Losing weight during menopause

Losing weight during menopause can be a challenging task, often leading to frustration and sadness. The disappointment of not being able to lose weight can have a more significant impact on your life than you might realize or want to admit. Over the years, you've accepted that you're no longer 20, and that a bit of extra weight comes with age. But that "bit of extra weight" might have turned into a lot more. It's just frustrating. You don't eat that much, yet you still don't lose weight. Anyone else would lose a lot of weight with the way you eat. But not you—you might just maintain your weight if you eat like this. You exercise enough, but that doesn't help either.

Losing Weight During Menopause

There is a way of eating where calories don't matter as much, so you don't feel hungry. You eat enough, and what you eat is of high quality and packed with nutrients. You'll notice that you gain more energy, aches and pains disappear, you start to glow, and you begin to lose weight. In fact, weight loss is not the goal; it's a byproduct of becoming healthier.

Is it difficult? Maybe for the first few days, but after that, you just won't feel hungry anymore. The urge to eat will subside, and you can go many hours without food.

Why Is It So Difficult to Lose Weight During Menopause?

If you can't seem to lose weight, chances are that your metabolism has become very slow. A slow metabolism can significantly hinder diet results. The number of calories a person can eat without gaining weight is lower. And if your meals are also high in carbohydrates, your metabolism slows down even more.

Causes of a Slow Metabolism:

• Aging
• Periods of high stress
• Estrogen dominance
• Frequent dieting
• Insulin resistance
• Lack of or incorrect exercise
• Low production of growth hormones (HGH)
• Eating too frequently during the day
• Poor sleep

Solutions for a Slow Metabolism

An example of how it often goes:

Your body might need, for example, 1800 calories a day to function well. You want to lose weight, so you switch to a 1000-calorie diet with low fat and high carbohydrates. You have yogurt with nuts and fruit in the morning, a few crackers with lean toppings for lunch, and a small portion of vegetables, meat, and potatoes (or pasta or rice) for dinner. In between, you might have some fruit or a slice of gingerbread. You allow yourself one cookie or piece of chocolate a day to "cheat."

Your body receives only 1000 calories, but it needs 1800. When it doesn't get enough fuel, your body goes into survival mode and slows down your metabolism to make do with those 1000 calories. Burning fat as an energy source isn't an option for the body because it's used to burning carbohydrates. But also because it keeps getting a bit of carbohydrates.

Then there's that party with delicious treats, and you think, "It should be okay this one time." Your body, used to being in survival mode, immediately stores that excess food as fat.

Steps to Increase a Slow Metabolism

1. Eliminate Estrogen Dominance: Start by using progesterone cream to counter estrogen dominance. If you're no longer menstruating, apply Balance Plus Cream. If you're a man, consider a testosterone boost.

2. Eat 2-3 Low-Carb Meals a Day: By eating only 2-3 low-carb meals a day, you fast, and your body will start using fat as an energy source. Every time you eat, your pancreas produces insulin. To increase your metabolism, this process needs to be calmed.

3. Keep Carbohydrates Around 20 Grams a Day: Ideally, aim to consume around 20 grams of carbohydrates daily. This means eating a substantial portion of meat, fish, or eggs with some vegetables 2-3 times a day. Ensure you get enough fat, like butter, avocado, bacon, and fatty meats or fish. Fat will keep you satiated and help you enter fat-burning mode. Fat is not your enemy but your friend. Be cautious with dairy, as many people find it hard to lose weight when consuming dairy products like milk, yogurt, and cheese.

4. Improve Gallbladder and Liver Health: Consider taking Betaine HCL for a while to help your stomach transition from a high-carb diet to fat digestion. This will restore your stomach and gut health.

5. Exercise: Focus on short, intense exercise sessions. Instead of spending an hour on the cross-trainer at a low intensity, aim for 10 minutes at a level that significantly raises your heart rate. You could also try intensive weight training. Don't train too long—45 minutes to an hour is sufficient. Exercise as often as possible but ensure adequate recovery by rotating muscle groups daily.

6. Get Enough Sleep: During sleep, your body produces growth hormones, which aid in fat burning and muscle building. Eating 2-3 meals a day also increases the production of growth hormones.

You should start seeing results quickly. If you still struggle, feel free to contact me, and I'll look into it with you (contact@progesteroncreme.nl).