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From Wheelchair to Weightlifting Podium with Kim Rahir

January 23, 2024 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

147 – From Wheelchair to Weightlifting Podium with Kim Rahir

Kim Rahir is a 60-year-old mother of three who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) 10 years ago. She decided to ignore her then doctor’s advice… muscle her way back to a happy life… and in 2023, become the European Champion in Masters Weightlifting in her age and weight category.

Her journey inspired her to leave her career in journalism in her 50s and become a health coach for middle aged women – with a big focus on reactivating and rebuilding muscle.

Today, Kim helps women tap into an abundant source of vitality by reactivating and maintaining their muscles, while ditching diet culture conditioning to actually eat to nourish and flourish.

We discussed:

Being resilient during difficult times
About her situation with MS (multiple sclerosis)
Starting out in a wheelchair, progressing to crutches
How she started weightlifting
Progressing to the European Championship in Masters Weightlifting
Why she focuses on offsetting age related muscle loss over muscle gain
Reactivating, rebuilding and maintaining muscle mass
How muscle relates to metabolic, bone and even mental health
How she recommends her clients eat

Links:
website https://kimrahir.com
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kim.rahir
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/kim.rahir
LinkedIn http://linkedin.com/in/kim-rahir
Her story on Facebook

Vegetable Soup for a Cold Weekend

January 15, 2024 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

Vegetable soup for a cold weekend seems like a natural for me.

It’s been very cold here in Northeast Ohio this weekend. So making various soups has been my go to response for eating. Here are some snapshots and recipes.

Super Quick Salsa Soup

Ingredients:

1 jar of mild or medium salsa
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cilantro
2 cans black beans (rinse)
1 bag of frozen vegetables (thawed)
1 can corn undrained
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups shredded cooked chicken

Instructions:

Dump everything into a pot.
Bring just to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Top with shredded cheese, if you like. This is an easy way to get lots of vegetables and especially good if you have “put up” a lot of homemade salsa in the fall. The beans and chicken add protein and the heat in the salsa is enough of a kick for me.

Salsa Soup – Vegetable Soup for a Cold Weekend

I have been trying to get a variety of color in my meals by following the Eat The Rainbow challenge. Here is another soup that I ate but the colors are not rich and beautiful

Vegetable Soup with Chicken

Last weekend I made a vegetable soup with chicken and added a can of kidney beans and black beans. My big mistake was not rinsing the black beans enough.

Vegetable soup with chicken breast – Don’t forget to drain the black beans!

Without rinsing the beans, the broth and chicken, actually all the vegetables too, took on the hue of black beans. It all looked a little suspect and not very appealing.

It still tasted delicious.

Vegetable Soup with Shrimp – No broth

Shrimp and vegetables were also a great way to get a variety of color in my meal. I didn’t actually have a broth going so I shouldn’t call this soup… but it was really delicious too.

I got an air fryer for Christmas from my husband and I’ve been trying different food and meals in it. While the shrimp was cooking in air fryer, I defrosted the vegetables and did a quick stir fry to saute them. So far, I really like cooking the shrimp on it. I missed having the broth, because that is one way I sneak extra water in my system without actually drinking water. I find it hard to drink enough water in the winter when it is cold, so drinking it as a broth really helps!

Shrimp cooked in the air fryer over vegetables. Soup without the broth!

What’s your favorite vegetable soup recipe? Please share it here in the comments or on any of our social media pages using Becoming Elli as the handle.

Midlife Mindset and Wellness with Heike Yates

January 9, 2024 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

#146 – Midlife Mindset and Wellness with Heike Yates

In episode 146, Jill and Chris talk with Heike Yates, a Midlife Mindset and Fitness Coach. She is a powerhouse in fitness, nutrition, and mindset with over 35 years of expertise. Heike breaks down the complexities of midlife wellness into simple, actionable steps you can start taking action today. But don’t mistake her for someone helping you get by in midlife—Heike’s all about helping you thrive.

She’s transforming not just bodies but lives with her unique approach to getting active, eating right, and boosting energy. When she’s not coaching or behind the mic, catch her outdoors, pushing her limits as a triathlete or embarking on a new adventure.

Heike’s podcast, Pursue Your Spark, has over 200 episodes and is a wealth of resources and inspiration for mid-life women. Heike also has two other podcasts, one about intermittent fasting and one about Pilates.

We interviewed Heike in November of 2020 episode #71 and reconnected with her in August of 2023 at a podcast conference in Boulder Colorado. we knew we had to ask Heike to return to the podcast.

We discussed:

Advice for someone trying to make health or fitness changes in the new year
Creating a plan for changing fitness or eating
What is a Blueprint for Women in Midlife
How to get over the idea of perfectionism
Using Mindfulness, tracking, fear and judgement
Motivation – what works better than motivation for doing exercise?
Working out with Pilates
Incorporating intermittent fasting with travel and a hectic lifestyle

Links:

Website https://heikeyates.com
Her downloadable intermittent fasting tip sheet
Her podcasts
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/heikeyates/

Why This is one of the Best Podcasts for Women Over 50 in 2024

January 6, 2024 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

The Fit Strong Women Over 50 Podcast is one of the best podcasts for women over 50 to listen to in 2024. I’m not kidding.

Why do I think that? Lots of Reasons!

Great resources for healthy eating and exercise:

Tips from experts
News about supplements
Ideas about how to maintain a weight loss
Wanting to start lifting weights? We’ve talked to many women about how to begin to lift
Wondering about how to eat – vegan, keto, paleo, vegetarian, dairy-free, sugar free or other ways
Many many articles
Book reviews

Motivation and Inspiration:

Interesting adventurous guests
Mantras and inspiring quotes
Building community
Looking at aging in new ways (for instance Elli – who beat Thor in a wresting match
Challenges to help you stay on track
Conversations with fit and strong women doing interesting things

ListenNotes.com, a website that ranks podcasts, as of today (January 8, 2024) lists our podcast, FIT STRONG WOMEN OVER 50, in the top 2.5 podcasts. This is against ALL the podcasts out there. We’ve been publishing since 2018 twice a month and have learned so much over that time.

If you’re looking for one of the best podcasts for women over 50 in 2024, you really can’t go wrong with listening to this one. Click below to listen and subscribe on your favorite app. Share with a friend who’s also looking for resources and inspiration.

2024 Eat The Rainbow Challenge

January 2, 2024 / Chris Brown / 3 Comments

Eat The Rainbow is a new 2024 challenge for the Becoming Elli Community and the Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast!

You can download the Eat The Rainbow checklist and information about why it’s important to Eat The Rainbow.

Eating the rainbow is an easy way to optimize your diet. Why is it important to EAT THE RAINBOW? Because colorful foods contain phytonutrients or plant compounds.

These compounds provide beneficial nutrients to us. They are found in plant foods like vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes (beans), and whole grains.

Teas, herbs and spices also contain thousands of different phytonutrients.

Phytonutrients protect our health. Some phytonutrients help protect our cells from damage and some support the body’s natural detoxification processes. Others have anti-inflammatory or anticancer effects, or promote brain, heart, skin, eye, or liver health. Eating a wider variety of phytonutrients gives you a wider range of health benefits.

The color of plant foods comes from different phytonutrients. For example, red vegetables have different nutrients than green vegetables.

Typically, the darker the color, the higher the phytonutrient content. Once you get proficient at eating the rainbow, you might try to eat darker colors.

Try to eat 9 to 12 plants a day. Remember that the rainbow includes fruits as well as vegetables but also includes nuts, seeds, beans, grains and spices.

Eating the rainbow means to try to eat at least one serving from each color group every day.

the more colors you can eat gives you a greater variety of phytonutrients.

One serving of vegetables is about ½ cup of cooked veggies or 1 cup of raw leafy greens; one serving of fruit is about ½ cup of fruit or one medium sized piece of fruit.

Lessons Learned for Healthy Living with Chris and Jill

December 26, 2023 / Chris Brown / 2 Comments

#145 – Lessons Learned for Healthy Living with Chris and Jill

In episode 145, the hosts of Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast talk about the lessons they’ve learned for healthy living over the past six years. Chris and Jill also launch the 2024 Eating the Rainbow Challenge, while reflecting on 2023 and look forward to 2024.

In this episode we discuss:

Setting goals, milestones, changing focus, having a theme for the year, three words
Highlights from 2023 episodes and some of the things that the guests said that really resonated with us.
Six lessons learned during the 6 years of developing our Becoming Elli website, Facebook Group and Fit Strong Women Over 50 podcast
Our 2024 challenge: Eating the Rainbow. What it is and tracking your results
What we like to throw together for dinner when running short of time.

Links:

Our Becoming Elli private Facebook group. Invite a friend to listen to the podcast, sign up for our group, we know that talking about things with a friend helps to improve sticking to goals
Sign up for the weekly newsletter to stay in touch.

Eat The Rainbow Challenge information and checklist download

Our Best Episodes of the 2023 Fit Strong Women Over 50 Podcast:

Reinventing Ourselves with Wendy Battles
Becoming Fit and Strong Using a Movement Practice with Diane Allen
Better Health and Wellness with Sarah Koszak
Anti-Cancer Strategies with Jeanette Evans
Amazing Female Athletes with Elizabeth Emery
New Goals and Dreams with Wendy Green
Control Your Own Health Care with Susan Salenger
Chiropractic Care with Dr. Danielle Peebles
Fluid Running with Jennifer Conroyd
Healthy Weight from Spices and Greens
Fit, Fierce, & Fabulous with Karín Feltman
Natural Remedies for Vibrant Health with Shivani Gupta
Ninja Warrior and Swimmer Ginny MacColl
Aging Youthfully with Joanna Bowen
Original Strength with Dani Almeyda
The Best Shape of Her Life with Laurie LeBlanc
Midlife Mastery with Linda Stephens
Eat and Flourish with Mary Beth Albright
Small Simple Changes with Hope Zvara
Food Confidence with Danielle Omar
Necessary Nutrition with Robin Allen
Wellness through Movement with Shebah Carfagna

Just click on any of these links to go to the show notes page to read about the episode and listen to the podcast.

Non-Sleep Deep Rest Protocols and Yoga Nidra

December 17, 2023 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

In a recent podcast episode with Diane Allen we discussed some Non-Sleep Deep Rest protocols and I talked briefly about practicing Yoga Nidra with some guided meditations which features a body scan. I find this practice deeply relaxing and helps me focus when I am awake. To be honest, I often fall asleep while practicing, which kind of messes up the whole “non-sleep” part of the program. Even so, I always find this very beneficial, especially when I am overly tired, stressed and need more calm and focus in my life.

Benefits of NSDR
The benefits of Yoga Nidra with Andrew Huberman on the Tim Ferriss show. This link takes you to YouTube. Although the video starts with an ad, you may find it helpful if you’re unfamiliar with Non-Sleep, Deep Rest protocols or Yoga Nidra. He explains the difference between NSDR, Yoga Nidra, self-hypnosis and offers some free resources to free recorded guided meditations.

Helps with falling asleep
Relaxes the mind when you are stressed
Helps with turning off racing thoughts
Enhances calm feeling
Improves focus, learning and memory retention

Here are some links to meditations using deep relaxation guided audio files that you may find helpful if you are adding this tool to your fitness and mental health programs.

Guided Meditation Links
I really love the voice on the guided meditations from UCLA recreation. These meditations are best done while laying flat with your arms at your sides and your legs relaxed in a comfortable position. I prefer the yoga savasana position (corpse pose) with my head on a small pillow and a lightweight blanket on top of me.The first group are three separate meditations from UCLA, published back in 2010. Here is the Sound Cloud site. Yoga Nidra One, Two and Three.

This link is to the UCLA recreation channel on Sound Cloud, which Includes the the Yoga Nidra guided meditations from 2010, plus multiple breathing exercises.

Some people suggest that doing this type of meditation can restore the body as much as 3 hours of deep sleep would do. While I’ve never been able to achieve something to that level, I do find that doing this type of medication helps me when I dealing with a lot of stress or am very fatigued.

Have you ever tried the NSDR – Non Sleep Deep Rest protocols or practiced Yoga Nidra? Did you find it beneficial to your mental and emotional state? Let me know by leaving a comment below. Thanks!

Reinventing Ourselves with Wendy Battles

December 12, 2023 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

144 – Reinventing Ourselves with Wendy Battles

In episode 144, Jill and Chris talk with Wendy Battles,the host of the Reinvention Rebels podcast.

Wendy interviews women between the ages of 50-90, who have reinvented themselves later in life. From traveling solo around the world with a carry-on bag at 60, to running in global marathons at 71, to launching a modeling career at 72, these women are boldly making their dreams a priority and reality.

During the day, Wendy is a Cybersecurity Awareness expert at Yale University and by night she pursues her passion for celebrating, illuminating and elevating midlife and older women. At 58, Wendy is a Reinvention Rebel herself, having reinvented herself many times during her life including as a management consultant, voice actor, and health coach. Her most recent reinvention as a podcast host is by far her most rewarding.

In “Reinventing Ourselves with Wendy Battles” we discuss:

Her own reinvention journey and staying vibrant
The power of giving yourself permission
What she has learned about the art of living on purpose
The advantages of having your own dream team
Why looking at your accomplishments and being flexible helps you to explore new things
For those focusing on a new goal, how reinvention and goal setting work together
How to build mental resilience and improve mindset
How women at midlife and older who are taking on big adventures have in common
What she has learned while talking with women in their 50’s and beyond about pursuing a new passion

Links:

Website: https://reinventionrebels.com/
Instagram: @ReinventionRebels
Twitter: @RebelsReinvent
Facebook: Reinvention Rebels
LinkedIn: Wendy Battles

Ending the Year with a Goal

December 4, 2023 / Jill McCauslin / 2 Comments

Here it is, early December of 2023, and I’m thinking about ending the year with a goal. People usually focus on setting goals for the new year and I’m sure I’ll do that too but I thought it would be best to set a goal for the end of the year. That way I can end the year strong and move into the new year feeling like I can do more.

I signed up for a local 5K being held in the afternoon of New Year’s Eve day, i.e., December 31.

I haven’t run a race since the Towpath half marathon I ran in October 2021. That’s over two years ago, which seems like a really long time. We were still following pandemic protocols so the race was fine but the after-race felt a bit lonely. I’m sure this race will be much more social.

This year has felt like a year without many fitness goals. Lots of thinking about what I’d like to be doing but because I didn’t have anything really set as a goal, I feel like not a lot happened.

I’ve been trying to run recently but it’s been intermittent. So, even though I’ve been running, I haven’t really concentrated on training for a run.

Over this past weekend I went out just to see if I could actually run a 5K. I took off on my normal trail and thought I’d run about 1.6 miles one way and then turn around and run back. That would get me the required distance and I’d be fairly close to home when I finished.

To my surprise, I was able to run the whole distance without having to stop. I confess that there were a couple of times that I had to stop to cross a street and I enjoyed those brief breaks. Why is there not more traffic when you want to stand and watch cars go by while you catch your breath? I felt good after the run. I wasn’t too tired and I wasn’t particularly sore. All good news.

It’s great to have a race on the calendar and to know that I have to get out to train a bit more if I want to run this race successfully.

I know I won’t run it as fast as I would have a few years ago but that’s ok. My goal is to get out there and do it.

Maybe this will motivate me to put more races on my calendar as we move into 2024. Making a commitment really does help me with my motivation and discipline.

Let me know if you’re ending the year with a goal. Or, if you’re planning on starting the new year with some goals.

Becoming Fit and Strong Using a Movement Practice with Diane Allen

November 28, 2023 / Chris Brown / 0 Comments

#143 – Becoming Fit and Strong Using a Movement Practice with Diane Allen

In episode 143, Jill and Chris talk with Diane Allen, a member of the Becoming Elli private Facebook group. She’s often posting very motivational things about all of the great workouts and adventures she’s doing.

Like many of us, Diane had that mid-life weight gain and corresponding health issues. When her doctor suggested bariatric surgery, Diane’s daughter intervened and found them a gym and set Diane on the road to activity and health.

Diane says, “In the last four years I’ve tried many new activities; despite setbacks, physical exercise has greatly improved my mental health, my blood sugar and my confidence.”

Certificate of top challenger - Becoming Fit and Strong Using a Movement Practice with Diane Allen - 400 x

Diane Allen holds her Certificate of Top Challenger – Becoming Fit and Strong Using a Movement Practice – episode 143

She lives in North Carolina with her husband. She has four grandchildren and takes them on adventures now that she’s able to do so.

In this episode we discussed:

Indian club routines
How she relaxes using Non-Sleep Deep Rest protocol
The improvements she has seen in her life
Some of the new activities she enjoys
The importance of core strength
How her gym helped her to gain confidence
What she did to get to a stronger healthier weight
How she maintains her weight loss

Links we mentioned during the Becoming Fit and Strong Using a Movement Practice with Diane Allen episode:

Dani Almeyda of Original Strength episode 130
Andrew Huberman’s Non-Sleep Deep Rest 10 minute audio