Perimenopause? Menopause Belly? Hormonal Change? 3 Tips To beat It.

One of the most distressing things about menopause is the spread of weight to the middle. Even women who do not gain much weight during menopause notice increased fat storage around the middle and/or a more difficult time getting rid of menopausal belly fat.

Why?

There are three main reasons triggered by the loss of estrogen and progesterone. They are:

1) Insulin levels rise. This is because estrogen makes the female body more insulin sensitive and when it is gone, insulin resistance sets in causing increased hunger and increased fat storage.

2) Cortisol impact rises. This is because estrogen and progesterone are anti-cortisol hormones and without them the menopausal female becomes exquisitely sensitive to stress.

3) Dopamine, serotonin & GABA levels change. These brain chemicals are closely tied to estrogen and progesterone. They impact mood, hunger and cravings. This makes it more likely a menopausal woman will eat more and feel less satisfied all during a time where any extra calories will be stored in the middle of the body.

A Story

In order to deal with this you have to STOP treating your body like it is a 25 year old male bodybuilder or a 30 something female fitness model.

Here is a story of a client of mine. Let's call her Debbie. She was 47 and loved to exercise and was a health and fitness fanatic. She was three years into the menopausal change and was incredibly distraught about what was happening to her body.

In her case she was not gaining weight, but her body was changing. She was getting softer and flabbier all over and noticed a fat distribution shift from her butt and thighs to her midsection.

When she came to me she had gained almost 4 inches around her midsection despite doing 2 to 4 extra hours of exercise a week compared to three years prior. She had also just had a bone scan show she was showing early signs of osteoporosis.

Here is what a typical day in her life looked like:

Mon-Wed-Fri= Crossfit

Tuesday-Thursday= Bikram Hot Yoga

Saturday & Sunday= 3 mile run

Her diet consisted of a Paleo style diet. Lots of eggs and bacon and coconut oil & butter. Lots of salads and vegetables and low starch eating. Except she kept finding herself overindulging in wine and chocolate on most nights of the week. She also could not sleep.

The Fix?

The solution for Debbie was a pretty dramatic turn around. But before I tell you what we did, lets cover why.

Here is how to deal with the three issue above:

1) To deal with insulin, you need to balance carbs. Not too much, but not too little either. The trick is just the correct amount at just the right time.

Debbie's change? We added a large helping of carbohydrates at night. We kept her diet the same otherwise.

2) To deal with cortisol. It is about switching from exercise to rest, recovery and relaxing movement while doing something to raise HGH to keep the body tight and protect muscle and bone.

Debbie's change? We took away her running. Moved Crossfit to twice per week only and had her walk every day as well as do hot Epsom salt baths and/or sauna as often as possible.

3) To deal with the brain chemistry changes. You need something that can raise these brain chemicals back up.

Debbie's solution. After dinner, she had a cocoa drink much like our new ME Craving Cocoa. She made this with organic cocoa, cinnamon, and unsweetened almond milk.

What happened?

Almost immediately Debbie started to sleep better and her nighttime sweet and alcohol habit disappeared. It took about another 3 weeks for her to see any other changes, but then she started to notice a quick turn around. Over the next 4 weeks she lost close to 4 inches in her waist, almost the exact amount menopause had caused her to gain!!

Her weight? Barely changed at all. Pretty remarkable right?

But now you understand exactly why this worked.

The trick is that Debbie is different, just like you are. So while the cause of your issues is similar, the fix may be slightly different. This is why educating yourself is of critical importance.

You must understand how the metabolism works, and how your unique physiology and psychology fit into the mix.

This is what the menopause weight loss program teaches and is all about. I am doing a few webinars on it this week and I will send them to you as part of this education.

Was that helpful? I hope so.

Check out the menopausal weight loss program at the link below.

Every Woman Is Different. Depending On Your Female Hormone Type You Can Benefit Even More From HGH.

Find Out Your Hormone Type Below