Her Comeback: Transforming Your Life After 50 - hercomebackpodcast.com

Season 2, Episode 1

Guest: Cheryl Dillon

Founder of Funderful Experiences & Connected Hearts Community

Summary

In this powerful season premiere, host Michelle Thompson welcomes Cheryl Dillon, who transformed her life in her 50s by deliberately designing her next chapter instead of waiting for change to happen. Cheryl shares honest, vulnerable insights about making the shift from "doing the right things" to "doing YOUR thing"—and why midlife is the perfect time to start.

🔑 Key Takeaways

The Wake-Up Call Cheryl's pivotal realization: "If I want my life to be different, now's the time to do it, because if not now, then when?" She stopped waiting for life to feel different and started designing it herself—using the self-awareness and emotional intelligence that come with age.

Breaking Free from External Validation For decades, you've been the "good girl, good wife, good daughter." Cheryl asks: "Whose beliefs were those? Whose expectations were those?" You deserve to do things YOU love and be happy. This isn't selfish; it's essential.

The Pattern-Breaking Principle "If you keep doing what you're doing, you're gonna keep getting what you're getting." Cheryl saw patterns in older relatives she didn't want to repeat and made bold moves to change course. What patterns are you unconsciously following?

Connection Over Therapy Many midlife women crave deep conversations but don't need clinical help—they need authentic community. What's missing: emotional safety, vulnerability without judgment, and conversations beyond surface-level topics.

The Resilience Secret Be your own best friend. During transitions, practice self-trust, self-love, and self-care. Treat yourself the way you expect others to treat you. When you do this, you'll attract people and situations that mirror that care back. Resilience comes from within.

Identity Loss Is Real Whether you're an empty nester, divorcing, widowed, retiring, or looking in the mirror wondering "what happened?"—these transitions are like "little deaths" requiring grief. But after grief comes opportunity to design what's next.

From Complacency to Action Post-pandemic, Cheryl lost motivation—preferring sweatpants at home. She pushed through by getting certified in event planning and launching her business. Sometimes you need new skills to build your new life. Connection and transformation require bold moves and conscious decisions.

Overcoming Past Hurts Cheryl admits she was "scared of groups of women" due to competition, gossip, and exclusion. But she intentionally built the supportive community she always wanted. You can create something different now.

Connect with Cheryl

The Uplift Newsletter: Weekly inspiration and practical tips Subscribe: funderfulexperiences.com/get-the-uplift

Connected Hearts Community: Face-to-face membership for women 50s-60s Location: Coastal North County San Diego Learn more: funderfulexperiences.com

Also offering: Private coaching and mediation for divorce transitions

Bottom Line:

You have wisdom now you didn't have before. Use it. Your next chapter won't design itself—but you absolutely can design it.

Episode 11: Women's Health & Wellness with Lorna Fedelem MD

https://hercomebackpodcast.com/

Guest Bio: Dr. Lorna Fedelem is a Naples, Florida native who practiced hospital medicine for 13 years before transitioning to private concierge medicine five years ago. She now focuses on preventative care and building long-term patient relationships through her membership medicine model.

Key Topics Discussed

Common Health Issues Women Normalize:

• Pelvic floor dysfunction and urinary incontinence
• Intimacy challenges and relationship impacts
• Both conditions are treatable - women don't have to "just live with it"

Health Changes in Your 50s:

• Increased cardiovascular disease risk
• Higher breast cancer risk
• Hormonal fluctuations affecting sleep and mental clarity
• Changes in cholesterol, thyroid function, weight distribution, and sugar processing

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) Update:

• Original 1990s research used wrong populations and dosing
• New research shows women starting HRT within 10 years of menopause may have 60% lower breast cancer risk
• Low-dose estrogen and progesterone can dramatically improve quality of life
• Individual risk assessment is essential

Essential Health Screenings:

• Pap tests every 3-5 years
• Annual mammograms
• DEXA scans (ages 60-65+)
• Colonoscopies starting at age 45-50

Dr. Fedelem's Practice

Services: Concierge primary care with 2-hour initial consultations, plus wellness center featuring:

• ExoMind for mental clarity
• EMSELLA chair for pelvic floor
• EMSculpt for core strength
• Additional aesthetic treatments

Upcoming Event: Winter Wellness Event - December 10th, 1-4 PM

Contact Information:

• Phone: 239-580-6390
• Email: melissa@lornafedelemmd.com
• Website: lornafedelemmd.com

Key Takeaway

Women deserve comprehensive, compassionate care that addresses all aspects of health - from hormones to intimacy to preventative screenings. Finding a provider who takes time to listen can be life-changing.

Her Comeback Podcast: Bonus Episode Notes

Episode Title: My Story - 5 Transformations That Changed Everything

Host: Michelle Thompson; michelle@hercomebackpodcast.com

https://hercomebackpodcast.com/

Episode Overview

In this deeply personal episode, Michelle shares her own transformation journey from hitting rock bottom at 37 to living her best life at 54. She reveals five pivotal transformations that reshaped her life and offers inspiration for women over 50 who feel stuck or believe their best days are behind them.

The 5 Transformations

Foundational: From Rock Bottom to Solid Foundation (Age 37) Michelle opens up about her struggle with alcohol and how her lowest point became the foundation for rebuilding her life. Key insight: Your rock bottom isn't your end point—it's your starting point.

1. Taking Action Despite Fear (Age 47) As a single mom working full time, Michelle pursued her MBA—attending classes two nights a week for two years. This proved she could do hard things and opened doors she never imagined.

2. Following Your Heart, Not Your Fears (Age 50) During the 2020 pandemic, Michelle made a bold move to Southwest Florida without knowing how it would all work out. She trusted her intuition and built her wings on the way down. Today, she wakes up grateful every day in her paradise.

3. Rewriting the Story of What's Possible (Age 51) After her doctor warned about health risks, Michelle confronted her limiting beliefs about weight loss after 50. She lost 50 pounds and reached a size four—something she'd convinced herself was impossible. The lesson: The biggest barriers aren't age or circumstances, but the limiting beliefs we accept as truth.

4. Discovering Your Body's Amazing Potential (Age 53) Facing work stress, Michelle discovered group fitness training. Within 15 months, she went from couch potato to completing a grueling competition (5K tread, 2000m row, 300 reps) in under an hour. Proof that age is just information, not a limitation.

5. Choosing Courage Over Comfort (Present Day) Michelle's most challenging transformation: leaving corporate security to build her own coaching business. She refused to let others control her potential and took a bet on herself.

Questions for Your Own Transformation

1. What rock bottom moment can become your launching pad?
2. What story about what's possible at your age needs to be rewritten?
3. If you couldn't fail and had unlimited resources, what would you do in the next 90 days?

Connect With Michelle

• Website: HerComebackPodcast.com
• Free Gift: Five Powerful Shifts to Reclaim Your Life

Your comeback story is waiting to be written. The question isn't "Can I transform my life?" It's "Are you ready?"