Alright, ladies and our 3 guys out there! buckle up for another episode of the Dear Midlife podcast, where we spill the tea, serve the truth, and keep it realer than reality TV with our guest today, dating coach extraordinaire, Anwar White. Trinity stumbled on Anwar when her sister (shout out to Tanya) shared one of his Tik Tok videos and she was hooked on this man who is a knower and "truth sayer" on all the dating BS...which has been a real struggle for both of us in the years since our divorces 7 and 8 years ago.

We are both pretty sure we lost count of how many frogs we've kissed over the years a LOOOONNNGG time ago and BOTH of us are so ready to settle down and find a lasting and LOVING relationship and ya'll know us! Here in our little corner of the internet, we do not do small talk—we do straight talk. And today, Anwar is about to drop some major truth bombs.

Anwar's got the inside scoop on all things love, relationships, and dating disasters. And let me tell you, he's not holding back! Anwar is your fairy god brother and he's all about that unapologetic truth-telling and keeping it real, whether you like it or not.

THAT is the BEST part about Anwar's advice! He has over 13 years of experience as a dating coach. He's got so many success stories and experiences to share. And let's be real ourselves for a sec—ain't nobody got time for sugar-coated advice. We want the raw, unfiltered truth, and that's exactly what Anwar brings to the table.

So, grab your notebooks, folks, because Anwar's about to school us on the dos and don'ts of dating in the modern world. Get ready to laugh, cringe, and maybe even shed a tear or two. It's about to get real up in here!

In today's episode, Anwar teaches us: 

1. Physical chemistry deteriorates after 18 months. Prioritize the items that spell compatibility for you in a lasting partnership instead of seeking a relationship in which physical attributes are the priority.
2. You can identify your needs (vs. wants) by exploring the things that you wanted from your parents as a child but did not receive. These are different for everyone but can include things like, attention, affection, being. cherished, encouraging your talents....think about what are these things for you?
3. When using dating apps, swipe right if you'd rate the match at a 5 on looks. Chances are, once you get to know the individual, they my rate higher based on their personal qualities and characteristics. When you swipe right on the 9s/10s, these men have 100s of people just like you in queue. You'll get lost in the shuffle.
4. Most guys are not going to have great communication skills. Use the 80/20 rule...for every 5 guys you engage with, 4 of them will not have a strong ability to communicate and ask questions.
5. YOU set the tone for the pace and the emotional depth for all of your relationships and courtships. You being your true authentic self, is one of your best dating strategies.

To find more of Anwar:

Instagram | @getyourguy_coaching

TikTok | @datingcoachanwar

And if you are about getting real, honest advice and actionable tips about how to level up life in the middle, go to our website dearmidlife.com and sign up for one of our communities! There we offer learning and support to topics such as building relationships, leveling up your career, gaining control of your health and hormones and so much more. AND...Tomorrow night, we are hosting our VERY FIRST Midlife momentum Happy Hour. Where you can connect and spill the tea with women just like you! To join us, go to our website: dearmidlife.com, open the community from the members button in the upper right hand corner and click on the "Meetups" tab! We can't wait to meet you!

You know, it was appropriate that just prior to recording this interview Trinity received the results of some recent blood work and was surprised to find that her Estrogen levels were at ZERO and my FSH was at 118 and these things together signified that she is "officially" post-menopausal. The funny story is that she sent the results some of her BFFs with a big arrow pointing to "post-menopausal" comment and each had a different reaction...one said, "HOORAY!!!" Another stated, "I don't know how to feel about that." Another, asked HER how she felt about it.  

This just emphasizes the societal messaging that menopausal women are old, unnecessary, irrelevant, unattractive or that our life...no WE are hopeless and maybe useless as we age! Well, fuck that shit! LOL

We, honestly, feel like menopause is a milestone to be celebrated and today our guest, Beccy Freeman, helps us understand that while menopause and midlife can, perhaps, mean an end to an era...it can also be a beautiful beginning to a new adventure and FREEDOM!

Beccy is a Women's Health and Lifestyle Coach and supports women who are making this transition to survive and thrive in the second half of life. She is passionate in her belief that perimenopause and menopause don't have to rule your life and that with, holistic supports in place, you can move through this time of change and transition and find ever more purpose, passion and power on the other side. Beccy uses her signature framework of wellness, mindset and meaning to help her clients restore their vitality and redefine their lives and sense of self.

In this episode, Beccy teaches us:

1. Perimenopause can sometimes start in mid-30's and go until our late 50's. 
2. Menopause is marked by going 12 consecutive months without a menstrual cycle. 
3. Essential oils can help alleviate some menopausal symptoms...including lavender for sleep, clary sage for hormonal imbalances (period pain, aches and cramps), geranium for mood and frankincense enhances or amplifies the therapeutic effects all essential oils. 
4. Menopause can be a time to grieve and of loss of what was...but, also a time of gain...and that brings with it FREEDOM to not give a shit!

To find more of Beccy:

Website | breatheandblossom.com.au

If you are in this phase of life...and I'm guessing if you're listening to this podcast, you are, girl...this is not the end! This is the beginning of a new adventure. But, we know that can be daunting...for all of us. So, that's why we started the "Middle" a community of women in midlife who will help and support one another as the navigate this new chapter. Visit our website at dearmidlife.com to join. Also, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Our guest today, Siera Sambrosky, brought Trinity to tears in this episode and ya'll and she reminds us...she doesn't like to cry. But, when someone is so intuitive that she can see right through you and calls you to stand in awareness of your Self (with a capital S) and who you are, and shows you that there is little girl inside who is still hurting, damn that is powerful.

Like many of us, Siera once found herself in a place where she was disassociated from her emotions, severely depressed, exhausted, constantly struggling with no boundaries and a terrible addiction to people pleasing...sound like anyone out there? But, she took the opportunity to let go of this life and reinvent herself and she now helps other women do the same. 

One of Siera's gifts is to facilitate self-discovery and support women like us who are navigating pivotal transitions (like uh...midlife) with resilience and while also acknowledging that there is grief that sometimes accompanies these monumental life shifts. In this episode, she teaches us that grief is more than losing a loved one, but entails anything we lose that we held as part of our self-identity and how THAT can show up and impact our lives.

Siera fancies herself a trailblazing intuitive, holistic strategist and healer, and we saw the power of her intuition in this episode. Siera supports her clients by combining over two decades of business consulting experience with a rich background in self-directed healing to transform individuals, their lives, and their businesses. She finds immense fulfillment in holding space for healing during life's most challenging moments. Her unique fusion of expertise in grief facilitation, Holistic Health and Counseling.

And let me tell you what...thank you, Siera, for holding space for Trinity in this episode as she comes face to face with that little girl inside who so desperately wanted to be seen and for guiding her to find ways to heal that part of herself.

In this episode, Siera teaches us: 

1. Grief comes from anything we lose that we've held as part of our self-identity. So, transitioning into midlife entails an element of "grief" as you lose parts of who you were or who you wanted to be.
2. We all have a dream or idea of who we were meant to be hidden deep inside of us that puts us in such a place of vulnerability, we're afraid to share. Don't lose sight of these. They may be a touchstone to your past or may just manifest differently than the way you think about them in your heard.
3. Get in touch with your body! When you feel pain or loss, don't dismiss it....acknowledge it. We have to acknowledge these losses, experience and move through the pain to get to the other side and move beyond it.
4. Get shit out of your brain. That could mean journaling about it, talking about it, make a voice note on your phone. When negative narratives remain in your mind, this shows up in all aspects of your life, money, and health. The best way to face and overcome is to, first, get them out of your head.
5. Get creative! It is one way you can connect with your inner divinity and goddess and heal yourself.

For more of Siera:

Website | alkemai.com

Facebook | @sieraintuitivelyknows

Ladies, We all have a little girl inside of us who is longing for more and Shelby and I have been a JOURNEY to heal ourselves from our past so we can build a future in which we can step authentically into the best version of ourselves. If you are on this journey too, join us. If this content resonated with you, we ask you to please leave a 5-star review so we can continue to bring this goodness to others.

You can find us on Facebook and Instagram and go to our website at dearmidlife.com to join our community where you'll find other women, just like you, going through the same trials and challenges in life. Because no one needs to do "midlife" alone!

You know Trinity was really interested in speaking with our guest today, Jean Border, because her story starts, in much part, with her battle with debilitating migraines from the age of NINE and Trinity and her sister have long suffered from migraines. Jean's story is a familiar one for many of us. She was given countless medications from doctors that relieved her pain, but never actually CURED her of her headaches. She was told she'd just have to wait to "outgrow" them.

That is...until one when day she discovered a new approach to identifying and healing the pain in her body. Now she lives pain free, and helps others understand the source of their pain as a Certified Body Code and Emotion Code Practitioner (CBCP, CECP). Jean utilizes gentle techniques to help you rid yourself of emotional baggage that may be negatively impacting your outlook, your health, or your emotional state. She routinely utilizes EFT/Tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique), Pranic Healing, the Peace Process, and other powerful techniques to create massive shifts for her clients.

Jean is a Holistic Healer, and a passionate coach and mentor for other healers. She is the author of the new book series Energy Healing 101, and host of the podcast called 'The Focused Practical Dreamer’s Journey', which combines the power of personal energy work with business growth.

In today's episode, Jean teaches us:

1. It takes 72 hours for any chemical to process out of your system. You can monitor you food intake to notice if there might be any one thing that is triggering your body into.
2. 80% of disease that shows up in the body is caused by emotional issues that we didn't process out of the body.
3. Muscle testing is where you use your subconscious to test true or false questions within your belief system and monitor the way your body moves in reaction to a binary question. It moves "towards" the positive and "away" from the negative.
4. Labeling what ails us is a double edged sword. In one way, it can help us find community with others who suffer in the same way and we can find validation. But, the labels can also cause you to remain stagnant instead of finding resolution.
5. Our subconscious brain governs 95% of our lives and behaviors and most of our ideas about life were engrained by age 8 and everything is filtered through a lens of safety. Patterns we forge are often a result of our body trying to protect us from something we perceived as unsafe.

To find more of Jean:

Website | jeanborder.com

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Now is the time to seek healing and create a life full of energy and growth!  If this episode resonated with you, please consider leaving a 5-star review and make sure to follow us so that you don't miss an episode.

If you are feeling lost or stuck in midlife, we have made available to you some pretty amazing tools for YOUR journey of personal healing and growth. SO, baby girl! If you are fed up with midlife mediocrity, ready to unleash your inner power to find real meaning and the relationships you desire...go to dearmidlife.com to join us on this journey.

Our guest today, Kim Rahir, suggests we look at health on a continuum. If on one side, you can picture yourself laying on a couch eating chips and binging Netflix and on the other side, getting up at 5am, working out for 2 hours and then drinking a broccoli + Kale smoothie, now...find yourself on this continuum and then picture yourself taking just one step toward that positive (more healthy) end of the spectrum, But, be specific about what you'll do.

Coincidentally, Trinity just got some bloodwork back...all you ladies out there run your bloodwork. That will light a fire under your booty to take more than just ONE healthy step towards that broccoli kale smoothie, baby. We are both putting a foot forward towards a healthier life and are about to cut out the processed foods, nix the sugar and LIFT WEIGHTS!! We are all IN! Thank goodness for our girl, Kim Rahir, who uses her own personal experiences to put into perspective the importance of fitness! 

Kim had a fire inside of her too when she was diagnosed with not ONE, but TWO debilitating diseases that are crippling. However, Kim took this as a sign and an opportunity to GET STRONG and went from a wheelchair to winning a European Masters title in Weightlifting this year.

Kim's story is enough to inspire ALL of our ladies in the middle to start building muscle...because doing just THIS was Kim's "health elixir" and her road to salvation. Girls, becoming strong is NOT just a pursuit that is exclusive to men AND Kim proves that it is never too late to get started and she didn't let physical or environmental limitations stand in her way of building a better life.

Now Kim, who is a former journalist turned health coach and MS survivor, is on a mission to help middle-aged women embrace muscle and strength as the one-stop-solution for most health problems from age 30 onwards. Her approach is to turn scientific knowledge about human health in to actionable tool kits for everyday life!

In this episode, Kim teaches us:

1. Building muscle can help resolve a lot of health and medical problems.
2. If you've never lifted weights and or if you haven't lifted for a long time, be gentle with your body as you get started and start where you are at. If necessary find a trainer who has worked with women in midlife
3. Building muscle not only supports your metabolic rate, but improves your bone health, joints, and increases your functional independence.
4. Muscles support blood sugar management. Muscles require more energy to maintain so they enable you to eat more and burn more fat. Muscles are also a place for your body to store excess sugar. If you don't have enough muscles and you don't use them, your body converts this excess glycogen (or sugar) straight into fat.
5. Stop TRYING to eat healthy and DO. It takes just one step in the right direction. If WE can do it, so can you!

Find more of Kim:

Website | kimrahir.com

Facebook | Kim.Rahir

Instagram | @Kim.rahir

And girl! You don't have to power through the second half of life alone! Follow-this show where we have consistently brought you new tools to tackle midlife week over week and leave us a review. Join our community at dearmidlife.com where you will find additional tools, resources and a community of support to help you not just survive, but THRIVE in the middle. We can't wait to see you!

Our next guest quotes Socrates who says "The years wrinkle your skin, but lack of enthusiasm wrinkles your soul". We love that thought and BELIEVE it! We are 100% certain that little things like finding joy in your life everyday and moving your body will keep you young! And our guest today, Annie Gaudreault shares with us her expertise and wisdom for how to do just THAT.

As a nutritionist and health coach, Annie founded VEEV Health & Wellness to support the needs of smart and successful individuals, giving them the confidence to do what they want to do, with the energy that they need. Annie is an endurance athlete with 12 marathons and 3 Ironman® triathlons under her belt, and practices what she preaches.

Before she was a nutritionist and health coach, Annie had a 25+ year career as a brand consultant working with executives of Fortune 500 companies and this gave her a solid background to serve the wellness needs of those living busy lives.Now, she focuses on guiding women through menopause by creating a healthy lifestyle from a holistic standpoint. Just like us, Annie believes midlife is a pivotal time for a woman to reinvent herself, overcome limiting beliefs and finally come into her own!

She supports her clients with strategies like setting a goal for something that they never have done before (a new hobby, a 10k run, etc) and creating a TO BE list as opposed to a TO DO list. She challenges her clients to put themselves into uncomfortable, yet achievable situations, as a way to gain confidence and grow some wings. 

In this episode, Annie teaches us: 

1. The symptoms of menopause is your body's way of providing you data and information that something is out of balance. It is a call to change and an opportunity for us to listen, acknowledge and take action.
2. Menopause is a natural and unique experience for each individual woman. Many doctors gaslight women into believing there is nothing they can do about their symptoms.
3. The either positive or negative beliefs you have about aging can add (or subtract) 7 year to your life.
4. As we age and our estrogen drops, we are much more susceptible to stress and our cortisol levels are more easily triggered. By increasing our cardio, we are putting more stress on our bodies and our body's natural reaction is to retain weight...not lose it. So, don't overdo the cardio. Instead, do strength and resistance exercises.
5. In midlife, we need to increase our intake of protein. We should have 70-80 grams of protein or more daily. Start your day with a protein rich breakfast. And, ladies, life is too short to feel guilty! Eat healthy 80% of the time and give yourself some grace to enjoy life the rest of the time!

To find more of Annie:

Website | Veev Health and Wellness

Instagram | @veev_wellness

And speaking of gaining confidence and growing some wings...now is your time, baby girl! We are here to support you on your midlife journey. Visit our website dearmidlife.com to gain access to our community where you will find an instant group of girlfriends who are there to HEAR you and support you. Thank you to our VERY FIRST FOUNDING MEMBER, Rhonda Osborn! We can't wait to take this journey with you! And don't forget to follow us on Facebook or Instagram! We can wait to meet you in the middle! 

Let's face it...Our world today can be a SHIT show and all of this negativity can get a girl down. You know it was the end of last year and Shelby found that she was getting overwhelmed and burned out. I don't know about you...but, when this chic is tired, that permeates my day and bleeds into what and how I communicate. Much to her dismay, she suddenly caught herself spewing negativity in conversations with her team and her daughters. She began complaining about customers, traffic, life! And all of a sudden she was like who am I?! This is NOT me and she had to make a conscientious choice to shift my mindset and when she did, things shifted in her....in her relationships...in the way I felt about her day and her life. 

The famous Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton said "Optimism is a happiness magnet. If you stay positive good things and good people will be drawn to you." This is so true. And you know, more often than not, people tend to dwell on the negative, rather than the positive and yet, it takes equal amounts of energy to put out a positive vibe as it does a negative one!

Our guest today, Atousa Raissyan, proves this point in her book called "Change Yourself, Change The World: Transform your life from fear-based living to choosing love and seeing magic". Atousa is recognized as a Shaman, Transformational Heart-Centered Healer and Spiritual Guide, Motivational Speaker. She is also a bestselling author, poet and digital artist. Her passion is to help people light up by guiding them to release their traumas and reprogram their fear-based living to a more heart-centered peaceful life.

Atousa’s extensive experience comes from years of transforming the life of her clients to tap in their truth, heart and experience their desired life, and in turn change the lives of those around them. Because of this transformational experience her clients refer to her as “Guiding Light,” “Life Changing,” “Best Teacher And Mentor,” “Game Changer,”. She has been featured in USA Today, Potomac Lifestyle Magazine, Entrepreneur Herald. She has been a guest speaker at over twenty-five podcasts and summits past two years.

1. If you want to transform your relationships and the people around you, start with transforming yourself by learning to love and accept yourself.
2. The trauma in our lives can be seen as a hindrance and can make us a victim or we can choose to see it as a gift. Healing our traumas and evaluating what we've learned from those experiences is part of the process of growth and transformation
3. Self-love and self-care are different. Self-love starts with looking in the mirror and loving everything about the person staring back at you. Every night choose 5 thing on the outside of your body (your smile, your skin, your collarbones) and 5 things on the inside of your body (your heart, your brain) and tell these things you love them.
4. Some trauma is passed down generationally in the form of the disease that we inherit from our family and ancestors. However, you can be the one to stop the cycle by healing yourself. It's not too late.

You can find more of Atousa at:

Website | www.atousaraissyan.com

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The one most important message that Atousa shared with us today is if you want to transform your life, it starts with transforming and reconnecting with yourself. We are here to go on this journey with you so you don't have to do it alone! Let's face our next chapter with the joy, enthusiasm and magic that Atousa preaches. When we come together with this energy, we can move mountains ladies. And we have the tools to help you remember who you are and figure out who you want to become! So, Please follow this podcast so you don't miss any important news and find us at dearmidlife.com so we transform our lives together.

So, in 2021 Shelby had been divorced for 5 years. She'd held a variety of different jobs within a short frame of time due to the ups and downs of her industry at the time and a variety of reorganizations and acquisitions. She wasn't truly happy in life...nor was she truly DISsatisfied. The best word to describe the way she felt was "stuck". Trinity was also stuck after just leaving a stagnant relationship.

So, one day (on a whim and in support of a good friend's school fundraiser) Shelby purchased an 8-week course at an elementary school silent auction written by Brene Brown and delivered by one of her certified partners (also a mom at the school). It felt like a great investment on her part and she thought it would help her move beyond feeling stuck. 

One of the exercises was around finding your core values. The exercise required you to look at a list of a 50 or so stated values and choose 15 that resonated with you. Then, from there the goal was to continue to narrow the list to 2 that really resonated. The values Shelby selected from that list included words like, "productivity", "accountability", "adaptability", integrity etc.

Then the facilitator took the group away from the prescribed content to help participants visualize their values in a different way. She asked the group to write one story about something in life that they had accomplished that they were proud of. This couldn't include things like marriage or children. It had to be something the individuals in the group had accomplished that made us proud.

Then she asked the group to recall a specific memory from early childhood or from our past in which they had experienced pure joy. The participants spent some time writing out these memories and then she had them read them to the group. And as the stories were read, the group was instructed to capture noticeable themes from the stories.

When the stories were done were done the facilitator and other participants to reflect back the themes THEY pulled out of the stories. You see, it is in these stories in which our TRUE values are visible. When Shelby left that session, her profound revelation was that what she truly valued were things like "community", "impact", "love/ or what Brene calls wholeheartedness".

It suddenly resonated  why she was feeling so...stuck, disconnected, so...fill in the blank...right. It was because she was living a life that was out of alignment with her core values.

Then circumstances brought Trinity and Shelby back together and Shelby started talking about this crazy fucking idea about starting a podcast. Of course, Trinity was like, bitch, I don't even know what a podcast IS...let alone listen to one! lol But, the more Shelby talked about it the more Trinity was drawn to the idea.

The goal was to try to connect with and learn from other women in midlife who were struggling to find themselves, just like us. And you know what we learned along the way?!? We learned more about ourselves. We started exploring our passions...we realized there were big and little traumas that were impacting our mindset and heartset that might be holding us back from greatness! We interviewed some pretty amazing men and women and you know what?! We started DOING the shit they suggested. Trinity started working out, having her hormones tested, reflecting on her past...I mean, she definitely didn't give in and started journaling or anything crazy like that...it will take a cold day in hell before she does that... 

But, Shelby journaled and learned so much about herself and was able to set and achieve some relevant goals and heal in so many ways from childhood traumas. 

Trinity started on a mission to find her joy. She's always been a spontaneous person who likes to try new things....so, she took a solo trip to Ireland with nothing but a backpack, used a rope swing to catapult herself off a cliff and into a lake-fully clothed. We started living LIFE.

And we both have attracted new relationships and inspired others along the way. What we realized along the way is that it is soo easy to get stuck...and STAY stuck...especially during a fucking global pandemic....BITCH! But, we realized that with the right tools and people on your side you CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS and accomplish your dreams. We started asking ourselves some pretty tough questions...Like what are the consequences if nothing changes? AND...are you willing to settle for that?

We thought...what if we could capture what we've learned on our journey so far and provide these tools and a supportive community to others who are struggling who have felt stuck, just like us.

The podcast is just ONE vehicle where we can share this relevant information out into the world and build community. What if we could actually connect women around the world to help one another. To create a safe place to share our fears, our excitements, to get advice and friendship!

So, we distilled our journey into a simple blueprint using the acronym HERO....because we feel like damn if we don't all keep waiting for someone else to be our "hero" and save our asses! but, girl...here's a secret...no one is coming to save you. We have to learn to be our OWN hero.

So, what in the hell does it mean to be your OWN hero? It means:

1. Healing the past and move beyond negative narratives.
2. Embracing change.
3. Rediscovering your passions and realigning to your values.
4. Owning the results

And, ladies, we are our own guests today! We want to share a little bit about our personal journeys and experiences along the way and at the end of this episode, we want you to ask yourself what are the consequences if nothing changes....

If you want to join us in the middle...please check out our website at dearmidlife.com. We can't wait to see you there. 

I don't know about you, but we have been taught for our entire lives to eat less and do more exercise if you want to stay fit and lose weight. and girl...we've taken that shit to heart!  Is anyone else out there finding it frustrating that, lately, what used to work to help shed a couple of pounds no longer works! Heck! In midlife, it feels like everything...including our metabolism...is dragging. AND, if you're like us, you feel hungry all the time!

If you're feeling as though you're at your wits end, don't despair! You will love what our guest today, Sarah Thomas, says about stepping into this chapter in life and looking at the years ahead as a clean slate. We have this new opportunity in midlife to live our best years AND Sarah will convince us today that we can actually ENJOY life FEAST on foods we love while also maintaining a healthy body weight.

Sarah is the founder of Burn Fat and Feast, elite comprehensive wellness lifestyle for women across the globe. She is a Personal Trainer, Fitness Instructor, and Nutrition Coach for women 30+ who are ready to live a healthy and strong lifestyle. For more than 22 years, she has been teaching them how to balance their hormones and metabolism through proper nutrition, mindset training, and quick and effective fitness workouts so that they can take back control of their health and finally feel their best. 

Sarah, herself, is a 45-year-old personal trainer, fitness instructor, nutrition coach, business mentor, wife, mom of three, and BFF for women who feel stuck and frustrated with weight loss and overall well being. Burn Fat and FEAST provides a proven, step-by-step system that educates and empowers women to finally shed the excess weight, increase metabolism and stop the yo-yo dieting once and for all. At Burn Fat and FEAST we teach women to live life to the fullest by focusing on progress over perfection!

Sarah is your girl if you want results without feeling deprived or getting stuck in a plateau. She's been featured in TV and magazine publications such as Nashville's Talk of the Town, Franklin Lifestyle, The Tennessean, Nashville Voyager as well as on Podcasts and as a keynote speaker for national wellness and educational conferences across the country.

In this episode, Sarah teaches us: 

1. We've grown up being told eat less, put yourself in a caloric deficit and you will lose weight. But, we are not math equations. we are more complex and other things like hormones, metabolism and stress all impact our ability to lose weight.
2. Make it a "feast" day...not a "cheat" day. Ensure you build into your lifestyle the ability to engage socially and enjoy life.
3. This phase of life is like a new beginning or a blank slate. YOU get to choose how you approach this chapter in life and how you want to approach life in a different way in order to live a more vibrant lifestyle.
4. Prioritize protein! Our bodies need more protein as we get older and increasing our intake of protein helps us to better maintain our muscle mass as we face this season of life where everything is slowing down.
5. We also need to be capable to prioritize strength training 3x per week as adding muscle mass will support your metabolism. Then we need to ensure that we are get good sleep to allow ourselves to rest and recover.

Find more of Sarah:

Facebook | @burnfatandfeast

Instagram | @burnfatandfeast

LinkedIn | @burn-fat-and-feast

So are you ready to turn the page in this next chapter in life? You have an empty page before you and you get to write your own story! What will you manifest this year? If you want to live a healthy and vibrant life so you can do what you love find our  Facebook Group and follow us on Instagram. You're not going to want to miss out on a single thing that we have in store for you moving forward. We can't wait to introduce you to some exciting new tools that will help you remember who you are and figure out who in the hell you want to become!

This episode is very timely for both of us as Shelby's oldest daughter is about to head off to college next year. She can't even begin to express the variety of emotions she has about that. Perhaps you have a child who is headed to college or children who are starting their own lives and you've also felt pride in your child for the adversity they've faced in High School and the confidence your child has gained to prepare them for college and life. Maybe, you're equally afraid to let go of your child...the world is such a different place now than it was when we were younger and there are so many dangers and unknowns to consider. Then, whether you're a single parent or in a partnership we know this time can be full of new adventures and, simultaneously, daunting!  We lose a part of ourselves and our identity when the humans who have been our singular focus for so long are no longer fully dependent on us and we are left with TIME and wondering what the hell we can do to fill it!

If you find yourself in a similar place as Trinity and I do, with a child headed off to college or one who boomeranged home and getting ready to "launch" again, you'll love our guest today, Anthony Damaschino, the author of "The Empty Nest Blueprint". The truth is, just as we dove head first into parenthood without a manual when these babies were born, we are now expected to send them off into the world and THEN reclaim our own lives after making our children and families a top priority for so many years! I mean, I don't know about you, but I don't even know who the hell I am anymore!

Thank goodness for our guest, Anthony, who has an obsession with what he calls, “The most underrated phase in a parent’s life” which led him to create a blueprint for all future and current Empty Nesters to follow. He combines current research, practical advice, and personal experience to help others not just survive, but thrive in their Empty Nest adventure.

The Empty Nest Blueprint is more than just a book–it's a journey of self-discovery. Anthony and his wife have successfully launched 3 children into the world (two of whom are still in college). He considers himself a recovering HR exec with a BS in Political Science and an MS in HR and organizational development. It is his goal to utilize his personal and professional experience to put readers on a path of reflection and empowerment while gaining profound insights into your most cherished relationships. By the end of this read, you'll emerge with a tangible blueprint and actionable plans to create a future filled with happiness, motivation, and a renewed sense of intimacy.

If you are in our shoes and sending your beloved humans out into the universe, we beg you not to let this precious chapter in YOUR life pass you by–This is your chance to seize the opportunity to create a blueprint for a joyful and fulfilling life and you don't have to do it alone! We are right here with you every step of the way.

In this episode, Anthony teaches us:

1. The "Empty Nest Syndrome" is meant to define the feelings of sadness and loss experienced when children move out and on their own, but can extend farther to concerns such as what is your new purpose as a parent, loneliness and emotional toll, marital stress and parental anxiety.
2. As children leave, there are 3/4 things to explore: what is your relationship to self and new purpose, what is your plan for your relationships, what is your plan for the marriage (if there is a spouse) and what is your new relationship with your child going to look like moving forward.
3. When launching a child, there are gains and losses. The biggest gain is time. And then there is the loss. The empty nest age group is the second largest group suffering depression. The best thing you can do for yourself is to fill the additional time with meaningful activities and people you love.
4. When your child leaves the home it is important to set expectations around grades, money and communication.

To find more of Anthony:

The Empty Nest Blueprint on Amazon

www.anthonydamaschino.com

Anthony Damaschino’s LinkedIn

Anthony Damaschino’s Facebook

Anthony Damaschino’s Instagram

Anthony Damaschino's YouTube

If you are a soon-to-be empty nester...listen up! THIS IS YOUR TIME TO THRIVE! Becoming an Empty Nester opens the door to new opportunity and Dear Midlife has some exciting new tools to share with you to make your next chapter a time in which you reclaim your life and live with authenticity and alignment. We have some exciting new tools coming in 2024 and can't wait to share them with you. Join our Facebook Group and follow us on Instagram so you don't miss any of the excitement!