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:)
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The Myth of the Spring Cleanse or Perhaps You Should Just Pay Attention to Your Poop.Spring is here and so are all the "Spring Resets" and "Spring Cleanses" someone wants to sell you. I am hearing more folks talk about doing a cleanse or needing a reset to help us rebound from all the sideways choices we've made since the New Year. That was was only 78 days ago! Let me just put this up front. You don't need to "cleanse" or do a reset. Just start by increasing your fruits and vegetables at every meal and drinking more water. When I decided to bust the myth of a cleanse today I wasn't sure I would be able to do it in less than 250 words. There's just so much to say about the fallacy of cleansing. First, let's just apply some basic biology. You already possess an amazing cleansing and detoxifying system in your body. This system features (FOR FREE:-) your liver and kidneys, and to a lesser extent your lungs and skin. The PRIMARY job or your liver and kidneys is eliminate biochemicals from our body. Yep, it's true! Our lungs and skin also have a role to play through ventilation and and sweating. Our body is an amazing and adaptive collection of organs, organelles, and tissues and it's in our best interest to quickly and effectively shuttle undesirable biochemicals out of our tissues. Second, and this usually stumps most people, what it is EXACTLY you're trying to rid yourself of. Most folks, and especially the people who are trying to sell you the magic cleansing product, will answer with the dreaded T words, toxins. Well, which ones? What kind? How do you know what's toxic? Anything, even WATER, is toxic if it is ingested or inhaled in the wrong amounts. When someone drowns they die of inhaling water in toxic amounts. You can even die by DRINKING too much water. It's called hyponatremia and it's a real problem. Often, a cleanse is usually accompanied by a fast (24-48 hour fasting is the most popular) thus the cleanse has some weight loss element. Let's think about what's really going on here. We need a "re-set" because we've been making a series of lifestyle choices with regards to food, alcohol, sleep, and exercise and we just want to start over. Well, you can do all of that FOR FREE with your next meal. Then you can do it again without any special product or magic drink at your next meal. It's called choice and we all posses the ability to make one. If you're attracted to the fasting element, then just try that. Fasting costs you nothing and yes, you will probably lose some weight. One thing that I can advocate that will help you re-set is to drink water. Water, the universal solvent, is amazing in its ability to lubricate the detoxifying systems of your body. Water will help your kidneys and liver do all of the amazing cleansing they naturally do so well. Water will fill your belly so you don't feel so hungry. Water will make you pee which means your kidneys are doing their job. Water will help you poop which means your digestive system is doing its job of elimination. In fact, monitoring your poop is cheaper than a cleanse and will give you valuable insight into your health. The shape, smell, consistency and frequency of your turds can clue you in to the affect of your lifestyle choices. Here is a great infographic about poop health from the Precision Nutrition folks. I challenge you to drink more water and keep track of your poo for the next week. Starting today through next Monday, I want you to note the frequency, consistency and aroma of your poop. You can keep a handwritten poo-journal next to your toilet, or you can step into the future and download a poop-tracking app for your phone. YES! They exist. You can find one that fits your poop-lifestyle here: The Best Poo Tracking Apps.
How much water? Let's start with 1/3 to 1/2 your body weight in ounces. If you weigh 140 pounds then try drinking 46-70 ounces of water. Do you have a myth you want me to bust? Tell me in the comments! It's the final Open workout! Be sure to represent your team today! What's for Dessert?WOOOHOOOOO!!! It's #foodiefriday and it's spring break and St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner. What a great weekend we are going to have! Are you ready for some down time? Take a moment this weekend to talk a walk outside and slow down. Good luck to all the Pub runners and ruckers! We have quite a few people from the gym Running and Rucking to the Pub tomorrow! So many in fact that we have canceled class on Saturday. The workout of the day is to walk, ruck or run a 10K or half marathon. GYM IS CLOSED ON SATURDAYHere's a delicious Irish inspired recipe for the weekend! I don't often share dessert recipes with you, I try to stick with healthy options. However, this one looks just too good not to share. Let me know in the comments if you make it this weekend.
Click on the image for the recipe courtesy of NY Times Cooking Intramural Open Week 2
Week 2 was a real engine burner! That 20 min AMRAP was a test of physical and mental endurance. Here's how the teams did.
Team DC maintained their lead with 17 people completing 24.2. They had 11 people finish in the top 3 of their division. Team DC earned 67 points for 24.2. Team Marvel couldn't keep up with 15 people completing 24.2. They had 8 people finish in the top 3 and they earned this week's Spirit of the Open with new teammate Maddy completing her very first CrossFit Open workout. Team Marvel earned 59 points for 24.2. Here are your top 3 finishers in each division. Rx'd Non MastersScaled Non MastersRx MastersScaled MastersFoundationsTeam Points
Friday is the FINAL Open workout. Let's get all hands on deck for this one! Remember to represent your team and you might earn this week's Sprit of the Open!
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