Create The Best Me

Why Your Cardio is Secretly Working Against Your Hormones

• Carmen Hecox • Episode 137

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Ever wondered why your favorite cardio routine might actually be holding you back from feeling your best in midlife? In “Why Your Cardio is Secretly Working Against Your Hormones,” I sit down with Dr. Nathalie Beauchamp, functional medicine expert, chiropractor, biohacker, and best-selling author, to unpack the science of women’s hormones, metabolism, and inflammation as we age.

If you’re struggling with stubborn belly fat, unexplained body aches, brain fog, or just not seeing results from all your effort, this conversation is for you. We dive into why excess cardio amps up cortisol, disrupts hormone balance, and often leads to weight gain, not loss. Dr. Nat and I explore why most women are missing out on enough protein, the power of strength training for metabolism and bone health, and how sleep is a non-negotiable for flat bellies and balanced hormones in your 40s, 50s, and beyond.

What You'll Learn:

  • Why “Why Your Cardio is Secretly Working Against Your Hormones” is the key to understanding midlife weight gain, cortisol, and hormone imbalances
  • How excessive cardio increases cortisol and why that sabotages your metabolism and healthy weight loss after 40
  • How to calculate your ideal protein intake for muscle gain, fat loss, and blood sugar balance
  • Why strength training, not endless cardio, is critical for women’s hormone health, bone density, and vitality post-menopause
  • Simple biohacks and morning routines to support your adrenals, mental clarity, and reduce chronic inflammation
  • The hidden inflammation test (Omega 6:3 ratio) every woman in midlife should request for brain fog and pain
  • The truth about sleep, recovery, and why 7-9 hours per night may be the easiest solution for stubborn belly fat
  • How to rethink exercise with movement “stacks,” and stack habits for real-life results

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I've got a question to ask you. What if the next 20 minutes you decided to invest in your health and it could change the next 10 years of your life? Today I'm being joined by Dr. Nathalie Beauchamp. She's a doctor of chiropractic, certified functional medicine practitioner, biohack expert, and author. We're digging into three things most women aren't told; how much protein you actually need to reshape your body. Why getting seven to nine hours of sleep can flatten stubborn belly fat? Yes, really! And when more cardio quietly works against your hormones. You'll also hear the simple morning stack that takes less time than scrolling on your phone and the overlooked inflammation test that explains brain fog aches, and I'm doing everything right; why isn't anything working? By the end, you'll know exactly what you need to tweak this week. Let's dive on in. Dr. Nathalie Beauchamp. Welcome to Create the Best Me. I am so excited about the conversation we are going to have today. Very excited for the conversation we're gonna have, 'cause I think it's a pretty hot topic. It is. Dr. Nathalie, could you please tell the listeners and viewers a little bit about who you are and what you do? For those that don't know you. Uh, thank you. It seems like a, it will be a long answer. I'll try to make it quick. I'm a book author, so I've written six books now all about health. One is called Smart Cuts Biohacking Your Health Span. The other one, which is a brick, is called Hack Your Health Habits. So I'm a chiropractor by training, and I'm also certified with the Institute of Functional Medicine. I just love health. I love helping my patient with their health journey and by writing books, then I can reach a bigger audience. Because I'm constantly learning, researching, biohacking, trying things. So I figure, hey, while I'm doing this, I wanna share it with my patients because I realize it's my passion and I put more time and energy and not everyone has the same amount of time. So I'm all about those shortcuts to have, you know, more efficiency when it comes to your health. And I love the whole shortcut thing.'Cause I think that a lot of times we women, you know, just like, believe it or not, we don't have much time. It seems like time is something we wish we had a little bit more of. So I'm game for any shortcut. And so the reason I invited you onto the show is because I would like to talk about aging and vitality. What women midlife can do right now that will significantly change the next 10 years of their life. Hmm. It's, yeah, my goodness. I mean, I could go on for an hour just on that. So, you know, I think first of all is, and I mean, you're a transformational coach and you know that, it's the awareness, right? Like it's taking the inventory of where you're at, where you are at right now and where you want to go. And really doing a truthful assessment of your daily routine and habits and mindset and all of that. So I think that's kind of the first thing that we can do. And as you said, as women, we tend to, you know, career kids and family and go, go, go, to the detriment oftentimes of our adrenal glands. And this is kind of the first thing that I always say to women, if you really nurture your adrenals, which are producing the cortisol and the adrenaline. The adrenaline is, you know, us not getting in a car accident, adrenaline pumping, but the cortisol is more that, you know, chronic stress. And we do need the cortisol. That's what makes us get up in the morning and wake up. But we really want, as women in our thirties and forties, to really nurture those adrenals, because as we get older, the estrogen progesterone's are no longer produced as or as much by our reproductive organs, but they're more, produced by the adrenal. So if you really push yourself hard and, you know, lack of sleep and too hard workouts or just, really abusing, yourself from a stress point of view, it, it's really going to have an impact. So, the first thing I'd say, like awareness and then really honing in on the sign and symptoms that your adrenals need to be nurtured more. So those would be like first thing to, to look at. And then there's obviously a series of things that are, you know, very, very practical that we can chat about as well. Yeah, and I think that a lot of women don't understand when you hear hormones, you think menopause. And what I think women need to understand is that our hormones start to change after, what is it, 35? Oh, I think they, I mean, they change more after 35. But you know, I think we're always in a state of fluctuation. And that's the, the yin and the yang of the body, right. Mm-hmm. And so as our hormones are shifting, unfortunately degrading, we don't look at the way we perform, as you mentioned, you know, like maybe you work out really, really hard; that invites cortisol. The way you, filter in information. You know, your way, your body responses, it brings on cortisol.'Cause, your mind is just thinking differently. And that cortisol is no longer beneficial, it's hurting us. Yeah. Well, it's, as I said, I don't know, if people understand, but cortisol and melatonin are kind of the opposite hormones. Like the cortisol raising in the morning, that's what makes us get out of bed. And as the day tapers, you know, the cortisol goes down and melatonin increases. So those two hormones have to be in sync. And unfortunately, as you mentioned, with the busy life, what happens is that, you know, it's that constant, I mean, we've had all had days that we were busy and we don't sleep as well that night because our mind is still racing. Or a tail sign for women usually in their forties is to wake up at two or three o'clock in the morning like you're ready to go. Your cortisol is not peaking at the right time, too early. Or also blood sugar issue that your blood sugar is low and it wakes you up for your, your cortisol to rise to produce some sugar into your bloodstream. So that cortisol is important. It's a natural function, but it's chronic. And that chronic leads to chronic inflammation. And I find that this is such an important topic that it's not always talked about. And inflammation is diabetes. It's the heart disease. It's the dementia. It's cardiovascular disease. But it's also ill-responsive hormones. And I always have this picture when I give presentation of a cell. So, uh, having a cell that's inflamed the membrane, then that cellular communication is not happening the way that it should be. So a lot of women will have hormone issues and it's like, dang, I'm doing everything that I should. Or their hormone tests come back like it, it should be okay, but it's not because they have a lot of inflammation. So that's something that I talk a lot about with my female patients so that they can look at their lifestyle to see what's creating inflammation, because that's as often time a missing piece of the hormonal puzzle. Yeah, and I think that a lot of women, I think the first indicator of inflammation, because I noticed it as I got older, 'cause I suffer chronic pain. I've had chronic pain, I suffered chronic migraines, but I also have chronic body pain. And I noticed that as I got older the pain started to increase. The other thing I notice is, and I hope people are listening to this, if I moved, if I worked out, if I did the exercise, the pain would reduce. It wasn't as intense as the day before. Yeah. Yeah. And I I was always told that's inflammation. Inflammation is causing that pain in the body. Oh yeah, I mean, so many people, I'm sorry to hear that you live with chronic pain. It's, it's, uh, it can be quite debilitating. And again, it's, it's just looking at all the system in the body, you know, from a lifestyle point of view for you to say, okay, what am I doing in my current life that is increasing inflammation? I always talk about our toxic load. So, detoxification is, is important and all that. But I always say, what about not putting it in in the first place so you're not stressing your body too much? So it's our beauty products. It's our cleaning products. It is our furniture. It is the air that we breathe. It is the water that we drink. So, I do entire presentation on detoxification, but more from a point of view of decreasing our toxic load. Like EMF, and all these things that have an effect on our body. So I think focusing on that can be also helpful for women to decrease their inflammation. And let's face it, I always say, our toxic load, imagine a bucket; and some of us have buckets that are more filled up than others. Because two people can have the same lifestyle live in the same house, but one has immune system issues like, eczema or asthma or you know, a decreased immune system function gets sick all the time. It depends on your toxic load. So it's one thing to talk about detoxifying, but it's also what we can do to decrease with our lifestyle are toxic load. And that's a big, big one for women is really sitting back and assessing your beauty product, your deodorant, your shampoo, your makeup, and all of those things. And they all add up. So it's uh, another very important point. Wow. I never looked at it from that perspective. I know when I was trying to get pregnant after I had my daughter, I read a book about, about that particular topic. About trying to eliminate those toxins can help you get pregnant. Mm-hmm. And it was just overwhelming, you know. It can be. And it is, it is hard. Let's face it. Our environment is more polluted. Our food system is even more oof complex than it was. But at the end of the day, we have to, you know, take inventory and say, okay, what can I do to truly decrease my toxic load? And, sweating, you know, little trampoline, lymphatic system, activation, but sweating. And a lot of women they tell me, oh, Nathalie, I don't like sweating. I'm like, what are you talking about? Like, you need to sweat. Like this is a way for us to excrete our toxin one of the way. So it's just all of those things, like I said, add up and you talked about movement, which, you know, movement is, is so important. So, it's so many things. Detoxification is one of the impact because you're moving your, your body, your lymphatic system is going to detoxify more. And then from a women perspective, and with perimenopause and menopause, you know .Strength training and you and I talked about that briefly, uh, before we got on. It's something that I see in my female patients that, you know, they're not embracing strength training for the fear of getting too big or what have you. And yet it is such a key component. The more muscle mass you have, the more you're gonna be metabolically efficient. And the less blood sugar issues, the less, you know, cortisol issues, the less so many things and even weight gain, right? So it's just something that I think is kind of ingrained in women, you know, like I always, it's getting better, but you'd go to the gym, you'd see the guys in the weight room and the ladies on the elliptical or, and so forth. Not to say that you don't need to do some cardiovascular exercise. But it is something that is so, neglected for women and it could be such a game changer for muscle mass and also bone density as we get older.'Cause you know, you want to look at your later years, and sadly I have many patients that have osteoporosis and you always, you look at their lifestyle, some of it is genetics, of course, but what in their lifestyle made it that their bone density decreased so much. So all of those factors have to be taken in, in consideration. Yeah, and I've interviewed a couple of health experts who have stressed big time. They've said what women need to understand is that when, if they are within their perimenopause or menopause years, strength training is what they need to do. Because getting on that elliptical or going outside and running X miles is actually increasing your cortisol, and then you're gonna be upset because at the end of the week or the, if you're measuring yourself monthly, you're going to see that you didn't lose weight. So the key is if you want to lose weight, you need to change your program. Yeah. Yeah, And, and also too, I find the way I worked out in my thirties, forties, fifties, and even like in the last few years, like I still do quite a bit of strength training. But when, you know, I own a business and when it was more stressful, it's not time to go and run, you know, or do triathlon and push your body to no end if you're already tired. Yeah, well, I mean, I agree with you as well because I was 10 years ago, I was 15 pounds lighter. Or maybe 20 pounds lighter. Hmm. And I, and it's funny 'cause I still do the same thing. I eat about the same kinds of foods and I'm still as active as I was back then. Why can't I get rid of those extra 20 pounds? Hmm. That's, that's, that's a good question. Metabolism decreases. I don't know anything about your, your muscle mass versus your fat mass and so forth. And we changed, like, it's just, again, the way I used to do things in my thirties it's not the same. So we have to adapt. And I still think some people have more challenging, health issues than others, but at the end of the day, it's the sleep, it's the movement, it's the nutrition, it's the hydration, uh, it's the detoxification. And those five pillars are key. And I know, like sometime I do a whole presentation of an hour on sleep. And at first I'm like, wow, am I gonna have enough to talk about sleep for an hour? And I do. And you know, we can go fancy with the latest recipe on this and the latest workout, but at the end of the day, those pillars I just mentioned are key. And you can't add on and see results if you're not making sure that you have that foundation. And sleep is huge. I see it with so many women I ask, okay, how many hours are you sleep? Oh, I go to bed at 11 and I'm up at five to run to the gym. You're barely getting five or six hours. You, you can't continue. You can, but at some point your body is just gonna tell you, eh, I no longer can do that. So going back to that awareness that I was talking about is, is to always keep in mind to push, because the body needs to be challenged to stay resilient. So I even have a book all about resilience. But there's that fine line to not overdo it.'Cause stress can be positive or can be negative. And I think we need both. We just can't, you know, go full out, all the time. So I think that I, I think here's my personal perspective is I think that a lot of women think that, well, in order for me to be healthy, I need to dedicate X amount of hours working out. I have to, 'cause I'm not gonna have big guns like Dr. Nat if I don't work out X amount of hours. Yeah, yeah. And they forget that there are the other pillars that you just identified. Yeah. And also too, like I did spend hours at the gym in my twenties and thirties, but you don't need to. And that's the other thing too, is, you know, it doesn't have to be this hard. Like you could do strength training. I can nail, I do four times a week now and I can do my strength training in 25 to 30, 35 minutes depending, right? Like, so you don't need to be at the gym for hours. You don't need to be at the gym. You could do some strength training. You do need resistance. Body weight, exercise are good, but to their limitation if you're trying to build more muscle mass. But I think it is, the fact that we forget that let's say 20 minutes of exercise is better than none at all. And I know for busy people like, okay, I can't go to gym, I don't have the hour and a half. No, if you have 20 minutes, put your running shoes on and just do pushup, chin up and squats and do some curls or bench press or like whatever, right? So instead of thinking that we don't have the time, it's to put it in section and smaller section and at the end of the week it will add up. And it's also like that hacking component. You know, if you're a mom and you're dropping your kids at soccer practice, well run around the track while they're practicing. It's just, we do not have a lot of time. So what can you squeeze into your day that is going to be valuable? So, for instance, I know my morning routine, not all the time 'cause I'm in Ottawa, Canada and we get snow, so sometime there's no sun whatsoever. But right now it's fabulous. I go out in the morning, barefoot in my backyard, looking at the sun, having my morning decaf coffee, just grounding for 10, 20 minutes looking at the, getting some sun into my eyes. So I'm doing, you know sun into my eyes, my activating my melanopsin receptor. I'm grounding, I'm having my nice cup of decaf coffee.'Cause I like to delay coffee in the morning, my first cup, being decaf or tea. So, you know, this is what I mean by hacking and combining many things that you can do. Sometime I do my cardio or bicycle while watching a podcast that I've been wanting to listen to. Sometime I do meetings with my staff and I'm on the bike. Sometime I do meeting with my staff, I hit a set and I come back 'cause I have weights in my basement. So, it's my staff, it's my team. They don't mind. I do what I preach. So it's how can you integrate the activities that are important to your health into your life and nothing that you do need to go for hours. So I think it's acknowledging that, you know, what, 20 minutes of what I just said is going to add up. And we don't need as much as we think And I think what people don't, maybe don't think about is when you're taking those 20 minutes to either get on the bike or lift weights and pull away from the activity that you were currently in, you are allowing your mind to detox. It is detoxing. And you are gaining so much more. So you can go back to whatever that task was. You, and you're gonna, or a problem. And it's like, now you have the answer. You got it. Right there. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Even taking a shower sometime, The solutions I find in the shower are crazy. Or if I go for I'm a big fan of weighted vest walks now, and it's just like, I'll go for my walk, I come back and the task that I was trying to do is I was tall, I was not getting anywhere, sit back, boom; you know, now I can concentrate again. I feel recharged and I thought of something while I was walking. Because walking is, I have a hard time personally meditating, steady and just dedicated. But walking meditation, oh my goodness, like I need movement. Movement just really helps me. So for people that are listening and going, yeah, I can't meditate, I can't sit still. Well, you don't have to. There is such a thing as walking meditation, it just gives you still some benefit of meditating and the being alone with your thoughts and just letting things kind of flow and listen to yourself. So, Dr. Nat, let's say I came in to see you. Yeah. I am over the age of 50 and I've already told you I suffer of chronic pain. I do not like taking medication. What I do normally is I take a shower, I stretch, I take a walk, you know, do something to try to alleviate the pain. Mm-hmm. But, I have a young daughter, she's 12 years old, she's gonna be 13. I need to be able to be healthy for her. Yeah. Yeah. You've already talked about awareness. What other tools would you suggest for me? I would just, you know, like I do for myself, just look at all of the areas of your life where you can, you know, with the movement, with the sleep, with the detoxification. And then look at your food supplement regime and so forth. And then obviously, uh, your level of inflammation. So, I'm assuming you get tested on a regular basis for inflammatory markers. So this is something that, you know, if I was to be your doctor, I would like to dig a little bit deeper to see what can we do in your body to decrease that inflammation. So it's kind almost like a functional medicine questionnaire is almost like a detective questionnaire to look at all of the aspect of your life in terms of habits and symptoms. Obviously, you know, if people have heartburn or indigestion and all of that stuff. But it's looking at all the systems, but also digging deeper to see the level of toxic load and to see the level of inflammation and so forth. But I think it can almost be approached the same way we would approach any other person's lifestyle to look at all of those, uh, pillars. To decrease the inflammation, to support the mitochondria, the energy center of the cell, like supplementation, like, you know, coq-10 and B complex and looking at your adrenals, you know, supporting them with rhodiola or ashwagandha. But again, wouldn't wanna just toss that at you without knowing what you take currently and what's your diet like and so forth. So it is hard for me to generally say that, but you're right, movement is key. And I know it's a bit counterintuitive when people are in chronic pain to move because they're sore. But you know, to start slowly and do more kind of movement snacks, you know, go for a 10 minute walk as opposed to an hour if you're gonna be more sore. So, uh, do a, 10 minute routine of hip opener, yoga, hip opener. Like just something to get you moving. And I think in the case of people with chronic pain, it's, to be even more attune to their body to say, okay, I'm pushing enough, I need to, or I'm pushing too much; I shouldn't. And it's to listen to the body and, start learning those intricacy of too much or, or too little. So I think that's probably the, the most challenging things for people with, uh, chronic pain, right. Mm-hmm yeah. You talked about the inflammation test. Yeah. I didn't know that kind of test existed. Yeah, there are some, that can be done through your, regular blood work. They're called inflammation marker. They're pretty general, but they're a good place to start. But then there are tests like, the Omega-6:3 ratio that if we're too high in omega six versus three it creates inflammation at a cellular level. So doing a test and it's usually a quick, easy blood test that, can be done. It gives you your level. So knowing that you're like, oh, okay, am I eating too much inflammatory seed oils? Am I not eating or consuming fish and or am I not taking supplementation? So omega threes is one of the top supplements that I always suggest to my patient that have arthritis inflammation because, and oftentimes because our North American diet is just so high in no omega six and if we're not, you know, living by the water and eating fish or not taking supplementation, it really can distort the ratio. So that's a test that can easily be done to measure 11 of the essential fatty acid profile as well. So it guides us into, oh, arachidonic acid, which is inflammatory is too high. Okay, let's look at the diet and tweak that. So I would definitely suggest that test for you. And that's interesting because, you know, the pain that I suffer from is due to injuries. So it's not like I have fibromyalgia or anything that. But I just think it's interesting how when I first, you know, after my injury and after I went through all the treatment and we decided, okay, I'm never gonna get better, it's always gonna hurt. I'm surprised that they never tested me. Yeah. And yeah, you would have to, like I said, some of their regular blood work through your medical doctor cover, you know, just maybe two or three markers just as a general kind of test. And then if they're high, then they'll start investigating. But the one I just told you, it's not gonna be done by your family doctor, unfortunately. Like it's, it's more through a functional medicine practitioner, a naturopath, someone that, that's looking at different things.'Cause again, like the, the routine check that we get done is good place to start, but it's not the all and be all. And that's why sometimes for women it's frustrating 'cause they're feeling tired, they're not doing well, they go get blood work, your blood's fine, you should be fine. Well, I'm not fine. And then they get almost depressed and then you go the route of potential antidepressant and so forth. So again, this is why going to the source and doing the proper testing and seeing the right practitioners to guide you with what is going on. And I think a lot of doctors would say, you're going through menopause. You know, your hormones are, your hormones are depleting, you're going through menopause. It's just normal. You know, learn to live with it. I've decided, you know what? I'm not gonna learn to live with it. I'm gonna move because the more I move, the less I hurt. As I mentioned to you, you know about the plantar fascitis. If I do not walk, I can't, you know, if I don't do my two, three and a half mile walk every day, I cannot walk. My feet hurt so bad. Yeah. Yeah. And, and then to go back to the hormone, I'm not sure if you, if you know where that comes from, is that the women health study that they did years ago that show that hormones were detrimental and now it's getting debunk, a lot. And especially with bioidentical hormones and so forth. But it's going to take a while for women to start feeling comfortable to get on bioidentical hormone because we've been told, oh my God. But bottom line is that there's a lot of benefits to hormones and we need more studies, studies done properly.'Cause that was the big thing with the women health, study, that it was done on progestin and just like, just poorly designed. So in general, we need more research done for us women. And you're right, we don't wanna suffer. I used to joke that I wanted to skip menopause altogether. And I worked on people when I would say that to a woman on my table having hot flashes and say, yeah, good luck with that, Nathalie. I can't say that it was perfect, but I put all the chances on my side and got help with supplementation and so forth. And now we're looking at brain health. Like it's, it's not just can you suffer through it or can you function through it. It's like my mom just passed away three years ago of Alzheimer's. So to me it's so top of mind that I wanna keep my mind sharp and healthy'cause alzheimer's or dementia is brain inflammation, right? So I'm on a mission to do whatever I can to keep my brain as healthy as possible. And if it means bioidentical hormones, because now you know, we're seeing that it has a huge effect on women's brain and so forth. So it is changing, but we need so much more research. And then the sad thing, I was listening to a podcast by Dr. Peter Attia, and I can't remember the female doctor he was interviewing, is that the MDs aren't just not trained. Like it stops so cold turkey, and they were so horrified of doing it. So now getting back into properly prescribing bioidentical hormone for women, that they don't know what to do. Like, they're just, it's not part of what they've learned. So there's a big shift, especially in the functional medicine realms. And I go to conferences in the state all the time on all that. And it even educated me because I was still of the old mindset that, oh my goodness, you can't. So it just, it's it's coming. There's more research, there's more awareness, there's more podcasts on it. So it's having that conversation and also knowing that each woman is different. You know, your history with breast cancer or heart disease and so forth. So it's, again, it's not that one size fits all. It's really truly has to be about you and all the angles that are making your health the way it is. Yeah. And I'm really sorry that you've lost your mom due to Alzheimer's. Thank you. Thank you. It tough. It was, yeah, it, it was really tough because she was a school teacher, very cerebral and always, you know, reading and analyzing things and so forth. So it just, when she lost completely your mind, it was just like, yeah, you really don't wish that on anyone. So, again, you know, it just, no one knows, but we can only put all the chances on our side of doing what we can and grabbing the right information and the latest information as well. And I know, like for myself, I started having brain fog issues back in 2023. And at first I thought it was 'cause I got COVID and it was just, you know, part of the residuals from COVID. Yeah. But then after COVID, six months later, and I still had it; you know, that's when I decided to do my research and, and again to each is their own. This is a choice I decided to make. I do wear an estrogen patch and I do take progesterone orally. They are both bioidentical. I'm staying away from the testosterone right now because I'm, my hair's finally coming back.'Cause it had fallen out. I was just kind of sensitive to the testosterone. But, And you're being followed, right? Like that's the other thing too, is, I was on talking in another podcast that, you know, we give people blood work. You say, okay, work on your HbA1c, it's too high, you're pre-diabetic. And it's like, I'll see you in a year. What the heck, right? Like, so for the inflammation marker, the omega six and three, the omega index; you retest after four months because it takes four months for a new red blood cell to regenerate. So it will give you your level of inflammation. So I think this idea that we can test once and not test for like years and not follow up is so silly. So with hormones it is really fine tuning and getting, you know, tested on a regular basis to say, okay, or is this enough? Is it not enough? And so forth. So women really need to be followed by someone that know what they're doing and not just, okay, here you go and I'll see you God knows when. Same thing with, changing diets and things like that, like people need guidance. We need to be measured to see if what we're doing; it's not just about losing weight. Like it's about having better markers on your blood work and making sure that you're staying within the functional norms. Mm-hmm yeah. So, let's talk about this, 'cause I had brought this up a little bit earlier about some people think that you need to work out, you know, tons of hours. You need to dedicate all this time to working out and, you know, and they forget about this other stuff. Yeah. Kinda give us an idea of how much you would as a woman in her fifties, who wants to live a life that's healthy vitality for her age. Yeah. But she also wants to kinda lose weight and maybe gain some muscle. Because, you know, the muscle is going to help us overall. Yeah. So again, there's no one size fits all. But one thing that we didn't talk about and we didn't touch upon is most women that I see who are trying to lose weight are not eating enough protein. Uh, so that's a huge mistake that I see for women. So let's say a person weighs 160 pounds. She might be a bit overweight and she should be, I don't know, 120 or 30. You almost wanna go close to one gram, one gram per pound of protein. And a lot of women, like if we sit back and calculate the amount of protein in a day, it's ridiculous. Like it's sometime just 30 or 40 grams. So first step for muscle mass is and losing fat is to increase your protein intake. And then adding to that is to always eat a fat at the same time too, so you're stabilizing your blood sugar.' Cause that's the only other thing that happens in menopause is blood sugar dysregulation. So the more you can keep your blood sugar regulated, the less inflamed you're going to be, and most likely the less weight you're going to gain. So it's not, I've never been a big fan of counting calories, but I count my protein. This is like all through my day, okay, how much protein do I have in right now? If I don't have enough, I'll have a protein shake.'Cause you know, again, my because of what I do I don't like to eat a big lunch 'cause I'm working physical, so I like to have my protein shake and my greens in the afternoon, but I'm always conscious of that protein. So definitely that. And then I'd say two or three times strength training. And I've been doing kind of I'll rotate it sometime. I'll do two or three full body workout for a month or two. Then I'll go heavier and I'll go to kind of the old fashioned bodybuilding routine; I'll do back and tricep, chest and bicep, legs. And on another day that I go do my walk with my weighted vest, because I want pressure on my bones to keep them strong, I'll do shoulders. So I'm three times a week for the weight training. And then trying to get my heart rate high a few times during the week. And then that zone two exercise that we call, and it's recommended to have about 150 minutes a week of that zone two exercise. Zone two is, you know, you're talking to your friend, but you know, you're, a little bit out of breath. And, during COVID I started walking and I always thought walking's for old people, well, I must have become just old. But, I started walking and now maybe two years in, I walk with a weighted vest and I just love it. And again, I'm walking, I'm in the sun, I'm putting pressure on my frame, so it's good for, muscle mass, but also bone density. And I might be listening to one of my favorite podcasts. So that's what I mean with, biohacking and just, you know, doing a few things all at the same time. So you're getting the benefit. And, and if I can do it in nature, just an added bonus that I got the negative ions of the forest and I can go hug a tree at the same time. Mm-hmm. And then the number one thing, and I say number one thing because this is something I've been working on for a couple, six months, seven months; hours of sleep Yes. So how, how many hours are you getting? Right now. Well, you know, Dr. Nat, I'm gonna tell you the truth. Before, before I was sleeping five hours. Yeah, Yeah, no, you're not gonna lose any weight, sorry. Now I am at about seven and a half to eight hours. That's great. I interviewed a doctor a couple months back. She's a gynecologist, obstetrician, and hormone specialist. And my mouth just kind of fell when she told me she slept; she sleeps an average of nine hours a day. Mm. Yeah, yeah. That's one thing that even when COVID hit, which I guess was five years ago, this is when I had just purchased my Oura Ring to measure my data. And I thought I was sleeping enough, but I wasn't. Because doesn't mean because you're horizontal, that you're sleeping. And I realized that I do need seven to nine hours, even more so like eight to nine. And like I'm shocked at myself that I never really knew that I needed that much. So again, but it's productivity, right? Like I used to get up early and, you know, write and do all of that stuff. So, again, not to say that you can't be productive, but it's just like you have to balance those pillars and that productivity is important. And yeah, you can get up and have, you know, seven hours or six one day. It's not the end of the world, but it's that repetition of that, you know, go, go, go and that chronic stress that will get to you. But yeah, when I started measuring it, it was a big ah, ah, that I was in bed for seven to eight, but I was not sleeping that time. So now it's nice to be able to track. Like it's, something in your coaching that I'm sure that you mentioned. So having that guidance to say, okay, I didn't sleep well last night; what did I do? Okay, I ate later. Oh, I forgot my magnesium supplements. I forgot whatever other supplements you might take. I had a busy day, I didn't take time to wind down. I slept better. I went for a walk. I did my percussion muscle work. So the vibration and the, you know, it relaxed me. So it's looking at, you know, your behavior and kind of tracking when you do this then, and it's not an exact science, but when you do this, this happens, right? So, and it's figuring out your perfect bedtime routine and your perfect time to go to bed and trying to have a set time as much as you can. Mm-hmm. And I will say, 'cause I told you I've been doing this for about five to seven months. I've been trying to, my goal is nine'cause I wanna be like that doctor. I wanna hit nine. But I've noticed that my belly fat's gone down. Okay. And I'm like, but I remember I told you I've been doing the same stuff, Yeah. Yeah. See? One pillar. Yeah, exactly. And that's why like, it's just nothing, there's no nothing sexy about sleep, you know, compared to cool biohacking tools. And, you know, new diet and new workout and you know, bust your glutes here and you know what I mean? Like, it's not as sexy and fun as that, but it is so important. It's not even even funny. Like I, I remember reading the HuffPost. Arianna wrote a book on sleep and how she was sleep deprived. And it was, it's an older book. It's at least 10, 10 years old, if not more. But to have someone that's a high producing person, like her admit how much she abused herself and then, you know, just really hone in on her sleep and just changed her life completely. And her book is all about other women, please don't do that because you're just gonna burn yourself right out, right. Mm-hmm. So what if you, 'cause I think a lot of women are like this, 'cause I'm like this. Maybe you're a little embarrassed to go to the weight section at the gym because there's so many guys there and I don't look good. I don't wanna go over there and I don't really know how to use this stuff and they're gonna make fun of me. Can they use resistant bands at home? Quite possibly, but I would challenge you find a club that maybe is women only to start. Find a girlfriend that you can go with and then hire someone there. Hire a trainer because it is intimidating. Yeah, how is this machine working. Or like, what do I do here? So hire a trainer, hire a coach. You know, you're a transformation coach. So I mean, it's, we can do the same thing. And not to say you need to have the trainer for the rest of your life. But at least to get you started, to get you comfortable, to give you a routine to do your weights, making sure that you're doing it properly. And just challenge yourself to do it. So yeah, resistant bands are good. But weight dumbbell, barbell; there are just a lot of functional movement you need to do, you know, will need more resistant than what the bands can offer. When I travel, I do bring my resistant band, and it's great to incorporate. But challenge yourself, find a gym that you feel comfortable. I know one of the local gym here has a two weight area, one for women's only, and one for, um, what, men and women. So get yourself comfortable. And once you do it for a few weeks, like you'll, what was I worried about right? Like, everybody's there with their headphones on, they're doing their thing. Nobody's really like, you know, we think people are paying attention, but everybody's busy doing what they need to do to get home and do their thing. And it's so empowering to be able to, you know do things that maybe you were not able to do, and you talked about vitality, but strength is huge. Like one of the tests that we do for longevity is grip strength. So a dynamometer that you squeeze, and if you have low grip strength, you know, it's a marker that's not good for for longevity. So, you know, all of those things are important. Even standing from a seated position, like in, in which your legs crossed, like if you can do that, that means you have good hip mobility, good stability. So those are all things that, you know, will help you. And it's almost as we get older, we need to train to be able to be functionally fit. So now I don't train to, you know, necessarily say that I bench pressed that amount, but it's just like, I want to be independent in my eighties, in my nineties, that I'm able to move, I'm able to do what I want to do. So now the mindset shifts a little bit that we're training for life, right? Like we're training to be able to do the activities of our regular lives. What about balance?'Cause I think that's a big thing with women. Because if we fall, unfortunately, you know, we are high risk osteoporosis. Yeah. I think they say that if an older person, not just women, falls or break a hip, usually within one year, you know, unfortunately because they stopped moving and you know, it just goes downhill. So it truly is important to, to keep moving. Mm-hmm. What are three biohacks advice that you would give someone that they can do right now and, you know, do it for 90 days and, and see a change? Well, I'll go back to my one gram of protein per lean muscle mass. So like I said, don't go necessarily with your weight that you're at, but the weight that you want to be at. Strength training. And then moving. And when I say moving, I, so many people work at the computers, right? So the level of inactivity, just from the sheer fact that you're at the computer. So right now I'm standing, I have a sit stand. So for the people, and that's a lot of people that are stuck behind screens at the computer, I'd say put your phone on alert every hour, and then just move away from your computer. Do some pushup, do some body weight squad, go for a walk around the block. So moving, getting your 10 to 15,000 step daily, that's the minimum. That's not even a workout. That's just the minimum. So I think those three thing, again, super basic. And then I guess I would add get outside, go get some sun, make sure your vitamin D levels are optimal. Check your inflammation. Look into these omega index for your inflammation. So again, not complicated stuff, but hacks that can really, really have a, a big impact. And, and even like, like I said, just a one gram of protein and two or three, if you can, four times of weight training. Even if it's for 30 minutes, I guarantee you within two months you are going to see a change in your body composition. And I know 'cause I did research on this and since you're an expert, I'm gonna ask you; if somebody wanted to start wearing a weighted vest, 'cause they say, you know what, I'm already walking. Yeah. Because I've gotten hurt. I bought a 20 pound weighted vest and I hurt for like eight days. And I gave passed it on to my husband so that he could take it for the last mile, and he hurt bad too. Yeah. So start small, right? Like and again, it depends on your weight. If you're a petite, a hundred pound woman, while 20 pounds is, is a lot. And it might not be the thing for you, you're just gonna go for regular walk. Like I said, I truly enjoy it. I started with, you know, 20 and just increase. But, you know, if you have a neck injury, I don't suggest it. I have a friend that I run with, we do trail running and she has chronic neck issue. I said to Isabelle, like, weighted vest not the best for you. Like, let's think of something else because it's pushing her neck forward, right? So there's always cases and you need to make sure that the weight is spread evenly so it's not hurting you. So again, it's like anything, if you're training for something, you're not gonna go and do everything on the first day, you need to let your body adapt. And if that's not for you, it's not for you. So I know it's a bit of a trend and it's like, oh, it looks cool and I'm gonna do it, but maybe it's not for you. I'm just saying that I truly enjoy it. If you live with chronic pain and you have injuries, then you know it might not be the right thing for you. And, and I guess to finish too is you have to find an activity or sports that you like. Have patients right now that are obsessed with pickleball, which I haven't tried. Have you tried yet? I haven't, I'd be afraid I've knocked my teeth out from falling on my face. Yeah. Anyhoo. So they love it. They love it. They're outside, you know, for hours. And all ages. You know, people in their forties and have patients in their seventies doing, yay, you know, they found an activity, they like, it's a social aspect. They're out there. It's like, so, you know, and even with weight training, you don't like it or, you know, give it a try. But if you don't, then try to make it fun. Go with a friend or, you know, it is, you really have to do things. Life's too short. You have to do things that you enjoy. So find an activity that's gonna get you moving that you're gonna enjoy, you know, that you can do with your, your husband or, or friend. And Dr. Nat, I forgot to ask this. I know you have a 90 day program. Yes. Yeah. So it's called a 90 day Reboot. And I take an inventory, like I said, through a functional medicine questionnaire and lifestyle habits and so forth. And then I sit back and we look at the person's goal and, you know, what system may need a bit more nurturing. And we came up with a 90 day plan for her or him to kind of, you know, move forward to their goals. And it's so much fun. I just love doing this. And I have, you know, tons of resources to give in term of nutrition and supplementation and exercise, and through the books. But I tailor it to the person that I'm working with because, you know, I could have someone that's 70, I could have someone that's 35 that's trying to get pregnant and is having, you know, issues with that. So it's just, looking at where the person is and what their goals are and which system might not be working optimally for them to have optimal health. And how are, how do you work with people? Do you work with people like on Zoom and. Yeah, virtually, for sure. Now, me being in Canada and in Ontario, when I work with someone like this, it's more lifestyle coaching. I am not able to dispense information as a doctor because I'm not the doctor of the person. But it's lifestyle coaching to, okay, here's what we have, what can we do to, you know, create stronger pillars and create that foundation and change your habits that it will stick. You know, that's the name of one of my first book "Hack You Health Habits," because it's one thing to note to do something, but if we're not integrating it on a daily basis, it's not gonna stick and we're not gonna keep at it. Or if we try to integrate too many new things all at once. Mm-hmm. For the woman out there listening to us or watching us and says, man I love what Dr. Nat said here. I love what she said here, but I don't think I can do it. I don't think I can do it. I just, it seems overwhelming. What is the one piece of advice that you would like to give her? Oh, that's such a good question. I'd say to take an inventory right now of how she feels, how she is. And ask herself if she's happy where she's at. And I'm not saying that, you know, for a person to feel bad about, oh my God, I'm not where I am. But it's just, you know, kind of creating again, that, that awareness of 'cause mean we control our lives, right? Like to a great extent, not all the time. But it's just to make that decision that, okay, you don't think that you can do it, but where are you right now? And what can you do that is still within your reach, but you know, you know that you should do, but you're not doing kind of thing. And give yourself the permission to do it right. Give yourself the time. Uh, I always talk about time management, but it's also energy management. So give yourself the space to be able to take the time and have the energy to pour into you and making sure that you're taking care of yourself. And it's easy. Just takes biohacking. Yeah. And, and we're never done. Like, I'm constantly learning. There's days that I look at my diet, I'm like, oh my God, I really screwed up today, I barely ate protein. And it's not to I joke, take the baseball bat and just, you know, whack on yourself here, it's like tomorrow's a new day. I can start on a, you know, new day. And this is one thing that we get to do as human is wake up every morning and just start fresh and try to do better that day. So as I get older, I'm even a bit less hard on myself if I don't do all of the stuff that I need to do,'cause we can't do it all in one day. Come on, right. So I have, like, in one of my book I talk about our non-negotiable. That those are the things like brushing your teeth at night, you're not gonna not do. But some non-negotiable are daily, some are weekly, some are monthly. So if you start looking at things on a daily and weekly and monthly point of view, you don't feel so pressed and obligated to do it all. And if you do, say you have a hard time taking your vitamins, but you do it five days out of seven, well, it's five days out of seven, so, okay, you missed a two. So it's, looking at things in the positive that you've done that, yay. As opposed to you didn't do two days, right. Mm-hmm. Great advice, good one. Dr. Nat, for the people that want to hear more about you, maybe even hire you on so that you can help them biohack their life. So my website, and because my name is a bit complicated, so my website is Dr. Nat, D-R-N-A-T dot life. We kept it easy. And if people go on there they can also at drnatplaybook.com download one of my top 10 biohacking tips that women or men for that matter too, can do to implement in their lives. So it's full of practical stuff. And on my website, they can subscribe to my newsletter. I blog very regularly, all sorts of different topics so you can go and, and check it out. And I can also see you, listen to you. Yes, so I do do quite a bit of podcasting. I did have my own TV show for one season. We'll be starting back pretty soon. But on Instagram and Facebook, for sure. I you know, post some hacks that I'm doing and all kind of different things. Okay, great. Dr. Nat, thank you so much for coming on the show. I will link all of your information in the show notes so that people can get your help. Thank you so much for having me, Carmen. It's, it was, very joyful and I wish you luck with your chronic pain, but it looks like, you know you might have learned a few things today and just, maybe integrate that and hopefully we'll make a change for you. I know I did. Alright, thank you very much. Thanks.

Protein:

Aim for roughly a gram per day for each pound of your goal weight, to build muscle, and regulate your sugar.

Sleep work:

Prioritize seven to nine hours. Better rest equals calmer cortisol and a quieter waistline.

Smarter training:

Lift two to three times a week and get in the zone with two brisk walks that week. Morning stack a few minutes of real light outside, a short walk or movement snack and hydration.

Inflammation checklist:

Ask your medical provider or functional medicine provider about an omega six, Omega-3 panel to see what your cells are actually dealing with. A huge thanks to Dr. Nathalie Beauchamp for the practical science back steps we can live with. If you're a woman in midlife who knows you need Dr. Nat's help to start aging with vitality and lock-in habits that will shape the next decade, her details are listed in the show notes below. Learn more at createthebestme.com/ep137. If you enjoy today's episode, hit the like button and while you're there, hit subscribe so you don't miss another conversation made just for you. Until then, keep dreaming big. Take care of yourself by lifting some weights, and remember, you are beautiful, strong, and capable of creating the best version of yourself. Thank you for watching. Catch you next week. Bye for now.