Foundational basics will never steer women wrong, especially when it comes to horomonal support. This is a time in life where women experience a host of symptoms ranging from pelvic floor disorder to weight gain and loss of muscle mass. Mental health disturbances become more pronounced with anxiety, depression and ADHD diagnoses commonly delivered. The role strain that comes from supporting children, aging parents, working outside the home and running a household combine with fluctuating hormone levels and we have a perfect storm of stress.
Don't worry! This post is not going to tell you that you just need to start taking more "me" time, relax more, lessen your stress burden by quitting your job and taking some magic supplement to make everything better. That annoys me as much as it does you because it just is not realistic. At the time I am writing this I am full time in nursing school, working 12 hours a week as a CNA, running my coaching business, personal train and write for two major brands. I have two 9 year olds, two 13 year olds, I am 45 and I cook, clean, chaufeur and support my aging mother. So, when I talk about role strain and the season of life, I get it big time.
Ok, NOW...let's talk through these habits and start to get an understanding of how the foundational habits can set us up for hormonal success whether we choose intervention in the form of HRT or we work on navigating the perimenopausal journey on our own. Before I start, I will say that I started HRT this year and it has been WONDERFUL, an immediate positive impact! More on that at the end!
#1. Skipping Meals: Especially Breakfast!
STRATEGY
PRE-WORKOUT:
If you workout before the kids wake up and don't want a full breakfast, try:
A scoop of protein powder plus skim milk, almond or light coconut milk
1/2 sweet potato with 1 hard boiled egg
1 scoop essential amino acids mixed into plain non fat greek yogurt (the fat will slow down absorption)
1 scoop cottage cheese with 1/2 banana
All you need is about 15g protein to help combat that big surge in cortisol (which is a good thing because it wakes us up) as we do not want to drive it even higher by workout out fasted).
Goal: Our natural cortisol awakening response supports the natural awakening of our system. In a perfect world we would rise with the sun, get light exposure, wait about 90 minutes after eating a protein forward meal and then workout. ONE day that will be the strategy, but for now, it is still dark and I want to dampen that big surge in cortisol to help promote greater muscle protein synthesis. Skipping our pre-workout meal is a great way to negate the effects of your trainng session, create an even greater cortisol surge and set up a blood sugar (hormonal) roller coaster.
BUSY MORNING:
Make a plan of action for the type of morning you will have.
If every morning is chaotic or you are out the door early with barely enough time to get ready for the day...you will need a meal, to-go.
Hearty smoothies with a lean sausage patty
Dense egg bites
Meatballs
Breakfast casseroles
Roast or shredded chicken in a wrap
If you will not be able to eat until 9:30 or 10 after waking at 5 am , the consequences are much greater than eating on the run.
Alternatively...
You can plan a dense snack for after your workout in the form of a recovery smoothie and then plan a breakfast meal for when you are able to sit and eat with a fork, at a table.
If you will be away from home for meals, pack your meals ahead:
For a week-long easy fix, make a big batch of: Quinoa bowl: quinoa, aromatic vegetables (onion, pepper, celery, etc.), animal protein (beef, pork, chicken, turkey), cruciferous veg (broccoli, cauliflower, kale), fiber (chickpeas, black beans) and a fat if the protein is lean (olives, seeds, nuts, or a drizzle of olive oil).
Keep it simple so you can stay consistent. Think 1-1.5 palms protein, 2 fists fiber rich vegetables, 1 cupped palm of starchy vegetables or beans.
#2 Not Absorbing Nutrients
STRATEGY:
Support gut health with healthy elimination patterns:
Drink mineral rich water in a sufficient quantity for your hydration needs. Foundationally, women need 2.7 L (11.5 cups) water each day. Remember though that this number is highly individualized based on fluid loss. Add trace minerals or a pinch of sea salt to your water.
Add healthy fats to your fiber rich vegetables in order to enhance absorption of fat soluble vitamins.
avocado
olive oil
chia or flax seeds
walnuts, almonds
coconut oil
full fat yogurt
Eat prebiotic and probiotic rich foods together for digestion AND absorption of nutrients
PREbiotic foods: supports digestion and reduces intestinal inflammation
bananas/green plantain
oats
onions
barley
flaxseeds
jicama
PRObiotic foods: are fermented foods that contain beneficial strains of live bacteria
yogurt
kefir
kimchi
sauerkraut
Chew thoroughly
This aids digetion by stimulating the production of stomach acid and digestive enzymes. It also speeds digestion.
Keep the peel and boost your nutrition!
The outer skin of many fruits and vegetables contains most of their nutrients. Eating unpeeled foods can give you an extra dose of vitamins, minerals, digestive enzymes, antioxidants, and fiber.
Potatoes
apples
pears
peaches
kiwi
carrots
cucumbers
zucchini
oranges and lemons (throw them in the blender with your smoothie)
Note: Your digestive system must complete several physiological mechanisms to successfully uptake nutrients. A healthy digestive system absorbs nutrients, supplies your cells with energy, and releases waste. Many medical conditions can disrupt digestion and cause malabsorption. This can lead to a variety of gastrointestinal symptoms. Always start with the basics, then move onto testing like a stool test or mineral assessment like, HTMA.
#3 Caffeine On An Empty Stomach
Which one are you...
If it takes you 2 hours to wake up, plus four cups of coffee to get your brain going...drinking caffeine on an empty stomach is likely massively elevating what is left of your cortisol awakening response.
If you drink caffeine and you fly past being alert and connected right to anxious and slightly jittery...you are likely pushing your blood sugar up right along with your cortisol. This is very stressful to something called your hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis (HPA axis).
If caffeine kills your appetite and end up skipping breakfast or other meals because you are riding the energy surge...this is very stressful to your adrenals which are your ovaries in menopause. We want to protect adrenal health
STRATEGY:
Make sure you have something dense in your stomach before consuming caffeine. Even if you do not eat a full meal and then consume caffeine, consider eating half while your morning cup cools. Or even better, utilize that the colon stimulating effects of coffee to support elimination after your morning meal. Remember that absorption is impacted by elimination!
#4. Too Many Stressful Workouts With Insufficient Recovery.
If you are exhausted after your workouts the intensity is likely too high.
If you feel attached to a high calorie output on your tracker at the end of workouts, you would benefit from a reframe!
If your joints and muscles hurt after every workout, your intensity is too high.
If you train HIIT more than 3 days per week, you are not reaching full benefit from this type of training.
Women's bodies thrive in a fed and recovered state. Most of us are recreational exercisers or lay people competing for fun in sport or individual events. Life does not slow down around our training sessions so we must account for total allostatic load when it comes to volume and intensity.
STRATEGY:
Consider investing in a training program designed by a personal trainer, specific for you.
You can find qualified trainers using NASM, ACE, ACSM, or NSCA
Outfit your space with the tools you need for success, that may look like dumbbells and bands to start with. This can keep you from over consuming cardio and high energy output workouts.
Drop me a message! I would love to design a program for you!
#5. Insufficient Overall Nutrient Intake
STRATEGY:
Start by seeing how much you are consuming each day using apps like Chronometer or MyFitnessPal.
Calculate your energy needs using a TDEE calculator.
Factor in your energy output into this equation as well.
Remind yourself that these are very imperfect measures but we have to have some measure of intake and output because thermodynamics still matter.
Access wonderful nutritionists found through trusted resources like Precision Nutrition Coaches or work with a registered dietitan.
Start with following a consistent approach to nourishing your body for at least 6 months and track impact in:
energy
body temperature
exercise recovery and performance
libido
mental clarity
mood
depth of sleep and wakefulness
satiety between meals
nutrient intake (are you hungry for nourishing foods)
morning hunger (it's a good thing)
Women typically are unaware of underconsuming nutrition. Although, we all are able to digest and use 2000 calories (minimum) per day, some women have to start lower and some higher. But you will not know unless you measure and work through a strategy for a period of time.
WHEW!! That was A LOT of info! I hope that you can see the interconnectedness of the strategies. The reality is that we need all inputs to be present to function at a high level during our 40s. If you do choose to pursue HRT, blood sugar balance, metabolic health, gut health and nutrient sufficiency improves the effectiveness of the intervention!
I hope this was supportive of you today! Leave a comment below and let me know what you think!!
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