Episode 17: Hormone HELL? Or Hormone Health?
In this episode of The Iron Lab Podcast, Coaches Jo and Kim take a deep dive into the intricate world of hormone health by answering questions from their coaching program members. They discuss how hormones, including the over 50 types found in the human body, play critical roles in everything from energy and mood to metabolism and reproductive health. Listeners will learn about the distinct hormonal differences between men and women, the hierarchy of hormones, and how lifestyle factors such as sleep, stress, and nutrition directly impact hormone balance.
The conversation also explores the nuances of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and strategies for navigating perimenopause and menopause. Coach Jo shares valuable information and actionable tips on tracking menstrual cycles and adjusting nutrition and exercise during the four phases of the cycle to better manage hormone fluctuations. They highlight the importance of small, sustainable lifestyle changes, like improving sleep and eating whole, nutrient-rich foods, to support overall health and vitality.
Whether you're managing the challenges of PCOS, addressing chronic pain during perimenopause, or seeking to optimize testosterone levels, this episode gives you practical insights and actionable advice to advocate for your health. Coaches Jo and Kim also share personal stories and emphasize the importance of seeking professional guidance from doctors and practitioners for personalized treatment. Tune in to take charge of your hormones and discover how to create lasting health and strength!
Resources discussed in this episode:
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Contact Joely Churchill and Kim Berube | Iron Lab:
Coach Jo Instagram: @CoachJoChurch
Coach Kim Instagram: @CoachKimBerube
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Transcript
Coach Jo 00:09
Welcome to Perfectly Unfinished Conversations, the Iron Lab podcast with Coach Jo…
Coach Kim 00:14
…and Coach Kim.
Coach Jo 00:15
Where you ride shotgun with us as we have raw, real, unfiltered, and unfinished conversations about trying to eat, sleep, train, and live with some integrity in a messy, imperfect life.
Coach Kim 00:27
We're all about creating a strong support system, taking radical personal responsibility, having fun, and being authentic. And one of the most common themes you're going to find in this podcast is the idea that we create positive momentum in our life, by doing what we call b-minus work.
Coach Jo 00:45
We’re making gains and getting ahead and loving life without self-sabotaging our goals by striving for perfection. We get it done by moving ahead…
Coach Kim 00:55
…before we're ready…
Coach Jo 00:56
…when we aren't feeling like it…
Coach Kim 00:58
…and without hesitation.
Coach Jo 1:00
Be sure to subscribe now on Apple or Spotify, so you don't miss a single episode. It’s good enough. Let's go.
Coach Jo 01:10
Welcome folks and friends in this episode, we are going to talk about hormones, particularly as it pertains to women's health. We are going to answer a few questions, we're going to talk about our own personal experience with hormone health and our own challenges or changes. But please disclaimer, this is not medical advice. This is conversation opinion and personal insight and experience. We are not medical professionals. It is not intended to be a tool for self diagnosis or a substitute for medical advice, always listen to the advice of your primary care physician, clinician or integrative health practitioner.
Coach Kim 01:48
So hormones, the title of this podcast is hormone hell, or hormone health. And hormones tend to be lumped into this like broad, mysterious, catch all word that gets the blame for bad moods, bodily functions and bitchiness. But I think it's common for us to generalize our thinking when we talk about hormones, and to automatically assume that the word hormones specifically relates to Lady hormones like progesterone and estrogen, and we'll get there, but those are actually just two out of over 50 hormones that have been identified in the human body. Wikipedia, in my research for this episode, lists 74 and I have seen somewhere in the last several months where somebody was talking about up to 200 hormones that have been identified now, who? I don't have a definitive list on that, but there's a lot. It's not just progesterone and estrogen. Hormones play crucial roles in regulating a wide variety of physiological processes, including your metabolism, growth, reproduction, mood and stress responses. The exact number can vary depending on how researchers define and classify hormones. Okay, whoa, spit it out, Kim. As some molecules may have hormone like functions without being formally categorized as hormones. Hormones include the well known ones like cortisol and melatonin and testosterone, and also include the ones we may not realize are hormones like insulin, adrenaline and vitamin D, which was originally mislabeled as a vitamin and its hormone name is calcitriol, so that's the like baseline intro to this podcast.
Coach Jo 03:48
Let's start with hormones in men versus women. And the types of hormones are largely the same in men and women, but their levels and roles, they differ significantly, especially in the context of our own differences between our reproductive systems, we have shared hormones. Both men and women produce hormones together, such as insulin, cortisol, thyroid hormones, growth hormone and adrenaline. And we share the same sex hormones, even though the levels and primary functions differ between the two. So here's all your sciency stuff. Example, estrogen, higher in women, essential for reproductive health and secondary sexual characteristics. You've got progesterone, which is predominantly active in women, regulating your menstrual cycles and supporting pregnancy. And you've got testosterone, which is obviously higher in men, as you have probably heard, crucial for muscle mass, bone density and male secondary sexual characteristics, women produce similar amounts, which it still influences your libido and your muscle mass. And then there are the reproductive like the specific reproductive hormones, like follicle stimulating hormone or FSH, you got luteinizing hormone, LH, which regulates menstrual cycles and ovulation and HCG in pregnancy, which helps thicken a uterine lining to support a growing baby and embryo, and it tells the body, hey, time to stop your period. And then you got androgens like testosterone, which they're dominant with FSH and LH, regulating your sperm production.
Coach Kim 05:23
So here’s what people fail to understand about hormone balance, and that is that there is a hierarchy that supports optimal hormone balance. So when we talk about or hear people say, hormone balancing, like one of the things I've seen a lot on Instagram is eat raw, unpeeled carrots, and that's a hormone balancer. But actually, the truth of the matter is, is that your hormones can't necessarily be optimized one at a time. It is a cascade of hormones that starts in the brain and then trickles down through the body, we believe the focus or blame should be on one hormone, like our estrogen is the problem, or we zero in on insulin, or it's our cortisol that's the problem. But just like getting a big zit, pus filled zit, right, which is practically impossible to fix or cover up with makeup, balancing or helping your sex hormones, example, estrogen, progesterone, etc, is practically impossible without obeying the hierarchy. So you can't just apply cover up, example, HRT or black cohosh and believe your problem is fixed or gone. It's a tool in the toolkit. And yes, there's value, but it's probably not going to cover up the zit. Now, gross comparison, but you get the picture. So the hormone hierarchy looks like this, the hypothalamus in the brain. It's the master regulator. It is the endocrine system's command center. Your endocrine system is your hormone system, right? It's very sensitive to internal signals like stress, blood sugar and light, which is classified under circadian rhythm, circadian health, as well as external factors like diet, sleep and environment. After that, you've got the pituitary or master gland, and its job is to regulate adrenal and thyroid function, as well as FSH and LH, which is responsible for ovulation. Its job is dispatch. It is responsible for proper signaling, telling what hormones to do wha, to reach, all the major hormone producing glands. Then comes your adrenal system, the stress center. Cortisol regulates stress metabolism inflammation, aldosterone balances sodium and potassium for hydration and blood pressure. DHEA is a precursor to sex hormones like testosterone and estrogen. Like chronic stress will fuck up the adrenals, causing dysregulation of cortisol and the downstream hormones, like your thyroid, which is your metabolism manager. When the thyroid goes offline, it affects your body weight, temperature, hair growth, loss, hair loss and more. Next in the hierarchy is your pancreas, which is blood sugar regulation. And you've heard us talk about insulin, which regulates fat and nutrient storage, and glucagon, which frees up energy to burn, but just like backwashing into your water bottle, chronic blood sugar imbalances go back upstream, chronically high blood sugar affects your cortisol and your thyroid and trickles down to your sex hormones. So which is actually sex hormones, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, those are at the very bottom of the hierarchy, meaning before life gets to fucking up your estrogen and progesterone in a very natural life span sort of way, your brain, your thyroid, your adrenals and pancreas all have a hand in how you show up to perimenopause or menopause.
Coach Jo 09:02
And now like, I feel, we feel like we're a broken record to a degree, totally like it's not just the right amount of calories, it's not just the right macronutrient breakdown. It's not just going to be how much exercise you do, how much you're murdering yourself on the floor that creates a strong and vibrant body, it's all of it that creates your results. And it's not just estrogen or just progesterone that is responsible for vitality and hormone balance. It's good sleep, it's stress management, it's good food. It's many parts working together in this amazing symphony to create the outcome that we have. This is always what we are preaching. It's your lifestyle. It's ongoing. We keep trying, we keep striving. We use all the tools. We don't overlook help, and we don't say fuck it on the basic tenets that create the foundation to support what we want. So we have some questions here that were submitted to us from our clients, our members that we coach and we work with on a personal basis, and we are going to do our best to answer them with our coach hats on and reminder, this is not medical advice. This is opinion and in conversation, and we encourage you to only make decisions for your health with your most trusted physician or health professionals’ advice and their support in mind.
Coach Kim 10:18
So, first question, which was beautifully and thoughtfully crafted. By the way, after having my first baby, the doctor put me on progesterone only birth control. This means that I don't get a period every month. There was a short period of time before being pregnant and with my second baby that I was off the progesterone birth control and went through two menstrual cycles, the cramps were awful because of my C section scar. Now, after having my second baby, I'm back on the same birth control. My son is now 17 months old, and I've been considering going back on regular birth control. The end goal is not to be on birth control altogether, until only until my husband gets the snip. I will stay on birth control. Sorry, I kind of screwed that that language up. But essentially, she's going to stay on the birth control until husband gets a vasectomy, and then she intends to go off. My problem is that I quite enjoy not having to worry about aunt flow once a month and all the joys that it brings. I'm kind of in the natural zone right now when it comes to hormones, and I fear what it will be like to having to ride the emotional waves every month again. However, I believe it's not natural for the body to not cleanse itself monthly, and I worry there will be future hormonal issues from staying on progesterone for so long. These are questions I will bring up with my doctor, but here are my questions for you, ladies. I once heard that eating raw carrots for a few days before your periods helps lessen PMS symptoms. Is there anything you do throughout the month that helps you get through the highs and lows of hormonal changes? Second question, how do you stay on track with your nutrition when it's that time of month and not binge and eat comfort food and chocolate? And the last question is, do you change the way you work out to match the phases of your cycle? I'm throwing this question out to Jo to respond one question at a time. So first question, Jo, is there anything that you do throughout the month that helps you get through the highs and lows of hormones?
Coach Jo 12:27
Yeah, for sure. I love this because, like, first off, on a background check here, so you can understand history, I have been tracking my period fairly regularly over the last two years, and not just to track, like, when am I going to get my period, but actually my signs, my symptoms, all the catalysts, like the cascade effects for mismanaged moods and behaviors that and to try to match my phases of my cycle with some nourishing foods, to see if I can eliminate any of those period like symptoms. And truthfully, once you get a better grasp on what is happening in each of your phases that you go through then you can essentially plan for it. And let's just talk about the period for a second, because I don't think a lot of women, Kim and I were just discussing this before we started this podcast. I don't think a lot of women actually know, like what happens in their period and what cycles they have, and what that looks like, what the phases look like. So you have four cycle phases within your 21 or your 28 day cycle. Personally, I go through a 21 day Kim, when she was more regular, was a little bit longer then we kind of synced up and mashed in the middle, yeah, working together.
Coach Kim 13:28
And for years, like, for mostly my whole life, like I was very regular, 28 days, really uneventful, normal period. So, you know, like, that's, yeah.
Coach Jo 13:37
So the first phase is your menstrual phase, aka, this is when you're going to have your period, which lasts around, you know, three to seven days. This is when both estrogen and progesterone are at their lowest, and because of that, your energy feels pretty low as a result, you feel tired, like you just might need more rest, etc. The second phase is your follicular phase, and that lasts about seven to 10 days. And this be, this phase begins with your period and continues. Afterwards, estrogen starts to rise. You're boosting your energy levels, your mood, your mental clarity, etc. And then your third phase is your ovulation, and only lasts around one to three days in its release of the luteinizing hormone, which stimulates the follicle to release an egg, uterine lining begins to thicken, your estrogen begins to rise, and it peaks here. Plus testosterone gives you more energy, confidence boost and the libido that most women really want some days, right? And the last phase is your luteal phase, which lasts around 12 to 14 days. Really, this phase is split into two parts, like the week just after ovulation, and the fall, which is the following week, and then the one week just prior to when you get your period, estrogen, progesterone and testosterone, they rise to their highest, and then they drop the week before your period. So basically, in the first half, you're going to feel really good, but as progesterone peaks, you may notice lower energy, mood swings and PMS, symptoms like bloating and cravings before you start that cycle, all over again.
Coach Kim 15:02
So, I just want to interject here, because I think that this is really undervalued information. I think that, I think that we have spent the last well for a long, long time, 50 years, probably since the development of birth control for women, right?
Coach Jo 15:23
Hormone blockers.
Coach Kim 15:22
Yeah, oral birth control for women, we forget that the, you know, natural, the reason that women have a period is not to have a period. The reason that you have a period is to procreate, is to re-populate the world. To, you know, it's survival of the fittest. It's making babies. And so when you look at the natural signals behind those rises and falls naturally in your cycle, it would make perfect sense that during that follicular phase, heading up towards ovulation, the whole point is to drive your behavior, your moods, your energy, in order to make you more flirtatious and make you want to have sex, and make you want to fool around. You're more, you know, interested in the opposite sex. You want to, like, that's driving you towards having sex, because you're getting ready to ovulate, right? And then after that, if you don't actually catch your pregnancy, you make it sound like a disease. It's not, you know, like, if you don't actually catch, you know, have a fertilized egg and become pregnant, then the whole point is to switch the hormones off and have a period, right? And not only that, but that week before your period, part of the reason that you're being driven with extra hunger and cravings for chocolate, it's always about how to prepare the body to grow a baby.
Coach Jo 16:43
Yeah, exactly. So back to your question, which is, how do I how do I balance it all? My main priority is sleep. When my kids go to bed at eight, I'm already climbing to bed shortly after that. I've said that in previous podcasts like, I need to sleep. Sleep helps keep my emotions steady by helping my brain handle all the stress and deal with challenges as they come, on the fly. When you're well rested, your body can produce and regulate hormones more effectively. For example, during sleep, your body maintains the balance of reproductive hormones like estrogen and progesterone. So we've like we're tracking cycle and we're getting enough sleep, but we also have another thing that I believe is so effing important, and probably the most overlooked aspect of women in their period health is that you have to talk with someone about it. You have to share and you have to what is your experience? What is your experience? I think that is so overlooked, like I'm dead serious. One of the best things about the people I surround myself with is that we can, with full transparency, talk about what we are going through and experiencing altogether in real time. If I'm having a rough menstrual week around here, like Kim knows, we can share, support, help each other out in the process. Like, for heaven's sakes, I truly didn't even know my own body until after I had kids. I didn't pay attention to it, but now that I'm tracking it, I understand it. And I realized, like, hey, I'm not fucking crazy. I'm not going crazy every month. My mood can literally be tracked to the day because of my hormone swings during my cycle. And women haven't been raised to discuss this at all, or, you know, like I felt I didn't know enough about it growing up, it was always shushed and put under the rug, even conversations with my own mom. Like, I couldn't even talk to my own mom about periods, it felt like. But dang, here I'm, like, walking around the gym all the staff hollering, yeah, it's ovulation day. I'm about to light a fucking rocket under my ass and coach this next class. Like, let's go! Like, we talk about it and we share it well.
Coach Kim 18:39
And so Jo said, you know, as kids, as young women, entering into, you know, starting your period like I would have been 13 years old, and my mom, I consider my mom to be really progressive, and, you know, she was open and honest, and I still, like, literally, all the information I got about my period was handed to me in a pamphlet.
Coach Jo 19:01
Yeah, we both had this.
Coach Kim 19:02
From, like Kotex. It came in the, like, the pad box and, and I came up through the years where, like, they were, like the the belts with, like the garter, like, hold the pads, you know, like…
Coach Jo 19:13
And written by a man.
Coach Kim 19:16
Yeah, maybe, so, yeah. We've come a long way, and it is important to have somebody to talk about it with because it is just so affirming to go, Oh, I'm not the only one. So how do you stay on track with your nutrition when it's that time of month and not binge and eat comfort food and chocolate?
Coach Jo 19:33
Well this is where I feel it is important to understand that different hormones respond to different foods. Like sugary processed foods can upset your insulin, and too much caffeine can raise your cortisol, which is going to mess with melatonin, and that's going to ultimately affect your sleep. So during your cycle, estrogen does better with less sugar and more time, more space between meals, while progesterone needs more rest and healthy carbs like whole grains, small changes like this can actually improve your mood. Energy, appetite and PMS symptoms. So if we go back to phases, each phase should be treated differently with nutrition, and I definitely have been trying to match that as best as I can, especially as I was leading up my training to Strong First for sure. So when your period starts like your menstrual phase, that's day one year cycle, I start with iron rich foods, something like beets. I add in complex carbs, like brown rice, sweet potato for blood sugar stability, and I combine that with high protein and fats like hearty food here is best during your period, focus on foods that boost your magnesium and iron levels, such as dark green leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds, bananas and even biting on niblin on some dark chocolate. But I also drink my water like crazy during my period week, I noticed that that has helped me a lot. Follicular phase, it's a time to have lighter meals with colorful veggies, salads, lean protein like really, truly, less heavy as you're coming out of your period. Your period is almost done and you're just out, so Lighten up, avoid or limit any of the fatty foods, alcohol, caffeine, salty foods to cut out the bloating and all the puffiness that your period may have given you, try to incorporate foods that will metabolize all of your extra estrogen. Focus on sprouted and fermented foods like broccoli sprouts, kimchi, sauerkraut, citrus fruits, lentils, eggs. Like I eat more eggs, for sure, during this time I feel like I crave them. Then when you're in ovulation, where you literally feel like you're on top of the world, and it's feeling good, light, not too heavy. During this time, you feel like your stomach's coming in a bit like tons of protein. Get your veggies to flush out more estrogen, cruciferous veggies, and that's all gonna help me to continue feeling like a badass motherfucker. Smaller amounts of carbs. They're really, truly needed there not too much. You're feeling incredible, and you don't need no big rushes of glucose in your body.
Coach Kim 21:47
I think right here, like this, is a really important thing where we're talking about, like, all the healthy foods, and this is so important to, you know, back this up and kind of write some of these down and just check in on your diet and track and all these kinds of things. I also think that as we talk about this, one of the probably most missed aspects to this conversation is the development of PCOS, polycystic ovarian syndrome in women over the last for sure, 20 years, and how that has exploded, and the link to insulin resistance. Yeah, right. And so when we are talking about all these cycles and phases, if you are dealing with PCOS, either undiagnosed or clinically diagnosed by your practitioner, that is also going to create extra struggle for you. And so these changes might seem overwhelming, but this is where the gold is. Like, nutrition is 100% where the gold is.
Coach Jo 22:42
Because PCOS is, like we had mentioned before, it's diabetes of the ovaries, right.
Coach Kim 22:47
Yeah, for sure.
Coach Jo 22:48
So, lastly, your last phase, the luteal phase. It's a time before your period comes. You're going to benefit from eating healthily, steering clear foods that can trigger more period cramps. This is the best time to avoid caffeine, alcohol, any more salt that's gonna cause more puffiness. Carbonated drinks, more bloat you wanna have, you know, more calories. Warm foods like soup, stews, healthy casseroles, root vegetables, foods high in magnesium, like avocado, dark chocolate, I do more avocado than I would do dark chocolate, though. And like, how much of this do I really pay attention to? Sometimes it's 60-40, maybe 80-20 sometimes I'm fucking nailing it. Other times I'm letting the cravings get the better of me. But I will say this, when I eat too much crap and sugar leading into my period and during it, my PMS symptoms, they are off the fucking charts. And when I pay attention and I'm more intentional and self aware of what I'm putting in my body leading up to the week, I don't even notice when my period comes, not one ounce of symptoms. So yes, nutrition is important.
Coach Kim 23:43
Yeah, and I think it can't be understated either, that we often say this about many things is, is that if you have never considered this, or never put any effort toward this, and you are 28 or 32 or 38 years old, or 42 years old, and you are just embarking on this journey, you got to check your expectations, because it is completely unreasonable to think that you're going to change your diet for three weeks and notice a significant difference, like you got to you got to just start easing in. You just got to take the information and start to kind of gently transition yourself into this direction. Yeah, exactly. So do you change the way that you work out to match the phases of your cycles?
Coach Jo 24:30
Short answer, fuck yes, I do. This reminds me, like this question reminds me of how I dialed, how dialed I was into my training for SFG two last year in New York City, and how I almost jumped through the roof, or I did? I think I jumped into Kim's office when I found out the night we were going to be doing our testing, as I was tracking was gonna be my second day after my cycle ended. And like, Why was I so excited? Because I knew I was gonna be at my strongest in my entire month on that one fucking single day to do my testing. And like, yeah, like, I think it's important you need to train to match the phases of your cycle. Your cycle has a huge impact on your energy, strength and endurance. Menstrual phase, you move slower, you lift weights. I took it back and, like, I might take it back a notch. I might just go for a walk or do some light stretching. I had a certification of pass in Toronto when I was on day two. And I know you had a certification on one of your pairs, and it felt like I got hit by a fucking truck after that training day, like I could barely lift the weight. So no, I am older and wiser now, so that means I'm going to train accordingly. Energy starts to rise again in your follicular and truly peaks in ovulation. So follicular, your energy is back. So sweat out with cardio, full body strength exercises, or whatever feels good, ovulation would be great to fall strategically on a conditioning day, like something you're gonna really go crazy nuts along because, you know, I'm sure most people could go forever on that day, but luteal, the first week, would be treated as normal training week for myself. But as I move towards the week before my period, and over my period, I'm more mindful about lifts and not being so heavy and not overdoing it. So yeah, knowing how your hormones change helps you train more effectively, perform better, and it's going to help you avoid burnout.
Coach Kim 26:04
So, I can remember during my periods that very, very typically, when I got to really know my cycle the week before my period for me, because I think we're also there are some signs and symptoms that would be, you know, generic. And then this is why it's important to track is because you're going to find your own way through it by noticing yourself. And so the week leading up to my period, I would be gassed. I would be like everything felt heavy and hard. I would have more cravings. I would be more interested in hunger. I wouldn't be able to have as much like endurance, good quality endurance, or even lift as much weight. And then for me, even though this is suggesting that your energy isn't as good in my period, in your during the week of your period, for me, the day that my period started, my training became like badass, and my hormone, my cravings were gone like that would be the time where I would be really dialed in, in my nutrition and my my training would be really powerful. And so this is why you have to track and know yourself, because there may be subtle differences between what the conventional statistical kind of encouragements are and what works for you. The other thing is, is that I can remember when I first started reading perimenopause research, they were talking about how during a normal month of hormone fluctuations, there is a time to do more power based training, like explosion, like ballistic kind of training, and and a couple weeks where it's more important to do heavy, heavy strength training. And then a week in there where, due to hormone decline, you should not be doing any kinds of jumping. Your your tendons and ligaments tend to be more susceptible to injury. So it's also this is why it's so important to get educated. And we know more now than we've ever known before, but you got to take that information and then apply it through the lens of looking at yourself. Yeah.
Coach Jo 28:03
So, we have another question, and Kim's gonna lead off with this one. I'm gonna throw this at Kim, so tell me about hormone replacement therapy or HRT, why and when and how, and is it good or is it bad? I want you just to dump and tell the listeners all that you've learned.
Coach Kim 28:19
Okay, so I'm going through it like, I'm not an expert, I'm not a doctor. This is what I found out for myself. I'll share it kind of through my own lens. And then again, you know, we've got to begin to find our own way through it. We got to find our own clinician, clinicians. We got to be able to talk to our doctor. And if we can't talk to our doctor, we've got to demand that we are referred out somewhere else, or that we are willing to even pay privately, like I'm willing to pay privately, and I'm really lucky that financially, I'm in a good place with the support of my husband and the decisions and my value system, like I Just am willing to spend that money that way versus a different way. You know, so like, Thank God that there's been this amazing uptick in the talk around hormones and HRT and perimenopause and menopause. There are a couple of really excellent clinics locally in Red Deer, as well as Edmonton, Calgary, with exceptional doctors and clinicians who specialize in women's health. So the first step, if you're struggling is to ask for a referral to one of these clinics or physicians. And second, again, remember, like I'm just talking about my own perspective based on my own life experience and beliefs, so and what I've developed as an opinion. So some of you are going to think I'm too granola, or I'm living in the dark ages, and I'm okay with that. So it's amazing to have pharmaceutical interventions that have given women the opportunity to optimize their health and take control of their Reproductive health. But these opportunities and upticks also have a pendulum effect. Think Like sometimes it swings back around and kicks us in the ass, ass, and so perimenopause, menopause and HRT are huge topics right now, especially on Tiktok, Instagram and Facebook, not to mention podcasts like HRT is really being advocated for as a solution to improving women's health and well being, and it's amazing. But we've also done this before in the history of female health, and the best example I can see of it right now, for comparison, is oral contraception. Like oral contraception is one of those amazing medical interventions that has allowed women everywhere to take control of their reproductive cycles and prevent pregnancy, and also to control painful cramps and out of control periods or regulate periods or clear up acne and skin problems, like all the ways to eliminate, you know, all the way to eliminating your period altogether. So there are women who are using oral contraception to avoid getting pregnant, and there are women who are using oral contraception to avoid the inconvenience of having a period. Now I'm gonna sound judgmental here, and there's likely nowhere way around it without pissing people off, but medicine is always awesome until it's not. And while not having a period is pretty sweet, because, you know, bleeding every month can suck and it's super inconvenient, but it's also now well documented that women coming off the use of long term oral contraceptive can struggle with everything from post pill amenorrhea, which is no bleeding, to challenges with coming back to regular ovulation, which in turn affects fertility. They've got dysregulated HPA axis, which affects thyroid, mood swings, acne, irregular periods, all the way to hirsutism, which is the excessive growth of hair on the face, arms, chin, around your nipples, everything, including weight gain and that long term oral contraceptive use is correlated with natural hormone maturation, cardiovascular health, bone loss, thyroid dysfunction and nutrient deficiencies. Like, yes, it's been a positive and there's that pendulum effect. And I wonder if HRT is kind of going to be the same, like studies came out in the Women's Health Initiative in 2002 that linked HRT to breast cancer and some other detrimental outcomes, and for years, women were steered away from it because of those studies. And so recently, HRT has come back into the picture as helpful and health building and useful to mitigate some of the really challenging symptoms that women have during perimenopause and menopause, like debilitating hot flashes and rage, anger, emotional disruption, as well as depression and anxiety, weight gain, etc. But we also just want a pill fix for our pain, like my belly fat is up, and I don't want to acknowledge that alcohol makes my hot flashes worse and drives my belly fat up higher, and I probably should take a good, honest look at my lifestyle. But on second thought, isn't there just a pill I can take to stop all this bullshit? And I'm allowed to say this, because at 54 I've bled every month except during pregnancies for 41 years, and I've been perimenopausal, and I'm currently working my way into menopause. I've seen a doctor who specializes in menopause, and I'm I'm currently having, I'm not having hot flashes. I call them warming trends and hormonal…
Coach Jo 33:30
I’m sorry, warming trends?
Coach Kim 33:31
Yeah, I'm not having straight up hot flashes. I'm not like, I'm just getting warm. I know women who wake up in a like, they call it a cold sweat, because it starts out that they're drenched, and then they get chills, right? And so I'm not having that, but I am having hormonal weight fluctuations. I've had the hair loss and hair breakage. I've got the moods that are like surprising to me, and yet I still don't think I need HRT yet, you know, like I'm not scared of it. I just feel like I'm doing okay right now. And maybe if I didn't feel like I was okay right now, I'd dive deeper into the options. Maybe if I was 44 and suffering, because I've had friends who suffered through perimenopause and hemorrhagic flooding gushing 38 day long periods, like I would too dive deeper into the options, right? But again, I can’t help but wonder if, just like, oral contraceptive use, like, what are the long term outcomes? And maybe they're all positive, because there are out there people out there that are selling all the positives, but you can find people who want to sell you all the positives on all the pharmaceuticals, you know, Ozempic included, right? Like we want it to be a miracle pill. I'm suffering. Hand it over. I'm over it. I don't care what the outcomes are. So again, I could be just being uneducated and short sighted and distrustful. And maybe I should say yes, like, give me what I can take. But the way I understand it anyways is HRT is truly only a viable option for a five year window after menopause ends the one year following your last menstrual cycle. So for example, I could have just entered into missing periods, skipping periods. And so there's this menopause is classified as the one year period where you're no longer having a period at all. It's that one year of no periods, that's when you've entered menopause, or are through menopause, not through menopause. But you know what I mean? So you get that one year grace, and then five years after that, that would take me, I'm 54 that would take me to the age of 60 anyhow, right? And so if you're 44 and you want to get to 50, and that can be helpful, for sure, but for me, like, I think that's also part of it is, like we're going through this anyhow, you know, like, I'm not suffering. I don't consider myself suffering. I'm challenged. I'm struggling a bit in certain ways. But for me, I'm just not I just would rather put some attention and energy on other things, you know. And again, my final word on this is consult with a pro. Get your labs done. Actually take a look at your hormones. Dive deep. Track all of your symptoms. Don't just track shit when you're having a period and life is flying high, or because you want to get pregnant and have a baby, define your struggle, document it, and then take it in to your clinician or primary care physician and de stress and eat real food and work hard on your circadian rhythm. Ease up on alcohol or quit drinking altogether. Build some muscle, fix your sleep, get therapy, cry on, lean on your friends. Like do everything instead of wanting to stay the same and change nothing and take a pill to end the pain.
Coach Jo 36:50
So I've heard that one of the primary perimenopause symptoms is chronic pain. It's achy joints, and it's that soft tissue injuries. Why is this? Any tips on that?
Coach Kim 37:01
So,you know, like, I think that what I've read and what I understand is that it's directly related to estrogen decline and collagen loss and muscle loss and increased inflammation. So estrogen is so protective to the body that as it declines, we become more aware of our aches and susceptible to injury, add in a natural loss of collagen production, which adds to the problem of fragility and clunkiness in the joints and tissues, and a loss of healthy muscle mass, which for a lot of women, you know, like we just aren't we just aren't strong enough. We just have not been strong enough, have not challenged our muscles enough to grow muscle tissue, because it's so protective that this is the recipe for chronic pain and soft tissue injuries and the achiness. And then on top of that, if you add an extra 25 to 50 pounds, depending on our age, average body weight as we enter menopause, we've just got too much body fat, too much body weight on those joints and tissues, not to mention the fact that being overweight itself creates a higher level of inflammation in the body. And you know, like body fat is inflammatory and being overweight is dangerous. Being overweight and under muscled is dangerous, and so again, I think we want a quick fix to this, and it's a complex problem that should actually start earlier in our life, like we won't, because humans are like this, but we should be thinking about how to prevent a suffering in perimenopause and menopause when we're in our 20s and 30s, like we should be training, eating and living in a way that prevents it when we hit 40, 50, plus, but we won't do that, and that doesn't do anything to serve the women who are already there, like you know, between 40 and 60 now, right? But it's good to understand why it's happening and what we can do about it now.
Coach Jo 38:55
What do we do about it now?
Coach Kim 38:57
Okay, broken record again, like we eat meat and we lift heavy shit every damn day, and we focus on sleep and recovery, and we work on losing visceral fat, and we should be walking seven to 10,000 steps as many days in the week as possible, and focusing on circadian health. You know, we should be making some bone broth, and I'm talking about that gelatinous, you know, broth that shakes like jello when it's cold, and drinking it or eating it in hot mugs and bowls of soup. And I don't for a second believe that there's a quick fix for this, like, that's the answer. Like, we have to just make it the lifestyle, right? Because quitting and relying on HRT isn't going to take us very far. Yes, it's helpful right now. It's good for minimizing suffering right now, but I'm headed for old age like there's no two ways about it. I'm gonna hurt, I'm gonna fall apart, I'm going to lose my youth. And so it's important to remember that I still can be vital and build muscle. And stay bendy and embrace my power and beauty as I age, by taking care of myself in all those ways, including possibly HRT. And I'm just not there yet. In six months, I might be, you know, but just look with at Joan. Train with Joan on Instagram. You know, she's 75 years old.
Coach Jo 40:17
She's fucking awesome.
Coach Kim 40:18
And she's proof that you can do it at any age. You just gotta get to it so, you know, moving on. Okay, we had one of our male members send us a question on the decline of testosterone as we age, and asked if we could speak to males in our listeners. And I thought maybe you could take that one, Jo.
Coach Jo 40:42
Yeah, for sure, I'd love to let's break it down. It's the hormone that's going to make your brain feel sharp, your body as males like feel really, really strong, and truthfully, it's when you feel a little bit like Superman. Testosterone decline, it's a natural part of aging for men, usually around the age of about 30 men start to lose about 1% of their testosterone bank a year. So a sure fire way that you can speed that up. That process is to remain inactive, to get poor sleep, to eat like crap, and keep your stress levels at a maximum level. That's going to just speed that process right up. So it's really simple. You have to do the opposite of that in order to maintain healthy, balanced levels of testosterone, sleep, again, should just be straight up, non negotiable. Remember when you used to be able to sleep until noon and wake up feeling like a million bucks, like you don't need that long, probably just a healthy number, between seven to nine hours a night. Poor sleep, like we said, is a sure fire way to tank your testosterone levels, and you got to pick up something heavy, put it back down. Pick it back up again, put it back down, do it over for as much as you need to, because resistance training is going to be testosterones like best friend. When you lift weights, your body responds by boosting testosterone to help repair and grow your muscles. It also builds lean muscle, which naturally is going to support higher testosterone levels and burn excess fat, especially around your belly, which can otherwise right, big visceral circumference is going to lower your testosterone as it is so plus it's going to trigger other helpful hormones, like the human growth hormone, and improve insulin sensitivity, reducing your inflammation, and it's gonna help keep your hormones balanced. But really, like, as we said, your hormones can't be balanced. It's just basically, are they firing when they're supposed to be firing? That's basically what it is. And lastly, if you're high stressed, cortisol will lower your testosterone levels and if you're carrying extra weight around the midsection, in a waist, you know, inch, inches, that can also mess with your testosterone levels. So your testosterone isn't just about aging. It's truly about how you live that's going to matter. You got to take control of that and let your hormones work for you. I almost missed one too. Like the next one is that you got to eat like a grown up. You got to eat like a grown up. I see that with so much peace and love, protein, healthy fats, veggies, they should be your new best friends in even incorporating vitamins like zinc vitamin D, they're key players in boosting your testosterone.
Coach Kim 43:10
And I think it's important to say too, like, I'm a huge advocate for actual sunshine vitamin D, like safe sun exposure, is we evolved to capture the sun. That is how your hormones work. It comes in through your eyes. It's hitting all those centers in your brain. And so it's really important, you know, although we're cautioned to to cover ourself up, I honestly think that is a driver of that's under circadian health, and that's a driver of hormone imbalance. One of the best resources that I follow on Instagram, who does consistently excellent work educating men about low T is Dr. Rob Kominariak, and we'll include Train with Joan and Dr Rob's Instagram handles in our show notes, so that you can go do your own follow your own experts. But what about women with low T?
Coach Jo 43:59
Well, for women, testosterone, it's might not get as much attention as estrogen, but it is just as important. Women naturally have much lower testosterone levels than men, but we still need it. Testosterone helps women build. It helps them keep muscle they got to stay energized with it, and it maintains that healthy libido, you know, like you want to have sex. It also supports strong bones, like, just in case you don't know what libido means, it means like you want to get frisky. It also supports strong bones, good moods. You know what I'm saying. So when levels are low, women may feel tired, they may struggle to gain strength, they may lose motivation, or hit a plateau in their fitness and have stalled weight loss. Lifting weights should be able to help women out. But if you're someone like Kim, who has undetectable testosterone.
Coach Kim 44:48
Literally my labs came back when I did my hormone panel, undetectable testosterone, which explains the problem with low libido. Like, because here's the thing, is that my husband is hot. Like, that's, you know, and…
Coach Jo 44:58
He's a smoke show.
Coach Kim 44:59
And I could give a shit, really, truly. And here's the thing I always joke now I say like having sex is like going to the gym. I never fucking want to go to the gym ever, but I never regret getting in a workout.
Coach Jo 45:19
So true. So if you're like someone like Kim, I'd urge you to go get your labs done so you can truly see via…
Coach Kim 45:25
Too much information.
Coach Jo 45:26
Like just a process of elimination. You know, if that is something you might have flagged due to these symptoms that we've listed and talked about, because unaddressed, you might feel low about your journey. Because Kim was feeling low about her journey. She was talking about nothing's working and stuff like, that's the feeling of it is low testosterone, yeah? And it's just simply one of those symptoms.
Coach Kim 45:49
Yeah, it's probably safe to say that the best place to start in optimizing hormone health is using the hierarchy like working the top down. Circadian health. You got to get up with the sun. You got to see daylight with bare eyeballs. Get adequate sunshine. Walk, get your blood flowing. It helps you know so much you know like this, like sun, sunshine, daylight, sunset, it helps set your hypothalamus and pituitary right.
Coach Jo 46:17
You got to fix your sleep, seven to nine hours a night and get your chronic stress dealt with. Yeah, add some sauna, meditation, therapy, relaxation massage. I just told the client this morning, when's the last time you had a massage? Like, get some naps in. I'm gonna go for a nap after this, because I opened the gym. I was up at 4am but and also, like, you gotta ask for help.
Coach Kim 46:35
Yeah true, I'm laughing because you opened the gym at 4:15. I brought Jo a vanilla latte, which is an espresso shot, of course, but for the podcast, and I'm like, holy shit, she's reading fast.
Coach Jo 46:50
I’m a fast reader.
Coach Kim 46:52
A fast talking, babe, yeah, yeah. So you got to focus on high quality whole food nutrition. Eat breakfast within 30 to 60 minutes of waking to dampen the effects of high cortisol. Like people underestimate this one, especially my women clients, who get up and are like, oh, I just can't eat anything. I don't feel like eating. I feel nauseous when I think about food. Like, babe, that is, you are it? That's the problem. That's one of the problems. And and this is where mechanical eating comes in. Sometimes you just got to force yourself, and consistently force yourself to get that breakfast in. I keep telling clients now, you know, like, I don't care if you want to weed out one meal of the day, but don't make it breakfast, right? And you got to aim for your protein goal of 35 to 40 grams per meal for women minimum. I just heard a podcast with Dr Stacy sim on Gabby Reese. I talked about it in last episode we did where they were talking about during your reproductive years, women who are training regularly need 35 grams of protein at breakfast, and women who are perimenopausal and menopausal need 40 plus. So you know you think you're going to be able to get away with less, which naturally happens as you age. You ain't, and you got to begin to work on regulating or balancing your blood sugar, avoiding highs and lows, avoiding restriction and binging, like three square meals a day, no snacking, avoiding a diet high end processed food or too low of protein, or any extreme diet for that matter, that's why whole foods, fruits and vegetables and meats and avocado and butter and like, Don't overthink it. Just eat real food.
Coach Jo 48:30
Yeah, build muscle, exercise, walk.
Coach Kim 48:31
Yeah, and then get a referral to a clinic or a doctor or a lab that specializes in understanding your blood work and women's hormones, there's nothing more frustrating than going to a physician and having them dismiss you and saying, oh no, no, you're too young for that. Or no, everything's fine. Your blood looks normal, like it's so depressing and frustrating. And or a men's specialist, like, if you have a man who needs help, you need to you need to encourage them to do the same thing, right?
Coach Jo 49:05
Advocate for yourself. And again, it seems that the message is one that we talk about consistently, do all the things that create the sturdiest version of you, which is what we say here at Iron lab, eat, sleep, train and live. And if you're really struggling, don't follow the herd. Advocate for your own health. You gotta secure the help of a professional.
Coach Kim 49:25
Ask friends for resources and recommendations. Ask your doctor for the referral. Get personalized help, get personalized feedback and support. Yeah,
Coach Jo 49:35
and continue to ask questions. Search for answers and get educated. That's
Coach Kim 49:39
part of taking your power back, right? Education and help is out there now you can, you can look for it and find it just about anywhere. So let's go.
Coach Jo 49:48
Thanks for listening to our podcast. Make sure you hit subscribe so you never miss another episode. Later. Alligator.
Coach Kim 49:50
Ciao.
Coach Jo 49:51
You probably got a sense of who we are by now and what our personal approach is to developing a lifestyle that creates really great health and strength. Using a relational common sense coaching approach that is backed by knowledge and personal experience.
Coach Kim 50:10
There are a couple of ways that you can work with Jo or I, one on one, when you can’t actually train here at Iron Lab.
Coach Jo 50:19
The first is the Metabolic Blueprint, personalized coaching program, which is customized for your life and your body.
Coach Kim 50:26
We work together very closely either in person or remotely to help you conquer old diet drama and to get lasting results.
Coach Jo 50:35
Ideally, we'd love to teach you how to never buy another quick-fix diet program or app again.
Coach Kim 50:41
Next, there is the Accelerator Academy, which is up to 12 months of self-paced weekly bite-sized lessons and journaling exercises, that we’ve created to help you develop the lifestyle habits that generate a true transformation.
Coach Jo 50:57
Find out more on our website: ironlablacombe.com/metabolic-blueprint. We’ll see you next time.