Eating More and Less Cardio: A Body Recomp at 47

Angie: I was in a marriage that I never should have been in right before starting the program, and extremely depressed. I wasn't moving, wasn't eating well. I was in a bad spot before starting this and could not get out of bed, didn't care about anything.

Nikkiey: What would you say about working with Coach Annie? How is someone being there to guide you, to hold you accountable? What does that look like for you along your way?

Angie: She has been unbelievable. This program completely saved my life, I think, truly.

Nikkiey: What would you say are some of your biggest top achievements that you've had since joining WarriorBabe?

Angie: I'm most proud of making myself a priority, first of all. Making sure that I had time to get in strength training. That makes me feel so good, strong in both mind and body. With all of that, depression is not as bad.

Nikkiey: What's going on, everybody? Hey, you guys. Today I have another WarriorBabe here with us, WarriorBabe Angie. Before she found WarriorBabe, Angie knew what it took to be healthy, but after years of putting herself on the back burner, she reached a point where she barely even recognized herself. I'm sure that a lot of you are going to be able to hear yourself in her story today. She wasn't moving. She wasn't fueling her body appropriately, and she knew something had to change. Then WarriorBabe gave her that kind of accountability to show up for herself again. Today she's going to share that story with us. I was just telling her right before we hit record that her before and afters are just insane. I'm sure we'll plug that photo here for you guys to see as well. Angie, welcome.

Angie: Hi, thank you. Thank you. So excited to be here.

Nikkiey: Likewise. Excited to have you here. Excited to just talk through this story because, again, seeing where you were and hearing where you were to where you are now, it's really cool to see you on the other side.

Angie: I am shocked myself, quite honestly. It's been amazing.

Nikkiey: That's awesome. So let's talk about where you were before you found WarriorBabe, a little bit more fleshed out.

Angie: I'm 47 years old. I had previously worked out in my 20s to my 30s, a cardio queen, as they would call them. So not really a muscle builder. And then before finding WarriorBabe, I was 10 years out of a routine workout practice. I became a nurse and then a nurse practitioner, and I'm a single mom, and just all of me fell to the wayside. My mom unexpectedly passed away in October of '22, and my dad has had Parkinson's for over 30 years. I'm the oldest of four girls. It's been a challenge to take care of him since she passed. And in the last four years, I completely just dumped myself. I was in a marriage that I never should have been in right before starting the program, and extremely depressed. I wasn't moving, wasn't eating well. I wasn't overweight necessarily by BMI, but my body composition was not where I wanted it to be, and I was just in a funk.

Nikkiey: You were averaging how many steps a day?

Angie: Oh, 1,300, maybe.

Nikkiey: And then how many grams of protein were you eating in a day?

Angie: 80, maybe.

Nikkiey: And it's crazy too, because of your background, right? Specifically, you're an NP. Go ahead and elaborate.

Angie: I do medical weight loss, medically supervised weight loss, and it's a protein-predominant program. Cardiology is my background, and hormone replacement therapy. So I know all about it, and yet I was not helping myself at all. It just wasn't working for me.

Nikkiey: With all that knowledge that you have around that specifically, did it make it even more frustrating when you found yourself struggling to implement it in your own life?

Angie: Yes. Yes. I teach it all day long, help so many patients, and know what I was supposed to do. I never needed accountability when I did it 10 years ago with working out and stuff, but I was just in a place in my mind that I could not get it together for myself.

Nikkiey: You mentioned that pretty, I would say, dark place. Depression is heavy to hold.

Angie: Very much so.

Nikkiey: And you stopped caring about yourself in a lot of ways. I know that there's a lot of women that are in that same boat, and I appreciate you even bringing it up and being vulnerable to share that journey, because it could help another woman feel seen and heard. What was that experience like for you?

Angie: I'm very open about my depression. I've had it since I was 19. It ebbs and flows, but I was in a bad spot before starting this and could not get out of bed. Didn't care about anything. Again, as I said, I'm a single mom. She was 14 at the time, before starting, and I didn't feel like a role model of what I should be for her. But the will and the drive and the discipline I didn't have. So I'd feel guilty for not doing it, knowing what I needed to do. So it just became this ongoing cycle of: I feel like crap, and I don't care that I do, but I do care, and I couldn't do anything about it.

Nikkiey: It's a tough place to be.

Angie: Yeah. That circle of things, constant circle.

Nikkiey: And as somebody who, I feel like, had to lean on a lot of independence in that season of life, you were trying to do your best and keeping yourself accountable. Was it difficult then to realize, hey, I need support?

Angie: Yes. Previous to joining WarriorBabe, I saw ads on my social media pop up constantly, probably for six to eight months prior. I always would click just to look, and always stepped back. There was always something else that needed to be done, someone else who needed to be taken care of, whatever. Or thinking, no, I can do this. I'm going to do this next week. Next week, next week, next week never came.

Nikkiey: So what was the point where you realized it wasn't about anything else, you just needed to take that step forward and start prioritizing yourself again? Where was that point?

Angie: There was a definitive moment. I took my daughter to Daytona Beach for spring break in April of '25. I felt like, and looked like, but mostly felt like garbage, and also did not feel confident at all in myself. I don't think I took my shorts off over my bathing suit at all. It was the second to last day we were there, and I opened Instagram, and immediately WarriorBabe popped up, and I clicked on it and sent in an application. It just called to me, sitting there. I was like, I've got to do something. I don't want to feel like this anymore, and I can't do it by myself. And then the last day we were there, I had my intake, and I think I got scheduled with a coach after that. And it's been the most amazing thing I've ever done for myself.

Nikkiey: Well, kudos to you for leaning into that. It was tough at first. I've heard so many times on these interviews with babes that they saw it for six months to a year before they finally clicked on it and took action with it. There was obviously something about that day. You were just fed up, and you needed the support at that point. Was there something that I was saying, or that was in the video, that was also very intriguing to you?

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Angie: I love that it's women-based. That is huge. To promote strength and not skinny, to promote eating. So much nowadays is all the medications and everything out there, and I don't want to be stick thin. I want muscle, and I want to be able to haul logs off when I'm trying to cut trees down in my backyard. I want to be muscular. And I love that you promote eating fat, that it's good for you. You have to have it. And that was yelling to me: more food. I know I was eating fewer calories than I am now, mainly protein, obviously, but I have completely changed my body composition, and I'm eating way more than I ever was before. It is amazing.

Nikkiey: I'm going to pick your brain on when you first started, and we're going to get to the results. I'm so curious, because you were such an avid runner beforehand and you were doing that and not eating enough then. So to have the body composition that you have now, again, insane transformation. And it wasn't like you lost a lot of weight, right?

Angie: No, I didn't. Right now I'm only nine pounds down from where I started.

Nikkiey: Yeah. But it's a completely different body.

Angie: It's insane. I mean, truly, it is. I used to be a numbers person on the scale. Like, I have to weigh whatever. This was way back, 20 years ago. But just from losing nine pounds, it's incredible what I've done. I'm proud of myself.

Nikkiey: Yeah, girl.

Angie: I don't say that a lot. It's hard sometimes.

Nikkiey: You should be really proud of yourself. That's awesome.

Nikkiey: Hey, while you're listening, if you're getting value from this episode, take a moment to tap that review button or share this podcast with a friend. It's a small gesture that goes a long way in helping more women find their way to feeling stronger and more confident in their skin. I appreciate you so much for taking the time to support this show.

Nikkiey: So when you got into WarriorBabe, were you nervous about trying something new, especially coming from the world that we just talked about? You were running, you weren't eating enough, but yet you had the knowledge, you had the understanding of it. Was there any part of it that you were skeptical or nervous about at the start of your journey?

Angie: I think eating more fat. That was a struggle for me for a while, even into the program, getting to my grams of fat. I've always thought in my head, don't eat that much fat, but that is completely not the truth. I wasn't ever skeptical of the program. I was very excited. I needed something to kick my butt into gear. The planning and the charting and MyFitnessPal, at first I was like, how am I going to do all this measuring and all this stuff? And then it just became habit, just like brushing my teeth. And I love it. It's just become part of life.

Nikkiey: Were there any early aha moments once you started?

Angie: The protein. Two weeks in, I could feel depression lifting just from moving. A month in, I think I lost a pound. Again, this wasn't fast. I haven't lost that much weight in general, but I could see my body changing with pictures and measurements. And I thought to myself, I'm eating more calories than I was eating before. Also, before, I'm not diabetic, but I had hypoglycemic episodes a lot, and I've had two in the last year and a half, just based on, obviously, high protein and fats. I eat 160 carbs a day, which works for me. Obviously everyone's macros are different, but that works for me, and the types of carbs you're eating matter, obviously. So that was a big thing for me, with my blood sugar not dropping. That's been remarkable. And perimenopausal symptoms as well have drastically decreased with eating this way and moving.

Nikkiey: That's amazing. The carbs and the protein together will definitely help with those insulin spikes.

Angie: Yes.

Nikkiey: You have totally gotten ahead of menopause.

Angie: Oh, I hope so.

Nikkiey: Approaching it this way, getting strength training underway and building muscle. That's really cool. Okay, let's talk about the training. So you started eating more food, and you were noticing things happening within the first week to two weeks: depression lifting, moving more. What does your strength training or workout protocol look like? You obviously were doing a lot of running, you said. So what changed in that realm once you came into WarriorBabe?

Angie: I don't do cardio. My cardio is walking. That's it. And it's beautiful. I tell everyone.

Nikkiey: I'm sure your joints and your knees and everything love you.

Angie: I hate cardio. I've never loved it anyway, but I was like, you're supposed to do cardio. And so anyone I meet, women especially over 40, I'm like, just walk, please. I don't need you to be doing sprints and hardcore 180-beats-per-minute heart rate cardio. That's not what's good for us at this point. I walk only about a mile and a half. Annie actually told me not to worry about my steps, because I was so focused on getting 10,000 steps. Sometimes I'll just drop in the living room and do some squats and push-ups, because that's the time I have in that moment. I don't lift heavy, heavy. I've had a shoulder nerve injury that I had an open repair on, and so before this program, I could hardly even lift it above right here. And after this, I'm able to literally cut down my trees and throw logs and do things that I never expected I would be doing at this age. I'll switch upper body push, pull, lower body push, pull, core. I do a lot. I've just never been a heavy lifter.

Nikkiey: What would you say about working with Coach Annie? How is someone being there to guide you, to hold you accountable? What does that look like for you along your way?

Angie: She has been unbelievable. This program, her, completely saved my life, I think, truly. I've told her that on multiple occasions. My mind was not in a good spot, and starting this program, with her help and everyone, all of her babes on our chat site, it's amazing how much women can come together and support each other through every stress that you could even imagine. Everyone's going through something at some point. Starting this program helped me get out of the marriage that I should never have been in, and has helped me become a better mom. And Annie has done nothing but cheer me on, and she's always there if I need something. She's been fabulous as a friend and a coach.

Nikkiey: That's amazing. I love to hear that you feel supported by the women in your community and by the women in your group. That is one thing that we hear a lot, because it is a women-based program. We all have struggles every single day, and now women can lean on other women that are going through the same struggles, when it comes to nutrition or fitness or health, or even just life situations in general. So I think that's really cool that you have that.

Angie: There's no judgment.

Nikkiey: No judgment at all. Exactly. Love that. And Annie is a great coach. She has a soft spot for all her people, and she will definitely be there as a great listening ear, and with wise advice as well. So since joining, we're kind of touching on each aspect, but what would you say are some of your biggest top achievements that you've had since joining WarriorBabe?

Angie: I'm most proud of making myself a priority, first of all. It's always been hard for me, period, but especially in the last five years or so it's been difficult. But it's also important. I've realized that as well.

Nikkiey: I'm actually going to pause you there. Tactically, how did you do that? A lot of women hear, okay, I made myself a priority, but what did that look like on a day-to-day basis for you? You're a single mom, you left a marriage, you had to show up for a lot of your work and for her. How did you prioritize yourself in a day?

Angie: Making sure I knew what I was going to eat each meal. Prepping the meals. Again, making sure I put everything into MyFitnessPal so I knew what I was getting in a day and knew what I had left to eat. Making time to walk outside, even when it was negative 10. I hate winter. Cannot stand it. And I put on every piece of clothing and made myself walk at least a mile outside in my neighborhood, and came back, and it was great. And I'll do it again. Making sure that I had time to get in strength training. That makes me feel so good, strong in both mind and body. And then with all of that, depression is not as bad, and I'm able to show up for people that I care about, show up for myself, show up for my daughter. She sees it now, and she kind of jumps in with workouts now. And it just made me a happier person, to eat for my body and my mind, and also move and keep track of all that. I like tracking stuff like that, so it was very easy for me to do so.

Nikkiey: That's awesome. That's so cool. I would definitely say that's a solid top achievement.

Angie: Yes. Thank you. I think so.

Nikkiey: If you had to name two others, what would they be?

Angie: Healing the shoulder. I never thought I'd be able to lift anything again with this shoulder. I had complete atrophy of my entire scapula. All my muscle went away. When that injury occurred, that really set me back and was depressing. And now that I've been able to build it back up, I'm able to do things that I didn't think I was going to do. This program helped me do that. I also have more energy that I couldn't get before, and that has made a huge difference in every aspect of my life. Coming home from work and being with my daughter. I'd come home from work and be like, I've got to lie down, I'm tired, or whatever. I also volunteer as a nurse at an overnight camp every summer, and this past summer everyone there at camp was like, oh my God, what have you been doing? And again, I only lost nine pounds. It wasn't anything huge, but they could just tell I've been working on myself, and I'm noticeably happier.

Nikkiey: That's the cool thing. It's not going to be the pounds lost. It's going to be the photo shown. So team, better put her before and after picture up on this video, and everybody that's listening to just the audio is going to have to find the video version. I love that about your transformation specifically: it's not going to be noted by the number on the scale. It's going to be noted by your physique, your composition, the muscle that you built, the body fat that you lost. That's a really cool part about it.

Angie: Yeah. I'm excited.

Nikkiey: And I would say another one of your achievements, I'm just going to speak for you, is that you were able to follow a plan consistently, because for over 10 years you weren't able to.

Angie: Yes. That was trying on my own, and not really trying. But yes, I've been able to follow it, and it's changed my life completely in the best ways.

Nikkiey: And you mentioned that your daughter is asking to work out with you now. How else have you seen this positively impact her life? What has it meant to have your daughter watch you become stronger and prioritize yourself again?

Angie: I've been a single mom way longer than this previous marriage, but she's been able to see me step out of a really dark place. She might not have been completely aware of what was happening, but she saw me get up off the couch: now I'm going to walk, do you want to come with me? So now she'll walk with me. She gets out the workout mat at home, and she's like, I'm going to do a workout. I'm like, okay, I'll let you do your workout. And she's commented on the muscle that I've built, and I'm like, exactly. Yes, we want to be strong. We're not looking for skinny, because that's not healthy. We want to be able to lift stuff and move stuff and not depend on a man. I just want her to see that I can take care of myself, and so can she, and to step out of a comfort zone. Because it became a habit of just sitting there doing nothing. I needed help, and this was the help.

Nikkiey: I think that's really cool, that part where you took the action and she saw you take the action. She was sitting across the table. That's awesome. So if you had to say something to your past self, or to somebody that's watching this right now that's maybe in the same place you once were, what would you say to that woman?

Angie: You can always do something for yourself. Wherever your mind is at that moment isn't forever. Don't be afraid to ask for help. That was a problem for me for a while. Don't be ashamed that you need help. This program was the greatest kickstart to my life that I could have chosen. I had no idea how much it would change my life. Taking that next step to do something for yourself, especially as women, is something that I know we all struggle with, and the littlest step that you think might not be anything could be the biggest step of your entire life. It truly has been mine.

Nikkiey: That's awesome, Angie. Those are some good, wise words for everyone that's listening to this. I think Angie's story is proof that sometimes knowing what to do isn't always enough. You truly have to believe that you're worth showing up for. What started as a decision to prioritize your health became a decision to choose yourself every single day. What I love too about your story, Angie, is that you are laying the foundation. You're creating the foundation for lasting health for those around you, which is a part of our mission statement: for your daughter, for the people that are in your life. I would say to anybody that just heard Angie's story and finds themselves in the same boat she was in before: take that action step. Check out WarriorBabe. Get inside the program. Get a coach.

Angie: Definitely.

Nikkiey: Doing it alone is one thing. You heard Angie was very independent, but there was a point where she needed that help. And we all, if we can humbly say it, need help along the way, along the journey. So that's your reminder that you can find your way back to you. Angie, I appreciate you sharing that story. I appreciate you opening up.

Angie: Thank you.

Nikkiey: I think it's really cool. Appreciate you. A year and a half, girl. You've got so much more time to keep changing that body, which is really cool.

Angie: Yes. Thank you.

Nikkiey: Hey, really quick before you go, I have one small favor to 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 in helping more women discover the tools they need to transform their 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.