Hey Cleanish Squad! This week, we looked at whether it's too late to start lifting weights in your 40s. (It isn't.) The best study we found ran on adults averaging 70 years old, two days a week, and they still got stronger. Lacey also gets into why she waited until her thirties to start.

Plus, in this issue, we cover what egg carton labels actually mean, and we look at how few adults over 45 lift at all. And there are five high protein smoothies with five ingredients or less that you'll love.

Let's get into it!

— Lacey Baier, Dustin Baier

I wasted so much time either doing cardio or avoiding doing cardio.

That was my whole relationship with exercise for my twenties and thirties. I legit thought the only way to lose weight was to start running, so I'd start running. And I hated running. I was also really bad at it.

So I'd quit. Then, I’d feel bad about quitting. A few months later, I’d buy new shoes and start over.

Sound familiar?

To be clear, I'm not anti-movement. I've done my fair share of 5ks, 10ks, mud runs, walks, bike rides, HIIT, swimming, and sprints. What I mean is getting on a machine purely to raise my heart rate so I can burn calories. Me and that don't really jive well.

I always felt like lifting weights was a guy thing. My history with weightlifting was very, very brief, and I never really learned how to do it.

I was also scared it would make me bulky. I was afraid of getting bigger while doing something I hated in order to get smaller. I made that trade over and over for decades.

I've lost over 50 pounds five different times, before and after babies. And almost all of the weight after my third baby, Hunter, came off before I ever touched a weight. That weight loss was due to clean eating, whole foods, lean protein, unrefined grains, cutting the processed fats and sugars.

I didn’t start strength training until after Hunter was born, in my thirties. I felt out of place for a while, but I started with body-only movements, like walking lunges, calf raises, and push-ups. Once I got better at those, I added in resistance using bands and lighter dumbbells.

I stopped forcing my body to get as small as it could and started asking what it could do. Those are two completely different questions, much like the difference between counting calories and tracking macros.

I'm stronger now than I was at 25. My clothes fit differently at roughly the same weight. I feel strong, and I stand up straighter. I am so thankful I started.

A 2015 review in Sports Medicine pooled 25 randomized trials of 819 healthy adults with an average age of 70. All the subjects were still building strength.

The biggest gains came from two sessions a week, with weight heavy enough that the last couple of reps were hard. More sessions did not do better.

Two days a week. That's it…even in your 70s.

Feeling out of place when you start out is a phase, and it won’t last forever. Everyone in the weight room started from zero, even the men.

A late start is still a start.

Source: Borde et al., Sports Medicine, 2015

Cage free. Free range. Pasture raised. Three words on the same shelf, a dollar or so apart, and almost nobody can tell you the difference.

Here's what they actually mean, and what you should be looking at instead.

Cage free has nothing to do with the outdoors. It only means the hens aren't in cages.

Free range is the one that adds continuous outdoor access.

Pasture raised sounds the most like a farm, but it isn't a USDA term at all. It comes from a private certifier, Certified Humane, which gives each bird 108 square feet. For comparison, the free range standard is 2 square feet, which is 54 times smaller.

Now, what you should actually be looking at.

Cage free and free range are USDA terms, but they only bind the carton if it carries the USDA grade shield. No shield, and in theory, those words can sit there with nothing checking them.

By the way, this is what that shield looks like:

Fortunately, most big brands carry the shield or a third-party seal, but this is a gap in the rules I think you should understand. It just means the wording isn't doing the work you think it is.

So find the seal first and read the words second.

Want the actual rules? The National Agricultural Law Center walks through them →

I've spent years helping women live healthier while quietly hiding who I actually was. Proving Her Wrong is the part I kept quiet. New essays every Monday. Start with Sorry Doesn't Mean Much or subscribe free.

😴 Waking up at night may be an early signal of Alzheimer's risk

A University of Liège team tracked sleep in over 500 healthy adults. Those aged 50 to 69 with a higher genetic risk of Alzheimer's woke up more often.

🥫 Ultra-processed food tied to higher prostate cancer risk in US men

Florida Atlantic University studied diet and health records for 17,024 US men. The men who ate the most ultra-processed food had about 30% higher risk.

🦷 Tooth count tracked with survival after pancreatic cancer surgery

Hiroshima University reviewed 339 patients after surgery for pancreatic cancer. Those with at least 21 teeth lived a median 60.7 months. Those with fewer lived 39.1.

🩸 Peppermint oil lowered blood pressure in a small trial

The University of Lancashire gave 40 adults peppermint oil or a placebo. Though the trial was small, the top blood pressure number fell about 8.5 points in 20 days.

For years I thought losing weight meant more cardio, so I just kept doing more of it. This is the shift that actually worked for me, and the part I wish somebody had told me at 35. Watch on YouTube →

30 minutes

twice a week of lifting weights was the whole time commitment in the trial where postmenopausal women gained bone density instead of losing it.

An Australian trial followed 101 women, average age 65, all with thinning bones. After eight months of supervised heavy lifting, spine bone density rose 2.9%. A comparison group doing light exercise at home lost 1.2%.

Source: The LIFTMOR trial, Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 2018

I lost 50 pounds and still wasn't free. Even when my body changed, the mental noise didn't. This is what actually worked. Read it →

These simple smoothies will help you stay full and energized. With 5 easy recipes to choose from (all with 5 ingredients or less!), you’ll have no problem staying on track! Get the recipe →

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