Sisters-in-Service
Are you a women veteran who feels unseen and unheard? Do you struggle with finding your purpose after service? Sisters-in-Service is a podcast that gives women veterans the platform to talk about those exact issues and more. Hear from other veterans, military spouses and Veteran Service Organizations (VSO) just like you that have overcome their transition from the military. Every Tuesday this podcast encourages women veterans to stand up and be counted because as a group we have a voice. From your host - Cat Corchado - The Voice Connecting Women Veterans
Sisters-in-Service
Fitness, Hormones, and Finding Joy After 40: A Conversation with Dr. Maria Luque
Navigating menopause often feels like entering uncharted territory with little guidance and too much conflicting information. In this candid conversation, Air Force veteran and fitness expert Dr. Maria Luque breaks through the silence and stigma surrounding midlife transitions, sharing wisdom gained from both her academic research and practical experience helping women thrive during menopause.
Dr. Luque reveals how she discovered her passion for fitness while serving in the military and how that eventually led to specializing in menopause health. She explains why so many women fail to recognize early menopause symptoms—anxiety, heart palpitations, and mood changes often appear before the more commonly known hot flashes and irregular periods. Both Cat and Dr. Luque share their frustrations with medical professionals who dismiss women's concerns with unhelpful "you're just getting older" responses, emphasizing why self-advocacy and finding knowledgeable providers is crucial.
The conversation takes a powerful turn when discussing body image during menopause. Dr. Luque introduces the concept of "grieving your former body" as an essential step toward acceptance, noting that most women don't realize they need this emotional processing. She explains why traditional approaches to fitness and weight management often backfire during menopause, leading many women to give up entirely. Instead, she advocates for "movement snacks" throughout the day and finding activities that bring joy rather than punishment.
What makes this episode particularly valuable is the practical wisdom shared between two fitness professionals who understand the real challenges women face. They discuss how to overcome the mindset barriers that keep women from trying new activities, why community support is vital during this transition, and how to approach physical wellness with curiosity instead of judgment. Their message is ultimately one of hope and possibility—the door to your best self isn't locked during midlife; it just needs to be approached differently.
Whether you're currently experiencing menopause, approaching it, or supporting someone who is, this conversation offers refreshing insights that extend far beyond hormones and hot flashes into creating a meaningful, active life that honors your changing body and expanding wisdom.
Hello everyone, Welcome to another episode of Sisters in Service. I am your host, Kat Corchado, and today I have the privilege of welcoming a truly remarkable guest. Her name is Dr Maria Luque. She is a fitness and menopause expert, a former health science professor and she's wait for it an Air Force veteran. Yes, she has a PhD in MS in health sciences with over two decades of fitness experience, and she brings a wealth of knowledge and practical insights into all the things that she does, from being a certified health education specialist to an ACE certified personal trainer and ACE fitness nutrition specialist. She's passionate about helping women in midlife nutrition specialist. She's passionate about helping women in midlife, specifically menopause and fitness. So we're both in the fitness round. It's going to be a fun conversation, so please join me in welcoming, helping me welcome the dynamic and accomplished Dr Maria Luque. Maria welcome.
Speaker 2:Thank you, Kat. I know that was quite the introduction. Thank you so much. I'm so excited to be here.
Speaker 1:Well, I'm glad to have you. This has been a long time coming. Every time we scheduled, something would happen and I was like, oh, I can't wait to speak to her today. So, Maria, the first thing I always ask a military veteran is did you pick the Air Force, or did the Air Force pick you?
Speaker 2:So I think it's both. I think I was in a place in my life that I wanted to make a difference, and given that's kind of the path that I'm still on. But at that point in time I wanted to join the military and I was married at the time to an army veteran and I knew that I didn't want to go into the army because of that. Oh no, no, and that's how I chose the Air Force. But I was determined to do some sort of military service just because I felt strongly about giving back and doing something.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, I tend to feel, though, that you picked the Air Force. I think to feel, though, that you, you picked the Air Force, I think, because you knew exactly. You're like, nope, don't want that, I do want this, I think. For me, the Air Force was just familiar, because my dad was in for 22 years and I'd seen army bases nothing against the army but, ooh Lord, no, I don't want that, I don't want that at all. And it just happened that I said I'm going to try to get in the air force, and I was able to get in. But I think it's interesting that, um, I started my career fitness career, that is, while I was in the military. So, maria, when did you, if you can, share with us your journey of when you started your fitness and and your menopause journey?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I. Interestingly enough, I started in the air force as well, so I became my first station in uh in San Antonio. I was picked as or volunteered, as we all do, right it's always volunteering voluntold. Yes, uh, because I've always really enjoyed fitness, so it was. I was the natural volunteer to be the, the fitness tester right to do all the the bike at the time go figure, yeah at the time we did the bike still right, the push-ups and sit-ups, and that's changed.
Speaker 2:And so I did that all the way through, went through officer training, school and then in my new base, then was selected to be the fitness program manager where I really got to make a real difference. We were going through the changes in the Air Force fitness program when I was the fitness program manager, so I feel like I made a difference on how it ended up turning out and that just fitness has always been a part of my life. But like actually doing fitness programming, helping people, testing people, didn't happen until the Air Force and then so it was a natural transition for me to get out and do something that relates to that. What years did you serve? Maria 98 through 2006.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow, Okay, you were just coming in as I was just coming out. I retired in 2000 and back in the day they called it the fat boy program. I don't care if you're a girl or not, it was called the fat boy program and they used to do the tape measure. Oh my gosh, I hated that stupid thing because it always said oh, you're obese. And they'd look at me and they're like wait, you're not obese. I'm like uh duh, wait, you're not obese.
Speaker 2:I'm like uh, duh, yeah, I hate it. I hate it horrible. It was so horrible. The bmi, uh stuff was just so awful because I was always borderline borderline on that, I am as lean as I could ever be at the time and I was considered right at the edge of bmi. So I'm glad that the weather has changed since then.
Speaker 1:Oh, thank goodness. I mean, they used to measure my hips and they're like oh well, you know you're right on that. I said do you see how much junk in the trunk I have back there? I mean, come on, I should get some credit for that right 100%.
Speaker 2:And you know it was, and the air force had a better quality of life overall. We also were made a lot of fun of, because we really didn't have a full-on fitness test I wasn't a purple unit the first time. So I, we worked at dfes with army, so I had an army commander and a air force lieutenant commander, but it was mixed, so the army still had to do their hardcore fitness exams and they would always make fun of us. We had this little room where people got on a bike yeah, they.
Speaker 1:I mean, what I found is that even after service, the air force gets made fun of. But you know what I said, you know what it's it's, you can laugh and it's OK, because I get that retire pay Everyone. I'm like, oh, I forgot about that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we all, like you said, we all pick it for a different reason. We did Everyone was some other way and it all worked out. But we all have that veteran experience together, no matter what the branch Exactly, I think mine started accidentally.
Speaker 1:I always was part of a club. I used to work, you know. You know I would work out the gym, but I always picked a club off base that I could go to and the woman who was teaching the class was also military and she'd asked me to take over the class because she was going to another duty station and I was that fitness geek that always had to be in the front row, right or left of the instructor, doing it just like the instructor.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:That was me. And so, back in the day, ladies and gentlemen, there was just high impact and low impact aerobics. Ok, yes, I look really good for 82, don't I? I'm joking, but that's where. That's where it started. It was just this natural progression from teaching classes to personal training, to specializing in different things, training to specializing in different things. So, maria, what inspired you to focus specifically on fitness and wellbeing?
Speaker 2:for women in midlife. It was actually really organic. I was going through my PhD studies and had to pick a topic for my dissertation and I was, at that point, already out of the military. I was starting my personal training business and I had most of the people that I was already training and my friends were people that were going through menopause so a lot of women that were at that beginning stage and I thought what a perfect way to study something that, at that point in time, wasn't being talked about at all.
Speaker 2:And so I did my dissertation on evaluating the impact of physical activity on quality of life during the menopausal transition, and that you know that was in 2004, no 2010, that I started and that's as they say. The rest is history. I'm still here, I love it, I immerse myself in it and there's just such a big need and I'm such a proponent of movement and physical fitness being crucial for women as they navigate aging not even menopause, as they navigate aging not even menopause if you're not doing some sort of resistance training or movement, you're going to have less of a good time than everybody else.
Speaker 1:I think it's funny. You said movement because I used to call myself a personal trainer because I do personal training, pilates and I said what word can I use for all of the things that I do? What word can I use for all of the things that I do? And I sat there and I'm thinking, I'm like, what have I been doing since time started, when I, when I started my career in fitness, watching people move. So I started, I tagged myself a movement specialist because that's what I do in Pilates, I do it in personal training, I do it in all the genres, and so I don't know about you, but personal trainer just sounds kind of creepy. Sometimes you go over personal trainer. You're like, oh well, you know, but you've got that I'm sorry that PhD at the end of your name, so that you're like, oh, here you go, you know, and I'm like, oh, ok, she's legit.
Speaker 2:Well, you know, you bring up a good point, though, because it, first of all, I completely agree, movement fitness has somewhat of a negative connotation.
Speaker 1:Yes, and personal training, for sure, people roll their eyes.
Speaker 2:They're like oh, just another personal trainer. Right, there's that negative connotation. Um, that comes with it, although you know, we know, judgment stop judging people based on stuff, yeah. But we do much more with that. Like there's a box, when you say fitness or personal training, people already put a box around it. It requires you to go to the gym. You're lifting heavy weights. People see CrossFit Like that's what they're thinking A lot of especially women. You say personal training, they're like that's not, I'm not interested in that, but I'm all about the variety.
Speaker 2:It's like a buffet. You've got some Zumba, that's great. You're doing some gardening, you're doing some walking, you're doing like the combination of it all, like you said, pilates, yoga. All of that counts under that big umbrella, and and so I also use movement a lot more when I talk about what I do and what I want women to do. Just move more, whatever rocks your boat.
Speaker 1:Yeah, just move, just move. I think it's interesting we both kind of go to. You know the midlife women, and I did this because you know you, you're working outside the home, you, you're raising your kids and all of a sudden the kids are gone. You know, you're at this point in life where you look in the mirror and you go who the hell is that? Looking back, you know you're like wait, is that me? And and it starts the spiral. You know what I mean and it starts the spiral. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:And they don't know how to get back to it. They don't know because you know, oh, I used to work out and I used to do the weights, and you know, and trying to get them to understand that when they move, movement first of all is great for your brain. Hello, it's adrenaline right to your brain, it helps your bones, it helps your muscles, it helps you feel better, and so I think it's important that you know. We tell women this, but we also show women, because the first, the first thing they say and I know you've heard this is but I'm so tired, how can I work out?
Speaker 1:The thing is, your body does not know if you're mentally tired or physically tired, it just says, oh, you're tired, but I, you know, I just think it's important, for even if it's just a stroll, you do a 15 minute walk after dinner or something, just start somewhere. So I think that's important and what I want to ask is that think that's important and what I want to ask is that was it important for you to have a PhD in in health sciences? Was that part of your whole journey or was it? You're like you had this, you had, like you know, going to school and you were going this way and you said, nope, I'm going to go this way.
Speaker 2:Could you talk about your journey a little bit and you were going this way and you said, nope, I'm going to go this way. Could you talk about your journey a little bit? Sure, I am a fanatic when it comes to education.
Speaker 2:I love to just learn. That's why I have all the acronyms behind my name. If I could be enrolled in some sort of certificate program or a degree if they were free, I would do them all, just because I really enjoy learning. If they were free, I would do them all just because I really enjoy learning. And so when I went through my master's degree in health sciences, that was more health education based, so it really was like I went through it as an international health practitioner. It really opened my eyes just the role of culture and movement and fitness and well-being. And then I thought that the PhD I also had aspirations of becoming a professor and just well-being. And then I thought that the PhD I also had aspirations of becoming a professor and just teaching. So more of the academic route on top of the training. And still to this day I'm doing both. I use that academic background with the application itself and I think that provides the. I'm sorry.
Speaker 1:It's okay.
Speaker 2:My dog is dreaming. You can hear her in the background. I woke her up. She was having some vivid dreams.
Speaker 1:I was like oh, is that a puppy behind her?
Speaker 2:Yes, she's having some good dreams. Yes, she's having some good dreams. Yes, I always love the brain engagement with the physical engagement. For me, that makes me a whole person. For me, I've always enjoyed both sides and I think that's what I bring into my approach to working with my clients.
Speaker 2:Is the science part is really important to me? Is the science part is really important to me? But I don't neglect the actual application of it all, because science is great but it's not always applicable, especially, like you said, women that are going through menopause. They're going through menopause on top of life. It doesn't happen in a vacuum. We are going through the challenges of life. We may be losing family members, we may have had health issues, we have children, maybe grandchildren, all these things and go career and then menopause comes on top and so saying, yeah, we know that working out or doing this and doing that is great for you, but when do you find the time? So, yeah, it's all about like what you were saying. I'm a huge proponent of saying you just start where you are. Yeah, and you do more tomorrow than you did today. If that is walking, like you said, 10 minutes after dinner or after you eat, you know that a 10 minute walk after you eat does wonders for your blood sugar. It does wonders for your mental health.
Speaker 2:It's 10 minutes and so when you break it down in those bite-sized movements. I call them movement snacks. Yeah, just get more of that snacking in place and have some ideas of how can I just move more. Yeah, because when we talk about workouts, most is and I again I'm talking about women, because that's my demographic Most women talk. They immediately think a chunk of time like a big, like 45 minutes to 60 minutes, that they have to dedicate to go somewhere to do something when, and so they're immediately out there, said I don't have time for a workout, instead of thinking a workout could mean five minutes of stretching when you get up in the morning. It could be some leg lifts while you're on your desk, like those kinds of things. So let's take the stigma and that that the narrative around walking doesn't count as exercise, because that's also or even how long.
Speaker 1:People like, oh, I don't have 30, 45 minutes an hour and I came up with an 11 minute workout and I'm like, if you don't have 11 minutes, it's gonna take you longer than that to walk to the bathroom and come back, you know. But I think that I'm trying to take the stigma away from it has to that workout has to be this long, that I have to do cardio and I have to do weights and I have to cool down and and and. No, let's, let's peel it. Okay, let's peel it away. Let's start with one thing. It might be the walking, maybe it's the treadmill, let's peel it away. Let's start with one thing. It might be the walking, maybe it's the treadmill. Let's do that. You know, let's start there. And I and I think that's important.
Speaker 1:But I also wanted to ask you the question of speaking about menopause is that I find and it's probably not true, but I always feel like when I speak to women and about menopause and they're always like shocked at the fact that they're in menopause, you know, they're like what? You know, they're always like this oh my gosh. So I wanted to ask you when you were doing either your studies or working with women. What, what is? I know some of the common things about menopause. Has there anything been uncommon Like? Have you ever heard a woman say you know this started and you're like, whoa, that's different.
Speaker 2:All the time I talk about my menopause journey and given that I've been inundated in what menopause is for over a decade and for me, my menopause I think that my first symptom of menopause.
Speaker 2:I think that my menopause, my first symptom of menopause, was anxiety. I started having anxiety episodes and I have no history of any kind of anxiety or depression and it just came to me out of nowhere where I would just have these almost like panic attacks and in my rational mind I said there's no reason for me to be this panicked or anxious, but when you have one, there's no talking yourself out of it, just kind of you're just you know, yeah.
Speaker 2:And so imagine I had the knowledge to say this is there's, I'm right in that spot. I think that this could be related and I went to my doctor and I always go armed already with I know what this is, I don't need you to try to talk me out of it and I got help and so, and that was just a temporary thing, it just went away. And for me also, knowing that I'm seeking help and I'm getting help that provides that kind of calmness.
Speaker 1:But imagine women that.
Speaker 2:I've talked to so many women that have these episodes of depression or anxiety or hair loss, or well, I didn't know hair loss was a thing. I didn't know that. And so when you talk to them and they're right in that mid forties which is kind of the time where things start getting a little wonky- they don't associate it with possibly being menopause. They always think they're too young and they think that menopause starts with irregular periods.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think mine started with palpitations. I was I would lay down and my heart was doing this. I'm like what is going on? Like I knew something wasn't right. But you don't equate, you don't put. You know, the two plus two equals four. You don't? You don't get that equation, I guess.
Speaker 2:But when we talk, oh, go ahead, we don't. You don't get that equation, I guess. Um, but when we talk, oh, go ahead, we don't have the information. Women just aren't informed. So we don't have a any kind of school.
Speaker 2:We talk about puberty and barely when we go through teenage years, and we talk about pregnancy because that's really important, but we don't talk about this huge chunk that some women go through it and it's 10 years. You know of like symptoms. We don't talk about what it could mean and just for women to be equipped and this has to happen in their late 30s. Yeah, some women start having symptoms early 40s, given that that's early, but most everyone. If you're in your mid 40s, chances are things are starting to shift. And if you, I would tell women, although we don't know when you're going to go through menopause, we don't know what symptoms you might have. You might have no symptoms. You might have your period one day, it stops the next and then you never have it again. But that's, yeah, it's the minority of women. But for women to say I'm in my mid-40s, I should educate myself of just what it all entails, because then you can be more mindful of saying this isn't right, just yeah just start reading little snippets of things.
Speaker 1:I think you know, before, when I was going through menopause, there was nothing out there on menopause. And I tend to think of menopause like transition, like the transition from the military we all have when you went from kindergarten to grade school, grade school to high school, high school to college or sports, whatever. Those are all transitions. This is another transition. But I think the problem now is that there's so much information out there. It's like drinking from a fire hose You're like whoa. So it's like standing in front of the bread aisle going we'll just not eat bread, you know, and you turn around and leave. That's how I feel. It's just too much information. So you need someone who can give you the information and you can say you know someone that could say okay, you could do A, b or C. I love options. I love don't say oh well, you know, you're just getting older. There you go.
Speaker 1:That's what a doctor told me. I wanted to punch him in the throat. I seriously did. I said this they pay you to say this to women. Doctors don't like me, by the way. Anyway.
Speaker 2:Because you advocate for yourself. More women need to be that they have the courage to say. I don't think that that is right. The majority of women that I talk to have been dismissed by their providers, and we know that there's no menopause curriculum in med school. There's no education, and so unless doctors actually make an effort to want to know, so many are not equipped to deal with it and so many don't care. I'm sorry to say that. That's my experience.
Speaker 1:They don't.
Speaker 2:They really don't, yeah. And so when women go and say, hey, there's something not right and they're just being told, like you said, that's just midlife, you're stressed out, they're being sent home because of aches and pains that are just aches and pains, and as women, we're told to suck it up anyway.
Speaker 2:You know, we get dismissed more than anybody anyway, and menopause is even bigger. So, women, educating yourself about it and having some kind of a plan to say I'm going to go and load it with the questions and I'm not leaving until I get the answers and to also know that you can fire your doctor.
Speaker 1:You don't have to go to that doctor.
Speaker 2:You can say thank you very much. I'm going somewhere else.
Speaker 1:I think it's important. To you know, I thought that I could. To you know, I thought that I could advocate for myself in menopause by treating my own menopausal symptoms. That didn't work. Okay, it just didn't. I, I have pellets. I go the pellet route because it's easy peasy lemon squeezy. I don't have to do it, you know, I don't have to think about it or anything, because it works for me. But I want women to understand is there's so many options out there now, so many ways that you can do this. So, maria, if I come to you and let's say I come to you for fitness, and I say, maria, I'm really tired, I feel like I'm gaining weight, I need to be on a diet, I want to work out, but you hear this and you, you know what's your approach you say, well, I really think you're menopausal or perimenopausal. Do you do? You? I want to say, fix it, because you can't fix it. But do you address that first and then fold in the nutrition and the fitness?
Speaker 2:Well, I would address it by giving some guidance on the fitness. I don't do nutrition advice, basically the basics. Um, I'm not. I. I stay very much in my lane.
Speaker 2:I have yes personal trainers giving all sorts of meal plans. You're not qualified to do that, um, but I do. I'm a proponent of saying saying this could be. I think it's valuable to kind of keep track of those symptoms and go talk to your provider and say here are my symptoms, because we know that testing doesn't necessarily tell us much because our hormones are all over the place anyway. But there is a space for testing. So there is a space, but you wouldn't go to the doctor to say I need to be tested for menopause because that doesn't work. But I would say that and I would say there's these sites that you can go and find a good menopause practitioner or at least someone that has gone through the additional training of menopause.
Speaker 2:It doesn't mean that they're good, it just means that they are going through, and I have a network of doctors and nurses that I recommend people to do, and I tell women to just educate themselves more. I'm very passionate about the education, rob, which is also why I was talking to you earlier. I'm a head coach at Respin Health, which is all about this. It's all about the education part for women, because this is what's so important. That's the missing link.
Speaker 1:Yes, it's not about violence, it's the education part.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's the education and the community.
Speaker 1:Yes, Because we don't talk about it. Women don't talk to us. We'll talk to another woman about clothes, makeup, hair, but we don't talk to other women about menopause, and I find that really kind of weird. Why are you not talking about it to other women? It's a taboo.
Speaker 2:We don't talk about our periods, we don't talk about our sex lives and and, and one. A big component of menopause is there's a lot of women report having painful sex painful like there's issues there that no one wants to talk about because women think it's their problem. It's their problem and, in essence, it's a menopause problem. It's a hormonal problem that can't be addressed like there are solutions for it. So the amount of women that I've experienced, that I've come across Like there are solutions for it. So the amount of women that I've experienced, that I've come across, that suffer in silence when it comes to that their relationship may be not going as well because they don't want to be intimate anymore because it's very painful.
Speaker 2:And then they learn that it's actually an easy, there's an easy solution to it, like a lot of times. Solution to it like a lot of times not always, but a lot of times. We know that vaginal estrogen can be a game changer, and very good, yeah. So those things where we are not talking about it and so when you find a community where you can just share experiences the aha moments I have seen in groups when I teach women in group coaching, where women see someone else express their experience and you see this light bulb going. Oh my God, I've been experiencing this forever and I've just haven't talked about it and I felt like I'm going crazy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and then you realize that a lot of women are going through it, but no one wanted to speak about it. I just think that when I first I went to a menopause expert and if I tell you I went three times before I cause I had I kept having questions like, oh okay, are you ready? And I'm like, no, I have more questions. Oh no, I got more. And at the end I was just like, okay, let me do this. And so they did all this blood work and I remember going back and she goes, she walks and she goes. Oh honey, you don't feel well, do you, you know? And I said, no, you noticed me. I don't feel, you know someone was understood what I was going through, and that's sometimes it's so huge. You know, maria, tell us a little bit about your company fitness in menopause.
Speaker 2:Yes, so I created fitness and menopause quite a while ago just because I wanted to help women specifically with physical activity and customized program just for the menopausal journey, because of the challenge. So it's a very every, every, every person is their own solution at that point. I don't have pre-programmed programs. Like you know, you're a trainer as well. Lots of trainers do this, like every program that they attach to everybody else, but every woman that is in menopause has a completely different experience.
Speaker 1:It's a different body. It's just like in Pilates Each body is different. There might be some similarities, but there's some total differences too.
Speaker 2:And it takes a different. You have to take into account the challenges that women go through, when, if you, you have to be a lot more flexible and understanding. And what you said with your, your doctor you're the person that you got went to see about menopause a to be seen and heard and understood. That's has the problem right there. More than half women just want to feel like someone's paying attention, attention to them. Yes, what if you haven't slept for a week? You're not going to show up at five o'clock in the morning.
Speaker 1:More than half Women just want to feel like someone's paying attention.
Speaker 2:Attention to them. Yes, what if you haven't slept for a week? You're not going to show up at 5 o'clock in the morning to do a high-intensity interval training. And you don't need a trainer to tell you everybody has the same 24 hours in the day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know, because they'll get punched in the throat too if I'm just saying, if someone said that to me, yes, someone said that to me.
Speaker 2:Yes, but you know, unfortunately there's so many fitness professionals out there that still prescribe to that modality of being the ones that have to be kind of hardcore and tell women that they have and make them feel bad about it. Yeah, and so I just believe that women going through this stage of life deserve a different approach, and that's why, I created and I want women to be more adventurous, to be kinder to themselves.
Speaker 1:Right, oh, we're so hard on ourselves, so hard. So, Maria, what are some common misconceptions about exercise and body image for women in midlife? And the reason I'm asking this is because I am going to be 68 this year and I've been in the fitness industry for 40 years. And I got out of the shower the other morning and I looked at my body and I'm like, oh my God, who is that? But here's the thing that's funny, here's what's funny.
Speaker 1:I think, what if I had never worked out, what would my body look like? And I thought, oh, that's horrible, I can't even think about that. So can you tell us some things that women have to overcome? Who come to you Because I think, oh, you know, I always get this. Well, I want to be 127 pounds and I'm like, okay, that's a very specific number, why? Well, that's what I weighed in high school and I'm like, oh, honey, your body's been through so many journeys. I said, what if we could get you to the point where you look like you lost 127 pounds, but you just felt better and you feel good? And people are, oh my God, you're awesome, you look so great. So how do you navigate that, maria?
Speaker 2:That's a million dollar question. I think and I'm very passionate about this part because I think body image and addressing that body image monster that may, more than likely, has been lurking in the background for a really long time crucial to feeling good about yourself or at least accepting the body that you're in now. Yes, I think the majority of women, um, their main challenge is this change in body composition. And where things are, it isn't necessarily the weight although weight gain is, you know, common but it's that belly fat. How can I get rid of that belly fat? I'm doing everything I used to do. It doesn't work anymore. Working it's so hard that they're trying, you know. They're working out more, they're dieting more because they think that what has worked in the past and it's backfiring. It is backfiring because women are undernourished, they are overworked, they don't let themselves rest a lot and then they just quit. Yeah.
Speaker 1:And rightfully so. You know you're trying to do all this stuff in the gym and you're not sleeping, which, by the way, is a whole nother. That's a whole nother episode. You're not sleeping, which, by the way, is a whole nother. That's a whole nother episode. And then, but you're doing more, thinking that it's going to be better, you're eating less because you think that's better, and it's all kicking your butt literally, and you just say I'm done with this. So I totally understand that sometimes we have to I won't say retrain women to think, but, you know, to approach it from a totally different direction, because when we have these blinders on and we're like this, you know we're looking, looking, looking, and we never do that, like what's over there. And I think sometimes that we need to do that, don't you think?
Speaker 2:Yeah, 100 percent, but I also do think that we need to reframe what our bodies are doing.
Speaker 2:We are spending so much time criticizing our bodies instead of but I love what you said your body went through so many journeys, many women that have had multiple children already, or went through surgeries, went through this, maybe survived some stuff, and even if it isn't, by the time we go through menopause our bodies have probably been going up and down and modified and we've had injuries and still we expect it to be just bouncing right back to where it was, a critical time. Where hormones are all over the place. I always say we have to give ourselves time to grieve the body.
Speaker 1:Yes, oh, I'm so glad you said that. Say that one more time, maria.
Speaker 2:We have to grieve. We have to. I think it's essential, just like any other grief. You have to go through that process and say this other body served me really well, like before, because I needed that body to be that at that point in time. But my body now is a different body and I can't keep doing the same things that I used to do. And also, this body now deserves to be acknowledged. It needs to be acknowledged, it needs to be treated kindly and but at the same time you know, when I say this, sometimes women are just like well, do you just expect you want me to just give up? And I said no, absolutely not. I just want you to realize that. Let's be honest are you doing the things that you're you could be doing to be healthy? Are you resistance training? Are you eating nutritious foods? Are you taking care of your mental health?
Speaker 1:are you?
Speaker 2:taking? Are you taking time for yourself? All of these things are important and I can guarantee that most of the individuals either are not doing some of those crucial parts. In that case, let's do those things let's do those.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's time to do them.
Speaker 2:It's time to do those things, but some women, some women, some women already doing all those things, and those are the ones that have the hardest time because they're already doing all of the things that they need to do and they are not willing to accept that their body is this this is what my body needs to be right now.
Speaker 1:It is what it is. Yeah, I always joke. I tell women, you know, when I speak to groups and stuff, that you know, in your 20s you could leave the gym for two weeks and come back and nothing's changed. But in your 50s you leave for two weeks and everything. You know what I mean. It's like it's, it's totally, it's just, it's just different, but it's. It's an amazing time because you know, when you're younger you don't know who you are, you don't know what you want, all this other stuff. And then you learn all these things as an older woman, as an older woman, and you know, I I feel perfectly okay saying no to someone.
Speaker 1:you know, and sometimes it's not, no, it's just not right now, but there are changes I think there's so positive that are that will serve you better than having that kick in body that you had when you were 25, you know cause you didn't know. Well, I'm not going to say that, but, um, I was going to say something. You know, um blank. You don't know blank, you know, versus Shinola, you know it from Shinola, you just. But now you know so much, and so let's, let's meet in the middle your body's here. And so let's let's meet in the middle your body's here, meet your body right there. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:And you know, when you said one thing that I always like to go back to, it's when we look at the body that we used to have. Maybe I always dare women to think back and say did you appreciate that body then?
Speaker 2:Because there's a high chance you did not when you were 20 or 30, you were still trying to modify your body somehow, because it wasn't perfect then. And it's never perfect, because there's always something that we're told we should be different. And so we romanticize the past self, even though, if we're honest, we can look back and say we didn't appreciate it then no, now is the time I can tell you I didn't I ate whatever I wanted.
Speaker 1:My body looked great, you know. And and also you know, back in the day we used to do spot reduction. Remember that. Oh, I get my thighs to look I don't need to work everything else and you're like okay, so I just thought I'd throw that out there.
Speaker 2:I love that. Yes, that is way back now. Now it's all about you can't spot reduce, but we still tell women that they need to do something to get rid of it.
Speaker 1:Yes, there's a solution out there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, nothing has changed. Kat, you've been around long enough as well, and we've all been around long enough to know that the tactics haven't changed. The marketing tactics haven't changed. There's always someone to tell you that you're not what you're supposed to be and they're selling you the solution on how to get what they're telling you. You should look like.
Speaker 1:Well, I love the whole pro. Aging. Anti aging just drives me nuts. Let's just age and be awesome at that. You know you, you can be who you are. You know, putting stuff on your face Is it going to change anything, unless you're doing something for your body. So all the nutrition, all the things you're doing, it starts on the inside and it. And then, all of a sudden, you see a blossom when people start saying god, maria, you look great. What do you do, girl? What are you doing to your face? And you're like exercising nutrition. You know, just like when, back in the day, when they would ask entertainers oh how do you, how do you get such great skin? Oh, I sleep well and drink lots of water and I eat Okay.
Speaker 1:Lies first of all, okay, but just realizing that the nutrition starts on the inside. I know a lot of people who look great on the outside, but I know what they eat, I know they don't work out, I know they don't move their body and it's going to show up at some point in their life. It's going to show up, and not in a good way. Maria, let's talk a little bit about re-imagining. Do you have women re-manage their approach to exercise and well-being? Because I feel that exercise is self-care and you know, if you can't, you can't pour from an empty cup. So this is refilling your cup so you can be a better person, a better mom, a better coworker, a better dog mom I'm a dog mom, you know a better, just a feeling better in your own body. So can you speak to that? Is that something that you help women? You kind of shift how they're thinking and kind of say, well, what if we thought about it like this? Do you do that a lot?
Speaker 2:Oh, every day, all day. That's my favorite favorite thing to do and I think it's the most impactful when we are able. The role of mindset during midlife and menopause is very underrated. It is one of the most critical tools to survive it and to come out and make the most out of this journey, because we're able to look at, let's say, from a movement perspective. We're again talking about all of these things. They worked for you, they they're, they were maybe fun, but now you're in the body where every time you do x, y, c, your body just hurts forever yeah, you're not enjoying it as much anymore, but somehow you still feel that you have to do that and I'd say, what about?
Speaker 2:is there something else that you've been wanting to try, like, what about racquetball, or going hiking? Or maybe trying, like I said, a zumba class? Or maybe you want to do a group class? Maybe working out on your own is no longer inspirational to you. There there's, um, there's been a tendency to just have a very fixed menu, like a pre-fixed menu, and I'm all about creating this buffet. There is so much to do. Why don't we try something new and you might actually enjoy something you've never tried, and if you don't, then don't do it, but give yourself the chance to find something now that you may really enjoy that you never thought you would.
Speaker 1:I really enjoy high intensity interval training. However, it is modified. Okay, let me tell you it's modified. I can't do the tuck jumps anymore and I really don't want to. I don't do burpees because I don't like them. But I'm trying to change how women think about. They hear high intensity like, oh no, I'm out. They disqualify themselves. And I said what if we could do it but modify it to a point where you're still getting a workout but you're not crunching your joints, you're not doing anything bad for your joints, because I think that we automatically disqualify ourselves from a lot of things.
Speaker 1:And when you talked about mindset, it's you know. I always like to think. You know, when we get into midlife, that we have shut the door to all the things that we wanted to do. And I tell women that the door is shut but it's not locked. Just open the door a little bit and just peek what's behind there and go. Oh, I remember that Now there might be some things behind that door you don't want to do anymore and that's okay, but pull out those little nuggets that you want. You know that you said, oh, I want to do this one day. Go ahead and do it, now's the time and and be a beginner at something. I'm just going to put that out there too.
Speaker 1:As we adult and adulting sucks, I'm just going to say it um, we forget how to be a beginner. Kids will do anything on the first try. They're like you want to do this? Yeah, that looks like fun, let me go do it. And you're like, oh, and we're the ones worrying, whereas we just like, oh, you know, I don't know how to do that and you know all of this other stuff. Stop limiting yourself. Just say what, if? What if I went to a roller skating rink and I roller skated with my kids? What if I got lessons so I could roller skate with my kids? There's things around everything. Sorry, I got on my soapbox. I'm so sorry, maria. No, you make such great points.
Speaker 2:And I think we are so aligned, kat I just my last blog I wrote was all about the doors, the open doors and also being able to see those doors and be willing to walk through them because there's an opportunity everywhere everywhere. Okay to lock that one door, that isn't serving you exactly, yeah, exactly, yeah the opportunities of it all are.
Speaker 2:We are not leaning into those opportunities of things that are out there. And just to be more adventurous, like you said, I have a nine-year-old and she keeps me really in check and I am so out there that she sometimes rolls her eyes. She's like mom and I'm like girl. I'm, I want to have some fun. Life is too serious. I want to have some fun.
Speaker 1:I know, but we have to learn how to laugh and giggle a little bit.
Speaker 1:You know, I had a friend of mine buy me a coloring book. She bought me 120 Crayola crayon box with a coloring book and the first thing I did was I opened the box and smelled the crayons. I was like it brought my childhood back. You know little things like that. Remember what you used to like to do as a child. You know, and bring some of that back into your life. Maria, what's coming up for you? What's what's going on for you? You know that you want to tell our audience about Well.
Speaker 2:I'm. I'm really excited about a new venture I've joined, so I'm a head health coach at Respin Health. It's Halle Berry's new company, where it's an online community and educational platform. It's all about community. It's all about educating women and just helping women find their own path. It isn't about prescribing a solution, which is really what I've lived this entire life has been all about giving women options Like what you were saying. Here are all the options. Know that these are science backed. This is their science behind it. This isn't just someone trying to sell you something.
Speaker 2:And then know that you don't not force to take any of them, but just know that they're there and then make an informed decision and ask those questions so that's been super excited to that be part of creating it, creating the curriculum and creating the database behind it for the past year and I've had the good fortune to be the menopause coach for hallie Berry herself Very exciting.
Speaker 2:So I want to be like, really talk about that more and bring people know that there are resources out there that aren't there to sell you something, that are there to actually help, yeah, and to find your tribe, to find that all these other women that are out there that are talking about it, that want to ask those questions, that want to be supportive, a place where you can be heard.
Speaker 2:Um, I've done this on my small scale by myself and now I'm really excited to be part of this really bigger scale where we can talk and we have those.
Speaker 1:You know you want to talk about sex let's talk about sex you want to talk about? Let's talk about sex, baby. So peppa did about, let's talk about sex baby.
Speaker 2:So I did it all the way back, and we just need to do more of that as well. Let's just make there's no taboo. I want a world where we are don't have any taboos about talking about our lives and our experiences as women, and that we're unabashedly honest and just have we have our boundaries, but we're also like no, we're here and we're going to talk about it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, maria, where can people find you if they want to? You know they need your services or you know they want to follow you on social media.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I. My Instagram is Dr Maria Lucas or Dr Maria Luque, but you can also find me on my website, which is fitnessinmenopausecom, and from there you can subscribe to my newsletter, and there's an email up there too, you can contact me. I'm always happy to talk to people and just answer basic questions. Please reach out. I am so passionate about this that it's really consuming me to an extent where I'm just so excited. You probably relate. I just really love what I do. I do too.
Speaker 2:I love to see the impact to where I you know some women's. Just they're always like I don't want to bother you, please just let's, let's have a chat.
Speaker 1:You know, I find that sometimes women think that they're going to be judged. You know, because I always say, hey, let's have a one-on. You know, let's just talk about it. And because I have a fitness, an online fitness community. But I tell women you don't have to be a part of the community, let's just chat. Let's let me see if I can give you some information that might help you to start your journey. Maria, thank you for being on Sisters in Service today, and I want to be you. I want to be like you when I grow up. Yeah, I'm not there yet, just saying I don't know. If you can tell but I'm having a good time doing this.
Speaker 1:You know I love talking to other. You know fitness enthusiasts and people who are just really down to earth enough to say I just want to give information so that people can make that, that decision. You know, and I think it's just important that we continue to speak about menopause. We continue to support each other. If you guys don't, they don't know. You know it's Women's History Month and it's good.
Speaker 1:I think today is International Women's Day. Yes, we are freaking fabulous. We need to pat ourselves on the back. Lift another woman up, because you don't know who you're influencing. It could be your kids, I know, Maria, your, your daughter's. Like my mom's a badass, Look at a badass. Look at her and keep in mind that this is a journey, it's not a oh. I want to work out for 12 weeks and get into these bikinis because I'm going on vacation. Let's think about getting healthy from the inside so that your health shows on the outside. So I hope that all my listeners got something from Maria, because I know I did. But it's fun just dishing, because this easily could have been a two-hour podcast. But, as always, you're going to hear me say please stay safe, Take care of each other Until next time, and remember that it's never too late to start your impossible.
Speaker 2:Yes, all of that.