HOW TO LOSE MENOPAUSE WEIGHT
YES YOU CAN LOSE WEIGHT
You may think that once you reach a certain age that weight gain is a given! And there is nothing we can do about this.
Wrong, wrong, wrong!
Let me dispose of that thought straight away and tell you that YES YOU CAN. No matter what age, you can control your weight, and you can get rid of menopause belly fat. So if you are in middle age, perimenopause, or menopause, this blog is going to be a particularly good read for you.
As a trainer helping 1000s of women lose weight successfully and keep it off (you can see just some of my transformations here), I know what works and how to get you results.
Let’s quickly talk about the main causes of weight gain (especially around our belly).
WHY WE GAIN MENOPAUSAL WEIGHT
Firstly, the Hormonal Fluctuations with the Estrogen levels dropping can cause excess weight to sit around our tummies, and it can seem like it literally appears overnight.
Then Sarcopenia (the decline of active muscle tissue) means our basal metabolic rate starts to decline, so our body is burning less calories daily. This natural process can actually start to happen in our early 30’s.
And lack of Sleep can be a major player in weight gain, as it jumbles up the hormones that are responsible for feeling hungry and feeling full.
So here is how YOU can get rid of that menopause tummy by EXERCISE AND HEALTHY EATING. Let me explain how and what you need to do:
HOW TO LOSE MENOPAUSAL WEIGHT GAIN
First of all you need to be doing some form of HIIT training – this means High Intensity Interval Training – and the reason this works is that the short bursts of working harder help to spike an effect known as EPOC (excess post oxygen consumption). This means you have a rise in hourly calorie burn hours after doing a short HIIT workout. This is why I suggest doing any of my short HIIT workouts first thing in the morning as this is a great way to help your body burn off excess body fat. (Plus these workouts help your heart health, fitness, and mental well being.)
Then we also need to be looking at doing Cardio Tone workouts to help reactive muscle tissue that has become inactive due to what is known as Sarcopenia.
As I mentioned earlier, this is a big cause of weight gain, the decline of active muscle tissue. So by doing big dynamic moves, as I do in all of my workouts, you can restore the muscle fibres back to being active, and this is one of the quickest and best ways to help reduce weight and also manage your weight. The added bonus of this is that it helps prevent osteoporosis, and helps to improve you posture. Plus it shapes your body up and gives a lift in all the right places.
Now let’s just talk about sleep. And this is where making exercise part of your life will help to improve the quality of your sleep, because being physically active requires you to expand your energy levels, and this will then at the end of the day help you feel more rested and give you a better quality night’s sleep.
And obviously there’s the matter of our diet. And this really is about eating a healthy diet which is something we all want to strive to do, to be in our best health, and the best diet is a well-balanced one that is full of plenty of wholegrains, legumes, vegetables, lean meats, fish, fruits, nuts and seeds, and one that focuses on the right size portions. I plan to do a blog on this very soon in more detail. The other great way to keep control of your weight is by aiming to do 10 thousand steps a day this is a great habit to get into.
SUMMARY
If you apply all the above, I can promise you can feel great, and be able to throw out those elasticated waistbands and get back into the clothes you wore before the weight gain. Look at this as simply a new stage of your life and one that you are taking control of, with regard to your health and wellbeing, and you will see that exercise really does become our best friend when it comes to wanting to look and feel our best.
HOW TO CUT DOWN ON SUGAR AND REDUCE BELLY FAT
Tip 1:- Stop adding it to your coffee or tea, and that includes any syrups. A great alternative is to have herbal teas instead.
Tip 2:- Be smart when it comes to cereals. These are often the worst offenders when it comes to hidden sugars, as they may scream ‘healthy’ on the packaging, like for example, wholegrain, organic, natural, high in vitamins, gluten free but these can be high in sugar. Just because it says it is wholegrain or the like, it doesn’t mean that it’s not high in sugar. You are better off going with something like plain oats, and then adding in your own flavourings, such as blueberries, almonds and seeds.
Tip 3:- They are now everywhere, and that is the ‘healthy snacks’. Just like the cereals, these healthy snacks can be so misleading, I know of several big influencers on social media within the health and fitness industry that have launched what they call healthy snack bars, but these again have a high sugar content, in many cases more than a bar of chocolate. So I guess the key here is that you do need to read every single food label carefully, even if it claims to be healthy!! One particular energy ball by a well known health influencer has – are you ready for this? – double the amount of sugar of a Krispy Crème doughnut. As a trainer I think this is so misleading, and it actually is heart-breaking for the people out there doing their best to make health choices but being misled so much.
- Good quick healthy natural snacks would be:-
- Handful of strawberries and some cashew nuts.
- Hot cup of almond milk with some added cinnamon.
- A few dates (this is like nature’s toffee).
- Stewed apple with a few sultanas.
TIP 4: Eat more fat (good fat this is)
When we consume lots of sugar in our diet it actually makes us crave more and increases our appetite, which then leads to weight gain and less energy. So instead focus on consuming more healthy fats in your diet, and protein, because this will help reduce hunger and manage your energy.
Example of a high sugar lunch:-
- White sandwich chicken mayonaise
- Granola bar
- Low-fat fruit yoghurt
This lunch will cause weight gain, and an energy crash about 1 to 2 hours after eating it.
Example of a healthy lunch:-
- Brown bread chicken salad sandwich with mashed avocado and tomato
- Carrot sticks and hummus
- 1 Pear and several almonds
TIP 5:- Eat more vegetables than fruit. Even though fruit is natural, it can still be high in sugar – especially dried fruit. So, when you can, always opt for veggies over the fruit bowl.
TIP 6:- Water. We have heard this so many times, but it is so true: keep drinking the pure clear stuff. This will help keep you more alert and awake, and often when we feel tired we reach for sweet sugary temptations, so prevent that from happening by sipping on water throughout the day.
TIP 7:- Have your go-to sweet treat. I am the first to admit I have a sweet tooth, and over the years I have learnt how to substitute for it. And something I do is take a small pot of cream cheese, mix in a little cinnamon, then spread onto a banana. This hits all the right spots for me and it tastes delicious. So do some research and find your favourite sweet treat that you can make yourself.
TIP 8:- Okay, this one is straightforward. Instead of a spoonful of sugar, have a spoonful of determination and discipline. It may be hard for the first few days, because sugar is very addictive, but when you start to cut back it does become easier.
TIP 9:- Visualize the benefits of cutting back on sugar. Picture how much better you are going to look and feel. Also keep in mind that sugar is a big cause of wrinkles, so cutting back on this is going to greatly improve your skin.
TIP 10:- Is simply that you are sweet enough as you are. And sugar is definitely not that sweet, as it can cause so much damage to our bodies.
And finally keep you body moving as exercise is great way to strip off belly fat.
6 TIPS TO CLEAN EATING
6 Easy Ways to Clean up your Diet. These simple tips to your shopping, cooking and eating habits can easily transform, your health, waistline and energy. Why not aim to do all 6 of these for 1 week and see how much better you feel and easy these habits are to stick to.
And here are just some of the benefits you will get if you apply these 6 tips, you will sleep better, boost your immune system, improve your digestive health, have a sharper mind, balance out your hormones, slow down the ageing process, increase your heart health, prevent disease and help control your weight, so that is a good enough reason to always apply these 6 suggestions for healthy eating.
3 TIPS TO REDUCE BELLY FAT (that work)
Stubborn Belly Fat can be shifted and it is a matter of doing it the right way. To lose belly fat it is a combination of nutrition and exercise, and often people in a bid to lose tummy fat will end up doing the wrong things and following these common mistakes like falling for weight loss pills, protein shakes or meal replacements, these will never work, and instead mess up the metabolism so in the long run end up gaining more tummy fat.
When it comes to exercise many think spending time on the plank and ab crunches will melt that tummy fat, but NO this wont work either, you need to be doing cardio tone exercises as this will strip off belly fat, and this works which is why my YouTube Video 7 Minute Lose Belly Fat Workout has had now over 37 Million views, with amazing results.
This video▼ below tells you about these 3 TIPS – from the sugar tip to the deadline dinner!
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HOME WORKOUTS TO TONE-UP
SHAPE UP AT HOME, SIMPLY CLICK ON THE AREA BELOW YOU WANT TO TONE AND GET A FREE SCULPTING WORKOUT VIDEO WITH LUCY.
HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT WALKING?
Can you lose weight simply by walking? the answer is yes you can walk yourself slim. So firstly walking is one of the most natural exercises we can do and it is a great way to lose weight.
But there is one thing you need to do to ensure you are walking the right way to walk off the inches. This short video explains exactly how to perfect your technique so you can melt off those excess calories with each stride.
As with any exercise it is about making it part of your lifestyle, so aim to do 5 walks a week, and if it is raining outside or too dark, then I have the perfect solution for you, because you can follow my FREE INDOOR WALKING WORKOUTS and these have literally helped millions of people lose weight and more importantly invest in their health.
With over 16 different Walking Workouts you can do at home you have plenty to select from.
So remember as I mention in the video the important thing is to add those short bursts of walking a little faster and push it to that level 3, because that will bring on the EPOC effect so your body will be burning heaps more calories, which is why walking is a great way of losing weight.
HOW TO LOSE BELLY FAT
Reclaim your waistline with these easy steps. And more importantly improve your health as these tips will help to decrease any excess tummy fat you may carry around your middle. So learn the easy ways to lead a healthier lifestyle and to eat a healthier diet.
By applying these tips you will start to see those inches drop off from your waistline fast alongside a whole host of other benefits such as increased energy, better skin, positive mindset, increased health, fitness and wellbeing.
So start applying this steps today and they will become part of your lifestyle and this way you can always manage your waistline.
