Old Chicks Know Sh*t Podcast

Joan MacDonald @trainwithjoan is a transformation inspiration for all of us. In her 70’s Joan took her health into her own hands and went from being overweight and unhealthy to a super fit bad ass who mastered her unassisted first pull up at the age of 72. How incredible is that?   Recently Joan has appeared in several media outlets as the world catches on to how incredible this woman and her transformation is.

We talk about the limitations we put on ourselves, finding your inner child at any age and staying committed to your goals even when things get tough.  Her mantra is you can’t turn back the clock but you can wind it up again. Don’t you love that!!  Yes, she changed her body but the most inspiring part was how much her outer transformation has impacted her self-esteem and how she shows up in the world. Joan is a true bright light. I loved our conversation and I hope that you find it as inspiring as I did.

Odette Peek shares her story of how personal crisis and physical paralysis lead to a spiritual breakdown that enabled her to rebuild her life with a new mission and purpose.  It’s a brave and inspiring story of uncovering your soul story, finding your purpose from the inside out and developing the courage to reinvent yourself. Enjoy!

Deb Crowe is a passionate self-care educator who really walks her talk. She’s a coach, author, speaker, and yoga teacher who after seeing first hand how over-stressed women ended up in crisis with disease and disabilities, decided that she had to do something about it.

Learning self-care and what it means to me has been a big learning curve with much experimentation and if I'm honest its still very much work in progress. Deb and I have a fabulous conversation about why prioritizing self-care is so important. What self-care really means – hint: it so much more than bubble baths and facials. We also talk about what spiritual self-care is and why its an important component of every self-care practice.

I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed sharing this conversation with Deb.

#006: In their 50’s Amy Edwards and her partner Cathy started a company called We Warriors as a second career. We Warriors creates hygiene products for busy on the go women. The idea was born from a personal need they both had and the fact that they couldn’t find a product that suited their active lifestyles and also aligned with their passions around the environment on and supporting women and women’s rights. In this episode, we talk about following your passion and jumping into a business and industry that you know nothing about, their innovative business philosophy and what it means to be able to give back to important causes. We also cover taboo subjects like incontinence, invisibility, and isolation that women in midlife can experience as a result of not talking about what happening in our lives.

#005: In her mid-fifties, Debbie Hatch is a badass motorcycle mama, a multi record-setting powerlifter, scuba diver, public speaker, owner of 2 successful businesses and expert on retirement and finances. All this while spending more than half her time on the road traveling for workshops all over the US. In this episode, we talk about creating your best life, mindset and challenging yourself. Listen in for a truly inspiring conversation with a woman who calls her self a mold breaker and accomplishes more in her 50's than most 30 years olds do. She definitely challenges every notion of what society would have you believe about women in midlife. I hope you are inspired as much as I am by Debbie and her kick-ass midlife. 

#004: Elaine Uskoski is a speaker and author of a book called Seeing Through the Cracks chronicling her adult son's journey through Video gaming addiction. As most of us know there are no parenting books that cover all the experiences we live as parents especially when dealing with young adult children. How much do we still parent vs letting them have their own experiences?

Elaine shares her story and we discuss topics such as what do you do when you suspect your adult child may be suffering from addiction; how to recognize the signs; how to best support an adult child; navigating the boundaries as a parent of an adult child and how that impacts your own life. This is a fascinating story about the ever-growing topic of adults and teens growing up in a technology-based world. 

Elaine is a health practitioner by trade and shares how this experience has created a new and rather unexpected career path for her. 

#003: Amanda Thebe is a fitness professional focused on educating the world about health and fitness for women experiencing perimenopause and menopause. Self-described as the Menopause Mary Poppins, she tackles what can feel like a really debilitating time of life with a solid dose of brilliant education and humour. We talk about her personal journey of starting new career and business in her 40's while navigating symptoms that no one understood, managing mindset and how to move forward when feeling like you're losing control of your body and your life. Amanda shares her menopause hacks on food, sleep, movement and managing stress. This is a super informative and entertaining episode that you will want to share with your friends.

#002: At age 50, Maria Leonard Olsen drank her way out of her 25-year marriage. She had, against advice, put all her eggs in the motherhood basket, willfully derailing her successful law career.  In this interview she shares her story of coming to terms with her addiction, the journey to recovery and finding herself underneath the facade she had created to deal with everyday life. We discuss such topics as the importance of truly getting to know yourself,  How the principles of recovery from addiction can be applicable to anyone looking to reinvent themselves and her new book "50 after 50".  She has gone on to become a successful lawyer, author, and speaker. Her story of reinvention is poignant, gutsy and inspiring.

#001: Finding herself at the end of her 3rd failed marriage at the age of 49, and with her kids needing her less and less, Lizzie knew she needed something different in her life. She set off in search of adventure and found herself as part of the crew for an 11 month around the world sailing race dubbed the most dangerous race in the world. Along the way she found joy and heartbreak and came back with a new sense of self and a renewed passion for life.

Today we talk about being taken seriously as an "older woman" in a twenty-something male sailing crew, managing the symptoms of menopause at sea and how getting uncomfortable physically and mentally is key to growth and finding joy.  Lizzie is a firecracker with a contagious passion for life. I know you are going to love our conversation as much as I did.