Skip to content

Home
About
- About A Well Lived Life
- Meet Erin
Explore
- Blog
- Recipes
- Podcast

A Well Lived Life

Work With Me
- Coaching
- Yoga
- Workshops
Shop
- Books
- Shop My Favorites
Contact

A Well Lived Life

Blog

Little Things That Build a Beautiful Life
The 5 Habits That Changed My Midlife Metabolism
10 Things That Actually Help You Lose Body Fat (Especially in Midlife)
Are you Getting Enough Protein?
My New Book: The 5 Foundations of a Better Body Over 50
How to Find More Joy in an Ordinary Day
I Didn’t Set Out to Live More Intentionally Then We Moved
Five High-Protein Breakfasts to Start Your Day Strong
The Anti-Aging Benefits of Resistance Training for Midlife Women
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Protein Muffins

Page navigation

Previous Page 1 2 3 4 Next Page

Follow Along

@erinzell_healthandwellness

erinzell_healthandwellness

Author • Coach • Podcast Host
Strength, nutrition + healthy aging for women 45+ ✨ Creating stronger bodies + more intentional lives.

You want to feel stronger, have more energy, and f

You want to feel stronger, have more energy, and feel good in your clothes again.

Maybe you keep putting it off because your days are full and you don’t know where to start.

Or you’re already making the effort. You exercise, watch what you eat, and wonder why your body isn’t responding the way it used to.

I’ve been that woman, too.

Having a coach and a clear plan helped me understand how to eat and train for the results I wanted. Now I help women like you do the same.

You’ll know what workout to do, how to build meals that keep you satisfied, and how to fit it all into your week. We’ll focus on building muscle, supporting fat loss, and helping you feel more confident in your body.

My next FASTer Way group starts November 3, with four weeks of coaching with me to help you get started and find your rhythm.

Message me PLAN, and I’ll send you the details. 💛

#fitover50 #fitover40 #midlifewellness #onlinefitness

Pumpkins, farm stands, fresh veggies, hot apple ci

Pumpkins, farm stands, fresh veggies, hot apple cider and a little fall fun with Cami.

A Sunday well lived. 🎃🍎🧡

#cervellifarmstand #fallvibes🍁 #pumpkinpatch

Personalized targets for protein, carbs, and fat.

Personalized targets for protein, carbs, and fat. Daily workouts. A weekly meal plan and simple recipes, all delivered right to your phone.

No more piecing together random workouts, planning every meal, or wondering if you’re doing the right things.

For years, I thought eating less and doing more cardio was the answer. But the rules that worked years ago were no longer working for my body.

At age 55, when I began eating enough, prioritizing protein, and strength training consistently, my body finally started to respond.

This is a clear plan for women who want to build strength, lose fat, and feel better after 50.

$79 a month with code VIP2026 at checkout. Erinzell.com/coaching | Monthly Program

Ready to stop guessing? Send me a message and I’ll help you get started.

Last night at 2 a.m., I was comparing fall loafers

Last night at 2 a.m., I was comparing fall loafers and looking at the 345th rug option for our dining room. Apparently, those decisions were urgent. 😂

My body was tired. My brain had picked up a clipboard.

It reminded me that being tired and being ready for sleep are not always the same thing. Our bodies look for cues throughout the day, from morning light and movement to the signals we give ourselves that the working, deciding and responding are finished for the night.

I turned my restless night into a new article: Your Body Needs a Beginning and an Ending If your brain refuses to go to bed even when your body is exhausted, this one is for you.

Read it here: https://erinzell.com/your-body-needs-a-beginning-and-an-ending/

If you enjoy it, you can also subscribe to The Well Lived Edit while you’re there. It’s where I share a little wellness, food, home, style and real midlife living.

For years, I’ve helped women think about how they

For years, I’ve helped women think about how they want to feel in their bodies. Lately, I’ve been thinking more about how we want to feel in our lives, too. ❤️

Strong. Healthy. Connected. Inspired. And excited about what’s ahead.

That’s the heart behind A Well Lived Life.

If you’ve seen me sharing my book, podcast, and new website, you might be wondering how all these pieces fit together.

FASTer Way coaching, strength, nutrition, and yoga are still very much part of my world. I love helping women feel stronger, build confidence, and discover what they’re capable of. That work continues—and there’s more I want to explore with you.

Because wellness is the foundation of a well-lived life.

Taking care of ourselves gives us the strength and energy to enjoy the life we’re building. And that opens up some wonderful questions:

What helps me feel strong, healthy, and more like myself?
What brings me joy—and how can I make more room for it?
What still fits this season of my life, and what am I ready to let go of?
What would I love to explore or try now that I’m making more time for me?

Moving earlier this year brought some of those questions to the surface for me. Choosing what to bring into our new home made me think about what I wanted to carry into this next chapter of my life, too.

I began paying more attention to my surroundings, my routines, even my wardrobe—and how those everyday choices made me feel.

That curiosity has grown into A Well Lived Life.

A place to talk about building muscle and eating well, but also finding more calm, creating a home we love, nurturing friendships, discovering purpose, and finding joy in an ordinary day.

I’m exploring all of this right alongside you. Through my coaching, yoga, book, podcast, and the things I’m creating next, I hope to offer ideas and encouragement that help you create a life that feels more like yours.

Thank you for cheering me on as this takes shape. It’s been such a meaningful adventure, and I’m excited to keep sharing it with you.

What’s something you’d love to make more room for in this season of your life?

Cheering you on,
Erin ❤️

You know how to follow a plan. But what happens wh

You know how to follow a plan. But what happens when the weekend comes, your schedule changes, or motivation disappears?

After years of coaching women, here’s what I’ve noticed: the women who create lasting results have imperfect weeks, too.

Their schedules change. Their motivation fades. Dinner doesn’t always go according to plan.

But they’ve developed habits that help them keep returning to what matters—and that makes a difference. 💛

In my newest episode of the Podcast - A Well Lived Life, I’m sharing The 7 Habits of Women Who Get Lasting Results.

We talk about movement, nourishing food, mindset, and the small choices that help you build a stronger body and more trust in yourself. I also share real client stories and a few ideas from James Clear’s Atomic Habits.

If you’ve ever felt caught between being completely “on” a plan or completely “off,” this conversation is for you.

Listen with one question in mind:
Which habit could make caring for myself a little easier this week?

🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit the podcast page through my website.
www.erinzell.com/podcast

OVER 50? Your body is keeping score. 😂 For years,

OVER 50? Your body is keeping score. 😂

For years, it covered for your nonsense.

Stayed up too late? It rallied.
Skipped lunch? It made do.
Survived on coffee, stress and three almonds? It kept the lights on.

But now?

Your body keeps receipts - and may file a formal complaint by 2:47 PM.

1. SLEEP IS PART OF THE PLAN.

Stay up until midnight watching women organize their refrigerators and your body will contact you in the morning.

It will not be friendly.

2. COFFEE IS NOT BREAKFAST.

Even if it contains collagen.
Even if the mug says “Blessed.”

Your body needs protein, fiber and actual nutrients, not caffeine and positive affirmations.

Eat the eggs.

3. MUSCLE IS YOUR RETIREMENT PLAN.

Strength training isn’t punishment or an attempt to look 25. It’s preparation for carrying groceries, lifting your suitcase and getting off the floor at 80.

Your muscles need a job. Give them one.

4. WALKING COUNTS.

You don’t need to crawl away from every workout questioning your will to live.

Walk after dinner. Walk while listening to a podcast. Walk away from conversations that should have been emails.

It all counts.

5. YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM KNOWS WHO ANNOYS YOU.

You can eat organic spinach and take every supplement—but if you’re constantly stressed, overscheduled and saying yes when you mean no, your body knows.

Boundaries are a wellness practice.

6. YOUR BODY ISN’T BETRAYING YOU.

It may be asking for more sleep, strength, protein, recovery—or an appointment with your doctor.

Listen. Ignoring a warning light has never improved a car, and it isn’t a strong healthcare strategy either.

7. JOY BELONGS IN THE PLAN.

Take the trip. Wear the dress. Sit in the sunshine. Laugh with your friends. Buy the good olive oil.

Being healthy isn’t only about living longer. It’s about feeling well enough to enjoy the life you’re creating.

Feed your body. Strengthen it. Walk it. Let it sleep. Take it to the doctor. Take it somewhere beautiful.

After an imperfect day, don’t wait until Monday.

Your body doesn’t need another fresh start.

It needs you to just keep going.

Which one is your body currently emailing you about in ALL CAPS? 😂

One of the biggest mistakes I see women make when

One of the biggest mistakes I see women make when trying to create a healthy lifestyle is believing that one off-plan meal, one missed workout or one crazy week means they’ve failed—and need to start all over again.

You don’t. 🤍

A healthy lifestyle isn’t built by doing everything perfectly. It’s built by learning how to return to the habits that make you feel your best.

Your next good choice still counts.

Mine today: movement, protein, water and getting back to the basics.

If you’re ready to take one simple step toward improving your health, join us for my October Walking Challenge on Facebook. We’re getting outside, tracking our steps and encouraging one another all month long.

DM me STEPS and I’ll send you the event link! 👟

#ProgressOverPerfection #ConsistencyOverPerfection #WalkingForHealth #WomenOver50 #HealthyAging #StrongerAfter50

I’m so excited to officially introduce you to my p

I’m so excited to officially introduce you to my podcast, A Well Lived Life. 🎙️

This podcast is for women who want to build stronger bodies, live with greater intention, and create lives that feel healthier, richer, and more fully their own.

Of course, we’ll talk about wellness, strength, and mindset. But we’ll also widen the conversation to explore what it means to live well in midlife—with greater purpose, simplicity, joy, and intention—and the small choices that add up to a life well lived.

If you’re new here, begin with Episode 1: Health Is Wealth—a conversation about why our health is the foundation that allows us to fully enjoy everything else we’re working so hard to create.

You can listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit the podcast page on my website. I’d love for you to follow the show and share it with a woman who might enjoy these conversations too.

Because wellness is the foundation of a well-lived life.

Enjoy listening—I’d love to hear what you think! 🩵 Erin

Strength training over 50… what nobody told you. 💪

Strength training over 50… what nobody told you. 💪

I started at 55 with a pair of five and eight-pound dumbbells.

Today, I lift three times a week, choosing weights that continue to challenge me. But it took time to get here.

When you hear “lift heavy,” it can sound like you’re supposed to reach for the biggest dumbbells on day one.

What gets lost in that advice is the process.

You start with a weight you can control. You learn the movements. You keep showing up. And as you get stronger, you gradually ask a little more of yourself.

Those five- and eight-pound dumbbells were exactly what I needed at the time. I wouldn’t be lifting what I lift today without starting there.

And I’m still building. Still challenging myself. Still learning what my body can do.

That’s what I want you to know: you don’t have to arrive strong. You become stronger through the work you repeat.

We’ve spent so many years thinking about making our bodies smaller. I want more women to discover how good it feels to make theirs stronger—and more capable of living the life they love.

Start where you are. Give yourself time to grow.

Follow along for simple, practical ways to build strength and age well.

🤍 You've got this, Erin

#StrengthTrainingOver50 #StrongAfter50 #WomenWhoLift #HealthyAging #The5Foundations #AWellLivedLife #ErinZell

Health is more than a workout or what’s on your pl

Health is more than a workout or what’s on your plate. It’s also how you sleep, manage stress, care for your mind, and show up for the life you want to live.

That bigger picture is why I wrote The 5 Foundations of a Better Body Over 50. It’s a practical starting point for building strength, eating well, and creating habits you can actually live with.

You don’t have to change everything at once. Start with a foundation, and build from there. Be well, Erin 🌿

You can find the book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HK2VDSXY

Yes, I’ve been quietly building over here… writing

Yes, I’ve been quietly building over here… writing, recording, creating...and bringing a vision that has lived in my heart for a long time to life. 🐚💛
Stay tuned! looking forward to sharing more with you very soon.

Okay…this moment feels pretty BIG. 🥹📖 After month

Okay…this moment feels pretty BIG. 🥹📖

After months of writing, editing, designing, revising..and then revising some more 😂
I’m finally holding the first printed proof of my book in my hands!

The 5 Foundations of a Better Body Over 50 is a practical guide for women who want to build muscle, lose fat, feel stronger and more energized, and age well - without dieting or extremes. My years of health coaching and that I strategies I teach in a book.

There are still a few final touches to make, but we’re getting so close! I'm so excited to share this with you!

Would you like to be one of the first to know when it’s available? Drop a 💛 below!

#WomenOver50 #HealthyAging #fitover50 #StrengthAfter50 #MidlifeWellness

Consider this your Monday afternoon reminder: the

Consider this your Monday afternoon reminder: the day isn’t over. 😉

Maybe the workout didn’t happen this morning. Maybe your Monday started with good intentions and then…life.

You don’t need to write off the day or wait until next Monday to begin again.

Put on your sneakers and take the walk.
Ten minutes. Twenty minutes. Around the block. After dinner. It all counts.

And the timing couldn’t be better because tomorrow we kick off STEPtember...30 days of making walking one of the simplest ways we can support our health.

No perfection required. Just make some time for walking each day. You'll be glad you did.

Keep going. ❤️ Erin

👟 Who’s joining me for the 30 day walking challenge?

There was nothing particularly extraordinary about

There was nothing particularly extraordinary about this Wednesday.

I brought home a beautiful bouquet from a local flower farm. @thecottageflowerfarmonsetma

I took a long walk with a friend.

We talked, laughed, caught up, and enjoyed a gorgeous summer afternoon. ☀️

And somewhere in the middle of it, I thought about glimmers those small, often ordinary moments that bring a little spark of joy, connection or contentment to our day.

We tend to wait for the big things to bring us joy...the celebration, the accomplishment, the special occasion.

But so much of a well-lived life happens in the ordinary days.

Fresh flowers on the kitchen counter.
A walk in the sunshine.
A conversation with a friend.
Noticing something beautiful along the way.

Maybe the goal isn’t to make every day extraordinary.

Maybe it’s simply to get better at noticing the glimmers already scattered throughout our days.

Today, mine looked like flowers, friendship and a long summer walk.🌸

What was one of yours?

Something new has been quietly taking shape behind

Something new has been quietly taking shape behind the scenes. ✨

And the funny thing is, it doesn’t feel like I’m starting over.

It feels like I’m taking everything I’ve learned, everything I’ve loved, and all the pieces of my life and work that have mattered most and allowing them to become something bigger. To sit inside a larger container, if you will.

Less like a reinvention. More like becoming.

For years, so much of my work has centered around helping women feel stronger, healthier and more confident in their bodies. And that isn’t going anywhere. My health coaching and FASTer Way community are still very much a part of what I do—they simply fit inside a much bigger conversation about what it means to truly live well.

Because our health matters deeply.

But so does how we spend our time. The homes we create. What we choose to surround ourselves with. How we continue to grow. The relationships we nurture. The things that bring us joy. And the way all of those pieces come together to create a life that feels like our own.

And if you’ve worked with me at any point over the years—through nutrition coaching, fitness, health coaching, The Virtual Fitness Tribe, FASTer Way, a yoga class, a workshop, or anywhere else our paths have crossed—I hope you know this:

You’re invited into this next chapter, too. 🤍

In many ways, everything we’ve done together has helped lead me here.

There’s still more to create before I share exactly what’s coming, but after an incredible day bringing part of this vision to life with @shawondavis and @ninaoartistry it finally feels real enough to give you a little peek behind the curtain.

I’m so excited for what’s ahead and even more excited to have you come along with me.

A new chapter is taking shape. ✨

There is a quiet wisdom in the shoreline. It does

There is a quiet wisdom in the shoreline.

It doesn't resist the changing seasons.
It doesn't rush the tides.
It simply allows each wave to shape what comes next.
Perhaps we're invited to live the same way.

Growth rarely happens all at once.

It happens quietly.
One decision.
One habit.
One ordinary day at a time.

The ordinary days, the ones that seem uneventful - are often the ones shaping the life we're creating.

Because a well-lived life isn't built all at once.
It's shaped, little by little, through the way we choose to live each day.

What is this season asking of you?

💛 Erin

Feeling like your body has changed over the past f

40 years. How is that even possible? 😂 Tonight as

40 years. How is that even possible? 😂
Tonight as I got ready to head to my 40th high school reunion and I found myself thinking about just how much life has happened since that girl walked out of high school.
So many chapters. So many versions of me. Some wonderful seasons. Some hard ones. Lots of lessons, changes, growth and becoming.
And walking into that room tonight, I felt really good. Not because life has turned out perfectly. Or thinking I have everything figured out. But because I’m proud of the woman I’ve become along the way.
And maybe even more importantly, I’m excited about the woman I’m still becoming.
That’s one of the things I’m learning about a well-lived life: we’re never really finished.
We get to keep growing. Keep changing. Keep choosing. Keep creating. Keep evolving.
And apparently, every once in a while, I get to put on a great navy dress, head to my 40th high school reunion, reconnect with people who knew me way back when and feel incredibly proud to have my amazing husband by my side. 😉💙
Here’s to the people we were, the people we are, and whoever we’re becoming next. 💛
#shhsclassof86 #highschoolreunion❤️
#erinzellhealthandwellness #awelllivedlifebyerinzell

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it rea

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it really means to live a well-lived life.

And I keep coming back to this…
It’s not built in the big moments.It’s built in the ordinary ones. 🤍

Moving your body.
Taking a breath.
Stepping outside.
Making a nourishing meal,
Calling someone you love.
Coffee with a friend.
Giving yourself a few quiet minutes.

The little things we choose to do, again and again, become the way we live our lives.

For me, yoga has been one of those things for the past ten years. I practice yoga and teach yoga both in person and online.

It's a practice I return to.
A place to reconnect with myself.
A reminder to slow down, breathe, and be here.

Because a well-lived life isn’t something we find someday.

It’s something we create - one intentional choice, one meaningful habit, one ordinary day at a time. ✨

Let's keep investigating, staying curious- discovering our own well-lived life.
Love, Erin 💛✨

Follow on Instagram

Explore

The Blog
Podcast
Shop
Coaching

Info

Meet Erin
Contact
Privacy Policy
Disclosure

stay in the know

First Name

Email Address

Thank you for subscribing!

© 2026 A Well Lived Life

Home
About
- About A Well Lived Life
- Meet Erin
Explore
- Blog
- Recipes
- Podcast
Work with Me
- Coaching
- Yoga
- Workshops
Shop
- Books
- Shop My Favorites
Contact

What are you looking for?

Search for: