Understanding Hormonal Changes In Your 30s And Beyond

Calvin and Brooke Masters: You've counted every calorie, tried every diet, spent hours in the gym, and still something's missing. You want more than just weight loss. You want your energy back. You want your confidence restored. You want a way of living that doesn't feel like punishment. Welcome to Master Your Metabolism, where we cut through the noise, ditch the fads, and give you a real plan to become the healthiest, strongest version of you. hosted by our team of expert coaches with proven strategies, science-based tips, and real life encouragement, not just to help you lose fat, but actually create that lifestyle that you love. You've tried everything. Now, let's try what actually works. This is your turning point. Let's go. Brooke Masters: Hey there, everybody. Welcome, welcome to Master Your Metabolism. I am here with Miss Coach Amanda. And, you know, we were having a conversation and talking about, because she is much younger than I am, but talking about the changes that happen to women. And even when I was in my 40s and starting to notice the changes and not really understanding what's going on, because there wasn't as much. knowledge and information when I was starting, but I'm finding that, you know, women that are younger and in their 30s and in her age bracket, you know, she's noticing and talking that a lot of her friends are starting to experience these changes and have no idea why it's happening. They think menopause was something that happens later, and not really understanding what goes on in the body and what they can do to actually change and create a better outcome and change their lifestyle habits, change their nutrition and understanding what they can do to have a little bit of control over the changes. So I thought today we would kind of share what we are both noticing, what I've experienced, what she's experiencing, so that maybe somebody can get some value and understanding as to what is happening. So I'm gonna go ahead and start off by just sharing some basics. So, just so people understand the term menopause, the term perimenopause, how it's defined, that menopause is a year after you have stopped menstruating. That is how they just determine it is menopause. There is a time between that, even while your cycles can still be regular, but you're experiencing some changes in other areas. That is called perimenopause. And it is the time that your hormones may start to fluctuate. And how I describe it is when you are younger and you start menstruating, it is a simple, very easy cycle to keep track of. You know what's happening, you expect the symptoms, everybody knows about them, but nobody really talks about what happens when those hormones don't don't just continue in that same cycle. That is very, Rigid. It is more all over the place, just haphazard changes in your hormones. Estrogen is fluctuating rather than just continuous cycles that are predictable. So what happens is perimenopause, the first hormone that starts to drop is progesterone. And to understand that, that is the calming hormone. That is what allows your body to have some resilience with stress. And stress is not just. My job, my kids, my family, my pets, like stress can be under-eating, overtraining. And a lot of times, women that are starting to notice changes in their body, the first thing they'll do is cut their calories and I'm gonna go hop on a spin bike or go do high rocks or go do CrossFit or do something that is going to completely tank my system. so when that happens and cortisol rises, that's where that. funny thing happens because that's controlling your blood sugars. That's controlling how your body stores fat. That is controlling the things that allow your body to keep a a tight body composition. You'll start noticing with the changes in cortisol that you start holding more fat in your lower belly. The back of your lower back, back of your arms because blood sugars are off. With changes in estrogen, estrogen Is what keeps the serotonin levels consistent. Estrogen also not only controls hormones and your cycles, but also controls things like your cholesterol, things again, blood sugar management. And these are things that people don't put two and two together. Your digestion, your gut, your microbiome. So you start getting more bloating and maybe holding more water. It's that imbalance of those hormones because when Pegesterone is dropping very low, and you have very high estrogen in relation to where your progesterone is, it's called estrogen dominance. And with that imbalance, constipation, holding water, weight gain, trouble losing weight, brain fog, bloating, digestive issues. So all of these things start happening, and someone's like, what is going on? I'm too young for menopause. But it's simply not the case because I think women younger and younger, it's starting to happen. because there are more stressors than there used to be when at least when my mom was, you know, back in the day, like we didn't have the notifications binging us all day long. We didn't have all of the emails that we had to check. And you know, everybody had enough on their plate with just taking care of themselves, the bills, the house, the kids, the animals, all of the things. But now you have all of this constant social media, constant pressure, like all of these things happening. And I think women don't realize the impact of that stress on their bodies. So Amanda, I know that you've experienced many of these. So, you know, kind of share a little bit about like what you're hearing from people and what people might not get and understand. Amanda Blumenstein: Yeah, so to start off, I am 35 years old. and most of my friends range between 30 to 32 and about 40. so we're kind of right before that perimenopause age. And I started having issues with my hormones around 32, 33. and pretty much every symptom book just listed has been a problem for me. I've you know Done all the things, nothing was working. I actually just started on progesterone. It seems to be helping me quite a bit because my levels were low. but I know that because you know I have Brooke in my life telling me to go get a blood panel done and make sure that everything's as it should be. but what I'm hearing from a lot of my friends is It shifted in our early 30s. It was very much like we can't party the way we used to. We can't stay Brooke Masters: Mm-hmm. Amanda Blumenstein: up the way we used to. We can't eat cheeseburgers and not gain weight. and that was most of my early 30s at and with my friends at the same thing. And as we approached our mid thirties and some of them our late thirties, we're finding that there's The biggest one I'm hearing is mood changes. so some of us, like myself, I've had issues with my mood most of my life. So that's not anything new. But I have a lot of friends who've been very emotionally stable their entire lives, and now they're experiencing really intense depression, really intense anxiety. That is the one that I'm hearing the most. And I'm talking to my friends and they're like, I think I'm going crazy. Like I don't know what's going on, why I'm having all these feelings. I can't stop crying all the time. and you know, being in the health and wellness field, a lot of my friends will come to me and be like, what what do I do? and we start talking about obviously the hormone piece. And they're like, Well, I don't really want to, if they know about HRT, I don't want to do that yet. I'm not ready for that yet. the things that I think a lot of them are missing in their lives is those foundational health pieces. and like Brooke said, stress can make everything so much worse. And most of my friends have multiple little children. Brooke Masters: Mm-hmm. Amanda Blumenstein: They work full-time jobs with those children. They're in marriages Brooke Masters: Mm-hmm. Amanda Blumenstein: or they're single mothers managing those kids. And their lives are full of stress. And if you tell them to limit their stress, they're gonna be like, Well, what am I supposed to do with all of these children and my job and all of the other things? But then you come to find out they're so stressed they're not eating properly. a Brooke Masters: Mm-hmm. Amanda Blumenstein: lot of my friends, like I mentioned, our early 30s, we realized that we can't eat the way we did in our 20s. So instead of correcting with the appropriate type of diet, we're just limiting our calorie intake, but we didn't really adjust for those macronutrients. So we're still eating a lot of Processed food, protein bars. I have most of my friends live on protein bars Brooke Masters: Yeah. Yeah. Protein bars and protein shakes, yep. Amanda Blumenstein: because they're easy and they're fast. And if you get the good ones, then you might be getting some nutrition, but most of them are pretty much lacking. And I don't know why they call them protein bars, because they're really carb bars and fat bars. but Busy, stressed lifestyle, they have to kind of grab whatever they can. They're not prioritizing themselves. They're not even thinking about their bodies being on the precipice of changing. So I think when we were 10 to 14 and about to get our cycles. Some of us, not all of us, because I d I had friends who had no idea what was going on, but some of us were Brooke Masters: Yeah. Amanda Blumenstein: were prepped by our moms and or our health teachers telling us that you know we're gonna be experiencing our cycle. And with that cycle comes usually it's the mood swings that you get warned about. But If you're thinking that menopause happens at 50 and you're 35, you're not even aware of the fact that you should be taking certain steps to prepare your body for that change. And I think that's really where a lot of my friends have been lacking is they're not getting appropriate sleep. They're not strength training. They're if they're doing any exercise at all, they're doing intense amounts of cardio. And you know, those lifestyle habits are really important, but they become more important. We can't account for the changes that are about to happen to our bodies. That's gonna happen. It's natural. We can't do anything about it. Once it happens, we can address it. but I think girls my age bracket are thinking, I'm not even close to that. So I don't need to do that yet. Brooke Masters: Yeah, but but this is the the problem. You know, it's kind of like you know, when I started working out, like working out because my body was going to shit and I had to do something. Kind of, and I think that's what everybody starts because they start noticing I'm not fitting in my pants anymore, so I gotta do something. And we just do what we've said. But unfortunately, we don't have that health teacher in our 30s that's gonna tell us, hey girl, guess what's coming up? Like we have to be prepared. And just like now. Now I'm looking at it. I mean, being 53 now, I'm looking at how fast from 30 to 50 happened. So I'm thinking from 50 to 70, that's gonna be a little bit faster. So I'm preparing myself now for the way I train, is I have to be strong enough that thinking in 20 years, I want to be able to carry my own groceries, put shit up on a shelf. I wanna be able to. play with my eventually if my boys ever slow down and meet the right person, have kids. I want to be there and experience the best part of my life that I really look at of seeing what it was that I built, what I what I worked so hard for. And it's easier to have the perspective now, I think, because of time. And I think that's another aspect of it also after going through perimenopause. Damn, if I had like started back then And I know a lot of us think this way now of if I had started working out 20 years ago, this would have been so much easier. If I started thinking about nutrition as fuel, rather than how can I drop this weight and got myself in a healthy place, I wouldn't have had to go through what I went through. If I knew that the birth control that I was on for 20 some odd years was altering my hormones. That now I was gonna have a much harder time when I'm going through these changes, because that's part of it also. Whatever you're doing in your childhood doesn't just stay in your childhood. When you are on antibiotics, as you were growing up, because you had strep throat every other week, as you were fed, like grew up, if you had you were someone that grew up on like processed foods and maybe weren't like Hey, you didn't have to drink water, you didn't have to really like watch it. But understanding the foods that you're eating, and you brought up the point about fueling your body, it's great to get protein and everybody pushes protein. But what you really want to look at is are the foods that you're consuming nutrient dense? Because understanding that the nutrients, the minerals, the trace minerals that are in the foods, especially whole foods, that's what allows your body to function. Those minerals help your thyroid to function, which is your metabolism. Those minerals help for your cognitive function. So if you're not able to absorb because you're having issues with your gut, it's like a chain of events that happens. And, you know, yes, you're not going to be able to stop the stress. Absolutely. It's gonna keep on coming. Like there's nothing. And what can you do? You have to do the basics. Like, what can you control? Well, I can't control my two-year-old having a tantrum, but I can control me taking a minute, walking outside, and maybe just getting a couple of deep breaths outside. That minute of you just putting yourself back into that rest state instead of that fight or flight response. You know, thinking about how am I fueling my body? Well, I need something quick, cool. Like think of some things that you can do that would make it easier so that you can grab and go because that's what you're gonna need. So maybe on Sunday, when you do have the time and you're not working and maybe the kids are like down for a nap or doing something, let me use that time to say, okay, let me just throw a bunch of chicken on the grill, a bunch of turkey burgers on the grill, put some potatoes in the oven, cook for an hour, throw it all in there. So if I need something, I can quick grab. Or even going to Whole Foods. Go to Whole Foods, grab that family meal. It's got like four pieces of chicken that for most women, it's like enough for eight meals. Some sides, some, you know, veggies, and you just take that and you mix ematchy for the week. So you don't even have to take the time to cook. You can literally pick it up in five minutes. So it is prioritizing, it is understanding if you want to be miserable and dealing with the symptoms, go for it. But if you want to be doing the things that you want to start feeling better, taking the time to think, how can I do it and how can I do it best for the limited time that I have. In order to do this. Because another aspect, if you are someone that has kids, I can tell my kids to eat healthy all day long. They will not listen to me. But now that they're grown, now he works out. Now they go and grab food from Whole Foods and do the things and eat the things that they're supposed to, you know, and it's just because they watch. They watch and they're gonna do what you do. So it's not even just for you, but it's also showing your kids you have to prioritize your own needs and take care of yourself because someday they're gonna be parents and they should be doing that same thing. So I think that that's that's the part of it. and fueling your body a hundred percent. Like the the processed foods, your body doesn't even know what those things are most of the time, those bars and those things. So giving your body the nutrition, the that's the building blocks. Giving yourself the time. Like if I can't sleep for eight hours during the week because I'm dropping this one off, I have to pick this one up early. I'm, you know, not getting down and I need some time with my husband in the evenings or whatever the case, cool. Weekends, catch up. Catch up on your sleep. You know, making the time that you can be doing the things because the main foundations are gonna be what you're putting in your body, how you're moving your body. and hydration and making sure that you're managing stress and stress is again managing what we can manage, but putting in just a few minutes during the day, like saying, okay, let me just scan my body real quick and see where I'm holding tension. And most of the time we're just like this because we're like clenched up with our shoulders and you know, but if you notice it and say, ooh, okay, let me just take a minute. But those little moments add up. And literally before you eat, the biggest thing I tell women that are like getting bloated all the time, they tell me, I eat, and all of a sudden my stomach is blowing up, like as soon as I'm done. Cool. Let's try and sit down. And before you even start to eat, take a couple of deep breaths and calm in your nervous system before you eat. Because also when you're heightened and you think of when hormones start becoming imbalanced and you are more flighted to more flight, I don't know what that word. you are. tending to be more in a fight or flight state. And you want to be in a rest and digest because fight or flight, you're being chased by a bear, your body is shutting down digestion because no one is snacking when they're being chased by a bear. So you we need our digestion to work properly. So sitting down and saying, okay, let me take a couple of rounds, like literally a minute and a half to just breathe and sit down and eat a meal, chewing your food, tasting your food, being present. will allow your body to digest food better. And it's just another another moment in your day that you're in that rested state and making a conscious effort to get out of that fight or flight. I think that that has been a real game changer for a lot of the clients. And walking outside, like take your kids. Like if it's my kids are crazy, I don't have to like take them outside. Let them go walk around with you. Let them, you know, go for a walk. Go outside first thing in the morning is the best time if you are able to go out and get morning sunlight. It helps not just your circadian rhythm, your stress, your digestion. There's so much. And even blood sugar management. Walking after you eat your meals, same thing. so some of these things are are just little tips, little things that you can incorporate to start bringing down some of the symptoms that you're having. The anxiety is coming from low progesterone. It is the first one that drops. That's why you see that. That's when I hear someone like, I don't know what's going on. But like I'm waking up and I'm anxious. It's because of hormone changes. It is because the hormone that you had that calms your system and produces something called GABA is no longer there. And serotonin is all over the place. Like you're having a bunch of emotions, you're having a bunch of anxiety. It's because of this. So knowing that that's what's causing it, it may be the very beginning, and your doctor very well may tell you that everything is normal. It is you won't see it in labs sometimes when you're just starting to have symptoms. So know that. The labs are looking if you are in the range of all the sick and the healthy, if there is some type of disease. That's what those labs are looking for. When you are getting labs done, you want to get them done day 19 to 21 of your cycle. If day one is a day one of your bleed, you get them done at that time. Then you want to look at the balance. Between your estradiol and your progesterone. Pegesterone should be the highest then. So that's where you why you want to look at it at that time. But if you're looking at it at that time and there is an imbalance, that is where it will tell you the clue of what is going on, what is happening and why you're feeling certain things. And it may still be within range, both of them. But if it is at the high end range for estrogen and the low end range for progesterone, and you are symptomatic. Everybody is so very different. I haven't had two women that are going through menopause or perimenopause even that have the exact same symptoms that have the exact same lapse. It's it's funny that there's certain diagnoses that have a definitive, this is what you have to have. What's that book, Amanda, that gives you like this? Amanda Blumenstein: The DSM. Brooke Masters: The DSM tells you what it. There's a hundred billion different symptoms that you can have in perimenopause, and your symptoms may be very different than everyone else. Because it's not just this is what it is. Your history, your dieting history, your medical history, medications you've taken, your current stress level, everything going on with your lifestyle, how you fuel your body, how you move your body, all of these things play a part in your body and how your body's gonna respond. So if that's the case, there is no textbook here, just do this. Because each person's gonna be different. That's why labs are helpful, but understanding that you have to take those labs and put it together with the symptoms to understand what is probably driving those symptoms, to be able to give the person this is where you should focus. This is what you should do. And these are the things that we should work on first. Many times when people have it so early, generally it's a stress issue. And that's kind of the first place that I look. and then stress can cause a gut issue. When you are stressed, your stomach acid drops. If you don't have the acid to break down food, food sits. Food sits in the gut, and then you're snacking all day long, and more food comes in, more food comes in. Now you got a bunch of food that's sitting in your system. It develops a bacterial overgrowth. So now you're getting the bloating. And Estrogen also controls the health of your gut. So double whammy. So that's why a lot of women are saying, I don't understand. I'm like bloated all the time. I can't eat certain foods. All of these things are happening and they never happened before. You don't have the same stuff. You don't have the same help for your system. So that's why I always stress to people of understanding, like control the stressors you can, giving yourself like a lot of women, and we've talked about this lots of times, are gonna, I'll take care of that. Yes, I will do that. Sure, I'll take that on. Yep, I'll take care of that. And they don't ask for help and they are managing. The house, the kids, the the pets, the appointments, all of the things. And that's where we get Amanda. And Amanda teaches you that you shouldn't be doing that. Amanda Blumenstein: thinking from my lens of you know the the mindset of realizing that we're getting older Brooke Masters: Mm-hmm. Amanda Blumenstein: I think that's where a lot of women get stuck I think my age group is saying well I'm not that old yet well you're not that old but you're not 20 and that's A harsh realization from a psychological standpoint for especially women. We come from a society where women are more valuable in their younger years. And it's disgusting as far as I'm concerned, but that doesn't change anything. you know, that's why women spend thousands and thousands of dollars every year trying to make themselves look younger. And there's a mindset that goes with that as well. So, you know, if my hormones are changing, then I'm getting close to menopause and then I'm old and then I'm useless or I'm not valuable or whatever that or I'm not attractive. and I think that that can really be a barrier because I think one of the things I'm grateful for at 35 is having a friend like Brooke who has been through it. Because I don't know that I would have been able to advocate for myself in the way that I have been with my symptoms, because I had what Brooke is talking about. My levels were off, but within the range, you know? My OBGYN, you're fine, you're too young. You're not going through perimenopause yet. Well, I'm having a lot of problems and they're really disrupting my life and my happiness. So having a friend like Brooke who could say, this sounds a lot like what's probably gonna start for you in a few more years. Why don't we take another look at this? Why don't I help you find someone who can advocate for you better, which is what I did. and lo and behold, they offered me a solution that seems to be helping. And that that's just my personal experience with it. But I think Women my age, no, we're not going to be actively going through perimenopause. Are we going to be experiencing some small amounts of symptoms that are related to hormonal change? Yes. But we're in a place now where we can still do preventative care. So instead of waiting until your period is completely irregular, you know, like Brooke mentioned, menopause is that. One year post that final bleed, where that's a very short period of time. Perimenopause, Brooke, correct me if I'm wrong, can be eight to ten years. Brooke Masters: Yes, ma'am. Amanda Blumenstein: So if we're going to be looking at a 10-year span, a 12-year span of our life, why would we not prepare for it as best we can? So for me personally, my cortisol was Brooke Masters: Isn't it? Amanda Blumenstein: through the roof. And that affected my hormones, undoubtedly. There was no no way around that. I had to learn how to bring down my cortisol. I when I started with Brook and Calvin almost five years ago, I was eating protein bars for most meals and I was eating about 900 calories a day. Now my body is used to getting proper fueling. So like at least and I I'm I'm a big proponent on my sleep now. I used to get however much sleep I could get, and that was fine. Now, if it's 9:30, you bet I'm gonna be getting ready for bed. I'm sorry, that makes me an old lady, but that is fine by me because I know my body needs that much sleep. So, and my training, all of those things. So when perimenopause does show up, which it will, because there's no way around it, that I'm going to have the tools to keep it as minimal as humanly possible. and I think that that's what women my age need to start doing is how can I start preparing my body for this so that it doesn't come in and totally crash my whole life. Brooke Masters: Yeah. I mean, you know, you think about the changes and like you had mentioned before, that things you were able to do in your twenties that you're like, damn, I can't stay up like that anymore. I can't do that anymore. Like if you're already starting to see those. And, you know, you also mentioned about like the skin. That was like the first thing I didn't even put two and two together, but I started noticing, I'm like, that's so weird. Like my skin was like dry. My skin was like, I was starting to notice, like. My eyebrows, the outer third, turns out it was because it was a thyroid issue that started happening from hormones. so if y'all are starting to notice, like the outer third of your eyebrows are starting to thin. if you are starting to notice that your skin is changing and you are needing more Botox more frequently, that is something that comes because estrogen is again something that produces collagen. So some of these changes, And also just skin integrity in general from estrogen. So when you're having fluctuations, this can cause issues with your skin, discolorations with your skin. So, you know, understanding for me, it was like I was noticing all these weird things, but nobody told me what it was. And now that I know about it, it's like, damn, I've been having these symptoms since I was probably early 40s. You know, I started noticing if I had a glass of wine. I mean, we used to drink wine every night. And then I've got to a point that I felt hung over for like four days. It's it's your liver function depends on your hormones. So you're not able to get things out of your system, is why you feel like garbage when you have certain things now. So there is a reason why you're seeing changes. But if you start just noticing and realizing, you know what, I am starting to see changes with that. You know what? I am starting to notice what's really weird is that. I can't think of the words that I want anymore. I'm going into rooms more often and I forget why I'm there and have to like backtrack and figure out what I was doing there in the first place. You know, I'm starting to s notice that I don't have libido like I did before. I'm waking up and I'm had a good night's sleep, but I'm still feeling like really tired. Like these little signals, pay attention. Those are the ones. So you need to start saying, okay, something is going on. And it's not too late, but it is something to say, all right, let me start doing something. Let me start making sure that I am starting some nervous system regulation exercises, I am starting to do some, you know, walking outside, some deep breathing, like all of those types of things. let me make sure that I'm getting adequate sleep. Let me make sure I'm fueling my body with whole single ingredient foods. Because if the majority of your foods are coming from whole food sources and you are getting a variety of fruits and veggies, You will be able to fuel your body and give it what it needs. And it's much better than getting a protein bar. You know, moving your body, resistance training. If you are not doing anything right now, just body weight exercises is enough. How I start a lot of the women that are scared to go to the gym because they're intimidated. That's how we kind of started, like with Amanda, baby steps, that do something at home. Planks is where is a great start for a lot of women of just starting to do a couple of planks. walks. Once you master that, that is resistance against gravity, your own body weight. Then you can move to things like bands. Then you can move to lighter weights. Then you can move to a gym and have somebody hold your hand like we did with Amanda. Like baby steps to be able to get you to a point because the reason that you want muscle is because after 40 you will be losing muscle. So that is something that is very valuable and it's not to make you look belty, but it's to make sure That you have your metabolism is based on the amount of muscle mass you have. That's what determines the amount of calories that your body requires. So the more muscle you have means the more food you can eat. So if you are someone that like, well, I'm not really hungry, that's because you've properly trained your body how to starve and live in a famine. And that's not what we want because your body is living on limited fuel. It's like a car with only a half a tank of gas. You're not going to get very far. And also with your muscle mass, understanding that when your body eats carbs, glucose is produced. Pancreas produces insulin, and that puts the glucose into your cells, into your muscles, into your liver, into your brain, all the places. More muscle, more spots. If you don't have enough spots, that's where you wind up with this insulin resistance where you have the lower belly fat, skinny arms, skinny legs, but you got this midsection. visceral fat is another issue. So again, all of these things are starting to happen. So the preventative moves that you can do, resistance training, fueling your body properly, getting adequate nutrition and micronutrients, hydration and sleep, managing stress are like your that's your your ammo. That's what what it is to allow you to be able to have, like Amanda was saying, the least of the evils because many of us didn't know about the hormones with birth control. We were just told here, take this. and didn't weren't given the repercussions and what happens if you do that for many, many, many years. because those of us that started when we were like 16 years old and did it until we had kids in our 30s, it's a problem. It's a problem because hormones and many doctors will offer you hormones and birth control because it suppresses hormones. That's what birth control does. It shuts down hormones, it shuts down signals. It is a synthetic form. so your body, it it is not like hormone replacement that women get when they are in menopause that they're no longer producing. that is bioidentical. That is close to what your body does and it it makes your body think that it's still being produced. Birth control shuts it down. It it's like a band-aid. It's shutting signals so your body doesn't scream. But you gotta listen to the screams that your body's giving you and pay attention and do the things that your body needs, not just. Shut off the signal 'cause eventually it's gonna blow up. Amanda Blumenstein: Yeah, the birth control is a big factor. I'd say if you were a Gen X or a millennial female, you probably found yourself on birth control pretty young. I was 14, I think. As soon as I got my period, honestly. and I came off it a little bit earlier. I was in my late 20s, but most of my friends stayed on it until their early 30s when they were ready to get pregnant and then came off of it. Got pregnant. But the hormonal shifting had already taken place. They gained a lot of weight. and you know, just understanding what is going on in your body, I think is the most important piece. Like, I didn't really understand what perimenopause was until I met Brooke. I'm my mom went through menopause. I remember it. We didn't really talk about it. It was she was okay. It wasn't a big deal. That generation, I think, was taught to go through it silently. And as the generations have progressed, we've become more vocal about it. Brooke Masters: I think there's more information too, just more ability. Like we didn't have social media back then. Like Amanda Blumenstein: Right. Brooke Masters: my mom went through I had no idea, like, but she didn't know either because we didn't have access to the same type of outlets. Amanda Blumenstein: But that's the gift of having that knowledge. And the benefit of having that knowledge is that we can younger generations can start to prepare in a Brooke Masters: Yes. Amanda Blumenstein: different way than they've ever been able to before. I feel that I'm more equipped with knowledge at 35 than most women were at 40, 45. Brooke Masters: Absolutely. Amanda Blumenstein: and you know, I'm gonna be able to use I'm trying to use that to educate my friends because. We're all wondering what's going on, but it's the same thing is happening to our bodies. And at the end of the day, whether you have children or not, and I don't, that's the beautiful part of being a woman. We have all of these systems in place to be able to grow a human and birth a human, which is a huge blessing. even though I know they're annoying sometimes when they're little, but I think that just Understanding that our bodies were built this way for a reason. And there are seasons, just like when we went through puberty, this is on the back end. and we have to be able to adjust and kind of accept what is happening. And yes, we're we're getting older, it happens to everybody. but using the knowledge we have now and the information that we have now. To prepare our bodies better and to prepare ourselves better to ask questions. Brooke Masters: Yes. Amanda Blumenstein: when I went to my OBGYN and she shut me down, I was like, I know that's not what's going on because of this, this, and this. And I knew that because I was prepared with the information. Not to like slam OBGYNs, but I think that, you know, that's not really what they do. It's part of their scope. And I think that the more information we can go to our doctors with, the more informed we can be with the approaches that we then take to feel better. Brooke Masters: And so a couple of things. So number one, the thing with the birth control. I've also heard a lot of women that are younger that, well, I had terrible periods, so they put me on birth control. and that again, we should have been asking the question, why are my periods so bad? rather than just band-aiding it with some birth control. because that's your body screaming, something is going on. Let's look a little deep deeper to figure out what's happening and fix the root of the issue. and then the other aspect of it. Of listening to our bodies and and recognizing and and being prepared. You know, lots of doctors aren't trained. They get like a class, like from what I've heard from a lot of OBGYNs and people, like now that I've gotten into it and understanding, a lot of them are not trained. There are a few that are specialized in it, but it very few and far between. My doctor, when I thought I had a brain tumor, I thought I was having cardiac issues, like. Because I was having heart palpitations, I was getting vertigo, I was having crazy migraines, I couldn't remember things, I was having brain fog, I couldn't think of my words. And it was, you're fine. Do you just want some birth control? And you don't have libido, maybe you're just not attracted to your husband anymore. Like these are the things that were said to me. And I did go see every specialist, and all of them are telling me I'm fine. And you truly think that you're losing your mind. when this is happening. Now there is more information and information is great. It is powerful, but understanding that not everybody has access to that information. And there are some people that might make you feel like you're not really having these symptoms when you know you are. So that's part of it of definitely being an advocate for yourself, but also understanding there are going to be some symptoms. There are going to be things that are going on and it is not nice. There's a lot of things that are awful that happen. I remember going through it and and feeling frustrated that my weight was climbing and my gut was a mess and I nothing was working and everything was happening, but it has to get to a point that, like, okay, like it's happening. So what is it that I can do? What is in my control? And working on the things that you can control because the more that you're stressing about it, the more that you're focusing on like, my God, I I'm I just I can't think of anything. I can't think of my words and I have to get to work and I have to do this and I have to take care of this. It's just creating that more pressure, more pressure on yourself and understanding, okay, what are the things that I can do that are going to help me? Well, let me instead of this time taking this time to say, all right, let me just take a few deep breaths and just calm down or journal or find that thing that brings me joy, going out and doing the things that I do love and before. When I would sit down and have a glass of wine every night, well, that can't happen anymore because I've gained four pounds every single time I would even look at the glass now. So what can I do now? Well, I replace that behavior. So now I have some adaptogens as a drink. Now I'm making it. It's my Amanda has taught me. So I've taught her, but she's also taught me as well. you know, because you you also have to have a replacement for the things that you did before. Because if you just say, I'm not gonna do it. And I'm not gonna have anything, you know. And having Whole Foods, I'm not talking that you can never have a slice of pizza or you can never have a protein bar. But if the majority of what you're consuming is fueling your body, you will notice that when you do have garbage, the way that you know that you're having enough whole foods is when you have garbage, you're gonna feel it. You're gonna feel like garbage for like three days. Your body's gonna tell you this was not okay. And that's where the shift starts to happen. That I tell people it's it's no longer Doing it to diet. I'm doing this so I can start feeling better. I'm doing this so I can be stronger. I'm doing this so I can have a better quality of life as these things are starting to happen because they're going to happen whether you want it to or not. And some people I found in the thousands of women that I've worked with, the ones that have the least amount of symptoms have started weight training very early in life. They are the ones that have always eaten healthy. They have zero stress. They don't really let things bother them. Those are my people that they're like, I didn't even feel it. Like, no, I went through it fine. Because there are those people. Just like there are genetic freaks that you see in the gym, that they can literally eat donuts and still look amazing. Like there are gonna be some people, but the majority of women that deal with stress, that have had some type of birth control, that have Been eating crappy, that don't really work out, that let every single thing bother them, those are the ones that are going to have the most symptoms. Amanda Blumenstein: I think the best piece of advice I could offer is talk to other women. Because Brooke Masters: Yes. Amanda Blumenstein: you're going through something that every other woman on the planet has or will have to go through at some point. And for whatever reason, we like to kind of isolate ourselves and go through things silently. but Some of the symptoms I didn't even know were symptoms of hormonal issues until Brooke told me the brain fog, the walking into my fridge and not having any idea what I'm getting. It's a hormonal Brooke Masters: It's great. Amanda Blumenstein: symptom. yeah, it's fantastic. But I think, you know, just being open and talking to women in your family, women your that are your co-workers, you know, getting that advice from women that are older that might One piece of advice I just offered a friend. She is an avid coffee drinker. And she drinks her coffee black first thing in the morning before she does anything. So that is the first thing that goes in her system. And she was having a lot of anxiety. She is actually going through perimenopause. And I was like, you know what? Why don't you just try to like have some water and eat something before you do your coffee? And she was like, I don't know if I can do that. And I was like, just try it. She tries it. She's like, it actually really helped. Awesome. Fantastic. There are so many things that we can learn from each other because we're all going through it at different stages, which is why we can all look back at puberty and be like, that was terrible. You Brooke Masters: Yeah. Amanda Blumenstein: know, like, but at the time, I mean, at 14, I was certainly not gonna start asking women in my life how their menstrual cycles were. wasn't gonna happen but at 35 you betcha I'm asking them because they know so it's it's it's a good resource everybody's a resource Brooke Masters: Yeah. Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. And there are so many weird symptoms. One I was noticing understand also estrogen is responsible for helping with your bones. That's why women, when they're getting older and they fall, they break a hip and all the things start happening, or they have osteopenia and all of things. that's why weight training is another reason, super important. I started, I got my first cavity at 42 years old. I've never had a cavity before. and it was just an indication that bone density was starting to become an issue. but again, all weird symptoms that I had no idea were all connected. but they all are. And all the weird things that happen, you're like, that's so weird. Like walking down the hallway at work, and all of a sudden I just had to hold on because I was getting super dizzy. Migraines that started happening, dry skin in all your parts. Is another thing and very common with women in perimenopause and start having painful intercourse because of dry skin down there. Like these are all things. So if you're starting to notice some of these things and your doctor is telling you, like, hey, this is normal. Hey, do you want birth control? Like, just again, it I don't think that they are intentionally not giving you information or telling you things to make you think like you're going crazy, but they just may not be educated in. As to like this part, because I know my doc is great at delivering babies. He is the best. but not so great when it came to menopause. I had another doctor in the practice, same thing, that offered me hormone replacement and put me on the wrong mix. And I wound up 12 pounds up in a matter of two and a half weeks, and I'm only five feet tall. watching your body day by day, gaining and gaining and gaining, and having cellulite in places that I've never had before. it's a scary thing. So you wanna make sure that you do have someone that you trust. You wanna make sure that you have someone that's educated in this area because just like I know from coaching, like there's lots of coaches out there. I specialize working with mere women in perimenopause. You come to me with like a mobility issue or you come to me with like a a competitor, like that's not my jam. Like I don't do that. So I am a coach, but there are certain areas I'm more educated with. you know, could I do it? Me. Am I gonna be able to be as, you know, give all the information as Calvin would with a competitor? Absolutely not. So, you know, understand that also, that it's because they're a doctor, because it's an OBTYN does not mean that they have the training or the education or the ins you know, have looked into it because it is a completely different animal. And there is so much to learn. There's so much new research coming out, there's so many. you know, new things that they're understanding, the hormone replacement alone, of looking at the risks and the benefits and all the black box warnings that were before, and they are starting to find that it is actually helping to improve quality of life, like some of these women that are getting recurrent UTIs that are falling and having all of these broken bones and these issues with osteopenia that could have been prevented had they been educated on the things that they needed to do. before going into this stage. That's where you need to be the advocate. You need to have these this understanding of what's going on because it is. It's a health issue. It's not just like, hey, I don't want my skin to be all wrinkly. Hey, I I don't want to be like not being able to think of a word. But I want to be able to get out of a chair. I want to be able to, you know, have a quality of life that I can live independently. So All of these things have to be understood because it is if you prepare for it, you're going to have an easier time. So anything else, Meanda, before we wrap this up, like with a little bow? Amanda Blumenstein: No, I think that we covered it and I think everybody that's listening probably really appreciates it because I know that I would have really appreciated this to guide me. So thank you, bro. Brooke Masters: Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right, guys. So I will go ahead and put a couple of resources in the show notes. I do have something, a couple of things that talk about certain lab markers that you can be looking at. I also have a quiz that you could be doing for perimenopause to be able to determine if your symptoms are something that might be an indicator of you starting perimenopause. And I will have all of those in the show notes. And if you guys have any other questions, comments, definitely reach out. I'm on Instagram at Master's Mind and Body. And Amanda, I'm gonna put her handle in the notes as well because I'm like, no one's gonna know how to spell that. All right. Amanda Blumenstein: That's true. Brooke Masters: All right, guys, thank you so much for joining us. And if you would send us, share us a review and subscribe. We would love to be able to catch you up on future episodes. And until next time, we'll see you guys later. Amanda Blumenstein: Thank you. Calvin and Brooke Masters: Thanks for tuning in to Master Your Metabolism. If you found value in today's episode, it would mean the world to us if you'd hit subscribe and share this episode with someone who could use a little guidance in their health journey. Ready to take the next step? Head over to www.mastersfitnesscoaching.com and you can book a free call right from the site. so we can chat about your goals and how we can help support you. Don't forget to join our Facebook group where we're sharing coaching tips, support, and tricks to help keep you on track and continue making progress. You don't have to do this alone. We're here to walk with you every step of the way. Until next time, stay consistent, stay kind to yourself, and keep mastering your metabolism. Let's do this together.