
Alexander is a writer, traveler, and serial digital entrepreneur. He’s the founder of the Tushi, the Gen X personal growth newsletter Further, and offers small business advice at Unemployable.

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“I don’t know — maybe put a little less food on your plate.”

That was her advice. She was a doctor, for crying out loud.

She was my doctor, unfortunately.

Most of the physicians I’ve seen in my life made me feel like they didn’t care about me or my problems. They had sicker people to see, and I looked “normal.” They spoke quickly, interrupted me, and showed me the door. They were busy, and I wasn’t a priority.

On the hazy, overcast morning of my doctor’s appointment, rain fell silently from the sky. I remember it vividly because I live in Southern California, where it rarely rains, and the doctor was late for my appointment. No one can drive in the rain out here. But, I’ll tell you about that some other time.

She entered the room awkwardly and apologized for her tardiness, but she was unfriendly and cold. Perhaps she was embarrassed that she was late. Maybe she was dreading confirming my diagnosis. Either way, this appointment was about to go south.

I heard the air conditioner click on. She finally confirmed that my test results revealed that I was in menopause. Then she told me to lose weight.

I was 37 years old.

### The average age
The average age for menopause to start for American women is 51. I arrived there 14 years before I was supposed to.

I was pissed.

After my doctor told me to lose weight, she informed me that losing weight would be more challenging now because I was in menopause.

> I don’t know. You’re fine. See the front desk on your way out.
<cite>Every last one of them said that.</cite>

### I looked fine, so no biggie
Multiple symptoms ran parallel but felt unrelated at first.

> “Your body just really doesn’t want to have a period, I guess!” — Words of wisdom from one of my doctors

I stared blankly at her, wondering why she wasn’t doing more to help me, but I had no questions to ask. I didn’t know how to help myself. Was it really okay that I had four periods a year?

Sometimes I would get hot flashes followed by nausea. I would play this fun game with myself: Is this a hot flash or food poisoning? It was always a hot flash. This happened daily.

No one seemed worried about my symptoms, and I returned to my regularly-scheduled life without answers.

Something was wrong with me. But what? Most of the physicians I’ve seen in my life made me feel like they didn’t care about me or my problems.

What Do You Do When You Know You’re Not Fine?


If you are over age 30 and not working to counter the natural effects of aging, your muscles are wasting away as you read this. By age 70, you’ll have lost about 40% of your once enviable muscle mass. It doesn’t have to be like this, and if it is, you still have time to fix it.

You can build muscle at any age. It just gets a little more challenging later in life.

“Old and young people build muscle in the same way,” explains Roger Fielding, PhD, a professor of medicine at Tufts University. “But as you age, many of the biological processes that turn exercise into muscle become less effective. This makes it harder for older people to build strength but also makes it that much more important for everyone to continue exercising as they age.”

Building muscle, no matter how old you are, offers clear and numerous health benefits.

### Stronger body, longer life
You’ve probably heard plenty about physical and mental well-being boosts from aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking. A new study adds to the smaller but convincing body of work on the health benefits of building muscle.

Muscle-strengthening workouts — using weights, resistance bands or even just doing push-ups or some heavy lifting in the garden — lower the risk of heart disease and cancer, and up the odds of longer life, according to a review of 16 studies on the topic, published in the July 2022 issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

### You can do this
Around age 50, the chemical and biological processes that trigger muscle growth start working more slowly, Fielding writes. But the process doesn’t stop. It just means older people don’t gain muscle as easily as younger people. And while it might seem hard at first, building muscle gets easier with time, regardless of age.

### It’s never too late
What if you’ve never worked out before? No problem.

Just ask Mike Harrington, who was a complete couch potato at age 69 and is now a state-champion powerlifter.

We don’t have to become powerlifters to reap significant health benefits. The American College of Sports Medicine suggests this basic approach for healthy adults who want to build strength:

* Warm up and cool down for 5–10 minutes.

* Choose a weight or resistance level that you can move eight to 15 times. The last repetition should be difficult.

* Do one to three sets, two or three days a week.

* Exercise all the major muscle groups.

* Use proper technique and full range of controlled motion.

* Seek a professional trainer if you don’t know proper technique.

The answer is a strong yes, and here’s why you should start now. If you are over age 30 and not working to counter the natural effects of aging, your muscles are wasting away as you read this.

Health

What Do You Do When You Know You’re Not Fine?

Can You Build Muscle When You’re Older?