Menopause, Melanin & Aging Like A Queen

Samantha Montpetit-Huynh
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Health & Fitness
  • Updated Weekly

Menopause, anti-diet culture, anti-racism and disrupting the stigma when it comes to fitness and health especially in the menopause space.

  1. 6d ago

    Episode 115 - Muscle is THE anti-aging drug. Period

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I'm talking about something I see constantly in this work - women in menopause who are under-fueled, over-exercised, and under-muscled, all at the same time. Doing everything for everyone else, and running themselves into the ground in the process. This is a pattern I've watched for 25 years - women eating too little, then hopping on cardio to "burn off" what they did eat, and wondering why they feel exhausted, depleted, and stuck. I get real about why we only seem to prioritize our health once something breaks - a diagnosis, an injury, a fall — instead of before. I share a conversation with a client who'd lost 20 pounds on a GLP-1 but had lost her energy and motivation right along with it, and what that told me the moment she described her day of eating. We break down Low Energy Availability (LEA) — what it is, why it's more common than you think, and why it's not just an athlete problem. And I walk through the three layers of energy your body actually needs: your Resting Metabolic Rate, daily living, and exercise — and why skipping the first one to justify the third one is quietly costing you muscle, not fat. Because here's the truth: if you're not eating enough and you're not lifting, the weight you lose is mostly muscle. And muscle isn't vanity. It's your independence, later. This one is personal, practical, and something I think every woman needs to hear before her body forces the conversation for her. Thank you for listening and I would like to remind you that Walk with Sam - Walking Group - is available for anyone to join, ANYWHERE! Click HERE to join the free Whatsapp community! Thank you for listening.

  2. Sep 21

    Episode 114 - If You Don't Make the Time, It Will Be Made for You

    Send us Fan Mail I was at the gym last week when a man I'd met once before — at a party over the summer — came up to chat. He wanted to talk about his wife. She's struggling through menopause, and he told me he'd registered her for a free webinar I ran back in August, just so he could grab the replay for her. When I asked if she'd watched it yet, he said no. She works a lot. And when she's not working, she's busy doing other things. That word again. Busy. Then he got a little quieter and asked me — kind of whispered it — about vaginal dryness. So I called it exactly what it is: painful sex. Something as many as 80% of women in menopause deal with in some form, and almost nobody says out loud. In this episode, I take that gym conversation and run with it. I recap last week's GLP-1 and menopause webinar with my naturopath friend Dr. Lisa Watson — why muscle is non-negotiable in this decade (your heart, your bones, your metabolism, your blood sugar all depend on it), who a GLP-1 is NOT the right fit for, and what happens when you take one without ever moving your body. Then we get into the real conversation: why busy has become a badge of honour, why more convenience somehow hasn't bought us more time, and the real numbers on menopause and women leaving the workforce in Canada. Menopause doesn't care if you "feel fine" this week. The lack of attention catches up. It always does. If you don't make the time for yourself, it will be made for you. So make it first. Queens, this one's personal. Let's get into it. Thank you for listening and I would like to remind you that Walk with Sam - Walking Group - is available for anyone to join, ANYWHERE! Click HERE to join the free Whatsapp community! Thank you for listening.

  3. Sep 14

    Episode 113 - Slim Is ‘Back’? Let’s Talk About Who Never Left

    Send us Fan Mail A UK Telegraph column just told the world that slim, beautiful women are "back in fashion" — thank God, apparently — and that all that inclusive advertising over the last few years was just brands appeasing the woke crowd. Cute theory. Except it conveniently skips the part where GLP-1s are now as easy to get as a haircut — your doctor's office, the mail, a discount code on a TV ad — and body size is being manufactured faster than it's ever been manufactured before. In this episode I'm breaking that article down, piece by piece. I'm talking about why this whole moment feels less like a cultural vibe shift and more like heroin chic doing a costume change. I'm revisiting Kelly Osbourne's infamous "why bother with exercise" comment from back when Ozempic first went viral — and reminding you that movement was never just about weight loss, it's about your muscle, your bones, your brain, your sleep, your whole life. I'm also getting real about what I've learned in the two-plus years since my first GLP-1 webinar — because my thinking has evolved, and I think that's a good thing. Which is exactly why I'm doing a second one, this time with my naturopath and friend Dr. Lisa Watson, on proper dosing, protecting your muscle, and actually monitoring your bloodwork instead of just handing you a prescription and a goodbye. Bodies come in all shapes and sizes. That's not a political statement. That's just biology. And I, for one, am so done with anyone treating that like it's up for debate. Join me and Dr. Lisa Watson for GLP-1s & Menopause — free, live, Wednesday September 16th at 7pm EST. JOIN HERE Thank you for listening and I would like to remind you that Walk with Sam - Walking Group - is available for anyone to join, ANYWHERE! Click HERE to join the free Whatsapp community! Thank you for listening.

  4. Sep 7

    Episode 112 - The Coop Is Empty: On Letting Go, Grief, and Learning to Be Alone

    Send us Fan Mail Last weekend I drove my oldest to Massachusetts for grad school. And somewhere on the drive home, I completely lost it. This episode is not really about her — she's happy, she's healthy, she's exactly where she's supposed to be. It's about me. About what happens when the person you built so much of your identity around starts building a life that no longer centers you. About grief for someone who is very much alive. About crying that comes out of nowhere, and why I've stopped fighting it. And about the work I'm actually doing right now — choosing myself, learning to sit in a quiet house without filling it out of fear, and trusting that I am going to be more than okay. In this one, I talk about: The second goodbye — and why it hit harder than the firstThe fear underneath sending a young Black woman to school in the U.S. right nowGrieving a person who is thrivingTwo major endings in eighteen months — my marriage, and now thisWhy busyness can quietly be avoidance, and what it means to actually choose youWhy children are always watching how we handle our own endingsThis one is personal. If you've got a kid leaving, a marriage ending, or a nest that's a little quieter than it used to be — I made this for you. I am Sam. And I'm learning to be alone, out loud, with all of you. Thank you for listening and I would like to remind you that Walk with Sam - Walking Group - is available for anyone to join, ANYWHERE! Click HERE to join the free Whatsapp community! Thank you for listening.

  5. Aug 31

    Episode 111 - Celebrate Your (Smallest) Wins & Rewire Your Brain

    Send us Fan Mail Why does your brain remember every mistake and forget every win? In this episode, Sam breaks down negativity bias — the reason we're all wired to scan for what's wrong instead of what's going right — and why your brain treats "staying stuck" as the safe choice, even when you know better. Sam shares the story of a client in her late 50s — five kids, eight grandbabies, and a fresh 185-pound deadlift PR — who didn't want to ring the bell at her gym to celebrate it. Sam unpacks why so many women are taught to shrink their own wins, and why learning to celebrate the small stuff on purpose (sleep, protein, a walk you almost skipped) is one of the most powerful tools for actually changing your life. This episode covers the negativity bias, Mel Robbins' 5 Second Rule, why change is an identity shift and not a willpower contest, and why the diet industry keeps finding new costumes for the same old promise. Topics covered: Negativity bias and why your brain looks for what could go wrongWhy "safety" often looks like procrastinationMel Robbins' 5 Second RuleMy client's deadlift PR — and why she didn't want to ring the bellWhy women are taught not to celebrate, and why that has to endThe small wins that actually move the needleIdentity-based change vs. willpowerThe diet industry's newest costume: GLP-1sThank you for listening and I would like to remind you that Walk with Sam - Walking Group - is available for anyone to join, ANYWHERE! Click HERE to join the free Whatsapp community! Thank you for listening.

  6. Aug 24

    Episode 110 - Same Diet. New Delivery System.

    Send us Fan Mail Last weekend I was at a fitness conference, sitting in a session about GLP-1s, and the person facilitating it said something to a room full of trainers that made me stand up, say something out loud, and walk out. They said: don't worry about calories — the GLP-1 takes care of that. Just make sure your client is strength training and eating enough protein. Fine, on its own. Almost responsible sounding. Then they said the rest of it. Once your client comes off the medication, you need to start having them count calories to maintain the weight loss. Otherwise they'll gain it back. Sit with that for a second. Don't think about food while you're on the drug. The moment you're off it — count every bite, forever, or your body "betrays" you. That's not a health protocol. That's a diet, wrapped in a pretty bow, presented like it's science. In this episode I'm breaking down exactly what was said, why it stopped me cold, and the part that really got me — the fact that while someone is on a GLP-1, they don't even have full autonomy over their own hunger anymore. It's been taken from them. So we're right back to the scale being the measure of success, except this time they didn't even get to make the choices that got them there. I also talk about what happened after I walked out — three trainers came up to me in the hallway and told me they agreed with everything I said. In the hallway. Not in the room. We get into why that matters, and why I've been called "loud" my whole career for simply asking the question nobody else wants to ask out loud. And I talk about why this is exactly the reason I stopped focusing on weight and calories with my clients years ago. It was never going to tell the full story — not the scale, not a number, not a medication making decisions on someone's behalf. Real, lasting change comes from strength, from managing stress, from sleep, from actually understanding your own body. That's the whole reason my approach looks the way it does. If you're navigating a GLP-1 right now, for any reason — I'm not here to shame that choice. I just want you asking the questions nobody in that room was willing to ask. Thank you for listening and I would like to remind you that Walk with Sam - Walking Group - is available for anyone to join, ANYWHERE! Click HERE to join the free Whatsapp community! Thank you for listening.

  7. Aug 17

    Episode 109 - Muscle Is the Organ Nobody Told You About

    Send us Fan Mail I got a DM a while back about a woman's mom who had ankle surgery. She'd been told to build up her upper body strength beforehand and didn't. Now she doesn't have enough strength to use crutches, so she scoots up and down her own stairs on her bum. Right after that, a friend told me about her mom — knee surgery, but she strengthened everything around the joint first with a physio. Her recovery was incredible, and her other knee, which has the exact same damage on imaging, is doing so well she might skip that surgery entirely. Same age. Same kind of injury. Completely different outcomes. That's muscle. In this episode I'm breaking down why muscle might be the single most important thing you can do for your health — not for how it looks, but for what it does. We're talking blood sugar regulation and your risk of type 2 diabetes, brain health and cognition, bone density and whether you can get yourself on and off a toilet at 85, cardiovascular health (no, I'm not telling you to stop your cardio), and mobility as you age. I'm also getting into the real numbers on how fast menopause is taking your muscle right now, why the Gen X "20-minute workout and a diet" approach isn't going to cut it anymore, and the hard truth about hip fractures after 60. And I'm putting the "I don't want to get bulky" fear to bed for good, because given everything working against you hormonally right now, it is genuinely hard to build noticeable bulk — you're fighting just to hold onto what you have. Thank you for listening and I would like to remind you that Walk with Sam - Walking Group - is available for anyone to join, ANYWHERE! Click HERE to join the free Whatsapp community! Thank you for listening.

  8. Aug 10

    Episode 108 - Fed Up, Fried, and Done Pretending

    Send us Fan Mail You know that tired that isn't fixed by a nap? That's what this episode is about. Sam recaps her Strong Through Menopause Method webinar and breaks down the three pillars behind it — Cortisol Calm, Build-Don't-Burn, and Unlearning diet culture — and gets real about what happened after: 200 women signed up, 70 showed up, and every single woman she's talked to since has said almost the exact same thing. I'm exhausted. I'm fed up starting and stopping. Something has to change. Sam digs into why that gap between signing up and showing up isn't a character flaw — it's human nature — and why so many of us stay stuck in discomfort we already know isn't working, simply because it's familiar. She also shares the story of the scariest $8,000 she ever spent on herself: the first time she hired a coach, with zero guarantees, and how that leap changed the entire trajectory of her career. If you're the woman who's tired of piecing it together alone — this one's for you. In this episode: The three pillars of the Strong Through Menopause MethodWhy only a fraction of webinar sign-ups ever show up (and why that's normal)The psychology of why we buy the download and avoid the doingWhat fear and finances really look like when you're deciding to invest in yourselfSam's own story of hiring her first coach — and what it taught her about betting on yourself without a guaranteeReady to stop starting over? Head to samcoretrainer.com or book a FREE call with me here. Thank you for listening and I would like to remind you that Walk with Sam - Walking Group - is available for anyone to join, ANYWHERE! Click HERE to join the free Whatsapp community! Thank you for listening.

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Menopause, anti-diet culture, anti-racism and disrupting the stigma when it comes to fitness and health especially in the menopause space.

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