How to Un-Diet Your Relationship with Movement in Midlife with Christine Chessman

It’s really common for people who start an intuitive eating journey to question their relationship with movement as well. And it makes sense, right? If the only reason we’ve ever dragged ourselves to the gym was to see the scale move, then we’re going to have  to reevaluate our relationship with movement too if the scale is no longer invovled. That’s why I invited Christine Chessman on the show to introduce us to the idea of joyful movement and movement for the purpose of our overall well-being.

Christine is an expert at helping women embrace their bodies, build strength, and prioritize feeling good over appearance. Taking a break from all movement might be a great first step, but the key is to do it with intention. Implementing a joyful movement practice requires some soul-seeking, time, and the willingness to take a few risks! While it sounds a lot like dating, there won’t be any heartbreak, because as Christine shares with us-you cannot fail on an intuitive movement journey. You’re only evolving!

 The other key element of our conversation was how important it is to release the idea that the only movement that counts is intense, high-impact, or makes you borderline nauseous. In midlife, our bodies are generally no longer following predictable patterns. It’s a time to sideline body-shaming and honor the fact that you showed up in the first place, even if you take breaks or modify your workout. If you’re ready to reconnect with your body in midlife, this is the perfect place to start. 

To learn more about Christine and her work, check out her website at https://hellofitnesschristine.com, follow her on Instagram @hellofitnesschristine, or on Facebook at @@hellofitnesschristine. As a listener, take advantage of 2 Free Classes & Kettle Bells Made Easy! 

In this episode, you’ll learn: 

• Why we have to do the work of discovering our why for engaging in movement
• Why it’s common to crave different forms of movement than you did before
• How to start “dating” in your intuitive movement relationship to discover a new, enjoyable fitness routine
• Why it’s ok to cut workouts short or take breaks on the days you don’t feel your best
• Why you 100% cannot fail on your intuitive movement journey

TRANSCRIPT

Jenn Salib Huber 0:02
Hi and welcome to the midlife feast the podcast for women who are hungry for more in this season of life. I'm your host, Dr. Jenn Selena Huber. Come to my table. Listen and learn from me. Trusted guests, experts in women's health and interviews with women just like you. Each episode brings to the table juicy conversations designed to help you feast on midlife. Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week's episode of the midlife feast. My guest today is Christine chessmen. And some of you may recognize Christine, she's our joyful movement coordinator and cheerleader in the midlife peace community. But Christina is a non diet strength coach, and she's also an intuitive eating counselor. And she also works with you know, women who are in any stage of midlife and are trying to redefine their relationship with movement so that they can focus on feeling, you know, not only strong, but also working on maintaining health and strength as we get older, because as we all know, that really is a big focus. But sometimes it's hard to redefine a relationship with movement, after many years of living in diet, culture and thinking of movement as a calorie in calorie out equation are part of that equation, I should say. So I was really excited to sit down with Christine, and get her take on how she helps women to and diet their relationship with movement and exercise in midlife. welcome Christine to the midlife feast. How are you?

Christine Chessman 1:34
I'm good, how are you turn.

Jenn Salib Huber 1:37
I'm really good. It's Friday when we're recording this, which is always fun that it's Friday afternoon, end of the week. And so you are one of kind of I say my new internet friends. I feel like we've I've made a lot of internet friends over the last little while but you and I connected on your podcast, and then in the last couple of months, and then you joined the midlife ease community. And we quickly all loved you. And you brought a really unique kind of expertise with you, which was being a personal trainer, who has their own complicated history relationship with food and dieting and body image, who has also trained as an intuitive eating counselor. And as a result of that awesome combo, you have become our joyful movement, cheerleader coordinator, whatever you want to call it in the membership, and I'm just really excited to share some of the wisdom that you have about joyful movement on the podcast. So why don't you tell us a little bit about your story as little or as much as you would like, but especially the part where you kind of, you know, learned about intuitive eating and made that part of your part of your world.

Christine Chessman 2:47
Oh, it's so just lovely to be here. I'm very excited to be be mindful of the fact that I can talk a lot. I'm Irish. We talk a lot. So do cut me off if you need. And it's quite a complicated long story. So I'm going to try and keep it nutshell for everybody. But yeah, just I, as a kid, I had quite a difficult upbringing and Belfast and the troubles and at various things going on. And I when I was 13, developed anorexia, which I had for several years. And then, you know, I thought I'd recovered, everybody else thought I'd recovered, because I was in the air quotes, normal body again, weight restored, and thoughts, I could never shake it, the voices were always there. And so one eating disorder morphed into various others. Throughout my 20s and early 30s. I became a fitness instructor really, as a way to control my weight. If I'm truly honest with myself, that was a big motivation, so that I could just exercise all day long. And to get paid for it. I did like movement, but it was always with a sense of what how it was going to maintain my body, how it's going to change my body, not in terms of how I felt when I was moving. And I think you know, where people sort of we talk about social media in such a negative context. But for me, Instagram, and Facebook helped me an awful lot to connect with people in the non diet space. And yeah, fitness trainers and the non diet space nutritionist and non diet space, and it opened up a world for me that wasn't previously open or and I discovered there was a film documentary called Embrace. And I always credit that as my lightbulb moment. And Taryn

Jenn Salib Huber 4:43
tans retiring rumfitt.

Christine Chessman 4:45
Yeah, yeah, she's incredible. And she set out to do a documentary on why women do not like their bodies. And it was all about why do 80 90% of us just not like our bodies and who we are. And it's just the whole The whole idea of the documentary was at the end, actually, we can choose to like our bodies as they are, we can choose to take a different path with that's in our hands, we can. And it spoke to me in a way that nothing else has. And then I find intuitive eating through Evelyn Tripoli who's amazing, and did the training, and absolutely loved it. And just my business was naturally evolving to a non diet space. I never did diet plans with clients or food plans, but it just naturally evolved. And it's something that I'm hugely passionate about having come from a eating disorder background is two separate to untangle the weight loss and the movement, which is so prevalent, the combination of the both of them is just through I just, you know, every gym that you walk into, you'll see get a tone bomb do this for it's everywhere, it's everywhere. But once we can open our eyes to the fact that this is just moneymaking, multibillion dollar industry who's trying to profit off our unhappiness. And that actually, we're not supposed to look like that person. We're supposed to be the healthy version of us. Not supposed to be healthy. But we are supposed to be happy as the version of ourselves rather than that person over there or that person. That's yeah, so that's a long answer to your question. But it's, I'm hugely passionate about helping women take up space in their bodies as they are on building strength and feeling good. That is what it's all about for me.

Jenn Salib Huber 6:41
So I love a couple of things that you said, one is about the documentary embrace, because I'd actually forgotten about that. And it is really, really fabulous. I think that she she's Australian, right? I think yeah, yeah. And I think it was so brave of her. Because I think she was really one of the first who was speaking to the media side of things. So not wasn't speaking to the Health at Every Size, wasn't speaking to the intuitive eating was really just speaking to the media message that we get about bodies and acknowledging that like all of us have some insecurity that all of us feel Yes, you know, some dislike, and that we need to recognize that it really is a choice almost that we can make, and that I think did wonders to just opening up that world. And I also think that you're right about intuitive eating and social media and kind of the, the anti diet or, you know, on dieting world, I don't think it would have been accessible without social media. I don't think that the intuitive eating book, which has been around since the 90s, would have taken off. If people hadn't learned about it through social media, I don't think that haze would be an acronym that most people in this kind of space have heard of, at least. So yeah, there you know, there can be some good that comes of it. But you're you're really right about food and exercise being coupled in a way that rarely is uncoupled. So whenever somebody would, you know, seek advice for health or weight or whatever it would be diet and exercise that they were told to work on. So for, I don't know, I'm gonna make some assumptions that a lot of the people that you work with probably have a similar experience to the people that I work with, that the only time they ever exercised was part of that calorie in calorie out equation. And so when one would go together, the other would go together. But that also meant our means that when they are learning to stop dieting, which isn't giving up but when they're learning to stop dieting, it often means that they stop exercising because they don't know how to have a relationship with movement that isn't based on that. Is that something that you've seen with your clients as well?

Christine Chessman 8:59
Yes, yes. I think there's kind of I think that's there's two schools really well, there's many schools, we're all very different. But there's there's people that kind of will then stop exercise altogether because of that connection. And that brings them back to the dieting days if they want to move away from dieting very much fitness exercise, it all goes on the backburner whereas there's an other camp which might be the over exercising camp that just can't quite get that balance right? Balances a strange word that I don't love but but just in terms of use, I've got clients here and the over exercising camp and clients here and there. They only want to exercise to lose weight. What's the point otherwise? So it's yeah, you'll find people sort of some people in the middle as well darted all the way around, but it definitely those two camps I see most. And it's it makes complete sense. So if you've had a really tricky history with dieting ever ate of there just it I do think that a lot of it's propagated through perpetuated through gym culture as well. Very much so, so slogans for every gym or like, you know, get some or body ready, get Beachbody ready. So it's, it's very hard to untangle the two, it's very, very hard. And I have a number of clients that are like, you know, I had a big dinner last night to work the extra hard today or I'm going out for dinner tonight or I need to go to a party at the weekend. So I need to do more jumping squats or I don't really like burpee, so

Jenn Salib Huber 10:38
yeah, me either.

Christine Chessman 10:41
But I think the line got I know who likes breakfast. And the language we use is like, oh, he looks fit or she's fit, oh, you're in good shape, we talk about being in good shape. I'm not that equates in our minds to being fit, or you're in good shape, or I'd like to get in better shape. So the language we use it just, you know, it kind of, it's very hard to them separate them. And it takes a lot of work. And it takes a lot of effort.

Jenn Salib Huber 11:13
I had a conversation with someone this week, and we were talking about their relationship with movement. And it was exactly that, that it's tied to like, Oh, if they if they want to have a certain food, they'll they'll try and do more exercise. And and as we were trying to untangle this, in her coaching sessions using cable, Jen, I just still don't understand what's wrong with trying to burn more calories if I've eaten something that I think is more nutrition than I need. And, you know, and I think that that is a really difficult thing for people to uncouple because when you are earning your food, with exercise, there is no other, it's difficult to focus on the other benefits of movement. But you know, if you're only moving to burn calories, then you're not going to prioritize moving. When you need to de stress you're not going to prioritize moving, you know, just because it's fun and feels good or helps you sleep or helps you you know, stay mobile or active. And and I think that that's the hardest one for people to to uncouple is the belief that we exercise in some way to burn extra calories? Is that something that you see too,

Christine Chessman 12:28
all the time, all the time like it just but it I think I think that's why it's so hard to to change that rhetoric because it is the air that we breathe, it's the sea we swim in it is just everywhere. It's like Ernie see and slogans and advertising slogans all over? We are we think we're getting better in terms of advertising and, you know, being more inclusive in campaigns, etc. But actually, underlying, it's all still there. And I think definitely with most of my clients, they will definitely still think oh, I've eaten a lot. I should work out harder. So is that connection with movement punishment? It's that sort of idea that that self flagellation is that let's beat ourselves with a stick because we've enjoyed our food, or we've had something that we wouldn't usually have. And we're just it's thoughts, you know, be gentle with yourself what's I think it's a real aversion to being gentle with ourselves and actually being kind to ourselves and letting ourselves live and breathe. And yeah, so because of the rhetoric and how we've been socialized, etc, it is very much in our brands, the exercise is to burn calories. And to separate those two takes a long time, a long time and a bit of work. But because I sort of work with intuitive movement, you cannot and this is the same with intuitive eating, you cannot feel you cannot feel it's a lifelong learning process. So it's just about trying to tune in, I think the answer to everything is tuning in, rather so these are the messages coming out us from the outside coming at us from the outside. So it's we don't think what are we actually feel like doing what would make us happy? It's all about what the world thinks about us or how our bodies should look how they should be how we should work out how we should it's all about. It's never about how would our body respond to that? How do we want to feel when we move our bodies that's lost? And that's what I'm trying to sort of get back some way.

Jenn Salib Huber 14:44
Yeah, and especially in midlife, so in any stage perimenopause, menopause or post menopause movement matters for 8000 reasons other than the calories that it burns. You know, when we're looking at reducing the risk of disease when we're looking at so staying healthy and well, you know, movement matters when we're looking at managing, you know, whether it's blood pressure or sleep, or just, you know, feeling better in our bodies. Movement is such an integral part of that. So you mentioned intuitive movement. How would you define that? And how do you teach that? I'd love to hear.

Christine Chessman 15:25
Yeah, so it's, yeah, so obviously, it's, it's if you do know, intuitive eating and the principles of intuitive eating, joyful movement is one of the principles so moving theme, the difference. So, movement theme, the difference, I think it's principle nine, not that they need to be in any order. But it is just, it's not in itself. Intuitive movement is not it's not got 10 principles attached to it. And it's, it's one chapter in a book, but Evelyn talks about it, and Elise at length, and it's just a bite too, similar to intuitive eating. It's a point that interoceptive awareness is about tuning into your body, it's about noticing how you're feeling, how your energy levels are, how your body feels, what it would benefit from what would feel good in your body, what movement would serve you. And that is something which there's, you know, it takes a long time, and a lot of work. And I'm not trying to put people off because you can start today, you can start today moving into the flame. And what I would say is people sort of say them, but what about strength training you should do should do strength training, as you hit pre menopause and beyond. I'm a massive advocate for strength training. So then the answer is, but then I intuitively I don't feel like strength training, I would come back to that saying it's similar to nutrition. So I would say step away from the diet mentality around fitness, and around all of that step away from diet culture, toxic fitness culture, when you are ready, the little bit of structure back in, and the structure being anything to support our joints, and to build muscle mass, especially as we hit perimenopause and beyond. So for me the strength training is that gentle structure and a bit of mobility as well, so that I can keep doing the stuff that I love.

Jenn Salib Huber 17:21
Yeah, yeah, that's so true. Yeah, and, you know, I think that with, especially with strength training, because it's so often tied to, you know, you have to do it two to three times a week, and it has to be under these circumstances and meet these conditions. I think that it because it's very easy for people to get into all or nothing with it. Right. So it's like, well, if I'm not going to the gym and doing a minimum of 30 minutes with this equipment, then it doesn't count. And it can feel, I think, really intimidating, challenging. discouraging to have those kinds, you know, to have the bar set that high. But when we start talking about strength training as being you know, you can be doing squats in your kitchen while you stir, you know, the soup, you can do walking lunges down your hallway, you know, you can do, you can skip with your kids, like there's all kinds of ways that we can talk about strength training, that is fun, that is accessible, that you can do anywhere that doesn't involve going to a gym. And as my favorite saying always says, lowering the bar, we have to lower the bar for what counts and just showing up is what counts, not how much you do or how often it's just showing up at least 100%.

Christine Chessman 18:36
And that's, you know, I always sort of say to clients, if they're starting and they I get a number of clients joining me saying, I know I've got to build strength, I'm hitting perimenopause, I'm I need to build strength. So I'm coming to me going and they don't want to build strength. They don't want to do strength training. And then if they just think they should, it's another shoot I need to do it. So we I just get them to start really small. And also get them focused on what is their why why do you want to do strength training? Why do you want to move what is your why? And then let's draw back and start really super small. Let's start with water bottles. Let's maybe you know the next time you go for a walk, maybe where you can get those little one kilogram wristbands or one pint responds to wear Ranger and filled it up super tiny. You do not need to spend hours at the gym you do not that you can do 20 minutes, twice a week once a week can be transformative. And just as you say you know doing steps if you've got stairs in your house, you can do step up stairs, you can do squats from sitting down to getting up functional movement. Absolutely amazing. And it's just trying to get your body more able to do its everyday activities more easily and to do those activities that you love. But little bit add up, and they all kind and I think that's for, that's the missing link almost. So that's the bit that people think if I'm not at the gym, if it's not structured exactly like that it doesn't count it all counts is that every little bit that you do counts, and I think that's so important to, to get in or to let seep in.

Jenn Salib Huber 20:22
Do you know if there's been any research so in with intuitive eating, we have some data that tells us that when people start eating intuitively, meaning that they get out of the diet mentality, they're respecting, and honoring their hunger and fullness cues, but they're often including a wider variety of foods, that they actually seem to eat more fruits and vegetables. That was certainly the case for me. And I see that all the time that people will say, Oh, my goodness, you know what, I actually think that I eat more now, now that I'm not like always trying to like kale, or that now that I have welcomed apples back into my life, because I'm not worried that they're too high in sugar. I wonder, do you know? Or have you heard of any research that looks at you know, kind of when we uncouple these expectations that we have about what movement can or should do for us? And lower the bar? Do people move more? I'd be really curious about

Christine Chessman 21:16
that. Yeah, that's I'm not sure there's been research on that, or certainly not any extensive research, I think, you know, with intuitive eating, obviously, there's, there's been over 200 studies now, but I think we're still very new, in terms of intuitive movement are still very fresh. So for all anybody listening, it's like getting no join us know, at the beginning. But I do know that there is research to support the fact that if you are working out in a way that you find joyful, it's hugely beneficial for your body image. So actually, in terms of positive image, working out in a way that makes you feel good, is very much very beneficial for a positive towards the body at building a better body image, which is, in itself quite important on quite.

Jenn Salib Huber 22:09
Yeah, and that's one of my best tips for people is that if you're having a bad body image day, or you know you're having a hard time, don't try and think your way out of it, you know, you're just going to stay caught in your head, move through it, do something in your body that you enjoy, that could be dancing, that could be walking, that could be punching a bag, it could be yoga, it can be anything, but doing something in your body that you enjoy, will never fail you.

Christine Chessman 22:36
Do you know, I was talking to a client this morning, we were at she's been ill for a couple of weeks for filler gay, which, which is a British term, apparently, for like the flu it is.

Jenn Salib Huber 22:47
And I cannot wait to use that the next time that I have this nonspecific, like flu like illness, I'm now calling it the lurgi

Christine Chessman 22:54
alert. We all use this, like blanket term. But um, we were talking she was struggling with her shoulders and her neck a little bit. I said, Well, it's because your body when you're ill, it closes in, it's trying to protect you, it's keeping you safe and warm. So it's just about opening up again. And we were just talking about how incredible our bodies were. And what they do every day, the brain and works with the muscles in the body, they're trying to take care of you. You know, everything gets stored, and it's just incredible what it's doing on a daily basis to take care and be kind to you and make sure you're okay. And it's it's something that I always find when I think about if I'm having a bad body image today, but I start to think about how hard my body is working for me. It really helps just turn that around a little bit.

Jenn Salib Huber 23:47
Yeah, but body neutrality at its best.

Christine Chessman 23:51
Yeah. Yeah. And that's not always accessible. That kind of thinking. I think that comes a little bit further down the line. So if you are having any kind of disordered relationship with food with eating with with movement, that thinking, you know, people can say, oh, but your body works we everyday but that doesn't always help in the moment. So as you were saying, getting into your body doing some movement that feels good can really help you in the moment. Yeah, just feel a bit better.

Jenn Salib Huber 24:21
So let's kind of bring it back to you know, theoretically someone is in midlife. They are in the messy middle of untangling from diet, culture, learning to eat intuitively, maybe have had an on off movement practice that has primarily been about trying to help them achieve or maintain weight loss. And they don't know where to start. Because this is often so often where I see people will say, I used to be you know the person who would go to the gym five days a week I was the person who did the boot camp classes. I was the person who had this really great route. tene around fitness that was built into my life. But now, they don't want to go back to the gym, they realized that they didn't love it, it was something that they felt like they had to do. But they miss moving their bodies, they miss that feeling of, you know that that satisfaction, I guess of like having, you know, moved your body in a way that feels good. Where do you help them reframe because I feel like it's a mindset issue. But it's also a bit of a like, sometimes you got to put two feet, you know, one foot in front of the other and just, you know, do it without thinking about it too much. So how do you help people get unstuck from that? Because I'm sure you see a lot of that 200%.

Christine Chessman 25:37
Yeah, that, you know, for some people, a break might be needed. And that's a complete break from movement so that they can just get a bit of distance from it. And that's certainly sort of from anecdotal point of view for me, I needed to take a break, especially from running, just just stepping away and trying to then think about what what would I like to do. And so it's spending a bit of time thinking, what activities does I enjoy when I was younger? When I was a kid? Or what? Taking so it's a question that you see quite a lot is if exercise had exercise had zero impact on your appearance, would you move in the same way? If exercise had zero impact on your appearance, we all have to be very honest with ourselves, would we move in the same way? A majority of us would not. So it's trying to think of what would you like to try and do. And it's not as simple as that. Because some activities, if you want to do pool fitness, or if you want to do pod, you've got to do the practice and the training and all of that. So it's not as simple as like, I just want to go and do that. So you might have to then build up strength to be able to do the things you need to do, but it's getting the mind work in it's trying things out, doing test your sessions. And once you've got that little bit of space, taken a friend to a test your session of maybe you want to go bouldering or climbing or dancing, or yoga or heart if you want to try something you've never tried before, because it's it's never been, you know, go swimming, which is you're only going to be dipping for 30 seconds and straight back out. Do something that before you thought oh, that that doesn't count, because it's not really movement, do something that is different. So I always think just choosing something that isn't the the high intensity work that you have been doing. And I've got quite into a rut with step away, do something entirely different, and something that you would not have done before because you didn't think it would impact your appearance and the way that you want. Does that make sense? So it's

Jenn Salib Huber 27:51
Yeah, it makes total sense. And I see a lot of people saying, well, I really love yoga, you know, but they never used to count it as exercise unless it was like hot and done for two hours, and you know, all that kind of stuff. But they realized when I you know, I try and ask them to like focus on how you feel. At the end, do you feel, you know, content in your body? And sometimes that contentment does come from sweating and doing her you know, her movement? Yeah. But sometimes it comes from relaxing. And that also has to be part of the equation, it has to be part of what you say yes to that sometimes your body wants to move in a relaxing way. And that is also joyful. But I think, yeah, I think really teaching people to tune in is a great, great suggestion. And especially with that filter of like, would you still do this? If it wasn't, if you didn't think it was going to burn calories, or if you didn't think I was going to change. One of the reasons that I stopped using a Fitbit years ago was that at the time, I was also using a heart rate monitor and back when they were like the chest straps. So that's how long ago it was. And what I realized is that I was only choosing the workouts that were in like my top 10 or 15 for calorie burning. I wasn't choosing the ones where I was like joyful at the end. I wasn't choosing the ones that I looked forward to I would always be like, oh, I want to do this. Oh, let me check and see how that compared how many calories that I burned doing that. And then I'd be like, Oh, well, that's the one I should do. And most of the time I was angry the whole time. And that that was my one of my big aha moments that it wasn't a tool for me. It was not a tool at all. It was a judge and a jury. And there was nothing joyful about movement when I had to consult the judge in the jury every time. Yeah,

Christine Chessman 29:49
yeah. Yes, you know, people at boot camp. I do a boot camp, but I'm kind of well known to be the offer lots of options teacher and you know, come as you are, and it's okay. But I work, I will absolutely work you hard if you would like to challenge and if that's what you want. But I will never make you feel bad for not jumping, I will never expect you to jump, I will never expect you to do perfectly. You don't have to do a burpee in my class. But there's definitely a boot camp mentality. And I went to boot camp in recently and I was the the instructor had on her t shirt. If you're not being sick in your mind, if you're not being sick, or you're not, you know, you're not doing it right. You know, and that, to me is the antithesis of what I believe so it's I very much about challenging yourself, once you get to a point where you have that relationship with movement. That isn't, once you've got that bit of distance, once you're able to go back in a test the water, and you like a challenge, and it makes you feeling good, fantastic. Let's challenge it. But on the days that you're feeling low and energy, maybe you're feeling you know slightly under the weather, do not push it the good you can half Arthur in my class, I welcome half hour thing. I always say, if you're not feeling it today, you're here half assing it, it's great your egg coins, it's movement you're enjoying time with, it's the showing up, it's the show counts 100%. And it's and it's actually more detrimental to your body. And that's what I think I want to really buying home is that if you're not feeling grit, and you go and hammer yourself, you thought is a stressor on the body. And that is actually adding to the stress that you already have. And it is detrimental. It can cause injury, it can cause illness, it can cause mental health issues it can there's so many reasons that you should think about tuning in and listening to your body. And, and really just, yeah, I just think if there's no good will come with you beating your body into submission when your body is just needing a break. That doesn't benefit you in any physical health or mental health sense.

Jenn Salib Huber 32:16
And very much like I say nutrition is the long game of health, exercise and movement is the long game of health long game, right? We're trying to build something that is sustainable. And the you know, the return on our investment is actually going to hopefully come decades down the road. You know, so beating yourself up today isn't actually doing yourself any favors. So I love that welcoming the half ass people. That's great.

Christine Chessman 32:44
Yeah, and it's it's a long game. It's a long game 100% It's we're in this for life. We're in this not for 30 day challenges, not for beach bodies. We're in this for life. That's what we're doing. That's why we're, you know, removing our body so that we can keep moving our body.

Jenn Salib Huber 33:04
Exactly. Oh, my goodness. Christine, thank you so much for sharing this perspective. We absolutely adore you as our joyful movement cheerleader in the in the midlife peace community. And you're putting together some fabulous resources for us that meet people where they're at, and always adding to that, so that's amazing. What would you say is the missing ingredient in midlife?

Christine Chessman 33:30
Oh, I love this question. I've asked every single one of my clients to help me because and then I have to say what would you say is the missing ingredient. But actually, I've come back to the one that is sort of underlies everything that I do, which is taking up space, allowing yourself to take up space, in life in fitness, in terms of food, in terms of eating in terms of your body in terms of your work, in terms of your family, just take up space and letting yourself do that. So that for me is the missing ingredient.

Jenn Salib Huber 34:06
I love it. That is definitely going to be one of the quotes that we use for this podcast because I love them so much. So other than of course my community the midlife ease community, where else can people learn from you and work with you? Because you're awesome.

Christine Chessman 34:22
Oh, thank you. I'm on I hang out on Instagram a lot. I think I think we both do. So please come over to Instagram and all of my everything that I'm doing all the projects I've got going on are there. And I'm yeah, you can put all the details in the show notes. But that's everything come and hang out for sure. Drop me a message. I'm very good at getting back to people. So drop me a message. I'd love to hear from you.

Jenn Salib Huber 34:46
Awesome. Thank you so much, Christine.

Christine Chessman 34:49
Thank you.

Jenn Salib Huber 34:51
Thanks for tuning in to this week's episode of the midlife deal. For more non diet health hormone and general midlife support. Click the link in the shownotes to learn how you can work and learn from me and if you enjoyed this episode and found it helpful please consider leaving a review or subscribing because it helps other women just like you find us and feel supported in midlife