The Perimenopause Show with Jennifer Woodward

Perimenopause Weight Loss Secrets! 🌺🏋️‍♀️ Dive into 10 Tips for Safe Slimming and Lasting Results! 💪✨ (Part 1)

April 26, 2024 • Jennifer Woodward • Season 1 • Episode 5

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Embark with me, Jennifer Woodward, on a transformative expedition through the perimenopausal terrain, where weight loss secrets are no longer whispered but spoken aloud. Step inside a world where hormonal fluctuations are not your foe but a puzzle to solve, as we examine how progesterone, estrogen, and cortisol play pivotal roles in your body's weight management. I promise you'll emerge with a newfound comprehension of metabolism's intricate dance with these hormones, especially when it comes to the enigma of stubborn belly fat. We'll also decode the complex relationship between stress hormones, insulin resistance, and thyroid function, turning the often-confounding perimenopausal phase into a period of empowerment and well-being.

As your guide, I'll lead you down the path of discovering exercise routines that align with your body's evolving needs—shifting the focus from high-intensity cardio to a more harmonious blend of daily steps and strength training. Together, we'll break down why reaching those 10,000 steps and hoisting weights several times a week can reinforce not just your bones, but also your metabolic health. In this episode, we don't shy away from the reality that stress perception is a personal journey; we'll share insights into individualized stress management techniques that cater to both the oblivious and the keenly aware. By the end of our journey, you'll be equipped with the tools and knowledge to navigate the perimenopausal labyrinth with confidence.

Reach out to us!

Speaker 1:

In today's show we are going to be talking about understanding the changes that happen, the hormonal shifts that happen, in perimenopause. We're going to talk about the importance of a balanced diet not a crazy diet, a balanced diet. We're going to talk about tailoring your exercise to the needs of perimenopause. Then we're going to dive into stress management for weight control. We're going to be talking about weight a ton in the perimenopause show because, again, it's something you guys are interested in. It's questions like this that I get all of the time. So dive in with me as we talk about perimenopausal weight loss secrets loss secrets. Hey there, it's Jennifer Woodward, and welcome to the perimenopause show, the go-to spot for all things perimenopause. I'm on a mission to demystify this wild ride sharing stories, laughs and maybe a few eye rolling moments. Whether you're knee deep in hot flashes or just curious, we've got you covered. Expect real talk, expert guests and a sprinkle of humor, because, let's face it, we could all use a laugh during perimenopause. So grab your favorite drink, get comfy and let's navigate this roller coaster together. This is the perimenopause show, where we're turning perimenopause into a conversation, not a crisis. Hello and welcome back to the perimenopause show.

Speaker 1:

I am Jennifer Woodward, and today we are talking about the secrets of weight loss in perimenopause. You're like Jennifer, I can't believe you waited this long to get to the weight loss part, because this is the top complaint that people come to me with in perimenopause. And I will tell you, ladies, things look way different in perimenopause than they did in your teens, twenties or thirties. So all right, let's dive in. So perimenopause is different. The hormones start really shifting in perimenopause and weight loss becomes damn near impossible. Ask me how. I know the things that happened that worked for you in, you know, your teens, your twenties and thirties. They stop working for you in perimenopause. And this is why, ladies, it's because you are stuck in the stress response. Your body was able to adapt to stressors when you were a teenager and when you were a young woman. Should I just say that Cause now you're not booyah, you're not a young woman anymore, neither am I. But during perimenopause, these hormonal shifts are really going to impact our metabolism and our weight, and let me explain that a little bit.

Speaker 1:

In perimenopause, progesterone levels decline. Progesterone is that very calming, relaxing hormone that is going to counteract the kind of stressful effects of estrogen we have when we have too much estrogen or comparatively too much estrogen in the body. Again, that could be estrogen dominance, where you've got an excessive amount of estrogen, or simply more estrogen than you have. In you know reference to progesterone, so progesterone levels can look normal, but if estrogen levels are way excessive then you're in estrogen dominance. This is really stressful for the body and it becomes an impediment to, you know, losing weight in perimenopause. Estrogen and progesterone are huge players. We need to have sufficient estrogen and, you know, plenty of progesterone, including, you know, normal ovulation, in order to be able to maintain a balanced weight. But those are only two of our players, right? The bigger player hormonally in perimenopause is cortisol, your stress hormone, your main stress hormone.

Speaker 1:

When cortisol is too high for a period of time, then the body becomes more insulin resistant. You've probably heard a ton about insulin resistance. You know that when you are insulin resistant, the body can no longer utilize glucose for energy. It can't store it in the muscle cells and the liver, where it belongs, where it can store, you know, up to 300 grams of glycogen at a time. It starts shuttling glucose now into the fat cells and so not only do you get chubbier, but you also get more tired because you're not using that glucose for energy anymore. So it really is those cortisol levels that impede us from losing weight and perimenopause.

Speaker 1:

Now we start off with cortisol levels that are too high. Right, we are burning the candle at both ends we're working out too much, we are dieting too much, we aren't sleeping enough. So that raises cortisol for a period of time. But just like anything else, when the raw materials for cortisol start to decrease, when we have pushed down on that proverbial cortisol gas pedal for too long and we don't have any more gas in our tank, then those cortisol levels start to decrease. And that's when we become exhausted. And that's when we become, you know, so tired that we can't even sleep well, that we're not digesting our food. Um, our metabolism has really started to slow down, and one of the players is low cortisol levels. And here's the kicker and I learned this from Jamie both or stop the thyroid madness. When we have insufficient cortisol levels, we actually can't shuttle T3 into the cell where it belongs, for thyroid hormone stops working. Right, we have decreasing levels of thyroid hormone that can actually work intracellularly, and so our metabolism, from a compensatory manner, starts to slow down as well. So it's really about the cortisol.

Speaker 1:

Cortisol levels and swings that we experience in perimenopause are essentially, at the end of the day, what caused us to either gain weight or not lose weight. And here's another kicker you can tell that it's perimenopausal weight gain when it's right around your belly right you can't see me rubbing my belly it is that five to 11 pounds of like like love handle weight gain. That is really indicative of being in perimenopause, because as cortisol levels rise and then lower, but initially rise, cortisol is a glucocorticoid. It has this, this glucose kind of you know, backbone. So when cortisol levels rise, so do glucose levels. And when glucose levels rise and the body becomes insulin resistant, it has nowhere again to put that glucose. We store it in our fat cells and really our tummy is rife with fat cells. For one reason or another, whatever, lord, we are not happy about what you decided there, but women in perimenopause tend to put on that belly fat.

Speaker 1:

So those hormonal shifts that happen during perimenopause are really crappy. Right, they really are. Um, but they will start to shift our metabolism and they will start to shift our weight. And that's why I'm so big not on dieting more and exercising more, but increasing stress management principles so that the body can get out of fight or flight mode into more of a parasympathetic mode and start to balance out the autonomic nervous system so that you can lose weight. I always tell my clients the body has to feel safe enough in order to lose weight. I always tell my clients the body has to feel safe enough in order to lose weight. If you were always in fight or flight mode, you were getting cell danger signals to your body all the time and the body's never going to feel safe enough to lose weight. So we'll come back to that principle time and time and time again. But that is a fundamental change hormonally.

Speaker 1:

That happens during perimenopause, where you, you know, start to gain about five to 11 pounds without changing your diet and without changing your exercise routine. So it really becomes a lot more important in perimenopause to balance out your diet. This is not the time to be doing crazy intermittent fasting, like I hear all the time. Not the time to be doing crazy intermittent fasting, like I hear all the time. It's not the time to go on a keto diet or a carnivore diet. It's not the time to go hardcore into plant-based thinking that these really like not faddish, because all of those aren't necessarily fad diets. But thinking that these quick fixes are going to be what shifts the weight for you long-term, that's not going to happen. It takes longer.

Speaker 1:

In perimenopause it is way less sexier than a fad diet. But you have to be balanced. You have to incorporate all three macronutrients or you won't lose weight long-term. And that's really what we're after at the end of the day. And honestly, in perimenopause like you're in your forties, right Aren't you just a little bit more confident at this point? Yeah, you might have a little bit more of a tummy, but you know you've raised a family. You are at the top of your game professionally. You are kind of like a real adult at this point. So that comes with its own you know kind of level of confidence, and so you don't have to go after all of these fad diets at this point in your life. You can take the long view. So I would encourage you to do that.

Speaker 1:

My clients who do the best at long-term weight loss are not doing fad diets. Now, I've experimented with all those fad diets myself and with a lot of my clients over the last 10 years, but they don't work long-term. What works for my clients, what works for me and what will work for you is a balanced diet, including a crap ton of protein. All right, like so much protein, this is at least a hundred grams of protein a day, up to 150, even 160, depending on what your full weight is and your lean body masses. At least 30 grams of protein with every single meal, but also incorporating plenty of carbohydrates for energy, sleep, digestion, mood, libido, hair, skin and nails.

Speaker 1:

And then a moderate amount of fat, and this is a thing I see in perimenopause. My colleagues and I talk a lot about this. You know, women have been sold this false bill of goods with the keto craze that has been around, you know, and lessening, lessening of course, but has been around for the last 10 years or so. Women don't need that much fat and perimenopause right. We need some fat in order to build healthy hormones. Our estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, um, melatonin all of those have a steroid backbone, a cholesterol backbone. So we need some fat to build healthy hormones. But doesn't give us a license to go hog wild with fat grams every single day. Fat has nine calories per gram and if you are overeating fat, just like anything else, you're going to gain weight. So you know women, I see you need somewhere between 50 to 75, maybe 80 grams of fat a day and that's not that much.

Speaker 1:

Prioritizing carbohydrates and protein in perimenopausal, getting a moderate but sufficient amount of fat is generally where the magic lies. For most of my women, all right, and for me too, I feel better on carbs. I spent 20 years of my life on a low carb diet. My nails are still brittle, my digestion is, you know, still I'm still working on that from the slowed motility and you know, slowed uh well, really slowed motility of a of a low carb, lower calorie, low fiber, even sugar diet, like everything, just slowed down. And I see that all the time with other women who've done lower carb diets for a longer period of time. The metabolism slows, digestion slows, energy slows. We need carbohydrates and it's, you know, take it or leave it, agree with me or don't. But I've worked with, you know, over 950 women and I see that women really do well on increasing amounts of carbohydrates in perimenopause with you know, over 950 women and I see that women really do well on increasing amounts of carbohydrates in perimenopause.

Speaker 1:

Again for mood, digestion, libido, energy, like we have to have carbs. But I'm not saying like go with cake. Don't do that. Every once in a while have cake like that's fine, but you know, for the most part, you need to be eating plenty of fruit. We had a whole episode on fruit, so go back and listen to our episode on fruit, because so many women have, you know, experimented with low carb diets for so long that they stopped eating fruit.

Speaker 1:

And fruit is really high in potassium, magnesium, trace minerals, and it's a great source of carbohydrates. Yes, it's also a great source of sugar fruit sugar but it's bound up with that fiber. That's the antidote to, you know, the theoretical poison that sugar can be. I don't look at sugar as a poison, but I know that some people do. And, of course, if you're eating like straight sugar and no protein or fiber, it's not going to be great for you. But if you're eating fruit which is created for us with a beautiful package, you know of fructose, glucose, but also fiber to slow down the ingestion of that sugar and absorption of that sugar, you're going to be in good shape. So I recommend for my clients eating at least three servings, up to six servings, of fruit every single day.

Speaker 1:

Plenty of protein, collagen, proteins fine, you know. Animal collagen protein, marine collagen protein only use like an animal based protein powder for myself, for my kids I can put that for you in a show notes but don't like pea protein powder or rice protein powder. It's very hard for women to digest those plant-based protein powders and they get real gassy and bloated and don't understand why that is. So if you can focus on animal protein for the most part, you're going to feel better and your hormones start balancing out All right. So, again, this is just part of the discussion on diet. This is a really long, extensive discussion. Essentially, you have to be balanced right, and balancing your diet can help balance your hormones.

Speaker 1:

Let's go ahead and talk about tailoring your exercise to your perimenopausal needs, and this is a huge one too. You know, I see so many women like in the perimenopausal space actually, who were formerly like endurance athletes. They were doing a lot of high intensity interval training. They were doing, you know, thai bow and crusted, and you know body pump and body combat and all those things that we did 20 years ago, cause they were great for us in our twenties. Were they, though? Right? We thought they were great for us in our twenties, but now the body just can't handle that intense cardio that keeps us in fight or flight but continually outputs cortisol in order to keep up with the needs of those high intensity.

Speaker 1:

You know intervals or high intensity cardio or even just extended time cardio where you're running. Or you know, doing a class for an hour, even 45 minutes, is probably too long in perimenopause because it keeps you're running. Or you know, doing a class for an hour, even 45 minutes, is probably too long in perimenopause because it keeps you in fight or flight, it outputs cortisol, it outputs adrenaline and your body is stuck in the sympathetic nervous system dominant mode. Ergo it can't heal and it's not going to lose weight. And so for perimenopause, the prescription becomes really simple and I'm sorry, I'm not a doctor, so I don't diagnose. The prescription becomes really simple and, I'm sorry, I'm not a doctor, so I don't diagnose, treat or prescribe.

Speaker 1:

So the suggestion, the suggestion is really simple. It is get your cute little booty outside. Well, 10,000 steps a day, every single day, not more than that. I have clients who are like you, say 10,000, 20,000. I'm like no, you don't need to do that. Thousand, 20,000. I'm like no, you don't need to do that. I tried that myself and I just got hungry and crabby because it's too much. Just, you know, the literature shows us 10,000 steps a day. That's about five miles. That's reasonable for most, you know, western women.

Speaker 1:

And then lift really heavy weights two to three times a week. I'm not talking to go out there and lift your, you know, little weight like this and don't break a sweat and do it like 50 times. So I'm talking about you get hella strong and you start, you know, increasing your weights, of course, with a trainer right, get someone who will help you and, you know, spot you and watch over you and and make sure that you're doing all of these things correctly. But this is lifting really heavy weights to maintain bone density and muscle mass and increase your body's new muscle cells, your myocytes. You have to grow new muscle in perimenopause or you will just continue to break down the muscle that you already have, especially if you're not eating enough protein.

Speaker 1:

On that note, remember that cortisol is catabolic. That means it breaks things down in the body. So if you're not eating enough protein and you're doing too much cardio exercise in the absence of strength training, then cortisol flooding your body, body at any given time, it's going to be working to break down your muscle tissue, and that's the opposite of what we want in perimenopause. We want to build new lean muscle masks. That makes us look better, it makes our body composition better and tighter. Right, we don't want to be flabby in perimenopause and a lot of women you know in this stage complain of feeling flabby, and that's because they are myself included. Right Um, before I started strength training like I was just feeling like my skin's getting saggier, you know my muscles don't look like they're as defined and it's because that action of cortisol was breaking down the muscle tissue that I previously had, leading to increased flabbiness.

Speaker 1:

You're welcome Perimenopausal women. It's all uphill from here. So that's number one and number two and that's it. You walk 10,000 steps a day outside or get a standing, you know, a treadmill for your desk and or a mini trampoline. That's the other thing I love, you know. Watch a show, listen to a podcast, get on your mini trampoline and just kind of walk or bounce and lift heavy weights two to three times a week. It doesn't need to be more complicated than that. I've seen it work for hundreds of women, it works for me, it works for my colleagues in perimenopause that are also in this functional space and you don't need to reinvent the wheel. So, keeping yourself in that balanced autonomic nervous system, it's all about proper exercise and balanced nutrition. I wish it was sexier than that, but it's not, which is a good thing, right?

Speaker 1:

Last step we really want to dive into stress management for weight control and we talked about that connection between stress, cortisol levels and weight gain, so we don't need to go too much farther into it. But what we do need to talk about are what you can do to mitigate some of that stress, because I have two different kinds of clients. Right One side of my clientele will say I don't feel stressed at all. You're finding all these anomalies in my lab work. Maybe my cortisol is up. You know I've got on my HTMA. My adrenal stress profile looks a little bit off. Or you know my my nervous system profile looks off.

Speaker 1:

I don't feel stressed and I'm like well, girl, that's because you're a type a performance driven woman who has been so long in this like go, go, go lifestyle that you don't even realize that the way that you're feeling normally is not the way that you should be feeling. You're just used to it. And I remind them, cortisol is a steroid, so you feel real good when you're outputting lots of cortisol at any given time because you are on steroids and steroids feel good. I mean, I've never taken steroids, but I've had really high levels of cortisol and I didn't feel bad. It was only after those cortisol levels dropped out that I started feeling really, really bad. Okay, so mitigating some of that stress management is going to be important, even if you don't feel like you're really stressed.

Speaker 1:

Then I have other clients who realize their stress. They're like oh my gosh, I'm at the end of my rope. Like I barely have time to pee, I can't shower, all these kids are climbing all over me, work is crazy, family's crazy. They know that they're stressed out. So, regardless, both sides of that clientele need to learn stress management techniques.

Speaker 1:

So let's talk about three that I use every single day myself and three that I really recommend for my clients. The first is an Epsom salt bath. Oh my gosh, the Epsom salt bath. And again, women are kind of divided on this. They're like oh, I have some salt bath. That's amazing, I love it. Or they're like I don't have time for Epsom salt bath. I get in the shower three minutes, I'm done. I shaved my legs dry because I'm just so busy. I'm like same girl, same, but that's not good for us, right?

Speaker 1:

So, really, taking the time 20, 30 minutes throughout the day to run a very hot bath, put in two or three cups of Epsom salts I just get mine from the drugstore or Amazon. You can get scented or unscented I prefer lavender or eucalyptus or you can just use straight up Epsom salts. If you're worried about, like fillers or, you know, synthetic fragrances, sometimes I use my own essential oils, like a eucalyptus or lavender essential oil, rose essential oil. All of those are really nice in the bath and you just get in for as long as you can stand it. When the water is really hot that tends to be about 15 minutes for me I like to start sweating and then I will use my little spigot to put some really cold water on the back of my neck, right. That's going to, number one, kind of calm down that excessive heat response and number two, it's going to prime your body to get ready for bed. That increase in temperature, then temperature drop, is going to tell your body it is time to get ready for bed. So that's why Epsom salt baths, you know, in the hours before you go to bed can be really, really helpful. But if you can't do it, you know, at night, do it anytime throughout the day, because the Epsom salts are getting magnesium into your skin transdermally. So you're pulling in this really relaxing, relaxing mineral which is great for sleep and for stress management. Impairment costs.

Speaker 1:

The other thing I encourage my clients to do is breath work. Breath work it's fantastic because it's free and you can do it anytime and anywhere. You can practice your breath work. If you are in the potty, hiding from children, you can practice your breath work. If you are in the carpool pickup line or if you are prepping dinner or if you are in the grocery store, nobody knows that you're doing it. You can just, you know, practice your breath work. One of my favorite times to practice breath work is when I'm in a longer car trip. I'm in the car for a longer car trip and someone else is driving my husband. Usually I have a concentrated, you know 10, 20, 30 minutes to just listen to music, observe my family, but also work on my breath.

Speaker 1:

Now, the principle with parasympathetic breath work is to make sure that your exhale is longer or equal to your inhale. When you inhale quickly and exhale quickly, you can feel your heart rate going up right, your sympathetic nervous system is activated. It's what happens when you're kind of freaked out. Your breath goes like this right. But when we want to actively get into a parasympathetic state, we want our exhale to be equal or longer than our inhale, and you can feel it within one breath. When your exhale is longer than your inhale, your parasympathetic side of your nervous system is activated through the vagus nerve and you can feel your heart rate start to calm. So, breathe in for three seconds, breathe out for five seconds. You just did it with me. You probably already felt a calming of the nervous system. You know, doing that on repeat for a minute, three minutes, five minutes, 10 minutes, one to three times a day is super powerful, you guys. So that is a great way to work on stress management for weight control. If you're in a parasympathetic state, your cravings aren't going to be as high, you're not going to want to stress. Eat or angry eat and you're going to have enough energy to go to your workouts. And that's the name of the game is balancing out your nervous system so that you feel equipped to make great choices when it comes to nutrition and exercise. All right, that's what we do here at the perimenopause show and Jennifer Woodward nutrition.

Speaker 1:

The last thing that I like my clients to do for active stress management is to incorporate some leisure time. What did you do before you had to adult? For me, it's very simple I like to read a real book. I grew up with two educators who were very frugal, so we didn't have TV in my house, which is so weird, I know, but even to this day I can't really sit still and watch like a movie or a bunch of TV shows because I didn't grow up that way, and so I prefer my stress management to be an actual book. I do like a Kindle, paperwhite, but I prefer like a real book where I can, like you know, smell the pages and dog ear the book and feel like I'm, you know, active in this stress management. So for you, it might be painting or crocheting or drawing or writing. Whatever it is, it needs to be non-electronic and it needs to be something that kind of transports you, that makes you lose track of time, that allows you to step out of that normal like day-to-day schedule and just allow you to relax a little bit. So those are my tips.

Speaker 1:

We're going to talk more about this concept in the next show. I hope you guys join me. If you learned anything interesting today, reach out and let us know. If you have any ideas for future shows, reach out and let us know. If you have any ideas for future shows, reach out and let us know. But if you are a perimenopausal woman looking to lose weight, you have to understand your hormonal shifts, get a really balanced diet and, just so you know, we're going to give you our seven day perimenopause meal plan that is going to help you balance out your protein, fat and carbohydrates. So that is here in the show notes for you. You have to tailor your exercise to perimenopausal needs, which are walking 10,000 steps a day and lifting really heavy things, and then you have to push into your stress management. So taking Epsom salt baths, doing breath work and finding something that transport you we call transports you and we call that leisure time. Thanks for joining me today. Can't wait to see you on the next episode of the perimenopause show. Well, that's a wrap for today's episode.

Speaker 1:

I hope you enjoyed our candid chat about perimenopause, the good, the challenging and everything in between. If you found this episode as enlightening and entertaining as I did be sure to hit that subscribe button so you never miss a dose of perimenopausal realness Before you go, remember that you're not alone in this journey. We're building a community of kick-ass women embracing the changes and supporting each other. Connect with us on social media, share your stories and let's keep this conversation going. And hey, if you have a burning question, a topic you'd love us to tackle, or just want to say hello, shoot us a message. Your feedback keeps this podcast fueled and fabulous. Thanks for hanging out with us today. Until next time, take care, stay fabulous and remember perimenopause is just another chapter in the adventure of being a woman. Catch you on the flip side.