Happy 4th of July, Fabulous Folks! 🇺🇸

I’ve been spending the past month deep diving the nervous system for my latest course: Strong, Lean & Sleeping Again: The Midlife Nervous System Reset.

I expected to learn the newest strategies to “stress less” for health + fat loss.

Instead, it ended up completely changing the way I think about why so many of us stay stuck.

Why do our brains seem to be so good at learning what keeps us worried… and so bad at learning what helps us feel content?

But first, a quick story…

Yesterday I was chatting with a friend. She’s one of those women who seems to have it all together. She’s tall (which, for us Asians, is saying something 🤣), owns a successful photography business, has timeless style, and is a beautiful person inside and out.

She reminds me of Princess Kate.

She was laughing while telling us that her mom was visiting from Korea and immediately commented that her skin wasn’t as “glassy” anymore and that she’d put on a little weight.

It got me thinking…

Why do we humans have such a tendency to notice what’s wrong—or what could go wrong—instead of everything that’s already going right?

Psychologists call it negativity bias.

It helped our ancestors survive.

Today, it often just keeps us stressed, weak and spinning our wheels.

It reminded me of my own 30-year journey of trying to make my body smaller. Pinching. Squeezing. Calorie counting. Chasing the next plan. Thinking I’d finally feel enough once I got there.

Meanwhile, my body had been incredibly loyal all along. It carried me through illness, an ACL tear, alcohol overload, too little sleep, two pregnancies, and two C-sections.

One of my biggest "ahas" from this course is realizing that we have more agency over our daily stress than we think.

We don’t just want less stress. We want MORE of the right kind of stress and LESS of the kind that’s quietly draining us.

Here’s what we’re intentionally practicing more of:

✔️ Lifting weights ✔️ Learning a new skill ✔️ Having uncomfortable but honest conversations

These are the kinds of stress that help us adapt, recover, and become more resilient.

Then there’s the stuff we’re trying to dial down.

Not trying to “fix” ourselves.

Just noticing it and responding with a little more awareness and self-compassion.

❌ Self-criticism ❌ Under-eating ❌ Overcommiting ❌ Adding "more" (workouts, hacks, trending diets, etc)

Our brains are skilled at learning + magnifying habits that create unnecessary stress and suffering. One expert even called it a “universal learning disorder.”

Phew! All things considered, let’s get back to one of my favorite forms of positive stress…strength training. 💪🏽

I’ve recently increased my glute/leg training from 15 sets per week to 27. It's not as much as you think. 3 moves. 3 sets of each. 3 times a week.

My hypothesis is that this microdose of tirzepatide (my GLP-1) will actually improve my performance and recovery—not hurt it.

If you’re curious, I’m documenting the entire experiment inside the community: how I’m eating, training, and feeling along the way, both as the patient and as the pharmacist who dispenses it.

I also shared my current lower-body workout inside the community if you’d like to try it.

Community members get first dibs and 50% off my July small-group strength training sessions.

The goal is to help you build enough momentum this summer so you head into fall already stronger —instead of spending September resetting yet again.

I’d love to have you join us.

Cheers to thriving together,
​Alyssa​
​PharmD | CSCS | Precision Nutrition Certified | GGS Women's Coaching Specialist

​Book a free consult call​
​
​Customize your coaching plan​