Caring For Your Physical Body In Midlife

Midlife Comeback: How I Rebuilt My Strength, Energy & Confidence After 50

Feeling tired, foggy, and like your body is working against you? You’re not alone. In this episode of The Menopause Method, I’m sharing the exact 3-step method that helped me rebuild my strength, restore my energy, and reclaim my confidence in midlife, without extreme workouts or complicated diets.

Whether you're dealing with menopause fatigue, midlife weight gain, or the emotional toll of feeling off, this episode walks you through the simple shifts that actually work.

We’ll talk about:

• Why your metabolism feels slower (and what you can really do about it)
• How to strength train in midlife (even if you're short on time or energy)
• A simple way to track your nutrition. No calorie counting required!
• How chronic stress affects your hormones, sleep, and cravings
• Why 60 minutes of strength training per week can protect your heart and your bones

My go-to strategies for managing stress and building resilience in perimenopause and beyond

This isn’t the beginning of the end. It’s your Midlife Comeback.

👉 If this episode resonated, be sure to like, subscribe, and share it with a friend who needs to hear it too.
💪 Want to get started right away? Try my 10-minute strength workouts here: https://www.camoyler.com/meno-minis

Free Home Gym Guide: https://www.camoyler.com/gym-equipment-guide
Free Menopause Sleep Guide: https://www.camoyler.com/pl/2148586038

Chapters:
00:00 Midlife Myths: Revitalizing Menopause
04:59 Photo Food Diary Method
07:20 Menopause Minis: Daily Strength Workouts
12:58 Building Resilience: A Three-Part Approach
14:15 Redefine Midlife with Self-Care

Transcript

0:00

I used to look in the mirror and think, well, this is it. This is the beginning of the end. I believe that feeling tired and weak and unmotivated was just part of my new normal. That ache in my knees when I got out of bed, or that extra weight around my waist. Or what about that mental fog that rolled in after every single afternoon? I just thought it was the price of admission for being over 50. But what if I told you that's a lie, A story we've been sold that midlife is just the start of this long, slow, unavoidable decline? What if feeling good, and I mean really good, wasn't a thing of the past? Welcome back to the Menopause Method. My name is Cam Allen and I'm very excited to share with you this. I figured out a simple three step approach that didn't stop me from sliding backwards. It actually helped me feel stronger, sharper and more energetic than I did in my 40s. So stick with me because I'm going to share the exact approach with you today. And it's way simpler than you think. Let's be honest for a second. Midlife can feel like a total betrayal. The body that used to bounce back, that could handle the late nights and the bad food, suddenly feels like it's working against you. And believe me, you're not imagining it. Our bodies are going through some major shifts in midlife. Our hormones change, which changes our metabolism, and it's like the furnace that was burning calories inside of us just doesn't run as hot anymore. On top of that, the risk for chronic stuff like heart disease and diabetes starts to creep up in midlife. I remember the feeling so clearly and that it wasn't just one big thing. It was a slow, quiet theft of my vitality. It was like having a slow leak in a tire. You didn't notice it day to day, but eventually that warning light inside of your car comes on and you look down and you're completely running flat. Also, I was caught in the sandwich generation, squeezed between taking care of my aging parents and my own kids. And my health was like the pot left simmering on the back burner, completely forgotten until it boiled over. The most dangerous part of this is how quietly we accept this. We tell ourselves, eh, this is just what happens. We see our friends go through it and it makes the decline feel quote unquote normal. We accept the weight gain like, oh, it's just part of aging. We accept the low energy and the fading strength as it's just a non negotiable facts of life. Our confidence takes a hit and we start living a smaller life. We shrink to fit the world we think we can handle. That was my reality. I was on the fast track to becoming a spectator in my own life until one thing happened and something snapped. It was December, shortly after my hysterectomy and I went to the CrossFit gym. It was actually a beautiful day. And we did this workout called Nancy. If you're in CrossFit, you know what I'm talking about. Five rounds, 15 overhead squats, 400 meter run. And let me tell you, I felt full of myself. I smashed it, in my opinion. I was like, ah, this hysterectomy, menopause thing's no big deal. I'll be fine. And let me tell you, I landed on the couch for days. I was extra sore and I had no energy at all. That's when I realized I hit rock bottom. I decided right then and there the story that I was telling myself about midlife, that midlife was the beginning of the end, was the story. I was done living my old ways. Didn't work now in this half of life. And that decision led me to these three simple, powerful ideas that I'm about to share with you. Okay, so we've laid out the problem. Let's talk about how to fix it. Now, this isn't some crazy diet or insane workout plan. Because if you know me at all, I'm all about being in tune with your body and keeping it so, so simple. So this simple approach was built on three pillars. Nutrition, strength and stress management. It's all about consistent actions that add up to the massive results. So let's talk about pillar number one, the power of just paying attention. This first pillar is about nutrition, and it is not about restriction. It's actually about paying attention to what you're putting in your mouth. Forget the complicated diets and all the fads. Keto, carnivore, fill in the blank. The single most powerful thing you can do for yourself is start a food blog. Now, before you roll your eyes, just hear me out. You don't have to count a single calorie. I have a much simpler method for you. It's actually you make a photo album on your phone. Before you eat anything, a meal, a snack, a drink, all you do is snap a picture and add it to your food log album. That's it. This simple act does two incredible things for you. First, it's like turning on the lights in a cluttered room that you didn't really want to look at for the first time, you're forced to pause and actually see what's there. It interrupts the mindless pattern of grabbing a snack from the pantry. You know when the afternoon fog rolls in and you're like, I'll just go get something crunchy or salty out of the pantry. Stops that second. At the end of the day, you have a visual record of your choices. Scrolling through your food album is like a detective looking for clues. It gives you undeniable evidence of your own patterns. And in midlife, this awareness is everything. Our metabolism isn't what it used to be. The goal is to start filling your plate with protein, vegetables and fruit. Literally, just make a beautiful, colorful plate and you're on the way. Protein is huge because our muscle mass naturally declines with age. It's a process called sarcopenia. Think of your muscle as your body's engine. And unfortunately, after 40, that engine starts to get a little smaller and a little less powerful every single year, burning less fuel even when you're just sitting still. Protein is the key raw material that keeps that engine running for strong. So step one, make a photo album and take pictures of what you are actually eating. Pillar two is the 60 minute investment. And it's not even 60 minutes a day, it's 60 minutes a week. The second pillar is strength training. If you know me at all, this is not a surprise. And I need you to get the image of some 22 year old bodybuilder out of your head. That is not who we are. This is about building tough, a tough functional body. And the time commitment is so small it's laughable, especially compared to the return you get. The goal was for about 60 minutes of total strength training a week. That's it. So you could do two 30 minute sessions, you could do three 20 minute section sessions. Or my favorite would be daily menopause minis, 10 minute strength workouts. I have the time and the energy for that. You can do this at home with a single pair of dumbbells. So you may be asking, why is this so important? As we just covered, you start losing muscle mass every single decade. After 30, that loss is directly tied to a slower metabolism and a higher risk of injury. On top of that, strength training is like telling your bones they need to fortify themselves. It's the biological signal that adds the rebar to the concrete that's giving you this powerful defense against osteoporosis, which is bone loss. And here's a staggering fact. A major study out of Iowa State found that lifting weights for less than an hour a week can reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke from anywhere from 40 to 70%. So not only does strength training build your bones, your body, it also helps you with things like heart attack and stroke. Let that sink in. For an hour a week, you can get that kind of protection. So where do you start? Start with compound movements. Exercises that work a whole bunch of muscles at once, like squats, deadlifts, push ups, rows. Check the notes below. Because I have the menopause minis, that's exactly what I use. It's like building a functional suit of armor that protects you from the daily strains. This strength lets you toss your luggage into the overhead bin and pick up your grandkids without even a second thought. It's about making sure your health span actually matches your lifespan. So pillar number three has to do with stress management. It is your resilience toolkit. This third and final pillar is one that most of us completely ignore. And it has to do with stress. We wear stress like a badge of honor. I know I did through my 30s and my 40s. But chronic stress is like driving your car with the check engine light on constantly. A short burst is fine of stress, but over time, the critical parts start to wear down and they break. It wrecks your sleep, it messes with your hormones, it contributes to weight gain, and it is a major cause of heart disease. So the key is not to eliminate stress because honestly, that's impossible. It's about having a toolkit to manage it. So think of these as your personal pressure release valves. Here are some of my favorites. The first one is breathing. I actually learned how to breathe at probably age 42, when I was visiting the chiropractor because my shoulder and neck hurt. When I started lifting weights, he taught me how to breathe through my abdomen, through my whole entire torso. I feel like I was breathing through my right shoulder for years and years and years. So when you feel that wave of stress coming on, stop for a minute. You got this. Inhale slowly through your nose for a count of like four. Inhale a little extra through your nose, hold it for four, and then exhale slowly through your mouth for six. This is called the physiological sigh. And. And it is like the reset button for your nervous system. You can do this anywhere at any time to calm it down. So again, inhale with your nose. Inhale a little extra, hold and then exhale completely. That breathing, that process of breathing turns on something called your vagus nerve, and it turns on your parasympathetic. Which is the calm side of your nervous system. It is so easy. So that's the physiological side. Another favorite breathing of mine is box breathing. So if you're a visual person, which most people are, I want you to imagine a square and I want you to inhale for four on one side of the square, hold for four on the second side, exhale for longer on the third side, and then hold the exhale on the fourth side. Between box breathing and the physiological side, you've got some tools in your tool check tool chest to instantly calm your body. My second favorite tool is called progressive muscle relaxation. Stress makes us tense our muscles without even knowing it. Like right now, pull those shoulders away from your ears. Let make sure there's lots of space there. It seems like me when I'm stressed out, my right shoulder hikes up to my ear. So you don't even know what's happening. So this method is methodically finding and loosening every single over tightened bolt on a machine. So start at your feet, tense those muscles up for five seconds and then release them completely. Work your way all the way up the body. This teaches you the difference between tense and relax. I can't wait for you to give it a try. It's amazing. The third tool in your tool chest is taking short breaks. Our brains and our bodies are like high performance engines and they were not built to run on idle at a desk for eight hours straight. We need to move. So set a timer, get up and walk every, you know, five minutes every hour. For me, I like to go outside, I listen to nature. A short walk is enough to break up that stress cycle and get your head back in the game. These are simple practices that build your resilience and let you handle life's pressure without letting them tear down your health. This three part approach, honestly has changed everything for me and for my clients. It took me from feeling like I was on the decline to feeling stronger and more in control of my life than ever. But everyone's journey is different and I'm curious to hear from you. What is your biggest health challenge right now? What? What are you facing right now in midlife? Let me know in the comments below. Reading through what other people are experiencing is incredibly powerful when it reminds us that we are not going through this alone. So let's bring it all together. This is not a magic pill. It is a fundamental shift in how you look at your own well being. First, it's nutrition awareness. Use a simple tool like a photo log to be your own detective of your own habits. It empowers you to make small, better choices. Second, foundational strength. Commit to 60 minutes of strength training a week. Think of it as tuning up your body's engine and reinforcing its frame for the long haul. And third, it's stress resilience. Build a toolkit of pressure relief valves like deep breathing, short breaks to manage stress before it starts to manage you. Look, the idea that midlife is the beginning of the end is just that. It is just a story. It's a story we've been told, but it doesn't have to be our story. You have the power to change the narrative. You can be stronger and have more energy and more full of life in your 40s, 50s and beyond than you ever thought possible. It all begins with the belief that you are worth the effort and it is built on the foundation of these simple, consistent actions. Thanks for sticking with me today. If this resonated with you at all, hit that subscribe button. I am dedicated to sharing practical, no nonsense strategies to help you thrive in midlife and beyond. Now go out there and start writing your own story and I'll see you next week.