Episode 65May 6, 2026· 10:09

Real Talk on Weights, the Scale, and What a Full Week of Working Out Actually Looks Like

▸ Show notes from the creator

No show notes.

About this episode

Ashley Grant answers listener questions about her current weekly workout schedule (Zumba, low impact cardio and toning, Tabata, stretch classes, active recovery), how her routine has evolved over 280-plus days, overtraining and dialing back from 19-22 hours to 13 hours per week, her honest and frustrated relationship with the scale, non-scale victories including losing four pant sizes and fitting into her wedding…

Listener reactions

💡0

🤝0

🔥0

😄0

0 reactions

Share your reaction

Pick how this episode landed — then leave a public review or a private note to the host.

You

Your name will appear with your review

0/300 Visible to everyone

Who this episode is for

This episode may resonate with you if:

You've been working out consistently for months and the scale still isn't moving the way you expected, and you're not sure if what you're doing is even working.

You've told yourself you'll start on Monday so many times that Monday has become a running joke, and some part of you knows you're just stalling.

You've thrown yourself into a new fitness routine with everything you have and your body — or the people around you — are starting to signal that it might be too much.

You used to be barely moving and now you're genuinely surprised by what your body can do — and you want to hear someone else describe that same disorienting feeling of progress.

You've tried working out alone and it never sticks — you need other people in the room with you or it just doesn't happen.

Questions this episode wrestles with

Why does the scale still bother me even when my clothes fit better?

open question

Ashley names the tension honestly — the numbers aren't what she wants, and she admits 'it's still really hard sometimes to look at the scale and not get annoyed' — without resolving it, while trying to redirect her own attention to non-scale victories like clothes fitting better and feeling more confident.

"it's still really hard sometimes to look at the"

Can I trust my progress if the number on the scale isn't moving?

answered

Ashley points to her wedding ring fitting for the first time in about 10 years and dropping four pant sizes as evidence that real change is happening even when the scale doesn't reflect it — she describes the ring moment as 'kind of crazy' and 'very surprised.'

"say caught me off guard was the day that I put on my wedding ring for the first time in, I think, like 10 years and it fit. And that was just like it was such a happy moment because, you know,"

How do you know when enthusiasm for the gym crosses into overdoing it?

open question

Ashley describes going from barely moving to 19–22 hours a week, noticing her body 'was not happy about it,' and dialing back to around 13 hours — but she doesn't land on a clear line, saying 'there may come a point where I feel like I'm still doing too much.'

"week, I went down to about an average of 13 hours a week. And some people say that that's still too much, but considering the fact that a lot of those exercises now are stretch classes and walking and active recovery, I feel like that's okay. There may come a point where I feel like I'm still doing too much, but for right now,"

Does getting stronger count as real progress if I'm not losing weight?

answered

Ashley treats lifting the 20-pound dumbbells as something she's 'very proud of' and calls it 'a good struggle' — framing strength gains as genuine progress she hopes to keep building on, even while other measures feel stuck.

"laughed really hard if someone told me that I was going to be able to lift the tens and twenties the way that I am now. So that, that definitely, that's definitely a big change that I'm very proud of and hope to continue building on that"

Setting expectations: This episode is not a structured fitness guide, workout program, or expert advice on training volume and weight progression. It's Ashley answering listener questions about her own ongoing gym journey — what her actual weekly schedule looks like, her frustration with the scale, and the surprise of fitting into her wedding ring for the first time in about 10 years.

Tensions inside this episode

Moments where Famous Ashley Grant names something — and contradicts it inside the same episode. Both quotes are verbatim from the transcript.

Telling others not to wait — just start now

Ashley tells listeners not to wait for an arbitrary day to start, while also admitting she herself went too hard and had to dial back significantly after her body wasn't happy.

Claim

"Don't wait for an arbitrary day. Just start."

but

Contradiction

"trying to go to every single class that I could possibly fit in. And the reality is that my body was not happy about it. I probably could have"

Tone & style

Ashley started barely moving — two or three Zumba classes a week, lucky to get three hours in — after seeing 'how dark things could get' with her health. She went zero to 60, overshot into 19-22 hours a week until her body pushed back, dialed down to around 13 hours, and is now 280+ days in: down four pant sizes, fitting into her wedding ring for the first time in about 10 years, lifting 20-pound dumbbells — but still frustrated by the number on the scale.

Personal experience and self-reflection from someone 280+ days into her own fitness journey. Not fitness instruction or medical advice.

toneCandid & upbeat

focusAshley answers listener questions about her current workout schedule, her love-hate relationship with the scale, lifting 20-pound weights for the first time, and why the YMCA community keeps her coming back.

stylesolo_monologue

energymedium

complexitybeginner

pressure Levellow

emotional Texturehonest, proud, occasionally frustrated, warm

Notable quotes

"little bit. Instead of doing 19 to 22 hours a week, I went down to about an average of 13 hours a week. And some people say that that's still too much, but considering the fact that a lot"

— Famous Ashley Grant

"it's still really hard sometimes to look at the scale and not get annoyed that the number is"

— Famous Ashley Grant

"say caught me off guard was the day that I put on my wedding ring for the first time in, I think, like 10 years and it fit. And that was just like it was such a happy moment because, you know,"

— Famous Ashley Grant

"planned to do? Do you then wait another week?"

— Famous Ashley Grant

Episode transcript

Organized into 6 chapters — open any part to read the full text.

0:001. What a Typical Week of Workouts Looks Like Now vs. Six Months AgoAshley walks through her current weekly workout schedule day by day — Zumba, low impact cardio, Tabata, stretch classes, and active recovery — and contrasts it with when she started over 280 days ago, barely doing two or three classes a week.3:152. What People in Her Life Think About How Much She Works OutAshley describes how people around her went from encouraging her to questioning whether she was doing too much — and how she dialed back from 19-22 hours a week to around 13 hours after her body pushed back.4:553. Lifting 20-Pound Weights When She Would Have Laughed at the IdeaAshley shares that she's now regularly reaching for 20-pound dumbbells as her heavy weights and 10-pound weights as her light weights — something she says she would have laughed at if told when she first started.6:204. Her Honest Relationship with the Scale and Non-Scale VictoriesAshley describes a love-hate relationship with the scale — the numbers aren't where she wants them, but she's focusing on non-scale victories like losing four pant sizes, fitting into her wedding ring for the first time in about 10 years, and feeling more confident.8:105. Don't Wait Until Monday — Just StartAshley responds to the question about people who keep telling themselves they'll start on Monday, arguing that waiting for an arbitrary date means you may never actually begin.9:306. Why the YMCA Community Makes the DifferenceAshley explains why she chose the YMCA over Planet Fitness and other local gyms — specifically the group fitness classes and the camaraderie of working out with other people, which she says is essential to her experience.

Open full transcript

Mentioned in this episode

organizationYMCA

The gym Ashley chose over other local options specifically because of its group fitness classes and the camaraderie of working out with other people.

companyPlanet Fitness

A gym in Ashley's town that she considered but didn't join because it lacked the group fitness classes she was looking for.

websitefamousashleygrant.com

Ashley's website where listeners can submit questions, leave voice notes, or share their fitness journeys.

companyGet Fit

Another local gym in Ashley's town that she considered but passed over in favor of the YMCA; she notes she's not even sure it still goes by that name.

Key themes

What a full week actually looks like

Ashley walks through her current schedule day by day — Zumba, low impact cardio, Tabata, stretch classes, and two active recovery days — and contrasts it with barely doing two or three classes a week when she started.

Going from zero to 60

Ashley describes how she went from barely moving — lucky to get three hours of exercise a week — to a heavily structured daily routine, driven by seeing how dark things could get with her health.

Doing too much and dialing back

Ashley admits she was trying to fit in every possible class — hitting 19 to 22 hours a week — until her body pushed back, and she brought it down to around 13 hours.

Lifting weights she would have laughed at

Ashley describes now regularly reaching for 20-pound dumbbells as her heavy weights and 10-pound weights as her light weights — something she says she would have laughed hard at if told when she first started.

Love-hate relationship with the scale

Ashley says the numbers on the scale aren't what she wants them to be and it's still really hard sometimes not to get annoyed, even as she tries to focus elsewhere.

Non-scale victories that caught her off guard

Ashley describes fitting into her wedding ring for the first time in about 10 years and losing four pant sizes faster than she expected as the things that are actually mattering to her right now.

Don't wait till Monday

Ashley pushes back on waiting for an arbitrary start date, pointing out that something will always go wrong on Monday — a bad day, an argument, your period — and you'll just wait another week.

Working out with other people as a non-negotiable

Ashley says the camaraderie of group fitness classes is the biggest thing about the YMCA for her — she has to work out with other people no matter where she goes.

Zumba as her favorite thing

Ashley mentions wanting to do Zumba every single day and has even considered taking it online because she enjoys it so much — it's the thread that runs through her whole weekly schedule.

Connected episodes

Shared experience

Zumba as favorite non-negotiable workout

#76What Happens After Day 365? My Plan to Keep Moving

Shared experience

Non-scale victories as progress markers

#32Down 4 Pant Sizes in 6 Months: The Non-Scale Victory That Changed Everything

Contrast

20-pound dumbbells: goal vs. achievement

#1From Couldn't Finish Zumba to Multiple Classes Daily | 100 Days of Maximum Effort