How Dr. Margaret Lionberger Fixed Her Fueling, Mastered Her Recovery, and Qualified for the Semifinals

Margaret Lionberger had hit a plateau.

After going through menopause in her mid-50s, she started getting injured more easily and “was struggling to make gains,” said Margaret, now 58.

“And I thought maybe there was something I could do with my nutrition that I wasn’t already doing that could help,” she explained.

Margaret, a family practice doctor in Ohio, was already educated about nutrition. She felt that she was already eating healthy and had a regular workout schedule.

Feeling frustrated with her lack of progress, she decided to reach out to CBG. Thus began her journey with Coach Kali Butler in October, 2025. She had big goals: to qualify for Semifinals before she hit 59.

“I wanted to lift heavier weights, and link my chest-to-bar pull-ups and walk a certain distance on my hands,” she added.

Still, people in her life thought it was silly that the already fit and healthy eater Margaret would hire a nutrition coach.

“My family thought I was nuts. They [commented], ‘Why are you signing up for something you already know?’” she said.

Margaret Today

Nine months later, Margaret has pushed through the plateau and is once again seeing the gains.

Her recovery has improved, she is sleeping better, she’s “less achy,” and has more energy. Additionally, Margaret has even lost a few pounds, even though she was lean prior to her nutrition coaching.

“I didn’t do a whole lot of the measuring stuff, but rolling into summer I put some shorts on the other day and they didn’t stay on. My back and arms look stronger, and I have lost around the middle,” she said.

She continued: “I can lift a little heavier, I can link my chest-to-bar pull-ups, and I can go a little harder because my recovery is better.”

Best of all, Margaret qualified to Semifinals this year and traveled to Birmingham, Alabama to compete at the Magic City Games in the Women’s 55-59-year-old division.

“It was a dream come true,” said Margaret, who first got involved with functional fitness 12 years ago.

She added: “Low and behold, working with [Coach] Kali helped. It really helped.”

Margaret credits a lot of her gains to the small changes Coach Kali helped her make. She stressed that she should be eating before and right after her workouts, whereas before she usually trained in a fasted state.

A second big change was to increase her protein intake from just 40 grams a day to closer to 100 grams a day, all the while cutting back on her fat intake a little bit.

Thirdly, Margaret pays more attention to getting enough micro nutrients now—and takes both creatine and magnesium—which she believes has made a big difference to her recovery and sleep.

Margaret’s Message

Margaret is adamant, even if you think you’re eating healthy, everyone can use a coach.

“If you want to make those gains, or you feel like you are more achy than you want to be, or your sleep isn’t restorative, or your energy levels aren’t where you want them to be, there are things with your diet that can make a huge difference,” she said.

In her case, CBG provided her the tools to fix all of the above.

“I feel like I’m 10 years younger,” she said.