Protein and Exercise for Postmenopausal Women's Wellbeing

PRO-WELL: Protein and Exercise for Postmenopausal Women's Wellbeing

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if consuming a higher protein diet that includes one serving of beef each day, in combination with resistance exercise, improves wellbeing in postmenopausal women. It will also tell us about how higher protein intake changes body composition and blood values related to health. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Does higher protein intake combined with resistance training improve mood and sleep in postmenopausal women?
• What other health benefits to postmenopausal women experience when the follow a higher protein diet and participate in resistance exercise?

Researchers will compare three groups 1) postmenopausal women living their daily lives as usual, 2) postmenopausal women consuming a higher protein diet, and 2) postmenopausal women consuming a higher protein diet and participating in resistance training.

Participants will:

• Consume a higher protein diet for 16 weeks
• Participate in an at-home resistance training for 16 weeks
• Keep a diary of their food intake, sleep habits, and mood
• Have health assessments every 4 weeks

Inclusion Criteria:

• Postmenopausal women aged 50 years and older (at least 12 months since last menstrual cycle)
• Participant in physical activity (e.g., 2-4 bouts of physical activity per week (i.e., activities such as brisk walking, yoga, hiking, cycling, gardening, etc.)) -Participants taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT; at least 6 months on HRT), statins, and antihypertensive medications will be allowed to participate.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Food allergies
• Dietary restrictions (e.g., vegan, vegetarian, lactose intolerance, etc.)
• Diet-related conditions that would prevent them from consuming a higher protein dietary intake (e.g., impaired liver function, kidney disease)
• Participants consuming more than 0.8 g protein/kg/body weight per day (determined by 24-hour dietary recall)
• Underweight (BMI < 18.5)
• Taking nutritional supplements
• Currently smoking or vaping
• Use marijuana
• Drink more than 4 alcoholic beverages a week
• Take medications that may interfere with the primary outcomes of the dietary intervention (e.g., antidepressants, sleep medication, etc.)
• Sleep apnea
• Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) global score >5 via or sleep > 7 hours a night
• Pre-existing health conditions (e.g., diabetes (type I or II), cancer, Parkinson's Disease, Multiple Sclerosis) or conditions that would prevent them from fully participating in all aspects of the study.