From 106kg To The Start Line - Finding Power Beyond The Scales With Ayisha Ajikobi

In this episode, we dive into an inspiring midlife story that goes far deeper than weight loss.

After years of trying every diet, every restart, and every quick fix, today’s guest, Ayisha Ajikobi found herself weighing 106kg, frustrated, exhausted, and wondering, “Why can’t I stay consistent anymore?”

Instead of giving up, she decided to start building her strength and fitness.

You’ll hear how Ayisha:

• shifted from chasing weight loss to chasing her future self
• found a fitness community that changed everything
• learned to measure progress beyond the scales
• discovered the courage to step onto the start line in midlife

If you’ve ever felt stuck in your body, tired of starting over, or frustrated by the scale, this episode will remind you that transformation doesn’t begin with a number but with a choice.

This episode is for anyone navigating midlife fitness, perimenopause weight changes, motivational struggles, or trying to rediscover their power after years of false starts.

Discover what’s possible when you stop focusing on what you weigh and start focusing on what you can do.

Follow the podcast over on Instagram  @unshrinkablemidlfemoves

Find out more about Onika on Instagram @lifeopenedup

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Welcome back to Unshrinkable Midlife Moves, the show where we spotlight powerful midlife women making their moves, taking up space, and living their boldest and biggest lives. We explore what it takes to rebuild strength, identity and confidence. Today's episode is one you're going to love. You'll hear how one woman spent years trying to lose weight in her 30s and 40s through every diet, program, and restart you can imagine. You'll hear about the frustration of stepping on the scale and thinking, why isn't this working? What's wrong with me? Why can't I stay consistent anymore? But you'll also hear the moment everything changed. Not when the scale moved, but when she stopped letting it decide who she was. She found a community that didn't judge her but welcomed her. She discovered movement that empowered her. And she showed up for herself long enough to get a place she once thought was impossible at the start line. If you've ever felt stuck, discouraged, overwhelmed, or like you're starting again for the hundredth time, this episode will remind you that your power has nothing to do with a number and everything to do with what you choose next. I want to start by saying a massive thank you for talking to me today. I really wanted to talk to you as I think you embody what an unshrinkable woman is in your fitness journey over the years. But before we get going, if you tell us a bit about yourself, I'm Aisha.

SPEAKER_01 1:33

Educatedly, I'm married with three boys, two of which are adults, going towards 60 quite quite quite soon. What's the official number? The official number is 56, nearly 57. But unofficial, 21. That's where we'll go. Married for many years as well. I'm a barrister, although I do a little bit of work now, not necessarily in the bar field as I used to, but within the legal sphere now. In terms of my journey, years I have struggled with my weight. And most of the time I didn't even realize that I was heavy, but I really, really was. So most women do not like to disclose what their weight is. However, on this one occasion, I will tell you what I used to weigh. I was 106 kilos. And in terms of the UK dress sizing, probably 18, 20, although in my mind I thought I was a 14. I'm now down to uh 12, 14, so a few dress sizes down, and I'm now down to about 84. Still overweight, but it's mainly muscle, or that's what I'd like to say. And you're looking amazing with it. So I started my journey, and I say it's a journey because it was not necessarily fitness, probably just after lockdown. So maybe 2020, something like that, 2021. And I started by losing about two and a half stones back then, and I did it on this system called Body Slims, and on that, you just had to basically eat within a calorie deficit, and then you had to walk for about an hour at speed or at your pace and walk about 10,000 steps a day. It seemed to work, however, when you stop doing that, and I'm sure that this will resonate with a lot of women, when you stop doing the calorie deficit and cutting this out and cutting that out, and the walking and everything, because life gets in the way, which it generally does, you see that the weight starts creeping back on, and the weight did. So I needed to think slightly outside the box because I didn't want to ever get to the 106 that was my maximum weight back then. And that's when I came across a gym close to where I live in Orpington. I started there, and I didn't really think initially that it was a genuine kind of gym. It is based on a massive farm, so it doesn't look like the Virgin Actives or any of the others, pure gym or anything like that. It's not really that, but it is a High Rocks affiliated gym. So I started it probably 16 months ago, so not that long ago. And I just fell in love at that point. I was like, oh my god, it's really, really good. I found that thing and I've been consistent with it pretty much, apart from when I go on holiday. And I started going there four times a week initially. So, how did you go from starting up to four times a week? It seems a lot. For me, I knew that I needed to do something and I hated the yo-yo dieting that I've been doing for decades. And yes, you might have lost, I don't know, two pounds this week. I mean, I've done all of them. Absolutely, I've done the weight watchers. You can name it, I've probably done it. And I just got fed up of that feeling that one, I'm not actually fueling my body, and two, I'm not actually doing anything. It's like a plateau all the time. So I didn't like that. And I didn't like the fact that the weight was creeping back on. And I also realized that I've gone through the menopause. As an older woman, you need to ensure for your mobility going forward, and hopefully I will live to a ripe old age, that I can walk, I can go to the shops, do my shopping. It's just so that if I'm blessed with grandchildren at some point, I can play with the grandchildren so I can keep up with everybody. And also it helps with your mental health as well, I think. And another reason why it was also crucial for me is that my mum was diagnosed with not only Alzheimer's but also vascular dementia. So she's got the double whammy, and I do know that it runs through families, so it might be that I do get it at some point, but I wanted to do something that would stave it off as long as possible.

SPEAKER_02 6:15

So when I found the Hyrule training, I was like, oh, this is what I missed.

SPEAKER_01 6:23

And the most ways to do strength and conditioning training, which for postmenopausal, perimenopausal, menopausal women, it's very, very good for you as your estrogen levels start decreasing. You need something to keep you going so that you know, when you become an oxygenarian, you can still lift. In my case, it'd probably be suitcases because I do like to go on holiday. So don't worry, but you can, in essence, grow old gracefully, if that's the phrase that I think that is more pertinent here. And so I just fell in love with it. So I went from basically nothing, and as I say, now I'm a member of there, I'm a member at Virgin Active. I also do a running club with Anika and some other ladies on a Wednesday evening. And then I also get trained as well from a really nice trainer who's absolute lovely. And although people think that, oh yeah, she's an athlete. No, I'm not. I'm just an ordinary mum just thinking about my future. And I just hope ordinary mums don't think, oh my god, that's a lot. Remember, you've got 24 hours in a day, and you might only be devoting anything from 20 minutes to one hour, and it's time for you, and you do need to take time for you because you will have the plates all spinning, and I've been there. Thank God I've got two adult children now. But your plates are spinning, but you do need to have some time for yourself at some stage, and that's why I think I've continued it all these years, months.

SPEAKER_00 8:04

So it's every year, see almost two years. If you've gone from zero to a hundred, because high rock training is beautiful, it is that is just amazing, and you're loving it. So, what about it has really got your attention?

SPEAKER_01 8:15

Got your I think for me, it's the strength just to see how far I've come from virtually nothing to now, although it's not high rocks, but now I can do a hip thrust and it's 130 kg on a hit thrust, which for me, when I started, I think I was on 70, maybe if that. Really good. It might be, but it was like, oh, is that it? And then you'll see some other women, but it's that, it's the cardio, it's just you feel good afterwards. I mean, you're absolutely exhausted doing it, but you feel good afterwards, and to me, it's a challenge. And where it became really prominent, I suppose, was that I agreed crazily to go into a high rox competition. Thankfully, I went in as a relay with Anika and two other ladies, and it was a baptism of fire in one respect, but I really, really enjoyed doing it so much so that I'm doing two more races with my son. One Hyrox and one that's HIROX-based. I don't know how we'll do, we're just aiming to finish.

SPEAKER_00 9:29

And you've opened it because you know you will. And you've done and I've done the screening. What I think is amazing. You've gone for I mean, you need to tell people when you agree to the relay, I was double wouldn't get the ticket.

SPEAKER_01 9:40

I was going, please God, please, God, please God. We got the ticket. What? I was like, that's not what I prayed for.

SPEAKER_00 9:47

And then when you finished, you were like, I don't know if I'll do that again. And then a few days later, you're like, Well, maybe I'll do double.

SPEAKER_01 9:53

And you all I didn't think to do a double, but my son came to watch. In fact, two of my children came to watch me, and they were inspired by me. I was like, Why? I couldn't understand it so much so that my eldest said, Do you know what? I thought me and you could do it.

SPEAKER_00 10:08

And this is what I think is amazing. So, did they tell you what the inspiration was? Was it just seeing you do it? Was just seeing me do it for what you did, because these were your legs.

SPEAKER_01 10:17

Uh my two legs on the relay were obviously you have to do the run, so it's a 2K run, which is split up into 1k distance, and then I also did the sled pull, I believe. Yep, and I also did the farmer's carry, so I do one whole lap, but there were no stewards or volunteers around to tell you go round again, and I didn't see anything, and because everybody's screaming and everything, I didn't hear anything at all. So that's what I say was a bit of a baptism of fire, but I know for the next one. But the next one, I've gone from effectively doing what they call open weight, which is basically the weights that all women who are non-pros would do. And now I'm doing mixed doubles, but effectively I'm doing the pro-women's weights. So I've gone up, for example, the kettlebells that I did in London in May weighed 16 kg each. The kettlebells that I will be doing again in London will weigh 24 kg each, so it's pro-weight. So that's the next challenge for me, whether I can do it for a sustained distance. But I'll have my son there, so he'll do most of it.

SPEAKER_00 11:37

And can I just say to put that into context for people who don't know about higher up for racing event, but the pro weights are actually the men's weights, so you will be doing the men's weights. Yes, I'll be doing the men's weights. But we know, I know that's actually not going to be too much of a challenge because you were so strong, you've been training. Yeah. Training, you will do it, and it's a case of just doing it right and showing yourself.

SPEAKER_01 12:01

To me, I'm not there to win a competition. I can't. High box isn't necessarily a competition, say like the Olympics or any other sporting event. You're really competing against yourself effectively, unless you are in the pro class, and then it's more of a competition. But you're really competing against yourself, really to see what you and your body can do and what you can achieve. And given that I come to Hi ROTS quite late in life, I'm amazed that I can actually do it. So if I can do it, anybody can literally do it. And they do say on their blurb about high rats and their marketing that if you can carry two shopping bags of clothes or food or whatever you're bringing back from the shops, then you can do a farmer's carry. So it's something that's accessible, and most people would be able to do it.

SPEAKER_00 12:56

As long as you put the time in it, it's doable, even from a very low level of fitness, which is what I think makes it so amazing. And people watch it and they think it's impossible, they couldn't do it, but with time, anything's possible. We've got similar stories that if you run it and you put the time in, you surprise yourself. What is possible?

SPEAKER_01 13:13

My running isn't the greatest. I'm not a runner. During the competition, I think I ran 6:30, wasn't it, for my kilometer, which I had never ever done before. Ever. I'm not sure we'll be able to achieve it again. I'm sure you'll run faster. But it was, I don't know, maybe it was just the atmosphere and everything that was going in that propelled me faster than I normally could have run. So I would say if anyone can get into it, just get into it. And honestly, you will love it.

SPEAKER_00 13:46

It's a satisfaction more than anything, I think. That that sense of achievement that A, you survived, because you never want it if you will. Yeah. And B, you've done it when you look back at the stations and the runs, as you said.

SPEAKER_01 13:58

And you've done all of that in one hit. So so that's going to be a challenge for me. But as I say, I've got a half kind of high rocks coming up called Survive the Eight. And on paper, it looks all right. But I'll tell you afterwards. We'll see. And again, it's just getting round it. That's it. Just get round it and then go home and you can have the biggest meal you like because you usually burn a whole heap of calories, ladies. Exactly, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 14:27

But I just wanted to also touch on as you said, your boys were inspired by seeing you do your stations. Did they actually say what it was?

SPEAKER_01 14:35

They just, I think, with me, they'd always had me, mum, as being quite overweight. So I think it was the achievement that A, I'd lost all of that weight, and then B, I'd got into this kind of training, and then finally got into a race. And although they had heard of higher arts, I don't think they really looked into it. Because when Zach, that's my eldest, who's going to run with me, said I wasn't too sure what exactly you were going to be doing, but I looked at it and I thought, yeah, I can do it. And then I could do it with my mum. So I was like, oh wow. Because you never really think that you inspire your children, it's generally the other way around. So for me, that was really nice, and it was nice to hear it. And then we got the tickets, and then I started thinking, why? Why? I'm questioning my life choices now.

SPEAKER_00 15:29

But we'll see. You are such a character, such a force we reckon with. You always show up as yourself. When you are present, you are present, and you have such wonderful energy that it's difficult to not feel good around you, just everybody else. And I think for me, seeing you on this journey with the movement, it's added another layer to you and what you bring and the energy. And and I have to say, in the group, you know, you bring a lot of fun to the group, which we love on our Wednesdays, especially when we're doing the circuit that's a bit more demanding. But what would you say movement has given you in terms of how you're experiencing midlife, who you think you are at this point?

SPEAKER_01 16:12

I'm moving much better. I feel healthier, I feel fitter. It's a weird thing. Probably about maybe nine months ago. I know this is really basic, but I had to run for a train. Before I'd be huffing and puffing and going, oh my god, I'm never gonna get this train. And I hate taking trains anyway. Anyone knows me knows that. And I had to literally bolt for this train. And I was shocking myself because I was actually passing people who were also running, and I was like, ah, I'm beating. So even that, I just thought, wow, you know, and that was just a tiny moment. So I was like, oh, winning. And I got on the train and I wasn't like, bean, get me oxygen. It wasn't like that at all. So for me, it's just those little areas that I can see great improvements. Back in the day, I used to get really bad backache, and I didn't know what it was. I used to think, oh, I don't know what it is. But I think it was because I was carrying so much weight, it was affecting my back. I haven't had that in a good while. I used to sit down on my bed and it always used to happen on my left leg, but my thigh would just go numb all of a sudden, like pins and needles. And I was like, it's like it had gone dead. And again, it was because I was carrying so much weight. Again, it's gone. So it's just those things, which to me were like little things, have made such a great impact on my life. And that's why, in terms of hopefully going on towards my 60s, my 70s, and beyond with any luck, I feel that I'll be able to grow old gracefully or disgracefully, I don't know, probably disgracefully in my world, but I'll be able to grow old fitter without hopefully succumbing to any kind of major illness or trauma.

SPEAKER_00 18:12

It's a kind of confidence, isn't it? And I think you touched on it when you talk about this whole gracefully and disgracefully. There's that thing of conditioning about midlife that we're exposed to not fade away, but just quieten down and that's not gonna happen, babe.

SPEAKER_01 18:25

Sorry.

SPEAKER_00 18:26

Sorry, sorry.

SPEAKER_01 18:28

Anyone who knows me knows that. So yeah, that's not gonna happen. I just think you really need to be kind of fit to manage the next stage of life. When you're younger, you seem to be able to do things a lot quicker and you know, maybe have two hours' sleep after raving all night, two hours' sleep, go to work. You can't do that, not really, in your 50s and beyond, but you can probably get to close to that without thinking, oh my god, I need four days to recover because I went out two days ago or four days ago. So it's things like that, it's just making things better for you and for your next stage in life. I think all of this that provides, and that's just add-ons, really. I'm not sure if other sports, such as swimming, maybe it does, but I feel swimming is quite sedate. And if I was doing swimming all the time, I'd be like, yeah, no, this is not for me. So I think it's my character as well that comes into it a bit. But as I say, love high rocks, absolutely love it. Will I do another competition after this year? Dunno, or I might do a different one, maybe not high rocks, but similar to the hybrid kind of concept. But we'll see.

SPEAKER_00 19:50

Yeah, I think I I'm not gonna listen to you because you said never several. Yeah, I did, but I think you've actually done something really interesting there that high rock suits your personality, and I think that is quite important that we need to find a type of movement that that suits you because there will be somebody who really enjoys swimming, and swimming is a good cardiovascular exercise.

SPEAKER_01 20:11

So you also obviously need to look after your heart and everything as you're getting older, and so that might suit them. Running might suit somebody else. I actually hate running, I don't like it, I don't. But you have to do it on high rocks, so it's like ah, it's the worst bit. It's a bit like going to the dentist to spoke, don't really like it, but you have to do it. So it's the same kind of thing, but all the strength and things like that, that's the thing that I think I'd like to develop more than the running for me. But that's because that suits me rather than anybody else. But I think for this, maybe the moral of this story is just find an exercise that you really enjoy because you will more than likely keep at it. If it's something that you think, oh, this is a chore and I can't stand it, you'll bounce out. It's a bit like diets as well, and going back to nutrition. If you think you remember the cabbage soup diet or whatever it was, I can't even remember. That would last for like two weeks if you could manage it for two weeks, and then you say, just give me sweets or just give me cakes or whatever. So you'd lose it. But now the way I eat, and I know I'm segueing slightly, but the way I eat is a lot better than it was before. And I still do have my sweets and whatnot, but I try to limit it to a two of it because you can't you can't really be in 20 Mars bars and then go and do well, you probably could, but you wouldn't feel very nice afterwards, and then go and do a high ROX afterwards. So you do have to fuel your body well, and that doesn't mean cutting carbs out.

SPEAKER_00 21:49

You're absolutely right, because as I started training and it was finding my way into it, I I've never really not eaten stuff, I've been aware, but my appetite just opens. Up with the training in a way I've never experienced before. I'm always hungry, especially after you train.

SPEAKER_02 22:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:05

There was always, I have to say, a guilt around food before, but for me, I don't feel guilty now because I know I'm fueling and I need it. Exactly. You keep an eye on it, but you don't restrict it. Well, restrict it in the same way that I did before.

SPEAKER_01 22:18

Your carbohydrates, for instance, will fuel your body so that you can manage a high ROX. So for example, my meal before a HIROX will often be a pastel or rice-based something and feel lovely at the end of it, because I know tomorrow that is coming off. So, you know, so it works, it really does work. Fuel, I think, and nutrition is as important as training. So I think women, not of a certain age, just all women, just need to be mindful of that so that they're eating well in order to train well. But obviously, don't be eating, eating, and then you're not doing anything because that's basically what I did to get to the nice 106. So I realise that now.

unknown 23:06

Oops.

SPEAKER_00 23:08

We live and we learn, and this is it. It's about the funding moving and seeing what works for you ultimately and what makes a difference that we'll make in that you are comfortable with. So touching on that, I want to know your experience of your first couple of sessions because when I had my first couple of sessions, I couldn't walk for two weeks. I knew I'd go back because I couldn't push the sled my first session. They had to take all the weights off, and I still couldn't even push it. Oh, it wasn't that bad. Yeah. But that is my point. You're very strong, and I think you're a lot stronger than you actually realize. I actually really like the pull on my first session. Again, no weight, but I was able to move the sled, and that I quite enjoyed.

SPEAKER_01 23:44

Could tell everybody itself normally is about 50 kg without any weights on it. Um, so everyone should be mindful about that. So that's still quite a lot to be pushing or pulling. When I first started, it I was very, very sore because I was like, I don't even know I had muscles there. Where the hell did these come from? The pain is everywhere. So I do do agree it was extremely painful, but it wasn't a horrible pain, you know, like you need entinox or something like that to calm it down. It wasn't any of that, it was just feeling sore, but that was only because the muscles hadn't been used in that way. Because obviously, you're using your muscles every day to work that to walk just to get through the day, but you're not using it in the high box way, if you want to call it that, or the hybrid training way. So that's when it comes to oh, this is new, and it's then your body's thinking, what is she doing now? But it soon gets used to it, and then when you say, for example, change the weights or change what you're doing, that's when you might get achy limbs or achy muscles, but really it's just your muscles being manipulated and moved and adjusting to whatever you're now doing. Now I don't necessarily get sore immediately afterwards, they feel a bit sore and achy, but you can alleviate that with just eating some protein. So after I've trained, I tried to eat about 25 to 30 grams of protein as a minimum, and then you can go about your day. I shouldn't say it doesn't really hurt because then my trainer's gonna say, right, we could do more. I think that's the way the fueling comes in to assist your recovery as well.

SPEAKER_00 25:44

Definitely. What made you go back? Because I know that pain sometimes stops people from going back on the back of the side. Wanted to.

SPEAKER_01 25:50

Yeah, I wanted to, because I wanted to see exactly what it was. Because going back to Unity, because that's where I basically mainly train, they have different sessions during the week. So there'll be high-rock focused sessions, there'll be strength sessions, there'll be hybrid sessions. And I can't remember the first time I went. I think I was a bit bit stupid because I think I went to six o'clock in the morning class. And my sister was like, because I was thinking, do you think I should go at six o'clock or should I go at 9:30? She was going, just get over and done with. Well, that didn't last too long because six o'clock, I'm not good at six o'clock. I'm not an athlete.

unknown 26:29

What the hell?

SPEAKER_01 26:30

So I did tend to go to six o'clock in the morning, but I still wanted to, because I enjoyed it so much, whatever that session was, I wanted to see and explore what the other sessions were. So that's why I kept going. Plus, they did some introductory package, which was, I think, was like six weeks, I can't quite remember, but I still wanted to explore it. And then you had the option of whether you wanted to continue it or you wanted to leave it there and say, This is just not for me. So there's never any pressure on anybody, and you're working to your range and your ability, really, which is what Hyrox tells you anyway. It's what you can do, what your body can do, and you'll be fine with it. So, I mean, I remember and during our race that we did and the relay, there were a couple of ladies who I think walked the entire running section during the racing parts of it. They just walked around the entire one kilometer each time, I think. But I don't know what they did on the stations, but they did it at their pace, you know, and for their bodies. So it is for everybody. That's the point I'm making.

SPEAKER_00 27:44

And this is the thing, there's no age limit, and this is again you touched on it. We both have come to high rocks in our midlife. You know, I'm mid-40s, you're mid-50s. And you know, it's a lot, but we are finding this thing that makes us very happy and it's and me, showing me what I'm capable of that I never expected or knew was possible. And that's what's exciting. But yeah, you're right, it's it's about exploring it and doing what works for you at your level. So that's why we are Warrior Queens! Warrior Queens. It's being renamed officially. You are the Warrior Queen though, so I think we can give you that time. Before we wrap up, I just wanted to ask you one thing, just a bit more generic about midlife and and being a middle I hate that middle-aged woman. Mid-magic. I feel like we need to rename this phrase. It sounds so sedate, and this is not us. But anyway, we'll figure that out.

SPEAKER_01 28:38

We're not, you know, swinging from chandeliers or anything like that. We're just not sedate.

SPEAKER_00 28:43

Yeah, but we're not sitting quite in a corner either. That is true.

SPEAKER_01 28:47

That is true.

SPEAKER_00 28:48

So, what would you say midlife has given you in terms of perhaps feeling more powerful or just something that is giving you that you didn't expect or you realised recently?

SPEAKER_01 28:59

What? And I know this might sound really bad, and I don't mean it to, but as I said right at the top, I've got three boys, three young men now, I should say. It's only now that I feel that I've got some of my life back because they're much older. I'm with you on the so they don't they need me still, but they don't need me as much. And when it was just focused on them, and I know some women might be thinking, yeah, but I've got pre-kids, but you've got to try and find some time for yourself because you don't want to get lost in all of that. And I really think that had my children been younger, it would have been difficult, it would that would have been a challenge, but I would have probably found some time. Some of the ladies that I train with, I think I'm probably one of the oldest there, and they all have children who are maybe secondary school or younger, and they find time to come to Hyrux. It is a community, it is a family, and I know that sounds really kind of cliche or something. I don't, but it really, really is. You do enjoy going to the gym, and I know I'm saying, how can you enjoy that? But we have a chat, we have a laugh, we have a laugh at running club, you know, talks more than running or walking sometimes at peace, though. We're still doing exercises, but it is a lovely way to just connect with others and connect within the community and see where you can propel yourself. And I think that's what this has brought me at my time. And this was probably the right time because I've got time to focus and do things during this time at this age.

SPEAKER_00 30:44

And that's the magic, isn't it? Having time. So I said that was a last question. I think you might have just answered it, but you tell me, what would you say is the word that represents what movement has given you? Life. It's true, I like that.

SPEAKER_01 30:57

I think I get it, but life because it's it's just giving me more energy, more focus. If I don't do it, I'm like, you know, I went to Cape Town probably about two, three weeks ago, just came back. And this is the first time ever. Well, it's not the first time ever, I would take my trainers and say, Oh, yeah, I'll go and do a bit of training. But this time I was running along the beach. That's not me. Anybody that knows me, I mean, if there was, I don't know, a patty or a jerk chicken store, I'll be running, I will be there. Running on the beach, and I think I did five two just under 5k runs when I was out there. That's not me. Anybody that knows me knows that's not me. But I loved it. I absolutely loved it.

SPEAKER_00 31:48

So I was like, what's going on, Aisha? And you just said two 5k runs, so you can't say that you don't run because I know when we run and we're trying to get you to do over a 1k, you're you did five. So I know what you're capable of now. Yeah, she was alive trying to backtrack now quickly. It's on record now. But yeah, it's made you do things that you wouldn't have imagined.

SPEAKER_01 32:09

Yeah, that I would never have really done. I mean, I did go to Cape Town, I think this was at the beginning when we joined, and I did some days at Virgin, but apart from that, no, before I'd be like, I'm on holiday, and that's what I mean. Holiday. I'm not moving from here unless it's ping or eat. I did a bit more this time round, so I was quite pleased with myself. I love that life. And thank you, Aisha.

unknown 32:40

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 32:45

Movement has given me life. Five words that capture everything. Because this isn't about losing 22 kilograms. It's about a woman who refused to accept that midlife meant becoming smaller, quieter, less capable. Here's what we're taking away from this episode. It's never too late. Aisha started at 55 with no fitness background. Sixteen months later she's competing in HyROX and racing. Your body is ready whenever you are. Find your movement. She tried everything and nothing stuck until she found Hyrux. Keep exploring until you find what makes you fall in love. Fuel, don't restrict. Decades of dieting failed. What worked? Eating enough, real food, carbs included. No guilt, just fuel. You only need 20 minutes to an hour. You've got 24 hours in every day. That small investment could change your life. Community is everything. Find your warrior queens. The people who push you, laugh with you, and celebrate every win. So here's your challenge this week, not someday. Take one action towards your own transformation. Research a gym, book a class, go for a walk. Or just decide you're done shrinking. Aisha went from praying she wouldn't get a race ticket to signing up for two more with her son. She went from avoiding movement to seeking it out. She proved that midlife isn't about winding down, it's about discovering what you're truly capable of. So what's your story going to be? Because you're not done. You're just getting started. Now go prove it. Until next time.