Where Women Win with Sarah Fechter

Sarah Fechter
  • 5.0 (97)
  • FITNESS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

A podcast designed to help women better navigate common health, wellness, and work challenges they face in daily living and to help women explore becoming a better advocate for themselves in all things in life using a blend of evidence based research and personal experience. Your host, IFBB Pro Sarah Fechter, is the founder of SFHQ Hybrid Gym and the SF Coaching Method - an evidence based, individualized coaching company that places an emphasis on periodized training and nutrition protocols, lab interpretations, lifestyle and mindset. The SF Coaching Method prides itself on taking a comprehensive, whole body approach to one's personal health & fitness goals. Sarah has more than 2 decades of experience in the health and fitness industry as a women's health and nutrition coach. Her programs both online and in person help women and aspiring health professionals improve and deliver results. A popular online coach, mentor, and educator, she consistently offers simple, strategic methods for body and health transformations. Her workshops, coaching, and specialization protocols have served and delivered results for more than 10,000k women worldwide. She has been a leading force for women and many others in Michigan and has been recognized for her undeniable success in the health and fitness industry. Sarah is a certified nutritionist and functional womens health coach, who holds a Bachelor's degree from Saginaw Valley State University and has continued her education over the last two decades through elite private mentorships and functional health courses. If you're here, welcome to the community! We share the goal of learning all things pertaining to health, nutrition, women, workplace and wellness.You will find that many of our episodes integrate concepts and case studies on performance and physique optimization, along with workplace/entrepreneurship wisdom, and of course a few good laughs.

  1. 6D AGO

    These Fat Loss Questions Are Costing You Time (Ep. 125)

    I want you to think about someone in the early phase of coaching, or even someone further along, who needs a reframe and a new perspective in how they're looking at their coaching process. They're asking good questions. They're excited. They're paying attention. They're engaged in what they're doing. And when I hear certain questions around fat loss, I can quickly tell where the disconnect is. The question itself gives insight into how fat loss is being understood, and that understanding drives the decisions and the emotions that follow. It shapes whether you're making choices that move you forward into a stronger, more informed version of yourself, or whether you're stepping back into recognizable patterns that keep you repeating the same old cycle. So today, I want to walk you through some of the most common fat loss questions that came directly from a recent Zoom we hosted inside the SF coaching method for both new and current clients. And more importantly, I want to show you how much those questions actually reveal. Because when you start looking at fat loss through the right lens, everything about your expectations, your timeline, and your decisions begin to shift.   Time Stamps:   (0:42) The Early Stages of Coaching (5:40) Our Added Layer of Support (7:02) Why Isn't The Scale Moving Yet? (11:54) A More Capable System (16:10) Finding Maintenance Calories (18:35) Interpretation ----------  Apply for SF Coaching Method  https://sarahfechter.ac-page.com/sfhq-cc Complimentary Health Content  https://sarahfechter.ac-page.com/Health_Wellness_Community ----------  Follow Me On Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sarahfechter.ifbbpro/   Check Out My Website - https://www.sarahfechter.com ----------  This Podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, other professional health care services, or any professional practice of any kind. Any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk and Sarah Fechter Fitness LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual use of, reference to, reliance on, or inability to use, this Podcast or the information presented in this Podcast. All contents and design for this Podcast are owned by Sarah Fechter Fitness LLC. Always consult your professional team before beginning any exercise or nutrition program.

    24 min

  2. APR 27

    Male Case Study: Building the Metabolic Ceiling Before Fat Loss (Ep. 124)

    For the month of April, I've been unpacking real client case studies inside the SF coaching method. And today I want to give you a slightly different lens. Yes, we mostly work with women, but we do coach men as well. And this one is worth sharing because you're going to hear parts of yourself inside the story, even if the demographic looks different on paper. This client is a high level CEO type A, the one leading the room making decisions, carrying the responsibility for a large team, and operating at a pace that doesn't leave much margin. Early mornings, long days, constant output, and a schedule that can very easily take over if you allow it. He reached out about six months before becoming a dad for the first time. This was the decision to step into the next chapter of his life with intention before things compounded. He's building a family, leading a business. He's responsible for people at work and now at home, and he wanted his health to reflect that level of leadership, not just visually, aesthetically, although that's a part of it. He wanted to understand how to fuel his body in a way that matched the demands of his life. He wanted consistency. He wanted to feel strong, energized, and in control of something that had been pushed to the side for a very long time as he was building his business, he had a very real vision of the kind of dad he wanted to be present, strong, engaged, healthy and confident in his own skin. We'll breakdown his struggles and successes working together and I hope you hear yourself in his story.   Time Stamps:   (0:52) Type A CEO Case Study (3:01) Starting With Data (5:50) Nothing to Cut From (10:30) The Building Routines Phase (14:23) Life Isn't A Straight Line (17:38) The Recomposition and Metabolic Result (19:00) Everything Requires Energy (28:26) Ownership Through Investing In Coaching (30:30) Please Share This Episode ----------  Apply for SF Coaching Method  https://sarahfechter.ac-page.com/sfhq-cc Complimentary Health Content  https://sarahfechter.ac-page.com/Health_Wellness_Community ----------  Follow Me On Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sarahfechter.ifbbpro/   Check Out My Website - https://www.sarahfechter.com ----------  This Podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, other professional health care services, or any professional practice of any kind. Any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk and Sarah Fechter Fitness LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual use of, reference to, reliance on, or inability to use, this Podcast or the information presented in this Podcast. All contents and design for this Podcast are owned by Sarah Fechter Fitness LLC. Always consult your professional team before beginning any exercise or nutrition program.

    32 min

  3. APR 20

    Client Case Study: The Point Where Most Women Quit (And Why We Don't) (Ep. 123)

    Today I want to talk about the point where most women quit. Not in the beginning when motivation is high and we're stacking quick wins and definitely not later on when results are much easier to see. I'm talking about the messy middle, the point where the scale stops moving. Your frustration starts building, and the brain immediately wants to assume something must be wrong with the game plan. This is the moment where a woman starts questioning everything, including her coach. She's hitting her numbers, tracking her macros. She's training consistently, going for walks, focusing on recovery, doing her cardio. She is consistent and instead of seeing the scale reward her effort, she feels like she's doing all of this work for nothing. That is the fork in the road, because this is where most women begin to panic and negatively start speaking about their process. They write stories in their brain. This is where she wants to cut calories even lower. Add more cardio. Question her coach. Take control of the steering wheel and rewrite the coach's plan. This is where more pressure gets piled on to a system that was already stressed to begin with. And inside the SF Coaching Method, this is also the exact point where our coaches do not panic. This is where we educate, we manage expectations, and we keep building the foundation instead of reacting emotionally to a temporary stall. So today I want to give you an inside look at one of those moments a real client, a real plateau, and a real coaching decision that most people and many coaches often get wrong.   Time Stamps:   (1:24) When Women Start Questioning Everything  (2:40) Client Case Study (4:30) The Result (19:15) Weight Gain Being Part Of The Process (21:05) Dieting vs Coaching ----------  Apply for SF Coaching Method  https://sarahfechter.ac-page.com/sfhq-cc Complimentary Health Content  https://sarahfechter.ac-page.com/Health_Wellness_Community ----------  Follow Me On Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sarahfechter.ifbbpro/   Check Out My Website - https://www.sarahfechter.com ----------  This Podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, other professional health care services, or any professional practice of any kind. Any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk and Sarah Fechter Fitness LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual use of, reference to, reliance on, or inability to use, this Podcast or the information presented in this Podcast. All contents and design for this Podcast are owned by Sarah Fechter Fitness LLC. Always consult your professional team before beginning any exercise or nutrition program.

    25 min

  4. APR 13

    PCOS, Perimenopause, and Fat Loss: A Real Client Case Study (Ep. 122)

    We're sticking with the theme of client case studies for the entire month of April, I'll be providing an inside look at a variety of real client case studies inside the SF Coaching Method.  In today's episode is one I've been really looking forward to recording, because we're going to unpack a real client case study that sits at the intersection of PCOS, perimenopause, fat loss, and hormone health. And before I even get into her story, I want to zoom out for a second here because one of the biggest problems women are facing right now isn't just symptoms, it's where the nuance gets lost. There's a massive amount of information online about hormones, PCOS, perimenopause, insulin, and of course, fat loss. And a lot of it is either oversimplified, taken out of context, or just not applicable to real life. So what that does is it creates a constant feeling of, am I doing this right? Should I be doing more? Why isn't this working for me? And what I want to do in this episode is give you a clearer lens in a better understanding of what's happening. We're going to talk through what's happening physiologically in PCOS and perimenopause, why fat loss can feel more complex in this phase. How metabolism, stress and hormones are all interacting. And I'll walk you through the real case study of how this played out over the course of about nine months with my current client.   Time Stamps:   (0:57) Client Case Study I'm Excited To Dive Into (2:35) Defining Perimenopause (7:18) Insulin (9:49) Energy and Stress (14:18) My Client's Background and Lifestyle (17:02) TPO Antibodies (21:27) Changes In Months 3 and 4  (28:36) The SF Coaching Method ----------  Apply for SF Coaching Method  https://sarahfechter.ac-page.com/sfhq-cc Complimentary Health Content  https://sarahfechter.ac-page.com/Health_Wellness_Community ----------  Follow Me On Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sarahfechter.ifbbpro/   Check Out My Website - https://www.sarahfechter.com ----------  This Podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, other professional health care services, or any professional practice of any kind. Any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk and Sarah Fechter Fitness LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual use of, reference to, reliance on, or inability to use, this Podcast or the information presented in this Podcast. All contents and design for this Podcast are owned by Sarah Fechter Fitness LLC. Always consult your professional team before beginning any exercise or nutrition program.

    31 min

  5. APR 6

    When Fat Loss Shortcuts Backfire: A Real Case Study on GLP-1s, Peptides, & What Most People Miss (Ep. 121)

    Today I'm walking you through a real case study from a client inside the SF coaching method. This client didn't call me because Fat loss stopped working for her. She came back because she was scared. She was waking up fifteen to twenty times per night, drinking three gallons of water a day and still couldn't quench her thirst. Doctors told her what she was imagining and the symptoms she was experiencing were all in her head. Just because her lab values fell within the normal Western range. So this is where coaching changes your experience. This is no longer a fat loss or a transformation conversation. This becomes a systems root cause conversation. A conversation of advocacy.  And today I'm going to walk you through this case. How I'm thinking about it, what stands out and what this teaches us about fat loss shortcuts.   Time Stamps:   (1:45) Who This Episode Is For (3:38) Beth's Case Study (6:40) Retatrutide, Weight Loss, and Weight Regain (11:05) How I Look At This Case As A Functional Health Coach (16:45) GLP-1's, Peptides, and Fat Loss Tools (24:28) Rebuilding Predictability (30:30) The SF Coaching Method ----------  Apply for SF Coaching Method  https://sarahfechter.ac-page.com/sfhq-cc Complimentary Health Content  https://sarahfechter.ac-page.com/Health_Wellness_Community ----------  Follow Me On Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sarahfechter.ifbbpro/   Check Out My Website - https://www.sarahfechter.com ----------  This Podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, other professional health care services, or any professional practice of any kind. Any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk and Sarah Fechter Fitness LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual use of, reference to, reliance on, or inability to use, this Podcast or the information presented in this Podcast. All contents and design for this Podcast are owned by Sarah Fechter Fitness LLC. Always consult your professional team before beginning any exercise or nutrition program.

    32 min

  6. MAR 30

    The Skinny Era (Part 2): The Hidden Cost of Rapid Weight Loss (Ep. 120)

    This is part two of a conversation I started last week that, quite honestly, I felt compelled to have because if you've been paying attention to culture lately, you've probably noticed something happening again. Bodies are getting smaller, celebrity frames are shrinking, and the language around women's bodies is starting to sound a lot like it did in the late nineties and early two thousand. The skinny era is back, and I'll be honest with you, it pisses me off. Not because women are losing weight, but because we are watching the same cycle repeat itself without the education that women actually deserve about what these trends can do to their bodies over time. In last week's episode, we started unpacking the physiology behind chronic under fueling. We talked about energy availability, metabolic adaptation, thyroid downregulation, and stress physiology. In other words, what actually starts happening inside the body when calorie intake drops too low for too long? If you haven't listened to that episode yet, I highly recommend going back and starting there because it lays the foundation for everything we're going to talk about today, because today we're going to keep going. We're going to move deeper into what chronic under-eating can do to the female body. And we're starting with something that almost no mainstream dieting conversation talks about the menstrual cycle specifically and female hormone signaling. Because when energy availability, aka calories, stays too low, the body doesn't just slow metabolism, it begins adjusting reproductive physiology as well. And that's where the conversation gets really important for women.   Time Stamps:   (0:40) Part 2 Of Our Conversation (2:55) The Menstrual Cycle (6:24) Muscle Mass Considerations (15:30) Energy Balance and Availability (21:48) Micronutrient Considerations (34:18) The Cultural Pendulum ----------  Apply for SF Coaching Method  https://sarahfechter.ac-page.com/sfhq-cc Complimentary Health Content  https://sarahfechter.ac-page.com/Health_Wellness_Community ----------  Follow Me On Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sarahfechter.ifbbpro/   Check Out My Website - https://www.sarahfechter.com ----------  This Podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, other professional health care services, or any professional practice of any kind. Any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk and Sarah Fechter Fitness LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual use of, reference to, reliance on, or inability to use, this Podcast or the information presented in this Podcast. All contents and design for this Podcast are owned by Sarah Fechter Fitness LLC. Always consult your professional team before beginning any exercise or nutrition program.

    41 min

  7. MAR 23

    The Skinny Era (Part 1): What Happens to Women's Bodies When They Eat Too Little (Ep. 119)

    In today's episode, I'm interrupting our recent conversations around perimenopause, midlife, and hormones to talk about something that has been building in the culture for a while now. This topic is controversial, but it's also harming women of all ages, and someone needs to say something about it because what we are all watching unfold right now around women's bodies, beauty standards and the cultural obsession with getting smaller again is absolutely not a conversation about health and full transparency. It pisses me off for women. So today and the following episode, we're going to talk about the physiology of chronic under-eating in the modern skinny era because we deserve better than what's going on right now.   Time Stamps:   (1:14) The Physiology of Chronic Under-Eating (4:30) The Sophistication of The Female Body (8:55) The GLP-1 Era (12:48) #1 Reason Women Are Under-Fueled (18:55) Metabolic Adaptation (28:30) The Body's Stress Response System (33:10) The Skinny Aesthetic Trend ----------  Apply for SF Coaching Method  https://sarahfechter.ac-page.com/sfhq-cc Complimentary Health Content  https://sarahfechter.ac-page.com/Health_Wellness_Community ----------  Follow Me On Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sarahfechter.ifbbpro/   Check Out My Website - https://www.sarahfechter.com ----------  This Podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, other professional health care services, or any professional practice of any kind. Any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk and Sarah Fechter Fitness LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual use of, reference to, reliance on, or inability to use, this Podcast or the information presented in this Podcast. All contents and design for this Podcast are owned by Sarah Fechter Fitness LLC. Always consult your professional team before beginning any exercise or nutrition program.

    37 min

  8. MAR 16

    Alcohol, Midlife, and The Female Metabolism (Ep. 118)

    Today's conversation is a continuation of the recent episodes we've been exploring around perimenopause, midlife physiology, and metabolic health. Over the past few weeks, we've been unpacking what changes in the female body during this season of life from a physiological perspective, what's actually happening inside the body? And today I want to dedicate an entire episode to one lifestyle input that starts landing very differently for many women in midlife alcohol. Now, before we go any further, let me throw out my disclaimers. This episode is not about judgment or superiority. It's not about telling anyone what they should or shouldn't be doing. My role here is education and support for those who need it. What you do with the information is completely up to you. But what I hear every single week from hundreds of women through coaching calls, check ins, conversations, the gym and messages is that many women want to feel better. They want more energy. They want fewer joint aches. They want less inflammation, better moods, improved quality sleep. And they definitely want less body fat. And what I also hear very consistently is this sentence. I can't tolerate alcohol like I used to. We'll discuss why this is the case, how the body metabolizes alcohol, and how to pivot alcohol's role in your life in midlife if you are open to a new path.   Time Stamps:   (1:15) Not Coming From A Place of Superiority (3:20) Your 20's vs Your 30's and 40's (7:27) Stress Physiology (9:13) How The Body Metabolizes Alcohol (22:00) Alcohol Serves A Role In Midlife (29:02) Working With The SF Coaching Method ----------  Apply for SF Coaching Method  https://sarahfechter.ac-page.com/sfhq-cc Complimentary Health Content  https://sarahfechter.ac-page.com/Health_Wellness_Community ----------  Follow Me On Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sarahfechter.ifbbpro/   Check Out My Website - https://www.sarahfechter.com ----------  This Podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, other professional health care services, or any professional practice of any kind. Any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk and Sarah Fechter Fitness LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual use of, reference to, reliance on, or inability to use, this Podcast or the information presented in this Podcast. All contents and design for this Podcast are owned by Sarah Fechter Fitness LLC. Always consult your professional team before beginning any exercise or nutrition program.

    31 min
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5
out of 5
97 Ratings

About

A podcast designed to help women better navigate common health, wellness, and work challenges they face in daily living and to help women explore becoming a better advocate for themselves in all things in life using a blend of evidence based research and personal experience. Your host, IFBB Pro Sarah Fechter, is the founder of SFHQ Hybrid Gym and the SF Coaching Method - an evidence based, individualized coaching company that places an emphasis on periodized training and nutrition protocols, lab interpretations, lifestyle and mindset. The SF Coaching Method prides itself on taking a comprehensive, whole body approach to one's personal health & fitness goals. Sarah has more than 2 decades of experience in the health and fitness industry as a women's health and nutrition coach. Her programs both online and in person help women and aspiring health professionals improve and deliver results. A popular online coach, mentor, and educator, she consistently offers simple, strategic methods for body and health transformations. Her workshops, coaching, and specialization protocols have served and delivered results for more than 10,000k women worldwide. She has been a leading force for women and many others in Michigan and has been recognized for her undeniable success in the health and fitness industry. Sarah is a certified nutritionist and functional womens health coach, who holds a Bachelor's degree from Saginaw Valley State University and has continued her education over the last two decades through elite private mentorships and functional health courses. If you're here, welcome to the community! We share the goal of learning all things pertaining to health, nutrition, women, workplace and wellness.You will find that many of our episodes integrate concepts and case studies on performance and physique optimization, along with workplace/entrepreneurship wisdom, and of course a few good laughs.

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