Menopause & The Loss of Muscle Mass
Where critical physical vulnerability begins for women
Happy Friday, Frens!
Sarcopenia is the involuntary loss of muscle mass that happens to everyone as we age. It begins much, much earlier for women… around mid-30’s and then progresses rapidly as we enter peri-menopause.
By late peri-menopause, women who do not actively grow or maintain muscle have 10% less muscle vs. women in early peri-menopause.
Muscle = life.
Women with high muscle mass and thus, greater bone density can expect:
Less cardiovascular risk by improving blood sugar and metabolic health
Less hot flashes and night sweats. Women with greater lean mass vs body fat experience less vasomotor symptoms.
Preservation of bone health. Preserving and growing muscle mass goes hand-in-hand with greater bone mineral density. 80% of people with osteoporosis are women.
50% of Women OVER 50 Will Break a Bone Because of Dangerously Low Bone Mineral Density.
Muscle helps clear blood sugar and fights insulin resistance and the redistribution of fat around the midsection during menopause.
Peri-menopause and menopause are the critical phases that determine the quality of your physical well-being going forward.
Majoring in minor things won’t work anymore.
The foundations of nutrition, recovery and weight-bearing movement need to be there because quick fixes lose their power in uphill battles once peri-menopause begins.
Hormone replacement therapy, innovative weight loss medications, etc are fantastic…
… but they are just band-aids for machete wounds if you still:
drink like a fish
eat like a raccoon in a McDonald’s dumpster
bring your phone to bed with you ( deep sleep is low priority or just something you give lip service to), and then…… claim to be too tired to take care of your body with any kind of weight-bearing physical exertion.
Say no to the things that don’t matter.
If you had only one car to drive your whole life it would probably be treated better than the way we care for ourselves.
Midlife is a crucial crossroads to decide who you’re going to be and how you’re going to participate physically in the rest of your life. Do your daily choices make savings deposits into the eventual frail, vulnerable, sick, and butter-boned column? What future probabilities are you investing in?
Give yourself a fighting chance against frailty. Get active in your own rescue. The old ways of preventing the body from presenting the bill won’t cut it.
M