1 00:00:05,260 --> 00:00:08,300 This is the body recomposition revolution. 2 00:00:08,340 --> 00:00:12,140 I am a former personal trainer and educator for over a decade 3 00:00:12,140 --> 00:00:16,900 who is obsessed with teaching women 35 plus how to finally 4 00:00:16,900 --> 00:00:20,660 drop fat and completely reshape their bodies through science 5 00:00:20,660 --> 00:00:24,340 backed nutrition and training protocols optimized to meet your 6 00:00:24,340 --> 00:00:27,740 body's changing hormones. Classes in session. 7 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:36,680 Welcome back to episode 4 of the Body Recomposition Revolution. 8 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:41,160 This is Robin and today we are talking about that macronutrient 9 00:00:41,160 --> 00:00:46,000 we all love to hate and hate to love Miss carbohydrates. 10 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:51,680 It is so profound to me the amount of knowledge I have 11 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:57,040 gleaned over the last two years on nutrients and how they impact 12 00:00:57,040 --> 00:01:01,080 women aged 35 and above. It's profound because I have a 13 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:04,640 couple different certifications regarding nutrition. 14 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:09,040 One is new and none of them, none of them touch on the 15 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:13,240 science that I've learned from Doctor Stacey Sims and other 16 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:17,120 exercise physiologists that focus on women above the age of 17 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:19,520 35. It is, as I said, profound. 18 00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:21,320 We're going to get into that today. 19 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:25,440 But as always, channeling my teacher background, we are 20 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:28,520 starting off the episode with a learning objective. 21 00:01:28,960 --> 00:01:31,800 And I had, I had someone ask me why I start with learning 22 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:34,600 objectives. It's not just because I'm a 23 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:38,360 teacher, It's because as a teacher, I learned how important 24 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:41,600 having an objective at the beginning of a lesson is. 25 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:44,040 It tells you exactly what you're going to learn. 26 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:47,120 And if you know the learning goal ahead of time, it 27 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:50,760 inadvertently kind of keys your brain into organizing that 28 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:53,200 information so you retain it. And it also kind of gives you a 29 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:56,960 motivation to understand and comprehend and file away the 30 00:01:56,960 --> 00:01:59,200 information. So that's why I do the learning 31 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:01,640 objective. And today's learning objective 32 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:06,080 is as follows. By the end of this episode, 33 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:10,960 you'll understand why carbs are essential for women over the age 34 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:17,760 of 35 to build muscle, burn fat, and balance hormones, and how if 35 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:22,280 we cut them too low, it actually sabotages that progress. 36 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:25,760 You heard me right. If we cut carbs too low, you 37 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:30,800 will keep your belly fat. Now, I have learned so much 38 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:34,880 about carbohydrates and the way they affect women in the past 39 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:38,840 year and a half, two years. It blows my mind that we have 40 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:40,880 been so lied to. And I'm not sure if that's 41 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:44,240 intentional or unintentional or if we just did not have the 42 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:45,720 research. I'm gonna go with the latter 43 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:50,320 because it feels less icky, but if any of you were around for 44 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:53,960 things like the Adkins diet, where you are basically eating 45 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:57,080 no carbs whatsoever, you probably saw results. 46 00:02:57,320 --> 00:03:01,960 I mean, you did see results, or if you were like me and was 47 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:07,160 really into nutrition and fueling your body, you did eat 48 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:09,320 carbs, but it was a small amount. 49 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:13,080 I did a figure competition years and years ago and I remember 50 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:18,960 having days where I could only eat 25 grams of carbs and I was 51 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:20,400 dying. But it worked. 52 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:22,560 I was shredded and that was the point. 53 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:24,000 That was the point when you're going on stage. 54 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:26,840 So if you're a competitor on stage, you're a bodybuilder. 55 00:03:26,880 --> 00:03:28,800 Whatever, I get it. I got it. 56 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:30,440 Good. Respect it, but for the average 57 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:34,640 person who's not, you know, oiled up on stage, you need 58 00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:37,680 carbs. And anyone who has been oiled up 59 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:41,280 on stage and knows what happens to your body after you depleted 60 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:45,640 of carbs will understand why carbs are absolutely imperative 61 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:50,160 to keep that body fat away. I remember after my first and 62 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:53,200 last figure competition, I was lean. 63 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:55,960 I was cut. I was completely emptied of 64 00:03:55,960 --> 00:04:00,840 carbs for a two week process. And I ignorantly thought that I 65 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:04,360 would maintain that amount of leanness just by going back to 66 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:07,280 my normal maintenance phase. I thought, well, I will just 67 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:09,480 maintain at this phase and go back to eating my sweet 68 00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:12,120 potatoes, my rice. Oh my gosh, I blew up. 69 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:14,640 I think I gained 15 lbs in two weeks. 70 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:16,160 And I'm not kidding you. And if you're a figure 71 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:17,680 competitor, you're not surprised. 72 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:21,640 And I was much younger at the time, so I got it sorted out. 73 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:25,160 My hormones recovered. But if you are a woman over the 74 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:30,280 age of 35, you cut carbs too low and you are going to lose 75 00:04:30,280 --> 00:04:36,000 muscle, slow your metabolism and keep if not gain belly fat even 76 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:38,360 if you are training hard and eating next to nothing. 77 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:42,520 First I want to touch on why your age matters. 78 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:47,120 Why does it matter more at the age of 35 and beyond if you are 79 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:49,600 not getting enough carbs? In terms of your body's 80 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:54,920 composition, starting at age 35, your body is experiencing 81 00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:57,240 hormonal shifts. OK, they might be really 82 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:02,080 moderate if not unidentifiable or non existent at 35, but as 83 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:07,120 those years creep on 3637, those hormonal shifts are wreaking 84 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:08,680 havoc in your body. And that's normal. 85 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:10,720 It's natural. It's completely what your body 86 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:13,960 is supposed to do as it ages. Now, if you're age 40 and 87 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:17,640 beyond, you are well aware of the hormonal fluctuations that 88 00:05:17,640 --> 00:05:20,560 your body is going through. You can see it, you can feel it, 89 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:24,600 you can and identify all the frustrations that come along 90 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:27,680 with those hormonal shifts. And it's not just hormonal 91 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:31,040 shifts. After the age of 35, you are 92 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:35,360 losing muscle every single year and your recovery time is 93 00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:38,320 slower. So carbs are not a threat. 94 00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:41,200 They are a tool. They are a tool. 95 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:45,320 Carbs do not make you fat. They make your muscle building 96 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:49,800 machinery work, but that does not by any means mean that you 97 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:53,240 should go sit down and have a doughnut and say it's helping, 98 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:56,000 because it's not. It's all about what kind of 99 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:58,800 carbs you're getting. And I have learned through 100 00:05:58,840 --> 00:06:01,760 working with women that it is really helpful for me to go 101 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:06,000 through what that means in terms of what carbs are acceptable and 102 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,960 which carbs are not. And I won't say they're not 103 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:11,200 acceptable. They're just not ideal, right? 104 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:13,840 Because if we have a goal of dropping fat and gaining muscle, 105 00:06:13,840 --> 00:06:16,360 we're going to talk about carbs in a factual way. 106 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:19,240 And there are carbs that are ideal for that and there are 107 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:21,160 carbs that are not ideal for that. 108 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:25,160 So I don't even need to go through the bad carbs because if 109 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:28,400 it doesn't have a mom or come from the ground, that's a bad 110 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:30,960 carb. Let's go through the good carbs, 111 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:34,640 the carbs that are going to fuel our fat burning machine. 112 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:40,680 OK, good carbs, fruit, vegetables, whole grains, but 113 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:44,760 you can also have sourdough bread, sprouted grain bread, 114 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:48,880 sweet potatoes. Those are all fantastic carb 115 00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:50,760 sources. But keep in mind you need to 116 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:53,120 pair that with a protein when you eat it because that's going 117 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:55,560 to balance your blood sugar. You pair it with the protein and 118 00:06:55,560 --> 00:06:58,040 that moderates your blood sugar. That's important. 119 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:03,000 I just want to share a little quote from the Goat Sims about 120 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:05,120 carbohydrates being paired with protein. 121 00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:10,120 Carbohydrate Co ingestion with protein significantly increases 122 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:14,080 MPs which is muscle protein synthesis building muscle in 123 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:17,960 women due to heightened insulin sensitivity around training. 124 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:20,440 That was in 2020. Here is another one. 125 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:25,320 Without adequate carbs, women may fail to trigger the full 126 00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:30,160 anabolic response to training, regardless of of protein intake. 127 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:33,120 That's from the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and 128 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:37,840 Exercise, and it was in 2020. What that means is even if you 129 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:41,760 are eating as much protein as I am always preaching about and 130 00:07:41,760 --> 00:07:44,640 everybody else is preaching about, that's great, but it's 131 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:48,920 not going to trigger the full anabolic response to training. 132 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:52,960 So you are not going to see the full anabolic response to your 133 00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:55,680 training if you are not eating enough carbs. 134 00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:58,080 OK, back to talking about what are the good carbs. 135 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:01,680 And I know I listed veggies and fruit and I know what you're 136 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:04,800 thinking. You are thinking vegetables are 137 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:07,840 not carbs and who would even count fruit as a carb? 138 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:10,720 Well, we don't in America and look at our population. 139 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:13,160 But they are every other society. 140 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:17,560 Every other culture does not view fruits and vegetables as a 141 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:20,080 sideline item. Fruits and vegetables are the 142 00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:23,280 main course and then you have some protein sprinkled in. 143 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:28,000 Our Americanized plates are just a big slab of meat or you know, 144 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:31,200 a ton of noodles. And vegetables are irrelevant. 145 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:34,080 They are non existent. But vegetables and fruits, those 146 00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:36,799 are the carbs we're going after. Those are the carbs that are 147 00:08:36,799 --> 00:08:40,919 ideal for body composition. When we talk about body 148 00:08:40,919 --> 00:08:43,960 recomposition for women above the age of 35 or body 149 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:46,360 recomposition in general, it is a formula. 150 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:51,400 Carbs plus protein plus lifting, not just a calorie deficit. 151 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:55,080 And that is so hard for me to accept. 152 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:59,160 I, I constantly fall back into that eliminating carbs in 153 00:08:59,160 --> 00:09:02,040 general mindset. It's been really hard for me to 154 00:09:02,080 --> 00:09:04,280 overcome that actually in the last few years. 155 00:09:04,280 --> 00:09:07,960 But it is so imperative it, I was forced to overcome that when 156 00:09:07,960 --> 00:09:12,440 I was not seeing the results because carbs do not make you 157 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:14,600 fat. They make your muscle building 158 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:18,800 machinery work. The low carb approach, the zero 159 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:23,400 carb approach that men can do that was not designed for women. 160 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:27,040 I think I mentioned this in a previous episode, but those 161 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:31,520 foundational nutritional studies about how women drop bat, those 162 00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:36,000 were conducted on young, healthy, active men, not women. 163 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:38,600 We are physiologically different. 164 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:42,720 What that means is the studies that analyze how carbohydrates 165 00:09:42,720 --> 00:09:45,640 affect body fat, those do not account for hormonal 166 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:50,040 fluctuations, perimenopause or female specific metabolism. 167 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:54,600 So if we are going to apply those protocols to women, it has 168 00:09:54,680 --> 00:09:58,280 really adverse effects, especially on your energy and 169 00:09:58,280 --> 00:10:00,840 your hormone balance. It might work in the beginning, 170 00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:04,680 but then you're always going to have this feeling of being wired 171 00:10:04,680 --> 00:10:07,160 and tired. And I, anybody who knows me 172 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:11,880 knows that I battle that always. And what I have been doing a lot 173 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:15,680 of studying on and re studying and rereading because it is so 174 00:10:15,680 --> 00:10:18,400 deeply ingrained in me. And what I have learned is that 175 00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:24,400 after age 35A low carb, low calorie approach is the literal 176 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:29,320 perfect storm to derail all the progress that you've been making 177 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:34,080 in the gym, in the kitchen. It is the perfect storm to undo 178 00:10:34,160 --> 00:10:36,600 that. So a few things happen when 179 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:40,440 women follow that advice of doing low carb, low calorie. 180 00:10:40,840 --> 00:10:44,360 Now I just want to add this in because you have to be in a 181 00:10:44,360 --> 00:10:47,960 calorie deficit to drop that. That is facts. 182 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:50,760 It is the law of thermodynamics, it's true. 183 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:55,200 But there's a difference between going in a calorie deficit and 184 00:10:55,200 --> 00:10:58,160 starving yourself. If you are sitting at a thousand 185 00:10:58,160 --> 00:11:01,440 1100 calories a day, none of which are from carbs, you are 186 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:04,680 starving yourself. That is going to unravel all of 187 00:11:04,680 --> 00:11:08,520 your progress. You are going to be larger in 188 00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:11,320 the stomach than you were before you started crash dieting. 189 00:11:11,720 --> 00:11:15,480 OK, So what exactly does go wrong when women follow the 190 00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:19,240 advice of going super low carb and super low calorie? 191 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:23,720 Number one, you have a reduced insulin sensitivity. 192 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:25,480 What does that mean? It means your body doesn't 193 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:28,240 respond to insulin well. So normally you eat carbs and 194 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:31,000 that insulin helps shuttle glucose into your muscles for 195 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:33,160 energy and storage. But if you have a reduced 196 00:11:33,160 --> 00:11:36,920 sensitivity, which means your muscles don't hear insulin as 197 00:11:36,920 --> 00:11:40,240 well, which means more glucose stays in your blood and your 198 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:44,240 body stores more as fat. So remember this when you hear 199 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:46,600 the term reduced insulin sensitivity. 200 00:11:46,600 --> 00:11:48,600 Because to me, I was like, what does that even mean? 201 00:11:48,680 --> 00:11:52,120 Reduced insulin sensitivity means you're going to have a 202 00:11:52,120 --> 00:11:55,520 higher blood sugar and fat storage, especially around the 203 00:11:55,520 --> 00:11:57,480 belly. That's your body's response. 204 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:00,840 Another thing that happens when you are doing way too low carb 205 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:04,320 and way too low calorie is you have cortisol increases. 206 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:07,880 That happens from the stress and the under fueling and that also 207 00:12:07,880 --> 00:12:10,920 equates to more belly fat and muscle loss. 208 00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:13,440 The two exact things we do not want to happen when you are 209 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:17,480 trying to look toned. As much as I hate that word #3 210 00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:21,080 muscle protein synthesis slows down. 211 00:12:21,080 --> 00:12:25,200 So that means how your body is building muscle that slows down 212 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:28,240 without insulin, that's triggered by carbs. 213 00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:30,960 And the fourth thing that happens when you go drastically 214 00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:33,800 low calorie, low carb is your thyroid function. 215 00:12:33,800 --> 00:12:38,480 Your T3 drops under chronic carb restriction and that slows your 216 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:40,520 metabolic rate. I know you know what that means. 217 00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:43,160 That means you are burning less calories at rest. 218 00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:46,920 All of these things are the exact opposite of what you want 219 00:12:46,920 --> 00:12:49,160 to happen in your physique. If you are listening to this 220 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:53,200 podcast, you want less body fat, you want more muscle because 221 00:12:53,200 --> 00:12:56,640 those two components combined give you that toned look. 222 00:12:56,800 --> 00:13:00,560 To put it simply, when you look at a woman body, we need carbs 223 00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:05,720 to burn fat because our bodily systems need carbs to function, 224 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:09,000 to get the mitochondria working, to get those free fatty acids 225 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:12,200 that are in our blood, not to be stored, but to be used as 226 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:14,200 energy. If we want body recomposition, 227 00:13:14,240 --> 00:13:17,920 we have to fuel for that, and fuel includes carbs. 228 00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:22,320 Now, I have a few clients who are women above the age of 50 or 229 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:24,560 just before 50, and they had this problem. 230 00:13:24,560 --> 00:13:28,120 They were so active, they were so fit, but they had complaints 231 00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:29,920 about belly fat. They had complaints about their 232 00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:32,920 overall physique. And these are metabolically 233 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:35,680 active women. So when you are too 234 00:13:35,680 --> 00:13:40,160 metabolically active, your brain says, hey, I need to break down 235 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:44,360 the most energy expensive part of your body, which is going to 236 00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:46,640 be your muscle. Since you're not giving it 237 00:13:46,640 --> 00:13:49,960 enough carbs to fuel for what the task at hand is, it's going 238 00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:53,960 to breakdown your muscle first. O When that happens, if you are 239 00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:57,200 a super active woman and you're struggling with belly fat, you 240 00:13:57,200 --> 00:14:01,120 are not fueling appropriately. You're going to put on belly 241 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:03,280 fat. It's subcutaneous fat. 242 00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:07,600 So again, for my super active ladies, many of which are my 243 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:11,320 clients, my super active ladies who are above the age of 35, 244 00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:13,200 this is their number one complaint. 245 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:16,320 But they're barely eating, They're moving a ton and they're 246 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:18,720 sporting a little tummy. They look puffy. 247 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:21,960 In their mind they have an idea of how they should look because 248 00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:24,720 that's how they're training and they're barely eating but they 249 00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:27,160 can't sleep. It's because their bodies are in 250 00:14:27,160 --> 00:14:31,880 a sympathetic Dr. They are in this super high stress state. 251 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:35,720 There is not enough nutrients in and your body is ready to fight 252 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:38,160 or flight. So when not fueled 253 00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:42,040 appropriately, your body goes for that most expensive part, 254 00:14:42,040 --> 00:14:45,200 which is your muscle, and it takes that apart and you're left 255 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:49,720 with a skinny fat look, a flabby tummy, whatever you call it, 256 00:14:49,760 --> 00:14:52,760 it's not what you want because all that hard work is being 257 00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:54,760 wasted. And if you're transitioning into 258 00:14:54,760 --> 00:14:58,480 menopause, unfortunately there is a big shift in your body 259 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:01,280 composition regardless of what you do. 260 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:03,600 It's a hormonal change and it's, it's natural. 261 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:06,280 It's totally natural, but it is also under a sympathetic Dr. 262 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:08,680 just because of the onset of menopause. 263 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:10,600 You know, that's what I talked about where you're tired, but 264 00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:13,680 you're wired. Your body is naturally in this 265 00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:18,600 state of OverDrive and that's why we have to feed the body and 266 00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:22,200 train appropriately. So if we are fueling the body 267 00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:26,720 properly and we are training the right way, our organs, they just 268 00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:30,280 start working better. They work Better Together, which 269 00:15:30,280 --> 00:15:34,440 stops our body from having that visceral fat, that belly fat, 270 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:37,440 and it allows our body to use the fatty acids for energy 271 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:40,000 instead, even when it rest. And it also helps muscles to 272 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:43,440 pull glucose more easily without relying on insulin, which 273 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:46,360 improves your overall for all metabolic health. 274 00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:50,000 But if we don't give the body enough fuel, if we are taking 275 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:53,840 away all of our carb source, if we are in too steep of a caloric 276 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:57,600 deficit, none of those processes can happen. 277 00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:00,200 They don't happen efficiently. And what happens is you store 278 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:02,280 the belly fat, as I mentioned before. 279 00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:06,120 So as our episode approaches an ending, I want to go over 280 00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:08,960 briefly a quick synopsis of what we talked about. 281 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:12,400 So what happens without enough carbs? 282 00:16:12,480 --> 00:16:16,000 You eat protein, you lift weights, but muscle protein 283 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:19,560 synthesis stays really low because your insulin isn't 284 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:21,400 triggered. So even though you're doing 285 00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:25,720 everything right, your body cannot build or maintain that 286 00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:28,520 muscle. And believe me, I can speak to 287 00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:31,480 this. I was going in extreme carb 288 00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:34,240 deficits to try and drop weight. I'm like, what is going on? 289 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:37,760 Why am I losing muscle mass? That never happened to me in my 290 00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:39,040 early years. It really didn't. 291 00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:41,760 Why was I, why was I gaining belly fat? 292 00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:45,000 Your body is different. You have to give it enough fuel 293 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:47,800 so that all the systems work properly to shuttle that body 294 00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:49,960 fat out. Because what's happening is 295 00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:52,040 instead of losing body fat, you might. 296 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:54,640 The scale will tip downward, but it's going to be water weight, 297 00:16:54,640 --> 00:16:57,880 it's going to be glycogen, It's not going to be body fat, and 298 00:16:57,880 --> 00:17:01,040 you're actually going to burn muscle instead of fat, which in 299 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:04,280 turn will slow your metabolism and give you that skinny fat 300 00:17:04,280 --> 00:17:06,839 look. You'll feel tired, inflamed, 301 00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:09,839 bloated. It's just an overall stuck 302 00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:13,319 feeling and it sucks. But what happens with enough 303 00:17:13,319 --> 00:17:15,160 carbs? And we're going to go over how 304 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:17,079 much that is because I know in your head you're probably 305 00:17:17,079 --> 00:17:20,200 thinking sweet, how many sweet potatoes can I have during the 306 00:17:20,200 --> 00:17:20,880 day? Enough. 307 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:22,960 Probably not as much as you're thinking, but enough. 308 00:17:23,319 --> 00:17:25,720 So what happens with enough carbs at the right time? 309 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:29,040 Your carb intake triggers insulin, which is great because 310 00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:32,680 then it shuttles nutrients like protein into muscle, flips the 311 00:17:32,680 --> 00:17:36,720 switch on muscle building. So we are engaging that muscle 312 00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:39,760 protein synthesis process we are building and it supports your 313 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:42,520 recovery and your hormone balance and gives you enough 314 00:17:42,520 --> 00:17:44,320 energy. If you've ever gone super low 315 00:17:44,320 --> 00:17:47,800 carb, you are burned out. You're burned out. 316 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:50,320 But when you're eating enough carbs, you have that energy 317 00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:51,920 back. And if you combine it with 318 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:55,120 strength training, now you are preserving that hard earned 319 00:17:55,120 --> 00:17:56,960 muscle and you're even building muscle. 320 00:17:56,960 --> 00:17:59,720 So with enough carbs, you are preserving and building muscle. 321 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:02,880 You are burning more fat. And I promise you, talk to any 322 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:04,560 of my clients, they can attest to that. 323 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:08,360 And you are going to keep that lean, strong shape and you're 324 00:18:08,360 --> 00:18:10,360 going to feel energized instead of depleted. 325 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:13,800 Now let's talk about carb timing because you want a little bit of 326 00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:16,440 carbs with each of your meal. And I touched on you're going to 327 00:18:16,440 --> 00:18:18,640 be eating a lot more vegetables. Yes, there's carbs and 328 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:21,640 vegetables. That's a normal realization for 329 00:18:21,760 --> 00:18:25,200 anybody else but an American. Vegetables, fruits, those are 330 00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:27,640 your main dish. Now, I've noticed a lot of 331 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:30,520 people will call this disordered eating rhetoric. 332 00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:34,080 They will say, oh, you're only eating filler foods if you're in 333 00:18:34,080 --> 00:18:37,040 a caloric deficit. A filler food meaning a bunch of 334 00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:39,920 vegetables because they are filling but not high in 335 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:42,040 calories. What's wrong with that? 336 00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:45,160 What it literally what is wrong with that? 337 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:48,560 There is nothing wrong with eating filler foods. 338 00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:51,440 It is not disordered eating rhetoric. 339 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:54,000 That's a healthy eating practice. 340 00:18:54,200 --> 00:18:56,600 Maybe not to an average American, but that's the 341 00:18:56,600 --> 00:18:58,680 problem. One of many that is not 342 00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:01,720 disordered eating. Anybody can is welcome to their 343 00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:05,000 opinions, but in my opinion, that's a healthy eating 344 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:07,040 practice. And if you want to sit down and 345 00:19:07,040 --> 00:19:09,760 have a steak and potatoes, yeah, that's that's great too 346 00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:11,760 fabulous. But if you're in a caloric 347 00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:14,760 deficit and you're hungry, eat a bunch of veggies, you're you're 348 00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:18,160 making a great health choice because of the micronutrients. 349 00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:19,920 We'll, we'll get into that in another episode. 350 00:19:20,120 --> 00:19:22,640 So you're going to want a little bit of carbs with each of your 351 00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:25,040 meals throughout the day. But as the second-half of the 352 00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:29,680 day passes, you want the carbs after lunch to come more from 353 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:32,680 vegetables because then you have that fiber compound and you 354 00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:34,960 don't get the big spikes and blood sugar. 355 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:39,680 Because we want to signal to our hypothalamus that, hey, you do 356 00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:43,800 not need to be storing this fat. We are going to be fed again. 357 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:46,840 Let go of this body fat. Use it as fuel. 358 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:50,600 You want to keep signaling that to the hypothalamus by eating 359 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:53,280 meals throughout the day. That way it knows it's safe 360 00:19:53,280 --> 00:19:54,680 here. This is a safe place. 361 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:56,280 We don't need to store the belly fat. 362 00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:58,160 Let it go. We're going to get fed again. 363 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:01,160 No worries. And as Doctor Stacey Sims says, 364 00:20:01,160 --> 00:20:04,080 she talks about training and lifting weights as a way. 365 00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:07,240 To kind of manipulate the signals we send to the brain to 366 00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:10,480 change our body's composition. That's what we're doing. 367 00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:13,880 We're signaling to the brain, hey, let go of this fat, let's 368 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:16,360 build muscle. We're never training fast it 369 00:20:16,360 --> 00:20:17,600 ever. Never. 370 00:20:18,080 --> 00:20:20,520 You're always eating before and after training. 371 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:24,680 We do not abide by the same training principles as men. 372 00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:28,040 We're not men because if you're doing silly things like fasting 373 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:30,120 and believe, believe me, I've fasted this year. 374 00:20:30,120 --> 00:20:32,880 Even I learned the hard way. If you are doing things like 375 00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:37,440 fasting, you are signaling to that hypothalamus we're in 376 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:39,360 trouble. We have a lot of stuff to 377 00:20:39,360 --> 00:20:42,640 accomplish. She's asking us to run and lift 378 00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:45,760 things and I don't have enough nutrients to accomplish these 379 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:47,440 tasks that are being demanded of me. 380 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:51,000 So I better store this body fat because I know what she's going 381 00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:52,880 to ask me to do it again tomorrow. 382 00:20:52,880 --> 00:20:55,440 She's been doing it for years. That's why I'm going to keep 383 00:20:55,440 --> 00:20:58,520 harboring this body fat exactly where you don't want it, in your 384 00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:00,600 belly. That's what your hypothalamus is 385 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:05,600 thinking, OK, how you're going to use carbs strategically to 386 00:21:05,600 --> 00:21:08,640 build muscle and burn fat. So how you're going to use carbs 387 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:13,080 to continue body recomposition? You're going to have a pre 388 00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:17,800 workout with carbs and it's only maybe 15 to 30 grams of fast 389 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:19,480 digesting carbs. What is that? 390 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:23,280 Bananas, dates, rice cakes, oats, honey. 391 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:26,160 And this blunts your cortisol. It fuels your performance. 392 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:31,240 OK, so pre workout, 15 to 30 grams toast workout, you get a 393 00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:36,160 big one here, 30 to 40 grams of carbs plus 20 to 30 grams of 394 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:37,800 protein. This is going to support your 395 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:40,560 recovery after you tore those muscles up in the gym. 396 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:43,440 And if you're recovering, you are building you that protein is 397 00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:45,560 getting shuttled into those muscles where you have those 398 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:48,680 microscopic tears from lifting. And it's patching up the holes 399 00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:50,680 we're building. And then it's replenishing your 400 00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:53,000 glycogen. And other benefits of having 401 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:56,480 your carbs post workout is it improves your sleep quality and 402 00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:58,760 it improves your metabolic rate. OK. 403 00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:01,440 This is going to increase your metabolism. 404 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:04,360 And as I mentioned, you're going to have a little bit of carbs 405 00:22:04,360 --> 00:22:07,920 with each of your meals, but try to keep those carbs to things 406 00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:11,720 like whole carbs, oats, sweet potatoes, quinoa, berries. 407 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:14,200 And then the second-half of the day, you want your carbs more 408 00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:17,320 from veggies, fruit. This is a quote from Doctor 409 00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:20,080 Stacey Sims. Timing carbs around your 410 00:22:20,080 --> 00:22:23,840 training is one of the most powerful body recomposition 411 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:27,360 tools women have, but most are told to fear them. 412 00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:29,600 To fear carbs. That's me. 413 00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:35,520 I am 100% afraid of carbs. And as I rewire all of my 414 00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:39,720 thought processes to align with this new way of thinking and 415 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:43,560 training and doing this polarizing method, I am seeing 416 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:45,800 progress. But I am learning the hard way. 417 00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:48,000 I've been learning the hard way for two years. 418 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:50,520 And it's hilarious because I had a nutritional certification 419 00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:53,400 about a year ago. So funny how opposite it is to 420 00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:55,080 all of this. Because it doesn't apply to us. 421 00:22:55,080 --> 00:22:58,080 It's different. It's different after age 35. 422 00:22:58,240 --> 00:23:01,480 S keep learning alongside me. I'm learning every day. 423 00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:04,040 Let's go over that learning objective one more time. 424 00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:07,240 By the end of this episode, you'll understand why carbs are 425 00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:11,960 essential for women over 35 to build muscle, burn fat, body 426 00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:14,840 recomposition and balance hormones, and how cutting them 427 00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:18,720 too low can actually sabotage your progress. 428 00:23:19,120 --> 00:23:23,440 Now here's the take away. Carbs are your recomposition 429 00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:28,560 weapon, not your enemy. If you're 35 and beyond training 430 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:31,440 and cutting carbs, you're sabotaging yourself. 431 00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:34,400 Believe me, I've been learning this the hard way the last two 432 00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:37,720 years of my life. So these big mental blocks we 433 00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:42,000 have in our brain with carbs, we need to tear them down after age 434 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:43,400 35. We need to tear them down. 435 00:23:43,400 --> 00:23:46,440 But that does not mean you get to sit down with a bag of potato 436 00:23:46,440 --> 00:23:49,880 chips and and think that's going to help you with your 437 00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:52,640 recomposition journey. It's not, it's about the right 438 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:55,720 kind of carbs. It's about timing your carbs. 439 00:23:55,800 --> 00:23:58,240 And I'm going to provide a little resource in the show 440 00:23:58,240 --> 00:24:02,760 notes, a list of carbs that are great choices for women and 441 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:05,000 anyone in general. And I'm also going to put a 442 00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:07,760 little blueprint for how you can time your carbs throughout the 443 00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:08,960 day. And this is a general rule of 444 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:11,040 thumb for women above the age of 35. 445 00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:15,160 Just kind of a bare bones outline of when you should eat 446 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:17,920 your carbs and how much you should be consuming and what 447 00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:21,160 those carbs should consist of. So thank you again for joining 448 00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:23,800 me. I love any and all feedback you 449 00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:27,120 can send my way. It all helps me to deliver 450 00:24:27,120 --> 00:24:29,440 information to you that is helpful. 451 00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:33,080 I absolutely love teaching and appreciate every single listener 452 00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:36,600 that tunes in each week with me. Have a fantastic day and you 453 00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:38,320 will hear me again next week.