One of the things that comes along with being 50+ and menopause is that just don’t care what people think as much any more. But then again, as a woman, people pleasing is in our nature – and aren’t we all pretty terrified of what people think? Being judged by friends? What will so and so say? Kind of scared to go for your dreams in fear of what people might think or say about it. It’s a very REAL stop for people when it comes to doing things they want to do – especially women in midlife.
What About Nutrition in Changing Your Body Midlife?
Instead of worry about dieting, focus on eating smarter. Instead of focusing on eating LESS, focus on eating REAL food. When you’re going through menopause you are in a sensitive state to excess stress. So if you’re starving yourself and over exercising, your body isn’t going to react the way you want it to. It’s going to be hard to recover, you’re not going to feel good, and you might be pushing yourself toward adrenal fatigue. When you’re trying to build muscle, you will more than likely need to really up your protein intake. But the KEY to nutrition is to always think in terms of what I’ve always taught which is: protein, fat, healthy carb for every meal!
HPA: Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal Axis and Adrenal Fatigue
The HPA starts in your brain and when it senses that you are overstressed, it begins to shut down and disfunction. When it shuts down is when you see hormonal issues, thyroid issues, etc. because all of the overtaxing stress you put on your adrenals causes your brain to tell it to shut down. So in perimenopause, super long heart thumping and adrenaline pumping cardio with a major focus on calories burned is the LAST thing you want to do. Instead, it is important to think of stress in terms of “doses”. You want smaller doses. Weight lifting is just that! A smaller “dose” of “stress” vs. driving yourself into the ground for 2 hours of cardio. You want small doses of intense exercise, and then recover like crazy: get sleep, have boundaries, and stop driving yourself into the ground.
Muscles and Metabolic Health in Midlife
Muscle improves metabolic health. In fact, current ongoing research is showing that by introducing women with cancer (who are even into their 70s and 80s) to controlled environment weightlifting, improves their outcome, shrinks tumors, and no return of cancer. In short, the metabolic upgrades you get from lifting weight increase the flow and productivity of your entire system!
The more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn at rest overall, so the better your metabolism will work. In addition, the more muscle you have, the leaner you are going to look! When you eat carbs, they are absorbed by your liver and your muscle. Your liver can store about 100grams and your muscles can store about 300grams — BUT — with increased muscle mass, the more they can absorb carbs 🙂 It’s been said that elite athletes can store up to 800-900 grams of carbs in their muscles! Carbs only turn into body fat when they have nowhere to go when your muscles and liver storage are full. So the secret is to BUILD your muscles so you’re not only using the stored carbs, but are creating even more space for them to be stored there instead of turning into body fat.
Midlife Biohacking
Get lots of sleep
Eat as many real foods from nature as possible
Cut off any eating at least 2-3 hours before bed
Lift weights
Blood labs — you need to know what your blood is doing. To see the blood tests I personally do every 90 days, go HERE (you can use code NATALIEJILL to save on your order!)
Hair mineral analysis — long term snapshot of mineral levels
Take the guess work out of how to eat the right things to fuel your body, especially in midlife, you’ll want my Total Body Thrive program that not only teaches you how, but provides you with meal plans!
Tara Garrison is the founder of HIGHER, a Health & Life Coaching company that offers training, nutrition, mindset and biohacking coaching and is the author of Short-Term Keto, host of the Inside Out Health Podcast, creator of Higher Retreats and producer of the Coach Tara App. She has helped many celebrities, professional athletes, and top executives optimize their health. She is a mom of 4, avid weightlifter, Boston Marathoner and lover of nature.
You can find her on Instagram and TikTok as @coachtaragarrison, where she shares health tips and the inner workings of her life.
In this episode, you will learn:
How weights can transform your body and overall health — especially in midlife
How you can get fit in midlife
Why dealing with trauma is as important as working out
For women 40 and over, FIBER IS MAGIC. I repeat, fiber is magic! And many people are missing the mark here. First, fiber is great for slowing down the rate at which insulin attacks things in your body — with fiber, it’s a slow release, not a hard and heavy insulin hit. Second, is that when we eat fiber, we release hormones very differently. When we age, it’s known that we can have “estrogen dominance” that naturally occurs as progesterone starts to dip. One of the natural ways you can STABILIZE your hormones during this time is to eat fiber. The fiber works with your microbiome to release the estrogen! This is one reason it’s so important to not leave these out of your diet
Diets should do just three things:
Get the inflammation down in your body
Regulate your blood sugar
Heal the gut
With that trifecta, you will have freedom and transform — and spoiler alert, bone broth is the superstar when it comes to this. Your gut wall and intestines have a VERY thin layer of protection, and it’s very very easy to puncture. This is why it’s important to have something to HEAL it (or as Dr. Kellyann says “spackle” it!) Bone broth does this thanks to both Glycine and gelatin! Glycine (an amino acid), which is found in bone broth, has actually been found in studies to heal and seal the gut wall. So bone broth is your one, two, punch to healing your gut and increasing your anti-aging effects.
Are you a vegetarian? You can look up “potassium broth”. It’s not quite as great as bone broth, but it definitely checks off some of the boxes.
Benefits of Bone Broth:
Great form of protein per serving
Minerals
Amino acids
Healing and sealing of your gut
Strengthens bones, muscles, tendons
Boosts immunity
Fortifies hair & nails
Improves elasticity in skin and can result in reduced appearance of wrinkles
Reduces internal inflammation which can be the catalyst for many diseases, ailments, and common health problems
👉 To learn more about the additional supplements I recommend, get my free supplement guide HERE.
Kellyann Petrucci, M.S., N.D., is the author of the New York Times bestselling book Dr. Kellyann’s Bone Broth Diet, Dr. Kellyann’s Bone Broth Cookbook, and The 10-Day Belly Slimdown. She also is the host of the PBS specials, 21 Days to a Slimmer, Younger You and The 10-Day Belly Slimdown. Dr. Kellyann makes regular appearances on the Dr. Oz show.
Dr. Kellyann came to realize the ancient power of collagen and bone broth to heal the gut and slow aging while studying biological medicine at the Marion Foundation and Paracelsus Clinic, Switzerland. By focusing her practice on a lifestyle that stops and reverses inflammation, Dr. Kellyann is able to help patients and readers reduce dangerous belly fat to become slimmer, younger, and healthier.
You can learn more about Dr. Kellyann here and you can pre-order her brand new bookDr. Kellyann’s Bone Broth Breakthrough: Turn Back the Clock, Reset the Scale, Replenish Your Power on Amazon!
In this episode, you will learn:
Why bone broth helps with inflammation
Best practices when utilizing bone broth
How to reduce belly fat and become younger & healthier
