What I Wish I Knew at 44 that I Know at 54

If I could sit down with my 44-year-old self pictured above, I wouldn’t hand her a new workout plan. I wouldn’t tell her to try harder. Or be more disciplined. Or cut more calories. I’d tell her this:

You’re not doing it wrong. You’re just using a strategy that no longer works for your body.

And that realization would have saved me 2 years of frustration.

I Was Doing “All the Right Things”

Flash back to 3 years ago. I was 51. I was laser-focused on qualifying for the Ironman World Champs in Kona. My qualifying race was at the end of June that year, and I was training my ass off.

I was eating “healthy,” just like I always had. I tracked my calories, and ate what I needed to in order to properly fuel the crazy-long sessions. But at the same time, I was trying to stay lean because the lighter I was, the easier it would be to complete a 112-mile bike ride with 7K feet of climbing.

But my body wasn’t responding the way it used to: the fat loss wasn’t happening (in fact, I was gaining inches around my belly), my energy levels were all over the place, recovery between sessions took longer, and the scale DEFINITELY didn’t reflect the work I was doing.

So my 80s-child brain immediately went to: “well, I guess I need to eat less.”

Sound familiar?? 🤔

What I Wish I Knew Sooner

1. Eating less is not the answer after 40

For years, I thought fat loss meant cutting back. But under-eating was actually slowing everything down, especially my metabolism.

What my body actually needed? More protein. More healthy fats. More stress-management.

2. Strength training isn’t optional—it’s essential

I used to think my endurance training was enough. Bottom line: it wasn’t.

Strength training changed a lot for me:

improved body composition
better metabolism
more strength in my training
more confidence in my body

That’s why I tell all of my clients that this is non-negotiable after 40.

3. Hormones matter more than you think

This was the piece NO ONE explained, not even my doctors. In fact, my docs told me that “this was just that time in my life,” and I needed to “just deal with it.”

I refused to accept that. I talked to friends who were either in the midst of perimenopause, or had recently been through it. I learned that it’s no longer about calories in vs. calories out.

Cortisol. Insulin sensitivity. Stress. Recovery. All of it plays a role in:

where your body stores fat
how you recover
how your energy feels day to day

Ignoring this is why so many women feel like their body is “working against them.” And this experience lead me directly to the FASTer Way.

4. Consistency beats perfection (every time)

The all-or-nothing cycle? That’s what keeps you stuck.

I used to think one “off” day or weekend meant I needed to start over. Now I know one meal doesn’t change your body, and one weekend doesn’t undo your progress.

But constantly starting over does.

5. You don’t need more discipline—you need a better plan

This one hits hard because most women I talk to are already disciplined.

They’re just following a plan that:

isn’t built for their body anymore
doesn’t support their hormones
doesn’t fuel their training properly

And no amount of willpower can fix that.

What Changed Everything for Me

After my race in Kona, I consulted with a few close friends about what I was experiencing: consistent weight gain, crappy sleep, and constant fatigue and grumpiness. One explained that my hormones were akin to a rollercoaster, and those peaks and valleys were negatively impacting my life.

Another friend suggested that I try something new: the FASTer Way to Fat Loss program. She explained that the program was built for women experiencing the same things I was, and encouraged intermittent fasting as way to keep the metabolism guessing. By that point, I was literally at my wits end, so I thought “what the hell?!”

That’s when things started to shift. After being on the program for 3 months, I saw a big difference in my body composition. While the scale didn’t move much, I’d lost a considerable amount of fat. My clothes fit like they were supposed to. I also had more energy, was sleeping better, and was racing faster.

If You’re in That Frustrated Phase Right Now…

Are you doing everything “right” but not seeing results?

Is your body not responding like it used to?

Are you tired of starting over?

Trust me when I say this: you’re not broken. You’re just at a different phase in life, and your strategy needs to reflect that.

If I could go back and warn my 44-year old self, I wouldn’t tell her to push harder or to eat less. I’d tell her to educate herself about the impact of hormones after 40, and to not accept that I had to be a lesser person because I was approaching midlife.

If you’d like to hear more about my story, head over to the PODCAST page on this website and download my private pod. Not only will you hear from me, but from some of my closest friends and experts on how to navigate this difficult time in our lives.

And if you’re interested in learning more about the FASTer Way, pls comment at the bottom of this post, or shoot me an email at: [email protected]. I’d love to be able to help.

Thanks for being here, and thanks for reading. 🩷

Paige xo