| Amy here continuing our theme on thriving now before any part of our system is in survival mode – good news! Even if you’re already struggling, this will work for you! Last week I was talking about how weight 🏋️♀️and resistance training is critical, especially for women and especially as we age. It’s so much easier if these habits are started in our 20s and 30s but it’s never too late to make some positive shifts! Let’s recap some positives about being strong! |
| ❤️ 1. Supports Hormonal Health Lifting weights helps balance cortisol (stress hormone), improves sleep, and supports sex hormone regulation. It also fuels libido and enhances pelvic floor function—which I know is a juicy topic in your world of sexual health. 🔥 2. Functional Fierceness We’re talking: •Picking up kids or grandkids •Carrying groceries •Climbing stairs •Moving through life with confidence and ease Strength training helps you age like a warrior, not a worrier. 🧘♀️ 3. Empowerment on Every Level There’s something deeply spiritual about owning your strength. It changes your posture, your mindset, your energy. It whispers, “You’ve got this.” And that’s a powerful thing to carry into every decade of life. For me it’s about feeling capable. Scroll down as we dive into more about our nutrition and insulin! |
Nutrition and hormones are the unsung duet that make or break our energy, vitality, and joy as we age. When women enter perimenopause and beyond, everything we used to “get away with” nutritionally often starts catching up to us. But here’s the beautiful part: you can absolutely thrive radiantly—with the right nourishment and hormone support. This is part of why I’ve been wearing a glucose monitor – to see how my body is responding because I had noticed a change. I hadn’t really changed much with food or workouts but was gaining weight, specifically around my waist.
Let’s break it down into a soulfully strategic guide:
🧬 1. Protein Is Queen
Muscle maintenance? Bone health? Hormone production? Metabolism? All roads lead back to protein.
- Aim for 0.8–1g of protein per pound of body weight daily.
- Spread it throughout the day to maximize muscle protein synthesis.
- Think high-quality sources: grass-fed meats, wild fish, eggs, tempeh, legumes, and protein powders (whey or plant-based).
💡 Tip: Add protein to every meal, especially breakfast—stabilizes blood sugar and sets your hormonal tone for the day. 1 thing I tested with my glucose monitor is whether my coffee with honey, half and half, collagen and MCT oil or my Orgain protein shake with flax meal raised my blood sugar more. I tested this for a few weeks and both created a typical rise and no specific spike.
🌱 2. Fat Is Not the Enemy—It’s Your Hormone Helper
Healthy fats are essential for hormone synthesis (especially sex hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone).
- Prioritize omega-3s (flax, chia, walnuts, fatty fish) and monounsaturated fats (avocados, olives, nuts, seeds).
- Avoid inflammatory fats (refined seed oils, trans fats), which mess with your insulin and cortisol.
🍠 3. Carb With Intention
Perimenopause can change how our bodies process carbs. This doesn’t mean cutting them out—it means being smart and intuitive.
- Focus on fiber-rich, whole food carbs (sweet potatoes, lentils, oats, quinoa, berries).
- Pair carbs with protein/fat to avoid blood sugar spikes.
- Consider carb cycling or reducing carbs at night if your body feels inflamed or sluggish.
🌟 Key idea: Carbs are fuel, not the enemy—especially around workouts.
🧘♀️ 4. Cortisol & Blood Sugar: The Delicate Dance
Unstable blood sugar = cortisol rollercoaster = hormone chaos.
- Eat within 1 hour of waking, with protein + fat + fiber.
- Don’t skip meals—fasting can backfire for many women in midlife. The book Fast Like A Girl is an amazing resource on this. Fasting can be done effectively but needs to factor in our hormones and menstrual cycle!
- Magnesium, B vitamins, and adaptogens (like ashwagandha or rhodiola) help support adrenal health and keep cortisol balanced.
#4 is why I started wearing the glucose monitor. I wanted to see how my body is responding. I will also add that knowing you’re about to see the direct result makes you question what you put into your mouth. I think that alone has been part of how I’ve dropped 3 pounds finally.
Here’s an example. My family went to the movies – so naturally I had some sour patch kids. Boom – my blood sugar shot up from 90 to 220. The theatre was pretty empty so I went to the end of the aisle and stood to do some air squats and standing hamstring curls.
Another helpful thing is to track what you eat. My Fitness Pal is a great app and they have a free version but I will say the paid is much more convenient because you can set your macros, you can scan foods and it inputs them for you, you can set recipes and more to make things easy and convenient. Obviously this is the surface of a complex issue but I think we often overcomplicate things so I wanted to get back to the basics.
- Get some bloodwork, find out what’s going on with your specific body, especially your hormones then think about feeling nourished from the inside out!
- For more support, consider attending our Wellness Event and get a FREE SCAN to know how your body is absorbing any supplements you’re taking and if immune system thriving! Click HERE for more on that event April 26th or ask us about it.
Please reply with any questions! We’re here to support ALL aspects of you healing journey.
Blessings,
Amy and the MOT team
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