High Protein Diets, Creatine for Women, and What You Need to Lose Weight in Perimenopause | Liz Plosser

Liz Plosser: [00:00:00] For vegans and vegetarians, many of those plant-based sources don't have all nine essential amino acids. They might need to actually consume even more protein than the average woman. All proteins and foods are not created the same. I also think whenever we're talking about food, it can become a very charged conversation very quickly, and I think the reason 

Dr. Brighten: why is that people are trying to find the holy grail of health.

And then on the other side there's cultural identity, personal identity, and so I bring that up because vegans. Don't see this as a diet. They see it as a lifestyle. 

Liz Plosser: There are other topics in the health and wellness space where people are okay with letting the experts weigh in, but everyone thinks they're an expert because we all eat.

Liz Plosser is the 

Narrator: founder of the best case scenario. Substack a wellness playbook, helping people feel a little better today than they did yesterday. 

Narrator 2: She is the former editor in chief of Women's Health, where she oversaw the brand for seven years across its print and digital platforms in various brand extensions.

Reaching a monthly audience of 44 plus [00:01:00] million, 

Narrator: a veteran of the wellness industry. She has held senior strategy and content roles at Well plus Good SoulCycle Self and Cosmopolitan. She appears regularly as a speaker and is a frequent guest on national television and podcasts. 

Narrator 2: Liz is the author of the book, own Your Morning Reset.

Your Am to Unlock Your Potential. 

Dr. Brighten: How can women navigate the space to know what is just true as they're presented with these wild trends, not only from magazines, but social media influencers. There is some research 

Liz Plosser: out there to your point about it's different for men and women, physiologically, women do better.

Dr. Brighten: Welcome back to the Dr. Brighten Show. I'm your host, Dr. Jolene Brighten. I'm board certified in Naturopathic endocrinology, a nutrition scientist, a certified sex counselor, and a certified menopause specialist. As always, I'm bringing you the latest, most up-to-date information to help you take charge of your health and take back your hormones.

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Don't forget to subscribe, leave a comment, or share this with a friend because it helps this podcast get out to everyone who needs it. Alright, let's dive in. Liz Plosser joining me in the Ozarks at Big Theater Lodge. Thanks so much for being here. Thanks for having me. I'm loving your cabin. I know it's so, it's such [00:03:00] an interesting background to have, like for a podcast.

I'm like, I feel. So rustic. I needed plaid. I feel like I, I didn't get the plaid memo. Yeah, we should be, we should have plaid blankets over our laps right now. Totally. Oh, I'm super excited for today's conversation. You are former editor for Women's Health Magazine, and I'm curious, what is life for you looking like now?

You left the magazine after so many years. 

Liz Plosser: Yeah, so I've been a health journalist almost my entire career. I'm 46 now, so that's more than a couple decades. And most recently I was editor in chief of Women's Health, overseeing the brand across all of the platforms. So we still have a print publication, but that included digital and commerce and memberships and licensing and video.

It was a dream job. I absolutely loved it. I gotta meet people like you and go to really cool summits around the world. Um, I had an amazing team, but, uh, after seven years, I just felt like I had made the maximum impact I could at that brand. Mm. Um, and [00:04:00] learned so much, but probably was too, too good and comfortable in the role.

So I'd been thinking for a while about taking my skills and experiences and building something new for myself. So just a few years into life on my own. Still very much in the health and wellness space. Um, now I'm consulting for a few different brands and I get to come to amazing retreats like this to speak and lead classes.

Um, and I also immediately started writing my own substack called Best Case Scenario, uh, which doesn't pay the bills, but is so much fun. Um, and I am starting a podcast in a couple months, so I'm keeping busy. 

Dr. Brighten: Yeah, that sounds exciting. Um, the substack, like what do you primarily 

Liz Plosser: write about? So it's called Best Case Scenario, and that's, uh, a phrase I use all the time.

And the point of it is to be a. Uh, a place of optimism and action. Uh, there's so much as, you know, information about health and fitness and [00:05:00] Nutri nutrition topics out there. Many of them quite polarized and negative, and so I wanted to surface the good stuff mm-hmm. And go really deep on it and help readers learn something new and hopefully go down some more rabbit holes after they, they finish reading one of my posts.

So I post twice a week. The first one is, uh, on Mondays. And first I share some personal story. Probably I'll be writing about this experience on Monday. And then I do a big lengthy roundup of link. Um, just new studies and stories and trends and just interesting things I'm seeing across this space. I've always loved reading and been curious to hear what brands are up to, what, what people are founding and looking for trends.

Um, but they weren't always applicable to our women's health audience. Mm-hmm. So we would bat them around in Slack, but, you know, it was important to find the point of view that made sense for that brand. But now I'm the brand, so I get to write about whatever I want to. Uh, I do a second post later in the week, which is a deep [00:06:00] dive.

Um, I'm, I'm trained as a science backed evidence-based journalist, so that's been really fun to do. Reporting, again, as you get higher in your career, perhaps you've experienced this, you do less of the thing that brought you to it in the first place. Yeah. Which in my, in my case. Is writing. So it's been really fun to write stories and, um, interview experts and find studies and then put it all together, press publish and watch people respond in the comments and ask more questions.

It's been really cool. 

Dr. Brighten: What do you think is the most exciting health trend or up and coming practice of 2025 you've seen so far? I am so, so 

Liz Plosser: happy about the rise of strength training for women. Mm. And as somebody who has covered the fitness space for decades and written so many stories and so many cover lines about exercise and fitness, you know, I have just noticed that women are ready.

I think, um, and I continue to be on a mission if they're not ready to help them get there, uh, to do [00:07:00] more lifting of weight. And I think the world is waking up to the fact that women, particularly in wi midlife, really need that. It's more important than ever to protect or even build your lean muscle mass.

Um, it's, you know, it's super important for bone density and just for your body chemistry and mental and emotional state as our hormones are fluctuating. So I've been really heartened to see that. It's a big thing we did at Women's Health. Um, there used to be a lot more stories about cardio. Yeah. And a lot more stories focused on calorie burn.

I don't even look at how many calories I burn during a workout and most of my workouts are strength-based these days. So, um, it's really cool to see the momentum and strength training. 

Dr. Brighten: Why do you think it took until 2025 to, for strength training in women's health to have its moment? Because you're right, it was a lot of cardio.

It was low weight tone your body mm-hmm. And a lot of focus on earn what you eat. Yes. Make sure that you're always burning enough calories every day. I'm curious, um, two things. So why did it take [00:08:00] so long and what was the pivotal moment, what that made everything change? 

Liz Plosser: I think that I was part of the problem as a younger journal journalist because we thought that's what women wanted to hear.

Mm. I still cringe thinking about a story I pitched when I worked at Self Magazine back in my twenties, and it was called The Big Cost of Little Bites. And I remember it so vividly. I was so proud because it got green lit and I reported it and it was literally like a list with, with science about how we, um, you know, mindlessly grab, uh, handfuls of goldfish and finish our kids plates, all of which is true.

Mm-hmm. And if you're, you know, thinking about your body composition, of course it's important to be thoughtful about that, but it was just, it was a, a way of judgment and shame and making. Food feel like this bad thing that you had to earn or you had to go immediately burn off. How many times I saw those graphs that were like, you know, one chocolate chip equals this many minutes [00:09:00] on the treadmill.

I know. So, gosh, I think part of the issue was that was just hardwired into our psyche essentially. Um, the media continued to publish those stories and then millions of women read them and then they talked to their children about them. Mm-hmm. So we just developed generation after generation of women who were obsessed with calorie burn and how many calories were in everything they were eating.

Um, as you know, strength training isn't necessarily gonna burn as many calories, probably it's not. Yeah. But it has so many benefits in terms of your basal me metabolic rate and, um, the afterburn effect. It, it does so much goodness that your tracker cannot. Cannot accurately measure. Mm-hmm. You know, calorie for calorie compared to going for a run.

So what the, to answer the second part of your question, what was the inflection point? You know, I. I would like to think that women's health was part of that. Um, I [00:10:00] made a conscious effort with the team to start doing more stories about strength training, and we retired words like sculpting and toning.

Mm-hmm. You know, not, you know, no, no shade to anybody who still uses those words, but I think they imply sort of like a softness and a gentleness. Mm-hmm. And our bodies actually need to work hard. Yeah. And we need to push ourselves outside of the comfort zone when we're working out. That's where change happens, and that's what helps us stay healthier.

So, um, I won't say women's health took, you know, I won't take all responsibility for that, but, um, I, I do think and hope we were trailblazers and that it's helped change that conversation. 

Dr. Brighten: Mm-hmm. It's interesting that you're, like, there's a softness to sculpting. Mm-hmm. 'cause I like the word sculpting, but I think about like, hammering on a hard rock and like you chisel it out and like, I've thought of sculpting that way.

And then I'm like, when you said that, I'm like. Oh yeah. Like malleable clay. Mm-hmm. Like, oh, you know, and I hadn't really thought about the words in that way and what they imply. And I think [00:11:00] that part of that toning language also lent itself to like, you don't wanna get bulky, which that has been something I think in the last like five, 10 years we've really had to combat, is this idea that you're gonna get bulky and you'll see women who do get bulky and they're usually on testosterone, HRT, like, and that's what their aim is, is to.

Get bulky, do these fitness competitions, but if you actually talk to them, it's a full-time job. Like you're not gonna be able, the average person isn't gonna be able to, one, keep up with how much you have to eat to make that happen, and two, be able to put in that much time at the gym. I'm curious, what do you see right now that you're like, this is still missing in this whole strength training conversation?

We haven't touched this yet. We haven't gone deep enough yet. Or women are still confused about this. 

Liz Plosser: Well, first of all, I totally agree with you this fear of getting bulky and turning into a Hulk. Mm-hmm. Because you start picking up [00:12:00] weights at the gym, but she Hulk looks amazing. So I don't know. But you're right.

For, for somebody to get bulky and for a woman to develop that type of musculature, it's a full-time job. They have to work so, so hard. Mm-hmm. They have to have their diet dialed in to build that type of muscle. For the average woman, lifting heavier is going to make you look quote unquote what you think toning looks like.

Yeah. Um, I also love how you reframe sculpting that we're malleable because we are, we are changing beings and we can, we can definitely change our body composition, which is one of the awesome things about our body. I think something that's missing now, women, I think are open to the strength training conversation.

The level up will be when they start pushing themselves to lift heavier. Mm-hmm. And that's very related to what we're talking about, that it's not okay to just say. Well, I'm glad if you're going to the gym two to three times a week, that's an awesome start. And I don't want you to do this right out of the gates, but if you're a beginner, once you get comfortable with the weight, that means it's time to go up a little bit.

Mm-hmm. [00:13:00] Um, and so I hope to cont push that conversation forward. I also never wanna demonize forms of cardio. I know a lot of people love running. I used to be a marathoner. Mm-hmm. For many years. I couldn't get that endorphin high, that sense of clarity like I could unless I went running. And to sort of take it back to what I think is missing or where we're going, I only learned how to feel that way and get that, that, that sense of, ah, I feel so good once I started lifting heavier at the gym.

Mm-hmm. Um, so yeah, lifting heavier, pushing your body so good for your lean muscle mass. And I really do believe that as more women get comfortable and as we continue talking about it, the we're gonna get there. 

Dr. Brighten: Let's get more specific with lifting heavier. Mm-hmm. Because you've said that a couple times, and if someone isn't strength training or they're new to it, they might be like, so what does that mean?

Does that mean like going as heavy as possible every single time? Can you break down what you mean in that? Absolutely. So 

Liz Plosser: I just, full disclosure, I let a body weight workout while we've been here at this retreat. Mm-hmm. [00:14:00] I led one yesterday. Yesterday, and today you can absolutely stimulate your muscles with body weight.

You can get a great workout. You just have to be really intentional about it. There's a few different ways to create that volume. That's that muscle stimulus we're working on. Um, one way is if you're going lighter or you're using body weight, you're gonna have to do a lot of reps and you're gonna have to do them with that mind body focus.

Once your body adjusts to that, it's time to level up. And that means picking up a weight that feels outside of your comfort zone. Mm-hmm. That makes you look at it and go, Ooh, I don't know. Um, and when you do pick up that weight. And please adjust, you know, slowly. You're not, I'm not asking you to go from zero to 100.

Actually don't do that. Yeah. That's a, that's a recipe for injury and burnout. It's with squats. 

Dr. Brighten: We, we like to keep our knees, we wanna keep our low back. Like, that's right. We wanna keep our pelvic floor. 

Liz Plosser: And I think that's a really important point. When I say lift heavy, I mean, um, something that puts you out of your comfort zone, but that you still have perfect form.

Mm-hmm. That you're keeping your body safe, that you're in alignment. Nothing [00:15:00] should hurt you. You should be doing the move the way it's meant to be done. Um, but yeah, we do, we need to pick up heavier weights and know that that doesn't mean. Okay. Today I am doing 10 pounds. That means the day after tomorrow I gotta do 15.

And then the next day, 25, it takes longer. You're probably gonna be in a specific, um, zone, you know, lifting, uh, a certain amount of weight in a move for about six weeks. Mm-hmm. And then ideally you would step back, it's called deloading, let your body sort of recover, go. You can go a little lighter, um, and maybe a little shorter in your workouts.

And then you pick that cycle back up, and then the next, in the next six weeks segment, try and go a little heavier. Mm-hmm. Um, so that's what I mean. That's where the magic happens. That's how our bodies change, um, makes us healthier from the inside out. 

Dr. Brighten: When it comes to how you eat to support your workouts, was that a focus at Women's Health Magazine?

Do you feel like in, in the origins in the beginning of when you were there? Or did that evolve over time? 

Liz Plosser: I think [00:16:00] that was an evolution. That was not really something that was happening when I arrived. Um, we really, you know, we had different ways of talking about food at first. That, that section of the magazine where we talk about food was called nutrition.

Mm-hmm. Um, by the end we had renamed it fuel, actually. Oh yeah. Um, so we really think thought about food as a way to fuel your life. Mm-hmm. And that means your workouts. That means showing up as a mom, uh, showing up for your job every day and just, you know, really being at a hundred percent of wherever you're meant to be that day.

Um, the, the conversation around food and working out, oh my goodness. How long do you have? I can, I can really geek out over it. 

Dr. Brighten: Yeah. Well, no, I love, I I I love to get like that science perspective, that journalist perspective, because as you had started this, you were like, this is like, if you eat a cookie, you're gonna be on the treadmill for this long stair stepper for this long.

And I think that. A lot of these, and when I say [00:17:00] women's health magazines, I mean broadly not just women's health. In a lot of ways, women's health I think has done a lot more positive things than, I'm a drag you Cosmo, I'm a drag you, like you've had some problems. Everything's about pleasing a man, looking good for a man, like it's had a negative psychological impact on us.

And so that's why I am, I'm curious about this and I would love for you to take that deep dive and get a little nerdy with us. Okay. Let's, let's nerd 

Liz Plosser: out over fueling for your workouts. So I, I actually just wrote a substack about this topic and, um, I would say the answer is complicated and nuanced as, as many answers are to these health questions.

But in an ideal world, yes you would, you would eat something before your workout. Mm-hmm. Because if you arrive at the gym or you're doing your workout at home and you get hungry in the middle of it, you are gonna fatigue faster and you're not gonna be able to give as much effort. Um, there's nothing I hate more than when I start to feel that, you know, when I'm.

When I'm mid workout, having said that, there is [00:18:00] balance, right? I'm somebody who works out very early in the morning and I'm just simply not hungry, nor do I have enough time to digest a breakfast before I work out, and that is okay too. I think people really need to experiment with what works best in their life and what sets them up to feel their best when they are.

Lifting or running or whatever it might be. I think what's, uh, more important to focus on and perhaps a little more in our control is what you eat after. Mm-hmm. You workout and, you know, there's, there's some really cool studies about, you know, this window of about 30 minutes to an hour after your workout, when your muscles are like little sponges ready to soak up all that good for you protein.

So I try to eat as quickly as possible after I finished at the gym. Um, I use, usually make myself a protein shake. Uh, so, you know, I, I put some, some fruit and some milk and um, protein powder in and really just give my body what it needs in that moment. [00:19:00] However, there is also reach research that suggests.

That you have about three hours in that window. Mm-hmm. Now the, the maximum effects, yes. Get something in your body as quickly as you can, but you can wait a little, you, you can wait. It's, you're gonna be okay. The benefits are and versus, um, you know, the benefits versus. Sorry. Um, you, you can wait. It's still good for you if you're eating within three hours of working out.

So the, the most important thing is actually, and I know you geek out over this too, getting some protein in your body mm-hmm. And your, your muscles are primed for it. 

Dr. Brighten: Yeah. Well, and I appreciate you bringing out the importance of these eating windows because in the age of fasting, especially as we see so many men pushing extreme fasting and telling women like, of course it works for you, it works for me, it has to work for you.

I made a comment in another podcast that I was like, in these health trends, when men lead, women often fail and then they feel like failures. But it's because [00:20:00] one physiological system is demanding that you act and behave like it. But that's just not how you're designed. And so I think it's just really important to bring up.

I'm definitely, uh, you know, because I've been in nutrition for so long, I'm definitely conditioned to that 30 minute window because that used to be the absolute gold standard of getting in your complete protein. So let's talk about that. Why does complete protein matter. What is it? 

Liz Plosser: I brought it up.

People might not know. Yeah. So complete protein is when you are eating something that has all nine of the essential amino acids, and those are the ones that your body cannot make on their own. So you have to, you have to get it from food or from a supplement. Um, and that is when the magic happens in your body.

That's what your body needs in order to do protein synthesis. Mm-hmm. And. When protein synthesis happens in your body, it's helping every part of your body, from your immune system to your brain, uh, to your muscles. It's, it's literally a cascading [00:21:00] effect everywhere. So I love that more women are focused on protein.

I love that that conversation has become so much bigger. My concern is that all proteins and foods are not created the same. And particularly for vegans and vegetarians, many of those plant-based sources don't have all nine essential amino acids. Mm-hmm. So they might need to actually consume even more protein than the average woman.

Um, or they just need to get more strategic about combining foods to make sure that they've got all nine. I will say it gets easier once you, once you start tracking and, and observing, um, this is not something that's gonna, you know, take up brain space forever and ever. Honestly, when I started focusing on protein, which was only a few years ago, um, I've been on my, my own protein journey.

Uh, it took about two weeks of looking at nutrition labels. I did use a food scale for a while. I used an app. You can use chat GBT, you can quickly learn how much protein is in various [00:22:00] common foods, and you can also very quickly learn if they contain all nine essential amino acids. 

Dr. Brighten: Mm-hmm. Well, since you brought up vegan and vegetarian, I actually, so I was a vegetarian for 10 years.

Um, during the time, I always have to say I was a group fitness instructor and you were like, you know, I can't always eat in the morning. I was a 5:30 AM class. Like there was no, there's no waking up my gut at four o'clock in the morning. Like I feel like my digestive track is not online until 7:00 AM if anything before that I'm like.

It's gotta be like easy. So I think that was an important point I wanna highlight for people is that the ideal is that we do eat before. However, if it's really early in the morning, like your gut might not be ready for it. And sometimes people are like, if I eat that early and I work out, I have an upset stomach.

And it's like, obey the laws of your physiology and listen to that. 

Liz Plosser: Yeah, a hundred percent. That's why I always tell people to experiment. Experiment with going into your workout in a fed, a fed state. So you have put some some calories and good for you macronutrients into your body. There is [00:23:00] some research out there to your point about it's different for men and women, physiologically women do better working out in a fed state.

Yes. And I know there's a lot of conversation around, well if I eat, if I sweat, when I'm fasted, I'm burning more fat. Well, the truth is your best workout and the best fat burning workout, and the best for you workout is when you feel your best. So if you're fatiguing and lacking energy, that's a problem.

But it also, if you're in the gym and you're having digestive troubles, that's awful. That's gonna cut your workout short too. So people need to experiment with themselves. And I work out by 6:00 AM on the dot when the gym opens. And like you, I'm just not, I'm not hungry and my, my body doesn't want any food then.

Dr. Brighten: Yeah. Well, I wanna go back to what I was gonna say about vegan, vegetarian. So I was a vegetarian. But my master's research was in sarcopenic obesity and leveraging branch chain amino acids. And I'm so glad, uh, because it made me super diligent about protein and counting [00:24:00] protein. Um, and as you were saying, like it, it doesn't take that much time, but once you start to wrap your head around like how much protein is in things, like it just becomes second nature.

You were saying like, don't count calories. I'm really on board with that. I've never been a calorie counter except when I was like forced to in nutrition school and they're like, how many calories are you consuming a day? Um, but protein is something, and fiber if you do not track them. You odds are, you're not getting enough of them.

But for vegans and vegetarians, what should they know about branch chain amino acids? I mean, everybody should know about these, but certainly for vegans and vegetarians, 

Liz Plosser: branch chain amino acids, more attention on these, which is fantastic. The trick is for vegans and vegetarians, they're not so common in those foods.

So as somebody who eats meat, um, that's, you know, something that I'm, I'm getting from those sources, whether it's, um, a lean chicken breast or, you know, various lean meats. 

Dr. Brighten: Yeah. Well, and I think, so when I was [00:25:00] a, a vegetarian, I swear I was like the white omelet queen. Um, because this was also a time where we were not supposed to eat the yolks and fat was bad.

Like I'm telling my age here, um, because that's one of the most perfect sources of protein, is that egg white. And so you're really only gonna get these branch chain amino acids, leucine, isoleucine, baline. As you were saying from these animal sources. And so if you're a vegan or vegetarian, you have to be very conscious about where you're getting those.

And sometimes you have to supplement, and that's always something when people are like, I want to do this for the planet. I step back and say, I wanna think about. Is this sustainable for you? How many supplements are you going to have to take? Because when you start consuming lots of supplements and then you've got like all of your powders and we start adding up, uh, you know, the, those are the processed food that you might be consuming.

Like, is that having the best impact on the planet? And like, we have to weigh that. And, and sometimes people are like, oh yeah, that actually makes sense [00:26:00] if I like, am going to start eating processed food instead and or I'm gonna be taking all these supplements. Like maybe the trade off isn't there. But I do think branch chain amino acid supplementation is something that elderly people benefit from and certainly women who have been under muscled most of their life.

And they sadly, you know, we used to be like, oh, when we're in our forties, we are now losing muscle. And in reality it's when we're in our thirties that we're actually losing muscle. And so if you've been under muscle. You enter perimenopause and it's like I need to build muscle mass, especially if you have osteopenia, which is precursor osteoporosis.

We should think about branch chain amino acid supplementation when we bring your diet up as well. 

Liz Plosser: Yeah, I think there's a time and a place for supplements. I agree with you. I also think whenever we're talking about food, it can become a very charged conversation very quickly. Mm-hmm. And I think the reason why is that everyone eats right there.

There, there are other topics in the health and wellness space where [00:27:00] people are okay with letting the experts weigh in, but everyone thinks they're an expert because we all eat. Mm-hmm. So, yeah, I'm really sensitive to the fact that there are a variety of reasons people might choose to be vegan or vegetarian.

Um, and that's awesome and that's great. You can absolutely get what you need and set your body up for success, but you do need to be intentional about it. Um, in terms of supplementation, I actually use an amino acid supplement. Mm-hmm. I only use protein powder, amino acids and creatine. Those are the three that I take.

Dr. Brighten: Love creatine. 

Liz Plosser: Me too. It's really changed my life, my energy and, um, how, you know, how I feel when I'm at the gym. Uh, but for me. Those, whether it's BCAAs or amino acids, those help basically give you an insurance policy. Mm-hmm. To make sure that you're getting adequate protein. And people are always confused because when you look at the label, it doesn't say X number grams of protein.

Yeah. But that is because when you're eating protein foods that are high in protein, what you're [00:28:00] actually eating is the amino acids that your body then use is the building blocks for protein synthesis. So especially when I'm traveling and I don't know what's gonna be on the menu, or I'm stuck in an airport, I find that that can be a really helpful stop gap.

Um, but yeah, I also don't want people taking like 17 different powders every day. Mm-hmm. I, I would, I'm not at all suggesting to use those instead of having a colorful, vibrant diet. Um, there's so many vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, um, all these good things in food, so please eat those. But yeah, I think it's.

It's gonna make a difference in how you feel, your energy level, uh, your sleep and your body composition if you really focus on protein. Mm-hmm. So I'm, I'm on a mission to, to help women understand that and just to share my personal experience with how much better I felt when I, I really focused on it.

Dr. Brighten: Yeah. It's funny 'cause you bring up nutrition. Everybody eats, when I was in nutrition school, they really. Like her introductory, they were like, [00:29:00] uh, welcome to like the worst profession you could be in because everybody's gonna wanna fight you because it's as emotionally charged as religion and politics to talk about food.

And you know, we had to have a lot of classes on like cultural competency to understand like, you know, culturally speaking, why do people eat the way they do? Um, and it's really interesting because I see sometimes very just tone deaf posts. Mm-hmm. On the internet. I feel like paleo was definitely a time where people were like, um, you know, nobody can eat white rice.

It's horrible for you. I'm like, tell it to the entire Asian population who's outliving you. Like what? Um, or being like corn is like the devil. And, and I would get into it, pee with people and they're like. Your ancestors did not eat corn. I'm like, my ancestors are from Mexico. I guarantee they ate corn.

Like they definitely did. But it can get so emotionally charged because it's like one, people are trying to find the holy grail of health. And then on the other side there's like cultural identity, personal identity, [00:30:00] like all of these things that go into food. And so I bring that up because if people are listening to this, I mean, especially I feel like vegans don't see this as a diet.

They see it as a lifestyle. Mm-hmm. And I think sometimes people forget that. And you know, people will attack them and then sometimes they feel, because they get attacked all the time, they feel like any conversation is like, uh, you know, an attack on them. And it's like, you know, wherever you sit in the food paradigm, like take the information that's for you and leave the stuff that's not, and always stay curious.

Diets are not meant to be static over our life. We're not meant to always eat the same and at the same time, sometimes you'll be presented with new information that can be life changing. And I think for a lot of women, this protein conversation has been life changing. I'm curious, you said like you share your experience.

Tell us like what the journey was. 

Liz Plosser: Yeah, so, um, this is. Sort of crazy to admit. But um, even as a [00:31:00] journalist who had assigned written and edited stories about nutrition for years, I knew protein is very important. I had talked to many nutritionists about it. I don't think I'm alone in this. I think sometimes you have to hear it a bunch of different ways from a bunch of different places until for some reason it just finally clicks.

So I grew up in the Midwest, so I eat meat. They tend to be related. Um, so it wasn't like I was meat averse. Um, I certainly wasn't a vegan or vegetarian, but I did grow up in the generation of like low fat. Mm-hmm. Eat pretzels. Eat a bagel, you know, cheese, the yolks of eggs, as you said, those are bad. Get the egg white omelet.

Um, and I think it take, that's like so hardwired into us mm-hmm. How we're raised, what the media was saying. Um, and so it wasn't until I turned 40 and I started really thinking about my own [00:32:00] diet, um, and looking at, well Liz, how much protein are you getting? And through more research, um, and honestly assigning a story to a writer at Women's Health, I learned a lot about the RDA guidelines for protein.

Mm-hmm. And that the guidelines were created based on a study that was done almost 25 years ago on men. And the study actually had nothing to do with health outcomes in that population. It was more about, um. The nitrogen balance in their bodies and how much was going in versus how much was going out.

And so the RDA recommendation is essentially created to give you enough protein to stay alive. Yep. 

Dr. Brighten: So that's a problem. That's all the RDA is like, how do you not die? And it's like, well. There's more to life than being at the bottom level. Like I didn't come here to place like, you know, 12th in the Mario Kart race.

Like, 

Liz Plosser: I, I wanna be the winner, I wanna be number one. Me too. I like to win. And so I think this really coincided [00:33:00] also with the pandemic. And I had a little more time, I was more interested in cooking. And also this was around the time, um, that I sort of flip flopped how much I was running to how much I was strength training.

Mm-hmm. That was based on, I. I broke my sacrum skiing, so I couldn't run for months and months. Oh man. Yeah. Yeah. That's a story for another day, but a lot like, like many dark times in our lives, A lot of good came out of it. Mm-hmm. Um, one of which was protein. So once I decided, okay, let's take a look at how much you're getting, and I was shocked because I was only getting about 40 to 50 grams a day.

Mm-hmm. Which the RDA would say is, okay, yeah, for my size, but I am a very active woman. I have three children. Um, PS I'm also in the perimenopause year, so my hormones are changing. So I definitely, definitely needed more. So step two was the second week where I started really getting curious about nutrition labels.

That's when I started using the food scale and started to track like, okay, you know, [00:34:00] let's see what happens when I actually dial in and put some more focus on it. And you know what? Even that quickly, I started to feel better. I started to feel more energetic in my daily life. I think the biggest thing I noticed was I just wasn't as snacky in between meals.

Mm. Um. Now we're going back to those goldfish again, I told you about earlier, but I just, I wasn't reaching for them. I didn't feel like I needed those like little energy boosts during the day. So that was pretty cool. And then in week three, I decided, okay, I am gonna go for a hundred grams of protein, which was still less than what many experts and research suggests I needed.

Um, I, I know there's a kilogram formula out there. I find it easier to talk about gram per pound. So all 

Dr. Brighten: people in the US do. Yes, 

Liz Plosser: exactly. I'm not alone. And it's yet, it's so funny how many articles are written and different metrics. Yeah. Um, at any rate, oh, that's scientific community being intern accepted.

I know. Um, at any rate, I need about a gram. Uh, you need about a gram [00:35:00] per pound of ideal body weight, which for me is around 125 to 135 uh, pounds. So that's how much I aim for. Mm-hmm. But I just made a goal. Let's get to 100. Yeah, that was the level up in week three, and then week four was like, okay, we're going for it.

Let's get to 125 or 135. Now, I'm not gonna lie, that can be challenging. Yeah. Especially in this world where, you know, we don't have options all the time. We were even just talking about food while we're here. You know, you have to be really conscientious about it. But as I went on that journey and progressed each week.

My best case scenario really played out. I started to feel so much better. I had more umph at the gym, more energy. I slept more soundly. All these good things were happening. And then, and I know this is sensitive to talk about, but my reflection started changing in the mirror. Mm-hmm. I started seeing muscle definition.

I've been an athlete and an avid fitness person my entire life. It wasn't until I was in my forties that I noticed I had some like definition in my abs. Mm-hmm. And I think that can be really motivating to see [00:36:00] like, wow, something is happening inside my body. It's not just all in my head that I'm feeling this is more than the placebo effect.

Yeah. So I, I just haven't gone back. I am, uh, of course I have days where I don't hit my goal. That's where, you know, some supplements come in handy. Um, but that's been my experience. What about you are, are you, you're eating a lot of protein every day. I know. I know. You're obsessed like me. 

Dr. Brighten: I mean, when you, like we were doing animal studies and when you saw.

Uh, branch chain amino acids. And when you just supplemented with those and, um, the mice, I'm sorry, people, I had no choice in this research. I was, I got into this lab, but to see how different it was, I'm like, wow. Like that's substantial, even in elderly and then like having elderly rats. Substantial differences in the muscle mass and the infiltration of fat into those cells.

So, you know, my audience was shocked when I had told them, so I'm pregnant right now in the first trimester, which, you know, I have [00:37:00] morning sickness. Shockingly, when I set out that, I was like, I have to get enough protein, so my, my bottom of the window is 110. That's the minimum I have to get 110 grams every day.

My audience was really shocked to hear it, and I said, listen, I'm in my forties and I'm pregnant. My risk of preeclampsia is super high. One of the best ways to prevent that is adequate protein, hydration, magnesium, other things as well. Adequate protein is a must, especially considering that, um, I had had endometriosis excision surgery, so I had like a good three months.

I wasn't really allowed to lift anything heavy. Then it's IVF embryo transfer. I still fight with my doctor. He's like, no more than five pounds. And I'm like, yeah, right. Like, I'm gonna lift weights. You don't. He's like, you're gonna be fine. I'm like, I'm in my forties. I will not in fact be fine. Like I have seen the research.

So I am a big proponent of making sure that you get enough protein to meet your needs and. You know, I was talking, uh, with the audience I [00:38:00] spoke to today 'cause they were asking like, you know, well, like some people say like, you need like, you know, one, one and a half grams of protein per pound. And I'm like, yeah, some people do.

It depends on what the goals are. It depends on what your health conditions are. It depends on what's going on. And so we have our baseline, which is like a gram per pound of ideal body weight, but there are situations where you might need more and that's where working with a dietician, someone that's very, um, specific and individualized to your needs and knowing what is appropriate to you is super, super helpful.

But, um, what I was gonna say about the first trimester is when I was like, okay, so it's a lot of work to get a lot of protein and it is hard. I will say not to use protein powders to do it all with food alone. Uh, when your gut is not moving the way it used to because of hormones. But I would wake up in the morning.

And I would either eat like four hard boiled eggs, or I would drink, um, a Chobani [00:39:00] yogurt, which was, I will say with the, I'm not thrilled with the sugar content of it. Mm-hmm. But with first trimester nausea, it was like, I can get this in and it will stay in. Mm-hmm. What I found is if I started my day with protein, I could curb the nausea.

And I look back at like two pregnancies where I was so sick with morning sickness, starting with carbs. Remember we would always tell women like, carbs in the mouth before your feet hit the floor because it's easy to digest and all this stuff. And I have shared this with other women who have said to me, I actually noticed that in my, like, second, third, fourth pregnancy, but I didn't wanna say anything to anyone because like, that's not what doctors say.

That's not what we're told to do. And so I thought like, maybe this is just me. I'm like, have we been getting this all wrong all this time? Um, and so that's something that I'm like, I wish I knew this was my first one because it's helped. So much. And as long as I keep, you know, track of the protein, I'm bringing the protein in, I can get through the day and the nausea is there, but it's doable.

It's not [00:40:00] overwhelming to me. 

Liz Plosser: That is so awesome. And I wish I had known this during, I know pregnancies, I'm like sharing. It really changed a lot. And you know, in my dream world, and I know this is very hard because of all the hormones and everything and, and during pregnancy, but gosh, wouldn't it be cool if there was a study on that and we could, we could really look under the hood and Yeah.

And research it. Um, I get asked a lot about, well, I don't need to eat as much protein if I'm not working out that day. Right. That's like a really common myth. And it's like, actually it might be even more important that day because you're not stimulating your muscles through that training. Um, so you need it every day.

Consistency is. King. Um, and I've really noticed a difference. And it's cool to hear how it's benefiting you during your pregnancy too. 

Dr. Brighten: Yeah. What's interesting about that statement is that, especially in perimenopause, it's actually you might not need as many carbs on the day that you're working out, but you still need the same amount of protein.

And, um, I think that we should, we should talk about carbs, right? Because there was [00:41:00] definitely carbs had its moment of being vilified where, you know, women will crave carbs and it's almost like, oh my God, it's this moral failing. Like, something's wrong with me, like I shouldn't be eating carbs. But especially on the days you work out, you're gonna have those bigger carb cravings because your body demands the carbohydrates, not just for replenishing gly glycogen stores, but for building that muscle.

But I'm curious, like what was going on behind the scenes at, you know, in these health magazines when carbs were like. Being basically cast as the devil. 

Liz Plosser: Again, I, I, I, I cringe as you say that, because it's hard to look back on that time. Um, I think it's a little bit of a case of give the people what they want.

This was, this was the, you know, the messaging in society and in culture at that time. Um, not to say we didn't talk about protein and speak to nutritionists and quote them in articles. Um, I just think above all, it was very calorie focused. Mm-hmm. I can just remember countless, you know, 1200 calorie [00:42:00] diets that were developed and like steamed chicken and, and grapes and, you know, just like sad, bland food.

Mm-hmm. And like, it doesn't have to be like that. You can feel so good and still eat flavorful, delicious, colorful foods. Um, but on the point of carbs, they are important. And it's so interesting as somebody who's been in this space for so long, watching the pendulum swing this way and that way, I get asked a lot too, so, do you not eat carbs?

You just never eat carbs. You only eat protein. And I'm like, no, I need carbs. I need that. I need that energy. I work out. I'm, I'm active. Um, so I think like the big message here is to, everything is more nuanced. Not nothing is the devil. Let's stop demonizing each other's choices and categories of food. Um, all macronutrients are important, including fat.

Mm-hmm. We, we need all of them. 

Dr. Brighten: So, in your [00:43:00] time in the women's health, uh, editorial space, were there ever trends that were up and coming that you saw and you were like, Ugh, that's, that's not gonna end well. So 

Liz Plosser: many, um, so many. I, I vividly remember the, I'm gonna, I'm gonna call them the woowoo years. Mm-hmm.

And gosh, it started as early probably, it definitely started earlier, but I, I remember it really started peaking around 2017, 2018. And this was the time when everyone was on juice diets. I had so many friends, Hey Liz, let's go on a juice diet together. You know, where you were getting bottles of different colorful Yeah.

Juice and eating, drink, not eating, drinking like six or eight or whatever a day, and not putting any food that you chewed into your mouth. Um, and then there were. In influencers or whatever they were, they were called back then, you know, purporting that they cured cancer. Oh yeah, I remember that. And that scared me, [00:44:00] that, that really scared me to think about people believing that they could just drink a juice and that that was going to protect them or heal them from a medical condition that, you know, really needed the support of a doctor to look at their lifestyle factors and um, potentially medicine, et cetera.

Um, but there were, there were a lot of those celery juice, that's another juice that just stood on its own for a long time, that it's this like, detoxifying thing that's gonna like, give you an internal shower. That was a big buzz word for a while. I don't remember hearing that, but that's hilarious. Your, your insides do not need a shower.

Your, your kidneys and the rest of your body is taking care of that on its own. Detox was such a, a huge word, activated charcoals. You know, it was just this whole time where I think with the rise of social media, just anybody had a platform to get up and to say these things out loud. Um, I also really remember the days when chlorophyll drops mm-hmm.

Were huge. Do you remember that? Mm-hmm. Um, that they like cured [00:45:00] acne, that you would immediately lose weight once you started dropping them in your water. And, you know, they were cute and colorful. And I, I know there have been studies about how there are some benefits, they're small studies, um, but they're definitely not, they were not gonna do all the things that they were purported to in your body.

Um, I think forever we're looking for that magic bullet and that hack. Um, and you know, the truth is, besides protein and lifting heavy, um, there, it's not a hack. And it, it does take work. So, you know, from my perspective as an editor, especially when I started leading the team at Women's Health, I had to balance the fact the people are really curious about it.

Mm-hmm. People are talking about it. So the answer is not to bury our heads in the sand because we're like, there's no science to support this and this, this is bad. You know, if we don't address these topics, that's not helping anyone. We're letting that misinformation be perpetuated. Um, we were also not a brand that was like a take down brand.

Yeah. You know, is gonna like, spend our precious [00:46:00] resources to just like, just go to town on somebody and tear it apart. Um, and so, and I, I say this with love because I love many things about this brand, but goop, you know, there were, there were a lot of things happening there with vaginal, steaming, and jaded eggs.

Mm-hmm. And. Um, all sorts of things that, that were all the rage and people were spending a lot of money on. But what we did is we developed a column that I called that we called Wellness Curious, and that gave us, um, really an opportunity to take things like celery juice. Um, and we did it with other things that are become more popular lately, like cold plunging and dig in with the leading scientists and really look under the hood at the best research and break it down for people.

And then I feel like my job and I continue to feel this way, is like, I would rather you come to a source that cares about science and is gonna do the research and talk to the experts. And if you still wanna drink celery juice or uh, you know, whatever the next [00:47:00] health craze is, go for it. But at least you're armed with the information to make an educated decision for yourself.

Um. Yeah, so those are, those are a few of them. A lot of them in the nutrition space, I must say. You know, people, people get really into these quick fixes and magic bullets. 

Dr. Brighten: Yeah. The celery juice definitely had its moment. And I remember my audience was like, can you comment on this? And I didn't realize their expectation was like me to endorse it, because when I stepped into it and I'm like, look, it's probably not gonna be a problem if you drink celery juice.

However, if you're someone with endometriosis and you are taking ibuprofen regularly to manage your pain, or you have acne and you're on Spironolactone or PCOS and on spironolactone, like if you're on a ME medication that's potassium sparing and you start drinking boatloads of celery juice, you could end up with arrhythmias, you can end up with problems.

And people were so mad at me about it, how dare you say anything negative about celery juice? And I was like, no, but I'm talking about like nutrition [00:48:00] drug interactions. And they're like, no, it's food, it's it's medicine. And I'm like, okay. I am a firm believer in when we can do diet first, let's always do diet first.

However, like there are foods like, you know, if you're on certain medications and you, you can't be slamming grapefruit juice because of how it's gonna change, how you metabolize that. Like we have to talk about that. But celery juice really, I mean, I remember like, you know, 2020, we ran outta toilet paper like 2019 we ran outta celery in the stores because people were all about 

Liz Plosser: it.

Everyone was making celery juice. Yes. And I think you bring up such a good point, which I always try to say in my writing and when I'm, when I'm talking to women, which is please talk to your doctor. Mm-hmm. Like keep them in the loop. If you're suddenly gonna change to a high protein diet, I also want you to talk to them about that.

You know, I get asked a lot from pregnant women about supplementation during that time. I don't feel comfortable advising you. Yeah. Um, that can, you know, particularly during. Such a huge life transition when so many things are happening in your body. Like, please [00:49:00] go talk to your doctor and make a plan together with both of you bringing your point of view and experience to the conversation.

Dr. Brighten: Mm-hmm. No, certainly. I mean, I think that that is the wisest thing to do. And you brought up, um, the yoni, Steven and the, I mean, I remember patients bringing me jade eggs being like, this is gonna cure my menopause symptoms. And I was like. But it's not, I don't understand. And like, is it porous and how do we source it?

Like I worked in a homeless youth clinic for, um, several years and because of that, it's always about harm reduction first. If you have someone who's an IV drug user, you can't be like, using IV drugs is bad. Okay. Like, no. They're like, I don't care. You have to be like, where are you sourcing things? Where, where are the needles coming from?

Are you doing exchange program? Like when you drop things, don't drop from the same cup with the everyone's needles in there and like, um, it's that kind of harm reduction where you like walk it back one at a time. And so it was a lot of that with like these jade eggs of like, okay, are we sure it's not porous?

How are you [00:50:00] cleaning it? Like, what is your plan if it goes in and doesn't come out? Like let's have these conversations. And same with, um. The vaginal steaming. I have to say the vaginal steaming was one that I was like, which is not your vagina, everybody. It's actually your vulva. Um, because nothing's going inside.

And you, you know, these, the, some people have said like, oh, those herbs are antimicrobial. They're gonna disrupt the vaginal microbiome. Nah, it's not going inside. Like, it's not, that's not gonna happen. But. You know, I saw doctors really, um, hating on and shaming women and being like, you're so stupid if you do that and you're gonna get a burn.

I'm like, women are not, women know how to boil a kettle. Okay. They're not so dumb that they're just like gonna like skeletal their skin off here. But when I looked into it, I was like, there's just a whole cultural practice. Mm. There is something deeper there that needs to be respected. And if women wanna join into that, let's talk about safe ways to do that.

But the thing I took issue with is like the claims of like, it will cure your endometriosis, it will cure your infertility. I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. If [00:51:00] you wanna do it, 'cause you wanna pamper your vulva, like go for it. You wanna relax, you wanna, there was, um, I remember having a patient who was a sexual assault survivor and she was like, part of that practice helped me reconnect to my pelvic floor and my body.

And I was like, that's important. Like, wow. Like this is why I think, you know, listening to patients is so important. I personally had a tear after my second child and I couldn't get outta pain for nothing with those sutures. I finally was like, I wasn't gonna do vaginal steaming, the only steaming before, because I'm just too lazy and that sound like too much work.

I was desperate where I was like, it, my tissue's so uncomfortable. Mm. So I was like, I'm gonna just try steam. And it was so relaxing and so helpful and I was like, huh, okay. Like, but the claims, I mean, that's where I think we get into problems is that like not all of these things like, like celery juice.

That's fine. Celery juice is going to cure Epstein-Barr virus in your thyroid disease. I think we went too far with that. Yeah. And [00:52:00] how often do you think. That has been happening and maybe also perpetuated by some of these women's health magazines, not women's health itself, but just generally. 

Liz Plosser: I, um, first of all, now I desperately wanna try steaming my full though, so thank you.

Um, perhaps a health trend I missed out on. I don't think we did a wellness curious article on that. I think it was more just like the trend in general. But, um, well, I, I can't speak for all the brands because I don't know what their reporting process is like and fact checking processes like, um, I think and hope they're not per perpetuating these claims that like, if you drink this, you won't get cancer or all these, you know, other serious medical conditions that, yeah, don't have anything to do with juice cleanses or, um.

You know, things of that nature. So I can hone, I can confidently tell you that women's health never perpetuated anything like that. Um, and we tried very hard to [00:53:00] see what conversation was happening out there. And then to talk to the, the leading trusted experts, the gold standard in the field, uh, to really parse it out.

Honestly, I, I think a lot's been happening with social media because you, you can be somebody without a degree or any experience in this space, and if you have a massive following that gets heard, that gets amplified and then those people share it with their communities. So I think that's been honestly dangerous in our space.

Mm-hmm. Um, and it's, it's saturated with people. There's an overwhelm of information. And I think also, you know, we're human. We're looking for something to help make us feel better. We wanna fix, we wanna hear that. We keep talking about celery juice, but we want to hear that celery juice is the answer to all of our prayers, and wouldn't it be amazing if that were true?

Um, so yeah, again, I'm sure there are brands that were, you know, uh, jumping shark and making very bold and. [00:54:00] You know, at times untrue claims. But, um, I really hope that any media brand has the integrity to do their research and, and tell it like it is to their audience. 

Dr. Brighten: Yeah. Well, I think, and what you said about Women's Health Magazine not being a take down brand is really important.

I think take down brands have fueled misinformation. Mm-hmm. More because they have seeded more mistrust and disconnect. So if somebody trusts an influencer and they trust this individual and who knows what their experience has been, that's led them to this, and you come in with like, they're dumb, they're stupid, they're bad, and like, here's how I'm gonna take them down, rip them apart.

Sometimes that person who feels connected to them, they feel like they need to defend them, or they feel like by proxy you're calling them dumb by proxy. And I think that is why we see so much on the internet where people are like, I mean, people will say to me, oh, a doctor, I'm not gonna trust anything you say.

And I'm like, well, fair. You should question everything that's being said [00:55:00] to you on the internet, like you definitely should. But like, I don't expect just because I have credentials that like, I'm gonna appeal to this authority and that you should not, you should shut off your brain and accept everything I say.

I think that's also been a bit of a problem. But I think the way that you talk about approaching things is such a, is such more respect for people's intelligence than what other people are giving them. Like I don't think. Take down kind of content. I don't think it's effective the way you think it's going to be.

And I think when you say to somebody, I'm gonna present you with the information and I'm gonna allow you to make your own decision, it really softens barriers, but it gives them an opportunity to cultivate that critical thinking. And so, I just wanna say kudos because I really do appreciate that you brought up creatine.

Mm-hmm. It feels like Creatine's having its moment. Do you feel that way? Creatine 

Liz Plosser: is having such a moment? Yes. And I, we both take it and, um, so many more women are taking it and talking about it. Mm-hmm. I, I did a [00:56:00] deep dive post, um, on my substack into creatine it. I have never gone viral on that platform.

Tell that story. It was so incredible to me. And yes, it was a lot of men there. I got gained a lot of new male followers. Yeah. Which is cool. Everybody is welcome. But there were so many women. It's, it's hundreds of comments, um, which is cool for a platform like that where, you know, I'm just starting out because there's so much interest around that supplement.

Dr. Brighten: In your, uh, investigation of creatine, what was some of the most like, amazing things that you saw about, that you were like, huh, wish I knew this like 10 years ago, kind of information. 

Liz Plosser: Yeah, I mean, the biggest one is that it is scientifically proven to give you more energy because of the way, because of the chemistry of the compound in your body.

Mm-hmm. So, um, that's huge. And who doesn't wanna feel like they've got more to give more effort to put forth when they're working out? And I think, you know, when you're starting a workout plan and [00:57:00] you're, you're at the gym and it feels hard and your, your body's still acc acclimating to that, that can be a game changer for people.

Um, I did get a lot of questions, and this is interesting because it wasn't my experience, um, but when you take creatine, your cells hold onto more water. Mm-hmm. Um, and that's, that's a good thing. That's part of the magic of it. But some people do experience that as like a little bit of bloating in their body.

Mm-hmm. Um, and that can freak people out. Like, again, I don't wanna get big, I don't wanna get bloated. Um. What, what I found when I was researching it is that yes, it does happen. So you're not crazy. I believe you. That does happen to people, but your body does adjust. Mm-hmm. So be patient, like many things you need to take it consistently and allow your body to adjust.

Um, I think something I personally dealt with, with creatine, and this is like many things for many of us in life, is remembering to take it every single day. Mm-hmm. Because if you don't have that threshold in your body, um, [00:58:00] you, you know, the, the creatine that your body doesn't use and five milligrams. Or is it five grams?

Five grams, yeah. Five grams. Thank you. Dang thing. Unit's of measurement. Again, I know. Thank, thank goodness you're here. You know what the measurement is? The little scoop they give you. Right. That's the measurement. Then they're all five grams. Yes. By the way, everybody, everybody measures out five grams.

Exactly. So what your body doesn't use, and by the way. Creatine is in foods as well. Mm-hmm. Particularly in, again, animal-based products. Um, so you're, you're putting that in your body and then what your body doesn't use it, excretes waste in a compound called creatinine. Um, so your body needs to build up that threshold for it to be able to use it, which means you need to take it consistently every single day.

Mm-hmm. Gosh, there's, there's so many questions about it. Um, you know, people often ask about, well, if I have this. Medical con condition, or I have high blood pressure, or, um, I'm losing, you know, I'm balding. Can I take [00:59:00] creatine? And to which I say, please talk to your doctor. Absolutely. If you want, please go talk to your doctor.

Don't, don't listen to me in my substack. This is, this is a conversation that you need to have with your healthcare provider. 

Dr. Brighten: Mm-hmm. Yeah. And to your point about bloating, you'll see a lot of people talk about a loading dose, of doing like 10 grams for a week. Sometimes the people will say, two weeks.

That's when you're more likely to see that water retention. Um, which I think especially women who are cycling mm-hmm. And already experience that like PMS phase. I am, that's something I always caution about and I'm like, you're better off to do five grams every day and in two weeks you're gonna notice a difference.

The other thing about it is, um, you know, I, I've taken it for years for, um. For, definitely for, you know, the games in the gym, the, basically the like don't fatigue so early. However, brain health has been something really interesting coming out and seeing, um, you know, how it affects people with A DHD who struggle [01:00:00] to utilize their own glucose in their brain and what a positive effect it's having in that.

And this is, if people are not aware, this is the probably the best research supplement that exists. 

Liz Plosser: It, it is. There are thousands of studies out there. There've been massive reviews by the gold standard journals, so this is definitely a safe supplement. Again, talk to your doctor, but just rest assured that there's so much awesome research about it.

Mm-hmm. Um, and yeah, I, I. Completely double tap on what you said about the loading phase and what you're saying about this new emerging research that is really cool. Um, there are also some new studies about its effects on depression Yeah. And anxiety. There need to be bigger ones, but the results of those studies have been really promising.

Um, so there's just, there's a lot of cool stuff happening in the space. I'm also really, really bolstered to see that more studies are being done on women. Mm-hmm. Um, because most of those studies that exist, the hundreds of them, [01:01:00] thousands of them are done on male populations. Um, but the ones that have been done on women show that it works just as well as us.

And know it's not gonna turn you into the Hulk, it's just gonna give you extra power when you're at the gym. Yeah. Um, and probably positively impact your brain health and a bunch of other cool stuff in your body too. 

Dr. Brighten: Mm-hmm. How do you make sure that you get your daily dose of cre? 

Liz Plosser: So my, I now have a morning ritual where I'm like, I have to take it first thing.

And I put it out by my coffee maker at night, and I've, I've ground my coffee, um, and poured the water in. And so it's just sitting there waiting for me in the morning, and I immediately upon waking, put it into a big glass. Uh, with some ice and stir it in. That's also when I put in my essential amino acids, which is the other supplement I take every day.

And then I just, I drink that water first thing in the morning and then I know I'm covered. It's done. Um, there's, there's no study that suggests that there's a particular time of day that works better than others. You don't have to take it right before you out. Yes, I go to the gym after, but I'm, that's not really [01:02:00] why I'm doing it.

I'm doing it. 'cause if I don't remember in the morning, it's not happening. Um, you don't have to take it right after. So take it when you're gonna remember. Like, make it part of your routine, like so many things like, you know, other medications you're on or other things that you wanna make sure happen that day.

Um, I, my advice is to take it first thing in the morning and to build it into a ritual. 

Dr. Brighten: I hate the way it tastes. So I actually mix mine with electrolytes. Mm-hmm. So I'll do like half an electrolyte pack, um, with the creatine, and I put it in my workout water bottle. That's the way that I will remember it, is I'm just like, just put it in, leave with it.

And then in the first trimester of pregnancy, because I've been like so bloated, I'm also putting magnesium citrate in there. And I'm like, for people listening, it tastes okay. But there's something about when I'm working out and I'm so thirsty, I'm like, I really don't care. It's wet. Like I'll drink it.

It's wet. Please just give it to me. But I think it's important, like people hear how to work things into routines because. Sometimes, you know, we're, we're talking about benefits of things, we're talking about dosages of things, but then, you know, [01:03:00] especially you have three kids, it's like, well, where do I, where does this go in my day?

How do I make this happen? 

Liz Plosser: Yeah. And I, I think, you know, speaking of trends in the health space, that's something I saw too. It's like, there, there are always new awesome studies, new products, and it's like, well, how much time do we have in our days? Yeah. It's full-time job optimizing your health. Yeah. The, the ones we're talking about, they're actually not gonna take you that much longer.

Taking the scoop five grams and putting in your water bottle or your glass first thing in the morning is pretty easy. Mm-hmm. That's pretty low lift. Um, so yeah, it's, uh, it shouldn't, it shouldn't break you. It shouldn't feel like a huge extra thing. And in fact, most of the good stuff happens through just lifestyle decisions and behaviors every day.

Dr. Brighten: Mm-hmm. You have a daughter, correct? Yes. I'm curious knowing how we've been influenced. There was the fat free, there was the don't do carbs, there was the earn your food, there was the, don't get too bulky, but also don't take up too much space. Uh, you know, all of these things [01:04:00] that I feel like media in general has negatively impacted women.

As a mom, how are you thinking about that for your daughter? 

Liz Plosser: Yeah. Well first things, when I landed at Women's health, I made sure we never did cover lines that said like, how to lose pounds in two, how to lose 10 pounds in two weeks, or, you know, mm-hmm. Get a bikini body in X amount of time. I think those are very damaging.

I think words matter, and I certainly internalized those growing up. Feel really lucky that I didn't ever navigate an eating disorder. Mm-hmm. But I also credit that I was so focused on my sports. Um, but I recognize these are, you know, especially young women, kids, people. My daughter's age, she's 14, they're very, very impressionable.

Dr. Brighten: That is, I remember when I was 14, how many of my friends were doing water fasts? Ugh. Trying to lose weight. I've always had the problem of I like food too much. I couldn't do the juice diets or anything 'cause I was like, no. But I like eating. 

Liz Plosser: I too love eating. It's one of the great joys of life. Um, but just to take it [01:05:00] really personal and into my own space.

I think about that every day when I'm talking to my daughter, and particularly how I'm talking about my own body in front of her, and honestly, when I'm not in front of her. So that I, you know, I'm consistently building this messaging and as somebody who likes to go to the gym and gets really fired up when I, you know, get a really heavy deadlift day or, um, you know, I told you about how I started noticing some ab definition when I changed what my nutrition looked like every day.

I never wanna say things like that to Lucy to make her think that like, if it's not that, then it's not good. Mm-hmm. That to be better, I need to be smaller. Um, so I really focus on celebrating her effort. She loves to play tennis and I never talk about her body. Mm-hmm. Um, you, we do talk about like conditioning or, oh, I got really tired of my match.

And we can talk through, you know, some things she could do so that she feels like her endurance is better. Um, but it's not about her [01:06:00] body. She's at such a vulnerable, impressionable age. And honestly, we all are for the rest of our lives. It's true. It's like I'm still vulnerable. Um, so that, that's what it means for me.

I think words and visuals really, really matter. And so we were so careful and meticulous about that at women's health. Um, oh my goodness. The way we labored over cover lines and headlines and really to, to come at these topics, one without the assumption that the person reading it needs or wants to change.

Like my goal was always to give you a high five for where you're starting. Mm-hmm. And to be curious enough. To get more information and to think about new things you might wanna do. Um, so high fives to you wherever you are, if you're listening on your journey. And if, if you do wanna make a change, we're here to provide the best science-backed information.

Um, and so the, the, the wording, the visuals, they reflected [01:07:00] the diverse array of ways that that health is embodied. Mm-hmm. You know, in different types of women, different shapes and sizes, um, different ages, cultural backgrounds, um, you know, all the things that I hope every brand is thinking about. But it really mattered to us and to really come at everything from a place of like empowerment and strength, because ultimately that's what I want women.

To believe in their heart of hearts that they are strong. Um, and I want Lucy, my daughter to believe that too. 

Dr. Brighten: Mm-hmm. I love that you're being so conscious with it. I have boys and I think a lot about how I talk about my body and the things that I say as well, because I'm like, in the future they will be in partnership with somebody and I don't want them to have, you know, these negative ideas about their body or their partner's body.

And my oldest is 12 and he's starting to notice people's body composition. And what's been really [01:08:00] interesting is that he makes this op observation and I thought, oh God, is he like making a judgment about how they look and how they influence that. But he's coming from a place that he sees people's body composition and he's like, he feels sad that he's like, I'm not gonna get as much time with them if like they're, they're not taking care of their body mom.

And I'm like. What an interesting way, but then we also have to talk about like, okay, but we like, aren't gonna comment on people's bodies and go through all of that. Yeah. He, one time had a nanny who he really liked. She disclosed she had diabetes and she was eating like a cinnamon roll for lunch and he was like, you can't eat that.

That's not good for you. That's gonna harm you. And she got really upset and um, she was like, he's judging me about my food. And I was trying to explain to her like, he likes you and he cares about you deeply. And then I had to have a conversation with him of like. Sometimes even when you know something's better for someone else, you [01:09:00] don't, you don't say anything like, you only give opinions that are asked for, especially as a man, you can't grow up and do that.

But I was like, man, he's been, because he would, uh, we do podcast interviews and he'd sit outside the room and listen. So he's like, heard the advice that I'm giving and he's like, people just want to be given advice on how to live their life. And I'm like, child, child, child. You may know that, but we don't, we don't comment on people's plates.

We don't comment on people's grocery carts. We don't comment in on people's decisions in their life. And we also don't live unsolicited advice to people. But I think it's such a time to be a parent to navigate all of this. And I think about how it's like, well, you know, reading magazines in the library like influenced me in this way.

But now we've got social media. Is your daughter on social media? She is. Mm-hmm. Um, tell us how you're navigating that. Oh my goodness. Because you're ahead of 

Liz Plosser: me on the road, so I'm like, gimme the tips. Well, tip number one is to wait as long as possible to give them a phone. [01:10:00] If I could go back in time, I would've waited longer.

Mm-hmm. For us, uh, my husband and I, so Lucy has a twin brother, uh, Charlie, and when they started riding a school bus in middle school to their, their school is, it's a 30 minute drive away. We wanted to be able to know where they were and have them reach us in case of, you know, they needed a ride or emergency, all those things.

What happens is when they have the phone, of course they get access to apps, the internet, um, and. We've made a decision to limit their screen time by put setting up all the parental controls. Yeah. And I will tell you kids are really good at hacking that stuff. It's like terrifying. 

Dr. Brighten: No, I literally talked about that in my talk today where I was like, you know, as moms we aren't sleeping because they're babies.

And then you know, that kind of continues until toddlerhood and then you get this like down period and then you have teenagers. And I'm like, when I was a teenager it was like, oh, my parents are worried. Is she up reading a book at night? And now we have to be like, did they hack the wifi and escape the parental controls and be able to like get [01:11:00] on YouTube in the middle of the night and watch as what 

Liz Plosser: God knows what.

That's, that's exactly right. These are the things that keep me up at night as well. We have our kids, they all have to check in their devices. Mm-hmm. Um, and I also have a 10-year-old son and he does not have a phone, but he's like counting, counting down till he gets his phone and I'm like, I don't know, George, it might be a little different from you knowing what I know now.

Um, yeah. I think those, those parental restrictions on when they can access it are helpful. There's nothing that gives me nightmares more than imagining my kids in bed in the middle of the night watching YouTube videos or TikTok. Yeah. They all use Snapchat to text with one another. Like they use that as much as they do the texting apps.

I know this is like back 

Dr. Brighten: in the day when we were on like Facebook, right? Yeah. Poking each other, poking each other. 

Liz Plosser: Yeah. And I think, you know, to take it to an adjacent topic, yes, of course, they're seeing these influencers and filters and the way people are manipulating their body, and of course we know.

Mm-hmm. Even if you're not using any of those tools, if you're a human, if you're [01:12:00] posting something on the internet or to a, you know, social media app, I use Instagram. If you took five pictures, of course you're gonna choose the one where you look the best. Mm-hmm. You know, and so we all have to keep that in mind.

And I talked to my kids about that. It's such a curated version of reality. It's not real life. Mm-hmm. It's a, it's a, you know, picture a moment in time that somebody selected because they felt their best. It doesn't represent the whole person and everything that's happening, um, behind the scenes. But, um, yeah, you know, I'm, I'm in it with that.

And I think at the end of the day, the best I can do as a parent is to continue to nurture their sense of like, be kind to people. Um. You know, the, that food. Speaking of food, again, I, I talk a lot about the nutrients in it, the macronutrients, they're like, so they, they roll their eyes. You told that story about your, your son and your nanny.

My son Charlie talked to his health teacher at school about how she needed to give more [01:13:00] lessons about protein. Yeah. I was 

Dr. Brighten: like, well, they, okay, they're listening, you know, they have these lessons that you're not even giving them directly. Which I think like, you know, part of that is highlighting like the way we talk to ourselves, the way we live our lives is speaking far more than the words we're saying to them.

Liz Plosser: Yeah. Amen to that. And I think something I could definitely improve on as a parent is that I am on my computer and my phone a lot. That's just like part of my job, even in this, this new chapter of mine. Um, and I think we have to do our best to model the behavior that we hope our children adapt. So, you know, no phones at dinner.

Of course not. Of course. You know, plenty of, plenty of people do that. So, um. How we speak to ourselves, how we talk about ourselves in front of them. And yeah, if it's things like screen time and app usage, you know, it's not great for us either, um, as adults. Uh, so it's it's a lot being a parent, isn't it?

Yeah, 

Dr. Brighten: it's a lot. It is. Especially being a modern parent. [01:14:00] There's so much to be thinking about all the time. You brought up curation. Did Women's Health Magazine ever Photoshop their models? This is something 

Liz Plosser: I'm really proud of. We did not do Photoshopping. Nice. And I will tell you, we had celebrities talent that we shot that was disappointed because we didn't.

Mm-hmm. And that's how, you know, common it is in the space. Yeah. That you, that they would just assume you're gonna make my stomach flatter or perk up my butt or whatever. And we're like, no, we chose you because we love you just as you are. Yeah. Having said that, there is. Um, if anybody out there is a photographer, you do know that there can be issues with like shadows or lighting.

So I'm not saying we like publish completely raw pictures, but you weren't like cutting waist trim, trim thighs. We were not cutting waist or trimming thighs. Um, I, I was about to tell you a story, which I'm not gonna tell you. Cut the cameras now. Um. But no, that was really, really important to us. [01:15:00] And it, I, I mean, I'll, I'll sort of give you a taste of it.

I've seen people that we photographed for women's health that I have been on set and, and seen them, and they're beautiful, strong, awesome women. And then I saw how other brands. Portrayed them when they did their own photo shoots with them. So I know how common it is out there. Mm-hmm. I'll just leave it at that.

Dr. Brighten: Yeah. I actually brought it up in my talk to the Photoshop women ruined women's mental health and their image of themselves. Body image is one of the main reasons why we don't feel worthy of love and pleasure. Why we have a hard time getting in the mood. Why we get thrown out of the mood because we're worried so much.

And so self-conscious let everybody know. Like, I'll let everyone know right now if anyone is lucky enough to have sex with you, they are not thinking about your cellulite, your roles, or what you look like in any position. Because literally their hormones have overridden their brain. It doesn't, it doesn't work that way.

But then I was like, you know, first we had Photoshop and that kind of ruined everything. And now we have ai and I was like, the AI imaging is the worst thing to happen to anything. It's come to Pinterest and we were looking for a haircut [01:16:00] for my son. And he was like, all these men are AI mom. Like I don't wanna haircut like an ai.

I am like, yeah, it's weird, right? And then I saw AI food and I was like, Ew, what is happening here? Like, can we, what? Just like, can we have real things? And I'm like, I swear in the next generation they're gonna reject all of this and be like, this is all it. And, and weird. Why were you guys not just real with yourselves?

You know? 'cause we had to reject everything our parents did. 

Liz Plosser: Yes, indeed. Well, what's interesting when you're talking about photo shoots and, and Photoshop, so step one is at a photo shoot for any of these media brands. They have lights on them. They've been in hair, makeup for maybe hours. Mm-hmm. They have tried on a whole rack of clothes.

They have a photographer and team behind the camera directing them into their best position. So you start with that, and then next level you Photoshop it. Like these, these are not, these are not authentic models of what women look like. So please, everybody keep that in mind. Um, when you mentioned ai, I just [01:17:00] saw this, sadly it was served to me, but I, you know, because the algorithm knows I'm into fitness and health, so I, I, a lot of like fitness stuff pops up.

There was an account, um, that was entirely ai. Women, you know, with like ideal bodies in their like sports bras and short shorts, and they were fake. Mm-hmm. They were just fake women. And then thousands of comments of people just like crushing on them and saying like inappropriate things. And yeah. I felt physically nauseated looking at that.

Um, because they look real. They look like they're real women and they're not. They're 

Dr. Brighten: so bizarre. Why are we not doing that with more men? Hmm. I wonder. But it is so bizarre because also, um, you know, there have been surveys and there have been studies where. They, they show men these photoshopped images and then they show real women and they opt for real women.

But when they [01:18:00] show 'em to women, women opt for the Photoshop and it says so much about conditioning. It's, um, I remember when I was, um, I don't know, maybe in high school I remember being at a friend's house and there was like this PSA commercial of a model and she showed what she, they showed her like full makeup, everything done.

And then they started taking off her makeup, taking off the tape that was taping her. Taking off the wig and they like stripped it all down and like showed you like what was real. And that was like kind of our like after school kind of special of like, like, this is, this is what's reality. And I remember seeing that and I'm reminded of it in this conversation and being like, that was really powerful to see because as little girls we were like, oh my gosh, I have to, I have to try to achieve these things.

This has been a super insightful conversation. It's been so great to chat with you. I'm curious if there's one thing that you're like, Hey, in [01:19:00] 2025, this is my message that you're gonna see it on my substack and, and I'm gonna be preaching about, but also that I think is so important for women to embody.

What would that be? 

Liz Plosser: Well, we've talked at length about strength training and protein, so I, I'll keep beating those drums. Um, but I would just say to stay curious and. Choose your own adventure in this space. But please continue to educate yourself with science backed information. There's so much power in you taking charge of your own life, uh, but doing it with resources that will power you forward.

Um, and I hope that any woman out there, as she begins to make some, some tweaks and experimenting and, and on it goes on her health adventure, that she takes a minute to reflect on how she's feeling and celebrates the hard work of trying. 'cause that's a big deal. 

Dr. Brighten: I would regret if I don't ask you one more question because you brought up pursuing science backed information.

Yeah. We talked about misinformation. [01:20:00] How can women navigate the space to know not what is just true, but is also true for them as they're presented with these wild trends? Not only from magazines, but social media influencers. You've had a lot of experience in this, so break a down, break it down for us, like what should women know and do?

Liz Plosser: I would advise you to be cautious of anybody who is really strong on one side or the other. A polarized viewpoint is to me, a red flag. Um, that to me is a person that does not have an open mind. Most scientists or influencers or luminaries in this space will tell you when their knowledge is incomplete and they will also be open to changing their mind when more research and science comes out there.

So I would be really careful in that content that you're consuming to find people who tell you the nuances of the research and the study, and don't come down like, you know, 110% on one side and leave no room for any [01:21:00] other part of the conversation. Um, and I would also take the time if you see an interesting study, uh, name checked on social media or in an article.

You can do the research yourself, you can go to Google Scholar and plug in that topic and quickly find what the research is. Now, I know not everybody out there is a trained journalist, but one, one level up tip, if you are gonna take that step, and I hope you do, is to see if that research has been, um, uh, supported by any organization.

Right? So if you hear a study about how peanuts are the best thing under the sun, and you will live to 200 years old if you start eating a cup of peanuts every day, I don't know why I picked that. Maybe I'm, maybe, maybe I'm wanting peanuts. Peanuts were vilified. Okay? They also had their like hater moment.

They did Every food has, um, if that study was funded by the peanut board, hmm, that's something to keep in mind. So, um, yeah, beware of overly, overly strong, [01:22:00] overstated, um, uh, opinions and curate your feed too. If you, if you find somebody who you're iffy about. Um, or if you find that their opinions are veering in that direction, I would advise you to mute them or even unfollow them and stick to the ones who have that open mind, um, and who really do believe in science.

I think that's the most important thing. I think there's a lot of people out there talking about their personal experience and anecdotes, which is awesome. I just did it in this podcast as well. Um, but you need to look under the hood. One person's experience does not mean that you're gonna have the exact same one, and they might have ulterior motives in sharing that experience.

Dr. Brighten: Yeah. I love everything you shared. Something that I tell people do is that if you're not trained in interpreting science, this is where ai, I do endorse it. You can take that journal article, if you can download it, you can upload it into something like chat, GPT, and you can build out your chat first to saying.

Okay, act as a scientist, [01:23:00] what are the most important questions that you should ask? Anytime you're analyzing an article, you can put it in and then have it ask all that. You can also put it in and say, what are the limitations of this study? First and foremost, what are the conflict of interests? So that's what you're talking about who funded this study.

You can ask, what are all the problems of this study? First? Which sets it up so that when it interprets it, it interprets it fairly, then you can say like, okay, what were the findings of this study? Who does this actually apply to? And if you're curious about yourself, you can say, I am X, Y, and Z, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Would like, would this study apply to me? Or would more data need to be done? And then you can also ask questions of, has this been validated in other studies, has it been cited? Other places like you can go deeper and start asking these questions. And I think in this way, it makes it easy for the average individual to start to understand science better and start to understand how to ask these questions.

They don't have to read a whole uh, you know, study. They can start asking those things. But [01:24:00] when you start with what are the limitations and it spits back that like this was a sample size of like 12 people. Red flag right there. Like this was a jump off study. This wasn't a robust enough study for us to make inferences about a whole population.

And so I think it's, it's hard to navigate the science, but what you said about the red flags a very polarizing people, if they're standing in a grocery store, odds are, we're not gonna get a good, like, fair take on it these days. You know, we see these like certain pieces of, um, content out there and what you said about like unfollowing, like you can train your algorithm and I want people to keep in mind the algorithm will never serve you up nuance or what most scientists say, which.

It depends. It will always serve you up polarizing and emotionally driven content most of the time meant to enrage you because that's what, that's what keeps you stuck on there. And if you see something you don't like it, you can block somebody [01:25:00] or you close the app altogether and it actually tells the app, I hated that so much.

I left you and the algorithm freaks out. That's like one thing that the algorithm never wants to see. And you learn this. I have to say that I learned that through a TikTok training as a creator, where they told us if someone watches your video and they abandoned the app, your video's not getting shown to anyone.

'cause that's like a. Death, a kiss of death for it. And I'm like, oh, great. So when I see a piece of content where someone's being like, really hateful or they're trying to ruin my hormones for the profit of meta, I'm leaving the app altogether and I will train. And my algorithm now is mostly just showing me food content these days.

There's like, if we show her baking, she's gonna be happy. I'm like, yeah, fair. Okay. Watch that. I love that. I, 

Liz Plosser: I am served many dogs and I never close the app on a dog. So there's that same, same, um, that's an awesome tip. I had never heard that. Uh, that's really, really good to know. And awesome tip too on chat.

GBTI [01:26:00] use it a lot actually in my reporting just to like gather all the studies. Mm-hmm. And then I'm digging in and reading them, but that's, yeah. It's so helpful. I think like a big theme today is like you have agency. Yeah. You know, do some research and I love that. It depends. That's, that's, that's the word or phrase I was looking for.

I worry about people who are out there spouting information and don't leave room for it, depending. 

Dr. Brighten: Mm-hmm. And I think. Just encourage everyone, you are smart enough to go in and think for yourself and start reading this information, but you have to source multiple sources. Uh, this is such a great conversation.

I could literally talk to you for hours. We're gonna have, like right now, you know, we're in middle America, um, Midwest, specifically in the Ozarks, where I'm like, we're gonna have, we saw each other in la I am like, next time we're gonna have to do this again. Everyone can leave comments of like, what more should we ask her?

What have you like been dying to know? Because I'm like, we could literally talk for hours. 

Liz Plosser: Well, maybe next time you'll come to the East Coast and by then I'll have a podcast. So we can do it all again. But [01:27:00] thank you for your really fun questions. It was, it was, uh, really fun to go down memory lane with my editorial career.

 

Awesome. Well, thank you so much.