Episode 93Jul 6, 2026· 5:24

21 vs. 41: The Fitness Advice I Wish Someone Gave Me Twenty Years Ago

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About this episode

Host Ashley Grant reflects on going from an active childhood — 12 years of dance, taekwondo, biking — to two decades of near-inactivity after a car accident at 16, graduating college, and getting married at 21. She traces how incidental movement like park-and-ride walking kept her active in college, and how those habits disappeared after major life transitions. She shares specific regrets: not continuing to take…

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Who this episode is for

This episode may resonate with you if:

You're in your 20s or 30s and you've noticed your body quietly changing since college or getting married, but you keep telling yourself you'll deal with it later.

You look back on a version of yourself that was naturally active — sports, dancing, walking everywhere — and you're grieving the gap between that person and who you are now.

You've tried the quick fixes — the pills, the shakes, the meal replacement bars — and somewhere you already know they're not the answer, but you haven't fully let go of them yet.

You're carrying two decades of regret about not taking care of your body and you're finally at the point where you're ready to hear someone say it out loud.

You've been avoiding the gym partly because you're afraid lifting weights will make you look bulky, and that fear has quietly kept you from starting.

Questions this episode wrestles with

Would I have listened to fitness advice in my 20s even if someone gave it to me?

open question

Ashley sits with this question without resolving it — she wonders aloud whether the advice would have landed at 21, since the weight was creeping on slowly and she wasn't registering how fast it was packing on.

"wonder if it would even have landed. back then."

How does someone who was really active as a kid end up not moving for 20 years?

answered

Ashley traces it to specific transition points — a car accident at 16 that ended her dancing, then college habits that kept her walking, then getting married at 21 where she says she basically just let herself go and stopped doing the small things like taking stairs and parking further away.

"that by the time I graduated, someone had said to me, don't stop taking the stairs. Don't start taking the elevator everywhere you go. Don't start parking closer to the places that you need to get to. Don't start eating crap. Like these are things I wish that people had said to me."

Is there something wrong with using weight loss shots or meal replacement products?

answered

Ashley frames it as her biggest regret and says she wishes she'd been warned away from it — her advice now is don't take shots and pills, don't do meal replacement shakes or bars, and just move your body every day instead.

"wish someone had told me, no matter what, even if you start gaining weight, do not start taking shots and pills. I really wish I had gotten that advice. And if I did get that advice, I wish I'd listened to it. So that's kind of advice"

What are the small moments where fitness habits actually fall apart?

answered

Ashley points to the slow, invisible nature of the slide — you don't notice the weight coming on because it doesn't happen overnight, and by the time she got married at 21 she was already semi-active but not nearly as active as she wishes she'd stayed.

"packing on. And you don't gain it overnight, so you can't lose it overnight. That's another thing I wish someone had told me. And I also"

Setting expectations: This episode is not a structured fitness guide with workout plans, nutrition breakdowns, or expert advice for 21-year-olds. It's Ashley reflecting on her own two decades of inactivity — dancing as a kid, a car accident at 16, gaining weight after marriage, trying shots and pills — and wondering aloud whether she would have even listened if someone had told her what she knows now.

Tone & style

Ashley starts from the belief that her active childhood — 12 years of dance, taekwondo, constant movement — would carry forward naturally, then traces how a car accident at 16 and life transitions at graduation and marriage quietly stripped away the structures that kept her moving. The turning point is realizing, two decades later, that weight had been slowly accumulating and that shortcuts like shots, pills, and meal replacements didn't work. She ends having 'finally got her act together,' sharing her regrets publicly so others don't repeat the same pattern.

Personal lived experience and self-reflection from Ashley's own life arc. Not fitness expertise or medical guidance.

toneCandid & regretful

focusAshley narrates two decades of slowly losing the movement habits she built as a kid, and shares the regrets she wishes someone had handed her at 21.

stylesolo_monologue

energymedium_low

complexitybeginner

pressure Levellow

emotional Textureregretful, honest, self-aware, gently encouraging

Notable quotes

"had told me. But again, I can't help but wonder if it would have even landed. Because at the time, though I was starting to gain a little bit of weight, and we're talking 20 years now, though I was starting to gain a little bit of weight, it didn't really hit me how fast it was packing on. And you don't gain it overnight,"

— Famous Ashley Grant

"to me, don't stop taking the stairs. Don't start taking the elevator everywhere you go. Don't start parking closer to the places that you need to get to. Don't start eating crap. Like these"

— Famous Ashley Grant

"right now. And I'm living proof of if you don't do it, you will regret it. And I definitely regret that I didn't continue taking care of my body."

— Famous Ashley Grant

"shots and pills. I really wish I had gotten that advice. And if I did get that advice, I wish I'd listened to it. So that's kind of advice"

— Famous Ashley Grant

"and started moving. But I regret that I had basically two decades of non -movement. So I want you to"

— Famous Ashley Grant

Episode transcript

Organized into 3 chapters — open any part to read the full text.

0:001. Active Childhood and the Car Accident That Changed ThingsAshley introduces the episode's theme and reflects on being very active as a kid — dancing for 12 years, taekwondo, biking, roller skating — until a car accident at 16 disrupted her ability to move the way she used to.1:232. College, Park and Ride, and the Habits She Wishes She'd KeptAshley describes how parking far from campus in college kept her walking and active, and reflects on wishing someone had told her not to stop those habits — taking stairs, parking further away, not eating crap — once she graduated and got married at 21.3:423. Weight Gain, Shots and Pills, and What She Wishes She'd KnownAshley reflects on slowly gaining weight over two decades without realizing how fast it was accumulating, and shares her biggest regrets: not lifting weights, and turning to shots, pills, and meal replacement products instead of just moving her body every day.

Open full transcript

Mentioned in this episode

personFamous Ashley Grant

The host of More Movement Please, who reflects on two decades of inactivity and the fitness habits she wishes she had maintained since age 21.

Key themes

Wishing she'd lifted weights

Ashley says she wishes someone had told her to lift weights at 21, and acknowledges she held the common misconception that it would make her too big and bulky.

Advice she doubts would have landed

Ashley repeatedly wonders whether the advice she now wishes she'd received at 21 would have even registered, because the weight gain was slow and she didn't feel the urgency at the time.

Losing movement after a car accident

Ashley describes how a car accident at 16 ended her ability to dance the way she had for 12 years, and how the 'use it or lose it' reality hit her hard.

Incidental movement as accidental fitness

Ashley describes how choosing park and ride in college for financial reasons forced her to walk a lot, and she frames this as a blessing she didn't appreciate at the time.

Habits slipping after marriage

Ashley reflects on getting married at 21 and wishing someone had explicitly told her not to stop taking stairs, not to park closer, and not to let herself go once life transitioned.

Two decades of not moving

Ashley describes having basically two decades of non-movement and expresses direct regret about it, framing herself as living proof of what happens when you don't stay active.

Weight creeping on without noticing

Ashley reflects on how weight accumulated slowly over 20 years without her realizing how fast it was packing on, and connects this to why the advice might not have landed even if she'd heard it.

Regretting shots, pills, and meal replacements

Ashley says she wishes someone had told her not to turn to shots, pills, and meal replacement products, and that even if she got that advice, she wishes she'd listened.