“…Your weight and body composition depend on your somatotype type, ectomorph, mesomorph or endomorph. Eat and exercise for your physiology, don’t get caught up with numbers on the scale. Body composition is what counts, especially the amount of muscle you have.” Dr. Stacy Sims, Author, Nutrition Scientist and Women’s Health and Fitness Expert.
Do think of yourself as an athlete? Many of us spent our childhoods in competitive sports or performance arts, like dance. But a rigorous training schedule gets trickier when your calendar is full. After kids, making time to stay active, especially in any kind of competitive way is harder. If you’ve ever glanced wistfully at your old tennis racket, ballet shoes, cleats, or volleyball, I see you. Many of us aren’t competing anymore yet long for the confidence that comes from feeling strong.
You Can Reclaim Movement at Any Stage
Over time, like with all things self-care, you will need to adjust your strategies. When I began to learn more about health and nutrition, before my oldest was born I discovered amazing and mostly male gurus. Not surprisingly, most research is based on male physiology too. However, as Dr. Stacy Sims shares, “women are not small men,” and we do ourselves a disservice when we don’t consider our unique needs. Which is the focus of her book Roar: Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Unique Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health, and a Strong Body for Life.
It’s written through the lens of a mom athlete and scientist, with expertise in female physiology. In the book, she goes deep on how to adapt nutrition, including meals and supplements for your exercise regimen, body type and life stage. Including through hormonal shifts like pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause and menopause. Although her well researched advice is designed for competitive athletes, it’s a playbook that serves physically active women.
Adjust Training for Your Cycle
“In one study of 20 active females, researchers found that the women could make greater strength gains and produce more force when they strength trained during their low-hormone phase compared to training in the high-hormone phase. You’re also likely to feel less pain and recover faster.”
You already know workouts feel different at each phase of your menstrual cycle in terms of fatigue, mood, weight, energy and strength. There are, however, opportunities to mitigate some of this with training and nutrition strategies. She also touches on birth control. And demystifies misperceptions that are common among female athletes about their periods and options. She breaks down how each menstrual cycle phase, impacts athletic performance and when to disrupt the physical and emotional roller coaster, with protein, hydration, meals and training regimens.
Stay Active Through Pregnancy
“… exercising early in your pregnancy has a profoundly positive effect on your developing baby, as it stimulates placenta growth and function as well as the organs and systems of your baby. Staying active through the later stages of your pregnancy keeps your baby’s growth and development on track. All this good stuff happens with just 30 to 45 minutes of exercise a day.”
Some women, are afraid to exercise during pregnancy. Many receive this advice from well intentioned family or friends. I remember after a long, emotional stretch of trying to conceive shifting from daily runs to walks through each pregnancy. It turns out, however, that being active is good for your health and your baby’s health through pregnancy. The book shares the reserach but as always, speak with your doctor about what’s safe for your circumstance and medical history.
Fuel Strategically, Before and After Workouts
“Don’t train fasted – feed your body in and around training. It’s especially important to eat post workout to avoid falling into the low energy state…”
Intermittent fasting has been fashionable for years. Largely, due to its many proven health benefits. However, in the book, she builds the case that time limited eating is a better option for women because typical advice on fasting is counter productive. She explains, exercise without fuel, convinces our bodies to go into famine mode. Boosting cortisol and storing fat in ways that are not helpful for muscle growth, energy or endurance.
Increase Your Protein Intake
“… it’s particularly important for women to take in protein that’s high in leucine (the muscle-building amino acid) within 30 minutes after exercise.”
You might find it difficult to get the recommended amount of protein each day. Personally, I’ve been working on this for years. She goes into depth about how much protein is needed for active women, based on your body type, life season and type of activity. There are even in depth meal plans by body type, with recipes and breakdowns of the fat, protein and calories.
Most women do not consume enough protein. In part because we tend to eat smaller meals, need less calories than men and are conditioned to worry about weight gain. Protein, however, is essential to build or repair muscles. So, she recommends being intentional with protein for meals and snacks. For example, her menus feature a late morning and a late afternoon snack, with between 10 to 15 g of protein each. Plus around 30 g of protein per meal. She covers a wide range of food preferences, including vegetarian menus.
Hydrate for Endurance
Water is wonderful but it’s not as hydrating as we may think during intense workouts. When exercising for 90 plus minutes, she recommends hydration drinks to replace electrolytes and sodium however, if you want to avoid the artificial ingredients in sports drinks (which is why I avoid them) you can add 1/16 teaspoon of salt to a cup of water to replace sodium. I started experimenting with this, along with the creatine that I already take. The amounts are small and the water doesn’t taste salty. However, as with all things health-related, check in with your doctor first.
Focus on High Impact Movement
“…When you’re older. The best activities are those that are weight bearing (force you to work against gravity) and have multidirectional forces through the bone such as jumping (i.e., jump rope, plyometrics), dancing, and tennis and other ball sports, and of course strength training. Bicycling and swimming are excellent for your muscles and heart but not so much for your bones.”
Our muscles shrink as we age. As she states in the book, “Lean muscle mass slips away to the tune of 3% per decade, between the ages of 30 and 80.” There’s also an entire section of the book dedicated to perimenopause and menopause. However, reducing injury risk is something we need to train for at all stages. She advocates lifting heavy weights, two to three days per week to “stimulate your neuromuscular system.” She explained we also need to challenge our muscles to get the maximum benefit. It can be done in 20 minutes of focused effort, however ideally change your routine every few weeks.
Train to Reduce Your Injury Risk
Women and girls are also at greater risk for certain types of injuries, including ACL tears versus our male peers. In the book, she goes into detail on why and how to both identify and reduce the risk through training. Core strength training is also key however, your core is not only your abdomen. She explains the obliques, glutes, and back muscles, are important too. And recommends exercises, to fold into your workouts. Like planks and walking lunges.
Sometimes, the quest to manage our health and wellbeing can feel tactical and never-ending. A chorus of advice to ‘try this exercise’ or ‘use that supplement’ but the promise, is compelling. Countless studies validate how critical movement is for mental and physical health. Exercise is good for clarity, sleep, stress reduction and physical strength. Yes, there are immediate benefits to improve your wellbeing and mood but maintaining a movement practice will improve your quality of life this decade, not only this week.
Get your copy of Roar: Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Unique Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health, and a Strong Body for Life and learn more about Dr Stacy Sims, her other books and programs on her website.
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About Dr. Stacy Sims:
Dr. Stacy Sims, MSc, PhD, is an exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist. She has directed research programs at Stanford, Auckland University of Technology, and the University of Waikato, focusing on female athlete health and performance. Her contributions to the international research environment and the sports nutrition industry have created a new niche in sports nutrition and established her reputation as the expert in sex differences in training, nutrition, and health. Dr. Sims is in high demand for her “Women Are Not Small Men” lectures. She is a regularly featured speaker at professional and academic conferences and serves on the advisory board of several high-impact companies.
