By Nicole Fey
Are you in midlife and notice your weight slowly creeping up year after year?
Are you sick and tired of having your weight and energy levels keeping you from living your best life? You may find the pounds that came off so easily in your 20’s and 30’s, have become impossible to budge in your 40’s and 50’s. I call this the “Midlife Fat Trap.” You may be exercising everyday, cutting down on portions and carbohydrates and still, the scale won’t budge. Inflammation, stress-levels, hormone levels and blood sugar all play a part. Try these 7 Steps to Midlife Weight Control
1. Quell the Inflammation: Increase your intake fruits, vegetables and “good fats” (olive oil, flaxseed oil, avocado, seeds and nuts) and decrease sugar especially soda and high-fructose corn syrup. 2. Decrease your stress levels: scientific studies show a correlation between stress and weight gain, especially in fat around the abdomen. Midlife and/or menopause, many times bring on new stressors for people: empty-nest syndrome, relationship changes, health challenges, care-
taking elderly or sick parents, etc. Besides causing weight gain, stress can exacerbate menopausal symptoms. Yoga, breath work and meditation are instrumental in lowering stress levels. 3. Take stock of your carb intake: Refined carbohydrates cause your blood sugar to spike. The pancreas secretes insulin to lower the blood sugar. Insulin is the “fat-storage” hormone. Excess blood sugar over time leads to insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome and Type II Diabetes. I find most people underestimate that amount of refined carbohydrates they are taking in daily. 4. Exercise: It may be time to switch your exercise routine. The body adjusts to your current level of activity so you need to challenge your bodies’ systems (a training principle known as “muscle confusion” breaks the body out of habituation to a type of exercise. Example: if you’ve been walking as your sole means of exercise, you may need to add weight training to challenge your muscles. 5. Reduce chemicals in your food and environment: New studies are confirming that chemicals alter your hormonal response. Leptin, the hormone that signals to us that we are full, and Ghrelin, the hormone that controls our hunger are both susceptible to the effects of toxicity in the body. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed a significant association between BPA Bisphenol A (a chemical found in many plastics and linings of cans) and the prevalence of obesity in children. http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1360865 6 . Improve the efficiency of your digestion When your digestion is compromised, your bodily functions of assimilation and elimination are also adversely affected. Undigested food passes into the large intestine and ferments, leading to constipation, inflammatory bowel disorders like IBS and diverticulitis, as well as leaky gut syndrome. Likewise, when food is not digested, it is not broken down and the body cannot assimilate the nutrients from the food you’ve eaten. This can lead to nutrient deficiencies as well as chronic fatigue. The key here is to eat a diet that can be digested well. Transitioning to a whole foods diet many times is a crucial piece to this. In addition, eating a diet specifically designed for your unique biochemisty and metabolic type will also greatly improve your digestion. As digestion improves, assimilation and elimination improve as well. 7. Cleanse Your System: After many years of eating less than healthy foods, your organs and bodily systems become less efficient. Your liver for instance, your main filter, is not filtering toxins as well. Your large intestine which eliminates bodily waste becomes inflamed and sluggish. If your thyroid can become hypo or hyper active greatly affecting your weight and energy levels. I utilized many different methods of detoxification when working with my clients but my favorite is juicing because it’s fast, natural, relatively inexpensive and very effective.
Nicole Fey, HHC
Nicole Fey is an authority on creating new ways of nourishing and caring for yourself on all levels. She meets you at that crucial crossroad in your life when you realize that the lifestyle and eating habits that supported you earlier in life, are no longer sustaining the health you desire. Nicole simplifies and demystifies how to embrace radical self-care and overthrow the self-sabatour. Among her tools in her tool kit, are easy, fun food upgrades, yoga quickies to seriously reduce stress and a proven no-deprivation, whole foods, weight loss way of eating.
Need some support? As a Healthy Eating Specialist and Health Coach, I work closely with clients to transition to a healthier way of eating that helps them to lose weight, have more energy and to regain control over their health. Contact me at nicole@nicolefeywellness.com or 865-548-8208.
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