'I Put On Muscle And Got Stronger Than Ever At 40 Years Old By Making These 3 Changes'
After reaching my heaviest weight ever in 2016, I had an awakening of sorts. I had hit my nine-month pregnancy weight, but I was not pregnant. I am an oncology nurse, and I remember going in for a health physical for my employer and was told I would have to pay a higher premium for health insurance because my health markers were not in the medically normal range (I was considered overweight and had high cholesterol). That was my wake-up call to make some lifestyle changes.
I never imagined making that conscious decision would evolve my entire life and health the way it did.
At the time, I just wanted to lose 10 pounds and stop. I thought some quick, minimal weight loss would solve my problems. But after I began eating more nutritiously and working out in new ways, the effects snowballed. I felt so awesome that I didn’t want to quit. I started with weight training (getting my diet in line came a little later).
I was ultimately inspired by my father to start a strength-training journey.
I grew up watching him lift weights. I went to the gym as a child to watch him. It was normal to me to have parents who lifted weights, and I saw the benefits firsthand through them. So when I decided to try and get in shape, I immediately knew I needed to build muscle because that was instilled in me at a young age.
Now I weight train five days a week. Two days I focus on lower body, and three days are upper body. I also walk about 8,000 to 10,000 steps a day, taking short frequent walks.
My strength-training journey came to a screeching halt early 2020 due to a debilitating back injury.
I had terrible numbness, tingling, and pain and couldn’t lift any weights for 10 weeks. I had to do physical therapy and rest and basically start from square one once I was in clear. I never knew if I would be able to lift weights pain-free again. But now, here I am deadlifting and squatting more than I ever did before.
After I hurt my back, I lost weight and muscle due to not training and not eating because I dealt with depression on top of the physical pain. So, after I recovered both emotionally and physically, I went into a calorie surplus to gain back my muscle. I was determined to get my muscle back.
These three changes have made my strength-training journey a success.
I started to understand that muscle needs fuel to grow.
I took crucial steps, like upping my protein intake, to nourish my body instead of trying to shrink it down and stay my leanest self or smallest weight on the scale. I eat mostly whole foods and try to avoid processed foods, and I now eat 0.7 to 1 gram of protein per pound of my body weight. I also drink lots of water.
I understand that doing more workouts is not better.
Rest and recovery are equally as important as training days. I don’t need to run my body into the ground seven days a week to see results. In fact, without rest, I will not see growth. Doing higher-quality exercises four to five days a week and honoring my rest days is a game changer.
I understand the importance of sleep.
The impact getting enough quality sleep has on controlling my appetite, fat-loss goals, muscle growth and stress on my body is enormous. I made a huge attempt to get 7-8 hours of quality sleep nightly and curb my caffeine intake to help better regulate my natural sleep cycle. I also cut out alcohol.
I am 43 now. While I am still a nurse, I also became a nutrition coach and personal trainer.
I am so proud of the health and fitness journey I found myself on and feel more myself than ever. My greatest strength-training accomplishment is that I can now do full sets of Romanian deadlifts (RDLs) with two 75-pound dumbbells. When I first started, I was using 15 pounds!
I want more women to understand that there are endless benefits to having muscle on your frame. It’s not all about aesthetics for me whatsoever, but it does positively affect my physique when I turn my focus to: How do I get strong or improve my numbers in my lifts? versus, How do I get to a certain scale weight or clothing size? I feel like I am aging in reverse.
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