23. Hard to lose weight after age 35? Why the struggle and what you can do about it!

Embark on a transformative journey with me, as we navigate the complex dance of menopause and weight loss.

It's a path that many women over 35 walk, and today, I'll share essential tips that can revitalize your diet and exercise routines to suit your body's new rhythms.

We'll explore the shifts in metabolism and body fat distribution brought on by perimenopause, tackling the decrease in estrogen that can lead to increased insulin resistance and the accumulation of visceral fat.

I'll also reveal strategies to counteract sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle mass, and discuss the effects of cortisol, the stress hormone, on your waistline. Understanding these changes is key to empowering yourself for successful weight management during this significant life phase.

As our conversation draws to a close, I'm filled with gratitude for the opportunity to walk alongside you during this transformative time. We've dissected how hormonal changes can impact your weight and what you can do about it.

Looking ahead, we'll delve into the realms of cholesterol and macronutrients, so stay tuned for more empowering discussions.

Remember, this transition isn't one you have to face alone; our vibrant community is a treasure trove of support and resources.

Let's redefine menopause together, championing it as a season of growth and wellness where thriving is the norm.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Good morning, good morning my friends. Happy new week. Welcome to my channel. If you are struggling a female struggling with weight loss after the age of 35, yes, this struggle is real. It is just not in your head. I'm going to give you just a few tips this morning that may help you push through. If your weight is stalling, it's gonna help you push through and it's gonna give you some explanations as to why you push through. If your weight is stalling, it's going to help you push through and it's going to give you some explanations as to why you are struggling.

Speaker 1: 0:29

We've got to change a few things. Sometimes we find ourselves doing the same things over and over for years and years and years, and you get to a point where what you're doing is not working. There's a reason why Once you pass the age of 35, you get into what we call perimenopause. What that means is your hormones start to change, so the things we were doing at the age of 20, 25, and even 30 no longer work for us now that we are older. So if you're watching this video, please tell me where you're watching from. Tag your friends, because they may benefit from this information.

Speaker 2: 1:10

Welcome to the Thriving Through Menopause podcast. Dr Inaka Yembe, your host, is dedicated to helping you navigate the transformative journey of menopause and perimenopause, particularly focused on achieving menopausal weight loss and reducing belly fat. As a post-menopausal physician herself who has helped thousands of women experiencing the significant life stage, she understands the unique challenges you face. Listen in as we explore a wide range of topics aimed at supporting you in your health and wellness journey. Hopefully, the practical tips and strategies offered potentially help you adopt an empowering approach towards menopausal weight loss and belly fat reduction. And now here's your host, dr Inaka Yembe.

Speaker 1: 1:55

Once we pass the age of 35, the biggest hormone that starts to change naturally is estrogen. Estrogen is a power hormone. It's responsible for our metabolism. It is responsible for our body fat distribution. It's also responsible for our insulin, how it works, and it is responsible for our muscle mass Very important. So when I not telling you to eat more protein, there's a reason why. After the age of 35, estrogen levels decline. The declining estrogen levels cause certain problems that you need to work with and change your habits. Number one declining estrogen levels cause a reduction of muscle mass. It's a big word called sarcopenia.

Speaker 1: 2:47

All that means is your muscle mass is going to decline. Your basal metabolic rate is going to drop. So you need to change how you move and you need to change how you eat. I'll give you a few tips here. At the end, the second thing that happens is you're Estrogen levels drop and makes you more insulin resistant. We can no longer just snack eat a few snacks here and there, because your body weight and your body shape is going to change. Why does it change? You will notice, as you get older, we start to get a little wider in the middle area. Why? Because declining estrogen levels cause a change in your body fat distribution. You're no longer building up the breasts and the hips and the thighs. The fat will be stored more in the belly area.

Speaker 1: 3:45

Visceral fat is a problem that we need to worry about. Why? Because if we build enough visceral fat, we assume the fat is stored around your vital organs, your liver, your kidney, your heart, and it puts you at risk of developing hypertension, diabetes and things like that. Ladies, we can no longer continue to do the things that we used to do and, as you see, naturally with age which is normal your estrogen levels are dropping. There are these hormonal changes, so we need to change our habits After the age of 40, another thing that happens is we may not be as active as we were when we were younger.

Speaker 1: 4:30

So once again, you need to change your habits to compensate for that. Another thing that happens naturally, as we get older, life facts come against us A little bit more stress, a little bit more anxiety. Another hormone is also thrown off balance. That hormone is called cortisol. Cortisol is a fight or flight hormone. It's going to make you store just a little bit more belly fat Cortisol because it preps your body for fight or flight. It makes more glucose available, and so it does cause a little bit of an increase in insulin levels. See, so there's just quite a few things that are happening with our hormones.

Speaker 1: 5:15

What can you do? Number one we've got to change things. If you were working out, like I hear all the time, you've been working out and watching your diet and your weight is not changing and the belly fat is still here. This is a good time to change things. What's the first thing that you need to change? Number one stop the refined foods.

Speaker 1: 5:34

Refined foods are foods that are taken from a natural state by the manufacturer and they are modified so they taste a lot more delicious. They're easily available and they have a lot of things added to them. Example corn on the cob is natural. Corn pudding or corn flakes is highly processed. They have taken all the good things out of it and so many things added to it Other things that we eat easily. I know most women trying to lose weight will not be eating corn flakes.

Speaker 1: 6:09

However, are you eating yogurt with fruit? Are you drinking fruit juice? Are you making smoothies out of fruit? Are you buying the fruit and making fruit juice at home? Fruit juice is a highly concentrated form of a natural sugar called fructose. Your body can no longer tolerate all that sugar Bottom line is going to be broken down into glucose and it's too much for your system.

Speaker 1: 6:39

Now, things like granola, things like I don't know sausage Some of those have sugar added to it. Table salt Some table salt has a little bit of sugar, especially if it is iodized. Why? Because they have to add a bit of glucose to the iodized salt to stabilize the iodine. Some of your sauces, things like barbecue sauce, salad dressing most of those have sugar. Peanut butter most of those have sugar.

Speaker 1: 7:10

So you're better off eating foods that are unprocessed. Some of us just snack on crackers, pretzels. Don't do those things. That's what's responsible for causing higher levels of blood sugar and higher levels of insulin and causing you to have belly fat. Now, remember, you're now perimenopausal or postmenopausal. You are, by your age, slightly more insulin resistant anyway, so we cannot continue to snack and eat all these foods that are processed.

Speaker 1: 7:43

What should you eat? Number one increase your protein consumption. Go to a BMI chart. I know it's just an estimate. Okay, nothing is going to be 100% accurate. You have to start somewhere. So I'm very aware that the BMI charts are not the beginning and the end of the story, but they will give you a starting point, because we've got to start somewhere.

Speaker 1: 8:11

So go to a BMI chart. Look at your ideal body weight, for your height is going to give you an average in pounds. You take one ideal body weight, pick one 150 pounds, 140 pounds what is it? That is the number, your ideal body weight in pounds, multiplied by one, and that gives you a total amount of protein that you need to consume per day. Example four ounces of lean ground turkey give me 28 grams of protein. So I would consider 28 grams of protein in that meal as what I'm consuming in protein. If I eat, say, two eggs, that gives me 12 grams of protein. That's how you add up your proteins throughout the day.

Speaker 1: 9:08

You need to consume your ideal body weight in pounds per day. So again, amount of proteins you need to consume per day is your ideal body weight multiplied by one Women. We need to stop all the small snacking throughout the day. Reduce the amount of refined carbohydrates that we consume per day in foods and in liquids, because that would help you reduce the amount of belly fat and overall body fat that we are accumulating. What's the next thing that you can do really to lose weight or to lose belly fat when we are in perimenopause, especially if you are struggling? The very next thing that you can do is intermittent fasting.

Speaker 1: 9:59

Intermittent fasting is great. Why is that? Because it's simply scheduled eating. You eat during a certain window and you do not eat during a certain window. That's all it is. However, when you are eating, eat the correct, healthy things unprocessed foods, proteins, fiber, as in vegetables. Starches, as in healthy, unprocessed carbohydrates, corn potatoes, oats, brown rice or wild rice, foods that are not processed. You cannot stay away from carbohydrates, just eat the ones that are not processed. But however, intermittent fasting.

Speaker 1: 10:43

You know most of us, when we go into intermittent fasting, we want to skip breakfast, start eating, maybe at 12 or at 1, and then eat in an 8-hour window and then stop eating, maybe at 8 o'clock at night time. You want to change that schedule some. You're better off eating earlier in the day and stop eating earlier in the evening. Example if I'm intermittent fasting, I'm going to start eating, say, at 7 am and stop eating by 3 or 4 pm. That works a lot better for those of us who are in menopause. Why? Because don't eat late in the evening, even if you're intermittent fasting. Again, everyone is different, but try it. All I'm saying if things are not changing and you have your intermittent fasting schedule and you started eating at one and you stopped eating at eight or at 9 pm, that's no longer working. Change the window, start eating earlier and stop eating earlier. That may help you.

Speaker 1: 11:49

The last thing I'll talk about is your movement. Okay, most of us, we get up and we walk. Walking is great. It's a great way to burn off extra energy. It's a great way just to stay active. It's a great way to improve your cardiovascular health. Walking is great. However, don't stop walking. You can, however, add just a little bit of resistance to even you walking. How about you get two pound dumbbells now and just hold those in your arms, swing your arms while you are walking? It's the same thing, you just added just a little bit more to it. Adding some resistance to your workouts will help you.

Speaker 1: 12:32

Remember, now that we are in menopause or perimenopause and muscle mass is declining, we are eating a little bit of protein just to counteract the loss of muscle mass. No, you're not going to get into big, miss Hulk, and no, you will not be eating too much protein. I hear that all the time. I'm concerned about consuming too much protein. No, because your body is not that efficient in absorbing the protein anyway. But back to walking. Hold some weights, walk with the weights. Those will help you. Or, better still, do some resistance exercises at home, even without equipment. Do some pushups. Start learning pushups. Do some squats. Squats are excellent. They work several muscle groups and help you maintain your muscle mass. All right.

Speaker 1: 13:24

Last thing I'll tell you when it comes to struggling with your weight loss after the age of 35, one big thing we have not learned with time is to change our portion sizes. You were eating this amount of food throughout your 20s and your 30s and now you are 50 years old, you're still eating the same portions. Listen, you're going to gain weight. If you do that, we need to change our portion sizes. Also, cut back Even if you don't change anything at all that you're eating. Just eat two thirds of it or eat a half of it. Put the rest for the next time, because that would help you reduce your portion sizes. That will reduce the overall amount of food that you're eating is going to reduce the amount of energy that you are consuming.

Speaker 1: 14:16

All right, so I've talked about eating unprocessed foods. Stop this snacking. Listen, we are used to snacking. However, if you consume more than 240 calories in your snack, it's not a meal. I hear people say I can't eat so many meals. However, you're snacking three or four times a day. You don't know that you're eating two meals and snacking three times. That equals five meals, because your snacks have too many many calories. All right, my friends. So no snacking. Eat more proteins. Eat the vegetables. That would give you some fiber.

Speaker 1: 14:52

Try intermittent fasting. Add a little bit of resistance to your workouts and stop eating too late in the evening. Eat earlier on in the day. It will just help you. Last thing try to manage your stress. Do the meditations, practice deep breathing, just practice working on your stress, because stress eating is one of those things that really works against us and damages all our good work that we are putting in when we are trying to lose weight.

Speaker 1: 15:25

All right, I see a question here about how to calculate the macros. I'm going to bring that in a video. If you have any questions, put them here on the screen. Ask me questions, because that helps me bring you the information that you need. All right, my friends, thank you. Thank you. I appreciate you as well. Tag your friends to this video. Follow me on my YouTube channel as well, because this video is going to be saved on my YouTube channel. That way, you can come back and watch it. And today is day number one of my 1021 day bootcamp. As you can tell, I'm still sweaty. We just finished the workout in one hour. I was able to walk what is it? 4.2 miles in an hour. I tell you we were walking fast. So if you haven't joined my bootcamp, consider joining that Type link in this chart, l-i-n-k. And you get a link where you can subscribe and join my online bootcamp. All right, my friends, thank you, thank you, I appreciate you as well. Thank you, bye. I'll bring you the information on cholesterol and macros. Bye-bye, bye. Good morning.

Speaker 2: 16:41

Bye. Thank you for tuning in to this episode of Thriving Through Menopause. We hope you found valuable insights and practical advice to support your journey. If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to subscribe to the podcast. If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to subscribe to the podcast, share it and review. Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Remember, menopause doesn't have to be a challenge. It can be an opportunity for growth, renewal and self-care. Connect with us on social media, where we share additional resources, tips and advice to help you along your path. Once again, thanks for listening in and we hope you'll join us again on the next episode of Thriving Through Menopause. Until then,