What 53 taught me before 54 showed up

What 53 taught me (and what I’m bringing into 54):

Here’s what 53 taught me (and what I’m bringing with me into 54):

Living in chronic pain is not living. Explanting and then replacing my L5S1 disc were two of the scariest, hardest decisions I’ve ever made… but they gave me my life back. Recovery wasn’t cute, but waking up, walking without pain? Priceless. A cups and all.

“Hormones” are not a quick fix for all our midlife problems. Our health requires detective work and It’s more like a slow marathon… basically going back to school for your own body. Constant learning, tweaking, and listening to your body. Be a health detective The boring stuff works.

Real food, movement, sunlight, managing stress, connections, love, friendships, gratitude, hydration and real unprocessed natural foods. That’s all we truly “NEED”

A calm nervous system is everything. If I’m stressed out nothing works. When I’m grounded & calm, everything falls into place. I don’t want a jam packed schedule. Leaving space for creativity, fun, and actually being present. Type A Natalie is over. I’m in my becoming zen(ish) era lol . Even heading to Bali later this month! Friendships & relationships are everything.

I LOVE MY CLOSE GIRLFRIENDS SO MUCH! They are my actual bio-hack! Biggest gifts of my life? My daughter and my husband. Period. Grateful every single day for those two.

Life is too short to hold grudges, stay mad, or get triggered by every little thing. Still a work in progress here. Have NOT mastered this but working on it!

Setbacks don’t mean stop. They mean pause, regroup, and then find a solution. And in my case share it all on my podcast haha

Aging is a privilege. The older we get, the more we see disease and loss around us. My dad died at 49 from a heart attack. So every year after that feels like bonus time. Each day matters.

A big business with a huge amount of employees – nope. One solid ride or die right hand and some amazing people to help that you trust

And of course, God. Thanks for being patient with me always. I’m a slow learner sometimes. 54! BRING IT! I’m all in!

What you missed this week:

📸 On the Gram

A spicy hormone conversation (because let’s be honest, hormones are always a hot topic)

A little drama about my Biggest Loser episode because… internet

My first attempt back at pull-ups seven weeks after surgery. Spoiler: I did four and felt like an Olympic athlete.

🎥 On Youtube

Fixes for thinning hair that are actually fun and doable. And sometimes REMOVABLE haha

What I actually eat in a day and how I teach food (spoiler: it’s not about perfection, it’s about real food). Click below to watch 👇

🎙️ On the Podcast

This one is a solo deep dive called Hormones, Fibroids & The Gray Area of Replacement Therapy. And let me tell you, it’s juicy. Twenty years ago women were told hormones were dangerous, now we’re told we’re crazy if we don’t take them. Meanwhile, the rest of us are stuck in the messy middle, trying to figure out what’s actually true for our bodies. In this episode I share my personal journey with fibroids, biopsies, and confusing protocols, plus why HRT is never black-and-white and what I’ve learned from digging into DNA, detox pathways, and experts who get it. Think of it as health detective school… minus the badge and the flashlight.

That’s it for this week. Thanks for hanging out with me during birthday week. Scars, stories, friendships, gratitude, family, setbacks, laughter, healing, lessons, faith… all of it.

54, let’s do this.

Xoxo Love,

Natalie Jill

P.S. The BEST birthday gift you can give me (if you love my podcast “midlife Conversations” and find it helpful) is a review under it on Apple Podcast HERE

P.P.S. You can now join Total Body Thrive on YOUR timing! Go HERE to start your transformation