It’s been a while since I have reviewed a book here. I read a lot of health/nutrition books but not nearly as many fitness books, at least not anymore. But I came across this one and bought it immediately. Next Level was written by Stacy T. Sims, PhD, and Selene Yeager. Their first book was Roar: How to Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Unique Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health and a Strong Lean Body For Life. The basic concept behind both of these books is that women athletes are different from male athletes due to our hormones. The majority of exercise physiology studies have been done on men, so most of the advice given is actually geared toward male physiology. I have not read Roar but from reading Next Level, Roar is geared toward younger women. Next Level is for women athletes who are in perimenopause, menopause and post menopause because our needs are different from those of younger women.
This book was exactly what I needed. I am not an “athlete.” I do not compete in sports or run marathons, triathlons, etc. But I do “train” daily. Plus, I am 52 years old and post-menopause. I went into chemically induced menopause in 2018 when I went through chemotherapy. I was 47 years old at the time. As far as I know I wasn’t ever in perimenopause. Chemotherapy abruptly stopped my menstrual cycle. My symptoms were violent and miserable. I experienced all of the side effects for several years. 5 years later it has calmed down a lot but I still have the symptoms of no female hormones. And since my breast cancer was hormone positive, I obviously cannot do hormone replacement therapy.
Anyway, that’s my story. This book has completely changed my thoughts about how I should be training, eating and supplementing post-menopause. The first part of the book is invaluable. We all know what menopause is but Dr. Sims breaks it down in detail, including what estrogen and progesterone do in our bodies and how the lack of them affects training. I had no clue about some of these things. I attributed some of the things I now experience to just getting older. But to me, 52 isn’t that old! As it turns out, much of the joint pain and stiffness I now experience is due to lack of estrogen and progesterone. (Which technically is due to aging.) Next, Dr. Sims takes you through everything you can do to counter these changes. She obviously does not promise to make you perform and feel like you are in your 20s or 30s again, but she gives you the tools you need to perform at your peak in your late 40s and beyond. She covers what you should eat, when you should eat, how you should train, and how you should supplement. She doesn’t give you a diet to follow. She focuses on macronutrients since we all eat differently. I am vegan so I obviously am not going to eat any of the animal foods she recommends but she is a vegetarian, so she addresses that and veganism as well. One thing she touched on that I really liked was that she acknowledged that many athletes that train hard do not like to take rest days and that as we get older, sometimes taking rest days makes us stiffer when we train again. So she gives us alternatives. The alternatives are kind of common sense things I should be doing anyway (but I don’t…), but they are even more important for older women (mobility and flexibility training, and foam rolling, etc.).
I have not implemented many of the changes yet, but I plan to overhaul my training. I am even more excited about Cathe‘s STS 2.0 since her first STS actually contains a phase that plays directly into one of the training techniques that Dr. Sims says is essential for older women and that is Lift Heavy Sh*t (LHS). Phase 3 of STS is exactly what Dr. Sims says we need to do. This means lifting so heavy you can only do 4-5 reps of the exercise. Not every strength training session should be LHS but at least once a week for your large muscle groups (glutes, hamstrings, quads, back and chest). You have to read the book to get all of the information but another thing I am going to have to change is how I eat around my workouts. I intermittent fast and have for years. I also workout very early in the morning in a fasted state and do not eat for hours afterward. I do take BCAAs after my workout but that is all. This was fine when I was younger but it does not work for an older woman’s body. We begin to catabolize muscle quickly after a workout and she stressed the need to eat and replenish protein within 30 minutes after finishing a workout! I cannot change my workout time so I will have to change the way I eat. This is truly a PIA because I am very set in my ways, but she convinced me that it is something I need to do, so I am working on how I will implement it.
Now, I am post-menopause, so that is what I focused on in this review but she also addresses the fluctuating hormones you will experience during perimeopause. So don’t assume this book is just for women who have come out on the other side. I want to share the one change I have done and my results so far. During and after cancer treatment, I spent a great deal of time reading everything I could get my hands on about cancer and prevention. One of the many things I started doing as a result of all this research was to start taking adaptogens. I take quite a few but Dr. Sims recommended a few I do not take. One of them is Holy Basil. I sleep like sh*t. This adaptogen is supposed to help you sleep better (in addition to other things like reducing stress/anxiety). So I figured why not? I started taking that in the evening right after I read about it. I wear an Apple Watch that tracks my sleep and prior to that I wore a FitBit. In the many, many years I have been wearing them both, they have shown that I do not even get an hour of deep sleep a night (usually in the 40-47 minute range). When I do, it is never more than 90 minutes and even that is rare. Within a few days of taking Holy Basil, my deep sleep has increased almost daily to where I now average 2 hours and 45 minutes of deep sleep a night! And last night I got over 3 hours of deep sleep! I have never seen such quick results from a supplement and I take a lot of them.
In conclusion, if you workout hard like I do, whether you are an official athlete or not, and you are perimenopausal, menopausal or post menopause, I recommend reading this book. This is just a review. There is so much more information in this book than what I am sharing. And as I said, I plan to put it to good use. ***03/19/23 Update: I found a 13 minute Ted Talk by Dr. Sims that distills this info really well: Women are not Small Men. And here it is on YouTube.
08/08/23 Update: I am updating this review because I was serious about making changes. It’s been nearly 5 months since I read the book. I started making the changes gradually but I was all in by the beginning of May. So just over 3 months. Maybe that isn’t enough time to give a review on how it worked for me but I am doing it anyway before I forget. I tend to forget things like that. What changes did I make? I work out first thing in the morning. I started taking a caffeine and L-theanine pill as soon as I get out of bed (50mg of caffeine and 100mg of L-theanine). I also changed to taking my BCAA supplement right before my workout rather than right after. After I shower and get dressed I now eat breakfast (no more intermittent fasting). The food is light but I also drink a vegan protein shake with more BCAAs and I add creatinine. Finally, in addition to supplementing with Holy Basil, I also started supplementing with Schisandra. As for my workouts, I went to lifting heavier. When I first made these changes I was doing Caroline Girvan workouts. I stuck with her Iron Series and other similar workouts and aimed to lift heavy enough that I was doing 6-8 reps. When Cathe Friedrich‘s STS 2.0 arrived, I continued the heavy lifting with that program and average 7-10 reps, depending on the workout and exercise. I also added a lot more mobility, flexibility and foam rolling.
I have had some good results but not the amazing results I hoped for. I do have more energy and strength during my workouts. I am lifting heavier and feeling stronger. I think I sleep a little better but nothing major. My Apple Watch has continued to show that I get a lot more deep sleep; 2-3 hours a night. I have not noticed consistent improvements in aches and pains. No improvement in my chronic shoulder and neck pain but there have been improvements in other joint pains. I have not experienced any fat loss. I know that is probably what a lot of people are wondering about. In fact, I am currently nearing the end of the 12 Week STS 2.0 program. The last 6 weeks (Phase 3) has you doing hardly any cardio and the workouts are less metabolic. I have actually noticed some fat gain. But I attribute that to burning less calories since there was no fat gain prior to Phase 3. Once I finish the 12 Week program I will return to my normal level of cardio.
Again, it has only been a little over 3 months. If I think about it, I will try to remember to come back in 6 months or a year and update this again.
Hello, how did you manage to switch from no breakfast to eating before workout?thank you
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Hello, I am not sure where this reply will post (I am finding wordpress frustrating and unable to reply to you at the right post) but just to say thank you for the book and website reccomendations. I definitely intend to move towards more plant base eating this coming year but I tend to eat the same meals and get bored. Variety is something I will be aiming for. I would like to ask another questions about Cathe’s workouts but will find an appropriate post for it. Thank you one more time!!!
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You’re welcome! I am a creature of habit so I tend to eat the same thing for weeks on end without getting bored and when it comes to breakfasts I will eat the same thing for YEARs. I do look for more variety in my dinners.
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Hello, how did you manage to switch from no breakfast to eating before workout?
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I did not start eating before I workout. I used to intermittent fast (for many years). So I worked out at 4:30am but dud not eat until 9-10am. Now I eat within 30 minutes of finishing a workout. I still workout at the same time but now I eat breakfast right after I shower. It wasn’t hard. I am not hungry so it is not a large breakfast, I eat a flax pudding with a protein drink.
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Thank you, for always replying to quesitons! I also do to eat breakfast and used to fast intermittently but this combined with other factors contributed to hypothiroidism. Afrer reading the book and the massive focus on protein and eating before workout, I really started worrying but still getting up early, (not as early as you do), I still can not fathom a breakfst. Maybe a bite of of a nut of something. I will try your method of eating within 30 m.
Are you supplementing with vegan protein shakes? I find some of them not very pleasant. Are you able to get enough protein as a vegan or are you too bohtered about it.
Reading from some older posts, I undersdand why you became a vegan. Personally I have tried it but just didn’t seem to be able to get enough energy (it might have been my thyroid all along!) but also due to the nature of my job, less time for home cooking, hense the easy option of eating meat, etc…..
You are such an inspiration! Enjoying your blog so much!
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(Editted) Thank you, for always replying to quesitons! I also do not eat breakfast and used to fast intermittently but this, combined with other factors contributed to hypothiroidism. Afrer reading the book and the massive focus on protein and eating before workouts, I really started worrying about undereating. I do get up early, (not as early as you do) and I still can not fathom a breakfast. I am not a big eater anyway.Maybe a bite of a nut of something but nothing larger.
I will try your method of eating within 30 m of a workout and see if I can get a recipe for that flax pudding somewhere.
Are you supplementing with vegan protein shakes? I find some of them not very pleasant. Are you able to get enough protein as a vegan or are you not too bohtered about it? I really like how you are following your path and not being easily swayed by differing opinions.
Reading from some older posts, I undersdand why you became a vegan. Personally, I did try it but I just didn’t seem to be able to get enough energy (it might have been my thyroid all along!). Also due to the nature of my job with less time for home cooking, I chose the easy option of eating meat, etc…..
You are such an inspiration! Enjoying your blog so much! Thank you!
I h ave also started following Sarah Ballantine and her Nutrivore concept. This has really reduced fear of some foods for me.
(Please excuse the repeated reply)
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No, I am not worried about getting enough protein. If you eat the right foods you get just as much as someone who eats meat. I eat lots of beans and lentils–they are my primary source of protein, but I also eat tofu and tempeh. Though I do not eat them as much, Impossible and Beyond meats are not only delicious but loaded with protein. If you eat lentil pasta? Lots of protein. I drink chickpea milk which has 10 grams of protein a serving. But I do not count macros. I just read labels. However I do make sure the base of every meal is a protein source.
My vegan protein powder is Vega Sport. I think it is delicious. I use 22g in 8 ounces of chickpea milk. That is 25 grams of protein.
I can give you my flax pudding recipe: 2 tablespoons of ground flax, 1/2 tablespoon of wheat germ, 1 tablespoon of Betty Lou’s chocolate peanut butter powder, 1/2 tablespoon of real mushrooms unsweetened hot chocolate powder, 1/2 tablespoon of dark chocolate balsamic vinegar and 1/3 of a cup + 1 tablespoon of nondairy milk of your choice. Sweeten it however you choose–I used stevia. I eat this with wild blueberries.
I meal prep this every Sunday. I make a 7 little containers of flax pudding then in the mornings I just add blueberries and make my protein drink. Quick and easy.
I’ve never heard of the Nutrivore concept. I will have to check that out!
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Hello! Thank you for responce. I am hearing about chickpea milk for the first time!!!! Also, truly appreciate the flax pudding recipe. When we are talking about lentils and beans could you please reccomend a book or a website with good recipes as I am finding it difficult to vary recipes with them? I would like to move away from mean mainly for ethical reasons but I need to find a good and easy alternative. Many thanks!!!
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I have a LOT of vegan cookbooks but the ones I return to the most are Cheap, Easy Vegan, Color Me Vegan and Vegan Week. I also get a lot of my recipe ideas online. I am a big fan of butter beans. Here is one of my favorite butter bean recipes: https://wholefoodsoulfoodkitchen.com/butter-bean-curry/ Here a few other vegan recipes I return to: https://www.twospoons.ca/mexican-stuffed-sweet-potatoes/ https://www.thefullhelping.com/slow-cooker-masala-lentils-hamilton-beach-slow-cooker-giveaway/#recipe The first cookbook I mentioned (Cheap, Easy Vegan) is by Sam Turnbull. She has a website with TONS of excellent vegan recipes. One of my favorites is her vegan egg salad sandwich. I literally eat this almost every day for lunch M-F: https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/vegan-egg-salad-sandwich/?utm_source=convertkit&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=The+Best+Vegan+Chicken+Salad%21%F0%9F%90%94%F0%9F%A5%97%F0%9F%A5%AA%F0%9F%8C%B1%F0%9F%92%9A+-+15122173
Finally, I am often lazy. I always have a stash of packaged pre-seasoned beans I get from Whole Foods, Target and Sprouts. Dozen Cousins is one brand I use a lot, Sprouts & Target store brands are also very good. Minute Rice has brown rice and quinoa cups that cook in the microwave in a minute. Between the packaged beans and packaged rice that is a 2 minute healthy meal in the microwave. The sodium is high if that is something you watch but sodium isn’t an issue for me.
I hope this helps and gives you some ideas!
Edit/update: I was just in my pantry trying to figure out what to make for dinner and I saw some more brands of seasoned beans I buy: Fillos and Somos. I also buy Plantstrong Chilis. I think I get these 3 at Whole Foods. I know I definitely get Plantstrong at Whole Foods.
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Does anyone have any suggestions for workout programs to follow that are like Stacy sims describes for menopause/postmenooause women? I know the STS 2.0 was mentioned..are there others?
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Hailey Happens Fitness. Dr. Sims has partnered with her and created a program. Some of them are at home workouts.
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I would love a review on other book! How do you eat on a vegan diet?
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I will not be reading the other book. It doesn’t pertain to me. And vegan is eating plant based. I eat no animal products–no meat, no fish, no chicken, no eggs, no dairy.
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Hi, thanks a ton for pointing this book to me! Have you started implementing any changes?
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Hello! Yes, I have implemented many of the changes and I am getting very good results. I do plan to update the review but I want to be doing it a few months before I actually update it. I will say the biggest result I’ve seen is in my strength, power and endurance during strength workouts.
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That’s great! Thank you for posting this review. It has been so helpful. Do you mind sharing how you eat on a vegan diet, following the books’s principles please?
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My biggest changes weren’t so much what I eat but when and how much. For one, when training you do not want to under eat so I had to get out of the calorie counting mentality. I have also intermittent fasted for years–again, not recommended. And since I workout early in the morning, eating hours after working out goes completely against the recommendations. An example of how this plays out for me. I workout every day from 5:30am-6:30am. I take a caffeine/theanine pill + BCAAs before working out. After I shower I mix vegan protein power that also has more BCAAs and creatine into Ripple (plant based milk that uses pea protein). So I am refueling with protein, creatine and BCAAs within 30 minutes of working out. My meals vary but this week I had a flax cookie I made (no flour just flax meal) for breakfast. (I food prep on weekends) My lunches are avocado and smashed chickpea toast with a big salad. And my dinners vary. I did make a big batch of Hungarian spiced beans, potatoes and sauerkraut. I ate that with cornbread. I snack on fruit and popcorn and roasted chickpeas. And I almost always have dessert after dinner–it is vegan but not clean and healthy! that is just an example. I really like roasting sweet potatoes whole, making some kind of bean mixture and then also wilting some kale. Then I have half a sweet potato with the beans and wilted kale on top. That is another favorite lunch. I also eat tofu, seitan and tempeh. I even eat Impossible meat or Beyond meat. But I normally get my protein from beans. That is my go-to. But as I said–the timing is the biggest thing that changed for me. I stopped intermittent fasting. I now consume my protein milk within 30 minutes of my workout. I changed the milk I drink from 25 calorie a cup cashew or flax milk to higher calorie Ripple that is protein rich (cashew and flax milk have hardly any protein). Otherwise I still eat the same way I did before (I was vegan before I read this book). I am always trying to eat a cleaner diet. Some days I do better than others.
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Thanks so much for your review, (And for all of the many reviews you’ve done!) I’m 52, post-menopause, and reading this book. Almost done with another round of Cathe’s STS, yay! Waiting for STS, Jr. Wonder how it will compare?
LHS isn’t an issue for me. I’m trying to add in more HIIT, it is like oatmeal IMO–it is good for me, but not enjoyable😁 The holy basil sounds great. Glad you atre sleeping better. I am on immunosuppressive meds, so need to be cautious about the supplements I take. All in all, I am enjoying the book and trying to make it work for me.
I’ve lurked and read your reviews for many years. So glad you are working out and doing well!
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You’re welcome! I am waiting very impatiently for STS 2.0! We’ll see if it brings me back to doing Cathe workouts again. I haven’t done a Cathe workout in years. Thanks for posting! I thought I was LHS but not like she recommends. I’m doing better now–less reps, heavier dumbbells. I do my HIIT on my rebounder. I never enjoyed it either until I got a rebounder. It changed everything.
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I really loved this book! After reading all the incredible info about estrogen (E2!!!), I’m amazed that any woman can function after menopause, LOL. I won’t be able to do exactly what she recommends, but fortunately I haven’t seen a lot of negative changes in my fitness or appearance since I reached menopause. Arthritis in my hands and wrists prevents me from LHS, but I am trying to go a little heavier. And long-term feet issues keep me from high impact. I use primarily Cathe’s low impact cardio, and I’m trying to move faster than she does or alter the moves a bit to try and work harder. It makes some difference, and it’s fun. I am going to research more about the adaptogens and other stuff she advises for hot flashes. Those devils are killing me. Ugh. 🙂 Thanks so much for posting your great review. I read it and immediately went to Amazon!!
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I know! Wasn’t it excellent? I’m still not where she recommends either but I do plan to be eventually. Maybe not 100% but more than I am now. I have plates and screws in my heels so sometimes plyometrics cause me problems as well. I can still do them and I do when they are in a cardio + strength workout, but I have moved to doing my cardio HIIT training primarily on a rebounder. It is still plyometrics (and HIIT training), it is just easy on the joints and the feet. The drunk driver hit me in 2009 and I recovered really well, but the older I get, the more the arthritis from crushed bones mended by titanium affects me. My rebounder has been one of the best fitness purchases I’ve made.
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I am really amazed at all that you do with those plates and screws in your feet – not to mention how well you’ve recovered after breast cancer! You’re pretty awesome. 🙂 I’ve thought about a rebounder but I don’t think I have room to store it. And do you need a higher ceiling to accommodate the bounces? My main foot problem is Achilles tendinosis (degenerating tendon). I thought it was finally ok and tried to get back into plyo, but man is it acting up again. The last thing I need is a tendon rupture. I used to jump on a regular trampoline when I was a kid. Just remembering the feel of it, it seems like it might actually cause the tendon to stretch more? What do you think about that on a rebounder? I may have to cave in and buy another elliptical. I don’t especially enjoy machines, but they’re better than not being fit!!!
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Some rebounders come with folding legs so you can lean them against the wall. Mine does. You don’t actually bounce high on a rebounder. The action that makes rebounding intense is pushing down fast and hard into the rebounder. The high jumps aren’t actually intense–they are more feel good. As far as how it would affect your achilles–I don’t know. I was really surprised to find I can jump without shoes on–but only on my rebounder. I need supportive footwear for everything else in my life because of my heels and that includes doing yoga yoga; even slippers have to be supportive! I think jumping on the rebounder without shoes strengthens my feet. But everyone is different. I have a friend with arthritis in her knees. Rebounding is supposed to be gentle on the joints but she tried it and said it hurt.
I agree. After my accident, I spent a lot of money on a stationary bike. And I used it, too–but I did not enjoy it! I am glad I own it though because I’ve had many set backs over the years and I have to return to it for short periods but it is not fun to use stationary cardio equipment.
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Thank you for the info about how rebounders work!
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I ordered and read this.book after reading your review. I was happy to see that it also included a chapter for if you already have osteoporosis as I do. I cannot LHS without joint strain but am determined to work up to it. I am going to try Holy Basil as well. Thank you for the review and for sharing your story
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You’re welcome! I hope you find the book as helpful as I did!
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I ordered the audio version of this book yet haven’t started it. The Holy Basil – how much of that was recommended. I’m wondering if that will help me and my husband. We both have issues with not enough deep sleep. We are similar to you in that respect. I’m taking HRT cream – a few weeks now. I am hoping for improvement in how I feel amongst other issues. I’m just now post menopausal at 57. Thanks for the recommendation. Rene
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The book says the smallest effective dose is 500mg 2x a day. I am taking 600mg in the evening. I must have missed the 2x a day thing. I might increase mine to 2x a day now and see if I get even better results.
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ok, I guess since this is for sleep would you just take it all at night? If you split it up I hope it wouldn’t make you sleepy during the day.
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I don’t know. That’s why I stated taking it in the evening–because I was taking it for sleep. I would start with an evening dose and if that doesn’t give you the results you want, either increase your evening dose or try the twice a day. I’m actually getting results from the once a day evening dose so I think I will stick with that for now.
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I ordered the audio version of this book yet haven’t started it. The Holy Basil – how much of that was recommended. I’m wondering if that will help me and my husband. We both have issues with not enough deep sleep. We are similar to you in that respect. I’m taking HRT cream – a few weeks now. I am hoping for improvement in how I feel amongst other issues. I’m just now post menopausal at 57. Thanks for the recommendation. Rene
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i have this and her other one love them
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Did you incorporate anything you learned from this book into your training? Did you notice any differences?
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Thanks for reviewing this book. I have it but haven’t gotten around to reading it yet. Now I am excited to start!
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Let me know what you think!
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