Broads: The Bold & Badass Fitness Podcast for Women

A 2025 study out of McMaster University found that your body builds muscle the same whether you're in your follicular phase or your luteal phase. Your muscles, it turns out, do not care what your cycle tracker says.

So why are so many women losing their consistency, skipping workouts, and rebuilding their entire program every week around an app? Because cycle syncing culture sold us a system that sounds scientific but is actually costing us our progress.

In this week's episode, I'm breaking down what's really happening across your cycle, why the cycle syncing approach is creating more anxiety than results, and how to make smart adjustments to your training and nutrition without overhauling a thing.

What's Discussed:


(0:35) What this episode is and what it is not


(2:29) The four phases of your cycle and why certain weeks feel the way they do


(4:05) Your power window: the phase most women hit their strongest sessions


(4:30) What is actually happening in the luteal phase (and why it is not weakness)


(5:19) The problem with cycle syncing culture and who it actually serves


(6:22) What the research really says about performance across cycle phases


(8:46) The smart adjustment framework: when to lean in, when to dial back


(10:34) Why high-intensity cardio in late luteal is usually not worth it


(11:19) How to fuel across your cycle without tracking every macro


(13:03) The simplest way to track your cycle (no app required)


(15:02) Why consistency will always beat perfect phase alignment


(16:05) Your challenge for the week

Find out more from Broads:

Website: www.broads.app

Instagram: @broads.podcast @broads.app

BroadsCOACH: Head to www.broads.app/broadscoach and apply for BroadsCOACH.

Check out previous podcast about listening to your body: 

Episode 108: Dr. Alyssa Olenick: The Real Truth About Hybrid Training

Resources Mentioned:

Nutrition Webinar: Check out the plate method at www.broads.app/nutritionwebinar

Macronutrient Guide: Want a simple place to start fuelling for the body you're building?

Grab Broad’s FREE Macronutrient Guide: The Balanced Plate Blueprint at www.broads.app/macronutrient-guide.

Gym Starter Guide: Ready to stop waiting for "someday"? Download the free guide at www.broads.app/gym-starter-guide 

Check out more from Tara LaFerrara:

Website: www.taralaferrara.com

Instagram: @taralaferrara

YouTube: @TaraLaferrara

TikTok: @taralaferrara

Your body will literally overeat to hunt for protein it is not getting. It is called the protein leverage hypothesis, and it means your hunger is not a willpower problem. It is a signal that something is missing.

So no, you are not broken. You are not lazy. Your body is doing exactly what it is designed to do when it is not getting what it needs. And nobody has been louder about that than JJ Virgin.

JJ Virgin is a four-time New York Times bestselling author and nutrition expert who has spent over 40 years helping women stop measuring success by the wrong metric. In this episode, JJ breaks down why most women are under-fuelling the one macronutrient their body cannot go a single day without, what that is quietly doing to their muscle, their metabolism, and their results, and what to do about it starting with your next meal.

If you have had that quiet feeling that something is off with how you are eating, this episode is going to tell you exactly what it is. Let's dive into it.

What's Discussed:


(2:59) The non-negotiable JJ refuses to sacrifice no matter where she is in the world.


(5:21) The most overrated nutrition advice women are still following.


(6:22) When the protein trend went too far and created a junk food aisle.


(9:36) What chronic under-eating of protein is actually doing to your body.


(12:08) The biological reason you keep overeating and it is not discipline.


(13:16) The simplest food audit that changes everything in two weeks.


(14:45) The meal where most women are falling short and it is not dinner.


(16:30) How one breakfast sets your hormones up to fail for the rest of the day.


(18:26) Why JJ calls plant-based diets what she calls them.


(20:31) Where supplements actually fit and the four most women are missing.


(22:44) Why creatine belongs on your supplement list and it is not just for the gym.


(23:04) The creatine myth that 81% of women experienced firsthand.


(25:00) Why the common math on creatine dosing does not make sense.


(31:08) How to structure nutrition around your training without overthinking it.


(33:03) The first thing JJ looks at when body composition is not changing.


(34:20) The real reason most women are not building muscle and it is not protein.


(35:29) Why she stopped saying go heavy and what she says instead.


(41:06) The scale has done more damage to women than any diet ever has.


(42:28) The two things you must have before you ever touch a calorie deficit.


(42:47) What toned actually means and why you cannot stretch your muscles longer.


(43:37) 40 years and she has never seen a woman get big from lifting.


(45:23) The identity shift that separates women who maintain results from women who restart.


(56:33) What JJ would tell every woman between 35 and 50 right now.

Check out Broads FREE nutrition resources:


Macronutrient Guide: https://www.broads.app/macronutrient-guide 


Nutrition Webinar: https://www.broads.app/nutritionwebinar 

Find more from Broads:

Website: https://www.broads.app

Instagram: @broads.podcast @broads.app

Head to www.broads.app/broadscoach and apply for BroadsCOACH.

Check out more from Tara LaFerrara:Website: http://taralaferrara.com

Instagram: @taralaferrara

YouTube: @TaraLaferrara

Tiktok: @taralaferrara

Check out more from JJ Virgin:

Website: https://jjvirgin.com/

Facebook: JJ Virgin

Instagram: @jj.virgin      

YouTube: @jjvirginvideos

Tiktok: @reignitewellness

Pinterest: @jjvirgin

X: @jjvirgin

Got Questions: delphi.ai/jj-virgin

Podcast: https://jjvirgin.com/main-podcasts/ 

Speaking Engagements: https://jjvirgin.com/media-speaking-new/ 

JJ Virgin Programs: 

The 90-Day Metabolism Makeover: https://discover.jjvirgin.com/metabolism-makeover-int-1

Okay, real question: how do you want to feel at 70? Not look but feel. Because the second you start training through that lens, everything about fitness shifts, and suddenly the goal isn't a smaller body anymore. It's a body that actually works.

Here's the thing nobody in the fitness industry wants to say out loud: you were sold the wrong goal. For years! And if you've been working your ass off and still feel like nothing is landing, it's not because your body stopped responding. It's because you were handed a game that was never built to serve the woman you're becoming.

In this week podcast episode, I will talk to the 70-year old in you and share what longevity training actually means (and no, it's not cold plunges at 5am), why strength is hands-down your best insurance policy, and the non-negotiables if you want to still be strong, capable, and independent decades from now. This is your permission slip to change the goal.

What's Discussed:


(2:34) The question nobody in fitness is asking, and why it changes everything.


(3:43) Why women are tired, and the shift that's already happening today.


(5:40) The real number one predictor of quality of life as you age. 


(6:20) What longevity training actually means and what’s not.


(8:36) Why women get nearly three times the cardiovascular benefit from strength training than men do.


(10:37) The silent thing happening to your bones after 30 that nobody warned you about.


(12:15) Walking: the most underrated longevity tool, and why you're probably skipping it.


(14:54) Why under-fuelling is quietly working against the women training the hardest.


(17:21) The recovery signals you should never push through.


(18:58) The one question to sit with this week that changes everything.

Broads Giveaway: To celebrate hitting 1 million listens we are giving away two free Broads Club memberships. Head to the pinned post on @broads.podcast and @broads.app on Instagram, make sure you’re following both accounts and tag three friends in the comments with the episode you think they need to hear first.

Find out more from Broads:

Website: www.broads.app

Instagram: @broads.podcast @broads.app

BroadsCOACH: Head to www.broads.app/broadscoach and apply for BroadsCOACH.

Resources Mentioned:

Macronutrient Guide: Want a simple place to start fuelling for the body you're building? Grab Broad’s FREE Macronutrient Guide: The Balanced Plate Blueprint at https://www.broads.app/macronutrient-guide.

Check out more from Tara LaFerrara:

Website: www.taralaferrara.com

Instagram: @taralaferrara

YouTube: @TaraLaferrara

Tiktok: @taralaferrara

Did you know that emotional eating is one of the hardest types of addiction that’s difficult to overcome? Many women are unaware that they’re an emotional eater because we simply call it cravings or food noise when in reality, we are using food to numb the things out.  

If food became a central part of your life to make you feel better but it is also starting to affect your health, derails your fitness goals, and makes you further beat yourself for “not getting it right”, the problem might be not your willpower but the structure around it. 

We go deeper into this in the latest episode of Broads about emotional eating. We also discuss when to know if you are an emotional eater, why you tend to crave food and eat more at night, and why willpower, meal plans and another diet style is not the solution for an emotional problem.

Tricia Nelson is an Emotional Eating Expert and founder of Heal Your Hunger programs designed for people who want to break free from the food that was once a source of their comfort but took over their lives. 

After decades of battling her own emotional eating, binge eating shame, and deep isolation, Tricia has turned her healing journey into a roadmap for women who are ready to stop fighting food and start understanding it.

What's Discussed:

(5:06) The biggest misconception about emotional eating.

(6:16) The #1 mistake women make when trying to stop binge eating.

(8:31) True or false: If you just eat clean, emotional eating goes away.

(9:29) The wellness trend that's actually a trap for emotional eaters.

(11:03) How to slowly break free from scale dependency.

(14:30) How to know if you're an emotional eater.

(18:15) Why 75% of emotional eaters lose control at night.

(22:24) The PEP Test: food as a Painkiller, Escape, and Punishment.

(26:55) Three Meal Magic: The structure that helps you tell hunger from emotion.

(32:20) Food noise: The three root causes driving the compulsion to eat.

(35:11) The anatomy of the emotional eater and why people pleasing is the #1 trait.

(40:30) The four things you actually need to heal from emotional eating.

(49:37) What real healing from emotional eating looks like on the other side.

Broads Giveaway: To celebrate hitting 1 million listens we are giving away two free Broads Club memberships. Head to the pinned post on @broads.podcast and @broads.app on Instagram, make sure you’re following both accounts and tag three friends in the comments with the episode you think they need to hear first.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Im8: Use my code TARA at checkout to save 10% on your first order at https://im8health.com/
 

Find more from Broads:

Website: https://www.broads.app
Instagram: @broads.podcast   @broads.app

Head to https://www.broads.app/broadscoach and apply for BroadsCOACH.
 

Check out more from Tara LaFerrara:

Website: http://taralaferrara.com
Instagram: @taralaferrara
Youtube: @TaraLaferrara
Tiktok: @taralaferrara
Check out more from Tricia Nelson:
Website: https://healyourhunger.com/
Facebook: Heal Your Hunger

Instagram: @tricianelson_       

TEDx Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVSe2vaxXXM

Book: Heal Your Hunger: 7 Simple Steps to End Emotional Eating Now

Confessions of a Binge Eater Podcast:  Spotify / Apple

Heal your Hunger Quiz: https://healyourhunger.com/heal-your-hunger-quiz/

Your brain has two completely separate systems for knowing what to do and actually doing it, and no amount of motivation bridges that gap. The women who stay consistent aren't more disciplined than you. They just stopped relying on motivation and started building structure.

If you've ever crushed it at work, managed a full household, and still couldn't figure out why your fitness keeps falling apart, it's not a YOU problem. It's a system problem. And that's exactly what this episode is about.

Tune into this week's solo episode of Broads where we answer the real questions around consistency: the ones nobody has actually answered for you yet.

What's Discussed:

(3:52) Why knowing what to do and still not doing it is not a character flaw.

(6:26) The Monday reset isn't a fresh start — it's the problem.

(8:50) Why motivation was never supposed to be the engine.

(11:07) What to do when life gets busy and your plan falls apart.

(15:10) The difference between trying more programs and getting real support.

(17:55) The neuroscience behind why you keep breaking promises to yourself.

(20:52) How to know if you're actually ready for a coach.

Find more from Broads:

Website: https://www.broads.app
Instagram: @broads.podcast @broads.app

Head to https://www.broads.app/broadscoach and apply for BroadsCOACH.

Check out more from Tara LaFerrara:

Website: http://taralaferrara.com
Instagram: @taralaferrara
Youtube: @TaraLaferrara
Tiktok: @taralaferrara