Dana Smith

“It just means you need to train hard. All the cardio in the world won’t cut it. Research on women, especially past age 40, shows that even high levels of aerobic activity don’t translate into any meaningful changes in lean body mass. The only solution is strength training, strength training, strength training. And I don’t mean doing “toning” exercises with 5-pound dumbbells. I mean high-intensity power training—heavy lifting for pure strength. This kind of training stimulates your neuromuscular system, activating the maximum amount of muscle fibers. It also keeps those high-energy, powerful type II muscle fibers engaged, which is essential because those are needed for speed, and they’re the first to go.”
― Stacy T. Sims, Roar: Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Unique Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health, and a Strong Body for Life

“This is yet another reason why women need to be very careful about extremely low-carb diets, because restricting this macronutrient causes your brain to produce even less serotonin, setting you up for mood disorders, especially if you’re already prone to them.”
― Stacy T. Sims, Roar: Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Unique Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health, and a Strong Body for Life

“Life could do nothing for her, beyond giving time for a better preparation for death;”
― Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility

“As a woman, you become more sensitive to carbohydrates as you age and especially as you enter the menopause transition, because of the decline in your estrogen levels, so eating a diet too high in carbs is detrimental from a blood sugar and metabolism standpoint. Starchy vegetables such as sweet potatoes, yams, and winter squash as well as root veggies such as carrots, onions, and garlic are superior forms of carbohydrate from a nutritional standpoint. You don’t need to eat a ton of carbs, but you should eat the right carbs throughout the day (and time them correctly before, during, and after exercise, which we’ll cover in depth in the next chapter) for your physiology and fitness level. What I find works best from both a body composition and performance standpoint among my female athletes is aiming for a daily intake of about 40 to 45 percent whole-food carbohydrates (e.g., veggies, fruit, ancient grains).”
― Stacy T. Sims, Roar: Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Unique Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health, and a Strong Body for Life