We’ve all been there - you get to mid-afternoon or the end of the day and you find yourself STARVING! And suddenly you want to snack on anything you can find. Listener Jennifer has been there, too: “I was wondering what strategies you suggest for when I get ravenously hungry, especially in the evenings. When my stomach is absolutely growling I have a really hard time not eating just anything in sight.” In this shortie episode, I help decode what those intense feelings of hunger mean, and help yo...
Feb 02, 2024•9 min•Season 6Ep. 75
It’s no surprise that as we get older our bodies start to change. Maybe the most obvious changes can happen around your midsection. It can feel like you wake up one day and suddenly your clothes don’t fit quite the same way. And all the ways you’ve tackled weight gain in the past aren’t working. While those changes to your midsection can be frustrating, they can also be dangerous. In this week’s episode we are going to talk all things belly fat. Visceral fat vs. subcutaneous fat - what’s the dif...
Jan 30, 2024•30 min•Season 6Ep. 74
After listening to all my episodes touting the benefits of strength training, you’ve added weights to your exercise routine. Maybe you’ve been lifting the same weights for weeks now, and are starting to realize that those lunges and chest presses don’t feel quite as challenging as they did when you started. But how do you really know when to grab some heavier weights? Listener Kristi had this very question: “Hi Megan, I've been working out for a little while now using weights and I'm wondering h...
Jan 26, 2024•8 min•Season 6Ep. 73
Sometimes, despite all our knowledge, coaching and best efforts, we still find ourselves sidelined with injuries or pain. And suddenly our well-crafted plans and best intentions are out the window as we wrestle with this new reality. That’s where today’s guest, Brad Williams, found himself. Brad is a long-time personal trainer with more than 14 years of experience who specializes in training the over-40 crowd. Yet, Brad found himself with back issues that led to two separate back surgeries. Brad...
Jan 23, 2024•31 min•Season 6Ep. 72
“Hi Megan, my name's Terry. I'm 60 years old and I'm trying to get fit. Mostly strength. Where do I even begin?” The process sounds so daunting - wanting to get started with a new health and fitness focus, but having no clue how to do it. The reality is, many women in their 50’s, 60’s or 70’s feel like it’s too late to get fit and build strength. But I’m here to tell you it’s NOT too late. To Terry and every woman wanting to dive into something new, I applaud your courage! And I’m here to help. ...
Jan 19, 2024•7 min•Season 6Ep. 71
It’s January and everyone is embarking on a new health and fitness routine. Motivation levels are the highest they’ll be all year, and everywhere you look - on TV, social media, or magazines - people are making dramatic fitness goals and lifestyle changes. Unfortunately, at the same time, I’m witnessing a lot of mistakes being made with these new routines. Mistakes that can easily lead to frustration, burnout and even injury. In this episode, we’re talking about the THREE most common mistakes th...
Jan 16, 2024•22 min•Season 6Ep. 70
It’s estimated that about 1 in 4 people will develop hip osteoarthritis in their lifetime. This happens when the cartilage in your hip joint gradually wears away over time, exposing the bone surfaces and causing them to rub against each other. Not fun. Listener Heidi struggles with this very condition, and asks: “I have moderate hip osteoarthritis, and my biggest problem is going from that sitting position to a standing position. What can I do during a long meeting, a long flight, or a long car ...
Jan 12, 2024•7 min•Season 6Ep. 69
As I coach women with their fitness and nutrition, I see a lot of anxiety, depression and lowered moods, and even toxic thoughts that begin to creep in and affect women’s overall health and outlook. Sound familiar? Many of us women have a silent mess going on inside of our minds. This mental chaos can have a dramatic impact on our daily mood, and how we show up to take care of ourselves and others. The reality is, you can have the perfect routine, the perfect meal plan in place, but if your mind...
Jan 09, 2024•43 min•Season 6Ep. 68
Looking to mix up your exercise routine in the new year? Maybe you want to try something different to add a little variety - but you want to make sure it’s helping you meet your goals. Listener Emily came to me with this question: “Hi, Megan. So what about sprinting? Is this going to increase my muscle mass, my fitness, my power? Or is this just a really hard waste of my time? Thanks so much.” Ha! Great question, Emily! In this shortie episode, I define what sprinting is (is it only running?), a...
Jan 05, 2024•8 min•Season 6Ep. 67
It’s a brand new year! And everything that did or did not get accomplished for your body in 2023 is water under the bridge. Time to pivot and look forward. Time to create a good game plan to feel physically better than you’ve felt in a long time. In fact, what if we implemented something that would help you feel younger, stronger, more energetic and significantly healthier in 2024… would you be up for it? You may be thinking this is it - the silver bullet! The golden ticket! The piece of the puz...
Jan 02, 2024•27 min•Season 6Ep. 66
We are in that bizarre time of the year - the strange limbo between Christmas and New Year’s where most of the parties are behind us, but our “real life” routine hasn’t started back up again. And maybe we’re facing the reality that we’d like to make some healthy changes for the new year - dial in our nutrition, create a do-able fitness plan, get more active - but we just can’t seem to get off the couch. Ever been there? Listener Kim has, and she asks: “Can you talk about ‘getting motivated’? I k...
Dec 29, 2023•9 min•Season 6Ep. 65
Special holiday episode for you! As this year draws to a close and your plans are beginning to materialize for 2024, you’re probably thinking of what you want to “try and do better” next year: “I want to try to exercise more.” “I want to try to eat better and clean up my nutrition.” “I want to try to improve my balance and core strength and bone density and muscle mass and overall health!” All great things, but often these intentions turn into “trying and failing”. So, what can you change about ...
Dec 26, 2023•13 min•Season 6Ep. 64
We’ve been talking a LOT about strength training on the show recently. Tuesday we had a great episode about how to get started with strength training A few weeks ago, I had Lesley McShane on the show talking about the 6 Big Lies about Weightlifting Back on episode 303, I broke down how to know how much weight you should lift But there are still so many questions out there about putting all this advice into practice. For instance, listener Maria asks: “Can I ask about building up your muscles? Yo...
Dec 22, 2023•8 min•Season 6Ep. 63
You know you probably need to strength train - you may have even been encouraged to do it by your doctor. But how in the world do you get started? With weights? With bands? It’s all so overwhelming! Well, you have come to the right place! Grab a pen and paper, because I’m about to show you exactly where and how to start in the simplest, easiest ways possible. We’ll dive into: Why you should strength train - especially as you get older. How to start strength training SAFELY (ps…it doesn’t actuall...
Dec 19, 2023•24 min•Season 6Ep. 62
Sometimes our individual body structure can make certain exercises more challenging - and we need a little expert advice to help us make some adjustments. Listener Hannah came to me with questions about this very thing: “Hi, Megan. I just have a simple question for you. I am bow legged, and so sometimes it makes it harder for me to do balancing exercises. Any tips? I try to dig my toes in the ground and engage my core, but I'm still a little wobbly. Help!” In this shortie episode, we talk about ...
Dec 15, 2023•8 min•Season 6Ep. 61
Making healthy food choices is infinitely harder when you don’t have a plan. Just a little preparation and planning can set you up for mealtime success. But online meal prep experts, with their matching containers and and a full week’s worth of healthy dishes, can make the task feel completely overwhelming and unattainable! That’s where Laurie Palau comes in! Laurie is the author of the book Hot Mess: A Practical Guide to Getting Organized , hosts the popular weekly podcast, This ORGANIZED Life ...
Dec 12, 2023•32 min•Season 6Ep. 60
From smart watches to heart rate monitors to sleep trackers, there is a world of fitness gadgets on the market to help you deep dive into your healthy habits and metrics. In recent months, glucose monitors are cropping up everywhere - but are they really helpful? Listener Naomi asked that very question: “I'd like to ask a question about a glucose monitor. They seem to be popping up everywhere and seem to promise a lot of results by helping monitor your glucose. I'm just curious what you would ha...
Dec 08, 2023•7 min•Season 6Ep. 59
It is that time of year! The season of joy, magic, and wonder. It’s also the season of parties, snacks and treats. So how to we fully enjoy the holiday season and still feel good on January 1st? Just in time for the holiday party season, I have a 4-step Holiday Splurging Plan that will help you navigate all the potential pitfalls of the month ahead. Grab some paper and a pen - you’re going to want to take notes on this one. Join me as we dive into: What exactly is a SPLURGE? The answer might sur...
Dec 05, 2023•25 min•Season 6Ep. 58
Pursuing a healthy relationship with food and exercise for ourselves is hard enough. So how do you encourage your family to get on board with the same choices - especially when they’re resistant? One listener finds herself in this tricky situation: “How can parents help and encourage their teens to eat healthy and exercise, especially if the teens are slightly overweight and aren’t very interested in physical activities and they get irritated when you try to remind them to make healthy choices? ...
Dec 01, 2023•8 min•Season 6Ep. 57
Weightlifting - it’s either your favorite way to workout, or you avoid it like the plague. But maybe your reasons for avoiding it are actually myths. There’s a lot of conflicting information - and frankly, flat out WRONG information - out there in the world of fitness and nutrition. And none more persistent than some of the false narrative around weightlifting - especially for women. If you’ve been around here for any amount of time, you know I’m a huge proponent of weight training for women of ...
Nov 28, 2023•33 min•Season 6Ep. 56
The world of supplements can be wildly confusing. With fitness gurus touting the benefits of a seeming alphabet soup of powders, drinks, and shakes things can get overwhelming fast. Take EAAs and BCAAs - what are they? Do I need them? Am I missing out if I don’t take them? Listener Gay had this very question: “Closing in on age 60 and it’s becoming more difficult to maintain my muscle mass/fat ratio. Are Essential Amino Acids the pixie dust to increase muscle and faster metabolism? I’m just wond...
Nov 24, 2023•9 min•Season 6Ep. 55
Elastic eating. I bet you’ve NEVER heard of this. But this concept and mindset shift is exactly how you should eat to consistently stay healthy without getting obsessed about food or having it dominate your thoughts. And with the holidays upon us, this is the perfect time to swap your “all or nothing” thinking for something more flexible. Today, I am going to teach you all about how to become an “elastic eater”. This is so important if you feel like you’re always bouncing from strict, rigid habi...
Nov 21, 2023•20 min•Season 6Ep. 54
Lots of great fitness programs - including mine - encourage women to lift heavy weights. But have you ever been stumped by what exactly constitutes “heavy weights”? And how much weight it too much or not enough? Listener Lisa had the same question: “I’m wondering what you consider ‘heavy weights’. I’ve noticed you mention that you lift heavy weights 2 times a week. How much do you lift?” In this shortie episode, we dive into: Debunking the myth that lifting heavy weights will make you “bulky”. W...
Nov 17, 2023•10 min•Season 6Ep. 53
Fascia. This buzzword has been making the rounds in the fitness industry, but it still seems to be a mystery. What is it? Where is it? How does it impact my health and fitness? If you’re always dealing with pain, tension, body stress, maybe even headaches, learning more about your fascia might be a great place to start. And who better to help you out than the fascia queen! This week on the podcast I talk to Jill Miller, C-IAYT, ERYT, YA-CEP fascia expert, with 30 years of corrective movement exp...
Nov 14, 2023•42 min•Season 6Ep. 52
Have you ever looked in the mirror or pulled on a pair of jeans and felt good about your progress, only to have all that confidence evaporate when you step on the scale? At what point do you become satisfied with how you feel instead of chasing a specific number on the scale? Listener Kristi finds herself in this very spot: “I’ve been trying for some time now to get off 10-15 pounds, and it seems like, it’s just not happening. My body just does not want to release that weight. I have to admit th...
Nov 10, 2023•11 min•Season 6Ep. 51
It’s easy to jump into a new habit or lifestyle change with excitement and motivation. This is the time I’m going to stick with it and things are really going to change! But we get a few weeks down the road, and all that enthusiasm starts to fade. I mean, making a lifestyle change is HARD. And progress feels soooooo slooooooow. So what’s the real and honest timeline for results and what are realistic expectations? Today’s episode is a good reality check for when you’re not sure if what you’re do...
Nov 07, 2023•22 min•Season 6Ep. 50
Did you know that 63% of Americans start their day off with coffee? And many of them enjoy their morning hit of caffeine light and sweet. But could that delicious coffee habit be derailing your healthy choices? Listener Dondi asks: “I would like to know a good substitute for coffee creamer. I love my morning coffee, sweet and creamy, and I'm just looking for healthy alternatives and just curious what your thoughts are.” Maybe you’ve wondered the same thing! Grab your morning coffee and take a li...
Nov 03, 2023•9 min•Season 6Ep. 49
Too many women live with some form of chronic pain, and have just written it off as “normal”. They deal with it, work around it, try to medicate it, and ultimately believe that this is how their body is now. But what if I told you it didn’t have to be this way? This week I sit down with Dr. Jen Fraboni, an internationally-renown physical therapist who specializes in helping people overcome chronic pain and maximize physical performance. In 2019, Jen was named one of the top 50 most influential h...
Oct 31, 2023•47 min•Season 6Ep. 48
We often spend a lot of time building our strength or improving our cardiovascular health - but what about our balance? Balance is one of the 6 important aspects of fitness, but it’s often completely overlooked and not intentionally trained, until you realize how bad it is! Crystal trains with me, and asks: “I started Jumpstart30 at the beginning of the year, then Jumpstart60, and now I’m in GetStrongX. Despite doing this for awhile now (and loving it, btw!) I’m still super wobbly with any kind ...
Oct 27, 2023•8 min•Season 6Ep. 47
Life is a full-contact sport. And many professions can take an even greater physical toll on your entire body. Being a nurse, teacher, doctor, dental hygienist, holding a desk job, even being a mom can begin to cause chronic pain and affect your quality of life. This week I’m sitting down with MaryEllen Kiser, a 49-year-old teacher and mother of two, who struggled with excruciating back and hip pain for years. Despite her own best efforts and the help of specialists, she couldn’t find relief for...
Oct 24, 2023•25 min•Season 6Ep. 46
