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Stop Letting Yourself Go - The Midlife Fitness Wake Up Call

By Eileen Noyes

Aug 27, 2025

When a former college strength coach gains eight pounds despite doing everything "right," it's time for a reality check about women, fitness, and the midlife years.

Eileen Noyes understood fitness better than most women. As a former college strength coach who worked with athletes across multiple sports, she knew proper technique, progressive overload, and muscle development inside and out. Yet at 52, she found herself facing an eight-pound weight gain that seemed to appear overnight despite maintaining her usual exercise routine and eating habits. This jarring reality check forced her to confront the changes happening in her body during perimenopause and examine her approach to self-care as a busy mother of eight.

In the latest episode of The Unsidelined Life, Eileen opens up about her three-month fitness transformation that went far beyond numbers on a scale. Her journey reveals the unique challenges women face during midlife when hormones shift, metabolism slows, and the strategies that worked in their twenties and thirties suddenly stop producing results. More importantly, she addresses the internal battle many Christian women face about whether investing time and energy in physical fitness is somehow selfish or vain.

The Reality Check That Changes Everything  

The turning point came when Eileen realized that despite her extensive knowledge about fitness and nutrition, she needed outside help and accountability. Two years of gradual weight gain had accumulated into eight pounds that refused to budge, no matter what strategies she tried. Her experience with quick-fix solutions, including a month-long trial with weight loss injections that provided temporary results followed by even more weight gain, taught her that sustainable change requires a different approach.

This humbling experience led her to seek out an online trainer, not because she lacked knowledge, but because she needed accountability and a fresh perspective. The decision to invest in coaching represented a fundamental shift in thinking about self-care as a necessary investment rather than a luxury. For someone who had spent years helping others achieve their fitness goals, asking for help required setting aside pride and acknowledging that expertise doesn't exempt anyone from needing support.

The three-month journey that followed involved weekly check-ins, food logging, progress photos, and constant adjustments to both nutrition and exercise protocols. What emerged was a transformation that extended far beyond physical appearance to encompass energy levels, strength, and overall well-being. The process revealed gaps in her nutrition that she hadn't recognized, particularly around protein intake and meal timing, despite her background in the field.

Breaking Through the Christian Woman's Guilt Complex  

One of the most significant barriers Eileen addressed was the guilt many Christian women carry about investing time and resources in their physical appearance and health. This guilt often manifests as the belief that focusing on fitness is somehow vain or selfish, especially when family responsibilities feel overwhelming. The internal narrative suggests that "good" wives and mothers should put everyone else first and that paying attention to personal health and appearance is somehow worldly or superficial.

Eileen challenges this thinking by reframing self-care as stewardship of the body God has given. Her motivation extends beyond personal satisfaction to include being present and energetic for her seven-year-old son when she's 60, maintaining strength to move furniture and handle household tasks independently, and modeling healthy habits for her only daughter. The decision to prioritize fitness becomes an act of love toward family members who depend on her being strong and healthy for years to come.

The biblical perspective she shares emphasizes that while charm is deceitful and beauty fades, taking care of the body as God's temple remains important. The Proverbs 31 woman is described as having strong arms and taking care of herself, not as someone who neglects her physical health in favor of spiritual pursuits. This integration of physical and spiritual health creates a foundation for serving others from a place of strength rather than depletion.

Five Essential Steps for Midlife Fitness Success  

  1. State of the Union Assessment - Honestly evaluate where you are physically and emotionally about your health

  2. Accountability Partnership - Find someone to check in with regularly and make your commitment official

  3. Basic Steps and Systems - Start with simple, sustainable habits rather than dramatic overhauls

  4. Timeframe Commitment - Commit to at least 30 days, preferably three months, to see real progress

  5. Progress Celebration - Focus on non-scale victories like increased strength, better sleep, and improved energy

The Menopause Factor Nobody Talks About  

Eileen's experience highlights the reality that many women face during perimenopause and menopause when their bodies begin responding differently to the same diet and exercise routines that previously maintained their weight. The hormonal changes during this life phase can cause increased fat storage, decreased muscle mass, and slower metabolism, making weight management more challenging even for women who maintain healthy lifestyles.

Her journey through this transition involved learning to work with her changing body rather than against it. This meant adjusting expectations about rate of progress, focusing more on strength training to preserve muscle mass, and paying closer attention to nutrition quality and timing. The process required patience and persistence, especially during weeks when the scale didn't move despite consistent effort and adherence to the program.

The transformation she experienced over three months resulted in not just weight loss but improvements in strength, energy, and overall well-being that made her feel better than she had in years. The success came from consistency, accountability, and willingness to adjust strategies based on what her body needed during this life stage rather than trying to force outdated approaches to work.

Your Midlife Transformation Starts Now  

Eileen's story offers hope for women who feel frustrated with their changing bodies and discouraged by previous failed attempts at getting back in shape. Her approach emphasizes sustainability over quick fixes, accountability over willpower, and self-compassion over self-criticism. The five-step framework she provides gives concrete starting points for women ready to prioritize their health without guilt or apology.

The key insight from her journey is that midlife doesn't mean accepting decline or giving up on feeling strong and energetic. Instead, it means adapting strategies to work with your body's current needs and hormonal reality. This might mean different types of exercise, adjusted nutrition approaches, and modified expectations about timeline and progress markers.

Ready to stop making excuses about your health and start feeling strong again? Connect with Eileen at Hello@LadyBellator.com for coaching opportunities and support. Subscribe to The Unsidelined Life podcast for continued encouragement and practical strategies for living fully in every season of life. Join the community of women who refuse to let midlife mean settling for less than their best.

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