Cori (00:27):
Hey guys, this is Cori from Redefining Strength. Welcome to the Fitness Hacks Podcast. This is the show where I share all my free workout and nutrition tips. I’m not going to ever fill this episode with sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is if you’re enjoying the podcast to leave a review or leave a five star rating or even better share with somebody you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone. So let’s jump right in. those micros for menopause. So menopause can bring with it a lot of different symptoms and we talk about the fundamentals of macros and even working out, but we want to dive a little deeper into the nuance of things because a lot of times how we adjust, even the types of foods we include, the supplements we include, we can really impact the symptoms of menopause and even control them. No, we might not be able to alleviate all of them, but I’m super excited to dive in with Michelle as to what we can control to see better results, to function better, to feel more energized during the space of life. So Michelle, super excited to have you. Let’s talk about the first micronutrient you really want people to pay attention to when they are in menopause.

Michelle (01:11):
So the first one that I’m going to suggest is actually vitamin K. I think everyone knows, at least I hope everyone knows at this point how important calcium and vitamin D is for bone health. And when we enter menopause because of our decline in estrogen, we actually have an increased risk of osteoporosis. So your bones super important. It’s your structure, your foundation, the healthier we can keep that, the better quality of life and the more independent you can be as you age. Vitamin K is one that kind of gets forgotten about, but it’s really important for those three. You want that vitamin D, you want that calcium, you want that vitamin K because that’s really going to help you actually be able to lay down that bone mineral. And another benefit is one of the areas that we also struggle with when we enter menopause is actually our heart health. Estrogen again is very cardiac protective. So when we are entering menopause, we actually have an increase of heart disease. Vitamin K also helps in that area too. So you’re really hitting two birds with one stone and it’s just something that a lot of people don’t talk about because vitamin D and calcium get so much attention

Cori (02:24):
And even omega threes get a lot of attention for the cardiovascular help, but which I know you bring up a lot. And so it’s interesting to hear about another nutrient that we really need that also helps with the usage of those things. And I think that’s something we often forget or ignore is even going back to the basics of eating more vegetables. There are certain things that if we eat vegetables cooked in fats, that’s going to allow for better digestion absorption of those micronutrients in there. So there’s a lot of nuance to things and sometimes it’s not just like this is a healthy food or we need this vitamin. There’s a lot of things that have to work together. So paying attention to what we’re doing and then the results we’re getting to say, Hey, maybe things aren’t paying off quite the way I’d like, and I’m getting a lot of calcium and vitamin D, so what else could I do to improve my bone health? Which is where this vitamin K is so important in terms of how people can include more of this in their diet. Naturally, what sources are really great to get vitamin K.

Michelle (03:17):
So dark leafy greens are going to be a great option. Something that I really would suggest is the vitamin K two in particular is really where we get the most benefits and that’s usually going to be found in fermented foods. So things like sauerkraut, keefer, nato, if you haven’t experienced nato, it’s kind of like a fermented soybean, but those are really going to help you increase your amount and oftentimes we aren’t getting nearly as much in our westernized diets. And then a very important thing to kind of consider too is, and I’ll discuss this a few more times as we kind of go through each of these micronutrients, but oftentimes things are going to overlap. So one of the benefits too of focusing on those fermented foods is oftentimes we have some gut health issues as we enter menopause because hormone changes can actually slow down our digestion and we want to make sure we’re feeding that good healthy gut microbe, biome and fermented foods are also going to help with that. So again, it’s kind of this thing that you’re going to be able to hit multiple areas that menopause has an effect on if you are focusing on that vitamin K.

Cori (04:30):
And it’s recognizing too that when we’re addressing these things, we’re looking for our nutritional gaps. So areas where we might be able to improve because we aren’t getting as much of a vitamin or mineral or maybe we even need more of it than the recommended daily allowance because there are going to be unique needs that we each have and they will change with phases of life. So even if you’re like, well, I’m eating a ton of leafy greens, I think I’m getting enough, pay attention to the other foods that you might be missing because there’s also, as you mentioned, other benefits of including things like fermented foods that will overlap and help you even get more bang for your buck where you’re not having to include 70 bazillion different things. You can do one thing that addresses multiple different issues.

Michelle (05:10):
Exactly, yeah, it’s really, I think sometimes we get so caught up on all these lists like this nutrient has this, but oftentimes there’s so many that are overlapping that really if you’re looking to include three to five foods, you can pretty much overlap several areas.

Cori (05:26):
So moving on to the next micronutrient, you recommend B vitamins. Talk to me a little bit about why they’re so important and also which ones we need. Because even going back to vitamin K, you mentioned vitamin K two specifically. I think a lot of times we don’t recognize that there are different forms and that there are different forms found in different foods. So that’s why not only a diversity of foods is key, but potentially we’re getting a lot of a vitamin but not a lot of the form we need. So B vitamins, why are they so important? Which ones should we focus on?

Michelle (05:54):
So B vitamins, despite whether you’re in menopause or not, by the time we are 40, our body actually will decline in its ability to absorb B vitamins as a whole. So everyone can kind of benefit from either focusing on more food rich sources or even supplementing with a B complex. So there’s lots of B vitamins, they’re all water soluble, which is also something I wanted to make sure everyone’s aware of. Because of this, it makes it a little bit harder to actually have too much because your body is going to flush it out, you’re going to pee it out if you have excess because it is water soluble. Now off of that, there are lots of B vitamins and they are all going to have different roles in your body. So in particular for menopause, B six is one that I would focus on because a lot of times, and something that I don’t think gets enough attention when we enter menopause is our anxiety and depression due to our mood fluctuations from our hormones increase vitamin B six can actually help increase the neurotransmitters, the synthesis of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, which is going to help regulate that mood and alleviate some of that symptoms of both anxiety and depression.

(07:11):
So that is one that we definitely want to make sure that your vitamin is either containing or you are focusing on food sources that are rich in it. Another one is going to be B12. This I do think a lot of people have heard about B12 because it’s often toted as the energy supplement. If you want more energy, take B12. And they’re not wrong because B12 does help energy metabolism and combat fatigue and promote fillings of vitality. So another one to really focus on is going to be B nine. So B six and B nine also can help reduce symptoms like severity of hot flashes. And this is something that of course is a symptom that many people in menopause experience, but another one is B one and B two, and I feel like I’m just throwing out lots of numbers, but B one and B two also can help decrease the risk of insomnia and irritability. So a lot of things get affected with our mood when we enter menopause and it’s so important. I know a lot of people know that food does affect mood, but these are very particular supplements or micronutrients that can actually have a better effect for us and actually make us feel better. And we can have that good fillings after you are eating. So your food really does affect your mood

Cori (08:42):
And it goes back to controlling what you can control. When we’re really looking at all the different symptoms that we’re experiencing, we want to think about, okay, what are things that can impact these symptoms that we can control? You can’t necessarily, well you for sure can’t stop the hormonal changes of menopause, but you can navigate them a little bit better. And I think so often our food does get ignored. I’ve heard a lot of people even comment on posts like, oh, with hot flashes, I’ve done this external thing or this external thing. We’re not really noting what we’re putting into our body and then what’s going on internally because of those things. So the more you can look at your nutrition, your diet and say what impacts the hormonal responses, the different chemical things that are going on in my body to then impact the symptoms that I’m seeing, and through that you can really break things down and get very granular with them, which can feel very overwhelming I know.

(09:31):
But we’re also going back to, hey, maybe you just start paying attention to B vitamins and then even the foods that contain B vitamins would probably overlap with some of the other symptoms and have other good things in them too. So overall you’re going to be doing a lot of good things for your health while even noting that there’s a lot of nuance to the specific things that you need. So if you are saying, well, I’m taking B vitamins but I’m not seeing results in these areas, okay, well what B vitamins are you actually consuming? And the more you dig into it, the more you can make sure that you’re making changes that truly address what you need. But I love that you mentioned all these different types and the different impact they can have. What food should we be including if we really want to focus on all these different B vitamins?

Michelle (10:09):
So vitamin meat is actually going to be a great source of a large amount of B vitamins, but other than that, we’re really looking at things like legumes, seeds and again, those dark leafy greens.

Cori (10:22):
Then moving on from here because that’s really, we always want to focus on whole natural foods and obviously we’ll talk a little bit about supplementation as well to address those gaps because sometimes we need more and we simply can’t get it through our fueling, especially if we are on a fat loss journey, we’re in that calorie deficit and looking to lose. It’s hard to get enough of anything. But talking about the next micronutrient that you brought up, magnesium, talk to me a little bit about why this is important. It’s one that we discuss a little bit more often because it addresses some big symptoms of menopause, but let’s discuss magnesium.

Michelle (10:55):
So magnesium is super important for menopause because one, the majority of us are just deficient in general, but as we enter menopause, we do have those hormonal changes that are going to affect certain areas that magnesium can help with. One is a big complaint is actually constipation, again, due to the hormonal changes slowing down our digestion digestive system and magnesium can actually help alleviate that so it can help you stay regular. But on top of that, it really does help with sleep disturbances and one of the things is a very calming, so not only is it going to help with things like anxiety, but it can also allow some muscle relaxation. So if you were taking it prior to sleep, you can have improved sleep. Sleep is so vital when it comes to everyone’s journey because it really is going to affect those hormones, leptin and ghrelin.

(11:54):
So you can have increased or decreased cravings based off of how much sleep you’ve had and it can help you even be able to feel the levels of satiety that’s necessary for you to even be able to get the signal that you are full. And the big thing is when we have lack of sleep, we actually are going to increase our cortisol levels and cortisol is a fat storing hormone, so we really want to make sure that we are getting the amount of sleep that we require and magnesium is just going to help you be able to reach that level that you actually need and it just becomes one of those things that’s a little bit more difficult when we enter menopause. I talk a lot with clients because they’re always like, it’s just my partner’s rolling around and sleep and they’re waking me up or all of a sudden my dog or my cat is making noises in the middle of the night or moving around and that’s waking me up. Your partner and your pet has probably always done that, but you have actually become a light sleeper. So we really want to make sure that we’re getting into that deep REM cycle and magnesium is one tool that can actually help you get there.

Cori (13:04):
It really shows how everything is a system working together and while we want to focus on specific components to address our specific needs and goals and even assess where we might be deficient, we really are thinking about the impact and the far reaching impact that everything has. As you mentioned, not getting enough sleep can negatively impact cravings, which can hold you back from seeing the weight loss that you want. And then in turn, because we’re not sleeping well, we turn to caffeine, which then makes us not sleep any better and it even makes us sleep worse. So everything is so interconnected. So when we just look for one best something, we’re not really addressing how everything is working together versus if we look at the system as a whole and we look at what we’re struggling with and what we’re seeing with those struggles, we can start to assess, okay, I’m doing everything from a sleep routine to I’m trying to train earlier and I’m not having caffeine, so now what else can I do to make sure that I’m getting the most quality sleep? Knowing the impact that sleep then has, it really is breaking down all the different levels to assess what you need in terms of getting more magnesium. How can we include more in our diet?

Michelle (14:06):
So we definitely want to be focusing on things again, like nuts and seeds, pumpkin seeds as a great source, legumes, dark chocolate. Those are going to be the foods that we really do want to make sure we’re including, but we’re really are hoping to get at least 320 milligrams a day. So this, again, supplementation is an option, but really making sure that if you can do it food first, that’s always going to be best.

Cori (14:34):
I also always mentioning the fact that you get to eat dark chocolate for this, right? Because a lot of times in menopause where you’re trying to lose weight, I’ll hear women say, I have to cut out my dark chocolate, which I love, which I’m craving even more now, and you actually don’t have to cut it out. You probably shouldn’t cut it out, you need to strike that balance, but now there’s a reason include that dark chocolate, not to mention to satisfy cravings and not have them build up more because you’re restricting and then improve your quality of sleep, which might even help with the cravings, right? So it’s this nice little cycle right there where now you have an excuse to have your dark chocolate. But anyway, moving on from that, the next vitamin you recommended was vitamin E. Can you tell me a little bit about why vitamin E is so important?

Michelle (15:12):
So first and foremost, menopause is often referred to as the slow simmer state because you’re often a little bit, you have a little bit more inflammation going on just because of everything that’s happening within you. So focusing on anything that’s going to have higher antioxidants is going to help combat that inflammation that is occurring in your body. So vitamin E is a high antioxidant, so it is going to help with that. But the other important things is vitamin E also helps support hormonal balance and that can really help alleviate some symptoms that are even associated with estrogen deficiency. So there’s a lot of research actually involving vitamin E supplementation and the reduction and frequency of things like hot flashes, night sweats, and even improving the vascular function. So overall we’re also being able to decrease even the level of dryness that we experience because as estrogen declines, it acts like a sponge and you’re even less likely to stay hydrated when we’re a menopausal. So there’s really just a lot that vitamin E is going to help with. And a big part of that is actually reducing the oxidative stress and inflammation,

Cori (16:31):
Which can really even pay off in terms of our workouts because the more we’re reducing that inflammation, the easier it is to recover from. The less we even feel sore or joints feel achy, the better we’re going to be able to train. So if you’re training hard and you feel like you’re taking longer to recover and you’re doing all the mobility work, which of course I know no one is skipping that prehab process and then you want to dig a little deeper, is your hydration there? Are you eating enough to recover? And then if you’re like, okay, I’m doing these things, this is where you can peel back those layers and be like, well hey, am I getting the vitamin EI need? Am I addressing the inflammation my body is seeing with the changes in hormones? And so going down that the different little levels, you can really dive into making sure that you are filling any gaps that are there because again, we don’t want to get caught up in the details before we dialed in the fundamentals, but we then want to be conscious of the fact that our hard work should be paying off and if we’re tracking the data and it’s not, there are details that we can dial in to really see better results faster.

(17:29):
Now going even full circle back to when you talked about the fact that we can see a lot of our negative impact in our gut health and our microbiome, our gut microbiome with menopause even see more GI disturbances. You mentioned that fiber is so important. Can you talk a little bit about fiber and also really quick what foods for vitamin E? Because I think it’s again, not a vitamin, we talk about a ton, but really quickly, foods for vitamin A before we even jump into fiber.

Michelle (17:54):
So you’re going to hear me repeating this a lot, but nuts and seeds are going to be great sources of vitamin E. Again, we’re looking at things like dark leafy vegetables and even items like fish are going to be actually a good source of vitamin E,

Cori (18:07):
Which all those things also generally come with an Omega-3 punch, which extra anti-inflammation fighting things, right?

Michelle (18:17):
Which is again why if you can do and if you can focus on whole food sources, that’s really where we want you to go because you are nothing’s packaged individually, so you’re really going to be able to hit multiple things with one source.

Cori (18:32):
And you’re going to find that a lot of these foods are healthy for a diversity of reasons as you mentioned, but also very filling. So it’s going to make any calorie deficit that you’re trying to hit, any Mac ratio that you’re trying to hit even better. Now talk about making sure that you’re feeling full and fueled and our gut is even more important to our fat loss results that we really recognize. Let’s talk a little bit about fiber.

Michelle (18:55):
So fiber of course, is going to feed that gut microbiome. There has been so much research regarding gut health within the last 10, 15 years and it’s really shown the importance that that diversity of your gut bacteria is on your overall health. So we really want to make sure that we are encouraging proper and great gut health. Fiber is what feeds that bacteria. So we really want to make sure that we are including rich sources of fiber, but also enough fiber. Most of us are not getting the requirements. You are supposed to be getting about 25 grams as a female and the majority of us are well below that. Now another benefit like you mentioned is if you are eating high fiber foods, oftentimes these are lower calorie foods, so fiber helps you with feelings of satiety. So you’re going to feel full on lower calories, which is another reason why we want to make sure that you are focusing on this because as you enter menopause, oftentimes the biggest complaint is you’ve gained some menopause weight and you’re looking to go into a calorie deficit.

(20:03):
And most people that I see that are struggling with a calorie deficit, it’s because they’re not focusing on foods that are going to make them feel fuller like fiber rich foods. And again, fiber’s going to help you stay regular, which is going to help with that constipation. That can be a symptom of menopause as well. So a big thing is not only are we going to decrease weight if we’re focusing on fiber, but you’re going to also improve actually your insulin resistance, which is something that does become affected when you enter menopause. So fiber is also going to help you actually regulate some of that carb intake so you’re not dealing with highs and lows because as we enter menopause, we can have a little bit more difficulty actually processing carbs

Cori (20:52):
And slightly tangenting off of this, talking about gut health in general, again, we want to alleviate any of those GI disturbances with menopause. Taking care of our gut can help with the weight loss and fat loss process, but also skin. Skin health is really connected to our gut and I think that’s an important thing to note because we can see more skin issues, we can have more dryness. Skin fragility in general is something that we deal with as we get older. So taking care of our gut and the impact that can have even on our skin is super important because skin is something that we’re going to see change during menopause.

Michelle (21:31):
And I mean it’s again, something that’s overlooked, but your skin is your largest organ and it’s your first layer of defense for anything. So we do want to make sure that we are focusing on that skin health as well. And as you mentioned, focusing on fiber is going to help with that,

Cori (21:47):
And I think I know what foods you might recommend to get more fiber, but some big ones that even address some of the other micronutrients we’ve talked about in this podcast, what are they?

Michelle (21:58):
So lentils and legumes are super great sources of fiber and what I love about them is you’re also getting some of that protein. And we do know that protein is a huge important macronutrient when it comes to menopause. So anytime you can kind of hit your carb source, that’s also going to have your fiber and your protein intake, that’s going to be a huge win. Artichokes are something that is another item that’s just super high in fiber and then raspberries, but really any fruit or vegetable is going to help you get there, and most of us just aren’t eating enough plant foods that are going to have that high fiber content. So those are just going to be some of the highest options that you can kind of get the most bang for your buck with lower calories.

Cori (22:43):
Whole natural food sources are always the best bet because they come with such a punch and they address so many different areas, helping us not only see the aesthetic changes we want, but address the symptoms of menopause, improve our health, right? They are really the complete package. However, it is sometimes hard to address all the nutritional areas that we need to address, especially as some of our needs increase during menopause. So talking about supplements, what can be the benefit of supplements? What do we need to be paying attention to if we are considering going the supplement route to address any nutritional gaps we might have? Because you do hear people say, I started this one supplement, I started taking X vitamin and mineral and all of a sudden my hair is magically growing and my nails are perfect and all these different things. And it’s not that it was a magic pill, it’s more that it started addressing a nutritional gap they had. And so in that when they fixed or filled that gap, all of a sudden they were seeing the results that they wanted from everything else. So talking a little bit about supplements, Michelle and how they can benefit us.

Michelle (23:43):
So we really want to make sure that we’re focusing obviously on the supplements that are going to fill our nutritional gaps. Oftentimes with supplements, they’re just throwing like, oh, you can get a thousand percent of this, which is great, but you don’t need a thousand percent. So oftentimes you’re overdoing things. And I know I mentioned things like B vitamins, that’s often one that’s usually way over the top because it’s water soluble. So they’re like, well, if you have excess, you’ll eliminate it. But when it comes to supplementation, you really just want to focus that you are getting your bases covered. We still should be focusing on getting food sources, but as you mentioned earlier, if you are in a calorie deficit, sometimes people take that route of, oh, well I can’t have these foods and start avoiding foods which can also cause micronutrient deficiencies. Now, on the flip side of that, one of the benefits that can be easier is if you are working on improving your diet or in a calorie deficit, it is easier if you meal prep and kind of have the same item, and that can take off some decision fatigue.

(24:53):
It makes it a little bit easier, just easier in general. But because of that, you are also probably having a less diverse diet. So really making sure that you are having a supplement that is going to be not just one thing. Oftentimes there’s a lot of people that are like, well, if you only need this supplement to fill this gap, just take that one supplement. And while that’s not necessarily bad, the problem with that is oftentimes if you’re taking that one supplement pretty soon you’ll be suggested to take one other one and another one, and by the end of the day you could be taking 10 supplements versus having a multi that’s going to cover the majority of everything that you need. So I really encourage people to actually look for a multi versus a single item. And this is in particular, if you’re really just covering bases.

(25:44):
Now, if you have been prescribed by your doctor a very specific amount, you can always look at your multi and see what it is and add that one nutrient that you need on it to make sure you’re getting that adequate amount. But I think the biggest thing is so often we kind of overcomplicate it by being like, oh, well, so-and-so said this worked for her and so, and said, this worked for her. It is not uncommon for me to see clients that are taking between 15 to 30 supplements and sometimes they don’t even entirely know why. And pretty soon I’m looking at it, I’m like, well, this supplement has this vitamin and this vitamin and this vitamin, and you are really overdoing it with all this crossover. So it’s really comes down to not overcomplicating it and really just making sure that you are still focusing foods and you’re utilizing supplements as they’re meant to be, which is to supplement an already healthy diet,

Cori (26:41):
But it’s also to fill your nutritional gaps. It’s making sure that you’re getting the right type of B vitamins that you need in the right amounts and not wasting money on things that you don’t need as well, which I think we can do when we just throw supplements at it or get a multivitamin. And honestly, it’s why I’ve loved having our custom supplement blends shameless plug for them, but it’s because we can dive into you need XB vitamin and you need in this amount because again, each of us is unique. Each of us has different activity levels, genetics, dieting practices, which are going to make us have different nutritional gaps no matter how hard we try, especially because our foods aren’t the same nutrient density that they once were. So addressing your needs, even as you go through menopause and you might see demands of a specific micro or even macro change over time with the hormonal changes.

(27:29):
So addressing those gaps as they come up because just getting enough the recommended amount doesn’t mean you’re getting enough for you because we’re all different and we’re all consuming different foods and we have different activity levels, different genes. So being able to fill those specific gaps is so important. And you’ve talked a lot about it a lot, and I think it’s always interesting when it comes up magnesium, there are different types of it, and if you’re not getting the right type for what you need, you might be wasting your money on a supplement that isn’t addressing your nutritional gap.

Michelle (27:59):
Yeah, magnesium is a great one because we talked a little bit about how heart health becomes so huge when you enter menopause. So any magnesium you’re going to take is going to have somewhat of that laxative effect when it comes to dealing with things like constipation. But there are some that are a little bit better than others in regards to certain areas. So magnesium orate is actually one that in particular is very good for your heart. So if you happen to know that you have a family history with heart disease or you yourself have been prescribed some particular heart care situations regarding your levels or whatever your labs are showing, that one may be a better option for you to actually take. So there is those minute differences. And like you said, I’m going to even kind of go off a little bit on our personalized supplements because one of the benefits of that is not only are we actually able to take that into consideration where a lot of times when it comes to just kind of the general supplements they’re going to give you, yeah, they’ll give you magnesium, but they’re probably going to give you the cheapest magnesium that’s on the market.

(29:09):
And I’m not saying that’s bad because it’s still going to be helpful, but if you are in need of something very specific like your heart health, you do want to make sure you’re changing that source a little bit. And I even just recently was working with someone and just by looking over all their supplements and kind of comparing and seeing the crossover that was taking or was happening, we actually decreased her pill intake by about 12 pills. So she was able to go down 12 pills. And I’m a huge, I’m a little bit biased in this, that while supplements are important and you should be taking them, if you are taking so much, I mean pills are hard for your body to digest and to digest fully, which is partially why we do overdo it a little bit when in regards to the RDA, you may have it a little bit over because even though you’re taking that supplement, it can still be very difficult for you to digest.

(30:05):
So if you are someone that’s taking 15, 30 pills a day that you don’t really necessarily know why, and I’m going to say that because there are people that need to take certain amounts of pills because their doctors have prescribed them and that’s what their needs are. But oftentimes that can just be really hard on your GI and also signifying that your diet needs an overhaul more than anything. But what’s cool about the personalization as well is as you are working on improving your diet, as you are working on improving just your health in general, your needs change. So you may start at one point where you’re like, these are all the supplements I need to make sure I’m having because my diet is lacking and my health, this is what I’m struggling with. And all of a sudden, six months a year later, we’re not in the same spot. So you don’t need to be taking the exact same thing, which means we can actually look at what you’re taking, what your needs are, and make those adjustments that are needed so that you are getting the most out of your supplement.

Cori (31:08):
And maybe it comes from me being lazy, but I definitely have the do less, achieve more whenever possible mindset. So even looking at the list that we’ve talked about today of micronutrients and the benefits and the overlap in the foods, you might even find that you can sort of just include specific vitamins, micronutrients, like different minerals, herbs, all those different things, and they can really work for a variety of different symptoms you’re seeing. Whereas right now you might be trying to throw sort of spaghetti at the wall and address all the different symptoms with all these different things instead of just honing in on the one most important that has the overlap over different things. So I am going to put a link to learn more about our custom supplement blends because we really can design down to the milligram what you need based on the symptoms you’re seeing in menopause based on any different things that you’re struggling with or goals you’re working towards.

(31:58):
And I know this is a big shameless plug for it, but I’ve really seen the benefit in not only making it easier for me to see the results that I want and in a sustainable way because it’s one thing I’m taking, but I really do find that this addresses exactly the gaps we need. So we’re not wasting time, we’re not wasting energy, we’re not wasting money on different things that aren’t really necessary. Michelle, any closing thoughts on the micronutrients, on supplements, on the whole natural foods, any of that jazz to help people really feel their best through menopause?

Michelle (32:25):
So I’m just going to add, because I definitely think that focusing on the right supplement for you is needed, but if I were to tell you the four top food sources to focus on to add to your menopause diet to make sure that hitting everything that we mentioned today, it’s going to be making sure that you are including those dark leafy greens legumes. We want to make sure that we are hitting that fiber need. And also obviously it hits several other areas, nuts and seeds, particular pumpkin seeds, and then fermented foods. Those are going to be the four things that I would suggest that you focus on adding to your diet when you enter menopause.

Cori (33:06):
Great challenge to see how many times you can really hit those even in the next week. Thanks for listening to the Fitness Hack Podcast. Again, this is the place where I share all my free workout nutrition tips. I’m never going to run sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is if you’re enjoying the podcast to leave a rating review or share it with someone you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and it would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone.

*Please Note: this transcript is auto-generated and there may be some errors in the transcript

(00:00):
Hey guys, this is Cori from Redefining Strength. Welcome to the Fitness Hacks Podcast. This is the show where I share all my free workout and nutrition tips. I’m not going to ever fill this episode with sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is if you’re enjoying the podcast to leave a review or leave a five star rating or even better share with somebody you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone. So let’s jump right in.

(00:29):
Stop making the same mistakes. So I was searching for a way to describe a cycle. I feel I repeated times and that I see clients repeating at times, and I found asaps fable, the lion, the ass, and the fox, and I’m going to call it the donkey from here on out. But the story is a lion fox and the donkey are all hunting together. They’re all gathering a huge amount of food and now have to decide how to divide it. The lion asked the donkey to divide the food, so the donkey chooses to divide the portions equally. This made the lion the king of the beast, angry. And with his paw, he killed the donkey. The lion then asked the fox to divide the food. The fox wasted no time. He quickly gave a huge heap to the lion and only kept a small portion to himself.

(01:15):
The lion asked the fox, who taught you to divide so fairly? The fox replied, I learned from the donkey. We need to learn from our own mistakes and the mistakes of others. And even having, sometimes they coach, they’re in our corner to help guide us through and point out potential pitfalls because they’ve seen them happen personally or with other clients. It’s really key. But I think so often, a lot of times when we do have a mistake, a setback happen. We run from that failure, we deny it, we ignore it, or we don’t even choose to see the mistakes and the things that other people have done to correct them out there, and instead say, oh, well, my situation is different. Instead of saying, well, why did this happen for them? The more we can pause to assess and reflect on different situations on our own experiences, the better off we’re going to be.

(01:58):
But we keep ourselves stuck in this loop repeating the same mistakes. When we don’t dive deep into things, and I see this a lot of times happening with nutrition, especially with specific diets, with labels. We’ll start a diet with a label, say keto, we’ll cut our carbs really low often because we’re not even tracking. We’ll do it by restricting specific foods in restricting these foods that we even enjoy and we don’t want to restrict long-term. Yes, we do see weight loss, but we can’t maintain this because eventually we add these foods back in, and then we don’t know how to create that same potential macro breakdown that the keto diet was having us do once we’ve added those food back in. So we end up falling off because it’s not sustainable. We want those foods in. We then search for another diet with label, and we think, well, it was because I had to cut out all the carbs that I loved.

(02:38):
So we go to a diet that potentially has us restrict other foods. Maybe we’re focusing more now on paleo, which has specific foods we’re supposed to include, but we can have carbs. So we think it’s going to work out. But then again, with paleo, we’re cutting out specific foods, and ultimately we want to include those foods, but we don’t know how to create the same macro breakdown that restricting those foods created. So we end up falling off regaining the weight. What we’ve fallen for is the same pattern, just with a different label, and we don’t realize we’re repeating the same mistake because we never really dove into what was at the heart of it. Instead of we paused to really assess and ask ourself, why didn’t this work? Why wasn’t it sustainable? We could see, hey, it’s with restriction and hey, these diets are even working because of how they’re adjusting my macros, how they’re dialing in my calories.

(03:17):
So can I track what I’m doing with them to then be able to work in other foods and still hit those same numbers to see results? It’s honestly why I love macros because at the heart of it, that’s the best way to adjust your diet and be able to work in anything you like. But it’s learning from these mistakes that really helps us find the sustainable solutions, the sustainable habit changes for us, even with workouts. Is there a reason why you weren’t able to be consistent with a workout routine during a specific phase of life? We might just say, oh, I struggle with consistency. But hey, maybe it’s that five days a week works during January where we don’t have any trips, but three days a week works during February or March where work is busy or you’re traveling more, or there’s school activities, whatever else it is.

(03:52):
So it’s really diving into why did something fail in the past? And then even assessing when we have friends that are doing specific things or family that’s doing specific things, or even see other people saying something doesn’t work. Well, hey, why did they have this experience? What were their mistakes that they made? Why could this work for me? Or why might it not work for me based on the mistakes that they also made? And shameless plug, this is why I love my coaching because I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I’ve seen a lot of clients make a lot of mistakes over the last decade. My coaches have seen clients make a lot of mistakes. They’ve made a lot of mistakes themselves, and we can bring all that knowledge to the table. The more we can not ignore these past experiences, the more we can learn from books, programs, all these different things, the more we can leap ahead faster. It’s not that we can’t do it on our own, but why make mistakes if you don’t have to? Why not learn from the donkey instead of getting yourself killed? Right? So I would really urge you this week to assess if you’re struggling to see results, what mistakes are you making? What mistakes are out there? How can you see or gain perspective on those mistakes to learn from them and really help yourself move forward?

(04:53):
Thanks for listening to the Fitness Hack Podcast. Again, this is the place where I share all my free workout and nutrition tips. I’m never going to run sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is if you’re enjoying the podcast to leave a rating, review or share it with someone you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes, and it would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone.

*Please Note: this transcript is auto-generated and there may be some errors in the transcript

(00:27):
Hey guys, this is Cori from Redefining Strength. Welcome to the Fitness Hacks Podcast. This is the show where I share all my free workout and nutrition tips. I’m not going to ever fill this episode with sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is if you’re enjoying the podcast to leave a review or leave a five star rating or even better share with somebody you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone. So let’s jump right in.

(00:30):
Unpopular opinion, you need to track macros. Now, one size doesn’t fit all and tracking macros can mean a variety of different things. There isn’t one approach that is right for everybody, and we usually do use about three different approaches with clients based on where they’re at from minimalist macros to full macro cycling to more visual portion guides. But it’s really key that we understand why tracking is so important to see the results that we deserve. Yes, it can be tedious, it can be boring, can be challenging at the beginning to list out everything. But the simple fact of the matter is what gets measured gets managed. So if you don’t have a clear and accurate picture of what you’re doing currently, you can’t make accurate changes based on what you need. And this is what keeps us stuck. We go for another diet with a label that tells us to cut out another thing and we cut that thing out out.

(01:16):
But with cutting out some sort of food, whether it be cutting out all carbs, cutting out breads, cutting out something specific, what we’re doing is we’re adjusting our macro ratios ultimately, but we just don’t realize that we are. So at some point when we no longer want to restrict this food, when we’re out with friends and we want to have that bread that comes out as the appetizer to our meal, and we want to have that, we no longer cut out that food. All of a sudden we’ve adjusted our macas. We’re not seeing the results we want, so we can’t sustain the restriction, and then we don’t really know why the restriction was working to make other changes, to still adjust the macros in a way that might be truly worthwhile in a lifestyle balance for us. That’s why measuring is so important and tracking is so key.

(01:56):
Now, I know you can be thinking, well, tracking is really restrictive. I’ve had problems with in the past, and again, one form of tracking doesn’t work for everybody, but we also have to realize that your food logger, your tracker is not judging. You are judging. And I also like to recognize why we have certain associations with some of the tools we implement, be it the scale or be it a food tracker. And I think it’s really key that we recognize that. A lot of times the reason we feel that tracking is restrictive is because of how we’ve always approached tracking and why we’ve always implemented it. We usually turn to tracking our food because we want to lose weight, we need to cut things out, we need to restrict, so to speak. And because we’ve always gone into it doing lots of restrictive practices, probably cutting our calories way too low, judging how we’re eating because we don’t feel good about the position we’re in, and we want to have a new and better result.

(02:41):
We have these negative associations with tracking, but really it’s us judging what we’re entering into that food tracker. We can technically even lie to the food tracker and not put in the accurate things. Don’t do that. Then we’ll give you information to make changes. But the food tracker is not judging. It is purely data off of which we can make changes. And I bring this up because I think the more we realize the associations that have come up and why they’ve come up, the more we can separate out emotions from the actual tools and then use the tools we need to see results. No, you might not track forever, but a lot of times we have to learn new portion sizes. We have to learn to adjust the way we’re fueling. We can’t just keep doing what we’ve always done otherwise. We want to achieve a new result.

(03:15):
So in order to see the accurate portions in order to see what might need to be adjusted, we need to have that data. And this isn’t just for losing weight. I have my endurance athletes track to make sure that they’re fueling their runs to fueling their workouts. I have people track if they have different gut issues and imbalances or they’re seeing different symptoms pop up to know how their food’s impacting them, if their sleep isn’t quality, right? If they’re not recovering well, if they’re constantly feeling sore, tracking our nutrition can be helpful for all these different things. So it’s not just about restriction, it’s not just about weight loss. It could even be to gain muscle to eat more, to help us build that lean muscle to gain weight rate. So there’s so many different reasons why we track, but it’s giving us that data so we can make changes that actually meet us where we’re at over just arbitrary restrictions that aren’t sustainable.

(03:58):
So as much as you might think tracking is restrictive, it’s not, not making any judgment. And again, one size doesn’t fit all in how we approach tracking, how we approach gathering that data, getting that clear and accurate picture can really vary based on what we need. But I think the more we try and take back control from some of these different systems and tools to use them to our advantage, the better off we’re going to be. And then recognizing that, no, it isn’t necessarily fun to write everything out. I don’t think anybody likes making a budget. We don’t like necessarily doing some of these different things that are tracking what we’re doing that potentially are helping us manipulate to create changes and not just allow us to live our lifestyle exactly way we want, eat whatever whenever we want in any portion we want, but they’re the best ways to be able to not have to restrict anything specifically because when you track your food, you don’t have to make something off limits.

(04:44):
You can adjust your macros in a variety of different ways to include the things you love. Even so realize that data is power to make accurate adjustments based on what you need right now and then even make changes later on. It’s not just about cutting out, it’s about tweaking and adjusting and manipulating your lifestyle to be the healthiest, happiest version of it. But you have to embrace that accurate picture of your lifestyle, that you truly want to make some changes that are sustainable and not just keep yourself stuck in the easy cycle of cutting out one food only to add it back in and then not know how to keep maintaining your results and feel like you go backwards data again, what gets measured gets managed. So please embrace tracking. Think about different ways that you can give yourself that clear picture, even if it’s not in the normal form of using a food tracker, but taking photos or just writing out your food. Start easy, ease in, but give yourself that clear picture of what you’re doing to make changes.

(05:38):
Thanks for listening to the Fitness Hack Podcast. Again, this is the place where I share all my free workout and nutrition tips. I’m never going to run sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is if you’re enjoying the podcast to leave a rating review or share it with someone you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and it would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone I.

*Please Note: this transcript is auto-generated and there may be some errors in the transcript

00:00

Hey guys, this is Cori from Redefining Strength. Welcome to the Fitness Hacks podcast. This is a show where I share all my free work on the nutrition tips. I’m not going to ever fill this episode with sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is, if you’re enjoying the podcast, to leave a review or leave a five-star rating or, even better, share it with someone you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone you know. So let’s jump right in.

00:29

It’s just not the right time. Many of us have felt that way. When we’re about to start a new program, we think it’s not the right time to get started. But what if the not right time is actually the right time to start? And hear me out with this, because I think often we keep ourselves stuck in this yoyo dining cycle because we only start things at the right time. We wait for that Monday, that January, the time where we’re really motivated, where we feel like we have a clean slate, and then we make all these different habit changes and we can sustain them for a certain amount of time. We might even see results during that time. But then life, which it loves to do, gets in the way. We come up with some challenge, our priority shift, it’s busy at work, family life has more demands, but something comes up where, all of a sudden, this perfect time, this right time to start, is no longer the right time. But we’ve been willpowering our way through as is, and then we wonder why we don’t have discipline. And it’s because we’ve been willpowering our way through during a perfect time to maintain these habits. And so the second it’s no longer perfect. The second there’s other priorities. The second, there’s other challenges. All of a sudden, the things we’re doing and willpowering our way through, we just can’t keep willpowering our way through. And we haven’t built discipline because we haven’t truly ingrained lasting habit changes, because we only created habit changes based on this perfect time. So ultimately, what happens? We fall off our plan, we can’t maintain those habits and we don’t know how to do the minimum because we never learned how to handle the not right times.

01:54

I see clients get the best results when they truly start a program, the coaching program specifically, when it’s not the right time, when they’re about to go on vacation, when they have a whole bunch of stress at work. Because if they learn to make one percent improvements during that time, if they have that outside support during that time, that proven plan in place during that time and this is not to say you need to do coaching, but it’s just to highlight that when you have that plan in place and you learn to do those changes during the imperfect times, you learn to meet yourself where you’re at and make those one percent improvements. And the more we can make our lows less low, the more we can keep moving forward during those unideal times, the more those results actually snowball and build. We don’t see results from what we do inconsistently. We all know consistency is key to results, yet so often we try and only be consistent during ideal times and then what we see over the course of the year is, instead of hitting that 80-20 balance, we’re more like 60-40 because we’re only striving to be extra super perfect during 60% of the time, versus if we could find ways just to make those lows less low, we’re going to be more consistent over the course of the year and we might realize that our overall balance is even closer to 90-10 just because we’re making those improvements during unideal times.

03:01

So if you’ve been thinking that now is not the right time. I want you to question that and I want you to step back and I actually want you to think about your plan or your habit changes, as like being on a treadmill and if you were given 24 hours to try and get as many miles as you can on that treadmill, you’re going to move at different paces, you’re going to try and run at points. And that’s where we have those ideal times where you can make more sacrifices, you can implement more habits, you can be more strategic with everything, you can do a little bit more potentially. But you know those times where you can sprint. But instead of sprinting and then getting off the treadmill right, if you just all of a sudden walk and you give yourself that little rest and recovery, you’re going to keep moving forward. You’re going to keep logging those miles over those 24 hours to try and get more.

03:40

And that’s what we have to think about the ideal times as the times where we’re just going to walk, to keep moving, and maybe because we tried to sprint a little bit, all of a sudden we’re a little bit more fatigued. Maybe it’s, you know, the mental drain of other things coming up in life along with trying to do the habits, or it’s the mental drain of pushing really hard in our workouts. So we have to back off and yeah, maybe we’re walking at 1.0 on the treadmill, but we’re still moving forward, we’re still getting those extra miles. So we’re going to be a lot further ahead. And we have to think about it this way because if we’re thinking about it as just even this 24 hour span on the treadmill that we’re trying to get as many miles, that 24 hour span is really the year. And the more you can keep moving forward every single day of the year, even if some days are slower and some days are faster, the more at the end of that year you’re going to have accumulated and snowball those results Because as you keep moving, you’re moving forward.

04:27

That’s the thing. Like if you’re not doing anything, you’re literally standing still. Not only are you keeping yourself stuck in that spot, but we have to remember our body doesn’t like change. So when we go into a 12 week period where we want to see results and we’re thinking well, you know, it’s only 10 pounds, I should see great progress. You can lose one pound per week. Well, if you have those 10 pounds on, even if you didn’t dig yourself a hole in the last year waiting for the ideal time, if you just kept those 10 pounds on for that entire year, your body now thinks that is normal. Your body now is very balanced at that weight.

04:57

It is going to fight you even more to lose that weight because it has thought that is natural and normal and all the routines and habits you do for that whole year are what you need to do. So it does not want to change from that spot because this has become more and more normal. And if you think about how often, how long we’ve done it, it’s not just one year, it’s two, three, four that we’ve really built up those habits, built up those routines, built up the weight potentially that we want to lose. So you’re not going to lose in 12 weeks because you’re going to fight more against it. So that’s like getting off the treadmill and just standing still. You’re not logging any miles whatsoever. Better to move on the treadmill at the slowest of slow paces and keep moving forward, even if it feels kind of ridiculous. So that’s how we have to see our habit changes and our perspective of not the right time. If it’s not the right time, it is the exact right time to start, because the more you can learn to do something during that time walk at the slowest of slow paces the more miles you’re going to accumulate over that span and the further along you’re going to be. So don’t hold yourself back by waiting for some ideal time. Realize that waiting for that ideal time, waiting for a perfect time to be able to get the most out of our plan, is holding you back from ultimately seeing lasting results. Lasting changes, better results, snowball.

06:03

Thanks for listening to the Fitness Hacks podcast Again. This is the place where I share all my free work out and nutrition tips. I’m never going to run sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is, if you’re enjoying the podcast, to leave a rating review or share it with someone you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and it would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone you know.

*Please Note: this transcript is auto-generated and there may be some errors in the transcript