Nikki Cheak (00:02.146)
Hello and welcome back to Real Food, Real Energy, Real Life. If your body's been feeling different lately and not in a great way, you are not alone. I want to see if this sounds familiar to you. I used to walk a few times a week and things would tighten up. Now, not so much. I'm actually eating better, but my food feels, my body still feels a little soft. Or inflamed or maybe just off.
And what about this one? I swear I'm doing the same things I used to do, but now nothing's changing. Look, I have been there and I want you to know right out of the gate. If your body feels different, it's because it is different. Okay. Your hormones have shifted. Your muscle mass has changed. And let's be honest, your stress load is higher. And that doesn't mean that you're broken, that you're failing because you're not a failure.
It just means that your body needs a different kind of support right now. And today I've got you. We are going to break down why muscle building is the not so secret weapon for fat loss after 35, how to boost your metabolism without adding more stress or doing more workouts and three specific shifts that you can make this week to feel stronger, lighter and way more in control.
because like I've said before, this isn't about doing more. It's about what doing actually works for this version of where you are right now in this season of life and for where you are with your family, with your life. Okay. And everybody's different, but I want to cut through the noise for a second because there's so much noise out there and a lot of women, maybe even you are still walking around thinking cardio is the fastest way to burn fat.
And if I lift weights, I'll bulk up. Muscle building is for athletes or women in their twenties with no responsibilities. And honestly, that's what we were taught, right? Burn more, shrink down, stay small. But the truth that nobody's really talking about and we weren't taught growing up is muscle is your metabolism's best friend. Okay? It's active tissue. It burns energy all day long, even when you're just sitting in the carpool line.
Nikki Cheak (02:20.578)
working at your desk or maybe you're just, you know, sending emails at your kitchen counter. It's going to support your blood sugar stability, your hormone health, and it's gonna keep your appetite and your energy steady. But it's also not just about looking toned. Muscle literally changes the way that your body functions. And I want you to hear that because it's so important. So if your metabolism feels slow and off lately, or if you're building the thing,
that helps it run better.
Nikki Cheak (03:02.936)
So if your metabolism feels slow or off lately, are you building the thing that's going to help it run better or are you just trying to burn off more calories? Because this shift from calorie burning to muscle building is what is going to honestly get you unstuck.
Let me walk you through the shift that honestly started changing everything for me. When I finally stopped overdoing cardio and started strength training with a plan, not just kind of like throwing spaghetti at the wall, like a real plan, everything shifted. My puffiness and inflammation calmed down. It went away. I started to have cheekbones again. My energy, it didn't crash like it used to, like at three o'clock when my kids were coming home from school, I was like, boy, how am going to make it through the night? Right.
didn't happen anymore and my clothes started fitting differently. Not because I had lost like a bunch of weight on the scale, but because I was holding strength and stability in a way that I hadn't before. And I wasn't living at the gym because here's what my routine looks like now. Okay. I am doing a three strength based workouts a week that are about 30 minutes or less. I'm doing, you know, progressive overload to make my body work better.
I'm doing low impact strength a couple of days a week, yoga, Pilates, core work, and I'm doing HIIT strategically, not all of the time and only once or twice a week. I am also walking a lot more with a weighted vest, which is amazing. And if you don't have one, I highly recommend it. And I'll drop my link in the show notes so that you know which one I have, but it's not about this feeling of like constantly feeling sore.
It's about this feeling of strength, right? And for me, it's, you know, yes, it's about aesthetics. want to look good in what I'm wearing, but honestly, it's also about having the energy to go through the day and in a body that feels strong enough to carry it. So I want you to think about this. What if you stopped thinking of your workouts as a punishment for what you ate and started treating them as a support for how you want to feel?
Nikki Cheak (05:17.816)
How would that change the way that you moved your body this week? So I want to talk about where most women I coach, especially in their 30s, 40s and 50s are getting stuck. And spoiler, it's not because they are lazy or they're lacking discipline because a lot of them are, you know, trying to do all of the things, but it's because they're still following a rule book that doesn't work for the stage of life anymore. Okay. And this is what it usually looks like.
relying on walks or cardio alone because it used to work, avoiding strength training because it feels intimidating or they're afraid of bulking up and pushing through hit five days a week without food or recovery and ending up more inflamed, more tired and more frustrated. And here's the reality with all of that. Women are naturally losing three to 8 % of muscle every decade after 30. Okay, that's huge. And muscle is equal
metabolism. Okay. So less muscle equals slower burn, even when you're eating less and chronic stress, skipped meals and low sleep. If you're adding that to the mix and your body's constantly in that survival mode, it's not burning fat. It's honestly just trying to protect you and survive. So when I'm hearing women tell me nothing's working anymore, I like to gently challenge that because it's not that you don't work.
It's just that you're not doing what's working now and what should be working for your body now. You're doing what's used to work for your body. And this is the moment where everything can shift because what if your body isn't really failing you? What if it's honestly just telling you like, Hey, I need a new strategy. Okay. So look, I want to be real with you because I've always told you I'm about transparency and I know that
If your metabolism is feeling slow off or honestly just like completely ignoring your effort lately or like, you really truly deep down? Think about this. Are you truly doing the things that are actually helping it to run better? Or are you just hoping that it magically figures itself out? Because that was me for way too long. Walk more, eat less, cut back, try to be good. And I was honestly just still stuck.
Nikki Cheak (07:42.538)
It wasn't until I started focusing on building strength and doing workouts that supported my metas, my metabolism, not draining it all the time and fueling for that kind of movement that my body honestly finally started responding again. And look, this is not an overnight fix. Like you're not going to wake up and be like, Ooh, I'm different. But a few weeks. Yeah. Like your energy felt different. Your clothes felt different. I felt different.
And that's the shift that no one really talks about when it comes to women over 35. You don't need to push harder. You just need to train smarter. So if you're sitting here and you're thinking, like, Nikki, this sounds great, but one, I don't have a full gym in my garage or my basement. And I honestly don't have hours every week to figure this out. I see you. Okay. You've got enough on your plate already, but that doesn't mean that
you should take strength training off the table because honestly that means you need to put more on the table. So I am going to give you two free 30 minute workouts designed for your life. Like it's a real life. Okay. No, like no tons of equipment. can use a few dumbbells, no pressure, no perfection, just show up. And these are the exact style of workouts I use inside of the six week reset. They are short enough.
to squeeze in before dinner when you get home from work. Plus give yourself a little bit of time for yourself, okay? They are strategic enough to work, okay? And they are supportive of your hormones and metabolism. Not something that leaves you wiped out and wondering if it even helped. Okay, you don't need to get fit first. You don't need to do everything at once. You just need a solid starting point. And these two workouts are it. So grab your free workouts in the show notes and try them this week.
Drop it in the comments. Like how did they go? What did, what did you feel? What did you learn? Okay. And let's remind your body of what it's capable of. Okay. And it's capable of so much more than you think. So if you're listening and you're thinking, I love the idea of all of this, but I need a routine, a plan, you know, something I can actually stick with. That's exactly why I coach women through the six week reset. Okay. It's not just another challenge or quick fix. It is a proven.
Nikki Cheak (10:05.256)
system designed for busy moms who are ready to stop guessing and start doing what actually is working for them right now. Inside of the reset, you're going to get these strength-based workouts that take 30 minutes or less. They're built for life and they're also built to help you hold on to muscle, boost your metabolism and reduce that inflammation. You're also going to get these macro balanced meals that are going to support your hormones and energy and metabolism without restriction.
or stress because we don't need more stress, especially when we get asked what's for dinner. And you're going to get this weekly rhythm, right? That's going to help you make these healthy habits realistic. Plus one-on-one support with me when life is full and every single step of the way I will be there. And because having a coach who honestly gets it, who's lived it, who has been where you have been, it changes everything. And look,
I've said it before, it's not about hustle, it's not about extremes, it's about progress over perfection and consistency. It's about real strategies that fit for you. So if you've been feeling stuck and you're ready for a system that meets you where you are and walks you step by step, that's exactly what we do inside the six week reset. So let's bring this home. If you take things away from this episode today, I want you to remember you don't need to train harder, you don't need to overhaul your life.
You just need a couple of things that actually work and a plan that helps you stick to them. Because muscle, it's not just about how you look. It might feel that way for you sometimes, but it's also about how your body functions and how it supports your hormones and your metabolism, your energy, and honestly, your sanity so that you're not snapping at all of your friends and your kids and all the things all the time. Look, it is still possible. It is not too late and you're not behind.
So I want you to grab those two free 30 minute workouts in the show notes. They're just a very simple way to start showing your body what is possible. And if you're ready to stop guessing and stop winging it and build something sustainable, I would love to join you. I'd love to have you join me in the six week reset. Okay. It's the strategy, structure and support. Honestly, I wish I had years ago and I'd love to walk you through it.
Nikki Cheak (12:26.348)
If this episode hit home or you have a friend who's like, I'm not doing strength training, send it to them. Okay. Because she needs to understand this too. And if you've got 10 seconds, if you would leave a quick review or rate the show, it honestly, helps more women find this kind of real life support. Hey, make sure you're following the show because we've got more simple, doable ways to help you feel better in your body coming your way. And if you have ideas or suggestions,
send me a message. You can find me in the show notes. I will leave and drop a DM and send me a message and let me know what you're looking for. I want to make this show so good for all of you. So that's what I've got for you today. And if you take one thing away from this, it's this. You don't need to crush it every day. Okay. You just need to keep showing up with intention. Let's stop over-complicating what already works and lean into the things that actually help because you're already doing better than you think.
I'll see you next week.
