Dominique Sachse on Aging Well, HRT, and Building Muscle After 50

23:33Now it's an opportunity to start dressing. Do you see what I'm saying? It is this incredible cascading effect that has an opportunity for incredibly powerful transformation in a woman's life. And I'm just flipping the script on it because I know that internal work takes time. Character change takes time. Behavioral change can take time. Spiritual change can take time. But what's quick? new makeup application, haircut, extensions, new out. Do you know what I'm saying? I do. So that's been my different approach to the whole thing.

24:13Gabrielle Lyon:It's also very positive. And you said embrace change. Yeah. I would say that is very difficult for people. It is. It's scary. Is it nature? Is it nurture? How can someone learn to do that? Again, what I thought and think is so unique about you is that let's say someone is in TV for 30 years. Well, TV that existed for the last 30 years has now exploded and is totally different. The velocity, the way in which everything is done. And you could have just been like, all right, peace out, see you later. Yeah. And instead, you didn't. You actually jumped very early into contribution. Your YouTube started in 2014.

25:09Gabrielle Lyon:And that takes a certain framework of thinking to be able to evolve, keep up, and be ready to move on to the next thing. Yes, I agree with that. I agree. I think you, again, it's letting go of fear, and most fear is imagined. But how did you know that? because I would just do things. I would push myself and I would do things. And it was in the doing that I always realized, well, wow, you know, that wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. So why did I make up this story? Why did I make up such a scary story about something when it turned out not to be such a scary story? So that was number one.

25:51I was finding out a majority of the time it was negative and wrong self-talk in my head, number one. Number two, and I think this is where faith plays a huge role. When you realize that you're not doing life alone, when you realize that the creator of the universe and the God who made you is right by your side and through him all things are possible, then you are way more willing and likely to trust him. But you also have to trust his voice in you. You have to trust the Holy Spirit in you. And I will tell you, my faith has evolved with me. You know, I was a nonbeliever up until 38 at a major life event trying to have a child that led me into my faith.

26:35Gabrielle Lyon:And then you also lost your mom. Yeah. I don't know how close we were in a time frame that was. Yeah. Very, very close. I lost her in 23, July of 23. So I was already deeply rooted spiritually. And I am so glad for that because that saw me through an incredibly difficult season. But I will say that when you have that and when you realize that it's this wonderful, harmonious walk between, I think, what God plans in you to do, you listening, discerning, and then moving on it, because you have to. If you just sit on it, then you're not activating your faith, right? Then you're still in fear mode.

27:14But then at the same time, you also have to realize, I believe, that you are not in control of your life. And if you think you are in control of your life, well, newsflash.

27:25Gabrielle Lyon:You might have something that's very humbling coming soon. Yes. Yes. God will humble you in an incredibly profound way to remind you that you're not in control of your life. And he will show you at the right time. So I was one of those people who up to a point thought that she was driving that wheel. And all the things were happening because of my choices and my discipline and my work ethic and how steadfast I was. And, you know, I was doing everything right. And I had to be broken in order to learn that you're not on the wheel. It's not you. And you don't want that burden. You don't want that pressure of thinking, this is all about you.

28:11I'm here with you. So I think that that development of the faith walk in my life also enabled me to trust. It enabled me to step away from things that were steady, lucrative, had a pension, a 401k, a health insurance, you know, a this, this, this that provided for that, that, that. to be able to say, you know what? I am going to take this leap of faith into entrepreneurship because I believe that this is where I'm being led. And he wouldn't lead me into a place where there wasn't provision and care if it's his way. And I just had to trust that. And I did. And there were times and seasons, I mean, it was lean and it was scary.

28:58And I had no health insurance. And I'm like, the bank account's dwindling and I'm watching all of this happen.

29:04Gabrielle Lyon:Was this when you left? It's when I left Channel 2. And the book was, you know, launching, I left in October of 21. The book was launching in April of 22. You have to, as you know, because with your playbook, you know what it's like. The first book. Yeah, and the first book. And the second one. You know what it's like. I mean, it's not only the work as an author. It is the investment of the time and the energy and the funds to go out there and effectively market it and to show up. I mean, it's, you're all in. So it was this season of, okay, I'm investing, I'm doing, I'm putting in, and I wasn't.

29:43Gabrielle Lyon:Was there a moment where you were like, I know that I'm done with news? Oh, absolutely. And also, you know, also you hear about these stories in news where it's these gatekeepers and women are never going to be able to have that, you know, I think about Ron Burgundy. Sure, sure. Like that lead position. Yeah. Yeah. Was there a reason why you left? I was blessed in that I had achieved the highest level where I was. I was at the top of the game. You know, I was considered an equal to my male co-anchor, Bill Baessa, who's a dear friend of mine. There was no kind of role. We were a team and we were both at the top of our game.

30:25I did not feel that glass ceiling in any way. So I think I was in the business at the right time.

30:30Gabrielle Lyon:Never. Never. Never. And in fact, I felt like I was really pushed through and accelerated because I was coming through the business during a time when they were really wanting more women out there. I mean, the viewers, the majority of them are women. The ad spenders are women. So you need to have women. And I just, honestly, the timing was perfect. So I was able to rise and rise and rise. And I stayed at Channel 2 because I was rewarded for staying. I was building, again, we go back to relationship, building relationship with community. And the community was beginning to trust me and to respond to me.

31:04And so that enabled me to secure better contracts, longer contracts, more lucrative contracts. So it just meant it was smart for me to stay put. Why I left the news business, the news business was changing, and it wasn't what I entered. And what I entered and what I wanted and what I was so drawn to was truth and balance and compelling storytelling. When you say balance, meaning both sides, we're hearing both sides. Both sides were presented. It was nonpartisan, local news especially. Now, this was prior to cable outlets even being established. But local news at the time and even at the network level, for the most part, you get your facts and you present it down the middle and you let the audience, especially if it's any kind of political story, you let the audience decide where they align with certain things based on the facts and the truth that they're hearing.

31:59Where does that come from? It's traditional journalism. I mean, it's how the business was founded. It was founded on truth. It was founded on sourcing. It was founded on getting both sides.

32:11Gabrielle Lyon:Like when I asked that question, I spent a year overseas and the news that I saw overseas was totally different than the news when I would come back. I'm like, well, they're not even covering that. I know. How is that the story that they're hearing? It's yeah, it's shocking. And I noticed that, too. And don't you find when you travel, you get more of a global perspective of what's happening in the world as opposed to when you get home, it's very hyper local. And I think a part of that is, and it's interesting because there's research into it, a lot of it is fear-based. And a lot of it is to keep people engaged in that network, to make them keep coming back.

32:51Yes. And here's another fascinating psychological study. People will always say when they come to you, why is the news so negative? Why isn't there any positive news?

33:01Gabrielle Lyon:You know, we want more positive news. 25 puppies were born. Exactly. Yay, we're going to leave with that. Aren't they pretty? Yeah. I'd be like tuning in. I'm just saying. I would totally be into it. You and I would tune in. Yeah. And the rest of the world would be like, eh, not so much. So here's the thing. People will say they want happy, positive news, but it's been proven time and time again. And where do you think the expression, if it bleeds, it leads, comes from? Yeah. Because look at true crime. Look at the fascination with true crime. People are just fascinated with that. So they'll say that they want happy, positive news in their community, but they don't tune in for it.

33:42And there's been a ton of research that proves that. So it is unfortunate. And local news is just very hyper-local because that's where it excels. And especially when you look at the landscape now, national news is on every outlet and every phone. So you're still serving your community locally by providing that kind of content. And here's where you're going to see changes industry-wide. do you need three English-speaking and two Spanish-speaking networks to do that? And it's been said among higher-ups in the business that the advertising dollars won't sustain that model. So you're going to see fewer and fewer on-air broadcast entities, more of them moving to digital if they can sustain.

34:24So those will be the changes.

34:25Gabrielle Lyon:Meaning people won't go into morning TV anymore, or they will, but if there's an outlet. if there's an outlet, if there's a broadcasting entity. So for example, when I was in New York for the week of book launch, I went to all the stations, we did Good Morning America, we did Fox. That will still exist. If the advertising dollars can sustain it, but the pool is dwindling, and now look at us, we're in the podcasting realm, and advertisers are spending a lot of money in the podcasting realm because where's the audience going? So what's the consumption looking like? What are people consuming and where's the audience?

35:08They sure are consuming a lot of online content. They sure are consuming a lot of YouTube, a lot of podcasting. Look at some of the top players in the news industry who've left traditional media and have gone on to host podcasts and are doing extraordinarily well. Yeah, that is true.

35:24Gabrielle Lyon:I thought for some reason maybe they just got a better offer and that's why they went into Siris or iHeart. but you're absolutely right they've left the network and curated their own audience and they left the chains that come with that network because, and a lot of them have said I don't want the network to tell me what I can and can't say or who I can and can't interview do we have freedom of speech here are we going to be open to debate and dialogue and now you get back into agenda and politics allegiance and a lot of that stems from advertising dollars and who the advertisers are. Can you give me an example for someone who is not necessarily in news?

36:06Well, I think that the argument was presented that pharmaceuticals are the biggest advertisers on television. And during the time when we were going through COVID and you had a lot of talk about pharmaceuticals and especially vaccines, there were people who were questioning, well, are we really getting the truth out there? Because if we tell the truth, or if we show that maybe there are other things that could help with COVID opposed to just a vaccine, what if our advertisers Pfizer, how are they going to feel about that? Do you see what I'm saying? So there's a conflict of interest there or a potential conflict of interest.

36:44And that's when I think a lot of the people in the news industry started to grow frustrated, not just through the coverage of COVID and the fear and the hysteria that took place during that time, but also just during presidential campaigns and elections and just how crazy. And it doesn't matter what side you're on. You know, that's not what this is about. But what it's about is, are we going to be truthful in what we present? And are we going to present both sides? Or are we even going to slant the language that we use? Because it can be done even in the tonality. So, you know, I was just seeing a big shift.

37:19And I'm like, this isn't what I signed up for. And I've been doing it a long time. and I really love this. And I really love kind of talking about the things that matter to me and what my audience is expressing interest in. And that's when I knew it was time.

37:35Gabrielle Lyon:Cooking is a major pain and convenience slays. And yes, I just said slays. Our place, one of the sponsors of the show, makes the Wonder Oven. And by the way, it comes in amazing colors. It is a gorgeous little toaster oven and it's an all-in-one. It has an air fryer, an oven. It's made from stainless steel and glass. You're not just cooking your food in questionable coating type appliances. You are utilizing an appliance that is healthy and doesn't have PFAS and all these other chemicals that are in various pans. And our place takes a totally different approach. It is high performance, no PFAS.

38:16Gabrielle Lyon:The Wonder Oven, by the way, makes all of your breakfast meals like crisping salmon or reheating leftovers easy without sacrificing quality. It looks cute. Yes, it does look cute. Stop cooking and reheating with toxic cookware and upgrade to Our Place today. Visit fromourplace.com slash Dr. Lyon and use the code Dr. Lyon for 10 % off site-wide. And 100-day risk-free trial, free shipping and returns. You can also experience this, yes, gorgeous and cute type cookware. It is a game changer with zero risk. So now as you think about health information and just... Because you still do your own form of journalism.

39:06Gabrielle Lyon:How do you curate from someone who's watched the landscape change? How do you begin to curate information? By having people like you on my podcast, by having people and different thought leaders in different spaces have full on conversations based on practice and research and knowledge and proof. That's how I do it. And I will, you know, I may talk to a more traditional medical practitioner about something. I may talk to a more holistic medical practitioner about something. And let's talk about the same subject approach two different ways. And what are the outcomes that you're seeing? What are the benefits?

39:47What are the risks? Let's have both conversations and let the woman decide, you know, when it comes to hormone replacement therapy. Does she want to go more a pharmaceutical route? Does she want to go more homeopathic or a bio HRT route? I mean, that's her choice. It's her body. And the only way you can make an informed decision is by having intelligent people on, having conversations, and the pros and cons about each. That's what I like to do. That are really unrestricted, completely. And not only unrestricted in content, but I could sit there and talk for an hour or two, like you and I are doing.

40:21I don't have, I'm not working now within the confines of a news director saying, you've got three minutes for this segment. And I'm like, how can I even get anything across in three minutes?

40:31Gabrielle Lyon:You know? But you did. Do you think that that skill, I was talking to Maria Shriver, is being extremely supportive. And we were talking and she's like, media as we know it, journalism as we know it is like anyone can, quote, be a journalist. It's true. Are there certain skills that you think are necessary or skills that you've really been trained to have that have now transited over? Yeah. Well, first research, not just kind of skimming through something, but really doing some research and trying to find both angles on something. Or, you know, let's say you're going to ask somebody one question about what they do.

41:13And let's say there's another approach to it. Well, I would certainly want to get their take on that other approach, but I need to know what that is. So I need to kind of know both sides of the story and kind of research pros and cons. And let's let's flush that out. So instead of just, you know, looking at, let's say, your bio and what you do and simply formulating questions based on that, you know, I may look at, well, what other forms are out there? And I want to get your opinion on that. And is there any relevance to it or validity? Or, you know, you're like, well, no, actually, I see more health consequences in this area, which is why we're in this area.

41:50So it's asking the questions to help somebody understand the why. and if you can get to that then you help people ask questions to understand the why the why is everything is you know and the journalistic questions who what when where why how so those are your like your tick in the boxes then I think to be able to do it in a relatable way and it's it's like you said you know you bring in some of the greatest I joke I'm probably the only person on her podcast that doesn't have initials at the end of her name but but I feel you because you You can bring in the greatest thought leaders on something who have spent years in research and labs.

42:30And I mean, they know their stuff. But maybe this is so uncomfortable that the effective communicating of that falls short. And what a pity because they have so much to share. And the only way they know how to do that is to write a journal. Which most people are never going to read. Right. So now you've got to be able to kind of humanize the genius is what you're trying to do. Right. And it's hard. And people could use coaching in how to effectively communicate what it is that they know. Because now we're getting into that ability to convey a message in a relatable and understandable, and let's even take it further, a likable way.

43:11How do you do it? I don't know.

43:14Gabrielle Lyon:I mean, only five people listen to this podcast. My mom's included in that. I love that. Okay, so here's what I was trained to do. Stop, I think the hardest thing for people in this kind of a format is they get really, really nervous. So when I'm looking out, right, I see my camera, I see your camera, I see lights everywhere, microphones. And I think people get so locked in and caught up in the set and feeling kind of overwhelmed and intimidated by it. and I've learned and I think this is just part of my training is that you just have to block it you have to pretend like none of this is here as weird and awkward as it is but don't look at the elephant in the room okay so yeah pay no attention to it and and just converse talk to a friend and and if you can even take it a step further and let's say you're doing solo broadcasting or podcasting.

44:13And the hardest thing to learn to do is this, but to pretend that camera is you. That camera is a friend. That camera is a face. That camera is somebody I know. I can almost visualize her. I can see her. I could almost see her grin in response to something or kind of cock an eyebrow, like, hmm, never thought of that. You have to humanize a situation. And when you can do that, then you can effectively be human in the situation.

44:41Gabrielle Lyon:That's good advice. Probably just in all. I would think with anything. In all areas. Even like with a doctor with a patient, right? Oh, for sure. I mean, doctors can sometimes get so caught up in the medical that they have forgotten that they are standing next to a human who's incredibly vulnerable in that moment. So humanize her. Take what you know, but make her feel heard. I mean, that's what it's about. What about conflict? Have you been on set where all of a sudden conflict, you're on TV, it's live, and this was completely unanticipated? Yeah, I can't really say I've had any like on-air conflict.

45:22I've been so fortunate to work in my career with amazing people. So none of the conflict ever happened on air. Sometimes it would happen behind the scenes. And it's generally in the control room, you know, because we wear IFBs so that you can hear the producer and sometimes the director will pop in. And the control room is honestly the meltdown center because all the people are in there and last minute decisions are being made. Or sometimes they're blowing out segments because guests aren't there in time or the satellite feed, you know, breaks or there's breaking news. And so that kind of craziness and that meltdown is happening.

45:59And at the same time, they're trying to cue you and direct you. sometimes while you're live, and then you've got to pretend like you're not hearing the meltdown and not let that affect you as you're speaking on camera. So it's sort of a weird, soliminal, I've got voices in my head, but you can't know. I have voices in my head and they're all angry and they're yelling right now. So that's kind of wild. I would say that's sort of the only conflict. I'm even trying to think maybe in some live interviews, you know, some people haven't liked the lines of questioning or didn't like where it was going.

46:32And, you know, some people pulled out IFBs or mics and they're like, I'm out of here type thing. But hey, you know, I mean, again, if you're doing your job and you're asking questions that are fair and down the middle or challenging somebody's viewpoint, that can happen. But I suppose part of that is expected. Sure. Sure. And you can't take it personally either. You can't take any of it personally. That's the other thing too, you know?

46:56Gabrielle Lyon:Yeah, it's not. There's a great book, The Four Agreements. Have you read it? Yes, it's a great book. It is. It is a great book. Yes. And one of the agreements is it's... Don't take it. It's not personal. Always do your best. Yeah. Don't take it personal. What about aging, you know, in front of people? Was there a moment where you're like, God, you know, again, when I was 20, it was all about, it was just very superficial. Sure. Even if I was really interested in nutrition, it was unavoidable. And I think that when you, after each decade, if there is that transition that you know it's definitely not about how you look.

47:35Gabrielle Lyon:Yes. It is about who you are and what you have to offer. Was there a transition point for you? Because, you know, for me, there was a moment where I'm like, oh, my God, this kind of sucks. Yeah. In what way? I'm curious. Yeah, I was just like, God, I don't know. I woke up one day and I've got wrinkles under my eyes. Oh, just the aging process. I just maybe wasn't, and, you know, or after my second baby, I'm like, why am I, why can I stretch this skin? From here to there? Six inches. I'm not a last girl. Yeah, exactly. You're just like, man, I, quote, heard about that. Wasn't ready for it. Wasn't ready for that.

48:13Gabrielle Lyon:Again, I think now I've largely moved past a lot of that. You know, if there's a great laser, sign me up at that point. I'm with you too. Right. But there was definitely a moment where now the women are exposed to a lot more online, a lot of unrealistic images. You know, there was the images in the magazine where people would be like, oh, well, that's just totally unrealistic. Sure. And now it's no longer in a magazine. I know. It's everywhere. It's pervasive. It's everywhere. It's everywhere. you know it's grace is the first word that comes to my mind that you have you have to allow yourself some grace it's like my dad said aging isn't for the faint of heart you are going to see things and feel things that are going to bother you and frustrate you because you you aren't who you were but I think and here's the other thing and you and I are so very aligned in this way and you you to like next level because this is who you are and this is what you write about but I learned I would say in my mid to late 20s and I'd hired a trainer because I was doing the morning show at the time and I was living such an unhealthy life you know I was up at 2 30 in the morning um blowing and going living on like muffins and bagels and any kind of starchy carb to get me through right sugar in my coffee I was a hot mess I'll be the first to tell you and a friend of mine had a friend of mine from college had been working out with a trainer.

49:42Where'd you go to college? U of H. I did communications at U of H. And a friend of mine was working out with a trainer. He's like, you need to work out with a trainer. You are not living a healthy life and you're, you know, up too early and you're eating the wrong foods and blah, blah, blah. I'm like, fine. And you're in your 20s. And I'm in my 20s. So I hire a trainer and start learning. I need to lift heavy. And at this point, you know, I'm like, I'm the Jane Fonda girl. With the leg warmers, I'm 5 '8". Yeah, I'm tall. So, you know, I'm Jane Fonda with the leg warmers, you know, barely breaking a sweat, whatnot.

50:15I get into like a real gym, you know, like Worlds Golds. Back in the day, you're running. Tank tops, spray tan. The whole thing, the whole thing. Body oil. Body oil and all of the trainers are also fitness competitors. And so this was sort of my entree into that world too. I didn't do it, but I used to emcee a lot of those contests. And so I was learning what it meant to lift heavy. I was learning how sore I was supposed to feel. I was also getting an incredible education on what I was supposed to eat. Because my trainer, who happens to be my son's father.

50:56Gabrielle Lyon:Wait, wait, wait. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a rewind. And it's a rewind. Yes, I know. Yes, we were trainer and client for quite a while. And then he moved away and then we reconnected and became trainer and client again. And then we married. And so that's my son's dad. I am incredibly grateful to him. First of all, not only that we have a child, but he did change my life in how I saw food and movement. And I got to watch these trainers. Do you remember one-to-one fitness? Is it still here? Maybe. We're pretty new. We've only been in Houston three years. Okay. Okay. So this was a personal training gym that was set up by a bodybuilder, a bunch of them.

51:40And it was a gym for the bodybuilders to work out in, but also train their clients in. And I saw these men and women get ready for competition. And I saw what it took to train. And I also saw phenomenal transformation with lifestyle, movement, and food. and they all came with their little Tupperware and they had their chicken or their beef and their rice and the broccoli and it was all portioned out and they were eating every three to four hours and I mean it was a science and the way they worked out was a science and the way they slept was a science and and I would see over weeks and months you know they would bulk up off season and then all of a sudden on season they're dialing in and I'm like oh my gosh and these veins are It was phenomenal to watch.

52:29And then I would see their clients and the clients who came in motivated and dedicated. And they were like, I'm tired of feeling this way. I'm tired of looking this way. And these trainers would do the same thing with these clients. I saw clients who went from 80 to 100 pounds overweight to one who entered a fitness competition after training for a year, was so jacked and so sharp and so lean that it just showed me the power of the proper nutrition and the proper lifting and movement. And from that moment on, my viewpoint completely changed about that, which I'm not going to circle back to your question about aging.

53:10Yeah, it's great to look good. Yeah, it's great to have abs. Yeah, it's great to have, you know, cuts in the shoulders, all wonderful things. But you have to know what you're doing. And again, you have to know the why of what you're doing. And at this age and stage for any woman, for a younger woman, for somebody like me, it's about muscle and bone. Muscle to support the bone, bone to support the life. Because we break bones and then we fall. We don't fall and then break bones. You know that. So you've got to keep your bones intact. You have to do what you can do to prevent osteoporosis and to be strong.

53:48So if the added bonus of that happens to be some abs that are showing through or some popping shoulders, amazing. But for me, it's about what is this 80-year-old body going to do? How is it going to move? Am I going to be able to take my luggage and stick it in the overhead compartment by myself? Or am I going to need help? Am I going to be able to get in and out of low cars? I want to be able to move when I'm 80 like I'm moving today.

54:13Gabrielle Lyon:This episode is sponsored by Branch Basics. One thing I've become much more aware of over the years is the impact of the environmental chemicals on our food and also inside our home. If you're a frequent listener, you know we spend a lot of time talking about nutrition and muscle health. But beyond that, we should be thinking about what we're exposed to every day through things like cleaning products. Now, I started using Branch Basics when I was pregnant to, of course, limit my exposure to harsh chemicals. Their products are made with plant and mineral-based ingredients, and their premium starter kit uses a single powerful concentrate that can replace almost everything in your home, from laundry detergent to bathroom cleaner and even, get this, produce wash.

55:00Gabrielle Lyon:I like that it simplifies my cleaning routine and removes any concern of exposure for myself and my little ones. If you're also worried about the chemicals you are using in your home, I suggest you try Branch Basics. You can get 15 % off the premium starter kit at branchbasics.com with the code Dr. Lion. Again, that's 15 % off branchbasics.com with the code Dr. Lion. What has changed over the last decade for you in terms of your training and nutrition? Well, certainly being more protein-minded and getting enough protein. I know that I needed it. I would say I wasn't as consistent with it. So now I'm consistent with protein and making sure that I'm hitting certain goals.

55:51The other most important thing, and this really hit me when I went through perimenopause because I lost sleep terribly, terribly. It was a horrible battle until I got the right hormone balance for me. Sleep, rest, and recovery is equally as important. And you write to this in your book.

56:05Gabrielle Lyon:But it's my least favorite part. Yeah. And I was reading about how you're really good with sleep. I don't want to. You stopped drinking me. I did. I'm getting texts. My husband's on call. I'm getting texts. You know, are you asleep? I'm watching you on the camera. I'm like, oh, shoot. I better go to sleep. No, I have. And I'm also, and here's the other thing too. Alcohol wasn't serving me. And I love, I was never a big drinker. Nice glass of wine with dinner. Good skinny margarita out with the girls. Right. It's just fun. And anytime I would have alcohol, I slept horribly, horribly. So why? And then I get up the next morning and my skin is ruddy and I've got these bags.

56:44Okay, great. So now I'm having to de-puff and put up. Why? Why do I need this? It's a toxin. My body doesn't need this toxin. It's not responding well to it. Cleaned it out. The other thing too, we get our best quality sleep earlier in the night. I hate hearing that. I'm sorry, but it's the truth. That's what they say, the ambiguous they. I've read, I've put it to practice and I'll tell you what, I'm not telling you though, if I go to bed at 10, 1030 at night, that sleep from 10 to 1030 to midnight or 1230, I get the deepest, most restorative sleep during that time. I fall asleep after midnight.

57:21I may get the same hours. I do not wake up feeling the same. So I know I have missed this sweet spot window where my body's going into deep sleep. So it's like, okay, I know these things. Am I now going to honor and execute these things? Am I, and you talk about this. It's like, you have to dial in what's your motivation and then your discernment, your wisdom, and then the do, right? What are you going to do about it? So these are the things I know I have to do.

57:47Gabrielle Lyon:But you also have uncommon discipline. I speak to a lot of people. Yeah. And was your, so your dad, was he Navy or he was contracted by the Navy? My dad was actually a naval architect. So he was, he was from Hamburg, Germany, and he wasn't in the Navy per se, but he was actually drafted by the German side of the war back in World War II and was on a U-boat and was captured by the Russians during that time. It was kind of a wild, crazy story. And he was rescued by his dad on a motorcycle, got out, never aligned with the ideology over there, was kind of a natural born capitalist at heart. So when he met my mother and he came over to the States, he was, you know, one of those incredibly proud Americans, but always in the naval aspect, was always into ship design, always on fishing expeditions and, you know, out and about doing work with boats and would design boats.

58:46But always disciplined. Oh my God, German.

58:48Gabrielle Lyon:Yeah, I mean, the reason I asked this question is selfishly is I was asked, I was on probably one of the largest podcasts in the world. And the host asked me, well, it was something about discipline. Well, what do you tell people who, you know, what if you couldn't do it? Or what do you tell people? And I didn't really have a good answer. Yeah. I didn't. And I think that it made me somewhat of an unpopular guest. And as you are talking, I'm listening to you talk in a way where you haven't necessarily approached the discipline conversation, but the ability to be discerning and execute. There's not all this narrative.

59:26Gabrielle Lyon:And so selfishly, I'm just curious as to what your answer would be if someone was watching it and they were like, well, what if you can't? Or what if you can't get yourself to do it? Something along those lines. Well, then I kind of get back to the why. Why can't you? What's the why here? Now, I understand if you have a physical disability or something that is preventing you from doing a certain thing, okay, that's your why. What are you going to do about it? How are you going to work around it? What else are you going to do? What's that going to look like? We all can do something. You know, God gave us free will.

1:00:10we all can do something god willing okay so there's that expression god willing how important is it to you is feeling good the next day important enough to you to give up that

1:00:25Gabrielle Lyon:drink but you are able to collapse the time and i feel like i i definitely do that and i think it's I want to speak to that too because this is important. And I know the season of life you're in right now. You're in, and I was there, you're in an incredibly busy, hectic, crazy season. And when I was in your season and journeying that, I would scratch my head because I was exhausted. And time was just getting away from me. and there were all the shoulds that had to be done, things that children, home, work, this, that, and I would think, okay, where's the time for the rest that needs to get done?

1:01:09Where's the time? And I struggled with it too. For me, sleep was everything, and the minute I started losing sleep, I realized that was my starting point. If I can right the ship there, then the other things that need to happen are going to start falling into place. But I can't force myself to work out if I've had four to five hours of really poor quality sleep. I can't force myself to go meditate in a corner when I may fall asleep because I'm so exhausted. You know what I'm saying? Sleep had to be number one. And giving myself grace that right now I can't show up for myself in a way in the gym or physically that I want to because I might hurt myself.

1:01:53I might cause more damage than benefit because I'm not in a good place. So what's the most important thing that will enable me to tackle all the other things? For me, it was getting that rest locked in. What did that do? It enabled my body to be able to move better and actually have the desire to be able to move better. It enabled my mood to be a kinder person, to be nicer. You know, I was, I would like want to bite people's head off. That's not my nature. You know, I'm like, I couldn't hurt a fly. But I was in such a space where I was like, I can't take it because my cortisol levels, my nervous system was frayed.

1:02:34It was also learning to say no to things because I was a consummate people pleaser. And when you're in the news business, you get really, really plugged into the community. And I was one of those people who was asked to emcee luncheons and events all the time. So I'd be up at seven o 'clock in the morning, getting kids off, you know, carpool, getting home, rushing, getting ready to emcee a luncheon, go emcee a luncheon, go to work, go do the news, come home to a big family, have dinner, go back to work, go do the news, get back home by 11 o 'clock at night and rinse and repeat.

1:03:05Gabrielle Lyon:How long did you do that before you were like, yep, nope, I'm out? Probably for too long. I fell on my sword for too long and just lost my mind. And I eventually just had to start saying no. and it can be a very unpopular word to say, and it can also really show you a lot of things about other people in your life. I actually really like that part because it's better to know than to guess, right? So that's great. Do you have a framework for making decisions? Yes. I spend time, first of all, in deep thought and deep prayer. I don't make a decision without God involved. How long do you pray for? I pray every day.

1:03:50I pray every day. I have morning, my husband and I have morning devotional time. We'll read pages from the Bible. We will read devotionals. We will read works like Charles Stanley is one of our favorite authors. He's written a book about listening to God, how to listen to God, what that looks like. That's important to me because that, first of all, not only roots me, it roots us as a couple. This is our time together rooted in his word. And when we married, we both agreed that this marriage was going to be rooted on the foundation of God. And I can tell you, this marriage operates completely differently than anything I have ever known or been involved in.

1:04:28So that right there tells me everything. So that. I have to know if a decision needs to be made, is this my way? Am I trying to force something? Am I trying to will something? Or is this something that God is aligning in my life that needs to be done? And then I don't want to have a rash, reactive decision. I want it to be steeped in thought. So sometimes it can mean actually writing it down, writing down the decision, writing down the pros, the cons, thinking it through, talking it through, especially if it has impact or effect on my husband or somebody in my life, sitting with it with God. And then sometimes just the right answers present.

1:05:08The right answers present. Here's a great example of that. We had a housekeeper, just lovely. I mean, a good person, but was just kind of problematic in a certain way. Just changing things up or asking for, you know, money in advance all the time, all the time. And just, I don't know, it was just not going well to the point where I thought, I just don't know. But I don't know anybody here. and I had asked some people, and I was just feeling like something's not right about this at all. And I was walking my dog in the neighborhood, and I saw a gal walk out of a house, and she was carrying cleaning equipment.

1:05:54And I just stopped her, and I said, hey, I said, would you happen to know of any cleaning people in the neighborhood? And she says, oh, she goes, we are. She says, my mom right here has a cleaning business, and I work with her and this other lady, And we do actually quite a few houses in the neighborhood and started talking to them. And, you know, they're all believers and strong women of faith. And I said, would you mind? Not that that matters, but it kind of does because it unifies a value system. A value system. And I said, you know, would you mind coming over? And they came over. And I mean, can I tell you, they are the most lovely people.

1:06:28The daughter babysits our dog whenever we travel. They feel like family. and it was just having this one problem, talking about it, praying about it, and then all of a sudden acting on it. Something presented and something just made me ask. So, you know, pay attention. I think so many times we overlook those things or we let them pass by and I'm like, no, this situation is here for a reason. This person presented for a reason. Act on it if you feel that compulsion.

1:07:00Gabrielle Lyon:What is your goal with your content and your position right now? Your contribution, I should say, rather than goal. I would say, and you just landed on the magic word, contribution. How can I continue to contribute? What can I continue to do? What can I present? You know, sometimes I feel like, because I've been out there since 2014, and I'm like, you know, I look at Courtney, and I'm like, how many more makeup tutorials can I do? And she's like, oh, you can do another. You know, you can do another. There are other brands. There are other things. But here's the thing. The makeup tutorials that I did back in 2014, my skin was different.

1:07:40My needs were different. The way I wore makeup was a little different than it is now. And as I'm aging and embracing that and changing that and showing that, whatever that looks like, my applications may change. My formulas may change. My why behind things may change. And I want to share that. And maybe there's a woman who could say, you know what? I used to be like an all matte girl too. And now I need a little bit more glow. Or now I need a lighter application to let my skin breathe. Or, oh, my husband said I look so much better this way without all that makeup. So I'm learning too. I'm learning about me.

1:08:18And I'm willing to share that journey with my audience. because if I can affect one person, and that has always been my mantra, it's not about the numbers, it's not about the followers, but if one person can take what I have and grab it and use it in her life in a way that benefits her, makes her feel good about herself, makes her think differently about herself, gives her a sense of value and self-care and love that has a ripple effect in her life, then I've done what I've been put out to do.

1:08:53Gabrielle Lyon:And arguably you've been doing it for decades now. Yeah. Thanks to one of the sponsors of the show, Amp. Because I can walk two doors down and get a great workout. And if you've ever walked into a workout and thought, am I lifting too heavy? Am I not lifting enough? Where is the weight? I can't find anything. And is this even working? You are not alone. Seriously. the uncertainty is one of the biggest reasons why people do not see results and they stop. Strength training is an essential daily routine and AMP was founded to introduce it into everyone's life, home, and ambition. That's exactly why I've been using AMP.

1:09:36Gabrielle Lyon:What makes it different is it removes the mental noise. AMP AI uses your resistance to adjust sets and reps in real time So you are always training at the level that your body needs. No second guessing, no wasted time. And by the way, it has everything that you need. Your body responds to progressive stimulus and you need to do that correctly. You don't want just random workouts that you find out online or you find online. It mounts to your wall, takes up almost no space and gives me access to hundreds of movements from strength training to high intensity work. I am telling you, I love this technology.

1:10:20Gabrielle Lyon:It is beautiful. It is on my wall. And it is a system that meets me where I'm at, regardless of the day. If I need some recovery, it's there. If your goal is to build muscle, get stronger, no more guesswork and be consistent, go to amp.ai. Check it out. That's amp.ai. Training should be effective and it doesn't have to be complicated. Do you have any words of advice for individuals who are thinking of also sharing? And again, the online space, there is criticism that it's not the same as it used to be. I know. I know. It's not for the faint of heart. How about this? Don't read your comments. Well, yes.

1:11:06And here's a, yeah, don't read your comments because you can't shut them off. Yeah. Because then you're saying your voice doesn't matter. And then you also, here's the catch 22 with that, because then you miss out on all the beautiful comments. You miss out on the women who are like, oh, my gosh, thank you for this or have questions. You miss out on that opportunity of engagement. So here's what I'm going to say to that.

1:11:30Gabrielle Lyon:Do you go and engage with your community all the time? All the time. So that's you and Courtney just? All the time. Okay. It's always. And I check through everything. I heart everything. If somebody has a question, I'll respond or she'll get in there and respond. We are always, always responsive. And I've always been that way. So here's the thing. I am not going to let a few bad apples change how I operate. I mean, I'm not. I appreciate that. I'm not. And I will, people call me Dom as a nickname. So I'm like Teflon Dom. You know, I'm going to let it roll off my back. I don't care. I don't care.

1:12:09And that's the other beautiful thing about this age is that your BS meter is just like, you know what? Think what you think. Say what you say. You like my hair short? Fine. You like it long? Fine. Nobody's going to change what I do to me. Nobody. Nobody's going to have that kind of say, power, or impact. This is my journey and my walk. I understand. You've got your preferences. You can articulate them in a very kind way. If you don't do it kindly or if you're rude or you make a personal attack against, you know, me or somebody I love, you're probably going to get blocked. But that's my choice because it's my platform.

1:12:46And I don't want those people to take me away from the 98 % of lovely humans who are out there who deserve to be seen, heard and responded to. So that would be my encouragement is be prepared for the ugly. it's probably going to shock you, the level to which it's out there. But get a thick skin. Do not let other people's word shape or define or permeate or have any impact or even make you second guess who you are and what you're doing. Do not let it do that because that's the enemy at work. And that's he will work through people and he will try to slip you up and he will try to derail you and get you off your track and your trajectory.

1:13:30So don't let it happen.

1:13:31Gabrielle Lyon:Don't fall for it don't fall for it what about uh midlife wellness specifics yeah have you tried hot yoga i have a whole list of girl i've done everything okay tell me what's worked tell me what hasn't well okay start with what you haven't okay well i'm like oh my i cannot believe they said to do the grapefruit diet yeah yeah i don't i don't believe in any specific diets i i just do um protein, and as many colorful greens as I can possibly do, healthy starches. I stay away from the middle aisles of the grocery store. I do all the stuff that you're supposed to do, whole food, plant-based type of diet.

1:14:10Intermittent fasting? Intermittent fasting, yes. Intermittent fasting has been really big for me. I was never a huge breakfast person anyway. So I like to have my last meal. And here's the other thing too. Oh my gosh, the early bird special. I have like become one of those people who loves to eat at 5.30, 6 o 'clock at night. I'm over the moon. If someone says, can we eat early? I'm like, yes, please. I love that window between eating my meal and having a good four hours of new food in my belly before I go to sleep. I also sleep better that way too. So that's been something wonderful. And then I won't eat until, so let's say that meal was at 6, 7 o 'clock at night.

1:14:47I won't eat until probably noon the next day. So I like to give myself a good 16 to 18 hour window. It's just what works for me. What also works, I would say, well, first, it begins and ends with proper HRT, if you can take it for your body. I mean, that's a zero-sum game right there. Absolutely. You have got to get your hormones at optimal levels. You know, we're not going into menopause and then dying. You know, once upon a time, you know, people didn't live past a certain age. Now we are living so, so many years past reproductive time in life. And we need that to be optimal. And people always think about, and you may hear this too in your practice, you know, HRT isn't just for mitigating night sweats, okay?

1:15:36That's right. This is for the long haul. This is for my 80-year-old brain that's still going to be able to solve a Wordle puzzle. You know, this is for the me who's going to be able, like I said, lift luggage and put it in the overhead bin. I'm doing this for the long haul. Yeah, I want to be able to sleep at night. Yeah, I don't want to sweat. You know, absolutely, I want to have, you know, plumper skin and sex drive and all the things that come with it. I want to live great now. I want to live great later. So what does that look like? And that definitely requires medical intervention.

1:16:09Gabrielle Lyon:Period. Period. Now, how you choose to do that and what that looks like for you is your journey and your expression. Just explore it. I do appreciate the candor on that. And I agree. There's been a lot of information out there that's really done a disservice. What would you say has? For aging, HRT is huge. It's huge. And it is body autonomy, personal choice. We might not be able to say that estrogen protects and solves the dementia. But what we can say is that perhaps we know what deprivation therapy looks like and could we safely say that this potentially could impact the brain. I don't need to wait until a study says this is going to protect against dementia to as a clinician to say I feel comfortable prescribing this from a cognitive standpoint, from a bone standpoint.

1:17:05Gabrielle Lyon:Not cardiovascular. Totally agree. Hormone replacement therapy. And then lifting, you cannot. You cannot. There's no replacement. Walking is great. Not going to have the same impact. No, not at all. Cardiovascular stuff is great, fine. But if you really want to maintain a certain body composition, bone mineral density, there are some non-negotiables. I agree. You know, and I'm going to talk to you about this too because, and I've hired somebody. I know myself. I won't push myself as hard by myself unless I have somebody standing over me and telling me what to do. So I got wise to that. And I even joke, it's like, girl, these are press on nails.

1:17:42Okay. So I'm willing to give up the nail salon and make changes elsewhere. And I do that intentionally because the first argument people will put up is, I can't afford that. Right. And I understand, you know, not everybody can, but I think it's really, really important to look at your spending because I bet you anything you can whittle and you can find ways to carve out whether it's mail money, coffee money, whatever it may be. We are so unaware of how wasteful we are in certain areas and a little bit dedicated to an area of such great importance, your health, your wellness.

1:18:24Gabrielle Lyon:And what you said is really important. I have been training for years. Yes. I do not push myself as hard. And so I train with someone. Yes. I'd much rather allocate resources to that than to not. Me too. It's everything. It's everything. And I know you'll agree with this too. Even just safety-wise, and especially at this age, you could get in there and you hear people like me and you, and you've got to lift heavier. Well, what does that look like? And for somebody who hasn't lifted heavy and somebody who's just been, you know, having fun with five and 10 pound, you know, little hand weights, getting in there and lifting heavy without the proper form and core and stability can mean knee injury, hip injury, and then you're really sidelined.

1:19:09So don't you want someone watching over you who's got that skill set? I do.

1:19:13Gabrielle Lyon:I do as well. Thanks, Carlos. You're a G. I have one final question. And really, what is next for you? You've been an anchor, journalist, written a book, have a podcast, have a YouTube. I mean, I think we've got some exciting things coming up this year. I don't know how specific I can get, but I think that things that people have been asking for in me might be coming to fruition, which is really, really exciting. It's another, if we think of what we do as like a rose, you know, and it starts off kind of closed and all you see are the outside petals. And then as it's getting watered, it opens and you see more and more petals.

1:19:59You see kind of more of this unraveling of what it is all about. I think there are more petals to the rose that will be coming out this year, which is so fun. And just also creative outlets for me that I've been wanting to explore and things that I think women will enjoy and appreciate from me that are kind of brand-centric. And, yeah. I cannot wait.

1:20:24Gabrielle Lyon:Me too. I can't wait to share with you. Dominique, thank you so much for coming on the show. Really been such a pleasure. Oh, my gosh. The pleasure has been all mine. You are such a joy. And can I also just take the time to thank you for your contribution to women's wellness and health and what you're doing? You're a pioneer in your own right. And it's an honor to be sitting with you. I appreciate that. You know, we really are in this together. Yes. And again, I said this at the top of the show. This is now we are entering the era for women. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. That's all I have to say. Thank you.

1:21:00Thank you.

1:21:04Thank you.