Aging Well and Biohacking with Kim Lyons

Today on Midlife Conversations, I've got my friend Kim Lyons. And this is kind of cool. Like, I met Kim in our 20s. We were in our 20s and we were doing some crazy fitness competitions. We were doing, like, these.

Try.

Was it tri fitness or ox? I don't even remember. It was one of those things where you do, like, the crazy.

We.

We would climb up these, like, ladders and jump over things and jump over walls. Right.

It was the best, wasn't it? I mean, those were the good old days when your biggest problem was getting over the cargo net, you know?

Yeah, but that's how. That's how I met you with our spray, our protan cracking tans. And this is before the days of Internet. I mean, there was no Internet. There was no Facebook or Instagram or any of that. We just all met in person at a fun competition. That's how I actually met you first. And then I ran into her years later. We both were living in California because we met on the east coast, I think in Florida at those competitions. Y. It was years later that I. I saw you. We felt reconnected online. And then I saw you at our hair place. We are both getting our hair done by the same girl. That's how I saw you again later.

Chances are, you know, amazing. So it's. Yeah, it's a small world for sure.

But I had to have Kim Lyons on today. And the reason why is one, she is close to my age. She's a spring chicken. She's two years younger. So she's 50. I'm 52. But she. We've had very similar career paths. We have followed. We both have one kid. We both have ended up in California. We both took what we had learned with fitness and health and really started applying it to midlife women. And we follow each other on Instagram because we do a lot of the same similar things. It's funny, I'll be into some. I call them age optimizing. I guess the real world is biohacking, but we will have, like the same red light unit or the same interesting thing. So I thought, you know what? I've got to have Kim on, because for someone that we don't really talk that often, we do a lot of the same things when it falls into aging well and just a little background who she is. She's an international health and wellness personality for over 25 years, and she's a master certified personal trainer and nutrition coach. And her. Her goal, just like mine, is to help people become healthier and make the World a better place emotionally, physically, all of the, all of the ways. So thank you so much for being here today, Kim.

It is so fun to be here. And you know, just like you mentioned, I feel like our lives have paralleled in so many ways. And even though we haven't stayed in direct contact, it's just so fun to be able to see two careers and two paths that really have so paralleled and just aging well and teaching other women how to. You know, I have a love hate relationship with the word biohack because I feel like so many women aren't quite ready those stages yet because you got to master the basics first. But to see someone who has embraced it and I don't know about you, but I feel better now in my 50s than I did in my 30s.

I absolutely do. I totally do. And I think back to. And I want to talk a little about that because some of the unhealthy things we did, even back in the fitness competition days. So. Yeah, and that's a big reason I wanted to have you on, have her on you all because I wanted her. You to hear her perspective too. First of all, if you go look at Kim on Instagram, you go look her on social media. Kim Lions. She looks incredible. She does not look 50. She looks incredible. Incredible. Not that 50 year olds can't look incredible. They do, but she, you would not guess that she's 50 and she is phenomenal. What she teaches, what she shares, all of the things. So I wanted you to hear some things from her too. Things that we might do different, things that are parallel, but just have a really good conversation about aging. I want to start back, take it back a while to in your 20s, if you can think back then, what was going on through your mind when you decided to do fitness competitions? I know it was going through my mind. What was going through yours?

Well, you know, it's so funny that you bring this up because I have spent a lot of time just in the last year or two really going back to my past and kind of dissecting it and looking at the pieces because I feel like so many women, particularly midlife, they go out and they try to, quote, find themselves. And I'm like, you, you don't really find yourself. You have to learn yourself. A lot of that is going back to your past and kind of dissecting the little bits and pieces that make you who you are. And when I go back to my young, early fitness days and I'm going to share some things on this podcast that I haven't shared because I'm very, very. I'm very introverted, and I really have a lot of boundaries. And we'll get farther into that. A lot of that is due to being on primetime NBC. But when I go back to my 20s and I think about it, I started my career as an airline pilot. I flew, and I was ready to start interviewing with the airlines when I had a change of heart. And I was like, I don't want to do this anymore. This. I just couldn't visualize myself being a pilot. So I literally went across the street and I got a job at a gym. I had graduated from college. I had all my pilot's license. I'd spent a fortune doing it. And I started working the front desk at a gym because I. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. Had no idea. And as I started to train, and I actually ended up with a personal trainer, funny story, working the front desk. And a trainer came up to me and he said, hey, I've got a girl that would love to share a session, and we think you would be a good fit. Would you want to share the cost? And I remember it was $450 for the month. And I remember that because it was the same as my rent at the time. Wow. And there was no way. I was like, there's no way. I don't have any. And. But for some reason, I wrote the check and I started to train with him, and it changed my life so dramatically.

Wow.

But what I found about that, looking back into it, is everything I did with fitness is because at that time in my life, I had very little control over so many things. I had married a fighter pilot, so I really. That was a different world. And I just didn't. I didn't know what I wanted. I didn't have a career path. I was just lost. But fitness was something I could control. How much I moved my body and what I ate was 100% mine and gravitated toward that, and I fell in love with it for that reason. And learning my body as those stages went, and being able to have that control was something that I became deeply obsessed with.

Yeah, I remember those same. I mean, it's interesting because I took a little curve because I was doing these fitness competitions. Fitness was not my career. I was in sales. I was working in a company, a medical device company. But I just had this fascination with fit. Remember? I remember. What was the girl that did her thing in Hawaii? I forgot her name now. Keena. Tom or whatever her name was.

Oh, yes, yeah, Yes.

I used to watch that and be like, oh, I just, I love that look. And then Fitness America and all that. So I remember what I loved about the competitions that we ended up doing is they were super athletic. It wasn't just getting on stage and posing. It was like we had to train. Like, it was these military style obstacle courses. I remember, like, I can't. I laugh now. Like, I, wow, I was pretty strong. I was doing these jumping over cargo nets and over walls. And so it was, I liked the athletic component to that. What was hard, what it definitely set me back on a weird trajectory, was how when you start getting judged for your body, it wasn't just that, because that was part of the score, how fast you were. Right. But then it was the standing up there in our little sparkle bikini getting judged. And I know that definitely affected me. I don't know if that affected you. It really affected me.

It's impossible for it not to affect you. And you know, and I, when I think back to all the different competitions and it's interesting how your mindset really sets you up for success or failure. And, you know, I did the Galaxy, which was a lot like, try fitness.

Yeah, I did that one too. Yeah, I did the Galaxy too.

And when, when I did that show, I was going to win was no way around it. I was like, I'm doing the Galaxy and I'm going to win. My mindset was, I'm going to win. And I was always the girl in the magazines. I still have the first one where it's all these pictures of girls of Galaxy, everybody has their name and then there's me and it's like this girl. They didn't even know who I was.

Wow.

But from the very first time I competed, I was like, I'm going to win the show. And that mindset carried me through to win the show. But when I went onto the IFBB and these other shows, my mindset was never to win. My mindset was I just want to get a contract so that I have a job and I want contracts with, you know, whatever company. At the time, it was the supplement companies and things. So I don't know, I think part of that mindset sort of saved me because I was never a title. But at the end of the day, when you look at yourself on stage and you're standing in a line with women in bikinis and, you know, with the obstacle courses, it was cut and dry.

You have a time, you're timed on It. Yeah.

Fitness routines and the quarter, you know, poses and this stuff. There's so much room for opinion that it is absolutely impossible. Forget the judges. It's impossible for you not to judge yourself and really kind of go, what. What are the expectations? Where am I lacking? And I remember one thing that I made a promise to myself very early on was I just want to know that I couldn't have worked any harder to get to that stage. I want to know that I did everything humanly possible to be in the best shape that I could on that stage.

Yeah.

And I did that, and I trained ridiculous. But at the time, again, I had nothing else. And I look at so many people, years they had kids, and I think I had nothing else.

Oh, I didn't either at the time. Yeah.

Everything to me. So, you know, it was something that it really, like.

Do you think back to what we were eating? Because I don't know how you eat now, but how I ate then was total. Like, so I know when we did this, it was like that you would eat every two hours and you would have no fat. It's like, at least I was chicken.

And broccoli total during the day.

Yeah, chicken and broccoli. And I remember twice being in a grocery store. Like, one time I was like, I saw these, like, flavored rice cakes, and I was like, oh, I just wanted a rice cake. And I remember eating the entire tube and bringing up the empty tube. And then I also remember binging on a jar of peanut butter because I was so fat deprived.

Oh, wait. So two funny things on that. One, this is how completely. People, you know, they always want the end results, but they don't realize what we've got to those six packs. But on the. When we were in Florida, at that time, I was living in Italy. So again, eating every two hours. Flying over from Italy, I would. Natalie, I would put my meals in a Ziploc bag, which at the time was a can of tuna, a half a cup of rice, and get the. I would put splenda on top of it.

Oh, my gosh.

I would break up a cup of broccoli, but I didn't want to eat it on the airplane because clearly that stinks. So I would. In a Ziploc bag, I would bite the end of the corner of the bag off.

And oh, my gosh.

That was me all the way to that show in Florida. But the funny thing to the peanut butter. I did a show. Did you do the show in Cancun? The. So it's the Cancun Galaxy on the way home, all the girls had candy. I bought a jar of peanut butter and ate the whole thing with a spoon on the flight on the way home.

Yeah, because we used to teach like such a low fat. Like everything was. And everything was steamed, like boiled broccoli or steamed broccoli and steamed chicken. Oh, So I can't. I still to this day can't eat like plain chicken like that because it just gross.

Oh, yeah. No, I can't eat orange ever again.

Tilapia.

Oh.

So it's funny how that. So times have obviously changed there and I. I'm glad. You know, it's funny because when I was moving, I think I texted you. It was a couple years ago. I was like, one of the times I was moving and I came across magazines and you and I were actually in a picture together in muscle mag. So this was like literally before the time of digital magazines and Instagram and social media and all that. It was like a big deal that you, like get in a magazine. I remember how. How, like that was like the goal to. How to. How do you get on a magazine or cover? It wasn't until in my 40s later that I had the ability to be on covers up, which had nothing to do with competitions. So I'm curious about you, like, where did the competition stuff end and then what you do now and what you've transitioned to change?

You know, it's such an interesting transition for me because I went from the very small world of that high elite fitness competition world to being very mainstream. And that transition happened literally almost overnight. I was preparing for a fitness competition and a casting director called me and said, hey, would you audition for the trainer on the Biggest Loser? And this was season two, going into season two. So the show had only aired for one year and I had seen maybe an episode or two, but I just remember thinking how awful they're making fun of fat people. And that was kind of where my mindset was with it. So when I got the call, I was like, well, when. Yeah, it was kind of random, but it was because of my exposure in the fitness magazines. And, you know, there was so much, so much obviously that I skimmed over there. I went not only from modeling, but to writing and really embracing teaching other women in the fitness industry how to get into shape. Because back then, like you said, there was no social media. There was no, There was none of that. It was literally like, you read the magazines and you learn and that's the only source. So I loved to write, but Something caught the eye of the casting director. And so. And this is again, this was for season two of Biggest Scissors. So I. And I'll never forget Natalie. I signed in, and I was number 782. And I looked around the room, and there was about 100 and some odd girls that looked just like, wow.

Yeah, that was cattle calling her.

And when I signed in, it was like, name, agent, manager. And, you know, and I'm just up there. I'm like, self so self. You know, I'm like, almost walked out. I almost left. These girls were all wearing adorable outfits. I had just come off the sand dune in Manhattan Beach. I'd sand in my hair. I was like, what am I doing here? It was. It was a mess. But I went through this very long interview process and got the job. And it was again season two. So a lot of people don't know this, but what happened is I filled out all the paperwork, got the agent, everything. I was on top of the world. I was shredded because I was getting ready for a competition, had pizza party with my girlfriends. And then I got a call the next day, and they said, well, it was the day before I was supposed to start. And they said, we're so sorry. Some things have fallen through with Jillian's contract. We're unable to break it, and we're unable to have you on the show. And I was like, wow. So there was this devastation. And, you know, I was like, okay. I was so confused. I had signed all the contracts, right. But it shifted my mindset a little bit, and I went back to competing, and that was that, and that was the end of it. And a year I got the call again, and they said, we're only bringing back the top 50 trainers that we auditioned. Will you come back and audition again? So part of me again was like, oh, my God, I can't do this again. So long story short, it ended up being the job for me. And I remember thinking, this is something I can do, because by then I watched the show. But the biggest change was going from teaching women how to dial in their six pack and do quarter turns on stage and. And to win competitions and get over cargo nets fast to literally saving lives.

Yes.

I had spent my whole. The entire time that I was a personal trainer. Just people ask me what I would do for a living, and I would say, I'm just a personal trainer.

Yeah.

It was never something I identified as a job. I identified it as a hobby. Just something that I'm doing until I figure out what I want to do with my life. But there was a very pivotal time when I was on the Biggest Loser where I walked into set and they were all crying and I was like, oh my God, what is the drama today? And one of my guys, Ken, said, can. These are tears of joy. We got back reports today. Wow. They went through the list. No longer pre diabetic, no longer needing medications, the cholesterol and all of these things. And I thought to myself, holy cow, I'm not just a personal trainer. I'm saving people's lives, lives through nutrition size. So that's really pivotal for me. And that's when I went more mainstream and I started to realize the power of our health and not just looking good on stage.

So good, so good. No, I know you being in midlife like me. And yes, we are living past 100, so that's why I say midlife. We, we both have redefined aging, like really redefined aging. And I, I say that because there is countless women that I feel have given up on their lives. Like real, truly, like I. And I know because we both get these messages and they are feeling very discouraged. Like they, they think they missed the boat, it's too late, like they've ruined things, whatever. They have these stories and unfortunately, I think the masses and media really does contribute to that in a lot of ways. When I know you and I want to scream from the. Scream from the rooftop sometimes that, no, it doesn't have to be that way. And actually we know a lot of people aging extremely well. Like, like you. We think about Clark, who we both worked with and good friends with, who's 60 and looks incredible and is. Is physically incredible. And it's not just about looks. It's about, it's not at all just about looks. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about labs. I'm talking about how you feel the energy, the aches and pains, just any. All of that. When you think back on that, what would you say you've done? Right, because we had choices to make different decisions. What have you. When you go, like, what did I do right?

Oh, gosh, so many things that I didn't even know at the time. I was setting myself up for success. And I will tell you, the number one thing is muscle. Falling in love with muscle and strength training and having the body become a piece of art rather than a non stop calorie counting BS obsession with these little things. And yes, when we competed, it was about the macros and the obsessions and the calories and the Fat grams. But as I've gotten older and I've learned and dug more into the functional side of nutrition, you start to learn the benefits of nutrients and you start realizing that muscle is what is the foundation of our success. Focusing on protein and muscle was a huge background of my fitness. Everything was about, hey, how do I build muscles? What macros am I going to have to hit to build muscle? Whereas now people are so obsessed about calories or about losing fat or about losing weight, not, you know, body fat that they've lose that big picture. So doing things right, learning what protein is, learning the benefits of protein and also just learning basics of strength training and not being afraid to go back to being a beginner. You know, as you know with injuries, things you never, you're never going to progress non stop. It's not like I'm going to keep lifting heavy for the rest of my life. And heavier and heavier and heavier. It's no, okay, I've got a little thing I got tweaked here. I'm going to have to dial back.

Yeah.

But you'll know the foundation to build on. And that's where I feel like a lot of women need to get comfortable with lifting weights and get off the cardio queen trends, you know.

And so I 100% agree with you. And what's on going crazy to me, but it's still really out there is the amount of women that think they're going to look like a bodybuilder by lifting weights. Can you shed some light on that?

You know, that's probably one thing that it just makes my skin crawl. But I greet that question with a smile because it is, it's, it's a defense mechanism for women. When you don't know something, you will tend to find the easy way out. And that's a very quick defense mechanism for women. And I always just tell them, I'm like, hey, if you're lifting and you find that you are putting on too much muscle, which we both know will never be a problem, then you can quit. You can quit, you can go back to your cardio, but it never happens because women love the result that they get from lifting weights.

I want, I hope women are really listening to this because I've yet to interview anybody in midlife that's doing really well that doesn't say this. Like the muscle is that longevity thing. It is that longevity organ, really. I mean, and it's not only that, it's the fountain of youth, I believe. I mean, it changes everything. Adding that Muscle. Adding that muscle. When you look at describing how you eat, I'm guessing you probably eat like me. I don't even know, but I'm guessing I'm just gonna say it, and then you can tell me if I'm right or wrong. You probably eat primarily unprocessed natural foods, and you probably prioritize protein, and you probably prioritize getting in phytonutrients. You're probably not carnivore. You're probably somebody who eats fruits and vegetables. Am I wrong or am I right?

Check. You are spot on. And I think that this is a very common theme with women that are entering into their midlife gracefully. And, you know, there's certain things that I really focus on when I work with women. And, you know, first and foremost, as I kind of tackled, quit obsessing about one thing, because it's not about one thing, and it's. It's about the whole story. And. And you just described so much of the story. You know, another part of things that are so important for women is getting rid of nutrient deficiencies. They're so silly. And it's things like water, magnesium, vitamin D, these deficiencies that are just totally sabotaging the way that we feel. But there are things that are easy to rectify. And, you know, with all the different diets out there and all the madness, there are a few things that every single one of those diets have in common. One of them is to eat foods in its whole natural form. Yeah, just stop eating processed chemical food. But prioritizing protein, I think that's one that I really have to work on with my women because it can be challenging and it's different.

But you know what? I don't. I'm gonna. I want women to hear this too, because I know we hear, eat your, you know, close to your body weight in grams of protein a day. But even if you don't do that, eat more protein. Because if I really look at what women are eating, some of them are having, like 40 grams total a day. So you're, like, really low. So instead of saying, I've got to have my body weight and protein, let's just start prioritizing it. Let's start getting in more. Can you have a little more? Like, I don't care if you're only getting 3 ounces in a meal, but can you get it in? Can you start building it up?

Yes. And that's exactly the start point. You know, I. I'm very hesitant to give people exact numbers because you have to start from where you are at. And if you are starting, most of my women come to me, like you said, at 40 to 50 grams per day.

Yeah.

And I look at what they're eating and I'm like, okay, here's where we're going to add that. You know, we're going to change that. We're going to add, you know, a half a cup of this here, we're going to add this there. And there's little tweaks you can make throughout the day to easily increase that by 30 grams. And then you continue to build on that and every different preferences and routines. There are endless ways to get more protein, but you got to find what works for your schedule.

Tell me how you feel about vegetables, because I'm, I, I'm going to get on a soapbox here for a second, but I'm just wondering, maybe you disagree with me. My last book, Aging in Reverse. I talk a lot about phytonutrients, and I swear that has made a difference in aging, like for me and for healing, just in general, it fights inflammation. So I, I, I worry, not cringe. I worry about people on some, some extreme ketos and extreme carnivore because you're not getting those phytonutrients. And I do think you might feel better, but I worry about rapid aging with that. What are your thoughts around that?

I really agree. And again, there's so many different angles. So, you know, I have a lot of people that come to me, they're like, I just can't eat this, this and this. And I'm like, okay, let's figure out why. Like, let's figure out why your body is fighting it. And again, part of my personal journey and learning my body was doing some deep tests and finding out, you know, what, what is my microbiome like, what am I genetically prone to do well with? Guess what? I don't do well with oxalates. So the handfuls of spinach in my, you know, smoothies, that kind of had to go. The broccoli wasn't something that my body liked. And my microbiome test stated loud and clear, these are the things you should stay away from. But I'm like, I still want the sulforaphane that's in broccoli. So now what do I do? So you make those small changes now I do microgreens. I also take a supplement that sulfor. So I'm getting those nutrients, I'm getting those, you know, phytonutrients. I'm getting the The. The antioxidants that my body craves, but I also do well with berries. So again, you have to figure out your story. You have to learn yourself what works. Yeah.

Be a detective and be what do it works for you.

Not eat vegetables. And I think it's a real dumb cop out when people are like, I don't like veggies. I'm like, really? Because you've tried.

They just. Everyone. Everyone's decided that oxalates kill them. And I'm like, not everyone, so.

Not everyone. Exactly. Not everyone. And you have to know your body, so. And also, you know, with that said, yeah, I don't process oxalates, but guess what? There are things that you can drink, like lemon water that help antioxidants. So, you know, a squeeze of lemon in my smoothie with the spinach is going to bind those oxalates.

So that's great.

I love that. Such a fun process to learn in your body.

So the other thing, you and I have both been on this journey, because I follow we do a lot of the same similar things. We've both gone down the rabbit hole of, like, eliminating toxins, which I think is funny too, because I think about us putting that protean paint on our skin years ago. And, like, I'm sure we had the hot plastic water bottles in our car. Like, so that's changed over time. I'm curious. So they know my journey with toxins. I'm curious about your journey. What got you thinking? Like, I got to really watch about all these toxins coming in.

You know, it's really just. For me, it was just digging into the functional medicine side of things, and I wasn't. I have one that has not really struggled with toxins because I believe that I kind of got on that bandwagon early enough, but so many of my clients, so I was forced to learn how to help them. And through that journey, I've gone, okay, I'm going to try this. I have to try everything before I recommend it for anyone. And it's taken me down this journey of going, wow, I really feel good when I'm in a sauna, when I use infrared light, when I put on my blue light glasses, when I stick to the structure, when I do these cold punches, I feel amazing. So to be able to do these things, I feel really blessed that we have so many options now, again, back in our day, there were no infrared sauna blankets. I mean, maybe there were, but I didn't know about them. No, we're in a sauna. It was a stinky one at the gym that, you know.

Yeah.

It was something that we did just to sweat out water.

Not totally.

Benefits.

Yeah. Now.

Yeah.

So, okay, so Kim had the funniest. Well, it's not funny. It was like. I was like. I felt like a bad human when I saw your story. So. So this is how I learned you had all the biohacking stuff in your house. Like, I do. And I. And I. By the way, I renamed it myself. I made it up Bio Optimizing. Because I feel like biohacking. I'm like, what are we having? So I got bio Optimizing. So we both have a lot of the same stuff, like, in our houses. And what the story that got my attention was Kim went into her gym, and there was a mouse on her. Was it on your power plate? Because you both have power plates and not. Okay. I. I would have screamed. Brooks, come get the mouse. Jim decided to rescue this mouse. She decided to give it red light therapy to feed it vitamins, to put it in. I don't know. Did you give it a cola plunge?

I don't know.

You gave it, like.

You know, that was probably a good idea. I probably should just dunk him in that one.

You literally brought this mouse back to life using all of your healing modalities. And I was dying because I was like, okay, you are a very special human. That would have not been what I had done. But that was amazing. That mouse found the right biohacker that day. I thought that story was awesome.

Yeah. No, that was so funny. My husband was like, what is wrong with you? I'm like, what do you mean? He goes, you realize this isn't normal, right?

I'm like, you saved the mouse.

Is it like you guys, literally. So if you're just listening. So I turned on my power plate, and this little mouse came sque. I thought it was a leaf at first. I really. So that's kind of how I ended up, like, leaned. I was like, oh, my God. He was a man. He's a little. I didn't even think he's breathing out.

I would have screamed. I would have been like, there's a mouse.

Well, yeah. Your first reaction was like, oh. But I literally. I was like, oh, my God, he's cold. But I see his, like. So immediately I go. I put him on the red light that, you know, on my. The mat. So now I've got this little guy grounding on the red light. I'm giving him electrolytes. Like, all the crazies coming Out. And Gunter is just laughing.

That's her husband.

You're right. This is not normal. But he lived. We let him out in the park. I was like, he got crazy. And when he came, he was crazy. I was like, this mouse was jumping around my bathtub. Yeah, yeah.

He wasn't supposed to be living in your house. That's why.

Yeah, no, not so much. I was like, get out.

You're like, I'm done. I healed you. You're out. So. But I love. Okay, so talk to me about some of this. I think we have a lot of the same things, but I. I'm always sharing. I. You know, I hesitated to share some of this stuff initially because I thought people are going to go, oh, I don't have that. Or I can't get. But you know what? I actually think there's such important things. And I think setting up bio optimizing stuff in your house is almost like the old days when everyone wanted, like, a home gym in their house. Like, now we've moved to. You don't necessarily need that. You could do body weight stuff, whatever. But some of these things, if you can bring them into your house, they are actually. Not only do they help heal, you prevent things, all the things. But it also is way less money than if you go and try to use them somewhere. I know there's a lot of those centers that have all the things there, but you pay a lot more than you would just having them in your house.

Well, and here's the problem I have with a lot of those centers. Yes, I love them. They're great. But with all of these things, you have to do it consistently. It's like anything else in life. You have to be consistent with the red light, you have to be consistent with the grounding. You have to be consistent with all the things. And if you're constantly having to drive somewhere and do it, it's. It's. You're not going to be.

That's right. That's true. Like, I get up every morning, first thing I do is go in my sauna. Like, that's like the first thing I do.

Absolutely. And you know, there's. There's things that you can have at your home. There's different levels, you know. Yes, I have a grounding mat, but you can go outside and you can stand.

I have a grounding mat, too. But then I was like, wait a minute. I have wood floors that are like on the ground. So I think I can just stand on my floors.

Yeah, right. But I think it's the way that I'm like, okay, I. I want to work at my desk, but there's nothing more toxic for me than being at my desk. And that's a fact. What job you have, you're going to be sitting at a desk, totally on a computer. It's our society. But if I can sit on my grounding Matt with my red light therapy and I. I love all the things. So I have a therassage one that has. It's the grounding and the red light.

Okay.

Eat the whole thing. Even does tens if you wanted to. So I will sit on that while I'm at my desk. And I feel like, okay, amazing, healthy. And then I also have the red light box, all the little things that you can do. And then the sauna bag. I love that as well. My. The sunlight and sauna is my next. I.

That's what I have. I'm obsessed with it. I love it.

I have to have it. Like, that's my next. And I keep trying to say, oh, I don't need it. I have my sauna bag.

No, it's the best. I love having my sunlight and sauna and the one person, one fits two people, actually. Just so you know.

Yeah, you need to invest. You need to invest in yourself. And you have to do it because if you don't do it now, you're going to pay for it later.

That's right.

It's going to be miserable paying for it in other ways. So I am such a believer of get this stuff, get it in your house. Like I said, I also have the power plate.

Yeah, I was laughing because we both have power plates too. I was like, okay, of course we both have a power plate also.

Yes. And I just think it's really good in the morning to get up, get that lymphatic system flowing. And there are days when you're not going to be able to go for the hour walk in the morning. There are days when you're going to need all the little helpers and you're going to need them in your house. Okay.

So for the people that are listening, like, okay, you guys are. That's great for you, but I don't have all those things. What would you say? Like, in the order of priority are the most important things? Like if you didn't, if you moved and you had none of that stuff, what would you say? I've got to have, like, these are mine, or what would you do first?

Yeah, you know, I think that for the, the, for me, the priority would Be to get an infrared sauna bag. Whether that's higher dose or Thera sog. There are so many out there. And yeah, if you can't afford a name brand one, research it, find something generic on Amazon. There is definitely a way. But it's important for our bodies to sweat and there's so many benefits that come from our body fighting that heat and you know, the mitochondria benefits and just our body can regenerate but you have to throw it out of balance. Whether that's ice eat, throw it out of balance so that it's working to get back into balance. But for me, I feel like that was a good investment that I use frequently.

Yeah, no, I agree with you on that. So I'm going to say for the. I always start people with things like that are really, really, really inexpensive. Like for example, you can do dry brush. Just having a dry brush. You can get it on Amazon, even gouache on your face just to get your lymph athletic system going. So dry brush and that and then just making sure you're outside sometimes each day. I'm also a fan of my necklace, my quantum energy necklace.

Talk about that. We'll talk about. Because I'm super curious about that.

Yeah. And I'm probably going to explain it messed up but it, I feel different. It has quantum energy beads in it. It's a, it's.

I mean it's incredible.

You're like little purple beads. But I, I create. It's weird. If I don't have it on, I can, I feel different. It's supposed to change, supposed to help protect against EMF and change the energy around. So maybe it's in my head, I don't know. But it works because I put it on.

I don't think things that when people say, oh, I think it's in my head. I don't think it is. And you know, that's interesting. So we go. We have an Airstream and we go to Big Sur and the, the place that we park. We are.

Okay, you're gonna die when I tell you that that's. Now I realize that we gotta all go camping together apparently because that's what my husband just got.

So. No, really?

Of course that just happened.

Yeah.

That's so funny.

You have a favorite place that we go to In Big Sur, 40 miles from any Internet. And I'm not talking like you get right. You are 40 miles One Direction or the other direction. Right now it's only one direction because the road is closed. But there's no emfs. There is.

That's amazing. And you feel different, probably.

I feel so different. I crave going there because you don't have any emf, so when you have your phone, literally, to take pictures, that's wild. The first time we went there, I had, like, an anxiety attack because I was like, oh, my gosh, I have no connection. You know, it's like this whole thing. And then I was like, wow, I feel different.

Feel good. Yeah.

You don't know that impact. There's. It's impossible to measure on our own body's energy to know exactly the impact it's impacting us. 100. And whatever you can do to deflect it, I recommend it.

It's so true. I love all this. If you were going to give people listening, like, just to kind of sum it all up in a. Right in a good bow, because, I mean, I know there's so many things in so many different con conversations here, but, like, if you're like my top three, my top three to age well or to start redefining aging, what would you say?

Oh, gosh, there are so many. But honestly, I'm gonna give you guys the top three that absolutely everyone can do, and they can start doing it right now. That is one, get up in the morning and drink a big glass of water with electrolytes in it in the sunshine. Okay.

Love it. Okay.

Yeah. Just in my three things there in step one. Step two, movement first thing in the morning. I don't care if you walk. I don't care if you march in place. I don't care if you stand on a power plate that shakes your whole body. You've got to have movement in the morning. You have to. If you don't, you're going to set yourself up for failure for the whole day. So move your body. And third, do resistance training.

So good to see all three of those things. Easy, easy. And they're free. Honestly, like, all those totally free.

You can. I mean, everybody has something in their house they can lift. If you don't have free weights, of course, I would love for everybody to go get a dumbbell set or a kettlebell or something. But, you know, those are all things that everybody can do, and they underestimate the power of the simple things. The simple things will change your life. You know, we can talk about all the amazing, you know, big, expensive gadgets out there, but if you don't master those small, simple things first, the big things aren't going to matter for you.

So good. Thank you so much, Kim. Where can they find you? Where can people go follow you, find you, learn more about what you teach and do?

Yeah. So you can go to Kim Lyons.com and I have an online program of amazing, amazing women called Simplified Nutrition and Fitness. And it's just that it's teaching people things in the right order on how they can optimize their health and feel good every day.

So good. Thank you, Kim. Thank you.

Thank you so much for having me. It's been so fun. We got to do this more often.