 Get ready to take weight overhead today! Declutter ChallengeYou might recall that I started using a Commit30 journal as part of my 2023 goal to be more organized. What I love about this journal is that it makes space to commit to a new habit each month (thus the name, Commit30.) Each month since January, I have been sharing a new 30 day check-list or challenge (if you're into that kind of thing) so that you can join me on my healthy habits journey. January we set SMART goals and intentions for the new year. February we committed to 30 days of showing your love and gratitude. March we completed 30 days of spring cleaning. April we reduced, reused and recycled for 30 days. May we got outside everyday. June we developed our mental fitness with 30 days of journal prompts July we drank water everyday August we were awesome This month we are decluttering. We can easily accumulate things over the summer that we just won't use in the fall. Spend some time this month clearing your space of everything that no longer serves you. You will create space for new things in your life and you just might find you can live a bit more simply.  
0 Comments
Running is on the menu today. Remember, you can always ruck, row, bike or ski instead of run.
How Much Ultra Processed Foods Are OK?
I have explored the problems with Ultra Process foods. What you eat, is by far the biggest contributor of increased risk of heart disease, and one type of food in particular is the biggest contributor: high and ultra high-processed foods.
What is a high or ultra high processed food? It's something that has more than one other processed ingredient. Here's a nice visual from Stephanie Kay Nutrition: 
Recently, E.C. Synkowski, boss lady at Optimize Me Nutrition explored how much ultra processed foods are "ok" in a healthy diet. According to her:
"This is actually best answered by doing a comprehensive review of your whole diet, but besides that, looking at added sugars in your diet is a great proxy. 
The image above is a nutrition label for Chobani yogurt. Most of us eat yogurt because it is a great source of protein, indeed this serving has 14g at only 130 calories. That's a great ratio. However, check out the added sugars, 11g! That is A LOT of added sugars. When we're shooting for only 50 grams per day, eating this particular Chobani doesn't give us much wiggle room to include other food choices throughout the day that also might have added sugars.
What do low added sugar food choices look like? Here's a roundup of one day of eating by E.C. Synkowski.  Lifting weight overhead is supremely important for women. It increases bone density and strengthens our core. WIN WIN! Menopause - 2 Phases and 1 Distinct Point in TimeI have explored the power of your period. I have taken a close look at estrogen in all its forms. Today we are defining menopause. Menopause should really be called the menopause transition because it has two distinct phases, peri- and post-, and 1 distinct point in time, actual menopause, when you've gone 12 months without a period. Peri-menopause is the time leading up to the cessation of your period. For most women this is a five year phase but some can experience symptoms 10 years out. Peri-menopause starts when the estradiol or E2 and progesterone ratios change. These ration changes can be mild or wild and your peri-menopause symptoms will reflect that.  Peri-menopausal symptoms include fatigue, anxiety, changes in period regularity (cycling outside of "normal" 28 days), changes in flow amounts, hot flashes, weight gain, belly fat, not adapting to training, sleep disruptions, and the list goes on.
Hormonally we have a reduction in our body's ability to build muscle. This is driven in part by a decrease in estradiol, a decrease in the sensitivity of estrogen receptors, AND a reduction in our ability to synthesis protein (due to other hormonal shifts.) This means we need to increase our strength training and our protein intake. This is when women who don't do any strength training (or protein eating) begin to have a breakdown in bone density and develop osteopenia or osteoporosis. The other really, really important hormonal shift is decreased sensitivity to insulin. This decreased insulin sensitivity also impacts (negatively) our bone density as the body reabsorbs bone minerals because of the shift in Insulin Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1). With the decreased insulin sensitivity our metabolism changes and we're no longer able to rely as much on carbohydrates. Our bodies then shift into increased muscle catabolism (break down of muscle tissue). All of these hormonal shifts can be ameliorated by strength training, adequate protein intake, and other important lifestyle choices. Menopause is ONE point in time which marks 12 months without a period. After that one point in time you are officially in post-menopause. I will explore post-menopause next week. The key takeaways about peri-menopause from a nutrition and training perspective is that you need to lift all the heavy shit and eat more protein!  Get ready for some sandbag fun today! Estrogens - A Trio of HormonesIn previous blogs I have explored how our period is a woman's super power. By knowing where we are in our cycle we can tailor our training intensity, maximize our recovery practices, and give ourselves some grace as we fully learn about our own unique hormonal fluctuations.
The two primary hormones that give women our super power are the estrogens and progesterone. We women are not the only keepers of these hormones as they are also in men, just as testosterone is also in women. We all have these hormones and they function quite differently in each of us. I'm going to focus solely on these hormones in women. There are 3 types of estrogen. Estradiol or E2 is the primary estrogen that most people think about as estrogen. Esteriol or E3 is a weak form of estrogen that has its shinning moment when we are pregnant. Estrone or E1 is the weakest form and it becomes the dominant estrogen when we hit post-menopause. The ratios in which these hormones present themselves, along with their dance partner progesterone, is what drives many the hormonal cycles of a woman's life. Estradiol is our primary anabolic hormone and is the driver of protein synthesis. This means, estradiol builds muscle in women whereas in men muscle is driven by testosterone. How crazy is that? Testosterone in women functions to build bone and improve bone health, cognition, sex drive. Progesterone often acts as a counter balance to the impacts of the estrogens. Dr Sims explains it this way, "the body has a response and a counter response to try to keep things in equilibrium." The estrogens signal a specific response and progesterone will signal a counter response to help keep the body in balance. Estrogen promotes immune activation and progesterone acts as an immunosuppressant. Estrogen is pro inflammatory and progesterone is anti-inflammatory. Estrogen builds tissue (anabolic) and progesterone breaks down tissue (catabolic.) That's why our period doesn't come all at once, but rather flows over several days. Without progesterone we would develop an overgrowth of the endometrial lining and without estrogen we would shed that lining in one significant and bloody event. Whew! Thank goodness we have a tendency towards homeostasis! As we age and enter peri-menopause these hormones decline and change ratios. That is why we experience so many interesting peri-menopause symptoms. I will explore that in future blogs:) |
Special EventsRecord your WOD on Beyond the Whiteboard.
Do you need fitness gear? Click on the links below to buy through our GORUCK, Reebok, Rogue or Affiliate share sale programs. These are affiliate links and our gym will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links.
 Check out our Flickr page!
Categories
All
Archives
August 2024
|
||
True Spirit CrossFit
RSS Feed
|
|