Next Level: Your Guide to Kicking Ass, Feeling Great, and Crushing Goals Through Menopause and Beyond

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I am an aging middle-aged athlete (last 2-3 years not withstanding). I've been fairly active for my entire life. I've read a few books on aging but this one for me hit the sweet spot. I was familiar with Selene Yeager who is a professional cyclist/journalist around my age. I have found her writing to be insightful. Stacy Sims is a doctor and athlete who has both struggled with menopause as well as treated athletes. Though written in a way that allows her experiences with treating female athletes as well as her lived experiences, this is a book that in my view applies to most females. Romani WA, Gallicchio L, Flaws JA. The association between physical activity and hot flash severity, frequency, and duration in mid-life women. Am J Hum Biol. 2009;21(1):127-129. Doi:10.1002/ajhb.20834. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2753173/ Coyle E. How Many Steps Per Day is Healthy, Even When You Exercise Regularly? American College of Sports Medicine. Accessed Jan 2022. https://www.multibriefs.com/briefs/acsm/Active012621.htm The philosophy behind ‘Next Level’ is to bring your health and training to the next level as you reach the next level of your life. This level is the second half of a woman’s (and people with a uterus’) life span and encompasses the peri and post menopausal transitions. It is a great book. Stacy Sims’ voice is positive and affirming. She doesn’t use the term hormone replacement therapy because we are not replacing hormones we are using a transitional therapy to help us even things out at a time when our hormones are at their most imbalanced.

A comprehensive, physiology-based guide to peak performance for active women approaching or experiencing menopause—from the author of Roar, renowned exercise and nutrition scientist Dr. Stacy Sims Dietary Supplements for Exercise and Athletic Performance. Fact Sheet for Health Consumers. National Institutes of Health. Updated Mar 2022. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/ExerciseAndAthleticPerformance-Consumer/ Mayo Clinic Staff. Headaches and hormones: What's the connection? Uploaded Dec 2020. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chronic-daily-headaches/in-depth/headaches/art-20046729 Volpi E, Nazemi R, Fujita S . Muscle tissue changes with aging. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2004;7(4):405-410. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2804956/#:~:text=Oneofthemoststriking,60%5B4%2C5%5DThe format of this book has much to be desired. By taking time to format the book better, it would make it more accessible to folks with dsylexia or the vision impaired. Rosas F, Ramírez-Campillo R, Martínez, C, et al. Effects of Plyometric Training and Beta-Alanine Supplementation on Maximal-Intensity Exercise and Endurance in Female Soccer Players. Journal of Human Kinetics, vol.58, no.1, 2017, pp.99-109. https://sciendo.com/article/10.1515/hukin-2017-0072 What Women Need to Know. Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation. Accessed Jan 2022. https://www.nof.org/preventing-fractures/general-facts/what-women-need-to-know/#:~:text=ForsomewomenCboneloss,greaterchanceofdevelopingosteoporosis. Choudhary B, Shetty A, Langade DG. Efficacy of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera [L.] Dunal) in improving cardiorespiratory endurance in healthy athletic adults. Ayu. 2015;36(1):63-68. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4687242/ While the rating tells you how good a book is according to our two core criteria, it says nothing about its particular defining features. Therefore, we use a set of 20 qualities to characterize each book by its strengths:

Samargandy, S, Matthews K et al. Abdominal visceral adipose tissue over the menopause transition and carotid atherosclerosis: the SWAN heart study, Menopause: June 2021 - Volume 28 - Issue 6 - p 626-633. https://journals.lww.com/menopausejournal/Citation/2021/06000/Abdominal_visceral_adipose_tissue_over_the.6.aspx Bolte LA, Vich Vila A, Imhann F, et al. Long-term dietary patterns are associated with pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory features of the gut microbiome. Gut 2021; 70:1287-1298. https://gut.bmj.com/content/70/7/1287 Collins BC, Arpke RW, Larson AA, et al. Estrogen Regulates the Satellite Cell Compartment in Females. Cell Rep. 2019;28(2):368-381.e6. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31291574/Nestle M, Nesheim M. To Supplement or Not to Supplement: The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendations on Calcium and Vitamin D. Ann Intern Med.2013; 158:701-702. [Epub 7 May 2013]. https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/full/10.7326/0003-4819-158-9-201305070-00605 Honestly the book could have been summed up in the following: research HRT, research adaptogens (they name some favorites), focus on not gaining weight, lift heavy, do more cardio, keep up on your medical appointments, oh and absolutely positively make sure you don’t gain weight 🙄… wait make sure you fight weight gain.

Thurston RC, Sowers MR, Sutton-Tyrrell K, et al . Abdominal adiposity and hot flashes among midlife women. Menopause. 2008;15(3):429-434. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2875947/Well structured – You’ll find this to be particularly well organized to support its reception or application. Andallu B, Radhika B. Hypoglycemic, diuretic and hypocholesterolemic effect of winter cherry (Withania somnifera, Dunal) root. Indian J Exp Biol. 2000;38(6):607-609. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11116534/ Migraine headaches, menopause and MHT/HRT. Australian Menopause Society. Uploaded April 2019. https://www.menopause.org.au/hp/information-sheets/migraine-headaches-menopause-and-mht-hrt#:~:text=TheindicationforMHTin,haveanyeffectonmigraine Bolland M J, Avenell A, Baron J A, Grey A, MacLennan G S, Gamble G D et al. Effect of calcium supplements on risk of myocardial infarction and cardiovascular events: meta-analysis. BMJ 2010; 341:c3691. https://www.bmj.com/content/341/bmj.c3691.full Dunsmoor-Su R. Heart Palpitations in Menopause: Don’t Brush Off This Symptom. Gennev. Updated January 2022. https://gennev.com/education/how-to-stop-hormonal-heart-palpitations.

In this new nutrition and recipe book I cover the core concepts around mindset, nutrition and performance. I focus on behaviour change and the reasons why we make the decisions we do when it comes to our food choices. Before writing this book, I reflected on what has changed in my own life and in food and nutrition compared to when I wrote my first book – Eat Up, Raise Your Game – over two years ago. In doing this I realised that there have been so many changes, from the birth of my daughter Penny, to getting married and losing my father Peter. What hasn’t changed however, is my philosophy on food and my belief that performance is about people being at their best in their daily actions, no matter what level they are competing or performing at. In this book, I explain my own journey, both in my professional career and as an athlete and the profound impact that certain people have had on me across the years. Chen L, Liu R, Zhao Y, Shi Z. High Consumption of Soft Drinks Is Associated with an Increased Risk of Fracture: A 7-Year Follow-Up Study. Nutrients. 2020;12(2):530. Published 2020 Feb 19. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7071508/#:~:text=Drinkinglargeamountsofcarbonated,linkingsoftdrinksandfracture Investigating Health for Mid-Life and Older Women. Swan Study. Updated Feb 2022. https://www.swanstudy.org/ Taherichadorneshin, Hossein & Cheragh-Birjandi, Sadegh & Ramezani, Saeed & Abtahi-Eivary, Seyed-Hosein. (2017). Comparing sprint and endurance training on anxiety, depression and its relation with brain-derived neurotrophic factor in rats. Behavioural Brain Research. 329. 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.04.034. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316465296_Comparing_sprint_and_endurance_training_on_anxiety_depression_and_its_relation_with_brain-derived_neurotrophic_factor_in_rats

Bone Basics. National Osteoporosis Foundation. Accessed Jan 2022. http://www.bonehealthandosteoporosis.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Bone-Density-Testing.pdf