Have you had enough with the slow and steady weight gain year after year?
Tell me if this resonates with you. You eat pretty good, mostly healthy, with fruits and veggies every day. You watch your portions, and even try to eat vegetarian sometimes. You avoid sweets and treats like the plague because you know they are just going to pack on the pounds. Before the COVID-19 restrictions you were at the gym five days a week, going to classes and using the equipment.
But none of it seems to make a difference! You still dread getting on the scale because it keeps creeping up and you just know you can’t possibly put in any more effort. You’re ready to just give up.
I have been where you are! As I crossed into my forties, I couldn’t believe that with hours of teaching fitness classes and yoga each week on top of my own personal workouts my belly was getting bigger. I was shocked to find out at my annual doctor’s appointment (which is the only time I ever go near a scale) that I was up 7lbs from my previously stable weight.
Why was this happening to me? I know how to manipulate a diet to get the results I want- I’m a trained professional- so why was I gaining so much weight and keeping it on. It just didn’t make sense to me!
The one thing I was never taught in nutrition school was “perimenopause.” I didn’t even know the word until about 7 years ago. We were taught “nutrition for the life stages: baby, children, adolescents, adult, elderly. You can see there is a HUGE gap. I must also confess that the difference between man and women as far as my nutrition education was concerned was one chapter entitled “Pregnancy Nutrition.” I shudder to think back on how much I spent on this education-I was educated in a much different time.
You can imagine my surprise when I learned that the “adult phase” actually includes a number of different sub-stages, my further surprise when I realized that I was not immune to the effects of said aging.
So here we are, fast forward to now, I have done the research. I have tried and failed and tried some more. I have worked with hundreds of women, learned from each one and put all of it together. I’m happy to report that many happy clients later, I have a system in place for helping women to avoid what I went through. Now I’m on a mission to help women be prepared for the middle years which can account for up to twenty years of your life.
The good news is that you do not have to be stuck in the same situation. You can lose belly fat, you can drop weight, and you absolutely can live your best life from 35 to 85 if that’s what you want to do. The frustration and confusion might be a part of aging for women, but it doesn’t need to define you or strip you confidence. With a few small and strategic habit changes you can keep on trucking with your healthy ways and get back to business as usual.
I’m going to help you out, here are the lessons I learned and how to avoid them so that you can get back on track.
4 Tips to Shrink Your Middle:
1. Hormones are involved with every aspect of your life, including fat storage and metabolism. Leading up to menopause, these hormones are unpredictable and like to store fat in your belly, hips, and thighs. If you want to stay ahead of the belly pooch you need to balance those hormones now.
2. No matter how much cardio you do, you can’t outrun middle age. If you go into your 40’s with a cardio habit you are not doing yourself any favors. In fact, too much cardio creates inflammation and inflammation leads to poor digestion, weight gain, and stress. Believe it or not, you have to slow down, take a break, and focus on strength.
3. A flat belly is not the same thing as a strong core. You can have the flattest belly and still not be strong, you can also have a curvy soft pooch and be strong a.f. Your core is deep inside and well protected with a layer of fat- that’s a good thing even if we don’t appreciate how it looks. If you want to shrink your middle- get into the kitchen, but if you want to be strong you go to the gym.
4. What you eat matters as much as when. See above about hormones- the types of foods you choose can either balance hormones or make them more wacky. When you eat can effect how energy is stored. Consistency is the key. You don’t have to be perfect, but having a plan and sticking to it most of the time is going to whittle your middle faster than any fad diet.
Shrinking your belly doesn’t have to be complicated if you know where to start, and to help you out with that I put together an amazing 5-day meal plan for you.
This fall inspired plan is going to revolutionize how you think of meal planning. Each of the recipes is curated to support you in your journey to shrink your middle with high fiber, mostly plant-based recipes that are loaded with key nutrients like magnesium, Vitamin D, and B vitamins. Make sure you grab the meal plan and tag me on Instagram (@perimenopause.nutritionist) when you create your culinary masterpieces!