Victoria's story: a busy family doctor builds muscle and gets abs at 50 with home workouts
Victoria, a Mavy Wellness client and family physician, went from 144 to 127 pounds, lost about 6% body fat and saw visible abs for the first time since high school, all in about five months at 50 with home workouts. Her husband did the program alongside her and lost 35 pounds.
Where she started: Victoria worked 12 hour days, ate a vegan diet heavy in processed foods with large portions and too little protein, and wasn't seeing results from her workouts.
What changed:
Portion control and more protein. Whole food plant based recipes with balanced portions.
Home strength training. Resistance bands and dumbbells, four 40 minute sessions a week.
Twice weekly meal prep. Her own food ready during long work days.
Responsive coaching. A plan adjusted quickly when something wasn't working, even through a surgery.
Life now: Victoria went from a size 6 to a size 4, feels better than she has since college, and signed up for a 5K, 10K and half marathon. "Trust the process, and be super consistent." She shared her story on the Forever Fit Podcast, episode 353.
What the research says. A 2011 meta-analysis of 49 studies of adults over 50 found that resistance training increased lean body mass, with bigger gains from higher training volume. [1] A 2018 review of 49 studies in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that protein helps resistance training build muscle, with the benefit leveling off around 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight a day. [2]
"Forever Fit is my go-to book that explains the real risk of being under-muscled. Maxime lives and breathes his exact protocol and has helped hundreds change their body composition."
Cyrus Khambatta, PhD, NYT Bestselling Coauthor of Mastering Diabetes, on Forever Fit
If you're the one taking care of everyone else, book a call with our team at mavywellness.com.
Sources
Peterson MD, Sen A, Gordon PM (2011). Influence of resistance exercise on lean body mass in aging adults: a meta-analysis. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 43(2):249-258. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20543750/
Morton RW et al. (2018). A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. British Journal of Sports Medicine 52(6):376-384. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28698222/
About the author. Maxime Sigouin is the founder of Mavy Wellness (formerly FitVegan Coaching) and the author of Forever Fit, a book endorsed by physicians including Neal D. Barnard, MD, Laurie Marbas, MD, and James F. Loomis, MD. He has coached for more than six and a half years and, with his team, has coached nearly 1,300 adults over 50 on a whole food plant based diet. He hosts the Forever Fit Podcast, with more than 450 episodes.
Last updated: October 26, 2026. Results vary from person to person. This page is for general education and is not medical advice. Check with your doctor before starting a new exercise or nutrition program.
