Menopause is NOT the Time to Eat Less and Exercise More!
Our gym is over 60% women. Of this incredible collection of badass babes, 60% are over 40 years old. That means MOST of the women in our gym are in some phase of the menopause transition. Some of us are perimenopausal, some of us are in the 365 days of menopause and some of us are post-menopausal. If you're not clear on the phases of the menopause transition read this.
The entire menopause journey is driven by wildly fluctuating hormones. Estrogen and progesterone start going off the rails and the rest of our hormones, cortisol, insulin, etc., all follow unpredictable patterns as they adjust to the new normal of nothing being normal. These hormonal shifts cause all manner of symptoms and the one that stops most of us in our tracks is sudden weight gain. It really does feel like you woke up one morning and your body is now storing energy in places it never did before. It's harder to lose the weight and it seems to want to hang out in places that our culture has deemed "bad", our bellies and butts. Well shit, that's life. Our OLD way of thinking is to eat less and exercise more. This might have worked for us in our 20s and 30s, but once we are in perimenopause this is the LAST THING WE SHOULD DO! What should we do instead? Here's the diet and exercise prescription from the smart broads at Feisty Menopause: You want to prioritize strength training that includes heavy lifting; do sprint interval training; increase your protein; be selective with carbohydrates; manage stress, and work with your changing physiology to make and maintain muscle, recover well, and feel good so you can keep doing the activities you love. All of that matters more than your fundamental energy expenditure (aka âmetabolism")
While we don't want to abandon healthy eating habits, we need to eat MORE protein and vegetables, not less. This is because we need to outpace sarcopenia and prevent osteoporosis. Both of which can be REVERSED and HALTED by building muscle. Listen to this fantastic podcast about what happens to muscle during menopause with a really smart lady who studies this for her job:)
If you don't have time to listen to the podcast, I recommend reading the article below from the smart gals at Feisty Menopause. I know this is a challenging time in our lives. We are the first generation of old ladies who refuse to go quietly into that goodnight. Let us rage together as we lift heavy shit, eat our bodyweight in protein, and drink the bitter tears of mediocre men:)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Special EventsRecord your WOD on Beyond the Whiteboard.
Do you need CrossFit or yoga gear? Click on the links below to buy through our GORUCK, Reebok, Rogue or Affiliate share sale programs. These are affiliate links and our gym will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links.
Check out our Flickr page!
Categories
All
Archives
April 2024
|