Most women's weight fluctuates over our adult lifetime, for a myriad of reasons, some forseen and planned, others not. However, most female clients I see have always been able to lose weight when they wanted to, and they had a tool box of techniques that worked for them... every time.
Whether that be losing baby weight, losing weight before a holiday or an event, or changing their body composition for fitness goals. And the tools they used may have been calorie restriction, intermittent fasting, increased activity, changing ratios of macronutrients, time restricted eating, cutting processed foods, cutting alcohol and many more options.
But I hear time and again from clients that what used to work for them "no longer does" and they can't reach their weight targets as easily, or at all, despite putting in sometimes even more effort than they did in previous years or decades.
But why? Here are 3 top reasons:
a). Insulin Resistance - Insulin resistance is common in peri and menopause and it means that the same meal you've perhaps always eaten or eaten regularly, has an entirely different physiological impact on your body now, than it used to. Plainly speaking, your blood sugar levels spike much higher and more easily from food or drink, and therefore insulin is released more readily in order to reduce the blood sugar level and shuttle it into the cells. However, the cells aren't listening to the insulin and don't let the sugar in, therefore it gets stored as fat more easily. In addition, our blood sugar balance is often dysregulated by this insulin resistance so we might be increasingly hungry, or have blood sugar dips and reach for high calorie foods - both of which can also lead to weight gain or difficulties losing weight.
So prioritise protein in your meals, aim for 30g a meal and try eating your protein and veggies first and carbohydrates last. And in terms of carbs, consider wholegrains and starchy veggies over refined carbs for example, for slower glucose release.
b). Fat storage - as our oestrogen declines in later peri menopause, we tend to store more fat, especially around the mid section of our bodies. This is called visceral fat or belly fat and it's the type of fat we don't want and which increases our risk to certain diseases. It increases because one of oestrogen's many roles is to influence fat distribution in the body. So it's entirely normal for us to store more fat in peri and menopause and for this fat to be centrally located. Measuring and balancing our hormones, for example in a blood test or via a Dutch Urine Hormone test can really help this. So too can managing your blood sugar and insulin levels (above) and managing stress to reduce cortisol levels too - as increases in these hormones too, can encourge the storing of fat around the mid section.
c). Inflammation. Peri menopause is known to be an inflammatory state and the body won't prioritise fat loss when it's tackling inflammation, it's just simply not a priority for it. So following an anti inflammatory diet is key, think of the mediterrean diet for example. Oily fish, lots of fresh vegetables and fruit, lean meats, wholegrains, extra virgin olive oil, herbs and spices. Restricting processed foods, sugars and alcohol can further help too. You could consider a Turmeric supplement or Omega supplement too as they're both anti inflammatory for the body.
3 Other Ways to Promote Weight Loss
Increasing fibre in your diet. This helps us feel full, supports regular bowel movements, helps support detoxification and feeds the good microbes in our guts, therefore helping with our gut microbiome also.
Increase your muscle mass in order to increase your basal metabolic rate - the rate at which your burn calories even when resting. So strength training in midlife is a must
Focus on good quality sleep. This can be easier said than done I appreciate! But we all know that when we have a bad nights sleep, we make poor food and drink choices the next day, have less energy to work out, feel more anxious and demotivated and have increaed cortisol. Infact studies show that poor sleep is associated with a higher BMI. So creating a wind down evening routine to really prioritise those zzzz can help balance your cortisol, insulin and sex hormones in order to support weight loss - and make you feel good too! :).
If you'd like some personalised support with your weight loss goals, please book an Initial Consultation where I can help support you to the maximum.