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Summary
On episode 168 of 40+ Fitness, Coach Allan sits down with Dr. Tara Allmen, a gynecologist and author of Menopause Confidential, an evidence based guide to midlife health for women that she wrote to be accessible and genuinely funny.
The conversation covers three of the book's core areas: why sleep falls apart in perimenopause and menopause and what actually helps, why a baseline colonoscopy at 50 does not have to be dreaded, and why strength and balance training matter more for midlife women than most realize.
Dr. Allmen is direct that this is not just a women's issue. The men in a menopausal woman's life feel the effects too, and the book includes a chapter aimed squarely at them.
Links
- https://drallmen.com
Key Takeaways
- Menopause affects the whole household, not just the woman going through it. Dr. Allmen argues that if the women in a man's life are not happy and healthy, he will not be either, which is why she wrote a chapter directly for men.
- Sleep breaks down in both perimenopause and menopause, for different reasons. Perimenopausal women are in hormonal flux as cycles change and skip, which disrupts sleep, while menopausal women have stopped making estrogen entirely, which does the same. Fatigue, poor focus, and irritability follow.
- Better sleep starts with a fixed routine, not a supplement. Go to bed at the same time every night, cool and dark the bedroom, cut stimulants like caffeine, alcohol, and heavy late meals, and keep phones off the nightstand. Melatonin may help some women, but the basics matter more.
- A baseline colonoscopy at 50 does not have to be miserable. Dr. Allmen redesigned her own bowel prep to make the day before comfortable rather than dreaded, and shares that approach in the book so patients can review it with their own doctor.
- Muscle loss redistributes fat to the midsection as women age, and strength training reverses that. There is no single formal guideline, but Dr. Allmen recommends light weights of 5 to 10 pounds, twice a week for 30 minutes, kept light specifically to avoid injuries that would stop exercise altogether.
- Balance training prevents the falls that cause fractures. Simple work like standing on one leg, done barefoot near a wall for support, builds the neuromuscular connection that lets you catch yourself sideways instead of falling, which is the direction older adults most often fall.
- Cardio still matters alongside strength work. Dr. Allmen follows the American Heart Association guideline of 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise 5 days a week, and combines it with her strength work by carrying light weights while walking on a treadmill.
- Menopause Confidential is built on evidence, not opinion. Dr. Allmen wanted the most current science behind every topic in the book, from sleep to bone health to skin and hair, so readers are working from real data rather than internet rumor.
“Menopause will affect your life directly. If the women in your life are not happy and healthy, you will not be happy and healthy either.”
Dr. Tara Allmen
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