The week before Lindsey messaged me, she went to her doctor asking for Mounjaro. She had already done Ozempic, watched the weight come right back, and worked with seven or eight coaches since she was twenty, so in her mind I was the last thing left to try.
Lindsey is a police detective in Calgary, and she wasn't a hundred pounds overweight. She was maybe twenty or twenty-five pounds up, and everyone around her kept telling her she looked great. Meanwhile she hated the woman in the mirror, dreaded leaving the house, and ended almost every night out with her spouse in tears. When I asked her to look back on that time, she told me it was so much worse than she realized while she was living it.
In this episode, Lindsey gets honest about what it feels like when the number on the scale doesn't match how badly you're struggling, why years of coaching and a GLP-1 still left her stuck, and what she means when she says her biggest win has nothing to do with the scale.
In this episode, we talk about:
- How being "only" 20 pounds up can still wreck your confidence and your relationships
- What it does to you when everyone insists you look fine
- Lindsey's honest take after working with seven or eight coaches since her twenties
- Why one coach wearing ten hats couldn't give her what she needed
- What happened when she came off Ozempic, and why she almost went back on a GLP-1
- The gap between knowing what to do and knowing how to actually do it
- Unlearning old habits like adding extra cardio after a bad weigh-in
- The win Lindsey is proudest of, and why it isn't a number
If you have tried everything, worked with coach after coach, and started to believe this is just how the rest of your life is going to look, I want you to hear Lindsey's story. She was that exact woman six months ago, and if you're ready to find out what's possible for you, my team and I are here to help.
Ever wish you had a fit and straightforward BFF with over 15 years of experience to help you filter through all the information regarding fitness, nutrition, and life? That's exactly what you'll get when you listen to the Unfiltered Fit Life Podcast.
Join Former Bikini Olympia Champion, mom of 2, and fitness coach Nathalia Melo each week as she shares fitness, nutrition, and life tips to help busy working moms simplify their fitness journey so they can learn easy and simple strategies on how to lose weight and feel sexy AF.
After helping over 5000 busy working moms, Nathalia has found the blueprint to fitness, nutrition, and life success, which she will be sharing in this podcast: actionable tips that will help busy working moms be more present at work and at home.
This show is for you if you realize that nothing good comes from your comfort zone and are ready to challenge yourself to achieve great things. Follow Unfiltered Fit Life wherever you are listening to join us each week for a splash of sass, humor, and a whole lotta truth.
Podcast Transcript
Why Ozempic and Eight Coaches Didn't Work for Lindsey, and What Finally Did
MEET LINDSEY
I introduce Lindsey as the hype woman of our member chat, and I admit I never expected her to become such a huge part of our community. She's 45, lives just outside Calgary with her spouse Sean, a retired police officer, and works as a police detective herself. She has three dogs, a cat, and a story I think so many of you will recognize.
HITTING ROCK BOTTOM
When Lindsey first messaged me on Facebook, she was at her absolute lowest mentally, physically, and emotionally. She hated what she saw in the mirror, isolated from friends, and almost every outing with Sean ended in tears because nothing fit and she felt unattractive. She described it as trying to stay above water until she simply couldn't anymore.
WHEN EVERYONE SAYS YOU LOOK FINE
Lindsey wasn't a hundred pounds overweight, and people around her kept saying she looked great or that this is just what happens with age and after a hysterectomy. I asked her how she juggled that with how awful she felt, and she told me it made her question whether this was just her life now. On top of that, she was going through weekly therapy for PTSD from her job, and every errand felt like a mountain.
SEVEN OR EIGHT COACHES LATER
Lindsey started her fitness journey at twenty and has worked with seven or eight coaches, including competition prep, even though she never stepped on stage. Her last coach was knowledgeable and kind, but one person wearing ten hats couldn't give her full effort in every area. She also shared that she had followed me for years and one post finally made her reach out.
A TEAM INSTEAD OF ONE PERSON
Inside the Powerhouse Academy, Lindsey has Coach Jen for mindset and fitness, Kara for nutrition, me for check-ins, and Sonia for life coaching. She told me she never feels like a burden because she knows exactly who to go to for what. She also talked about the community, and how having women in the chat going through the same things keeps her showing up on the hard days.
THE LAST-DITCH EFFORT
Lindsey told me something on this episode she had never shared with me before. The week before our first call, she went to her doctor for a letter to get Mounjaro. Two years earlier she had done Ozempic, lost around fifteen pounds over about four months, and watched almost all of it come back once she stopped.
THE GLP-1 CYCLE I SEE EVERY WEEK
I'm very pro GLP-1, and I've said that many times, but I talk to women every week who were prescribed one with nothing more than generic advice to eat healthy and exercise. When they stop, the weight returns and they go right back to the doctor to start the cycle again. Lindsey's advice is to be honest with yourself about why you're where you are, and to get real help and education before assuming medication is your only option.
KNOWING WHAT TO DO VS DOING IT
Lindsey thought she knew a lot, and she realized how much she still had to learn and unlearn. She described catching old habits, like wanting to add an extra spin class after a disappointing weigh-in. The way I see it, the exercise and nutrition side is simple, and the real complexity lives in behavior change, boundaries, and understanding yourself, which is exactly the part our industry keeps missing.
NOT AT WAR WITH MYSELF ANYMORE
Six months ago Lindsey would have said her biggest win was the scale, and now she says it's peace. She puts on an outfit and it fits the way she pictured, she wore bikinis all summer, and she actually likes the photos people send her. When she looks in the mirror, she sees what she has gained rather than what still needs work, even though she's only halfway to her goal.
WHAT SEAN AND HER FRIENDS NOTICED
Sean takes her progress photos every week and tells her how proud he is. Lindsey admitted she was snappier and harder to be around than she realized at the time, and that their relationship feels easier now that she isn't fighting herself and taking it out on him. She wants to go out with friends again, and she's even learning that she's the "yes girl" who needs to say no sometimes.
FOR THE WOMAN WHO THINKS SHE'S TRIED EVERYTHING
Lindsey's message is that she was that exact woman six months ago, convinced every coaching program was the same. She talked about all the money she spent on makeup and clothes trying to feel better, and how none of it worked. Her advice is to take the step even if you don't believe in yourself yet, because the support will be there when you do.
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