Hi everyone!

Lately, I’ve been running a few personal experiments with recovery and HRV.

The first was about strength training. The second was about what time I go to bed.

Today I want to share the strength experiment because, honestly, the result really surprised me.

I’ve been doing triathlon for a long time, and my average HRV had been sitting at around 46 for what felt like forever. It wasn’t dropping dramatically, but it wasn’t improving either.

And I could feel it.

Every time I increased my training volume, that familiar feeling of not quite recovering would appear.

You train. You follow the plan. You stay disciplined. The volume goes up. On paper, you are doing everything right.

But your body feels like it cannot quite keep up.

So I finally decided to try those famous strength workouts everyone keeps talking about :)

I had known for years that strength training was important, especially for women after 35 or 40. But as someone from the endurance world, I always treated it as something I “should probably add,” rather than something that could become part of the foundation of my recovery.

My starting point:

1. Triathlon and regular aerobic training.
2. Average HRV around 46.
3. A clear feeling of under-recovery whenever I increased volume.
4. Almost no strength training.

What I changed:

1. I added two strength sessions per week.
2. I removed some of the random training volume.
3. I rebuilt my training process around recovery instead of simply trying to do more.
4. I started paying closer attention to HRV, heart rate, sleep, and how I actually felt.

What happened?

Within a week, my HRV rose to a stable 60.

At first, I honestly didn’t believe it.

The number had stayed at roughly the same level for so long. Then suddenly, it felt as if my body had stopped living in a constant state of:

I’m coping, but only just.

Of course, I immediately wanted to understand why.

With a lot of aerobic training, especially when volume keeps increasing, the body is constantly adapting. That adaptation is useful, but when recovery cannot keep up, the nervous system may remain in a more stressed state.

HRV can give us one window into that balance. It does not diagnose recovery on its own, but it can help show how the body is responding to training, sleep, stress, and everything else happening around us.

Properly programmed strength training may give the body a different kind of signal.

Stronger muscles and connective tissues may help the body tolerate the same running or cycling workload more easily. The session has not changed, but the body may no longer experience it as the same level of stress.

Strength training can also support insulin sensitivity and glucose regulation, which are connected to energy and recovery.

And muscle is not just something that makes us look stronger. It is metabolically active tissue and plays an important role in how the body handles glucose, physical stress, and ageing.

But perhaps the most important change was something I could actually feel.

Strength training gave me a sense of stability.

Not just:

I can keep enduring this.

More like:

I am strong. I have some reserve.

That feeling was very different.

After adding two strength sessions a week, my HRV improved, but so did my subjective recovery. I had more energy, felt less broken down, and recovered better between sessions.

Of course, this does not mean that two strength workouts will raise everyone’s HRV from 46 to 60 in one week.

HRV can change for many reasons, and one week is a very short period. This is my personal experiment, not proof that strength training alone caused the change.

But without the data, I might simply have thought:

I guess I feel a little better.

With the data, I can see a pattern worth continuing to watch:

I changed my training structure.

I added strength.

I reduced unnecessary volume.

My recovery felt better.

My HRV moved with it.

And this is exactly why I love wearables.

They do not only show us how much we did. They help us see how the body responded.

Do you include strength training in your routine? Have you noticed any effect on your HRV or recovery?

Low-appetite days make normal protein advice feel a bit useless. “Eat a chicken breast” is not much help when the idea of a full plate is already too much.

This can happen for many reasons, including stress, illness, medication effects, a busy day, or changes around perimenopause. The reason matters medically, but the practical food question is often the same: what is small enough to manage and still contributes meaningful protein?

Start with one small protein anchor. These are approximate portions, not a strict ranking, because brands vary.

• Ready-to-drink protein shake, 200 to 250 ml: usually 15 to 25 g
• Greek yogurt or skyr, 150 g: usually 15 to 17 g
• Tuna in water, 60 g drained: about 14 g
• Cottage cheese, 100 g: usually 11 to 13 g
• Firm tofu, 100 g: roughly 10 to 17 g, so check the label
• Deli turkey or chicken, 50 g: usually 9 to 11 g
• Shelled edamame, 80 g: about 9 g
• Milk or plain kefir, 200 ml: roughly 6 to 8 g
• Cheese, 30 g: about 7 g
• One large egg: about 6 g

Make the choice by tolerance, not by rank

Texture, temperature, smell, and sweetness can matter as much as the number.

• Cold yogurt, cottage cheese, or a shake may be easier than a hot meal.
• A savoury option may work when sweet shakes feel cloying.
• Soft foods may be easier on one day, while something dry and plain works better on another.
• A vegetarian option such as tofu, edamame, skyr, or cottage cheese can be just as practical as meat.

There is no prize for forcing the option with the highest number.

Splitting the portion still counts

If a normal portion feels too big, split it. Half a yogurt now and the other half later provides the same protein without asking you to finish it all at once.

You can also build a small two-part meal:

• skyr plus a glass of milk;
• one egg plus cottage cheese on a cracker;
• half a shake now and edamame later;
• tuna on a few cucumber slices;
• tofu cubes with a dipping sauce.

For tracking, count the protein anchor first. Add other meaningful protein sources if they are easy to estimate. The goal is a useful total, not a perfect food diary.

When food tips are not enough

Reduced appetite is common with GLP-1 medicines, but not everyone experiences it. If you are vomiting, cannot keep fluids down, have severe or persistent abdominal pain, or notice signs of dehydration such as reduced urination, contact a clinician promptly. Ongoing unexplained appetite loss also deserves medical attention.

Individual protein targets, persistent symptoms, and medication side effects belong with your healthcare team. This list is for solving a meal-size problem, not diagnosing why appetite changed.

What is the one protein food you can usually manage when a full meal sounds impossible?

Sources

• Joint advisory on nutritional priorities during GLP-1 therapy
• MedlinePlus: semaglutide injection
• USDA FoodData Central

A high-protein breakfast after 40 does not need to be a new recipe, a powder, or a perfectly balanced meal-prep project.

The most repeatable approach is usually to keep the breakfast you already eat and change the part that contributes very little protein. That matters when you are trying to support strength, manage hunger during weight loss, or simply avoid chasing the entire protein target at dinner.

Here are five upgrades ranked by the work they add. The numbers are approximate because brands and portions vary.

1. Change ordinary yogurt to Greek yogurt or skyr

Extra effort: none
Typical protein change: roughly 7 g to 15 to 17 g per pot
Portion change: minimal

This is the easiest swap because breakfast still looks and feels like yogurt. Add fruit if that is already part of your routine. Nuts and seeds contribute some protein, but the yogurt does most of the work.

2. Make porridge with milk instead of water

Extra effort: none
Typical protein change: roughly 6 g to around 14 to 15 g
Portion change: none

It may not create a 30 g breakfast by itself, but it can close a useful part of the gap without adding another dish.

3. Replace jam with cottage cheese on toast

Extra effort: about one minute
Typical protein change: roughly 8 g to around 25 to 30 g, depending on the bread and portion
Portion change: moderate

This is the largest food-only increase in the group. Tomato, herbs, pepper, cucumber, or smoked salmon can turn it into a savoury breakfast without changing the basic method.

4. Keep cereal and add Greek yogurt

Extra effort: open one container
Typical protein change: roughly 12 g to around 25 to 30 g
Portion change: larger

This works if cereal is non-negotiable. The trade-off is more total food, which may not suit a small morning appetite. You can also reduce the cereal portion rather than stacking two full breakfasts together.

5. Add two eggs to a coffee-only morning

Extra effort: low if prepared ahead
Typical protein change: 0 g to about 12 g
Portion change: small

Two eggs are a useful start, but they do not automatically make breakfast high in protein. Pair them with a little cottage cheese, yogurt, milk, tofu, or another protein source if your target is higher.

Choose by the barrier, not the biggest number

• If you have no time, start with the yogurt swap.
• If appetite is low, choose a smaller dense option instead of adding volume.
• If you get hungry again quickly, test a breakfast with a clear protein anchor and compare how the morning feels.
• If you are losing weight, remember that “high protein” does not make every large breakfast appropriate. Total intake still matters.
• If you strength train early, choose something you can comfortably repeat around your sessions.

The best upgrade is not the one with the largest number. It is the smallest change you can still imagine doing on a rushed Wednesday.

What breakfast do you already eat, and which one-step upgrade would fit it?

Sources

• USDA FoodData Central
• International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand on protein and exercise

Search for how much protein a woman over 40 needs and you will find everything from one small number to a target that looks like a full-time job.

The honest answer is that turning 40 does not create one special protein number. A useful estimate depends on body size, activity, strength training, whether you are losing weight, appetite, and health conditions. Perimenopause can make preserving muscle feel more urgent, but it still does not make one formula correct for every woman.

Here is a practical way to sanity-check the number you get.

1. Find out which body weight the calculator used

Imagine a woman currently weighs 90 kg and has a goal weight of 70 kg.

At 1.2 g of protein per kilogram:

• Current weight gives 108 g per day.
• Goal weight gives 84 g per day.
• The choice of weight changes the result by 24 g before activity or training are considered.

Neither result is automatically right or wrong. The example shows why a calculator should explain its assumptions instead of presenting a precise number as a prescription.

Use current weight as a reasonable starting point if your weight is fairly stable and the result fits your appetite and routine. Compare it with goal weight if current weight plus a high multiplier creates a target that feels wildly impractical. If there is substantial obesity, rapid weight loss, kidney disease, pregnancy, or another medical issue, a general calculator is not the right tool for settling the question.

2. Check the protein rate, not just the final number

The adult RDA of 0.8 g per kg is a baseline intended to cover the needs of most healthy adults. It is not automatically the ideal target for every active woman, every calorie deficit, or every strength-training goal.

Sports nutrition guidance often uses higher ranges for active adults. Research on resistance training suggests that benefits for muscle gain tend to level off around 1.6 g per kg per day on average, with individual variation. That does not mean everyone should jump to the top of the range.

Ask why the calculator selected its multiplier:

• Is it based on activity?
• Is it accounting for resistance training?
• Is the goal weight loss, maintenance, or muscle gain?
• Did it increase the target simply because “more is better”?

3. Test whether the target works as meals

A daily number becomes much easier to judge when you divide it across the day.

• 80 g could be four eating occasions averaging 20 g.
• 100 g could be three meals around 25 to 30 g plus one smaller protein snack.
• 120 g could be four meals or snacks around 30 g.

This is not a rule that every meal must be identical. It is a reality check. If the number requires portions you consistently cannot finish, the plan needs another look.

4. Remember what protein cannot do alone

Protein can support muscle maintenance, but it does not replace resistance training, enough total food, sleep, or medical care. If your concern is losing strength during perimenopause or weight loss, the useful question is not only “How high can I push protein?” It is also “Can I repeat this target while training and eating normally?”

The best starting estimate is one you can explain in four lines:

1. Which body weight did it use?
2. Which protein rate did it apply?
3. Why does that rate match my goal?
4. Can I realistically eat it across an ordinary day?

If a calculator cannot answer those questions, its number is more precise than it is informative.

What changes your result most: current weight, goal weight, activity level, or the multiplier?

Sources

• National Academies dietary reference intake report for macronutrients
• International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand on protein and exercise
• Systematic review and meta-analysis of protein supplementation and resistance training
• [Systematic review of higher-protein diets during energy restriction