Fearlessly Facing Fifty And Beyond

EP 216: The Fearless Path to Longevity: Reframing Aging Through Nutrition, Sleep, and Movement

• Amy Schmidt

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Michele Cuffe's powerful insights on extending not just lifespan but healthspan will transform how you think about aging. Drawing from evolutionary biology and modern research, she reveals why Europeans can indulge in bread and wine without weight gain while Americans struggle despite "healthy" habits - it's not just what we eat, but how we live.

Stress represents the silent epidemic undermining American health, with most of us trapped in a chronic stress response for eight hours daily when it was designed to last mere seconds. Michele shares accessible techniques to break this cycle through simple daily practices requiring just 20 minutes. The conversation tackles sleep quality with alarming statistics - insufficient sleep increases accident risk by 70% and cancer risk by 69% while potentially shortening lifespan by nearly five years.

When it comes to nutrition, Michele cuts through fad diet confusion with refreshing clarity: "We were given two categories on this planet - plants and animals." Her practical grocery shopping guidance emphasizes perimeter shopping for organic vegetables and high-quality proteins while explaining why some seemingly healthy options like farm-raised salmon should be avoided entirely. For women over 50, she emphasizes the critical importance of strength training over endless cardio for hormonal balance and longevity.

Most movingly, Michele shares her personal journey from stay-at-home mom to fitness instructor to author, proving it's never too late to discover new passions and silence the inner critic. Whether you're just beginning your health journey or looking to optimize your wellness practices, this conversation delivers actionable wisdom for creating a vibrant, energetic life that could extend to 100 years and beyond. Don't miss Michele's practical tips for approaching fitness without intimidation - your future self will thank you.

Connect with Michele and purchase her book here:


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Speaker 1:

Hey, fearless friends, it's Amy Schmidt and welcome to another episode of the Fearlessly Facing 50 and Beyond podcast. And you know we're in this really cool series called the F Word series. So we're fearlessly facing those F words like our future, our families and our fitness. And today's guest yeah, they got it all going on. So a great guest with me today Michelle Cuff. Now I have not met her in person, but a lot of my friends have talked about her and her amazing just reframing of aging. So we're going to talk to the author, michelle Cuff, about health revival, how to be happy, healthy, human and live to 100. So stay tuned for another episode of Fearlessly Facing 50. Well, you know what I am excited about this conversation and you know I use excited all the time and I do kind of live my life through this lens of excitement because I love learning about things. So, today's guest, michelle Kupf. Welcome to the show.

Speaker 2:

Thank you so much, amy, for having me, and I love that you always seem excited.

Speaker 1:

It's like my word, I don't know. I've got grown kids and they're always like mom, you're like always excited. I'm like, yeah, because every day is such a blessing and every day it's like you can learn something new, you can do something really great.

Speaker 2:

And we've raised our kids, so we're excited.

Speaker 1:

Amen, we have raised our kids, so we're excited. Amen, we have raised our kids. Michelle, you are not only a mother of three granddaughters, but you're also a grandma or a glamour.

Speaker 2:

I think I should call you. I have three grandchildren, so I'm just, oh my gosh, they're the loves of my life.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, isn't that? I mean, I just look at that and I'm like, wow, I'm going to be there someday and that's pretty cool. Yes, it is. So I talked about your book a little bit in the intro and I got to read it. So thank you for sending me one Health Revival how to Be Happy, healthy, Human and Live to 100. You know, I think, going forward with all of this, we lived in Europe for a long time, so I feel like I was healthier in Europe because our diet was different and, michelle, I got to be honest with you I ate bread, I drank wine, I did all the European stuff you do when you live there, but then you move back and we are so unhealthy right now. Our country is terrible.

Speaker 2:

We are and I've been to Italy and I was there for almost two weeks and I agree with you 100%. I have a lot of gut issues and dairy issues and wheat issues. I did not have that there.

Speaker 1:

Isn't that crazy. You know, we were just there too, visiting one of our kids is over there in London right now and we were eating like rock stars, and you know it's vacation, so we're having fun and we're having wine. And we both got home and I think we were Tim and I were both a little hesitant to get on the scale. And we got on the scale and we're like okay, like we didn't gain any weight. This is crazy.

Speaker 2:

And there's a lot of walking that goes on there too, I think so their fitness is which.

Speaker 2:

This is a great little intro, because I want people to know who they really are, especially women. We're talking about women, but men and women, we are human animals, okay, and we were designed to do certain things and to live outside. So our DNA still thinks we're outside right now. It has not adapted to the fact that we're now inside all day, okay, so in Italy they're walking more. Our bodies were meant to move a lot, and you can see where that has gone in this day and age.

Speaker 1:

Yep, exactly, that's so true. So today we're going to be talking to Michelle about fearlessly facing not only fitness but food and also our faith and just kind of this whole life where we are right now, these efforts that we face. Let's talk about stress, because that's one of the big. You know, you kind of break your book down in different chapters and different facets of our life and we talk about stress management. Walk me through that. How can we get better at reducing some of the stress in our lives?

Speaker 2:

Yes, and stress. If you look it up you'll get anywhere from 70 to 90% of every doctor visit right now in the US is traced back to stress. So that is how prevalent stress is, and stress was only meant to be turned on for seconds or minutes. The average American sits in stress right now for eight hours a day. So think about that. It's supposed to be a quick response, to like if someone almost hits you or if a dog comes running at you but then it goes away. But now we're sitting in that stress response for eight hours a day, and that is why stress is the pillar, or where it all starts. Is that, with our crazy lives and everything and fitness is good, because that's one great way to manage stress. You know we've got to find a way to manage this or our health is just going to go off the wayside. When was the last time you stress? Ate broccoli, amy.

Speaker 1:

I mean Stress, ate broccoli. Hmm, yeah, that was. I don't know if I've ever done that, Michelle.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, we don't stress eat broccoli. We stress eat with ice cream and cookies and all that kind of stuff. So you can see where stress goes. I think one of the big things that helps me with stress is meditation, and for me that's actually faith, and I pray. So I'll go on a walk and pray or I'll just sit in the quiet and talk to God. But also meditation can be anything that you lose track of time, right. So anything it could be golfing, it could be fishing, it could be on a spin bike at the gym and you lose track of time, right. So it's just important to get about 20 minutes of that a day to where you lose track of time and you feel some sort of peace. So that's very important.

Speaker 1:

I love that you said that within actual minutes. There, Michelle, it's 20 minutes of time and when we look at our day, we all have 24 hours. Yesterday I talked about the fact that, because we've been fearlessly facing friendships lately, a lot on this show and a lot of things I've been doing, and you know that was eight minutes a day. Like, do you have eight minutes?

Speaker 1:

Eight minutes is nothing I mean, and 20 minutes for our self-care, showing up for ourselves and treating ourselves as a guest of honor. We should be able to carve out 20 minutes.

Speaker 2:

We should. And it doesn't have to be 20 altogether, it can be 10 in the morning, 10 at night. And people ask me what's the best time of day to meditate? Well, you know what's the do you want to. You know, maybe you're coming home from work and you want to show up peaceful for your family. Do it right, sit in the driveway before you come in the house and you know, just whatever the best time for you is. A lot of times people will find it first thing in the morning, in their quiet time. Yeah, but just, it's a non-negotiable. It's a non-negotiable. I love that it is so for everybody listening and watching right now.

Speaker 1:

Michelle's first challenge to us is 20 minutes and, like she said, doesn't have to be 20 minutes all at once. But let's challenge ourselves and let's reach back out. You can reach me I'll put it in the notes here, in the episode notes, and you can reach out to Michelle but we're going to find out how many of you are able to create 20 minutes of space in your life in the next six weeks. That's the first challenge and we should be able to create 20 minutes for us. So I love that.

Speaker 1:

All right, let's move on to sleep, and I talked to Michelle a little bit before we got started today with these statistics 70% more accident prone if you don't get a good night's sleep, 69% higher risk for cancer and you're reducing your lifespan by 4.7 years. Those are statistics from a doctor that specializes in sleep. But I mean, those statistics are shocking. And you said you know your mom wasn't a good sleeper. My mom was a terrible sleeper. I can remember her, michelle, getting up in the middle of the night when I was in high school, and I could hear her tiptoeing around Like I remember her getting up, but then again that probably translates to me because I'm a terrible sleeper, right.

Speaker 2:

And sleep. You know we've got to find ways to sleep better and you know, for our women here listening that are around 50 or beyond 50, hormones can play a big part in that right, but it's along with fitness. So activity. So we need to be sleeping seven to nine hours every single night and the seven to nine hour window can depend on your activity level that day and your vitamin D levels. We need sunshine, because sunshine is serotonin that then turns into melatonin. So there's so many easy ways to just kind of boost those things to help us sleep better.

Speaker 2:

But of course, back to stress. If we're stressed out and we've got a million things going through our head, we don't sleep well. So, yes, we've got to, really, especially as women. Women need a little more sleep than men. That is a known fact. Maybe it's because we talk so much I don't know what goes on with this, but sleep is also another non-negotiable and, like you said, the studies show anything less than seven hours sleep a night starts to go into increasing or decreasing I'm sorry your lifespan and your health span.

Speaker 1:

Wow I mean sleep.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, don't see it as, oh, I need sleep. What's wrong with me If you sleep nine hours? I say good for you. I think that that is amazing.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, do you have a routine, a sleep routine? Because I know that's so important, I do, and listen.

Speaker 2:

My kids are grown now so I don't have those kinds of stress. When I was younger it was tough, but one of the things that I do that works for me is so about a couple of hours. I do eat two hours before bedtime. That's important because you want to digest your food. I'd make sure all the lights are kind of off in the house and sometimes I'll take a tub bath with warm water with magnesium, because magnesium is your sleep mineral and putting the magnesium salt in your bath it goes right into your bloodstream. It will make you sleepy. So that really seems to work for me. And going from that hot tub to then your nice cold bed helps and get your house as cold as possible. Okay.

Speaker 1:

I hope my husband's listening to that. That will help him sleep. That is Tim Schmidt right now. You should be listening, because I always tell him that I always have a fan on. I always sleep with the window open Well, not so much in Florida, but I mean, you know, I always want it cooler and he's always complaining about that, but that's really important, those. I always want it cooler and he's always complaining about that, but that's really important.

Speaker 2:

Those are some great tips right there, and I think yes, and cold and dark is how we evolved outside. When it got dark outside, we went to bed because the bears came out, okay, and this sounds funny, but it's true we didn't stay up, we got into our safe space, went to bed and then, as soon as the sun came up, we got up because we had things to do, right, right.

Speaker 1:

So evolution kind of plays a part in that but cold and dark really helps your sleep as well. Love that I also think. I always say we wear the badge of busyness like a badge of honor, which we shouldn't do. And you just said don't wear the badge of sleep deprivation as a badge of courage.

Speaker 2:

We shouldn't do that, no, no and that whole thing. And I'm Cuban and I'm of Cuban descent, so I was raised like that, like the more you do, the better, the more you do the better. And I have had to rewire my brain now from that.

Speaker 1:

So good challenge here around sleep is we need seven to nine hours of sleep a day. So that's our second challenge reduce our stress and increase our sleep, which is major. All right, let's talk hydration. I got to be honest with you. Hydration is huge and I get that. But I referenced the fact that we were just in Europe and we had two of our kids with us and my daughter, who has one of those Stanley cups. She's like mom, nobody's like walking around with a Stanley cup, nobody's got them sitting on the table right in front of you. So are we like crazy with this hydration thing? How important is it? How much should we have a day and how much is too much?

Speaker 2:

We're not crazy. In fact, americans don't drink enough water. What is the only thing we were given on this planet by God or nature, whatever you believe in, is water. Our bodies are 70% water, the earth is 70% water. I see a correlation and we're hydrated. And so, by pounds, it's like men and women, we have a thing. But we've come to or longevity experts have come to the conclusion that a good number for every human is 100 ounces of water a day.

Speaker 2:

The problem in America and in the country is that we now have all these other drinks. You know, we're drinking coffee, we're drinking energy drinks, we're drinking wine and all these things. Those are all dehydrating, right, and then we skip the water. So if we are walking around chronically dehydrated, it will show up as you're tired, you're puffy and swollen, your joints ache. So a lot of times people will say, oh, my knees are, you're just dehydrated and we hold on to weight when we're not drinking water. So I've had clients of mine just from doing the hundred ounce water challenge for 30 days, they've lost four and five pounds. Wow, which sounds crazy. But you're flushing out toxins and all these things and, yes, you will pee. But we got to get over that at first. But water is important. I mean you could drink too much water, but I don't think that most people have that problem, right?

Speaker 1:

Exactly so 100 ounces should be a good goal for everybody.

Speaker 2:

Yes, so that's three one liter bottles.

Speaker 1:

Okay, well, that should be something very attainable for everybody. You know, it was funny because at my class, a Pilates class I go to, there was a gentleman, a couple of reformers, over for me the other day and I was asking about his trip and he said, amy, you will not believe this. And I said what? And he goes. You know how healthy I am? I said, yeah, I definitely know how healthy you are. He is just a picture of health. He was on a cruise and he forgot to drink water. He said I was having so much fun and doing so many things and probably drinking a little more than I should have alcohol and fun stuff that he ended up.

Speaker 1:

He said I fainted. And I fainted because I was dehydrated. And he said I can't believe it I didn't have enough water. And here's somebody that is younger than me and he's really fit. He's really fit Like you would think he wouldn't forget about that. So it's a simple thing that we need to remind ourselves to have water.

Speaker 2:

Right, and just you know, add a little extra water around your coffee, around you know a nice martini, if that's what you're going to have, have a water before and after. So just make sure you're. I'm not saying don't drink the other stuff, but just don't count it towards your 100 ounces.

Speaker 1:

Well, what do you think about these electrolyte-type things? You know these minerals you can get for your water, these packets of stuff you put in your water. On a side note, my husband is on medication for heart and one of the medications has a side effect of dehydration. Now he needs to put some electrolytes in his water. He knows because of the way his heart is pumping that. He knows when he's had too much water. He self-regulates, but he does have to put some of those electrolytes in. Now are those things we should be doing? I mean, should we be going to Whole Foods or Trader Joe's or Kroger or wherever you go in this country, and get stuff?

Speaker 2:

I'm not saying don't do it, but I would just say, like you know, I'll see people drinking Gatorades and stuff and I'm thinking, well, okay, that's meant for, like, football athletes that are working out in 100-degree weather. Yes, some of that stuff has a lot of sodium, which sodium isn't bad for you, but some of it will have added sugars. There's nothing wrong with that stuff, but just be careful and read the labels and just make sure that you're not just drinking like sugar. You know Exactly, but most of us don't need that stuff, and some of it is just to flavor your water, and I get that. But again, if there's things in there that are dehydrating you, it could be doing the opposite.

Speaker 1:

Okay, interesting. So just a little break here. Health revival how to be a happy, healthy human and live to 100. I have Michelle Cuff with me today and we've gone through three things already. We've gone through stress how to reduce stress, easy things to do, hydration and we've gone through sleep. Let's talk about nutrition.

Speaker 2:

Okay, yeah, that's the food, another F word.

Speaker 1:

Fearlessly facing food.

Speaker 2:

Let's be honest, I mean oh and this subject is so difficult and it's just my gosh, we could spend hours on this. Yeah, the problem is there's too much information these days and everybody's on some fad diet. Everybody's doing keto or carnivore or vegan, you know, and everybody is like what the heck do I do? So? In my book, I break down what we were given on this planet. We were given two categories only, and those were plants and animals.

Speaker 2:

Okay, so my rule is, as human animals, we suck at counting macros. We suck at counting calories. We weren't meant to do that. We're the only animal species that sits around and weighs our food and all that stuff. You're going to get sick of that. You're not going to last doing that. So what you do is, if it didn't come from out there, don't eat it, because God puts stops in all of our food. Okay, and what I mean by that is you can't eat too much steak before you're full. You can't eat pounds of broccoli You'll be in the bathroom. You can't eat too much asparagus or those kinds of things. So there's already stops in our food.

Speaker 2:

We just have to try to make good decisions with the plants and animals, and in my book I've listed what those are. And, of course we're human, Of course we should have fun, Of course you know we should have times where we celebrate and have cake, but let's make that kind of like the exception over here and we stick to the other stuff like 80% of the time and then just make sure you're careful what you're cooking with because that's another big issue is the seed oils and and you know like abroad they don't have that stuff, and that's one big reason why we're all so sick right now is because they're cooking everything in seed oils Right, and what I mean is like corn oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, we need avocado oil, we need coconut oil and olive oil. Those are the three things we're going to use and that will make a big difference in your health.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and those are simple. I love in the middle of your book, like between pages about, I don't know, 94, 95, all of these. I, of course, went to page 95 because I'm going to make this one. It's the Brain Boosting Blueberry Milkshake. This sounds amazing. It's got protein in it.

Speaker 2:

You know you've got your almond or peanut butter, you've got your almond milk or oat milk, vanilla protein powder. This is very simple, yeah. And so you know I put 30 of my favorite recipes in there as a bonus of you know how I cook, or just some good stuff. And you know shakes are an easy way to get protein in, which is important, and they're quick and easy. So I put some of those in there. And yeah, and blueberries are a superfood. I mean, of all the fruit, I'd say blueberries is the king, so it's just a really good, healthy shake.

Speaker 1:

All right, I'm going to ask you something because I know that listeners and viewers right now there's a lot of us out there, myself included, that gets intimidated and questions their whole you know they're like all right, I'm eating healthy. This is my calendar New month April's. In another week, new month. I'm going to eat healthy. I'm going to do all this and then something happens and they go off the rails.

Speaker 2:

You know what.

Speaker 1:

Nobody's perfect. You're not perfect. Nobody's perfect, we're all trying our best, so let's walk through. If there's somebody listening that's going to start their health journey, they're going to pick up your book and they're going to say I'm going to start Before they even get the book. What can they do at the grocery store today when they go to get two healthy meals? What should they be looking for?

Speaker 2:

I would say, of course, we hear this all the time. Stick to the perimeter. Oh, I've heard that. Okay, so there's truth to that. Okay, I would focus on organic vegetables and grass-fed beef and wild-caught fish. So those are the things that I would focus on, and of course, the fruits are in the produce area too, but I would just. You know. So, when you go to a restaurant and you're ordering food, what is the most expensive thing on the menu? Right, you're going to have a steak, you're going to have wild-caught salmon's the best. So some kind of fish and then vegetables. So that's what I would suggest that people do, and that's how I eat most of the time. Perfect Is from those two groups. And that's my plate. I've got, you know, a piece of steak here and then, like last night, I had a bunch of broccoli and Brussels sprouts that filled my plate and I was full and I felt so good after I was done. I never had a sugar spike or anything. Stay away from sugar. That's the problem.

Speaker 1:

Oh I know, oh, it's my nemesis, I'm telling you.

Speaker 2:

But it's so good, fearlessly facing sugar.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, not an F but an S. I know. I think a part of that is how I was raised. I mean, all five of us. There were five of us in our family and I think we all have a sweet tooth because my mom served us dessert every night. We were a dessert family, from lemon rind pie to you. Remember those huge, big gallon things of ice cream with the metal. It like had a metal handle. I mean we went through that.

Speaker 2:

I don't know how I'm alive right now.

Speaker 1:

Me too. Me too, we went through that like crazy. My dad would slice a banana. He'd open up that jar of Hershey's chocolate sauce you know you could hear the metal coming off of it and pour it on. That's how we ate every night, I mean we, we. So sugar for me is a is a big deal. So I'm with you. Anybody that's listening out there that has a challenge with that. But, michelle, those are good, really good tips, because we can go to the perimeter, we can walk around. Let's talk about fish for a minute, because this does confuse me. And then I want to go to the fitness aspect. But salmon Salmon is confusing to me. Like I'll go to Whole Foods and it's wild, something, something, and it's $12.99, or this one's $24.99 a pound, or this one's on special for $7.99. Do you buy the cheapest? Do you only buy wild? Let's walk through that.

Speaker 2:

No, the farm-raised salmon is just terrible.

Speaker 2:

Ah, good to know, and farm-raised salmon isn't even orange. They put like dyes in there to turn it orange Wild-caught. If you can't get wild-caught I just wouldn't eat it because the other ones you'll get parasites and things like that. I mean you want, especially with salmon. When you go to a restaurant, almost all of it is farm-raised and they feed those fish gross things. You'll have to look that up. Wow, that is good to know. If it's cheap at the store you can pretty much bet it's farm-raised. Okay, and I hate to say this, but go by price. You'll see the bright orange packaging. You'll know that that's the wild-caught and it's going to cost more but I think we're worth it.

Speaker 1:

I'm just everything we put in our bodies is so important.

Speaker 2:

Thank you for that.

Speaker 1:

Don't be cheap on yourself. Exactly, that was a little sideline, a little tip for Amy, no-transcript, trying to follow my husband into a hotel gym because he was traveling three or four nights a week and I went with him on a trip and sure enough he's going in the gym and the minute I'd walk in there I'd be like, oh man, I don't even know how to turn the treadmill on.

Speaker 1:

And then to try and figure out your headphones and then try to get a TV station on and then I'm like, oh screw it, I don't even know and I walk out because I get intimidated. So I think a lot of people. So walk us through how we can overcome that fear.

Speaker 2:

I know and this is, I'm in the gym almost every day and I see this, I see it play out every I'll see the guys come in and they bring their girlfriends and you know they look, the girls just look lost. You know, I would say that if you are starting a health journey at the gym, these big box gyms can be very intimidating, but I promise you that nobody cares, nobody there is judging you. In fact, I think most people are encouraging and again I would say either hire someone like a trainer or join those classes. I taught fitness classes for over 20 years and I loved it and it always seemed to help. People find you, make friends there and there's always people in there that are novices like you are.

Speaker 2:

But you've just got to get your head wrapped around the fact that being physically fit is so important for our overall life and for longevity and I hate to just sound like this, but you got to get over it. You've just got to. If you have that attitude and you're just going to quit because you might feel a little intimidated, you're only hurting yourself, because I believe people at the gym are willing to help. Like I'll see someone struggling, like especially women. I'll go over there and say do you mind if I just give you a tip, you know, and I'll help them out, and they're so happy.

Speaker 2:

Right, you can also in my book I kind of break down how to build a home gym. Right, you can also in my book I kind of break down how to build a home gym. So if you're someone that just doesn't want to go to the gym yet you know there's so much easy stuff you can buy on Amazon and then you've got your phone that has YouTube and workout videos and things like that Find a friend. It's always good to find a gym buddy, especially women who can go together. I've always had gym buddy to train with my friends and it always works. So you just got to try to find ways around that and get some self-confidence Exactly and accountability.

Speaker 2:

Partner around fitness and around all of that is so important, michelle, I want to ask you when did your passion and purpose really align?

Speaker 1:

Because I think that's so important for people listening to know, because it doesn't have to happen that you know there's no deadline on that. Your passion and purpose all of a sudden can intersect when you're in your 60s and you're like, have this aha moment of this is what I want to do. When did that happen for you?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so after my third daughter was born and I quit working and I was a stay-at-home mom, I joined the gym just so, mainly so I could get an hour break, because, you know, the gyms will have that daycare center. I don't know, but I was. They had a sign-up sheet one day and they were looking for spinning instructors. Now I think I'd only taken one spin class in my life and I stood there and looked at that paper and I don't know. I have faith, so I don't know if it was the Holy Spirit speaking to me, but I heard that's what you should do and I'm thinking even to myself. But it just came. I felt this calling right and that started me on this journey of fitness instructor and I think, well, to get me to the point I'm at today, it has taken many, you know, many different aha moments in many years. But I think sometimes we hear that voice but we just turn it off because we think I can't do that right. And I know that I come across to people as I'm so confident. And you know you and I have been on the same show here in Tampa.

Speaker 2:

You know I am scared every time and I was scared for years every time I would teach a class, you know, and you're always going to have the naysayers. You're always going to have people that talk you out of it. Even your own family will try and talk you out of things. I think you just have to connect with that inner voice and if something's pulling you and telling you to do something, you've got to try it. I was scared to write this book. I didn't know if I could do something like that, and that came later on, of course, and I wish I could give you this definite answer. But I think that it's just. There's this moment in time where you just something is presented to you. You think it seems like something you could do and you're either going to say I'm going to do it or you're going to say I can't do it, don't listen to that negative voice Exactly and you know what that inner critic is so loud.

Speaker 1:

I say it so often it's so noisy, but that inner cheerleader has just got to overtake it and it's got to be loud and proud and do it. And there's know there is no, there's no judgment, you know there's no timeline. It's not like, if you want to write a book, great, but if you just want to journal, and that's something that's really empowering to you do it, and I think that's where so many people get stuck.

Speaker 1:

They don't. They just think there's too many judges, there's too many people thinking that they can't do it, and you know, self-doubt and all of those limiting beliefs come in. So I love that you know, we got to be fearless. That's what we have to do, and and I'm sure you say this with your kids and grandkids too what's the worst case scenario, right? What's the worst case, right? I?

Speaker 2:

saw one copy in my book.

Speaker 1:

All right. Well, one person benefited from it. That's better than zero.

Speaker 2:

You know, and trust me, I have failed at things many times and I've cried about things and I've been like gosh. I just came across as stupid today I don't know what. You know, we have to go through those things to grow, and I think the great thing about being around 50 years old is we do kind of tend to get like this not that I don't care attitude, but a little bit of confidence comes with the years. So, you know, I would say age is not a factor in anything either. You know, especially for women, keep trying. If there's something that's been nagging at you for years, do it.

Speaker 1:

Try it. I love it, you know, and I want to give a little shout out to Maggie Rodriguez and Gail Gallardo, because they are just such incredible women and you know. Maggie gets up at 5.30 in the morning and exercises every day before she's on, and I know Gail's fitness journey is so amazing. And you find those people in your life. I always call them unexpected treasures. Those are two women in my life that came in unexpectedly.

Speaker 2:

Same with me.

Speaker 1:

They add value in such a way. That is incredible. I know, and.

Speaker 2:

Gail has become my friend. We go to church together and Maggie, we laugh because we're both Cuban, so we always laugh because she says she has to really try not to talk with her hands. And the same with me. It's like I have to tie my hands behind my back because this is me all the time. I love it, but they are amazing women and I just love women at this age too it's and you know, I listened to your friends podcast and we may not have a ton of friends, but we have, you know, quality friends and we can continue to make friends in our older age Exactly, and I think that comes to a point in this show today where we have to realize that when you admire somebody, reach out to them, you know, encourage them, acknowledge them and, michelle, you certainly do that with everything that you do.

Speaker 1:

Before we leave today and we're certainly running out of time, I highly recommend your book. You know, what I love about it is it's very no-nonsense, it's really, it's an easy read, but at the end of the day, it's so practical and it's things that we can incorporate right away, so I love that. Oh, thank you, michelle. Before we leave today, I'm going to ask you that question that I ask on every episode, and that is Michelle, if you're sitting on the couch and you look over and there you are, at 30, what advice would you give her?

Speaker 2:

Oh, wow, 30. I already had three kids. I would say, gosh, just don't be so hard on yourself, you don't have to figure everything out right. Then and there I would tell her to just it's okay to have bad days, it's okay to have good days, it's okay to fail, but just don't give up on your dreams, and just you don't have to have it all figured out. I said 30 years old boy. I just I would say maybe I was so naive. It's tough to talk to that person because I feel like I can't connect to her anymore because she was so long ago for me. But I would just tell her I didn't have faith back then. I grew up Catholic. I would say find some faith, believe in something more than yourself, look at the big picture of just the beauty of life. Stop and just take some time for yourself. I think that's what I would tell her.

Speaker 1:

Treat yourself as a guest of honor, michelle. I love that. Yes, thank you so much for being on. We could talk about so many more things, but you gave us so many great, tangible tips around managing our stress, sleep, hydration, nutrition all of those things that are little things.

Speaker 2:

we can reframe in our everyday life and become our inner cheerleader again and silence that and I want to just touch real quick before we leave back to the fitness For women, our age, we really need to focus on weight training more than just endless cardio. So we want to start to do weights because our hormones are depleted and that's going to build our hormones back up. So don't be afraid to hit the weights and don't be afraid to lift heavy.

Speaker 1:

I love that, michelle. I got to have you back, you got to come in studio and we got to do a little something, because we didn't even get into menopause. But Michelle Koff, thank you so much for being my guest today and look forward to seeing you.

Speaker 2:

Thank you, Amy.

Speaker 1:

All right, okay, thank you so much. Thanks so much for listening today. We know how valuable your time is and that's why we keep it short and sweet. Don't forget to follow us on all the socials, and you can check out all the links and resources in the show notes. Until next time, go forth and be awesome.