Women Like Us, Lately

Welcome to Women Like Us Lately: Fitness Identity, Hidden Struggles, and Why We Started Valerie

(“Val”), a divorced mom of two teenage boys in North Carolina, and Monica, a Miami-based wife and mom to toddler Mila and a former pageant competitor/bodybuilder, launch their podcast Women Like Us Lately and introduce their backgrounds and friendship through working together in the health and wellness space.

They share what social media doesn’t show: Val’s struggle to stay motivated with strength training despite loving fitness and wrestling with an all-or-nothing mindset and mom guilt, and Monica’s husband needing a kidney transplant, which has impacted their family while he maintains a pragmatic attitude tied to past diabetes management.

They explain reconnecting through shared self-doubt, feeling they don’t fully “belong” in the wellness world, and supporting each other to push forward anyway, outlining future topics like religion, motherhood, hormones, wellness, aging, relationships, friendships, business, and inviting other women’s perspectives.

00:00 Podcast Kickoff

01:25 Meet Val and Monica

02:48 Val Fitness Identity Shift

08:36 Monica Family Health Update

12:08 Why This Podcast Exists

12:23 How We Reconnected

13:44 Self Doubt and Wellness 18:15 Vision Topics and Vibe

20:49 Wrap Up and Call to Action