Joan MacDonald (00:00):

Everybody in this world I think just needs a swift kick in the butt to get them going. Don't feel so sorry for yourself. Just be mindful of what you want in life and go after it. No one's stopping you but you. That's all I can say about that because no one else can do it. But you

Michelle MacDonald (00:32):

Welcome to the show I have, none other than, my mother, probably my most famous client, Joan MacDonald. And Joan was on the show a couple of years ago, and I'm really happy to have her back and share where she has evolved, her fitness and her health, what's going on. So welcome to the show, Joan. Thank you so much for having me. She had no choice. That's about it. So the first thing that I want to do is talk about, because this is so important, this episode's going to release towards the end of January, and a lot of people are going to have already starting to fall off on their New Year's resolutions. It's very, very normal. A very high percentage of new by week two and three have fallen off the bandwagon. But we don't want that, do we?

Joan MacDonald (01:23):

No. I hope everybody wants. So I've got,

Michelle MacDonald (01:27):

And you can get it. So I think let's pick your brain a little bit. What are some things, tips and strategies that you think could help people? And I really want you to think about some of the more challenging times that you went through on your own journey and still maybe continue to go through. How do you pick yourself up? How do you kind of brush yourself off? Don't get caught up in this perfectionism all or nothing and keep going forwards.

Joan MacDonald (01:55):

I don't know if I've ever, well, maybe I have fallen into that kind of trap, but no, I just want to be as healthy as I can for as long as I can so that I can see this beautiful world of ours and do things and meet people that I have yet to meet. It's just a journey for me. I wish everyone else could feel the same as I do.

Michelle MacDonald (02:32):

So it's a little bit of your why, right? My why pulls you forward and grounds you when things don't go perfectly. One of my taglines with Jonah is that she's probably my least perfect client, and yet she has sustained her weight loss. And this is important to hear guys. She is not perfect in her meal planning. She sometimes gets her super sets mixed up, but she's consistent. She has a great attitude. She keeps moving forward doing her best. And I think a big part of that is you're very attached, not to a number on the scale, not to this idea. You've never been attached to an idea of how you should be. It's really you so experienced for so long poor health that now that you have health and you're still aging, but you really get pulled forward to not get into that perfectionism and that all or nothing attitude and to keep betting on yourself because you want to enjoy life. You want to meet new people, you want to have that vitality. You want to travel.

Joan MacDonald (03:46):

I think, well, I want to travel somewhat. I wish, I just wish I could just wiggle my nose, like kiss Samantha and get from point A to point B.

Michelle MacDonald (03:55):

I do see her ogling her nose in her bedroom same time. That's very concerning. So can we tease that a little bit more? So knowing your why did you write it down? Do you journal it? How do you remind yourself when things aren't going great or when life's challenging and all those things are getting thrown your way when you're injured? How do you tap into that? Why? To stay positive and to keep going?

Joan MacDonald (04:22):

Well, I do do some journaling. I'm not as consistent as I should be, but it always plays in my mind. So I guess one thing about me, I don't write down lists and I probably should. That is a good thing for people to do. And it all depends on the person I am. Like someone in a groove. I don't get out of that groove too often. So I think that's part of my consistency is I just keep plugging away at the same thing day in and day out, wanting to know that I can overcome barriers. Yeah.

Michelle MacDonald (05:10):

Beautiful. So it sounds to me like there's maybe two things going on if we love James Clear over at the Wonder Woman. I talk about James Clear a lot in my coaching and it sounds like, well, there's habit stacking going on, right? Yep. So you're definitely stacking the good habits onto some other regular things that you're doing, but also really trusting the process. And I don't want to just say that glibly guys, because what does that mean? Trust the process. But once you have memorized a really good routine, now Joan learned a routine, I call it my fitness model blueprint that I teach all of my clients. She learned that routine, she mastered that routine being very repetitive over and over again with plenty in your protein and your meals. So even though she doesn't do it all the time, it's really in the background when you look at food, oh, that doesn't have very much protein in it, and oh, I better order some ham or some chicken or something like that. Or you're aware,

(06:16):

Right? Oh, that didn't have a lot of protein, I got to have protein in my other meal. So you just hammered home those habits and those routines. So I think that's really important that you really dive into a routine that is known to get great results, then make it yours, keep going. Even if you're not perfect at it, that consistency with the overarching routine will carry you through the highs and lows. And I dunno if I've mentioned this before, but I knew as a coach that Joan had made it when we were at, it was the morning you were given the eulogy for your own mom. My grandmother had passed away and the house was full of people. My younger brother was there, he was cookie cooks and he loves to cook cheesecakes and cheese bread and cheesy things. And I got up in the morning, I had no expectations that mom would join me at the gym, but I was going to the gym.

(07:12):

I think I was in probably some show prep or something. And there was Joan, she had her food on the scale. She was measuring out, she was making I think an egg white omelet or something. She was in her gym clothes, she was ready to go to the gym and she had to give this eulogy. And mom, at that point in time, I think maybe you're a little bit more comfortable now with talking about people, but back then she really wasn't. It was 2018, 17 for the first year of your transformation and you were coming to the gym and I remember asking you, are you sure that you want to come to the gym? And you said, absolutely right. You knew that that was going to ground you so that you could give the

Joan MacDonald (07:53):

Eulogy. Yes.

Michelle MacDonald (07:55):

So I knew you'd made it then. Yeah.

Joan MacDonald (07:57):

Well, I didn't know that you knew that, but I just felt that, yeah, you can't give up on your life because someone else passed away or someone left your friendships behind. It's just you've got to do what you got to do for yourself and no one else is going to do it for you. I know that.

Michelle MacDonald (08:24):

So I think that's important again, because again, this episode's going to launch the end of January. A lot of people are going to be struggling and guys take it from Joe. Just stick with that process and keep going. It's not about being perfect.

Joan MacDonald (08:38):

No, no. I never ever said I was perfect and I don't ever believe I will be, but if I can do the best I can, that's all I can do.

Michelle MacDonald (08:49):

And that's all any of us can do is you just do the best you can. I think the other piece from James Clear is this idea of identity shift. So somewhere along the line you shifted your identity from somebody whose instinct when things were challenging was to kind of numb out the peanuts, right? I think it was

Joan MacDonald (09:12):

Peanuts got the best. I don't know why. I thought, well, I think it was probably something that you said about nuts or good high end protein, blah, blah. I like peanuts.

Michelle MacDonald (09:22):

Oh, you blaming it on me. It's my fault. I never would say nuts or a high source of protein. They're a great source of fats, but not a good source of protein.

Joan MacDonald (09:32):

Oh, well then I must have misunderstood you, but it was because I wanted to misunderstand you.

Michelle MacDonald (09:39):

I won't argue with you there.

Joan MacDonald (09:41):

No.

Michelle MacDonald (09:42):

So somewhere along the line you had an identity shift, right? Because this is another really important piece of the puzzle that I really want this podcast to get across to everyone. The statistics for regaining weight after a significant weight loss are sad. And we hear it all the time. The actual percentages will change a lot depending on the research, the cohort study, et cetera. But it, it's generally like most of the people, the majority of the people that lose a significant amount of weight are going to regain it within two to three years. And Joan, you're in your year and you are just over a month, no, two months away from your three months.

Joan MacDonald (10:27):

Right? January, February, March, my 79th, I finished my spelling,

Michelle MacDonald (10:31):

Her 80th birthday. You're just over a year from your 80th, which is kind of when you think of it, losing 70 pounds in your 70 sounds like, wow, that's crazy. That's amazing. But you've kept it off. You'll have kept it off for a decade. So being perfect, right? And living a full life pretty much. So that's another really important message. Let's talk a little bit about choose your heart.

Joan MacDonald (11:03):

Oh God.

Michelle MacDonald (11:05):

Because a lot of people would say, and you've heard this, you've had friends say, oh, I could never do that. That's too hard. But again, here you are in the year you'll have be celebrating 80 years. Yeah. Your 80th year in great health. You've been maintaining this sort of 1 35. When Joan first lost the weight the first year, I think at month seven or eight, you were around 155 pounds. We didn't really change her calories too much to drop the weight off. I'll be honest. Just shifting what she was eating around seemed to cause a lot of the change and training of course. But we haven't had to do a diet or anything like that since then. But your body's naturally settled at this 135 pounds and you've eaten the same sort of calories for ages now, and you have treat meals. We had ice cream and tacos yesterday, and we're going to have some sushi tonight. But a lot of people think that what you're doing is hard. And I really think that you have something really important to share with people about that because it's a lot of people your age aren't getting to be excited about the future the way you are because of the changes you've made.

Joan MacDonald (12:22):

No, my eyes were really opened when my mom was in the nursing home because I watched a lot of the older people, they just got carbs. They never focused on the proteins. They didn't focus too much. They did some exercises, but they weren't challenging exercises in the nursing home. In the nursing home. And you really need just stay away from the nursing home. I'd sooner be like I am than to be laying or sitting in a nursing home waiting to croak. It's just horrible that they get a little bit of entertainment, a little bit of this and a little bit of that, but it's nothing to make them enjoy their life.

Michelle MacDonald (13:17):

So you're basically saying that the nursing home is not where you want to end up.

Joan MacDonald (13:21):

No way.

Michelle MacDonald (13:21):

And so

Joan MacDonald (13:23):

Doing

Michelle MacDonald (13:23):

Things that keep you out of that nursing home

Joan MacDonald (13:27):

Is the smartest way to be,

Michelle MacDonald (13:28):

Is going to be less hard than being, oh

Joan MacDonald (13:30):

Gosh, yeah. I know quite a few people now that are still living in their own homes and they're quite advanced in their ages. And that's what I love to see because you can get a little bit of help than just your family. And some people don't have any family left, but you can get some help. And if you can stay in your own home and be more mobile, that is the greatest thing you can ever do. So.

Michelle MacDonald (14:05):

So we know that it's important to not go into the nursing home, especially as the population continues to age, the medical system continues to buckle. I mean, we're really seeing the deterioration of the healthcare system. I mean, it's going to have to go through a massive, massive shift from being kind of tertiary care, fixing things after they're broken to more proactive. Right?

Joan MacDonald (14:28):

Proactive is the best way to go.

Michelle MacDonald (14:30):

So choose your heart. So what are maybe a couple of one to two reframes that people can have so that they're looking at the training, looking at the meal, planning through that lens of, this isn't hard. This is the best healthcare insurance I could possibly be investing. This is going to save me pain and time later. There's a wonderful saying, right? If you don't make time for your health now you're going to have to make time for illness later. So what are some tips, even if it's this one?

Joan MacDonald (15:07):

Well, first of all I can say is everyone should keep moving. I don't see anything good coming out of people sitting around doing nothing, even if it's just walking. But the other thing is to make sure you have enough sleep. Make sure you hydrate because your body malfunctions when you don't hydrate enough. And I know that myself, I get headaches, I get lethargic. You just have to keep feeding it. I know you have to go to the washroom too, but that's a minor thing you can put up with that. But you want that verbose life, that happiness of still living, not just existing.

Michelle MacDonald (16:00):

So take care of some of the basics.

Joan MacDonald (16:02):

Yeah, the basics. Even if you don't have a lot of food, if you've got the freshest, the quality in the food is the major thing. Don't just open a can of beans or open, don't open cans and stuff. Make it as fresh as you can. Make it as pure as you can without all the additives that they have in your meats and stuff. Yeah, make sure you've got the best.

Michelle MacDonald (16:33):

And that doesn't really change that much. I mean, since you were a kid, probably. I don't know.

Joan MacDonald (16:38):

Yeah. When I was a kid, we had, at least for the first 10 years of my life, I had quality food. It was pretty basic food, but we had the best that we could have. And you got to learn how to cook besides eating it, you got to cook it. So yeah, there's all kinds of things you could do with a little bit of spices, make anything taste good.

Michelle MacDonald (17:06):

And you sort of settled on a pretty repeatable meal plan.

Joan MacDonald (17:12):

Oh gosh,

Michelle MacDonald (17:12):

You always have the same one. There's a couple of breakfasts you like to have. There's a couple of post workouts that you like to have. And

Joan MacDonald (17:19):

I like some that are a little bit different every once in a while. So that's sort of my treat. And yeah, the basic ones, I like the one bowl meals, that's the greatest as you keep the dishes down and you still get all the food that you need. And this probably protein and a couple of carbs and a bit of fat that's and some spices, and that makes it great. So probably keeping it

Michelle MacDonald (17:46):

Simple. Oh, simple

Joan MacDonald (17:47):

Is the best.

Michelle MacDonald (17:48):

One of the things allowed you to be successful. And I know as a coach, a lot of times I'll see gals create these meals that have 20 ingredients, and then you're trying to do that five meals a day, three or five meals a week, and you just start to get Yeah,

Joan MacDonald (18:03):

No wonder they feel it's hard. You keep it. Well, me, I like to keep things simple anyway. It's like don't make mountains out of molehill.

Michelle MacDonald (18:12):

And so maybe one of the reframes for you then is because when you talked about the joy and having energy and vitality and all of that, your face literally lit up. So that why for you is incredibly careful. And that's probably the biggest reframe that's giving you that extra edge. If you feel like not really thinking about your meal planning and getting the protein in, or when the groceries, the fridge is a little bit empty, then you have to go and get groceries, but you're tired. It's probably that remembering your why you're doing it and getting that spark of joy. I don't know. What do you

Joan MacDonald (18:54):

Well, myself, if I'm going to prep food, I don't want to prep food at the beginning of the week and eat it all week long. I'd prefer to do maybe three day preps all the time. And then that way I have the freshest ingredients to eat. And I enjoy that a lot more than cold old food. Yeah.

Michelle MacDonald (19:18):

Team. Team. No cold, whole food. Okay, good. And then you're also going to the grocery store. You get any breaks, she swings her leg over her bike, it pedals off into the horizon as well. And then you get your steps in. So you're actually also being more active.

Joan MacDonald (19:33):

Yeah. Oh yeah.

Michelle MacDonald (19:34):

Do you intend to do that?

Joan MacDonald (19:36):

I do that all the time though. I don't even have a car down here. I've got one in Canada, but then the grocery store isn't a heck of a lot further away than they are down here.

Michelle MacDonald (19:47):

Tell us about your watch. You started when you started working with me, you had no tech, you didn't even have a smartphone. Now you've got a smartphone, an iPad, you've got your watch, you've got the little red light therapy device you put on your knee. So tell us about the watch. What do you love about it?

Joan MacDonald (20:06):

We're

Michelle MacDonald (20:06):

Not promoting anything here. I

Joan MacDonald (20:08):

Think it's important. Important. It does help a lot if I know that I've got my steps in, I want to know that I've got my steps in, but sometimes I forget to plug anything in and then I'm doing all this exercise and it's trying to figure out what is she trying to do anyway. Yeah, it's great to have because you can do so much on it. It's got your heart rate, it is everything, all the oxygen you have in your system. There's just so many things on it. I haven't even

Michelle MacDonald (20:45):

Played with everything.

Joan MacDonald (20:46):

Played with everything. Yeah, I am afraid to touch too many things, but if I have a question, I just ask someone. Who else still has one? So many people have them.

Michelle MacDonald (20:58):

So this is important too. And guys, if you're listening and it's maybe you're thinking about your parents, I imagine a lot of people listening to this episode will be thinking about their parents as well, or a sibling that's older. And of course Joan has an Apple watch, but there's a lot of other devices out there that are very affordable. You can order them on Amazon. They just track steps. They just track a couple of things. It's not the whole caboodle. And it can be very encouraging to pay it forward and just give somebody that and get them started on getting those steps in and getting more active. Because it does start with some, it can start, and this is the James Clear.

(21:44):

Make it easy. If you've got a lot of resistance to doing this stuff, then just start with, I'm just going to walk for five minutes. I'm going to track my steps for five minutes. I'm just going to have a glass of water before I eat my first meal of the day. Something really simple that it's, you're just only going to get any of that internal friction from. And if you've fallen off the plan, just start like that. Just go to the gym and warm up. And before you know what, you'll probably doing your whole workout.

Joan MacDonald (22:19):

Yeah, there's many a time I've gone to the gym and I'm so sore and I think, oh, I won't be able to do that. But I found out, and maybe the hard way that it's realizing that the things that I thought I couldn't do because I was hurting so much, it was just a false idea. If you use your body and do these exercises, do them as best as you can. You keep doing it and doing it, and the pain's gone. By the time you finish that exercise, you wonder why you thought you couldn't do it. It's ridiculous, but it's true. Well, we have a saying. Motion is lotion. It is. I guess that's what it is, because it seemed like I was working with the wrong oil in my tank.

Michelle MacDonald (23:13):

And this is great because the other thing I really want to touch upon is the past year, two years, you've had some significant health challenges. And if you've been following Joan on Instagram, you'll know that she's tried stem cell therapy a couple of times and she's having trouble with her knee. She's having trouble with her shoulder, her arthritis. She has osteoarthritis. And her fingers has gotten so painful that she was having a lot of trouble pulling her tights up her legs, and we had to start looking for different tights that were just not so tight. So tell us a little bit about that. How do you train around injury? When do you have to realize, hey, enough is enough, I've got to really address this. And then the rehab process, you have a been to lift weight

Joan MacDonald (24:06):

For

Michelle MacDonald (24:06):

Several months. You're just starting to get back to that

Joan MacDonald (24:09):

Now. We're just starting. Yeah.

Michelle MacDonald (24:10):

Share a little bit with the audience on that.

Joan MacDonald (24:14):

With the stem cell, the protocol with them is to lay off doing exercises only with the therapist, a physiotherapist that knows about stem health, because you can retard the whole process if you do stuff that you shouldn't be doing for certain periods of time. Well, the first three months, I've finished the three months, now I've got the next three months, which I hope to see more of a significant results from the stem cells. They're tiny, tiny little things, and they have to grow and go where they're supposed to go to help you. So it's learning all about how this process works. And I've got the use of my hands more so than I had before, but I still have pain in certain areas depending on how I'm moving my hands. But the biggest part of my hands are good. It's just the thumbs are giving me a little bit of trouble still, but not nearly. It's not near as much as it was. No, no, no.

Michelle MacDonald (25:34):

But what I want you to share with is dealing with injury and how do you still keep moving forward? Because for a lot of people, if they get sick or they get injured, they just lie completely off. And I always tell my clients, control the controllables. If the only thing you can do is control your nutrition, you can't train and all that stuff, control your nutrition. If the only thing you can do is if you're in a hospital is just focus on your mindset

Joan MacDonald (26:05):

And do that

Michelle MacDonald (26:06):

And your hydration, focus on that. Always find a way to win and focus on the things that are within your control and have pride in that. So for you, how have you dealt with not being able to train, maybe seeing a little bit of your shoulder cap disappear? How do you stay positive?

Joan MacDonald (26:26):

I keep working the one part of my body that will work. I just can't give up completely on it. I can't stop it doing what I do. I just do a lot less in the format of, I don't use the same weights as I did before until I'm allowed to do it. That movement, that, and let me see, being I mindful of what the exercise is for and what weights can still give me some resistance. And if I can't do the weights, there's bands. That's what I did when we were in Covid. I did a lot of training with bands and that kept me going. I mean, you didn't have access to the gyms at that time.

Michelle MacDonald (27:22):

So finding something that you

Joan MacDonald (27:24):

Can do. Something that I can do, yeah, always find something else that you can do. Focus on it as long as you're moving the parts that you've been training with in some degree. And as I said, if you don't have the weights or if you can't use the weights, then use the loop, the bands, because they give you a lot of resistance. There's different strengths with them.

Michelle MacDonald (27:47):

And if you can't train right, then maybe you can do some cardio or maybe you can do some steps. Something that's low impact. Again, motion is lotion. So moving, helping the lymphatic system to do its job, training your cardiovascular system a little bit. That also has wonderful benefits. I think cardio gets such a bad rap these days,

Joan MacDonald (28:09):

But everything that you do in life, every has an effect on something else. So all I can say is when something happens goes wrong, don't just throw in the towel, just refocus on other areas because they, everything passes, everything goes by the wayside at some point in time in your life. So don't give up on yourself for heaven's sake. Just keep at it. Everybody in this world, I think just needs a swift kick in the butt to get them going. Don't feel so sorry for yourself. Just be mindful of what you want in life and go after it. No one's stopping you but you. That's all I can say about that because no one else can do it but you.

Michelle MacDonald (29:15):

And on that note, I think we'll wrap this episode up. Thank you so much, mom, Joan,

Joan MacDonald (29:21):

Thank you.

Michelle MacDonald (29:22):

Train with Joan for sharing your wisdom with us, and I'll probably have to have you on the show again maybe when I have my new studio when it's done in San Miguel, Dee. Nice.

Joan MacDonald (29:36):

Wouldn't that be beautiful?

Michelle MacDonald (29:38):

Yes. Bye for now. Bye. Today we heard from my mother, Joan MacDonald, a woman who proves that age is just a number, and consistency is the secret to lasting transformation. As we close this episode, let's take a moment to reflect on three key lessons Joan shared with us. Timeless wisdom for any woman looking to embrace her health and fitness journey. Number one, consistency over perfection. Joan reminded us that it's not about being perfect. It's about showing up day after day and doing the best you can. Progress isn't about flawless execution, but about persistence, even when life first challenges your way. Two, choose your heart, whether it's sticking to a meal plan or facing the realities of declining health. Don't let it clear you. Get to choose your challenges. Investing in your health today means a more vibrant, independent future. Three. Know Your Why. Joan's motivation comes from her deep desire to live life fully, to meet new people, and to experience the world. Keeping her why in mind helps her to stay grounded when things don't go perfectly. And so as the New Year's resolutions begin to fade, remember this progress isn't about giant leaps. It's about small, steady steps in the right direction. See you on the next episode, Michelle.