Menopause Belly Fat at 48? How Marcie Finally Got Toned

Marcie: My body's never looked like this before. I've been skinny, but I've never been able to get the muscle that I wanted. You can't see my muscles; it's very hard to get to where you can see any muscle in me. I guess some people have good genes and it's easy to see their muscles, but not me. And so to get to a point where I can actually see my triceps a little bit and the muscles in my legs, that's an accomplishment for me.

Nikkiey: What's going on, everybody? Today we have WarriorBabe Marcie here with us. Before WarriorBabe, Marcie stayed active. She maintained a healthy weight. She felt in control of her fitness until menopause happened and everything changed in her world. Suddenly what was working wasn't working anymore. She felt stuck, unmotivated and unsure of what to do next. And then she found WarriorBabe. Since then she has a clear plan, the right guidance from a coach and a community that's keeping her accountable. She's not only lost 15 pounds, but she's gained muscle and she's gained confidence in a body that she loves more than ever. So I'm excited for her to be here and to share her story. Marcie, welcome.

Marcie: Thank you so much.

Nikkiey: I'm excited that you're here. I'm excited for your story to be shared. Can you let the listeners know where you're from, how old you are and what you do for work?

Marcie: Okay. I'm from North Louisiana. I am 48. And I recently left my full-time job and I'm fully self-employed now. My husband has a business, and I am an affiliate for Nu Skin, and I do publishing.

Nikkiey: Very nice. Well, congratulations on that change.

Marcie: Thank you.

Nikkiey: So let's talk about your situation before WarriorBabe, your health and fitness. What did that look like before you joined us?

Marcie: Well, I'm petite and I've never really had trouble with weight. After I had my kids, of course, it was a little harder, but ever since I had my third kid, who's 14, I've been a regular at working out. It was just part of my life. I worked out regularly and never really had a whole lot of trouble keeping weight off, until, like you said, menopause hit. Then I was doing the same things, but it wasn't quite working. And so I just needed a change.

Nikkiey: When you mentioned that you were always working out and maintaining a good weight, when did you start to notice things were starting to change?

Marcie: I guess it was about a year before I started the program. It seemed to coincide right with menopause to me. It was just more of the weight around my stomach, and I couldn't get it off. I had never had that before.

Nikkiey: And you mentioned feeling stuck. What was the biggest and most frustrating part about feeling stuck?

Marcie: I guess just not knowing what to do, because I had always known how to eat and how to work out and everything. But the same things weren't working, and I wasn't quite as motivated as I thought I should be to figure it out on my own. And so I just didn't know what to do.

Nikkiey: How were you eating? When you say you knew how to eat, what did that look like for you on a daily basis?

Marcie: Well, before this, I wasn't necessarily eating healthy. I was kind of just eating what I wanted to. I knew that it wasn't the best, but I just wasn't at a spot where, you know, I didn't have someone telling me what to do. I had just lost the motivation and hadn't figured out how to go about it at that point. So I wasn't worried about it as much. Or I was worried about it; I just wasn't making it a priority, I guess.

Nikkiey: Yeah, I hear you. That was me at the beginning of my journey too. I was wanting to be healthier, and I thought that I was eating healthy until I learned how much I was supposed to be eating and how much protein I was supposed to have in a day. I looked back and I was like, wow, I didn't know that chicken and ground turkey and egg whites all consisted of protein. I thought it was just a protein bar, and that I was getting enough protein in my day and making good choices. So I totally hear you. I just didn't know what I was doing prior to learning all the knowledge that you've also learned being part of WarriorBabe. How did that feeling stuck, recognizing that you were doing things and all of a sudden they weren't working, affect your motivation? How did that affect your confidence?

Marcie: It just kind of makes you want to not try, I guess. If you keep doing things and they're not working, you're just kind of hopeless, like, what do I do? I might as well just not worry about it. But it's stressful, because I didn't want that extra weight and didn't know how to get rid of it.

Nikkiey: When you mentioned you weren't sure what to do, I'm thinking about how many women are in this stage right now, before they find something that makes sense and clicks and they have somebody to work with. When you weren't sure what to do, where was your head on a daily basis? When you were making decisions with food, did you know that it wasn't the right type of food? Or was it just, I'm going to try and eat healthy? And were you working out at that time too? What did your workouts look like?

Marcie: As far as workouts go, I was working out. I moved more after 2020. I was working out at home, and then I went back to the gym that I go to. But I was working out with a friend in some body pump type classes. So I wasn't doing as much strength training as I had been doing before. So that was one piece of it, I think. And then the eating, like I said, I knew how to eat. I knew that I wasn't eating enough protein. I was just eating. I wasn't planning. I was just eating whatever. I think that was one of the issues. Before, it wasn't a big deal, but I couldn't do that anymore without putting the weight on. In the past I would be motivated for a while and eat really good, and then for a while I wouldn't. You know how that is.

Nikkiey: Yeah, totally. I totally resonate with your story. I hear little glimpses of mine in yours. What was the hardest part for you in shifting your mindset? Because I know for me, when I wasn't eating enough, I was told I needed to eat more, pretty much double that amount, and a lot of our WarriorBabes are told that as well. What was the hardest part of shifting your mindset to trusting a new approach?

Marcie: I'm not scared of food. Give me as many calories as I can have; I'm good with that.

Nikkiey: I love that.

Marcie: I want to have carbs. I'm not one of those that barely eats. I don't know if I was eating enough calories, but I definitely wasn't eating enough protein. So it was all mixed up, but no, I wasn't scared of the extra calories. That was one of the reasons that I really enjoy the program, that I can eat enough.

Nikkiey: I love that. So let's bring it to when you found WarriorBabe. How did you find us, and what stood out the most when you found us?

Marcie: Honestly, I think a few years back, I don't even know when it was, I had done maybe some of your workouts. I can't remember exactly what it was, or I bought a little something. But then I saw it and I decided to call in for an appointment to talk about the coaching aspect of it, and once I heard everything I was like, this is what I need. But I had already known about WarriorBabe for the past few years.

Nikkiey: That's awesome. Were you part of the Blueprint before, or did you buy the workout programs?

Marcie: I think it was probably a workout program.

Nikkiey: When did you join the VIP program?

Marcie: Last April. April of 2024.

Nikkiey: That's almost a year.

Marcie: One year, yeah.

Nikkiey: That's so cool. So maybe you found us when I was doing a lot of workouts during COVID. I pushed out a bunch of home workouts and gym workouts for everyone to start following, so maybe you came in at that point. What were your initial thoughts when you first started the program?

Marcie: I really liked it. My main thing was that I wasn't doing any planning at all. So having the accountability and all the steps, it was just perfect for me.

Nikkiey: Did you know about macros beforehand?

Marcie: I did. I've kept up with macros a little bit, but not to the extent that I have since I've started here.

Nikkiey: It's night and day now, right?

Marcie: Yeah.

Nikkiey: So the biggest thing you've mentioned is that you just needed a plan. What was it about the WarriorBabe approach that just clicked for you?

Marcie: Well, it was everything, I guess. I had been given a certain amount of macros, and I'm one of those people where you tell me what to do and I'm going to follow the steps. So it was just easy, because I had all the workouts put in, and I just go in the app, track my food, and go through all the steps. It just made it easy for me.

Nikkiey: When you came into the program, did your coach have you go through a retrain phase, or did you go right into a fat loss phase?

Marcie: Yes, into a retrain.

Nikkiey: Had you ever heard of what that was before?

Marcie: No, I'd never done that before. It seems like a long time, but it worked.

Nikkiey: Yeah, that's what we hear a lot. It's like, when do I get to go into a fat loss phase? Oh, but you need to stay in a retrain for a little bit longer.

Marcie: Yeah, I just had my first cut at the beginning of the year.

Nikkiey: Oh, I love that. So you were in there for a solid—

Marcie: I lost 10 pounds just in the regular retrain and maintenance.

Nikkiey: You lost 10 pounds just by eating more food.

Marcie: Yeah.

Nikkiey: It's mind-blowing. I love that. We have our company team meetings the first Tuesday of every month, and in those we have testimonials from the clients, the transformations of the babes. I always say to the team, my favorite wins are the ones where women are eating more food and getting the results that they want. And this was all going through menopause, right?

Marcie: Yes.

Nikkiey: Wow. So how does that register in your mind? Because I hear from a lot of women that these are the doom years. Doctors are telling them that this is what they just have to accept, that this is how their body is going to be, that they're going through menopause and they're going to gain weight, mainly around their midsection. How do you feel being on the other side, where you've lost 10 pounds, you're eating more food and you've gained more muscle, and you've gone through menopause during it?

Marcie: It feels great. I knew that I did not have to be stuck in that place, and finding something to get me to where I am now feels really good.

Nikkiey: That's cool. So you weren't accepting being stuck. You knew that there's a way forward.

Marcie: Yeah, I just had to find it.

Nikkiey: Did you try any different approaches before WarriorBabe, like different dieting styles, fasting, keto?

Marcie: No. I've done intermittent fasting in the past a little bit, but I hadn't been doing anything in particular.

Nikkiey: So in what ways did having a coach help you stay accountable and motivated? The way I look at it, I've heard people say that if they have a check-in every Friday, they know they have to check in with their coach, so they're being held accountable and keep to the plan during the week. In what ways specifically has working with your coach helped you stay motivated?

Marcie: I think it definitely has, knowing that my coach is looking at everything. But even more than that, it helped me stay accountable to myself. I cared about the coach and what she thought, and that I was doing what she said. But I think the main thing was, I said that I was going to do this, so that's what I'm going to do. I don't want to look in my MyFitnessPal and have it be all crazy. I want to hit my goals as many of the days as possible.

Nikkiey: I love that mindset. That's a true WarriorBabe right there. That's the mindset of the community. Was there a specific moment at the beginning when you realized, wow, this is actually working? And if so, what was that moment?

Marcie: Yeah. I started losing weight pretty quickly at the beginning, and I felt stronger. I loved the exercises. I've always loved strength training. So it was just what I needed. I saw results pretty quickly. I knew it was going to work, and I just kept with it.

Nikkiey: How many calories did you get up to in retrain?

Marcie: I think a little over 1,900, maybe. I'm petite. I started out at about 138, and I had never really been over 125 before all this menopause stuff happened. But just below 2,000 calories, I think, is the highest that I've gotten.

Nikkiey: That's awesome. How tall are you?

Marcie: 5'2".

Nikkiey: Okay, so yeah, you're tiny. That's awesome. 1,900 calories for somebody going through menopause and losing weight along the way. Love that for you. Let's talk about some of your top achievements since joining WarriorBabe. But first, where are you now in your journey? You mentioned you started a cut this year.

Marcie: I just came off of a cut last week, so I guess we're in the reverse, back up to my maintenance.

Nikkiey: And how low did you get in the cut with the calories?

Marcie: I don't remember. I just put what she says into my app. I think it was 1,700-something, but I don't know for sure.

Nikkiey: That's not bad at all. You kept some decent food in there. And you lost five more pounds in the cut?

Marcie: I think it was four or five in the cut.

Nikkiey: That's awesome. And you mentioned that before joining WarriorBabe there wasn't much strength training involved. What does your week look like with strength training now?

Marcie: Well, that's mainly all I'm doing, and I love it.

Nikkiey: How many days a week are you doing it?

Marcie: I'm doing it three days a week, and then one day I do a rowing workout. I actually still do one class with my friend once a week, so it's not a total body thing. But as far as my program, I have three days of strength training and one rowing day.

Nikkiey: I love that. So rowing is the only cardio that you're doing?

Marcie: Yep.

Nikkiey: I love that too. That's mind-blowing, right? And how long do those workouts take you?

Marcie: About 45 minutes.

Nikkiey: Love that too. You don't need to be in the gym for three hours. You don't need to be doing cardio every day. So let's talk about your top achievements since joining WarriorBabe.

Marcie: Honestly, one of the things that I wasn't doing and I've never been able to do is drink enough water. So hydration, I think, is one of my top achievements. I wanted to check that off every day, as many days as I could, and I've gotten to where it's just a thing now. I don't have to force myself to drink it. I'm regular about remembering to drink water, which seems like a little thing, but it's not.

Nikkiey: No, it's really not. There are a lot of women that struggle with that. I'm curious, how much water do you think you were drinking beforehand?

Marcie: Not much. I would drink water when I was working out and maybe a tiny bit with meals, but I really wasn't drinking much in between. I would probably say less than four cups, for sure.

Nikkiey: Wow. And how much are you drinking now?

Marcie: Now it's at least eight.

Nikkiey: And what do you feel was the biggest change that helped you? What did you start implementing to remind yourself to drink water throughout the day?

Marcie: Well, I bought one of the big jugs. It's 64 ounces. I fill it up every morning, and then I'll pour some into my bottle when I go work out. But I'll keep it and drink out of it, and I've got to make sure it's gone by the end of the day.

Nikkiey: I love that. And it's even got the times, like 7 a.m., 9 a.m., listed on it. Inside of Trainerize, all your things are checked off: your workout, your water. Love that. I see your mindset. And with the water, do you leave it somewhere in the morning that makes you look at it, so first thing when you come downstairs or walk into your kitchen, you're like, I need to fill this up?

Marcie: Yeah, I keep it on my island. It's part of my routine now. It's the very first thing I do when I walk in the kitchen.

Nikkiey: I love that. Cool. Second to water, are there any other achievements?

Marcie: Well, my body's never looked like this before. I've been skinny, but I've never been able to get the muscle that I wanted. You can't see my muscles; it's very hard to get to where you can see any muscle in me. I guess some people have good genes and it's easy to see their muscles, but not me. And so to get to a point where I can actually see my triceps a little bit and the muscles in my legs, that's an accomplishment for me.

Nikkiey: Oh, that's awesome. So you can do a little flex and see the tricep there in the back. That's awesome. And you mentioned that you're happier with the way your body looks now. What do you feel was the biggest shift that made that happen?

Marcie: I think it was just the workouts, gaining all of that strength. I feel in shape and I feel strong. It's not just that I've lost a bunch of fat; I've gained the muscle, and I'm very happy with it.

Nikkiey: That's awesome. I love to say, when I'm talking to the team or the community, that WarriorBabe is so much more than, hey, here are your macros and here's a workout program. Has WarriorBabe changed the way you approach anything beyond fitness, any challenges beyond fitness, since joining?

Marcie: Yeah, it's been great. I'm in network marketing, so I'm always working on mindset. Professional development is a huge piece of that, and I've been doing that for the last two years. I think that probably helped me as I was getting started in this. And I've listened to you a lot, and I know you talk about mindset a lot, and I agree that it's a huge part of it. It definitely starts in your mind, and that's how you keep motivated, really.

Nikkiey: What if you never made the change? Where do you think you'd be right now if you never joined WarriorBabe?

Marcie: Well, I don't know. I don't know if I would have figured out a way to get motivated on my own and do what I needed to do or not, but I probably would be in the same place as I was a year ago.

Nikkiey: If anybody's watching this and they're going through menopause or having symptoms of menopause, and they feel stuck or unmotivated or they don't know what to do, they think they're eating healthy but they're not getting the results, or they're in a similar situation to where you were, trying the same things and not getting the results, what could you tell them about how WarriorBabe would impact their life?

Marcie: I would tell them that WarriorBabe is not just a diet plan. It's not just a workout plan. It's a lifestyle, everything from getting your mind right to figuring out the best way to get you healthy and stay that way long term. For me now, I feel like after I don't have a coach anymore, I know what to do and I can continue it on my own. It's like, I need to do this for the rest of my life. It's not just, oh, I lost the weight, now let's go back to what I was doing before.

Nikkiey: Yeah, you feel like you've been equipped with the knowledge and the understanding.

Marcie: Yes.

Nikkiey: That's awesome. That's all we ever want when WarriorBabes come into our community. We don't want to be a forever coach. We want to give you the knowledge and the expertise and the understanding of what you need to go and pursue this sustainably by yourself. You feel like you could do that?

Marcie: I do. It'll be a little more scary, but I do.

Nikkiey: We're always here if you need to come back. As we wrap up this interview today, is there anything else you would want the people tuning in and hearing your story to know about your journey?

Marcie: I don't know. I'm just super grateful for you and WarriorBabe and my coach. I just love the program, and I'm thankful that you have put so much into helping women, not just in general, but through menopause and different things that are harder like that. I just think that anyone who was a part of the program would definitely think that it was worth everything they had to spend on it.

Nikkiey: Oh, thank you. I receive that so much, Marcie. That means the world to me. Comments like that remind me, and I know the coaches too, why we do this every single day, because of the impact we get to make in your life. So thank you. And as I said when we were pre-recording, thank you for trusting in WarriorBabe. For anyone that's listening, Marcie's journey shows that what's standing between you and what you want to accomplish could just be knowing and understanding what the right plan is. Marcie didn't need more motivation. She just needed a direction. And once she had that, she was able to prove to herself, okay, if I have the plan, I can be disciplined. I can show up. I can have all my check marks inside of Trainerize and I can get the results. Not even knowing exactly where you are calorie-wise is super cool, because you're like, I'm just going to show up and do the work. You came in strong, you came in capable and you came in determined. If anybody's listening to this and you're feeling stuck and wondering how to get the results you want, this is your sign that you can do it. If you feel like your journey is similar to Marcie's before she joined a program, take the first step and check out WarriorBabe. Marcie, thank you for being here, and thank you for sharing your journey with us.

Marcie: Thank you so much.