After 35: Hormone Changes, Smarter Training, and HRT Basics w/ Dr. Christine Boev
Welcome to Journey to the Sunny Side, the podcast where we have thoughtful conversations to explore the science of habits, uncover the secrets to mindful living, and of course, your own mindful drinking journey. Today, I'm excited to have Doctor. Christine Boev on the show. She comes out of critical care nursing, went on to a PhD, taught as a nursing professor, and now coaches women through her program Master Menopause. In Part one, we're keeping it What really shifts after 35?
Speaker 1:Which symptoms are common versus not? Why chasing fat burn with stressy workouts can work against you? The partner playbook that actually helps and the basics of hormone replacement therapy so you can have a better conversation with your clinician. Christine, thanks for coming on today.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Thanks for having me, Mike.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I'm excited to get into this conversation. And, you know, when we first started talking about doing this interview, you mentioned that you were actually a listener of the show and which, of course, I'm gonna love to hear that. But what's it I'm curious to know. What's it been like to hear these conversations on this podcast from your perspective as a clinician and a coach?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So what I love about your podcast is there's such a good variety of topics, you know, related to all parts of living your best self. And then the relationship and the role of alcohol in people's lives, it it's so important because it's such a powerful factor that's out there that isn't addressed enough. So I love the spotlight on the the role of alcohol and just how we we live and how we function and how we try to thrive, whether you're using it or not using it. It's like, how do you function at an optimal level?
Speaker 1:I mean, that goes straight to my heart, obviously, because this is a passion project. And, you know, I couldn't help but to ask that before we get into all the wealth of information that you're gonna share with us today. Just simply because I love having conversations with with listeners, and I like to hear their thoughts, their perspectives, and your professional perspective as well. So thank you for sharing that. You bet.
Speaker 1:Well, let's get into today's topic, and I always like to start with a story. So give us a short version of your path. You went from ICU nurse, professor, certified health coach. How did that journey lead you to focus on women 35 and menopause health?
Speaker 2:So I took my own personal journey and what I struggled with as a female going through perimenopause, going through menopause, and just that that struggle and that sense of like, what is happening to me? How do I fix it? How do I do life so that I can really thrive and have an optimal health span? And I I was a guinea pig in n of one to really use my background as a researcher and as a scientist to say, okay. I'm 40 years old.
Speaker 2:I'm twenty pounds overweight. I feel like garbage. I don't recognize myself. My energy level is in the toilet. Like, what's happening to me, and what do I do about it?
Speaker 2:So I went on a journey to figure this out for myself, and now I teach women what worked for me, but also what is backed up by science that tells us, okay. If you're a female going through perimenopause and menopause, this is what you need to do if you want to have excellent health span. And I think that's the word I keep coming back to because it's not just about looking good and wearing a bikini, but it's about quality of life as we get older so that we can fully contribute to society. And that's that's my mission. That's my goal is to help as many women as possible feel their best.
Speaker 1:I mean, I can connect in so many different and similar ways in that you went through this struggle in your life, and you kinda had to figure it all out. And it sounds like your new mission is to really take all of that struggle that you had to go through and be able to pass that on so that others don't struggle the same way you did and and have a quicker path to outcomes that are positive.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Absolutely. Women come to me, and they're so discouraged, and they feel this sense of embarrassment, shame, like, what what is wrong with me? And what I'd love for all of your listeners to know, men who women, whoever, like, there's nothing wrong with you. This is this is life.
Speaker 2:This is our physiology. But you don't have to just roll over and accept that you're not gonna feel like yourself anymore. There are very specific things that you can do that aren't crazy that will help you to find yourself again and regain that vitality and that youthfulness and energy that really tends to fade away as your hormones shift the way that they do, you know, starting at the age of 35, really.
Speaker 1:Yes. And something you said there that I wanna get into for a minute, which is there's nothing wrong with you. Is that something that you find that you really have to chain flip the script on with the people that you work with?
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Because they feel like they're broken. That, you know, when we're younger, we can kinda eat whatever. And as long as we move enough, we'll stay within a certain, you know, metabolic set point. When you're 18 to 30, you know, your weight doesn't fluctuate all that much.
Speaker 2:And, you know, if it does, maybe you can go to the gym a couple times and everything feels better. When you are in your late thirties, early forties, that all changes. So you feel like, well, wait a minute. Like, I'm doing everything I think I'm supposed to be doing, but everything in my body, my body composition is changing, and I don't recognize myself. What's wrong with me?
Speaker 2:And the truth is, guys, there's nothing wrong with you. You are perfect the way you are, but your hormones are changing, and we've got to work with your biology, not against it. So the stuff that you you used to do, it's counterproductive at this point. And that's what a lot of women don't understand. So they're, you know, they're embarrassed.
Speaker 2:They are self esteem. They're confidence. All of that is, you know, really at an all time low. And I hope my goal is to offer that hope, that blueprint, that insight of like, no. No.
Speaker 2:You're fine. Like, this is this is just what you need to do differently.
Speaker 1:So well said. And, you know, one thing that I read in in looking up about your work is, something around reclaiming health and wellness. What does that actually mean? Before we get into sort of more of the detail, but what does that actually mean in a day to day life?
Speaker 2:So to me, reclaiming health and wellness is feeling good in your own skin. Feeling like you've got energy to get through the day so that you're not, you know, depending on, you know, energy drinks and naps and substances to try to just help propel you through. And instead of just getting by, you're actually thriving and enjoying your life. You know, we've got this one opportunity to be on this Earth. You better enjoy it, and you better take advantage of it and not take things for granted.
Speaker 2:And so many people are just going through the motions, and they're not really living. And to me, that's a shame.
Speaker 1:Yes. And something you said there, there is a direct link between finding ways to cope and finding healthy ways to cope. You know, which one do you do? And and, of course, the topic of this podcast is around alcohol and mindful drinking, and we're gonna get into that as well because that is something that you see a lot is coping mechanisms with the women that you work. But before we do, because we do have a lot of men listeners, and I want them to kinda be thinking about this as they're listening to to the conversation that we're having.
Speaker 1:What's something that men often misunderstand about their partner when they're going through this stage of life?
Speaker 2:One of the common misunderstandings is as as a male or as a partner or a brother or whatever, that you're you're the cause of this or or you're doing something wrong. And, you know, that puts a strain on your relationships. So as men, just understanding what how nature works, how your physiology works, and, like, not beating yourself up over it. If your wife normally has a very pleasant temperament and all of a sudden she's kinda nasty, it's probably not anything that you're doing. It probably is what's happening with perimenopause and menopause.
Speaker 2:And you historically, we weren't talking about it. It was like, deal with this. This is part of life, and, you know, you'll get through it. And now the conversation, the spotlight is on, wait a minute. Like, you don't have to suffer through this beautiful period in your life now.
Speaker 2:You can actually live better. But making sure that your partner, your brother, whoever understands what's going on and that it's really not about them. It's just what's going on internally. And be and be as supportive as you can be with, you know, just under having that knowledge.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I mean, I I like that this conversation is just being had not just between women. Like, we're sitting here talking about this. I'm actually thinking about these things. And in our household, we we don't put anything, like, in a shame zone.
Speaker 1:You know? Mhmm. Maybe how historically it'd just be something that was swept under the rug and not talked about. But, you know, one of the more difficult things for me is to know how to be the supportive versus how to be proactive and am I overstepping or not doing enough? You know?
Speaker 1:And so, I I like, I'm by nature just a very, like, let's take this on proactive kinda guy, but what are things that that men could do or partner could do that actually does help?
Speaker 2:Be a good listener. You know, women need to feel heard, And a lot of us, we're wives, we're mothers. We've got multiple competing responsibilities. And oftentimes, we just wanna be heard. So if you can be a good listener and be empathetic and compassionate, and then ask, like, what can I do to support you?
Speaker 2:And their answer is probably, I have no idea. Right? But maybe you're listening to this podcast, and you're like, hey. Why don't you go listen to Christine? I think she might be able to, like, offer some insight.
Speaker 2:That's a great place to start, but they just wanna be heard. And that is simple thing. Right? Close your mouth, open your ears, and just be present and listen. You will get a lot of information.
Speaker 1:That's, great advice. And as I'm getting, you know, more mature in my age, I don't even wanna say more mature. As I'm growing older, I'm listening to I'm learning to be a much better listener than I was. I don't even like to think about how I used to be. But, you know, what's one thing that we probably shouldn't be doing?
Speaker 2:Shouldn't be doing just and for men? Yes. Yeah. So offering judgment, you know, throwing in your your 2¢ probably where it doesn't belong, and just just, you know, trying to solve everybody's problems. It's it's again, we just want we we wanna be heard, maybe offer a couple resources, some opportunities.
Speaker 2:But for the most part, just just don't be the person that's like, oh, hey. Like, you should try this or you should try that. Because at this point, women don't know what they want. Right? But they know there's something that's not right.
Speaker 1:Yeah. That is such good advice because I do think that problem solving angle, like I mentioned, is something that many of us default to. But I think, yeah, it's just being informed, being, supportive, saying it's okay to be how you're feeling, and probably, like, we're gonna figure this out. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. And, you know, the the other thing too is, like, there's a there's a lot of weight gain that happens during menopause, and probably pointing that out would not be in your best interest as a partner. So, again, gently empathetic, supportive, but, you know, we we know. We don't need you to point it out for us.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I think that that's probably general advice for, like, the entire male population. That
Speaker 2:there is.
Speaker 1:Just in general at any age. So well, let's get into this a little bit more because you are an expert. And so let's just talk about hormones for now. So what shifts hormonally after 35 that more women and men should understand?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So there's four big hormones that you should care about regardless, male, female. The first one is testosterone. So, you know, you hear about testosterone for men and low testosterone for men, but testosterone is equally important for women. That hormone is the first to start to decline.
Speaker 2:So in your early thirties, your testosterone will naturally start to decline. Once you hit 35, and this is young, you know, nowadays, like, 35 is is very young, but your body doesn't know that. So at 35, the amount of estrogen and progesterone that you start to make starts to go down as well. Testosterone and estrogen are very thermogenic, meaning they help us to burn calories. They help our metabolism.
Speaker 2:They help us to maintain muscle mass. Those are big. Right? And so once those start to decline, that's why we'll start to notice you know, really, the first thing you'll notice is maybe a little bit more fluff around the midsection. My pants don't button as well.
Speaker 2:I'm just not as comfortable in my skin. So the fourth hormone is cortisol. And cortisol is your stress hormone, your fat storage hormone. And when you're a female, you know, forties, and you do some of those, like, high intensity activities, like running, sprinting, stuff like that, that is gonna cause spikes in your cortisol that is gonna tell your body to store fat. And that's one of the big mistakes people make is they're like, oh, I'm gaining weight.
Speaker 2:I better, like, go run more or sprint more or something like that. And it's actually the opposite. You don't wanna do things that are going to cause your cortisol to go up and store fat. So, you know, everything is shifting as we get older, but those are the four that really you're gonna notice physiologically and are gonna make a big difference in how you look and feel.
Speaker 1:Yeah. That makes sense. So one question that comes to mind is that with the conversations I've had so far, it seems like it's like not a one size fits all sort of scenario when these these changes begin. And, like, for a man, a lot of the times, it's just go go get TRT, and that's sort of like, that's the answer, and there you go. And the men men are like, I feel great.
Speaker 1:You know? Obviously, if there's underlying things, then that's not gonna be the straightforward fix. But it it does more or less seem like it's quite easy for men. Is it much more of a complex issue in in this transition phase for women?
Speaker 2:It is because of historical research that has put people kind of against hormone replacement. So let me back up for just a second. Men, the way that you go through you know, they call it andropause. I don't know who made up that word. But, you know, but your testosterone, it just just goes down very gradually over time.
Speaker 2:Right? Just a nice slow roll. You don't really notice it a lot until you get older. And then now we're talking about supplementing with testosterone to keep you at, you know, physiologic optimal levels, which I think is great. What we know is if you do that, you're gonna live longer.
Speaker 2:You're gonna feel better. Like, I think that's amazing, and nobody argues with that. The problem with women is there was a study that was done in the early two thousands called the Women's Health Initiative. It was a big study, and it got a lot of bad press. And the study has since people have reviewed it.
Speaker 2:Scientists have looked at it and said, wow. The conclusions that were drawn are really false. And so what they concluded, and they had a sample of women that were much older. They used estrogen derived from horse urine. And their conclusion was hormone replacement causes cancer.
Speaker 2:Well, we know that's not true, and there have been multiple studies since then. But there is still this, you know, myth lurking in the background, not just for women, but also for health care providers that they're like, I don't know. I don't think it's safe when we know without a doubt that it is quite safe to go on hormone replacement. So you're fighting culture. You're fighting media, and it's really just doing your own research now and figuring out, like, is this the right option for me?
Speaker 2:Is there are there risks versus not doing it? And that's a conversation that you should have with your health care provider, but it's a lot less straightforward for women than men right now.
Speaker 1:You know, that's that's such a difficult thing right now is that, like, what information should I be absorbing as truth and what isn't? Because literally everything that you put on your social feed causes cancer. Like and and then if maybe somebody's misinformed in in health care, then you have that. And then I would imagine that it so you get a lot of people that are very confused.
Speaker 2:Well, there's a lot of confusion. And, also, because of that study, a lot of current providers, physicians, or practitioners didn't learn how to prescribe hormones because it was like, oh, these are bad. Don't worry about it. So there's this whole reeducation that has to happen so that people understand what is needed and what the proper dosing is. There's a lot of different delivery mess methods.
Speaker 2:You can do injectables, creams, pills, pellets. Like, there's there's so many different things, and it's not a one size fits all. So you really have to work with a provider that understands the science, understands menopausal health care, and can get you on the right regimen for you. And for women, like, once you start feeling symptoms, hot flashes, night sweats, you can't sleep, that's the time that you go have a conversation. That's when you start talking about, okay.
Speaker 2:Is it is it appropriate for me to do hormone replacement? Is it the right time to do hormone replacement? What the research shows is the sooner, the better in terms of, you know, curtailing cardiovascular disease later on, Alzheimer's disease. Like, it's very protective just like testosterone for men is very protective for your health.
Speaker 1:So we've talked a little bit about what's going on, how to recognize it, why it's happening, but we also briefly touched on there are lot of coping mechanisms and also things that can sabotage us. And, of course, alcohol is probably one of those things. So how does alcohol interfere with those hormonal and metabolic changes that are going on?
Speaker 2:Well, so let let me back up for for just kind of give a little bit of more context. A lot of women my age, we grew up with alcohol. It was it was our coping mechanism, when our kids were younger. You know, when my I've got two kids now, and they're in college. But when they were younger, like, I could not wait till dinner so that I could have a glass of wine just to, like, let the air out of the balloon and feel like, okay.
Speaker 2:Like, just get take that edge off. Right? We, you know, we, my my generation, like, we grew up, and that was very normal. That was it was almost weird. Right?
Speaker 2:Are you why why aren't you having a glass of wine? What's wrong with you? And so it was a big it's a big part of your life. Right? College.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Raising your kids, thirties, 40, all of it. It's like, it's a big part of the social.
Speaker 1:It's that question that you just said there. I'm sorry to interrupt, but I have it is it, like I I mean, the the generation is is that, oh, you're not having wine? Why do you have a problem?
Speaker 2:Right. Right. What's wrong with you? And then and it's it's crazy. You know?
Speaker 2:So oftentimes, I always preface it with, I'm just not drinking right now. And that way, we don't have to we don't
Speaker 1:have to
Speaker 2:talk about this. I'm just not drinking right now. But back to your question, alcohol is and you know all this, but it's such a disruptor for your metabolism, for your whole endocrine system, which which produces all of your hormones. Cortisol, that stress hormone is alcohol is fertilizer for cortisol. If you wanna burn fat, alcohol is not gonna be your friend.
Speaker 2:Alcohol is has to be stored as fat. You know? What I tell my clients is if you go out to dinner and you have a steak, mashed potatoes, and a glass of red wine, your body has to deal with the red wine first. Right? It has to go ahead and metabolize that because it makes toxins, and our liver can't handle that.
Speaker 2:So it has to address that. Guess what happens to the rest of your meal? It gets shuttled as fat. So if you wanna optimize your hormones, if you wanna burn fat, alcohol is just one of those things that you've gotta decide, is it worth it or not for you? And for most people, most of the time, it's a no.
Speaker 2:I wear an aura ring. Oh, I don't have it on. But I I wear an aura ring. Are you familiar? Yes.
Speaker 2:Yeah. If I have alcohol, my aura ring goes crazy. Like, what's wrong with you? What's going on? You know, your resting heart rate goes down.
Speaker 2:Your heart rate variability goes down. It's like, you better take the day off because something's wrong. Like, your body knows, and the signals that you're getting from alcohol are are very destructive. Yet, as as we talked about, socially, it's it's such a pitfall because something's wrong with you, and every occasion revolves around alcohol.
Speaker 1:That's part one today. In part two, we go straight at alcohol. We'll talk why it spikes cortisol and wrecks sleep, how long recovery really lasts, and what to do instead. It starts with the line, Alcohol is fertilizer for cortisol. Stay tuned for that tomorrow.
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