Real Food Stories
The question of "what to eat" can feel endlessly confusing, especially when we contend with our own deeply ingrained beliefs and stories around food. Blame social media, the headline news, and let's not get started on family influences. Passed down from generations of women and men to their daughters, it's no wonder women are so baffled about how to stay healthy the older we get.
As a nutritionist and healthy eating chef, combined with her own personal and professional experience, Heather Carey has been connected to years of stories related to diets, weight loss, food fads, staying healthy, cooking well, and eating well. Beliefs around food start the day we try our first vegetables as babies and get solidified through our families, cultures, and messages we receive throughout our lifetime.
We have the power to call out our food beliefs so we can finally make peace with what we eat and get on with enjoying the real food and lives we deserve. Listen in to find out how to have your own happy ending to your real food story. Connect with Heather at heather@heathercarey.com or visit her website at www.heathercarey.com or www.greenpalettekitchen.com
Real Food Stories
129. You Don't Need a Weighted Vest to Thrive in Midlife
Feeling overwhelmed by all the midlife fitness trends bombarding your social feeds? You're not alone. From weighted vests to protein obsession to step-counting fixations, the wellness world has become a maze of contradictory advice that leaves many women feeling like they're failing—even when they're doing their best.
In this revealing episode, I dive deep into the most pervasive fitness trends dominating the menopause conversation and separate evidence-based practices from marketing hype. Did you know the sacred 10,000 steps rule originated from a 1960s Japanese pedometer advertisement—not scientific research? Or that studies on weighted vests for bone health are surprisingly underwhelming compared to the mountain of evidence supporting simple strength training?
As a culinary nutritionist specializing in women's health, I break down exactly what your changing body truly needs: progressive strength training to combat accelerated muscle and bone loss, strategic protein intake (achievable without expensive supplements), and consistent, enjoyable movement without obsessing over arbitrary metrics. You'll discover how to hit 100 grams of protein using only whole foods, why lifting weights matters more than step counts for long-term independence, and which trendy practices you can confidently leave behind.
The truth is refreshingly simple: midlife wellness isn't about doing everything—it's about doing the things that actually work. Stop chasing every trending protocol and start focusing on the foundational habits that deliver real results for your health, strength, and longevity. Share this episode with a friend who's drowning in wellness advice and remember: you don't need to do it all to thrive in midlife.
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Hey everybody and welcome back to the Real Food Stories podcast. I hope you're having a great summer. I can't believe we're almost at the end. For me, it's been very busy and filled with lots of friends and entertaining and cooking and my garden my garden has been absolutely booming. I just made tomato sauce with my 30 pounds of tomatoes it's just going gangbusters right now and all my basil, and I just love this season so much. I love being able to walk outside and just pick fresh vegetables and cook them and if I have an abundance of something then that's how I plan my meals. And it's just been a really, really nice summer.
Speaker 1:And last week on the podcast, I talked about this absence of food awareness that I have been seeing out on social media, especially when it comes to the midlife and menopause space. I don't know if you've seen it too, but there's a lot of talk about protein or lack of enjoyment around our food, and this fall I am definitely going to be reviving that, because I know even I have gotten a little off base with just talking about food. I mean, after all, this is what I do for a living. I am a culinary nutritionist and I am all about the food, and I wanted to not only be as healthy as possible, I wanted to taste amazing too. That's my job is to make sure your healthy food tastes delicious and that you lose weight, you have your energy and you just feel your best with the help of our food, and there's so many amazing ways to do that, so I'm really excited. I have some really great ideas cooking up, and I'm going to share those with you, probably next week or in the next two weeks. So, for right now, though, I want to just continue my conversation about all of the big things that are happening out on the internet and all these trends that I'm just seeing, and today I wanted to talk about the physical part, the weighted vest trend, the protein and macro trend and our obsession with our steps. So let's get to it All right.
Speaker 1:So, if you are in midlife or going through the menopause transition, there is a huge amount of pressure right now to do all of the things, and what I mean by all of the things are weighted vest. By all of the things, our weighted vest, getting your 10,000 steps, lifting heavy weights, going gangbusters on your protein these are the things that are just dominating the wellness space as it plays out in menopause. So if you're in midlife and you feel like you need to do all of these things, you're absolutely not alone. The wellness world is loud and it's easy to feel like you are failing if you are not doing all of it at once and you're not doing it correctly, or you're just not doing it at all. But here's the truth. You don't need to chase every single trend. I mean, five years ago, we weren't wearing weighted vests. Why, all of a sudden, is everybody wearing a weighted vest now? And I'm going to get to the bottom of things today. What I want to do is give you what actually matters and not just what is noise out there. So today we're going to cut through all of it. All right?
Speaker 1:So when it comes to midlife health, we are bombarded with information. On one hand, you've got influencers strapping on weight vests and marching through their neighborhoods swearing it's the key to bone health and this is the solution to everything. On the other, you've got the strength coaches telling you the only way to survive menopause is by deadlifting twice your body weight. Then, of course, there's the 10,000 to 15,000, 20,000 step a day culture. If you're not closing your rings on your iPhone or hitting your steps. Did you even move today? Did it even count? And let's not forget the protein push. Every headline says eat more protein. What does that even mean exactly? And every supplement company is ready to sell you a shake or a powder to get there. Oh my God, it's exhausting. I mean really, I am exhausted, and I do this for a living and honestly, it makes a lot of women feel like they are failing, even when they're doing their very best. The problem isn't that these things our weighted vests, our steps, lifting protein any of these are bad per se. The problem is that we rarely hear what matters most and what's just optional. So that's what I want to give you today the real deal, and by the end of this episode, hopefully, you'll know exactly which levers to pull for your health, for your strength and your longevity, and which ones you can stop worrying about.
Speaker 1:All right, let's start with the trend of the year weighted vests. Should you be wearing one? Or is this another shiny distraction from the real work your body needs? Because lately, weighted vests are everywhere. I see them in every woman in my neighborhood walking around up the hills or going up and down the hills. They've got their weighted vests on. You've probably seen someone in your neighborhood too walking with what looks like a bulletproof vest strapped on, swearing it's the secret to strong bones or faster weight loss. So here's the deal.
Speaker 1:The research on weighted vests is just not backing that up. There have been studies done on weighted vests. They have shown evidence that really, for as far as bone health goes, weighted vests are not the be-all end-all. While it makes sense in theory, more weight on your frame equals more stress on your bones, and that's what we want to do for our bones is to kind of stress them out and that helps with our bone health overall.
Speaker 1:Osteoporosis prevention, osteopenia the science just isn't solid. So studies on weighted vests and osteoporosis have been very small, pretty inconsistent and honestly, a little underwhelming. Some show tiny benefits in very specific situations, but others really show no effect at all. It's nothing like the mountain of evidence we have on resistance training and I'm going to talk about that next where lifting progressively heavier weights clearly improves both bone and muscle strength. So let's set the record straight. There is a myth out there weighted vests prevent osteoporosis and the truth is that they really don't. Only strength training and certain impact exercises think lifting, jumping running have strong evidence for improving bone density.
Speaker 1:And here's the kicker weighted vests aren't risk-free, okay. So if you've got back pain, if you've got cranky knees or balance concerns, adding extra weight on your shoulders like that can really end up making things worse. At best, it's a fun way to make walking more challenging. Right, we are adding some extra weight. Feels like something we used to do like back in the 80s, but at worst it could sideline you with an injury. Okay so, should you wear a weighted vest or not? Does it matter? You probably have already paid the $25 for your weighted vest, so should you keep it or give it to Goodwill? If you're stable on your feet, if you love walking as exercise and you want to make it a little harder, then definitely go for it. I'm not saying don't do it, but it's not a must do. If your goal is bone health, muscle strength and long-term resilience which in midlife it definitely should be, strength training is the real deal first. So let's talk about strength training.
Speaker 1:This one is the cornerstone of a midlife woman's health, of a midlife woman's health. Let's review again what menopause does for a woman's physical body. So after menopause, or in the menopause transition, we start to lose muscle and bone at an accelerated rate. Now, a lot of this has to do with our dip in estrogen, right? Our estrogen lowers, we stop getting our periods and that is responsible for a lot of our bone health. Estrogen is very protective of bones and our muscle. When we go through the menopause transition, we lose that protection. Now, if you are not on hormones and that's your option and you're right to be on hormones or not be on hormones I cannot tell you what to do there. But if you're not on hormones, then it becomes a little more challenging as well.
Speaker 1:Now, lifting weights is, hands down, the best way to fight back on losing your muscle and your bone. And no, it's not about bulking up. Okay, you are not going to bulk up. Believe me, I lift pretty heavy weights at the gym and I feel like sometimes I can barely tell You're not going to bulk up and get big and strong, because we're just not built that way as women. This is about being able to get out of a chair on your own at 75. Okay, these are the goals. This is about being able to lift your grandkids when you are 65. All right, so we want to think future getting up off the floor out of a chair. I mean just all of these things that we want to think long term out of a chair. I mean just all of these things that we want to think long-term, because I see older women who have not taken advantage of strength training or hormone therapy, who have a really hard time getting up off of chairs or floors or fear of falling. So we want to know that we can carry our groceries without straining our back.
Speaker 1:The other good benefit of strength training is that the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism is. The higher your metabolism is, the more calories you are going to burn, so it is a win-win overall. Okay. So you can either lift weights at home you can find a good exercise class like I have you can go to the gym, you can do it online. Whatever, it doesn't matter how you do it. The important point is to just stay progressive with it, not lifting little baby one-pound weights, but always challenging yourself to lift heavier and heavier, all right. So here's the myth about weightlifting that I've heard Walking is enough to protect your bones and muscles, like wearing that weighted vest, and the truth is it's really not. Walking is great for your heart. It's great for your mood, it's great for your peace of mind, but only resistance. Training maintains muscle and bone strength. Again, the key progressive overload. Lift heavy, not to the point where you're killing your back, but lift as heavy as you can. You want to challenge your muscles with weight that actually feels very heavy to you. Two to three sessions a week is where the magic happens. If you do one thing physically, let it be this All right. So I mentioned walking right with a weighted vest or not with a weighted vest.
Speaker 1:The walking the 10,000 steps okay, the famous 10,000 step rule. The walking the 10,000 steps, okay, the famous 10,000 step rule. Where did that come from? Why, all of a sudden, do we have to walk 10,000 steps? And I also see on the internet that we need to be walking 15,000 steps, or some women are walking 20,000 steps a day. I mean, honestly, I don't know where some of these women find the time, because for me, walking 20,000 steps would take me probably two hours of my time, and then I want to go to the gym and lift my weights, and that's a lot. So where did this come from? Well, it came from a 1960s pedometer ad in Japan. Not from science. There is no science behind the 10,000 step rule. It's a nice number to sort of strive for and I think it's a healthy number. I mean, I think my 10,000 steps would be about three and a half miles a time, but the research really now shows that if you walk six to 8,000 steps a day, that is enough to lower mortality risk for most women over 40 years old.
Speaker 1:We also want to be walking just like the weightlifting, not 6,000 to 8,000 slow, meandering steps or just gently strolling, but we want to walk briskly if we can, to the best of our ability. Okay, so you know getting our heart rate up, not being able to not speak, but you know having a walking and talking with a friend and getting a sweat. So the myth is if you don't hit 10,000 steps, it just doesn't count, and the truth it does. Okay, any movement counts. When I even when I say the meandering steps, that counts too. Walking around in your kitchen, gardening, all of this counts, all movement counts. All right, Not sitting all day, but moving, getting up and like just moving around Any movement matters and benefits level off well before the 10,000 steps for most women. So, yes, walk for your heart, walk for your mood and your energy, but please do not obsess about this number. Okay, just do your best. Walk most days, walk almost every day, if you can. Steps are a piece of the puzzle, but they're not the whole picture.
Speaker 1:Okay, here's the biggie one, okay, the one that I feel like everybody is talking about, and that is our protein. Now, protein needs do go up in midlife because we are losing muscle faster, right? So, in addition to strength training, we want to also fortify our muscles with protein, because our muscles are made up of protein. Most women do better in midlife with about 80 to 100 grams of protein a day. That sounds huge. I mean, you see on the internet, on social media, I mean it's some women. It's minimum 100 grams, sometimes it's 150 grams. How they are getting 150 grams of protein in is anyone's guess. That means that you are definitely needing to supplement with protein bars, with protein powders, shakes, and I'm not really all about that. I really want to get my macronutrients from my food and you can do 100 grams of protein a day, especially if you are going to the gym and strength training three days a week. You want to be fortifying your muscles and getting them primed to be able to go lift weights at the gym. So here's what 100 grams of protein a day might look like, with whole foods, with real food.
Speaker 1:Breakfast two eggs, half a cup of cottage cheese. Have some berries with that, mix in some spinach. Make sure you have some fruits and vegetables here. I'm just talking protein right now. I'm not talking about the other parts, components of your meals. But we know and you know if you've been listening to me for a while that I am definitely going to tell you to eat some fruits and vegetables and a whole grain along with that just to balance out your meal. But right now I'm just talking about the protein. So let me do that again. Breakfast two eggs and a half a cup of cottage cheese that's 25 grams of protein right there. Lunch four ounces of a chicken breast in a salad that would be 30 grams of protein right there. Snack in the afternoon some Greek yogurt and hemp seeds that's again 20 grams of protein. And dinner four ounces of salmon with some veggies and some brown rice or something 28 grams of protein. So that's over 100 grams of protein right there, with no powders, no bars.
Speaker 1:What we don't want to do is load all our protein into one meal or skip breakfast. This is where meals balanced throughout the day become really important. You want to space out your protein throughout the day, so don't skip breakfast. Make breakfast a time to make sure you get some protein in, and you could easily get your 100 grams of protein. Now we don't need to start counting every gram of protein. You don't need to count your macros and get obsessive about this. What you can do instead is just be mindful when you're having breakfast.
Speaker 1:Where's your protein?
Speaker 1:Is it in eggs?
Speaker 1:Is it in yogurt? Is it in something that has a good amount of protein in it? Same with lunch, same with a snack and same with dinner. Just make sure that these meals and snacks always have a good portion of protein and you can get your 100 grams of protein a day. So one myth that is out on the internet is that you need shakes and bars to hit your protein goals and protein powders, and the truth is you really don't. Okay, as long as you're eating balanced throughout the day, you don't. Whole foods like yogurt, eggs, chicken, fish, beans, tofu can get you there very easily.
Speaker 1:Supplements are optional tools, not the foundation. I understand if you are traveling or you just can't get your hands on like a balanced, like day of food. I get it. Have some protein, you know. Use a protein powder and a shake. I totally understand that, but don't make that the rule, make that the exception. Bread your protein out through your meals and you'll stay stronger, fuller and more energized, you'll see. Okay, so where does this leave us?
Speaker 1:I've talked about weighted vests. I've talked about steps. I've talked about strength training and protein. Okay, these are four biggies that are just circulating around the internet lately.
Speaker 1:Lifting weights the cornerstone of midlife health. I cannot stress this enough. Start lifting weights, start small and start lifting. Number two eating enough protein to support those muscles that you are building. Three moving daily. Your steps help, right, but perfection is absolutely not required here. Just go take a walk, just get up out of your chair, keep moving. We need to keep moving. Okay, we sit way too much.
Speaker 1:Weighted vests these are optional add-ons. They are not magic bullets. If you want to add a little more weight to your body when you go take your walk, totally fine, but just be careful with how much weight you are using and be careful about injuring yourself. And know that they are not the magic bullet, all right. Midlife isn't about doing everything. It's about doing the things that actually work. Strength, protein movement those are what carry you forward. All right, thank you so much for tuning in today. I hope that this helps clear up some of the myths that are circulating around the internet and if this episode gave you some clarity, share it with a friend who's drowning in wellness advice. And remember you don't need to do it all. Focus on what matters. Start small and ignore the noise, and give yourself credit for every step forward. Have a great day everybody.