Live Joy

  Can you believe we're already halfway through the year?   Six months ago, many of us were setting goals, choosing our word of the year, creating vision boards, or promising ourselves that this would be the year we finally put ourselves first.   And now here we are.   June is the perfect time for a pause, notice I didn't say to judge ourselves, but to check in with ourselves.   Not to focus on what we haven't done.   But to honestly evaluate where we are and where we want to go next.   Too often we get so busy moving through our days that we forget to stop and ask if we're actually moving in the direction we want to go.   So, before you race into the second half of the year, take a moment to reflect.   What's Working? What habits have helped you feel healthier, happier, or more at peace? What relationships are adding value to your life? What routines are supporting your physical, mental, and emotional well-being? What accomplishments are you...

  Sometimes people hear “lift heavier” and think it means walking into the gym and suddenly grabbing the heaviest dumbbells possible. That's not what progressive overload means.   It's actually much more simple and controlled than that. The goal is to work in a rep range where the weight feels challenging enough that the last couple reps are hard. For most women, this might look like lifting in the 6–8 rep range.   For example: Let's say you're doing dumbbell shoulder presses. You pick up 15-pound dumbbells and aim for 8 reps. Reps 1–4 feel manageable Reps 5–6 start getting difficult Reps 7–8 feel very challenging That's what you want.   Those last two reps are what people mean when they talk about “reps in reserve” or getting close to failure. You shouldn't feel like you could easily keep going for another 10 reps.   If you can easily do 12–15 reps with a weight, it's probably too light to truly challenge the muscle enough to grow stronger. This is where a ...

  The other night I was sitting outside enjoying one of those perfect nights… not too hot, not too cold, just peaceful. Like most of us do, I started scrolling Facebook while I sat there, and I came across a post from Paula Abdul celebrating 35 years of Spellbound .   Now for those of you who didn't grow up in the 90s, Paula Abdul was one of my favorite singers growing up. She danced, she performed, and fun fact… she was actually the very first concert I ever went to.   The second I saw that post I thought, “You know what? Let's listen to that album.”   Back in 1991, I had it on cassette tape. Now all I had to do was open Spotify and hit play.   And instantly… memories.   Rush Rush was by far my favorite song on that album. I still remember the music video. Another fun fact, Keanu Reeves was in that video! And as the songs kept playing, it made me think about all the music I used to listen to growing up. Every song carried a memory. A feeling. A season of ...

  Have you ever noticed how a GPS never says, “You made a mistake.” It never panics, shames you, or tells you that you ruined the entire trip because you missed one turn. It simply says, “Recalculating.” The other day I heard that and immediately thought… that’s life. Somehow as humans we have convinced ourselves that every wrong turn means failure. We think every setback means we’re behind, every delay means we messed everything up, and every season that doesn’t go according to plan means we’re failing at life. But life doesn’t actually work that way. Sometimes you miss the exit. Sometimes you take the long way around. Sometimes you end up somewhere you never planned to go at all. And yet, life keeps moving. You adjust. You learn. You pivot. You recalculate. I think so many of us spend way too much time beating ourselves up for decisions we made in hard seasons, moments where we were overwhelmed, or times when we simply didn’t know better yet. We replay old choices in our mind...

There’s a conversation happening right now around protein, muscle, aging, and midlife women… and honestly, it’s one we should have been having years ago. Because somewhere along the way, many women were taught that eating less was healthy. Less food. Less protein. Smaller portions. More cardio. Less strength. And now, many women hit their 40s and 50s wondering why they feel tired, weak, achy, inflamed, or why their metabolism suddenly feels different. The truth is, muscle matters more in midlife than ever before. And one thing I personally added into my routine that has made a noticeable difference is essential amino acids. I take Kion Essential Aminos daily, and after listening to this podcast recently, I knew I had to talk about it more. This podcast episode explains so much of what women (well everyone) have been missing when it comes to protein and muscle health in midlife: 522: The Protein Lie Midlife Women Have Been Told (And What to Do Instead) So… What Are...

  I heard this the other day, and it stopped me in my tracks because it is so true. We live in a world now where pharmaceuticals can make you “skinny.” But here’s the problem, skinny should not be the goal. Strong should be the goal. Because if you’re not using things like GLP-1s the right way, yes, you will lose weight…but you won’t just lose fat. You’ll lose muscle too. And as a woman, that is the last thing you want. Seeing a lower number on the scale should never be the end goal. Getting stronger should be. I will say it until I’m blue in the face, there is a huge difference between being skinny and being healthy. I know dozens of people on GLP-1s (and let’s be honest, some won’t even admit it), and only one or two are actually doing it right. That should concern you. Doing it “right” means you are still eating enough calories so you don’t wreck your metabolism long term. It means prioritizing protein so you can maintain and ideally build muscle. And it absolutely means lifti...