time, but give your body the best fighting chance you can give it. So from the inside, just being metabolically well, think about this also. If your body is healthy enough to grow muscle, that means all the other systems are doing well. That means your organs, your heart, your liver, your kidneys, your pancreas, your brain, your vascular system. That means everything is doing well enough that it's like, oh, okay,

27:43let's, we can build some muscle. When people's hair is falling out, that usually means there's a problem upstream, whether it's hormonal, whether it's metabolic, there, there's a problem. Let's look at it. Let's find it. So when your hair's doing well, your nails are doing well, your teeth aren't falling out, your body is metabolically well and muscle is that armor. Muscle keeps you metabolically well. So yes, from the outside, we're going to be strong and resilient, but from the inside,

28:16those cells are functioning the way they're supposed to metabolically. It might drop. Everybody can just rewind that like last five minutes, just listen to that back and just remember why it's so important. It's not just like, yeah, you're going to look toned and you're going to look great. And like, you're going to have muscle. It's like, literally as Dr. Gabriel Lion says, and as you just explained, it's like, it's the organ of longevity for so many reasons. And you just elaborated a little bit more and unpacked that a little bit more that it's

28:47literally like fighting for us every single day internally, pretty much. It does. It, it keeps everything running the ways there's a reason why the more muscle you put on and the more, well, if you just, if you look at muscular people, most of the time they have a lower A1C, they don't have blood sugar problems like that. And that just tells, I mean, that's just telling a little bit of the story, which is actually a big part of the story. So your body just has what it needs. Facts. I was actually really impressed by my A1C results when I got them back. Can't

29:21remember the exact number, but they were like, we're stellar. You're stellar. Good girl. What's sad about that? That hopefully you did go to a functional doctor, right? Yeah. Yes. So they know what stellar is because what's so sad about this is that, and you know exactly what I'm going to say is it's based off the general population, the average. So they keep bumping it up and they tell everyone they're normal when they're actually pre-diabetic. I know. It makes me, I know both of us are like, that gives me chills. It's just like the BMR,

29:53like that whole. Yes. Yes. It is so frustrating. I had a girl send me her labs last night and she said, my doctor said everything was normal. And I was looking through. So I have to give her the bad news because her doctor maybe didn't realize it was bad news. I swear they do. I know. I know it's hard. It's so frustrating. That's why we're here. Right, Nikki? Facts. That is why we're here. Amen, Maggie. That is why we are here. Let's say it louder. So why? Okay. Let me backtrack here a little bit, but I also want to come back because I have a second

30:26question to the strength training question, but literally metabolic health goes beyond what we're talking. Like it goes so much further. Even the functional medicine goes so much further. It touches everything to hormones, to the mood, to fertility, to A1C, to like all of the things, cardiac health. Why do you think this message is so often like missed in the mainstream health arena and advice and please like no filter. You can totally say what you want to say. Everyone

30:56loves the real, raw, authentic things on this podcast. Well, good. I'm going to try not to be respectable at the same time. Yes. Yes. Okay. There's so much information and there's so much money to be made. So people love to throw stuff out there and make money off of it. We all know that. Also all of us just scroll. So we're just seeing surface, surface, surface, surface. When you really see a study who actually stops and says, Oh, I want to see that study. Hardly anyone. I do because I'm a weirdo and I love science,

31:30but most people just listen to how the influencer or whoever depicts that and they run with it. Oh man. You just nailed that. Wow. You totally nailed that. I'm kind of like, I'm kind of like shook at how accurate that was. That's why that's, I mean, we've got, we've got a little burden on our shoulders because we've got a big job to do. We care about the truth. That's why we're here. So yeah, we'll carry it.

32:03And how, and it's crazy to me, I let that process for a second, but it's crazy to me how, when those influencers do put out these things in terms of what they are interpreting the study to be house quickly, the stories can change and they're only perceiving it from their perspective. And then the next influencer is going to read it and it's going to get perceived differently. And the story is going to twist. And this is how you get the whole length of misinformation because it gets to the 10th person and it's totally misconstrued at this point. Yes. And by then they've got

32:3570,000 women who take health very seriously and it becomes their, they have like a religious belief about it. If keto is working for them and their favorite 10 influencers are talking about keto, that is their religion. And don't you, don't you say anything against it. They check out and it's so, I've changed my mind on many things as different studies come out. Mm-hmm. And stuff I never thought I would change my mind on. And it, and also test it out on yourself.

33:09Try it out. And if it doesn't work for you, then it doesn't work for you. Is keto going to be great for someone who's really insulin resistant? And for three months they, they do it. Yeah. They're probably going to become insulin sensitive, bring down their, their blood sugar. They're going to be doing great. Should they stand up forever? They probably think they need to, but what they need to realize is that no, it's therapeutically great forever. Maybe not so great. Yeah. So, and there's probably a little truth in everything. No, it's not black or white.

33:45Yeah, exactly. I love that. You totally nailed that. Um, okay. Let's go back to the question that I had following the strength training question for women who feel stuck in like the cardio and the diet culture. What is the first mindset shift that you would help them make? I think it's hard to make a mindset shift. It is so hard. I will have women say, okay, I'll fall. I'll do this for three months. And if they don't see the changes they want, they go right back to their spin class. And I don't know

34:20why because they're not seeing success there, but they think they're going to, I don't know. I think the biggest mindset shift comes with gaining the knowledge on how your body actually functions. So when you, for me, when I understood, Oh, I'm actually going catabolic. Like my body is eating my muscle. Like this is doing the opposite, what I need it to do and why that was actually happening.

34:50So I think it comes with educating these women. Once they are educated, they're able to shift their mindset and understand why I know that's how my brain works. I'm not just going to listen to someone. I've got to understand what's going on and then it makes sense to me. Then I can do it. And I'm sold. I'm bought in. I'm going in all the way. So I think education is what comes with mindset shift. They have to know why we're asking them to do it completely different than what worked for them in the past. And that comes with education. Yeah, absolutely. I love that. I think there's a ton of

35:24misinformation out there, which we know. And then there's, I like to say, because this is how personally I was at the beginning of my journey, I was ignorant to the understanding of this stuff, which I think majority of women are. And when it comes to being more open-minded to, okay, hey, this isn't working for me anymore, or I feel low energy, I feel like I'm not getting the results that I want. I feel like it's deteriorating my health. There has to be a different way. And so being open to learning a different way, which is really hard for, I mean, even the women in Warrior

35:59Baby, you know, we think about the people that are coming in and they're 50, 55, 60, like they've it's like at the point where it's like teaching an old dog new tricks. Totally. Totally. Cause it's worked before. Well, look, it worked for me five times. Yeah. I lost weight five times. Yeah. It didn't actually work, but they don't see that. Yeah. It's crazy. It's, it's, it's being open-minded and accepting that there's a different, it's hard. Like you said, it's hard. It is hard. Definitely need to validate the hardness for sure. But it's also, if it's, if it's not working up into a point,

36:35then it's gotta be a whole different new way that someone has to take on, which is a hard concept to even grasp. Right. Well, isn't insanity is, is when someone keeps doing the same thing, expecting different results. Amen. And so we are insane because we just, we keep doing it. And I know it is so scary when we ask this, these women to eat more like that, their whole life has been based on the opposite their whole life. So that scares the freaking crap out of them. That's huge. So once,

37:11if you can break through with one little thing, one little win with them and they're like, Hey, I think, I think they were right. Like, Oh, I think they were right. Then I think it opens up the doors a little bit. Gotta get your foot in that door. Yeah. Let them see there's some other ways. I know we were just, you know, talking to the worldview community, what the other day about this, about how like they, they, they get so scared when they hear that I need to eat more food. And I rightfully so. I understand that because they come from that world that you just explained

37:42where it was, I need to be skinny. I need to be small. I need to be X, Y, and Z, but it's like, but then everything starts to downregulate and starts to get worse if you're eating more food. And then especially through menopause, it gets worse. It's like, yeah, just finding the silver lining with like giving them the fact that more food is going to help them. Um, okay. You earlier in this conversation, we're talking about, you found the solution you found, you know, obviously what works

38:14for you. Um, what is your, what's like your methodology now? Like, what do you, what do you preach in terms of what, what works for you nowadays? For one, don't, don't restrict, like make better choices. And I think that for me, that's been the, it's the first time in my life that I have not gone to bed and like rated myself. Like, okay, was I good today or was I bad? Good or bad. And I would go to bed rating myself good or bad. Most days I felt pretty bad about myself.

38:51And then it made the next day even worse. You've got to get the big rocks in place. There's the basic things that we all need to do. We all, especially in menopause. And if you understand why you need to eat your protein, like good quality, good protein, get it in. I don't care what it takes and get it in and you will naturally start to crowd out some other stuff. I don't care if you overeat your protein four or 500 calories. It really, you're going to be fine. You're going to be just fine.

39:22Yeah. Well, people think people worry. They're like, I remember this. People were like, well, too much kidneys bad or too much protein is bad for my kidneys. I'm like, no, but you're going to exercise and you're going to work out and that's going to be utilized the right way. It actually supports your organs. Like it actually helps your kidneys. I mean, unless you have kidney disease, it helps your kidneys. So get some good quality protein, lift weights. If you love running,

39:52if you love yoga, if you love Pilates, do it, but prioritize weightlifting. Just prioritize that, put your other stuff in, keep it separate from your weightlifting. Don't go run on the treadmill for 45 minutes to go try lift weights. And people don't understand what. Wait, wait, wait, unpack that. You can't just throw that out there. You can't just be like, don't do cardio, then weights. Why? Okay. Do it. I just want to say, just believe me. I know. Trust us. Now believe us later. That's what we say. All right. There's a stuff in your muscle called glycogen. And when you burn it all,

40:27you're going to go lift weights and it's going to feel horrible. You're not going to have the intensity you need to stimulate the muscle you need for muscle protein synthesis. And you're not going to grow muscle, which is why you're lifting weights. So keep it separate. That is going to be the most re-round part of this episode. I highly doubt. I highly, I highly, wow. I totally just want to say that. Menopause. I'm rubbing off. I'm rubbing off on you. You can tell we're getting to the end of the episode. No,

40:58no, no, no, no. It's totally my brain too. That that's going to be the most re-round part because the way you just broke that down for sure. So please everybody listening, do your strength training because that's the purpose of you guys building muscle. You're not going to build muscle doing cardio and then go to your cardio and do your cardio after for your. Keep it. Just keep it separate. They're both needed. Yeah. Granted, if you only have time, do your strength training. Yes. And then go for a family walk later in the day.

41:28Okay. So a couple more questions before we wrap up this episode. But you just recently became one of the brand faces of Warrior Babe. Yeah. I love it. You are inspiring so many women and it's really cool to see how the women are like latching on to your experience and your story and trusting, you know, your words. How does it feel to be a part of this mission? Like how does it, how does this being a part of the mission align with like your core values and everything that you've learned throughout your

42:02journey? I'm sitting here telling myself, do not cry. Do not cry. Do not cry. It's okay. You can cry. Don't cry. We, we, big girls, big girls cry. You can do it. Well, and I've said this before, when you have good news, you just want to share it, especially with those you care about. And I, I was at a place where I didn't, I honestly, and I, I don't want to be the

42:33Debbie Downer. I didn't want to live anymore. I, I was in a dark, dark place and I know that there's other women struggling with that. And I mean, there's a reason why suicide rates are highest from age 45 to 55. And it's not their life is horrible. It isn't. Our hormones are declining. Our health is declining. We've given everything we have to everyone around us and we have saved nothing

43:07for ourselves. And we are doing our families and ourselves a disservice. So if I give other women permission to take care of yourself, life is meant to feel happy. You are meant to feel happy. I don't know if you believe in God or not. If you believe in the universe, you are meant to feel happy. And it's not feel happy most of the time. No, you're going to have some bad days here or there.

43:39That's okay. That's fine. That's going to have bad things are going to happen. You're going to feel sad, but overall you should feel peaceful and happy in life. If your health is not in check, that's a hard place to get to. So if I can help other women understand how good this can feel, life can feel amazing. You can wake up in the morning and be excited for your day.

44:12You can love the people around you and have that fill your cup and have enough energy to spill out for all of them. For all of them, take an hour of your day, go work out, make your body strong and healthy. Go to the grocery store, spend a little extra money on some good quality food. Take care of yourself. Your whole family's up. They need laundry done. You say, I'm going to bed at 830. Take care of yourself. Your family will appreciate that. They want you around and they want you your best

44:49self. So the fact that I get to share this with more than the little people around me and that I will forever be grateful. Who knows what the future brings, but for right now, being here with you on this platform, being able to touch the lives of this many women and give them hope, it is a dream. Oh my gosh. You're gonna make me cry.

45:21So there you go. What's it like? It's a dream come true. That's what it's like. I don't know how our paths crossed, but I will forever be grateful. God, it's got hands all over it. That's for sure. Thanks for listening. Good girl, Nikki. We're going to do some big things, Maggie. That's for sure. I can't wait. I love that your heart posture is that way and that you just want to help and spread

45:53good news to everybody in this field of the industry that you've been on for 30 years. And now you get to just spread the good knowledge that you've learned along the way and just impact. There's going to be thousands, hundreds of thousands of women into the future. And that's why I honestly feel like it's my purpose. So the fact that I'm given the opportunity, I'm just so grateful. Here we go. Me too. I'm grateful for you. You're such an incredible human. And for anybody that's

46:26listening to this, like I know Maggie for almost a, it'll be a year soon. A little shy couple of a year. And she's just, I look at you as like a future, like a mom, you know, like you're such a cool person. So kind hearted, so compassionate, like just big energy. And you just a blast to hang out with. And I, I love that. I feel like you're like a daughter. I always feel really protected of you while she doing. Okay. Is this too stressful for her? Like I have these thoughts all the time.

47:01Just the fact you're thriving and accomplish what you've accomplished. I'm just so impressed by you. So thank you for everything you've done. Hey, right back at you. I'm grateful for you and grateful for it to have you on this episode. I think this is a, this has been fun. You know, it's, it's cool to just be authentic and real, you know, rather than showing up on an Instagram story or, you know, we just get to jive and hang out here. So is there anything else before we hop off here that you would want the listeners to know? Probably just what I last reiterated. You're

47:32supposed to feel happy and, and getting your health in check definitely helps you get to that place. Just keeping promises to yourself does amazing things for your brain and your psyche and your wellbeing. You're meant to be happy. So the first step is, is taking care of your, yourself. And there's so many scientific reasons why exercise is the best antidepressant there is that that's not fake. That's real. So spend some time to take care of yourself so you can share

48:02your love and your energy with those around you. I love that. And just to piggyback off of that too, really quick to add to it is that you deserve to be happy and you should be happy. If there's one thing that's going, you feel like something's off like you with your heartburn and then your guts, like guys, there's our signals that your body is telling you that internally something is off and it needs the attention. You shouldn't feel those things and it shouldn't be weighing on your happiness. It's you, you deserve as Maggie saying to feel it to be thriving. Um, so get those

48:34things checked out. Those are important. Such a good point. Well, thank you for being here. Thank you for sharing your story. You're so much for having me. Yeah. Your wisdom. And then I just, I look forward to the future with you. It's going to be, it's going to be awesome. Oh, we're going to have some fun. Yeah. And anybody, uh, that's listening, you guys, if you know, you're feeling stuck, you're feeling overwhelmed and feel like your best years are behind you or you feel like, you know, you're a stranger in your body. Do Maggie has proved that's never too late to rewrite that script. And Maggie, where can, we're going to put your socials, but what's your Instagram

49:06handle or where people can find you right now? It's still under my old business name, which is F U N C. So functional F U N C funk underscore health, um, as my Instagram and, uh, where else am I? Tick tock. It's funk dot help. I love that. Yeah. I share a little on there too. So, and then Facebook, I, right now we're trying to get my, just Maggie top them up and going so,

49:37uh, we can make a difference there. Yeah. So you guys check her, check her out there, check her out on warrior wave socials too, as well. And, uh, yeah, we love you guys and want nothing but the best for you guys. So make sure you put yourself first and get things checked out. Maggie, thank you for being here. Thanks. Hey, really quick before you go, I've one small favorite ask if this episode brought you value or sparked something in you take just a moment to hit that review button, your rating and review make all of the difference,

50:08helping more women discover the tools they need to transform the fitness and their confidence. It takes less than a minute, but it can change the path of someone else's journey. Thank you so much for leaving that review. I appreciate you so much.

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