“Dr. Megan Zeien on Transformation through Strength Training”
When I first evaluated Dr. Zeien’s body type, I immediately could tell she was an athlete.
An OBGYN with two kids living in North Alabama, Dr. Megan Zeien spent her whole life avoiding strength training because she thought it’d make her bulk up, not realizing what an athlete she actually was. This is the story of her transformation.
A Former Cardio Bunny
She doesn’t know where she picked it up, but Dr. Zeien somehow had the belief that strength training would make her get bigger. So she stuck to cardio. Two years ago, she got a Peloton bike and a treadmill, so she was doing a lot of it. But when I offered a free month of coaching, Dr. Zeien couldn’t resist trying it out. She joined my GOALS Society group, strength workouts included, with the five-pound weights that’d come with her Peloton and gone untouched for months. As a result, Dr. Zeien went from no strength training to loving doing it three times a week. She’s seen no bulkiness, but she feels stronger and has seen a big change in her body composition.
Part of what motivated Dr. Zeien is her love of a challenge. And challenging, it was. The first time she did a strength training workout with me, Dr. Zeien could barely walk up the stairs afterward. Doing shoulder push-ups in her second workout with me, Dr. Zeien almost cried because she didn’t know what she was doing. Now, she thinks they’re not that bad after all. And that feeling of being noticeably stronger is a joy.
Dr. Zeien had plenty of potential; she just needed some guidance to know what to do with it. She was never the same size as her model mother, and had a hard time embracing her unique body type. But as an adult, she was health-focused and loved to move, making it easier to slot strength training into her routine.
And now, with the GOALS Society approach, Dr. Zeien’s mindset has totally changed. Today, if she could only do cardio or strength training, Dr. Zeien would choose strength training. Because in Society, we use a very realistic approach to achieve optimal health. We’re not about losing the most weight or getting to the smallest size. Rather, we’re trying to embrace our unique body types.
(For anybody wondering, G.O.A.L.S. stands for Get hungry first, Observe for fullness, Allow our feelings, Love to move, and Stop perfectionism.)
The Mental Transformation
Another big transformation for Dr. Zeien was getting comfortable with the grey zone. For her, the grey zone is a circumstance of her job. She never knows what life will hold, so she has to have a certain amount of flexibility. Finding time to adjust to not being able to work out or meal plan and being okay with it not working out like she wanted to by embracing the grey zone is a necessity.
Since starting with me nearly a year ago, Dr. Zeien now feels stronger both physically and mentally. Her life has drastically changed - in a good way. Heck, she even gets up on Saturday mornings to work out now. And she’s enjoying it, finding it easier to make the life adjustments than might be expected, and proud to model this type of lifestyle for her kids.
As far as nutrition goes, Dr. Zeien has realized that getting stuck at work, unable to leave, made it hard to find healthy, available food. So she started taking her air fryer to work with her and keeping frozen veggies and shrimp in the fridge at work. Now, she eats in her office every day, which has helped her find more free time and given her a dinner option if she gets stuck at work, even if she doesn’t plan ahead for something.
But, of course, even for Dr. Zeien, it all remains a work in progress. One of the things that she has found works best for shifting her mindset is having a thought bouncer - a big gruff guy kicking out any thoughts that don’t need to be there. Because all-or-none thinking and those thoughts of “I’ll never be as strong as I want to or lose as much fat as I want to” will always try to sneak their way in. Her goal is to kick them out sooner, not allowing her brain to ruminate on them, instead of expecting to be able to rid herself of them entirely. Dr. Zeien’s focus is not allowing these thoughts to control her day or her mood and to give herself as much grace as she gives others, knowing it’s okay to miss a workout or to have a margarita with her friends every once in a while.
What Dr. Zeien has found is that when you find something that you believe in, it’s easy to commit to it. She knows strength training makes her feel better and be healthier and stronger. Now, it’s a part of her life that she can stick to and something she recommends to her patients. Today, Dr. Zeien has the motivation to buy heavier and heavier weights. And, best of all, she no longer even cares if she does get bulky, something she didn’t even realize she wanted.
As a result, Dr. Zeien’s six week transformation photos are totally mind-blowing. And all it took was planning and commitment, not eliminating or restricting. For me, seeing Dr. Zeien come in with such a common complaint, completely change her thoughts around it as well as her lifestyle, and make an amazing transformation has been an amazing process.