Female Transformation Coach, Pro-Aging Speaker, Macro Chef, and 4X Fitness Champion
From Uncertainty To Empowerment
I began my fitness journey in my late 30s, without knowing how to truly care for my body.
This led me down a path of unhealthy habits as a young athlete. Even though I looked healthy, these habits hurt my confidence and health.
I learned how to nourish and strengthen my body properly, creating a blueprint that helped me optimize my genetic potential and restore my health, drastically.
Your Best Years Are Yet To Come (Trust Me)
Now, as a fitness and macros coach, I’m here to empower women over 40 to transform their lives, guiding them to build strong, healthy bodies and minds, and to reclaim their confidence and vitality.
And the best part?
As a professional chef, with my guidance, you’ll never eat plain, boring “healthy meals”. You can bet you’ll eat deliciously nutritious food to fuel your body every step of the way, regardless of your goals!
How it started…
Back in 2000, I found Yoga.
Yoga grounded me. It was the only place I could find inner peace.
This ancient practice kicked-off my self-awareness journey and taught me how to meditate and emotionally regulate myself.
A new Michelle MacDonald was born.
It was during my yoga teacher training in 2003 that I overcame my Eating Disorder and began to truly nourish, accept, and honor my body.
Yoga empowered me to view my body as incredibly malleable — I was never flexible when I was young, yet in my thirties yoga allowed me to master handstands and place my feet on my head
I cherished my decade as a yoga instructor, where I deepened my understanding of mind-body connection and breathwork. And while I loved teaching yoga, I was drawn to new challenges.
This led me to strength training, which began to grow on me and led to my greatest transformation and coaching business, blending the discipline of yoga with the dynamic effective nature of strength exercises.
So, I slowly began to discover new beliefs – changing my narrative about what it means to be a woman.
In 2010, I decided to study nutrition more, so I graduated from the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York. I refused to settle for plain and boring “healthy meals” — after all, I’m your Healthy Hedonista for a reason!
My passion for food led me to become a master in adapting mouth-watering recipes into macro-friendly versions that balanced fat, carbs, and protein. I learned the importance of micronutrients, nutrition and eating for longevity.
Bodybuilding was the missing piece.
When I graduated from culinary school, I discovered bodybuilding and developed a blueprint for eating that satisfies the senses while optimizing genetic potential, and I’ve never looked back.
I became stronger both physically and mentally and a whole new Michelle Macdonald emerged. And I love her!
Combining strength training with a nutritious diet surprised me with incredible vitality I’d never known existed! Not even in my 20s!
This system gave me the body I never knew I could have, but it also reshaped my entire life. I learned to look at everything I did through the lens of optimization: would this bring me closer to my goals or maximize my health long term?
I combined self-love, the power of community, and the flexibility I learned from yoga with my culinary expertise as a chef with science-backed training and nutrition to create a unique method: The Fitness Model Blueprint™.
And now I’m here to help you do the exact same thing.
I transformed my life, and I’ve become a coach to inspire and lead thousands of women to radical transformations through various ventures.
This isn’t just coaching.
It’s not just fitness.
It’s a movement.
And every woman I work with is a powerful part of this ripple effect. We are changing the narrative around aging for women so that the younger generation of women have role models they can look up to.
“Having Michelle as my coach has been life-changing in so many ways.
I've learned from her about the importance of protein in my diet and how to nourish my body with food that fuels my training.
And while I have exercised for most of my adult life, this is the first time I have ever trained with intention or focused on progressive overload to achieve both strength and muscle gains.
With Michelle's guidance, I started doing barbell lifts for the first time and am continuing to learn from her how to improve my technique to ensure I optimize my time in the gym and continue to progress as an athlete. Ultimately, it's Michelle's expertise and proven methodologies and approach that have spurred an identity shift in me to that of an athlete.
And because of that, today I'm stronger and healthier than I've ever been.”
Jodi Echakowitz
How Michelle & Her Clients Get Real Results - The Fitness Model Blueprint™
Michelle’s signature method isn’t a fad or a one-size-fits-all plan. It’s a strategic, science-backed system designed specifically for ambitious women 35+ who want structure, results, and longevity.
The Fitness Model Blueprint™ combines custom macro nutrition, progressive strength training, hormone-literate protocols, and mindset work to create lasting physique transformation — without burnout or extremes.
Start today with the Empowered Strength Ebook
Empowered Strength is your go-to guide for building muscle, strength, and confidence at any age. It’s packed with no-nonsense advice and science-backed strategies to help you thrive in your quest to build muscle and change your body composition, no matter your age.
