Episode #515 If you spend half a minute on social media, you could be led to believe fat gain in menopause is normal and fat loss in menopause is hard and requires extremes. If you want to invest a few minutes here, I’m going to do the best I can to convince you otherwise.
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You might also be here and it’s not that you gained weight in menopause, but you were already carrying it. But now a few more pounds have made it too unbearable. You’re not feeling like yourself and don’t like the look of your future.
02:20
First: remove these hormone roadblocks for fat loss in menopause.
The truth is you can’t go through a roadblock. No shoulder on the right, construction on the left. That’s what’s happening with cortisol, insulin, and several other hormones working against you. Let me give you an overview of them. Then give you the fix. Want it all handed to you? I’ll share a link to the Flipping 50 Fit U program. This month when you join, you also get access to the metabolism makeover course (valued at $699).
I’m going to talk about the hormones one by one what they do and how they help or hurt your fat loss in menopause.
Cortisol
What it does: energy and adrenaline during times of stress
From: stress (of all kinds)
- Lack of sleep
- Inflammation
- Emotions
- Poor gut health
- Overtraining (exercise)
- Over or under eating (lack of micronutrient density)
Lifestyle habits that help: Move more, exercise less. Get enough sleep.
Lifestyle habits that hurt: Skipping meals, skipping meals, and even fasting to extremes may not be ideal for you.
Insulin:
What it does: reduces blood sugar by removing glucose from the bloodstream.
Lifestyle habits and time of life that make you more insulin resistant: too little exercise, wrong foods at the wrong time
(More insulin, more likely to store rather than burn fat).
Lifestyle habits that help: Walk after meals. Increase protein and decrease processed carbs. Even the same level of healthy carbs that used to work can be too high for some.
Ghrelin:
What it does: your hunger hormone tells you that you need more food even if you’ve just eaten
Lifestyle habits that cause it to increase: lack of sleep
Lifestyle habits that help: Get enough sleep and manage stress.
11:12
Leptin:
What it does: Tells you you’re full.
Why it’s a problem: You keep eating without it.
Lifestyle habits that cause it to be problematic: Disrupted sleep.
Growth hormone:
What it does: It’s an anabolic hormone that supports muscle building.
Why it’s a problem: Production lowers with age and with insomnia or poor sleep habits.
Getting sleep is a key to increasing production, but so is strength training.
You produce less of it as you age. If you don’t exercise to build strength you will miss an opportunity to boost it. Some adults might also consider asking their physician about taking it after they’re doing everything else they can.
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Testosterone:
What it does:
Why it’s a problem:
Getting sleep is a key to increasing production and to optimizing your strength training.
Lifestyle habits that hurt: alcohol, sugar, low protein
Lifestyle habits that help: strength training, interval training, decreasing stress, protein
Addressed the Habits that Affect the Hormones that Affect Fat Loss in Menopause?
Then, begin adding volume, appropriately. Volume of weight training doesn’t mean more days a week. It doesn’t mean super long sessions. It means a volume of stress to a particular muscle or system.
A volume of movement just means a cumulative effect over the day. Like to count steps? It may help motivate you to get in a little more activity.
When you start weight loss with the mentality of the 80s, it doesn’t feel good. It can feel good for a few minutes because you have a plan.
But then the reality is, there is usually deprivation involved. It’s not just flipping things you want to remove for things you can have instead, it’s just going hungry and eating something else when it’s taco Tuesday.
Not so in Fit U. I’ll link to it in the show notes at flippingfifty-dot-com/fat-loss-in-menopause
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It’s Data
If you treat your body right and use signs that you can’t lose weight or you’re gaining as data, things get easier. You learn to know if you can’t sleep, there are exercise and food choices that help. Then your exercise and food choices improve. It’s all about hormones.
Women in midlife are more susceptible to negative effects of stress… and the weight gain and belly fat that comes with increased insulin resistance. It’s just like you’re more prone to… addiction, or obesity genetically… but it doesn’t mean it will happen. Your epigenetics or lifestyle habits matter more.
You may want to try the CGM that I’m using. (Definitely listen for details on how I’m learning what works for me and doesn’t.) You can get my link in the show notes to save $25 (I do make a small commission) and I will be there with you as you share how it’s going. It would be a great tool to pair with the Fit-U program.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
As a newbie to FF, I’d have more respect for DA if every email from her weren’t advertising some product on which she makes a commission. As a paid-program enrollee, I feel like I deserve some instruction without commercials. Such crass, obvious commercialism makes me distrustful of her & her program offerings.
Hi there!
Interesting read but frustrating at the same tone as I KNOW the majority of my issue is not enough sleep but not sure what to do about it unless I take medication? ANY tips would be fabulous! I get to sleep then wake up around 2.30/3 am almost every night. Then wake up feeling tired or ‘drugged up’ if I’ve taken any over the counter sleep aid. It’s a lousy cycle as it makes wanting to exercise so much harder.
Hi Penney, I am open to your comment and that’s why it appears here and not as spam. My community know I only share anything I know, use and love myself from trusted sources. I can understand how past experiences could skew you and cause distrust. I’m sorry you’ve had them. Most of our members ask regularly for my recommendations. When I share something with you, there is usually a discount for you because I’m sharing it. You’re under no obligation to take advantage of it. Test me any time. I’m here and transparent and authentic without anything to hide. So sorry for what ever in the past has left a lack of trust from a supportive, credible source. -Debra (I read each and every and approve or disprove each and every comment).
There are nearly 20 natural tricks to support sleep. What have you tried? Consistently, systematically, tweaking and changing as you go? You can find ideas here: https://www.flippingfifty.com/sleep-yourself-skinny
Hi Penney, I’ve checked both your program groups and you don’t seem to be in either the groups where you have access to me and coaching from the community coach. As per your program that’s how you have access to me for instruction beyond your guide book, and your detailed video instruction and cheat sheets for workouts, as well as your progress tracking. I’ll reach out to you via email and see if you missed your invitations in your welcome emails. The link is at the top of your workouts every time you log in.