In this episode, I’m joined by Melissa Cassera, a publicity strategist, screenwriter, and bestselling author who knows what it takes to make your work irresistible while still staying true to yourself.

What makes Melissa’s perspective so valuable is that she’s spent nearly two decades helping entrepreneurs, authors, and creatives cut through the noise, build real connections, and keep their marketing from feeling “icky.” She also draws on her own experience as a multi-passionate business owner in screenwriting, publishing, and beyond, offering a rare inside look at what truly works.

We talk about:

• How to make marketing feel authentic and aligned instead of forced or cringey.

• The best way to respond to haters, critics, and internet trolls (without losing your sanity).

• Why you don’t have to lock yourself into one tiny niche to be successful.

• How to redefine success on your own terms and celebrate your progress instead of waiting for a “big break.”

Melissa’s journey is proof that you can market with integrity, stand out in a crowded space, and still create a business (and life) that feels creative, fulfilling, and uniquely yours.

Connect with Melissa

• Website: https://melissacassera.com/
• Follow Melissa on Instagram: @melissa.cassera
• Melissa’s Podcast: Listen to Drip, Trickle Flow, Flood

Connect with Nikki

• Take the 1 minute quiz to get a free personalized strength plan: https://freestrengthquiz.com/
• Free calculator and guide to your personalized macros for fat loss and body recomposition: https://naablevy.com/macro-guide/
• Follow Nikki on Instagram @naablevyfitness
• Visit Nikki’s website: https://naablevy.com/

In this episode, I’m joined by my client Carlyn Rubin, who shares her journey navigating fitness and nutrition with symptomatic hypermobility.

What makes her story so powerful is that Carlyn came to me with a body composition and weight loss goal, but through strength training, she discovered so many unexpected benefits along the way.

We talk about:

• How EDS and spinal fusion shaped Carlyn’s relationship with her body and movement.
• What surprised her most about strength training and how she built the confidence to walk into the gym and get started.
• Her experience with low-calorie diets, weight cycling, and what changed when we increased her calories and let go of rigid food rules
• What she wishes more hypermobile people knew about strength training

Carlyn’s experience is a reminder that with the right approach, it’s not just possible to get stronger. It’s possible to feel better and more at home in your body while doing it.

Links mentioned:

Join my 6 week nutrition program Fat Loss Fundamentals.

Grab the last VIP spot in the program.

Connect with me on Instagram @naablevyfitness

You had a plan to track your food, get your steps in, knock out two workouts. But then life happened, and you didn’t do any of it. Which would be fine except it keeps happening and you’re starting to feel stuck.

In this episode, Nikki breaks down what’s actually going on when motivation disappears and how to follow through on the things you want to do, when you’re just not feeling it.

Topics covered:

• The science of motivation.
• The different kinds of motivation and why it matters.
• 3 practical tools to generate motivation when we feel stuck or overwhelmed. 

Additional Fitness & Nutrition resources

Grab your free macros & calories calculator + guide

Take a 1 minute quiz to get a free strength plan.

Hop on my list to be notified when enrollment for the nutrition challenge starts.

Stay in touch!

Follow me on Instagram @naablevyfitness

In this episode of Results Not Typical, Nikki speaks with personal trainer and nutrition coach Sahara Coleman about the realities of living and training with symptomatic hypermobility.

They explore how these conditions affect daily life, movement, identity and what it means to show up for yourself when your body doesn’t always cooperate.

Topics covered:

• Training and daily life with hypermobility including chronic pain and injury
• Naviagting POTS and low blood pressure
• Hypermobolity comorbidities beyond the joints
• How identity, mindset, and autonomy play into managing chronic conditions
• Strength training and fitness with hypermobility

Connect with Sahara

• Instagram: @saharathenutritioncoach
• Work with Sahara in person at BodySTRONG Burien

Connect with Nikki

• Get your personalized free strength plan at freestrengthquiz.com
• Instagram: @naablevyfitness

In this episode, Nikki is joined by MNU Certified Nutritionists Vanessa Zingaro and Greg Sutton to break down why we struggle with consistency and what to do when knowledge isn't enough to move forward.

You’ll learn:

• Why more information isn’t the solution to reaching your goals if you're struggling with consistency.

• How to identify and move beyond all-or-nothing thinking.

• What your internal dialogue has to do with your results

• How the Stages of Change explain why you keep "starting over"

• Practical tools to build follow-through (even on tough days)

Connect with Greg & Vanessa

• Grab their 3 part mini series Stop Starting Over
• Follow Vanessa on Instagram @vanessa_zingaro_
• Follow Greg on Instagram @coach.greg.sut
• Evolve to Excel Website

Connect with Nikki

• Grab your free calories and macros calculator + guide
• Take the quiz to get free personalized strength workouts
• Connect with Nikki on Instagram @naablevyfitness

In this epside, Nikki is joined by yoga teacher and strength coach Laurel Beversdorf and physical therapist Dr. Sarah Court, DPT to deconstruct the myths around “good” muscles, “bad” muscles, and the idea that getting out of pain requires activating your muscles in a specific order.

They cover:

• Why the “good muscle vs. bad muscle” narrative isn't an accurate or helpful depiction of how our bodies actually work and how it can lead to unnecessary fear or overcorrection in movement.

• The difference between muscle "timing" and motor control, and how these concepts show up in pain management, rehab, and strength training, especially when people assume certain muscles need to be "turned on" to fix dysfunction.

• How strength training improves coordination and load tolerance across movement patterns, often more effectively than trying to isolate or “activate” specific muscles.

• Why obsessing over alignment and activation can reinforce unhelpful perfectionism and interfere with developing actual strength, resilience, and confidence in your body.

• How nervous system adaptations and context influence which muscles are recruited and why variability, not a specific kind of activiation or sensation, is a better goal.

Connect with Laurel and Sarah

• Movement Logic website: movementlogictutorials.com

• Join the Bone Density Course waitlist.

• Movement Logic Instagram: @movementlogictutorials

• Connect with Laurel Beversdorf: laurelbeversdorf.com | IG: @laurelbeversdorf

• Connect with Dr. Sarah Court, DPT: sarahcourtdpt.com | IG: @sarahcourtdpt

Connect with Nikki

• Take the 1 minute quiz and get a free personalized strength plan!
• Website: naablevy.com | IG: @naablevyfitness

In this episode, host Nikki chats with Dr. Shannon Connolly, chiropracter and women's strength and rehab coach about the the misleading world of celebrity fitness programs and marketing claims in the fitness and rehab space. 

Topics discussed:

• Why “celebrity-approved” doesn’t mean evidence-based
• How to spot red flags in fitness marketing claims
• What progressive overload actually means proper strength training versus how it's misused in marketing
• The "initial gains" phenomenon and why everything works for beginners but not for long-term progress
• Why pain, progress, and training don’t always follow a straight line

Connect with Shannon:

• Instagram: @livewellwithdrshannon
• Website: livewellwithdrshannon.com

Connect with Nikki:

• Take 1 minute quiz and get your FREE personalized strength plan!
• Instagram: @naablevyfitness

Articles referenced:

• Jennifer Aniston's P-Volv fitness regime article (AOL)
• Marie Claire article about Pilates for strength training

If you’ve ever been told that running is off-limits because you’re hypermobile, have POTS, or deal with chronic illness, you’re not alone. But is that true? Probably not.

In this episode, Nikki chats with Dr. Kate Bochnewetch, physical therapist and running coach, to break down myths, the outdated advice, and a better way to approach running when you're dealing with these challenges.

They cover:

• How POTS isn't caused by deconditioning and other myths around chronic illness, hypermobility, and running.
• The role of strength training in stability and how to build strength in a way that supports hypermobile joint
• Why building strength and tolerance may help more with injury mitigation that having "perfect" running form.
• How to navigate setbacks, flare-ups, and pacing when nothing feels linear.

Links & Resources

Connect with Dr. Kate Bochnewetch:

• Follow Dr. Kate on Instagram: @the_running_DPT
• Check out Kate's coaching & resources: www.therunningdpt.com

Connect with Nikki Naab-Levy

• Get a week of free modifiable strength workouts
• Follow Nikki on Instagram: @naablevyfitness
• Check out Nikki's free nutrition resources library
• Grab Macros Made Simple: A free guide to identifying your calories and macros

Fat loss can be challenging in general, but it can feel more complex when you factor in chronic condition or symptomatic hypermobility. Fatigue, unpredictable symptoms, and flare-ups add challenges that most “fat loss plans” don’t address.

In this episode, I cover strategie and considerations when pursuing fat loss with a chronic condition. 

This episode covers: 

• Why fat loss is harder with chronic conditions
• How to know if you’re ready to pursue fat loss
• Things to be aware of during fat loss and common mistakes to avoid
• How to plan for success in a calorie deficit
• What we know about hypermobility / EDS and GLP-1 medications

Key takeways: Fat loss with a chronic condition isn’t nessecarily off the table, but it may take a slightly different appraoch or require additional considerations.

Links & Resources

Article: The hidden riskes of Ozempic and Wegovy in Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Patients

Grab my free practical guide to fat loss

Join the interest list for my Black Friday Sale on nutrition coaching

Follow me on Instagram @naablevyfitness

When it comes to fat loss, your mindset can be just as important as your strategy.

If you’ve ever felt stuck, frustrated, or unsure why your efforts aren’t paying off, it might be time to take a closer look at your mental approach. In this episode, I’m breaking down the most common mindset mistakes I see that could be holding you back—and how to fix them.

This episode covers:

• Why the scale isn’t the best measure of progress and how to interpret scale trends if you choose to use it as a tool.
• The importance of planning for invisible obstacles, like stress, rationalizations, or moments for when you don't feel like it.
• Why the type of motivation you have matters and how to make the process feel more worthwhile. 
• The importance of aligning your behaviors with your values.
• The problem with all or nothing thinking and how to increase cognitive flexibility.

Resources Mentioned:

👉  Grab my free Practical Guide to Fat Loss, where I simplify the science and give you actionable strategies to take control of your nutrition.

👉 Hop the interest list for my Black Friday Nutrition Coaching sale, where I’m offering exclusive discounts on 1:1 coaching. 

Let’s Connect:

Have questions or a favorite takeaway from this episode? Send me a DM on Instagram @naablevyfitness or tag me in your stories—I’d love to hear from you.