Today we’d like to introduce you to Deana Brownlow.
Hi Deana, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’ve always been disciplined around food, exercise, and taking care of myself, but I didn’t turn that passion into a career until I was 51.
Before coaching, I spent years in corporate America working for companies like Ford Motor Company, Chevrolet, EDS, Motorola, and Serono. I started in service and support roles, moved into sales and consulting, and eventually left corporate to start my own business. I ran that company for 14 years, sold it, and it still operates today.
After selling my business, I had the opportunity to ask myself, “What do I really want to do next?”
Health and fitness had always been a big part of my life. I discovered strength training in my 40s, and it was the first thing that truly changed my body. I was spending less time exercising, but getting better results. That was eye-opening for me, and I wanted other women in midlife to understand they did not have to keep beating themselves up with methods that were no longer working.
So I became a personal trainer.
At first, I trained some men, but most of my clients were women around my same age. They wanted to lose weight, feel stronger, get in better shape, and feel good in their bodies again. I knew I could help them in the gym, but after about six months, I started noticing something important. These women were working hard, but many of them still were not seeing the fat loss progress they wanted.
And I realized the gym was only one hour of their week.
They needed more than exercise direction. They needed to understand what was happening in their bodies. They needed help with nutrition, habits, beliefs, mindset, consistency, and the changes that happen during perimenopause, menopause, and beyond.
That is what led me to expand my education and become certified in nutrition coaching, menopause coaching, and health mindset coaching. I knew if I was really going to help women over 50, we had to address three things: how they think, how they eat, and how they move.
Over time, my work became very clear. I wanted to help women stop blaming themselves for a body that was no longer responding the way it used to. So many women come to me thinking they just need more discipline, more willpower, fewer calories, or harder workouts. But often, what they really need is a different strategy designed for the body they are living in now.
This work became even more personal for me last year. At 61, I found myself in the same place as so many of the women I coach. I was doing the things that had always worked, but my body was no longer responding the same way.
So I went back to the research, became my own test case, and found a different approach that finally made sense for this phase of life. When my body started responding again, I knew I needed to bring this to other women. Because this is what so many of them are searching and hoping to find.
Where I am now is really a combination of my own life experience, my education, my years as a business owner, and the women I have had the privilege to coach. I understand these women because I am one of them. I know what it feels like to work hard and wonder why your body is not changing. I also know what is possible when a woman finally has the right strategy, support, and belief that her body can respond again.
That is why I do this work.
Not just to help women lose weight, but to help them reclaim their confidence, their strength, their energy, and the version of themselves they thought they might have lost.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it has not always been a smooth road.
From the outside, people may assume what I do now was a straight path. It wasn’t. I was 51 when I started this career. I had already worked in corporate roles, built and sold a business, raised a family, and lived a lot of life. Starting over at that stage was exciting, but it was also humbling.
When I first became a personal trainer, I thought I would help women get stronger, lose weight, and feel better in their bodies. And I did. But pretty quickly, I realized the women I was working with needed more than workouts.
They were showing up. They were trying. They were doing many of the things they had always been told to do, but their bodies were not responding the way they expected. That was hard for them, and honestly, it was hard for me too because I wanted to help them get real results.
One of the biggest struggles was realizing I had to keep learning if I was going to serve them well. I had to go deeper into nutrition, menopause, metabolism, habits, beliefs, and mindset. I had to stop looking at fat loss as simply “eat less and exercise more,” because that answer was not working for the women sitting in front of me.
There have also been the normal struggles of building a coaching business. Learning how to explain what I do. Learning how to reach the right women. Learning how to run the business side while also caring deeply for the women I coach. And as my work has grown, I have had to keep asking myself, “What do these women actually need from me now?”
One of the most humbling seasons was when my own body stopped responding in my early 60s. I was doing what I knew to do, but it was no longer producing the same results. That put me in the same place as many of my clients, and it reminded me how frustrating and discouraging it feels when you are working hard but not seeing change.
But I see those struggles as pivitol points in my life that has made me a better coach.
They helped me see the struggles from my client’s perspective. They taught me to listen more closely. To not assume a woman just needs more discipline. To look beneath the food, the workouts, and the scale. And to help women understand that if their body has changed, their strategy will need to change too.
So no, it has not been smooth. But I am grateful for the hard parts because they shaped (and continue to) the work I do today. They made me more clear, more compassionate, and more committed to helping women over 50 feel strong, capable, and at home in their bodies again.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a coach for women over 50 who are struggling with fat loss, energy, strength, and confidence in a body that no longer responds the way it used to.
I specialize in helping women understand what is actually happening in this season of life, especially through perimenopause, menopause, and beyond. So many women come to me frustrated because they are doing what they used to do, or what they have always been told to do, and it is not working anymore. They think they need more discipline, fewer calories, harder workouts, or more willpower. They’re overwhelmed by conflicting information and not knowing who to trust anymore.
I help them see that they are not failing. Their body has changed, and their strategy needs to change too.
My work combines mindset, nutrition, strength training, daily habits, and education around how women’s bodies change after 50. I am known for being direct, honest, and compassionate. I tell women the truth, but I do it in a way that helps them feel understood, not judged.
What I am most proud of is watching women start to trust themselves again. Yes, they lose weight and body fat. Yes, they get stronger and feel better in their clothes. But the bigger transformation is when a woman realizes she is not out of chances. She can feel good again. She can become strong again. She can stop chasing quick fixes and start leading herself differently.
I am also incredibly proud of what I call the ripple effect. When a woman begins to care for herself differently, it often reaches far beyond her own body. Her kids notice. Her grandkids notice. Her partner and friends notice. When she changes her relationship with food, movement, strength, and self-care, the people around her often start making healthier changes too. I love knowing that my work can reach other people through her.
What sets me apart is that I am not coaching this from a distance. I am a woman now in my 60s; I’ve lived through the stages of menopause. I can relate to their season of life. I understand the frustration, the confusion, and the fear of wondering, “Is this just how it is now?”
And I also know it is not.
That is why I do this work. Not just to help women change their bodies, but to help them reclaim the confidence, energy, strength, and vitality they thought they had lost. I help them embrace this season of life.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Books: Atomic Habits, The Power of a Habit, The One Thing, Outlive
Podcasts: Mel Robbins, Dr. Gabriella Lyon, Dr. Stacy Sims
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.dbcoachingforwomen.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coachdeanab/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deanabrownlow.dbcoaching/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanabrownlow/
