Be fabulous after 40
Fat around the middle? 3 common mistakes and what to do about them
It’s menopause awareness month so I’m sharing my top tips for regaining your mojo, today let's focus on your waistline.
A common issue many of us experience in our 40s and 50s is weight gain.
It's so annoying isn't it!
Therefore, I’m dedicating this newsletter to all of you who are struggling and would like to know where you might be going wrong, and what you can do about it.
You may have noticed that your usual techniques no longer give the desired effect. This is because from our 40s, our oestrogen naturally declines and we become less sensitive to insulin. Insulin, which is the fat storage hormone, helps with glucose absorption and when this isn’t happening as efficiently, we become more prone to weight gain - especially around the middle.
3 Common mistakes and what to do about them
Reason 1 ~ Eating little and often
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Eating between meals as well as consuming tea and coffee is where I see a lot of women going wrong. It’s usually driven by either skipping breakfast or eating small amounts at lunchtime. Whilst you might eat enough to fill the gap for a few hours, you'll often feel hungry soon after, and end up heading for the fridge - which isn't so far away now that we're all working from home!
When we eat little and often we’re constantly drip feeding glucose into our bloodstream, which in turn stimulates the production of insulin. Insulin, remember, is a fat storage hormone and when our bodies detect too much of it, they receive the message to store fat! Additionally all those extra calories from snacks and beverages can really add up.
A large latte equates to 300 calories and a flat white 179 calories!
Add a snack to that and your body really has a lot of glucose and insulin to deal with! Hello fat storage!
What to do
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Better to base your day around three wholesome meals that contain protein, fat, complex carbs (those with lots of fibre) in order to keep you fuller for longer. That way you'll be able to achieve 4-5 hour breaks between meals, which I find most people do really well on if they're trying to shift a few pounds.
If you like tea and coffee between meals (who doesn't) then take them black.
If you really do need to snack, say after exercise, focus on healthier snacks such as
a yoghurt with a piece of fruit
a dessertspoon of nut butter and an apple
a boiled egg
small handful of nuts or olives
Reason 2 ~ Sleep
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Many women find they have difficulty sleeping from their mid 40s, again it's often caused by our declining hormone levels. Studies show a poor night’s sleep can lead to an extra 300 calories being consumed the following day! That's because we produce more of the hunger hormone ghrelin, giving us the message to eat, and less of the satiating hormone leptin, giving us the message to stop!
What to do
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Prioritise your sleep
Stay away from screens a few hours before bed. The blue light they emit, tricks our brains into thinking it's daytime and we produce less melatonin ~ the sleep inducing hormone.
Drink your caffeine before lunchtime. One quarter of the caffeine from coffee consumed after lunch will still be in the system at bedtime, according to the sleep professor and author of Why We Sleep, Matthew Walker.
A magnesium salt bath may be helpful too, a lot of women find this is a relaxing ritual before bed, and helps induce a good night's sleep. These are two of my favourite magnesium salts.
https://naturaldispensary.co.uk/products/Epsom_Salt_Reviving_2kg-9999363-0.html
https://naturaldispensary.co.uk/products/Magnesium_Flakes_1kg-7911-173.html
Order from The Natural Dispensary ~ you'll receive a 10% discount by adding the code
RYDER10
Reason 3 ~ Maintain you muscle
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Loss of muscle can also effect our ability to burn calories. As we mature, we are prone to losing muscle, in fact approx. 8% per decade after the age of 40.
Muscle is metabolically active which just means it burns through a lot of calories, the more muscle you have the more calories you will burn.
Think of it like a big engine that needs a lot of fuel.
I find women that have followed crash diets over the years, end up losing muscle mass, hence they end up with smaller engines and don't burn through calories as quickly anymore.
Slow and steady weight loss is always best and it's never too late to change things up.
What to do
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Ensure you participate in some weight bearing exercise - ideally once or twice a week. Weight bearing exercises are those that force you to work against gravity.
Such as: climbing the stairs, squats, lunges, push ups, yoga, body pump classes, lifting weights, hiking, even walking contributes.
We also need adequate protein in our bodies in order to build and maintain muscle. I find a lot of women are not getting enough, what with our fad diets and pressure on our appearance, we often eat a lot less than men.
Aim for approx 1g of protein per kilogram of body weight.
If you weigh 65 kilos you're aiming for 65g of protein per day
This might look like a protein smoothies for breakfast, a chicken or chickpea salad for lunch, and salmon steak for dinner.
Webinars coming up on all this and more
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I am going to being sharing my best advice to help you navigate the time from your 40's onwards beause we owe it to ourselves to live our best lives.
Look out for my next newsletter if you're interested in joining me.
Bye for now
Amanda
The effects of partial sleep deprivation on energy balance: a systematic review and meta-analysis
https://www.nature.com/articles/ejcn2016201
I'm heading for menopause and I can't control y weight
https://www.menopausedoctor.co.uk/menopause/help-im-heading-menopause-i-cant-control-weight
