Jofit

08/14/2025

Join us September 27, here in Estevan for this women’s health summit, FEMME FORWARD!

Tickets are now on sale!

Go to www.femmeforward.ca to claim your tickets. They are moving fast and space is limited!

02/13/2025

Here it is!!!!

Might be a smidge excited, the official introduction of JoFits sister The ‘M’ Effect.

This new page (and soon an Instagram page) is where I will be officially offering guidance and support for all things menopause. As well announcing services very soon. 🤗

This isn’t just for the woman who is in perimenopause, menopause or post menopause. This will be a space that we will not only learn as we go through these transitions, but there will be tools and suggestions for those of us who haven’t made it to this part of our lives yet.

As we all know prevention and knowledge is powerful. ✨

Please head on over to my new page The ‘M’ Effect give it a like, and if you feel inclined share the love by sharing my page. 💙

02/12/2025

Weight Gain in Perimenopause…what the actual s**t.

After receiving a message this morning from a virtual client stating; ‘The belly I got. Like I always assumed it was bloat but I’m sure it’s not. The amount of fluff from my bra line down is just crazy. A flat belly was the one thing I was always confident about. I’ve always had cellulite and carried extra weight in the rear end, but now in the abdomen, it’s really been f* with me.’
Can anyone else relate?

Weight gain is probably THE MOST concerning symptom for women in perimenopause. The scale is gradually moving up and old strategies are not working. Declining estrogen levels, particularly in the two years before your last menstrual cycle, and the two years after, cause a dramatic shift in bone (talked about that one yesterday) and muscle mass, which in short, reduces muscle and increases fat. FUN!!

This can mean we are burning calories at a lower rate. So, if we are eating the same diet, it suddenly is contributing to weight gain, instead of maintenance. The lowering estrogen levels also cause weight to be stored around the middle (said belly fluff), which does not feel cute (said f* with me), and we don’t feel at home in our body which can be disheartening. It is important to acknowledge this is happening, but the take-away is that we can get ahead of these changes by pivoting in perimenopause.

We can increase our protein (I will always stand by this), which helps maintain muscle, we can strength train (HEAVY; your heavy) which can build muscle and set us on a positive trajectory as we age and continue to age, and we can take our power back (YES please) and work towards the result we want. It just may require a bit of a mindset shift and a new perspective with respect to diet and exercise.

Calorie balancing is also to take into consideration, as our hormones change. Speaking with your trusted support is essential to ensure your caloric intake is up to par for your individual health needs. We do not need to be nor should we be eating less to ‘great rid of the fluff’.

Lastly, HRT is weight neutral, so it won’t directly cause us to gain or lose, it may help us feel better, so we can do better, but ultimately the work is still the same. Make sense? There is little that can beat a good diet and exercise when it comes to all aspects of health, and this is the one thing we have control over.

02/11/2025

Lets talk bone health!

Bone health is a big topic during menopause—and for good reason! Maintaining strong, healthy bones is essential for protecting ourselves from falls and fractures as we age. We want to and must be proactive when it comes to osteoporosis.

Bones are metabolically active tissue, meaning they are forever breaking up and building themselves back up to be stronger than before. Estrogen plays a large roll in this process. They help keep a check on the balance between break down & rebuild. A decline in estrogen (which is happening to us all as we age) can lead to more bone being broken down than built back up so overall, we start to loose bone mass.

Other things that can contribute to accelerated bone loss and or reduced bone mass may include: smoking, high alcohol intake, low levels of physical activity, and low levels of vitamin D and/or calcium.

Why is this so important? Having strong bones makes us less likely to experience a break or fracture if we were to fall. This is vital if we want to continue doing the things we love and maintain our independence as we age.

Now here is the good part, there is ALOT we can do to protect ourselves; move that beautiful body of yours - lift weights, swim, walk (add a weighted vest, ask me for a link to a great one) yoga, cross country ski, the options are endless, find what makes you happy.

With hormonal changes in midlife, plus a tendency to slide into less active habits (think: less exercise, maybe more wine 🍷), we’re at higher risk of low bone density. I am here to say this is not inevitable and we can slow down this risk.

For now; drink some water, move that body and don't forget about your protein ;)

02/09/2025

02/08/2025

It has been two days since I shared my story!

It has taken me these last two days to respond to all of the kind messages, encouraging messages, and messages of despair.

If you are reading this and have no idea what I’m talking about, scroll down a smidge and read my previous post. If you read that post, I’m so glad that you are still here 😊 you might remember in that post I said ‘You are not alone’!

I just want to share a couple of messages. When I say that these messages were not easy to read, I do not say that lightly. When I read them, it reaffirmed that we truly are not alone.

I am more excited to begin this journey with each of you. 🩶

The ages of some of these women (and you will see even a husband reached out, that literally melted me, talk about support) are from women in their early 30s who have not began to experience perimenopause to women in their early 70s who are still asking questions.

My heart breaks. I do not want to see one more female have to suffer. I do not want to see my daughters have to struggle the way I have.

Change is coming and change will happen! 

XO
Jen

02/05/2025

Oh hey there its me Jen, gosh its been a second! I have so much to share, so many things to tell you; let the ramblings begin.

I have been wanting to come on here and post for a few months but haven’t had the courage, it has been almost been a year to the day since I have shared anything on this page. For that I am sorry! I haven’t been good! I have been doing the bare minimum to keep my business running, to stay afloat, let alone to keep my self bathed, fed and watered. Imposter syndrome has been heavy, due to all the emotions or lack of the last few years.

Maneuvering through this changing version of myself has been extremely difficult, I didn’t know what was happening within. I just knew I was struggling. I wasn’t ok. And for that I found a new way to manage this new me I thought I was doing a really great job, until I wasn’t.

I researched, I sought professional help, I went to medical doctors and it wasn’t until I found a Nurse Practitioner who quite frankly told me this, ‘Jennifer, you are in Perimenopause’. My response was, ‘Ok, but I don’t have hot flashes’. She responded with, ‘Everyone is different and responds to perimenopause differently’. Well of course they do.

Some of my experiences; muscle and joint pain, weight gain, severe tinnitus (ringing in the ears 80% of my day), brain fog, mood swings, extremely emotional then would swing the other way showing zero emotion. Ya’ll I cried watching a lady cross the street, it made me sad that she was alone. The constant fatigue was so violent but then I couldn’t sleep, I fully understand why sleep deprivation is used as a form of torcher. Anxiety had formed and this was something that was unfamiliar to me which paired beautifully with panic attacks.

Here's the thing, as a mom to be we are given all the support with all kinds of resources. Literally 100’s if not 1000’s of books on pregnancies. As we move into being a mom there are even more resources and supports. I remember being home a few days after having my girls and I was getting calls from public health to set up home visits. They check on baby AND MOM! There was always support, there was always encouragement to share what was going on and you rarely if not ever were dismissed.

At 35 things started to shift and change, never in my wildest dreams would I have thought this was the beginning stages of perimenopause. Fast forward to today, 12 years later, and I am almost 6 months into HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy). And I am FINALLY feeling like I am back. BUT here’s the thing after we navigate being a new mom and then muddling our way through life with a toddler, a teenager and now (for me anyways) adult children, where is the FU***NG support?

I went to my medical doctor on THREE occasions asking about perimenopause, asking to have blood work to check my hormones and she continually dismissed me, telling me I was too young (I was 43 the first time I asked). Finally at 46 she agreed to blood work and when that came back, she said everything looks good, hormones are normal. Well then s**t I am clearly losing my mind or there has to be something really seriously wrong because I am not ok; this increased my anxiety. Depression was prevalent and this different version of Jennifer was who I was becoming. Until I couldn’t do it anymore, I could not longer go on faking happy and a friend called me on that. I was starting to be more aware with the choices I was giving myself, which scared me. I am grateful for the choice I made, to start advocating and demanding answers.

This brings me to today, today I can honestly say this is the happiest, proudest, bravest AND most authentic I have felt in years. I see my worth, I see my value and showing up exactly as I am is enough. This is about perseverance, its about showing up day after day even when it gets hard. I am proud that I never quit on myself and that I am here today! That s**t is real!

NOW I am at a space where I can offer the support that is so desperately needed within our community of woman. The space where we have been dismissed, forgotten and looked passed. I am here to say to you, ‘How can I HELP’? I am proud to say that I am a certified Holistic Menopause Coach (with distinction I might add *toot toot*) I look forward to sharing my knowledge not only because I am certified in this field but because I have lived it, I am living it!

Proud to share an extension, a sister to JoFit, The ‘M’ Effect. Just know I am back and if you choose to hang around for the ride you will be seeing a whole lot more of me!

Cheers to each of us, finding our way on this wild ride.

Much love,
Jen

03/21/2024

We have opened up a few new spots for you to join our family 🙂

Starting April 1 we have spots to join the 9am family as well as the 4:30pm family!

Shoot us a message and we would love to chat about working together!

02/20/2024

I’m excited to share we have a couple spots available in the 6am & 9am classes!

Each class is customized to where you are at! Whether you are just beginning this journey, coming back from some time off or if you are a seasoned grinder, we got you!

✌🏻class sizes are small
🫵🏻 welcoming
✌🏻 positive
🫵🏻 encouraging

Shoot me a message if you would like some more information on joining!!

01/19/2024

“All or Nothing”
“100% ALL THE TIME”
“Go Big or Go Home”

I’m certain we have all heard these mantras or even lived, tried to live by them?

How’s that working or should I ask, how did that work for you?

People who adhere to the “Go Big or Go Home” way of doing things almost always end up going home. Heroic efforts don’t work. Because they literally are NOT sustainable.

The best way to make progress is with small incremental improvements over a long period of time. Whether this implies to your work life, your home life, your nutrition goals (never eating sugar or eating carbs again), or in the gym etc.

And the best way to make those small incremental improvements is with baby steps and accepting that nothing great happens overnight. *Signs up for ½ marathon, haven’t ran in very long time, day one has 12k programmed…*

Whether or not someone takes action depends on both their motivation and their ability to complete a given task. If someone regularly overshoots their ability, which can happen if we don’t allow for flexibility in the process, then they are likely to flame out and quit. It will simply be too hard and too frustrating to continue putting in that kind of effort.

But, if we allow for flexibility in the process and meet ourselves where we’re at every day, then we can start to build confidence and increase the challenge slowly over time.

What was hard last month will seem easy today. What was impossible last year will become routine. But you can’t bypass the time and consistency required to get there.

In the gym this week I had a member share, “Jen, I forgot to tell you this summer when I was getting in/out of our boat I found it so much easier to get my legs on the edge of the boat to get in/out”! Boom, like I said what was hard last month/year will seem easy/easier today! Thinking this deserves another BOOM!

Consistency is key, but consistency can look different depending on the day and the person. Consistency requires the self-awareness to know when to pull back or dare I say take a rest day, WHAAATT, but wont that slow my progress down??

Brick by brick, every session is a building block and even the “bad” days are used as tools for improvement. Maybe that bad/off day was your que for saying slow your roll for a hot second….

Nothing good grows from that approach. Are you hearing me, all or nothing is not and has never been the right approach to reaching & maintaining your goals, your dreams & your desires.

Agree or disagree, I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences on this one?

Maybe we can all take some lessons from Willow by slowing down 🐾🖤