The Power of Protein and Strength Training for Midlife Women's Health and Weight Management

As we enter midlife, our health needs evolve, requiring us to be more intentional about nourishing our bodies and approach exercise.

Many midlife women must focus more on two critical components: consistently eating adequate protein and strength training. Adequate protein and strength training are essential for maintaining or improving your physical health and supporting weight management efforts as you age.

The Importance of Protein in Midlife

Protein is crucial in preserving muscle mass, especially as you age. Starting around age 30, women naturally begin to lose muscle mass. This muscle loss accelerates in midlife, leading to decreased strength, mobility, and metabolic rate. With adequate muscle mass, it becomes easier to maintain a healthy weight, stay active, and even have enough energy to perform daily tasks. The loss of muscle mass accelerates after age 50. This decline can lead to sarcopenia - age-related loss of muscle mass, strength, and function that results in poor health, risk of injuries, disability, and a diminished quality of life as we age.

While sarcopenia, or the age-related loss of muscle mass and strength, is a common aspect of aging, it is not entirely inevitable. While some degree of muscle loss occurs naturally with age, the extent and impact of sarcopenia can be significantly reduced or even prevented with proactive measures. Preventing sarcopenia can have a dramatic effect on the quality of life as you age.

Eating enough protein is one of the most effective ways to combat age-related muscle loss, prevent sarcopenia, and support weight management. Protein provides the building blocks (amino acids) your muscles need to repair and grow, which helps maintain muscle mass and boost metabolism. A higher metabolism means your body burns more calories, even at rest, making it easier to manage your weight. Additionally, protein-rich foods tend to be more satiating, helping you feel fuller for longer and reducing the likelihood of overeating.

How Much Protein Do You Need?

The current Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is .8 grams per kilogram (1 kg = 2.2 pounds) of body weight. This is the amount of protein healthy adults need daily to prevent deficiencies. However, experts have criticized these recommendations as not optimal for aging adults who may need additional protein to sustain muscle mass and functionality.

Expert consensus groups suggest that the current protein recommendations need to account for research showing that while older people can make as much muscle as younger individuals, they require more protein to achieve the same effect. Many experts now suggest that midlife women may benefit from even higher amounts (1.6 - 2.0 grams per kilogram body weight), especially if you are active or focused on managing your weight. 

Your precise protein goals will vary based on age, activity level, and goals. 

However, aiming for 25-30 grams of protein per meal and 10 grams of protein at each snack is a good rule of thumb and a great way to start building consistency for eating enough protein to fuel your body and age well. High-quality protein sources include lean meats, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy products, legumes, and plant-based proteins like tofu and tempeh.

Make Eating Adequate Protein a Habit.

Tracking protein intake is an effective way to build a habit because it fosters consistency, awareness, and accountability, all of which are key to long-term success in any health or fitness goal.

1. Consistency: Tracking protein helps you consistently reach your daily intake goals, ensuring you're getting enough to support muscle maintenance, metabolism, and overall health. Over time, this consistent focus on protein helps establish a routine, making it easier to stick with healthy eating habits.

2. Awareness: By tracking your protein intake, you become more aware of the protein content in different foods and meals. This awareness naturally leads to better food choices and a more balanced eating pattern as you prioritize protein-rich options.

3. Accountability: Tracking allows you to see your progress and identify patterns in your eating habits. This accountability can be motivating, encouraging you to stay on track and make adjustments as needed to meet your protein goals.

Tracking protein intake helps you meet your nutritional needs and reinforces healthy habits, supporting your long-term well-being. Try monitoring your protein intake with the 90-Day Protein Journal.

The Role of Strength Training

While protein is vital, strength training is the most effective way to maintain and build muscle, counteract the effects of aging, and improve overall metabolic and functional health. While other forms of exercise can contribute to overall fitness, strength training is unparalleled in building and preserving muscle mass.

Strength, along with appropriate levels of protein, is the key to maximizing weight management. Healthy muscles enhance the rate of protein synthesis, which is crucial for muscle repair and growth. 

Benefits of Strength Training:

Strength training, which can include free weight lifting, resistance band exercises, machines, and bodyweight workouts, stimulates muscle growth and improves bone density, crucial for preventing osteoporosis. The benefits of strength training include:

• Increasing muscle mass helps to build and maintain muscle, which can prevent age-related muscle loss

• Improving bone density by strengthening bones reduces the risk of osteoporosis.

• Boosting metabolism. Strength training increases the calories your body burns at rest, making it a powerful tool for weight management. 

• Enhancing functional fitness makes performing everyday activities easier and reduces the risk of injury.

Critical Components of Strength Training

Strength training is versatile. You can tailor your workouts to meet your health goals, whether you want to increase strength, live independently, prevent falls and injuries, manage weight, or enhance your overall health. 

If you're new to strength training or need to be more consistent with your routine, a few principles can help. 

1. Choose activities you enjoy and can consistently do. 

Resistance Types:

Weights: lifting dumbbells, kettlebells, barbells, or using weight machines

Body Weight: Exercises like push-ups, squats, and leg lifts that use your body weight as resistance

Resistance Bands: Elastic bands that provide resistance when stretched

Machines: Gym equipment designed to target specific muscle groups with adjustable weights

Variety of Exercises: 

Strength training can target specific muscle groups or involve compound exercises that engage multiple groups simultaneously. Examples of exercise include:

Upper Body: Bench press, shoulder press, bicep curls, tricep extensions

Lower Body: Squats, lunges, deadlifts, calf raises, leg press, hip thrusts

Core: Planks, sit-ups, bird-dogs, bicycle crunches, medicine ball slams

2.Choose activities you enjoy and can consistently do. 

Work with a personal trainer to help you acclimate to weights and machines and determine the specific number of repetitions and sets you should perform for each exercise based on your current fitness level.

Repetition (Reps) and Sets:

• Repetitions (Reps): the number of times you perform a specific exercise without rest. For example, doing ten squats in a row would be ten reps.  

• Sets are groups of consecutive repetitions. For example, doing ten squats, resting, and then doing another ten squats would be two sets of 10 reps each.

3.  Choose a challenging weight. 

Progressive overload (this one is MOST important) is a fundamental principle of strength training that involves gradually increasing the weight, resistance, or intensity of exercise over time to continue challenging your muscles. This leads to strength gains and muscle growth. In other words, you can progress from body weight to resistance bands to lighter weights or lighter weights (dumbbells, kettlebells, barbells, machines) to heavier weights. 

4.  Begin by prioritizing strength training exercises two to three times per week. Remember that rest and recovery are important to achieving your desired gains.

Muscles need time to recover after strength training. Rest days, adequate sleep, and protein intake are essential for muscle repair and growth. It is recommended that a muscle group be rested for 48 hours before being worked on again. 

Combining Protein and Strength Training for Optimal Health and Weight Management

The synergy between adequate protein intake and regular strength training cannot be overstated. Protein intake and strength training create a powerful combination that supports muscle maintenance, enhances physical performance, and aids in weight management as you age. By prioritizing both, you're investing in your future health, ensuring you can continue enjoying the activities you love while maintaining a healthy weight.

Conclusion

It's essential to be proactive about your health as you age. Incorporating adequate protein and strength training into your daily routine is a practical and effective way to stay strong, healthy, and vibrant while managing weight. 

Remember, there is always time to start. Whether you're just beginning your fitness journey or looking to enhance your current routine, focusing on these two areas will help you age gracefully, manage your weight, and live life to the fullest.

Embrace the Power of Movement and Healthy Eating in Midlife

Do you struggle with exercise, physical activity, and healthy eating?

You’re not alone. Society has fed you narratives, and you’ve sometimes unknowingly taken on these stories as if they were your own, shaping your perceptions of movement and food. For midlife women, these narratives can be particularly limiting. It's time to rewrite these stories and embrace the joy and benefits of moving our bodies.

Challenging Old Movement Narratives

The number one reason women our age say they don’t like exercise is that they don’t want to sweat. But sweat is a sign of effort, strength, and vitality. You should embrace it, especially as you age. Being strong and fit is an identity worth portraying, and fit people show up sweaty and in their workout clothes!

Think back to a time before Title IX and what society told us about women exercising and being ‘healthy’ - which was all about being attractive and appealing:

- They’d build bulky muscles.

- It was terrible for their constitution.

- Women shouldn't exercise during pregnancy.

- Women are the ‘weaker sex.’

- Sweating is unattractive

- Women should eat like a bird

Even some recent media narratives about female athletes continue to perpetuate these outdated stories about women and fitness, and thankfully, that outdated and biased mentality is starting to change. For years, women were told not to lift weights and to focus exclusively on looking cute in leotards while doing cardio. Pioneers like Jack LaLanne emphasized muscle fitness for women. Still, many early fitness programs  - while terrific at getting women moving - focused solely on cardio and light exercises rather than strength training.

Challenging Old Food Narratives

At the same time, women often encounter outdated or restrictive narratives about healthy eating that can hinder their progress toward achieving their goals. Some of these narratives include:

• "Carbs are bad": The misconception that all carbohydrates are unhealthy can lead women to avoid nutrient-rich foods like whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.

• "Fat makes you fat": This outdated belief discourages the consumption of healthy fats, such as those found in avocados, nuts, and olive oil, which are essential for overall health.

• "Eat less to lose weight": The idea that drastically reducing calorie intake is the key to weight loss can lead to malnutrition and a slowed metabolism, ultimately making weight management more difficult.

• "Healthy eating is expensive": The perception that nutritious foods are always costly can prevent women from making healthier choices, even though many affordable options are available.

• "It's too late to change": The belief that changing what you eat in midlife won't significantly impact health can discourage women from adopting healthier eating habits.

• "Healthy eating is about deprivation": Associating healthy eating with restrictive diets can make it seem unappealing and unsustainable, leading to cycles of dieting and bingeing.

• "You need to detox": The idea that the body needs special detox diets or cleanses to be healthy can lead to extreme and unnecessary dietary practices.

Challenging these narratives with evidence-based information and promoting a balanced, enjoyable approach to healthy eating can help you make positive changes without feeling restricted or discouraged.

Redefining Your Narratives

Instead of dreading exercise and feeling overwhelmed about establishing a high-quality, nutrient-rich eating pattern to supply the fuel your body needs to move more, reset your mindset to prioritize the joy of movement. 

Your body has been through a lot and has taken you far. Movement is not something to dread; it’s something to embrace with excitement and anticipation! It’s powerful—being strong boosts confidence at any age. In middle age, it helps us become visible and vibrant. Healthful eating does not have to be overwhelming if you focus on the basics and block out the noise that villainizes certain foods or food groups.

You can age with strength instead of frailty, health instead of disease, and independence instead of dependence. You can do everything you envision with just a little effort. 

Remember, you are in training to live a strong and healthy life full of vitality, using your body to help you create a life where you flourish.

Healthy Eating & Moving are Best Friends

Alongside movement, healthy eating plays a crucial role in our well-being. Many women underestimate the amount of calories they consume and overestimate the amount of exercise they do. 

Moving your body more and building healthful eating patterns are essential for maintaining or losing weight while supporting your energy level and fitness as you age. Together, these two habits form a synergistic foundation that promotes vitality and longevity during this pivotal stage of life.  This knowledge empowers you to take control of your health and well-being.

Consider these questions:

• Are you eating enough food to sustain more physical activity and exercise? If you’re tired and lack energy to fuel your workouts, you might not be eating enough. 

• Are you consuming enough protein?

• Is your plate balanced?

• How is your food mindset? 

• Are you incorporating the 'Macros of Movement' throughout the week? Find a balanced mix of physical activity, stability/functional training, strength training, and cardio (moderate and vigorous). Avoid limiting your routine to just cardio or daily walks. Instead, add strength training and functional exercises to your regimen.

• Is your current movement pattern an intense cardio session 3-4 days a week for 30-45 minutes, followed by passive activities like working in front of a screen or reading? 

Making minor adjustments to your routine, like increasing physical activity and ensuring sufficient protein intake, can prevent gradual weight gain and help you stay physically strong and fit as you age and into your later years.

Practical Steps to Get Started

• Find Joy in Movement: Choose activities that you enjoy. Whether dancing, hiking, swimming, or yoga, find what makes you happy and keep moving.

• Strength Training: Incorporate strength training into your routine. It boosts metabolism, strengthens bones, and enhances muscle mass. It's particularly beneficial for midlife women as it can help counteract the natural loss of muscle mass that occurs with age, improving overall strength and mobility.

• Intentional Eating: Pay attention to what you eat. Opt for nutrient-dense foods that nourish your body and support your fitness goals. This balanced approach to eating will provide you with the necessary nutrients and support your fitness journey, reassuring you that you're on the right path.

• Stay Consistent: Move a regular part of your life. Consistency is critical to reaping the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

• Build a Support System: Surround yourself with supportive friends and family who encourage your fitness journey.

Rewriting your relationship with exercise and healthy eating is essential for thriving in midlife. Embrace the power of movement and the benefits of a balanced eating pattern. You have the strength to age with vitality, confidence, and independence. Celebrate your body and the incredible things it can do. Normalize being strong at any size, and don’t shy away from sweating—even if it means showing up to appointments or lunch meetups in exercise gear. 

Rumblings Media has tools and resources to help guide you wherever you are on your health and wellness journey so you can thrive! 

Don’t know where to begin or wonder where you need to focus on adjusting your patterns? Join us in an upcoming online or in-person class to jump-start your plan!

We’re here to help—and to remind you that it is never too late to begin or review where you’re at. 

Start today, step into the identity of a strong, fit, and balanced-eating midlife woman, and flourish!

The Health Condition Almost Everyone Has But No One is Talking About

There is great interest in enhancing healthspan - improving the quality of life to be free from the disability and disease that occurs during most people's last 16 years of life. For most of us, our vision for the future includes living vibrantly, independently, and joyfully until the end of our lives. 

The good news is you can achieve optimal health and flourish as you age, but you must understand the reality of health in our country and take action today!

Some research about achieving optimal health during aging is undeniable, such as the link between exercise and all-cause mortality. In other areas, the research is still in the early stage, with the results seen only in mice, and the enthusiasm is ahead of the science. 

What we do know is Americans are getting sicker. The healthcare system focuses on treating disease rather than keeping us healthy because it is structured to provide greater incentives for treatment rather than preventing or slowing the progression of the disease. 

What You Need to Know 

For non-smokers, 80 percent of the deaths are from four diseases: 

1. Heart and Vascular Disease: Examples are stroke, heart attacks, atherosclerosis, and Transischemic Attacks

2. Cancer - obesity and metabolic syndrome are the leading cause of cancer, second only to smoking 

3. Neurodegeneration: Diseases where the cells of the central nervous system stop working properly or die. Examples are Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s, and ALS

4. Metabolic Dysfunction: Examples are Type 2 Diabetes, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome/pre-diabetes, and mitochondrial dysfunctions (how the cells regenerate). Recent research indicates that Alzheimer’s Disease should be considered to be Type 3 Diabetes that affects brain function.

The foundation of all these diseases is metabolic health, which, if not optimized, increases the risk of metabolic dysfunction diseases and other primary conditions. 

There are many ways to define metabolic health, but a simple explanation relates to how well the body can generate and process energy from food. Glucose is the precursor to energy creation throughout the body, and when the body can’t use glucose properly, it leads to metabolic dysfunction. 

Good metabolic health is defined as having optimal levels for five biomarkers (without the assistance of medicine).

You have metabolic syndrome (also known as pre-Diabetes) if you are high in three or more of the following markers: 

• Abdominal or Truncal obesity - a waist measurement of 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men

• High blood pressure - Systolic >130 OR Diastolic >85

• High fasting glucose  - > 100 mg/dL

• High fasting triglycerides - >150 mg/dL

• Low HDL cholesterol - <50 mg/dL for women,

Unfortunately, 52% of Americans have been diagnosed with metabolic syndrome (pre-diabetes) or Type 2 Diabetes. And new research showed that only 6.8 percent of Americans had optimal metabolic health, and that percentage is declining. That means 93% of Americans are metabolically unhealthy, and the rest are at risk for developing almost every chronic condition. More importantly, most people don’t even know they’re at risk. 

These diseases slowly progress and are responsible for much of the disability and deteriorating health Americans see in the last decade of life. The impact is also felt way before the actual diagnosis of the disease. 

Up to 10 years before developing metabolic syndrome, a person starts to experience a disruption in metabolic health.  This disruption causes a change in the chain reactions of how different body parts signal to each other about how to do their job. When that happens, the body cannot function correctly in getting glucose out of the bloodstream to use it as fuel. 

The disruption affects the cellular functioning of the liver, brain, heart, kidneys, muscles, and even fat. This disruption over time is what leads to metabolic syndrome. 

The conversation about early prevention is missing from the mainstream discussion and is frequently not part of the discussion with primary care providers. 

It’s time to start managing biomarkers for optimal health long before we get metabolic syndrome.

What You Can Do To Manage Your Metabolic Health

You can do many things to improve this outlook, prevent chronic diseases, or push them closer to the end of life. The goal is to live without debilitating disabilities and poor health that may shorten your lifespan but may also shorten your healthspan and diminish your quality of life. 

Many years before you have elevated levels of key metabolic syndrome markers, your body is experiencing unhealthy metabolic function, and you don’t even know it. 

For unknown reasons, testing for hormone insulin levels in the blood is not part of a standard fasting testing panel ordered by health providers. Increasing blood insulin levels can be a very early indicator of metabolic health long before the potential impacts of metabolic dysfunction leading to metabolic syndrome and those other primary diseases causing 80% of deaths. 

A high insulin level indicates a lot of blood sugar or glucose floating around the system and not being used. Knowing your insulin level allows you to take action to stop the progression toward metabolic syndrome. Requesting a fasting insulin test in addition to the glucose and lipid panel tests your provider orders can help you take early action. 

However, you don’t need lab tests to take action now to maintain good metabolic health. While you can manage metabolic syndrome with pharmacological treatments, medication will not improve overall metabolic dysfunction, so maintaining good function is essential. You can do many things related to lifestyle to maintain good metabolic health. 

• Eat whole, unprocessed foods, mostly plants. Avoid fad diets and caloric restrictions as they may provide a downward spiral for your metabolic health. 

• Move more, sit less. Physical activity and exercise can have the most dramatic impact on being metabolically healthy. Improving lean body mass and muscular strength is key to improving metabolic health. 

Unfortunately, years of chronic caloric restriction diets combined with insufficient exercise focused on improving muscular strength may have put you in peril for metabolic dysfunction. 

Resistance training and strength training to gain muscle strength and lean body mass is the best exercise for healthy metabolic function. Yet, even something as simple as taking a brisk walk after meals can reduce your blood sugar elevation. 

Move more throughout the day rather than having one workout at the end of the day. It’s not enough to sit all day and do one small chunk of physical activity. Read more on how to get more physical activity in your day. 

• Get appropriate amounts of sleep. It’s good for your body and your brain. Read more on getting better sleep. 

• Manage stress in healthy ways. Chronic exposure to physical or psychological stress is linked to metabolic diseases, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, and Type 2 diabetes. Look for ways to help you manage stress and be calmer. 

• Manage light. Getting bright sunlight early in the day while limiting bright light and screen time later in the evening can alter your metabolism. Scientists found bright light exposure increased insulin uptake compared to dim light exposure in the morning. In the evening, bright light caused higher peak glucose (blood sugar) levels.

Metabolic dysfunction is the root cause of many chronic diseases experienced today. Most people aren’t even aware it exists. It should be part of the mainstream conversation when talking about health. 

The good news is most of your metabolic health is within your control with simple dietary, exercise, and lifestyle changes.

It’s never too late to start. Even the smallest step towards better health, such as going from being sedentary to being more physically active throughout the day, can considerably improve your metabolic health and overall well-being! 

Don’t wait. Start today. If you need support, join us at an upcoming Reignite virtual course. You’ll learn how to take action today and leave with your personalized plan for living well and flourishing. 

Can protein help women age well?

Eating adequate protein plays an essential role in preserving skeletal muscle as women age.

It’s impossible to move through your day without seeing a headline about what you should eat for good health. In your lifetime, you’ve most likely witnessed the popularity of macronutrients (carbohydrates, fat, or protein) rise and fall. Most of us are old enough to remember the nonfat obsession of the early 90s. Today protein is all the rage, but does it have a role in aging well through menopause and beyond?

Eating protein is essential to good health. As you age, it helps maintain healthy muscles and physical functioning. Compared to carbohydrates and fats, protein also takes the longest amount of time (and energy) for the body to digest and absorb, so it has a significant role in helping you stay full longer after a meal.

A growing body of research suggests that loss of skeletal muscle mass (sarcopenia) and strength along with fat accumulation in muscle tissue begins in your 40s. Decreasing estrogen plays a part in the process, but so does the increase of sedentary time (e.g., sitting too much) and decline of physical activity. The combination over time decreases muscle strength and power by two to three percent a year. The progression can lead to increased risk of falls, metabolic dysfunction, heart and respiratory disease, early mortality, and decreased quality of life.1

The good news is you can prevent this decline by eating high-quality protein throughout the day and exercising (prioritizing, strength, or resistance training). You can read more about the keys to getting fit after 50 and how to sit less and move more in previous blog posts. Today we’re focusing on protein as part of a nourishing eating pattern for aging well after menopause.

Why do you need protein? 

Eating adequate protein plays a role in making and preserving skeletal muscle before, during, and after menopause. Protein distribution at meals and quality have also been reviewed recently in the literature.

The current Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is .8 grams per kilogram (1 kg = 2.2 pounds) of body weight. The RDA is the amount of protein healthy adults need each day to prevent deficiencies. However, there has been criticism that these recommendations may not be optimal for older adults who may need additional protein to sustain muscle mass and functionality.

Experts suggest that the current protein recommendations don’t account for research showing that while older people can make as much muscle as younger individuals, they require more protein to achieve the same effect. 

How much protein do you need after menopause?

Your personal protein goals will vary based on your age, activity level, and goals. Working with a registered dietitian is the best approach for determining exactly how much protein you need each day.

However, several expert groups have advocated for 1.0 to 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day for healthy adults and >1.2 grams of protein per kilogram per day for older adults with acute or chronic illnesses. For example, a healthy 150-pound woman would need 68 to 82 grams of protein a day.

Is there an optimal way to consume protein?

Our skeletal muscles are in a constant state of growth and repair, so it’s essential to understand how to feed them most effectively. Studies have looked at whether it is better to consume protein throughout the day or at a single meal and suggest an even distribution throughout the day helps maximize muscle-making.

Aim for 20-25 grams of protein at each meal and pair 5 to 10 grams of protein with a fruit, vegetable, or fat as a snack.

Does protein quality matter?

As women age, the protein quality may be more critical than when younger. Protein quality impacts digestion, absorption, amino acid composition (e.g., essential amino acids that our bodies don’t make), muscle growth, and muscle repair. 

Animal and plant foods provide protein, but meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, and seafood supply all the amino acids that the body cannot produce. Gram for gram, animal proteins are better for stimulating muscle growth than plant proteins, but both can help you reach your protein goals. Plus, plant foods are packed with nutrition, like fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals beneficial for aging, without the cholesterol and saturated fats found in animal products.

Leucine, a branched-chain amino acid required to grow and repair muscle, skin, and bone, may be vital in preventing age-related sarcopenia. Plant foods tend to be lower in leucine than foods rich in animal proteins. Short-term studies have evaluated higher doses of leucine at meals with lower total protein content and seen beneficial effects on muscle growth. Therefore, try to incorporate foods like chicken, steak, pork chops, tuna, tofu, tempeh, chickpeas, lentils, navy beans, milk, yogurt, nuts, seeds, and eggs into your daily eating pattern. 

Can protein powders help you reach your protein goals?

Although we do recommend eating whole foods to meet your protein needs, there are times when protein powders can help supplement your protein goals. There are many choices on the market. 

Whey protein (from dairy) is one of the most commonly used proteins, contains all the essential amino acids, and is easily digested. Collagen is popular on the market today, but it doesn’t include all the essential amino acids. Research is still inconclusive regarding health benefits, so if you’re reaching for a supplement, you’re better off choosing an alternative to meet your protein requirements. 

Many plant-based protein powders are incomplete protein sources (lacking all essential amino acids), so you may find plant-based powders contain a mixture of plant protein sources. Plant-based options include soy, brown rice, pea, or hemp. The bottom line is to choose a protein powder you like with the least amount of additional additives. 

In summary

Eating adequate amounts of high-quality protein throughout the day, doing resistance or strength exercises at least twice a week, and reducing sedentary time are all vital for maintaining muscle mass and strength as you age.

No matter your age now is the time to assess your intake, review the quality, and look at how you distribute protein in your meals and snacks. Aging well may require tweaks to what you eat and your exercise routine to ensure you live the quality of life you desire in your later years.

Resources: 

1. McKendry J, Currier BS, Lim C, Mcleod JC, Thomas ACQ, Phillips SM. Nutritional Supplements to Support Resistance Exercise in Countering the Sarcopenia of Aging. Nutrients. 2020 Jul 10;12(7):2057. DOI: 10.3390/nu12072057. Erratum in: Nutrients. 2021 Mar 23;13(3): PMID: 32664408; PMCID: PMC7399875.

2. Roger PS, Zanella R Jr, Martins GL, et al. Strategies to Prevent sarcopenia in the Aging Process: Role of Protein Intake and Exercise. Nutrients. 2021;14(1):52. Published 2021 Dec 23. doi:10.3390/nu14010052

13 Ways to Transition to Autumn Using a Chinese Medicine Approach

Jalashree working with a guest.

Guest Blog: Written By Jalashree Pradhan, Licensed Acupuncturist and Reiki practitioner.

“There is a necessary wisdom in the give-and-take of nature, its quiet agreements and search for balance. There is an extraordinary generosity”- Suzanne Simard.

As the last warm days of our late summer wind down and the busy Yang energy of summer recedes, the transition to autumn begins. The days are shorter, the sun sets earlier, and the mornings are cool and crisp. Observing nature in transition during the autumn season, we begin to prepare for more dormant days ahead. Leaves turn and begin their journey back to the earth. Fruits fall, seeds dry, and tree sap returns to the roots. The natural world is preparing for the cold, dark, and challenging months ahead. We, too, must make our preparations at this time. We stock up on colorful and still abundant fruits and vegetables, dry, preserve, and store foods, and rediscover our forgotten sweaters and wool socks—the summer Yang energy transitions to the slower, quiet, and introspective Yin energy during this time.

Welcome to autumn.

The philosophy of Chinese medicine teaches us to live in reciprocal harmony with the natural world’s cycles so that we can maximize our health and wellbeing.

The Five Elements:

According to Chinese medicine, the Five Elements, or 5 phases, are a method by which we can explain the manifestations of this world. Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water help us define our relationship to the physical world, the spiritual world, and bodies.

In Chinese medicine, autumn is represented by the Metal element and is related to the Lungs and Large intestine organ systems. The Metal element governs mind, organization, order, stability, an eye for beauty/refinement, and its ability to come together and let go. It relates to the color white. The body tissue it connects to is the skin and body hair. The sensory organ is the nose. We experience this element through a yearning for spicy, pungent, and somewhat sour foods.

When the Metal element is not balanced, we may experience excessive grief and sadness or have difficulty letting go and need control. When in balance, we experience a natural sense of acceptance of the transition of this world. We can let go with grace and grieve appropriately, recognizing change as a natural transformative process.

The Lungs and Large intestine organ systems include the nose, throat, skin, and digestive systems, designed to protect us from harmful external factors. The Qi that circulates on the surface is called Defensive Qi, “Wei Qi.” This encompasses the Western concept of superficial immunity and protects us from seasonal illnesses like colds, flu, and allergies. The Lungs are most susceptible to wind, cold, and dryness at this time of year. If Wei Qi is strong and in balance, we can generally maintain health and avoid illness. If our Lungs are out of balance due to overwork, lack of sleep, or improper diet, we are more likely to suffer from “lung conditions.”  

Common symptoms associated with Lung and Large intestine system imbalances are allergies, asthma, breathing problems, constipation/diarrhea, cough, excessive grief, indifference, sadness, sinus infections, sinus headaches, shortness of breath, susceptibility for colds/flu, skin issues, pain in shoulders, elbows, and lower limbs.

Autumn is an opportune time to nourish these vulnerable systems and balance your overall energy and immune system.

There are many things you can do to transition between seasons and embrace autumn:

Stay Warm - Weather changes quickly during this dry season, so wear extra layers. Keeping a scarf around the neck and chest offers additional protection and makes a bold fashion statement. According to Chinese medicine, wind penetrates through the back of the neck and brings environmental pathogens that can lead to vulnerability to catching an illness. Cover up and protect your skin.

Practice Slowing Down - Exercise is essential at this time, but as the world around us slows down, we should reflect on the pace and not run from it. Try calmer forms of exercise – yoga, Qi Gong, nature walks, taking in the beauty of color changes of the trees, or watching a sunrise/sunset. Seek inspiration and beauty all around you. Embrace the transition.

Share activities with family and friends like raking leaves, foraging mushrooms, apple picking, and bringing the garden to a temporary lull. Take time to watch the beauty and changes as they happen all around you. These are relaxing, connected forms of mental and emotional exercise as we say goodbye to one season and welcome another.

Protect Your Sleep - Days are shorter, and nights are longer. More hours of the day are Yin (dark, quiet, cool, and inactive). Try following nature’s lead by going to bed a little earlier. Make sure to turn off screens and keep the bedroom cool and dark. Going to bed and waking up at regular hours will help restore and repair your body and mind.

Incorporate The Bounty Of The Harvest - Move away from summer’s cold, raw foods to more warm and heartier foods such as soups, stews, sautés, stir-fry, and roasts. Rich and dense foods such as winter squashes, winter peas, broccoli, beets, carrots, cauliflower, red cabbage, sweet potatoes, yams, and dark leafy greens support and help keep the digestive system strong to keep the lung system protected. Seasonal fruits such as cranberries, figs, pears, apples, persimmons, and chestnuts support the Lung and Large intestine organ systems. The season provides us much to be grateful for and acknowledge.

It’s best to avoid rich and fatty foods in autumn. They are difficult to digest and can produce phlegm that blocks the Lung Qi. Also, in Chinese medicine, excessive intake of fruits, juices, and dairy can produce mucus, causing coughs and phlegm, so best to limit these to protect the lungs.

Say Yes To Sour/Pungent Flavors - Add sour foods into your diet (olives, pickles, sauerkraut, lemons, leeks, tart apples, etc.) to help hold the Qi within us. It is wise to add pungent aromatic seasonings such as garlic, ginger, coriander, chili, mustard seed, cinnamon, sage, thyme, and rosemary. They improve Qi and blood circulation and support fluid balance to release mucus. Do use all these sour and pungent spices in moderation to not deplete the Qi and Yin. To support the Lung and Large intestine membranes and get rid of mucous, add fenugreek, marshmallow root, flaxseeds, and kombu seaweed.

Add White - The color white corresponds to the Metal energy. Incorporating white foods such as onions, garlic, ginger, cauliflower, cabbage, bamboo shoots, radishes, turnips, daikon, horseradish, parsnips, mushrooms, apples, pears, almonds, cashews, egg whites all help support the Large intestine to eliminate properly. Also, add fiber-rich whole grains and legumes such as rice, oats, amaranth, white beans, soybeans, and white lima beans.  Do avoid white refined flours and sugars. Wearing white may also bring a sense of lightness.

Cultivate Simplicity - It is time to bring the energy more inward and shed things and activities to help simplify daily life. Consider how to live simply, consciously. Try the Marie Kondo approach to organizing closets and drawers and get rid of things you no longer need; it may help you feel a sense of lightness. Autumn is an excellent time to let go of emotional baggage as well. Clear old resentments, foster compassion and forgiveness, and shed the baggage of unprocessed emotions—all with loving attention and care.

Pause to Breathe - The Lung is the Yin organ of the Metal element and brings Qi, a breath of life, to mind, body, and spirit. Shallow and rapid breaths can reduce oxygen and increase stress/tension and deplete the immune function. Remember to pause and take a mindful breath in from your nose, and exhale slowly from your mouth throughout your day. This will help calm the mind and nourish the Lung system to stay healthy.

Observe and Reflect - This time of the year provides a perfect time to watch the Yang energy transition to Yin energy. It is time to slow down. As the days grow shorter, we may feel anxious or melancholic, saying goodbye to the warmer weather. As beautiful as the changing season can be, the closing days of the year can remind us of our cycles and mortality and helps us to live in alignment with what is greater than ourselves.

If we can be persuaded to put aside our fears and accept all that is happening around us and become a part of the larger life cycle, grief can be experienced as a cleansing emotion.

It is essential to make time to cry and grieve. The sound of the Metal element is weeping. The process of letting go, releasing old patterns and unresolved grief will allow us to move with courage and integrity to clarity, recovery, and finally, acceptance.

Incorporate Essential Oils - The Lungs are related to the nose and our sense of smell. When the Lung system is balanced, we can smell all five smells. Deeply inhale essential oils like rosemary, niaouli, eucalyptus, fir, or peppermint to open and clear the nasal passages, and cinnamon, clove, and lemon, in addition, can help boost immunity. Essential oils of lavender, orange, neroli, ylang-ylang, chamomile, and blue tansy help calm mild anxiety, worry, and stress.

My favorite essential oil blends that I carry at my clinic are from Snow Lotus: Vir-Away, Sinus Clear, Sweet Dreams, Stress Release, and Worry-Free.

Add Chinese Herbal Remedies - Chinese herbal remedies are a time-tested and effective support for the immune system and treating cold and flu. They can also be used to support recovery from various long-haul symptoms of COVID-19. It is best to consult with your East Asian Medicine practitioner or me for the appropriate formula for you.

These are a few formulas that can be safely added to your daily regimen as prevention and maintain health through the autumn and winter seasons:

• Host Defense Immunity Comprehensive/ Stamets 7: a powerful blend of medicinal mushrooms for supporting general immunity

• Griffo Base Camp: classical Chinese herbal formula with medicinal mushrooms in teas and tinctures support seasonal immunity

• Dao Labs (Mpls) Immunity Support: classical herbal blend can be added to your daily autumn regimen

Balance with Acupressure Points - Acupoints can be massaged rotating clockwise for 30 seconds to balance the immune system and support the digestive function.

• CV 17-Sea of Tranquility is on the center of the chest at the 4th rib space and in front of the thymus gland, opens the chest, relaxes the diaphragm, supports the immune system, and brings a sense of calm and ease to the whole body, mind, and heart.

• LU2-Cloud Gate is on the upper chest, below the front of the shoulder and end of the collar bone. This point will help with cough, asthma, and pain in the shoulders, lift the cloud of sadness and grief, and allow brightness and warmth to enter by supporting the Metal element.

• TB5-Outer Gate is on the backside of the arm, about three fingers above your wrist crease between the two tendons. This point powerfully reduces inflammation and balances the fluids of the whole body. Also, the Outer gate allows for a feeling of warmth and connection from others.

Restore with Preventative Care - It is more important than ever to stay healthy and balanced, as well as protect and strengthen your immune system. It is beneficial to schedule a seasonal tune-up with acupuncture, cupping, and Chinese herbs to address allergies, digestive issues, long haul COVD-19 symptoms, sadness and grieving that need compassionate attention, and so much more. A holistic, individualized plan can be developed to support and meet your unique needs. Schedule your next visit by booking an appointment here. 

You can schedule in-person and telehealth appointments with Jalashree using the link above.

Check out our upcoming facial roller event with Jalashree on November 8, in Minneapolis.

Live Inside Out: 8 Steps to Be Healthy, Move Beyond Anti-aging, and Age by Design

Aging is an extraordinary process where you become the person you always should have been. ~David Bowie

We’ve been thinking and talking about what it means to be ‘youthful’ recently. We believe that the key to being youthful is to have a long-term, sustained focus on being healthy. Live Inside Out is one of the Rumblings 4 Rocks (foundational principles) to Flourish After 50.

• Go inward to live authentically outward

• Look inside to determine what and how much you eat

• Recognize the joy of the journey

• Eat whole foods, mostly plants

• Be grateful for your body’s capabilities

• Enjoy what you eat and your daily movement without guilt or judgment

• Honor tradition

• Celebrate culture

 Even with our focus on health, we have experienced body changes as we age, such as a slight thickening around the waist, difficulty maintaining our weight, more wrinkles, muscle aches, and symptoms of menopause, to name a few. 

Women discuss the impact of these changes and nostalgic memories of how we looked in our 20s, 30s, and 40s with friends. We share tips and tricks for looking as young as we can - or as good as possible for our age. Yet, there is one part of aging that we may not discuss as commonly—the abundance of messages that our aging bodies are abnormal and we should fix them.

Individuals and organizations are competing for our attention and our money by selling promises of happiness and youthfulness. Their message is, if we conform to the culture of ‘thinness’ to fit in, we will have value and be worthy. It’s as if somehow aging is unnatural or makes us imperfect, so we must succumb and prioritize anti-aging. 

Media bombards us with images of unrealistic and unachievable ideals for a youthful appearance.  It would be hypocritical to imply that things like facials, overpriced skincare, or even injectables and fillers are the enemy. Still, the emphasis that aging is somehow a personal shortcoming or character flaw diminishes our value to what is superficial and appearance-related. 

Yes, our bodies are imperfect, and they sometimes let us down. As we age, our bodies may be less cooperative and cause us to struggle to stay thin and fit, or even simply healthy! 

One of the most beautiful things about aging is the opportunity to shed those superficial expectations of society and the media and instead step into the person we know we have become. 

We don’t need to fight against our bodies as they gracefully do what bodies do - age. Our bodies are not the enemy. The changes during midlife don’t make us diminished, less relevant, or even disgusting. 

There are social movements focused on body inclusion, body positivity, realistic weight, and promoting physical strength for girls. It’s now time for a movement of accepting aging too. 

We can shape the future of societal norms surrounding aging, particularly in women. We can demonstrate by example that our worth as we age is not defined by unrealistic and unattainable superficial beauty standards any more than it should be for our younger daughters, granddaughters, and nieces. 

We don’t have to accept aging trends focused on how we look, how we dress, our skincare, and our makeup routines. We can age by design, in our way, as we choose. 

If we focus our efforts instead on the approach to Live Inside Out, we can not only be grateful for our body’s capabilities; we can take that next step and embrace the process of fully stepping into the person we were becoming all along. 

Embrace all of the lumps, bumps, and wrinkles that represent a well-lived life. We have come by all of these ‘imperfections’ naturally - and they are perfect. We are creating and becoming a ‘well being’ - a healthy, inside and out human body, one that is more than our physical appearance. 

Our main goal should be to be healthy in a whole-person way, not to stay looking young, but to live well. Life is good, and midlife is the middle, not the end. It’s a new season that we can design to thrive and flourish. 

Living inside-out is a sustainable well-being approach and is the real pro-aging ‘secret’ for feeling youthful and thriving after 50!

To learn more about the Rumblings 4 Rocks (foundational principles) to flourish after 50 and receive tips, tools, and techniques to thrive, sign-up today.

Live Well as You Age with These 4 Tips to Reset Your Mindset

We now have evidence that the brain is malleable. What this means is by learning new skills, changing current behaviors, and modifying lifelong habits for better health, you can halt cognitive decline as you age — even into your later years.

Live Well As You Age with These 4 Tips to Reset Your Mindset

You’ve done it before - picked up a new hobby, learned a new skill for work, or started a new morning routine. It’s not always easy to learn something new or change an existing behavior, especially as you get older. All humans are actually hardwired to resist change, but the younger generations generally find it easier to change than those of us in our prime time. 

The reality is that getting out of your comfort zone, learning something, and adopting a new behavior (or two) is actually good for your brain health and has been shown to increase happiness. There is evidence that the brain is malleable. What this means is by learning new skills, changing current behaviors, and modifying lifelong habits for better health, you can halt cognitive decline as you age - even into your later years. 

The story of decline in aging you’ve been told isn’t true. Successful aging requires a
change-is-good mindset, the desire to learn, and a progress, not perfection attitude.      

Get Started with these four mindset reset tips listed below. 

Create a Gratitude Mindset

A gratitude journal is a wonderful way to reset your mindset. By focusing on what you are grateful for, you'll open yourself up to experiencing an abundance of emotional, social, professional, and health benefits.

If you’re already in the practice of writing down what you’re grateful for, try taking your journaling a step further. Make one of your points of gratitude everyday descriptive about someone else and what they've done for you, so that not only are you grateful for your own life, but you also recognize the people in your life and how they contribute to your success and wellbeing. Then challenge yourself to spread gratitude to improve someone else's day.

Send the person you recognized in your journal a note to let them know how grateful you are for them and the impact they have had on your life. Think of the lives you can impact by committing to sending just one message a day! 

Adopt a Fun Mindset

Rebecca’s high school boys had their high school finals coming up  in one week. She realized that her freshman would be experiencing high school finals for the first time and might be feeling added pressure.

When she asked him how he was feeling about finals’ week, he replied, “I am so excited; preparing for finals is fun.” 

Fun and finals weren’t the two words she expected to hear in the same sentence, but she was glad to hear he wasn’t stressed and overwhelmed. 

Fun was his mindset which was making the process of preparing enjoyable and exciting. 

What if you took this approach and reset your mindset when you had something stressful coming up in your life? What if, instead of an automatic response of being overwhelmed, you looked at a stressful event as something fun to be excited about? What if you focused on the process of learning being fun and took the pressure of the results off yourself? 

Give it a try. A reset mindset towards fun can help change your perspective quickly and your life may even feel more fun! 

Build an Intentional Mindset to Change for Good

Like many of you, we started 2021 by setting intentions and a word as our guide for what we want to give attention to over the next 12 months.Transitioning our desired behaviors into lifelong habits is part art, part awareness, daily work, and a whole lot of science.

A place to start is with proven strategies or ‘how tos’ on changing behavior for good. 

We all have patterns of behaviors that we fall back on when we're feeling vulnerable, helpless, angry, stressed or alone. These can be choices that feel more comfortable than sitting still with our emotions. In reality, the only thing that behaviors done mindlessly do is cast a shadow inhibiting our ability to live wholeheartedly. These mindless behaviors give us a false and fleeting sense of soothing and comfort. 

One reason we advocate for sitting still and going inward is the process helps you be mindful about the intentions behind your behavior choices. There are no checklists to identify mindless and comfort behaviors, but self reflection allows you to identify them for yourself. 

Here is one question you can ask yourself that may help. 

Do my choices comfort and nourish my spirit and contribute to my ability to live inside out and flourish, or are they a temporary respite from life?   

Be intentional and identifying red flag personal behavior patterns to help you stay mindful on the path to reaching your goals. For example, if you automatically reach for the sweets after dinner, try going for a short walk instead. 

Being intentional is a mindset. Intention can create awareness around habitual behaviors and help you create change for good. 

Seek a Joyful Mindset

Aging well and flourishing after 50 doesn't require a lengthy to do list or lofty goals. 

Focus on the joy in the journey! 

Do things that nourish you from the inside out. 

Here is where we have found joy the last few months:

• Participate in gentle movement like yoga or meditation

• Walk, ski, or snowshoe in nature 

• Have a conversation with a friend

• Enjoy a wholesome meal with family or friends

• Read a thought-provoking book 

• Listen to an intriguing podcast

• Have a conversation with someone who holds a differing view-point, listen, and seek to understand

• Plan a staycation

• Enjoy the extra time at home to do a puzzle or play a game

By resetting your mindset to focus on the pleasure found in the moment versus what you’re not able to do right now, you’ll discover the joy in so many new experiences in your life. Plus, it can help you positively navigate your life during these stressful times. It’s certainly helped us.

Discover a YOU-First Mindset

Does the recommendation of putting yourself first make you cringe just a little bit? For many of us it certainly does — especially for women. 

Stay with us here. As we’ve aged, we’ve grown tired of trying to live up to someone else’s expectation of who we should be, how we should act, and what we should look like as we age. For many of us, these external expectations create stress in our lives and have become an unrealistic burden that we’re trying unsuccessfully to live up to.  

The reality is you get to decide and write your personal story. And, in doing so you will soften your mind, have greater clarity, and calmness as you evolve closer to your truer and more authentic self.

This is hard work. Society will tell you the goal is to be ageless, instead focus on loving yourself as you are and live age free. 

How to begin? Go inward daily. Set your intentions. Do frequent check-ins to catch yourself if you get off track. Live. Love. Flourish. 

At Rumblings, our philosophy is this...we must reset our mindset in order to live the life of our dreams.  

By focusing on gratitude, intention, joy, and YOU, you can reset your mindset to flourish as you age!  

Rumble On!

Rebecca and Karyn