Building Muscle in Menopause: Protein, Creatine and Strength Training with Dr. Gabrielle Lyon

Mary Claire Haver (0:00)

In part one of my conversation with Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, a board-certified family medicine physician and founder of the Institute for Muscle-Centric Medicine, we challenged decades of conventional wisdom about women's health. We talked about why skeletal muscle is the foundation of healthy aging, why so many women are dramatically under-consuming protein, and why building and preserving muscle must be at the center of every conversation about longevity. Now it's time to get practical. In this episode, Dr. Lyon breaks down exactly how much protein women really need. She explains why anabolic resistance changes the equation after midlife and how resistance training, hormone therapy, and even GLP-1 medications fit into the picture. She also gets into when you should be eating protein throughout the day and why sleep matters just as much as the workout itself. We also tackle one of the biggest questions I hear from women every day, which is how you actually build and keep muscle in your 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond. Part one explained why muscle matters, and this conversation gives you the road map for protecting it. I'm Dr. Mary Claire Haver, a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist and certified menopause practitioner and adjunct professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch. Welcome to unPAUSED, where we cut through the silence and talk about what it really takes for women to thrive in the second half of life.

The views and opinions expressed on unPAUSED are those of the talent and guests alone, and are provided for informational and entertainment purposes only. No part of this podcast or any related materials are intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

So I hear a lot about when we should eat protein. You talked about 30 to 50 grams. Is the amount per day more important than when per day, and is there a wrong time to eat protein or a right time to eat protein?

Gabrielle Lyon (2:01)

From a practical standpoint, that first meal when you're coming out of an overnight fast is important.

Mary Claire Haver (2:06)

Okay.

Gabrielle Lyon (2:06)

It doesn't matter when that is, but you are in a catabolic state. Catabolic state is when you're in a breakdown state. You're not feeding overnight. We were meant to eat in discrete time periods, unlike rodents who are 24 hours ad-limited feeding nocturnal beings, but humans, we are meant to eat in discrete meals. That first meal of the day when you're coming out of an overnight fast is really important. Doesn't matter when you eat it. Doesn't have to be eat in the morning or six in the morning. Doesn't have to be before training or after training. But getting that first meal right at 30 to 50 grams and closer probably to 50 to stimulate mTOR which is in skeletal muscle is going to be critical. If the listener or viewer only did that one thing, that is enough just based on those early 2000 studies and they've been replicated. So now we have a large body of evidence. This will change body composition if they do nothing else.

Mary Claire Haver (3:03)

Amazing.

Gabrielle Lyon (3:04)

There's more to address there. First meal is really important. Also, before you go to sleep, the last meal of the day and not necessarily an hour before you go to sleep, that last meal of the day is also really important. So you're bookending both days or both times once a day.

Mary Claire Haver (3:21)

Well, we talked a little bit about protein timing around training. So you're saying just get the protein in?

Gabrielle Lyon (3:27)

I mean, there's a little nuance here. Again, all studies to my knowledge are done with that first meal of the day because it's easier to have a clean slate from a measuring perspective. But if you are eating a higher protein diet, closer to 1.2 to 1.6, if you are plant-based, you have to be at the higher end, 1.6, then protein timing doesn't matter as long as the totality of protein you're getting in. That being said, still, we have great data that that first meal at 30 to 50 grams of protein affects satiety, affects body composition, again, for outcomes that we care about.

That becomes really important.

Mary Claire Haver (4:05)

How important is sleep?

Gabrielle Lyon (4:06)

I mean, unfortunately, it's very important.

But it's hard for a lot of women to do. The recovery and the training, you know, when I was in residency, and I'm sure you experienced the same thing, is that you were on call and you didn't sleep. Blood sugar regulation, I put on a continuous glucose monitor one time. It was the worst decision I made, right? Because the days that I didn't sleep, I saw my blood sugar was terrible. And, you know, we're recognizing that sleep is very important for also recovery.