Perfectly Pl@nted
Perfectly Pl@nted
Unlocking the Secrets of Menopause: Lift Heavy $hit!
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Can menopause impact your muscle and bone health more than you realize?
In this episode of Perfectly Pl@nted, Vesime and Dr. Daphne continue their deep dive into menopause, focusing on the crucial role of muscle mass and bone health. As estrogen levels decline during menopause, women may experience a loss of muscle mass (sarcopenia) and bone density, increasing the risk of osteoporosis. Dr. Bascom explains how strength training and proper nutrition can mitigate these risks and debunks common myths about women and weight lifting.
In this episode you will gain valuable insights into the science behind muscle and bone health during menopause, learn practical strategies for maintaining strength and bone density, and discover the importance of consistency in your fitness routine. Dr. Bascom also shares her Daily Strengthening routine that is simple, effective, and may help contribute to your long-term health.
Tune in and take the first step towards a healthier, stronger you!
Links:
Thank you for listening and being part of our community. Stay well.
Perfectly Pl@nted: Planting seeds of knowledge and empowerment
Keywords: menopause, nutrition, macronutrients, gut health, microbiome, estrogen, menopause belly, plant-based diet, women's health, midlife journey, Perfectly Pl@nted Podcast.
Follow Perfectly Pl@nted on Instagram
Follow Perfectly Pl@nted on YouTube
Follow Perfectly Pl@nted on Pinterest
Menopause, Muscle, and Bone Health
Speaker 1Welcome to Perfectly Planted Podcast, where we are dedicated to growing with you on our journey towards a healthy, happy and more sustainable lifestyle. I'm your co-host, Vesame Shuring, a health and wellness enthusiast and loving all things plant-based. Whether you're a seasoned vegan or dipping your toes into plant-based living, or just curious about a healthier lifestyle, you are in the right place. Good morning, Daphne. How are you?
Speaker 2Good morning Vesame. How are you today?
Speaker 1Doing great Daphne. I'm really excited about today's episode because we continue diving into really menopause and this is the third episode essentially of our menopause series of episodes and I know that through the Vegan Chim you've finished Menopause Mastery, so I highly encourage everybody to check that out. But today we're really going to talk about the muscular skeletal system and muscle mass and the importance of not only strength training but just building muscle and sustaining it through your life, and also how it integrates with menopause. And why is this all so important? So I feel like I want to know what exactly happens to our body during the reduction of estrogen, specifically to our musculoskeletal system, because I really want to understand the science behind it and I know you have the answer to that, because I would have never associated a reduction in estrogen to the importance of muscle mass.
Speaker 2Bessamy. That's a great question and just in case anyone listening did not have a chance to listen to the first two episodes, a quick recap when you go through perimenopause, your body's estrogen and progesterone levels start to change significantly. So, rather than being at a steady high state, they may be going up and down and then as you go into that menopause transition, so your final menstrual period, defined as 12 months after menopause, is defined as 12 months after your last menstrual period. So you menstruate, you wait 12 months and that is the official point at which we say you have entered menopause. At that point in time, your estrogen levels have declined from their normal high level in premenopause, their fluctuating levels in perimenopause, and now they are declining.
Speaker 2Estrogen plays a crucial role in maintaining many bodily functions and there are estrogen receptors in every single cell in our body. Estrogen is also anabolic, meaning that it has a positive impact on both our bone tissue and our muscle tissue. So, in terms of muscle health and muscle strength, it's involved in muscle protein synthesis, that is, building strong muscle. It's involved in the regulation of muscle mass and muscle strength. And so what may happen is that, as estrogen declines as women enter into postmenopause, there can be a decline of muscle mass, which is called sarcopenia and this is a term that I think is becoming more part of a common vernacular, and sarcopenia is just a loss of muscle strength. So you see a lot of women going through midlife who feel like they're shrinking or their muscle mass is shrinking, and part of that may be attributed to decreases in estrogen and the same with muscle strength. Estrogen also helps with the repair and regeneration of muscle tissue, so as the estrogen levels decline, there may be a decrease in muscle function and also a decrease in muscle fatigue.
Speaker 1So muscle surrounds and supports your bones. So I guess my next question is really how does this all impact your bone density? Because you know a lot of I'll just throw it out that you know sarcopenia could. Also is there a correlation with osteoporosis, because without the muscle mass to support your bones, how are your bones going to be really have that support?
Speaker 2So let's think about it. This and that's a great question, because the impact on bone density of the decline in estrogen is also profound. So a couple of things. Estrogen is an amazing family of hormones. Estrogen isn't just one compound. There's actually three forms of estrogen estrone, estradiol and estriol. The most potent and the one that's predominant during premenopause, perimenopause, is estradiol.
Speaker 2We continue, our estrogen levels don't go to zero postmenopause, but they're lower than they were during the earlier parts of our life. Estrogen is think about estrogen, estradiol as mediating a balance between the turnover in our bones are constantly turning over, so bone tissue is being formed, bone is being broken down, and as the estrogen declines as we go into perimenopause, postmenopause, to perimenopause, postmenopause, what can happen is there may be a higher rate of bone resorption as opposed to bone formation, and this loss can result in a decrease in bone density. The most opportune time, though, is for women in their 20s, late 20s, early 30s, to partake in weight-bearing exercises to optimize their nutrition, because that's when you're really growing your bone density. Bone density refers to the amount of bone mineral in the bone tissue, and so, during your reproductive years, estrogen's there, and it helps maintain that bone density, and that's when you want to leverage having that high estrogen level, being physically active and trying to become as strong as you can Post-menopause, this balance is disrupted, and so, as more bone is resorbed, you may be at greater risk for being at risk for osteoporosis, and osteoporosis is when the bone is less dense and more porous, and so it can increase your risk of fractures in areas such as your hip, your spine, your wrist, and those are things that we want to prevent as we grow older.
Speaker 2The thing about osteoporosis is that, like high blood pressure, it's a silent disease, so you don't know that your bones are becoming weaker, unless you've been tested, and maybe at some point on another episode, we can both talk about our DEXA scans, but changes in bone density can progress over our lifetime without symptoms, until a fracture occurs or until you are tested and you are identified as having a lower bone density than maybe within the norms for your age and your sex. That was a lot Sorry.
Speaker 1Yeah, no, that's it's good, because I think it's important. I think that what? What we don't realize is the importance of getting started as early in your twenties and thirties.
Speaker 1It's very because oftentimes I think that we think, okay, we're well, we're getting older, or you fall on the heels of just being too busy with life, with whether it's school or career or family or whatnot, and you, I think the message here is really you know, definitely start as soon as you can. It's never too late, but definitely start. I think that's the most important part. But I know I'm guilty of this, daphne, because when you were first my, you know when we firstne, because when you were first my, you know when we first embarked on this, you're my trainer. You know. You didn't have a say in that, I just asked. I was like, you're going to be my trainer, daphne? Um, we, I, I was the first thing out of my mouth and I'm sure it's out of everybody, every most females out. I don't want to bulk up, it's out of everybody.
Speaker 2Every most females.
Speaker 1Yep, I don't want to bulk up, I just want to tone. I mean, I think at one point I was like I want Jennifer Aniston arms.
Speaker 2Yes.
Speaker 1I don't want like I don't want to be this big, bulky, bodybuilder looking person. So let's just debunk this myth on that, because let me tell you, I was now many years later. I'm lifting heavier weights and I still can't get to any type of bulk. So let's debunk that myth, because I think that's what people are worried about.
Speaker 2So how so? No, you, you've been training like a mad woman and I think you appreciate now that you train hard for every pound of muscle that you put on. Let's debunk the myth, ladies. If you're listening, you are not going to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger, it is as long as you are not taking performance enhancing drugs. Growing muscle as a woman takes work, it takes time, it takes energy and getting bulky I've been at this for 17 years and I'm still trying to get more muscle every year, to get more muscle every year.
Speaker 2So women generally have lower levels of testosterone compared to men. Both men and women have testosterone. Both men and women have estrogen, but testosterone is the key hormone responsible for muscle hypertrophy, that's, the increase in muscle size. Now it's multifactorial. You've got your testosterone, you've got your growth hormone, you've got myokines, you've got lots of things that contribute to your ability to grow muscle.
Speaker 2But even with resistance training in a normal hormonal environment, for women muscle bulking does not work the same way it works in men. It's not as quick, so you have to one. Bulking up usually refers to a specific combination of intensive weight training and, most commonly, a caloric excess. So a higher calorie diet, because you have to have a caloric excess, so a higher calorie diet, because you have to have a caloric surplus in order to gain muscle. So and this is a whole, probably a whole nother podcast around body recomposition, but you know, losing fat and gaining muscle is it possible? Yes, is it hard? Yes, if you are trying to purposely gain muscle, we usually will put you in a little bit of a caloric surplus. So, taking a few, you know, adding some calories above your maintenance level, and this can help promote muscle growth.
Speaker 2Most women who incorporate resistance training into their training program in order to gain size. You also need to be consistent, so it's not something that you can do once a week or twice a week and do it sporadically. Incorporated several principles into your training program, which is why your physique looks so awesome because you have incorporated consistency, so you train consistently. You've incorporated progressive overload, which means that you're not just lifting five pounds or 10 pounds. You're consistently challenging your muscle because you have to break the muscle down in order for it to grow stronger, and doing the same thing repeatedly is not going to accomplish that goal. Bottom line is the fear of bulking up should not deter women from engaging in resistance training and, more importantly, going back to your question about muscle strength and bone strength.
Speaker 2Going back to your question about muscle strength and bone strength resistance training, I would really want to reframe it in two ways. One you want to continue to do all the things that you love to do. You want to be able to lift your kids up off the ground. You want to be able to clean your house. You want to be able to travel independently. You want to be able to do all of your activities of daily living independently, and that sustaining those activities as we grow older will require us to retain our muscle strength, and you need to use your muscles in order to do that. So think about it, as you're not necessarily training for a specific sport. You are training for life, and lifting heavy things is part of training for life.
Speaker 1I do love that, because sometimes we get stuck. I mean, I, I've seen it where. You know, come March people are every the gym is flooded with people because they're just trying to get back into shape and shed some of the winter weight that they gained for summertime. But at the same time of that, that is not consistent. So it's more of that yo-yoing back and forth and it's the it only takes. I mean, I know we went away on vacation for a couple of weeks and you come back and your muscles feel a little weaker. So the weights that I would be throwing up or using, all of a sudden I have to go down just a little bit to then build it back up to the higher weights, and so it's just so important. The consistency is key, and I think consistency is key to everything, but especially with resistant training and trying to build muscle mass, because it is so important.
Speaker 1Now I do selfishly. In the beginning I was doing it just for the physique part of it. But you're right, daphne, we need to be doing this for the long, our longevity, in order for us to be healthier. And um, I echo you. Maybe we do talk about the DEXA results later in another episode, but it's amazing what they could tell you and how you can now proactively fix.
Speaker 1So, for example, my left leg muscle needs to be strengthened just a little bit more. So so who knew? Yeah, exactly, but that's so important because, you know, the focus on the legs is so important, because for me to continue to walk, be able to walk as I get older, so that one leg doesn't seem weaker, and now I create a limp that's going to also impact the hip, and so on and so forth, so it's just really important. So what I would also like to ask, though, or what are some of your recommendations or strategies for muscle retention preservation? You know, assuming that people are like, yeah, no, I'm, I'm all for, you know, doing more resistant training, weight training, what would some of your recommendations be?
Speaker 2So I want to keep it simple and I want, I would love, for our listeners and watchers. There's five key takeaways here. One progressive overload, and what that means is gradually increase the weight or resistance used in your exercise. Gradual is the key word, right? Gradual you don't go leave your ego at the door. You're not going to start and go in and try and curl 40 pounds. So progressive means consistent and gradually increasing the weight or resistance. But in that, if you don't know how to do that, working with a coach can be helpful. But that principle of progressive overload will ensure that your muscles are continually challenged and this will help promote strength gains and also muscle growth.
Speaker 2The next one is focus on compound movements. So it's easy to do the bicep curls because you can pick up the pink weights and you can see the muscle moving. But you really want to, especially knowing that most women are time constrained, so you don't have two hours to be in the gym If you need to get in and out 30 minutes. You want to select compound exercises that work multiple muscle groups simultaneously. So think about your squat, think about your deadlift, think about a bench press, think about a row. You're engaging using your legs, using your core, using your back. Compound movements will one burn more energy. Two, they'll allow you to be more efficient in your workout, but they're also very effective for building strength and overall muscle mass.
Speaker 2Tip three you have to prioritize your protein. I know that this whole protein conversation is very important. I don't want to say that there's camps, but there's complexity and there's nuances to nutrition. I'm just going to leave it at that. But you need to ensure that you're consuming at least sufficient protein to support muscle repair and muscle growth. Have them track their nutrition for a week or so and they're eating 30, 40, 50 grams of protein a day and they're trying to put on muscle. We need to increase that. So think about a balanced diet with your plant-based protein, having protein being the center of your plate. Thinking about 30 grams per meal would be great. If you're eating three meals a day Tofu, tempeh, seitan those are all great sources of plant-based protein. Legumes you can choose the protein source that you will eat, but I'm encouraging you to eat whole foods first.
Speaker 1I think that's good. Yeah, I just one, one quick thing. I think that's really good because we've we've had the protein how much protein is enough? Debate. We're specifically on talking about muscle growth and building in order for you to live a healthier lifestyle, and so if you're needing to build more muscle, continue to do that then you do need to up I know we've talked about, you know, because we've talked about plant versus animal protein how much do we really need? How much is just enough? And so for this specifically, we're saying you're building muscle, we need to up that protein intake, and plant-based being the best option.
Speaker 2Yes, so for, if you look at the general recommendations, the recommended daily allowance to prevent deficiency is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight. That is that is what I would consider should be the minimum for someone just to support maintenance.
Speaker 1Sustain, and yeah right Exactly.
Speaker 2Not necessarily not to grow muscle. So if you're thinking about growing muscle, you need to be thinking about almost maybe doubling that, but at least thinking greater than one kilo per gram of body weight. So I personally, I eat about one gram of protein per pound a day. So, target if I can get to 120 grams, I'm very happy. I don't get there every day but looking at my weekly average, I try and get to about one gram per pound. You can't. You need to know where you are. So again, I would encourage anyone listening or watching.
Speaker 2If you don't have a real sense of how much you're taking, just track it for a week or so just to get an understanding of your baseline and where there's opportunities for you to add more protein to your plate and make protein the center of your meal. And I'm still talking about plant-based protein. Yeah, and then the other thing is when it comes to the last two tips. We talked about consistency tips. We talked about consistency. You need regular and consistent training and if you are time constrained, doing total body workouts is great.
Speaker 2I know that frequently if you're picking up a muscle and strength magazine or a women's health magazine, you may see upper lower splits or kind of a bro split where you're doing biceps, triceps, back and biceps legs on one day If you don't have the time to do a body part split. One way to optimize doing compound movements, getting in the gym, being consistent, is think about a total body program that you can do two or three days a week where you're hitting all of the major muscle groups, having adequate time to recover between sessions, and that's a good way of sustaining or increasing your strength and muscle size over time. Which ties into my last point, which is recovery and sleep. Yeah, so important. Yeah, you, you have to rest, you have to recover. Your muscles aren't growing in the gym, your muscles are growing when you're recovering, and sleep and adequate recovery are key.
Speaker 1I agree, I think I have gotten to a place where I've been consistent with really good sleep and then the moment I don't, I'm so thrown off. Yeah, completely noticed it. Okay, daphne. So this is what we all want to know what are your top five daily workouts? Now I'm going to first frame this question because, to all our listeners and viewers, daphne gives me a daily strengthening session and you know it changes ever so often and it always uh is. It presents a challenge to myself, but they're so important. So what are your top five daily workouts that you do every day?
Speaker 2So again, this is consistency is key and I do this every day, literally every day, right now, so for I won't even say right now for the past several years I've been doing a combination of daily pushups, squats, pull-ups, dips, and recently I've added monkey bars. So every morning well, and you could add in crunches Every morning I start with I do two sets of 40 crunches. Usually I'll actually do that. I may actually do them in bed. I do at least one set of 30 to 35 pushups every day.
Speaker 2I have been recently doing my squats. I do 40 squats. I actually do them on the toilet seat while I am brushing my teeth. And you can think about it. You know 10 squats up upper quadrant, 10 squats in this quadrant. So you're you're habit stacking and get my squats in while I'm brushing my teeth. When I get to the gym, I will do some pull-ups. If you don't have a gym and you have a pull-up bar at home, you can progressively do pull-ups. But years ago I started with one. Now I'm up to sets of 15 to 20 to work your lats, work your grip strength. And recently I've added in the monkey bars and I started with I could only do like a couple monkey bars, but now I'm up to doing 16 at a pass, and that's those. Those are the five things I do every single day, that's amazing.
Speaker 1I I'm still working on pull-ups. I don't know why, but you know what just they are. For me they are, and sometimes I see people in the gym that just like super easy, like doing them, and I'm like that is not me, but we will, we're working, we're working on getting there. It's just maybe it's mind over matter for me. Well, stephanie go ahead.
Strength Training for Longevity
Speaker 2Oh sorry, pull-ups. Well, a couple of comments just on those group of exercises. Squats you do. Squats are a functional movement. So whether it's getting up off the toilet, getting above the couch, you need to. You squat every day, so why not work it so that you can continue to keep squatting Pull-ups are? They not only work your back but they're great for your grip strength. So think about opening you know jars on your own. Think about carrying your suitcases. Doing a farmer's carry is another good way to work your grip strength. But doing assisted pull-ups is a great way to one. It's a great accomplishment if you can do one. So it's not easy, it will take time, but applying consistent effort, it'll work your core, it'll work your lats, it'll work your grip strength and it's a great way to feel accomplished.
Speaker 1Yeah, no, I, I, I love that and I think having that daily set, where it's non-negotiable, is just key and it's also, it takes no more than five five to ten minutes at most, depending on how many sets you end up getting in, or reps, uh. So so well, this was really fun, daphne, I, I actually learned quite a bit. Um, the base really is to just really not be afraid of grabbing those weights and getting started, starting gradually. Don't hurt yourself, slowly, continuing to increase the weight in order for your longevity, really. So I really thank you all, to our listeners and viewers.
Speaker 1Daphne, thank you for the education that you always enlighten us with and really please continue to share our podcast with friends and family and those who you love. If you're enjoying this podcast, please go ahead and hit the like button, send us your comments. We would love to hear about more topics that you would like to hear. If this is a series that you continue to enjoy or want to dive in a little bit more, we would love to hear that. We appreciate you all so much. You all be well until next time.