This simple sit & rise test is more challenging that it looks. If you’re unsuccessful at first, try one of the modifications in the video. But definitely practice this move. This sit & rise from the floor skill is associated with all cause mortality. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23242910/ Simply practicing it can help you stay strong over time. … Continued

‘Mediocre’ days are common…especially where your exercise is concerned.  Some days you may not be feeling it, you may have no energy and you might even wonder if what you’re doing even counts… I’m here to say it does! It all adds up. Personally, over the years, I can’t tell you how many times I … Continued

It feels good to keep a promise to yourself! Here’s what I’ve learned about planking daily: You can plank anywhere You always can find time to plank Habits get easier the more they’re repeated Sometimes you need to get creative It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks If something is important, you’ll do it even … Continued

Don’t make the mistake of thinking walking is ‘enough’. It is, along with a few weekly sessions of resistance training. Because you want to stay STRONG as you age… YES to all these benefits of a daily walk…It can help you… * Maintain a healthy weight and lose body fat * Prevent or manage various … Continued

There’s NO Special Exercises for MENOPAUSAL Women You should be doing: pulling pushing single arm and leg movements mobility balance work plyometrics (jumping) sprinting The difference is in the variations of exercises and intensity of your workouts. Maybe you’re using machines instead of free weights. Maybe you’re sprinting on a rower rather than running on … Continued

Here’s the advice I gave my 79yo client to maintain & even develop her leg strength… I reminded her that she squats several times a day, she should use those ‘reps’ to her advantage. Be conscious of S-L-O-W-L-Y lowering your butt to the seat instead of falling into your chair Sometimes practice a butt tap … Continued

Work never gets ‘easier’…But …you get more capable… And ‘hard’ is relative to YOU… Measure your ‘hard’ against your CURRENT SELF. Not who you were 20 years ago or against others. Make sure to celebrate your hard! Care to share one of recent ‘hards’? At 61, I’m happy to have more weight on the bar … Continued

The holidays can be full of extra calories so it’s best to manage your expectations regarding weight loss. You’ll likely just end up ruining your holiday experience and still not lose weight if you’re trying to ‘diet’. Aim for weight maintenance during the holidays. And a 10 minute post meal walk can help! . Or … Continued

Don’t make the mistake of thinking walking is ‘enough’. It is, along with a few weekly sessions of resistance training. Because you want to stay STRONG as you age… YES to all these benefits of a daily walk: Maintain a healthy weight and lose body fat Prevent or manage various conditions, including heart disease, stroke, … Continued

Are you injured or nursing a chronic pain? Sadly in menopause there’s far too much of this, but I want you to be encouraged. There’s hope, even if you’re experiencing a serious issue like a joint replacement. After having BOTH hips replaced 18 months apart, I can say I’m almost as strong as I was … Continued

Feel like nothing works to reduce your increasing belly fat? Cardio *done right* can get rid of your menopause belly and visceral fat and the good news is it doesn’t take a ton of time. But it does take EFFORT. Enter SIT: sprint interval training. Here’s how to do SIT: Warm up 5 min (easy … Continued

As you age, you can pretty much do it all, you just need more recovery time between workouts. Motion is lotion, so you’ll always feel better after a little movement. As a fitness expert in my 60’s, this is what I do when I WANT to workout but know I need to take a days … Continued

It’s all about the math. To lose fat you need to create a calorie deficit, but you NEED to prioritize protein. So ‘budget’ for your protein calories FIRST. And then fill in the rest of your calories with carbs & fat (the ratio of these is up to you). Also consider MOVING more rather than … Continued

Of course you don’t want to waste food! But is it better to eat the excess & store it on your waist? Here are two ways I’m learning to be less wasteful: make more appropriate serving sizes give away leftovers True story: often my leftovers get ‘stored’ long enough that they nearly grow legs and … Continued

Being in a calorie deficit DOES work for fat loss. The point of this video is to highlight one of the MANY ways it might APPEAR that you’re in a calorie deficit when in fact you might NOT be: Food labels can have faulty math which makes it a challenge… Here’s the example in the … Continued

An unlikely pairing but at 31g protein per serving, it was worth a try! 185 ml bone broth 250 ml 3.25% Fairlife milk 15 ml maple syrup 3 tbsp cocoa powder *BONE broth not just chicken or beef broth Mix together, heat on stove top, low heat. Enjoy! 347 calories: 10.8F 26.3C 30.6P Let’s face … Continued

Here are 5 signs you may be under eating: You don’t seem to eat much and you still can’t seem to LOSE weight. How can you possibly eat less? You tend to GAIN weight overnight. A dinner out, a dessert, a glass of wine – it ends up on the scale the next day and … Continued

Carbs filled with FIBER! For women, gut health is improved with increased fiber daily. A fiber rich diet helps if you want to ward off energy crashes too. These are just two of the many benefits fiber offers… Other benefits include: * Fosters a diverse, happy gut microbiome * Promotes regular bowel movements * Keeps … Continued

Want to be able to ‘trust your gut’ where nutrition is concerned? This might also be called being an ‘intuitive eater’. Individual foods are never the problem, it’s your pattern of eating that may cause health or weight management issues. So you need to recognize your eating pattern: WHY you make some food choices (including … Continued

What really matters where your health & weight management are concerned? I created a slide deck with visuals to help make it crystal clear. The images are basically the highlights, but if you want more details, watch this video.  This is a little bit longer than my typical ‘reels’, but if you want the details, … Continued

If you’re looking for biased, half truths & unsubstantiated information… Look no further than Netflix’s ‘You Are What You Eat: The Twin Experiment’. The show presents as legitimate with slick doctors and specialists conducting ‘scientific procedures’ while comparing the omnivore and vegan diets using identical twins. But don’t be fooled, it’s simply propaganda demonizing current … Continued

You may not want to hear some of these things (except the last point!), but the fact is, as you go through menopause, your body isn’t BROKEN, it’s just different. It’s what you do MOST of the time that affects your health results. A little exercise OFTEN is better than a lot of exercise infrequently. … Continued

Blew your nutrition? It’s OKAY. The good news is you always get another chance. Don’t starve or punish yourself. Make a healthier choice the VERY NEXT meal or snack. Bump up the protein & fiber to keep you full & energized. Here are 10 snack ideas that contain at least 15g of protein & 5g … Continued

Over eating can be UNRELATED to satiety cues, but this mantra can help if you’re able to listen to your body cues… Start eating BEFORE you get too hungry… Getting too hungry makes it more difficult to make healthy choices. Stop eating BEFORE you’re full because when you’re starving, you can eat too quickly & … Continued

Want something more meaningful than a social media yearly recap? A fun tradition that my partner & I do is our ‘memory box’. We jot down the date & a fun memory on a post-it & put it in our box to be opened on New Year’s Eve. As we go thru the post-it notes … Continued

Are you paying attention? A handful of this and a bite of that can add up and if weight loss is your goal, it’s just not going to happen if you’re unaware of your habits. Maybe your goals & habits are misaligned? May be you’ve let habits slide? Small habit tweaks can move you closer … Continued

Aging and how time accumulates is a funny thing. Every day you wake up, you may not notice the passage of time… Until you do.  You might notice aches or pains or hit a milestone birthday and wonder, ‘Wow, how did that number get so big?’ I’m with you… You may look in the mirror … Continued

Small hinges swing big doors. In other words, it’s the small things that will change your life over time. This can work in a both positive and negative ways. You don’t need to overhaul your entire life to be on a healthier path. . Consider doing something small. Examples may be something simple like: -doing … Continued

The danger is in thinking you have more time… The average lifespan for women is 82.6 years (Canada, 2021). At 60, you have 22 summers left… 22 Christmas’s 22 birthdays 22 years to see & do it all – if you’re lucky! It may be morbid to look at life this way, but it certainly … Continued

Do you have a passion project? My co-host, Alli Kerr and I do the Girls Talk Healthy Aging podcast as our passion project and as a public service. We’re passionate about bringing you evidence based information to help you age well. Honestly, at first we were excited to just talk with each other, but we’ve … Continued

Menopause can be a downer! But there’s plenty that you can do to take back ownership of what seems like your alien body. It starts with being kind to yourself & acknowledging that it’s going to be OK. Then: 1️Talk to your doctor about whether menopause hormone therapy is right for you 2️Look at your … Continued

If you’re in holiday mode, manage your weight loss expectations… Not every season is a fat loss season, and that’s OKAY! There’s nothing wrong with maintaining your weight. In fact, if you try to ‘diet’ during your holiday, you’ll most likely be unsuccessful and potentially sabotage what could be memory-making times. You’ll come home thinking … Continued

Fat loss takes a LONG time. But a year is going to pass anyways. What if you could lose fat and enjoy yourself along the way? Like regularly having Friday night pizza with the family? And enjoy birthday and other celebrations without feeling deprived? And KNOW that the weight lost will NEVER be ‘found’ again … Continued

Why should you do something scary? Because as you age, it gets easier to sit things out and then you miss out on fun! Novel activities enhance performance of your aging brain which will keep you young. https://doi.org/10.1080/07303084.1998.10605603 So, how can you SAFELY do something scary? Here are a few tips: Get support – don’t … Continued

Ever wonder where the years go? Presently, I couldn’t be happier with life, even though it turned out differently than I anticipated. If I were to offer any advice, it’s to ‘put on your own oxygen mask first’, self care is more important than you may give it credit. I’ve always prioritized my health and … Continued

Genetics? There’s both good & bad news… Genetics has only a small impact on longevity, according to a new study involving more than 400 million people: https://doi.org/10.1534/genetics.118.301613 Longevity is mostly decided by lifestyle, with less than 10% down to DNA. So it doesn’t matter much if you’ve been dealt a rough hand or a winning … Continued

Hot flashes? Well, if you need ANOTHER reason to resistance train, here it is… More lean muscle is shown to reduce hot flashes according to this study: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40695-020-00058-9 How do you get more muscle? Resistance training! With declining estrogen levels in the menopause transition, both bone density and muscle mass declines. Resistance training offsets both … Continued

It’s not all bad! I mean not worrying about a period or unwanted pregnancy is a bonus of menopause, right? Here are the things you can do to offset the negatives you may be experiencing as estrogen declines: Eat a high protein, fiber rich diet. Resistance train 2-3 times a week. Keep a consistent sleep … Continued

Starting something new for fitness? It can be scary (even for seasoned fitness veterans). Here are 3 tips to make it easier: 1. Check out the facility, find when it’s not busy & try to go during those times. 2. Go with a plan! 3. Do it scared, after the first few times, it will … Continued

Calorie trackers are inaccurate. They don’t account for EPOCH – or energy burned AFTER exercise – which is the big benefit of resistance training. Your workout should be FUN anyways, not just a source of calorie burning. Your workout should be focused on fun and/or skill or strength development. It’s only a small part of … Continued

Weight loss only occurs in a calorie deficit, but instead of eating less, why not do more? Enter NEAT: non-exercise activity thermogenesis. This includes walking (& all the other active things you do in your day). Simply adding more daily steps can create a calorie deficit while eating more. It’s win-win: -you get to eat … Continued

“Participating in Shawna’s program was a life changing experience. “ @stephanieliner From my perspective, it was a great pleasure to work with Stephanie. She consistently showed up & was ready to learn. She threw away old ideas, for example, she (reluctantly) increased her calorie & carb intake & watched her weight go down. She slowly increased … Continued

Set the bar low. I know this sounds like ridiculous advice from a coach. But, if you make a small promise to yourself & keep it, you’re more likely to continue to make & keep promises to yourself. Starting small & working up to bigger promises is how you build integrity with yourself. It’s how … Continued

Food tracking can be inaccurate. But that’s not the REAL point! The big benefits of food tracking include increasing self accountability & intentionality around eating. Food labels can be up to 20% off – like in this example: the label assumes that the scoop holds 42g of product when in fact, it only holds 30g … Continued

Did you blow your nutrition this weekend? Look, it happens, especially when you don’t have a plan. To lose weight, you need to create a calorie deficit. This can be achieved thru out the week versus just in one day. You can cycle your calories a little so you could have a few less calories … Continued

If you want visible abs, be aware of the sacrifices you may need to make. Be realistic & manage expectations where weight loss goals are concerned… ⭐️20-22% body fat⭐️ ✔️fit appearance & good overall health ✔️livable lifestyle ✔️few cravings due to balanced diet ✔️plans & time needed for meal prep ✔️coaching is sometimes needed to … Continued

Are you choosing clothes from the fat side of the closet? Do you dress in the dark? If you’re not comfortable in your own skin, it’s not too late to do something about it. I had the good fortune to try on all kinds of sweet lil dresses at a local boutique and it reminded … Continued

Food tracking increases awareness & intentionality but can be cumbersome. So here’s an easy option to food track. Use the free app ‘See How You Eat’. You take pics of meals & snacks & it’s organized daily. It’s this easy accountability that creates awareness & intention to your eating. And any habit that you can … Continued