From Struggle to Strength with Mari Llewellyn

Hey, J.J. here. Can you believe how fast the holidays are knocking at the door this year? One minute it's pumpkin spice season, the next you're getting your guest room ready and wondering where their wrapping paper went. And that's when I turned to Wayfair. From bedding and towels to holiday decor and last minute stocking stuffers, Wayfair has everything you need to get your home and holidays together fast. And for way less. With Wayfair, I know I can refresh my guest room in no time. Maybe I'll add a soft new comforter or a few holiday throw pillows. With Wayfair, it's so easy and everything arrives super fast. Plus, there's free shipping for any order over $35 easy and total peace of mind. So whether you're hosting, gifting, or just adding those final festive touches, Wayfair has your back. And when the holidays wind down, Wayfair has everything you need to tuck it all neatly away. Smart storage solutions for every room from the kitchen to the closet. Get organized, refreshed and ready for the holidays. For way less head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home. Wayfair Every style, every home. That's W-A-Y-F-A-I R.com hey, it's JJ here. You know, I've been talking about environmental toxins forever, and laundry detergent is a sneaky one. A lot of them contain harsh chemicals like dyes, preservatives, and even UV brighteners. Those brighteners don't actually clean anything. They just coat fabric so your eyes think things look whiter or brighter. That's more chemicals I don't want on my family's sheets or skin. And if you've got sensitive skin or allergies around the house, this can be a big problem. That's what got my attention about Earth Breeze. It looks like a dryer sheet, but it's actually laundry detergent. You toss one in the washer and that's it. No pouring, no mess, and no heavy plastic jug. Their packaging is lightweight cardboard, which helps reduce plastic waste. And if you choose the fragrance free option, it's gentle, hypoallergenic, non irritating and non sensitizing. I really like how simple it is and how fresh and clean everything comes out without those unnecessary chemicals. Right now you can try Earth Breeze for up to 40% off with free gifts@earthbreeze.com virgin that's earthbreeze.com virgin for up to 40% off plus free gifts on your first order.

Some people think nature is like this, but actually, it's like this. Mother Nature is not all sunshine and rainbows. Nature can be hotter than a sauna and colder than an arctic skinny dip. That's why Columbia engineers everything we make for anything nature can throw at you. Columbia engineered for whatever.

I'm JJ Virgin, PhD dropout.

Sorry, mom turned four time New York Times bestselling author.

Yes, I'm a certified nutrition specialist, fitness hall of famer, and I speak at health conferences and trainings around the globe.

But I'm driven by my insatiable curiosity.

Curiosity and love of science to keep.

Asking questions, digging for answers, and sharing.

The information I uncover with as many people as I can.

And that's why I created the well.

Beyond 40 podcast to synthesize and simplify the science of health into actionable strategies to help you thrive. In each episode, we'll talk about what's.

Working in the world of wellness, from personalized nutrition and healing your metabolism to.

Healthy aging and prescriptive fitness.

Join me on the journey to better health so you can love how you look and feel right now and have the energy to play full out at 100.

Have you ever been on a diet, lost the weight, and then gained it back? I have. I know, and I'm betting you listening probably have too, because the reality is 95% of people who lose weight on a diet will gain it back within five years. Well, not so with our guest today. Today I have Mari Llewellyn. She's the co founder of Bloom, the founder of Strength by Mari, a mental health advocate and fitness entrepreneur who in 2022 landed on Forbes coveted 30 under 30 list and has a platform of over 2 million combined followers. And by the way, a top 10 podcast in health that I was just on. Fantastic podcast, Pursuit of Wellness. I wanted to interview her because I wanted to really pull back the curtain on how she did this, who did she have to become, how did she have to live not only to lose the weight, because actually, in a lot of ways that's the easiest part of the plan, but to completely change how she lived, how she thought, who she was, so that she couldn't even relate to the person she used to be. She honored her, but she never no longer could even put herself in that place because when you start to live like a healthy, lean person, you know, time catches up and that's who you become, and that's who she's become. So she's going to walk through her journey, what she did, how she thought, what she ate, how that's all changed, how she's used diets as tools, how she's progressed through her exercise program, and how she's done all that to step into where she is today. Seven years out, lean, fit, healthy, happy, and a whole career in the wellness space. So I will be right back with Mari Llewellyn. Stay with me.

Hey, jj, Virgin here. Okay, real talk. So often the holidays sneak up on me. Travel, gifts, hosting all the things and suddenly it's like, wait, who spent what and where? And I know I'm not the only one who's looked at a bill in January and thought, wow, that escalated quickly. If you want to keep your finances under control this holiday season, you need to be using Monarch. It's rated the Wall Street Journal's best budgeting app of 2025. Monarch is the all in one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean interface on your laptop or on your phone. Monarch lets you link everything and gives you real time visibility so you're not shocked later. Right now, I've been checking the holiday spending category so I don't accidentally start the new year with that dreaded debt hangover. And honestly, just seeing everything laid out is already helping me stay more aware. This season. Monarch does the heavy lifting. It links your accounts in minutes, gives you smart categorization and super clear visuals. Yes, that end of year reset could.

Be a real goal.

This time. Don't let financial opportunities slip through the cracks. Use the code virginonarch.com in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first year. @monarch.com with the code Virgin, the holidays.

Are all about family. But at the Chrysler Wrap of the Year sales event, it's all about you. Enjoy every mile in the most awarded minivan in America, the Chrysler Pacifica with the most standard safety features in its class, available Stow n Go seating, and the available Stow and back built in vacuum. Make the most of the holidays with a great deal at the Chrysler Pacifica Wrap of the Year sales event based on Ward's small van segment. Based upon the latest available competitor information, Chrysler is a registered trademark of FCA US llc.

I am so excited to be here with you, Mari Llewellyn.

Thank you so much for having me.

Well, you're a unicorn.

Oh yes.

You've lost £90 and kept it off. How long have you kept it off for now?

So I lost the weight in 2017. I'm not good at math. So where are we at from then?

So you are a total unicorn.

Yeah.

Because that is seven years. It's probably about six and a half now. I'm assuming that, you know, anyway, seven years, let's say. Yeah, if you look at the statistics, it's so abysmal. It's like 5% of people actually maintain weight loss after five years.

That's wild to me.

So I always like to say that success leaves clues.

Thank you. And it's, it's a number one question that I get is like, how did you keep it off? But it's weird for me because I've never once looked back. Like for me this is a full lifestyle. So. But thank you for, for recognizing that.

So let's go back because I do this, this is a very fascinating, huge subject. I mean this, this needs a book and a course. Let's go back to you in 2017. Where were you and what was the impetus that made you decide to shift?

So for some context, the reason I was ever, you know, needing to lose that amount of weight, I grew up relatively lean. Like I did not think about health or my body at all. I grew up in pretty European household is how I like to put it. I was born in the uk, I lived in Switzerland. We ate a lot of bread, a lot of ham, a lot of cheese. It was high quality food, but it wasn't necessarily healthy food. Going to college, I was dealing with a lot of mental health issues, sort of like, you know, family trauma, pain that I didn't know how to deal with in a healthy way. So I was eating. I mean it went from like one subway sandwich a day to tons of food truck food. Like it really just depended. And I feel like alcohol was a very big problem. Like I was using alcohol as many college students do, but for me, I think it was on a different level. I was using it to numb a lot of pain. I was blacking out frequently. And then around my junior year, I was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, which is now known as a trauma based disorder that I no longer meet the criteria for. But at the time I was self harming, I was having episodes. It was a, it was took over my whole life. And I was immediately put on a number of medications. And before I go into this, I'm not a doctor, I'm not giving anyone medical advice. This is just my experience. But I was put on antidepressants, anti anxiety, anti psychotics.

Oh, I know what these do to your metabolism.

It was insane.

Yes.

So I, I didn't necessarily have a healthy looking body before Because I was drinking and eating and had never exercised, ever. But after being put on this medication, it was insane. Like, the foods I was craving completely changed. Like all of a sudden I wanted all of this super processed, unhealthy food. I was still drinking and just kind of completely numb, you know, Like I felt like getting out of bed took effort. Getting to class took effort. And my life deteriorated very, very quickly after taking this medication. I was a semester away from graduating. I had to drop out of school, move home with my dad. I had probably gained 60 to 70 pounds at this point. I wasn't even really aware of the weight gain until I moved home. And I had to kind of confront myself head on and take a look at my life. And I was pretty shocked at how, how bad it had gotten. And that was the moment that fitness and health, specifically nutrition for me, really stood out as a way for me to get control back. And I think my husband, he was my boyfriend at the time, he's a bodybuilder. For me, he was such a great example of hard work and discipline because he was in the gym multiple times a day for a little bit chicken and rice, like it was his whole life. And yeah, before I go on too much of a tangent, that was where everything started.

Yeah. And my son, when he had the traumatic brain injury, when you're coming out of it, they put you on anti seizure, antipsychotic. And I remember I had to leave the hospital for a week and a half to go on a PBS tour, maybe two weeks. And my ex husband was there. I came back, he'd put on, it was like £30. It was crazy because it makes you very quickly insulin resistant and very hungry.

Is that what happens?

Yes.

Wow. I actually didn't know that. Like I, I remember people around me telling me, oh, when you're happier, you eat more. That was the reason.

Really?

Yeah.

Wow.

Yeah. I, I tell you, my, my hunger was, it didn't have a limit. It was insane. Like I could go to a restaurant and eat an appetizer, two entre, dessert. It was bizarre, right?

Yeah. So there you were, low point. So what did you do?

So I was £250. I forgot to mention that I'm 510 for reference. And now I'm probably closer to like 160, but I was £250 and didn't have a degree, didn't have a job, didn't really have any goals. So I came off all of the medication and that's where I.

Cold turkey.

Cold turkey.

Oh, my Gosh, yeah.

Yeah. And now looking back, I know how bad that is and how difficult it is, but at the time, I was like, this stuff's ruining my life. I'm gonna stop. And I am kind of that way in general. Like, I'm quite an impulsive person and I make decisions quickly. And coming off of that stuff was insane. Insane. Like, it made me act crazy. It's. It's so interesting looking back, that come off period. But it also made me start feeling again. And I started to feel finally the sort of like, disappointment and the embarrassment and all the things that came with where I was at in my life. And I feel like I finally took responsibility because I kind of had a bit of a victim mentality before fitness. I looked around me and blamed everyone else for my problems. And then finally I began to, to say, hey, like, the reason I'm in this position is because of me. And I'm. I'm the only person that can get myself out of it. So nutrition is where I started. My breakfast back then was two muffins. And not like cute ones, like big New York sized muffins. I was in New York at the time, but pumpkin or blueberry, I would have an iced coffee about that big with milk and sugar. So for someone with a mood disorder, this was pretty much a, oh, my gosh, recipe for disaster.

Yes.

Carbs all day. Like, really not paying attention to my food. And I remember my dad bought me a book that was called, like, food is medicine. And he was like, maybe you should. Maybe this will help. And I was so angry. I was like, there's no way food could help me. Like, you don't understand. This is far beyond that plot twist. Like, now my whole life revolves around nutrition. But looking at this book, looking at Greg as an inspiration, I was like, okay, let me try swapping some things out. So instead of the two muffins, I started with probably like four to five scrambled eggs. Not bad. A bowl of oatmeal with blueberries. Like a proper bodybuilder breakfast, given it was probably not exactly what I was needing, but it was better than what I was doing before.

Compared to the, like the cupcakes that you were having.

Yes, exactly. So that put me on the right foot. I felt like my mood was improving, my energy was better. It was helping me get my foot out the door. And I didn't get in the gym right away. I just started with walking. I would take my dog on more frequent walks. That movement we were talking about on my show with you was Just having a massive impact. And then I remember Greg taking me to Planet Fitness for the first time, and he taught me compound movements. He taught me how to squat, how to overhead press, how to deadlift. I was learning from a male bodybuilder. And I. I am forever grateful that that was my introduction to fitness rather than crazy cardio bunny.

Yeah.

Style. Because so many women fall into that trap of getting smaller and smaller and smaller. And from the beginning, I was looking up to IFBB Bikini pros. To me, that was what I wanted to look like, and I knew muscle was a huge part of that. So, yeah, that was where the weightlifting journey began for me, and I fell in love, and I've never stopped.

So I love what you first said. I just did a couple swaps.

Yeah.

What I learned first in nutrition from a great mentor was he was like, ADD before you take away. And what I see there is, if we just start with some upgrades, with some swaps, it can make all the difference.

100.

You know, so you did that. Then the next thing that you did was you just started moving.

Yeah.

And multiple times a day. And then you went and started doing resistance training. Like, in my algorithm of success, I'm like, yep, yep, yep. Good, good, good.

Yeah. Because I was sedentary for the most part. Like, I really wasn't thinking about movement at all. And then I feel like it just builds your confidence on a mental level being able to show up and keep your own promises and telling yourself, hey, I'm gonna go on three walks tomorrow. And actually doing that, that was like the building blocks of confidence to get myself doing actual workouts. So for me, it was. I mean, it's difficult for me to even put myself in that headspace now because I'm so different now to how I was then. But the insecurity I felt, the lack of confidence I had, I felt like I was in a completely new world. So going slowly but surely really was the only option for me. I couldn't just throw myself into it.

So you also said a very important thing is you can't even really put yourself where you were anymore because you've done. You've just completely gone. And. And I like to say if you live like a healthy, lean person, you will become one. It's just time has to catch up.

Yeah.

So.

So now you're at the gym, you're doing resistance training. And I also love that your then boyfriend, now husband. Right. Started you with squats and overhead presses and these big compound movements. How did you start? Like, did you just start with body weight. And do you remember coming out of the gym and, like, the first couple times and how you felt?

Yeah. Oh, my gosh. The feeling was what kept me going back, because I remember, for me, yes, I wanted to be physically healthier, but also, like, I just wanted to feel happy. I was so, so severely depressed and anxious, and, like, my mental health had run my life for so long. I was ready to feel happy again. And every time I got that endorphin boost, I was like, oh, my God. Like, this is why I'm doing this. I started with weights. I know body weight's a good way to start, but truthfully, like, having a bodybuilder husband, he was like, no, no, no, you're doing. You're doing weights. So. And I. I was really strong. I feel like when you're heavier, sometimes you're a bit stronger. Maybe that's. I don't know if that's true, but I could do a lot of weight, so I probably started closer to, like, I don't know, ten pounds. And then I every single time worked my way up. So £12, £15. Squats were a really big focus for me because I felt like they were working everything, my core, my legs, glutes, quads, whatever it may be. And I remember I got myself up to two plates on each side, which now I don't think I could do that anymore. But I really found a lot of joy in increasing weight because it made me feel stronger and stronger and stronger. So, yeah, that was kind of the mindset going in, man.

So how did your diet progress?

Okay, good question.

How did we go from, like, the. I was called muffins. I go, you know, if you take the frosting off a cupcake, same thing. When we were at University of Miami, they had these huge. Those huge muffins, like the Costco muffins. And we actually had them analyzed, and they were a thousand calories. You're kidding. So when you're describing that, I'm like, yeah, that was probably a 2,500-calorie sugar bomb for breakfast.

That's insane, because now if I were to make a 2,500-calorie meal, like two steaks, I'd have. I'd have a huge plate, right?

You could never get through it.

I always. At the beginning, I used to think about the fact that, like, a Starbucks Frappuccino, you could have a whole meal instead of that. Like, it's bizarre the things that people are consuming.

But sadly, I know we were at the airport Watching, I. I admit, I sit and I'm fascinated by what people choose. And just watching what people were choosing at Starbucks, just going, are they not realizing that.

That I know.

Benti Frappuccino.

I know, and I don't mean it in a judgmental, mean way, but I just know, not even from a weight perspective, but how you must be feeling. Oh, right after drinking that I would. I mean, I look back and feel bad that I was consuming things like that because I was giving myself a disadvantage. Like, I was starting the day on a bad foot every single day with this, like, packet of sugar in my iced coffee and these muffins. Anyway, the diet evolution, I kind of started to figure out what felt good for me. High protein, for sure. High protein has always been.

And what's high protein look like for you?

I guess, like what you said, a pound. A gram per pound of gold body weight. And I was using my fitness pal to track. I don't track anymore because I feel like I have a good sense of what I need. But back then, I truthfully had no knowledge around macros. I didn't even know what a fat and a carb was, or a protein, for that matter. So Greg really helped me hone in on what those should look like. And I'm a tall person. I'm 5 10, and I was £250. So I was eating a lot of protein. I can't remember the exact amount, but it was like, what would it have been, 160 grams a day? So I really, like, built my meals around protein, and I still do that now. But I think carbs and fats were the thing I had to kind of experiment with because I don't know that I felt the best. Eating a bowl of oatmeal, I felt like, surge of energy and then this crash afterwards. I feel like I felt a lot better when I had, like, eggs and avocado or steak and some ghee, for example. Now I eat steak and berries with some ghee, and I feel really, really good on that. So I maybe pulled back on some of the carbs I was eating. I prefer to eat my carbs at night. Dinner.

Yeah.

What is that?

So it was funny as you were saying, oatmeal. Like, I dearly love oatmeal.

It's so good.

I feel like crap. I know after, like, it just. And I've worn cgm and I'm like, this just doesn't work for me. Does not work for me. But I find at night it really helps with sleep. Just a Little bit, yeah.

You know, that's a fun dessert, too, with some berries or something. I like that.

Okay, here's my. What I really love for dessert is to get so delicious. Coconut whipped cream.

Oh, yeah.

And berries. Blueberries and a little bit of lilies or another. No sugar added dark chocolate chips. And then we'll use that RX sugar. I told you about their syrups. So they have a chocolate syrup.

Stop.

I know, right?

I'm now obsessed with that company. I need to check that out.

You're going to be super obsessed.

Have you heard of Evolved Chocolate?

Yes, that white. The white chocolate from Evolved Chocolate. That cashew stuff.

Oh, my gosh, I'm obsessed. I have it every day.

Yeah, rightly so.

Some people don't like it, I think because of the erythritol taste when you first try it. But after, like, it's so good to me. And the little hazelnut brownie bites. Obsessed.

Oh, I've not had those.

You need to try.

Wow.

I have one every night.

I'm very hungry now.

I know.

So. So for everyone listening, there's this Evolved Chocolate company that makes a white chocolate out of cashew. And I love white chocolate, but it's dairy. And I was like, oh, shoot. And this is amazing.

It's so good. So good. And it's like, very satisfying to me and I look forward to every night. I have it with my spare mint tea. Love it.

You have it with what?

Spearmint tea.

Oh, my God. You said spearmint tea and I heard Spam and tea.

Yeah, I'm having Spam and tea every.

Wow.

You're like, maybe let's not eat Spam. What's like, let's upgrade that little protein at night? No, I've actually never had Spam, so I would say I did experiment with keto. I told you that on my show. And that was a great tool for me. I.

How so what did it do for you?

So I did it for multiple reasons. I have always struggled with acne for the last 10 years. I have high testosterone. Turns out I had some liver overload. I had heavy metals, I had mold. I can had Candida. I had sibo, which I've now been in the process of healing from. It takes a long time. But I've gotten rid of the mold and Candida anyway. I found keto was one of the most helpful tools for me with clearing my skin. However, it's not the best for weightlifting because I was finding that I was getting more fatigued quickly during my weightlifting and also My gut health, I was missing some key good bacteria. So I used it as a tool here and there and perhaps it helped with weight loss. I don't know. I was, you know, already on a path of weight loss anyway. But I do feel better eating a higher fat, lower carb diet now. I have incorporated sweet potato. I have it almost every night. I love it. I don't feel good on white rice, particularly. Like I'll eat it every now and again, but it's not my favorite. So I feel like I'm a carb sensitive person. So focus on protein and healthy fat.

For me, which I think is super important, is if you look at it, we have to have protein, we need those essential amino acids, we have to have fat. Carbs are optional. But the important thing that you've done is use diets as tools for what you're looking to achieve and then paid attention to what worked in that diet so that you could pull, pull it into what you eat every day. In our world, I wish we had a name for how we eat every day and then a therapeutic diet so that we could distinguish because we don't and it's confusing. But that's the reality, is this has been an experiment where you'll do things short term for an effect. And if you did need to improve insulin sensitivity, that can be a great tool to do that. Along with resistance training, of course, and good sleep and vitamin D and all these other things. Fish oil, but you know, and then you look at it and go, what is this hurting though?

Yes.

And is it hurting? Cause I'm trying to think of the research that I heard about keto with resistance training. I just know for me that if I have a little bit of carbs under my belt and I can lift a lot more.

Same agree.

Quality is everything in your resistance training. So what does your diet look like now? Like, walk me through a typical, typical day for you.

Okay. I eat quite similarly every day, so it's quite. It's easy for me to answer the question for breakfast today. And pretty much every day I'll have steak cooked in ghee with berries. Pretty simple.

I'll go, what kind of steak?

So I'll go between like filet, always grass fed. I order it from White Oak pastures, which is a really awesome farm. I think it's in Georgia. It's like regenerative farming. Grass fed, pasture raised today I had that. They call it their tips and tails. And it's like tips, like sirloin tips, I want to say. But I tried to Go for a lean red meat with my berries. I drink king coffee. I don't know if you've heard of it.

No.

Okay. It's by the brand Organo. It's a really interesting kind of. It is real coffee, but you only absorb 8 milligrams of caffeine per packet. And it has ganderma and Rishi and mushrooms that are really great for healing, like bacterial overload.

Wow.

Yes.

Okay. I need that information. I am a show notes.

Yep. Two packets a day. And what I like about it is I am someone that wants to have a lot of something and I can have two big mugs of it and not feel like crazy, you know?

So are you a fast or slow caffeine metabolizer?

Do you know?

I mean, I feel very jittery and crazy when I have it. What does that mean?

So you're a slow caffeine. I'm a fast one.

Okay, got it. Blast.

Drip it all day long. Drink. And I'm a big beverage drinker.

Me too. I have to have this. I see you with the Venti iced tea. I love that. That's like my drink of choice. If I go to Starbucks.

This is what I've been doing now, going to the gym is. I've been taking a green tea, a big ice cream tea in my 32 ounce thing. It's a 32 ounce or 64 ounce. A big. It's a big thing. And then I throw in my creatine. I throw in essential amino acids. I throw in electrolytes. I have this big old thing with green tea because I'm always trying to get more green tea in.

Yes. Okay. That's a really good idea. And I will do. I forgot that actually, before I even have my breakfast, I will make this electrolyte drink. I use these electrolytes by jigsaw and it's called pickle juice. It's a really interesting electrolyte and it has potassium in it. I have very sensitive skin, so certain electrolytes will break me out. So that's the one I use. I add glutamine powder. I've been adding creatine. I do two. Two packets of ovacetol for egg health. Because I'm trying to get pregnant right now. And I'll do. Have you heard of Quinton minerals? The glass vials?

Yes, yes, I have.

I'll do that. What do you think of those?

So are those the ones they have the glass. But do they also have the little travel packets?

Yes, I think so.

So my girlfriend, Dr. Ann Shippy. We were. Went to Korea and Bali last year together. And I got like, I will get leg cramps if I do stupid stuff. And I'm not using my electrolytes.

Yeah.

So I'm very adamant about my electrolytes. But I'd done something. I think we'd actually run out. Like, here we are now we're in Bali and I've run out because I've shared them with people and she had that. So I don't know better. I have the little packet. I just take the packet, suck it down. Like, it tastes like you just drank an old icky pond.

Yeah. It's salt water. It's awful. But if you mix it with things you can't taste.

Yes, I know now.

Yep. So I take that every day. Mostly because I heard the inventor speak about it and it sounds incredible. I don't know if it's doing anything, but I never get sick. So I think maybe it's working. Who knows? So that's my habit. Stack drink. I drink that while I work out. Then I have my steak and berries for a snack. You just saw me have one. I'll eat a raw bar R, A W R. Or I'll have a chomps. Like a meat stick of some kind. Something with protein. I drink a lot of water all day. I fill this up like three times. This Stanley Cup I have next to me. Lunch is usually a bowl of beef. Groundbreaking. And I'll do it with, like, avocado, maybe some salsa, red onion. It's quite simple. Or I'll do steak on a salad. I'm not like a big vegetable person, if I'm honest. I love Brussels sprouts like you mentioned before. Or arugula with, like, tomato and red onion.

I love arugula. It's really the only.

Yes.

Mix thing I use.

I don't feel fantastic when I have.

Kale or I like kale if it's been cooked.

Yeah.

That is it. Raw kale is to me, a really nasty. My mouth does not like it. I'm also a super taster. You know that bitter thing? So kale is not a kind.

Well, I just feel like if it's upsetting my stomach, why would I exactly eat it?

I. It's. It's interesting. I've really come a long way with salads where I've been doing a lot more cooked vegetables.

Yeah.

Cauliflower, pilafs, broccoli, asparagus, green beans and mushrooms. I'm obsessed with mushrooms and onions. And I just find that a lot of Times, if I'm not careful, a salad turns into a sundae, you know.

Yes.

Because the oil dressings or the whatever, especially if you're out, it's really difficult.

100%. Yeah. So the simpler the better for me. And then dinner is usually steak again. I feel like this is so boring, but I'm just telling the truth. Red meat or wild caught salmon. I'll have that one to two times a week. But because I found heavy metals in my system, I limit the amount of seafood I have now. And I'll do sweet potato with a little ghee and salt with Brussels sprouts or a little arugula or carrots or mushrooms. And that's kind of it. Or I'll do taco night, where I do the ground beef, maybe a siete tortilla. I like those every now and again. And then I'll end with the evolved chocolate and my spearmint tea. That's kind of it.

Now, it's interesting because the research shows that people who are very routine in their diet do better.

Yeah, I'm very routine.

I think the big important thing in the routine is the diversity of different vegetables for the colors.

I'm not good at that.

That's. We'll link in the show notes. Deanna Minick and Kara Fitzgerald both talked about this. Deanna has the rainbow diet, but it was kind of like the challenge of 50 different things a week. I'm like, whoa, now herbs counted. But, like, it made me very aware of.

Let's.

I'll tend to get into. I would eat blueberries all the time. So it's blueberries, blackberries, raspberries. Like, how many different things could we just start to shift so we're not eating the same. Same stuff?

Totally. I need to get better at that.

Yeah. So cauliflower pilaf actually is a great way to sneak in a whole bunch of other things, you know, like different colored peppers, different kinds of mushrooms. I'll get some broccoli rice. Throw it in there too. I mean, you can go totally wild.

Do you make your own cauliflower rice or you buy it?

I do not make my own cauliflower rice. I do not.

So where do you get it? What brand do you get?

I do sprouts. Organic sprouts.

Organic.

Okay. So I think I have not met someone who said, I really wish I could spend more time cooking. I'm sure they're out there. But for me, most of the people that I. I talked to are like, how can I make an amazing meal in, like, Five to ten minutes, right?

Yep.

And so my husband's in charge of the protein.

Nice.

And I'm in charge of the vegetables.

That's generally how Greg and I also split it up. But I'm also very capable of doing the protein, too. I feel like health and fitness has gotten me, like, very proficient at making.

Food, which is super important because I remember during the pandemic, you're discovering that people have no idea how to cook.

Yeah.

But you know, you realize when you eat out. Because I travel 80% of the time. And how much stuff can get snuck in if you're not careful.

Yes.

And so it's really the more you can eat at home, first of all, you're gonna save a ton of cash too. And you're not eating. I eating pastured and wild. These things that would be considered expensive. Well, it's way more expensive to eat non that out.

So I think literally by switching from eating out to eating at home, you would feel better and look better immediately. Because I really think even if you're going somewhere that's high quality, if they're making food in mass, they're never going to put the time and attention into the ingredients that you are.

Or they turn it into, like the Brussels sprouts dessert.

Oh, I know.

Which is so delicious.

I know.

But it's like, come on. The oil has had a like, fried sugared Brussels sprout.

I hate when they put the sugar on it.

It's like, well, it's balsamic. So code word for glaze. Whenever it's glaze, you know, balsamic glaze, I'm like, oh, shoot. Could we just sugar glaze? Just roast some brussels sprouts and not do that, please.

I agree. Yeah, I agree. Sometimes they'll put the chunks of bacon in it, which.

That's good flow. Yeah, that's really good.

We like that.

That's fantastic. Saving on your education should be a right, not a competition. At University of Phoenix, you'll get the best scholarship or savings you qualify for. Simple as that. Explore scholarship options at University of Phoenix. Fantastic. Okay, so diets dialed and the key takeaways there is you've gotten really into a routine. You found what works for you. You started with tracking and weighing. So you really understood. I always tell people, if you find that you're kind of stuck again, go back and start the weighing and measuring again. Right. Because it's easy to just start to kind of let things creep. What about the exercise side?

Okay, so I've gone through weightlifting. Has always Been the foundation of what I do. But I've gone through kind of different phases of it. When I first started, it was like, you know, definitely newbie gains. Really enjoying that phase of seeing so much progress. When I lived in la, I definitely went through a period of time where I was probably over exercising a little bit. Like I was doing hit weight training six days a week. Oh yeah. With my Polish trainer, Paulina. She's awesome. She's like a six pack. She's super intense. And I think a little bit the pressure of being the face of a brand, living in la, being in the fitness industry, like it was really cool to push myself and to see my body transform. I had like very visible abs, I was super lean, but it I think affected my, my hormones at a certain point.

What did you notice was happening?

Well, I came off birth control and lost my period and I really wanted to get that back. So I had to kind of pull back a little bit on the weight training. And it's tough when you get to a level where you're training really, really, really hard all the time because in comparison, nothing feels like enough. You know, if you're not like dying on the ground, you're like, this wasn't even a good workout. So I had to kind of reframe the way I was thinking about it. Now I'm weight training about four to five days a week. So for example, this morning I did squats, heavy squats. I did RDLs, I did ABs.

And RDLs are.

What do you mean?

People don't know what an RDL is?

Oh, Romanian deadlifts.

Sorry.

Great for hamstrings.

Yes, I love them. They were, when I started them, they were stiff legged deadlifts.

Really? I've heard people call them that.

And then I saw rdl. I'm like, what the heck's an rdl? Then I was like, and now I love single legged. This is my latest as a single.

I did them this morning.

I. Because, you know, as you age, balance is a thing.

Yeah.

And I'm like, how is this so hard?

I think it's fantastic. And also my butt cheeks are uneven, so I want to do.

How do you know your butt cheeks are uneven?

I can tell.

Huh?

Yeah. I feel like, let's see. I feel like my left one is bigger than my right one. My right one is my weak side.

This is why you need to do a Dexa like we talked about.

I know. See, that's why I don't want to do it, because I don't want to Know. No, I'm kidding. I need to. I really do need to. But I can also see that my right glute is weaker than my left one. So I do single leg, leg press, single leg rdls.

There's something I really love because having a blown out my knee at 17, I've always had to work unilaterally to make sure that things are even. And using a TRX suspension trainer, I do single leg squats that are just burn your quad and glutes so much. Yeah, they're fantastic.

Wow.

So that's another way you can. You can do it.

Is that kind of like a squat movement?

Yeah. And would it be kind of like that?

Those kill my quads.

It feels much more like a, you know, when you're doing a single. Like a kind of single lunge where you're going up and down. It's more like that, but.

Oh, like a Bulgarian split squat.

It's more like that, but with just that foot off the ground the whole time.

I think Bulgarian split squats are my least favorite exercise of all time, but also the most effective.

Now, do you tend to do the same thing each time you go and switch it up every eight weeks? How do you. How do you navigate your resistance training routine?

So I, at the beginning, I was doing the same things and just increasing the weight because I was still, like, really getting in the groove.

And how long did you do that for?

Oh, probably three years, I would say. Now I'm in a phase where I want to have a little bit more fun with it. And I like athletic movement, so I'll do hill sprints in between. I'll do a lot of supersets. I'd like to switch it up. So maybe I'll have a more quad dominant day and then a more glute focused day where I'm doing hip thrusts or something. I have to switch it up more now because I feel like I need to entertain myself. Yeah. But I still really love it. You know, I love upper body days as well. I love training shoulders. It's like my favorite day. I'll invite friends over and we'll do it all together in the garage. Like, I have a bit more of flexibility now, which is really nice, but I needed to put in the years of, you know, figuring out the movements and the form and the weight to get to where I am now, if that makes sense.

Now, along the way, did anything slip you up? Did you hit a plateau? Oh, did you get frustrated, like.

Yeah. I mean, I think that's inevitable with anything I feel like I talked to you about this, but when I first was losing weight and cutting back calories, I hit kind of a wall where I felt like I wasn't eating enough. And I knew that, but I was also afraid of increasing calories and gaining weight. And a lot of it's really mental because I associated weight with, like, this version of myself that I never wanted to be again. So I had to learn about reverse dieting and explain to everyone what that is. So reverse dieting is when you're eating. For example, I was maybe eating 1200 calories at the lowest.

So little.

So little. And it was miserable. Like, I felt like I was faint, and I was like, this cannot be. You know how I live. And reverse dieting is adding calories back slowly but surely. So correct me if I say anything wrong, you're probably better at this than me, but adding a hundred calories, like, each week kind of thing. So maybe I add an extra egg each day, and then I add, I don't know, more salmon, more steak. Like, I'm slowly but surely adding, adding those calories so I can get back up to a good place and kind of heal my metabolism. I think that's what happened. I think I was running into a little bit of, like a. What would you call it, metabolic dysfunction.

Yeah. There's a thing that happens with chronic dieting that can happen. It was. I think it really came to light with the biggest losers when they looked at them five years later and discovered that they'd gained weight back. Not all of it, but the thing that was devastating was that they'd had this phenomenon called Madipur metabolic adaptation, where there's a kind of predicted. It's basically if your weight's 150, your BMR is probably around 150. Theirs would be around a thousand.

Okay.

And think about the disadvantage that that creates. And because your body is hardwired to survive our stupidity. Right? So it's like, oh, nutrient sensing. There's not a lot around. We better, like, shut it down. And one of the interesting things that starts to happen when you do that is, you know, when you look at metabolism, we have your basal metabolic rate, how many calories if you just were in bed all day long. And then the thermic effect of food, which we know we can impact with protein, and then you have activity, exercise and activity. And the real modifiable part of that really is this activity that we don't think about. And there's the part that you're not aware Of. And it turns out that, like, when we cut our calories, our body just starts to move less.

Yeah.

You know, we just conserve. We don't fidget. We, you know, just so. So that may have been some of the things that start happening, too. But we also know that as you start to increase more calories, you start to move more.

Yeah.

But I think the easier way to. To avoid it is just, again, like, know how much you're moving.

Yes, 100%. And I wasn't as knowledgeable as I am now about that. And I think it was just this place of, like, being stuck and feeling terrified. So I guess you could call it a plateau.

Well, how did you get through it? You just. You just every. Like, how long did it take you? Did the reverse dieting work? Like, what happened?

It did work, and I had to do a lot of research, and back then I was listening to podcasts and going on social media and researching reverse dieting, and I very intentionally slowly added foods back in using my fitness palm. And I think also maybe discovering, like, getting my heart rate up a little bit more. I was definitely weight training in a very bodybuilding style. Like, I was taking rests in between and kind of going slow and adding supersets in and getting my heart rate up a little bit, I think helped a ton as well. And I really like that style of training now. Like, I. I find it quite frustrating to just stand there and, like, wait in between each set.

Yeah. Having worked out at Goldstream in Venice, and I know you did, too there. I mean, guys were there. Like, they'd be there all morning.

Yes.

Then they'd go eat their oatmeal and egg whites.

Yes.

Then they'd come back, you know, for a couple more hours. Then they go eat their chicken, broccoli, and rice. I mean, it was like. And they'd get, like, morning. They would do chest press. Like, oh, my gosh.

No.

I like to be efficient in the gym, for sure. And now I put so much more of an emphasis on my steps. And I think that's really, really helpful, too. Like, surprisingly helpful.

Any big mistakes that you made along the way that you could reveal so that anyone here would not make the same mistakes?

Mistakes. I mean, a lot of trial and error, you know? Like, it's difficult for me to look back and regret anything because I wouldn't be here right now. Let me think. I think just, like, emulating other people's routines too much rather than honoring what I know works for me. I feel like bio individuality is such a Thing. And I would maybe get thrown off course if I saw someone was eating. I mean, there was this phase of like, if it fits your macros.

Oh, yeah.

And I was like, wait, all these people are eating fun pancakes and all this syrup? Like, I want to eat that way. I felt awful. And even though it fit my macros, the quality of the food was so bad. And I was like, I can't eat this way. But it's confusing, I think, because we emulate our favorite influencer, our favorite whoever. And I feel like honoring what, you know, makes you feel good or what fits your schedule the best is always going to be the better option.

And we're also assuming that what they're showing us is actually what they're doing.

Right.

So there's that issue too.

Right. That. That, I mean, adds a whole other layer.

You know, there's the other side, too, that I hear with weight loss, where I go, okay, yes, caloric restriction has to be a part of this, obviously. But since we're losing, we're. We're healing. Our metabolism to lose weight. What those calories are made up of, where they come from, counts most. Like, we have to look at all of this.

Yeah.

And I think sometimes in the physique world, in the weight loss world, we tend to just look at calories, and I'm like, no, we gotta look where they come from.

Yeah. And I fell into that a little bit. Like, I remember I was obsessed with Halo top back then. That wasn't, I mean, crazy, but, like, I definitely dabbled with that kind of thing. And now I am so ingredient conscious, and I've done so much inner healing work as well that I'm just way more tapped into what's in everything and focusing on whole foods, for sure.

Awesome. So mindset shift, because I think that's the most interesting piece. Having worked with so many people in weight loss, what I would see quite often is they never left who they were. And so as they started to shift, it was almost like a rubber band that got stretched about as far as it could, and then they went zoop. You know, they'd zing back. Unless they made that transformation in their mind to this healthy, lean person, they would kind of run back to that comfort zone. So how have you done this mindset shift?

Yeah, I kind of have to think back to, like, well, this is great.

You can't. I mean, if you. That is the biggest piece of this is you can't even really see yourself where you were when you were starting. Did you have an idea of where you wanted to be. Did you see yourself there? What did you do?

I knew I kind of did it by day and it was this feeling of like, if I can show up for the workout and stick to the meal plan and drink the amount of water I want, I'm getting closer to what I want. And truthfully, I didn't have a goal of losing 90 pounds. I think if I had that goal, I would have gotten super overwhelmed and stopped soon. I think I had a goal of just being a person that I was proud of and that kind of helped me keep showing up. And it was like a day by day, week by week kind of thing. It was like I was chipping away each week. And I remember my. My husband was still at school in Philly and he would come back and he would weigh me because I didn't want to look at the scale. And he would tell me how many pounds I'd lost. And sometimes he would lie to me to keep me going. So he'd be like, oh, you lost two pounds this week. Even if the scale didn't move, which now we know, perhaps I was gaining muscle at the same time. It's a whole thing. But I feel like for me it was, I know something good will come out of this because I'm working my butt off. I'm proud of myself. I mean, I was so mentally unwell before my fitness journey that I couldn't go to a grocery store by myself. Like, everything was hard for me. And I feel like fitness. It sounds super cheesy, but I felt like fitness taught me about life too. Like every rep and set, doing an extra rep, doing an extra set only benefited me in the long run. And I kind of took that into my real life. I ended up getting a job at Orange Theory Fitness. I worked the front desk making minimum wage, but it was a job. And I remember bringing my Tupperware. I eventually went back to school. I finished my degree. Fitness just kind of built my confidence in every area of my life and really taught me how to be a goal driven person. I feel like before fitness, I was kind of coasting through life, kind of okay with being average. I didn't have high aspirations for myself, and losing weight showed me that I'm pretty much capable of whatever I want. And that was how I have the life that I have now. It was how I started up my business that I have with my husband. I feel like I'm living the dream now, and I feel like I truly would not be able to do that if it weren't for fitness.

There's this saying of the way you do one thing is the way you do everything.

Yeah.

And the gym teaches you that you can do hard stuff.

Yes.

And not just survive it. You actually get better and stronger.

Yeah.

And that hard stuff seems easy.

Yeah. And for someone who was so kind of like, I was down really bad, I felt like I was a mentally weak person. Like, the belief system I had about myself was really, really low. And getting in the gym and lifting heavy stuff, I mean, I can't think of anything better for someone who's in a really bad place, because it just shows that you can do hard things.

It's one of the things that we did to help heal my son from his brain injury was I got him in to a functional performance gym in Palm Desert, and he did battle ropes and balance work and all sorts of stuff. I mean, it's amazing for what it does for your brain, but also just for his confidence.

100%.

So it's fantastic that you're now in this business because now it's your whole identity.

Yeah.

So how did that happen? And tell us about your podcast, because it's. It's like, what number one in health.

Thank you. I don't know if it's what number one, but it.

It's been there. It's not.

Right now we're in the top 10 for sure.

Fantastic.

Thank you. It's really exciting. And it's exciting, I think, for women to be in the top 10, because I see a lot of men up there and they're all incredible. But it is nice to see. So In November of 2017, I posted a side by side before and after of, you know, me before my fitness journey and me after. And I had 900 followers at the time. And that photo ended up blowing up on the Internet. It was the time of social media where things could naturally blow up. It was getting reposted everywhere. I was getting a ton of dms and everyone was like, what did you do? What did you eat? So my first ever product was a workout PDF guide and a nutrition guide, and I sold them for $5. And people would email me and PayPal me and I would email them the guide. So it was this very sort of like manual system. And my husband is a very entrepreneurial, great with marketing, very high energy, and he helped me so I could create content, connect. I love branding. I love anything creative. And he was doing all the behind the scenes. Eventually we made a website, automated the whole thing. My first physical product was a resistance Band that we hand packed and shipped out of my dad's house. 900 bands. It was insane.

Wow.

It was insane. And we were just like two young kids, like 23, just super duper passionate about health and fitness. Like, I felt like I had this fire under me and I wanted to share this information that I had learned in my story. And I felt like a lot of women on the Internet wanted to connect as well. So many of them were in the position I was in and didn't have the information that they needed. And also I felt like not a ton of people online were sharing the struggle side of things. Like, there was not this, like, candid diary style of sharing that was kind of more airbrushed. So I was coming from this angle of, hey, like, I was in a really bad place and this is what I did to get out of it. And then all of 2018, we were sampling for our company, Bloom. We started with three pre workouts. It was just myself and Greg and our manufacturer. And the pre workout sold out. And I think it was a great, A great moment for us because we were so connected with my community that had been building on Instagram that they were really helping us create these products. Like they were telling us what flavors they wanted. We were showing them the labels. Now I look back and I'm. The labels are hideous. But I was, because I was doing them myself. And we just kept releasing products. We did eaas, we did protein, very gym style products. And then right before COVID I was telling you before, I really struggled getting in a variety of vegetables. I wanted to create a powder that had all the veggies, all the fruits, tasted really good, was easy to incorporate. And that's where we created the greens powder, which we're known for now. And Covid kind of made these greens go viral. They kept selling out, all the girls were loving them. And now we're in Target, Walmart, Sam's Club, Wegmans. And it's bizarre to think about, honestly, from like beginning to now. It's crazy.

And you've got like top podcast, right Products. It's. And you think back, you know, to.

You, I know, working Orange Theory Fitness, you know, barely making your Tupperware salad. Yep, I know the podcast for me. So I started the podcast January of last year and I've only been doing it for a little bit, but it has probably been the most fulfilling thing I've ever done. Truthfully, I felt like I just hit a limit with social media where I was like 30 second clips and photos just aren't representing me and I don't feel like I'm learning and I, I didn't feel like I was being challenged and I felt like I really just wanted to have conversations with experts and share so much more. I mean, the long form content of a podcast is so much more valuable to me than watching a tick tock or a reel. And I feel like it's such more. It's a value add for society and I've loved it. The podcast is called Pursuit of Wellness. I've spoken to some amazing people like yourself. I've learned so freaking much. It's insane. And yeah, we're doing two episodes a week right now. It's definitely a hustle. It's a lot of work, but I love it so much.

It shows.

Thank you.

It's so good. You're an excellent interviewer.

Thank you.

It's a skill I'm really working on honing. I am not a natural interviewer.

Well, you're an expert in so many ways.

It's very challenging when you have ADD because you have to just. I'm like, just duct tape my mouth. It can be very challenging. So I'm going to put@jjvirgin.com Mari all of your information, your podcast, your website, your products.

Amazing.

Very exciting about the products. Do you still have the pre workouts?

We do, actually.

Nice.

I'll send you some. They're great.

Cool, cool, exciting. All right, we'll put all of that there. And I again, success leaves clues. I just am, you know, so impressed with what you've been able to accomplish. But really it's that shift to not even recognize the person that you were before. To honor them, but not recognize them. And to move into this whole way of being that you've built an entire career around is so super cool.

Thank you so much.

Go you.

Thank you. And thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

Be sure to be sure to join.

Me next time for more tools, tips and techniques you can incorporate into everyday life to ensure you look and feel great and are built to last.

Check me out on Instagram, Facebook and my website, jjvirgin.com and make sure to.

Follow my podcast@subscribetoj.com so you don't miss a single episode.

And hey, if you're loving what you.

Hear, don't forget to leave.

Leave a review. Your reviews make a big difference in.

Helping me reach more incredible women just.

Like you to spread the word about.

Aging powerfully after 40.

Thanks for tuning in and I'll catch.

You on the next episode. Hey JJ here. And just a reminder that the well Beyond 40 podcast offers health, wellness, fitness and nutritional information that's designed for educational and entertainment purposes only.

You should not rely on this information.

As a substitute for, nor does it replace professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

If you have any concerns or questions.

About your health, you should always consult with a physician or other healthcare professional.

Make sure that you do not disregard.

Avoid or delay obtaining medical or health related advice from your healthcare professional because.

Of something you may have heard on.

The show or read in our show notes. The use of any information provided on.

The show is solely at your own risk.

Hello listeners, this is Ann Bogle, author, blogger and creator of the podcast what Should I Read next? Since 2016, I've been helping readers bring more joy and delight into their reading lives. Every week I take all things books and reading with a guest and guide them in discovering their next read. They share three books they love, one book they don't, and what they've been reading lately, and I recommend three titles they may enjoy reading Next. Guests have said our conversations are like therapy, troubleshooting issues that have plagued their reading lives for years, and possibly the rest of their lives as well. And of course, recommending books that meet the moment. Whether they are looking for deep introspection to spur or encourage a life change or a frothy page turner to help them escape the stresses of work, school, everything, you'll learn something about yourself as a reader and you'll definitely walk away confident to choose your next read, with a whole list of new books and authors to try. So join us each Tuesday for what Should I Read Next? Subscribe now wherever you're listening to this podcast and Visit our website whatshould I readnext podcast.com to find out more.