How Hormone Changes Affect Fat Loss and Muscle After 45

Nikkiey: Real quick, if you want to learn more about macronutrients and understand that methodology and how they can help you achieve your body composition goals of changing the way your body looks, I put together a free 15-minute training where I dive into macronutrients and how you can control your body for the rest of your life with them. That link is in the description below. Click on it after listening to the show today.

All it takes is just specific adjustments to your exercise and nutrition. It is not because of all of these things that you can't get X result. Typically, it's because you're not eating enough, and just own that. Own that you probably have no idea how much you are eating or you have no idea what food is made up of, and that is okay.

Yo, you guys, what's up? Welcome to The WarriorBabe Show with Nikkiey Stott, co-founder of WarriorBabe. On this podcast, we talk about mindset, methodologies, and tactics that will help you lose body fat, build muscle, be strong, and feel insanely confident. I'm your host, Nikkiey Stott, and welcome to episode number 75. Damn, 75. Only 25 more to 100. Let's go.

Anyway, on this podcast today, I am answering another question. You guys did a really... thank you, I appreciate it. The question box I dropped a couple weeks ago, I screenshotted it, and I have been answering, what, the last three or four podcasts, questions that I received in that box because they were worthy of long answers, and I appreciate that so much. I'm probably going to drop another one soon, so stay tuned. If you guys don't follow me on IG, go follow me there at Nikkiey Stott. Remember, I spell my name weird, N-I-K-K-I-E-Y. Last name is Stott, S-T-O-T-T. Go follow me there. Ask me your questions when I pop it onto my story. Maybe I'll even do a reel or something like that where you guys can leave it in the comments, because I know that gets reached a little bit better.

But anyway, what we're going to talk about today is a question that a woman had in that question box around how the change of hormones affects 45-year-old women in building muscle and losing fat. I thought this was such a good question. She wanted me to elaborate on the hormonal changes that women experience during this phase of life. And while I've talked about tips for going through menopause, it's one of the top podcasts, one of the top five, even on YouTube too at WarriorBabe, I don't think I've ever talked about the science behind what actually happens with female hormones that causes all these things to get weird during this phase of life.

And let me just disclaimer: I'm only 33 years old. I'm not 40 plus, 45 plus. I have never gone through menopause. I've never experienced menopause. But I really sit on the education that I have with my nursing degree and reading books, and also just the thousands of women's lives that I have helped change in terms of body composition, building more muscle and decreasing body fat, who have gone through this phase of life. So I hold that weight right there, being able to speak this outwardly with confidence and knowing that what I'm saying here is what actually happens and what goes on. You guys can trust me in that realm, even though I'm only 33 years old. Okay.

And man, I'm blessed. I know this stuff because I know how to go and tackle it. And that's why I want you guys to know this stuff too, whether you're in your 30s or maybe you're going into your 40s. Knowing this stuff is so valuable to your longevity, to your life, to everything moving forward. Okay. Because a lot of women don't know this stuff and they blame age. They blame getting older. That's the main one that they blame. They blame the hormones too. But there are things that you can do to work around it. It's not like it's the end-all be-all and life is over because I'm 45, 50 and I'm about to start going through menopause, and I should toss it up because I can never achieve the body that I want. That shit's false. Let me just tell you right now. I've seen thousands of women achieve the body they want while going through this phase of life.

So knock it off with those excuses. They do not serve you. Knock it off with those limiting beliefs. They do not serve you. Knock it off with those stories that you're telling yourself, because they do not serve you. But if you know this stuff I'm going to share with you guys today, there's a workaround. Even though all of these changes are happening in your body, considering these hormonal changes, all you need to do is make adjustments to your nutrition and to your exercise to optimize getting the results that you want with building more muscle, having more fat loss, and just overall having more results with your body.

The main thing is the mental thing and the mental shift, and understanding that it isn't those excuses. It isn't those things that you've been telling yourself. It's getting past that and recognizing, sure, this is shifting, these things are happening in my body, but all I need to do is make adjustments. Because some of you may not be eating enough. And actually, the majority of you are not eating enough. I know that to be number one. The majority of you have no idea what you're eating. The majority of you have no idea what the food on your plate consists of. And you're eating way more carbs and fats than you are protein. And protein is the macronutrient king while you are going through this phase of life.

Your exercise: tons of you guys are cardio bunnies, or doing boot camps, or doing F45 or boutique classes. You guys aren't optimizing strength training. You guys aren't prioritizing strength training. Dude, those two things, those are the adjustments you've got to make before I even dive into the science of things. Those are the adjustments that you have to make to your routine right now to optimize building more muscle and fat loss. I'm going to talk about the hormonal shifts that women experience, but I'm going to elaborate more on those tactics that you need to deploy, because that's the damn truth. That's all it comes down to. Okay, I don't want to get too ahead of myself here, but I want to elaborate more to help you guys understand.

Hey, guys, I love so much that you're listening to this podcast. If you ever want the video version of this, which usually has more effects and all that good stuff for those of you who are visual learners, check out the YouTube channel, WarriorBabe, if that's what you like. Either way, keep enjoying the show.

What's going on in the body during this phase of life, the hormones that are being affected and the hormones that are being changed, that's what I want to dive into right now. I'm going to elaborate, but I want to elaborate in a way you guys can understand and apply. I don't want to get too sciency. I don't want to get into science technobabble where you guys are like a deer in headlights when you're listening to this. I know some of you guys appreciate the science, but I want to keep it at a fifth-grade level so you guys can understand it a little bit better and then just apply what I'm saying here.

That's the ultimate goal of this podcast: for you guys to deploy on the action items that I share. Take action with this podcast. You guys are up to 75 podcasts, right? How many of you guys have fucking taken action from this podcast? That is all I ask that you do. I'm giving you guys so much valuable information here. Go and take action with it. Go do something with it. That's all I ask. Okay.

Anyway, let's talk about the hormones. Broadly speaking, your body experiences a decline in estrogen. It experiences a decline in progesterone. It experiences changes in testosterone. It also experiences insulin resistance. And, I don't want to get too far ahead of you guys, it is true that your metabolism slows down, but there's a big reason why it slows down. I'll share it here in a second. If you guys have followed my Instagram, you probably already know the answer to this, but you guys have control over this. You guys have control over your metabolism. You guys also have control in helping these hormones not fluctuate so harshly. And it's very much tied to your diet and your exercise.

So as you age, there is a gradual decline in your estrogen levels and a gradual decline in your progesterone levels. What estrogen does in the body is it plays a role in maintaining body composition by influencing fat distribution and muscle mass. So the decline in estrogen can lead to a shift in your fat distribution, with more fat accumulating around the abdomen rather than, let's say, your hips or your thighs or somewhere else. The majority of what women experience is that accumulation of unwanted body fat around the abdomen when they are in perimenopause or going through menopause. And that is because of these estrogen levels gradually declining and their influence on fat distribution and muscle mass in your body. So that's number one.

Progesterone is another one. I'm not going to dive too much into it, because estrogen is really the one that plays a big role. You guys all know these things start shifting, right? Testosterone too: it declines as women age, and it can affect muscle-building capacity, making it more challenging for women to build and maintain muscle mass. So you have those things shifting hormonally and you're having these hormonal imbalances. That was very straight to the point. I hope you guys understood that these declines happen, and what women mainly experience is that estrogen one. But testosterone too: if that's declining, it's going to affect your ability to build more muscle.

While those are a part of the imbalances, the other thing women experience due to these imbalances is insulin resistance. Because of the hormone fluctuations during perimenopause, this affects how your body processes and stores carbohydrates. I mentioned in previous podcasts how we approach this phase of life with women inside of WarriorBabe. Because of these hormonal imbalances, this insulin resistance, and how your body then processes and stores carbohydrates, I mentioned how we level our macronutrients for women. And it's totally different than for someone who is 20 years old, 25 years old, 30 years old, 35 years old. Completely different, right?

Ladies, are you feeling frustrated with the body changes you're experiencing during menopause? It's time to take control. If you're between 45 and 65 years old and tired of struggling with body fat and muscle loss, WarriorBabe is here for you. At WarriorBabe, we've helped over 18,000 women just like you lose body fat, build toned muscle, and understand their bodies better with personalized plans based on hormone and thyroid testing and more. Imagine knowing exactly what your body needs to see real results, and results that last. Look, don't wait anymore. Take charge of your health and join our community of strong, empowered women. Visit warriorbabe.com/apply today to start your transformation. That's warriorbabe.com/apply. All right, let's get back to the show.

Your protein 100% still has to stay the same. Shit, we're trying to get women to eat more protein no matter what, in every walk of life, coming in along their journey. Women are just not eating enough protein. But when it comes to the carbohydrates and the fat distribution, when it comes to macronutrients, outside of perimenopause and menopause you can eat a higher percentage of your overall caloric intake from carbohydrates. But in this phase, with all of these things shifting internally, the fat distribution must actually, not tend to, must actually be a little bit higher, and the carbohydrates have to be lowered.

Now, this isn't in relation to a keto diet, you guys. Hear me loud and clear, because you may hear me saying high fat, low carb. Low carb in a keto world is literally 5 to 10%. You still have a significant amount of carbohydrates coming into your daily nutritional needs with what we recommend inside of WarriorBabe and our methodology when you're going through this phase of life. And it's way above what is recommended with keto. We're not eliminating carbohydrates entirely. We never will. That is our methodology: we will never eliminate something, because we want a long-term, sustainable, and realistic approach that gives you longevity throughout life. You need carbohydrates.

But in this phase of life, with that insulin resistance, it's way more difficult for women to lose body fat. And it also affects building muscle, because it's impairing nutrient delivery to the muscle tissue. So knowing this and understanding this, especially from the perspective of myself and our coaches, we know that the distribution of carbohydrates and fats has to change during this phase of life. And you guys heard me say perimenopause and menopause, just those two pillars of you going through this phase, right?

Post-menopause is completely different. Post-menopause can act in a similar way to what you were doing when you were 20 or 25. Well, I shouldn't even say that, because a lot of people aren't doing things right in their 20s and 30s, and we're fixing things up for them when they come to us in WarriorBabe. But I should say that when you're post-menopause, you can go back to a higher intake of carbohydrates and a moderate intake of fats. And obviously your protein, no matter what, stays the same. It's always one gram per pound of body weight of protein. So if you weigh 150 pounds, you would eat 150 grams of protein per day. It also can depend on where you're at in your journey and what phase you're in, cutting, building, all this stuff. You may have a little bit higher, but I'm not going to dive into that. I don't want to get lost in that.

But you can understand that we understand this, as coaches, with the profession and the knowledge that I have. Even though I share this with you guys, I back it by the thousands of women that I've helped through this journey, and also my insane desire to learn more about the body and what goes on inside. That's a big reason why I was in nursing. So we can lean on this right here: because of all these hormonal imbalances that women experience, like I just mentioned, you have a decline in estrogen, a decline in progesterone, a decline in testosterone. With these hormonal imbalances comes insulin resistance. And altogether, all these hormonal declines that women are experiencing have a huge effect on how women lose body fat and how they build more muscle.

And the thing is, you guys, just like I said at the beginning, all it takes is specific adjustments to your exercise and nutrition. It is not because of all of these things that you can't get X result. Typically, it's because you're not eating enough. And just own that. Own that you probably have no idea how much you are eating or you have no idea what food is made up of. And that is okay. That is why I would recommend you look into WarriorBabe, because this is the demographic of women that we help. I'm not leaving out the women who are not in this phase; we help those women too. But we pride ourselves on understanding this. So insulin resistance, macros, those are the things, and I'm kind of solving it as I'm talking about it. But I'm going to elaborate more afterwards as well.

The other thing that I want to talk about is a slower metabolism. Okay. It's known that as you age, your metabolism tends to slow down. What this means is that your body burns fewer calories at rest, making it way more challenging to maintain or achieve an appropriate caloric deficit for fat loss without going way too low with your overall caloric intake for the day. So when you get older and you're going through this, your metabolism tends to slow down. I'm going to explain something in a second that's just going to blow your fucking mind. We don't want to get too low. Because your body burns fewer calories at rest, we don't want you going as low as 1,100 calories on a regular basis, because of the metabolism getting too slow.

This tends to happen with the hormonal changes, but a decrease in muscle mass can also further contribute to a slower metabolism. But let me just blow your mind here for a second. That's what a lot of people have learned to be true. While it is somewhat true, the big reason your metabolism slows down as you age is because as you age, you as a human slow down.

Okay, so just wrap that inside your brain for a second. As you get older, you're more sedentary with your job. You're more sedentary when you come home. You're not exercising. The majority of women are not exercising as much. The majority of women are not getting out to do active things outside. They find the comfort of their home and their couch. A lot of women. That is what leads to obesity. That is what leads to X, Y and Z conditions. So on top of the hormones causing imbalances and declining as you age, you have your slower metabolism, and then you guys eating shit and eating whatever you want, and that's how the fat distribution shifts to around the abdomen.

Okay, so those are a couple of things when it comes to what is actually happening with your hormones as you're aging and going through your 40s, your later 40s into your 50s, and you're starting to experience perimenopause and menopause.

Now, considering these hormonal changes, you guys, all you need to do is make adjustments to your exercise and your nutrition strategies to optimize building more muscle and losing more body fat. And I say that because that's literally all it is. Okay. Some people may need HRT, which is hormone replacement therapy. But look, I have seen so many women come off of that and get into a balanced way of eating right and working out consistently and taking that shit seriously, and they've been able to see dramatic changes in their body. That is literally all it takes, because for a lot of women who go on HRT or who need all of these X, Y and Z's, the underlying root cause is that they're not eating right. They're not eating enough. They're not eating enough protein. They're eating shit. They're drinking alcohol every single weekend, or even every single night with a glass of wine. And they're not getting in strength training.

People are doing boutique classes and boot camps and all of this stuff, prioritizing cardio and getting on the cardio equipment. Guys, look, that's just digging yourself an even deeper hole by throwing your hormones out of whack. You need to be lifting weights. You need to be in the gym picking something up and challenging your muscles. I've shared in previous podcasts why muscle is so important to the longevity of your life. I'm getting very spicy here. It's because I'm so passionate about this stuff.

I see so many women coming into our program, into WarriorBabe. I see so many women just in general in life, whether I'm out at a restaurant or walking around people watching. I can look at women and see what they're doing wrong with their life without even having a conversation with them, just based off the physical appearance of their body. And I say that with confidence, because Tony Robbins has said that before too: you can just look at somebody and understand how they live their life. And I say this because, bluntly, so many women are not doing these things. Like I said, a lot of women have no idea what they're eating. They have no idea what a protein is, what a carb is, and what a fat is.

So if you can get real with yourself and take radical ownership, if this is you, stop blaming the fact that it may be your hormones, or that it is your hormones and your age and you're just doomed for life because you can't fix this shit. If that's you, you ain't going to get nowhere. You're going to be 70 years old still doing the same shit.

If you can have radical ownership right now of the fact that you are not eating right and you have no idea what you're eating, you start tracking for a couple of days. That's one of the things we have our VIPs do as soon as they come into our program, just to understand a baseline. We ask them to track for a couple of days, three days max, so that we can set the programming up in a way that supports where they're at but also fuels future success with their metabolism and their body. Those women have no idea where they're at. They have no idea how to track, which a lot of people don't know how to do, and that's one of the things we build confidence in when women come into WarriorBabe. We are a macronutrient-based company, but that doesn't mean you have to track macronutrients out of the gate. We build confidence in your ability to do so. But a lot of women come in and they have no idea. I watch playbacks of our coaches' onboarding calls, and they just have no idea, right?

So if you can take radical ownership of the fact that you have no idea what you're doing right now and what you're eating right now, and you need help, check out WarriorBabe below this podcast and apply and join. Because the more you sit in that weight of not knowing, you're going to be 10 years down the road still not knowing. Or you're going to be 10 years down the road trying to figure this all out by yourself and wanting to bash your head against the wall because you haven't gotten the answers you want. Okay?

So with all that I said here, and this was kind of an education rant, I say all this with love, you guys, because I want you to get the results that you want. And I want you to get out of the mentality of "my hormones are shifting and all of this is happening to me" and into knowing that all you need is an adjustment, and to implement strength training, because it's so important for your body and your muscles. And for the hormone levels, strength training plays a big factor in adding more testosterone, and estrogen and progesterone are supported by nutrition and strength training as well. So doing all this stuff is going to help as you go through this phase of life, and if you're doing it right now, you'll be able to do even more of it in the later years of life. And even if you're in your 30s or starting your early 40s, doing this right now fucking matters.

Okay, with that all being said, I'm trying to see where I can go a little bit more, but I don't think I can. I elaborated on how the change of hormones affects women in their 40s, later 40s and 50s in building more muscle and losing body fat: what those hormones are really doing, what changes you can and will experience, and why you're experiencing them. But all you need to do is make an adjustment to your nutrition and your exercise, literally. And most importantly, you've got to get through the mindset shift.

On top of that, you've got to be consistent. You've got to be consistent with strength training. You've got to be consistent with eating right. It's not just a matter of doing all these things for three months and expecting that for the rest of your life you're going to win, right? What we love to say at WarriorBabe is that it's not just another fad diet. It's not just another protocol to get to X result. This is a fucking lifestyle. And this is how we teach women to live the lifestyle. You have to break these habits. You have to eliminate all these stories and limiting beliefs. And you have to just apply and do the work. And you have to do it consistently. Okay.

So with that being said, I love you guys. I hope you found value in this podcast. If you did, please rate and review this show. That is the only way this thing grows, by the way: your reviews below this podcast. So take a second after you're done listening, go find the review section and leave me a review. I would so appreciate that. I love reading them too. And that is how we stay in the top 20 and keep growing and keep impacting more lives in a positive manner. Okay, guys. Peace out.

Hey, guys, real quick. If you're interested in taking your body to the next level, losing body fat, building more muscle and feeling more confident, do it alongside one of our 30-plus professional coaches. Work one-on-one with her to eliminate all of the guesswork you may have. All you need to do is the work she tells you to do to get to those goals of yours. To learn more, click the link below this podcast and apply to our VIP program right now. Thank you. Thank you.