Are you struggling with unwanted Belly fat??
Do you have that jelly belly?
Are you constantly having to let the belt out a little more every few months?
Do you spend precious time on doing a ton of ab exercises, yet none of them make a difference?
Do you feel constantly bloated?
Is your muffin top billowing out over your jeans?
Are you stressed out, exhausted and lack motivation for any exercise?
You are not alone!! Many many woman over 40 are complaining of this unsettling, frustrating thing, but, there is a reason, and there is definitely an answer to the mystery of the “jelly Belly”!
If you think 30 minutes of light jogging on the treadmill three days a week is going to get rid of that belly fat, think again.
If you think by eating next to nothing and skipping meals will get rid of the belly…think again
And if you think by doing 100+ sit ups a day will give you a flat stomach…think again!! You will have tighter muscles, but the fat is still on top!
Belly fat, that stubborn ring around your middle, seemingly creeps up out of nowhere and boom! It’s all of a sudden there! And nothing you do seems to shift it……it’s like you’ve become resistant to traditional diet and exercise. Some women will cut calories and may lose inches in other parts of their bodies – but that stubborn belly fat remains.
Some women can take on specifically targeted exercise routines and are able to sculpt shoulders, arms and legs beautifully – yet still struggle to get rid of the belly fat, which can be very frustrating.
But there is a way to get rid of belly fat forever.
Let’s start by understanding the causes of belly fat. Like most issues, it’s important to remember that there might be more than one issue causing the belly fat.
Firstly, there’s our dietary intake. It must be healthy, within a caloric amount/day for your activity level, age and size. There’s exercise, (or maybe the lack of it) which must include weight / resistance training and certain cardio routines…..but often, there is another additional problem….
That issue is……hormones!!
To burn the flab, you’ll need to add strength training to your routine. Doing this will add muscle to your frame, which will help burn more pounds of fat. It will also put your muscles where they belong, which helps your belly look flatter.
Unfortunately, when you don’t let go of stress, fat doesn’t let go of you.
This one is the hardest to accept, because there is nothing you can do to avoid getting older. With age, your metabolism drops, making it harder to burn off calories while at rest, but your appetite may not take a plunge. Making weight gain even more likely is the drop in estrogen and progesterone in women and testosterone in men. But don’t think aging means you have to simply accept weight gain.
By sleeping well, eating healthily, working out right, and cutting out stress, you can beat the odds and lose the belly fat that has taunted you, no matter your age. And we are here to help. Call or email us to get started on an exercise program that will rid you of your belly fat once and for all. I’m here for you.
Weight –Some woman see the kg’s sneaking on gradually, while others say that overnight 10 kg’s have mysteriously entered their bodies .A lot of woman tell me that they have tried to cut calories, increase exercise and at times have taken some dietary supplements. It seems as though these women are doing all the right things. These patients are always, yes always surprised when I steer our conversation to the stress in their lives. What does stress have to do with weight gain?
Whenever our body is out of alignment and struggling with a primary hormone, it does not have the resources or the ability to produce optimal levels of secondary hormones such as estrogen and progesterone. Today’s diet has far too much white sugar and white flour, too many processed foods and carbohydrates and not enough healthy fats. We are SCARED of fat!
When we go for long periods without food, our adrenal glands work hard to release more cortisol and adrenaline, to try to maintain the body’s normal functioning. When our blood sugar dips for extended periods, this creates a stress reaction, putting pressure on the already over worked adrenals.
It’s important to know that our body always needs energy, even when we are sleeping. Cortisol works to moderate blood sugar in between meals and at night, so making sure our cortisol levels are balanced, we need to eating often, and have healthy meals and snacks.
Whether your weakness is bread, pasta, chocolate, sugared coffee drinks, wine or beautiful desserts, if your blood glucose levels are high and you are approaching insulin resistance, or have insulin sensitivity, your body will convert every calorie it can into FAT! OMG!
Cortisol and Insulin
The single biggest influence over the levels of insulin in your body comes from the amount of starchy and sweet foods you eat. The biggest influence over cortisol has to do with stress levels, which is directly related to sleep quantity (and quality).
What many people don’t realize is that cortisol is a schizophrenic hormone when it comes to fat loss. It increases fat storage, but ironically, it also speeds fat burning by stimulating the major fat releasing enzyme. Cortisol can be your best friend or your worst enemy. By itself it does not have much of an impact on belly fat, unless it is “hanging out with” insulin.
Insulin activity shuts down any fat releasing activity of other hormones like cortisol, and therefore accentuates the negative fat storing effects. Adding cortisol to insulin is like pouring gasoline on a fire. The two together — with excess calories — are the real culprits in fat gain around the middle. Great!
Cortisol is manufactured in your adrenal glands and it will give you your get up and go. They allow you to survive in the modern world of busy-ness and stress. But these days, when stress is becoming a chronic condition, your adrenals are working nonstop. As a result, our health is showing the strain. Stress puts so much pressure on the adrenals forcing them to make a lot of the stress hormone cortisol, and over time, cortisol in large amounts stresses your body even further. Physical, environmental and emotional stress may all be coming in to play. But…it can be reversed with a good diet, a proper exercise plan using resistance or weights, a change in lifestyle and the right nutritional supplements will all help bring your adrenals back into balance – and will help regain you energy, sleep better, and create the vitality you want!
That’s because even though you may be gaining weight, your cells are actually starving for the healthy nutrients they need!
Heading into perimenopause, this is a recipe for weight gain. Your body will store fat to ensure it has what it needs, and your hormonal imbalance and sugar consumption may lead to cravings that are hard to resist. If you do choose a high sugar option, be sure to add some protein to help stabilize your blood sugar levels. And the weight goes on………especially around the belly!
Many of the symptoms below are treated as that….a symptom. But if you only put a band aid on it, then the problem is still there. Take exhaustion and lack of energy for training………modern times say “ take a pre-workout” that will give you all the energy you need. Which may be true…but the long term effects of taking a “pre-workout” are not that great, and it’s just masking the problem of why you are so fatigued and you are unable to motivate your body into exercise.
Do any of the following resonate with you?
1.Do you feel exhausted, overwhelmed, and stressed all the time? Do you have profound fatigue. You struggle to wake up in the morning…and need caffeine and sugar to start your day…and then have your energy crash’s in the afternoon. Sometimes you get a second wind at night and cannot sleep.
2.Do you need five cups of coffee or a constant infusion of soda just to make it through the day?
3. Do you have trouble waking up, falling asleep, or staying asleep, no matter which herbal supplements you try?
4.Do you find yourself feeling constantly irritable or on edge?
5.Do you feel that you need to exercise to stay in shape even though you’re exhausted when you do?
6.Do you feel as though everything you eat turns to fat?
7. Are you always hungry, frequently craving sweets, or tempted by “carbo-binges”?
8.Are you plagued by irregular or painful periods or PMS?
9.Are you struggling with peri-menopause/menopause/ lowered sex drive/mood swings/hot flushes
10.Do you find yourself feeling forgetful.
11.Hair loss…do you suffer from hair loss and are your nails brittle and slow growing. Is your skin is dry and appears to be aging fast.
12.Cravings. Do you crave sugar after you eat? When you eat, cortisol is produced which releases stored sugar so that you have immediate fuel until your food is digested. Tired adrenal glands do not produce enough cortisol and you crave sugar, straight after a meal.
Sound familiar? Well, you may now realise that there is so much more going on with your weight gain and struggle to lose the “jelly Belly” than you first thought. Yes, it’s important to exercise…yes you need to eat correctly for you…….but when it comes to woman over 40…..there’s a whole melting pot of hormones making weight lose a more “challenging” action.
There are a number of things that will help reset the adrenals and help you start to feel alive and healthy again, not to mention the weight starting to fall away and help you feeling like a woman again.
The right supplements. Not a concoction of minerals and vitamins the pharmacy or health store tries to sell you, but the right ones for you. Which will include, Vitamin B and C, Zinc and Magnesium for starters.
Then there is the right exercise. Not the endless HIIT or stressful workouts that leave you even more exhausted. There is nothing wrong with HIIT routines, we just don’t need to do them every day, as they raise cortisol levels also. And if your adrenals are already struggling to produce cortisol………..you will feel like crap!
Weight training or resistance to build muscle, strengthen bones and tighten/tone the body, AND help increase the bodies metabolism to higher levels to help shift that weight, and keep it off.
Yoga, or walks in nature, to lower cortisol levels and allow the body and mind to be in flow, relax and think without the chatter in your head.
So it’s time to get off this endless treadmill of stress, weight gain, exhaustion and lack life, and put some “vitality” back into your life. There is no right time…..the time is now. Time to start living, not surviving.
My specialty is taking woman by the hand and guiding them, teaching them, coaching them to get through this disorder, and make a better life for themselves through learning what to eat, when to eat it and prescribing the perfect exercise routine for their lifestyle and commitments. There is so much more to fitness and health than a generic “program” to follow and a food plan. It needs to be specifically designed with all things considered. Over time, this continual accountability and guidance becomes the norm, and habits are formed that will last a lifetime.
If you are thinking, “enough is enough and I really want this”……you can have it. It can all be yours, you just need to make the decision.
By working one on one with me for 12 weeks, you will definitely feel alive again, you will lose weight, you will feel your abs again, lose the jelly belly and see your toes and wake up with vitality and a new zest for life, for exercise, for your family, and a hot body! And you will know how to maintain that, forever. This is not about transforming your body, but your whole lifestyle.
Now, if you want to work closer with me personally, I have a 6 week online coaching program called “vitality” that is perfect for woman wanting to increase their energy and vitality for life, lose weight, understand where they are at with their hormones, and what they need to in order to balance their busy lives, hormones, and still enjoy life…AND work towards adjusting this imbalance in your life, re-set your hormones and become healthy, create energy again, learn what you need to do to lose that unwanted weight, and be well on your way to having a fulfilled life. I am working with other professionals in the area of Adrenal Fatigue that involves nutrition, exercise, mindset, hormone testing and the emotional needs that can lead to this burn out that may need to be addressed also.
I have only a few spots left in the next intake, which starts soon, so don’t delay. Secure you place now.
Connect with me for a 15 minute free consultation where we can discuss if this is for you further. I’d love to hear from you, and together, we can sort this problem out!
Much love
CM x