Picture a woman swimming out to a floating platform in a Minnesota lake.

There's no ladder. Just a couple of handholds and a lot of people watching. She's 70, and she's never pulled herself up onto anything in her life. Her first thought is, "I'm going to be so embarrassed."

Then she grabs the handholds and pulls herself up. Easily.

That's Arlyce. A year earlier she had never done a single strength training workout. Today she trains at home, travels with resistance bands in her suitcase, and spent her 70th birthday hiking seven rocky miles to the highest point in Minnesota.

Here's her story, and what you can take from it.

The quick version

• Who: Arlyce, 70, retired, Minnesota. Plant based since 2013.

• Starting point: Walking with friends a few times a week. Never strength trained.

• What she wanted: To feel great at her daughter's wedding, and habits that would carry her through "the next 20, 30 years."

• Result after about 10 to 11 months: Her body composition improved by 23 pounds. She gets up and down from the floor easily, carries heavy boxes, pulls herself out of a lake, and hiked 7 miles for her birthday.

She was already plant based. It wasn't enough.

A lot of people assume that once you eat plant based, the rest takes care of itself. Arlyce had been eating this way for ten years.

But two big days were coming: her daughter's wedding and her 70th birthday. And she knew she wanted more than a number on the scale.

"I could have been on a crash diet and lost the weight really quickly. And that just wasn't what I wanted to do. I wanted it to be a whole lifestyle change."

She looked at a few options, including a GLP-1, and noticed none of them included what she really wanted: strength training and the habits to keep going. She interviewed a few plant based coaching programs and chose ours because it looked at the whole person, from sleep to screen time, not just food and workouts.

Why this time was different? In her words:

"Simply my age. I don't have time to be going back and forth."

She called it "a little clock in my head" telling her to figure this out so she could live "a long, beautiful, healthy life."

What changed

1. She started strength training for the first time in her life

"I've never in my life done strength training. So at first it felt super awkward. I'm looking at my phone at the video going, this doesn't make sense. My body doesn't move this way."

Then her body learned the movements. Bridges that once took full concentration now happen on autopilot. She set up a small home gym: dumbbells, a weight bench and a six foot mirror to check her form. She kept her walks with friends too, about an hour, three to five times a week, with hills.

A few months in, something surprised her. She was out running errands and caught herself thinking, "I need to get home to do my workout."

"I was like, wait a minute. Who's this person? That has never happened to me before. I guess I'm a person who exercises regularly now."

2. She paid attention to protein

This was the big food shift. Arlyce began tracking her protein. She went from disliking tofu to loving it, and she let go of her old doubts about protein powder after doing her own research.

"It super helped me with my satiety when I was dropping the weight to have more protein in my diet."

The surprise in the first month? She had trouble eating all the food on her plan. Eating whole food plant based gives you a lot of volume. Her sweet tooth was the real challenge, so she found swaps: apples with cinnamon, and homemade "ice cream" from fruit and tofu in a Ninja Creami.

3. She stopped pausing her health when she traveled

Arlyce and her husband travel a lot. Before, a trip meant "I guess I messed that up," and the healthy habits stopped. Now she packs for it:

• Protein powder (refilled into the original branded bag, so airport security doesn't wonder)

• Resistance bands in different strengths

• A printed card with a simple workout, for when there's no Wi-Fi

• Airbnbs with a kitchen, so breakfast is easy

• Looking at restaurant menus ahead of time and building a meal from the sides

"I have full confidence in myself and what I've learned that I will be able to easily go back on the program and continue on."

4. She fixed her sleep and her phone time

Arlyce was a night owl, up until midnight or 1 AM and sleeping half the morning away. She set a better sleep routine and put limits on her scrolling. She says those two changes were "not small" in how much better she feels.

5. She changed how she talked to herself

Her first coach, Alex, taught her to stop calling a missed workout or an off meal a failure.

"Let's not look at it as failure. That's just data."

Her self talk flipped. Now when she walks into her workout room, her inner voice says, "Good for you, Arlyce. You are doing this."

Life now

The changes show up in ordinary moments. She gets up and down from the floor with ease. At an event her daughter ran, she carried heavy boxes while younger volunteers kept trying to take them from her. Her daughter hugged her and said, "Mom, you're so little." Her walking group noticed she climbs the hills more easily.

And for her 70th birthday, she chose a hike instead of a dinner: about seven miles round trip, over rocks and roots, to the highest point in Minnesota, with her family.

"It's my 70th birthday and I feel so alive today because I did these awesome things, physical things, with the people that I love. And I know that this is just the start."

Next up: the highest point in North Dakota. She's turning each year into a new challenge.

What you can take from Arlyce's story

1. It's never too late to start lifting. Arlyce started at 70 with zero experience. Awkward at first is normal. Your body learns.

2. Plant based is the foundation, not the whole house. Strength training and enough protein are what changed her body composition.

3. Plan for real life. Travel, restaurants and other people's homes don't have to stop you. A few bands and a bag of protein powder go a long way.

4. A slip up is data, not a reason to quit. Ask "what could I do a little differently?" and get back to the plan.

5. Don't forget sleep and screen time. They're part of feeling good, not extras.

Her advice to her younger self was simple:

"Get going. Don't wait until you're 70 to start this journey."

Watch the full interview

Arlyce told her whole story on the Forever Fit Podcast, Episode 462.

Where to start

If you want to start where Arlyce did, our free guides are a good first step, including Joint-Friendly Strength and The Plant Protein Plate: mavywellness.com/free

And if you'd like help building a plan around your life, book a call with our team at mavywellness.com.

Sincerely,

Maxime Sigouin
Co-founder of Mavy Wellness
Author of Forever Fit
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Results vary from person to person. This is general education, not medical advice. Check with your doctor before starting a new exercise or nutrition program.