Ep.85 Changing Things Up - Making 2024 Your Healthiest Year Yet

Embarking on a fresh journey of self-discovery and growth, I take to the mic with a heart full of gratitude for the past year's learnings and eyes set on the horizon of health transformation for midlife women. 

As we wave goodbye to 2023, we revisit the wisdom imparted by Dr. Nicole Lovat on hormone replacement therapy, dive into the intricacies of bone health with Rebecca Rotstein, sit in the comforting circle of mental well-being with Dr. Laurie Little, and navigate the healthcare maze with guidance from Susan Salenger. These conversations were more than interviews; they are the building blocks for the exciting year we're stepping into.

I'm taking you with me on a very personal journey through macro nutrition coaching, sharing the profound impact of intentional fitness modifications, and underscoring the pillars of protein, hydration, and sleep in our daily lives. The journey is honest: I open up about reducing my alcohol intake, the liberating effects it's had on my life, and how hormone replacement therapy has been a game-changer. Your stories, your health ventures are the fuel for this year's episodes, so let's amplify the chorus of midlife triumphs— please share the podcast, leave your thoughts, and join in as we chart a course through the health and wellness landscapes that matter most to us all.

I'd love to work with you! Let me help you reach your health and fitness goals.
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Transcript

Michele Folan: 0:07

Health, wellness, fitness relationships and everything in between. We're removing the taboo from what really matters in midlife. I'm your host, michelle Fohlen, and this is Asking for a Friend. Welcome to the show, everyone. I am really excited to kick off 2024 with a solo show. I haven't done one of these in a long time and I thought you know what. This is kind of perfect. We'll review 2023, talk about some of the top shows of the year and then let's dig into 2024 and what that may look like. You'll see there'll be a common theme here and how the podcast may shift a little bit. It's all good, but you'll see when I get there.

Michele Folan: 1:00

First of all, if you're new to the show if this could be the first show you're listening to I should probably introduce myself. My name is Michelle Fohlen. I am 59 years old, I'm a mom, I'm a wife, I am a director of Inside Sales, where I do a lot of coaching, but my background was very heavy in the health and wellness area. So you'll see, I'm very passionate about health and wellness for midlife women and I'm also a bit of a fitness enthusiast. So it kind of all came together as my creative outlet, but it's become way more than that as the show has grown, we're currently in the top 2.5% of podcast globally and I'm proud of that. It's exciting. We want to continue to grow and so your support and your shares mean the world to me.

Michele Folan: 2:00

I wanted to look back at the top shows of 2023. And what's interesting is I can't pick a top show, but you all did, based on your downloads, and the number one show of 2023 was In the Know on Hormone Facts and the Weight Loss Connection. It's with Dr Nicole Lovett, and Dr Nicole Lovett is highly trained in hormone replacement therapy and she really brought to the show some new and interesting thoughts that we hadn't really discussed on the show before. That show still tends to get downloads every single week. Highly recommend you go back and listen to that one if you haven't already. We'll continue to address menopause on the show. That's really at the heart of midlife and a lot of health concerns, so look for more shows that will bring more experts there.

Michele Folan: 2:59

The second most downloaded show was Got Buff Bones the science of strength and movement to protect our bones and that was with Rebecca Rotstein. I got diagnosed with osteoporosis this year and the timing was kind of serendipitous because I asked Rebecca to be on the show, and then I got diagnosed with the osteoporosis so I had a ton of questions for her around that and I think we all know this because we hear this so much. But just the importance of impact exercise Weight-bearing is great, but it's not enough impact and then, of course, weight-bearing exercise. So that's a really good podcast to listen to. I think my biggest takeaway from that was bone density, and bone density tests are not always an indication of imminent fracture, but you still want to make sure you're getting your bone density test.

Michele Folan: 4:00

The third most downloaded show was your mental well-being and midlife with Dr Laurie Little. Dr Laurie Little and I had done what I would call maybe a live podcast live interview in front of a large group of women at a fundraiser that supports the Limiter Center of Hope here in Cincinnati, where I live. The conversation was so well received, dr Little and I decided to go ahead and record a podcast and put it out on the show. We touched on so many different aspects of mental health with midlife women and I want to try to minimize the stigma not only around mental health and mental illness, but also let's be supportive of those that are going and seeking therapy and getting help. Whether it's coaching or therapy, whatever it is, it's okay to say, hey, I need a little extra help. I can't handle this all on my own. I need an unbiased set of ears to listen and to give me some guidance.

Michele Folan: 5:08

The fourth most downloaded show of 2023 was how women manage and mismanage their health, and that was with Susan Salinger. She's an author, she wrote the book of the same title and we all talk about being our own best advocate, but there are ways to really navigate the healthcare system. What was so interesting was, shortly after she was on the show, she got some feedback, some negative feedback about the title of her book. It was how women manage and mismanage their health, and she didn't mean for it to be negative or to drum up any kind of controversy, but she got enough of it that she ended up changing the title of her book. I told her I didn't think she should change the title of her book because it struck a nerve or a chord with people, but anyway, now the name of her book is sidelined how Women Can Navigate a Broken Healthcare System. Just so you know, if you go out and look for Susan's book, after listening to the podcast, it's no longer titled that, so I just wanted to let you know that. But she was such a special guest she was in her 80s, you would never know it. That woman takes great care of herself and she is truly an example of what your life can look like if you take really great care of yourself.

Michele Folan: 6:37

So you're seeing a theme here. We talk about the top four shows and they all have to do with health and wellness. So when I started thinking about, okay, which direction do I want the show to take, I've decided in 2024 to really continue down that path and really focus on health and wellness topics for midlife women. I probably won't be talking a lot about career and those sorts of topics, although those do come up again kind of organically, because all of my guests have these really interesting careers and career paths that have taken them from where they were to where they are today. In addition to doctors and health experts, I am also inviting women, just like you and me, to the show to share their own health and fitness journeys. I find these women incredibly inspiring and brave. They're putting themselves out there in the name of motivating others and I know you're going to enjoy meeting each and every one of them.

Michele Folan: 7:46

I'm really excited about this path for lots of reasons and I've talked about my own health journey a lot this year and I want to share because I really do think I am a lot like you are. You know, my life is probably not a whole lot different from what you experienced day after day and also in regards to what's going on with your body, and I've had many, many aha moments with these guests on my show and has been really motivating for me. I would say my health journey began early in my adulthood, but it was during COVID that I really started to hone in on some things. We'll talk about that in a sec. But these guests I'm telling you it's just really opened my eyes to things that we all need to be paying attention to. I, for one, have set the goal of wanting to make sure that I can get up off the floor when I am 86 years old. If I should fall, I want to be able to get up off the floor unassisted. That is a really important goal for me, and I know some people laugh. They're like really I'm not doing this for 59 years old, I'm doing this for 86 years old. So all the changes that I've made over the last year and a half two years and plus are to get to that place. Interestingly, this topic came up last night at a party. There was some true concern around whether or not many of us would be able to get ourselves up off the floor if we fell. Now my friends are my age or older, so many of them well into their 60s and I did hear women saying, hey, I'm doing this, I'm doing that, I'm working on this aspect of my physical well-being and it's refreshing to hear this, that we're having these conversations, because we probably need to talk about it.

Michele Folan: 9:51

I went and got myself a little bit of coaching this year myself. I got some macro nutrition coaching and also got some coaching around how I was working out, because what I was doing was no longer working. I've always been a little bit of a gym rat. I loved going to spinning class. I am an admitted cardio junkie, but what I started noticing over the last five, six years is that high-intensity cardio wasn't doing me any favors. I really wasn't seeing any results. The way I was eating wasn't horrible I ate pretty well, I would say but the balance of what I was eating and when I was eating probably wasn't great.

Michele Folan: 10:41

So part of this macro nutrition coaching that I went through really did focus. It's a heavy, heavy focus on protein, but just a good balance of carbs and fiber and fats. You would think it's all really intuitive and it should be, but and honestly, this should not be complicated right. What I do now is I eat with an inside out focus. So I think about what I'm eating hey, is this good for me, is this gonna fuel me? Is this gonna make me feel good, give me energy? And the answer is no. You know what? I probably just skip it. But getting enough protein can be super challenging and I know that. But I have kind of figured out my sweet spot of where to get my protein what foods I like that are really high in protein. It is possible to get 100 plus grams of protein a day.

Michele Folan: 11:39

The other thing is water. You think you're getting enough fluids during the day, but if you really start measuring what you're drinking, a lot of us are falling short of that and I know we all have big Stanley water mugs and whatever. But I think that awareness around just being a more intentional around my fluid intake has been super important for me. It's really helped with my energy level as well. And then the other thing is sleep. You know, I know we all struggle with sleep at times. I've started taking magnesium and that really has helped me a lot.

Michele Folan: 12:17

But the big thing was just getting getting alcohol out of my life, or really minimizing alcohol. And I've been very, very open about alcohol and being sober curious. And the sober curious stuff really started even before COVID. I'd go, you know, a week here, a week there, no drinking whatever. But during COVID, when we were drinking a lot more than we normally would have, I thought I don't like this anymore. This is not doing me any good. I don't feel great. It's zapping my energy during the day and, honestly, really screwing with my sleep. So I did sober October this year, oh, and I had done a 21 day challenge with an online group back in 2020. And then I did sober October in 2023.

Michele Folan: 13:14

And I highly recommend, if you're on the fence around your alcohol intake, highly, highly recommend you do some kind of a dry January or something where you get to see how your body feels without alcohol, because you don't understand the benefits of not drinking. If it's just for a day or two, you don't really get to feel that full effect. Alcohol's a depressant and if you have a bunch of wine on a Saturday night, your body still may feel that on a Monday or Tuesday. That depressive feeling doesn't just go away on Sunday. And also the sleep benefit. You may not realize a sleep benefit right away. That's another thing that you might wanna think about as well. But I feel so much better.

Michele Folan: 14:15

I did drink a little bit over the holiday and I will tell you the next day. I'll be like why did I do that? I really didn't need to. I've proven to myself that I don't need to drink in social situations. I went to three holiday parties and didn't drink at any of them. But on Christmas Eve I had my family here and we had wine and whatever. All I'm trying to say is I'm not an all or nothing kind of gal. If you still want to have your glass of wine or whatever, I'm totally okay with that, and this is a no judgment zone. But they are saying now that there is no safe level of alcohol and that really has hit home with me. And again, I keep learning more and more from my guests on the show and I just feel this has just been a big game changer for me, so I hope you're getting the same thing out of my guests as I am, because I really have benefited.

Michele Folan: 15:13

Another big change for me this year was getting my hormones adjusted. I had a full hysterectomy in 2021, I think and I never really got my hormones really dialed in. This year I did, and again, it was based on all these great conversations with doctors on my show and I was able to ask the right questions and get the right tests done to hone in on where my hormone levels needed to be. Again, it's about advocating for yourself. Hopefully, this will also help with my osteoporosis diagnosis. It's helped with my sleep, so the benefits of HRT even at 59, can be far reaching. Again, it's not for everyone. You have to check with your own doctors, your own healthcare providers, to see if you're a candidate for HRT, but it's been really great for me. So, with the areas of health and wellness being most important to our listeners, just based on downloads, I'm going to continue to have experts in their fields to address the topics and issues most important to you, and I just feel that this is really the path I wanna continue to take with the show. Hopefully, we'll continue to grow our audience.

Michele Folan: 16:40

I really do depend on you all. I have two favors to ask. First of all, will you please share the podcast with at least one person in your life, someone that you know could benefit from the discussions that we're having? My second favor is if you could please write a review or rate the show, particularly if you listen to the show on Spotify or Apple iTunes. There are opportunities to do that on other platforms as well, but those are the two biggies. I will tell you, those ratings and those reviews really do help us get discovered by other listeners. So I really really appreciate it. And then just continue to follow us on social media outlets. On Instagram and Facebook. I try to post as often as I can. It's challenging working full-time because I really have to make that my priority, but again, I'm just really looking forward to a great 2024.

Michele Folan: 17:42

I wish everybody health and happiness going into this new year and, as you sit and you start to think about New Year's resolutions and those types of things, just be kind to yourself. Do things in the name of self-care. It's not about a diet or a cleanse. It's a lifestyle, and it's one that'll support you into your 20, 30 years from now. Think of it that way, not the quick fix. I am open to suggestions. So if you have topics or ideas for shows for the future, please let me know. I am open to hearing your ideas and suggestions for future shows. Thank you again for listening to Asking for a Friend and happy New Year. ["song of the Year"]. Follow Asking for a Friend on social media outlets and provide a review and share this show wherever you get your podcasts. Reviews and sharing help us grow.