04: Why Your Old Diet Isn’t Working Anymore — And What to Do About It

Nutritional Shifts in Midlife: Balancing Hormones and Stabilizing Blood Sugar

In this episode of 'Midlife and Glowing,' sisters Alicia and Nicole discuss the importance of adapting nutrition as women transition into perimenopause. They explain how hormone shifts, particularly the decrease in estrogen, lead to increased insulin resistance and weight gain, even with unchanged eating habits. The episode details why midlife metabolism slows down and the significance of blood sugar regulation and protein intake. They also emphasize the need for muscle mass preservation and provide practical tips for adjusting meals, including the importance of a protein-rich breakfast and the benefits of healthy snacks. The sisters offer actionable advice on how to maintain balanced blood sugar levels, proper protein consumption, and making mindful food swaps for improved health and wellness in midlife. They conclude with a mention of their sugar-free desserts guide and a preview of the next episode on midlife exercise.

00:00 Welcome to Midlife and Glowing

00:29 Understanding Hormonal Changes and Weight Gain

04:07 Nutrition Tips for Perimenopause

05:41 Balancing Blood Sugar for Better Health

07:39 Healthy Breakfast and Snack Ideas

13:17 Adjusting Nutrition Throughout Your Cycle

18:03 The Importance of Healthy Fats

22:42 Practical Tips for Healthy Eating

25:05 Conclusion and Next Steps

Get the Sugar Free Desserts Guide 🎂 here 👉 https://subscribepage.io/healthy-desserts-guide

Check out some of our Blood Sugar Friendly picks in our Amazon storefront here 👉 https://www.amazon.com/shop/thedailyglowlife/list/3MYFJS8WM9J16?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_aipsflist_9WZ3GN1REKE4AVZRXCS7

Transcript

0:00

Welcome to Midlife and Glowing, where we're all about glowing through midlife with more energy, confidence, and joy. We're sisters, Alicia and Nicole, wellness lovers, beauty enthusiasts, and your new midlife Hype squad. Here we talk about the real stuff, wellness, rituals, hormone health, self-care, beauty style, and everything that helps you feel like yourself again, because midlife doesn't have to be a downward spiral. It could be your best era yet, let's glow through it together.

Alicia: 0:28

Hey there. Welcome back.

Nicole Maholy: 0:29

Today we're talking about why your nutrition needs to shift as your hormones shift and how a few simple changes can make a huge difference in how you feel.

Alicia: 0:38

So why is it that in perimenopause women tend to gain weight even though they're eating the same?

Nicole Maholy: 0:43

Yeah. This is a super frustrating shift in perimenopause. So as estrogen drops, you become more insulin resistant, which causes your metabolism to slow, making the body more prone to storing fat, especially around the midsection. Even if eating habits haven't changed. So when we reach perimenopause, oftentimes women will notice that they can't eat the way they used to in their twenties and maybe even early thirties.

Alicia: 1:11

Yeah, I noticed that in my twenties and early thirties. I'm in survival mode, Were going, going, going. So my diet wasn't always as good as I would've liked it to be. Mm-hmm. But I could get away with it from a metabolism standpoint. I wasn't gaining weight and I have a much better diet now and I have to work harder. Mm-hmm. At maintaining it now.

Nicole Maholy: 1:33

Yeah, that makes complete sense when we think about what happens with our hormones, so I mentioned that estrogen starts to eventually lowers, and that impacts your insulin sensitivity you become more insulin resistant. The other factor is, we've talked about in other episodes that our cortisol levels are often higher. We are more reactive to the stress response, so we have higher levels of cortisol and high cortisol in combination with high insulin, which is what happens with insulin resistance, is a recipe for inability to lose weight. So being in that insulin resistant state makes it more difficult for your body to utilize glucose, and definitely in our earlier years. I think for most people in your twenties, you're probably eating more processed foods that are higher in carbohydrates, refined sugar, things like that. So you have more sugar coming into your system, and when you have better blood sugar regulation, your body can utilize that sugar more effectively, more efficiently. Those carbohydrates, so carbohydrates in your body, when you consume them, they're converted into sugar we call it glucose. We become more insulin resistant In perimenopause, our body can't utilize that glucose as efficiently and when we have higher levels of carbohydrates coming in and we can't use it as efficiently we end up storing it as fat. So that creates that scenario where we end up gaining weight.

Alicia: 2:58

Okay. So you mentioned that estrogen is one factor. Are there other reasons for this weight gain issue many women struggle with in midlife?

Nicole Maholy: 3:06

Yes. So in addition to the estrogen lowering, causing an increase in insulin resistance and blood sugar instability, which leads to slower metabolism. We also naturally have a decline in our muscle mass, and that also results in slower metabolism because our muscle tissue is part of what helps us utilize that glucose that's in our system. So if we have a reduction in muscle mass, we aren't utilizing that glucose as efficiently, so you end up storing that excess glucose as fat I also mentioned about cortisol being a factor. When you have higher stress levels, that's gonna drive up cortisol, and that in combination with high insulin will make it more difficult to lose weight. Sleep is another factor too. Sleep deprivation definitely has an impact on our gut microbiome, which has an impact on blood sugar regulation and insulin sensitivity. And then it also drives up our cravings for unhealthy foods that are just going to compound that issue.

Alicia: 4:07

okay, so what should women be focusing on with their nutrition to support their hormones and metabolism in perimenopause?

Nicole Maholy: 4:14

Well to keep it super simple, there's two pieces that I think women really need to focus on. Number one is blood sugar regulation. So we've talked a lot about blood sugar being a factor here and getting your blood sugar stable is really helpful for, not just your metabolism and weight, but also your mood and your energy because where your blood sugar goes, your mood and your energy often follow. So we really gotta work on stabilizing blood sugar. That's a big key for perimenopause. The other factor, and this also helps with blood sugar regulation, but the other factor is protein. We really need to focus on protein because not only, will that stabilize your blood sugar, but it will also help support muscle mass, which we really need to be aware of and focus on at this stage of life. Mm-hmm. we do see that people that go into older age with good healthy muscle mass, have better health overall. They have better health span and lifespan. So we really need to be focusing on supporting muscle mass and getting adequate protein is a good way to do that. Protein is also necessary for the things that we are concerned with from a beauty standpoint too, like having enough amino acids necessary to support skin, hair, nails, all of those things. So if I were to make it as simple as possible, those would be two things that I would say would be most helpful. Now in order to get that blood sugar stability, there's a couple things to keep in mind. I think one is probably pretty obvious to most people, and that would be If you can at least limit or reduce the amount of refined carbohydrates, ultra processed foods, refined sugar, that is going to be really helpful in preventing those blood sugar spikes and crashes that are such a problem for our metabolism, Mm-hmm. our mood, and our energy. So we really gotta be doing that, eliminating things that spike and crash our blood sugar. The other side of things, as I mentioned, is focusing on things like protein. Protein is really great for stabilizing those blood sugar levels so. One of the best things that you can do for yourself is to think about how you're starting your day because the way that you eat at the beginning of the day is gonna have a big impact on how your blood sugar is regulated throughout the rest of the day. If you start the day with something super sugary and you start with the blood sugar spike and crash,

Alicia: 6:38

and that's what so often people wanna start their day with the donut or a pastry. Or yes. you know, a really sugary coffee drink.

Nicole Maholy: 6:45

Mm-hmm. That's great. that you mentioned coffee, because that's a common one that I think people overlook actually. They don't think about what they're putting in their coffee as adding to that, but sugary beverages are a problem. Mm-hmm. And you're right, that is sort of the traditional standard American diet. Pancakes, waffles. Cereals, Right? Yeah, Yeah. Oatmeal even. You know, yes, it does have a little bit of fiber, but it's still all carbohydrate. You're not getting any protein really when you consume something like that. So veering away from those sugary processed options and leaning more towards a savory breakfast. With a good amount of protein, healthy fats, and fiber when it comes to stabilizing your blood sugar, those are three things you can think of with your meals and snacks. Where is my protein, healthy fat, and fiber, and sort of craft your meals around those things to help stabilize that blood sugar. So a savory breakfast could be things like eggs, avocado, maybe chicken sausage, greens, or a protein smoothie. That would be another great option.

Alicia: 7:48

often our excuse for eating, you know, maybe the pastries and things like that are. Oh, I I'm running out the door. I don't have time. But there's things that you can do ahead of time Yeah. To still get these savory protein packed breakfast items into your diet. Right. You know, you can hard boil eggs the night before. You can make egg bites with Your chicken sausage.

Nicole Maholy: 8:10

Little egg muffins. Mm-hmm. Those are really nice. you can make those ahead of time and you can even freeze'em so that you just. Bop into the freezer and you know, you've got'em all set for the week, Mm-hmm. Spending a little bit of time getting yourself prepped. Sets you up for success.

Alicia: 8:25

I mean, you could pick Sunday night or a night a week where you're like, okay, I'm making protein balls this night. I'm making

Nicole Maholy: 8:31

egg

Alicia: 8:31

my egg muffins the next night. You know? There are things that you can do to set yourself up for success and make it easier to make better choices.

Nicole Maholy: 8:40

Definitely portion, pack your smoothies. And speaking of smoothies, I do wanna just mention that that is another area that can be a little tricky for people. You can end up putting a lot of sugar in them if you're not paying attention to what you're using. So trying to avoid things like juices. I think people think of juice as a healthy option, but it is sugar. So in order to reduce the amount of sugar that we're putting in our smoothies, we wanna avoid using something like juice. You could use, you know, water, coconut milk, almond milk, something like that would be good options. You can throw in some greens, other vegetables, you can add avocado. They're full of fiber and healthy fasts to keep that blood sugar nice and stable.

Alicia: 9:17

We like to add spinach to ours as well.

Nicole Maholy: 9:19

Yep. And then add your protein. So protein powders are a really great way to conveniently add more protein to your diet. So throw some protein powder into that smoothie. Maybe you add some almond butter or hemp seeds to amp up the protein. You can add berries for a little bit of flavor and more fiber. And then if you need a little punch of flavor, I also like to add in a little wedge of lemon and keep the rind on, that makes it taste really bright and flavorful as long as it's an organic lemon. You can also add in things like flax seed, chia seed, pumpkin seed, for more fiber, protein, healthy fats. So when it comes to breakfast, try to lean towards protein, healthy fats and fiber To set yourself up for blood sugar stability throughout your entire day. And then the other thing to think about is avoiding naked carbs. So protein, healthy fats and fiber helps stabilize things. I think a lot of people Trip up with snacks. Like people are used to going for things like chips or pretzels or mm-hmm things that are just carbohydrate, processed carbohydrate. And those are gonna spike and crash your blood sugar. So if you can pair those things, again, if you can eliminate or reduce those things and choose whole foods, that would be much better. Choosing something like jerky or olives or something like that for your snack. Nuts and seeds are a great snack option. And veering away from those crackers, chips, types of thing. But if you are going to have something like that, pairing it with the protein, like nuts or seeds or a good quality jerky stick or something like that would be a really great way to stabilize your blood sugar with that snack. Even something like fruit, like an apple for example, that still is carbohydrate. Yes, there's a little bit of fiber in there, but if you can pair fruit with protein or healthy fats. So if you have an apple with almond butter, for example, or a handful of walnuts or something like that, that would be a really great way to create that stable blood sugar scenario. And also protein and healthy fats burn longer than carbohydrates. So if you just have that apple, you're probably gonna be hungry again shortly thereafter, if you pair it with a protein and healthy fat that is gonna keep your blood sugar more stable, but you're also going to be satiated for much longer. So you aren't gonna be hungry again in 20 minutes.

Alicia: 11:32

I also try to put some protein powder in my coffee in the morning.

Nicole Maholy: 11:38

Perfect. I love that. And that's really important cause I know you work out in the morning if you can have some sort of protein or some sort of fuel prior to a workout. That is a really helpful way to support your, actually support your nervous system so your body doesn't go into fight or flight mode So that's an important factor. And also it's just a really great way to get more fuel, get more protein in your diet. Protein powders are a really convenient way mm-hmm. to bump up that protein content in your diet.

Alicia: 12:05

So what is a good rule of thumb for how much protein you should aim to have at each meal and then overall throughout the day? Mm-hmm.

Nicole Maholy: 12:12

So. Ideally, at every meal you want to have a minimum of 30 grams of protein to shoot for. So as we age, we actually become less efficient at breaking down and utilizing that protein. So certainly in perimenopause and beyond, we want to be focusing on minimum of 30 grams of protein. When we were younger, we probably could have gotten away with 20, 25 grams mm-hmm per meal and because we were more efficient at using it, now we need a little bit more, so 30 grams per meal as a way to get enough to create the effects that we want for supporting our muscle mass and blood sugar, stability and all of those things. And that said, you know, I've been talking about protein as a tool for stabilizing blood sugar and supporting muscle mass, but it also does so many other things. It supports satiety. It gives you more consistent even energy throughout the day. So if you're somebody that is feeling like you're constantly tired. Kind of do a little bit of a mental assessment of how much protein do I think I'm getting in a day? Am I getting enough? And that might be, you might find that really helpful in supporting your energy levels.

Alicia: 13:17

Okay, so what about nutrition in the different phases of our cycle? I've heard a lot about changing your lifestyle and How you work out in the different phases of your cycle. So what should I be eating differently mm-hmm during these different phases?

Nicole Maholy: 13:33

So in perimenopause, your body becomes more insulin resistant, so in general, it's helpful if we are carb aware and just kind of lowering our carbohydrate content, especially those processed, unrefined carbohydrates. The ultra processed foods, the processed sugars, things like that. That's really important in perimenopause because of that insulin resistance factor and the change in our metabolism. That said, during different parts of your cycle, you can tolerate more carbohydrate and it might even be beneficial to have a little bit more complex carbohydrates in certain parts of your cycle. So let's talk about the cycle. Day one of your cycle starts on your first day of bleeding with your period. So the first part of your cycle is your menstrual phase, and then you go into your, the rest of your follicular phase, and then you have ovulation, and then you have your luteal phase. That's how your cycle ends with your luteal phase. So during your menstrual phase and the rest of your follicular phase, it's best to lower carbohydrates and keep carbs low because they, that's the estrogen portion of your cycle. So in order to optimize estrogen production, it's best to keep carbs a little bit lower when you get into your luteal phase of your cycle. That's the last part of your cycle. Think of about the 10 days prior to your period, you can tolerate more complex carbohydrates and it's actually a helpful way to support progesterone production, which is the hormone that dominates that part of your cycle. So more carbohydrates in the 10 days prior to your period, and then fewer carbohydrates in the first part of your cycle. That would be the way that you kind of shift your nutrition to optimize your hormone production. When it comes to complex carbohydrates, we're talking about things like root vegetables, so sweet potato, regular potatoes, quinoa,

Alicia: 15:26

Beets.

Nicole Maholy: 15:27

Beets are a great option. Yes, squash, things like that. Those would be good, complex carbohydrates to layer into your diet during that 10 days prior to your period, and that's typically when you're craving those foods anyway. When you're craving more carbohydrate is usually in the luteal part of your cycle when your body's trying to optimize progesterone production.

Alicia: 15:47

Remind me again, when is the luteal.

Nicole Maholy: 15:50

The luteal phase is

15:51

the last part of your cycle, so about the 14 days prior to your period.

Alicia: 15:56

Okay.

Nicole Maholy: 15:57

And you'll probably also notice you're craving carbs more. You're eating,

Alicia: 16:00

give me all the food. Yeah. I'm hungry in that phase. Mm-hmm. For sure. Mm-hmm.

Nicole Maholy: 16:03

Yeah. That's also when you're probably a little bit more fatigued or a little bit more mm-hmm. You know, focusing inward or less motivated perhaps. And last episode we talked about kind of developing an awareness around the cues that your body is giving you and just kind of paying attention to those things and leaning into them and nourishing your body in a way that is supportive of hormone production in that part of the cycle. So your body is saying, maybe you need to like dial it back a little bit on stress and all of those things during the luteal part of your cycle because. That is when you're trying to produce progesterone, and I mentioned in the last episode in our stress episode about the fact that cortisol production, which is cortisol, is your stress hormone, and it uses a precursor to progesterone for producing it. So if you're really stressed, you're minimizing your body's ability to produce progesterone in a really robust way. So if we can kind of pay attention to these cues and nourish our bodies from a nutrition standpoint and a stress management standpoint in a helpful way that supports our actual hormone production too,

Alicia: 17:11

right, so I think, again, very helpful to be tracking your periods. We did mention this before and there's a lot of apps out there and I know mm-hmm. If I'm starting to feel a certain way, I will go on and be like, okay, where am I here Yeah. in this cycle? Like, what's happening? And then it kind of helps to make sense of what you're feeling.

Nicole Maholy: 17:31

Exactly. And then when you're paying attention to where you are in your cycle, it'll help you to know when you need to be leaning into carbs, when it might be more helpful to kind of cut back on carbs and really be specific about the way that you're nourishing your body to support your goals, whatever those are, whether it's energy, or metabolism. or just feeling your best. So I mentioned the way that you can alter your carbohydrates during your cycle. But protein and healthy fats are going to be important for hormone production across your cycle.

Alicia: 18:03

So you just mentioned fats and I think a lot of us have been programmed to avoid fats,

Nicole Maholy: 18:07

Right, that's an important point to bring up because we have been conditioned to think that fats are bad but healthy fats are actually extremely important for hormone production. All of our hormones are produced from cholesterol. Cholesterol is is a a necessity in our body, and I think a lot of people are fearful of it in our diet. Mm-hmm. And try to avoid it, but we actually need cholesterol in order to produce our hormones. So we shouldn't be fearing or avoiding fats. Maybe we should be avoiding unhealthy fats, so things like trans fats, which are in fried foods, and often baked goods and things like that. But focusing on healthy fats, so like avocado, olives, olive oil, nuts, seeds, fatty fish. Those are gonna be good sources of fats that really support hormone production. And then healthy fats are also stabilizing for our blood sugar too. So it's gonna help us in a number of ways.

Alicia: 19:00

So when we talk about nutrition and you know, avoiding things mm-hmm. And taking things outta your diet, it can sound really restrictive and a little overwhelming.

Nicole Maholy: 19:11

Asking the question, how can I nourish my body best? Right? We go to a certain meal and we think, okay, what do I want to eat right now? Ask yourself, how can I nourish myself so that I feel my best? Mm-hmm. Because ultimately food is the way that we nourish ourselves get our energy, mm-hmm. So if we can start thinking about it in that way, I think that helps shift that restrictive mindset. And then if it does feel really restrictive to think about, you know, eliminating certain things. Ask yourself how you can swap it out for something healthier. So instead of using processed sugar, is there something that you can use instead? That still tastes good and It fills that satisfaction level of like, oh, I want

Alicia: 19:55

a little sweet tooth. Yeah. Right. That's your sweet tooth.

Nicole Maholy: 19:57

That still satisfies that, but doesn't, you know, send your blood sugar mm-hmm. On a roller coaster ride. So for example, instead of using something like processed sugar, can we shift to something like monk fruit, allulose, or Stevia? Mm-hmm. You know, I really like those as healthier spots to regular sugar.

Alicia: 20:16

And honestly, I can't even tell the difference. It, It's the a perfect sugar substitute.

Nicole Maholy: 20:21

Mm-hmm. Yeah, I agree completely. So that allows you to still enjoy things that maybe you have some nostalgia about and you really like and enjoy, so you're still able to enjoy them, but they aren't going to negatively impact how you're feeling and your mm-hmm. Actual blood sugar.

Alicia: 20:38

Well, I've actually hurt myself on like a bag of chips or something. Yeah. Where it's like, you know, you're going to town on'em and then, then you just feel like complete crap. And that's something I always try to remember, like when I wanna reach for the chips, like, no, I, it's not gonna make me feel good. It's not gonna fill me up and satisfy my hunger, you know, until the next meal. Like it's, and I just will not feel good. And some of those, like they leave you such a bad aftertaste too. And it's like, Ugh, what did I just do? Like instant regret. Right? Like it feels good at the moment, but like then after it's like, oh, why did I do this to myself? Yeah. But like you just, sometimes you can't stop. Right, right. So it's just

Nicole Maholy: 21:18

going into it,

Alicia: 21:18

getting control. Of that and like knowing, okay, you know what? I'm craving something maybe salty or crunchy Going for something like, carrot sticks mm-hmm. With a little bit of maybe salt or tahini. Mm-hmm.

Nicole Maholy: 21:34

Mm-hmm. Yep.

Alicia: 21:34

or some nuts or seeds Yes. Where you're getting that crunch. And that salty,

Nicole Maholy: 21:40

That's a much better option. And then you aren't suffering after you feel more nourished, you feel more energized. You feel better. And with, you mentioned the chips, when we reach for high carbohydrate foods like that and we don't balance it with the protein or healthy fats that sends the blood sugar high and then it crashes. And when your blood sugar crashes, that's when you're craving more of those sugary Items. Right. So it's this, it really is this vicious cycle. It's a rollercoaster. And if you can stop that process at the beginning either pairing those carbs with a protein or healthy fat or just choosing those healthier options that would make you feel better. Mm-hmm. Not just in the moment, but also then afterwards too. Right. So if we can shift our mindset to thinking about things as how can I nourish myself to feel my best? And then also if you do feel restrictive with completely eliminating something, trying to think about ways to use healthier alternatives that are going to keep your blood sugar stable.

Alicia: 22:41

Right. And and some of that too is like, oh, I don't have the time to choose the healthy things, or like

Nicole Maholy: 22:46

mm-hmm.

Alicia: 22:47

You kind

Nicole Maholy: 22:47

Get

Alicia: 22:47

caught up in that. Like, oh, I'm, I'm starving right now. Yeah. I need something right now. And what are the things that are easy to grab for right then? Yeah. You know, the chips, the snacks, you know, that kind of stuff. Mm-hmm. So what I like to do is after I get home from the grocery store, I'll prep my stuff. Like I'll wash up all my fruits already and put'em in mason jars. I'll cut up, a vegetable tray. And then when you're hungry and you need a little snack, they're so much easier. I'll hard boil some eggs. So it's much more easy to make better choices. Yeah.'cause you have those things convenient. Convenient. And my kids, I notice too, if I have fruits and vegetables cut up mm-hmm. Yeah. They'll reach for those over. The snacks.

Nicole Maholy: 23:29

Yeah.

Alicia: 23:29

They'll go for those.

Nicole Maholy: 23:30

So preparation is key. Absolutely. If you can take some time to be intentional and just set yourself up for success. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. By doing those things that you mentioned, it probably didn't take that much time.

Alicia: 23:42

I think of it as part of putting away the groceries. Yeah. You know, getting everything washed up right away. And also that it starts at the store too. Mm-hmm. What decisions you're making when you go to the store. Right. You know, if you're one that's like, you go when you're Well, I think we're all guilty of this. When you go when you're hungry, maybe you don't make as good choices. Yeah. So maybe don't go when you're hungry or have a snack before. Right.'cause it's much easier to. Uh, make better choices.

Nicole Maholy: 24:08

yeah, exactly. And also We've mentioned in other episodes, those small changes lead to big results. Don't go into this with the perfectionist mindset that it has to be perfect. It's okay if you slip up and you eat something that's not as healthy as you would've liked, and you're, you know, feeling the effects. Just know that you can, you'll do better next time at the next meal or snack. Go into it with thinking about how do I wanna nourish myself thinking about protein, healthy fats and fiber, and go from there. Small, consistent shifts are much better than going into it, with feeling like it has to be perfect. Mm-hmm.

Alicia: 24:45

Yeah. I think it's important to give yourself grace. Because if you're too rigid with it, You could be more likely to fail.

Nicole Maholy: 24:52

Exactly. Trying to do a full overhaul on your entire diet can be really daunting, and that can set you up for failure small, consistent changes, I think are the key here. Mm-hmm. So if it feels like your body isn't responding the same way to your food choices now as it did in your twenties, that's totally normal because of the hormone changes that happen during perimenopause. The key here is keeping your blood sugar stable by focusing on protein, healthy fats, and fiber in your meals and snacks. Aiming for a minimum of 30 grams of protein per meal, trying to get in a savory protein rich breakfast. Make sure you're pairing your carbs with protein, healthy fats, and fiber if you're like us and desserts are your weakness, we've created a healthy sugar-free desserts guide with suggestions for healthy sugar swaps and seven delicious guilt-free dessert recipes. Also, if you want some easy blood sugar friendly swaps to get started, we put together a list of food and drink favorites in our Amazon storefront. You'll find everything linked in the show notes.

Alicia: 25:51

Next week, we're talking about why midlife exercise needs to be different, and how to move your body during perimenopause for stronger bones, better energy, and better results for your metabolism, your mood, and just overall feeling better.

26:04

Thanks for hanging out with us on Midlife and Glowing. If you love this episode, it would mean the world to us. If you'd follow the show, leave us a review or share it with a friend who's glowing through midlife right alongside you. Let's make it our best era yet. We'll see you next time.