How to Rebuild Your Body (and Hormones) After Burnout | ft. Samantha Christine

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Neuro Experience

Episode: How to Rebuild Your Body (and Hormones) After Burnout
Host: Louisa Nicola & Pursuit Network
Guest: Samantha Christine
Date: October 28, 2025

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Main Theme/Purpose

This episode explores the physical and mental journey of rebuilding health and hormones after periods of burnout, especially for women. Personal trainer and nutrition coach Samantha Christine shares her own story of overcoming hardship—losing her menstrual cycle amid divorce and marathon training—and provides actionable guidance on nutrition, hormone health, empowering self-care, and sustainable approaches to fitness. The conversation focuses on recalibrating routines as women enter their 30s and beyond, breaking myths around female health, and fostering resilience through intentional habits.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Samantha’s Backstory & The Meaning of Empowerment

• Samantha’s journey: From a non-athletic childhood and an unhealthy college lifestyle, to discovering true empowerment in her late 20s through movement, nutrition, and mindset shift.
• Empowerment Defined (02:18):

  "It was when I started incorporating healthier ways of living through movement and nutrition and mindset too...and that's when I truly felt empowered."
  (Samantha, 02:18)

• Transition in the 30s: Both Louisa and Samantha stress how methods that worked in their twenties (like plyometrics or sporadic healthy eating) often become ineffective—and even dangerous—in the next decade, necessitating adaptation and structure.
  • Memorable anecdote: Louisa shares how attempting intense plyometrics at age 35 led to knee cartilage injuries (05:13 - 05:51).

2. Underfueling, Burnout, and Hormonal Health

• Silent epidemic: Underfueling and the pressure to maintain low-calorie diets, combined with increased use of GLP-1 agonists (like Ozempic), are seriously impacting women's hormonal health.
• Samantha’s Amenorrhea Story (07:41 - 13:48):
  • Endured over a year without a menstrual cycle after marathon training and life stress.
  • Highlighted that cycles often stop when female body fat goes below ~13–14%.

  "It was after the marathon when I stopped running as much, it was like my body just gave up and I lost my cycle."
  (Samantha, 00:00/08:26)

  • To recover, she intentionally increased calories, raised healthy fats/carbs, focused on nutrient-dense foods, and gradually regained both body fat (up to ~20%) and muscle.
  • Notable Stat: 13 months to recover her period.
• Quote:

  "If you're not eating enough, our body is going to quite literally go into starvation mode. Our metabolism is going to stall."
  (Samantha, 23:43)

• Clinical context: Ties in hypothalamic amenorrhea, rising cases due to underfueling, and the widespread infertility implications.

3. The Dynamic Nature of Nutrition & Diet

• Individuality: Samantha and Louisa both discourage rigid diet labels (vegan, carnivore, etc.), emphasizing experimentation and body intuition (28:38).

  "I don't think that we need to be stereotyping diets...depending on the season I'm in, sometimes that changes and that's okay."
  (Samantha, 28:39)

• Protein Recommendations:
  • 0.8–1g of protein per pound of body weight is recommended for muscle-building and recovery.
  • For those struggling, a minimum of 100g/day is a reasonable starting goal (24:48; 25:01).
• Carbs & Fats: Both are important for hormone health; specific macro needs depend on the individual and season of life.

4. Blood Work, Supplements, and Recovery

• Regular Testing:
  • Bloodwork helped Samantha identify and address deficiencies (e.g., low vitamin D, iron, and hormones) that contributed to health issues (26:06; 53:15).
  • Both Louisa and Samantha advocate for full hormonal panels and personalized supplementation based on those outcomes.
• Hormone Optimization:
  • Louisa discusses using DHEA to naturally raise low testosterone rather than jumping to exogenous T-therapy (57:23–58:23).
  • Both emphasize adjusting testosterone, progesterone, and other hormones through both lifestyle and supplementation.

5. Exercise as a "Brainspan" Tool

• Consistency Trumps Intensity: The hosts stress that adapting strength routines to one’s current body and ability is crucial.
  • Samantha encourages starting with compound movements, using bodyweight before adding loads, and prioritizing correct technique to avoid injuries (44:09–45:38).
• Mental Load of Training:
  • There’s a cognitive burden in planning and executing workouts, further exacerbated by life responsibilities, making structured coaching/apps valuable for adherence (46:11–47:34).
• Quote:

  "You need to be able to be—when you're in the gym, be in the goddamn gym."
  (Louisa, 46:58)

6. Identity, Comparison, and Social Pressures in Womanhood

• Motherhood, Self-Care, and Guilt: Many women feel guilt prioritizing their fitness or self-care over family/professional duties. Samantha normalizes this and reframes self-investment as essential to being a better mother, partner, and leader (20:26–21:18).
• Comparison Culture:

  "Comparing ourselves to one another...we have to look at our bodies and know it took nine to ten months to create this human life...everybody's timeline is gonna look different."
  (Samantha, 21:47–22:54)

• Community/Social Circles: Shifting social priorities in the 30s-40s toward supportive, like-minded relationships has a huge impact on women’s well-being (18:21–20:03).

7. The Impact of Preconception and Pregnancy Health

• Gestational Nutrition & Mental State:
  • Diet and maternal mindset during pregnancy profoundly influence a child’s long-term neural, psychological, and physical health (35:30–38:13).
  • Louisa cites studies linking binge drinking and nutrition to higher risks of congenital and psychological conditions.

8. Divorce, Menopause, and Life Transitions

• Divorce and Menopause:
  • Samantha addresses working with clients experiencing menopause, marital breakdowns, and the amplified need for self-care, community, and mental resilience during these transitions (39:53–43:03).
• Key Quote on Divorce:

  "When the bad days outweighed the good, and when I saw that it was having a negative effect on my children, that's when I knew to walk away."
  (Samantha, 41:13)

9. Supplements, Sleep, and Advanced Wellness

• Supplements:
  • Skepticism around the efficacy of NAD and IV therapies; Louisa promotes nicotinamide riboside over direct NAD.
  • Both discuss their evolving supplement regimes based on ongoing lab markers.
• Sleep:
  • Sleep is “the ultimate performance enhancing tool,” and both women describe practices for optimizing sleep, which supports energy and hormone balance (49:08–49:39).
• General Health:
  • Both are avid trackers (Dexa, MyFitnessPal, apps) and continually update routines based on what’s measured.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Burnout & Recovery:

  "You can't optimize what you don't measure."
  (Louisa, 56:58)

• On Protein Misconceptions:

  "Protein makes you bulky is probably the one I hear that's most common like that I would love to debunk."
  (Samantha, 33:53)

• On Lifestyle Shifts in the 30s:

  “All these things that we did in our 20s—they're not working anymore. And that’s okay. We have to meet our bodies where they’re at in different stages of life.”
  (Samantha, 05:51)

• On Social Comparison:

  “We need to stop comparing ourselves to one another. We’re all bio-individual. What works for you isn’t going to work for me.”
  (Samantha, 21:47)

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Key Timestamps for Reference

• How Samantha lost and regained her menstrual cycle: 07:41–13:48
• The changing needs of female bodies in their 30s: 04:02–06:38
• Protein and macro recommendations: 24:04–25:17
• Discussion on tracking, apps, and nutrition flexibility: 27:44–28:29
• Motherhood, guilt, and self-prioritization: 20:03–21:18
• Post-pregnancy body expectations and comparison: 21:18–22:54
• The mental load of exercise routines: 46:11–47:34
• Exercise advice for beginners: 44:09–45:38
• Discussion of bloodwork and DHEA supplementation: 53:15–58:23
• Debunking NAD supplements: 59:09–60:32
• Gestational health and fetal programming: 35:19–38:10
• Samantha’s motivation for coaching women: 62:22–64:59

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Conclusion

This episode pulls back the curtain on burnout, intense training, hormonal upheaval, and the multifaceted process—physical, nutritional, and mental—of rebuilding health as a woman. Samantha Christine brings firsthand experience and actionable advice; both she and Louisa emphasize self-reclamation, biomarker-driven personalization, and the power of community and mindset. Whether you’re struggling to regain your cycle, reframe your fitness narrative after motherhood, or simply want a science-based, empathetic framework for midlife health, this episode will empower and inform you.

Transcript

[Samantha Christine]

I got through the marathon, still had my cycle that entire time, but it was after the marathon when I stopped running as much. It was like my body just gave up and I lost my cycle.

[Louise Nicola]

Today we have Samantha Christine, who is a certified nutrition coach and a personal trainer who specializes in women's health, strength training, and clean eating. How do I build muscle and how do I lose fat and do it in a healthy way?

[Samantha Christine]

That's the number one question I get from any client or potential client.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

And what is the answer?

[Samantha Christine]

My number one thing is you have to to be eating enough.

[Louise Nicola]

So we need to eat more to lose fat?

[Samantha Christine]

Absolutely.

[Louise Nicola]

As a marathon runner herself, she coaches others in training for endurance events like 10ks half marathons and full marathons. One of the most powerful things that you've shared is losing your menstrual cycle. And this was for over a year while pushing your body to its limits.

[Samantha Christine]

A few years ago, I was going through a divorce. What can I do to get my mind off of it? I'm going to sign up for a marathon. I'm stressed. I'm running 50 miles a week. I think I was at like 9 or 10% body fat.

[Louise Nicola]

Oh, my gosh.

[Samantha Christine]

It was when I started incorporating healthier ways of living through movement and nutrition and mindset too, and I completely transformed.

[Louise Nicola]

What do you think is the biggest unspoken mental burden that female athletes, or.

[Samantha Christine]

Actually females carry comparing ourselves to one another?

[Louise Nicola]

Samantha is an incredible person. Such an inspiration. I'm so excited for you guys to listen to the whole gamut of conversation that we had today.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

I'm Louise Nicola and this is the Neuro Experience.

[Louise Nicola]

Hi, Sam. Hello. I'm so excited to have you on the podcast. We've been friends on Instagram for quite a while, but now we're in person and you share so much knowledge. Actually, I very much look up to you on Instagram. You're doing something that is so hard for me, where you're really showcasing your life and it's so healthy. And I actually, no pun intended, feel really empowered to take action every time you. You post something, whether it's your food, whether it's your lifestyle, you're always going for a run. You are an athlete at heart. You're a mother. You're doing so many different things. So I think I want to start with actually understanding that word empower. Where did it come from?

[Samantha Christine]

Oh, thank you. First off, for all the kind words. I'm so glad that we are finally meeting and able to have this conversation. I think EMP was I really felt Empowered and came to that identity just a few years ago. I think growing up and in my early 20s, I was not in the most healthiest spot. I think I'll kind of take it from high school on. I, in high school and in my childhood was not an athlete. I was in the arts, did a lot of singing, dancing, came from an active family. But that was not like a priority of, you know, moving my body and things like that into college. I got mixed up with alcohol, smoking a lot of weed, not properly fueling myself with good nutrition. I think maybe I stepped into a gym three times. My entire college career was 25 pounds heavier back then. And after college, I think in my later 20s, that's when I found that true empowerment. So it was through a lot of trial and error and barriers in life and challenges that I. I found what empowerment truly meant to me. And it was when I started incorporating healthier ways of living through movement and nutrition and mindset too. Right. Neurological approach, that I saw my body and mind and soul completely transform. And that's when I truly felt empowered and. And empowerment. I think that when you can find that full feeling of it, it can be life changing in so many different ways.

[Louise Nicola]

Oh, I love that so much. And now that you're a bit older, you're mid-30s. And what I find in this period, the 35 to 45, that that decade is the critical decade, and a lot of things change and you start to take things into, you know, more seriously. Have you found that as opposed to your 20s, like, with what you're doing now on your daily basis with your food prep? Because I find that that's actually a really hard thing to do because a lot of women in their mid-30s. I mean, I can speak for myself. You're at the point of your career where things right now I've reached, I think, this pinnacle point. Things are so. I'm so busy, and so if I'm not structured with my meal planning, with my exercise, with who I give my energy to, I'll go off the rails.

[Samantha Christine]

I'm on the same page as you. And I think that the 30s are so important because a lot of women are finding. And I'm seeing that in my inbox and DMs, that, you know, I get these messages from women that are like, help. I'm doing this. The lifting. I'm. I'm trying to eat right. I'm fueling myself in all the weights, but I still can't keep the weight off. I'm still stressed. I still don't feel good. You know, it's like all these things that we did in our 20s, they're not working anymore.

[Louise Nicola]

Oh, no. I'm telling you that, that from experience, what I did in my twent, you know, I actually tried to replicate what I did in my 20s. And this was in January this year. I used to do a lot of plyometrics.

[Samantha Christine]

Right.

[Louise Nicola]

I mentioned I was a triathlete. We did a lot of that.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

And for some reason in January, I.

[Louise Nicola]

Was in Australia and I was just feeling my best. It's really. It was summer there and I was feeling strong, I was feeling amazing. I'm like, I'm going to start implementing plyometrics again. Like I did when I was 21. Got a set of dumbbells and literally did the cartilage on both my knees within a week. Yeah. Because I thought I was 21 again. And I started box jumping ways to your point.

[Samantha Christine]

It's what we did in our 20s. They're no longer working anymore and. And that's okay. We have to, I think one of those things meet our bodies where they're at different stages of our lives and just try different things. And so that's okay. And so for me personally, it's like I'm the same way. Like, structure is everything. Consistency is a huge part of my life as well. But I think creating a schedule, meal prepping, making sure that I'm moving my body and then just like being in tune with blood work as well. And just like constantly, like every three months, six months, kind of checking in to see where I'm at and see what my body needs to support its most, most optimal state of health is what my body needs. And I'm 35 now, and I just, you know, that's just what I'm gonna do, and that's okay.

[Louise Nicola]

So you've, you've said something really important, which I want to touch on right now, because I think a lot of people, it must be like this silent epidemic, especially now with the rise of GLP1s. You know, we've got Tirzepatide, we've got. We've got Ozempic. And I think that this is a really important thing. One of the most powerful things that you've shared is losing your menstrual cycle. And this was for over a year while pushing your body to its limits. And I know I've heard this so often. And it's this problem with under fueling because a lot of women have been led to believe, let's Just maintain the low calories, 1100 calories a day, 1200 calories a day. But just exercise, pound the pavement, go to the gym. And the effect of that is under fueling. Now some might think, okay, great, that would result in fat loss or weight loss, but we're not taking into consideration the other effects like losing your menstrual cycle, which is a disruption in your hormones. So what happened during that phase of your life?

[Samantha Christine]

Oh my goodness, this is such an important topic. And I'm really glad that you brought this up because I think this was a huge turning point in my life and has led me to where I'm at now and why I want to help so many women be in their healthiest state. So it was a few years ago, I was going through a divorce. So you have to add this factor, stress factor to the equation. Stressed. And of course I'm like, what can I do to get my mind off of it? I'm going to sign up for a marathon. And so I signed up for a marathon and the training started well then you know, the latter half of marathon training, it's a lot. And people ask me like, hey, what's the difference between like half marathon training, full marathon training and you, you probably know too, being a triathlete, it's like a marathon. 26 miles is a whole different beast.

[Louise Nicola]

Oh yeah.

[Samantha Christine]

You have to fuel and eat, sleep, recover. Completely different than half marathon. You have to make sure that you're eating enough. And so for me, I'm stressed. I'm running, you know, 50 miles a week, not eating, probably the way I should. I know I was definitely under fueling because of that stress factor. Just trying to get through that season of life, taking care of my kids. At that point in my life I was in the pharmaceutical career, so I had a full time career. So trying to balance all of these things, I was losing body fat, which at the time was like, okay, that's kind of cool. You know, I wasn't fully aware of like, okay, I wasn't tracking the macros the way I am now in my life. And so I really didn't know the specifics of how many calories I really was getting in. I was just kind of like eating as I was going. But again, I think my cortisol was so high I wasn't listening to what I really needed. And so I'm doing all of these things, losing the body fat. Like I said, it was cool to be able to like see the muscle that I've been working at kind of Come through and. But at what cost does that come with? I got through the marathon, still had my cycle that entire time. It was regular, but it was after the marathon when I stopped running as much, it was like my body just gave up and I lost my cycle. And I remember losing it the first month. It was like day 45, and I was like, okay, I'm a couple weeks. I know I'm not pregnant, I'm not sexually active right now. Like, what's going on? And then another month came, another month came. I just knew, like, okay, I've lost my period. And I knew it was probably from marathon training, but I thought, you know what, I'm just gonna eat more and it's gonna come back. I started eating more, it still was not coming back. And I started looking more into period loss and reading that it can sometimes take years to come back after a period loss. A lot of women experience this. And so I started putting my body in above maintenance. I started gaining body fat. And just to kind of put it in perspective, when I ran the marathon, I think I was at like 9 or 10% body fat.

[Louise Nicola]

Oh my gosh.

[Samantha Christine]

So usually when women dip below 13, 14%, that's when you usually see cycle issues.

[Louise Nicola]

I think what I try and maintain for everyone that I speak to is for females around a 19 to 23.

[Samantha Christine]

That is where my body is at in a healthy state. Like, I sit at around 18, 19%. If I'm not like trying to get to like an aesthetic, you know, mindset to try to lose body fat, that is healthy, that is where women need to be at. Because of where I was at in my life, there were so many different factors that kind of led me to that point. So for me, I was like, I have to get it back up. And so I intentionally started eating more, really focusing on nutrient dense foods, high protein, not being afraid of carbs, adding those back in as well. And eventually over time, I brought it back up to around 20% body fat, gained 10 pounds.

[Louise Nicola]

Well, it does take a long time.

[Samantha Christine]

Yeah, it took me, but it's one of those things too, where a lot of the ten pounds it went into muscle, which is really kind of cool too.

[Louise Nicola]

So there's a name for it. I mean, I know it's amenorrhea, but there is also, I think it's like hypothalamic pituitary amenorrhea. I think there is a word prior to amenorrhea as well that is mainly experienced amongst athletes like marathon runners, et cetera. But it is a problem. And it actually now what I'm the reason why I wanted to bring it up because it is a problem now with the rise of GLP1s and women under fueling and becoming somewhat what's skinny fat and losing their period. And then this is actually adding to the cascade of infertility issues because evidently, like in order to ovulate and have a healthy period, FSH and LH need to be present at least. Absolutely.

[Samantha Christine]

It's so important. And for me, it took 13 months to get that period back.

[Louise Nicola]

And were you doing DEXA scans or are you going really deep into that to understand body fat percentage, fat mass?

[Samantha Christine]

I had a few DEXA scans. I also have like a scale at home which, you know, says it's 98% accurate to that of a DEXA scan. But I was looking into things, you know, beyond just the ratio of muscle and body fat, other metrics as well. And for me though, I knew that like our cycles like body fat. So for me, I was like, I just got to get my body fat up. And so it took time.

[Louise Nicola]

And then after that, what was the process of refueling for a while?

[Samantha Christine]

It was just like, I'm just going to eat. You know, obviously when I hit my protein, like that was a big thing, was like 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. You know, I try to aim for around like 130 grams of protein. I'm obviously now at a point in my training where I'm, I'm hitting 160. Everything looks different. But for me it was just like eating enough calories, tracking it. My, my fitness pal. I had calculated my macros so kind of knew where I needed to be at as far as maintenance calories was tracking that. And then like I said, like slowly over time started gaining weight, started building up my body fat percentage and got my period back. Then at that point for a few months that was past January, I started kind of tweaking my macros a little bit and being a little bit more specific to now I'm at a healthy state, but I also kind of want to work on body comp as well.

[Louise Nicola]

Yeah. And I think that that's, that's a lot of the things that you're doing right now, which is what is it that you actually do now?

[Samantha Christine]

Yeah, so a lot of different things. Kind of like you too. I feel like you're just a woman that does it all. So I have my podcast, the Empower Podcast. I have a fitness app called Empower that came first have one on one coaching and then I do a lot of content creation. I do, I like to keep it very real on my social media and for me, I think about when I went through my own health and wellness recomp in my life. It was because I felt empowered and motivated by other creators that I saw that shared their journey. So for me that's so important to be able to share those real life things like the behind the scenes. And so I like to do that with my following and community and then I work with a lot of great brands that I believe in.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

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[Louise Nicola]

Something that I love and admire is that you're so true to everything that you do on a daily basis, which I think is what more, you know, what women need. Because what I'm finding out as I veer now towards moving more into the female aspect, especially when it comes to Alzheimer's disease and surrounding myself with more women to empower them to take control of their brain health, I'm figuring out that we all are going through the same thing to an extent. Every single person is going through something, every single woman. And the equality of your relationships will dictate how you actually approach different areas of your life. And I find that. I find that so, like, I find that really amazing. And I've only just now started to surround myself with groups of women who are doing the same thing as me, who are on the same, you know, journey as me, who love to do the same things as me, as opposed to when I was in my 20s when it was all about going out and maybe, you know, drinking. And now it's about, you know, I had dinner with a group of women two nights ago back in New York and the dinner was set for 6pm and it was the happiest thing that I've ever seen in my life.

[Samantha Christine]

That sounds like my kind of dinner. I. I love that you mentioned that and I want to touch on that for a second because I feel like the older that I've become, that's something that has really resonated with me, is the quality over quantity for me. I feel like specifically the past five years of my life has completely look different than the prior five. You know, I went through a divorce. I have two beautiful, sweet sons. Different career now. But with that came a lot of finding my identity and tweaking some things in my life to be my most fulfilled state. I removed a lot of social things that I knew weren't bettering me and my health and who I wanted to become in the long run. Some of that include people.

[Louise Nicola]

Oh, yeah.

[Samantha Christine]

Cutting people out that I knew weren't serving me to be my best version of myself. Lifestyle things. Alcohol. I cut out alcohol a few years ago, have never felt better. Now I'll have an occasional glass of champagne at like a wedding or a celebration or something. Like that, but like socially drinking week, day to day or week to week, that it's not present my life and prioritizing myself. And I see that amongst so many women in my community who are moms or wives that are trying to juggle it all and it's. They're not prioritizing themselves. And that's something that I share with so many women because there's that guilt behind there, which I understand. I feel the guilt at times too. But I think that we all need to come to an agreement that when we fill our cup, meaning ourselves, we are better women, we're better moms, we're better wives, we're better friends, we're better sisters, whatever that may be, because we are fueling ourselves with intention.

[Louise Nicola]

But what does that mean actually choosing yourself? Because what I've actually heard is that women who have got children and who have got a husband and who work feel guilty going to the gym because they feel guilty for leaving their children when they think, okay, I'm at the gym, I'm really selfish, I should be at home with my child or doing this. Is that what you mean by choosing yourself?

[Samantha Christine]

Absolutely. And I have been there and trust me, I still am there. I'm out of town right now and leaving my kids this morning was so hard. But what they're going to be able to see is a mom who is helping spread the good word to hundreds and thousands of women out there and being an example. So we have to kind of reframe our mindset. And I think a question that women need to ask their themselves in that moment when they feel that way is what do I need to be the best mom to my kids? And sometimes it is gonna be that gym session. Sometimes it might need to be a trip to Target. Sometimes it might need to be going to get my nails done. Or guess what? Sometimes it might need to be 10 minutes in the car of just doing nothing in your driveway, and that's okay.

[Louise Nicola]

Speaking of identity and motherhood, as women, we're told to bounce back after pregnancy, look a certain way on Instagram, train like an athlete, and still be high performing in our careers and families. It's this invisible pressure cooker that I've noticed amongst women, especially on social media. Your journey as an athlete and now coaching women, what do you think is the biggest unspoken mental burden that female athletes, or actually females carry?

[Samantha Christine]

Comparing ourselves to one another. And I think that with social media, we see so much of that. We all have to look at ourselves and just take a moment and just Know that we're all bio individual the way our bodies are built. It's not gonna be like you and I, we're both completely different. So what works for you probably is not gonna work for me. Vice versa. I think that we need to stop comparing ourselves to one another. I think when it comes to postpartum, that's a big one. That's very important to me too because I've been there and I know a lot of my community has been there. We have to look at our bodies and know it took nine to 10 months to create this human life. And we saw over the course of those nine, ten months, our bodies completely transform. We can't expect to have the sweet baby, go back to the doctor's office at our six week appointment and be back to normal life. Like that's not reality. But guess what? That's okay. What we can do is make intentional decisions every single day, create daily habits that will lead to long term optimal health and results and everybody's timeline is gonna look different.

[Louise Nicola]

I couldn't agree with that more. I do think that we are burdened with social pressure and looking on Instagram and seeing somebody else and actually making up a story about who they are. Cause often actually I have done that same. And then you meet them in person, you're like, oh dear Lord, that was a completely different story. And you compare yourself to an imaginary character on Instagram. And it does get to you because you do wanna be the best and you wanna keep proving to yourself. And as I'm getting older, I'm getting more. There's just more things that arise that you have to take care of. I mean, I can't tell you how many people I've interviewed on the one question, which is how do I build muscle and how do I lose fat and do it in the healthy way? I'm guessing that's probably the bulk of what you do.

[Samantha Christine]

That's the number one question I get from any client or potential client.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

And what is the answer?

[Samantha Christine]

Here's the thing, my number one thing is you have to be eating enough. Because we know if we're not eating enough, our body is going to quite literally go into starvation mode. Our metabolism is going to stall. We're not going to be able to quite literally burn the amount of calories and also build that muscle mass that we want.

[Louise Nicola]

So we need to eat more. We need to eat more to lose fat.

[Samantha Christine]

Yeah, protein is a huge focus. That's. I know a lot of mixed thoughts and voice on the Internet about like protein Is it it as important as we think? But I think if you're wanting to build muscle, it's obviously going to be the most important. So we want to be getting enough protein. And for me, kind of my rule of thumb is 0.8 to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. Anytime that I'm really trying to work on body recomp.

[Louise Nicola]

And that's a lot I weighed myself because I use the metric system, so I'm in kilos, but I'm 145 pounds.

[Samantha Christine]

Okay.

[Louise Nicola]

So that means I have to have 145 grams of protein a day.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

That's a lot.

[Samantha Christine]

It is. And I always say for women that realize they're not hitting that at all, like Maybe they're hitting 75 grams of protein and they're like, I have to be eating double of that. Let's just focus on 100 grams minimum. Yeah, let's start there.

[Louise Nicola]

Okay.

[Samantha Christine]

So that's kind of, kind of where I say, like, if you're not getting any protein in, let's just try to hit that where.

[Louise Nicola]

Yeah. The biggest bang for your buck would probably do it in the morning, right?

[Samantha Christine]

I think so, yeah. Because I think it's one of those things where if you can really prioritize getting that protein in early in the day, it's less that you have to try to tackle.

[Louise Nicola]

Do women actually struggle with maintaining like efficient calories? Because all of my group of friends are trying asking me, how do I stop eating? I can't stop eating, so.

[Samantha Christine]

So that's what you find?

[Louise Nicola]

That's what I find amongst my group of friends.

[Samantha Christine]

Okay, gotcha. What I see is the majority of women aren't eating. Again, a lot of my community are moms that are, you know, either stay at home moms, which I believe is the hardest job in the world, or they're juggling family and working moms that they look at 2pm and look back at the morning and they're like, gosh, I haven't even eaten yet today. Kind of one of those situations. So I think it's both sides. Now I say if you're in the position where you're like, well, maybe I don't know if I am eating too much or too little. I think tracking is one of the best tools that you can do.

[Louise Nicola]

Yeah. You do talk about blood work a lot. And I want to know like, you know, after we get through this nutrition segment, I do want to know what you're doing blood work wise, how often you're getting it done, why you do you know why you're empowered to be getting blood work? It's one of the things that I'm pushing so much onto my audience.

[Samantha Christine]

Blood work is quite literally the reason why I got my period back. I was able to kind of see a, you know, broader overview and that really dialed into, like, the specifics of where my hormones were at, but also kind of where I was deficient when it came to whether it was vitamin D or iron. And was really able to focus on a supplements that I can add in my daily lifestyle to help, but also what kind of nutrient dense foods that maybe will better serve me.

[Louise Nicola]

We'll get there in a second. I want to know more about nutrition. Okay. One thing that a lot of women, as you mentioned, are scared of is carbohydrates and probably fats. Let's just stick to 100 grams of protein. How many carbohydrates? How many grams?

[Samantha Christine]

Well, I can tell you what I'm.

[Louise Nicola]

Doing right now, by the way, if you can't see Sam, she's tiny.

[Samantha Christine]

Oh, get out of here. Well, thank you. I am eating kind of around, around 2,000 calories a day. I'm eating 160 grams of protein, about 160 grams of carbs. And gosh, the fats.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

I can't remember exactly, but just knowing.

[Louise Nicola]

This is another, like, added, like, mental stress, like, for me. So I actually, for the first time, I downloaded this AI tracking app.

[Samantha Christine]

Oh, nice.

[Louise Nicola]

And so you take a photo. And I took a photo. Literally, I knew what was on my plate.

[Samantha Christine]

So you all your macros.

[Louise Nicola]

I just did it for fun. I made, I had three full eggs and one egg white. And so, and I knew and it picked up on it. I was like, that's great.

[Samantha Christine]

Isn't that cool?

[Louise Nicola]

But I haven't done it since.

[Samantha Christine]

Yeah. So I think that. And I've heard that app, that's a great app. MyFitnessPal has a lot of foods in there as well too.

[Louise Nicola]

But who's got the time to be tracking this every day?

[Samantha Christine]

Well, and that's the thing. You don't have to do it every day, all day, for the rest of your life. But I think that if you can dedicate and invest just two weeks of tracking, it's gonna open your eyes to a lot of what you're doing. And it can be a great tool to figure out, like, okay, a, I'm either not eating enough protein, I'm not eating enough carbs, I'm not eating enough fats, because we know all of those are very important. Especially when it comes to hormone health. And maybe here's what I can do to change that. And just those two weeks of tracking can open your eyes to a lot of different things. Fats like avocado, avocado, olive oil, grass fed butter, nuts, you know, those are all very important when it comes to hormone health.

[Louise Nicola]

Right now we're living in a world where people are prescribing to different diets, whether it's pescatarian, whether it's plant based, whether it's carnivore. How do you feel about all of that?

[Samantha Christine]

I don't like it.

[Louise Nicola]

Why?

[Samantha Christine]

I don't think that we need to be stereotyping diets. I think that it's okay to kind of cross over into different fields and different diets. And guess what, that's going to change depending on where you're at in life too. For me it's like I have found through trial and error foods that I know my body likes the most. And it's like I'm going to stick with that. And depending on the season I'm in, sometimes that changes and that's okay.

[Louise Nicola]

I'm a proponent of whey protein powder.

[Samantha Christine]

Yes, I do too.

[Louise Nicola]

I'm not on, you know, I get so often. Why do you want to put that in your body? And it's fake. It's like, what are you talking about? Like everything is a chemical. Every, like the air that we breathe are chemicals. And by the way, when I, when I'm having my protein, I'm sticking to grass fed. Like it is so clean, it's very pure. And I used to have plant based protein just because it was thicker and it would mix well. And now reading these studies on the bioavailability of whey protein. Actually, by the way, did you know that even if you're getting a, let's just say you're getting 30 grams of whey protein, you're not actually getting all of that amount of protein when you ingest it just because of the. But I didn't know that.

[Samantha Christine]

It's interesting and I didn't know that either until this past year. It's very interesting.

[Louise Nicola]

So I started opting in just to help me out a bit with aminos.

[Samantha Christine]

Yes. And I love aminos and like. And to your point too, making sure that you're hitting that full protein synthesis to get all those nine essential amino acids is very important. But that's why I think adding aminos and too is, is super helpful. Do you like a certain kind or.

[Louise Nicola]

It was. It's just the key on aminos.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

Let's be honest, even people who eat well don't often get enough fruits and vegetables. I'm one of them. Some mornings it's eggs, coffee, emails, and then I realize I haven't had anything green all day. I hate when that happens. So I started using field of greens. It's basically the nutritional equivalent of checking a few essential boxes. Real fruits and vegetables, non synthetic powders and so much more. It helps me keep inflammation down and energy steady, especially when travel and work throws off my meals. I've been doing this long enough to know that small, consistent habits matter more than the extreme ones. Greens powders have been in my life from I think the age of 21 and I'll continue to have them and source the best ones available. So if you want to try it, go to fieldofgreens.com and use code neuro to get 20% off. It's an easy way to back up your biology. Fieldofgreens.com and use Code neuro to get 20% off. We've gotten so good about talking about health and fitness and nutrition, but we are missing the talk on mental health. Things such as ocd, anxiety, intrusive thoughts, they don't just show up on blood tests, but they can derail your life just as much. No C D makes getting help so much easier. They specialize in ERP therapy which is the gold standard for ocd. And it's all online, it's covered by insurance, it's backed with real licensed therapists and you actually can measure progress. What I like most is how accessible it is because you can literally book a call, talk to somebody and start therapy the same week. No waiting lists, no stigma. So if any of this sounds like you, go to learn.noc d.com neuro and book a free 15 minute call. Like you don't have to figure this out alone. And I hate that we don't talk about mental health enough because mental health disorders are on the rise, especially amongst midlife women. You don't have to be alone on this journey. Go to learn.nocd.com neuro you know, I.

[Louise Nicola]

Don'T have any vegan friends.

[Samantha Christine]

I'm trying to think if I do.

[Louise Nicola]

And I don't mean to be discriminative in any way. I actually had one of my, one of my closest friends, Dr. Casey means there was a funny story because we were all together two weeks ago and we shared a story of how we met and I knew that when we, you know, we were becoming friends I invited her over for dinner and she was a vegan and she came over for dinner and she left a carnivore because. Yeah, she came over and I said, you converted her. I'm so sorry. I said, I cooked you lamb. And she said, I don't eat meat. That's incredible. And it was snowed in. It was during COVID It was snowed in. She had nowhere else to go. There was nothing open. I said, you're going to have to eat my food. She ate it. She was starving and she has. She's like, this is the first time ever eating. This is unbelievable. She never went back. So she turned, she started eating meat. And I loved. I'm so proud of that story.

[Samantha Christine]

Well, that's amazing because I feel like that it's hard to turn vegans to the other side. But I will say, like, I my meat, I love protein. So I don't think that I could ever be like, vegan. Like, that would be so hard to get the amount of protein that I hit every day by being vegan. Unless I'm just supplementing all day long.

[Louise Nicola]

What is the, like, the craziest thing that you've heard when it comes to diets and food? Have you heard anything really wild from one of your clients and you thought, how did you come to this conclusion?

[Samantha Christine]

Goodness, that's a great question.

[Louise Nicola]

Only because I was just thinking about meat and I've had quite a number of people who say the craziest things. Oh, meat stays in your body for.

[Samantha Christine]

I don't know, like, makes you bulk. Protein makes you bulky, something. Probably one like the one I hear that's most common like that I would love to debunk, you know, is, oh, I don't want to eat a lot of protein because it'll make me bulky. And my message to the people saying that is it's actually going to get you tone to what you want to be.

[Louise Nicola]

I feel like there's this bidirectional process as well that happens. Like the happier, like when you're eating well, it makes you happier and motivated to keep eating well. And it's like this bidirectional. Then when you're eating like crap, you feel like crap and it just keeps going. It's in this cycle. You gotta break the cycle.

[Samantha Christine]

You have to break the cycle. And it's kind of like working out too. Like, it's so much easier to keep it going, like once you're in it. Yeah, right. Like, I'm lifting every day. Like, it's just part of my Routine. I'm consistent with it. It's a lifestyle versus, like, not doing it or, like, going on vacation for a couple weeks and then trying to get back into it. Like, it's so hard to get back into it. Right. And the same thing goes with nutrition. Like, when you're meal prepping, when you're prioritizing whole foods that are nutrient dense and giving your body what it really wants and needs, it's a lot easier to stay with it. Also something, too. A lot of my clients that start incorporating these types of foods and, you know, fueling them, their bodies nutritionally with intention, they start craving less of the sugars and the artificial ingredients that are in a lot of foods and, like, the chips and just things like that that aren't fueling their body.

[Louise Nicola]

Well, did you know that there is a strong correlation between the diet that you eat during pregnancy and the psychiatric makeup of your unborn child?

[Samantha Christine]

No, but I would love to hear more on that.

[Louise Nicola]

Oh, absolutely. You can actually predict the way that your child will develop neurally and their psychology if you are just dependent on what you eat. For example, there's been a fascinating study shown between the correlations of an obese mother who is pregnant and gestationally passing those obesity genes onto her child.

[Samantha Christine]

Oh, my gosh.

[Louise Nicola]

Yeah. And now I'm seeing that there's even more research going into the psychological makeup that you are during pregnancy and actually passing that down gestationally to your unborn child as well.

[Samantha Christine]

So it's like, fueling your body with, like, more whole foods and, like, cutting out the artificial ingredients and sweeteners, like, that's gonna better serve them.

[Louise Nicola]

But also the mental state that you're in during that period as well, which I think is, again, part of that cycle.

[Samantha Christine]

And I hate to, like, I'm not trying to compare, obviously, love both my kids. And I think back, though, to the pregnancies I had and the state of life that I was in for my first child versus my second and the difference of their personalities. Like, my oldest, I was not, like, in the healthiest state physically, nutritionally, when I was pregnant with him. Like, did not work out a lot where my second, I meditated every day. I ended up having a home birth with him. I worked out every single day. I ate well. And it's like their personalities are so different. I'm just like.

[Louise Nicola]

It's very interesting on the pregnancy front. You have a 44% increased risk in having a child with a heart defect within the first three months prior to conception just by drinking Alcohol. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. So it was a really interesting study. Binge drinking, which was defined as five or more drinks per sitting, was related to a 52% higher likelihood of birth defects for men and 16% for women, which I thought was so interesting.

[Samantha Christine]

It's very interesting.

[Louise Nicola]

But just along this line, I know that we've gone off track and we're talking about fetal development and pregnancy, but we are speaking to women right now. One of the most fascinating studies that I've ever read in this area was that exercise alters the genes of your unborn child by altering the chemistry of the DNA in the sperm and egg cells, which is so, so important that you are maintaining a healthy lifestyle in the period of the three months prior to conception. Because those three months, the way that you eat, the way that you think, the way that you exercise is literally shaping the DNA of your future child.

[Samantha Christine]

That's incredible, isn't it? It's so interesting.

[Louise Nicola]

Yeah.

[Samantha Christine]

Wow. Okay. So for anybody that's, like, trying to get pregnant or, you know, working on being as fertile as possible, it's not just for themselves, but it's also for their unborn child.

[Louise Nicola]

So now we're going to take, like, a sharp right turn of something that you've been really, really vocal about, and that is marriages and divorces. And I think we're going through this period now a divorce rate. I don't know what the statistic is. I think Maybe it's around 50, 60%, and that's being very lenient. There's. But the reason I'm bringing this up is because I had a guest on the podcast last week who actually shared a statistic on 73% of marriage breakdowns happen during menopause, and they are initiated by the woman. And so I asked my guests, I said, because of the fluctuations in hormones, because you literally are made, you change who you are. And funnily enough, you start to. Actually, there's this woman on Instagram who shares all of these stories about being in the menopause club. Okay, it's comedy, it's wild, but it's hilarious, where she's actually saying symptoms of how much you don't know who you are and how much you don't like your husband. Right. Just because you're getting irritated by small things. And I find that at that point, that's when women either go down one route, which is drinking, eating, falling off the bandwagon, or they take another round. They feel empowered to make a change. Has there been anybody in your circle of clients where you've gotten at that stage of divorce and what, what have you done with them?

[Samantha Christine]

Yeah, no, for sure. There's one client that I can think of and you know, a lot of I remember like her opening was. Is battling like hot flashes and just like a lot of the hormonal things that menopause brings. And I will have to say, like, a lot of my clients are more within that 30 to 45 age range. And I personally like treating or not treating, but I personally like working with those clients better just because menopause is a whole different beast. And it's like I'm not educated enough and I'm not a doctor. Like, I just feel more comfortable treating women not in that stage of life because there are so many different layers to it. But. But with this client that I was treating, it was. It's a lot of self work, I think, through that time too, and like giving yourself grace, right? But I think that you can work on yourself through movement, through proper nutrition. But I think checking in with yourself is so important. I think something too, just like outside of working with that client that I would have to say is when it comes to that moment of divorce which you've been through. Which I've been through, you get to that point and you ask yourself, like, how did this happen? Right? And I have a lot of women that come in my DMs that are like, how did you know it was time? That's the question that I get asked a lot. And my reply is, when the bad days outweighed the good, and when I saw that it was having a negative effect on my children, that's when I knew to walk away. But it's like when you get in that moment and you're like, how did that happen? And it's because I think we did a lot of different reasons. But at the end of the day, it's because that husband and wife, you're on opposite ends. You're not walking together through those seasons of life. Maybe they were way that you were. At some point you started turning directions and walking away from each other. And it could be somebody's fault, right? Somebody did something, or it could just be a natural part of life that you just stepped away and. And the connection was off, whatever that may be. But you get to that point of divorce and yeah, it's like it hits you in the face and you're like, how did this happen? And it's. It can happen quickly too. And you know, like, there's no going back, right? Like a Lot of people say, I think you can work through it. You know, it takes a lot of hard work. But I don't agree with that. I really don't think that every marriage is repairable. I also think that that's okay because knowing where I'm at now, I hate to say this, and this sounds really bad, but I would do it again because it led me to where I'm at, and I've never seen myself happier. I've never seen my kids happier, and I know I'm in a healthier spot. But I will say, and something to that client, too, that was having those marital issues, is have your partner alongside you through it all, if you can, because when you do start turning away and battling it alone, you're gonna end up to a place where I was and so many other women are, where you're too far apart from your partner to make things work again. Again, I don't think that every marriage is that way, but I think that you can get there really quick if you're not careful. So it's like, you don't have to battle it alone, you know, Menopause, I think, is a very scary thing in and of itself.

[Louise Nicola]

Women go through so much.

[Samantha Christine]

We do give ourselves grace.

[Louise Nicola]

So let's now talk about exercise. My favorite subject and what we're going to speak about is. So I promote exercise a lot on Instagram.

[Samantha Christine]

Yes, I love it. I love that you can promote it.

[Louise Nicola]

Because I do believe that it's the holy grail to brain span. You have all heard of lifespan. We've all heard of health span. What about extending your brain health over, you know, until 100? So when I put posts out there explaining the beneficial effects of exercise, I constantly get asked, which is wild to me, what are the best exercises to do? And I'm like, you're squats.

[Samantha Christine]

Yes.

[Louise Nicola]

You're deadlifts. But let me tell you quite transparently, squats and deadlifts are actually not easy in terms of hip hinging and in terms of proper technique. I think it's. Actually, I would love to do a masterclass with somebody else, because I'm not the master on how to squat and deadlift. That's all I want to do.

[Samantha Christine]

It's so much harder than people think. And that's why I think so many people get injured, too, because it takes time to get, you know, if you're talking about a back squat to, you know, squat and let your hips release and to get to a proper placement in a healthy way without injuring yourself.

[Louise Nicola]

Where would you start. And I know you're only working with, you know, you know, you work mainly with younger women, but let's just say where do we start? Because there's still 30 year olds who are not in the gym working. Absolutely.

[Samantha Christine]

Well, first off, I would find like a fitness coach, yeah, personal trainer that knows how to do compound movements. And when I say compound movements, those are going to be like your strict press, your, your back squat. And I don't think we need to stray away from those. I think that those are the movements that we should be doing daily. We can keep it simple right, when it comes to our workouts, but finding a personal trainer or a fitness coach that can show you proper technique, right. And when it comes to the first, you know, however many days of working out or months, like you might be just doing body weight only, and that's okay. I always tell my clients that you don't have to be squatting with like a hundred pounds in the beginning. Like, you'll build up to that. Like, let's learn proper technique and proper form so we do not injure ourselves. So a lot of the times that's with body weight and making sure that we have the proper placement of our body and then we can add in, in that weight and kind of build up as we go. I think the first step is finding a personal trainer to kind of show you that technique.

[Louise Nicola]

Can I tell you what I'm struggling with right now? And it's actually the first thing, I've never experienced this because as I mentioned earlier, I've got so much happening in my life right now. And I'm finding when I go into the gym, I'm just not as strict anymore because my mind is somewhere else. I feel you on that. So I downloaded my first app ever, my first ever fitness app ever. And I was watching it. I used to like look at girls in the gym looking at their abs. I'm like, what are they doing? And I actually, because I felt like I've got a personal trainer, I'm trying to hire a coach.

[Samantha Christine]

That's exciting though.

[Louise Nicola]

I'm trying to hire someone specifically because now I realize I need to offload that cognitive load. And I don't think anyone's actually speaking about that. No, this, there is healing. There is a cognitive load that is placed upon you, both men and women in the gym, to actually be able to contract your muscles. Muscle, it's dependent on your brain. You don't contract your bicep because you're moving your arm. It comes from a signal in the brain called the primary motor cortex, which sits here like a set of headphones across your brain, sends a signal down into the brain stem and then down into your motor neurons that actually tell you to contract. And the stronger mentally you are or the more brain energy you have, the actual. More motor units that you can recruit.

[Samantha Christine]

Interesting.

[Louise Nicola]

More motor units you can recruit, the greater amount of lift that you're going to get. So if we reverse engineer all of that, it means that you need to be able to be. When you're in the gym, be in the goddamn gym. But for Louisa, right now, she's in the gym, but she's on phone. Louisa's in the gym and she's getting an email. She responds to it straight away. Louise is in the gym, she gets a phone call. She answers it, she's on Instagram. And I'm actually so sick of myself. I've actually had enough of myself. So I downloaded this app and it was the best thing ever. But now I need to upgrade and actually get a real human.

[Samantha Christine]

Yeah. No. And that's so helpful just to have that accountability.

[Louise Nicola]

Yeah.

[Samantha Christine]

And it doesn't obviously have to be long term. Like, it'd just be temporary for where you're at. But, like, I totally feel you. Like, a lot of the times when I work up on myself, like, I do find myself checking my phone, things like that, I have to put it on do not disturb. And it's like, this is a priority. Other, like, other things will wait. It's so hard in the moment. You're doing so much. I can only imagine how hard that would be. Are you doing like. Like compound lifts?

[Louise Nicola]

I'm trying to. Yeah.

[Samantha Christine]

Stuff like that.

[Louise Nicola]

So I separate, obviously, upper and lower body. I used to be the whole. I used to be that girl that just focused on one muscle group back when I had all the time in the world.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

So now it's okay.

[Louise Nicola]

We're doing. I do focus solely on glutes one day.

[Samantha Christine]

Yeah.

[Louise Nicola]

Just because I feel like they need their own separate day. But everything else, it's. Yeah. Lower body. Body compound deadlifts. I'm doing squats. I'm doing walking lunges. I'm doing. I'm not doing any plyometrics now because I'm petrified of breaking my knees.

[Samantha Christine]

I try to do, like, what do you call it, a box jump the other day. And.

[Louise Nicola]

Oh, I'm petrified.

[Samantha Christine]

I'm just like, not in that season of life right now. That's okay.

[Louise Nicola]

Yeah. And then when it's upper body, it's upper body and then when it's where we're running, we're running. And I generally do some track sessions outdoors as well. On the, on the east side, east side Highway. There's a running track there.

[Samantha Christine]

Well, I know you being like a triathlete too, you're probably hungry for it.

[Louise Nicola]

Please correct yourself. I was a triathlete.

[Samantha Christine]

I feel like in your blood.

[Louise Nicola]

It's in my blood, yes. And it comes out business wise. But I can tell you I'm gonna do it again. I am nowhere near there.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

Sleep is the ultimate performance enhancing tool that we have. I'm obsessive about sleep because if you don't get that right, nothing else works. You cannot out exercise your sleep. So because I'm into all the gadgets, I have recently been experimenting with mouth tape at night. I've been using dream recovery strips and it's been surprisingly effective. It keeps me breathing through my nose, which means better oxygenation, deeper sleep and I wake up feeling calm instead of groggy. It's such a small thing, but it's made a huge difference in my recovery. So if you're already tracking sleep, add this variable. It's fascinating. You'll actually see the difference in your data and how rested you feel the next morning. I also started including this because there is so much data to suggest that some of the earliest signs of brain fog and cognitive decline can be low oxygenation which occurs during sleep. So I'm trying to get as much oxygen as possible. If you want to check out these strips, you can learn [e-mail] use code NEURO15 for 15% off your order at checkout. I started using calm in moments when I could feel my nervous system tipping into overload. Before travels, deadlines or just those nights when my brain refuses to switch off, I use CALM. I use specifically their 10 minute breathing exercise. My highest stress point is around 2pm when I started including breath work into my day to day practice for only 10 minutes, I saw a marketable difference in my heart rate variability as seen on my oura ring or on my whoop strap. I love Matthew McConaughey's voice by the way. So I have been incorporating his into my daily work and within minutes my heart rate slows, my shoulders drop and I remember that stillness is a skill. I never used to be this way in my 20s. Now in my 30s and at the peak of my career, I can tell you that switching off a 10 minutes a day is so important and doing it with Matthew McConaughey's voice is just the cherry on top. I know the ladies know what I'm talking about. So if you're trying to bring more calm into your evenings or in the day, head to calm.com Louisa for 40% off Calm Premium. It's probably the best investment you can make in your nervous system.

[Samantha Christine]

What did you do?

[Louise Nicola]

Olympic distance. Yeah. Olympic.

[Samantha Christine]

Okay.

[Louise Nicola]

Yeah.

[Samantha Christine]

That's amazing.

[Louise Nicola]

So swim, bike, run and transition. And I did this. We used to do. I used to do around, around 10 qualifying races per year.

[Samantha Christine]

Oh my gosh.

[Louise Nicola]

Which is very heavy. And then we'd just train all year for those qualifiers.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

Maybe I did 12 during the, during.

[Louise Nicola]

That season because you had to, you had to, you had to gain points to gain recognition.

[Samantha Christine]

That's incredible.

[Louise Nicola]

So we were doing. There was one week I did 400 km on the bike. I did around 60 kilometer run. Swimming was my very. I was first out of the water for swimming. So I had a very strong.

[Samantha Christine]

Did you swim growing up?

[Louise Nicola]

Yeah.

[Samantha Christine]

Okay.

[Louise Nicola]

So I was very strong at swimming. We. I loved the water. I could swim right now every day.

[Samantha Christine]

I just started learning how to sim like a year and a half ago. I'm about to start training for an iron man.

[Louise Nicola]

Good luck.

[Samantha Christine]

I. I need all of it.

[Louise Nicola]

Good luck.

[Samantha Christine]

I did an Olympic distance.

[Louise Nicola]

Yeah.

[Samantha Christine]

Last year and it was humbling. But I'm like we're. And I'm doing seven. Let me clarify. Excuse me. 70.3 Iron Man.

[Louise Nicola]

Yeah.

[Samantha Christine]

That's a full.

[Louise Nicola]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I had some friends doing that too. But you know, one thing we weren't doing back then was there was no availability for tracking. You know, we used to. The polar watch just came in. So I'm very huge on tracking right now. We never did blood work like we do the regular. Like I'd go to my PCP back then.

[Samantha Christine]

Right.

[Louise Nicola]

Yeah.

[Samantha Christine]

She's like, yeah, yeah, you're in range.

[Louise Nicola]

Yeah. She just. Like the regular metabolic panels back then we were. We weren't doing half the amount of things. Like the Garmin watch was not a thing back then. So we'd have to measure how many times we'd go around the 400 meter track. So things are a lot different now. But I did want to go back to. I did mention earlier we'd talk about blood work. Yes. What are you doing? I want to know every test that you are doing.

[Samantha Christine]

I'm doing. So I go through joy and blokes and I just do like the full, advanced, comprehensive.

[Louise Nicola]

They're not just hormones, right. They're everything.

[Samantha Christine]

They're Everything, which is important too, because I've always had higher cholesterol. And I worked in the cardiovascular field and I specifically worked focusing on cholesterol and LDL specifically. And like my years of working in that field, it was just like, LDL is bad cholesterol, high cholesterol is bad. And it's like now that I'm taking more of a holistic approach with my health, like, and I'm sure you can say it too, like you need some kind of LDL for your brain. Right.

[Louise Nicola]

I think when it comes to cholesterol, I think the nomenclature is really important. Cholesterol and lipids tell a story. Everyone's. Everyone is different and it really is dependent on what you're looking for. So when it comes to cholesterol as a whole, dietary cholesterol actually doesn't cross the blood brain barrier. The molecule is too, too big. And there's a lot of people telling everyone on Instagram, but you need avocados for your brain. That's not true. Cholesterol molecules don't pass the blood brain barrier when it comes to LDL specifically or even apob. Let's talk about LDL C, for example. We actually want to maintain a LDL of less than 60 if we're trying to optimize for optimal brain health.

[Samantha Christine]

Can you go too low from what you've said you can.

[Louise Nicola]

To go under 60 would be a hard task.

[Samantha Christine]

We even generally that's not detrimental to the brain.

[Louise Nicola]

It probably isn't detrimental because your brain makes its own cholesterol, right? Yeah.

[Samantha Christine]

So having that there.

[Louise Nicola]

Yeah. If it didn't, then we'd probably have a mechanism of shuttling it in somehow it makes its own cholesterol and it's transported throughout the brain. And that's actually why there is one specific risk gene called APOE4, which is, have got APOE2, 3 and 4 and they're responsible for lipid metabolism and lipid transportation in the brain. And people with APOE 4 have a compromised transportation in the brain of lipids.

[Samantha Christine]

So interesting. That's why they have that.

[Louise Nicola]

That's why they've got an increased risk of getting it back to blood work. What I think is really important for everyone to know is you're doing all of your testing and now we have. We actually don't have to go to the doctor because we can go and get blood work and I don't have know with the one you're getting. Are they explaining to you? Yeah, yeah.

[Samantha Christine]

So it's all at home, which is really nice and then you meet with a provider, and they kind of walk you through everything, and they kind of give you, like, obviously, a more, like, natural approach for first of, like, hey, you know, maybe add some omegas in, or we need to raise your vitamin D supplement here, iron, whatever that may be. And then with the hormones, like, the same thing, like, I always. My approach, especially when it comes to the hormones, is like, like trying a more natural approach if you can supplement. But, like, I started progesterone now. I did just go straight there. And so I'm trying that out, and I'm. I'm trying to figure out how I feel.

[Louise Nicola]

Exogenous progesterone. And you're not even in perimenopause.

[Samantha Christine]

But my progesterone was very low.

[Louise Nicola]

Okay.

[Samantha Christine]

Very low.

[Louise Nicola]

Okay. And that could be an accumulation of what happened in the past.

[Samantha Christine]

Correct. And I think, too, of, like, losing my period for 13 months. I think that my body. I mean, what. That was just in January when I got it back. So it's like my body is still probably, you know, healing in a sense. And so I'm trying to figure that out with my. My hormones. But, like, it's just. It's changed so much of, like, just my outlook on, like, my body. And I think it's really cool, too, being able to, like, do that blood work and see all the specifics from, like, every field of, like, hormones, cardiovascular, endocrine, like, all of it, and being able to know, like, where my body's at and, like, being that in tune, it's just like you feel like you know your body more and you want to help it out more. More.

[Louise Nicola]

Yeah. You can't optimize what you don't measure. You know what I think is really interesting? This might be triggering. I rarely feel fatigued. I rarely feel unbalanced. I've never experienced, really, brain fog or I don't get headaches. It's just your ways, I feel, you know. But there was a period where I was like. And right now I travel a lot, so my. My testosterone is low, and it came back as 11, which is low for.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

A female of my age range.

[Louise Nicola]

And. And my DHEA was also low. So instead of going straight to testosterone therapy via a cream, I actually went and tried to optimize it via dhea. And for anybody listening, that's on a lab panel. It's DHEAS sulfate, and it's a precursor for testosterone. And I started supplementing, and I've seen, like, great benefits. I'm actually going to do my Blood work next. Next week.

[Samantha Christine]

Oh, that's amazing. Okay, well, same. So I did the same thing. My testosterone was low and I did the same thing. And I've seen it go up, which is really cool.

[Louise Nicola]

From dhea. What do you. How many milligrams?

[Samantha Christine]

I'm not exactly sure. So I've been. I do their, like, smart supplement pack.

[Louise Nicola]

Okay.

[Samantha Christine]

Where they kind of like customize it for you. Well, it's, you know, but it's like.

[Louise Nicola]

All the pills for you and I because we're the same age. It should be 180 at minimum.

[Samantha Christine]

Okay.

[Louise Nicola]

I'll have to double check DHEA. And so I've started supplementing with 75 grams. 75 milligrams per day, but dosed over 25. 25, 25. Because you can't take it all at once.

[Samantha Christine]

Oh, interesting.

[Louise Nicola]

Yeah. So, like getting really specific with that.

[Samantha Christine]

Okay, I need to look into that. Do you. I'm sorry, I'm still so intrigued that you said that you're never fatigued. Do you just get like, really good sleep at night?

[Louise Nicola]

No, I'm a great sleeper. My mother is too. She's a champion.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

If there was a Sleep Olympics, the.

[Louise Nicola]

Gold medal would go to my mother. Okay. I'm envious of her.

[Samantha Christine]

She's amazing.

[Louise Nicola]

She's gold standard of sleep. But I sleep really well too. And so I woke up at 3am and I couldn't get to sleep again. And so I ended up that day. I was fatigued that day. But generally I. I just feel.

[Samantha Christine]

That's great.

[Louise Nicola]

Great.

[Samantha Christine]

You're doing something right.

[Louise Nicola]

I think I do, compared to the general public, probably do abnormal things. I do get a once a week iv.

[Samantha Christine]

Okay.

[Louise Nicola]

Yeah. So I'm religious.

[Samantha Christine]

Cocktail with a few different things.

[Louise Nicola]

I'm doing a cocktail of. Yeah. Multitude of things. I'm also doing right now, I'm experimenting with nicotinamide riboside, a precursor to nad. NAD has been, you know, marketed as the holy grail of youth. However, if you have a look at these studies, it shows that even if you have it through an iv, it doesn't penetrate the cell. So people. So a lot of women, actually. I really want everyone to know this. You are wasting your money by doing NAD or even taking NAD supplements.

[Samantha Christine]

I'm taking NAD supplements right now.

[Louise Nicola]

She's wasting her money.

[Samantha Christine]

So is it just like the bioavailability is not good?

[Louise Nicola]

Sopco, which is a great company that is dedicated towards having a look at the quality of supplements that are sold. They actually did. And I'll send you the report, they tested the top selling NAD supplements on the market and they found that almost all of them had zero NAD in them. So I don't know what you're taking.

[Samantha Christine]

That's crazy.

[Louise Nicola]

I'll send you the report.

[Samantha Christine]

Yes, and I would love to know that. So there's no way of. No form of nad. Plus that's gonna.

[Louise Nicola]

What you're doing is you're raising NAD levels in your plasma, but that's actually not getting into the cell. And even. And so that's why people opt in for the NAD IVs. But it's true for the NAD IVs. It's not going intracellularly. It's just raising plasma NAD levels. So what you want to do. Interesting.

[Podcast Advertiser/Host]

And it's, it's.

[Louise Nicola]

It upsets me. That is upsetting because there's still losing out their money.

[Samantha Christine]

I was about to say they're very expensive.

[Louise Nicola]

So what does work is nicotinamide riboside, which is the prec nad. So I'm doing that and that has an effect.

[Samantha Christine]

What form is that in?

[Louise Nicola]

It's in an IV as well. But I'm also taking when I don't do the iv because I only do the IV once a week. I'm taking it during the week. I take it every single day. Yeah.

[Samantha Christine]

Interesting.

[Louise Nicola]

No affiliations, but I'm taking true Niagen. I think it's 1,000 milligrams. So I don't know whether it's the NAD that's doing it. I mean, I don't know whether it's the IV that's giving me, making me feel great. I don't know whether whether it's the. I'm great with my food. I don't know whether it's the sleep. I don't know whether it's the fact that I don't drink alcohol.

[Samantha Christine]

Could be a combination of it all. I think alcohol is a big one. My sleep's gotten so much better since I cut out alcohol.

[Louise Nicola]

So it's all of that. But what I do want to put out there is that I was so unaware. And maybe you know this. I didn't know that there were so many women that had so many issues and complaints in those areas. I'm sure you've heard them right.

[Samantha Christine]

Yeah. With the sleep and fatigue, everything, like.

[Louise Nicola]

What are some other things that you've heard?

[Samantha Christine]

Hormones, fatigue, just stagnant weight that won't come off. Depression, anxiety. It's like the list goes on.

[Louise Nicola]

Yeah. And there's a reason for everything when it comes to biology. I Love everything that you do. What's next for you? Actually, I want to know why you're doing what you're doing. I know you mentioned it earlier, but like, yeah, like, because you could really go into anything. If you guys haven't seen Sam, Please turn on YouTube. She probably like on a, she's like a real life Barbie doll. You should be on like a, I don't know, know a campaign for, for jewelry or something.

[Samantha Christine]

Literally say the same thing about you. So.

[Louise Nicola]

But instead of doing billboards, you decided to go down the, the route of health and fitness. So.

[Samantha Christine]

Yes.

[Louise Nicola]

What's that about?

[Samantha Christine]

Well, you know, I, like I said earlier, I was in the pharmaceutical industry for a long time and I learned so many amazing things, skill sets and a lot about science. But I've always been very in tune with myself and knew, knew that there is something bigger that I was led to do. I didn't know what it was yet. And then the last few years of my career, I really prayed about it. I started being very intentional. I knew I wasn't, it wasn't pharmaceutical sales. I started looking inward, did a lot of self work, especially around 2020, and was like, what am I passionate about? That's what it's going to be. And I don't know what it is yet, but I'm going to listen to it when it comes in. I started working out more, more eating properly, meditating, like I said, self work. And I saw all of these things I started to do daily turn into habits which turned into a lifestyle and I completely transformed. And when I say like, you hear the phrase of like somebody growing wings and they fly away. It was like I found my identity and flew away and like, but in the best way possible. My anxiety completely went away. I battled diagnosed adhd, battled anxiety, depression. Over the years, I went off all my medication and have never felt more in tune with myself. And I saw the power that came from these lifestyle changes and knew, like, that's what I wanted to do. So I went to nutrition school, I got my personal training license and started basically sharing what I was doing in my own life with others online and sharing my story. I've always been a giver and I love seeing people just thrive. So it's like if I could just help one person, that would be amazing. And I just started sharing more and more. Then a demand of coaching came and which turned into my fitness app, which turned into my podcast. And it's like, I do what I do because I love seeing women find themselves and become the best and strongest version of themselves. Like, it brings me so much happiness. Obviously, my family is a big motivation and inspiration to get up and do what I do every day, but it's the women in my community that are right there with them and my reason why. So it's just amazing. I think that as women, we're such givers when it comes to being a mom and a wife and friends, but it's like there's so much to ourselves that we have to find and uncover. We have one life to live. Why not make it the most?

[Louise Nicola]

Oh my gosh. I love that so much. Thank you so much for being on the podcast, and thank you for empowering all of us women.

[Samantha Christine]

Well, thank you for having me on.