Hiiii! Happy weekend to ya! I hope that you’re having a lovely long weekend, and I’m praying for our Gold Star families this Memorial Day and those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

We’re heading to Phoenix to start a lil adventure and I’m car blogging (while the Pilot drives, don’t worry haha) The kids are out of school (praise the lord) and summer is officially here! We’ve already enjoyed a graduation dinner with friends, Barnes and Noble (end of school tradition for new summer books), and two days in a row of arcade games and birthday parties. Summer is the best.

It’s time for the weekly Friday Faves roundup! This is where I share some of my favorite finds from the week and around the web. I always love hearing about your faves, too, so please shout out something you’re loving in the comments section below.

5.23 Friday Faves

Fashion, beauty, random:

Press on nails! I took off my dip to give my nails a lil breather. I’ve had dip consistently for about 5-6 years and while I love the way they look, I hate the chemicals, the cost (which keeps going up – my last dip appt was $80 before tip), and sitting there for an hour. So many of my friends have switched to press-on nails and I figured I’d give it a try because they look so great.

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Hi friends!

I have a brand new podcast episode live, and today we are talking all about metabolism, hormones, and what it actually takes to feel good in your body after 40!

I’m sitting down with Dani Conway, board certified functional nutrition practitioner and founder of Nutrition the Natural Way. Dani lost 65 pounds herself after years of yo-yo dieting and gut and hormone struggles, and she has since spent her career helping thousands of women do the same. Her approach is rooted in testing, not guessing, and she has years of experience transforming thousands of women’s lives. I think you’re going to love her.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re doing all the “right” things but still feel stuck, exhausted, or like your metabolism just isn’t cooperating the way it used to, then check out what we chat about:

• Why low calorie and low fat dieting can actually damage your metabolism long term and what to do instead
• The role of protein and healthy fats in hormone production and sustainable weight loss
• Why nutrition is the foundation everything else builds on, including gut health and hormone balance
• How Dani approaches macros with her clients, from lower carb all the way to carnivore, and why there is no one-size-fits-all
• Functional lab testing and why “testing not guessing” changes everything
• The connection between gut health, hormones, and stubborn weight that won’t budge
• Her take on peptides, which ones she uses with clients, why she always starts with minimum effective dose, and what to watch out for on social media
• Her thoughts on GLP-1s and why they are never her first recommendation
• How to know when your body is actually ready for more advanced interventions

And so much more.

Sharing a roundup of recent outfits that I’m loving! I’ve been a Rent the Runway Unlimited member for years. I like to think that it helps me to shop less. The verdict is still out on whether or not this is true. If you’d like to try it, you can get 50% off here. I love it for travel and events!

Hi hi! How are you? I hope that you’re having a lovely week. Today is packed with appointments with my beloved clients and I’m also putting the finishing touches on tomorrow’s workshop. It’s not too late to grab a spot here.

For today’s post, I wanted to share a roundup of recent outfits. Spring and summer fashion is a million times better (and easier!) than winter fashion for me. I just always feel so blah in sweaters and jeans, but bring out the dresses, shorts, and sandals, and I’m a happy gal.

We’ve also had a ton of travel lately. We went to Las Vegas, El Paso for the BTS concert, I went to NYC for work… and soon we’re heading to Seoul and Tokyo. (If you have any recs, especially gf dining recs, please send them my way!)

Here are some of the things I’ve been loving lately!

Outfits from lately

Ruti Jeans and cropped Veronica Beard sweater

I’ve worn this outfit a handful of times already. These jeans are my absolute favorite. They live up to the hype and yes they’re a splurge, but worth it. They have a little bit of stretch, fit perfectly TTS. I’m wearing a 4 petite.

Another pic of these jeans:

Veronica Beard shirtdress from Rent the Runway

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Join me for a free workshop this Thursday! Details here. 

Hi friends!

So you’re doing everything “right.”

You eat well. You take your supplements. You’ve probably overhauled your routine more than once. And yet  you still don’t feel like your best self. You’re tired, off, or just not quite you, and you can’t figure out why.

I know that feeling intimately, because I’ve lived it.

My own healing journey was full of moments where I thought I had finally figured it out – only to still feel like something was missing. I was doing all the things I was supposed to do, following all the right advice, and still struggling. It wasn’t until I started digging deeper – past the surface-level wellness advice and into the root causes that don’t always show up on a standard lab panel – that things finally started to shift for me. Gut health, parasites, the connection between what’s happening in your body and how you feel day to day – these were the pieces that changed everything.

And once I found my way through it, I couldn’t stop talking about it.

Since then, I’ve worked with clients who came to me exhausted, frustrated, and convinced they were just going to feel this way forever. What I’ve seen over and over again is that when we stop chasing symptoms and start asking the right questions, the body has an incredible capacity to heal. Sometimes it’s gut-related. Sometimes it’s something that’s been quietly lurking for years. Almost always, it’s something that never got addressed because nobody thought to look there.

That’s exactly why I’m hosting a free live workshop called Why You’re Healthy But Still Sick.

This isn’t going to be a list of more things to add to your plate or more rabbit holes to fall down. I’m going to walk you through some of the real, often-overlooked reasons why people who are doing all the things still aren’t feeling well and give you tangible next steps you can actually take. We’ll also have time for Q&A at the end, because I want this to feel like a real conversation.

Workshop details:

Thursday, May 21

10am PST / 1pm EST

Free to attend – grab your spot below

Click the link here to sign up.

If you’ve ever felt like your body is speaking a language you can’t quite translate please join us. I’d love to see you there!

xo, Gina

The post Why You’re Healthy But Still Sick (+ Join Me for a Free Workshop) appeared first on The Fitnessista.

I used to think low progesterone was something that happened to my clients but actually wouldn’t happen to me lol.

I had heard the stories, had helped women work through the symptoms, and understood the physiology. And then, sometime in my early 40s, it happened anyway. All of a sudden, I became inexplicably irritable and rage-y in a way that did not feel like me. My sleep – which had always been one of my superpowers – fell apart almost overnight. I went from sleeping like a happy baby to tossing and turning, wide awake at 2am with a racing mind and a low hum of anxiety I couldn’t shake.

I ran some functional lab testing and found that my progesterone was on the floor. I shouldn’t have been surprised, because it’s incredibly common for women in their late 30s and 40s and often goes completely unidentified because the symptoms look like stress, burnout, or just “getting older.”

If any of this sounds familiar, this post is for youuuuuu. As an Integrative Health Practitioner and women’s fitness specialist, I want to chat with ya about what low progesterone looks like, why it happens, how to test for it properly, and what you can actually do about it – naturally and beyond. (friendly reminder that this is NOT medical advice. As always, talk to your doctor before making any changes with your routine.)

In This Post

• What Progesterone Actually Does
• Signs and Symptoms of Low Progesterone
• What Causes Progesterone to Drop
• How to Test Your Progesterone Levels (and Why Timing Matters)
• How to Support Progesterone Naturally
• When Natural Support Is Not Enough
• FAQ

What Progesterone Actually Does

Before we talk about what happens when progesterone is low, it helps to understand why this hormone matters so much in the first place.

Progesterone is often called the calming hormone, and for good reason. It works as a natural counterbalance to estrogen – while estrogen is stimulating and growth-promoting, progesterone is stabilizing and protective. It is produced primarily after ovulation, during the second half of your menstrual cycle (called the luteal phase), and it does a remarkable number of things in the body:

• Supports deep, restorative sleep by converting to a compound called allopregnanolone, which activates the brain’s calming GABA receptors
• Acts as a natural anti-anxiety agent through those same GABA pathways
• Regulates mood and reduces PMS symptoms
• Helps maintain regular menstrual cycles
• Protects against estrogen dominance
• Has anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties
• Supports thyroid function
• Has anti-growth and anti-tumor properties, making it genuinely protective for long-term health

When progesterone starts to d