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“Carbs are evil.” As we usher in 2026, and as endurance athletes around the globe are stuffing down as many carbohydrates per hour as humanly possible to supercharge their performance, this week’s guest, sports dietitian Kristen Arnold, still manages misconceptions, especially from her midlife clients, that carbohydrates are something to be cut from the diet. Nothing could be further from the truth. This week we kick off the new year with a show all about the life and performance-boosting benefits of carbs. We cover carbohydrate timing, processed carbs versus unprocessed carbs, carbohydrate’s impact on blood sugar, brain function, mood, inflammation, general health, and much, much more.Kristen Arnold, MS, RDN, CSSD is a board-certified sports dietitian, cycling coach, and retired professional athlete with over 10 years of experience in sports dietetics. She has worked with a wide range of professional sports teams, athlete-centered healthcare initiatives, and Olympic organizations. Kristen owns a thriving private practice dedicated to empowering active women across the lifespan through evidence-based sports nutrition coaching and education. She is a first-author, peer-reviewed researcher on improving postmenopausal women’s health through targeted nutrition strategies and counseling, and she regularly speaks on podcasts and contributes to publications on sports nutrition topics. Learn more at sportsnutritionforwomen.com.Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Book Your Mallorca Cycling Trip with Feisty: https://feisty.co/events/mallorca-cycling-trip-with-the-cyclists-menu/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Join the Feisty Strong Barbell Club: https://feisty.co/strong-club/ and use code:  STRONG2026 to save $50Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners:Midi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Cozy Earth: Use Code HITPLAY at https://cozyearth.com/ for up to 20% offHettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/

This episode originally dropped on: March 19, 2025Many of us have spent a lifetime trying to shrink ourselves. We grew up being told you could never be too thin. As athletes, especially in endurance sports, smaller, lighter, faster was the ethos of the day. That is changing as we see athletes, especially women, discover that being fueled and strong yields even better performance–and longevity. This week’s guest, trainer and nutrition coach Steph Gaudreau embodies that journey through both her personal and professional life. She shares how, for 40+ women especially, growing muscles is the key to better energy and performance in sport and life, and how strength training is the gateway to midlife self-acceptance. Steph Gaudreau, CISSN, CPT, helps athletic women over 40 fuel themselves better, get stronger, increase their energy, and perform better in the gym. She’s a sports nutritionist and strength coach with multiple certifications including USA Weightlifting coach, Menopause Health & Fitness Specialist, Girls Gone Strong Women’s Coaching Specialist, and Intuitive Eating Counselor. She shares her advice on building strength, proper fueling, and much more as the host of the Fuel Your Strength Podcast. You can learn more about Steph and her work at www.stephgaudreau.comSign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Book Your Mallorca Cycling Trip with Feisty: https://feisty.co/events/mallorca-cycling-trip-with-the-cyclists-menu/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Join the Feisty Strong Barbell Club: https://feisty.co/strong-club/ and use code:  STRONG2026 to save $50Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners:Midi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Cozy Earth: Use Code HITPLAY at https://cozyearth.com/ for up to 20% offHettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/

This episode originally dropped on: June 2, 2025When some of the biggest names in menopause medicine want to learn to lift heavy, they turn to this week’s guest, Nike Master Trainer and midlife fitness advocate Holly Rilinger, founder of the LIFTED Method. Because Holly gets it. She’s been through her own journey with damaging diet culture, body image issues, and a challenging perimenopause that has left her navigating sheet soaking night sweats, brain fog, and fatigue. Through a midlife-specific training plan and tailored hormone therapy regimen (including testosterone), she’s been able to reclaim her energy and power and is devoted to helping others do the same. This week we dive into the science and strategy behind Holly’s Lifted Method and her Blueprint programs designed specifically for women in midlife, as well as for those using GLP-1 medications. This conversation is packed with insight, honesty, and a lot of muscle. You can learn more about Holly and her programs at www.theliftedmethodcoaching.comHolly Rilinger is a Nike Master Trainer, author, and founder of the LIFTED Method: An in-person and virtual platform with the focus of empowering people at all levels to strength train. Holly is dedicated to delivering innovative, science-backed training methods in an environment that prioritizes growth, resilience, and a lifelong passion for fitness. Holly coaches in her East Hampton studio and on her virtual platform. She is also the founder of LIFTED Blueprint, formerly Menopause Bootcamp, a program designed specifically to help women in midlife get stronger, feel more energized, and gain confidence as they navigate this powerful phase of life. She is also the creator of LIFTED’s newest program for SLP-1 patients–GLP-1 Blueprint in partnership with Dr. Alexandra Sowa of So Well.Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Book Your Mallorca Cycling Trip with Feisty: https://feisty.co/events/mallorca-cycling-trip-with-the-cyclists-menu/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Join the Feisty Strong Barbell Club: https://feisty.co/strong-club/ and use code:  STRONG2026 to save $50Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners:Midi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Cozy Earth: Use Code HITPLAY at https://cozyearth.com/ for up to 20% offHettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/

As we wrap up 2025 and start dreaming about our goals for the New Year, this week’s guest, ultracyclist Paula Ralph, has one simple message: Just go for it. We often wait until we’re 100% ready—which usually means we never start. But whether you succeed or fall short, you’ll be better for having tried. Paula knows this firsthand. She set out to break a world record riding solo from Cape Town, South Africa to Nordkapp, Norway. Sponsors pulled out. Mechanical issues piled up. She got heat stroke…and hit by a truck. Safety concerns forced reroutes. The record slipped away. But she didn’t stop. She kept going—ultimately riding 12,290 km across 17 countries in 126 days. And what she gained was far bigger than a record: proof that she’s stronger than she ever imagined, and a reminder of what midlife women can do when we dare to go big.Paula Ralph is a solo endurance cyclist who rode unsupported from Cape Town to Nordkapp, Norway — a 12,290 km journey across 17 countries in just 126 days. What began as a world record attempt quickly turned into a raw test of resilience. Navigating relentless challenges, both on and off the bike, Paula had to let go of the record and hold on to something more powerful — the will to keep going. Her journey is one of survival, courage, and what it means to find freedom at the edge of your comfort zone. She was recently named a "sporting hero" as one of the top 100 female cyclists by CyclingUK. You can learn more about her and her mission @thelongrideglobal on Instagram. Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Book Your Mallorca Cycling Trip with Feisty: https://feisty.co/events/mallorca-cycling-trip-with-the-cyclists-menu/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Join the Feisty Strong Barbell Club: https://feisty.co/strong-club/ and use code:  STRONG2026 to save $50Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners:Midi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Cozy Earth: Use Code HITPLAY at https://cozyearth.com/ for up to 20% offHettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/

Are you burned out? Or just in a rough patch? Is it perimenopause, depression, or some messy mix of well, everything? In this episode, we’re joined by sports psychologist and endurance athlete Dr. Erin Ayala to unpack athletic burnout in midlife women—what it is, how it shows up, how it overlaps with perimenopause and mood changes, and how to tell it apart from being overreached, under-fueled, or just end-of-season tired. Erin also serves up some practical advice for what to do when every workout feels like a slog, how to talk to your coach, why rest, recovery, and carbs matter more than ever, and how to build a support team that actually communicates. We also dig into the grief of changing performance and body composition in midlife—and how to pivot without losing your identity as an athlete.Erin Ayala, PhD, LP, CMPC is a Licensed Psychologist and Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) offering virtual mental health therapy for athletes aged 14 and above. She provides one-on-one performance coaching, CMPC mentorship, clinical supervision, and group workshops for teams and sport organizations. She supports athletes in injury recovery, managing performance anxiety, depression, pre-competition stress, confidence, and self-criticism. Located in Minnesota, she is licensed to work with athletes in 40 states. You can learn more about Dr. Ayala and her work at www.skadisportpsychology.comSign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Book Your Mallorca Cycling Trip with Feisty: https://feisty.co/events/mallorca-cycling-trip-with-the-cyclists-menu/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Join the Feisty Strong Barbell Club: https://feisty.co/strong-club/ and use code:  STRONG2026 to save $50Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners:Midi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Cozy Earth: Use Code HITPLAY at https://cozyearth.com/ for up to 20% offHettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/