Fit Strong Women Over 50: Recent Episodes
Becoming Elli with Chris Brown and Jill McCauslin
Welcome to the Fit Strong Women over 50 podcast where the cohosts from the Becoming Elli Community, Jill McCauslin and Chris Brown, interview experts and share their insights about losing weight, keeping it off, working out and becoming fit and strong. Hear from others who are making it work, become inspired and motivated. For more information find Becoming Elli on Facebook and Twitter or visit our website at http://www.becomingelli.com for more motivation, work-out ideas, recipes, tips and inspiration.
We have some exciting news to share! If you listened to our Spring Break episode, you know that we asked if anyone would like to join us as a cohost on this podcast.
After 8 years, we had been feeling a bit fatigued with producing our podcast so we were delighted when Maria Molvin contacted us and said she was interested in joining the Becoming Elli team.
It's actually rather nice to be a team instead of just two of us. You may remember that we interviewed Maria in April 2024, just over two years ago. You can check out episode 152 if you want to hear that discussion.
Maria and Jill worked together earlier in our careers, so we've known each other a long time.
In our Spring Break episode, we discuss the switch from soups to salads, getting outside for exercise and new beginnings.
Spring is in the air, and we're feeling energized to shake things up—both in and out of the kitchen.
Chris shares the excitement (and learning curve!) of getting a new bike and figuring out all its features, while Jill has been enjoying time on her e-bike and the freedom it brings to get outside more. Staying active doesn't have to look the same every season, and we're both leaning into what feels fun right now.
Speaking of fun, Chris talks about why she's been line dancing every chance she gets—it's a great way to move, laugh, and connect. Jill is feeling inspired too and is on the hunt for pickleball lessons as she looks to pick up a new sport this spring.
We also dive into some simple food swaps to refresh your routine. Chris shares how she's transitioning from winter comfort foods to lighter options, trading in hearty soups for fresh, satisfying salads. Jill is ready to break out of her food rut and is looking for easy ways to add variety and excitement back into her meals.
Chris highlights a new protein bar she's been enjoying, and Jill shares a quick update on electrolytes—what they are, and why they might be helpful as activity levels increase with the warmer weather.
Finally, we talk about some upcoming changes to the podcast. As we look ahead, we're beginning the search for a co-host who could eventually step in and continue the Fit Strong Women Over 50 mission when we decide to retire.
If you've been thinking about trying something new—whether it's a different workout, a new sport, or a simple food swap—this is your sign to go for it.
As 2025 comes to a close, Chris and Jill slow things down for a thoughtful end-of-year conversation. Instead of a highlight reel or checklist of accomplishments, this episode focuses on reflection, intention, and what it really means to age strong — physically, mentally, and emotionally.
They also share an important announcement:
For links and more information visit our website at BecomingElli.com
In this episode, Jill and Chris welcome back Dr. Glenn Livingston, psychologist, researcher, author, and creator of Defeat Your Cravings. You may remember him from Episode 155—or from his work helping thousands of people stop binge-eating, quiet food cravings, and rebuild a peaceful relationship with food.
Glenn draws on decades of research, including studies with more than 40,000 participants, and his own personal journey out of food addiction. His insights combine practical behavioral strategies with deep compassion for anyone struggling with overeating.
For links and more information visit our website at BecomingElli.com.
This week, Jill and Chris talk with Suzy Rosenstein, master certified life coach, midlife mentor, and host of the Women in the Middle podcast. Suzy has helped thousands of women who feel stuck in midlife rediscover clarity, joy, and purpose. Her signature blend of humor, curiosity, and encouragement inspires women to see aging not as something to fear—but as an incredible opportunity.
Together, we explore the mindset traps that keep women stuck, how to embrace aging with intention, and why midlife can be one of the most meaningful and fulfilling chapters of life.
We discuss:
- Why Midlife Women Get Stuck
- Using Envy as a Tool for Growth
- Fitness, Motivation & Taking Small Steps
- Food, Hormones & Midlife Changes
- Her "FUN" process for navigating midlife with clarity and purpose
- Celebrating Life After 50
For more information and links, visit our website at BecomingElli.com.
In this inspiring episode, Jill and Chris chat with Melissa Wilson, a vibrant grandmother who's redefining what it means to be fit and strong after 60. Jill met Melissa at the gym and has watched her incredible transformation firsthand — from hesitant beginner to confident, strong, and motivated athlete.
Melissa shares her personal fitness journey, the turning point that motivated her to start, and how her mindset and lifestyle have evolved along the way. She opens up about challenges, surprises, and the role that community, consistency, and courage have played in her success.
Whether she's tackling a tough challenge like the Murph, perfecting her lifts, or planning her next goal, Melissa shows that it's never too late to become your strongest self — inside and out.
For more information and links, visit our website at BecomingElli.com.
189 - Mediterranean Diet with Chris and Jill
In this episode of Fit Strong Women Over 50, we're diving back into one of our favorite topics — food! Many of us reach a point where we want to eat healthier, feel better, and still enjoy the foods we love. This past summer my doctor has recommended that I follow the Mediterranean diet, which inspired this episode all about three of the most researched and effective eating styles for women over 50: the Mediterranean, DASH, and MIND diets.
We talk about what makes each plan unique, how they overlap, and why they're all considered top choices for long-term health and wellness.
For links and more information visit our website, BecomingElli.com.
Imagine racing your bike up steep Icelandic mountains, through snow, across rivers—and doing it with your daughter and grandson. That's exactly what today's guest, Þórdís Rósa Sigurðardóttir, does.
Disa is a competitive cyclist from Iceland who races on road and gravel courses in one of the most challenging climates on earth. She's passionate about cycling, fitness, and community—and she's sharing that love across three generations of her family.
In this episode, Disa talks about:
- The challenges and beauty of cycling through Iceland's rugged landscape
- How she trains for races in every season (yes, even in the snow!)
- Tips for climbing steep hills and building strength on the bike
- How she balances training with family and life
- The importance of recovery, cross-training, and staying injury-free after 50
- Her approach to nutrition and fueling for long rides
- The joy of racing alongside her daughter and grandson
Disa's story is full of grit, adventure, and inspiration—proof that passion and perseverance can take you anywhere, at any age.
For more information, visit our website at BecomingElli.com
Bone health is a topic that affects so many women, especially as we move through midlife and beyond. In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Lisa Moore, Doctor of Physical Therapy and founder of Brick House Bones®. Lisa’s mission is to help people with low bone density or osteoporosis rebuild confidence, strength, and resilience—so they can keep doing the things they love with the people they love.
Dr. Moore is trained through BoneFit™ and the Institute of Clinical Excellence in bone health exercise. She blends the latest research with yoga, strength training, and mindful movement to help women strengthen their bones safely. She also offers a program called Journey to Fracture-Proof, which provides practical, research-based tools to improve bone health.
For more information and links, visit our website at BecomingElli.com.
In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Angela Mazza, a triple board-certified endocrinologist who specializes in thyroid disorders, diabetes, and hormone imbalances. Dr. Mazza is the founder of the Metabolic Center for Wellness in Central Florida, where she takes an integrative and personalized approach to patient care.
She is also the co-host of the Thyroid Talk with Dr. Angela Mazza podcast and the author of Thyroid Talk: An Integrative Guide to Thyroid Health. Together, we explore how the thyroid gland affects women’s health, especially during midlife transitions such as perimenopause and menopause.
Dr. Mazza helps us understand the signs and symptoms of thyroid issues, the role of hormones, and the kinds of tests available to identify potential problems. She also explains the difference between hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, how thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) works, and whether thyroid issues can be prevented.
For more information and links, visit our website: BecomingElli.com
In this episode of Fit Strong Women Over 50, we talk with Charlyn Huss, a Nationally Certified Pilates Teacher, movement educator, and gut-health specialist with over 25 years of experience. Charlyn’s innovative approach blends movement science, psychology, and nutrition to help people optimize posture, boost confidence, and achieve lasting wellness.
Charlyn is the co-creator of CoreSpring®, a patented Pilates-inspired portable apparatus and training method, and the founder of Playhouse Pilates, a studio that integrates movement, mindset, and gut health to help clients feel their strongest.
For more information and links, visit our website at www.BecomingElli.com
184 Last year Lauren Paulson ran a race every month for her 50th birthday. Those included her first 100 miler, her first 100 K, the SOS triathlon, and the rim2rim2rim of the Grand Canyon. She is also a professor of psychology and the chair of the department and oversees a $15 million grant. So Lauren understands what it’s like to be an aging female endurance athlete who is trying to balance work and life.
More info at our website: www.BecomingElli.com.
In this enlightening episode of Fit Strong Women Over 50, Jill and Chris sit down with Dr. Marcia Harris, a trailblazer in women's health and hormone optimization. With over four decades of clinical experience, Dr. Harris shares her wisdom, compassion, and science-backed insights to help women better understand the powerful (and often misunderstood) transition of midlife.
Dr. Harris breaks down what’s really happening during perimenopause and menopause, debunks the most persistent myths, and explores the emotional and physical shifts women experience. The conversation dives into hormone therapy, including what “bioidentical hormones” really mean and how symptoms and lab results both play a role in determining the best course of care.
She also sheds light on midlife fatigue, adrenal health, and the critical role lifestyle plays in balancing hormones, improving energy, and managing stress. With practical tips and empowering stories from her patients, Dr. Harris helps women see this stage of life not as a decline—but as a powerful new beginning.
For more information and links, visit our website at www.BecomingElli.com
In this inspiring episode of the Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast, hosts Chris and Jill sit down with Beverley Glazer, seasoned psychotherapist, empowerment coach, and host of the Aging with Purpose and Passion podcast. With over 30 years of experience helping women overcome adversity and step confidently into new life chapters, Beverley brings a wealth of wisdom and practical strategies for navigating midlife with resilience and authenticity.
Beverley shares why she’s passionate about working with women over 50, what it really means to “redefine midlife,” and how we can all reclaim our purpose—even after life’s biggest transitions. From managing the emotional challenges of the empty nest or the end of a career, to battling ageism and discovering meaningful goals, Beverley offers compassionate advice and powerful encouragement.
For more information and links, visit our website at BecomingElli.com
In episode 181, we talk with the former editor of Women's Health, Liz Possler, about the importance of protein and amino acids for women in midlife for aging well, maintaining muscle, losing weight, and for overall longevity.
We discuss:
- Body composition and the importance of protein for muscle
- Muscle mass and women over 50
- What's the right amount of protein to eat and ways to increase your protein
- What are amino acids and why they are so important to women over 50
- Using supplements and protein powder to be sure you get enough
For more information, discount code and links visit our website at BecomingElli.com
In this vibrant and laughter-filled episode, we’re joined by Yvonne Marchese—a true “Age Agitator” and host of the Late Bloomer Living Podcast. Yvonne is also the author of In Full Bloom: A Guide to Aging Playfully, a professional photographer, speaker, and co-founder of the Age Agitators Club. She's on a mission to flip the script on aging and show us that midlife can be a launchpad, not a slowdown.
We dive deep into Yvonne’s inspiring personal journey of reinvention—from fearing invisibility to embracing roller skates, paddle boards, and bold dreams. She shares h her perspective on aging that led her to create a thriving community for women who want to age with intention, curiosity, and joy.
For more information and links, visit our website at BecomingElli.com
In episode 179, Jill and Chris speak with Lisa Goldberg, a nutritionist, mindset and weight loss expert. She with a master’s degree in Clinical Nutrition from New York University.
Lisa has been coaching busy, high achieving professionals to lasting weight loss for over 20 years. Her work focuses on teaching her clients how to break their self-sabotaging eating patterns and change their unhealthy relationship with food by making cognitive habit and behavioral changes. Through this mindshift work they lose their unwanted weight and learn how to keep it off for good. She coaches her clients remotely in the U.S and around the world.
She is the author of the book Food Fight!! Winning the Battle with Food and Eating to Achieve Sustainable Weight Loss, available on Amazon.
For more information visit our website at www.becomingelli.com
Jill and Chris interview Dr. Paul Kolodzik, who uses the technology of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in his metabolic health practice.
With the use of CGMs, he helps his patients achieve weight loss and improved health. He has also integrated the prudent use of the new weight loss medications into his practice.
His new book: The Continuous Glucose Monitoring Revolution, presents a comprehensive program for metabolic health success using CGMs and limited use of weight loss medications.
Dr. Kolodzik graduated from the University of Notre Dame and completed medical school and residency at Wright State University where he served as chief resident. He is a founding member of the Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners.
He is board-certified by both the American Board of Preventive Medicine and the American Board of Emergency Physicians. In a thirty-year emergency room career, he has cared for many patients in crises and has witnessed firsthand the failures of mainstream diets and the medical system overall, which prioritizes medications and surgery over diet and lifestyle changes to prevent and reverse disease.
For more information and links mentioned in this episode, please visit our website at BecomingElli.com
Mary Newell is a 74 year old runner who started running at 55 and never stopped. She is a mostly retired clinical psychologist. Her two passions are running and travel. She combines them as much as possible.
We were introduced to Mary by Wendy Battles, the host of the Reinvention Rebels podcast. Mary’s story is inspiring and we really wanted to talk with her on the Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast.
More info at our website: Becoming Elli
In episode 176, Chris and Jill speak with Laurie Lewis, an Intermittent Fasting and Wellness Coach. With intermittent fasting as the foundation, Laurie teaches how to break free from the punishment-diet paradigm we live in. She shows how to tune into our body’s inner compass, have a daily eating window, and experience improvements in every aspect of our lives.
Laurie has Health Coach Certification from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Her company is called Fast Forward Intermittent Fasting and she offers customized coaching services.
We discuss:
- Why dieting doesn't work
- What the health benefits of intermittent fasting are
- How many hours of fasting vs eating window to start and how to make changes
- Clean eating and how that is important
- Why flavored teas or flavored waters do not count toward fasting hours
- How to use intermittent fasting as a way to maintain a weight loss
- The importance of protein during peri and menopause
- Why strength training is important
Links:
Visit our website at Becoming Elli for more information and links.
In episode 175, Jill and Chris speak with Sally Duplantier, a gerontologist, health educator and researcher.
She founded her current company, Zing, with a mission to help older adults live their best lives longer through better lifestyle choices and health equity. She is passionate about increasing Healthspan—the number of years we are free of chronic disease and disability.
Sally returned to school in her 60s. She received an MS in gerontology from the University of Southern California and a graduate certificate in Qualitative Research from Indiana University. She was recently accepted into a doctoral program at the Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health.
Sally is a regular guest speaker for organizations like Stanford University and the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. Her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as Nutrients and The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
We discussed:
For more information, visit our website: BecomingElli.com
When we saw what Jill Johnson posted on social media at the beginning of this year, we knew we wanted to talk with her!
Three years ago, she was not walking -- fast forward to the end of 2024 when she was able to pull a sled with 4 plates equaling 245 pounds for nearly 50 feet across the gym floor!
The video she posted is inspirational too!
She attributes her success to surrounding herself with the right people: a strongman competitor who saw her potential and a coach who knew how to unlock it.
She obviously knows about overcoming challenges, getting strong and being motivated.
For more information, visit our website at www.becomingelli.com
In episode #173, Jill and Chris talk with Kerstin Schulze, a powerhouse in both entertainment and wellness.
Originally from Germany, Kerstin’s journey began with a silver medal at the Junior Olympics in Berlin. From there, she pursued her love for performance with formal theater training and a business degree before making her way to Los Angeles.
Kerstin’s acting career is extensive. She’s worked with many well-known actors and directors. Her IMDb page is impressive.
She founded Party and Diet 24 years ago – an innovative fitness company that specializes in providing tailored nutritional and exercise programs now designed specifically for individuals aged 40-75.
For more information visit our website: BecomingElli.com
In episode #172 Jill and Chris explore quick go-to dinners that are easy to make and healthy for those nights that you are rushed and tempted to make less healthy choices.
We feature go to dinners from:
- Amanda Nighbert - episode #96 Living Energized and
- Nourished with Amanda Nighbert
- Carol Simpson - episode #109 Rock Climbing and Yoga
- Jone Carpenter - episode #104 Find Your Tribe
- Joyce Guenther - episode #107 Bicycling all 50 States
- Katie Orlando - episode #114 Sharing Love of Tennis with Katie Orlando
- Kristin Kirkpatrick - episode #82 Nutrition for Women over 50 with Kristin Kirkpatrick
- Lisa Bartlett - episode #86 Fit after Fifty Forever with Lisa Bartlett
- Pat Bissell - episode #168 Find Your Passion and Stay Healthy with Pat Bissell
For links go to our website at www.BecomingElli.com
We met Karen when she joined our Becoming Elli private facebook group. She has such a compelling story, we asked her to be a guest on our podcast.
Karen Clark-Snitchler is a Music Director and Conductor. She has an impressive list of plays and musicals that she has music directed. By day, Karen is a music teacher. She also started a “Girls on the Run” club at her elementary school.
Karen has lost over 100 pounds and become an athlete. She runs and strength trains.
In 2020, Karen’s husband died suddenly of a heart attack. Not wanting to make their two daughters orphans, she decided to make a lot of health changes. She started at 276 pounds and over a couple of years, lost 100 pounds on WW and also took up running.
For more information and links, visit our website at https://becomingelli.com/losing-100-pounds-and-finding-health/
Suzanne Fowler is a regular listener to the Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast and a member of the Becoming Elli Community. She watched her parents' health decline and decided to prepare for the aging process. Chris and Jill spoke with Suzanne about how she recently re-invented herself and now lives in an active and engaging environment.
In this episode we talk about getting started with strength training and progressing to the next level.
For more information visit our website at BecomingElli.com
In this episode, we talk together about the successes and challenges of 2024. We realize that everyone is on their own fitness and health journey. Not everything works for everyone, but by following the Becoming Elli community and listening to the Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast, you'll come away inspired, motivated and having a good sense of what you want to do to stay fit and strong.
Some of the highlights of 2024 included some interviews with interesting guests, learning about new techniques at Podcast Movement 2024 and trying new challenges like eating the rainbow.
For more information visit our website: BecomingElli.com
Pat Bissell talks with Jill and Chris about how she found her passion and has consistently found ways to stay healthy and fit.
A long time friend of Chris's, Pat describes herself as a very active mature female. She has been active her whole life always enjoying sports, exercise classes and strength training for the past 25 years.
For more info and links visit our website at BecomingElli.com
In episode 167, Jill and Chris talk with Adina O’Neill, the founder and head coach at Team B*REAL, an endurance sport community where athletes of any size, color, identity, age & ability are empowered to achieve their personal goals.
She helps her clients to build confidence, define their own goals, go at their own pace and stand out despite believing they may not fit in.
Adina is a marathon swimmer and triathlete who has completed over 100 endurance events including the Paris Marathon, ice swims, a 13-mile swim, IRONMAN Mont Tremblant, and a 200 mile single day bike ride.
She enjoys traveling, eating cereal and listening to live music with her husband, 2 children and their yellow lab Mel.
More information and links visit our website at BecomingElli.com.
Henry Howard found running in his early 40s when he set out to achieve a bucket-list goal: run a marathon.
Since then he has finished more than 40 marathons and ultras, including four 100-milers. Along the way, he has qualified for the Boston Marathon twice, become a running coach and launched his RunSpirited website.
As a running coach, he guides awesome runners of all experience levels, backgrounds and fitness to achieve their amazing goals.
As a professional writer and editor, he has merged his background with his passion for running and desire to give back to the community. RunSpirited offers coaching tips, interviews with inspiring athletes, product reviews and much more.
More info: BecomingElli.com
In episode 165, Jill and Chris speak with award-winning nutritionist and author, Nicki Williams.
She is the founder of Happy Hormones for Life, helping women of all ages to rebalance their hormones, reclaim their health and feel better than ever.
After failing to find any medical help for her health issues in your early 40’s, she discovered that she could turn things around using diet, lifestyle and natural supplements.
For links and more information visit our website: BecomingElli.com
Jill and Chris talk with Pat Spencer, owner of Getting Your Mind in Gear, who helps endurance athletes hone the mental skills needed to achieve their endurance sports goals.
Pat is an avid gravel cyclist, former long course triathlete, marathoner, and open water swimmer. A licensed clinical social worker and a therapist with a private practice in central New Jersey, she has worked in mental health for 25+ years in a variety of settings, including directly with clients, as a supervisor, as a adjunct professor and providing a number of professional trainings.
In 2022, she decided to combine her understanding of mental health with her love of endurance sports. She knew she was not the only athlete out there dealing with all of the mental challenges that come with endurance sports.
For more information visit our website at Becoming Elli
In episode 163, Jill and Chris talk with Kim Vopni, a leading authority in health & fitness coaching for women with pelvic floor dysfunction and is known as The Vagina Coach.
She has helped thousands of women learn how to do pelvic floor exercises, ditch the incontinence pads, eliminate their prolapse symptoms and get back to living life to the fullest!
Kim is a certified fitness professional who became passionate about spreading information on pelvic health when she was pregnant with her first child. She is the author of 2 books – Prepare to Push – What Your Pelvic Floor and Abdomen Want You To Know About Pregnancy and Birth and a second title Your Pelvic Floor – The Inside Story.
Kim is the founder of Pelvienne Wellness Inc and co-founder of Bellies Inc. She is also the founder of Kegels and Cocktails™ – a women’s health event designed to empower and educate women on the importance of pelvic health.
For more info visit our website at www.becomingelli.com
Jill and Chris talk with Jackie Errico, a nationally certified strength and conditioning coach, a certified personal trainer, and co-owner of Just Lift Fitness training studios located in the Chicago area.
Jackie focuses on helping women gain confidence in their bodies. She educates women on the physical and mental benefits of strength training and how to fuel bodies with the right food; teach them how to lift weights properly and safely; and help them create a fitness and nutrition game plan so that they can achieve the results they deserve.
For more info see our Becoming Elli website
Great conversation with Dr. Woods about bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, the effects of menopause on weight loss and her advice for women 50 and over. A functional medicine doctor, Dr. Makaila Woods has Double Board Certification with the American Board of Obesity Medicine, and the American Board of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
We discuss:
- why she decided to get into both functional medicine and weight loss from gynecolocy and obstetrics.
- when to consider bioidentical hormone replacement therapy
- the relationship of replacement hormones and cancer
- How to find a functional medicine doctor and how they are different than other types of doctors
- how she helps her clients lose weight
for more information and the links we discuss, go to our website show notes page at https://becomingelli.com
160 - Elite Athlete Bree Lambert
Bree Lambert is a personal trainer, running coach, nutritionist and ultra runner. She has been pursuing endurance sports since her teenage years, starting with road triathlon, Xterra off-road triathlon and now ultra running.
Bree completed her first 50K in 2005 and since then has completed distances from 50k to 100 miles. Each finish represents hundreds of hours of training, dedication and mental preparation.
Bree coaches other runners to achieve their goals while providing personal training services to both runners and non-runners alike in San Jose, California and online.
She believes in a healthy lifestyle and thinks that no matter where your health is now, you can make an improvement.
For more information and links, visit our website at BecomingElli.com.
In episode 159 of the Fit Strong Women Over 50 Podcast, Jill and Chris talk with Alicia Jones who helps transform the health and the lives of women over 40 through her fitness and weight loss strategies. She has a B.A in Kinesiology and has many certifications, including National Coach of Canada (NCCP), Advanced Sport Nutrition, Certified Group Fitness Instructor, and Personal Training Specialist: Canfit-pro. Alicia has appeared on various health and wellness television programs and produced and hosted Health Matters and The View: Health and Wellness On Rogers TV.
For more information and links, visit our website at www.BecomingElli.com.
In Food Finds with Chris and Jill, they discuss various websites and ideas for food challenges. They talk about what they love to eat in the summer and where they get inspiration.
For links and more info visit the Becoming Elli website.
In episode 157, Jill and Chris talk with Elaine Glass, author, speaker and personal coach.
For over a decade, Elaine has helped countless people unlock their truest selves. She works with them to find purpose, peace, and self-empowerment.
Elaine’s newest book, Get Quiet: 7 Simple Paths to the Truth of Who You Are, is a guide to healing and transforming yourself inspired by the classical form of the labyrinth.
For more information, see our website at BecomingElli.com.
The Power of Pushing Limits at Any Age with Gwendolyn Bounds
Gwendolyn Bounds is an award-winning journalist and author of NOT TOO LATE: The Power of Pushing Limits at Any Age.
A few months shy of her 47th birthday, author and journalist Gwendolyn Bounds asked herself, “How is it possible to become good at something when you are already far behind and time isn’t on your side?”
Her intimate story takes us from playgrounds and gyms, where Bounds trains among children and athletes half her age, to far-flung Spartan Race courses – including the vast desert of the Middle East.
As she moves from the back of the pack to eventually become a podium finisher in her age group, Bounds captures the humility, challenge and elation of pursuing something bold and new amid the realities of midlife: caring for elderly parents, a demanding job, and a body no longer in its prime.
More information at our website: Becoming Elli.
In episode 155, Jill and Chris speak with Glenn Scott Livingston, Ph.D. about dealing with food cravings. He was the long time CEO of a multi-million dollar consulting firm which has serviced several Fortune 500 clients in the food industry.
Disillusioned by what traditional psychology had to offer overweight and/or food obsessed individuals, Dr. Livingston spent several decades researching the nature of bingeing and overeating via work with his own clients AND a self-funded research program with more than 40,000 participants. He earned his Ph.D. in psychology in 1991.
His work has appeared in many major newspapers and other media outlets. He has a website defeatyourcravings.com, a podcast called “Defeat Your Cravings” and offers live individual coaching and support groups online.
More important than his professional bio, however, is his personal journey out of food addiction and obesity into a more normal and peaceful relationship with food.
For more information visit our website: www.BecomingElli.com
In episode 154, Jill and Chris speak with Maddy Dychtwald, an internationally acclaimed author, public speaker, and thought leader on longevity, aging, the new retirement, and the ascent of women.
She co-founded Age Wave, the world’s leader in understanding and addressing the far-reaching impacts of our aging population.
She is the author of "Ageless Aging: A Woman’s Guide to Increasing Healthspan, Brainspan, and Lifespan" published by the Mayo Clinic Press.
Maddy has been featured in Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, Newsweek, Time, Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, Fox Business News, CNBC, and NPR, and others.
Maddy is the author of two previous books: Influence: How Women’s Soaring Economic Power Will Transform Our World for the Better and Cycles: How We Will Live, Work, and Buy.
For more information, see our website: BecomingElli.com
In episode 153, we feature an encore presentation of one of the inspiring stories of Fit Strong Women Over 50.
This episode was first released five years ago as episode 31. We wanted to revisit this episode for our listeners who may not have had the opportunity to hear the story of this inspiring woman.
Enjoy!
More details at our website: BecomingElli.com
In episode 152 of the Fit Strong women Over 50 Podcast, Jill and Chris speak with Becoming Elli member, Maria Molvin about how she finds strategies to stay healthy and fit as she ages.
Balancing work, family obligations, focusing on healthy eating, prioritizing sleep, and finding time to be active can be challenging. Maria lives in Northeast Ohio with her husband. She takes advantage of all the great local metro parks and the Cuyahoga Valley National Park to walk and hike.
We discussed:
- How Maria relies on habits over willpower and discipline
- How she uses her home gym. She has an elliptical. treadmill, stationery bike, and a weight bench.
- Why she gets on her stationary bike for 10 minutes each morning
- Her full workout routines and how they help her reduce stress after from working from home all day
- Strength training with bicep curls and skull crushers
- Overcoming a sleep disorder by prioritizing sleep. Maria makes sure she sleeps in a dark room, puts away her phone before bed, listens to yoga Nidra recordings, takes CBD and goes to sleep at about the same time each night.
- What she does to offset her joint hyper mobility. Although she became a Yoga Instructor, now she does not work out for flexibility. Instead she focuses on functional movements, like standing on one foot to increase her balance.
- How she considers herself an "all-weather walker" and dresses for the conditions.
- Why taking belly dancing lessons was such a fun way to exercise
- Looking into the FODMAPS diet - the elimination diet where she found out about sensitivities to onions, garlic, beans and legumes
- Big salads at lunch, chicken breasts in the air fryer and grilled chicken/shrimp with seamed or roasted vegges for dinner
- Her advice for women who want start adapting for health: pick one thing you want to change and get good at adding that habit (or eliminating that bad habit.)
For more information visit our website at BecomingElli.com
Episode #151 Get More Fit with Kathy Murray
Kathy Murray is a certified personal trainer with over thirty years’ experience in the fitness industry.
She is a graduate of The Ohio State University where she was a member of the 1983 National Cheerleading Championship Team. After college she competed in and won the United States Aerobic Championship in 1986 and spent the year traveling the world as a Fitness Ambassador.
Kathy worked as a free-lance educator to teach fitness to European Instructors. While in Munich, she coached the Munich Cowboys (American Football) Cheerleaders to six national titles in cheerleading and was head trainer/translator for the German Gladiators during a pilot TV show for the International Gladiators. I was in Germany where she started Fit Bodies
Always an avid cyclist, Kathy dipped her toe into the world of multi-sport in 2000, first competing in duathlons then eventually moving to triathlons. Kathy has owned her personal training business Fit Bodies for 25 years and in 2022 co-authored the Audible book, The Munich Cowboy Cheerleaders based on her time coaching the squad.
She lives in Atlanta with her husband Lutalo, dog Mingus and cat Sassy.
We discussed:
- Coaching teens in Germany for the Munich Cowboys Cheerleaders
- Preparing for a hip replacement and setting goals
- Her active online fitness coaching at Fit Bodies
- How she helps her clients get more fit at any age
Learn more at our website: Becoming Elli
In episode 150, Jill McCauslin and Chris Brown interview Chris Freytag, the founder of Get Healthy U and Get Healthy U TV.
Chris Freytag has been teaching, training, writing books, creating DVD’s, and speaking on the subject of health and fitness for the last 30 years.
Get Healthy U TV is a streaming website with workouts for midlife women. They have over 700 workouts for all levels and ages. You can access the workouts on your computer, smart phone, Roku, Fire TV and the Get Healthy U app.
Get Healthy U is the sister fitness hub that educates and inspires women to make healthy lifestyle choices as they age. Get Healthy U provides trustworthy information about health, fitness, wellbeing, nutrition, and recipes.
Get Healthy U TV and Get Healthy U reach over 1 million women a month through their website, newsletters, social media and workouts.
Chris lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her husband where they raised their three now-grown kids.
More info at our website: BecomingElli.com
In episode 149, Jill and Chris talk with Emily and Mitchell Clionsky, the authors of Dementia Prevention: Using Your Head to Save Your Brain. Their book is the culmination of 45 years of extensive clinical evaluation and treatment.
A husband-and-wife team, they have a combined 70 years of professional and clinical experience in medicine and neuropsychology and have treated 20,000 patients.
Emily Clionsky, MD, completed residencies in internal medicine and in psychiatry, and is a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
Mitchell Clionsky, PhD, is a board-certified neuropsychologist who specializes in evaluating and treating patients with cognitive impairment, dementia, ADHD, and traumatic brain injury.
They partner at a private practice, Clionsky Neuro Systems, Inc., based in Springfield, Massachusetts.
See more information at our website: BecomingElli.com
Amy Wilson is a Board-Certified Geriatric Pharmacist, a certified fitness professional, and a certified nutrition coach. She helps people prevent and reverse diseases with nutrition and fitness.
Amy believes diet and exercise can change a person’s life, and how the right nutritional program can be the key to improving health and fitness. She has seen her clients reverse their pre-diabetes, diabetes, high cholesterol, and more.
Amy uses a holistic approach to health to help her clients feel in control of their bodies and minds, while no longer feeling enslaved by their scale.
For more information see our website: Becoming Elli.
Kim Rahir is a 60-year-old mother of three who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) 10 years ago. She decided to ignore her then doctor's advice... muscle her way back to a happy life... and in 2023, become the European Champion in Masters Weightlifting in her age and weight category.
Her journey inspired her to leave her career in journalism in her 50s and become a health coach for middle aged women - with a big focus on reactivating and rebuilding muscle.
Today, Kim helps women tap into an abundant source of vitality by reactivating and maintaining their muscles, while ditching diet culture conditioning to actually eat to nourish and flourish.
For details see our website: Becoming Elli.
In episode 146, Jill and Chris talk with Heike Yates, a Midlife Mindset and Fitness Coach, a powerhouse in fitness, nutrition, and mindset with over 35 years of expertise. She breaks down the complexities of midlife wellness into simple, actionable steps you can start taking action today. But don’t mistake her for someone helping you get by in midlife—Heike’s all about helping you thrive.
She’s transforming not just bodies but lives with her unique approach to getting active, eating right, and boosting energy. When she’s not coaching or behind the mic, catch her outdoors, pushing her limits as a triathlete or embarking on a new adventure.
Heike's podcast, Pursue Your Spark, has over 200 episodes and is a wealth of resources and inspiration for mid-life women. Heike also has two other podcasts, one about intermittent fasting and one about Pilates.
We interviewed Heike in November of 2020 episode #71 and reconnected with her in August of 2023 at a podcast conference in Boulder Colorado. we knew we had to ask Heike to return to the podcast.
For more information and links, visit our website at BecomingElli,com.
In episode 145, the hosts of Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast talk about the lessons they've learned for healthy living over the past six years. Chris and Jill also launch the 2024 Eating the Rainbow Challenge, while reflecting on 2023 and look forward to 2024.
In this episode we discuss:
- Setting goals, milestones, changing focus, having a theme for the year, three words
- Highlights from 2023 episodes and some of the things that the guests said that really resonated with us.
- Six lessons learned during the 6 years of developing our Becoming Elli website, Facebook Group and Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast
- Our 2024 challenge: Eating the Rainbow. What it is and tracking your results
- What we like to throw together for dinner when running short of time.
Go to our website BecomingElli.com for links discussed in this episode.
In episode 144, Jill and Chris talk with Wendy Battles,the host of the Reinvention Rebels podcast.
Wendy interviews women between the ages of 50-90, who have reinvented themselves later in life. From traveling solo around the world with a carry-on bag at 60, to running in global marathons at 71, to launching a modeling career at 72, these women are boldly making their dreams a priority and reality.
During the day, Wendy is a Cybersecurity Awareness expert at Yale University and by night she pursues her passion for celebrating, illuminating and elevating midlife and older women. At 58, Wendy is a Reinvention Rebel herself, having reinvented herself many times during her life including as a management consultant, voice actor, and health coach. Her most recent reinvention as a podcast host is by far her most rewarding.
More information and links at our website: BecomingElli.com
In episode 142, Jill and Chris talk with Sarah Koszyk, MA, RDN. She is an award-winning Registered Dietitian and Sports Nutritionist and the co-founder of MIJA Naturals, a green beauty wellness company, As a Registered Dietitian and Food & Nutrition Expert, Sarah understands the power that food has on our bodies. She knows that consuming the right foods can enhance one’s beauty, nourish one’s soul, and restore one’s health.
She works in the San Francisco Bay Area of California with technology firm CEOs, executives, and employees, Bay Area families, as well as professional, elite, and collegiate athletes. She also has nationwide and international clientele.
More information at our website: https://www.becomingelli.com
In episode 141, Jill and Chris talk with Jeanette Evans, a long-time friend of Jill's who has developed a wonderful anti-cancer lifestyle.
Jill first met Jeanette many years ago when they were both working as technical writers and belonged to a professional organization together. Jeanette is a writer and editor and is involved in all kinds of communications. They have kept in touch over the years and started to meet for lunch recently. We believe that Jeanette’s story and way of life might be of interest to everyone.
Jeanette Evans has had three cancer surgeries with the first being in 2003 and a diagnosis of presumed triple negative breast cancer.
She has tried to educate herself on staying healthy with an anti-cancer lifestyle and diet which she finds to be delicious too.
We discuss:
- Her anti-cancer lifestyle
- Which authors that she follows and why
- What she eats on a regular basis
- What food she avoids
- How she gets variety into her diet
- Her views on supplements
- How this anti-cancer lifestyle has improved her health
- Ways this type of eating has protected her from other problems like diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
- Views on organic vs non-organic
- How she exercises throughout the week
- Ways she manages stress in her life
Links and more information at our website: BecomingElli.com
In episode 140 Jill and Chris talk with Elizabeth Emery. She is a former professional cyclist, US National Champion, and Pan Am Games gold medalist who raced in the women’s Tour de France for many years when it was called The Grand Boucle. She won the US Time Trial National Championship, a gold medal in the Pan American Games, the Pan American Championships, and the Tour of Japan.
Elizabeth is the host of the podcast Hear Her Sports where female athletes share stories of the amazing things they’re doing.
We discuss:
- Her experiences as a professional athlete and racing in The Tour de France
- Her motivation to keep training
- Why she started her podcast Hear Her Sports
- What she has learned about ways the female athletes train and eat
- Lessons we can learn from professional women athletes
For more information visit our website: BecomingElli.com
In episode 139 Jill and Chris interview podcast host Wendy Green who helps people to feel more purposeful and engaged with life. She helps them increase their confidence to re-Imagine their next chapter, helping them understand that they still have a lot left to give and that they can have a positive impact on their lives and their community.
Wendy Green is the host of the live show & podcast. “Hey, Boomer!” Her goal is to serve an inspirational role for people 55 to 75, who are looking for ways to live meaningful, fulfilling lives. Wendy wants to help people see that they are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream.
We met Wendy Green in Denver when we were at Podcast Movement, the conference for podcasters. We hit it off right away. We were women of a certain age who host podcasts and discovered we have a lot in common. We realized very quickly that Wendy should be a guest on our podcast. She lives in Greenville, SC. She has two children and four grandchildren.
More info: see our website at BecomingElli.com
In episode 138, Jill and Chris speak with Susan Salenger, an author who has found effective ways of dealing with frustrations with the healthcare system and better ways to ask your doctor questions, resulting in more complete answers.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Susan attended UCLA to study English. After graduation, she worked alongside her husband Fred for 25 years at their production company, Salenger Films, which produced corporate training and development films distributed worldwide.
She is the author of Sidelined: How Women Can Navigate a Broken Healthcare System. Today, at age 80, when Susan is not speaking about her book or spending time with family and friends, you will find Susan power lifting to stay in shape.
We discuss:
- How women are often treated differently than men by doctors and medical experts
- Why getting a second opinion is so important and how to do get a second opinion
- How to ask questions at your doctor appointment to get more complete answers
- Differences between nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and medical doctors
- Why blaming ourselves for an illness can prevent us from getting the care we need
- Autoimmune diseases and why their is so much difficulty in diagnosing them
More at our website: BecomingElli.com
In episode 137, Jill and Chris talk with Dr. Danielle Peebles, an author and Chiropractic physician.
She founded Pro Health Family Chiropractic, in 2007 and has worked with thousands of people, helping them regain mobility, strength and overall well-being.
Dr. Peebles specializes in working with athletes who are suffering from injuries. She recognized that chiropractic care is often overlooked in the pre-surgery and rehabilitation process, but it can aid in a quicker recovery.
Many athletes have taken longer than necessary to return to their sports because they are missing this critical element of the recovery process. Dr. Peebles has worked with professional basketball players, football players and Olympic athletes.
She is the author of “Sex Sent Me To The Chiropractor”, which uses humor to teach the benefits of chiropractic care. She also serves the community through organizations such as Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. and the YMCA O’Fallon Park, where she is a board member.
For more information, see our website at BecomingElli.com
In episode 136, Jill and Chris talk with Fluid Running founder, Jennifer Conroyd.
She is the world’s leading expert on aqua jogging/deep water running and is the epitome of a Fit Strong Woman Over 50. Jennifer is A.C.E. certified, AEA certified and has an Exercise Is Medicine credential from ACSM. She is also a 16-time Boston Marathon qualifier and an Ironman finisher.
Jennifer founded Fluid Running on the belief that even though injury and pain can sideline even the most fit and strong women, there is a way to keep active and stay healthy -- both mentally and physically -- while our body heals. She learned how to do it through deep water running and is now teaching thousands of others around the world the secret to her success.
We discuss:
- How fluid running helped her maintain her marathon training
- After injury (and qualify for Boston!)
- What fluid running is and what it isn’t
- Why it is different from aqua jogging
- How to interpret heart rate while in the water
- Weight loss benefits of fluid running
- Equipment needed for fluid running
- How fluid running fits in with cross training and endurance sports
More information at our website Becoming Elli.
In episode 135, Jill and Chris speak about using spices and greens for a healthy weight with Joanna Wen.
Joanna Wen is a weight loss coach who helps her clients lose weight in a healthy and sustainable way. Her unique approach helps her clients love their food and lose weight without deprivation.
She also helps her clients get to the true root cause of their overeating and remove those blocks so that they keep the weight off once and for all., Joanna specializes in online nutrition and weight loss coaching through her website, Spices & Greens.
Joanna has studied and experimented extensively with the healing powers of food to de-stress, gain energy, and lose weight. When she contacted us, she said that she enjoys learning about nutrition for longevity because she is approaching her 50th birthday.
For more information visit our website at BecomingElli,com.
#134 Fit, Fierce, & Fabulous with Karín FeltmanKarínK
In episode 134, Jill and Chris talk with Karín Feltman, a registered nurse and the author of Fit, Fierce, and Fabulous Over 50! Her first book was Plant-based Basics. Her work focuses on holistic health for women over 50, with a particular focus on intermittent fasting and healing through nutrition.
She is a full-time cross-cultural worker in Nepal. She doesn’t always have access to the Internet so we’ve been waiting for a chance to talk with her. She graciously made time for us when she was available, technology-wise.
Karín was a hospital nurse for 23 years, before beginning work in relief provision and mission trips. She now works on empowerment projects for vulnerable girls and women in Nepal and uses her writing to help fund greater opportunities for the communities she works with.
She completed the VegHealth Nutrition Mastery Course with the VegHealth Institute, and continues her research on holistic health and healing.
Karín is a self-confessed foodie and loves discovering delicious new plant-based recipes, picking up fresh ideas from every new culture she visits.
More information: Becoming Elli website
arín
Jill and Chris speak with Dr. Shivani Gupta, who has practiced Ayurvedic medicine for over 20 years and is an expert in fusing Eastern and Western practices to help our bodies achieve equilibrium. She has both a Masters and Ph.D. in Ayurvedic studies.
When opioids, muscle relaxers, and injections only worsened a sports injury, Shivani decided to rebuild her body naturally. She created her own line of natural ayurvedic supplements when she failed to find an effective natural product on the market. She applied this approach to healing a leaky gut and an autoimmune condition as well.
Dr. Shivani works with physicians including orthopedic and spine surgeons, rheumatologists, and functional medicine doctors to help patients from CrossFit athletes to Baby Boomers reduce chronic pain, and acute and low-grade inflammation, prevent surgery and optimize their health.
She is the CEO and founder of Fusionary Formulas, an Ayurvedic supplement company. She is also the host of the Fusionary Health Podcast.
We discussed:
- What is Ayurveda
- How she improved her sports injury
- Why she developed her line of supplements
- Causes of inflammation and how to prevent it
- Benefits of turmeric
- Improving uterine health and leaky gut syndrome
- Self care for diabetes
- Her podcast called Fusionary Health Podcast
Links and more at our website: Becoming Elli
In episode 132 of the Fit Strong Women Over 50, Jill and Chris talk with 71 year old American Ninja Warrior Ginny MacColl.
Ginny is an actress, dancer, and competitive athlete in both Ninja and swimming. She began her career in NYC as a dancer in the hit Broadway show, Pippin, in 1973; then transitioned into the commercial world and did over 100 national and regional commercials throughout the 70s and 80s.
After a 20-year hiatus to raise her family, Ginny rekindled her acting career recently in Southport, NC in commercials, and film, and began strength training for American Ninja Warrior where she competed Season 9, 10, and most recently Season 15 airing this June (2023).
At 63 years old, she did her very first pull up, inspired by her daughter, Jessie Graff, who has gone farther than any female on American Ninja Warrior. At 71 years old, Ginny continues to compete regionally in ninja competitions and local, state and national swim meets.
You may have seen Ginny featured in the December 2019 issue of AARP. She also appeared as Evelyn, one of Diane Keaton's 8 cheerleaders in the movie POMS; Dorothy in USS Christmas on Hallmark’s Movie and Mysteries channel, Agnes Miller in STARS FELL ON ALABAMA and Beverly in AND JUST LIKE THAT!
Links and more info at our website: BecomingElli.com
In episode 131, Jill and Chris talk with Joanna Bowen, Certified Nutritional Practitioner. She is the founder of the Younger With Food community and creator of The AGEless Method, a program that empowers women to rewind their cellular aging clock by using diet and lifestyle habits so they can reclaim the resilient body, healthy brain, glowing skin, and youthful energy of their prime.
A graduate of the University of Waterloo, The Institute of Holistic Nutrition and the Functional Nutritional Alliance, Joanna has pursued additional training in culinary genomics, and is a licensed Facelift Diet Coach through the Academy of Beauty Nutrition.
Author of 3 Genius Hacks to Unlock Inner Youth Without Botox, Fillers or Cosmetic Surgery, Joanna takes an inside-out approach to aging youthfully through the emerging science of epigenetics and “nutrigenomics”.
We discuss:
- Testing for epigenetics and nutrigenomics
- Telemeres
- Finding the best foods for our genetic background
- Supplements
- Exercise
- Comparing cellular age to actual chronological age
- Improving skin issues
- The AGEless Method
For more info, see our website https://BecomingElli.com
One of our Becoming Elli private Facebook group members, Diane Allen, has been following a program for two years called Original Strength, that she says is making a huge difference to women over 50. She introduced us to Dani Almeyda who owns a local gym and a national certified program.
Dani Almeyda has worked in the health and fitness industry for the last 12 years. Throughout her whole life, health and wellness have had a major influence on her life. Whether it was from her experience as collegiate athlete, as a Director of Campus Recreation, or as a Fitness Professional, her experiences and formal education have provided her with a unique perspective and skillset.
Dani is a co-owner of OS Institute in North Carolina and OSi Online, and has a master’s degree in Exercise Science. She brings an abundance of energy, passion, and an incredible drive to help the world regain its Original Strength.
“You were not meant to be broken. You were intended to be strong, healthy and resilient. You can regain the strength you were supposed to have, the strength that you once had.”
We discuss:
- Pressing RESET to regain balance in the nervous system
- Recovering strength after taking time off
- What she means by minimum effective dose
- How to keep a positive mindset for getting back into routines
- How she inspires her clients and athletes
- The philosophy behind the Original Strength program
For more information visit our website: BecomingElli.com
Jill and Chris first met Laurie LeBlanc when she joined the Becoming Elli Facebook group last year.
She lives in Ontario, Canada and recently retired from a rewarding 35-year career with the Ontario Public Sector. For the last ten years she held various Deputy Minister positions, leading complex departments including the Ministries of Transportation, Training, Colleges and Universities, Municipal Affairs, Housing, and Aboriginal Affairs. She has been the recipient of several awards, including being named one of the top 75 alumni of Carleton University’s school of public policy.
While Laurie enjoyed her career, she is thrilled to now have the chance to enjoy all life has to offer. She has made her own health and wellness her new project. Vowing to be in the best shape of her life when she reaches 60 in two years, she bought a kayak, hiking boots, and a gym membership. She is slowly making progress.
A big part of her journey has been being more deliberate about how and what she eats and is having a great time exploring new cuisines.
For more information, visit our website at Becoming Elli.
In episode 128, Jill and Chris talk with Linda Stephens, a nutrition, health and fitness professional whose primary focus is working with midlife women, over 40/50 and beyond to help them achieve confidence, exude sexiness and feel comfortable in their own skin again. Her motto is, “midlife should be the bridge to your new life.”
Linda has developed a comprehensive 6 week program taught virtually to women around the globe called “Midlife Mastery”. Linda guides women by educating them on how their bodies change in midlife. Women involved in the program learn cutting edge, science backed data for hormone balance, longevity, mood, libido and weight loss.
Linda holds her masters degree in nutrition, competed as an IFBB Figure Pro (IFBB stands for International Federation of Bodybuilding ) and is a National Academy of Sports Medicine NASM certified personal trainer. Linda writes for Livestrong.com, Darien Magazine, Muscle and Fitness Hers, Oxygen magazine and has contributed to Strong Magazine. She also has her own health and wellness channel on https://plus.muscleandfitness.com.
Linda is a midlife woman herself, a mom of two children, 18 and 21 years of age. She currently resides in Fairfield County, Connecticut and has for over 25 years.
We discuss:
- Bone density, bio identicals and cardio vascular health
- Changing body composition
- Branch chain amino acids
- Strength training and getting back to the gym after a break
- Her 6 week program of Midlife Mastery available on line
- Low inflammatory foods
- Hormones, eating, nutrition, training for women after 50
For more information and links visit our website at BecomingElli.com
In episode 127, Jill and Chris talk with Mary Beth Albright, the author of Eat & Flourish, How Food Supports Emotional Well Being. She is a food expert with broad experience, from food attorney to being a finalist on Food Network Star, where she competed on Iron Chef America.
Her passion for good food grew from her mentor, Surgeon General C. Everett Koop who she worked with for 15 years. Afterwards, Mary Beth advised on food systems and managed a White House initiative. She completed L'Academie de Cuisine's two-semester culinary course in Bethesda, MD.
Mary Beth is a writer and editor at the Washington Post. She is also a frequent panel moderator, including for the U.S. State Department and the Smithsonian, and her food-judging expertise is sought regularly, including the time she ate 2,000 foods in three days to judge the Outstanding New Products Awards. She is an elected member of Les Dames d'Escoffier, an esteemed group of women in the culinary professions, which counts Julia Child among its alumnae.
We discuss:
- How food affects our emotions
- How emotions affects our food choices
- Making better choices when you are under stress or feeling depressed
- Pleasure and eating
- Foods that support emotional well being
- Tips to increase pleasure around eating
- Why eating with others is good for you
- Recipes
For more information and links, visit our website at BecomingElli.com
In episode 126, Jill and Chris talk with Hope Zvara, a yoga, movement, and lifestyle expert and CEO of Mother Trucker Yoga. She has helped change thousands of lives over the last 20 years using her simple step-by-step strategies and what she calls her "yoga toolbox" encouraging others that they can feel better wherever you are with small simple changes.
She helps truck drivers go from a sedentary lifestyle to feeling good again with small simple changes from the cab of the truck. Although she works with a lot of men, she spent the first 18 years of her career working with women between the ages of 45-65. And now, even though women only make up 10% of the trucking industry, they are her loyal clients.
“Showing drivers how they can take care of their bodies, minds, and spirits with small simple changes they can apply to their day every day while living over the road is a huge win for them. With the right tools and strategies, fitness at any age does not have to be complicated. And if women can take their health back from the cab of the truck- then the everyday women can do anything!” We discuss:
- How she helps people who work in small spaces with limited mobility during working hours.
- Tools she has developed for those with aches and pains
- Advice for traveling: how to stretch before, during and after a long trip
- Tools for women over 50
- Hope's 15 minute wellness method
- How she helped one of her clients who lost over 100 pounds, quit smoking and now cooks healthy meals - in the cab of her semi truck.
- Hope's guide to eleven stretches you need to feel good again
- Stiff Mother Trucker - her special pain relief cream - 100% natural, paraben-free, gluten- free, sulfate-free and artificial dye free
For more information, see our website: BecomingElli.com
In episode 125, Chris and Jill talk with Danielle Omar, an Integrative Culinary Dietitian, lifestyle medicine expert, herbalist, and best-selling author of the Super Green Smoothies cookbook.
A passionate food and nutrition educator, her expert advice has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Buzzfeed.com, Fitness, Shape, and Women’s Health magazine, as well as national television, including The Food Network and NBC Primetime.
Through her group-focused nutrition programs and private coaching practice at foodconfidence.com, Danielle has supported thousands of busy women on their journey to becoming their healthiest self.
Her unique approach blends 20+ years of practice-based evidence with nutrition science, positive psychology, and the power of self-regulation. Danielle believes strongly in the heart-mind connection and our innate ability to create harmony in our mind, our emotions, and our body.
We discuss:
- What is Metabolic Mastery
- Helping people with weight loss
- Advice on meal planning
- How do we figure out what foods to eat
- Getting over perfectionism
- Reducing inflammation from foods
- Gut microbes and prebiotic foods
- How she helps clients to think about food by not demonizing food
- The importance of a variety of foods
- How to change behavior around how and what you eat
- Reducing stress and improving sleep
- How to nourish yourself for a healthy weight
- Her cookbook of Super Green Smoothies
- Her Facebook community group
For links visit our website at BecomingElli.com.
In podcast episode 124, we talked with Champion Race Walker Yolanda Holder. We heard her interviewed on a podcast a few years ago and were so amazed by her that we’ve wanted to have her as a guest on our podcast ever since.
Yolanda Holder, 64 years young, is a professional Ultra Marathon Walker. She’s a 2X Guinness World Record holder for the “Most Marathons Completed in a Calendar Years”, finishing 106 marathons/ultras in 2010 and breaking her own record in 2012 finishing 120 marathons/ultras. In 2019 Yolanda became the oldest person to earn a US Race Walk Centurion #94 by race walking 100 Miles in under 24 hours. (23:52:17).
Yolanda is a World & American 35K Race Walk champion, American 6 Day Race champion (413 miles). She’s also the World Champion Pedestrian of the longest certified footrace in the world, the Sri Chinmoy Self Transcendence 3100 Mile Race, finishing in 51 Days, 17 Hours and 13 Seconds.
Yolanda is a wife, mother of two adult children, a grandmother, an inspirational speaker and author.
We discussed:
- How she got started race walking
- What race walking is
- how does she train
- Her thoughts on recovery
- Dealing with the mental aspects of a marathon and ultra marathons
- Her experiences while breaking World and American Records
For more information visit our website: Becoming Elli
Robin Allen is a nutritionist passionate about helping women over 40 understand the best practices for longevity. She is the founder of Necessary Nutrition, Inc and the creator of the Necessary Nutrition brand of Vitamin D3.
She received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Las Vegas, Nevada (1996), and her Master’s from the University of Redlands (2001) and an additional nutrition certification from the Global College of Natural Medicine (2008).
Robin encourages people to see food and nutrition as the way to fight obesity, illness and disease. She has been featured on CNN Headline News, and countless other media outlets sharing her insight on food, nutrition and life.
We discuss:
- Tips to address health and wellness
- The best things we can do, nutritionally speaking, to support longevity and fight disease.
- How chemicals in food change the biochemistry in our bodies
- How to decide which supplements we should be taking
- Vitamin D and Vitamin K
- The keys to her 10 day shred program
- About her tower gardens - indoor and outdoor
More info: visit our website Becoming Elli
In episode 122, Jill and Chris talk with Shebah Carfagna, an age-defying health, wellness and fitness professional with more than 27 years of training experience.
Shebah is well known for her commitment to her clients and their lifelong wellness journey.
Shebah has been a loyal fitness devotee for many years as a means to manage life stress and the responsibility of raising a special needs child. Realizing the importance of exercise as medicine for her autistic son and other special needs constituents, Shebah founded Panache Fitness Company in 2005 to offer these groups health and wellness opportunities.
Today, Panache Fitness Company offers traditional fitness services while still serving the needs of clients with specific health conditions and chronic diseases. Shebah encourages clients to think beyond their exercise program and to manage their habits to achieve a more healthy lifestyle and increased longevity. She has enjoyed significant success with her clients in both personal training and group classes. Shebah holds professional fitness certifications: Spin, Pilates, BOSU, Boot Camp, TRX and Group Fitness and is the founder of the “AGELESS WORKOUT” presented by Panache Fitness Company. She is devoted to helping people achieve harmony between their fitness journey and a sustainable lifestyle.
We discussed:
- What is a Sustainable Lifestyle
- Developing her fitness company and having a flexible schedule
- What she means by the ageless workout method
- Her online classes where wellness through movement is stressed
- The research she is preparing for the next publication of her book in the spring of 2023
- How she works out and what her idea of a great workout is
- Stumbling blocks to managing physical fitness and mental fitness
- How she came back from a total hip replacement in 2018
More info at our website: BecomingElli.com
In this episode, Chris and Jill reflect on 2022, books read,inspiring podcast guests interviewed and healthy eating tips mentioned throughout the year.
We discussed a variety of topics including:
Glucose Revolution by Jessie Inchauspe
Our number 2 ranking in the 15 best Women’s Fitness podcasts article.
Food prepping ideas and recipes to get more protein.
Ideas from of the inspiring guests we talked with during 2022.
To get links and find out more, visit our website at Becoming Elli.
Jill and Chris met Brenda Bland in the Becoming Elli Facebook group and knew she should be on the podcast.
Brenda Bland is an endurance athlete who has been running, hiking and biking most of her life. She took up running longer (for fun) in the late 90’s while helping her teenage daughter get more fit and healthy. Running her first ultra in 2003 at age 44, Brenda has run dozens of ultras all over the US, which is one of her favorite types of road tripping. Brenda considers herself an average runner and has worked hard to build and maintain her health though diet, physical and yogic exercises. During a long journey of varying degrees of joint pain, GI issues as well as Seasonal Affective Disorder, she continues to research better ways of having a longer HealthSpan than is currently thought possible. As Brenda continues to grow in her 60’s, she plans to keep enjoying the great outdoors as long as possible.
During this podcast we discussed:
- Running the Leadville 100 at the age of 50
- Completing the 80-mile self-supported Tuscobia Winter Ultra sled pull at the age of 62.
- Fat Ass style runs
- solo mountain hiking in Colorado
- How she trains for all these events - exercise and fueling
- Better ways of having a longer health span
- What motivates her
More information at www.becomingelli.com
In episode 119, Jill and Chris speak with Dina Griffin, a Sports Performance Dietitian with a passion for optimizing women's health and providing personalized nutrition to endurance athletes.
Dina Griffin, MS, RDN, CSSD is the owner and founder of The Nutrition Mechanic, a nutrition coaching and resource company based out of Boulder, Colorado.
As a Sport and Performance Dietitian, Dina works with all levels of adult endurance athletes to optimize health, vitality, and performance. She blends science-based and evidence-informed strategies along with “real life” considerations to devise personalized and sustainable nutrition plans.
Dina has a particular passion for working with women’s health, peri- and post-menopause, masters and ultra athletes, and supporting individuals who have a metabolic condition.
Dina is also the co-host of the Inside Sports Nutrition podcast, which covers a wide array of topics on all things related to “real life" sports nutrition.
We discussed:
- peri and post menopause
- how nutritional needs vary for women over 50
- nutrition for female endurance athletes
- how much protein to eat based on your body size
- metabolic efficiency
- testing for women over 50 available at her website
- supplements
- recipes and food plans
For more information see our website: Becoming Elli.
In episode 118, Jill and Chris talk with Brian Keane, an online personal trainer, nutritionist and best selling author. Over the past seven years, Brian has gone from working full time as a school teacher to one of Ireland's and the UK’s leading thought leaders on all things health, fitness and nutrition.
Brian is the author of two best sellers: The Fitness Mindset and Rewire Your Mindset. On top of his ever-growing social media platforms, with over half a million followers, he also hosts one of the world’s top health podcasts which is regularly featured #1 on the iTunes Health Charts.
He has spoken at major wellness events around the world such as Wellfest Ireland, Mefit Dubai and was a Keynote speaker at Google HQ in Dublin for their 2018 wellness event.
Among his many fitness and athletic achievements, Brian has transitioned from a professional fitness model to ultra endurance athlete running through the Sahara, the Arctic, and completing a 100 mile ultra marathon.
We discussed topics of fitness, health and mindset:
- Finding the best diet to fit a lifestyle and schedule
- Improving the relationship with food
- Setting clear goals for fat or weight loss
- Building a mindset of mental toughness
- Looking at fitness in a holistic way
- Nutrition for weight or fat loss
More info at Becoming Elli Website
In episode 118, Jill and Chris talk with Brian Keane, an online personal trainer, nutritionist and best selling author. Over the past seven years, Brian has gone from working full time as a school teacher to one of Ireland's and the UK’s leading thought leaders on all things health, fitness and nutrition.
Brian is the author of two best sellers: The Fitness Mindset and Rewire Your Mindset. On top of his ever-growing social media platforms, with over half a million followers, he also hosts one of the world’s top health podcasts which is regularly featured #1 on the iTunes Health Charts.
He has spoken at major wellness events around the world such as Wellfest Ireland, Mefit Dubai and was a Keynote speaker at Google HQ in Dublin for their 2018 wellness event.
Among his many fitness and athletic achievements, Brian has transitioned from a professional fitness model to ultra endurance athlete running through the Sahara, the Arctic, and completing a 100 mile ultra marathon.
We discussed topics of fitness, health and mindset:
- Finding the best diet to fit a lifestyle and schedule
- Improving the relationship with food
- Setting clear goals for fat or weight loss
- Building a mindset of mental toughness
- Looking at fitness in a holistic way
- Nutrition for weight or fat loss
More info at Becoming Elli Website
In episode 117 Jill and Chris talk with Traci Fisher, the Founder and Chief Creation Officer of The Wellness Coach, LLC. She is a certified Health and Wellness Coach, motivational speaker, corporate wellness trainer, frequent media guest, managing director of two health and wellness companies based in Cleveland, Ohio, and a mother of three.
Traci began her leadership training as a cadet at West Point, The United States Military Academy. She is a former US Army captain & helicopter pilot.
After leaving the military she started her career in the fitness and wellness industry. She created Live Active, a total-body workout series with Cleveland Clinic doctors; is a coauthor of Lean Body, Smart Life, and creator of The Wellbeingness® Model.
More info at our website: Becoming Elli.
In episode 117 Jill and Chris talk with Traci Fisher, the Founder and Chief Creation Officer of The Wellness Coach, LLC. She is a certified Health and Wellness Coach, motivational speaker, corporate wellness trainer, frequent media guest, managing director of two health and wellness companies based in Cleveland, Ohio, and a mother of three.
Traci began her leadership training as a cadet at West Point, The United States Military Academy. She is a former US Army captain & helicopter pilot.
After leaving the military she started her career in the fitness and wellness industry. She created Live Active, a total-body workout series with Cleveland Clinic doctors; is a coauthor of Lean Body, Smart Life, and creator of The Wellbeingness® Model.
More info at our website: Becoming Elli.
Jill and Chris talk with Dr. Ellen Britt, an intermittent fasting expert. Ellen is the co-founder and principal writer of The Intermittent Fasting Insider, a bimonthly newsletter that brings her audience the most compelling developments in intermittent fasting as well as innovation in practices that can be stacked with IF.
She also co-facilitates with her colleague Denise Wakeman an 1800 member free Facebook group for entrepreneurs interested in intermittent fasting, as well as their latest paid membership project, The Longevity Experience.
Ellen has over two decades of experience as a PA in emergency and occupational medicine. She holds a doctorate (an Ed.D.) in biology, as well as a Master’s in Clinical Psychology. Ellen lives and works just south of Atlanta, Georgia.
During this episode we discussed:
- Various types of intermittent fasting
- Research findings concerning the health benefits of intermittent fasting
- Which type she recommends for women over 50
- Medical reasons for not doing an intermittent fasting regime
- How to get started with intermittent fasting
- The easiest hours to do an intermittent fast
- How long to do an intermittent fast
- Using intermittent fasting with other eating plans like paleo, keto, or vegan
More information at our website: Becoming Elli
Jill and Chris talk with Dr. Ellen Britt, an intermittent fasting expert. Ellen is the co-founder and principal writer of The Intermittent Fasting Insider, a bimonthly newsletter that brings her audience the most compelling developments in intermittent fasting as well as innovation in practices that can be stacked with IF.
She also co-facilitates with her colleague Denise Wakeman an 1800 member free Facebook group for entrepreneurs interested in intermittent fasting, as well as their latest paid membership project, The Longevity Experience.
Ellen has over two decades of experience as a PA in emergency and occupational medicine. She holds a doctorate (an Ed.D.) in biology, as well as a Master’s in Clinical Psychology. Ellen lives and works just south of Atlanta, Georgia.
During this episode we discussed:
- Various types of intermittent fasting
- Research findings concerning the health benefits of intermittent fasting
- Which type she recommends for women over 50
- Medical reasons for not doing an intermittent fasting regime
- How to get started with intermittent fasting
- The easiest hours to do an intermittent fast
- How long to do an intermittent fast
- Using intermittent fasting with other eating plans like paleo, keto, or vegan
More information at our website: Becoming Elli
In episode number 115, Chris and Jill speak with Lisa Swanson, a sought-after expert who helps women over 50 crush their weight loss goals in a naturally progressive way that boosts metabolism, burns belly fat and keeps it off.
Through her signature B.A.S.E. model, combining fitness, nutrition and mindset, women over 50 get the results they have been struggling to get on their own without deprivation diets or hours in the gym.
She teaches her clients how to enjoy the journey and let go of limiting beliefs that may hold them back.;
Lisa is a Certified Health Coach, personal trainer, orthopedic exercise specialist, (ACE American Council on Exercise) and nutritionist (Precision Nutrition & AASDN American Academy of Sport Dietitians and Nutritionist) and has 35 years of experience.
- We discussed:
- How does menopause affect our bodies
- What weight and fitness problems are linked to menopause
- How she handles fitness, nutrition and mindset with her clients
- How she helps her clients stay motivated
- The value of goal setting
- What she recommends for cardio and weight training for women over 50
- The metabolic framework
- Her morning routine
See links at our website: Becoming Elli.
In episode number 115, Chris and Jill speak with Lisa Swanson, a sought-after expert who helps women over 50 crush their weight loss goals in a naturally progressive way that boosts metabolism, burns belly fat and keeps it off.
Through her signature B.A.S.E. model, combining fitness, nutrition and mindset, women over 50 get the results they have been struggling to get on their own without deprivation diets or hours in the gym.
She teaches her clients how to enjoy the journey and let go of limiting beliefs that may hold them back.;
Lisa is a Certified Health Coach, personal trainer, orthopedic exercise specialist, (ACE American Council on Exercise) and nutritionist (Precision Nutrition & AASDN American Academy of Sport Dietitians and Nutritionist) and has 35 years of experience.
- We discussed:
- How does menopause affect our bodies
- What weight and fitness problems are linked to menopause
- How she handles fitness, nutrition and mindset with her clients
- How she helps her clients stay motivated
- The value of goal setting
- What she recommends for cardio and weight training for women over 50
- The metabolic framework
- Her morning routine
See links at our website: Becoming Elli.
In episode 114, Jill and Chris talk with Katie Orlando, a professional tennis player. Katie played college tennis at the University of Akron where she was All MAC Conference in 1993 and now is in the University of Akron’s Sports Hall of Fame.
In August 2022, she was inducted into the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) Midwest Hall of Fame. Katie was also named the 2019 USPTA Midwest Professional of the Year.
She is currently the Tennis Director at Towpath Tennis Center in Akron, Ohio. Katie is sponsored by Wilson for racquets. She has won numerous awards for her volunteer work in tennis.
More information at our website: BecomingElli.com
In episode 114, Jill and Chris talk with Katie Orlando, a professional tennis player. Katie played college tennis at the University of Akron where she was All MAC Conference in 1993 and now is in the University of Akron’s Sports Hall of Fame.
In August 2022, she was inducted into the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) Midwest Hall of Fame. Katie was also named the 2019 USPTA Midwest Professional of the Year.
She is currently the Tennis Director at Towpath Tennis Center in Akron, Ohio. Katie is sponsored by Wilson for racquets. She has won numerous awards for her volunteer work in tennis.
More information at our website: BecomingElli.com
In episode 113, Jill and Chris interview certified running coach and personal trainer Jill Angie.
Jill Angie is the author of the book, Not Your Average Runner; Why You’re Not Too Fat to Run and the Skinny on How to Start Today. She has also published 5K and Half Marathon training plans for beginning runners.
She hosts the "Not Your Average Runner" podcast and website to show that runners come in all shapes, sizes, and speeds. Jill and her coaches help women to start running or to improve their running.
See more at our website: Becoming Elli.
In episode 112, Chris and Jill answer frequently asked questions from listeners and women over 50 in the Becoming Elli Community.
In this episode we discuss:
- Getting started with Strength Training
- The importance of Light and Sleep
- Recipes for Sheet Pan Dinners, Instant Pot, Grilling
- Summer Exercise
For links referenced in our discussion, visit our website at Becoming Elli.
In episode 111, Taking Responsibility for Your Life, Jill and Chris talk with Coach Renée Suzanne about self love, persistence, and self confidence. Her coaching principles for improved dating reach into many areas of life.
Renée Suzanne helps women over 40 start dating better men immediately so they can meet and marry the man of their dreams. She is the creator of the COURTED method, a process that helps women date in order to create the lasting connection they really want.
More info and links at our Becoming Elli website.
In episode 110. Jill and Chris talk with Colette Harris about how she transformed her health and body with nutrition and lifestyle changes.
After she was diagnosed with Lipoedema and Fibromyalgia, Colette searched for recovery beyond pain medications. She made a series of daily habit changes over the course of several years to eliminate refined carbohydrates and sugar.
She tells about her experience in reducing inflammation, eliminating pain and finding a healthy lifestyle.
"Making small habit changes each day add up to BIG change."
Colette is a health coach who lives in Lochwinnoch, Scotland and helps others with sugar detox and lifestyle transformations. She was in the U.S. Navy Reserves and enjoys traveling the world.
More information: Becoming Elli website.
In episode 109, Jill and Chris speak with Carol Simpson. Even at well past 70, she continues to rock climb and practice yoga.
She's overcome several health issues and is an inspiration to many women over 50.
More info at our website: Becoming Elli.
In episode 108, Jill and Chris talk with Deirdre Hewitson, who says ‘yes’ to pretty much any opportunity or adventure that comes her way.
Deirdre Hewitson is a freelance photographer, editor, and writer who lives in Cape Town, South Africa. We learned about her because one of our Becoming Elli members (who lives in Norway) posted that Deidre is her hero.
Over the years. Deirdre has taken up scuba diving, bicycle racing, water skiing, paragliding, white water rafting, and running. Now, at 61, and about ten marathons later, she has added trail running, climbing, hiking and yoga to the mix of regular activities.
"Say yes more often than you say no, and try pretty much everything at least once – ‘pretty much’ because some things – those that will harm you – aren’t worth trying." These are the words Deirdre lives by.
Links at our website show notes: Becoming Elli
In Episode 107, Jill and Chris talk with Joyce Guenther who has ridden her bicycle in all 50 states of the USA.
Jill met Joyce in high school and they ended up at the same college together. Years later they reconnected on Facebook.
Joyce has completed bike rides in all 50 states and has turned her attention to Europe. She is a member of our private Becoming Elli Facebook Group.
Her education was in the sciences. She worked in business for many years and then ran her husband’s medical office. She lives with her husband in central Ohio and has two adult daughters.
Joyce is also very active with the Red Cross and getting people to donate blood. She hosts blood drives and has been donating blood since she was in college. https://www.redcrossblood.org/
We discuss:
- How she got started
- Training for the bike trips
- Logistics of the rides
- Advantages of organized tours
- How she eats during the rides
Links to rides mentioned at this link on the Becoming Elli website.
In episode 106 Jill and Chris discuss the importance of protein in the diet, especially for women over 50. They offer12 different ways to get more protein in your diet.
- When doing meal planning first figure out the proteins, then adjust for the veggies.
- Precook protein in a crockpot so you have a lot available ahead of time. Refrigerate to add to other meals.
- Precook quinoa when doing meal prep. Easy to sneak it into soups, salad, other meals. 20 grams of protein per serving
- If you are avoiding dairy use plant protein soy- based proteins like tofu tempeh lentils and beans
- When making a vegetable salad add in chickpeas kidney beans black beans quinoa even tuna
- Add sardines to your fish choices. Sardines make a great addition to tuna salad here is another recipe for sardines
- When you sit down to eat, start with eating your protein first
- Add Greek yogurt to your breakfast routine or dessert. Fage Greek yogurt 0% milkfat has 20 grams of protein in a serving
- Consider breakfast with eggs instead of cereal
- Use protein powder in smoothies Orgain is available on Amazon or at Costco with many choices of flavors. Great for smoothies adding into coffee as a creamer.
- Protein bars dash keep them handy for when you might miss a meal link to episode #38
- Try this protein oatmeal ball recipe
Go to https://www.becomingelli.com for more.
Karen Martel is a Certified Hormone Specialist & Transformational Nutrition Coach and women’s weight loss expert.
Karen is the host of the top-rated women’s health podcast The Other Side of Weight Loss where she helps women to unlock the mysteries of female fat loss and hormone imbalance.
After struggling with her own health issues, Karen was determined to bring her knowledge to others with a bold new approach to women’s hormone health and weight management. Karen’s passion lies in helping women balance and optimize their hormones in peri- and post menopause and breakthrough weight loss resistance.
Additional information at https://www.becomingelli.com/hormone-health-and-menopause-with-karen-martel
Originally from rural southeastern Ohio, Jonella Carpenter, known as Jone, is both a mother and grandmother. She can often be found walking, running, or hiking in her local parks in all kinds of weather. Her attraction to the outdoors started when she was a kid (even the outdoor chores were fun for her) and grew as she became an adult.
In 2008, a friend suggested that Jone run a half marathon, and though she didn’t know what she was in for, she has never been afraid of a challenge. She toed the blue line of the Akron Marathon on a crisp September morning without training, and though she crossed the finish line three hours and forty-five minutes later, she couldn’t walk for days.
Needless to say, she learned quite a bit during that first race! Since then, Jone learned more about how to train, fuel her body, and stay motivated even when times were tough. As a breast cancer survivor, her body has been through significant changes but continues to be a way to explore nature, connect with friends, and challenge herself in a variety of ways. She even overcame a life-long fear of water to learn to swim in her 50s.
Among her friends and running buddies, Jone is known for always saying yes to any adventure (even the cold, muddy ones) and can often be found encouraging others (even strangers she’s met along the way) to keep moving. Through the miles, boot camp classes, swim lessons, and other adventures.
One key point of advice to women over 50 who want to be fit and strong: Find Your Tribe. Jone ran informal groups of friends calling themselves the Towpath Turtles or BCB - the Bad Choice Babes and works out at a gym where the group exercise inspires her.
During this episode we talk about:
- Running races and training
- Finding a group of like-minded friends, Finding Your Tribe
- Lifting weights and cross training
- Her experiences with breast cancer and running shortly after her mastectomy
- Reframing your attitude to "I GET to do this" instead of "I HAVE or I SHOULD"
- Learning to swim in her 50's
- How she listens to her body
- Keeping muscle and protecting bones
- Group cooking
- Watching macros (using protein powder as a creamer)
More at Becoming Elli website.
In episode 103, Jill and Chris talk with Julie Norman, a wellness and equine specialist, about her path of Yoga and meditation. Julie Norman delights in guiding others in experiences that foster growth and healing from a place of self-love. She believes this is essential for both individual and community wellness.
Her career as a registered dietitian in eating disorders treatment and her own recovery inspired the creation of Body Karma Healing (BKH), her signature program that guides women to peace with their bodies and food for authentic self-empowerment.
She’s the author of two books; Poems From The Path of Peace, Volumes 1 & 2 and The BKH and Goddess Wisdom e-courses. Julie is also a certified health coach, yoga teacher and equine specialist. She leads classes, workshops and retreats along with coaching individual clients, consulting and speaking on the topics she’s passionate about. In her free time she loves to travel, mountain bike and spend time with family, friends and pets.
More information: Becoming Elli
In episode 102, Jill and Chris talk with swimming coach Amanda Boswell.
Amanda is a lifelong swimmer and coach who helps people learn to love the water and gain confidence in their swimming ability. She works with people of all ages and different levels of swimming experience. Amanda's clients have goals ranging from learning how to swim to training for triathlons.
She competed in swimming through high school, but an injury kept her from moving onto college competition. During college Amanda began coaching and found that she loved being involved in the sport from a different perspective.
Amanda holds a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science from Miami University and a master's degree in Sport and Exercise Psychology from Capella University. She is also a certified personal trainer with the American College of Sports Medicine.
“One of the best things about coaching swimmers is when they have that ah-ha moment, and everything clicks from their repeated hard work and determination, either with breathing or just being more efficient with their strokes. Training for a swimming event can be intimidating but with the right coaching and workouts, you can absolutely train to be your best in the water!”
During this episode we discuss:
- Learning how to swim as an adult
- Advice for women who can swim but maybe not very well
- Overcoming fears of deep water or open water
- There and how to find a swim coach
- Tools and props that are used in coaching swimmers
- Various strokes and modifications for competing and racing
- Why swimming is easier on the joints and ligaments
- Improving swimming technique
- Increasing speed vs working on endurance
- Swimming in a pool vs open water swimming
- Fueling for swimming
For more information, visit https://becomingelli.com/swimming-coach-amanda-boswell
In episode 101, Jill and Chris talk with Angie Jackson about learning to swim and becoming at triathlete at age 50.
Five years ago, Angie decided to become a runner and then a triathlete. She tells us how she’s worked hard to learn to swim, bike, and run.
When she started her swim lessons again, Angie hired a triathlon Coach Morgon Latimore and successfully trained for and completed a Sprint, Olympic, and Half Distance Triathlon.
Angie Jackson has three adult children, and she is Mimi to her two grandchildren. Angie is a nurse and works long hours, but manages to fit in the training needed to race triathlons!
She is originally from Philadelphia and now lives in North Carolina. There are a lot of fun races that she will be participating in from now until then. Currently she is in training for my first full distance triathlon that will take place on Sept 17, 2022 in Maryland.
Some of them she plans to do alone, others she will do with her grandchildren.
Angie wants women to know we can change the narrative of what a certain age "looks or acts like." Everything Angie is doing now: swimming, cycling running, yoga, strength training, and hula hooping...this is 50!
For more information visit: HTTP://www.BecomingElli.com/this-is-50-with-Angie-Jackson
In episode 100, Jill and Chris review what they have learned during the past 100 episodes. Many topics have been covered, but what really stands out is the importance of strength training.
In this episode, Jill and Chris discuss the "whys" and "hows" of lifting and include clips from past episodes featuring interviews with:
- Maria Stahdelman
- Brian Kennell
- Pam Semanik and Angie Ridgel
- Gail Lind
- Nia Shanks
- Holly Perkins
- Marcia Kadens
- Tammy White
- Brenda O'Hara
- Pam Sherman
and more!!
Visit our website for links: https://www.becomingelli.com/lifting-for-fit-strong-women-over-50
In episode 99, Jill and Chris talk with Cindy Dallow, PhD, RD, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor.
She has worked in the field of nutrition and fitness for 30 years and enjoys training and competing in marathons and triathlons. A USAT Certified Triathlon Coach, she is a 5-time Ironman finisher and has completed 12 marathons.
Cindy helps women learn about nutrition, fitness, intuitive eating and how we can live our best lives during and after menopause.
She works with woman in mid-life to gain more energy, strength, and fitness (without dieting), to enjoy good food and an active lifestyle and offers support and accountability for lifestyle change. She focuses on helping women ditch the diet culture and become active and fit.
We discussed:
- Listening to your body for cues for hunger and fullness
- Intuitive eating vs chronic dieting
- Protein from plants vs meat vs powders
- Her thoughts on intermittent fasting, keto and other restrictive eating
- How she works with endurance athletes to fuel
- Honoring hunger and learning to recognize and trust hunger instead of ignore or control it
- Rejecting the diet mentality
- Intentional eating, balance and satisfaction
- Slowing down, paying attention to texture, taste, flavor and enjoying the meal
- Becoming mindful about the eating experience
More information: https://www.becomingelli.com/ditch-the-diet-culture
In episode 98 of the Fit Strong Women Over 50 Podcast, Chris and Jill talk about the three focus words that each of them have selected for inspiration during 2022.
Both agree that new year's resolutions can be easily discarded. Instead, they chose to focus on a keyword that helps them to remember their intentions for the year.
Perhaps you also use three words? Leave a message on the website at Becoming Elli (https://www.becomingelli.com/2022-three-words) to share with other fit strong women over 50.
In episode 97, Jill and Chris talk with Holly Perkins, a women’s strength expert, a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and the author of Lift to Get Lean.
Holly Perkins helps women create the body they need to keep up with the life they love, through her proven system of strength training and intentional nutrition.
She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Physiology and Nutrition from The Pennsylvania State University.
Holly has worked with many famous people and celebrities, even a presidential candidate!
Her advice is frequently featured in Women’s Health, Shape, SELF, Prevention, BuzzFeed, and LIVESTRONG.com. With 30 years of experience in the field, Shape magazine named Holly a “Top Trainers to Follow”.
For more information, visit this link to our website at https://www.becomingelli.com/lift-to-get-lean
In episode 96 Jill and Chris interview Amanda Nighbert, a registered dietitian who specializes in weight loss nutrition. She is also an avid fitness enthusiast.
Amanda is passionate about empowering people to break the all or nothing mindset. She wants us to find how to make changes that are sustainable and let us find long term weight loss success.
She has worked in the weight loss field for over 19 years to help thousands of people reach their wellness goals, but is a strong believer that dieting is temporary and it is more important to focus on lifestyle changes to see long term weight loss success. Amanda offers a custom LEAN program (LEAN stands for Living Energized And Nourished), coaching services, and a variety of other offerings to give us the tools and resources to find our best selves. She also gave a Ted talk in March 2021 on this topic.
More information at https://becomingelli.com/living-energized-nourished
In episode 95, Chris and Jill talk with Ultra Kayaker Traci Lynn Martin. who is a Guinness world record holder as the fastest solo female to kayak the entire Mississippi River at 55 days, 8 hours, and 17 minutes. The previous fastest time for a solo female was 61 days.
Besides conquering the Mississippi River, Traci Lynn has circumnavigated Lake Huron, Lake Superior and Lake Michigan, the 3 largest lakes in North America - over 3000 miles paddled.
Traci Lynn, a 54-year-old nurse from Kansas City Missouri, has a medical diagnosis of Rheumatoid Autoimmune disease. She wants to inspire other people with chronic health conditions, to know that their life is precious and valuable, and they can still find the strength to get up and do the things that they love.
For more information visit: https://www.becomingelli.com/ultra-kayaker
In episode 94, Jill and Chris talk with Karese Laguerre, an Orofacial Myologist about improving sleep and breathing with myofunctional therapy.
Karese Laguerre, like many parents, suffered in silence while her children struggled with the symptoms of undiagnosed sleep and breathing issues. One visit to a pediatric dentist changed the trajectory of their lives. Already a Registered Dental Hygienist (RDH), Karese, trained with Sandra Holtzman, Lois Laynee and Sarah Hornsby to establish her orofacial myology knowledge. With this initial training and numerous others, in a few short years she has not only resolved all her children's issues, but helped hundreds of patients, children and adults alike, discover how great life can be functioning on full.
Her private practice, The Myo Spot is now a leader in the quest for myofunctional therapy awareness and public education. Her latest published book, Accomplished, delves into how to sleep better, eliminate burnout, and execute goals. Karese's mission is to transform and positively impact as many households as possible through dynamic breath, brain, and body work.
Karese explains that she works like a personal trainer for the hundreds of muscles between the eyes and the shoulders. The results from these workouts improve functional breathing and the upper respiratory system.
More info: https://www.becomingelli.com/healing-through-better-sleep
In Episode 93, Jill and Chris talk with Dr. Angela Ridgel, a Professor in Exercise Physiology and the Associate Director of the Brain Health Research Institute at Kent State University.
Her research focuses on how exercise and movement therapy improves brain health and function in older adults and those with neurological disorders.
She received her undergraduate degree in Biology from The College of William and Mary, a Master's degree in Biology at Villanova University and her PhD in Biomedical Sciences from Marshall University. Dr. Ridgel completed her Post-Doctoral training at Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic.
For more information: Becoming Elli
In Episode 92, Jill and Chris talk with Pam Semanik, a coach who specializes in creating training programs for Masters Women athletes.
She is a coach at Stelleri Performance Training, an endurance coaching group based in Northeast Ohio.
For over 7 years, Pam has been coaching athletes to achieve their goals in running, cycling, and Multisport events, as well as in maintaining and improving general fitness.
Pam specializes in coaching athletes who are in the menopause transition and post-menopausal athletes who want to compete at their highest level.
She is passionate about helping other Masters women understand what it takes to maintain and improve performance, health, and fitness as they 'age up', and plans to do the same herself.
More information at Becoming Elli website.
In Episode 91, Jill and Chris talk with Shawn Tegtmeier, a former chain smoking couch potato, now a full time personal trainer with several certifications and a published author.
She lives in the "Chicagoland" area with her husband and two dogs. In her off time she enjoys running, reading, putzing around the yard and simply enjoying time with her two adult sons.
During the podcast we discussed:
- How she started with her health changes
- How she maintains her weight loss
- How she managed to quit smoking
- What motivate her to stay fit and healthy?
- Her advice to her clients about working out and eating
Shawn told us that quitting smoking was the "hardest thing I ever did." After she quite she gained a lot of weight. After seeing a photo of herself, she decided to join WeightWatchers. She lost the weight and keeps it of with walking, hiking, moving, working out . She likes to bike a bit and enjoys watching YouTube videos for cardio or strength. She enjoys working out and has become a personal trainer.
While Shawn has been a member at a gym for 13 years, the Covid pandemic threw off her schedule and now she prefers to work out at a friend's or does Zoom workouts.
Learn more at the Becoming Elli website.
In episode 90, join Jill and Chris as they talk about eating on the go, meal prep and how they substitute to lower the simple carbs, up the complex carbs and increase their protein intake. Some of the things we discuss.
- Spaghetti with chick pea pasta
- Adding crunch to tuna salad
- Plan easy healthy grab and go's
- Quinoa with chicken stock
- Frozen berries in Greek yogurt
- The best cauliflower pizza crust (according to Chris)
- Heart of Palm pasta from Trader Joe's
- Spice it up with Old Bay and Everything but the Bagel
We'd love to hear your secrets for eating healthy and satisfying meals when you're on the go with limited time to cook. Please send an email, leave a comment on our Becoming Elli website or even give us call to leave a voice mail at 330-970-6662.
In episode 89, Jill and Chris talk with Marcia Moran, author of Stroke Forward.
In 2014, at age 54 Marcia was a successful entrepreneur, owned a business consulting practice and was going strong. Suddenly, she suffered a major stroke. Marcia worked for several years to become whole.
Over time she learned to walk again, but Marcia struggled with aphasia, a language disorder. In August 2017 she discovered a technological breakthrough that minimized her speaking disability. Marcia created Stroke FORWARD because she felt there is a need to share hope to stroke survivors and their caretakers. Learning to become her own health advocate one step a time and exploring holistic methods for healing are keys to her recovery. She became a health and wellness coach to stroke survivors and their caregivers.
Marcia holds both a B.S. in Political Science and a MBA. She also earned a certificate in Well-being Foundations of Personal Transformation from the Personal Transformation and Courage Institute in Virginia. She volunteers at Brain Injury Services, supporting their Speakers Bureau program.
During this episode we discuss:
- What are the symptoms of a stroke
- What exactly is a stroke
- What is neurofeedback
- How she learned to walk again and talk again
Chad Austin has been a leader in the fitness industry since 2003. He is the owner of Priority Fitness in Overland Park, KS, and is also the author of the book series, “Make Fitness A Priority.” Chad is a regular fitness and wellness guest expert for local and national media. He was the host of the talk radio show, “Be Fit...For Life”, and has been featured on over 20 podcasts.
Chad helps his clients stop constantly starting over and instead find long term fitness success. His goal is to help you find a plan that you can use immediately.
During this podcast we discuss:
- How to win the fight against your excuses
- How to change your mindset "you are too busy" to exercise
- If you're new to working out, how to get started (the heaviest weight in the gym is the front door)
- How to beat your excuses
- How to make fitness a priority, even when life changes
- Although we all know we need to make fitness a priority, how to actually do it
- Food choices and how he suggests that his clients eat
For more information: https://www.becomingelli.com/make-fitness-a-priority
In episode 87, Jill and Chris talk with triathlon fanatic and world record holder Susan Haag. Susan is an attorney who lives in Jacksonville, Florida. She has been running triathlons since 1990 and Ironman races since 2002.
Susan Haag is the 1st woman in the world to complete 100 '140.6' races, what’s often called an Ironman distance. An Ironman race is a triathlon consisting of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bicycle ride and a 26.22-mile run. Susan's currently at 125 & has more on the calendar.
During law school, Susan joined a gym and started working out, running, and biking. After seeing a flyer at her gym, she did her first triathlon race. Despite having a flat tire on a borrowed bike and doing doggie paddle for the swimming portion, she was hooked. Susan keeps a a list and now has completed 475 triathlons with 125 of those being the iron distance!
During this episode we discussed:
- Why she focuses on encouraging others and the comradery of the race
- How she keeps herself from getting injured
- The mental game and keeping a positive attitude
- What she means by "party in the back"
- Racing year-round in Florida
- Running in the world championship race at Kona, Hawaii
- Her plans for the future
where to find her online:
https://www.instagram.com/susanhaag/
https://www.facebook.com/susan.haag.75
In episode 86, Jill and Chris talk with Lisa Bartlett about her running, health challenges and how she stays fit after 50.
Lisa Bartlett is an active member of the Becoming Elli community.
Last year she began to tell us about training for a marathon but then she ended up having to run it virtually because of the pandemic. She persisted and ran the race and even won first place in her age group.
Lisa Bartlett is a 53-year old mom to a 10-year old daughter and special needs teenager, and has a busy real estate business. Lisa was never athletic growing up. Her first athletic endeavor was taking karate lessons in the mid-90s, then she discovered running in 1998, lifting weights, and ice hockey. All that came to a sudden end in 2002 when she became very ill with Lupus, which went diagnosed and untreated until 2013.
Now in proper medications, she started running consistently in 2019 completing her first half marathon in December 2019 followed by her first marathon in December 2020. Lisa strives to live a healthy lifestyle for two reasons, to feel good and set a good example for her children and others. And yes, she struggles every single day to make better choices.
We found it very motivational to learn how Lisa has developed a strong mind set and worked to build habits to support daily and long term goals.
We discussed:
- Dealing with illness
- Running the Virtual Buckeye Marathon during the pandemic
- Conditioning, strength and balance
- Lifting and physical therapy
- Her life coach and running coach
- Developing a C.T.F.A.R. mind set to reframe the facts: Circumstance - Thought - Feelings - Action - Results
- Her "go to" smoothie: Okra, strawberry protein powder, stevia, with Himalayan salt
- Her coaching group "Run Your Best Life"
- Exercising in the heat of Arizona
- Work out routines: Bike riding, ice hockey, lifting and running
Links:
Her Website: Fit After 50 Forever
Private Becoming Elli Facebook Group
Runkeeper training App
Hasfit video website
In episode 85 Jill and Chris interview Gail Lind, who at age 65 discovered she had a passion for lifting weights, became a personal trainer and class instructor at Anytime Fitness in Alabama at 70 years old. Gail offers insights and inspiration to women in the second half of their life.
We discuss:
- Benefits of getting fit
- How it changes aging
- How she started
- What inspires her to keep it up
More info at https://www.becomingelli.com/aging-strong
- Set a Goal
- Anticipate your weaknesses
- Plan your food
- Prepare and Prep ahead
- Weigh and track progress
- Swap out for healthier choices
- Find a friend/community
- Keep it simple
- Make routines
- Use a mantra
See more info at https://www.BecomingElli.com/healthy-eating-motivation
In episode 83 of the Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast Chris and Jill talk about their dogs, fitness and eating as part of Healthy Living 2021.
Topics covered:
- dogs and walking to get more steps
- strength training at the gym
- healthy eating
- the veggie challenge 2021
- effective sleep routines
In episode 82, Jill and Chris talk with Kristin Kirkpatrick, President of KAK, Consulting, LLC and a dietitian and consultant of Wellness Nutrition Services at the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute in Cleveland, Ohio. She is a best-selling author, an experienced presenter, and an award winning Dietitian.
More detail: Becoming Elli
In episode 81, Jill and Chris interview Dr. Kylie Burton, DC, CFMP, an expert in functional medicine who has helped thousands of individuals with seemingly impossible health struggles, find answers, healing, and hope, even if they've been told their labs are normal.
Grab a copy of your lab results when you listen to this episode. Besides helping patients, she teaches practitioners (of all backgrounds), how they can level up their patient results using her techniques.
As a guest on dozens of podcasts, she also hosts the podcast Beyond the Diagnosis with Dr. Kylie and has been featured on the Sheila Mac Show on KCAA radio. On TV, she has been a guest on Good Morning Utah and FOX26Houston.
Links:
Beyond the Diagnosis with Dr. Kylie podcast
Website: Dr. Kylie Burton
In episode #80, Jill McCauslin and Chris Brown interview Lyn Lindbergh, an expert at creating real change in people's lives.
She has three chronic health issues, but still she gets out and exercises every day. Those health issues fuel her compassion for people and her understanding of what it really takes to get moving when life gets in the way. Even with her physical challenges, she has completed the Seattle to Portland 200-mile ride six times, and has completed multiple half-marathons, 10 triathlons, and countless 5K runs.
Lyn Lindbergh is the author of the book COUCH to ACTIVE: The Missing Link that Takes You from Sedentary to Active. She is the host of the Health and Fitness Motivation podcast. She is also a Blogger, Speaker, Coach, Fitness Influencer, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Pilates Instructor, Certified Group Fitness Instructor, and President of COUCH to ACTIVE. She provides healthy coaching and motivation with one mission in mind -- to get us exercising in a way that helps us smile.
During today's podcast we discussed:
- Her advice for women over 50 about starting out or for someone who is already active but wants to do more or try something entirely different
- What to do if you have a chronic injury
- What's the right amount of cardio?
- How to get motivated (Do what makes you smile. Even a small amount of movement helps.)
- She teaches for people who are blind and has found that her camera off zoom classes are popular with sighted people as well.
What is Active?
1) Cardio when you get the blood pumping
2) Weight bearing working your muscles and skeletal system
3) Movement - the lymphatic system only pumps so moving is important
4) Flexibility - in your spine and your joints
She encourages women starting out to do by doing a little bit to start. "When you try something new, do less than you think you can and give it 48 hours. Listen to your body. Your fastest path to fitness is to stay injury free." Lyn recognizes the fact that most of us have been in and out of fitness throughout our entire lives. She created her program to help others find a space where doing your best doesn't feel like a failure. Lyn feels that we need a place to help us get jazzed about our progress.
In this motivational episode, Lyn says "Have compassion for yourself. Compassion is where it starts. Find your joy. Find the type of exercise that works for you. Think about what you enjoy and do that."
If you are just starting out or starting back, Lyn suggests trying to work up to 150 minutes a week cardio and two times a week strength training. It's okay to break it down to what you are comfortable with, like 30 minutes five times a week.
For links, visit our website: Becoming Elli Fit Strong Women Over 50
In episode 79, Jill and Chris talk with Nia Shanks, who specializes in helping women “unleash their awesome” with an empowering approach to health and fitness.
Nia’s philosophy revolves around strength training programs with a focus on getting stronger. She also stresses flexible, obsession-free, nutrition principles.
Nia Shanks is a coach, writer, speaker, and author of Lift Like a Girl and The 100-Day Reclaim. She has a BS in Exercise Physiology from the University of Louisville.
Through her popular blog and online coaching courses, Nia has helped thousands of women look beyond “quick weight loss” and discover the amazing body they never knew they had.
During the conversation, we discuss:
- Getting started with weight lifting
- Barbells vs dumb bells
- Is it cheating to use a Smith machine
- How to get deeper in squats
- Improving dead lifts
- The role of cardio
- Why she says "You don't have to earn your food" and "Exercise isn't punishment"
website: https://niashanks.com/
Books: Lift Like a Girl and The 100-Day Reclaim
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NiaShanksLiftLikeaGirl/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/niashanks/
In episode 78, Jill and Chris talk with Elizabeth Sherman about the problems with dieting and willpower.
Elizabeth is a life and weight loss coach who works with women in mid-life to lose weight and feel better through managing easy to do, sustainable habits: diet, exercise, sleep, and stress management. Using certain cues, including cravings, hunger, energy, stress (mood), and sleep, she helps individuals design the right health program for their body and lifestyle, and address obstacles and barriers.
"We can achieve optimal health; which leads to better energy, focus, productivity, relationships, and happiness in our lives."
Elizabeth is a Chicago native, who now lives in Puerto Morelos Mexico and meets with her clients online. She is a certified life coach, nutritionist, personal trainer, and health coach.
We discuss why she is done with dieting: * Why the "eat less, move more" advice can be more harmful than helpful * How she was able to curb her cravings and what she recommends to clients * How she has helped hundreds of women in midlife to lose weight and keep weight off * What does it mean to listen to your body * Why dieting, willpower or eliminating food groups doesn't work * Her ideas on frequency and density for changing habits and why that helps * Why she tends to "overload veggies" at lunch * Thoughts on intermittent fasting, dealing with stress, bedtime routines * How she suggests working with your higher brain to use your lower brain for making changes
Here are her social media links:
Website: ElizabethSherman.com
Facebook: Total Health by Eliz
Instagram: @Esherman68
LinkedIn: Elizabeth Sherman
In episode 77, Jill McCauslin and Chris Brown talk with Sue Loncaric, an Australian Over 50 lifestyle blogger, certified health and life coach for women and the founder of Women Living Well After 50.
She is a qualified Group Fitness Instructor and takes classes for Over 50 Women in the Strong Healthy Women Virtual Studio.
In 2020 Sue fulfilled a dream of starting the Conversations with Women Living Well After 50 podcast interviewing and sharing stories from women who are Living Well. The first season was released in August 2020 and the second season will be released soon in 2021.
Sue is passionate about living a full and active life in Midlife & Beyond. Her mission is to encourage and inspire women Over 50 to live a fit, fabulous, healthier, and happier lifestyle by guiding them to realize their full potential.
Sue loves running and has completed three full marathons in her mid-50s with the third completed in October 2020 at the age of 63, proving you are never too old. Her love of travel and her adorable grandsons are her reason for keeping fit and active. Sue’s motto is ‘Make it Happen because life is too short to wait.”
During our conversation we discussed:
-
How she has been a long time listener of the podcast and it inspired her to start Women Living Well After 50.
-
Key thoughts on mindset, attitude and remembering that you are an individual, not an age
-
Focusing on your reason "why"
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The importance of building a community of like minded individuals
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Her advice to her clients about exercise
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Her #one365word project and how that has influenced how she lives her life
Website: https://www.womenlivingwellafter50.com.au
Podcast: https://www.womenlivingwellafter50.com.au/podcast/
Her private Facebook Group of Women Living Well Over 50: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1189723761161528
In episode 76, Jill and Chris talk with Tammy White about her transformational story.
In her 40’s Tammy White was busy teaching high school and she felt she was too busy to make self-care a priority… As a result, her health took a nose dive. She was told by her doctors that if she didn’t find a way to make a change to her lifestyle, she would die early.
She found a way to change her mindset, build consistency, and improve -- both her health and her confidence! Tammy went on to compete as a body builder at age 50 and continued competing 5 times by the time she was 55. In 2018, she retired from teaching high school.
Now Tammy combines her teaching experience with what she has learned as an older athlete to help her peers create their own health transformation story.
In this podcast we discuss:
- Why changing your body composition makes the difference
- The importance of a trainer
- Having a "no date" mindset"
- Setting goals and little decisions along the way
- Using baby steps to move forward
- Fat loss versus muscle gain
- Why a bodybuilder physical is NOT the most health
Her e-book: Lifting My Spirits: A Lifelong Dream Deferred No Longer - Transformation from a Fat Chick to a Body Builder after Age 50
Lifting My Spirits website
#VeggieChallenge
In episode 75, Jill and Chris talk with Jen Brovoica about mental performance, triathlons, and overcoming trauma.
Jennifer Borovica is a three-time Ironman finisher and an avid triathlete. She coaches triathletes and specializes in mental performance coaching.
She is a Licensed Independent Social Worker (LISW) in the State of Ohio. She currently runs her own private practice, called RebelRising Wellness where she does individual therapy and has created a sober active community for women in recovery.
Jen is a member of the Applied Association of Sport Psychology (AASP) and working towards obtaining a Mental Performance Consultant Certification (CMPC) through AASP.
- During the podcast we discuss:
- How to find a sport community group of runners or bike riders
- How her group helped her to make changes in her life
- Why the nervous system can get "hijacked"
the effect of mini traumas on ability to be calm - The window of tolerance between hyper aroused, and hypo aroused.
- How to control anxiety and deal with difficult feelings
She shares her story of overcoming trauma and addiction, learning how to deal with difficult feelings, and gaining strong mental skills to be able to perform.
In episode 74 Jill and Chris celebrate their three year anniversary of the Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast. They discuss tracking and motivation while reviewing highlights from past episodes.
Mentioned in this podcast:
- Veggie Challenge
- Strength Training
- Cardio
- Sleep
- Akron Half Marathon
- Biking
- Goal Setting
- Working out at home
- Healthy Eating
- Food and fitness tracking
- Mental aspects of fitness: motivation, discipline, habits
In episode 73 Jill and Chris talk with Tracy Keenan about finding joy through creativity.
Jill has known Tracy Keenan since high school. Over the years they lost touch with each other, and then thanks to social media and a high school reunion, became reacquainted. Tracy Keenan is a Presbyterian pastor, an Enneagram-based coach, and sees creative work as essential to sanity, health, and well-being.
Tracy studied music as an undergraduate, and has continued writing and performing music, but she actually has her degree in Early Childhood Education. She has both a masters and doctorate in ministry, has pastored 4 churches in the course of 30 years, and is now a mid-council leader in New Castle Presbytery in Delaware.
We talked about live giving energy and how knowing more about yourself will help you to integrate stress tools to move and grow beyond where you are. Self awareness of your emotions and impulses helps you to make choices with wisdom.
Tracy sparks joy and enthusiasm with music and her writing. She cherishes friendships among a wide variety of people from various traditions,
conditions, religions, and opinions. She and her husband Jim Mehler have two grown daughters. She writes music, fiction, and poetry, rides a Harley, and looks for the joy.
More information at Becoming Elli - Finding Joy Through Creativity with Tracy Keenan.
In episode 72, Jill and Chris talk with Jane Crawford is a Recreation Therapist who lives in Calgary, Canada. She walks the talk about wellness and healthy living. As a Recreation Therapist she has learned the clinical tools to support those with chronic health conditions and been able to use those tools in her own life.
In 2008 she set the goal of 10000 steps a day and continues to do this today. In 2010, she used a simple check mark on the kitchen calendar of completing 30 minutes most days for physical activity. This simple way of holding herself accountable has lead her to become a triathlete and a passionate mountain biker.
Links mentioned in this podcast:
Zwift app for indoor cycling
Becoming Elli Private Facebook Group
In episode 71, Jill and Chris talk with Heike Yates, a fitness and nutrition expert who has helped women worldwide to stay fit for over 30 years.
Her passion is empowering women over 50 to say YES. I CAN. She helps them to take back their health and strength by showing them how fitness, nutrition, and mindset strategies combined create a winning team.
Heike has developed a reputation for creating real-life solutions and lasting results. She is the creator of Pursue Your Spark, the 4 Week Lean Out Program, and host of the Pursue Your Spark podcast. Heike is also a body builder, an Ultra Marathon runner and completed an Ironman Triathlon.
She has many fitness and nutrition certificates including:
* American Council on Exercise (ACE) Personal Trainer certification
* Pilates Method Alliance (PMA) Pilates
* Precision Nutrition (PN) Nutrition Certification Level 1
* Road Runners Club Of America (RRCA) Certification
* Pink Ribbon Program
* Pilates Breast Cancer Coach
Website: https://heikeyates.com
Podcast: https://heikeyates.com/podcast
In episode #70, Jill and Chris talk about taking care of the gut and brain during menopause with Christine Bailey.
Christine is an award winning degree qualified Functional Nutritional Therapist, Chef and Author with over 20 years of experience in the health, corporate and food industry. With a first class degree in Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy (BSc) and additional training by the Institute of Functional Medicine Christine is an experienced nutrition practitioner and speaker working in the public and corporate sector. Winner of Coeliac UK Chef of the Year award Christine is well known for her expertise in nutrition, healthy eating and developing health foods, products and recipes. She has particular expertise in the free from industry and fitness industry.
Christine works as a consultant for a wide range of health, fitness, supplement and food companies.
As well as seeing clients in Harley Street, London and Berkshire, running cookery days and writing for national press,Christine regularly appears on TV and radio as a nutritional expert and chef.
Christine is a writer for many national magazines and newspapers and has published over 16 recipe and health books including her latest books My Kids Can’t Eat That, The Brain Boost Diet and The Gut Health Diet, endorsed by Dr Mark Hyman from the Institute Of Functional Medicine USA.
Christine also lectures nationally and internationally and is widely sought after for her expertise.
More information at her website www.christinebailey.co.uk
Instagram: @christinembailey
Facebook: christinebaileykitchen
In episode 69, Jill and Chris discuss seasonal and life changes and their effect on health, fitness and motivation.
We discuss:
Races in real life
grief
emotional eating and feeling your feelings
strength training
intermittent fasting
camping
honey healing effects
food allergens
walking in nature
injury
yoga
shout outs
In episode 68 Jill and Chris talk with Juel Fitzgerald about staying healthy, walking and her new book, "Lives of a Gem."
This is the 3rd time we've talked with Juel on this podcast and we continue to be inspired by her grit, determination, and outlook on life. In episode 8 she was walking marathons and we followed up with her in #24 when she walked several half marathons.
We discuss:
- Overcoming asthma and allergies
- Dealing with hospitalizations and medications
- Motivation
- How she wrote her book - phases and characteristics of life issues
- Publishing a book during the pandemic
Her book can be purchased on Barnes and Noble, Amazon or directly from Juel at her website JuelsCreations.com
In episode 67, Jill and Chris spoke with Tim James about what he has discovered about health.
After Tim James suffered from multiple health issues, including rectal bleeding, two separate skin issues, chronic acid indigestion and surgery to remove one of his organs due to serious digestive issues, Tim knew something had to change. He made some major changes in his life and made dramatic improvements in his health.
Feeling charged with a duty to help others, he started sharing his knowledge with anyone who would listen. This led him to producing his own chemical-free food products and coaching others to health.
Tim told the story of his own health recovery and then talked about a variety of ways to improve our health.
He is convinced that we need to remove chemicals and impurities from our bodies to achieve real health. He discussed the importance of:
- Eating lots of vegetables, mainly raw
- Drinking purified water to reduce inflammation
- Chewing your food until it is liquefied
- Getting plenty of sleep
- Practicing deep breathing before eating to start the "rest & digest" mode.
He believes in eating more plants - the fresher the better. Tim says he mainly eats raw foods. Probably only 10 to 20 percent of his food is cooked.
Tim also discusses why he avoids meat and dairy and why it's important to remove toxins from our bodies.
He said that it is important to love yourself the way you are right now. Being fit and healthy is a lot more fun than not being fit and healthy. The combination of oxygen, pure water and movement helps to pump your lymphatic system, an essential part of having a chemical free body.
References Tim talked about a lot of different studies and researchers. Here are links to some of what he discussed and the researchers he referenced:
- Hippocrates Health Institute
- Forks over knives
- China Study by T. Colin Campbell
- Dr. Michael Gregor His YouTube video is Uprooting the Leading Causes of Death
- Dr. Gabriel Cousens
- Dr. Howell Food Enzymes for Health & Longevity
- Danoucha Reynon, Water Woman
In episode 66, Jill and Chris talk with Christine Phillips about the power of affirmations.
Christine Phillips is an Assistant Professor in Sport and Exercise Studies at Cuyahoga Community College with a masters degree in exercise science and is a PhD candidate for a doctor of philosophy in Health Psychology.
Christine is a certified health and wellness specialist. She’s also a certified yoga teacher and group exercise instructor. Plus she a grandmother of three and then somehow finds the time to ride her bike. (She's already ridden more than 2,000 miles in 2020.)
In episode 65, Jill and Chris interview Ren Powell who is a poet, playwright, translator, theater-maker and teaching artist/mentor. Ren lives an active lifestyle, is a runner and enjoys yoga. A native Californian, she is now a Norwegian citizen settled on the west coast of Norway.
Chris and Jill met Ren when she joined the Becoming Elli private Facebook group and have gotten to know her better. They decided that other Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast listeners would enjoy hearing how she stays strong and fit.
Enjoy hearing about running, strength training and yoga in this episode! For links go to the Becoming Elli website.
In Episode 64, Jill and Chris interview Marcia Kadens, a fitness enthusiast who has run 14 full marathons, including the Six World Marathon Majors as well as hundreds of shorter races.
In this episode she discusses how her running schedule has changed after 50, her thoughts and tips for building strength after menopause, and nutrition tips.
Marcia also shares training and fitness tips as well as healthy recipes on her blog, Marcia's Healthy Slice, and she shares workouts designed for women of a "certain age" on the Marcia's Healthy Slice YouTube Channel. Reach out to Marcia via her website: http://www.marciashealthyslice.com
Cod fish has omega threes which are so important for women over 50. The website she orders from is https://sitkasalmonshares.com and you can use code MHS for Marcia's Healthy Slice to get a discount.
In episode 63 of the Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast, Jill and Chris discuss workout challenges while away from home care-giving. We found some ways to get some strength training without traditional weights
Some of the activities that we are that are also work outs. (One of our community members has been enjoying wind surfing, which is a huge workout, but probably more rare among our listeners) We have been hiking, walking and biking.
We discuss:
Staying fit and strong mentally with the added weight of corona restrictions. Keeping positive and how it is similar to marathon training.
Listeners are invited to download Free Affirmations from Elsie Weisskoff.
We also discussed food and what tastes especially great during hot, hot weather.
Jill has run with a special mask with a filter for pollen and asthma
We recently have tried some new Becoming Elli masks. Comfortable, pretty, have place for a filter, but expensive. No wire for your nose bridge. Visit the website for a link of where to buy.
Chris has been loving cottage cheese with frozen berries on top during this hot weather.
She roasted cabbage and added it to my traditional potluck veggie salad, but the vinegar didn’t taste rightwith the roasted part... she will be sticking to raw shredded cabbage in this salad from now on.
Jill is really enjoying the big salads with a cheese, a nut and a fruit.
Jill has a new puppy! Welcome Penny!
Jill and Chris talk with Jess Elliott, owner of TAG Performance, a Sports Performance Coaching & Education company, located in Boulder, Colorado. Angie Ridgel and Pam Semanik, who talked about performance training in episode 44, met Jess at a conference and recommended that we speak to her. It was a great suggestion.
Jess shares how women over 50 can continue to be fit and strong and take our fitness to the next level and says that it’s never too late to improve our fitness.
Jess has an extensive coaching background in strength and conditioning, working with athletes of all ages and backgrounds, from high school students to professional athletes.
In this episode, we discuss strength and conditioning for endurance athletes and then move to the differences and similarities of the endurance and adventure communities. Living in Boulder, Jess participates actively in both groups. She discusses her adventures above the tree line and her love of alpine lakes.
Also, Jess discusses her view on mastering recovery for athletes. She describes a great recovery exercise that she teaches her athletes.
Because so many events have been cancelled in 2020, Jess shares her ideas on keeping motivated and how to use this year to improve our performance in the future.
Jess also helps demystify fueling for endurance events. She discusses the value of using real food for energy. In addition, she shares with us her use of intermittent fasting.
Links to contact Jess Elliott Listeners may connect with Jess on Instagram:
@jelli_rose
@tagperformanceco
YouTube Channel: Tag Performance
Facebook: Tag Peformance
Website: Tag Performance
In episode 61, Jill and Chris talk with Daisy Brackenhall, also known as the Keto Woman. She is a delightful person who is extremely knowledgeable about living the keto lifestyle.
Daisy is a Brit who has been living in rural France for the past 15 or so years. She lost half her bodyweight with weight loss surgery and low carb eating and has since maintained a healthy weight with keto. Keto has also helped her significantly reduce depression and migraines. She is a part-time gardener and lives with her three dogs and cats.
Daisy is a podcaster and produces two weekly podcasts. In the Keto Woman podcast Daisy chats with extraordinary women and shares their inspiring stories with listeners. Monday Mindset is Daisy’s newest podcast and a collaboration with her friend and psychologist Terri Lance, who works at The Fasting Method. Each week they share with each other and their listeners something that they’ve found inspiring or motivational.
A few years ago Daisy created and continues to run a successful Facebook group for women called Kickarse Keto Bitches. With almost 3000 members from all around the world, the group functions as a safe and inviting community for women to find and offer support to one another.
In today's interview we talk about:
- Her experience with diets and surgery
- How she was able to stop the regain
- The basic principles of keto - ketosis
- Reducing carbs for ketosis and the role of whole foods
- Keto as an anti-inflamation diet, type 2 diabetes, treating diseases
- The impact of Keto on metabolism, insulin and blood sugar
- Making keto work for you (as opposed to making yourself fit into a specific version of keto)
- Keto basics: fatty proteins, leafy greens, mostly above ground vegetables, a few nuts and seeds, and some dairy, keto treats
- What is Keto AF? Daisy’s 100th interview with April Ihly
- The difference between moderators and abstainers
- Avoiding refined carbohydrates, processed carbohydrates, seed oils
- DietDoctor.com offers free resources, infographics, information on high carbohydrate to low carbohydrateKet vegetables
- A two week meal plan at DietDoctor.com is a good starting point
- Running in a fat adapted state
- The sense of empowerment keto gives to women in particular
To find out more about this episode, visit BecomingElli.com
In episode 60, Jill and Chris talk with Nancy Gardner a certified instructor of Qigong, Tai Chi and other martial arts.
Nancy is all about movement. And she LOVES to move... her body and her mind.
She has been training since 1985 and teaching professionally since 1994. She also is a state-licensed massage therapist and Polarity Therapy practitioner.
Nancy draws on these disciplines and metaphysical studies to create unique, experiential wellness programs for various groups and organizations.
Passionate about learning, teaching and sharing, Nancy's mission is to empower individuals to be as healthy as they can be and to find balance among the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of life.
Presenting locally regionally and internationally, her audiences range from corporate executives to full-time moms, from the medical community to accounting firms, from nuns in their 80s to teens, and everyone in between!
Visit BecomingElli.com for the complete show notes.
You can find Nancy online at NG Energy and her email is NancyG@NGEnergy.us.
In episode 59 of the Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast, Jill and Chris talk with wellness specialist Pam Sherman about she stays fit and strong and how she helps others become fit and strong.
Pam Sherman has been involved in fitness/wellness as a coach and trainer for more than 20 years. Now, she is the CEO and founder of The Perfect Balance, a seven time author, an international motivational speaker, and a coach.
Her mission is to help women take better care of themselves and their health. Pam empowers women to lose weight and gain confidence. She wants to help every woman feel GREAT in their own skin!
After getting hit by a car and only having minor injuries, Pam is more passionate than ever about spreading the word of self-care. Her tagline is your health is your greatest wealth.
During this episode we discuss:
- What she means by perfect balance
- How she recovered from the car accident that happened while running
- Her goal of doing pull-ups
- What she suggests especially for women over 50
- Her YouTube channel with short workouts
- The seven books/workbooks she authored about nutrition and weight loss
- The BAS Big Ass Salad that she prepares every day
More details go to https://www.becomingelli.com/the-perfect-balance-with-pam-sherman
In episode 58 of the Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast, Jill and Chris interview Gin Stephens about her experiences with intermittent fasting.
Gin Stephens has been living the intermittent fasting lifestyle since 2014. This lifestyle shift allowed her to lose over 80 pounds.
She has launched her intermittent fasting website, four Facebook support groups, four self-published books, and two top-ranked podcasts—Intermittent Fasting Stories and The Intermittent Fasting Podcast. Gin is the author of Delay, Don’t Deny: Living an Intermittent Fasting Lifestyle.
Her newest book, Fast, Feast, Repeat will be available in June 2020.
Gin graduated from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition’s Health Coach Training Program in 2019. She earned a Doctor of Education degree in Gifted and Talented Education (2009), a Master's degree in Natural Sciences (1997), and a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education (1990). She taught elementary school for 28 years, and has worked with adult learners in a number of settings.
In today's podcast we discussed:
- How does intermittent fasting work with weight loss?
- Intermittent fasting and maintaining a weight loss
- Recommendations for starting intermittent fasting
- What to eat while you’re practicing intermittent fasting
- How certain flavored beverages can interrupt a clean fast
- Strength training, running and cycling with intermittent fasting
Her upbeat personality, combined with years of experience with intermittent fasting provides an interesting episode.
For more information visit:
Fast. Feast. Repeat. on Amazon
Gin Stephens Website
Follow Gin on Instagram
In Episode #57, Jill and Chris talk with Dr. Victoria Shaw about self care to help you improve your healthy immune system, which is particularly timely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She has an extensive educational background:
Dr. Shaw received her Doctorate of Nursing Practice from Case Western Reserve University, her Master of Science in Nursing from University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her Bachelor of Arts from Pennsylvania State University. She also has additional credentials and certifications from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Cornell University, Princeton Biofeedback Center, and the Center for Mind Body Medicine... among others. As a nurse practitioner, health and wellness coach and a facilitator of compassionate change, Dr. Shaw combines cutting edge, evidence-based science with time honored wisdom to help her clients feel better, sleep better and relieve bothersome symptoms...
During this episode we discuss:
- What is the immune system?
- How can we improve the health of our immune system?
- How can we improve our sleep?
- Insights into food sensitives and food allergies.
- The differences between Mindfulness and Meditation
- How meditation improves the immune system
- How to get some mindfulness into your day if you don’t have a mindfulness practice
- We talk about how to eat right, avoid stress, and ways of getting good sleep:
Dr. Victoria Shaw has prepared this 4 page PDF handout Self Care to Improve Immunity for you to download.
Jill McCauslin and Chris Brown in Staying Fit and Strong in Isolation - Episode 56
We’re still in the stay-at-home program due to the Covid-19 virus, so we thought we’d check in with our listeners on how it’s going.
We talk about:
- Being at home
- Separated from family
- Maintaining social relationships
- Eating
- Exercise
- Going outside
- Effects of Isolation
- What we're doing to stay fit and strong
- Keeping things in perspective
In Episode 55 of the Fit Strong Women Over 50, Chris and Jill speak with guest expert Cassie Christopher about emotional eating during COVID-19.
She is a Registered Dietitian who has helped hundreds of women overcome emotional eating, so they can focus on the people and things that are really important to them.
With a background in using genetics and lab data for chronic disease prevention, Cassie is also a behavior change expert who knows what it takes to make changes that will last.
We discuss:
- What are the different emotions that cause people to want to eat?
- Advice for those living with children or even adult children
- How to avoid emotional eating while we’re at home with a lot of food nearby.
- What's the difference between doing some emotional eating sometimes and having an eating disorder?
- Practicing self compassion
- Free support using the Headspace app during COVID-19 https://www.headspace.com/covid-19
- Quick protein options: canned tuna, chicken, beans, hard boiled egg
- Planning the day in advance
In addition, Cassie offers a free guide: Cut emotional eating in half by balancing your blood sugar! which is available at www.CassieChristopher.net/free. Full disclosure: you will need to provide your email address and will be signing up for her email list when you download the guide. The free guide is in editable PDF format, meaning that you can type in your food plan into the format and print it out, which can be quite helpful.
To follow Cassie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CassieChristopherRD/
In episode 54 Jill and Chris interview Joanne Hagy, a licensed massage therapist, about the healthy benefits of orthopedic massage.
Joanne is the owner of Orthopedic Massage and Wellness and has over 20 years experience in massage therapy as well as sports medicine.
She spent the first 8 years of her career working in an orthopedic physical therapy clinic as an athletic trainer, soon combining massage therapy into her treatment protocols.
Joanne then solely began focusing on her massage practice and teaching massage where she was co-owner of The School of Orthopedic Massage and Bodywork in Ann Arbor, Michigan for 4 years. She relocated to Hudson, Ohio in 2014 where she resumes a successful massage practice.
We discuss:
- What is orthopedic massage?
- How is it different from regular massage?
- What are the benefits of orthopedic massage?
- How do we find a good massage therapist? What questions should we ask?
- Is any particular sport or activity more likely to cause injury?
- Why do we get injured after exercising or working out?
- What advice do you have for us women over 50 to avoid injury?
- What should we be doing that we’re not?
To find Joanne online, visit her website: Orthopedic Massage and Wellness at https://www.orthopedicmassageandwellness.com
In episode #53 of Fit Strong Women Over 50, Chris Brown and Jill McCauslin discuss various ways of getting more vegetables into their meals every day.
Some of the recipes that we discussed in this veggie delight podcast episode include:
Veggie blender dressing - yellow squash, carrots with liquid of olive oil, lemon juice and apple cider vinegar.
Cabbage soup - cabbage, carrot, onion, celery, diced tomatoes, green beans, stock. Freeze for later. Add beans and greens with oregano or cooked chicken or sauteed zucchini or kale or potatoes to create variations for lunch or dinner. Taco seasoning with black beans makes a TexMex.
Cowboy Caviar - chop up raw veggies. Black beans, black eyed peas and corn. Three colors of pepper. Diced red onion. Chopped avocado. Olive Oil, lime juice and apple cider vinegar. Cayenne pepper if you want more kick.
Bitter greens - arugula, dandelion greens. Buy at the grocery store. Used in a salad but not a whole salad. Add into a mixed greens salad. Packed full of nutrients and good for the digestive system.
Bitter melons - Diane Reuther bought these from an Indian food grocery store. They are spiny on the outside. She cut it length wise. It's white or red inside. Scoop out the seeds. Par boil it to stay crunchy in a stir fry with onions and carrots. Add soy sauce and a little maple syrup. Good for your immune system. (Diane Reuther says she didn't care for it.)
Riced or noodle vegetables. Riced cauliflower - buy already riced or use a grater on a head of cauliflower. Green olives recipe.
Cauliflower crust for pizza - Many in store cauliflower crusts use rice flour - still prepared foods that may have ingredients you may not want. In search of the best recipe.
Adding coconut milk to riced cauliflower - Jill tried it and it was delicious.
How can we make this taste better? Is it only an acquired taste? Or can someone tell us how to make them more tasty? Leave a message on 330-970-6662 or post on the comment section.
In episode #52, Dawn Maloney is interviewed about sustaining her weight loss. Dawn is wife, mother, realtor, and mostly vegan intermittent faster.
With 130 pounds fluctuation between her highest adult weights, Dawn needed to find a sustainable eating and movement lifestyle to help her consistently live a healthy life.
Through intermittent fasting, plus a nearly 100% vegan lifestyle, she has finally found the balance she wanted.
Links and resources mentioned in this episode of the Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast are on the Becoming Elli
Community Website at Sustaining Weight Loss using Vegan Eating & Intermittent Fasting.
In episode 51 of the Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast, Chris and Jill continue to explore the different ways that women over 50 find to be fit and strong. In this episode, they talk with Gyata Stormon, tennis coach, author, and yoga instructor.
The author of On the Ball: Doubles Tennis Tactics for Recreational Players, Gyata gives advice on how to begin playing as adults and WHY we should consider starting to play. She sees tennis not only as a way to stay fit but to have social connections and mental exercise.
The discussion includes:
- How to stay fit and strong playing tennis
- How to avoid injury
- The difference between singles and doubles in tennis
- Her philosophy on coaching
- Gyata’s travels around the world and how this affected her sport
- Yoga
- Staying motivated
- Eating paleo
How to find Gyata Stormon and her book, On the Ball.
website: www.ontheballbook.com
Facebook: Gyata Stormon
Instagram: Gyata Stormon
Email ontheballbook@gmail.com
Amazon: On the Ball
Cashew bread recipe that Chris is going to try
(Note that Jill is hoping to be invited over for a cup of tea and a slice of this bread.)
In episode #50, Jill and Chris discuss what it takes to stay fit and strong after 50. We talk about eating habits, exercise routines and finding the motivation to get and stay fit.
In this episode we interview each other about:
- What it takes to not gain the weight back after losing it
- Favorite meals and go-to recipes
- Timing of meals
- Style of eating
- Favorite exercise routines
- Increasing happiness after 50
- Things we’ve learned from the experts
- What foods we avoid
- How to stay motivated
In Episode 49, Jill and Chris interview Dr. Joan Ifland, a processed food addiction expert. Dr. Ifland has been creating breakthroughs in recovery from food addiction since 1999, when her first popular book was published. In 2018, her textbook, Processed Food Addiction: Foundations, Assessment and Recovery was published. Her insights into processed food addiction following decades of research are fascinating.
In this powerful episode we discuss:
What is food addiction?
- The dangers of food addiction
- The 11 questions to answer to discover if you have a food addiction
- The six most common indications of addiction
- A checklist of symptoms – Diagnostic Criteria for Addictions
- What addicted eating looks like compared to non-addictive eating.
- Why the triggers to eat processed food are so powerful
- What happened after the tobacco industry purchased a significant part of food industry in the 1980’s.
- The role of sugar, high fructose corn syrup, caffeine, salt, dairy, diet soda and artificial sweeteners in food addiction
How to stop eating processed foods
- Is it better to wean slowly off of processed foods or go cold turkey?
- Can we eat processed foods in moderation? For instance, cheat days or special events?
- What to expect when going through the withdrawal of processed foods (the first 4 days)
- Managing Withdrawal from Processed Foods
- How to navigate holidays and special occasions that are filled with processed foods.
- The role of cueing in food addiction and how to gain control.
- Why mirror neurons can help or hurt us in fighting food addiction.
- The importance of finding your tribe.
She created RESET WEEK, the first online live video program for withdrawal from processed foods.
Many resources were mentioned during the podcast. Some are directed to health professionals, others are for consumers and the general population.
Here is where you can find more education and resources:
- Dr. Ifland’s website https://www.drjoanifland.com/
- Food Addiction Resources http://www.foodaddictionresources.com
- Facebook https://www.facebook.com/foodaddictionreset/
- Instagram https://www.instagram.com/foodaddictionreset/
- https://twitter.com/pfaddiction
- The Addiction Reset Community (ARC) http://www.foodaddictionreset.com
- Free services at her Facebook group called Food Addiction Education https://www.facebook.com/groups/1806154526275515/
- Free resources and printable handouts http://www.foodaddictionresources.com
- Grocery shopping list of unprocessed foods
- Education and support by FAR-TV videos at Food Addiction Reset TV on YouTube
In episode 48, Jill and Chris review the past year. Both the challenges and successes of 2019 - training, recovery, eating, mental game and plans for next year.
Some of the points of discussion:
- Back pain and recovery
- Going to the gym
- MAF - low heart rate training
- Cholesterol - egg yokes
- Elimination diet - strawberries
- Running - restarting with Couch25K
- Maintaining recovery - rollers and massages
- Motivation, discipline, habits
- Yoga Nidra and Yin Yoga
- Letting go of perfect
Tap Dancing to Fitness Episode #47 of the Fit Strong Women Over 50 Podcast
Jill and Chris discuss life changes after 50 with Lois Krebs and how she keeps fit with tap dancing. Lois moved from working in a corporate office, went back to school and launched a new career as a nurse.
Although Lois felt she was "horrid" when she tried tap dancing in her twenties, she found many advantages when she took up tap dancing again in her 50's.
"I noticed the other day, when I go down steps at work I go as fast as I can, down the middle of the stairs, not holding the handrails. My balance has definitely improved."
Benefits -
- Emotional - Social - Physical - Mental
- Your brain memorizing the dance routines
- Organized evening out
- "Got me off the couch"
- Movement and rhythmic
- Love the sound
- Fun to do - active
- Strengthen legs/ankles
- Coordination improvement
- Making new friends
Other exercise:
- Yoga - one night a week - relaxation/ breathing and stretching, improving circulation and balance
- Exercise at home with hand weights/ dumb bells
- Core, upper body, legs - strength training
- Cycling - I ride on trails. I used to do 100-mile rides, fairly often.
We also talked about her success in working with a fasting elimination diet for 6 weeks and what she learned. It has changed how she prepares food and what she eats. She has worked with a chiropractor. She also did an endurance test and worked through a functional sports medicine program.
Some Examples of Importance of Functional Fitness:
- Gardening – working the beds requires strong muscles to get out and work the soil
- Carrying groceries for yourself – from the store to the car to the house/apartment without help
- Putting luggage into the overhead bin on an airplane – you can’t travel if you can’t move your luggage!
"Something I read a while ago, one of the number one reason people go into assisted-living facilities is that they can't get off the toilet by themselves."
Food:
- smoothies in the morning (vegetables, greens & some fruit)
- eggs on her day off for breakfast
- hot lunch at work (brings from home) her big meal of the day
- She likes to stir fry when she needs a go to recipe.
She avoids all the high calorie snacks that many families bring into the residential facility where she works (such as cakes, donuts, cookies) by making sure she’s not hungry.
As someone who works at a residential living facility caring for people as a nurse, Lois offers this advice for aging well:
- Keep the weight under control (most important)
- Stay as active as your body will let you as long as possible
- Find new interests and hobbies
- Do things with friends so it is fun
- Accomplishing a goal and meeting challenges
Mentioned during the podcast:
- The Blender Girl cookbook with recipes using your blender. Edamame and spinach makes a great green hummus-like dip.
- Lois’s elimination diet and her chiropractic doctor: Dr. Blueter at Ravenna Chiro
- Pelaton bike ad https://youtu.be/ijof8uw4OHs
- Ryan Reynolds Vodka ad
In Episode 46, Jill and Chris discuss the importance of protein for women over 50. Part of this podcast is from an earlier recording with personal trainer, Brian Kennell. We also discuss the challenges of eating healthy during the holiday season and offer tips.
Limited time, free special bonus: Downloadable food planner and tracker PDF for eating healthy during holiday feasting with 20 tips.
In this podcast we discuss:
- How many grams of protein a day women over 50 should eat
- Why cutting calories to lose weight and exercising to lose weight at the same time can be a problem.
- 3 reasons why women over 50 don't always get enough protein
- Strength training to build muscle
- Sources of lean protein
- Why changes in body composition toward more muscle and less fat are a lot slower than losing just weight on the scale
- Thanksgiving food preparation ideas
- Getting enough protein and exercise
- Gluten free and vegan ideas and options
Visit the website at https://becomingelli.com/eating-healthy-during-the-holidays for a free downloadable PDF planner tracker - limited time only!
In episode 45, Chris and Jill talk about adventure travels with Denise Wakeman. They discuss her travels, how she trains for adventure, and how she began her business, Globetrotting Adventure Travel.
Denise Wakeman's motto is "Just say yes!" After a life-changing trek in the Peruvian Andes, she embraced her inner Adventurer and ditched the black business suits for a knapsack and hiking boots. As long as there’s wifi, Denise is a happy traveler.
Denise’s love of travel began when she traveled around the world as a child with her family. She has also spent over 20 years as an online marketing business consultant. So, it made sense that in 2018, Denise combined her love of online marketing and travel by starting a second business, Globetrotting Adventure Travel.
Getting Fit and Strong Denise shares with us how she changed her lifestyle in 2007. Basically, she was a couch potato until her 40’s and then joined Weight Watchers and a gym. She then became a runner.
Now she craves working out and makes sure she's active on a regular basis. Denise combines her physical activity with her social life by meeting her friends regularly for a brisk hike, followed by breakfast.
With her new business, Denise now organizes adventure trips for people looking to do more than standard vacation travel. She takes groups to various parts of the world where they experience great food, wine, and some kind of adventure.
Chris and Jill discuss with Denise:
- Her love of the Peruvian Andes
- Her various treks in mountains and other adventures
- What prompted Denise to start a second business
- How to train for adventure travel
- Her advice for women traveling solo
- Best ways to eat while hanging out in airports and flying
- Best ways to eat while traveling in different parts of the world
- How to avoid jet lag
Please share with us any of your adventures in travel. You can post here on the website or on the Becoming Elli Facebook page. Feel free to email us at Jill@BecomingElli.com or Chris@BecomingElli.com.
How to Contact Denise Wakeman:
Websites: Denise Wakeman and Globetrotting Adventure Travel
Facebook: Denise Wakeman
Instagram: Denise Wakeman
Twitter: @DeniseWakeman
In episode #44, Chris and Jill interview Angie Ridgel and Pam Semanik, the owners and coaches at Stelleri Performance Training, about increasing performance for women over 50.
Their awards and honors are impressive and they each have earned many accolades. They started their company to work with masters athletes and their company specializes in working with athletes who have little experience with road cycling, time trials or cyclocross. They also work with multisport athletes who want to ride faster, more efficiently and smarter.
We discuss with them:
- Different types of cycling: road, criterium, time trial, cyclocross, and gravel
- What is considered a masters athlete in different sports
- Motivating each other
- How and why they started the Stelleri Speed School
- Increasing speed and capabilities as we get older
- Strength Training
- Improving health and nutrition
- Exercise Physiology and Angie's work with bike riding and Parkinson's disease as an Associate Professor at Kent State University
- Dealing with a chronic illness and being fit
Their company website is: stelleritraining.com
On Sunday, November 17, 2019 at 7:00 PM (Eastern Standard time) they are hosting an informational webinar and live Q&A. More info at their website if you are interested in hearing more.
You can follow them on Facebook.
In episode 43, Chris and Jill talk with Ellen Wisbar, a CPA who started building her running distance over the past year.
Ellen Wisbar grew up on the west side of Cleveland Ohio and has always been interested in sports. She played volleyball and was on the track team in high school. At Miami University she moved on to intramural sports and graduated in 1985 with a Bachelors degree in Accounting.
After graduation, Ellen stayed active by sustaining a gym membership at various locations in Cleveland, running very casually, group exercise classes, skiing, biking, and participating in things like Corporate Challenge at work. Ellen is a CPA so by nature her job is pretty sedentary. At this point, she work in the legal department which requires some travel and no tax season, hours anymore.
In the summer of 2018, she completed a 5k in June for the first time ever without walking. When Ellen told a friend at LifeCenter about it, she invited Ellen to join a running group called Moms Run This Town. The informal running group schedules coffee runs each week, which helped Ellen to start running more consistently.
She ran the 10K Great Pumpkin Run in Akron last October, the Cleveland Half Marathon this past May and then the Akron Half in September.
They discuss:
- How she got motivated
- How she changed from a casual running into a distance runner
- Why having multiple race goals is a good idea
- How she got started running and built up her mileage
- What she brings to eat and fuel during the race
- Comparing different races
- Why she felt this half marathon was more fun than the first time she ran a half.
- Her plans for the future
- Hydration vest
Links mentioned in this podcast:
- Picky bar
- The training plan she used
- Her running group Moms Run This Town
In episode 42, Chris and Jill talk to Nita Sweeney, the author of Depression Hates a Moving Target: How Running with My Dog Brought Me Back from the Brink. Nita Sweeney is a writer and runner who lives in Columbus, Ohio. Her memoir was published this year and an audio version was recently released. In it, Nita describes her transition into a runner and how she overcame both physical and emotional obstacles.
Nita earned a journalism degree from The E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University, a law degree from The Ohio State University, and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Goddard College.
A product of best-selling author Natalie Goldberg’s “writing practice” method, Nita has taught writing for nearly 20 years and is a member of the National Association of Memoir Writers and the Ohio Writers Guild.
Nita started out running for 30 seconds at a time using a kitchen timer. Through training and having supportive family, friends, and running communities, she has become a true runner. She has run three marathons, 27 half marathons and over 80 other races. Her memoir describes how she became a runner and able to participate in all of these races.
Chris and Jill’s conversation with Nita included:
- How Nita took up running
- How it improved her mental health
- Dealing with pain and injury
- Being a slow runner
- Meditation
- The value of communities for running
- What kind of shoes she likes
Nita’s memoir is available at the various online book stores and your local bookstore. Nita says she loves seeing the waiting list for her book at her library system.
Links Nita Sweeney
Chi Running
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nitasweeney/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/nitasweeneyauthor/
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/nitasweeney/
Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/nitasweeney/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/nitasweeney/
In episode 41, Jill and Chris talk with Health Coach Beth Kaczmar about healthy eating, grocery shopping and meal prep ideas.
She holds a bachelor's degree from University of Akron in Nutrition and Dietetics, is certified in health coaching through Precision Nutrition and currently works as a health coach at a medical practice.
She likes to help people to see what they can eat, instead of focusing on what they are told they can't eat.
She said she likes to help them with variety, make it about recipes. "We tweak recipes, so they are not feeling deprived. For instance, substituting, normal flour for an almond flour and then adjust the liquids in the recipe."
Some of the discussion points:
- Tips on shopping the grocery stores - Produce. Fish. Organic. Locally grown. Nutrition label.
- Food prep ideas for the week.
- TasteMyTable instagram page of her original recipes for eating the rainbow. https://www.instagram.com/tastemytable/
- How she squeezes exercise into her busy week: swimming,
elliptical, and weights - Fueling for working out and training for endurance events.
Find her on:
@TasteMyTable
RevitalizeMed.com
Beth's Red Cabbage Recipe from TasteMyTable:
Sweet and Spicy Cabbage on the go!
I love this recipe because all I do is chop all my ingredients, pop them in a zip lock bag, including the dressing, and when I’m ready to eat, just give a little shake and I have my salad to go
It’s packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and it’s high in fiber and low in calories
I hope you enjoy! 1/4 head of purple cabbage, shredded, 1 slice white onion, diced, 1 small whole carrot, diced, 1 T goji berries, 1 T raisins, 1 T Apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp hot sauce, 1 tsp honey, sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
Throw all ingredients into a zip lock bag, give a shake and enjoy
In episode 40, Jill and Chris talk with Kai Boyer, a Certified Master Trainer in Orange County in southern California.
Kai competed in tennis both in college and professionally. When she had a career ending hip injury, she had to give up her sport. She then turned her attention to finishing her degree and starting her business, Kai Boyer Fitness.
She specializes in in Women’s Physique, Weight Loss, Athletic Performance Training, Injury Rehabilitation and Pain Management. With over 5 years experience, Kai has helped hundreds of individuals achieve their fitness goals and transform their lives and bodies through fitness & nutrition.
We discuss:
- Best exercises for women over 50
- Modifications for basic exercises when needed
- Recovery and rest day
- Healthy eating tips
- Weight loss plans that she offers clients
- How she defines fit
Those who would like to learn more about Kai Boyer Fitness can follow her:
Website: www.kaiboyerfitness.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/kai_boyer_fitness
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kaiboyerfitness
Chris and Jill discuss the Fitbit app and watches.
- Which features we use and how we use them.
- Exercise
- Food
- Challenges
- Sleep
- Heart rate
- Water proof
- What we like and why as well as what we don’t like and why.
Interested in joining a Becoming Elli FitBit challenge group? Let us know by sending an email to Chris@becomingelli.com or calling 330-970-6662 or connecting with us on FitBit. We will be posting our FitBit names in the Becoming Elli Private Facebook group to see who else is interested.
In episode 39 of the Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast, Chris and Jill talk with Holly Timberlake, PhD about being healthy mentally as we age. Holly is a Licensed Psychologist who practices as a holistic, alternative psychotherapist. She works with clients on a variety of issues, including overcoming trauma and healing from depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem.
Holly talks about Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) and explains how we can use tapping to become calmer and more relaxed. She describes tapping as emotional acupressure.
One of the questions that Holly answered was about specific advice for women over 50. She gave a great, lengthy answer about adopting a youthful attitude toward life. She wrote a blog post, Youthfulness as We Age: Decreasing Stress in preparation to talk about her thoughts on this topic.
The conversation also included the value of yoga and meditation, the joys of working with her adult daughter, and eating for your metabolic type.
Holly and her daughter conduct retreats which focus on yoga, meditation, community, and EFT. These are one day retreats offered about once a season. They are adding a new weekend retreat, a mother-daughter rejoicing weekend starting in October 2019.
Some terms mentioned:
EMDR: Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing
MTHFR: methylenetetrahydrofolate
Nightshades: tomatoes, peppers, potato, eggplant
Links mentioned in this podcast:
HollyTimberlake.com
TodaysTapping.com on Facebook
TappingSolution.com for EFT information
Gary Craig for EFT information
Jack Canfield for mindfulness & meditation.
Louise Hay for affirmations and joy in your life.
Deepak Chopra
In episode #38 of Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast, Jill and Chris compare 11 popular Protein Bars with protein, carbs, fiber and of course taste.
Find out which ones we liked the best... and the worst!
We purchased these bars ourselves, nothing was donated to us. All comments are our own and we were not paid for this review.
The Protein Bars of 2019 comparison chart can be found here.
We discuss the pros and cons of protein bars and evaluate 11 different bars:
- Kind Double Dark Chocolate
- Kind Peanut butter
- Rx
- Luna
- Zone Perfect
- Quest
- Muscle Milk
- Think Thin
- Power Crunch
- Think Brownie
- Think Thin Plant
If you are interested in making your own bars, click here for Melanie Jatsek's bar, here for Heather Lentz's bar or here for a variety of other recipes.
In episode 37 of the Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast, Jill and Chris interview Laura Campbell, a chef educator and lecturer in Cleveland Ohio.
We talk with her about our food system, teaching others about how to cook, her opinion about organic foods, preparing foods, and her favorite vegetables.
Since 2015, she has worked as the Chef Instructor for Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry, whose mission is to serve and advocate for the oppressed, forgotten, and hurting. Prior to joining the LMM team, Laura spent four years with Mustard Seed Market in Solon, Ohio where her passion for culinary education surfaced in earnest.
Years of private catering and patisserie further paved the way for hospitality instruction.
She holds an associate degree in Culinary Arts from The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, and a B.A. in Geology from The College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio She brings over twenty years of experience in the hospitality industry.
She lectures on a variety of topics including Culinary History, The Modern Food System, The Cooking Hypothesis, GMOs vs. Organics, and How to Navigate the Grocery Store.
Follow her on Instagram: @askcheflaura
What does it mean to have health at every size? In episode 36 of the Fit Strong Women Over 50 Podcast, Chris Brown and Jill McCauslin talk with Erica Leon about body image, intuitive eating, and learning to live in a healthy way. Erica is a registered dietitian and is the owner of Erica Leon Nutrition, an outpatient group nutrition practice in White Plains, NY.
As a registered dietitian, Erica counseled people on diets, primarily to lose weight. After 10 or 15 years of noticing that people kept losing weight, only to regain it and then return for yet another diet, she looked for another way to help people regain health.
Erica uses a “non-diet” Health at Every Size ® approach, which helps chronic dieters to discover their natural, internal signals of hunger, fullness and satisfaction.
Jill, Chris, and Erica discuss how Erica promotes healthy behaviors like physical activity, eating in a balanced way, and "regular" meals. Erica says, "Intuitive eating allows you to focus on your bodily sensations."
Healthy at Any Size Some of the topics covered in this episode is
- What harm the "diet culture" does to many women
- Why a little more body fat for women over 50 is actually helpful for protecting the body.
- Why the principle of habituation works
Some of Erica’s favorite mantras to eliminate negative voices are:
- I am fine just as I am
- I don't need to please anybody
- I am my own best friend
- I believe in myself
Links Intuitive Eating as a concept was developed by two revolutionary dietitians: Evelyn Trebley and Elyse Resch
Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program That Works by Evelyn Tribole, M.S., R.D and Elyse Resch, M.S., R.D., F.A.D.A.
Intuitive Eating Workbook
Health at Every Size (The Surprising Truth about Your Weight) by Linda Bacon
Becoming Elli Mantras
Social Media You can find Erica Leon at:
Facebook: Erica Leon Nutrition
LinkedIn: Erica Leon Nutriton
Instagram:Erica Leon Nutrition
Twitter: Erica Leon RDN
Pinterest: Nutrafit1
The Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast is part of the Becoming Elli community. Join us as we explore ways to be fit and strong.
In episode 35 of the Fit, Strong Women Over 50 podcast for the Becoming Elli community, Jill and Chris discuss inspiration, motivation and discipline.
Listen to the conversation where we talk about:
- What's the difference between inspiration and motivation?
- Where does discipline come in?
- How can you get motivated?
- How do the people you surround yourself with inspire you?
- What do you do when you're not feeling inspired to eat healthy or to work out?
- How does the Becoming Elli community to help each other to stay motivated and inspired?
Mentioned in this podcast:
- Janet Palcko - hiking in Spain
- Wendy Rivera- cross fit and running while dealing with flare ups of RA
- Juel Fitzgerald - walking marathons
- Diane Berkley - weight training
- Diane Reuther - hiking the Alps
Now available on Pandora podcasts.
In episode 34 of the Fit, Strong Women Over 50 podcast for the Becoming Elli community, Jill and Chris discuss a variety of ways to improve their health. They discuss their spring training has gone as well as problems that arise with sleep and how to avoid them, and the importance of including Omega 3 fats in the diet. They also discuss their progress on the Becoming Elli 2019 veggie challenge.
Chris explains
- why sleep is important
- why it can be difficult to fall asleep
- how to improve sleeping habits
Jill discusses why it’s important to have Omega 3 fatty acids in your diet and ways to increase your consumption of Omega 3s. This includes using supplements and foods that are rich in Omega 3s.
Links 6 choices to change blue screen and reduce eye strain
Dr Andrew Weil 4-7-8 breathing
Why we lack Omega 3s
Foods with Omega 3 oils
You can reach Jill and Chris at www.becomingelli.com.
In episode 33, Jill and Chris talk with Linda Brooks, a woman who became active after she retired from her work as a medical transcriptionist and who now competes in triathlons.
She started running in 2011 and has a group of friends that call themselves the 50+ Posse. She gets up early in the morning to workout.
Around 2015 she started bicycling. She was active in the Slow Roll bicycling group in Cleveland that meets every Monday at different locations to ride through the city for about ten miles. It is good for beginner bike riders because the group rides slowly. Other cities also have Slow Roll bicycle clubs. She also rides with the Black Girls Do Ride bicycle group.
Linda retired in December 2015 and started swim lessons in January. She progressed quickly and was swimming the length of pool by May. By winter, she had already logged in 100 swimming miles. Now she swims for two hours, once she’s in the pool.
Although she has had lupus for 16 years, she doesn’t “claim it.” Linda changed her diet to avoid foods the doctors said would trigger joint pain, took the medications that they prescribed for her and became very active.
Her first triathlon experience was in January 2018 at the Twilight Tri in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. She enjoys indoor cycling at the Cycle Bar in Hudson.
Motto for the biking groups that she belongs to is "No One Left Behind."
Links mentioned in this episode:
Black Girls Do Bike https://www.blackgirlsdobike.com/
Slow Roll Cleveland http://slowrollcleveland.com
Black Girls Run https://blackgirlsrun.com/
Member of Cleveland Triathlon Club. She trains with them.
She uses the runkeeper phone app: https://runkeeper.com/
The Great Ride movie is about the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) trail and the C & O bicycle trail that features members of the Black Girls Do Bike group.
Maps and info about Bike riding in NE Ohio, Cleveland and Akron : http://www.bikecleveland.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Bike-CLE-spreads_bleed-no-marks.pdf
NE Ohio Bike trails: https://www.ohiobikeways.net/neregionlist.htm Akron: https://www.ohiobikeways.net/akron.htm
Cleveland: https://www.ohiobikeways.net/cleveland.htm
In episode 32 Jill and Chris interview Tammy Wise, a Mind-Body Fitness Expert. She is a Broadway dancer turned Tao minister.
In today's Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast:
- Your core supports all the bones and muscles in the top of body and bottom of body.
- Your brain recalls the details of your story, but it doesn’t have the emotional memory. That’s found in your body. Soft tissue holds the emotional memory.
- Tension and strength have the very same root. Tension is energy that’s stagnant. Strength is energy that’s in flow. Strength is connecting to the goal. Tension stands between you and the goal.
- Releasing tension builds strength in mind and body. Her strength training method uses alignment, emotional release and outside resistance to reorganize and focus your strength
- Body Logos means the body’s divine wisdom
- Eating in balance. She prefers to eat several small meals throughout the day.
- Peasant bread: dark flour, whole grains
“I’ve made it my personal mission to help people understand–and experience–what real strength feels like. And it’s not the result of bench-pressing a ton of weight or running endless miles. It’s about alignment, and a power that comes from your mind and body being in the same place at the same time.” Tammy Wise
Gift for listeners: Free video on how to release pressure. Go to bodylogos.com, scroll to bottom, and click on graphic at bottom of screen for free video.
Contact Info and Links:
Website and blog: www.bodylogos.com
Book: The Art of Strength: Sculpt the Body Train the Mind is available on BodyLogos website, Amazon, Barnes and Noble.
Email: mindthebody@bodylogos.com
https://www.facebook.com/BodyLogos
https://www.instagram.com/tammy_bodylogos/
In episode 31, Jill and Chris talk with Wendy Rivard, author of the Taking The Long Way Home blog, about her fitness journey.
Wendy has been a runner for most of her adult life. She is a pediatric nurse practitioner for a large medical practice in Chicago.
Besides running, she does a lot of Yoga, once a week she strength trains at a Cross Fit box, enjoys boot camps, water skiing, stand up paddle boarding, and kayaking.
She started running to help deal with anxiety in her 20's, and continued running to help with other life challenges: infertility in her 30's, stress of grad school in her 40's, and now in her "old age", she continues to run to help her stay healthy.
"It's not the running that hurts the joints, it's the arthritis." She has cut back on some running and does strength training to support the muscles around the joints.
Links:
http://www.takinglongwayhome.com
In episode 30 of the Fit Strong Women over 50 podcast for the Becoming Elli community, Chris and Jill discuss improving fitness through spinning with Sherry Chylsta. They talk about the basics of spinning, working your muscles, and share advice about working out.
Sherry is a Star 3 lifetime-certified spinning instructor who enjoys making classes challenging and fun for all at a gym in Hudson, Ohio. She has been a certified instructor for about ten years. Sherry loves athletics and while she misses road races, she knows a no-impact workout like spinning is something she can enjoy for a lifetime.
Sherry discusses:
- Improving Fitness Through Spinning
- Spinning Tips and Techniques
- Having Fun
She also explains about fast twitch and slow twitch muscles and how to work both. Sherry also talks about heart rate training.
Sherry encourages everyone to try something new at the gym -- especially different classes. She advises new members to overcome the feeling of intimidation by those who are already in shape. She suggests you remember that everyone had a first workout, and they didn't look any better starting out than you do now.
Some of Sherry’s favorite sayings for spinning class are “No one wants to go spinning, but everyone wants to have been spinning” and “You can do anything for one minute.”
As an added bonus, Sherry was kind enough to share her favorite potato and kale soup recipe.
Fit Strong Women Over 50 Podcast Episode #29
In Episode #29 of Fit Strong Women Over 50, Jill and Chris interview Jeannie Beaudin, a recently retired pharmacist who specialized in balancing women's hormones for over 10 years, while she owned her own pharmacy in Canada.
Her clients appreciated her broad knowledge of non-drug, natural and standard treatment options.
In today's podcast, Jeannie explains how she became known as "The Hormone Lady". The podcast explains how women can work together with a compounding pharmacist and the doctor to improve hormone health. Four levels of treatment are outlined.
She also describes how she and her husband changed their eat habits 14 years ago. "No white flour and I make my own bread." She mentions Michael Pollan's rules for eating: "Eat real food. Mostly plants. Not too much."
Also in this episode:
Chris and Jill talk about their winter training and look to the spring.
Veggie Challenge - how did you prepare your vegetable of the week?
Links: * To find the nearest compounding pharmacist, visit the Professional Compounding Centers of America website * Jeannie Collins Beaudin's website/blog * Her recently-released book "Can I Speak to the Hormone Lady?" is available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle. * Jeannie Beaudin on Facebook
In episode 28 of the Fit Strong Women Over 50 Podcast, Jill and Chris talk with Diana Woolf about how she overcame PTSD, resulting from years in the fire service and how that motivated her to try to help others battling PTSD.
Diana has been a part of the fire service for 20 years serving on volunteer, part-time and career departments. Diana retired from her fire service career in December, 2018. She now works in Environmental Health and Safety at the University of Akron.
In 2009, Diana Woolf began competing in off-road trail races and triathlons to deal with her own PTSD symptoms and found great healing in the sport. Since then, she has competed in over 50 triathlons, including 7 half-distance and 3 full-distance Ironman triathlons, consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and a 26.2 mile marathon.
In order to raise awareness for others in the fire service who are battling PTSD, Diana has completed some of the full-distance Ironman triathlons while wearing full fire-fighting gear for the marathon-length run.
She created Rescue 4 PTSD to help raise funds for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and to encourage others in the fire service to discuss their emotions with someone. Diana wants to help remove any stigma of dealing with PTSD and to support resources for others in the fire service.
In this episode, Diana talks with Jill and Chris about how she heals trauma through hard physical effort. She also discusses her training to compete while wearing firefighting gear and how she cross trains. Diana also tells us how she eats and how she fuels herself during a race.
Diana’s journey is an inspirational one. It’s amazing to hear what she has done to challenge herself.
Links:
Contact Diana Woolf: Rescue 4 PTSD
Rescue 4 PTSD Website
National Fallen Firefighters Foundation
Diana’s Ironman Boulder Video
You might want to check out an earlier episode of this podcast for a discussion with another triathlete, Loretta Harland. Episode 18 of Strong Fit Women Over 50, Interview with Loretta Harland
In Podcast # 27, Jill McCauslin and Chris Brown interview Melanie Jatsek, a registered dietitian nutritionist who broke free from the dieting trap.
Melanie holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Dietetics from the University of Akron and is the author of three books, including Missing Peace - Eleven Secrets to Restore Inner Harmony with Your Food, Body, and Health. She also created the Healthy YOU program. Melanie is passionate about helping people transform their relationship with food.
During this podcast we discuss:
- How she was able to break free from dieting after years to stop struggling with food.
- Why many women struggle with diets and their relationship to food
- Dealing with emotional eating and how she overcame three years of struggling with a binge eating disorder
- How the food pyramid guidelines (with grains on the bottom and fat on the top) did a disservice to women over 50 with misinformation. "We know better now.”
- Why counting calories is not the way to go
- Why she switched from her 20 year vegetarian-based diet to more of a Mediterranean-based diet
Melanie reveals some secrets for helping your body to crave healthy foods like:
• “Your body gets full off of nutrients, not calories.”
• “The body craves what you’re feeding it the most.”
• “The bacteria in your gut is what is craving food.” Bad bacteria crave sweets and highly processed foods. Good bacteria crave whole foods.
• “Low Fat and Fat Free – when we restrict fat we are always hungry, but we know better now.”
• “Good dietary fat actually helps you to burn fat.”
During this podcast you will learn why she roasts her veggies with avocado oil instead of olive oil, how she trained her body to crave raw vegetables, and how she avoids hidden sugars in food like peanut butter and chocolate.
She helps people develop a healthy relationship with food and talks about:
• The balance of good-for-you foods with a sprinkle of fun foods (ie chocolate.)
• The outdated guidelines of 12 servings of grains and pasta a day.
• The effect of heavy servings of carbohydrates makes on your body (easier to produce insulin, gain weight and store fat.)
Melanie feels that no food is forbidden and believes that you will crave what you feed your body.
To connect with Melanie, visit her website: www.melaniejatsek.com or her Facebook Page: Healthy You.
Group Exercise Instructor Diane Reuther talks with the Becoming Elli cohosts, Jill McCauslin and Chris Brown, about being fit as a woman over 50.
Diane has been a group exercise instructor since 1986. She's seen a lot of changes in the fitness industry and how instructors are trained and credentialed. Today, Diane teaches:
- Pilates (certified through SCW Fitness Education)
- Silver Sneaker (certified https://www.silversneakers.com/)
- Step class
We discuss why some of us like step class and why others don't. Diane explains that step is a visual class and that we walk through the steps, repeating the motions into a routine so that the class feels like a dance class.
Some of the questions that Jill and Chris ask Diane is how she defines fit and if we had only 15 minutes in a day to work out, what should we do. Diane says anything we do for fitness should be fun and safe. Also, she reminds us that the pool is our friend.
Diane is an avid hiker. She and her husband hike a lot of trails close to home and Diane tells us about the wonderful sounding hiking vacation the two of them took.
Last summer Diane had a hysterectomy and discussed her recovery with us. Before the surgery, she was very active and in good physical shape, but she followed her doctor’s advice and took baby steps to recover. She had laparoscopy with four small incisions of thumbnail size. Her recovery was limited to what she could do without pain. Diane started walking two days after surgery. At first, she walked the length of her driveway because she was anxious to get moving outside. So, at first, she walked five minutes. The next day she walked for seven minutes and the next day nine minutes. She made sure her husband accompanied her on these walks.
Disclaimer: Neither Diane nor us at Becoming Elli are doctors or physical therapists. We are not providing you with any kind of medical advice.
The discussion with Diane was informative and enjoyable. She has some good advice for women over 50 who are trying to improve their fitness and health.
Jill and Chris also talk a bit about healthy eating and finding new vegetables to try.
Jill McCauslin and Chris Brown discuss their intentions for 2019 for exercise, healthy eating and mental focus.
During episode 25 of the Fit, Strong Women Over 50 Podcast they discuss:
- Heart Rate Training Techniques: MAF Technique Go slow to gain speed and heart rate zone charts
- Signing up for races
- Strength training and group exercise
- Vegetables
- My Fitness Pal tracking
- Spark People
- Restorative Yoga
- Meditation
- Sleep
- Challenges for 2019
Let us know your challenges and goals for 2019 by calling 330-970-6662 or leave a message at the Becoming Elli website.
In podcast episode #24, Jill and Chris reflect on 2018. They talk with amazing women from episode 7 Diane Berkley and episode 8 Juel Fitzgerald to find out how their 2018 went and to talk about plans and goals for 2019.
Jill and Chris reviewed their 2018 year. We are particularly proud of our completing 24 podcasts and the ongoing growth of the Becoming Elli community. Thank you to everyone who listens to our podcast, reads our articles, belongs to our facebook group and supports our community!
We also talked about our races, the ultimate fitness challenge, and the MS150 Buckey Breakaway bike ride. We discussed Jill winning the age group award for the Firecracker5K race.
Give us a call at 330-970-6662 and let us know how your 2018 went and what your action plan is for 2019.
In episode #23, Jill McCauslin and Chris Brown talk with Heather Lentz about her opinions about food, diets, her roles as a health coach and director of wellness at at a well-respected green grocery chain and as the founder and director of product development for KOI Gourmet Skincare. She is a certified holistic health practitioner, food wellness advisor and good food advocate.
In episode 23, Heather discusses:
- Food as medicine: Selling food-based supplements, super foods, and proteins, is the pharmacy of the future.
- Veganism, Paleo/Keto and her belief that people should eat in the way that’s right for them, but there’s no one way of eating for everyone.
- She thinks that obsessing too much about food gives food too much power and she believes that a lot of it starts with body image. We think we have to look a certain way.
- She feels our society is in a nasty cycle because we eat to lose weight and then we stress about it and the stress releases hormones that make you unable to lose weight or to gain weight.
Heather offers many tips on improving your food program in this episode. See our website article for all the show notes here.
Bonus: We will be giving away a free Wheat Grass Beauty Bar from Heather's line. Call the Becoming Elli Voicemail by December 31, 2018 at 330-970-6662. Leave your name, that you're interested in the beauty bar and be sure to include a way for us to contact you.
Chris and Jill talk with Vicki Prussak in episode 22 of the Fit, Strong Women over 50 Podcast for the Becoming Elli community. Vicki is a life-long learner, the eternal optimist, a certified wellness coach, ACE Fitness Nutrition Specialist, animal lover, artist, retired belly dancer and jewelry maker.
In her latest career, Vicki has developed a line of jewelry to encourage others to stay focused and positive. Vicki's previous careers have included wellness coaching and graphic design for various large corporations.
Vicki describes how she overcame the despair following an accident with her eyes and how she got the weight off after three years of sedentary life following that accident. As part of that discussion, Vicki talks about eating naturally and how she uses intermittent fasting or, as she calls it, intermittent eating.
Mainly, though, Jill, Chris, and Vicki discuss the power of words and how focusing on the positive improve our self-esteem, increases our ability to make a change. Vicki explains how internal inspiration—those things we say to ourselves—is more powerful that external motivation. It’s this that allows you to use your strengths and natural abilities to excel. During the discussion of the power of positive affirmations, Vicki gives us the three words she uses for her inspiration: feel, focus and flow.
Chris and Jill conclude the episode by discussing some healthy tips for the holidays, focusing mainly on how to work in some fitness and how to manage food and alcohol at social events.
Links
Carry Your Message is where you can find Vicki's jewelry
Vicki suggests these sites for meditation:
The Deepak Chopra and Oprah 21 day free app
Headspace
Vicki can be found at these social media locations:
Facebook https://facebook.com/carryyourmessage
Twitter https://twitter.com/wellcoachvicki
Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/carryyourmessage/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/carry_your_message/
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/vickiprussak
In episode #21 of the Becoming Elli community podcast for fit, strong women over 50, Jill and Chris interview Marsha Friedman, a Leadership and Personal Development Coach who is passionate about guiding individuals to their full potential.
As a coach, she helps her clients find the spark to ignite their own fires.
Marsha shares many excellent techniques to cope with holiday stress.
- Deciding how you will take care of yourself (great suggestions!)
- How to embrace the emotions (and how to manage your mood when you need to)
- Accepting help (how, when, who)
- Setting expectations of food, family, finances, fitness, fun and friends
For more details and examples of how to manage your expectations and reduce holiday stress, see her downloadable checklist of tips and techniques at her website.
http://www.consultmef.com/holidaystress
In episode 20 of the Becoming Elli Podcast, Jill and Chris talk with Janet Palcko about her incredible journey through France and Spain on the Camino de Santiago. Janet hiked over 800 kilometers (about 500 miles) in about six weeks.
In the spring of 2018, Janet Palcko took the epic journey of her lifetime when she walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain. The Camino is a pilgrimage to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, where it is said that the remains of Saint James the apostle are buried.
The Camino de Santiago is not just one route. Thousands of people walking from their homes throughout the middle ages paved many roads all across Europe, but they all come together like branches of a tree and all arrive at Santiago. Today, thousands of people cover those same routes each year, some for spiritual reasons, others for physical or adventure challenges. But they are all considered Pilgrims along The Way.
Janet reminds us that people have been making this pilgrimage for several centuries and today’s pilgrims follow the paths of earlier ones.
One of the longest and most traveled routes is the Camino Frances, so named for the starting point in Northwestern France. Janet started her hike in France, crossed over the Pyrenees and then hiked across all of northern Spain. She did this while carrying everything she needed in her backpack.
Janet describes the different places she saw, the variety of people she met, and how she managed to eat, sleep, and adapt along the way. She also shares how she trained for this trip of a lifetime and how she prepared for it.
Janet Palcko certainly embodies the Becoming Elli spirit. She’ll make you think that hiking for six weeks is a great idea and that we should all go on this pilgrimage.
You can check out the whole trip and over 600 photos at www.polarsteps.com. Create an account (I used my Facebook account for a quick and easy login) and then search for Janet Palcko. It’s definitely worth checking out. You can also install an iPhone or Android version of the polarsteps app on your phone and check it out that way.
Janet's description of her pilgrimage is fantastic. Enjoy it with us.
In podcast episode number 19 of Becoming Elli, Jill and Chris discuss how they ran a half marathon. Today's podcast covers their thoughts and feelings before, during and after the 13.1 challenge.
In this podcast you'll hear:
The preparation:
- Running plan leading up to it
- The expo
- Our cross training plans
- Shoes
- Water stops and fueling
- Food afterward
- KT tape
The actual race on Sept 29, 2018 in Akron:
- What worked
- what didn't
- course
- crowd support
- water stations
- pacing
- the last 3 miles
Immediately following the half marathon:
- Fuel: Chocolate milk and banana
- ice bath
- What didn't work: pizza
- Recovery steps during the week that followed.
Are you training for a run in the near future? Let us know by leaving a message so we can connect with you!
Loretta Harland has completed 21 marathons, qualified twice for Boston and was on a winning 8-person relay team (all women) for the Burning River 100.
"Being fit and feeling healthy means everything as far as our happiness everyday and hopefully adding some longevity to our lives."
She started running in high school, but it was in her 20's that she started challenging herself to run longer distances.
Loretta ran her first marathon when she was in her 30's. Now that she is in her 50's, she is competing in triathlons (swim, bike, run.)
In June, she won her age division, in her first Olympic distance triathlon (swim 1500 meters, bike 24.9 miles, run 6.2 miles) and in August, she completed the Ironman 70.3 in Delaware, Ohio, (more than twice as far.)
"I learned this the hard way... you might think that after a half marathon or even greater distance like an ultra marathon, you should just rest, prop your feet up on the couch, but the best thing you can do is keep moving."
In podcast #18 she shares:
- How she trains
- Why she keeps running
- What motivates her
- What steps she takes to keep her from getting stiff and sore
- How she keeps things fun
Loretta plans to run long distances, play tennis and compete in triathlons into her mid to late 50’s and beyond. Her plan for aging gracefully is to keep active, eat as healthy as possible, challenge her brain by learning new things, and let go of stress.
In the Quick Tips section of the podcast, Jill shares benefits of fermented food, why they are so important to incorporate into your diet and discusses various fermented foods like sauerkraut, miso paste, kambuchi and yogurt.
Is the Elliptical a good workout for women over 50? Elliptical controversy was started in Episode #5 when Brian Kennel mentioned his thoughts on the Elliptical.
In Episode #17 of the Becoming Elli Podcast, Chris and Jill look for answers when they interview a series of experts on their opinions about the use of the elliptical for women over 50.
In this episode you will hear:
- the pros and cons of the elliptical
- best ways to use the elliptical to get a great workout
- why the elliptical sometimes seems easy to use
- what not to do on the elliptical
- why the elliptical gets a bad rap
Experts interviewed include:
- Sara Renard has her Group Fitness Instructor Certification from AFAA (the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America), Personal Trainer certification from NETA (National Exercise Trainers Association.) She is responsible for all of the group fitness instructors at LifeCenter Plus.
- Jacob, Maria, Andrew and Suzanne work at at Summa Wellness Center:
- Jacob Weatherbee is a fitness specialist who has a Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science from the University of Akron and has a certification in Exercise Physiology through American College of Sports Medicine.
- Maria Stadelman is a personal trainer at Summa Wellness Center and has a bachelor degree from Ohio University in Exercise Physiology. She has been an athlete her whole life.
- Andrew Oravec is a personal trainer, exercise specialist, and group fitness instructor and has a Master’s Degree in Exercise Physiology from University of Akron. He is a Certified Exercise Physiologist by the American College of Sports Medicine.
- Suzanne LaChance is a fitness specialist, personal trainer and group exercise instructor. She is also a certified Zumba instructor and is Certified by the American College of Sports Medicine as a Exercise Physiologist. He holds a Master's Degree in Exercise Physiology from the University of Akron.
- Jennifer Stefanik is President of Central Wellness and has her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Exercise Physiology from Kent State University. She is a Certified Group Exercise Instructor and Certified Health Coach through American Council on Exercise.
- Mark Feakes is the Director at LifeStyles North at Cleveland Clinic Akron General. He has a Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training from the University of Akron and has many years of experience as a certified personal trainer as well.
In today’s podcast, Chris and Jill talk with Karen Parrott, a popular blogger who writes about her weight loss journey and maintaining her weight loss. You can find her blog at Garden Girl, Weight Maintenance and Food Sobriety.
In this episode, we talk with Karen about:
- How she lost 70 pounds
- How she has kept the 70 pounds off for more than 6 years
- The food template she uses to select her daily meals
- How she exercises
Karen uses about 20 different weight maintenance tools with abstaining from her binge triggers as the top tool.
One of her weight maintenance tools is following a low carb eating plan. She identified foods that cause her problems by following an Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) and doesn't eat dairy, gluten, or sugar.
Karen says that we all need to figure out what works best for each of us. Some of us can eat a lot of carbs while others cannot.
Perhaps the best advice that Karen gives is not to be apologetic about what you eat or don’t eat.
Links: Refuse to Regain!: 12 Tough Rules to Maintain the Body You've Earned by Barbara Berkley MD Kindle or Softcover
The Paleo Solution Robb Wolf
Paleo resource Sarah Fergoso
AltShift Diet, Jason Sieb
The Four Tendencies Gretchen Rubin -
23andMe DNA Genetic Testing & Analysis - 23andMe is the first and only genetic service available directly to you that includes reports that meet FDA standards. Use your 23andme raw genetic data to learn the environmental and lifestyle contexts research suggests may be best suited to your genetic polymorphisms.
Found My Fitness - A website by Dr. Rhonda Patrick - a Ph.D in biomedical science/expert on nutritional health, brain & aging. The focus is on genetics with a database where you can run your 23andMe report.
Promethease is a computer program developed by the SNPedia team which allows users to compare personal genomics results against the SNPedia database, generating a report with information about a person's attributes, such as propensity to diseases, based on the presence of specific single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)
Franziska Spritzler - Low carb dietitian
Cleveland Clinic Function Medicine
Dr. Mark Hyman
Satchin Panda, Ph.D.- Salk Institute
Rhonda Patrick and Satchin Panda, Ph.D. have worked together on the benefits of a Low Carb diet. Watch this interview to learn more.
Gut microbiome may have its own circadian rhythm. Check out My Circadian clock app
Dr. Jason Fung
Ruth E. Patterson - Fasting and Breast Cancer
Valter Longo, Ph.D.
The Salt Fix
AIP - Auto Immune Protocol (elimination diet)
Vinnie Tortorich NSNG - No Sugars No Grains -
Anna Vocino - Eat Happy
Ultra runner NSNG Zack Bitter
Adele Hite Easy Vintage Meals
Definitions: Hashimoto's Disease: Auto Immune disease
High sensitivity C reactive protein (CRP)
IRB approved study - Institutional Review Board of the US Food and Drug Administration
Intermittent fasting 12:12 or 18:6. Eating early in the day is referred to as Early Time Restricted Eating
Otto Warburg Effect
BRAF Gene Mutation
How to contact Karen Parrott: Blog: Garden Girl
Instagram: Karenspaleolife
Twitter: @Gardengirl_kp
Facebook: Garden Girl KP - Weight Maintenance and more
Pinterest: Gardengirlkp
In this podcast, Chris and Jill discuss the 150-mile bike ride Chris rode this summer and their training efforts over the summer. They also talk with Stacy Rhea, a health coach and personal trainer, who participates in all kinds of sports.
In her 20’s, Stacy was like many of us. She drank, she ate whatever she wanted, and had no knowledge about healthy living or eating. She also smoked starting at the age of 13. When her father had to have quadruple bypass surgery, Stacy decided to make changes in her own life.
Stacy’s journey into health and fitness began with body building where she began to realize the power of nutrition to change our bodies.
Stacy is passionate about health. She has helped hundreds of people make healthy changes in their lives and coach them to success in their athletic endeavors. She helps her clients find what they love to do and she works with them on it, whether it’s running, hiking, or even rock climbing.
Stacy says, "It's never too early to start working out and it's never too late." She works with people of all ages, from teens to people in their 60s. Most of her clients are women though she also works with men. Stacy’s philosophy is:
- Education is king
- Health and fitness start with the fork
- A healthy, fit life takes consistency
As a personal trainer, Stacy works with clients one-on-one to help them improve their fitness. As a health coach, she may work with clients virtually and widens the focus of her services to include all aspects of healthy living.
In this episode, we discuss:
- Getting Ohioans Healthy Again
- Most important things for women over 50 to know and do
- Importance of food in keeping us fit and healthy
- Bicycle racing and velodromes
- The difference between a health coach and a personal trainer
Links:
Cleveland Velodrome
Fitness Food
Stacy’s contact info
email: healthcoachrhea@gmail.com
Website: www.healthcoachrhea.com
FB: facebook.com/stacyrheacycles
Are you ever just not “feeling it?” Struggle to stay positive? Ever had a time when the negative voices leave you with excuses and faulty reasoning?
Perhaps a well-meaning comment hit you wrong? In "Getting Past the Negative Voices", podcast #14 of Becoming Elli, Jill and Chris talk through situations where voices of doubt may be creeping into your head and stop your forward motion of getting fit, strong and healthy.
We discussed several ways of shutting down the negative voices.
One very powerful way to combat those negative voices is the use of a Mantra.
A lot of people - runners and other athletes - often use mantras to keep themselves focused and moving.
We created a sheet of Mantras for Fitness.
If you've ever struggled with motivation, you may want to download a free copy of Becoming Elli's Mantras for Fitness. We'll ask you for your name and email so you can receive Becoming Elli updates.
If you have a special affirmation or mantra that you'd like to share with the Becoming Elli community, please leave a comment below or send an email Chris or Jill and let us know!
What is Healthy Eating? In today's Becoming Elli Podcast for fit strong women over 50 Jill and Chris talk with nutrition expert Becca DeVenzio.
Becca is extremely passionate about helping people to reach the goals they set for themselves and believes that living a healthy lifestyle can really change a person’s life.
Her love of fitness and nutrition started at a young age when she began dancing in elementary school. Throughout high school her interest for health continued to grow, so when she started college at Kent State University, Nutrition seemed like a perfect match.
Becca received a bachelors degree in Nutrition with a minor in Health Communication, and has recently completed her Masters degree in Nutrition.
In today's podcast we discuss:
- How she defines a healthy diet
- Well rounded diet of balanced food groups
- How she defines mindful eating: not watching TV, watch what you're eating, paying attention how much you're eating and listening to body cues
- Why she is not a huge fan of the BMI calculator
- What is the right mix of protein, fats and carbohydrate
- Ingredients that people eat when they eat Mediterranean style
- The common issue so many of her client's have
- How she deals with the small size of a serving of cooked pasta
- What about artificial sweeteners?
- Foods that may help combat dementia and promote brain health
- How words used on packaging can cause confusion about healthy options
- Advertising claims that send up red flags
- Why reduced fat or reduced sugar causes other concerns
- What to look at when you read the label and what to look for
- What to carry for fuel on a long bike ride
- Thoughts on coconut oil, snacking and bacon
She can be reached directly at beccadevenzio@gmail.com or by emailing us at Jill@becomingelli.com or Chris@becomingelli.com and we will pass your questions on to her.
Jill and Chris talk with Jill Rango, a balance and mobility expert, on Episode 12 of the Becoming Elli Podcast.
She is "Fall Proof" certified instructor from the Center for Successful Aging developed by Dr. Debra Rose, who was recognized by the National Council on Aging as one of seven programs nationwide that promotes a healthy, active lifestyle.
"It is never to late to improve your balance... and it's never to early to work on improving your balance."
Jill Rango gives us tips to improve our balance, flexibility and mobility that can make such a big difference in helping us to keep from falling.
- Lighting and Vision
- Difference in surfaces
- Mobility - walking is controlled falling
- Balance and strengthening on both left or right legs
- Fear of falling during the last third of life
- Situations with medications, vision, the home and exercise
- Resistant equipment for balance- bands, free weights, tubes, water
- Flexibility training for ankles, hips and spine
- The one common activity that is great for heart, lungs, frame of mind, but does NOT improve strength and balance
- Common posture problems and how to make some easy changes
- Every inch of head forward puts 10 pounds of pressure on your spine
- One traditional exercise that instantly and easily improve balance
- How fear of falling puts you at risk for falling
- Why you should consider hiking with roots, rocks and things you need to step over
- When to walking like a penguin is a good idea
In Podcast #11 of Becoming Elli, Jill and Chris share their experiences with the Cleveland Half Marathon. Running 13.1 miles with less training than they would have liked, Jill and Chris found that changing expectations made for a fun event. Listen today to hear about:
- expo
- parking
- their attitude going into it
- weather and what to wear
- the course - the flats, Tremont, Ohio City, Gordon Square and Public Square
Chris shares some tips for maintaining a weight loss.
Visit www.BecomingElli.com for more information about Becoming Elli where women over 50 inspire each other to become fit and strong.
How Nancy Jasperse lost over 150 pounds and has kept it off for 2 Years
“Love Yourself more. Love yourself more to take care of yourself before others.”
“My mother’s death scared me into weight loss research.”
“Forgive yourself when you make mistakes and start over. Every day is a new day. Move past it.”
In Episode # 10 of the Becoming Elli Podcast, Jill and Chris interviewed Nancy Jasperse about:
- Her struggles with weight
- Yo Yo dieting a teen, into college and gaining weight through 3 pregnancies
- How she cleaned up her lifestyle
- What she eats now to maintain the weight loss
- Where she gets her exercise inspiration
- How she navigates restaurant meals
- Her Sunday meal prep routine
In the tips sections, Jill and Chris share their thoughts about restaurant eating to maintain a weight loss.
Nancy said she has always struggled with her weight. This is her story:
“As far back as elementary school, I was always the biggest and sometimes tallest kid in the class. I think my love of food started around 4th grade or so. My father was in the Navy and was out to sea often. When he was gone my mother used food as both a reward and a coping mechanism when things didn't go as planned for me. I don't fault her for this, she was raised the same way.”
By high school, I was maxed out on clothing options. Lane Bryant was the only clothing store I could buy pants. So I decided to diet! I didn't know one thing about nutrition, so I basically starved myself, eating handfuls of raw vegetables and spoonfuls of peanut butter. The weight came off, but of course that wasn't manageable long term.
College brought on more yo-yo dieting. With each year, I'd go up and down in weight. Right around my senior year of college, I found myself engaged and excited to plan a wedding. So dieting kicked into high gear.
Shortly after getting married, I got pregnant with my first child. It was during this extremely stressful first year of motherhood, my weight gain exploded! Instead of bouncing back, I gained 100lbs. It was the first time I'd see the 300lb number on the scale.
As scary as seeing that number was, it didn't stop me from getting pregnant two addition times -- High risk from start to finish each time. Just as before, with each baby brought on a stressful year. I gained 72 more pounds. My highest weight was a whopping 372lbs. When I saw this number, I was terrified.
I didn't know where to start. I knew nothing about weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight. But I decided the best thing I could do was try and reduce what I was eating and take a small walk each day with my children. Within the first few days, I'd lost 20lbs. Looking back, I know this was a lot of water weight and my body telling me it was so happy to have some water and a walk!
Sadly, what happened next in my life changed everything. My mother died unexpected. One day I was playing Scrabble at my dining room table with her and the next day she had a massive stroke. She was 54. I was 29 with three children.
Her death scared me into weight loss research. I knew I needed to clean up my lifestyle if I intended to watch my children grow up. I wanted to be more active with them, run after them, not be exhausted from simply hauling them out of car seats and walking them into school! Simple tasks at 350+lbs were so very tiring.
I researched Weight Watchers, Atkins, Keto, SlimFast, calorie counting, liquid diets, salad only diets, every fad diet you can imagine. I settled on calorie counting. Added MyFitnessPal to my smartphone and started tracking all the food I ate. I continued walking around my neighborhood. And in just a couple of months, I had lost 50lbs. Then the dreaded plateau hit. I was stuck! The research started again. I decided to add lifting a few weights at home and walking. After a few weeks, I broke the plateau.
The evolution from 372lbs to just under 200lbs took just over three years. here were several rounds of plateaus and calorie adjustments. I changed up my diet a few times, around every 7 or 8 months to shake up my metabolism. I believe long term weight loss is possible if you're willing to branch out and try new things, both nutritionally and physically.
I've maintained my weight loss for just over two years. Lately, I've used the Keto (ketosis) method to keep myself in check. Every now and then I'll check a keto calculator to make sure I'm eating the correct amount of macros/calories. You can find a keto calculator by simply googling "keto calculator" and entering in a few basic pieces of information such as height, weight and age. Such a helpful free tool to use!
Just recently I've decided to try to get to 185lbs. Let's cross out fingers and hope I can get there!
Melanie Hinde quit smoking and lost weight following a major health issue. In Episode #9 of Becoming Elli, Melanie joins Jill and Chris to discuss her journey to health and fitness.
While dealing with her health issues, Melanie is working to be fit and strong. Her inspirational story provides listeners with motivating discussion. Listen as we discuss:
- Her thoughts on eating a Mediterranean diet for weight loss
- How she stays motivated throughout her health issues
- What she does to work out with her pacemaker implanted to treat her heart condition
- What she shares with other women on line to inspire them
Melanie, AKA Princess Ninja, has almost 100 videos on her YouTube video channel.
She shares her workouts on video along with food ideas. For example, she posted a 12-minute $60 grocery haul video where she shows her snacks, breakfast, lunches, afternoon snacks and prework meals for the week.
She also posts motivational messages regularly on Instagram and on her Facebook page.
In Episode 8 of the Becoming Elli podcast, we interview Juel Fitzgerald. This is one of the most inspiring podcasts that we've done so far.
In 2008, Juel Fitzgerald lost over 50 pounds and now maintains her weight loss through healthy eating habits and walking.
Not just walking around the block, she is one SERIOUS walker. In fact last year, she walked 1500 miles.
She has walked 6 full marathons, many half marathons and many many, many 5K’s!
Juel shares with us her experience with walking the Bataan Memorial Death March, held at the desert of the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. It is known as one of the most difficult marathons in the US. It took her 9 hours of hiking through the desert and during that time, about 25% of the participants dropped out. In today's podcast she describes how she prepared for this unusual marathon, both physically and mentally.
She also shares the best fitness advice she ever received and plays along with the lightening round.
This episode also includes Jill's helpful tips for using the elliptical machine.
You can follow Juel on her travel agent Facebook page and read more about the Battan Death March Marathon on her Heart Emissions website.
A few years ago Diane Berkley decided to see how strong and fit she could become.
Diane is an everyday woman who works a lot of hours at her job, has children and grandchildren, and is active in her church. She finds time to work out in some way six days a week and looks and feels fantastic.
In episode number seven of the Becoming Elli Podcast, Jill and Chris talk to her to learn her workout secrets:
- How how she works out
- How she has added running into her routine
- And how she eats to stay lean and strong
In podcast #6 “Taking Care of Yourself, When You are Taking Care of Others”, Jill and Chris discuss ideas and strategies to keep eating healthy foods and squeezing in exercise when it is really inconvenient.
Whether you are called out of town to care for a loved one who is ill, or waiting at the hospital while a friend or loved one is undergoing a procedure, you can stay fit and healthy.
Logically we know that we can’t take care of others if we don’t take care of ourselves first. In this podcast there are suggestions for what food to pack, how to plan and what not to eat as well as several ways to get exercise that you may not have considered.
In episode #5 of Becoming Elli, Jill and Chris talk with personal trainer and business owner, Brian Kennell about:
- Muscle Mass
- Interval Training
- Strength Building
- Cardio Training
He's got more than 15 years of experience, working at sports performance facilities and a medically-based fitness facility - as both a trainer and manager. With his personal training business, BKennellFit, he trains people at a location of their choice – at a park, on the trails or at their home.
He said he has noticed that women over 50 are asking him different questions.
"Instead of focusing on losing weight to be healthier -- yes, that is part of it, but there is more to it than that -- the things my female clients over 50 are asking me are more performance based, more health based, more fitness based instead of just 'Can you help me lose weight?''
'I want to be able to run a 5K with my kids, and not be in pain during or after.' or 'I want to go skiing with my husband this winter. Can you get me in shape for that?' It's what your podcast is all about."
"If you want to lose weight, it's a different formula. If you want to be healthy, if you want to be fit, if you want to be active, it's a different formula than weight loss."
Education: He has a Bachelor's degree in Exercise Science and a Master’s Degree in Exercise Physiology/Adult Fitness, both from The University of Akron.
Brian wrote his Master’s thesis on a popular supplement ingredient and also had a poster presentation at ACSM National Conference.
Certifications:
- ACSM Certified Personal Trainer
- TRX Certified
Background: While he was not very athletic as a kid, he loved sports but felt that he didn’t really excel at anything. After he began lifting weights in college, it all came together. Since then, he has competed in natural bodybuilding competition, started training for powerlifting, ran a half marathon, and is training for a full marathon.
In podcast #4 of Becoming Elli, we talk with Brenda O'Hara, gym owner and personal trainer. Brenda started gymnastics when she was five years old and competed at a high level for 15 years. She decided to go into exercise as a profession when she was a junior in High School. With a major in exercise science, Brenda earned a Bachelors of Science degree from Kent State University.
Brenda holds the following certifications:
- NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine) Certified Personal Trainer
- NASM Fitness Nutrition Specialist
She owns and operates Iron-Oak Fitness in Solon Ohio Iron-Oak Fitness is a gym with daily challenging workouts.
In this podcast, Brenda explains the following to us:
1) Olympic LIfts (one rep max of a thruster, dead lift, power Clean) 2) Endurance 3) Metabolic conditioning (cardio) 4) AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible)
Turning 50 and Getting Fit
In episode 3 of the Becoming Elli Podcast, Chris and Jill discuss how they lost weight, got into working out and what they did when they started. They explore a variety of topics about getting stronger and getting more fit as well as what worked for them and what they learned to avoid.
Discussion topics:
- Starting regular exercise after losing weight
- Using weights
- Using personal trainers
- Staying motivated
- Class exercises
- Bike riding outside
- Achilles heel injury
- How work out plans are like a recipe
- Weight and losing it.
- Weight Watchers
- Community
- Avoiding cookies and trigger foods
- Regular food
- Weight maintenance
Helpful Tips: how to maintain healthy food diet while having fun with friends.
Episode number 2 of the Becoming Elli podcast introduces Chris Brown and Jill McCauslin, the hosts and publishers of Becoming Elli - where women over 50 inspire each other to become fit and strong.
This episode gives a short background on the hosts and provides an idea of what the Becoming Elli podcast, website and community will focus on. It also includes ideas on how to find workout friends.
In episode #2 Meet the Hosts of the Becoming Elli Podcast we discuss: * How we got inspired to create Becoming Elli * Why is it called Becoming Elli * Why becoming part of a fitness community makes such a big difference * Why we feel it's important to develop a community of like-minded * How we are working toward becoming fit and strong * How we changed our attitudes towards food, exercise and being active * Tips Segment: How to meet other people to workout with
Links mentioned in this episode:
- Strava.com – a website and an app for “athletes” who run and bike. Through an app on your phone you can become friends with other people and cheer them on with comments and “kudos”.
- FitBit.com – a website and an app to track steps, calories used and work-outs. Uses wearable technology (zip or watch synced with your phone.)
- MeetUp.com – a website that helps people in the same area with similar interests find each other (No, it’s not a dating app!)
- Becoming Elli Facebook group – We are considering creating a closed Facebook group where the Becoming Elli community can meet to inspire each other and share info. Please email us with your thoughts or leave a comment below.
Welcome to the first episode of the Becoming Elli Podcast – where women over 50 inspire each other to become fit and strong.
In this first episode of the Becoming Elli podcast, we talk with personal trainer Maria Stadelman. Maria has worked with many women over 50. She says that more women of this age are becoming interested in learning how to “lift heavy weights.”
We talk about exercises, healthy eating, and staying motivated. Furthermore, we discuss:
- Why weightlifting after the age 50 is so important for women over 50.
- Practical reasons why this makes sense
- “Must have exercises” to help you get the most out of your limited time
- How to multi-task while exercising. (Yes, you can learn something new while improving your fitness at the same time!)
- How to change your mindset about exercise
- What is “HIIT”?
- What is the minimum amount of time needed to get any benefit from exercise?
- How many exercises are needed as a minimum to begin to see a difference?
- What common mistakes to avoid when exercising? (And as a result, stay healthy!)
- Ways to address different muscle groups and stay motivated
- Why she feels eating pasta and carbs – “eating Italian” in moderation consequently keeps you satisfied
Maria’s credentials: * Bachelor Degree in Exercise Physiology from Ohio University * Certified by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) * Personal trainer * Athlete – soccer player, marathon runner, triathlete
Please listen to the inaugural Becoming Elli podcast. We’d love to hear from you. You can leave a comment for us on the Becoming Elli website or on our Becoming Elli Facebook Page.