Episode 128: Weight Loss After Menopause!

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Summary

Picture this: you're in your 40's and suddenly you're experiencing things you've never had to deal with before. You're getting hot when it's 62 degrees outside, your husband's chewing is suddenly making you irrationally angry, you're starting to see a tire forming around your midsection despite your daily barre class, and sleep comes in inconsistent waves that are driving you mad. 

Yup, you've hit perimenopause and now you want to know what to do to slow down the clock (if not turn it back completely). 

Here's the thing, you don't have control over the fact that you are aging and that there are inevitable changes that come with that. 

However, you do have control over your mindset and your habits which both have the power to either exacerbate or minimize symptoms which is exactly what we're going to talk about today.

Just like any other body-related process, there isn't a complete and constant shift when it comes to menopause. Our hormones continue to ebb and flow as we age, but there is a steady decline in reproductive hormones like estrogen and progesterone as we get closer and closer to our golden years.

Because these reproductive hormones affect our mood, immune system, energy, muscle function, cognitive function, stress response, appetite, gut health, sleep, and recovery, when they downshift we can start to feel like we're inhabiting a body that doesn't feel like us anymore.

That being said, we have more power over our experience than we realize.

Our diet, relationships, history of pregnancy/breast feeding, sleep, activity level, environment, stress levels, alcohol/drug use, and medication all play an important role in how much we feel the impact of our hormonal shifts.

Here's where you may be asking: so what is the best diet/workout/routine for losing weight after menopause??

And I have a tough love answer you're probably not going to love... you need to do the same shit everybody else should be doing.

Now before you exit this page in exasperation, let me explain.

Most women who come to me in their 40's, 50's, and 60's looking for help with their weight say some version of this:

"When I was in my 20's and 30's, all I had to do to lean out was cut carbs for a week/do cardio every day/do the master cleanse/fill in the blank. Now I could eat like a bird for a month and I gain a pound! What the heck!"

OR

"I've been able to eat whatever I wanted my whole life and never gained a pound. Now I look at a cookie and I have to go up a size!"

What's going on here is not that you were doing something 'right' before, and now that thing has stopped working and you need to find the next 'right' thing.

What's going on is your body was more resilient in the face of bad habits and it was more responsive to extreme measures when you were younger.

But now 40, 50, or 60 years in your body has had enough and now you're now paying the price.

Which is why the answer is not to follow some crazy starvation diet (and before you scream 'lower metabolism!', a new study just came out showing that our metabolism stays constant from 20-60 years old and only declines about 1% per year beyond that).

The answer is to do what we should have done from the get go... practice habits that support your hormones, your gut health, and your metabolism:

• Eat mainly whole, unprocessed foods.
• Minimize your consumption of processed food, added sugar, dairy, and alcohol.
  • Especially harmful ingredients to look out for are artificial sweeteners, trans fats, artificial colors, growth hormones (found mainly in dairy products), MSG, and nitrates and nitrites (found most commonly in deli meats).
• Eat organic whenever possible to avoid hormone-disrupting chemicals.
• Eat enough to avoid metabolic adaptation (where your body slows your metabolism in response to chronic dieting).
• Eat 8-9 servings of produce per day.
• Listen to your hunger/satiety cues. (read: don't eat out of boredom/stress)
• Get at least 7 hours of sleep.
• Actively find ways to de-stress every day.
• Move your body daily.

So many people say "I've tried everything" when they really mean "I've tried every diet." 

So before you shrug off these basic guidelines and jump on the next fad diet, check in with yourself. Log your food, movement, sleep, and stress management every day for a week and see how many of those habits you can honestly and consistently check off. 

Now with all that being said, there are some small things we can try to give ourselves a bit of a leg up when it comes to post-menopausal weight loss.

• As we get older, our stomach acid and digestive enzymes decline making us more susceptible to a decline in nutrient absorption, gas, and heart burn. You might consider supplementing with digestive enzymes and HCL (after consulting with your doctor of course).
• Avoid unnecessary use of antibiotics which can wreak havoc on your gut microbiome.
• Prioritize strength training and eating enough protein to build muscle and boost your metabolism.
• Consider taking resveratrol (after consulting with your doctor) which has been shown to "preserve muscle fibers as we age, minimize osteoporosis, and even lessen the negative effects of a high-fat, high-calorie diet." -Jillian Michaels,  The 6 Keys: Unlock Your Genetic Potential for Ageless Strength, Health, and Beauty
• Experiment with foods containing phytoestrogens like organic soy products (studies are inconclusive about whether or not this is effective at mitigating menopausal symptoms, so give it a shot and see how your body responds!)
• Be more mindful of your mind. Remember that your emotional state has physical effects on your biochemistry. When you're chronically stressed your blood pressure increases, your digestive and immune system decrease, your sugar cravings sky rocket, and your hippocampus can even shrink! And so many women in particular have spent the first half of their lives taking on the stress of others and people-pleasing their way through life. Let this be a time for you to come first. And try not to fall into the trap of telling yourself that aging automatically means weight gain. There was a study that showed a cleaning crew that was told that cleaning was a great form of exercise lost more weight after 3 weeks than a cleaning crew that was told nothing. Your mind is a powerful thing, use it to your advantage.

Need help holding yourself accountable to these habits and breaking out of the yoyo-dieting cycle that's keeping you stuck? Use the links below to either book a free consultation for 1:1 coaching or to join my Follow Your Gut Waitlist!

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