Aug. 16, 2023

Muscles Are Your Metabolic Currency With Jana Barrett [Ep. 56]

Are you overweight? Or just undermuscled?

This is a new way to look at our body composition that has nothing to do with the scale. Take a look at how much muscle you have–and you can do that by assessing your strength in daily activities.

Jana tells us in this episode of a 60 year old client who wasn’t able to pick up her first grandchild out of the cot. This is a heartbreaking lack of function.

What can we do about it? We can strength train. Jana shares multiple ways to do this and some of her favorite modalities. Plus she is an expert on mobility, which we also chat about near the end–so stay tuned for the whole episode!

NEW! Free food planning session! Only 10 spots available in the next 4 weeks. But when they’re gone, they’re gone! I know you struggle with deciding what to eat–let me help. You’ll leave this free 50 minute session with a plan of exactly what to eat to start losing weight.

SCHEDULE HERE!

More from Well with Lisa:

Schedule a free session: wellwithlisa.as.me
Your Go-To Meal Guide: grab it HERE
Instagram: @well_with_lisa

WEBVTT

00:00:00.246 --> 00:00:02.527
This is the Eat Well, Think Well, Live Well podcast.

00:00:02.527 --> 00:00:03.637
I'm Lisa Salsbury.

00:00:04.027 --> 00:00:05.886
And this is episode 56.

00:00:06.062 --> 00:00:09.542
Muscles are your metabolic currency with Yana Barrett.

00:00:10.053 --> 00:00:12.782
Yana asks us this important question.

00:00:13.442 --> 00:00:17.342
Are you overweight or are you under muscled?

00:00:17.792 --> 00:00:22.443
This is a new way to look at our body composition that has nothing to do with the scale.

00:00:22.742 --> 00:00:31.472
So take a look at how much muscle you have, and you can do that by assessing your strength in especially daily activities.

00:00:31.772 --> 00:00:41.582
Yana tells us in this episode of a 60 year old client who wasn't able to pick up her first grandchild out of the cot, this is a heartbreaking lack of function.

00:00:41.582 --> 00:00:42.482
And I'm sure no.

00:00:42.482 --> 00:00:44.643
No one wants that for themselves.

00:00:45.063 --> 00:00:54.063
Yana is all about exercising, to feel strong, confident, powerful, and to move with freedom pain-free for as long as we possibly can.

00:00:54.302 --> 00:00:59.792
She's attack, fit, certified instructor, strength and conditioning coach, and a qualified personal trainer.

00:00:59.792 --> 00:01:00.482
She has.

00:01:00.813 --> 00:01:13.352
Almost a decade of experience training women from complete beginners to professional athletes, her clients get strong, flexible, and powerful using exercise and movement that is intuitive.

00:01:13.742 --> 00:01:18.272
And suits their bodies, especially as they are transitioning through menopause.

00:01:18.692 --> 00:01:24.153
She's a strong advocate for women at this stage of life, which we talk about a lot in this episode.

00:01:24.572 --> 00:01:27.183
As she believes this is often a forgotten group.

00:01:27.453 --> 00:01:34.233
I'm excited for, to hear this motivating conversation about muscles and mobility and exercise.

00:01:36.230 --> 00:01:43.131
Welcome to Eat Well, Think Well, Live Well; the podcast for women who want to lose weight, but are tired of counting and calculating all the food.

00:01:43.760 --> 00:01:45.320
I'm your host, Lisa Salsbury.

00:01:45.710 --> 00:01:51.370
I'm a certified health and weight loss coach and life coach, and most importantly a recovered chronic dieter.

00:01:51.980 --> 00:01:57.921
I'll teach you to figure out why you are eating when you aren't hungry, instead of worrying so much about what you are eating.

00:02:00.040 --> 00:02:10.300
Before we jump into my conversation with Yana in this episode, I do want to remind you about that limited time offer of a free food planning session with me.

00:02:10.629 --> 00:02:12.729
There's just three weeks left to get scheduled.

00:02:12.729 --> 00:02:16.449
I've had a lot of fun with those that have already scheduled by the time.

00:02:16.810 --> 00:02:18.759
This airs, I will have done six.

00:02:18.939 --> 00:02:23.500
So that means I have just four spots left, but there is plenty of time.

00:02:23.500 --> 00:02:25.120
So I opened up a couple more.

00:02:25.150 --> 00:02:27.129
So we'll be doing probably 12 total.

00:02:27.550 --> 00:02:33.039
If you've always thought losing weight is hard because it's just so tricky, figuring out what to eat.

00:02:33.310 --> 00:02:38.620
There's just so much conflicting advice and you're probably just overwhelmed with how to parse it all out.

00:02:39.250 --> 00:02:43.259
You want to figure out what to eat and what works for your body.

00:02:43.259 --> 00:02:44.580
And I I've got you.

00:02:44.819 --> 00:02:47.129
That's just what this session is all about.

00:02:47.629 --> 00:02:49.550
I want to get you out of confusion.

00:02:49.610 --> 00:02:53.120
I think that's the biggest reason women don't get going on their weight loss.

00:02:53.539 --> 00:02:56.719
Is, they are stuck in not knowing what to do and what to eat.

00:02:57.020 --> 00:03:02.090
So come to this free food planning session, it's a one-on-one session, just you and me.

00:03:02.330 --> 00:03:04.039
So it's totally personal.

00:03:04.310 --> 00:03:08.270
You'll leave knowing exactly what to eat, to start losing weight.

00:03:08.780 --> 00:03:16.099
I talk a lot about emotional eating on this podcast, but I am realizing that some of you aren't even ready to figure out the emotional eating piece.

00:03:16.580 --> 00:03:20.479
Because you need to dial in what foods you really want on your plan.

00:03:20.539 --> 00:03:24.289
And it ends up all feeling like emotional eating when you don't know.

00:03:24.590 --> 00:03:26.719
Like which foods are really best for you.

00:03:27.530 --> 00:03:35.539
Also, I'll be gifting you the book I wrote for my jumpstart, your weight loss sessions that I used to do seal want to watch for that download in your confirmation email.

00:03:35.539 --> 00:03:36.830
When you get this scheduled.

00:03:37.430 --> 00:03:49.669
And if you go to schedule right away, it'll look like there are lots of times available, like more than six, but I do have a limit on my calendar that once those last six are booked, then there won't be any more available this round.

00:03:49.699 --> 00:03:51.469
So be sure to get your scheduled.

00:03:51.524 --> 00:03:54.554
Right away so we can get you going.

00:03:54.973 --> 00:03:59.144
And I'll be honest, if at the end of the call, I think you're a good fit for my coaching program.

00:03:59.174 --> 00:04:01.993
I will let you know, but the call is free.

00:04:02.294 --> 00:04:03.253
Either way.

00:04:03.764 --> 00:04:14.165
Now let's talk to Yanna Barrett I am super excited to welcome Janna Barrett here to the podcast today.

00:04:14.165 --> 00:04:21.516
She is a fitness and movement coach, and most fun of all for me, when she popped up on my Zoom, I was like, oh, you're not in America.

00:04:21.545 --> 00:04:23.615
So she's from New Zealand, which is so fun.

00:04:23.615 --> 00:04:26.136
So we're gonna enjoy listening to her accent.

00:04:26.136 --> 00:04:28.896
I know she's probably like, that's kind of.

00:04:30.201 --> 00:04:32.271
Over, over done with the, the accent.

00:04:32.271 --> 00:04:34.880
But for, for us here in America, I enjoy it.

00:04:35.031 --> 00:04:38.990
So I am, I've been enjoying chitchatting with Yana as we've been getting to know each other.

00:04:39.261 --> 00:04:48.021
So if you could just introduce yourself a little bit, tell people what you do, how you came to that work, and then we will jump into our topic today.

00:04:49.386 --> 00:04:51.185
So lovely, um, to be here with you, Lisa.

00:04:51.185 --> 00:04:52.055
Thank you for having me and.

00:04:52.235 --> 00:05:03.305
And yeah, I'm, I'm gonna inject a little bit of exotic down under flavor into your podcast today, but my name is Yanna Barrett, as you said, and I'm a fitness and movement coach, and I mainly help women over 50.

00:05:03.966 --> 00:05:05.615
That's kind of my main clientele.

00:05:05.615 --> 00:05:09.396
But, um, obviously I have coached people from, um, teenagers too.

00:05:09.425 --> 00:05:11.675
I think my oldest client is, was 72.

00:05:11.795 --> 00:05:12.096
Yeah.

00:05:12.185 --> 00:05:14.855
So a very wide range of, uh, women mainly.

00:05:15.276 --> 00:05:29.211
And I help women to, um, Unleash the true power of their body to help them move with freedom and pain-free so they can confidently navigate aging and live the life of their wildest dreams.

00:05:30.766 --> 00:05:31.175
I love it.

00:05:31.536 --> 00:05:36.636
My listeners know I'm a big fan of making your health span match your lifespan.

00:05:36.636 --> 00:05:41.485
So functional movement all the way through our older years and.

00:05:41.646 --> 00:05:47.586
And really thinking about how we are exercising now to prepare our bodies.

00:05:47.586 --> 00:05:56.646
I know I've actually had a guest on previously that talked about how we can exercise today in our forties and fifties to preserve our joints.

00:05:56.646 --> 00:05:58.295
We definitely need to be.

00:05:58.550 --> 00:06:03.560
Thinking about that, thinking about our longevity as we are doing our workouts.

00:06:03.560 --> 00:06:09.810
So we are going to talk today about that demographic, the forties and fifties.

00:06:09.815 --> 00:06:14.875
We've kind of been hitting this on the podcast lately with this midlife menopause time.

00:06:15.146 --> 00:06:18.836
We've talked about some hormone replacement therapy that you can do.

00:06:18.836 --> 00:06:24.805
We've talked about thoughts that you have in your midlife and how we can live better in our midlife.

00:06:24.805 --> 00:06:29.740
So, Today we're really gonna talk about exercise in that mid lifetime.

00:06:29.800 --> 00:06:38.141
So one thing that Yana said to me is, muscle mass is your number one weapon in the fight against menopausal weight gain.

00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:39.670
Tell us about that.

00:06:39.701 --> 00:06:42.130
What does that mean, and why do you think that's true?

00:06:42.709 --> 00:06:48.230
So what's really um, great is that there is actually a lot of research coming out about this now.

00:06:48.680 --> 00:06:54.769
So, you know, in the past I think women were slightly or probably quite largely underrepresented in lots of studies.

00:06:54.800 --> 00:07:01.730
And, um, there's even, you know, in the fitness industry, there is actually not that many coaches who are knowledgeable about.

00:07:02.264 --> 00:07:10.095
Training women in perimenopause and menopause and you know, some women can be in perimenopause for almost 10 years.

00:07:10.875 --> 00:07:11.625
And then, you know, as you

00:07:11.704 --> 00:07:11.995
Yeah.

00:07:12.500 --> 00:07:13.220
Absolutely.

00:07:13.220 --> 00:07:22.160
And, and you know, like the, the, I think somebody told me there's like 150 symptoms you can possibly have when you are transitioning, you know, through perimenopause to menopause.

00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:30.589
And what is really strongly coming out in a lot of research now is that we are not actually not overweight.

00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:31.879
We are underused.

00:07:33.470 --> 00:07:46.720
So we are not cultivating and maintaining our muscle mass and, and you know, like our hormones are not really kind of coming to the party here because you are actually starting to lose muscle mass after 30.

00:07:47.660 --> 00:07:52.370
After 30 years old, you already are on that downward slide.

00:07:52.370 --> 00:07:58.069
I think it's about 3% of muscle mass every decade, which might not seem like a lot, but it is actually a lot.

00:07:58.069 --> 00:08:04.819
And then that process is a lot speeded up once you hit your forties, fifties, and even sixties.

00:08:05.329 --> 00:08:06.079
So suddenly,

00:08:06.084 --> 00:08:06.834
let me, sorry.

00:08:06.834 --> 00:08:08.964
Let me just, uh, interrupt and ask you a question there.

00:08:09.115 --> 00:08:19.495
When you say that we're getting that muscle decline, is that if you do nothing about it, I'm assuming that's that's the decline that we are going to be fighting against, is that

00:08:19.790 --> 00:08:21.050
Yeah, absolutely.

00:08:21.379 --> 00:08:34.190
But you know, obviously you, you've talked about if you are strength training and if you are doing mobility training or you're doing any kind of type of exercise or physical activity, then you are preventing this muscle mass loss.

00:08:35.164 --> 00:08:36.004
So, absolutely.

00:08:36.065 --> 00:08:36.245
Yeah.

00:08:36.245 --> 00:08:40.205
That is, if, if you do nothing, you are losing 3% every decade.

00:08:40.774 --> 00:08:53.029
Um, and it could be up to like 10%, um, once you hit your fifties and sixties and you are transitioning, through menopause because of the diminishing, estrogen, you know, hormones and, and you know, we are losing a lot of hormones, by that stage.

00:08:53.720 --> 00:08:53.929
Yeah.

00:08:53.929 --> 00:08:56.539
So the researchers there that, you know, that we.

00:08:56.940 --> 00:09:12.059
It's actually, I read somewhere, um, a study that a woman who is bigger but has a really good muscle mass will have better health outcomes and better quality of life as she ages than a woman who is smaller but doesn't have a very good muscle mass.

00:09:12.480 --> 00:09:15.090
And I have coached people who are on both side of the spectrum.

00:09:15.095 --> 00:09:17.159
I have just started coaching someone who is 60.

00:09:17.929 --> 00:09:23.299
Who's very lean, but literally no muscles, no muscle tone, no muscle strength.

00:09:23.360 --> 00:09:32.899
And the reason why she came to me is because she cannot lift her first grandchild comfortably out of a cott or for cuddles.

00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:48.649
And imagine if you are not exercising, and then suddenly at the age of 60, You are faced with a situation where you finally got that first grandchild and it is the most, you know, one of the most joyous probably events in a, in a woman's life, apart from having her own children.

00:09:48.654 --> 00:09:57.110
And suddenly you don't have the strength to pick up this eight months old baby and have a cuddle with it with her.

00:09:57.350 --> 00:09:57.649
Yeah.

00:09:58.070 --> 00:10:10.330
So that is kind of some of the devastating impact of not having adequate muscle mass, but also, Muscle is the organ in your body that burns the most calories,

00:10:10.664 --> 00:10:11.085
Mm-hmm.

00:10:11.590 --> 00:10:16.750
and as you are losing muscle mass, generally what happens is that the muscle mass is replaced by body fat.

00:10:17.019 --> 00:10:18.159
It's just what happens.

00:10:18.159 --> 00:10:23.769
And then the body fat has a very different, as you probably know, a metabolic kind of demands.

00:10:23.769 --> 00:10:28.629
And then usually it makes you crave for the foods that perhaps don't serve you so well.

00:10:28.629 --> 00:10:32.590
So, so maintaining muscle mass is not only so important for.

00:10:33.279 --> 00:10:38.440
Preserving the functionality of your body and to be able to do what you want to do as you are aging.

00:10:38.500 --> 00:10:45.549
But it's also the organ that will burn the most calories and speed up your metabolic system.

00:10:45.549 --> 00:10:56.590
And then, um, will allow you to maintain a healthy weight as you are going through perimenopause and menopause, because that is usually the biggest complaint that I hear from women.

00:10:56.710 --> 00:10:59.769
You know, suddenly they put on 10 kilos, which is 20 pounds.

00:10:59.774 --> 00:11:04.929
Um, In America and you know, within months and they haven't changed anything.

00:11:05.379 --> 00:11:05.830
Mm-hmm.

00:11:06.039 --> 00:11:07.419
So what is going on there?

00:11:09.460 --> 00:11:14.980
I, um, I was gonna say I love that story about the grandchild, but actually I, I hate it.

00:11:14.985 --> 00:11:22.509
Like, I hate that that happened to her, but I love that example just because it, it is why I train it.

00:11:22.820 --> 00:11:39.590
I again, I have said to my clients multiple times when we talk about why we are either getting to our natural healthy weight or improving our health'cause I coach on weight loss and just general health coaching that we need to have really strong whys.

00:11:39.590 --> 00:11:55.549
And one of them I always give them as example One of my sentences, one of my thoughts is I want to be an influence for good on my grandchildren because for me, that encompasses the idea that I am going to be able to travel to wherever they are.

00:11:56.330 --> 00:11:59.029
They probably won't live in my neighborhood.

00:11:59.330 --> 00:11:59.659
Right?

00:11:59.690 --> 00:12:01.669
Of course, we want them to, but they probably won't.

00:12:02.029 --> 00:12:11.899
And so for me to have the function to be able to carry my own baggage and get on the plane and get to where they are and attend their events.

00:12:11.904 --> 00:12:15.384
I mean, of course when they're babies, there's less events, just more cuddling.

00:12:15.384 --> 00:12:18.745
But as they get older, I want to see their events.

00:12:18.745 --> 00:12:23.365
I wanna go to their plays and their shows and their football games and their graduations.

00:12:23.365 --> 00:12:24.955
Like all of those things.

00:12:24.955 --> 00:12:30.205
And so when I hear that story that she isn't even able to pick up the child.

00:12:30.205 --> 00:12:34.375
Like we wanna be able to have the function to get down on the floor, to play with them.

00:12:34.534 --> 00:12:35.345
At their level.

00:12:35.585 --> 00:12:51.774
And yeah, I just think that is so impactful, and I think you're so right about the idea that we have this complaint about I've gained weight, and people say, oh, my metabolism has slowed down as if it's just this magical thing that has happened.

00:12:51.774 --> 00:12:55.254
My metabolism slowed down, and they just like, it is what it is.

00:12:55.254 --> 00:12:57.625
They throw their hands in the air and they're like, I don't know what to do.

00:12:57.625 --> 00:13:00.414
My metabolism like, no, it's not that.

00:13:00.445 --> 00:13:05.384
It's that You've let your muscle mass decrease, that is what is happening.

00:13:05.384 --> 00:13:07.455
I think that is so important for people to hear.

00:13:07.875 --> 00:13:10.725
Your metabolism isn't just randomly going down.

00:13:10.725 --> 00:13:13.995
It's not like, oh, well it has to go down in menopause.

00:13:14.054 --> 00:13:15.164
No, it doesn't.

00:13:16.394 --> 00:13:17.654
No, no, absolutely not.

00:13:17.654 --> 00:13:18.855
You are absolutely right, Lisa.

00:13:18.855 --> 00:13:29.695
It doesn't now, and I, I love the, you know, the simple statement of you are not overweight, you are under muscled, because I think that immediately switches the thinking of.

00:13:31.485 --> 00:13:35.475
Trying to lose weight to, no, I'm gonna set that aside.

00:13:35.625 --> 00:13:44.205
What I'm gonna work on is I'm gonna try to increase my muscle mass and stimulate my muscle growth, which is entirely possible at any age.

00:13:44.955 --> 00:13:54.375
And they're kind of like, you know, because we've been so exposed to the message, you need to lose weight, you need to be skinny or beach body in six weeks and lose 10 kilos in 10 weeks.

00:13:54.375 --> 00:14:06.980
You know, all these kind of messages that I think have been really harmful to, to women and um, Always focusing on the aesthetics, but I think that a body can be healthy at a very wide range of weight.

00:14:07.039 --> 00:14:19.399
And you know, everybody looks different, but we can absolutely just focus on health and the functionality of our body and being independent and aging with.

00:14:19.650 --> 00:14:21.870
Confidence and ease and not freaking out.

00:14:21.900 --> 00:14:24.600
Oh my gosh, I'm turning 50 and what am I gonna do?

00:14:24.841 --> 00:14:27.181
And I'm overweight and I can't do these things.

00:14:27.451 --> 00:14:27.721
You know?

00:14:27.721 --> 00:14:34.350
So I think that that statement kind of immediately takes the focus from just the aesthetics to a.

00:14:35.671 --> 00:14:38.041
Your body, what can your body actually do?

00:14:38.400 --> 00:14:40.051
Can you pick up your own groceries?

00:14:40.051 --> 00:14:43.380
Can you go, um, for a big walk with your grandchildren?

00:14:43.770 --> 00:14:46.140
Can you live in your own home when you're 70?

00:14:46.140 --> 00:14:48.240
Can you get in and out of a car easily?

00:14:48.421 --> 00:14:53.850
Can you go down, up and down the stairs and can you live without pain or are you in pain all the time?

00:14:54.571 --> 00:14:55.171
So I like that.

00:14:55.171 --> 00:14:58.770
I like that switch because often when you focus on the muscle growth and.

00:14:59.671 --> 00:15:07.860
Increasing the, you know, your strength and your confidence, then the aesthetics will come as a byproduct'cause you will lose weight.

00:15:08.400 --> 00:15:08.850
Absolutely.

00:15:10.515 --> 00:15:27.413
And I think the idea that we may have had in the past, I don't know how much of this kind of message that you, if, if the messaging and the magazines and things are the same in New Zealand, but we got a lot, especially when I was younger of, well, don't lift heavy weights.

00:15:27.413 --> 00:15:29.722
You don't wanna look like a man, which.

00:15:30.952 --> 00:15:32.482
I love, I love busting bed.

00:15:32.873 --> 00:15:33.263
Yeah.

00:15:33.413 --> 00:15:46.113
It's so silly like unless you are on heavy doses of anabolic steroids, you will never be able to put on so much muscle that you will quote unquote look like a man.

00:15:46.143 --> 00:15:47.163
Like it.

00:15:47.403 --> 00:15:55.592
It is actually difficult to build muscle, which I think we can talk a little bit about today, but it's not like it just happens really quick.

00:15:55.592 --> 00:15:57.572
As soon as you start doing the bench press,

00:15:58.158 --> 00:15:58.878
Absolutely not.

00:15:58.908 --> 00:16:00.827
And I think for women, they actually don't bulk up.

00:16:00.827 --> 00:16:02.028
They tone up.

00:16:02.687 --> 00:16:09.758
So The muscles will appear firm and there will be a, a slight definition, you know, you're not gonna get jacked up.

00:16:10.418 --> 00:16:13.327
You know, you just, we can't, we're women, we're not men.

00:16:13.327 --> 00:16:19.508
You know, men have completely different physiology and they can grow, grow muscle at a phenomenal rate.

00:16:19.508 --> 00:16:23.827
But for women, it's more about strengthening the muscle.

00:16:23.827 --> 00:16:30.998
I mean, when you think about ballet dancer, ballet dancers, and gymnasts, They are phenomenally strong.

00:16:31.298 --> 00:16:39.488
I mean, you see what gymnasts can do and, and ballet dancers, but they're not bulky and you know, they can do crazy things.

00:16:39.488 --> 00:16:47.437
I mean, when you see ballerinas performing for an hour and a half, you know, you, you know, they are phenomenally strong, but they're not bulky.

00:16:47.437 --> 00:16:48.727
So there, there it goes.

00:16:48.817 --> 00:16:50.738
There goes the argument immediately.

00:16:51.293 --> 00:16:52.253
Yeah, for sure.

00:16:53.092 --> 00:16:53.783
so.

00:16:54.113 --> 00:17:09.893
Let's talk about, you mentioned there are kind of three main reasons why you put on weight in the forties and fifties, so I think we've kind of covered one, which is that we're under muscle and so we're shifting from muscle to fat, and that causes an increase on the scale.

00:17:10.432 --> 00:17:12.563
what are other reasons that you see there?

00:17:13.702 --> 00:17:15.742
So what I see a lot is, um, stress.

00:17:16.432 --> 00:17:21.143
I think women in midlife are dealing with kind of fundamental amount of stress.

00:17:21.143 --> 00:17:23.663
And I even see it with women in their fifties and sixties.

00:17:23.692 --> 00:17:32.452
We, we stressed about work and children and you know, climate change and what do we eat and how to stay healthy.

00:17:32.452 --> 00:17:40.343
And you know, women are dealing with phenomenal amount of stress and that doesn't really suit our bodies because.

00:17:41.692 --> 00:17:45.143
You know, when we are really stressed, we don't sleep very well.

00:17:45.147 --> 00:17:46.468
and then we are tired.

00:17:46.468 --> 00:17:48.268
We are reaching for the wrong kinds of food.

00:17:48.272 --> 00:17:50.067
We don't have energy to go and exercise.

00:17:50.067 --> 00:17:58.779
So, so I think often stress is the, median to then kind of start sliding down into a bit of an unhealthy state.

00:17:58.839 --> 00:17:59.769
So I often.

00:18:00.579 --> 00:18:14.250
Tell people, sort out your sleep, sort out your stress levels, and then your weight will settle because a lot of these hormones, like when you are really stressed and you are always in that flight and fight mode, you are not in the rest and digest.

00:18:14.700 --> 00:18:16.019
Parasympathetic system.

00:18:16.109 --> 00:18:22.109
So that means that your cortisol levels and you, you're basically running on jet fuel, you're running on adrenaline all day long.

00:18:22.115 --> 00:18:26.910
And, and you know, women are rushing and they're trying to squeeze so much into their days now.

00:18:27.240 --> 00:18:28.109
Like we have to do it all.

00:18:28.115 --> 00:18:33.359
We have to be the perfect wife, the, the perfect business owner or the, you know, the perfect mother.

00:18:33.365 --> 00:18:37.079
And you know, we need to exercise and hang out with family and do community work.

00:18:37.079 --> 00:18:43.440
And I think that our plates are so full that we are just stressed.

00:18:44.519 --> 00:18:55.970
Completely and, um, running on adrenalin and cortisol and that is really, um, negatively impacting our health and ability to, to be, just chilled and, you know, maintain healthy weight.

00:18:56.765 --> 00:19:01.819
And not only that, I coach a lot on the thought aspects of weight gain.

00:19:01.819 --> 00:19:10.190
And so what I see, in fact I just coached on last week was she started with, I just, I just have feeling so stressed this week.

00:19:10.190 --> 00:19:11.599
I'm busy, I'm overwhelmed.

00:19:12.170 --> 00:19:23.000
And then what she told me was, and then I overate and what happens is, We are overeating to compensate for that very, very negative emotion that's happening.

00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:32.329
Our brain is very uncomfortable with this negative vibration going through the body, and it's like looking back in the past and saying What has helped me feel better in the past?

00:19:32.690 --> 00:19:33.619
Extra cookies.

00:19:34.349 --> 00:19:35.460
So let's do that again.

00:19:35.460 --> 00:19:38.369
It offers up that idea and you're like, yes, that is the solution.

00:19:38.369 --> 00:19:44.430
And so we go to solutions like food to tamp down that stress and all that it does.

00:19:44.430 --> 00:19:59.549
If you think of this visual, instead of bringing that stress up to the surface and processing it and seeing what can we do about it instead, we're just spackling on some food on top, pressing it down farther, farther into the body, and so it is still there.

00:19:59.809 --> 00:20:02.660
We've only just put some food on top of it and now guess what?

00:20:02.869 --> 00:20:04.309
We're more stressed'cause we can't lose weight.

00:20:05.539 --> 00:20:06.605
Yeah, absolutely.

00:20:06.605 --> 00:20:12.424
It's that comfort eating and, and it's, it's about, as you said, just having some strategies at your fingertips.

00:20:13.115 --> 00:20:14.855
What can I do that doesn't involve that?

00:20:14.855 --> 00:20:17.224
So, you know, I often recommend my clients just go for a walk.

00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:19.640
Just go for 10 minutes around the block.

00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:25.220
Just leave your to-do list, you know, because in this state you're not gonna be that productive anyway.

00:20:25.250 --> 00:20:30.890
Go for a walk, because I think that once you start moving your body, everything in your body just starts.

00:20:31.505 --> 00:20:45.214
You're starting to relax and you're starting to kind of remove yourself from being so stuck in that stress and in the overwhelm and, and you kind of gain a little bit of perspective and, you know, you hear the birds and you're in the sunshine or in rain, doesn't matter in the wind.

00:20:45.214 --> 00:20:56.134
And, and you know, like as soon as you start moving your body or even just a little bit of like 10 minutes of mobility or do some squats or whatever you can do and, and just elevate your.

00:20:57.380 --> 00:21:12.680
State of being and your vibration as you mentioned, Lisa, you know, like, I mean, exercising in nature, going for a walk, it's so potent and so powerful and you don't have to do it for hours to completely change the way you feel and change the way you think and yeah.

00:21:13.849 --> 00:21:15.200
Such a good solution.

00:21:16.069 --> 00:21:17.750
So that's number two.

00:21:17.750 --> 00:21:18.950
So number one, the muscle.

00:21:18.950 --> 00:21:21.259
Number two, the stress.

00:21:21.319 --> 00:21:23.180
And what do you think is number three?

00:21:23.825 --> 00:21:30.904
Probably the, just the lack of kind of self-care and exercise and kind of prioritizing that over.

00:21:32.140 --> 00:21:36.609
Millions of other things that are competing for your attention and your time, you know?

00:21:36.609 --> 00:21:39.119
And you know, women often prioritize.

00:21:39.480 --> 00:21:43.079
Others over themselves, and I've been guilty of that as well.

00:21:43.109 --> 00:21:59.759
You know, I was a, I was a mother of three small children for a decade, full-time at home, and my husband had a very demanding career where he traveled a lot and he was in the film industry and working phenomenally long hours, and I knew that.

00:22:00.525 --> 00:22:07.484
If I didn't exercise early in the morning when he was still at home, it would never happen, and then my days would just be quiet.

00:22:07.634 --> 00:22:10.335
It would be always about other people and other things.

00:22:10.365 --> 00:22:27.974
Whereas if I fit in a 20 minute run in the morning, then I knew that it was my time where I could be with my thoughts and then I could give my day to my children and my husband and the household and everything else because I felt that at least part of the day was my own.

00:22:28.484 --> 00:22:28.605
I.

00:22:28.954 --> 00:22:37.570
So yes, I think the self-care and the prioritizing of movement, and I'm all about exercising, that takes 10 to 20 minutes.

00:22:37.576 --> 00:22:43.721
So all my programs and, and most of what I coach is,'cause I coach busy women.

00:22:43.810 --> 00:22:48.550
And you know, the, the research is there that 10, 20 minutes a day.

00:22:48.941 --> 00:23:01.550
It's enough to keep you healthy and, for your mental and emotional wellbeing as well, because let's not forget that exercise is extremely potent way to improve mental health and emotional health as well as physical health.

00:23:02.181 --> 00:23:09.260
So, you know, your 10 to 20 minutes every day can pack in a quite big punch for your overall, health.

00:23:09.861 --> 00:23:10.401
for sure.

00:23:10.911 --> 00:23:15.885
And that is a a good point that 10 to 20 minutes can be plenty.

00:23:15.945 --> 00:23:30.165
And what we see in so many women is exercising just way too much, I mean we can be effective at 10 to 20 minutes, but 45 minutes is also fine if that's the type of of exercise you enjoy.

00:23:30.171 --> 00:23:42.256
But there is a point where, especially if you are kind of subscribing to maybe 10, 20 years ago where women mostly were like, you know, you gotta do cardio and don't lift weights again.

00:23:42.256 --> 00:23:49.336
'cause like, we don't wanna be bulky and so we, we got these like cardio bunnies and these super, super long runs and just.

00:23:49.996 --> 00:23:53.776
Multiple hours in the gym, we can't exercise too much.

00:23:53.955 --> 00:23:55.756
And what, what happens then?

00:23:56.653 --> 00:23:57.252
So you basically.

00:23:57.252 --> 00:23:59.413
Basically reach a point of diminishing returns.

00:23:59.532 --> 00:24:03.222
And the research is strongly backing that for women in midlife.

00:24:03.333 --> 00:24:07.442
low to moderate intensity is the kind of the golden window.

00:24:07.982 --> 00:24:23.222
So unless you are a professional athlete, obviously, where you have no choice, but you also have a team of professionals around you to manage your recovery, and you have doctors and physios and massage therapists and nutritionists, you know, uh, the average woman in my life doesn't have all that.

00:24:23.282 --> 00:24:30.962
So, Yeah, you get to the point of diminishing returns where, you are basically just stressing the body too much.

00:24:30.992 --> 00:24:37.113
So what I think we really need to discuss is that exercise is stress on the body.

00:24:37.893 --> 00:24:39.722
It is a physiological stress.

00:24:39.853 --> 00:24:44.413
you are basically putting your body under a duress, a physical duress.

00:24:44.413 --> 00:24:45.522
It's uncomfortable.

00:24:45.583 --> 00:24:48.913
your heart rate goes up, you're breathing heavy, you are sweating.

00:24:49.333 --> 00:24:50.323
It is stress.

00:24:50.968 --> 00:24:58.018
Now we know that exercise is a good stress, but our nervous system doesn't recognizes it as such.

00:24:58.238 --> 00:25:02.077
our nervous system only recognizes one level of stress.

00:25:02.708 --> 00:25:08.288
So exercise can sometimes be the, literally the, the straw that broke the camel's back.

00:25:08.347 --> 00:25:08.768
So if you.

00:25:10.192 --> 00:25:11.093
Haven't slept.

00:25:11.573 --> 00:25:13.462
You are not eating very well.

00:25:13.492 --> 00:25:15.712
You've had a massive fight with your husband.

00:25:16.103 --> 00:25:18.383
You have massive deadlines waiting.

00:25:18.383 --> 00:25:26.123
Your teenager has a depression, basically like this whole array of stress, and you add your exercise on top of it.

00:25:26.363 --> 00:25:27.472
That could literally be the.

00:25:27.877 --> 00:25:38.798
The cup has now overflown and you are thrown into a deep, you know, cortisol dominance and, and what we talked about being in the sympathetic nervous system, so always being in the flight and fight mode.

00:25:39.548 --> 00:25:47.438
Whereas if you're not that stressed, you can add a bit of a stress of the exercise and your body will recover from it and it will get stronger from it.

00:25:47.708 --> 00:25:49.988
And then you get the, the, the ideal.

00:25:51.202 --> 00:25:55.972
What we call the, you know, the optimal stress where you are recovering from the stress of exercise.

00:25:56.363 --> 00:25:59.393
You are getting stronger, you're getting fitter.

00:25:59.423 --> 00:26:03.532
It's becoming easier and easier, and you have to kind of add a progressive load.

00:26:03.532 --> 00:26:08.758
So you have to do just a little bit more every few weeks to get the same kind of effect on your body.

00:26:09.208 --> 00:26:14.907
But if you are doing too much, then you ask just, you're not recovering from the stress.

00:26:14.907 --> 00:26:18.688
So then you enter the over training zone where you're getting sick a lot.

00:26:19.167 --> 00:26:21.538
You are starting to get aches and injuries.

00:26:21.597 --> 00:26:23.847
You are not getting better.

00:26:24.478 --> 00:26:25.647
So you're not getting stronger.

00:26:25.647 --> 00:26:40.188
You're not getting the, the kind of the adaptations from exercise that you desire and then you're basically starting going downhill and you generally it will, Result in a burnout or, or generally an injury because the body just goes, I can't, I can't deal with this anymore.

00:26:40.278 --> 00:26:41.538
You know, this is just too much.

00:26:41.988 --> 00:26:48.498
So I think that there is that kind of golden window that in order, you know, women kind of sometimes try it themselves.

00:26:48.498 --> 00:26:49.038
Like, I gotta lose weight.

00:26:49.038 --> 00:26:51.557
I gotta lose weight, and you know, I've gotta exercise.

00:26:51.563 --> 00:26:52.337
I've gotta exercise.

00:26:52.337 --> 00:26:55.847
But sometimes actually doing a little bit less can give you more.

00:26:56.462 --> 00:27:08.163
Because you just need to recover the hormones and you need to allow the body to just go back to the homeostasis of, you know, like recovering from the stress back to the baseline and then you can do it again.

00:27:08.163 --> 00:27:21.843
Whereas if you never come back to the baseline and you're never recovering, you're just kind of spiraling into this, a really ugly overtraining state, which, you know, I coach many women in that state and it's, it's not fun once you are in it because you're getting sick a lot too

00:27:22.772 --> 00:27:25.803
And then you're not seeing results on the scale as well.

00:27:26.403 --> 00:27:27.093
Right, because

00:27:27.242 --> 00:27:27.603
No, no.

00:27:27.663 --> 00:27:28.653
You'll be putting on weight.

00:27:28.803 --> 00:27:30.903
Yeah, and nothing will be moving off the scale yet.

00:27:31.907 --> 00:27:33.617
Which is like such a crazy phenomenon.

00:27:33.647 --> 00:27:48.268
'cause we've talked about how exercise doesn't make enough of a difference in your calorie burn as far as, changing what you're eating, that you're really losing scale weight in the kitchen, you're putting on muscle, improving cardio, all kinds of other things in the gym.

00:27:48.567 --> 00:27:55.498
But where it really, it starts to affect your weight loss is when you're doing too much and then you.

00:27:55.663 --> 00:27:59.232
Either can't lose weight or possibly even gain.

00:27:59.232 --> 00:28:00.923
Have you seen that weight gain?

00:28:00.923 --> 00:28:02.087
Mm-hmm.

00:28:02.573 --> 00:28:02.813
Yeah.

00:28:02.813 --> 00:28:16.103
So, so one of the main modalities that coach women is to work with their bodies to be able to weave the intensity of their exercise to suit where their bodies are at on any given day.

00:28:16.103 --> 00:28:19.553
Because, you know, um, women's bodies are not like men.

00:28:19.673 --> 00:28:22.282
You know, we are very cyclical.

00:28:22.657 --> 00:28:23.198
Creatures.

00:28:23.708 --> 00:28:28.438
You know, like our hormones are very different over the, month, and I think that if you.

00:28:29.577 --> 00:28:32.698
Working against the body rather than with it.

00:28:32.938 --> 00:28:38.428
You are not gonna get the full benefit of everything that you're doing, whether it's nutrition or exercise.

00:28:38.428 --> 00:28:48.028
And so, um, what I teach a lot of my clients is work with your cycle if you're still cycling, because I have some women obviously, who have gone through menopause and then they're not anymore.

00:28:49.377 --> 00:28:52.827
Learn how to work with what your body needs on any given time.

00:28:52.833 --> 00:28:53.728
And there's a lot of research.

00:28:53.728 --> 00:28:57.807
There's actually a fundamental scientist here in New Zealand who is originally from America, called Dr.

00:28:57.807 --> 00:29:05.337
Stacy Sims, that really does a lot of research on women and exercise, and even she kind of confirms this.

00:29:06.538 --> 00:29:14.817
Idea that over the period of the month is that the first two weeks of your cycle, you have a lot of energy and you can train basically as a man.

00:29:15.357 --> 00:29:23.458
So you can really push and get, get kind of the bulk of your training and what you want to achieve in the first two weeks as you're

00:29:23.637 --> 00:29:26.192
And that would be more like heavy strength training, is that what

00:29:26.278 --> 00:29:27.778
yeah, heavy strength training.

00:29:27.778 --> 00:29:40.603
And you can kind of just push the body just a little bit to the edge, but then for the second, Part of your cycle where you probably know that your mood is not as cheerful, and sometimes you can fall into these kind of.

00:29:41.863 --> 00:29:59.442
Spaces where you are judging yourself quite harshly and you don't like the way you look and you just get a little bit gloomier and it's just a normal kind of drop of hormones, you just, and that kind of progesterone dominance, then that is the time when you need to maybe focus more on walking and yoga and mobility.

00:29:59.442 --> 00:30:03.673
So you can still do a little bit of strength training, but you really need to adjust the intensity.

00:30:04.268 --> 00:30:08.768
Of your training to accommodate your hormones, because generally you're a little bit more tired at that time.

00:30:09.038 --> 00:30:12.518
You're probably craving a little bit more comfort food at this time as well.

00:30:12.518 --> 00:30:23.377
So it's about acknowledging I am who I am and I want to work with my hormones and to make sure that I am giving my body what it needs.

00:30:23.377 --> 00:30:24.637
So it needs exercise.

00:30:25.147 --> 00:30:27.817
But maybe today I am not gonna push it at the gym so much.

00:30:27.817 --> 00:30:32.258
I'm gonna go for a half an hour walk and be in nature and just feel really good.

00:30:32.968 --> 00:30:34.377
And then obviously you've got your period.

00:30:34.377 --> 00:30:56.877
And I often tell women rest on day one because it's, there's a lot of kind of energy leak from your body and you're kind of processing a lot of things and that's a really nice time to just maybe go for a walk or just be gently be gentle with yourself rest, and then you get that again, that massive burst of energy and then you can go again.

00:30:56.877 --> 00:31:01.438
So often I think that women and coaches.

00:31:01.813 --> 00:31:16.782
Don't understand how the female body works and how to weave the intensity throughout the month to really kind of get the most out of everything that you're doing for, for your wellbeing.

00:31:17.702 --> 00:31:18.692
I haven't done that.

00:31:18.698 --> 00:31:25.762
I'll ha I have to be honest, I have noticed like, okay, I need to pay more attention'cause I've seen information on this.

00:31:25.762 --> 00:31:29.482
It's kind of one of those things where I'm like, yeah, I should, I should start incorporating that.

00:31:29.813 --> 00:31:35.482
But where I'm really challenged, and I think other women I've talked to as well in my same age range.

00:31:36.208 --> 00:31:58.198
Are in that perimenopause time where our cycles are 20 days long, or 40 days long, or 35 days long, or, I mean, I just, I track my period on just on the, um, on my phone, on the health app, you know, so Apple pops up and it's like, Hey, just so you know, your period's gonna start anytime in the next two weeks.

00:31:58.198 --> 00:32:00.298
I'm all, oh, thanks, thanks so much.

00:32:00.298 --> 00:32:02.218
That is not helpful at all.

00:32:02.657 --> 00:32:05.067
No, that's not, no, that is not yet.

00:32:05.940 --> 00:32:13.799
what would you say to a person who is deep into perimenopause, which I definitely am, I've got a lot of irregularity, a lot of symptoms.

00:32:14.130 --> 00:32:21.779
So what would you say as far as cycling your workouts when that's the case?

00:32:22.884 --> 00:32:28.345
But in the absolutely ideal world, we'll be teaching this to our girls when they are young.

00:32:28.434 --> 00:32:37.914
So by the time they get to this stage, they are so intimately connected to their bodies that they were intuitively know.

00:32:38.634 --> 00:32:41.335
What they should be doing and how they feel on any given day.

00:32:41.335 --> 00:32:43.555
So that's the absolutely ideal scenario.

00:32:43.585 --> 00:32:58.224
You know, I have two daughters, so I, um, I know, you know, when they first start their periods, you know, just to really explain and teach this to our girls and, and not put it behind shameful closed doors, but really talk about it and teach everyone about it.

00:32:58.224 --> 00:33:07.255
Teach our men and our sons about it as well, that okay, sometimes she's gonna be really hippy and cheerful and sometimes she's not going to be, and it's just.

00:33:08.365 --> 00:33:10.134
Hormones is not actually her.

00:33:10.134 --> 00:33:11.454
And it's not you either.

00:33:12.055 --> 00:33:22.285
So I think in the ideal world is that by the time you hit this stage, which is a beautiful transitional stage of our lives as well, even if it's really challenging for most women, you would know.

00:33:22.285 --> 00:33:26.994
And if, if you don't know, then I often say, um, just do something.

00:33:27.025 --> 00:33:33.025
Just do some exercise and start and see how you feel after 10 minutes because, and also like assess.

00:33:33.355 --> 00:33:34.525
How are you sleeping?

00:33:34.765 --> 00:33:35.815
How are you eating?

00:33:35.904 --> 00:33:37.434
What are your stress levels?

00:33:37.914 --> 00:33:39.595
How are you feeling inside your body?

00:33:39.595 --> 00:33:51.775
And, um, just kind of tune in a little bit because the thing that we live in our heads so much and you know, often a lot of my clients and women that I talk to tell me that we, I feel really disconnected from my body.

00:33:52.884 --> 00:34:16.224
I kind of look at the negative things, the weight gain and the, you know, the wrinkles and the gray hair and the where things kind of sagging now, you know, and, and I think of feel, we are not connected, really, truly connected in what our bodies are asking for, because I think that if you open that channel of communication, your body will actually whisper to you what it wants to do on any given day.

00:34:17.125 --> 00:34:18.175
Do you need to listen?

00:34:18.235 --> 00:34:19.014
It's a whisper.

00:34:19.224 --> 00:34:20.335
It's a, it's a whisper.

00:34:20.335 --> 00:34:21.715
It's not a shout, you know?

00:34:21.974 --> 00:34:22.514
Yeah.

00:34:22.574 --> 00:34:33.644
And I, I hear what you're saying there, and I have to say, there are some days where I think I have weight training planned and I go out there and I'm like, that is not happening today.

00:34:34.724 --> 00:34:42.824
And so maybe I'm listening more than I think, because I do notice that some days I wake up and I think, no, it's a yoga day.

00:34:42.945 --> 00:34:44.534
I'm just gonna head to yoga.

00:34:44.565 --> 00:34:46.545
And that's what I need.

00:34:46.545 --> 00:34:46.815
I, I.

00:34:46.934 --> 00:34:52.454
Happen to do yoga at hot work, so it's in an infrared sauna and sometimes I'm like, I just need that heat.

00:34:52.454 --> 00:34:54.224

Jana Barrett

Jana is all about exercising to feel strong, confident and powerful and to move with freedom, pain free for as long as we possibly can.

Jana is a Tacfit certified Instructor, Strength & Conditioning coach, qualified personal trainer .

ana has discovered & mastered ancient warrior training with steel mace & clubbells and she now helps other women discover their inner warrior. She believes that every woman deserves to be strong, confident and invincible!

Jana a mother of three children and lives in the beautiful New Zealand. She loves all things outdoors and is a keen (but not always very good) surfer.

Muscles Are Your Metabolic Currency With Jana Barrett [Ep. 56]

Jana Barrett

Listen On

Featured Episodes

Live Well Episodes

Recent Episodes

Eat Well Episodes

Think Well Episodes

Live Well Episodes

Browse episodes by category

New to Eat Well, Think Well, Live Well?

Lessons from Years of Coaching with Jody Moore [Ep. 54]

Back to Basics: Cravings and What to Do With Them [Ep 65]

Healthy Holiday Habits: How to Avoid Overeating This Season [Ep. 119]