The 3 “Healthy” Habits Keeping You Stuck

Tell me if this sounds like you…

You care about your health. You’re making an effort. You eat healthy most of the time. You work out when you have time.

Yet… nothing’s happening. Your body's the same, you wake up tired even after a full night’s sleep, and you’re getting frustrated AF because why does everyone else seem to have it figured out??

In my experience as a doctor and women’s health coach, and in my own personal experience (hello, years of cutting calories and often running 30+ miles/week), lots of the things that we think are “healthy” are actually working against us – especially once we hit about 40.

Let's look at the 3 not-so-helpful “healthy” habits I see the most:

1. Eating “clean,” but not in a way that supports strength and metabolic health. Many women choose foods like salads, smoothies, granola bowls, avocado toast… foods that seem like the healthy choice, but when you really look at it, the protein content is way too low. Without enough protein, your body doesn’t have what it needs to maintain or build muscle, and that directly impacts your metabolism, energy, and body composition – no matter how “clean” the food is.
2. Consistently exercising, but without any real progression. Many women work out regularly, but the workouts don’t change much over time. The same weights, machines, classes, week after week. That kind of consistency feels productive, but physiologically, it stops being effective pretty quickly. The body adapts to a repeated stimulus, and once that adaptation happens, there’s no longer a strong signal for change. Strength, muscle, and metabolic improvements come from progressive overload, meaning the demand on the body has to increase over time in a structured way.
3. Chasing sweat and calorie burn despite lack of results. There’s still a strong pull toward workouts that feel hard, leave you drenched in sweat, and give you the sense that you’ve “burned a lot of calories.” But your body adapts to that as well. With repeated cardio, especially at the same intensity, your body becomes more efficient, which means you burn fewer calories doing the same workout. So you end up needing to do more and more just to stay where you are, which is exactly where many women find themselves.

So yes, of course you’re frustrated!

You’re not just sitting in your recliner eating Oreos… you’re really trying! You’re doing the things you were taught to do, but you’re not getting anywhere. And this is why.

What To Do Now:

• Protein needs to be intentional, not something you hope you get enough of.
• Training needs to follow a plan that challenges your body in a progressive way.
• The goal of your workouts needs to move away from just burning as many calories as possible and toward building strength and muscle.

None of this requires extremes, but it does require a different approach than what most women have been taught.

💪 If you’re tired of trying to navigate your health on your own, my 1:1 coaching program offers personalized nutrition and fitness coaching, ongoing accountability, and direct access to me for expert guidance, encouragement, and support every step of the way. Apply here.