Hormone Belly Description
Drs. Williams, Guthrie, and Greene discuss hormone belly and how the disruption of hormones can cause excess fat around the belly.
Hormone Belly Transcription
Dr Mironda Williams:
Welcome to Take Good Care Podcast.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
An endeavor that grew out of our love for obstetrics and gynecology.
Dr Karen Greene:
Our aim and mission is to serve as a source of vital information for women of all races, ages, and walks in life.
Dr Mironda Williams:
I am Dr. Mironda Williams.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
I am Dr. Deanna
Dr Karen Greene:
And I’m Dr. Karen Greene.
Group:
Welcome to our show.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Welcome to this episode of Take Good Care Podcast. I’m Dr. Mironda Williams.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
I’m Dr. Deanna Guthrie.
Dr Karen Greene:
And I’m Dr. Karen Greene.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Welcome to another episode for our newest season of Take Good Care Podcast. We’re excited to continue to bring you some different information. Some of it will be medically related, some of it not so medically related, where we’ll be talking, not just to give you information, but also to just have a conversation.
And so this season. We’re also introducing our email address so that if you, as our listening audience, think of questions or topics that you may be interested in us following up on, please send those to docs, that’s D-O-C-S, [email protected]. Again, that email address is [email protected]. On today’s episode, we will be talking about what some of us affectionately call hormone belly. Hormone belly, and it does affect-
Dr Karen Greene:
There’s no affectionate involved.
Dr Mironda Williams:
… men and women, but-
Dr Karen Greene:
It’s not affectionate at all.
Dr Mironda Williams:
It’s not affectionate. That was a poor attempt at a joke. But women, in particular, probably because of a lot of the cultural norms and biases we tend to be very aware of and in tune with the changes in our body.
Hormones may help to regulate your bodily functions that include metabolism, stress, hunger, as well as sex drive. Any disruption of hormones can sometimes cause excess fat around the belly. That’s what we are calling hormone belly, or in some cases menopause belly, if you’re in that age range. We recently posted an article on all of our social media platforms discussing the causes and treatment for hormone belly. So in this episode, we will take a more detailed look at that article, and give you some information that was brought up with that.
And again, this is not a substitute or not intended to be a substitute for you checking in with your healthcare provider directly. We’re not giving you specific medical advice. We’re here just to give you some information, so that when you do seek advice with your healthcare provider, you can be an informed patient and involved in your care.
So I’m going to get us started. I’m going to look into the topic generally and talk about some of the factors that are associated. Dr. Guthrie will then take a look and give you a brief overview of how we can try to get rid of this hormone belly. And then Dr. Greene will follow up talking about some of the weight loss facts as well as myths, just to give us some other information to talk about. And then we’ll just try to have a conversation among ourselves, just in terms of anything else that comes up while we’re reviewing this information.
So again, when we talk about what causes hormone belly, it can be any number of types of hormones. So it’s not just related to women going through menopause. There are thyroid issues that can sometimes cause problems with weight gain. Cortisol is particularly a stress hormone that under those situations, elevations or changes in that can lead to metabolism changes that can lead to weight in women around the midsection. You can also have issues as it relates to other types of stresses in your life that can, again, affect your hormones, which can then lead to some issues related to weight gain.
So when we start talking about briefly thyroid, again, this is not to give you any medical advice, but abnormalities in your thyroid function can definitely lead to changes in your weight. Those kinds of symptoms that you may notice could be appetite changes, changing in your bowel habits, where you may either have frequent bowel movements or diarrhea or sometimes constipation, fatigue. There are a number of things that can sometimes indicate that there’s a thyroid issue.
Anytime you have any of those symptoms, you need to be evaluated by your healthcare provider. Thyroid abnormalities can generally be detected by doing a specific set of lab tests that can be evaluated. And then based on that, your healthcare provider can determine if you need to be on any kind of medications to try to regulate your thyroid.
And Dr. Guthrie and Dr. Greene and myself, we’ve had many patients who will start on any medication, thyroid being one, so they have a thyroid abnormality, they get started on thyroid medication. And then their thyroid blood level functions become normal. And so the patient thinks, “Oh, well, I can stop my thyroid medication.”
Dr Karen Greene:
Because I’m better.
Dr Mironda Williams:
No, your thyroid is abnormal. So the medication doesn’t repair your thyroid. It just replaces what the thyroid normally would put out for you. Or it blocks if you’re putting out too much thyroid hormone. So the medication is what’s keeping you in that normal zone.
We’ve all, I think, heard people talk about the effects of stress on our bodies in a number of ways. So when you’re in unusually high intensity stress situations, or if you’re under stress for long periods of time, that can cause an increase or release in the cortisol hormone in your body. Cortisol is produced in your adrenal glands, and that can trigger your body to actually store fat, because from evolution, our bodies function in this fight or flight type of situation. So when the body senses that you’re under stress, then the body says, “Oh, let me store fat because we’re going to need energy in case we got to run from a gorilla.”
Dr Karen Greene:
I wish the body would change that, because we’re not running from gorillas or tigers or anybody.
Dr Mironda Williams:
We’re not running from gorillas anymore or tigers or dinosaurs.
Dr Karen Greene:
Can we do it a different way?
Dr Mironda Williams:
So yes, if we could flip that switch, that would be great, but we can’t. But that hormone does cause you to store fat, because that’s the way the body protects itself when it senses stress. So of course, and we’ve done several episodes in our previous seasons that talk about ways to moderate your stress or alleviate your stress by doing healthy lifestyle changes, whether it’s due to healthy movement, healthy eating, healthy sleep patterns, making sure that you’re giving your body the rest that it needs.
And then in particular, as OB/GYNs, we frequently see patients who come in with a consolation of symptoms and blood work that then causes them to be diagnosed with something called PCOS, or polycystic ovarian syndrome. These individuals, these ladies have a higher level of circulating androgens, which is another class of hormones that your body normally produces.
So it’s not that your body is producing something abnormal, but your body is producing abnormal levels of a particular class of hormone that it kind of throws all the other hormones off, because everything kind of works in concert. When that happens, these ladies frequently can have symptoms of irregular menstrual periods. Sometimes they can have a lot of acne. Again, because this androgen hormone is a male type of hormone, so it can generate a lot of oil production in the skin and different things. So you can develop acne.
And again, that male like hormone can also cause thinning of the hair. It can sometimes cause darkening of the skin in particular areas. So those are some of the symptoms that you can see with ladies who have the condition that we call PCOS. And again, PCOS, or polycystic ovarian syndrome, can’t be cured. It’s not something that we can give you a treatment for that makes it go away, but it can definitely be managed.
And it can be managed with combination of lifestyle changes, again. Frequently these ladies may be overweight, not always, but they can be. And so watching your diet, watching your exercise level, monitoring your carbohydrate intake, all of that can help, as well as sometimes we will help to manage those types of abnormalities by putting you on a hormonal form of medication or a hormonal form of birth control. Again, just trying to get the hormones back in balance, so that you don’t have the other symptoms.
The other issue with patients who have PCOS is that in addition to some of the hormonal imbalances that can cause period irregularities, it can also cause issues related to your insulin metabolism, some of your other bodily functions, electrolytes. So it’s very important that these patients not only establish and continue care with their OB/GYN provider, but with a family practitioner or an internal medicine, a primary care provider who can also help to monitor some of these other abnormalities that may need to be managed as well.
And then the last thing that I’ll briefly mention before I turn it over to Dr. Guthrie, menopause. Wonderful menopause. And again, menopause is normal. It’s a natural part of a woman’s life journey. It is not an abnormal fact. It feels like it’s abnormal-
Dr Karen Greene:
Some days
Dr Mironda Williams:
… and we wish we could change it, but it’s just one of those natural phases in our reproductive life that happens when our normal estrogen levels as well as the other hormones that a woman’s ovaries produce, your estrogen, your testosterone, your progesterone levels, they just naturally decline.
So as a part of that natural decline, there are several symptoms that occur that we’ve talked about in other episodes, and we encourage you to kind of check back and look at some of the other things we’ve put out specifically about menopause. But as it relates to this hormone belly, this belly fat that comes from nowhere, when you’ve never had a belly and now you have a belly, and then the belly doesn’t want to go anywhere, but I digress.
So it’s thought that it’s the decrease in the estrogen levels that increases abdominal fat in menopausal women, again, because the body is reacting to what it sees as changes. And so unfortunately, when the body thinks there’s a bad change going on, it says, “Let’s put a little fat around. Little fat helps everything.” So it causes fat to develop. And in women, it particularly can start to concentrate in the abdominal area or in the belly area.
So again, that was just briefly talking about some of the instances where hormones can affect you for various different abnormalities or different conditions. There’s a myriad of things that can happen. So whenever you have a question or concern about it, seek your healthcare provider to give you some guidance in terms of if there’s something that’s abnormal that needs to be treated, or if there’s some other lifestyle changes that can help. And Dr. Guthrie’s going to go into some other things that can help us manage this belly.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Thank you, Dr. Williams. So yes, the menopause belly, the muffin top, where did it come from?
Dr Karen Greene:
Yesterday it wasn’t there, today it is.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
As Dr. Williams was explaining, because of these hormonal changes earlier in life, you would tend to collect fat in your hips. But in menopause, because of the hormonal changes, it now settles in the abdomen. That’s why there’s a change. Never had a stomach before, now you do.
So how do we get rid of this? Of course, as in anything, in general, it’s healthy living lifestyle practices that keep you healthy. But specifically for this menopausal belly, as Dr. Williams explained with cortisol, you want to de-stress. Cortisol is that stress hormone that your body produces, and it’s both emotional stress and physical stress. So I liked they had four terms in this article that I said just kind of covered the whole gamut. They said, unplug, delegate, meditate, stress, and relax.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Répétez s’il vous plait. Say that again.
Dr Karen Greene:
Make a sign.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
I know, really. You need to unplug, delegate, meditate, stretch, and relax. So if you take those five verbs and apply them to your life, it will definitely help your stress levels. Also, because cortisol is an adrenal hormone, sometimes they do recommend some adrenal supplements that may help. And also getting rid of chronic inflammation, that puts stress on the body.
And ways that you can do that, people don’t realize how important gut health is as far as inflammation is concerned. And so eating a healthy diet rich in fiber helps to maintain the immune system and to decrease inflammation. And then Dr. Williams went into an excellent review about thyroid disease. So again, de-stressing, let me say those five words again.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Yes, please.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Unplug, delegate-
Dr Mironda Williams:
Yes.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
… meditate, stretch, and relax. You also want to fight insulin resistance. That also helps to keep the storage. And the concern too is not just the outside fat that you’re seeing, what’s hanging over your belt-
Dr Mironda Williams:
Muffin top.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
… but there’s also internal fat that gets wrapped around your organ. So they said a good indicator is that if you have that outside belly fat, then more than likely you do have what’s called that visceral fat that wraps around your organs.
So what you want to do to fight that is to build muscle. And so muscle burns calories more efficiently than fat does. And so nobody says you have to be a bodybuilder, but any kind of strength exercises and building muscle will help with fat. Also, with hormonal replacement, if you are taking hormonal replacement, and Dr. Williams mentioned the three main ones, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, testosterone is the male hormone and is kind of the lead in building muscle. And so if you’re getting a good balance of your hormones, again, you’ll tend to build muscle, and then you burn calories more efficiently.
Sleep, a bane of mine. So sleep again is very, very, very important. In menopause, women often have sleep disturbances, so you may be able to fall asleep, but you don’t stay asleep. If you’re having bladder issues, you’re getting up all during the night, that is interrupting your sleep patterns. And that affects your cortisol levels. So again, if you’re not getting good sleep, it affects so many different things. And one of those things, like I said, is the cortisol levels.
Also during sleep, your body releases a hormone called leptin, and it’s a hunger kind of hormone. And high levels of this leptin make you feel full. And so when you don’t have these levels, you end up overeating.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Binging.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Binging. Yes, that’s-
Dr Mironda Williams:
Grazing all night.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Yes, grazing. Yes. I used to be a person I never ate at night. People I’d hear get up in the middle of the night to go downstairs and eat something, I’m like… Now I’m eating in the middle of the night. Ghrelin is another hormone, when it’s increased, it increases your cravings also. And that’s also affected by hormonal levels. So sleep, very important.
Then of course there’s watching your diet. There is no one magic diet that fits the bill that’s going to cure all, end all.
Dr Karen Greene:
Darn.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
I know. I wish we could just-
Dr Mironda Williams:
We keep looking.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
… prescribe it. Right. Exactly.
Dr Mironda Williams:
We’re looking for it.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
But of course, doing the things that are basic for good health. Watching your sugar, sugar affects estrogen levels and it triggers a hormone imbalance when you have too high sugar. So when you do have these sugar cravings, you want to find replacements for that. So you want to do more fruits that are sweet, if you have a craving, grapes, apples, pomegranates, they mentioned cherries. Those are good and good fruit to have in your diet.
Again, you want to lower inflammation. You want antioxidant rich foods, and some of those foods are like broccoli, avocados, kale, sweet potato, nuts, and dark chocolate. So there’s a little bit of-
Dr Mironda Williams:
Yes.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
… joy in there. Of course, the darker the chocolate, the better.
Dr Mironda Williams:
The best. Like most things.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Yes. Then there’s fiber that I mentioned before that helps with gut health and helping with inflammation. It also stabilizes insulin levels. Again, with that insulin imbalance, that can also cause weight gain. You want to get protein in your diet, good lean protein in your diet. And a good number to kind of gauge is about 20 to 25 grams per meal.
Iron and calcium are important. They’re also herbal supplements that if you are in a hormonal imbalance that you can take these supplements that will help to put your hormones back in balance. And there’s several, for example, black cohosh, those that relieves symptoms of menopause. You want to get your omega-3s in, that helps with your heart health. Magnesium, it eases anxiety, it helps with sleep, and it also helps with constipation. There’s magnolia bark that helps hot flashes and insomnia. There’s wild yam, ashwagandha, chaste tree berry and dong quai. And you can find supplements that have multiple of these-
Dr Mironda Williams:
Combinations.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
… combinations of these to help with your hormone imbalance.
Then as far as weight loss, there’s always exercise. Keep moving. Keep moving.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Keep moving.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Keep moving. Now, I have a lot of patients who come in and say, “Dr. Guthrie, I’m running, I’m jumping, I’m doing whatever, and I’m not seeing any change.” Well, going back to that stress that we were talking about before, sometimes too much stress will also help you not to lose weight. So it’s not that you have to do long, extensive workouts, so that’s not necessarily better for you, because then you’re increasing your cortisol levels to deal with this high stress that you’re put in your body through. Every time you hear reports about exercise, they always talk about moderate exercise.
And so things like walking 20 to 30 minutes, it doesn’t have to be an hour, it doesn’t have to be 10 miles. If you like doing those things, there’s nothing wrong with doing those things. But don’t feel obsessed into getting into these long, extensive workouts.
Dr Mironda Williams:
That’s why I like what you said earlier about stress, because, and I do the same thing, when you say stress, I’m immediately thinking mental stress, emotional stress, but it’s also physical stress.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Physical stress, also. Yoga, calm the mind.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Calm your mind.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
OM.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Yes. [inaudible 00:20:09]-
Dr Karen Greene:
Relax.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Relax, meditate. That’s another thing that you can do. Swimming is another good exercise, cardio, and it puts less stress on your joints.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Yes.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Now as far as another menopause issue, osteoporosis, it’s not so good for that, but swimming is an excellent exercise without putting a lot of stress on your body. And then there’s of course that I mentioned before, strength training. So building that muscle, so that you can change your metabolism and burn more calories.
So I have a little mantra, I made up this little monic, I said, “Find your FIT,” that’s F-I-T. Find a friend, and it could be friends that you work out with or friends that support you or your friend could be yourself. That kind of motivates you to go out and work out. Find your intentions, so find why you want to do this. I tell women, “Don’t focus on numbers. Focus on health. Forget about that number of your weight. Look at your overall health. And then find your time to do this, and find what works for you. It doesn’t have to be what everybody else is doing.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Exactly.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
If you’re a morning person, great. If you’re an afternoon person, great. If you’re only a weekend person, great. But just find the time that fits for you. Or in the same vein I said, “Find your W’s,” your why, your when and your who, same thing, friend, intention, and time.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Stay FIT.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Stay FIT.
Dr Karen Greene:
Stay FIT. Stay FIT. So in staying fit and thinking about all these things when it comes to menopause, we probably at least once a day get that someone says, “Well, can’t I do this quicker? Isn’t there an easier way?”
Dr Mironda Williams:
Quickly.
Dr Karen Greene:
“Surely, surely-
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
A magic pill.
Dr Karen Greene:
… there’s a magic pill you can give me.” I think someone asked me yesterday, “so what diet pill is the best?” I said, “None of them. Because I’ll give you a pill, you stop eating. You stop taking the pill, you start eating. It doesn’t do you any good.” But you can look on the internet, you can look on IG, and then of course TikTok. You have all these influencers that say, “This is the way you can lose weight. This is the way you can trim your fat.” And they have all these wonderful thin women with their filters promoting this diet and that diet. Have you thinking that this is the way that I’m going to fix my body.
And some people do better with certain things: intermittent fasting, HIT training, muscles, plant-based diets, best machines. But in general, there are some myths and there are some facts. We talk about them a lot, but just to kind of reiterate, what are the myths? And what are the facts?
Some people think, “It doesn’t matter what you eat, as long as you count the calories. So I’m going to make sure I get my 1200 calories a day.” But, yeah, eating calories is good and you know want to eat less than you burn. So you exercise more than you burn calories. But it does matter. One gram of protein may have the same calories as one gram of carbs, but each will affect your metabolism differently.
As Dr. Guthrie already said, protein’s going to add your metabolism and carbs will not. So 100 calories from almonds versus 100 calories from chocolate cake, it isn’t the same. The almonds have healthy fats and nutrients. The cake is high in sugar and saturated fats. And so that’s really not going to help you in terms of your overall health.
And the other problem with counting calories sometime will lead to a little bit more about obsession. So if I’m constantly thinking, “Okay, I’ve got to get my 1200 calories,” you’re not really looking at the quality of the food. You’re really thinking, “Okay, well I can have that piece of cake because I’ve only used 900 calories, and that’s just 300 more with the cake. And I’m good.” No, you really want to pick something better. You want to pick things that are going to fill you up and actually help with your overall health.
My favorite myth is you can choose where to lose the fat from.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
No.
Dr Mironda Williams:
I know.
Dr Karen Greene:
So I know people coming in saying, “I never had a belly.” I mean we hear that all the time. We say it ourselves. “I never had a belly, and then what happened? So surely I can do… I saw on TikTok the other day where you can do this exercise and you can get rid of that.”
And it’s not true. I mean, we’re not the same when it comes to weight loss and weight gain. A lot of it’s genetics. You may gain weight in your hips and thighs because your mama gain weight in your hips and thighs.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Exactly.
Dr Karen Greene:
You may lose weight just in your hips and the belly’s going to still be there, which is kind of sad, but you can lose the overall, but you can’t really pick where it’s going to lose from.
However, strength training, building lean muscle, will give you the appearance of being slimmer-
Dr Mironda Williams:
Because of muscle tone.
Dr Karen Greene:
… because you’re toning the muscle. So if you can tone the muscle, and no one wants to hear, “Well, if you do some sit-ups and some core exercises, it will look slimmer.” “But I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to do.”
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
They’re hard.
Dr Karen Greene:
Because they’re hard.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Yeah, you want to [inaudible 00:24:56]-
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Burpees. I hate burpees.
Dr Karen Greene:
I know. No one likes burpees. No one likes sit-ups. No one likes pushups. But you don’t have to do them every day. You can mix it up.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Well, and then there’s also a lot of adaptive exercises.
Dr Karen Greene:
Yes.
Dr Mironda Williams:
So you don’t have to do a burpee. There are other ways that you can train that don’t require that, if you have mobility issues in various different things.
Dr Karen Greene:
Exactly, so ask. If you’re going to a gym, ask. If you know someone that is a trainer, if you know someone that works out, ask, and find out ways that you can get the appearance that you want, because that’s really what it kind of boils down to, sadly, for most women, it is the appearance of what happened? Where did this muffin top come from?
The other myth number three is cutting the fat helps you lose the weight. So truth one gram of fat has more than twice the amount of calories than a gram of protein or carbohydrates. However, avoiding dietary fats may not help you shed unwanted pounds, but it actually may predispose you to gain weight, because fats keep you fuller longer. People who cut fats from their diet may substitute with sugar and unhealthy unrefined grains. And so you get rid of the fat, you’re not feeling full, and so you’re eating sugar.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
And that’s the same thing with products too. If you compare two products that one says low fat, and then you get the regular product, it has more sugar in it. It has lower fat-
Dr Mironda Williams:
It’s making up for it.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
… but to substitute, they add more sugar. So just be careful-
Dr Mironda Williams:
For the taste.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
… when you look at things like that.
Dr Karen Greene:
Exactly. And so you’re eating the one with the sugar and you’re not feeling full, and then you’re going to eat more. It’s like, “well, I can eat two of these because it’s low fat.”
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Exactly.
Dr Karen Greene:
So low fat doesn’t necessarily mean good. Myth number four, losing weight is a linear process. Factors influence the weight, include hormone, stress, sleep, and exercise. We’ve already talked about that. And so since those tend to change, it’s not going to be linear. If you gained, let’s say, 50 pounds in the last 10 years, then you’re probably not going to lose it in a month. You’re not going to lose it in a year. And there were a lot of things that probably happened over that period of time that caused you to gain the weight.
So in terms of healthier living, healthier dieting, healthier lifestyles, trying to get to that point where you do feel healthy so you can lose the weight, it may take some time. It didn’t come on overnight. But there are things you can do if you kind of slow down the process and get the mindset of, “Okay, I’m going to be healthy. I’m not going to lose the weight like I gained the weight. I’m just going to take my time and do it at my own pass.” That way it puts less stress on yourself, thinking, “I’ve got to do it every day. I’ve got to work out every day, because that’s the only way I’m going to get all this weight off.”
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
And a slower weight loss is better. So these lose 20 pounds in two weeks. That’s not the best way to do it. Also, there are going to be plateaus. Like Dr. Greene said, it’s not a straight line. You’re going to lose a little bit and then hang out for a while. And if you just keep persevering, you’ll keep losing.
Dr Karen Greene:
Lose more. Lose more. Carbs will make you gain wait, myth number five. Low-carb diets can help you shed unwanted pounds and they may even come with additional health benefits. They also minimize your intake of added sugars. However, avoiding good carbs can be counterproductive. Complex carbohydrates keep your blood sugar levels and appetite in check. So you really have to look at what carbs you’re eating in terms of what carbs are going to keep you full. Things that are going to keep you from overeating, and so that you can kind of maintain something.
And I tell people that, “If you’re going to do a diet, per se, is it something that you can live with? Or are you going to do something that you say, ‘Well, I’m going to eliminate some of the things that I think are unhealthy, so that I can still enjoy my food, but I also can maintain a healthy weight”? And that really is the goal.
Eating healthy is expensive is probably a lot of myth that people do really believe, “I can’t eat all these healthy foods, because I’ve got to go to the health food store or the organic store.” Actually, if you cook in bulk, if you buy in bulk, if you get frozen foods or frozen fruits and vegetables, you can actually live healthier. And if you prepare your food as opposed to going out to eat, because actually fast food’s expensive rather than cooking a large meal and splitting it up into different portions.
Dr Mironda Williams:
That’s true. But I think there is a reality, unfortunately, in the fact that, in a lot of our neighborhoods and a lot of communities, when you really want healthier options to cook your own food, there are food deserts.
Dr Karen Greene:
Yes.
Dr Mironda Williams:
I live in one, and I happen to live in what’s considered to be an affluent part of the city, but it’s a Black and Brown affluent part of the city. So my access close to my home to healthy options for food choices has gotten better, but it still requires effort, and it still can be expensive. So while I hear you and I understand what you’re saying and food prep and using frozen options can help, I think there is a reality for a lot of our communities is that the options that are available so that you can make these healthy choices are limited. And then when you do find them, they are more expensive. They are more expensive.
Dr Karen Greene:
That is true. That is true. And the last thing I wanted to mention was we talk a lot about gut health, and there was some interesting information on an article that talked a little bit about fecal transplants. Fecal transplants, essentially, are using fecal material to treat disease. It’s actually been shown to treat C. difficile, which is hard to treat gut bacteria. But it’s under controlled circumstances, where they’re actually knowing where they’re getting these probiotics from.
And the reason people have looked into this is, just what we have said, that sometimes people say, “Well, I’m doing everything and I just can’t lose the weight. Why? What’s going on?” And the thought is that there’s something going on with the antibodies and the bacteria in your gut that actually helps with weight loss. So could we use a fecal transplant to help with weight loss? And so that’s kind of the latest thing out there that could this be possible? Yes, it may be possible, but it’s not something that I would promote, because there’s research still being done.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Well, there’s good, healthy eating to promote your own probiotics, that part.
Dr Karen Greene:
But people, again, they want to do that quick fix. So I guess I wanted to encourage people not to go buy something that looks good on the internet as a fecal transplant to help you lose weight.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Well, you discuss it with your healthcare person.
Dr Karen Greene:
Yes.
Dr Mironda Williams:
And again, just to reintroduce ourselves as well as this podcast to any new listeners or people logging in, we entitled the podcast, Take Good Care. And the reason we did that is, yes, we’re physicians, we are gynecologists by training, and with our specialty, but we’re real women facing the same kind of challenges that everyone else is. And so we wanted to provide a forum that allows us to provide information and conversation about how you take good care. Take good care of your mental health. Take good care of your emotional health, your physical health, your gut health, your sleeping hygiene, all these different things is what we hope to provide.
And as physicians, we may have a certain perspective and access to information that we hope is reliable and trustworthy, because again, we have no other agenda here than we want to take good care of ourselves, and we want to provide information so that you can take good care of yourself and your family. So that’s the reason for the presentation of the information, is to talk about things that people may be getting on TikTok. I’m not on TikTok, so I didn’t know they were starting talking about fecal transplant.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
I didn’t either.
Dr Mironda Williams:
But I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with it. But what I am saying is whenever you’re on social media sites or books or chat groups or anything, information is good. And now we are living in a time and an era where we have access… There’s a podcast on everything. There’s access to all kinds of information. But you always want to bring it back to a trusted source, whether it’s your own provider or we’re always available for questions. You can make appointments to see us. We have a website, ptcobgyn.com, that you can check out some of our other information.
And again, with this season, we are launching our email address at D-O-C-S, period or dot, [email protected]. So if there are questions that we can perhaps answer for you or provide more information, please send us that information. But as we talk about this, and again, I’m Dr. Mironda Williams.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
I’m Dr. Deanna Guthrie.
Dr Karen Greene:
And I’m Dr. Karen Greene.
Dr Mironda Williams:
And so as we begin to wrap up the information that we presented to you and kind of synthesize it and make it real and practical by sharing perhaps some of the things that we do, have done, or that we’re still learning to do. So Dr. Guthrie, I want you to give me them five again.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Okay.
Dr Mironda Williams:
I need you to go back. I need a répétez s’il vous plait, and I need those five things that we-
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Here we go.
Dr Mironda Williams:
… supposed to be doing.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
We need to write these in-
Dr Mironda Williams:
Talk slowly.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
… big… We need big cards and post them around your house.
Dr Mironda Williams:
We going to make that happen. You may see that in the studio.
Dr Karen Greene:
That sounds good.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Okay, so-
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Here we go.
Dr Mironda Williams:
… here we go.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Unplug, we spend a lot of time on our devices, even to the point we’re interrupting sleep-
Dr Mironda Williams:
So Dr. Guthrie-
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
… and personal interaction that may help us-
Dr Mironda Williams:
Yes.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
… feel better and de-stress.
Dr Mironda Williams:
So before you go to the next point, how do you unplug?
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
I have started staying home, not feeling rushed to be anywhere or do anything. And the pandemic kind of helped me do this. Before it was weekends, you were like, I would just get up and get dressed and just head out. It’s because-
Dr Karen Greene:
That’s what you do.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
… that’s what you do. So I would say in the last two, three years, I kind of just for me to de-stress… I’ve even been in my house and realized, “I have not spoken in 18 to 20 hours,” because I am home. And it’s not that I’m being a hermit, but it’s just quiet time and I’m doing things that I want to do. So that’s kind of how I unplug.
Dr Mironda Williams:
And so what’s the next point on your list? We’ll let Dr. Greene take that one.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Delegate.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Dr. Greene. Doctor Green.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Yes.
Dr Mironda Williams:
How do you delegate, or how do you need to delegate?
Dr Karen Greene:
That’s probably a better.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Yes.
Dr Karen Greene:
That’s probably a better one.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Supermom.
Dr Karen Greene:
Well, I’m no supermom, but I do-
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Yes, you are.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Yes, you are.
Dr Karen Greene:
… I live by my calendar. And so I always have a list running. I always have things I need to do. And so I would say what I need to be better at is realizing that sometimes it’s not all going to get done. And so I need to prioritize more, because it’s not that serious.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Is it prioritized? Or is it delegate?
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
I was about –
Dr Karen Greene:
Well-
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
… say, is there other people who-
Dr Mironda Williams:
What is delegate?
Dr Karen Greene:
Delegate is assigning it to other people.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Yeah.
Dr Karen Greene:
And part of the problem is that as a mom, sometime you do think that you have to get it done, so you-
Dr Mironda Williams:
That you, you-
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
You.
Dr Karen Greene:
Right. Oh, yeah.
Dr Mironda Williams:
… specifically-
Dr Karen Greene:
You have to get it done.
Dr Mironda Williams:
… have to get it done.
Dr Karen Greene:
And so I think what I have done is that when someone says, “Okay, I can do it,” I let them. And that’s my way of delegating, because it’s like, “well, if you think you can do it, go right ahead.”
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Also, if it doesn’t get done, let it go.
Dr Karen Greene:
Right. And so that’s the issue.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Because if somebody took the responsibility, then it’s up to them.
Dr Karen Greene:
It’s their responsibility.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
They’re responsible.
Dr Karen Greene:
And so I need to get better at that part, because-
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
I’ll just do it myself.
Dr Karen Greene:
No, I don’t just do it myself, but I realize after it’s done, it could have been done better. And I have to let go of that thought. That if you had let me do, it would’ve been done earlier and on time.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
The right way.
Dr Karen Greene:
The right way. Not necessarily the right way, but just not rushed. Because I don’t like to rush. I like to kind of say, “Let’s just plan it all out so you don’t have to rush.” And so for me, not planning it all out is my effort in delegating. And so you do have to really let it go, once you don’t do it your way.
Dr Mironda Williams:
All right. I’ll take the next one, what is it?
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
[inaudible 00:37:33] meditate.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Oh, okay. I promise we didn’t plan this. But just like Dr. Greene needs to work on delegating, I need to work on meditating. So that is definitely something I’ve got to do better about. I’m getting better. And we just talked about with our last episode, previous episode, about different triggers and finding tools and what is our word and naming it.
And so I recently have been able to understand that one of my big issues is anxiety, that I get anxious when things don’t go as planned. Or if I’m trying to get in touch with my dad and he’s answering the phone, and then my mind just starts to whirl and go to the worst thing has happened. And so what I’ve tried to do more recently is to just stop, when I feel that anxiety rising and the uncertainty and then all of the crazy thoughts, is to try to quiet my mind and just to take some deep breaths and to try to get myself into a more calm mental state.
Dr. Greene has shared in some other episodes before, in previous seasons that, especially during the pandemic timeframe, that she really started getting into podcasts and listening to podcasts and meditating and doing podcasts on meditating, and how that has been helpful. And so as she’s talked about that, I’ve thought to myself more, I say, “I really, I need to develop a practice of meditating and a timeframe and an intention.”
I’m thoughtful, I’m prayerful, but I think meditating, that’s a different skill, that’s a different set of muscles. And I hear people talking all the time, “It’s just hard to sit and just quiet your mind.” It’s like, “What am I going to do? I’m trying to meditate you. I got to do something.” And then your mind just starts to go. So that definitely is something that I will commit to working on more.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
I do need to do that too. Several years ago, I used to do yoga more regularly. And when I first started out, and you would get to the part at the end-
Dr Mironda Williams:
Shavasana.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Yes. Laying there just for two minutes, just trying to quiet your mind. Like I said, I’d be sitting there going, “Okay, I got to get up. I got to do this. Okay, how long has this taking? Wait a minute, has it been two minutes yet?” It took a long time for me to be able to do that. So that’s-
Dr Karen Greene:
And I would just go to sleep.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
I eventually started going to sleep, because I was just so relaxed. But in the beginning, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t lay still for two minutes. So…
Dr Mironda Williams:
What’s the next one?
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
The next one is stretch. So again, when I used to do yoga, I was definitely more flexible. Now, I have lost that flexibility. I told Dr. Williams the other day, “I hurt myself sleeping. How do you…” You wake up-
Dr Mironda Williams:
I’m the oldest. I’m like, “Yeah, you’re just getting there. I’ve been there.”
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
… and you’re in pain. And you didn’t do anything. You just-
Dr Mironda Williams:
You went to bed.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
… went to bed. I just went to sleep. So that’s something else I do need to start doing. I exercised fairly regularly. So I do stretch before and after working out. But as far as just general flexibility, I do need to work on that.
Dr Mironda Williams:
And that definitely is something that a lot of studies have shown is even more important as we age-
Dr Karen Greene:
Yes.
Dr Mironda Williams:
… is to be even more intentional about the stretching process. Because you can stretch, you can just stretch. You don’t have to stretch associated with the workout. Because that’s one of the things I have found myself doing more, especially in the morning, because I used to be able to work out in the morning. I can’t do that anymore. My mind just won’t let me do it. My body won’t let me do it.
But what I will do more often than not is I’ll say, “Let me just get up. Let me just take a few minutes. Let me just stretch. Let me just stretch my body.” If there’s a particular ache or kink, I woke up with something, I say, “Okay, let me just stretch.” And by stretching and helping to keep the muscle fibers and the fascia and all that good stuff, elongated and just conditioned, that has found to be something very important as we age.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
And it prevents injury, because you’re able to move better.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Catch yourself.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Also helps your brain. The way your brain interacts with your body, it also helps that too. And the last one is relax.
Dr Karen Greene:
So, how do I relax? The meditation has been helpful. And the podcast that I listen to that talks a lot about meditation, one of the speakers speaks to the fact that when he started, he would think, I’d have to meditate for 20 minutes. And he never could do that. And he said, “Well, wait a second. Maybe I’m setting my goal a little too high. That if I can just start off a little and gradually work up to that.” Because anything that you do, you have to train for it. Like yoga, you can’t get the balances, initially, but eventually you get better. Meditation, you can’t get it to quiet your mind, but eventually you get better.
And I think, for me, meditating is very relaxing. Trying to learn to do it in the evenings is something that I’ve been working on in the last week or so. To say, “Okay, I’m really going to find that time to sit down, get my little cushion, and really end my day that way.” Because I have found that my mind doesn’t really shut off, even when I’m sleeping, that I’m dreaming about crazy stuff.
And so I’m thinking I’m not really getting good sleep if my mind is just constantly moving, that I really need to quiet my mind and that will help me relax a little bit better. Because I don’t normally have sleep issues, but I have found that if my mind is going too much, I will wake up. And so that if I’m going to relax and really get better sleep, then I’ve got to figure out a way to meditate.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Well, I definitely think, again, what we’ve tried to share and what we really want to encourage everyone to understand is to be gentle with yourself. Be gentle with yourself.
Dr Karen Greene:
Yes.
Dr Mironda Williams:
You’re going to hear all kinds of advice and thoughts about what you should, shouldn’t do. A lot of advice is very good. We hope that we provide good information and good advice. But as we’ve just shared, nobody’s perfect. None of us has it all figured out. Some days are better than other days. And so you just do the best you can when you can. I think setting the intention, being gentle with yourself, there is no perfect body, muffin tops are fine.
I’ve even found, and we’ve talked about this, especially as women, we are a lot more critical of ourselves than the rest of the world around us. I promise you, nine times out of 10, your significant others don’t care nothing about that muffin top. I mean, it’s not a deal breaker. So we make things harder for ourselves a lot of times, because we hold ourselves to such a high standard. And that can be good, but that can also make stress come up-
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Exactly.
Dr Mironda Williams:
… which can then, you know. So we just have to learn to be gentle with ourselves. We want to be healthy. Dr. Greene mentioned that in some of her myths and facts is that a driving factor for a lot of people is how they look, which is nothing wrong with that. But what I try to think of is, now in my 60s, I’m glad that I was active in my 40s. Because in my 60s, I’m seeing benefits of the activity that I did in my 40s. So what I’m trying to do now with the stretching, and… Say them five, one more time.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Unplug.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Unplug.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Delegate.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Delegate.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Meditate.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Meditate.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Stretch and relax.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Stretch and relax. So I’m going to focus on those things, so that I’ll be good in my 70s and my 80s. You pay it forward.
Dr Karen Greene:
Yeah. You do. You do.
Dr Mironda Williams:
Pay it forward. Any other closing thoughts?
Dr Karen Greene:
When I talk to all my older patients who are still very active and very mobile and they do all these things, they stretch. They stretch every day. And I’m sure at some point they must have woken up with that, “Why does my back hurt? I didn’t do anything.” And they figured out a way. And I think-
Dr Mironda Williams:
Some days it’s going to hurt.
Dr Karen Greene:
Right.
Dr Mironda Williams:
And that’s okay.
Dr Karen Greene:
Some days it’s going to hurt. And I went to the doctor just to make sure it wasn’t something I was ignoring. I said, “And it’s okay if I’m just mid-50s and my back hurts. I’m okay with that.” Because in my mind, when I exercise, it doesn’t hurt. So clearly exercise is good. It’s just that before, it didn’t hurt before and I’m wondering why it didn’t hurt.
But as women we’re living longer past menopause, and as Dr. Williams pointed out, the stuff that I did in my 40s is paying off in my 50s. And so I wanted to pay off in my 60s and 70s, and continue to be as mobile as possible. I may have to do some things that are a little more adaptations. I may have to switch to chair yoga, so I don’t fall down. But that’s okay-
Dr Mironda Williams:
That’s okay.
Dr Karen Greene:
… because I’m still moving.
Dr Mironda Williams:
You’re still moving.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
Exactly. Exactly. So like I said, find your FIT, your friend, your intention, and time, and take care of yourself.
Dr Mironda Williams:
So we’ve had, I think, a good conversation as we hit the topic of hormone belly or menopause belly. And again, it’s not just about menopause, but a lot of our patients are in that menopausal timeframe. We’re in that part of our journey as well as women. And so it can be impacted by a lot of things. And so we wanted to provide information with some facts, try to bust some myths, and then give you some options for things to work on, as we’re working on, to continue to put the investment in ourselves now, so that we can see the dividends and the rewards of that as we move forward in our lives.
So we can be present in every way for ourselves, for our family, for our loved ones, for our profession, for all the things that we’re doing, in all the ways that we find purpose and joy in this life. So we thank you as always for tuning in to our podcast. Once again, our website ptcobgyn.com, our email address, [email protected]. Please continue to share us with your friends and family wherever you get your pods and continue listening. Once again, thank you for listening. I’m Dr. Mironda Williams.
Dr Deanna Guthrie:
I’m Dr. Deanna Guthrie.
Dr Karen Greene:
And I’m Dr. Karen Greene. Take good care.