Believe In Action

Michelle West
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Health & Fitness
  • Weekly

Because belief without action changes nothing. Hosted by Michelle West and the BIA Coaching Team, the Believe in Action Podcast is your go-to space for real talk, myth-busting, and game-changing conversations for women in their 30s & 40s navigating life's challenges.

  1. 4d ago

    Stop Confusing Hard Work With Effective Work | Ep. 57

    You’re taking classes, lifting weights, getting your steps in, and leaving the gym exhausted. So why doesn’t your body look like you’re doing all that work? Michelle is solo this week, talking about the difference between a hard workout and one that actually gets you closer to your goal. She shares a conversation with a Broadway performer whose routine was packed with activity, but missing a clear plan for getting stronger. She talks about why sweat, soreness, and the calorie number on your watch don’t tell the whole story, how food and recovery fit into your training, and when doing less makes sense. Whether you’re performing eight shows a week or juggling work and family, your workouts should leave you with something left for your life. Plus, a little catch-up on BIA’s first coaching retreat and why Michelle is giving herself more time to build muscle before competing again. See how BIA coaching works: https://go.bianutrition.com/

  2. Oct 20

    They Clap for the Goal, Not the Sacrifice | Ep. 56

    Everyone’s excited about your goals until you start turning down drinks, bringing your own food, or heading home early to get some sleep. Then suddenly, you’re “doing too much.” A dating story Michelle heard on the radio got us talking about what happens when people support your goals but don’t understand the choices you’re making to get there. Michelle shares what it was like balancing Broadway, building BIA, and bodybuilding prep. Emily talks about her parents questioning her food tracking and how they eventually started asking her for help with their own meals. We get into setting boundaries, feeling awkward when you’re the one doing things differently, and learning to follow through without needing everyone to approve. Sometimes the people around you just need time to understand. And sometimes you have to keep going even if they don’t. Plus, a few client wins, training updates, and why we both wish we’d started lifting sooner. See how BIA coaching works: https://go.bianutrition.com

  3. Oct 13

    Your Goal Weight Is Holding You Back | Ep. 55

    Most of us have a number in our heads that we think we need to weigh. But where did that number come from and would we even look the way we wanted if we got there? Michelle and Coach Emily are talking goal weights this week, and they’ve both had this conversation with plenty of clients. Olivia started around 170 with a goal of 140. She’s now around 131 with more muscle, looking completely different than she imagined she would at that weight. They’ve been through it themselves, too. Michelle used to think 150 was where she’d see the physique she wanted. These days, she’s around 129–130, eating roughly 2,200 calories and maintaining visible abs. Emily was 104 when they recorded this episode, and people regularly argue with her about it because they assume she weighs more. Having muscle changes what those numbers look like. They also talk about the impatience that comes with wanting your body to change, Michelle’s experience with weight rebounds after competition prep, and a consult with a woman whose previous coach promised eight pounds of muscle in twelve weeks… on 1,200 calories. Michelle had a few thoughts about that. “The land of make-believe” came up. There’s nothing wrong with wanting a certain result. But getting attached to a number can make it harder to see the progress you’re actually making. As Emily puts it, focus on the things that get you the results. That’s the part you can do something about today. See how BIA coaching works: https://go.bianutrition.com

  4. Sep 29

    My Husband Has the Nutritional Habits of a Toddler | Ep. 53

    Michelle sits down with Amber to talk about what eating and training look like when the person you share a kitchen with doesn't share your goals. They get into: How Amber feeds a house where she's the only one who eats the zucchini, without cooking two dinners every nightEating her own prepped meal while she cooks theirs, so their food never tempts herWhy she doesn't want her husband in better shape than her (a Bumstead joke is involved)Michelle and Matt's early days of one medium Domino's pizza each, every single night, and how they got from there to tracking macrosWhy Amber says lifting made her more confident in her marriage If your partner, your kids, or your friends aren't on board with how you eat and train, press play. Amber's rule for her husband is simple: "I'm just asking you to not make it harder on me." Got a topic you want Michelle and the coaches to take on next? Drop it in the comments or send us a DM on Instagram.

  5. Sep 22

    If I Can't Feel It, I Don't Do It | Ep. 52

    Michelle and Emily went exercise by exercise, top to bottom, on what they actually feel working. Michelle's list is short. Delts, lats, glutes. She doesn't train quads, calves, abs or chest, and somebody complimented her triceps this week anyway.Emily has been chasing her glute med, so there's a lot here on kickbacks, step downs off a high platform with the dumbbell in the opposite hand, and 45 degree hyperextensions. She also worked out that rolling a couple of yoga mats under the pad on the glute drive machine keeps her knees from traveling, which is how she gets four plates a side on it.Michelle hip thrusts 260 for four sets and will swear on her grave that the plain barbell version beats every machine built to replace it. Emily does ten or eleven palms-forward pull-ups. Michelle tops out around five and is still annoyed about it.It ends on mind muscle connection and how many years it takes to build one. Emily said once she could actually feel her lats and her hamstrings, the growth followed. Michelle's rule is blunter. If she can't feel it in her glutes, she stops doing the exercise.Need help navigating the gym: https://www.bianutrition.com

  6. Sep 15

    The Uglier You Look in the Gym, the Better You Look Outside It | Ep. 51

    Michelle came off Power Hour wanting to talk about the two levers clients keep leaving alone. Steps and actual training intensity. Food is still the main driver and nobody is arguing with that. But most of the girls hit a ceiling on food and stop there, and these are the two things that move the ceiling.Emily's BMR is about 1100 calories and her appetite runs over 2000. She closes that gap with 12 to 15 thousand steps a day and almost no cardio, partly because the steps keep her reflux manageable and cardio makes it worse. Michelle is on the same number and says the leanest she has ever been came from an hour of walking before the day starts. She also has a lot to say about what walking does for your digestion. You have been warned.On training, Emily does two sets to failure and that is the whole plan. Five exercises, two sets each, going until she has to rack the Smith machine at the bottom and crawl out from under it. Her cue is to pretend your life depends on the last rep. If you get home from the gym and can dilly dally for two hours before you eat, you did not train hard. Michelle told a client sitting at 1800 calories and 160 pounds to train harder so she could eat more, and the client said she had never once thought about pushing her calories up.And going to the gym four times a week while sitting on your booty the rest of the day still makes you sedentary. Sorry.

  7. Sep 9

    Nobody's Soft Girl Era Started Soft | Ep. 50

    Soft girl era. Michelle and Coach Emily wanted to know whether it has made everybody scared of doing hard things.Emily's position is that ease is earned. She didn't touch investing until about three and a half years ago and had to ask her parents roughly 20,000 questions before she opened an account. Michelle's version came with an ultimatum from Matt. Pay off the debt or we're not getting married. She had $40,000 in student loans and cleared them in seven months by taking the train, packing her own food and skipping every margarita her Aladdin tour friends were out buying. Almost ten years later, plenty of those friends still have their loans.They also get into why lifting made them both feel more feminine, Emily being the designated pasta jar opener, the guys who want an independent woman so they can sit down and be parented, and the client who finally dropped 10 pounds after cutting the gym from six days a week to four. Michelle has never trained more than four times a week.Then a client found bats in her attic, which turned into a whole thing about how fast you get yourself back to baseline.See how BIA coaching works: https://bianutrition.com

  8. Sep 2

    Gym confessions, the things we hear | Ep. 49

    Time to open the gym confession booth: the things we see and hear at the gym every week. We listen, we don't judge... okay, maybe a little. If you've ever trained fasted because you thought you had to, bought a fat burner to speed things up, or stretched your way toward 'long, lean muscles,' this episode is about you. It's not about doing more extreme things. It's about doing the boring basics that actually change your body. Inside: the keto guy trying to build muscle on zero carbs (and what happened when Michelle finally got him eating), why a fat burner is basically a $40 cup of coffee, the ChatGPT deficit spiral that bottomed out at 1,000 calories, and how Michelle dropped 25 pounds eating 250 grams of carbs a day. Ready to stop guessing? See exactly how BIA coaching works: https://inquire.bianutrition.com

See All (56)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Because belief without action changes nothing. Hosted by Michelle West and the BIA Coaching Team, the Believe in Action Podcast is your go-to space for real talk, myth-busting, and game-changing conversations for women in their 30s & 40s navigating life's challenges.

Information

  • Creator
    Michelle West
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    56
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Michelle West
  • Show Website
    Believe In Action