I would like to dedicate today's episode to all the women out there.
Today's topic, Perry Menopause and Menopause.
And if you are going through this transformation in your life right now and you feel maybe
unsupported, alone and frustrated, it's very difficult to get support going through this
process.
Then today's episode is for you.
I have special guest on Amy Gallo.
This is the second time Amy is on and I'm so excited to talk to her today.
Amy is a double degree nutritionist with 20 years experience, empowering thousands
to have the health they need to live a life they love.
And that's exactly how we're going to talk about these two topics today.
How can you go through this transformation feeling supported, not alone and actually thrive?
Let's get into it.
You're listening to the Soul Align Self-Care Podcast.
I'm your host, Tina Stinson and I had a stroke at the age of 39 from stress and burnout
that shook my world.
Now I'm laying it all out.
The deep level self-care practices and mindset shifts that I needed that kept me healthy,
balanced and thriving.
Join me in this intimate space as we explore healing, resilience and a soul's journey to alignment.
This is where real conversations about deep level self-care happen.
Let's get into it.
[Music]
Peter.
Hello Amy, welcome to the Soul Align Self-Care Podcast or I should say welcome back.
I'm so excited to have you.
Thank you, Tina.
I'm really happy to be back.
Yeah, it's really good to see your face.
And I'm so excited about today's topic.
We were chatting just a second ago right before we started and it's, I'm very passionate
about this topic because this is my life right now.
And so today we're talking about Perry Manipause and Manipause and what we could do to help
empower women to make this the best possible experience that they could have and maybe
even try to look at it as a positive thing in some ways.
So to get started, I would love for you to talk about maybe some of like your experiences
that you've had with Perry Manipause and Manipause either yourself or with your clients and
some of the really common symptoms that women are experiencing in your realm.
Yeah.
I'll start, I'll start by speaking personally.
I'm 46 and for all intents and purposes, right now my seizing into Perry Manipause has
been relatively light.
I have noticed things that I wasn't really sure because it wasn't, you know, you hear
the obvious things, hot flashes, mood swings, etc.
Right?
But some of the things I noticed is that my gums have started to get very sensitive,
particularly right before my cycle begins.
I definitely do feel more moody.
It feels, and I've talked with some of my friends about this.
It almost feels like entering a second adolescence where I really, there are moments where I feel
so emotionally, a strong out for lack of a more compassionate term.
And I, you know, logically, I'm like, why am I freaking out so much about this thing?
Why has this got me so riled up?
And it really harkens back to adolescence when you're a teenager and the little things
just totally set you off.
And of course, as is the case with, with PMS in general, in fluctuations in hormones, whether
it's adolescence or adulthood or Perry Manipause, if there are underlying stressors in your
life, that, you know, that increases your stress and your overall stress tolerance becomes
less.
And that's really something that I think is an important concept to grasp and integrate
with whatever is happening for you.
However, your symptoms are showing up is this is a period of time when we have reduced
stress tolerance.
This can show up emotionally and it can show up physically.
So the more you have your stress managed to the degree that you can entering into and transitioning
through Perry Manipause into Manipause, the more empowered you can be to ride those waves
and the less chaotic and disruptive those waves can be.
Yeah.
Now, I agree with you.
I'm 57 and I would say actually, let's raise a glass, pretend glass and celebrate because
this is the month that it would be exactly a year since my last cycle.
So I'm like, yeah, thank you.
Officially in Manipause, which is wonderful.
But at the same time, I remember my first symptoms being anxiety and not really acknowledging
it.
And it was pretty extreme where I used to drive all over the place, traveling and stuff
like that and not even think twice about it.
And then I started having panic attacks, driving across a bridge.
And I was like, what is this?
The first time it happened, I was like, what is this?
And then it became a problem and then it became something I had to deal with.
And I was like, it was just so far into me and I didn't really connect that with Perry
Manipause until I started.
I was dating a gynecologist and he actually said that to me and I was like, huh, and then
I started looking into it.
And I was like, this is so interesting.
And then I really started to, as you said, really, really, really get down to the nitty-gritty
about handling my stress levels and doing everything I possibly can to reduce that.
And it's not about like one like magic thing that you do.
It's about all these little things put together that really help you feel better and it could
feel a little overwhelming.
I have to say as I got closer to Manipause, my symptoms just went crazy and they would fluctuate.
So like one last year, like at the beginning of the year, my blood pressure went really high
for no reason.
I had every test done on the face of the earth.
Nothing was wrong with me.
And I had a lot to do with anxiety again, once again.
But my cholesterol levels went up, just all of a sudden.
And then they normalized out again, which was like weird.
Hot flashes that just started like a little while ago.
And then it very recently stopped, not gone with, like nothing now.
But like, you know, I would be sleeping and I would just wake up like all sweaty and it
would very disruptive sleep.
I have very disrupted sleep.
I usually sleep really, really good.
Now I sleep like every other night, you know?
It's very, it's just really interesting.
That sucks.
What did you say?
I'm sorry.
And then of course when you don't get good sleep, Manipause, that sucks.
That's a good sucks.
Yeah.
Like the disrupted sleep, I'm getting that too.
Sleep is very touch and go, which is really common.
And then when you're sleep deprived, your ability to handle stress is a lot lower.
So it, you know, it can be this compounding cycle that's really challenging to navigate,
particularly when, you know, as you just shared your symptoms come and go, they fluctuate
in severity.
And you, it's really a time where a lot of my clients are like, I don't know what
this body is, but it's nothing I'm used to and I don't know how to deal with it.
Exactly.
And that's kind of, that's exactly that.
I mean, it's like you're, I, I can compare it to like a butterfly, like, you know, the
metamorphosis.
It's like your whole body is completely changing because you're losing your estrogen
among other things that are going on in your hormonal system.
And that affects every system in your body.
So it's almost like everything that you learned about yourself up until the
point is off the table and you have to start over.
So that's something.
Precisely.
Exactly.
If we accept that and then go from there, I feel like it's easier almost.
100% 100%.
The more you fight this process, the harder you're making it for yourself.
And you know, I've, I can't say I'm particularly excited for what could come down the path
for me, but I get to be alive long enough to make this transition.
And that in itself is something to be grateful for.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
And, and I think that, I mean, we can all agree that it's really nice not to have your period.
Like if we could pick one of the simplest things, that would be it, you know, and not having
to worry about getting pregnant like that too.
Yeah.
So just like, I actually really like my period.
I, you know, I, yeah, I do.
I do.
I refer to her as ant flow.
And, you know, I really appreciate my, you know, and this is not a common at least from,
at least from my experience, this isn't very common, but I have a very regular cycle.
Unless I am under periods of high stress, I have very few symptoms.
And so for me, my menstrual cycle has been this very consistent rhythm in my life that
in many ways grounds me and also gives me an understanding for some of the ebbs and flows
in my own energy and my own motivation and things like that.
It is a companion that is always with me when I travel three out of four times that I
am on a train, on a plane, or traveling somewhere.
Ant flow shows up either the day before, sometimes at the gate while I'm waiting to board the
plane.
I have a hard time.
Oh, I'm sure it show up.
Jessica, she loves to travel.
Yeah.
And at first it was very, it was like, what is this about?
Why is this happening?
And it really doesn't seem to, it isn't, it's been going on for seven or eight years,
very consistently.
And I just, it's a weird little biological quirk that I have and it is granted sometimes
a huge pain in the butt.
But it's also like, this is my body.
Ant flows a little quirky.
She loves to travel as much as I do.
So I just got to get used to it.
And I will grieve losing my cycle, I think, even though I will be super, super happy that
they don't have to worry about an unexpected pregnancy.
Yeah, yeah.
I think it, I think that's really nice.
And I think that your cycle could really be embraced working with it knowing how it affects
you in different ways and using those, using that knowledge to do certain things at certain
times, you know, no one you need to rest, no one you need to, when you can push, when
you have the ability, you know, no one you're feeling social, no one you, knowing when
you need to go inward.
So I think it's really nice if you can connect with your cycle like that and you have a regular
cycle, that's beautiful.
I, my cycle was very regular, but it was very like, abrupt and like very heavy.
And so sometimes it stopped me from going out of the house, you know, so, and I think I
had it for a long time.
I started when I was eight, you know, and then I stopped.
Oh wow.
56, it's like, come on now.
That's not fair.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I've not been that blessed.
Yes.
Yes.
We're very blessed.
Very blessed.
So anyway, but yeah, like transitioning into talking very quickly or about how women are
really underserved during this time in their life.
There's not a lot of research.
There's not a lot of doctors that are even trained to deal with this.
And then at the same time, very unwilling to really start, start to kind of educate themselves
in order to help their patients.
And I myself has been, have been faced with this among many, many thousands, hundreds, hundreds
of thousands, probably of women that you go to your doctor and they're just like, well,
that's the way it is.
And you know, there's nothing you could do.
And, you know, let me just put you on some high blood pressure medicine and cholesterol medicine
and whatever other kind of pills they can give you.
And, you know, maybe like an anti-depressants and blah, blah, blah, blah, you know, and so
on.
And I don't want to take pharmaceuticals.
So I think with this experience, while there are some women that really have the blessing
of being able to work with a doctor that has that knowledge and maybe if it's available
to them can take part in HRT or home-owned replacement therapy.
That's wonderful, but it's just not feasible for a lot of women or even available for a
lot of women.
And so I'd love to talk about some of the things that we can do to empower ourselves to feel
better as far as nutrition, as far as physically, you know, you have to change the way you do things
and then also mentally.
Yes.
So, yeah.
Starting with like, diet, so what are some of the things that we can do diet wise that could
really benefit us and help us stay strong throughout this transition, especially like our
bones and stuff like that?
Yeah, as you mentioned, things totally change during this phase of life and a lot of the
women that come to me say, you know, I've changed nothing and what I've always done that
has worked is not working.
And yes, of course, because your body is not the same body.
And with the wildly fluctuating estrogen levels and the hormones, the impact of that
on the system, it's not the same system.
It does not process foods the same way it did pre-parametapause.
It doesn't receive physical activity in, it doesn't give you the same results from your
physical activity that it did pre-parametapause.
Estrogen helps us maintain our muscle mass and it also makes us insulin sensitive.
So as our estrogen levels drop where they become unstable, we become more insulin resistant
and so our blood sugar can go up, our cravings can go up and with chronically elevated blood
sugar also comes and increase in inflammation in the body.
Estrogen is anti-inflammatory as well.
So independent of the impact of glucose on your blood sugar, the loss of estrogen creates
a more inflammatory environment.
So transitioning to a more anti-inflammatory diet, more than ever, it's important to transition
out of the regular habitual consumption of, you know, going through the drive through on
the way home from work because it's just easier of sitting down and having a glass of wine
after dinner to relax.
You know, these little habits that we often use to reduce our stress creates additional
physiological stress on the body even though they may be emotionally stress-reducing.
So it really is a, almost a call to action to elevate your wellness habits and your self-care
routine to something that is more beneficial to the body.
The loss of estrogen also then means that when we are exercising we're less easily able
to put on muscle and get some of those beneficial gains that we received earlier in life.
So with the loss of muscle comes an increased risk of loss of bone density.
Again, independent of the, of estrogen's bone protective effects because our muscle mass
pulls on the bone, right?
Whenever we move the muscle pulls on the bone and that is stimulating to the muscle.
So the more muscle mass we have, the more we use that muscle, then the more, that more,
there's more of an interplay between the muscle and the bone and it encourages the bone to
stay dense because it's being stimulated to do so.
So with regards to nutrition, maintaining an anti-inflammatory diet which means lots
of colorful vegetables, fruits, berries are fantastic.
They're just gorgeous, gorgeous fruits for our cardiovascular system, for our brain health,
for our heart health and the dark purple polyphenols and fruits also protect the gut and the
bones.
So they are my favorite fruits.
I'm very biased towards, towards berries from a nutritional standpoint and they are extremely
anti-inflammatory.
Now in addition to a vegetable and fruit rich diet, it's also crucial in this stage of
life to increase your protein intake.
Yes.
And this is because without that safeguard of estrogen to send a signal to the body to hold
on to muscle mass, we start to lose muscle and protein itself can act as a stimulus to encourage
muscle retention because it contains an amino acid called loosing and loosing is like a messenger
that tells the body, "Muscle is important, let's make sure to keep it.
Let's hold on to what we have."
And then if you are doing weight-bearing physical activity, let's increase it if there's
sufficient enough stimulus to do so.
Now one of the things that a lot of women chronically do is underestimate how much protein they're
getting.
Yeah, that is so true.
I agree with you.
Just personal experience.
And going on an app like chronometer or--
Yeah.
And like starting to just like log what you're eating and then when you realize how little protein
that you're actually getting, it's like, wow.
And then trying to increase that protein can be challenging, but once you figure out a
few things, it gets easier as you start to tweak it.
It does.
And it takes time.
Protein is an incredibly satiating macronutrient.
It's very filling.
And most-- I would say most people that come to see me often need to increase their protein
by about 50%.
So one and a half times of what you're usually eating.
So just as a, you know, for the listener, take a look at your average protein serving at
your meals and can-- and start to think about increasing it by half, adding 50% more of
that protein to your plate.
And that's a really good place to start as a broad generalization.
Some folks need to actually double the amount of protein that they're consuming.
It depends on a myriad of individual factors, right?
So the protein piece is crucial.
It also helps with stabilizing blood sugar, which is really, really important as we're going
through that parimenopause transition and postmenopause as well, because of the increased insulin resistance
that happens when our estrogen levels start to drop.
Yes.
So again, we become more insulin resistant.
We are less able to tolerate carbohydrates.
And so choosing carbohydrates that come from non-starchive vegetables, and some people may be thinking
that vegetables aren't a carb, they're a vegetable, but from a structural standpoint, vegetables
are considered carbohydrate foods because of the fiber it contains.
Fiber is structurally a carbohydrate, but it has very minimal impact on the blood sugar.
And so your most fiber-rich foods that contain lower amounts of starch, such as your leafy
green vegetables, peppers, onions, things of this nature, right?
Your lower carbohydrate, lower starch vegetables are a wonderful source of carbohydrate.
And you'll find that reducing the starchier carbohydrates that come from grains that
of course come from sugar, which is also very inflammatory, and juices will help you maintain
your weight as you're transitioning through parimenopause into menopause, and will also help
stabilize your blood sugar and keep you from developing pre-diabetes or full-blown diabetes
as you make that transition.
Yeah, it's super, it's super challenging.
I have to say, I've definitely experienced the stomach, the middle weight gain there,
that little blob that comes, and not terrible, but it's very true that the things that you
once did don't really work anymore, and you have to really be careful.
As you know, I do eat a plant-based diet, and not a strict vegan or anything like that,
but I do eat eggs.
I do eat a little bit of dairy, I'll end up buying Greek yogurt just because it's so easy
to add protein that way, because the plant-based yogurt-
It is a wonderful source of calcium.
Yeah, I eat a lot of greens, I eat a lot of berries because I grow my own berries, and I don't
have to pay $12 for a little thing from that food.
I would encourage everybody out there if you have a plot of grass on your property to
plant a raspberry and a blueberry bush because you will be blessed with years and years of
berries that don't cause that are organic and they don't really cost a lot, and it's so
beneficial to your health.
It's one of them, and it looks like a bush, you know, like, how could you go wrong?
Yeah, the balance between everything is, and it could be really challenging, you know,
and I find myself cutting out things like bread that I love.
I love what?
Just because there's no benefit to it, you know, there's no benefit.
So I end up cutting it out, and then I'll end up like missing it so much, and then I'll
have like a week where I eat like a whole loaf of bread, you know.
But I feel like you just got to do the best that you can, you know, and I-
Absolutely.
I tracked my nutrients for a couple of weeks just to say, and I found it really challenging
to get the amount of protein.
I was trying to get 30 grams every meal, and that was challenging, that alone, and, yeah,
I ended up buying protein powder because I was like, this just makes it a little bit
easier, adding protein powder to my oatmeal, my- I tried adding it to my coffee, but-
Yeah.
You have to, you cannot add it to black coffee, it just- it does not- it doesn't work.
It does not work at all.
Yeah, sometimes a latte, yeah.
They have- they have a- I can't remember the name of the product, but they have a product
that's like, tastes like coffee and has caffeine in it, and then it has protein in it.
And I'm like, I'm sure it's just not good for you at all, you know, so I'll just keep
trying to add the protein where I could squeeze it in and fit it, you know, and I've definitely
mastered it a little bit, you know, and managed to-
Awesome.
Yeah, it's not perfect, but, you know, sometimes I eat a lot of tofu, which is a very easy way
to- Mm-hmm.
...in protein.
So adding protein, like adding tofu to like a shake or something like that can really,
you know, I can get like 60 grams of protein and like a protein shake just like, downing
that on a day when I'm working out or something like that just makes me feel like, okay, I've
conquered that for, you know, this meal or whatever.
Yeah.
But yeah, it's really challenging and- Actually, that reminds me- it is-
Go ahead.
That reminds me of an excellent point.
When you are struggling to get enough protein, first I want to say protein powder is fabulous,
I'm a huge fan, particularly for people who have reduced appetite and are struggling to
get sufficient protein or who are on a plant-based diet, it makes it so much easier to get the
protein that you need.
Yes, it's a processed food, however, it is very easy to find protein powders that don't
have a lot of junk added to it.
Yeah.
That is, you know, kind of like a pure protein, isolated or a pea-based protein.
And using that can make a world of difference.
When you are struggling to get enough protein throughout the day, one of the recommendations
that works really well for my clients is to consider front loading your protein.
So like that 60 gram protein shake is fantastic.
Because then you only need to worry about getting, you know, anywhere from- I'm imagining
for you 40 to 60 grams of protein and the other two meals that you're having for the rest
of the day.
If you can get a high dose of protein at your first meal, then you don't have to worry
about chasing the protein as aggressively for the rest of the day.
Now for individuals who are pre-diabetic or approaching that transition point to diabetes,
having that first meal of the day be really high in protein will also help steady their blood
sugar and reduce blood sugar spikes throughout the rest of the day.
It really has an amazing long-term impact throughout the eating window when you have a large
dose of protein first thing in the morning.
Yeah, and that shake probably has more protein than I even realize just because, you know,
I'm only counting the protein powder and then the actual, the tofu, but then a lot of
times I'll add things like chia seeds or-
Oh, yes.
Ground flax and, or sometimes peanut butter and stuff like, or some kind of a nut butter,
or sometimes pumpkin seeds I'll add and-
And it just, that adds more protein and so I just-
I beef it up.
I'm glad that's a positive thing to do because I do that quite often because I get so frustrated
and my appetite is not the problem.
I have plenty of appetite, but it's eating the-
That's a good thing in my opinion.
I have a good appetite.
I'm known for that, but not always for the best foods, you know, so sometimes I have
to, yeah, well, yes.
I try to focus on the healthy stuff and I think overall I do a really, really good job.
I eat, I hate saying the word clean because I just hate that sort of clean eating, but-
Yeah.
I really do.
I don't eat a lot of processed foods.
I don't eat a lot of sugar like, you know, white processed sugar.
And so I'm amazed sometimes that I still have a problem and losing the-
Yes.
You know, like I really only technically gained five pounds, but it's the way my weight shifted
because we're losing muscle mass, right?
Exactly.
And it's-
So I'm definitely look at it as though I gained more than five pounds because I lost the muscle
mass which weighs more than, you know, muscle weighs more than that.
And so I'm thinking, maybe I gained like ten pounds because that's what it feels like, you
know what I mean?
It feels like-
Right.
And changing up my exercise has been really hard for me because I love running, you know?
And running a lot doesn't- isn't really good at the stage in my life and I know this because
it actually makes you hold on to more weight.
Yes.
It does.
It does.
It does.
It does.
It does.
Frustrating because I really like it.
So I've limited myself two, three times a week and then two of those times, I don't go over
three miles because distance running specifically could really put you into that fighter flight
and really help make you hold on to that weight.
And so-
Yeah.
But I want to circle back around to that.
I also, before we transition into the exercise piece, I want to address a common misconception
that often comes up when it- when with regards to protein intake.
There is a long standing rumor out there that the body cannot absorb more than, I think,
20 to 30 grams of protein at one time and any extra is wasted.
This is something that you'll see floating around on the internet and this information comes
from a study that looks specifically at how much protein muscles can absorb at one time.
However, protein is used by the entire body and protein is absorbed and a small amount
of it can actually be temporarily stored in the digestive tract and it is used by a whole
host of other tissues other than just muscle.
And so we can and do absorb more than 30 grams of protein in a meal.
So if anybody has that, has heard that, that's where that information came from.
That is why it's incorrect and feel free to go above that 30 gram threshold and consume
more protein.
It is absolutely not wasted and it does not turn into fat.
Okay, this is so important.
It does not turn into fat.
It is the macronutrient least likely to turn into fat by the body because the breaking down
and absorption of protein by the body costs more calories than either fat or carbohydrate.
It is more metabolically expensive to attempt to turn protein into fat than it is a carbohydrate
food or a fat.
About 20 to 30 percent of the calories that we consume from protein are wasted in the process
of metabolizing that protein.
So you don't need to worry that overeating protein will make you fat unless you are also
over consuming calories from carbohydrate as well as fats.
The protein is the last thing that your body is going to turn into fat.
There have been studies done on men where they were, like Fed, I think it was like double
the amount of protein that they needed, a huge excessive amount of protein and in excess
of their caloric needs to see if it would turn into fat and it did not.
Yes.
I loved the the eye roll when you said on men because that is what we're dealing with because
a lot of these studies are done on men and their bodies are so hormonally different than ours
and I would just imagine that I'm curious what the study would show for women.
But thank you for making that point because it is really important.
I tend to put the blinders on when it comes to nutrition information that is out there
because you really have to be careful.
It is very overwhelming for people and that is one of the reasons why I wanted to do this
show today because it is just so overwhelming and I think we really need to be able to take
things into our own hands to a certain degree.
Not only does it make you feel better to have a little bit of control but also it makes
you feel like you're doing something when nobody else is willing to help you.
So knowing that about protein or able or able.
Yeah, absolutely.
We have to give our physicians and our gynecologists a little bit of compassion because they are
not taught.
They're not menopause because there isn't data.
There isn't data.
Even gynecologists don't learn how to treat or how to deal with parimenopause and menopause.
There was the nurse's health study that came out, gosh was it the 80s or the 90s?
No I'm sorry is the women's health initiative, not the nurse's health study and that was
when they stopped putting women on HRT because there was an observed link with an increased
risk of cancer and heart disease.
But what happened with that study was they put women on HRT who had already transitioned
into menopause and in many cases had been postmenopausal for a decade or longer.
And then took that evidence in that population and extrapolated it to all women going through
parimenopause and postmenopause.
And what more current data shows is that that risk of heart disease and breast cancer
it does not apply for parimenopausal women or women who have recently transitioned into
menopause.
Yeah.
And it said it's a conversation to have with with your physician and perhaps multiple
physicians if you were coming across people who are aware of that information.
Yeah, it's really about because every person is different it's really about learning about
what's going to be right for you and precisely.
And sometimes that does take multiple physicians to figure that out unfortunately.
And that's fortunately.
And a lot of tests.
A lot of testing.
But the the note that you made about the protein though also not turning into fat is important
and then also another point, I don't know if I need to make this point but I'm going to
say it anyway is that when we start to move into you know exercise and working out and muscle
mass you're not going to get all bulked up if you are loading with protein you're not going
to start looking like papaya or anything like that as a matter of fact.
Because it feels like a losing battle just trying to maintain the muscle mass that you have.
So it's very unlikely that's exactly what's happening.
Yeah, yeah.
Even even in our peak bulking years and I say that you know with air quotes and a little bit
of an eye roll because you know the women that you see in magazines or bodybuilding competitions
they are in the gym two to four hours a day many of them are taking illegal substances to
bulk up.
This is not a typical normal outcome from even doing crossfit three times a week, right?
So do not be afraid to lift heavy.
It is crucial.
It is crucial because again with that loss of estrogen you're losing a signal a very regular
strong signal to hold on to muscle in your body.
And when we lose that signal that is inherent we have to then use the external sources to
remind our body to hold on to the muscle we have and to build more muscle which is protective
against diabetes against cardiovascular disease and against osteoporosis as we age.
And those external sources come from you know dietary protein as well as lifting heavy
stuff.
You know if I concur on this.
You're a poddestinal I don't remember.
You're free.
All right.
A lifting heavy shit.
Yeah.
A lifting heavy shit.
A hard heavy shit.
Do it regularly.
This is perhaps even more than diet and I do admit I as a nutritionist I kind of hate saying
that but the data is much stronger and much more well established.
But having muscle mass as we age protects us from everything we're terrified of getting.
Exactly.
It reduces all cause mortality.
And if we do not because most of us do not live in an environment where we are on the
farm chopping wood, hauling water, you know ripping out corn stalks and doing heavy landscaping
as a daily task we have to mindfully seek out that heavy shit to do in order to build that
muscle in order to maintain the muscle that we have.
Otherwise we will lose it and that makes it easier to gain fat.
And so you know to your point about your your muscle turning into fat it isn't that your
muscle has actually turned into fat is that you lost muscle but because habits haven't adapted
right to compensate for that then it's easier for the body to put on fat in place of that
muscle.
Yeah.
So some women they don't actually notice a change on the scale but they see their body
shape change.
Exactly.
They feel more dumpy.
Right.
Their arms are more like soft and squishy and you get the little belly pouch.
Now the little belly pouch is actually is you know to some extent unavoidable, very normal
and it is protective.
The fat that accumulates there serves as almost as a is a very tiny estrogen reservoir because
our fat cells do produce very low levels of hormones including estrogen.
And this is why you know as we age it's not necessarily a bad thing for some women.
I won't say all but for some women to have an extra 5, 10, even 15 pounds depending
on what their pre you know menopausal weight was to have that little bit of a hormone buffer
and also in the event of illness to just have a little bit extra to bounce back.
You know you don't want to be a frail elderly woman.
You want to be a strong badass.
Yes.
Yeah and that's why I think it's important.
I mean as long as you're not gaining like a lot of weight on the scale for example it's
more important to focus on building the muscle and precisely and feeling good you know.
And so like with for me exercise creates energy even though sometimes I can feel you know
I don't recover as quickly so I could feel tired after you know a lot of exercise.
I feel it just keeps my mood up it gives me more energy and I am the type of person who
is out there pulling stuff out of the garden and haul and water and I am a farmer right
so I do do that stuff.
But the days that I do do that I count that as a workout because I really can't do anything
else because I'm exhausted you know.
But the lifting heavyweight thing has been really hard for me because I don't like to do
it you know and I feel very very very lucky to have gone through a crossfit stage in my
forties because I built up a very large reserve of muscle.
Like I really I was I was very very strong and I feel like I lost a lot of the awesome you
know but it was there I built it up and then I lost it so I feel like I'm like back at you
know where I started kind of.
But yeah I feel like one of the things that was really helpful to me somebody who does not
like to lift weights is you know lifting really heavy for shorter periods of time so like
if I like do squats and I'm lifting you know like I'm using 30 pound dumbbells on each side
and I do three sets of you know 15 squats I feel like I can make I could check that off
for the day like and that didn't take me that long you know I did that that was a benefit
you know and and so just try to squeeze it in squeezing it in and those little bursts and
also I have a love for kettlebell training I don't know why but I like it.
I find it very easy I like how a kettlebell swing works a lot of the muscles all at once
and I feel like I have to switch to it.
So if you're sent.
Yeah I feel like I need a heavier kettlebell at this point because I'm like at 15 and it
just feels easy now but yeah try a kettlebell but I and even you know if if the listener knows
for herself that that's just like gyms, weights just never gonna happen.
Then you know look for things around you that you can do that are heavy hard intense physical
activity you know maybe you go into the garage and you pick up a 25 pound sack of compost
and you just walk back and forth in the yard.
Yeah.
Five times back and forth and that is weight bearing activity you know fill a wheelbarrow
with a couple of kids or grandkids and push them around.
There are other ways that you can lift heavy stuff that doesn't necessitate being in a
gym but it does need to be done consistently and as you adapt and get stronger you do need
heavier and heavier things to keep that stimulus going and to ensure that you continue to
make those gains and keep what you have particularly if you are parry menopausal because
when you transition into a menopause and your estrogen levels are chronically low it
is even harder to keep that muscle on.
So you know this is it's super important.
I do also want to circle around and address the cardiovascular piece because like you
I love running I'm an endurance runner.
My body has always preferred I not be an endurance runner and even in my 20s I would gain weight
during marathon training because I have I believe anyway I have an exaggerated cortisol response
and this you know circling back to stress resilience if some of the ways that you find stress
relief is through high impact cardiovascular activity, particularly long duration cardio
this may end up doing more harm than good because of the physiological stress it puts on
your body even though it is emotionally your salvation.
And this is something that I understand very deeply and personally.
Yeah.
Running is my outlet and I have to be extremely careful particularly now that I am in my
40s how much I do this.
So for my runners out there trading in those long miles for sprint days.
One no more than two sprint days a week and going higher intensity but shorter duration
can give you that emotional outlet and that endorphin rush that runners high and it's also
exquisite for anybody going through parry menopause or in menopause because that high per
overrate with sprinting helps you maintain your power which is something that also gets
significantly diminished as we age our power output and our speed those fast twitch muscle
fibers which help us react to things like tripping and not falling right balance of course
becomes extremely important as we age.
So if you are doing sprint training once or twice a week high intensity interval training
is so fantastic.
So basically pushing really hard for no more than 30 seconds you want to think all out effort
and then allowing your body to recover and then pushing again.
Anything like sprints anything like high intensity interval training is not a workout you want
to do for more than 30 minutes and you shouldn't be in a position to want to keep going after
30 minutes.
If you can still go after 30 minutes you haven't pushed hard enough during that session and
the reason why you don't want to go long is because then we end up being in long duration
high intensity cardio and there are a couple of problems with this as it relates to the
paring menopause and post menopause body.
One is that we don't have a strong enough stimulus to actually I'm going to put a pin
in that.
One we reduce our effort in order to go longer and so we don't get as many of the benefits
with regards to increasing or maintaining power output that high speed turn over the
fast muscle fibers and you also then become the longer you do the higher the high intensity
activity even though it's not highest intensity activity.
The more you increase your cortisol levels for a longer period of time and this is where
it gets dicey.
This is where we then have an elevated stress response from the cortisol which happens
during exercise.
Exercise raises cortisol.
Your heart rate is up.
If you're starting to perspire your cortisol is elevated.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing.
It's super important.
However, we don't want it to stay high for long periods of time.
This is when it can become a stress burden on the body that outweighs any health, you
know, the outweighs some of the health benefits that we're looking to achieve with endurance
cardio.
So when you're doing this super high intensity for a short duration of time you do get
that spike in cortisol.
A session of 20 minutes of sprints or to bodice or high intensity interval training.
However, that can look for you.
Follow it up with at least 10 minutes of leisurely walking or yoga or another very restorative
calm quiet movement.
When I say leisurely walking, I'm talking about the kind of walking that you do with your
dog with a toddler.
When you aren't meandering through like say Japanese gardens, I'm not talking about power
walk.
Very, very low intensity restorative walking.
And this will reduce that cortisol that has been pushed up during the high intensity interval
training and help you bring your cortisol levels back down.
I will say for my clients who like me tend to run, tend to have an exaggerated stress response
and a little bit appear a little bit extra in the cortisol department, it's non-negotiable.
You got to do it because your body is already operating at a higher level of stress and you
need to do as much as you can to reduce that stress.
For some of those individuals asking them to whiten all together or whatever can create
sufficient enough emotional duress that it doesn't necessarily leave them better off physically.
Yeah, yeah, you have to, it's a very hard balance.
And I think that running is really social to me also because I like to do races and I do
races with my kids.
And so it's really important to me, so I'm going to do it.
I'm going to train, but I think the point that you make as far as trying to reduce your cortisol
levels after they've been up, even if it's for a longer period of time is really important.
And I do a lot of yoga.
That's one of the things that not only does it make me stronger, but it also, it helps me
work muscles that I'm not going to work when I'm lifting weights or running or anything
like that.
It helps me stay flexible.
I think it also, you know, it's stress relief for me.
So I'll do like a short yoga class.
I do everything at home because I live in the middle of nowhere.
There's no gyms, right?
So I'm lifting weights at homes.
I'm doing yoga at homes.
I'm using YouTube videos, you know?
And, you know, after that, I'll do like a yoga needra meditation, which is one of the most,
yeah, it's one of the most relaxing things to me.
So instead of doing an hour long yoga class, I'd rather do 20, 30 minutes of yoga and then
do a 20 minute yoga needra.
After working out, it's almost like the rest of that my body needed and it helps with recovery
because yoga needra isn't just like a meditation.
They call it, I can't remember the exact words.
I think it's like deep rest without sleep.
So you get like the same effects that you would if you took a nap or something like that.
It's like a power nap that really helps you restore.
But at the same time, it just, for me, it's very relaxing.
So if that's something that no one's ever heard of, yoga needra, there's plenty of free
recordings on YouTube.
It's been absolutely life changing to me.
And it's funny because a lot of people do it at night to fall asleep.
I can't do it at night before bed.
I get like antsy, it's too long.
After a walk out where I'm tired, it's like I welcome that rascal.
So it's like an extended chavasana kind of.
And so that sounds perfect.
Yeah, it's really, I did say at least at least 10 minutes of leisurely walking or yoga,
but ideally you'd want to do 30 or even 60 minutes of leisurely activity after something
high intense.
High intensity.
I do have a question, something that I've been doing.
And I feel like it's definitely something that's becoming more popular because I see other
women doing it and it is wearing the weighted best when you walk to add that extra, that
weight bearing to make it like a weight bearing exercise.
And I find myself doing that sometimes instead of running because I'm like, I need, I need
to get out and do something.
I need to get out in nature.
And then I know I'm not going to lift weights today.
So at the very least, I'm going to put my weighted best on and go for a walk.
So what do you think about doing something like that?
I think that's fantastic.
It's a great way to add weight that is much more comfortable than say carrying hand weight
weights and walking.
And to some degree, much more effective because you can typically put more weight on a vest
and walk around with it than you can carry dumbbells.
That said, if you do that for two, three, four, five, six months, then your body has become
adapted to that weight.
And so then you kind of reach that limit and you would need to then increase the weight
again or put a backpack on with the weighted vest.
And people with that weighted backpacks too, you know, rucking is what it's called.
And that's another way that you can add weight to your walks, to strengthen your legs
to put muscle on your legs without, again, going into the gym and really, you know, stimulate
the muscle to stay put and even grow a little bit.
Yeah, there are some weighted vest that have, you could add and take away weight.
So I would encourage people to do that.
I did not do that.
So yeah, my vest is getting like an old friend to me now where it just feels normal.
Like I can clean the house in it and stuff, but, um, yeah, I would encourage getting something
that you can kind of manipulate a little bit.
But, um, you know, on that note, we talked about a lot of different stuff, but before we go,
if you could add a little bit of something about, like mentally, um, you know, dealing with
the transitions, um, one of the things I have to offer and I would love to hear what you
have to offer to people that's definitely helped me, um, is talking about it more, you know,
not keeping it to myself, talking to my kids about it excessively to the point where they
know every detail about my men-of-pause journey.
But I think it's really important because it was something that was never talked about, like,
from generations before us.
And, and then creating a community for yourself with other women, letting them know that they
could talk openly about it with you, I think has been one of the most positive ways to
handle some of the anxiety and the stress.
It's just feeling like you're not alone and that there's, you know, 50% of the population
are really going to go through the same thing that you're going through.
So, um, do you have any, you know, last-minute tips on how to deal with it mentally?
For myself, I, you know, I always remind myself that this moment will pass.
You know, whether this moment is I'm freaking out and I'm freaking out that I'm freaking
out and I'm starting to like spiral, right?
Or just the, sometimes the, what feels like the impossibility of trying to hold down the
fort as part of, you know, the sandwich generation where I have aging parents that are going
through a very concerning phase of life and also young children at home and being stretched
in different directions.
And in my, my situation specifically across continents, um, even in that now,
is not forever.
And I also look at the information that's coming at me when there's a lot of stuff happening
at once and ask myself, what can I control?
Because there are some things I can't control, right?
I can't control whether or not my father is going to take his medication unless I am physically
there giving it to him and coercing him to swallow it.
So if I do not have, if I do not have control, I do the very best I can to release it.
There is enough going on that I can take action and I can take control over.
I am not going to be preoccupied about things which I do not have control over.
So what remains that I can take action on?
And then I look over this and I said, okay, what is with the knowledge that I have right
now?
What is the best course of action I can take?
And sometimes that's, well, I need more knowledge in order to understand what the best
course of action is.
And sometimes it's just, life's got to play itself out.
And we can't see far enough into the future to know what to do in the moment.
And in that situation, I let go in this moment until the information that's coming in gives
me something that I can take action on.
And that has likely saved my family and I have a great deal of grief in the last year.
It is not necessarily an intuitive or easy task, but the moment that you can step, you know,
emotionally step out of the situation and become the observer looking down at the chaos
is the moment that you can then start to ask that question.
What can I actually take control of here and what, what isn't my own in the first place?
Or is beyond my control?
One of the things that is such a blessing for our generation is that we can talk openly
about parry menopause and menopause.
We can talk to our friends.
And I was actually having coffee with a friend this morning and she was saying, talking about
her own transition and how, you know, she talks about it often enough that her kids will
be like, "Mom, are you doing menopause thing again right now?"
She checks out for me too.
She's having a moment.
It's like, and she's like, "It's not PMS.
It's not like PMS.
It's all the time."
Yeah.
It's really true.
Yeah.
And our mothers didn't have that.
Our grandmothers didn't have that and I can't imagine going through this without having
someone to talk to about it.
It just sounds horrific.
So kudos to us for breaking the silence.
That said, we are also the first generation to buy the story that we can and should do
it all.
And this is a story we need to let go of.
Because the stress of trying to be all things for all people will make this process much
harder than it needs to be.
Yeah.
You know what?
I think that's the perfect note to end on because, and I have to add, I can let go of
things like doing it all so much easier now than I used to be able to.
And I feel like that's a blessing of just moving into a different era of my life.
I could feel myself transitioning into a different era and I really like it.
And I think as I move into it, I just feel a lot of freedom in there.
And I just, I feel like that's something to look forward to that freedom.
But that last, that last thing that you talked about, letting go.
Like I think that overall, not just when it comes to like, you know, talking about menopause
and parrymenopause, just life in general, like just the, the weight of the world right
now.
I feel like that's just one of the best things that we could, you know, leave with the listeners
right now is learn how to let go of the things that you can't control and release.
Let it go with the clouds and the wind and just see you later at a deal.
But I think that was beautiful advice and yes, community and sharing and talking are very
important also.
So I want to thank you for coming on and sharing all your wisdom.
It was, I always benefit when I talk to you.
I feel like I'm getting like a great session.
I like, I'm just like, oh, this is feels so, I always learned something.
I always learned something new.
Like I did not know that protein helps with blood sugar.
I did not know that.
See?
So I, I always learned something new, but I always learned a lot from you.
Excuse me.
And it was such a pleasure to have you on.
And I'm sure we'll do this again at some point and just thank you so much.
And absolute pleasure.
I would love to be back anytime you'd like to have me.
Just before we go, I almost forgot.
Like I almost forgot to say this.
I'm so used to talking to you.
Before we go, how can people connect with you?
Oh, yes, of course.
There are a couple of ways.
If anybody wants to learn more about my approach to nutrition or is actively looking for someone
to help them kind of gauge their carbohydrate tolerance or how to transition into forms of
activity that are appropriate for them, I can be found at vibrancenutrition.com.
That's V-I-B-R-A-N-C-E-nutrition.com.
I also have a podcast called Blasphemus Nutrition, which is available wherever you listen to podcasts.
Excellent.
Thank you so much and we will talk again soon.
