Aging Adventurously: How Lori Balue Turned Survival Into a Movement
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
By She Rises Studios Editorial Team
Lori Balue did not set out to become a movement leader. She set out to live. After decades of struggling with obesity, chronic asthma, and the cycle of temporary weight loss and regain, Lori discovered a new way to live that rebuilt her body from the inside out. Today she is a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner, founder of Aging Adventurously and the Holistic Low Carb Method, and a living example of what is possible for women over 50 who refuse to accept decline as destiny. At 62, she hikes rim-to-rim across the Grand Canyon, runs half-marathons, and teaches other women how to reclaim energy, confidence, and adventurous spirit.
Her transformation began as a search for healing rather than another diet. Lori tried supplements, strict plans, and short-term approaches that worked briefly and then failed. She relied on inhalers and a breathing machine for asthma for twenty years. It was while working in a natural food store and reading functional nutrition books that a pattern began to emerge: food and lifestyle were driving inflammation, cravings, and disease. A pivotal moment came in 2016 at the Bulletproof Conference, where conversations about biohacking and ketogenic nutrition electrified her sense of possibility. She adopted a paleo, then low-carb approach, and the changes were dramatic. Within months she lost twenty pounds, regained energy, and felt alive again. That experience shifted her purpose from personal recovery to professional calling.
Lori describes her work as a calling born from both lived experience and rigorous training. She completed Chris Kresser’s ADAPT Functional Health Coaching Program and became certified in Functional Diagnostic Nutrition. From that foundation she developed Aging Adventurously, a holistic process that helps women reverse prediabetes, repair metabolism, and achieve lasting weight loss without medications or extremes. The program blends functional lab testing with a protein-forward, low-carb nutrition plan, circadian rhythm optimization, movement practices, and mindset renewal. In Lori’s world, labs are not punitive; they are maps. She uses GI-MAP, DUTCH, HTMA, MRT and other tests to reveal hidden drivers of fatigue, inflammation, and metabolic dysfunction, and then builds personalized plans that restore function and freedom.
What Lori emphasizes most is that midlife struggles are rarely the result of failure. They are signals. Stress and cortisol dysregulation, gut inflammation, mineral depletion, blood sugar instability, and hormone metabolism issues are common root causes she uncovers through testing. Once the data is revealed, the work becomes precise. Lori’s Holistic Low Carb Method does more than restrict calories. It reduces inflammation and visceral fat by removing foods and chemicals that trigger immune responses, nourishing clients with the right fats and a protein focus, and aligning eating times with circadian rhythms. The result is metabolic repair that supports strength, mobility, and life, not just a number on the scale.
Lori’s approach is deeply practical. She introduced the idea of the food bridge, a step that transitions women away from processed foods toward satisfying low-carb alternatives. Her Aging Beautifully and Adventurously recipe book gives women swaps that retrain the palette and restore joy in eating. Weekly accountability calls stabilize blood sugar, naturally activate appetite regulation, and quiet cravings. Functional labs then clarify the specific issues for each woman so that the plan is not guesswork but a targeted reset.
Movement plays a central role in Lori’s philosophy. Once a survival tool for her, movement evolved into medicine. She recalls early days when a child on the street pointed and taunted, and when a partner’s question about weight became the spark for change. Walking pulled her out of helplessness and into possibility. Over time that simple movement grew into training for life. Lori learned that sunlight, grounding, midday movement, and resistance exercises improve circadian rhythms, reduce cortisol, and rewire metabolism. Today she uses movement to build mitochondria, preserve muscle, and create joy. Her goals are not extremes; they are real life milestones: hiking, playing with grandchildren, running errands without pain. Movement is how she trains for all of it.
Lori’s clinical experience and client stories bring her philosophy to life. She shares the story of Leslie, a woman who arrived after 16 years of depression, fatigue, and daily pain while following a rigid diet.
Functional testing revealed mineral depletion, H. pylori and candida, and cortisol dysregulation. By restoring minerals, supporting cortisol, and addressing gut infections, Leslie regained the ability to attend events, tackle physical tasks, and find joy. She now swims on a masters team and travels independently. Stories like Leslie’s are emblematic of Lori’s claim that midlife is not a mystery but a map. When women look at the data, the body says what it needs, and healing becomes possible.
Beyond labs and movement, Lori’s work addresses the mental barriers that keep women stuck. Many women over 50 have been told that symptoms are inevitable, or that their bodies are simply succumbing to age. Lori uses her lived experience to dismantle that narrative. She helps women build vision, provide accountability, and create daily rituals that support metabolic repair. Her first-step advice is practical and accessible: combine food into three balanced, protein-forward meals, reduce snacking, and get outside within an hour of sunrise to reset the circadian rhythm. These small shifts produce measurable change quickly, which in turn creates motivation and momentum.
At the center of Aging Adventurously is a joyful, stubborn refusal to accept decline. Lori reframes aging as an adventure, not a series of losses. She envisions Sedona retreats that combine nature immersion, metabolic coaching, and vision building. She wants to guide women down the Bright Angel Trail and train them for life through practical hikes and metabolic resets. Her long term goals include building a global community where women do not just talk about health but live it, where movement is the default and low-carb nutrition sustains energy into the nineties.
Lori’s daily life reflects her work. She begins with sunrise light, grounding on dirt, and protein-first meals that include at least thirty grams of protein. Movement is woven through her day in walks, resistance training, and weekend hikes. She dims lights at sunset, protects sleep, and keeps mindset anchored in service and gratitude. For Lori, the goal is longevity with purpose: to be strong enough to pick up grandchildren and mobile enough to keep adventuring.
Her message is both simple and radical: healing starts with data, and it sticks with rhythm. When women stop guessing and start testing, and when they align nutrition with nature and movement, they stop fighting their bodies and begin to partner with them. Aging Adventurously is not about chasing youth. It is about reclaiming vitality, curiosity, and daring. Lori Balue’s life is proof that transformation takes time, patience, and consistent choices, and that the second half of life can be the most adventurous chapter yet.
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