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Welcome back to another Ask Coach Heather episode. I am your coach Heather and I am excited to be walking this journey with you.

And I'm so thrilled that you tune in each Monday to check out the show. Hopefully, gleam some new ideas and info that would be helpful for you and to put it into practice in your life.

Now, today is an Ask Coach Heather episode and you will be getting to hear my coaching call with Pam. Pam is sharing a plight of so many women out there. She's 59, she's postmenopausal, she has a very sedentary job, and she's on the shorter side.

And she's really finding it difficult to get into a range that produces weight loss and making peace with the process. So in this, we're going to really talk about how to make some slight modifications, what you can focus on.

If you are on the shorter side, are more sedentary and you're struggling with the hormone issues of being postmenopausal. So I hope this episode is really going to help a lot of ladies out there.

Now, before I get to Pam's coaching call, I want to just remind you that if you could use some help, simple ways to get help.

One, subscribe to my YouTube channel. I'm turning out new videos each week. I have a huge arsenal of videos covering a range of topics from binge eating, weekend eating, nighttime eating, the mental side of weight loss, the practical side of weight loss.

Pretty much hopefully any question you have, there should be a video covering it. Those are five to 10 minutes long, and they're very specifically covering one topic area of a problem for most people.

The next area I can help you with is if you want to get a coaching call like Pam is today, you would want to be on my VIP newsletter. There's a short application you can fill out, and we will see if we can work you into the coaching schedule.

The other option you have, if you can't get a coaching call or you have a question you really want some help with, hit reply to your VIP email.

And then just let me know what the question is, and I'll do my very best to cover it here on the show. So that's what we're going to dive into right now. We're going to go to your VIP questions.

First question comes from Tracy, she says, I am a loyal fan and just love you.

Well, I thank you Tracy. I'm back on the wagon so to speak, and I'm reaching a point of thinking about a maintenance break. I know you often share how to do it, but I'm curious as twice so important to make it part of your journey.

I have been in a caloric deficit for two months and have lost 17 pounds so far. I have 200 to lose in total. When and why should I take one? Thanks Tracy.

Tracy, the simple answer is in your question actually. You said I'm back on the wagon.

That indicates to me that maintenance is a top priority for you because when people tell me I'm back at it, I'm back on the wagon, I'm starting afresh, I'm starting a new, what that means is as they were not intentionally maintaining.

They weren't tracking their food. They weren't eating at maintenance calories. They really didn't know how to do that part of the process. This is why so many of us for decades have been stuck in I'm dieting and losing or I'm saying screw it to it all and I'm eating all the things and I'm gaining.

Those are the two parts of the game everyone knows how to play deficit and lose eat whatever you want and hopefully not gain too much but you'll definitely be gaining.

There is a place in the middle called maintenance. You still track, you still do your workouts, you still eat healthfully, you still meal plan, you still grocery shop, you still do food prep.

You do all the things. The only difference is your goal, your focus is not gaining weight. It's not losing weight. It's keeping your weight steady.

And for somebody who tells me they're getting back on the wagon, what I would say is you, my dear, must master maintenance in this journey or you will be perpetually abandoning the wagon, slamming it into reverse, gaining weight back just to have to lose it again.

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