139. My Tips for Navigating Perimenopause: Prioritizing Protein, Building Muscle, Energy Balance, and More

And then I'm going to roll that into the importance of protein , collagen and building muscle , the importance of consuming protein , consuming collagen , building muscle , and that's going to kind of turn into a discussion about energy balance . And that's going to kind of turn into a discussion about energy balance .

And this is all something that I've been toying with , struggling with , going through myself in different ways because of perimenopause , because of changes happening to my body and what that looks like , feels like things like that . And then also , I always talk about energy balance in different ways with my clients .

When a client first comes to me , they're trying to figure out their goals and what they want and what they want that to look like and how to essentially handle things , and what I teach them is a sort of energy balance , whatever that looks like for them .

We tweak the amount of energy that they're inputting into their body via macros , calories , and then we also tweak the amount of energy that they're putting out via the amount of cardio that they're doing . We usually cut back on that . We add in more weightlifting for muscle building .

There's a lot that goes into energy balance and I'm going to talk about that in a little bit of detail today . Not a lot , not a ton , not a shit ton , not an overwhelming amount , but I am going to get into energy balance because it's really , really important .

And not only is energy balance important when you're just starting out your journey , but it's been really important for me , really really far into my journey . Like , I've been working out for 15 , 16 years and no , that doesn't mean that I've been working out and lifting and training are not the same things but I've been on a health and fitness journey .

Essentially , we all are in one sort of another or another , but I've been intentionally on one for 15 years and I'm still learning and adjusting my body to things . So I just want to be very transparent in this episode . You are going to have to pivot and if this is the first episode that you're hearing me , hi , welcome .

I'm so fucking glad that you are here . Please go back to other episodes and listen , because I am always transparent . But I'm always talking about pivoting and figuring things out for seasons of life that you're in , or literally seasons of the year that we're in , and I'm still going through it .

So when I tell you that this is an always an ever-changing situation , I'm not kidding , like that's not a joke , that's not something that I'm just telling you , I'm telling myself , like I'm telling you that I'm still having to change things continuously in my journey . So let's dive in .

I am 43 years old and , just for reference , I feel like I'm in the midst of perimenopause . I know that's something that's it's so misunderstood and I quite frankly don't understand obviously all of it yet , since I'm going through it . So I'm just going to share with you my experience .

But within the last year I had gone to the doctor just my regular medical general practitioner for a yearly , you know checkup , just to check levels and all the things , just a very , very general checkup . But I mentioned to her I think I'm in perimenopause and she asked me why .

And I told her some symptoms and she told me absolutely not , you're too young to be in perimenopause . That's not what's happening to your body . Basically , you'll be fine , get over it . But if you do want to try something she pulled up some photos via a Google search on her computer of some medications . I guess that would help me get through perimenopause .

I don't remember what that was . It was a long time ago and I honestly never looked into them because I was just perturbed so fast forward to me figuring out my own journey . I have actually shared on my stories that I signed up and I'm going through . Wona is the company . It's online and it's a women-based company .

I'm not going to say any more than that because I literally don't know much else about it , but I did some research , I went through them and I am on a couple different medications through them and I've not been on them long enough to know if I'm seeing a change or not .

I think that I am , but I don't know for sure , so I'm not going to get into that a lot . But I do feel like my energy is starting to shift . I do feel like I'm not feeling so hot and sweaty at night .

I feel like maybe my mood is improving , but I'm also I've been very consistent at taking my depression anxiety medication , so that could be it , so I don't really know . But I did get on a couple of things that I specifically wanted for perimenopause and I think that I'm feeling a little bit better . I think , I don't know .

That could all be , you know , that placebo effect of me thinking I'm on medication and so I think I'm better , right .

What I am noticing , though , besides that , what I am noticing is , physically , most days , I don't recognize my body , and that is an insane feeling to me , because for the last years , years and years and years , I have been so consistent with things my macros , my movement , my lifting , everything physically and I have very much recognized my body , and I know

exactly what to eat and I know exactly what workouts to do , and I don't worry when I get on the scale and it's up . I don't worry if I put on clothes and they don't fit right . I don't worry if I have a bad body image day . I know that it's going to change and I do all the things that I tell you guys to do , and I'm fine , right .

But lately I have just I don't recognize my body . My body looks fine I'm not saying that it looks bad and it could just be all in my head but I'm feeling things like my muscle is leaving my body , my muscle is being used , deteriorating . I am losing muscle fast , faster than I would like .

I'm not working out as much as I should be and I'm not working out with the intensity that I should be , but that's quite literally because I physically could not . So I'm feeling like I'm getting my appetite back and these medications may be helping in a sense , that I'm picking up the pace on that . But I can tell that I've lost muscle mass .

I can tell that my skin feels different . It looks , looks different , it's thinner , it's softer , it's like a little more crepey . I'm noticing changes in my body . I have more fat on my body and , yes , I mean I've eaten a little more . It's fall here . So I've been having donuts and we've went on trips . A lot of trips actually have been .

We went to Chicago , we went up north , I went to just visit my best friend this last weekend , and so , no , I've not been necessarily hitting my macros , but I know from past experience that that's okay for me to not do that and my body won't change , except now it is , and I'm not to the point of freaking out about it .

I'm to the point of knowing it's time for me to pivot . This is the time that I tell you guys about what I'm doing currently is not fucking working in terms of this is not what I want to look like and feel like I'm not okay with where I am right now physically , and I'm the only one that can change it . So it's time for me to pivot .

A few things I wish I knew sooner . I actually knew them , but I didn't practice them , like I wasn't very serious about it . So these are a few things I want to tell you . Number one the more protein , the better . If you are younger than 43 , if you're younger than me , even if you're in your 30s and you're in your 20s , the more protein , the better .

Okay , eat that shit . Eat protein , focus on it , prioritize it now , get it in . I don't care how . Get it in . Protein is so important . The more muscle you have on your body , the better . Pack that shit on . Okay , if you're in your 20s and you're in your 30s and you do it , I'm not kidding . I'm not kidding .

Those are two things that I wish I would have , really , and I've made them a priority lately .

Don't get me wrong , but the sooner you start getting more protein , building more muscle , focusing on your metabolism , improving your metabolism , speeding up your metabolism , focusing on hormones , like the sooner you focus on the right things for your body , the more it will pay off later in life .

Now , okay , I'm not old , I'm not saying any of that , but there were a few things I could really be more serious about . Those are two things . The last one life will throw so many curveballs you won't be ready for it . So just know that . So be intentional about packing in the protein and packing on the muscle when you can .

Okay , because life gets busy and life gets crazy , and I'm not saying that it's bad , it's just they're curveballs . Okay , you won't be able to stick to a routine . You will have kids . Your kids will get sick . Your spouse will get sick . Your friends will get sick . Your mom will get sick . Your friends will get sick . Your mom and dad will be sick .

Like , I'm not saying that's even happening to me , I'm just saying there are so many things . There are vacations , there are job changes , there's shit like curveballs will just happen where your health and fitness and your food and your protein and your muscle gain will be halted . So the more you have like on standby , the better .

So pack in that protein and get that muscle . Focus on it . You need collagen , you need to build muscle , you need protein . Those things are so important physically as you age . Right now I'm like , damn , I wish I would have been way better about my collagen and way better about protein and muscle .

Even though I've been really good , I wish I would have been better . So , as far as protein goes , protein is very , very , very important during perimenopause , postmenopause , menopause , right Like in this time and every other time .

So if you're not in perimenopause , menopause , postmenopause , if you're not even a female and this you think this doesn't pertain to you , it does okay , because you need all of these things anyways . I'm just saying these things because this is what I'm talking about as my own journey , but please take this for you too . You need this as well .

Protein during perimenopause . Protein can help maintain your lean muscle mass . Lean muscle mass decreases during perimenopause , so protein is good for that . Protein can help you manage your appetite . Protein can help regulate your blood sugar levels . Protein can help balance your hormone levels .

Protein is essential for skin health during perimenopause and always , because it helps maintain collagen levels . As I'm talking about my skin looking different and feeling different , I know it's going to happen because I'm aging and there's obviously nothing I can do about that , and that's fine , but I want to do what I can right .

Protein intake is also positively correlated with bone strength in post-menopausal women . So protein and building muscle , being fucking strong , is so important .

So now let's dive into energy balance , because , as I was saying , I've been doing the same thing , the same thing , lifting the same way , pretty much eating the same thing , for years and years , and years , and years and years and I thought , oh , that's fine , I'll just keep doing that and it'll be fine , like I'll get through these years , exactly like I got

through the last few years , right ? No , not so much , because I'm essentially doing the same things that I have done At this time of year . I'm doing the same thing I was doing last year at this time and the year before that at this time . So I haven't changed much , which is good until it's not , and this is why .

So let's talk about energy balance , which is the simple form of it . People say is calories in versus calories out . Energy balance is calories in versus calories out . How do you lose weight ? You'd be in a deficit . You have to find that balance . It's not that simple , okay , human energy balance is more than just calories in and calories out .

True energy balance is a change in the body's macronutrient stores . So the way that you store nutrients is so different person to person and that's why it's not just a matter of calories in and calories out , okay . So energy intake is you intake energy , I should say , through foods and fluids , calories , right .

So energy intake minus the energy lost from digestion , absorption , waste , that is energy balance . So it's the energy you input to your body versus the energy lost , not just from exercise and eating , it's like from anything that you drink .

Obviously , we waste energy and use energy via exercise and physical movement , but we also use energy from digesting our food and our food absorbs some of that and keeps it , and then we also get rid of some via waste . So there are different ways that our energy , that our bodies use energy so many uses of the word energy .

So a loss of macronutrients is a negative energy balance . A surplus of energy and macronutrients is a positive energy balance . And this is the same thing as , like when I'm talking about you're bringing calories in , you're in a calorie surplus , you're in a calorie deficit . It's sort of the same thing , but think of it as literally your energy , okay .

So a lot of people think calories in calories out , yes , okay . So a lot of people think calories in calories out , yes , start to think of it also as energy . I'm bringing energy into my body and if it's staying in my body and I'm not getting rid of it , then I'm going to keep it and it's going to be a positive energy balance .

If I'm getting rid of too much of my energy , of my macronutrients , then I'm in a negative energy balance . That's why you're tired , that's why you're run down , that's why your sleep sucks right . So there's different ways . It's not just about weight loss and calories . It's about your actual energy . But that's done through macros , macronutrients , calories .

So let's talk for a second about how these macronutrients are stored in the body . Macronutrients are carbs , proteins and fats . Carbs and protein are mainly stored in your muscle . Carbs and protein are mainly stored in your muscle . Fat is stored in your adipose tissue .

Fats don't have water stored in them , which is important to know , because carbs and proteins do have water molecules to support metabolism . Why does this matter ? Because when you overeat carbs or proteins , it's going to be stored as water .

So a lot of times , if people overeat carbs on the weekends , they'll think oh my God , I gained two pounds over the weekend . Holy shit , this isn't working for me . No , it's because you have excess water in your body because of the extra carbs . Generally , people aren't overeating protein on the weekends . Okay , let's be real . So let me just say carbs .

So that's generally what I will say is like no , your body's just holding on to some water because you had pizza and beer over the weekend , not a big deal . Give it a couple of days , it'll be gone . That doesn't necessarily happen with fat . Here's another reason why that matters .

Sometimes , when I have a client come to me and we increase their calories and I'm like hey , you're going to start eating protein , you're going to start eating more carbs , they will gain a little bit of weight . Initially , that just means some weight fluctuations , some weight gain . Not a huge deal , but it does happen .

And I have to explain like yeah , you know , people always want to use macros as a way to lose weight and macros are a way to assess what you're putting into your body is a way to lose weight and macros are a way to assess what you're putting into your body .

And so if you're putting more protein and more carbs into your diet than you were used to having , yes , your body is going to store some of that as fat initially , because it doesn't know what else to do with it , and that's how it's stored , okay , so that's okay .

It's okay to know that that's going to happen and it's okay to know , like I just said , after a weekend of eating more carbs than you're used to , your body is going to hold on to some water . It will go away . Okay , that's not a huge deal . Now let's talk about some waste . 2% to 10% of the food you consume is lost in waste .

2% to 10% that's a really big difference . Are you someone that loses 2% due to waste , or are you someone who loses 10% due to waste ? Because that's a really big difference . Are you someone that loses 2% due to waste or are you someone who loses 10% due to waste ? Because that's a really big difference . This varies per person , per your gut health .

So for me , I have to pay a lot of attention to this , because my gut health hasn't always been the best , okay , so the difference between the 2% and the 10% is your gut . Basically , it's your gut bacteria . It can be the way that your food is prepped .

It can be the combinations of food for you and that equals kind of your metabolism and that varies from person to person . So if you are someone with some gut issues and your gut doesn't digest things properly , then that's going to make a difference in the amount that you use for good and the amount that you lose in waste .

So I don't want to talk about that a ton . Like I said , I'm going to touch on these things , but initially I just want to kind of go over these . I can break these down in future episodes , but I just kind of want to . I want you to be thinking outside the box as far as like okay , it's not just calories in , calories out .

All these little things matter . The way that your body functions , the way that your body holds on to carbs , fats and proteins , the way that it stores those things . Also , the way that your body processes food and then gets rid of it via waste is huge . Your gut health is a big factor in your calories , your energy balance . Here's something else .

Fiber and fat content of a meal will make a difference on how much energy the gut can extract . Okay , again , this is your gut health at play here , which is why it's so important . For example , lettuce and nuts have an indigestible cell wall .

These foods need to be completely chewed to be able to be used by your body , otherwise the cell wall cannot be absorbed . It will be completely passed through your body as if nothing was even there , completely pointless for you to even put that in there . But do you see ?

Where that can make a difference is if you tracked those , maybe like you tracked all the nuts that you had in a day , but your body literally passed them through and didn't even absorb them at all , then they didn't really count , which I'm not saying to not count them , I'm just saying that's where there's these discrepancies in macro tracking , in , you know , in

the calories , in calories out theory . There's so many discrepancies because it's like did your body use that ? Did your body absorb that ? Did you get the nutrients from that ?

If you think I'm eating all these nuts , I'm so healthy , I'm getting all these vitamins , and you're literally not , then that's a problem because you think you're eating so healthy and your body's not getting any of the benefits of that . That really sucks right . On the other side of the energy input , we have energy expenditure .

Okay , this makes the balance the input and the expenditure . On expenditure side we have resting energy expenditure R-E-E , which is the body at rest burning calories for breathing , heart and brain function . Your body is using calories , like just when you're sitting around , keeping your body alive .

There's also the thermic effect of food , which is the heat and energy lost during the process of digestion and absorption . Protein has the highest amount of heat and energy lost while it's being processed in your body . And then there's also the active energy expenditure .

So , of course , energy lost while I'm doing this podcast and my hands are flying all over the place while my brain is going crazy during this podcast . I'm going to go work out after this .

So , while I'm lifting , I'm going to be using energy , right , but I'm also using energy throughout the day to digest my food , and I'm also using energy throughout the day as I'm sitting , just having my body function well , okay . So energy balance is so different per person . That's what I want you to take away from this .

Energy balance is so different per person . Obviously , my energy balance is different than a male a male's energy balance . I'm also different than I'm 43 , right . My energy balance is also different than a 25-year-old and it's also different than a 75-year-old woman . It's not the same .

So to look at someone else and compare yourself to their journey or their workouts or their macros is so stupid , because we literally have to be so individual about these things , okay ? Next , what I want to talk about , and relate this to perimenopause , is as we age , ladies , hear me , okay .

If you are in your 30s , I would say , if you're like 35 , 38 to older , please hear me , because this is the important part . And if I would have been smart the last eight years , I would have just been so much more careful . And again , I knew this . We know things .

That's why knowing shit doesn't matter unless you do something about it , and a lot of times we don't do anything about it until it's too late . Okay , back to the topic . As we age , humans generally lose skeletal muscle mass and we generally gain adipose tissue . Okay , so we're gaining fat tissue . Muscle tissue burns more calories than adipose tissue .

So if we're losing muscle , that reduces our overall energy expenditure , just like that . So , basically , what's been happening is to me I've been doing the same amount of energy expenditure . Nothing's been changing . Nothing's been changing . Nothing's been changing as far as my input , output . Everything's the same as it has been years and years and years .

The problem is I'm aging , so I'm literally just generally losing skeletal muscle mass and regular muscle mass and I'm gaining adipose tissue and I'm not changing my energy expenditure . I'm not lifting heavier necessarily than I have been the last few years . I'm not moving more right , so my body is changing .

My NEAT , the amount of energy that I'm spending at rest is changed and I haven't changed because of it , like I haven't changed to take that into consideration .

So if your calories are kept constant while your skeletal muscle mass is , you're losing it and while you're gaining adipose tissue , if your calories are kept constant , this will result in a positive energy balance , a surplus .

I'm now in a calorie surplus because I'm not burning as many calories naturally per day , because my body is slowing down and that causes weight gain with age . That's why when you hear people say I just I'm doing the same thing and I'm gaining weight . That's why it's like as I got older , I gained weight . You know .

That's why people use age as an excuse to gain weight , because it's natural . It is natural . Ok , I'm not arguing that . I just told you that it's natural . It's natural to lose muscle mass and it's natural to gain adipose tissue . That's what happens when you age . You lose muscle , you gain fat .

You have to actively do the opposite If you want the opposite to happen . If you want to gain muscle and you want to lose fat , you have to be so active about changing that . As we age , if nothing changes , we do change . Okay , usually , if nothing changes , nothing changes . But when you age , if nothing changes , you do change , and not for the good .

So this is my brain and telling you , this was my brain a couple of days ago going oh shit , you have to change how you're doing things , christy , because your body's naturally losing muscle faster than it was before and gaining fat faster than it was before , and I have not accommodated for that .

So I wanted to tell you that's what's going on in my brain and in my life , and I want to tell you that that's what's going on in your body , whether you're aware of it yet or not , and whether you're like me and I'm sure that my hormones obviously have played a huge part in this , and I'm leaving that out of this equation because I'm not going to blame

my hormones and that's just me . Are they a little bit responsible ? Absolutely . But do I need to be changing my eating habits and do I need to be changing the way that I'm active as far as lifting and gaining muscle . Yes , that's on me , right . So I'm active as far as lifting and gaining muscle . Yes , that's on me , right .

So I got on some new medications for my hormones yes , 100% , absolutely . That was proactive . I'm gonna change up my workouts that's proactive . I'm gonna change up my macros that's proactive . And my body's gonna freaking change and I'll show you . So come find me at Christy Castillo Fit on Instagram and I'll walk you through this process .

Walk you through this process . You can see my body change . I'll let you know what's going on , but that's literally what's happening is . This is happening to me right now and it's going to happen to you too .

So what I'm going to do to again I'll go through this in probably another episode and just say like , hey , little update on my little perimenopause episode . I'll let you know , but what I've already been doing is I shared on my stories this week a clear protein . It's a clear whey protein supplement . It's 20 grams of protein .

It's from First Form , of course , the brand that I love the most , that's the one that I bought . Send me a message on Instagram if you'd like me to send you the link for it . Actually , I'll link it in this episode , I'll link it here . I got that . It's 20 grams of protein .

I'm going to drink that every single night and I'm also going to mix a scoop full of collagen in there as well . So I'm going to be drinking collagen and that extra 20 grams of protein every single night , every single night .

I'm going to pre-mix it , probably during the day , and then just have it ready so I can grab it and chug it in the evening , because that's going to get me more protein and that's going to get me more collagen . I have also dedicated myself to getting 10K steps every single day during the winter , which means I have my walking pad .

I will have to bring it inside when it's cold or suck it up and go outside , it doesn't matter . That is something I have dedicated myself to , because if I don't change right , I'll change . So last year , last winter , that really , really worked for me , doing between eight and 10k a day . I'm going to say 10k a day and I'm going to stick to that .

That means if I don't hit it for some reason , I'll at least get like eight and I'll be really happy with that . So 10k steps and I'm going to lift four to five days a week and there's going to be no excuses for me for that Like , that's just that's gonna , that's gotta happen .

I eventually get to this place where I'm like that is that's what you have to do , christy , like , if you want your body to change , we're going to have to do that from now on . And so because if I'm if just aging , I'm going to be losing muscle mass faster . I have to do everything in my power to work against that .

And that doesn't mean that I'm going to be working harder , necessarily . That just means I'm going to lift with more intention and a little bit more often , because , honestly , right now I've been getting in four days a week and kind of half-assing it . So I can do better . Right , when you know better , do better . So I hope that this was a good episode .

I know it was just me kind of talking about me and my life and what I'm figuring out , but I know these are the very most helpful episodes for you usually . So I would love to hear from you in the DMs , of course , on the Unfuck your Fitness podcast , instagram or the Christy Castillo Fit Instagram .

I love hearing from you on either one of those and just hearing what episodes you love , and I hope that you love this one . If there's anything you want me to explain further , if you have questions , please let me know . But yeah , this is the truth of the matter and this is a little bit of science behind it .

That's about as much science as I care to get into with y'all because it gets really confusing . But feel free to dive in , because the more you know and can put into practice , the better . The more you know , not necessarily the better . You have to be able to put it into practice and it has to be able to make sense and it has to be true .

So I hope this was helpful . I will talk to you next week .