Weekender #238

If you’ve been around for a while, you know I used to help busy corporate women get fit as a side hustle. And I’ll say it plainly, I’m a “used to be overweight” girl.

So as someone who now has wellness and physical fitness as a staple of her lifestyle, I can honestly tell you I’ve been on every spectrum of the journey.

I know what it’s like to hear “you should work out” but have no idea where to start and just be frustrated by the whole thing.

I know what it’s like to keep putting it off… while you dive deeper into weight gain, ultimately finding yourself at a breaking point that’s no longer comfortable enough to ignore.

So hear me when I say this: it doesn’t have to be that hard or that complicated.

It only has to be consistent.

Here are some easy ways to keep up with a fitness routine. Note I said “a fitness routine” because there are a ton, and there are so many variables and options to mix and match. This is for the girl who is struggling with her weight and is like, “Where do I just freaking start?!”

Walking

I know — it’s not sexy, and not what you think of when it comes to becoming that “gym girly” in her cute outfits lifting weights with all the bros.

But walking is free, it’s easy to do, and you can modify it to your physical fitness level.

It’s also insanely good for you.

Plus, you can habit stack it by adding your favorite audiobook or podcast, or use it to call friends and catch up. Make it serve double duty! If you need structure, find a walking schedule online or ask ChatGPT to build you one based on your current fitness level.

Weightlifting 2-3x a week

Walking is fantastic for your overall health, but it’s not giving your bones the progressive load they need to stay strong. Without resistance training, you’re at higher risk for osteopenia, osteoporosis, and fractures as you age, especially after menopause.

That’s why weightlifting 2-3 times per week is so critical for women. Whether you’re trying to prevent bone loss or you’re already in the thick of perimenopause or menopause, resistance training is one of the most effective things you can do to protect your spine, hips, wrists, and shoulders.

AND the more muscle you have, the better your body burns energy. So the biggest bang for your buck if you’re going to slot in time for a workout is to get in some lifting.

“But Thania, I don’t know how to lift!” Totally get it.

I personally love (and still use) Bodi programs. I’m currently streaming 80 Day Obsession and their 25-Minute Speed Train. I alternate depending on what my day allows. The reason I love Bodi programs is that you get both visual cues and audible instructions. I take it with me to the gym and stream it on my phone.

As an ADHDer, I don’t like printed workout sheets that just tell me the name of the workout and the number of reps. It’s another chore for my brain. So make it easy for yourself!

Find a program like Bodi or another streaming service (Joanna likes Kayla Itsines’ app Sweat) and just push play. This way your job is just to get into your workout clothes, get to your desired location (gym, basement, living room), and follow what the person on the screen tells you.

Eventually, when you gain more confidence and more knowledge, you can venture out. But in your newbie stage, I say just make it as easy as possible.

If you’re trying to go the more free route, you could ask Claude or ChatGPT to build you a workout routine and ask it to provide tutorial videos explaining the movements.

Social sports and activities

Find physical activities that are social and don’t feel like a workout. Join a rec league, play some pickleball, go play tennis, pick up golf. Grab a basketball and just go shoot hoops for fun with your significant other or your kids. Play tag. Sign up for those salsa classes you’ve always wanted to take.

Movement doesn’t have to look like punishment. It can look like fun!

Keep nutrition simple

Stay away from processed foods and fake sugar. Aim for real food: good quality meat, fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains. If it didn’t have a mama or come from the Earth, skip it. Aim to have protein at each meal.

Again, this is a starting place; I want it to be easy for you.

If you committed for the next 6 weeks to incorporate physical movement 3x a week (heck, even 1x) you’ll find results.

Move and eat well. That’s it. You’ve got this!

Thania (TA Sr. Content Mgr)

Maybe one is finishing high school, and the other just wrapped college. Maybe it’s a cousin’s daughter, or your coworker’s kid, and you genuinely have no idea what they’re into. The one thing these grads have in common is that they’ll all use Apple Gift Card.

The high schooler uses it for an Apple Music subscription and games from the App Store. The college grad puts it toward AirPods or iCloud storage. Your coworker’s kid picks what they actually want, and you never had to send the awkward “what are they into?” text.

It works for products, accessories, apps, music, movies, Apple TV, subscriptions like Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, and Apple News+, and even third-party subscriptions.

Available from $15 to $200 in physical and digital formats.

👉 Visit Apple Gift Card and gift all three in one sitting.

📚 Read: Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score

Think small-town chaos, slow-burn tension, and a grumpy bar owner who doesn’t stand a chance. A runaway bride ends up stranded in a tiny Virginia town, suddenly responsible for a niece she’s never met, and it turns into the kind of book you swear you’ll read “one chapter” of… then somehow finish at 2am.

📺 Watch: Euphoria (HBO Max)

Season 3 is doing a five-year time jump, following Rue and the crew as they stumble into adulthood with bigger consequences and new versions of themselves. New episodes drop every Sunday, so it’s perfect if you want a weekly “text your group chat immediately” show again.

🎧 Listen: Visions by Norah Jones

Warm, calm, and uplifting in that “exhale your shoulders” way. It’s the kind of album that works for winding down, soft-focus work hours, or resetting your mood after a long day without asking anything extra from you.

You already know AI can save you time. The problem is getting it to actually do that.

Most people are stuck in the same loop: vague outputs, frustrating back-and-forth, and results that need more fixing than if you’d just done it yourself. Learning a few high-impact shifts in how you prompt changes everything.

Miss Excel’s free 1-hour session has helped 400,000+ professionals cut the guesswork and get real results from AI, fast.

Here’s what you’ll walk away with:

• A hallucination detector so bad AI output stops slipping through
• Simple prompt frameworks that get you cleaner, more accurate results from the jump
• Practical techniques to cut the back-and-forth and get what you actually asked for

One hour, and you’ll finally feel like AI is working for you instead of the other way around.

👉 Grab your free spot here.

Upcoming Events

• Tues-Wed May 12-13 @ 6-9AM PT: How Screens Hijack Your Kid’s Brain and What to Do About It
• Tues May 12 @ 1PM PT: Co-working Session (SGS Only* | Join the waitlist)
• Thurs May 14 @ 9AM PT: Designing Your Next 12 Months Like a Promotion Strategy
• Fri May 15 @ 3PM PT: Craft Night: Bring Your Own Craft (SGS Only* | Join the waitlist)

* Smart Girl Society is our private community for women who want deeper conversations, accountability, and tools that actually make life easier. Join the waitlist to get in the next round.

Meet Rudy, the 4-year-old pit terrier, the ultimate mama’s boy and fashion icon of the canine world. Whether it’s a snazzy sweater, a dapper bow tie, or pajamas with little paw prints, he struts around like he’s on a runway, flashing those puppy-dog eyes to remind you he’s the cutest thing you’ve ever seen. He’s the kind of dog who makes laundry day interesting because he has more outfits than you do!

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