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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Why BMI is BullshitI started CrossFit in March 2010. The past 14 years of CrossFit have provided me with one of the most fun, challenging and rewarding athletic endeavors in which I have participated. CrossFit introduced me to obstacle course racing (I have completed 2 races) and, of course, Olympic Weightlifting (I was the 2019 World Champion in my age and weight class.) In the past 14 years my body has changed DRAMATICALLY! At the hight of my Masters Olympic Weightlifting career I could deadlift and back squat 300 pounds, I could clean and jerk 200 pounds, I snatched 165 pounds, and could still row a 5K in under 24 mins. I can do MORE now at age 52 than I could when I was a young Corporal in the US Marines. But do you know what hasn't changed in the past 13 years? My Body Mass Index. Body Mass Index is the mathematical relationship between your weight and height. You can find your BMI by going to your Weigh Ins page of your BTWB app. It's calculated for you every time we take your weight and measurements during our quarterly check-ins. The BMI is a controversial statistic and its critics argue that since it does not measure body fat it's not useful. I agree with this criticism. BMI is a diagnostic tool that insurance companies and health care providers use and it tells us NOTHING about how healthy we are. A story from NPR Life Kit describes the history of BMI: The body mass index was created by a 19th-century Belgian statistician named Adolphe Quetelet. It was built as a tool to assess weight distribution across populations and was based on his idea of "the ideal man," using a small sampling of the size and measurements of white, male Scottish and French soldiers. If you are a Scottish or French male soldier then BMI might tell you something. But if you're not, it's a totally worthless measurement. It also has a link to the Nazi's. How gross is that? The BMI measurement was used by the Nazi's for their disgusting Eugenics program. You can read about that here.
So, the next time you're getting your annual check-up and someone fusses about your BMI, ask them why it's a problem. Ask them for a body fat test. As them for a step-up test. Ask them for an EKG. Ask them for any other test that will show how amazing your health is, regardless of your weight! What your body can DO is a better test of your health. How you FEEL in your body is a better test of your health. Your BMI is bullshit and I encourage you to tell your health provider WHY it means nothing! The Myth Of Communication Is That It OccurredMy 9am class just shared the craziest news! Only ONE of them had been receiving my nightly emails! They didn't know that this blog got emailed to all members every night at 8pm. They didn't know because it wasn't happening! How could this be? THERE WAS A BREAKDOWN IN THE SYSTEM! Sometime ago the connection between Pike13 and MailChimp was severed and I never knew. Today I patched it and all of you should be receiving an email every night at 8pm with a preview of the next day’s blog. I have been writing a daily blog for the gym since the first day we opened in July 2014. That’s 9.5 years of daily writing. Sometimes I write original posts, sometimes I recycle posts and sometimes I share other blogs and podcasts. I strive to keep the information relevant and sourced from sound sources. There’s so much silly bullshit in the health and fitness blogosphere and I want to help you wade through all the ridiculous info. Early on I organized the blog into categories, mostly to help give me a focus for my daily writing practice. Staring at a blank screen can be overwhelming. Some of these categories are ideas from TSCF athletes and some are subjects I want to explore. You can find a clickable link to a digest of each category below. Myth Busting Monday Please shoot me an email of DM and let me know if you received this message:) I’m especially interested if this is the first daily gym email you have received.
I want you all to get the myths busted, to learn the transformation stories of your fellow CrossFitters, get the best wellness tips, get the most of our your Whoop, learn ways to create mental toughness, learn how to grow an abundant garden, and make something delicious every Friday. happy reading! Coach Leslie Open the Door of Your Transformationll year I have been sharing tools, tips, techniques and strategies to help you create your own #tranformationtuesday story. This week, with The Open starting on Friday, I'm sharing an excellent competition prep guide from Working Against Gravity. Working Against Gravity is a nutrition coaching service that works with top level CrossFit athletes and everyday CrossFitters like you and me. They have created this valuable competition guide that will help you get your nutrition dialed in for The Open, tips on staying injury free during the 3 week competition season, creating a winning mindset, and how to approach each week of The Open. The guide is also useful for one day competitions like Festivus Games in April, Tactical Games, Spartan Race, and or the GORUCK evens in June. Even if you're not into doing a fitness competition this year, you'll find the guide helpful in mastering your nutrition. Check it out below and be sure to download it so you can refer back to it throughout the year. Let's get read for The Open!
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