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Video6 minWith Nikkiey Stott

Losing Inches With Less Cardio in Perimenopause at 43

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This video is part ofWarriorBabe Transformation Stories113 lessons · where to start, common questions and more

In this video

Candy was no stranger to exercise. For about a year before joining WarriorBabe she was doing huge amounts of cardio, and she had tried programs like Jenny Craig, including one that had her on 500 calories until she passed out. She might lose half a pound, but it would come right back, and she wasn't gaining any muscle.

At 43 and perimenopausal, working as a police officer, Candy describes her stress levels as high most of the time and believes that was getting in the way of losing fat and building muscle. Inside WarriorBabe she learned to use food and macros to fuel her workouts, brought weights back in and did less cardio. The scale hasn't moved much, but she is losing inches around her waist and chest and building muscle in her arms and legs.

She also talks about the confidence that gave her to sign up for her first marathon, and what she values most: the course modules, the daily Facebook community, weekly calls with Nikkiey Stott and coaches she can reach any time.

Key takeaways

  • Doing massive amounts of cardio without changing anything else left Candy losing half a pound that kept coming back, with no new muscle.
  • Extreme low-calorie programs can be unhealthy: one had Candy on 500 calories and she passed out.
  • Learning how to use food and macros to fuel her workouts was what Candy says she was missing.
  • Putting weights back into her workouts while cutting back on cardio helped her lose fat and build muscle.
  • The scale barely moved, but she lost inches around her waist and chest and built muscle in her arms and legs, so look beyond scale weight.
  • Candy believes the stress of perimenopause, intense exercise and her police job kept her stress hormones high and made fat loss harder.
  • Using a support community and asking questions when you're not seeing the results you expect helps keep you going in the right direction.
  • Candy refuses to accept that getting older means losing muscle and gaining fat.

Questions answered

Can you lose inches with less cardio in perimenopause?

Candy, who is 43 and perimenopausal, cut back on cardio, added weights back in and learned to fuel her workouts with macros. She hasn't lost much on the scale, but she is losing inches around her waist and chest and building muscle in her arms and legs.

Why wasn't doing lots of cardio working for Candy?

She did massive amounts of cardio for about a year without changing anything else. She might lose half a pound, but it would come back, and she wasn't gaining muscle. She believes high stress from perimenopause, exercise and her job as a police officer was also making fat loss harder.

Is a very low-calorie diet a good idea after 40?

Candy shares that one program had her on 500 calories and she passed out. She says there are a lot of unhealthy programs out there and that WarriorBabe instead taught her how to fuel her body for her workouts.

What support do WarriorBabe members get?

Candy describes course modules on nutrition, exercise and macros, a Facebook community where someone is available at any hour, multiple weekly calls with Nikkiey Stott that are recorded, the option to message her, and expert coaches who are always available.

Full transcript

Candy: I came into WarriorBabe by finding it on Facebook. I remember the first thing that got me about it was seeing a little bit of information, but seeing a picture of Nikkiey. And I remember thinking, I want to look like that. How do I get to look like that? So I checked out some more information and got on a call to find out more about the program.

I remember being a little hesitant because of the cost associated with the program. But it truly is a program that you get for life, and you get so much with this program that it truly is worth it. You get a ton of information throughout the modules that teach you so much about nutrition and exercise and your body type, and how to use food and macros specifically to fuel your body for the workouts and the results that you're trying to get, whether you're trying to build muscle or lose fat or do a combination of both.

Before coming into this program, I really didn't know anything about macros. I knew about low carb. I knew about low fat. I tried a couple of different programs. I remember trying Jenny Craig. And I had done pretty extensive workouts up to this point. I wasn't new to exercise by any stretch of the imagination.

I remember they had me on 500 calories, and I passed out. So there are a lot of unhealthy programs out there. But this teaches you how to fuel your body and get the workouts that you need for you, which is a little different for everybody. And if you're doing it wrong, you're not going to get the results that you need. And that's where I was at when I came into this program.

For about the last year, I had been doing the workouts. I had been doing massive amounts of cardio, like so much cardio, and I hadn't been changing anything. I might have lost half a pound, but then it would be back. And I wasn't gaining any muscle, and I couldn't figure out why.

Another thing about me is, even though I'm 43, I'm perimenopausal. So my cortisol levels are high because of that. And then when you exercise, your cortisol levels go up. And then being a police officer, my cortisol levels are pretty high all the time, except for when I'm at home or relaxed. So that was inhibiting my ability to lose the fat and build the muscle.

So I needed to learn how to use the food to fuel my workouts, to put the weights back into my workouts, and use the food the proper way to do that, and then burn the fat afterwards, but with less cardio. So who thought that I could do less cardio? But I've been able to do it.

I haven't lost a lot on the scale, but I'm losing inches around my waist and my chest, and I'm building muscle throughout my arms and my legs now as well. And especially now, because I've actually signed up for the Chicago Marathon in October. It's going to be my first marathon that I'm going to run, and I'm very scared. But I have every bit of confidence in myself now. So this program has taught me so much about that.

And they give you every resource to do it. They give you all the tools. They teach you everything through the modules throughout the program. And there's a fantastic Facebook community that you get to get on. You can get on it every day. You can get on it every hour if you want to. There's always somebody there and available, just to talk to, bounce ideas off of, give advice of your own if you have it.

And every week you have multiple times that you can jump on calls with Nikkiey herself and just make sure that you're going in the right direction. You can get validation, if you thought you were going in the right direction, or if you just have a question, you're not sure, you're not seeing the results you think you need to see. You can talk to her directly. And if you can't get on one of those, you can send her a message. They're all recorded, so you can see them later. And you have expert coaches that are always available to you. So this program is truly, truly worth it.

You have a program that is there for you for life, and it is worth every single penny and more. I am so happy that I came to WarriorBabe. I'm so happy with the results that I am seeing for me. I am not one of those people who is going to be happy, as I get older, with things like, well, you're just going to lose muscle and gain fat, and that's what happens. That's not for me. That's not the life I want to live.

So I truly believe in this program. I support it 100%. And I hope to see all of you inside WarriorBabe. Thank you.

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