--- title: "It's Not About The Food - Unlock more muscle and lean weight now" entity: "blog" canonical_url: "https://www.andreaproulxnd.com/blog/it-s-not-about-the-food-unlock-more-muscle-and-lean-weight-now" markdown_url: "https://www.andreaproulxnd.com/llms/blog/it-s-not-about-the-food-unlock-more-muscle-and-lean-weight-now" lastmod: "2023-05-23T20:14:00.000Z" --- Recorded December 2022. Full transcript below. Why Building Lean Muscle Isn’t Just About the Food If you think getting stronger and leaner is all about what you eat, think again. While nutrition matters, your gut microbiome—the trillions of bacteria, fungi, and other microbes living inside you—plays a massive role in your muscle, metabolism, and overall performance. Here’s what you need to know. The Gut-Muscle Connection Your gut bacteria communicate directly with your muscles. Exercise affects your microbiome, and your microbiome sends signals back to muscle tissue. A healthy microbiome supports muscle growth and reduces markers of muscle breakdown. Certain byproducts of gut bacteria, like short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), help maintain insulin sensitivity, regulate appetite, and support healthy body composition. What Can Go Wrong? Dysbiosis—an imbalance in gut bacteria—can contribute to: - Digestive issues: bloating, gas, IBS, constipation, diarrhea - Inflammation and joint pain - Skin problems: acne, rashes, psoriasis - Fatigue and poor recovery Causes of dysbiosis include processed foods, low fiber intake, stress, medications (antibiotics, NSAIDs), poor sleep, and irregular circadian rhythms. Supporting Your Microbiome Prioritize fiber: vegetables, ground flax, chia, psyllium—these feed beneficial gut bacteria. Post-exercise nutrition matters: nutrient-dense carbs, protein, and hydration help your gut recover after intense workouts. Regular routines help: consistent sleep, exercise, and meal timing support a resilient microbiome. Professional guidance: see a regulated healthcare provider who understands the gut, exercise physiology, and hormones to optimize your results. Your microbiome isn’t just a side player—it’s a key teammate in building lean muscle, boosting recovery, and supporting long-term health. Treat it well, and it will help you get stronger, leaner, and more resilient. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRANSCRIPT 00:02 Hi, welcome. It is time for me to jump in front of you and talk about why it's not just about food. 00:14 So I know that many of you voted recently on that the idea that you like coaching sessions to be short and punchy and 10 minutes or less. 00:24 So I will do my best. But there's so much to talk on this topic and I love talking about this. 00:31 So I will try to keep it punching short and punchy around the 10 minute mark. But please know that on Monday I'm going to talk a lot more about this. 00:43 So that's not going to be in the thick fun fabulous group. That's going to be in the worldwide internet. So that will be alive through Facebook as well. 00:52 Or you catch the replay and I'll put the replay link in the fit fun fabulous. If you need a reminder about this DM me your email address and that way I can make sure that you're on email list so you get all the details on Monday at 730 because I'm going to talk a lot more about this topic. 01:11 It's not just about the food. But I've listened and you want to keep things punchy and around the 10 minute mark. 01:19 So so here we go. Welcome. Welcome. It is not about the food. I want you to unlock more muscle and more lean weight. 01:30 And I want to do that without talking calories or counting calories or resting all our rules on one particular diet because I must submit every clinical shift. 01:42 Patients are asking me what should I eat. Yes, I'm an naturopathic doctor and yes, I expect some of these questions. 01:49 But what should I eat for weight loss? What should I eat to build muscle? What's the timing of my food with exercise? 01:57 What foods do I need to eat to poop more to put more? Less to get rid of my blood and to reduce pain. 02:02 Tell my PMS you name it. It's always what is the food? And I'm here to tell you it's more than just about the food. 02:10 In fact, it's not exclusively about the food at all. Because I can play that game. I can play the gluten free or paleo diet. 02:17 I can do that. But turns out that we're all smarter now. And by word, I mean the entire scientific community, we're all waking up to this idea that it's not just the food. 02:29 It's not food. It's actually about our gut about our gut micro biome. So those rebs disease or those little gut bacteria that live in us on us in multiple places. 02:42 Indeed, we're going to talk gut bacteria. Yes. And why? Because it's part of the essential component of getting leaner and stronger. 02:53 We know that disruptions in the gut microbiota. Those gut bacteria can affect cancers infection. Autoimmune disorders, metabolic diseases, including diabetes and insulin sensitive issues, neurological concerns, fertility, longevity, sports performance, we're seeing these studies come up and we're seeing 03:14 more and more. It's about the gut microbiome or microbiota. And it's not simply about what diet are you on what food are you eating or not eating. 03:25 I want you to love your gut bugs. I want you to know how your microbiome affects your guts and what you need to do to help those rebs disease, those little bugs. 03:38 So you can have a stronger body in less than 10 minutes. So quick refresher. What is a microbiome? Well, the microbiome is a collection of all the microbes, bacteria, fungus, viruses and their genetic material. 03:54 That all naturally live on us on our skin, also inside of us, including very much in our gut, but also in our v****** canal. 04:04 And our gut microbiome has many, many, many impacts. And why is that? Because there are trillions of these bacteria or microbiomes, these collection of microbes turns out for every one human cell that you have. 04:22 We have about 1.3 other guys hanging out with us. So do you plus all these other guys? That's how many there are. 04:34 And so obviously they're going to have a huge impact on your muscles and your lean body. We know for sure fact that those gut bacteria, I cussed by tear it, gut microbiome, interact directly with muscle. 04:50 They actually cross-talk. So some of the byproduct of muscle and exercise gives signals to this microbiome and the microbiome signals back to the muscle. 05:00 This is a much much newer area of research. But we do know there is a relationship here and we do know that a poor microbiome makes it a lot harder to gain and maintain muscle mass. 05:13 Fun study and I know it's not about mice. None of you are mice. I hope they're. I don't think any mice are watching me right now. 05:21 It's about humans. But like I said, this is a newer area of study. And so I am going to talk a little bit about some of my studies. 05:28 Really cool one where they took the good gut microbiome from a happy mouse, a good looking microbiome from a mouse, and they put it into a pathogen-free or like an accident with a germ-free. 05:44 So there was they you can do this scientifically in the lab. You can remove all the microbiome, these gut bacteria, etc. 05:50 From a mouse. Anyway, so they took the good stuff for a happy healthy mouse and they put it in one of these mice who didn't have any of this stuff. 05:59 A whole bunch of things happened. But one thing in particular I want to highlight is that those, those mice, increased their muscle mice. 06:07 They reduced their number of muscle atrophy or muscle loss markers in the blood. Those mice with their brand new microbiome they just received also increased their oxidative metabolic capacity to the muscle. 06:24 Basically, meaning those muscles could do a lot more, a lot more, a lot more, I guess a real spinning or whatever my student. 06:32 Again, this muscle gut microbiome cross-talk is a very new area, but we do know for sure that it plays a large, large role in gaining and maintaining muscle loss. 06:44 And turns out these microbiome produce waste byproducts, I guess is what we can say. They are living organisms and they take stuff in and they produce stuff as well. 06:56 And one of the big groups of things they produce are called short-chain fatty acids or SCFAs short-chain fatty acids. They are byproducts of fermentation digestion of what these little dudes do. 07:11 These little dudes get fiber, fiber and protein, and they produce short-chain fatty acids. Turns out that we need those short-chain fatty acids to help maintain healthy insulin levels, to help maintain healthy glucose balance, and guess what? 07:30 To maintain healthy body weight. We also know that when you have a healthy amount of short-chain fatty acids, we see people who have better portion control and better association. 07:42 I can never say that. People just feel more appropriately full. Now then, short-chain fatty acids, when all this research came out, we saw a bunch of these types of things on the market as supplements. 07:56 Okay, sure. That is one way of be it by foods is a much better way, and it's not simply about take the supplements of short-chain fatty acids. 08:06 There are much more detailed research studies getting out there, and I will talk more about that on Monday, but basically, the short-chain fatty acids are the byproduct made by the gut microbiome. 08:19 How do they make it? Well, the microbiome needs to eat fiber, and fiber comes in all sorts of options. And so that's where the difference comes, is what is the type of fiber someone's taking in? 08:32 What kind of microbiome are what bugs are around? And therefore, what are the ratios and types of short-chain fatty acids they're making? 08:42 Because it's not just as simple as what is the food I need to eat to hellow my microbiome to make more short-chain fatty acids. 08:49 I mean, that's part of the question, but it's also what bacteria, sorry, microbiome, you have lying around. There are two big classes that we're talking more and more about, especially in the world of muscle and healthy weight. 09:04 Are the fermic cuties and bacteriogies or bacteriogies? Families of types of bugs, a microbiome. And it does get a little bit more complicated and we're still, the scientific community is still sorting out these details. 09:19 But what we do know so far is that in obese people or people who have dysbiosis, so many of the symptoms related to this gut imbalance, we see higher amounts of fermic cuties, so this is a particular day. 09:34 And turns out fermic cuties, one of the things they do is they actually change a bunch of digestive hormones, including gray lin, and this leads to an increase in appetite and an increase in food intake. 09:51 But of a vicious circle there, unfortunately, for people who are currently overweight or obese. The flip side we're seeing is in leaner individuals, in a lot of athletes, put an asterisk there, we're seeing higher bacteriodes, and that promotes more of a weight loss or a healthy weight to scenario. 10:11 Again, it does get a little bit more complicated. So how do we get here? How do we know if we bion is out of luck? 10:29 I mean, that's a big question. But to keep us the same for you, symptoms related to gut microbiome being off, it's called dysbiosis, including chronic fatigue, many digestive problems, including food intolerances, gas, bloating, reflux, heartburn, IBS, constipation diarrhea, v****** and rectal itching 10:55 or infections. So we're going to do a general aspect too. Inflammation and aching joints, acne, skin, rashes, psoriasis, some other skin things, inflammation and aching joints, digestive problems, inflammation and aching joints and digestive problems. 11:17 These are things I talk about all the time and I'm sure that's why you're here. So how does one end up with dysbiosis with this imbalance? 11:28 There are many reasons and I'll get more into it on the longer version of this, but a diet with refined or processed foods, a lack of fiber, alcohol, inappropriate or lack of exercise. 11:42 Our environment effects are gut bacteria, including the pollution that we have in our environment, age, gender, genetics, stress, antibiotic use, as well as end-side use. 11:59 So you're non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, like ibuprofen, have been shown to affect the gut bacteria and not in a good way. And our circadian rhythms. 12:09 So if any of you did my level up your game between seasons challenge, we talked a lot about circadian rhythms in there. 12:17 If you didn't do the level up challenge, don't worry. I'll bring you back again in the spring. So you can jump into yet another way of tackling your circadian rhythms, leveling up your game to affect the bacteria. 12:31 Awesome. I'm not here to make you be afraid of your gut bacteria. I don't want you to feel guilty about the choices you've made or had to make. 12:41 I'm here to help you understand how your gut microbiome, what it does, and how you can love those little dudes to help you get stronger and leaner. 12:52 That is the game plan. Okay. Okay. How am I doing on time? I'm at 12 minutes. I'm sorry. It is what it is. 13:03 All right. What we can do? Be mindful of exercise intensity. Long hard exercise sessions, but those really intense 45 minutes an hour and an hour plus sessions can have negative impacts on our gut bacteria that microbiome. 13:26 So be sure to recover properly. It doesn't mean you can't go for a big four hour by grind when it's hot in humid outside. 13:34 It just means you need to be much more mindful and prepared for your proper recovery, for your muscles, but for your microbiome as well. 13:44 You need to look at your overall nutrition. I obviously was going to talk a little bit about nutrition. I'm sorry. 13:53 Look at fiber. Fiber fiber fiber. Fire is a prebiotic. I love I love that people are like, oh, what do I need a prebiotic and a prebiotic and all stuff like prebiotics are fibers. 14:06 You need fiber that can come from vegetables that can come from ground flax seed or chia seed or cilium husk all sorts of places because we know that a high fiber diet helps better balance at fermic cuties and bacterial ways balance in a good way. 14:28 Surprise. Fiber is good. Food timing with respect to your exercise and I have definitely been guilty of this one. Finishing a really intense sport, really intense game workout and then choosing something sugary or having a side, cold cider or a beer. 14:50 Many of us have this type of culture in our sports. Turns out those are the worst things to do for our gut bacteria. 14:57 Surprise. Again, foods higher in fiber. Protein. Of course, you're allowed carbs but choose those nutrient dense carbs to have more fiber in them. 15:08 Get in your water, get in your electrolytes. That's always true. But they are very, true to do right after your exercise because those poor little dudes inside have been effectively starved into private oxygen. 15:26 I'll talk more about that later. And they are just trying to like survive. They're like crawling through the desert. Oh, I'm just about there. 15:37 This game, this sport, this is where it gets almost over. What do they want? I mean, if you're in the desert, it gets you want water. 15:47 Water in an apple. Not a beer or sugary candy. Try to pay attention to your circadian rhythms. Try to stay on track seven days a week. 16:04 Wake up. Go to bed. Eat, sleep. Exercise. In theory at the same time every day. Theory. And of course, see a regulated healthcare professional if there's more to your gut right now. 16:20 Right? There's inflammation, icky joints, autoimmune concerns, all sorts of digestive issues. There's no part of our body that these gut back to your not playing a role in. 16:33 So get assessed by a regulated healthcare professional who knows about the gut about the microbiome, but also about exercise and being fit and female hormones. 16:47 Find that person who can do those things for you or that team that can do those things for you. And that's exactly why I developed my gut cleanup program. 16:56 And perhaps you've heard me talk about it before, and I'll talk about it again because I'm launching the next group in January. 17:03 It's a four-week group medical treatment program so that we can go beyond the basics of food. Obviously, it's a food cleanup cleaning eating program. 17:15 I say, obviously, because obviously food's going to play a role. But the end goal is not about a meal plan. 17:20 The end goal is about how to use those and other aspects that we talk at great length in the cleanup program. 17:29 How do we use all those things to have a significant impact on the gut microbiome? Because we're not perfect every day. 17:37 But we want those gut microbiome to be resilient for us. So, take home, take home points, eat your fiber, eat healthy real foods after exercise. 17:51 Get assessed by health care professional who knows about the gut microbiome exercise and fitness. Got it? And don't just buy some kit off a shelf that should hurt a boat in the blog. 18:04 Thinking it will magically change our commitment. Definitely see health care professional who can help you if you really want to change how your body is interacting with food for improving your lean muscle and your lean body weight. 18:21 That's all. Wait over 10 minutes. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I should have been straight up. I knew. I knew it was never all going to fit it. 18:29 But I so much more to say on this. Join me on Monday. I will put a reminder here in the Fit Fun Fabulous Group for everybody as well. 18:37 But if you want to get an e- reminder, straight to your inbox, DM me your email address and I will make sure that you get that as well. 18:44 Because I want you to join in. I want you to really ask questions. I want you to know exactly what you want to do. 18:52 And as you were bird I said on Monday, can you cover what you do after taking antibiotics to protect your gut bacteria? 18:58 Yes, indeed. I will add that to the list of items. So thank you very much for what I was asking that because it is a great, because antibiotics can save lives. 19:09 They are very useful. But like anything in life, we have to moderate what comes after, right? There were cover reports. 19:18 So I will definitely add that in on Monday, Roberta. Thank you very much. Okay, I'm way past my 10 minutes. 19:24 I wish everybody a fantastic, fantastic day. If you have any further questions, if you're watching the replay, feel free to drop them in the comment comments or just send me a direct message as well and I will do it. 19:36 Okay, cool. I'm out. Bye!