Fit Strong Women Over 50

In episode 181, we talk with the former editor of Women's Health, Liz Possler, about the importance of protein and amino acids for women in midlife for aging well, maintaining muscle, losing weight, and for overall longevity.

We discuss:

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In this vibrant and laughter-filled episode, we’re joined by Yvonne Marchese—a true “Age Agitator” and host of the Late Bloomer Living Podcast. Yvonne is also the author of In Full Bloom: A Guide to Aging Playfully, a professional photographer, speaker, and co-founder of the Age Agitators Club. She's on a mission to flip the script on aging and show us that midlife can be a launchpad, not a slowdown.

We dive deep into Yvonne’s inspiring personal journey of reinvention—from fearing invisibility to embracing roller skates, paddle boards, and bold dreams. She shares h her perspect...

In episode 179, Jill and Chris speak with Lisa Goldberg, a nutritionist, mindset and weight loss expert. She with a master’s degree in Clinical Nutrition from New York University. 

Lisa has been coaching busy, high achieving professionals to lasting weight loss for over 20 years. 
Her work focuses on teaching her clients how to break their self-sabotaging eating patterns and change their unhealthy relationship with food by making cognitive habit and behavioral changes. Through this mindshift work they lose their unwanted weight and learn how to keep it off for good. She coaches her clients remotely in the...

Jill and Chris interview Dr. Paul Kolodzik, who uses the technology of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in his metabolic health practice.

With the use of CGMs, he helps his patients achieve weight loss and improved health. He has also integrated the prudent use of the new weight loss medications into his practice.

His new book: The Continuous Glucose Monitoring Revolution, presents a comprehensive program for metabolic health success using CGMs and limited use of weight loss medications.

Dr. Kolodzik graduated from the University of Notre Dame and completed medical school and residency at...

Mary Newell is a 74 year old runner who started running at 55 and never stopped. She is a mostly retired clinical psychologist. Her two passions are running and travel. She combines them as much as possible.

We were introduced to Mary by Wendy Battles, the host of the Reinvention Rebels podcast. Mary’s story is inspiring and we really wanted to talk with her on the Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast.

More info at our website: Becoming Elli

In episode 176, Chris and Jill speak with Laurie Lewis, an Intermittent Fasting and Wellness Coach.  With intermittent fasting as the foundation, Laurie teaches how to break free from the punishment-diet paradigm we live in. She shows how to tune into our body’s inner compass, have a daily eating window, and experience improvements in every aspect of our lives.

Laurie has Health Coach Certification from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Her company is called Fast Forward Intermittent Fasting and she offers customized coaching services. 

We discuss:

In episode 175, Jill and Chris speak with Sally Duplantier, a gerontologist, health educator and researcher.

She founded her current company, Zing, with a mission to help older adults live their best lives longer through better lifestyle choices and health equity. She is passionate about increasing Healthspan—the number of years we are free of chronic disease and disability.

Sally returned to school in her 60s. She received an MS in gerontology from the University of Southern California and a graduate certificate in Qualitative Research from Indiana University. She was recently accepted into a doctoral program at...

When we saw what Jill Johnson posted on social media at the beginning of this year, we knew we wanted to talk with her! 

Three years ago, she was not walking -- fast forward to the end of 2024 when she was able to pull a sled with 4 plates  equaling 245 pounds for nearly 50 feet across the gym floor!

The video she posted is inspirational too!

She attributes her success to surrounding herself with the right people: a strongman competitor who saw her potential and a coach who knew how to unlock it.

Sh...

In episode #173, Jill and Chris talk with Kerstin Schulze, a powerhouse in both entertainment and wellness. 

Originally from Germany, Kerstin’s journey began with a silver medal at the Junior Olympics in Berlin. From there, she pursued her love for performance with formal theater training and a business degree before making her way to Los Angeles.

Kerstin’s acting career is extensive. She’s worked with many well-known actors and directors. Her IMDb page is impressive.

She founded Party and Diet 24 years ago –  an innovative fitness company that specializes in providing tailored nutritional and exerci...

In episode #172 Jill and Chris explore quick go-to dinners that are easy to make and healthy for those nights that you are rushed and tempted to make less healthy choices.

We feature go to dinners from:

We met Karen when she joined our Becoming Elli private facebook group. She has such a compelling story, we asked her to be a guest on our podcast.

Karen Clark-Snitchler is a Music Director and Conductor. She has an impressive list of plays and musicals that she has music directed. By day, Karen is a music teacher. She also started a “Girls on the Run” club at her elementary school.

Karen has lost over 100 pounds and become an athlete. She runs and strength trains.

In 2020, Karen’s husband died suddenly of a heart attack...

Suzanne Fowler is a regular listener to the Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast and a member of the Becoming Elli Community. She watched her parents' health decline and decided to prepare for the aging process. Chris and Jill spoke with Suzanne about how she recently re-invented herself and now lives in an active and engaging environment. 

In this episode we talk about getting started with strength training and progressing to the next level.

For more information visit our website at BecomingElli.com

In this episode, we talk together about the successes and challenges of 2024. We realize that everyone is on their own fitness and health journey. Not everything works for everyone, but by following the Becoming Elli community and listening to the Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast, you'll come away inspired, motivated and having a good sense of what you want to do to stay fit and strong.

Some of the highlights of 2024 included some interviews with interesting guests, learning about new techniques at Podcast Movement 2024 and trying new challenges like eating the rainbow.

For more information...

Pat Bissell talks with Jill and Chris about how she found her passion and has consistently found ways to stay healthy and fit. 

A long time friend of Chris's, Pat describes herself as a very active mature female. She has been active her whole life always enjoying sports, exercise classes and strength training for the past 25 years.

For more info and links visit our website at BecomingElli.com

In episode 167, Jill and Chris talk with Adina O’Neill, the founder and head coach at Team B*REAL, an endurance sport community where athletes of any size, color, identity, age & ability are empowered to achieve their personal goals. 

She helps her clients to build confidence, define their own goals, go at their own pace and stand out despite believing they may not fit in. 

Adina is a marathon swimmer and triathlete who has completed over 100 endurance events including the Paris Marathon, ice swims, a 13-mile swim, IRONMAN Mont Tremblant, and a 200 mile single day bike...

Henry Howard found running in his early 40s when he set out to achieve a bucket-list goal: run a marathon. 

Since then he has finished more than 40 marathons and ultras, including four 100-milers. Along the way, he has qualified for the Boston Marathon twice, become a running coach and launched his RunSpirited website. 

As a running coach, he guides awesome runners of all experience levels, backgrounds and fitness to achieve their amazing goals. 

As a professional writer and editor, he has merged his background with his passion for running and desire to give bac...

In episode 165, Jill and Chris speak with award-winning nutritionist and author, Nicki Williams.

She is the founder of Happy Hormones for Life, helping women of all ages to rebalance their hormones, reclaim their health and feel better than ever.

After failing to find any medical help for her health issues in your early 40’s, she discovered that she could turn things around using diet, lifestyle and natural supplements.

For links and more information visit our website: BecomingElli.com

Jill and Chris talk with Pat Spencer, owner of Getting Your Mind in Gear, who helps endurance athletes hone the mental skills needed to achieve their endurance sports goals.

Pat is an avid gravel cyclist, former long course triathlete, marathoner, and open water swimmer. A licensed clinical social worker and a therapist with a private practice in central New Jersey, she has worked in mental health for 25+ years in a variety of settings, including directly with clients, as a supervisor, as a adjunct professor and providing a number of professional trainings.

In 2022, she decided to c...

In episode 163, Jill and Chris talk with Kim Vopni, a leading authority in health & fitness coaching for women with pelvic floor dysfunction and is known as The Vagina Coach.

She has helped thousands of women learn how to do pelvic floor exercises, ditch the incontinence pads,  eliminate their prolapse symptoms and get back to living life to the fullest!

Kim is a certified fitness professional who became passionate about spreading information on pelvic health when she was pregnant with her first child.  She is the author of 2 books – Prepare to Push – What Your Pelvic Floor and Ab...

Jill and Chris talk with Jackie Errico, a nationally certified strength and conditioning coach, a certified personal trainer, and co-owner of Just Lift Fitness training studios located in the Chicago area. 

Jackie focuses on helping women gain confidence in their bodies. She educates women on the physical and mental benefits of strength training and how to fuel bodies with the right food; teach them how to lift weights properly and safely; and help them create a fitness and nutrition game plan so that they can achieve the results they deserve.

For more info see our B...

Great conversation with Dr. Woods about bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, the effects of menopause on weight loss and her advice for women 50 and over. A functional medicine doctor, Dr. Makaila Woods has Double Board Certification with the American Board of Obesity Medicine, and the American Board of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

We discuss:

160 - Elite Athlete Bree Lambert

Bree Lambert is a personal trainer, running coach, nutritionist and ultra runner. She has been pursuing endurance sports since her teenage years, starting with road triathlon, Xterra off-road triathlon and now ultra running.

Bree completed her first 50K in 2005 and since then has completed distances from 50k to 100 miles. Each finish represents hundreds of hours of training, dedication and mental preparation.

Bree coaches other runners to achieve their goals while providing personal training services to both runners and non-runners alike in San Jose, California and online.

...

In episode 159 of the Fit Strong Women Over 50 Podcast, Jill and Chris talk with Alicia Jones who helps transform the health and the lives of women over 40 through her fitness and weight loss strategies. 

She has a B.A in Kinesiology and has many certifications, including National Coach of Canada (NCCP), Advanced Sport Nutrition, Certified Group Fitness Instructor, and Personal Training Specialist: Canfit-pro.

Alicia has appeared on various health and wellness television programs and produced and hosted Health Matters and The View: Health and Wellness On Rogers TV.

For more information and links, v...

In Food Finds with Chris and Jill, they discuss various websites and ideas for food challenges. They talk about what they love to eat in the summer and where they get inspiration. 

For links and more info visit the Becoming Elli website.

In episode 157, Jill and Chris talk with Elaine Glass, author, speaker and personal coach.

For over a decade, Elaine has helped countless people unlock their truest selves. She works with them to find purpose, peace, and self-empowerment.

Elaine’s newest book, Get Quiet: 7 Simple Paths to the Truth of Who You Are, is a guide to healing and transforming yourself inspired by the classical form of the labyrinth.

For more information, see our website at BecomingElli.com.

The Power of Pushing Limits at Any Age with Gwendolyn Bounds

Gwendolyn Bounds is an award-winning journalist and author of NOT TOO LATE: The Power of Pushing Limits at Any Age.

A few months shy of her 47th birthday, author and journalist Gwendolyn Bounds asked herself, “How is it possible to become good at something when you are already far behind and time isn’t on your side?”  

Her intimate story takes us from playgrounds and gyms, where Bounds trains among children and athletes half her age, to far-flung Spartan Race courses – including the vast...

In episode 155, Jill and Chris speak with Glenn Scott Livingston, Ph.D. about dealing with food cravings. He was the long time CEO of a multi-million dollar consulting firm which has serviced several Fortune 500 clients in the food industry. 

Disillusioned by what traditional psychology had to offer overweight and/or food obsessed individuals, Dr. Livingston spent several decades researching the nature of bingeing and overeating via work with his own clients AND a self-funded research program with more than 40,000 participants. He earned his Ph.D. in psychology in 1991.

His work has appeared in ma...

In episode 154, Jill and Chris speak with Maddy Dychtwald, an internationally acclaimed author, public speaker, and thought leader on longevity, aging, the new retirement, and the ascent of women. 

She co-founded Age Wave, the world’s leader in understanding and addressing the far-reaching impacts of our aging population. 

She is the author of "Ageless Aging: A Woman’s Guide to Increasing Healthspan, Brainspan, and Lifespan" published by the Mayo Clinic Press. 

Maddy has been featured in Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, Newsweek, Time, Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, Fox Business News, CNBC, and NPR, and others...

In episode 153, we feature an encore presentation of one of the inspiring stories of Fit Strong Women Over 50.

This episode was first released five years ago as episode 31. We wanted to revisit this episode for our listeners who may not have had the opportunity to hear the story of this inspiring woman. 

Enjoy! 

More details at our website: BecomingElli.com

In episode 152 of the Fit Strong women Over 50 Podcast, Jill and Chris speak with Becoming Elli member, Maria Molvin about how she finds strategies to stay healthy and fit as she ages.

Balancing work, family obligations, focusing on healthy eating, prioritizing sleep, and finding time to be active can be challenging. Maria lives in Northeast Ohio with her husband. She takes advantage of all the great local metro parks and the Cuyahoga Valley National Park to walk and hike.

We discussed:

Episode #151 Get More Fit with Kathy Murray

Kathy Murray is a certified personal trainer with over thirty years’ experience in the fitness industry.

She is a graduate of The Ohio State University where she was a member of the 1983 National Cheerleading Championship Team. After college she competed in and won the United States Aerobic Championship in 1986 and spent the year traveling the world as a Fitness Ambassador.

Kathy worked as a free-lance educator to teach fitness to European Instructors. While in Munich, she coached the Munich Cowboys (American Football) Cheerleaders to six...

In episode 150, Jill McCauslin and Chris Brown interview Chris Freytag, the founder of Get Healthy U and Get Healthy U TV.

Chris Freytag has been teaching, training, writing books, creating DVD’s, and speaking on the subject of health and fitness for the last 30 years.

Get Healthy U TV is a streaming website with workouts for midlife women. They have over 700 workouts for all levels and ages. You can access the workouts on your computer, smart phone, Roku, Fire TV and the Get Healthy U app.

Get Healthy U is the sister fitness hu...

In episode 149, Jill and Chris talk with Emily and Mitchell Clionsky, the authors of Dementia Prevention: Using Your Head to Save Your Brain. Their book is the culmination of 45 years of extensive clinical evaluation and treatment. 

A husband-and-wife team, they have a combined 70 years of professional and clinical experience in medicine and neuropsychology and have treated 20,000 patients.

Emily Clionsky, MD, completed residencies in internal medicine and in psychiatry, and is a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. 

Mitchell Clionsky, PhD, is a board-certified neuropsychologist who specializes in evaluating and treating pa...

Amy Wilson is a Board-Certified Geriatric Pharmacist, a certified fitness professional, and a certified nutrition coach. She helps people prevent and reverse diseases with nutrition and fitness. 

Amy believes diet and exercise can change a person’s life, and how the right nutritional program can be the key to improving health and fitness. She has seen her clients reverse their pre-diabetes, diabetes, high cholesterol, and more. 

Amy uses a holistic approach to health to help her clients feel in control of their bodies and minds, while no longer feeling enslaved by their scale.

For...

Kim Rahir is a 60-year-old mother of three who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) 10 years ago. She decided to ignore her then doctor's advice... muscle her way back to a happy life...  and in 2023, become the European Champion in Masters Weightlifting in her age and weight category.

Her journey inspired her to leave her career in journalism in her 50s and become a health coach for middle aged women - with a big focus on reactivating and rebuilding muscle.

Today, Kim helps women tap into an abundant source of vitality by reactivating and maintaining t...

In episode 146, Jill and Chris talk with Heike Yates, a Midlife Mindset and Fitness Coach, a powerhouse in fitness, nutrition, and mindset with over 35 years of expertise. She breaks down the complexities of midlife wellness into simple, actionable steps you can start taking action today. But don’t mistake her for someone helping you get by in midlife—Heike’s all about helping you thrive.

She’s transforming not just bodies but lives with her unique approach to getting active, eating right, and boosting energy. When she’s not coaching or behind the mic, catch her outdoors, pushing he...

In episode 145, the hosts of Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast talk about the lessons they've learned for healthy living over the past six years. Chris and Jill also launch the 2024 Eating the Rainbow Challenge, while reflecting on 2023 and look forward to 2024.

In this episode we discuss:

In episode 144, Jill and Chris talk with Wendy Battles,the host of the Reinvention Rebels podcast.

Wendy interviews women between the ages of 50-90, who have reinvented themselves later in life. From traveling solo around the world with a carry-on bag at 60, to running in global marathons at 71, to launching a modeling career at 72, these women are boldly making their dreams a priority and reality.

During the day, Wendy is a Cybersecurity Awareness expert at Yale University and by night she pursues her passion for celebrating, illuminating and elevating midlife and older women.  At 58, Wendy i...

In episode 142, Jill and Chris talk with Sarah Koszyk, MA, RDN. She is an award-winning Registered Dietitian and Sports Nutritionist and the co-founder of MIJA Naturals, a green beauty wellness company,  As a Registered Dietitian and Food & Nutrition Expert, Sarah understands the power that food has on our bodies. She knows that consuming the right foods can enhance one’s beauty, nourish one’s soul, and restore one’s health.

She works in the San Francisco Bay Area of California with technology firm CEOs, executives, and employees, Bay Area families, as well as professional, elite, and collegiate athlete...