What Worked at 41 and What Works Now at 51

I lost 70 pounds at 41 without medication, and at 51 I'm keeping it off with a very different playbook.

If you're new here, you might have seen my before and after photo and wondered if it was a GLP-1. I get it. Right now, that's the first question most people ask when they see a big change. And honestly, if a medication is the right tool for you and your doctor, I'm not here to judge that.

The photo on the left is me at 40. I started making changes in October 2016, at 41, and it took just over six months. No shots, no surgery. Just a handful of daily habits, and one tool that finally gave me the appetite control and energy to actually stick with them. The photo on the right is me today at 51, ten years later and still keeping it off.

I want to walk you through exactly what I did back then, what stopped working as I got closer to 50, and what I do now. Because if you're over 45 and the things that used to work suddenly don't, I want you to know it's not in your head. Your body changed. Your plan can change too.

What I Did at 41

Nothing about my plan was complicated. Honestly, I'd known what to eat for years. What I didn't have was the energy to work out after a long day, or enough control over my appetite to stop snacking at night. Once I had both, doing the same few things every single day finally felt possible. (I'll share what made the difference further down.)

I kept carbs low and kept them there. I stayed under 20 grams of net carbs a day. Meals were built around meat, eggs, vegetables, and healthy fats. If you want ideas, my blog has over 200 low-carb recipes I still make for my family.

I fasted in a way I could actually live with. I didn't do anything extreme. I ate a small lunch and a bigger dinner, which meant I wasn't fighting hunger all morning and I could sit down to a real meal at night.

I lifted weights and walked, four to five days a week. My focus was strength, not hours of cardio. Building muscle made a bigger difference in how my body looked and felt than any amount of time on a treadmill.

I broke a plateau on purpose. About halfway through, the scale stopped moving. I did a planned carb-up weekend, then went right back to my routine, and things started moving again. A plateau isn't failure. Sometimes your body just needs a change in the pattern.

What Changed as I Got Closer to 50

For years, I kept the weight off doing exactly what I'd always done. Then, somewhere in my late 40s, the same habits stopped giving me the same results.

The pounds started creeping back. I was more tired, but I wasn't sleeping well. I'd feel wired at night and dragging in the morning. Pushing harder, eating less, and fasting longer only seemed to make it worse.

That was humbling. I'd built a whole business around helping women feel better, and here I was having to start over with my own body. What I eventually realized is that perimenopause and stress were changing the rules. The question wasn't how to push harder. It was how to stop working against myself.

What I Do Now at 51

These days I'm not chasing a new "after" photo. I'm maintaining, feeling good, and paying attention to things I used to brush off. You can start any of these today.

I start my morning calm, not caffeinated. Before coffee, I drink water and get some protein in. It sounds small, but starting the day fed and hydrated instead of running on caffeine changes how the rest of my day feels.

I eat protein like it's my job. Every meal starts with protein, and the rest of the plate fills in around it. At this age, protecting muscle matters more than ever, and protein keeps me full so I'm not grazing all afternoon.

I walk after meals. Even 10 minutes makes a difference in how I feel. Most days I wear a weighted vest, which turns an easy walk into a little bit of strength work too.

I'm smarter about when I eat. I still fast, but I don't treat it like a test of willpower anymore. If a long fast leaves me wired, exhausted, and starving by 3pm, it isn't working for me, no matter what it says on paper.

I wind down on purpose. My evenings have a routine now: lights lower, phone down, and time to actually settle my nervous system before bed. Sleep used to be the first thing I sacrificed. Now it's the first thing I protect.

None of this is flashy. But it's the difference between fighting my body every day and finally working with it.

Where Ketones Fit, Then and Now

So what gave me that energy and appetite control? Prüvit ketones. They're the one tool I've used through both chapters of this story. I started them in 2016 alongside everything above, and I still drink them every day. They're sugar-free and fit right into my low-carb lifestyle, and I've tested my own blood ketone levels after drinking them. Seeing those numbers was what convinced me.

For me, they've helped with the parts that used to derail me: steady energy without the afternoon crash, fewer cravings, and better focus while I'm fasting. They didn't do the work for me. The habits did that. But they made those habits a lot easier to stick with, especially in the early weeks when everything felt hard.

If you're curious, you can learn more and order here. And if you'd rather start with just the habits, that works too. Everything in this post will help you either way.

Disclosure: I'm an independent Prüvit distributor and may earn a commission from purchases made through my link.

If You Want a Plan to Follow

When I figured out what my body needed in my 50s, I wrote it all down so I could stop guessing. That became my Cortisol Conscious Plan.

It's a 21-day plan that walks you through the exact routines I use now: how to start your morning calm with hydration and protein before caffeine, how to time your meals, how to build in walks after eating, and how to wind down at night so you actually rest. Each day builds on the last, so you're not trying to change everything at once.

If the habits that used to work for you have stopped working, this is where I'd start. Get the Cortisol Conscious Plan here.

The woman in that photo at 40 didn't believe she could change. At 41, she learned she could. And at 51, she's learning she can change again. You can too. 💛