If you’re a woman over 40 who’s done endless diets, lost that “lean & strong” feeling, and hit frustrating plateaus despite training hard, the partnership between 1st Optimal and Shauna Theresa Butler was built for you. This collaboration merges Shauna’s expertise helping women end the diet cycle with 1st Optimal’s medical‑backed functional testing, hormone optimization, gut‑health healing, and white‑label services to give women clarity, strength, and lifelong results.
Together, we solve the two biggest barriers women 40+ face today:
- physiological roadblocks that stall fat loss and keep the body soft, and
- training/nutrition systems that don’t account for hormonal and gut health fundamentals.
This partnership delivers data + action, so changes stick.
Why Women 40+ Struggle With Diets, Body Composition, and Strength
Most women have been taught a variation of: eat less, train more, and expect the scale to go down. But after 40, that formula starts to fail for reasons beyond motivation or willpower. It’s biological.
Women over 40 often deal with:
- Hormonal shifts (estrogen, progesterone, cortisol changes) that slow metabolism and shift where fat is stored.
- Lost or irregular menstrual cycles, which signal deeper metabolic stress and can make fat loss harder.
- Digestive changes that reduce nutrient absorption, energy, and recovery.
- Persistent soft tissue and stalled strength gains despite consistent training efforts.
Simply cutting calories or doing endless cardio won’t fix these biological factors. That’s where a science‑driven partnership becomes a game changer.
Meet Shauna Theresa Butler — Fitness Coach for Women 40+
Shauna is a NASM‑certified personal trainer and nutrition coach specializing in helping women stop the diet cycle, improve metabolism, build lean muscle, and feel strong, not depleted. She emphasizes sustainable habits and strength‑building over punishment workouts and restriction.
Her approach guides women through phases like:
- priming the body for change
- building muscle with strategic training
- burning fat without losing strength or hormones
- maintaining results without fear or starting over again
Shauna’s system isn’t about losing weight fast, it’s about creating a body that performs and feels powerful at every age.
1st Optimal — Functional Medicine + Medical Oversight
1st Optimal is a telehealth‑based functional medicine clinic specializing in personalized hormone care, gut‑health testing & healing, weight optimization, and longevity. Our focus is diagnosing the root biological causes behind symptoms like stubborn fat, fatigue, low libido, and poor recovery, rather than masking them.
Our Coaching Partnership Program provides:
- advanced lab testing and medical interpretation
- licensed medical oversight with personalized protocols
- hormone and metabolic optimization
- gut‑health testing and customized healing plans
- white‑label services so partners can offer medical‑grade support through their own brands.
This means coaches like Shauna can deliver transitionary fitness systems with deeper biological insight.
What Makes This Collaboration Different
This isn’t a collision of opinions. It’s a data‑driven solution built from testing to intervention.
1) Functional Testing Goes Beyond the Scale
Standard labs often show “normal” results that still don’t explain why women feel stuck. 1st Optimal uses functional medicine testing (like advanced hormone panels and gut profiling) to detect imbalances at their source. This reveals if hormones are truly optimized for fat loss, recovery, and energy, not just “within normal range.”
That matters because:
- Normal doesn’t equal optimal, especially for performance and body composition.
- Gut health affects inflammation, nutrient absorption, hormone metabolism, and energy.
- Functional testing validates what countless women feel but have been told is “just age.”
When you know what your system is actually doing, you can build an effective fitness and nutrition strategy around it.
2) Hormone Optimization for Women Over 40
Hormones influence every aspect of body composition and performance: metabolism, fat storage, energy, recovery, sleep, libido, and strength. 1st Optimal’s clinical team helps interpret hormone panels and creates personalized optimization. That’s essential for women 40+ who are working with Masters level training and nutrition programs but aren’t getting lasting results from them.
Proper hormone care isn’t just about replacement. It’s about understanding how each hormone interacts with metabolism and muscular adaptation.
3) Gut Health Heals the Hidden Barrier to Strength & Fat Loss
Digestive health isn’t an optional extra. It’s central to:
- nutrient absorption
- inflammation control
- immune function
- hormone processing
- metabolic balance
If the gut is compromised, even great training and nutrition won’t create sustained change. 1st Optimal’s gut‑health protocols identify imbalances and support healing, so your body can fully benefit from the fitness programming Shauna prescribes.
How the Partnership Helps Women Get Sculpted, Strong, and Done With Diet Cycling
Phase 1: Identify Biological Roadblocks
Women work with Shauna to revisit whole‑body goals and training phases. At the same time, 1st Optimal orders advanced testing so you get insight into:
- hormone levels and balance
- metabolic patterns
- gut dysbiosis and inflammation
This lets you build a body‑wide picture that informs training, nutrition, and recovery strategies.
Phase 2: Personalized Optimization Plan
Once labs are returned, 1st Optimal’s medical providers map results against symptoms and goals. That personalized plan may include:
- hormone modulation guidance
- medically‑directed supplementation
- peptide or supportive therapies
- nutrient timing from a functional lens
This medical context helps Shauna’s coaching systems work far more efficiently for women 40+ who have struggled to make progress.
Phase 3: Integrated Training + Biology‑Based Nutrition
Shauna’s phases of body transformation (metabolic priming, strength building, sustainable fat loss, long‑term maintenance) are now informed by your unique biology.
That means:
- no more guesswork with calories and macros
- training designed to support hormonal signaling
- nutritional strategies that help gut and metabolic recovery
You’re sculpting muscle and strength with science instead of blindly following generic plans.
Phase 4: Lifelong Sustainability
What makes this partnership special isn’t temporary results. It’s strategy with staying power. By addressing root causes instead of symptoms, women finally get to maintenance without fear, yo‑yo dieting, or lost progress. This aligns Shauna’s coaching philosophy (no diet punishment, no restriction) with a medical backbone that supports long‑term health.
White Label and Coach Support: Bringing Medical Insight to More Women
The 1st Optimal Partnership Program lets fitness pros integrate advanced medical services into their offerings without breaching clinical scope of practice. Coaches like Shauna can guide women holistically while 1st Optimal’s medical professionals handle lab interpretation, clinical guidance, and ongoing medical oversight.
That means:
- Shauna stays in her lane as a coach
- 1st Optimal handles medical support
- Women get both biological insight and consistent training support
This white‑label benefit is a big deal in a crowded coaching market where generic programs fail because they don’t address biology.
Success Stories and Transformations
Across social platforms, women over 40 share how strength training and metabolic reset transformed not just their bodies but their confidence. They speak to:
- escaping endless diet cycles
- feeling strong in clothes and in the gym
- finally enjoying sustainable eating and activity habits
This reflects the ethos both Shauna and 1st Optimal bring to the table: results that feel good and last.
How to Get Started
To explore this powerful collaboration:
- Visit Shauna Butler’s coaching & membership offerings: https://www.becomingherfitness.com/online-coaching
- Learn about 1st Optimal’s partnership services and testing: https://shop.1stoptimal.com/pages/shauna-butler
- Explore the 1st Optimal Partnership Program: 1stoptimal.com/partners
Whether you’re a woman ready to reclaim strength and confidence or a coach who wants to level up your offerings, this model is about lasting, science‑based health transformation.
About Us
1st Optimal is a functional medicine and performance health clinic dedicated to helping high-achieving adults optimize hormone health, weight, energy, and longevity. Follow 1st Optimal on Instagram
Founders:
- Joe Miller – Expert in functional medicine, hormone optimization, and health coaching. Follow Joe on Instagram
- Amber Miller – Operational leader specializing in patient experience, clinic growth, and holistic health. Follow Amber on Instagram
At 1st Optimal, we combine advanced diagnostics, personalized protocols, and coaching partnerships to deliver sustainable health results for midlife adults.
