Tracking Progress in Midlife: How to reach your health and fitness goals after 45

What does Progress mean to you?
In this episode we look at progress. How is it different in midlife than it was in your 20's and 30's? How do you measure it?
Cam and Amelia have some great tips. Things to boost your confidence but also things that make you think.
Join us for this informative episode and see notes below for a definite way to makes some progress with your health and fitness goals using Cam's Move the Dial Method.

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Move the Dial Method is an online fitness and health community for midlife woman

In this episode, you'll hear:

1. The importance of reframing your mindset around progress and goals, focusing on positive gains rather than negative gaps, and embracing setbacks as part of the journey to achieving progress in midlife.

2. The significance of recognizing and celebrating even minor accomplishments, as well as finding joy and gratitude in the present moment, and creating intentional, joyful living through practices such as meditation, journaling, and spending time with loved ones.

3. The holistic approach to life after 50, including managing weight, improving sleep, setting and achieving goals, and the impact of virtual connections and online friendships in expanding one's world and building meaningful relationships.



00:00 Investing in relationships and striving for progress.
04:47 Accept small gains, they're still significant.
07:25 Transition from running to walking for exercise.
12:37 Former CrossFit athlete and coach values journey.
16:17 Grateful for progress in daily activities and sleep.
17:42 Added short bursts of cardio to routine.
21:53 Body weight percentage varies; focus on health.
25:37 "Mouth breathing can lead to health issues."
27:21 Finding joy in everyday moments is important.
32:45 Community is essential for a joyful life.
33:51 Virtual meetings expand world, use positively, love connection.

Stay Connected!
Amelia

• Website: https://www.thehelpfulplate.com/
• IG: https://www.instagram.com/thehelpfulplate/

Cam

• Website: https://www.camoyler.com/
• IG: https://www.instagram.com/heymomma_cam/
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@heymomma_cam

Midlife Mommas IG: https://www.instagram.com/midlife.mommas/

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Transcript

0:04

What do you think when you hear that sound, Cam? I think it sounds like progress. Hi. I'm Cam, Holistic health coach, mom to 2 humans and 4 pets. Hi. I'm Amelia, Laboratory scientist by day and food scientist by night. Welcome to our show. Join us as we share our holistic approach to life after 50. You can expect real life stories with a dash of humor and a ton of truth. If it happens in midlife, we're going to talk about it. So hit that subscribe button and follow along. We're the Midlife Mommas Hi, everybody. Welcome to the show. We're gonna talk about progress in midlife. Like, what is it? How do we define it? Has it changed since you were 30? And I'm guessing probably. Absolutely. Cam, I was thinking about this over the last couple of weeks because, as we talked about before we hit record, we both got a lot going on, and I know a lot of my friends do. So when we think about progress, it's one of those words that I categorize kinda like success, that we think we know what it means, but maybe we don't. And so let's talk about what progress is in midlife. Yes. And I would say, is it a definition that you picked up and decided to carry around with you? Like, is it really truly your own? Like, what is progress? What is success? I don't know. It's time to analyze that now that we're in midlife. Yeah. Absolutely. And so, like, for me, there could be progress at work. Like, have I progressed in my marketing skills? Am I better at whatever developing whatever assets that my company has asked me to develop. Like, when I first got to the company, I did, I produced a video. And so what I'm able to do now is a lot better than what I used to do then. But that's just professional. We also have progress in regards to healthy living or strength training or just all there's all sorts of things we can use to apply this progress concept to. Yeah. And so all of these questions are relevant as we access our progress in midlife. Right? And just really getting to know yourself. So, you know, what is it? Do you have fitness goals? Do you have a a goal on the scale? A lot of people do. Maybe it's a relationship goal. Oh, absolutely. I love that because, you know, in midlife, maybe maybe you're a new empty nester and you want to reinvest in some friendships. Or or even if you're a a new empty nester, maybe you want to reinvest in your relationship with your significant other, your spouse. So I just love this topic because I think that no matter how old you are, that if you have goals, and I think all of our listeners are goal oriented people, you do want to to have progress or experience progress, even though we're older. You know, I'm never gonna be complacent, Cam. I'm never gonna accept that this is the way things are always gonna be because I always wanna be better. I 100% agree. And I think there's one more relationship that we need to add to the list and it's the relationship with ourselves. Amen. Like getting like like knowing ourselves and making progress to understand, like, what triggers us? What are our strengths? What lights us up? All those things, like, really understanding that. So that's progress too. Yeah. I love that you said that because I think that's probably the one where I need the most help and the one where I see, especially, our mothers and aunts and in laws, I think that's such a place of a deficit, honestly. You know, as I'm trying to help my mother-in-law navigate moving to a retirement home, she seems really not sure of who she is anymore, and that makes me sad. Well, I think it goes back to the identities that we picked up and carry around. It's like the mask. I'm a mask of a mother. I am a wife. I'm a triathlete. I am a CrossFitter. All those things that we decided to pick up and put on. And then when it gets down to it, like, is that really you? No. It's just a piece of you. Yeah. I totally agree. But it just feels like when we were in our 20s 30s when you and I were raising kids, progress was easier to define because we'd watch our children grow. Right? And I think that was so easy to define progress as, is my child now talking, walking, feeding themselves, and then, of course, you know, they graduate from high school and become adults. So we almost define our idea of my progress in life as defined by their developmental milestones, and that's gone. Like, there's none of that anymore. My kids are gone. A 100%. And I think it goes back to the mommas identity. Like Yeah. You put you put your money in that bucket, and now that bucket's grown up, and you're like, what? Who am I? What what what yeah. What is it? I a 100% agree with you. Right. And, you know, when we talk about midlife, we've talked about it a 1000 times where we say there's midlife awakening and where we have to be cognizant of the changes that happen in midlife. And so if you're if you didn't or if you haven't really paid attention to progress and what that looks like over the last 10 years and now you are, sometimes progress is small changes. So, you know, if whether it's fitness goals or weight management or, I don't know, 1 2 of the a couple of things we've talked about in recent episodes is like alcohol consumption. If you wanna cut down on your alcohol consumption, you know, one less drink a week is progress, whether it's alcohol or soda or what you know what I'm saying? Like so progress, I think, we need to be really accepting of small gains because they're still real. Yeah. And I would just like to say, like, there's something that happens. Your body starts changing. Your mind gets more forgetful. All the things happen, you know, as you go through perimenopause into menopause into postmenopause. And it's kind of like a wake up call. Like, what was always happening or what was the status quo needs to shake it. You gotta shake it up. And it's a chance to say, okay. Where am I progressing? Also, I wanna talk about the all or nothing mindset because I've you know, if you mess up, you don't have to wait until Monday. You don't have to, like, blow it all weekend and then start over. Like, you can literally make the next decision is progress to make you back on track. And so I think redefining what that looks like is okay. All or nothing doesn't serve you anymore. Probably did in your thirties or at least you thought it did. Do you agree with that? Yeah. I mean, and I think it was easier to start over because, you know, maybe may maybe things happened at a quicker rate. So if you went to a party and you ate all the yucky food and you felt £5 heavier, maybe you were, it was easier to, like, the next week, you know, pull that off, and now maybe it's not so much. So and I think that's a beautiful thing to define progress not not in all or nothing because that means you're never you don't fail. You know what I mean? Like, I think it's so easy when you have an all or nothing mentality to for it to for that to translate into success or failure. And in midlife, I heck. We made it this far. We certainly are failures. Right? Like, we made it this far. So we're we're success stories already. So those those progress notes or milestones may be small, but they're still there. Yeah. So when you get stuck or do you ever get still stuck in the all or nothing mindset? And, like, what shakes you out of that? How do you acknowledge your wins, like, when you're in that, list? I will I'll give you an example. It's not quite all or nothing, but it would it's a little unrealistic. I don't I think I've told this on air. I'm not actually sure. Probably about 2 or 3 months ago, I decided that through, like, what I almost consider therapy sessions, because that's what these are for me sometimes is therapy when we talk, I stopped running. You know, I think we had talked about, all of our listeners knew I was a triathlete, and my Saturday dates, which we're running every Saturday morning, are now walking dates. And so when I made that transition and I started to try to not just use my walking as, quote, exercise, but also moving my body, I got greedy. And I was like, oh, I need to be walking like x miles a week. And then when I didn't make that mileage, I was disappointed. Well, guess what? That doesn't mean anything. It's some arbitrary number of miles that I had set, and I had to realize this is silly, and it's tearing me down mentally and emotionally when I need to be just walking for enjoyment and movement, not to reach a a miles a mild marker kind of thing. Mhmm. Yeah. So it can be progress. It doesn't have to be like this outstanding goal and like with some arbitrary number in the Right. Exactly. I really like that. That's a very good reframe, if you will, because you're moving your body for other reasons. We have relationships, move your body to be outside, all the things. Right? Absolutely. And that's, you know, that's just another point in our notes about metrics are great until they become obsessive, and that's kinda where I was with that goal slash progress was that and I didn't even realize it, Cam. Like, I had just kind of arbitrarily picked a number because I was trying to move my body pretty much every day, certainly 5 or 6 days a week, even for a short period of time. And I quit I did some, like, pretend math, just figure out what that looked like in terms of miles, and then it there it was. And then after the next couple of weeks of not needing it and I felt bad about myself, I'm like, this is nuts. Like, you need to stop. So Right. Exactly. Because look at all the things that you did do. It reminds me of a book I'm reading. I'm mostly through it. It's called the gaps in the gains. And so when you focus on the gap, you're you're in lack like you you're missing, right? Instead of the gain and, like, looking at what you where you started, what you accomplished, and that's focusing on the positive, on the gain. So that's what it reminds me of. Yeah. And what you just described remind me, we're a couple of months, you know, post Easter, but during the Lenten season, people give up something. You know, the traditional Lenten is to give up. Whereas over the last probably 5 or 6 years, I've tried to reframe that as to add something positive like meditation or whatever. So I think anytime we can reframe something to be more positive or adding value rather than taking away or looking at deficit, it's always going to make you feel better and make you want to actually progress more. 100%. Yeah. Because are you moving away from pain or are you moving towards pleasure? Right. Unfortunately, 80% of people are motivated by moving away from pain, which hope really stinks, like, from a marketing point of view, and they only 20% move towards pleasure. So think about that. Yeah. Yeah. We're we're actually taught that. I mean, I don't have a marketing degree, but in my job, that's what I do, and they they actually teach us to exploit people's pain you know, pea I don't I don't mean general public. I mean, our customers. Like, when you're trying to sell something, pick on something that people find painful, and they will actively avoid that rather than, you know, making a change for good. And I find that fascinating psychology. Like, it it I don't even know if it's true, but that's what they're teaching. So, you know, it's true. Heard in my world too. So I think it must there must be something. And it's really hard because I'd rather move towards pleasure. That's just my personal preference. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, so some people really do struggle with metric. I I see that a lot in the women I coach. Like, sometimes they wanna track their their macronutrients and sometimes they don't. And I always check-in with them, like, how are you feeling mentally? Because that is a big part of it. If you do not enjoy the process, then we're gonna change the process. Right? Yeah. Absolutely. My daughter has been tracking macros, and I think she I don't know if she actually tracks calories or not, but she's not she's not in midlife, obviously. But she's lost some lost some weight, but it's taken her a significant amount of time. So we did have a conversation about the idea that this is progress. If she wants it faster, maybe she needs to dial in a little bit more, but that's a choice. And that's the beautiful thing about any time of life, but especially midlife. Own your choices. You know? If you want a greater degree of change, recognize what it is that's going to cause that greater degree of change, whether it's weight loss or strength gains or personal relationship growth, and see whether or not you're willing to make whatever changes are required to make that progress at a faster rate. Because sometimes the answer is I'm not willing to do that, and I think that's fine to accept that. Right. Exactly. So you might reach your goal. It might be a lot slower, but it's okay because you chose that. Right? You have power. Yeah. You know, it's funny about goal setting. I see goal setting in our notes. As a former CrossFit athlete and coach, I never had goals. Well, let me say this. When the women came in and day 1 wanted to do pull ups or handstand push ups, but they haven't, like, done the work to in order to have the strength to do those things. I was like, why do you want that goal? Like, anyway, that it was just like annoying to me because you have to there's time and effort and, like, there's a journey that you have to get there. And I've always been one to appreciate the journey, and I've never been one to, like, set ultimate goals. So I've never had I mean, I guess there are times there are certain lifts in the gym that I wanted to do a certain way that I don't even know if I made it or not. Like, it doesn't really matter. I always been loosey goosey about that, but some people are very, very driven by the number. Yeah. Yeah. I totally agree. And we've talked about that on other episodes around the disappointment with what happens when you reach it. Are you really happier? Do you really have the sense of you know? And I'll say it just like with the Ironman. I mean, I did 3, and there's a tremendous sense of accomplishment, and that euphoria lasts as long as 3 weeks. I've had it happen for as long as 3 weeks. But then you're that you're still that person. You're still that same person. You have an accomplishment, and that's great. And it could be maybe you went back to school to get your degree, or it maybe it could be a variety of things, but you have to understand that the satisfaction is I think what you're saying, Cam, is the way I feel. It's the journey. Like, if you just wanna achieve that goal and then you think you're gonna have this big moment and your life is gonna be all sunshine and rainbows, well, good luck with that. Like Yeah. It doesn't work that way. Right? No. You're still the same. Yeah. Totally. And that's why I think the journey is so important. And we've also got we've already touched on this, but don't let setbacks derail you. I just think it's so important to really embrace even the rocks you have to move or the obstacles you have to go around because this is your life. And my husband says it all the time. He's just like, you know, this is our struggle. And I just think it's if you can view that as your struggle and you get to do it, that's another phrase we've used before, you get to, not you have to, it really makes such a difference in how you approach progress in life in general. Yeah. I was in Phoenix last week for a business conference, and my business coach is woo woo wee. I'll just say that. And so we ended our conference with a meditation, okay, and her name is Jenny, and she led us through this guided meditation. That's how I ended my business conference. And what she did is she took us to our future you. And we looked back at all the boulders that we had and all the obstacles that we had to overcome. And our future you was looking back going, look at you, you did this. And then she brought us back to our current self. And it was just like such a positive way. We are gonna encounter obstacles no matter what your goals are, or whatever you're trying to achieve in midlife, it's going to happen. But when you see yourself succeeding or you can see yourself as that person that's achieved whatever, then then get when you get to the problem, you can jump it. You can go around it. You can I mean, there's tons of solutions rather than getting down and, like, just quitting or, you know, being negative about it? Right? Yeah. I love that. And I've actually used that in my own life, not necessarily looking forward, but actually looking back and seeing what I have accomplished in the last 25 years. It's nothing stellar, Cam. It's not like I won the Nobel Prize or, you know I mean, it is it's just normal life. Like, I raised 2 human like, I actually birthed 2 humans, which I think is amazing to actually create new people. And, you know, they actually did move out. I I still work. And, you know, one of the easiest progress things that I love about us is I get up every day, and for the most part, I don't struggle with groceries. I don't struggle to vacuum the floor. I don't. A lot of normal day to day activities that some people struggle with, I don't. And I'm so grateful for that. I'm so grateful for the progress that I've achieved in my mind and body, including sleep, because I learned how to sleep, and I think I think now we're calling my learn to sleep year 2022. And I'm so grateful. And I think these little bits of progress when we frame it like that, it leaves you with that state of, oh my gosh, look how far I've come. Yeah. I really, really it's focusing on the gain and not the not the gap. Where what have you gained? What have you done? I 100% agree with that. And I love that. There are a lot of ways you can track stuff. We already talked about tracking macronutrients. Yep. Either it's for you or not for you. You know? Or you can do it intermittently, like, when you want to. You get to choose. Right. Exactly. And, you know, we're, fitness people, so tracking workout days would be another one. You know, if you're a if you only work out sporadically or, you know, one day a week, maybe you just up that to 2. And maybe it's not like an intense workout. Maybe it's just that you add a 20 minute walk because, you know, that's progress. 100%. The other day, I'm I'm at me, personally, I'm adding little bits of cardio. So here's what I did the other day, and I was like, I don't want to and all this negative. And I was like, get down there, darn it, and jump rope. So what I did, I set my timer for 20 seconds, and I rested for 20 seconds. If I needed more rest, I would have taken it, but 20 was good. And I did 12 rounds of jump rope. It took me, like, I don't know, 6 minutes. I felt amazing. My heart rate got up. Like and then all the happy hormones kicked in. I was like, you did it. And it was like no time at all. So, yeah, whatever that is, just go do it, and then acknowledge yourself for doing it. So, Cam, was the hardest part of that exercise actually picking up the rope and doing the 1st set. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I didn't want to put shoes on, so I jumped her out. Shoes because I'm so weird. But here's the thing I discovered. I can jump rope in our new gym and our new house without hitting the ceiling or things, which our other gym was very tiny. So that was like a huge win. And then I talked to my husband about it, and he could jump rope. And he's taller. He's 6 foot, and he can jump rope down there without hitting stuff. And we're like, oh, this is amazing. So yeah. And I didn't break my toe with the rope or give myself lashes. Anyway, so it's a total win. I wanted to do I was doing just normal jump rope. There's something called double unders. And so I really wanted to do double unders, which is the rope goes under your feet twice for the Wow. How however, I didn't have shoes on, and that was gonna be not safe. So next time, I'll report back. But yeah. But, yeah, that that's a mini goal. Right? Like, so you you did something, you made the progress, and now you've got a goal for something a little bit more complex. But even if it takes you 2 weeks to do that, like, if you try it a bunch of times and you're not successful, what did you call it? Double unders. We call double unders. Yeah. But that's video. Yeah. That's okay. Like, you know, if you I remember I've probably told this story before. When my daughter my younger daughter was probably in her late teens, I'm guessing she was somewhere between 16 18, we have a boat. We haven't used it in forever, and she wanted to learn how to do the wakeboard. Mhmm. And, Cam, I swear that kid tried for 2 years and just could not get up. And finally, she did, but she didn't give up. Like, she was determined. And I know the 1st summer, it was so discouraging when it got too cold to go out on the boat. She was like, dang. But this is my child who she tried so many things. She did taekwondo for a while and was quite successful at that. She wanted to play volleyball in middle school, never did make the team. We sent her to cam, but she didn't give up. She's just got that spirit about, oh, well. And we'd have to kinda pick her little teenage emotional self off off the floor and tell her, you know, you're good at so many things. And I think in midlife, we do have to recognize what we're good at. And maybe we try something, and if it's not the success we expect, maybe we get down on it. We have to reframe and be like, well, I tried. I did really I did really well. You know? I I did my best. Yeah. And I love that tracking workouts is one way. It keeps you accountable to yourself, not to anybody else. No one else you know, it's not their journey. It's your journey. So, you know, it's really easy to make up excuses like the day I jump rope. I could have done x y z because we're still unpacking stuff. Like, honestly, it didn't take me long to go work out. I felt so much better. But it's really easy to make excuses. So you're you really have to hold yourself accountable. So if you need to track it, track it. If tracking makes you crazy, then don't do it. Right. Exactly. Exactly. A couple of other things that we hear a lot, is is around weight management. You know, we we've done lots of talks either in full or in part about belly fat. So, weight management is tough. I mean, I'm not gonna say it's not. In midlife, it is tough because there's a lot that's stacked against you. But 100%. And it's your choice every single day what you choose. What how are you gonna handle it. You know? Yeah. Absolutely. And I think it's another one of those things, Cam. I do own a scale. I very rarely get on it. I kinda use my clothes as the as the gauge of of my weight. And, yes, it varies. It does vary. 100% varies. And so if you're only getting on it once in a while and that number makes you have a crummy day, that's not healthy. Like, we don't need that. That's not who you are. What what is your weight made up of is more important. Like, how much muscle do you have? What's your bone density like? So I put DEXA scan on here, which I know you've done. That's on my list for 2024 to get that done. Because you can actually improve your health and actually see if you need to see the data, you can actually see that you're growing muscle and bone. That's amazing to me. It it is amazing. And it's not that difficult, like, I mean, I had I had to drive about an hour to get the DEXA scan, but it is it's just a tool in your toolbox. Right? It's one way to measure, one of those ways. Well, I'm just saying if the scale makes you crazy and have a bad week, if the number went up 1 or £2 or whatever, then reframe it. Find another way to measure. That's that's all I'm saying. Exactly. Exactly. And I love the clothes because that's realistic. Like, how do you feel in your clothes? Yeah. Absolutely. And, I mean, I've been traveling a lot, so eating out regardless of how healthy I try to eat, I I have to be careful about what I wear when I get back because just all that information from all the crap they put in restaurant foods, and I have to give myself grace to say, I've been traveling for 4 days. There's it's going to be a detox period to get rid of all of that bad things that I put in my body. Yeah. And just get your digestion back to normal and all the things and sleep in your own bed. Like, those things really matter. Yeah. Sleep for me, Cam, is huge. The progress around sleep for me over the last 2 years is kind of mind blowing. I mean, I went from really truly believing that good sleep was a thing that that was never gonna get again. Like, you know, if I could sleep 4 hours really soundly, I felt like that was a good night. Mhmm. To now I mean, Cam, I went for about 14 or 15 mommas, maybe longer, where I really dreaded bedtime. But sleep has been a huge game changer for me, and I value it so much. So I mean, and it took a long time. Like, it took 2022 was my year of sleep, and it took that long for me to learn how to do it. We just did a recent sleep issue or episode, and I just wanna do an update. So we were talking about my husband's snoring. Yes. Yes. Okay. So for whatever reason, that has been my life lately, and it was not good. And I was waking up and I was, like, poking, roll over, like, it was not good. And I told you about the flatter pillow that helped. But I was on a nutrition call after that episode. Actually, a few times, it came up the same way. So if your partner is snoring and they, stop breathing, like, 1 or 2 or 3 times over the night, which is called sleep apnea, Mouth taping, I know this sounds horrible, but it's amazing. Yeah. Mouth taping is a solution for people that have mild sleep, snoring problems, mild sleep apnea. And I'm telling you, it has been we're about 2 weeks in and it's a night and day. Night and day. Wow. Not only for me, but for him. Like, he is he has more energy. And, also, I just wanna say some of the health benefits. Mouth breathing breathing is not healthy for your, gut health nor your, dental health. Oh. Sleeping with your mouth closed and you're like your tongue on the roof of your mouth behind your behind your teeth, keeping your mouth closed is also healthy to those systems, your dental health and your gut health. So, anyway, he's has more energy. I have more energy. It's really been amazing. Yeah. The mouth taping, I've definitely heard of, but I've been hearing about for a couple of years. Some of our listeners, that may be a new concept, but it does sound really out there. Like, it almost sounds dangerous. Right? But it It does, but it's not. It's not. And there's I had heard that there was detriment. There was some health detriment to mouth breathing, but I couldn't remember what. So I'm glad you brought that up. So learning to sleep and progress with sleep. I have to say, Cam, if our listeners, if they want to to progress and help, I don't know where you are, ladies, and and whatever gentlemen we have listening, I would prioritize sleep. I I'm not even kidding. It was such a game changer for me that I can't even imagine, like, going back to that place of of bad sleep. Yeah. And so and I had figured it out and then this other episode Exactly. Happened. I was like, okay. We're gonna get the flatter pillow. Yeah. And actually, it was funny. There's something called hostage tape. It is that is what it's called, and it's about tape and it'll anyway, isn't that funny? That is funny. Never heard of that one. I know when I was flying I'm sorry. I'd already he'd already ordered it, and when I was flying to Phoenix, this is synchronicity. Listening to a podcast, and he mentioned that brand by name. And I'm like, oh my gosh. We got that. That's that's really wild. Anyway, so there's solutions out there. I keep looking is what I'm what I'm Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. Progress. Yeah. The next thing on our list is experiencing joy, and, I've seen how this works in the negative as far as, like, my mother-in-law my father-in-law died in December, and she is not experiencing joy. And it makes me so sad, Cam. And I think, you know, if we wait for if we if we feel like our circumstances are supposed to enable us to be joyful, it's kind of sad because the world is full of struggle. So, I think we have to look for joy and create it. And I have had to learn how to do that myself, whether it's the struggle or whether it's, you know, having just a good normal day. So I think this one's a little harder because in midlife, you know, we've seen a lot, good and bad. But I think really being intentional and looking for those joyful mommas. For instance, this morning, I went to a early morning yoga class, and I got to the end of my road. It was a it was a t intersection. And I looked out over this field across the road, and it was just this it was like a cloud hovering above the ground and then at the sun was coming up. It was joyful. I mean, it was so beautiful. So little moments like that, I think, are progress as we recenter our mind in the present and really experience the joy of that moment. 100%. Because nothing in the past you can do about and you're not gonna experience joy that way or in the future, like being present to the moment. I agree. It really is it goes back to the journey and, like, reframing things and just being present, a 100%. Yeah. And it's really hard because, you know, we've talked about this in several of our menopause specific episodes about brain fog. And you can feel a little bit like you're crazy. I mean, you and I Mhmm. We've gone down the journey of bio identical hormones. As a matter of fact, I had a listener contact me via Instagram about finding a functional medicine provider. That was probably 2 weeks ago. So if you're not there, then then you may be experiencing some of these symptoms that make you feel not joyful. But having been through all of that transition, I'm in a better place to to to be present in those moments, and I just encourage everybody to look for ways to make yourself be comfortable and and joyful in the moment. Yeah. It really goes back to just being grateful and granted finding gratitude. And there's a lot of ways you can do that, you know, journaling or meditation or meditation's been my thing this last year. Like, that is I'm very proud that I've learned how to do that. It's still guided. It's not like I can't make it up on my own yet, but I enjoy that a lot. It's very easy. It helps me reset and recenter. So do you meditate just in the mornings or do you meditate in the evenings too? I definitely do it in the morning. I use Insight Timer. It's a free app. Highly recommend it. And then I've been taking some intuition classes, which I've talked about, and so I've been more mindful. Like, when I feel out of my body and, like, scattered, that's a great time to get centered and grounded and back in your in your body. And I've learned I'm not a yogi, but I've learned your breath is the connector of all of that. And it's like really life. I don't know. Just breathing, watching your breathing go in and out of your body, that really helps me. And how long are your meditation sessions in the morning? It depends. I mean, when you go into Insight Timer, they have, like, a whole list of suggestions for you. So usually 20, 30 minutes in the morning. Okay. Yeah. That's amazing. I love that. And Different topics and different and teachers, and then you can follow those teachers if you really connected to them. Is it a is it a sequence or do every morning you select 1? I just intuitively pick what's right for me. That's amazing. Sometimes I pick and then it's like, that's not for me. Or if it's really amazing, I'll send it to my daughter. I'm like, you gotta listen to this one. So it's been fun. That's really awesome. I love that. I used to journal quite regularly. I haven't done it much recently, but it's just a tool. You know? It's just a so I did send myself a letter on my 50th birthday, and very occasionally, I'll go back and read that. And a lot of the things that I hope for have come to pass. I I have very mixed feeling about, quote, manifesting something, maybe. I I don't know. I think being intentional and manifesting, maybe that's the same thing. But that was really helpful, and I kinda keep that tucked away. So every once in a while, I'll go go read that letter. Mhmm. I I think that's wonderful. That's great. It's like your own little time capsule. Yeah. Exactly. What do you think about, the next couple of things, like, in order to gauge progress? Actually, verbalizing your goals or having an accountability, buddy. Do any of those things resonate with you? Are you A 100%. That's why I have moved the dial. It's an online group of people. Yes. And that's exactly like a private group. It's not on Facebook. And it's very it's very helpful because you're not alone. And if it just gives you, like, some peace of mind that someone across the United States is going through the same thing you're going through. We have aging parents. We have new grandmas. We have, like, all the things that we talk about him in midlife. We talk about that in my group. So, yes, a 100% agreement. We should we should definitely link that because I get the email, and I know that a bunch of our listeners would be if if they're not already, maybe we'll catch somebody new this week that can can tune in because that is an incredible support network. It's wonderful. Every Wednesday, it's ask me anything, and they send what are their questions like? What's coming up? What are what are the stumbles? And like, we talk about it. Sometimes it's about creatine that came up last week. Like, I wanna know about creatine. That's awesome. Yeah. It's just you're not alone. And if this thing is getting you hung up on your progress, well, let's talk about it and keep moving. I love that. I love that. And the last thing on our list, which is absolutely, I think, critical to living an intentional joyful life is spending time with the people you love and and who support your goals. Mhmm. I just we are we are made for community. I mean, I really believe that humans are made for community. And whether it's it's your family, your spouse, or the move the dial relationship, you know, and if you are a person who has set goals or are not seeing the progress and you need a community, well, hello, we just told you where you could find one. I know. But, you know, I think it's important to really to to be okay with all of those things that you just said, verbalizing your goals and asking for help because people need need help. Yeah. We all need supported. Oh, 100%. And I just wanna say one more thing about online friends. Like, Amelia, I met you online. You're my online friend, and it's really cool. I've met you in real life now. And some of these women in this group have also met each other in real life, which is so amazing to me that we met online and now Yeah. And I mean, we we live, like, most of my business meetings now are online, but I do love the idea of having both of those. It's just the Internet and being able to to meet virtually has expanded the world, but you also, you know, it can be destructive. There's a lot of input. There's a lot of social media and just media and surfing the internet can be quite destructive. But if you can use it in a positive way to connect, and then when you actually meet those people, it just makes that connection so much more special and strong, and I love that. That. I do too. Like I was at this business meeting, there were 220 entrepreneurs from literally all over the world. And, when I got there, they picked me up from the airport and on Wednesday, and we climbed Camelback and I climbed Camelback with 6 people. There were 3 from the States and one from was from Australia. One was from Sweden and one was from the UK. Like, how amazing is that? And it's a make like, these are online friends that I get to meet in real life. So anyway, give it a try. Absolutely. So kinda before we wrap, Cam, you're the you're the coach and you talk to a lot of women very regularly through your program. If you could give one little nugget of advice about progress, what would that be? Yeah. Just appreciate the journey and really focus on the gains instead of what the gap. Like, I think one of the most successful pieces of the puzzle is actually you being able to see yourself succeed at that goal. Like, believing that you're strong, believing that you can live a healthy, fit, vibrant life. I think that's part of it. And then how do we get there? It's tiny step by step, little decisions being consistent. That's it. No. I love it. This has been great. I I hope everyone is seeing that progress every day. Thanks for listening today. You can find us on Instagram@midlife.mommas For all of our other contact info, check out the show description below, and we will talk to you next week.