Real Talk: Midlife Weight Loss, Grace Over Guilt

In this Red Lips Real Talk Podcast episode, the hosts have a candid conversation about why weight loss can feel harder in midlife, sharing personal experiences with COVID weight gain, fatigue, body aches, injuries, depression, and perimenopause. They discuss how hormonal changes, reduced estrogen, muscle loss, and a more sedentary lifestyle can impact metabolism, and emphasize the importance of eating fewer calories than in younger years, cutting back on snacking, prioritizing strength training over only cardio, and staying consistent with movement (walking, elliptical, lifting weights, stretching). They also talk about using different “tools” for support, including medical guidance, nutrition help, tracking, and other options, noting cost barriers, side effects, safety considerations, and the need for individualized approaches and blood work. The episode closes by encouraging listeners to give themselves grace, focus on health and quality of life, and remember they’re not alone.

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Transcript

Oye, mi gente, you're listening to the Red Lips Real Talk Podcast, where we talk about life, love, and everything in between. You already know, it's time to get real. Dale.

Today, we're talking about something so many women in midlife are dealing with but don't always say it out loud, weight loss, and why it can feel so much harder than it used to. We're sharing our own experiences and just having an honest, real conversation about what this has looked like for us, the wins, the struggles, and those moments where you're like, "Why does weight loss in midlife feel like a completely different game?"

So if you've ever felt like you're doing all the things and your body is just politely ignoring you, you're definitely not alone. And if you enjoy this episode, please take a moment to like, leave us a review, and share it with a friend who might need this reminder that she's not the only one standing in the kitchen wondering if the scale is broken or just personally mad at her.

That's really funny. I love that. Hi, ladies. Hi. It is, it is always mad at me. The scale. Listen, every time I get on the scale, I take everything off, everything. I'm not... Even my wedding ring. Yeah. Every little bit counts. There's this girl on social media that says, "If you have to take off your clothes to weigh yourself, then you're already overweight."

And I was like, "Fuck off." But yes, ladies, this is a struggle 'cause midlife is real. It sure is. Yeah. It definitely is. And I'm excited that we're talking about this because I think all three of us have had personal discussions with each other about, uh, the struggle and how it makes us feel. So Monica, let's start with you.

How do you feel about where you're at right now with your body image, if you don't mind me asking? Like a crazy lady. Well, you're beautiful. I just wanted to say that. That's why I started with you first. Aw, thank you. 'Cause I think you needed to hear that. And you, too. Thank you. Um, we all are. Maritza, too.

Yes. I just, I... It, it is a struggle. It's been a struggle for quite some time for me. Mm-hmm. Um, the on and off and up and down and, and like we've all said time and time again, it all started during COVID, right? Okay. The holy grail, the catalyst, where everybody's life was just turned upside down. So, you know, the, the weight is coming on and you're not really understanding why if you're not doing anything different.

Mm-hmm. Now, during COVID I did, um, join a group, working out. You know, I was doing exercise, eating as healthy as I could, but it just, you know, it started creeping on, the weight. Mm-hmm. But I was... I stayed at a certain weight because even after COVID, I continued with a personal trainer. W- I was with this person for over a year and, um, you know, it was like four days a week, 5:00 AM, doing the thing, working out.

And my eating habits weren't, like, great, but they weren't, like, that bad either. Mm-hmm. Um, and it just... I was not losing any weight. And I was like, "Damn, what the hell's going on?" And then, you know, of course started the, the body pains and- Mm-hmm ... all the stuff that we always complain about. Mm-hmm. And that's when, you know, shit just started going downhill.

Yeah. It was hard to actually- How old were you during this time? Would it be safe to say mid-40s? Oh, yeah. Mid-40s, yeah. But feeling tired all the time. Mm. That, that was huge for me. The fatigue was real. Mm-hmm. That was, I mean, all the time. I felt like I didn't get enough sleep. I was all day, you know, tired, trying...

Living off of coffee, three, four cups of coffee a day, like, during work. Wow. And then still feeling sleepy on the way home from work. Just straight up fatigue all the time, and that's for years. That's until recently- Mm-hmm ... that I was still feeling like that, and not really understanding it, right? 'Cause you think you're sleeping enough, but I don't know.

I just, I didn't get it. And then I, the body pain started, hip pain from nowhere, knee pains. My arms were hurting. My... Everything just started hurting for no reason, and I was like, "Well, I don't feel like going to the gym because I don't wanna hurt myself," right? Like, that's just... So I kinda stopped doing all that.

I stopped doing all the things, and I was just like, whatever. And you know, you get into a funk, and that's what happened, and it was a real struggle for a long time. So now that we know we need to- Yeah ... you know, it's, age is creeping up. Yeah. So I'm trying to make sure that by the time I'm 80, I'm still able to freaking walk- Yeah

without using- I hear you ... a cane or something, you know? So that's my, my why right now- Right ... to be healthier, stronger. Mm-hmm. Um, 'cause I, I, I feel like I have a lot of life left to live. Absolutely. Hopefully. So I wanna do it on my own, kind of- Mm ... like, not with assistance. But assistance is okay. It is. Yeah, but I, I'd rather be able to- Yeah

you know. God forbid there's an illness, that's different. Yeah. But I'd rather be able to walk, run, you know- Yeah. Yeah ... like, without having to use a walker. No, no, no, of course. You know what I mean? Like, stuff like that. And that's not really what I meant. I'm... What I meant more by assistance is, um, I, I think I misunderstood.

It's like, I thought you meant more like trying to do the weight loss and the training and everything on your own. What I was, what I was thinking you were trying to say- Oh ... was like, getting assistance with whether it's, um- Tools and stuff ... tools or, like- Yeah ... nutrition. That's... Sorry, I apologize. Yeah, yeah, no, no, no.

That's what I thought you were saying. I'm, I'm all for that. Yeah. I'm all for that- Mm-hmm ... because as we know, our bodies don't respond the same- Yeah ... anymore at this age. Maritza, after Monica sharing something so personal, um, do you feel like there's things you can r- uh, relate with what she's saying- Oh, yeah

with yourself? Absolutely. I mean, my story's not too far off from hers because it's the same thing COVID. Okay. I gained a lot of weight during COVID, and, um, I also started working with a personal trainer to, you know, to start losing the weight and, you know, started eating better, and everything was going well until, yeah, until body aches, until I injured my hip, and I had to stop working out with her, and I took a break.

Yeah. Yeah, and I think from there on, you know, everything else just kind of started as well. Yeah. You know, where I really wasn't understanding what was going on with, with what I was going through and, you know, the... I think I've shared in the past, you know, where I felt I was in a dark place, um, you know, the fatigue, all that, and I really wasn't understanding what was going on until- Mm-hmm

I finally realized that I was Going through me- perimenopause. Yeah. Well, for me, that didn't happen to me. I didn't have that during COVID. It was the opposite. I was, um, so, like, isolated that I actually turned to exercise even more. So I would work out on Zoom with my cousins in New York. If you're listening, shout out to my cousins.

Shout out. Uh, we would work out almost every day on Zoom. I had a Peloton. I think I was actually, like, killing it when it came to physical fitness during COVID because I turned to it as a coping mechanism to feel good about, about myself. Um, w- where it changed for me was three years ago, and I know I was 47.

Something happened to me at 47, and, um, I just gave up. I just abruptly stopped working out. I had, like, a light depression. I always like to cook, so I turned to cooking, and I was getting a lot of, like, nice reactions to my videos, so I kept doing it more and more and more. We were eating very delicious meals every day, but they were not the, the healthiest meals.

And then on top of that, I had stopped working out. Right. So in turn, that became like a, like a bomb that went off on my body because I was eating roughly maybe 1,700 calories a day, but working out like a, like a beast. So it was justifiable, right? But then when I abruptly stopped, I didn't lower my calorie intake.

If anything, it remained the same or got worse because I was making these elaborate meals. Right. So fast-forward three years, I went from 160 pounds to 180, and I felt very, very sick. And I remember going up the stairs, and I couldn't bend my knees. It was pretty bad. Was that the year that you ran that marathon and you got hurt?

That, that's a great question. Um, that was after the marathon. Yeah. It was after the marathon. Mm. That's a good, that's a good point. So I, uh, also was dealing with empty nest syndrome. Right. So that's a separate situation. Anyway, I'm gonna try and speed this up. Um, so now I'm eating even more calories and not working out, and what happens in three years, I gained 20 pounds.

I'm sick, knees locking, toes are numb. I'm fainting, shortness of breath. I'm sweating profusely. You name it, I'm, I'm in trouble. I go to the doctor. I do what I need to do, and the doctor literally sat me down and he goes, "If you do not stop, you are a hop and a skip from getting cardiovascular disease. You have to lose weight.

You, your family history from your dad's side is, um- They're obese, and your father died of diabetes, and if you don't do something about it now, uh, you have a gene for obesity. You have to change. I have women here who are a hun- 100 pounds heavier than you and they're healthier than you." Wow. Right. Okay.

Okay? So at that point, the shit hit the fan, and, uh, I got scared, so I stopped doing a lot of cooking videos. Now I do, I'm doing them again, but they're notice- I don't know if you've noticed, they're kinda, like, healthier. Yeah. 'Cause I like to cook. I'm like a weirdo. I actually really enjoy it. A lot of women don't like it, but I really love to cook.

And, um, this is the part that's really hard for me to say, but it's, it's important to say it. I... He told me, "Okay, I'm gonna give you medicine for this, medicine for this, but I need you to lose 20 pounds. I need you to come back in three months. I need to run the tests on you again because if we don't get your numbers down with your cholesterol..."

My cholesterol was 317 Wow. And I'm embarrassed to say that, but it's not my fault. Uh, half of it was my fault because it was... I was eating like an animal, but also it's the gene that I carry for high cholesterol and obesity. So, make a long story short, he goes, "I am also going to tell you, uh, put you on a, like, a Mediterranean diet, and I'm gonna give you Wegovy.

I'm gonna give you a GLP-1 to help you kickstart it." I felt so ashamed to do that because there is a, um, there's a lot of people who say, "Oh, you're taking the easy way." Mm. "You're cheating." A lot of people believe that. I even, at one point, felt that way about, you know, I should do it myself. That's, that's what I was trying to say earlier today, Monica.

That's... My, my brain went there, so I'm sorry. But now I don't feel that way at all. Now I feel like, thank God that, that I'm doing it because it is helping me. Right. And I'm no longer feeling pain in my knees, no longer numb- numbness in my toes. I no longer have fatigue. I've lost seven pounds. I have a little jump in my, a little jump in my step.

Pep in your step. Pep in my step, thank you. And I feel like I can sleep better. I feel like it's, it's a miracle for me. I'm not pushing it to, for other people. That's not what I'm trying to do. I'm just saying I needed help, and that's what I've decided to do, and I am... I'm not a doctor. I'm not a licensed practitioner nurse.

You go to your doctor. Don't go by what I'm saying. I'm just saying for me, I don't see anything wrong with it anymore- Mm ... like I used to. I feel like if it helps to get you on track... Because Monica, you, you brought up a good point. You said, "I wanna be 80 years old and still be able to wipe my own ass." Yeah.

And there's nothing wrong with that for getting... Because remember, we, we lose estrogen. Right. And that is a huge, huge, huge thing that we need for all those things. Mm-hmm. For the, the, the weight and, and the bones and all that, and we lose it. Mm-hmm. So it, it becomes more of a struggle for us to be able to, yes, even though we're working out.

Yeah. We're storing fat now. We're... Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because our body's not, our... The estrogen's is not there and- Yeah ... and our bodies are not doing what they're supposed to do like they w- when we were younger. Right. So I did a little research on that because I have been on this new found, um, health, I guess, health journey.

I hate using that word, but it's the only word that I can think of, and it's... This is the harsh truth that- It's hard to say because many women may feel even offended by it, but it's not to be offensive. It's just math is math, right? Four, four plus four is gonna always be eight. So yes, everything you said is true, but we don't need the amount of calories that we were eating at 35, at 50 anymore.

That's just the harsh truth, and yet we're still eating it. We're still eating the same amount of calories, and on top of that, we're having more of a sedentary life, and maybe we're sitting in front of computers more or not moving as much as we did when we were younger. So that is a harsh truth. It's like if you continue eating the same amount of calories that you did when you were 30, 35, when you're 49 and you're barely moving, guess what?

You're gonna gain 20, 30 pounds, and it's mostly gonna be on your stomach and your arms, you know? And that's- Mm-hmm ... that's the harsh truth, that you have to eat less. You, you just have to eat less, unless you are killing yourself at the gym, which most... There, there are some women that are, but some women, they maybe go once or twice a week and they worko- work out for 30 minutes and they go on the treadmill, and that's the last shit you're supposed to be doing.

You're supposed to be lifting weights because we're losing our muscle. And all of this is stuff that I found out because I said, "I really wanna learn." Mm. Like, I really wanna learn, and I sat down and I studied this shit for a few months and I'm like, "Okay, that's what happens." That is what happens to older women, that we continue to eat the same when we were younger when we don't need to eat like that no more.

We actually have to eat very little food. But it's, but who, who the hell eats like that? You get hungry. Yeah. And that's why these medications, they suppress your appetite and you don't feel that hungry, and it helps. It does, and I'm not knocking it 'cause I also do the same thing, but it is known that the estrogen does help- Suppresses

you know, communicates with the brain. Yeah, it, all that. It, it definitely contributes. So- Yeah ... it is, it is very important, and there are studies showing that people that do HRT don't need those other things. HRT alone does regulate their- Mm-hmm ... insulin resistance and, and optimizes their metabolism and all that stuff.

Right. And they're doing, obviously, working out, living healthier lifestyle, I'm sure changing their eating habits. Yeah. But not everybody's gonna need a GLP-1 to do it. No, that's not what I'm saying. Right? I'm not saying that. That, I'm not pushing that. And, well, what I'm saying is the calorie count. Yeah, calorie in, calorie out, that is super important.

Yeah. But you gotta also remember there's... it's a struggle for women- Yeah, it's a struggle for- ... of a certain age ... yeah, and that's what I'm saying. Like, I, I was looking at, like, when I was 37, I was doing half-marathons, I was doing CrossFit, I was in Orange Theory. I was eating probably close to 2,000 calories a day, and I was in the best shape of my life.

Now fast-forward to 30- 49, knocking the door on 50, I'm eating the same amount that I did when I was killing myself. Not killing myself, but doing those things. Doing all the right things. But I'm- But it's not working out. But I didn't, but I didn't change my eating habits. Right. They remained the same, and if anything- Mm-hmm

I increased it ev- even more because I get a little bored, let me grab something to eat. Right. Well, that's gonna catch, catch up with you. It, it, at the end of the day, it catches up with you. So we're not supposed to be eating that much anymore at this age. That, and that's the hard thing to say because you get hungry.

You, you, you're already been used to eating, you know, all these meals or s- and snacking. I don't snack anymore. I... That's the first thing I stopped. I was like, there's... You come to my house- Yeah ... I have no snacks. And the closest thing I have in my house that's a snack is watermelon, apples, and bananas.

That's what I've been cutting down on, too, my... 'Cause I'm a snacker. Yeah. Yeah. So I've been just kinda, "Okay, I'm not snacking." And listen- ... a snack can easily be 200 calories. Yeah. And you snack two, three times a day, that's 600 calories. And then you have breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you just hit 2,200 calories.

Mm-hmm And that, and that's, and, and, and you barely move all day. That's the shit that nobody... That, that's the hard thing to say out loud, you know? And like Monica said, yes, of course, menopause and all of that plays a role, but there also is, we have to also understand that we have to eat less. I use a ch- uh, calorie ch- I use a tracker.

Yeah. For even before, like- Yeah ... you know, this journey or the working out, just to track my calories, 'cause I don't eat a lot. Mm-hmm. I don't eat all, I don't eat three, four meals a day. Mm-hmm. I'm two, maybe one. Yeah. That's just 'cause I don't feel, I don't feel hungry till maybe 1:00 in the afternoon. Yeah. 12, you know, like, that's when my, my hunger...

Even before I was on this, uh, journey- Yeah ... I'm, I don't eat breakfast, and I know that it's probably not good for me either to- Yeah ... to eat like that. Yeah. But I've never been in the 2,000 calories. Right. Like, I'm sure maybe when I go out to eat, of course, 'cause I don't know what's in the ingredients, but- Right

I've never been one to be eating two, 2,000 calories a day or something like that. I've always tracked my stuff. So yeah, I get what you're saying, and I'm probably sh- I know that what I... My, my way of eating was not healthy either. Yeah. Because you gotta, you know, nourish your body and stuff. Mm-hmm. But, um- It's, it, it, it's hard to- It is

to do. I've never been a snacker though like that. Yeah. But, um, yeah, I've, I've... My eating habits definitely... Oh, I love f- Yeah ... I love food. I'm a foodie. I love to eat, and I love to eat lavishly. I love to cook. I love to make beautiful dishes. I love food, I respect food, and I enjoy food, you know? But at the same time, when I was younger, I also loved to work out, and I liked to go hard, and I liked, you know.

So it was like, yeah, I'm eating, uh, these lavish meals, but I'm also doing these hard workouts, so it kind of like worked out. Yeah. But then when I s- when I stopped working out, that... If there's one takeaway, please don't ever stop exercising, 'cause that was the biggest mistake of my life. I stopped exercising 'cause I got into this funk.

I got into a little depression. Three years, and everything went to shit in three years. I should have never stopped working out. That was my biggest, biggest mistake because then to get back into it, holy shit. Yeah. It's really hard to get back in. Yeah. I mean, I had, I had to take a break. My body needed that break because I had already had problems with my hip, so I had to stop, but I hear you.

I mean, everything went to shit after that. Yeah, yeah. Because the little break turned into something much longer. Yeah. You know? And, you know, I was feeling a little bit better. There was other things that I could have done- Mm-hmm ... but I didn't. You know? I could have turned to Pilates. I could have turned to yoga.

I could have done swim- other exercises that were not gonna injure that part of my body anymore. Like swimming or something. Yeah, or swimming. Yeah. But I didn't. It's okay. I just took a long break. Because all of us go through- Yeah ... go through this, and we're being, we're having a v- very raw conversation about- Yeah

body image, um, how, how it makes us feel. I... You know, I, I'm gonna say something that's gonna be probably a little hurtful, and I don't mean to be hurtful, but I don't wanna be fat. I don't. I don't wanna be fat. I don't like being overweight. I- I don't wanna be skinny either. That's not my goal. But I, I know my body, and I want to be in a, in a better situation with my body, you know?

There are some women who don't care, and they're happy being that way. Power to you. I'm not shaming you. I'm only speaking for myself, and I don't like the way I f- it makes me feel, so I'm doing something about it. Right. And if you're in a situation like that where you're about to hit 50 or you're in your late 40s and this is happening to you, you're not alone.

A lot of us are, are going through this. But don't stop working out, and definitely do not neglect strength training because a lot of us focus on cardio. And yes, cardio is great, and it feels great, and you're sweating, and you feel like, "Shit, I just kicked ass at the gym." But you really need to, like, lift some heavy ass h- heavy-ass weights for, like, 15 minutes.

Like, to the point where that shit hurts to lift, you know? That's what we need to do at this age. At this age. Absolutely. Because we are losing our muscle, and you don't get muscle back. No. And if you're doing a GLP-1, that is why protein is important. You have to eat protein, but you also have to make sure that you eat the right amount of protein for...

It's a... Listen, it's, it's, it's complicated. You gotta sit there with a little ch- cheat sheet and be like, "Okay, how much protein do I really need?" Because then you're eating a lot of protein, and then you're not losing any weight. And you're like, "What's going on?" It's because it's, it's, it's very com- it's like a little science, you know, puzzle that you're putting together.

But you gotta figure out what works for your body. They usually say a gram per pound or something like that. But if you... I was like, "What? That's a lot." Like- That is a lot ... what do you mean? No. But if you weigh a chicken breast, a piece of chicken breast - Yeah ... that is literally all you need. Yeah. And that's enough for, like, the day- Yeah

in grams. And I was like, "Oh, okay, so it's not that bad." Mm-hmm. 'Cause I used to think, "Wow, that's a shitload of protein." Like- Yeah ... "What do you mean I need all this protein per day?" Da, da, da. But when you actually sit there and weigh it- And weigh it. Yeah ... you're like, "Oh, okay. Yeah, I could cut that in half, and-" Mm-hmm

"I get my, my count." Or, and if you eat all of it, great. But yeah, it's ... I was like, "Oh, okay, it's not that bad." Yeah. It's, it's a little intimidating, all the information that you get, because like I know we've said before, Dr. A says this, this, this, says this. Dr. B says, "No, not that. This, this, this." Right. Dr. C says, "No, no.

Not that or that. It's this, this, this." It's very intimidating. It's a lot of information. It's a lot of information. Very overwhelming, and one person's telling you one thing- Yeah ... the next one's telling you another. And what works for you and you is not gonna work for me. Right. And what works for you- You gotta find what works for you

might not work for you. Right. So- 'Cause we all have different bodies. You gotta do, you know, your own research- Mm-hmm ... and, and like actually test the shit out on yourself. Right. Because just 'cause you see, you're watching people on, you know, social media with all these workouts, and this is how you should do it and da, da, and it's not working, it's because that's not for you.

Mm-hmm. Try something else. I mean, I mean, I think that's very important what you just said, because that's why you should invest in going to your general practitioner, going to a nutritionalist, someone that's gonna spend some time with you. And people think, "Oh, this is so expensive." It's actually not that expensive.

You probably spend more money on, like, buying some outfits than investing in a nutritionalist. I'm being very honest with you here. A pair of, pair of Nikes and brand new jeans can cost you 300 bucks. Well, that- that's probably, like, what a nutritionalist will cost you to teach you, at least to give you the foundations, you know?

Because Monica's right. What works for me may not necessarily work for, for her and vice versa, you know? So I think it's a good point about investing in yourself. You brought up the point about the menopause and the dropping estrogen. All of that is, is very real, so you have to figure out what's good for you to get to your goal.

Absolutely. And I know for me, I would go... When I go to the doctor, I, yeah, I was considered obese because of the numbers. Mm-hmm. You know, my height, my weight, you know, was not right for me. I was at the border or over or whatever. But all my cholesterol, all my numbers were fine. Everything was fine. Blood pressure was fine.

So it wasn't like I was, um- Unhealthy? Unhealth- Well, right, in- Right ... standards, unhealthy. In standards, right. Mm-hmm. With the biomarkers for my blood work. Mm-hmm. Everything was fine. So there was no like, you know, "Oh, I gotta do this," you know? Right. "I'm, I'm dying," or I'm getting sick or whatever. No, everything was, everything, everything came out fine.

Okay, I'm not, I'm not that bad. That was my thought process. Yeah. I'm not that bad. I'm not that bad. But then, you know, feeling it in the body, I'm not- Mm-hmm. My... Yeah, blood work is saying I'm fine, but I don't feel fine. Yeah. So that's when I was like, okay, no, I can't. Ya basta. Gotta start doing what I gotta do- Mm-hmm

to feel good and to get strong. Yeah. To get healthy, to feel good, and so that's, that's what pu- pushed me over my edge. Like, oh, no. I mean, strength training, working out always has helped me. You know what I mean? Yeah. 'Cause I've always, well, I've always sat in front of the computer. That was my job. Mm-hmm. So for me, walking or, well, running before, I was running before.

Now I walk, but it just moving, just moving was very important 'cause- Walking is a miracle. That walk- That's my thing right now ... a simple walk. Yeah. So there's something that I do that I like to share with our listeners that I have, have noticed has been quite useful for me. So I have five-pound weights, 10-pound weights, and then the, my heavy ones, my 20-pound weights.

And I, every evening after dinner, we're, like, chillaxing. Usually we sit down on the couch, turn on the TV, and we'll be there, like, may- maybe an hour, 90 minutes before we call it a night. Mm-hmm. I grab the weights and whatever's on TV, we're watching it, me and my husband, and I'm l- lifting the weights the whole 90 minutes that I'm there.

When I tell you, the next morning, my arms, I'm like, "Oh, my God. I can't even move my arms." And I've noticed a little difference. Yeah. Because I, I always loved my arms, but they got kinda big, so I'm k- kinda self-conscious about that now. So I'm finding tricks, little ways for me to sneak in some exercise where I don't realize that I'm doing it.

So that's a little tip. There's people now that have walking desk at work. That's a thing. Mm-hmm. They're, like, doing 20,000 steps at work- Yeah ... while they're on their laptop. They're a little pricey, but listen- But listen ... it's saving lives. Exactly. There's a lot of little things, little machines that you can put on your feet, and you're, like, moving your legs up and down.

Little things like that, they go a long way. What I'm basically trying to say is not to preach. Don't give up on yourself, please, because you are gonna get older, and you wanna be able to walk without a walker, like Monica mentioned, clean your own body, be able to lift your arms up and open up the microwave, take out the food, and close the door.

That simple gesture that you take for granted now, a lot of old people can't do it because they can't do it. Right. You don't want that to be you. Yeah. It's sad when you see it happening in front of you, and I've seen it already, and it's, it's not pretty. But I do the same. I mean, I, I walk now. Like, I'm walking, and I too have my, my weights, and I work out in my garage.

I have my kettlebells, I have my, my dumbbells, and I... Yeah, I lift weights. Legs one day, arms another day. But I'm, I'm trying to be more... What- what's hard is the being consistent- Consistent ... right? Yeah. So that's what I'm trying to stick to, being consistent- Yeah ... and just, you know, doing it. Yeah, yeah. And it's not easy because it's really freaking hot outside.

Oh, yeah. In Florida, please. Brutal. It's fucking hot. And the fact that we've been having these fires right now is not helping me neither, 'cause I wake up in the morning, I'm like, "All right. I'm gonna go for a walk," and I go outside, I'm like, "Wow." Yeah. The smoke, the smell. I'm like, "I'll die out there." Yeah. But I have now...

I have my elliptical, so I use... When- the days I don't walk, I'm using my elliptical. Do you recommend it? I like it. You like it? Mm-hmm. Sometimes I wish I would've gotten that instead of, instead of the Peloton 'cause the Peloton can be a little boring after a while, so. I think the elliptical's really good for my legs.

Yeah. Yeah, you could feel that burn. Yeah. And it's easier on the, on the knees. Is it? Absolutely. I hurt- It is easier on your knees ... yeah, yeah. And my hip. Yeah. Even though I'm feeling a lot better. Why is it, why does our hip fucking hurt so much? I don't know. What, what happens to us? I don't know.

Inflammation. Is that what it is? Yeah. But that's also another motivating factor for me because, yes, my hip hurts, and yes, my knee hurts, and yes, this and this. It's because I'm also heavier, so once I get that weight off, it's gonna alleviate some of the pain in those areas of my body too. And stretches are very important- And stretching, yeah

at our age. Yeah. You know, and I think about, like, you know, I've admitted right now on, on this podcast that, that I'm doing a GLP-1, you know? And I started thinking to myself, like, damn, what about all these celebrities who don't admit that they're taking it? But clearly these were people, like Meghan Trainor, for example, who wrote that song that made her famous, All About The Base, and now she's unrecognizable.

Our beloved Adele, you know, who was literally obese, and now she looks like a completely different person. Um, what's that lady that was on that show, The Office, Mindy Kaling? The Indian lady, the girl from The Office, Rebel Wilson, Amy Schumer, none of them admit to doing a GLP-1, but clearly that's what they did, you know?

And it's okay. That, that's... They don't have to. They don't owe us that. I'm not saying that they owe us that, but at the same time, I could see why people get upset about it, or they maybe feel a little betrayed with it, because they're like, "Damn," you know? "I looked up to them. They look like me. I could relate to them 'cause they were like me, and now they're, they're not."

So I could see how maybe that, that hurts people's feelings. But at the end of the day, they don't owe anybody shit. No. They gotta do what's good for them. Who knows what their medical... what they were dealing with. Right. They- nobody knows, and they don't owe us anything. All they owe to themselves is what's gonna make them feel good about themselves.

So with that, you need to do what you need to do to feel good about yourself and to take care of the only body that we have. Whatever that is. Whatever that is. I just know, I know people are scared because of all the things- Mm-hmm ... that we hear about the- I can, I can relate to the fear- GLP-1s ... because I do fear, um, taking some of the, the GLP-1s.

Mm-hmm. But that's because, like you say, all the things that you hear, and it's a lot of overwhelming information, and you have... You hear the good. Yeah. You hear the bad. I think my brain went more towards- Yeah. "I'm more afraid of diabetes." And so... Right. And so, yeah, you could be fearful for trying those things.

Mm-hmm. Absolutely. I can, I can relate to the fear. Absolutely. You know? And, and not to go back to the celebrities again, but I read something here, um, that I wanted to read to, to you guys 'cause it, it made me think a, a different way. Um, it said here, "Expecting a woman to stay heavy so that we feel validated is, when you really look at it, the same impulse as expecting her to be thin.

It's still treating her body as if something that belongs to the public," right? And here it says, "As one cultural commentator put it, 'We spent years saying stop policing women's bodies, and the betrayal narrat- narrative quietly brings the policing right back, just pointed in the other direction.'" Because now you're mad that she got skinny.

So that's why I was trying to say nobody owes anybody an explanation on your own body. Mm-hmm. If you are, are trying to get healthier and lose weight, and these are the things, the tools that you're doing, whether it's with a nutritionist, with a GLP-1, or, or dare I even say plastic surgery, that is your body.

Right. You do whatever you want and whatever you feel you need to do to get back on track. I just wanted to say that because I think sometimes it's so easy to judge- Yeah ... someone, but you don't know what they're going through. Yeah. And I know that I really was in trouble. Mm-hmm. I mean, if you don't know what a GLP-1 is, it's a naturally occurring hormone produced in your gut that regulates appetite, digestion, and blood sugar.

If yours is working in your body, it's gonna help you regulate all that stuff, but if it's not, they have GLP-1 medications, which are the synthetic version of this hormone, that mimics all those effects, and it's widely used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity. So a lot of them are FDA approved. Right.

Yeah. You can... You, you may be able to get it from your doctor if you're having an issue. Some don't like to prescribe it if you are not diabetic, but you can get it fr- you can get it prescribed from a doctor, and I know, um, you can even get it on Amazon if you want. Yeah. Well, I'm ta- You can get anything on Amazon.

Yeah. I'm taking Wegovy, but the pills. They're not even the injections. Mm. So I, I, I did try Ozempic, but that did not work at all. It didn't work f- at all, and it made me sick, and I projectile vomiting, diarrhea, you name it. It was really bad. Then I took, like, a year off, didn't do sh- anything again until I got sick, and then now I'm doing Wegovy, and I'm doing the pills.

And those are working out really, really great, great for me. Little upset stomach. Sometimes, I'm not gonna lie, um, certain foods make me throw up. Um, that's unpleasant. Um, certain foods make me go to the bathroom. Unpleasant. But now I know what I can and cannot do, and it's not happening anymore. So now I know, oh, I can't have fried chicken.

I can't have my beloved chicken tenders. It's over. I mean, I had, I had to say goodbye at Publix with Boys to Men. "It's so hard to say goodbye." Um, I know what I can and cannot do. Alcohol, I have to limit it. I can't have my... Remember before on our show, I was like, "I have a glass of wine every night." Right. I can't do that shit no more because it's different now.

It's different. A lot of people are doing it, but here's the, here's the part that's a little bit like why I wanted to bring this up. Um, 12% of US adults have used the GLP-1 and it worked, mostly women between the ages of 50 and 64. But one-fifth of them have to quit because it's expensive- Yeah ... and they can't afford it.

Yeah. Okay? Um, well, I'm here to tell you that I'm doing Wegovy, I'm doing the pills, and it's $149 a month. With or without insurance? That I'm self-pay and it's cash. Okay. No insurance, okay? Because the other one was very expensive. When I was doing Ozempic, I was also self-pay. It did not go through insurance, and let me tell you That w- that was a conversation I had to have with my husband to see if we were gonna do this, and he said okay.

It was almost $1,000 a month- Yeah ... for it, okay? Yeah. Um, so he was thinking, oh, this Wegovy is gonna be the same, you know? So I went to see my doctor, and my doctor was like, "There's the new ones. They're pills." Um, um, he's the one that recommended it because he told me, "You have to drop 20 pounds. Like, you, your body cannot be this heavy because of your situation, so you have to try and stay at least at 160, preferably 150."

I'm like, "150?" Yeah. Like, but that's my goal, 150, okay. So I don't mean to ramble here, but he told me, yeah, no, the pills are $149, $49 for four milligrams, but the, as your dosage goes up, the price does go up. But I think the most expensive it'll ever get is, like, maybe $400 a month as you get to the high. So I did wanna share that because a lot of people don't know that.

That's what it costs on Amazon. Yeah. Like 400 bucks. Yeah. So the dosage, the dosage changes- The higher the dosage- It changes? At what point? The price. So in my situation- Mm-hmm ... they're pills, and the first pills, um, which are called the introductory pills, are 1.5 milligrams. I didn't start at 1.5 because I had already done Ozempic, and it didn't work, so he was like, "Since you already've done it, I'm gonna start you at four milligrams."

I said, "Okay, fine." And he goes, "We're gonna stay at four milligrams for, for a while, okay? And once we f- we see that you're kind of plateauing, we'll move you up to nine milligrams." And then after nine milligrams, you go up, I believe, don't hold me on this one, but you go up... I think the last number is 25, and 25 is maintenance.

When you've already reached your, like, goal weight, that's, that's where you stay. Mm-hmm. Right now, I'm not in a rush to increase my dosage. I like four. It's working. It's slow. It's steady. It's controlled. I don't see why I need to increase it. Right. If I can stay here for a long time, if it takes me a year, it takes me a year.

I don't care. I'm not, I'm not in a rush. I don't have to do a movie. You know? It's not like I have to, I have to go somewhere and, and, and be in a movie. Yeah. So I'm gonna do it slow and steady. But for me, I hate to say this on a microphone, but I feel like it's a miracle because I see what I eat now, and I'm so satisfied.

I don't... The food noise turned off. Mm-hmm. I don't think about food that much. I have to remind myself, "Oh, shit, I didn't eat. I have to eat something." Right. It is so liberating. It is so liberating. I, I know there's gonna be people who are gonna be like, "Oh, my God, how can she say that?" But it's the truth. I have to be honest.

It... To not think about it, wow, it's great. Food noise is real. It's great. And when I wanna eat something, what am I eating? Hard-boiled eggs, bananas, apples, chicken breast, salad, vegetables. Well, other than that, um, the weight loss and the appetite suppression, there have been other, um, reports of positive things, improved hormone and reproductive health.

A lot of people that were having a hard time getting pregnant are now getting pregnant without IVF. Really? Yeah, yeah. Wow. Um, you know, better metabolic control, which is what we're looking for. And, um, also it helps with women with PCOS and cycle regulation, if you've had a problem with that. It's shown to help women that have those issues- Mm-hmm

a lot. So, I mean, there are other benefits besides just losing weight. Right. It, it's a plus. I did not know that. Yeah. That's amazing. So many people have PCOS. It's shocking. It is. But the thing, too, with the, the GLP-1s, we have to remember they're, they're... They were designed for long-term use. Mm-hmm. For a lot of people, you can't just do it for, like, a month or two and then get off and think that your body's gonna still do the same thing- Mm

that it was while it was on the GLP-1. And you have to be careful with that. You have to be careful with that yo- they call that the yo-yo dieting, because that will cause havoc on your body and your muscle loss. That gaining and losing weight like that, oof, don't do it. Wow. Yeah. You have to be very careful.

It is not, there's... It's not a quick fix for everything. It is a tool to help you. That's why I don't wanna increase my dosage. Mm-hmm. I wanna take responsibility in my activity, in moving my body, in strength training, eating better, making wiser choices. But the noise, that, that desire of, like... It took... And it happened probably, without exaggeration, like, seven days ago.

It took a little while. Mm. And then I'm like, "Oh. Oh, shit, I need to eat." How long have you been on it? Uh, this is week six. Okay. So five weeks. It took five weeks for me to not really think too much about food. It's crazy, Maritza. It's freaking crazy. That's why I say it's a miracle. Right. Something happens, and it just...

I... Well, I read this comment on, on my social media page, and this lady, I actually got a little frightened when I read it, and I was like, "I don't want that to happen to me." But she basically said, "I hate food." She said that. She said, "I hate food. I hate eating. I don't like to eat." She was morbidly obese. She weighed 350 pounds.

She now weighs 145, and she's been on Mounjaro for two and a half years. That's how much weight she's lost. She goes, "I have to force myself to eat because I find eating disgusting." That scared me. Wow. That scared me, and a lot of people were saying, "Me too, me too, me too, me too." And I was like, "Uh-uh, girl. I wanna still love eating chocolate cake."

You know? Could that be because of the, the nausea maybe sometimes it would- I don't know ... 'cause people, people get nauseous, and so if- That scared me, though ... if I'm gonna get nauseous, like, if I eat, like, an egg, and I'm- It's gonna turn you off ... nauseous- The food ... the next time I see an egg- You're repulsed by-

I'm gonna be like, "Ew, I don't want to eat." Repulsed. I'm gonna get nauseous. Yeah. Yeah. I don't want that to happen. I don't want that. No. That's why I don't wanna increase my dose. I wanna take... I just wanna lay low. Because I, I still wanna enjoy eating food. I still wanna enjoy cooking. I still wanna go out to dinner with my friends and enjoy dinner.

Just my portion has to be smaller. That's all, and it can't be, like, greasy, greasy food because then I get a little sick. But, I mean, I get... I... It's life-changing for so many people. I'm not pushing it, I swear to G- I'm just sharing my own story. I'm not pushing it. But it, but it, you know, there's a lot of morbidly obese people who cannot seem to lose weight, and they're always hungry.

And when you have something that turns off and you don't feel that hunger anymore, it's a miracle for them. It really is. It's also, from what I heard, people use it for addiction, like, I don't know, like, let's say they're alcoholics. I heard about that. Right? So because if you drink, it can make you feel 10 times worse than what you would- It's true

regularly. So, like, you know, like, if we go out and have a couple glasses. We... If you, you and I down a bottle- Mm-hmm ... of wine, the giant bottles- Right ... not the little bottles. You and I can drink. We have killed it a couple times, and we wake up the next day, we're feeling sluggish. And, like, if you're on a GLP-1 and you do that, you're not just feeling sluggish, you're, like, sick.

No, you're vomiting and shitting on yourself. You're sick. Oh my God, yeah. The reason I know is because it happened to me. So- Wow. It- Yep ... you know, people that have a, a, an addiction like that, they'll tend to, like, refrain. After a couple times- Not drinking ... of feeling like shit- Mm-hmm ... yeah, they'll stop.

They've stopped drinking. So people use it for that too. Like, oh, okay, so. I heard about that. Yeah. Well, listen, I... The first week that I was on the Wegovy pill, it was the first week, my girlfriend that I hadn't seen in, oh my God, in ages, invited me over to her house 'cause she just built- she just made, like, a brand-new pool.

Stunning, stunning, and she wanted to, you know, show me the pool, and she's always so generous when I go to her house. She always has a great spread and, like, alcohol, like wines, and she's, like, the best, and I was kind of feeling a little full, and I didn't wanna reject the gesture of all the hard work that she put, you know?

So I ate some, I ate some food. Not too much, but I, I ate, and I didn't really eat too much that day because I knew that I was gonna eat at her house, but here's my point. I had three glasses of wine the whole time I was there. Not the whole time, but, like, I was there, like, five hours, so within five hours, I had about three glasses of, of red wine

I was vomiting all night, and I had diarrhea the next day, and I was like, "Oh, bitch, you can't drink like that no more on this." Mm. Mm, mm. So it probably could help with alcoholism. It can. You learn real quick. There was a doctor that said... I heard... He was talking to somebody. He was on a podcast, and I, I forgot his name, but he said, um, "I think we should start prescribing that to-" Alcoholics?

alcoholics. I really think we should." He said, you know, he laughed about it. He goes, "Yeah, 'cause you'll have the worst- ... hangover." Yeah. Well, you know why. Because what happens is when you eat food, it takes... It stays in your stomach for a while, and it takes a long time for your body to digest it, so it stays there.

So that's why you feel full eating less because it stays there for a while, you know? Well, what do you think happens when you're drinking alcohol? It stays there, and it's lingering, and you got that alcohol there. And you get drunk on one drink. Two drinks, you're like, "Give me one margarita." You know what I mean?

It... Like, you have two drinks, and you're really tipsy. Yeah. Thankfully, I have- Yeah ... not had that problem. Okay. I, I can still drink and no problem. I just don't- Desire ... have a desire. Yeah. You don't have the desire. Yeah. I know. I get offered a glass of wine, I'm like, "Mm, no, I'm good." Mm. I just don't feel like it.

Mm. Sometimes I'll have it. Yeah, I'll have, like, one. Yeah. Maybe two. And you're good. That... And I'm good. Yeah. But I don't, I don't desire it anymore. Yeah. Like, it's not something- It's crazy ... yeah. It's literally... Uh, let's keep it real. To our audience, if you're still here, hopefully you are, we would open up a bottle, sometimes two bottles- Yeah

while we did- Yeah ... while we recorded our show. We have water right now. We've been doing water for how many shows now? Yeah. You know? And, uh, it's, it's, it's really... It... And I'm telling you, it's a miracle. Yeah. I have to cancel my, my Cooper's Hawks subscription because I don't drink wine like that no more. I, actually, I was- I have to go pick up a-

considering that the other day- ... a bottle ... because I don't drink... Well, I'm not taking anything, but my desire has kind of, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I don't drink like, like that anymore. Yeah. Mm. And I don't have the desire to drink neither. I mean... Did we become sober curious? Oh, no. I think so. I think so, by accident.

Yeah, and I was just thinking the other day, I'm like, "I have all these bottles just sitting there." Mm-hmm. And I'm not... I picked up a few, but they're, they're all in my wine cooler. I haven't touched them. Wow. Yeah. You know? Yeah. For the next party. Yeah, for the next party. But at the end of the day, I think what, what we're trying to say is, is like, yes, there's a lot of tools now, but please, w- you, you don't have to do this.

I'm... We're not pushing it. We are not pushing it, please. What we are pushing is for you not to give up on yourself, for you to continue to exercise, to do strength training, portion control- Jasmine, I know you had, um, e- done fasting before. Oh, yeah. I'm a big fasting person, big time. And how did that... How does that compare- I've been a fasting...

To, to this? To GLP-1. Oh, that's a great question. Well, I'll, I'll first talk about fasting in general- Okay ... and what it's done for me. Fasting, I've been doing it a big portion of my life, but I didn't necessarily... You do lose weight, but you gain it back very quickly. That wasn't the reason why I mostly did fasting.

It was mostly for, like, to be in ketosis, to regenerate my cells, and to kinda clean out my body, right? Okay. But it, but why I became adi- addicted a little bit to fasting was a shocking surprise. And not to get spiritual. I'm not trying to get spiritual, but it brought me closer to God, and I don't know why.

I d- I don't know why. I, I, I think where it r- 'cause fasting you could say, "Oh," not to... It's really easy to do 24 hours. Like that, most people could do 24 hours, so it's so easy to do a 24-hour fast. But when you don't eat food for five days, that's very different That is the most I have ever gone without having any food.

Uh, no coffee, nothing, just water with a little bit of electrolytes because you have to be careful. It wasn't exactly five days. It was four days and 12 hours. That was the most I had ever gone without any food. Day one, super easy. Day two, little hard. Day three, shit got real, right? Day three, you're hungry, and then something comes over you, and I started doing meditation, which I had never done, done before.

I was never a meditation person. I did meditation, and I started crying because I felt something inside of me that I, I still kinda... With the... I have no words to express what I was feeling. It was, like, euphoric. And then day four came. I felt no hunger. I just felt peace, serenity, and I felt God. And then after four and a half hours, that's when...

And then when I broke my fast, you have to be very careful when you break your fast. I had chicken broth. Pretty much that's how I broke my fast. And then the next day, I had maybe, like, some watermelon. And then after that, I had, like... I started introducing food again, and then I was fine. And eventually, I did lose a lot of weight.

I lost, like, freaking 12 pounds. I lost 12 pounds, and I've been on this Wegovy for six weeks and lost seven, so- ... listen, it is what it is. But I, but, but it, it, you gain it, you gain it very quickly. W- within a week you- You gain it back ... gain almost all... Yeah, you almost gain everything back, um, unless you really take it to the next level, and you can.

At that... That could be now where you jumpstart your real weight loss journey. You could do that. Uh, it's actually not a really bad idea. But for me, I fell in love with the feeling of being close to God. So after that, I decided to do it more. I, I didn't do the five-day, but I would do more, like, 48 hours here and there, in between there, and that's really why I, I did the fasting, Maritza, and I appreciate you asking me that question.

And I, I started to do a little research, and you know what? A lot of people say that they do feel God when they fast, and they don't know why. 'Cause your, your, like you said, the third day it started becoming harder. Yeah. Yeah. So you're searching for... I- in my opinion, you, you want help To keep you on your journey.

Yeah. So you search within- Mm-hmm ... which also brings you- You search within ... back again. It gets spiritual ... and it's, it was a beautiful feeling. Yeah. And I think everyone should do a fast. I'm not telling you to do four or five-day fast. That's not what I'm saying. But I think that a good little 24-hour fast is good for everyone.

Now, there's some people that they don't recommend for you to do that because, um, especially, like, if you're di- diabetic, I think it can... There are real health concerns with diabetics and doing fasting, so of course, always talk to your doctor and get approval. Um, but I think for most people, a fast is actually very, very good for you.

They've talked about how it actually helps with the aging process, too. Yeah. And regenerates your cells. Like resetting the- Resetting everything ... resetting the body. And all your waste comes out. I mean, not to get too graphic here, but I think the worst thing that could happen is, you know, you get a little bad breath 'cause you got all this ketosis going on, so just, you know-

maybe just don't talk to people too much. But for the most part- ... I think that, um, the GLP-1, to go back to now fast- fasting versus this- Yeah ... I think the GLP-1 for me is better though because the food noise is off. Yeah. The food noise is not off with fasting. Mm. It's present, and the desire to wanna eat is there.

Strong. It is, and it's strong. Yeah. With the GLP-1, I'm losing very little weight slowly, but I don't really think about food too much, and I would get excited to eat before. I really did. "Oh, we're going out to dinner. I'm excited," and you know, "I can't wait to have something really yummy." Now I'm like, "Oh, okay, let's go."

And I'll, you know, I'll be like, "Okay, let me get a side, a small Caesar salad with a piece of grilled chicken and a lemonade," and that's it, and I'm ha- I'm good with that. Yeah. I'm good. So you'll be on the GLP-1 until you hit your goal weight? So I talked to my doctor about that, and he was like, "Well..." Um, so I'm gonna be honest.

Let me... Before I answer my, what my doctor says, I'm gonna tell you something that happened to me that's true. So you guys know that I have, uh, a vacation property in, uh, Marco Island. Mm-hmm. And, uh, Mike and I were like, "All right, let's go. Let's go for the long weekend." I'm like, "All right, let's go." We drove all the way over there, and when I open up my bag, I'm like, "Oh, my God, I forgot my Wegovy."

And he was like, "Oh, no," and I was like, "No, no, it's fine. It's fine. Don't worry about it. Everything's gonna be fine." Bitch, no it was not. Because the Fr- we got there on Friday. We left on Monday, so it was a really short trip. Friday w- Friday was good. Friday was good. Saturday afternoon, I was like, "You wanna get some pizza?"

Sunday, a bitch was hungry, and I was like, "Damn, you wanna get some, like... You wanna have some steak and a loaded baked potato? Let's go to Seat the Table." Like- Ooh ... "Oh, I wanna have a glass of rosé," and he was like, "My baby's back."

And when I got back home on Monday, he was like, "Babe, you gotta take your pill." I was like, "I can't," because the, the pill is very strategic. It has to be first thing in the morning, four ounces of water on a completely empty stomach. I didn't get home till Monday afternoon, so I didn't have it Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

I didn't take it until Tuesday morning, and I ate pretty well on Monday, you know? So that shit came back with a vengeance, okay? Quick. Yeah. But I haven't been on it that long, you know? And I was like, "Fuck, I don't wanna weigh myself," but I did, and I gained, I gained two pounds, but I lost it pretty quickly again.

Um, but yeah, no, I, I, I don't know what's gonna happen when I reach my goal weight 'cause Monica mentioned that you may have to be on it for a while or for life, you know? But that's why I brought up the price. I, luckily I can afford $150 a, a month, but if it's thousands of dollars, that's, that's- Right. Mm. Mm.

Mm ... that's serious. Yeah. You know? Um, but yeah, that's answering your question about the fasting and... But yeah, that shit turned off quick, bitch. I was like, "Rosé, steak, loaded potato." I just have to be honest. Yeah. That's weird, though, because it's supposed... It's, it, it has, like, a shelf life in your system. So I'm doing pills though.

Maybe the pills are different. Maybe. It's not the inject- th- because, because it's very different with the pill. That's why I wanted to differentiate it, because you put the injection and it's the, a week. Yeah. And then I've seen some TikTok videos of people who are like, it's the last, the last day of the week and they're a little hungry and they're like, "Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta," and they're like...

'Cause they know they gotta go get the shot the next day. Yeah. And they make jokes about it, so I'm like, "Oh, okay, so I'm not alone." The, it, the, people make jokes about it, but jokes are based off of truths sometimes. Right. Yeah. You know? So it, it... And I think in the beginning, like when you're st- 'cause I'm still a beginner.

I just started month two. Maybe I was in it for, like, um, a year, the shelf life would be a little bit longer. But pills are different. They get absorbed into your body first thing in the morning, and by the next day it's gone. Yeah. The injection is there a week. Right. Yeah. So that's- Okay ... probably why.

That's maybe the difference. That makes sense. Yeah. Yeah. But girl, I wanted to eat that steak so bad. Yeah. That shit looked good. You had a good weekend. I had a... Listen, I was like- Just had like a, my, my husband was like, "She's back." Aw. Just for a little bit. A little bit. A little bit. I'm laughing because it's true.

Yeah. I literally said, "Let's go get a pizza." That's funny. Yeah, yeah. And Monica, so I know you are on your own journey. Yes. Why don't you tell us about that? Well, I am also on a GLP-1, but mine is not prescribed by a doctor. Okay. So, but I also do peptides, although a GLP-1 is a peptide. But, um, I have started do- using peptides for my journey as well, and it has helped tremendously for me.

What are peptides? Well, okay, I am not a professional. I am also learning. Mm-hmm. Right? I'm not a doctor. I don't... I'm not an expert, but from what I've learned, peptides are short chains of amino acids, which are building blocks of proteins. And where proteins are long, they're complex chains, peptides are smaller.

So you would think like the Lego blocks. Mm-hmm. So each Lego is a peptide, and you snap a bunch together, and then you get the protein. And those are things that we need in our body to tell things what to do- Okay ... and when to do it, our cells. So that's what the peptides do. But you said the GLP-1 is a peptide.

Well, GLP-1 itself is a peptide. Is a peptide. Yeah. Okay. But you have... There's two types that are FDA-approved. Mm-hmm. The semaglutide, which is Wegovy and Ozempic. Mm-hmm. They're the same thing. And then the tirzepatide, I think is what it's called- Mm-hmm ... which is Zepbound and Mounjaro. So it's a different type.

I'm trying something called retatrutide, which is also a GLP-1, but it's a triple agonist- Okay ... GLP-1, whereas the semaglutide only is a GLP-1 receptor. Tirzepatide has a GLP-1 and a GIP, which I think helps with, um, the symptoms and the side effects- Okay ... more, and I guess that's why a lot of people prefer tirzepatide- Mm-hmm.

Right ... from a semaglutide. Mm-hmm. And the retatrutide is the GLP, GIP, and a glucagon receptor, which basically increases your metabolism for weight loss. So it does the other two, but, like, my resting rate- Mm-hmm ... heart rate or whatever, would be increased. Like, my metabolism- Right ... is working faster. Okay. And not doing much more than what I would be doing on the other two.

How did you come across this? Well. Tell us. Well- ... it's what they call the gray market, right? Mm. I was gonna say, you are very knowledgeable on this, girl. I have a friend who, who has a sibling who was going through their... Their husband was going through a lot of medical issues, um, diabetes, like all kinds of stuff.

And, you know, they were going to the doctors and doing what the doctor told them to do, exercise, eating healthy, um, taking their medications. And yeah, they, they would lose the weight, but their numbers were still- Mm ... the same. Like, they were maintaining. Their diabetes wasn't changing, and then ended up getting neuropathy on top of that, which that is horrifying.

Like it- Wow ... it, it's very painful. Yeah. Um, you know, and just constantly living with pain and all this stuff, and I guess they kinda got fed up and they started going the holistic route, and then also the... I guess they were told about the peptides and how to help with, um, how it'll help them with the pain, you know, the, the injuries that they were having, and didn't jump right into it 'cause this type of person...

He's the, he's the type of person that he's like, "Okay, let me learn a lot." Right. He loves to- He had to research. Yeah. Yeah. Be educated on it. Very well educated. Right. Mm-hmm. And reading the studies and all that stuff, so. Because he's not getting from a doctor, you- is what you said? Well, h- the fir- when he first got on it, he got it from someone, like a wellness center.

Okay. Right? 'Cause they, they sell them, too. Right. But I guess when he dec- decided to try it, he was like, "Okay, this is, this is working," and he was on his regimen. And then when he went back to his doctor, his doctor was like, "Wow, okay. Whatever you're doing, keep doing it. Your numbers are great, you know, things are looking good for you," and he was feeling a whole lot better.

Wow. So he continued, and then not only for him, he, he had his family members asking and he got them on it, and so his wife. Like, you know, they started using it. So at, as- I guess he turned to the point where he's like, "Well, I'm gonna start, I'm gonna invest in this," and so when they told me about that, I was like, "Hmm, I had heard about peptides on the internet and- Right

social media and all that," but, you know, I'm just like, "Well, if I don't know nobody that's done it, I'm not gonna touch it- Mm-hmm. Right ... 'cause I'm a little fearful of these things." But, um, when they, when I heard that, I was like, "Oh, okay. I would like to talk to them," and I talked to them and they told me all this stuff.

I was like, "Okay, maybe I'll try something." Right? Let me, let me, let me try, let me try one thing here. Mm-hmm. And I tried, we- me and my husband tried it. My husband also had, um, constant knee pains and joint pains and just from- whatever. And so we started using the, um, BPC-157 and the TB-500, which is for repair, injury repair.

Girl, the pain, the hip pain and all that stuff, gone. Wow. My husband's knees, he does ha- he does not have any pain whatsoever. How exciting. His, his knee, when he would walk, I swear you would hear click, click, click, click, just from walking. He always had, like, a clicking sound in his knee. No lo tiene? I'm like, "Oh, wow."

So all this works. Yeah. And I'm not, I'm not dead. God forbid. Right? You're still here. I'm like, "I'm still here. Okay, wait." And then I was like, "Okay, well now I'm gonna try this one. Let me try this one." And I started trying the, the GLP-1 that they have. 'Cause there's so many different ones. I'm like, it's overwhelming.

Yeah. So overwhelming. Yeah. And you can, you can go down a rabbit hole- Yeah, you can ... of information. Mm-hmm. 'Cause there's so many things out there that help you. So I also did that. But see, I was on the, I was on this regimen for, I think I was, like, a week and a half in, and then I was like, okay... Or I think it was two weeks.

I went to my doctor. No, go back. I actually purchased one of those, um, blood work thingies to get my blood work done. Yeah. Like a full work-up online. I think I paid, like, $99 or something. And I went and I got a full work-up. This was, like, after two weeks of being on this stuff, and my numbers were fine. The only thing that was super high was inflammation.

I had infl- high inflammation in my body. And I was like, "Well, okay, I guess that makes a lot of sense with all my pains," right? So I continued doing what I was doing. Now I'm, like, over a month in. Then I go to my doctor and I get blood work done, and everything was good except for my liver enzymes. They went up, and I was like, "Oh, no."

I got scared. Like, we're... Okay. But w- no, what happened was, what had happened was- You got peptide happy? I got peptide happy, and I started introducing- Yeah ... a lot of different things way too fast. Yeah. Mm-hmm. And I was like, "Well, maybe that's what it was." Mm-hmm. So I, I left it a- I kept doing only the certain regimen.

I didn't stop 'cause I told my doctor, "This is what I'm doing." And funny enough, they were like, "What was that?" Oh, wow. They wasn't educated in that. He didn't know. He had no clue what that was. I was like, "Okay, well..." Wow. Yeah. Your doctor's like, "What is it?" Yeah. Shit. I was like, "Well, it's not FDA approved and it's, you know, stuff that you buy online."

And he's like, "Oh, well, don't do it." Like I was like, "Okay," but I kept doing it. But I cut a lot of them, the ones that I had just added on. Right. Yeah. And when I went back to get, um... Well, they were like, "Oh no, we need you to do this blood work. We need you to do, uh, an ultrasound on your liver. We gotta see to make sure that it's okay."

And I was like, "Oh, fuck. Okay." I did that, you know, spend $400 later, come to find out, I go to get my blood work done, "Oh, no, everything's fine. Everything is normal." I was like, "I knew it was just the me just going crazy." Right. Well- Adding- ... good thing you figured it out. Yeah. So obviously, I still continue to do blood work- Mm-hmm

to make sure that what I'm doing is not affecting my body in a bad way. Right. And it, it hasn't, so. But yeah, it's, it's a journey, and, and there's a lot of research. A lot of the things that, that are out there are mainly researched on animals, you know, mice and stuff. There's a few that are actually FDA-approved for other things.

Mm-hmm. But they do work for, for you for different things. Yeah. So, you know. And this all started, literally this all started because of Ozempic. Yeah. Because Ozempic was always meant for diabetes. It was... That was always the goal, and then they were like, "Oh, wait. People are losing weight on Ozempic." And that's what I think started it all.

And honestly, that's what started it all. Like- So Monica, so for somebody who wants to look into the peptides, do you have, like, any- anything to say as far as, like, safety considerations or maybe, like, questions they should ask or where they should, you know, like, be careful with Maybe where they're getting it, you know, like anything.

I mean, I know you're not professional, but Advice? Advice, yeah, some advice. Um, man, I don't know. 'Cause honestly I would... Although after using it- Mm-hmm ... I was like, "Yo, I'll get that shit off the internet real quick." I don't know. I'll be honest with you, I saw a TikTok today about a woman talking about she's on peptides, and she only had good things to say about it.

She was like, "I can actually look at myself in the mirror and look at this beautiful woman staring back at me." Aw, good for her. Oh, yeah. She said, "I had no regrets. I have no regrets at all." Good for her. And that's, that's what I, early, like, over an hour ago when we started the show, you know, that's what I said, I, I don't wanna be heavier.

I don't, and I think it's okay to admit that. Like, you know, and not, not, not to bring up, uh, body positivity, 'cause I think the body positivity movement did a lot of wonderful things. But I know for me, when I was in that rut, and I was doing my cooking videos and stuff, my algorithm changed on my phone, on my social medias.

And I was starting to see, like, a lot of really big women who were like, "I love myself exactly the way I am," ex- body acceptance, and that's a great thing. But I think for me it ended up being an, a negative because it, it helped me stay in the rut and kind of in that, "I don't care, and I'm giving up" type of mentality.

And then I gained all this weight, and then I got sick, and I just felt like for me, I needed to change my algorithm. So now when I see those things, I block. Like, I block it. The minute I see something like that, block, block, block, block, block. And now my algorithm is all healthy recipes, working out videos, um, how to stay on track, coaches, dos and don'ts, what's good for people going into men- Like, my whole algorithm changed.

And of course the medication I'm taking is turning off the food noise, and- my whole mindset is, is changing. And not to harp on body positivity, 'cause that's, I'm not trying to be mean about it, but I just felt like for me, it, it became a negative thing, and I realized, oh, I need to, I need to get back on track, and that's not good for me.

Yeah. You know, seeing a woman that's 300 pounds that's super cute and dressed super cute with her hair and makeup all pretty saying, "I love myself exactly the way I am," you see that over and over and over again for years, and you start to be like, "Okay, it's okay to be fat." I know that's a terrible thing to say, but that's how I was thinking.

And then I was like, "No, I don't wanna be fat." And that's, that's just the harsh truth. I know it's not a nice thing to say, but I have to be honest. What about you, Monica? I know you had mentioned that you were in a rut for a while. How are you feeling today? Oh, 10 times better. And how long have you been on the peptides?

Since February. Okay. Yeah. Oh, I have n- the fatigue is gone. Mm-hmm. 100% gone. Um, energy levels are through the roof. I sleep so much better. Um- Have you had any side effects? Um, on the, the GLP-1 medication? Once. Okay. Nausea, vomiting. It was once, and I had already been... And I don't know if it's maybe 'cause of something I ate, but it just came outta nowhere and that was the one and only time.

But girl, when you eat something that your body's not gonna- Right ... that shit is, like, fast. Wow. Yeah. That... Listen, Linda. Okay, listen, Linda, honey. I eat something that can make "... I'm mal," and I'm like, "Oh, shit." And it's so quick. And then you're like, "I ain't never eating that again." Mm-hmm. So. Yeah, you're just like, "N- never again."

Never again. Never again. But this has been great. I mean, I think it's great. It's just been a very raw conversation that we're having, and, um, I'm proud of us for admitting a lot of, uh, of our insecurities and our, and our thoughts, like, our real thoughts. Yeah. You know? I mean, the peptides are... y- I mean, you can get them pretty much anywhere at this point.

Like, I know wellness clinics, they sell 'em or, you know, they tell you about them and you can get certain ones there. Mm-hmm. Is that an injection or a pill? The ones I take are injections. They're injections. Okay. Yeah, yeah. Um, that's another thing. You have to be okay with in- you know, the needle. Yeah. E- every day.

Yeah. So. Oh, it's every day. Mm-hmm. Pretty much, yeah. Holy macaroni. Not the GLP-1, though. The GLP-1 No, the peptide. ... is weekly. The peptide. Peptides, yeah. I know. It, it- Todo dia ... depends, yeah. Is it, like, a big nee- like, a regular needle? No, a small one, like the insulin needle. Oh. Yeah, it's not... it's- It's not, um- Oh, it's like a little prick.

Yeah. Oh, okay, okay, okay. Yeah. Um, I mean, my advice is do your blood work, see where you're at- Mm-hmm ... and have a goal. Like, why you wanna do it, what is the purpose? And then- What is your why? What is your why? Mm-hmm. Right. What are you trying to accomplish within your body? And do your research. Yeah. Mm-hmm. 100% do your own research.

And just, you know, yeah, you gotta be careful where you get them online too, because you wanna make sure that wherever you get them, they get them third-party tested. So all these peptides that you get, they come from China And anyone that tries to tell you they're made in the USA is full of shit- Mm-hmm

'cause they are not. They come from China, um, where a lot of our medications come from. Right. And it, y- you use third, they use third-party testing to make sure that what they're getting is the actual ingredient and not, like, metals or something crazy, 'cause that does happen. Like, there was a guy who bought Retatrutide, which is a GLP-1, and he was taking it.

He wasn't getting any bad, uh, side effects. He was just getting a little tanner. Oh. Yeah. What? Yeah. He ended up getting it tested, and what he ended up having was m- melanotan, which is something that you take that can help you get tan. Get tan? Yeah. What? From USA. So he didn't even- He, he wasn't- ... he wasn't taking the right thing

aware. Right. He wasn't aware that he was taking something different. So... Yeah. Oh my God. He had to change his source. Wow. And then get that tested. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, you gotta be careful. You gotta be careful. You do. You have to be careful. You gotta be careful. Yeah. Yeah, and, you know, the whole- I get nervous.

Like, I, I, I don't know if I would do what you're doing, only because it, it scares me a little bit. Well, I'm only doing it- Yeah ... like I said, because I know someone who's- Right ... been doing it, and I'm using what they're using. Right. Right. That's your source, right? Yeah. It's a- So it's not like I'm- Right ... you know, getting- Yeah

on Reddit and say- Yeah. And, and the funny thing is, like, you get on these websites, like the- Yeah ... the dark web or the gray- Yeah, yeah ... the gray- Oh, the dark web ... and you see people asking, like, "Where can I get it? Where do you get it?" And nobody, at least the, the good, the, the legit shit- Yeah ... nobody wants to share where they're getting their stuff.

Where they're getting it from. Yeah. Huh. It's like, it's like, a, you know, very secretive. Really? Yeah, it's, it's weird. Because, you know, they're not FDA-approved. Right. But that's, you know... Th- that's only because they can't... It's, it's something naturally occurring, occurring in our body, and technically they can't, um, patent those things- Mm-hmm

because it's a biologic. It's, it's in our body. They can only patent things that are, like, a medical supplement, right? Yeah. Like, so- That's, although the, the Retatrutide- Mm-hmm ... the company Lilly has been doing a study and they're on trial three- Wow ... for this. And they are also fighting with the FDA to get it- Approved?

Approved? Not approved, but to get it, um, to where it's not a peptide. Oh. It's not a biologic or whatever the, the case is. Hmm. Okay. They want it to be medical so that they can patent it. Got it. Oh, okay. So they're in that fight. It's... They're trying to find a loophole. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So everybody on the internet is like, "Stack up on that Retta," 'cause they're trying to take it away.

Yeah. And people are literally buying, you know, they're like, "Oh, I got five years worth," or, "I got to..." And my- Mm ... I'm like, "Holy shit." Dang. Well, Monica, I saw you the other day. You came over to my house and I... What did I say? I was like... 'Cause I didn't know. I didn't know you were doing this. Meanwhile, I'm telling everybody, I'm like, "I'm doing WeGo."

You know? I'm like a big, big, uh, blabbermouth. But, um, Monica walked in to our beautiful listeners- ... and she was wearing, like, this little body suit with some, some jeans, and her hair was looking gorgeous, and she's letting her grays grow out. Just, she was looking snatched. And I was like, "Hmm, I know you're not supposed to comment on other people's bodies," but this is my fucking friend, so I don't give a shit.

And I'm like, "Monica." And she was like, "Yeah." I was like, "Girl, you looking snatched." I was like, "You look good." And she's like, "Yeah." She had a little smile on her face. So I just wanna say you look good. Thank you. Yeah, I told her that. I told her that- You're looking good, girl ... like a week ago when I- I'm proud of you

when I walked in. And I was like, "No, it's just 'cause I'm wearing black." I was like, "You look," No. Say, "Monica." You always say it's 'cause I'm wearing... No, no, you look snatched. Yeah. Yeah. So do you care to share numbers? I could show. Have... What, what have you... You started this in February, you said. Yeah. So let's- Well, let's not forget, let's not pretend, like I was not, like, super, super heavy.

I was very heavy. I've lost about thir- 30 pounds. Wow. Wow. That's great Shit, my seven pounds are bam, bam, bam. That must feel really good. Well, I weigh more than you, so. No, but s- no, I just started five. Yeah. Like it's been five- Yeah ... uh, six weeks. It feels good though. So that is why it shows. But it shows, girl.

You can definitely tell. Yeah. You're looking snatched. Don't, don't take that away from yourself. Don't. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. Don't. And you know, uh, Monica and I are gonna be turning 50 soon. Oh, God. I turn 50 in September, she turns in October, and, uh, I'm like, damn. And a little goal that I have for myself, I'm not saying it's her goal, but for me, I was like, damn, it would be kind of nice to, uh, look kind of good for my 50th.

Yeah. You know? Is that something you feel for yourself at all? Yeah, I would like to look better. Yeah. Of course. Yeah. So it's a little- Yeah ... little motivating push for me that I'm like- Yeah ... oh, I'm gonna try and, you know, get these 20... Well, first of all, I have to lose the 20. It's not an option. Like the doctor told me- Yeah

no, no, no, you have... And he's, he's like, "You, you're gonna come back and I'm a, I'm gonna weigh you." And I'm like, "Fuck." You know? When the doctor's like, " «Te voy a pesar»" I'm like, "Okay, okay, okay." So I know I have to lose 20, um, minimum, but you know, it's like 30 pounds. I'm so fucking proud of you. That's amazing.

It is. Yeah. It's an amazing feeling. It is. Um, and I feel great. 'Cause see, that's like the one thing, like how do you feel? 'Cause I could, I could lose 30 pounds and be sick every day and- Right ... you know, throwing up constantly, and I'd be like, "I feel like shit." Mm-hmm. Yeah. But I feel great. That's great. Aw, Mol, I'm so happy for you.

Yeah. Thank you. That's a great thing. I, and I hope this, that our listeners feel not offended at all. We're being very raw with, with our own personal journeys. We are not pushing anything. We're just sharing what we're doing. Go to your doctor, please. We're just having fun here with girlfriends expressing ourselves.

We are not professionals. We wanna like point that out again. Yeah. But we're not gonna lie It feels good. It does. And my little food noise is turning off, except for those three days. She came back with a vengeance, but it is, it is getting better, and I see a light at the end of the tunnel, and I haven't seen one in a while.

So that's how, how I personally feel. That's great. Yeah, I agree 100%. So with that, to our lovely listeners, if you are struggling with weight loss in your midlife, guess what? You're not alone because we just admitted a lot on this show tonight. So, so many women are doing their best while navigating hormonal changes, busy schedules, exhaustion, aches and pains like many of us have shared today.

And if it feels harder than it used to be, it's because it is. Yeah. It is, and we just shared that a lot today. But this isn't about perfection. It's not about comparing your journey to someone else's before or after photos, the number on the scale, or the latest trend on social media. It is about finding what works for you because we're all living in different bodies with different experiences, different challenges and needs.

What matters most is choosing the path that supports your health, your happiness, and your quality of life. So give yourself grace. Celebrate the small victories and the big victories like Mo. Yay. Yay. Because we're cheering for you, and wherever you are in your journey, we hope that this conversation reminds you that you are not alone.

Hasta la próxima. Hasta la próxima. Thank you for listening. Make sure to subscribe to our show so you don't miss an episode. We will be dropping an episode every two weeks. Oh, yeah. No, like, seriously, subscribe now. So just chill till the next episode. Follow us on Insta and TikTok.