Twenty years ago, I dug Valentine’s Day chocolates out of the trash.

And that moment kicked off 15 years of restriction, rules, all-or-nothing dieting, and solid disordered eating patterns that I didn’t even recognize at the time.

In this episode of Mastering Menopause, I’m sharing the story of the Valentine’s Day that changed everything — the 1,200 calorie era, the keto obsession, intermittent fasting, marathon training, and the years of believing I just “couldn’t be trusted” around food.

I was really good at losing weight.

I just sucked at maintaining it.

I lived in the constant cycle of:
• Restrict Monday through Thursday
• Blow it on the weekend
• Start over on Monday
• Create new rules
• Break them
• Beat myself up

I stopped baking cookies for my kids.
I wouldn’t keep “trigger foods” in the house.
I truly believed I had no control.

Until I learned how to eat in a way that actually supported my metabolism instead of fighting it.

In this episode, I talk about:

• How restriction creates obsession
• Why 1,200 calories isn’t the solution
• The mental freedom that comes from tracking macros properly
• Why protein is the secret sauce
• The difference between control and food freedom
• And how I can now have two chocolates and move on with my life

This is especially for the woman in her 40s or 50s who feels stuck in the restrict–binge–restart cycle and thinks menopause is the reason she can’t maintain weight loss.

It’s not.

Your metabolism just needs a different approach.

If you’re ready to break the cycle, I’m currently enrolling for the FIT AF Metabolic Fat Loss Accelerator — a 4-week program where we spend:

• 2 weeks at true maintenance
• 2 weeks in a precision fat loss phase
• With macro guidance, workouts, and real food freedom

https://go.katalystfitness.net/fatloss-accelerator

If this episode resonated, share it with a friend who needs to hear it.

You don’t have to live at war with your body or food anymore.

Thank you so much for listening, please share with a friend and subscribe so you don't miss an episode!

If you want to see how we can help you on your journey, book a quick 10-15 minute call so we can chat about your goals!
https://www.menopotmeltdown.com/quickchatnow

Now accepting clients! Coaching Process Video and booking link https://www.menopotmeltdown.com/mmmcoachingapp

Free No BS Menopause Secrets Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/kathykatalyst/?ref=share

For all my social links: https://go.katalystfitness.net/kathykatalyst

Do you have a question that you would like answered on the show? Please ask your question here:
https://go.katalystfitness.net/podcast-question-entry

Have a personal question? Email me at kathycote9142@comcast.net

I don't think most women understand the concept of eating at maintenance calories vs maintaining their weight on deficit calories.

If you’re eating 1,400 to 1,600 calories and not losing weight, this episode is for you.

One of the biggest misconceptions I hear from women in menopause is this:

“I must be eating at maintenance because my weight isn’t changing.”

But maintaining your weight and eating at your true maintenance calories are two very different things.

After years of chronic dieting, your metabolism adapts. Your body learns how to survive on fewer calories, fat loss stalls, energy drops, digestion slows, sleep suffers, and belly fat becomes harder to lose. Most women blame menopause, but what’s really happening is an underfed metabolism.

In this episode of Mastering Menopause, I break down:

• The difference between maintenance calories and metabolic adaptation
• Why eating more is often the first step to fat loss after 50
• How chronic dieting downregulates your metabolism
• Why the scale jumps when you increase calories (and why it’s not fat gain)
• How restoring calories helps reduce belly fat and improve energy
• Why maintenance calories are the foundation for sustainable fat loss

I also explain how I calculate true maintenance calories for my clients, why most women are not actually at maintenance, and why trying to diet harder on already low calories is exactly why fat loss has stopped working.

This episode is especially for women who feel stuck, tired, frustrated, and afraid to eat more, even though what they’re doing clearly isn’t working.

Your metabolism isn't broken, it's underfed.

I also share details about my new 4-week Metabolic Fat Loss Accelerator, where we spend two weeks restoring metabolism at maintenance calories before moving into a strategic fat loss phase. This is the same process I use with my one-on-one clients, just in a faster, structured format.

If you’re ready to stop chronic dieting and start working with your metabolism instead of against it, this episode will give you clarity and direction.

https://go.katalystfitness.net/fatloss-accelerator

Thank you so much for listening, please share with a friend and subscribe so you don't miss an episode!

If you want to see how we can help you on your journey, book a quick 10-15 minute call so we can chat about your goals!
https://www.menopotmeltdown.com/quickchatnow

Now accepting clients! Coaching Process Video and booking link https://www.menopotmeltdown.com/mmmcoachingapp

Free No BS Menopause Secrets Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/kathykatalyst/?ref=share

For all my social links: https://go.katalystfitness.net/kathykatalyst

Do you have a question that you would like answered on the show? Please ask your question here:
https://go.katalystfitness.net/podcast-question-entry

Have a personal question? Email me at kathycote9142@comcast.net

In this guest episode of Mastering Menopause, I sit down with Alicia, better known as AliciaXL on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. I found her through a clip shared by Brad Jensen, and I have been binging her content ever since. She is hilarious, brutally honest, and documenting her weight loss journey in a way that is refreshingly real.

We talk about why she chose full transparency, how accountability keeps her on track.

Alicia shares what it’s really like to lose weight when it isn’t pretty or perfect, how she handles low days, how she stays consistent when motivation is gone, and why tiny wins matter more than big, unsustainable overhauls.

We also get into practical nutrition and tracking. Alicia explains why tracking isn’t obsessive, it’s awareness, and why most people wildly underestimate portions and calories.

We talk protein goals, simple meal building, and how she makes “real life” cooking work without overcomplicating it. Plus, she shares her favorite tips, her most unhinged food combos, and the mindset shift she’s most proud of, learning how to stop hating herself and start talking to herself like someone worth fighting for.

If you’ve ever felt stuck, overwhelmed, or tired of trying to do this perfectly, you’re going to love this conversation.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aliciaaxl/

Thank you so much for listening, please share with a friend and subscribe so you don't miss an episode!

If you want to see how we can help you on your journey, book a quick 10-15 minute call so we can chat about your goals!
https://www.menopotmeltdown.com/quickchatnow

Now accepting clients! Coaching Process Video and booking link https://www.menopotmeltdown.com/mmmcoachingapp

Free No BS Menopause Secrets Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/kathykatalyst/?ref=share

For all my social links: https://go.katalystfitness.net/kathykatalyst

Do you have a question that you would like answered on the show? Please ask your question here:
https://go.katalystfitness.net/podcast-question-entry

Have a personal question? Email me at kathycote9142@comcast.net