I Doubled My Weights. In 90 Days. During Menopause
Here’s what changed….
I have been lifting weights consistently for almost two decades.
I know how to train. I know how to eat. I know how to be consistent. And for years, that was enough.
Then perimenopause happened and suddenly…it all went haywire.
Every time I tried to push heavier, my body pushed back. Inflammation. Puffiness. Soreness that didn’t clear in a day or even two. Weight creeping up despite doing everything “right.” I wasn’t just plateauing. I was paying a tax on every real effort I made and eventually, I had to to stop making them.
I took a full year off lifting dumbbells entirely. I moved exclusively to reformer Pilates just to get the inflammation out of my body and give my frozen shoulder a chance to heal. And somewhere in that year, I quietly told myself that maybe this was just what midlife looked like. That this was the deal.
I want to tell you right now, it’s not the deal. And I know that because everything changed. and today I’m lifting the heaviest I’ve ever lifted. Heavier than when I filmed 80 Day Obsession almost 10 years ago before perimenopause hit.
The Turning Point Nobody Talks About
A few months ago I shared something about NMN, a compound that supports NAD+ production, which declines significantly with age and plays a central role in cellular energy, repair, and resilience. That was the beginning of this story, but not the whole thing.
Last October I stopped my NAD+ injections because I was experiencing an energy spike and crash pattern that didn’t feel right. I later learned that response is common in people with compromised detox pathways, something directly connected to the MTHFR gene variant I carry. Instead of pushing through, I went back to basics. I started researching more carefully. Then, my 71-year-old mom whose biological age tests at 58, told me about a research company called DoNotAge. So I did what I do. I researched them…and decided to try their NMN supplement.
When I eventually connected with their team directly and asked the hard questions, I learned something that changed the entire equation for me: NMN works significantly better when paired with TMG, a methyl donor that keeps the NAD+ pathway running efficiently. This is especially important for those of us with MTHFR (which is like 40-60% of the population) but honestly, sluggish detox pathways are common in midlife regardless of genetics. That pairing alone shifted things noticeably.
But I kept going. As I read more of the research, I added a few more of the supplements to the custom routine I was creating for myself and I noticed not only better energy, but better output in my workouts and faster recovery.
What I’ve Been Using More Recently
Over the last month, something shifted in how I approach my routine entirely — and honestly, it simplified everything.
For a while I had been building my own personal stack, carefully chosen based on my research, my specific needs, and if I’m honest, my budget. Some ingredients I wanted were just out of reach financially. I was making it work, but I was piecing it together.
Then DoNotAge launched what I can only describe as the most intelligently designed, synergistically formulated midlife longevity formula I have ever encountered. Fifteen of their most researched ingredients in a single daily packet, including everything I had hand-selected for myself, plus the ones I had originally left out because of cost. It addresses all 12 of the major hallmarks of aging. Not inspired by the research. Built from the actual compounds being used in their human clinical trials. And it is now available to everyone.
I was given early access. For the last month I have been using this formula in place of the personal stack I spent months carefully building and what I’ve experienced has been hard to ignore.
The energy is different. Not a spike and crash. Stable. Consistent. Clean. My brain comes online in the morning without needing an hour and a full coffee to function. My mental clarity at work has sharpened noticeably. I feel like I’m operating at my actual capacity again — not a diminished version of it.
And then there’s the gym.
In the 90 days since I started supporting my body with DoNotAge, I’ve doubled what I’m lifting. Not gradually crept up. Doubled. During menopause. After years of plateau. Because for the first time in years, I am actually recovering and recovery is where muscle grows. My body composition has shifted. My strength has increased. Without the inflammation, without the puffiness, without the days of soreness that used to be the price of any real effort.
Two ingredients in this formula deserve a closer look because I think they explain a lot of what I’ve experienced.
CoQ10 Ubiquinol: The Recovery Ingredient Most Women Are Getting Wrong
Most CoQ10 supplements are sold in a form called ubiquinone. Here’s the problem: your body has to convert ubiquinone before it can actually use it and that conversion ability drops significantly after 40. Which means if you’ve been taking CoQ10 for years, you may have been absorbing a fraction of the benefit you thought you were getting.
Ubiquinol is the pre-converted, active form. It powers the energy production line inside every single cell in your body. It’s also the primary antioxidant protecting your mitochondria from the oxidative damage that accumulates during exercise, which is precisely why recovery improves when it’s actually working properly.
Your heart has more mitochondria than any other organ in your body. It depends on this ingredient more than almost anything else in this formula. And a 2024 study found that ubiquinol alleviated menopausal symptoms in nearly 80% of women within two months.
Why don’t we all know about this?
Trans-Resveratrol: Not the Resveratrol You’ve Heard Of
You’ve probably heard of resveratrol. But the trans form, which is up to 50 times more bioavailable than standard resveratrol, is where the real research lives.
Trans-resveratrol activates SIRT1, the longevity protein that governs cellular repair, metabolic function, and inflammation response. It has been studied specifically in women in perimenopause and menopause for mood stabilization, hot flash reduction, brain health, and skin. But here’s what makes it particularly powerful inside this formula: when combined with NMN, NAD+ levels in heart and muscle tissue increase 1.6 to 1.7 times compared to NMN alone.
These two ingredients don’t just coexist in the formula. They amplify each other. That synergy is exactly the kind of intelligent formulation that separates this from anything else I’ve tried.
What I Want You to Take Away From This
I know how many of you are exactly where I was. Doing everything right. Feeling like your body is quietly working against you. Wondering if exhaustion, inflammation, stubborn weight, and slow recovery are just the price of getting older.
They’re not.
That’s not just midlife. It doesn’t have to be part of aging. I don’t care how many jokes people make about it on Tik Tok and Instagram. And you don’t have to keep pushing through alone, guessing at what your body needs, and shrinking your expectations to match your results.
Your body is not broken. It is under-supported. And there is a difference. You can and should feel amazing in midlife. Mid-life can be magnetic. If it’s not…we should talk.
✍️ WORK WITH ME
If you’ve spent years putting everyone else first, pushing through the fatigue, and quietly wondering if this is just what midlife feels like…It’s not. And you don’t have to keep guessing.
① The DoNotAge 90-Day Midlife Reset Group
This is where we pair the most researched longevity formula on the market with the lifestyle, nutrition, and nervous system support that makes it actually work for your body.
I don’t share supplement links lightly because supplements alone are never the whole answer.
DoNotAge is a research-driven longevity company whose formulas are built on the same compounds used in their own human clinical trials. Not inspired by the research. The actual compounds. Their flagship daily formula brings together 15 of their most studied longevity ingredients: including NMN, CoQ10 Ubiquinol, and Trans-Resveratrol, specifically designed to work synergistically for the midlife body. This is what I personally use and what I’ve watched change things for women who felt like they’d already tried everything.
When you purchase through my DoNotAge link, you receive complimentary access to my private 90-Day Midlife Reset Group. We start with a custom intake to identify your priority body systems and symptom burden so from day one, we know exactly where your body needs support most. Every 30 days we track your progress together. Not so you can hope it’s working. So you can feel it and prove it.
Nervous system. Sleep. Drainage. Liver support. Midlife nutrition. We build the foundation that makes everything work and I’m there with you every step of the way.
No guessing. Real results. Ones you can measure.
→ [Shop DoNotAge here] and forward your confirmation to calie@coachcalie.com to claim your spot.
② Precision Reset + HTMA Testing
This is for the woman who wants to stop guessing and start knowing exactly what her unique body needs.
We start with an HTMA — Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis. If you’ve never heard of it, here’s why it matters: this single test gives us a remarkably detailed picture of what’s actually happening inside your body at a cellular level. Your mineral ratios directly reflect how your thyroid and adrenal glands are functioning. They show us your metabolic rate — whether your body needs to slow down or speed up — and how well your digestion and detox pathways are actually working. We can see the impact chronic stress has had on your body, whether you have adequate stomach acid to break down and absorb protein (one of the most overlooked issues in midlife), and which supplements your body can actually handle and utilize right now. Drainage. Detox. Digestion. Stress load. Metabolism. All of it — from a single strand of hair.
From there, you receive a complete report of your results, a 90-day plan built around your specific nutrition and lifestyle needs, and a fully custom Vykon supplement formulated to your labs — not a one-size-fits-all formula pulled off a shelf.
This is precision, not protocol. And for so many women, it’s the first time anyone has actually looked at their body and told them the truth about what it needs.
③ Peptide Consulting
Everyone is talking about GLP-1s right now. And I get it — when you’ve been struggling with your weight, your energy, and your body composition through perimenopause and menopause, the idea of a quick fix feels like a lifeline.
But here’s what the people selling them aren’t telling you.
Think of it this way: if all you needed to do was blow out a birthday candle, you wouldn’t reach for a fire hose. The candle would be out…but so would the cake, the decorations, and everything you actually wanted to protect. GLP-1s can feel like the obvious solution when you’re struggling. But for many midlife women, what the body actually needs is something far more targeted. Something that addresses the root cause without the collateral damage.
Because the truth is, blood sugar dysregulation, stubborn weight, inflammation, and disrupted fat metabolism in midlife aren’t random. They have root causes. And when you address those root causes with precision peptide strategies, supported by the right nutrition and lifestyle framework, you get real, lasting results. Not superficial weight loss that disappears along with your muscle mass. Actual metabolic healing. Body composition that holds.
Here’s what most people in this space won’t tell you: your nervous system function directly impacts your body’s ability to utilize peptides properly. Peptides are never meant to be used indefinitely. They must be properly cycled or you lose the benefit entirely. And the wrong peptide at the wrong time for your specific body isn’t just ineffective. It can be actively counterproductive.
I hold multiple peptide certifications and partner with a clinician to assess every client on an individual basis. We work exclusively with the best compounding pharmacies for purity and safety. And I stay with you through the entire process, the strategy, the cycling, the lifestyle support, the troubleshooting, so your peptides do exactly what they’re supposed to do, in a body that’s fully prepared to receive them.
Real results. Root cause healing. Optimized health that lasts.
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