Menopause, Melanin & Aging Like A Queen

Send us Fan Mail In the second episode of 2025, Samantha talks about her new 8 week Strength Training for Beginners, program specifically designed for menopausal women, We know the risks of muscle loss with age i.e. osteoporosis, metabolic disorders, diabetes and heart disease. In fact, muscle is known as the organ of youth but the more you procrastinate and avoid starting, the harder it will be t...

Send us Fan Mail Happy 2025 everyone!! In this first episode of the year, Samantha shares how to REALLY get what it is, that you want in 2025. And nope, it's not about being more disciplined and scratching things off your to-do list. Getting what you want is first, KNOWING what you want and although you might find that easier, it is much harder than you think. Listen to this episode and be op...

Send us Fan Mail In this last episode of 2024, Samantha shares what most people do when they "reflect" on the past year and more often than not, it's on all the negative things and ignoring the (many) positive things that they are doing. James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits says..."focus on being 1% better every day". It is like compounded interested but you must have...

Send us Fan Mail In the second last episode of 2024, Sam shares her own perspective on what you should focus on in 2024. Instead of doing "all the things", being more discipline and working harder, how about slacing back, focusing on the foundations and becoming an expert in your own health? Nope, it ain't sexy but how has dieting, depriving and over-exercising worked for you so far...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Samantha shares the ONE THING that women going through menopause, need to focus on; theier health. And what factor of health should they prioritize? Building muscle! Muscle is known as the organ of youth and will literally determine your quality of life!! Listen while Samantha shares how muscles impacts our metabolism, blood sugar, weight and quality of life and e...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode, Sam shares why what you are used to doing (in the past) when it comes to weight loss, is no longer working in menopause. Hormonal changes make you physiologically different so it responds differently, to different stressors such as: Exercise Dieting Not getting enough sleep. Hormonal changes begin in perimenopause to prepare your body for menopause (12 months of n...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I talk about what you need to do FIRST before strength training; especially lifting heavy. Building a strong foundation, mastering movements that replicate ADL's (Acts of Daily Living) abd being consistent, are essential pieces before adding load (i.e. weights). Getting enough protein and rest are the building blocks of muscle. Working with a skilled professi...

Send us Fan Mail Thank you for listening and I would like to remind you that Walk with Sam - Walking Group - is available for anyone to join, ANYWHERE! Click HERE to join the free Whatsapp community! Thank you for listening.

Send us Fan Mail Two weeks ago I recorded an episode called, Racism, Patriarchy and Menopause  and then last week I recorded one called Why black women are so tired.   Surprisingly (NOT) they have had some of my lowest numbers because when you start calling out the blatant racism and white supremacy that fuels our businesses and lives, it makes a lot of people uncomfortable.   This is when you hea...

Send us Fan Mail So here we are again.... The US election didn’t end up like a lot of us wanted. Turns out....60% of white women voted for Trump. This is even more than they did 8 years ago. I saw a LOT of white angry women on my IG and FB feed but the reality is THEY chose him. They voted him. White Supremacy runs deep.   Here we are again and when I say “we", it's because although I li...

Send us Fan Mail Since  colonization, whiteness is the goal. In fact, white people invented race.   They colonized and took our labour (and still do) to create their systems of oppression.   When BLM becamse popular, there were promises of change and a lot of us were hopeful but now white people are accusing and getting angry about not getting jobs because of reverse racism. FYI there is NO SUCH T...

Send us Fan Mail Last Thursday we (my partner, Nadine and I) hosted 4th episode of HH&HF and it was our BEST event ever. October 2022, I wanted to do an in-person event to get people together again after being shut down for 2 years with the pandemic and  I wasn’t sure “exactly” what I wanted but I knew that I wanted to get a room of women together to learn, laugh and build community. Since the...

Send us Fan Mail October is World Menopause Month and an opportunity to get educated, find resources, guidance and support. Menopause does not HAVE to be bad. In fact, ti can be a great opportunity to take back control of your health.   Menopause is the last day of the 12th month of no menses.   Perimenopause is when the ovaries start to shut down and hormones start changing and can last between 3...

Send us Fan Mail Over the past few years, I have joined a handful of menopause support groups in facebook to offer support, see what women are talking about and maybe get a client? I also have my own Facebook Group - Strong Women Over 40 where we offer weekly challenges to motivate our followers to think outside the box, make baby steps and start feeling better but it's not "sexy" a...

Send us Fan Mail I had a partial hysterectomy almost 11 years ago. I had really bad fibroids – 4 6-7mm. My uterus was the size of  a 5 month pregnant woman.   I first found out about them when I had an abortion when I was 21. The Dr. said they were common – esp in black women and they “didn’t know why.   Perhaps generations of “racial trauma”?   There is no scientific evidence as to why black wome...

Send us Fan Mail I could write a book about how stress can affect your body. Approx 15+ years ago I lived with such bad chronic pain in my knees and ankles, that I eventually ended up taking 4 migrain strength Advil gel caps per day for months. I also was seeing an Osteopath, an RMT and naturopath to help find answers and reduce my pain. I saw a sports medicine doctor who did blood work and x-rays...

Send us Fan Mail There are MANY myths when it comes to menopause. You only reach menopause once you are 50.  If you aren’t having hot flashes and or night sweats, you're not suffering enough. Being in your late 30’s or early 40’s is too young for menopause etc.  There are a LOT of myths when it comes to menopause AND most of it comes from lack of research = lack of education and the UNWILLING...

Send us Fan Mail If you don’t fear change, you’re an anomaly  I believe that we all fear change – although we KNOW that it’s enivitable, we try SO DAMN HARD to keep things “satus quo” so there are no surprises and we can control things.   I know for me, I always like to know what’s next and makes me think of when I was pregnant with my first 23 years ago. I followed the book (rules) and so did my...

Send us Fan Mail Up until about 5 years ago, I used to focus on weight loss with all of my clients because I understood the desire to be smaller.    Diet culture is deeply rooted in a LOT of us and it is also a VERY large part of the health and fitness industry so trying to undo and unlearn a lot of this, is a constant battle.   When we become obsessed with the size of our bodies and forget about...

Send us Fan Mail Why are there only white women talking about menopause? Well, not ONLY white women, but let’s be honest – primarily white women When we think of our world; the system and power, the most powerful person is the white man. Second to him is the white woman. Yes white women are oppressed but NOT more than black, brown and indigenous men.   In the levels of heirarchy, black men are at...

Send us Fan Mail With the summer is coming to an end , it’s normal that this is the time to get back into routines i.e. exercising more, walking more regularly , eating better and having less alcohol. In the fitness industry, we call September the new “New Year” in that most people work really hard to look good for summer and then throw in the towel half way through so then they have to start agai...

Send us Fan Mail If you are like me, you probably had minimum (or no) idea that you were going through perimenopause and your mom never talked about it either. Now looking back, I started getting symptoms of perimenopause at the beginning of Covid and that was slow weight gain. Eventhough I was uber diligent with my exercise and food, the weight gain came anyway. After the lockdown I noticed an in...

Send us Fan Mail So what IS the Musculoskeletal Syndrome of Menopause?   It is the musculoskeletal (muscular) symptoms that over 70% of women will experience as a result of declining estrogen during meniopause.   Dr. Vonda Wright – ortohopeadic surgeon wrote the first published article on this topic to help create awareness for other doctors so they would listen when menopausal women need help wit...

Send us Fan Mail As a fitness professional, this is something that I KNOW you don’t hear enough in the fitness industry. It is HARD to watch our bodies change. Brainwashed us to believe that if we just “do the thing”, exercise, eat etc. We will have control – until we don’t.   When I got pregnant, I knew my body had to change but why didn’t I just “bounce back”? Why did I still look pregnant? Woul...

Send us Fan Mail 70’s and 80’s babies grew up with 20 minute workout and Jane Fonda.  Diets – cabbage soup, grapefruit diet, zone diet, 1200 calories. 1200 calories - Where did it come from? 1918 Dr Lulu Hunt Peters – book Diet & Health. With key to the Calories. One of the first modern diet books changing women from bossomed, with cinched waists and corsets to thin, slender bodies, wearing lo...