What the Menopause Creator and Nutritionist Jessica Barac Talks Hot Flashes, Hormones & What Actually Works: Midlife Nutrition That Changes Everything
Calorie counting? Nah, it’s time to count colors instead! This episode dives deep into why the traditional diet rules just don’t cut it anymore, especially for us women navigating the wild waters of midlife. I’m joined by Jessica Barac, a registered nutritionist and certified menopause specialist, who’s here to help us redefine our relationship with food. We’ll chat about the real reasons our bodies are changing in our 40s and 50s, the common nutrition missteps we often make, and how to support our hormones without sacrificing joy at the dinner table. So, grab that green juice or protein-packed smoothie, and let’s explore how we can feel phenomenal in our bodies during this transformative stage of life!
Takeaways:
- Calorie counting may not be as beneficial as counting colorful plants and nutrients.
- In midlife, prioritizing strength and energy over fitting into a specific dress size is crucial.
- It’s essential to connect with others during perimenopause and menopause to combat feelings of isolation.
- Adopting a nutrient-rich diet with protein, fiber, and healthy fats supports hormonal balance effectively.
- Mindfulness around food choices is vital; enjoy carbs in moderation while focusing on whole foods.
- Intermittent fasting can be beneficial, but it’s important to listen to your body’s needs and responses.
Transcript
Should we be calorie counting?
Speaker B:Count colors, not calories.
Speaker B:Try to get as many different colorful plants into your diet as possible.
Speaker B:You rather be strong and energized and have brain clarity and, you know, feel motivated and be sleeping well and be showing up with joy than, you know, fitting into a certain size of dress.
Speaker A:Is being annoyed with your husband and being irritated all the time, like, part of that?
Speaker B:Yes, yes.
Speaker B:And, you know, like, just that sometimes I'll look at and like, he'll just be breathing while he.
Speaker B:He'll breathe so loudly while he's eating.
Speaker A:And I'll just be like, we don't see that there are other women in our shoes, like, going through the same thing.
Speaker A:And I'm just so happy the conversation is opening up.
Speaker B:In perimenopause and menopause, we're all, like, forgetting why we walked into a room.
Speaker A:Oh, my God.
Speaker A:Do you get that, too?
Speaker A:Yes, all the time.
Speaker A:Like, what am I looking for?
Speaker B:Even feel phenomenal.
Speaker B:Even you can feel phenomenal in your body.
Speaker B:In midlife, it is possible.
Speaker A:All right, midlife icons, raise your green juice, your coffee, and your protein packed smoothie, because today we're digging into the truth about food hormones and why your old diet rules do not apply anymore.
Speaker A:My guest is Jessica Baric, a registered nutritionist and certified menopause specialist.
Speaker A:Specialist who is helping women ditch the bloat, balance their blood sugar, and eat like the powerful, evolving humans we are.
Speaker A:We're talking about the real reason your body's changing in your 40s and 50s, the biggest nutrition mistakes midlife women are making, and how to support your hormones without hating your meals.
Speaker A:Oh, and don't forget to follow the iconic midlife on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker A:And catch the full video episode on YouTube tomorrow.
Speaker A:And of course, follow us on social media, heconicmidlife and edcarpetroxy for more smart, unapologetic midlife magic.
Speaker A:Welcome to the show.
Speaker A:Welcome, Jessica, to the iconic midlife.
Speaker A:How are you?
Speaker B:I am so good and I'm so excited to be here to talk to you.
Speaker B:It's so good that this word is getting out.
Speaker B:People are talking about perimenopause, menopause, midlife.
Speaker B:It's taking center stage and I'm just so happy to be here.
Speaker A:I'm so thrilled you could be that you could be here, because I know you're coming from London, so I love a great international guest like you and you've got so much great knowledge.
Speaker A:But first, how has your trip been.
Speaker B:Here in Los Angeles, it's been so nice.
Speaker B:The weather is so good.
Speaker B:I'm just taking in the vitamin D and just soaking it up.
Speaker B:I love it so much.
Speaker A:Okay, what has been your favorite thing so far here in la?
Speaker B:I love.
Speaker B:There's just these purple flowers on the trees all the way down the street.
Speaker B:So what, like what flower is that?
Speaker A:Oh, maybe a bougainvillea, but I'm not, not sure because I'm, I don't have a green thumb, but I know what you're talking about.
Speaker A:Yeah, they're gorgeous, right?
Speaker B:I mean it's so iconic with palm trees obviously, but I was so surprised to just see these tree lined streets with these just amazing, beautiful purple flowers.
Speaker B:And I'm like, oh, perfect.
Speaker A:With a rooftop rose.
Speaker B:You know, do you know what?
Speaker B:I actually gave up drinking.
Speaker B:So I'll have a rooftop sparkling water.
Speaker B:But that's perfect.
Speaker A:That is perfect.
Speaker A:That's actually probably very helpful is giving up the drinking.
Speaker A:What prompted that?
Speaker B:I think being in the thick of perimenopause definitely did prompt that and just I see this time as such a time to re evaluate and reprioritize.
Speaker B:And for me with having kids and just working and it just, for me alcohol was just getting in the way of doing the things that I'm really here to do.
Speaker B:And so for me it was just easier to give it up.
Speaker A:You know, it's funny because sober curious is so such a big thing right now, especially with women in our age group and like, you know, talking about that.
Speaker A:So for you was it kind of a gradual thing where you sort of take, took it out of your life slowly or were you just like one day like I'm done, like I'm not doing this.
Speaker B:I think after Covid or during COVID I, you know, we all did, we all drank a lot.
Speaker B:It was, you know, it just was that time.
Speaker B:And after that I was like, you know what, this just isn't serving me.
Speaker B:And so I had just this voice in my head like just you have to give it up.
Speaker B:And so I maybe gave it up for six months and then I would have say a rose on a sunny day.
Speaker B:And then I was like, nope, I have to give it up.
Speaker B:And then another six months and then I had a friend's wedding.
Speaker B:So it was gradual but also I had big chunks of time with no alcohol.
Speaker B:And in my opinion it's, it's more the energy that you bring to a situation because so many people think it's going to be so boring.
Speaker B:I'm not drinking but That's a choice, you know, it is.
Speaker B:Your energy is enough to be fun and joyful and be good company and have a great time.
Speaker B:And so the way that I approach it is I just choose to have good energy wherever I go.
Speaker B:I don't need the alcohol to help me do that and I actually don't miss it at all.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:So when you first stopped drinking, like how quickly did you notice a change in, let's say like your skin and sleep and just your wellbeing in general?
Speaker A:Like what was that?
Speaker A:What did that look like?
Speaker B:Yeah, so I, I guess I don't know how long it was exactly, but I was, I was doing a lot of different things.
Speaker B:I mean, this was when I was really struggling with perimenopause symptoms and I was just, it felt like I was holding my life together with self care practices.
Speaker B:Like, I don't know if you've ever felt that, but just everything feels so difficult that you're just kind of grasping at my breath work and you know, not drinking and going for my daily walk.
Speaker B:And if I didn't have these things in place in my life, it become, it just felt a lot less manageable for me.
Speaker B:I felt less resilient.
Speaker B:I felt like things felt out of control.
Speaker B:I would catastrophize a lot.
Speaker B:And so just these tweaks and shifts that I was making made a huge difference to my mental health most of all and to my physical health as well.
Speaker A:You know, I think like the big three, like alcohol, caffeine, sugar, like these are things, you know, growing up and you know, in, in when you're younger, you know, we can kind of maybe manage a bit better.
Speaker A:It's one of those things where your body can sort of recover easier.
Speaker A:But now I noticed after being in perimenopause, like my body takes a long time to recover from these things.
Speaker A:So why is that?
Speaker A:A and B?
Speaker A:Is there a way to enjoy these things still?
Speaker A:Perhaps in a different way or with moderation or maybe a different technique?
Speaker A:Can we still enjoy it during this time of.
Speaker A:Without feeling so bad?
Speaker B:Yes, of course you can.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:I think you have to become more discerning.
Speaker B:So if instead of a, I don't know, a couple of days a week or an evening drink, glass of wine, say, could you save it for the more special occasions, like if you're meeting your friends or if you're out for dinner or could you save it for something more special?
Speaker B:And then, you know, obviously the normal things of splitting it up with a glass of water and making sure, you're hydrating, electrolytes can help.
Speaker B:But at this time, our body just can't process alcohol in particular the same way that it did.
Speaker B:It also can't process sugar in the same way.
Speaker B:You know, the way that we process fat and sugar does change.
Speaker B:Our metabolism changes during perimenopause and menopause.
Speaker B:So it is that being more mindful.
Speaker B:So choosing those times when, okay, it would be really nice to have a drink right now and, you know, and then enjoying it, like being, being present for it, loving it, enjoying it.
Speaker B:For me, that's the most important thing.
Speaker B:And that's what I tell to my clients with caffeine.
Speaker B:I love coffee.
Speaker B:I really do.
Speaker B:It's not something that I've given up.
Speaker B:I love my morning flat white.
Speaker B:So again, if you're somebody that struggles with anxiety in particular, and you may notice that if you have a few too many coffees, it just sends you into that more anxious state.
Speaker B:And so then it's just being mindful of, okay, could I switch it out for something else?
Speaker B:Because the hardest thing for many people is going cold turkey on something of, of not having it at all.
Speaker B:But could you just switch it for something else, you know, like a matcha or a tea or any kind of other drink that's out there these days.
Speaker B:So that can be a much easier way to do it.
Speaker A:And what about sugar?
Speaker B:Sugar.
Speaker B:I know.
Speaker B:You know, it's so obvious.
Speaker B:We all know we should eat less sugar and the research around, and we don't even need the research because we can feel it when we eat too much sugar, we feel worse, we have more brain fog, we feel more bloated, we feel more tired, we don't sleep as well.
Speaker B:We, we can feel it in our body.
Speaker B:And so it, we do need to reduce our, our sugar intake.
Speaker B:That being said, if you are out for a lovely dinner and you would love to have desserts, then having your dessert at the end of a meal, when you've had some protein, you've had some fiber, it's actually not going to have as much of a, an impact on your blood sugar as if you just went and ate a cake by itself.
Speaker B:So that would be the thing to think about, is, okay, try to reduce it overall.
Speaker B:Obviously, try to stick to whole foods, as many as possible, as much as possible.
Speaker B:But then if you are going to have something with sugar, then try to have it with protein, with fiber.
Speaker A:Okay, that's a good, that's good.
Speaker A:Is there an alcohol?
Speaker A:I mean, I keep hearing these myths about tequila has the least amount of sugar, if you're gonna drink one, that's the best one, versus maybe wine or something else.
Speaker A:Is that true?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So something like vodka or tequila, they have less sugar than wine.
Speaker B:Because think about it, wine is grapes.
Speaker B:Grapes contain sugar.
Speaker B:And then obviously, as they're dried or as they're processed, they contain more sugar.
Speaker B:And so, yes, spirits are better.
Speaker B:But then again, you know, if you're having it to enjoy it, then have what you enjoy.
Speaker B:Just have less of it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And have it with some protein.
Speaker B:Some protein and fiber.
Speaker A:Yeah, that's a good point.
Speaker A:That's a good point.
Speaker A:You know, and it's funny because I know you have so much experience speaking to women in perimenopause, menopause, going through these stages.
Speaker A:And I don't know about you, but I feel like my experience, like going into perimenopause is.
Speaker A:It's kind of like this black hole vortex.
Speaker A:Like, are you in it or am I in it?
Speaker A:Am I not in it?
Speaker A:Like, what.
Speaker A:What's supposed to happen?
Speaker A:And it's like, what?
Speaker A:Little by little, I sort of wake up each day and I'm like, wait, was that a symptom?
Speaker A:Is this a sign?
Speaker A:So how do we even know if we are in perimenopause?
Speaker B:Yes, this is the really confusing thing.
Speaker B:And I think one of the greatest things about word getting out there now, people talking about perimenopause and menopause, is for so many of us, those initial symptoms that we feel are not the typical hot flashes, night sweats.
Speaker B:It's more sudden anxiety, feeling more panicked, catastrophizing things, just that low mood, feelings of sadness, disrupted sleep, so not sleeping very well, some weight gain, these kind of things that could be brushed off as stress or could be brushed off as, oh, well, I could have just not been exercising as much as I would like to or not been as healthy as I always like to say.
Speaker B:But they are the first signs of perimenopause.
Speaker B:And for me, this started at 30, so.
Speaker B:Which was just.
Speaker B:I'd gone from being a very joyful, ambitious, motivated person to just completely losing my motivation, losing my confidence, feeling really apathetic about life.
Speaker B:I would love, like, I love going out, love socializing, love parties.
Speaker B:And I remember sitting in the car, like, having to go into an event and just being like, oh, my God, I don't know if I can talk to anyone, which was just not me.
Speaker B:Just I felt like a completely different person.
Speaker B:And there was just this fear of, what if this is my life from now on, like, what's happened to me.
Speaker B:And it got so bad for me to the point where my husband said, like, you have to do something about this.
Speaker B:Something is very wrong.
Speaker B:It's impacting the whole family, because I was just crying and depressed and all of these things.
Speaker B:And so it's very hard to tell in perimenopause with a single blood test whether it's perimenopause or not, because our hormones are fluctuating so much.
Speaker B:So what they say is that we have to track our symptoms so you can get a simple symptom tracker.
Speaker B:And if you're tracking your cycle number one, and if you're tracking the symptoms and you're tracking them through the cycle so you can identify, you know, in the last two weeks of my cycle, I feel more anxious, or in the last two or one, you know, around my period, I'm getting more migraines, things like that, or getting headaches.
Speaker B:So if we can track the symptoms and then we're taking that to our healthcare provider and saying, look, you know, these are the symptoms that I'm experiencing.
Speaker B:My cycle is 25 days.
Speaker B:It used to be 31 days.
Speaker B:You know, a shortened cycle is one of the first things that we.
Speaker B:We see.
Speaker B:Then, you know, it's.
Speaker B:It's perimenopause.
Speaker B:Like, we are.
Speaker B:Our hormones are changing, and so it's not something to be ashamed about.
Speaker B:It's not something that is bad.
Speaker B:It's just.
Speaker B:It's good to have an understanding of where we are and what.
Speaker B:What's up so we can actually do something for ourself and take agency over our health.
Speaker A:That is so true, and I'm so glad you brought up, like, kind of like a symptom tracker.
Speaker A:Is being annoyed with your husband and being irritated all the time, like, part of that.
Speaker B:Yes, yes.
Speaker B:And, you know, like, just that sometimes I'll look at and, like, he'll just be breathing while he.
Speaker B:He'll breathe so loudly while he's eating, and I'll just be like, the slurps of the cereal, I'm sending daggers across the table.
Speaker B:Are you?
Speaker B:Yes, it is.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:Irritability is a huge symptom where just things grate on our nervous system.
Speaker B:We're just like, why are you so annoying?
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:It's so true.
Speaker A:I mean, it's like one of those things.
Speaker A:And, you know, it's sort of like I feel like our metabolism is almost slowing down, too.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Is that just, like, oversimplified to say that, or is that really true?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So Great question.
Speaker B:So according to the research, it doesn't technically slow down, but what happens is it does change.
Speaker B:That's not due to just estrogen and progesterone loss.
Speaker B:It's actually due to a whole constellation of things that are happening.
Speaker B:So as estrogen and progesterone decline, we become more insulin resistant.
Speaker B:Our metabolism for fat and sugar, as I said, changes.
Speaker B:We see a change in our gut microbiome, so we can get more dysbiosis.
Speaker B:There's research to show also that women in midlife, as estrogen declines, we actually move less so we can become more sedentary.
Speaker B:And this could be because we're so tired, but also we're just so busy.
Speaker B:So there's this lack of movement.
Speaker B:We're losing muscle mass as we age as well, so that comes into the mix.
Speaker B:Our hunger and satiety hormones also change, so we become more hungry and less satisfied as estrogen and progesterone decline, meaning that we crave more, eat more.
Speaker B:And so there's just all these things happening at once that actually contribute to the weight gain, to the feeling like our metabolism's slowing down.
Speaker B:But it's technically not your metabolism slowing down.
Speaker B:It's just this whole constellation of things that are happening during this time of life.
Speaker A:That's really interesting.
Speaker A:That's a good point, too, about becoming a little more sedentary, because you just.
Speaker A:It feels like your energy is almost being robbed of you, too.
Speaker B:And also symptoms like joint pain, muscle pain.
Speaker B:You know, these are symptoms of perimenopause and menopause.
Speaker B:So it can be painful for women.
Speaker B:You know, you wake up in the morning, your hips hurt, your shoulders hurt.
Speaker B:The last thing you feel like doing is getting up and going for a walk or doing a workout.
Speaker B:But actually motion is lotion, and it can.
Speaker B:It can be really helpful to just continue moving your body, even if it's some yoga stretches, but just moving your body, the body is designed to.
Speaker B:To.
Speaker B:To move.
Speaker B:And so as we become more sedentary, things feel worse.
Speaker B:And so if we can just continue moving our body, it helps a lot.
Speaker A:Yeah, that's really good to know, too, because I feel like, especially women in their 40s and 50s, like, sometimes it feels like you are doing everything under the sun.
Speaker A:You're eating well, you're working out, you're trying to get as best sleep as you can, you know, doing all of these things.
Speaker A:And it feels like sometimes the needle doesn't move at all.
Speaker A:You know, like, you can't.
Speaker A:You're actually gaining weight at this Point.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:So what do you say to women like that who are sort of struggling and feeling like, you know, I'm doing all the things, but I'm not seeing the results.
Speaker B:Yeah, I think a lot of the times, women, sometimes you think you're doing the right thing, but if you really lay everything out, I mean, sometimes you are doing the right things and you just need to add a couple of tweaks that can help.
Speaker B:But sometimes actually you're restricting so much you're not eating enough.
Speaker B:So that by the time, say 3 o' clock, 4 o' clock, 5 o' clock comes around, you're like, I'm so hungry.
Speaker B:You can't ignore the cravings and the hunger.
Speaker B:And so you're like, okay, I'll just have a couple of this.
Speaker B:Just have some snacks from the cupboard or whatever.
Speaker B:And so without intentionally doing it, we can be over consuming calories just because we've restricted too early in the day.
Speaker B:And then either later that day in the afternoon or in the evening, we overeat.
Speaker B:Not intentionally.
Speaker B:Or it could be on the weekend.
Speaker B:We overindulge on the weekend.
Speaker B:So it could be that.
Speaker B:Otherwise it could just also be consistency.
Speaker B:Or you may need to add in the strength training.
Speaker B:But with strength training, not just lifting the weights, but progressively getting heavier and heavier.
Speaker B:So we need to be building muscle at the same time.
Speaker B:And then also there's other forms of training that we can do that also help with fat loss.
Speaker A:Okay, so when you say building, you know, progressively building more weight, is that literally, like you do a first set of 10 with maybe like 5 pounds, and then you gradually move up like to 10 pounds, 15 pounds within the same day of working out.
Speaker B:Good question.
Speaker B:Okay, good question.
Speaker A:Because I think that's confusing.
Speaker B:It is.
Speaker B:So if you think about it, I mean, building muscle does take time.
Speaker B:Okay, so we would be looking for around 8 to 10 reps of the exercise, whatever it is, and the last two reps should feel like really difficult.
Speaker B:So we call this going to failure.
Speaker B:Okay, so you should be within about two reps of failure.
Speaker B:And failure looks like you're slowing.
Speaker B:It's not just muscle burn, because sometimes you can use these tiny weights and like you move them so much you get fatigue.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:So that burns.
Speaker B:But when you have a slowdown of the velocity of your movement, so you're like, that is, that's when it's failure.
Speaker A:That's the slow movement, right?
Speaker B:Yes, exactly.
Speaker B:So then you would take a note, okay, today I lifted X amount, and then the next week, or you know, you would look to shift up to the next, you know, try the next weight and you would try to get to between 8 to 10 with the last two being to failure.
Speaker B:So yeah, it's.
Speaker B:So it changes, but you want to always be within two reps of failure.
Speaker B:That's kind of the, the way to measure it.
Speaker A:And what are, what do you think are the target workouts we should be doing at this stage of life?
Speaker A:Like, because I remember being in my 20s and 30s and doing like Pilates and then like maybe doing a little elliptical machine, you know, and kind of like bouncing around the gym about kind of doing a class, you know, maybe here and there.
Speaker A:But like, is that going to sustain, sustain me now that I'm in perimenopause, you know?
Speaker B:Great question.
Speaker B:So Pilates is so good for our core.
Speaker B:Like it's, it's amazing in so many ways, but it's not going to build muscle mass in the way that we want to.
Speaker B:So it's great to do it, but we want to intersperse that with, with actual strength training.
Speaker B:I'm the same.
Speaker B:I used to just love hit training, you know, go just going like, you know, and it was so good and I, it served me so well.
Speaker B:But now the focus must be on, you know, good three to four sessions of strength training per week.
Speaker B:That's really target.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And then you can also intersperse some kind of sprint, sprint interval training, which is like 20 seconds of an all out effort.
Speaker B:So that could be on a bike, it could be actual sprinting, like on a treadmill.
Speaker B:It could be just a kettlebell that you're just an all out effort for 20 seconds, 10 seconds rest, working for 20, off for 10.
Speaker B:And these short sprints are incredible for burning visceral fat, which is that inflammatory kind of fat that sits underneath the abdominals, that surrounds the organs, the kind of more dangerous kind of fat.
Speaker B:But also it increases our brain derived neutrophic factor, which is what helps with our clarity and memory.
Speaker B:And in perimenopause and menopause, we're all like forgetting why we walked into a room.
Speaker A:Oh my God.
Speaker A:Do you get that too?
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:All the time I'm like, what am I looking for?
Speaker B:Do you know, I was in an argument with my husband once and I was like, yeah, you know, going for it.
Speaker B:And then all of a sudden I was like, what are we arguing about?
Speaker A:You're like, I forgot my, I forgot.
Speaker B:What we were arguing about.
Speaker B:And I was like, oh God.
Speaker B:So I'm like, is this early onset Alzheimer's disease.
Speaker A:That's what we think we have half the time, right?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:It's scary, though.
Speaker B:I was like, oh, my God, what is this?
Speaker B:So I lost that argument.
Speaker A:You're like, that point is going to.
Speaker B:Come to me later in the shower.
Speaker B:I was like, oh, I should have said that.
Speaker A:Oh, my gosh.
Speaker A:So that's good.
Speaker A:Okay, so we need to do that.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:Okay, then it is true, because I was going to ask you about that because I've been hearing that these short spurts of cardio, if you do them in little increments like that, they're more effective than doing, let's say, 45 minutes on the treadmill or something.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:So there.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:And I think here's the confusion, so we should talk about it.
Speaker B:So some people are saying, like, don't do any cardio.
Speaker B:Cardio is bad, blah, blah, blah.
Speaker B:It's not like, of course it's good for your heart, it's good for your body.
Speaker B:Any movement is good.
Speaker B:So if all you can do is a hiit workout, do the hiit workout over doing nothing.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:It's just that at this stage of life with.
Speaker B:With our cortisol and without the body the way that it is, it can be better to do these shorter spurts.
Speaker B:It doesn't keep cortisol raised over an extended period of time, which is kind of what we're looking for.
Speaker B:So we do need to do cardio, but we can do this in the way of daily walks.
Speaker B:So if you're outside, you could put on a weighted vest, or you could just walk like you're late for something, so you're kind of walking fast.
Speaker B:And that can be very helpful.
Speaker B:Good for heart health, just good for general movement.
Speaker B:And then.
Speaker B:So that would be counted as zone two cardio.
Speaker B:And then we have this zone five cardio, which is the more sprint interval.
Speaker B:So it's like heart racing as hard as you can.
Speaker B:So we need a good variety, plus the strength training.
Speaker A:Okay, that's good to know.
Speaker A:Let's say you have a treadmill, you've got a weighted vest.
Speaker A:Maybe you've got some hand weights.
Speaker A:Could you do those things all together at the same time?
Speaker B:Would that be.
Speaker B:No.
Speaker B:I mean, of course you could, but no.
Speaker B:I would say if you've got a treadmill, I would put it on an incline.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:You could have your.
Speaker B:Your weighted vest on if you wanted to.
Speaker B:And then you just want to basically be breathless but able to talk, but breathless.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So that's the key.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:Okay, exactly.
Speaker A:So you kind of want to go on maybe like a 13 to 15 incline with like a.
Speaker A:Maybe a 4 or a 4.
Speaker A:Is it 4?
Speaker A:Speed?
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker A:Speed.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker A:Okay, that's good to know.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Now, you know, you.
Speaker A:I love when you talk about, like, hormones and, you know, how food can actually be helpful with, you know, supporting your hormones.
Speaker A:So what are like three key foods that you think are like, just.
Speaker A:That should be in every one of our diets at this point.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:When dealing with hormones especially.
Speaker B:So would you like to get really specific about actual foods or more macro?
Speaker B:Okay, sure.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Okay, I'm gonna do both.
Speaker B:So we want to make sure that every plate is based around protein.
Speaker B:So protein could be salmon fish, which, you know, those are really, really amazing forms of protein.
Speaker B:Anti inflammatory, nice and oily.
Speaker B:That's good for our skin, good for the lubrication and dryness that we experience during perimenopause and menopause, but also anti inflammatory.
Speaker B:Okay, so omega 3 fatty acids.
Speaker B:Protein.
Speaker B:That's obviously number one.
Speaker B:Fiber.
Speaker B:So colorful fiber.
Speaker B:So when it comes to symptoms like mood, weight gain, brain fog, we, a lot of people talk about protein, but fiber is kind of like protein's best friend.
Speaker B:So we want to have them together.
Speaker B:And the way that we do this is through colorful plants.
Speaker B:Like a diverse range of colorful plants.
Speaker B:So this could look like, you know, legumes, it could look like sweet potatoes.
Speaker B:It could look like, you know, chia seeds or flaxseeds.
Speaker B:So any kinds of, like, high fiber fruits, vegetables.
Speaker B:So they would be the two main ones that I would say.
Speaker B:And then essential fatty acids would be the next.
Speaker A:And how do we like carbs at this point in life?
Speaker A:Like, is it.
Speaker A:Should we try to steer away from carbs or should we kind of embrace carbs to some degree?
Speaker A:Like, what is the best way?
Speaker B:Yeah, so we want to.
Speaker B:We want to go for nutrient dense carbs.
Speaker B:So we do need some carbohydrates.
Speaker B:Because for our brain, all the research around brain health, it just, we do need it.
Speaker B:So going keto or low, very low carb at this point is not optimal for our health.
Speaker B:So we shouldn't be scared of carbs, but we need to be very discerning about the types of carbs that we have.
Speaker B:So we want to look for very nutrient dense.
Speaker B:Those ones that I just mentioned, sweet potatoes, black beans, any kind of legumes.
Speaker B:These are beautiful types of carbs that are just packed with so many different types of vitamins and minerals and nutrients and fiber that it hits many Birds with one stone.
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A:And you know, we talked, you know, in the, in this conversation I've been hearing a lot about blood sugar.
Speaker A:So it's like balancing your blood sugar, making sure, especially at this time of life, like that things are all, you know, well with that.
Speaker A:So how do we, I mean, short of not wearing like a glucose monitor.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Know if our blood sugar is good or not or what is the way to kind of see about that?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So the body loves to be in a state of balance.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:And what's happening in perimenopause and menopause is it's just like, it's a, such a seismic change that the body's like all over the place.
Speaker B:And so the way to keep your blood sugar imbalance is the way that I teach my clients is really to build each meal around protein, fiber, or colorful plants and fat and eating in this kind of way, it just keeps blood sugar nice and balanced.
Speaker B:If you're eating something like something high carb, which so many people do for breakfast, say you wake up and you have a bagel for breakfast, then your blood sugar is going to spike, Insulin is going to be released, it's going to drop.
Speaker B:You're going to feel anxious, irritated, and you're on this roller coaster throughout the day where you're craving, foggy, you just feel worse.
Speaker B:It makes your, your perimenopause and menopause symptoms worse.
Speaker B:It messes with your sleep.
Speaker B:So instead of suffering with that blood sugar roller coaster, we want to stop it from happening in the first place.
Speaker B:And so a high protein, high fiber breakfast is the key to start the day.
Speaker B:You will feel so much more energized.
Speaker B:Because energy is such a big issue.
Speaker B:We're all walking around exhausted in midlife.
Speaker B:And so starting the day with a beautiful high protein, high fiber breakfast can be so helpful and just the best way to start the day.
Speaker A:Okay, that's good to know.
Speaker A:And I know, you know, a lot of people are sort of figuring out, oh, maybe I'm going to be vegan, maybe I'll be keto, like pescatarian.
Speaker A:You know, there's all these different ways of eating.
Speaker A:I mean, what is your thought on that?
Speaker A:Is it smart to kind of, you know, remove things perhaps or, you know, kind of change the way you eat?
Speaker B:I think that you can, you can really adapt this way of eating to definitely any cultural differences or dairy.
Speaker B:Sorry.
Speaker B:Like, if you have a dairy intolerance or gluten intolerance, you can definitely shape this way of eating towards that.
Speaker B:When it comes to keto and that kind of thing.
Speaker B:It just doesn't support our hormones in the way that we need to be supported in this way.
Speaker B:And it's not sustainable over the long run.
Speaker B:And so for women in midlife vegan, you can, that's obviously, you know, the more plants you eat, the better.
Speaker B:If you're somebody who's vegan, but it's like highly processed vegan food, then you're still going to suffer because we want to try and look for whole foods.
Speaker B:But you know, as long as you're hitting those protein goals, those fiber goals, that's really the main, the main thing.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:And that I would assume also would play into the gut health because, you know, here we are talking about gut health.
Speaker A:It's, you know, people are like, you need to take your probiotics, you need to like, so how do we know that we're a taking in the right amount of probiotics, the type of probiotics, like, and is that the most important thing when it comes to balancing our gut?
Speaker B:Yeah, so it's a great question.
Speaker B:And there are so many symptoms that are gut health related, like bloating, you know, some people are constipated.
Speaker B:It's like there are so many gut related symptoms of perimenopause and menopause.
Speaker B:Before we do probiotics, Fiber, again is really, really important.
Speaker B:And this gut brain axis is really key.
Speaker B:And so if we're eating high fiber, lots of plants, lots of, lots of vegetables, it helps with the gut producing neurotransmitters.
Speaker B:So these feel good hormones like serotonin and gaba, these hormones that are, you know, make us feel good.
Speaker B:So the more fiber we have, there's research too around more fat loss, more fiber you have.
Speaker B:So better moods, the more fiber you have, less anxiety.
Speaker B:So it's it.
Speaker B:Before we get to probiotics, we want to start with our, with our food first approach.
Speaker B:And then, you know, we want to add in fermented foods.
Speaker B:So it could be, you know, Greek yogurt and it could also be kimchi, sauerkraut.
Speaker B:These fermented foods that are just so good for the diversity in our guts and things like kefir is also really, really good.
Speaker B:And then following that, you know, if you need a probiotic, I actually don't recommend really probiotics to my clients unless they've been on antibiotics, in all honesty.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Because you just kind of have to counterbalance it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:Well, let's talk supplements.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:What does your supplement intake look like?
Speaker A:Because you know, I mean, we could open up Instagram or TikTok or any of those and be marketed to all day long, right?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And then you have so many people coming on saying you should take this, you should do that.
Speaker A:And it's like something new every day.
Speaker A:So what should our supplement lineup look like?
Speaker B:Yes, great question.
Speaker B:So generally for most women we're not getting enough magnesium.
Speaker B:And so magnesium is generally the first place, especially if you're struggling with sleep, if you're struggling with anxiety, if you've got joint and muscle pain.
Speaker B:You know, magnesium can be very, very, very helpful.
Speaker B:So that would be the first.
Speaker B:I like magnesium threonate or magnesium glycinate.
Speaker B:The next thing is creatine, which, you know, it's so buzzy.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:So creatine is great for building muscle and at the same time there's a lot of great research around brain health.
Speaker B:So it's great for, there's some research about women who had really poor sleep.
Speaker B:But taking, I think it was 5 to 10 grams of creatine, you know, lessened their brain fog significantly.
Speaker B:So it is amazing for brain health, amazing for muscle health.
Speaker B:And it's so well researched, it's very safe for most people.
Speaker B:And so creatine would be the next one, omega 3 fatty acids.
Speaker B:Again, most of us aren't eating enough fish and it's very anti inflammatory.
Speaker B:It's very good for all of the dryness and the joint pain, a lot of those symptoms that we have.
Speaker B:So that would be the next one, vitamin D.
Speaker B:Most people aren't getting enough, whether it's from the sun and we're just, you know, we don't convert it as well from our skin as we age.
Speaker B:So we supplementing can be very helpful.
Speaker B:And then it depends on the symptoms really.
Speaker B:Some people need more B vitamins and the more stressed you are, the more we burn through B vitamins.
Speaker B:So things like B6, B12.
Speaker B:So supplementing can be helpful, but also you can get it from food.
Speaker B:So any animal based products would be high in B vitamins.
Speaker B:And then, you know, specifically for perimenopause and menopause symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats.
Speaker B:Even flax seeds are amazing.
Speaker B:Two tablespoons of flax seeds a day.
Speaker B:So I add this to my morning smoothie every morning has been shown to reduce hot flashes and night sweats.
Speaker B:And it's obviously just a great form of fiber as well as omega 3 fatty acids.
Speaker B:So that's another great one.
Speaker B:And then if you're struggling with something like sleep, then Something like inositol is really good.
Speaker B:Glycine is really good.
Speaker B:So it really just depends on what your symptoms are.
Speaker B:And also, everybody's so different.
Speaker B:And so there are so many different supplements out there.
Speaker B:And some people try one and they're like, this was the best thing I've ever used.
Speaker B:Some people try a different one, the same one, and it doesn't do anything.
Speaker B:And it's because we're all biologically so different.
Speaker B:And so sometimes it can be done to trial and error, unfortunately.
Speaker A:Okay, and so what do you think about nad?
Speaker B:Nad?
Speaker B:I actually, I do take nad.
Speaker B:I like it.
Speaker B:I do, like, can be expensive.
Speaker B:So, you know, it's not, like, on my essentials list.
Speaker B:But if you're really looking to optimize your health, it can be really good for, you know, energy and mitochondrial function and detoxification.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, that was one.
Speaker A:That was, you know, it also too, it gets so buzzy.
Speaker A:And so then there's all NAC and NAD and all these different types.
Speaker A:Is there a certain type we should be getting if we're going to go that route?
Speaker B:What it is is, it's.
Speaker B:It's the conversion into nad.
Speaker B:So that there are a couple of different forms.
Speaker B:But no, generally, I mean, I use.
Speaker B:Just trying to remember the name.
Speaker B:I can see the bottle.
Speaker B:It's black.
Speaker B:I can't remember it.
Speaker B:But yes.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:To be honest, because there's nmn, there's nad.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker B:So it doesn't.
Speaker B:I mean, they all really do the same thing.
Speaker A:And metformin, that's also one that's.
Speaker B:Yeah, Metformin.
Speaker B:To be honest, I'm not super familiar.
Speaker B:Familiar with all the research, but I do know it can be very beneficial to metabolic health.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Because I know a lot of women are sort of confronted with possibly being pre diabetic.
Speaker A:Yes, Right at this time.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker A:When all your systems kind of start going haywire.
Speaker A:So what is sort of the best way to get back on track, especially with pre diabetes kind of lurking, you.
Speaker B:Know, so insulin resistance and pre diabetes are pretty much the same thing.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:So the main things would be just trying to not eat as many processed foods.
Speaker B:Sugar is obviously going to be a big one that you want to reduce and take out of your diet as much as possible.
Speaker B:You would, you would want to eat less carbs.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Than somebody that's metabolically healthy, but you can still eat some carbs.
Speaker B:But as I said before, you do want to pair it with protein and fiber because this just helps to keep blood sugar in balance.
Speaker B:A really, really good trick.
Speaker B:Well, not.
Speaker B:It's not a trick.
Speaker B:Habit for reversing insulin resistance is walking after your meal.
Speaker A:Oh.
Speaker A:Like immediately after your meal.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:So within half an hour.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:So if you eat, eats, eat a meal, then you do some exercise.
Speaker B:This could even be 10 squats.
Speaker B:It's like, go for a walk or do some squats.
Speaker B:This helps to take blood sugar.
Speaker B:Sorry, take sugar out of the bloodstream and into the muscles without the need for insulin.
Speaker B:So it activates these pathways that, you know, soak up the.
Speaker B:The sugar into the muscles and uses it for energy.
Speaker B:And so this is a really good way to, you know, start increasing your insulin sensitivity.
Speaker B:So that's a really good one.
Speaker B:Also, weight training, like strength training.
Speaker B:The more muscle that we have, the more metabolically healthy that we are.
Speaker B:So those would be, you know, just eating that protein, fiber, fats, then walking after a meal and strength training.
Speaker B:These can be some really, really helpful tools.
Speaker A:So should we.
Speaker A:Let's say we're working out in the morning.
Speaker A:Should we eat first or should we do it fasted?
Speaker B:Yeah, great question.
Speaker B:So you can have some protein.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:You know, I.
Speaker B:There's a thing going around at the moment that's like, you know, protein coffee.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:So it's something, but it's not a whole meal, so you don't have to have like a gourmet breakfast, but something just to keep your blood sugar balanced.
Speaker B:Because as we walk out at workout, obviously that increases our cortisol.
Speaker B:We want to try and, you know, keep that, you know, as much in range as possible.
Speaker B:And having some food protein in our system can help with that.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Should we be calorie counting and counting macros, like, because that is a whole thing as well.
Speaker A:What do you think about that?
Speaker B:So I personally don't count calories.
Speaker B:What I say to my clients is count colors, not calories.
Speaker B:Try to get as many different colorful plants into your diet as possible.
Speaker B:Having said that, I have a good understanding of the calorie content of, you know, different things, but so many women are trapped in this diet, culture, restriction, don't eat, you know, and so for some women, it can be not helpful to count calories.
Speaker B:For other women, it can really be very helpful.
Speaker B:So again, it's.
Speaker B:It's so individual.
Speaker B:I like to count protein.
Speaker B:So how much protein I'm getting?
Speaker B:And it's one gram per ideal gram of body, of an ideal pound of body weight.
Speaker A:Oh.
Speaker A:And so not actual body weight, but ideal.
Speaker B:Ideal, yes.
Speaker B:Ideal.
Speaker A:Oh, okay.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:So know how much protein you're eating and have, you know, aim to hit that every day, then eat as many colors as you can because it's very anti inflammatory, reduces the free radicals in the body, all of those, it supports your symptoms.
Speaker B:And so I prefer that over, you know, very stringent calorie counting.
Speaker A:Calorie counting.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:And as far as portion control goes, is it okay to kind of let ourselves run wild with like, let's say vegetables, you know, and then maybe be a little more mindful when it comes to like a carb or you know, a high fat protein kind of a thing?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So what I encourage my clients to do is it's volume eating.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:And so there's certain, especially, especially in plants, you can get high volume, you can eat more.
Speaker B:So you've got a big loaded up plate of greens and say cauliflower and.
Speaker B:But it's less calories than say something that's high in fats.
Speaker B:Or even if you compare chicken with beef, chicken has less calories for the same protein.
Speaker B:So if you are trying to eat more, then you could eat chicken or you could eat turkey.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:So we call this volume eating.
Speaker B:And this keeps you satiated so you don't feel hungry and you don't feel like you're on this diet where you're eating like a tiny plate.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And you're still starving after.
Speaker B:Yes, exactly.
Speaker A:You're like, did I even eat?
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Now is intermittent fasting our friend or our foe at this time in life?
Speaker B:Again, so individual.
Speaker B:So for some women, it works beautifully.
Speaker B:When it comes to the research for metabolic health, intermittent fasting is great.
Speaker B:So it increases our insulin sensitivity.
Speaker B:It's good for our cholesterol, for our metabolism.
Speaker B:It's good, but you don't have to do it.
Speaker B:When it comes to weight loss, calorie restriction versus intermittent fasting, they end up being pretty even.
Speaker B:But from a metabolic health perspective, fasting can be better.
Speaker B:So you don't have to, but, you know, it is good.
Speaker B:But when we talk about fasting, it doesn't need to be 16 hours or like one meal a day.
Speaker B:It can be 14 hours.
Speaker B:Like everyone should be fasting at least 12 hours.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:I kind of don't even consider it a fast to be like, it's like, okay, that's your sleeping time.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:You shouldn't be eating for those 12 hours.
Speaker B:But if you can push it to 14 hours, that's, you know, that's good, that's good.
Speaker A:So it, is it better than to fast like at the end of the day and at night?
Speaker A:Versus skipping that breakfast meal.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So it is better to front load your day with your.
Speaker B:With your calories, with your food.
Speaker B:So it would, you know, that saying of like, eat like a king for breakfast, prince for lunch, and pawpaw for dinner.
Speaker B:You know, the science shows that that is, you know, that that is a better way to eat.
Speaker B:The other way to think about it.
Speaker B:And Dr.
Speaker B:Kristen Holmes talks about this a lot is circadian alignment, and that's kind of eating with the sun.
Speaker B:So when it's.
Speaker B:When it should be.
Speaker B:So it's difficult because in some places, especially in the summertime, it's dark at 10pm and so, but if we were eating from a window between, say, seven and, you know, six or eight and six or something like that, and we ate out all of our meals during that time, and then we fasted for the rest of our time.
Speaker B:Our body loves that.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Our body loves kind of to, to rest and to have that time overnight.
Speaker B:It's good for our metabolism, good for our metabolic health.
Speaker B:So that can be another way to think about it.
Speaker A:And probably better for sleep too.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Like your body's not working so hard to process your food.
Speaker B:Yeah, Right.
Speaker A:So it's a little more restful.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker B:And there's also really interesting studies around morning sunlight.
Speaker B:I mean, we've heard this.
Speaker B:It's like, it's, you know, it's trendy, but there is actually research to back it up in that if you can get morning sunlight within the first kind of half an hour of waking, you know, this sets your circadian clock, so you're in a good circadian rhythm.
Speaker B:But also there was research about women who got morning sunlight having greater fat loss than women who didn't get morning sunlight.
Speaker B:So it does have this effect on our metabolism, on fat loss.
Speaker B:And so, you know, if you can look out the way, it's better not to look out a window, but to look at the actual sun.
Speaker B:But if you can look at the sun a little bit in the morning, that can be very helpful.
Speaker A:So what do you think is the biggest myth for women in perimenopause and menopause about food and eating?
Speaker A:Is there something we should just throw by the wayside and never look at again?
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:Eat less, move more.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Because it's not nuanced enough.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Because you might go to the doctor and say, oh, I'm struggling with weight gain.
Speaker B:And they'll be like, oh, eat less and move more.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:And what most people take that is, is restrict your calories.
Speaker B:So much that you're basically starving.
Speaker B:And so women don't eat enough, and they find themselves in this very deprived state.
Speaker B:And in perimenopause and menopause, we're already deprived of estrogen and progesterone compared to what we were.
Speaker B:So the body's like, oh, I'm so hungry.
Speaker B:Please give me.
Speaker B:And so we need to.
Speaker B:We need to nurture our body.
Speaker B:We need to be nourishing our body.
Speaker B:And if we could shift the focus of food from just being about weight loss to giving our body everything she needs to thrive, then everything can change.
Speaker B:Because you could eat fewer and fewer and fewer calories.
Speaker B:And, you know, our metabolism adapts to that, so you have to keep eating less and less to lose weight.
Speaker B:But if we could shift from that to nurturing our body and nourishing our body so that we're actually thriving instead of just surviving.
Speaker B:Okay, you might be skinny, but you feel like rubbish.
Speaker A:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker B:But wouldn't you rather.
Speaker B:Wouldn't you rather be strong and energized and have brain clarity and, you know, feel motivated and be sleeping well and be showing up with joy than, you know, fitting into a certain size of dress?
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:I think that's something we have to let go of because, like, our bodies don't.
Speaker A:Are not going to be the same as they were when we were 25, you know, and it's like so many of us deprive ourselves.
Speaker A:I mean, and I've done it too, you know, for some reason, like, nurturing ourselves is a very hard concept.
Speaker A:It's almost like we're riddled with guilt because here we are supposed to be taking care of everyone else.
Speaker A:And, like, why are we not taking care of ourselves?
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:I mean, and it's.
Speaker B:I love.
Speaker B:I think that perimenopause and menopause, it's a.
Speaker B:It's a beautiful opportunity to really reprioritize what's important.
Speaker B:And nurturing our body through this seismic change, like, imagine how hard it is for our body.
Speaker B:We've seen.
Speaker B:We've been managing with estrogen and progesterone and all of these roles that estrogen plays in the body, and suddenly it's not there.
Speaker B:And the body's like, oh, my God, how am I gonna do this?
Speaker B:How am I gonna do these roles that I'm supposed to be doing?
Speaker B:And then on top of that, where are all the nutrients?
Speaker B:Because my body is not eating enough.
Speaker B:And so trying to compensate for that loss is just, like.
Speaker B:Throws you even more off.
Speaker B:So if we can be Nurturing our body with this beautiful range of omega 3 fatty acids and color and phytonutrients and polyphenols and all these things that our body needs to feel safe and to feel, to feel good, then we're going to be so much better off, not just now, but later on in life.
Speaker B:Because that's what we also haven't spoken about is, you know, perimenopause and menopause.
Speaker B:It's this critical window where our risk of diseases like osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, it all increases with the loss of estrogen.
Speaker B:And so if we can reprioritize this time to really pay attention to how we're treating our body and just treat her like a, you know, how would you treat your best friend?
Speaker B:How would you treat your kids?
Speaker B:Treat your body like that, like nurturing, nourishing, giving her everything that she needs to really do her best through this time.
Speaker B:And that's better for our long term health as well.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:I love that you brought that up because it is an opportunity to take control and really be our own best advocate.
Speaker A:And especially, you know, with the window that we have and, you know, with all these hormonal changes.
Speaker A:Are you, how do you feel about hormone replacement therapy?
Speaker A:Is that something you support or.
Speaker B:Dr.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I mean, it can be life changing for many women.
Speaker B:Can be life changing.
Speaker B: nd of hangover from the early: Speaker B:And so there was this whole thing.
Speaker B:But now the research really shows that it is very safe for most people.
Speaker B:Not everyone, but most people.
Speaker B:It is very safe.
Speaker B:And it can be life changing, not just for hot flashes and night sweats, but for mood, for joint pain, for sleep.
Speaker B:So it is definitely something that every woman should have a, at least a conversation about with their healthcare provider.
Speaker A:Definitely.
Speaker A: done, you know, in the early: Speaker A:And there was, there was problems.
Speaker A:And it's amazing how one story like that gets bad press.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:And there you go.
Speaker A:And here we are 20 years later.
Speaker A:Women are too scared to take it or like to really do it.
Speaker B:But also, if you think about it, the alcohol actually increases the risk of breast cancer more than estrogen therapy.
Speaker B:So it's like, why are we picking and choosing?
Speaker B:What's the most dangerous thing here?
Speaker B:It's true.
Speaker A:I know that's true.
Speaker A:And definitely as our bodies age, we have less, you know, we lose the ability to be able to fight these things off as much.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:So I think that it is so important to really prioritize ourselves.
Speaker A:But what do you say to somebody who might be raising kids or maybe with a partner or you know, has a big job or is a stay at home mom or you know, is retired or whatever the life situations or maybe taking care of their aging parents who feel like they can't prioritize themselves.
Speaker A:What do you say to them?
Speaker B:I say give yourself grace.
Speaker B:You're carrying so much right now.
Speaker B:We're everything to everyone.
Speaker B:We, you know, as women, we're doing so much and our body is going through so much.
Speaker B:So just, you don't have to be perfect.
Speaker B:I've listed all these things that you should be doing, but you're, we live in the real world.
Speaker B:We're not all going to do that perfect every day, every week and give yourself grace for that.
Speaker B:Do your best.
Speaker B:If you can't do better, you know, do good.
Speaker B:It's, it's just give yourself grace, have compassion for yourself.
Speaker A:Yeah, that's a really good point.
Speaker A:What are like the three most important things that you think a woman who is listening today should do today, tonight, like should really do for themselves?
Speaker A:What are like the top three things.
Speaker B:You would say prioritize?
Speaker B:Protein.
Speaker B:Okay, most of us are not eating enough.
Speaker B:We think that we are, but when you really look at it, most of us aren't.
Speaker B:So increase that.
Speaker B:Move your body.
Speaker B:Just get out a move however it is.
Speaker B:Try to enjoy it, find joy in it and then connect with people, connect with friends, talk about what you're going through.
Speaker B:Don't suffer alone in silence because the mental health impact of perimenopause and menopause is, it's tremendous.
Speaker B:It is so big.
Speaker B:This 45 to 54 is the biggest rate of suicide amongst women.
Speaker B:And that falls directly in to this perimenopause age.
Speaker B:We need to be connecting with each other.
Speaker B:We need to be talking about our mental health and we need to be supporting each other.
Speaker B:And so go and find your best fun girlfriend and just laugh.
Speaker B:Like have a good time, have a laugh, find joy.
Speaker B:And try to figure out what your biggest vision for your life is.
Speaker B:Can you connect to what you want for your life going forward.
Speaker B:Because so many of us and you know, we have this narrative of it's all downhill from here, blah, blah, blah, and it's not.
Speaker B:This is a beautiful opportunity to create something new, to birth something into the world, to find our new purpose as we move through midlife and through to the rest of our life.
Speaker B:Like, what do I want to do next?
Speaker B:What are those deepest desires that I've always wanted to do?
Speaker B:Could I pay some attention to that?
Speaker B:And that can be so healing for us.
Speaker A:Yes, absolutely.
Speaker A:And I love that you brought up socialization, because that truly is one of the keys to longevity, is really connecting with, you know, your loved ones, your friends, your family, those around you.
Speaker A:And I don't think we do that enough because we feel alone at this time, you know, and we don't see that there are other women in our shoes, like, going through the same thing.
Speaker A:It could be your best friend that you haven't, you know, spoken to about all these things.
Speaker A:And there's so many of us that are going through this.
Speaker A:And I'm just so happy the conversation is opening up.
Speaker B:Me, too.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker B:Me too.
Speaker A:And you were really one of the pioneers to do that, Jessica.
Speaker A:Thank you.
Speaker A:You're amazing.
Speaker A:Like, putting yourself out there on social media at a time when people really weren't talking about these things, like, what was your drive for that?
Speaker A:Like, what.
Speaker A:What was it about that?
Speaker B:Yeah, I love that you say that.
Speaker B:So it was so cathartic for me to actually.
Speaker B:Actually navigate my own journey through just sharing, laughing, you know, creating a safe space for women in midlife to feel seen and validated and celebrated.
Speaker B:Because at that time on the Internet, there wasn't really anywhere where women could see content that was really, you know, not being sold to, but just, you know, helped them feel like, I'm not alone.
Speaker B:And that was the thing.
Speaker B:The more that I shared and the more education and the more, you know, funny memes and where people just feel like, oh, that's me.
Speaker B:I've got so many messages of women just being like, oh, my God, you've helped me so much.
Speaker B:I feel so much less alone just by reading.
Speaker B:Just by looking at this, but also by reading all the comments of the women that leave that they leave underneath.
Speaker B:And I guess at the beginning, because I was younger, there was a big, you know, scary part because women would comment like, what would you know about menopause?
Speaker B:You're a baby.
Speaker B:Because, you know, and it's.
Speaker B:It was.
Speaker B:It was almost like, you're not menopausal enough.
Speaker B:And it's like.
Speaker A:Like, what are you supposed to look like?
Speaker B:It doesn't have a look.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:If we put it into ChatGPT, I'm sure it would show the golden Girls, it doesn't have a look.
Speaker B:It's just I'm a woman in midlife.
Speaker B:I'm creating things and I'm helping women.
Speaker B:So let's all just be kind to each other.
Speaker B:We don't have to judge women for whatever stage they're at.
Speaker B:We're all doing our best.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:We're all just trying to keep it together.
Speaker B:Right, Exactly.
Speaker A:It's already hard enough, you know, like, but, but I think it is really important to rebrand this time of our lives because it really can be the best time of our lives.
Speaker A:You know, it's just, it's, it's all about how we look at it, you know, and really valuing ourselves.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker B:Yes, yes, we do.
Speaker B:That's.
Speaker B:For me, that's the most important thing is that I've come back to such a place of, of self love.
Speaker B:And it sounds so cliche, but really I just, I'm so in awe of my body, of a woman's body.
Speaker B:Of all the things we go through, like how amazing.
Speaker B:And yes, it sucks sometimes.
Speaker B:And at the same time, we have so much power to feel better in our body and to even feel phenomenal.
Speaker B:You can feel phenomenal in your body in midlife.
Speaker B:It is possible.
Speaker A:So what advice would you give to your 25 year old self?
Speaker B:Oh, God, where would I start now?
Speaker A:It's a lot, right?
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:To my 25 year old self, I would probably, I'd probably start lifting weights earlier.
Speaker B:I would.
Speaker B:I mean, there's a lot of men that I probably would say, don't go there.
Speaker B:But you know, every experience is an experience.
Speaker A:Like, why did I date him?
Speaker B:What were you thinking?
Speaker B:Yeah, but no, I think it would be lift weights and just be kind to yourself.
Speaker B:Don't, you know, just be kind to yourself.
Speaker B:You are, we're all, you're such beautiful souls and let's see that in ourselves.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:And how are you living iconically at this point stage in your life?
Speaker B:I'm going all out for myself.
Speaker B:You know, I have goals in my life and I'm unapologetic about it.
Speaker B:And I am just, just following my purpose and my mission and just seeing where that takes me.
Speaker A:I love that.
Speaker A:How did you.
Speaker A:For women out there too, who are trying to discover purpose and their mission, maybe they've, you know, raised kids this whole time or were in a career that they weren't happy with.
Speaker A:How do you think, what is the best way for them to find their purpose and mission?
Speaker B:Great question.
Speaker B:So I think there's always this little whispering in your heart of what.
Speaker B:What is it that you would like to do?
Speaker B:And you don't need to know the whole thing.
Speaker B:You don't need to know the whole picture.
Speaker B:But is there a little baby step that you could take each day that you could to work towards that?
Speaker B:And as you do that, day after day after day, things open up like I never experience.
Speaker B:I never could have thought that my, you know, reach platform would have gone how it has.
Speaker B:I would never.
Speaker B:I did not set out to do that, but it happened because I followed those little nudges.
Speaker B:And the more that I've done that, I've just.
Speaker B:When I coach women on our weekly call, I have women in my program, my heart is on fire.
Speaker B:Like, I have, like, you know, when you've just found your thing and you're like, oh, it's so good.
Speaker B:I love working with these women.
Speaker B:I love helping them to feel change and feel better and to feel phenomenal in their body and to help them lose the weight and just see life in a different way.
Speaker B:And it's.
Speaker B:It's so gratifying for me.
Speaker B:And it was just step by step, following those little tiny nudges and whispers of my heart and just.
Speaker B:Just doing it.
Speaker A:So get in tune with yourselves, ladies.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Like, listen to what it's saying.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker A:On the iconic midlife, we love to play games.
Speaker A:Would you be game for a game?
Speaker B:Of course.
Speaker A:Wonderful.
Speaker A:Okay, this one is called.
Speaker A:Okay, so we're gonna call this Hot Flash or health Hack.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker A:Basically, if we don't like it and it's inflammatory and it's not ideal for us, Hot Flash.
Speaker B:Okay, got it.
Speaker A:And okay, yeah, great.
Speaker A:Apple cider vinegar shots.
Speaker B:Health hack.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Good for blood sugar regulation.
Speaker B:Yeah, very good.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Every day.
Speaker B:Yeah, you can have it before a meal.
Speaker B:You can have it in the morning.
Speaker B:I like to have it with sparkling water.
Speaker B:It kind of tastes like kombucha, but without the sugar.
Speaker A:Ooh, that's a good one.
Speaker A:Okay, so before meals.
Speaker B:Yeah, right.
Speaker A:Before.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Skipping breakfast entirely.
Speaker A:Hot Flash, dark chocolate every day.
Speaker B:Health hack.
Speaker A:Oh, okay.
Speaker A:So there is truth in that.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:I definitely eat dark chocolate every day.
Speaker B:I have at the end of my dinner, I have a who.
Speaker B:You know that WHO kitchen.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Oh, I love who Kitchen.
Speaker A:And there's not a lot of sugar in it, right?
Speaker B:That is like.
Speaker B:That is it?
Speaker A:Yes, that's it.
Speaker A:And that's something you will not give up.
Speaker A:And you should have those joys, right?
Speaker B:Absolutely, Absolutely.
Speaker A:Okay, Good to know.
Speaker A:Almond milk lattes with extra cinnamon oh, health hack.
Speaker B:Okay, that's not gonna be a hot flash.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:If you kept it at one, don't have five, five would be a hot flash.
Speaker B:One is okay.
Speaker B:Cinnamon's great.
Speaker B:Obviously cinnamon is very anti inflammatory, good for blood sugar balance as well.
Speaker B:So yeah, that's a health hack for me.
Speaker A:Okay, we like that.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Intermittent fasting until 1:00pm hmm.
Speaker B:It's not quite a hot flash, but it's not a health hack for me personally.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I would prefer you to stop intermittent fasting earlier in the day.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Kale in smoothies, salads and anything else you eat.
Speaker B:Kale?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:How do you feel about kale?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Health hack.
Speaker B:I think, I think, I think kale is.
Speaker B:You can like mass.
Speaker B:You know, there's all this talk about oxalates and all that stuff.
Speaker B:You can obviously massage it with your olive oil and things like that to make it more digestible and all of those things.
Speaker B:But I think life is better with kale than without.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:But again, don't have too much everything in moderation.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So oxalates you do like, because that also is so buzzy right now.
Speaker A:Do we need to be on the lookout for that and kind of avoid that or.
Speaker B:I like to think about things like a hierarchy of like biggest needle moving activities.
Speaker B:And worrying about kale is not a big needle moving activity.
Speaker B:You're better to focus on protein, fiber, building muscle.
Speaker B:And then if you're doing everything and you want to, you know, then you might look at kale, but you know.
Speaker A:Okay, so that's on our lower end of the list.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Okay, got it.
Speaker A:Wine with dinner nightly hot flash.
Speaker A:Okay, so not even red wine.
Speaker B:So there.
Speaker B:And every woman, if this is you, I want you to start becoming aware, tuning into your body awareness of when you do have a glass of red wine with dinner.
Speaker B:How is your sleep?
Speaker B:Do you wake up with a night sweat?
Speaker B:Do you wake up feeling more anxious in the morning?
Speaker B:So it's different for everyone, but if you have a look at yourself and you notice those things, then it's not good for you.
Speaker A:So if we see that 3am on the clock.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker A:That's when it hits.
Speaker A:That's.
Speaker B:That's not alcohol.
Speaker B:I drank for dinner.
Speaker A:Exactly.
Speaker A:It's like that 3am like wake up, you're like, oh my.
Speaker A:Awake.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:And why is that?
Speaker A:Why can we.
Speaker A:Is it that we're not processing it properly or.
Speaker B:So there's actually enough for the alcohol?
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So there's a couple of different things.
Speaker B:So it can be blood sugar, it can Be the, you know, the peak and the dip that wakes you up.
Speaker B:It can also be cortisol dysregulation that wakes you up.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:Yeah, just the body trying to process the alcohol that wakes you up.
Speaker B:It's also that it triggers hot flashes and night sweats.
Speaker B:And so the night sweats can wake you up.
Speaker B:So it's.
Speaker B:There's a.
Speaker B:It's not just one simple thing.
Speaker A:Why is it always seemingly at 3am?
Speaker A:Why is it that time?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Well, that's.
Speaker B:It is cortisol.
Speaker B:It's either blood sugar or cortisol dysregulation generally in that if you've had, say, a glass of wine or if you've had a high carbohydrate dinner, it's your blood sugar that wakes you up.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Or it could be also because cortisol is your stress hormone, but it's also your wake up hormone.
Speaker B:And so as we finish sleeping, melatonin starts to fade and cortisol starts to rise to wake our body up.
Speaker B:But it.
Speaker B:But during perimenopause, this can happen at different times.
Speaker B:So it can feel like you're in a constant state of jet lag because your body doesn't know when to wake up up properly.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:And so if we.
Speaker A:So high carbs with dinner can also cause that.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:So if you're eating like a lot of potatoes or.
Speaker B:Or starches.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Dessert.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, a lot of potatoes.
Speaker B:Dessert.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:So that should be maybe your least carby meal of the day.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Overnight oats with flax and chia.
Speaker A:Oh.
Speaker B:I would say.
Speaker A:I love that pause too.
Speaker B:I would say hot flash.
Speaker B:Sorry, a health hack, but I would add protein.
Speaker A:Oh, okay.
Speaker B:Because there's.
Speaker B:Because overnight oats with flax and chia.
Speaker B:There's no protein there.
Speaker B:So if you added some cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, protein powder, something like that, then it's like a brilliant health hack.
Speaker A:Okay, that's good.
Speaker A:So not oats alone.
Speaker B:No.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Protein powders marketed to women in pink packaging.
Speaker B:Ooh, okay.
Speaker B:Could be a health hack.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:It depends.
Speaker B:You would look at.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:How many ingredients are there?
Speaker B:Are there artificial sweeteners in it?
Speaker B:Things like that.
Speaker B:But it's probably a health hack.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Probably health hack.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Eating carbs after 7pm Hot flash.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So we should just try to eliminate that after seven.
Speaker B:Yeah, I would.
Speaker B:Just not even just carbs, but just all you just try to stop eating.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Would that be a good marker?
Speaker A:7:00pm yeah.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Like kitchen closed.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:7:00Pm Lights are on.
Speaker B:Kitchen's closed.
Speaker B:Do not enter.
Speaker A:Totally.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:No more snacking.
Speaker A:It's done.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Celery juice detoxes.
Speaker B:Oh, I went through this stage.
Speaker B:Did you go through it?
Speaker B:Yeah, I did it.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:I remember.
Speaker B:I don't know what year that was.
Speaker A:But I did it a few years ago.
Speaker B:It felt great.
Speaker B:Honestly, it felt great.
Speaker B:I don't do it anymore just because I hate cleaning the blender, the juicer, but I like it.
Speaker B:I mean, any kind of more vegetables that you can get, great.
Speaker B:Like, it's.
Speaker B:It's not gonna.
Speaker B:Definitely not gonna harm you.
Speaker B:But, yeah, cleaning that thing is.
Speaker B:Cleaning it is a workout.
Speaker B:So health hack.
Speaker A:You get a little of both.
Speaker A:You know, bone broth as a daily ritual.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:Bone broth is great.
Speaker B:You know, this is so good for your gut health.
Speaker B:It's so good for.
Speaker B:It's got good amount of protein.
Speaker B:It's got.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It is very good.
Speaker B:I like it.
Speaker B:It's a health hack.
Speaker A:Is it good to start your day with it, like, kind of before?
Speaker A:Okay, you can.
Speaker A:For sure.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:So that's a good way to kind of start the day and then perhaps work out after that?
Speaker B:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:You could.
Speaker B:I'd probably add slightly, like, a little bit more protein, but.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:But it is a good way to start the day, for sure.
Speaker B:If you like to start the day in a savory way, that's a good.
Speaker A:Way to do it.
Speaker A:Okay, what is one underrated nutrition move that deserves a comeback?
Speaker B:Underrated nutrition move that deserves a comeback.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Two flat.
Speaker B:Two tablespoons of flaxseed a day.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So that should be going in.
Speaker B:Non negotiable.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Non negotiable.
Speaker A:Must do.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Oh, my gosh, Jessica, you are amazing.
Speaker A:I feel like I have learned so much and just.
Speaker A:I mean, you are living it.
Speaker A:So I.
Speaker A:I mean, I thank you so much for coming on and thank you for having me chatting with me today.
Speaker A:Where can everybody find you?
Speaker A:Tell them.
Speaker B:Yeah, so I'm.
Speaker B:What, the menopause on Instagram?
Speaker B:That's my only platform, but yeah, come follow me at what the menopause and let's hang out.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Oh, my God, you guys will get the best nutritional workout.
Speaker A:Just life advice.
Speaker A:I mean, because this really is our.
Speaker A:These are our lives that we're.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:It's our little safe haven on the Internet.
Speaker B:You can come and we can laugh and we can hang and we can.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's good.
Speaker A:Oh, we love all of it.
Speaker A:Oh, thank you so much, Jessica.
Speaker A:You'll have to come back next time you're in la.
Speaker B:I would love to.
Speaker A:That's wonderful.
Speaker B:Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Speaker A:Yay.
Speaker A:If you've been cutting carbs, counting calories, and wondering why you still feel like crap, Jessica just dropped the nutrition truth bomb you've been waiting for.
Speaker A:Midlife isn't about restriction, it's about recalibration.
Speaker A:And your body deserves more support, not more shame.
Speaker A:So be sure to follow the Iconic Midlife wherever you get your podcast and head over to YouTube tomorrow to catch the full video episode.
Speaker A:Don't forget to follow heconicmedlife and me redcarpetroxy for all the behind the scenes expert insights and iconic midlife energy.
Speaker A:And don't forget to rate and subscribe the Iconic Midlife on your favorite podcast app.
Speaker A:Until next time, Eat smart, trust your guts and keep it iconic.
