Category: Daily

In hindsight, ‘getting on HRT means you’re smart’ wasn’t the right thing to say in my earlier blog.

A more accurate would’ve been to highlight that no one should ignore HRT without first speaking to a trusted health expert well-versed in HRT.

Many general practitioners (most?) aren’t up to date with the latest hormone replacement therapy (HRT) science and information. And if they are, you will likely not get all your questions answered in a typical 15-minute consultation.

That’s not a dig at doctors but at the healthcare system itself. There are exceptions, but generally, a 15-minute consultation doesn’t always empower doctors to do their best work. It just is what it is.

And just as there are good and bad trainers, there are good and bad doctors.

Your HRT discussion has to be with a doctor and women’s health expert well-versed in the latest HRT. And one who will not feel rushed to answer your questions and concerns about HRT. Then, decide if it’s the right thing to do.

Unfortunately, exceptional doctors aren’t always easy to find.

There is a slight risk of cancer with HRT.

Australasian Menopause Society’s stance on the cancer risk is as follows: “For the majority of symptomatic women, the benefits of menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) outweigh the risks.”

But this is a conversation between the HRT specialist and you to see if the benefits outweigh the risks.

It’s shameful that there isn’t as much research on this topic (or most topics affecting women, such as endometriosis) compared to issues that affect men.

I am hoping that the tide is starting to turn on that. Even if slowly.

-J

As a recovering perfectionist with a history of orthorexic eating and an obsessive approach to exercise in my 20s, I can relate to most of this.

“Often people think about it as just having high standards,” Anna Bardone-Cone, professor in the psychology and neuroscience department at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, says.

“Perfectionism is more complex than that.”

It involves “evaluating yourself all the time” and feeling strongly that “others have very high expectations for you; that others expect [you] to be perfect”.

And eating disorders are strongly associated with it.”

Here’s the full article. It’s worth a read for us parents, too.

-J

Unless you’re part of a particular cult, most hiking follows a predictable pattern: you move forward—one leg after another.

Sure, you go up and down in elevation. But you’re still moving forward.

If hiking and step-ups, split squats, and lunges are all you do, you’ll eventually run (hike?) into trouble.

To become a well-rounded hiker, what you need to do in the gym are the things you ignore when hiking.

And that means swapping some of your forward-moving exercises for lateral movements.

Think of lateral lunges and squats or lateral step-ups and step-downs.

If you’ve ignored these exercises until now, prepare to be humbled. And sore.

Start easy, get used to the movement, and work up to solid sets of 12-15 before adding load.

-J

Here’s a simple way to build your aerobic base without leaving the house. If you’re stuck inside because of a cyclone, pollution or cane toad armageddon.

Do weighted step-ups with 20% of your body weight. For a 70kg woman, that’s 14kg.

You can hold a kettlebell or last night’s tray of leftover lasagne. But having a loaded backpack is way more pleasant for your hands.

Do that for 1 minute.

Then, complete a get down get up. Aka, a get-up, reversed.

Rest as needed to keep the pace around 70% of your max heart rate (220 – your age. Not the most accurate calculation, but good enough).

Or just keep the intensity at a pace where you can hold a more or less normal conversation.

Do anywhere between 20-60 minutes.

But let’s be real. 60 minutes sounds about as exciting as eating a bowl of cardboard.

Unless you have a decent podcast going.

-J

ps. I think I first saw this in StrongFirst.

That kind of thinking seems to fall in line with the common theme of the pointy end of health and wellness:

Humans are weak if we can’t deal with our ailments without outside help.

No painkillers. No IVF. No HRT. And definitely no vaccinations!

Only because they’re “not natural.”

But just because something is natural doesn’t instantly mean it’s better. Crocodiles are natural here where we live, but I would rather not cross paths with one.

Anyway.

Panadol makes your headache go away. IVF can feel like a miracle (It did for us. Twice. Not that I believe in miracles. But #science).

Vaccination means you don’t have to deal with, I don’t know, polio. And HRT can make all the difference between struggling and thriving.

Denying HRT because it’s “not natural” is like denying a smartphone and opting to call your friends with smoke signals.

Getting HRT doesn’t mean you’re weak. It means you’re smart.

And lucky to live in a world where these treatments are available. #science

-J

If menopause symptoms are messing up with your life, the answer is probably a resounding yes.

And that’s regardless of if you’re peri- or postmenopause.

Now, as you well know, I am not a hormone replacement therapy (HRT) expert. In fact, I know very little about what it entails.

But the topic really interests me. And I’ve spoken with and listened to a bunch of interviews with gynecologists who are experts in HRT.

And all of them recommend at least trialling HRT if the menopause symptoms are fucking up with your life.

So, instead of trying to act like an expert in something I am not, I have a better idea.

I recommend you make an appointment with your gynecologist to weigh your options.

You might find that there’s a relatively simple solution to feeling better.

-J

Life expectancy can increase by up to 10 years following sustained shifts towards healthier diets (Study)

“It was estimated that switching from an unhealthy diet to a longevity diet [less crap, more of the healthy stuff] would increase life expectancy by 8 years in 40-year-olds and by 4 years in 70-year-olds.

–

Adverse childhood experience is associated with an increased risk of reporting chronic pain in adulthood (Study)

“any direct adverse childhood experience, i.e. childhood sexual, physical, emotional abuse, or neglect alone or combined, increased the risk of reporting chronic pain and pain-related disability in adulthood.”

–

No easy way to communicate the impacts of climate change (Article)

These folks were testing VR to simulate climate change events, trying to get participants to become more aware of the consequences of climate change. Interestingly, it had the opposite effect on climate change sceptics. But it might have been because the tech used was rudimentary. There goes my virtual reality idea for improving habits.

–

Omega-3s for fewer post-COVID mental health conditions? 

“In 16,962 patients who received omega-3 PUFAs supplements and 2,248,803 who did not, omega-3 supplementation significantly reduced the risk of developing psychiatric sequelae post-COVID-19 diagnosis”

Obviously, the whole mental health situation is more nuanced and goes beyond just COVID for most people. But omega-3 is still worth looking into.

-J

1. Think how much stronger your new self feels vs your past self. Think about the concrete changes you’re seeing. And how much you don’t want to go back to feeling like you did.

2. Social carrot. How can you tie strength training with social benefits? We can do almost anything if we can do it with people we like. Whether in-person or in an online community.

3. Dopamine. Revel in the aftermath of a good workout.

-J

Your long-term goal requires an annoying level of perseverance and constant motivation. The downside is that perseverance and constant motivation are limited to anyone whose name doesn’t include ‘Batman’ or ‘Margaret Thatcher’.

To reach your long-term goal, you need to lean into instant gratification to help maintain momentum and enthusiasm along the way.

And yes, this gratification can be both short-lived and superficial. As long as you’re smart about it:

Complete a workout -> Eat a piece of chocolate, have a hot shower, or buy a delicious lunch without any tuna.

Finish a long walk -> Get into the bath, heat the sauna or watch an episode of Fleabag.

You get the idea. It doesn’t matter what your instant gratification is as long as it’s something that you’re genuinely looking forward to.

But ideally, it should be something that doesn’t turn into a problem or hinder your progress.

A glass of pinot after a workout every now and then might be okay. But you obviously don’t want to blend frozen margaritas after each time you do kettlebell swings.

-J

The person who reaches her goal?

Or the person who does the things that take her to the goal?

And no, they’re not the same thing.

The person who’s only focused on the goal will take almost any action to get there. All of which aren’t going to work long-term. At the end of the goal, there’s a cliff.

Once she achieves her goal, she might be in a situation she didn’t anticipate.

But the person who does the things that take her to her goal will keep going. She has a system, a process.

By focusing on the process, she develops skills, habits, and insights that will be valuable beyond reaching her initial goal.

Yes, there are scenarios where an obsessive focus on the goal will be the right approach.

But for long-term success, a process-focused approach is the way to go.

-J