Female, Forty, and Frustrated: Hormones, Cravings, and the Battle of the Bulge by Matt Pitcher

Female, Forty, and Frustrated: Hormones, Cravings, and the Battle of the Bulge by Matt Pitcher

Last year, I went to the annual IDEA Conference for fitness professionals. At that conference, I attended an amazing seminar about women and nutrition by Clinical Certified Nutritionist Carol Simontacchi. If you've read my Q2 2003 newsletter, you can read an interview I did with her about her great work. Today, I thought I'd share with you the notes I took while attending her seminar. Even if you aren't a woman, what follows is some great information that can help you make great food choices to better meet your fitness goals!

1.) Processed soy (actually, ANYTHING processed) is indeed bad. But, why soy? Three reasons: (a) contains chemicals that 'pull down' the thyroid (leads to hypothyroidism); (b) contains phyto-estrogens that block important minerals like Zinc and Magnesium from being absorbed into the body (2 VERY important minerals especially for women since having a deficiency in either one can cause numerous problems due to an estrogen/progesterone imbalance); and (c) does not contain essential amino acids. Soy products are commonly linked to weight gain and other hormone imbalances for these very reasons. It's also among the top allergens in this country, (the other top allergens include wheat, corn, dairy, chocolate, eggs, shellfish, and citrus). Many people have food allergies to soy and don't even know it.

2.) Zeno-estrogens (environmental estrogens commonly found in heating plastics and pesticides) are very bad. Why? They create an estrogen imbalance which leads to too many problems to list here. The scariest include: female puberty beginning at ages 7 or 8 (or earlier), irregular menstrual cycle, impaired liver function, fatigue, depression, weight gain, water retention, headaches, loss of sex drive, mood swings, inability to handle stress, irritability, low metabolism, symptoms of hypothyroidism (with even normal T3 and T4 levels), unstable blood sugar, cravings for caffeine, sweets, and carbs. And that's just scraping the surface.

3.) Excess Caffeine. Why? Leads to decreases in bone density, unstable blood sugar levels, causes the hypocalmus to produce higher levels of cortisol (the 'stress hormone' which leads to A LOT of other issues), adversely affects the hypothalmus's ability to stimulate the thyroid, and causes us to ignore healthy sleep patterns which also leads to the hypocalmus producing higher levels of cortisol. Excessive levels of caffeine have also been noted for bringing on more severe PMS.

4.) Zinc deficiencies and copper toxicity is common and leads to severe mood swings. The body needs 8 times more zinc than copper, however, most of us have the exact opposite in our body due to the high amounts of copper found in our environment (pesticides, pipes, chemicals in pool water, etc.) and the low levels of zinc in our diets.

5.) Mg deficiencies lead to carb carvings. Most women are Mg deficient, which is why a lot of women crave carbs, particularly around menses (sweets to be exact).

6.) Women are most likely to gain weight late in their menses, since their metabolic rate jumps during the luteal phase and the body wants more energy (i.e. women eat more food later in their cycle). Also, the body becomes more deficient in Mg and Iron due to the blood lost (for why that's bad, see #5 above).

7.) Aspartame destroys cells in the hypothalmus (and that's bad because it's the hypothalmus that's responsible for controlling hunger). So, avoid artificial sweeteners or artificial anything, as they cause numerous problems for the body.

Female hormones can influence weight management tremendously. Imbalances between estrogen and progesterone causes numerous challenges:
1. Estrogen dominance leads to sodium retention, leading to water retention, particularly in the week prior to onset of menses, and in menopausal women this can be an issue throughout the monthly cycle.

2. Loss of magnesium the week prior to the onset of menses often leads to carb cravings (particularly chocolate and/or other sweet cravings) and mood disorder.

3. Loss of iron during the week of menses often leads to cravings for other foods.

4. Increased fat deposition can be due to the influence of LPL enzyme, an enzyme triggered by estrogen dominance.

5. Estrogen dominance causes weight gain in the hips and thigh area (the 'pear-shaped' women).

6. PMS influences weight gain --

a.) Depression often accompanies certain types of PMS, leading to eating behaviors (often triggered by B complex deficiency and/or magnesium deficiency, or zinc/copper imbalance). Also causes deficiency in several other nutrients that trigger emotional and mental symptoms, particularly an increased zinc/copper ratio that causes severe depression or other mood disorders.

b.) Water retention the week prior to onset of menses may be due to Niacin/Potassium imbalance (caused by estrogen dominance).

So, can we fix it?
Yes! -- feeding the female system adequately is critical to maintaining hormone balance.

1. Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are critically important because they are used in the production of the body's natural steroid hormones. Fats are good!

2. Are we providing our bodies with an appropriate balance of all essential amino acids (aminos that the body can't make on its own)? This is what's wrong with vegan and vegetarian diets. Are we eating enough protein to satisfy the energy demands of the body?

3. Unrefined carbs (particularly fresh fruits and vegetables) are critically important for maintaining cellular energy. Grains are problematic for many people, particularly people struggling with Syndrome X or food allergies (wheat is no longer natural in our foods and is now the top allergen in the world).

4. Micronutrients are particularly important, especially to 'dieters' since they are notoriously deficient in many vitamins and minerals. Deficiencies are one of the primary causes of inappropriate cravings for foods, or for loss of dietary 'compliance.'

5. Drink water and very little else! Americans consume, on average, 50 gallons of coffee per year. Teenage girls drink, on average, 46 oz. of soda per day! Osteoporosis will be an epidemic in 20 years.

6. Include 35+ grams of fiber daily. Fiber helps remove excess estrogens from the colon before they can be re-absorbed (leading to estrogen dominance).

7. Be sure to nourish the adrenal gland (through sleeping, napping, Siberian Ginseng, Holy Basil, etc.), as cortisol production (through stress) is a problem for female hormone balance!

8. Other lifestyle issues: get plenty of sleep and rest! Stop trying to be superwomen (superwoman is dead!). Exercise frequently, vigorously, and efficiently -- but don't over do it. Excessive exercise can cause endocrine disruption and increased fatigue. Never exercise beyond the body's ability to sustain.

Exercise tends to be more difficult for women than for men, due to lower levels of testosterone and human growth hormone.

'Difficulty' here means the inability to stick with a program over the long term and, more importantly, the ability to lose weight quickly and keep it off. And, it certainly has nothing to do with laziness or 'inferiority'. It's strictly physiological.

Reasons:

a.) When testosterone levels drop (because of insufficient adrenal output) energy is decreased and it is more difficult for women to lay down lean muscle tissue.

b.) Human growth hormone (hGH) levels are more difficult for women to maintain, particularly as they approach menopause. As hGH levels drop, energy plummets because lean tissue slowly decreases. Loss of hGH therefore leads to lowered metabolic rate as metabolically active muscle decreases.

Factors that diminish hGH include the following:

i. Increased fatty acids in the blood (triglycerides).
ii. REM sleep (lack thereof).
iii. Emotional deprivation.
iv. Hypothyroidism.
v. hGH itself (through negative feedback loop).

Symptoms of low hGH include the following:

i. Fatigue
ii. Increased weight and abdominal obesity
iii. Decreased lean body mass and decreased muscle mass
iv. Poor sleep
v. Impaired sense of well-being
vi. Decreased exercise capacity and physical performance
vii. Reduced cardiac performance

Factors that stimulate the production of hGH include the following:

i. Low blood sugar
ii. Decreased fatty acides in the blood
iii. Deep sleep (stages 3 and 4 of NREM sleep) - which is why naps are so important; also decreases cortisol
iv. Increased activity of the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system
v. Vigorous physical activity

So, as you can see, there's a lot of control we can have over our hormones as it relates to weight management without the need for drugs or other artificial means. It's simply a matter of educating yourself and then practicing self care consistently.

Then, you'll be on your way to being Female, Forty, Lean, and Happy!
About the Author
Matt is a certified fitness trainer through the International Sports Sciences Association, author of numerous health and fitness related articles, an entrepreneur, and investor and co-founder of the popular DeepFitness.com website.

The Key to Fitness Success by Matt Pitcher

The Key to Fitness Success by Matt Pitcher

"If you and I want to change our behavior, there is only one effective way to do it: we must link unbearable and immediate sensations of pain to our old behavior, and incredible and immediate sensations of pleasure to a new one."
- Anthony Robbins, Awaken the Giant Within

Why isn't every person who wants to be fit and healthy exercising on a consistent basis? If we know what we should be doing, then why aren't we doing it consistently? Fitness Motivation Coach Lisa Nordquist calls this "The Fitness Gap" and many of us suffer from it.

Knowing that we SHOULD be exercising rarely makes any of us do it on a consistent basis. So, how can we motivate ourselves to practice optimal self care - which includes exercising and eating right CONSISTENTLY? For those people who weren't born loving exercise, it takes more than JUST DOING IT (at least at first).

We start to practice optimal, and CONSISTENT, self care (even if we find aspects of it painful at the beginning) through a process I call Pain to Pleasure Conversion (PPC). So, as the Robbins quote above suggests, we must find pleasure in what we change our behavior to. But I think he misses a step in getting there. Before we find pleasure in something, we must (even if subconsciously) find MEANING in it.

So, the conversion begins with assigning MEANING to the very concept of exercising. For some, examples of meaning can be stress release, longevity, optimal health, strength development, or even the pursuit of spirituality. Or it could be simply being in a social setting or knowing that you're doing 'the right thing'. The meaning that we assign to exercise gets us into the gym and helps us TO BEGIN exercising (after all, how do we know if it will give us pleasure if we don't try it first ... and, in order to be motivated to try it in the first place, we must assign meaning to it). But, finding exercise meaningful alone won't lead you to do it consistently forever. Now, this is where Robbins comes back into the equation.

The 'doing CONSISTENTLY' conversion is complete once the ACT of exercising itself becomes pleasurable. For some, examples of pleasure can be the 'pump' from lifting weights, 'runners high' from running really long distances, or simply sweating.

Well, what about those of us, you ask, who have never experienced that kind of pleasure from exercise? Most people who don't find the process of exercising to be pleasurable, will exercise occasionally, but not consistently enough to maximize its benefits. If you can't stand to sweat or get frustrated by your lack of strength or lack of endurance, how can you start enjoying each and every workout? Who'd blame you?

So, how do we make this entire conversion happen so that we start exercising consistently and make fitness a lifestyle change, even for those of us who don't find exercising all that pleasurable?

First, assign a meaning to exercise that is important to you. Second, start making some progress towards what is meaningful to you through exercising. Once you start getting the results you want, the MEANS of getting those results (in this case, exercising) will then start becoming pleasurable to you.

The Pain to Pleasure Conversion (PPC) Equation at Work
An example of the Pain to Pleasure Conversion at work can be demonstrated through a series of "if/then" statements.

In the Beginning:

Weightlifting ("pain") = Don't DO*.
*For example: "I don't lift weights because I'm not very strong and get intimidated by the weights at the gym. But, I want to reduce my stress and get stronger."

So, if:
Living a less stressful life/having strength = Meaning

And if:
Weightlifting = Burns off stress/gives strength

Then:
Weightlifting = Meaningful

Then, after I start lifting weights and getting stronger and alleviating stress over time (i.e. progressing towards what is meaningful to me) I might find that:
Weightlifting = Pleasure

And if:
Weightlifting = Pleasure

Then:
I will lift weights CONSISTENTLY and start loving every minute of it! And, if I start loving every minute of it, I will do it consistently the rest of my life!!**
**Because, as the equation above shows, every single thing we do consistently in life we find pleasure AND meaning in it ... somehow, some way.

I know this sounds a little black and white, but if you think about it it's true. For example, you might say, well, I know people who CONSISTENTLY complain about everything. Isn't that oxymoronic? My response: absolutely not. That makes perfect sense. I've known plenty of people who find intense pleasure in complaining about everything. And so they do it ... all the time!

So, by going through the PPC process, you can associate pleasure with exercise and start CONSISTENTLY practicing optimal self care the rest of your life even if it was once very painful for you.

It's that simple. I've seen it work over and over again. In fact, it has worked for me in my life and many of my clients. If you struggle with exercising or eating 'right' consistently, try PPC out and let me know how it goes.
About the Author
Matt is a certified fitness trainer through the International Sports Sciences Association, author of numerous health and fitness related articles, an entrepreneur and investor and co-founder of the enormously popular website DeepFitness.com.

Stretching 101 by Matt Pitcher

Stretching 101 by Matt Pitcher

The two main purposes of stretching are prevention of injury caused by exercise or day-to-day activities and a faster rate of recovery from exercise. Stretching can also be used to improve posture and restore proper anatomical functionality.

A regular stretching program will loosen muscle tissue, allowing an increased range of motion at the joints, which in turn helps prevent microtears at the muscle-tendon junction. Almost 90% of all injuries from muscle strain occur at the muscle-tendon junction (that is, where the muscle attaches to the bone near the joints) and repeated injury at this junction leads to a build up of scar tissue which impedes your range of motion, adding stress on the joints. The sooner waste products from exercise (lactic acid) are removed from the muscle tissue, the sooner the muscle begins to heal. Stretching not only speeds removal of waste but increases the muscle's ability to bring in more nutrients. Keeping the muscles and tendons loose results in an increased range of motion, which helps to maintain the integrity of the joints.

How will I benefit from stretching?
Stretching lengthens muscle fibers, extending your range of motion and helping you move with ease, power, and grace. Besides being extremely relaxing, it can relieve some symptoms of conditions such as arthritis. At work, regular stretch breaks help counteract the harmful effects of slouching in front of a computer all day. And keeping muscles pliable makes them less likely to tear during quick or strenuous movements, such as throwing a baseball or lifting a child.

So, benefits of regular stretching include:

- Decreased risk of injury of exercise
- Increased range of motion and overall flexibility
- Increased rate of recovery from exercise
- Increase in strength (studies have shown that after a muscle has been stretched it recruits more fibers to perform a given task)
- Faster removal of waste products

How does stretching work?
Muscles get sore when their fibers remain partly contracted, from either overuse (such as too many rounds of racquetball) or underuse (too much time in the car). Tight muscles also trigger the body's stress response, which prompts them to tighten even more. By systematically lengthening those fibers, stretching helps ease muscles out of this semicontracted state. That makes it a great way to "cool down" after exercise. And the act of stretching itself builds body awareness: In slowing down to focus on each movement, you become less apt to use your muscles in harmful or inefficient ways.

What kinds of stretches should I do?
For flexibility and overall well-being, start with basic stretches that work the major muscle groups. Or look into one of the gentler forms of yoga or tai chi. For optimal fitness and protection against sports injuries, you'll need to combine stretching with strength-building exercises, since the combination helps to prevent imbalances between opposing muscle groups. Adding the right resistance or weight training to your stretching routine will do the trick, of course, but so can some stretching programs. A method called active isolated stretching, for example, uses isometric exercises to alternately contract and stretch each muscle or muscle group. Water exercise, Pilates, power yoga, and Somatics are other, more dynamic ways to add strength building to your routine.

How do I get started?
It's often a good idea to spend a session or two with a personal trainer who's knowledgeable about stretching techniques. Or you can teach yourself by turning to an instructional book or video. "Stretching," by Bob Anderson (Shelter Publications), and "Sport Stretch," by Michael Alter (Human Kinetics), are reliable flexibility bibles. "The Whartons' Stretch Book" and "The Runner's World Stretching Video," both by Jim and Phil Wharton, give pointers on active isolated stretching. Whatever you do, start slowly, building your routine as you go.

How hard or far should I stretch?
Stretch only to the point where you feel mild muscle tension, not pain. If it hurts, you're doing it wrong. Move into each pose slowly, and exhale as you go. Experts differ on how long to hold a pose. Some argue that after two or three seconds a stretched muscle automatically tightens to guard against tearing -- a stressful sequence that, over time, can lead to tightness, injury, or pain. These experts advise holding a stretch for no more than two seconds to prevent that "snap-back" reflex from kicking in. Others, including Bob Anderson, advise holding a stretch for ten to 30 seconds. Perhaps the best approach is to see what feels best for your body.

Don't bounce as you stretch; that only tightens the muscle you're trying to extend. And try not to stretch "cold": Wait until you've taken a warm shower or moved around a bit.

When and How often should I stretch?
Ideally, you should try to set up a daily routine to stretch. Adhering to a consistent stretch program can have a profound impact on how you feel on a day to day basis.

The problem with many traditional stretches is that often the same muscle you are trying to stretch is, at the same time, being used to provide stability and balance. You can't stretch a muscle that is already in use. Most proper stretches should involve a chair, bench or wall to help isolate the target muscle group and keep your balance. By offering a base of support, the muscle group can be completely relaxed before the stretch.

Frequency: Try to stretch every day; start doing each stretch once and build up to doing each stretch 3 times

Intensity: Light pressure, about 30-40% of max

Duration: Hold each stretch between 10 to 60 seconds depending on your current flexibility, conditioning, and time. Start slow and gradually build up the time you hold a static stretch.

If you are unable to stretch on a daily basis, a post-workout stretch is necessary. Or, as I advice my clients, incorporate stretches DURING your workouts . Typically, that means stretching the bodypart that has just been exercised. For example, if you just did a set of bicep curls, follow it up with a bicep stretch. Or, if you're doing multiple sets, stretch the bicep after the first set. This is a very time efficient way to incorporate stretching and to ensure you're getting maximum benefit.
About the Author
Matt is a certified fitness trainer through the International Sports Sciences Association, author of numerous health and fitness related articles, an entrepreneur, and investor and co-founder of the popular DeepFitness.com website.