I have two things to say.   First, Thomas Delauer doesn’t even know who I am, and I do admit I used  him as click bait.  (sorry, not sorry) For those who DO know who he is, can understand why!  LOL  Not only is he very easy on the eyes, as I’m sure his beautiful wife will attest, but most importantly he is the formost expert on keto and nutrition, he also has a very uncanny understanding of how our human body works.

If you want to geek out on nutrition, check out his YouTube channel.

Second, I have to tell you that I’m 56, and feel like I’ve entered Dantes 9th circle of hell. I’m not even going to tell you what is going on, because if you are reading this, you already know what is going on. (Sorry guys, maybe not so much for you).

So what do these two things have to do with this weeks blog?

A lot.

 Again, I’m 56 and it took me a long time to come to terms  that keto looks different for me now.

Different than when I started, and different from Kristens keto.

I was about 51 when I started this keto lifestyle, and not only did I drop a lot of weight (enough for Kristen to notice and make her a ‘keto convert’) but I felt better.  I felt like the energizer bunny!

Almost high with energy!  But just like with toddlers, 5 years can make a huge difference with the human body.  Hormones change, thinking changes, my joints are doing weird things that I don’t even understand, then there’s anxiety, and anger.  I feel angry all the time.  Did I SAY that I felt ANGRY all the time? AND my  patience is losing  a very hard fought battle with society in general. Did I mention the anger?

 

This is where  Thomas DeLauer comes in.

 He is my ‘go to’ nutritionist’, along with Ken Berry and Dr Axe.  So I’m taking action to find out if I should be doing keto differently after menopause.  There, I said it, and I HATE that word, it makes me feel old and increasingly irrelevant, so from here on out, I will simply refer to this betrayal of my body as being ‘over 50’.

 So here I am, ‘over 50’.

 I am still very healthy, but I am finding I get fatigued much faster, and then there are the other aforementioned symptoms.

After studying several of his videos, I found that I DO need to change up a few things.  So I have made a commitment to do exactly what he says that women over 50 should be doing. I need to see if I can turn this thing around.

 Our bodies are constantly changing.

Most importantly our nutritional needs change, they change at every age and every stage of life.  What used to be good for me earlier, may not be so good for me now, and visa versa.

So I am putting Thomas to the test and I have made a series of steps that I am fully committed to following for a month, and you are going to do them with me.

 If not literally then figuratively because this will be the topic of my blog posts every week, for the next month

I’ll be going into more depth about the nutritional benefits of these steps, talking about telomeres, those little ‘end caps’ of our DNA that are SO very important.  You do not want to miss that.

 I will write one post every Monday to tell you how I’m feeling, how my routine is going, what adjustments I’m making and I will also  give you some recipes along the way.

For this first post in my ‘over 50’ series

I’m going to list, in steps, the habits I will be changing. So here we go:

Step 1:  I will be adding more flax and chia seeds to my diet along with some occasional soy.

These phytoestrogens are sometimes frowned upon, and should not be taken in excess with younger women because it will cause estrogen overload, which causes inflammation. But after 50, estrogen is low and studies have shown that eating these few things will crush the symptoms of menopause because we will be adding estrogen to our bodies.  To make sure these phytoestrogens are not turned into bad estrogens I will be adding a supplement called DIM.  Amazon says it’s on the way!

Step 2:  Exercise.  My exercising habits will change.

 After 50, most of us find that it is harder to lose the weight so we work out harder.  What this does though, is to  trigger our body to release cortisol and because it is estrogens job to keep cortisol levels in check, well…..there you go, fat around the mid section and maybe symptoms of anxiety.  My choice of exercise is going to be yoga and meditation to which has been proven to keep cortisol levels down, and some weight training.  More on this in a future blog.

 

Step 3:  Increase protein.

 I know this step flies in the face of what we think we know about keto, that too much protein will knock your body out of ketosis, but this is subjective.

Our body will use as much protein as it needs, then use the rest for energy, which might kick us out of ketosis.  But after 50, our body needs and uses more protein to prevent muscle atrophy.  Our body will use that extra bit of protein to build muscle mass.  Admit it, we’ve become a little more ‘floppy’ because our muscle mass is declining at an extraordinary rate.  Lets make it stop. So I will increase my protein by 20-25%.

Step 4:  Increase DHA, which means fish, fish, fish.

 Mostly sardines, anchovies, mackerel, and salmon.  I’m flat out refusing to eat sardines and anchovies, which leaves me with mackerel and salmon.  Still not a fan, but I’m committed.

DHA makes up 90% of the omega 3’s and 30% of the fatty acids in our brain.  After the ages of 50 and 60 they start to decline and where estrogen would normally combat this, we need to do it ourselves now, by dietary means.  I’m going for 900mg of DHA a day.

Step 5: Iodine for thyroid health.

Most women over 50 develop hypothyroidism.  We need iodine to create the needed thyroid hormones, mainly T-3. Shrimp and shellfish are the ticket.  Again, not a fan of any type of seafood, but I can stomach shrimp, especially Kristens Coconut shrimp recipe.  we also need selenium for thyroid health and we can get this by eating just a couple of Brazil nuts a day….not a fan, I know, you’re getting tired of hearing that but it is what it is.  And I want you to know that all of this is NOT going to be easy for me!  I need sympathy.

Step 6:  Co-Q10.

 We need to get Co-Q10 through our diet, not supplements, for maximum benefit, and this is where it gets hairy girls.  Organ meat.  But just a 2 oz, 2 times a week. If you just can’t, then take 300mg of a Co-Q10 supplement a day, but if we hold our nose and eat the organ meat, we will receive a plethora of other great nutrients and vitamins!  Co-Q10 will make a huge difference in our energy as well and I need that.

Step 7:  Last step, and it’s just a few extra supplements. 4000 iu Vitamin D if we are not eating the sardines and anchovies, (and we are not) and 300 mg of K2.

So that’s it!

 That’s my plan for the next month.

I’m going to implement these steps every day starting tomorrow as the great experiment.

If anyone is interested in doing this with me run to the store, and drop your notes in the comments and let me know!  We can do this together! Everything is always easier with a little support group of friends.

So bye for now, and I’ll see you next week.  I need to run to the store myself.