Want to know the magic diet for menopause? Oh boy, I hope you’re sitting down. Spoiler alert…there isn’t one! I know…I know. It’s hard to believe, but there isn’t any special diet that has been created for those of us women who are going through “the change”. But, alas, Bonnie has your back.
The bigger picture of hormones.
There’s this idea that if you are going through menopause then you need to eat a certain way to lose weight. Now, to be clear, I’m not calling bullshit on the fact that your hormones are changing, and you may be noticing your body is looking and feeling different. Those are cold hard facts. I am always encouraging my clients to be in contact with a doctor about things like hormones changing. But there are other hormones you need to consider too.
Other hormones to consider.
This is the hormone that is produced when you are stressed and/or have higher inflammation in your body. It puts your body into fight or flight mode. Things that can increase your cortisol include over-exercising, under-eating, chronic work-related stress, and/or not getting enough sleep.
Thyroid- This is another common hormone that women have trouble with. Having issues with your thyroid hormones can lead to weight gain, fatigue, and inability to lose weight.
A1C- This is your blood glucose level over a 3 month period. This is the main indicator of diabetes risk.
Why is knowing your health and hormone status important?
Knowing a lot of these factors is important for health. It’s important for you to get to your optimal weight as well. These things are important for long-term health and longevity. They are important for weight loss.
A lot of the time, we’re not realizing that our mental health is being affected by not getting enough sleep. If our blood sugar’s all over the place, you have high stress, high cortisol, and high inflammation, it’s no wonder why you don’t feel so great. You do not function optimally.
There is no one fix for hormones.
Even if you find a really great practitioner, and they are doing the testing and working with you. What works for you may not work for others. It’s also a long process. I say that not to discourage you, but just to lay it out so that as you’re searching for answers, which I hope you are, you’re advocating for yourself.
I spend a lot of time with this with my clients helping them get the right testing. You would think that that would happen, but it doesn’t always. So you want to be your own best advocate. But you also to go in knowing that it is a process to really figure out what the root cause is.
What is really happening with your health and your hormones beyond whether or not you’re getting your period or not? There are so many other factors that will probably flow, (no pun intended at all) into what we call menopause. A lot of my clients are in their 40s, 50,s and beyond, and we’re literally unpacking inflammation, stress, cortisol, and imbalances that have been coming along for decades. Figuring out your health status and your hormones is the other side of the “menopause diet”. You can’t fix what you don’t know!
The other factors are at play.
As a woman in perimenopause or menopause, do want to take a really good look at what you are eating. You also need to consider how you have been moving your body. Are you doing any strength training? You do not have as much muscle at the age of 50 as you did at 25. So strength training is going to help that.
Don’t get in the woe is me mindset.
Listen, I know a lot of women get into the mindset that once they hit menopause they are not going to be able to lose weight. Listen to me when I tell you that you just need to get a handle on all the things. You have to look at the whole picture of your health status which includes your hormones. You want to get a handle on what is happening hormonally and not just on whether I get my period or not. You have to look at other factors in your life externally that could be affecting those hormones like stress, stress, hydration, movement, etc.
What are the things that I can do right to really help my metabolism?
1- Prioritize strength training. Easy enough.
2- Prioritize protein. So if you eat 3 meals a day, is there protein in all the meals? There are different ways to get protein.
3- Drink enough water.
4- Get enough sleep. I think sleep is one of those really underrated and super unsexy things that most of us just don’t want to address. Sometimes when we should be going to bed our inner brat starts to kick in. “I deserve some time to myself, and I don’t want to go to bed.” If there is one thing you could change today, it is getting more sleep.
Weight loss during menopause can happen.
You need to know your health and hormones factors. But you also need to be looking at external factors also. There is no magic diet for menopause. You need to eat well, strength train, and understand it’s a process. It’s probably a slower process than when you were 25. But that’s okay too.
NOTES IN ANCHOR
Want to know the magic diet for menopause? Oh boy, I hope you’re sitting down. Spoiler alert…there isn’t one! I know…I know. It’s hard to believe, but there isn’t any special diet that has been created for those of us women who are going through “the change”. But, alas, Bonnie has your back.
ABOUT THE HOST
Bonnie Lefrak has been in the health and fitness industry for 25 years. As a former bikini competitor, Bonnie helps other women achieve their dreams of being on stage as bikini competitors through her bikini program at the gym she owns in Massachusetts called Fitness Asylum. But as a self-proclaimed professional dieter, Bonnie also realized the toll dieting takes on the human brain.
Bonnie helps women over 40 lose weight without killing themselves in the gym, eliminate all the BS food drama, and help to create a life and body they LOVE. She wants to help women create certainty in their own lives, their own results, and their own abilities. Weight loss is not about the one “right” diet. It is about MUCH more than that.
Weight loss is not about the one “right” workout. Weight loss is not about being positive and putting a big smile on. Weight loss is about FEELINGS. All of them. Not trying to bury them or hide from them but knowing and allowing the full human experience. Weight loss is not about grinding hustling and will powering your way to some end line. Transformation (when done well) is done from the inside out. Transformation doesn’t happen on the scale. She is an expert at Demystifying weight loss and helps you unf*ck your diet brain.
Connect with Bonnie-
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Email- bonnie@bonnielefrak.com
