Postmenopausal? Perimenopause? Menopause? 4 Tricks For Weight Loss

Despite the bald head, goatee and "linebacker looking" body, I have developed a reputation as being an expert in female metabolism and especially menopausal weight loss.

The reason for this was very simple. I was in the personal training world and most of my clients were women. I quickly discovered that there was a profound difference in the way my female clients 40 and up responded to diet and exercise compared to the women I worked with in their 30s and 20s.

At first, because I was a twenty-year-old male with an ego the size of a GMC Yukon, I thought these women were not being compliant. I figured they had to be lying about what they were eating. But then I slowly figured out what was going on.

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My mom to the rescue

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Actually it was my mother who taught me the final lesson. As usual. That woman is always teaching me stuff. Lately she has been teaching me how long a person can stare off into space before replying to a question. The answer? Several minutes. But I digress (love you mom ;-)

My mom had always been fairly lean and tiny. But when she hit menopause she started gaining weight. She thought she was in luck because she had my brother Keoni and I, two experts in weight loss. Little did she know we had been waiting for years for a chance to get back at her for naming us as if we were husband and wife, instead of brothers. hahaha Just kidding. We did our best to help her.

We changed her diet by having her eat smarter, especially less carbs and more fat and protein. We had her start weight training. We even got her on several herbs to help with hormone balance like Black Cohosh, Don Quai and Chaste Berry.

But that did not work. So then we put her on bio-identical hormones and did several detoxes with her. Still nothing.

Then one day I happened to stop by her house in the morning. We sat, had coffee and talked. I watched as she ate an entire cantaloupe. Another day, at dinner, I watched her eat a salad that was basically 5 avocados with a few lettuce greens sprinkled over it.

So I asked her, "Mom, tell me what you have been eating? Is this typical?

She said, "Yes, I eat very little carbs. I eat mostly 'paleo' like you told me. Plenty of fat, vegetables, fruit and protein."

I said, "What do you eat most do you think?

She said, "Fruit."

"What about exercise?" I said.

She replied that she was doing the metabolic effect workouts almost every day, workouts that are 30 minutes but pretty intense.

Keoni and I knew the problem. We made some adjustments. And she started losing weight fairly quickly. She lost about twenty plus pounds over a few months.

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Do you know the issue? Two words: cortisol and insulin.

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Here is the thing to know. In order to lose weight you need two things. First you need to lower calories.

Second, you need to balance hormones.

Only problem with that is the menopausal metabolism is, by very definition, an imbalanced hormone state compared to what it was in a females younger years.

Insulin is a fat storing and muscle-building hormone. Even if you achieve a calorie deficit, if you have too much insulin around you may lose weight, but that weight will be far less likely to be fat.

Cortisol is a stress hormone and it, along with insulin, causes fat storage around the middle. Even if you achieve calorie reduction, like insulin, cortisol makes it more likely you burn muscle along with fat.

And if you don't succeed in lowering calories, both hormones almost assure those calories will store as fat and especially around the middle. If you are menopausal you know what I mean.

So here is the deal. Estrogen is a hormone that works against insulin and cortisol. Progesterone has little impact on insulin but does fight against cortisol.

These two hormones are the reason women have an easier time staying leaner when they are young and have that hourglass shape that makes the female physique so beautiful.

So at menopause, when these two hormones go away, the female metabolism:

slows down
is more carb sensitive (due to insulin)
is more stress reactive.

So my mom ran into problems due to the following reasons:

She was eating too much fat, making it difficult for her to achieve calorie deficits
Eating two much fruit, increasing her insulin levels
Working out too often and too hard, throwing off her cortisol levels.

Ironically, in a younger woman these changes would have worked beautifully. Trading protein, fat, fruits and veggies for starchy carbs would have likely led to both calorie reduction and hormone balance along with fat loss.

For my mother we had to get very specific. We made these changes:

Fat is fine, but focus on protein over fat. It is more satiating and has less calories
Fruits are ok on occasion, but eat more vegetables then fruit and save fruit for an occasional dessert treat
Don't exercise too intensely or too often. Limit the hardcore exercise to 3-4 times per week
Focus on relaxing walking, restorative yoga, tai chi or other relaxing activities instead.

That was the fix. Do you understand why she and other menopausal women were having an issue? Can you see how the changes we implemented worked better to control calories and the hormone changes? Not too complicated right?

By the way, you may be interested to know that younger women undergoing stress have the same issues. First their stress hormones go up (cortisol). Then if the stress persists progesterone drops. If it continues, estrogen falls next. And along with this, insulin issues begin to surface and fat gain occurs right around the middle just like in menopause.

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A simple formula.

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I developed a simple formula to help you with the changes. I call it the 4S model:

4S Nutrition

S= Shake or Scramble= Start the day with a protein shake or egg & veggie scramble

S= Salad= Always have a huge salad with protein on top

S= Snack= Include one protein and veggie based snack a day (i.e. celery, cucumbers and salmon)

S= Starch= Include a healthy portion of starch at one meal only. Best after a workout, or at night (since it helps with sleep and many menopausal women have difficulty sleeping)

4S Exercise

S= Stress reducing. This means focusing on rest & recovery exercises. At least 3 per week, but more is better (slow walking, massage, meditation, yoga, tai chi, physical affection, etc.)

S= Strides. Slow walking. 5,000 to 10,000steps on all or most days. Notice this shows up twice? It is critical!! Now I realize many people who have the dieting mindset will get caught up on this walking thing. You should shoot for 1-2 hours daily, but many get by with less. The point is to make as much walking as is feasible for you a priority.

S= Strength. Weight training over cardio to keep the body tight. 2 times per week.

S= Sprints. Intense activity that gets the body breathless and burning. Like interval training, metabolic workouts, and short intense runs. 1-2 times per week

See how that works? Now you know the model we use to deliver amazing results.

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The program

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We built a menopause weight loss program that teaches you this entire system. It is entirely online and can be done anywhere. All you need is an internet connection. If you can read this blog, you can do the program.

More importantly it teaches you how to decipher and understand your unique metabolism and how to adjust the approach to fit you. Not all menopausal women are the same after all.

In addition to the detailed diet, exercise and lifestyle plan, you will learn about supplements, hormone replacement, sleep management, meal plans and workout schedules.

This program is everything we know about menopausal weight loss and it is devastatingly effective.

If you are premenopausal, menopausal or postmenopausal and have not been able to lose weight this is the only solution you need. Please don't miss this opportunity.

I guarantee you will start seeing results within 10 days on this program. And if not, just email me back within 4 weeks for a full no questions asked refund.

GET THE MENOPAUSE WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM HERE

I hope you learned something you can use today whether you get the program or not. Let me know what you think.

Jade

Here is a pic of me an my mom. I have just asked her a question and I am counting the seconds when she stops staring off into the distance, registers what I said and answers me. At this point I am at the twenty second mark. :-) hahah. I obviously love my mother very much.

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