Over the past 6 months, I made 6 specific changes, targeted to midlife women 40+ (I’m 48!), to my diet, nutrition, and fitness training program. However, you can make these changes at any age and they will help you. 

1. CAFFEINE

I cut back on caffeine to optimize hormone balance, regulate cortisol, and support my adrenals.

Cortisol is the mother of all hormones. If your cortisol is dysregulated, then it’s likely that many of your other hormones are out of whack too. In 2019, I learned this the hard way when I was diagnosed with Stage 2 Adrenal Dysfunctional. My cortisol was basically a flat line. As a result, I had been struggling for 3 years to regulate my thyroid and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis antibodies.

The only way to regulate your cortisol is through nutrition and lifestyle changes, and one of those changes is to reduce or eliminate caffeine.

Caffeine is a drug that blocks adenosine function. Adenosine is the chemical compound in your body that builds up during waking hours, so that when it comes time for you to go to bed, you are sleepy.

If you think caffeine has no effect on you, you are wrong.

All the time I hear clients and people say, “I can drink coffee right before bed and still go to sleep! It doesn’t affect me at all.”

This is bullshit.

You may think it doesn’t affect your sleep or hormones, but science tells us otherwise. No matter how quickly you metabolize caffeine (or you think you do), science tells us that caffeine has a “half life” of approximately 6 hours. This means that it takes your body about 6 hours to degrade this drug by half, and 12 hours for your body to completely get rid of it. 

That means, if you have a cup of coffee at 1pm and you go to bed at 10pm, the caffeine is still in your system at 10pm, blocking adenosine function, wreaking havoc on your circadian rhythm, sleep cycles, and overall quality of rest.

When we sleep is when our body repairs itself and replenishes hormones like growth hormone for building muscle. If you caffeinate yourself from the break of dawn until sunset, then you disrupt your circadian rhythm and your body’s ability to restore itself. 

Now, I am a total coffee snob and love coffee as much, if not more, than Ron Burgundy loves scotch.

BUT, my health and regulating my thyroid was very important to me, so I cut back on caffeine to only 1 cup per day in the morning before 10am.

However, in 2022 I went back to work in the corporate world, 5 days a week in the office, in a very stressful environment and ended up doubling my caffeine intake. I would have a cup of coffee about 45 minutes to an hour after I woke up (having your first cup 90 minutes after waking is best, because science), and then a second cup of coffee around 10 a.m. after I arrived at work.

I knew what I was doing to my body, but enjoyed the comfort of that second cup way too much.

After I left my job in October 2023 to move to New Orleans to be with my husband, who had moved to Louisiana in April 2023 and works for Tulane University as the Director of Sports Medicine, I continued to have 2 big ass cups of coffee in the morning, the second one past 10am.

I noticed that in the morning I felt wired and over-caffeinated, and at night I had trouble sleeping.

Immediately I went back to 1 cup in the morning, only before 10am and I felt so much better and could fall asleep right away at night.

2. GUT HEALTH & IMMUNE SUPPORT

I started taking Armra Colostrum for gut health and immune support.

I had been struggling with bloat and inflammation since I turned 45 and perimenopause entered the picture and wanted to find something that would alleviate these symptoms.

I take Armra Immune Revival once a day and Armra Performance Revival before my workout on the days that I workout.

Armra is dairy, so if you are dairy free, instead I recommend trying AG1 (Athletic Greens), Beam’s Core product, or some sort of mushroom superfood & adaptogens blend.

3. BOOST GROWTH HORMONE

I started taking creatine to support the production of growth hormone and building muscle. 

As we age, growth hormone and our ability to produce growth hormone declines. This is why,  if you are not taking targeted supplements and strength training regularly to support building muscle, you may struggle to build muscle after 40, especially in perimenopause or menopause,

Creatine is one of the most researched and safest supplements available. The worst that can happen if you take too much is that it will upset your stomach. There has been a lot of current research on how creatine supports muscle growth and bone density in women in menopause and post menopause.

4. MORE VARIETY IN MY DIET

I switched up my diet.

I had been eating the same things at my meals for a long time, and in particular, a salad every day for lunch. The salad used to make my body feel great, but now it left me bloated. My body needed a change. I switched out my lunch salad for a rotation of proteins, sweet potato or quinoa, kale or broccoli, and avocado.

Now I am more mindful making sure I have a rotation of proteins, my favorite vegetables, healthy carbs, and healthy fats throughout the week at my meals.

5. LESS CARDIO MORE LIFTING

I cut back on running and added an additional weekly strength training workout.

I was lifting 4 times per week, running 2 times per week, and 1 of those runs was 5 miles.

I cut back to 1 run day 3.5 miles or less, and added a 5th lifting day, specifically a kettlebell metabolic conditioning day.

This is shit that I know, BUT in 2022, when I went back to work in the corporate world, 5 days a week onsite in the office in a very stressful environment, I found that my body could only handle 4 days of strength training, plus 1 or 2 cardio days, and 1 rest day.

After I left my job in October 2023 to move to New Orleans to be with my husband, I got a little carried away with my 2 cardio days and decided to challenge myself with a long run day of 5 miles. I noticed that I felt like crap on those days and decided to cut back on the running. 

6. SUPPLEMENTS

I started taking Urolithin A, NAC (N-acetyl cysteine), and I doubled up on my daily Omega 3.

Urolithin A is found in pomegranates, but you can only eat so many pomegranate seeds and drink so much pomegranate juice. Urolithin A helps to support mitochondrial health. 

Mitochondria are your cells’ power generators and they are a key influence in how you age. 

Mitochondrial efficiency naturally declines as you age, so it’s important to take Urolithin A to rejuvenate your cellular energy centers and fight the root cause of aging.

NAC (N-acetyl cysteine) boosts the production of glutathione in your body. Glutathione is the most powerful antioxidant that your body makes. NAC also contains selenium which supports thyroid health and metabolism.

I doubled up on my daily Omega 3 supplement. Omega 3 (fish oil) is an anti-inflammatory and helps to reduce inflammation and triglycerides in the blood, and has many other benefits. 

How to Make Changes

I did not make all of these changes at once. When making changes, you want to do 1 to 3 at a time so that you can tune in to how your body responds and adjust accordingly.

I made the caffeine, diet, and fitness program change first.

Then I started taking Arma.

After I took the Armra for one month, I started taking creatine.

Then I added each of the supplements one by one, Urolithin A, NAC, 2x Omega 3, so that I could tune into how my body responded to each supplement.

Fitness and nutrition is not a one and done event. Adding fitness and nutrition to your life, and creating healthy habits that support optimizing your health as you age, is a LIFESTYLE. 

To be successful, you must be consistent and listen to your body and be aware of how it is responding to everything you are doing. Track progress and take notes!

You also need to be willing to adapt and make changes as you age. What worked for you five years ago is not likely to work for you today.

Do you want and need to make some changes to your fitness and nutrition and don’t know where to start?

I can help you!

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