Menopause and Muscles: its about Metabolism

There's a lot of talk around building muscle mass during menopause. We know for certain that as we start to have hormonal changes in our forties, we are losing muscle mass and bone density, setting us up for injuries and weight gain. More specifically, our metabolism takes a major hit starting in perimenopause and continuing on through postmenopause. The result is not just a sluggish caloric burn, but changes in the way our brain accesses energy. Read brain fog, memory issues, and mood changes.  What happens in menopause is a major metabolic crisis.

Exercise works for improving metabolism.  Specifically, our muscles are extremely metabolically active, the more muscle mass we have, the better.  As we loose muscle mass so precipitously with hormonal shifts and eventual fall to negligible stores, our ability to burn glucose falters. The only way to turn the tide is commitment to a regular resistance training program.  Here are three rules for for jumpstarting your metabolism through strength:

• Start small: Lift small weights. You will still feel it the next day!

• Build upper body, lower body, and core muscles: all need strengthening. This is not simply about where you'd like to see more definition.

• For building muscle mass, do six sets of an exercise per week

• Follow your workout with protein. Whole foods like eggs or a piece of fish are my favorite. Otherwise, keep a high quality protein supplement on hand. I'm a fan of Momentous Whey Protein: https://www.livemomentous.com/products/essential-whey-protein?selling_plan=83260229. When you order, be sure to put jillbakerwellness in the coupon code for a discount.  

For personalized support on your path to health and wellbeing, sign up for a free consult at https://www.jillbakerwellness.com/