Even coaches hire coaches. In this no-highlight-reel catch-up, Gwen and Sheena get honest about working at their own health in midlife: the "30 grams of protein or you failed" myth, why they both hired coaches this year, measuring progress with non-scale victories instead of the scale, and what your body is really saying when your sleep and motivation crash. Sheena also shares why she's running the NYC Marathon on November 1st for Fred's Team at Memorial Sloan Kettering, and the story of her son Gus behind it. It's a conversation about choosing hard on purpose and celebrating it instead of fearing it. If you've tried everything and still feel like your body is working against you, come sit with us.

Ready to stop white-knuckling it alone? Book a free consult:
Sheena: https://beyond-the-box-nutrition.neet...
Gwen:https://beyond-the-box-nutrition.neet...

Support Sheena's fundraiser for pediatric cancer research at MSK through Fred's Team: https://give.mskcc.org/site/TR?px=573...

Find us:
Website: https://beyondtheboxnutrition.com
Instagram:   / beyondtheboxnutrition  

Katie's Journey to Health and Wellness Katie Riker Sternberg shares her journey of transformation, from pre-surgery preparation to post-surgery recovery, fitness routine changes, and the importance of trusting intuition and seeking help during menopause. She emphasizes the value of self-affirmation and the significance of lifelong training for a healthy and strong life.

Takeaways

• Reverse dieting for hormonal shifts
• Tracking food for empowerment
• Value of slowing down and honoring recovery
• Importance of adequate nutrition and body composition over scale weight Trust your intuition
• Menopause is a real and shared experience
• Self-affirmation and seeking help are important
• Lifelong training for a healthy and strong life

Chapters

• 00:00 Recovery and the Value of Slowing Down
• 51:24 Advice for Women in Menopause

OBGYN and menopause specialist Dr. Jaime Seeman (Dr. Fit and Fabulous) sits down with Sheena and Gwen for a no-BS conversation about what actually works in perimenopause.

Jaime and Sheena go back — they were teammates at the University of Nebraska nearly 20 years ago — and that history shows up in how honest this conversation gets.

Jaime shares her own story of being a fit doctor with a nutrition degree who still ended up pre-diabetic, on thyroid meds, and counting goldfish crackers. Then she walks us through what pulled her out — and what she now uses with her own patients.

We cover muscle as an endocrine organ, why walking isn't exercise, the five pillars from her book Hard to Kill, HRT as one puzzle piece (not the whole answer), the testosterone conversation women aren't getting, GLP-1s, sleep, and creatine for both muscle and brain.

If you're a woman in midlife who's tried everything and still feels like her body stopped cooperating, this one's for you.

Heads up: Sheena had a technical drop around 21 minutes in — Gwen carries the rest. Worth listening all the way through.

Find Dr. Jaime: @drfitandfabulous on Instagram.

Book: Hard to Kill.

Jaime's TedX talk

Work with us: beyondtheboxnutrition.com

Is there a cure for emotional eating?

Athena Perez (@athenamariebt) is a CrossFit Level 2 trainer, founder of Scaled Nation Training, author of Lifting the Wait, and one of the most radically honest voices in the health and fitness space. She's been on a life-changing journey for years — and recently did something that is as shocking as it sounds: a 40-day water fast, not for weight loss, but to understand the why behind her lifelong relationship with food.

In this conversation, Athena breaks down what she actually discovered -the food noise that went quiet around day seven, the emotional eating triggers she documented and traced to patterns, the re-feed that revealed a biological response she never knew she had, and the moment she realized she finally had a choice.

We also get into:

• What coaches consistently miss when working with larger-bodied clients
• Why food is a sensitive conversation that needs to be approached differently
• The identity shift that happened the day she put on a coach's shirt
• Why both things can be true — something can taste amazing and not serve your goals
• The difference between being a prisoner to information and using it as a gift

This one is all real talk about real bodies. Athena is the kind of person who holds nothing back and we love her for it!

Find Athena at athenamperez.com or on Instagram @athenamariebt.

🌐 beyondtheboxnutrition.com

📅 Work with Gwen (health & weight loss coaching): calendly.com/gwenholtan/coaching-strategy-call

📅 Work with Sheena (fitness & strength training): calendly.com/sheena-6

She followed every program. Counted every macro. Hired the coaches. And still — her body felt unpredictable, her energy was tanked, and her weight wouldn't move.

Jamie Myrold is a VP at Apple, a two-location life juggler, and one of Sheena's longest-standing clients. In this episode, she gets radically honest about what the last four years have actually looked like: menopause hitting without warning, the keto hangover nobody talks about, reverse dieting her way from 1,200 to 1,800 calories, an autoimmune diagnosis that threw everything sideways, and the moment a micro-dosed GLP-1 finally unlocked what years of "doing everything right" couldn't.

This is a conversation about patience, trust, and what happens when you stop borrowing someone else's plan and start building your own. Jamie calls her approach "the just eat diet" — no name, no rules, no restriction. Just food and movement that fit her actual, chaotic, beautiful life.

If you're a woman in perimenopause or menopause who feels like her body is working against her, press play. This one's going to feel like a deep exhale.

What does personal styling have to do with nutrition and fitness coaching? More than you'd think. In this episode, we sit down with Alena LeBlanc — personal stylist for female founders and entrepreneurs and the parallels are almost unreal. We're talking about ditching the rules, ignoring the numbers, dressing (and eating) for the body you have now, and why real transformation always starts with mindset. If you've ever stood in front of a closet full of clothes or a fridge full of food and felt completely stuck, this one's for you.

Connect with Alena: LeBlanclabel.com | @leblanc_label on Instagram

Jim Fredricksen shares his inspiring journey through pancreatic cancer, emphasizing the importance of nutrition, exercise, mindset, and community support in health and resilience.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Jim's Journey

02:21 Facing Cancer: Jim's Diagnosis and Treatment

06:36 Nutrition and Exercise: Keys to Resilience

11:10 Mindset and Gratitude in the Face of Adversity

15:43 Living in the Present: Making Moments Matter

22:09 Support Systems and Spirituality in Healing

23:51 The Importance of Support

24:50 Navigating Health Challenges

27:26 Positive Mental Attitude and Resilience

29:52 Creating Lasting Memories

32:15 The Weight of Scans and Anxiety

34:49 Living Life with Purpose

39:00 Advice for a Healthy Life

41:06 Sports and Lighthearted Banter

In this episode, Sheena and Gwen explore the complexities of weight loss, metabolic adaptation, and the importance of personalized nutrition strategies. They discuss how to effectively reverse diet, the signs of metabolic slowdown, and practical tips for sustainable weight management.

Chapters

00:00 Understanding the Client Avatar

03:02 The Importance of Nutrition and Medical History

05:55 Metabolic Adaptation and Reverse Dieting

09:00 The Body as a Self-Regulating Machine

12:02 Building Towards Maintenance Calories

15:06 The Role of Cortisol and Recovery

18:04 Trusting the Process of Change

21:06 Transforming Fitness Approaches

24:00 Fueling the Body for Success

25:59 Understanding Metabolic Adaptation

30:05 The Power of Refeeds

33:53 Sustainable Weight Management

38:58 Balancing Exercise and Nutrition

This AWESOME conversation delves into the journey of Lauren Bay Regula, co-owner of Strong Mom and former teammate of Sheena. Lauren shares her experiences with overcoming challenges, building mental and emotional strength, and the positive impact of therapy and coaching. The conversation delves into the impact of environment on personal development, the strength found in vulnerability, the importance of embracing the basics, and the pride in mindset and ownership.

Chapters

• 00:00 Therapy, Coaching, and Building Capacity
• 31:52 The Invisible Hand of Environment
• 44:53 The Boringly Beautiful Basics
• 53:15 Pride in Mindset and Ownership

In this enlightening conversation, Dr. Hillary Bassett discusses her transition from conventional medicine to functional medicine, emphasizing the importance of understanding hormonal health, particularly during perimenopause and menopause. She highlights the need for comprehensive care that addresses the whole person rather than just symptoms. The discussion covers the significance of hormone replacement therapy, the role of testosterone in women's health, and the importance of self-care and lifestyle changes. Dr. Bassett encourages women to embrace their bodies and prioritize their health during this transformative stage of life.