Have you noticed you are putting on weight around your middle?
Your waist has thickened?
Your clothes are fitting tighter?
Having our periods every month of our adult life, period pains, pregnancy, labour pains, birth, breast feeding, saggy boobs (thanks to breast feeding), coping with teenagers (sorry side note here … this could be just me) and cellulite wasn’t punishment enough … we then get hit with all the joy of menopause.
And oh what a joy the years leading up to menopause are
For some of us this means periods heavier and going on longer than ever
For some our smoking hot body comes only in the form of hot flushes and for others bursting into tears for no reason whatsoever is just part of the day!
And let’s not forget the 7 dwarfs of menopause…
Itchy, sweaty, bitchy, sleepy, bloated, forgetful and physco !
To top it off…
Your body (thanks to hormones) starts to act in a more ‘male fashion’ … in other words we start to store fat in our stomach rather than our hips and butt.
The question is … can you still lose weight successfully going through menopause? And if so .. How?
Firstly let me explain WHY you are finding it difficult to lose weight in your 40’s, 50’s and beyond:
Hormone Fluctuations: Both high and low levels of Estrogen can increase fat storage
Loss of Muscle Tone: Due to ageing, less physical activity and hormone changes loss of muscle tone occurs
Lack of sleep: Many women complain that they no longer sleep as well and this is linked to weight gain
Increased Insulin Resistance: As women age, their bodies often become insulin resistant and this will lead to weight gain
The 3 BIGGEST Mistakes You Can Make When Trying To Lose Weight
1. Go on a LOW CALORIE DIET
2. Go for a 1 hour walk each day as your exercise program (see my FREE workout at the end of this blog)
3. Do sit ups to help get a flat stomach
Let me explain HOW to lose weight during menopause: and why going on a low calorie diet, just walking every day and doing sit ups is NOT the answer!
Going on a low calorie diet is one of the worst things you can do. Low-calorie diets are proven to slow down your metabolism. This is NOT what you want. A slow metabolism promotes weight gain.
Walking is a great stress buster, gets the blood flowing and heart pumping but if you are trying to lose weight (and keep it off) walking is not the BEST exercise.
100’s of sit ups a day will give you a strong abdominal muscle BUT unless you lose the fat covering your abs, you will NEVER see all your hard work.
Here are my 5 TOP recommendations: to lose weight in your 40’s and 50’s:
Eat 4 – 5 SMALL meals a day (it is all about portion control) 3-4 hours apart.
Treat PROTEIN as your friend Protein is a building block for muscle tone. Muscle tone will speed up your metabolism.
Reduce WHITE carbohydrates Do eat fruit (before 12 noon) and lots and lots of fibrous vegetables
Drink loads of water!
Do resistance exercise Your body weight, bands or weights to improve your muscle tone and SPEED up your metabolism
My 3 favourite exercises to speed up your metabolism and tone your muscles
Pushups
Lunges
Advanced Plank
