If you’ve ever wondered how to make your muscles look more defined, especially as you age and experience perimenopause, there might be a few tips you’re missing.
Defining your muscles involves more than working out consistently, and the shift in your hormones and needs as you age affects this even further. You not only need to make sure you’re working out the right way but putting the right stuff into your body (and keeping the wrong stuff out). This will not only help your muscle definition but balance your hormones and promote overall well-being.
That’s what functional medicine is all about – creating a personalized patient experience that identifies the root of your struggles and chooses solutions focusing on supplementation, therapeutic diets, detoxification, and more.
Let’s look at how functional medicine can help you create the muscle definition you’ve been trying to achieve… your hard work will finally be able to pay off.
Refined sugar elimination
This one elimination makes the biggest difference for so many of our patients. We often don’t understand the widespread negative impact refined sugars have on our body.
Not all sugar is built the same – the sugar found in fruit and vegetables is healthier by providing fiber and nutrients like vitamins and antioxidants. This type of sugar is also digested more slowly, preventing blood sugar spikes. Not only do blood sugar spikes lead to weight gain by storing extra blood sugar as fat, but it can also lead to long-term health problems like Type II Diabetes, neuropathy, heart disease, and more.
Refined sugars are digested faster, which leads to blood sugar spikes. These sugars can be found in processed foods like dairy products, cereal, sports drinks, soda, desserts, white bread, candy, and more. These are foods you’ll want to avoid when trying to improve your muscle definition.
Refined sugars have a more dramatic effect on your health as you age, especially if you’re experiencing perimenopause. This shift in hormones alters your nutritional needs, so it’s important you reduce harmful foods and increase nutritious foods.
Complex carbohydrate intake
Carbohydrates are used for energy, and the more you workout out the more energy you will need. Consuming enough complex carbohydrates to fuel your body will prevent it from breaking down your muscles to create energy. Not only are you losing muscle in this process, but you won’t be able to build it up and gain the definition you’re looking for.
You might wonder why complex carbohydrates are healthier for you than simple carbohydrates, like sugars. While fruit sugar is important for your health, consuming plenty of complex carbohydrates is even more important.
Complex carbohydrates are higher in fiber and contain more substantial nutrients. Your body will also digest them more slowly, preventing the blood sugar spike issues mentioned above. You’ll want to look for carbohydrates like whole grains, starchy fruits and vegetables, beans, brown rice, and steel-cut oats.
Toxin elimination
Harmful chemicals and toxins will also slow down your progress. For example, the toxins in cigarettes can prevent you from developing muscle definition through decreased oxygen delivery, muscle breakdown, and creating an inability to form new muscles.
Alcohol can have the same effect on muscle growth – its effects on hormone levels, metabolism, sleep, dehydration, and protein synthesis can make it hard for your muscle definition to show.
If you have a buildup of toxic chemicals in your body, you may need a detox to clear out the toxins that are holding you back. We can help you with a plan to cleanse your body and start fresh.
Developing muscle definition can feel impossible if you don’t know the steps toward creating an environment that allows your body to flourish. With the right protocol, you will start to see muscle definition with less effort.
We can help you find the right therapeutic diet to not only help your body develop better muscle definition, but help your other systems thrive. This process is not always as simple as “eat less sugar and more protein,” so it’s best to have a trained professional help you develop a plan to reach your goals.
Good Needles can examine your individual health experiences and find a plan that works best for you. Make an appointment to discover a functional medicine protocol that will transform your body from the inside out.
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