The New Perimenopause Weight Loss Approach | Tara LaFerrara

Tara LaFerrara: [00:00:00] Resistance training is the queen to strength and longevity, to body recomposition, to bone density. And so if you are not resistance training, you are losing out on this opportunity to lose that belly fat and have body recomposition. In perimenopausal menopausal years. Every decade after 30 women are losing between five and 8% of their muscle mass.

And so the more intentional you are with your training in your thirties, the longer that muscle mass will stay with you. 

Dr. Brighten: What is the number one fitness trend that you see perimenopause women falling into that's doing more harm than good? 

Narrator: Tara Lara is a strength coach, redefining what it means to be powerful in and out of the gym 

Dr. Brighten: with over a decade of experience, certifications in menopause, coaching, mobility, Olympic lifting and hypertrophy, and a no bs, deeply empowering style.

Narrator: Tara helps women build strength. They can feel physically, mentally, and emotionally. 

Tara LaFerrara: Through her Broads app, global Fitness retreats, and one-on-one coaching, 

Narrator: she's [00:01:00] created a movement that's as much about community and confidence as it is about lifting heavy. 

Tara LaFerrara: We need to push our bodies to a specific point where our muscles are working hard enough and there has to be this challenge with the muscles in order for them to grow.

However, there is a difference between Pilate muscular endurance and strength training, building strength in your body. Pilates is more, many women are taught 

Dr. Brighten: that cardio is the gold standard for weight loss. I want to hear from you. Why might cardio be sabotaging, perimenopausal women's weight loss goals?

There's a couple pieces to this cardio. It doesn't allow. Welcome to the Dr. Brighten Show, where we burn the BS in women's health to the ground. I'm your host, Dr. Jolene Brighten, and if you've ever been dismissed, told your symptoms are normal or just in your head or been told just to deal with it, this show is for you.

And if while listening to this, you decide you like this kind of content, I invite you to head [00:02:00] over to dr Brighten.com where you'll find free guides, twice weekly podcast releases, and a ton of resources to support you on your journey. Let's dive in. What is the number one fitness trend that you see perimenopause women falling into that's doing more harm than good?

Tara LaFerrara: They think they have to do more, more cardio, more steps, eat less food. They need to move their body so much, sweat so hard, be exhausted when really you can do less. Mm. And when you're a lot more intentional with your training, you get way more results, especially during this time of your life. 

Dr. Brighten: Okay, so I'm gonna talk about that because most.

I would say the old school doctors, right. Really have ingrained this into women of like, if you wanna lose weight, eat less, move more. Every time you go to the doctor, the doctor says, have you tried losing weight? You're like, I have acne. They're like, have you tried losing weight? I broke my bone. Have you tried losing weight?

Like, and while like our, our weight can definitely contribute. Like there's no denying, [00:03:00] especially when we're gonna talk about like visceral adiposity or belly fat that's deep pack around the organs. They, our weight can contribute to a lot of diseases. It is not insignificant, but we're always told to do more.

And that the problem is you're not doing enough. So why is this a myth? 

Tara LaFerrara: It's a myth because as we know with the studies have have been shown resistance training is the queen too. Strength and longevity to body recomposition, to bone density. And so if we're focusing a lot more on strength training and doing two to four times a week to increase that bone density and just overall body composition, you're getting so much more out of it than just constantly chasing the sweat.

Mm-hmm. And chasing the soreness. 

Dr. Brighten: Okay. I'm definitely gonna wanna get into more in depth of like, yeah, how does strength training help us? How do we even start? Especially if somebody is like, you know, not ever done it before. Mm-hmm. But I do wanna go back to this conversation of belly fat because so many women want to know.

What is the most [00:04:00] effective way to lose belly fat? 

Tara LaFerrara: Dr. Jolene Brighten, you're gonna hear me say this, the entire podcast, but strength training is, I always like to say queen, I know it's king, but it really is the absolute queen when it comes to this. Um, as we know, we are burning more calories at rest when we're strength training, as we know, the more muscle we have, the less likely we are to, you know, focus.

Or the more muscle we have, the the better. Body composition that we'll have. Mm-hmm. And so if we have these very focused strength training sessions, your body will change. And that is definitely the way to reduce that belly fat. Now, of course, nutrition and lifestyle choices and in your environment, stress levels, all of that comes into play too.

But if you are not resistance training, you are losing out on this major opportunity to lose that belly fat and have body recomposition in perimenopause and menopausal years. 

Dr. Brighten: I wanna talk about why belly fat creeps on and is so sticky. Yeah. So for [00:05:00] most women, they're not made aware that they are in perimenopause or that's even a thing until they get into their forties.

Yeah. But we know that perimenopause can start as early as age 35. For some women it can be sooner depending on your genetics. And yet everything that's happening in your thirties is what's contributing to what you finally notice. In your forties. So can you talk to us about the changes that are going on there?

Tara LaFerrara: Every decade after 30, women are losing between five and 8% of their muscle mass. And so the more intentional you are with your training in your thirties, the longer that muscle mass will stay with you. So changing your lifestyle, changing your habits in your twenties, even in your twenties is so much more important and valuable than waiting until you get to those forties and fifties.

And like I've mentioned, you know, lifestyle changes is a huge one as well. I think women don't really think about that until it gets to that point. And really just as a society as a whole, we sit so much more throughout the day. We, we go for easy [00:06:00] packaged goods when it comes to food and nutrition. And so creating this solid foundation in your thirties will be so much more powerful as you get into your forties and fifties.

Dr. Brighten: I wanna talk about what that solid foundation is. Yeah. But first, if you haven't set the F Solid foundation in your thirties, your forties, fifties, sixties, plus, is it hopeless? 

Tara LaFerrara: Absolutely not. Um, you can start train training at any age. Of course, the earlier the better. But man, I have a client just the other day, she started at 47 and now she's deadlifting 245 pounds.

Mm-hmm. You know, at 50 years old. So there is so much more you can do as you get older. And at any age. However, just in general, it makes it a little bit harder. I mean, you, when you talk about a major change in your life, you have to change so many aspects of it. And so change is hard, especially as you get older because things are so ingrained for you for so long.

Mm-hmm. So the earlier the better, but you can strength train at any, any age. 

Dr. Brighten: So let's talk about like, what are the lifestyle [00:07:00] habits that sabotage our metabolic health and our body composition that many people in the United States are adopting in their 

Tara LaFerrara: thirties? I think we can both agree that stress is probably number one.

Maybe sleep actually before that. Um, but the stress level is, is huge because that can affect so many parts of your body. Um, it can affect the way you sleep, your hydration. Are you eating enough? Are you sitting too much throughout the day? And so if we can manage our stress levels and we can chat about ways to do that, we can.

Then in turn change so many of these other lifestyle things, kind of things will fall more into place if we can manage that stress level. 

Dr. Brighten: Why do you say that stress and sleep are the most important when it comes to body composition? 

Tara LaFerrara: If we're not getting a adequate rest, the strength training that we put in, we're not actually able to recover.

So the um. The work that we put in the gym isn't actually going, we're not gonna see value out of it. And so sleep is, is just the number one thing [00:08:00] because we need to be able to recover ourselves, our brain, our body, in order to make sure that all these other lifestyle changes occur. 

Dr. Brighten: What. Do you say to your clients when it comes to like, well, I just have too much to do, so, you know, I can't take time to get sleep.

I can't be getting more than six hours of sleep because who's gonna fold the laundry? Who's gonna get up and make breakfast? 

Tara LaFerrara: Yeah. Mental load is huge. Uh, I had, um, Vanessa, Dr. Vanessa Marin on my podcast, and she was talking about, she's a sex therapist talking all about mental load. And that is what you're talking about here with, um, you know, all these stuff you have going on, your ch constant to-do list, constant checklist.

And if we always have those in your brain, it's really hard to like, take care of yourself. So the number one thing I would say would be to, if you do have a partner, try and lean on them for support and guidance. If you have, um, someone in your life that can help with some of these things, amazing. But really just take one.

Step at a time. You don't have to complete all 10 things on your list. What are three things that you can complete with? Also [00:09:00] making sure that you're taking care of yourself, because as we all know, you cannot pour from an empty cup, and if we're not taking care of ourselves, everyone else around us is not going to get the best version of ourselves.

Dr. Brighten: Mm-hmm. So. When it comes to your exercise routine and your sleep, let's say somebody's like, look, I'm not gonna be able to hit like 7, 8, 9 hours. And we know a lot of women need more like nine hours a night. Yeah. So let's say we've got like a day that's like cardio. We've got a day that's strength training, a day, that's like mobility work.

What days would you say like, these are the days that absolutely you need to work on your sleep? 

Tara LaFerrara: That's a great question and I'll always like preface this with saying like, I look at the average of the week. We are not like a day-to-day human being. Obviously women are, you know, revolve around a 28 day cycle.

Your cycle. Um, but I like to look at the average of your week. So for example, if you're someone that gets six hours of sleep, your goal could be seven as an average. So maybe some days can have nine and some days can have six or [00:10:00] seven. And having that average go up just an hour makes a huge. It just makes a huge change in your lifestyle.

And so is there a day that's better than others? Really? You know your body better than anyone else. Mm-hmm. I know for me in my cycle, I need more sleep in my early cycle days, and so I'll maybe put a little bit more focus there, but that just depends on work schedule, life, kids. I don't have kids, but that's a whole nother thing.

And um, and so I would like, if you can look at the average of your weeks and then overall month. That's where the real magic happens. 

Dr. Brighten: You said early cycle days, are you talking about like days one through five of your cycle? Personally, me? Yes. Okay. Yeah. And so for people who are like, what does that mean?

Day one is the first day that you have your flow, that you have your period. And so that's, it's interesting that you say that because for me it's um, it'll be the luteal phase and it'll be like two to three days leading up to my period. That's when my body's like, pull it back, slow it down, get more sleep.

And that's also, I don't sleep with an [00:11:00] alarm. I, because I have children, people are like, how do you not do that? Because I have one child who will wake up at six and another one that wakes up at seven. So I know I'm like when I'm getting up, but I have noticed like sometimes before my period that I won't even wake up like when they get up, like I will sleep.

And I, that's where I can lean on my partner for that. Yeah. I also, um. I meal prep on when I know that's coming. Um, but even like today, like we were starting you and I on Monday morning and I was like, I have to meal prep. I made a high protein, legitimate high protein, um, overnight oats with chia seeds. I say that because people are like, oh, this is high protein.

And I do the math on it. I'm like, that probably has like five grams and 

Tara LaFerrara: no, that is not high protein. Five 

Dr. Brighten: grams. Yeah. But I did that and then, um, at least five o'clock last night, my husband's like, don't think making muffins, like, what are you doing? And I made these like high protein muffins so that I was like, I just need to have stuff for everybody in the house to just grab in the morning and be able to eat.

So, um, I [00:12:00] just bring that up because if you are someone who's like. I have kids and like, how do I make sure I get the extra sleep? Meal prep is one of those things that, like, there's only a few people I've ever met who are like, I love meal prep. Um, and I, I actually do like, I like to stress a bake and stress cook and like, that's my thing.

But I do wanna encourage people just to think about like, what can you do to take something off your plate in the morning just to ease things 

Tara LaFerrara: up. I like to say that your best morning starts at night. Mm-hmm. The better you have of an evening routine, the more you set yourself up in the morning, the better day you'll have.

So that can include meal prep, that can include setting your clothes out the night before. I set my vitamins on the table. I have two full water bottles on the table so that I know when I sit down overnight, oats are prepped as well. Yeah. So I know as soon as I sit down, I've got everything I need right there.

And it's all set up for you. 

Dr. Brighten: You're gonna be like so ahead of the curb in fairy menopause. Let me just say that, um, so the, the strategy you just outlined, we talk a [00:13:00] lot on the podcast for women with A DHD, this is like exactly what they need to do, and A DHD gets so much worse with perimenopause. It doesn't have to, but it does, and you have to do something about it.

But we also see the same cognitive challenges and struggles, um, in terms of like executive function come up when estrogen drops really low. And so that's another habit I just wanna highlight for people that if you start that sooner and you can start at any time, as long as you just. Start it. Um, that, that can help you so much in easing that mental load that you were talking about.

Tara LaFerrara: And it's also important to note that if you don't have any of this, do one thing for like a couple weeks and then you can add another thing. And now I do have like what I would consider like a seven step morning routine, but like, everything's just laid out for me. But I would not suggest someone be like, oh, she said these five things, I've gotta do all of them.

Pick one. 

Dr. Brighten: Yeah. Um, do you, do you remember the movie Clueless? Yeah. Where like, she had the closet. I have this like idea in my mind. For like 10 years. Then I'm like, I'm gonna take a [00:14:00] picture of me and outfits I like, and then just have a catalog. So I never have to think about it. I've yet to execute on that.

Tara LaFerrara: Yeah. But 

Dr. Brighten: it's the kinds of things of like, um, even just, uh, I will tell you that I buy, um, if I find something I like, like a shirt, I will buy multiples of it. Yeah. And then I don't have to think about it. Like, I'm just gonna wear that. I also have like fitness clothes. I'm like, these pants work, I'm gonna buy three.

Like, I'm gonna buy like, multiples of these things. Um, and that's just taking less pressure off of having to think about like, even just what do I wear the next day so I can put energy into things about like, how do I eat? How do I move? Like how do I put energy into the things that actually are gonna improve my quality of life?

Tara LaFerrara: Yeah. I love that. And I love that you say that. I actually, sometimes I'll have like a rainbow week. So Monday's red, Tuesday's orange, like for my workout clothes. Yeah. Or I'll do, I'll take photos of myself before I go on a trip. So I'll be like, this is the outfit that you're gonna wear for this. So that's, 

Dr. Brighten: I have done that on trips because I will, [00:15:00] I will, I've always tried to do the capsule wardrobe, but I will plan out and I'm not very good at it.

Uh, but I will plan out things. But I've noticed that I'll be like, why did I bring like only one shirt with this? Like, what am I doing? I'm like, because I already packed like so long ago in my anxiety state, I was like, oh, you have to pack a month in advance, or you messing up. 

Tara LaFerrara: Yes. You always forget something and then don't wear something.

Anyways. But that has helped for me in the past too. 

Dr. Brighten: Yeah. Yeah. Well, I wanna talk about walking because wa walking and Pilates have become so controversial on the internet. 

Tara LaFerrara: Yeah. 

Dr. Brighten: Um, but I wanna talk about walking because people will say that's not exercise. Um, but then there are women who are like, well, wait a minute.

I dropped the cardio, I did strength training and walking, and I lost weight and gained muscle. So can we talk about walking? Good or bad, how should it fit into the fitness routine? 

Tara LaFerrara: I love to walk, but I'm gonna tell you pre COVID I 2019, I was like, why are we walking? Like why are we just walking for fun?

And now I am [00:16:00] obsessed with it. I think everyone should do it. And like I've mentioned, you know, we are such sedentary people now, and so why is it such a, like, such a big deal that people are walking more? Why is this even a question? To be honest with you, it feels silly to me because. If people are getting up and moving, why wouldn't we want them to, you know?

So it's not necessarily good or bad, it's, it's that we need more of it. Mm-hmm. And so is it exercise? Yes. I mean, are, because if you're getting off your butt and, and getting out the door, especially getting in nature, your mental health, like so many, there's so many great things with walking that Absolutely.

It is, it is a piece of exercise and truly, I I think that the, the push of it being trendy now is so wonderful for women. Mm-hmm. Everyone, but especially for women, just because it, you know, reduces your stress, the mental capacity, the um, your mental health. It allows you to think and breathe and just. Get outta your head.

Mm-hmm. And so there [00:17:00] is that piece of it too. I mean, obviously there's weighted vests and there's other things you can do and speed walk or fast, slow. I don't know if you saw that recently, but the, there's Japanese walking Yeah. Where you go three minutes fast and three minutes slow. But 

Dr. Brighten: you know what that is?

That's the couch to 5K. Yeah. 

Tara LaFerrara: You, 

Dr. Brighten: I don't know if you remember that from like, I think that was like 2015 that got big of like couch to 5K and it was like, how do you get from, you are totally sedentary to a 5K. Running a 5K. Yeah. And it was, you know, you start with. 30 seconds of walking, 36 seconds of running.

And it's, it's a whole way to build up, but it also had this whole component of like, you're just gonna, um, slow walk, fast walk. Yeah. With that. So this is something that I'm like, everything, like I'll tell you, I've been in the health and wellness industry for like over 25 years and everything just gets a rebrand.

Exactly. Like Atkins became keto. Like everything. Yeah. I'm just like, this is the same thing. We're just calling it something different. But there is something to be said that like, if you call it French, like for, I would [00:18:00] say like it was the early two thousands. If it was the Parisians did it, um, or the French did it, then everybody bought into it.

Now we're moving into like, this is what, this is Korean skincare and this is like Japanese health. Yeah. And it's very interesting to watch how, uh, all of that goes. And, but it's all to say that, um, when you, I think why there was the rise in walking. Is that people in the US have recognized that car culture is entirely toxic.

I'm someone who, like, I, I literally won't live places where like I have to be the one driving mm-hmm. All the time. And I have to live. So I chose where I'm living now because it's a 10 minute walk to the market. And like that is something that I'm like, I need to have that in my life, especially for my mental health.

I need to be outside, I need to be walking. I need to see trees. Like that's what works for me. But so many people in the US have looked at that and then like, wait a minute. All these countries that have better health, health outcomes, they're living decades beyond us in better health. Their life is centered around walking.

Yeah. Which is why I think [00:19:00] sometimes people are like walking is not exercise. 'cause that's just a way of life. Because if you live in that kind of culture, that's what it feels like. Like we just walk. We just walk everywhere. We do all that. But I think for people in the US, like walking is a form of fitness.

Especially when you consider how many places they don't even have sidewalks. 

Tara LaFerrara: Oh my gosh. Like even in my neighborhood, I'm like, how is there not a sidewalk in here at all? But yeah, you have to be intentional with your walks in America, which is crazy to say out loud. But it, that's why it feels as more exercise now for, for Americans.

Just because you, most of us like can't just go on a walk. Mm-hmm. We have to like kind of plan it out. I've gotta drive. To the lake around the trail in Austin to go walk there. Mm-hmm. But it's like I'm getting in my car to go walk. Yeah. Which is crazy to say, but like that's how we have to do it. So that's why I would absolutely consider it exercise still.

Dr. Brighten: Mm-hmm. Yeah. How can people be intentional and maximize like the benefits of their walks? 

Tara LaFerrara: Yeah. I think any walk is good. Like right. Any, any sleep. Sleep is great, [00:20:00] water is great, but like if we want to really focus on longevity and we want to increase our step count and focus on that body recomposition, we can focus on the lengthening of the walks.

Of course. Like if you're just starting out, maybe you're just going on a five minute walk. If you've got a little bit more time, maybe you go somewhere where you are in nature or some sort of, you know, a place where you're not just in a neighborhood. Mm-hmm. In concrete jungle. Um. If you have, yeah, if you have the capacity to it, maybe get in some of those speed walks.

You can grab a weighted vest. Uh, I'm someone that loves to listen to podcasts or, or audio books, so that's a really great way to get those steps in. So any walk is good walk, but if you can have it be a little bit longer or speed it up a little bit. That would be great. 

Dr. Brighten: Mm-hmm. 

Tara LaFerrara: Yeah. 

Dr. Brighten: Uh, weighted vests.

There have been people posting recently. Yeah. The research saying, and what they're saying is that there aren't really benefits to wearing weighted vests. It's not really helping your bone density, it's not really helping you burn more calories. Um, to me personally, it seems [00:21:00] silly. To, it's like anytime the research is like, we just didn't find those benefits and those effects, but then people wearing them are like, no, but I'm feeling this.

Or like, check out like my z-score. Like, and check out like, you know, how my bone density looks now I wanna get your opinion on that. 'cause I'm definitely someone, you'll see my gym later on. I have multiple weighted vests. Um, and so like if I'm squatting and I usually use, uh, dumb dumbbells or barbells, I'll also put on a weighted ba vest to add things, um, on, you know, being, um, my audience knows I had, uh, excision surgery for my endometriosis and I wasn't allowed to pick up weights for a while, so I actually put on a weighted vest that just added a little more weight.

So I could still do movement with that. So, anyhow. To say I'm a really big fan. Yeah. Of weighted vests. I'm also a tiny person. In my mind I'm like six foot, but in reality I'm not. I am tiny. I even look back at like, you know, when I was like working out, like, you know, going hardcore in my twenties and I was [00:22:00] like, I was strong, but I was still tiny.

So I'm like, any extra mass that I can put on me. I think we'll have benefits, but I wanna hear it from you. What do you think about weighted vests? 

Tara LaFerrara: Yeah, I think like you, like you've mentioned, you know, we're just adding more weight to our body. So if you are in a bigger body, you don't need a weighted vest.

If you have a backpack on, if you carry a baby, if you have a large purse, like that's all it really is. It's just distributed in a way that makes it easy to move around. So really if you have a backpack with, with some cans in it of beans or canned corn, like that's still a weighted vest, but it's just in a way that like feels easy to, to move with.

So in the question of like, what do I think about it, I think it's great if it works for people. And really at the end of the day, if somebody really likes something, I'm not gonna take it away from them. I want movement to feel joyful and exciting to you. And add in that resistance training because it's really necessary.

'cause walking with a weighted vest is not strength training. Mm-hmm. Like that's for sure. Can it raise your heart rate [00:23:00] because this added weight is on your body? Absolutely. Can your walks be harder? Can you, you know, uh. Do some more? Like, can it feel like more cardio for you? Absolutely. So, like I said, I, I just feel, I feel like it works really well for people just because they think they're getting, they're, they are getting more out of it just because they have more weight on their body.

Mm-hmm. That's all it really is. 

Dr. Brighten: Yeah. And, uh, you were, you were saying like, okay, so if it's a purse and it it is weighted friends, every physical therapist I've interviewed, podcast is gonna kill us for that one. Yes. But the other thing I'll say is like a little hack is that every time I go up the stairs, um, I try to put my toddler on my back and go up the stairs like carrying my toddler and I'm like, he's getting bigger so I have to get stronger.

Yeah. Like my body has to adapt. Um, so just for people who are listening, if you are lugging around kids or dogs, some people do wear their dogs on their back as well, like. That's giving them that extra tension and stress on the body, which is ultimately what forces the body to change. Can we talk about that?

[00:24:00] Why, why it is, it has to be uncomfortable. Um, with strength training. Mm-hmm. Or just with anything. Any, we're pretty much every, everything. Right. But with body composition specifically, if you wanna build muscle, yeah. If you wanna have good bone density, 

Tara LaFerrara: you've gotta get uncomfortable. Ooh. This is actually a great segue into the Pilates versus strength training trends too.

Mm-hmm. Because I know you mentioned that, um, p uh, let's go to, uh, what you're talking about first with the, why are we pushing ourselves? Why does it have to be challenging? Mm-hmm. We need to push our bodies to a specific point where our muscles are working hard enough and. When you're at a point in your strength training journey where you're just starting out, you can start with your body weight exercise and that can be good for you, but eventually we're going to need to put more load to make sure that you are seeing that progress over time, and we're loading the muscles to actually find that hypertrophy, which is muscle growth.

And there will always be a point where. You will be able to do more. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean you have to lift more weights. You can put more time [00:25:00] under tension, you can add more reps, you can slow things down, you can shorten your rest. So progressive overload in some capacity, but there has to be this challenge with the muscles in order for them to grow.

Dr. Brighten: Now you said the Pilates versus 

Tara LaFerrara: strength training. Yeah, let's talk about that. Yeah. So the difference really, I, I, I don't, I'm gonna start with Pilates is great. If you like Pilates, please do pil, do Pilates. However, there is a difference between Pilate muscular endurance and strength training, um, building strength in your body.

Pilates is more, um. It's more on that muscular endurance side. It's 12, 15, 20 reps. It's a lot longer holds, and you're just not putting enough tension on your muscles to see that growth and increase your bone density. So is it absolutely amazing for your core stability and longevity of your body? Yes.

However, it does not provide the same load that strength training does. Mm-hmm. So it's complimentary, but it's [00:26:00] not strength training. 

Dr. Brighten: Yeah. Well, I'm a, I am a big fan of Pilates and I've been using it. I, um, after both of my children were born, it was part of my pelvic floor rehab then going through endometriosis excision surgery.

Um, my pt, I work with her. I swear that's harder than strength training or anything else that I do, Tiana, you know, um, but the, um, Pilates portion. I work with a physical therapist once a week to rehabilitate my core 'cause they had to cut through my abs and like go into my body. Um, but also women who have endometriosis, adenomyosis, a history of childbirth, a history of pelvic floor injury, like a history of sitting.

We all have trigger points in our pelvis. And something that has been really interesting in my journey of coming up. So I'm in my forties, I wanna do Pilates because the number one reason why women go into nursing homes is for urinary incontinence. I do not want that, but I also wanna make sure that my core is bracing my spine [00:27:00] and my body so that I can lift heavier.

And something interesting that's come out of this is that, um, there has been, uh, I was just saying this to my husband. Since my twenties, I get on and off knee pain and I have done everything and I've sing physical therapists for that and all kinds of things. And we finally figured out that my knee pain was actually a radiation of pelvic floor trigger points that were going on.

And so in working on my pelvic floor, it has alleviated it band pain, knee pain. And so that's something whenever I see people bagging on Pilates, I'm like, hold up. Because Pilates is so important for the foundation of your core, and especially I think when you're in your forties and older, if you do not have a strong core.

You are one movement away from a back injury, especially if you're somebody who is picking up children, picking up animals, picking up groceries, like doing these basic day-to-day activities, you can really have an injury. And so, uh, you know, [00:28:00] and that's my like whole why I advocate for Pilates. But as you were saying, like you need to have the strength training as well, which is why my routine is Pilates once a week and then it's strength training usually three to five days a week that I'm fitting in.

Tara LaFerrara: The cool thing about what you're saying is that I think you can do a lot of those things with strength training work. Mm-hmm. With mobility work with core stability, and you can get a lot of that through strength training. I just don't think people really put those two together, which is unfortunate.

People think that a squat is a squat. I'm just using my squat, bus squat. If you're holding the weight in front of you, there's so much core activation. Mm-hmm. We're working our biceps and our shoulders and our quads and our pelvic floor and our trunk, like there's so glutes. There's so much happening in that, and so if you can find that tension through your whole body with a goblet squat, I think you can still get a lot of that stability and strength that you're looking for in your trunk.

However, I do think that Pilates does a really great job of explaining in a way that makes sense, and I'm not gonna glaze over the fact that. I, I [00:29:00] will recommend every woman in the world to go see a pelvic floor therapist. Um, that was a huge game changer for me. I was experiencing some incontinence and I've never had a child before and I learned so much from it.

Mm-hmm. Just by going to see them and understanding that it's not just Kegels. Yeah, no. Yeah. And actually I shouldn't be doing Kegels 'cause I, you know, so it's, it's so important to do that. Absolutely. But you can really see a lot of that strength stability through intentional mobility and strength training.

Dr. Brighten: So I think Pilates is for a lot of women, the first time they ever actually learned to activate their core properly. Hmm. I was a group fitness instructor, instructor through my twenties, and I think about how people would come into my classes and I have give them all the cues to activate their core. And yet I think what people really need is more of that one on one because.

A lot of people go right into obliques not getting into the transverse abdominus, which, you know, we, we love the obliques 'cause it's our girdle. Like Kim Kardashian could never, if you have strong coat obliques, but um, but [00:30:00] there's so much more to it. So for people who are like, well I don't wanna go to Pilates, I can't afford Pilates.

If Pilates is not accessible, how do you recommend that they engage their core, that they are actually because. I think so often people are doing squats and they're not thinking about their core. I think a lot, a lot of the times people are moving through life not thinking about their core. Right? Like you think about when people lift things and people always say, lift with your legs and not with your back.

Mm-hmm. And it's like, but your back's gonna be involved. Like it's, um, it's almost a, you know, people got the same mindset as medicine, as if we can compartmentalize the body and be like, yeah, I'm gonna lift with your legs. Nothing else is, is happening there. Yeah. And yet most of the movements we're doing, we're engaging multiple muscle groups throughout the body.

So talk to us about how you walk through clients, like engaging 

Tara LaFerrara: their core. Yeah. This is a great question. I forgot who I learned this from, but think of your, um. Basically think you have a smoothie straw from your throat all the way down to your pelvic floor. It's like one of those like really thick ones and you're [00:31:00] trying to suck out the last, like banana at the bottom of the cup.

And so that's how I would transition into like feeling your core because you're really pulling up and in mm-hmm. To be able to feel everything around you, um, to feel your whole trunk. I like to have like a. Fanny pack or a belt or something on your waist, so you can actively feel that. Um, I'll definitely cue it like from a lying down on, on your ground, like you're setting up for a bridge where your knees are bent and you can have your hands kind of braced around your stomach.

Um, a lot of people think it's just like brace, like someone's about to punch you, but the only time that would be really beneficial for women is when you're doing like a one rep pr. Mm-hmm. And that's not how most of us live on a daily basis. So we can, if, if we can imagine the banana coming up through that big th smoothie straw, we can really suck up and in and pull everything in together.

Dr. Brighten: I love that you say the pulling up there is, um, I think his handle is the glutes doctor. Uh, I don't know. He's like, [00:32:00] I think a Scottish man who's hilarious. Okay. Yeah. I've heard of him. Anyhow, but he, his cue is that you wanna brace your core, like you're about to sneeze and I'm like, I. You working with women?

I think I know you don't have a vagina because you say that. Yeah. Because most people bear down when they're going to sneeze. Yeah. Which is something that can lead to incontinence. So I love that you talk about that pulling up and, you know, for people listening, you know, we often think like exhale, um, to brace our core.

But the pelvic floor, and I learned this through years of going through pelvic floor physical therapy, um, the, the pelvic floor also needs to relax Exactly. With the inhale. Um, and that's like a second piece that I think a lot of women are, um, missing is they think so much about the brace, but then there's also the release.

And that's something I've been trying to be more intentional with. My exercise lately is, um. It. So it is just been through doing body scans that I realized that while I'm exercising, I [00:33:00] never let the muscle go to relaxation. Like I'm working my glutes and it is like tense and tensor tense and tensor.

Mm-hmm. And I'm like, I have to let it relax. Why is it so important to let the muscle relax before engaging again? 

Tara LaFerrara: Yeah, that's a great question. I mean, I think of it being like, rest periods. Mm-hmm. Like what? Why do we rest in, in between sets? And it's really the same thing. We've gotta make sure that our muscle is fully recovered.

Now is this, this is a, an interesting question because I think of like a, a glute emphasized RDL or a, um, glute emphasized, like GHD. 

Dr. Brighten: Okay. You gotta tell people with those acting, oh yeah, sorry. My, 

Tara LaFerrara: um, an RDL remaining in deadlifts. So if you have two dumbbells in hand, uh, Romanian deadlifts is where you stand up.

You start from a standing position, you bring the weights down, you hinge from your hips. Think about sending your butt back, like you're closing a door with your butt and you've got something in front of you. You stop the weights right below the knees and you stand up. Glute emphasized means that you're, there's more bend in the knee so that you get more, uh, flexion and extension of the [00:34:00] glutes.

And so if I, if I think of that specific exercise, sometimes I actually won't fully come up and I'll keep that emphasis around my glute so I can have that time under tension the whole time, which is. A squat would be, you know, maybe one or two seconds. If I'm doing eight reps of that glute emphasize, RDL, and I'm never ever recovering.

That's like 16 seconds of time under tension with your glutes. Mm-hmm. So I think it's kind of twofold because you can actually absolutely do that if you don't have like, adequate amount of weights and, and you wanna really focus on your glutes. Um, however, you can also hold your breath a lot. And that's where kind of like some of that, like bracing of the core comes into play where if you, you know, don't have that release, or if you're not exhaling, that's where maybe your lower back comes into play or you're using other parts of your body that maybe are overcompensating.

So it's a, it's a give and take. You can do either. Um, but I would [00:35:00] say if you have a lot of weight that you're using, de standing up. Between each Romanian deadlift or glute bridge is, is really helpful for that. 

Dr. Brighten: So you can keep the time under tension. Yes. And then have a rest period be between sets. Yes. Or you can contract and relax with each, each repetition.

And what you're saying is, is that if you don't have a lot of weight Yeah. Then better to keep the time under tension if 

Tara LaFerrara: you're trying to challenge yourself with it. Absolutely. 

Dr. Brighten: Why else would we lift weights? 

Tara LaFerrara: Some people just go through the motions unfortunately, and yes, you are absolutely correct. Like why else would we do it if we're not trying to challenge our ourself?

Some people just kind of go in and and do the thing because they know they need to check it off their list. Yeah. Or they have a certain amount of time or you're just going to do the thing. You know, not every workout has to be the hardest workout ever. But if, if you don't, if you only have a short amount of time like putting in that work in that amount of time.

Is a lot more beneficial. 

Dr. Brighten: [00:36:00] Yeah. And I also think that some people are going through the motions because it's for mental health. Exactly. And that this is gonna help their mood. And so not necessarily, um, every workout, like you said, is gonna be the most challenging. Yeah. I wanna talk about busting some myths when it comes to weight loss.

So I wanna talk about fat loss versus fitness and why the scale is such a poor measurement of progress for perimenopausal women. 

Tara LaFerrara: Yes. This is a great question. Um, if you saw a picture of me from like eight years ago and now you'd be like, oh yeah, like you've definitely gained weight. I'm the exact same amount of weight, but it because of that body recomposition, because I've gained more muscle and lost fats, that's what body recomposition is.

Um, your body can change so significantly. Mm-hmm. So the scale shows one number and that number is just going to be. The how much you weigh like that is just that, that is the only thing that you see. It doesn't, it doesn't go into account like your, your bone mass or your muscle mass [00:37:00] or your fat tissue.

Like it doesn't show any of that. So I always tell anyone that comes in as a client with broads to do a DEXA scan beforehand. That is so helpful. It's so necessary to see. There are some really great home body scans. I don't know if you've heard of Hume. Um, they are pretty accurate as well, but having a full body scan of your body is so helpful to see that full data so that when you check again, it's not just one number on that scale, you have so much more that goes into it.

Dr. Brighten: Mm-hmm. Yeah. And I would say be careful of the body composition. Um, it's, uh, software that you can get at home. Some of the scales. Yeah. So my husband did this like horrible thing. Um, men, you should never do this. He bought me a scale. Um, he bought me a scale, I think it was for my birthday, and I was like.

This is like not, this is not the move, but he's like, you're so data-driven. You love having all this data. Yeah. And this does, uh, body composition analysis and it gives you like all this feedback and it like made a big promise for high tech. I got on it and it was like, oh yeah, your BMI [00:38:00] is like 30 something.

You're like 31% fat. Like, it was like horrible, horrible data. It was like your, it told me I was obese. I needed, and I was like, what? And I, fortunately, my primary care doctor. She has a, um, actual body composition analysis machine looking me up to the electrodes. I go in, I check it out. She's like, everything's perfect.

It looks normal. You're totally fine. Yeah. But I was like, oh my God, if I didn't know better. Yeah. If I didn't know what I know, like this little scammy scale would've like, crushed me, like crushed my mental 

Tara LaFerrara: health. Yeah. I totally agree with that. And I would say like, if you have the accessibility to go get a DEXA scan, I would highly recommend it.

Um, there was one time I did a DEXA scan. I did an InBody, I did, uh, calipers and I did this Hume body pod all in one day. Mm-hmm. Just to see the accuracy of just the body fat alone. Um, also the, there's one that is water, so you go, it's like a water tank. Yeah. Um, I [00:39:00] did 'em all in the same day, like within like a few hours of each other just to see how accurate they were.

And this Hume Body scan was actually like 1% off. Wow. And so for accuracy wise, like I, I would. I do promote them because I feel like they're a reputable and accurate scale. However, there is nothing better than a, a DEXA scan out there. Mm-hmm. In my personal opinion, so 

Dr. Brighten: many women are taught that cardio is the gold standard for weight loss.

I want to hear from you why might be, why might cardio be sabotaging, perimenopausal women's weight loss goals? 

Tara LaFerrara: Cardio. I will also preface this with like, if you like cardio, please do cardio. I want you to do it, but strength training is queen. Strength training is queen. Um, cardio, it doesn't allow, well, there's a couple pieces to this.

Um, when we are strength training, we're burning more calories at rest. When you are doing cardio, you are, we are burning the calories during that cardio session and then not after that. And so that just, [00:40:00] that alone shows you that strength training is more powerful than cardio in fat loss. Um. Cardio, it tends to, um, especially as you get into perimenopause, your cortisol levels will go higher.

If you're into Orange Theory or some sort of various bootcamp or some sort of HIIT training, the stress levels may be higher. And when you're going into perimenopause, your hormones are already fluctuating so much, and the stress levels are already so high. So putting more stress on the body is doing more harm than good, right?

Mm-hmm. Because when you have more stress or sleep appetite, all of those things, um, and then that also plays into like cardiovascular health is great, but when we're looking at that. Body recomposition and fat loss. We need to have more muscle on our body. 'cause really that muscle mass plays the biggest role when it comes to losing fat overall, just because of that.

Again, like having that body burning more calories at rest. 

Dr. Brighten: I think this is a big reason why women who start to switch away from primarily doing cardio [00:41:00] and cardio, killing themselves kind of routines and going to walking, start to see weight loss because perimenopause is very unique. So the onset of perimenopause is, you know, usually a progesterone decline.

So what we see is that the corpus luteum, the temporary endocrine structure in the ovary doesn't make enough progesterone. We start to have sleep problems. We start to have more PMS. Then over time we get cycles where we don't ovulate predictably. Now we're definitely not having progesterone, and progesterone is such an ally in helping us manage stress.

And so then we start to see cortisol goes up. Cortisol goes up, the body says, we're under stress. We're not gonna make progesterone make more cortisol. And in that mechanism of being over, um, you know, under more stress, sometimes the body also says we need to hold on to calories because we are under threat and we don't know why.

Um, because your body's like, I don't know why your boss is not a tiger, like not an actual threat. Then it perceiving it as a threat. And so I [00:42:00] think that having that component of what you were talking about of um, things that help reduce your stress, walking can sometimes be that. You have said not every workout needs to wreck you.

Tara LaFerrara: Mm-hmm. 

Dr. Brighten: Women who are trying to lose weight, find that statement counterintuitive. Explain it to us. Mm. They Why 

Tara LaFerrara: do you feel like they, they think it's counterintuitive. 

Dr. Brighten: So there's a saying that like, sweat is fat, crying. Mm-hmm. Right? And so women will hear things like that and think like. If I can't walk the next day, if I am like completely outta breath, I feel like I'm gonna have to crawl out of the gym.

Like that must have been what it, what, you know, it takes to lose weight. 

Tara LaFerrara: Those are all statements that we have hurt, heard. They are not reality. I mean, I, we all grew up in the two thousands where it was no pain, no gain, never miss a Monday. Sweat is fat crying, like do it for the pancakes, like you must earn your food.

But we all know [00:43:00] now in 2025 that that is all bullshit. Mm-hmm. It's all just lies that were being fed to us for women to look a certain way. And that certain way was to be small and thin and fragile women. And I am here as my brand broads is for women to take up more space so that we can be more powerful and be more confident and be.

More proud of ourselves in that capacity. And so there is a shift happening, but we've been told for decades that this is the way it should be. We should be sore, we should feel exhausted. But that is not the case. Mm-hmm. And it is going to take so much time, so much reps up here and between the ears of you believing that that is true.

But once you make the switch, give it just a few months. And I swear you'll notice like the most massive difference that you'll be like, wow, I can't believe I listened to that bullshit for so long. 

Dr. Brighten: I said, the bullshit. Let me, I myself, I did too. I too, I'm not Yeah, I did too. Yeah. So I was in my twenties grief fitness director early two thousands.

Um, and I would say [00:44:00] things like, like it was during the holidays, I'd be like, come on, 10 more pushups for that cookie. Yeah. Like, let's, like, you know, let's do the squats for like, you know, whatever the dessert was. And I remember this woman who was in her forties came up to me and she was like, why? Why do we have to do these things just to be able to eat food?

And I was like. I don't have a good answer for that. And I was like, she challenged me on that. And I was like, I'm just repeating things that I've heard, things that in my training they said motivate women. And she's like, it doesn't motivate me. It makes me feel like garbage. Yep. And then I asked my class the next time when I say stuff like that, does it make you feel like garbage?

And they were like, yes, I feel shame, I feel guilt. And I was like, well then like, why would you wanna come back and see me If I'm doing, I'm gonna stop doing that. But like, I will just say that it's, um, it's always, uh, even I will say as a, as a doctor, it was always my patience in perimenopause and beyond who have taught me the most.

If you just listen to them. And this isn't some just like [00:45:00] was women stuff. This is women who no longer have the hormonal allies for the mouth filter and for the executive function to. Stop them from just saying what they've always felt. And I appreciate that. 

Tara LaFerrara: Absolutely. And I mean, like, I used to say it too because it was decades of us telling that this was the way to do it.

Mm-hmm. And now we're finally making this transition. And unfortunately there's a lot of women in their forties and fifties that have heard it for so long that they can't believe what we're saying is true now. Yeah. And so that is my, that is why, that is my purpose and passion on why I do what I do, is because I want women to see how much that they are truly capable of.

Because all we were told was that we weren't capable and that we should be smaller and mm-hmm. We should be weak and fragile and be smaller. But as soon as you put on some muscle mass and feel that confidence, you're gonna leave your, your ex-boyfriend, you're gonna get a promotion. You're the confidence just like.

Pushes you through the roof, but you have to just try and lean into that change before it [00:46:00] happens. 

Dr. Brighten: Yeah. I was a, a kid of the nineties and when um, Kate Moss, that's her natural body type, we love her for it. Yeah. Like her body type was put in front of us and it was literally called like heroin chic. Like Yeah.

So somebody who's doing drugs to the point that they're malnourished and emaciated is an entire like, aesthetic that we were supposed to be achieving. Yeah. And that's what we were told. So those of us who are in perimenopause now, that was the age when we were so influential in the things that we were told.

Why do you think it is? Society tells women that they should be smaller, they should take up less space. 

Tara LaFerrara: Well, we could be here all day 'cause 

Dr. Brighten: let's go. 

Tara LaFerrara: I mean, why? Because women have always been the less superior. You know, gender, that's just always how it's been. And now that we're not by fact by by society standards.

By society standards, absolutely. And I mean, like, I think that we have all seen, especially if you are in the US, that like [00:47:00] women are not treated the same. We're al we should be on this lower pedestal. And we, that's just how we've been forever. And so if we've always heard those words, why would we believe anything else is true?

And you know, as I've mentioned, there's, there's. There's so much change happening, but I still feel like we're a couple steps behind. Mm-hmm. And so it's like this constant like, yes, we're, we're, we're up there and then we get like shifted back again. So it's, we're constantly trying to, to change the narrative and become these badass strong women.

But it takes, talking about it like this, it takes, you know, women in perimenopause and menopause to, to hear these facts and see these really strong women take up space to know that that is, that is something that they can be capable of, but we can't do that without talking about it and without sharing these experiences.

Dr. Brighten: Mm-hmm. You know, it occurred to me just a few weeks ago, another reason that we have received this message is because that we are easily, [00:48:00] it's easier to physically control us. And I watched this video of this police officer trying to take a woman out of her car. She just kept asking him. Why am I being pulled over?

Am I being detained? Like things that were completely within her rights to do. And he got upset because he doesn't have good emotional regulation, I assume. And he tried to physically remove her from the car, but she had mass, he couldn't do it. Hmm. And she was videoing it. And she started giggling because he was struggling and sweating and to the point he had to call for backup to try to get her outta the car.

And I was like, hell yeah. Wow. Oh my gosh. If we are strong, we cannot be physically controlled. Like there has been a narrative to control us on so many levels. And I've always thought like, take up less space because like, we want women to be quiet. We want them to be submissive. We don't want them to, you know, it's, we're always too much.

Right. But there's also this physical aspect of it as well of like. If you [00:49:00] have mass, you are much harder to physically control. And I don't think that, um, I think it's kind of amazing that it took me like 40 plus years to like have that epiphany of like, wait a minute. Like it's also about like watching him manhandle her in that way.

And he couldn't overcome her because this woman had mass. And I was like, I need to lift heavier. I need to get even stronger. 

Tara LaFerrara: Absolutely. I mean, think, try and give me one reason why it wouldn't. Be good for women to be strong. Mm-hmm. No, there's not one. Why? It wouldn't be great for women to have muscle.

Mm-hmm. Why? I mean, and there's this always this word of bulky and masculine and looking a certain way, and it's like, why wouldn't I wanna be strong and bulky so that I can stand up for myself? 

Dr. Brighten: Yeah. Well, exactly what you're saying right there. Why is it so threatening to men on the internet when a woman is strong?

Do we see like the cute, you know, Pilates fanatics are not [00:50:00] like, they're not putting on a lot of muscle mass, right? Mm-hmm. So we see like the cute Pilates girl and she's just got men fawning over her in the comments. Not always. I don't wanna like. I know you get hate too, but I see without failure, if a woman shows off her bicep, her back muscles, like she's doing squats and she's got defined thighs, there is just a line of men waiting to tear her down in the comments.

And I'm like, why is this so threatening to you? Mm-hmm. Is it 'cause you're stuck on the couch or is it something else? 

Tara LaFerrara: I can tell you with 13 years of being on Instagram, I've had my fair share of you are a man, you're a dude, stop taking, you're trans, you're on steroids. Stop taking all this stuff and, and masking it when it's like, what, why, why does this hurt your feelings so much?

And it's just these insecure, small, fragile, weak men, which as we know, women are allowed to be weak, but men are not allowed to be weak. So they hide behind their screens [00:51:00] and say this stuff and what. Does it really do for them or for us? I mean, of course it's tearing other women down and it feels, it feels hurtful to get those messages.

I'm not saying that it doesn't, but I know now in my 36 years of life that like, that means nothing to me. And that they're probably just intimidated. Mm-hmm. By a strong woman. 

Dr. Brighten: Yeah. Yeah. And also all that energy they could be spending in other ways. But here they are on the internet. So we were talking about like, don't use food, um, you know, your workout as earning your food and this entire mindset.

How do women move past that mindset? 'cause you were saying that, uh, we can tell women, but you know, they're not believing what we say. How do we get to that point and what would you say to women who are like, no, I have to earn my food with my workouts. 

Tara LaFerrara: It's the same as putting the reps in the gym. We've gotta put the reps in our food and nutrition journey as well.

You know, if we were always told to eat a certain amount of calories or to eat less and move more, that's what we have. What that is, what we know [00:52:00] to believe is true. There's two things I would say to this. First is having the education and knowledge. Um, I'm, I'm not someone that, I'm not a nutritionist, but I am also not someone that counts calories or macros.

There's a couple things I do look at, like fiber and protein, but with my clients, we don't track those numbers. Um, however, having the education and knowledge of what you're actually consuming is really powerful. Just like having the data on a DEXA scan. Mm-hmm. Having the numbers. Knowing your body and what works best for you is really valuable.

And so even if it's just educating yourself on how much protein is in the food that you're eating throughout the day, maybe tracking a few days. I always like to say track a few days during the week and a few days on the weekend. Just so you know, kind of where you're at on what you're consuming and how it fuels your body.

So I like to take inventory on the intuitive eating and mindful scale. Does this food actually fuel your workouts? Do you feel like you're getting enough sleep? Do you have the energy you need to go throughout your day? That way we have the data of what you consumed [00:53:00] to actually manage that and trial and error, some other things.

Um, but as far as changing the, the framing of like, you have to earn this, it's like having that actual data will help you understand. What you need to actually fuel those workouts that you're doing. 

Dr. Brighten: You've called motivation bullshit and said that discipline is what shows up on messy days. How can that mindset be a game changer for women whose energy and hormones are unpredictable?

Tara LaFerrara: Hmm. Motivation is bullshit. Do you believe that's 

Dr. Brighten: true? I mean, I think that it depends, right? And what I will say about motivation in your midlife years is that as estrogen declines, dopamine follows. Mm-hmm. And so dopamine is our like, I wanna do this because I want the reward, and then I get the reward and I, and my brain tells me, good job.

I think in addition to that, we need to be talking about the estrogen framework of things, because when your estrogen goes low. You have a [00:54:00] harder time building muscle, you have more inflammation, you have more joint pain. It hurts when you work out and it hurts after you work out. So I think in that scope of things, like, yeah, what is motivation?

How is motivation gonna get you to the gym because you don't have the brain chemistry because your hormones are, are leaving, um, and your body doesn't feel great like it used to a couple decades before. 

Tara LaFerrara: I think this can go back to building those, that solid foundation in your thirties, twenties, and thirties before you get into perimenopause.

Because if you already have that solid foundation and lifestyle choices in these years, it's gonna be habitual, which makes it a discipline, which makes it, you don't need actual motivation to go, I'm at a point where I don't need motivation. I'm gonna go and do the thing. And that's where those days come into play of does this need to be the hardest workout ever?

No. But am I in there just getting in the work to make me feel a little bit better afterwards? Absolutely. But when I think about why I say motivation is bullshit, is because it's never always going to be there. It's not always going to be there. Mm-hmm. And so if we're always searching for something and looking for [00:55:00] something that's not a tangible thing, we're never gonna do the thing.

Mm-hmm. And so, yes, there's intrinsic versus extrinsic. Intrinsic within you. You feel it. I have it right now. Like no matter what, I intrinsically know that I want to move my body. And then there's the extrinsic where if you're not actually, you know, in your fitness routine yet, and you're starting maybe in your forties or fifties and don't have that solid foundation, you can have these like small rewards to get to it, which I think is great for, for a lot of people.

However, those rewards may not ever still be enough. So that's where building those habits and creating that discipline makes way more of a difference. Mm-hmm. And that's where, if we go back to building a routine, putting your workout in your calendar, not letting anyone jump over it. Grabbing an accountability, working with a coach, like having something like that is really gonna keep you going when that motivation doesn't show up.

Dr. Brighten: That working with a coach or having, having a partner, uh, is called body doubling in the neurodivergent, mostly the [00:56:00] A DHD world. It is something so fundamentally necessary in the perimenopause and beyond years because most people are going to not find that motivation. They're gonna find these, but if they have the accountability, that can be something that anchors them in.

You know, you and I have both gone through some very serious, uh, losses lately, and it's been a lot of grief. I have continued to work out even when I've been told like, you can't work out, you need to rest your body. I suffered a, a, a late, um, uh, late pregnancy loss. Um, it's technically called an abortion, which is medical me wanting to say that that's technically what it's called.

But um. I still worked out because the feeling if anyone has ever felt depression or extreme grief being stuck inside your mind, it felt like, um. And it still have these moments where I'm behind the glass and I can see how good my life is. I can [00:57:00] see what I should be grateful for, but I can't touch it and I can't feel it.

And I'm stuck there and I'm feeling trapped in my own mind. And I would, uh, and I just continued to go and work out. And I'm not even kidding. Like my husband would be like, are you okay checking in on me? 'cause I'm just like bawling my eyes out while I'm working out. But I'm like. I know the research and I know that the only way I shatter that glass is if I keep moving my body.

If I get outside and I do the things that are so hard. And so for me, in a really tough situation that it was what got me to continue to move, to continue to exercise is that I was like, I hate feeling like this. I would do anything to escape this from many women that's alcohol, that that is something that numbs them out.

But the thing we know about that is I'm like, that's just gonna push you deeper and deeper down. And when you come out of it, you're even deeper. And then you need more alcohol to like get to that place of numbing, and then you're deeper and [00:58:00] deeper. I'm curious from you in facing challenges, hardship, things that would.

You know, that really incapacitates us. How have you been able to keep going and continue working out? 

Tara LaFerrara: I will say that I am a fitness professional. I've done this for most of my life. I grew up as an athlete, and movement has saved me so many times in my life. Mm-hmm. I have been in very tough situations, and fitness has truly saved my life.

Um, being able to lift something off the ground and being proud of myself in the gym has pushed me through really big challenges. Um, however, I am a professional, like this is what I do for my life. And so I wanna like, preface it with that because I know that for a lot of people, they don't have the foundation that I have.

Um. Getting into the gym and getting in my workout is the one part of my day that I feel super control, that I have control over. Mm. Um, and the other parts, it's almost the time, like you were mentioning, you know, I can be crying and I can be thinking [00:59:00] about it, but my body is kind of taking over. I can push my body and my muscles into, um, kind of a place where my mind doesn't think as much.

Mm-hmm. And so it provides this kind of distraction, but also this feeling of accomplishment. And right now it's hard to feel accomplished in any other part of my day. And so movement has just been, and I, I I say movement because it's not just in the gym with strength training is obviously a, a huge piece of my life, but it is maybe doing a yoga flow or doing some mobility, just, you know, laying down on the floor or going out for a walk that has.

Given me the capacity to keep going throughout the rest of my day when I feel like I don't have as much control. 

Dr. Brighten: I think that's really helpful for women to hear. I'd also love to hear from you how women can stay motivated when they feel so fatigued or they're experiencing mood 

Tara LaFerrara: swings. I, it's really important to just check in with where you're at.

Um, for some people maybe getting in a going to a gym might [01:00:00] be overwhelming to them. The social aspect of it. I actually can't go to the gym right now. I can't be around a bunch of people I know. Mm-hmm. I have to work out in the gym or come to Mexico City and work out here, so I don't see anyone I know.

Um, but. That can be hard for a lot of people. And so, you know, at least just getting outside nature does wonders. And if you live in a place where you can, you do have a trail or some water or something where this, it's this, I've read a lot of grief books recently where if you have, um, the ability to see, uh, a wide landscape in front of you like a lake or mountain or something, it gives you more hope.

It gives you more hope that you can keep showing up for yourself. And so, you know, with these mood swings of perimenopause or grief in general, getting outside is just. It's just so key and that can then push you into moving through your body through, whether it's yoga or stretching or just, you know, showing up for yourself in different ways.

Dr. Brighten: Yeah, and I think sometimes, so [01:01:00] in the United States, it seems to be that everybody is so hinging their life around the weather, and yet we see in a lot of other cultures around the world, like the planet is iced over where they live and they're still getting outside. So for people listening, don't wait for sunshine.

And I, I mean, I honestly find like being out in the rain, very cathartic, very healing. Um, and you know, to your point, like this weekend we took the kids and we went out into the woods and we just let them run around on trails. We ran around, we, um, found sticks and just did all kinds of stuff. And just being outside in nature has its own healing.

There's this, we see. Japanese culture has this. Nordic culture has this. They have in, they have words in their language for the therapy that nature offers you. And so I really just wanna underscore what you're saying about. Getting outside [01:02:00] and, and seeing the landscape I think is such a beautiful tip as well.

You've also said that rest itself is productive. Can you explain that? 

Tara LaFerrara: Yeah. I think because I grew up in the same time as you, where we're like workout six or seven days a week, two doing two a days, and I never actually gave my, my body the ability to rest and recover and I lost my cycle and my energy was low and I didn't sleep well and I didn't really understand it until now.

I am putting my body through these rest days. I have these intentional rest days of, you know, two days a week. Where, what does rest mean For a lot of people it's chill. Can you go outside for a walk or, you know, get in some yoga or light movement? Sure. But if your body, if you're not giving your body that rest and recovery.

The muscles don't have enough time to rebuild. And so it, and what I mean by productive is that because we were told that you have to work out every day and you have to do so much, um, it's so much more productive to those people to see that you can get so much [01:03:00] more out of it. When you do give that your body that recovery and if you grew up in, or if you were in the same time as me where it was like you felt like you had to, it does feel like a, something that you have to check off your list to do.

Dr. Brighten: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Can overworking out, as you said, like the double in a day. Yeah. Can that actually you 

Tara LaFerrara: sabotage your fitness goals? Absolutely. 'cause it comes down to your stress levels. Mm-hmm. Which, you know, we've talked about this whole time is, is that if we are con, if our body is constantly in stress, it's going to shift so many other parts of our life with our lifestyle and sleep and nutrition and all that stuff.

So. It can actually absolutely do more harm than good. 

Dr. Brighten: You say mobility isn't optional. Why is mobility so important for hormones and longevity for perimenopausal women? 

Tara LaFerrara: I think it's important to note that there is a difference between mobility, flexibility and stability. Mobility is the ability to actively move freely within your joints.

And so [01:04:00] if we think of women in their later ages falling down or they have a lot more, you're a lot more likely to break a hip after a certain age if you fall down. Um, if we have, uh, at full range of motion within our hips, ankles, knees, shoulders back, we're able to come out of those falls a lot easier.

And so mobility training is a huge, um, part of my coaching within Broad's, my app and with all of my one-on-one coaching because we need to be able to move. Within our entire body. A lot of us just move forward and back. We need to move, um, frontal, sagittal, transverse plane. Mm-hmm. And so I utilize a lot of that in our mobility training.

So that is sitting, I mean, it could be as simple as like sitting down on the floor and standing up if you need to use your hands or if you need to lean or, or move around to get up. That should be the first thing you should do. Sit on the ground more, move through your hips, move in your ankles. Like do you have that full range of motion in your ankles?

Like if you don't have that now, [01:05:00] how can you expect to, you know, put your foot down as you get down from a stare and not expect to roll your ankle. And, and it would take so much longer to, you know, get through that injury. So that's why it's a huge, um, value add in, in the way I train and the way I work with clients.

Dr. Brighten: How often would you recommend people do mobility training? Every day. 

Tara LaFerrara: Mm-hmm. Yeah. I have it in every workout in Broads and I also just have mobility videos you can follow along with. Um, but it can be as something as simple as, like I said, you know, sitting on the ground, there's a, an exercise called a 90 90 or a shin box switch.

I'm not sure if you've heard of it, but you're basically sitting on the ground with your knees, both at 90 degrees and you are just shifting your knees back and forth with keeping your feet on the ground. Mm-hmm. So it's a really great one to just do anytime. We can also be doing ankle circles right here as we're sitting down with our podcast, you know, sitting down and talking.

Um, you can do some wrist circles while you're on the call with someone. Uh, it can be small little things that you can add throughout the day, so it doesn't have to be [01:06:00] super overwhelming. 

Dr. Brighten: So what adjustments should women make to their workouts in perimenopause if they wanna experience energy and not burnout?

Tara LaFerrara: Compound lifts are always huge. Um, so typically in a workout I would do a mobility dynamic warmup, and then we would get into a couple compound lifts. To start. Compound lifts is multi muscle, multi-joint, so stuff like squats, hinging, so a good morning or a deadlift. Um, we would do a push movement, so anything pressing in at your chest and pull movement and then we'd do some sort of core.

But if we want to really focus on that, you know, time that you may have allotted or energy or making sure that you're getting the most out of your training, compound lifts will absolutely be the, the best bang for your buck. 

Dr. Brighten: Hmm, 

Tara LaFerrara: yeah. 

Dr. Brighten: How do we stop making the pants size the litmus test for our self-worth or even our fitness level?

Tara LaFerrara: Why is it part of your self-worth anyway? Why does that make [01:07:00] you? Why does the number on the pants or the scale or the shirt that you're wearing make you who you are? Why does that mean that you are worth something else? I mean, and we all know in women's clothing, I could be a size zero, a two, a four, a six, a 27, a 24 a large shirts too.

Like the sizing that we wear does not matter anything to us. But because we've been told that smaller is better, when we see the pant size changing, we think of it as a bad thing. But what if you have more energy? What if your glutes have grown and your legs are stronger and you can do things you never thought you could, and the size may still go up.

Dr. Brighten: How would you recommend that women reconnect with their joy of movement instead of just chasing results? Instead of chasing like, you know, losing the belly fat, losing the weight, being a certain size, how can they just connect with filling joy in what [01:08:00] they do? 

Tara LaFerrara: Movement is different for everybody. Uh, a really good friend of mine loves to dance, and that is her joyful movement now.

And, and like I've been saying with my clients, if they come in and they like an orange theory or they like to cycle or swim or something, I'm not gonna take that away from anybody. So finding whatever that movement is that brings you joy first is massive. Whether that's roller skating or karate or dancing.

Like there's so many ways to move your body that it doesn't have to be so strict in, I must do this. If we find that joy first, strength training is only gonna add to it. If you wanna, if you're a runner and you love to run, if you strength training, it's gonna make you a faster runner. It's gonna make running more joyful and more entertaining, and it's gonna, you know, push out your injury, mitigate injuries, and it's gonna make you feel like you have more capability or capacity to do more.

So whatever that thing that you are starting with, that brings you joy, keep doing that. [01:09:00] And then add in some of this resistance training, and then the joy is gonna go through the roof. 

Dr. Brighten: Well, thank you so much for sitting down and taking the time to chat with us today. I really appreciate this conversation.

 

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