Menopause and weight loss. Even if you're not there yet...

Menopause and Perimenopause are two words which I have had come up in so many conversations recently. I guess I'm at that age!!

But I have also had a lot of very positive conversations (and done a lot of geeky research) which have enabled me to support you in reducing the symptoms, making it a much more smooth sailing experience for you. And these habits which make the difference? It's never too early or too late to start them.

Let's start with a quick overview of the basics of menopause...

Menopause is the time 12 months after a woman's last natural period. The years leading up to that point, women may have hot flashes, changes in their period and other symptoms. This phase is called perimenopause. This affects different women in different ways. Possibly changes in bone or heart health, body shape and composition, mood changes and more.

The fluctuations in estrogen through this process can contribute to more fat storage in the belly area and MAY even reduce the body's ability to burn fat.

BUT, I'm going to tell you something which I think could be a game changer for you.

YES, it can make gaining weight easier, YES it can make losing weight more challenging, but increasing numbers of studies show that the a good proportion of women's weight gain at menopause age does not actually have a huge amount to do with menopause at all. Which is exciting, because it gives us more control. We can blame ageing a little, as our muscle naturally starts to deteriorate and becomes more of a challenge to build and maintain. We also need to look carefully at our habits. If you've gained a 'meno-belly' are there aspects of your diet and lifestyle which could be responsible?

Your nutrition can contribute to your symptoms

The right nutrition can alleviate your symptoms

Carrying excess weight can play havoc with hormones, adding to symptoms further

Carrying excess weight can make hormone therapy less effective

So, you can let perimenopause and menopause creep in and take control of you. Or you can choose to take control as best you can. Let's think of it like a challenging child or puppy. Sometimes it'll have days or moments it wins, but overall, from now, you'll be in control. And, if you would like, I'll jump in the passenger seat to help steer!

Let's start with some of the ways you could be letting perimenopause or menopause take control of you:

• processed foods

• refined sugar

• artificial sweeteners

• alcohol

• excess caffeine

• enough exercise

Then look at the positive steps you could develop to take control of your symptoms:

Often women approach this from completely the wrong angle, using diets focusing on counting, often then not getting in enough protein and nutrition to counteract the problems. These diets may even make the weight gain and symptoms worse!

So, what can you do?

Firstly, you can start with a 30 day reset, cleansing the whole body on a cellular level, helping you tackle that stubborn fat and uplevel your energy, using a (delicious, nutritious) system backed by science.

Book your mini chat to look at whether this will be a fit for you by clicking HERE.

Then, if you would like to make lifelong changes, I can get you started on a nutrition journey, finding the enjoyable, satisfying, realistic, easy ways to uplevel your health, energy and body composition for life.

Let's not be defeated by meno-belly. Let's get transformed, for summer and beyond...

Ellie x