“With the right training, nutrition, lifestyle strategies, and the power of the mind, women in their fifties and beyond can still [accomplish amazing feats] . . . women prove every day that our best years can be ahead of us no matter how old we are now . . . you’ve accumulated hard-earned wisdom and power over the years. You’re higher on the totem pole of life. There are countless opportunities that lie ahead.” —Dr. Stacy Sims, phD, International exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist

The beautiful gift of stepping into another year of life is that we have the opportunity, but not the promise, to enjoy the application of wisdom learned along the way.

As someone who lives with awareness and pays attention to the reality of life, we know that our bodies need to be taken care of properly so that they can take care of us. Knowing how our bodies change as we age is crucial to knowing how to give it the care it needs for optimal quality of living. Which brings me to a reality that Dr. Stacy T. Sims, an exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist, pointed out in a recent interview on The Mel Robbins podcast (listen here), the majority, and arguably supermajority of all fitness studies and how the body responds to exercise for weight loss and strength building has been done with men as their test subjects, and the few studies that did involve women, were women who were pre-menopausal age. In fact, she points out in her latest book Next Level: Your Guide to Kicking Ass, Feeling Great, and Crushing Goals Through Menopause that in a 2019 study published by the Mayo Clinic Proceedings “found that of 177 resident physicians in family medicine, internal medicine, and even obstetrics/gynecology who were surveyed, 20 percent received zero lectures on menopause during their training. Fewer than 7 percent reported feeling prepared to help manage the care of women through their menopausal years.”

However, thankfully, awareness and discussion and knowledge are being more readily shared thanks to many high profile individuals – Michelle Obama, Oprah, Naomi Watts, Halle Berry, Katie Couric, Maria Shriver and more. What is most important is understanding what we can do and how it will benefit us not only in the short-term but in the long-term. And as someone who has been active all of my life, and now am at the age of 46, I began to realize I need to learn more about what I can do to keep my body strong, reduce the symptoms and continue to enjoy working out while seeing results. That is why I was thrilled to be introduced to Dr. Stacy Sims, and I have a long-time TSLL reader and member to thank for this – Janet M. Janet sent me the link to the Mel Robbin’s podcast episode with Dr. Stacy Sims that essentially just blasts so many myths out of the water about how to eat, workout and think about what we do to ourselves as women as we step into the perimenopausal and then postmenopausal period of our life, which is the rest of our life – we think we need to eat less and work out more and the exact opposite is true. I cannot tell you how refreshing, validating and inspiring that episode was, so I encourage you to listen to it so you can meet Dr. Stacy Sims and get an introduction to what we’re going to talk about today and why I highly recommend picking up her latest book Next Level.

With all of that said, I have simultaneously been reading The Complete Guide to Memory: The Science of Strengthening Your Mind by Dr. Richard Restak, a book about how to strengthen our memory to do all that we can, whatever our age, to prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s, and what I discovered, which will not likely surprise you, is that so much of what we can do for our physical health that will also benefit our brain health and strong memory. So today’s episode is the episode that will share with you 17 specific life habits, practices and approaches to keep both your body and mind healthy for the rest of our lives, specifically dedicated to women as we move through perimenopause, then menopause (which is essentially one day), and the postmenopause which will be for the rest of our lives. Why not discover how to thrive and enjoy this awesome time of our lives because as a favorite quote of my shares, “The climax of the story always occurs in the second act. It’s the best part.” as written for the dramatized show Julia about Julia Child.

The other reason I wanted to bring this episode to you is because the more we talk about and celebrate and model how to live amazingly through this inevitable change, we destigmatize what has been for centuries seen as a negative along the journey of womanhood. No longer! And that can only change with women – the words we use, how we talk about it, how we live, etc. The mindset we bring, the attitude, the wisdom, the support, it will all make a powerful difference that not only will help each of us, but those around us and those who will arrive into the latter half of their life after us undaunted and eager to do so because of the women who came before who refused to be seen as less-than or a incapable of achieving amazing things.

Now, let’s dive into this episode. If you are reading the list below, be sure to tune into the audio version as I talk more specifically about each point.

1.Sprint Interval Training (SIT)

When perimenopause begins there seems to be a bit of belly fat that accumulates seemingly out of no where, even if you are working out and eating the same as you have always done. This, to say the least, is frustrating. Our body composition begins to change, this is to be expected as we step into the perimenopausal period of our life and beyond, but we can combat it, and it begins with shifting our workout to include high intensity interval sprint training sessions. Yep, less is more.

“The key here is the intensity. In high-intensity interval training, alternating short bursts of hard exercise are followed by relatively short recovery periods.” Dr. Sims shares that the biggest benefit of SIT (Sprint interval training) is “improvement in body composition”. Other benefits abound as well for both our physical and mental arenas – improving cognition and working memory (reducing that annoying brain fog), and reducing anxiety and depression. But quickly, back to why SIT improves body composition: “As you reach perimenopause, your body burns less fat at rest and stores more of it. SIT turns that around. This type of high-intensity work demands carbohydrates and pulls a lot of glucose from your bloodstream . . . your body responds by replenishing your muscle and liver glycogen (carbohydrates) stores with carbohydrate and using more of your fat while your’e at rest, because it knows that you’re going to need those muscle stores to perform those intense exercise bouts again.” Whereas if you went for a long run, yes, your body is exhausted, but you haven’t stressed it to the point of thinking it will need to be stronger, but rather to store energy to run longer.

Within her book Next Level, she details a handful of different routines for SIT. Some are literally sprinting while others are on a bike. And the one I am now following was the routine she detailed in The Mel Robbins podcast – 30 seconds of sprinting, followed by 90 seconds of recovery, five times. That’s it.

2. Lift heavier weights and fewer reps (you won’t get bulky and you will burn more fat while resting)

“At the deepest level, physical activity of any sort promotes synaptic and cognitive resilience.” — Dr. Richard Restak, author of The Complete Guide to Memory: The Science of Strengthening Your Mind

The wrong information has been shared for too long about how heavy our weights should be as women if we are trying to stay strong and svelte at the same time. Because our estrogen is declining, the lighter weights at more repetition “won’t really stimulate those satellite cells and replace the muscle and strength-building stimulus that is lost as estrogen wanes. It won’t make you as strong as you could be.” Which means we need to “lift heavy enough to send a message to your brain that you have serious work to do and that you need all the muscle fibers possible at your disposal.” What heavy lifting for as little as just 3-4 reps will do is increase your metabolic rate, thus burn more fat, improve your posture and stability by strengthening your joints and tendons, strengthen bones, give you better blood pressure control, improves your immunity because over the long term it reduces inflammation, combats cardiovascular disease, maintain lean muscle and reduce fat gain thus improving your body composition.

The new approach two to three times a week: 3-6 reps, as much weight as possible (build up over 4 weeks at a time), 4-6 sets. That’s it.

3. Eat fibrous fruits and vegetables – plenty of plants

Eating plenty of plants, especially fibrous fruits and vegetables “increases the diversity of your microbiome” which supports the research found in a large-scale international study in 2021 by King’s College in London that “eating a diet rich in plant-based foods encourage the presence of gut microbes that are linked to a lower risk of heart disease and other common illnesses.” Aim for at least 25 grams of fiber from plants each day, example of this would look like two cups of raw broccoli, one cup of cooked brown rice, or one cup of cooked lentils. Not only are there good health benefits to support Bacteroidetes instead of Fermicutes (these two types of gut bacteria make up 90% of your microbiome). Bacteroidetes are the good microbiota and help to increase metabolism and block inflammation. There are also menopausal benefits as well as it reduces the symptoms of menopause and even decreases the risk of cancer. So more fibrous vegetables and fruit please!

You want to eat food rich in polyphenols to establish the healthy balance in your microbiome. Here is a list of the top foods to eat: fruit (berries especially), nuts, seeds, vegetables, beans, dark chocolate, coffee, tea, and olive oil. Include as well legumes, grains and fish for benefits to reduce inflammation and improve your gut. If this approach to the food you choose looks a lot like the Mediterranean diet, you are correct. Stick to that, and you will be doing great things for your overall health.

4. Keep your bones strong – Plyometrics Training (aka Jump training)

Strength of our bones is vital as we age because we know they begin to weaken, especially for women, as we age. Start now to put into a place a jumping habit with Dr. Sims’ routine. All it takes is 10 minutes three times a day. She has created two different routines, one to ease you into it and one that is a bit more rigorous, but truly, they aren’t that difficult especially if you are an active individual. If you have weak knees or joints, be sure to consult your doctor first.

5. Stop dieting, just stop!

When are body doesn’t receive what it needs, it begins to store and conserve. This is not what we want, because what it stores is fat and carbs thinking it will burn them later, but we don’t want that. We want to burn them now, today. In fact, Dr. Sims points out that most women are eating far fewer calories than they need for energy and recovery. The key is to eat well, which we will talk about in #6. Dr. Sims is also opposed, especially for perimenopausal and beyond women to intermittent fasting. While yes, beneficial to men as studies have shown, the results are completely opposite for active women. We do ourselves no favors and actually contradicting our efforts when we fast.

6. Fuel your body properly

Half of what you eat all day should be fruits and vegetables. A quarter needs to come from protein and the final quarter needs to be whole grains and make them fiber and nutrient-dense such as brown rice, black rice, quinoa, bean or pulse-based pasta.

cruciferous vegetables – eat a lot of them! Broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower help to regulate your hormones naturally. They help reduce hot flashes and PMS symptoms and immensely help your gut microbiome because they have so much fiber. And if you don’t like these vegetables raw or sautéed or steamed due to the ‘bitterness’, roast them instead and this will bring out the natural sweetness, cutting the bitterness.

Not only will eating a primarily plant-based diet help reduce menopausal systems and keep you physically healthy, it strengthens your memory as well. Berries, fermented foods, leafy greens support a healthy brain which promotes the maintenance of a healthy memory as Dr. Richard Restock shares in his book The Complete Guide to Memory: The Science of Strengthening Your Mind

7. Make water your go-to choice for pairing with food

Buuuut, don’t be absurd about it. I say absurd because you’ve likely seen those uber huge water jugs that people pack around with them all day. Dr. Sims points out, “You are likely just peeing most of it out.” While she encourages plain water with food “because food provides some sugar and salt going down with the water”. As a physiologist who specializes in hydration, thermoregulation and performance, she goes into great detail about exactly how to hydrate, and when it is unhelpful (what types of substitutes are no providing what we need) and what we should be doing whether we are working out or resting. She shares that “sodium is the pilot for hydration and works best when it has a good co-pilot which is glucose. Why? “Sodium is absorbed into your cells by a few mechanisms, but mostly it hitches a ride with glucose. Without glucose, The constant flow of sodium and water into your bloodstream slows down . . . this is why plain water isn’t optimal for hydration. Water contains no drivers, and like a fluid that is too concentrated, it may just slosh around for a while before it gets where it needs to go.”

All of this is to say, when drinking water on its own (away from meals), “mix one teaspoon of maple syrup and 1/16 of a teaspoon of salt into about 10 ounces of water. This gives you 4 grams of carbs from sucrose and 150 milligrams of sodium. This approximately 1 percent solution is perfect for eating and low-intensity hydration.”

8. Eat your breakfast before working out in the morning

As someone who loves her breakfast, I loved learning about this must-do each day. Eat breakfast first! Don’t wait! “You do not want to go into your workouts underfed. Doing that creates more stress and undermines your exercise progress.” Eat some protein and some carbs, and if it is a workout day, be sure to follow #9 . . .

9. Eat within 30 minutes after working out – protein

Avoid the shakes, bars and drinks as these classify as highly processed foods. Instead reach for greek yogurt with granola, nuts, chicken and vegetables, whole grain toast with eggs, cottage cheese, a granola bar, salmon with brown rice, boiled eggs, vegetables with quinoa, grilled chicken salad, whole wheat crackers with tuna, avocado and eggs on toast,

10. Sleep well and deeply

Move up dinner time, no wine or caffeine before bed and if you avoid alcohol all together it will reduce the number and severity of hot flashes. Reduce or prevent stress with deep breathing practices, mindful meditation and yoga.

11. Understand which foods actually strengthen your bones (milk, not so much)

During a 12-year Nurses’ Health Study (that included 77,000 registered nurses), they found that “women who drank a lot of milk – two or more glasses a day- were no less likely to break a hip than their peers who drank it once a week”. While, yes, you need calcium, you also need vitamin K, vitamin D, Magnesium and vitamin K2. Find these vitamins in leafy greens such as lettuce and broccoli, and studies have found you reduce your risk of hip fracture by 30%. Find vitamin K2 in cheese, egg yolks and fermented foods. Find magnesium in leafy greens, seeds, avocado, beans, fish and nuts. Fatty fish like salmon have waaaay more calcium than milk. Also, foods such as olive oil, soy beans, blueberrries and food rich in omega-3s have been shown by the National Osteoporosis Foundation to strengthen bones.

12. To learn something new, repeat, repeat, repeat, as immediately as possible

The key process of events underlying memory formation begin with learning something new, a short delay (a day, no more than two at the most), then test, relearn, delay and retest. The longer the delay, the ability to recall the new information decreases precipitously according to Dr. Richard Restak.

13. Memories tied to multiple senses and emotions last longer

Rote memory for decades was believed to be the best way to memorize something, but what studies have now shown is that when we link a new memory with another association, the brain is using the associative memory and it is “much more adaptable and creative than rote memory”.

Similarly, when we learn something alongside other similar events that correspond with why it would be helpful to learn it, we are using our associative memory. Language learning is repeatedly stated to happen more readily when we are in an environment that is using that language to go about everyday life.

14. Strengthen your working memory to improve your intelligence

We have different types of memory in our brain, and it is our working memory that is the most important when it comes to having a strong memory to deter dementia. The “working memory involves the active storage and manipulation of information . . . and it is your ability to keep in the attentional foreground a piece of information while you turn your attention to something else.”

How to improve your working memory: “Take a short break before finishing to review your work”, this requires recall and this further deepens the information into your long-term memory; keep retesting ourself – this again will strengthen the ability to recall the information. This “frequent retrieval, it turns out, is even more effective in establishing a memory than relying on additional studying.”

15. Incorporate regular reading of novels and utilization of recipes in cooking

The recipes need not be written down, in fact, this might be even better because you are recalling the recipe from memory, but cooking exercising the retrieval ability of the working memory. The same can be said for reading a novel or any piece of fiction where you have to recall the previous events. I especially love reading mysteries and in reading them you must remember what happened in the first couple of chapters if you have any hope of figuring out the culprit before it is revealed. 🙂

16. Value the benefits of napping (as well as nightly sleep) especially after learning something new

“Your ability to retrieve the necessary information will improve secondary to the enhanced consolidation and encoding taking place in your brain during the nap”. Sleep as we know, whether our night time routine or a nap is beneficial for “synaptic function leading to strengthening of the synaptic connections related to important memories”. When we sleep deeply, the new information we have learned is transferred from short-term memory to long-term.

17. Give your full attention. Be Present.

“Memory is a natural extension of attention. Just by attending to something, you increase your chances of remembering it.”

A fundamental principle of living a life of contentment is being wholly present in the moment. Seeing, observing without judgment and savoring. Even when things aren’t going as we might like, when we are giving our full attention, we not only are better able to discover the truth that will help us make the best decision for our life moving forward, but also strengthen our memory. A win-win. Short-term and long-term benefits.

So much of what we have shared today are approaches and techniques that we have discussed here on TSLL and in the books for the past 15 years, and with the additional science support guiding us as to why a quality over quality approach is best when it comes to fitness, why continuing to be curious and reading voraciously is not only a good pastime to enjoy but good for our minds, we can be encouraged that living well can feel good and be enjoyable every single day.

As I went about readjusting my own fitness and eating regimen after reading Next Level, I realized how much I was already doing that aligned with what I now know to be beneficial. I realized that the strength training isn’t difficult and can be done in my home with the home weights I already have. I discovered the sprinting can be done right on my neighborhood street that runs in front of my house, and the food I enjoy – avocados for example! – can be a regular treat on a favorite slice of whole grain toast from a local baker right after I do my three-times a week workouts. Knowing that living well doesn’t have to be blisteringly difficult but simply applied thoughtfully with confidence that it will be worth it, removes the doubt and the stress of doing too much that was never necessary in the first place. Ahhhh, yep, again, quality over quantity for an elevated life experience in our everydays.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I am pumped up and excited. I feel I have finally find the keys to the magnificent dream home I knew existed, but I couldn’t figure out where to look. So much of what these changes remind us is that with intention and patience we are investing in good health for the long-term while also being able to see (by not experiencing) the reduction or elimination of symptoms brought on by our body’s natural changing. I will be sharing my experience of my own new fitness approach in A Cuppa Moments with TOP Tier Members as well as the monthly Ponderings . . . posts from time to time, to provide an opportunity see how it’s going, but also to let you know that you are not alone if you too are implementing some, one or all of these changes into your daily life.

It’s time to get excited and savor even more fully the life we are living as women. We have been given so much, and now finally, experts are studying women, not men to share with us what is actually going on in our bodies, how to best take care of and keep our bodies and minds strong, and I am so thrilled to here to soak up that knowledge and apply it to living my best life. I hope you are as well.

Thank you for stopping by. Have a wonderful rest of the week.

SIMILAR POSTS/EPISODES YOU MIGHT ENJOY

episode #336: How to Live a Life that Nourishes Your Brain, Thereby Elevating the Quality of Your Entire Life

episode #383, 11 Health & Beauty Secrets for a Better Second Half, as taught by Liz Earle

episode #299, How to Live a Life with Less Stress & Why It’s Vital for Good Health

episode #273, 12 Key Factors to Life-Long Physical and Mental Good Health

Petit Plaisir

~Ludwig, BritBox

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