Cutting. Bulking. You've heard the terms - but chances are, no one's ever explained them for your body, in this season of life. 

In this episode, Casey breaks down what these two phases actually mean, why almost everything you've heard about them was built for 25-year-old men, and how to know whether you're in a fat-loss season or a muscle-building one (spoiler: most of us are exactly where we're supposed to be). Plus - why you literally cannot build new muscle in a calorie deficit, and what to do instead if that's your goal.

🔗 Ready to tackle your fat-loss season the right way? The Fat Loss Accelerator is open for enrollment and starts September 20. Details here: https://inspirehw.com/fat-loss-accelerator

Join us in the Inspire Fitness program: Use the link here: https://inspirehw.com/ 

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What happens when you take a break from alcohol-especially as a woman in perimenopause/menopause working toward health and fat loss goals? 

In this episode, I’m sharing my personal experience of going alcohol-free, why I’m committing to a “Sober September,” and the surprising benefits I’ve already noticed just two weeks in. 

This episode is a replay of one I dropped last year when I was doing a 6 week "Sober October" but it is timely and I hope you find it helpful!

We’ll talk about how alcohol can slow fat loss, impact sleep and recovery, and even mess with your discipline when it comes to nutrition and workouts. And most importantly, I’ll show you how removing alcohol- even temporarily- can help you feel clearer, stronger, and more in control of your goals.

This isn’t medical advice, and if you struggle with alcohol dependence, please seek professional support. But if you’re curious about what alcohol-free living might do for your body, your mind, and your momentum- this episode is for you.

For fitness or nutrition services, please use the link here: https://inspirehw.com/ 

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You could be losing bone right now and never know it. No pain, no symptoms, no warning... until the day you fracture something and your whole life changes.*

In this episode, I'm getting personal about a topic that's close to home for me: bone health. Two generations of women in my family didn't find out their bones were weakening until it was already happening. My mom's diagnosis age, 50, is 4 years from where I am right now. That's a countdown I'm not willing to ignore.

You'll learn:

• Why osteopenia affects more than half of women over 50, and why so many don't find out until it's already progressed
• Why bone loss accelerates so sharply after menopause, with women able to lose up to 20% of bone density in the first 5 to 7 years alone
• Why an estimated 1 in 2 women over 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis, compared to 1 in 4 men
• What losing even 10% of your bone mass really means for your fracture risk
• Why this is about more than a broken bone, it's about protecting your independence for decades to come
• What you can start doing right now: training, protein, vitamin D, and screening
• Why I recently started an estrogen patch, and how bone health factored into that decision

This isn't about fear. It's about knowing what's happening in your body so you can do something about it before you're the one getting the diagnosis.

In a couple weeks, I'm sitting down with the founder of DexaPlus and dexascan.com to go even deeper on screening tools and what they mean for women in perimenopause and menopause. And I'll be getting my own DEXA scan on 9/16, so stay tuned, I'm bringing you along for that too.

Inspire Fitness is strength training designed specifically for women in perimenopause and menopause. If this episode resonated, share it with a woman who needs to hear it.

Ready to start building the strength that protects your bones for the long haul? Join the Fall Back to Fitness Bootcamp: https://inspirehw.com/fall-back-to-fitness

Shop Legion Supplements with promo code Inspire here: https://legionathletics.rfrl.co/zwo48

*This episode is for educational purposes only and isn't medical advice. Bone health, hormone therapy, and screening decisions are personal and should be made with your own doctor, based on your own history and risk factors. Please talk to your provider before making any changes.

Join us in the Inspire Fitness program: Use the link here: https://inspirehw.com/ 

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You want to be consistent. So you download the app, save the workout plan, and try to overhaul everything at once, meals, movement, sleep, water, all of it, starting Monday. By week two, it's gone. You're back to square one, wondering why other women seem to make this look so easy.

Here's the truth: the women who are the most successful stay consistent longest - and they didn't fix everything at once. They didn't rely on willpower. They built their consistency around three specific, non-negotiable things, and nothing more.

In this episode, Casey shares what happened when she asked her own community their top three non-negotiables, and the pattern that showed up again and again across dozens of answers.

You'll learn:

• Why "consistency over perfection" isn't just a saying, it's an actual strategy real women use on their hardest days
• The exact number of lifts per week that came up again and again as the real minimum that works
• Why specific numbers (protein grams, water ounces) stick where vague goals fail
• The scheduling trick that removes the daily decision of whether to work out
• What actually separates consistent women from women who quit after one missed workout
• How to build your own three non-negotiables, starting today

You don't need ten new habits. You need three you never skip, and permission to not be perfect on the days you do.

If you are ready to join a community of women who share in these core values- we welcome you to join us in Inspire Fitness. The Fall Back to Fitness Bootcamp is starting August 31, and you can register here: https://inspirehw.com/fall-back-to-fitness

Join us in the Inspire Fitness program: Use the link here: https://inspirehw.com/ 

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If your workouts are exactly the same as they were six months ago, that's probably exactly why your results have stalled. In this episode, Casey breaks down progressive overload in plain terms, the tool she uses to actually teach it to her clients (RPE, or rate of perceived exertion), and why so many women unknowingly train the same way for months or years without ever building in real progression.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• What progressive overload actually means
• Why RPE (rate of perceived exertion) is the key to knowing if you're truly progressing
• The most common reasons progression gets skipped, especially after 40
• Why a harder day and fewer reps at the same RPE isn't failure, it's your body doing exactly what it's supposed to
• Why muscle and bone density make this non-negotiable at this stage of life
• How Fall Back to Fitness builds progression into every single week, so you never have to guess

Inspire Fitness with Casey Young is strength training and nutrition coaching built specifically for women in perimenopause and menopause. Casey is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Personal Trainer who helps women build strength, confidence, and sustainable habits without the guesswork.

Details will be dropping soon for the Fall Back to Fitness Bootcamp. Click here for details: https://inspirehw.com/

Join us in the Inspire Fitness program: Use the link here: https://inspirehw.com/ 

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Your neighbor just dropped another bag of zucchini on your porch, and somewhere between the stuffed boats and the noodle spirals, you started telling yourself you were finally getting your fiber handled. You've been doing the right things, eating the vegetables, filling the plate. And yet the bloating hasn't budged, the energy crashes are still showing up mid-afternoon, and you can't quite figure out why.

Here's the truth almost nobody tells you: most late summer garden vegetables, the zucchini, the cucumber, the tomatoes, are actually pretty low in fiber. This isn't a willpower problem or a "you're not trying hard enough" problem. It's an information problem, and once you know which foods are actually doing the work, everything gets easier.

In this episode, I walk through what fiber really does for your body in this season of life, which vegetables are pulling their weight and which ones aren't, and exactly what to add to your plate so your garden overflow finally earns its keep.

You'll learn:

• Why fiber becomes more important, not less, during perimenopause and menopause
• The real fiber counts hiding in your favorite summer vegetables, and why the numbers might surprise you
• The difference between soluble, insoluble, and prebiotic fiber, and why your body needs all three
• A simple way to pair your zucchini overload with real fiber sources, no recipe overhaul required

The top ten highest fiber foods worth building meals around

• Navy beans, cooked, 1 cup: 19g
• Split peas, cooked, 1 cup: 16g
• Lentils, cooked, 1 cup: 15.5g
• Black beans, cooked, 1 cup: 15g
• Chia seeds, 1 oz (about 2 tablespoons): 10g
• Artichoke, 1 medium: 10g
• Avocado, 1 whole: 10g
• Green peas, cooked, 1 cup: 9g
• Raspberries, 1 cup: 8g
• Brussels sprouts, cooked, 1 cup: 6g

This isn't about eating perfectly. It's about finally understanding what's actually on your plate, so you can stop guessing and start feeling like the effort you're putting in is going somewhere.

Shop Legion Supplements: https://legionathletics.rfrl.co/zwo48 - use promo code Inspire to get 10% cash back on each order. 

Join us in the Inspire Fitness program: Use the link here: https://inspirehw.com/ 

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A stranger told me, to my face, that I wasn't going to be able to lift it. I didn't get the chance to prove him wrong in the moment, but the story stuck with me for a completely different reason than you'd expect. In this episode I'm telling you exactly what happened on a bike path on Mackinac Island, and why my reaction says more about eight years of strength training than it does about that one moment.

Then we get into the part that surprised me most: what's actually happening in your body right now, whether you lift or not, and why it matters so much more than the number on the scale.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why the average woman starts losing 3 to 5 percent of her muscle every decade after 30, and why most women never notice it happening
• The reason your strength can decline even faster than your muscle, and how menopause pours gas on the whole thing
• What resistance training actually protects, from your bone density to your balance to your ability to get up off the floor at 80
• Why "keep going" matters just as much as "get started," and how progressive overload keeps your body adapting for the long haul
• What to do next, whether you've never picked up a dumbbell or you're already lifting every week

Whether you're just starting or you're already in it, this one is about playing the long game. Not fitting into your jeans a little better today. Building a body that works with you for decades.

If you're ready to start, the 14-Day Strength Reset is the easiest place to do it. Six workouts, 20 minutes each, all from home, all you need is a set of dumbbells. Comment "reset" on the episode post and I'll send you the link. Just $14 to get started.

At Inspire Fitness, I help women in perimenopause and menopause build real strength, real confidence, and a body that works with them, not against them. This isn't about willpower. It's about having the right information and the right support for this season of life.

Join us in Inspire Nutrition: https://inspirehw.com/nutrition

Legion Supplements: https://legionathletics.rfrl.co/zwo48 - use promo code "Inspire" for 10% cash back

Join us in the Inspire Fitness program: Use the link here: https://inspirehw.com/ 

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You don't have to quit drinking to reach your goals this summer - but you do need to know what's actually happening in your body when you do, and what to do instead so it doesn't derail your progress.

In this episode, we're talking honestly about alcohol, summer, and the social pressure that comes with it. Not from a place of judgment - from a place of finally understanding what's going on so you can make choices that actually feel good, before and after.

You'll learn:

• Why alcohol hits differently in perimenopause and menopause, and what it's doing to your blood sugar, sleep, and recovery
• How one night out can quietly turn into a wasted week — and how to stop that spiral before it starts
• Alcohol-free alternatives that feel like an actual treat, not a punishment
• How to set real limits on frequency and amount — decided in advance, not in the moment
• A simple, non-awkward way to navigate the social situations where alcohol is everywhere and expected

This isn't about willpower. It's about walking into summer with a plan instead of hoping you'll figure it out in the moment.

Inspire Fitness is strength training and nutrition coaching designed specifically for women in perimenopause and menopause. If this episode resonated, share it with a woman who needs to hear it doesn't have to be all or nothing.

A note: this episode is about the everyday social drinking most of us do, not about alcohol use disorder. If your relationship with drinking feels heavier than "one glass turned into a rough week," you deserve real support, not a podcast episode. The SAMHSA National Helpline (1-800-662-4357) is free, confidential, and available anytime.

Peak Cocktails: https://peakcocktails.com/caseyyoung - Use code: Inspire20 for 20% off your order. Blood Orange is my favorite flavor, but I like the variety packs so I have options. 

Join us in the Inspire Fitness program: Use the link here: https://inspirehw.com/ 

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There's a decision you've been sitting on. Maybe it's starting a program. Maybe it's committing to tracking your food. Maybe it's finally investing in yourself after years of putting everyone else first. And you keep pushing it to Monday. To September. To when things calm down. To when you feel ready.

Here's what I need to tell you: that moment of certainty is not coming. And that is actually the best news I can give you.

In this episode, I'm sharing something more personal than I usually do. A story from my first year in business, a terrifying investment decision, and what happened when I moved before I felt ready. And then I'm connecting it directly to where you are right now, because the decision you've been postponing and the fear underneath it are more familiar to me than you might think.

You'll hear:

• The story of a decision I made in my first year of business that made absolutely no rational sense on paper, and what happened two months later that changed everything I believed was possible for me
• Why the certainty you're waiting for before you start is not a prerequisite for success, it's the thing keeping you from finding out what you're capable of
• What "there are no wrong directions" actually means, and why every attempt you've made, even the ones that didn't stick, was never wasted
• What moving before you feel ready actually looks like in practice, for real women in real life with real schedules
• The one belief that separates the women who change their lives from the women who stay exactly where they are
• A mantra I borrowed from a mentor that I want you to steal: one sentence that reframes everything about how you approach this journey

You don't need to feel ready. You need to move. You only find out what's possible on the other side of the decision you've been postponing.

This is that episode.

Inspire Fitness is strength training and nutrition coaching built specifically for women in perimenopause and menopause. If this episode gave you the push you needed, share it with a woman who's been waiting for the right moment. Tell her the moment is now.

Join us in the Inspire Fitness program: Use the link here: https://inspirehw.com/ 

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It's mid-July. You started the summer with good intentions. And somewhere between the cookouts, the vacations, the late nights, and the "just this once" moments that have been stacking up since Memorial Day - your routine quietly dissolved.

You're not tracking. You're not hitting your protein. You're eating whatever is fastest because the day got away from you again. And you've been saying "I'll reset after this weekend" for six weeks.

This isn't a discipline problem. This is what happens when you spend an entire season with no structure and no plan. And today I'm giving you three specific steps to refocus before August arrives and the whole summer is gone.

You'll learn:

• Why mid-July is its own specific challenge - and why the "just this once" events that have been stacking since Memorial Day are not a moral failing, they're a predictable response to an unstructured season
• Why avoiding the scale and the food log is quietly making everything worse - and what looking at the number actually does for your momentum
• How to pick one anchor habit for the next two weeks that keeps you connected to your goals while summer swirls around you
• Why the "what's for dinner" problem is the single most underestimated driver of off-rails eating in summer - and the exact fix
• The 60-second AI trick I use to solve dinner before it becomes a crisis: the exact prompt to type into ChatGPT or Claude to get five high-protein, under-30-minute summer meals built around what you actually have in your kitchen
• Why the women who arrive at Labor Day feeling strong are not the ones who were perfect all summer - they're the ones who noticed the slide in mid-July and did something about it

It is not too late to salvage the second half of your summer. Not even a little bit.

Three things. That's all this takes. Let's do it.

AI Prompt: "I need dinner ideas for this week. I want meals that are under 30 minutes, high in protein, and light enough for summer because I don't want to stand over a hot stove. I have chicken, shrimp, and ground turkey in my freezer. I need options that work for a busy woman who might be coming in from outdoor activities and needs something fast. Can you give me five ideas with a quick description of each?"

Join us in Inspire Nutrition! Use the link here and code JULY30 and save $30 instantly! https://inspirehw.com/nutrition

Legion Supplements. Shop here with Code Inspire: https://legionathletics.rfrl.co/zwo48

Join us in the Inspire Fitness program: Use the link here: https://inspirehw.com/ 

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