Eating for Menopause with Jeanne Peters, RD.

Jeanne Peters is the co-founder of Nourishing Wellness Medical Center in Redondo Beach, CA. She is my go-to Dietician for women looking for dietary guidance to age their best. Jeanne and her husband Allen are the portraits of aging well; they are staying so strong and active in aging. Jeanne is fabulous at giving clients easy to follow guidance for eating to stay strong, support hormonal health and all of the other things we love to age with grace!

Follow along for some of the most frequently asked questions that I get while in clinic as well as Jeanne's advice. Please use this Q&A as a reference and a jumping off point for conversations with your own health-care team. Self advocacy for the win!

Heidi: "What are your caloric guidelines for women in the perimenopausal and beyond?"  

Jeanne: I determine caloric guidelines for a pre or post-menopausal woman after doing a body composition test to measure her body muscle to body fat ratio. Our activity plus our body muscle is what determines our caloric needs.

This is why is it so important to sustain or grow your muscle during the menopausal stage of life. It keeps the metabolism vital!

The metabolic demands from healing from an injury can require both additional calories and protein to build new tissue. I personalize this depending on the extent of an injury. For example, a broken femur will require more energy than hairline fractures in a foot.

Heidi: "What are your protein guidelines for a woman in this life stage?"

Jeanne:  Did you know that new evidence shows that menopausal women need more dietary protein than do younger adults to support muscle mass, bone mass and immune health? Whoa.

If you’re over 45 and exercise 3 to 5 times a week, you can benefit from a daily intake of 1.0-1.2 g of protein/ kilogram of body weight/ day (1)

Lost? Here is an example. Plug and play your own weight into this formula.

If you weigh 145 lbs divide your weight by 2.2 to get your weight in kilograms.

This is 65.9 kg

Then multiply:

65.9x 1.0 = 65.9 grams

65.9 x 1.1 = 72.49 grams

Your ideal range would 66-80 grams of protein/ day

 in 3-4 divided doses.

Sound like a job? Its really not that hard. Eat 3-4 palm size portions of a protein (see idea table below!) + 1/2 C of cottage cheese or 1 scoop of protein powder over the course of your day.

Heidi: "Aside from increasing protein intake, what is your #1 nourishment tip for your clients in this life stage?"

Jeanne: Add more color from the rainbow from a variety of plants into your meals! Plants are abundant in color compounds called phytonutrients that can optimize circadian rhythms, eye, brain, hormone, gut & heart health.

Think of color on your plate as a healing force!

Colorful foods = colorful moods!

Heidi: "What are your top 3 supplements recommendations (no labs necessary, everyone needs these kinds of things) for clients in this life stage? Could be related to sleep, hot flashes, muscle building, whatever…?"

Jeanne:

✨ Vitamin D + Vitamin K combo. Why we love it:

⚡️Optimize bone, heart, hormone health and immunity. 

⚡️Dosage: 5,000-10,000 IU/day with 150mcg of Vitamin K

✨ Creatine: Why we love it:

⚡️Better exercise performance and recovery

⚡️Gains in lean muscle mass

⚡️Boosted Cognition

⚡️Dosage: 5mg in your water bottle during every workout (its tasteless!)

✨Magnesium: Why we love it:

⚡️Take before bed for improved sleep quality 

⚡️Supports bone health

⚡️Enhances heart health & better heart rhythm 

⚡️Improves mood regulation 

⚡️Doseage: 150-300 mg/day of magnesium glycinate

Heidi: "What is your #1 lifestyle tip for your clients in this life stage?" 

Jeanne:  It’s a tie between these two habits:

👟 Add more strength training & steps into your day in snack- size doses. Studies have shown that women who add 8500-9,000 steps throughout the day are better able to improve or sustain their body composition to offset the belly fat changes as estrogen declines.

💪 Also, strength training twice a week will prevent most women from losing key muscle mass and may help gain critical muscle mass to support strong bones.

💤 Prioritize recovery and sleep! I see many women in our practice who think that adding more exercise and eating less is the way to lose belly fat, but both of these habits can actually add stress and raise cortisol, a stress hormone. Instead, we focus on how adequate downtime for self care and building in rituals to improve sleep hygiene can be more effective towards improving body composition and building muscle mass.

Want to work directly with Jeanne? Click below to be directed to her website!