The Midlife Weight Loss Reset - Part 2

Weight loss in midlife can feel like you’re doing everything “right” while your body refuses to cooperate, so I wanted to lay out the daily physical habits that are making a real difference for me. I share my intermittent fasting routine (most days 16:8, with an occasional longer fast on heavy workdays), why a defined eating window simplifies decisions, and how it helps me tell the truth about what real hunger actually feels like. This is personal experience, not a prescription, and I also flag why it matters to check with your doctor if fasting isn’t a fit for your health history.

From there, I get concrete about what makes consistency easier: meal prep once a week with intentionally simple meals, a firm no-snacking rule, and a mindset shift that separates hunger vs desire vs cravings. I walk you through the quick logging method I use when an urge hits, plus the “bead jar” strategy that turns small wins into visible proof you can trust yourself. If you’ve ever felt like cravings run your day, you’ll love the distraction list idea that helps you ride the wave until it passes.

We also talk movement that actually works for real life, especially for women over 40: NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis), daily walking with a goal of 45 minutes, post-meal walks for blood sugar, and strength training three times a week at home with dumbbells, kettlebells, and bodyweight basics. I share mindful eating rules, the 80% full practice, honest portion tracking, daily weigh-ins to learn normal scale fluctuations, and measurements for progress the scale can’t show.

To close, I shift into May glow-ups and beauty: boundaries, saying no without overexplaining, sunrise yoga, a summer vision board, a natural glowy makeup routine, a summer reading list, and my current skincare favorites including Korean skincare toner, retinal, beef tallow body cream, and glycolic acid for body skin. If this brought you value, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more women can find us.

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Transcript

Welcome And Part One Recap

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Hey, hey, welcome back to the Midlife Glowgetter Podcast. I'm Jax and welcome back to part two of our weight loss mini series. If you're brand new here, hi, I'm glad you're here. But I do want you to go back and listen to part one, which was last week first. It is the foundation that makes everything in today's episode actually work. Start there and then come back. For everyone who is back from part one, I missed you. So let's keep going. Quick recap of where we left off. Part one was all about the mindset and foundation practices, the big why, the accountability partner, planning, the food protocol, journaling, pattern awareness, all the inner work that has to happen before anything physical really sticks. Today we're getting into the daily physical habits, the concrete practical body level stuff I am doing every single day that is making a real difference in how I feel and what I see on the scale. Because the mindset has to come first, but the daily habits are what make the mindset real in your actual life. And just like last week, after our main content, I'm going to share May glow-ups and some interesting things I'm doing in my life right now. So lots of fun stuff in this episode. So let's do this. Okay, so this is the daily body and health practices, and this is practice number one: daily intermittent fasting. So let's start with my fasting protocol because this has been so meaningful in my approach with weight loss. Most days I follow a 16-8 pattern. I fast for 16 hours and eat we within an eight-hour window. My eating window is noon to 8 p.m. So I skip breakfast. I have my first meal at noon, and I'm done eating by 8 o'clock at night. And then once or twice a week on days where I have a heavy work schedule, I do a longer fast, a 24. That means 20 hours I fast, and I have a four-hour eating window from 5 to 9 p.m. Now I know you are hearing this and thinking that sounds really extreme, Jax. But once your body adjusts, and trust me, it does adjust, the fasting window becomes surprisingly manageable. From about 8 p.m. till about 4 or 5 a.m., I'm mostly sleeping, and then I'm doing my

Intermittent Fasting Made Practical

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morning routine, and then I'm working and I take a break at noon and eat. It is generally not as long as it sounds once you're in the rhythm of it. For me personally, this approach works with my health goals and what I'm managing. It simplifies my eating by putting a focused window instead of thinking about food all day. It has helped me get clearer on what actual physical hunger feels like versus habit and emotional hunger. Now, again, fasting is not right for everyone. If you have certain health conditions, please talk to your doctor before trying this. I am sharing what is working for me, not writing a prescription for you. You know your body and you know your health history best. Practice number two, meal prep once a week. Simple meals on rotation. I meal prep once a week, and I want to share something important on how I do it because I think a lot of women make this harder than it actually needs to be. My meals are simple on purpose. I am not making gourmet recipes or trying to keep things exciting and varied every week. I have a small rotation of meals that are easy to make, easy to put together, and consistent. And I eat those same meals over and over. Things like grilled chicken with rice and vegetables, salmon with sweet potato, ground turkey with salad, eggs and Greek yogurt, simple protein snack boxes, nothing that requires a cooking show level of skill, nothing that takes hours of prep. Here is why simple matters. When your meals are complicated and different every week, traffic tracking what is in them accurately becomes really, really hard. You start estimating, you start

Simple Weekly Meal Prep Rotation

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guessing, and your awareness of what you are actually eating becomes unreliable. When your meals are simple and consistent, you know exactly what is in them. The whole thing is easier to manage. Boring food is underrated when you're on a weight loss season. Save the culinary adventures for when you are in maintenance mode. Practice number three, no snacking, not one bite. This one might surprise some people. There is a lot of advice out there that says snacking between meals is good for you, but in my current protocol, I do not snack, not one bite. Here is my thinking. Every time you eat, your body responds by releasing insulin to manage the incoming food. And while insulin is elevated, your body has a much harder time accessing and burning stored fat. So the more often you eat throughout the day, the more often that process is interrupted. By eating within a defined window and not snacking between meals, I give my body a longer stretch where insulin can settle, and that is when it can be more efficiently used stored energy. I also noticed that a lot of my snacking was habit, not actual hunger. I would reach for something because it was there, because I was bored, because the afternoon slump hit, not because I was genuinely hungry. Cutting snacking has taught

Why I Quit Snacking Completely

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me so much about what real physical hunger actually feels like. And understanding that leads us directly into the next practice. Practice number four. Learn the difference between hunger, desire, and cravings. This one changed everything about how I relate to food, and I think it might for you too. Most of us use the word hunger to describe a lot of different experiences that are actually not the same thing at all. Real physical hunger is a genuine body single. Your stomach is actually empty. Your energy is dipping because your body needs fuel. That is real hunger. A desire is different. A desire is a thought-driven. You see something, smell something, someone offers you something, and your brain thinks, I want that. But your body is not actually in need of fuel. Your brain just got stimulated by something external. A craving is even more emotionally charged. A craving is usually tied to a feeling you are trying to create or escape from. You are stressed and you want chips because chips feel comforting. You are bored

Hunger Desire And Craving Defined

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and you want something sweet because it gives your brain a little rush. You are tired and you want something quick because it feels like a pick-me-up. None of those are actual hunger. So here's what I do. I keep a simple chart, either in my notes app or on my phone or in a notebook. When I feel the urge to eat, I log the time. What I am feeling physically in my body, and then I label it hunger, desire, craving. Just pausing to label it has stopped me from going off plan more times than I can actually count. Because once you name what it is actually happening to you, you can deal with it consciously instead of just reacting to it automatically. Okay, practice number five. Prove you can overcome desires and cravings, celebrate every win. Okay, this one makes me happy to talk about because it's working in a tangible, visible way. Every single time I feel a craving or a desire and I successfully do not act on it. Every time I make the aligned choice, even when part of me really does not want to, I acknowledge that win. I celebrate it. I have a bead jar. I literally have a jar and a bowl of beads every time I overcame a craving, every time I follow through on a planned habit, I put a bead in the jar. And I can see the accumulating. I can pick up the jar and shake it, and every single bead represents a real moment where I chose my goal over my impulse. This might sound small, but it is deeply powerful because one of the biggest lies our brains tells us during a wellness journey is that we do not have what it takes, that we always fail, that

Celebrate Wins With Visible Proof

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we cannot trust ourselves to follow through. The B jar is physical proof that those lies are wrong. You do not need a B jar specifically, a tally mark in a journal, a list in your notes app, stickers on a calendar, whatever makes the wins visible and real for you. The point is to collect evidence of your own strength, because the evidence becomes the foundation of a new story you tell yourself about who you are. Practice six. Use a distraction chart to ride out urges. This one pairs perfectly with identifying your cravings. Because once you know what you are dealing with, a desire or a craving, not real hunger, the next question is what do I do instead? And if you do not have an answer ready, the craving often wins. Because in that urgent wanting mode, your brain does not have a lot of bandwidth to brainstorm alternatives on the fly. So I made a distraction chart ahead of time, a list of things I can go to instead, things that are genuinely satisfying and redirect my brain. Things like going on a walk, calling a friend, doing my skincare routine, reading a chapter of my book, putting on a podcast, cleaning one small corner of my house, journaling, stretching, doing my nails. I keep this list on my phone so it is always right there. When a craving hits, I look at the list, pick something, and do it. And here is the thing about cravings. They have a peak. They really

Ride Out Urges With A Plan

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feel intense for a few minutes and then they begin to fade. If you can ride that wave without acting on it, it passes. The distraction chart is how you ride that wave. Practice seven, neat movement every single day. Let's talk about movement, specifically something called neat, non-exercise activity thermogenesis. Neat is all the movement you do throughout the day that is not a structured workout. We're talking about walking to your car, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, standing up and moving around during the day, doing dishes, tidying the house, gardening. All of it is neat. And here is why this matters so much, especially in midlife. Neat activity actually burns a significant amount of energy over the course of a day. And it is accessible to almost everyone, regardless of fitness level, time, or gym access. I intentionally look for ways to add more neat to my day. I park further. I take walking breaks at work. I stand when I can instead of sitting. I take calls while walking. I take the long way.

NEAT Movement That Adds Up

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It adds up more than you would think. And over time, a lifestyle that includes a lot of neat movement looks very different than one that does not. Okay, practice eight. Wear your workout clothes to bed. This one is small and I love it. I sleep in my workout clothes. I'm going to move in the next morning. So when my alarm goes off, I am ready and dressed. One less step. One less reason to talk myself out of it. One less moment where I could decide the couch sounds better. Removing friction from healthy habits is a real strategy. When you make the healthy choice easier, even by just one small step, your consistency goes up. Try it tonight. See if it changes your morning. Okay, practice number nine. Clean out your environment, pantry, fridge, freezer, and workplace. Out of sight, out of mind. That is how your brain actually works. Not just a cute phase. At the very start of this journey, I cleaned out my pantry, my fridge, and my freezer. I removed everything that was not my food protocol. And I made space for only the things I actually want to be eating that are healthy for me, that are good for me. Because willpower

Small Hacks That Remove Friction

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is finite. Every time you open the fridge and see something off plan, you spend a little of that willpower to say no. Do that enough times in one day, and your willpower runs out. And then you eat the thing. But if it's not in your house, the decision has already been made for you. You cannot eat what you do not have access to. And I apply this beyond my house at work. Our break room has a lot of unhealthy snacks just sitting out. I simply avoid the break room. I do not go in there. I do not put myself in that position of having to say no to something I do not want to be tempted by in the first place. Set your environment up to support you. Make the healthy choice, the easy choice everywhere you spend time. Practice 10. Mindful eating every single meal. This has generally changed how I experience food, and it has helped me feel more satisfied with less. Here are my mindful eating rules. I always sit down to eat, never standing at the counter, never eating while walking around. I create a real moment around the meal. I eat slowly. I put my utensil down between bites. That physical cue forces a natural pause. And I chew thoroughly before swallowing. This sounds so simple and it makes such a real difference. When you eat slowly, you taste your food more, you enjoy it more. You give your body time to send the fullness signal to your brain, which actually takes about 20 minutes. If you eat fast, you eat past full before your brain even knows you are full. And no phone at meals, no TV, no scrolling. I am just eating, just being present with my food. This might feel awkward at first, but if you're used to eating in front of

Mindful Eating Without Screens

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a screen, it would feel awkward. Give it a week. It genuinely changes your relationship with food and with eating. Practice 11. Eat until 80% full. The Japanese idea. This is a concept in Japanese culture called hera hechibu, which means eat until you're 80% full, not stuffed, not so full you feel heavy, just comfortably done, satisfied, but not over it. I practice this with every meal. About halfway through, I check in with myself. How full am I right now? And I aim to stop eating when I reach that comfortable, satisfied feeling, not when I'm full in a way most of us were raised to be full. Most of us in Western culture were taught to finish our plates, eat until we feel done. And done for a lot of us means past the point our body actually needs. Hera Hichi Bu is a gentle, sustainable alternative to that pattern. Pair this practice with eating slowly, and it becomes natural very quickly. Okay, practice 12. Do not deceive

The 80 Percent Full Rule

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yourself. Watch portions and track what you eat. This one requires some real honesty because I think a lot of us, myself included, before this journey, were deceiving ourselves about what and how much we were actually eating. We eyeball portions and call them servings. We do not read labels carefully. We take bites here and there and do not count any of it. We tell ourselves we are eating healthy without really looking at what is everything we are eating. I started tracking my food, at least for the first few weeks of this journey. I tracked everything, and it was genuinely eye-opening. Things I thought were healthy had way more certain ingredients than I realized. Portions I thought were reasonably turned out to be much larger than the serving listed on the label. Tracking does not have to be forever, but at least for the beginning, until you really know what your portions look like, track it. Be honest with yourself. You cannot change what you are not willing to see clearly. Okay,

Portion Honesty And Food Tracking

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practice 13. Weigh daily, measure every two weeks, keep a log, and put wellness first. I weigh myself every morning, same time, same conditions, and I write it down. Daily weighing keeps me connected to my data and it teaches me to see the fluctuations for what they actually are. Normal, natural shifts that happen based on water, digestion, hormones, and sleep. Not true changes in body composition. When you weigh every day, the fluctuations lose their power to derail you because you understand the pattern. I also do body measurements once every two weeks because sometimes the scale barely moves, but your measurements are going down. Your body is changing in ways the scale is not showing up. Measurements tell a fuller story. Keep a log, written or on your phone, because a single data point does not tell you much. It is the trend over weeks and months that tells you everything you need to know. Practice 14. Walk every day at least 45 minutes, any way you can get it. Okay, this one

Scale Data Measurements And Trends

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is close to my heart because walking was the first things I committed to when I was serious about this weight loss journey, and I have not stopped. My goal is at least 45 minutes of walking every single day. And here is the thing I want you to hear about that number. It does not have to happen all at once. Life is real, schedules are real, so I break it up when I need to. Most days I walk 30 minutes in the morning, outside if I can when the weather cooperates. And here in Cleveland, that is not always a guarantee. So I take it when I can get it. There is something about the morning sunshine and the fresh air that sets the tone for everything that follows. Then I do a 15-minute walk after lunch or after dinner. This one is shorter, but do not underestimate it. A walk after a meal is genuinely powerful for the blood sugar response, your digestion, and just helping your body process what you just ate. Sometimes I listen to a podcast,

Daily Walking For Blood Sugar

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sometimes an audiobook, sometimes I call a friend and we just talk while we both walk. And honestly, those are some of my favorite conversations. Sometimes I catch up on social media, and sometimes, sometimes I do nothing. And those walks are often the most restorative of all. Okay, last but not least, practice 15. Strength training three times a week. Okay, if walking practice is the steady heartbeat of my movement routine, strength training is the muscle literally. I do strength training three times a week, and I want to share what it looks like for me in real life because I think a lot of women picture strength training as something that requires a full gym setup and an hour and a half and really intimidating environments. And it absolutely does not have to be any of those things. Most of my strength training happens right at home. I use dumbbells, kettleballs, and body weight exercises, squats, lunges, hip hinges, rows, presses, carries, all of those fundamental movements patterns that build. Real life strength and support your body for the long haul. Now I just signed back up at my gym and I'm really excited about that. My plan is to get there once or twice a week when I have a little more time and I want to change the environment. But I want to say clearly the gym is a bonus for

Strength Training Without The Gym

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me right now, not a requirement. My home workouts count just as much. And if you are someone who cannot get to the gym or does not want to or finds the whole thing intimidating, you do not need one. A set of adjustable dumbbells, some kettlebells, and your own body weight will take you incredibly far. And here is the last thing I want to say about this whole system. Put your wellness on top of your priority list. Number one, not after everything else. Not when you get around to it first. Because when your health is good, everything in your life works better. Your energy, your mood, your relationships, your work. Everything rises when you are well. You deserve to be the priority. Put yourself there. Okay, great. Let's shift into something feel good because May is gorgeous and I want us to be in it and enjoying it. Here are some May glow ups, and these ones lean a little more into beauty, wellness, and mindset side of things. Let's get into it. Okay, May Glow Up 1. Tell the truth without oversharing. This one is a mindset glow up and I think about it all the time. Tell the truth without oversharing. Because transparency without boundaries is not integrity. It is just exposure. You can be honest without explaining everything. You can say no without a paragraph of reasons. You can share your story without giving away your peace. In midlife, learning to speak clearly and honestly without with still protecting your energy and your heart, that is a real skill. And most of us were never explicitly taught how to do it. We were taught to overexplain, to justify ourselves, to make sure everyone understands and feels okay with our choices.

May Glow Ups For Better Boundaries

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But here's the truth. You do not owe everyone access to all of you. Say what you mean, me what you say, keep the rest for yourself. Your boundaries are yours. May glow up too. Practice saying no without explanation. This one pairs perfectly with the one we just talked about. And it is a practice, meaning it takes repetition before it feels natural. Practice saying no without an explanation. Just no, or that does not work for me, or I'm not going to be able to do that. Period. No lengthy justification, no apology, no guilt. Women over 40 are often masters of the overexplained no. We say no and then immediately explain ourselves, apologize for the inconvenience, offer an alternative, and make sure the other person feels completely fine about it. But a simple, kind no is enough. Your time and energy are yours. You do not owe an explanation for how you choose to spend them. This month, notice often how you overexplain and practice the shorter version. It gets easier every time you do it. Make low up number three. Try sunrise yoga. Okay, this sounds a little woo-woo, and I'm so here for it. Try sunrise yoga just once. Get up a little earlier than usual, find a beginner-friendly yoga video on YouTube. There are so many beautiful free ones. Roll out a mat or a towel and move your body gently in the quiet of the early morning. For women in midlife, yoga is genuinely one of the most supportive forms of movement you can do. It improves flexibility and mobility. It supports joint health. It regulates your nervous system. It brings your cortisol down. And there is something about doing it at sunrise with the light just coming up and the world still quiet. That feels like a gift you are giving yourself before the day gets loud. You do not have to be good at yoga. You just have to show up and breathe and move. That is the whole practice. May glow up number four. Create a summer vision board. Vision boards are not just for January. Summer is actually a beautiful

Sunrise Yoga And Summer Vision

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time to create one because it is a season with a specific feeling and a specific energy. What do you want the summer to feel like? What do you want to experience? What are you working toward? What does your most alive, most yourself, most glowing summer look like? Cut images and words from magazines, print things from Pinterest, write things out by hand, create something visual that represents the summer you want to have. And then put it somewhere you will actually see it, not a drawer, on a wall, on a mirror, somewhere that reminds you every single day of the life you are building. Vision is powerful. Give yours a visual home. Okay, make glow up number five. Develop a natural and glowy beauty routine. This is the season for glowy, natural, fresh face beauty, and I love the glowy glow up because it's actually about doing less, not more. Try simplifying your makeup routine this month. Tinted moisturizer or light foundation instead of full coverage, cream blush, a little highlighter, a glossy lip, mascara. That is it. Natural and glowy in one of the most beautiful looks for women over 40 because it works with your skin instead of trying to cover it. It says, I take care of myself, I am healthy, I am alive, and that reads so differently than heavy cakey makeup. Let your skin show. Then let the makeup be the lightest finishing touch. May glow up number six. Build your summer reading list. Okay, last glow up in this one

Glowy Beauty And A Reading List

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is just pure delight. Build your summer reading list right now. Not a vague intention to read more this summer. An actual list, titles, authors, a stack by your bed or on your nightstand. Ask friends what they're reading, search on goodreads, pick up something from a category you have never tried before. Add a mix, something to learn from, something to get lost in, something inspiring, something fun. A summer reading list makes you feel like a person with a rich inner self because you are, and it gives you something to look forward to during all those patio moments, park walks, a slow Sunday morning we have been talking about. Build the list, then actually read the books. Summer with a great book in hand is genuinely a beautiful thing. Okay, now for my favorite part: sharing the little things I am personally doing right now that are making me feel really good. And today's list is very beauty and skincare focused, which honestly feels perfect for the summer episode. I have been on a real skincare journey lately, and I want to share everything I am trying. So, this is one of the first things I've been trying. My new simple PM skincare routine, new toner and retinelle. I built a new simple PM skincare routine, and I'm generally in love with it. The two new additions that I have made, the biggest differences, are a new toner and a retinal, both in the Korean skincare tradition, which I've become a little obsessed with. First, the toner, Korean skincare toners are not like astringent toners from the past that dried your skin out. Modern Korean toners are hydrating, balanced, and they prep your skin to absorb everything that comes after. They are a game changer for how your serums and moisturizers actually perform.

Korean Skincare Night Routine Upgrades

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And then a retinol. Not to be confused with retinol. A retinol is one step closer to retintoic acid than retinol, which means it works faster and more efficiently with less irritation for most people. It is incredible for cell turnover, fine lines, texture, and overall skin renewal. It has been a significant upgrade in my routine. For women over 40, a consistent PF skin routine is one of the most powerful anti-aging investments you can make. Your skin repairs itself at night. Give it the tools it needs to do that work. Okay, another thing I've been trying is beef tallow body cream for my whole body. Okay, this one. I was skeptical and I am now a complete convert. I started using beef tallow body cream on my entire body. And I know that sounds unusual if you have not heard of this before, but hear me out. Beef tallow has a fat composition that is incredibly similar to the natural oils in human skin, which means your skin recognizes it and absorbs it really well instead of just sitting on the surface. It is deeply nourishing. It has been used as a skin protectant for centuries across many cultures. I use it all over after my shower while my skin is slightly damp. And the difference is how my skin feels, especially my legs and arms. It's remarkable, soft, nourished, not greasy at all once it absorbs. There are lots of great options on Amazon and Etsy.

Beef Tallow And Body Glycolic Tips

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Look for grass-fed beef tallow and try it for a week. I think you will be absolutely surprised as I was. Okay, things I am doing number three. Glycolic acid on my body, not just my face. This is a game changer that I had never thought to do before, and I do not know what took me so long. I started using glycolic acid on my body, not just my face, specifically on rough areas like my elbows, knees, upper arms, and legs. Glycolic acid is an alpha hydroxy acid that exfoliates the top layer of skin. Most of it uses on our face for texture and brightness, but your body skin has the same issues. Dryness, rough texture, dullness, uneven tone, and glycolic acid works just as beautifully on body skin as it does your face. I apply body glycolic product a few nights a week after showering, and my skin feels smoother, looks brighter, and absorbs my tallow cream so much better after. This is relatively inexpensive upgrade that makes a real noticeable difference. If you already use glycolic on your face, try extending it to your body. Your whole skin will think you. Okay, that's it. That's the end of this episode. Thank you so much for listening to this whole mini-series with me, two parts. It means everything. If this helped you, please share it with another woman on her wellness or weight loss journey. Leave a review if the show has added something to your life. It truly helps me and helps other women find us. And as always, keep glowing, keep growing, keep becoming the woman you were always meant to be. Love Jax.