High Protein Diets, Creatine for Women, and What You Need to Lose Weight in Perimenopause | Liz Plosser

25:59Branched-chain amino acids, more attention on these, which is fantastic. The trick is for vegans and vegetarians, they're not so common in those foods. So as somebody who eats meat, that's something that I'm getting from those sources, whether it's a lean chicken breast or various lean meats. Yeah. Well, and I think, so when I was a vegetarian, I swear I was like the white omelet queen, because this was also a time where we were not supposed to eat the yolks and fat was bad. I'm telling my age here because that's one of the most perfect sources of protein is that egg white. And so you're really only going to get these branched chain amino acids, leucine, isoleucine, valine, as you were saying, from these animal sources.

26:44And so if you're a vegan or vegetarian, you have to be very conscious about where you're getting those. And sometimes you have to supplement. And that's always something when people are like, I want to do this for the planet. I step back and say, I want to think about, is this sustainable for you? How many supplements are you going to have to take? Because when you start consuming lots of supplements and then you've got like all of your powders and we start adding up, you know, the, those are the processed food that you might be consuming, like, is that having the best impact on the planet? And like, we have to weigh that.

27:20And sometimes people are like, oh yeah, that actually makes sense. If I like, I'm going to start eating processed food instead, or I'm going to be taking all these supplements, like maybe the trade-off isn't there. But I do think branched chain amino acid supplementation is something that elderly people benefit from. And certainly women who have been under muscled most of their life. And they sadly, you know, we used to be like, oh, when we're in our 40s, we are now losing muscle. And in reality, it's when we're in our 30s that we're actually losing muscle. And so if you've been under muscle, you enter perimenopause and it's like, I need to build muscle mass, especially if you have osteopenia, which is precursor osteoporosis.

27:59We should think about branched chain amino acid supplementation while we bring your diet up as well. Yeah, I think there's a time and a place for supplements. I agree with you. I also think whenever we're talking about food, it can become a very charged conversation very quickly. And I think the reason why is that everyone eats, right? There are other topics in the health and wellness space where people are okay with letting the experts weigh in, but everyone thinks they're an expert because we all eat. So, yeah, I'm really sensitive to the fact that there are a variety of reasons people might choose to be vegan or vegetarian.

28:34And that's awesome. And that's great. You can absolutely get what you need and set your body up for success, but you do need to be intentional about it. In terms of supplementation, I actually use an amino acid supplement. I only use protein powder, amino acids, and creatine. Those are three that I take. Love creatine. You need to. It's really changed my life, my energy, and how I feel when I'm at the gym. But for me, those, whether it's BCAAs or amino acids, those help basically give you an insurance policy to make sure that you're getting adequate protein. And people are always confused because when you look at the label, it doesn't say X number grams of protein.

29:17But that is because when you're eating protein, foods that are high in protein, what you're actually eating is the amino acids that your body then uses the building blocks for protein synthesis. So especially when I'm traveling and I don't know what's going to be on the menu or I'm stuck in an airport, I find that that can be a really helpful stopgap. But yeah, I also don't want people taking like 17 different powders every day. I would I'm not at all suggesting to use those instead of having a colorful, vibrant diet. There's so many vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, all these good things in food.

29:55So please eat those. But yeah, I think it's going to make a difference in how you feel, your energy level, your sleep, and your body composition if you really focus on protein. So I'm on a mission to help women understand that and just to share my personal experience with how much better I felt when I really focused on it. Yeah. It's funny because you bring up nutrition, everybody eats. When I was in nutrition school, they were like, our introductory, they were like, welcome to like the worst profession you could be in because everybody's going to want to fight you because it's as emotionally charged as religion and politics to talk about food.

30:35And, you know, we had to have a lot of classes on like cultural competency to understand like, you know, culturally speaking, why do people eat the way they do? and it's really interesting because I see sometimes very just tone deaf posts on the internet. I feel like paleo was definitely a time where people were like, you know, nobody can eat white rice. It's horrible for you. I'm like, tell it to the entire Asian population who's outliving you. Like what? Or being like, corn is like the devil. And I would get into it with people and they're like, your ancestors did not eat corn. I'm like, my ancestors are from Mexico.

31:09I guarantee they ate corn. They definitely did, but it can get so emotionally charged because it's like one, people are trying to find the Holy grail of health. And then on the other side, there's like cultural identity, personal identity, like all of these things that go into food. And so I bring that up because if people are listening to this, I mean, especially if like vegans don't see this as a diet, they see it as a lifestyle. And I think sometimes people forget that. And, And, you know, people will attack them. And then sometimes they feel, because they get attacked all the time, they feel like any conversation is like, you know, an attack on them.

31:45And it's like, you know, wherever you sit in the food paradigm, like take the information that's for you and leave the stuff that's not. And always stay curious. Diets are not meant to be static over our life. We're not meant to always eat the same. And at the same time, sometimes you'll be presented with new information that can be life-changing. And I think for a lot of women, this protein conversation has been life-changing. I'm curious, you said, like, you share your experience. Tell us, like, what the journey was. If your ADHD feels different across your cycle, postpartum, or in perimenopause, ADHD in Women explains why hormones can change your brain and what you can do about it.

32:27Pre-order now and for a limited time, get the first chapter audio read by me, Dr. Jolene Brighton, for free. Plus a bunch of other bonuses like a free recipe guide and a PMDD workshop. Claim your bonuses at drbrighton.com slash ADHD and women. That's D-R-B-R-I-G-H-T-E-N dot com slash ADHD and women. Yeah, so this is sort of crazy to admit, But even as a journalist who had assigned, written and edited stories about nutrition for years, I knew protein is very important. I had talked to many nutritionists about it. I don't think I'm alone in this. I think sometimes you have to hear it a bunch of different ways from a bunch of different places until for some reason it just finally clicks.

33:21So I grew up in the Midwest. So I eat meat. They tend to be related. Um, so it wasn't like I was meat averse. Um, I certainly wasn't a vegan or vegetarian, but I did grow up in the generation of like low fat, eat pretzels, eat a bagel, you know, cheese, the yolks of eggs, as you said, those are bad. Get the egg white omelet. Um, and I think it takes, that's like so hardwired into us, how we're raised, what the media was saying. Um, and so it wasn't until I turned 40 and I started really thinking about my own diet, um, and looking at, well, Liz, how much protein are you getting? And through more research, um, and honestly assigning a story to a writer at women's health, I learned a lot about the RDA guidelines for protein and that the guidelines were created based on a study that was done almost 25 years ago on men.

34:21And the study actually had nothing to do with health outcomes in that population. It was more about the nitrogen balance in their bodies and how much was going in versus how much was going out. And so the RDA recommendation is essentially created to give you enough protein to stay alive. Yep. So that's a problem. That's all the RDA is like, how do you not die? And it's like, well, there's more to life than being at the bottom level. Like I didn't come here to place like, you know, 12th in the Mario Kart race. I want to be the winner. I want to be number one. Me too. I like to win. And so I think this really coincided also with the pandemic and I had a little more time.

35:03I was more interested in cooking. And also this was around the time that I sort of flip-flopped how much I was running to how much I was strength training. That was based on, I broke my sacrum skiing, so I couldn't run for months and months. Yeah, that's a story for another day. but a lot like like many dark times in our lives a lot of good came out of it um one of which was protein so once i decided okay let's take a look at how much you're getting and i was shocked because i was only getting about 40 to 50 grams a day which the rda would say is okay yeah for my size but i am a very active woman i have three children um p.s i'm also in the perimenopause year So my hormones are changing.

35:46So I definitely, definitely needed more. So step two was the second week where I started really getting curious about nutrition labels. That's when I started using the food scale and started to track like, okay, well, you know, let's see what happens when I actually dial in and put some more focus on it. And you know what? Even that quickly, I started to feel better. I started to feel more energetic in my daily life. I think the biggest thing I noticed was I just wasn't as snacky in between meals. Um, now we're going back to those goldfish again. I told you about earlier, but I just, I wasn't reaching for them.

36:19I didn't feel like I needed those like little energy boosts during the day. So that was pretty cool. And then in week three, I decided, okay, I'm going to go for a hundred grams of protein, which was still less than what many experts and research suggests I needed. Um, I know there's a kilogram formula out there. I find it easier to talk about gram for pound. So all people in the U S do. Yes, exactly. I'm not alone. And yet it's so funny how many articles are written in different metrics. Oh, that's scientific community being internationally accepted. I know. At any rate, I need about a gram. You need about a gram per pound of ideal body weight, which for me is around 125 to 135 pounds.

37:06So that's how much I aim for. But I just made a goal. Let's get to 100. That was the level up in week three. And then week four was like, okay, we're going for it. Let's get to 125 or 135. Now, I'm not going to lie. That can be challenging. Yeah. Especially in this world where, you know, we don't have options all the time. We were even just talking about food while we're here. You know, you have to be really conscientious about it. But as I went on that journey and progressed each week, my best case scenario really played out. I started to feel so much better. I had more oomph at the gym, more energy.

37:39I slept more soundly. All these good things were happening. And then, and I know this is sensitive to talk about, but my reflection started changing in the mirror. I started seeing muscle definition. I've been an athlete and an avid fitness person my entire life. It wasn't until I was in my forties that I noticed I had some like definition in my abs. And I think that can be really motivating to see like, wow, wow, something is happening inside my body. It's not just all in my head that I'm feeling. This is more than the placebo effect. So I just haven't gone back. Of course, I have days where I don't hit my goal.

38:13That's where some supplements come in handy. But that's been my experience. What about you? You're eating a lot of protein every day. I know you're obsessed like me. I mean, we were doing animal studies and when you saw branched-chain amino acids and when you just supplemented with those and, um, the mice, I'm sorry, people that I had no choice in this research. I was, I got into this lab, but to see how different it was, I'm like, wow, like that's substantial, even in elderly. And then like having elderly rats, substantial differences in the muscle mass and the infiltration of fat into those cells.

38:53So, you know, my audience was shocked when I had told them, so I'm pregnant right now in the first trimester, which, you know, I have morning sickness. Shockingly, when I sat out that I was like, I have to get enough protein. So my bottom of the window is 110. That's the minimum. I have to get 110 grams every day. My audience was really shocked to hear it. And I said, listen, I'm in my forties and I'm pregnant. My risk of preeclampsia is super high. One of the best ways to prevent that is adequate protein, Hydration, magnesium, other things as well. But adequate protein is a must, especially considering that I had had endometriosis precision surgery.

39:33So I had like a good three months. I wasn't really allowed to lift anything heavy. Then it's IVF embryo transfer. I still fight with my doctor. He's like, no more than five pounds. And I'm like, yeah, right. I'm going to lift weights. He's like, you're going to be fine. I'm like, I'm in my 40s. I will not, in fact, be fine. I have seen the research. I am a big proponent of making sure that you get enough protein to meet your needs. I was talking with the audience I spoke to today because they were asking, some people say you need one and a half grams of protein per pound. I'm like, yeah, some people do.

40:11It depends on what the goals are. It depends on what your health conditions are. It depends on what's going on. We have our baseline, which is a gram per pound of ideal body weight, But there are situations where you might need more. And that's where working with a dietician, someone that's very specific and individualized to your needs and knowing what is appropriate to you is super, super helpful. But what I was going to say about the first trimester is when I was like, okay, so it's a lot of work to get a lot of protein. And it is hard, I will say, not to use protein powders, to do it all with food alone when your gut is not moving the way it used to because of hormones.

40:52But I would wake up in the morning and I would either eat like four hard boiled eggs or I would drink a Chobani yogurt, which was, I will say with the, I'm not thrilled with the sugar content of it, but with first trimester nausea, it was like, I can get this in and it will stay in. What I found is if I started my day with protein, I could curb the nausea. And I look back at like two pregnancies where I was so sick with morning sickness, starting with carbs. We would always tell women like carbs in the mouth before your feet hit the floor because it's easy to digest and all this stuff. And I have shared this with other women who have said to me, I actually noticed that in my like second, third, fourth pregnancy, but I didn't want to say anything to anyone because like, that's not what doctors say.

41:37That's not what we're told to do. And so I thought like, maybe this is just me. I'm like, have we been getting this all wrong all this time? And so that's something that I'm like, I wish I knew this was my first one because it's helped so much. And as long as I keep, you know, track of the protein, I'm bringing the protein in, I can get through the day and the nausea is there, but it's doable. It's not overwhelming to me. That is so awesome. And I wish I had known this during my pregnancies. It really changed a lot. And, you know, in my dream world. And I know this is very hard because of all the hormones and everything and during pregnancy, but gosh, wouldn't it be cool if there was a study on that and we could, we could really look under the hood and, and research it.

42:21Um, I get asked a lot about, well, I don't need to eat as much protein if I'm not working out that day. Right. That's like a really common myth. And it's like, actually it might be even more important that day because you're not stimulating your muscles through that training. So you need it every day. Consistency is king. And I've really noticed a difference and it's cool to hear how it's benefiting you during your pregnancy too. Yeah. What's interesting about that statement is that especially in perimenopause, it's actually, you might not need as many carbs on the day that you're working out, but you still need the same amount of protein.

42:55And I think that we should, we should talk about carbs, right? Because there was definitely carbs had its moment of being vilified where, you know, women will crave carbs. And it's almost like, oh my God, it's this moral failing. Like something's wrong with me. Like I shouldn't be eating carbs, but especially on the days you work out, you're going to have those bigger carb cravings because your body demands the carbohydrates, not just for replenishing glycogen stores, but for building that muscle. But I'm curious, like what was going on behind the scenes, it, you know, in these health magazines when carbs were like being basically cast as the devil.

43:31Again, I cringe as you say that because it's hard to look back on that time. I think it's a little bit of a case of give the people what they want. This was the, you know, the messaging in society and in culture at that time. Not to say we didn't talk about protein and speak to nutritionists and quote them in articles. I just think above all, it was very calorie focused. I can just remember countless, you know, 1200 calorie diets that were developed and like steamed chicken and grapes and you're just like sad, bland food. And like, it doesn't have to be like that. You can feel so good and still eat flavorful, delicious, colorful foods.

44:18But on the point of carbs, they are important. And it's so interesting as somebody who's been in this space for so long, watching the pendulum swing this way and that way, I get asked a lot too. So do you not eat carbs? You just never eat carbs. You only eat protein. And I'm like, no, I need carbs. I need that. I need that energy. I work out. I'm, I'm active. Um, so I think like the big message here is everything Everything is more nuanced. Nothing is the devil. Let's stop demonizing each other's choices and categories of food. All macronutrients are important, including fat. You know, we need all of them.

44:59So in your time in the women's health editorial space, were there ever trends that were up and coming that you saw and you were like, oh, that's not going to end well? So many. So many. I vividly remember the, I'm going to call them the woo-woo years. And gosh, it started early. It definitely started earlier. But I remember it really started peaking around 2017, 2018. And this was the time when everyone was on juice diets. I had so many friends. Hey, Liz, let's go on a juice diet together, you know, where you were getting bottles of different colorful juice and eating, not eating, drinking like six or eight or whatever.

45:45ever a day and not putting any food that you chewed into your mouth. Um, and then there were influencers or whatever they were, they were called back then, you know, purporting that they cured cancer. Um, and that scared me that, that really scared me to think about people believing that they could just drink a juice and that that was going to protect them or heal them from a medical condition that, you know, really needed the support of a doctor to look at their lifestyle factors and potentially medicine, et cetera. But there were a lot of those. Celery juice, that's another juice that just stood on its own for a long time, that it's this detoxifying thing that's going to give you an internal shower.

46:29That was a big buzzword for a while. I don't remember hearing that, but that's hilarious. Your insides do not need a shower. Your kidneys and the rest of your body is taking care of that on its own. Detox was such a huge word, activated charcoals. You know, it was just this whole time where I think with the rise of social media, just anybody had a platform to get up and to say these things out loud. I also really remember the days when chlorophyll drops were huge. Do you remember that? That they like cured acne, that you would immediately lose weight once you started dropping them in your water.

47:06And you know, they were cute and colorful. And I know there have been studies about how there are some benefits. They're small studies, but they're definitely not, they were not going to do all the things that they were purported to in your body. I think forever we're looking for that magic bullet and that hack. And you know, the truth is besides protein and lifting heavy, there it's not a hack and it does take work. If your ADHD feels different across your cycle, postpartum or in perimenopause, ADHD in Women explains why hormones can change your brain and what you can do about it. Pre-order now and for a limited time, get the first chapter audio read by me, Dr.

47:47Jolene Brighton for free. Plus a bunch of other bonuses like a free recipe guide and a PMDD workshop. Claim your bonuses at drbrighton.com slash ADHD in Women. That's drbrichten.com slash ADHD and women. So, you know, from my perspective as an editor, especially when I started leading the team at Women's Health, I had to balance the fact that people are really curious about it. People are talking about it. So the answer is not to bury our heads in the sand because we're like, there's no science to support this. And this, this is bad. You know, if we don't address these topics, that's not helping anyone.

48:29We're letting that misinformation be perpetuated. We were also not a brand that was like a takedown brand, you know, was going to like spend our precious resources to just like, just go to town on somebody and tear it apart. And so, and I say this with love because I love many things about this brand, but goop, you know, there were, there were a lot of things happening there with vaginal steaming and jade eggs and all sorts of things that were, that were all the rage and people were spending a lot of money on. But what we did is we developed a column that I called, that we called wellness curious.

49:03And that gave us, um, really an opportunity to take things like celery juice. Um, and we did it with other things that are become more popular lately, like cold plunging and dig in with the leading scientists and really look under the hood at the best research and break it down for people. And then I feel like my job and I continue to feel this way is like, I would rather you come to a source that cares about science and is going to do the research and talk to the experts. And if you still want to drink celery juice or, uh, you know, whatever the next health craze is, go for it. But at least you're armed with the information to make an educated decision for yourself.

49:45Um, yeah. So those are, those are a few of them. A lot of them in the nutrition space, I must say, you know, people, people get really into these quick fixes and magic bullets. Yeah. The celery juice definitely had its moment. And I remember my audience was like, can you comment on this? And I didn't realize their expectation was like me to endorse it because when I stepped into it and I'm like, look, it's probably not going to be a problem if you drink celery juice. However, if you're someone with endometriosis and you're taking ibuprofen regularly to manage your pain, or you have acne and you're on spironolactone or PCOS and on spirulone lactone, like if you're on a medication that's potassium sparing and you start drinking boatloads of celery juice, you could end up with arrhythmias.

50:28You can end up with problems. And people were so mad at me about it. How dare you say anything negative about celery juice? And I was like, no, but I'm talking about like nutrition drug interactions. And they're like, no, it's food. It's medicine. And I'm like, okay, I am a firm believer in when we can do diet first, Let's always do diet first. However, like there are foods like, you know, if you're on certain medications and you you can't be slamming grapefruit juice because of how it's going to change how you metabolize that. Like we have to talk about that. But celery juice really. I mean, I remember like, you know, 2020, we ran out of toilet paper, like 2019.

51:05We ran out of celery in the stores because people were all about it. Everyone was making celery juice. Yes. Yes. And I think you bring up such a good point, which I always try to say in my writing and when I'm when I'm talking to women, which is please talk to your doctor, like keep them in the loop. If you're suddenly going to change to a high protein diet, I also want you to talk to them about that. You know, I get asked a lot from pregnant women about supplementation during that time. I don't feel comfortable advising you. That can, you know, particularly during such a huge life transition when so many things are happening in your body.

51:37Like, please go talk to your doctor and make a plan together with both of you bringing your point of view and experience to the conversation. No, certainly. I mean, I think that that is the wisest thing to do. And you brought up the Yoni steving and the I mean, I remember patients bringing me jade eggs being like, this is going to cure my menopause symptoms. And I was like, but it's not. I don't understand. And like, is it porous and how to be sourced? I worked in a homeless youth clinic for several years. And because of that, it's always about harm reduction first. If you have someone who's an IV drug user, you can't be like, using IV drugs is bad, okay?

52:15Like, no, they're like, I don't care. You have to be like, where are you sourcing things? Where are the needles coming from? Are you doing an exchange program? Like, when you drop things, don't drop from the same cup with everyone's needles in there. And like, it's that kind of harm reduction where you like walk it back one at a time. And so it was a lot of that with like these jade eggs of like, okay, are we sure it's not porous? How are you cleaning it? Like, what is your plan if it goes in and doesn't come out? Like, let's have these conversations. And same with the vaginal steaming. I have to say the vaginal steaming was one that I was like, which is not your vagina, everybody.

52:51It's actually your vulva because nothing's going inside. And, you know, these, some people have said like, oh, those herbs are antimicrobial. They're going to disrupt the vaginal microbiome. it's not going inside. Like it's not, that's not going to happen. But you know, I saw doctors really, um, hating on and shaming women and being like, you're so stupid if you do that. And you're going to get a burn. I'm like, women are not, women know how to boil a kettle. Okay. They're not so dumb that they're just like, kind of like scald all their skin off here. But when I looked into it, I was like, there's this a whole cultural practice.

53:24There is something deeper there that needs to be respected. And if women want to join into that, let's talk about safe ways to do that. But the thing I took issue with is like the claims of like, it will cure your endometriosis. It will cure your infertility. I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. If you want to do it because you want to pamper your vulva, like go for it. You want to relax. You want to, there was, um, I remember having a patient who was a sexual assault survivor and she was like, part of that practice helped me reconnect to my pelvic floor and my body. And I was like, that's important.

53:54Like, wow. Like this is why I think, you know, listening to patients is so important. I personally had a tear after my second child and I couldn't get a pain for nothing with those sutures. I finally was like, I wasn't going to do vaginal steaming, the only steaming before because I'm just too lazy. And that sounded like too much work. I was desperate where I was like, my tissue is so uncomfortable. So I was like, I'm going to just try steam. And it was so relaxing and so helpful. And I was like, huh, okay. Like, but the claims, I mean, that's where I think we get into problems is that like, not all of these things, like, like celery juice, that's fine.

54:31Celery juice is going to cure Epstein-Barr virus and your thyroid disease. I think we went too far with that. And how often do you think that has been happening and maybe also perpetuated by some of these women's health magazines, not women's health itself, but just generally. I, um, first of all, now I desperately want to try steaming my full bus. So thank you. Um, perhaps a health trend I missed out on. I don't think we did a wellness curious article on that. I think it was more just like the trend in general, but, um, well, I can't speak for all the brands because I don't know what their reporting process is like and fact checking processes.

55:09Like, um, I think and hope they're not perpetuating these claims that like, if you drink this, you won't get cancer or all these, you know, other serious medical conditions that don't have anything to do with juice cleanses or, um, you know, things of that nature. So I can on it, I can confidently tell you that women's health never perpetuated anything like that. Um, and we tried very hard to see what conversation was happening out there and then to talk to the, the leading trusted experts, the gold standard in the field to really parse it out. Honestly, I, I think a lot's been happening with social media because you can be somebody without a degree or any experience in this space.

55:56And if you have a massive following that gets heard, that gets amplified. And then those people share it with their communities. So I think that's been honestly dangerous in our space. Um, and it's, it's saturated with people. There's an overwhelm of information. And I think also, you know, we're human. We're looking for something to help make us feel better. We want to fix. We want to hear that we keep talking about celery juice, but we want to hear that celery juice is the answer to all of our prayers. And wouldn't it be amazing if that were true. Um, so yeah, again, I'm sure there are brands that were, you know, uh, jumping shark and making very bold and, you know, at times untrue claims, but, um, I really hope that any media brand has the integrity to do their research and, and tell it like it is to their audience.

56:47Yeah. Well, I think, and what you said about women's health magazine, not being a takedown brand is really important. I think takedown brands have fueled misinformation more because they have seeded more mistrust and disconnect. So if somebody trusts an influencer and they trust this individual and who knows what their experience has been that's led them to this. And you come in with like, they're dumb, they're stupid, they're bad. And like, here's how I'm going to take them down, rip them apart. Sometimes that person who feels connected to them, they feel like they need to defend them or they feel like by proxy, you're calling them dumb by proxy.

57:24And And I think that is why we see so much on the internet where people are like, I mean, people will say to me, oh, a doctor, I'm not going to trust anything you say. And I'm like, well, fair. You should question everything that's being said to you on the internet. Like you definitely should. But like, I don't expect just because I have credentials that like, I'm an appeal to this authority and that you should not, you should shut off your brain and accept everything I say. I think that's also been a bit of a problem. But I think the way that you talk about approaching things is such more respect for people's intelligence than what other people are giving them.

58:02Like, I don't think takedown kind of content, I don't think it's effective the way you think it's going to be. And I think when you say to somebody, I'm going to present you with the information, I'm going to allow you to make your own decision. It really softens barriers, but it gives them an opportunity to cultivate that critical thinking. And so I just want to say kudos because I really do appreciate that. You brought up creatine. It feels like creatine is having its moment. Do you feel that way? Creatine is having such a moment. Yes. And we both take it and so many more women are taking it and talking about it.

58:37I did a deep dive post on my sub stack into creatine. I have never gone viral on that platform and tell that story. It was so incredible to me. And yes, it was a lot of men there. I got gained a lot of new male followers, which is cool. Everybody is welcome. But there were so many women, hundreds of comments, which is cool for a platform like that, where, you know, I'm just starting out because there's so much interest around that supplement. In your investigation of creatine, what was some of the most like amazing things that you saw about that? You were like, huh, wish I knew this like 10 years ago kind of information.

59:16Yeah. I mean, the biggest one is that it is scientifically proven to give you more energy because of the way because of the chemistry of the compound in your body. So that's huge. And who doesn't want to feel like they've got more to give, more effort to put forth when they're working out? And I think, you know, when you're starting a workout plan and you're at the gym and it feels hard and your body's still acclimating to that, that can be a game changer for people. I did get a lot of questions. And this is interesting because it wasn't my experience. But when you take creatine, your cells hold on to more water.

59:55And that's a good thing. That's part of the magic of it. But some people do experience that as like a little bit of bloating in their body. and that can freak people out. Like, again, I don't want to get big. I don't want to get bloated. What I found when I was researching it is that, yes, it does happen. So you're not crazy. I believe you. That does happen to people. But your body does adjust. So be patient. Like many things, you need to take it consistently and allow your body to adjust. I think something I personally dealt with creatine, and this is like many things for many of us in life, is remembering to take it every single day.

1:00:34Because if you don't have that threshold in your body, you know, the creatine that your body doesn't use and five milligrams, or is it five grams? Five grams. Thank you. Dang those units of measurement again. I know. Thank goodness you're here. You know what the measurement is? The little scoop they give you. I know, right? That's the measurement. Then they're all five grams, by the way, everybody. Everybody measures out five grams. Exactly. So what your body doesn't use, and by the way, creatine is in foods as well, particularly in, again, animal-based products. So you're putting that in your body and then what your body doesn't use, it excretes as waste in a compound called creatinine.

1:01:16Um, so your body needs to build up that threshold for it to be able to use it, which means you need to take it consistently every single day. Gosh, there's, there's so many questions about it. Um, you know, people often ask about, well, if I have this medical condition or I have high blood pressure or, um, I'm losing, you know, I'm balding, can I take creatine? And to which I say, please talk to your doctor. Absolutely. Don't, don't listen to me in my sub stack. This is, this is a conversation that you need to have with your healthcare provider. Yeah. And to your point about bloating, you'll see a lot of people talk about a loading dose of doing like 10 grams for a week.

1:01:56Sometimes people will say two weeks. That's when you're more likely to see that water retention, which I think, especially women who are cycling and already experienced that like PMS phase, I'm, that's something I always caution about. And I'm you're better off to do five grams every day. And in two weeks, you're going to notice a difference. The other thing about it is, um, you know, I, I've taken it for years for, um, for definitely for, you know, the games in the gym, the basically the like don't fatigue so early. However, brain health has been something really interesting coming out and seeing, um, you know, how it affects people with ADHD who struggle to utilize their own glucose in their brain and what a positive effect it's having in that.

1:02:42And this is, if people are not aware, this is the, probably the best research supplement that exists. It is. There are thousands of studies out there. There've been massive reviews by the gold standard journals. So this is definitely a safe supplement. Again, talk to your doctor, but just rest assured that there's so much awesome research about it. Um, and yeah, I, I completely double tap on what you said about the loading phase and what you're saying about this new emerging research that is really cool. Um, there are also some new studies about its effects on depression and anxiety. There need to be bigger ones, but the results of those studies have been really promising.

1:03:24Um, so there's just, there's a lot of cool stuff happening in the space. I'm also really, really bolstered to see that more studies are being done on women. Um, Because most of those studies that exist, the hundreds of them, thousands of them are done on male populations. But the ones that have been done on women show that it works just as well as us. And no, it's not going to turn you into the Hulk. It's just going to give you extra power when you're at the gym and probably positively impact your brain health and a bunch of other cool stuff in your body, too. How do you make sure that you get your daily dose of creatine?

1:03:59So my I now have a morning ritual where I'm like, I have to take it first thing. And I put it out by my coffee maker at night and I've ground my coffee and poured the water in. And so it's just sitting there waiting for me in the morning. And I immediately upon waking, put it into a big glass with some ice and stir it in. That's also when I put in my essential amino acids, which is the other supplement I take every day. And then I just I drink that water first thing in the morning and then I know I'm covered. It's done. There's there's no study that suggests that there's a particular time of day that works better.

1:04:34than others. You don't have to take it right before you work out. Yes. I go to the gym after, but I'm, that's not really why I'm doing it. I'm doing it. Cause if I don't remember in the morning, it's not happening. Um, you don't have to take it right after. So take it when you're going to remember, like make it part of your routine, like so many things like, you know, other medications you're on or other things that you want to make sure happen that day. Um, I, my advice is to take it first thing in the morning and to build it into a ritual. I hate the way it tastes. So I actually mix mine with electrolytes.

1:05:01So I'll do like half electrolyte pack, um, with the creatine and I put it in my workout water bottle. That's the way that I will remember it is I'm just like, just put it in, leave with it. And then in the first trimester of pregnancy, because I've been like so bloated, I'm also putting magnesium citrate in there. And I'm like, for people listening, it tastes okay, but there's something about when I'm working out and I'm so thirsty. I'm like, I really don't care. It's wet. I will drink it. It's wet. Please just give it to me. But I think it's important that people hear how to work things into routines because sometimes, you know, we're talking about benefits of things.

1:05:36We're talking about doses of things, but then, you know, especially you have three kids, it's like, well, where do I, where does this go in my day? How do I make this happen? Yeah. And I, I think, you know, speaking of trends in the health space, that's something I saw too. It's like, there, there are always new, awesome studies, new products. And it's like, well, how much time do we have in our days. It's full-time job optimizing your health. The ones we're talking about, they're actually not going to take you that much longer. Taking the scoop, five grams and putting it in your water bottle or your glass first thing in the morning is pretty easy.

1:06:09That's pretty low lift. So yeah, it shouldn't break you. It shouldn't feel like a huge extra thing. And in fact, most of the good stuff happens through just lifestyle decisions and behaviors every day. Mm-hmm. You have a daughter, correct? Yes. I'm curious, knowing how we've been influenced, there was the fat-free, there was the don't do carbs, there was the earn your food, there was the don't get too bulky, but also don't take up too much space. You know, all of these things that I feel like media in general has negatively impacted women as a mom. How are you thinking about that for your daughter?

1:06:46Yeah. Well, first things, when I landed at Women's Health, I made sure We never did cover lines that said like how to lose pounds and how to lose 10 pounds in two weeks or, you know, get a bikini body in X amount of time. I think those are very damaging. I think words matter. And I certainly internalize those growing up. Feel really lucky that I didn't ever navigate an eating disorder. But I also credit that I was so focused on my sports. But I recognize these are, you know, especially young women, kids, people my daughter's age. She's 14. They're very, very impressionable. That is, I remember when I was 14, how many of my friends were doing water fasts, trying to lose weight.

1:07:27I've always had the problem of I like food too much. I couldn't do the juice diets or anything because I was like, no, but I like eating. I too love eating. It's one of the great joys of life. If your ADHD feels different across your cycle, postpartum or in perimenopause, ADHD in Women explains why hormones can change your brain and what you can do about it. Pre-order now and for a limited time, get the first chapter audio read by me, Dr. Jolene Brighton, for free. Plus a bunch of other bonuses like a free recipe guide and a PMDD workshop. Claim your bonuses at drbrighton.com slash ADHD and women.

1:08:05That's D-R-B-R-I-G-H-T-E-N dot com slash A-D-H-D and women. um but just to take it really personal and into my own space I think about that every day when I'm talking to my daughter and particularly how I'm talking about my own body in front of her and honestly when I'm not in front of her so that I you know I'm consistently building this messaging and as somebody who likes to go to the gym and gets really fired up when I you know get a really heavy deadlift day or, um, you know, I told you about how I started noticing some ab definition when I changed what my nutrition looked like every day. I never want to say things like that to Lucy to make her think that like, if it's not that, then it's not good that to be better, I need to be smaller.

1:08:56Um, so I really focus on celebrating her effort. She loves to play tennis and never talk about her body. Um, we do talk about like conditioning or, Oh, I got really tired in my match and we can talk through, you know, some things she could do so that she feels like her endurance is better. Um, but it's not about her body. She's at such a vulnerable, impressionable age. And honestly, we all are for the rest of our lives. I'm still vulnerable. Um, so that, that's what it means for me. I think words and visuals really, really matter. And so we were so careful and meticulous about that at Women's Health.

1:09:35Oh my goodness, the way we labored over cover lines and headlines. And really to come at these topics, one, without the assumption that the person reading it needs or wants to change. Like my goal was always to give you a high five for where you're starting and to be curious enough to get more information and to think about new things you might want to do. So high fives to you wherever you are, if you're listening on your journey. And if you do want to make a change, we're here to provide the best science backed information. And so the wording, the visuals, they reflected the diverse array of ways that health is embodied, you know, in different types of women, different shapes and sizes, different ages, cultural backgrounds, all the things that I hope every brand is thinking about, but it really mattered to us.

1:10:34And to really come at everything from a place of like empowerment and strength, because ultimately that's what I want women to believe in their heart of hearts, that they are strong. And I want Lucy, my daughter, to believe that too. I love that you're being so conscious with it. I have boys and I think a lot about how I talk about my body and the things that I say as well, because I'm like, in the future, they will be in partnership with somebody and I don't want them to have, you know, these negative ideas about their body or their partner's body. And my oldest is 12 and he's starting to notice people's body composition.

1:11:14And what's been really interesting is that he makes this observation. And I thought, oh God, is he like making a judgment about how they look and how they influence that? But he's coming from a place that he sees people's body composition. And he's like, he feels sad that he's like, I'm not going to get as much time with them if like they're, they're not taking care of their body, mom. And I'm like, what an interesting way. But then we also have to talk about like, okay, but we like, aren't going to comment on people's bodies and go through all of that. Yeah. He one time had a nanny who he really liked.

1:11:51She disclosed she had diabetes and she was eating like a cinnamon roll for lunch. And he was like, you can't eat that. That's not good for you. That's going to harm you. And she got really upset. And, um, she was like, he's judging me about my food. And I was trying to explain to her, like, he likes you and he cares about you deeply. And then I had to have a conversation with him of like, Like sometimes even when you know something's better for someone else, you don't, you don't say anything. Like you only give opinions that are asked for, especially as a man, you can't grow up and do that. But I was like, man, he's been, cause he would, uh, we'd do podcast interviews and he'd sit outside the room and listen.

1:12:30So he's like, heard the advice that I'm giving. And he's like, people just want to be given advice on how to live their life. And I'm like, child, child, child. You may know that, but we don't, we don't comment on people's plates. We don't comment on people's grocery carts. We don't comment on people's decisions in their life. And we also don't give unsolicited advice to people. But I think it's such a time to be a parent, to navigate all of this. And I think about how it's like, well, you know, reading magazines in the library, like influenced me in this way. But now we've got social media. Is your daughter on social media?

1:13:06She is. Tell us how you're navigating that. Because you're ahead of me on the road. So I'm like, give me the tips. Well, tip number one is to wait as long as possible to give them a phone. If I could go back in time, I would have waited longer for us. My husband and I, so Lucy has a twin brother, Charlie. And when they started riding a school bus in middle school to their, their school is, it's a 30 minute drive away. We wanted to be able to know where they were and have them reach us in case of, you know, they needed a ride or emergency, all those things. What happens is when they have the phone, of course, they get access to apps, the internet.

1:13:45And we've made a decision to limit their screen time by setting up all the parental controls. Yeah. Now, I will tell you, kids are really good at hacking that stuff. It's like terrifying. I literally talked about that in my talk today where I was like, you know, as moms, we aren't sleeping because they're babies. And then, you know, that kind of continues until toddlerhood. And then you get this like down period and then you have teenagers. And I'm like, when I was a teenager, it was like, oh, my parents are worried. Is she up reading a book at night? And now we have to be like, did they hack the Wi-Fi and escape the parental controls and be able to like get on YouTube in the middle of the night and watch God knows what?

1:14:19That's exactly right. These are the things that keep me up at night as well. We have our kids. They all have to check in their devices. And I also have a 10-year-old son and he does not have a phone. But he's like counting down until he gets his phone. And I'm like, I don't know, George. which might be a little different from you knowing what I know now. Yeah, I think those parental restrictions on when they can access it are helpful. There's nothing that gives me nightmares more than imagining my kids in bed in the middle of the night watching YouTube videos or TikTok. They all use Snapchat to text with one another.

1:14:53Like they use that as much as they do the texting apps. I know this is like back in the day when we were on like Facebook, right? Yeah. Poking each other. Poking each other. Yeah. And I think, you know, to take it to an adjacent topic, yes, of course, they're seeing these influencers and filters and the way people are manipulating their body. And of course, we know even if you're not using any of those tools, if you're a human, if you're posting something on the Internet or to a social media app, I use Instagram. If you took five pictures, of course, you're going to choose the one where you look the best, you know.

1:15:24And so we all have to keep that in mind. And I talk to my kids about that. It's such a curated version of reality. it's not real life. It's a, it's a, you know, picture a moment in time that somebody selected because they felt their best. It doesn't represent the whole person and everything that's happening, um, behind the scenes. But, um, yeah, you know, I'm, I'm in it with that. And I think at the end of the day, the best I can do as a parent is to continue to nurture their sense of like, be kind to people. Um, you know, the, that food, speaking of food again, I talk a lot about the nutrients in it, the macronutrients.

1:16:05They're like, so they roll their eyes. You told that story about your, your son and your nanny. My son, Charlie talked to his health teacher at school about how she needed to give more lessons about protein. So it's like, okay, they are listening. You know, they have these lessons that you're not even giving them directly, which I think like, you know, part of that is highlighting like the way we talk to ourselves, the way we live our lives is speaking far more than the words we're saying to them. Yeah. Amen to that. And I think something I could definitely improve on as a parent is that I am on my computer and my phone a lot.

1:16:41That's just like part of my job, even in this, this new chapter of mine. And I think we have to do our best to model the behavior that we hope our children adapt. So, you know, no phones at dinner, of course, not of course, you know, plenty of, plenty of people do that. So, um, how we speak to ourselves, how we talk about ourselves in front of them. And yeah, if it's things like screen time and app usage, you know, it's not great for us either, um, as adults. Uh, so it's, it's a lot being a parent, isn't it? It's a lot. It is, especially being a modern parent. There's so much to be thinking about all the time.

1:17:19You brought up curation. Did Women's Health Magazine ever Photoshop their models? This is something I'm really proud of. We did not do Photoshopping. Nice. And I will tell you, we had celebrities, talent that we shot, that was disappointed because we didn't. And that's how common it is in the space, that they would just assume, you're going to make my stomach flatter or perk up my butt or whatever. And we're like, no, we chose you because we love you just as you are. Yeah. Having said that, there is, if anybody out there is a photographer, you do know that there can be issues with like shadows or lighting.

1:17:55So I'm not saying we like publish completely raw pictures. But you were like cutting waist, trimming thighs. We were not cutting waist or trimming thighs. I was about to tell you a story, which I'm not going to tell you. Cut the cameras now. Wow. But no, that was really, really important to us. And I mean, I'll sort of give you a taste of it. I've seen people that we photographed for women's health that I have been on set and seen them and they are beautiful, strong, awesome women. And then I saw how other brands portrayed them when they did their own photo shoots with them. So I know how common it is out there.

1:18:33I'll just leave it at that. Yeah. I actually brought it up in my talk today of Photoshop women ruined women's mental health and their image of themselves. Body image is one of the main reasons why we don't feel worthy of love and pleasure, why we have a hard time getting in the mood, why we get thrown out of the mood because we're worried so much and so self-conscious. Let everybody know, like I'll let everyone know right now, if anyone is lucky enough to have sex with you, they are not thinking about your cellulite, your roles, or what you look like in any position because literally their hormones have overridden their brain.

1:19:02It doesn't work that way. But then I was like, you know, first we had Photoshop and that kind of ruined everything. And now we have AI. And I was like, AI imaging is the worst thing to happen to anything. It's come to Pinterest. And we were looking for a haircut for my son. And he was like, all these men are AI, mom. Like, I don't want a haircut like an AI. I'm like, yeah, it's weird. Right. And then I saw AI food and I was like, ew, what is happening here? Like, can we, what just like, can we have real things? And I'm like, I swear in the next generation, they're going to reject all of this and be like, this is all ick and weird.

1:19:35Why were you guys not just real with yourselves? You know, cause we had to reject everything our parents did. Yes, indeed. Well, what's interesting when you're talking about photo shoots and Photoshop. So step one is at a photo shoot for any of these media brands, they have lights on them. They've been in hair and makeup for maybe hours. They have tried on a whole rack of clothes. They have a photographer and team behind the camera, directing them into their best position. So you start with that. And then next level, you Photoshop it. Like these, these are not, these are not authentic models of what women look like.

1:20:10So please everybody keep that in mind. Um, when you mentioned AI, I just saw this, sadly it was served to me, but I, you know, because the algorithm knows I'm into fitness and health. So I, I, a lot of like fitness stuff pops up. There was an account, um, That was entirely AI women, you know, with like ideal bodies in their like sports bras and short shorts. And they were fake. They were just fake women. And then thousands of comments of people just like crushing on them and saying like inappropriate things. And I felt physically nauseated looking at that because they look real. They look like they're real women and they're not.

1:20:56they're so bizarre. Why are we not doing that with more men? Hmm. I wonder, but it is so bizarre because also, um, you know, there have been surveys and there have been studies where they, they show men these Photoshopped images and then they show real women and they opt for real women. But when they show them to women, women opt for the Photoshop and it says so much about conditioning. It's, um, I remember when I was, um, I don't know, maybe in high school, I remember being at a friend's house and there was like this PSA commercial of a model. And she showed when she, they showed her like full makeup, everything done.

1:21:36And then they started taking off her makeup, taking off the tape that was taping her, taking off the wig. And they like stripped it all down and like showed you like what was real. And that was like kind of our like after school kind of special of like, like this, this is what's reality. And I remember seeing that and I'm reminded of it in this conversation and being like, that was really powerful to see because as little girls, we were like, oh my gosh, I have to, I have to try to achieve these things. This has been a super insightful conversation. It's been so great to chat with you. I'm curious If there's one thing that you're like, hey, in 2025, this is my message that you're going to see it on my sub stack and I'm going to be preaching about, but also that I think is so important for women to embody.

1:22:25What would that be? Well, we've talked at length about strength training and protein, so I'll keep beating those drums. But I would just say to stay curious and choose your own adventure in this space. but please continue to educate yourself with science-backed information. There's so much power in you taking charge of your own life, but doing it with resources that will power you forward. And I hope that any woman out there, as she begins to make some tweaks and experimenting and goes on her health adventure, that she takes a minute to reflect on how she's feeling and celebrates the hard work of trying, because that's a big deal.

1:23:09I would regret if I don't ask you one more question because you brought up pursuing science-backed information. We talked about misinformation. How can women navigate the space to know not what is just true but is also true for them as they're presented with these wild trends, not only from magazines but social media influencers? You've had a lot of experience in this. So break it down for us. What should women know and do? I would advise you to be cautious of anybody who is really strong on one side or the other. A polarized viewpoint is, to me, a red flag. That, to me, is a person that does not have an open mind.

1:23:50Most scientists or influencers or luminaries in this space will tell you when their knowledge is incomplete. And they will also be open to changing their mind when more research and science comes out there. So I would be really careful in that content that you're consuming to find people who tell you the nuances of the research and the study and don't come down like, you know, 110 % on one side and leave no room for any other part of the conversation. And I would also take the time if you see an interesting study name checked on social media or in an article, you can do the research yourself. You can go to Google Scholar and plug in that topic and quickly find what the research is.

1:24:34Now, I know not everybody out there is a trained journalist, but one one level up tip, if you are going to take that step, and I hope you do, is to see if that research has been supported by any organization. Right. So if you hear a study about how peanuts are the best thing under the sun and you will live to 200 years old, if you start eating a cup of peanuts every day. I don't know why I picked that. Maybe I'm maybe I'm wanting peanuts. Peanuts were vilified. Okay. They also had their like hater moment. They did. Every food has. If that study was funded by the peanut board, that's something to keep in mind.

1:25:11So yeah, beware of overly, overly strong, overstated opinions and curate your feed too. If you find somebody who you're iffy about or if you find that their opinions are veering in that direction, I would advise you to mute them or even unfollow them and stick to the ones who have that open mind and who really do believe in science. I think that's the most important thing. I think there's a lot of people out there talking about their personal experience and anecdotes, which is awesome. I just did it in this podcast as well. But you need to look under the hood. One person's experience does not mean that you're going to have the exact same one.

1:25:53And they might have ulterior motives in sharing that experience. Yeah. I love everything you shared. Something that I tell people do is that if you're not trained in interpreting in science, this is where AI, I do endorse it. You can take that journal article, if you can download it, you can upload it into something like ChatGPT and you can build out your chat first to say, okay, act as a scientist. What are the most important questions that you should ask anytime you're analyzing an article? You can put it in and then have it ask all that. You can also put it in and say, what are the limitations of this study first and foremost?

1:26:28What are the conflict of interest? So that's what you're talking about. Who funded this study? You can ask, what are all the problems of this study first? Which sets it up so that when it interprets it, it interprets it fairly. Then you can say like, okay, what were the findings of this study? Who does this actually apply to? And if you're curious about yourself, you can say, I am X, Y, and Z, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Would this study apply to me or would more data need to be done? And then you can also ask questions of, has this been validated in other studies? Has it been cited other places?

1:27:00You can go deeper and start asking these questions. And I think in this way, it makes it easy for the average individual to start to understand science better and start to understand how to ask these questions. They don't have to read a whole, uh, you know, study. They can start asking those things. But when you start with what are the limitations and it spits back that like, this was a sample size of like 12 people, red flag right there. Like this was a jump off study. This wasn't a robust enough study for us to make inferences about a whole population. And so I think it's, it's hard to navigate the science, but what you said about the red flags are very polarizing people.

1:27:38If they're standing in a grocery store, odds are we're not going to get a good, like fair take on it these days. You know, we see these like certain pieces of content out there. And what you said about like unfollowing, like you can train your algorithm. And I want people to keep in mind, the algorithm will never serve you up nuance or what most scientists say, which is, it depends. It will always serve you up. Polarizing and emotionally driven content, most of the time meant to enrage you because that's what keeps you stuck on there. And if you see something, you don't like it, you can block somebody or you close the app altogether.

1:28:18And it actually tells the app, I hated that so much. I left you. And the algorithm freaks out. That's like one thing that the algorithm never wants to see. And you learn this. I have to say that I learned that through a TikTok training as a creator where they told us, if someone watches your video and they abandon the app, your video is not getting shown to anyone. Cause that's like a kiss of death for it. And I'm like, oh great. So when I see a piece of content where someone's being like really hateful or they're trying to ruin my hormones for the profit of meta, I'm leaving the app altogether.

1:28:52And I will train. And my algorithm now is mostly just showing me food content these days. There's like, if we show her baking, she's going to be happy. I'm like, yeah, fair. Okay. I'll watch that. I love that. I am served many dogs and I never close the app on a dog. So there's that. That's an awesome tip. I had never heard that. That's really, really good to know. And awesome tip too on chat GPT. I use it a lot actually in my reporting just to like gather all the studies and then I'm digging in and reading them. But that's, yeah, it's so helpful. I think like a big theme today is like you have agency, you know, do some research.

1:29:28And I love that. It depends. That's, that's, that's the word or phrase I was looking for. I worry about people who are out there spouting information and don't leave room for it depending. Mm-hmm. And I think just to encourage everyone, you are smart enough to go in and think for yourself and start reading this information, but you have to source multiple sources. This is such a great conversation. I could literally talk to you for hours. We're going to have, like right now, you know, we're in middle America, Midwest specifically in the Ozarks, but I'm like, we're going to have, we saw each other in LA.

1:30:02I'm like, next time we're going to have to do this again. Everyone can leave comments of like, what more should we ask her? What have you like been dying to know? Because I'm like, we could literally talk for hours. Well, maybe next time you'll come to the East coast and by then I'll have a podcast so we can do it all again. But thank you for your really fun questions. It was really fun to go down memory lane with my editorial career. Awesome. Well, thank you so much. Class is now in session. And the UPS Store is here to help you ace arriving on campus. Our certified packing experts can pack everything you need, from desktops to decor.

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