What I’m Doing Right Now for Inflammation and Strength (Real Life Update)

This subscriber-only episode is a more personal look at what I’m currently working on in my own health.

Lately, I’ve been feeling more inflamed—puffy, off, and not quite like myself. In this episode, I’m sharing what I’m changing right now, using insights from past conversations on the podcast around gut health, nutrition, and strength training.

I talk through:

•  How I’m using what I learned from the Whole30 diet to identify food triggers like gluten and dairy 
•  Why gut health and the microbiome play a key role in inflammation (and what I took away from my conversation with Dr. Kimberly Webster) 
•  Thoughts on supplements and gut support from my episode with Gut Personal
•  Why I’ve shifted my approach to strength training—and why I’m no longer doing it alone 

This is not a prescription—it’s a real-life snapshot of what I’m doing right now, what’s working, and what I’m paying attention to.

If you’ve been feeling inflamed, stuck, or unsure where to start, this episode will help you simplify and refocus on what actually matters.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

This is a recording for subscribers of Wellness After 40. In our subscriber episodes, I'll go a little deeper about subjects that I've been learning about through the podcast and how they often personally affect me. Today's episode is more of a reflection. I've been thinking a lot about my own health lately, specifically inflammation and strength. And I've been applying things that I've learned from podcast episodes and really great guests to my own life. So I have been thinking a lot about inflammation lately. And I've noticed that in the last handful of months, my body has gone back to more fluid retention. Like I feel very puffy. I have like inflamed esophagus. I feel like a little bit more congested. And I thought I was just a cold, but I've known in the past that I have a lot of acid reflux. And I've spoken with my doctor often about like how to mitigate that. And their remedy was taking an over-the-counter prelisect every day. And what I know from so much of my own personal research is that for me, a lot of this inflammation is food related. So I went back to square one and tried to dial back in my nutrition. I know from the past I've done different types of nutritional programs. Like one program I've done on and off for many years that's just really helped me a lot has been the whole 30 diet. It really gave me a lot of feedback on my body. So if you're unfamiliar with what whole 30 is, is whole 30 is 30 days of eating only whole foods. It's easier to say what you can eat than what you can't. So you can have all meats, fish, nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables. You can't have dairy, wheat, legumes, so like nut or excuse me, peanuts, beans. You can't have any type of soy, corn, added sugars. I think if I can remember right, that's about it. So I know from doing this 30-day challenge where I've eliminated certain list of foods and only eaten some foods, I feel great. Like I feel clear. I don't have the congestion that I normally have. I also don't feel very inflamed. I don't feel like puffy in my body. And so I know what I'm supposed to do. But honestly, it's hard. It's hard not to want to eat gluten and dairy and soy. And it's in a lot of pre-packaged foods. And honestly, lately I've just been so busy that grabbing the packaged item has just been easier than having to make a whole meal or a whole food diet. But for me, my biggest triggers are definitely gluten and dairy. So right now, I'm not doing really anything extreme. I'm just trying to tighten things up. And I've taken out eating gluten and dairy for the last handful of days, and I am starting to feel better. I'm able to pay a little bit better attention to how I'm feeling. And I don't necessarily feel deprived because one of the things that is really great about doing whole 30 is that just eat. Like you don't need to count calories or macros or anything like that. Eat as many apples and bananas and handful of nuts as you want. Eventually that will all kind of go away. But if you're feeling deprived when you do decide to do an elimination diet, you can just eat more of the foods that feel great to your body. So that's just my pro tip. Also, in the meantime, I have been really trying to investigate a little bit more about inflammation, specifically gut and the inflammation that I personally have been going through. This is also something that's come up in multiple conversations on the podcast, especially around gut health. What we've learned in past episodes, especially from Dr. Kim Webster, your gut microbiome is this community of bacteria in your digestive system. And it plays a huge role in immune function, inflammation regulation, and how your body responds to food. So when the system is off, you can increase inflammation, changes in digestion, and just that overall I'm not feeling right. So from my conversation with Dr. Kimberly Webster, one of the biggest takeaways was how foundational the microbiome really is, especially in our midlife. And also when I have done multiple podcasts with Jillian from Gut Personal, we talked a lot about more supported, targeted support, things like different types of gut supplements to help reinforce your environment in your in your body, in your gut, magnesium to help regulation. And then also we talked about creatine. While that's not necessarily for inflammation, it's just a great supplement that gut personal offers. I'm not saying that you need a supplement, but understanding what's off in your gut, inflammation is usually part of that picture. And so if taking out foods doesn't work for your body or maybe isn't the resolve, maybe try a supplement. So for me, what I'm doing right now is I've removed gluten and dairy. I already take some supplements from gut personal, so they've been really helpful. I'm trying to focus on unprocessed foods. I am increasing my protein and I'm just paying attention to how I feel. I'm not trying to be perfect. I'm not necessarily trying to lose weight. I'm just trying to get clear on what my body is telling me. So if you're feeling this way too, talk to your doctor. You can start these elimination diets, you can try supplements, but I think really a conversation with your doctor is more than likely your very best place to start. Talk to them about your symptoms, how you're feeling, and then go from there. And then if the elimination diet, like taking a whole 30 approach or adding in supplements, you get a lot of resources. Check back in with the podcast for those. The second thing that I have been trying to implement more lately is strength training. And this is where I'm going to be brutally honest with you and myself. I know I can work out at home. And I know the level that I'm working out when I'm at home. And I mean, just to be honest, I am not pushing myself the way that I know that I can. I just, I just don't. I get very distracted when I'm at home. And yeah, I have the equipment and I have the knowledge from being in fitness. I just, I just don't work out as hard as when I do when I'm with a friend or I'm in an environment that's like a workout class. And so, like I like to do, I researched, is this like really a thing? And science actually does explain some of the motivation behind the way that I feel when I work out. And it's called the Kohler effect. The Kohler Effect was a study that shows that people tend to work out or work harder when they're exercising alongside others, especially in a group setting. There's also research around social factors, which basically helps your import performance improve when other people are around. So if you're like me and you feel like you push harder in a class or when you work out with a friend, you're really not imagining it. It's very real. Instead, what I have tried to do is not force my body into be perfectly disciplined at home. I just decided to change my environment. So I went and took a workout class. And what I love about actually taking a structured class is because it is that it is structured. I don't have to think about the workout so much. I get to walk in and get told what to do. I love taking a 45-minute class because an hour just feels, I don't know, it feels like a lot. And 45 minutes just feels like the chef's kiss. So look for classes that are 45 minutes if you're like me and you feel like time is not on your side. And I just try to work out simply when I'm in there. I don't really try to go crazy with the weights. I'm okay with not going super, super heavy because I'm trying to learn form. And I definitely talk to the instructor. I tell them a little bit about my goals. I tell them a little bit about some of the injuries I have when it comes to my joints and what I'm trying to avoid. And being in that real live environment with people and a professional instructor really just ups the game for me and allows me to actually get the results that I'm that I'm really wanting. I have connected with so many different podcast guests and talking about strength training in midlife. And we know that in our 40s, we start to naturally lose muscle mass over time. And that is going to impact our metabolism, our insulin sensitivity, our joint stability, and of course our overall long-term health. And one of the things that keeps coming up is that strength training doesn't just build muscle, it also helps regulate inflammation over time. So I'm just trying to focus on these two things in general, but if it can fix my inflammation between nutrition and strength training, I'm just so happy that they can maybe work together. And if you are one of those lucky people that can self-motivate and strength train to your maximum capacity on your own and you really can push yourself, keep doing that. That is an absolute magical gift that you have, and you should be very proud of yourself and not change a thing. But if you are like me and you know that you'll just be better in a group, science is on your side. It shows that a lot of people are like you. There's a lot of different types of workouts that you can choose in a group setting, and that may actually get you across that finish line that you're wanting to go for. Because often it's not discipline that's the problem, it could be your environment. So look at maybe working out at a group class, hiring a trainer, or just asking a friend to commit with you. And that could be the biggest shift that you're looking for. Because sometimes isn't it isn't just willpower, it is just not doing things alone. So thank you so much for coming to my little diary entry of the things that I've been working on and personally going through lately. I really love to try to figure things out myself, but I'm just so grateful that I've been able to also work things with this wonderful community of guests and listeners. And I feel like that we really are in this together. So thank you so much for tuning in. Thank you so very much for being a subscriber. I cannot thank you enough for your support. Until next time, this is Wellness After 40.