Ep.146 Nourish Your Journey: A Fresh Start After 50 with Michele Folan

Hello there, ladies! It's Michele here, your 60-something guide to health after the big 5-0. In today's episode, we're having a good old chat about taking care of ourselves in these golden years.

Listen, I know what you're going through. Those hormones playing musical chairs, feeling like your muscles are on vacation, and all those "experts" telling you what to do—it's enough to make your head spin! I've been there too, and that's why I'm sitting in this chair today talking to you.

We're going to break down intermittent fasting into bite-sized pieces that make sense for real women like us. No complicated rules—just simple ways to give your body the rest it deserves between meals. And those workouts? Lady, we're not training for the Olympics! We're just looking to jumpstart our metabolism, keep our bones strong so we can play with those grandbabies, and get up from the floor without calling for help!

Many of my clients come to me having tried every diet under the sun. They've been counting points, cutting carbs, and feeling guilty about every morsel. Well, not anymore! In my kitchen, we focus on nourishment, not punishment.

I want you to know something important: it's never too late to start, no matter where you are today. Whether you're struggling to climb a flight of stairs or you've never lifted anything heavier than a grocery bag, you belong here.

Every little thing you do today—taking the stairs, lifting those small weights, saying no to that second helping—is a gift to your 80-year-old self. And trust me, she'll thank you for it!

So pop in those earbuds while you're folding laundry or walking the dog, and let's figure this out together. Subscribe to our podcast, join our community of wonderful women just like you, and remember: you're not starting over, you're simply beginning an amazing, new chapter.

I'll be right here, cheering you on every step of the way!

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Are you ready to reclaim your midlife body and health? I went through my own personal journey through menopause, the struggle with midsection weight gain, and feeling run-down. Faster Way, a transformative six-week group program, set me on the path to sustainable change. I'd love to work with you! Let me help you reach your health and fitness goals.
https://www.fasterwaycoach.com/?aid=MicheleFolan

Have questions about Faster Way? Please email me at:
[e-mail]

After trying countless products that overpromised and underdelivered, RIMAN skincare finally gave me real, visible results—restoring my glow, firmness, and confidence in my skin at 61. RIMAN Korea's #1 Skincare Line - https://michelefolan.riman.com

*Transcripts are done with AI and may not be perfectly accurate.

**This podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, or other professional healthcare services, including the giving of medical advice. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.

Episode Transcript

Michele Folan (00:00):
I simply love what I get to do.
I get to bring my midlifeaudience helpful tools and tips
to make managing this phase oflife a little easier, and I have
the privilege to work withwomen to fulfill their goals of
being healthier, stronger and tofeel more confident in their
bodies.

(00:20):
Nothing could be morefulfilling their bodies.
Nothing could be morefulfilling Health, wellness,
fitness and everything inbetween.
We're removing the taboo fromwhat really matters in midlife.
I'm your host, Michelle Folan,and this is Asking for a Friend.

(00:41):
Welcome to the show everyone.
It has been a while since I havedone a solo show and the timing
is good because I get so manyquestions on a weekly basis from
potential clients, people thatare curious about getting
coaching or Faster Way in itself, and I thought I might take

(01:05):
those most commonly askedquestions and put them into a
podcast, because I figure, ifclients have these questions or
potential clients have thesequestions, you may also have
some of the same questions aswell.
And you know making that bigstep to get coaching can be a

(01:27):
big deal, and I know we as womensometimes want to be
independent and we're not usedto putting ourselves first but
taking that step and saying Ineed help to do this, because
what I have done in the pastisn't working is brave, right?
You're saying I'm putting thisin your hands, help me out.

(01:49):
So I am very empathetic to thefact that a lot of women have
tried many, many things at thisstage in the game to lose weight
.
My youngest client has been 27.
My oldest client has been 27.
My oldest client has been 74,but the bulk of my clients are
50 plus, and so with that comessome unique challenges.

(02:15):
We are post-menopause, so we'vegot some different hormone
issues that we're dealing withparticularly lower estrogen,
higher cortisol and that highercortisol means we're dealing
with particularly lower estrogen, higher cortisol, and that
higher cortisol means we'regoing to deposit more weight
around our middles.
And I know that's sofrustrating because you wonder
where is this coming from andthat's exactly where the bulk of

(02:38):
it is happening.
And we also may have somephysical limitations.
And we also may have somephysical limitations and that
has really been something that Ihave had to dig deep on,
because either we haven't reallyhad a regular fitness routine
or we have some injuries, maybewe even have osteoporosis and we

(03:00):
have some concerns around that.
So I understand all of thatbecause, guess what?
I am almost 61 years old andactually when this podcast airs
I may be 61 now that I thinkabout it and I too have
osteoporosis.
I have some physicallimitations, so I don't want

(03:21):
people to think that I'm becauseI'm this Faster Way coach, that
I don't identify with whatyou're dealing with.
It does require some patience onmy part, but I also ask my
clients to be patient, becausewe're not going to lose weight
as quickly as we did when wewere 34 years old.

(03:43):
I'm really asking my clients toembrace the fact that we're
going to put on some lean muscleand you probably already know
this but muscle weighssignificantly more than fat.
We're going to have bodycomposition changes that don't
necessarily show up on the scale, and I have countless stories

(04:05):
of clients who have lost 10, 12,13 pounds but lost two pant
sizes or two dress sizes.
So the timing is really goingto be up to the individual
person, because it also requiressome habit changes.
They say on average, it takesabout 66 days to adopt a habit,

(04:27):
so it can be anywhere from 18 to250 days right, that's
according to researchers, butlet's say two months.
So I do guarantee that, evenearly on in the program.
Most of my clients feel so muchbetter.
They have more energy, they'resleeping better, fewer sugar

(04:48):
cravings and the weight willcome off, I promise, but it will
not happen overnight.
Let's talk about the workoutsfirst, because that seems to be
one of the biggest questions Iget and, like I said, there are
quite a few clients that I'vehad over the last months that

(05:08):
don't work out regularly orhaven't had a regular workout
routine.
So starting something like thiscan feel very intimidating.
They're not comfortable in agym and lifting weights is
something that's foreign to them.
And when you look at the fasterway workouts, you've got three
people up there doing them.

(05:29):
The person on the far right isdoing them at a more modified
level, but even that for somepeople is too much, and I
understand that.
I try to meet people where theyare and I like to dial in on
the nutrition first and thenreally address the workouts.
But if I can get a client to getout for a walk every single day

(05:54):
at least 30 minutes, that is agreat place to start.
Then we can start adding in theworkouts Once people are
feeling a little bit better.
They're feeling a little morefit because they are moving
their body.
And getting out for a 30 minutewalk every day doesn't have to

(06:15):
be 30 minutes all at one time.
It could be 10 minutes here, 15minutes there.
I actually prefer clients toget out for a walk after a meal
because this helps our bodieshandle that glucose load.
It actually helps you take thatglucose up into your muscles

(06:35):
and it minimizes blood glucosespikes.
So it's really just a healthierapproach to walking and so
absolutely recommend that formost of my clients and then for
those of us that are sometimes alittle more sedentary during
the day maybe we are working ata desk job I like to call them

(06:58):
exercise snacks.
So it does not mean you go tothe kitchen to get food.
It actually means just stand upnext to your desk or take a
walk, do the steps in youroffice but get up, even if it's
just 10 squats next to your desk.
All these things add up at theend of the day and they're super

(07:21):
important just in the fact thatwe've got to move our bodies.
We got to keep that bloodflowing, we got to keep our
metabolisms going, and that isreally where you get your fat
burn is from walking.
So I really encourage people toget to that zone two level, and
I always tell clients how tofigure out where their zone two

(07:45):
is.
Zone two is a walking pacewhere it's conversational.
You should be able to have atalk with someone as you are
walking, so it's not gettingyour heart rate up really high.
It could be around, you know,109, 112, somewhere in that
neighborhood, depending on yourage, but that is for maximum fat
burn.

(08:05):
So then, if you combine thatwith starting to lift some
weights and they can belightweights they could be three
pounds, five pounds.
I don't want anyone to hurtthemselves.
We got to start somewhere,though, and we all know that
muscle weighs more than fat.
We also know that muscle is ourmetabolic currency.

(08:25):
Your muscle is what drives yourmetabolism, so without muscle,
it's going to be hard to havethat body composition change
that we're looking for.
The other reason that muscle isso important is we can lose up
to 30% of our muscle massbetween the ages of 50 and 70.

(08:50):
This causes some issues formany women, from a mobility
issue being able to get up outof a chair, being able to get up
off the floor Muscle protectsyour bones and joints and also
if you have osteoporosis againsuper important to make sure
that you have enough muscle mass.

(09:11):
So the combination of theworkouts lifting weights, the
workouts lifting weights andmaybe even getting a weighted
vest for walking, which I highlyrecommend Now, not for everyone
, so you want to start at 5 to10% of your body weight, but if
you have a pre-existingcondition like an injury or

(09:35):
severe osteoporosis, I wouldhighly recommend you ask your
healthcare provider if using aweighted vest is okay for you.
So we take all that working out, we take your nutrition and
we're going to get you eating alot more protein.
That is where the magic happens.
So it's not just one thing,it's a combination of all these

(09:55):
things that help women realizebody composition changes.
The short answer is absolutely.
You will be able to do theworkouts.
Will you be able to do themright out of the gate?
Maybe not, but we'll get youthere.
I'm going to dial in yournutrition first.
We'll get you walking, we'llget things moving, then we'll

(10:20):
add some weights in.
I just want women to haveconfidence in themselves that if
they just get started, theywill see positive results.
Now the next question I get veryoften is about intermittent
fasting.
There's a lot of confusion outthere about the purpose of

(10:40):
intermittent fasting.
I look at intermittent fastingas digestive rest.
I ask all my clients just don'teat after dinner.
Close the kitchen, don't getout the skinny pop the kitchen.

(11:01):
Don't get out the skinny pop.
Don't get out the bag of nuts.
Stay out of the rosé or thechardonnay.
Just don't eat.
Drink some hot tea.
Have you know, a glass ofsparkling water?
Let's just not eat after dinner.
Now, intermittent fasting looksdifferent to everyone.
Some women are more comfortablejust doing 12 hours because
they want to be able to eatsomething before they go to work

(11:22):
, and I totally respect that.
Some women really love going to16 hours.
Again, I respect whatever feelsgood for you and your body.
Here's the thing 50 plus, 55plus.

(11:44):
And the reason is I think it'sreally important that if you're
doing a morning workout, thatyou have some food on board.
I'd rather you eat a littlesomething before that workout
than to do it fasted.
And the reason I'm saying thatis we tend to have higher
cortisol levels anyway in themorning and if we stress our

(12:06):
body out we may increase thatcortisol.
And remember, cortisol is thathormone that tends to lay that
fat right around our middle.
So what do you eat before youwork out?
It's a great question.
If you are going to be doingmore of a weight-centered
workout so let's say, leg day,which is Saturdays, and those

(12:30):
are always pretty strenuous Iwould try to make sure I've got
some protein on board.
Doesn't have to be a ton, maybe20 grams of protein, but just
something and maybe a littlecarbohydrate.
If you're going to be doing amore aerobic type of activity,
like a HIIT workout, I would optto have a little more
carbohydrate with just maybe alittle bit of protein.

(12:50):
So that is my strategy.
Now, after you work out is whenyou really want to get some
protein on board, and I wouldsay at least 30 grams of protein
30 to 35, if you can do it, andthat would be leucine-based
protein, that would beanimal-based protein.
Now, if you're vegan vegetarian, go ahead and do your vegan

(13:12):
protein, but for people that areable to do meat proteins, I
would definitely want you to tryto get some of that on board
within, let's say, 45 minutes.
So try to do that.
That will help you with yourmuscle gains.
And remember, we're looking formuscle gains because we want to
drive your metabolism, we wantto have body composition changes

(13:34):
All right, and we want to havemuscle anyway because we want to
protect our bones, so veryimportant.
Now back to the intermittentfasting.
If you want to go 16 hours, Isay go ahead and do that.
But intermittent fasting is notabout skipping meals or calorie
deprivation.
I ask my clients to get thesame amount of calories in that

(14:00):
8-hour eating window as theywould in a 10-hour window, as
they would in a 12-hour window.
So you have to be verycognizant of the fact that
you're going to be packing a lotof calories in a very narrow
window and for some peoplethat's uncomfortable.
So again, it really has to workfor you, has to work for your
lifestyle and it has to makesense with what we're trying to

(14:22):
achieve here.
So again, I leave it up to myclients.
They know their bodies betterthan anyone and I am not going
to dictate how we do it.
It's just don't eat afterdinner.
By giving your body thatdigestive rest, it allows your
blood sugars and your insulin tonormalize.
When we eat all day long, ourblood sugars are going up and

(14:47):
down, up and down.
That digestive rest gives yourbody some time to repair and
rest.
Carb cycling is a strategy thatis very unique to faster way.
It may seem a little confusingat first, but I'll tell you I
don't even think about it now.
I know every day of the weekwhat day is what.

(15:08):
So it's something that you justlearn and it becomes very
intuitive.
Carb cycling is a way of justchanging up our eating cycle
throughout the week to keep ourbodies kind of guessing.
Our bodies are incrediblyadaptable, if you think about
this.
I use this example all the time.
Back when we were cave people,we could still have babies and

(15:31):
survive even when there wasscarcity of food, because our
bodies would adapt and hold onto fat.
So that's why those restrictivecalorie diets don't really work
long term because our bodieseventually get smart and we'll
start to hold on to fat.
Because our bodies eventuallyget smart and we'll start to
hold on to fat.
With carb cycling, Mondays andTuesdays we do a much lower

(15:51):
carbohydrate diet with muchhigher fat.
You're going to derive yourenergy from the fat and then
those extra calories that we'veeaten, maybe over the weekend,
that gets stored as glycogen.
We can burn those off, becauseif you have a lot of
carbohydrate on board, you'regoing to burn that first before
you burn your glycogen, and wewant to burn off the glycogen so

(16:14):
that we can start burning fat,and I probably have just totally
confused everybody, but hangtight with me here.
The rest of the week we do alower fat, higher carb eating
schedule, because thatcarbohydrate again is going to
provide our energy, like the fatdid on Monday and Tuesday, and
then we're going to have plentyof protein on each day, we're

(16:37):
going to have plenty of fiber,but just knowing that our bodies
have carbohydrate on board, weneed to have that carbohydrate,
ladies.
We've got to have that in orderfor us to keep our muscle,
because without the carbohydrate, our bodies will start to burn
muscle for energy and we don'twant that.

(16:59):
Again, it goes back to why ketoworks initially, but long term
it is not a great strategy.
I had a client potential clientwho said after I explained
Faster Way to her she goes well,I think I'm just going to try
keto again.
And I said well, if you were sosuccessful with keto the first

(17:22):
time, why do you have to do itagain?
And she said oh, yeah, sothat's why we do things the way
we do at Faster Way, and thecarb cycling really does work.
So these are just a few of thethings that I think are really
important and make Faster Waykind of stand out as being

(17:46):
unique.
Again, it's.
It's about feeling good in yourclothes now, having great
energy, sleeping well, beingable to do the things you love
to do, being able to play withthe grandkids on the floor All
those things.
It's really important for thehere and now today, because we

(18:06):
want to be healthy, we want toget a good report card from our
doctors, we want to preventdisease.
We don't want to have type 2diabetes.
We don't want to get a goodreport card from our doctors.
We want to prevent disease.
We don't want to have type 2diabetes.
We don't want to have heartdisease.
We want to prevent cancer,dementia, all these things down
the road.
Imagine yourself at 80 or even90, not just existing, but

(18:29):
thriving.
Picture yourself getting downon that floor to play with your
great-grandchildren, tending toyour garden without fear of
falling, or dancing at a familywedding.
This isn't just a dream.
It's a future you can activelycreate, starting today.
And while many of us focus onhow we'll look in our summer

(18:51):
clothes and that's important ormaybe at an upcoming event, the
real prize is building a bodyand mind that will carry us
through our golden years withdignity and joy.
At 50 plus, we've gained wisdomabout what truly matters in
life, and now is the perfecttime to channel that wisdom into

(19:12):
caring for our future selves.
The strength and mobility youbuild today are investments that
will compound over decades,just like a well-planned
retirement account.
Think of the women you know intheir 80s and 90s.
Some struggle with basic tasks,while others remain vibrant and

(19:33):
independent.
The difference often lies inthe choices they made decades
earlier.
Your body is remarkablyresilient and it's responsive to
positive change, even if youhaven't exercised in years.
Every walk you take, everystrength training session you
complete, every balanced mealyou eat.

(19:56):
These aren't just about today'shealth.
They're your love letters toyour future self, promises that
you'll be there, truly presentand capable for life's precious
moments decades from now.
Starting today doesn't requiredramatic changes.
Perhaps it begins with a 10minute daily walk, gentle

(20:18):
stretching while watchingtelevision or choosing to take
the stairs instead.
Maybe it's joining a woman'sexercise class where you can
build community while buildingstrength.
The key is to begin somewhere,anywhere, knowing that your
90-year-old self will look backat this moment with profound

(20:39):
gratitude for the gift thatyou've given her the gift of
movement, independence andvitality.
This was your pep talk.
This was your pep talk to takesome action today.
Even if you don't sign up forFaster Way with me as your coach
, I want you to do somethingpositive for yourself today.

(21:01):
Take the walk, take the stairs,make yourself something
nutritious to eat.
Ditch the sugar.
Small changes, big benefits.
I'm here for you.
I'd love to work with you.
Reach out, dm me or send me anemail.
I'm always here for you.

(21:22):
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