Dr Iya Goubareva

12/05/2026

When people are healthy, it is easy to become consumed by daily stress, worries, ambitions, and countless problems.💡

Money.
Work.
Relationships.
Status.
Plans for the future.

Life can feel filled with endless concerns competing for attention.

But the moment health is seriously affected,
everything else suddenly becomes secondary.

The focus narrows.

What once seemed urgent or important
often loses significance compared to the desire to simply feel well again.

Health has a way of changing perspective.

It reminds people that the ability to move, breathe comfortably, think clearly, and function normally is something deeply valuable that is often taken for granted until it is threatened.

That is why taking care of your body matters so much.

Because many goals, achievements, and experiences in life become difficult to enjoy without physical and mental well-being.

Health is not everything, but without it, many other things become harder to appreciate.

This perspective is not meant to create fear.

It is meant to encourage gratitude and awareness.

To value your body while you still have the ability to care for it.

Because when health is present,
people often overlook it.

But when it is gone,
it becomes the main thing they wish to regain.

“As long as your body is healthy, you have thousands of problems. But the moment your body gets sick, you have one problem.”

11/05/2026

‼️What Every Woman Over 40 Should Know About Collagen Loss

I have watched videos of dermatologists and plastic surgeons trying to figure out the best routine for my skin, and then it hit me: when you are over 45, your skin is not the same as when you were 25 or even 35.

As we age, the skin gradually loses its structure. It becomes thinner, less elastic, drier, and more prone to wrinkles. The main reason for this is the loss of collagen.

Collagen is the primary structural protein of the skin — it acts like a framework that keeps the skin firm, thick, and resilient. It’s what gives skin its ability to stay smooth and “bounce back.” When collagen is abundant, skin looks plump and youthful. When it declines, the skin begins to sag, crease, and form fine lines.

If we take age 25 as 100% (your original collagen baseline), by your late 40s you are already down to around 75% — meaning you have lost about 25% of your collagen.

By the early 50s this drops further, and within about 5 years after menopause it can fall to roughly 50% of your original levels. These are averages, but they illustrate how significant the decline is.

And why is that happening? Because estrogen levels start declining rapidly after 40.

Estrogen is directly linked to collagen. It signals fibroblasts (the cells responsible for building collagen) to keep producing it. When estrogen levels drop, collagen production decreases significantly, and the skin’s structure weakens. This is why the skin of a woman after 40 is biologically different — and needs a different approach.

So the goal becomes clear: support collagen from multiple angles.

1. First, you need the building blocks.

Collagen is made from amino acids — mainly glycine, proline, hydroxyproline, lysine, and threonine. The most effective way to get these is not through creams, but through adequate dietary protein. If you eat enough protein, your body already has what it needs — no need to supplement individual amino acids.

2. Next, you need the co-factor that allows collagen to be built.

Vitamin C is essential. Without it, the enzymes responsible for linking collagen fibers cannot function properly. It also acts as a powerful antioxidant, protecting your existing collagen from breakdown caused by UV radiation and environmental stress. This is why applying vitamin C on the skin in the morning is so effective.

3. Then, you need to address hydration loss.

As estrogen declines, the skin loses its ability to retain water. This is where ingredients like hyaluronic acid and glycerin come in — they draw moisture into the upper layers of the skin, improving plumpness and function.

4. You also need to protect what you already have.

UV radiation activates enzymes that break down collagen. A broad-spectrum sunscreen is non-negotiable if you want to preserve your skin structure.

5. Now, to actively stimulate new collagen:

Retinoids (vitamin A derivatives) increase cell turnover and directly signal fibroblasts to produce new collagen. This is one of the most effective topical ways to rebuild skin structure.

6. At the same time, declining estrogen reduces natural lipid production, weakening the skin barrier. This leads to dryness and increased water loss. Ceramides help repair this barrier, locking in moisture and restoring resilience.

7. And finally, the hormonal component:

Estrogen receptors are highly concentrated in the skin of the face, neck, and chest. During perimenopause, declining estrogen can lead to up to 30% collagen loss within the first 5 years.

Topical estriol addresses this directly.

Applied locally, estriol:

- Stimulates fibroblasts
- Increases collagen production
- Boosts hyaluronic acid and natural oil production
- Improves skin thickness and elasticity
- Strengthens the skin barrier

This results in smoother, fuller, more resilient skin.

When used topically, estriol primarily acts locally on the skin, making it a targeted way to address hormonal skin changes.

Summary Checklist for Your Regimen

• Ingest: High protein (for amino acids) + Omega-3s + Oral ceramides

• Apply AM: Vitamin C serum + Hyaluronic acid or glycerin + Sunscreen

• Apply PM: Retinoid + Estriol cream + Ceramide moisturizer

If you don’t like layering multiple products, you can simply cycle them—for example,
Night A use retinoid,
Night B an estriol cream.

After 40, skincare is not just cosmetic — it becomes structural.
When you support the biology of your skin, everything else starts to make sense.

I would genuinely love to know what other women have found helpful for their skin, because I feel like we are all trying to figure this out as we go. ❤️

10/05/2026

🌛 The Wisdom of the Night

In the stillness, we listen,
To the whispers that move in the dark,
A story carried by the winds,
A truth hidden in the spark.

The night speaks with quiet wings,
A voice as old as the stars,
It reminds us of journeys taken,
Of hearts mended by ancient scars.

Through the silence, the soul takes flight,
Carrying the echoes of time,
A path of light through shadow,
A rhythm, eternal and divine.

In the night’s embrace, we rise,
Not as strangers, but as one,
For the wisdom of the earth speaks,
In the language of the moon and sun.

Dorothy Vera

09/05/2026

07/05/2026

🧬 Protein Timing and Carb Cycling for Muscle Growth (What Sports Science Actually Shows)

I would like to get to the bottom of when to eat your protein and what is this thing about carb cycling.

PROTEIN.

1. Total Daily Intake is more important than Timing.

The strongest consensus in sports nutrition research:

- Total daily protein intake is the primary driver of muscle growth!

For hypertrophy (muscle growth):

1.6–2.2 g/kg bodyweight per day - Spread across the day.

Timing matters — but only after total intake is sufficient.

2. Even Distribution Works Best

Research on muscle protein synthesis (MPS) shows:

Divide your protein across 3–5 meals.

Each meal should contain ~2–3g leucine (usually 25–40g high-quality protein)

Why?
MPS peaks after protein intake and then returns to baseline within ~3 hours — even if amino acids are still elevated. This is known as the “muscle full effect.”

So instead of one huge protein meal: → Space it every 3–4 hours.

3. Post-Workout Protein: Is It Critical?

The classic “anabolic window” is actually overstated.

What sports science shows:

If you ate protein within 2–3 hours BEFORE training - the urgency is low.

If you trained FASTED → protein within ~1 hour post-workout is smart.

Practical rule:
Have a protein-containing meal within 2 hours after training.

4. Pre-Sleep Protein (Highly UNDERATED)

30–40g casein before bed:
-Improves overnight MPS
-Supports recovery
-Especially useful during cutting/shredding phases

This is one of the few timing strategies with solid mechanistic support.

🍚 Carbohydrate Timing for Muscle Building

Carbs don’t directly stimulate MPS like protein, but they matter because they:

-Refill glycogen (gives muscles that inflated look)
-Improve performance
-Lower cortisol (helps prevent muscle breakdown and improves recovery)
-Support training intensity

And intensity drives hypertrophy.

1. Pre-Workout Carbs

Best practice:
1–3g/kg carbs
2–3 hours pre-training

Benefits:
-Better performance
-Higher training volume
-Less fatigue

If training early: → Smaller carb meal 30–60 min before (easier digesting carbs)

2. Post-Workout Carbs

Important when:
-Training again same day
-High training volume
-In calorie deficit

If training once per day: → Total daily carbs matter more than immediate timing!

Protein + carbs post-workout can:

1. Improve glycogen replenishment

2. Reduce muscle breakdown

🔄 What Is Carbohydrate Cycling?

Carb cycling = planned variation of carbohydrate intake based on training demand.

Example structure:

High-carb days → heavy training days (legs, high volume)

Moderate-carb days → lighter sessions

Low-carb days → rest days

The idea: Match carbohydrate intake to glycogen demand and insulin sensitivity.

What Does Research Say?

There is no strong evidence that carb cycling is superior for hypertrophy compared to:

-Equal calories
-Equal protein
-Matched total carbs weekly

But it may help with:
-Appetite control (less cravings)
-Staying consistent
-Body composition during cutting
-Performance on heavy sessions

📌 Practical Sports-Science-Based Framework

If your goal is muscle gain:

Protein:

1.6–2.2 g/kg/day
3–5 meals
25–40g per meal
Pre-sleep protein useful

Carbs:

3–6 g/kg/day (depends on training volume)

Higher on hard training days

Pre-workout carbs improve performance

Post-workout helpful but not critical if daily intake is adequate

Most Important Variables (in order):

1. Sleep (inadequate sleep strains your system, increases cravings, effects recovery and reduces overall performance)

2. Progressive overload

3. Total calories

4. Total protein

5. Carb timing

6. Protein timing

When these are in place consistently, muscle growth becomes a lot more straightforward! 💪💪💪

04/05/2026

🫃Why Belly Fat Is So Difficult to Lose and HOW to loose it

The reason why belly fat is so difficult to lose is because our body was designed this way.

Fat is stored as a survival mechanism. Your body doesn’t give it up randomly. It follows a certain order, and the stomach is at the end of that order.

Most of the time, fat loss looks like this:

1. arms
2. face
3. upper body (shoulders, chest)
4. legs
5. buttocks
6. and lastly, the stomach

This is why you can be losing fat and still see no change in your belly. It doesn’t mean it’s not working. It just means your body is following its natural order.

Training your abs more won’t fix this. Your body doesn’t burn fat from the place you train. Fat loss happens across the whole body, not in one spot.

So, if you want to reach the stage where belly fat starts to go, you need to create enough demand in your whole body.

1. You need to give your body a reason to keep muscle. If that reason isn’t there, the body will get rid of muscle because it takes energy to keep it. From a survival point of view, keeping muscle that you don’t use doesn’t make sense.

2. Consistency is what creates that signal. When you train regularly, your body starts to recognize a pattern. It “sees” that you used your muscles yesterday, the day before, and today, so it prepares to keep them for tomorrow.

When that happens across your whole body, your body keeps the muscle and starts using fat as the main source of energy instead.

3. If you only diet and don’t train, the opposite happens. Your body thinks there is low energy and no need for muscle, so it starts breaking muscle down. You end up losing both muscle and fat.

Fat stays longer because it’s stored energy. Muscle is lost faster because it costs energy to maintain.

That’s why dieting without training leads to worse results: less muscle, slower metabolism, and more stubborn fat.

So...training and clean eating need to go together. One without the other is incomplete if your goal is real results and good health.

4. If building muscle is part of your goal, alcohol needs to go. It interferes with muscle recovery and makes it harder for your body to build and keep muscle.

5. If you are doing everything right and the belly fat is still not changing, then you need to look at your stress levels and your sleep. Poor sleep and high stress make fat loss harder, especially around the stomach. I’ve explained this in a separate post.

6. Finally, losing fat is one thing, but keeping it off is another. If you go back to old habits, the fat will come back. The only way to keep the result is to keep the habits: training, eating properly, and taking care of recovery.

So when you start training and you don’t see changes in your stomach, don’t get discouraged. That doesn’t mean it’s not working—it means your body is following the order it’s designed to follow. Stay consistent, keep training properly, and let the process run. With enough time and persistence, it will happen.

Jeremy Ethier has a very good YouTube video explaining all of this in more detail. “It’s Tough, But It Gets You Abs In 60 Days".

03/05/2026

Choosing your health is the opposite of boring. It's one of the most scientifically powerful things you can do for your body.

When you say no to late nights and alcohol, you're protecting your cortisol rhythm, keeping inflammation low, and giving your immune system the fighting chance it needs.

When you skip dessert, you're protecting your mitochondria from the oxidative stress that accelerates cellular aging.

When you go to bed early, you're activating your brain's glymphatic system — its overnight waste-clearance process that flushes the metabolic byproducts linked to cognitive decline.

And when you hit the gym in the morning, you're flooding your brain with BDNF — the molecule that builds new neural connections, sharpens focus, and protects against neurodegeneration.

This adds up to a longer, sharper, more energized life.

Love this quote by !

30/04/2026

You Can’t Fake Health

How many times have I woken up feeling awful or exhausted after not having enough sleep, and still stood in front of the mirror trying to pull myself together? Makeup, coffee, cold water—anything that could help me create the illusion that I have it together.

And when you really think about it we are surrounded by moments like that.

We suck in our stomachs without even noticing anymore. We choose clothes that hide what we’re uncomfortable showing. We use fake tan to look more healthy or rested. We adjust posture, angles, lighting. We wear things that make us look stronger, leaner, more put together than we actually are and the list goes on.

If you think about it for a second, a big part of daily life is built around managing how we appear—trying to present health without necessarily living in a way that actually supports it.

And the question is, why do we do that?

Because appearance communicates, whether we like it or not.
The way you look suggests how you live. It creates the impression that you’re disciplined, that you take care of yourself, that you have structure and consistency in your life.

We want people to believe that we train, that we eat well, that we take care of ourselves and have everything under control.

Because your body is your CV. It’s the first thing people read, before you say anything, before you explain anything. It reflects your habits more than your intentions ever will.

And if that’s true, then faking it makes sense… at least for a while.

But you cannot fake it forever, only up to a point.

Because you can fake a moment or a phase. It's much easier to fake it while you’re young and your body is still forgiving.

But you cannot fake a pattern or a habit.

What you repeat, day after day, eventually becomes visible. Those poor habits will show. Late nights will show. Being under stress or neglecting yourself will show.

Not instantly or dramatically. But slowly it will start creeping up—and then it will catch up with you at once. And no amount of adjusting in the mirror can cover what’s been building underneath.

That’s when the shift happens and you either keep putting energy into managing how things look on the surface, or you start putting that energy into actually building your health.

I’m speaking from experience. This is exactly what happened to me. I started to notice that I cannot fake it anymore and it is time to take things seriously.

That realization is exactly why I chose this path and why I talk about these things the way I do. Sometimes I talk about things that are not comfortable to hear, but sometimes there is simply no other way.

Sometimes that discomfort is the only thing that actually makes you stop and look at what’s really going on.

So maybe it’s time to stop trying to look healthy and ask yourself, with real honesty—are you actually investing in your health, or are you just getting very good at hiding the lack of it? You don’t need another trick, product, or excuse. You need a different set of daily actions—and the discipline to repeat them.

Don’t be scared to face it. Be honest with yourself. You can do it. 💪💪💪

27/04/2026

🔥The One Thing Most Diseases and Ageing Have in Common.

Most people think of health problems as separate things.
Heart disease is one issue.
Diabetes is another, joint pain, brain fog, aging—each one gets treated like its own category.

But the body doesn’t work in isolated pieces like that.

Different symptoms, different diagnoses—
yet very often, they’re happening on top of the same internal state.

That state is CHRONIC INFLAMMATION.

Not the kind you feel when you get injured or sick—
but a low, constant level of irritation inside the body that never fully switches off.

You don’t notice it day to day. It is something that slowly builds over time and then starts to affect everything.

It affects your blood vessels to become more sensitive and prone to damage.
Your body doesn't handle sugar so efficiently.
The brain is constantly under a subtle kind of stress.
And Your body's ability to repair and recover slows down.

And when this is consistent bigger problems begin to show up.
-Heart issues.
-Metabolic problems (like insulin resistance).
-Autoimmune diseases.
-Joint and muscle pain.
-Digestive issues.
-Skin conditions.
-Hormonal imbalances.
-Brain fog and cognitive decline.
-Low energy and constant fatigue.
-Faster aging.

Not because all these conditions are the same—
but because they’re developing in the same environment.

And CHRONIC INFLAMMATION is the common denominator.

Different outcomes but same underlying pattern.

If your body is constantly in that slightly “on edge” state,
things are easier to break down and slower to recover from.

So instead of only looking at surface-level problems,
it makes sense to pay attention to what’s happening underneath them.

Because when you improve that internal environment,
you’re not just targeting one issue—you’re affecting the ground they all stand on.

So how do you actually manage it?

Not with one “magic” fix—but by removing the things that keep your body in that constant irritated state:

Let's look at all of them.

1. Sleep:
Poor sleep keeps your body in a stressed, inflamed state.

2. Stress:
Constant mental stress translates into physical stress inside the body.

3. Food:
Base your diet on whole foods. Reduce ultra-processed foods, excess sugar, and low-quality fats.

4. Movement:
Regular movement lowers inflammation. Not just intense workouts—walking and daily activity matter.

5. Body fat (especially around the waist):
Excess visceral fat actively drives inflammation.

6. Smoking & environmental exposure:
These directly increase internal irritation.

None of this is extreme or complicated. But together, they either keep inflammation high—or bring it back down.

And that’s the leverage point: lower chronic inflammation, and you make your whole system work better.

Don’t try to fix everything at once. Start with one daily habit that increases inflammation—and change it.
Then move to the next one. And keep going.
You’ll start to feel the difference sooner than you think! 💪