A Few of My Favorite Things....
Practical suggestions that work for me!
My Friends! We have covered some heavy hormone stuff in recent posts, so it’s time to lighten things up a bit! Today I have collected some of my favorite links to various things that I have found useful in my personal journey as a mid-life perimenopausal recreational athlete and menopause health physician. Enjoy! -Carla
Let’s Start with Recipes!
Getting enough protein is SO important during this stage of life - and so is getting a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Here are some of my favorite recipes!
Get Your Veggies! I love to grill in the summer (and in 2 feet of snow, for that matter!) and have tried to grill just about everything! Here is a great post from Ambitious Kitchen on How to Grill Delicious Vegetables
Healthiest, Tastiest Chicken Salad Recipe EVER! Here’s another gem from Ambitious Kitchen - 15 Minute Healthy Moroccan Spiced Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad. This packs a major flavor punch with lots of protein and spices common to Moroccan cuisine.
Nature’s Medicine Cabinet - I love a good steak, but with it, I will always have a salad and a double side of veggies! Here’s a great post from the awesome and amazing Dr. Stacy Sims on The Power of Plant-Centered Eating.
On Moving Better
During mid-life, our muscles and joints are undergoing dynamic changes with changing hormones. To stay safe, vital, and strong, we now - more than ever - need to focus on foundational principles of sound movement.
The foundation of moving well is a strong core and joint stability. Add this movement to put a little spice into your mobility work! The Turkish Get-Up.
Close attention to excellent technique and control over the heavy weight that you move is paramount to moving well. Train this skill with Tempo Lifts. The example here is the Tempo Squat, but you can apply this principle to other lifts such as shoulder presses, biceps curls, push-ups, and pull-ups!
What is just as important as the movement is the RECOVERY from the movement. Check out these 7 Active Recovery Workouts from WHOOP, care of Morning Chalk Up!
Just Random Stuff
Not Getting Enough Protein? Getting enough protein as a mid-life woman starts with a balanced nutritional program with a wide variety of protein sources. However, it’s not always easy to get the optimal amount of protein just from the foods we eat. I start every morning with a made-from-scratch superfood shake to which I add protein. My favorite protein supplement comes from Dotfit. They are NSF Certified for Sport and recommended by Precision Nutrition. I use their All Natural Whey Smooth Vanilla. They also have a Vegan plant-based product called Best Plant Protein.
My Go-To Compounding Pharmacy - For nearly 17 years I have been prescribing hormone treatment for women. As a fertility specialist, many of the medications we use require the help of a compounding pharmacy. The same is true for some of the hormones I have prescribed for menopausal women. My first-line preference is to use, FDA-approved products, but sometimes, what we need is not always available. VASCO RX is reputable, reliable, PCAB-Certified, has excellent customer service, and ships nearly everywhere in the United States. For more on the pros and cons of mainstream vs compounding pharmacies, check out An Objective Look at Compounding Pharmacies and their Role in Menopausal Medicine.
Housekeeping .... Summer is here and my home in Narragansett, Rhode Island beckons me. Every Monday you will still receive your functional fitness fix for the week, but Thursday's Athletic Aging will move to every other Thursday through September. Have a safe, happy and healthy summer! Cheers! Carla