Thank you for spotlighting this study and its conclusions—it's so important! However I'm wondering about your conclusion, focusing on strength training, which is indeed crucial. But I was reading the prior paragraphs, with its focus on high-intensity exercise, to be a call to do higher-intensity cardio in addition to strength work. Isn't the takeaway to do high intensity exercise (getting one's heart rate up for an extended period) *and* heavy lifting for muscles and bones, not just one or the other? Or did the study mainly focus on strengthening?
Re fat gain and what the scale says—I'll share the following not to brag but to share an unexpected menopause outcome. We all have a normal set weight, right? To me, this is the weight that is most typical, that our body gravitates toward, although daily weight can vary by many pounds based on hydration, inflammation, and other factors. When I was perimenopausal, my typical normal weight would swing a lot based on whether I was PMSing and whether I was inflamed and retaining water from extra-strenuous exercise such as running an ultra. Now, nearly two years fully post-menopause and taking a low-dose estrogen patch (.025mg) and progesterone pill (100mg), those weight swings have mostly gone away or minimized, and my set weight is about 5 pounds less than at any time during adulthood! And I haven't really changed anything, except reduced alcohol (which may be a main factor). I certainly still eat hearty and do not monitor calorie intake. I hope this weight reduction is not due to loss of muscle; I do strength training to preserve muscle mass. I really haven't changed much with my lifelong exercise habits. It's as if my body got past the storm of perimenopause and settled into a more efficient, less inflamed state. This may be TMI but I put it out there because I wonder if it has to do with an upside to menopause hormone therapy or what?
I (Heather) appreciate this so much, and am realizing how much I have to learn as I gradually enter that zone of perimenopause (or am I there?!). The findings related to the steadiness of body fat percentage mirror what we see in weight cycling research too. It's not so much that a higher body weight is so strongly correlated with negative health outcomes; it's much more to do with health promoting "behaviors" (e.g. exercise, diet variety, not smoking, etc.) and weight stability vs cycling up and down. And with the recently signed executive order for women's health research, hopefully we see a lot more of this to come!
Thank you for this, Christine. Just came from a check-up and the slog of perimenopause and how it's changing my body can be depressing. This was the news I needed to hear today.
Thank you for spotlighting this study and its conclusions—it's so important! However I'm wondering about your conclusion, focusing on strength training, which is indeed crucial. But I was reading the prior paragraphs, with its focus on high-intensity exercise, to be a call to do higher-intensity cardio in addition to strength work. Isn't the takeaway to do high intensity exercise (getting one's heart rate up for an extended period) *and* heavy lifting for muscles and bones, not just one or the other? Or did the study mainly focus on strengthening?
Re fat gain and what the scale says—I'll share the following not to brag but to share an unexpected menopause outcome. We all have a normal set weight, right? To me, this is the weight that is most typical, that our body gravitates toward, although daily weight can vary by many pounds based on hydration, inflammation, and other factors. When I was perimenopausal, my typical normal weight would swing a lot based on whether I was PMSing and whether I was inflamed and retaining water from extra-strenuous exercise such as running an ultra. Now, nearly two years fully post-menopause and taking a low-dose estrogen patch (.025mg) and progesterone pill (100mg), those weight swings have mostly gone away or minimized, and my set weight is about 5 pounds less than at any time during adulthood! And I haven't really changed anything, except reduced alcohol (which may be a main factor). I certainly still eat hearty and do not monitor calorie intake. I hope this weight reduction is not due to loss of muscle; I do strength training to preserve muscle mass. I really haven't changed much with my lifelong exercise habits. It's as if my body got past the storm of perimenopause and settled into a more efficient, less inflamed state. This may be TMI but I put it out there because I wonder if it has to do with an upside to menopause hormone therapy or what?
I (Heather) appreciate this so much, and am realizing how much I have to learn as I gradually enter that zone of perimenopause (or am I there?!). The findings related to the steadiness of body fat percentage mirror what we see in weight cycling research too. It's not so much that a higher body weight is so strongly correlated with negative health outcomes; it's much more to do with health promoting "behaviors" (e.g. exercise, diet variety, not smoking, etc.) and weight stability vs cycling up and down. And with the recently signed executive order for women's health research, hopefully we see a lot more of this to come!
Thank you for this, Christine. Just came from a check-up and the slog of perimenopause and how it's changing my body can be depressing. This was the news I needed to hear today.