What You're Doing That Negatively Impacts Mental and Physical Health

Okay, based on the title of this episode, if you clicked on it because it piqued your curiosity, first of all, I want you to pay attention to something. I did that on purpose. It was supposed to. So did it work? File that little piece of information away. We'll come back to it. But I want you to think about it. Do you have any idea? Do you, do you already know what it is? I would say 95 or more percent of us on a daily basis are doing this thing that negatively impacts our mental and physical health. And here's the deal. I'm guilty too. Think about it. Okay, did you guess what it is? Listen, if you still want to be thinking about it, you better push pause because I'm going to tell you. So here it comes. Here's the deal. Spoiler alert. The question I have for you is, are fitness influencers helping or harming? This is a bold look at what social media isn't telling you and how to protect your body confidence. And if you're a health or a fitness coach, how to protect your clients. In 2023. So as I'm doing this live, this is 3 years later, 2026. In 2023, there were 350,000 fitness influencers. And this was a look at Instagram, which is probably the largest place you're going to find fitness influencers, also on YouTube and maybe a little bit on Facebook. But Facebook, I think, is a place where you're not getting found if you're a fitness influencer. So more of them are probably going on Instagram. And let me just give you some relativity here. So in the world today, there are 750,000, give or take, certified personal trainers. Now, we know that there are a lot of other trainers operating without certifications, probably taking money under, over the table, or any other way. And you know, that happens everywhere, by the way. I just want you to know. So you might walk into a fitness center, a studio, a club, and you assume that the owner hired trainers and that those trainers are certified. It may or may not be true. You know, that personal training director in charge of those people has the role and the job of looking at when is your certification up and being sure that that it is renewed and/or liability insurance is probably a problem for that, that business or entity. But there are a lot of people looking the other way because if the revenue is coming in, it's flowing, you know, a lot of people like that personal training director or the owner are not going to rock the boat because we don't want to lose that person no matter what. Right? So there's a lot of that that could go on. The liability insurance rep probably is not looking the other way because that would be a problem. They're probably very clear about, you know, here's— make sure that you're collecting those certifications, you know those dates, you know your trainers never get out of scope of practice and they're not giving nutritional advice. You know, there are certain things that have to be written up for gyms today. But again, the gym, the program, the liability insurance coverage, the, the way things are reinforced are only as good as the people doing it. So we all know there's probably some looking the other way going on. But let's say there's 350,000 and maybe that's grown in 3 years and it's 400,000 fitness influencers now. In my world, I see those things every day, all day, because of course I am putting that information out there. I am commenting on my colleagues and friends and I see it and I'm commenting on mentees, meaning specialists in our group, and I'm seeing that and vice versa. They're seeing mine. And so it goes back and forth. I'm seeing it because that is my world. May or may not be yours. You might have more diverse things that you're getting shown, but to me it seems that everything right now is health and fitness and that everybody is giving advice and they might be telling their own story but not really credible or certified or— and I'm going to say that certified doesn't necessarily mean, okay, automatically credible because basic certifications and 4-year degrees— and yes, I taught at a university and it's It's how I know. Don't include anything but the basics. So when somebody comes out, here's what we know. You know, they might have a 4-year degree, they might have a certification, but certifications are not all created equal. Some you can order your textbook online, you can take your exam online, you will never have seen a real person or have done a practical exam or worked or trained or cued bodies. Or need to. You just pass that test with an 80% passing rate and you are, voilà, certified. I have, I have women I like and respect in our Community who've said, "I got certified just because I wanted to. I wanted to learn." And I was like, "Okay, it's not all that hard." And there are more than 500 different certifications out there, by the way. There are probably ones that I could count on one hand I mean 5, that are worth their salt, that you want someone to have gone through at least this kind of rigor. And, you know, a lot of those, there's maybe one that's really rigorous, but a basic certification is not that hard. And for someone who's really interested in health and fitness, it wouldn't be difficult to grab a book, study the book, and take the online test and pass it. So I want you to realize that's you too. And we need great trainers and coaches. We need more of them who can cater to women in menopause. But you actually need something more if you're going to work with women in menopause and perimenopause, postmenopause, or menopause transition, because that word is never mentioned in a basic certification textbook exam, any other thing, or in a 4-year degree. And no one who gets a master's degree or a PhD has a background in menopause-specific fitness unless they've done their thesis or dissertation on it. It doesn't automatically get included. Even doctors, OB-GYNs, don't get it. Why would we think health coaches or fitness instructors would? So I think just getting a perspective on how many, what is that number. But here's what you need to know. I hear comments on the regular like this. Well, social media tells us to do X, Y, and Z. And, you know, I'm like, we're not even talking about an individual. We're not talking about an individual. With credibility or authority or who is a researcher or who's established themselves. We're not talking about a person or people or a group. We're talking collectively and we're saying things like, well, social media told us to. I find that ridiculous. I find that that's grown women saying that. We need to take back our own power. We need to take back our questions. You know, on the other hand, I will post a YouTube video and I can consider YouTube give-back volunteer work. You know, it is my contribution to— let's try to squelch some of the noise here. When I first started posting in 2012 or '13 on YouTube, you know, there was very little talk about menopause fitness. That was it. And you know, it was a service. And now there's just a lot of noise. And we have people who are like, you shouldn't even say something like that if you're gonna quote— not gonna quote science. I'm Oh God, please just go pick up one of my books or go to a podcast or go to a blog where we have all the citations. I'm happy to do that, and I'm glad you're challenging me, but don't do it with attitude, right? So yes, please, please do hold people to that and ask, what is the science on that? Could you share a little bit more? But let's do it with respect and until you have a reason to believe otherwise. So do challenge, be somewhere there. But I want you to realize that in a study conducted in 2023 in BMC, two-thirds of the top quote-unquote fit-spiration, right, which we call it, they lack sound advice. They're made up. Like, You know, it's, this worked for me and, you know, so there's that, but there is nothing, you know, about it in science that backs it up. And, you know, on one hand, there isn't anything wrong with saying, here's what I did and here's how it made me feel. And here's over time, you know, this, nobody has your personal background, personal health history, personal injury history. We are also unique in the thing that got us here to the body that we live in today, that something that worked for somebody else may or may not work for us. And I think we all deep down, we know that. But we look at somebody and we say, well, here's how this worked for her, or my sister and I both signed up for this thing and it worked so well for her and she lost weight and I didn't, or I gained weight. And we can say that, and that may very well happen. You're a cocktail of all these other little ingredients that is different than the cocktail. So in this mixology of how well will 25 people doing the same exact program work, there are going to be very different results, right? Nobody loses exactly the same amount of weight, same amount of that percent gains the same amount of strength or the same amount of speed no matter what the course or the class or the program is designed to do. It just can't work that way because you are a study of one. But I want to point out to you today in this episode why consumers, you and I, if we're looking at the scroll, feel worse after scrolling than we feel better. So first of all, let's define this. 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I mean, basically it is an individual who is earning money in some, to some degree, and there's some money maybe to be gained in social media, being an influencer. But what you want to realize is they are trying to garner attention for some reason or other. Now, Let's say somebody calls me an influencer. I actually kind of get my feathers ruffled a little bit, okay? So I call myself an expert. After 42 years of eating, sleeping, reading, watching, teaching, talking, cueing it full-time, I think I've earned it. I put in my repetitions, I've made beliefs and hypotheses and proven them. I've done the science, meaning, yes, I spent my undergrad and grad school in the lab, the exercise clinic lab. And from here, I understand it. And there is a point where you have to pivot. I did. And I said, do I want to continue to go down that lab rat route for a PhD, or do I want to go and do practical application and reach more people. And I chose that route. It doesn't mean I don't know how to do science, interpret science, and, and put it to work, but it was more important to me that rather than learn more and more about a smaller body of knowledge and focus on that day in and day out, that I start using my special sauce, which I really think— and this is me patting myself on the back or saying, "Here it is, this is what I do well." But it is the ability to take something complicated that might feel complicated reading the scientific knowledge and turn it into practical application that you can work out with tomorrow, that you can apply, or that we can say together, because these subjects weren't like you, this would potentially not apply to you, but you might wanna test X, Y, and Z and see. That is, you know, another piece, but what I would call an expert, not an influencer. I get asked a lot. So in my inbox, it starts to bulge with so much because so many times, we'd love to collaborate with you, is the thing. Like, here's what we do, we sell supplements and we'd love to collaborate with you. And I'm like, like, you know, guess what? But I don't think everybody wants to take another supplement. So unless it's really good, I'm already taking it or aware of it, you better have a great explanation because otherwise the answer is probably no. But what I want you to understand is if you are triggered, you're not empowered, and you're scrolling through social media, it's really important that you understand the difference between a fitness influencer and a fitness expert and a a fitness researcher. Because if we say you are a consumer, you are somebody who is being targeted by really all of us— influencer, expert, or researcher. I want you walking away from this episode realizing, you know, you are not broken. There's nothing wrong with you. You are enough. You're not too little, you're not too much. Because that's really what social media, much of it, is designed to get you to do. It's designed to shake you up, get your attention, pique your curiosity, and make you think you absolutely need to read or watch this right now. Because if you don't, you're not going to have everything you need. It's meant to do that. It's meant to like, "Oh, I got to read this just a minute," right? And you're sitting there with people you love and your phone seems more important. It's more addictive than being present with the people that are right there. That's what social media has the power to do, and it is doing very well. So if you're a coach, a health coach, a fitness trainer coach listening, I want you to understand something really powerful. There is a massive opportunity right now to stand out. If you are somebody right now who's in my community and you're not a coach yet, but you, you've had the this yearning or this interest, because so many people did change their career during the pandemic and said, I really hate my job, now I'm out. And, uh, the resignation revolution happened, and people went to things that they loved or started businesses. I think the most rapid-growing business sector right now is women starting businesses between 45 and 55, 54, something like that. So go us, let's do this. And I would say to you, think about it, think about it really seriously. And I'm gonna tease you with something at the end if you're listening in real time anyway. There's a massive opportunity for somebody to stand out by being educated, transparent, and grounded in science, but also I think calling out social media on all of this. Pardon my French, but calling social media out on this shit. I mean, we are seeing so much of this and we have to say, look, stop it. I want to say there's an— I'm so tempted to name names and yet I love this person. I follow this person too, so I'm not going to do it. I'm going to refrain. But if we were in a small room hanging out on the couch, not with wine because I don't drink wine, I would tell you who it was. And, you know, I think everybody likes her and they follow her or hers, these, these people, because they're so, you know, forthright. They tell everything that's happening to them. But yes, and do you see the images they use? Do you see the way they picture themselves on their timeline and you are only left with the comparison of me to that, it's pretty hard to measure up to. So there's that. So let me set the stage. 2023, there were roughly— and we're talking Instagram because this was— the study was done collectively. It looked at it, but it really went to Instagram to narrow things down. What platform are we going to look at? Who are we going to look at? There were about 350,000 fitness influencers sharing content online. Let that sink in and let me give you a perspective. There's about 750 certified personal trainers out there right now. Now, there's a whole lot more trainers not certified also taking money. Buyer beware. You think you walk into a gym and, and they're certified, but those things have expired. They're not telling their director. And if liability insurance rep is not checking on those things, there's a lot of things going by the wayside. Trainers often flip their nose at the fact that they have to pay for that renewal. And they're like, what's it going to change? Right? I'm not going to get more clients or, or lose them. And so they, they don't respect the system and the need to prove continuing education and renew. So they don't. And it's already a loosey-goosey Wild West industry still today. But those 350,000 people posting workouts are not necessarily certified. There's nothing to suggest that might be true. Now, it could, but they're posting because they look good. Let's face it, Instagram is a picture worth a thousand words. A video is even better, you know. Kind of a platform. So if they look good, even if they are credible, they have the credentials, most of them are not getting in front of you in, you know, a long shirt or a suit, you know. And, and of course, in fitness, you're demonstrating exercise, it makes sense. But I mean, come on, does it have to show every little thing, you know, and be, you know, skimpy-dimpy? I don't know. And I think that sometimes as fitness influencers, we think, well, if I show this and say I'm, I'm 61 and I show that I'm willing to show my body and this is it, I think I might be motivating somebody. That might be the intention. And let's give everybody the benefit of the doubt. But I think on the other hand, we have to stop and say, you know, just keep your shirt on. Can we just do that? Can we just form-fitted t-shirt? Okay, fine. People do need to see your form. And yet, you know, I think there's a big difference and we all are drawn to beautiful bodies. But what you may not realize is what this 2023 study published in BMC Public Health by Curtis et al. analyzed popular Instagram fitness accounts using the hashtag Fit inspiration, it's actually fitspiration, is one word. How cute. All right, two-thirds of the most popular posts lacked sound evidence. There was no science, evidence-based backing it up, or fact, and might have promoted messaging that could negatively impact mental and physical health. Two-thirds. So that's not even the most shocking part, right? So fit influencer, or fitfluencer as they're called, simply somebody who posts fitness nutrition or lifestyle content. That's it. They may not be certified. They've gotten themselves results. They may have gotten those results from being on GLP-1, not doing anything else, but most likely they are also exercising. There's no credential required. And, you know, people can go to college or they can not go to college. It doesn't matter. Like, you know, but kids in high school today aspire to be, I want to be a influencer. It's hard to wrap your head around, at least for me. But the reality is, if you create a large enough following by being clever enough, attracting an audience, then you can attract brands who want to partner with you, pay you for doing advertising, either that you show on your account or timeline, or that you just create for them. And they link back to you because of your popularity and your following, if you will, it will already elevate their status as a brand. So there are a lot of ways to make money. That means they don't sell coaching, they don't sell packages, they don't sell any courses or maybe even supplements. They just collaborate. That's it. They're promoting other people's things. And that is quote unquote a job. Now it doesn't have a lot of job security. There's that. But here's the reality. 95% of fitness influencers on social media have never trained a single human being. So the person you are following who— I'm going to save that workout. Oh, that's a good exercise. 3 ways to lift the glutes. Right. And they looked good. And we're all like, I'll have what she's having. Thank you. And it's like, oh, I can fit those 3 exercises in. Oh, I like that one. But they've never trained a single human being. And I want you to think about this since 2020 when pandemic hit, you know, and people were not training in gyms anyway, anybody who became certified just before that, you know, in 1 or 2 years, you know, it takes a fitness trainer a couple years sometimes to get started and to get quote-unquote full, so they have a full book or schedule of clients. You know, they weren't probably full when the pandemic hit. Anybody who did the, you know, huge resignation, hated their job, and decided this is the perfect time, I'm leaving and I want to be a health coach, I want to be a trainer, they could— they had the time. Didn't have much time to do, couldn't do anything else fun, so they got certified online. They ordered the book, they took the test, took an online course, maybe or maybe not, got certified. It's not all that hard. Never saw a human body, never had to do any practical training, and still doesn't. Now they turn their phone on, they see themselves like a mirror. And that's the level of their training. They don't know how to cue you. They can't anticipate the mistakes you're going to make because they've never potentially taught a room full of people where they can see the people. They've taught on Zoom. They've taught on other places like Thinkific or, you know, other platforms where they could go live and everybody's a teeny tiny seeing a little thumbprint on their screen, but they're not seeing you in order to correct you. And so that's dangerous, right? I don't know how they could do it and do it well and cue well with this anticipatory, I know about the time when people's shoulders are going to sneak to their ears and they need to hear me say, drop those shoulders down, sew them together. And make sure you're engaging those shoulder blades together as you do that roll. I know where it is because I've done it ad nauseam for 42 years, even though now I do online and pretty exclusively. I teach in person with a handful of clients, or I engage and collaborate and do live events and go and still and train trainers because I love that and I miss that. And I don't want to get rusty. And I'm 61. I don't look forward to retirement. I look forward to what's next. Rewirement is more my jam. I will do this until I'm 91 unless somebody tells me, you're bonkers. I mean, you can't— we're not giving you a license to do anything online. Forget it. So, and I probably won't listen then because I'll be bonkers. But, you know, they've never, or may have taken formal coursework. Influencers or fitfluencers may never obtained a recognized fitness or health coaching certification. They may have only trained themselves or gotten themselves results. So, and listen, training yourself is not the same as coaching 100 different bodies. And I would say 100 is, is a minimum, but many times no one's had that kind of experience. So it is not the same as watching posture break down Over time in an exercise class, telling— oh my gosh, I can tell when somebody is getting tired. Leading boot camps where, you know, if we tell them every minute on the minute, everybody falls apart pretty quickly and the injury rate goes up. We've seen it. We've lived it. Those of us who've trained in gyms and in person, it's not the same as modifying when somebody's shoulder doesn't move well or they need a modification for an exercise because of arthritis or a degeneration in the knee, you've got to know, okay, when you see it, number one, the knee caving inward, you won't see that if you're not online. And you will say, you know, knee toward that little toe side. Those of you who've done yoga with me, you know, I say that I say that all the time, but you can't say it once. And if you were a trainer training yourself, doing it to your own rhythm and mirror at home, you don't know what I know from the benefit of whether it was waking up way too early in the morning or teaching that extra class at night that I didn't want to because somebody else was sick and I had to go sub. That all of that repetition has allowed me to be able to say, okay, now I know right now what I need to say. I can imagine what they're doing right now. I see in my head when I'm teaching to the camera a full room full of people, and that helps me get through it. I don't know what kind of a trainer I'd be if I didn't have that to fall back on. Fortunately, we'll never know. It's not the same as adjusting for people who've got menopause, osteoporosis, joint degeneration, or hormonal shifts. Now, some of that you have to learn, and that too, that was not taught for years or decades. You need to know that if you're training or coaching, and you need to know if you are the consumer, the participant, the student, You need to know your trainer knows that and is not just bluffing. Because I promise you, again, I've had 40 years, 42 years of intel in a university setting and in being a certified trainer who writes exam questions for health coaches, medical exercise specialists, and for personal trainers. Not one question exists on an exam or or is there content in a textbook about it? About osteoporosis, yes, but not specific about menopause, the musculoskeletal changes in menopause, what exercise can and can't do, and how, and how much. Trainers don't get that. It's why we started the Menopause Fitness Specialist. And basically in 2017, we created that in order to give trainers and health coaches the framework we've been using since 2013 successfully and tweaking that over and over as we needed to. So what's going on with fit influencers or fitfluencers? It's performance, it's aesthetics, it's lighting and angles. And we know something else from research. Viewers like you and I scrolling often feel worse about themselves after viewing idealized body content because it triggers comparison spirals. So if you've ever scrolled and suddenly thought, "Why don't I look like that?" Now, you didn't say that out loud. You didn't even say that out loud in your own head, but I want you to think about right now. And it's a rhetorical question, obviously. Do you whisper it to yourself? I mean, aren't you thinking that on some level? "Why don't I look like that? What is wrong with me? I should be further along. I must be doing something wrong. I must not be trying hard enough is really the fault a lot of women go to. So push pause. That reaction was not an accident. It keeps you addicted and coming back for more. Real quick, a little trivia. Hands down, I know from our community, most women would gladly sleep separately from their partners before separately from their dog. So if that's you, you're not alone. Look, I would do anything for Moses, but when it comes to dog food, it seems like you have to make a choice. Either fresh and healthy, maybe labor intensive, or you can have easy to store and serve, but never both. But you don't have to choose anymore, thanks to Sundays. Look, we all love the idea of feeding our dogs real fresh food, but the reality is that fresh dog food usually means taking up freezer space, time to thaw and prep, and then a lot of mess when you serve it. Get the good without the hassle with Sundays. It was founded by a veterinarian and mom, Dr. Tori Waxman, who got tired of seeing so-called premium dog food full of fillers and synthetics. What I love about Sundays, you just scoop and serve. No freezer, no thawing or prep, no mess, just nutrient-rich, clean food that fuels their happiest, healthiest days so you get more of them. Them to share together. Moses loves it. Make the switch to Sundays. Go right now to SundaysForDogs.com/Flipping50 and get 50% off your first order. Or you can use code Flipping50 at checkout. That's 50% off your first order at SundaysForDogs.com/Flipping50. SundaysForDogs.com/Flipping50. Or use code FLIPPING50 at checkout. 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The change filter reminders mean no more guessing. Air Doctor won Newsweek's Reader's Choice Award for best air purifier. Head to AirDoctorPro.com and use promo code FLIPPING50 to get up to $300 off today. Air Doctor comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee plus a 3-year warranty. That's an $84 value free. Get this exclusive podcast-only offer now at AirDoctorPro.com, A-I-R-D-O-C-T-O-R-P-R-O.com, using code Flipping 50. Social media platforms reward content that triggers emotional response. The algorithm likes it because more people engage with it, whether they like it or they are mad and angry about it. A comment is a comment. An emoji is an emoji. Every one of them is gold to a Fitfluencer. So she doesn't care if she makes people angry, upset, and they're talking. It's a comment that says, "Oh, this is valuable. People are engaging with you." So for Fitfluencer, their bodies are the biggest trigger in the world. It's the easiest one. So they pull that one all the time. But what about certifications? Now here's where it gets nuanced. Even basic certifications 4-year degrees, even a master's or PhD, don't guarantee any education in hormonal changes during menopause, the effects of that on the musculoskeletal system, bone density decline, what we do to reverse it, tendon stiffness changes, recovery differences between women in menopause versus women premenopause versus women period to men. So unless there's someone's thesis or dissertation directly focused there, They may have not learned anything of it. And I go back again to why are we surprised by that? OB-GYNs, for crying out loud, don't have any mention of menopause in medical school. That floors me. Now that a regular— I don't know, osteopath or a general practice doctor doesn't, I guess surprises me less surprises me less. But an OB-GYN, that one still, still floors me when I talk about it. Can you tell? So none of these things, great glutes included, do not equal great guidance. Abs do not equal applied physiology. And having 1 million followers does not mean somebody understands how your 52-year-old body responds to resistance training. But I want to tell you how I study people. And one of them is this way. So when I find like somebody posted— generally the way this works is say a colleague or a friend of mine, and I say friend loosely, on social media posted something or shared something from another individual. That's how someone else's account comes on my radar, and I learn about fitfluencers that way. But what I will often do is realize, huh, how come I didn't know about this person? That's, that's what's going on in my head. And then I I look at like the number of followers because I don't know, do you do that too? But I do. So maybe in part because I'm a marketer, I'm a businesswoman, and I'm in fitness, and not in that order, but I am a marketer. If you're listening, I've marketed to you somehow, and that is not an evil word, by the way. At least if I'm serving you, it shouldn't be. If not, I hate to tell you, but you should take the advice I'm giving you and unsubscribe. 'Cause really, I want you in the end to feel good. And if this podcast, if this anything we do on the timelines that we're on doesn't do that, it would be wonderful to hear from you and to have you tell me. But second, you should leave if we don't change in such a way that is in alignment with something that does make you feel good. And go find that thing that does, by the way. But having a million followers doesn't mean somebody understands how your 52-year-old— and substitute your age— your body responds to resistance training, or what it most needs right now, based on what we behind the scenes call the HALO method. That's how I work with people inside of our membership, our programs. The coaches that work for us, the fitness instructors and menopause fitness specialists who go through the course are trained on the HALO method. Stands for hormones, your activity, age, your limitations, and the outcomes that you want as priorities. When we factor all those in, that sweet spot in the middle is what's left over, because some of these things will cancel each other out. Like, I want this, but I'm dealing with this. Okay, some of the things have to go because this is a limiter, and we can't sabotage them, you know, and cause pain in order to get this. It won't work. Work. So we, we do that. And you need to also make sure, you know, that you're looking at people from the right perspective. But I do this too. Do you do this? So you see people— social proof, it's called— they've got a million followers. Oh my gosh, why have I not heard about you before? In my head, I say that, and I will look at who's following, because you can see that. And I'll be like, oh, Betty, Betty's following. And Bridget, and, you know, and I'm looking at, oh, my friends, my friends, that must be good, right? And I wonder though, when I start looking at things and I'm like, do they think this is good content, or are they watching because it's not good content and they're just watching out of curiosity? That always crosses my mind when it's I'm like, some of this is not legit content. So I wonder why they're following. Are they just following to learn how to be better marketers? And all of this disturbs me significantly. So if I have colleagues who are well-respected, I respect them, and they are looking at fitfluencers who are not really all that respectable, they don't have a proven authority or credibility other than great-looking abs and the other A, okay? And, and I know that's very compelling, but give me some basis for how you got there and are an expert in not just getting it for yourself but getting it for anybody else. I need to know that. I need to get to the A's and the B's and A to Z. But it bothers me a little bit that my colleagues and friends might be watching just to find how are they marketing and getting more followers because I wish that that wasn't the way. But I want you to understand that even the good guys have to gamify it. We have to play a marketing game in order to be found by you first so that you don't get stuck in the web of the bad guys. Does that make sense? I hope so, because it's a one-way street and I can't get an answer from you. So let's pivot. Researchers. Researchers are essential. They're in the lab, they're building hypotheses, they're running trials, doing statistical analyses. They advance science so we know a little bit more than we did last year. But a single study answers a very narrow question. There are things the study can answer and things the study can't answer. So let me give you an example. A study showing that bone loss reversal in postmenopausal using heavy lifting and high impact training. So it's amazing, right? But what does it prove? It proves heavy lifting and impact can reverse bone loss without increasing injury risk. That was part of the discussion and the outcome. And it had good adherence in that same population. They also were able to prove that. But what it did not prove is moderate lifting doesn't work. It doesn't, doesn't prove that, that lighter loading is ineffective, that it's optimal heavy lifting and high impact for everybody. So we have to say what questions does it answer, what questions doesn't it answer. Another example, a study comparing training 1, 2, or 3 times a week for both strength and cardiovascular work, by the way, in postmenopausal women, What they found, and the question was which one has the greater energy expenditure. And it's not all calories in, calories out, but there may be a need to have greater energy expenditure if we're looking to how do we look at caloric deficits reasonably, at least, but still stimulate muscle mass and bone density in doing so. The outcome measured is energy expenditure, right? That's what we can conclude. We can't conclude anything else—body composition changes, muscle gain, bone density shifts, strength improvements. But let me give you the answer to that one, by the way, because if you're on the edge of your seat, you should know this. So the winner for total energy expenditure was twice weekly, and that is is 1 time, 2 time, 3 time each of strength and/or interval training. So it was 1 time cardio, 1 time strength, or 2 times and 2 times and 3 and 3. You got it? 2 was the sweet spot. And here was the reason why in the explanation, in the conclusion and discussion. 1 time a week, they didn't gain enough strength or stamina. To actually help and be enough energy expenditure to even be in the race. Between 2 and 3 times, the 2-time-a-week people had energy, they were stronger, they had more endurance and stamina, and they had room left over to play. So they had time and they were more active during the day between sessions. 3-time-a-week people were couch-compensating. So they worked out in the gym, you know, the 30 minutes or 60 minutes, 6 times a week, right? But between, they were sitting, recovering. They were more tired, more sore. Couch compensation is the thing. We deemed it that thing. I love that term, by the way. I hate that people do it, but I love that term because everybody gets it. So now you know the answer. But what What is failing health coaches and trainers is that they're not taught this in a basic certification or even in a 4-year degree. I, at least 44 years ago— well, longer than that, sorry, probably 46 years ago— I wasn't taught that until my first semester of grad school. You have that course that is, here's how to do science. Like, here's how to start thinking about what might become your thesis and how to read research, interpret research. And I think it might have been that— Scientific Interpretation of Research might have been the name of the course. But you learned about different studies, you learned about about the sections of studies, you learned about how do you interpret them, and that was part of the work. And so, you know, a trainer doesn't necessarily have that, and a trainer doesn't necessarily know— if I see a study, how do I know I can apply it to my own programming for clients, or that I shouldn't just run with this and do the same workout all week long for all my clients? Because that So where do coaches get it wrong? Some trainers will say, "I don't care what the science says. I only care what works for my clients." That sounds confident. Actually, I think it sounds arrogant. It also sounds a little limited. And if something works, I would ask, "Why does it work?" Meaning in a study, if we can understand why something works, And if you accidentally are getting great results for your clients, or even on purpose because you've tweaked these programs to say, let's try this, let's try this, now I would go back and justify that. It's exactly what I did when I was— 2013, I was like all of a sudden, you know, exercising very, very little compared to the 30 to 35 years prior to it. I'd quit my job. I needed to start a new business. I was doing it online. I wanted to do this. But I suddenly got really panicked. I'm like, what did I just do? Like, there's no paycheck coming in. I'm going to start paying college tuition in 8 months. So I kind of stuck myself in front of that computer and I would let myself exercise about 20 minutes every day. And a lot of days I was still in my jammies when it came time to put them on again, because I did a lot of work that time. Learning, learning, learning about how to build an online business in 2013. It was very different than it is now, by the way. It was cold and it was lonely and isolated. But I did it, and I learned the hard way that accidentally I was in better shape exercising less. Go figure. But what I did is went down the rabbit hole to say, okay, this flies against everything I've ever learned. Was this just happening to me, or is this a bigger thing than that? And that's how we evolved Flipping 50. That's how it was born. Out of me getting curious about what had happened to myself. And are you kidding me? Like, I've been exercising that much for 30 to 35 years and I can exercise this little and get so much time back? Just a couple of months ago, I was buying an older house in a cold climate and I was worried about the indoor air quality and the effects of forced heat. Here's what I I did. I asked all my top functional medicine doctor friends, and Air Doctor was hands down the number one recommendation, and why it became the only air purifier I use in my home. But I got 3 unexpected benefits: fewer allergy symptoms, leading to fewer headaches, and fewer odors, even after cooking bacon and fish. Air Doctor's powerful 3-stage filtration captures extremely small particles, about 100 times smaller than what typical air purifiers can remove. It captures airborne contaminants you don't want to be breathing in: dust, pollen, mold spores, pet dander, wildfire smoke, bacteria, viruses, odors, smoke, ozone, and VOCs— that's volatile organic compounds. Its whisper-quiet operation is not loud like others on the market. The auto mode feature ensures optimal air 24/7. The change filter reminders mean no more guessing. Air Doctor won Newsweek's Reader's Choice Award for best air purifier. Head to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code FLIPPING50 to get up to $300 off today. Air Doctor comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee plus a 3-year warranty. That's an $84 value free. Get this exclusive podcast-only offer now at airdoctorpro.com/flipping50. Airdocrpro.com using code FLIPPING50. Hey friends, before we go any further, I am so excited to share this with you. It's about C15 from Fatty15, the first emerging essential fatty acid to be discovered in more than 90 years. It's an incredible scientific breakthrough to support support long-term health, wellness, and you guessed it, healthy aging. Look, I don't want my birthday candles to matter. This was discovered ironically by a Dr. Stephanie Van Watson while working with the US Navy to continually improve the health and welfare of aging dolphins. How cool. Based on now over 100 studies, we know that C15 strengthens our cells. It's a key healthy aging nutrient which helps to slow down biological aging at the cellular level. When our cells age, our bodies age too. Yeah. As many as 1 in 3 people worldwide may have low C15 levels that leads to a syndrome called Cellular Fragility Syndrome. Now, if you wanna know if your doctor can test for it, the answer is yes. So physicians, some of which are already testing for it in a regular blood panel. There's also an at-home test that you can take. Fatty15 is a science-backed, award-winning, patented, 100% pure C15 supplement. It's vegan-friendly, free of flavors, allergens, and preservatives. It's clinically proven to raise C15. And listen to this that results in lower cholesterol levels, healthier liver function, improved gut microbiome— after my own heart— and improved red blood cell health within 3 months. I am on a mission this year to improve my own gut microbiome. And again, if you want to test and prove to yourself that you need this, some doctors already routinely test for C15 levels as a part of fatty acid panel. So ask about that. And just as importantly, your doctor can test for clinically relevant signs of cellular fragility syndrome, and that includes— pay attention because I've talked to some of you I know have these— high red blood cell distribution, high ferritin levels— pay close attention— and elevated liver enzymes. So if you want to get your hands on it. Just like me, Fatty15 is on a mission to optimize your C15 levels to help support your long-term health and wellness, especially as you age. You can get an additional 15% off their 90-day subscription starter kit by going to fatty15.com/flipping50 and use code FLIPPING50 at checkout. Now, to somebody who loves exercise, I honestly probably wasn't saying that, but I was thinking, you know, I didn't have to be as tied to it as I needed to. And maybe I could have felt better all that time, not as sore, not as tired, fewer cravings. I wonder if that would have happened, right? So some trainers think think if it's on PubMed, you know, it's science. So that's a no, everyone. I hope you know that. Many trainers are never taught how to interpret that scientific study. So I want to play that again. I think we all should at this point in time. In my own experience, it wasn't until grad school, right? So it's true for a lot of them. But PubMed, just so that everybody is very clear, includes all kinds of scientific journals. Journals, they're not all peer-reviewed, meaning we could get published in a journal just by saying, "Oh, we're going to conduct a little study here. We'll write it up and we'll get published in a journal." And then we could pull that by somebody and say, "We're published in a journal," who didn't know any better. And it's happening every day. But when you go to PubMed, if you click on a journal, so the one I mentioned today was BMC Public Health. If you click on it, what you will see is, you know, submit your article. And what you'll see, and you could do that, you're not gonna get down too far down a rabbit hole and nobody's gonna come after you, but it will show you that you have to submit this to the committee for approval. You're not just accepted because you had a beginning, middle, and an end that you wrote about. So it's an important distinction that you realize it has to be a peer-reviewed journal. There is a board of committee members that will say, "Is this good enough? Are we going to accept it or we need to say no, send it back to the drawing board or start over or no, never?" So real women miss workouts, real women have stress, real women, we have caregiving demands, we have sleep that's inconsistent, and we don't live in controlled environments. So even studies about women just like us may not always apply to us. We need the practical work work, proving studies work together with the science, and we really need a marriage of both. So I think researchers should not be pitting themselves against, you know, somebody who's an expert in the field doing the practical work, and yet we don't know, the jury's still out on influencers, but we need to know is that influencer really an expert? Because you can be both. Right now we have a host of doctors who are pretending to be influencers who are giving advice like a coach because then they're not legally bound and getting in trouble with licensing. They say, you know, I'm not giving— I'm not your doctor. And so they have to be a little bit more careful careful, but it's confusing because of this. You have doctors who are behaving as influencers. You have influencers who are probably giving too much advice and almost acting like doctors. So it's beware when you're on social media, just beware. And most of all, this is really down to your gut feeling. How does being on there, seeing a certain account that account make you feel? And if you've seen that account more than once and more than once it's made you feel poorly, worse, comparison, it's not made you want to go out for a walk or do something or jump up, you know, maybe unfollow. Cast your vote by doing that and find other channels that are a little bit more body positive for you, that make you feel better, that are are showing active people of all kinds, all sizes, and that make you feel like collectively we're doing this together, that we can all be strong. There is no 'it's too late for me' kind of feeling. Whatever might be triggering you, I have something for you, no matter who you are. If this is of interest to you, this is particularly for you. So number 1, if you're here for yourself and you're here for fitness information and you're not lifting weights right now. I want you to know you're not behind because your body doesn't look like a 27-year-old influencer, or even that 64-year-old influencer who is wearing a short jog bra and, you know, low-cut tights because she can. We're not all going to look like that, even if we are all fit. You're not failing because a shredded 30-year-old says she reversed everything in 6 weeks, meaning, meaning her biological age and bone density and her present body fat. You're not broken because your menopause body doesn't respond like it did at 32. Social media is marketing, and marketing is designed to create emotional responses. So it's not context, it's not nuance, it's not disclaimers. To the coaches who are listening, or the want-to-be-a-coach, this is really your You don't need a perfect body to grow. In fact, being in front of a camera in your imperfect body, it can work in your favor. Your imperfect, active, messy journey may be your superpower. Consumers are getting really tired of unrealistic aesthetics, of no disclaimers. Like, there is no— you're not saying anything like, hey, this might not work for you, but it did for me. Me, oversimplified advice, think everybody should do this, you have to do this, you must have this for breakfast, you absolutely have to eat before you work out. So what if you said, this worked for me, here's why it might or might not work for you. What if you explain what the study actually measured? So you be the interpreter. If you're a coach or a trainer or you're a consumer woman here who understands this? Know when you're looking at science what population it studied so that you could say, is this anything at all like who I'm talking to? And you have to know what a study can't prove, what it doesn't answer, what question is still out there. I mean, that's how a coach today stands out. I hope if you're looking for coaches, you're looking for experts to follow, you know that and it resonates with you by being the most thoughtful, by being the most educated, but not necessarily the most, but sometimes the educated enough and able to practically apply it by bridging science and application, just as I said. And that requires more knowledge somewhat. It requires a little intuition, but knowledge is leverage. So in call to action for all of you, if you're a coach or a consumer who wants to become one, this is your time. This month, while you're listening in real this is mid-February, for exactly one month, the Flipping 50 Menopause Fitness Specialist is 50% off. And before rates increase, we usually do this. And what we're doing is one more thing because we're rolling out a GLP fitness coaching course. And meaning the GLP ones, we know we've got on the rise. I want to use the word epidemic, but that's not great. There is a good place for GLP-1s, but what we knew is that we don't want to lose muscle, and we need to be sure we're thinking about how are we getting off it if we are, and how are we onboarding and getting started. What do you need to be aware of? The Longevity Fitness course is another one. So we are all getting so concerned about our tomorrow that sometimes we're forgetting today, but it is important? Are you not just trying to get into your skinny jeans by next weekend or for that trip that you're taking, but you're thinking about how is every action that you're doing or not affecting your longevity, your strength span? Both of those courses are rolling out this spring. The two of them together, each about $500, are valued at $1,000. That is a bonus I'm throwing in. So hear me out 50% off plus a $1,000 bonus. Crazy. Call me. Yes. So, but you have to act and go and do it. If you hit the link in the show notes, the code is automatically applied if it's still on. If you hit that page and it's no longer there, I'm so sorry, but you missed that one. Wait for the next launch and/or wait for either or of those individual courses to roll out if those are of greater interest to you. For those of you who are looking for a strength training course and you're not doing it yet, we have to say to you, what are you waiting for? The best time to do strength training or start it was 20 years ago. But if you're not doing it, next best time is right now. No matter where you are, there are no non-responders. We've seen studies this past year of 85-plus-year-olds gain strength and muscle mass. That means they're increasing and enhancing enhancing their quality of life. So our Stronger 12-week program is also 50% off this month. Here's the key though to this one. We usually, if we do this, remove coaching. You don't get access to me, you just get the program. That's not true right now. Coaching is still included, but only if you get there this month. Don't need a code, it will be automatically applied. We're not talking about it publicly. We're telling you, podcast listener, and we're telling our subscribers. So if you go to the page, you won't see it, but if you put it in your cart, you will see the discount, I promise. There are two options, they're one decision. What are you doing to get started and to either enhance your career or enhance your strength? Stay influenced or become informed. Informed. Those are your choices. So make your choices really well. So the last call to action I'll give everybody here is the next time you're on social media, as you're scrolling, if something triggers you negatively, look at it. Click on that account. If it's somebody you follow, look at a couple posts. And if more than 2 or 3 actually negatively trigger you, consider unfollowing following. That's making a vote. And then go look for somebody who's sharing body positive, body positivity, or age positivity and representing the future and the attitude that you do want. By the way, last little tip. Those of us who have a positive attitude about aging tend to live 7 years longer. But it's not just it's better. I'm all in for that. How about you? You'll find all the links in the show notes, and/or you can go to Flipping 50. Or if you're a coach or a trainer, Fitness Marketing Academy is our sister site. What are you waiting for? Let's start flipping 50 today.